Valdr arrived to the Adventurer's Guild finally, his first order of business was food as he waltzed right through to the cafeteria, passing by a girl and a bunch of larger men. It seems the Hunt system was being explained to her. As Valdr sat down and ordered food that he barely had money to pay for...
Meanwhile at the counter.
The receptionist was explaining the system to the young girl, or so she seems to be... The receptionist was a girl and for some reason the person she was explaining all this to really ticked her off. She didn't know why.
"... And so basically, if you want to do B or higher ranked jobs and hunts, you require the correct license. With or without license, you can take on lower ranked jobs, but you must still sign your name and identification... But I'm sure one of the Warsong Birds should... Know all of this... Right? Well in any case, would you like to take a job now?", she asked.
Immediate to the young songstress was the Fang District, the only thing second to the palace itself, which was the city's crown jewel. It was a strange feeling these districts, at the same time as seemingly incredibly safe, soldiers patrolled and roamed even into or around the smaller and tighter walkways, clean, and kept prim and proper, it always was shadowed by the palace, almost directly sometimes. This design choice has been around for centuries, perhaps it was a symbol of rule? The safest spot was always right next to royalty, yet at the same time, it's shadow loomed over like a reminder of the price of treason. Regardless, the city was wonderful, families roamed happy, shops sold fresh food and handicrafts, and assortment of useful trinkets, a few playing children passed by Aria as she kept along her way.
She had an abundance of choices of things she could do. She could go shopping for new clothes, eat at one of the restaurants here, there was a theatre too that was having a play of Raelin's history, along with many other lovely shops. The Hall of the Spectrum Mages was also around here too, along with their academy just a block away from it. As far as sightseeing goes, this was the closest and best place, besides the flyer that was advertising a tour to Drake Mountain.
She could go down to one of the lower districts too, but for today the streets seemed to be quite peaceful. But how to put it, the Senator she met earlier was... The meeting made her feeling something was stewing. Maybe the ball was a show of strength in the face of having a rebellion on their hands? Oh speaking of which, his office was in this district too. Well, she had an abundance of options.
The marketplace in the wings district were always the most varied. If you knew which shops to go to, you could end up running into the rarest ingredients that don't even find their way to the Fang District. At this time, it was bustling, it was just past lunch time, meaning everyone was either leaving from a meal, or had finished a meal and came out to do their day to day. It was hard for a girl in a wheelchair to get through such a place but keeping it slow allowed her to do so. The noise, the smells, the sights, all were equally overwhelming as they were invigorating, just by the smell she can tell what the area she was in mainly sold, or keeping and ear out she can hear one of the yellers for a store, and just the amount of people here who seemed quite happy to be here was heartening. Raelin's foods were always quite hardy, vegetables and meats were their speciality, with ample room in their fields to graze cattle and raise crops, you can be assured their meats were always fresh.
At this time things would be selling quite quickly, so if there was anything specific, she would have to decide quickly.
Handing over the job he had taken, he looked away and clicked his tongue as soon as he said it was 'selfless'. It was maybe obvious he had other reasons in mind, the mansion and all that, and other reasons. Regardless, soon as he turned back, he was informed that his team was too small. Before he could say this was plenty, Delsin began a small spiel on bringing Adrien along, and he would approve it, not to mention reinforcements and all that. Getting mission details, standard, getting reinforcements? Not on his life, but whatever. If the others wanted to call reinforcements, let it be said he never asked for them.
"Sure, fine, whatever, head to Darrelea, talk to Saya-something, gotcha, bringing this lost dog along too, alright", there was a feeling of insincerity to his words, in fact he seems to have completely ignored the bit about reinforcements from these words.
"Hey don't you call me a dog, more importantly, I'm not lost!",
"Oh how cute the dog thinks he's human, come on don't deny it. That spiked hair and the furry mane of that silly coat, you're definitely a dog",
"Oh? Well at least I'm not perpetually 12",
"Haaaaah?! The hell was that?!", the two ended up yelling insults for awhile, anything Delsin tried to say was not heard, so he just waited. Regardless it didn't look like either of them were against the proposition, but it took an intervention to stop the two from just continuing. In the experience of the other members they could go on for ages and escalating to a destructive degree.
At the far edges of the light of the campfire sat a swordsman, barely in the shadows yet barely in the light. His eyes were closed in what seemed to be meditation, although more likely he was just figuring out how he was going to eat well while out here on the field... Should he go hunting? Or maybe forage?... No, perhaps hunting will do. Fighting was strenuous work, and so eating something nourishing was important.
Regardless, he felt no need to participate for the time being. He wasn't a proactive person if there was no incentive, or rather, he was passive. Spoke only when spoken to. This made his role as a General even stranger to his subordinates, whom of which he had already dispatched and assigned. He was in this ragtag alone so to speak, he could have stayed with his own unit as much as he pleased, but going out to do his own thing was always how he did things, agency so to speak. At the very least he taught his subordinates that.
There weren't many from Tellius here, were they unpopular? No, far from it. Tellius often took the front lines as the brawn of any unit from the League, which put his own unit in a strange position. Assassins, killers, precision scalpels that rent through key points in an enemy's defense. It was almost strange to him that the honorable path of the sword would eventually lead him to such a dishonest profession, but it is where it has taken him and so he strides along with it.
There was but one familiar face though and that was the General Luna of Archanaea, he only saw her once at a meeting between the League's generals a few days back regarding distribution of forces, but it seems even this plan did not survive combat... Or application for that matter. A ragtag group of career soldiers, mercenaries, and by his perception, people who had no business being here or even didn't want to be here, was what made up this group. A strange bunch. For now he sat quietly just a ways off from the group, listening yet not participating, at least until he was referred to.
Killing Edge - An especially finely crafted curved blade, it cuts especially well, giving it a lethal touch.
Vague Katti - A peerless blade, this particular Vague Katti was owned by a man who founded the country of the Branded. It is now entrusted to Sordan as he is trusted by his homeland to use the sword to protect it.
History:
Sordan is a Branded, one of the many that live in the Grann Desert, now long established as at first, a colony, then a city, and soon it became a country proper, independence established long ago following a great war that people today would scarce believe, if not for the fact that even now they waged wars with gods. Sordan was a young boy living in the Grann Desert, the founder of their country was a renowned swordmaster, and so it was popular for children of this place to practice the sword, he was no different.
As Branded, they held talents well beyond Beorc or Laguz in martial combat, or magical, whichever their affinities leaned, and so he was surrounded constantly by very talented and quick-learning children of his own age. A healthy environment to harness their skills and potentials, pushing one another beyond each other's limits. It was unknown to any of them that one day they ended up doing this to each other on the harsh deserts outside their city too.
As the years went by and they all went their separate ways, the wars waged by the League and other invading forces began to eat at the resources of this arid city. They got by just fine on food and water, but it was hardly anywhere near that of the bountiful countries of say Begnion or Crimea, and so it was they who felt the brunt of the impacts of war first. Soon these friends took to the sands, raiding and stealing and killing from merchant caravans and supply convoys just to get by, but Sordan in his stubborness, remained within the city. He instead chose to become part of the armed forces of the city, unknown to him at the time that his friends were now outlaws.
His distinguished service led him to more dangerous tasks, and it was there he fought his friends once more for the first time in years, except this time it was truly to the death. Compared to his friends who had cut through flesh many times in their career as outlaws, Sordan's blade hesitated, he couldn't just kill another person, let alone the first ones he would have to were his friends. To his fortune they spared him, and it was there he began to form his own resolve in this world.
The reality was, these friends of his were killing people, though it was their way to live, it wasn't right, over the weeks he took to the field again, and again, choosing to hunt smaller and separate outlaw groups, whetting his blade and becoming accustomed to blood on his sword. Soon he was given a special designation as a solo operative, and soon he found only what a once-in-a-thousand-years sword genius would. The ability to turn the land itself into their own blade. Pretty soon among underground circles, the news spread like wildfire. A swordsman who seemed to materialize from the desert at will, striking quickly, before disappearing. It was like providence from the sands itself had simply decided it was time to die.
And soon those rumors caught up to Sordan's friends, and it was to their surprise they saw him come for a rematch. Being from the same dojo, their skills were compatible, matching blow for blow, and it was this meeting that would be their last. He killed them, and as soon as the adrenaline left him, he sunk to his knees and wept for his friends. Their graves with their swords now lay in a small oasis near the dojo they used to practice.
So what did he take from this? Was killing his friends out of duty? Morality? Revenge or he was simply bloodthirsty? No, it was his blade, up until his friends had drawn their last breath, all he could think of was mastering his blade, and he did it in such a way that made him a phantom within his own environment. Though he weeps for them, this is the reality of the paths they had chosen, and they in their last breaths smiled. They did not curse him, for they all knew that this was simply where their paths had led them.
In the days beyond that, he was in mourning for his friends, whom his colleagues in the force had found strange, they were criminals after all, but he didn't care. In the last days of his mourning he was given an invitation, or rather, a recommendation. A chance to become a general? He was a powerful warrior, that was certain, but to become a general? This was an entirely new concept to him. He had commanded people before as a captain, but he undertook a lot of dangerous tasks on his own, as he was given that permission. Would this be similar?
Regardless he took it, it seems his path led him to an entirely new place. Because of this prestigious honor, he was given the city's most valued weapon, owned by the founder himself, the Vague Katti. Reluctantly he took it, with thanks, and went on his way.
He did not immediately become a general of course, to do so would be folly, but he distinguished himself in combat against other generals of Tellius. So it was decided, he would become a general of a small specialized contingent, made up of clandestine agents. It was fitting. He was not a chessmaster general, nor was he the type to command troops in the heat of battle, but when it came down to it, sweeping through small precise areas like a deadly wind, it was his forte.
And so that was his designation. His job when deployed? Quell troublesome factions, such as rebellions, extremists, and other similar such, whether it be beast or man, his job was making sure they didn't cause a ruckus while stability was trying to be achieved.
Personality: A man of focused intent and duty, what makes him a terrifying opponent is how difficult it is to read his movements or intent. Though it was clear that his intent was to kill, which is often the case considering his main job and the type of unit he leads, it's not nearly enough to properly respond to his attacks. Most warriors read other warriors by their expressions and eye movement, but his body moves seemingly on it's own. As one would describe it, "it was like watching a man become the sword itself".
Against less skilled opponents he seems less focused, a little more chatty. He isn't so experienced yet that he can measure a person's skill with the length of a stick, but if someone showed skill well beyond what he was exhibiting he would still be able to respond.
Outside of combat he is a very affable man, deceptively timid, his calm presence is rather off-putting compared to his intense aura in the heat of battle. He is often seen contemplating, whether it be about the next battle or next meal, he often keeps a steady mind at all times. As he would describe it, "so that I wield the blade, rather than it wield me". To many it would seem like superstitious nonsense that a man could be possessed by the fervor of battle in such a literal sense, but how to put it. He feels like his body moves only to wield a sword. As such, he tries to be kinder to others, knowing that with the right moment he can end anyone he so wishes, but that's the thing, he does not wish to kill unnecessarily, though his blade desires it.
When it comes to any cursed blade though, he is incredibly afraid of even touching them. His own honed instincts with a sword already sweep him up in a trance of combat, a cursed weapon would to him, make him unable to stop himself. Somehow placing his hand on the Vague Katti calms him and allows him to maintain his regular attitude in combat while exhibiting the same level of intense skill and ferocity, but even then he's unwilling to use it often out of respect for it's original wielder. Using it only when he wishes for guidance. To him the Vague Katti represents all those at home who have entrusted their will to him, his friends, and his predecessors.
So as one can tell, he is a man who is a great deal respectful to others, letting only this drive him. His job is far from honorable, being an assassin general of sorts, so he does not pretend he is an honorable man, but nor does he let emotions get in the way of his duty, paying respects wherever needed.
Other: I don't actually have a favorite pairing, shocking right? I pair characters up when they have chemistry but I don't have a favorite.