((Much thanks to the players of Kruger, The False Heir and Lesinda for participating in this SL! It is based in Renna's home realm of Ayenee.))
Prologue: A Gathering
The ill status of Negzarcurgis has thrown a spanner in the works for when it came to One's growing ambitions.
The surprise attack using her own technology against her; to invade Negzarcurgis so openly using her own teleportation system, had left One to resort to decommissioning the Gates that bordered the floating continent, thus prematurely ending her campaign against the victorious Taurii and their Golden Architect, Vishnuka.
The assault had left One's forces crippled far beyond than what she was willing to admit and with repairs and upgrades still firmly underway on Negzarcurgis itself, there was no hope for another attempt to wipe Vishnuka's smug grin right off his face and eradicate his blue skinned followers.
He had defeated her in open combat on home territory with a cunning and intelligence One did not come to expect. She had taken him and his followers for granted and her people had paid the ultimate price.
One; the most powerful entity that had ever walked out of the Crystal Forest, was beaten down to a point she felt she was truly going to die and worse of all" Vishnuka calmly left as easily as he had arrived, leaving her city in ruins and her people terrified of what was to come.
Perhaps that was why One had accentuated her demand to improve her force's defensive and offensive capabilities; working Crysinda into exhaustion, forcing Lucy to drill every able bodied Ssr"Kesir in the art of the sword, spear and her own patented crystal-tech projectile weaponry; pushing Dahlia to train harder"no one was safe from her mission to improve efficiency after the catastrophe.
Her home would never be invaded again.
That much she vowed.
Despite claiming vengeance was never a part of One's programming, her actions spoke otherwise. After all it was an illogical method of thinking when engaging combat, but right now" There was no other way she could explain her vexed state of mind, to which she could hardly conceal.
Being pregnant did not help her emotional instability, either.
With her forces incapable to stage a full on assault in retaliation, One resorted to plotting a different approach. A method of attack that had been proved time and time again as efficient on the field of battle when engaging foes of a superior power.
Unprepared to send off her most experienced daughters into the field of battle; needing their expertise and presence close by just in case Vishnuka braved a second invasion however unlikely, One had resorted to looking down to those she deemed expendable for the task at hand. summoning them both to a section of T"Barack Opalith rarely seen by anyone.
The pyramidal tip of the imposing black monolith that centered the city was perhaps the only space within T"Barack Opalith that was strictly off limits to everyone. It was here in this expansive room that One could totally submerge herself into a complete state of solitude, far away from the nagging voices of those attached to the Sister Network.
A room of white roses as far as the eye could, bathed in a warm blue light where at its center an ivory white grand piano stood and sat in front of it, was none other than One, awaiting her invited guests to make the fifteen minute trek across the expansive space to get to her, as the melody she played echoed out like a beacon; guiding them along to her position.
Mismatched eyes flicked around to glance at the endless halls she traveled along to her destination, craning her head to see where this odd melody was coming from.
Her head" Speakers" Was she just going nuts" Well, the latter may already be true...
Sneakers squeaked obnoxiously down the clean floors, baggy pants and a black hoodie thrown over her small form, the first items of clothing she could muster, and which reeked of sweat still as she was pretty damn lazy with self hygiene.
Great.
A meeting with One and with such wonderful timing after a very recent and pleasant development for herself!
Dahlia was expecting the start of a rant and how One loved her so much but she needed to quit falling heads over heels for...never mind. She wanted whatever this meeting was about over and done with.
Her face was twisted into an appearance of annoyance and she huffed heavily in how she was enjoying resting after-was that a door"
That is a door.
How long had it been, fifteen, twenty minutes" She didn't quite care and her pace quickened only as she approached the doorway, now realizing the music playing had grown significantly louder.
Here we go, finally.
The door opened up to her, and the sudden flash of glistening white roses and the warm light forced her to raise her hand in defense, shielding her eyes. "The hell?"
Prior to Dahlia's entrance into Solitude, Lesinda was already inside the room and may had taken her time to admire the vastness of the curious space, the music and the flowers themselves.
Lesinda walked the path of least resistance, taking every care she could to avoid damaging each flower she passed if there wasn't a direct, clear path to One.
She was, to a degree, unaware of Dahlia's presence or approach into the room. Lesinda was enjoying the room's flowers too much.
Of course, the two trespassers within One's sanctuary were immediately noted as her fingers fell from the ivory keys of the white piano before standing up from the black stool that was sat before the instrument, turning around to regard the two figures in the distance with a tilt of her head.
One smoothed her white dress and clasped her hands to place them atop of the slightest of bumps in her stomach, walking towards her guests with a growing smile and softening gaze.
"Welcome, I am sorry to summon you both here so unexpectedly." She raised her voice, though it carried seamlessly throughout the area with little effort. "But I have something important to discuss with you both."
Dahlia squinted across to where Les wandered and hoped to whomever was around that; or herself if it counted, that she did not sight the girl whom Lesinda had beaten her head in the last time Dahlia saw her.
Turning her head away so she didn't catch a glimpse of Lesinda in her peripherals, she maintained some view of One and raised a brow at the smile and her words. "Important' like?"
Were they having to organize a baby shower together now"
Lesinda sniffed a rose, leaning in to smell the petals. Not that she needed to, when she could smell the scent standing up, but that wasn't the point.
Les smiled and walked closer, ignoring Dahlia's presence to some degree, dipping her head towards One in greeting. "What's so important you had to let us up here?" The room was quite new, even to Lesinda.
One beamed to Lesinda in response, happy to see her at least; but Dahlia" She got a vastly different expression. Her gaze solidified and her intense stare grew with her intent to fully reveal just how displeased she was with her most rebellious of daughters and yet for now, she would remain content with just staring at her.
There were far more important things to deal with.
"I believe there is no one else I can trust more within my family than you two, which is why I have invited you here."
Idly, One walked, half expecting them both to follow after her while her eyes warmly locked upon every rose she brushed by with extended fingertips.
"Negzarcurgis is still in no condition to travel and is still under threat from a potential second invasion from Taurii forces. We have still yet to discover just exactly they had managed to gain access to our Gateway System and send their forces right into the heart of our territory. By the time I had noticed their presence, it was too late to fully react and implement a counter attack. I still am not satisfied that the investigation has come up with little to no results. Many civilians died that day, including a vast portion of our infantry who were ill equipped to react sufficiently to the sudden invasion."
One ceased her movements, turning fully to regard them both a sneer.
"I have my suspicions that one of our own is at fault for this outrage, however, with little evidence I cannot confirm nor deny it. In light of this, Crysinda has worked painstakingly for weeks now to discover just how exactly they had managed to even bridge themselves here and finally, she has given me an answer. An answer I am afraid to admit to anyone else. So what I tell you here and now stays exactly within these walls. Only Crysinda and myself know of this truth, so if I so much as discover a mere rumor propagating amongst my children in regards to this information, I am going to hold you both personally accountable and you will both be punished," her crimson eyes glowered menacingly to the two, "is that understood?"
Dahlia certainly didn't meet that solid gaze and gulped anxiously, a hand reaching back to brush through her silver hair and distract herself briefly from the displeasure One had shown, but, she would still follow the woman, despite the look, keeping her gaze to the roses with a hint of a smile.
They were quite nice and suited her hair well.
As One spoke more, her smile faltered and she nodded quietly. She remembered that time, things were crazy, some dude appeared in her room and" well, shit hit the fan.
But one of their own" They had a large family; all with distinct characters and their own motives" so now she had another reason not to trust the entirety of her 'loving family'.
"Sure thing, my lips are sealed..." Dahlia mumbled quietly, eyes attempting a quick look to One but fell back to the flowers, daring not to temper her.
Lesinda followed when One moved off, keeping a few steps away from the woman.
Her head dipped when One mentioned the attack.
She hadn't personally been present at or around that time, but she'd seen the aftermath. It hadn't been pretty and a very poor time for an unexpected visit on her part.
At the mention of Crysinda's name, Les looked up at One for a moment, suddenly realizing what she'd had her daughter working so hard on.
"Of course." Lesinda replied, looking back at the menacingly glowing orbs without so much of a flicker in her own eyes.
"Excellent....As myself and Crysinda had come to expect, a Gateway within my control was used to bridge Negzarcurgis to a location within the Taurii boarder. However, it is impossible for them to properly lock onto any of our own Gateways without the correct coordinates, which can only be obtained and accessed via the Sister Network," One looked between the two, her eyes closing as she continued, sighing, "as such, it further cements the theory that someone with a high enough access to the Network was able to allow their Gateway to sync with our own, thus leading to the catastrophe that followed" worse still, Crysinda has also determined that the gate they had constructed is more than likely an exact copy of our own."
Prologue: A Gathering
The ill status of Negzarcurgis has thrown a spanner in the works for when it came to One's growing ambitions.
The surprise attack using her own technology against her; to invade Negzarcurgis so openly using her own teleportation system, had left One to resort to decommissioning the Gates that bordered the floating continent, thus prematurely ending her campaign against the victorious Taurii and their Golden Architect, Vishnuka.
The assault had left One's forces crippled far beyond than what she was willing to admit and with repairs and upgrades still firmly underway on Negzarcurgis itself, there was no hope for another attempt to wipe Vishnuka's smug grin right off his face and eradicate his blue skinned followers.
He had defeated her in open combat on home territory with a cunning and intelligence One did not come to expect. She had taken him and his followers for granted and her people had paid the ultimate price.
One; the most powerful entity that had ever walked out of the Crystal Forest, was beaten down to a point she felt she was truly going to die and worse of all" Vishnuka calmly left as easily as he had arrived, leaving her city in ruins and her people terrified of what was to come.
Perhaps that was why One had accentuated her demand to improve her force's defensive and offensive capabilities; working Crysinda into exhaustion, forcing Lucy to drill every able bodied Ssr"Kesir in the art of the sword, spear and her own patented crystal-tech projectile weaponry; pushing Dahlia to train harder"no one was safe from her mission to improve efficiency after the catastrophe.
Her home would never be invaded again.
That much she vowed.
Despite claiming vengeance was never a part of One's programming, her actions spoke otherwise. After all it was an illogical method of thinking when engaging combat, but right now" There was no other way she could explain her vexed state of mind, to which she could hardly conceal.
Being pregnant did not help her emotional instability, either.
With her forces incapable to stage a full on assault in retaliation, One resorted to plotting a different approach. A method of attack that had been proved time and time again as efficient on the field of battle when engaging foes of a superior power.
Unprepared to send off her most experienced daughters into the field of battle; needing their expertise and presence close by just in case Vishnuka braved a second invasion however unlikely, One had resorted to looking down to those she deemed expendable for the task at hand. summoning them both to a section of T"Barack Opalith rarely seen by anyone.
The pyramidal tip of the imposing black monolith that centered the city was perhaps the only space within T"Barack Opalith that was strictly off limits to everyone. It was here in this expansive room that One could totally submerge herself into a complete state of solitude, far away from the nagging voices of those attached to the Sister Network.
A room of white roses as far as the eye could, bathed in a warm blue light where at its center an ivory white grand piano stood and sat in front of it, was none other than One, awaiting her invited guests to make the fifteen minute trek across the expansive space to get to her, as the melody she played echoed out like a beacon; guiding them along to her position.
Mismatched eyes flicked around to glance at the endless halls she traveled along to her destination, craning her head to see where this odd melody was coming from.
Her head" Speakers" Was she just going nuts" Well, the latter may already be true...
Sneakers squeaked obnoxiously down the clean floors, baggy pants and a black hoodie thrown over her small form, the first items of clothing she could muster, and which reeked of sweat still as she was pretty damn lazy with self hygiene.
Great.
A meeting with One and with such wonderful timing after a very recent and pleasant development for herself!
Dahlia was expecting the start of a rant and how One loved her so much but she needed to quit falling heads over heels for...never mind. She wanted whatever this meeting was about over and done with.
Her face was twisted into an appearance of annoyance and she huffed heavily in how she was enjoying resting after-was that a door"
That is a door.
How long had it been, fifteen, twenty minutes" She didn't quite care and her pace quickened only as she approached the doorway, now realizing the music playing had grown significantly louder.
Here we go, finally.
The door opened up to her, and the sudden flash of glistening white roses and the warm light forced her to raise her hand in defense, shielding her eyes. "The hell?"
Prior to Dahlia's entrance into Solitude, Lesinda was already inside the room and may had taken her time to admire the vastness of the curious space, the music and the flowers themselves.
Lesinda walked the path of least resistance, taking every care she could to avoid damaging each flower she passed if there wasn't a direct, clear path to One.
She was, to a degree, unaware of Dahlia's presence or approach into the room. Lesinda was enjoying the room's flowers too much.
Of course, the two trespassers within One's sanctuary were immediately noted as her fingers fell from the ivory keys of the white piano before standing up from the black stool that was sat before the instrument, turning around to regard the two figures in the distance with a tilt of her head.
One smoothed her white dress and clasped her hands to place them atop of the slightest of bumps in her stomach, walking towards her guests with a growing smile and softening gaze.
"Welcome, I am sorry to summon you both here so unexpectedly." She raised her voice, though it carried seamlessly throughout the area with little effort. "But I have something important to discuss with you both."
Dahlia squinted across to where Les wandered and hoped to whomever was around that; or herself if it counted, that she did not sight the girl whom Lesinda had beaten her head in the last time Dahlia saw her.
Turning her head away so she didn't catch a glimpse of Lesinda in her peripherals, she maintained some view of One and raised a brow at the smile and her words. "Important' like?"
Were they having to organize a baby shower together now"
Lesinda sniffed a rose, leaning in to smell the petals. Not that she needed to, when she could smell the scent standing up, but that wasn't the point.
Les smiled and walked closer, ignoring Dahlia's presence to some degree, dipping her head towards One in greeting. "What's so important you had to let us up here?" The room was quite new, even to Lesinda.
One beamed to Lesinda in response, happy to see her at least; but Dahlia" She got a vastly different expression. Her gaze solidified and her intense stare grew with her intent to fully reveal just how displeased she was with her most rebellious of daughters and yet for now, she would remain content with just staring at her.
There were far more important things to deal with.
"I believe there is no one else I can trust more within my family than you two, which is why I have invited you here."
Idly, One walked, half expecting them both to follow after her while her eyes warmly locked upon every rose she brushed by with extended fingertips.
"Negzarcurgis is still in no condition to travel and is still under threat from a potential second invasion from Taurii forces. We have still yet to discover just exactly they had managed to gain access to our Gateway System and send their forces right into the heart of our territory. By the time I had noticed their presence, it was too late to fully react and implement a counter attack. I still am not satisfied that the investigation has come up with little to no results. Many civilians died that day, including a vast portion of our infantry who were ill equipped to react sufficiently to the sudden invasion."
One ceased her movements, turning fully to regard them both a sneer.
"I have my suspicions that one of our own is at fault for this outrage, however, with little evidence I cannot confirm nor deny it. In light of this, Crysinda has worked painstakingly for weeks now to discover just how exactly they had managed to even bridge themselves here and finally, she has given me an answer. An answer I am afraid to admit to anyone else. So what I tell you here and now stays exactly within these walls. Only Crysinda and myself know of this truth, so if I so much as discover a mere rumor propagating amongst my children in regards to this information, I am going to hold you both personally accountable and you will both be punished," her crimson eyes glowered menacingly to the two, "is that understood?"
Dahlia certainly didn't meet that solid gaze and gulped anxiously, a hand reaching back to brush through her silver hair and distract herself briefly from the displeasure One had shown, but, she would still follow the woman, despite the look, keeping her gaze to the roses with a hint of a smile.
They were quite nice and suited her hair well.
As One spoke more, her smile faltered and she nodded quietly. She remembered that time, things were crazy, some dude appeared in her room and" well, shit hit the fan.
But one of their own" They had a large family; all with distinct characters and their own motives" so now she had another reason not to trust the entirety of her 'loving family'.
"Sure thing, my lips are sealed..." Dahlia mumbled quietly, eyes attempting a quick look to One but fell back to the flowers, daring not to temper her.
Lesinda followed when One moved off, keeping a few steps away from the woman.
Her head dipped when One mentioned the attack.
She hadn't personally been present at or around that time, but she'd seen the aftermath. It hadn't been pretty and a very poor time for an unexpected visit on her part.
At the mention of Crysinda's name, Les looked up at One for a moment, suddenly realizing what she'd had her daughter working so hard on.
"Of course." Lesinda replied, looking back at the menacingly glowing orbs without so much of a flicker in her own eyes.
"Excellent....As myself and Crysinda had come to expect, a Gateway within my control was used to bridge Negzarcurgis to a location within the Taurii boarder. However, it is impossible for them to properly lock onto any of our own Gateways without the correct coordinates, which can only be obtained and accessed via the Sister Network," One looked between the two, her eyes closing as she continued, sighing, "as such, it further cements the theory that someone with a high enough access to the Network was able to allow their Gateway to sync with our own, thus leading to the catastrophe that followed" worse still, Crysinda has also determined that the gate they had constructed is more than likely an exact copy of our own."