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Post by zurajai on Apr 28, 2015 3:50:28 GMT
Haakon Titanhand waited patiently in his command tent stripped down to his Tovenaar robes to properly display the sheer nature of the situation; Haakon neither feared Casomir nor felt any more conflict was necessary. For the Vaekirate the conflict in Hessnya was practically over. However, it was his duty as a peacekeeper to deal with the now militarized population hold up in Keir's Climb; it certainly would not be becoming to simply force them to rot there or worse, turn the place to rubble around them. For that he would need Casomir to cooperate and though the man had proven himself to be poor at such a task Haakon yet believed the man cared for his people more than grudges and his hatred for the Vaekirate. With that intention in mind Casomir was brought before Haakon by a brace of Guardsmen before being left to the devices of the giant Tovenaar.
"Casomir Once-King," Haakon rumbled as he looked down at the man, his stern features broached by pity, "You attempted to flee your people in their time of need. A disappointing action for a man thought by many to be honorable. However, it is no Duty of mine to judge one such as yourself; one without Duty himself is only to be judged by Aed. However, Once-King, I would not have it said that Haakon Titanhand was without curiosity to see your opinions spoken by you, yourself. What drove you to such things? To place your people before the chopping block rather than simply go on pilgrimage or even prior, build a temple to praise Him. An interesting decision."
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Post by saoshyant on Apr 28, 2015 20:30:29 GMT
Casomir thanked the guardsmen with fake sincerity as they left him with the giant Tovenaar.
"There's more honor in living to fight another day than to bow to some jumped up priests who don't know there place" Casomir peeled a grin across his face in a humor that only gratified himself. The words of duty being spoken by the Giant were hollow in Casomir's ears.
"Listen to yourself, you sound like a kiss arse courtier in earshot of his lord!" Casomir spat out to Titanhand. "Aren't you a bit presumptuous to say my people are on the chopping block. When your god is a simple myth, people will still be speaking Hessnyan as they have when others have come and gone" Casomir spoke with harsh truths that any mortals history could not deny.
"I don't trust your puppetmaster as far as I can throw him, lets say I did go on this pilgrimage, Grandmaster of the Northern Husaria I once was. If I were on your stings, you'd of killed me in a well choreographed accident and put in a pretender puppet in my stead. If I'd of built your temple, I'd of invited all sorts of demented fanatics and priests to my lands to enslave my people's minds" Casomir sated the tovenaar's curiosity with a rough anger lacing his words.
"Now sate my curiosity and tell me why you are here Giant? If this is such a holy fight, then why will the blood be on your hands and not your god's?" Casomir hoped the giant had some free will left in his mind that all mortals are born with.
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Post by zurajai on Apr 28, 2015 21:57:44 GMT
"You are a sad little man, Casomir Once-King," mused Haakon as Casomir finally finished his muted tirade about his people's language and other silly things, "For one so lauded as honorable you are but a poisonous viper with fangs removed but biting still."
"Back in my time in the Tovenaar College at Messara I had a wondrous tutor by the name of Aard; a Messarom Tovenaar of many years. The man taught me much on the matters of men and how your kind thought and acted; with such vehement spite when cornered and with nowhere left to run. I would provide for you a history lesson, Casomir Once-King. Thousands of years ago the warlord Raegar of the Khaitis rode to Messara and rather than conquer the place, liberated it. He saw the truth of Aed then and there and became His prophet. It was this man, as you must know, who founded the Great Survaekom Empire. It was him and his sons and their sons who spread the worship of Aed to the four corners of the South as His sword.
Perhaps, one day, Aed's words will fall upon deaf ears. But it is not this day. You will grow old in the Colleges of the South, alone with the books and the scholars, and wither under His gaze. You will have no lands nor blood to call yours and your line will pass into history. And on that day when your scions meet their end they will do so with prayers to Aed spoken in Messaran on their lips and you will roll in your grave.
Yet but for it all the greatest irony is your paranoia; unfounded as it is and the creator of such fantasies that will never come to fruition. You make the false assumption that your death is vital for the world to go on and that your cooperation was ever necessary. It was not necessary when Surv-Akur boots ground your kinsmen into the dust and the Two-Books-Before-Red were hefted above your cities. Nor is it now. Your life was never at risk but for your own actions and nor shall it ever be again. And for all your scheming and attempts to keep such happenings from coming about your people themselves will become the fanatics and priests you so fear.
But you ask question and I am bound to answer; your query only shows your lack of education in such things. All things have a Duty under Aed. Mine is to bloody my hands till such time that Aed sees fit to end me for Heretic blood is rich and plentiful in the North and the ground parched with thirst. However. If you are anything like the good King you once were you would spare your people from violence and urge them to return to their homes, unharmed. There needs be no more Hessnyan blood shed for this pointless act of bravado. Let them return home to their wives and children so that the only one who need be punished for your actions is you."
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Post by missmilkmaid on Apr 29, 2015 1:46:54 GMT
There was a rustle at the flap of the command tent and one of Haakon's personal guards stepped inside. In a lowered voice, he informed the giant that King Azlyn Christallo had just arrived in the camp and was here to speak to him. Azlyn stepped in a few moment's later, escorted by a couple other guards, his cloths dusty and his hair windblown from travel and his large great-sword on his back. Whatever he'd been told, it clearly hadn't prepared him for what he saw in the tent.
At the sight of Casomir standing battered and chained before the great looming form of the Tovenaar, he stopped dumbfounded. "What's going on here?" he demanded after a moment of surprise. There was a hint of anger and a little anxiety in his tone. It alarmed him to see Casomir in such a state and the clear animosity steaming between the ex-king and the giant Tovenaar made the whole tent feel dangerous and on edge, but Azlyn tried not to jump to any of the worst conclusions. "Haakon, did Casomir come out an surrender to you? I expected to find him still in Keir's Climb."
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Post by zurajai on Apr 29, 2015 2:34:23 GMT
When Heirschaar Commander Fardeneyu first entered Haakon expected a report on the camp's construction or perhaps something involving a sally from the fortress; to have the Byrnian Heirschaarom explain to him not only was King Azlyn here in the camp, of all places, but waiting to speak with Haakon at this very moment the giant was hit with a certain level of surprise. Without any questioning, however, the Titanhand gave command to see the man inside. The initial reaction of the Elonese King was not unexpected.
"King Azlyn, this is a surprise," exclaimed Haakon with a raised eyebrow, "I had certainly not expected you here . . . Though, based on your words and your appearance you have not brought an army to assist in apprehending the heretic Casomir Once-King. Casomir was apprehended attempting to run from justice while disguised as a simple farmer-refugee. It was Aed's hand who revealed him to us, although several of Aed's loyal servants fell apprehending him and his accursed guard. It seems his plan was to live to fight another day whilst his own people suffered for his crimes. Now I attempt to convince the man to have his army abandon the defenses of Keir's Climb and return home; as said, no harm will befall them."
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Post by missmilkmaid on Apr 29, 2015 3:20:43 GMT
Azlyn was a little stunned at the news. He never would have believed this, if it wasn't Haakon who was telling him and he still suspected that there had to be more the the story than this. After a confused pause, during which he tried to take this information in, he hesitantly answered Haakon first assumption about him. "No, I left my men in Wyvern's Landing under the Imperial command and rode north alone. I..." he broke off looking intently at Casomir, his faith in the man's honor wavering and visibly beginning to brake apart on his face. He almost could see Chello's condensing look of cynical satisfaction in his head, scoffing at his naivety and blind trust in the good nature of other men. Glancing away, he ran a hand through his dark curly hair.
"I came hoping to speak with Casomir, Haakon. I expected to request your permission to pass though your camps to the keep, but now I ask for the opportunity to have words with him alone here in your camp. I give you my word, that won't do anything to undermine your mission or intentions here, but I need hear from Casomir himself the truth about all these accusations, without the threat of you and your men looming over our shoulders."
When Haakon had first met Azlyn, he's been hardly more than a boy king, barely over 20 years old, quick to laughing and foolishly lighthearted in almost everything he said or did. However, even back then, Alzyn's word had been a solid and unshakable oath, which his friends knew they could count on. Now, while still obviously an impulsive and optimistic man, there was a weight of world weariness to him and a more serious level of responsibility and consideration around him. When he gave his word he meant it and he didn't use words or promised to mask his intentions or mislead those he gave it to.
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Post by zurajai on Apr 29, 2015 4:02:34 GMT
"I would not have it said that Haakon Titanhand, a humble servant of Aed, treated the faithful King Azlyn with less Dignity than deserved. Speak with Once-King," he intoned as he turned on his heels and went to duck out of the tent before looking over his shoulder, "Convince him to have his men stand down so that no more blood need be shed."
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Post by missmilkmaid on Apr 29, 2015 4:20:29 GMT
"Thank you, Haakon," Azlyn said earnestly, bowing his head slightly to the giant, as he left the tent.
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Post by saoshyant on Apr 30, 2015 17:55:15 GMT
"Good to see you Azlyn, I appreciate you coming here but you're also putting your people at risk being here" Casomir told his fellow vassal lord. "These bastards are lying to you, they're as blind and as stupid as their puppetmaster likes them. Do you really believe I'd just flee and leave my people? I mean that bullshit about no more blood being spilled. After this war the bloody wardens will flood into Hessnya and execute my people for the pettiest of crimes, I won't be able to help you if the firetooth decide the lower Ryn is rightfully theirs" Casomir went on about the political ramifications of religious thuggery.
"I mean how dare these bloody priests think they can just have free reign on the North. Azlyn, they think they've got my number, but I've got a few more cards than they think. Regardless I trust you got my message it seems" Casomir finished with his rant with a different topic somewhat.
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Post by missmilkmaid on Apr 30, 2015 18:34:35 GMT
Azlyn frowned slightly as Casomir ranted, looking troubled. It sounded like a lot of paranoid ravings to Azlyn, but he listened, coming further into the tent.
"I was told," Azlyn replied, thinking of the strange ditty Volkyn had passed on about darkness, and light, crows, for foes and doves for loves. He'd assumed it had been meant as a kind of password, a poorly composed poem the Hessnyians were using to identify those still loyal to the king, but after seeing Casomir now, he was beginning to worry that it refereed to something more ominous. "What does it mean about seeking redress, Casomir?"
Taking off his sword, Azlyn lay it aside next to a table far too tall to really suit human needs and sat down on a stool, tall enough to nearly have his legs swinging. "Whatever you may be thinking, the church isn't evil. It doesn't execute people for petty crimes, or really any crime aside from dark magic." Azlyn's voice was gentle but still very troubled. "Casomir, my people have been Aedak for centuries, do we seem like a nation driven by a bloodthirsty and false faith? The Veakirate and the Empire saved us from religious persecution by the Eshara Empire and has allowed true faith and understanding to flourish in the north. Its a religion not a conspiracy."
Azlyn let out a heavy breath and pushed his messy hair from his face. "What is truly going on here? You sound half insane Casomir, but I do actually find it hard to believe that you would just flee your people, your bride and your honor to save yourself. What is it that you are trying to achieve and why are you so certain there's some evil puppet master at work against Hessnya?"
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Post by saoshyant on May 2, 2015 10:08:38 GMT
"What does it mean? Azlyn you're not naive, you know that after this war, no matter the outcome, that we won't all be friends and everything will be rosy and smiles after. I might not be fighting them in the field after but I've got to fight them politically and legally" Casomir told his fellow Elonese royal.
"That's the difference between our countries, Hessnya was never persecuted by the Esharans, But what the Esharan's were to Elon the Aedak is to Hessnya. People told your people a century ago to be diplomatic and to just take the Esharan's shit, did they convert to the Esharan's religion, no! But now you've come to me to take the Vaekir's shit and you expect me to bow down!" Casomir tried to use Azlyn's logic to help him understand.
Azlyn still went on though to Casomir who was unsure if Azlyn knew one of the fundamental rules of war. Casomir looked around, at the tent flaps and along the skirting on the bottom of the tent. Casomir moved forward and whispered into Azlyn's ear.
"Now though I need you to help me with something Azlyn. Alphred is leading the defense of Keir's Climb, if the worst hasn't happened, he will need help after this. If you could help him, get Alphred an imperial trial if he's captured, this war isn't his fault and our ancestors, descendants and I will forever be in your debt" Casomir pleaded for one thing from Azlyn, appealing to the kings own sense of honor.
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Post by missmilkmaid on May 2, 2015 16:32:26 GMT
"I will get him a fair trial," Azlyn said firmly, fairly certain the Empire and the Veakirate had been planning on giving any captured Hessynians a fair trial anyway. "Casomir, I will argue for you to have a trial as well. If you can't believe in the honor of the church, believe in the honor of your fellow monarchs of the north and the Empire you served so faithfully until a few weeks ago. While you spit, mock and provoke the Veakirate the way you have, you force everyone against you, but make a sensible choice here tonight and we shall do what we can."
"You're right that its too late to go back to the way things were, friends and roses as you say. Of course there is going to be political fall out, legal strife and difficultly, but there doesn't need to be further bloodshed. These aren't the monsters you seem to imagine and if they were, do you think I, or any of the kings of the north, would stand idly by and let you people be so mistreated? If you send word to Alphred to surrender Kier's Climb, I promise that neither Elon nor the Vizier will allow the Wardens or any of the rest of the church's agents to kill or execute your people. It is you, Casomir who has the power to decide if hundreds of your loyal people and soldiers will die or not. Call down your armies and tell Alphred to surrender, even if it hurts your honor. There are times when the honorable thing and the right thing are not the same. The political battles and legal trials ahead of you and your family will be much easier, if you end the war now. However you and the rest of Hessnya feel about converting to Aedak, allowing Alphred and your armies to be slaughtered here does nothing but turn your hands red in the sight of all the north and drive those who would be your allies away from you."
Azlyn reached out to take Casomir's hand, he was looking intently at the king, praying that his words would break through the king's paranoia, that Casomir would trust him. Lives were on the line here, more than that, souls were on the line and Azlyn wanted very badly to pull all of that from the brink of war and hell. "Please trust me, Old friend and trust in my honor, even if you despise my faith."
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Post by zurajai on May 2, 2015 18:33:57 GMT
"Your time to discuss matters has passed," exclaimed Haakon as he stepped back inside, his war tent barely tall enough to accommodate his great size, "And I expect, Casomir Once-King, that you have come up with a decision."
"I say again, Casomir, that on my word as Legate and Giant no harm will come to any of your men should they surrender. They shall be expected to return to their homes and nothing else will become of this incident. I myself will see to it that the Firetooth return to their land. No harm need be levied on anyone this day. But you must make that choice."
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Post by saoshyant on May 3, 2015 19:22:37 GMT
Casomir looked down, at the grass that slipped beneath the edge of the tent and waved with the wind at him. He looked to Azlyn with a brief smile before turning to look up at the giant.
"Take me to my men, let's have no more blood spilled for both our mistakes.I will have armistice, your men and orcs go home and so mine. My terms are that no Vaekirate zealot or Heirschaar enter Keir's Climb and no Hessnyan levyman or trooper that leaves is harassed or murdered when they return to their villages. I also expect a trial, considering how I'm still an imperial citizen no matter my faith or station" Casomir said with brisk words.
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Post by zurajai on May 3, 2015 19:28:38 GMT
"You have made the right choice, Casomir," spoke Haakon seemingly genuinely, "I will order the rabble that accompanied us to return to Karmozijn Kerk before we even go to end the conflict so no possible mistakes may be made. Your men will leave Keir's Climb and no harm will come to them; to harass and murder is not the Vaekirate way despite what you seem to believe. On the matter of a trial, that I cannot promise; you broke the laws of faith, not the laws of the Empire. But I shall try to convince Chief Priest Staas to request one of the Vaekir for you."
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