krozna ♔ our wrongs remain unrectified

[dragonsclaw]

♫ The Fog - Zulya

WHO || Failboat, Mikhail Kalachnik, ?? ??  [closed]
WHAT || The Ex-Knights of Failboat arrive at Krozna
WHERE || Krozna, Russia
WHEN || 2 days after LA
HOW || Actionspam or prose

Sidelined from the mission that has been many of their lives for years, the group who had once stood against Keijen Blade has made a dangerous gambit - they've decided to leave the Knighthood, knowing they may never be allowed to return.  With them, have gone Sam and Dean Winchester, and Faith Lehane.  Their destination?  A distant monastery overlooking the village of Krozna, in the Ural Mountains.   This hidden location was home to many Shadowkind who did not wish to deal with the prejudice that their appearance might force upon them out in the world, particularly in Russia.  Wynn had apparently established a location here for Knights that broke the rules of the Knighthood so extremely to reflect upon their crimes, or for those whose powers made it impossible for them to live out in civilized society.

This monastery of misfits is run by a man named Mikhail Kalachnik, a willing exile who volunteered for the position, a man vouched for as trustworthy by both Jack Chessing and Finnick Odair.  It is here that the former Knights will set up a base of operations from which they intend to rescue Rafael Giovanni, research a way to stop Keijen Blade, and take him down once and for all, along with the evil Mind Master.  

But first, they must get to know the exiled Knights with whom they will be sharing this hideout...

Comments

[familybusiness]

[Sam doesn't waste time showing up, because he's wanted to talk to Tia anyway and he's ready to get some news that might lead to...not being stuck here anymore.

Sup.]

[slay]

[ buffy's vaguely attached to sam's hip, so when he shows up, she's with him WHICH MAKES EVERYBODY ARRIVED YAY. they were late bc they were making out platonically bonding ok. she tries to read the room facial expression-wise to get a sense of what they're in for. (sense motive 29) ]

[klep]

[Felicity is perched somewhere in the room, legs crossed in front of her, and she is also anxious to get out of here for a bit and stretch her legs. The downtime is good, and she's glad that Tia is here because she would also like to speak with her at some point, but for now she just waits to see what they have to share.

She also doesn't think that there is no news, as they wouldn't be gathering them all together for nothing - it's just a matter of whether the news is good or bad.]

[witchwoman]

[Myri sits with Shayla perched on her knee. When Buffy walks in, Shayla waves both hands at her. The joy of toddlers is being oblivious to the seriousness of the situation.]

[bigbad]

[Spike is leaning against the wall. He nods at Buffy and Sam when they enter.]

[attollores]

[Alainn will enter with Mark, finding a spot to sit and wait for the de-brief. A part of her is super nervous to hear what Tia has to say, another part is happy to see the other woman, and a bigger part is intrigued to see what those remaining at the castle thinks of their stealthy departure.]

[graveflowers]

[ ever impatient, ] So? How'd it go?

[telekinection]

[ megalomania - black sabbath ]

There's... a lot. [ she takes a moment to try to orient herself, glancing around at all the assembled faces. mikhail and dominik are here as well, although the other kroznians have not shown up. ]

Draken Crombe has undergone some severe psychic trauma, and the truth is that the only way that I could really piece together anything out of his thoughts was by... reassembling his mind, in a way. [ she glances sidelong at jack ] I won't lie and say there's probably not a rich debate about the ethics of what I've done, but I've set his mind on a healing path. I think in time, he could be a very different man than the one we've come to know of. It seemed the compassionate choice, and I didn't exactly have anyone to ask for a second opinion.

What I could glean from the heart of his fractured psyche when I pieced things together, was that the Mind Master has indeed been... influencing him to at least some degree for probably many years. It doesn't seem to have been direct control of any kind, but I think she's fed his obsessive impulses and fanaticism. What's complicated it even more for him is that he's aware that she is some kind of unnatural, unholy being, but that she "convinced" him that her power was the only way for him to follow through with what he essentially sees as his God-given task, of subjugating Shadowkind and stopping them from invading our world any further. Preserving a ... purity of the human race, so to speak. [ she grimaces at the very notion ]

You can imagine what kind of psychological issues might be at play, then, when I tell you that I can confirm that he and the Mind Master shared a... carnal relationship at times. [ there's a shift to her shoulders that betrays her discomfort at even bringing it up ] Apparently a source of immense guilt and self-flagellation for him. He saw her as both a tool to create the world he was aspiring to, in the role of what he was only too happy to believe was a willing subjugate, but also as a temptation sent to him directly by God to test him. He held onto her loyalty as a justification to himself for what he considered despoiling himself by sleeping with her, but there were intense layers of self-loathing and obsession with his own sin and need to prove himself...

I honestly believe that, given the extent of her telepathic abilities, she knew exactly how to play him like a fiddle to turn him into the monster that he was. He's not blameless in this, but he was a victim in his own way as well. The fact that he held onto any semblance of sanity for as long as he did is honestly impressive.

When she abandoned him at the concert... it destroyed his illusion that she was ever loyal to him, that Shadowkind might secretly need or even long for that subjugation, and his entire construction of reality, the basis of his justification for everything, crumbled pretty quickly. It was a snapping point. All the damage she'd been inflicting all that time basically took its toll all at once.

[slay]

You're right. He's not blameless.

[ aren't you glad you have buffy here to take the self righteous moral line. ]

Just because she knew how to convince him to do those things doesn't mean he didn't do them.

[ maybe she shouldn't say this with finnick and myri around but here she is anyway. ]

Healing from the damage she did to his mind is better than he deserves. The people killed in the course of his campaign for racial purity will never get that chance.

1/-

[shootfirst]

Buffy's right. We should take him out for what he's done.

2/-

[rationalizes]

We're not executioners. It sounds like it might be difficult to know how much of what we've seen was really Crombe, and how much wasn't. We know the extent to which the Mind Master can influence someone.

3/-

[nosdacariad]

He should be behind bars. I can't imagine we can't put together a case with the connections between him and the experiments Sarandis was doing.

4/4

[selfexile]

[ mikhail just wordlessly shoots jack a look as everyone starts offering their various opinions, that clearly reads "I now get what you're dealing with" ]

[klep]

[And just quietly raises her hand from her position on the floor.]

This is all disgusting and I'm sure we can debate the proper consequences for Draken Crombe later.

[There's a beat as she tries to redirect them to the priorities - aka what they can actually act on now.]

Did you find out anything about Rafael?

1/-

[telekinection]

I did. Or at least, I'm pretty sure - there's always the chance things have changed since Crombe is gone. But he had a few other priests working on setting up the auction again and I know the date and location that was planned, as well as the complete invite list. It looks like it's in New Orleans, and it's coming up soon.

2/2

[dragonsclaw]

Every time we've come close to ascertaining the location and time, they've changed it on us, but that was likely Crombe's call. Without his leadership, it's possible that they may go through with it as scheduled.

I think it's worth our sending a team.

[slay]

How soon?

[ buffy looks at isa and sort of nods like !!! ]

[telekinection]

Just a couple of weeks. It should give us time to figure out who to send. Given everything, while rescuing Rafael is obviously important to all of you, we need to make sure to think about... keeping some people here in case the worst happens, so that there will be people left to continue on what we're trying to do.

[klep]

Maybe we should favor people who won't get recognized.

[No offense to all of you, but if the usual suspects are present, the usual members of Failboat are probably going to be easily made.]

Also do we have any blueprints or anything for the location so that we can do some recon?

[slay]

[ hahahahahahah. buffy turns to look dead at felicity and says. ]

I'm going. Isabella is going. That's not up for discussion.

[klep]

[.... And there are big eyes before she shakes her head.]

I said favor. Not only. I didn't think that was a question.

[familybusiness]

If you need a couple of unknowns, I'd be willing to go.

[chessing]

Either way, I agree with Sir Ellison. We need to consider keeping a strong... back-up team here. [ he looks to buffy, sympathy in his eyes ] Certainly not because there's anyone here who wouldn't risk their life for Rafael, of course. But from a practical standpoint, it will probably be wise. Not to mention that if there are a large number of attendees going to this auction, it might be unwise to do a full frontal assault.

[bigbad]

I can think of a lot better things to risk my life for, personally.

[Just in case people were wondering if Spike still disliked Rafael.... yeah.]

[rationalizes]

Then no one's forcing you to go, are they? [ gar's... a little testy about it, spike, deal with it ]