[Locked to Redflight] Sent into battle

[telaari]

Who: Vastania and the Red Dragonsworn
What: After a bit of divine inspiration, Vas is digging in her hooves and organizing people.
Where: The Ruby Sanctum
When: Backdated to the 5th
Warnings: Nothing NSFW, but Vas is likely to literally knock some sense into people if they're stubborn. Nothing that'll hurt too bad, but enough to rattle most people.

"I kneel before You to beg Your aid."

The words of the prayer come more easily to her in Eredun than in Common. "I carry Your standard in a strange land, far away from the reach of the Exiles.

"There are demons at our neck. Guide my blade and let it cleanse them of their corruption. Let my shield be immovable, unable to buckle beneath their terrible blows.

"Grant me the strength to face my maddened forefathers. Let me not fall into their corruption even as I strike them." A pause. "Grant me the strength to tell my allies of the Defiled Ones, and bless them with the sense to see that I am of Your domain. Let them see that I am Exiled for following Your command and that of the Prophet."

Another pause. Her voice drops to a whisper, even though she knows that no-one else here speaks her native language.

"O Light, grant them sense, and me the strength to lead them!"

She waits, still kneeling, for an answer. The Light stirs, but it offers none.

Vastania waits a while still, silent. If Fin could see her now, she'd likely laugh until her tail fell off. No- Fin would knock her onto her tail and tell her to get back up, that's what she'd do. She'd ask what she was doing, dragging her hooves and moping when there was work to be done. And she'd have had these humans trained and drilled ten days ago.

The Light stirs again. Your answer.

The Vindicator looks up sharply. The Light is usually not very straightforward, but even she understands what this means. She utters a word of thanks and draws herself up, sheathing her sword. To be more like Fin... she closes her eyes for a moment and imagines what it must be like, to have those outstretched horns and heavy armor, carrying that claymore as if it was a feather. What it must be like to be so surefooted, so confident, that she might go into battle with a smirk on her face.

What she would do to prepare them if she was here. What she would do if the others refused to listen.

She walks to the edge of the Sanctum's central pond, then turns so she faces away from it. Vas breathes in deeply once, twice, to quell her shaking nerves. A third time, to clear her head.

A fourth, to issue her command.

"Dragonsworn, to me! Today, you will learn to be soldiers in this war against the Legion!"

Comments

[wilder]

"Uh-"

Crap. He looks between the two, listening to both their answers. He was more inclined to agree with Vastania, but he could see the writing on the wall. It was clear after what she said earlier, Vastania had a very bad history with the Burning Legion of some sort. One that'd make her very anti-demon.

On the other hand, if Maridian's had trusted friends who were warlocks and his whole race had been saved once by using Fel energy? Recognizing that it was reckless or not, he probably would take a remark like that pretty personally huh? Especially if a stranger to this world that barely knew anything weighed his opinion in.

...

Yep! Keeping his mouth shut seems like a good idea now!

[seesbosscrotch]

"I should add," Mar said, noting that diplomatic silence, "that the Vindicator is right -- for the most part, it IS stupid. Fel energy is dangerous, and the powers of a warlock often result in a corrupted soul. But to balance that, I also have to note that the draenei people have a history with the Legion that goes a long way to informing her attitude."

Mar grasped the hilt of his sword, but reversed his grip to bring the weapon around him, pointed downwards. "When it comes to warlocks, I'd advise treating them like anyone else. It's dangerous to pick up a sword and swing it. If you don't get killed in your first dozen fights, the rush of power you get from wielding a weapon can be just as dangerous, and lead you down a dark path as well. But a sword can be a powerful weapon for righteousness as well, if used by a disciplined and centered person. If you don't ever wish to take up the metaphorical sword, that's fine -- but I'd advise you judge those who do by how they use their weapon, not what weapon they use."

Mar's serious tones tended to be ominous, because they were serious tones from Mar.

[telaari]

"What this Blood Knight means to say is that my people have been hunted by the Legion for more than twenty thousand years," she says, the bluntness betraying her annoyance. It would be so easy to raise her voice at the elf, too easy to lecture him on how lightly his people got off for indulging in Fel magic.

Too easy to ruin what cooperation they have.

She takes a deep breath before elaborating. "And yes, I do find warlocks and their ilk distasteful for it. But I have seen human warlocks turn Fel magic against the forces of evil, though I feel it's a bit like carving a mountain with only a pin."

[wilder]

He looks between them again, fully getting the sense that his innocent question had turned this area into a tense minefield. Both sides were clearly trying to restrain themselves of some feelings about the matter.

Maybe he should speak up.

"...Sorry Maridian. I'm sure your friends aren't evil and your people had their own reasons for using Fel Magic. But...as a Tethe'allan? I got my own reasons to be wary. A sword in the wrong hands can cause a lot of damage, sure- but someone making a demon pact could bring about the end of our world. So most Tethe'allans believe forming any pacts with demons or even binding them for your will is the stupidest and craziest thing you can do."

And sure, his people had a lot of terrible ideas he was also raised to believe. Ones he was trying to undo all the time. But...from what he could get from these conversations? Absolute distrust for demons wasn't one of them.

"So, I'll keep what you guys are saying in mind and not dismiss all warlocks or people who use fel magics as evil. But I gotta admit it- I don't know if I'll be trusting them anytime soon. It's nothing personal, but...it's hard to shake those feelings. That's all."

[seesbosscrotch]

"It's not an attitude I can fault you for," Mar said with a shrug, not particularly offended. 'Kaneis' wasn't wrong. Look at Illidan, or hell, the original orcish Horde. "Although if you ever meet Hellscream, you'll see just how much damage someone can do because they're good with a weapon."

Vas could take either comfort or alarm in how much seething hatred lurked in the Blood Knight's tone. Depended on how she chose to interpret that attitude towards the Warchief.

"But keep in mind, at least, that we may meet people here who developed the affinity on coming here, the way others have wielded priestly magic or roguish deftness that's new to them. They may not have had a choice in taking up their powers."

[wilder]

"Hell...Scream?" Zelos blinked a few times, very confused and a little worried. "Ha ha...please tell me that's a nickname and not what his parents named him."

Hating the guy or not, that's a very eyebrow raising name!!

"And yeah yeah, I'll keep that in mind." Maybe sorta.

[seesbosscrotch]

"The orcs are a proud race with a warrior's legacy, and their names reflect that." Mar started ticking off names on his fingers. "Hellscream... Bladefist... Blackhand... Heartspear... Corebender... Doomhammer... You get the idea."

[wilder]

"...Oh. Lovely."

Seriously. Sounds like a great people. But he'll go back to being quiet now.