Kassarock

The Arrangement [Suki & Kassarock]

At least she isn't foolish enough to fight with me on this, Ozragad reflected as his betrothed climbed into the covered palanquin that had been brought down from the palace. He had't been sure exactly what he would have done had she chosen that moment to make some kind of impotent stand or scene, demanded to ride side by side or refused to mask her Eorzian escort. Don't pretend otherwise, you would have thrown her in there bound and gagged. If her guards had objected you would have killed them all. The voice spoke from deep within, an ever present reminder of the savagery he knew he was capable of performing. Sometimes he thought of it as his war voice.

He ordered for the majority of his men to dismount and leave their horses here, only keeping the Eorzians and a core of guards around him on horseback. The main thoroughfares were wide and gentle enough for mounted riders, but in the side streets that twisted off, men afoot would be far more useful. Besides they could go no faster than the palanquin could be carried. Between the men he had taken to the Bridge of Skulls, the city watchmen that Manawyndan and Tiernon had brought, and the Princess's own guards, Ozragad was not expecting any resistance that would pose a real threat.

And if Manawyndan is lying to you? There could be a mob a thousand strong waiting for you behind those gates, waiting to tear you from your horse and rip you limb from limb. You could probably kill some of them, but even you're not that good. Manawyndan is your regent, if you die, he oversees the succession. He's probably got a pliable young candidate in mind, one easier to mould and control. He might even keep the Princess around to marry to them, or take her for himself. After all, this whole thing was his idea. He'll justly purge his rivals by smearing them as being responsible for the unrest that killed the King. It would be a masterstroke, dispose of you and anyone who would stand in his way.

No. Manawyndan wouldn't do that. He was loyal.

It's what you would do...

The King thrust such thoughts aside and focused on arranging his troops before they would march into Cirith Anyr.

---

It was eerily quiet as the ascended up the long slow spiral that led from the outer gates of the lower city to the high wall of the upper half. The streets were lined with people, mostly Formori, but the occasional human face was in the crowd as well. He saw every corner had members of the city watch posted there, each carrying a deadly looking halberd and a spiked cudgel hanging from their waist. Their padded uniforms were sewn up of square patches of black and white cloth, almost like motley. His mother's Justicar had once told him a story about that, the black and white was supposed to represent balance and the motley their role as mere servants.

They contrasted with his own soldiers, much more heavily armoured in blackened steel plate, only partly covered by their blood red cloaks. I might yet soak those in the blood of my own people today. For though it was true the city was quiet, the tension in the air was palpable to Ozragad. Doors and shutters of shops and houses closed as he rode past. Mothers ushered their children away as soon as they caught sight of the procession. Occasionally he would see them in the throng, small groups of stony eyed Ashlanders standing in the mouth of an alley. He felt calm, but he was breathing deeper than normally, and his hand did not leave the pommel of his sword.

It was then that a cry went up from the crowd, Ozragad did not see where exactly.

"LONG LIVE THE KING! LONG LIVE OZRAGAD!"

There was pause as the words hung in the air over the half-lit streets, the only other sounds the clatter or hooves and armoured feet against the pavement. It was a pregnant moment, ready to give birth to something - either adulation or violence, Ozragad could not say which it would be.

Then just like that it stillness was gone.

Someone else took up the chant, then another and another. A ripple of applause and cheering radiated out from the entrance to a square that they had been passing. Ozragad began to feel cautiously optimistic. He raised his hand from his sword hilt, waved a salute to the front of the crowd. It seemed foolish to have so worried now, Manawyndan had clearly overestimated the severity of the situation. These were his people and was a hero to them. They would not have forgotten that over a one Eorzian girl.

But then he heard the other chant and his smile died on his face.

"LONG LIVE THE PEACE! END THE WAR NOW! LONG LIVE QUEEN ELISE HYDAELYN"

The counter reaction seemed almost immediate. Boos and jeers began to sound from the back of the crowd, others looked confused, scared even ,as scuffles happened between different clusters of factions Towards the rear of the column some sort of larger commotion began to break out. The King saw a watchman in front of them suddenly disappear into the crowd backwards as he had reached for his cudgel, the halberd pulled from his grasp. The nature of the chants began to change, Ozragad had heard them before, when he had marched prisoners naked and bloody up his street after a battle.

"DEATH TO EORZIA! VICTORY TO MORGANYTH! DOWN WITH REGIS! DEATH TO THE HYDAELYNS!

Only this time the mob had thrown other names in there as well.

"DEATH TO THE QUEEN! DOWN WITH OZRAGAD!"

A hail of small stones began to fall on them. Most of them bounced harmlessly off of the palanquin and the armoured soldiers. Some of the watchmen began to break ranks, push their way into the crowd to find the troublemakers and apprehend them. There was a sudden sting of pain above his eye. Ozragad raised his fingers to it. He was bleeding. He tried to stay calm.

"Tiernon! Clear the streets! Now!"

"We're almost at the gates, Sire!"

He looked forwards and saw they were. A wall of city watch and palace guard behind them blocked the way for any of the crowd to try and enter the upper city. The King smiled, it was not a pleasant one. I won't have to worry about handling the Hydaelyn girl anymore at least.

"Manawyndan, please see to the Princess when you arrive at the palace. I will be restoring order personally."

He reached for his helm and placed it onto his head, wheeled his horse around and rode back past the palanquin, Tiernon and his personal guard at his heels. The palanquin continued forwards. From behind them the sounds of the fray grew more frantic, someone let out a blood curdling scream. The wall of spears before the gateway parted to allow them entry. Manawyndan did look back, he kept his head pointed forward and rode for the palace, listening to the screams grow distant.

The Arrangement [Suki & Kassarock]

No worries, we've been going at it pretty furiously thus far. I'll get a reply up tomorrow, wait for your one on Sunday.

Gives me a chance to work on some other things besides

What are you reading?

I just completed a spur of the moment re-read of Use of Weapons by Ian M. Banks.

Such a great book, even better the second (or third?) time around. The Culture series has probably always been my most beloved science-fiction universe, but I think that this book stands out even amongst its peers. The Culture series has always explored the duality between utopia and its associated costs, but I think this book best exemplifies the callousness and cruelty that the Culture is capable of employing - indeed it is not just about the use of weapons by our dark, devious and utterly damaged mercenary protagonist, but also about he himself is used as a weapon in the incomprehensible games of AI Minds.

The clever interweaving narratives moving both forwards and backwards in time, builds to devastating conclusion. But despite the fact whole chapters of the novel take place chronologically after the climax of the narrative, I remember being shocked and surprised by the ending on my first read through. The Chair and The Chairmaker will haunt my dreams tonight.

Side note: I really need to do an RP set in the Culture Universe, would be fucking sick.

The Arrangement [Suki & Kassarock]

Let the drama begin

The Arrangement [Suki & Kassarock]

The Princess did not respond to what he had said. Another time it would have chafed his pride being ignored so, but her slight to his person was really a only compliment to his city and those who had built it. He waited patiently until her guardsman prompted her to respond. She performed another smile, playing the charade now they were once again in public view. He could still sense the loathing that lay beneath it.

"It has that effect on what few visitors we receive, and you are correct, the marble reflects the glow of the Lleuad Craig - the Moon Crystal. These caves are rich in it, that was why my people first came to dwell here, long ago now."

He too also gazed up at the city, but when Ozragad looked down he saw the tension in her guards, their readiness to spring to her defence. As if he would butcher them on his doorstep instead of hours previous on the road. If I wanted you dead I would have trapped you on the bridge and rained arrows down from afar. Why did I bother telling her all that? What is the point in telling her the history of my people, she will always just see me as a monster.

He was about to ask if she could ride saddle side, it would be more convenient than arranging for a palanquin to be brought down from the palace above (the majority of his stables were kept on this side of the river), when a noise from across the water made him pause. The gates to the lower city rolled open and a possession of the city watch and several individuals on horseback emerged. Some were already carrying a palanquin upon their shoulders. Even at this distance he recognised one of the mounted figures as Manawyndan. Ozragad frowned, the returning of his seal and the ending of the regency normally happened in the palace courtyard, what was he doing here?

"Excuse me." The King lashed his reins and rode off onto the span of the bridge to meet the Manawydan's party before they arrived on its far side. He wanted to have this conversation out of the Princess's earshot, if something had happened in his absence he wanted to know before she did, I must stay in control of this situation.

He reached Manawyndan and the guards within a minute, mostly city watch and not the soldiers of the palace guard he quickly saw. With the grizzled and grey old general was the captain of the watch, another stout old soldier who had been a fine commander in his day. He had taken a wound on one of Ozragad's battlefields, it had left him half a cripple, bound with leg brace and a limping gait. Tiernon he was called. At his approach Manawyndan dismounted, knelt before the King's horse briefly and then proffered the signet ring that bore Ozragad's seal. The King took it from his hand.

"I relieve of your duty as regent, my servant Manawyndan." Ozragad intoned formally before relaxing voice to continue. But this could have waited until we arrived at the palace, why are you here? Tell me what's happened." Manawyndan cleared his throat with a cough, he looked somewhat nervous. His eyes kept glancing off to the side, clearly it was not good news.

"I thought it would be best to meet you outside of the city, sire. Things are somewhat... tense at moment. Ozragad narrowed his eyes.

"What exactly do you mean by tense?"

"Well, sire," he was stalling, it must be bad. The day before yesterday a delegation from the Ashlander clans arrived, a large one. Some of their men were drinking a taverna in the lower city. Some of Lady Chelderine's men were drinking in there also, they made a toast to our newfound peace and the new queen-to-be, the Ashlanders objected. A fight broke out, one of the Chelderine men was killed, the city watch arrested some of the Ashlanders, that angered their kin, and the whole thing turned into a small riot."

It all came tumbling out, the fine mess that this betrothal was causing as soon as he took his eye off of the ball. Ozragad's face hardened, the bitter poison of his anger boiled in his belly. There went the illusion of his absolute power, the iron fist that he ruled with that he had been trying to project to the Hydaelyn Princess. I should never have gotten himself so tied up in Manawyndan's schemes, I should have seen this was doomed to fail from the start. He snorted in derision.

"I leave you in charge of my city for a few days and return to find it in open revolt against me?"

"Hardly revolt, your Highness. Only one death so far that we know of, it has been contained for now. It was Tiernon who spoke next to defend his actions during Ozragad's absence. Of course they would stick together, they are both responsible for this.

"For now?"

"For now." Manawyndan spoke the words with confidence his face did not reflect. "I thought it best to inform you of the situation before you entered the city so that precautions might be taken so as not to inflame... tensions..."

Ozragad's gaze shifted to the covered and screened palanquin carried on the shoulders of eight of the city guard. It was more than large enough for two people. The King already knew what he was going to suggest and it woke his fury like the eruption of a volcano.

"Out of the question!" He roared, not caring now if his words could be heard by the Eorzian party. "I will not sneak back into my own city like a thief! Put the girl in there if you must, but a King does not hide from his own people!" Ozragad turned his horse around to ride back to where many of his guards were dismounting and the Princess still waited.

"It's Zakylwe. Manadwyn spoke low, just loud enough for Ozragad to hear. "He's leading the Ashlander delegation, that's what got them so riled up. Thought he'd stay away but..." The old general shrugged. The King sat stock still for a moment atop his horse, his eyes looking somewhere else, lost in his own thoughts.

"He knows where to find me, let him come."

By the time he was back on the other side of the bridge he seemed calm again, but the fire dying still left him feeling cold and hard. His fists were clenched around his reins, his eyes busy searching the faces of his men, her men, anyone really. Which of you will stab me in the back when the time comes? He turned towards the Princess staring at her intently. No doubt you'd be first in line. Maybe Zakylwe is right.

"We are proceeding to the palace immediately. The palanquin is for you Princess. Order your men to cover their heads and faces." None of it was formed as a request, whatever glimmers of courtesy and politeness Ozragad had been reaching for previously was gone. It felt like war again. Only this time I'm protecting the Eorzians, such bitter irony.

The Arrangement [Suki & Kassarock]

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Morganyth - Cirith Anyr

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---

They emerged from the long darkness of the tunnel and into the perpetual twilight of the great cavern of Cirith Anyr, last of the cities built by the the Formori before the arrival of humans. The enormous cave, large enough to house a whole city, had been carved out over the course of thousands if not millions of years by the river that trickled through its base - the Anyrun. A stone bridge stretched over its course to link the side they stood on to the city that rose towering above across the water.

The whole city was built into the far wall of the cavern, a great steep sided natural ziggurat of rock face that had been carved into level upon level of stepped terraces. Bound by three dividing walls, the city was separated out into lower and upper districts, with the palace sitting atop the whole edifice. Outside of the lowest of these walls the floor of the cavern was planned and managed as well. The river was crossed with dams and weirs, turning it into a series of deep ponds and pools. There were even fields of a sort by its bank, cultivating fungi and tubers, which needed little light to thrive.

The architecture of the city was varied. The houses and squat towers of the lower city were plain and utilitarian, reminiscent of the construction of the fortifications which had guarded the entrance to this secret haven. This section of the city was the newest, hurriedly thrown up the days of his great grandfather to accommodate the rush of refugees that come here to seek shelter from the threat of humanity. Those refugees had gone on to become the everyday citizens of Cirith Anyr, those who made up his armies and operated the workshops and factories that the Morganyth war effort relied up.

High above the lower city the great walls of the upper city loomed, draped in Ozragad's red banners. These had once been the original walls of the city, the buildings they hid were finer and more delicate than those below. Fluted towers, great domed halls, and arched colonnades stretched along the edges of the terraces. This was the old city of the Formori, the last of their ancient stronghold that they still clung to. It spoke of a very different culture than the one which had built the cyclopean defences at the mouth of this cave. A culture that had once loved beauty for its own sake and had indulged in whimsical flights of fancy.

And crowning it all, glowing with ethereal white-blue light, was Ozragad's palace. Its elegant ivory spires almost seemed to hover like a mirage in the gloom of the cavern, disconnected from dark grey stone of the natural rock. It was an illusion of course, the palace had merely been built of white marble, enhanced with the magic of the glowing moon crystal that was set into its facade. It was not as large as the palace in Eorzia, Ozragad knew that, but he had always thought the craftsmanship that went into it was of a far higher standard. The Formori had spent hundreds of years carving every surface with ornament and detail, transforming bare stone into scenes so real they almost had a life of their own. He had seen reliefs of stone forests that swayed with the breeze, stone fish that leapt and swam in their stone waters. It was beautiful.

He envied the Princess for a moment then, see this for the first time, untainted by the past.

They brought their horse to a stop whilst still on the far side of the Anyrun. Horses could deal with the narrow, twisting, and often stepped streets of Cirith Anyr well enough, but the Princess's carriage would not be able to do the same. One of her guards had dismounted and opened the door of the carriage. She took his hand and emerged, bowing her head to Ozragad when she did. Good, she knows how to play at being dutiful at least.

"Princess Elise Hydaelyn of Eorzia, this is my capital. This is Cirith Anyr."

The Arrangement [Suki & Kassarock]

Hey, just checking whether or not you're okay with me using some art in my posts to set the scene? I know some people aren't a fan.

What's your favorite RP character?

So I have a couple of old faves, some I still use, some I do not, and one character that I have DNR notice on because I liked the arc of their story so much I never want to fuck around with it again. So...

• Karliege/Kassian/Karlus (I change his name a lot if you haven't noticed) is probably one of my favourite characters to write as, earning him at least 4 or maybe 5 different incarnations over 11 years of RPing right the way from his first appearance in 2009 or 2010 on oldguild, to literally right now because I am currently playing him in an RP on this site. Stuff changes every time I use him, but his core shtick is that he's always a somewhat scarred and traumatised mage who has only made his situation worse through his own actions, normally meaning he has made some kind of terrible eldritch pact with a being beyond his comprehension. He also showed up as an NPC in a pen and paper D&D game I once ran, I have plans for short stories involving him, hell maybe even a novel one day if I get my act together. I really like writing as him because he's always intelligent and sensitive, but completely misguided in what he's trying to do, and often oblivious to the fact he's playing with fire and headed down a horrible, horrible path. He's a good person, with good intentions that ends up doing something terrible.

• Sarcen is probably the character I have the most incarnations of, around 7 or 8, although they all existed on oldguild except for one which was more of an NPC really. This character was primarily a way to explore the other side of eldritch bargains as they were always a demon of some sort bound to someone else that the character normally despised and would do everything in their power to sabotage and drive to despair. Kinda like a malicious genie or a sentient monkey paw. Me and a friend used this dynamic in numerous oldguild RPs. Getting them to actually be useful normally meant tempting them with something they wanted, which would normally be something horrific. I did things with this character that broke site content rules on numerous occasions, ultimately resulting in a whole thread delete by mods for a 1x1 I did with said friend above. As a responsible and relatively mature adult now, I am very glad that stuff is no longer on the internet. I kinda outgrew the character as I'm not a 15 year old edgelord anymore, but I still feel tempted to use them as an NPC or side antagonist sometimes because the character loomed so large in my early RPing.

• Rolnak, a character I only played once and will never resurrect. The angriest of boys, his arc of slowly succumbing to a degenerative brain disease was fulfilled over the course of 3 years in the same group RP. He died before guildfall so most of the posts are all gone (I still have some saved), but he's still the only character I brought to a satisfying conclusion. I tried to continue that RP afterwards with a different character, but it didn't feel right. Then guildfall happened, we lost pretty much everything, I lost interest and bowed out, and that RP (Feral for those interested) limped along for another two years. It lasted 5 years, the original DM dropping out, and the entire site being burned to the ground. Anyway, Rest in Peace buddy, still miss you.

I have a load of other characters I really like, and have played on multiple occasions, but these are the ones that really stand out to me.

The Arrangement [Suki & Kassarock]

Ozragad watched as the Princess covered her yawning mouth with one slender white hand. Was he boring her? No, it had been a long journey for her, at least three days already. They may not have even stopped properly the night before last when they entered the marches. She must be tired. He would give her a chance to rest before they arrived at Cirith Anyr. It would probably be the best for both of them frankly, he already had plenty to consider from their conversation thus far.

"My regent must return my seal of office when we arrive. The wider court will be in attendance but you will not have to speak with them, that can wait until tomorrow." He looked out of the carriage window once more, they had crested the mountain pass he saw, the road ahead of them led back down into a wider but more desolate valley than the last. The trees were fewer, the grass patchier. Though the mountain tops were still mostly composed of rock, the soil seemed sandier and had a distinctly greyish tinge. Now was as good a time as any to take his leave. Ozragad thumped twice on the roof of the carriage, signalling for the driver to stop.

"I can see you are tired. It would be wise to rest to now, you shall still have a few hours before we arrive at Cirith Anyr. I will take my leave, Your Highness." When the carriage came to a halt he pushed open the door and stepped out. Further down the road his men had noticed the delay and were turning to face the Eorzian entourage. He gestured to them to bring his horse up for him as he re-buckled his sword belt around his armoured waist. I think that went surprisingly well, considering the fact we both openly provoked and insulted each other on our first meeting.

When they brought his horse back around he remounted swiftly, glancing back over his shoulder once to see if he could catch the eye of the Princess with his own smouldering gaze before he rode off. So long as they both understood she was just a tool to used, his schemes would ultimately be realised, he was sure of that. Ozragad felt he had gotten the better of her in that encounter, his power over her would only grow once she was in the palace surrounded by his own people.

They rode onward. Ozragad took the point of a wedge of his soldiers in front of the carriage and the Eorzian guards as they made their way back down from the mountain pass. The wind that blew in down the valley and rippled through his long unbound hair smelled faintly of brimstone. In the distance he could see a pall of smoke hanging above the horizon. One of the fire mountains must be erupting, there would be a heavy ashfall tonight. They should hurry, darkness would come earlier with the ash. He spurred his horse forward.

For sometime they travelled onward through the barren landscape, the brooding clouds drawing nearer and nearer. At the end of the valley they came to river, smaller and gentler than the Kazadun, the road split in two there. One branch continued out across a low arched bridge and off into a seemingly endless grey plain beyond - the Ashlands. The other branch swung north, along the meandering course of the river, tracking it to its source. That was the path they chose.

Not long now... The night was closing in fast, but before them he could see the great mountain beneath which the hidden city of Cirith Anyr was concealed. As they approached the gates, Ozragad felt something softly fall upon his forehead. It felt like a snowflake, but with none of the cold. He raised a hand to wipe it away, the fingers came back smudged. Ash. He stared up into the sky and watched as the ashfall began, the flakes dancing down from the leaden sky above.

The river split before them, the larger part came boiling out of a low cave beneath a high rocky cliff. The other half was a narrow stream that tumbled down from the mountains and ran along the bottom of the cliff face to join the flow they had followed up from the crossroads. This narrow stream was bridged also, but it did not lead to another valley or vista beyond - it lead directly into the cliff side. A great gateway had been carved there, rudimentary battlements and towers protruded from the rock face, and two long red banners fluttered to either side of the open gates.

These were gates to Cirith Anyr. He was home.

---

The Arrangement [Suki & Kassarock]

Basically I was thinking that since the city is mostly underground and quite dark, if there was a way to produce magical light, they would be all over that.

Yeah I think I'll have Ozragad take his leave at the end of this post next and we can jump ahead to the arrival.