A Few Miles Outside of Yllestad, Friday, Fandom Time
That morning they had walked. The landens had handled the move, taking care of packing up camp, of leading the march. They'd carried the wounded through the snow, and had scouted ahead until the Blood that were travelling with them had started to behave more like themselves.
And then, on the Consort's orders, they'd travelled farther still, until Yllestad was little more than a bad memory from the day before, completely out of sight. The Blood had been able to help set up camp again, at least, and most had settled in for a few hours to get rest that they hadn't gotten through the night.
Warren hadn't slept yet evening. He should have, he knew, but there was too much on his mind, too much left to oversee, and sleep was a luxury he couldn't afford to enjoy just yet. Not until he shared what he'd been swallowing back since the night before.
That was what this meeting was for, called in one of the larger tents. Karla and her First Circle, less those who were unable to join them in the wake of the smoke. And then certain others, those who weren't of Karla's Court, but who Warren figured needed to hear this all the same.
"I know some of you aren't going to like what I have to say," he said without preamble once everyone had settled. "But we need to use this. We can't let what happened back there just stay back there. It was a tragedy, but it's the tragedy that could very well win us the war. We have to politicize this."
Karla
"But--!" Karla sputtered. The idea of turning this tragedy into politics made her nauseous inside. She didn't say anything more, however; her reactions the night before were too fresh in her mind.
Warren
"If nothing else," Warren said, his voice still firm even while his expression softened, eyes on Karla, "Glacia needs to know this. The people of this Territory deserve to know what kind of monster they've given their loyalties to."
Momoko
"No one will believe it who hasn't seen it for themselves." Momoko wanted to be her cheerful self, but she was tired and sore. "Especially in the South."
Dinah
"We don't have the luxury of a pure moral high ground." Dinah's tone was harder than it had ever been. "We have to be sure he can't do this again. And that people won't let him get away with it, if he tries. The only defense he's had so far is 'it wasn't me.' We have to take that away from him." Her tone softened. "And Momoko's right, in the south, he's not loved, but they don't realize they're at risk too."
Julian
"Then we need proof," Julian said, from where he was standing in the shadows behind Karla. As a Warlord Prince, he had been hit harder than anyone but Karla by the residuum of the witchblood. Even now, he could feel the killing edge still so close. Being near his Queen was the only thing keeping him from slipping further. "Or, rather, some way to make people see it."
Warren
"We clearly can't parade every person from Southern Glacia through the mountains to show them what went on," Warren noted, frowning a little. "But we could pick a few. People they trust. People whose support we need."
He didn't shrug. He was too damn tired to shrug.
"People whose support Hobart needs. Nobody wearing a Jewel could possibly walk through Yllestad and deny what happened there."
Karla
"The Province Queens," Karla said. "All thirteen of them. Whether they want to come or not. We'll show them Yllestad and the destruction of the forest. We'll show them the boneyard and, well, everything."
She hated this. Hated it so much. She hadn't been on earth long enough to make profiting from so many painful deaths something she was comfortable with. But this was the only way to get justice for the people who had died, at least without tearing Glacia to shreds. So she was going to suck it up and do it.
"We'll rub their noses in it if we have to."
Morton
"They're Queens, they'll feel it like you do," Morton agreed. "But, question for you all." He held up one slim finger. "How can we prove it wasn't us who did it? How can we make sure no one believes this was staged. If you think that Hobart won't try to spin it that way, you're dead wrong."
Anyone twisted enough to do this in the first place wasn't going to simply accept the blame when it was discovered.
Dinah
"I really wish Morton wasn't so smart." Dinah sighed. "Then he couldn't be so right... We're going to need some kind of, I dunno. Way to at least say it wasn't us. Even if we can't tie it to Hobart directly." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "There's still no truth serum here, right?"
Warren
"Not exactly," Warren replied, frowning and doing his damnedest to keep exhaustion from catching up with him now. He had to keep a clear mind now, especially. "Anybody that isn't a Kaeleer landen could open their mind and let somebody look inside, but there's no magic potion to swallow that'll make everything we say suddenly become the undeniable gospel truth."
Raven
Raven had been huddled in a corner, shivering beneath her cloak, still exhausted and unsettled. Her emotional state was still a little erratic, but at least she didn't feel as out of control as she had earlier.
"Is there someone neutral they would believe?" she asked softly, scarcely able to be heard. "Someone such as Lady Draca?" She'd helped when Karla had come to claim Glacia, after all.
Momoko
Momoko pondered that for a moment. "But how would we spread the word? I mean, Lady Draca has a job to do; she can't go on tour or anything."
Warren
"At least that part is easy enough," Warren noted. "I mean, we've got cameras. And computers. And portals. If we need to go back to Earth to hit up a Kinko's in order to win a war, that wouldn't actually be all that hard. And then we can use the army we've raised for doing something besides fighting."
After all of this, he was pretty sure they'd appreciate the change of pace.
Dinah
An inappropriate image of their guys standing in line at Kinko's had to be suppressed, or Dinah would start giggling. Wow, she was punchy. How many hours had she been awake, now? Days?... maybe a week? It felt like it.
"... You guys could probably paper the countryside with flyers from the air, too," she noted instead, rubbing her eyes. "Just the fact that we'll be bringing out this truth first, that has to help. People will ask why Hobart didn't do anything if he knew about it; why he didn't know about it, if he didn't... and that'll make the possibility that he's responsible seem more likely."
Karla
"Well, fliers will help with spreading word of the atrocity itself," Karla said. "Not that we're not lying. But they're a really good idea. I'd like to litter the entire Territory with them, from the tiniest hamlet in the mountains to the southernmost wheat field. If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right."
Warren
"The word will get out, one way or another." A beat. "As for proving that we're not lying, we do want to show the Province Queens this, right?"
He looked slightly uncomfortable for a moment, and then ventured, "I'd be willing to open my mind to anyone who wasn't convinced by what they saw. I'm not Blood, but I'm not a proper landen, either. I'd be fine."
Karla
"I will ask that everyone who can share their thoughts, do so," Karla decided, meeting everyone's eyes. "I know that not everyone is comfortable with that, but...our individual discomforts pale in light of making sure what happens here gets out."
That would mean Jono, too, if he were well enough to agree.
Raven
Raven blanched at the idea, but she nodded. "I will do whatever you think is necessary," she said.
She wasn't comfortable with the idea of a stranger in her head, especially if what they found there disturbed them, but if it would bring the war to an end, she would do it.
Dinah
Dinah might almost enjoy it. For the first five seconds of shocked recognition of the truth. Then she'd just want to be sick. She grimaced, but nodded her agreement too.
Momoko
"Of course." Momoko nodded as well, rubbing her eyes. "They'll see the truth, right? Not what... what we may remember?" Because while it was burned into her memory, it was very close to her nightmares and she didn't want that to complicate anything.
Karla
"There may be some overlap," Karla admitted. "Brains are tricky things. The easiest thing to do is just relax and let your clearest memories surface. It would be easier with a Black Widow handy, but we can assume that they don't trust ours and I'll be damned if I let any of theirs near your unprotected heads."
And when she found out which Black Widows had been responsible for that horror with the landens, breaking their Jewels would be the least of their punishments.
"It's decided, then," Karla said firmly, standing up. "We show the province queens. We show them anything they need to see. And then we show everyone. And then we use that to bring those gutter whoresons down."
[OOC: And that's the last of the preplays! Many thanks to trigons_child, heromaniac, blondecanary, and especially glacial_witch, who let us trample all over the Northern part of her Territory! Previous posts can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, and here! NFI, NFB, and OOC is love.]
And then, on the Consort's orders, they'd travelled farther still, until Yllestad was little more than a bad memory from the day before, completely out of sight. The Blood had been able to help set up camp again, at least, and most had settled in for a few hours to get rest that they hadn't gotten through the night.
Warren hadn't slept yet evening. He should have, he knew, but there was too much on his mind, too much left to oversee, and sleep was a luxury he couldn't afford to enjoy just yet. Not until he shared what he'd been swallowing back since the night before.
That was what this meeting was for, called in one of the larger tents. Karla and her First Circle, less those who were unable to join them in the wake of the smoke. And then certain others, those who weren't of Karla's Court, but who Warren figured needed to hear this all the same.
"I know some of you aren't going to like what I have to say," he said without preamble once everyone had settled. "But we need to use this. We can't let what happened back there just stay back there. It was a tragedy, but it's the tragedy that could very well win us the war. We have to politicize this."
Karla
"But--!" Karla sputtered. The idea of turning this tragedy into politics made her nauseous inside. She didn't say anything more, however; her reactions the night before were too fresh in her mind.
Warren
"If nothing else," Warren said, his voice still firm even while his expression softened, eyes on Karla, "Glacia needs to know this. The people of this Territory deserve to know what kind of monster they've given their loyalties to."
Momoko
"No one will believe it who hasn't seen it for themselves." Momoko wanted to be her cheerful self, but she was tired and sore. "Especially in the South."
Dinah
"We don't have the luxury of a pure moral high ground." Dinah's tone was harder than it had ever been. "We have to be sure he can't do this again. And that people won't let him get away with it, if he tries. The only defense he's had so far is 'it wasn't me.' We have to take that away from him." Her tone softened. "And Momoko's right, in the south, he's not loved, but they don't realize they're at risk too."
Julian
"Then we need proof," Julian said, from where he was standing in the shadows behind Karla. As a Warlord Prince, he had been hit harder than anyone but Karla by the residuum of the witchblood. Even now, he could feel the killing edge still so close. Being near his Queen was the only thing keeping him from slipping further. "Or, rather, some way to make people see it."
Warren
"We clearly can't parade every person from Southern Glacia through the mountains to show them what went on," Warren noted, frowning a little. "But we could pick a few. People they trust. People whose support we need."
He didn't shrug. He was too damn tired to shrug.
"People whose support Hobart needs. Nobody wearing a Jewel could possibly walk through Yllestad and deny what happened there."
Karla
"The Province Queens," Karla said. "All thirteen of them. Whether they want to come or not. We'll show them Yllestad and the destruction of the forest. We'll show them the boneyard and, well, everything."
She hated this. Hated it so much. She hadn't been on earth long enough to make profiting from so many painful deaths something she was comfortable with. But this was the only way to get justice for the people who had died, at least without tearing Glacia to shreds. So she was going to suck it up and do it.
"We'll rub their noses in it if we have to."
Morton
"They're Queens, they'll feel it like you do," Morton agreed. "But, question for you all." He held up one slim finger. "How can we prove it wasn't us who did it? How can we make sure no one believes this was staged. If you think that Hobart won't try to spin it that way, you're dead wrong."
Anyone twisted enough to do this in the first place wasn't going to simply accept the blame when it was discovered.
Dinah
"I really wish Morton wasn't so smart." Dinah sighed. "Then he couldn't be so right... We're going to need some kind of, I dunno. Way to at least say it wasn't us. Even if we can't tie it to Hobart directly." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "There's still no truth serum here, right?"
Warren
"Not exactly," Warren replied, frowning and doing his damnedest to keep exhaustion from catching up with him now. He had to keep a clear mind now, especially. "Anybody that isn't a Kaeleer landen could open their mind and let somebody look inside, but there's no magic potion to swallow that'll make everything we say suddenly become the undeniable gospel truth."
Raven
Raven had been huddled in a corner, shivering beneath her cloak, still exhausted and unsettled. Her emotional state was still a little erratic, but at least she didn't feel as out of control as she had earlier.
"Is there someone neutral they would believe?" she asked softly, scarcely able to be heard. "Someone such as Lady Draca?" She'd helped when Karla had come to claim Glacia, after all.
Momoko
Momoko pondered that for a moment. "But how would we spread the word? I mean, Lady Draca has a job to do; she can't go on tour or anything."
Warren
"At least that part is easy enough," Warren noted. "I mean, we've got cameras. And computers. And portals. If we need to go back to Earth to hit up a Kinko's in order to win a war, that wouldn't actually be all that hard. And then we can use the army we've raised for doing something besides fighting."
After all of this, he was pretty sure they'd appreciate the change of pace.
Dinah
An inappropriate image of their guys standing in line at Kinko's had to be suppressed, or Dinah would start giggling. Wow, she was punchy. How many hours had she been awake, now? Days?... maybe a week? It felt like it.
"... You guys could probably paper the countryside with flyers from the air, too," she noted instead, rubbing her eyes. "Just the fact that we'll be bringing out this truth first, that has to help. People will ask why Hobart didn't do anything if he knew about it; why he didn't know about it, if he didn't... and that'll make the possibility that he's responsible seem more likely."
Karla
"Well, fliers will help with spreading word of the atrocity itself," Karla said. "Not that we're not lying. But they're a really good idea. I'd like to litter the entire Territory with them, from the tiniest hamlet in the mountains to the southernmost wheat field. If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right."
Warren
"The word will get out, one way or another." A beat. "As for proving that we're not lying, we do want to show the Province Queens this, right?"
He looked slightly uncomfortable for a moment, and then ventured, "I'd be willing to open my mind to anyone who wasn't convinced by what they saw. I'm not Blood, but I'm not a proper landen, either. I'd be fine."
Karla
"I will ask that everyone who can share their thoughts, do so," Karla decided, meeting everyone's eyes. "I know that not everyone is comfortable with that, but...our individual discomforts pale in light of making sure what happens here gets out."
That would mean Jono, too, if he were well enough to agree.
Raven
Raven blanched at the idea, but she nodded. "I will do whatever you think is necessary," she said.
She wasn't comfortable with the idea of a stranger in her head, especially if what they found there disturbed them, but if it would bring the war to an end, she would do it.
Dinah
Dinah might almost enjoy it. For the first five seconds of shocked recognition of the truth. Then she'd just want to be sick. She grimaced, but nodded her agreement too.
Momoko
"Of course." Momoko nodded as well, rubbing her eyes. "They'll see the truth, right? Not what... what we may remember?" Because while it was burned into her memory, it was very close to her nightmares and she didn't want that to complicate anything.
Karla
"There may be some overlap," Karla admitted. "Brains are tricky things. The easiest thing to do is just relax and let your clearest memories surface. It would be easier with a Black Widow handy, but we can assume that they don't trust ours and I'll be damned if I let any of theirs near your unprotected heads."
And when she found out which Black Widows had been responsible for that horror with the landens, breaking their Jewels would be the least of their punishments.
"It's decided, then," Karla said firmly, standing up. "We show the province queens. We show them anything they need to see. And then we show everyone. And then we use that to bring those gutter whoresons down."
[OOC: And that's the last of the preplays! Many thanks to trigons_child, heromaniac, blondecanary, and especially glacial_witch, who let us trample all over the Northern part of her Territory! Previous posts can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, and here! NFI, NFB, and OOC is love.]