Avatar of Letter Bee

Status

Recent Statuses

11 days ago
Current Two days ago, Noble Arms is indisputably four years old, spread out across three threads, and the third thread is still ongoing and about to reach the endgame...
3 likes
22 days ago
Can't believe that I actually got an RP close to its endgame, btw...
4 likes
1 mo ago
Noble Arms is now either four years old, or three years and eleven months. The third thread had lasted for more than one year.
1 like
2 mos ago
New Interest Check, everybody!
2 mos ago
My Roleplay, Noble Arms: The ASEAN War, will reach its 4th year in June or July. It's been a long journey.
1 like

Bio

User has no bio, yet

Most Recent Posts

The Twilight Reach: A Space Opera/Space Western Game



I. Intro



II. Alien Species



III. Notable Planets and Places of the Sector



IV. Tech Level



V. Rules



VI. Character Sheet Skeleton

Draknoz mo Rarahl - Yunkai

Yunkai was burning.

It was not intended to burn forever, just for enough time for the lesson King Grazdan the Chainbringer wanted to inflict to be marked into the population's collective heart. The Wise Masters of Yunkai needed to be decimated, with the remainder cowed into compliance. Thus, the palaces and mansions of the city were being ransacked of everything of value, although those who were already slaves were treated as well as possible - General Draknoz mo Rarahl reserved his ire for those who had the freedom to reject the unification of the Ghiscari and did so out of greed and true cowardice.

Despite this exposing him to charges of greed, Draknoz led the charge against the treasury building of Yunkai, hoping to secure the accumulated profits of the Wise Masters for New Ghis and take charge of its distribution to the troops. Scattering the bands of soldiers - Slaves commanded by highborn officers - Draknoz and his personal guard entered the golden chambers, where more slaves - who bore torches - were piling kindling among the gold in preparation for its destruction.

"Halt!" the General's voice boomed out, "Any slave who puts out their torches will be freed at once! Anyone who tries to resist will stay a slave!"

No one tried to resist.

Four Hours Later

The Sack of Yunkai began in earnest, with all the blood and atrocity that accompanied such an action. The highborn aristocracy of the city, and those members of the 'Wise Masters' that weren't worthy of either death or freedom, would be stripped of their tokars and shaved of their elaborate hairstyles, in order to mark that they were no longer masters or nobles, but slaves as low as their former chattel - This was to be sealed by parading them naked around the city that was once theirs. Draknoz licked his lips - Perhaps he'd keep a few highborn youths and ladies for himself. That would be pleasurable, to teach them how to serve instead of being served.

But the next few days would bring the moment of truth - Astapor's spies were already sensing that the Iron Legions of New Ghis were here to stay, and so the next moves in the game of conquest needed to be played. What treasure remained had to be gathered and loaded into the fleet, where the Admiral, Princess Resherri, was waiting to transport it to Astapor itself. Once that happened, the ball will be in her court. Well, hers' and the Pro-Unification Party in Astapor, which would be emboldened by the sack and conquest of Yunkai.

Draknoz hoped they can play their parts well - This next stage was more delicate...

Princess Reshem mo Grazdan

Princess Reshem loved fighting, and her father had realized this potential early on. Not for her were the joys and toil of motherhood and marriage, but the advancement of New Ghis and its dream of a Reborn Ghsicari Empire. As the treasure was loaded into the ships of the Ghiscari Fleet, escorted by Unsullied guards already bought from Astapor, she made sure General Draknoz's accounts were correct - She needed as much gold and other treasures as she can, including the newly-enslaved members of the highborn of Yunkai, many of them taken from Astapor's most vemehent enemies.

She hoped that this would prove a gift that can open many doors...
Mikhail Chekhov

It only took one lecture from Ashcroft before Mikhail was on the verge of emotional collapse once more. Mis-educated... Unreliable... A powderkeg who is one step away from Juvenile Detention - What does that bastard think he is?!

Mikhail did not like that, being held powerless by an adult in authority who had a talent for tearing into what was left of vulnerable people's composure and self-worth. What a smug prick! he thought, And the veiled references to the losses of the Russian people and their supposed 'backwardness' were something he knew I'd get! Driven into a mixture of anger and despair at this, Mikhail was not paying attention.

And so when he crashed into yet another student, possibly sending the both of them tumbling down on the floor, the Russian lost his patience. Snarling at Alistair's prone form, he got up and readied a punch, his right fist speeding full-force towards the young man's nose -

Only to stop once Mikhail got a good look at the (presumably) distressed guy's face. Mikhail's first thoughts were, Wow, he's sorta cute. Still frowning, shifting his stance to stand up once more, Mikhail offers his hand out to help Alistair up, saying, "Oi, babyface, I nearly socked you for a moment for bumping into me, so watch where you're going!"

He gave the other young man a glance, a thorough scan of that face and eyes, and concluded, There's something on his mind. So if Alistair accepted the hand-up, Mikhail would ask less rudely than before, "Why weren't you paying attention anyway? Something weighing down your mind?"

If Alistair didn't accept the hand-up and chose to get back up by himself, Mikhail will decide to phrase it more rudely and say, "What was bugging you so much that you had to bump into innocent students in the halls, anyway?!" Note that again, this was only if Mikhail didn't accept the hand-up. Either way, Mikhail would continue.

"Anyway, my name is Mikhail. Mikhail Chekhov. If you want to make it up to me, go buy me some... Pie. Not Rubharb, that sh - stuff is gross."

@Nimbus
I might be interested.
Draknoz mo Rarahl - Just Outside Yunkai

The bombardment had gone on for days, with no sign of stopping, but Yunkai's walls were proving equal to the challenge - More drastic measures had to be used. General Draknoz mo Rarahl, now in full armor and standing inside the largest siege tower the Iron Legions had yet built, was even more glad his forces had siezed the birchwood to the south to build more siege towers like the one he was in. But he was even more glad that New Ghis' Fleet and one more Legion had arrived, smashing Yunkai's weaker flotilla and blockading the city. Now the noose can be tightened and the city assaulted.

Draknoz ordered the unfurling of a great banner from the top of the siege tower - That was the signal for the four other siege towers situated all around Yunkai's walls to move in tandem along with it, dragged by frightened and broken slaves. Moving alongside said siege towers were 'tortoises', large frames of wood and hardened leather covered in mud for fireproofing, whose purpose was to shelter a number of troops and slaves below them so they can undermine Yunkai's already-battered walls. But this was all futile without the fleet and the Legion on it threatening the city with starvation and occupying the attention of many of its troops.

Arrows and stones began to hit the siege tower, but the engineering of the structure/vehicle was good enough to withstand such tiny hits, while the hardened leather, covered in mud, was able to withstand mudnane fire. And spies from within the city had already sent word to him that there were no contacts between the Wise Masters and the Alchemists' Guild as of yet, so Wildfire was not one of their options.

The General would have opened his mouth to give a rousing speech to his men, but one of the reasons he had not been promoted for a long time was because he just was not good at giving rousing speeches, which were valued in New Ghis' martial society.

But the King valued him as well, valued him enough to overlook that. And so he waited for the siege tower to reach Yunkai's walls, even as the rain of crossbow bolts and slingstones intensified, with a few going through the siege towers' portholes to injure a few of his men. Roused to anger by thiss, Draknoz mo Rarahl finally found his voice and said to his men, "We'll make them pay for every bolt in their blood! They refused to surrender when it was time, their city burns soon afterward!"

The men of the Iron Legions gave a loud 'Hurrah!', finally seeing some spirit in their commanding officer. Draknoz smirked, glad that he had stopped being boring just for this second.

And with that, the siege towers finally landed their platforms, allowing him and the Iron Legions' fiercest swordsmen to charge, scattering the ranks of slave-soldiers as they cut through the ranks of weak men like butter, causing them to flee the walls, a few even jumping off rather than face an actual soldier in battle. The highborn Yunkai officers commanding the soldiers threw down their weapons in surrender, further confirming their reputation for cowardice. Draknoz smiled at that - More confirmation that these men were more fit to be slaves than 'True' Ghiscari.

With rare bloodthirst in his voice, he roared.
@6slyboy6, I'd vote Battle for the Maw, actually.
Mikhail Chekhov

Mikhail felt a burst of respect for Merja as he saw her defend his actions and give Alex the Dense a reinforcing explanation that confirmed what he himself had said. He also felt a slight feeling of warmth at Romani as he saw that despite the latter's skepticism, he was willing to help Merja.

"Nice, nice, coffee boy." he said to the other foriegn-born student. He was French, right? Or actual Romani? "Thanks for the help - You can now go -"

Then everything went to hell in a handbasket again, with Alex the Dense Snob opening his wide big bouth to express his doubt. Gritting his teeth, Mikhail said to Alex, "I am Mikhail Chekhov. That part is - " Then he was taken aback by Merja's kindness and attempt to settle things between them.

Sincerely surprised, he gave a slight bow to the Finnish girl before saying, "Thank you. This means a lot and I appreciate your kindness." There was a firmness to his tone that was lacking before, a firmness that implied genuine respect. "Goodbye for now, both of you, and... Thanks." Then he glanced at Philip, waiting for the older boy's reply to darken the day once more.

And Philip tore through him like a knife through butter. Mikhail looked away from the other young man, saying, "I approached you because we're both kids - Because we are both part of the same age group."

He then recovered his nerve, and said, "You aren't as honest as you think, if you believe that adults don't deserve any resentment. Tell me, if you had full trust in the establishment, scientific or otherwise, you'd be following your father's footsteps in a University already - You're that smart. Instead, you're studying at either Evergreen or St. Paul's."

Mikhail presses on, "And why is that? I don't presume your parents would approve of you 'lowering yourself' or being percieved as lowering yourself, so I think you did this against their wishes. So I think you have your own rebellious streak as well."

Then to Philip's genuine points regarding the antidote. "And okay, true, the antidote probably already exists, but how are we supposed to know the adults will produce it in enough amounts to be useful? And how do we know that they won't just forget about it if the Russian Government shifts to a different poison? Too many variables left in the hands of an establishment that is deaf-mute to the grievances of those below it. At the very least, redundancy is important. And finally, peer-review is a problem, but I can swallow my distrust long enough to secure at least nominal recognition."

A pause. "And as for my obsession with politics, well, what do you recommend instead? That I go on with my life? Or wait for a day that might never come?"

@LetMeDoStuff@FalloutJack@Conscripts
Draknoz mo Rarahl - The Road to Yunkai

The host reached Yunkai territory at dawn - Emmisaries had been sent ahead demanding that Yunkai subordinate itself to 'their liege', King Grazdan the Chainbringer of New Ghis, the rightful heir to the Ghiscari Empire. Said emissaries, of course, had their heads and only their heads returned, but that just meant that General Draknoz mo Rarahl now had a signal to begin the raiding of Yunkai's hinterland.

As the army marched at full speed towards Yunkai, cavalry moving to sieze goods and burn farmsteads, as well as ward off Yunkai's counter-raids, Draknoz made sure to wear at least a set of lamellar armor under his robes in order to deter assassins - The Wise Masters might attempt to employ them.

Draknoz planned to set up his main supply base base south of Yunkai, on a birchwood forest near a slanting sandstone ridge. This forest would provide wood for siege towers and ladders, and animals for meat and hides that can be used to protect said siege towers from arrows. It would also deny precious resources to their enemy. Note that in order to maintain his troops' allegiance, Draknoz would have to pick a 'true' headquarters closer to the walls of Yunkai. That, unless the enemy sent troops to burn the birchwood first - Which is why he was going to lead the scouting force that would sieze the area himself.

Draknoz mo Rarahl - South of Yunkai

The General was right - He had just reached the birchwood to find a company of slave soldiers setting up kindling and torches, escorted by a small band of Highborn Yunkai warriors. He gestured with his free hand to split his battalion - Half of his horsemen were to scatter the slave soldiers, while he and his bodyguards were to charge the Highborn. He was counting on superior steel and superior organization to win this round.

Surprised, the Highborn were only able to mount their horses at the last minute - A few had camels, but those were quickly caught before they can mount them. Otherwise, the battle might have gone differently due to the effectiveness of camels against horses.

Draknoz and his bodyguards cut through the now-mounted enemy, with the General himself having the pleasure of unhorsing the opposing commander, a noble with more eagerness than sense. That was what happened when one allowed the martial spirit of Old Ghis to falter.

Now, the birchwood and its precious building materials were theirs', an important step in the upcoming conquest.

Draknoz mo Rarahl - Just Outside Yunkai

A few more days and the host reached seeing distance of Yunkai's walls, and detachments of the Iron Legions were then sent to construct siege lines, while slaves would be tasked to work in the direction of the siege engineers as they unpacked the catapults, ballistae, and trebuchets that were needed to destroy the city walls. More heralds - recruited from the prisoners taken in the birchwood - were sent to deliver a message to the slave-soldiers of Yunkai, simply saying, "Those who swear loyalty to the New Ghiscari Empire will be freed. Those who do not will be made slaves themselves. Make your choice."
Draknoz mo Rarahl - The Road to Yunkai

"You may pass," said the Astapori commander in charge of their southern border's defenses. "Yunkai is as much our enemy as they are yours'."

Despite the honeyed words, Draknoz mo Rarahl, General of the army sent to take Yunkai, knew that the Astapori were getting suspicious of his intentions, which made it more imperative that he get through their territory as soon as possible. Despite the Astapori military being small, Draknoz did not want to fight the Unsullied in the mountain passses leading to their territory - Even in the plains beyond, the Unsullied were terrifying. There will be time to deal with them once Yunkai was completely taken.

There were no incidents in the first weeks of the march. Provisions were brought out in each Astapori village, to be bought at a fair price, while still more were brought in from the south. Every time they made camp, Draknoz made sure that the troops trained and drilled for two hours before they were given time to eat and sleep - Then in the mornings, the men were allowed to amuse themselves with bed slaves and eat a quick breakfast, before the march began again. But it was clear that the Astapori were shadowing the larger force with cavalry and camelry, waiting for this army to depart from their lands.

As the march continued, Draknoz's feeling of resentment towards the weakness of the Astapori grew - Were the Unsullied thier only point of pride? Why did they cling on to their independence, when the unity of the Ghiscari and the revival of their Empire was more important? He couldn't wait to reach Yunkai's territory, to begin the raiding and pillaging that all strong men were entitled to. Even with the strange orders given by the King to enslave those who were free and free those enslaved if they pledged alleginace to him - Draknoz was probably one of the few people who saw the practical dimension in the King's orders...

King Grazdan the Chainbringer - New Ghis

King Grazdan oversaw the departure of the fleet sent to blockade Yunkai, all the while thinking about his household matters. He regarded himself lucky that he was the dominant figure in his own court, that no one, not even his own children by his wives, concubines, and lowborn women were able to even conceive of going against him. He had cemented a reputation for brutality long before, a requirement to present a strong front. However, such brutality had to be tempered with reason - meaningless brutality will just alienate his supporters and leave opponents with nothing to lose. That cannot be allowed.

As he looked at the docks of New Ghis, his Queen, Dizmano Zhao, walked beside him. A beautiful woman he had married for political reasons, Dizmano was one of the few people he regarded with any softness. As she leaned against him affectionately, the King patted her oiled and curled hair, before saying, "My Queen, I long for the day I can call you Empress."

She smiled, her smooth brown face free of even the slightest blemish. "Our sons and daugthers will be heirs of the true glory of the Ghiscari. You will conquer Slaver's Bay for them, and they will conquer the World as your legacy."
Mikhail Chekhov

"I could, but I don't trust them -" was Mikhail's answer to Laurence's words about collaborating with the police and forensics before the literature student just departed, "Hey, I'm talking to you!"

Note that the exclamation part was not too loud, more of a sudden halt in the sentence than a shout. Mikhail respected libraries, after all. Speaking of respecting libraries, it seemed the heavens had opened up and given Mikhail a new opportunity in the form of Philip Leonheart, an actual a fellow genius. Putting on his best game-winning smile, Mikhail ignored Philip's tone and words and instead tried for charm.

"Philip Leonheart, just the man I wanted to see!" Mikhail said. "Despite your skepticism, as well as the fact that my large ambitions are high enough to warrant a judgement of 'insanity', there are things here that warrant an intellectual titan like you." A smile. "I should have known someone who had gotten the silver medal at the International Physics Olympiad would gravitate to this subject, despite their already-expressed skepticism."

Mikhail paused. "As I said, I don't trust the Police, forensic scientists, or most adult authority figures in general. They failed my father and they will fail me. But we are of a different caliber, although I will admit that you are my better."

A calculated admission before Mikhail looked at Philip's face and realized he was probably unmoved by the subtle attempt at flattery. Sighing, he said, "Okay, perhaps what I said earlier doesn't work. That went too far even for me. But I do need your help, Philip Leonheart. You are one of the people I am looking for and much as I hate to admit it, one of the few with the intellectual chops to make a serious try at what I want. I know in my heart that I am not as capable as I puff myself out to be, but the fact remains: I want to decipher the chemical code for the toxin that killed my father. That much is true. Same for me mistrusting the failures in the police force - That's also true."

He knew the next admission might slightly hurt Merja, but it might also resolve a few of her worries. "In fact, had I known you'd be here, I would have talked to you first. I know you're a physicist and an engineer and not a chemist, but someone who can win the Physics Olympiad is more useful than a son of a fashion designer plus lawyer."

Yes, he couldn't help but insert another barb towards Alex there, "So please help me, Mr. Leonheart."

Or I'll continue on anyway and blunder. Or I'll continue manipulating people. I can do a lot of damage, you know. But somehow, Mikhail didn't say those words. Instead, he hoped that his rare show of honesty was recognized for what it was - A boy reaching out for help.

Because if it wasn't, then all the more reason to keep manipulating and scheming and destroying himself.

@Savo@LetMeDoStuff@Typical@FalloutJack@Conscripts
© 2007-2026
BBCode Cheatsheet