"I can't let them kill each other."
Vaya breathed in to cool her nerves, and carefully slid down the hillside to reach closer to the two groups.
She'd never done something like this, and even though the power of the Crown was on her side, she feared she might mess something up nonetheless. Her adoptive uncle was always faithful in her skills and capabilities, but she always thought he was a bit biased - he was her teacher, after all.
A visit would be a good idea, sooner or later.
After she figured out who killed her, maybe.
Shutting that train of thought and directing a silent prayer to Varir, she reached into her satchel and pulled out the Crown. Holding it in her hand caused a feeling of grandeur in her, a sensation of greater meaning that she'd never felt before.
Ignoring it, she put it on and allowed its energy to freely flow through her. Vaya flinched at the feeling, and at the subtle influence of the Crown, telling her to command and govern. Now wasn't the time for this.
Pushing back the nagging noise of the Crown, she jogged up to the group and stopped a few paces away from them, observing the fight for a few moments. The feeling around her head was heavy and somewhat painful, but she endured it.
The orcs clearly had the upper hand in this fight, even though the men were on horses and held visibly better weapons. The horse riders had been pushed back up against the edge of a hill that the horses couldn't run up.
"Thieves! Surrender or perish!" the biggest orc, donning a set of plate armor and an open-faced helmet shouted in rage, pointing his large, dark-green greatsword at them.
One of the horse riders valiantly shook his head, clutching his axe tighter, while the other men assembled behind him, defensively. "We were hungry!"
"You dare talk back to the Gutkirian Guard?" the orc - presumably this group's commander - exclaimed in a gruff, low voice, seemingly offended. "The entire village might go hungry! It's almost
winter!"
"You dogs!" an orc in the backlines spat, his voice smoother than the commander's.
Vaya grimaced. This was worse than she thought, but these men… didn't look like thieves or criminals. She felt a knot of worry, the same way a king would worry for his subjects in dire times. This was the moment to step in; now or never.
Before one of the accused humans could respond or act in any way, Vaya walked forward and made her presence known
"Stop!" she shouted, making herself seen by waving her hands around.
Every head - and two loaded crossbows - swiveled in her direction. She felt tense, her fists clenching in the fear of those bolts flying in her direction, although she was fairly sure she could protect herself if it came down to it.
There were various reactions on the others' faces, most of which weren't positive. The soldiers were confused and somewhat annoyed all around, while the humans on the other side were somewhat relieved but scared to some degree.
"Who the fuck are you?" the crossbowman to the left of the group asked, snarling with anger.
"I'm Vaya Ashtai," she said, raising her hands slightly, to show she meant no harm.
Vaya's right eye twitched. She felt the Crown nudging her towards command - telling her to
Leave me alone! I can't deal with you!
"I'm Vaya Ashtai, and I'm with the Maritime League," she lied. Pulling this card was dangerous and could get her in serious trouble if she failed, but they were probably too angry to think too much about it. "And so are these men."
The man who'd spoken earlier nodded. "Y-Yeah, she's our superior. What are you doing here?"
"I was looking for you," Vaya said gently, turning to the orcs' leader. "What exactly happened here?"
The commander frowned at Vaya, but slightly lowered his greatsword. "These men have been charged with grand theft and assault," he said gruffly.
"Grand… theft?" Vaya queried again, quirking an eyebrow. "I'm sure these men didn't mean to-"
"They ate our food!" another guard said, angrily - he was almost foaming, by the look of his face.
"We were saving up," the commander added, turning to Vaya with a scowl. "We had
barely enough for everyone. And now, everyone will go hungry because of these human dogs!"
Vaya was left speechless, for a moment. She turned to the men on horses, who had climbed down from their mounts by now - they probably sensed that it was the right course of action, now that they had 'back-up.' One of them had a bleeding leg.
Was she in the right, by helping these men?
"We wouldn't have had to steal if you just
sold us food!" one of the four men, the tallest one, exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at the orcs. "We are refugees of the war, but you've done nothing but treat us like shit!"
"Haven't you earned it?!" the rough-voiced commander shouted at them, making them flinch and step back into the cliff face. He raised his greatsword again, threateningly, while one of his subordinates began spinning a lasso.
"Your kind treated us like savages for ages! Should I remind you what Arthrion calls us?"
"You're proving us right by doing this!" the youngest of the humans pleaded, holding his dagger close to his chest. "I beg you, we just want to leave…"
Vaya stepped forward, almost between the two groups. "Please, calm down, I'm sure we can-"
The commander's sword moved to point at Vaya, shutting her up immediately. With the meanest, coldest glare, he said, "I don't care who you are; you are impeding Gutkirian law, and if you don't step back, you will be charged and arrested as well."
The tall man she'd spoken to grimaced, looking down regretfully, as the orcs returned to watch them.
Vaya recoiled, stepping back to clutch her head. The Crown was getting stronger, its nagging more powerful and distracting. A pang of annoyance went through her mind, as she tried to push it back, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to resist.
The commander seemed to take it as confirmation she wouldn't be interfering, and shouted, "Get them at any cost!"
Crossbow bolts flew, lassoes were thrown, and the men used the horses as cover. The tallest one got hit by a bolt in the shoulder, falling to the ground with a grunt of pain, while the others moved to defend him, fighting back the guards that were moving for him.
She had to defend them, stop this fight, but how?
The Crown pulsed with purpose and meaning.
No! I am not ready…
Another pulse. Stronger, more determined.
Vaya let out a shaky breath, trying to ignore the sounds of swords clashing and men screaming. The Crown pulsed again, making her feel light and weightless for a moment, as well as heavy and disoriented.
She wasn't ready to command. She was so young, so inexperienced…
But the Crown seemed to deem her worthy.
I accept.
A burning sensation took place, deep in her chest, as if something was being etched into her very core with a scorching iron. She raised a hand to her chest and clutched it, gasping for breath as vertigo threatened to take complete control of her and make her fall over.
Every negative sensation faded from her body. Vaya opened her eyes with purpose, and pointed a finger at the fighting crowd. She felt a connection forming between her and the Crown - unbreakable, mighty
, absolute.
A noble need pervaded her, rooted deep into her very soul. One that her very nature longed for, and desired. One that her spirit was made for. She closed her eyes.
Rule, because no one else can, because the world needs me to.
She opened her eyes again. They were glowing purple.
Rule, because I am the Queen.
"I
command you to stop."
A pulse of golden power flew out of her and the Crown, pushing everyone back with an incredible pressure that threatened to send everyone off their feet. The singing birds instantly silenced, the fleeing critters stopped to ogle at her, and the fighting ceased almost instantly.
Everyone looked at her with the same expression. Deep regret, intense admiration, and stupefying awe. Two of the orcs and one of the men dropped to their knees from where they were standing, while the others just observed Vaya with the most respect anyone could push into a gaze.
Vaya relaxed, her eyes returning to their previous shade of green. A new sensation was present in her core, but she didn't shy away from it. It was part of her now, because she was the Queen and, as such, had to rule. It was her ancestral right to do so.
With a calming sigh, she turned to the commander of the guards and asked, gently, "I'd like you to tell me what happened
exactly."
The commander nodded, immediately sheathing his sword, commanding the others to do the same. The guards backed away from the humans, and the young human ran up to his injured companion to tend to his wounds.
The leader of the guards bowed his head. "I'm sorry, milady. As we've said before, these men have been breaking into our granary for the past two weeks and, little by little, have eaten through a lot of our supplies of food for the winter."
Vaya nodded, turning to the men to her left. "And why did you do that? Couldn't you buy food?"
"Racial bias, ma'am," the injured man muttered, sitting up with some effort, the crossbow bolt still sticking out of his shoulder. "There are…
tensions, between orcs and humans. We've tried, but almost no one accepted Arthrionite money."
Vaya nodded once more, turning to deliberate to herself. No one here was in the right - on one side, a group of biased orcs who almost killed five innocent men; on the other, five men who doomed an entire village to hunger because they couldn't or wouldn't pack up and go elsewhere, or hunt for food in the forest. What was she supposed to do in such a difficult situation?
Varir, guide me...
***
The rolls in this chapter have been mixed - Royal Presence would've been used either way, but the bad Negotiation rolls that took place allowed me to create a pretty cool scene, if I do say so myself. Almost all of them now recognise Vaya as
The Ruler, which opens up a great deal of possibilities going forward.
As of right now, you have 1.5
Fate Coins due to discussion in the thread - most of the word-count can be awarded to
@OctarineShrike and
@Wolfy. So congrats to them, a big round of applause!
But what should a good Ruler-In-The-Making do? You may not pick more than one (1) main choice.
[ ] Justice for the Orcs - They are the wronged party, here, no matter the racial bias. The men have committed a crime on orcish land, while the orcs simply protected their interests.
-[ ] Bring Them to the Village - Arrest the men and bring them to the village, allowing the orcs to do justice by themselves. (+Relationship with these orcs, despite you being human.)
-[ ] Execute Them - You are the Ruler; you are judge, jury and executioner by virtue of being the one true Queen. Kill them on the spot. (+Nobility, will unlock the trait
Ruthless Fist.)
[ ] Justice for the Men - These poor humans were just hungry refugees, and they did what they could to survive. Circumstances put them in a bad spot, and you'll take them out of it.
-[ ] Take them Away - Send the orcs on their way and take the humans under your wing, away from here and into safer territories. (+Arthrion, +++Varir.)
-[ ] Kill the Orcs - Declare these men as your subjects and kill the orcs in an act of defense; what Ruler would allow a foreign nation to harm their subjects without permission? (+Nobility, -Gutkir.)
[ ] Path of the Ruler - Both parties were wronged and deserve reparations, and it is your job as the Queen to make sure everyone is as happy as can be. On top of healing the injured parties, Vaya wil… (Pick up to two.)
-[ ] Enchant the Village's soil - Make sure their soil will produce food even during the winter through your magical powers.
-[ ] Create a Magical Barrier - A gift is never uncalled for. Give them further protections from wild animals and possible creatures that may want to attack. (+Village)
-[ ] Establish an Arthrionite Embassy - As a noble Arthrionite yourself and member of the Order of the Nine, you have some political power. Create the first Gutkirian embassy for humans in centuries. (++Arthrion, +Varir, ---???)
-[ ] Declare your Domain (Two Picks) - What is a Ruler, without territory? Utilize your Royal Presence on the whole village and establish your domain. (-----Gutkir, open conflict; ++++Nobility, unlocks two new Abilities)
[ ] Path of the Cleric - Your journey began with Varir, and it is only right that you keep honoring him in whatever way you can. He is your patron God and if you're here, it's thanks to your dedication to him. Leave the prior situation up to the Dice Gods in favor of pursuing this option. (Pick up to two - every option will give you +Varir unless specified.)
-[ ] Teach Magic to the village
-[ ] Heal their wounded
-[ ] Instruct their young in world history
-[ ] Induct the willing in Varir's Church
-[ ] Train some new Clerics
-[ ] Build a Church of Varir (Two picks, ++++Varir, ------???, will spend a few weeks here.)
[ ] Leave - This isn't worthy of your time. Leave both parties up to their devices and find your own way somewhere else. Write in where you want to go.
[ ] Varir Intervention (1/1) - Spends your use of the Special Ability in the specified way.
-[ ] Assistance - +50% to one stat, +100% to one stat for the duration of a scene.
-[ ] Insight - Ask any question, receive a divine answer.
-[ ] Knowledge - Unlock one Veteran-level spell, or become an Initiate in a random or chosen magic system. 0.0002% to hit the jackpot if random.
[ ] Write-In (Particularly interesting and original write-ins and discussion thereof, even if not voted for, will earn the thread additional Fate Coins!)
