The Long Night Part Three: Bonfire at Dawn (45k)

New Columbia has had more than enough of its share of Malice problems. Fortunately for them, President Armstrong agrees. Leading the investigation into the Detonation personally, the President located the Malal cult that caused oh so many recent headaches. He orchestrates a textbook roundup operation that were you not a part of the security apparatus of Avernus, you would be impressed. It was far too showy. Regardless, President Armstrong has captured many Malice cultists, and has seemingly uprooted Malal's influence. For the time being, anyway.

~


The Brazen Apes are not ones for revenge. They are more of a Knightly Order than a clan. They only recruit highly skilled Knights who possess the Mark of Khorne. They spend most of their time questing. In their case, it more or less means going around, using the Code of Duels to make their living. Knightly extortionists. Low in territory and Knights alike, they depend upon challenging other. Their way of life is risky, and so, they do not seek revenge often.

This is one of those such cases. Brere the Serrated was a recently joined member of the Apes. Apprentice to Revera the Risk Taker, who's life you have taken in a duel. He is here for his master's Knight Titan. He cannot be swayed from his path, despite the clear difference in skill. The only reason he hasn't challenged you is because he fears you would fight him on the ground. You cannot dissuade him from this path. You declare that should he challenge you, you would be aiming to core him, and that you would only fight him in a Knight as such.

He wagers his entire roster of personnel, he himself not having a Knight as valuable as Revera's.

You both enter the circle of equals.

Asura suffers a glitch in his prediction software. While he focused on not understimating his foes, Asura considered the Brazen Apes such a dangerous foe that your declaration that you were aiming to core his opponent gave him him a logic fault. This gave Brere an opening to do perform some painful damage to his canon arm.

Asura quickly recalibrates, returning the favor. The skill difference is now apparent, with Brere buckling despite his best. Thought that might have been due to a quick hack. Brere tumbles to the ground, and makes the mistake of defending his head instead of his mid section. A effortless blow cores out Brere, making you the owner of both his Knight and his retinue.

You need to invest in a bigger hanger.


You own 7 Knights that you are not intending to pilot yourself.

Potrash the Infuriating's Putrescence (+1 Nurgle KC)
Grushal the Undying's Phlegmatic Behemoth (+2 Nugle KC)
Kephin the Unquarantined's spare (+0 KC)
Remera's prize (+0 KC)
Yuzu's prize (-1 KC, hidden damage)
Remera the Risk Taker's Baelstrom (+3 Khorne KC)
Brere the Serrated's Shiverfell (+0 Slaanesh KC, improperly consecrated)

Normally, powerful people in this society have no problems finding Squires. As the Senator responsible for assigning which Squire gets to train in the Knight Sims, you don't have that problem either. If you owned one more Knight, you would officially represent 1% of all Knights in Screaming Eagle.

Your peers eye you with jealousy and fear. The Bloodnames have begun to take note. The Tzeentchians likely think that you are a Malice cultsist. The Nurglites hate you. The Conservatives keep you at a distance, for you kept your blessing a secret. Tjapan, Slaaneshis, and Khornates are not as warm as they once were. But none gainsay you.

They cannot. You can completely upend the balance of power, which who you select as your Knights.

Asura has almost outgrown the Senate, and soon, the Bloodnames will start to subtly force you out of the Senate, either by having you challenge one of them, or by joining or outright leading a warparty. You are quite disruptive to democracy, it seems.

You have a little bit of time before that, though. Time enough for one last duel.

You have agents in the Tzeentchian's camp. By all reports, Eizen seems to be the one in charge. There are a few who are concerned by Four Eye's vague prophecy, but the Ghost Legion can handle them in short order.

Before the last Senate session, a Tzeentchian challenged you to a small stakes duel. As you got into melee range, he promptly exploded. The "why" does not actually matter in this society. You can easily blame him, for using an expendable pawn to assassinate you. It doesn't need to make sense. It'll be nice and dramatic, just like how this society all but demands it. Most likely, when you challenge him, he will call allies of his own. A not so honorable way to respond to a challenge, but one he is legally entitled to. Asura is not enough to take out multiple Knights at once, not when someone as good as Eizen can properly hold him back. You will need to call allies of your own. You can make many friends in this society with the gift of a Knight.

DO NOT USE AN X TO MARK YOUR VOTE

-[.] Call the Reformists. Dona the Party Animal will answer your call, along with Heran the Golden.
-[.] Call the Freedom party. Yeah, even with some Ghost Legion agents, and Holden Bloodfeast hearing you out, this is not a good idea.
-[.] Call your fellow Conservatives. Once you claim that a Tzeentchian just tried to have you assassinated, they will have your back, at least for this matter.

This will be a three vs. three fight. Eizen has a Knight Combat of 37. Conservatives are more powerful Knights. If you call for the Reformists, you are effectively swapping parties. Do note forget to consider how this will affect the two non-Conservative parties. A tri-party Senate is an unusual situation for the House of Bloodnames.

Once this battle is finished, it is time for you to move on from the Senate, and start planning on challenging a Bloodname, or to form a war party. Assume there will be a small timeskip after this next duel.

-[.] Go for a Bloodname
-[.] Go join the brushfire wars that dot the Kingdom of Brass and Skulls

DO NOT USE AN X TO MARK YOUR VOTE