video, un: wolfkissed

[raven_sage]

[A panning shot of the outdoors; it appears to be a meadow by the river to the west of Camelot. Eivor speaks from off-screen]

Yes...this will do.

[The screen turns to Eivor's face; she appears to be walking as she speaks.]

The Fae Queen makes her demands and Arthur would have us mired in endless debate, but I know my course of action. Our worlds are frozen in a moment without end; I have seen this calamity for myself thanks to Ardenbury-thegn's boon. I will not waste time on debate, or to submit to these demands of trials and trade.

In my world, the kings of Christian lands pay the Danegeld, tribute offered to raiders such as our own to keep their lands from becoming our hunting grounds. Even the great emperor of Miklagard who supposedly stands above those kings pays us our due. Those who do not, we overrun and take what we wish from them ourselves. As with them, so will this Queen Mab.

Here, in this field I will build a longship, with oars to row up-river, to Celliwig. I will have warriors with me. We will find a village, or some other gathering of Mab's Fae, and we will burn it. We will burn their homes, we will burn their fields and we shall take anything of value that we like. We will send a message to Queen Mab that she will pay our Danegeld; whatever relic, knowledge or power that she possesses that will help undo this calamity, she will surrender...or all of Celliwig becomes our hunting ground.

I need warriors for this raid, and to assist in the building of the longship. We must transport the materials from Camelot to this location to build the ship. The Fae are said to possess illusions, and I will need people with the ability to dispel this magic. I know such power exists, and we will need it for this venture to succeed.

Come with me, and your reward will be this; whatever you take, you keep. Your spoils will be your own. If any Fae draw their blades against you, deal with them as you like, as warriors, and take from them what you will. But know this, any Fae who flee or cower before us, they are to be left alone. Anyone who takes a life in such dishonour will forfeit their spoils and will answer to me, besides. This is about sending a message to Queen Mab that we will not submit to her demands or dance to her song. And we will need someone to deliver that message to her.

If you would join me, come to the docks at New Camelot. That is where the materials we will need for our longship are. And we will make ready to go a-viking.

video; un: ensignledo

[ferrytale]

[ the boy on the screen does not look particularly thrilled to be doing this but has determined that it must be a local custom to send open messages in video form... so here he is. he's also still dressed like he's ready to get back in the cockpit any time now. ]

The purpose of this message is twofold. First, it is inefficient to explain myself to others repeatedly. To counter this, I will provide everyone with basic information. If there are other questions, then I will address them.

I am Ensign Ledo. I am a soldier in the Galactic Alliance Army of Humankind. I pilot a Machine Calibre Anti-Hideauze Annihilation Weapon, designation Chamber K6821. Chamber is an artificial intelligence that provides situational combat analysis and life support.

The Hideauze are a lesser species that threaten the existence of humanity. It is my duty to subjugate and eliminate them. This is how the Galactic Alliance ensures the stable development of the human race. Efficiency is the highest priority. To the Alliance, that which is useless should not exist, nor desire to.

[ he takes a steadying breath — because machine calibre pilots are calm about this sort of thing — although someone with a perceptive eye might notice him tense as a small creature with tentacles and an iridescent glowing shell floats about in the air behind him, staying just out of his peripheral vision but certainly visible to the camera. it doesn't seem particularly monstrous all miniaturised, but maybe if it were larger..? ]

This thing called a familiar seems to have adopted the shape of one form of Hideauze, but as I am told, it is not advisable to shoot or kill it; I am forced to tolerate its presence.

[ that should be more than enough exposition for everyone, right? ]

Secondly, I have many questions of my own, but I do not expect them to all be answered here. Since it seems to be up for debate, I wish to understand more about this situation with the ones called "Fae". I am told this is not a conflict like what I am familiar with, that these are sentient creatures possessing similar motivations to humans who are not an existential threat. Therefore a different outcome is desired than simple eradication.

However, the air is so abundant in this world it will likely never run out. There is plentiful clean water. In short, you have everything here necessary to support life. What is it that is so incompatible?

I have also noticed that there are many who object to the idea of war or conflict. What then is your purpose? How do you contribute in a productive way to society?

That is all.