Fire Emblem: Last of the Manakete
- Thread starter SoaringHawk218
- Start date
- Fantasy
Solarstream
It's all in the cards
- Location
- Zombie World
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Keep the conversation light.
Eternal_0bserver
(Unverified Bookworm)
- Location
- Earth, Northern Europe
[X] Keep the conversation light.
[X] Choose as many as you wish.
-[X] Ask about Lady Sypha.
-[X] Ask about nobility.
[X] What one question do you want to veto?
-[X] Questions about your special talents.
I feel this is the best balance of info gathering we as questers want and keeping the conversation flowing in a way that Ryza would take it. She doesn't understand the whole nobility thing or why the three sisters were acting like they were in certain topics. It'd be an interesting to see how its explained to her and Ryza just confused about the whole thing. Also Lady Sypha because I feel like it would be a good follow up from natural curiosity.
-[X] Ask about Lady Sypha.
-[X] Ask about nobility.
[X] What one question do you want to veto?
-[X] Questions about your special talents.
I feel this is the best balance of info gathering we as questers want and keeping the conversation flowing in a way that Ryza would take it. She doesn't understand the whole nobility thing or why the three sisters were acting like they were in certain topics. It'd be an interesting to see how its explained to her and Ryza just confused about the whole thing. Also Lady Sypha because I feel like it would be a good follow up from natural curiosity.
Last edited:
Unfortunately, you're choosing one topic to veto rather than what they'll ask about. I would then roll to see what particular curiosity strikes their fancy.
Ah, my bad
Vote Check-In
While keeping the conversation light has a lead, it is possible if the others combined their votes the could still swing it, so I'll leave the vote open for the full time.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Choose as many as you wish.
-[X] Ask about Lady Sypha.
-[X] Ask about nobility.
[X] What one question do you want to veto?
-[X] Questions about your special talents.
-[X] Ask about Lady Sypha.
-[X] Ask about nobility.
[X] What one question do you want to veto?
-[X] Questions about your special talents.
- Location
- USA
[X] Choose as many as you wish.
-[X] Ask about Lady Sypha.
-[X] Ask about nobility.
[X] What one question do you want to veto?
-[X] Questions about your special talents.
-[X] Ask about Lady Sypha.
-[X] Ask about nobility.
[X] What one question do you want to veto?
-[X] Questions about your special talents.
- Location
- Earth
[X] Keep the conversation light.
Vote closed
After checking and recounting everything, Keep it Light wins even if you put all the others together.
Or, as my drafting is turning it into: "Pegasus Storytime"
Last edited:
The Whitewing Tales
[X] Keep the conversation light.
"Every little girl wants to be a pegasus knight when they're growing up. If we had as many mounts as we had aspirants, we would rule the world."
-Sky-Marshal Fiona of the Whitewing Alliance
As Daniella, Manuela and Sara stare at you, your thoughts race. You're curious about a lot of things. You're curious about Countess Mantrae and Lady Sypha. You want to know what makes Baron Rickman so intimidating, or if it's just you. You're still trying to figure out all this nobility stuff, why they seemed so excited and surprised that Artemis was here, since from Axton's explanation they weren't in her particular pyramid, being Legerian rather than Agrithian.
However, you hesitate. If you start asking really probing questions like that, that would make them want to ask equally probing questions. Questions that you would have to be very careful in answering, since Artemis told you not to talk about your manaketeness. You didn't want to lie to these girls, or tell the technical truth in a deceitful way which is as bad as lying.
Besides… you've been stressed this past week. Better to have a nice, calm talk with no alternative meanings or underhanded designs.
"This castle's really nice," you say, going back to your flower-weaving. You've gotten better at it, you notice with some pride. "I've never been in a castle before, it looks really big."
Manuela smiles proudly. "It is," she says.
"How do you deal with so many people being around?" you ask. "Everywhere I went this morning, there was people, and that was with Castor trying to avoid people. Don't you get overwhelmed?"
The middle girl shrugs. "You get used to it," she says, picking her own flower crown back up and continuing to work on it. "We were all born here, so we've never known anything else. I'd probably be lonely with fewer people."
Get used to it? Get used to it?! How!? "Oh," you say.
"Where'd you grow up?" Sara asks before Daniella can stop her.
"I lived in the mountains," you say, shifting to point back the way you came with Artemis. "I don't think you can see the exact one from here, the tower blocks it, but everything was carved into it."
The girls all cock their heads at you. "But wouldn't it be cold up there?" Sara asks. "I remember the winter last year, it snowed so much we could barely go anywhere and a lot of people got sick. Wouldn't it be freezing all the time?"
You nod. "It could get pretty cold, though we didn't live on the highest mountain," you say. "That one had snow all the time, it'd be impossible to live in. But yes, there was a few winters when it snowed so much that we were stuck inside until spring came." All the girls give you shocked looks, causing you to look nervously down at your flower chain. "It was okay, Mother would always have plenty of food stored up, so we just had to sit tight until the snow melted. The hardest part was if it started leaking: there were a few times when some of the lower areas were kind of flooded."
"That sounds ho-" Manuela starts, only to glance at Daniella, who gives her a warning look. "Well, I'm glad you made it out okay."
"Thank you," you say before nudging the ground with one foot. "It must have taken so long to build all of this from scratch," you say. "I mean, with everything carved into a mountain, the rock's all there and it just needs to be dug out. With this, you have to dig the stone out of somewhere else, move it here, cut it into smaller pieces, then stand them all on top of each other in a way that it doesn't fall down! It must have been so much work!"
Daniella nods. "It was," she says. "Master Cassian says that it took nearly a decade from the beginning of construction to the finishing touches, though I think part of that was due to there not being a good source of stone around here. Apparently the Countess's ancestors had to buy the rock from elsewhere."
A decade?! Mother and Father constantly in dragon form and freely using their magic might have been able to make it that quickly. Maybe. How had the humans done it? "How do you keep it all from falling down?" you ask, pointing to the nearby wall. "I mean, all the little blocks are right there, if you push on them hard enough wouldn't they come out?"
Manuela laughs. "No, silly, they're stuck in place," she says, hopping up and going over to the nearest wall and pushing on it. It didn't budge. "Besides, even if they weren't, they're really heavy, so it would take a battering ram to knock them down. Not even a wyvern could do it!"
Wyvern... wyvern… Oh right, you'd read about those. Distant, distant cousins to manakete, they only had two legs, didn't have a heart-form, couldn't use magic and weren't sapient. Still, they could fly using their innate connection to fire. Some older ones were said to be almost as big and strong as a young dragon form. "I didn't think wyverns lived around here," you say. "I've only read about them, but I thought they liked the warmer climates further north."
"Don't worry, they don't," Daniella says. "But I've seen one once, when an emissary from the Empire came to talk to the Countess." She shudders. "It was scary… Mama told everyone to stay away from it or it would eat us. Jeremy said he touched it, but I'm pretty sure he was lying. It was just so big and mean-looking. I'm glad they don't live around here; pegasi are so much nicer."
You frown: from the pictures you'd seen wyverns looked rather elegant, but you didn't want to argue with your new friends. "I like pegasi;" you say. "I've seen them flying around a few times; they're so beautiful."
Sara sighs. "They are. I wish I could ride a pegasus.
Daniella and Manuela nod, sighing themselves. You can't help but find yourself nodding along. While you had no great desire to ride one: your memory of being on Actaeon's back still fresh in your mind, you would love to fly with them. You'd tried once, but they'd been too fast. You'd asked Mother about it, and she'd laughed. "Green manakete are the only ones who have ever consistently managed it," she'd said, "and I'm pretty sure that's at least half because the pegasi, being blessed by the wind, see them as spiritual cousins."
As you mused, you notice Daniella frowning as she studies you. "Ryza, your hairclips… are those pegasi wings?" she asks.
"Yes," you say, carefully tugging one out to show the girls. "Father made them: he knew how much I loved watching the pegasi, so he thought I'd like them."
"Wow, your dad's really good," Sara says, holding out a hand. You hand the clip to her, and she carefully runs her fingers along it. "It looks like he put every single feather in!" You simply nod, not having the heart nor desire to tell her that your father's with the Mother now.
Manuela, meanwhile, cocks her head. "Are you a Whitewing, Ryza?" she asks.
You didn't think so. From what Lancel had said when he'd been arguing for going and talking to them as a way to get back to Agrithe, you were pretty sure they were humans if nothing else. Before you could answer, however, Sara perks up. "Are you? Are you?! Do you know Lady Seryph!?"
"Sara, hush," Daniella says. "Let Ryza answer."
Shooting her a grateful smile, you shake your head. "I'm not a Whitewing, or at least I don't think I am. What's a Whitewing, and who's Lady Seryph?"
The girls all look at you like you're crazy. "You've never heard the stories of Lady Seryph?!" Manuela gasps. "We were always begging for stories about her, she's the best!"
"No," you say. "Could you tell me some of them. I love stories."
Daniella grins. "Of course," she says. "Which do you think she'll want to hear first?"
"Oh, oh, tell the spider one!" Manuela says, her eyes shining.
"Eww! No, not the spider one!" Sara squeals. "The spider one's scary!"
"But everyone comes out okay in the end," Daniella says reassuringly. "And it's the best one to show how brave Lady Seryph is." She looks back at you.
"Lady Seryph is the current leader of the Whitewings, but she wasn't always. Once upon a time, she was just another young pegasus knight mercenary making her way in the world. She was hired by-"
"That's not how Dad tells it!" Manuela says.
Daniella frowns. "My mother tells it this way, so that's how I'm gonna tell it," she says. "Anyways, Lady Seryph was hired by a minor lord to help deal with some strange disappearances among the people. She was meant to be a scout, but not much else, since the lord's own troops would handle any fighting." She leans in close. "But one day, as the group was traveling, they were approached by a dark stranger. He said that he had kidnapped those people, and if the lord wanted them back safely, they had to meet his demands, and if those demands weren't met, then his monsters would eat the people!"
You blink. "What were his demands?" you ask.
"The lord would have to release an important bandit leader he'd imprisoned," Daniella says.
"The lord would have to give his daughter to the stranger!" Manuela says at the same time.
Sara just scoots over to sit next to you, grabbing your arm. "I don't like this story…" she whines, pressing her face into your shoulder.
You awkwardly wrap your arm around her shoulder. "You can tell me a different one," you try to say.
"No, no, this one's the best," Manuela says. "Don't be such a baby, Sara!" The youngest girl simply whimpers.
Gently, you press your hands over her ears. "Is that better?" you whisper. She doesn't respond, which you take as a good sign.
"The knight leading the troops refused, of course," Daniella continues. "And he sent Lady Seryph out to find the people who'd been kidnapped. Surely, he said, there would only be a few zombies. Maybe a skeleton or two. Lady Seryph would be able to keep the people safe until his troops arrived."
"It was a foggy night, that night," Manuela cuts in.
"I thought it was day?" you interrupt, confused.
"The story's better when it's nighttime," Manuela says. "Anyways, Lady Seryph was all alone, since the lord had been too cheap to hire her entire squad. She flew through the darkness, barely able to see a thing, into the mountains where the stranger had pointed when making his threats. Then, over the sound of fighting from behind her, she heard a scream, a little, six year old girl's scream." Sara shuddered, and you press your hands tighter over her ears while shooting a dirty look at Manuela. Even if you were really curious about the story, she shouldn't be scaring her sister like that!
Daniella, however, seemed to have getting into the story. "She flew down and found a bunch of people tied to an old, scraggly tree among the rocks. She asked if they were the people she'd been sent to save. They said they were, but they begged her to take the little girl and run away, since the monsters were coming and they wanted her to be safe. Lady Seryph said no, she was going to save all of them."
"Then, there was a sound behind her. Slowly, she turned around, and she saw eight glowing red eyes glaring at her from the fog. Then there were sixteen. Then twenty-four, and a moment later, three enormous baels stepped out of the gloom."
You shudder. One of those monsters during the day had been bad enough, but three at night? That would have been horrible. "What did she do?" you ask.
Daniella smiles. "I'm sure everyone expected her to run. After all, she was one pegasus knight against three of the biggest, strongest monsters around. But she knew that if she ran away, all those people were gonna get eaten, and she wasn't going to let that happen. She also remembered that baels, while big and strong, are also stupid. So she grabbed her lance and flew up just out of their reach, yelling at them."
"Just as she expected, the baels all tried to swat at her, forgetting about the people completely. She would dart in and out, jabbing at them with her spear, throwing rocks at them, anything to keep their attention on her. She couldn't really hurt them, she just had a flimsy old lance her aunt had given her, but she was hurting them and keeping them busy so they couldn't get anyone else."
Manuela jumps in. "They nearly got her a few times, but she was too fast and too brave. Finally, nearly an hour later, the knight and his men arrived to find three exhausted, bleeding baels tottering about, with an equally tired but victorious pegasus knight flying around them, still stabbing at them. They lept in, killed them all, and finally Lady Seryph was able to land. 'Told you I'd save you all,' she said to the people before slumping over her pegasus and going to sleep."
"I don't remember that last part of the story," Daniella says as you uncover Sara's ears now that the spiders are gone. "But what did you think, Ryza?"
You nod slowly. "I agree that Lady Seryph was very brave," you say. "I met a bael once, and it was-"
"YOU MET A BAEL?!"
You flinch back as all three girls shriek at you. "Ye… yes. Once. And I ran away from it and Mother killed it for-"
"Your mother killed a bael!?" the girls all squeal.
"Uhh…" you say. Right, you hadn't been supposed to talk about things like that. You'd forgotten. "Yes?"
All three of the girls are staring at you again. "But… but… I thought you said you weren't a Whitewing?" Sara says. "How did your mommy kill a bael?"
Desperately, you latch onto a technical truth. "Magic," you say quickly. "Mother was a mage, she zapped it with lightning until it stopped moving." You leave out the part about how she'd then ripped it into little pieces with her claws and thrown the pieces down the mountain.
Sara stares at you in awe. "Wow…" she says.
"Did your mama come with you?" Manuela asks eagerly. "Can we meet her? Mistress Flarestone and her apprentices are always super busy, so we never get to see magic!"
You flinch, but before either you or Daniella, who looks like she's recognized your use of the past tense and drawn the correct conclusion, can speak, a woman's voice calls from the entrance to the garden.
"Lady Ryza? Are you in here?"
All three of the girls freeze. You, meanwhile, barely take the time to recognize that it's Daria before responding. "Here!" you call, waving a hand to try and get out of this awkward situation you'd gotten yourself into. However, you blink as you realize just how pale Daniella has become.
"Oh no…" she moans.
You're just about to ask what's wrong when Daria comes around the corner of a hedge. "There you are!" she cries. "I've been looking all…" her voice trails off as she takes in the fact that you're not alone.
"Hi, Mama," Daniella says weakly. Manuela and Sara don't say anything, since they're both looking at their feet and seemingly trying to sink into the ground.
Daria's eyes sweep over the scene, taking in the scattered flowers, the crowns atop some of your heads, and the guilty looks of the girls behind you. "So this is where you've been playing tardy," she says, her voice taking the coolly-disapproving tone of a mother upset with her children's' naughtiness. "With so many things that must be done to keep this castle running, you chose to spend your time in idleness?"
You remember Manuela's words from earlier in the conversation, and you realize that she hadn't just been talking about her mother, she'd apparently been talking about all human mothers. You had to do something, you didn't want to find out what "tanning hides" meant!
"It's my fault," you say quickly just as Daria starts to open her mouth to continue her lecture.
The woman blinks. "Lady-"
"I came up here with Castor, and he let me look around. I found Daniella and the others finishing up with the watering, and I went to talk to them because I was curious, and we ended up making flower crowns and telling stories because I distracted them. It's my fault they're late." You meet Daria's eyes, praying that the girls behind you are keeping up. Lying may be wrong, but surely sometimes it was acceptable to protect your friends?
Daria's brow furrows as she studies you, before glancing behind you to her daughter. "It is partially my fault, mother," Daniella says. "I should have paid more attention to the time."
Slowly, the woman's face softens. "I suppose it is courteous to entertain guests," she says. "We will speak more on this later, Daniella. Take Manuela and Sara downstairs and get them started on helping their mother with the preparations for tonight's dinner." Glancing over your shoulder, you see Daniella curtsying before grabbing her friends' arms and quickly hustling them towards the door.
"Bye, Ryza!" Sara calls as she's led off, waving at you. You wave back. "It was nice to meet you!"
You and Daria stand in silence until the sound of their footsteps fades. "Daniella helped me make this," you say, holding out the flower crown you'd finished during the story. "Do you want it?"
Daria smiles. "She did always have a gift," she says, tenderly touching the woven flowers. "But I think you should wear it; it looks good on you."
"Okay, if you're sure," you say, carefully putting it on your head. "How's Artemis doing? Is she done talking to Countess Mantrae yet?"
The woman pauses for a second before speaking. "They were still in conference when last I saw her, but that was some time ago," she says. "However, I think it's time you got back to your room: it's starting to get late."
It wasn't that late, you note as you glance up at the sky, but you don't argue as you allow her to gently guide you out of the garden. Castor falls into step behind the pair of you as you take the direct route back to the rooms, cutting out the going in circles that Castor had done. You're careful to take mental notes on the path: while you're still interested in seeing the library, if you and Artemis spent much more time here you'll want to visit again.
As you step back into the last corridor, you notice that, in addition to the four guards spread between the two ends of the hall, there are two more standing right outside your door. Daria's steps falter for a second as she sees them, but only barely, and she continues forwards without a word, pausing only to receive a nod from one of the soldiers. As you glance at them, it might just be you, they seem… a little more tense, than before?
As Daria opens the door and gestures you in, you notice something strange.
[] Countess Mantrae herself is standing at the window of your room, fiddling with something in her hands.
[] Baron Rickman is sitting in one of the chairs as if he owns the place, his cold eyes fixed on you.
[] There's a sound of arguing voices from around the corner opposite the one you came down. Is that Sir Octavio's voice?
[] You… can't put your finger on it. There's just… something off. Didn't you put that scroll away?
AN: Bonus points to anyone who can figure out the inspiration for the Lady Seryph story.
- Location
- Florida
[X] Countess Mantrae herself is standing at the window of your room, fiddling with something in her hands.
- Location
- Earth
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Which is so much easier than putting a bunch of small rocks together.
...I guess it would be for dragons, especially ones with lots of magic like Ryza's dad, but still.
It's a shame that Artemis isn't around to point out that Ryza would probably agree with her. (I foresee that incident being one of those stories Ryza desperately, but futilely, hopes everyone will just forget about.)
Some day, Ryza will understand what sorts of things are normal for humans. Thank goodness she's finding out talking to a bunch of kids, and not someone who people will take seriously.
And now for the decision...as interesting as "Something's just off" could end up, I think I'd rather see Ryza properly introduced to a certain baron.
[X] Baron Rickman is sitting in one of the chairs as if he owns the place, his cold eyes fixed on you.
- Location
- USA
[X] Countess Mantrae herself is standing at the window of your room, fiddling with something in her hands.
Last edited:
[X] Countess Mantrae herself is standing at the window of your room, fiddling with something in her hands.
This is the point where it all goes wrong. I don't know how it's going to go wrong, but I do know that I don't want Rickman in the room with us when it does, so either this or Octavio.
EDIT:
This is the point where it all goes wrong. I don't know how it's going to go wrong, but I do know that I don't want Rickman in the room with us when it does, so either this or Octavio.
EDIT:
HORA!!!
Last edited:
[X] Countess Mantrae herself is standing at the window of your room, fiddling with something in her hands.
[X] You… can't put your finger on it. There's just… something off. Didn't you put that scroll away?
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] You… can't put your finger on it. There's just… something off. Didn't you put that scroll away?
