[@SSW] [@Sunglass] [@1Charak2] [img]https://i.imgur.com/q7oRdw7.png[/img] [h1][b][u]Latin District - [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLsU8gNtPl4]A Frank Rocky Alliance[/url] [/u][/b][/h1] [color=f26522]“Two prizes, one vastly superior to the other that hangs as decoration. But there are many people who wish for different things, all the more when they surround a Holy Grail. But which one do you wish for?”[/color] He became silent for a time as the woman gave her proposal. There were many other servants and there were plenty of magi who ventured to Paris in hopes of gaining this prize but… Would it be a risk to attempt gaining an ally? Were his own abilities, his own allies inadequate? No, that wasn’t it. Was he afraid of having to turn his blade against someone he worked with? No, that wasn’t it. The life of a magus left one with a strange set of relations and values. Clinging to what they held precious tighter than any normal man, driven by goals and obsessions so divorced from the norm. There was nothing wrong with killing each other, there was nothing wrong with opposing each other. So there were no hard feelings, no animosity in their confrontation. Was it his own pride? He was the blade of his lord, the blade that should be able to cut through this ritual and claim victory. … [color=f26522]“Be ready for anything they may attempt to do.”[/color] Blade still in hand, held with a firm controlled grip despite the immense size of the sword, he looked over not at the opposing servant but instead the master with distant and yet brimming eyes. How they looked from afar, yet how they burned, like the sun they held a presence and nobility that was overbearing even when not focused. Yet… They were quite clearly stiff. The young man known as Noon clearly not fully at ease about the current situation. [color=f26522]“I would not mind working together, but there are a few things I must say.”[/color] He held up a finger. [color=f26522]“First. We may work together but we will not be allies. Eventually, whether it is the end of this war, or earlier we will face each other as enemies.”[/color] He held up a second finger. [color=f26522]“Second. We may be enemies but we will be enemies to others first, then enemies to each other second. We will not interfere in each others work, we will sometimes help each other and we will individually win. If there comes the time for a strong enemy that requires more than one servant, or another enemy group then we will face them together. However we will not drag each other to our deaths. This is not an alliance that we will have to honor to self-destruction”[/color] He raised another finger. [color=f26522]“Third. We will be inviting you to my territory. I do not know of your abilities as a magus, nor of your servant. However for the time being it would be best to be in the same area. Enemy attacks would be easier to deter and I have already established a suitable grounds.”[/color] [color=f26522]“Fourth, we will establish a contract of hospitality so as to prevent hostile actions towards each other and not have to worry about daggers in our back as we rest in our grounds.”[/color] The notion that they’d be vulnerable when their alliance was ended by needing to leave it was unsaid. However… there was the risk that perhaps they’d try to subvert his territory. But he considered that unlikely. But it was true. It would genuinely make any bothersome intrusions or outright assaults easier to repel. [color=f26522]“My name is Noon Triswich. Knight of my Lord. I come from Britain in representation of my lord as his blade in this conflict. My battle is to claim this land as his with little need for the wish.”[/color] He offered a smile. “I’m afraid that I cannot afford to lose. But defeat need not be determined now.” How arrogant, and yet how sincere were his words. His face was kind and nice, but perhaps that would strike at one’s ego even more than a twisted boisterous face. A knight who genuinely believed in his success. He was not one who looked at others as losers before the battle was determined, but rather already held the image of himself as the victor.