It's time to have a little rebellion.

Easier said than done. Aleksei has left the expert matters of smuggling to Evaristo and his team of sailors, pirates, and merchants -- both the smuggling in of weapons and the smuggling /out/ of thralls in Action #3945. Aleksei doesn't know smuggling. He's /terrible/ at boats. That is why he recruited people who were the opposite of that.

But where does that leave them? Here is what Aleksei knows: there are some ten thralls in Sungreet for every free citizen. It is perhaps the bastion of traditionalism in the Isles, meaning that the thralls there have likely not been treated softly. He knows that thralls are often controlled by the threat of violence not only against themselves, but against their family and loved ones who might be more vulnerable. He knows that these are going to be people who might be deeply reluctant to even think about something like a rebellion. These are the things he knows.

So he makes sure he has answers to these things. He has asked Brass for his help, for his magic, and for his involvement; he hopes for a number of the weapons smuggled in to be those artificed by Brass for just this purpose. As many as he's willing to make them. He'll bring Brass with them, if Brass is willing. He's asked /Prism/ for help, however she is able to; he knows that she is a powerful illusionist, and she may be able to help to move people from place to place without being seen. Certainly no lock will be able to stand against her mere presence.

But even more important are the others he gathers to help. The regular people, just like him, each with their own valuable skills. With the most vulnerable thralls hopefully able to make it out via the smuggling efforts, he tries to use the contacts and information he may have garnered from Action #3924 to give them a place to start. They'll start quiet conversations with those who are amenable and well-positioned to help influence others. The first step, after all, is convincing them to organize at all. Give them hope. Aleksei is the First Liberator, the Paladin of Freedom, and though he tries to keep his presence quiet overall -- considering who he is -- he also tries to leverage it in those private moments. He isn't there to just throw weapons at them and tell them to rebel while he slips away, after all; he will stand with them. He will fight. He tells them that House Helianthus has no intention of honoring Prince Victus's abolition of thralldom, and that Duke Ivan is surely stalling for time while the Eurusi fleet travels to his shores. That Skal'daja is a City of Slavery, built on chains and auction blocks, and matters will only become worse if their fleet is able to arrive.

It is a scary prospect, but there is also hope. They bring armament, and word that Thrax and the Faith are acting, that their fleet should arrive before Eurus. Aleksei and his team will try to organize the thralls into cells so as to keep things secure. Word has to be passed quietly. People will need to be convinced, and they will need to be trained. Signals will have to be arranged and organized. Quietly. Still quietly.

And when the time is ready? They will need to be led. Timing, of course, is tricky, and will depend on some other things. If Thrax and the Faith show up and battle breaks out -- well, then it's /definitely/ time. But if Eurus looks soon to land without anyone getting in the way? Then it's also time to act.

[OOC: Things might possibly change and adjust as people put in assists and we get closer to deadline!]

Shard intends to let the others do most of the talking and convincing, while she works on helping to keep everything quiet. Secret. Organizing cells? Well, she can work on the logistics of that. Finding quiet places for meetings or safe places to store weaponry? She can probably do that too. Actually teaching willing thralls to learn how to fight? Well, Shard's not much of a teacher, but she /can/ teach, and in a pinch, she actually does have some talent to inspire, particularly when it comes to killing slavers and striving for freedom. She'll keep to the shadows when she's not needed in order to avoid drawing attention to the group, as well as to keep a keen eye out for trouble.

But mostly? Mostly Shard is here for the inevitable fight. She intends to fight by Aleksei's side, and, should things go incredibly poorly, try to get as many people out alive as possible. If they can't get out of Sungreet, then she'll have places already worked out where they can try to bunker down and wait for reinforcements, or go to ground entirely. In her mind, it's always best to prepare for the worst.

But as for the best? Well, she'll be very, very happy indeed if they manage to create a successful uprising at exactly the wrong time for Ivan Helianthus.

The Crownbreaker Wars were started when one conniving princess seduced the guard on watch, and then slit his throat so she could open the gate to the Thraxian warriors. Mirari knows this story better than most, and seduction is an old practiced move for her at this point. So while the others are inspiring the thralls to rebellion, or bringing weapons to help, or teaching the thralls a mnemonic, Mirari will be going under the guise of a recently widowed woman returning from another island to; flirt, seduce, and ensnare the guard captain and his team. Any she thinks she can either distract at a key moment or that she can turn to their side through seduction.

She's got such a pretty smile, and when her knife is hidden under her elaborately braided hair she looks oh so harmless.

She'll also be tossing in some coin to add to the funding of hiring on men-at-arms to help.

He's no Brass and no Prism, but Raymesin has been hired to help - and helping is what he does. A master of back-alley knife-em-ups and dirty fighting in general, he's there to show people that they can and should stand up for themselves and each other. Fighting with honour only counts if the other side is willing to extend that honour to you, and it doesn't matter how good a swordsman is if ten people rush in with sticks, clubs, knives and anything else that comes to hand. But, most important, Raymesin's there to show people how to turn their everyday tools into weapons. Fish-cleaners use knives, and there's not /that/ much difference between gutting fish and gutting people. Farmers lay hedges, prune, mow, and reap - and all of that takes tools, tools that can be turned to ends other than growing food for other people to eat and keeping their land tidy for them. Why should the nobility of House Helianthus benefit so much from someone else's work?

But mostly, Raymesin's here for the fight. He got hired to show these people how to use the skills they already have, and he'll make no bones about that - no-one would believe he was here out of the goodness of his own heart, even if it was true - but when it comes down to it, having the odd professional in with the rebellion they're hoping to raise can't hurt in the slightest. He's not particularly subtle, but then he's not going out to change hearts and minds. He's working with the hearts and minds that are already in, to help them become effective.

Fortunato cannot fight worth shit. Although he is a Whisper, he is not known for his persuasive weight. But he has brought some poetry. Poetry can enliven the heart and the like. He assumes thralls, unique among folk of Arvum, may not be literate, so he reads his poems aloud. He encourages memorization. He says that if they are hurt by someone stronger, or forced to do something they do not desire to do, that reciting one of these poems in private may give them heart.

Reprisal

I have been hurt.
You who hurt me.
Should understand hurt.
This is my plea.

Rescue

I have been chained.
You who chain me.
Should understand chains.
I will be free.

Moving amongst the lowest of the low is something that Raja knows. She will be going in disguise to mingle amongst the Thralls, speaking with them, being them for all intents and purposes. She will hide her dagger and cover her leather armor in the rags of thralls. She will dirty herself and even sport a bruised cheek (which she did to herself) to blend in all the more. Using this disguise, she will help spread dissent and assist in leading away the children and infirmed to safer locales to be smuggled out. She will help spread weapons through the masses.

    Venturo is only too happy to help setup distractions across the area under the guise of carnivals. He'll bring the Kismet Carnival into town, so to speak. He'll be hand picking the performers and entertainers, ones he knows and trusts well, and will give Aleksei and others the opportunity to embed some of their own agents into the carnivals as well. It will serve two points:

    First is the spread of information and organization to the thralls and others who are engaged in these activities. People come and go at these festivities, everyone is drinking and enjoying themselves... and there are plenty of areas to have clandestine conversations to organize a rebellion.

    The second thing Venturo will aim to do is to hold a large celebration for the /important/ people of the House there. The nobles. The beauracrats. The movers and shakers. A large celebration of House Helianthus and their lands. Drinks will be served for free to toast the long life of the House and their deeds, alcohol shall flow freely. And if a group of rebels seeking to free the thralls uses the opportunity to round up so many important, tipsy lords and ladies and dignitaries of Helianthus in one spot? Well, all the better!

The Blackrose lives and she has come to help.

Thralls are criminals and getting what they deserve. That's the philosophy and culture of the Mourning Isles, and particularly in traditionalist holdings such as House Helianthus' Sungreet, where thralls are just not treated softly in general. A majority of thralls are Abandoned seized from their home by war parties, with their thrall debts written as a war debt for raising arms against the Compact, even if the shav'arvani had never touched a blade or seen a member of the Compact before. And their treatment is even worse, since they are treated as murderous raiders that are ancestral enemies of the Compact.

Timing is everything, and it's hard to determine the exact right moment to start their rebellion. Weapons are smuggled in, and some of the non-combatants are smuggled out. Liberators lay the ground work. Mirari spends a great deal of time with some of the guards, and is able to help them all move freely through the city, as Mirari manages to sway a guard captain into being extremely sympathetic to their cause (though mostly to her in particular). Venturo's propaganda is proliferated through the city, priming many of the thralls for the moment, and Raja is able to help smuggle them all around the city, particularly Aleksei and Fortunato for when the time is right. Triscali, well. She is able to move herself without being seen, and wait for the moment.

The moment comes when the templars under command of Sir Preston tries to arrest Duke Ivan Helianthus.

It's unclear what exactly happened at the beaches as House Helianthus met with the templars, but a fight does break out and troops from House Helianthus move to assist and provide an opening. When that happens, Fortunato is struck by a number of chained thralls laboring as masons and working on a new building all stop and begin to recite the poem he had written, a poem they could never had heard, ignoring the angry shout of a guard to stop.

And then it all starts to happen at once.

Some of the thralls near Fortunato slip their manacles, as if their manacles were a size too large, and several guards are tackled. Cries raise up from a score of different buildings as the sounds of battle echoes throughout the city of Sungreet. Guards begin to pour out of buildings and march out from the castle of House Helianthus, and thralls are charging into the streets, frantic fights happening as the thralls are trying to get free and out of the city.

Aleksei is surrounded by dozens of thralls, giving a speech on freedom to cheers that go up around him. Raymesin shivs a Helianthus archer a moment before he would have shot Aleksei, and Mirari is ducking in and out of houses dealing with problems best resolved by sharp instruments. Mirari charges into one barracks alone to help some thralls that were trapped in there, and oddly it seems as if the entire place goes darker, and shadows seem to follow her. She emerges some time later bloody but unharmed.

Thousands of thralls are in the streets fighting Helianthus guards, though there's significantly more Helianthus troops than expected. Some of the Helianthus troops begin to fight against other Helianthus troops, including Mirari's guard captain, cheering on the liberated thralls, though the troops loyal to Duke Ivan Helianthus are cutting down thralls wherever they can, and making a push towards the gates to try to seal the city, and cut the forces of the Faith off.

Scores of armed and armored Helianthus troops rush the open gates to seal it, and are met by one woman wearing a crown and beautifully armored, holding a glaive. Perhaps a handful might recognize the artwork that had immortalized Queen Triscali the Blackrose. Perhaps a few might question why a single armed woman was there to stop them. Perhaps. But they charge all the same, swords raised and letting out battle cries at the one woman there to stop them.

There's a blast of radiant light as Triscali's glaive meets the first sword swung at her, and a dozen men are knocked off their feet. A flick of her wrist and another man charging at her is spun away with such force that him and three other men are imbedded inside a wall. Another man swings his sword at her and stands bemused as Triscali explodes into glittering pink butterflies that fade into wisps of light, and her glaive cuts him down as she reappeared behind him. Another swing of her hand and a dozen men are suddenly blinded, and she points her glaive and utters a word as the ground swallows up another group of soldiers.

And then the swell of hundreds of Helianthus soldiers and hundreds of freed thralls arrive at the gates, and it's a great melee. Eurusi are coming on land as well, and there's battle cries as swarms of Eurusi soldiers try to take the Faith in the rear. Raymesin and Mirari are fighting back to back keeping Helianthus soldiers away from Aleksei and Fortunato, as thralls trained by Raymesin are taking the fight to House Helianthus, a solid mass of armed and liberated former thralls around Venturo guarding him, many of whom are deeply grateful for the man's carnivals providing just the cover they needed for them to be armed and trained. Meeting the charging Eurusi head on is Shard, with dozens of shav ex-thralls around her as they form a wedge to stop the Eurusi from entering the city. She feathers a dozen men before they reach the walls, and then it's time for swords, as she holds a line with determined thralls who would far rather die free than return to the life they had known until today.

Queen Triscali is suddenly among the Eurusi ranks, fighting robed figures that are hurling fire and darkness at her, keeping Eurusi mages at bay. As the Black Rose fights, Aleksei hears an odd buzzing of insects and sees centipedes skittering on the ground. The buzzing gradually becomes more and more audible as he sees swarms of insects moving across the ground, "Sk... skk... skka... skaaa... SKALD. SKALD. SKALD. KIL... KILL... KILL... SKALD... KILL SKALD. KILL SKALD. KILL SKALD." In the midst of the fighting, dozens of snake-sized centipedes start trying to bite at Aleksei, as he, Fortunato and thralls around them stomp and swat at the things, as then there's a howl and a terrible snarl as a giant half-man half-wolf thing half knocks Aleksei over to get at the centipedes, tearing them apart and bitting and rending, and then leaps a solid twenty feet towards a rising humanoid form made up of centipedes, tackling to the ground and disappearing beneath a swirling melee of combatants.

As the Eurusi press in, a second force of Eurusi is arriving and attacking them, coming to the aid of the badly pressed Faith militant forces. The battle is turning as Triscali cuts down another mage trying to launch black fire towards the ranks of the Faith, and the hostile Eurusi and forces under Duke Ivan Helianthus start to withdraw, fighting a savage rearguard action as they fight their way towards the docks and beaches of the city, with both Eurusi ships and ships under Duke Ivan Helianthus begin to depart.

The battle is getting more sporadic and spread out, and the swell has left Fortunato and Aleksei as they recover an unconscious and bloody Shard with torn clothes and armor, and then Fortunato starts to have a very bad feeling. A very, very bad one he can't quite place, but a sensation of overwhelming dread. And he sees it.

One small little centipede, glowing with a sickly green, skittering through the bloody grass at Triscali, as she is fighting desperately to protect a group of unarmed thralls from a Eurusi surrounded by a dark nimbus of flame. Fortunato opens his mouth to call out a warning, even as Triscali finishes an incantation that vaporizes the Eurusi in a wave of light, and she looks up as the little green centipede wraps around her boot and bites deep, through her armor. She instinctively gestures downward and the centipede shrieks and turns to ash, but Triscali's veins in her forehead for a moment pulses a sickly green, and she tumbles over unconscious.

And then the battle is over. House Helianthus is now split in a civil war, with Lord Trevor Helianthus, Ivan's heir, has turned against him, and the Eurusi split as well, with Damik'uhl'daja the Crown Prince of Skal'daja having voiced interest in joining the Compact. Sungreet stands liberated and free... but the Mourning Isles are now at war, and two thirds of the Eurusi fleet is sailing away to the South and Southwest. Towards the Saffron, not towards Eurusi.

They are surrounded by the dead, and unconscious Shard and Triscali. Thousands of grateful thralls are free, cheering Aleksei and his friends. Many have tears of joy, knowing the first freedom since childhood. It's a victory, despite the dead, and considerable alarm over Triscali and Shard and others. And it's a beautiful day, battle aside.

Though on the horizon to the east, there's storm clouds.

Once upon a time, several years ago, about twenty thousand people in Stormward suddenly had no place to go. The Liberators took up the call, expanding previous efforts of assisting those freed from bondage to make it work for -- a much larger number. And, because of the help of countless supporters who came together, they were able to see those people safely relocated (for those who wished to be) and resettled (for all of them) into new lives.

Well! Now we have...several tens of thousands of slaves from the Saffron Chain ending up in Arvum. That is quite a lot. Some of them already seem to be settling in the Lyceum where they landed, but the Liberators would not be doing their duty if they did not respond. And so Aleksei and a number of others are traveling south to see what can be done. A lot of ex-thralls from Stormward ended up settling in Setarco several years ago after Pravus offered such notable assistance, and he'll reach out to see if some of those people -- maybe some of them became Liberators! -- will offer some of their assistance, as people who have benefited from this sort of aid before, along with, of course, connecting with the local Seraph and the Faith discipleships in Setarco.

The process is simple enough: the Liberators always seek to give refugees as many choices as they can. Where do you want to live? What do you want to do? Aleksei provides as much guidance as he can, helping educate people on their options so they can find the path most suitable to them. And then, wherever they land, the Faith makes sure they have places to stay and food to eat as they go through the process of first finding work or apprenticeships to find their feet. A simple enough process! But one that requires a ton of work and resources.

At least it's not Aleksei's first rodeo, right?

Zara's bringing her diplomatic talents to apply to the problem. She has limited direct experience with refugees but a very great deal of experience in smoothing feathers in the midst of great change, as with the Great Road. She's also able to use her position as Voice of Valardin to aide those who would settle in the Oathlands.

Raya began her journey into the Faith, before taking her vows, as a disciple of Jayus. And she still believes there are none better who can aid those in need of finding gainful work as makers of beautiful things. So, she works her connections to help those who can craft find apprenticeships. She also offers instruction on the Pantheon and general cultural matters, so these new citizens can understand what's expected of them and acclimate to their new lives.

Having heard about the move by Aleksei and the Liberators to help settle the Eurusi refugees, Dianna is keen to go to the Lyceum, her birthplace and former home, to assist with helping smooth the transition of these people. She'll use her ability to charm and persuade mass groups of people - her prestige and renown having grown since becoming both Godsworn and a Third Reflection Mirrormask (and it hasn't hurt to be Countess Vanora's protege, as well).

In each of the encampments, inns, or other gathering places where these newly freed former-slaves congregate, Astrid will be there. She'll walk among them, shake their hands, kiss their cheeks. She'll arrange times to preach about Choice and its consequences, on the dogma of Skald. And any who wish to join the Compact (or re-join depending on where they were taken from) she will help find a new life.

Change can be frightening in the moment, even if it is ultimately for the better. Freedom may seem daunting after what feels like forever under the lash, but it is ultimately the first step to a new life. Estelle feels the divine calling of Lagoma to assist these multitudes in need as best as she is able to bolster them through to this new stage of their lives. Long trips and new places can unblance one's humors, and the Mercy will first seek to keep their bodies strong and healthy so that they are better able to focus on the encouraging mentions of what the Liberators and Arvum can offer.

Once upon a time, several years ago, about twenty thousand people in Stormward suddenly had no place to go. And Kennex were greatly in need of help and were greatly assisted by the liberators. Since then, Kennex has grown into a duchy and has a reputation for being one of the most progressive houses in Thrax, and all because of the Liberators help.

It is now time to help pay forward the help the Liberators gave to Kennex all those years ago, by providing support and assistance in the form of writs and silver and support. Catalana will leave the ships and moving people to the others more experienced with boats, while Catalana Kennex will come herself and help take charge of the paperwork. If it's one thing the lady knows, is that paperwork saves lives. She'll take note of what people say in their interviews and where they are interested in being placed. She will look at lists of who has lands available and match them to where is most suited. She will co-ordinate all ships coming and going and make sure each ship has the correct rations and passenger loads. At the end of the day, she will present summary reports and cost analysis to Aleksei and hopefully save him from pulling all his hair out.

Jyri has experience of similar situations, though the scope of this is much bigger than anything he's been involved with before. Either or, he hears Aleksei's call and immediately offers his help. His expertise in survival and leadership is his focus, he knows how to make much out of nothing, so he comes along - despite being quite dubious about travel at sea, should they need to get on a ship.

Before leaving, he held a raffle with one of his paintings as a prize, and a fair bit of extra resources was the result, all to help the refugees with. He also adds on a considerable amount of his own. As a former refugee, he knows fully well how rough this will be for them and every bit of coin helps.

So, his services are protection, and he can train refugees or put his skills as a leader to good use, making sure things run smoothly with his commanding aura. But, additionally - he is the Minister of Population for house Whitehawk and his house is offering housing and work to refugees, to as many as Whitehawk land can reasonably accept.

Darren loves a good liberation, and will gladly travel with Aleksei and the others down south with little grumbling to do his best to help out. He'll extol the virtues of the Northlands and Freedom and offer jobs and homes to those that would take Redrain up on their offer. He also brings with him a contingent of soldiers to ensure that both their own journey, and the journeys of those that wish to travel onwards from the Lyceum, are suitably protected.

Tatienne is a skilled merchant, affluent and willing to invest in this heavily to help the newly freed acquire genuine freedom. She figures this many people will need to be fed and clothed, and so she pulls in on her considerable network contacts to provide abundant amounts of both; and any excess funding can go to building up homes for the newly freed.

Orrin has done this before! Orrin has done this before repeatedly. Between readying his land for refugees with a particular focus on thralls (action 3129), building an entire town set up for the care and education of newly freed folks (action 3284), to screening refugees (acion 3358) and several rounds of hunting down cultists on the heels of that (plot 425), to freeing slaves in the Saffron Chain and settling them at Pearlspire (plot 595), Orrin is prepared for this in particular.

He's going to do three things.

1: He's going to make sure that everyone working on this - from Liberators in general to folks with their specific holdings - have an accounting of what has worked to prepare lands for refugees, what has been good but extraneous, what has been less effective. He's going to make sure that everyone working on this knows what has worked to find cultists and bad actors amongst refugees, in particular using those more familiar with the cultural background of the refugees in general to make note of those acting in ways that are inconsistent with people who legitimately just want to live their best free lives.

2: He's going to identify helpful folks from those who have successfully settled in Pearlspire from the Isle al'Aswaq, whether they are helpful because they have linguistic skills, keen insights into other people, or other social skills that would make them persuasive and capable of helping, and lead them through the process of refugee screening. For those holdings that are taking refugees who don't have such help, he'll try to identify people who would be willing to travel and do this work in other holdings as well.

3: He's going to offer homes to as many screened refugees as possible, with a focus on populating Breckendale Vale.

When the offer to help slaves from Eurus comes her way, Raja was dubious. She has her own private reasons to not get involved. However, curiosity wins at the end. This would be an opportunity to mingle with people from her place of birth, even though they are the lowliest slaves. She sets off with the Liberators, working alongside them to help settle in the now freed people.

Alessandro will be assisting with the finances of this sort of endeavor. There has to be some sort of budget, and the more it's stretched, the more refugees can be settled somewhat comfortably and hopefully happily. He will also offer Greenhaven as one of the choices for the refugees to settle in, should they wish to. He has some experience with resettlement due to the aftereffects of the Great Road, and so he puts those to use now.

Porter Kennex will be using his position as Admiral of the Stormward Fleet to help transport refugees and get them resettled. They'll be given an opportunity to settle in Stormward, if they should so choose to.

Shard has limited resources, of course, but what she does have in abundance are a whole lot of sellswords available for work, and the ability to provide said work at the cost of their contracts alone, and without taking a cut herself or doing the usual mark-up for profit. And it just so happens that a fair chunk of those sellswords are ex-Kennex Thralls, recruited during that crisis many years ago. They'll be providing security and protection for the incoming refugees, as well as any necessary escort to wherever said refugees choose to go. She'll also be offering a place to any former slave who wants to actually take up the life of a mercenary.

Oh, and if any of her sellswords get any ideas about taking advantage of the needy circumstances of the people they're protecting, or for that matter sticking their fingers into the vast amounts of wealth that need to be moved around to make this happen, well, there are other examples to be taken from the Valorous Few's time in Kennex lands; that of the very swift violent end a few of them met when they decided to start looting. The Captain-General has no intention whatsoever of letting her crew run wild on this trip.

Mailys is a merchant, and that means several things:
1) She has considerable liquid assets, and she'll personally contribute five hundred thousand silver to this cause.
2) She has a talent for getting a -lot- of goods at a discount, and so many of these new refugees will need the sundries. They'll need a change or two of clothes, soap, pots and/or pans. They're going to need bedding, and tools of their trades-- or their apprenticeships, or whatever path they take. Mailys is going to do her absolute best to get the most bang for her buck, trying to get the perfect balance of quality and quantity. None of it's going to be amazing, but it'll all be quite serviceable.
3) She'll offer free room and board within Arx for one (1) year, for any refugees that don't find a place elsewhere, whether that is at Casa di Corsetina or one of the various boarding houses within the city.
4) Employment! Corsetina Merchantile has a wealth of job opportunities for all kinds of skillsets.

Elora accompanies her husband, Jyri, as he provides protection and trains/leads the refugees, she would provide medical services and advice to anyone that needs it, using her skills to spot illnesses and injuries before they become worse (or in the case of diseases, spread to the greater population), as well as providing triage so as not to no misuse valuable resources to ensure the best outcome for all of the surviving refugees.

A well-known merchant, Svana has the gift of a silver-tongue and a perceptive eye. House Stahlben and Svana will donate silver to the cause as well as other resources - though Svana's main goal during this trip will be to help manage those resources. There is a art to stretching both gold and resources. And due to Svana's exquisite charm, it might not hurt to have her talk to those who might be liberated or are newly liberated. She can be very persuasive - even better when the cause is a good one.

It's a huge undertaking, but goes well as can be expected. The largest concern for most is of cultural clashes, as most of the Eurusi fleeing the war in the Dune Kingdoms are aghast at the thought of giving up their worship, and it's complicated that the Eurusi don't all share the same religion with one another, and that the Oathlands Orthodox would be horrified at the thought of thousands upon thousands of non-believers settling among the Compact. True, they all swear oaths of fealty under the sight of Limerance, so they don't -reject- the Pantheon, but that's not the same thing as whole heartedly accepting it. Still, through a monumental effort, the Eurusi ex-slaves and refugees are spread throughout the Compact and it's a triumphant relief effort.

Which is not to say there's not incidents.

While searching for the ill intentioned among the Eurusi, Aleksei gets an uncomfortable feeling among one particular group that has a few burly ex-soldiers that deserted from the Dune Emperor's armies. The soldiers are three scarred and dangerous looking individuals, standing out in a group of a mix of refugees that includes a kindly old woman who must be in her eighties. The little old lady walks haltingly with a cane as she translates in heavily accented Arvani for the group of Eurusi, and seems a little frazzled as she struggles to respond to the angry demands of the former soldiers. The soldiers seem to have a cultural clash with the idea of taking an oath of fealty underneath a foreign god, as they fear it will bind them and make them slaves, misunderstanding the implications. A group of templars moves in to help keep the calm, as Zara tries to ease tensions, and Aleksei, Astrid, Raja and Shard approach to assist.

The little old lady seems very grateful for the help, and turns towards Raja, "Oh! Dear me, you're the whelp of Rasheem Al'Harashi the Traitor, aren't you? I'm going to eat your heart." She smiles toothily and begins to reach forward towards a recoiling Raja, as a templar instinctively steps forward in reflex.

The old woman casually juts her cane towards the templar and it pierces through his platemail breastplate as if it was paper, and she flicks her wrist up and down, lifting the impaled templar in the air with her cane and bringing him crashing down on the cobblestones with such force that the templar's upper body turns to an unrecognizable paste and the stones shatter below.

In the next few seconds,dozens of swords leave sheathes, even as the templars look around in confusion at what the threat in could possibly be as screams and panic takes the crowd, with the previously worried eurusi soldiers scrambling and running. The little old lady is pouncing forward as Raja dances back and stabs with a previously hidden alaricite dagger as dozens of Culler thugs that had been milling around the docks rush forward to help Raja. Arrows whistle through the air from Shard, punching into the old woman who is tittering with a disturbing laugh as she skitters forward spider-like, reaching up to tear a Culler gang member in half with her hands as one gets between her and Raja.

Then the templars and Culler gang members are on her, as well as a half-dozen arrows feathering her body from Shard. As the little old lady tears another templar's head off, dozens of dagger, sword, spear and mace hits impact the horrifying threat, and though she is impossibly tough, the wounds start to cut her apart. Jyri finally cleaves off her head with the Howl, his massive glaive, and the decapitated head is still laughing, "THE PROPHET WILL DRINK DEEP OF YOUR BLOOD! THE PROPHET WILL COME FOR YOU ALL! THE PROPHET WILL..." And an arrow through the forehead from Shard silences her.

So that happened.

"Unfortunate what happened to the Marquis of Stormward, but this is what happens when one carelessly frees violent criminals on their land. I, along with most of the Isles, urge the Prince of Maelstrom to reconsider before we have similar acts. That would be tragic."

Those were the words of Duke Ivan Helianthus after Ford's death. Prince Victus has taken his time to measure a response to that, and he's settled on sending Duke Ivan a missive that he'll soon be visiting his domain for a 'diplomatic visit' so they might 'discuss these differences in opinion'.

And he'll be bringing a standing fleet of over 80 ships with him, comprising a large chunk of House Thrax's portion of the Leviathan. Along with several warriors, mercenaries and more.

It's not going to be any secret that the 'diplomacy' part of the visit is just lip service for the sake of civilty. Prince Victus is undoubtedly going to Helianthus to intimidate by making a show of force. Intimidation being the keyword, as their intent isn't expressly to cause violence. But the numbers should indicate that Thrax is more than ready to battle if that's what it must come down to.

Victus hopes his statement will be clear. "We are not backing down from the abolition of Thralldom. We strongly suggest you follow us, because we are more than willing to bring action behind our words." With a large military presence behind him, perhaps it'll get across clearer to a traditional Mourning Isles ruler.

Princess Sorrel will be accompanying High Lord Victus at his side as a diplomat, a traditional female role. She'll be clad in a conservative dress of red exotic leather embroidered with Thrax's sea serpent, but she'll also be carrying her sword, even if she has no intention to use it. Unless negotiations get particularly aggressive. She intends to try to soothe the duke as much as possible, reminding him of his duty under the Faith and Limerance to be a good vassal. She'll point out other traditions that the Isles have that are not going away. One example is the recent difficult diplomacy mission that Duchess Margot led which was staffed entirely by women in traditional gender roles. She'll remind him of his faithful service to the High Lord up to this point. She'll smile and be charming and delightfully feminine with the confidence of a woman who has her High Lord at her side and her Warlord husband leading a navy at her back.

What would a trip to 'negotiate' by potential show of force be without the Warlord of Thrax himself! Galen will be leading the military with style and tactic. He will equip each ship that is sailing with a small number of archers to supplement their normal crew, on some of the largest vessels he will see the siege weapon attacheds. He will lead the charge from the Serpents Tide with his faithful crew beside him.

The Prince will coordinate a show of military tactic amongst the ships and military of Thrax while negotiations are ongoing in an effort to demonstrate just how well prepared their forces are. Should he have the opportunity to meet face to face with the Duke, he will make a point to show off the way he leads his men, out of devotion and respect. He won't hide his charm either, after all, who can deny that beautiful Warstache?

As a son of Thrax, Jasher will accompany Victus with blade and spear in attendance, serving both functions of sentry and symbolic solidarity, the iron fist to Sorrel's silken glove. Jasher will let Victus and Sorrel do most of the talking, though if he was prompted, he will keep his answers short, terse, and disinclined towards productive or prolonged conversation.
For the trip, Jasher will also bring whatever forces he can muster at the time being to add a little more for that show of strength. He'll also be busy ensuring that the day-to-day matters while en route are going smoothly, so that everyone will be ready for presentation--and a degree of violence, if necessary.

Ian will be accompanying the expedition as the Sword of Stormward, complete with Ashfont at his hip. He knows he's not a diplomat, and thus will try to follow the rule of being seen (with Ashfont and a very severe expression) and not heard. He knows that while this is ostensibly about House Kennex's honor being besmirched, it's actually about reminding Duke Helanthius how not to make an ass of himself, and he respects that. His ideal outcome is some kind of peaceful resolution wherein everyone saves enough face to make it palatable to all parties, and he's not out for revenge here.

But Ian also knows that a peaceful outcome is far from a sure thing. If it looks like the Duke is going to push this to violence, Ian will offer a Sword duel between himself and Helanthius' Sword to the death instead of open conflict -- one man's life to save thousands.

Shard is coming along as part of that intimidation, along with as many Valorous Few sellswords as seems ideal to Victus (and reasonable for whatever other contracts they might have going, though she's put a priority on this one). She also intends to be an entirely /silent/ participant unless it's necessary to be otherwise, or unless things go poorly, and plans to hammer home to the Few that are coming with her that they're there to be seen, and, ideally, nothing else. Of course, if there ends up being something else, they're all coming armed to the teeth. She's being a little selective here, choosing veterans who have demonstrated at least some ability for self control.

Prince Victus has asked Raimon to attend him on his 'diplomatic' mission and so Raimon obeys. He is no diplomat, and he is no social creature. He is there for a singular purpose. To stand around and look menacing and to inflict violence should it be required. He is prepared to put his life on the life for his Liege.

It is with Duke Ivan Helianthus' greatest apologies that he couldn't attend in person, trusting instead the meeting would be more than adequately overseen by a trusted new voice named Melar, a former thrall whose parents once successfully raided a fishing village on Maelstrom's isle and put the villagers to the sword when taking advantage of the chaos of the Tyde Rebellion. Melar is happy to point out that his pardon and full forgiveness of carrying his parents debt was made possible by Victus' reforms, and Duke Ivan Helianthus thought it would be flattering to be greeted by one of the fruits of his labors in person, and see the benefits of forgiveness, even when Melar's parents had personally killed some of the families of a few of Thrax's commoner captains. Duke Ivan Helianthus was, of course, called away by seeing to the mass shipbuilding on his different marches as he provides assistance to his March-lords, done in response to worries of potential raids from Eurus after the Faith's declaration.

The meeting is a little tense.

Melar and all of Helianthus has ever appearance of courtesy, and is unfailingly polite and of course offers fulsome apologies for any offense taken by their intemperate words. And to demonstrate their sincerity, a full forty representatives of different houses under Helianthus' banners are there as well, with roughly a hundred warships in harbor, all toasting and celebrating Thrax, and declaring their commitment to Thraxian power and dominance. Melar has every lord or lady representative of forty different houses in turn say something positive or cloyingly polite to Victus, and the entire process is excruciatingly formal and proper.

And very, very, very pointed.

Which isn't to say Victus' trip is entirely a failure. It's clear that Helianthus takes the threat seriously. Dangerously seriously, in fact, by how much effort they put into a pointed, unspoken retort. And the lack of anything said that could be demonstrably a slight without seeming ridiculous is clearly thought out, but it also speaks to a house not willing to risk open war.

Yet.

A group is gathered. Some he knows far better than others, they are not all his closest of allies, not all his closest of friends. But they are, in Jeffeth's eyes: Good people. Good in their different ways. All good in different ways and on their different paths. On the thirteenth hour, on the thirteenth day, this motley group joins the large man in the Lower Boroughs. In the Tragedy. Where Jeffeth grew up. Where Martin died. Thirteen candles are lit as Jeffeth welcomes each person with a warm smile and a tight hug. When the thirteenth hour begins, Jeffeth starts the ritual.

"Compassion." Jeffeth rumbles lowly. The first tabard Jeffeth ever owned, the one given to him by Brother Martin, the only father he ever knew is burned. The man tells a short story about Brother Martin. A story about how Martin once lied to a guard, a guard who caught a child who stole from Martin. A hungry child. But Martin had compassion on the boy and spared him from punishment. That child would later become Jeffeth's brother, Andry.

"Love." A stuffed corgi is put to the flame. Jeffeth's eyes welling up. "Our greatest strength and greatest weakness." He offers no story, yet watches the corgi burn.

"Passion." A mask of a fawn is placed in the flame. "It can drive us to go beyond who we are and what we are. With it we can achieve much." He tells a story of how he danced with a woman in a fawn mask. How their passion transported them to another place entirely, how their passion would empower them and enable them in their stories to come.

"Generosity." A toy knight is placed over the fire and burned. Jeffeth tells a story of how Brother Martin learned to carve, just to give some of the children at the orphanage toys like other children had.

"Humility."

And on and on it goes. Thirteen ideals, thirteen sacrificed items. The ritual all told is one where something dark becomes light. Where something tarnished becomes clean. The big man tells a quiet story after each ideal. And slowly, so very slowly, a grander story is told. Historic wrongs being made right. If scars can't be healed, at least a salve is put on them. Something soothing and warm.

It's a story of turning from the past and looking to the new. While being aware of the past, things must be set new. Hearts must be turned, kindness must be offered.

Shard is here to watch and listen, and watching and listening is pretty much all she intends to do, unless something should somehow go catastrophically wrong. She'll stand silent witness to the ritual from start to end.

Umbroise is honored by Sir Jeffeth's request to support and witness his cleansing ritual. While she has no real use for magic herself, she understands the importance of what he is trying to accomplish. She will be there to witness, and to lend her support, and to learn.

Carmen Harol joins Sir Jeffeth's whatever-this-is, polite but skeptical, listening attentively, one member of this motley crew of good people. She says little, grins where appropriate for the stories, and seems to be taking her social cues from the Whisper on what to do during a whatever-this-is.

Lothar is fascinated to see the ritual in person, and returns Jeffeth's greeting warmly when they gather on the thirteenth day. He watches the burnt offerings and listens to Jeffeth's tales in thoughtful, studious silence.

Jennyva has no idea what's going on.. But everything's fine! She asists doing whatever she can for the ritual, watching and learning as best as she can.

Selene is one of those excellent observers. She listens and pays close attention to Jeffeth's every action. The stories bring out smiles when delightful, sorrow when called for. Not a word from her til the end, but she will watch all the same.

As a witness to the Knight Commander's ritual of cleansing, Isobella watches with polite interest, her cool visage warmed slightly when Jeffeth speaks of her protege, his younger brother Andry Bayweather. What makes a person good? What landed her on this list? And who would scoff if they heard tell of it? All irrelevant in the moment, and she's here with her support.

Everybody knows that if you give a bear a cookie, he (or she!) is gonna want a glass of milk. Just in case there ARE suddenly bears at this ritual, Riagnon isn't bringing cookies so much as... a layer cake of white chocolate curled torte with edible pearls and flourishes. As for the other thing - he's just gonna trust that there will be Oathlanders around with milk. What were we talking about?

Tescelina stands as witness to Jeffeth's cleansing, listening to his story and -- of course -- learning all that she can from the ritual.

On the thirteenth hour of the thirteenth day, Jeffeth prepares his rite of cleansing. He gathers in the Tragedy - home to him, a place of much memory, good and bad. A place where childhood memories linger. Where the death of Brother Martin still haunts the halls. Where children's laughter hangs in the air.

And he lights his candles and starts by speaking of compassion. Then love, and passion and generosity. He has a big heart, does Jeffeth, and the sound of children playing comes echoing through the corridors of the Tragedy. The more he speaks, the more it feels like some momentous time.

This is the time. This is when - and where - the next generation will be built. They are all building for the children, to leave them something better. Something stronger. Old wounds healed. Wrongs made right. A fresher, cleaner world, given to these children - the ones who have been, the ones who are, the ones who yet will be.

Yes, there's love and laughter that linger in the air as his rite concludes. Love, and laughter, and hope bright and sure, like a warm hug that brings comfort even against the darkest times. Things are getting better, aren't they just?

Shae is heading to the Greenwood with a few Oakhaven hounds and her own specially bred Shepherd, Daegmund, and whomever she can get to accompany her, in search of evidence of the illusive Venandi and potentially make contact with them. Using information from a few sources (clues: 'Shadow Hunters, the Claws of Fable', 'Shapeshifters, a Historical Account', and 'The Rangers and the Wolves'), she would head as deep into the Greenwood as she can, and if she does find the tribe or evidence of it, ask for help against the darkness that is out for Keaton blood. She would use her keen skills as a woodsman and a Tracker of Oakhaven, and her close affinity with animals to do this.

Shard has been asked to come along, and so she'll be bringing her own skills as a tracker as well, along with her familiarity with the wilderness (if not this particular stretch of wilderness). She'll help as she can, though a large part of her concern is to keep everyone involved out of harm's way while they're getting on with things. It never hurts to keep both eyes open for trouble.

Ansel will be accompanying Shae and the others to the Greenwood. He's been to the area a few times with the Greenmarches before, so it's not entirely foreign land to him, but the Telmar is mostly here as the muscle for the group. A few Telmarine armsmen will be joining as well, and will happily follow the guidance of the Oakhaven trackers in the party.

Lord Cullen Greenmarch will provide a steady swordarm on this journey, using his natural agility and the destructive power of Dusk to accompany Shae on her trip to find evidence of the Vendani. Should they run into any danger, he shall attempt to smite it into the ground.

The popular consensus is that Venandi all died a long time ago, though the Shadowood has traces of them. There's parts of the Shadowood so thick with growth that the daylight doesn't penetrate, and in one of those very deep places that even the Abandoned fear to tread, they found a place where the raised ground turned black, hard and dead and an ancient cairn. In the cairn, they saw traces of skeletons that appeared to be half-man and half-wolf skeletons, some of them with bones shattered as from great force, but it appears to have not been disturbed for hundreds of years.

Leaving the cairn, they have a better look at the raised ground upon which the cairn was built- most of the rocky outcropping aren't rocks at all, but massive bones, and it appears the cairn was built upon some hulking several hundred foot large skeleton that was vaguely humanoid in shape, with the cairn itself part of what was its maw.

But for living Venandi, they find none.

The Liberators of Skald have promised aid to all freed thralls: relocation if they wish it to any demense of the Compact, room and board within the housing of the Faith, and assistance finding work or training for it until they have found their feet.

The Liberators of Skald were not expecting twenty thousand people to need this aid at once.

And so Aleksei has reached out to -- pretty much everyone. All the noble houses. Merchant fleets. Friends who have maybe one ship! Basically he's organizing a mass effort to make contact with the newly-freed thralls in Stormward and either get them resituated in Stormward or give them transport elsewhere in the Compact that they may want to go. All of this is stuff he's already set up, but he's having to haul in major support to try and do it on a much larger scale than he was anticipating.

Aleksei will endure the terrors of seasickness to travel to Stormward personally to oversee the efforts of the Liberators and do his best to keep matters calm where possible and work as efficiently as he can.

For those generous enough to offer ships for transport, Aleksei will make sure each ship will have some sort of representative of the Faith on board to help keep an eye on things and discourage any untoward actions in regards to the freed thralls.

Indeed, the Valorous Few are Being Helpful! Since Victus so kindly invited people, Audric (and Shard, and probably a handful of the friendlier types) are heading up with the Liberators. First and foremost will be offering the fabulous life of a sellsword, to any who wish to join up! Money, plunder, see the world, get to kill people fairly frequently, there's nothing but upside, really. Oh, and I guess if there's any room left over they'll help transport some people.

After speaking with Aleksei, the Few have agreed to find space on the ships they're using both for his Faith representatives and his freed Thralls. In fact, Shard's stated her intent to pack everyone in as tightly as possible for the journey, comfort be damned so long as the crew can still function, so between that and Audric's hope to annoy the ears off of the poor priest who gets stuck on his boat, it probably won't be a very pleasant series of trips at all, but at least there will be more people getting to where they need to go.

In addition to this, Shard will be putting in a few words--or many words--or some not so gentle nudges--and maybe some heavy coin--to some people she knows who know some people who know some other people about extra boats and ships for the sole use of Aleksei's cause for the duration. Just don't look too hard at these boats or ask where they came from. They don't take kindly to questions.

Killian is dispatching ships from the Ashford navy to assist with the evacuation of freed thralls, per Aleksei's request. The ships will be providing transport, and staying together with one another, their orders to guardian one another and transport their passengers safely to the appointed destination.

Nicia has agreed to aid Aleksei and the Liberators in their task of helping to resettle the freed thralls, as such she has decided that one galley, and three longships from the Laurent military should be sent to help resettle the freed thralls. Allowing them to choose where they wanted to go, the help is not dependent on them coming to Laurent lands, although she will also make a point of stating that Laurent is willing to accept the resettlement of thralls in their lands.

Belladonna is putting Pravus's fleet at the Liberators' disposal for this. They are fresh and probably antsy for something to do. A skeleton force will be held back to patrol Setarco's borders as they have been, and a scout vessel or two are kept standing by in case the fleet has to be recalled swiftly (plus the ship kept in Arx!), but otherwise they can have use of the fleet as per the terms laid out by Aleksei. They are placed under Alrec's command, and Alrec is directed to report to the Faith on this one (using his judgment). Members of the Faith are most certainly allowed to be on every ship.

As well, she has put forth to both Aleksei and Bianca that those particularly suited for the role of a courtesan and interested in doing so, she will pay for their tuition to and support during the attendance of one of the courtesan schools in Setarco. And! Pioneering spirits that she might be able to interest in Luciva, they are being accepted that way too.

Boots on ground in Stormward while ships are there and have access to people (likely very briefly, but still), they are directed to aid in calming the populace, and provided talking points to do so by Belladonna.

Ford will be kept in the loop by her men as a matter of course throughout the entire mission.

Thena has agreed to assist Aleksei by providing as many Solace agents as can be spared to represent the Faith on ships transporting and resettling freed thralls. Since these agents are already out in the field acting as protectors to travellers and pilgrims, and have a presence long established in the Mourning Isles, shuffling things around shouldn't be too difficult. In addition, Thena is slated to send aid to the Mourning Isles for the Darkwater exploration and should be able to combine these efforts.

Thena is also dispatching a newly commissioned galley to help with transport. The galley will be crewed by freed thralls.

The Knights of Solace will accept freed thralls who wish to work either as soldiers or support staff and pay them a living wage for their services. They need not take vows, though should any wish to follow that path, instruction will be arranged.

Aleksei has asked for support to guard the ships, and knowing that the Knights of Solace will be focusing on supporting the Thralls this means the Templars only need worry about protecting the ships and ensuring that the ships are not mobbed when they land. Accordingly, Preston is making available Templars from the Arx Templars to sail out with the ships and hold order while Solace and the others help the former Thralls. The priority for the Templars is preserving the majority - the boats, the Faith people helping the Thralls. But they are also not the local police force. So. If the boats are at risk of being swamped or a mob forms and attacks the rescue attempts, they will defend. If a mob forms and isn't threatening the boats? Thats for Kennex.

Although she cannot be there in person, Katarina will be sending part of her fleet in her stead; three longships and a galley. These assets are to be used to help ferry newly freed thralls to their intended destinations, with gentle emphasis on a wealth of opportunity that can await them in Valardin-owned lands.

Hana is not the world's best teacher, but she's often been lucky in instructing others. And she's nothing if not enthusiastically devoted to Jayus -- the god of both crafting /and/ of hope. So she travels to the Isles as well, trying to give hope to the former thralls who need to learn a new trade -- those who worked menial jobs and desperately want to do something new, something that provides a chance at a better life. She'll be organizing lessons, yes, but she'll also have worked to encourage other Disciples of Jayus to the same -- to travel with her, and to teach /their/ skills as well. Tailoring, baking, carpentry, and so on. Hopefully, it at least makes a small difference.

Without question, Saedrus has agreed to assist Aleksei. First and foremost he intends to accompany Aleksei, and other Liberators, to Stormward not only as a Disciple of Skald, but as a composed and diplomatic voice in what might be a chaotic situation. Though he cannot offer ships or safe escort, he can be present to try and mollify vassals (or persons of the general populace) crying out against the current crisis. A little charm can go a long way, and hopefully Saed can keep things calm.

In addition, though he cannot take many, he will let it be known that the Grotto can take on a small number of ex-thralls as attendants, board and basic needs seen to, and assistance in finding them trades and future work. Furthermore, pending approval of the Radiant, he can take a handful in under the Whisper House as house staff until either they settle to other livelihoods or to continue on for potential future training. The total is miniscule in comparison to the twenty-thousand, but every little bit helps.

As a Liberator Ferrando is coming along to Stormward to try and generally help un-clusterfuck the situation. He's not really a logistical type or a big public speaker. He's a bouncer! It's fair to say his #1 skill to lend to the effort is an ability to move around heavy stuff. He's probably just going to end up dealing with minor things Aleksei is too busy for.

As promised the Scholars of Vellichor are ready to assist at the word of the Archscholar. Messengers have been sent to the parishes of the discipleship present in Stormward to open the doors to their smaller libraries and utilize donations already in stock to help in upholding the offer of a living wage to freed Thralls seeking higher education or tradeskill apprenticeships. Bianca will also be accompanying Blessed Aleksei to Stormward directly to aid immediately with her own diplomatic abilities and personal resources.

Mydas will be making use of his substantial ability in logistics and economics to ensure the resources deployed to aid the newly freed Thralls are not ill spent or wasted. To summarize, Marquis Mydas Nightgold will play the role of the accountant.

Seraph Ailith will reach out to the local Seraphs in aiding the Faith's efforts of providing solace, community outreach, and humanitarian efforts for the many believers. Using her presence and prowess of propaganda, she'll help kindle hope, compassion, and support among the Faithful and within the Faith such as sermons with stories of the compassion, love, charity, and hope, the many gifts of the Gods, in hopes to soothe and provide a steady familiar place of solace (worship in the shrines) during this chaotic time. When not doing these things, she personally heal the injured and sick who come to the Faith and assist them on their way to the outbound ships, should they be departing.

As minister of warfare and with authorisation to release about half the Velenosa armada into a committed liberation fleet, Talen is overseeing the leading arrangements in that regard. Ensuring the that there are captains who know what they're doing to act as transportation for ex-thralls is key. Faith and Liberator representatives are permitted aboard and allowed to direct the efforts with all reasonable requests to make things easier. The Velenosa are focusing primarily on carrying people, so any security escorts to defend the ships from external attacks will come from the Thrax, and Velenosa vassals organised by the Lyceum aid council.

Lianne is lending ships from Nilanza's navy to aid with the safe transport of the recently freed to Arx. Modest financial assistance will be provided to individuals or families interested in resettling in Nilanza, particularly if they are skilled in a trade or capable sailors interested in enlisting in the navy. Representatives of the Faith will be welcomed on board each vessel.

Victus will be providing transport via the 1st Thrax Fleet, namely in his stated offer of paying work in the Maelstrom and safe haven until they can be transported elsewhere in the Compact. Aleksei's Liberators and other agents of the Faith will be allowed passage on these vessels making runs to and from Stormward to assist in the relocation efforts for Thralls lacking employment. With the exception of any ships provided by Grimhall, per Harald's request. It should be noted that freed Thralls who have gone on to commit crimes against Kennex will not be offered the same on Victus' own vessels, as they are Kennex's right to judge for their actions.

In an unofficial capacity, though with no less focus, Rook will be duplicating the efforts of Mydas Nightgold in an effort. It can't hurt to be certain, can it? Resources in, out and spent all about. In addition there's the counting of ex-Thralls shipped out, sprinkled across the Compact, giving as accurate a set of numbers as possible to all takers of the refugees. Did any go missing, how many died, do they have at least enough coin and resources to keep this mission up until all of Stormward's loose freemen are, well, free?

Lacking much in the way of funds or resources, Fortunato employs his skill and that of his apprentices to make flyers, encouraging people of great means and small means to donate to the resettlement effort and otherwise help smooth out the transition, perhaps by hiring the displaced. Need someone in the back room? Someone to knead dough? Someone, perhaps, to draw more flyers?

Monique will accompany the flotilla and use her charm and diplomacy to convince freed Prodigal thralls to resettle in the Compact, using her knowledge of their native tongue to win their trust. She will also use her significant silver to see they are set up with necessities when they arrive at their destinations.

They manage to avoid violence, which is no minor miracle as of the sheer amount of naval force in the region now. Setarco's massive navy is significantly larger than the pride and joy of many Isles houses, a fact most seem completely unaware of even as House Pravus' dromonds and dozens of longships arrive in Kennex waters under the command of Admiral Alrec to assist the liberators. This is not, in any way, to diminish the forces sent by the Knights of Solace, House Laurent, Lianne's fleet of Nilanza, or the detachments by House Velenosa, Katarina's Oathlands fleet, Ashford or Thrax, but all combined it roughly doubles the overall size of the force, which would likely make any lower rank peers of the Isles distinctly uneasy if they realized its scope.

Fortunately, that's unlikely to happen, as the fleet takes place in a great disapora. There is still a significant percentage that opts to stay in Kennex lands with the support to do so, and in this, the Faith is instrumental. The Faith is one of the great consistent institutions across the entire Compact, even in the shamanism heavy north, but the Isles have always been closer to the Faith than that. Orazio, Thena, Preston, Bianca, Ailith in particular are able to make a great deal of difference in many staying, particularly with the economic work by Rook and Mydas helping to make a chaotic situation be broken down into stabilizing a destroyed economy, and peacekeeping efforts from the forces sent. Killian's Ashford men, Nicia's Laurent forces, Lianne's Nilanzans, Audric and Shard's valorous few, Preston's templars, Thena's knights of solace, Setarco marines all do a part to keeping peace on the ground, with the aid of the Valorous Few being a little questionable and a few of them seem determined to put the 'liberation' in Liberators to mean goods that belonged to individuals. A few hangings by Audric fixes that (and these were the friendlier ones, a shame), as well as Ferrando helpfully letting others know where the problematic elements are.

While a small but significant percentage stays, what truly happens is a massive disapora led by the combined fleet. Some prodigals. Setarco, Nilanza, Maelstrom, Maelstrom, and Ashford lands all see a significant amount of ex-thralls wishing to settle, with Setarco as an example seeing a large bump in capable courtesans at Setarco's schools. The Lycene is a bit more popular as in terms of climate, Setarco or Nilanza is closest to the saffron chain, and what the vast majority of former thralls originally came from. Monique as a prodigal has a great deal in common with many of the newer, louder voices from factions of former thralls, and is able to help many peacefully find new homes throughout the Compact- a smaller percentage opt for different vocations in Arx, with Hana having new weaponsmiths, Saedrus having some new employees at the Grotto and potential Whispers, the Valorous Few see a bump in questionable fellows replacing the ones hanged with Shard sorting out the most promising. There's quite a few new templars, knights of Solace and Scholars, particularly from those wishing to see Arx as godsworn. All in all, a massive amount of refugees are resettled peacefully.

All that's the good, the bad is minor but still significant- the huge amount of ships flying Oathlands and Lycene flags are allowing some pirates to take advantage of the confusion and fly false flags to escape justice, with hundreds of ships in Kennex waters without an overall central command, no one really knows who is who which is allowing some smugglers and pirates to hope that Thrax doesn't have the balls to pick on Oathlands or Lycene ships and provoke an incident (unfortunately for all involved, this is probably untrue). Also, while the great disapora helps the refugees, it doesn't help Kenenx- the recovery they see is modest, as most of their workforce is, in effect, leaving with only a minority staying. They still need a massive amount of investment to survive.

Reese would like to organize scouting parties to hopefully subtly track the actions of the slaver and/or his minions in the Gray Forest. Her intention is not to be noticed by the slaver (although she is not sure if such is possible). She would like to look for the following. 1. The location of any hostile Shav forces, including how close they are to Compact or Grayson lands. 2. Into any stories, reports or evidence of attacks by the slaver or his minions against those living in the forest and/or on the outlaying Graysin lands. 3. The presence of any abyss tainted animals or plants. She is especially interested in looking into the presence of wasps, wolf packs, tainted bears and etc. 4. The state and condition of the land. 5. Any signs of the slaver.

She would like to encourage the parties she sends out to remain as subtle and discrete as possible. They will have orders to retreat from any overwhelming odds and to quietly clean up threats only if they think can win. This is primarily and info gathering venture. Reese is overseeing the missions, taking reports from scouts, but not heading out herself. She feels that sometimes a good leader doesn't do all the things herself. Sh also feels like she is not stealthy and subtle enough for this. She will include pcs who seem suited to the task and some Grayson npc tasks. I hope to run prps for those joining the scouting missions.

Aiden would help with the scouting and the archers

Samael has offered up the Bisland army on a volunteer basis as per General Reese's insistence on this mission being strictly volunteer only. The Bisland army will support the Grayson army and/or act as reserve units. Samael makes a passionate speech to the army attempting to encourage volunteers without coercion.

Approved to run - sent @mail to Reese with some additional suggestions.

%It was brought to Reese's attention that any Shavs in the Gray forest who have not bent the knee are likely to be recruited to the Horned God's army and to serve as his slaves while fighting against the people of Compact. Reese would like help prevent the Shavs from becoming enslaved as she highly values freedom, but she would also like to help prevent increasing the size and power of the Horned God's army. She also wants to secure the Gray forest as much as she can to make the it more difficult for the Horned God to take action there.

With this in mind she went to her cousin Calarian for help. Calarian and Reese decided to embark upon a mission to help secure he forest and encourage the Shavs to bend the knee. Calarian would be focusing on the diplomatic side of this mission and Reese on the military side (providing the diplomats with protection from any possible threats). Reese fears that treats might come in the form of Shavs who don't like this missions, abyss tainted animals and etc. The goal of the mission is to use words and charm rather than violence as much as possible.

Reese and Calarian would like to bring others with them, especially of the Grayson faction, including vassals and commoners who are interested in such an effort. They would like to bring scouts (who know the forest), social characters (who can help charm the Shavs over) and warriors (who can help defend the party). While on this mission they will be trying to stay alert for anything amiss including, but not to limited to (signs of the Horned God, cultists, blight, abyss tainted animals, any unexpected animals and any signs of monsters).

Reese will not hesitate to kill in defense of their party or herself, however she will offer any mortal and non abyss tainted combatants a chance to surrender. She also has moral problems with killing when not in defense. Which means she probably not kill Shavs who will not bend the knee if they are not attacking the party, not behaving as a threat or not engaging in acts she would consider evil. Reese will most likely follow the commands of Calarian who is voice and above her in rank. She wishes to be inclusive as possible and to invite the Grayson faction to aid in this effort.

Thanks, Reese's player

Since this is getting a little long and unwieldy, I'm going to save this one for reference as we go over the PRPs and applicable crises. Since it's getting hard to track what's resolved in PRPs and what's not, let's break it up into separate ones to make sure things aren't missed and go ahead and throw up a prprequest to make sure staff responses to anything outstanding aren't missed.

Ever since her encounter with the Simurgh of Blackwood, and being inducted into the battle against Legion and the Horned God, Katarina has been actively hunting down tools and searching for the First Children of Sea and Salt to stop him.

With the help of several members of the Faith, she's managed to track the tools of Brimstone and Cobalt to the Weeping Daughter Isle. A team of talented people is being assembled to go and search the uninhabited isle, specifically the lightning storm-wracked summit where there is said to be a graveyard of the slain kin of Brimstone & Cobalt.

Aleksei is going along to /vomit/. That is: he'll spend the entire journey over being seasick, but what's important is what happens once they get to the Island. He brings both his full armor and whatever knowledge of esoterica might come into handy in such an investigation; it's difficult to know what to expect. If he needs to fight, he'll fight. If he needs to try and identify some weird shit, he'll try to identify some weird shit. What is his life even.

Morrighan's attendance with the group heading for the Weeping Daughter isle is, for the most part, personal. The Redrain Knight has, as much as she'll admit, a particular connection with Brimstone, and it's the majority of the reason she's going. That and keeping an eye on someone in particular. She'll gladly assist in whatever manner she can, fight if necessary. Morrighan is determined to find -something- more about Cobalt and Brimstone than she already knows, and perhaps see if she can pick up on anything while there. She'll be armed with her rubicund blade and equipped with her exotic leathers, as well as the bits of knowledge she has involving the two - Cobalt and Brimstone, that is.

Shard makes no secret of why she wants to come along: she's looking for a means, any means, to fight the Horned God, and she's wholly on board with any mission that involves tracking said means down. To that end, she's bringing her weapons, her armor, and her wits. Fighting is most of what she can contribute, but she's also a fair hand at wilderness survival, not the worst (if certainly not the best) at investigation, and she's stubborn as the Abyss itself. One might easily get the impression that her desire to fight the Horned God is personally motivated, and not a little single-minded.

Aislin has no powers or family heritage to bring to the table, but she can provide her years of experience as an explorer -- including one who's sailed the Mourning Isles -- her keen observation and investigative skills, and her knowledge of esoterica. (And, of course, her sword -- just in case.) Her particular goal is to find any lost, forgotten lore that might help with fighting either of the Heralds involved -- albeit with a particular focus on the Horned God, and protecting the spirits. Weapons or relics would also be a worthy find. But mostly she's here to provide service as both the Experienced Explorer and the Encyclopedia Esoterica.

Fortunato brings his eyes for searching, his paints for documentation, and his brain for figuring if needs be. He does his best to stay out of /fighting/, having embarrassed himself on one too many occasions. How can he turn up a chance to paint a storm-wracked summit, though, how can he?

It's possible that there's nothing useful whatsoever to be offered in Aureth risking himself on a voyage of this kind. He can literally count the times that he has been beyond the walls of Arx further than the immediate outskirts on the fingers of one hand. But the lure of information is too much for him, so he will accompany the crew with the thought in his head that he may go and kneel in the graveyard itself and pray to Death for further enlightenment very deliberately on site. I mean, you never know, right

This talented team requires a combat medic because obviously someone will likely get hit by lighting. As such, Ailith will read ahead of time on treating lighting victims and stock up on those supplies, aside from the standard ones a combat medic carries (re: following Mercy & Physician's Guild guidelines). In addition, she'll provide aid where she can with matters of the Faith and inspire with her unwavering faith.

The group travel to the Weeping Daughter Isle. It is a strange, haunting place. Bitterly cold and unwelcoming, but the warmth of the hearthfire hidden high in a mountain cave both warms and challenges them. They come out of it with a weapon of indeterminate use and the memory of the warmth of the Salamander's fire. Strange place.