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May 4, 2024 22:33
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- Lord Cyrahzax
- Oct 11, 2012
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It's tied. Next vote wins.
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Dec 24, 2016 02:04
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- Lord Cyrahzax
- Oct 11, 2012
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quote:You pressed for severity, and in this, the man from Grenadier Square quickly became your most fervent ally. Only Cunaris, perhaps harbouring some affection for his disgraced subordinate, offered any opposition.
It took no small amount of time and no few words, but you and the staff officer from high command were slowly able to bring the Duke to your side. In the end, Cunaris reluctantly came to your way of thinking, making the decision for harshness a unanimous one.
You had resolved to offer no mercy, and in the end, you tendered very little. Keane was to be cashiered: ejected from the King's Army in disgrace without commission or decorations. Even so, he was to remain under military discipline; for the crime of abandoning his men in the face of the enemy, he was to be subject to fifty years' imprisonment.
Keane's high birth and connections had saved him from execution, yet as the guards escorted him shaking and dead-eyed from your presence into what was likely to be a life of imprisonment, you could not help but think that he would have preferred to face a firing squad.
Such a thought aroused little pity from you; Keane had already had his chance to meet his end like a soldier, and he wasted that chance readily enough.
quote:That summer found you back at the head of your men as the King's Army faced a new Antari force, what would turn out to be the final great effort of what remained of the League Congress's war faction.
The new army was a shadow of the last Antari host to march south. It had none of the disciplined line infantry which Khorobirit alone had raised and equipped, its artillery was non-existent, its Hussars were newly raised and ill-mounted, and it possessed only the most meagre complement of light cavalry.
Had it come to open battle, the contest between this last gasp and the veteran and victory-flushed regiments of the King's Army could have only concluded one way.
It had not.
Instead, the Duke of Havenport had ordered your dragoons north, into the path of the enemy host. Through the hottest days of the year, you had ranged before the path of the approaching enemy force as it made its ponderous way south, burning crops, poisoning wells, burning bridges, and watching from afar as the Antari lost more and more men to disease, desertion, and starvation with every passing day.
It was a method of waging war which would have been dismissed as dishonourable, cowardly, unthinkable, not so long ago. It seems that the past decade of war has taught the King's Army better.
Within six weeks, what was left of the League Congress's last great army was retreating back north, a straggling mob of wretched fugitives with hollow bellies and sunken eyes, defeated without firing a single shot in anger.
The Antari sent their first peace envoys the following month. They continued coming the year that followed, even as the King's Army continued to advance northwards. You were camped not two hundred kilometres from the walls of Octobirit itself when the news finally came: a treaty had been signed, and for the first time in a dozen years, there was to be peace between Tierra and Antar.
quote:As the days once again grew shorter and colder, you and your dragoons slowly made your way back to Kharangia. You had a great deal of time to yourself to think then, to consider the years which you had spent at war and your rise through the ranks of the King's Army.
There was, of course, opportunity to rise yet further still.
Keane's disgrace had left his lieutenant-colonel's commission vacant. Now that you had the requisite seniority to make yourself eligible for further advancement, only the cost of the commission itself served as any obstacle to your advancement.
However, with the war at an end, there would be no guarantee that your promotion would prove of any real worth; what difference did that single step up in rank mean for the soldier of an army at peace, an army which might find itself without great need of you anyway? Was that difference enough to be worth spending the 1500 crown you would need to attain it?
Even in peacetime, I supposed I would be better off as a lieutenant-colonel than a major.
I bought the promotion; it would be a great help should Tierra find itself at war in future.
I decided that there were better ways to spend my money.
You don't have enough cash.
quote:By the time you reached Kharangia, you had resolved yourself with some substantial certainty that buying a lift to lieutenant-colonel was not an extravagance you could afford.
And that was exactly what a promotion was: an extravagance. With the war over, there was little point in committing yet more of your precious funds to the army. In the peacetime army, higher rank only meant more obligations, more responsibilities, without the increased chance for loot or other reward such an elevation would have brought in war.
No, you would invest your money into more fruitful avenues. There was no point in advancement within the army of a kingdom at peace.
quote:That had been a month ago.
Now, you wait on the stone of Kharangia's docks as the autumn wind tugs against your greatcoat, waiting for your belongings to be loaded aboard the ship that will take you to Aetoria to take up your father's title before the assembled Cortes, the ship that will take you back to the homeland which you have not seen for so many years.
Of all those whom you fought beside in your years in Antar, few remain. The bulk of your command took ship for Fernandescourt two weeks ago. Cunaris had gone with them. Havenport sailed a week after that, departing with the King and his entourage, Lord Cassius and Countess Welles among them. You remained behind only to make final arrangements for your men as they departed. Of the tens of thousands of King's soldiers who had once trod the soil of Antar underneath their boots, you are almost the last to remain.
Almost.
"City?" comes a voice from your left. "Did you hear me?"
Cazarosta had also remained behind to see to the last affairs of his own command. Whether by accident or design, the two of you have found yourselves waiting on the same quay at the same time for your horses to be loaded aboard your respective ships.
"I beg pardon?" you reply, having been too lost in thought to hear the deathborn's question.
"Where will you go?" the other dragoon says—repeats, you suppose—without hint of annoyance. "The war is over, I must assume you have some plan of action for the future."
That is a question which throws you back into self-reflection. For more than a decade, the war has been your life. What you plan to do with it now that it is sadly over is something which you have given no small amount of thought.
"I shall go home; I have an estate to put to rights."
"I shall be inheriting a seat on the Cortes; that shall keep me busy."
"No doubt, I shall be able to find some excitement."
"I must see to my family's debts, first and foremost."
"I would rather put excitement behind me."
"I do rather like soldiering; perhaps I shall persist in it."
"Plans can wait; it will be enough just to see my family again."
quote:
As of the Autumn of the 613th year of the Old Imperial Era
Atros d'al City
Age: 25
Rank: Major
Wealth: 1210
Income: 20
Soldiering: 77%
Charisma: 60%
Intellect: 35%
Reputation: 44%
Health: 65%
Idealism: 45% Cynicism: 55%
Ruthlessness: 93% Mercy: 7%
Second Squadron, Royal Dragoons
Senior NCO: Colour-sergeant Villanueva
Discipline: 33%
Morale: 19%
Loyalty: 22%
Strength: 75%
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Dec 24, 2016 04:51
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- AJ_Impy
- Jun 17, 2007
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SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
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Yam Slacker
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I like soldiering! That bit where we crippled an army by burning crops and poisoning wells was pure bliss.
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Dec 24, 2016 05:02
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- JosephWongKS
- Apr 4, 2009
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by Nyc_Tattoo
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Is it possible to commit war crimes as a civilian?
Yes. Is it easier to commit war crimes as a soldier? Yes!
Therefore, a soldier we shall be.
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Dec 24, 2016 05:13
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- sullat
- Jan 9, 2012
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Haha, our family is dead. Guess it's the soldier's life for us.
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Dec 24, 2016 08:57
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- Xarn
- Jun 26, 2015
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We should solve our debts first, having titles and land to hide behind makes commiting attrocities easier.
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Dec 24, 2016 09:27
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- Alumnus Post
- Dec 29, 2009
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They are weird and troubling. We owe it to our neighbors to kill them.
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Pillbug
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Soldier, shut up and keep soldiering.
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Dec 24, 2016 19:08
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- Deceitful Penguin
- Feb 16, 2011
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How the heck are we not able to say „ Look for a waifu“ ?????
What kinda VN is this????
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Dec 24, 2016 22:04
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- sleepy.eyes
- Sep 14, 2007
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Like a pig in a chute.
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I mean, would Caz really want to hear about Atro's misadventures in his sister's pants?
Pants? What kind of reprobate are you? He had misadventures in her dress.
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Dec 24, 2016 23:43
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- WhiskeyWhiskers
- Oct 14, 2013
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"هذا ليس عادلاً."
"هذا ليس عادلاً على الإطلاق."
"كان هناك وقت الآن."
(السياق الخفي: للقراءة)
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Borrowing money from future in-laws is never a bad idea. Do it.
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Dec 25, 2016 09:05
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- sullat
- Jan 9, 2012
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caz is rich right? if we told him about our money woes he could pay all that off maybe?
I think he would say that if the Saints wanted our debts paid off, then it would be so. The fact that they aren't means that we aren't worthy of having them be paid off.
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Dec 26, 2016 00:53
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- Lord Cyrahzax
- Oct 11, 2012
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A merry and belated holiday to everyone! Let's continue:
quote:Cazarosta's eyebrow rises. "Is that so?"
You nod. "It is," you reply confidently. "I see no reason not to make a life out of the King's Army. I would rather like to think that I have established myself quite well these past eleven years at war."
"We are not at war anymore," the deathborn replies. "Peacetime officers must pay for their own billets, pay to keep a table for themselves and their subordinates, pay to maintain appearances, pay for the privilege of stabling their horses in the King's stalls."
You nod. The implications of your fellow dragoon's words are clear and not quite unfamiliar to you. There had been a reason why the officer's ranks of the King's Army had been a preserve of those wealthier than you before the war; while Grenadier Square had paid for your essentials at war, they will do no such thing now that the realm is at peace. Add to that the social obligations of a peacetime officer, and the costs become onerous indeed. Should you choose to remain in the army, you could expect your expenses to be three or even fourfold your pay, quite the burden for a poor aristocrat.
"I will find a way," you reply vehemently, though you must admit with a determination more born of conviction than reason. "This regiment has become my home these past few years, and I shall seek whatever methods at my disposal to see that it remains so."
Cazarosta nods, his lips pulled into a grim smile. "Then I must wish you well in your endeavour; you are a competent officer and tolerable company, besides. I would very much dislike to see your place taken by some inferior replacement."
quote:Time passes wordlessly between you. The noise of the quays, groans of loaded hulls and the creak of port cranes, blots out any pretension at silence the moment might have had, yet even those sounds fade into mere background noise.
"What about you?" you finally manage to ask, breaking the not-quite-silence before it has the chance to lapse into awkwardness. "Surely, you must have plans as well."
Having groped blindly for a subject, you realise that there is a genuine curiosity behind it. What does Cazarosta mean to do now that the war is over? He has no estates of his own, no family. As a deathborn-bastard, he has little prospects for marriage and none at all in politics or finance.
"I thought the answer to that question would have appeared an obvious one," the other officer replies, without hesitation. "I mean to stay in the army."
"Why, that is a marvellous idea!"
"Why would you want to do that?"
"I did not think Cunaris so favourably disposed to keeping you in his regiment."
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Dec 29, 2016 04:23
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- WhiskeyWhiskers
- Oct 14, 2013
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"هذا ليس عادلاً."
"هذا ليس عادلاً على الإطلاق."
"كان هناك وقت الآن."
(السياق الخفي: للقراءة)
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Peacecrime buddy adventures!
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Dec 29, 2016 04:40
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- AJ_Impy
- Jun 17, 2007
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SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
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Yam Slacker
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Aw yiss. Let's get ready for the next war.
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Dec 29, 2016 09:43
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- JosephWongKS
- Apr 4, 2009
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by Nyc_Tattoo
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Peacecrime buddy adventures!
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Dec 29, 2016 12:03
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- Deceitful Penguin
- Feb 16, 2011
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That would be really heartwarming; Caz slowly learning to be a human being from the worst possible teacher that's being porked by his sister.
Looking forward to finding out that we were her Bond-boy too.
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Dec 29, 2016 12:37
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- sullat
- Jan 9, 2012
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Looking forward to murdering some elves with Caz.
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Dec 29, 2016 16:43
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- Lord Cyrahzax
- Oct 11, 2012
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Sorry for the delay, guys. Let's try to finish this up:
quote:Cazarosta's lips pull taut into a thin slash of a smile. "You humour me, sir," he replies, his voice tinged with the barest hint of ice.
You shake your head vehemently. "I only speak truth, sir!" you exclaim, loud enough to turn the head of more than one passerby. "You are a first-class fighting officer and a credit to the service, no man could deny that!"
Cazarosta frowns. "On the contrary, I am an anomaly: a deathborn-bastard whom gentlemen of the blood are required by the niceties of military discipline to call 'sir' and 'brother officer.' Only the exigencies of war have allowed me to justify my place with some small demonstrations of competence. Now that we are at peace, that avenue is closed to me."
"Then you must prove yourself in some other way," you answer with the most encouraging tone you can muster.
The other officer nods. "I mean to," he replies, his voice quavering with the barest hint of what almost seems like a momentary uncertainty. "If the Saints will it, I shall."
"And if they do not?"
Before Cazarosta can offer any answer, you are made aware of the approach of three figures, all on horseback, all women, the iron-shod hooves of their ponies beating a sedate rhythm against the cobbles as they make their way towards you.
Two of the women are maids. Their drab and uniform outfits make that almost plain. The third is anything but, clad in a sleek riding habit of deep blue, her dark curls bound back by a bonnet of whitest silk, her cherry lips made wicked by an impish smile.
"Good day, Atros," Lady Katarina says by way of greeting as she slips herself free from her saddle.
Feelings of joy and anger clash within your mind. Two and a half years without a single meeting, without even a single letter. Is that half an eternity which she has allowed your heart to languish in solitude simply to be dismissed with a bare 'good day'? You feel your teeth grit in frustration.
Then, in the space of an instant, she is but a step away from you, close enough for you to look deep into her wide blue eyes, and you can no more hold onto your anger than you might grasp a handful of air. "I am happy to see you well," she murmurs as she allows you to kiss her hand, her words kept sedate by propriety, but her look making it clear that it is propriety alone which stops her from saying more.
You smile back, sedately, even though your heart might well be fit to burst. "It is good to see you as well, madam," you reply.
Yet Lady Katarina has already turned away from you, towards Cazarosta.
"And it is good to see you as well, brother."
quote:You suppose you must have made some sudden involuntary reaction to that, likely because the second after, the scarred deathborn's eyes narrow. He turns to his 'sister' with a look of puzzlement.
"You did not tell him?" he asks.
She looks at you for a moment, a flash of regret in her deep blue eyes. "I…" She sighs. "I could not. Circumstances would not have allowed me."
"I do hope you mean to tell him now," he replies, his brow furrowed and eyes narrowed in—in what? Frustration? Exasperation? Anger?
Katarina smiles, not her normal impish grin but an uneasy smirk. "So much concern for the elucidation of your fellow man, Caius? You had not always held so much consideration in you?"
The deathborn's frown deepens. "Seeing as you have revealed the crucial part of the matter, it would only seem natural that you were planning on explaining the matter to him in full."
"Yes, in full, if you would please," you reply, rather finished with being discussed as if you were not present before them.
For a moment, Cazarosta opens his mouth as if to reply, yet for once in his life, he seems hesitant. It is Lady Katarina who speaks first. "How much do you know of the state of affairs in the Earl of Leoniscourt's household after the…" Her eyes flit to the side, to her 'brother.' "…events following Caius's birth?"
You shake your head. The matter was far before your time. "I must confess a great deal of ignorance regarding the matter. All I remember is that the Earl remarried, but was never able to sire a legitimate male heir, only a…"
Only a daughter.
The Royal Intelligence officer before you dips into a deep, courtly curtsey as if she were being presented at court, her impish grin freshly returned to her delicate features. "Lady Katarina d'al Cazarosta, at your service."
"Why did you not tell me?"
"Why, of course, I expected this!"
"You could have told me, Cazarosta."
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Jan 9, 2017 06:59
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- Deceitful Penguin
- Feb 16, 2011
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no we didn't, this caught us completely off guard
why didnt anybody tell us??? 
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Jan 9, 2017 16:38
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- AJ_Impy
- Jun 17, 2007
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SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
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Yam Slacker
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Caz, I thought we were bros!
The thought occurs that, since he's a bastard and she's post-remarriage, they don't actually have any genetics in common.
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Jan 9, 2017 16:51
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- Adbot
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ADBOT LOVES YOU
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May 4, 2024 22:33
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- AJ_Impy
- Jun 17, 2007
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SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
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Yam Slacker
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J-just like in my Japanese animes!
...
Seriously, how is this relevant?
Probably isn't. Musing on "I thought we were bros" leading to "Technically if Atros gets hitched to his sister that would make them brothers in law" leading to "Hang on, he's a bastard and she's a scion of remarriage, they're not even half-siblings, so what the hell does that mean in terms of family?"
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Jan 9, 2017 17:20
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Dec 21, 2016 03:24
