Prepare for the #LodanRespawn2024 Existing characters may choose to be displace from/have memories of different timelines, thereby allowing returning members the option to retcon their whole character. These changes are the result of the "Unnatural Fog" plot device that is running between now and the Respawn. The plot is simple: no matter where your character is, that place is shrouded in a thick fog that suspends time, but not thoughts or memories, so even if they're repeating the same day over and over again, they continue to remember, so each time feels like a new day. For those retconning OCs; this is where new versions of themselves have the opportunity to replace the old versions. Official lore and tree updates will be announced asap
"Oh you have no idea..." Amon replied, shaking his head a little and rolling his eyes, irritation rising. Of all the people berating him for his lack of good decisions, the last person he wanted to hear that from was him. At the same time, he couldn't help but give a mirthful smile at the irony of the man's words. If only he knew...
---
Outside, the EIRAL soldiers had reached their destination. "Wait out here," the lead soldier order. "It seems as though it's crowded in there as it is."
He then strode to the door of the shop, paying no attention to either Edel nor Polynia except for a curt "Excuse me" as he entered the shop.
---
"...I see everyone is already here," the man muttered as he took a moment to observe the congregation before approaching the lead councilman. "I take it that you're the leader of this little entourage? I am Lieutenant Louis Rickard; I am here to escort you and the rest of your group to EIRAL headquarters for questioning in your connection to fraudulent claims as heads of Mingo's Merchanics."
"I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible! And when I leave, you will finally understand why storms are named after people!" - Taryn, Nerf This
Words sunk into the guild leader enough to let the councilmen smile, his own words, chilled to match Amon’s own. “Then, Amon, I wish you a good day.” Once the ERIAL Lieutenant entered, the lead councilmen nodded to him, taking a step forward to pass the man. “Thank you, sir. I shall be requesting my lawyer, as will many of my men, though I’m sure that they are already at your headquarters as we speak. Come along, everyone.” Tipping his hat, he bid a greetings to Rickard before ushering the rest of his men to follow, leaving the three alone to discuss whatever they wished to discuss.
Removing himself from the crouched position on the counter, Wern shuffled some, eyes flickerirng between EIRAL and Amon. S-since when was Amon so close to them? I-it did seem ever so, well, fishy. But, that seemed to be a norm of Lodan. Swallowing, Wern shook in his place, taking a step forward as he squeaked. “Um—uh, s-should I leave?”
What is important to me is the experience of making. I leave all my work outside and often return to watch it decay.- Andy Goldsworthy
"Eh, you're fine Wern...you can stay if you want..." Amon replied once the council members left, rubbing his temples. "For the love of all that is good and sacred...that was a headache...are you sure you can't punch him in the face for me?" he asked Louis.
"Yes."
"Shame..." Amon replied, flexing his mechanical hand. "...I take it everything is going well?"
"Yes," came the curt reply. The EIRAL man visibly annoyed, yet he doing his best to keep his composure, with only his stiff body language and narrowed, forest green eyes betraying his true thoughts. With a small sigh, he relaxed a little. "Although we have yet to perform a search of their individual premises, we did obtain copies of business records from their office. However, at your earlier request, we obtained a history of the funds you set up, and it tells a completely different story. We need to do more investigation, but as of this time, although the council's records seem to show a slow increase in profit, the amount taken out of the funds you set up has been steadily decreasing."
"...Nothing truly conclusive yet?"
"None, we're still investigating."
"...Alright," Amon replied, absently drumming his normal fingers on the countertop in thought. "I look forward to any updates. Send a message over if you need me."
"...Understood," Louis replied, the underlying animosity returning.
"Oh, and Louis," Amon called out with a small smile as the EIRAL man turned to leave. "Remember: I scratch your back, you scratch mine."
"Tch." And with that, he left the shop.
"So...Wern..." Amon yawned, stretching a bit. "Do you need a moment to freak out or calm down, or can we continue our conversation before we were so rudely interrupted?"
"I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible! And when I leave, you will finally understand why storms are named after people!" - Taryn, Nerf This
A moment to freak out was an understatement. The larger man held up a hand, only to crumble some as he rubbed his temples, pacing back and forth as he babbled. “Oh god, oh god, EIRAL is involved? A-are they going to investigate me? A-am I going to get in trouble? I-is my family s-safe?” Pausing the tinkerer turned to Amon, hands, fumbling in the air as he continued. “A-are you going to send me to jail too? Because I-I didn’t help? Or, or, because I was heard? And I-I mean, what did I hear? They said you killed six people, Amon, and you didn’t deny it! W-why didn’t you deny it? D-did you kill people Amon? W-what happened while you w-were gone? W-why is this happening?” Glancing outward, he searched for any sign of Polinya, relaxing some at the fact that Edelweiss was with her— and knowing that she would protect his child. Though, could she protect them from EIRAL? T-that, may not be an option. Besides, he couldn’t do that to Edelweiss. The whole incident with the council was a fiasco. Wern understood that. What Wern didn’t understand was Amon—how calm he was, and second, how insane this all was. Amon was attacked by assassins? Then killed said assassins? T-that wasn’t normal. What had the guild leader done to do that? Just be a guild leader? But, even that didn’t make any sense. Mingo’s was a peaceful guild. What had Amon done to change that? “W-what happened to you, Amon?”
What is important to me is the experience of making. I leave all my work outside and often return to watch it decay.- Andy Goldsworthy
Amon blinked. "Okay...let me see if I can answer all of that in order..." he replied, rubbing his own temples as he collected his thoughts:
"Yes, EIRAL is involved. No, they're not going to investigate you. No, you're not going to get in trouble. Yes, your family is safe. No, you're not being sent to jail. No, besides there wasn't much you could do while they were in 'charge.' No, dunno what you heard, but you're fine. Again, you're fine. Yup, I didn't deny it. Because it was true. Yes, seven people in total: one the night I disappeared, six two nights ago. While I was gone, I was trying to rebuild and upgrade all of the machines that were destroyed when that mortar hit my warehouse. This is all happening because we are currently at war and there are people who want to take advantage of the chaos. As for a summary of what happened to me: the night I disappeared, a Sveden assassin attacked me, due to correctly guessing that I was building a steam mech comparable to their's and presumably hearing about my talents as a master mechanic or whatever. During the resulting scuffle, he was successful in stabbing me in the gut, whereas I was able to successfully kill him in self defense by getting a lucky shot at his jugular, but not before losing a majority of the toys and losing a lot of blood myself. For fear that he wasn't alone and that others may come after me, I then proceeded to take everything, hide, and fake my own death to throw off any extra assassins by using the now dead Sveden assassin as a decoy, thus explaining 'my burnt remains.' From there, I, again, was trying to rebuild and upgrade all of the machines that were destroyed when that mortar hit my warehouse, as well as upgrade Abby's capabilities, stitch my wound, create and implant a new eye, upgrade my arm, and plan a counter-attack. When I was ready, I sent out subtle signs that I was still alive, and the moment I did, six other Sveden assassins attacked me. In the ensuring battle, which happened two nights ago, I ended up killing them in self-defense; it was during this scuffle that the noise we made alerted Edel and she was able to locate and get in contact with me, giving me a stern lecture on the disagreeable nature of my actions. Feeling safer, I contacted EIRAL of my return the next day, where I proceeded to get another stern lecture on the disagreeable nature of my actions; additionally, I was sorting all legal, combat, and technological findings from the events of the last three months, as well as sort out and discuss how to deal with the 'council,' of which, encompassed the majority of the past two days. From there, I returned here, and summoned you and the 'council' to have a discussion, thus giving me a headache and a strong desire to punch the leader of that rag tag group of greed."
"Whew...does that answer your questions?" Amon asked, catching his breath.
"I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible! And when I leave, you will finally understand why storms are named after people!" - Taryn, Nerf This
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Aug 19, 2016 5:34:16 GMT
The icecream shop was a nice place to be. It was safe and far away from stress while still being close enough that the redhead could still spot Wern and raise an arm in a small wave to him when the chubbier mechanic peeked outside the shop. It was also a very good thing they were no longer within hearing range, so that Amon's comment about how she contacted him passed unheard, least she might have gotten ticked off enough to close a door on his face. Again. She could perfectly understand lying to cover his own tracks, but it did upset her that once it also involved her he had pretty much just 'reported' what he'd decided to say afterwards saying it, and she had no choice but just following up with his chosen little lies for cover's sake. Although, she pondered, it could be worse... better not imagine how.
EIRAL had ignored the girls, but that was probably for the best and the two pretty much did the same - Edelweiss because she saw no reason for chitchatting with them right then, and Polinya in her sweet little child's mind was still focused on getting icecream. And icecream she would get. Edelweiss chose a table first, then called the waitress girl over to take their order.
Did it answer his questions? M-maybe? No, it did, but, it also opened so many more. For the first fact, what— what was Amon even thinking? T-this was insane? A weltered Wern stared at Amon before holding up a finger, signaling a “please give me a moment” as the larger man turned, leaning himself on the counter in an attempt to regain his, well, composure. This was insane. Amon had killed seven people. Had been hiding for three months. And had assassins attack him. And, he seemed fine. Maybe. “Um- uh. Um. H-how are you doing?” Wern asked, turning slightly, though still too timid to turn around fully.
What is important to me is the experience of making. I leave all my work outside and often return to watch it decay.- Andy Goldsworthy
"Truth be told, could be better," Amon sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Obviously, this whole 'council' fiasco is just one part of the resulting fallout that I'm currently dealing with. But that pales in comparison with what I have to do to make it up to Edel. Needless to say, 'upset' is a massive understatement..." he continued with a sigh.
"...Really surprised that she doesn't want to give up on me..." he muttered under his breath, staring into space.
"...So," Amon said, turning his attention back to Wern after a moment's respite. "Back to my previous question, and I need an answer from you. With everything that happened, I have been grievously and repeatedly reminded of the consequences of keeping too many secrets and not keeping the right people in the loop. So, despite my better judgement (and in light of recent events), I'm going to open up a tad and trust you. I don't think I need to remind you of what could happen should you break that trust," he continued, subtly gesturing around the room.
"I'll ask you again: what did you think my stance (and by extension, Mingo's stance) was on Andersweltlers?"
"I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible! And when I leave, you will finally understand why storms are named after people!" - Taryn, Nerf This
Shuffling back and forth, Wern wondered if it was safe, well, to near the taller man. Long bangs and the mechanical eye, nothing new, except for the shorter hair, but, h-he was still the same, wasn’t he? The fact didn’t settle well with Wern, for well, he had been timid of the man before. It only seemed to intensify now. “W-well. She had been waiting for you this long. Don’t know w-why she would leave you now.” Except he could. But, the man was out of it, staring into space, and Wern wondered if he would get lost there. Maybe he had, already? It was best to try to give reassurance rather then discouragement.
The mention of breaking Amon’s trust made Wern flinch. B-breaking anyone’s trust was never really in the larger man’s agenda—let alone one that threaten him. “I– would not break your trust, even without the threat of your …” Wern glanced to one of the toys— the one that had startled him earlier. It’s eyes were no longer on him, but the mechanic wondered if it would stare upon him, boring a hole into his back if he turned. “….toys looming over me. I…. I don’t think I’m that kind of a person, a-and I hope I don’t seem like that.” Wern admitted, bending his head a bit as he stuck his hands in his pocket. “As for your stance, I—I don’t think t-they bother you. Or well, y-you never really cared— or maybe you do. But, well, you seem like the type of man who if bothered would put it to the side anyway. I-I don’t think you have a vendetta against them, but well, t-this is also speculation because well, y-you keep your e-emotions and views hidden Amon, but well, I mean, from w-what the guild has reflected, y-you don’t seem to be? “ Wern squeaked. What did Amon want him to say? Definitive answers? Oh dear. ~ The day was plump—heavy, it seemed, with sunny weather. Sweat dribbled down Cadence’s back as the elder woman whistled, a box hoisted against her hip and a smile on her lips. Whispers across town made mention of the old leader coming back for another go around, which meant, another person to prove her wares to. Wern, bless his little sweet heart, was merry, but Cadence, now she had big ideas—ideas that seemed to buzz about her brain that she figured that the silver haired man ought to be able to help her with where the shorter man hadn’t. After all, one was renown for his clockwork dolls, of which ought to be quite handy in her line of work.
Though, as she neared the shop of the previous (and now current once more) guild leader, the elder woman had to pause as it seemed that the silver haired man was already engaging with one that the elder woman recognized. One who, in his fumbling glory, was fumbling more then normal. “Oh buggers.” Cadence humpfed, leaning the box more so against her hip. Now, what was she supposed to do in the mean time? It appeared that the boy’s conversation was not going to be ending soon, and well, she wasn’t just going to stand there and wait until it was— “CANDY.” A squeal let out, and Cadence turned just in time to see a girl dashing out from an ice cream shop— strange, Wern said that Alisa was working today— to topple into the taller woman’s leg. “Poli! Whatcha up to dea?. Being a good girl for your pa?” The elder woman hummed, patting the girl on the head while Polinya squealed, pulling the slend woman toward the ice cream shop. “Werni is busy, but Polinya isn’t. Come, come, meet Aunt Fiddles.” Polinya hummed, and Cadence laughed, side glancing the guild leader’s shop. Well, she did have some time to kill. Might as well meet this Aunt Fiddles, and who knows. Maybe Aunt Fiddles would be interested in her “wares.”
What is important to me is the experience of making. I leave all my work outside and often return to watch it decay.- Andy Goldsworthy
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Sept 12, 2016 21:10:33 GMT
"Polinya, where are you going?" Edelweiss called, standing up from her seat as the little girl darted away from the icecream shop. Before even getting any icecream. Figures even the promise of the sweet cold treat wasn't enough to keep her in place for long, but how she had that much pent energy in such a small body was beyond the redhead's understanding. Sure, her guild had a few 'speedster' younglings as well, but none as hyperactive as that.
She was ready to follow Polinya - both to avoid losing sight of her and to bring her back to where Wern could find them - when the aforementioned hyperactive girl came back bringing an older woman in toll. Was she someone the child knew? Or did she just bump on a stranger and randomly dragged her for icecream as well? With a deep breath, the CAEsAL leader retook her former seat and gestured to the (understandably confused) waitress that no, they weren't leaving and she could serve them their order already. "Poli, you can't just run away like that. We have to stay where Wern can find you when he finishes working, or he's going to be worried about you. ...Who did you bring along?" She sighed, then turned to look at Cadence and the box she held. "Hello. Sorry to disturb your work, she just has a lot of energy... but you're welcome to join, I guess. "
"All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." - John Dalberg-Acton
Amon raised a hidden eyebrow before giving a small shrug. "Eh, close enough."
"In truth, the Mingo's has always had a unspoken, no-tolerance policy towards discrimination. The old engineer's guild leader, Lou, and by extension, Mingo's founder, Sienna, both really didn't care what race or species you were, so long as you did your work. Furthermore, I myself follow Sienna's viewpoint, in that it is up to the individual to 'sell themselves' and put their best impression forward. It's a reason why I let people join so easily: either you sink and I fire you, or you swim and make a name of yourself. It's also a reason why I don't force people to cater to everyone, regardless of species," he continued, narrowing his eyes at Wern. "As I mentioned before, that policy does not help every business, as their services cannot cater to every individual. Whether to cater to their rivals' excluded customers is up to each individual member. For instance, I don't mind if Anders come in and buy from me. Heck, I'll even throw them a discount; no matter the level of anti-magic treatment I give to a machine, it will eventually break if in contact with an Ander for long enough, so I just give them a non-treated version."
"However, even with a discount, my stuff is still pretty expensive," Amon said with sigh as he got up and started to make his way around the counter. "As such, if I see a family come in with a child who wants to buy something from me but don't have enough money, I'll turn them away and refer them to a cheaper alternative."
"Said cheaper alternative is a personal secret. Seeing how my secrets have come back to bite me, might as well let a few people in the know and keep whatever is left of my half-eaten bum. Since I'm appointing you as my second-in-command, it would be best for you to know, in case I need to bugger off again. Might as well let Edel know this one too, as this could help her out as well," he said as he made his way to the door.
"I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible! And when I leave, you will finally understand why storms are named after people!" - Taryn, Nerf This
Well, when Polinya talked about an “Aunt Fiddles” Cadence expected an older lass like herself, not a beauty with hair the color of a ripened radish. But boy, was that the most gorgeous radish Cadence ever did see. Whistling Cadence took her place across from the woman, helping Polinya ever so slightly into her seat. “My. When Polinya dragged me in here, I didn’t expect to see someone like you. Now it’s going to make me self conscious.” Leaning forward, Cadence expected the younger lass, looking for any blemish, and finding near none— except for some bags under her eyes, but well, that only meant she was a working woman. Nothing wrong with that. “My goodness— no wrinkles! My, you must have sold your soul to some devil for that kind of skin lassy. But, ah, where are my manners.” Rubbing her palm against her overalls, Cadence extended her hand. “The name’s Cadence. I’m a florist and, on the side, an inventor for devices that are to relieve stress. Actually, I have quite a bit of my wares in here.” Patting the box that she had placed on the table, the elder woman grinned. “Gonna show my wares to the Mingo’s leader, ya see. But he’s busy with this little’s girl pa, isn’t he?” Patting Polinya on the head, Cadence continued, “And isn’t she a bundle of energy? Sometimes I wonder if she could power a small robot with all that energy inside of her.” “I would want to power a doll. A doll that could walk!” The headscarfed girl hummed, and Cadence nodded before returning to the radish stranger. “So, how do you know Poli, miss? Friend of the ol’ Wern-ka-bob? Or Miss Alisa?” The elder woman inquired, crossing her legs.
Amon spoke. For a very long time. And Wern listened, trying to filter through names he did not recognize. Lou, Sienna? The later was a color, but, a person as well, it seemed. No-tolerance policy toward discrimination— that was good— but, where was this established? Nowhere. Oh— one of those unspoken laws. No wonder there was nothing written about it anywhere. Frowning, Wern nodded, fidgeting slightly as he tried to process the information. So, Amon didn’t see race, just, um, work ethic? Or um, usefulness? Then he glared at the larger man, and Wern cowered a bit. Now the guild leader was pinning him on the mandate— Wern recognized that, and although Wern could defend himself, he thought that it was perhaps better not to at that point. After all, it seemed that Amon was too keen on his resolve. There were exceptions to the “catering” written in the mandate. Mainly, it was to make sure that certain stores did not have a monopoly on ander friendly goods, but the economics behind that was better left untouched as Amon continued, explaining his own resolve over Anders. Yet, what Wern couldn’t understand was how he continued on this track— as if he needed to prove himself to Wern, but perhaps to himself as well. So, Amon purposely gave an Ander a non treated toy, the idea that what was the point if it would break eventually? The thought made Wern frown ever more. There were ander protected items? How did he not know about that? And more so, what was the logic behind Amon’s thoughts? The point was to extend its life. Yet, again, it funneled down to money to Amon— a reasonable premise. Wern understood that— after all, he had a whole family to feed, but what did Amon have? Perhaps that is where his coldness came from. In a sense, Amon was alone, with only his machines around him. For a moment, Wern’s fear turned into pity— into wonder. Did Amon feel lonely? Though, the question was stifled as the taller man rounded the counter, speaking of half eating bums. Wern would have awkwardly laughed maybe, but the larger man was cautious. Yet, that caution melted a bit at the mention of second in command. “Wait. What?” The larger man squeaked, the firm expression on his face returning to that perplexed confusion. “Wait. Hold on. What was that? I’m a what?” Wern squeaked. Oh god. H-he wasn’t serious, w-was he?
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Sept 26, 2016 8:00:22 GMT
"....Pardon?" She found herself asking, confusion stamped on her face as the woman - who later introduced herself as Cadence - talked of the redhead making her self-conscious. How and for what reason? Though the comment on her skin got a weak snicker out of her.
"I certainly did not, you can rest assured of it." Not sell her soul for pristine skin, that is. Though there was that funny old superstition of redheads being soulless going around some places... "I'm Edelweiss, leader of CAEsAL, nice to meet you. And I know Wern, actually (have heard of Ms. Alisa a couple times but we never met personaly)." She glanced at the box's contents as Cadence pulled the topic focus to it, the supposed 'stress relievers', and a then a different question crossed her mind. "...Are those what I think they are?" She questioned with a expression that didn't have a specific emotion to it, being a mix of faint curiosity and detached amusement.
Then there was Polinya's comment that she wanted to power a doll that could walk, and Edelweiss couldn't help but openly chuckle, turning her attention back to the child for a moment: "A doll that walks? Like Abby and Abe?"
At Miss Edelweiss' introduction, Cadence whistled. “Well goodness gracious ma’am. Wasn’t aware I was in the presence of such a boss-lady like yourself. My, now I’m really self conscious— dressed like a slob I am. Though frankly >I< would have to sell my soul to the devil to be presentable to you, lassy.” Cadence cackled, and when Edelweiss noticed her wares, the woman leaned forward, moving the blanket that lay ontop to cover more of the wares so that Polinya, who was now trying to stand ontop of her chair, couldn’t see them. “My, how embarrassing. My wares just be flopping all about the place. Wouldn’t happen to be interested would you? Quite helpful, you see. Pent up energies and all that.” The woman laughed again, leaning back as she, too, paid attention to Polinya. “Who are they?” Polinya whined, though, she was too distracted at the box, trying to paw at it to look inside. Again, Cadence moved the box. “Poli, no— if your pa saw you with things he would have a heart attack. You wouldn’t want that, would you?” Cadence hummed, and Polinya pouted, crossing her arms as she returned to her seat.
What is important to me is the experience of making. I leave all my work outside and often return to watch it decay.- Andy Goldsworthy
Post by Edelweiss Fjäril on Sept 27, 2016 3:39:56 GMT
"No, thank you." The redhead declined politely when Cadence asked if she was interested in her 'wares'. Personally, she'd rather not have anything that wasn't attached to a person come within her body. "...But I know someone who might be interested. Will have to ask them about it later." A certain blond Feline actually came to her mind for it. Although she was left to wonder if those still worked on anders... or on the backdoor.
And then back to the Polinya talk. "Hm? Never seen the twins before? Guess we'll have to ask Amon to let you see them sometime. After he and Wern finish their business."
"All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." - John Dalberg-Acton
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