[RP] Final Fantasy XII: The Archadian Epoch

[Noblesse Oblige]

And there he was, William saw the young prince, escorted by the Judge Magister who had accompanied them. The man was still willing to go through this, despite the obvious risk of assassination there would be. A sane man wouldn’t even address the crowd, but no matter, if his pride blinds him to the reality, then let the reality deliver judgment on him.

Then William heard his speech, an attempt to smooth over the grievances that the people of Dalmasca had. He started talking about his father’s goals; restore united hegemonic control over Ivalice to promote peace, prosperity and order. William had to admit, it was actually a pretty good speech. If he was born a commoner of Dalmasca, he would’ve cheered right along with them. Yet how many lives, innocent or guilty would it take to actually follow through on that speech? William thought about it himself. Had he been in the Prince’s position, what would he himself do to achieve said goals.

The fireworks shot up into the sky. But wait, the sun has not set yet. “What is going on?” Before anyone would’ve realized, William heard a body drop, and the guards began to rush over to see what happened. William put on a look of concern, as he himself walked over to the body. It was definitely the Prince’s, but it looked as if half his head was blown off completely. Someone had assassinated the Prince, and the people were thrown into panic, a typical response considering the situation that the people were in.

William said in a stern voice, “Don’t just stand there, try to calm the people down!” The guards then began filing out to do their jobs. It seems his speech on order and peace only ended with war and chaos. If it wasn’t for the current situation at hand, he’d chuckle to himself. Looking over at the Judge Magister, he said, “We cannot leave the Prince’s body here. Let’s take him inside.” He nodded, motioning to lift the dead corpse’s arm around his neck, so he can at least be carted out with some dignity.

[Æsahættr]

“Stand firm!” Zalaena snapped at the guards, infuriated that one of the Consul’s little pets had attempted to take charge of the situation, and perhaps even more infuriated that they had leaped to the command of a civilian. How dare he? The name and house of the man escaped her, but he certainly had courage – or lacked brains – to dare and try to take control with a Judge Magister present. And of all the foolish commands to give! Calm the crowd down? Calm them down? Did he have ANY comprehension of what had happened? Whilst the assassin would not be in the crowd - not unless they were extremely stupid, and one did not live long as an assassin if they were stupid - whoever shot that little Magick display into the sky almost certainly would be. Zalaena would have their head mounted on a pike before the day was through, and the name of the one who had hired them. The guards were insufficient in number of detaining the crowd in their current panicked state, which was no doubt what the hidden accomplice had planned for. She, however, was not.

The form of Zeromus appeared behind her at her mental call, casting a shadow over the crowd, who erupted into fresh screams, no doubt thinking she was going to kill them all. She was sorely tempted; clearly the seeds of rebellion ran deeply in this city, and the only way to stamp those out was to lay waste to the entire city, as had been done with Nabudis. Executing an entire crowd of people would no doubt serve as quite an example, but it would be little more than petty vengeance, and might only serve to encourage the rebellion at this stage. No, this was going to require a more direct approach…which involved finding the decoy and ascertaining who had hired them. There would indeed be retribution, but it would be directed solely upon the one responsible for this.

Acting at her command, Zeromus unleashed a Slowga spell, blanketing the entire crowd and practically stopping them all in their tracks. Their screams became a dull whine as they still sought to escape, but they were as flies trapped in amber. They weren’t going anywhere unless her Esper released its hold, and she had no intention of having it do so until every last person here was confined to a warded cell and interrogated. She turned then to the guard captain, who looked more than slightly shaken – a man almost young enough to be her grandson, she noted with some disdain – and gestured curtly.

“Arrest them all. There is more than sufficient room in the palace dungeons to hold them. If any resist, kill them. Once you have done that, turn your attention to the surrounding area. I want this city locked down.” she turned away dismissively, unmindful of the presence of Zeromus; she had long since grown used to the Esper, and the power it wielded. It was as much an extension of her as her sword was by this point, and if it encouraged terror in those present, so much the better. She spared a glance for the Consul’s body, which was still crackling away as it turned to dust. There wouldn’t be much of a funeral for the body of Cormagg D’Reena Thrace, it seemed. What a shame.

Of course, that meant she now had to deal with the bureaucrats. As Judge Magister, she had held absolute power even with the Consul present, but it would seem now she would have to exercise it…some of these fools were far more ambitious than they should have been, and as she was going to need to report on the situation to the Emperor – there was every possibility that this had been his intent from the start, although she would need to act as though it hadn’t been until she learned more – and that meant she would need to leave one of these simpletons in command of the city, at least until a proper replacement could be sent. Although who could possibly replace the heir to the throne? With Cormagg dead, the Thrace line ended with its current Emperor. Whilst Zalaena herself was a part of the house by marriage, she had no desire to claim the throne for herself, and unless the Emperor ordered it, she would not even consider taking control of Dalmasca for herself. The place was unsalvageable. Better if they burned it down here and now. The only thing stopping her from doing as much as that the Emperor evidently did not share her sentiments, if he had sent his only son here to try and bring the city to heel.

“It is highly doubtful that there will be any further assassinations.” She said finally. The statement served two purposes: to stop their gibbering, and to remind them that if there were any further assassinations as they sought to take advantage of the chaos to remove rivals, she would know about it. “Until I can resolve this matter fully, you are all confined to your quarters the palace. Any who defy this order will be treated as an accomplice, and punished accordingly. You.” she gestured sharply at the one who had attempted to take command before he could scuttle away with the others. “You will stay here. You will assist with apprehending and interrogating the prisoners, since you seem to believe yourself qualified to do so. But make no mistake: your earlier impertinence will not be forgotten, and if you ever dare to presume to speak to me in such a manner again, or supersede my authority in any way, what befell the Prince will seem as a trifle when compared to your fate. Do I make myself clear?”

Even in death, Cormagg D’Reena Thrace was causing problems. It seemed there would be no rest at all for her for the next few days. Interrogating all of these people – which she would do personally for many of them – was going to take several days, although no doubt most of them did not know anything at all about this. Yet it would not be a complete waste of time. A goodly percentage of the Dalmascan populace was here, and she would not have a better opportunity or excuse to weed out the filth that plagued this city. Although for the moment, her primary concern was maintaining order by any means necessary. One way or another, someone was going to pay for this, and pay dearly…

---

This was supposed to be a simple mission for her. There was no feasible way that an entire crowd could be detained and, with her diminutive stature and ability to cast Decoy, it should have been impossible for them to apprehend her. Whilst she was in greater danger than Liandra, the danger was so negligible that it was hardly worth considering. Indeed, Alysandra hadn’t considered it a danger at all…at least until the Judge Magister had confirmed rumour for truth by calling upon Zeromus, the Condemner. Panic flooded through her – along with the rest of the crowd, it seemed, as screams of panic turned to pure terror – although her voice was surprisingly calm as she muttered aloud to herself:

“Oh. That’s just wonderful.”

A gasp, which came out as a long, slow sigh, issued from her lips as was hit by the most powerful Slowga spell she had ever experienced, effectively stopping her and everyone around her dead in their tracks; it might as well have been Stopga, for the speed at which she was moving. Time Magick was not her forte, but she had been trained during her time in Rozarria to counter it, at least to a degree. Unfortunately, those counters involved either casting Decoy to divert attention away from herself, or countering with the most powerful Black Magick spell available to her, to force the caster to focus on either stopping her spell or containing her and risking getting annihilated. Unfortunately, her first tactic hadn’t worked, and using the second would only draw the attention of every soldier here…and probably wouldn’t work anyway, considering it was an Esper she would be attacking. Her chances of survival if she did that were minimal. But at least the Esper had not utilised the Gravity Magick for which it was infamous...she could be a smear on the cobblestones right now, rather than a slowly moving statue.

No, there was little she could do but allow herself to be captured for the time being, and pray that Liandra saw fit to rescue her before she was interrogated…which she almost certainly would, because Alysandra knew a lot about her, and she was even more self-serving than Liandra herself. She would have no qualms about telling that armoured white terror everything she knew if she could avoid having her head stuck on a pike. Not that it would make much of a trophy; it was a very small head, after all. No, they still needed to separate her from the rest of the crowd, and it would take a highly perverse twist of fate for her to be chosen first for interrogation. She was likely safe for a few hours, at least. Hopefully that would be enough time for Liandra to meet up with the client, get the reward, and then head back and break her out of prison…somehow. She’d leave that little detail up to her. For now, she needed to concentrate on looking as innocent as was possible. Perhaps if the guards believed her to be just an innocent little girl, they’d let her go…and perhaps Knight-Star Pashtarot would descend from the sky to subdue his counterpart. Hope was such a ridiculous thing sometimes…

[Noblesse Oblige]

OOC: Sorry for the short post, had to put this through multiple rewrites...wow I'm picky in my responses...

IC:

What was a scene of mass chaos and panic continued when he felt a strange presence coming from the Judge, he laid down the body and watched as she saw a strange creature coming down from the sky, much to the terror the people were feeling right about now. “So this is how Rabanastre ends, just like Nabradis…” William said calmly as he looked at the beast swoop down, but rather than actively move to kill the people, it instead cast a spell, slowing their movements and preventing their escape.

Rather than calming the people, they gave the people even more reason to be scared. William put his hand on his head, “So much for civility. Just wonderful…” William thought to himself as the guards began rounding up the entire city, essentially making the city just one big prison. And then he was reprimanded by the judge for just trying to do the right thing. William looked at the judge coldly, despite her threats to kill him so slowly and painfully it would be legendary among Ivalician circles. He was taken to death threats pretty well. Although he was not one to take such threats lying down, picking a fight with a judge magister was probably an option best left for suicidal old fools. “Hmph, very well then.” Fixing his jacket, William began to walk into the cathedral, heading to the streets to oversee the people being carted to the dungeons. “So much for diplomacy.” He said to himself in a calm yet low tone.

[Cyberdelius]

Miera didn’t quite get by what the Prince meant when he said it was “done”, but she didn’t have the time to care. The most important thing at that moment for her was getting out of the castle alive. Of course, the Prince had to be alive as well. He jumped in first just as she wanted him to and she quickly followed behind. The smell of the sewers bothered most people, but Miera had gotten used to it in her time there. Whenever she went there now, the smell was the very last thing on her mind most of the time. However, in her particular living quarters in the sewers, the smell was practically gone completely. Of course, that was by her own efforts long ago.

The water quickly soaked her feet as it splashed around her. It garnished no worry from her, however. The only thing on her mind at that particular moment in time was to get out as quickly as possible and collect her payment. Before she could begin going on forward, there was a slight… noise that emitted from the Prince. A froglike creature had spooked him, and in retaliation, he killed it in a rather brutal, if not quick, manner. As much as Miera would have liked to have not said anything, she couldn’t help at all but to crack a smile.

“Well, if you are done killing defenseless sewer creeps… we should get going.” She walked in front smiling again. At least when push came to shove she knew the Prince wasn’t useless. With that, she simply continued walking. As of that moment there was no cause for concern from anyone catching them. No one ever really walked the sewers. Surely if something too terrible happened above they may have made an exception. Though, from her view point there was no reason to. She left no traces of anyone being in the castle nor did she leave any traces of anyone entering or exiting through the sewers. As far as she was concerned, she was perfectly fine, the Prince was perfectly fine, therefore her money was perfectly fine.

As they continued walking the only sounds she could hear were the sounds of their own footsteps in the murky water. Everything truly seemed clear to her. "Do you need a place to hide after all of this? That can be arranged as well," Miera asked. She knew he probably wouldn't accept. However, it was nice to ask anyway. Odds were that he was going to leave the city as soon as possible. "Personally, I am looking forward to a rather nice nap when I get back home." Another smile crept along her face as they continued walking. She wasn't going to have to go out for jobs for quite sometime. She wouldn't even have to hunt for a while. With the money she would be getting, she could buy so much food and not have cause to worry. As she listened out for anyone else in the sewer, she couldn't help but take note of the sounds of the jewels in her back.

The clinging of them together was like music to her ears. As they continued walking she whispered to herself, "I have got the world in my pocket and it is still not enough." Miera was practically beaming with concentrated happiness.

[Gaige]

As his accomplice dropped down behind him and saw him essentially vaporize the toad, her former stoic demeanor cracked a little and she smiled. Looking away, Rowan tried to look as haughty as possible to cover up his earlier reaction. He didn't need to-couldn't afford to- look weak. Not even in front of hired accomplices only in it for the money. He needed to remain as strong as possible.

The Viera didn't seem to dwell on his earlier jumpiness (and high pitch), instead asking him if he wanted a place to lay low for a while after they were out of here. Apparently giving free reign of his treasury to the woman had put Rowan in her good books. Still... "That won't be necessary." He spoke curtly. "I'd rather not put you in any more danger than is strictly necessary." He didn't look at his accomplice as he scouted the winding passageways of the Garamsythe Waterway, watching and listening for any intruders.

"I intend to go to Bhujerba when I finish here," he said, walking forward again with arms folded. "I have sympathizers there. We'll get in there quietly, through an airship, and prepare for war." Rowan didn't know why he was talking about it; why was he talking about it? Did it make it seem more real? More impending? More genuine? If he didn't even know then where was he?

Tch. No time to think about that now. ​"Let's keep moving."

[Æsahættr]

She resisted the urge to cut him down for his insolence as he glared at her, although it was a close thing. It was to be expected of posturing fools who spent their entire lives curled up behind a desk, where their biggest worry was what they were going to dine upon that evening. Disgusting. He presumed to know what was best for the Empire over one who was as the Law? He would need to be put in his place at some stage, if he was to be of any use whatsoever. Backbone, whilst admirable in some circles, would snap if too rigid, and against the authority of Judge Zalaena, none except the Emperor himself could stand tall.

“I want the prisoners placed in warded cells immediately!” she snapped, what vestiges of patience she had slowly evaporating. The crowd was moving at a modest pace, although the process was being hindered somewhat by the inability of the soldiers. If these had been her soldiers, they would have been rounded up in a matter of seconds. It was no wonder the bureaucrats had grown complacent and corrupt; the soldiers inside Archadian borders were soft and weak. It was a miracle that rebels hadn’t overrun the entire state by this point, given the sheer incompetence she was witnessing.

She turned away in contempt, moving towards the Palace, Zeromus trailing behind her like some sort of ghastly pet. The crowd was firmly in hand, yet she was not going to get rid of the Eidolon…at least, not yet. Let fear worm its way into the heart of Rabanastre, and let them know how close to extinction they were. It would stave off any foolish notions of rebellion, at least for the moment. There was already quite enough to deal with here. Assassinating the heir to the throne constituted an act of war, so if this was the work of rebels, as she suspected, it was likely that this entire city would be razed to the ground in retaliation. Although this would be no great loss. Perhaps she would arrange for the bureaucrats the Prince had brought with him to be within the city when this occurred, as well.

A thought for another time. For the moment, she had things to be doing. Her own soldiers, interspersed amongst the ranks, would inform her of any developments. Unlike those who had been stationed here, they were experienced veterans. They would not encounter any trouble…

---

“You there! Move along!”

Alysandra ducked instinctively, although the command had not been aimed at her. She breathed a slow sigh of relief. Whilst escape was quite impossible in a crowd this thick, with the threat of impending doom in the form of the Condemner hovering around, the threat of discovery remained minimal. Although she didn’t much fancy being put in a prison cell. Those things were always filthy with dust, blood, vomit, faeces and the gods only knew what else. Not the sort of place for a prodigy, certainly. Oh, there were going to be harsh words exchanged with Liandra when this was all over, to be sure. She must have known that the rumours about Judge Magisters wielding Espers were reliable! She knew about everything that went on in this part of Ivalice, it seemed. Had she known about this, she would have re-considered her strategy. Or would have outright refused. Not even a nethicite shard was worth imprisonment, torture, and then execution…if she was lucky. Given that the Judge had been the only one who hadn’t so much as batted an eyelid when the Consul’s head was blown off, she doubted she would be lucky.

She muttered a stream of curses under her breath, more than enough to make even the most hardened of sky pirates go red in the face. Oh yes, they were going to have words...


---

Larverna frowned from within her place of concealment, watching the soldiers confer amongst themselves, although she could not get too close without risking detection…they clearly knew what they were doing. But of all the places they could have chosen, they had to choose the designated rendezvous point; a little-known sewer access hatch that was often used by smugglers and thieves…and, of course, the occasional assassin. The network of tunnels underneath the city was extensive, but then, they didn’t need to search the tunnels: all they needed to do was station a guard or two there and wait. Nobody coming up through the exit would know until the point when they opened the hatch…at which point, the soldiers would have them.

How they had found it was a mystery…it was well-hidden. Presumably they had been tipped off by someone…Alysandra, perhaps? That seemed unlikely…she wasn’t stupid enough to do something like that. There would have been some commotion by this stage if she had been discovered, as well. No, this was something else. She weighed up her options. Killing them was a simple solution, yet would attract far too much attention; it would probably bring the rest of the soldiers – and the Judge Magister – right down on this position. She was not about to play at being a distraction, either; she was an assassin, and she had completed the task she had been paid for. She did not work for free. It seemed there was little she could do but watch. Although that was preferable to the alternatives: people were being herded like cattle for the dungeons, and it was all she could do to remain concealed in the shadows.

[Cyberdelius]

Miera listened quietly as the Prince went on discussing his plans. She honestly didn’t expect him to want to stay in the sewers, but she figured it would be polite to ask. Normally, she wasn’t polite at all. However, the Prince hadn’t once treated her badly at all. He even let her take whatever she wanted from the treasure room back at the palace. As far as she was concerned, he was okay. Of course, she didn’t yet trust him fully. Something like that would take far more time. Still it was nice to know that there was at least someone in the city of Rabanastre that wasn’t a complete barbarian.

Once she stopped thinking for a couple of seconds she stopped to make sure she was still on the right path. The sewers below the city were a labyrinth of waterways and passages. It was easy for most people to get lost and never be able to find their way out. Once she was comfortable with her surroundings again, she quickly started walking again. “It should not be much longer now,” she concluded out loud. She was completely right about that. As they continued she started noticing familiar markings she had left on the walls of the place. For most people they wouldn’t be able to see them. Miera was a Viera… of a sort, at least. So she was able to see them just fine; even if the sewers were dimly lit.

In the distance there was a ladder. The ladder itself made from steel and built into the wall of the sewer built long ago by workers. With ease she climbed to the top. “I am going to peek out and see what it is like out there.” Without waiting for a reply, she did just that. It took a bit of strength on her part, but she got the hatch open. The light practically blinded her and caused her to gasp and wince for a second. Much to her surprise, she was greeted by the faces of two guards in armor she had come to learn to loathe. “O-Oh no…” Without wasting anytime she dropped the latch and slid down the ladder.

“We have to go! Now! I will try to hold them of-“, her words were cut short as the latch was quickly forced back open. Almost as soon as the hatch opened, two guards dropped in and quickly started approaching. She took a few steps back and drew an arrow. Once she pulled back the string she aimed quickly and released an arrow into the neck of a guard. However, where he once stood, two more quickly followed. She knew she wasn’t going to be able to do much. It was close quarters in the sewer, and she did not have enough room. She fired two more arrows. Once hit the armor of a guard and did nothing, the other hit a different guard in the arm.

Another two guards dropped into the hole behind them. She knew she wasn’t going to be able to do anything. They got closer and closer and as fast as she could fire arrows… she couldn’t keep up with them all. She was getting nervous and starting to panic the closer they got. A couple more arrows flew as they were now running towards her. She hit one more in the neck… but it was for nothing. She quickly felt a large pain in her stomach as a fist hit her. Without much resistance she doubled over to her knees and clutched at her stomach.

Miera was useless at fighting in close quarters… there was nothing she could do as she felt another large and painful smack hit her arms. She yelled out in pain as her bow fell from her hands. The guard in front of her then raised his armored hand again and hit her on the side of the head. The very last thing she saw as she hit the ground was the foot of the armor she had come to learn to hate. In just a few moments, she was out cold and completely at their mercy. I-I failed...

[Gaige]

Rowan was apparently relying on Miera's sense of direction to get through the winding maze of the Garamsythe Waterway. It had always been a huge, sprawling underground sewer, but there were some places that hadn't been explored since its construction, and completely dark places beyond the sewer that had never seen the trespass of man; at least, it hadn't suffered it for long. Now full of Mist and all manner of creatures, only the brave explored the deeper reaches nowadays. and none had come back.

Thankfully, they were in the outer levels, and as Miera seemingly used the walls to determine where they were going, they quickly found a ladder that led back to the surface. Miera pushed the manhole aside to scout for any patrols, while Rowan leaned against the slimy walls of the sewer, hoping that she had chosen a discreet place to emerge rather than anywhere crowded like the central plaza.

But as quickly as she had come up, she had scrambled back down again, looking significantly less cautious than before. Rowan could only assume something had happened that made caution no longer an option. And no sooner had the Viera hissed “We have to go! Now! I will try to hold them off" than her words were cut off, and two guards dropped in. Damn. Their reactions were quick. Too quick. He could only come to one conclusion. Someone knew they were going to be coming out of the sewers.

One was swiftly brought down by an arrow to the neck-Miera hadn't been lying about her archery prowess- but the others were wounded, or glanced off the arrows with their armor. As they got closer, Miera was out of options. She managed to bring down one more, but then a punch in the stomach stopped her in her tracks, and she doubled over.

Damnit, he was supposed to run but…he couldn’t just sit and watch someone get captured like that. Not a citizen of Dalmasca, and someone who had helped him to boot. Rather than run as a strike to the head took Miera out- he wasn’t physically fit enough to get farther than the guards, anyway-he whipped his hand through the air again, preparing another Holy spell. But as the white wind gathered in the air, becoming a pillar, he realized how pointless spells with long channel times like these were without someone to provide close range support.

His arm was restrained with such force that pain shot up to his neck and he gasped in pain. “Get your hands off her!” Who do you mongrels think you are?! I am a prin-“ This final word was cut off as a heavily armoured arm struck him in the back of the head, and he dropped to his knees, then to his side, submerging half of his body in the sewer water.

He wished he could have thought something pompous and rebel princelike as he fell into unconsciousness, such as this is an outrage! Or damn Archadian dogs! But much to his chagrin, he thought something much less couth and quite a bit more predictable.

Shit.

[Noblesse Oblige]

How disgraceful it must be, for the people of Rabanastre to suffer such a fate. But he was not in the mood for such matters; having been threatened with his life by a Judge would do that to him. He looked at his pocket watch as several people, by all accounts frozen by the Esper’s spell were hauled away to be locked away indefinitely. However unfortunate it may seem to them, it did not affect William in the slightest, even going to help some of the guards tend to sound of the unruly members. He was deeply annoyed at the developments, and to be honest, if the Prince hadn’t been an absolute fool he would have lived to continue being the Consul of Archadian Dalmasca.

Putting the pocketwatch back in his jacket he then turned to the crowd as they were being escorted into the dungeons to await what horrors there may be. Humes, moogles, Bangaas, all now prisoners of the Emperor’s will, fated to either plead innocent or guilty, to live or to die, such was Arcadian Law, and the Judge would serve as Judge, Jury and Executioner. “This is going to be a long few days here.” William said calmly.

As the crowd progressed, William did see a figure stand out, escorted by guards. The dead giveaway of her reptilian wings meant one thing. “A Gria…such a rare species around these parts.” Knowing the matter at hand, he would have to make sure to interrogate her personally, if she cooperates, then the matter could be done and everyone can get back to be on their merry way, though he personally did not know what would be the consequence of such action if the Judge knew who was responsible, and something in the back of his mind knew that Rabanastre will soon be the new Narbadis no matter which way he saw it. Best to play to the Judge’s whims for now and then, if and when it happens, find a way out before he becomes a fixture of a new Necrohol.