07.08c: The Loneliest Breakfast

[Wyvern]

"Find what matters..." Alys mutters to herself, flipping a trump card between its unicorn back, and the card's image: a broken tower against a backdrop of swirling flames.

Then she looks up and addresses the room. "You say we have time. Is there any reason we should not use that to simply take over Chaos? An allied state would pose little threat."

[Veyska]

((OOC problems should not screw up IC stuff. Consider this a declaration that Asai has been lurking up in the rafters eavesdropping for some unspecified period of time. I'll get around to her reactions and stuff when I can actually work up the interest without getting smacked down before I even post.))

[misfit]

"An interesting idea, but it would be more of a vassal state than an allied one...but that is quibbling over semantics."

Nuall turns to Dworkin. "Pray correct me if I am incorrect My Lord, but I believe the advantages we have here would be reversed there. They can only send a small portion of their forces here, while there we would be facing their full numbers. Also, Dworkin as said that their powers are limited here but our's are not...it would seem that in the heart of Chaos that would be reversed. While I fear a fight here might be a close contest, I suspect that there it would be very one-sided...and not in our favor."

Nuall considers for a moment. "If not a frontal assault, would it be possible to turn their Clans against each other? That would keep them too busy to attack us and thin their numbers..."

[Wyvern]

"Based on what Odin has said, it seems that is already happening. Indeed, I would not suggest a frontal assault; what I had in mind was more subtle - supporting a particular Clan or faction that would see us as allies."

[misfit]

"Interesting. One can never truly win a war by fighting purely defensively. Eventually one must neutralize the enemy's ability or will to make war upon you. This could be a way to achieve that."

"It does not seem that we could achieve a checkmate at this time, but if we could convince them that we can force a stalemate that is more expensive than they wish to pay, then perhaps we can negotiate a draw at least."

"Hmm...chess. So the Pattern would be our King...if we lose that we lose everything. And troops as I am used to think of them are just the pawns? It would not be expedient to send our queen and rooks out to hunt pawns. But if one is not careful a pawn can capture a queen. We will still need our own pawns to counter their own and leave our important pieces free to act. We would need them trained well enough to act with mininal, or no, supervision in a crisis. ..and of course they would have to defend the common folk since we are fighting defensively."

Nuall suddenly looks up startled...seemingly unaware that he was even speaking aloud. "My apologies, I seem to have gotten caught up in my own thoughts there. I did not mean to ramble. But that does help actually. I do not believe I have all of the answers yet, but I feel that I am starting to get a grasp on the situation."

[colomon]

"Can we operate on their end of things?" Renny asks. "On a personal level, I mean -- I like Alys's idea of seeking allies there."

[Wyvern]

"I would expect it to pose little difficulty for a prepared Amberite; even if the environment proves to be exceptionally hostile, Pattern should allow one to find the means to survive in Chaos - or, if necessary, to adapt local reality or move to a safer location. Similarly, those of us with shapeshifting," Alys nods to Solten, "should be able to adjust as needed. That said... I could easily imagine it proving lethal to an unprepared or incautious individual, especially one relying on found devices for personal survival."

"Then again," Alys grins cheerfully, "I am perhaps a bit paranoid about such things."

[coldcandor]

( Oddly fortuitous timing... Insane week was insane, and this is the first time I've been able to even glance at the forums since I posted last...

Does my memory fail me yet again? I do not recall there being any demonstration or word of Solten's shapeshifting ability outside of the Scorched Landing shadow. Or perhaps Alys' has a way of detecting it? Given what he found out about his past, he's none to keen to have his ability known publicly right now. Especially since the "enemy" appears to be quite closely related...)

So, delaying any reaction to that comment for the moment. Up until this point, Solten has been first chatting amiably with people present, then smiling supportively during Sadie's presentation. During the following discussion, he will listen and offer small comments, but it's obvious that he has no desire to be an integral part of the high-level maneuvering. Depending on the response to the above memory question, the nod to Solten about performing a stealth insertion mission potentially fits quite well.

[Wyvern]

OOC: Wasn't there a fairly obvious (to at least high-ish warfare types) demonstration of automatic shapeshifting during the dance at Rebma? If I'm misremembering, or if I've missed some clue indicating that Solten would prefer to keep that secret, I can certainly edit my previous post.
Edit: And keep in mind, such clues can be very subtle, and declared retroactively - so, for example, Alys might look around the room as she mentioned shapeshifting, and Solten might shake his head slightly as she looked in his direction; someone with high psyche or warfare could pick up on that, still, but it'd at least make Alys back off on a truly obvious declaration.

[coldcandor]

(Ah yes, the reference to his "suit no longer fitting quite right", that was the source of many jokes. The fun part is that he wouldn't really know what he'd done. I suppose that would be enough for someone of high warfare and knowledge of the subject. Fair enough. In that case...)

When Alys nods to him, Solten looks surprised then quickly tries to hide it behind a mask of nonchalance and denial. He gives an "I don't know what she's talking about" shrug. If you're above low ranked warfare, you can tell he's not surprised because of the reference to him, but because she somehow knows. After a moment, assuming no one chooses to speak up on the point immediately, he'll discreetly signal Oberon (I imagine he's there, though I don't recall seeing it directly) to not say anything. He trusts Sadie not to give anything away, since they had discussed his wariness before, if not the details behind it.