bravenewworld | Attack on Sanctuary

It’s just after midnight when the column arrives outside of Sanctuary, shrouded in darkness under the pitch black of a new moon. Bordered by mountains to the north, the city has two primary gates to the West and the East, both of which are shut tight with massive oaken doors, centuries old and further secured with an antique portcullis. The city itself is surrounded by walls of stone, easily one-fourth the height of those found in Union and about twice the height of many of the homes, sturdy stone buildings with triangular roofs, about the same size as Calderan homes. Like Union, there are many towers within the city, but unlike Union, the towers are cold, aloof structures that stand alone with no connection to the other towers. The city itself is stone, cold, gray, and unfeeling, with small drops of light from streetlamps which line the streets, emitting an eerie blue-white glow. This is Sanctuary. Home of the Magi, conquered by Gigas for forty years. This is the city that must be reclaimed.

[OOC: If you did not choose to take the Pokeballs (you don’t have to have affirmed in an NPC thread, it’s entirely up to the character), they may have either 1 large Pokemon or 2 small Pokemon. A large Pokemon is classified as any Pokemon that is 4’ tall or long per the official Pokedex guidelines, anything smaller is considered a small Pokemon. Without the aid of Pokeballs the Pokemon will be required to be out and active throughout the log, and will not be able to be recalled or sent away if they are injured and must be carried if knocked out. As always, please limit yourself to 2 major actions in the log, and declare all Pokemon accompanying you in your first tag to a log. As always, to keep the logs moving, we will be responding every 24 hours.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Its perfectly okay for Maeve to push Waver aside-- he's well aware that he's pretty small for his age, and was too distracted by what was going on with the discussion on the other side of the feed to really care.

"R-right," he replied, absently. This was all new information, something that was hidden away somewhere where only those in the know could have access. What was the truth supposed to be anymore?

Whatever Banzu was doing is forgotten at Valeria's next comment.

"Is she serious?"

It's clear from his tone and expression that he doesn't think she's lying or joking. He's having a hard time coming up with a proper response to this information. The Enhanced are one thing but using corpses is like something out of a science fiction or horror book.

"Dunno," Maeve frowned, her expression hard to read. Was it anger? Frustration? Fear, even? It was hard to say. She crossed her arms thinking for a moment.

"All we can do is sit on our hands right now. I don't like it. Any of it."

Raiding graveyards for spare parts was an old Wulfenbach tradition. Even if Gilgamesh hadn't indulged himself, he didn't look horrified at the prospect.

"Whether or not they can do what she says they can do, if her reaction is common among Gigan soldiers this is going to get REALLY tense."

Listening to Valeria's harsh come out in such a level, controlled tone sent a shudder down Waver's slender frame. His stomach knotted in disgust as the gravity of the situation dawned on him in those moments. His excursions into the libraries after dark had turned up absolutely no information about the use of human corpses for ritual purposes-- the very notion of it was unimaginable.

He released a breath that he didn't know he was holding when he heard the ultimatum:

"That's not going to solve the problem. That's not going to solve anything."

...If these were the secrets that the Magi kept hidden away in their innermost circles, and the reason why curious newcomers were regarded with nothing short of disdain, then he wanted absolutely nothing to do with them.

Pearl had remained quiet until now, her face ashen in shock. As a medium, someone intimately connected with the line between life and death, this went against everything she had ever been taught about right and wrong. It made her feel nauseous right down to her very core. Calling a spirit back from the other side temporarily, willingly, was one thing, but this...

"This is... horrible." Her voice was shaking a little, to her own dismay. "And even if we did agree to Ms. Valeria's terms, I - it wouldn't seem any different to the people of Sanctuary to swap Gigas for Union... isn't that what you meant?"

I wish I hadn't come, she didn't say. It had all seemed so much clearer-cut back in Union. Hesitating for another moment, she seemed to gather the courage to look between Waver and Maeve.

"... If Gigas did leave, do you think the Magi would stop those horrific things? Experimenting on people..."

"This is only one point of view. The answer is never that clear."

Waver crossed his arms, seeming to curl in on himself in an unconscious attempt to hide so he could collect himself. His voice was quiet, tense as he pulled his thoughts together.

Experimenting with the dead crossed an unforgiveable line, but he knew that there had to have been something else to catalyze such a reaction. No rational individual would start such work for absolutely no reason.

He was falling into his scientific problem-solving mindset-- he had to, or he would withdraw entirely.

"This is war," She corrected Pearl, her expression grim. "War is horrible."

Casting a look at Waver, Maeve kept whatever thoughts she had to herself. Oh, she had them. Plenty of them. It was clear as the nose on her face. But would she be telling these kids a single one of them? Of course not.

Maeve paused, swallowing. "Sanctuary has always been about the pursuit of knowledge over ethics," She answered, looking at Pearl as she did. "No. I don't believe they would. Valeria's probably right."

"I--" Pearl's mouth snapped shut, forming a thin line that matched the one between her eyebrows. Even if her heart went out to the people of Sanctuary and their plight - wasn't that why she'd wanted to help in any way she could? - she couldn't see how experimenting on people could ever be justified. That much was clear to her.

She swallowed the thought, though, instead only nodding mutely at Maeve's words. She felt as though she were about to burst, but... she had to try and remain professional, the way mediums of Kurain were expected to.

"I see." She took a deep breath, and bowed slightly, dipping her head. "Please forgive my outburst." Straightening up, she added: "But... even if Ms. Valeria is right, it's also true that we cannot agree to all of her terms in good conscience, right?"

Attack on Sanctuary

Mission 1

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