Raineh Daze

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Tyaethe

Taking the seat, although the parasol was still carefully angled to avoid the inevitably rapid sunburn, Tyaethe shook her head. "I'm not asking because I want to see the picture... we're probably just going to keep it, to be honest. It's not something we can give away or sell off, and breaking the protections on it to get rid of the thing would be a massive pain. Seriously, I've seen flimsier protections on a castle gateway, and that was specifically shored up in times of war. Not that we couldn't if we tried, she's not here to fix it again, but it would be too much work over a painting..."

Voice trailing off, the girl blinked a few times, trying to get her train of thought back to where it was to start with. Right, the painting wasn't why she was here. "No, I've just been hearing people mention Merilia all morning. That usually means she's dropped something off here... don't tell me she's sent one of her concubines over? I thought that letter was a joke..."

The girl gave a blank stare at the colourful mass ahead that was probably a flowerbed. Or maybe someone had spilled several buckets of paint over a hedge, hell if she could see from here. Were they going to have to deal with some foreign rabbit that didn't speak any of the local languages, at all? That would be a problem.

@Conscripts

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Tyaethe

Sitting around here was making one thing clear, even if it hadn't answered any of the other questions plaguing the vampire: a certain name was coming up far too often to be reassuring. It wasn't one that the current knights ever had much reason to bring up, and the last time... well, it had been only about a year ago, but that was enough to raise concerns.

But to assuage those concerns, she'd need to find someone involved in administrative work. Who would be responsible for locking up inconvenient items after cataloguing their existence to at least keep track of them. So, either go and get Liliana's attention--she still hadn't returned to front-line duties--on the off chance that she'd opted to go package collecting first thing in the morning and not spending time with her family... or go find Steffen. He really seemed like the better bet, on top of not being one of the knights she was always faintly annoyed by. Even more, since the duellist had become a mother...

A look around the inside of Candaeln didn't find her target, so, with a sigh, Tyaethe took a detour to collect something before heading outside.

A few minutes later, there was a cough from behind the Ingvarr. The source? One diminutive vampire, of course, stood under a rather frilly, very pink parasol, eyes occasionally flicking an annoyed glance up at where the fabric blocked the sun.

"Sorry to interrupt your gardening, but did we get another painting we can't display anywhere?"

It was the first thing that came to mind if it came to Merilia causing trouble now. Oh, she'd certainly played no end of tricks on people before she stopped hanging around the order, but that stopped being a thing nearly a hundred years ago. Almost all the contact since then had been the occasional painting randomly deposited in a hallway, adding to the ever-growing collection that had started with the portraits of many of the original knights. The pigments had changed over the years, but the shockingly realistic style, the use of protective enchantments in the frames that removed any need for varnish or the like, and the uncanny feeling of depth--honestly, some of the landscapes seemed more like windows, but they were definitely paint on canvas (another clue, rather than wood; she'd always been particular about that)--all spoke of the mage being the source.

Which made getting a lifesized portrait of some extremely foreign girl a very awkward experience. For one, it had just been sat there most of a day before anyone reported it, and it was a wonder there hadn't been any visitors at the time. Secondly... well, it had been far beyond the bounds of artistic. Tyaethe honestly couldn't tell if the intent had been to cause trouble, or if Merilia had just sent the thing over by accident... if it had happened again, that would probably answer the question. And they'd have to stash that away, too; the amount of effort needed to damage one of them due to the enchantments just wasn't worth it.

@Conscripts

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Tyaethe

Alone of the knights, Tyaethe seemed unbothered by curious dreams, although whether that was because of some quirk of biology or protection, or simply that she didn't do much more than doze half-awake during the daytime, was hard to say. Still, the vampire seemed irritated by something, if the frown as she sat in her usual spot was anything to go by.

Her involvement in the clean-up for the conspiracy had been minimal, although she had offered her services to assist in interring Erich's body once again and consecrating the tomb.

This whole affair didn't sit right. An assassination attempt arranged for no apparent reason, using an adventurer with some truly exceptional stealth skills... but no backup, and set to lead the Iron Roses right to the source? An attempt orchestrated and arranged by the same one that got away, seemingly having set the entire thing up to fail from the start. The question, of course, was why? Was he the one that freed Fierense? What about the defence being mounted by the Adventurers Guild?

There were too many unknowns here.

At least nobody had spoken about the existence of the bunny, yet. That was one thing to look forward to. And wasn't Lilette's girl supposed to be coming around soon? That might be interesting; they hadn't much time to talk about how much training she had.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

The Peanut Gallery

There was a polite clap at the back of the room, the demonic onlooker straightening from her slouch against the wall. "Bravo, Iron Roses! This was an exciting evening. You thwarted an assassination, hunted down the one that ordered it, and did it without a single innocent casualty." There was a brief pause while she cocked her head, "Well, there was Alfrid, but he was looking for this."

There was the sound of cracking knuckles as the red-skinned girl stretched her arms overhead, before pouting, "Though, couldn't you have been sloppier? You lost me a bet, I was so sure Damon's plans were going to backfire. Now I owe him even more."

"Well, I'll be excited to see what you're up to next. Cheerio~"

And with a deep purple shimmer, the demon was gone.

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Gisela

"One large group and bait is far less risky. Making a single group that can hold out until reinforcements has much less splitting, does it not? There is no need to supplement the most skilled with the average, or reliance that this cult doesn't have a surprise that can overwhelm a small group by numbers or magic alone."

"Are standard tactics not standard for a reason? If they err on the side of caution, then we can leverage our other offensive skills to force them out."

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Gisela

Listening quietly, the mage couldn't help but frown as Cadmon outlined his plan. Maybe it would work from a tactical perspective--she was hardly trained in military planning--but from a magical one, it struck her as crucially flawed. Unfortunately, that meant that she had to give up on her preferred anonymity and speak up.

"Against a necromancer of unknown quantity, I would encourage everyone to avoid splitting into small groups. It would be too easy for any loss to be turned against us; if a single party is surprised beyond what it can handle, then not only would we be down half a dozen men, it would be as if they had turned traitor and now stand against us," the mage answered, "In the heat of battle, it would be an unlikely foe that could raise a host as the battle progresses, but only moderate skill would be needed with minutes to spare."

There was even the other risk--if their foes included necromancers, could it not be that they had other mages? The ability to maintain groups prepared for any eventuality would diminish the more they shrunk. The prospect of being able to lose one group to a surprise show of concentrated force, then have that group turned against them... diluting their strengths would only benefit the ones who could grow in power as there were more fights.

@The Otter

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Erich Cazt

When the arrow found its home, severing the arm holding the hostage close, there was a moment of stillness. With all the magic that had been thrown around in the mausoleum, there was already a weight pressing down, the feeling of mana unleashed discernible even to those with no magical talent. Even as Serenity redirected Gerard, that ethereal weight seemed to double, or even triple.

The dents and cuts in the ancient armour healed themselves, restoring itself to a parade finish. And now the fortress of a man flowed with a grace and ease not visible seconds before, sword and shield dropping from his hand. It was a burst of speed that couldn't have been anticipated or foreseen as the Demonbreaker stepped out of the path of Gerard's shield, one hand pushing back the strike as the other seized the knight once more—

—And spun, accelerating the knight even further.

Not back at Serenity. Not at Cecilia. Not at the captain, nor any of the numerous other knights that threatened to do something. No, it was straight at the necromancer himself, threading a path between the seemingly-dazed zombies and over the head of the still-close hostage.

A voice echoed through Gerard's skull, deep and resonant, more thought than sound. Finish this.

The knight was released once more; the ancient hero's cape drifting to a stop behind him. Still. Perfectly still, without a hint of movement. The unearthly weight was gone.

Realism no Mononoke: An Urban Fantasy RP

• Name: Ibaraki Akari
• Age: 9
• Gender: Female
• Race: Oni
• Appearance: Probably best if you don't try and catch the ball.
• Personality: On the one hand, Akari is a fairly innocent and bubbly child. She's a big fan of magical girl shows, and although she doesn't play video games herself, she quite likes watching other people do it. She complains about having to study, even though she's got far less on her plate in that regard than a normal child would, and would much rather go bother the other employees about something.
  On the other, she's an oni, and a spoiled one with the most notable lineage that it's possible to have in the modern day. Her attitude towards unfamiliar humans is less "oh, that's a person" and more "oh, that's something to play with and potentially food". The idea of respecting people for simply existing, or having to defer to someone she hasn't been explicitly told to by her mother, simply doesn't occur to the girl.
  Some of her behaviours and habits are also pretty odd--none of her clothing is of western style, and she already has the oni habit of drinking sake like it's water.
• Abilities: Akari is a shockingly powerful oni, given her age. Despite her unimposing physique, there are very few people who are going to be winning if it's simply a contest of pitting strength against one another. She's about as difficult to seriously injure; blunt force is mostly useless without some serious strength behind it, and simply cutting her often requires magical assistance or massive force. Plus, like her mother, if it's not cut off entirely it will doubtless heal fine, and losing limbs would be more of a (physical) inconvenience than life-threatening.
  Although she hasn't any practice at using it, Akari has inherited Ibaraki's affinity for Heat--not just heat in the direct sense, but heat as a driving force for changes. It's this affinity that led Ibaraki-douji so easily to shapeshifting, and allows for just reattaching missing body parts later. She's also inherited the ability--or some would call it a mystic scar--common to all of the famous oni's relatives, no matter the connection: Lost Arm. So significant was the injury that, even now, her entire extended bloodline has the ability to summon a single phantom arm.
  You know, if two arms isn't enough for hitting things.
• Skills: She's... good at clipping vtubers? Really, you can't expect too much out of her when it's a matter of finesse.
• Equipment: She's got an iron club, when needed, in case something really needs to be broken. Spoiled as she is, her phone is also brand new and top of the line. If it weren't for needing other people to do the actual purchasing of alcohol, she'd probably have more spending money.
• Brief Backstory: As her name implies, Akari is related to Ibaraki-douji. The Ibaraki-douji. In fact, she's Ibaraki's sole daughter, which explains why her upbringing thus far has been extremely luxurious... but also rather sheltered and disconnected from the world. Of course, that's not good for her upbringing at all--she needs to actually interact with people and at least come to be able to see humans in a slightly less dismissive light. But that would take a lot of time and effort.
  The solution? Pay Tomoko to do it. Tomoko gets easy access to muscle, Akari gets to meet lots of new people and get used to the public, and Ibaraki's time is free for other things.

Realism no Mononoke: An Urban Fantasy RP

• Name: Ibaraki Akari
• Age: 9
• Gender: Female
• Race: Oni
• Appearance: Probably best if you don't try and catch the ball.
• Personality: On the one hand, Akari is a fairly innocent and bubbly child. She's a big fan of magical girl shows, and although she doesn't play video games herself, she quite likes watching other people do it. She complains about having to study, even though she's got far less on her plate in that regard than a normal child would, and would much rather go bother the other employees about something.
  On the other, she's an oni, and a spoiled one with the most notable lineage that it's possible to have in the modern day. Her attitude towards unfamiliar humans is less "oh, that's a person" and more "oh, that's something to play with and potentially food". The idea of respecting people for simply existing, or having to defer to someone she hasn't been explicitly told to by her mother, simply doesn't occur to the girl.
  Some of her behaviours and habits are also pretty odd--none of her clothing is of western style, and she already has the oni habit of drinking sake like it's water.
• Abilities: Akari is a shockingly powerful oni, given her age. Despite her unimposing physique, there are very few people who are going to be winning if it's simply a contest of pitting strength against one another. She's about as difficult to seriously injure; blunt force is mostly useless without some serious strength behind it, and simply cutting her often requires magical assistance or massive force. Plus, like her mother, if it's not cut off entirely it will doubtless heal fine, and losing limbs would be more of a (physical) inconvenience than life-threatening.
  Although she hasn't any practice at using it, Akari has inherited Ibaraki's affinity for Heat--not just heat in the direct sense, but heat as a driving force for changes. It's this affinity that led Ibaraki-douji so easily to shapeshifting, and allows for just reattaching missing body parts later. She's also inherited the ability--or some would call it a mystic scar--common to all of the famous oni's relatives, no matter the connection: Lost Arm. So significant was the injury that, even now, her entire extended bloodline has the ability to summon a single phantom arm.
  You know, if two arms isn't enough for hitting things.
• Skills: She's... good at clipping vtubers? Really, you can't expect too much out of her when it's a matter of finesse.
• Equipment: She's got an iron club, when needed, in case something really needs to be broken. Spoiled as she is, her phone is also brand new and top of the line. If it weren't for needing other people to do the actual purchasing of alcohol, she'd probably have more spending money.
• Brief Backstory: As her name implies, Akari is related to Ibaraki-douji. The Ibaraki-douji. In fact, she's Ibaraki's sole daughter, which explains why her upbringing thus far has been extremely luxurious... but also rather sheltered and disconnected from the world. Of course, that's not good for her upbringing at all--she needs to actually interact with people and at least come to be able to see humans in a slightly less dismissive light. But that would take a lot of time and effort.
  The solution? Pay Tomoko to do it. Tomoko gets easy access to muscle, Akari gets to meet lots of new people and get used to the public, and Ibaraki's time is free for other things.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Tyaethe

Now dressed, Tyaethe felt her face heat up as she saw what Maletha was doing. Honestly, did the girl...? She was a two centuries old paladin, not a child! Had she gotten confused? But no, that shouldn't be it, she had spent most of the evening as an adult, the girl probably just wanted someone to play with, and it wasn't like any of the other knights would be particularly suited for it. Well, Lilianna had her family, that might be an option... but it was doubtless to late in the night to go and wake her up.

Maybe if the princess came visiting again.

No, for now she would just have to play along, and the vampire climbed onto the bed behind the rabbit, making it wave back. Hmm, was there something else...? Oh, it was just a little rabbit, and this was a mighty dragon. Dragons were very proud creatures, you didn't want to upset them at all if you could help it.

So, she had it bow, too.