BlasTech

TSL: The Excess of Flowers

Kalaya just stares back at Cathak. Blinking slowly.

Blink.

Blink.

"What."

It's not the most articulate response, but it is the one that comes first and naturally to her croaking voice. After all, what else can she say to this fever dream? Everything since she last closed her eyes has been a disorienting blur of a waking nightmare. She recognises the beats of having been captured by the Dominion; the cold water, the nakedness, but until now the whole question of 'why?' was still bouncing around. With the last thing she remembered being Ushua standing over her in the rain, there wasn't really a trail her tired brain could follow to connect the then to the now.

And now that Cathak herself was laying it out for her, it still made no sense.

Wait.

A grandmother?

Kalaya lets out a groan of frustration, hanging her head and body against the restraints.

"Let me guess ..." she continues, looking up with clearer eyes as the pieces begin to slot together. "You spoke to someone in Turtlehead?"

"I was organising a tourney there, a rite of passage for a knight. It shouldn't have been that big an event, but for some reason every man, woman, grandparent and child decided to sign up." she laughs, bitterly. "It wasn't until a witch arrived, one of my old family friends in fact, that we found out a spell had been placed on the town by a Rakshasa. It was enthralling them, whipping them into a frenzy, but I don't know why."

"Other things happened that were ... more urgent to deal with. So I left Giriel to handle it and headed to Kingeater, which I'm guessing is where you must have found me."

Straighten up. Eyes forward. Posture correct for a princess. Training to the fore. Being naked normally calls for some blushing, maybe a bit of squirming, but not for a knight. Doesn't matter if the medic looks like someone whose first aid kit contains more thumbscrews than bandages.

"I never said those things about you. I don't have any plans. Sorry to be a disappointment."

TSL: The Excess of Flowers

Kalaya's vision wavers, her eyes casting about as Ushua plants her back into the mud. The elder knight is speaking, but her ears can't register it through the pouring rain and the after effects of their battle.

Their battle.

Kalaya's eyes swing to the Stag Knight's pale visage. A blur, as they sweep towards the ground again. No! Wait! Up! A moment of clarity to see Ushua's gauntleted hand moving. Empty! Thank the Sapphire Mother.

It was empty.

She's the only one Ushua took in the end ...

Vee.

She'd done it!

Kalaya falls back into the black realm of unconsciousness. But this time, even in that empty, dreamless darkness, there is a feeling of warmth. Even as sounds start to pierce her mind, Kalaya can't find it in herself to hold on any longer.

Time to rest.

TSL: The Excess of Flowers

Stay?

That had been something she hadn't considered. In fact, the whole idea was so crazy as to be laughable. Her? A knight of the Thorns? Swear to Hell? That would never happen. The stars would sooner go out than Kalaya Na agreeing to serve Whirlwind in Rags.

But … maybe.

She'd never be able to stay here. But she could, perhaps, visit?

"I … maybe … " Kalaya starts to say, before movement catches her eye.

No.

"Run." she finishes.

Her fingers dig into Vee's shoulders, a reflexive action but it also serves to help her grip as she throws the other woman to the side. Her fatigue vanishes, adrenaline flaring as her sword comes free in arcing silver.

"Run!" she yells, charging forward to meet the Stag Knight along the slopes of the Wrack-waste.

The first blow is almost strong enough to stagger her, but Kalaya keeps to her feet - using the momentum to spin and launch a counterattack. She's not trying to defeat Ushua, nor even really hurt her. But all that she is turns and focuses on just buying Vee enough time to get away.

I will respect the weak and defend them.

Vee is weak now - open, vulnerable. She will not let that hard-won moment shatter by betraying her trust.

I shall give mercy unto those who ask for it.

Sparks fly as she parries another thrust, ducking beneath that spear and closing to grapple. A foolish move as the stronger knight easily spins her around, sending her skidding across sand and bits discarded armour.

I shall not recoil before my enemy and will be the champion of the Right and Good against Injustice and Evil

It's crazy. It should be wrong - but once again, it feels Right. After all, what could be more Right and Good in this world than love?

She rolls to her feet, gritting her teeth and advancing once more - keep Ushua's focus on her. Get Vee clear. That's all that matters.

"RUN!"

But Ushua just keeps coming. An implacable wall of experience, steel and malice. Facing this, Kalaya sheds her inhibitions - giving up on her goal of not hurting the other knight. She knows that her strength will ebb away the longer the fight goes. Her only chance now is to do enough to keep her opponent from being able to chase Vee.

The Stag and Lilly clash again.

Kalaya's sword sings. She fights with everything she has and hidden reserves that even she didn't know existed before now. Steel bites and sends fragments of the Ushua's armour flying.

But Ushua keeps coming.

[Yeah, I think we all knew this was gonna be the way it went - Rolling to Fight. 4 + 6 + 4: 14 - Kalaya chooses to inflict a condition on Ushua, and to create an opportunity for Ven (to escape, hopefully). Using both Last Stand and Finally Kiss to offset Frightened.]

Have you ever fought someone you cannot beat? A person who outclasses you in every way?

For a moment, as she picks herself back up once again, Kalaya is countless leagues and fifteen years away. Shadows that look like boys hover around her, reaching out their nightmare arms. She strains against them, but although the heart is strong, the body is not - and her muscles bend, ever slowly, backwards.

It's always confronting to find your limits. That hill that is just that little bit too high to climb, that one weight to lift when your arms are already trembling. "Push through!", "You can do it!" they always yell. Words that are somehow expected to have physical force, enough to affect reality. As if doing that one more step is simply a matter of willpower.

Real life isn't like that. Sometimes, people just have a wall that is impossible to break through and all the heart in the world doesn't change anything.

Sometimes people just ... can't.

[Kalaya takes the condition: "Hopeless"]

She's on her knees now. A spear leveled at her. Breath heaving and sweat pouring off.

And Ushua is. Still. Coming.

She surges to her feet. Swinging wild. Her focus, her ability to think, has shrunk to primal instinct. Gone is rational thought. In its place are only the most base directives: Fight. Delay. Protect.

[Using For the Cause to inflict one last condition on Ushua]

A gauntleted hand sends her sprawling to the waste again. Sword clattering. Vision fading. She rolls onto her side. Pushing through the blackness, her eyes land on her weapon.

Her arm moves. Dragging her across the sands. One hand before another. Reaching. Fingers.

Almost ...

There ...

TSL: The Excess of Flowers

There's some colour in Kalaya's cheeks too, but not too much. She watches as Ven starts pacing, smiling to herself as she remembers how the other woman always thought best when in motion.

Then she pulls her top o---asdfghjklbbb

Where to look where to look. Oh Gods above and Flowers below - WHERE TO LOOK? Does she stare at the sun, at the ground? At Ven's face? Her ches- no, wait, that one is definitely off limits. Wait, what's Ven saying? Look at her? So it isn't off the list right now?. And why is it so hot in here (I mean, it is Hell - but …)

Kalaya tries to listen to what Ven is saying. She really does. But all her ears can make out is an overboiled kettle of white noise. Her face feels hotter than that green sun itself. Her thoughts a dozen dozen doves, all startled to flight. Feathers and squawking everywhere (and probably some bird droppings in some inconvenient places).

She's been working out.

No! Bad brain, stop that!

Kalaya's eyes snap back up to Ven's face as the other woman steps closer. The young knight can feel every muscle in her body going stiff as she grabs her arm. She's still going on about some great plan to conquer stuff and wow her brass hand feels strong. How does it even move like that? Can she feel through it?

Ven's eyes snap down.

Kalaya's eyes flick down too.

And then something happens. A single word cuts through the static. It resonates within some deep-core part of Kalaya like a gong being struck. And the sound reverberates from the soles of her feet to the tips of her ears. It shakes the mountains and the forests, startling animals to flight. The motion dislodges a single raindrop, which falls from its leaf into the raging ocean. And all. Becomes …

Suddenly.

Still.

Kalaya's eyes flick back up, meeting Ven's. The silence between them stretches to infinity. And into that vast expanse she casts out - a tiny longtail boat against all the mysteries of the stars. Leaning closer, shrinking infinity into the barest fraction of a hair's breadth.

"You … you think I'm beautiful?" she whispers.

And then the distance between them is gone.

Ven gasps at first, tensing up like a feral cat. It's enough to make Kalaya almost worry she's made the wrong call, but before she can break away that brass hand moves around behind her. Her own moves into Vee's hair, tangling amongst the straight black strands. And the two of them just … fit.

Now most of Kalaya's mind is currently lost to the world; Submerged in the wow and the oof and the whuhhuhwoahs of what is currently going on. But a small part marvels at the way Vee's arms sit just right against her, at the way their bodies press flush, legs intertwined, like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle left unsolved for too long.

Or maybe the better analogy is Yin and Yang. Destruction and protection. The Knight and the Warlock. Heaven and Hell. The two of them, this, should never work. But something about it feels right. Feels natural.

Eventually, reluctantly, they part lips.

The two are breathing heavily, resting foreheads against one another as they stare into the other's eyes. The silence lasts for a few seconds before it's broken by Kalaya's laughter.

"Yep! Still happy!" she giggles, cupping a hand around Vee's cheek. "And I don't want you to give up either. I'm not going to, that's for sure. I'll defend the Kingdoms with everything I have. So go ahead and bring that army, I'll be waiting for you at the gates."

She grabs Vee's hand, her brass hand, a fire building in her eyes to match the woman's earlier bravado.

"But I'll tell you this; The Broken King can't promise what isn't his. And it will never be his." she continues. "But it can be yours. Don't give up on that. There's still a place in the Kingdoms for you, one you don't need armies or fire or brass to get."

"I'll … if you ever decide you want it, I'll keep it waiting for you. It's the same place you've always had … Right here, with me."

TSL: The Excess of Flowers

"Geez, Language!" scolds Kalaya, pulling hard to unstick Ven's foot from the wrack waste before it can claim more than it has already. "And where do you get off calling me stupid? Have you seen where we are?? Now come on!"

Dragging her with strong arms, she brings the warlock up to the ridge to ...

"Oh. great." she says, her voice leaden. "Now there are two giant demons. And that dragon is still there."

You're in over your head, girl.

She sighs, closing her eyes. Why has it got to be this hard?

The plan had been simple to start with - just herself heading to Kingeater, nobody else needed to get hurt. Either she rescued the priestess, or she'd be captured or killed. A nice neat ending to everything. But then she had to meet Fengye. She'd gone and invited her along in a fit of impulsiveness. Why had she done that?

No, that's a lie - she hadn't come to Kingeater just to rescue the priestess. That had been a convenient intersection of duty and desire - but if that had been her only reason to come then she'd have just waited for everyone else back at that inn. No, with everything playing out how it had, she'd had to move quickly and come alone. Only Fengye, who'd never met Ven before and thus had no specific ill will against her, could be trusted not to interfere.

She spots the battle unfolding below, but for some reason she can't summon the energy to run towards it. She'd probably feel guilty about that later - but right now, she just felt so. very. tired.

[Taking the condition "guilty" following Han's attack]

"You know ..." she says, glancing downwards and effortlessly dispatching a wrack doll that was trying to pull itself together out of the rubble around them. "I was pretty sure coming here would get me killed. That seems pretty inevitable now, so I'm just going to take a moment to do what I came here to do: You and I? We need to talk."

She tosses the doll's breastplate down as a makeshift chair and, moving her full-arm grip on Ven to her hands, draws them both into a sitting position. Look into her eyes. Take a breath. Hope for the best.

"I don't know what's going on." she begins. "I've only seen you twice in the last ten years, so I know there's lots I'm missing. You've gone from being the girl I remember as my best friend to ... this."

"I didn't think we'd ever get the chance to meet again. And I'm not going to lie and say that I was always searching for you like one of those storybook characters." she admits "But I always kept my eyes open. I always ... I guess I always hoped we'd cross paths somehow."

"And now we're here. You're you. I'm me." she says, glancing down to those hands "And for some stupid reason. Despite the demons and all the circumstances. I'm still happy about it; That I got to see you again."

"Things may have changed - we may have changed - but that hasn't and it won't." she finishes.

"So ... uh ... yeah." she says, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. "I guess that's what I broke into your castle to say."

Awkward silence.

"Did you, uh, want a book to read? I have one of our old favourites somewhere on me." she says, patting her cloak.

[For lack of a better thing - gonna take a string on Han as my fight move (since she'd recognise Kalaya when she grabbed the veil)]

[Rolling to Entice Ven: "Come on. Smile for me" and spending a string. 5 + 3 + 2 = 10 ]

TSL: The Excess of Flowers

Is Kalaya a knight? Haven't we answered this question already?

Of course she's a knight - depending on your definition, she's been one ever since her teenage years. Ever since that one autumn evening when she first swore the Thorn Oaths and spent a night in contemplation (even though, at the time, her arms and armour had been little more than a rusty training sword and a leather jerkin that she'd claimed from the castle armoury)

Yes, Kalaya is a knight. But it is not Kalaya the knight that jumps back into the room.

For, long before she ever became a knight, she had been a girl.

And how does a girl react when she makes a true and dear friend? Her first real friend? Someone who stands by her when they had no need to do so, who fought for her and continued to stay by her side when all others would have left? What does she think when they spend every moment they can together, like a pair of freezing children seeking out, clinging to the warmth of that one ephemeral flick of flame.

What does a girl feel when that warmth turns to scalding fire, but only when in defence of her? When she and the fire would stand tall in defiance of those who were stronger, faster, crueller. When the flames would fortify her against the cold, lonely nights upon which doubt would prey. When she could feel that flame as a beacon on the horizon, despite the leagues between them?

And how do you sort through all that when one day, that flame disappears and it's like the sun itself has gone out. When you lose that reference point and all the perspective it would have brought? Do you let their memory fade, or does it become the ideal? And even when other flames flicker into life around you, even when you open up and let them into your life, do they still sit there as the light by which all others are judged?

And what, then, do you do when the sun is suddenly back? But instead of the warm yellow glow of your memories, it's shining green. Could your mind even begin to process this? Would it break?

And the craziest thing about all of this is that you can remember how the sun spoke to you. Both years and days ago, and the voice is the same - carrying a tone that it touches only for you. That the silent gestures of times past are still present and that whatever space you had in its thoughts - you're still there.

Now, you know what you are meant to do. You're meant to walk away. To forget. To move on. To find a new sun and a new life. Because for so long the sun had been distant and unreachable. Beyond hearing. Beyond touch. Beyond all sight and knowledge. But now here she is again, right in front of her, and Kalaya can only think about how to help Ven escape once more.

And that doesn't make any sense at all.

After all. Kalaya is a knight. Those sworn to hell are the enemy.

But it isn't Kalaya the knight that leaps against the dragon.

And it isn't Kalaya the girl.

It's Kalaya the woman. Armoured in lies, doubt and confusion. The one who would reach out to that flickering flame and try to preserve it, no matter the cost.

[Kalaya is smitten with Ven, who takes a string. Rolling to Fight the Vermillion Beast: 4 + 1 + 1: 6. Kalaya uses the move "For the Cause", marking the condition Insecure to pick a move from the Fight move and chooses to take something - namely Ven].

TSL: The Excess of Flowers

It's all in the little lies we tell ourselves.

She spins, fighting back against the literal demons in the dark. Telling herself that she's clearing space, that this is a fight worth fighting. That the battle she finds herself in is hard won. That she's made a difference. These are the lies she has to tell, to keep her sword arm swinging strong when it would be easier, smarter even, to hide away and put her hope in avoiding the attention of those who are simply too big for a lone knight of the Flowers.

Her breath catches when the roar shakes the castle.

Again, she tells herself that she's not afraid. Again, it is a lie. This time her conscious mind is able to recognise this, and identify the fear it for what it is. It's the fear that had been there when she'd left the inn. A fear that never really left. Only withdrawing to lurk like a river serpent beneath the waters of her mind. It's not a fear of death, or pain. But a fear of loss. A fear of things out of control. A fear that the big things are slipping away. That things might be too late to stop. All because she'd focused, like a fool, on the smaller, more immediate, problems.

But the lie is still a necessary one - otherwise the urge to curl up, to wail away in grief at what's she's losing, would only doom the fear to coming true.

[Kalaya marks the condition "Frightened"]

She weighs the paths in front of her. Fengye is away, and there can be no doubt that she'll get the priestess to safety. It's another lie, but one Kalaya cements in her mind as fact. If there was any doubt, her oaths would command her to run after them; to defend the weak. The priestess must be safe, she has to be. Otherwise, she couldn't do what she needs to do.

To an outsider, Kalaya must have been like a leaf on the wind - swinging in every direction. One instant one way, the next the other.

Once, when she'd been much younger, one of the castle guards had shown her a trio of magical pieces of iron. He'd said they'd been blessed by Manimekhala, the goddess of storms and sea. And they really had seemed magical back then, the way that they'd cluster together without anybody touching them. The way they'd required actual force to pull apart. How he could hang them in a chain, despite them never being physically joined.

She always remembered when he'd set them in a line, alternately pushing the ends closer, dragging that stone in the middle back and forth across the stone floor, back and forth, until at last it cleaved to one piece over the other.

Back and forth. Pulled in twain. Caught between her oaths and … what?

Kalaya makes her choice and, in doing so, she proves that it's in the little lies we tell ourselves that bigger lies are sometimes hidden. As much as her mind cements as fact once again; that this is for friendship past, a debt owed …

The truth is bigger than that.

The truth is … hidden deep beneath the surface and buried beneath the little lies and self-justifications. There is hope.

In one quick action, the bars to the dungeon are thrown back once more and the door opened. Armoured in her lies, the green knight leaps through.

TSL: The Excess of Flowers

"Huh?" replies Kalaya, double-taking at the now demon-free dungeon behind her. "That was fast. Uh, good job!"

Stepping away, she glances around the room they're trapped in, taking stock. No other obvious routes of escape. Enemies at the door. Only way out is ...

The door rattles on the hinges as something hits it from the other side.

Right.

"Fengye?" She says, turning away and busying herself with pulling the gag off the priestess. "Two things. First; If we get separated, you need to take this priestess back to Turtlehead. Find a highlander named Han who's staying there - she's the one looking for her."

She pulls the green and gold scarf free - seriously, why green? It's a nice colour! Why does Hell have to have it all over their stuff? - and reties it to veil her own face. There's a small chance that Ven hasn't realised it's her here after all - and she'd like to keep it that way for ... for ...

Well ... for long enough for her to finish her job, at least. Then she can ... whatever.

If Ven even manages to say her name ...

"Nice to meet you by the way. We're your rescue party." she continues, distracting herself by cutting the priestess free. "Please keep your hands and feet astride the ghost horse until we are out of the castle."

"And secondly." she turns back to Fengye. Not gonna hold much longer. "When I give you the signal, you ride as fast as you can back to the surface. Don't stop no matter what. I'll be right behind you."

The door gives another rattle, and the wardings must have broken as she can hear muffled shouting on the other side now.

Beckoning the others into position, Kalaya takes one deep breath and listens. When she hears footsteps rapidly approaching, she yanks her dagger out from the lock and flings the door open.

A body tumbles into the room and Kalaya has only enough time to yell "Now!" before she throws herself at the other figure outside. Grappling with them briefly, she uses the shock of the ghost horse's passing to fling them behind her and to slam the door shut again.

At least the bars are on this side she thinks, pulling them down and sprinting off in the wake of the horse. Hope this gives us enough of a head start!

[Fighting: 1 + 6 + 2 = 9. Choosing to create an opportunity for Fengye to escape with Melody and to seize a superior position (i.e. on this side of the locked door).]

TSL: The Excess of Flowers

"Nope!"

"Nope nope nope nope nope noooope nope nope no nope no. No!"

Kalaya practically vaults over Fengye and the demon-horse to slam the dungeon door shut between them and the approaching footsteps. Jamming her dagger into the lock to keep it from opening she steps back, regarding the door with more fear than she had the demon horse just a few minutes ago. Hopefully the stout wood and whatever wards were placed on it will hold back those on the other side for just a little longer.

"Uhh, so! New plan! We need a new way out!" she says with manic energy.

"Fengye, can you please grab the princess and find us a new exit? I'm uh, gonna be holding the door for a bit."

She never even notices the slip.

[Roll to defy disaster. Willing to sacrifice Kalaya's dagger (it has a nice lily on the hilt) to avoid this disaster of a reunion from happening for a bit longer - hopefully until at least after they secure the priestess. 3 + 5 + 2: 10]

TSL: The Excess of Flowers

A rustle of noise amidst the darkness. But is it from the right or the left? High or low? Kalaya swings, but the sharp sting in her side shows that her guess was wrong.

She peaks out from the blindfold, up into the unimpressed visage of her father's master-at-arms. Across from her, Ven is grinning apologetically, holding a practice sword.

"Again!"

Kalaya regulates her breathing, remembering the lessons of the past. Pay attention to the sounds, but also the feelings. It's one thing to hear someones footsteps, but can you feel the air move as they do? Can you smell them? (Nope, thankyou dead flower smell). After all, fighting blind is more than just straining your ears.

The first time she blocks the blade, she can't help but peek out from under the blindfold to share a grin with her friend. This turns out to be a mistake as she's still fiddling with it when Ven's boot kicks her feet out from under her.

"A start. But you must always watch for the follow through!" snaps the master.

She can feel the horse-thing as it steps along. She can sense the presence of the scribe. But is Ven down here? Kalaya strains her senses.

She's in the castle. Of that, Kalaya is sure. But her guess would be that they've stolen a march on the princess. Ven would have been in her chambers before the screaming started. Or maybe the ramparts. She was never the kind of person who would linger in the dungeon if she could help it. Up high and open to the air were her normal habitats.

However, once word reached her, she would quickly make her way down - she'd know where they were headed. There were only two things worth invading the castle for after all.

Kalaya breathes out softly.

No, if they had to deal with Ven, it would be only after they'd reached the priestess.

As to whether Kalaya could protect them all? Well ... yes - probably? Maybe? In truth - she still has no idea what's going to happen if she actually sees Ven. In part, this trek down to the dungeons is serving as a great way to put off thinking about that for a little bit longer.

"We'll need to find a different way out" she whispers, as she follows Fengye deeper into the castle.