chapter five ♔ it'll be a day like this one when the sky falls down

[eldritchweaver]

the blues - switchfoot

WHO || The Knights
WHAT || Failboat returns from the disaster in LA as the Knighthood goes on lockdown
WHERE || The castle, London
WHEN || Directly after this, Fall 2017
HOW || Actionspam

Hasmed's announcement does not brook any rebuttal: all Knights are recalled to the Castle, where they must remain until the Section Heads and Jack Chessing have spoken about the events in Los Angeles that have left the Knighthood without their usual leader.  

The entire Los Angeles area is now covered with a dark miasma that has interfered with any signals that might be sent out from phones, etc., leaving the whole world wondering what exactly is happening down there.  Final images showed horrendous monsters, a panic of citizens, looting and violence from humans and Shadowkind alike.  

Hasmed has warned of extra magical wards on the castle, and anyone arriving will immediately take notice of one very prominent one: above the entire roof of the excessively large building hovers a black and red sigil in the air, a pentagram in a circle surrounded by runes or words in an unknown language, stretching for miles.  

[ This is the social log for post-LA lockdown.  Failboat must complete the top log before being allowed to tag outside of it. ]

Comments

[pilgrimages]

[ another recent arrival, responding to the all-call, zara knows that look when she sees it. she had heard about the invasion of the castle, but not early enough to get there and do anything about it. as these things often do, it happened fast. now they can all admire the handiwork of those who put it back together. ]

Things have changed, since the last time I was here.

[ she nods to him. ]

You too?

[likeagod]

[He glances over at the woman who seems to have him entirely pegged, and he nods back, but doesn't smile.]

Yes. [His light Russian accent is slightly heavier now, having been away for so long.] It's been quite awhile since I've been here and I had to leave before clean-up was finished.

The circumstances this time around are grimmer than I would have liked.

[pilgrimages]

It takes grim to get us all under the same roof.

[ she scrutinizes him some, trying to place the sound of his accent. the far corners of this world are still mostly unfamiliar for her. ]

And even here, we have enemies.

[likeagod]

If only that weren't the case.

[Maybe they wouldn't be in this situation at all. It's hard to know, but not very likely. They're needed everywhere for a reason.]

It isn't the first time we've had to deal with this kind of thing. They didn't take it this far, though it was just the one girl and an escapee.

[pilgrimages]

Perhaps if they had taken it this far then, we wouldn't be where we are now.

[ and perhaps not. but she has never failed to empathize with the plight of those interested in order and certainty above all else. merely disagreed with their methods. ]

[likeagod]

I guess we'll never know. We just need to figure out where to go from here.

[He leans against a nearby wall.]

How do you feel about all this? Do you know much about this Hellsing?

[It almost feels as if the place is about to be invaded, whether it's to help or no.]

[pilgrimages]

Only by reputation. I haven't worked with them. Their mission statement differs considerably from ours — Wynn has always been in the business of resolving Shadowkind affairs peacefully. Hellsing is more interested in eliminating threats.

To my understanding, they never work with anyone. This cooperation is quite uncharacteristic for them.

[ she lets the implication that perhaps it's not cooperation lie there. ]

[likeagod]

It's a pretty unusual situation. Perhaps they realize how potentially dire it might be.

[It's pretty clear that, even though he says it, he's trying to convince himself as much as anyone else.]

We'll just have to trust that the section heads are doing this correctly.

[pilgrimages]

A weakness of mine, I confess. I've grown used to making decisions.

[likeagod]

I was raised to follow orders. It's a difficult habit to break.

[Even if he doesn't remember the actual training, he knows what his job was and how he taught those younger than him. Dhampir didn't exactly have a whole lot of freedom where he came from.]

[pilgrimages]

Most people were. [ she says it solemnly. ] You get past it. Eventually.

[likeagod]

Every organization such as this needs individuals that will follow others or it would be chaos. There is certainly a time and place to speak up, but it's not always necessary.

For me, I think this may be one of those times, whether I approve or not.

[pilgrimages]

I would be careful about that, if I were you. That's quite a large army they've brought in.

[likeagod]

We're working together. It doesn't make me a part of their army.

[He still only takes orders from the knighthood.]

[pilgrimages]

Not yet, no.

[ she presses her lips into a smile. ]

[likeagod]

It's simply an alliance. They're not moving in permanently. It makes sense that we'd be in the same place for now in order to coordinate properly.

[pilgrimages]

Yes, it all makes a great deal of sense.

[ that's the problem. that's how it sneaks up on you. ]

[likeagod]

You're not convinced.

[It isn't a question.]

[pilgrimages]

Oh, thoroughly. If we're going to fight a god, we'll certainly need an army. I just find it interesting that we arrived so quickly at such a radical yet well-thought-out decision. I would have expected such a plan to take ... well, if not weeks, at least a few days. Coming to terms with the need to reach out to Hellsing alone ...

[likeagod]

They're local and well-trained.

[Still, she has a point.]

Perhaps there will come a time when we need to focus on what their presence here might mean in the long run and react accordingly. None of it will matter if we fail.

[pilgrimages]

If I disagreed on that point, I never would have come back. But we would be fools not to keep our eyes open.

[likeagod]

We can certainly agree on that.

[He's not trusting anyone blindly. He's simply trying his best to do his duty and protect the innocent, blah blah blah.]

We're fortunate that so many knights are answering the call at this dire time.

[pilgrimages]

Between all of us, we might just stand a chance.

[ it's still a 'might' tho ]