[center][img]https://66.media.tumblr.com/dce438d80bd104063575bf01fe012b21/tumblr_ncvhmias4T1t5c6u6o1_500.gif[/img][/center] [center][sub]Act 1: In which strange occurrences are begot. [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaA0IctGTDw]Muzak[/url][/sub][/center] [hr] [indent][color=lightgray]It was a blustery evening in early spring, and a converted military transport held together by loose bolts and hope roared down the open road. It was headed southeast towards the heartland of the small kingdom of Rassvet about as far away from the war as you could get. The current driver of the vehicle was a muscular youth built like a fucking brick wall, red hair getting tossed and thrown about in the wind being let in by an open window. From the outset he looked like a standard Rassvet youth; black muscle shirt and a simple pair of worn-in jeans ending with a pair of running shoes. Betraying the image was the intricate tattoo etched into his right bicep, an ancient dragon mid-roar, the symbol of WARDEN. No the driver and his companions were something different. Not too long ago Setzer was the only child of an alcoholic that couldn't give a damn about him. Now he was 'the shining hope of our proud kingdom' as Representative Vanclyf had so dutifully reminded him and his cohorts at their graduation from the Citadel only a few days prior. Before nobody seemed to really give a flying shit about WARDEN, they just existed as they had for hundreds of years. Now with the war on? Now all eyes were focused on them hoping for them to come in and save the day. It was all some kind of joke really, but then again Setzer didn't expect anything different. He would go perform his 'patriotic duty' soon enough and head out to the battlefield where he would probably get some medals, save a few lives, and then die alone in a foxhole like everybody else. Don't get him wrong he relished the idea of testing himself in actual combat, instead of the simulators and sparring matches that he had become accustomed to over the the years. He wanted to see if he was as good as his own ego thought he was. But being a WARDEN wasn't the safest job in the world and as the battles on the border became more and more pitched mortality rates weren't looking too good. As the instructors told them all when they were just ten years old stepping into the Citadel for the first time. [i]You're living on borrowed time.[/i] That's why he was out here in the middle of bumfuck nowhere with a small collection of friends. To be honest it was a meager showing. Zimmy had invited at least fifty people to come have one last party to end all parties but as it turned out most people were busy. Some were either heading back home to visit their families before getting shipped out and others were already on the front lines within hours of graduation. Some were dead already But you worked with what your were given it seemed. Setzer wasn't one to pass up an opportunity for a party and it was certainly better than dragging his ass home. Hell he didn't even know if he had a home anymore, he wouldn't of been surprised if his father had already drank himself to death in his ten year absence. They were heading to a secluded little spot that Gideon knew about. Apparently it used to be the grounds of an old hunting lodge used by the House of Anbruch. The lodge was torched to the ground during the Unification War between the nationalists and royalists almost two hundred years ago. The lodge itself was never rebuilt but it is still technically Anbruch land. Lots of wood and a large lake untouched by society, it was the perfect place to let loose away from watching eyes. [h3][sub]Bzz[/sub]rrr[sup]t[/sup][sub]zz[/sub]z[/h3] "Friggin piece of shit." Setzer muttered to himself as he looked down towards the radio now spitting out a growl of static. He should've known better than to trust Galahad with getting the truck in the first place. [i]My daddy's a general I can get a truck for us.[/i] Didn't mention the fact that Setzer probably could've found a better ride in the junkyard if he looked hard enough. But of course it wasn't Galahad's fault that ‘all the good vehicles were currently being used on the front lines, and that it was very hard to get even this hunk of bolts.’ Shaking his head Setzer balled his hand into a fist and struck out with a hard blow against the dashboard. The static began to fade away as stuttering fragmented voices began to replace it, and with another well placed hit, the device seemed to be working again. [b]"And welcome back listeners to RPR and our continued coverage of the Vangar Conflict. There was hard fighting around the border town of Calty today between Vangar and Rassvet forces in the current push to secure Fort Kelgrav and after several hours of fighting our brave soldiers had to make a tactical retreat. On the coastal front a supply carrier was sunk today in the Ragnar Bay by a Vangar Submarine. And in more hopeful news Imperial Princess Colette Van Skymning, the youngest daughter of Emperor Mazurek Van Skymning ruler of Vangar arrives in Orestia today as part of a peace delegation. More on those talks within the hou-"[/b] The sound of the radio announcer was replaced with some rock song cranked up to high as Setzer snorted to himself with a hint of disdain. Yeah 'peace talks' he wondered if they would go as well as the last five that the two countries had tried to hash out. Turns out peace was a hard thing to work out when one country wanted complete and utter dominion over the other. No the Emperor himself could come and shake hands with Gideon's grandfather and have a nice cup of tea and it wouldn't change anything. This war wasn't going to end until one side was destroyed by the other. [i]"Turn right"[/i] Setzer cut hard to the right and at the speed he was going nearly tipped the vehicle onto two wheels, as he listened to the GPS on his phone. They were off of the highway that they had followed most of the way and now onto the real back roads. The truck bumped up and down on a pothole marked road having apparently not been tended to for some time. The scenery slowly changing from flat open plains to the rugged outer edges of a centuries old forest. The grumble and roar of the truck as it pushed along starling the wildlife as clusters of birds sprang loose from their trees and into the sky. Setzer eyes flicked over to the GPS they were getting close now. He tilted his head back over the chair looking through the small door that lead from the driver's cabin to the back where the rest of his cohorts were stowed away. It was a nice enough space, they managed to fit a table in there somehow to one side and outfitted the old metal benches with cushions so that they were at least semi-bearable. The second case of beer that day had already been opened and most of them seemed fine chatting among themselves. Setzer shouted back over the rumble of the truck and the low groan of conversation. "Put your dicks back in your pants ladies and gentlemen. We'll be there in five!" [/color][/indent]