ᴏᴏ2 ( ᴠɪᴅᴇᴏ) | ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀᴅ ǫᴜᴇᴇɴ

[insubordination]

So.

[ it is a public message, to the network, that pops up on the circle's watches and roy looks Less Than Pleased (tm) with the sudden state of affairs. the weather in the temple is absolutely out of control, there are apparently weird cakes appearing in the kitchens, and the fighting ring has turned into a magical court. great.

so, that may be the reason why roy's tone is particularly clipped, or even frustrated. but he seems methodical, in his words, and he is sitting at a table with a notebook, a glass of water, and a weird looking lizard on the table that has an odd rainbow-shift to the scales.

( ignore the lizard. it seems roy is. ) ]

The Circle is currently compromised of people of a variety of talents; soldiers, magicians, teenagers . . . all of us have particular skills to contribute to the cause of whatever it is we're meant to do here. I know quite a few people [ like maes, and barabas ] have been keeping track of various magical powers that we have been gifted, and organized some semblance of structure -- all of which is necessary. But we have to acknowledge what happened to Akvos.

[ he pauses, there. ]

Astoria has not been entirely clear with the Circle on what our purpose is. That may be an innocent error, or a purposeful move to win our trust. I'm not here to argue the merits of whether or not we should trust her, but we have no choice but to participate in whatever world she sends us to. Whether we like it or not, we are stuck there until she brings us back, and we have some opportunity to assist whoever is there. We cannot depend on her to figure out what to do in order to prevent another Akvos, or -- it seems, another El Minha, given King Kathashun is no longer in his own world.

[ roy taps the pen against the table once. ]

I don't have any solution as to what we did right, or wrong, or whether or not it was our fault in the first place. But I want to begin the conversation to work to prevent it again, and seeing as Astoria is either not willing or not capable of explaining herself at the moment, we need to learn to work without her. What are we missing? What do we need to work on? And what can we do in order to be more organized before our next world?

[ and, finally, roy feeds the lizard one (1) piece of lettuce, which it lazily seems to chew on. ]

I'm of a mind we need to organize fighters, healers, and transporters, but I'm open to ideas and suggestions -- and questions, about previous worlds to those who were not there to experience them. I have been to El Minha, Struxta, and Akvos. And I'm certain "older" members of the Circle will be happy to share their experiences, too.

( filtered to maes + riza )

[ almost immediately, his expression turns from serious and leaderlike to tired. ]

Who wants to keep notes?

[ PLEASE DON'T MAKE HIM DO IT :( ]

( end filter )

( ooc: please feel free to threadjack in this post! especially if you want to use this to foster CR and/or build "teams" that roy is looking to enlist. c: )

Comments

[insubordination]

[ he doesn't respond to the first offer, simply notes it (or, rather, riza notes it) for future reference. the second question is a bit more relevant to him, and so he answers it. ]

King Kathashun was a young ruler that inherited the throne in a kingdom known as El Minha, which was our first journey in the Circle. It was divided amongst a criminal underground, known as the Syndicate, and the Crown Guard. The Guard staged a coup to throw King Kathashun off of the throne, and the King possessed unique magical abilities that seemed to only be inherent in the Royal bloodline.

[ he pauses, writing something in his notebook, before continuing. ]

In the end, the King remained on the throne, but something must have happened after our leave, if he fled the Kingdom. He seemed genuinely dedicated to his people. We also don't know how he managed to leave El Minha at all, but he did possess . . . powerful abilities, that we don't know a lot about. It's possible he's able to go through worlds too, but that's pure speculation.

[rightfully]

[ Lucina can think of one very good reason to flee a kingdom you're otherwise dedicated to, but the suggestion feels a bit too withering - pessimistic, a little impossible (despite being her reality) - that she keeps it to herself. ]

Where I come from, it is not always so difficult to get through worlds, [ or through time. ] I can name at least one whose power rivals her Grace's.

[ That's, uh, her way of referring to Astoria. Why? idk, Lucina's dumb. ]

There is nothing I could suggest about his Majesty that wouldn't be speculation and I don't suspect we have the resources available to us to confirm.

If El Minha still thrives, is returning to it not possible?

[insubordination]

Returning to it doesn't seem to be within the realm of possibility, given we leave this place through Astoria. But I also haven't extensively researched it, either.

[ they're coming and going so frequently that it doesn't lead much to stable research, but it's something worth considering. ]

I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of the King, if he's winding up in the same worlds that we're frequenting. He may leave us more clues yet.

[rightfully]

Surely, it would be easier for all parties involved if he would just speak freely.

[ Like, coins are cool and all, but whatever happened to just walking up to someone and saying, hey, this is what's up. If he's in the same worlds, then it is possible.

Then again, that very line of questioning begs a thought. ]

... unless somewhat prevents him from doing so.

[ Astoria? Alcina? ]

[insubordination]

It seemed fairly apparent by his initial message to the Circle that he was not in Akvos, when we were there.

[ the king was young, inexperienced, and had a job that he wasn't really prepared for (in roy's professional opinion), but kathashun hadn't struck roy as someone avoidant, or purposefully irresponsible. he would have come to them, had he been able to. ]

Members of our group also uncovered certain clues of his that indicated he was no longer in Akvos, so I doubt he was prevented from an outside force from contacting us. It seems he left the world of his own accord, or something happened that forced him to leave. And seeing as the Princess had vanished shortly after his arrival and the Queen was suspicious of anyone associated with her, I'm sure he wanted to prevent being put on trial to his death. Again.

[ roy pauses, there, and he shrugs to himself. ]

But reaching out to him, if it's possible with our own powers, is something that I'm sure people with a greater understanding of magic than I have could manage. Kathashun managed to do so. There's no reason to believe we aren't equally capable.

[rightfully]

[ Well, that's certainly a blunder. Lucina takes it in stride, though. It's her own fault for not paying better attention. Akvos had been - messy, to say the least, and she had barely helped in the ultimate efforts. It's a lesson to be learned. Among other things. ]

Someone from our own who fought on his Majesty's behalf during your time in El Minha would be within their rights to request an audience.

[ ofc, she's thinking like a princess, not like one of astoria's handpicked ]

Is that something you would be willing to do, my lord?

[ Roy hasn't introduced himself, she's just going with it. ]

[insubordination]

Ah . . . Roy is fine. Brigadier General Mustang if you really insist on a title.

[ he is definitely not nobility, or an aristocrat, or anything resembling a lord. still: ]

I would be willing to try, if he showed up again, but it's more a problem of figuring out how to contact him, rather than actually doing it. He was little more than a kid. He couldn't have been older than twenty.

[ if that. ]

I don't think he'll have much issue in talking with us, if we manage to find him again.

[rightfully]

[ Of course she does. ]

General, then. I am Lucina. Well met.

[ He does bring up a good point. One problem at a time, she had been thinking, but there are so many problems now. ]

Admittedly, I have little idea. I am no magic user, and magic seems to be the focal point of this dilemma. [ And asking Astoria defeats the purpose. ] For now, I suggest we wait and see what awaits us in the next world. He may not have moved on. If that's the case, we may be able to get a message to him.

[insubordination]

He was leaving clues indicating that he discovered Struxta, which was the last world we visited before Akvos. He may have already visited there, or he may be going there next.

[ who knows. only kathashun and jalin, presumably. ]

But I leave that to the more magically-inclined.