eswareinmal | (no subject)

Where: The Old Capital
When: GHB 16 & 17
What: As foretold when the Kingdom was in deepest peril, the mythic sword of Rubilacxe has once again appeared in the Old Capital! Embedded deeply in a large stone set in the middle of the fountain in the town square, the mythical sword waits for the bravest of heroes to pull it free!

... well. Not just heroes. Looks like everyone's having a go trying to pull that thing out! It seems the locals of the Old Capital are making a tourist's spectacle of the whole deal. While there was a debate if they should charge people to try, it seems instead they've raised the prices on meals and rooms, and children (and some adults) can be found all over selling small cheep wooden carvings that may or may not look like the sword in the stone and other cheep souvenirs.

Well. That's the old capital for you! Lucky that you've gotten to use the king's fastest horses to get there unnaturally swiftly so you won't have to stay the night.

So, what'll it be, hero?

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Liara was patient. It was an Asari trait, something that had served them well for thousands of years. For someone a hundred years old who would probably live to see at least nine more centuries, a few minutes in a line wasn't something to get upset over. It was not the wait that began to drag on Liara, though, as she watched the people push and shove and try to get a few steps closer to the sword.

It was that she realized that every single one of these people were treating this like a fair, wondering who'd be the lucky one to pull out the sword, because that was all anyone cared about. No one seemed to have given even a moment's thought to what they might have to do once they pulled the sword out...just so long as they got to be the ones to do it.

When it came to her than not a single person in the line ahead of her had done anything before their King kidnapped a couple dozen people to do it all for them, she lost her temper. A little bit. Blue light flared around her, and with a practiced throw, she sent a ball of what looked like blue fire arcing into the air, over the heads of the crowd. Some fifteen feet or so above the fountain, it stopped, hanging in mid-air. However impressive that was, Liara was even more fortunate. A flock of songbirds, which had been sitting on a roof overlooking the square, took wing at the sight. And the singularity caught ten or so, pull them in around it, floating helplessly in the air as they struggled against a force no one could see.

Ignoring the line, Liara started towards the fountain, still wreathed in the blue light.

The crowds pulled back, hushed whispers echoing around as she approached.

The sword itself almost seemed to hum in a way that was undetectable as she drew near. There was something odd about it, about the whole set up. Something was watching. Waiting. Judging. The sword itself seemed out of place. A trap, perhaps? Or a challenge...?

She didn't immediately grab the sword, though she paused and looked at it for a moment before turning back to the crowd. She met the eyes of anyone she could, especially people close to the front. But until she heard the singularity above her fail with a little whumph she didn't speak.

"This is all some kind of game to you, isn't it?" She didn't speak loudly, and chances were that people in the back couldn't hear a word she said. It didn't matter. "Your entire kingdom stands on the brink of disaster. Not one of you have stepped forward to do a thing about it, either. Can anyone tell me the name of even one village the thorns have swallowed? No? The name of one family who has lost their home?" She shook her head in disgust. "What would you even do with the sword if you pulled it free?"

She turned to the sword, and looked it over again, ignoring any responses. For a moment, she considered walking away; she had good reasons to walk away. But Liara wasn't very good at turning away from problems, not really.

So she wrapped her hand around the sword, and took a breath. Then she pulled.

There was a shift around her, the town fading to grey mist around her, leaving only the sword and the stone it was so deeply embedded into.

Though that wasn't entirely true. Within the fog was a presence, similar to the one in the sword that seemed to be holding tight to her hand, gripping her in return.

'What do you with with this sword....?'

The voice seemed to echo in the nothingness, coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

Liara looked around, betraying little shock at the change. She took a slow breath, and then offered the mist a somewhat wry smile. "To be perfectly honest, I don't know the first thing about using a sword." She didn't let go, however, and settled for rubbing her neck.

"But I know I can't let any of those people have it. At best, they'd get themselves killed." She looked at the sword and frowned. "Besides, if I can't get my hands on a pistol, this is the next best thing. I'm sure I can pick up the basics."

There was a feeling of amusement that seemed to ripple through the fog. 'You believe that those around you are without worth.'

Liara stops herself from giving an automatic denial and considers the question. After a moment, she shook her head. "No, that is not true. But they aren't fighters. Sometimes, they're barely people. Something is wrong with this whole kingdom." She tightened her grip on the sword. "If any one of them had pulled this sword free, nothing would have changed, not really. I have no doubt of that. All that would have happened would have been making whoever took the sword a target."

Her free hand closed into a fist. "Yesterday, I would have said I would leave all of this behind just to get back home, but now...I'm not it would be wise to leave this unfinished." Because the more she learns about the whole situation, the more it sounds like the Reapers, or Leviathan, or something similar is involved, and that is not a good thing. "So I intend to stop the thorns. And whatever power it is controlling them. And if it comes down to it, the power affecting all of these people, as well."

'You believe this sword has worth enough that others would seek to harm those who hold it.'

Sh considered the object in question, and then closed her eyes. "These people are ineffective, but not wholly incompetent. I....believe that it is important. I do not know why, but yes, I believe that holding the sword is likely to put whoever has it into greater danger. This is a war, and this sword is a symbol to one side. Even if it was only a normal sword, that fact alone makes it a target."

She opened her eyes. "And I already intend to make myself a target, with or without this sword."

There was a long quiet as the smoke shifted around her before the voice finally spoke.

'If a sword is what you wish, know that change comes from within and accept it.'

Liara set her shoulders. "If you think making it my responsibility is going to scare me off, you have no idea who, or what, I am." And then she pulled upon the sword again.

There was a well of light that began to well up out of the stone as the sword moved, one that grew stronger until it obscured everything.

When it faded, she was back in the town square, sword firmly in hand and a strange feeling within her.

She took a slow breath as the city appeared around her, and she took a moment to study the sword. It seemed well made, at least, even if she still wasn't sure what to do with it. Still, she was no stranger to big changes, so as she turned towards the square and everyone in it, she lifted the sword high, so that everyone would be able to see it.

She let it be for just a moment, taking a breath, watching reactions. After a few moments, she lowered it a bit, and then placed it before her like a cane, not leaning on it but holding it in front of her, tip to the ground, between her and the crowd. She met eyes, looking from person to person.

"I chose to fight," she said. "This is a war, and war is what I shall bring to the thorns, and to anyone and anything that aid them. Today, you can pretend there is no war here, it belongs to other people, other places. But I am the Blue Sage of Thessia, brought here for my wisdom as well as my ability to fight, and I will tell you this one time: The War i going to find you, and I give you one chance, today, to be ready for its coming."

A moment more, and then she stared through the crowd, heading for the inn and her room.

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And I'm picturing her doing a "Bitch please," walk as well... :D

It's what Asari do~

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You have acquired: 1 sword of Rubilacxe. Class change complete!

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