Tyler

I think I'll have to take a pass on this one, but I will make sure to have my characters take note of your characters' efforts IC at some point.

Oh oh oh, gotcha! So, you're thinking like some sort of deal where they arranged to have my character go with when tracking down some pirate ship or raiding some pirate base or something? And is there some sort of plan for the pirates themselves? Like who they are and what they are doing? Obviously you're not going to take down the whole pirate cove or something, so it would make more sense to me if it is a small fleet or enclave. I'm still just "feeling it out" right now, for the record. I haven't committed yet, since right now I'm trying to be deliberate about which threads I join and which ones I don't.

Well, my UM characters are on the neutral/evil level of the alignment chart. The problem is they are over on the lawful side of it. 😉 So yeah, they wouldn't be joining what essentially is a pirate raid. Well, none of the Karradeens would be anyway.

Not specifically at the moment, but if you do something related to pirates, you could ping on it at a later date.

House Uldwar's decline had been noticeable for some months, but it had truly not been brought to a head until the disastrous events on Mount Egon. Now, even if Godric Uldwar held a seat of power in the new government, it was clear that House Uldwar would be hard-pressed to hold its former rank and position for much longer. As a result, the vultures had begun to gather. It was known to House Karradeen that House Uldwar possessed an artifact, an item of great historic value, and more than a little value in terms of power. The True Crown of Ursa Madeum, recovered by knights of the warrior house, had sat in the Uldwar vaults for some time now. Rather than leave it to chance that something undesirable may become of it, Abigail Karradeen decided it was best to act now. A more than reasonable sum of gold was offered for the crown, which would put the artifact and its powers in the more stable hands of the merchant house, while (hopefully) infusing a bit more coin back into the Uldwar-Port Mars economy. It was a routine transaction, much as the sale of Uldwar's old oil fields to BlackBlood Energy some weeks earlier had been. BlackBlood was already funneling people into the islands, mostly on Karradeen ships, arriving at what was left of the Port Mars harbor, and even more had arrived alongside Abigail. But they didn't accompany her to the Uldwar castle, instead she was accompanied only by a couple guards and her long-time friend and aid, Squire Geb Josanne. The Uldwar guards escorted her to the front door and through the stone halls, until at least she stood before the unnaturally aged Godric Uldwar and his younger sister, Illyana. They had both been there for the nobility meeting nine days ago, where Godric's attempts to push his father's earlier constitution proposal had unintentionally spurred an idea for compromise to be proposed by Duchess Karradeen. That compromise was ultimately accepted by all, save for House Hildebrand, which rather shocked many by announcing its independence from the rest of the nation. And that along was more reason to always expect the unexpected. Abigail did not doubt that there were many more just around the corner, and rather than accept the government that she herself had inadvertently created, as though it would solve all the nation's ills, she instead chose to remain proactive. The True Crown of Ursa Madeum was something that couldn't be trusted to a failing house like Uldwar, nor to the arrogant Dalis or shady Kholins. And while it would seem appropriate to gift it to Milorian Mythal, the new "king" of the islands, she also realized that it sort of flew in the spirit of her own proposal of a limited monarchy. No, no, the crown was more than a status symbol; it was a magical tool, one which might cause controversy in the hands of the new king. It would be better to keep it in the hands of someone with a practical use for such a tool. "Lord Uldwar, Lady Uldwar," Abigail curtsied before the siblings, "It is a pleasure to see you again. I fear the circumstances at the meeting left me unable to properly convey my feelings at the time, but let me be clear that your family has my sympathies and those of my house for all that has transpired of late. I hope our business today will help get things back on an more desirable path."

The Lower City 0035 Hours The Lower City of Forsthaven was quite unlike its partner on the cliffs above. Though it was the older part of the city, technically speaking, most of the structures there were much newer, and far higher-class. While culture, government and industry all made their homes in the vast Upper City, it was the merchants and traders that made their homes in the land below. Commerce was the king in this part of the city, for it was the first civilized place one would come to when traveling to the plateau from the rest of the continent. In addition to those coming and going from the plateau itself, there were numerous others who passed through here on their way across the plains, as there was a road that passed through it going northwest. All this meant that the Lower City was built to satisfy the traveler, with everything from gas stations, trading posts, animal stables (for mounts), hotels and even casinos, all being located down below. As a result of this, the Lower City was much richer than the Upper City, and most of the wealthy business and merchantmen made their homes on the coast of the lake, into which the Troz River poured from the plateau above. Many of those wealthy individuals had no interest in this war, and there were a number of them who actually preferred Norkotia to their own mayor, simply because of Tynes's policies that were drawing more people (and thus, more wealth) toward Zühl. Many had already left, surrendering to Norkotian lines immediately, after making sure to secure their wealth and lock-up their homes for fear of looting. But some had stayed put, even going so far as to compete with their own government to hire-up the various mercenaries and transients that were staying in the lower city, hoping to use them to privately secure their homes or businesses until the war was over. Even so, the Lower City still housed a sizable number of gunfighters, drifters and refugee fighters from both the plateau and the greater continent. Many were more than willing to take a crack at defending the city, whether for the fun of it, or for the vague promises of generous rewards from the mayor if they managed to repel the invasion. Thus, alongside the militiamen, and the disguised Seekers, a fair number of renegades and ruffians were also lying in wait. The paratroopers though, were primarily expected to hold the road and prevent escape, not penetrate deep into the city. Only a pair of platoons, bolstered by a handful of mercenaries on the Norko side, among them the giant Lag-Nor, were attempting to break through the lines. And even then, their goal was not to capture territory, but to keep the enemy busy. The more enemy militiamen and mercenaries that were kept busy down here in the strategically unimportant part of the city, the less that could be funneled into the upper city to reinforce the defenders there. The units making their way into the town were built for staying power, meant to be able to occupy enemy forces multiple times their own size. The Goliath himself was a perfect embodiment of that philosophy, as he barreled through the first line of defense, slaughtering dozens of men and sending many of the militiamen running. Some of the mercenaries held their ground longer, but most of their small-arms weren't penetrating his armor. Behind him, the paratroopers and Norko mercs moved-in, entering the city through the breach. "We'll make for the Wie Strom Casino," their commander had told them, "It is the tallest building in the Lower City. Intelligence has indicated that it is unguarded, so we will seize it, then position snipers on the upper levels. The defenders will have to move to retake it, or risk being unable to move freely through the city. We'll be getting ammo drops once we have control of the building. MOOOOOVE OUT!" And so here they were, busting through the front lines of the Lower City defense. But the defensive lines were hardly the only thing blocking their path. The defenders pulled back and began to go building-to-building, using each one as cover in hopes of dogging the Norkotian advance. Anti-personal mines were also shown to be a problem, much as anti-armor mines were causing trouble for Krieger's spearhead on the River Road. One of the barricades on the main road, soon had them pinned down, as several gunmen, a gatling gun crew, and a mercenary sorcerer pelted them with bullets and low-level offensive spells. "Okay, big guy!" the paratroop commander snapped toward Lag-Nor, hiking a thumb at the pile of sandbags, "Bust us through!" Even as the Goliath prepared himself, he could see the sorcerer on the other side had seen him, and appeared to be prepping a defensive power of some of some kind. @SteamWarden @Fierach

I might be wrong, but EpicRome (from what I've seen) does seem very medieval-oriented, and I think Aligoria is too, so that might be the perfect match right there.

Rodan's face only twitched slightly, as he carefully avoided showing the amount of relief he felt at the removal of the deadly illusions. Indeed, the presence of creatures that seemed far more biological in origin and power left him feeling almost giddy by comparison. The slug on his head did not fall off, but instead froze and shriveled slightly, as Rodan had now made a conscious connection with their bodies. He made a point first of genetically scanning the odd creatures, to see if there was anything about their small, simple bodies that allowed them to create such convincing deceptions. It would surely be useful for future minions, if he could isolate it. This went quickly, for his magic worked much faster here on Genesaris, and the slugs were after all, small and simple creatures. Even the weakening he felt thanks to the draining effect from Mori's drone did not slow him much, at least not for such a trivial task. Once done, he could then focus on the threats before him; the weird earthen creatures wrapped in leaves. If they were made of dirt, he would not likely be able to affect them directly; but the foliage covering their bodies, as well as the vines they were now hurling force offensively, could prove useful enough instead. After Xavier's show of aggression renewed the conflict, Rodan nodded and looked at the being in front of him. "You're move," he grinned faintly. "You fool!" the earthen guardian scoffed, as vines leaped out of the ground and wrapped around Rodan's arms, the thorns digging into his flesh, "You should have fled when you had the chance!" Rodan winced slightly at the pain, but he did not move to resist, lest the thorns tear his flesh further. Instead, he allowed the vines to restrain him, which gave him time to burrow his power into them, finding that magically summoned though they were, they remained organic, physical constructs. "Ah, allow me to disagree with that assessment, my friend," Rodan closed his eyes, as he removed the thorns that were digging into his skin, but kept the vines wrapped tightly around his arms. Suddenly, the vines fell loose from the stalks that held them to the ground, and Rodan whipped them up into the air as he would his signature weapon. The earthen being could not react in time, before Rodan lassoed one of the vines around its throat. Within seconds, thick, sharp, blade-like thorns emerged once again, digging into the earthy flesh of the creature's neck. While much of the earthen construct was inorganic, there was still enough mixed in that Rodan could influence it. Unlike a normal person though, there wasn't enough for a proper mutation to really be worth his time, and since there were more hostiles than just the one he currently faced, he realized that efficiency was key here. "I do deeply regret this, but I fear I mustn't delay for the sake of my own desires. My apologies, friend." He abruptly yanked the vine toward himself, causing the blade-like needles to dig, as they were drawn in a circle around the creature's roped-up neck. With a defining "shink", the vine was wrench free, and the head of the earthen creature fell to the floor with a pathetic thud. Rodan shook his head in regret, as even a creature that was not quite animal was still a creature he was interested in molding to his own amusement. To kill it was such a waste. "Master, help!" Ah, but there was still work to be done. Rodan turned toward Kaya, who was being attacked by another of the creatures, and was proving completely defenseless against it. Diego was more capable, and had also engaged another of the foes nearby, his rage even greater than before now that he finally realized that he had not been fighting his hated nemeses all along. Now he was out for blood in retaliation for being deceived. That was good enough for Rodan; he knew he could trust the false angel to handle himself. Therefor, Kaya would be rescued first, then he would look to aiding his other allies, if any were hurt or in need of assistance...

On the note of cleansing the pirate threat, my own House has a vested interest in that same thing, so I feel like in some way we'd be coming across each other.

"Hmm, looks like high explosives don't work on this asshole," Mara mused, as the lava god-thing now turned toward her and her former (and once again current) companions. Sera tried to move her out of the way, or something, but Mara was solid in place as she held her ground. Khaki stepped ahead to attack first, which was fine by Mara, as it would buy her a few more seconds. She had not come without a variety in her ordinance, after all. Instead of loading another high-explosive (useful against soft targets), she loaded an armor-piercing round, which could penetrate through the armor of a tank, before detonating on the inside. "Juss' hold it off for a few more seconds..."

It was fortunate that the pirates in front of them were now retreating, many of them running headlong into the sights of the Karradeen marines outside the treeline, or the duchess and her party would be surrounded. As it was, they were able to pivot around in place, to face the brigands that were attempting to ambush them from behind. Enid's trick with the trees proved effective, as a few pirates were knocked over as a result of the branches or trunks whacking them. The others were forced to dodge away, which put them out into the open and alerted Abigail and the marine to their location. "Bah! Feckin' witch!" one of the pirates snapped, angrily, as his face was whipped by a palm leaf. "Fergit this, lads! Charge 'em!" another roared, drawing his cutlass and rushing forward. The others did the same, realizing that fighting at a range was not going to work in their favor. The witches magic, and the faster-firing, more accurate guns of the duchess and her marine meant that their numbers advantage was irrelevant. Instead, they would make it up close and personal, where their numerical superiority should be a greater factor. Even so, another pirate was blasted between the eyes by Abigail's last revolver bullet, before she holstered it and drew out her dueling sword once more. The marine continued firing with his repeating, right up until a pirate reached him and forced him to use his gun to defend against the enemy blade. Two pirates headed straight for Enid, one with a cutlass, the other with a pair of hatchets, growling and shouting wildly as they rushed the witch. The last two went after the duchess.

Hey @notmuch_23, I don't think I'll be joining. It sounds like fun, but I can't really think of any characters to use for it! lol And I'm trying to keep my focus on the RPs I have coming down the tubes, so... yeah, sorry.

Historically, the Norkotians had an almost 400-year off-and-on war against the Vulks (aka, The Vulkish Wars), though it wasn't 400 years of straight war. Rather it was numerous conflicts, some single battles, some several battles, which sparked and died down over a long period, and kind of got lumped together. You could say it is similar to the Hundred Years War, or the conflicts between the United States and Native Americans. More recently, I don't know if my current battle in Forsthaven counts as a full war or not, but Forsthaven considered itself a quasi-independent vassal (under the Terran Empire) and rejected Norkotia's overtures to annexation. Subsequently a planned siege and invasion occurred.

@Akiris I'm not entirely sure how your shadows will manifest, by the way, so I'm gonna start writing something, and you can tell me to edit if it isn't right. Or if you manage to reply to me before I make my edit, you can tell me kind of how they'd interact with Squad and help them with melee combat. I have edited!

Aaaaaah, that makes sense then! lol