Empires of Ashes

*He and his two chosen men walk through*

they're in what was obviously the personal residence of the local Satrap, before he either ran or was killed by agrippa's men. The consul himself is sat at a large desk, writing something. he's older than Trajan, very noticeably, with greying and receding hair, and a face that shows no emotion other than stern commitment and authority. The only other person in the room is a young woman in a red, hooded robe, who is writing things down at her own desk in the corner. The consul looks up and silently gestures Ket to sit at one of the two chairs opposite him at the desk, before returning to his writing.

*Ket bends down onto one knee, and slides his spear into the straps of his shield. leaning one against the other, it stands on its own on the floor. He sits, but does not remove his helmet*

Agrippa does not look up, and keeps writing. This continues for a couple of minutes.

*ket stands up. And starts walking back to his spear and shield.*

"Where do you think you're going?"

*he turns* "I have an uncle to kill, a kingdom to claim, and a million slaves to free. I don't appreciate Dracian politicians wasting my time to make a point."

"Impatience is unbecoming of someone who wishes to be a monarch. Now sit back down, and we will get on with this."

"I called your bluff, don't make me do it again." *he sits down*

"You called nothing. You just revealed a character flaw." *he puts down the pen and finally looks up*

*he smiles beneath his helmet.* "I am a busy man, Consul. Time is a gift, I am not in the habit of wasting it. You asked for my presence, i hope it was for something more than this."

"I wanted to get some measure of my new.... ally before I discuss things with both you and my colleague. You're currently failing to impress."

"Consul Trajan has remarked on several occasions. A dracian politician i will never make. I am kelthrovi. I speak as i find. Now find some words of worth, Consul Agrippa. Because as of yet, you have proven your measure, to be all sand, and no grain."

"Has anyone ever told you you're an impudent, and impulsive individual? Tell me, Ket'verahi, how many men do you have? And I don't mean the Halit you brought with you."

"I have been called many things, Dracian. Impulsive, and impudent, cannot be counted among them. I have been planning this for ten years, trajan forced my hand early, my army is not the size it could have been, six thousand men wait for my return in stracia. More are coming from the corners of the kingdom."

"Hm. Is that all you can offer us?"

"Alter your tone. I offer Dracia three things, Stracia, an end to the slavery of your people, and peace."

"Point one. You don't offer us that, We have it. We didn't need you to take it, and we don't need you to keep it. Second, I doubt you want that. You've given me no reason to trust you're any different to the other kelthrovi satrapes and lords. And peace is not something you can grant. We, on the other hand, offer you the manpower and support to successfully make and hold your claim to the throne of kelthro, should we deem this to be a 'profitable' venture. You're doing a terrible job of convincing me you'd be fit to rule, let alone rule as our ally."

"First, my men and i bled for Stracia, the cities walls fell to us, just as much as the silver legion. *he takes off his helmet, and places it on the floor by his feet. New scars cut across his face from the wounds he received at stracia.* Second. *he turns half around in his chair.* "Diana, Lucian."

*the two immortals walk fowards until they are standing at kets shoulders*

"My immortals are forged from the lowest level of society. Slaves, exiles, thieves and beggars. There was a time, consul, where all i wanted, was to see my uncle dead, and sit upon the throne of kelthro myself. But in forging my army, these people. They became my family. And i look after my own. And peace, peace is something well within my power to grant. Dracia has the strongest army in the isles. Kelthro the second. Who, sound of mind, would attack such a force combined?"

"That may be, but putting an incompetent man on the throne of kelthro would not exactly be considered a wise move. Although I admit, you show a degree of commitment, that is the only notable thing you have shown me so far."

"For the past fifteen years, the immortals have gone from a barely mentioned footnote in the vastness of kelthro, to the most feared force within her borders. I am a leader of men in battle. Incompetent, is not a word i take kindly to."

"You do have a reputation, I will give you that."

"Then stop trying to provoke me. You know more about me than you're admitting, the first slip, i took as ignorance, the second and third are a pattern."

Agrippa's gaze meets Kets. Ket feels something he hasn't felt from another single man in quite some time, outside of a battlefield. Intimidation. The man's voice, his tone, his body language and his expression, they exude power and control, to a degree that makes Ket feel small to an uncomfortable degree. Whether he really is as powerful as he comes across, is another matter entirely, but his outward appearance and actions are enough to overshadow Ket's own ten times over, adding a terrifying amount of weight to the words he speaks. "So you think you're being clever do you? Alright. Lets talk facts. If I decided you were unfit to be our ally, I could have you killed in moments. Your men outside, dead in minutes. The entire reason they turned on the kingdom they've fought for all their lives, gone. You are alive right now, because I deem it necessary. Now, do you still wish to continue with speaking of my pattern of mistakes, or are you ready to be sensible?"

"There is your first real mistake, consul. The rest, i have realised, were deliberate, tests if you will. But if you want to show your hand. then so be it. You allowed two fully armed kelthrovi immortals to stand within a spear thrust. Threaten me and i will respond in kind. order your clavae to move, and diana will put a spear through you. Now let us be sensible men, Consul. Because if you wish to use blades, not tongues. I am a warrior. You are a statesman."

"I don't have to order them to do anything." *diana and lucian realise there are infact 2 clavae. and they've both silently closed the distance before ket even said that, within striking range.* "And I've been killing men personally since before you were born. You're clever, Ket'verahi. But your biggest mistake is assuming I couldn't gut the three of you single handedly, if I had to. Now, as you said, let us return to sensibility."

*Ket laughs.* "You could not. No single man in the isles could kill three immortals single handed. I can say that with confidence. but of course. Diana, lucian. Escort the clavae back to their corners. I think Consul Agrippa and i have had enough of threats and bravado. Now we talk war."

"In my prime I could have killed a damn few more than three of you. *to one of the Clavae* Have Trajan shown in."

Ket: *ket just sits and waits*

moments later, Trajan enters
"Agrippa, you look well"
"Enough of the small talk, Trajan, you know how it bores me."

"To business. The west."

Agrippa: indeed. What do we know so far?

"My little birds tell me we're fucked. Beyond fucked in fact. Apparently. The greatest cavalry in the isles was ridden down."

Agrippa: Any more details?

"Not a whole lot. We're going strictly off examining the battlefield. Some of the enemy died. they're not invincible, we know that at least. But not many."

"That all? Anything about equipment, tactics ect?"

"They took their dead. Horses as well. The hoof prints are deep, so they're not riding ponies. My people found a lot of bent spears, so, their armour is good. And some of the dead had punctures in their armour, small. Their backs were open like they'd been gored by an elephant."

OOC: Erm....How the fuck did Kelthrovi scouts get to Voldamia? Dracia hates them, and Cymrai is pretty much perpetually at war with Kelthro

OOC: Spies, bushie my lad. Spies.

OOC: Alright then, that works

"that's...an awful lot of penetration"

"Thats enough for me to worry about our shields."

Trajan: likewise....

"And they have vanished into thin air. So. Fucked."

Trajan: Not so. My own intelligence, and contacts within Cymrai, inform me that their forces are besieging a city in the northwest of Voldamia, and the Shogun and Crown prince currently march to face them.

"Can we have them wait for us to march west?"

"Negative. The shogun wants to deal with this without our help."

"He's going to fail."

"Maybe. He has Cymrai's help."

"If they fail, voldomania will fall, and cymrai soon after."

"Depending on how long it takes us to get there"