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Post by Risk on May 10, 2010 14:51:50 GMT -5
Alyssa looked the profile over carefully, taking note of several different things before shoving the panel to the side where they could both see it. The kid was clearly not all that important to the army, working in the novelty shops and...well, no, that was it. He was not the kind of person that an army might target to get information out of, and certainly no one considered him a threat. So what was that bracer? She thought momentarily, her eyes narrowing, "Has anyone mentioned that Ryo is acting any differently?" She looked around at the recruits filling benches for their meals and wondered if the boy was there.
And how dangerous it might be if he was.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on May 10, 2010 17:31:16 GMT -5
Kalia gave herself time to eat her food as her superior looked over the data on Ryo Shoryu she had provided her. She could tell that Alyssa was taking this new information on the investigation previously unknown to her very seriously. The look on her face gave it away; it was an expression Kalia only ever saw in the training fields, when Alyssa was overseeing and personally improving the training regime of a particularly promising recruit--which had happened more than a few times for Kalia herself. Regardless, Kalia waited patiently for the Commander to speak.
"As far as I can tell, no," Kalia responded when Alyssa asked her next question. "He passed all of the physical, blood, and psychological tests concerning the bracelet and was green-lighted to return to active duty, as his superiors haven't reported any abnormalities in his behavior. They're just keeping him away from the armory and anything possibly magical in nature."
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Post by Risk on May 18, 2010 12:59:15 GMT -5
Commander Lightshield paused, her eyes flickering over Kalia's face, "What are the odds that it's a simple enchanted...bug of some sort? Just to hear what's going on around the facilities?" Looking over the profile again she grinned, "Though he doesn't really strike me as someone who would have a lot of conversation about the training methods we use." Pondering things yet again she took a sip of her drink, grimacing at the taste. She never had been fond of the beverages in this dining hall, but she wasn't one to complain about such trivial things.
But there were more important things to think about right now than the flavor of her tea. Was the thief a recruit here, or an enemy soldier from somewhere more...unfortunate? The odds of them being from anywhere else were slim though if they knew about that enchanted sword. Fingers brushing over her own blade hilt, she thought a moment more, "Perhaps I'll stick around until the Mage arrives. I'd like to know the outcome of this event. It seems as if we won't be able to discover what happened until we know about that bracer."
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Post by The Rising Dragon on May 19, 2010 2:09:14 GMT -5
Kalia nodded once in agreement. Perhaps there would be more results now that a member of the Order of the Blade--especially the Knight-Commander of the Templar Subdivision--was interested in the case. Kalia didn't think that this bracelet was simply a magical tap--frankly, with Kallagulia being the heart of the Empire and the home of the Onyx Throne and the House of Stamarin, the place was kept as clean as possible--routine sweeps, constant patrols, and everything even remotely suspicious was monitored, scanned, and removed. Which is probably why the higher-ups were so antsy about whatever it was that attached itself to Ryo Shoryu's arm.
"That's a good call, but I really don't know when the mage will get here," Kalia told her commander. "Its entirely possible they were instructed to meet Spearman Shoryu at his new posting near the mines."
She thought for a moment, and went over everything she had heard in the past few weeks about the activities of the Order. Something came to mind, and she spoke it. "If that's the case, wouldn't it be possible for anyone in the Order in that region to look over him for you? I heard that Commander Saint was currently in the area."
Before the Knight's question could be answered, their lunch period was quickly interrupted by the arrival of a lower-ranked soldier. The man, clad in full plate mail and with his blade rifle still sheathed on his hip, must have been sent on an errand by a superior officer while on duty during patrol of Kallagulia or the Imperial Citadel. As he stopped at their table, he quickly saluted both of them, raising his clenched fist over his heart.
"Pardon the interruption, my Lady," he said, his focus on Commander Lightshield. "Your presence has been requested at the Citadel."
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Post by Risk on May 31, 2010 19:04:07 GMT -5
Alyssa listened quietly and nodded, "I suppose another could, but I'd rather do it myself. Such a matter may be nothing important, but the possibility is too great to risk. I--" She was going to continue, but a young officer entered and stopped by their table, explaining quietly that her presence had been requested in the Citadel. Her right eyebrow raised and she began to question him as to the purpose of her visit, but quickly recognized that an officer of his rank would not have been given information from the Citadel if it was the Knight Commander who was needed.
Alyssa Lightshield stood, adjusting the blade on her hip and straightening her gloves. She nodded at the officer and turned to Kalia, giving a formal salute, "I thank you for sharing your information with me, Knight. It was a pleasure to speak with you." She turned back to the younger officer and nodded for him to lead the way.
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Post by The Rising Dragon on May 31, 2010 22:46:37 GMT -5
Kalia stood up on a moment after Alyssa did, and nodded back as she saluted her superior officer. "It was my honor, my Lady," she replied to the Commander with her salute. "Take care." She watched as Alyssa followed the soldier out of the mess hall, then gathered up their emptied trays. The knight disposed of the remains on both and returned them to the kitchens, then washed up and departed.
"Now, where am I needed for now?" she asked herself, looking about the training yards. Her squad had the day off, so they were all out, enjoying themselves in the city. Of course, she could recall them all back easily enough if it was needed, but it was rare that Kallagulia needed to deploy its defense forces for something greater than a simple patrol.
Kalia made her way over to Amatlan and untethered him. "Come on, you," she said endearingly. "Let's go find something productive to do."'
The wyvern grunted and shook his head a bit as his master mounted up, her legs tucked comfortably behind his winged arms. Nudging Amatlan gently with her knees to guide him, Kalia turned about and headed away from the yards. If Instructor Greenville needed her for anything, she'd call her on the communication screen spell.
A thought came to her. No one had noted any change in Spearman Shoryu's behavior ever since he had failed to apprehend the thief and had acquired the bracelet, but had anyone gone to see how he felt about all of this?
Kalia nodded and urged Amatlan forward. It was time to pay a visit to the barracks to find Ryo Shoryu... or at least find out from his commanding officer where he was currently stationed at. The streets in the area were light when it came to traffic, so it was easy enough to guide Amatlan through it all and reach the barracks Ryo was stationed at. Ensuring her mount to the care of the local stablehands, Kalia registered into the barracks' systems and made her way to the one Ryo's quarters were in. After a quick reference to a floor plan, she found them. She gave the door two quick knocks before entering, just to alert him that was someone was coming in.
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Post by Ryo on Jun 1, 2010 4:11:02 GMT -5
"I told you guys I wouldn't leave, so why are y-" He then noticed it was Kalia, an actual knight. All he could do was stare in shock as thoughts shot through his mind. The general consensus being that he must be in some deep trouble if a knight were dropping by. After what seemed to be an eternity, Ryo jerked his arm behind his back in a sad attempt to hide the bracelet. "Eheh... Welcome to the barracks! They said I was supposed to wait for a magician... Or something like that."
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Jun 1, 2010 14:46:24 GMT -5
"Relax, Spearman," Kalia said, smiling at the soldier. "I'm not here to tell you that you're in trouble. I imagine you'd have quite enough of that over the last couple of days already."
She pulled herself up a chair and sat down across from Ryo, gesturing for him to sit as well. "I just came by to see how you're holding up," she said. "Everyone's been so busy investigating the theft and worried about anything that bracelet of yours might be doing, and no one thought to see how you were doing personally."
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Post by Ryo on Jun 2, 2010 2:26:20 GMT -5
That was a surprise. Relieved, Ryo plopped back down on the cot he had set up. "Well, I can't say I blame them. How many other guards screw up such simple jobs this often? I was expecting a discharge..." With a bit of a sigh, he began looking over the bracelet. "And this thing. I can't even break it off. I don't even know where it came from..." His gaze then drifted back to his visitor. "Sorry, I suppose I shouldn't be complaining about this."
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Jun 2, 2010 3:33:25 GMT -5
"Don't worry about it," she replied. "I'd be pretty frustrated if it had happened to me.
"Break-ins don't happen often, but no one is perfect, even us Stamarian soldiers," Kalia said, cocking her head slightly. "Besides, I don't think anyone expected a break-in here, in the heart of the Empire. I think everyone's more concerned that someone even accomplished stealing something from us than they are with you failing to catch him."
The knight clasped her hands and leaned back in her seat, getting herself more comfortable. Soldiers certainly were given rather spartan accomodations compared to knights. "I'd say you're lucky that so far that's all that's happened to you," she continued. "You're not in any danger, it looks like, so the most you have to worry about is your upcoming transfer. I looked into it, but I couldn't get a straight answer as to why you're being shipped out up north. Some think its to punish you for your failure to apprehend the thief, others think that its to keep you out of the way in case the media catches wind of the break-in. The last thing we need is the Korin to find out that someone managed to break into our most heavily guarded armories."
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Post by Ryo on Jun 3, 2010 1:24:17 GMT -5
Korin? Coming up with nothing, he gave his head a quick shake. It's not as though he ever had to worry about these things. The superiors would just tell him what to do... But curiosity cut in. "So, why can't Korin hear about this?"
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Jun 3, 2010 1:36:44 GMT -5
Kalia froze at Ryo's question, utter shock showing on her face momentarily before she caught herself and regained her demeanor. "No one thought to inform you about the Korin terrorists?" she asked faintly.
I certainly need to have a word with his superiors, she thought irritably. Regardless of the young man's history, to be so grossly uninformed... it boggled her mind.
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Post by Ryo on Jun 4, 2010 4:41:58 GMT -5
Ryo just arched an eyebrow at this. "Korin terrorists? Huh... Why would they pick a fight with Stamaria? It's not like they'll be walking away from such a scuffle, right?"
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Post by The Rising Dragon on Jun 4, 2010 5:28:53 GMT -5
Or maybe I'll just kill the bastard, Kalia thought, getting truly angry at Ryo's superiors now. There was no excuse for this level of misinformation. None whatsoever. The knight was forced to take a calming breath.
"I don't know why your superiors haven't told you about our current greatest enemy," Kalia said slowly. "But that will change now, Spearman. Listen up. The Korin established themselves roughly ten years ago, declaring war on the Empire as in line with their religious doctrine..."
Kalia went about explaining the Korin to Ryo, and spared no detail. She explained their barbaric massacres of the southern towns two years after their inception, and how they spared not a single woman or child. She informed him of how they hunted down Stamarians living in Cher Plek at the time and brutally murdered them, and told them of how they lost the city of Acera and the surrounding underground territories in Kouchi when they murdered the ruling Viceroy. She went on to explain their guerilla combat tactics and their use of dangerous experimental or unearthed technologies. For a terrorist group, the Korin were disgustingly effective in their operations, despite their Empire's superiority, and Kalia made sure her explanation gave Ryo perspective on just how bad it would be if the Korin found out about the fiasco that the break-in at the armory had been.
Kalia hated how she had to tear away the last of Ryo's innocence like this, but it was necessary--no Stamarian soldier these days should be unaware of the dangers the Korin presented. There may be a day when Ryo had to face them in battle himself. It was going to be a dark day when she found the person responsible for Ryo's ignorance, she decided.
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Post by Ryo on Jun 5, 2010 4:07:28 GMT -5
To say he was shocked would be a gross understatement. No, it would be more apt to say it cracked his little mind. However, one thing just stuck out in his head: Not a single person was spared. This infuriated him. "Barbaric is far too forgiving a term to bestow upon such wretched, soulless, murderous trash! To kill unarmed civilians and children... That's just indefensible! They don't deserve to draw breath!"
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