The Hearts of Man (Plot/Open)
Jul 28, 2012 1:10:26 GMT -5
Post by Kender Bard on Jul 28, 2012 1:10:26 GMT -5
Skyheort was in turmoil the likes of which had not been seen in decades. People rioted in the streets and all was pandemonium.
If one asked how the riots began, they would receive several different stories, though interestingly almost all of them revolved around acts of pettiness that simply spiraled out of control. Someone stole from a market stall. A man attacked another man in the street, as if in a bar brawl, with little provocation. Poisonous words were exchanged that swiftly devolved into fighting.
The very worst of the fighting was around a small restaurant on the edge of the north side market district. Lilth sat, calmly sipping some tea and nibbling at the cake she had lifted from another patron's plate. All around her, men and women were sunk deep in depravity. Murder, assault, robbery, theft. It whirled around her like a tornado of sin and seemed to only spread further as the hateful spilled out onto the streets. Each time someone new, untouched by the violence, came to investigate, they were swiftly turned. At one point, several guardsmen rushed in to restore order only to begin savagely beating all those around them, shouting about the law even as they broke it themselves.
None of this touched Lilth. Anytime a mortal approached with malicious intent, they would get a look of awe or shock on their faces and swiftly turn away. A few particular individuals had prostrated themselves at her feet and remained there, oblivious to the damage being done by them by people seeking to wreak harm on easy targets.
Lilth was utterly unruffled. She observed it all as if it were some grand play being put on for her amusement alone. She savored the local flavors and was playing with baubles she'd picked up at the market on her way to the restaurant.
In short, Lilth was sightseeing, visiting the mortal world she'd been banished from over a millennium ago. She was having a good time, too.
Of course, farther away from her corrupting influence, people reacted poorly to the rioting. Some stayed within their homes, huddled and frightened, while others used the mayhem as an excuse to get away with their own vandalism without encouragement being needed.
The guards were spread desperately thin across the entire city as they struggled to impose some order on the land without much success.
Lya, within the palace of winds, was receiving reports on the matter even as she dispatched a flier to summon Lord Furinko or Lord Penrose. She'd need the assistance of the knights and, failing that, she would have to drag the army into things. This was bad for more than the obvious reasons...
In her hand was a slip of paper from some of the people she had stationed closer to Anarlina. Their job was to keep tabs on the southern borders of both lands for demonic incursion, having been forewarned of the movements of the demons. She'd finally received word that demons had entered Anarlinan soil. This was probably eight-hand knowledge at best--their sources had come from within Anarlina, as her men were too far from the site of entry to report directly. Lya had been in the middle of writing a message to be sent swiftly to King Twilight, offering the aid of some of her men.
A part of her felt a twinge of guilt for that. After all, this was a kingdom and she should have consulted with Shadow before committing any forces to assist another kingdom, even if those forces were composed entirely of Sulans. I'm sorry, Shadow, she thought glumly. But there simply isn't time to turn this into a diplomatic request from me to you. She hoped he would understand, especially since she was not committing any Maelstrom forces.
But the message would have to wait. It wouldn't do to send her men off if she needed them for her own borders.
[[People playing palace staff, anyone interacting with Lya, or members of the Steel Wings are to post in this topic. Anyone else who wishes to be involved in events may make a new thread and mark it as a plot post.]]
If one asked how the riots began, they would receive several different stories, though interestingly almost all of them revolved around acts of pettiness that simply spiraled out of control. Someone stole from a market stall. A man attacked another man in the street, as if in a bar brawl, with little provocation. Poisonous words were exchanged that swiftly devolved into fighting.
The very worst of the fighting was around a small restaurant on the edge of the north side market district. Lilth sat, calmly sipping some tea and nibbling at the cake she had lifted from another patron's plate. All around her, men and women were sunk deep in depravity. Murder, assault, robbery, theft. It whirled around her like a tornado of sin and seemed to only spread further as the hateful spilled out onto the streets. Each time someone new, untouched by the violence, came to investigate, they were swiftly turned. At one point, several guardsmen rushed in to restore order only to begin savagely beating all those around them, shouting about the law even as they broke it themselves.
None of this touched Lilth. Anytime a mortal approached with malicious intent, they would get a look of awe or shock on their faces and swiftly turn away. A few particular individuals had prostrated themselves at her feet and remained there, oblivious to the damage being done by them by people seeking to wreak harm on easy targets.
Lilth was utterly unruffled. She observed it all as if it were some grand play being put on for her amusement alone. She savored the local flavors and was playing with baubles she'd picked up at the market on her way to the restaurant.
In short, Lilth was sightseeing, visiting the mortal world she'd been banished from over a millennium ago. She was having a good time, too.
Of course, farther away from her corrupting influence, people reacted poorly to the rioting. Some stayed within their homes, huddled and frightened, while others used the mayhem as an excuse to get away with their own vandalism without encouragement being needed.
The guards were spread desperately thin across the entire city as they struggled to impose some order on the land without much success.
Lya, within the palace of winds, was receiving reports on the matter even as she dispatched a flier to summon Lord Furinko or Lord Penrose. She'd need the assistance of the knights and, failing that, she would have to drag the army into things. This was bad for more than the obvious reasons...
In her hand was a slip of paper from some of the people she had stationed closer to Anarlina. Their job was to keep tabs on the southern borders of both lands for demonic incursion, having been forewarned of the movements of the demons. She'd finally received word that demons had entered Anarlinan soil. This was probably eight-hand knowledge at best--their sources had come from within Anarlina, as her men were too far from the site of entry to report directly. Lya had been in the middle of writing a message to be sent swiftly to King Twilight, offering the aid of some of her men.
A part of her felt a twinge of guilt for that. After all, this was a kingdom and she should have consulted with Shadow before committing any forces to assist another kingdom, even if those forces were composed entirely of Sulans. I'm sorry, Shadow, she thought glumly. But there simply isn't time to turn this into a diplomatic request from me to you. She hoped he would understand, especially since she was not committing any Maelstrom forces.
But the message would have to wait. It wouldn't do to send her men off if she needed them for her own borders.
[[People playing palace staff, anyone interacting with Lya, or members of the Steel Wings are to post in this topic. Anyone else who wishes to be involved in events may make a new thread and mark it as a plot post.]]
