Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Very well," Gro-Tagnud said. "Now, I need you to tell me about your forces. Numbers, composition, strengths, tactics, doctrine, everything. We both need to know the pieces we're bringing to the board here. And Marod? He's good at what he does, but he doesn't command several legions-worth of specialised soldiers."

---

"I don't think I need to be perfect," Rhazii droned as if it should have been obvious. He shook his head and leaned his temple on his fist. "I just..." His nostrils flared. "Who's weaknesses do I make up for? I don't know where I'm supposed to fit in, that's all." He looked to Kaleeth again. "How long did it take for you to feel like you were...you know, appreciated? Contributing?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Tagnud paused in his scrounging to give Meesei a look when she reiterated her teleportation capabilities. He resumed looking in his drawer to pull out one more wad of pages before standing up straight again.

"With respect, Champion, it's not a matter of transportation," he said, slower than before. "It's a matter of secrecy and maintaining supply. Officer Marod was clear as water. Both about you and my orders. This mission has to remain discrete. That means that if I can shave off a week, where someone might notice that over sixteen thousand rations are disappearing from the Legion storage every single day, I'll do it. Especially since my discussion with Marod found that foraging in your cavern presents too great a risk to rely on it."

The Legate General breathed in and turned his eyes down to the papers. "We'll work out those details later." He gestured to the documents. "These here are reports by the senior legion battlemagi in this battlegroup. Each has reported on their battalion's capabilities in fighting Daedra. Most in this battlegroup are mage hunters, so they're no strangers to the daedra that are brought to the battlefield. Go ahead and take them and you can judge how much mutual ground we need to cover in specialised training."

Gro-Tagnud lifted his chin. "Now going back to the Hunting Grounds. We're not here to discuss what my men need to know. That is for me to decide as their commanding officer. If we're going to cooperate like Marod said, I need you to be upfront about what I need to know about everywhere this mission will proceed to, no matter for how long we stay there. Do we have an understanding?"

---

Rhazii tightened his lips in acknowledgement and flicked his eyes away. It did not feel good, per se, that Meesei might have been right. He thought for a moment how to respond.

"I feel like I have been struggling a lot, lately." Rhazii took a turn for the dour. "Meesei told me off for what I said to Do'rhajul in front of everyone last night. I really should have kept my mouth shut." He breathed in and sighed. "Everyone else in the pack is just so...damned perfect that I feel like I shouldn't be even trying. Except I don't have a home that I would feel like running back to, like Black Marsh."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

From the draw of papers, Gro-Tagnud produced a small bunch at a time, still listening and talking. "Two questions next. What do I need to know about Hircine's Hunting grounds? And what do you believe we will face that will require two months of training and preparation? I remind you that maintaining a supply line to an isolated battlegroup such as this is no easy matter, regardless of how fast the supplies move along the land."

---

Rhazii was slightly embarrassed by Kaleeth's openness about her and Janius. That rapidly passed when the recount went to the cult of Molag Bal, whereby Rhazii unconsciously traced a finger over a ridge of misshapen fur on his head. Ahnasha and Fendros had never given him the full story themselves. By all he heard from other members of the pack over the years, he was glad to be too young to remember it.

Luckily, Kaleeth stumbled upon a point that ran somewhat parallel to Rhazii's original concerns. He perked up a little and spoke. "What did you do to push through those times? Where you were homesick, that is," Rhazii asked. He also quickly added. "Did you ever feel as though you...didn't belong back then?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gro-Tagnud was still for exactly two silent seconds between them. He then spun on his heel to step behind his desk and open a drawer. he spoke while filing through a pile of papers without looking up. "And our timetable? Tell me your best estimates for how long each stage will take once our forces rendezvous in your cavern."

The last request hinted that Gro-Tagnud had been spared few details on the circumstances. Likely he knew everything Marod did about the Blackreach.

---

Rhazii opened his mouth and tilted his head and eyes to one side. "Well, Meesei told me a few things last night," he said. He was not exactly nervous so much as thinking hard on how to put together such an odd request. "She said you joined the pack when you were only a few years older than me. I was thinking...would you mind telling me what it was like for you in the first few years?" Kaleeth's smile made Rhazii comfortable enough to laugh once and rub the back of his neck. "I was too young to remember."

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

Ah, I had thought Yorum was on the northwestern coast. They'll be almost entirely clear of any disaster, then.

This stuff is happening within 1-2 years of Ventus' death. When did we decide that was? 5PR?

@Cyclone

I have the fall of the citadel down as circa 5 PR on my timeline, so I would say it's a safe assumption.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

@Cyclone Most of that seems fairly clear of Loralom and the Yorum area in general, so I'm cool with that. Could you give be a rough year estimate post-realta that the firedjinn would have started spazzing around?

Also, there's not really much south of Loralom except ocean. It's kind-of tucked into the north-north-east corner of the Metatic...

Edit: As for Boreas, the Yorumite hain tend not to go too far north anyway. I had originally kept a fuzzy contrivance that there's just not any arable or fishable land that far north and into the polar Jungle Tree, but it might also be the case that they don't want to trespass on Boreas' neighbourhood.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

Another Yorum update. I have finally finished an outline for the post. 8 full scenes, each delimited by other mini-scenes. A span of nine years told. Many changes and racing developments.

...This is going to take a while. I might have to adopt the patented CyKhollab release scheduling system.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Whether the stern Legate General had practiced his stoic look or whether he knew more than he was letting on about the nature of the mission and its more academic points, he did not so much as flinch at the answer. His professionalism came off naturally.

Gro-Tagnud did not skip a beat once Meesei finished. "What other necessary steps are there towards touching this axe you have to Clavicus Vile?"

---

The morning in the Silent City came on more slowly than most. Undoubtedly, the abundance of food and wine from the night before had made enough people jovial. Those same people were taking the morning off. In contrast, Rhazii could not sleep in if he wanted to. His curiosity about Kaleeth's earlier years had been piqued since Meesei mentioned them. He was halfway through his breakfast porridge before anyone else in the pack emerged for food.

When Kaleeth-rei showed herself, Rhazii put his spoon down and stood up from the table. "Good morning Aunt Kaleeth," he said. He hesitated after his next breath. "Um...listen, I have some time before my group musters for training today. I was wondering, do you have time to talk about something?" He turned up his palm.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

@Muttonhawk bah, Eldrazi is child's play. We've already been there.

Hider

@Antarctic Termite

I am pleased that this has been kept.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

@Slime Termite tipped over a hot flask full of boric acid. Is dead.

Anyway, in case inspiring Hain wasn't enough, it looks like Magic actually beat us to the punch with Jvan, too. God damn it.

Ed: they even have that god damn Jvan x Toun lovechild we've all been waiting for, fuck, they've thought of everything

@Antarctic Termite

The myr (hain inspiration) actually come from a place Phyrexia took over in that expansion. Where do you think I got Toun's whole porcelain fetish? It has Elesh Norn's faction pasted all over it. Borrowed aesthetic is what it is.

I'd like to think I'm not completely unoriginal :P

Also, if you want to see the really jvanic stuff, search for the Eldrazi in Magic.

And for the sake of all that is holy, incorporate Elesh Norn at your own risk. She actually makes for some of the most cancerous commander format decks ever.