Made as practice
Ravenna, the homeland of the greatest military force across the waves of the Bronze Sea. The glimmering and shimmering exterior once again showed off to flatter the pride of its inhabitants in modest Rasna and opulent Rubica and coax the envy of the tattered at Tiberia.
Laughter, cheers and shouts of Ravvean greatness filled the air of the imperial homeland as the annual Carnevale was up in full swing. The great King Calvus the VI had deemed it fit to announce the beginning of festivities a week earlier and longer, to celebrate his careful bout of diplomacy with the inhabitants of Palo Town and their mayor.
Another precious inch closer to solidifying their grasp over the Sea. His grace was nowhere to be found as in his absence was his brother Prince Revon the Third, his more comely and welcoming little brother. The King must off begun his preparations for another diplomatic visit it was rumoured, as the denizens danced and pranced together for what to seemed to be the rest of the night.
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Amidst the festivities, not many noticed and many fewer were suspective of a group of cloaked individuals making their exit from the confines of Tiberia. Perhaps another set of sodden fools drunk on excitement attempting to smuggle their way into Rasna or even Rubica knowing that the guards had halved their presence for an unknown reason.
The group was spearheaded by two individuals, and both were shrouded in deep flowing purple cloaks designed to conceal themselves well from any onlookers from ascertaining their identities. They were both distinct yet similar enough to each other, that it took less than a brief glance to know that they were somewhat related yet both attempted to differentiate themselves as much as possible from one another.
The young male on the right gave off slight errant twitches, displaying a sense of unease and nervousness despite his attempts to look tough by covering himself with a vast array of weaponry. His spear was the most obvious, with a lazy attempt at passing it off as a mere walking stick, a bow was strung over his shoulder covered by a sash of the rich fabric that failed its purpose through the mildest of slight breezes of the cold night air. But the blades on his back seemed to be concealed with much more care, only showing slight hints of its golden edges as he shuffled ever closer.
The female on the left however seemed much more confident, walking with the same style of disciplined marching movement as the rest of the pack. Despite showing no hints of any sort of armament on her person, one would have to be a fool to consider her to be a vulnerable target. Her hands and arms were laced with hints of barely healed bruises and rough calluses peeking behind the rough linen bandages wrapped around them and moved at a pace to which the others had to catch up noticeably—seeming eager to get this trivial affair over with.
With a hushed command from the woman at the head, the group came to a stop at a clearing in the desolate Shining Plains sheltered from plain view by the tall rocky buttes and tors dotted around the plateau.
They stood faced to the shore and into the fog expecting something to come out of it.
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The cloaked male began to start fidgeting, much to the annoyance of the female next to her.
“For godsakes cut that out Elius, you wanted to be here didn’t you? Now stop embarrassing me in front of my men.”
Elius, The Cloaked Male, began to form a counterargument, before silencing himself as he saw her place a finger to her lips and point to the fog. And right on cue, rippling the waters and out of the mist, three unmarked ships with their lights snuffed out descended to the shore.
On them were more cloaked figures, seemingly increasing in numbers as they stepped out of the shadows and off their ships and onto the shore.
Amongst them was a large imposing figure, who with each movement, gave off loud metallic creaks and rattles, causing cloaked men on land to slightly flinch as well as Elius while the woman stood firm and unrelenting. The large figure held a rather huge halberd in his hand, which size massively dwarfed Elius’ spear in comparison.
The prominent figure tilted his head across the company that arrived to meet them, with a brief glance at the party and a long gaze at Elius, in a low grizzled voice gave a short cackle.
He faced the woman and spoke, “So nice of you to meet us in “fair lady” Carina, is this the new initiate? Tilting his halberd ever so slightly in Elius’ direction. Carina hearing her men, give a slight chuckle over the fair lady part, crunched her heel in the sand in an order to silence themselves.
“Yes Baron, my brother here wishes to join the Order. And despite his worthlessness and this pathetic showing, he’s giving with his toys,” muffled laughter commenced again, louder and the mockery redirected to Elius which Carina with a cruel smirk gave no effort to stifle.
“Good, good,” muttered the Baronas the laughter died down. “So nice of us to finally have both of the Bronze Hound’s pups in our service”.
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“Enough with this pointless banter”
A booming authoritative voice sounded as another figure revealed itself upon the centre ship’s deck. Visually he seemed… disappointing in comparison to the large figure who they previously assumed to be the leader. But there was something but the way he positioned himself, the aura of power that irradiated from him. Carina quickly fell to her knee and bowed, everyone else facing the newly revealed figure quickly did the same.
“Now, Carina. You stated that you had the information we need to continue our plans, this individual. This Berringer, you have his location?”
“Yes, High Lord, the Order informants as well as sources I have gathered from Bronze Legion intelligence have shown his location to around Cirrus Island.
But why him? The curse he possesses is far inferior to the one we need-”
“He knows the location of the one we seek, and besides anyone with such little power that so foolishly wanders into our path, does not deserve it at all.”
“Understood, my lord.”
“So it is settled then, Baron Argos, eight of your trusted men and this new initiate Elius will capture Berringer and bring him to interrogation, I will prepare the interrogation of him at Fort Talos, as well as question those witnesses you, Carina have apprehended. And then I will permanently silence them.
A small shriek sounded, piercing the delicate silence that came after the High Lord’s declaration.
All of the cloaked figures turned their heads towards the origin of the sound, drawing their arms and baring their steel from their folds of cloth.
“Julian”
A sudden shimmer shot up behind the High Lord, over their heads and with a violent shattering sound, landed near the source of the disturbance.
And then something shot out towards them, landing in a heap. A person, a woman with a pale complexation, even more, pale seeing as she heard about their matters and that she was founded. Glass gathered in her hair, and streaks of blood dripped off her from fresh shallow cuts, already stenching up the place with a foul metallic scent.
Behind her landed another humanoid figure, covered in a glassy sheen. Which receded into the skin of the person revealing himself.
“Well well looks like we have a little spy, listening to our conversation. Lady Carina, This is General Julian, Possessor of the Glass Curse, he will assist you on Ravenna."
Carina shook herself from the surprise of the intruder and then processed the High Lord’s words. Gradually turning into a shade of red on her face as she fully realised what it meant.
“I did the work, the lifting, the boring bits and my fresh-faced, newly minted, halfwit brother gets to go on the mission while I’m stuck here same as I was for six months?
She shot a venomous, spiteful look at her younger sibling next to her.
“Good Hunting, Elius.”
The pale-shaded intruder murmured something. Swiftly answered with a crack of a strike, from the incandescent Carina.
“She was still conscious, and still listening to us.”
She nonchalantly spoke, as she wiped the blood off her hand on her faulds.
One of her robed henchmen picked up the now unconscious woman.
“My Lord, shall I take her aboard the ship for questioning at Talos?”
The High Lord shook his head,
“No, if she was listening to us for information, then she has none to offer us, send her to the mines, she can help the Raveanen Cause with her life.”
He turned his head to Carina, still boasting a red shade upon her face.
“Carina, we need your expertise here, we need the people ignorant. The executions that have happened and will happen will no doubt have spread like wildfire.”
“Our goals are near completion, and with it, the Order’s influence will be expanded, and the might of Ravenna will be solidified.”
Hearing his dismissal, they got to work.