Angel of Mercy [Stefan]

[Kala Leukos]

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If he has sons, she said to the winged twin, they might be born with wings. If you would have them avoid your fate, please contact me. I might be able to help.

Her mind had grown accustomed to running more than one conversation at once. She often had a running commentary going with Kaus while participating in court functions. This was going to get even more complicated, though. She could hear prayers now, which was entirely unsettling. But her smile was serene all the same. Someday, perhaps they would have a frank discussion of who did what to whom during the conflict, but today would not be that day.

"You engineer different solutions," she replied, "but life often hands us similar quotidien challenges. My people don't disdain the sciences, and Mistress Feada, our runesmith, would likely find your workshop quite similar to her own. She bends dragonshards to her will much the same way as I would guess your engines function."

When his man went to get started right away and he assured her some preliminary information, her smile widened. She also intuited some of what he might need.

"I suppose you might need ore, perhaps even timber, as well. We might share materials as well as supplies, then. Depending on your need." If the Blue Star was going to see more travel, it could certainly carry such to Zaichaer's floating islands before onloading whatever Zaichaer didn't need. "But we wouldn't want to take anything from you that isn't stockpiled. Nothing that would delay taking your people from survival to thriving. And lest you mistake generosity for saintliness... the sooner Zaichaer is secure, the sooner your best and brightest minds can turn to the Eclipse, as well. From what I gather, it affects everyone, though I would imagine you are safe from the shadows while on high. That is, I hope you are safe from the shadow creatures when you are on high."

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[Stefan Dornkirk]

The ghostly version of Stefan frowned, looked down at the corporeal version. The wrinkle of the brow looked like confusion more than concern, as if whatever remained of the creature didn't understand the danger being suggested. He looked back at Kala head tilting in a way that was hauntingly familiar for the way Stefan did it, except that it lacked all subtlety. Where Stefan was trained, groomed by a lifetime of suppression and subterfuge, this version showed its emotions as openly as a child, as a baby.

"We celebrate our state runesmiths, as I am sure you do those that honor the loyalty of your House." Stefan was not sure of the fate of the state runesmiths, if any had survived or not, it hadn't been a priority. He smiled and it was only a little bit indulgent,

"As far as I know, what my engineers and I do with the energy of the 'Shards is different than the runesmith's work, but you are right that we sometimes employ similar ideas." He raised his teacup in a little salute. While he had never even seen a runesmith at work his study of the theory of his own work had often enough included references to what they did that he'd studied enough to understand the theory behind the art, at least. It did seem, to him, more like an art than a science, coaxing and working with aether in a way that might look the same from the outside to the latticework creation he wrought. Perhaps, to those who were entirely theoretical in the knowledge, it even was the same. For Stefan, however, it was not. He wasn't insulted, nor did he intend to give offense.

With a little sigh, he set his drink down when it was empty.

"Until we can clean the city of both the dead and..." He hesitated, "The danger, we won't have access to the mines to begin gathering ore again, it's true. I confess I do not know the exports of your home province, but if you provide us with raw material we can trade you back the products we create with it. You might end up with a fleet of ships, after all, Lady Leukos."

Timber could be, and was still being harvested, though not to the industrial level of the pre-fall State. He stiffened as the subject turned to the unnatural state of the world in the form of the Eclipse. Though the problem was pressing, for Zaichaer even more than most, his mind wanted to shy from even thinking about it. That it was the product of some god-like power, likely the foul touch of the gods themselves, was undeniable. If religious cults had brought about whatever was happening, by rights they should be the ones who fixed it. As correct as it would be, however, he doubted they would take responsibility and do what they should.

Clearing his throat to cover his discomfort he said,

"Indeed. However quickly it can be dealt with, it should be. Our Wardens protect the Islands, and our limited ground forces and the civilians with them." He didn't say that the Shadows stayed away, for they did not, nor did he say that the Order had worked out how to ward against them. As much as he appreciated Lady Kala he did not believe she would withhold the information from her fellow countrymen if she learned of it. While he wished her and her people no harm, the knowledge that the Eclipse and what it spawned was doing enough harm in other nations to keep them busy and not considering Zaichaer was a blessing.

[Kala Leukos]

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"And I wouldn't dream of calling you a wizard of an engineer," she said with a tone of the gentlest teasing. Kala smiled into her teacup. Her manners were precise without seeming practiced. She too had been raised to it, trained such that the way she comported herself kept interpersonal dealings moving as smoothly as possible. It was better to have an honest argument than to channel irritation into things and come out with a worse outcome.

"And what would I do with a fleet of airships?" Her question was arch, but in reality, she imagined nothing so terrible as a fleet of merchant ships at her behest, keeping the northern economies connected, and perhaps expanding the reach of Starfall to various valleys such as Torin's. If one of their own had not only brought back the secrets of Atoria but begun the climb to divinity, centuries of secrecy might no longer be possible to continue. But for now... the same.

"Wards can work," she insisted, setting her cup down on the saucer and the saucer upon the table. "Illumite or lunicite are necessary for the warders to weave them, however. And they need aura glass and time to observe what they are warding against." There was a quiet intensity to her for a moment. She daren't ask if his warders knew this; she didn't want to imply they were incapable of doing their jobs, but she was less worried about his feelings on the matter than ensuring his people were safe from the shadows. The question hung in the air unasked, however. She sensed that perhaps he didn't want her to know the details of their defenses, which was entirely understandable. She didn't want him knowing Kalzasi's, let alone Starfall's.

"Perhaps a shared enemy will unite former enemies. I can hope."

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[Stefan Dornkirk]

Dienerin reentered the room and, finding his master's cup empty, moved to refill it, offering more to their guest as well.

Stefan didn't shrug innocently at the question, but his body gave the impression that it might,

"Offer aid to those that need it, form trade alliances, ensure the welfare of your people more easily. As a man who has a small fleet of ships at his disposal, those are the things that I do."

He nodded when Kala laid out the ways to ward against the Shadow spawn creatures, whether he was nodding in new understanding or confirming that he agreed with her assessment was not implied. In reality it was a little of both, though he had not been familiar with lunicite until the current conversation. Trapping one of the Shadow spawn inside wards augmented by what Illumite was to be had and studying it had been one of the first goals of the Order once the Eclipse began. He did not know if they still had the thing, if it had died, if it could die or if 'slaying' one merely returned it from whatever hellscape it came from. Stefan could not add anything useful to the research and if he could do any more to protect his people, he would be told. Eitan would tell him.

Taking a gamble he leaned forward slightly, steeling his hands and said,

"Perhaps it might be of mutual benefit to trade in more than merely material goods. We are deeply grateful for those at the moment," He gave a self effacing little smile before looking back down at his hands, "but if my people were to obtain any useful information about the Shadow spawned creatures, or similar mutual dangers, it might be that we could be useful to each other in other ways too."

It was a statement, but it was also a question. Was House Leukos open to trading valuable information? If they were willing to trade such when it kept everyone safer, they might be willing to exchange such information as gave both parties an advantage in other ways.

Sitting back and meeting her eyes his voice deepened in sincerity when he said,

"I wish you peace, Lady Kala." The sorrow and loss peeked from behind his mask, for a moment before he adjusted it back into place and added,
"I hope we share many things in the years to come, and even if I don't wish for enemies for either of our people, if they come, I couldn't ask for a better ally."

[Kala Leukos]

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A fleet of ships of her own—well, she might consider the ramifications of that at a later date.

After a moment's thought, she nodded and leaned forward slightly. Kala wasn't going to give him anything that would put Kalzasi at risk, but the shadows were a shared threat, a shared enemy.

"I will send you documentation of behaviors and such, but you probably know about as much as we do about fighting them. Illumite and lunicite allow mages to work even under the eclipse. Preexisting magical creations—wards, artefacts, etc.—continue to work regardless of the eclipse. Those same dragonshards also make the shadows vulnerable to steel, fire, and other attacks. They can be vanquished." Carefully, "If your Order confiscated any divine relics, those too might have similar effects. Ioniri's Mystics and others marked by the divine have also been protected from the magic-nullifying effects of the eclipse. A runesmith in my employ has been working unceasingly on his illumite lamps that extend the range of their effects, but perhaps you might... weaponize them. Engineer something with... lenses, mirrors, something... to focus their light into a beam. Forgive me, my physics is rudimentary compared to yours. But as supplies of these dragonshards are in high demand, it would behoove all of us to make what we have more effective.

"Now, a question... have you noticed the shadows and the mist-corrupted showing aggression toward each other? I don't get the sense that they have similar provenance, but if you could foment discord between them, they might help you keep both populations down without risking yours."

Know thine enemy, she thought to herself. If Sahfri ever questioned her for these humanitarian efforts, she could claim she was doing just that, while she hoped their nation-states would be able to move past their differences. Karnor was wide and there was enough room for more than on ideology, so long as no ideology required the annihilation of the other.

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[Stefan Dornkirk]

Stefan did not ask much about the goings on within the Order, trusting Eitan and Beeman and the Order itself to do what was needed, but he had garnered that, due to limiting themselves in the use of aether before the Eclipse, the Order was handling the situation better than others. The Covens had been experiencing significant difficulties but the Order had set up designated Illumite areas where those who needed to use world or personal magic could work unhindered. Access to these areas was, of course, dependent on the license status of the practitioner.

If anything, the Eclipse had strengthened the ties between the Island government and the Covens, even began relations between a few of the Covens that had, previously, not been associated with Stefan and his people. So long as they were properly controlled, it was better that everyone pool their resources and abilities.

"I will ask the Order if they have any information that might be useful to you. I do not know if anything could be provided before you leave but I can send the information along as we send back and forth trade negotiation information."

It probably wouldn't be anything her people didn't know, but you never knew what someone else knew until they were willing to tell you. It was a gesture of good intentions on both sides, and those always began with the highest of care and slowly relaxed as trust was built. He nodded along, listening more carefully now, analytical mind absorbing. They had learned that preexisting magical artifacts continued to work when the airships hadn't fallen from the sky, when the anchored wards hadn't suddenly shut down.

He did not know that those who followed certain religions had been spared the effects, which only pointed further toward blaming gods for the issue. The idea of turning the effects of Illumite on the creatures as weapons had been theorized but, as his engineers currently had more pressing issues, and all his people were safe enough, there hadn't been much experimentation into it. The urge to begin sketching at the idea came on him hard enough that his hand twitched before he could contain the desire.

Lady Kala had a... air of the inspirational about her. Something in how she spoke made him want to create, protect, unite his people and thrive. Not that he didn't want those things already but, it was good to feel some passion for them rather than as though the ideas were just a long series of days spent buried in paperwork.

He could see no harm in answering her question honestly, so he did,

"They mostly avoid each other, based on our quite extensive observations, but where they do meet they fight as often as not. We do not understand the motivations of either." Not wholly true but all ideas about the motivations of the mist-spawn were dependent on the 'species' and none had been proven. "But occasionally the mist-spawn will hunker down in an area and become unwilling to give it up without a fight, when the shadow spawn move through they will battle each other."

He had no complaints with this fact, and if he could find a way to harness the one type of mist-spawn's draw toward aether to control them enough to clear out other kinds of spawn, of whichever kind, he would.

"We are looking into how to motivate each to be more aggressive towards the others without becoming more aggressive towards us."

[Kala Leukos]

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"Thank you," she said with a nod and a warm smile. "If you will trust the Blue Star's captain with the coordinates of your flying islands, perhaps she can begin moving materials as well as reports back and forth for us. The only caveat being that if you move the islands too close to the rift, I will not risk her, the crew, or the ship until you move them again. But I can't imagine you want to be living near it, only keeping a healthy distance and observing it for fluctuations." At least, that was what she would do.

Kala nodded again when he shared the information.

"I know not how clever the mist-corrupted are, but the shadows don't seem to be highly intelligent. Perhaps you can manipulate them into each other's paths more often. The fewer remaining, the fewer you will have to risk lives to clear out so you can rebuild Zaichaer—if such remains your plan." Sometimes cities were rebuilt over the bones of previous incarnations; sometimes population centers moved. He seemed a practical man, but also sentimental. She didn't know what the future would allow him and his people to accomplish, but she felt a flush of power or something similar as she sensed how he and his people were working together.

Disaster could bring the worst out in people, but it could also bring out the best.

Now if she could just persuade them that reasonable policing of magic was sufficient and that humans weren't inherently better than every other race...

But one step at a time.

"And perhaps I'll have my runesmith focus on weaponizing illumite to fight the shadows..." She paused. "Ah. I don't know if your people have investigated the towers and such at cardinal points. At the beginning of the season, someone... solved the southron tower. There has been a lessening in the nocturnal shadow. Soon, I believe, the stars will begin to shine again. And the moon. If such is the case, nights might not be so dangerous anymore. At least from the shadows. So that might be something for your strategists to consider when pitting them against each other."

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[Stefan Dornkirk]

"Unfortunately we move the Islands often. I will, however, entrust you with the coordinates for one of our main ground bases." He didn't want to tell her that the village that had built itself up in the last nine months was based around his family's old hunting lodge. It was a gamble to give her the information but it was better than detailing any of the forts, which were the only other major ground bases of operation larger than a single barracks of men that he could trust.

"I won't risk the Islands near the rift." It was a flat statement, whatever was still happening there, contained by a combined group of mages from several nations including the Kalzasi and the Covens, as much as he hated it, he wouldn't risk more lives to it.

"Based on the reports I have received the Shadows are most similar to hunting predators. They will attack anything living and can tell when people or stock animals are inside buildings." At least buildings did usually stop them, they couldn't just slip between wood or stone. He repressed a shudder at the idea. The whole world would have lost at least as high a percentage as Zaichaer had if such were the case.

He did not comment on her suggested use of her runesmiths, if she managed to do it with world magic, it was likely his people could recreate the effect with science. Shaking his head at the suggested question he answered it simply,

"To be frank, we haven't the time, nor the resources to devote to investigating the towers or any part of the Eclipse not associated with our immediate survival. Of all that has happened, it isn't even near the top of our lists. We did notice that fewer of the Shadows were coming, and less frequently. We counted it as a win and looked no further."

That his people no longer had the time or energy to investigate such phenomenon felt like a failure, but he was being totally honest, they were too busy growing food in Frost, trying to clear out parts of the city large enough to make into bases of operation to push out from, clearing the dead while they were frozen and wouldn't cause disease to spread. The last thing they needed was an old-fashioned plague taking the population out at the knees. He dreaded what Glade, and worse, Searing, would bring.

He hummed, thinking about what she was saying.

"If they disappear altogether we will have to resort to more tried and tested means to rid the city of the mist infestations, but there was always going to be some boots on the ground doing the work." His tone said he regretted every time he had to put a man in danger, but life was a struggle and it always would be. Clearing away these thoughts he offered another tight but genuine smile.

"I am sure I have taken up enough of your time to make your captain nervous for you. I shouldn't keep you but," He stood, offering his large hand to her small one, "I am truly grateful you came and I hope that we can meet again, in the future."

[Kala Leukos]

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"Thank you," she repeated. The concession of any strategic coordinates were a risk on his part, and she appreciated the trust.

Kala nodded, agreeing with his assessment of proximity to even a contained rift, as well as his estimation of the shadows' intelligence. If that changed, they could be in more dire straits, but with any luck, the other cardinal keys would be turned and this would end sooner rather than later. There was quite enough wrong with the world without adding whatever this eclipse was.

"I didn't assume you would have the manpower to tackle those puzzles, but I thought you might like to know that some abatement is in the offing." She didn't need anyone to know who had solved it. Other than her people, Venetia was the only person who had been there. She considered the dragon and the God to be outside such calculations. "The southron tower has now locked its position south of Atinaw and remains impregnable." One thing at a time.

"Hm." The thoughtful noise was her response to the idea of boots on the ground. She gathered he would want his own to be the boots in question, though his people wouldn't want to risk him. Kala herself took more risks than her people approved of, but someone had to get things done and she had been given certain powers, but they came with responsibilities. At his preparations to depart, she smiled, and stood.

"Of course. Thank you for your time and your tea, sir. I will collect my assistant and return to the Blue Star forthwith." His people would be wanting those supplies, she was certain. "I shan't be with the Blue Star for each voyage, but I will be back. You can count on that." Her smile was then brighter, more open than one might expect from a well-heeled lady. Soon enough, she had collected Asallon and they had returned to their own ship. The cargo had been transferred and both crews cooperated in carefully loosing their moorings without any bumping.

She waved to Minister Dornkirk as they drifted apart a space, and then let her hand drop as both engines began to move them into new headings. Perhaps she would see a unified Karnor before she was too old to hide her divinity any longer. But that was another matter for another time. She and Asallon descended into the cabin to join her brother and her other friends. The Avialae didn't mind the cold, but Asallon was only elven and Frost was keen.

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[Rune]

R E V I E W

Lore:
Kala: 15
Stefan: 14

Points: 10 each

Injuries/Ailments: None

Loot: Potential Trade Agreements

Notes:

Mod XP: none