Rise of a wolf

[-Davina]

Her heeled boots made vicious clicking noises against the stone floor as she paced. The list of shit before her was long and she had few options in dealing with it all. Raghnall had been injured and slept as though dead, her fevered prayers that he would waken seemed to fall on deaf ears. The Asierian threat now fully revealed to her was huge and looming on the horizon closer than she could have anticipated and now there was no one to lead Anur. Her silver hair swung in a fan as she whirled to retrace the steps that she had just taken.

The colony was stable, her mother lived and therefore there was no vacuum to fill but her brother troubled her as she knew the broken relationship always would. She knew now that there was no way she could get approval from the council to move their people, not without Valenars approval and he would likely never speak to her again. Was that a loss? She growled and then sighed, of course it was and because they couldn't get along her people would suffer. Fuck. All over some damn angel. She whirled again as she met the wall.

Then to top it all off she had gotten communications from the dark angel about joining some revolution. She still hadn't had time to explain to anyone that she had managed to open a path of communication there in the first place. Kithy's reaction to everything had stopped her from being able to finish the report and after the explosion and oddness that had occurred during her initiation ceremony... She stopped int he middle of the room and looked around as though asking anyone for help then straightened her shoulders. It was time to go to work and there was no way in hell that it was going to help anyone if she was pacing away filled with doubt and fear in a corner. First stop, Marcus.

[Siege]

A gentle tap on Zara's shoulder, the only warning Atra could give her. Atra made no sound, her body emitted no heat, no smell, her feet made no noise as she walked. She could touch nothing and moved freely through all physical objects, which allowed her to move beneath the city without being detected by the lycans. Though part of her was worried, she was not meant to be a messenger yet the Marquis sent her to the lycans to offer them aid against the Aesir in his place.

After tapping Zara on the shoulder Atra stepped back and took a deep bow to hopefully show that she meant no harm though with her transparent shadow based body and the partially skeletal arm which she used to tap Zara with she doubted that she looked exactly friendly. She thought about it for a moment before raising her head and extending a hand towards Zara. Using a finger she wrote in the air a word, that word was visible only due to a darkness spell which she was trying desperately to control. With that word she hoped she could at least tell the woman who had sent her.

The word was Marquis.

[-Marcus]

(OOC: I hopped back in time to arrive before Atra, Siege. I should have made my post days ago for Davina. If it causes you heartache, please tell me.)

A dark vorpal gateway opened up behind Zarafey in the hall. Marcus stepped out, covered in the shadoweave cloak with only the armored green claw visible from under it. His sharp toenails scratched the floor when he walked, and his hulking form filled the hallway. More dangerous figures followed him from the dark paths that crisscrossed the secret dimensions of Anur. Kithy was with him, and Raestan, and Davus.

"I have reinstituted the Shadow Guard without the council's knowing," he said. Kithy grinned and flashed her fangs, twittling a truesilver dagger in one hand with her arms across her chest. Davus was tapped his pear against the ground, and Raestan flexed his mighty shoulders, like a mountain shrugging off dust.

"Without an alpha or a king, the council is the ruling body. This poses a problem. I need the people to believe I'm dead for a little while longer, but I also need to manipulate the council from the inside. I have Lupus, the high councilor, to help me. But I need a third voice to move the vote to war."

marcus took a long step closer to Zara, and folded back the shadoweave hood that had been hiding his face.

"Can I ask you to continue to help the city, and join the council?" Without lycanthrope help, the rebels would fail. Unless they went to war now and lent their immortal strength to the humans, the lycans and the world would be doomed. Were they to stand and wait, they would suddenly be alone as the rebel forces were smashed against the unbreakable magic war machine that was the Aesir. They may still lose, put if the world didn't put all of its cards on the table, none of them stood a chance.

Another apparition... A messenger? How did they not sense this creature entering the city? But the message was clear, at least. No need for alarm. A wisp of a creature from the desert Hassan.

"Mm. Marquis," he muttered. "Ghost, your master will join us on the battlefield. That is the way of honor."

[Siege]

The smoke around her danced wildly as her transparent eyes glared daggers into Marcus, did he really expect that the Marquis would just do whatever he wished, who was this wolf anyways? At least she had a reason for her lack of introduction but this man simply shrugged it off. This time on accident a word was spell out in the air before her, a word which summed up her first impression of Marcus.

Conceited.

She looked down at the word and the smoke around her steadied as she waved her hand through the words causing them to vanish. She didn't look like she really cared if it offended Marcus, instead she wrote two words this time hoping that the items listed could be delivered so that she could properly deliver the Marquis's message. She then looked at Zara and bowed her head, she was making an attempt to apologize for her rude conduct though trying to avoid having to apologize to the uppity male wolf.

Pen Paper.

((OOC: No hard feelings, Atra seems to think you are a dick though.))

[-Roush]

The stillness that existed in the room wasn't effected much when Raghnall's eyes slowly opened. He had awoken rather gently, gathering his thoughts before he opened his eyes. What had happened? A sort of ethereal assassin?

Yes, thats what it was. Raghnall had seen him coming, but the first strike just destroyed the being's armor, but not it. It landed a poisoned dagger, but just as it did dark lances ripped through it's back, ending it's life before it could be interrogated. Was it working for demons? The Aesir? Didn't matter now. He was awake, and he felt good.

He blinked a few times and took a deep breath, knowing what would happen when he arose. Soon, they would be at the gates of Ascantha. Amazing. Scary, but amazing.

One of the elder healers saw his eyes and smiled.
"Shall I inform Kyna?"

He sat up in the bed running a hand through his hair.

He nodded softly as he did.

"A representative from the Marquis is here. Talking with Counselor Sucram, I believe."

Raghnall stood, knowing it was time to get moving.

"Tell Kyna I'm getting my things, then heading to that meeting. She can meet me at any point."

[-Davina]

Zara's face showed little of the surprise that jolted through her body as several lycan appeared from seemingly nowhere, after all she knew as well as they did the paths that lay beyond the shadows. Still, it sent her heart jumping to have people just appear from nowhere, that after all was her M.O. The gravity of Marcus' words was belayed by the three that surrounded him, they would enjoy the fight... The war that came for them even as they spoke.

She opened her mouth, ready to accept even as her heart sank into her chest. War meant death, bodies to be brought home to grieving families, lives ruined or inexplicably altered by the swift swing of blades and slinging of spells. Her mind flashed back to the last war she had seen, to the last time she had seen her grandfather breathing and the anguish that followed his loss. War had come and gone from Anur only to be replaced at the dawning of some relative peace and she was going to have a hand in ushering it in which meant she bore the responsibility for the lives that would change both for the good and bad.

The tap on her shoulder froze the words in her throat, she was certain there hadn't been a woman behind her when she came down the hall. The ghostly hand that reached spelled out the word Marquis, well this was something. Even as her mouth opened yet again Marcus interrupted to speak a curt sentence and she sent him a narrow look before dropping a quick curtsey.

"Welcome." She bit her lip at the next word that formed and managed to contain the quick grin, yes the lycan as a whole were conceited. By the Goddess one of these damn men was going to let her do her damn job and greet and mediate or so help her she was going to start hitting people upside the head with her stick. "Yes My Lord I would be honored to sit on the council and I agree that war is imperative though I feel a full frontal assault is foolish and going to result in nothing but massive casualties on our side." She didn't bother to mention that she had a few ideas on how to master this better.

"During my trip with Kithy I was able to establish a loose tie with the Shadow Asier, she has filtered a pithy trickle of information that there is a band of people that are trying to work through this. She is part of this group somehow." She studied the woman for a moment, pausing to take a breath and then diving back in before she could be interrupted yet again. "Please, Miss, what message does the Marquis send for us? How can we be of service?"

[-Marcus]

"In my time, missy, I've earned the right to be a prick." He shrugged the wispy woman away. Absolutely, lycans were proud, thick headed, hot blooded - they knew what was right for them, and that was always enough so long as they lived within the confines of the pack.

The older, deeper, more reassuring voice of the ancient wolf came forth.

"You'll vote for the movement then if I give you my word that any arrow, any blade, will bite my hide straight through before it digs into the fur of our brothers or sisters. That vote will be enough to mobilize the forces. If the world ever needed monsters to battle the divine, now is that time."

And he meant it.

"We will thrash them."

Confidence and strength were his, and wisdom, but the latter and cunning belonged solely to their dark elf sister. Zarafey could entertain this consultant of the Marquis. Marcus had a meeting to call. He signaled to the three Shadow Guard, and stepped back into the shadow gateway through the cavern wall, and they were whisked across the veranda to another location within the city bounds.

[Siege]

The ghostly woman shot Marcus another look before the man vanished the she turned her attention back to Zara. It was obvious it was gonna be difficult to communicate quickly without using a proper method. Once again she used her hands, acting as if she was writing on something, trying to get the hint across that she needed a pen and parchment to make communication a bit simpler. The ghost wanted to sigh to be quite honest, she enjoyed her peaceful life in Alegrarse and this entire war business had made her life busy, the concept of killing people didn't amuse her and the idea of her losing her home town once again did not please her one bit.

[-Roush]

Raghnall strapped on his gear piece by piece, his demeanor changing with every buckle. By the time his claymore hung over his back, his mind was set.

War...

He was no longer jittery or contemplative. Instead, his claws suddenly felt dry. They longed to rend through armor, skin, and bone. He could think of little besides sending as many as he could to an early afterlife, showing them how false their gods were.

Raghnall had heard Sucram was moving about through the city, but instead of trying to find him he would just go to where he knew everyone would end up. He walked through the halls towards the place where the Council would meet, not hiding his presence but not making a ruckus. He didn't have too. Word traveled fast that the Alpha was back, and as he moved through the city, Anur's warriors were beginning to whip themselves into a frenzy, obviously feeling the same thirst for battle he was now. They rapped on his armor as he pushed towards the chamber, and he greeted them with the same honor they gave him.

This battle would be great. Every wolf knew it.

Sucram was gathering the council for a vote. That was unnecessary now that Raghnall was up, but the ceremony was already called. This was a wonderful chance to show how united Anur was and boost morale before they departed, so the vote should still go through as he saw it. The Council understood the situation just as he and Marcus did; it would pass.

He pushed open the doors, and walked into the Council's meeting place. Whoever didn't know he was awake again knew now.

[-Davina]

She really wished she had the woman's name but she gathered from the odd miming that the woman seemed to need pen and paper to communicate more than a word or two. Fair enough, she kept her smile up and made a motion with her head. "Let's step into the study, I've commandeered it for an office of sorts so it'll be private enough if it's needed."

She felt it before the whispers started. Raghnall was awake and now headed for the council... Her first thought was to head for him, to check and see for herself that he did indeed walk among the conscious. She itched to go to him but put it off, pushing her focus instead into the latest guest for now she would have to content herself with sending him mental messages. They would be reunited soon enough.

About time you got your lazy hide out of the bed and joined the living The words were light and she tried to project laughter but under it even in her mind her voice shook a little. He had scared a few years off of the end of her life when they had carried him into the room. She hadn't known he could be so still. She was suddenly filled with a lightness, easier now that Raghnall walked. It was going to be okay and between them they were going to make it work.

She looked back as she walked down the hall and the smile she sent made her eyes almost glow. It was time to make war, it was time to do her job and by the Goddess she was going to make her mate, her pack and her colony proud and moreso they would be safe. Throwing the doors open she almost danced as her mind began to work around the rest of the obstacles in their paths, nothing was insurmountable now. Nothing would stop them.

She gestured to a small desk and a couple of padded chairs "This should cover us well enough." She perched in a chair and pulled out pen and paper, sliding them across the desk and meeting the other females eyes. "There is much to discuss and I am well pleased he sent you to visit with me."

[-Marcus]

When the doors opened, the old wolf's shoulders were allowed to sag, and he pulled off a quiet smile in front of the council. With open arms, he welcomed the alpha into the sanctum where the elders had been heatedly debating the necessity of mobilizing for war. Marcus was having little luck convincing the majority that they needed to move to help the other mortal races.

"But it doesn't look like we need a vote any longer. The alpha's own word will be the will of the pack."

The council got quiet, and many of the wolves inside either rolled their eyes or shared pained looks of defeat and the sensation of an encroaching headache. War was not what most of them wanted right now. Sadly, the lycans didn't have a choice in when to wage war this time around. Now, or never.

[Siege]

Atra followed Zara silently to the study, examining the area as she went and keeping track of any nearby sources of magical or psychic energy as she did not completely trust the lycans. When they reached the Study and Zara took a seat Atra decided to remain standing, always prepared, always vigilante in her duties. She looked at the pen for a moment before moving a hand towards it. Her etheral hand became coated in a white material revealing her delicate and small hand to all who were present. Grasping the pen in one hand she scooted the paper across the table and situated it in front of her, her other hand also becoming coated in a white material. Then rapidly she began to print, she did not write in anything fancy for she needed to get her words across quickly and did not want to have to rewrite anything. The note took a minute but when it was done she pushed the paper back towards Zara and set the pen down, raising her head to look the wolf in the eyes.

I am Head Mediator Atra, the head of the the Marquis's personal guard.

I am here to state that the Marquis will not be able to offer many men to the war effort since he has to leave men behind to protect his city in case the Aesir get word of his treachery out. My unit will be assisting the lycans in the war effort though we are only fifty strong. I vouch for my men and their capabilities and assure that they will carry their own weight, also they are already on Ardania though separated to avoid unnecessary attention. Myself and the Marquis will be joining your people on the field of battle though he was unable to come here today himself since seeking is not his strong suit.

If you have any questions ask now and I will respond as well as I can.

[-Roush]

He could smell division, and feel the inquisitive eyes of both sides of the argument. He met Marcus' greeting, then turning to the wolves of Anur.

"Citizens of Anur, brothers and sisters, the world finds itself in a precarious position. It has been revealed that the Aesir seek world domination through destruction. They have issued challenges to every independent city or state, demanding that they bow to the Aesir or face destruction. Recently it has been revealed that as soon as the Aesir seize control, they plan on sweeping the land of life in a massive genocide.

"The nations and factions of the world have decided to make one final push. Using their collective strength, they will meet the Aesir on the field of battle. Unfortunately, it is not enough. The humans do not have the strength to defeat the Aesir alone.

"This is where we come in. Regardless of what you think of a member of any other race, know this: a corpse has no affiliation, and death cares not whether it takes a human, lycan, or 'god'.

"If they fail without us, the Aesir will bring down the entirety of their force upon us. Brothers, I do not doubt your strength, but know that no man can stand under the weight of the world.

"Not even the Aesir. And they will buckle, but only when the lycans climb the gates of Ascantha, ascend the tower, and rip Caspian to pieces in memory of Marcus. We are strong, and the world needs our strength! Anur, rise with me on this day! We will march on the gods, and the world will know that it is because of us that Redemption is free of the Aesir blight!"

[-Davina]

Zara shook her head and smiled viciously for a brief instant. "I'm sure we will be seeing each other on the field... Tell the Marquis he owes me a drink and a visit when this blows over will you?" She looked over her own shoulder for a second then glanced back. "Time to move, it was nice meeting you but I must hit the council meeting and begin our own march." With a slight bow she faded into the shadows and raced for the chamber arriving just in time to catch the very end of Raghnall's speech.

Not wanting to interrupt she caught his eye and sent him a saucy grin even as her eyes roamed his body and she got a visual check that he was indeed back up and normal. She sided up to Marcus and dropped her voice down to just under a whisper "Momma has contacted me, our military is small but she is sending a few dozen to march with the lycan to show the Colony's support."

[-Roush]

Raghnall's speech might not have turned the adamantly opposed, but it certainly steeled his supporters. The moon chamber erupted with sounds of approval as some stayed silent, but obedient. They would respect the word of the Alpha, even unto death.

"Prepare yourself! Every able bodied warrior will be leaving as soon as possible!"

He looked over the crowd, smelling Kyna somewhere within it. As soon as he found her, helped by her whisper, he pushed through the crowd to her, and took her into his arms.

"I'm glad to be back in the world of the living with you. You can tell your colony that we appreciate the contribution, and Redemption will not forget it."



OOC:
Wolves of Anur rolling out, unless Marcus has something to add.