[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

[prayerwheel]

[ Azura pauses. This is beyond what she'd intended to tell Edelgard, but it was a part of her and Corrin's shared history, so technically they were still on topic. ]

Many things happened. I can go on, if you're truly curious, but it will involve going into detail about the coup on my kingdom. I...don't mind talking with you about it, but it's a truly grim story.

[unyieldingmarch]

If you wish to talk about it, I am more than willing to listen.

[But...]

I won't pry, if it is too troubling.

[prayerwheel]

It is troubling, yes. But it's something I haven't been able to speak of, no matter how much I wished I could. It's cathartic, in it's own way.

[ she continues, but gets up to check on the kettle when it starts whistling ]

The royal families of Nohr, Hoshido, and Valla are all descended from people who formed blood covenants with deities called the First Dragons, thousands of years ago. They used our ancestors as soldiers in their wars amongst themselves, but gave them massive power in return. It still runs in our bloodlines today.

The problem with the First Dragons, though, is that their minds tend to succumb to some sort of draconian fury after a while, leading them to become mindless beasts. Hoshido's patron dragon and Nohr's patron dragon left the mortal plane centuries ago to avoid this, I believe.

Valla's patron dragon, Anankos, did not. He stayed with us for far too long and began to lose his mind. My ancestors developed countermeasures to quell his violent thoughts, but eventually even they did not work. One day when I was a young child, my father was attempting to pacify Anankos during one of his fits. But he lost his last shred of control and my father ended up dead. I suppose my father's friendship was keeping him tethered to rationality. After that, he forced my mother off of the throne and plunged the kingdom into chaos.

To this day, it's still a very broken country, even if he isn't burning down our villages en masse anymore. It must have gotten boring, because he set his sights on conquering Nohr and Hoshido after that.

[ the tone in her voice when she talks about Anankos is just about the textbook definition of cold rage. She sounds flippant, especially given her phrasing, but oh boy does she wanna kill a dragon. ]

[unyieldingmarch]

[Edelgard stiffens at the mention of dragons. Dragons setting themselves up as deities, saints, and sometimes mere demigods was an all too familiar theme in Edelgard's life. Sothis may have existed, may not have been a dragon, she's not sure and cares far too little for the machinations of the Divine to ponder it overmuch. It matters little, but hearing of yet another world beset by such creatures...hearing the anger in Azura's voice...it's impossible to miss. And not to have her heart go out to the other, as well.]

...why is it always dragons...

[It's barely a mumble at first, but one that gains strength...]

This is not the first I have heard of such beasts setting themselves above humans, with no regard for us. It's similar, in Fodlan, right down to blood covenants. We call them Crests, though.

[And let us not get into that discussion.]

[prayerwheel]

[ Dragon-Based Religion Was A Mistake: The Franchise

Huh. Azura raises her eyebrows at that response; it wasn't one she expected. She hums as she shuts the burner off and gets out all of the silverware and utensils. A while ago, she bought a cute tea set for potential situations like these, so she's glad she thought ahead. ]

Truly? What a strange coincidence.

[ Azura hasn't ever thought of herself as particularly religious, maybe as agnostic as a person can get in a setting where gods factually exist, but she's found herself muttering prayers to the dusk dragon and the dawn dragon in times of peril more often since she's come here. But. The way Edelgard phrases that. "With no regard for us." That's how it was, back then, wasn't it? They changed, and they gave up their mortal forms to not go feral, but back then, both of them were just fine with using the ancient Hoshidans and Nohrians as pawns.

It's an uncomfortable thought. ]

If you don't mind my asking, how does a..."Crest" manifest? [ a pause ] I mean to say, what sort of power was given in exchange?

[unyieldingmarch]

I have no idea how the dragons gave them to mankind. But they...provide supernatural benefits. Some make one quicker, others make it easier to focus, others drain the essence from foes.

[It's an honest answer, one she does not truly know. That was one of the many things that Seiros hid with her religion, and one of the many things that Seteth likely removed from the libraries of Fodlan.]

One is born with a crest, and it provides the bearer with status and power. Or did, under the auspices of the Church. Crested nobles used the religious belief associated with them to assert control over commonfolk, and to set themselves above nobles born without, as well.

I have told you before that Fodlan underwent a war, a revolution I started to cast off oppression. Crests were also a part of the reason, as my goal was to cast off the yoke of the dragons, creatures hiding among us in the guise of humans, and remove the support system that allowed Crested nobles to abuse commoners.

[So, she has the context as well now.]

[prayerwheel]

[ While she talks, Edelgard gets her cup, and Azura sits back down. Pretend I know anything at all about making tea. ]

From what you're telling me, it seems like Crests are more widespread than dragon blood is. Anyone in the royal families have the blood, but nobles don't...I can't imagine the chaos that might cause if power like dragon blood was spread so easily.

[ Especially considering how powerful dragon veins are, letting that many people have access to them would be dangerous. ]

And, ah, dragons were in the church as well?

[ not that she finds it weird, the First Dragons had churches of their own, she's just wondering if she's following the story ]

[unyieldingmarch]

Perhaps yes. Crests grant the individual supernatural strength and speed, as well as certain abilities tied to whichever Crest one bears. They're...quite powerful, though major crests can only be found among royal bloodlines, or those with very close ties to them.

[She stirs her tea, taking it with very little sweetener.]

The dragons were the Church. The Archbishop and leader of it was a dragon disguising herself as a human. There were others among the clergy, but they pretended to be human. Most people have no idea that dragons even exist outside of stories. Largely thanks to the Church manipulating the flow of knowledge, destroying texts containing true histories.

[prayerwheel]

[ The more this part of the story goes on, the more Azura looks confused. Enraptured, but confused. ]

Goodness me. I can understand why you had such a reaction when I mentioned dragons.

[unyieldingmarch]

Dragons have been the root of so many of Fodlan's ills. How could I not?

[Though that doesn't mean she hates them. Not as a general rule. Just one very large, very white, very bitchy one.]