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This is Act 3 of the 4 piece End of the Year post. Most of this is written in a somewhat hurry due to the holidays and cramming it all out before the end of the year. I hope everyone will enjoy reading it all, or interacting with it all in roleplay, whether they signed up or not.
Cecily Lo marched towards the Grand Edouard estate, supported by Quinn Delaney and Edahn Drazras and Atilio Amaya in chains behind them. The riots hadn't started in this part of the city yet because the Grand Edouard was positioned in the Guard district, a fairly abandoned park district. Cecily removed the chains from Atilio while reminding him of the deal they had struck with Andrea Anahera, Atilio was required to safely grant entry to Cecily and her supporters to the inner offices of the Grand Edouard, allowing them to ransack the office before letting Atilio go. With Atilio now in front of them, the group passed the guard checkpoints and the various groups of Anahera mercenaries. Atilio could have turned around at any time and turned on them, but he himself knew what was happening elsewhere in the city and how this was likely going to end. This was what Cecily was gambling on, and it was a correct gamble. Atilio brought them all the way into the west wing before unlocking the door to Andrieu's private offices. Cecily and the others rushed in while he closed the door behind them. Cecily started utterly ransacking the place while Quinn lit a fire in the fireplace. Edahn grabbed a basket which he extended to Cecily. Cecily then started singing a haunting Dorinnian song as she picked up stacks of paper and graciously tossed them into the bin which Edahn then proceeded to empty into the fire. She started dancing, swaying her arms back and forth with elaborate pirouettes and flourishes as she imagined the music in her head. This dance and the burning of these papers were like liberation and the worry just melting away. All these papers that were written by Andrieu and Alejandro. All the misery this family had caused her. And she was just destroying them all. Quinn nervously paced past the windows glancing outside as if expecting the mob to show up any moment and indiscriminately kill them for being inside Andrieu's private residence, but they never came.
Cecily wiped away the sweat from her brow with one final dance move, before tossing the last stack of papers into the fire and letting out a deep sigh of relief. Edahn grabbed a couple of Andrieu's stamps before handing them to Cecily "We can use some of these to fabricate whatever you want Andrieu to say about or to you. That way you can make it look like you had no choice in the matter." Cecily grabbed the stamps, putting them in her pocket before waving at Quinn. Quinn tossed the bag on his bag onto the floor while Atilio opened a front window. Out from the bag flowed a massive Silken Kade flag which they hung from the window. With the sounds of the confusion of the guards outside brewing, the group moved towards the backdoor in the office to the escape route that Andrieu had once showed Atilio. The group safely made it out of the estate without as much as a fight. Atilio then turned to Cecily as he said "A deal is a deal". Cecily then turned to him as she replied "A deal is a deal as long as I don't reconsider". Atilio nodded and quickly took that as his cue to leave, rushing towards where most of the fighting was to improvise some way to save himself from the execution block. Cecily and her companions paced in a different direction towards the yacht harbor intent on grabbing a pleasure boat and just sailing away from Regalia until the dust settled. They did so with an uncanny cheery attitude, Cecily whistling as Quinn released the boat and rowed it away with Edahn. Now was a time of enjoyment for Cecily, every little piece of evidence or dirt the Anahera family had on her was now gone, burned in that fireplace. More struggles would undoubtedly come later when her niece would come to reclaim what was now hers.
Meanwhile over at the Violet Castle, two long rows of soldiers faced off in silence. On one end of the street stood William Coen and Christopher Black side by side, supported by Edward Dertycia, Theodore Artiemus, Bjorn Nelcor, Maxime Ardor, High Kearney, Rei Kanter, Benjamin Rendon and Ludvig Karos. Above from a cell window Wolfryk Kundimal was yelling obscenities from a window in dwarven that none could hear, because he somehow managed to get himself imprisoned right before the day that this all would occur. On the other side was the new Lord Commander Hector with all the guards loyal to him. A moment of silence filled the square as both sides were mentally preparing for battle, though neither particularly ready to jump at the prospect of fighting one another. Similarly to the assault on the Armory, a melon rolled by with a floppy fluffy tail slapping about and some high pitched noises from inside. Unlike with the armory assault however, these soldiers were all disciplined and not distracted by this bundle of mystery rolling about.
Elsewhere in the city, the cannonballs flying from the Anahera ships started arching over the wall, hitting various houses. One such house hit was the one where Lorea Anahera was imprisoned in. The cannonball crashed through the wall and into her cage, only just slamming the door open to allow her to get out. With some faint coughs she freed herself from the rubble, standing up in the ruin around her that somehow didn't crush her. Maybe it's because the cannons thought she was cute. She raised her hands in the sky as she closed her eyes. Free at last. Dios Mio. But not really. As she tried to lower her hands, they were clasped by chains. When she turned around, she stood face to face with Tristan Kade who bellowed at her "You're under arrest for treason Anahera!". Lorea just took it with a stone face. "I guess this is what life is like for me now. I hope brown compliments my lipstick well, maybe I can beg the Lord Commander for a nicer color of blue or green dress in prison". Lorea was forming some intense internal monologue which completely distracted her from being hoisted onto a cart and being carted to prison while they stripped her of her clothes to humiliate her. It unfortunately also distracted her when the cart crashed when the driver was shot, launching her into a nearby pantry belonging to a baker with a large puff of flour escaping the windows.
With a cloud of white dust visible in the distance, William raised his sword into the sky before yelling a Regalian battle cry, charging forward with everyone. Hector did the same and both sides crashed into one another. At some point the battle became so disorganized it became difficult to distinguish friend from foe. Both sides certainly cut down some of their own, but it didn't matter. For William, restoring the honor of the guard was paramount. For Hector, not dying was paramount. Edward Dertycia had meanwhile commandeered a horse from a crashed wagon down the road and started charging down the square, slashing his sword at people left and right. He picked up Christopher Black on the back of his horse and before rearing the horse, charged forward, the two of them fighting corrupt guards around them. Theodore Artiemus and Bjorn Nelcor skillfully maneuvered towards the gatehouse and defeated the men inside, allowing them to keep the gate open and prevent a retreat by the corrupt guards into the castle. Heng Lu and Hana Elliot had meanwhile managed to infiltrate the Violet Castle. With Heng Lu's beguiling Slizzar charms, the two had managed to entice a guard to let them in through a side gate and snuck their way to the roof. Once on the roof, Hana had locked the door behind them and Heng had disabled the trebuchet loading mechanisms. With the food primarily secured, the two would reach the highest tower and start using flags to signal the citizens below about the situation in the square. The worst of the fighting occurred in the square in front of the Violet Castle as hundreds of guards faced off in full armor.
Maxime Ardor and High Kearney were pushed into a corner when Rei Kanter and Benjamin Rendon quickly came to their rescue. The four of them formed a quartet, each taking one of the wind directions and fighting like a well oiled machine, even though they were complete strangers to one another. The fight for the city made cooperating easier, that single goal in mind of defeating Andrieu made all other reservations a forgotten thing in the back of their minds. The clouds had hidden the sun for a while now, creating the dreary gray sky that was familiar in Regalia's wintery period. Yet a single spot in the clouds broke, allowing a single ray of sunlight down to the ground. William's head was hazy, another guard hit him over the head with a sword, and while softened by a helmet, he had a wound that bled into his eyes, making his vision blurry. His gaze shifted between the guards fighting to something of a dream that dashed across the street. It was almost as if time slowed down as this magnificently beautiful creature ran, yet graciously almost floated down the street. It was a woman with a beautifully elegant body, wrapped in fine silvery silky linens, draping in the wind with her pale white skin and her crimson red curly hair dancing after like little fairies in the fire. This enchanting being rushed along with that single ray of sunlight hitting her, illuminating her like some goddess. She ran elegantly like she was fleeing from something, but her pace was gentle enough to be almost playful and naive. William was enchanted by this beauty, but quickly smashed back into reality when a guard crashed into him and knocked him to the ground. He struggled with the guard before Rei Kanter stabbed the guard from behind while yelling "Keep up the good work Lord Commander!". William got back up to his feet and looked down the street to see if this goddess was still there, but she was long gone. Thinking nothing more of it but a hallucination from whatever Andrieu put in his food while he was imprisoned he climbed the nearby burning pyre that had served to execute the Lampero's not day before where he shouted orders at the guards below, half trying to reason with those resisting his authority to lay down their arms and surrender.
His speech was cut short by Hector who jumped onto the Pyre also and drew his sword on him. Hector and William faced off against one another on top of this pyre to secure control over the city guard. Whichever won could clearly crush the morale of the other side and secure a quick victory. The fight was intense and would last a while, enough time for Ludvig Kardos to rush up to the prisons. He grabbed the prison keys from a dead guard and started unlocking all the cells, starting with Wolfryk Kundimal. Most of the cells were filled with Coen supporter guards who had refused to work for Hector, the prison was inefficient as the corrupt guards had barely even arrested any criminals. Ludvig just assumed all of the prisoners were unjustly imprisoned and let them all out as they vowed to support the rebellion against the Anahera. With Wolfryk in front with a makeshift axe, those who wished to fight sallied forth from the castle to assist William who was still locked in combat with Hector. Ludvig Kardos meanwhile rushed to the offices upstairs where he secured the paperwork, ensuring none of the corrupt guards could destroy the evidence that would prove who had committed what crime and abused what law. Should Ludvig however choose to burn them or steal a few to blackmail others, that choice was completely up to him.
Hector gained the upper hand in the fight as he slashed William's sword from his hand, leaving William only with his shield. For a couple of minutes, William dodged and deflected his hits before having been imprisoned for weeks took its toll and he was losing stamina. Christopher Black was the saving grace William was waiting for when he tossed a sword from below up to the Pyre, william grabbing it in mid flight and using it with one fell strike to decapitate Hector. As Hector's head rolled to the ground, the fighting in the courtyard abruptly stopped. Corrupt guards all tossed their weapons to the grounds and raised their hands. Yet not all of their faces were marred with evil and envy. Some of them cried, and William could see the misery in their eyes. Not all of them served Hector for their own pleasure and greed. Some of them saw a way out of their family's poverty, some of them were forced to do it so as to not risk their children for Hector's wrath. The men that lay dead and bleeding out on the ground weren't all enemies, many of them were simply a victim of circumstance, and William became acutely aware of this. The Violet Castle was secured for the rebels, but there was no cheering, no joy. A single solitary fireworks arrow flew up in the sky signalling their victory, but it was only a victory in name.
Some Anahera soldiers were meanwhile using the relative calm of the Guard district to move carts from the Imperial treasury to Anahera ships which were ready to sail down the Crown River and ferry the gold away from the capital. The gold was clearly not even owned by the Anahera family, all the golden bars has the Dragon sigil on them, cast with Kade fortunes and stored in Kade banks which were all plundered by the Anahera Protectorate when the Kades revolted in Anglia. It was in fact not that Andrieu paid for the food which he bought from Dorminn from his own pocket, but with the money he illegally confiscated from the other families. Ryland, Christopher and Stephan Valor were tipped off to its location by Cecily Lo. The three kin and their friend Tsura Serghelia made their way to the crossroad on the Blue Orchid road, awaiting in ambush. As the first cart approached, Ryland jumped out scaring the horses while Christopher blocked the escape. Stephan Valor jumped onto the wagon and disposed of the guard who just pulled their swords. They then called for Tsura Serghelia to secure the wagon and lead it back to their hidden storage behind a set of willow trees at the end of the park. As the cleaned up the area, the second and third cart came rolling in, and the same procedure was repeated. This time however the Anahera soldiers surrendered to the attack, not willing to lose their lives over some gold that wouldn't even be theirs. The Valors let the soldiers go after disarming them before calling upon Tsura once more to ferry the carts to a safe place. As the three Valors returned to their hide-out they made sure it was not visible to anyone outside and covered the wagons in tree branches. The three of them started discussing what to do with the golds. It became immediately obvious that between the three carts, there was more than three times their own weight in gold at their fingertips. Millions of Regals of pure gold pressed with Kade sigils was ripe for the plucking. Should they take it all? Should they take some of it? Or would they return it all to whatever owner they deemed appropriate? Only time would tell what the Valors would decide upon.
Theresa quickly approached the main shopping street. Most of the shops were closed though the streets were littered with the needy people. Theresa bent over to Camila as she whispered: "Every act we take now will determine our fate. We are in a race against the clock my dear, and we must appear everything your uncle was not. We have the ability to save ourselves, but you must do exactly as I tell you to". Camila nodded as Theresa inched her forward, handing her bandages that Bethany Fong had just given her to tend to the wounded. Astrid herself had armed herself with a bow that she found, keeping guard of this street that was relatively calm. In the distance she could see Herr Tripelbaum's pastry store burning out, while on the right Madame Tuverois's finery silk store's windows were smashed and the Ithanian dresses draped torn from the windows. She used to go there looking for dresses with her mother when she was just a child, but she was a child no longer. Was this the violent world of politics Cedric had warned her for? Surely he couldn't know everything would have happened this quickly? Surely this wasn't normal? A whole host of questions raced through her mind, a young and unspoiled mind just fresh in the world of politics. While Astrid stood sunken in thought, Bethany Fong called forth various hordes of midwives and servants from seemingly nowhere, continuing the Fong legacy of seemingly producing supporters out of nowhere. The whole host of them descended upon the wounded and started taking care of them while Bethany made it adequately known to those present who was granting them this free assistance in their time of need. Theresa spectated it all with a frown. She knew this woman and she had been imprisoned together, enduring her monster of a son's hardships, but this had turned into competition very quickly. For a moment Bethany's eyes locked with Theresa, and there was that twinkle of understanding. Theresa knew that Bethany knew, and Bethany knew very well what Theresa felt. Even in these trying times of chaos and rebellion, the Court never ceased to watch and every move and action we take is one closer to our destiny. Even on the battlefield. There is no rest from Politics.
Theresa sprang up and into action. A plan suddenly formed in her mind. She grabbed Camila by the arm tugging her along. Camila was in the middle of bandaging one of the wounded women on the pavement as she yelped "Wait Grandmoth-". Theresa quickly cut her off as she exclaimed "Come dear, we must hurry and find Amaya". With Theresa and Camila disappearing off in the distance, Bethany smiled, having taken the forefront of caretaking of the people. Astrid was still sunken in thought, oblivious to the disappearance of the others, until she was snapped back into the here and now by Anahera soldiers approaching. Some women screamed in fear of reprisals, even Bethany inched backwards. Astrid looked around to see if there were any Kade loyalists around, but there weren't. She was the only one who was armed. The only one who could do something. Would Cedric approve of this? Would Philip? Did Cedric and Jared teach her enough to give her the skills to act? She raised her bow, taking aim as the Anahera soldiers laughed at her, expecting the sheltered child to just put up a show. With a resolute pull, she let go of the bow, sending the first arrow flying straight into the chest of the fat soldier in the middle. He immediately dropped dead while the others looked at him in shock before looking back at her and drawing their swords. This was really going to happen now, there was no escape. Astrid was really in a fight now, mind to zero and focus on the here and now. She strung more arrows letting them fly one by one. Her relative distance to the soldiers gave her an advantage and they dropped down one by one until the last two just fled, certain they would die otherwise. When the situation was over and the wounded women and children around her crawled to her feet to thank her, she lowered her bow. She just killed four men. She just really killed four men who were going to hurt her and these women and children. Would they have hurt Philip or Cedric? Only time would tell how the young Lady of Dorinn would take this first killing as a baptism of justice or a baptism of the same fire that consumed her mother.
Even the Ithanians assisted in the riot, though in a relatively creative way. Greaton Pileran and Olivia Pileran had gathered with Piero di Orazio to organize the resistance in the Ithanian district. Their first objective was to create a safe haven, their second to secure the harbor. Olivia organized the local nobility in gathering what statues they had to build a wall in front of the gateways into the district. Graeton helped arm the Ithanian men with makeshift weapons to secure said barricades while Piero di Orazio secured the pleasure yachts. At the head of the first ship, he maneuvered many of them into place to form a chain across the crown river of small yachts and ships to prevent any movement in or out of said river. Any Anahera supply ships would fail to secure a way out, thus trapping any attempts from the Protectorate to flee the city and continue the fight elsewhere. Piero and Graeton had theorized that the best way to sever the Anahera blister from Regalia was to defeat it here and now and not let a single drop escape to other waters. When the district was secured, Olivia let off a fireworks rocket to signal their safety. With a touch of melancholy, she organized a tea soiree in the backyard of the Burrois-Delize estate, as the Ithanians tried very hard to pretend that there wasn't a rebellion going on. Amidst the sounds of the cannonfire in the harbor and the fighting beyond their barricades, the Ithanian women dined and drank tea. Because even if the rest of the world could not, Ithanians would always uphold their class and finesse as an example to the world. And Olivia meant to be that example in Regalia, because she knew the new Duchess of Pays Sud was just a figurehead under the control of the Syndics. But the fact that she had a Pileran surname made her a viable candidate for eventual replacement.
The biggest challenge for the Regalian rebellion was the ships that had just sailed into port. 24 or so Qadir Dhows arrived bearing troops that flooded into the harbor, undoing Fiora Cerdici's hard work in trying to secure the harbor. Elise Ceadon tried very hard to help as many citizens out of the harbor district as she could, supporting the wounded with a shoulder and the children with a hand. She saw Fiora and Leopold Ceadon signal that they would continue to hide in the tower and not to worry about them. In that moment though, Elise decided that she wasn't just going to run away from this battle. With the assistance of a few brave men, she stormed to the gateway tower on the far end of the harbor, all the while avoiding being seen by the Qadir now unloading onto the docks. They finally reached the tower where Rerik Ulster sat on the stairs smoking a pipe of Tabacca. He casually greeted them as they drew closer, eventually joining them into the tower itself. Elise had only heard of this tower's function in street legend, but it was worth a shot to activate the dock guard. She lit a small fire on the tower's rear end which set ablaze a trail of oil all the way to the top. At the top, she heard a soft "poof" followed by an explosion that shook the tower. She ran to the window on other end to watch what would happen next and amazed she was indeed as she yelled from the top of her lungs "By the Emperor it actually works, it actually works!". The explosion blew away part of the stonework on top of the tower which detached a very large statue that was stuck against the tower. As the statue crashed down, the weight of the stone acted as a counter weight that pulled a massive chain which had links as large as small cabins. The chain pulled up, the ear deafening sound of metal and stonework grinding became audible as the chain visible rose from the water. It raised up to such a height that it was now on the same level as the ships, making escaping impossible. The Qadir seemed not to mind, but perhaps they should have given what happened next.
When the Qadir were still unloading, that same Maiar that had been instructing the people around the Harbor to assist in various ways appeared, blowing a Ch'ien-ji flute to signal their arrival. The Fong family was well aware of this army approaching Regalia so they came well prepared. Hidden from among the walls suddenly appeared the Yumai Archers and down on the ground appeared the Dragon Fire mages. In concert with one another, they provided the usual opening chant for the Rim Isle troops before Dr. Fong without a first name appeared on the far tower of the gatehouse. Raising his cane in the air he exclaimed "Let's go find our dear lady Bethany after taking care of these rude intruders". With that statement made, the Ch'ien-ji soldiers of the Rim Isles unleashed a flurry of magic and fire on the Qadir which were still unloading of which there was no pause or mercy. Qadir which were on fire jumped into the ocean both to get away from the arrows and to douse the flames, only to be attacked by marauding Maiar in the water. There was literally nowhere to hide, and the ships that tried to get away crashed into the massive chain that Elise had raised. Dr. Fong now turned around confident that his soldiers would solve the immediate problem here. Now came the next problem, finding dear Bethany. His eyes squinted a bit further than they normally did as he scanned the horizon before he noticed a small piece of fireworks, rotating on a wind hose near the Tavern. He cracked a smile and stepped a merry pace down to the Tavern with a jolly whistling tune. He knew she was alright. And he knew where she was. Everything was going to be alright. Perhaps not as much for the Anahera's though, as the net was quickly closing in on Andrieu.
Cecily Lo marched towards the Grand Edouard estate, supported by Quinn Delaney and Edahn Drazras and Atilio Amaya in chains behind them. The riots hadn't started in this part of the city yet because the Grand Edouard was positioned in the Guard district, a fairly abandoned park district. Cecily removed the chains from Atilio while reminding him of the deal they had struck with Andrea Anahera, Atilio was required to safely grant entry to Cecily and her supporters to the inner offices of the Grand Edouard, allowing them to ransack the office before letting Atilio go. With Atilio now in front of them, the group passed the guard checkpoints and the various groups of Anahera mercenaries. Atilio could have turned around at any time and turned on them, but he himself knew what was happening elsewhere in the city and how this was likely going to end. This was what Cecily was gambling on, and it was a correct gamble. Atilio brought them all the way into the west wing before unlocking the door to Andrieu's private offices. Cecily and the others rushed in while he closed the door behind them. Cecily started utterly ransacking the place while Quinn lit a fire in the fireplace. Edahn grabbed a basket which he extended to Cecily. Cecily then started singing a haunting Dorinnian song as she picked up stacks of paper and graciously tossed them into the bin which Edahn then proceeded to empty into the fire. She started dancing, swaying her arms back and forth with elaborate pirouettes and flourishes as she imagined the music in her head. This dance and the burning of these papers were like liberation and the worry just melting away. All these papers that were written by Andrieu and Alejandro. All the misery this family had caused her. And she was just destroying them all. Quinn nervously paced past the windows glancing outside as if expecting the mob to show up any moment and indiscriminately kill them for being inside Andrieu's private residence, but they never came.
Cecily wiped away the sweat from her brow with one final dance move, before tossing the last stack of papers into the fire and letting out a deep sigh of relief. Edahn grabbed a couple of Andrieu's stamps before handing them to Cecily "We can use some of these to fabricate whatever you want Andrieu to say about or to you. That way you can make it look like you had no choice in the matter." Cecily grabbed the stamps, putting them in her pocket before waving at Quinn. Quinn tossed the bag on his bag onto the floor while Atilio opened a front window. Out from the bag flowed a massive Silken Kade flag which they hung from the window. With the sounds of the confusion of the guards outside brewing, the group moved towards the backdoor in the office to the escape route that Andrieu had once showed Atilio. The group safely made it out of the estate without as much as a fight. Atilio then turned to Cecily as he said "A deal is a deal". Cecily then turned to him as she replied "A deal is a deal as long as I don't reconsider". Atilio nodded and quickly took that as his cue to leave, rushing towards where most of the fighting was to improvise some way to save himself from the execution block. Cecily and her companions paced in a different direction towards the yacht harbor intent on grabbing a pleasure boat and just sailing away from Regalia until the dust settled. They did so with an uncanny cheery attitude, Cecily whistling as Quinn released the boat and rowed it away with Edahn. Now was a time of enjoyment for Cecily, every little piece of evidence or dirt the Anahera family had on her was now gone, burned in that fireplace. More struggles would undoubtedly come later when her niece would come to reclaim what was now hers.
Meanwhile over at the Violet Castle, two long rows of soldiers faced off in silence. On one end of the street stood William Coen and Christopher Black side by side, supported by Edward Dertycia, Theodore Artiemus, Bjorn Nelcor, Maxime Ardor, High Kearney, Rei Kanter, Benjamin Rendon and Ludvig Karos. Above from a cell window Wolfryk Kundimal was yelling obscenities from a window in dwarven that none could hear, because he somehow managed to get himself imprisoned right before the day that this all would occur. On the other side was the new Lord Commander Hector with all the guards loyal to him. A moment of silence filled the square as both sides were mentally preparing for battle, though neither particularly ready to jump at the prospect of fighting one another. Similarly to the assault on the Armory, a melon rolled by with a floppy fluffy tail slapping about and some high pitched noises from inside. Unlike with the armory assault however, these soldiers were all disciplined and not distracted by this bundle of mystery rolling about.
Elsewhere in the city, the cannonballs flying from the Anahera ships started arching over the wall, hitting various houses. One such house hit was the one where Lorea Anahera was imprisoned in. The cannonball crashed through the wall and into her cage, only just slamming the door open to allow her to get out. With some faint coughs she freed herself from the rubble, standing up in the ruin around her that somehow didn't crush her. Maybe it's because the cannons thought she was cute. She raised her hands in the sky as she closed her eyes. Free at last. Dios Mio. But not really. As she tried to lower her hands, they were clasped by chains. When she turned around, she stood face to face with Tristan Kade who bellowed at her "You're under arrest for treason Anahera!". Lorea just took it with a stone face. "I guess this is what life is like for me now. I hope brown compliments my lipstick well, maybe I can beg the Lord Commander for a nicer color of blue or green dress in prison". Lorea was forming some intense internal monologue which completely distracted her from being hoisted onto a cart and being carted to prison while they stripped her of her clothes to humiliate her. It unfortunately also distracted her when the cart crashed when the driver was shot, launching her into a nearby pantry belonging to a baker with a large puff of flour escaping the windows.
With a cloud of white dust visible in the distance, William raised his sword into the sky before yelling a Regalian battle cry, charging forward with everyone. Hector did the same and both sides crashed into one another. At some point the battle became so disorganized it became difficult to distinguish friend from foe. Both sides certainly cut down some of their own, but it didn't matter. For William, restoring the honor of the guard was paramount. For Hector, not dying was paramount. Edward Dertycia had meanwhile commandeered a horse from a crashed wagon down the road and started charging down the square, slashing his sword at people left and right. He picked up Christopher Black on the back of his horse and before rearing the horse, charged forward, the two of them fighting corrupt guards around them. Theodore Artiemus and Bjorn Nelcor skillfully maneuvered towards the gatehouse and defeated the men inside, allowing them to keep the gate open and prevent a retreat by the corrupt guards into the castle. Heng Lu and Hana Elliot had meanwhile managed to infiltrate the Violet Castle. With Heng Lu's beguiling Slizzar charms, the two had managed to entice a guard to let them in through a side gate and snuck their way to the roof. Once on the roof, Hana had locked the door behind them and Heng had disabled the trebuchet loading mechanisms. With the food primarily secured, the two would reach the highest tower and start using flags to signal the citizens below about the situation in the square. The worst of the fighting occurred in the square in front of the Violet Castle as hundreds of guards faced off in full armor.
Maxime Ardor and High Kearney were pushed into a corner when Rei Kanter and Benjamin Rendon quickly came to their rescue. The four of them formed a quartet, each taking one of the wind directions and fighting like a well oiled machine, even though they were complete strangers to one another. The fight for the city made cooperating easier, that single goal in mind of defeating Andrieu made all other reservations a forgotten thing in the back of their minds. The clouds had hidden the sun for a while now, creating the dreary gray sky that was familiar in Regalia's wintery period. Yet a single spot in the clouds broke, allowing a single ray of sunlight down to the ground. William's head was hazy, another guard hit him over the head with a sword, and while softened by a helmet, he had a wound that bled into his eyes, making his vision blurry. His gaze shifted between the guards fighting to something of a dream that dashed across the street. It was almost as if time slowed down as this magnificently beautiful creature ran, yet graciously almost floated down the street. It was a woman with a beautifully elegant body, wrapped in fine silvery silky linens, draping in the wind with her pale white skin and her crimson red curly hair dancing after like little fairies in the fire. This enchanting being rushed along with that single ray of sunlight hitting her, illuminating her like some goddess. She ran elegantly like she was fleeing from something, but her pace was gentle enough to be almost playful and naive. William was enchanted by this beauty, but quickly smashed back into reality when a guard crashed into him and knocked him to the ground. He struggled with the guard before Rei Kanter stabbed the guard from behind while yelling "Keep up the good work Lord Commander!". William got back up to his feet and looked down the street to see if this goddess was still there, but she was long gone. Thinking nothing more of it but a hallucination from whatever Andrieu put in his food while he was imprisoned he climbed the nearby burning pyre that had served to execute the Lampero's not day before where he shouted orders at the guards below, half trying to reason with those resisting his authority to lay down their arms and surrender.
His speech was cut short by Hector who jumped onto the Pyre also and drew his sword on him. Hector and William faced off against one another on top of this pyre to secure control over the city guard. Whichever won could clearly crush the morale of the other side and secure a quick victory. The fight was intense and would last a while, enough time for Ludvig Kardos to rush up to the prisons. He grabbed the prison keys from a dead guard and started unlocking all the cells, starting with Wolfryk Kundimal. Most of the cells were filled with Coen supporter guards who had refused to work for Hector, the prison was inefficient as the corrupt guards had barely even arrested any criminals. Ludvig just assumed all of the prisoners were unjustly imprisoned and let them all out as they vowed to support the rebellion against the Anahera. With Wolfryk in front with a makeshift axe, those who wished to fight sallied forth from the castle to assist William who was still locked in combat with Hector. Ludvig Kardos meanwhile rushed to the offices upstairs where he secured the paperwork, ensuring none of the corrupt guards could destroy the evidence that would prove who had committed what crime and abused what law. Should Ludvig however choose to burn them or steal a few to blackmail others, that choice was completely up to him.
Hector gained the upper hand in the fight as he slashed William's sword from his hand, leaving William only with his shield. For a couple of minutes, William dodged and deflected his hits before having been imprisoned for weeks took its toll and he was losing stamina. Christopher Black was the saving grace William was waiting for when he tossed a sword from below up to the Pyre, william grabbing it in mid flight and using it with one fell strike to decapitate Hector. As Hector's head rolled to the ground, the fighting in the courtyard abruptly stopped. Corrupt guards all tossed their weapons to the grounds and raised their hands. Yet not all of their faces were marred with evil and envy. Some of them cried, and William could see the misery in their eyes. Not all of them served Hector for their own pleasure and greed. Some of them saw a way out of their family's poverty, some of them were forced to do it so as to not risk their children for Hector's wrath. The men that lay dead and bleeding out on the ground weren't all enemies, many of them were simply a victim of circumstance, and William became acutely aware of this. The Violet Castle was secured for the rebels, but there was no cheering, no joy. A single solitary fireworks arrow flew up in the sky signalling their victory, but it was only a victory in name.
Some Anahera soldiers were meanwhile using the relative calm of the Guard district to move carts from the Imperial treasury to Anahera ships which were ready to sail down the Crown River and ferry the gold away from the capital. The gold was clearly not even owned by the Anahera family, all the golden bars has the Dragon sigil on them, cast with Kade fortunes and stored in Kade banks which were all plundered by the Anahera Protectorate when the Kades revolted in Anglia. It was in fact not that Andrieu paid for the food which he bought from Dorminn from his own pocket, but with the money he illegally confiscated from the other families. Ryland, Christopher and Stephan Valor were tipped off to its location by Cecily Lo. The three kin and their friend Tsura Serghelia made their way to the crossroad on the Blue Orchid road, awaiting in ambush. As the first cart approached, Ryland jumped out scaring the horses while Christopher blocked the escape. Stephan Valor jumped onto the wagon and disposed of the guard who just pulled their swords. They then called for Tsura Serghelia to secure the wagon and lead it back to their hidden storage behind a set of willow trees at the end of the park. As the cleaned up the area, the second and third cart came rolling in, and the same procedure was repeated. This time however the Anahera soldiers surrendered to the attack, not willing to lose their lives over some gold that wouldn't even be theirs. The Valors let the soldiers go after disarming them before calling upon Tsura once more to ferry the carts to a safe place. As the three Valors returned to their hide-out they made sure it was not visible to anyone outside and covered the wagons in tree branches. The three of them started discussing what to do with the golds. It became immediately obvious that between the three carts, there was more than three times their own weight in gold at their fingertips. Millions of Regals of pure gold pressed with Kade sigils was ripe for the plucking. Should they take it all? Should they take some of it? Or would they return it all to whatever owner they deemed appropriate? Only time would tell what the Valors would decide upon.
Theresa quickly approached the main shopping street. Most of the shops were closed though the streets were littered with the needy people. Theresa bent over to Camila as she whispered: "Every act we take now will determine our fate. We are in a race against the clock my dear, and we must appear everything your uncle was not. We have the ability to save ourselves, but you must do exactly as I tell you to". Camila nodded as Theresa inched her forward, handing her bandages that Bethany Fong had just given her to tend to the wounded. Astrid herself had armed herself with a bow that she found, keeping guard of this street that was relatively calm. In the distance she could see Herr Tripelbaum's pastry store burning out, while on the right Madame Tuverois's finery silk store's windows were smashed and the Ithanian dresses draped torn from the windows. She used to go there looking for dresses with her mother when she was just a child, but she was a child no longer. Was this the violent world of politics Cedric had warned her for? Surely he couldn't know everything would have happened this quickly? Surely this wasn't normal? A whole host of questions raced through her mind, a young and unspoiled mind just fresh in the world of politics. While Astrid stood sunken in thought, Bethany Fong called forth various hordes of midwives and servants from seemingly nowhere, continuing the Fong legacy of seemingly producing supporters out of nowhere. The whole host of them descended upon the wounded and started taking care of them while Bethany made it adequately known to those present who was granting them this free assistance in their time of need. Theresa spectated it all with a frown. She knew this woman and she had been imprisoned together, enduring her monster of a son's hardships, but this had turned into competition very quickly. For a moment Bethany's eyes locked with Theresa, and there was that twinkle of understanding. Theresa knew that Bethany knew, and Bethany knew very well what Theresa felt. Even in these trying times of chaos and rebellion, the Court never ceased to watch and every move and action we take is one closer to our destiny. Even on the battlefield. There is no rest from Politics.
Theresa sprang up and into action. A plan suddenly formed in her mind. She grabbed Camila by the arm tugging her along. Camila was in the middle of bandaging one of the wounded women on the pavement as she yelped "Wait Grandmoth-". Theresa quickly cut her off as she exclaimed "Come dear, we must hurry and find Amaya". With Theresa and Camila disappearing off in the distance, Bethany smiled, having taken the forefront of caretaking of the people. Astrid was still sunken in thought, oblivious to the disappearance of the others, until she was snapped back into the here and now by Anahera soldiers approaching. Some women screamed in fear of reprisals, even Bethany inched backwards. Astrid looked around to see if there were any Kade loyalists around, but there weren't. She was the only one who was armed. The only one who could do something. Would Cedric approve of this? Would Philip? Did Cedric and Jared teach her enough to give her the skills to act? She raised her bow, taking aim as the Anahera soldiers laughed at her, expecting the sheltered child to just put up a show. With a resolute pull, she let go of the bow, sending the first arrow flying straight into the chest of the fat soldier in the middle. He immediately dropped dead while the others looked at him in shock before looking back at her and drawing their swords. This was really going to happen now, there was no escape. Astrid was really in a fight now, mind to zero and focus on the here and now. She strung more arrows letting them fly one by one. Her relative distance to the soldiers gave her an advantage and they dropped down one by one until the last two just fled, certain they would die otherwise. When the situation was over and the wounded women and children around her crawled to her feet to thank her, she lowered her bow. She just killed four men. She just really killed four men who were going to hurt her and these women and children. Would they have hurt Philip or Cedric? Only time would tell how the young Lady of Dorinn would take this first killing as a baptism of justice or a baptism of the same fire that consumed her mother.
Even the Ithanians assisted in the riot, though in a relatively creative way. Greaton Pileran and Olivia Pileran had gathered with Piero di Orazio to organize the resistance in the Ithanian district. Their first objective was to create a safe haven, their second to secure the harbor. Olivia organized the local nobility in gathering what statues they had to build a wall in front of the gateways into the district. Graeton helped arm the Ithanian men with makeshift weapons to secure said barricades while Piero di Orazio secured the pleasure yachts. At the head of the first ship, he maneuvered many of them into place to form a chain across the crown river of small yachts and ships to prevent any movement in or out of said river. Any Anahera supply ships would fail to secure a way out, thus trapping any attempts from the Protectorate to flee the city and continue the fight elsewhere. Piero and Graeton had theorized that the best way to sever the Anahera blister from Regalia was to defeat it here and now and not let a single drop escape to other waters. When the district was secured, Olivia let off a fireworks rocket to signal their safety. With a touch of melancholy, she organized a tea soiree in the backyard of the Burrois-Delize estate, as the Ithanians tried very hard to pretend that there wasn't a rebellion going on. Amidst the sounds of the cannonfire in the harbor and the fighting beyond their barricades, the Ithanian women dined and drank tea. Because even if the rest of the world could not, Ithanians would always uphold their class and finesse as an example to the world. And Olivia meant to be that example in Regalia, because she knew the new Duchess of Pays Sud was just a figurehead under the control of the Syndics. But the fact that she had a Pileran surname made her a viable candidate for eventual replacement.
The biggest challenge for the Regalian rebellion was the ships that had just sailed into port. 24 or so Qadir Dhows arrived bearing troops that flooded into the harbor, undoing Fiora Cerdici's hard work in trying to secure the harbor. Elise Ceadon tried very hard to help as many citizens out of the harbor district as she could, supporting the wounded with a shoulder and the children with a hand. She saw Fiora and Leopold Ceadon signal that they would continue to hide in the tower and not to worry about them. In that moment though, Elise decided that she wasn't just going to run away from this battle. With the assistance of a few brave men, she stormed to the gateway tower on the far end of the harbor, all the while avoiding being seen by the Qadir now unloading onto the docks. They finally reached the tower where Rerik Ulster sat on the stairs smoking a pipe of Tabacca. He casually greeted them as they drew closer, eventually joining them into the tower itself. Elise had only heard of this tower's function in street legend, but it was worth a shot to activate the dock guard. She lit a small fire on the tower's rear end which set ablaze a trail of oil all the way to the top. At the top, she heard a soft "poof" followed by an explosion that shook the tower. She ran to the window on other end to watch what would happen next and amazed she was indeed as she yelled from the top of her lungs "By the Emperor it actually works, it actually works!". The explosion blew away part of the stonework on top of the tower which detached a very large statue that was stuck against the tower. As the statue crashed down, the weight of the stone acted as a counter weight that pulled a massive chain which had links as large as small cabins. The chain pulled up, the ear deafening sound of metal and stonework grinding became audible as the chain visible rose from the water. It raised up to such a height that it was now on the same level as the ships, making escaping impossible. The Qadir seemed not to mind, but perhaps they should have given what happened next.
When the Qadir were still unloading, that same Maiar that had been instructing the people around the Harbor to assist in various ways appeared, blowing a Ch'ien-ji flute to signal their arrival. The Fong family was well aware of this army approaching Regalia so they came well prepared. Hidden from among the walls suddenly appeared the Yumai Archers and down on the ground appeared the Dragon Fire mages. In concert with one another, they provided the usual opening chant for the Rim Isle troops before Dr. Fong without a first name appeared on the far tower of the gatehouse. Raising his cane in the air he exclaimed "Let's go find our dear lady Bethany after taking care of these rude intruders". With that statement made, the Ch'ien-ji soldiers of the Rim Isles unleashed a flurry of magic and fire on the Qadir which were still unloading of which there was no pause or mercy. Qadir which were on fire jumped into the ocean both to get away from the arrows and to douse the flames, only to be attacked by marauding Maiar in the water. There was literally nowhere to hide, and the ships that tried to get away crashed into the massive chain that Elise had raised. Dr. Fong now turned around confident that his soldiers would solve the immediate problem here. Now came the next problem, finding dear Bethany. His eyes squinted a bit further than they normally did as he scanned the horizon before he noticed a small piece of fireworks, rotating on a wind hose near the Tavern. He cracked a smile and stepped a merry pace down to the Tavern with a jolly whistling tune. He knew she was alright. And he knew where she was. Everything was going to be alright. Perhaps not as much for the Anahera's though, as the net was quickly closing in on Andrieu.
