[RP] Summit on Asturias, November 3069

[tassa_kay]

(This is an RP thread for the summit being held on Asturias, in Nueva Castile, between the Castilian Principalities, the Umayyad Caliphate, and Clan Blood Spirit.)

[Dave Baughman]

Great Hall, Royal Palace Ground Floor
Asturias
Nuevo Castille*
5 November 3069

The Blood Spirit representatives were admitted to the King Joseph Noye's great hall with fanfare equal to that of an honored ally. The hall itself, deliberately built with stonework facades designed to evoke the interior of a pre-electric castle, revealed a level of understated elegance that did not correspond quite properly with the stereotype of a beat-down dirt-farming periphery statelet.

Noye himself was already present, as were a number of Castillian nobles who had been in attendence at court. Thus far, no sign of the Caliph's arrival has been seen but the Blood Spirit party immediately realizes that at least one other foreign national is present.

The man kneeling beside Noye and whispering to him in hushed tones was perhaps in his late sixties or seventies, his white hair cut conservatively but for his meticulously cropped goatee. In truth, both in terms of fashion and general carriage he could have swapped places with any of the assembled nobles here and passed as him without doubt. What set the man apart, however, were the crisp white robes of the Word of Blake that draped his body.

And the fact that unlike the rest of the nobles, there was no fear - no matter how well-disguised - when he laid his eyes on the arriving Clanners.





*I will only whine about this once... but seriously FASA, did you have to butched EVERY language you touched? Nueva Castilla. Srsly.

[tassa_kay]

The Blood Spirit delegation swept into the Great Hall with minimal fanfare, though the retinue that had been sent to Asturias reflected the seriousness with which the Clanners took this summit.  But every Spirit present was also markedly uncomfortable with what this summit represented.  Many first were going to take place this day.  Many unknowns.

The first to enter was Star Colonel Rory Vargras, the ruggedly-handsome MechWarrior whom had saved the Umayyads from certain destruction on Valencia.  He was clad in a unique ensemble that was quite against regulations: a patterned, hooded cloak in various shades of red, gauntled red leather gloves, armored red leather boots, skintight red leggings, and a series of deep lavender straps across his thighs, chest, and neck, bound with gold clasps.  The symbol of Clan Blood Spirit was emblazoned upon a marbelized belt-buckle insignia, and a patterned, dark red tabard hung from the belt like an ornate loincloth.

The pair of Spirits that flanked him, male and female, were attired in the garb of the Knights Sanguine: white tunics, leggings, and crow's-peaked hoods, with armored dark leather boots and gauntleted dark leather gloves, and dark leather belts from which hung an assorted collection of knives and pouches.  The only ornamentation that the Knights possessed was the red and gold stitching throughout their attire, and the insignia of the Knights upon their belts.

Finally, taking up station at either side of the door but unwilling to leave the sight of their superiors, were a pair of massive Elementals.  They were clad in Vampire armor (the Spirits did not deign to use the Adders' Corona designation, for obvious reasons), and their eye-slits drank in everything and gave back nothing as they watched for the slightest hint of betrayal.

Rory Vargras dropped to one knee before the throne as he and the Knights flanking him finished their procession down the carpeted length of the Great Hall, past all the Castillian nobles that were attending court.  He raised his right hand to his left breast, thumb pressed to fingertips to form a teardrop shape, in a salute.  

"King Noye, Clan Blood Spirit offers you greetings and, also, gratitude.  Thank you for agreeing to this summit."

[Dave Baughman]

"I too greet you, Star Colonel," said the King, "though I find myself curious as to your goals and motives here in Castille. Though," he added, "I imagine there will be ample time for that in the hours ahead."

As the Spirits seated themselves and made their introductions vis-a-vis the Castillian nobility, a murmer passed over the room as the third party arrived. The Umayyad officers were dressed in a beige desert fatigues similar in cut to those of the old SLDF, but the woman who lead the delegation was dressed more conservatively in an elegant cloak of fine layered silks. Her face was hidden my a transluscent veil, but the insignia on the clasp of her throat left no question that this was the Caliph, Lisa Burrill.

She bowed with decorum to Vargras (and then with slightly less emphasis to Noye), "Despite the learned advice of my advisors, I have deigned to attend this summit. Star Colonel Rory Vargras, I bid you greetings and honor; know that word of your subordinates' conduct on Valencia was very pertinent to my decision to attend."

[tassa_kay]

Rory Vargras stood from his seated position, where he had been in rather intense conversation with one of the Castilian noblemen as a throng of lesser nobles stood in audience, and turned to face the arriving caliph.  Inclining his head deeply, he pushed back the crimson hood to reveal a head completely shaven, with only a meticulously-edged stripe of hair running from a widow's peak to the nape of his neck, framed by a series of black tribal-pattern tattoos.

"You honor us with your presence here, Caliph Lise Burrill," he said in his deep baritone.  "I regret that we were not able to secure a concise victory on the field of battle, but preserving the lives of your troops and their commander was paramount.  Nothing is more important than a fellow warrior."

Then, turning on his heel, Rory narrowed his dark eyes slightly as he regarded the Castilian King.  "The events that occurred in the Espana Valley will be addressed in due time, but you have asked to know more of my goals, King Joseph, and I believe this to be the most important of our concerns."

After a glance at the pair of Knights Sanguine, who had stood from their seats as well mere moments after he had done so, Rory opened his hands as he began to speak.  "We have been aware of you for some time, as you have been of the Clans, and as we learned more of you and your cultures, your history, we came to believe that you could benefit from us just as much as we could benefit from you.  We do not come here as conquering tyrants, but as prospective new friends, and perhaps the ones who can bring an end to the endless cycle of violence between your peoples."

[Dave Baughman]

Noye's robed advisor whispered something in his ear, and a moment later the monarch responded,

"Star Colonel, you say you do not wish to be a tyrant ruling over Castille, but what exactly do you propose? From what I know of your peoples' ways, I can imagine few other ways you would bring an end to our struggle for freedom from the hijos de puta moro! Expl-"

Before the King could continue, the Umayyad MechWarrior sitting to the right of the Caliph shot to his feet and reached for his sidearm, "!الكافر الكلب" he spat, "No man - not even a King - may insult the honor of our Caliph!"

A blink of an eye later, several of the Castillian nobles were shooting from their seats and more than one was reaching for his sword.

[tassa_kay]

Carrying out their orders with precision, the pair of Vampire-clad Elementals swept forward to flank Star Colonel Vargras and the Paladins, who had themselves already drawn their sidearms and stood ready to burn down any who launched an attack in their direction.

After Rory waved his hand in a predetermined signal, the Elementals opened fire with their support pulse lasers, but did so carefully.  Instead of targeting any Castilian or Umayyad in the Great Hall, they simply directed their fire skyward, at the massive vaulted ceiling.  The screech of the Elementals' weaponry, as well as the impact against the reinforced stonework, drowned out the small-arms fire in the room.

"ENOUGH!" shouted Rory, once the commotion in the room had quieted down.  His dark gaze swept the gathered Castilian nobles and the Umayyad delegates in turn, before settling on King Noye. 

"We did not call for this summit so that you could engage in yet more petty squabbling!  If you insist on behaving like unruly children, you will be treated like unruly children!  And I will spank you as I would unruly children!"

Touching his forehead in exasperation, Rory took a few long moments before he continued.  "We did not come here to conquer you, King Noye.  If that were true, we would not be having this conversation this very moment.  We came here, instead, to help put an end to the destructive conflict that has wracked your peoples for so long."

Rory's gaze then flicked to the Umayyad MechWarrior who had initiated the impromptu melee.  "And if you cannot bear a few unkind words without resorting to violence, then perhaps you are in the wrong place as well!  If your Caliph feels that her honor is slighted, perhaps you should let the Caliph deal with the matter as she sees fit!  You tarnish your own presence here with such actions!"

Then, finally, Rory turned his eyes to the robed advisor who stood at King Noye's side, and his expression hardened.  "And what is your role in this endeavor?  It has been the experience of my people that the Word of Blake does not simply involve themselves in the affairs of others for the benefit or well-being of those with whom they interfere.  What is your interest in Nueva Castile?"

[Dave Baughman]

The Blakist uncoiled from his position beside the King and bowed courteously to Rory Vargas, "Star Colonel, if your intentions match your claims, we share the same goal: that Castille not be government by foreign tyranny. I am but a humble servant of the Blessed Blake advising His Majesty on modern ways and of events beyond the borders of this remote region."

Before Vargas could interrogate the robed advisor further, Caliph Burril succeeded in calming her subordinate, who sunk into his seat with a poisonous look towards the Castillian nobles.

"Star Colonel," said the Umayyad leader, "amongst my people it is the duty of a noble male to protect the honor of the fairer sex. No doubt this seems to you as a quaint and out-dated custom, but to the Umayyad, tradition is what defines us - it is literally the dividing line between what we are now and what we were before. In the interests of reasoned discussion, my warriors will look past King Noye's slight, but I truly hope your success will bring us to a place of understanding where the King realizes the indelicacy he has perpetrated and has cause to apologize."

A murmur of displeasure passed through the Castillian nobles, but Noye cut them off with a slashing gesture of his hand, "Stay your hands, grandes, I will at least hear the Star Colonel explain his proposal before judgement is passed on this... unusual meeting."

[Dave Baughman]

(OOC: Chaos, am I correct in assuming that we will continue this next turn?)

[chaosxtreme]

OOC: Yep