The Wings of a Raven

[MasterAegon]

The Wings of a Raven​

Aegon shook his head with contempt as he read the letter. The raven had just arrived this morning with the news that Dhem Koldur had been the target of thievery. He could not help but smile though. In a world that was plagued with the absence of action, they had finally provoked someone into doing something. The funnier part was still that Dhem Koldur was nothing more than an outpost for the Argus alliance. Should they focus their strength into the outpost and make it a key city? Perhaps it would be more useful to remain a combat stronghold?

The ideas rolled around in his head for a moment before he picked up his quill. The words began to flow from his mind onto paper, a raging river with nothing to stop it.

The Argus Alliance is hereby on stand down until further notice.
For the past several months we have done the unthinkable. Osiris
fell prey to our calculated attacks and now no longer exist. The
very purpose of this alliance was to spur conflict and draw people
into what the Artifact wanted. Instead, now we are compelled by
our power and greed for more. I ask that all members of Argus
understand my reasons and agree to this. We shall no longer go
on the offensive unless our title as Capital is threatened. It is at
that point that I recommend we unleash the hounds, so to speak.
Until that time comes, I propose we wait and remain on the
defensive. Expand as you see fit. Focus on your economies and
uphold the integrity of our standards in all areas. This call for a
stand down is not an order as we all know that Argus does not
function under dictatorship. This is a proposal and I respectfully
request that my allies...my friends, agree to this decision.
I look forward to speaking with you all at the next Council.

Aegon looked at the parchment once more before pulled several blank ones closer to make copies. His heart was torn between that of peace and conflict. It was in his blood to wield a sword and stand next to his brothers in arms for glory. Was there any other way to leave this world with pride? Hope was all he could hold onto. Hope that it was not too late. Hope that he and the rest of Argus could earn their title with not only their prowess in combat, but prove that they were the leaders this world needed.

His thoughts strayed on his way to the aviary. The one thing that he could never escape was the thought of what still lay on the horizon. The Artifact was a strange companion to have, but he chose to pursue answers more every time he sought its company. Just as they were plunged into this world of conflict with the technology that allowed for the claiming of territory, more was yet to come. As if it were not enough when they discovered the Valley of the Artifacts, and that not only was there more than one Artifact, but three more. Then there was Vale of Conquest which shed more light on the operations of the Ancients. Territory technology was the first that affected their world directly. I know. I know that this will not be the last. The relic spoke to him enough that he knew more was on the way. It was bad enough that he could see the most imminent change. The darkness beyond that was what concerned him most. That darkness, would require everyone to begin learning what it meant to work together as a people and not separately as town citizens.

As he forced his thoughts back to the present, he tied the message to the respective ravens and loosed them, one by one. They flew off into the darkness of the morning. This was the solemn hour of quiet. News would travel on the wings of a raven and he would soon have his answer. Will they agree…or understand? It was time Argus began preparing for more...and preparing Loka for more...

 

[adderman500]

Adder made his usual morning visit to the aviary, never willing to be out of the loop as far as alliance matters were concerned. He was surprised to see a white raven perched up in the rafters of the tower. The raven immediately noticed Adder's presence. "Corn!" it squawked and swooped down, finally settling atop Adder's head.

Adder chuckled. All the signs pointed toward this being a Dragonstone raven; intelligent, well-trained, and a bloody pain in the arse to boot. Adder was curious as to what such a message could enclose; it had been a while since Aegon had deemed it necessary to distribute a message as far as Basilica. Adder quickly unrolled the parchment and read the contents at a lightning speed, as he always had as long as he could remember.

The contents made him chuckle. Aemon seemed to be implying that all within Argus were responsible for the continuation of war after the first objective of Argus had been completed. Of course, it was only those with fire in their veins, as it had been since the fall of Osiris, and the mysterious disappearance of Psy and his partner Ivette. Adder was far too old for such things, preferring to spend most of his days walking, thinking, reading and ever so slowly building his Basilica. It went without saying that he had no intention of returning to battle unless it was strictly required, as it had been on occasion, but not often, over the last season.

Nonetheless, he was glad to see Aemon and his followers stand down, and hoped his friends would see a brief era of peace before a new threat brought them back into conflict. Perhaps he would have more time to consider the object that had watched him as he grew up, since he first ventured up the Three Sisters to investigate it over 250 years ago. Certainly in the last 100 years or so more had been revealed than ever had, with the Valley of the Artifact becoming accessible, to name but one discovery.

He strode out onto the South Eastern plain, wondering what the future of the alliance was and when it would once again be called to arms. In many ways he looked forward to that time, but only if a real crisis took place that would require the wrath of enraged Dragonstone knights accompanied by Warrior Hermits of Basilica and Battle Slaves of Albion to once again fight side by side on the battlefield.

After he returned from his walk Adder wrote an appropriate response that would summarise the Basilican view fairly adequately:

Aight

 

[hip736]

Opyc and Hip emerged from the dark hole they call their house, armor the same shading as coal. Any normal lokan would need night vision to see a thing but not these two. Opyc raging to himself like usual, Hip just learned to ignore it. He looked at Opyc with resentment as he had to make the journey to the top of the mountain on which they live.


"Sorry, eh?" was all Opyc could manage.


Once Hip reached the top he opened the top hatch to the big blue sky. The sun shone in, almost blinding him. He luckily caught a glimpse of some winged beast squawking at him, as he got his sword ready, he saw that it was some feathered messenger, a royal raven sent from Dragonstone.


He rushed the bird right down to where Opyc was mining. As Hip approached Opyc he could hear him singing to the sounds the pickaxe made when he struck the diamond ore. The esteemed worker joined him to read the scroll. They looked it over together. Opyc burst out with cheer.


“Yes! No more generator fights! I'm tired of dying there.” Opyc said.


Hip thought to himself, 'I spent 5 months enchanting this beautiful sword, and for what? Not to fight? Oh well...” He threw his sword into the lava, watching it dissipate and become one with the molten rock.


Opyc looked at Hip and said “What do we do with the bird?"


"I think we need to respond...” he answered. Opyc wrote on a piece of parchment with fervor. If it weren't for the fact that Hip knew he was only concentrating, he would thing it was aggression. The product of his efforts produced only two word...or what could be considered words.


" 'kay, eh?.'