knightsoflegend | briefing ♔ i will never know myself until i do this on my own

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briefing ♔ i will never know myself until i do this on my own

This is War- 30 Seconds to Mars

WHO || Wynn, Jack, Hasmed, Lis'sa, Dovan, Solace, Koraith, Christos, Tia, Nessa, Grant, Buffy, Myri, Finnick, Spike, Gar, Archer, Des, Fred Jr., Dumage, Mark, Alainn, Zero, Colin, Lan, Eric, Val'drin, Risa, Anastacia, Faith O., Max R., Belle, Kadir, Edain, Sydney, Zatanna, Aurelius, Jaina, Erky, Davin, Riddick, Jordan, Henry, Leia, Willow, Kate, Allison, Francesca, Bo, Han, Aedan, Rocket, Drax, Nathan, Maxwell, Sam, Faith L., Cora, Dimitri, Alanna, Jaime, Klaus, Gus, Andrew, Stiles, Lydia, Gold, Jackson, Adam, Miles, Penelope, David, Derek, Andie, Kali, Cara, Nels, Taradiddle, Abigail, Astrid, Bambi, Frankie, Rose, Helen, Alaric, Alice, Lissa, Alex, Emma F., Cordelia, Zoe, Sebastian, Malina, Alcide, Phineas, Fiona, Arthur, Faye, Mars, Kate, Lila, Jameson, Felicity, Thoster, Adi, Brantley, Hook, Emma, Eleven, Alisha, Will, Dean, Grimrot [Closed]
WHAT || Andres War Briefing
WHERE || Knights HQ, Round Table Room
WHEN || September 19th [forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread, please call dibs in the dibs plurk!

On the eve of battle, an impressive array of Knights gathers in the Round Table room of the castle. The usually cavernous room seems tightly packed with this many bodies, and places at the Table are reserved for Wynn, the Section Heads, all those who have had any hand in the Talisman mission, including New York, and Christos, but who's going to argue with him, really. The air buzzes with a mixture of impending dread and on some fronts, excitement. It's hard to deny that there are those in the room who have wanted to make a move on Andres for years.

Wynn waits for the appointed hour, before nodding for the doors to be sealed and calling the meeting to order.

"Before we begin, I'd like to thank each and every one of you, many who have traveled an extensive distance at a moment's notice to join us here today. I understand that many of you have little idea what you have agreed to, but I hope that before the end of this meeting, you will come to understand what we are doing, and why it must be done.

Andres' Isle has been held under the sway of the man who calls himself their "Prime Minister" for nearly a decade. In these ten years, he has turned what was once an idyllic country steeped in tradition into a tightly controlled fascist nation disguised as representative of its people.

Andres is far from the only country to fall to such a fate over the course of history, and it has never been the prerogative of this Knighthood to enforce our own personal vision of some sort of world order onto any nation. We are protectors of justice, and our enemy has always been both that which comes from the darkest depths of Shadow, and intolerance and prejudice that stems from this world.

But Dimitris Sarandis has proven to be an exception, an embodiment of all the ideals we stand against, who has aspired to systematize the kind of violence and hatred that threatens the welfare of countless innocents under his rule. He has used his position to exploit Shadowkind on the island to the point of conducting torturous experiments on them, designed to help him accomplish his goal of forcibly enslaving non-humans, so that they may serve what he sees as the superior race of homo sapiens.

As if this were not enough, Dimitris knows of our existence, and wishes to tear down our organization, understanding that we pose a threat to all he seeks to accomplish. To this end, he has conspired against us, kidnapped members of our organization and subjected them to brutal and vile torture, and attempted to blackmail us through detaining Sir Thomas Bancroft and now Sir Samcelot, into complying with his whims - to leave his regime alone entirely, to turn over our most ancient, powerful artifact, and for me to submit to death at his hand.

Killing Dimitris alone will not stop the system he has created, and will not help free the people of Andres. Most citizens of the country remain innocent, terrified into compliance, or completely ignorant of what Sarandis does behind closed doors. These people deserve our help, and the only way to do so is to show them the evil that lurks at the heart of their government, gain their support in uprooting that evil, and assist them in stabilizing their country thereafter.

To do this, we will need to go beyond the usual parameters of our missions, with a militant, strategic push into the island designed to seize the castle, and take down Sarandis' rule." He pauses there, letting that sink in. "What I will not stand for is a callous attitude towards the innocents who we seek to protect on the Island, during this insurgency. Their safety will be paramount to our operation, and as such, speed is important to what we will be accomplishing. Dimitris expects retaliation, but he also underestimates our tactics. As such, rather than attacking the castle with an army, you will be deployed about the Island in a number of small teams, each with an objective that will help us cut off Dimitris from contact with his supporters, secure Sir Bancroft and Sir Samcelot's safety, free those who are imprisoned, and confront Sarandis, taking the castle in the process.

Details of these individual operations not withstanding, I imagine there are some questions. I open the floor to you to speak."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Good question—Emma doesn't particularly care about the answer, however. She glances aside at whoever's standing around her (definitely Logan, possibly Nathan) to comment quietly. ]

Pity Erik didn't join us in our journey to this world. I've seen his methods of dealing with sapien supremacists.

[Her only questions pertain to mission specifics, and not the political climate. Protecting the innocents and freeing the Isle from the rule of any such bigot seems pretty much like the obvious call here, so no doubt from Frosty. ]

Edited 2014-09-11 01:03 (UTC)

[ logan actually snorts at emma's comment, but it's humorless, and he glances across the room of mostly humans, finding it a little bit strange to see so many of them fighting on what feels like THEIR side.

meanwhile, wynn's jaw tightens slightly, his gaze looking levelly across the gathered as he says: ] Dimitris has found some way to sway her mind and heart to his bidding, going as far as to make her firmly believe that she's in love with him. We've no doubt that these feelings are not genuine. Considering our recent experience with the notion of a love curse, I've consulted with Sir Hasmed regarding the potential magical manipulation that may be occurring, as well as Sir Trinall, who has had occasion to study the implanted microchips that Sarandis was creating to control the will of Shadowkind.

It seems to us most likely from her described behavior, that she is under the effect of some kind of love potion. The effects of such magic are temporary, at best, unless administered in frequent doses. One of our mission groups will be tasked with investigating the matter further, and if this is the case, finding a way to interrupt the dose cycle, which should have the effect of returning Sir Samcelot to her rightful senses.

[ francesca looks rightfully disturbed by this announcement of sir samcelot's current situation. this might possibly be the very most evil thing dimitris has ever done, and also the most disgusting, by far.

anyway, she doesn't have much to say at the moment, sitting stoically next to christos at the round table. she's been to war before. several times, actually. and it was horrible and devastating - and forever traumatizing - but she'd never once thought about not going on this mission, to fight for thomas (and now kat), for justice and equality, and even to protect and defend the very knighthood she's been part of for over a century.

this call to arms is more than just personal for her. it's everything to her. ]

Edited 2014-09-11 01:40 (UTC)

[Spike's sitting sprawled in one of the chairs at the table, a hungry expression on his face. He probably should be more scared, but this bastard has hurt him, and more importantly, hurt his friends. He'll feel zero regret about killing Sarandis, should it come to that.]

How hard do we get to kill the bastard once we have him?

[Mercy towards innocents is one thing. Spike has no mercy in his heart for evil racist torturers.]

Dispatching Sarandis is, at this point, a necessity. But considering the power he wields, and the likely safeguards he will have in event of his death, we cannot make a direct move to do so until we have controlled the environment, and made certain to secure the lives of our captured Knights. There will be a team specifically deployed to deal with Dimitris.

[ penelope nods along as wynn speaks, standing in full armor with sword at hip somewhere near the back wall. war is not something she's terribly familiar with, but battle sure is. having faced vampire lords and undead armies on several occassions, she respects the gravity of this situation, but feels no fear in her assignment.

she will wield her sunblade for truth and justice - as well as the redemption and fate of an entire country - with great honor and courage. ]

[ gar looked somewhat ill at the talk about kat, particularly given how many people are in this room to hear it, but she says nothing until now, focusing on the other issues. ] I know that this is most certainly something that's been taken into consideration in whatever plan you and the Section Leaders have drawn up, but I just wish to reiterate that stopping Sarandis will create a power vacuum on Andres that many of his supporters will be in line to snare unless we're prepared to find a way to prevent that. As Wynn says, it's vitally important that the people of Andres understand precisely what's been done to them, and understand that they have the power to change it. We can't simply push them to the background without an explanation and expect them to appreciate what we've done for them, unless they're truly made to see this.

What happens if they don't?

[Sam is still a little unsure about all of this, taking down a human and potentially his guards, dictator or no, but the so-called monsters he's met here have been anything but.

He wants to see it all for himself, but he's pretty sure based on what he's seen that he's on the right side.]

Do we have any reason to believe that they're going to cooperate?

Edited 2014-09-11 02:40 (UTC)

[ dean's 15 will save when that voice speaks up is not particularly impressive. he's on the very opposite end of the room, near the doors, probably pressed against the wall somewhere behind rose, and his head snaps up instantly. he looks as if he's seen a ghost, and there's anger and bewilderment and outrage in his furrowed brow as his hand twitches towards his gun and rests there. he doesn't say anything yet, too busy staring silently, unnoticed, at his brother across the way. ]

We ran across our fair share of people who recognized that something was rotten in the state of Denmark. People who thought things used to be better, who wish there was a way to go back.

That's the kind of support we need.

[ mark is staring down at the table, sitting at fred's side, and as he listens to all this, his expression darkens with resolve. he speaks up abruptly, a certain steel in his voice. ] There's a way to stack the odds in our favor, when it comes to gaining their support.

[ wynn turns to look at him evenly, and mark raises his eyes to meet his gaze. something seems to pass between them, something that causes a look of almost paternal pride to momentarily light wynn's gaze. he nods once solemnly, and mark gets to his feet. ] There's always been a way.

[ his eyes slide to his failboat teammates, lingering on myri, then buffy ] Some of you know that I have a... personal stake in this mission, in regards to my family. But I'm not certain any of you know exactly... how personal.

[ he looks down at the table again for a long moment, before raising his gaze once more, taking them all in. ] I don't know all of you, but many of you have become like my family in the nearly ten years since Wynn first agreed to take me in. Those of you I've met know me as Mark Sandazhard, but the truth is that Mark Sandazhard was born the day I walked into this castle.

[ he takes a deep breath, squares his shoulders, and announces: ]

I was born Marcus Jameson Andres the Second, only son of King William and Queen Colette Andres, Crown Prince to the throne.

[ he looks over at wynn again, and there's certainly no surprise on their leader's face, merely approval, and more of that evident pride as he listens to the confession. ]

[It takes a lot of willpower for Myri not to move over to him, to stay seated and not try to show physical support immediately. But she's going to be good and stay right in her chair because he has a lot of willpower okay (will 28).

She understands better now why he was so nervous, how this could change this. But as she watches him reclaim the name he was born with, Myri wonders if he realizes how brave he is in this moment.

She doesn't speak up. But just offering him a smile if he chooses to look her way, showing her support because she knows he'll need it. They can talk later, and she can dwell in her shock of the whole news when there's time for that. This is more important.

Also she will cut a bitch if you try to say anything mean. So there's that.]

[WERWATEY??????

no. you know what. this is good.

mark can be the mockingjay.]

[when sam speaks, des turns around in his chair to squint at him, but his attentiom snaps back to mark and... wow he sure threatened a prince. that happened.

meanwhile before mark even SPOKE, rocket was planning on mentioning the royal elephant in the room but he... didn't think it would be literal. i am assuming he's at the table because andres relevant and also because if he sits anywhere else, he will be stepped on.]

Wait. So Lara's big fairytale savior that no one thought was gonna prance outta the woodwork... That's. you?!

Him? Really?

[Spike looks kind of flabbergasted for a moment, then turns to whoever is sitting next to him and says, in a voice that's really not quiet enough for the comment:]

Actually, inbreeding would explain a lot.

[alainn can't believe her pointy ears. she just stares up at mark as he stands next to her, heart pounding furiously in her chest. after a moment she reaches up, her hand softly brushing his in a show of support.]

Oh Marcus... [she says softly, ignoring spike's comment.]

[ Buffy looks pretty embarrassingly slack-jawed on that note. In her eyes, anyone who’s been around on the talisman mission can see a film reel of all of her embarrassing moments with Mark rolling past. Remember that time she tried to kick the Prince of Andres off the mission for being emotionally compromised? She remembers that time. ]

You … But …

[ Does not compute. ]

Bwuh?

[ Okay, fine, real questions. Catch-up. She squeezes her eyes shut, shakes her head, and fixes a more serious, concentrated look on him. ]

So, your parents ...

[ well that explains the weeping over the lion king. :(

but while vi looks slowly proud of him for speaking up, she is chiefly surprised. mucho surprise. her will save is all that keeps her from throwing her bag of caramel creams at him. that and, you know, she doesn't want to waste her candy.

but aww, simba. ]

You have your own island?? No, wait, not important. Who... how? There was a whole death thing, right? Didn't you die? No, ignore that, too. What Buffy said, seconding Buffy.

Edited 2014-09-11 03:55 (UTC)

[ ♬ somewhere i belong - linkin park

mark catches myri's eye and gives her a grateful half-smile back, but is distracted by alainn's hand brushing his and stares down at her for a second, obviously finding it strange to hear his real name spoken.

he turns back to address the others. ] When I was sixteen, I was woken up my the armed guard of the castle I'd spent my entire life in, dragged out of bed, and informed that my mother was dead - and that I was the chief suspect behind it.

You can't... know what that's like, seeing everyone who I'd known and trusted staring at me like I was a stranger, a strange capable of hurting my own mother, as they dragged me to a cell. I was still a kid, in a lot of ways, and it barely felt real.

There were clues I didn't pick up until it was too late, things that wouldn't make sense until after the fact. Dimitris had served as the royal adviser to my father for as long as I remembered, but I'd never really picked up on the fact that he was obsessed with my mother, thought he was in love with her.

His ambition grew with his proximity to the throne, I think. From what I can gather, he tried to get my mother to turn on my father, to marry him, and when she wouldn't--

He made it very convincing. There was a forged note among my mother's things, discussing her fears about my own ambition, thinking that I would do anything to get the throne before my time.

My father didn't believe it for a moment. And when Dimitris pretended to support him, he had no reason to doubt his loyalty. Dimitris advised my father to sneak me out of the tower before I could be sentenced, to smuggle me out of the castle via the underground tunnels, and send me out of the country.

But when we made it to the tunnels, Dimitris was already there, with an armed contingent of guards. He showed his true colors, telling the guards that he'd suspected my father was a traitor, and ordering them to seize us both.

[ he struggles for a moment to say it, but finally manages: ] My... my father drew his sword to hold them off. Told me to run. To run and get on the boat, and not look back.

He gave his life so that I could escape. Dimitris took my father prisoner, beheaded him in public, and told the country I'd been killed in the fight.

The family that took me in, the one my father had waiting on the other side, introduced me to Colin Banks. [ he looks across the table at the man, who is also looking at him with pride ] Colin brought me to Wynn, and when I explained my... circumstances, he agreed to hide me in the ranks of the Knighthood until a time came when I was strong enough to return to Andres, and reclaim what was stolen from my family. To rescue those I had to leave behind.

[alainn listens in growing horror at his tale, her stomach knotting at his words. her hand tightens on his, fingers tangling tightly as if she could transfer some of her strength to him though the touch of her hand.

she can't believe that mark is...this prince that he says he is, this marcus. but the name fit him in a way that felt right, and so many little ticks and quirks of his character that she had picked up on over the years seemed to fall into place.]

[Hearing Spike's comment (listen 28), Myri tears her gaze from Mark and his story so that she can give him a stern look (intimidate 18.) It only lasts a second before she goes back to listening.]

And you are now. [It's not a question, just reaffirming what she hopes he already knows.] And we'll be stronger for it, too. The people of Andres... the ones who need us are hungry for hope, to believe that a life can be lived without fear. You can give them that hope. You can inspire them.

[She's just so damn proud.]

[ francesca is just as surprised as the others, but she respects mark (and wynn) enough to not speak up. besides, she and mark were never that close.

she does, however, do the slow head tilt in christos's direction, all 'did you know about this??' given that cryptic statement he made last night about wynn's yet-to-be revealed plans. ]

[meanwhile, astrid is eyeing mark like if she married him ... she could be a princess. ~*A REAL PRINCESS*~

then she remembers marriage is gross and she's like nm.]

[A prince? Jaime's attention is piqued. There isn't much royalty to be found in this world. Less still that anyone cares about. He wonders if he should bow or kneel or swear fealty, but no one else is doing it. So he stays where he is. But privately, he vows to defend the prince with his life.

It just feels like the sort of thing he's supposed to do.]

Not that this story isn’t touching, tragic, et cetera where appropriate, but just to confirm: this means we have a government to reinstate when we depose their current dictator.

[ She looks to Mark, then back to Wynn, eyebrows raised. Mark, of course, needs to agree to it and be ready to actually lead instead of running away from his country, but Wynn is the one with all the intelligence on the country here, so she opts to ask him. ]

How do we know these people will even follow him? A disgraced prince who was supposedly killed in battle?

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