The War that Never Ends [Rose and Sol; Open to Others]

Thought to be an average day in the sand covered village of Kaipo? Not even close. On this day in question there was a fair amount of surprise and confusion from the locals as Baron knights were marching through the streets in search of something... Or perhaps someone? Their motive for entering Kaipo was indeed unknown for the moment but would soon become clear when they found exactly what they were looking for. That's if they could of course.

Much earlier that day in the extreme hours of early morning, when the sky was still darkened and the stars remained glinting brightly overhead, the stronghold belonging to a certain group was disturbed from it's general slumber. A messenger from the neighbouring kingdom of Baron had come to their doorstep bearing a message of urgent means. A message which would put a majority of the group, if not all, on edge and in full alert mode. It was a message of fear inducing information and, if anything, warning for the inevitable fight heading their way. Hell was coming straight for the Brotherhood of Kaipo once again. Rose who had made a return the afternoon before for the purpose of rest and preparation, before she would head back out on her in a few days time, had been immediately awaken by the sudden collection of various different sounds and noises going through the headquarters. At first there was some slight shock as the very first thing she picked up on was the sound of the night guards outside stopping someone at the door. Soon after the sound of said door opening and with it chatter which was full of panic. From this the young assassin trainee wasted no time in getting up from the comfort of her bed and onto her feet, rushing from her room and down the hall towards the main entrance foyer. There a small group of her people had already gathered around now listening to the spoken words of the trusted messenger.

"There is a grave threat coming by the hour of the sun's rise. The old knights of Baron, they have gathered their numbers once more and are coming to strike! I overheard two of their chosen knights to be involved, at the pub. They are coming with the sole intension of slaughter without mercy! And..." As Rose pushed gently through to the front of the gathering she realized the messenger in question was a friend of hers. The owner of Baron's local pub who she had been close with for years and now was her trustee for getting news from Baron to her and the many other assassins in Kaipo. Vincent, as his name was, studdered to a stop when Rose became visible to his view. At first he couldn't look her directly in the face but soon he mustered up the nerve and approached her with a few uneasy steps forward. Placing an uneasy hand on her shoulder he spoke; "There is something in which I need to discuss with you alone on this matter as well..." The tone in his voice was low and rather grim in a way. It seemed there was more to this than just the attack on the Brotherhood. Something more that apparently Rose was invovled with, even though she didn't know it yet. Both mass confusion and panic was now spreading through the entire stronghold as some of the surrounding assassins raced off to those who remained asleep, to go and and share the terrible news. Others reamined in the foyer, talking amoung themselves, trying to understand how such a situation was possible. They as a close community had always been cautious about keeping the information of their location and activity away from Baron and it's inhabitants, with the exception of a few hidden allies on the inside. So then how was an assault even possible? There were suddenly many theories of various magnitudes drifting through the minds of each assassin that gave it further thought.

Rose's expression gained a hard glare as she too became lost in her own thoughts. Running a hand through her thick brown hair and sounding with a sigh of defeat she turned causing her back to face him. "The hell is going on!? We've been so careful all these years and suddenly they know where to find us... Somethings not right." While thoughts continued to run wild in her mind, Rose brought herself back to the world around her and without a word motioned for Vincent to follow her. Walking back up he hallway she had just came from, they were going right back to her room which was her own personal quarters. It was the one place where she knew privacy was assured for now. Once Vincent was in Rose poked her head out of the door, looking both ways down the hallway before closing the door behind her and locking it. Allowing him to take a seat on her bed, Rose paced back and forth in front of Vincent with her arms crossed firmly. "Alright, let's hear it. What is of so much importance that you must speak to me alone. What more could there be Vincent?" There was hesitation in him as he tried to speak. The information he would reveal to Rose was harder to put into speakable words than that of the initial warning to the Brotherhood. "Rose..." As he tried to force the words from his mouth Rose grew a little impatient and stared at him with a deadly serious look. "Out with it man!" With that said, Vincent gritted his teeth together and swallowed his hesitation to allow him the drive to speak. "The Baron knights assume you as the leader of the brotherhood and have therefore made you the prime target of the attack... The main focus of their attack is to execute you in hope it will cause your people to surrender to their will..." Upon revealing this Vincent immediately fell silent watching Rose with blue eyes that were filled with terror, even though he wouldn't let it show on his face.

In that moment Rose stopped mid-step in her steady pace, starring at a the nearest wall in the direction she faced. Her eyes wanted to widen slightly but she didn't allow it. Instead her arms fell back down to her sides as her hands balled tightly to vengeful fists of hatred. Her teeth clenched together as the anger in her very being appeared and then only continued to rise. "So thats what they plan..." Her voice rang out low and in a tone which felt dark. Rose head sank slightly as she placed one of her fists infront of her mouth. Here eyes closed and for moments at a time there was nothing but silence between the two friends. Soon enough Rose's eyes shot open again with the fires of hell burning brightly in them. Without warning Rose moved about her room and started to cellect various pieces of her attire in which she would need for the coming hours ahead. Placing everything gathered next to Vincent on the bed, she began to outfit herself. "Then let the bastards come, they do not intimidate me." Rose said this in a strong and almost authorative tone as she put on and adjusted her robes. A few minutes later and Rose was completely outfited in her usual assassin ensemble. Turning to Vincent one last time Rose gave him a polite bow from the waist; "Vincent, thank you. I appreciate your aid in this matter. Now please return home safely. I would hate for anything to happen to you if you were to remain here." And with that said Rose walked over to her door, unlocking it and allow him his leave. Vincent tried to speak up to say something more only to be met with Rose's angered face. Knowing there was no winning on the matter he gave a sigh and rose from the bed, taking his leave. Just as he passed through the door he paused for a moment and looked to Rose. "Please Rose, be careful. I pray I may see you again when this is all over." Once said Vincent turned down the hall and out of sight.

With Vincent gone on his way Rose closed the door behind her again and leaned up against the nearest wall available. Shaking her head she allowed herself a few seconds to get herself together before continuing on with further actions. Once she was settled, still furious, but settled... Rose walked over to an old chest which held some of her most personal belongings and keepsakes. Opening it she pulled out her longsword and placed it in it's proper sheath at her side. Closing it back up she walked over to her desk and began to shuffle through various maps of Kaipo's landscape. All the while she was thinking to herself still, although the anger she had was now starting to flow through said thoughts. Rose mumbled raged words to herself as she continued to gather what she needed at the desk. "Yes, let them come for me... I will make sure the last thing they bloody see is me taking a sword to their heart. Watching them writhe in pain while I take their very lives... Just like they would do to me!"

...Tell me, have you ever heard of the concept of serendipity?

Essentially, it is a sort of extraordinary good luck. However, in truth, serendipity is something generated by fate. There are no accidents, no coincidences. Everything happens for a reason, including you reading this post.

...Sol, however, simply felt enraged at his current situation. You see, one of a Dragoon's most famed abilities is their vertical leap. It is a skill that goes back to the single most legendary Dragoon of them all, Kain Highwind. In order to refine this talent, Sol elected to take the day off from his SeeD training, to focus on this most valued skill. For his effort, he found himself caught in the wake of an interdimensional craft, causing him to be pulled into the nether of the Rift.

The Rift, in and of itself, is a strange place. While it does have gravity, it behaves in strange ways. A wall may become a floor, then, a ceiling, in the very same area. However, one strange occurrence is that, past a few dozen or so feet, the gravitational field simply cuts out. Good for ships, bad for people who, by one means or another, have escaped Gravity.

And, thus, we find the diminuitive Dragoon, fuming as he floated aimlessly through the Rift, hoping a passing Airship would pick him up, or, at least, fly close enough to get him in its wake again. ...However, this would not be the case, as, in the space of a second, Sol was thrown from the Rift.

...Getting his senses back together, he quickly assessed the situation, heretofore unknown instincts kicking in. ...The air was very dry. Slightly dusty. He was either in a desert, or a savannah. He was indoors, somewhere. In a bedroom. ...Well, that helped. Most all the worlds had deserts. Very few had settlements therein. In fact, the only one he knew of was Kaipo.

Sitting up in the bed he'd materialized onto, Sol quickly found the room's owner. ...He noticed many things. Her attire didn't match anything he'd seen on record at the Garden. However, the massive amounts of white, broken by a red sash, reminded him of the stereotypical Paladin. The way they hung off her, he could also tell that she had a rather nice body, to match her face. However, the very first thing he noticed was that she was armed. ...And, if she hadn't heard him hit the bed, he was SURE she heard him when he sat up. ...If he meant to get out of this alive, he was gonna have to explain why he was in this woman's room. And, armed, no less. Sol had both the Dragon Whisker AND Longinus on him.

"Uhhh... ...I can explain."

Even if this was indeed a fate-bound encounter between these two souls, it wasn't about to be the most pleasant introduction they could have hoped for...

While the new arrival materialized on the surface of her bed, Rose only continued to shuffle through the various maps on her desk. That was, until something caught her attention. The soft sound of Sol as he sat up in her bed was enough to cause alert in Rose. Immediately stopping her search through the maps she dropped everything in her hands and set into impulsive action. Knowing full well right now that it was rather necessary due to the type of hostile situation she was now caught in, Rose pulled her hood over her head. Which within seconds of doing so covered the complete upper half of her face in dark concealing shadows. Then with swift and rather smooth movements on her part she unsheathed her blade once more, turning to face her intruder, her longsword at the ready for the sake of defending against any oncoming attack.

At first, there was no time for Rose to really catch a glimpse of who the intruder may be. Given the current circumstances she really didn't care. As far as she was concerned it might be one of the Baron knights coming after her already or perhaps a spy trying to get some last minute information to said knights. Either way, considering his entrance into her room and how pissed she was at the moment, there was no consideration that it might be someone else. Having grabbed the poor Lilty by the neck with a firm and forceful grip, Rose dragged him from the bed and down onto the floor below. Holding him there, she knelt down beside him and brought her blade to rest at the level of his chest. If he made any attempts to retaliate she would not hesitate to run him through with her blade a few times.

Once she was certain he was down she examined him more closely. Sol was unlike any creature Rose had ever seen before. His size, rather short compared to the various other races she had witnessed over the years. Not that she could really talk as she herself was much shorter than that of other humans. His physical apperance alone was an oddity that Rose couldnt believe. Almost plant-like, as there was a collection of orange leaves sprouting from the crown of his head. There were several moments of befuddlement in Rose until she noticed the set of beat up dragoon armor on him. "A dragoon!?" Needless to say, this did not help Sol at all. Due to the fact that most, if not all, of the dragoons Rose had ever seen were part of the Baron militia. So her assumptions were heightened to a level of false certainty that this thing was here to bring her some kind of harm, even though that was not the case at all. With her false assumptions now leading her impulses more so than before, Rose's grip on Sol's neck grew tighter as she glared him down. The flames of her rage still burned brightly in them. "Baron scum..." Rose sounded with a disgusted scoff as she continued; "Your one of their men arn't you? Come to take my life."

...The author blames Rose's confusion on himself.

What Sol actually wore was a far cry from armor. An style of white shirt, matching the styles of most of the pre-industrial worlds, sat beneath a thick, leather traveling coat. The leather, in and of itself, was, indeed, worn with age, and had fated to a sandy brown around the most common points of wear. A similarly aged leather belt was strung through the loops of a pair of blue canvas pants. Over his feet were a pair of leather traveling boots, pointed and curled slightly at the toe.

However, certain traits that mark one as a Dragoon simply cannot be hidden. If nothing else, his spear, oddly enough, matched in style the ones of the Baron dragoons.

...The author apologizes; he had not gotten around to updating Sol's profile. You see-

"The author will kindly get on with it?" Sol thought.

Yes, I'm sorry.

At any rate, Sol had tried to escape his captor. The moment he saw her lunge for him, he'd attempted to spring to safety, possibly out the nearby window. However, the woman moved like greased lightning, and, before he knew it, he was on the floor, at swordpoint. ...Moving right now would be a bad idea.

...Her accusations of him working for the Kingdom of Baron were... ...Odd. From what he'd heard, since King Cecil had come to power, Baron was a changed land. As he understood it, however, King Cecil, as well as Queen Rosa, among others, were gone from this world. So, there was no telling what the situation was like now. However, he was sure of one thing.

"Look, I don't know who you are, where, exactly, I am, or what I'm doing here, but, I can assure you, I'm not with Baron, and I certainly don't want your life."

There were lingering moments of silence as Sol stated his defense in the heated situation, but still there was disbelief towards his words as Rose forced her blade lightly against his chest. A dragoon who wasn't a part of Baron, how could she believe him at such a point in time as this? But, oddly enough, as she looked him over one last time from head to toe and then straight into his aged eyes there was something leading her to let him speak. And so Rose slowly began to let up on her hold of him. Before completely letting Sol from her tight grasp Rose took his lance and then rose to her feet. Setting the lance on the back wall behind her, she made it so that she was between Sol and it. So if he tried to retrieve it by hostile means she was at least a blockade of some degree to stop him. Rose sheathed her blade once more and sounded with a sigh of frustration as she tried to cool her nerves and then looking to Sol who was still on the floor, she approached him and outstretched her hand, offering him help to get him back on his feet. What a day this was turning out to be so far...

Even though the expression on her face still projected her strong sense of anger, Rose tried her best to remain calm so that she could give the man a proper chance to explain himself. True enough, it was fair to give a person a chance to explain themselves if the situation called for it and it seemed this was a time it was indeed necessary. However, that didn't mean she had dropped her cautious of him just yet. As far she was still concerned he was still in the red and had better have a damn good explanation for his actions thus far. For now though he would get his chance to prove himself trustworthy and not in th wrong. Waiting to see if he would take her offer of aid, Rose left her hand free and out there. Clearing her throat she looked off to the side for a few seconds and then her eyes slowly inched over to him. "Forgive my hostile actions... We are in a state of emergency at the moment. So it is only natural that myself and others be on our guard.

Now, even though there seemed to be confusion on the basics of who, what, when, where and why in Sol, she felt it necessary to at least ask some questions. Hell, if anything she was obligated to ask questions after an entrance like his. Especially in such a place as this headquarters which was cleverly kept from the knowledge of most citizens in Kaipo. "Where did you come from and how did you get in here? No one is allowed to be here but our own kind. Unless otherwise given permission."

...His gave was a glare, shifting from his spear, to the woman. CLEARLY, he was unhappy about being disarmed.

However, at the moment, Sol was at her mercy. She wasn't trying to kill him anymore, if only for the moment. Rising from the floor, he thought it best to explain quickly.

"...A training accident. I got caught up in an airship's timespace wake, and was thrown here. I assure you, I'm not here by choice. ...Though, I doubt I'm here by accident."

Laying a hand on the whip wound around his waist, it vanished with a pulse of faint blue light. With a soft chuckle, he continued.

"...I've got this weird habit of showing up exactly where and when I'm needed. Mine, or another's."

That much was true. His first memory of his return to the known worlds led him right to the doorstep of the one woman who could help him begin to recover. ...The void in his memory was still unsettling, but, Shade was helping him, in more ways than one. Under the tutelage of her and her staff, Sol was re-learning skills lost to amnesia. Or, rather, pulling the skills from his anamnesis. The full extent of his talents, he wasn't sure of, but, he was still learning.

...And, his need, here, became obvious. His keen senses picked up on a distinct noise. Something large was heading toward them. And he had to act quickly. Leaping forward, he let his body slam into the white-robed woman, knocking her down. And, not a moment too soon, either. A large ball of metal slammed into the room's wall, sending stone across the chamber. Had Sol not tackled her, the woman may well have taken the brunt of the blast. Pushing himself up, on his hands, he looked down, into the woman's eyes.

"...See what I mean?"

Springing to his feet, Sol grabbed his lance once more, extending a hand to help the woman to her feet.

"When you said state of emergency, you weren't kidding."

Sol's explanation of the events which had brought him to this world seemed strange to Rose. Something about his so called ability to show up when and where he was needed didn't exactly seem right to her in any way. But then again, it wouldn't have been the first time that fate sent her a new twist in her life. There was little belief for this story in Rose, but again, there was something about his certainty that made her not question it as much as she would have with anyone else. There was something there with Sol that almost made it too easy to believe. Was she becoming soft or something? Rose soon gave a fierce and brief shake of her head so as not to let herself think to hard about it. Besides there were bigger things to be concerned with at the moment. Not to mention, she would have to get a move on soon if she wanted to successfully be prepared for the oncoming attack from the Baron Knights. "Alright, enough of th-..." Before Rose was able to finish her sentence something caught the attention of her senses. Although, it proved, that Sol had been more so keener than her in senses when it came to the detection of the oncoming ball of metal flying towards the stronghold.

Being knocked right off her feet the following second after, by means of being practically body checked by the lilty, Rose was forced to the floor below as the giant metal projectile came crashing through the very wall of her chamber. Chunks of stone and other assorted rubble were sent flying along every angle of the room as the ball soon came to it's end on the other side of the now demolished space. Thank god for his actions... Another second later and Rose would have been nothing more than a crushed limp body lying in a pool of her own blood. Although, by her own ruling, she was in debt to Sol for the rescue of her very life. However, this left a dent in her pride. Being saved by a complete stranger all due to lack of awareness for the happenings around her. What was wrong here!? She should be on top of everything, especially at a time such as this, but instead she was letting herself get distracted and off track. This was putting her at such a big risk, as one could clearly see at this moment. She was the prime target of this assault. She needed to take action, and she needed to do it now before the Knights had another chance to catch her off guard. Much like they had just now.

It wasn't hard at all to assume the Baron Knights responsible for the destruction of her bedroom. The only place that was hers and hers alone. Needless to say, she wasn't too please about that one bit. Thus adding to the stockpile of rage which continued to grow and burn brightly from within her. It was starting to become a harder battle to keep it all in check, enough to keep her from going on an unadvisable rampage for blood. It soon became apparent, the position of which Sol had on her at the current moment. When she looked up to the scene of him being overtop of her, her lips curled back to reveal clenched teeth. A low and rather unpleasant growl sounded from her as she waited for him to get the hell up off of her. Yes, it had been for her protection, but this was becoming rather uncomfortable rather fast. Not to mention, again, she wasn't at all happy that someone else had saved her ass from something she should have saved herself from. Good thing Sol had gotten up off her and back on his feet when he did. Another second longer and she would have forced him off herself. Once he was up on his own feet once again, Rose noticed as Sol extended his hand out in an offer to help her back on her own feet. Screw that. With her teeth still tightly clenched, she scoffed, and pushed his hand away. Slowly she forced herself back onto her feet, feeling a little dizzy as she did, but managing to get herself back up on her own never the less.

Once she was back to full posture she glanced around the room in search of her blade which had been knocked from her hand when Sol had tackled her to the floor. It didn't take her long to find it slightly covered in a small pile of debris. Pulling it from the pile she ran her hand along the blade to check for any serious wear or tear. As soon as she was certain the blade was unharmed she placed it back in it's sheath. Approaching the now gigantic hole in the far wall of her chamber, Rose kept her back turned on Sol, her hands balling to tight fists. In fact they had balled so tightly that they shook with the anger she was trying so hard to keep inside. Glancing out at the still darkened terrain of Kaipo through the hole Rose was preparing to take her leave and set into action like she should have done already by now. "Listen stranger. You need to leave this place. You must leave here now, and leave fast. A battle of blood comes this way and I can't afford to have an outsider killed because they wandered into the wrong place at the wrong point in time. Now take your small self and get the hell out of here before you get yourself seriously hurt. Remember nothing of this place, nothing of me, and leave now!" Rose wanted to say more, possibly thank him for the saviour of her life, but her already dented pride would not allow for such a thing from her. Instead she fell silent right after, waiting for Sol to run the other way, away from this place. There was no need for him to get caught up in their battle, their business, their problem. This was mean't to be handled by the brotherhood, and only the brotherhood.

...Leave? Just run away, when there's a fight to be had?

"...Look, I dunno what you take me for, but, a coward, I'm not."

Would you expect anything less from a Lilty? The old wizened Yukes, who stoll remember the days of war have a saying. You'll only see a Lilty's back once he's dead. Lilties weren't the kind to back down from a challenge. Hell, even if a Lilty finds himself soundly thrashed, he'll fall back as opposed to retreating, looking for ways to get a high ground, or an ambush point.

"If the enemy's large enough numbers to be employing cannons, or some kind of siege machine, I'd put their numbers at at least a thousand."

Looking out the hole in the wall, he surveyed the fortress, quickly, taking stock of what was here. ...What hit the room had to have been a stone, lobbed by a trebuchet. Cannons just didn't do this kind of damage. Of course, if the tower was exposed, and took this kind of damage from stone shot, he couldn't imagine the outer walls would stand up much better. ...Especially considering it was as much a city as a military installation.

"...I'm thinking this fortress has right around a hundred people here. I'm guessing maybe half that are combat ready? And I dunno as I trust those walls against a heavy, sustained assault. You're gonna need all the help you can get."

His blue, stony eyes met Rose's, a steadfast determination in his eyes.

"The way I see it, you've got two options. You can ignore me, and I'll just do what I want anyway, and probably do more harm than good. Or, you can treat me like one of your own for a few hours, and tell me how I can help. Either way, my spear's gonna find enemy flesh."

...The Dragoon, and the Assassin. Their wills like an irresistible force, and an immovable object.

...This is gonna be interesting.