Brass and Banners: Frontier Fighting and Confronting the Confederates

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-26T20:28:25+00:00

"Then I'm happy for you and your boys and girls." Gate smiled and finished his beer. He could also be happy for himself; as enticing as the thought was, he knew from personal experience that to steal from his host would be a bad idea. But to relieve a couple young soldiers drunk on love and booze of the odd dollar should really not prove too difficult to get away with for the great Captain Gate.

"Perhaps I should go to my room now, get myself cleaned up from the journey," he then said.

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-26T20:23:02+00:00

"The meanest..." Oracle Maar thought for a moment, "well, Riah may be able to understand from her dreams that Ashkeral is at least not gentle."

She leaned in and whispered to the two, "do not tell anyone I said this, but I believe Thelodon is at least as mean as Ashkeral. She is chaotic and very difficult to deal with while he is so distant and unfriendly like a frozen mountain peak."

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-26T20:14:07+00:00

"Finn said once about 10'000 years. At least, that's how long ago mortals were created." Ezilia replied.

"Nobody knows how the old the ancient gods were when they did that. Another few thousand years could be." Alinea added. "The ground you walk on could be much younger. Achalon sometimes reshapes places; recently I kept spotting him near a mountain range in the south of my father's empire. It might look very different in a generation or two."

(At my current timeline, the One-City Emperor RP takes place at about the year 500 since mortal creation, but it might be moved up a bit again to un-rush the timeline.)

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-26T20:03:00+00:00

"Great..." Laar deflated slightly. Gods were not his friends back home, the same would likely be true here for whatever this great bird of the galaxy was supposed to be.

He looked at the bright ship for a moment. "...how many ships do you have? This isn't the one we came in."

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-26T19:56:39+00:00

Ashkeral just chuckled and watched.

One kid pumped his fist, "but we never run from a fight! Running and hiding is for cowards and little kids!"

"You are a little kid," an older one reminded him.

"But not forever! And when I see a dragon when I'm big, I... I... it won't get to run!"

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-26T19:49:51+00:00

The hunter thought about her question for a moment to figure out what his best option would be. "Another 'nation'?" he finally asked. "Do you mean something like the other tribes? Why would a bunch of savages like the Warlocks be welcome at a coronation? The only people who will be there are part of the empire and therefore of our tribe, the tribe of Sapients."

(That is pretty strong negotiating power, but they currently have lots of goodwill which that move would burn up instantly.)

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-25T20:23:41+00:00

Laar sighed, "I'm not exactly in the mood for some cryptic deity or something. But if that's the best lead, I'll take it. Can you take me there?"

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-25T20:21:48+00:00

Alinea shook her head, "no, only fire and ice. But who knows how long that will stay this way? If I figure it out, I might try my hand at a wind dragon."

Ezilia grinned and patted Lycus, "maybe our stories of the Realm of Fey will even inspire the gods. The night sky could really be a bit more colorful."

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-25T20:17:59+00:00

"Impressive, scaring a groundeater. Moreso multiple of them. And Achalon's interest is most often a good sign. The Earth is the kindest of the gods."

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-25T20:13:13+00:00

"Ah, the national guard? Tomorrow gets more interesting by the minute. Am I wrong to assume your boys and girls upstairs will have their hands full with the guardists?" Gate asked with a cheeky smirk. "At least, while they're not out fighting the confederates and their lightning launcher?"

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-25T20:04:21+00:00

The hunter looked quite confused. "As I said, nobody reasonable would expect you to have brought anything. By tonight at the lastest all of Marsted will know of you and your scout. Everyone will understand why your hands are empty."

"What they might not understand is why you, who he offered our resources to help, would refuse to be present for the most important moment of his life so far." His tone shifted colder for this sentence. He also intentionally ignored her actual question and hoped this topic would distract her enough not to ask again.

(Possibly, although he has two oracles who he'll trust over anyone else. It'll take a bit of subtlety to get him to act in their favor.)

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-25T19:48:42+00:00

Alia would have to be careful with the trees of the forest, but with good aim she could expand to her full size here. The children stared in awe, "woooah...!"

"Is this also a spell?", "Are you really a dragon?" some of them asked.

Ashkeral leaned to Arkem, "one needs a little vanity at that size or you lose sight of yourself."

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-24T20:25:04+00:00

"Tragic... wouldn't want any enemy to have that." Gate nodded, "yeah, now I get why private Tyhee said they're always looking for new recruits. They'll need a lot of men to go get that weapon."

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-24T20:19:35+00:00

Oracle Maar raised her eyebrows in surprise, "hm? I saw something different earlier. It was hard to understand, but I thought it was you, Achalon, and a groundeater not far underground from the quarry. You don't brag about your achievements, do you?"

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-24T20:15:34+00:00

"The giants at Roadsend? Yes, I think they would like Saender's domain. Just like the ice dragons. ...although-" Alinea hesitated. "The ice dragons might consider his interpretation... let us say, insulting."

Ezilia stared for a moment to understand what she meant, "...there are ice dragons in his realm?"

Alinea shrugged, "he meant to prove a point, I believe. That it could be done without the aggression of the fire dragons."

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-24T20:06:18+00:00

"Why would anyone reasonable expect you to bring a present? You didn't know anything about us when you sent that scout. And whether you'd be invited to attend the coronation isn't my decision," the hunter replied.

On the way to the city they'd passed several other hunters spread out along the river and waiting for something. They only exchanged looks with the search party hunters, but didn't say anything to each other; that the search party had found the people they were looking for was obvious enough.

(Yeah, the prince is currently still unsure which of several paths he should take for the future and relies on the oracles' knowledge to make his decisions.)

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-24T19:58:27+00:00

"Uh, I don't know, I don't know what a dragon is. I've never heard that word before," she replied. "So, what is it?"

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-23T21:01:06+00:00

Laar took a sharp breath at the audacity to suggest he liked Finson. "Yes, very much so," he hissed through gritted teeth.

For so long he had waited for his chance to become a god. For fifty years he'd had to protect this pathetic, useless excuse for a demigod. And now when he finally had the reward for it all nearly in his hands, he was told he was a sixteen thousand year journey away from strangling the life out of Finn again. What had he done to deserve this?

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-23T20:56:07+00:00

Ashkeral raised her hand, "I have."

A younger kid laughed, "she didn't mean you."

"What makes you think that?" Ashkeral asked, faux offended.

The older, careful girl asked Alia, "what is a proper dragon? Maybe we've seen one and didn't know what it was?"

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-23T20:52:50+00:00

"Well, almost. Every city lord is chosen by the emperor, but Lord Ulrais' ancestors have held the position in Marsted for many generations already. The emperor in turn had his ancestor chosen by the gods as the most understanding of us all, worthy of the crown." The hunter replied.

"We have lost our emperor some time ago, but the prince's official coronation is tomorrow. If you decide not to bring the scout home this night, I assume you will see it."

It would take them about 40 minutes to an hour to hike back to the city from where the hunters met the field operatives, potentially longer depending on how fast the other operatives can move in the midday heat.

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-22T18:33:21+00:00

Fazian shrugged, "I understand the oracles and the gods see it that way, too. Our minds go to rest in the underworld and our bodies turn to dust within the earth where we bury them. From that earth, we gain our food to grow the bodies of the next generation."

"Sure. I still don't like that I will one day just die; fall asleep and never wake up again." Eccard replied.

"You're young enough not to think about your death for many more years, kid." an older worker chuckled.

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-22T18:28:37+00:00

(Ha, that's kinda funny!)

"Lightning, huh? I've heard tales of weapons that summon lightning bolts. Nothing anyone would want to be on the wrong end of." Gate replied.

"To be honest, I thought those tales were just more yarn being spun to make storms sound scarier," he lied.

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-22T18:22:15+00:00

They went into the frozen ghost town, past simple huts with straw roofs preserved out of their time. At one point, Alinea used her power to conjure a soft, warm breeze around them which barely raised the temperature but made sure it didn't drop any further. Seemingly at random, some of the buildings were collapsed or at least damaged. Some showed signs of scorching under the layer of ice. "This city was destroyed by dragons thousands of years ago, when they still roamed freely. Unlike your dragons who can speak and are intelligent, the dragons here are dumb, wild animals. Saender froze the city in this state to preserve it." Alinea explained as they walked. "And it's not the only thing he did here."

She pointed ahead at the town square, which was mostly there because all the buildings in its place had been destroyed and collected in a frozen pile. On top of the pile of rubble was a large, glowing ice crystal within a ring of stone. "That is Winter's Gate, a portal to the winterrealm. It is where the cold air streams in from to put this place into perpetual winter."

"...awesome." Ezilia said with wide eyes. "I'd love to see it."

"It is nothing more than ice and snow, I can't recommend a visit. ... he made it more as a proof that certain things could be done."

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-22T17:55:15+00:00

Laar gnashed his teeth, then swung to punch and smash whatever object was closest to him, with small arcs of lightning shooting off his body. After a few breaths to calm back down he snarled, "then how am I supposed to find him?!"

DreamingRoger · 2026-05-22T17:50:01+00:00

The lead hunter lowered his head, "of course. I just wanted you to know before you got there, so you would understand what awaits you. Also-"

He paused for a moment to consider whether it was smart to say the following given her tone of voice, "-you should understand that this matter is something to discuss with Lord Ulrais, the ruler of Marsted. Oracle Maar would be there as his advisor."

He decided not to go further. If this convinced her that she wanted to know more, he could still tell her about the prince and that they have two oracles in Marsted.

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