File: 086.jpg (271 KB, 1024x576)

271 KB JPG

>>44513115
>2.

With the rain outside you don’t particularly feel like going outside. You return to your study and begin making another cup of tea while one of the Hawkins servants brings some food up. Opening a connection to Lyria, you brace yourself for a burst of obscenity.

“It’s not very polite to assume such nasty things about people, Saul,” Lyria says less than a second after the link happens. “I did in fact head outside today.”

So the eating side of her life, you think. Hopefully nobody saw her flying about.

“I didn’t exactly fly. I do have a human form, as you’re well aware.”

A thought pops into your head as a response. It’s…

>1. “So you know what you’re wearing now?”
>2. To ask her about her meal. It’s only polite.
>3. Skip the pleasantries and talk to her about what’s happened recently.
>4. Custom

>>44513124
>> 2. To ask her about her meal. It’s only polite.

>>44513124

>1. “So you know what you’re wearing now?”

>>44513124
>1. “So you know what you’re wearing now?

>>44513124
>1. “So you know what you’re wearing now?”

>>44513124
>3. Skip the pleasantries and talk to her about what’s happened recently.

>>44513124
>1. “So you know what you’re wearing now?”

>>44513124
>>1. “So you know what you’re wearing now?”

>>44513124
>4. So where are you at? Can I guess?

>>44513124
Start with
>2. To ask her about her meal. It’s only polite.
then try to smoothly transition into
>1. “So you know what you’re wearing now?”

>>44513124
>>1. “So you know what you’re wearing now?”

Rolled 28 (1d100)

>>44513249
>try

>>44513124
>3. Skip the pleasantries and talk to her about what’s happened recently.

>>44513124
what's happening in Darlesia now? I remember there was a whole resistance thing in the original, but I can't remember if we've heard about it at all this time.

Rolled 7 (1d100)

>>44513282

>>44513314
>>44513282
>tfw Saul's adorable clumsiness is why Lyria likes him so much. Its so much fun watching him awkwardly stumble about.

>>44513389
>tfw Saul has the quiet cool
>but he also has the bumbling cute

Damn, son.

>>44513124
>>1. “So you know what you’re wearing now?”
Best response all time.

>>44513411
He got dat /ss/ appeal and the cool guy appeal. He's got dat money and power appeal. He's got everything a girl wants.

>>44513282
>so do you know if you're wearing what you ate
>...
>eating what you wore
>eat wearing
>um
>I-I tried Lyria senpai

File: Spoiler Image (124 KB, 1001x1001)

124 KB JPG

Rolled 9 (1d12)

>>44513442
Does he really?

>>44513470
He sure as hell does.

>>44513442
He isn't a big guy

>>44513442
he's a hidden gem looked over by many, whose heart has been hoarded by a dragon girl.
>>44513485
that's how /ss/ works, you gotta look young small, and adorable.

>>44513485
see>>44513470

>>44513470
>Saul's face when
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP42y28GTqc

File: 088.jpg (1022 KB, 1197x904)

1022 KB JPG

>1.

“So you know what you’re wearing now?”

“My scales.”

“In your human form.”

“I don’t remember.”

You frown at that as you remove the tea bag from the cup. “You knew all along and were just lying, weren’t you.”

“Would I ever lie?”

“Yes,” you say. “I distinctly remember you lying several times when I first met you. You tried to convince me you were the Great Wardragon.”

Laughter echoes in your head. “You nearly believed me.”

“No, I didn’t,” you say, blatantly lying to a dragon who can read your thoughts. “So, what are you wearing?”

“Something that makes you wish this telepathic link went the other way. That tea smells quite nice, by the way,” Lyria says and you get the impression that she’s stretching out. “Do you plan on coming to visit me or are you too busy poking vampires with your sword?”

“I thought you didn’t care if I visited you.”

“I said that winter was boring. Find some time between your marches, little one.”

“Do I get a present?”

“Bring me Volante’s head and I will,” she says and know she’s gearing up for more serious talk.

You sip at your tea and look out the window. This was, more or less, your city now. You wondered how long it would be before it would be a city that knew of your power, and your dragon, and still be yours.

“Long enough,” Lyria says. “Is that steak you’re having for lunch?”

Thanking the servant, you take the plate and go to your desk. “It’s a very big steak.”

“I can see that.”

“I’ll start eating it while the link is open if you tell me what you’re wearing,” you say, fully aware that Lyria would be able to taste what you were tasting if she cared to.

[DC66 Tempting a Dragon]

>>44513559
I MUST DO THIS

Rolled 43 (1d100)

>>44513559

Rolled 61 (1d100)

>>44513559
Got this

Rolled 69 (1d100)

>>44513559

>>44513570
kek

>>44513599
Perfect number to roll, man. Good job.

>>44513599
dat clutch save

>>44513599
The best number to pass on seduction with,

>>44513599
ABSOLUTELY PERFECT

>>44513508
>>44513507
The meme

Your head

Rolled 90 (1d100)

>>44513559

>>44513634
4u, yeah, yeah, we get it. /ss/ is srs business.

>>44513599
Bow chicka

>>44513599
Mein god. The fucking irony.

>>44513686
That's Gott to you.

>>44513720
German go away. I'm here to butcher your language and listen to rammstein. Not actually speak real German.

>>44513115

My God, Saul's Gonna be this world's Putin.

Wealth, Power, Former Member of the Inquisition, Manlet, knows combat, Takes control of minor States to expand power and influence, hated because of past affiliations, deals with Dragons/Devils.

Even a Russian sounding last name,

>>44513757
I'm not even German, mate.

>>44513773
I can only imagine him taking vacations from being the emperor by going off into the woods in bugfuck no where and knife fighting bears now.

>>44513773
I'm perfectly fine with this.

File: Vlad havin a giggle then....gif (3.72 MB, 347x244)

3.72 MB GIF

>>44513773

>>44513773
Absolutely perfect

>>44513809
No one knows german other then germans and rock bands. It's a dying language compared to Superior Hispanic and Arabic.

>>44513829
>Saul goes out into the mountains alone one day, everyone baffled

>comes back covered in gore from all sorts of hellish abominations, fae, shadowbeast, actual demons, while balls deep in a black dragon

Goddammit, Saul.

>>44513848
I just picked this shit off the streets, mate. All nouns are capitalized and there are two "t"s in Gott

File: 094.jpg (833 KB, 2560x1600)

833 KB JPG

>Target met

You can sense the dragon’s hesitation. It wasn’t exactly a big ask but her pride would take a hit if she let you take control of the situation. That just meant you would need to take more dramatic action.

You cut into the juicy steak with slow, strong strokes of the knife. Blood oozes out of the rare tenderloin and you can see that the chef that made this knows how to cook steak. You remove a slice, letting the delicious red meat be visible to your eyes, and to the dragon looking through them. The aroma of the meat is enough to set your mouth watering and it takes no small amount of willpower to lower the steak back to the plate.

“It’ll go cold if you wait,” Lyria says, and you can hear the longing.

“I’m taking in the sight and smell. Good food is more than just taste,” you say.

You count down from ten mentally, aware that the dragon knows you’re counting. When you hit three she cuts in.

“Fine, I’ll tell you if you eat the damned steak. Now put that bloody meat and your mouth and stop teasing me,” she snaps out.

“Tell me first.”

“Nothing.”

“What?”

>continued

File: 095.jpg (1.91 MB, 2560x1600)

1.91 MB JPG

>>44513875
“I’m wearing nothing. It’s drying out after I got caught in the rain while finding a deer,” she says and you can hear her frustration. “Eat the damned steak.”

Ah, no wonder you would wish the connection went the other way. This feels like a hollow victory now, but you begin to eat the steak. Lyria practically moans in your head as you demolish it.

“My real name is Saul Rorsgrov,” you say mentally when halfway through and then briefly explain the current situation involving your past.

Lyria goes silent, even if you can still pick up the general sensation of her enjoyment of the steak. Remaining this way for a few more bites, she eventually sighs.

“Well, it is your decision how to do things. It’s convenient enough for now but you may regret it soon enough,” she says.

“You’re not upset?”

“I would have thought less of you if I had known this earlier, but I know you too well to think you some sort of inquisitor,” she says. “Others might not, however. You’re still young and your empire is only forming however, so there is plenty of time to decide your allies differently. Just know that you might need to go further for some if you desire them.”

>Do you have any questions for Lyria? There’ll be a final update to the scene after questions anyway.

>>44513895
Any idea what Sylvia is going to think? How the hell are we supposed to deal with her anyways?

>nothing
Poor Saul's gonna be rebooting for a moment.

>>44513856
That's... actually pretty likely.

>>44513895
Nope.

>>44513950
>Poor Saul's gonna be rebooting for a moment.

>"So I'm just going to cut this chat short. No real reason."

Poor guy.

>>44513895
Is Ser Lynn going to be a womanlet forever?

Any suggestions for reviving a nearly dead noble line?

>>44513895
We should probably ask her what her opinion is in the long term with keeping the dragon population stable using the empire later on.

>>44513895
How long can she maintain her human form and how does she feel about doing it for long periods of time? Maybe once we are in a firmer position she could move in with us if she gets too bored or lonely.

File: 114.jpg (215 KB, 1680x1050)

215 KB JPG

>>44513988
>Is Ser Lynn going to be a womanlet forever?
Oh yeah, that. Up to you guys if you want to talk to Lyria about that.

LYNN VOTE
>1. Mention to Lyria about Lynn being a dragon and a woman.
>2. Leave Lynn out of this for now.
>3. Custom

>>44514034
>>1. Mention to Lyria about Lynn being a dragon and a woman.

>>44514034
>2. Leave Lynn out of this for now.
its her business

>>44514034
>2. Leave Lynn out of this for now

>>44514034
>1. Mention to Lyria about Lynn being a dragon and a woman.

>>44514034
>>1. Mention to Lyria about Lynn being a dragon and a woman.

>"So I've been seeing another dragon woman without realizing it."

>>44514034
>1. Mention to Lyria about Lynn being a dragon and a woman.

>>44514034
>1. Mention to Lyria about Lynn being a dragon and a woman.

>>44514034
>2. Leave Lynn out of this for now.
We have other pressing issues to deal with.

>>44514034
>1. Mention to Lyria about Lynn being a dragon and a woman.

>>44514034
>2. Leave Lynn out of this for now.

>>44514034
If we do mention it we should make sure she keeps it a secret. We can trust Lyria and Lynn knows about Lyria.

>>44514070
We're talking with Lyria, this is the best chance to bring this up.

File: Cooking with Hannibal.webm (2.89 MB, 1280x720)

2.89 MB WEBM

>>44513895
The ultimate cocktease.
>Open the link and let her see/smell that shit cooking.
Could backfire quite spectacularly if she somehow force Saul to cook a human

>>44514034
I am kind of tempted to see how she would react to the thought of there being a cute dragon knight girl right next door.

>>44514118
>Saul doesn't really care, as he is regularly covered in human gore.

>meanwhile everyone looks on horrified at the salivating Lyria

>>44514136
Would be more interesting if she found out exactly who the father of said dragon is at the same time
but we don't know that IC

>>44514034
>>2. Leave Lynn out of this for now.

>>44514178
It would be hilarious yes.

"The wardragons daughter is running around my camp. I wonder if I could convince him to burn a few keeps down though a please daddy letter?"

File: 116.jpg (319 KB, 1920x1200)

319 KB JPG

>>44514118
>Could backfire quite spectacularly if she somehow force Saul to cook a human
Why would she do that and how?

>>44513950
>Any idea what Sylvia is going to think? How the hell are we supposed to deal with her anyways?

“I would think you would know better how to handle that. Wouldn’t you have interacted with her at some point, little noble heir?” Lyria asks, revealing an irritating new nickname.

“I think I met her at a function when I was seven,” you respond, casting your mind back. “She was rather abrupt. Probably because my father wasn’t exactly all that important to her.”

“In other words, whatever connection you have to the Guard as nobility has nothing to do with her. You’re just another person who left. I wouldn’t concern yourself with her, especially given her weakening power base.”

>>44514005
>>44514013
>We should probably ask her what her opinion is in the long term with keeping the dragon population stable using the empire later on.
>How long can she maintain her human form and how does she feel about doing it for long periods of time? Maybe once we are in a firmer position she could move in with us if she gets too bored or lonely.

“Perhaps you should first forge an empire that has the slightest chance of dealing with those that would hunt dragons for profit before entertaining such ideas,” Lyria says. “You’re ambitious and all too fun to play with, Saul, but you’re no dragon king.”

Yet, you think. Lyria doesn’t react to the thought, which you take as a positive sign.

>>44514034
>>1. Mention to Lyria about Lynn being a dragon and a woman.

File: 122.jpg (1.72 MB, 1900x1150)

1.72 MB JPG

>>44514227
>1. Mention to Lyria about Lynn being a dragon and a woman.

You explain the situation about Lynn, including the fact she feels a bit odd. Going through your memories, particularly those from Vitria and the fight against Volante, Lyria seems to spend some time picking through your thoughts. Long enough for you to finish your lunch and move to the sitting room outside the study with some more tea.

“There’s something very curious about your little dragon-girl. Do you know her age?” Lyria says after some time.

No, you think. You hadn’t thought to ask that. It was relatively important for a dragon – you’d guess Lynn to be a few decades old based on what you had read.

“And a black dragon, too. Well, enjoy your catch but not too much.”

You have no idea what she’s referring to, but you do intend to enjoy the fact that you had a dragon serving under you as a general. It would be extremely useful going forward. Lyria sighs in your head in response, muttering about how you can sometimes not be as fun.

You hear a knock at the door, followed by Lynn’s lilting artificial voice, “Are you in, General? I have gone over the recent situation with Master Cormann and Captain Malaine.”

As you indicate to Lynn to enter, you…

>1. Leave the connection with Lyria open.
>2. Close the connection.
>3. Custom

>>44514260
>>1. Leave the connection with Lyria open.

>>44514260
>>1. Leave the connection with Lyria open.

>>44514260
>2. Close the connection.

Maybe next time.

>>44514260
>> 1. Leave the connection with Lyria open.

Rolled 73, 35 = 108 (2d100)

>>44514260
>1. Leave the connection with Lyria open.
Tempting the dragon(s)

>>44514260
>1. Leave the connection with Lyria open.
she needs to see who the girl-manlet is. We can then figure out based on Lyria's reaction then.

>>44514260
>3. Custom
Leave the connection open and subtly inform Lynn who we're talking to.

>>44514344
backing the subtly

>>44514260
Lynn did want to learn about dragon stuff, right?

Well, here's the chance?

I back being dracosexual

>>44514344
Pretty sure given she can feel dragon magic she'll notice.

>>44514260
>2. Close the connection.

>>44514260
>1. Leave the connection with Lyria open.

>>44514260
>1. Leave the connection with Lyria open.

>>44514260
Lyria's several tiers of power above us, but she's still only in her early 200s right? Which means she's come into her full power only relatively recently. Plus she isn't a helldragon, feldragon or royalty. How does she fare in the dragon power levels?

I'm guessing that she's not anywhere near the power levels of the other subspecies, but if she got all the way to adulthood alone without help, she probably makes up for it by being canny or savvy in some way? Having the eye to use someone like Saul as a future investment seems to point toward this

I think I just really like the idea that a vanilla dragon managed to survive on nothing but her own inborn talents and intelligence, and that she has a very different opinion on what it means to be a dragon, unlike Lairos or Sylvian or Rayza, especially after the fall of the kingdom when everything tries to hint them before they can actually come into power, and Saul is her way of investing in her future to raise her net power

File: 123.jpg (315 KB, 758x1000)

315 KB JPG

>1.

Lyria had been very curious about Lynn so you decide to let her stick around while you speak to your… general, now? If you were going to have an empire, that meant you were an emperor and he was a general. You would probably need to sort that out sooner rather than later.

Either way, you shush Lyria and have Lynn enter. He enters in full armour as you’d expected and takes a seat opposite you. It’s a good thing much of his armour is mail rather than plate. You had already set a map down across the table in the room, evne if it wasn’t as detailed as the one Cormann preferred to work with.

“I take it nothing has happened back at the ford?” you ask Lynn. You’d left the army there for the past few days, wary of Volante advancing south while you were busy with politics.

“Not exactly at the ford, but we do appear to have some news,” Lynn says. “Indications are that Volante is returning to the capital – we saw he and his knights heading west by themselves. He will most likely be replaced by another daywalker, but the transition period will leave us with an opening.

“Captain Glynn has heard a little from Darlesia. It appears the resistance operating within the city are placing more faith in the Seraphs to aid them. How they’ll manage as such with the League having pushed them all the way back to Haylsburg is beyond our understanding.”

>continued

File: 128.jpg (109 KB, 1000x700)

109 KB JPG

>>44514637
That was news. “The League is besieging Haylsburg?”

“We believe as much. Magister-General Falwick was grievously wounded in combat against some mages – suspected to be combat magisters. Information is thin, but the RSK is already beginning to recruit nobles and soldiers en masse to reinforce the northern front before more League forces arrive.”

Well, shit. If the League broke the front then you needed to move on Darlesia as soon as possible – even if they didn’t the RSK might take the city. You’d been thinking of heading there, but with Volante retreating to the capital it increased the likelihood of him appearing to thwart you in Darlesia.

Before you could say anything, Lyria butted in, “Ask her what her parentage is?”

You…

>1. Do as Lyria says, ask Lynn about her parentage.
>2. Ignore Lyria for now and focus on the current situation
>3. Tell Lyria to butt out.
>4. Custom

>>44514652
>1. Do as Lyria says, ask Lynn about her parentage.
I mean we already know so let's just establish this in this continuity.

>>44514652
>>2. Ignore Lyria for now and focus on the current situation

>>44514652
2+3
focus on the current situation but point out that it seems like she already has some suspicions, given her earlier comments

>>44514652
>1. Do as Lyria says, ask Lynn about her parentage.

>>44514652
>>1. Do as Lyria says, ask Lynn about her parentage.

>>44514652
>1. Do as Lyria says, ask Lynn about her parentage.

>>44514652
>2. Ignore Lyria for now and focus on the current situation

>>44514652
>>1. Do as Lyria says, ask Lynn about her parentage.

>>44514635

If I remember right lyria is like mid tier. End quest Talon could kill her solo but she has a huge growth potential with Saul and opens up a bunch of hellishly powerful tricks.

>>44514652
>2. Ignore Lyria for now and focus on the current situation.

If we can work something to the effect of "Oh and Lynn, let me know if I need to be worried about any of your family showing up" then go for it. Start making her comfortable with her parentage as a topic of discussion, but don't push too hard right now.

>>44514738
If she joins us directly, she can grow like anyone else. The strength of our BDR is also dependent on her strength, but using it puts her temporarily out of commission.

Decisions, decisions.

>>44514652
>>2. Ignore Lyria for now and focus on the current situation
Not yet, Lyria. We'll ask it at the end of the strategy meeting.

>>44514652
>2. Ignore Lyria for now and focus on the current situation
>ease the transition about worrying about the fact that she's a dragon and the need to know her parentage.

>>44514652
2

>be Lynn
>be a bad ass dragon knight
>literal dragon who is also a knight
>constantly taking shit for being a girl
>also a midget
>even though I could kick their asses with one hand tied behind my back

>meet another midget
>he's pretty cool
>sneaky fucker figured out I'm a girl but he's cool because he didn't give a shit
>plus I think he's a dragon too, though there's something weird about his power
>whateva he's a bro
>go update him on the war situation, ask for orders from him
>dude just stares at me with a thousand yard stare
>he does that a lot
>got a bit of drool there too, brah that's gross
>oh he's back
>1. Do as Lyria says, ask Lynn about her parentage.
>WHO'S YOUR DADDY
>oh my god this autistic manlet isn't my bro after all

this wasn't a vote

>>44514771
Clearly we wait until we have an alternate power source or have changed our bond with her so BDR doesn't put her out of commission before we get her to openly join us.

Or we call her now and paint a giant target on her...

File: 129.jpg (251 KB, 1100x710)

251 KB JPG

>>44514635
Relative to a dragon of the same age as her from better times, Lyria isn't anything too special. She's a bit bigger than most dragons and certainly more experienced but otherwise not overwhelming powerful or anything.

Compared to most dragons now, she's one of the older dragons that is still sane. One of the few other dragons that comes to mind is Prague, Darvui's pet dragon in the RSK, who is a bit older. She could go toe-to-toe with him normally. Lairos, Tylarne, Sylvian etc would smash her into little bits, though they'd need to draw on their reserves. Compared to mages, elementals etc it would probably take a full power Gnome or Taira to comfortably defeat her and even then it's situational. The reserves of a dragon can let them punch well above their weight.

>>44514771
I'm pretty sure she can still fight while Saul BDR but it weakens her strength.

So it's a trade off to use it while she is around.

>>44514856
Would it take centuries for her to reach wardragon levels of strength partying with us, or is there something we could do to accelerate her growth?

>>44514918
Sleeping with the source, perhaps?

PoPing her cherry?

>>44514652
>2. Ignore Lyria for now and focus on the current situation

We've not done a lot to make lynn trust us, have we? Even if we ask of her lineage now she could easily lie.

>>44514918
We could feldragon her. We could also exploit the link for some cheats that hasn't been explained yet. We could get her some magical equipment.

I doubt she'll ever just reach lairos level without being the same age. If she ever did though then her plus saul would be right at unstoppable.

>>44514918
Liaros is a Feldragon so no. Should we do the Feldragon ritual with her? I think so.

>>44514944
I have been kind of wondering if we could use a PoP as a mana source once we maxed out Gnome.

>>44514918
wait is there even functional immortality for us this time around? Or did that get thrown out as mechanic?

I didn't even understand the point of that hurrdurrr TALON'S CHILDREN AND HEIRS shit when we were supposed to be the immortal god Emperor forever and ended up bailing on those threads

>>44515006
>Sauls children are all feldragons

The irony of this can not be explained.

>>44515044
I think that was thrown out the window. Among other things.

>>44515044
Family drama is fun and when your dad is a badass emperor there is a lot of possible family drama.

>>44515044
Immortality wise? The dragon waifu knows some methods I'm pretty sure.

>>44515005
>>44515006
>hey babe, I love you but you're not strong enough. You mind undergoing a procedure that will disfigure you, render you sterile, make you a pariah and outcast to the rest of your race, and join a sub race generally reviled as the cause of the downfall of your kingdom? Thanks

Are you guys for real

File: absolutely not.jpg (31 KB, 294x278)

31 KB JPG

>>44515006
fuck no. I wants Lyria to have kids. Not render her sterile.

>>44515111
Trips confirm no feldragon ritual

>>44515111
Honestly, if we give her the dick enough, she might just evolve on her own into something new.

That's my headcanon, and we should stick to it.

>>44515144
>>44515111
>Sterile
Liaros has a cure for that and oh look! We have someone who can introduce us.

>>44515111
We should know at that point that there is a method past the sterility. We don't know what the Disfigure part really even means yet because Lairos and Tylarne don't seem to be too different from normal dragons.

I don't think the rest of the dragon race would really care about a feldragon anymore other then the silver dragon waifu. Since most didn't get anywhere near that war and now it's all a three way surivalfest.

In other words something to look into but not something 100 percent till we know more.

File: 130.jpg (225 KB, 1280x657)

225 KB JPG

>2.

You ignore Lyria, taking a brief second to tell her ‘later’, before resuming the discussion. “How certain are we that the resistance is asking for assistance from the RSK, and that they’re recruiting so hard?”

“Very. Maloric has a contact in the Seraphi nobility who has confirmed both matters,” Lynn says. “There are plenty of options we have going forward but with the war between the Magi League and the Seraphs heating up…”

“We’re running low on time to get moving. Taour’s only lasted this long because the others are distracted – of course, they’ll also be hasty. If they haven’t solidified their power base by the time attention turns to them then they’ll be destroyed,” you say, staring at the map as if it’s going to suddenly give you a magnificent strategy to use. “Whatever we do, we’ll need to capture Darlesia before we take Taour itself or else it will be snapped up by one of the greater powers.”

It takes you a few minutes of muttering plans before you realise that Lynn has been silent for some time, simply watching you. You lean back into your chair, sipping at your cold tea as if you should feel embarrassed about this. Your actions do seem to make Ser Lynn a little more self-aware.

>continued

Wonder who the most ancient and powerful -normal- dragon was. Wonder how he stacks up to the big players nowadays. Wonder what he was like in his day.

>>44515179
>Hey let's go meet Liaros!

How is this possibly a good idea?

It's nice to know that some things never change. Anons will never actually be able to write or remember names of characters in this quest correctly.

File: 131.jpg (62 KB, 840x640)

62 KB JPG

>>44515212
“I meant no offense, sir. It is always interesting to see you at work, strategizing,” he says, his helmet making it look as if he’s looking directly at you, not that you can tell behind that darkness. “I suppose I had always just thought that great generals simply just knew what needed to be done.”

“If that were the case then wars wouldn’t contain so many blunders,” you say lightly, echoing Lyria’s words as she says them in your mind.

You lean back and finish your tea, placing the cup back on the saucer. Lynn seems to realise that’s the end of the formal meeting, which is odd given he was the one who came to you. Then again, based on what he just said he perhaps expected you to snap your fingers and make a decision. Too many variables to do that, you think. Like Farun and this RSK noble that Maloric knows.

Lynn is rising to leave, you…

>1. Stop her, bringing up the topic of dragons with her so that you can ask her about her parentage.
>2. Let the question lie for now and speak to Lyria about it.
>3. Let the question and Lyria lie for now while you do something else.
>4. Custom

>>44515236
>>1. Stop her, bringing up the topic of dragons with her so that you can ask her about her parentage.

>>44515236
>1. Stop her, bringing up the topic of dragons with her so that you can ask her about her parentage.

>>44515236
>1. Stop her, bringing up the topic of dragons with her so that you can ask her about her parentage.

>>44515217
By that point anon Lairos and Saul could be drinking buddies. We aren't going to be thinking about children for a long time.

>>44515236
>>1. Stop her, bringing up the topic of dragons with her so that you can ask her about her parentage.

>>44515236
>2. Let the question lie for now and speak to Lyria about it.

>>44515236
>2. Now doesn't seem like a good time.

If Lyria has suspicions I'd rather know them before the conversation with Lynn about the big bad dragon in her family.

>>44515236
>1. Stop her, bringing up the topic of dragons with her so that you can ask her about her parentage.
>>44515217
Good point. We should ask Tylarne instead.

>>44515236
>1. Stop her, bringing up the topic of dragons with her so that you can ask her about her parentage.

File: 132.jpg (181 KB, 640x800)

181 KB JPG

>>44515185
>Lairos and Tylarne don't seem to be too different from normal dragons.
Beyond Lairos being huge, he's also considerably more spiky and his body and head are very monstrous looking. Mind you, helldragons have similar issues with their appearance but they're more consistent - feldragons can change in appearance quite radically.

>>44515216
Once you get past about 200 years, aside from natural differences too much of it comes down to a mixture of experience and your reserves for regular dragons. Fel/helldragons like Lairos and Sylvian have an edge in that they simply have more magic to play with and know a lot of nasty tricks, but even they tend to space their major conflicts out by a century or two.

A regular dragon faces the same issue, so the most powerful dragon historically would be those that either had some way of supercharging their reserves (which was a thing pre-Cataclysm) or simply hadn't fought much (but had fought enough to get experience).

>>44515044
>wait is there even functional immortality for us this time around?
Saul hasn't worked out how to stop his aging yet, because it's not a major field of study for him. If you picked up Channelling Lv2 it's an option, however. Of course, even if you stop your aging your body still eventually fails over the course of a couple of centuries as the magical strain causes issues (and your soul burns out) so you'll need a longer-term solution if you want to live with a dragon for most of their lifespan.

>>44515236
>>1. Stop her, bringing up the topic of dragons with her so that you can ask her about her parentage.

>>44515236
>1. Stop her, bringing up the topic of dragons with her so that you can ask her about her parentage.

>>44515402
Research team, pls start thinking about ways to supercharge our dragon that don't involve disfiguring her

Priority is below daywalker knights but above siege archers

>>44515470
Source/PoP shenanigans?

>>44515492
thank you research team!

File: 138.jpg (471 KB, 1920x1200)

471 KB JPG

>1.

“I did want to speak with you about your…” you say, trailing off as you realise you shouldn’t necessarily say it aloud.

Unfortunately, Lynn doesn’t quite get the gist of what you meant, instead tilting his head at you in confusion.

“Speak with you about your… dragon… thing,” you finish lamely. “After the fight with Volante I was curious about a few things.”

Lynn nods and sits back down. “That’s understandable. I’m assuming it’s about why I don’t use my power so much?”

“Because you’re trying to maintain your reserves?” you suggest.

You get a blank stare in return, or what you imagine to be a blank stare. This would be easier if he took off the helmet. You sigh and busy yourself with getting some drinks, asking Lynn what he wants.

“Ale is fine,” he says and you hear the thunk of his helmet on the table a moment later. His next words are in his real, female voice, “I’m not sure what you mean by reserves. I just don’t use much because I’m still learning, really.”

“Oh, so you’re young?”

“More or less, I’m only nineteen,” he says,

You nearly drop the pitcher of ale you’d removed from the icebox. That was… far too young for somebody as experienced at battle as him. Then again, you weren’t one to talk. Lyria certainly piped up at that.

“Too young to be hiding her magic so well, especially as a black dragon. If she was a blue dragon I might buy it. Something is very off here,” Lyria says to you in your head.

“I’m impressed. I’d thought you would be far older, being a dragon of your power,” you say as you place the tankard of ale in front of Lynn. “Powerful parents? Or parent?”

“Err, parent,” Lynn says. “My mother was just an ordinary woman in a village. No magic. My father was…”

[DC77 Lynn’s Trust]

>>44515470
We raise our personal magic reserves well past ridiculous levels and then bond her as a familiar so she can draw from us? A la >>44515492?

>>44515470
You really want to do everything the same way again?

Rolled 18 (1d100)

>>44515534
Manlets can trust each other

Rolled 91 (1d100)

>>44515534

File: 1438742795229.png (622 KB, 790x720)

622 KB PNG

>>44515564
Happening

Rolled 5 (1d100)

>>44515534
Don't fail don't fail don't fail!

>>44515564
we got dat trust.

>>44515564
saul the trustworthy!
saul the goddman!

>>44515582
Yikes, that was close!

>>44515564
>tfw I was also the one who passed the sneak roll to figure out Lynn's gender.
>feels good mang.

>>44515638
You are now our Lynn man.

>>44515402
I wouldn't mind being a "normal" smuchk in terms of aging

>>44515552
Nah I'm just choked we only got to use our vampire nightwalkers once, and never had a dedicated daywalker unit. Didn't care for the daerfir units or fox artillery. Having our own quirky miniboss squad with random but diverse powers that aren't as powerful as hero units is something I want to see though

>>44515738
Felix more than made up for that though.

File: 141.jpg (513 KB, 1600x703)

513 KB JPG

>Target met

It’s a long pause before Lynn speaks again, “This would be easier if I could just say a different name, but you’ve got a dragon who can through all that, don’t you?”

You frown at that, not liking the tone. Lynn waves his hands, as if to dismiss the negativity.

“I don’t mean it like that,” he says. “It’s just that the whole situation is rather awkward. Things will be easier if I don’t tell you the truth but you have a dragon that will see through things eventually. I’m not really a normal dragon.”

You’d figured that, as had Lyria. The question is, what made him not a ‘normal’ dragon.

“My father is, or at least I’m very sure he is, Lairos,” he says.

Well, that makes him a very not normal dragon. Probably the greatest reason you could think of for being a not normal dragon besides having Sylvian for a mother.

“I had a suspicion she was a feldragon but this is…” Lyria seems shocked herself. Hadn’t she expected as much?

“I thought she might have been experimented on, or attempted a botched feldragon ritual herself,” Lyria protests. “It’s not unheard of – I’ve dealt with my fair share of stupid young dragons who do crazy things in the face of adversity. But Lairos as a father… how is that possible?”

Good question. You voice it. “My understanding is that feldragons are infertile.”

“Are they? Well, Lairos doesn’t seem it. He wouldn’t even recognise me as his daughter,” Lynn says, seeming annoying now. Perhaps you should have sounded less like you didn’t believe him. “Said he had a son and didn’t need to worry about anything else.”

“How do you know he’s your father then?”

>continued

File: 142.jpg (666 KB, 1700x1050)

666 KB JPG

>>44515808
“Because Tylarne told me. I found him while I was searching for my father with Maloric. At first we thought he might be my father, but apparently single dragon parentage also results in the same colour offspring, which means that it has to be Lairos or some other random feldragon. Tylarne seemed certain that meant it had to be Lairos, however,” Lynn says, speaking quickly and rapidly getting upset.

You try to calm things down. “I believe you. It explains why your magic felt odd well enough. And Tylarne… well, I trust you and if the Font of Eternity was certain, then I can’t exactly doubt him.” Plus, Maloric can confirm the story from the sounds of it.

Lyria’s not really responding, which means trouble for you in working out if this is fine. In the end you…

>1. Consider it fine. Lynn hasn’t exactly done anything to make you distrust him, so what does his parentage matter?
>2. Keep badgering Lyria until she gives you an opinion. You’re worried about making promises to Lynn that Lyria won’t agree with.
>3. Tell Lynn it’s fine, but keep a close eye on him. You’re a little worried, between the feldragon parentage and the obvious father issues involved.
>4. Custom

>>44515828
>>1. Consider it fine. Lynn hasn’t exactly done anything to make you distrust him, so what does his parentage matter?

>>44515828
>1. Consider it fine. Lynn hasn’t exactly done anything to make you distrust him, so what does his parentage matter?

>>44515828
>>1. Consider it fine. Lynn hasn’t exactly done anything to make you distrust him, so what does his parentage matter?

>>44515828
>3. Tell Lynn it’s fine, but keep a close eye on him. You’re a little worried, between the feldragon parentage and the obvious father issues involved.

>>44515828
>>1. Consider it fine. Lynn hasn’t exactly done anything to make you distrust him, so what does his parentage matter?

>>44515828
>1. Consider it fine. Lynn hasn’t exactly done anything to make you distrust him, so what does his parentage matter?

>>44515828
>>1. Consider it fine. Lynn hasn’t exactly done anything to make you distrust him, so what does his parentage matter?

>>44515828
>1. Consider it fine. Lynn hasn’t exactly done anything to make you distrust him, so what does his parentage matter?

>>44515738
Addendum, I am legitimately happy that we will be actively limited in terms of hero units because actual strategy and special units will now make a difference

Ranged artillery and cavalry and mining battlefields and etc whatever other ideas we want to run with are actual options instead of
>"uh, vote for Taira nuking at range or Sala dropping a firestorm"
>"k well you failed that roll, too bad your non-hero units are too weak to make any sort of difference"
>"shit, you critfailed that recovery"
>vote: use FR point Y/N
>wait you used three last thread, nevermind you're all out

>>44515828
>1. Consider it fine. Lynn hasn’t exactly done anything to make you distrust him, so what does his parentage matter?

Bros to the end

>>44515828
>2.
Judging by Lynn's reaction to the subject of her father, and given the Lairos tends to play favorites despite being a deadbeat, I'd say Lairos is playing the favorite on the son, and Lynn has an issue with that. Lyria is also having an issue with the idea of Lynn's parentage if her silence is to be assumed.

>>44515808
>“Are they? Well, Lairos doesn’t seem it. He wouldn’t even recognise me as his daughter,” Lynn says, seeming annoying now.
>“Said he had a son and didn’t need to worry about anything else.”

>tfw when you can't live up to your onii-chan

>>44515828
Well fuck Lairos and fuck her brother and while we're at it, fuck Alyce since she's the mom too

We'll be best bro, and Lairos will regret ignoring his daughteru whose rise in fame and lower will far overshadow his son's

Deadbeat piece of shit

File: pouty.jpg (210 KB, 686x441)

210 KB JPG

>>44515944
>Lynns face when

>>44515738
>tfw remembering the entire Third Siege arc
>porting into a living war machine
>tearing shit up with nhmk, fox knights, and Felix
>the bridge stands
>the entire demon fight
>architectanon crying over the shattered remains of the city

Fuck me that was fun. Hope we get something like that again

>>44516000
Please do not fuck the Helldragon and your manlet bro's bro.

>>44516013
Oh yeah, that was a blast. I can still remember the adrenaline rush I got reading the last post of the first thread when we teleported onto the siege engine. Ah, that was a blast!

File: 145.jpg (575 KB, 1024x600)

575 KB JPG

>1.

It only takes you a couple of moments to make a decision, and it’s surprisingly easy. Despite what you saw to be a rocky start between the two of you, Lynn is definitely somebody you trust. It’s also clear that he trusts you – he could have just said that he didn’t want to talk about his father. It’s time to repay that trust by offering your own.

“Well, I’m surprised but I don’t think this changes anything,” you say, aware that Lynn’s a bit flustered. “Thank you for telling me.”

Lynn blinks at you a few times, then smiles brightly. “That’s okay. It’s nice to be able to not have to hide it.”

There’s a long pause, which you wait out as it’s clear that Lynn wants to say something more. You sip at the brandy you poured for yourself in the meantime – you needed to steel yourself for your next drinking session with Maloric somehow.

Finally, Lynn says, “How is your dragon going to react to this?” It was a plus that the question was ‘Will you tell you dragon about this?’ Also, you liked the way he said ‘your dragon’, even if Lyria would protest.

“I honestly have no idea,” you say honestly. “Given you don’t run around the battle eating people and generally murdering everything within arm’s reach, it’s kind of hard to compare you to Lairos.”

That settled matters enough for Lynn to leave happy. Which left you with a dragon in your head that hadn’t said anything for some time. The link was still open but Lyria was unresponsive.

“So, what do you think of it?” you ask her, for the nth time.

>continued

>>44515828
Wait I wonder if Lynn knows if Alyce is the mother of her half brother

Could be potential material for blackmail additional pressure during future negotiation with Alyce

>>44516000
>>44516042
Never mind, I read "Well" as "We'll"

File: NewAEQmapwicons.jpg (335 KB, 1000x1000)

335 KB JPG

>>44516077
“How the hell am I supposed to know?” she suddenly snaps at you. “Not only is such a thing supposed to be impossible, everything you’ve told and shown me about this little girl has her being a loyal and trusting subordinate. Lairos is the antithesis of her. No wonder he rejected her – I worry for what the son is like.”

That… was a good point. Any son that Lairos favoured more than Lynn was bound to be a coming problem. But that was a problem for another day. For now, you just had to worry about Taour. You turn your attention back to the map, not noticing that Lyria didn’t close the link like she usually would.

>That’s the thread

Thanks to everybody for participating. Next thread on Friday 8th January at 5:30pm EST. I go back to work next week so that means one thread a week (sometimes two in a single weekend, depending how burnt out I am from work).

Keep in mind that the next thread will have to have decision making early on. With Vitria more or less dealt with, you’ve got a few options. There’s Darlesia, or retaking Trembin. Farun is also a negotiation possibility, especially as you’ve outed yourself as a noble (and they like the Guard, unlike most nations). You could even decide to be a real shit and take advantage of the RSK weakness and seize some land from them, though that would have long-term consequences.

I'll also update the borders on this map and post it on twitter. The main change is that you now control Vitrian territory below the river.

>>44516118
That was a hugely long thread. Thanks for hanging on, Aspir.

>one day we will fight Lairos' son

>on that day we will lose handily

>on that day Lynn will show she shares her father's anger and capacity for destruction in a way Lairos' son never could

I'm hype. Anyone else?

>>44516118
So easy mode would be retaking Trembin and making Vitria happy

Hard mode is taking Darlesia before Volante can get there.

Impossible mode is taking Darlesia while Volante is defending it.

>>44516118
Thank you for running! I know I had my share of salt (and probably a few other people's shares too), but I had a good time. Shit's starting to get real!

>>44516118
>Lairos is the antithesis of her. No wonder he rejected her – I worry for what the son is like.”
Lyria raises a really good point. And that worries me so much about Alyce and the unknown Feldragon boy.
Have you figured out how to bring up and work out what the boy's backstory and personality supposed to be?

File: 1435993087122.gif (2 MB, 400x194)

2 MB GIF

>>44516169
>Impossible mode is taking Darlesia while Volante is defending it.

Clearly your heart isn't in the right place. Big heroes are only born of great deeds. Just jump right the fuck into that shit!

Don't, really, but we do need higher risk for higher reward.

File: 146.jpg (920 KB, 1600x1060)

920 KB JPG

>>44516118
>I go back to work next week so that means one thread a week (sometimes two in a single weekend, depending how burnt out I am from work).

One other thing on this - I used to do SoL stuff after regular threads due to the issue I often had fitting that in on top of the plot. I'll probably still look at doing that, particularly now that the character numbers have jumped a bit and there's some more stuff to do (e.g. Harrowmont reconstruction, diplomacy).

Also, was there anybody who had ideas for the flag or colours? I'll probably play around in photoshop to create a few possibilities for the phoenix flag.

>>44516130
I think it was normal length - I started only 8 hours ago. Mind you, the fact that I somehow churned out 7k+ words between the 1.5 hours of XP and name/banner discussion surprises me.

>>44516175
I'm still trying to work out exactly where he fits in. To be honest, he'll probably be modified depending on the direction Saul heads in and how things play out immediately following Taour (e.g. when you start having to consider the fact there is a larger war that wants to involve you). There's the potential to make him a villainous foil to Saul if I feel that necessary - having active enemies and nemesises can only be good for the quest. Hence why Volante showed up so early.

>>44516082
Yep, because Alyce will be even more friendly to the ex-Guard noble after he tries to blackmail her.

>>44516254
Gold phoenix on red.
How old is Lairos' son now?

>>44516279
>not a red phoenix on a black hexagonal patterned background for subtlety

The scales are black, after all.

>>44516145
>one day Lairos' son will try to fight us on his parents' orders

>on that day we will turn away from him disdainfully, as he isn't worthy of the attention of an Emperor

>on that day, he will meet the sister he never knew existed, the sister that his father never acknowledged as worthy, and that sister will curbstomp him

>on that day, Lynn will show how her independence, willpower and intelligence makes her stronger and superior to Lairos and his son in every way

>and Lairos' son will know shame and regret at never striking it out on his own, never being anything more than a pawn for his parents scheming

Actually this kid must be messed up, given that dad doesn't give a shit, mom isn't there, and he's basically the product of an exchange of services/goods for political gain, and neither of them gives a shit about him as an individual

Hey Aspir is Felix , Finn or that group of Shrophrami Combat Magisters whose names escape me presently going to show up?

Is Laryyra's water sister active yet? Could Mal summon her? I think I remember his elements being water and fire.

>>44516254
Yellow Phoenix silhouette against a onyx black background? It looks nice if you add a metallic shine to the edges.

How much of a hand did Lairos have in the boy's childhood? There's a difference between being a deadbeat and one who actively tries to influence their child.

>>44516305
>the dragon behind the phoenix

Well shit. That would make a decent metaphor for Lyria and Saul.

Too bad no one will like it.

>>44516306
The amount of angst and edginess the boy will emit from mere presence triggers me yet at the same time makes me pity him. He is in dire need of TLC.

File: Phoenix4.jpg (544 KB, 1000x1000)

544 KB JPG

>>44516360
>>44516305
Something like this, but without the sparks and then with the hex pattern fading out on one side?

>>44516305
I'd be down for that

>>44516411
Noooiiiiiice.

I'll back.

>>44516411
I think we have a winner.

>>44516411
why don't we have the dragon AND the phoenix?

>>44516411
Anons pls. That was literally one of the first things I got for googling "phoenix"

Someone with better googlefu could probably find a better one

>>44516397
>tfw Saul "died" when he left the MG to be born again as the new Emperor in Harrowmont, the phoenix

>the dragon Lyria who supported him, and gave him greater avenues of power and insight, and helped to ensure he made it

Son of a bitch

Plans for the future-

I probably see the most time sensitive move as the retaking of Darlesia. If we do not move now, the RSK is going to move in themselves, and we can't have that. As such, this is a strong contender for our first move.

At the same time, with Volante gone, now's the best time to retake Trembin. Our forces are already in position for this. This will further secure our position within Vitria. Further, with Trembin secured, we can move a greater proportion of our soldiers to Darlesia. If we can secure an alliance or incorporation with Farun, we would definitely have the forces to make that flank secure. However, getting Farun in on the fight earlier might be good, as they can provide forces for the retaking of Trebin as well.

Given how long it would take to muster troops, I'd say we have about a month and a half before the RSK launches their attack. Not a lot of time.

So I give the following suggestion: We blitz up to Trembin with our existing forces, preferably with an assist from Farun. Once we reach the city, we leave a sufficient holding force behind to lay siege and take the main body of our army to Darlesia, where we would form up with the existing border guards and attempt to at least encircle Darlesia before RSK involvement.

This is, of course, assuming that the RSK wants a piece of Taour, which they definitely have good cause for. They might be readying their army for something else. I hesitate to say it but it might be a localized conflict with the League. I sure as hell hope it isn't us, anyways.

>>44516455
because the shape of a dragon triggers many people. If you only show dragon scales in the background, people will more likely gloss over that fact and attribute it to background design. Subtlety is key anon.

>>44516397
Don't worry, anon, I like it.

>>44516411
That's pretty awesome!

File: 150.jpg (351 KB, 1920x1080)

351 KB JPG

>>44516344
>Felix
At this point, not on your side.

>Finn
He's around. I wouldn't mind bringing him back, because he would develop in an entirely different way under Saul, but I'm not sure whether somebody else would work in his place or what people prefer.

The other issue with Finn is that his fighting style isn't as different to Saul's as it was to Talon's, except for the fact Finn is less a glass cannon as a regenerating cannon.

>Shropham Combat Magisters
I only labelled the lead one, Hallim. He's around. In fact, he's the one who wounded Falwick.

>Is Laryyra's water sister active yet?
Yes, Marea is in Blacktaffe currently. Even if she wasn't then Mal has no affinity for water at all. He would ahve had a better chance of summoning Gnome than Undine should they both have been available and summoning Gnome is a DC99 roll.

Surya's potentially free (she's the youngest elemental alive, at just 17, and Larrya's youngest sister). Not sure on her yet but she would have affinity with Maloric. Maloric won't want a familiar yet, however. He also might be interested in a different type of familiar than a pure elemental (which is code for 'I don't know if I want to add another character to the group')

>>44516479
>If we do not move now, the RSK is going to move in themselves, and we can't have that
The other issue is that if the League successfully push past Haylsburg they might take Darlesia (or secure an alliance with Taour) to shorten their supply lines.

>I hesitate to say it but it might be a localized conflict with the League.
Reread Lynn's update - the League have taken a heft chunk of territory south of the current borders. This is the new League offensive that has been mentioned in passing over the threads.

>>44516479
>RSK
>tfw Alyce is still part of the RSK
well shit, we might see Volante and Lynn's brother at Darlesia. If we do encircle Darlesia, there could be chances that we might get ganked while we're busy laying siege to the city.
>>44516514
Map diagram please.

>>44516540
I'm pretty sure Alyce is in Ahm, even in this timeline.
>Map diagram please.
It's in the last update.

>>44516406
But imagine if he wasn't written as an edgelord!

Hates his parents, unable to rebel or escape them because he is their pawn

And then he meets Lynn, who is living a life he can but dream of. And then the man she is serving extends a hand to him

>now imagine you have both dragonborn siblings serving as your subordinates, with the son as the spindly wristed caster and Lynn as the manly knight defending him

File: 171.jpg (423 KB, 1600x1136)

423 KB JPG

>>44516540
I haven't updated the borders yet, but the map is at >>44516118. Lynn mentioned that the League are besieging Haylsburg and the Falwick has retreated to Castle Falwick, so that tells you where to front is.

>tfw Alyce is still part of the RSK
Wat.

>>44516514
>Hallim. He's around.

YAAAAAASSSSS

>>44516514
>At this point, not on your side.

>daywalker Felix returns
>we thought Volante was tough

Empire confirmed doomed

>spoiler
I knew it

>Mal stuff
Calling it again, he's saving up to make a Talon revenant

>>44516479
Would we have enough time to do both? Or have enough troops for both? Even a holding force would need to be sufficient to not get crushed by the defenders of Trembin.

I think we should go for broke on Darlesia now. Even with Volante present, Trembin's not as urgent, but if Darlesia falls into RSK or League Hands, we ain't getting that back.

>>44516514
>Felix
>At this point, not on your side.
>Aladria
>More active this time around since you killed Dalrec
I have no reaction images to show how scared I am.

>>44516514
Don't give us Finn, give him to some other power and have him develop over there

I think we have enough character angst in Lynn's daddy issues right now, honestly

>>44516603
>>44516606
Boys, guys, lads, don't worry, we'll be fine.

We will have Blackwater on our side this time around.

Magi League is shaping up nicely as a potential antagonist this time around

>Winning the war against RSK
>Might ally with Taour
>Alyce has Lairo's love child
>Not well disposed towards us since we are an ex-guard noble

>>44516626
>guy who only rolls crits and whose power feeds off others and makes battles of attrition suicide vs him
>gal who is equally powerful in blood and shadow, can teleport, and steal the powers of those she feeds on

>don't worry guys, this time, we'll have this extremely durable, exceptionally FAAAABULOUS lich who fights naked.

Bro pls.

>Hallim is about
>Shropham is more powerful this go about, might want to break off
>League deeply entrenched in war, unlikely to like us much

Guys. We need to ally with Shropham this time and support their bid to leave the League. I want badass punch wizard bro this time

>>44516662
I mean Blackwater's immortality counters Felix and Aladria pretty hard.

>>44516662
They literally cannot harm Blackwater.

He can walk up to them and beat them to death with a chicken leg and they couldn't stop him.

Also, who says Felix has the same powerset this time?

Besides, we all know it is Blackwater who controls the dice, he only favored Felix because he was a daywalker, and because he was a daywalker to be.

>>44516662
Never count out Blackwater

>>44516678
That'd be fun

File: battle map after Raid on (...).png (1.61 MB, 1000x1000)

1.61 MB PNG

>>44516564
This is the battle map to my knowledge from the info so far.
>Falwick is Turqoise
>Volante is Red
>Magi League is Magenta
>Saul's forces is Deep Blue

>>44516678
>Magister Smith potentially about on our small council


I DON'T WANT IT, I NEED IT

>>44516678
You know, I sorta feel like we could probably poach him if we become notorious enough, just because he's a blood knight battle freak (in mage form) and he would totally be down for joining the underdog if we're taking on the world in our quest for dominance and could promise him worthy enemies to fight

And it would even make sense since we need mages, have an up and coming mage tower, and would jump for the war potential of a combat magister

>tfw this time all the previous enemies people are trying to ally with

WHEW LAD

Strap in, because this is going to be one wild ride.

>>44516754
and ready the lube.

>>44516605
Even without Farun's help, we could probably get clean up to the walls in time to march back. Personally, I was planning on leaving the Vitrians to guard the city, to be reinforced by additional forces making their way up from Vitria that don't exist yet under our power. Once Vitria is officially ours, we'll probably have the men to do so. If we get Farun's help, it's guaranteed. I would REALLY prefer Farun's help than not, it would make life so much easier.

As for whether or not we would have the forces to take Darlesia without the Vitrians, well... That's a very difficult question.

I do agree, though. Darlesia needs to be taken at the earliest possible moment. It's just that we'll be needing to leave a holding force in any case, and this is a very good opportunity.

I would also hasten to mention the Darlesian resistance. We need to put our feelers to them as well. If they could possibly even open a gate for us, that would be a HUGE help. More realistically we'd get troop dispositions and maybe a few people smuggled into the city.

>>44516740
>Lynn, Hallim, and Felix all like fighting super powerful enemies and improving themselves
If we get enough of these types will they draw themselves by proxy?

>>44516767
Felix is totally Aladria's bitchboi and will not be helping us.

Especially since she herself is probably being quite active in the world this time.

>>44516788
Think we can recruit Volante or Blackwater?

>>44516797
We are probably going to have to kill Volante

but I know I sure as shit will try to get Blackwater on our side.

If nothing else, he is an incredibly well-informed and resourceful person.

>>44516816
He's probably pissed that Lairos stole his magic potion. Maybe he'll help if we can help him get revenge on the dragon and his son.

>>44516797
It'd be a stretch... But maybe. It would be utterly insane, however. If we somehow got Volante stuck in Darlesia and we took Taour, Darlesia would be attacked by one of the great powers. Quite feasibly we could ally ourselves with him (and the other great power) in an attempt to beat back the invaders.

>>44516678
Jesus I just remembered how badass Hallim's entire crew was.

>mass teleport and summon wizard
>wizard that even fucked with Taira's aim
>larrya
>giant monster familiar that went blow for blow with Talon
>mother fucking Hallim

I am so down for this plan

>>44516825
That is a very tall order, anon.

I don't think Saul can reach that shelf, yet.

File: 1438739269720.png (972 KB, 784x720)

972 KB PNG

>>44516848

I'm out for tonight. Thanks for running, Aspirational. Thanks for playing, ya cunts.

File: 1446776198773.jpg (15 KB, 212x212)

15 KB JPG

>>44516859

>>44516767
To be fair Felix was less "blood knight" and more "desperate for power to fight the monsters"

Except his incredibly messed up world view didn't define things by "good and evil" or "right/wrong" and "monster" was metaphorical and he was willing to become a monster himself if it meant power to enforce this ideal. By far, one of the most complex and well written characters in AEQ v1.0

>>44516906
Felix was my husbando

>>44516906
I remember one of his other options being a pact with an infernal.

Demon-Knight Felix scares me just as much as Daywalker Felix.

>>44516843
Martials were arbitrarily gimped compared to casters which is why I'm assuming aspirational never let us have that many casters overall last time, especially since combat magisters were supposed to be equivalent to entire armies iirc

But they're balanced now so hopefully being able to recruit and actively use them for more than just R&D will be a thing

>forgot about Hallim's crew
>kind anon posts about them
>remember they were badass AF even though all their adventures were offscreen

HYPE

>all these anons forgetting Shropham is supporting Taour currently

Don't think they'll be wanting to join up with us anytime soon

>>44517041
Step one is our encounter with Blackwater.

>>44517041
We'll take out Taour and then they can support us instead!

>last time: "COLLECT ALL THE GRILLZ"
>this time: all this excitment over Hallim, Smith, Blackwater, Felix, sausagefest central because of what they can add to war potential and alternate storylines
>not even a peep about harems and waifus this thread

It is a good feel.

>>44517105
Do you think we have the self-control to remain monogamous?

>>44517041
>kill Volante
>request an off the books meeting with them
>show off daywalker head and Gnome
>tell them to pick who they support in the coming days carefully
>they back us instead
>don't lose their political standing in the League and military backing
>have a powerful outside ally completely off the books to help their schemes and bid to leave the League

Fixed.

>>44517105
Bitches ain't shit, bros4lyfe

>>44517122
No.
>tfw no gay mc

>>44517169
We do it early enough, and we don't have to deal with their bullshit illegal fae enchanted weapon research/cut it off before they attract the wrong kind of attention and get the most defensible fortress city on Gauron on our side too

File: 173.jpg (369 KB, 1000x1000)

369 KB JPG

>all this off the wall stuff
Well, alright. Some of it is more feasible than others but it is interesting to see ideas like >>44516838. It reminds me of some of the recruitment requirements in Big Bang Age.

I will mention that Pharos will likely turn up earlier, given that I've fleshed them out properly earlier on. So they'll be an option besides the fluffy alliance (who will be slightly modified too).

>>44516952
That could be worth exploring. Mind you, the problem with reintroducing Felix is that his arc is kind of... finished. All it needed was a final scene after the time-skip to establish his coming to terms with being a monster who fights monsters. I don't think interacting with Saul would produce anything more interesting than the original stuff with Talon (as goddamn hard as that stuff was to write in the first place - Felix was a bitch to write in general).

Basically, I've mostly reused old characters and sets so far, because they can often be repurposed and done in a different way but there's limits to redoing things.

File: phoenix.png (62 KB, 1000x1000)

62 KB PNG

Here, I did a thing for someone to work with for the flag. It probably still needs cleaning, but I just don't have the time for that kind of work.

>>44517633
Out of complete curiosity, what was Felix's enthralment method? We never got into it because he didn't want to iirc.

>>44517633
You could always introduce characters with finished arcs as antagonists

Like, instead of daywalker Felix who was turned by Aladria, demon knight Felix who allied with, then tried to backstab Gil, failed, and then turned to an infernal pact for power and now serves as one of Gil's lieutenants.

His recruitment by the enemy would more or less mirror what happened originally, tweaked for this timeline. You wouldn't even need to put much in for nitty gritty, though you could and either have it all as pre/post-battle exposition like my Chinese cartoons, or pastebin/loredoc it.

As much as we nostalgia over old favourites, the flavour of the moment for the vets seems to be in favour of exploring all the shit we didn't do last time, and trying to go after/recruit all the notable antagonists instead.

File: spinPhoenix.png (68 KB, 1200x800)

68 KB PNG

>>44517726
Thanks for doing this - I had just about given up on producing something from it. It's still hard to work with due to how rough it is - I cleaned it up a little bit but it still looks a bit rough. I think it's just due to the nature of the picture and the way it's done the feathers - it wasn't intended as a silhouette.

File: risingPhoenix.png (69 KB, 1200x800)

69 KB PNG

>>44517884
The other one I'm looking at is a rising phoenix one that was made as a silhouette. It looks cleaner, if a lot less menacing.

>>44517884
Yeah that one would have to be effectively redrawn with vectored lines or something.

>>44516118
Uh, I may be stupid, but is Darlesia included in the PC faction in that map even though we don't control it?

>>44517884
>>44517899
Damn, I see what you mean. I agree that the rising phoenix looks cleaner, but the spin does look much more menacing, and I actually like it a lot more. It's significantly more striking to me, and I find my eye is drawn to it much more strongly than the rising version.

Also, I rather like the feathered look.

>>44517984
Yeah I'm gonna try to see if I can get rid of some of the fluff of the feather edges.

>>44517884
>>44517899
are you going to take us up on that black scale background? I'm really fond of that idea

>>44518047
Probably add some more frills to it, like a background shield, or some edge finery, but yeah.

>>44517884
One if the orblems with that is that one of its legs is hardly visible, it would be better i its legs at least were spread like on real life flags with birds. The creator obviously didn't have putting it on a flag or emblem in mind.
Also it's too dynamic in general to really fit on a symbol of an empire.

>>44518089
see >>44517993

Currently working on making it look a lot less busy and a lot more like a logo.

>>44517961
Never mind this post, I forgot Taour had taken Darlesia.

File: spinPhoenixGoldBlack.png (154 KB, 1200x800)

154 KB PNG

>>44518109
Well, let me know how you go. The best I could do in reducing how aliased the feathers look was whacking on a light outline. I think I've spent enough time as is working on the spinning phoenix and will look at other things (which I can transfer across if we get a different phoenix that works).

>>44518047
I'm looking into that now.

File: fdas2.png (75 KB, 954x497)

75 KB PNG

>>44518167
It's a long, tedious process.

>>44518109
The feathers aren't really the problem in theory, it's the pose.
See pic related, it's the pose that's a problem not the detail.
Also especially that phoenix would better serve as part of a coat of arms instead of on the flag, it makes the flag too busy especially with the hexagonal background.
>>44518167
Not sure how dragon scales look, but you could make them be, for lack of a better words, greater/lesser than signs between parallel signs instead of hexagons. You could fit this more easily on a flag, and mess with the size to make it as busy as you want to. Gonna post a pic in a bit.

File: Coat_of_arms_of_Austria.svg.png (178 KB, 720x760)

178 KB PNG

>>44518195
Forgot pic

>>44518208
I think when I'm done, the phoenix will be less busy looking than that.

File: scales.png (5 KB, 374x233)

5 KB PNG

>>44518229
The problem is still the post, that fact that it isn't asymmetrical or symbolized but rather more like the shadow of a 3D figure.
>>44518167
>>44518195
Here's a shitty demonstration of the scales thing.

>>44518047
Probably make the outline of the scales the same color as the phoenix and keep the rest black.

File: 002.jpg (494 KB, 980x572)

494 KB JPG

>>44518273
This is going to be more a banner than a flag, which means it doesn't need to meet certain qualities. Also, as we're designing it now, it will almost certainly meet a more modern aesthetic unless somebody intentionally wants to use the old dodgy looking animals (which I'm not a huge fan of).

Like this >>44518208 does not appeal to me in the least. So in the end I think we'll get what people think looks aesthetically pleasing rather than something that would actually be used on a flag or banner.

>>44518347
Though I doubt it was incredibly needed, did you look at the image in the previous thread as visual explanation for my idea of those distant slashes technique?

>>44518347
>>44518407
Here it is >>44510688
I'm just asking since it got no responses, but I guess i should have posted it during XP spending time to generate some discussion relating to its value in how we spend XP in the future.

>>44518347
If we're talking real flags I could see a black-red/yellow-black or white-red-black tricolor.
In the latter, Black for both Lyria and the dark times from which our red phoenix rises out of to a brighter day/the heavens or something.

>>44518347
How much mana do we have now? 20 or 25? I'm assuming it's either Magic stat times 4 or Magic stat squared.

>>44518529
If it's only dependent on the Magic stat then it's probably at least square, with possibly changing into ^2.5 or ^3 at some point, otherwise someone at 10 Magic would only have 40 Mana

File: risingPhoenixGoldBlack.png (128 KB, 1200x800)

128 KB PNG

Not sure where to go with the hexagonal pattern. Anybody have some ideas? I'm pretty godawful at drawing anything so am trying to avoid making my own patterns (I'm not an artist, just a guy abusing photoshop).

>>44518529
20. Saul gets 4 points of mana for each point of Magic currently.

>>44518476
Looks like the regular sort of anime wind slash technique, which is fine. Doing it in AEQ would be about generating some sort of magical attack along the path of your sword slash (you'd effectively use the sword slash to carve out the origin point and direction of the magical attack). The way it's done affects its usefulness and power - I'm not sure of the benefit of the regular wind slash technique when you have magic lances (as they don't make sense to generate in melee) but there are other ways of producing a magical blow.

>>44518607
Make the hexagonal outlines the same color as the phoenix, and make the hexagons bigger.

>>44518607
>20. Saul gets 4 points of mana for each point of Magic currently.
>currently
This is a key word.
So if/when we change this to 5 Mana per Magic, is it going to increase our Mana reserves without needing to increase our Magic stat? So, we have 5 Magic, we do what's needed for 5mana/magic, do we suddenly have 25 mana?

>>44518607
Seconding this >>44518620
And perhaps have it fade off on one side?

>>44518630
Nah, impossible to put on a flag/banner/etc., you need solid sections of one color.

File: risingPhoenixGoldBlack.png (228 KB, 1200x800)

228 KB PNG

>>44518598
Magic also improves some abilities so using an exponent would cause balance issues.

>>44518620
I'm not convinced that making the colour less muted makes it look better at all. It messes with the phoenix image a lot.

File: fdas2.png (37 KB, 868x582)

37 KB PNG

Looking good so far if I do say so myself. Feathers are going to look much more sleek.

>>44518688
It's usually best to try and use as few additional colors on top of the ones intended ones as possible when designing flags/banners.
Cut off those flowing tail feathers at the bottom, make the rest of the phoenix bigger, and make the hexagons bigger still.

File: risingPhoenixBlackRed.png (142 KB, 1200x800)

142 KB PNG

>>44518716
Maybe if you're designing a professional flag that would be the approach. If somebody else wants to go to the extra effort, have at it. I don't have the talent to start mangling images any further than I am.

Anyway, the black on red flag actually is easier to have come out. Though it does make me realise that this phoenix isn't symmetrical.

>>44518694
That is definitely look good anon! Keep up the good work!

Question, how are you going to handle the talon that overlaps the body?

>>44518751
I'm going to trace it, then move it more down and to the left and see if I can get it to look not-weird.

File: 1451734020151.png (154 KB, 1200x800)

154 KB PNG

>>44518743
The head of an avian symbol is rarely symmetrical except if it's two-headed.
I think it would help to get rid of the talons and those stray feathers.
Here's my shitty attempt in mspaint, purely to demonstrate.

>>44518768
Great, god speed anon.

>>44518743
It kinda feels like something out of a near-future paramilitary group.

File: 1451734020151.png (124 KB, 1200x800)

124 KB PNG

>>44518787
Another shitty attempt

>>44518743
black on red makes us look super totalitarian

>>44518838
No kidding, I feel like I should be mining tiberium for the glory of Kane.