Onmur
Archangel of Nutella.
If you jump at shadows, you'll run into shade.
The Steep Path Ahead [Familiar of Zero AU]
- Thread starter shadenight123
- Start date
In honor of the bloody fucking heat that's where I live this time of the year: Better than run in the sun.
@shadenight123
That was sublime, and a lovely way to end a crappy year.
Happy New Year.
Of course, now the actual trouble starts.
Because the long lost Valliere heir just showed up in such a way to make a spectacular splash across the Four Kingdoms.
AND she displayed Void magic in public, of sufficient strength to lolnope a Square class killing spell; she may not recognize it, but others will.
Saito helped, but you know that won't be obvious to any observer not a mage(Poor Saito).
Saito better get a new sword quick, because the assassins will be coming hard and fast, and someone is gonna need to keep her alive.
And that's before considering that Mazarin's letter is still out there, with the potential to send Karin into full-fledged rebellion.
And did anyone else notice that Eleanor is married?
And prior to Louise showing up, her spouse would be in line to inherit the Duchy should the Duke/Duchess die without other heirs.
Wanna bet her husband is an ally of the Cardinal? And was responsible for Cattleya's unfortunate demise?
The question is: Wardes or Mott?
I lean towards Wardes, because he was entirely willing to indulge in political marriages in canon, and had patience
And Mott is too much a prisoner of his appetites, with too little regard for the future.
Of course, Eleanor might be outside Tristain altogether.
I am looking forward to Saito/Luise coming face to face with Wardes again.
That was sublime, and a lovely way to end a crappy year.
Happy New Year.
Of course, now the actual trouble starts.
Because the long lost Valliere heir just showed up in such a way to make a spectacular splash across the Four Kingdoms.
AND she displayed Void magic in public, of sufficient strength to lolnope a Square class killing spell; she may not recognize it, but others will.
Saito helped, but you know that won't be obvious to any observer not a mage(Poor Saito).
Saito better get a new sword quick, because the assassins will be coming hard and fast, and someone is gonna need to keep her alive.
And that's before considering that Mazarin's letter is still out there, with the potential to send Karin into full-fledged rebellion.
And did anyone else notice that Eleanor is married?
And prior to Louise showing up, her spouse would be in line to inherit the Duchy should the Duke/Duchess die without other heirs.
Wanna bet her husband is an ally of the Cardinal? And was responsible for Cattleya's unfortunate demise?
The question is: Wardes or Mott?
I lean towards Wardes, because he was entirely willing to indulge in political marriages in canon, and had patience
And Mott is too much a prisoner of his appetites, with too little regard for the future.
Of course, Eleanor might be outside Tristain altogether.
I am looking forward to Saito/Luise coming face to face with Wardes again.
Onmur
Archangel of Nutella.
Worse, you'll drink coffee in front of him.
And won't share.
Won't share at all.
Jiopaba
Eat Lightning; Crap Success.
For a certain definition of "public" maybe. A small border outpost, which is to all appearances a purely military installation wholly owned and staffed by the direct vassals of the Vallieres.
It's not even a little bit inconceivable that word of this and the exact circumstances involved could spread like wildfire, and others could immediately pick up on it... but it's also not even a little bit of a foregone conclusion. There's fairly good odds that literally every single person who witnessed these events is sworn and generally loyal to the Vallieres.
Mind, the Cardinal already seems to know what the hell is going on, but still.
@shadenight123 I hope Karin realizes Saito put his life on the line to save Louise. That cunt.
- Pronouns
- she/her
I can more easily believe she only got so absurdly curt over time as absolutely no one seems to have been capable of criticizing her actions due to threat of heavy wind. Louise, take advantage of her temporary emotional weakness and tell her to stop being an ass.
...maybe the fist shade mentioned earlier is going to be Karin punching Louise for almost murdering her familiar.
Or maybe they'll punch each other... then get back to their fight.
Weero
Taijiquan Initiate
Ya know, Shade...a lot of the time your stuff feels like it should be narrated by the Darkest Dungeon narrator.
At first I'm like: There Can Be No Hope In This Hell
And: More Dust, More Ashes
Yet at others: A Victory, Perhaps A Turning Point
At first I'm like: There Can Be No Hope In This Hell
And: More Dust, More Ashes
Yet at others: A Victory, Perhaps A Turning Point
What? They were in the middle of a duel, and Karen made it clear that familiars are allowed.
If the stupid thing didn't want to get blasted then it should have spoke up sooner.
Several points:
1)Not a minor outpost, but the central staging point and supply post of border defense in an area where the Germanians like to raid across the border.
An entire order of manticore knights stage out of there; that means the civilian support staff to match.
Merchants. Cooks. Stable staff. Inn keepers. Prostitutes.
All the hangers on and support staff that a military force attracts around a permanent base.
In addition, civilians would have accreted to this place over the decade plus Karin had been operating from there, because the tradition of Zerbst raiding when Karin was away meant that the presence of military muscle is a major guarantor of security.
2) A political and military power has been staging out of this place for at least a decade now.
The area would be riddled with spies, both internal and external.
A LOT of hurried reports are going to be taking flight in the next half hour.
3) The Manticore Knights may follow Karin, but legally speaking they aren't her vassals, but rather belong to the Crown.
It's just that no one's in any hurry to contest her control of them.
SolipsistSerpent
Endlessly Devouring
If this really mattered much, her going on a 'rampage' wouldn't have been such a problem for the Cardinal and the Crown, though.
PseudoSim
Intentionally Obfuscating
- Location
- Beating my muse with a bat for being a pain
Considering the dedication that weve seen from the mantacore knights thus far? Oh yeah. And not sure about this but isnt the Vallierie line closely tied(or at least on the line of succession?) to that of the royal families?
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SolipsistSerpent
Endlessly Devouring
Yes. It's one of the reasons Louise inherited Void, since the power was originally distributed to the royal bloodlines.
PseudoSim
Intentionally Obfuscating
- Location
- Beating my muse with a bat for being a pain
Thought it was that... whelp, theres a reason to knock her off and marginalize the dutchess.
Chapter Fifty
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
Chapter Fifty
When Saito opened his eyes, he was staring at a nicely painted ceiling with the drawings of angels and clouds. The soft snoring on one side of the bed told him he wasn't alone, and as he turned his eyes from the ceiling to the figure laying there, he smiled awkwardly at the sight of a sleeping Louise.
Her hair was kind of shiny, as if she had recently taken a hot bath, and as the locks looked all kinds of fluffy, she seemed as defenseless as possible in her sleep. He couldn't help but move a hand towards her hair to gingerly pat it, and just as he did, a small coughing sound caught his attention from the other side of the bed.
Saito blinked, and turned his eyes to a figure with strawberry blond hair just like Louise, who was however wearing a noble lady's dress. Her eyes were kind of sharp, just like Louise's when she was pissed off, and she had a bruise the size of a fist on one side of her face. Her glare alone should have been considered triangle-level magic, or whatever level it was that meant 'you are going to lose that limb soon'.
"H-Hello, L-Louise's older sister?" Saito hazarded.
The woman's eyes narrowed to thin slits for a brief moment, but she curtly gave him a singular nod. "You-How much do you value your life?"
"A-A lot?" Saito hazarded.
"Quantify it," the woman said crisply.
Saito had to blink, because he couldn't understand what the woman was saying. He couldn't understand one bit of it. "Uh-I don't know?"
"Louise," the woman said, her eyes softly turning to look at the girl fallen asleep right by his side, "Refuses to leave your side. So, of course, I could stop her, or I could stop you. Of the two, she has my spirit, so I am sure she won't be stopped. Tell me what is your price to stop. Do you want a title? Lands? Ten thousand ecus? Five hundred thousands-"
"Mother-" Louise's voice came out as a tiny growl, her eyes snapping open. "No buying off my partner."
Louise's older sis-ahem, her mother, didn't as much as flinch, but she did bristle slightly and resettle the hem of her gown, her hands clasped together upon it.
"Louise," she mumbled, "Think about the situation-"
Louise shook her head as she rubbed her eyes, stretching her arms without a care. "I have. It's been a fun week, the happiest of my life, but I can't forget my promises just because I'm now blessed with wealth, or the Founder will punish me."
"A week?" Saito asked, groggily.
"You've slept a whole week. Father, the Duke, is a skilled water mage and healed you up properly even though he kept muttering curses under his breath," Louise said primly. "But they're both good people once you get to know them."
Saito looked from Louise to her mother, and the bruise on the side of her face, and then back to Louise. "Uhm-"
"I punch really hard when I'm angry," Louise said, as if reading Saito's mind. "And you weren't awake when it happened, but I kind of blew up a whole wing of the palace. But we made peace," she nodded. "Just, you know, I had to show off as Louise Françoise Le Blanc de la Valliere and have a proper noble lady temper tantrum, just so they'd know what would happen if, as a proper noble lady, I'd end up having to stay inside a room rather than go with my partner on very important missions."
"She is too much like me," Karin muttered under her breath, her eyes half-closed as she brought a hand to her face. "I now understand why my mother cursed me to have children as headstrong as I was to 'get even'." She clenched her hands tightly. "Still, Louise-my little Louise-we only had a week after years, and we need to properly reintroduce you to society, and you'll need to meet the Queen, and there are a lot of things you missed that willed need to be rectified at once. You'll need to enroll into the magic academy of Tristain-"
"I'm an adventurer," Louise said with a huff. "I don't need to go to school."
"School is kind of important," Saito said, his Japanese self shining through. Louise grumbled, and stared at Saito with a half-narrowed gaze.
"You-on whose side are you on? Don't you want to return home? How am I supposed to help you with that if I'm stuck going to classes? Have some brains for once!"
"But you just found your home, Louise," Saito replied. "And you barely spent a week with them-it would be unfair-"
Louise smiled, and then gripped Saito's shirt collar and pulled him up an inch away from her face. "If you don't get me out of here I am going to go mad," she hissed. "I can't even go to the bathroom alone."
Saito chuckled nervously. "They...care about you?" he hazarded, only to receive a snort in reply.
"Yeah," Louise said with a small smile. "They do-"
Karin coughed in her hand. "I can hear you both."
"Good, so you know I'm not going to spend months as a prisoner inside this place," Louise grumbled. "If you want, we can compromise-" she had a dangerous glint in her eyes.
"Oh?" Karin's own eyes glinted in the same way as Louise's had.
Saito would have loved to silently slither away from the upcoming firestorm, but he was unfortunately caught in the middle of it, his body still felt sore, and he had little desire to leave the warmth of the bed he was tucked in.
He simply made a nervous smile and hid most of his body below the sheets, hoping they'd reach a satisfying conclusion in a short amount of time.
Four hours later, he dearly wished for a weapon of some kind just so he could jump out of the window and survive.
Seriously, Louise and her mother were so similar it made it all the more shocking how they hadn't recognized each other at first sight.
When Saito opened his eyes, he was staring at a nicely painted ceiling with the drawings of angels and clouds. The soft snoring on one side of the bed told him he wasn't alone, and as he turned his eyes from the ceiling to the figure laying there, he smiled awkwardly at the sight of a sleeping Louise.
Her hair was kind of shiny, as if she had recently taken a hot bath, and as the locks looked all kinds of fluffy, she seemed as defenseless as possible in her sleep. He couldn't help but move a hand towards her hair to gingerly pat it, and just as he did, a small coughing sound caught his attention from the other side of the bed.
Saito blinked, and turned his eyes to a figure with strawberry blond hair just like Louise, who was however wearing a noble lady's dress. Her eyes were kind of sharp, just like Louise's when she was pissed off, and she had a bruise the size of a fist on one side of her face. Her glare alone should have been considered triangle-level magic, or whatever level it was that meant 'you are going to lose that limb soon'.
"H-Hello, L-Louise's older sister?" Saito hazarded.
The woman's eyes narrowed to thin slits for a brief moment, but she curtly gave him a singular nod. "You-How much do you value your life?"
"A-A lot?" Saito hazarded.
"Quantify it," the woman said crisply.
Saito had to blink, because he couldn't understand what the woman was saying. He couldn't understand one bit of it. "Uh-I don't know?"
"Louise," the woman said, her eyes softly turning to look at the girl fallen asleep right by his side, "Refuses to leave your side. So, of course, I could stop her, or I could stop you. Of the two, she has my spirit, so I am sure she won't be stopped. Tell me what is your price to stop. Do you want a title? Lands? Ten thousand ecus? Five hundred thousands-"
"Mother-" Louise's voice came out as a tiny growl, her eyes snapping open. "No buying off my partner."
Louise's older sis-ahem, her mother, didn't as much as flinch, but she did bristle slightly and resettle the hem of her gown, her hands clasped together upon it.
"Louise," she mumbled, "Think about the situation-"
Louise shook her head as she rubbed her eyes, stretching her arms without a care. "I have. It's been a fun week, the happiest of my life, but I can't forget my promises just because I'm now blessed with wealth, or the Founder will punish me."
"A week?" Saito asked, groggily.
"You've slept a whole week. Father, the Duke, is a skilled water mage and healed you up properly even though he kept muttering curses under his breath," Louise said primly. "But they're both good people once you get to know them."
Saito looked from Louise to her mother, and the bruise on the side of her face, and then back to Louise. "Uhm-"
"I punch really hard when I'm angry," Louise said, as if reading Saito's mind. "And you weren't awake when it happened, but I kind of blew up a whole wing of the palace. But we made peace," she nodded. "Just, you know, I had to show off as Louise Françoise Le Blanc de la Valliere and have a proper noble lady temper tantrum, just so they'd know what would happen if, as a proper noble lady, I'd end up having to stay inside a room rather than go with my partner on very important missions."
"She is too much like me," Karin muttered under her breath, her eyes half-closed as she brought a hand to her face. "I now understand why my mother cursed me to have children as headstrong as I was to 'get even'." She clenched her hands tightly. "Still, Louise-my little Louise-we only had a week after years, and we need to properly reintroduce you to society, and you'll need to meet the Queen, and there are a lot of things you missed that willed need to be rectified at once. You'll need to enroll into the magic academy of Tristain-"
"I'm an adventurer," Louise said with a huff. "I don't need to go to school."
"School is kind of important," Saito said, his Japanese self shining through. Louise grumbled, and stared at Saito with a half-narrowed gaze.
"You-on whose side are you on? Don't you want to return home? How am I supposed to help you with that if I'm stuck going to classes? Have some brains for once!"
"But you just found your home, Louise," Saito replied. "And you barely spent a week with them-it would be unfair-"
Louise smiled, and then gripped Saito's shirt collar and pulled him up an inch away from her face. "If you don't get me out of here I am going to go mad," she hissed. "I can't even go to the bathroom alone."
Saito chuckled nervously. "They...care about you?" he hazarded, only to receive a snort in reply.
"Yeah," Louise said with a small smile. "They do-"
Karin coughed in her hand. "I can hear you both."
"Good, so you know I'm not going to spend months as a prisoner inside this place," Louise grumbled. "If you want, we can compromise-" she had a dangerous glint in her eyes.
"Oh?" Karin's own eyes glinted in the same way as Louise's had.
Saito would have loved to silently slither away from the upcoming firestorm, but he was unfortunately caught in the middle of it, his body still felt sore, and he had little desire to leave the warmth of the bed he was tucked in.
He simply made a nervous smile and hid most of his body below the sheets, hoping they'd reach a satisfying conclusion in a short amount of time.
Four hours later, he dearly wished for a weapon of some kind just so he could jump out of the window and survive.
Seriously, Louise and her mother were so similar it made it all the more shocking how they hadn't recognized each other at first sight.
PseudoSim
Intentionally Obfuscating
- Location
- Beating my muse with a bat for being a pain
Ah
I can just see the gleam in her eye as she slowly goes stir crazy.
Just wait till talk of merriage..
Jerry Finch
Stupid but lucky.
- Location
- Slightly closer than you would be comfortable with
Ha ha ha no. No, the time for running has come and gone. There's no escape now.
There was never any escape.
This is a Shadenight123 work, after all.
There is only the rabbit hole, and how deep it goes.