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[IamanElfCollaborator]

Fire Emblem on Forums: Chains of Horai
~~Game Theme~~

~~~~RULES~~~~

1. All non-IC stuff is to be posted at the OOC thread. Violators will be yeeted by the Empress.

2. Post formatting mandatory. As such:
Colored normal text for PC speech!
Colored italized text for PC thinking.
_{*Colored small text or between asterisks for PC whispering*}
Normal text for generic descriptive text.
Bolded text for PC actions and orders!

3. Order of battle posts:
Players' actions -> GM resolves -> Player's actions -> GM resolves ... until all player actions have been posted -> GM posts Enemy/Ally Phase and new turn map -> Start again
If you need an action resolved before making another ask in the OOC thread.

4. Don't post until your character is properly introduced!

5. Be active if you can! I don't care if you don't want to RP, but try to post your action within a reasonable time. If you have to be warned several times your character may be automoved or put in the away list. If you can't post for personal reasons, try to warn the rest in the OOC thread. Delegating actions to other people is also allowed.
_{Definitely not ripped off from Solymr's posts, nope.}

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Prologue A: The Chains Are Set

~~Chapter Theme~~

~~Aeons ago....~~
The mountains themselves were scorched with crowns of flame, and the sky was choked with reddened ashes. The plains were scoured to their very roots, the grass burned away and the rocks cleaved apart with the force of powerful magic. The roots and vines of a chaos long unseen in Horai faded into the wind, the skies betraying neither the Sun nor the Moon to onlookers. The mortals had long since fled or died. It had been up to the eleven Gods of the Land to defend the world.

But victory was close at hand.

The foreign interloping god before them writhed, shards of ice embedded within her shambling mass. Her body, a writhing mass of roots, vines and tendrils, pulsed painfully, as Ren's flames scorched her. Metallic chains enshrouded by light and shadow slowly dragged her into the chasm below, the work of Suzume, Mao and Amane to seal away their opponent. Another tentacle bore down on Fuyin, her winds protecting the others, only for a sharp cry to pierce the air, and a sharpened blade of coursing waters to descend upon the tentacle, cutting it cleanly.

Giro, God of Justice, bore down on the God of Curses, a sword in his hands coursing with the power of the tides themselves. His glowing blue eyes betrayed his exhaustion; for seven days and seven nights, they had fought the foreign god tirelessly, after she had broken into their world from unknown lands.
"Begone, wretched one! You are unwelcome in our world! Return from whence you came!"
"It shall take....more than that.....to defeat me, godling."

Several vines tore out from the ancient evil's mass, swiping towards the stalwart god. With a sweep of his blade, the god slashed away her tendrils, eliciting a wretched, awful scream from the demon. Giro raised his free hand, clenching his fist tightly to summon all the power he had left in him. Walls of water began to emerge from the chasm below, forming almost a claw over the God of Curses, descending upon her slowly. The hellish deity screeched, blasts of dark energy emerging from the snapping mass of tendrils that comprised her, but the water parted around them, forming itself into serpents, birds and other living things before reforming into an unchanging wall.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, another god lay dying.

"....I'm so sorry.....everybody."

His friends lay dying around him. The wise, powerful Dragon, the crafty Rat, the fierce and powerful Boar; all were laid low by the God of Curses. Their wounds were too great, the damage too much. Even with his power, the God of Life could not save them. He could not even save himself.

Even his nearest, dearest friend, the Cat, lay on his side, a terrible gash torn in his side.

The dying god pulled himself painfully to his feet. His injuries were great; the God of Curses, from wherever she had come, had torn into him with her deadliest blows.
".....I....I have to....I have to make it up to you, my friends."
The God of Life had but one final task. He could summon the last of his power, to do this last task.

Not for nothing had he been appointed a God of the Land.

Amassing what was left of his power, the God of Life strode first to the Rat and laid his hands upon his dying companion. As he did, a string of light emerged from his hand, connecting him and his friend. He slowly made his way to the others, ignoring the fighting in the background. He paid no heed to the thorns that launched themselves almost at his head, barely cast aside by Fuyin's winds, and ignored the force of powerful blasts of dark magic, landing not a hair away from him. As the dread God of Curses was dragged into the chasm that had been opened beneath her, he paid no heed to her dying throes and horrific screams, her last-ditch attempts to drag one of the other Gods of the Land with her.

He needed to save his friends, and that was all that mattered.

Soon, all of his friends were tied together with strings of light, from the Cat to the Rat. The God of Life slumped against a rock, his energy spent. He knew he had done what he had to.
".....I'm sorry I...got you into this mess. With this....promise, we can meet someday, somewhere happier. I hope we.....I hope we can all meet again some-"
His eyes began to close, his duty done.
"I will not be....caged! I will never be caged!"

The God of Curses had not ignored him.

A tendril crawled across the ground, ripping through dirt and stone, towards the dying Cat. The God of Life's eyes widened in fear, urging what was left of himself to move, to do anything to stop what was about to happen.

It was too late for him, for his strength left him.

The God of Life died then, afraid.

A darkness emerged from the tendril, beginning to take over the Cat, to take him with God of Curses into the abyss, before-
"Don't. You. Dare."
A row of icicles descended upon the tendril, obliterating it. Asha, Goddess of Love, strode calmly towards it, an icy glare in her eyes.

The God of Curses screamed her curses as she fully descended into the chasm that had been opened, that would now be her prison.
"You....you haven't.....beaten me! Godlings! I will return! I shall-"
With a loud roar, from the skies descended a massive meteor, smashing into the chasm, throwing dust and smoke and leveling what still stood with the sheer force. Mere mortals would not have withstood such force.

The Gods of the Land, thankfully, were not mere mortals.

The silence was defeaning, but victory was theirs. The God of Curses had been defeated at an awful cost.

The moment she was sure their opponent had been truly beaten, Asha turned towards the fallen God of Life. Gone was the icy goddess, here was the goddess of love, whose fallen friend needed tending. She scooped up his body in her lap, cleaning away the dirt and hair from his pained face.
"Giro! Amane! Someone! Come here, help me! Help me!"
Giro was the closest, striding over, sheathing his blade. The stalwart god's expression softened as he realised what he was seeing.
"....no."
His voice was soft. Asha felt tears begin to stream down her cheeks.
"Please, Giro. We can't....he can't...."
Fuyin arrived next, the air bearing her aloft and letting her land gently.
"....he's....he's gone, Asha. We can't...."
"We were too late."
Asha sniffled, choking back a sob.
"We.....we should've come faster. We could've saved him. We could've saved them."
".....we can't mourn long, sister. There are others who still need our help. He....wouldn't want us to stay idle, to cry over him like this."
"Giro's right, Asha. We....we have to go. Come on."

Fuyin approached the grieving goddess, her hand extended.
"It hurts, you're right. But...there's a time to cry and mourn, and we can do it when we've....we've fixed everything."
Giro surveyed the ruined land before them, the only sounds being the crackling of distant flames and the desolate wind. The footsteps of the other gods were getting closer.
"....yes. When we've fixed everything...."
He cast a gaze back at his fallen brother.
"This, I swear. We will fix this world, we will mend it....and if ever you should return, you will find a better world than you left. That....I swear on my honor as a god."

Unbeknownst to the gods, even as the others began to gather near their fallen compatriot, a darkness seeped from the Cat and into the strings of light binding his soul and the others together, and vanished, as quickly as it came.

[IamanElfCollaborator]

Prologue B: Yusuke Yamada Gains His Freedom

[Now Playing: Theme of ?? ~I'm The One Who's Always Saved~]
It was raining. It was always raining.

Rin's friends lay around her, beaten badly, sprawled in the mud. They were always alive.

That familiar figure pointed her sword at her, the blade glowing faintly in the darkening skies. Her purple robes fluttered in the wind and rain, a flash of lightning and a peal of thunder ripping through the sky above them.
"Give him to me."

Rin could feel her strength waning. She too had been badly beaten by their opponent. She was no fighter; not like the others. She was a healer, a curer of diseases and toxins. This wasn't meant for her. Fighting, violence; none of it was her.

But she couldn't let him go. No matter what. He needed people to protect him, people who could see what he refused to. If in his own self-imposed darkness, Rin Rengoku could burn brightly enough to give him a way through, then she would.

And that meant she couldn't surrender, no matter what was going to happen to her if she didn't.
"....I won't."
Her voice was barely a whisper, but the intent was clear. She stretched her arms out, placing a barrier between him and her. Her opponent glared at her icily, her expression twisted in rage and spite.

"You....why are you so stubborn?! He isn't yours to keep! He belongs to me! Get ou of my way! Get out, get OUT!"

The sword thrust into Rin.
[Now Playing: City Theme ~Octopath Traveler Main Theme~]
Rin, Kaori, Kazuki and Daisuke
Rin woke slowly, her eyelids fluttering open.

The tavern around them was busy with activity. People hefted heaving bowls of ramen and overflowing jugs of sake. It was the day when all the merchant boats arrived from Izumo, and so Kamihama would be buzzing with activity; everyone, from Izumite traders to city guards to adventurers would be buzzing around the port district of Kamihama.

Once again, Rin had had that same dream. She knew it well; she was standing between someone she knew, her other friends in the mud, protecting that someone from a figure with a sword who declared they were hers. That had been the fifth time she'd had that same dream. The trouble was, of course, she barely recognised anyone in them; maybe Kaori, possibly Daisuke and Kazuki once.

It was probably nothing, and she wasn't going to waste everyone else's time by making them worry about it.
"....how long was I asleep?", she asked blearily.

Taiga, Setsurou, and Miyako
Time was of the essence.

The three of you are sitting in an alleyway, waiting to strike. In Setsurou's hands, several things are placed; his weapons, a change of clothes for Yusuke, and the letter entrusted to him by Hitoshi Tokiwa, the man Yusuke called his father.

The instructions were simple; free Yusuke, and send him to the Sangonomiya Estate, north of Amatsu. It was terse, brief, devoid of his usual emotions towards his son. But then, this was a letter of extreme urgency. The schedules of the guards were known to the three of you; somehow, by very and completely mysterious means, a copy of them had been made available to Miyako at one point.

A few guards were posted in a perimeter around the prison where Yusuke was to be transferred to, looking for a stray orange cat. Of course, there were many of those in the city, but only one of them would be running from the guards, and only one could talk. Those guards were armed, but with strict orders to subdue only. The location where Yusuke was held was heavily protected, and the location Yusuke would be sent to was an Imperial prison intended to hold prisoners of war and equipped to quell riots; with the supplies available to the three of you, it would be nigh-on impossible to set him free from there.

To catch him in between was your only shot to free him before whatever punishment befell him.

If the timings were correct, you had fifteen minutes before Yusuke's convoy arrived.

Todoroki, Madoka, and the wanderers
"Nothin' like a good drink after a long day's travel, huh, Madoka?"
Todoroki loudly proclaimed his pleasure in the form of a racuous burp. The giant man had no sense of shame; but then, Madoka already knew that, having travelled with him so long. After all, a man almost as skilled as her, the size of your average oni? He had nothing to fear from anyone else.

You have just arrived in the city of Kamihama, on whatever journey you went to Kamihama to accomplish. Maybe you sought power, or friends, or riches. Maybe you traveled for the sake of wandering. EIther way, you are here, in a tavern by the coast, not far from the docks, taking a moment to rest. After all, you arrived here on the same caravan of merchants, adventurers and the like. Maybe you got to know your compatriots on the way, or maybe seek something new.

Regardless, you are all here, now.
//Everyone may post.

[Praefectus Screptum]

Takeru's reasons for wandering so often were power and the never-ending hunt for ways to enhance his cursed armor, something that eventually led him to the city of Kamihama. Considering there was still plenty to be done, taking an hour or two to rest in the tavern and plan things ahead felt like the proper way to handle things...Especially when wandering alone and wearing such an odd armor. His trail of thought was interrupted the moment he heard that loud burp, making him shake his head.
"We expected this place to have higher standards, but it seems we were wrong. Unfortunate."

[SeriousConcentrate]

"Let's go over this one last time. Tanigawa, you blind the guards, and Traxesa, you knock them down with your wind. I'll destroy my shadow to blanket the area in mist and cause further confusion, and we grab Yusuke and flee in the chaos."

The Yugen shinobi removed one of his spell tags from his vest and held it between his fingers.

"...On your mark."

[IcyTea31]

"Hold your horses, Setsurou. It'll be a while longer before they arrive, and we'll need to sneak closer than this before we do it. But yes, that's the plan. Raise hell, then run like hell. The chaos will be on our side. I'm worried that it doesn't feel like it's just Yusuke and Traxesa around, but we knew that might be the case."

Miyako didn't really need to go over the plan, as it was very simple, fast and loose. Talking about it did help calm her nerves, however. The anticipation of using her Gnosis soon made it feel like it was burning in her pocket. Receiving it was a recent development for her, after all, and the idea of having been noticed and recognized by a god was...distracting.

[Caellath]

"Hahhh, that hits the spot." Tora exhaled as if he'd just imbibed the finest sake, though he'd instead finished up a jar of water.

His travels, seeking a lead on his master, had led him down the river from the capital and to Kamihama. It was a good starting point on his search; were his master on the run from enemies then a port city was a perfect destination because of its chaotic nature and many avenues of escape, but so far he had found no clues.

[Chevaleresse]

". . . something like that." Madoka had elected to drink water herself; once, and only once, had she made any attempt to drink alcohol alongside Todoroki. Most grown men would have had no chance, much less someone less than half his weight. She took a quiet sip, the belch passing in one ear and out the other without her so much as noting its presence. The duelist was, as usual, scanning the crowd, looking for someone to pick a fight with.

[RedMageCole]

"I dunno, I ain't paid to watch you sleep. Unless you wanna put an addendum on our deal, but I'm not really fond of that sort of thing," Kazuki said with a smirk. He already had a drink that looked perfectly like sake, implying Kazuki had gotten drunk this early. This was, however, not the case if one knew Kazuki for a bit like Rin and company— it was just water, and his behavior tended to be overly casual like that. Any smart mercenary knows not to get drunk on the job— though Kazuki knew how to hold his liquor, he wasn't about to go screwing up his perfect track record. "Seriously, though, did either of you two catch how long she was out?" Kazuki turned towards Kaori and Daisuke, leaning back slightly in his chair.

[SeriousConcentrate]

"Sorry. I'm just nervous. I can't let this plan fail."

[IcyTea31]

"Don't be sorry. I'm almost shaking, myself."

[Aurorix]

"It’s natural to feel nervous before something big like this. You’ll forget about it once things actually start rolling." Traxesa nerves seem just fine. Turns out being a mercenary for about a year really steels one’s nerves in situations like this. That’s not to say his heart wasn’t racing but he certainly has the experience to push through it. Heturnrd his eyes back on the path the guards were supposed to be hauling Yusuke. It’s important they don’t miss a single moment of their opening.

[ctsun]

Kaori'd been feeling strangely ever since they'd first come to this city. A sharp tug from the depths of her heart. She'd been able to suppress it at first. It was just queeziness from an unfamiliar environment, she'd figured. It'll pass. Nothing to be concerned about.

It had been getting worse lately. Louder and more distracting. There were days when she'd just found herself staring out an open window, dazed and completely lost to the world.

Such as the window she'd been caught staring out of when she'd suddenly become aware that Kazuki had directed a question towards her. About what in particular, she couldn't really begin to say. She'd barely caught the tail end of his question as it was.

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry, Kazuki-san.", Kaori admitted with an embarassed flush and laugh, finally turning away from the window and towards the rest of the party. "I, um, couldn't really say I was very much 'in' either." Grey-ish eyes flickered for a moment towards the open window once again. There was something...someone? in the city that was calling to her. Lots of someones. Who, she couldn't really say but she had to. She absolutely had to mee-

No. Kaori shook her head for a moment, sending streams of curly blonde hair flying. Now's not the time for that. It was all starting to sound like the exact kind of trouble that got her looking for a cure to begin with. None of that trouble for her, thanks. She'd had more than enough of that already.

"I'll, um, I'm sure everyone's feeling a little peckish. How about I.go grab us each a bowl of ramen downstairs?", Kaori asked, deciding to find something to do rather than fixate on ,uh, whatever she'd been fixating on lately. It was likely to be nothing, anyway. No need to worry everyone. "Does, um, does everyone have any preferences? Daisuke-san? Hazuki-san? Rin-chan?"

[kj1225]

Daisuke thought for a moment, apparently being the only person ready to offer Rin an answer to her question. Finally, with a nod he turned to Rin to answer it directly.
"It's about noon so... I'd say you've overslept by a few hours."
He hums in thought, considering asking if there was a particular reason, but the prospect of lunch quickly drew his attention away.
"Hm, could you get me something spicy, Kaori-san? Helps to clear the head and keep your senses sharp."

[RedMageCole]

"Ehh... Surprise me," Kazuki said, knowing full well how much pressure it'd put on Kaori yet not showing much of an immediate interest in the place— or even eating with the rest of the group, for that matter. However, for the sake of the job, he'd swallow his pride. "Just make sure it's the smallest bowl they got— not really feelin' any tastes in particular; just ready to get back on the road."