Winning Vote:
[X] Plan In the Name of Unity
-[X] Order your avatar to...
--[X] Found a new stronghold for the refugees, and train some of their number into capable soldiers.
-[X] Create a new
--[X] Champion
---[X] The best pragmatic tactician and statesman that can be found in Vale.
Any advice, corrections or criticisms are welcome.
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Ezotl brought the refugees through the snowy fields and up a tall, rocky hill. At the top stood an old, broken-down temple. Presumably, it had been built hundreds of years ago by some group but had long since been abandoned. Nevertheless, it was the closest building in the area so it would have to make do for the night.
"We'll stay here until the snow lets up," Exotl said.
"What about food and water?" the man asked. Obviously, he was the de facto head of this group of refugees.
"We can melt and purify snow for water and there are plenty of rabbits and deer in the forest nearby that we can hunt," Ezotl replied.
Normally it wouldn't be feasible to hunt in such thick snow, but aura could accomplish many miraculous things.
"Alright then, let's stay here for now," the man said. "Sorry for being rude earlier. It's just with all the fighting going on, you can never be too wary. My name is Bai Xiao Long, a refugee from MIstral settlement. This is my family, as well as some others we picked up along the way" he said, pointing to the roughly thirty people.
"No problem, I'm not offended. Might I ask why you decided to flee to Vale instead of heading back to Mistral?" Exotl asked curiously.
"Many reasons," Bai Xiao Long said with a grimace. "First of all, we would have to fly across the sea to get back to Mistral, which would be very dangerous, and second of all, life in Mistral is horrible. We can't express emotions publicly or we'll be executed, and I don't believe in the slave labour that Mistral is doing. We always hear stories about how free and equal Vale is, so I decided to emigrate here."
"Most of those stories are propaganda, you know," Exotl warned. "That said, Vale is a lot better to live in than Mistral."
Vale had spent lots of time, money and effort to paint itself a picture as a land of freedom and equality, and it was true, to an extent, but not to the level many foreigners thought. There was a Monarchy and an Aristocracy, and though famous were not enslaved, they still didn't have the same freedoms as humans. In truth, Vacuo was probably the most equal of all the nations. No one had time to be racist when everyone was starving after all.
"I had feared it would be like that, but anything is better than Mistral. My brother in law was publicly executed for being a painter! Meanwhile, in the capital, the lords live in lavish luxury and make as much art as they want!" Bai Xiao Long said, sighing.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Exotl said, patting Bai's back. "He's in a better place now."
"A better place? What do you mean? He's dead," Bai said.
"Ah, sorry. In Animism, we believe that after death, all righteous souls return to Avalon under the watchful gaze of our god," Exotl explained.
"Must be nice believing in something like that, huh," muttered Bai. "So if you die, you just go to some other world and live there?"
"It's not just another world, my friend. Avalon is a paradise. No Grimm, as much food and water as you could eat. The eternal life of bliss," Exotl explained.
Bai nodded tiredly, but Exotl could see the seeds of faith being sown in him. To a mourning person, faith was the greatest comfort. It was a comforting thought, to imagine that all of your loved ones would be there, waiting for you, not gone forever into the cold abyss of death.
It took a few days for the snow to let up enough that movement was feasible. While they waited, Exotl, Bai Xiao Long and the other refugees often chatted about Animism and it's teaching. Exotl could see them warming up to the idea. The best place to convert someone was in an isolated environment.
Once the snowstorm let up, Exotl led the group down the mountain. He had plans to set up his own stronghold, one outside Vale. Hopefully, it would become the first pillar of his religion. However, it had to be set up in better conditions than the snowy north. For a settlement to survive, it would need access to running water, food, resources and protection from the Grimm.
Exotl had found the perfect place, a valley surrounded by mountains that formed natural walls. It was near several dust and metal deposits and had access to a river. He slowly leads the group there, taking small detours along the way to pick up stragglers and other refugees. By the time they arrived, the size of the group was almost seventy people. Many of them were children, mothers or the elderly, which left around forty people who could do labour.
Once they arrived at the mountain valley, Exotl and the refugees immediately set to work, building temporary housing, gathering resources and scouting the land. It would be years before a full and ready settlement was complete, but it was excellent progress.
Exotl set aside twenty of the labourers and many of the older children to begin training as soldiers. He awoke their aura and instructed them on how to use simple weaponry. New martial arts and weapon techniques were also a part of innovation, so Exotl didn't have to try very hard to begin teaching them.
However, despite its defences, the stronghold was not finished and the constant attacks from the Grimm were starting to become close calls with death. What the stronghold needed was a skilled military tactician, someone who could run a stronghold like this. It was time for Exotl to gain another champion.
The power of Ezotl reached across the whole of Vale, ripples of divine power invisible to the eye. Ezotl quickly began to narrow down his search, cutting out those too old or crippled or those whose moral character did not fit his views. Eventually, Ezotl had narrowed it down to just three candidates.
The first one was a young adult man named Charles Arc. He was from a family of nobles and huntsmen and thus had lots of experience with statesmanship and military tactics. He was on his way to Vale to join the army and was currently in south-west Vale.
The second one was a young teen huntsman named Peter Port, who had recently become an official huntsman. He had less experience with grand strategy but had more on the ground skill and experience.
The final candidate was a Mistralian defector who was in hiding in Vale by the name of Johnathon Helena. He had previously been field commander and had lots of experience with military tactics.
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Micheal and his comrades stood around a bonfire cheering and whooping. They had just taken dack a village that had been ovverun by Mistralian and Mantalean soldiers. It was an important foothold due to it's access to the sea.
"To victory!" shouted one soldier, taking a swig of looted Mantalean vodka.
"No, to Ezotl!" another soldier shouted. "For protecting us and bringing victory to us and defeat to the enemies! To the sword and shield of the army!"
As more and more people had begun to convert to Animism in the military, Exotl could feel a new aspect of himself begin to be born. Different from the benevolent inventor that the villagers of Isten and Vale worshipped, this new aspect was of war and battle, a patron of soldiers. It was a second face, a mantle of new power. The aspect of War was being inland into the very essence of Ezotl.
Across a thousand bloody battles, I hear your calls. I will be the shield that deflects arrows and the guide that carries you to the afterlife.
》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《 》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《
Now, considering that Mistral is a stand-in for Asia and that Xiao Long is a Chinese name, it makes sense to me that the Xiao Long family would be from Mistral. Mistral colonized the northeast part of Sanus, at the same time as Vale which sparked the great war, so it is perfectly feasible that the original Xiao Long's fled by land further into Vale instead of taking the more difficult sea route back to Mistral. If there is any canon info I am missing, feel free to let me know and I will edit it.
Voting Time:
Ezotl is creating a new champion and has narrowed it down to three options.
[]The champion shall be . . .
--[] Peter Port
--[] Charles Arc
--[] Jonathan Helena
Due to Ezotl's growing popularity amongst Valean soldiers, he has begun to form the aspect of War. You can choose to embrace this new aspect or reject it.
[] The aspect will be . . .(warning, cannot be undone.)
--[] Rejected.
--[] Accepted.
