Conquest Round 17

[kingofpoisons]

When the students and teachers of Conquest filed into the hall for assembly Day stood with her group of prefects on stage looking not too impressed.

"Good afternoon," She greated them, "I hear that congratulations is in order. The third tower is open, even with your small numbers you succeeded. I am almost impressed."

She gave them a stern look, "But you only drew. I have told you before that drawing is not acceptable." A ripple of pain went through the audience, nothing serious. Indeed for those who were relatively new and had not seen Day at her angriest then it was possible they might think they had imagined it. A mere brush, a warning.

"Congratulations to Arthur Pendragon and Flynn Scifo who both won their battles, Cheshire; I hope you try better next time." Cheshire would feel pain then, just for a couple of seconds.

"The mayor will now speak to you." The screen flickered to life behind her and Dunleavy sat on the other side smiling kindly. "Well done, you opened the third tower and are one step closer to your goal. I hope you all enjoy your rewards and use them wisely. I shall now read to you the next part of the legend."

The previous parts of the legend came up on the screen behind her and Dunleavy began to read.

"Once, the Knight had not eaten for many days. All grew dark. The path was no longer clear, but the Knight did not waver. On the path, the Knight found a silver bowl, and in the bowl was a meal fit for a king. At first, the Knight suspected a trick by the Demon Lord. But at that moment, a tiny, pale bird flew across the path. Into the bowl fell a single rose petal. The Knight ate of the meal, and became strong again." There was a silence and then Dunleavy smiled again, "I hope the next round goes well for you."

She faded and Day looked back to the audience. "The next group of Players better win, and fight more. I know their aren't many of you but even more reason to fight with everyone you can. You need all the strength you can get." The list of names came up on the screen behind her.

Cirno
America
Arthur Pendragon

Comments

[shadowofthesky]

Naesala follows shortly afterward, not allowing any of the emotions he's currently feeling to show on his face. While he understands this city and the people within it, it's begun to repulse him in a way he's never known before. He's trapped and bound by invisible tethers and there's nothing more he'd like to do in this moment than shed it all along with his human form and fly home.

Something, he knows, is impossible.

"Coin for your thoughts?" His voice is light and slightly mocking, as always, but it's offset by the furrow of his brow as he considers their situation.

[notabunnylawyer]

"Naesala..." He turns to look back at the laguz, hesitating briefly before nodding to him. No one else had followed them out yet, and Apollo slows his pace to walk alongside him.

"Sure. That's got to be worth more than a penny." If he could even untangle his thoughts well enough to share them. The immediate concern seemed like the easiest place to start. "What happened in there ... everyone felt it. The entire crowd reacted to that. So we're getting punished for not winning these things? And it's not like getting privileges taken away, that was different."

[shadowofthesky]

Taking the companionship in stride, Naesala adjusts his position accordingly, shifting his wings so that they won't hit the lawyer as they walk. It's an uneasy alliance, he's aware, but he'll take it for the moment. Especially since there is nobody else on this island that he even remotely trusts.

"It's the spur to the horse's side." He replied calmly, hiding his uneasiness as he always did by a calm mask of indifference. If Apollo was observant, however, he would see the small feathers closest to the laguz's back were raised up, much like a bird would fluff their feathers in aggression. "I take it such methods are uncommon in your world?"

[notabunnylawyer]

"Yeah. It'd be illegal, in my country and many others. Other than the kidnapping and rampant coercion, the use of pain is... not battery, since it's not physical, but it's definitely putting us under duress. And all for what, gladiator-style battles where we're going to face being in pain anyway?"

He looks over to Naesala then, and... was he a a little ruffled? After having come to think of the laguz as unflappable, there was that not-settled look to him now that made Apollo feel even more uneasy.

"It's not right," he said, quieter now. "But what I don't get is how all of the others can keep letting themselves be forced to fight, over and over again, and not try to do more about it."

[shadowofthesky]

At Apollo's response, the crow let out a softly amused sound, almost like a chuckle if it were cut down into one short noise. "What an idealistic land you hail from." He murmured as an afterthought, thinking of all the wars he'd seen in his lifetime and the brutality used by commanders to keep their troops going. The example in the forefront of his mind was obviously Daein. Petrine had been merciless in her methods, enough so that 'don't kill the messenger' was more aptly applied in her case than in any other commander's. If she could motivate her troops the way Day was motivating them... he mentally shuddered at the thought of it.

There wouldn't be a man left standing long enough to utter a coherent sentence.

"I assume it's already been tried previously, with no success." Naesala replied then after a moment, his voice taking on an equally more quiet note. He didn't miss the spirit in the others, their tenacity and- his lips quirked upwards- fortitude. If they were doing nothing now, he guessed it was because previous attempts to escape or rebel had been met with failure.

He knew breaking out was impossible, he'd already tried to see how far his wings could take him with no success. Every time he tried to venture beyond the wall or fly straight up, he'd fall unconscious and wake up on his bed back in the dormitory. After the third attempt, he'd concluded that this magic barrier (or whatever it was) extended all the way around the island.

Fighting, on the other hand, didn't seem too plausible either. Not when the staff members had the ability to incapacitate their attacker with a snap of their fingers. With both those options out, all that was left was what the others were already doing: the towers.

Provided, of course, that that information wasn't just a series of lies fed to starving victims. In his mind, trusting the people who refused to give you any real answers was just about as foolish as one could get.

"Do you have a plan to escape?" He inquired, glancing sideways at the beorc with a raised eyebrow.

[notabunnylawyer]

"Idealistic ... yeah. That's a good way to describe it." Apollo knew that there were a lot of places that weren't as lucky, particularly on his own world alone, but he couldn't keep telling himself 'it could always be worse' and be satisfied with that. The point was that it didn't have to be that way in the first place.

Looking down, Apollo kicks a small rock off the path in front of them, his shoulders hunched and his spikes drooping. He was aware that he probably looked like a sulking kid, but he felt like one, too. He just hated that he had so little control over his life. That was the one thing he thought he'd put behind him, but in Rakuen it had come back like a bad dream, and now he didn't even have the potential out of running away from it all.

"I have no idea what's been tried or not. I don't have any plans, but ... I was talking to one of the new guys yesterday, and he suggested using our greater numbers to take over the school. I told him it'd be too risky, and too dangerous, but now?... I'm starting to wonder if he had a point," Apollo admitted, his tone going quiet again.