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Post by Clair Feldsky on Jan 30, 2011 2:19:42 GMT -6
OoC:Takes place sometime after arriving at Edessa, looking out over the walls. Unspecified time.
Clair looked out. The snow and winds blew across the Illia landscape, adjusting it by layering the fine white powder across the fields, woods, rocks, and frozen rivers. It was cold, but not as cold as it would be out on the exposed spaces outside of the walls. Clair remembered a conversation she'd once had with her Commander. Illia was ruthless. It brooked no foolishness. She also liked to think of it as a testing ground, cleaning out the riffraff, while training those who remained to be iron willed, strong and smart. Illia was a hard land, and it's people had to be equally tough.
Sometimes, she wondered if she'd spent too much time in the soft southlands, and if she still had what it took to be an Illian. Not for long though. Now that she'd come back, the old lessons were returning with a vengeance.
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Mavick
Seer
Little Strategist
"The Darkness... It consumes me."
Posts: 208
Etruria Fame: -2
Sacae Fame: 1
Affinity: Dark
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Post by Mavick on Feb 1, 2011 19:00:40 GMT -6
"It's cold." Mavick restated the obvious, taking the spot next to Clair to stare over the wall. The little shaman was bundled up in his robes and poncho, and had even adorned a scarf. "It would get cold in Ostia too, during the winter season...But not like this." he commented, almost to himself. "From a strategic standpoint, I admire that people live here, but from the standpoint of one who takes joy in his little creature comforts, I can scarcely imagine why."
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Post by Clair Feldsky on Feb 3, 2011 15:01:21 GMT -6
Clair turned her head for a moment, startled at the voice, but relaxed when she remembered who that voice belonged to. Mavick was right. Luxury was nonexistent in Illia, or very nearly so.
"There are no comforts in Illia. Not like the southlands, anyway. Here, it's your your family, your friends, and your accomplishments...." The girl paused, pushing her hair from where it had blown in her face, and then continued as a thought another value occurred to her.
"I guess I value my nation as well." It seemed odd to say, in a sense. Illia was a mercenary nation, and mercenaries were supposed to be more interested in looking out for themselves, but the nation she knew was the one that fought to protect itself, holding together against the whether, the wilds, and the brigands that ranged the cold north.
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Mavick
Seer
Little Strategist
"The Darkness... It consumes me."
Posts: 208
Etruria Fame: -2
Sacae Fame: 1
Affinity: Dark
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Post by Mavick on Feb 5, 2011 19:58:36 GMT -6
Mavick nodded, but his attention seemed to be elsewhere. "Brilliant..." he murmured. "Guard towers, fortified with ballista, every twenty yards. Beacon fires, in case of night attacks. Irregular step patterns in the stairs, to hinder invaders..." Mavick rambled on, describing the tactical architecture of the wall.
"...So, is that why you became a Pegasus Knight?" Mavick unexpectedly asked. "For your family and nation?" Curious for a mercenary, but then Ilians were a different breed than Ostians.
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Post by Clair Feldsky on Feb 7, 2011 1:18:58 GMT -6
Clair grew attentive as Mavick started describing the defensive features of the fortress they were on. She'd seen the beacons, and she'd certainly been aware of all the ballistae. That kind of came with being a pegasus knight. The steps had eluded her glance though. It may have caused a problem if she'd been attacking the place. As a pegasus knight, she planned for flying missions. That was what set her apart from an infantry soldier, or even another cavalry unit. However, if she was going to keep rising through the ranks, then she'd need to be aware of all dangers. Even traps like the fortress's irregular step patterns.
"... I'd not noticed the steps." Clair said quietly, an appreciation for Mavick's analysis skills showing through.
The Winged Cavalry Rider stuttered for a bit, as she answered Mavick's question. "...I-I guess it could be broken down to money issues. You gotta work to eat, but somehow, I always knew that I wanted to be like Mom: In the sky. And it was Illia that put me there."
Clair wasn't really used to thinking over her motivations for becoming what she was in such detail. She should do it more often, she decided. It helped her understand herself, and where she needed to go better.
"What about you?" She asked turning to the smaller young man. How old was he, anyway? "Did you always want to be a strategist?"
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Mavick
Seer
Little Strategist
"The Darkness... It consumes me."
Posts: 208
Etruria Fame: -2
Sacae Fame: 1
Affinity: Dark
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Post by Mavick on Feb 7, 2011 18:05:09 GMT -6
Mavick closed his eyes and stroked his chin with his right thumb, a habit he divulged in when thinking. "You've noticed, but compared to other people, my brother especially, I'm not exactly physically gifted. For an Ostian, that is not something to be proud of." he finally said. "However, and I say this with the utmost humility, I have been blessed with an extraordinary degree of intelligence to compensate this." What was the point of this rambling? "You see, I am first and formost a scholar. All I ever wanted was more and more knowledge. I've torn through any textbook or tome I could get my hands on, be it bought or borrowed." Mavick reminisced. "I recall, when I was very young, reading through several tomes filled with firsthand accounts of wars. Letters, diaries, official reports, records. And from them, I learned that wars are not won through size or might, but through calculations and cunning. So often in history we see that great military forces are brought down by such smaller opponents, merely because of a miscalculation or a less efficient strategy. I realised that with my intellect, I could save the lives of soldiers. That's when I decided that I wanted to be a tactician..."
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Post by Clair Feldsky on Feb 12, 2011 9:22:45 GMT -6
Clair had to smile at Mavick's humilitous statement of his own grand intellect. For him, he really had shown humility. No boasting or bragging had been made. Merely a statement. He had proven to be a sharp one, coordinating large scale battle plans, and even managing their resources to boot.
The illian pegasus knight listened as he recounted his early studies, and his realization of the importance of large scale strategies. A realization of her own clicked into place, and she understood now that control over the war campaign could be just as important as winning the battles, which a field commander did. Mavick did that too, in this case.
As long as you keep winning the battles. Clair thought to herself. They couldn't get overly worried about sparing those who fought against them. He didn't say so to him though. He'd already shown his ability to craft deadly plans. "Those letters sound like they were time well spent for you.... So where would you start if you had to capture a fortress like this one? All the Ballistae on the walls, not to mention the flying cavalry on hand. What would a fortress of Edessa's calibur take to crack?"
She was interested in how he would approach this task, partly because Bern's castle was the same kind of structure. Of course, they held Castle Bern, so that wouldn't prove an issue. It would probably take time. Lots and lots of time.
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Mavick
Seer
Little Strategist
"The Darkness... It consumes me."
Posts: 208
Etruria Fame: -2
Sacae Fame: 1
Affinity: Dark
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Post by Mavick on Feb 14, 2011 19:06:12 GMT -6
Mavick turned to look out over the wall once more, stroking his chin in thought. "First, I would outfit some of the men to appear as mercenaries, and send them in groups over the span of a week or two. Then I would charge at dawn, just as the sun becomes too bright to look at. The soldiers back would face it. The ballistamen and archers would not be able to see clearly. It would make it somewhat easier to charge. The soldiers inside would tos hen start fire to buildings, and as chaos runs among, would attack the soldiers from the inside." he concluded. "My own archers would be positioned uphill, with the sun to their backs, to pick off the pegasus knights as they flew out." Mavick nodded at his own words. "Does this seem a suitable plan to you?" he asked, looking back to the pegasus knight.
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Post by Clair Feldsky on Feb 18, 2011 21:05:29 GMT -6
Clair listened to Mavick's plan. He'd come up with it rather quickly, but it was an excellent plan, regardless of the short preparation.
"Quite sound, but a skilled defender would expect such defenses. And Illian commanders don't get to where their at without knowing their way across the battlefield. Some of the pegasus knights could sweep in and support the troops dealing with the men already inside the walls."
Clair tried to set her mind to cracking the fortress' defenses. It's aerial defenders, and the strength of it's walls would make it a dangerous challenge. "Pegasus knights can fly higher than the strongest bows can shoot at need, and they could employ the a similar strategy to what we used on Arriston's Headquarters. Dropping rocks, or other debris on us from that height could be deadly. If we could find a way to draw the aerial cavalry in though.... And forming some kind of easily movable shelters to hide under could help our archers survive long enough to take out the cavalry."
It was becoming more and more apparent that Mavick was the tactician between the two. Clair's talents leaned towards those of a field commander.
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Mavick
Seer
Little Strategist
"The Darkness... It consumes me."
Posts: 208
Etruria Fame: -2
Sacae Fame: 1
Affinity: Dark
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Post by Mavick on Feb 20, 2011 1:31:32 GMT -6
The young staff officer stroked his chin. "Quite right, Officer Feldsky." Mavick admitted. "Movable defenses...Hmm...That's actually a very good idea. An armored wagon, of sorts...I doubt such a feat would be possible in either of our lifetimes, but one day it could be possible." Mavick chuckled. "Of course, one could simply strap a ballista cart to my brother, and he could run around with it while they shot arrows." He chuckled. "He could probably do it, the overgrown brute. There isn't much he can't lift, and he loved lifting things. Especially me. Even now, he likes to pick me up and run around. I always get so mad at him for it..." Mavick reminisced somberly, whiping his eyes with his sleeve. "This cold air is causing me to tear up..."
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Post by Clair Feldsky on Feb 20, 2011 15:59:59 GMT -6
A wagon hadn't been exactly what Clair had been thinking. Actually, that hadn't been it at all, but that seemed to be a possibility as well. The trick would be getting it mobile....
The conversation switching to Lyar hadn't been something she'd been expecting. "Mmmm... I remember the first time I saw him, bashing his way out of Ostia like it was a walk in the park." Clair ignored Mavick's tear. The cold could often have that effect.
"So he normally liked to frolic about like that?"
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Mavick
Seer
Little Strategist
"The Darkness... It consumes me."
Posts: 208
Etruria Fame: -2
Sacae Fame: 1
Affinity: Dark
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Post by Mavick on Feb 23, 2011 0:59:46 GMT -6
Mavick nodded. "Yes. Lyar is ever the optimist. He always looks at the glass half full. Just another aspect that makes us nothing alike." he replied. "He started that stupid act when we were little. He would do it just to try and get me to smile and stop reading so much. Our father died when we were very young, and Lyar was only fifteen when our mother passed away. Fifteen, and saddled with a twelve year old brother. It was hard for a long time. Even then, he kept up that stupid facade, just to distract me from how bad off we really were. After so many years of acting, I guess it became force of habit for him..."
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Post by Clair Feldsky on Feb 24, 2011 23:16:07 GMT -6
Clair laughed as she was reminded of Lyar's "stupid brother" act. That had been one of those things that had puzzled her for a long time about the giant.
"He sounds like he was a very devoted brother. I'm glad that the two of you were able to pull through.... I can't imagine what I'd have done in your situation."
Clair had to gather her hair up and shake it out again, as a sudden breeze scoured over the wall. She shivered in the frigid conditions. Illians, while perhaps more likely to be used to the low temperatures due to where they lived, were by no means immune to the cold.
"Do you think it worked? His attempt to distract you? He seems a natural at his act." Clair smiled again, despite the cold air. Then she felt just how dry her lips felt. Chapped lips were fairly common in the north. That was just another little hardship that she'd managed to forget on her trip into the south.
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Mavick
Seer
Little Strategist
"The Darkness... It consumes me."
Posts: 208
Etruria Fame: -2
Sacae Fame: 1
Affinity: Dark
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Post by Mavick on Mar 9, 2011 1:10:40 GMT -6
Mavick smirked in spite of himself. "A natural? Yes, I suppose you could say that. Really, after a while, I don't even think he was trying anymore. Sometimes I forgot he wasn't a complete idiot, to be honest." Mavick admitted, though it was an odd way to admit something. "The Commander reminds me of him, in a way. No matter what the world throws at them, they both seem to be able to take their share and everyone elses too."
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Post by Clair Feldsky on Mar 11, 2011 23:13:15 GMT -6
Clair nodded in understanding. She'd not gotten to know Lyar well enough to come to that conclusion on her own, but he had always been there to help out when needed. Richter, as well, was taking on a challenge greater than a single man should be able to manage: taking down the Prophet. Hopefully, Illia would prove receptive to his requests once they didn't have bandit troubles anymore.
"That's one thing we can do for them. I they insist on taking on more trouble than they can handle, then we should be sure to pull their bacon out of the fire." Clair's eyes grew shifted away from the short shaman and out towards the wilderness again as she considered the two men.
"People like them are special...." It would be untrue to say that her mind was lingering on both men in equal proportions just them.
"Mavick? Are we set for the army's needs, or are there things which need taken care of?" The conversation was rolling down now, unless Mavick had something else to bring up.
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