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[Tyrant Leviathan]

-Find a few of the soldiers you came here with, and form a team to try and get through the early stages of the melee!

Build that soldierly brotherhood, build it high!

+1

Yes. +1 strength in numbers and if the alluancebis left standing, sure fire way to get that ship.

[Weirdsound]

"Soldiers!" You scream, "FORM UP!"

Some of the troops you came with begin moving in your direction, but a gravity axe wielding stranger makes it to your position first, and engages. You draw your own axe, switch it to low power, and answer the challenge. You are still not quite as good at axe to axe combat as a trained soldier, so you find yourself driven back, but you have no problem lasting long enough for your allies to make it to your position. Your opponent is so aggressively persuing his goal of eliminating the King, that he doesn't notice this until it is too late. One of your allies gently taps your attacker in the back with his own gravity axe, and a judge signals his elimination.

Seven soldiers have joined you now, rendering enemies reluctant to move against you. A group of five axe wielders try to challenge your superior numbers, but are pushed back with no casualties on your end. You think you score your first elimination here, hooking the blade of your axe around the handle of a foe's, pulling from his grasp, and sending it flying through the air! He chases after it, but you doubt he can get it back within 15 seconds.

An uneventful minute later, a fellow void Knight approaches your position. The creature is humanoid, but not human, with one of his arms ending in a massive chitinous claw. You believe it belongs to one of the many crustacean species of the Tempest System, collectively referred to as 'Cancer' by humankind. If that is the case, it likely learned to fight at the Void Temple of Undine, just as you did. But you do not recognize the creature, meaning that it is likely far older, and thus more experienced than you.

"Fight me man-king!" It calls, "Let us put on a show!"

You glance around the arena, counting the remaining fighters. You would like to clear out a bit more of the rabble before breaking off. You then consider your weapons; You are sure your foe wants a Soul Sword duel, and if he is more experienced, such a fight may be to its advantage. Perhaps it would be best if you accepted his challenge with your grav- *BA-LOOOOOOOOOSH!*

Almost all fighting stops, as everybody turns in shock or amusement to the unmistakable sound of a blow from a fully powered Gravity Axe. Across the arena, you see a massive dust cloud rise, and a limp body fly four rows up into the audience! The void knight challenging you begins to laugh, as do some of the soldiers at your side. You open your mouth to do the same, when suddenly you feel a sharp pain in your lower back, followed by shortly by a complete lack of muscle control and a super intense radiating pain across your entire body. You fall to the ground screaming!

The next thirty seconds or so is nothing but agony and chaos from your perspective. One of your allies is thoughtful enough to hold your hand closed around the shaft of your weapon to prevent you from being eliminated, and another eventually is able to rip the electrodart from your back. The rest of your gathered soldiers, however, have either deserted or been eliminated by the time you are back on your feet. You ask who threw the dart, but both of your remaining friends were watching the spectacle when some opportunistic fighter put it in your back.

You are dizzy, in pain, and short of breath. The dart was barbed, and pulling it out created a not insignificant wound on your back. In your condition, you feel no choice but to toss your axe aside and draw your Soul Sword. As you remove it from your sheath, the weapon looks like nothing more than an ornate steel blade, large enough that it is best wielded by two hands, but small enough to be handled with one if needed. Then you ignite it, filling it with your spirit, and causing it to rise to a state that it at once solid, plasma, divine being, and extension of your own body. Its energy radiates back into you, numbing your pain, and slightly enhancing your strength, speed, wit, and reflexes. Visibly it now resembles a beam of red-orange light, with bands and splotches of purple dancing across its surface. The crowd ooohs and awwws at the fact that their King is now wielding the sort of epic weapon that he is known to be proficient with. You indulge them by running your blade across the ground a few times, kicking up dust and aggressive purple sparks.

"There it is!" A mean spirited voice calls from in front of you. "King Alexander will be more proud of us if we defeat you at your best!"

"I was worried the dumb cunt would never draw it 'Jax." Another voice answers, "That e'd stick with that cruddy, standard issue, not fit for a king axe the entire show!"

Before you stand a man and a woman dressed in heavy golden armor, wielding energy shields are arc-spears. They are hoplites. Elite soldiers of Nidavellir, and the undisputed greatest infantry force in all of Yggdrasil. Their helmets bear a sigil of an eagle clutching a spear, likely the emblem of some noble house from Nidavellir you are not familiar with.

Yuri and Swabber, your two remaining soldiers, move to confront them, but you can see the doubt in their eyes. Gravity axes are of no use against energy shields, and standard human footmen just do not beat Hoplites without vastly superior numbers. You prepare to step forward with them, and even the odds, but a voice calls out to you from behind: "We doing this or not, man-king?"

You glance over your shoulder. It is the Caner Void Knight again. You weigh your options. Should you engage the Hoplites or the Void Knight? Perhaps you should use the invisiblity granted by your Soul Pulse to gain the upper hand in whatever fight you choose. Or perhaps your Soul Pulse is better used to run away from all of this? How do you proceed?

List of Focuses and Court Members. You may not change Focuses at this time.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Court:
Lord Admiral Ivar of the Lindbergh - Unknown Strengths, Unknown Loyalty
Lindbergh Wing Lead Karen of Treeport - Hammership Pilot and Commander of Unknown Skill Level, Unknown Loyalty
Lindbergh Chief Engineer Mimir - Engineer of Unknown Skill Level, Unknown Loyalty
Lindbergh First Officer Kay of New Oslo - Unknown Strengths, Unknown Loyalty
Lord Admiral Vladimir of The Hindenburg - Naval Commander of at least competent Skill Level, Unknown Loyalty
Breslau First Officer Odinson of Odinson - Unknown Strengths, Unknown Loyalty, !!Known to want Serpentina Dead!!
Queen Sister Serpentina of Midguard - Great fighter and intimidating presence. Deeply Loyal.
Lil'Giaus - Great fighter, solid teacher, solid political presence. Deeply Loyal.

Primary Focuses: The Unavoidable Affairs of State. Somebody from your court will step up to fill these roles one way or another.
Capital Ship Repair - (Lord Admiral Ivar + Chief Engineer Mimir) It will take a good deal effort to gather all the parts needed to fully repair the Hindenburg and Breslau.
Support Midguard - (Queen Sister Serpentina + Lord Admiral Vladimir) King Fenrir will likely need a good deal of outside manpower and resources to gain full control of his planet.
Run Muspelheim - (First Officer Kay + Lil'Giaus) Somebody needs to make the final decisions regarding the day to day affairs of your home planet.

Optional Focuses: You can tackle these matters yourself, delegate them to a member of your court, or ignore them completely. The choice is yours.
Secure Alliance with the Wraith Rings - Plan a wedding to Av'ivqix, and negotiate exact terms of an alliance with her father.
Woo Nidavellir - King Alexander is your vassal, but it may be prudent to take some steps to ensure he will not turn on you as soon as his ships are ready.
Reform Feudal System of Muspelheim - Before the war, your father tinkered with the high houses of his world in hopes of improving the economy, earning enemies in the process. Pick up where he left off if you dare.

Personal Focuses: These things will not get done unless you do them yourself.
Train Hammership Combat - You are great, you could become legendary.
Train Melee Combat - You are good, you could become great.
Train Naval Command - You are good, you could become great.
Train Ground Command - You are good, you could become great.
Study Knightly Mysteries - Attempt to learn various magics.
Partake in Knightly Quests - You could earn some renown conducting business for your order around your system.
Carrousing - Attend feasts and parties in attempt to make new friends across the galaxy. Best way to find new marriage prospects.
Befriend (Odinson) - Pick an NPC who is in your court or otherwise avaible to you. Spend some time earning their trust and learning their strengths and weaknesses.
Research - Ask one or several questions about the universe you inhabit, and seek out the answer.

[Tyrant Leviathan]

If we back down, it will be a huge disrespect and honor backlash as we volunteered for this.

Plus it will make that Cunt Alexander happy with joy and he gains a hammer ship so he can kill us with it.

Nuts to that.

I say we either:

Duel the knight, just to show how we can still hold up in a effort to make our king seem bad ass.

Or pulse it and fight dirty against the Hoplites with dust and incusibliry though sure they have been trained against invisible foes.


Either way. As a true man king we got to have the fighting spirit to our shine dragon fire!

[mightymushroom]

I definitely want to duel the Void Knight. Either
– We lose honorably against a worthy foe who isn't tools of our political rival, or
– The hoplites attempt to interfere and we team up to show them what's what (nobody has said souls swords are at a disadvantage against energy shields).

Use the invisibility at a key moment of the duel as we were surely trained (though this guy might well expect it, be quick), or when for a brief burst of surprise when first engaging the hoplites if it becomes two against two.

[Superdorf]

I definitely want to duel the Void Knight. Either
– We lose honorably against a worthy foe who isn't tools of our political rival, or
– The hoplites attempt to interfere and we team up to show them what's what (nobody has said souls swords are at a disadvantage against energy shields).

Use the invisibility at a key moment of the duel as we were surely trained (though this guy might well expect it, be quick), or when for a brief burst of surprise when first engaging the hoplites if it becomes two against two.

+1

[Tyrant Leviathan]

That makes sense. +1

[Weirdsound]

You pat your soldiers on the shoulders. "Take care of them for me, will you?" They have no chance, but you are not going to turn down the opportunity to duel the knight just for their benefit.

They charge the Hoplites, and you turn toward your challenger. "Yes. I think we shall do this. Ready yourself!"

Although your foe is bigger than you, its glowing green blade is smaller than your soul sword. You assume this is because its claw isn't useful for holding weapons, so it has to fight one handed. This in theory gives you a reach advantage.

You decide to open aggressive for the crowd, charging in with wide open heavy attacks. Sparks dramatically fly as your foe parries. The crowd gasps. Several other fighters stop what they are doing to enjoy the dramatic soul sword duel. The cancer gives you an odd look, perhaps shocked that you are fighting so sloppy. "Just playing the audience," you whisper with a grin, falling back into a more conservative stance before your foe can take advantage of your aggression.

The next minute or so feels like an eternity. Both combatants fight with caution. The Cancer respects your reach, and you respect its skill. "Deadlock," your foe admits, "this will come down to Soul Pulses..."

"Tis likely," you agree. You don't know what the alien's soul pulse does, and you doubt it knows yours. It could very well come down to who activates first. Who blinks. You can feel yourself growing tired, something that usually does not happen when holding an ignited Soul Sword. The wound on your back caused by ripping the dart out may have you on a timer.

"Very likely indeed!" You repeat, as you tap your belt with your off hand, and vanish from sight. The crowd gasps.

Now safely protected from sight, you take a brief second to gather yourself. The Cancer Knight is reaching for a Soul Pulse on its own belt. You have no clue what might happen when it activates it. Glancing over your shoulder, you can see that the Hoplites have the upper hand against Yuri and Swabber. It as at this moment an idea strikes you. You are not just invisible to your enemy, but to the judges as well. You could power up your soul sword to its full lethal potential for a few moments, and nobody would be any the wiser. You could remove the knights hand (you are sure the bio-engineers could put it back) and take the Cancer out of the fight quickly enough to go help your friends. A fully charged Soul Sword will easily chop a Hoplite Arc-Spear in half!

It would be cheating of course. But only you know who you are in the dark. How do you proceed?

List of Focuses and Court Members. You may not change Focuses at this time.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Court:
Lord Admiral Ivar of the Lindbergh - Unknown Strengths, Unknown Loyalty
Lindbergh Wing Lead Karen of Treeport - Hammership Pilot and Commander of Unknown Skill Level, Unknown Loyalty
Lindbergh Chief Engineer Mimir - Engineer of Unknown Skill Level, Unknown Loyalty
Lindbergh First Officer Kay of New Oslo - Unknown Strengths, Unknown Loyalty
Lord Admiral Vladimir of The Hindenburg - Naval Commander of at least competent Skill Level, Unknown Loyalty
Breslau First Officer Odinson of Odinson - Unknown Strengths, Unknown Loyalty, !!Known to want Serpentina Dead!!
Queen Sister Serpentina of Midguard - Great fighter and intimidating presence. Deeply Loyal.
Lil'Giaus - Great fighter, solid teacher, solid political presence. Deeply Loyal.

Primary Focuses: The Unavoidable Affairs of State. Somebody from your court will step up to fill these roles one way or another.
Capital Ship Repair - (Lord Admiral Ivar + Chief Engineer Mimir) It will take a good deal effort to gather all the parts needed to fully repair the Hindenburg and Breslau.
Support Midguard - (Queen Sister Serpentina + Lord Admiral Vladimir) King Fenrir will likely need a good deal of outside manpower and resources to gain full control of his planet.
Run Muspelheim - (First Officer Kay + Lil'Giaus) Somebody needs to make the final decisions regarding the day to day affairs of your home planet.

Optional Focuses: You can tackle these matters yourself, delegate them to a member of your court, or ignore them completely. The choice is yours.
Secure Alliance with the Wraith Rings - Plan a wedding to Av'ivqix, and negotiate exact terms of an alliance with her father.
Woo Nidavellir - King Alexander is your vassal, but it may be prudent to take some steps to ensure he will not turn on you as soon as his ships are ready.
Reform Feudal System of Muspelheim - Before the war, your father tinkered with the high houses of his world in hopes of improving the economy, earning enemies in the process. Pick up where he left off if you dare.

Personal Focuses: These things will not get done unless you do them yourself.
Train Hammership Combat - You are great, you could become legendary.
Train Melee Combat - You are good, you could become great.
Train Naval Command - You are good, you could become great.
Train Ground Command - You are good, you could become great.
Study Knightly Mysteries - Attempt to learn various magics.
Partake in Knightly Quests - You could earn some renown conducting business for your order around your system.
Carrousing - Attend feasts and parties in attempt to make new friends across the galaxy. Best way to find new marriage prospects.
Befriend (Odinson) - Pick an NPC who is in your court or otherwise avaible to you. Spend some time earning their trust and learning their strengths and weaknesses.
Research - Ask one or several questions about the universe you inhabit, and seek out the answer.

[Tyrant Leviathan]

Breaking code despite being pragmatic is unfavorable in these strong Warrior cultures.

Edit: Then again this could be the same sonuva bitch who electro darted is. So cleave That soniva bitch!

[Superdorf]

Why bother? You're invisible! Just deliver one of those "theoretically lethal" elimination strikes, then go visible so the judges can see. Having done so, wheel on those hoplites and show 'em what for!

[mightymushroom]

No need to be dishonorable toward a fellow Knight, we've no evidence about the dart one way or the other.

[omada]

YAY, another SG from weirdsound

PTW because now it's a bad time for me to take decisions

[Weirdsound]

You decide not to behave dishonorably, and close in on the knight invisible, but with you Soul Sword still set to spar. Your foe activates its soul pulse, but nothing dramatic happens. It is likely your opponent merely boosted their physical and mental attributes even further. This does not concern you. You push the tip of your sword harmlessly into the clueless knight's torso, and deactivate your soul pulse, becoming visible once more. Luckily for you, a judge is paying attention, and declares your foe eliminated.

"Well played, man-king!" He calls out, before turning to leave the fight pit.

You snap your attention back toward the hoplites, just in time to see the male hoplite eliminate Yuri with an arc-spear to the gut! Swabber continues to fight the female target, so you charge back over to engage the male and prevent your friend from facing two-on-one odds.

"Hehehe.... bring it fucker! Bring my glory! For Nidavellir!"

"For Muspelheim!" You answer.

The Hoplite thrusts, and you parry. It is at this point it dawns on you that the rules play to your opponent's advantage. If you were allowed the full force of your Soul Sword, you could cleave right through your opponent's weapon and shield, but in spar mode this is not possible. You are facing a spear with nothing but a sword. The odds are not in your favor. Your soul pulse is now on cooldown. It is unlikely to be ready again in time to help.

Still, you fight valiantly, if not defensively. Now it is your opponent with the reach advantage, and all you can do is parry and dodge. You begin to slow down. You must be losing a noteworthy amount of blood from the dart wound. Just as your strength is about to give out, however, an opening presents itself; Your foe, recognizing your weakness, lets his guard down and throws an aggressive thrust in your direction. When you dodge, an opening presents itself for you to close the distance! You dart in, but the Hoplite lowers his energy shield in time to prevent retribution. But you are in close quarters now. You have a chance. All you need do i-

A massive hand grabs you by the neck. You and the hoplite were so busy fighting one another, that you both failed to notice the 12 foot tall Dreadnaught creeping up. It now holds both yourself and the Hoplite with a single hand each, by the neck, eight feet off the ground!

"YEILD!" It roars, "OR I STRANGLE!"

"Never! For Yggdrasil" Cries the Hoplite, thrusting his spear into the hydration apparatus around the aquatic alien's neck, which allows it to breath while out of the water. A crack appears on the glass device.

"For Yggdrasil!" You agree, throwing your Soul Sword at the cracked glass, causing it to shatter!

The Dreadnaught roars in shock, now unable to breath, and tosses you both into the air! The last thing you hear, before hitting the ground with a sickening 'crack' is the crowd roaring!

---

You wake up in the asteroid's bio-engineer's tent, under heavy guard. You have been out for twelve hours, thus missing the ball, but should now be fully repaired. You drag yourself out of the tent, and meet up with your soldiers, who fill you in on the results of the Melee. The eventual winner was Helga of House Talon, the female Hoplite. The man who threw the dart at you was Drax Engineborn, a lowborn officer from The Breslau's security detachment known for his cunning and uncanny throwing arm. He placed third. Private Vader, one of the soldiers who traveled with you but didn't join your formation during the melee, somehow managed to place sixth, and is taking home a respectable cash prize.

Although you placed outside of the top ten, you have won much acclaim and respect for your epic Soul Sword Duel with Inquisitor Iron-Sides, and for standing up to the Dreadnaught Champion Namor of the Eel Deep (who you are told is actually a distant cousin of yours).

You have also won the respect of Jax of House Talon, the Hoplite you fought against and beat a Dradnaught alongside. The brother of the eventual winner is waiting by your hammership as you prepare to leave.

"That was impressive kid." He says with a slight bow, "You might actually be a king worth following after all."

The Hoplite offers you his hand. After a brief pause for consideration, you shake it. "I look forward to fighting alongside you again."

---

You arrive back aboard the Lindbergh just in time for your training session with Serpentina. Your friend is beaming. You don't even have to ask to know that she won her duel. You humor her, and ask anyway. "Not only did I beat the Fire Temple's top student, I dueled Paladin Ragnar himself and held my own! Afterward, he even let me wield the legendary Flaming Sword of Sutur! Oh! And I recieved my first marriage proposal too!"

"Oh? From whom?"

"Nobody important. Some cute lowborn student at the temple. Still, there is a good chance I end up marrying a lowborn anyway; None of the nobles seem to like me. Definitely not enough to grant me the materlinial marriage that I want. I don't blame them. I'm Kinda a monster," she grins. It is hard to tell if she is proud or insecure about that fact. Still, in spite of her words, you don't doubt that she will soon receive more attractive offers. People know she is your friend, and you don't doubt people will try anything to gain access or influence over the system king, even if that means marrying themselves or their sons off to the mutilated, monstrous, daughter of the most hated man in the Yggdrasil system.

At some point, you should bring up the elephant in the room, your father's plan to wed you to her, and either tell her once and for all that such a union is no longer on the table, or broach the topic of making her your bride. You suppose if you want to resolve the issue without an awkward conversation, you could just arrange to marry somebody else. Either way, she doesn't deserve the uncertainty of her situation, and you feel bad about tormenting her with it.

---

In your chambers you find a formal invitation to the premier of Spike's movie, The Making of a Tyrant. The film is loosely based on the story of the Witch King Loki, and follows the tragic tale of a crippled child who bargains away his soul for supernatural and political power. The premier takes place in the distant Nech System, a cluster of planets in civilized space that is home to film studios that produce for niche ethnic markets. The world the premier is to take place on, Nech-3, is home to one of the largest human populations outside of Odin's six systems. The invitation allows for you to bring up two guests to the premier, if there is anybody outside your family you would like to invite along.

The trip will take you about three days. A half day of warp travel each way, and two days of partying. You are not sure exactly how much actual bonding time with your aunt and uncle you will get should you tag along. Perhaps you might be better suited taking them up on their offer of dinner instead... How do you proceed?

List of Focuses and Court Members. You may swap out Melee Combat Training for another focus now if you wish! You may also delegate Primary and Optional Focuses again at this time!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Court:
Lord Admiral Ivar of the Lindbergh - Unknown Strengths, Unknown Loyalty
Lindbergh Wing Lead Karen of Treeport - Hammership Pilot and Commander of Unknown Skill Level, Unknown Loyalty
Lindbergh Chief Engineer Mimir - Engineer of Unknown Skill Level, Unknown Loyalty
Lindbergh First Officer Kay of New Oslo - Unknown Strengths, Unknown Loyalty
Lord Admiral Vladimir of The Hindenburg - Naval Commander of at least competent Skill Level, Unknown Loyalty
Breslau First Officer Odinson of Odinson - Unknown Strengths, Unknown Loyalty, !!Known to want Serpentina Dead!!
Queen Sister Serpentina of Midguard - Great fighter and intimidating presence. Deeply Loyal.
Lil'Giaus - Great fighter, solid teacher, solid political presence. Deeply Loyal.

Primary Focuses: The Unavoidable Affairs of State. Somebody from your court will step up to fill these roles one way or another.
Capital Ship Repair - (Lord Admiral Ivar + Chief Engineer Mimir) It will take a good deal effort to gather all the parts needed to fully repair the Hindenburg and Breslau.
Support Midguard - (Queen Sister Serpentina + Lord Admiral Vladimir) King Fenrir will likely need a good deal of outside manpower and resources to gain full control of his planet.
Run Muspelheim - (First Officer Kay + Lil'Giaus) Somebody needs to make the final decisions regarding the day to day affairs of your home planet.

Optional Focuses: You can tackle these matters yourself, delegate them to a member of your court, or ignore them completely. The choice is yours.
Secure Alliance with the Wraith Rings - Plan a wedding to Av'ivqix, and negotiate exact terms of an alliance with her father.
Woo Nidavellir - King Alexander is your vassal, but it may be prudent to take some steps to ensure he will not turn on you as soon as his ships are ready.
Reform Feudal System of Muspelheim - Before the war, your father tinkered with the high houses of his world in hopes of improving the economy, earning enemies in the process. Pick up where he left off if you dare.

Personal Focuses: These things will not get done unless you do them yourself.
Train Hammership Combat - You are great, you could become legendary.
Train Melee Combat - You are good, you could become great.
Train Naval Command - You are good, you could become great.
Train Ground Command - You are good, you could become great.
Study Knightly Mysteries - Attempt to learn various magics.
Partake in Knightly Quests - You could earn some renown conducting business for your order around your system.
Carrousing - Attend feasts and parties in attempt to make new friends across the galaxy. Best way to find new marriage prospects.
Befriend (Odinson) - Pick an NPC who is in your court or otherwise avaible to you. Spend some time earning their trust and learning their strengths and weaknesses.
Research - Ask one or several questions about the universe you inhabit, and seek out the answer.

[mightymushroom]

We may be space travellers, but this does not grant us relief from the foolishness of man.

We may be space travelers, but this does not grant us relief from having awkward teenage conversations with our close friend who is also a girl, and our father thought we should get married but that was when we were just a junior heir and there's all sorts of reasons why it's now a bad idea even if we do like her, you know like like, because we don't want to ruin anything but, uh, sometimes we think we might really like, uh, big girls, and we think she's pretty chill but we don't know how she feels at all because it's the one thing between us that we're always afraid to talk about, and oh gods we're rambling, please say something so we can stop....

-----
I think we have to just lay it out that we're not quite sure what to think or what to do about it. How about instead of going in with an expectation of telling her how it's going to be, take a deep breath and give her a chance to respond. Then maybe we can decide together. However it goes, doing so will end this all this waffling.

Av'ivqix is clearly a superior alliance, and Serpentina was at the table to hear that offer. But I'm totally down with doing something impulsive for love, if it's there to be done.

Note to self: a movie loosely based on her father's rise and fall will not be a good first date if Serpentina wants to pursue a relationship.

-----
Oh yeah, I do want to go to the movie; although I expect the film will be dreadful, a King should socialize with more than just soldiers. Maybe take Mimir and Kay? We may have a chance to talk with them a bit during the travel and I'm curious to learn more about those two. Although escorting Kay might inspire romantic rumors, which may not be wholly desirable.

[Tyrant Leviathan]

Yeah Kay and mentor if movie.

Having Loki’s kids there would make things awkward.

I ship Kay, Serpentia, and Crickit lady.

But really buggy for the alliance and wealth of a possible world. As long it is not just your heart.

Serpentia would make one hell of a personal body guard though.

And yeah I like big girls too. Especially kick ass loyal ones.

[Weirdsound]

You decide that you must talk to Serpentina about marriage. Lacking the courage to confront her directly, you instead ask her over breakfast what she thinks about the marriage to Av'ivqix and the alliance with the Cricket People that would come with it. She pauses for a moment "It would be great in the short run. We could use it to bring Midguard to heel with ease, but the ships we get will only last as long as the friendship does. I'm also not sure how I feel about supporting Despot Grunx'riq for the office of Grand Master. I know Twitail's brother. I'd rather see him lead our order."

"So you are against it?" You ask.

"I never said that." She clarifies, "It might be your best option to secure power in this moment. I'm saying that if you can find a way to deal with Midgaurd and Alexander without his help, you could find a marriage that offers better long terms prospects. Hell, you might gain more in the long run from marrying me, and the only family I have is already aligned with you."

You blink. Her words are intriguing, and perhaps a bit encouraging. "How so?" You ask.

"Suppose you were somehow able to convince me to give up my dream of a materlinial marriage, and become your wife in a traditional union. My brother cares less for the family name than I do. It wouldn't be too hard to convince him to avoid having heirs of his own; Find somebody for him to marry materlinially, or have him take a vow of chasity and become a Paladin. Whatever." She smirks. "Our children would have direct rule over two planets. At least two planets."

"At least?"

Serpentina flashes you the sort of wicked grin that reminds you that your friend has one hell of a dark side. "King Alexander is old. You saw to it that he has no sons. We have his two daughters locked up. If something were to happen to him, the crown of Nidavellir would face a succession crisis. As overlord of said crown, you would have as much a claim to it as anyone..."

You leave the meal convinced that Serpentina is either far more ambitious than you had anticipated, or actually in love with you. She would not give up her hope of marrying Materlinially and continuing the line of House Seljuk for nothing. Unlike her brother, who has gone to great lengths to distance himself from The Witch King and his family, Serpentina is proud of her heritage, and thinks that her father's greatest sin was practicing magic without the supervision and aid of the Void Knights, and that he must have somehow accidentally sacrificed his soul and sanity to his craft because of this. Unlike most human highborns, she rejects the worship of Odin and follows her family's ancestral faith; The Cult of the 12 Witches. You know her faith is genuine; She started practicing the sacrament of self disfigurement at age seven. Most witches simply cut themselves with a razor on an inconspicuous part of their body; Serpentina seared her face with the flat of her soul sword, and plucked out her own eye.

That Serpentina suggested that she might be willing to swallow her pride and marry into another family means something significant.

---

Several days later, you set off for Nech-3 with Kay, Mimir, Odinson, and his family. Your party travels in an old Longboat from the Odinson house sky level that had been recently retired and retrofitted to transport nobility in the lap of luxury. During the journey you have some time to get to know everybody a little better.

Mimir is not a man of many words. When you press him, however, he pulls out a locket engraved with the emblem of your house. Inside is a picture of two young men, your father and himself. "I was his squire pilot," he explained, "I maintained his hammership, and controlled it during long, boring, flights. Your father wasn't like you. In the thirty years I served him, he used his hammership perhaps seven times, so mostly I was just paid to be his companion. Sometimes he would call on me to fix something for him, or advise him on a technical matter, but for the most part we just drank together."

If they were so close, you wonder, why did your father assign him to The Lindbergh rather than The Breslau. Perhaps they had a falling out. You decide not to ask.

Kay is far more chatty than Mimir. She strikes you as obsessed with nobility and statescraft, to the point where you wonder if there is a notable family on Muspelheim that she couldn't speak to the history, strengths, weaknesses, and ambitions of. Unlike Serpentina, who speaks vaguely and romantically of various crushes, Kay speaks explicitly of sexual conquests, including men, women, and aliens. This makes you a bit uncomfortable. "Are not people of our station supposed to be more discrete and modest about such things?" You ask.

The young woman laughs. "My father hired bio-engineers to design each of his children from the ground up. I'm the 8th born to his fourth wife, built to be a master of intrigue and statecraft. Sex is an important tool for the spy or the diplomat. I was intended to be a tool, not an heir. If I do something scandalous, and get caught, the loss of my honor means little to my family."

You pause. More than a bit taken aback. "Oh... I thought your father cared about you. That he stepped aside so that you could join my court, and he'd have a shot at winning his daughter a royal match."

Kay laughs. "Yeah. He saw an opportunity. My current mission is, in fact, to seduce you."

"W...why are you telling me this?"

"So that when I succeed, you'll know that I can be more than a pretty face and a warm body. I'm designed to get people to give me what I want, and you would be wise to use that to your advantage."

You decide to leave Kay alone after that. By the allfather, life was more simple when you were living in a temple, eating rice and scrubbing floors in exchange for soul sword lessons.

You seek refuge and sanity in Odinson's family, but find none. Your Aunt Asla seems to know what you are after, and is not receptive. She refuses to look you in the eye, and gives an unpromted speech about how the act of murder can stain an entire bloodline, and regularly comments about how your life would be so much better had your mother lived to raise you, and that to forgive or forget her loss is to dishonor her memory. Odinson and his sons all look horrified, but seem powerless to rebuke the matriarch. You begin to feel that the first officer of the Breslau is more a henpecked husband than he is a true and independent threat to your friends. You wonder if his wife has enough pull outside of her family to do them harm. You are not sure what can be done about her, she is your aunt, and kinslaying would be quite a notorious way to begin your reign as system king.

---

You attract much attention upon your arrival on Hetch-3. Local humans line the streets. Some know you as the latest member of their species to rule the entire of one of Odin's systems. Others know you as kin to their local hero, the filmmaker Spike. You drive from the spaceport to the hotel in an open-top hoverlimo, and the onlookers are so numerous and intent on blocking the street that the five mile journey takes nearly three hours. You wind up shaking many hands and kissing many babies as your vehicle crawls through the streets of New Oslo, a city populated prominently by your kind.

The trip through the streets takes so long that by the time you reach your hotel, it is already time for the movie, so instead of relaxing in your room for a bit, you head straight out back to the pavilion tent, where the premier is taking place. In spite of subject matter, you find yourself enjoying the film. Spike is a great director; From what you understand, he could be a galaxy-wide household name if he were to just stop casting humans in lead roles and make films about characters who belong to more influential species. You find yourself both loving, hating, and feeling sorry for Prince Rooki, the protagonist and obvious stand-in for the Witch King Loki.

There is an after party following the premier, but you prove a bit unwise, and drink a bit too much to socialize in a productive fashion there. You wake up the next morning, summon a bio-engineer to tackle your hangover, and begin to make plans for the day. How will you spend your second and final day on Hetch-3?

Choose One:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Socialize with your sister-in-law's family: Although your brother Berlin the Elder did not make it out to see his father-in-law's movie premier, his wife Princess drew did, bringing her bastard daughter Brigit and your trueborn nephew Hans along. Little Hans could be a pretender to your throne someday, so it might be in your best interest to befriend him and his mother.
Socialize with the Odinson Family: The main reason you planned this trip was the meet with your Aunt Asla and attempt to diffuse her hatred for the twins. You now realize this might be a tall order. Perhaps the confrontation will play out better here in a nice hotel than it would on a long shipride home.
Socialize with Kay: The girl was honorable enough to give fair warning that she means to seduce you. It would be only sporting to give her fair chance to try, right? A trip with her to one of Hetch-3's many cinemas followed by a nice dinner at the hotel restraunt would be the honorable thing to do, right?
Socialize with Mimir: The old engineer may not speak much, but is an important member of your court, and was a close friend of your father's. Perhaps you could see what he is up to today...
Hit the Streets: The common people of Hetch-3 seem to love you. Going out of your way to spend time with them may raise your profile within civilized space.
Rub Elbows: Hetch-3 might not be the most impressive world, but it is still part of civilized space. There are likely beings of great wealth and power staying in the same hotel as you. Who knows who or what you might meet if you hang around the hotel bar and ask about private events you might crash...

If you do not confront your aunt today, you will likely have to do it on the flight home tomorrow. Either way, you should consider how you might want to approach her about the twins, if at all.

List of Focuses and Court Members. You may swap out Melee Combat Training for another focus now if you wish... But the change will not kick in until you return from your trip! Otherwise you may not change focuses or delegate at this time.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Court:
Lord Admiral Ivar of the Lindbergh - Unknown Strengths, Unknown Loyalty
Lindbergh Wing Lead Karen of Treeport - Hammership Pilot and Commander of Unknown Skill Level, Unknown Loyalty
Lindbergh Chief Engineer Mimir - Engineer of Unknown Skill Level, Unknown Loyalty
Lindbergh First Officer Kay of New Oslo - Unknown Strengths, Unknown Loyalty
Lord Admiral Vladimir of The Hindenburg - Naval Commander of at least competent Skill Level, Unknown Loyalty
Breslau First Officer Odinson of Odinson - Unknown Strengths, Unknown Loyalty, !!Known to want Serpentina Dead!!
Queen Sister Serpentina of Midguard - Great fighter and intimidating presence. Deeply Loyal.
Lil'Giaus - Great fighter, solid teacher, solid political presence. Deeply Loyal.

Primary Focuses: The Unavoidable Affairs of State. Somebody from your court will step up to fill these roles one way or another.
Capital Ship Repair - (Lord Admiral Ivar + Chief Engineer Mimir) It will take a good deal effort to gather all the parts needed to fully repair the Hindenburg and Breslau.
Support Midguard - (Queen Sister Serpentina + Lord Admiral Vladimir) King Fenrir will likely need a good deal of outside manpower and resources to gain full control of his planet.
Run Muspelheim - (First Officer Kay + Lil'Giaus) Somebody needs to make the final decisions regarding the day to day affairs of your home planet.

Optional Focuses: You can tackle these matters yourself, delegate them to a member of your court, or ignore them completely. The choice is yours.
Secure Alliance with the Wraith Rings - Plan a wedding to Av'ivqix, and negotiate exact terms of an alliance with her father.
Woo Nidavellir - King Alexander is your vassal, but it may be prudent to take some steps to ensure he will not turn on you as soon as his ships are ready.
Reform Feudal System of Muspelheim - Before the war, your father tinkered with the high houses of his world in hopes of improving the economy, earning enemies in the process. Pick up where he left off if you dare.

Personal Focuses: These things will not get done unless you do them yourself.
Train Hammership Combat - You are great, you could become legendary.
Train Melee Combat - You are good, you could become great.
Train Naval Command - You are good, you could become great.
Train Ground Command - You are good, you could become great.
Study Knightly Mysteries - Attempt to learn various magics.
Partake in Knightly Quests - You could earn some renown conducting business for your order around your system.
Carrousing - Attend feasts and parties in attempt to make new friends across the galaxy. Best way to find new marriage prospects.
Befriend (Odinson) - Pick an NPC who is in your court or otherwise avaible to you. Spend some time earning their trust and learning their strengths and weaknesses.
Research - Ask one or several questions about the universe you inhabit, and seek out the answer.