You sit in a 5 by 10 cell. Your 12 year old legs dangle uselessly over the edge of your cot, not...
Of Reconstruction and Rosaries
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In prison
Tithed_Verse
Vainglorious
- Location
- Iowa
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Sorry to do this without updating my other quests: I had a huge update in the pipeline for one of them, then got my butt banned and the update vanished. Now I'm on vacation and don't have time to write, except for this brain-worm
You sit in a 5 by 10 cell. Your 12 year old legs dangle uselessly over the edge of your cot, not even reaching the ground. You swing them back and forth, like the ticking of a clock, to mark out the time. The expression on your face remains entirely inexpressive. At the corner of your hearing, guards argue about what to do with you. You are awaiting trial for war crimes.
It would not be a problem, if the Holy Teutonic Empire had won. You had done your best to make it so. But your best hadn't been good enough. Vatacan City had burned at your hands when the pope rose up against The Holy Emperor Barbarossa the seventeenth. No one had wanted a repeat of the unfortunate peasant rebellion that had ousted his imperial cousin from her glass throne.
Still, you were following orders, and everyone within the city had been legally declared a combatant. It was entirely possible you would get off on that particular charge. Which simply meant that they were going to pursue you far more rigorously on the other charges.
You had been fighting for His Imperial Majesty for six years, literally half your life. Spending a birthday in a tiny cell was certainly an unpleasant experience. You were the lead officer of an experimental Deep Magic Strike Force... the only use left for mages on the battlefield. Machine-guns had replaced the scythe, and artillery the wand. The broomstick by modern aircraft. The ancient card trick has been replaced by telegraph, telephone and radio, Fabrication by assembly lines, and even now mages are being gently pushed out of their traditional services in Medicine and Engineering for more general modern solutions.
You were in the top half of a tenth of a percentage of mages, comparable to Fu Hao and Circe, and had been selected to personally serve the emperor as part of his elite Oraba guard. You were both the youngest, and most decorated member of His Magesty's military.
You are
Choose 1 only
[][origin]The daughter of a noble
[][origin]The daughter of a clan leader
The empire grew from feudal kingdoms. There were two different feudal structures that were eventually integrated into the Empire. Both Clan Leaders and Nobles have the same rights and same vote in Parlement. Clan leaders , from the rocky north, have a large clan, who owes them personal loyalty. Nobles, from the fertile south, are not owed personal loyalty but rather own large swaths of land.
[][origin]The daughter of a patrician
Patricians do not yet have the same rights in the empire that nobles and clan leaders have, and now that the empire has fallen it is likely they never will. They are the rich merchant lords of the west. They have the most contacts outside the empire, and if you're the daughter of one it's much more likely you'll be treated laxly by the foreign invaders.
[][origin]The daughter of a solider
The military is a powerful and important force in His Majesty's empire. As the daughter of a soldier, you had connections that allowed you to rise to the vaunted rank of Vice-Marshall before the war ended (Otherwise your rank is brigadier general)
[][origin]An orphan
You were selected for your raw magical power, talent, and intellect. You're not just in the top half of a tenth of a percent of mages currently alive. You're the top half of a tenth of a percent of mages of all time. You are comparable, even, to the witch Himiko...
Your forces had decisively and rapidly ended two fronts of the war, but wherever one of your Lord's enemies was cut down, like the mythical hydra, two more foes rose to fill her spot. The two other empires left in the world, your allies, had fallen but your country had fought on! Your will to fight had remained unbroken to the end.
The end, where you were forced to surrender in the middle of sacking the enemy's most heavily defended fortress on what intelligence had claimed was the most critical front. Meanwhile, the enemy had struck up from the south, taking the rare mountain passes directly into your capitol, and forced your surrender.
After the surrender, in what was being called the first televised event, his Imperial Majesty had been forced at sword point to renounce his claims of divinity, but in your heart he remains your true god.
The worst part was the loss of your people. Of your battalion of more than 120 mages, only two of them survived to the surrender. You had sacrificed the rest for victory. Those two were:
Choose 2
[][survivor]The Bruiser
Susano was the largest member of your team. She's one of your (physically) strongest soldiers, and she excels in the brawl. She's also been known to carry you when you've used too much mana, until you've recovered enough to properly walk yourself. As both a mage and a martial artist, Susano is something of a rarity.
[][survivor]The Vampire
Helm is another graduate of the child training program that produced you. Much like you, he's incredibly dangerous, but he lacks your cold analytical demeanor. Instead, this child soldier revels in war, in death, and in the slaughter. He will have a hard time adjusting to civilian life.
[][survivor]The Companion
Greta has been with you since your first command. The woman is no shrinking violet, and has essentially devoted herself to serving you. She's been everything from your close fire support to your batman, and she knows your orders before you even give them.
[][survivor]The Spook
Laurence was your battalion's intelligence 'weenie'. The soft spoken young man who always looked like some innocent field-hand that just wandered off of his ma's farm. He also spoke most languages you encountered, and was able to make friends with the locals wherever he went. Whenever you needed to get in touch with central, or needed an update on enemy numbers, or just needed an accurate map he always had a means on hand. It didn't surprise you at all when you learned which branch he actually served.
[][survivor]The Quartermaster
Veronica was a fidgety young woman, one with a meticulous personality and a fair share of a persecution complex. She was also the best requisitions officer you ever worked with. Any tool or gadget you needed, she either had an apt substitution, or was able to get it to your company in double time.
[][survivor]The Fool
You have no clue how Murchison survived your entire tour. The airhead barely has two brain cells to rub together. You practically have to order him to breathe and march at the same time, lest he forget. If it wasn't for his vaunted mother, he would have never even made the cut.
[][survivor]The Troublemaker
Crenshaw. Goddamn Crenshaw. The woman is the worst sort of worthless scum. You wish you had never accepted her transfer to your unit 'as a personal favor' to another commander. She's a moral problem if you've ever seen one. Screw. Her.
So now you wait, in a small cell. Your trial will be soon. You've been assured that it will be a large event, and will be meticulously fair. After all, you're the Butcher of Barbarossa, the Fairy of War and other epithets in a similar style. And now you need to determine your strategy to either reduce your charges, or get out of them entirely. After all, while you're willing to spend a year or two in jail, you'd rather not hang.
Choose 1
[][Strategy]Mercy of the court/Plea bargin
You'd rather not hang. This basically guarantees a lengthy prison term... but you probably won't hang.
[][Strategy]Connections
Leverage your connections and personal skills. Argue that you're too valuable to hang
[][Strategy]Witness
Serve as a witness in war crime trials against others for a reduced sentence and immunity. This might mean testifying against The Holy Emperor Barbarossa the seventeenth. It certainly will mean testifying against your superiors, and throwing those in your battalion who survived to the wolves.
[][Strategy]Escape
You're a tacit caster. You don't actually need any tools to cast. You could attempt a breakout at any time. The question is, do your captors know this, and are they prepared for it?
[][Strategy]Suicide
If you kill yourself first, then they can't kill you. Of course, you'd rather not be dead... but given the choice, you'd rather take that power into your own hands.
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- Location
- Who Knows
I'm actually tentatively interested! So votes!
Maybe a little cliche, but I'm more ambivalent on the family dynamics? Maybe the patrician if only cause of leniency, but that's not quite enough of a reason to pass on Unlimited Powah.
[X][origin]An orphan
I'm interested in these three the most, but since my sense of humor hasn't gotten less shaudenfreuden, I'm voting for the two characters I think will give our protagonist the most trouble. But I'd throw the troublemaker away any day for my dear sweet potential murderboy.
[X][survivor]The Vampire
[][survivor]The Spook
[X][survivor]The Troublemaker
Stuck between these two. PERSONAL SKILLLZ ended up winning. Also, the whole, not going to jail for too long one..
[][Strategy]Mercy of the court/Plea bargin
[X][Strategy]Connections
Maybe a little cliche, but I'm more ambivalent on the family dynamics? Maybe the patrician if only cause of leniency, but that's not quite enough of a reason to pass on Unlimited Powah.
[X][origin]An orphan
I'm interested in these three the most, but since my sense of humor hasn't gotten less shaudenfreuden, I'm voting for the two characters I think will give our protagonist the most trouble. But I'd throw the troublemaker away any day for my dear sweet potential murderboy.
[X][survivor]The Vampire
[][survivor]The Spook
[X][survivor]The Troublemaker
Stuck between these two. PERSONAL SKILLLZ ended up winning. Also, the whole, not going to jail for too long one..
[][Strategy]Mercy of the court/Plea bargin
[X][Strategy]Connections
[X][origin]An orphan
[X][survivor]The Companion
[X][survivor]The Spook
[X][Strategy]Escape
[X][survivor]The Companion
[X][survivor]The Spook
[X][Strategy]Escape
[X][origin]The daughter of a patrician
[X][Strategy]Mercy of the court/Plea bargin
[X][survivor]The Companion
[X][survivor]The Bruiser
Life on the run is not relaxing for her health, better see how jail goes, we're young after all so we got all the time in the world after serving our sentence.
[X][Strategy]Mercy of the court/Plea bargin
[X][survivor]The Companion
[X][survivor]The Bruiser
Life on the run is not relaxing for her health, better see how jail goes, we're young after all so we got all the time in the world after serving our sentence.
- Location
- PA
[X][origin]The daughter of a noble
[X][survivor]The Companion
[X][survivor]The Spook
[X][Strategy]Connections
We won't hang! As a soon-to-be noblewoman we know/have enough connections to smooth over the reparations period so that those still loyal to the Emperor can survive to once again serve him as all should!
[X][survivor]The Companion
[X][survivor]The Spook
[X][Strategy]Connections
We won't hang! As a soon-to-be noblewoman we know/have enough connections to smooth over the reparations period so that those still loyal to the Emperor can survive to once again serve him as all should!
Pathetic King
"I Speak To The Audient Void."
- Location
- Colorado
[X][origin]An orphan
[X][survivor]The Spook
[X][survivor]The Quartermaster
[X][Strategy]Mercy of the court/Plea bargin
[X][survivor]The Spook
[X][survivor]The Quartermaster
[X][Strategy]Mercy of the court/Plea bargin
Second verse
Tithed_Verse
Vainglorious
- Location
- Iowa
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Yeah, I thought people would want the orphan option. Personally, I like noble slightly more, but I understand the desire for more power. Power has it's advantages, but so do rank and money, and rank (and money)'s advantages are better in civilian life. Of course, if this becomes a civilian slice of life drama, or a post-war rebellion depends partly on your choices...
Winning vote: Orphan, Escape, The Companion, The Spook
Despite mentioning your personal power, there's honestly poor synergy between connections and orphan. The orphan may be counted among the most legendarily powerful mages of all time, but that makes her more scary than useful. A noble has somewhat more connections, hanging one would outrage the rest... a clan leader is useful due to the personal loyalty of their clan, if they can get you to swear loyalty... and a patrician has the outside the empire contacts that will get you viewed with sympathy, not just a tool, providing the most synergy with connections.
Orphan's best chances are in escape. Soldier also is likely to have good odds on escape. Noble and Patrician have the worst odds for escape, nobles having to return to their estate to take advantage of it, patricians having fungible wealth, but also being more recognizable on the run due to their foreign connections. Clan leaders are in the middle with escape
Plea bargain and witness depend more on which companions survived. Throwing the moron and the troublemaker under the bus is somewhat simple. Throwing the Companion under the bus is much harder, for example.
Roll for you: 2, 2 and 2. Three of a kind, extra roll 2, four of a kind, extra roll 2, five of a kind extra roll 6 You have a five of a kind and six high
Roll for pain 2, 3, 6 and 3 (Pain gets 4 dice. Pain is a dick that way) Pain has a pair of threes
Roll for environment 3, and 5 Environment has five high, added to pain and your roll, pain now has three threes. Doesn't help your roll much
Roll for Magic. 1 (Magic only gets one die today) Magic has no real effect on anything anyway, I'm just rolling for fun. No. That's too complicated
Roll for you: 78+26
Roll for pain: 67
Winning vote: Orphan, Escape, The Companion, The Spook
Despite mentioning your personal power, there's honestly poor synergy between connections and orphan. The orphan may be counted among the most legendarily powerful mages of all time, but that makes her more scary than useful. A noble has somewhat more connections, hanging one would outrage the rest... a clan leader is useful due to the personal loyalty of their clan, if they can get you to swear loyalty... and a patrician has the outside the empire contacts that will get you viewed with sympathy, not just a tool, providing the most synergy with connections.
Orphan's best chances are in escape. Soldier also is likely to have good odds on escape. Noble and Patrician have the worst odds for escape, nobles having to return to their estate to take advantage of it, patricians having fungible wealth, but also being more recognizable on the run due to their foreign connections. Clan leaders are in the middle with escape
Plea bargain and witness depend more on which companions survived. Throwing the moron and the troublemaker under the bus is somewhat simple. Throwing the Companion under the bus is much harder, for example.
Roll for pain 2, 3, 6 and 3 (Pain gets 4 dice. Pain is a dick that way) Pain has a pair of threes
Roll for environment 3, and 5 Environment has five high, added to pain and your roll, pain now has three threes. Doesn't help your roll much
Roll for Magic. 1 (Magic only gets one die today) Magic has no real effect on anything anyway, I'm just rolling for fun.
Roll for you: 78+26
Roll for pain: 67
As it turns out, they are in fact aware that you are a tacit caster. They are not nearly so aware of your raw power and refined talent. They, frankly, did a great job of preventing you from having access to any operational information outside the cell. Not only do they practice good data isolation, but they have a defense-in-depth ready with several layers of magic resistant material between you and the outside world.
You would commend them for their thoughtfulness, if they were your soldiers. Still, even without your tools, you're *barely) capable of blasting a large enough hole in the wall to fit your 12 year old body. It doesn't go outside, rather it leads into some sort of bricked over maintenance tunnels left over from construction or renovation of the prison. Regardless, you are free... and a bit tired.
The jolt of adrenaline you get when the alarm starts going off right by your head does fine for the tiredness. They've noticed that you are missing from your cell already. There go your hopes of anonymously making your way out of this place. You don't have a lot of time, and you need to determine your plan... fast. You could just escape on your own. They would be unlikely to respond fast enough to stop you. Or you could stick around and rescue your companions... and perhaps even some random soldiers from this prison? You could even steal vital information from the offices in this prison, though likely it would only be prisoner tracking data.
Select as many as you want, but remember that each one you take gives pain an extra roll on you. Voting is by plan/block
[]Just escape
Only select this if you don't want to select anything else
[]Kill as many UWA soldiers and guards on your way out as you can
[]Rescue The Companion
[]Rescue The Spook
[]Rescue soldiers
[]Rescue officers
[]Collect intel
[]Hijack the radio room, and broadcast some sort of propaganda.
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DevilsAdvocate
Always follow the golden rule.
[X]Rescue The Companion
[X]Rescue The Spook
[X]Rescue soldiers
[X]Rescue officers
[X]Rescue The Spook
[X]Rescue soldiers
[X]Rescue officers
Pathetic King
"I Speak To The Audient Void."
- Location
- Colorado
[X]Rescue The Spook
[X]Rescue soldiers
[X]Rescue officers
[X]Collect intel
[X]Hijack the radio room, and broadcast some sort of propaganda.
[X]Rescue soldiers
[X]Rescue officers
[X]Collect intel
[X]Hijack the radio room, and broadcast some sort of propaganda.
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I'm thinking more of a 'spreading chaos' tactic. They alarm's already set blaring, so everyone's looking for us. Freeing the soldiers can cause a distraction, dividing enemy resources. More freed prisoners means more of a resistance later.
This is assuming, of course, that the soldiers are held at this location, and they they're easy to reach.
I'm tempted to go for broke and just start killing the UWA guards and hit the radio room too to get out an inspirng message. Long Live Holy Emperor Barbarossa!
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LucidProp
Pocky Eating MafiaDoka
Instead of waiting to die like dogs at the hands of a executioner, I'd rather give our soldiers a chance to fight back even if they're severely disadvantaged.
That, and the ensuing chaos is sure to send a strong message that His Imperial Majesty's supporters will fight on no matter what.
That, and the ensuing chaos is sure to send a strong message that His Imperial Majesty's supporters will fight on no matter what.