[Open] Catch All for January (Some closed prompts)

[unyieldingmarch]

Who: Edelgard von Hresvelg and You!
When: Pre-Snatched Plot, some Post potentially
Where: Dorchacht and Aefenglom
What: A Catchall
Warnings: Possibly discussions of torture, war, and 3 Houses Spoiler Warnings.



Tarnished Reality

[Unsure of what to expect when she stepped through the teleporter, Edelgard had gone fully prepared for the worst, insisting on wearing her scarlet battle armor, with her axe strapped in a leather thong across her back. When she found the city nothing like what she had been told, she'd initially been puzzled, but as it became more apparent that she was not going to be troubled she found herself relaxing fractionally.

Her changes were making it more difficult to function during the day, so she'd come at dusk, well rested and ready to explore the city. Moving among the people, her outlander dress marking her as a Mirrorbound as surely as the unusual battleaxe she carried, the Emperor was quiet through most of her wanderings. The sounds of a scuffle up ahead of her current path drew her up short, though and she stopped and looked around a corner.]

It seems all is not well. [Mumbled, but audible enough for any nearby to hear.] Do you think we should aid the guard?


Bond Lessons

[It's strange seeing other Mirrorbound being pulled up onto the stage, but so far she has avoided being ensnared herself. Watching the goings on is interesting enough, though, but she's still a little uncomfortable with it. So, she slides through the fringes of the crowd towards another unmolested Mirrorbound.]

Eager, are they not?


Home

[Edelgard has made it a point to attempt to win over support from the aristocracy early on, including personally investigating the Mist that had settled in there. The few supporters she'd managed to charm haven't quite turned on her, but when she makes her way out of the district she can feel something building. Tensions are rising, a thing she is extremely familiar with, and that's going to potentially be a problem.

It's not until she leaves the district and makes her way towards the Haven, the cool and crisp night air making her more alert than she might otherwise be, that she senses something amiss.

Eyes narrowed, she pokes her head around the mouth of an alley to see two graffiti artists hard at work. With an exasparated sigh she turns to wave a passing Mirrorbound over.]

Look at this nonsense...


Wildcard

[If you want to plot something out, in Dorch, out of it, a quest, anything else? HMU at intercession and let's figure it out!]

Comments

[bloodypath]

Resources are rarely plentiful in the wake of a revolution. [Ahaha... ha... being a bureaucrat is suffering sometimes.]

[And really, Hubert would delight in a demonstration of how to quell this scuffle, but a sinister Witch stalking in to intervene, nonviolently or not, stars-marked or not, wouldn't help the overall tension.]

Very well. Shall we supervise them?

[He keeps his arms tucked neatly behind his back, trying for once to not be intimidating. Hubert doubts his success.]

[unyieldingmarch]

[Edelgard snorts.

She knows, Hubert. She knows.]

I suppose we should. And step in if we must.

[She'd rather not see anyone harmed if it can be avoided.

For now at least, the Emperor in Red seems to be unnoticed, but a few of the rioters do watch them warily from the edges of the group.]

Hopefully they don't think we're easy targets. [She says that oh so dryly...because they seem more afraid than aggressive right now.]

[bloodypath]

[He can't help smiling that awful unnerving grin of his at the thought; a little part of him did hope they would seem easy targets, as he always loved an excuse for intimidating others so. ...but this was not the place nor time.]

Hopefully not, but an animal is always unpredictable when cornered.

[Hubert meets the gaze of one of the men watching them, and he really can't bring himself to dampen his challenging smile—daring him to lash out. A tiny spark of amused delight lights up in the Bond when the protester fidgets and shuffles awkwardly further back in the crowd.]

[unyieldingmarch]

[Edelgard watches him as well, not quite reveling in their increasingly intimidating presence the same way. She was not like Hubert, not that way. She could be frightening when she needed to be, but it was not a particular delight of hers to do so.]

It's a little sad just how far gone these people are. To be so resistant to the simple change of treating other people as people...

[Even the dragons never quite went that far.]

I find the whole matter disgusting, and more than a little disturbing. But it's such a significant number of people that I can understand the government's reluctance to truly force the issue yet.

[bloodypath]

[Being imposing, for better or for worse, was one of his few true hobbies. As cooped up he's been inside, obsessively honing his magic, Hubert really hasn't had a chance to indulge it in a while.]

Is this truly so rare? Is this not the same thing we've fought to destroy, in a different mask?

[The dragons never went this far, no... but they didn't need to—humans enacted it themselves. Hubert's smile twists a little more maliciously at the thought; it makes him burn, a distant but bright little star of rage and disgust that never touches his surface demeanor. It hasn't in more than a decade.]

The only difference is that this filth shackles others openly; they don't delude themselves with gilding and intrigue and debt, or call it by softer names.

[He didn't care if they overheard.]

[unyieldingmarch]

Over the course of centuries, yes...but did this not happen within a relatively short timespan?

[She was given to understand that most of the changes were brought about by one particular leader.]

These deplorable creatures dove so deeply into depravity that they managed to institutionalize all of this within the lifespan of a single witch. Somehow, that seems worse to me.

[There's no hiding the disdain that curls her lip as she regards the Drummond loyalists, nor the disgust she mirrors within her own emotions. These are the kind of people she'd consider to be worse than criminals.]

It's almost like this witch sowed the seeds of something wicked in the hearts of some of the people of this city.

[bloodypath]

[He frowns lightly. Hubert still thinks it's not a big leap that they did this themselves, but...]

Perhaps. They are in the process of purging an enchantment etched into the very bones of the city. I hear whispers that it was fed through foul means.

[He shakes his head slightly.] The Coven in Aefenglom endlessly repeats that all magic has a price. I know nothing for sure, but it wouldn't shock me if these cretins were somehow stained by their workings.

[Even hanging back as they were, their presence alone seemed to hold back the protesters. Given how a few dozen Mirrorbound altered the course of their entire city... only a few loyalists were worked up enough to keep harassing the new guards, yelling and occasionally shoving.]

[unyieldingmarch]

That would make sense.

[Edelgard is familiar enough with magic, and that does seem to apply to most forms of it. Truly twisted rituals did seem to leave the users stained, as Solon and his ilk had proven with their deformed shapes.]

Have you examined the runes? I have not, but perhaps there's insight to be gleaned from them?

[Something less sinister. Wards, perhaps.]

[bloodypath]

[A sigh. A very exasperated one.]

I haven't, Your Majesty. It was the first thing I thought to do when I arrived. They... were not keen on letting me near.

[One of his hands comes up to tap at the triple stars.] I've since sought to make it clear I'm not a Witch with the old rule, but I haven't made my way back yet.

[unyieldingmarch]

I see...

[That's...not great. But it's alright. She can tell he's annoyed already.]

When this is resolved, we should do that. Or find an out of the way section of wall to check.