Yo! Since the RP has been moving a bit slow and we had that unfortunate forum crash, I think it's a good idea to post a bit of a summary of the story so far. A lot of stuff has happened and I figured now would be a good time to remind everyone where each of our characters are at plot-wise. If I get anything wrong or have forgotten any details, please let me know! [center]***[/center] [b]PROLOGUE SUMMARY 2/16/2018[/b] [b]Stina, Hassan & Ragnar[/b] [@The Angry Goat] [@Sisyphus] The three have made their way to the Shadow & Storm pub in the Tale's End slums, where they hope to enjoy one final evening of freedom before they travel to Cero City and rejoin the rest of Warband Phoenix. While there, they are asked to participate in a sting operation by lieutenants Lev Dragonov and Rexus Lycaon of the SA to apprehend Rami Kadenza, a smuggler. Kadenza is said to have information on Father Dara, a dangerous summoner and apostate. Stina, Hassan and the SA soldiers fight Kadenza's pirate crew in the pub, while Ragnar chases after a sharpshooter positioned in a building outside the pub. Before the events of the night played out, the three inquisitors obtained a trio of wolf pups from a Muraadan street girl. Ragnar has decided to care for them and plans to gift them to his warsiblings. [b]Galahad, Tatiana & Astraia[/b] [@vietmyke] [@OppositionJ] [@deathbringer] After arriving in the capital city of Sapharan, the three Lanostran inquisitors split up and head to their respective homes. Tatiana visits her father's manor, where she finds him dying, slumped against a wall. The circumstances of his death are unclear, but Tatiana decides to keep his death a secret as she rejoins her comrades. Astraia returns home and is greeted with a cold welcome by her father, who has heard tell of her training with Father Antonin and insults her for associating with a non-Lanostran. She storms out after assaulting him and asserting her independence. Galahad returns to his family's estate, where he has a strained, quiet dinner with his mother. She gifts him a new sword. When the three reunite the next morning, they find the city garrison in turmoil. They are met by Mother Elisheva of Warband Seraph, who informs them that the Black Glacier has undergone a mysterious change and has begin to manifest a strange new breed of demon. The T'saraen garrison, a group of scientists who have kept a research station near the Glacier for decades, have all been slaughtered by these mysterious demons. Her partner, Father Cillian, was also wounded during their preliminary investigation, and Astraia heads to the war hospital to help treat him. Elisheva enlists the three inquisitors to help, but before they can set out, a large band of provincial Lanostrans march into the streets, demanding answers. [b]Rodion[/b] [@drakey] Rodion travels to the Imperial Drydocks in the T'saraen capital city, Cero. There, Head Engineer Amir T'sukasa and his daughter, Sheva, give him a tour of the shipyard, which is currently being used to outfit old LW-era warships with Hearth Systems that will allow them to travel to El for the second wave of reinforcements. The T'saraen engineers bring Rodion to the primary research and development center within the drydocks, a place known as The Forge, where they introduce him to the two warships which Warband Phoenix will make use of during their expedition-- the VSS Grace and the VSS Karamzina. In the Karamzina's engine room, Rodion is shown the URA, an incredibly powerful engine which, according to Amir, is able to create Omestrian ether for use as fuel. [b]Oren & Ziotea[/b] [@CollectorOfMyst] [@shylarah] The two Omestrian inquisitors have journeyed to the Corpseland of Omestris in order to visit the ruins of Iddin Mar. On their trip they are joined by Private Andrei Seminov, a young and idealistic soldier who secretly fights for the end of the Omestrian slave trade. They reach the Marian Gate-- the only Varyan garrison left in the Corpseland. After meeting Sergeant Veena and Sergeant Mikhail, the only two soldiers manning the station, Oren and Ziotea make their way down to the entrance to the ruins, where they order Seminov to stay behind. They explore the silent ruins of the former Omestrian capital city, coming across a great bridge adorned by two statues, one of Omestris and the other destroyed. Ziotea senses a spike of ether energy to the east, and the two inquisitors set out to investigate its source. They find themselves in a subterranean train station, where they encounter Rose, a red-haired teenage girl with ether ability and an old woman revealing herself to be Mother Lyessa al-Nors, a former High Inquisitor of the Varyan Church. Essa, as she now goes by, invites Oren and Ziotea to her solar, where she introduces them to Vahn and Fie, and reveals to the inquisitors that the two children, along with Rose, are all descendants of the deposed royal clans that used to govern the different nations. The three children have escaped a life of prostitution in a place known as the Scarlet House, where rich and powerful Varyan patrons are able to sire royal-blooded heirs. The two inquisitors also learn that Private Seminov and the two sergeants they met at the Marian Gate are not who they seem, for Essa informs them that the soldiers manning the garrison have all been shipped to fight in the East, and there are currently no plans to replace the garrison. [b]Ilya[/b] [@Draken] Ilya returns to his family's grand tower in the Godsreach of Magnagrad, where he enjoys a meal with his family, barons of the Varyan ethertrade. He brings up training alongside his Omestrian warsiblings, and is surprised to hear that one of his comrades might have belonged to his family as a bloodslave. He retires to his room, wondering who this could be. He also muses on the vision he saw at Culmination, and in which he finds himself alone with Father Ragnar aboard an deck of a ship he's never seen before. [center]***[/center] Once again, if anything is out of place or if I've missed any pertinent details, please let me know. Also, I'll be writing some of the summaries every once in a while and will be adding them to the Zeroth Post just in case anyone needs a quick reminder.