Board 8 > Labyrinth of Ishiene, Topic 4 [CYOA/Forum Game] [ITD8]

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[ 20. I May Have Done Things Wrong. ]

Martin Spade was laying in bed for quite some time.
He was alive. He was awake, now. But his body felt weak.
And his mind was heavy with anxiety and grief.
There were things he had done wrong. Would he make the same mistakes in the future?
People had died because of him. That was not easy to forget.

Sen of Northern Rock was here with him.
There were many who were sick and injured.
Plenty of space to house, them, sure.
But there was also the logistical issue of medical staff.
In order to most efficiently treat the wounded it was better to keep them together.
This was the fundamental reason why hospitals had been built.
A doctor or nurse needing to travel across town to visit each patient was inefficient.
It wouldn't be any different in war time.

Since Martin and Sen were both military commanders they got their own room, at least.
The building here was not a hospital but it had been made into something like one.

For the last several days they had been slipping in and out of conscious state.
Martin had only recently recovered from a coma and was having difficulty with exhaustion.
Mental and physical fatigue hadn't completely worn off and he slept most of the day.
Meanwhile, when Sen was brought here, he had actually temporarily died.
They were able to revive him on the scene with an incredibly risky procedure.
Apparently they had transfused some blood into his system and used magic to restart his heart.
It was a mixture of medicine and magic that had resulted in him regaining a faint pulse.
After that they'd only been waiting to see if he'd wake back up or not.
But a heavy fever had fallen and so he'd only wake for minutes at a time.

As Sen woke up, then, this was the first time he and Martin had really been awake at the same time.

"Nngh..."
Sen's hand came out from beneath the cover.
There were scars on the back of his fingers from where his knuckles had been split open.
He put his hand, backwards, over his face and squinted his eyes.
It was dim in the room but somehow he still felt like the light was too bright.

"You're dehydrated," Martin told him.
"The nurse was trying to keep liquid in your system, but it was difficult."

"..." Sen didn't say anything. He fumbled around like a sleeping animal.
Finally his hand went to the side table that was set up near the bed.
He nearly knocked over the glass of water sitting there, but managed to pick it up.
When he brought it to his mouth he awkwardly spilled the water on himself.
After a fashion he was able to drink some of the liquid.
A relieved look came over his face, but he did not smile.
"How do I get more?" he croaked.

Martin fiddled with his sheets and pulled himself to the edge of the bed.
Unsteadily, he set his feet on the wooden floor.
He reached out for a nearby cane and used that to push himself up.
One of his knees had apparently been broken when the debris fell on him.
Still, he was far luckier than Jess Lawlier. A rock had landed on her head and killed her.
Comparatively, having his knee shattered did not seem quite so bad.
He managed to push himself up with the use of the cane and limp to the door.
Leaning against the wall he was able to crack the door open.
"Page," he uttered, through the open door. "Go fetch someone."
"Sen is awake. Seems for good this time. And bring water."

There was a shadow between the crack in the door, and the Page disappeared down the hall.
Martin limped back to his bed and felt exhausted by the time he made it there.
He collapsed into the sheets and lay on his back.
At that moment he felt like he might drift right asleep again.
He didn't want to, but... he had lost control.
---

"Martin," Sen asked, his voice still hoarse, "Have they told you what happened?"

"..." Martin closed his eyes. He didn't know if he had the energy to speak.
He found it. "They say Kennedy crashed a ship into the city. Not sure how he pulled that off."
"Stein and Kennedy defended the city until reinforcements could arrive."
"First Hayes, and then Reginald. When Reggie got here they routed the enemy."

Sen didn't say anything. "Makes sense. I guess if we lost I wouldn't be...."
His voice trailed off. "Did they tell you anything from before that?"

Martin shrugged. The bed was warm. That's all that mattered.

"I was put in charge," Sen went on. "The situation seemed hopeless."
"You had done so well, but... but when it was me... I just screwed everything up..."

Martin would have liked to keep playing the game.
But he had been removed against his will.
It wasn't fair that Sen had taken over his place at the table.
It wasn't fair that his side had lost because a worse player had been making his moves.
If Martin was still awake he-... Well, it was hard to say exactly what would happen.
Thinking so highly of himself wouldn't change what happened.
Maybe Sen had done the best that was possible in his hopeless situation.

"If you want to get better at commanding," Martin said, finally, "I'll teach you."

It was best to leave it at that.
The past was the past.
They could learn from it but they couldn't change it.
Now the most productive behavior was to prepare for the future.
Given what they knew now, maybe their priorities had changed.
Martin got the sense that Sen would take this kind of discussion more seriously.
In the past Sen had been able to defeat any problem by hitting it really hard.
But some problems in life were bigger and more complex than that.

The nurse returned with water, but neither of them felt well enough to stay awake for long after that.
They spent the next few days mentally recovering.
And, when they were both awake, they would discuss what had happened.
During the march north, what Martin had done, why he had made those decisions.
Which decisions had worked. Which ones had not. And figuring out why.
Additionally, they talked about the Siege at High Cross.
Sen had been forced to make hard decisions as well.
Martin thought about what he might have done different, or why certain things had gone wrong.

"Some things are beyond our control," Martin concluded.
"But I think the best kind of leader will have a strong sense of risk assessment."

"So we should prepare for the worst?" Sen inquired.

"Not always," Martin corrected him. "That's a common misconception."
"Preparing for the worst outcome will often be a waste of resources."
"I think it's better to prepare only for the likely outcomes."
"Sometimes the worst result will happen but there isn't much you can do about that."

Of course, if the worst result is a likely outcome, then you might be in serious trouble.
At that point you should give some thought about what to do about it.
In the end it would come down to mitigating losses.

Martin thought about the Storm Drake which had nearly killed him,
And had killed several of the others. There was really nothing he could have done about that.
It was better that he had focused his efforts on getting his army to the city.
If he had been thinking about giant monsters attacking him during the entire march,
It would have severely impacted his ability to make tactical decisions.
---

And it would not have benefited him at any of his engagements from Light House all the way to High Cross.
Only in that very last encounter would it have made a difference.
And that would have all been under the assumption of the enemy holding a super weapon,
When he had yet to see any evidence that such a weapon existed.

Shaking such complex thoughts from his mind, Martin decided to go out.
He was feeling a lot more healthy now. Even if he still needed the cane to walk.

The people of High Cross had been largely spared due to the combined efforts of Sen and Kennedy.
Sen had made the initial decision to evacuate everyone within the walls of the keep.
That was a simple choice that needed to be made, so thankfully he had done at least that much.
And when Kennedy arrived he had taken control of the people and kept them out of dangerous places.
Probably, without Kennedy's guidance, a lot of them would have been captured or killed.
It was unfortunate to think about what might have happened after Majore breached the walls.
If Kennedy hadn't arrived it would have been a lot worse.
Martin supposed that he had Jack to thank for that.
But he had never met Jack and so it was hard to visualize his appreciation.
He'd only heard about it afterwards. A Devil that helped Humans.
Apparently with no strings attached.
Well, if Jack had been planning a double cross he'd gotten himself killed before then.
Jack would be remembered unquestionably as a Hero, then.
The first Devil in the history of Esland, at least, probably in the history of Humanity, to be one.

During his walk he happened to come across none other than Queen Lana.
She was sitting in one of the outdoor gardens. Alone, but not quite alone.
Liona Brezwicz was standing nearby, seemingly keeping watch on the area.
Lady Brezwicz, of course, noticed Martin as he approached.
She came over to engage him.

"Lord Spade," she said. "You're up and about again."
"It's... nice to see that you are well."

Things had been awkward between them for a time.
But they should still be able to be friends. Even if their engagement had not worked out.
There was nothing like near death experiences and loss to make that kind of feeling more clear.
Martin was never good at smiling but he forced himself to smile.
"Yes, I am feeling better," he lied. "And how is the Queen?"

Liona didn't say anything at first. She averted her eyes.
"Why don't you speak to her?" Liona suggested.
"I think we've reached a point that I'm no longer able to help her."
"Not that..." her voice trailed off.

Not that Martin should be good at this kind of thing either.
But maybe it was worth it to have her at least see a different face.
Martin shrugged. "I'll never turn down a chance to consort with royalty," he said.

Liona rubbed at her eyes and gave him a nod while exiting the garden.

Martin entered and went to take a seat by Lana.
He had to lower himself down, slowly and carefully.
Then he took his cane and propped it up on the side of the bench near him.

"I've been speaking," he said, "with Sen of Northern Rock."
"We talked about the regrets we've had up until now. The mistakes that we made."
"And I think we feel a lot better now that we've examined ourselves."

Lana turned her face slightly away from him.
It was marked with red, the same as always.
Her ivory eyes, however, looked more heavy than usual.
She raised her hand to her mouth and covered it.
But she did not speak.
Her habit was to hide her mouth sometimes when speaking,
Because she did not want people to see her teeth.
---

For that reason, Martin thought, she might have something she wanted to say.
"You seem troubled," Martin observed. "Do you have regrets as well?"
It might be cathartic to air those feelings and set them free.
Rather than miring herself in the swamp of self doubt and internalized guilt.

"I may have done things wrong," Lana told him.
She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts.
"That kind of thinking was in my head from the very first day."
"Since before we left Esland. Before I even made the decision to come here."
"It seemed so reasoned and righteous at the time to think of myself that way."
"I might be doing the wrong thing but I am willing to face the consequences."
"That's what I told myself, but... but it wasn't true. I see that now."

It was later than Martin had realized before.
At this point the sun was already creeping downward through the sky.
And the light was shining across the rim of the nearby rooftops.

"I only said that kind of thing, I only thought that kind of thing,"
Lana went on, "Because at the time I didn't actually believe I might be wrong."
"So the reality is that I just assumed I was doing the right thing."
"I assumed there would be no consequences."
"The way I acted did not require any courage."
"I was not righteous. And I was not... right."

"I was wrong," Lana admitted. "Not just maybe. I was wrong."

"You," Martin began, but he couldn't find any words to complete that sentence.
Could he, with a straight face, tell her that her decision had been correct?
Not right now. Not even if he believed it.

Right now her eyes were filled with moisture and regret.
"Two of my best friends died. One in my arms. The other, I couldn't even be there for."
"And I don't know.... I don't know which is worse... and it's terrible to even think about."
"This is not what I thought would happen when I said we'd go to Arland."

"I won't tell you that things will magically turn out for the best."
Martin's response was measured. "My father taught me it's improper to lie to a Lady."
"To a Queen I assume it would be even worse."
"But I know we did make people's lives better by coming here."
Martin shook his head. "I just don't know. My words feel empty."
"I'm sorry. I really don't know what I should say."

If this were a story, if this were some book, or a Frantish stage show,
Some Hero would appear and have the perfect thing to say to make Lana feel better.
But Martin didn't feel like he was that Hero at all.
He felt like just a regular guy in a hopeless situation.

"Maybe..." Lana hesitated. Her eyes darted around the area with uncertainty.
"I think you were right, though. I thought admitting my mistakes would make me feel terrible."
"But I already knew they were in there. Denying them didn't change that."
Lana smiled a half of a crooked smile. "I've examined myself and I feel... a bit better."
"Thank you, Lord Spade."

Martin stood up. He held the grip of his cane tightly in his hand.
It hurt his hand to support all of his weight on it like that.
He'd been moving around today more than he should have already.
"I'm glad that I could help," he said honestly. "And now what will we do?"
---

"The Silver City has been liberated," Lana told him.
"Prince Winchester is returning to regain his throne."
"Though I will have to meet with him before the morrow."
"There is still something I must give him."

Martin blinked, thoughtlessly. "Then you'll be parting ways?"

"We did make things better for a lot of people here."
Lana nodded. She seemed to agree with his earlier assessment.
"But I've already done what I set out to do. And I paid more than I thought I would."
"It's time for us to go home, Lord Spade. To consider the mistakes we have made."
"It should require careful consideration before we throw ourselves across the sea, into danger, ever again."

Truthfully even Martin himself had grown tired of the game of war.
If even he was thinking that then it must be that much worse for the others.
"I prefer Martin," was his only response. "I never cared that much about being called a Lord."
That part wasn't entirely true, but he had heard someone else say it once before.
And he thought that it was cool. Who was it again who had said that...?
Well, it probably did not matter.

Martin went with the Queen and Liona to meet Prince Winchester.
He had somehow miraculously escaped harm during the battle.
In fact, he did not even have a scratch or an injury on his person.
It was almost as if he was protected by some kind of Divine Grace.
Despite this fact, his wife seemed more sad and distant than ever.
Alura Badaura looked like a mentally devastated person.
In the face of victory she did not stand tall and triumphant; rather, she looked defeated.

"There's something I... wanted to give you," Lana told the Prince.
It was hard for her to make eye contact with him, and so she spent most of the time looking at the floor.
"It belong to your father. Aldus, um... You may remember a man named Aldus Delore."

"Yes, of course," Winchester replied. "The man was close with my Father."

"Mine as well," Lana replied, a sad smile coming over her.
"He was a unique man unlike any other I've met."
"Able to make friends with two Kings who were at war."
"And, well, truthfully, he was more like a father to me than my own."
However, there was a reason for Lana's sadness as well.
The truth about Aldus Delore was that he mostly attached himself to royalty for the benefits that it provided.
His relationship with her father may have been real. Who was to say?
But the truth is that the relationship only started because Aldus came to the crown seeking funds.
For Aldus, from the beginning, till the day he died, it had been about furthering his own goals.
"But, um, sadly, even the people we look up to can make mistakes."
"Through anger or fear... or even greed. So, I thought.... Maybe I could..."

Liona came forward and retrieved a jeweled case from beneath her cloak.
She passed it along to the Queen.

Lana presented it forward.
"This was stolen from your father as part of a ploy by Aldus."
"It's an object he spent much of his life obsessing over."
"After he died it fell into my possession. But I ... I don't want it."
Contained within the jeweled case was the Crown of Fiends.
It was an object of immeasurable value.
In terms of design and material it was created from near priceless materials.
On top of that, it held a historically significant role as the crown worn by the monarchs of the Silver City,
And later by the ruling family in Arland when that nation had been established.
It was only during the previous generation that Aldus Delore had managed to remove the crown from Arland.
---

And that was for the third reason that made the crown valuable.
The magical gem embedded into the crown which gave it a singular power.
The ability to strike fear into Fiends, dominate them, and even control them.
This was an artifact of great power that anyone would be happy to possess.

Lana Lake handed it over without asking anything in return.

Martin was not sure what to think or feel about this.

Prince Winchester was more than grateful for the exchange.
However, his flippant nature was a double edged sword in this encounter as it always was.
Although he expressed endless gratitude at receiving the crown,
The truth is that his behavior was the same as if she had offered him a pint of ale.
It felt insincere and did not match the measure of the situation.
And, yet, still, it was not as if she had done it for his thanks.
It seemed as if Lana truthfully just wanted to correct the mistake that Aldus had made.
As if Aldus really was her father and she was paying for his crimes.

Reginald Bartlesby was as glad as anyone else to return with them on the voyage home.
Interestingly, however, it was the Knight of Frantz, Rutherford Hayes, who opted to stay in this foreign land.
"I have business to take care of in the West," he told Reggie.
"But I will trust you will return and keep my estate in good order."
"You seem like a capable man, and a willing ally."
"Someone that I could trust to look after things until I return home."
"If I am able to return..." Thinking about it, Hayes had this to add;
"If I am not back within two years it may be best to pass things along to my kin, or someone else deserving and capable."
Bartlesby had no particular issue with being entrusted with this task.
Even though his own lands were not particularly close to Frantz.
The truth of the matter was that he'd simply need to name a steward.
And, by correspondence, let the people at Hayes estate know he would not be returning as soon as planned.
As for Reggie himself, he was more glad than ever to be returning him.
He specifically requested to be given the remains of Jack.
It was hard to say if this was mentally healthy behavior.
It seemed that Reggie was of the belief that "something" could be done with Jack's remains.
But whether this was a promise that would lead to fruition or an empty hope that would lead to ruin...
Well, how could anyone possibly predict the future?
Even Jack wouldn't have known how it could turn out.
Even if he was reading this right now.

Y, the creature from Sea-Quartz, had formed an unlikely alliance with none other than Kennedy Erensworth.
Erensworth and Dalamar were already planning an expedition into The Labyrinth of Ishiene.
They seemed to be under the impression that it was worth investigating the Dimension Gate.
Y held no delusions that his land, his home, could be liberated from the Darkness again.
But maybe there was a part of himself that wanted to see what was there.
And for Dalamar, he no longer wanted to send others in his stead.
He wanted to go and watch for himself. Even if it meant sitting on the hillside while those below were killed.
Something he had learned here was that every so often you'd get to witness a miracle.
As for Erensworth, it was hard to say why he had become invested in this task.
But the reality was that he was not happy when he was at rest.
It was possible that throwing himself into the next campaign would be a way to keep his mind busy.
---

As for the captured Fairy, Nova, it was difficult to determine what to do with her.
Some thought that she should be kept under a careful watch,
While others insisted that her freedom and autonomy was important.
Even though she was a "Fairy" she had been cured of the affliction of Darkness.
Holding her prisoner would have been no different from keeping Lana or Sunday as a captive.
Aster, of course, wanted Nova to be kept under his watch so that he could study her.
But, in the end, Lana's original position did not change.
She was firm in her view that Aster should not be experimenting on prisoners.
"If Nova wants to return with you to the Academy, I have no problem with that,"
Lana told him. "But she has the freedom to make that decision. Or do whatever else she would like."
As for Aster himself, it seemed without question that he WOULD be returning to the Academy.
At a first glance it almost made sense that he should stay on the front line of battle.
His ability to purge the Darkness from Fairies was an invaluable asset from a moral perspective.
It meant they could finally be free from the enslavement that they had suffered for so long.
Rather than just slaughtering the Fairies as enemies, there was another way.
However... this came with its own risks. Aster was currently the only person who could do this.
Keeping him on the front line of battle meant that he was in mortal peril.
And if he died there was no one who could replace him in order to carry out that task.
Aster was under the impression it would likely take six to ten years to train others to do what he did.
In that sense it was more important than ever that he begin training others immediately.
"I won't make things better today," Aster admitted.
"But I can definitely promise a future where things will improve."
It sounded surprisingly cool coming from him.
Then again this was still part of him trying to convince Lana to let him take Nova as his prisoner.
In the end Nova had seemed somewhat unsettled with Aster.
A common trait among Fairies, as it turned out.
Her decision to leave and travel to Frantz with Dalamar and Kennedy did not upset Aster.
As always it was that same even temper and detachment even from his own pursuits that made him even more unsettling.

Rainn and Sen were returning to Undercity with the fleet that had come from there.
Sen could have likely found his own boat to take him to Northern Rock, but the two were fairly close.
The idea of journeying together was appealing rather than parting ways immediately.
And, besides that, Sen seemed to have something to prove.
Specifically, he wanted to prove that he could kick a bag full of sand further than J-Bot could.
Honestly, Martin didn't understand at all. But it was somewhat amusing.
However, Sen wouldn't be kicking anything anytime soon.
"And so, for this reason," J-Bot announced to all dramatically,
"We will be postponing our kicking competition until the journey to Undercity is complete!"
"By the way," J-Bot added, "I am sooo excited to see what my home is like."

Before the end of the day, Macina Mocol came to meet with Martin.
He was honestly somewhat surprised. He did not think she cared much for him.
But it seemed their relationship had changed in a similar way as he had with Liona.
"I don't know if you're among the people who care," she admitted,
"But I decided that I will not be returning home. At least not right away."

"That is... surprising," Martin told her. "Where will you go?"
---

"Rutherford is heading west," Macina said.
"I've always wanted to see the Wild West for myself."
"This may be my only chance."

"For what it's worth," Martin said, "I do care."
"And I hope that you return safely."
He was too kind to remind her that he had never particularly had a problem with her.
It was her that had always had a problem with him. But, well, that was in the past.

"My sense of adventure is urging me forward," Macina said wistfully.
"What about you, Martin? I thought you'd want to stay as well."
"It seemed the only thing that made you happy was..." Her voice trailed off at the end.

"Maybe I haven't decided what will drive me forward yet," Martin told her.
"But the experience of finding it could be an adventure of its own."
"Even a person like me should be capable of experiencing real happiness."
"I want to try," he said. And she was a Lady, after all. So he must not have been lying.

It was evening before he arrived in North Port.
He went to the docks at night when no one else was around.
The sound of the water made him feel odd, and calm.
He stared deep, deep into the water and imagined what was down there.
Martin began to wonder if he had his own Devil that was watching him as well.
But there wasn't. Not any kind of Devil. Nor was he alone.

Queen Lana came and sat down beside him. She hung her feet off the edge of the docks.

"I should have imagined I wouldn't be the only person to think about coming here."
Martin smiled and looked up at the stars. "It seems such a simple pleasure."
"Something that many would overlook. But surely I'm not the only one who would see it."

Lana looked at him, an odd look. She seemed unsure of what he was saying.

Even Martin didn't know.
He only opened his mouth and let the words tumble out.
Not the proper way to behave, surely.
It would have been more prudent to choose his words carefully.
But sometimes it felt liberating to let his inner thoughts escape, unfiltered.

"Do they bring you peace?" Lana asked. "The Stars?"

Martin nodded. "The sound of the water, as well."
"But the vastness of the sky relaxes me. And seeing the light from above."
"It's something that I can't understand but I'm able to accept it."

"When I was feeling sad," Lana told him, "You made me feel at peace."
"I'm glad that you found something that helps you as well."
She was smiling now, he thought. She'd put her hand in front of her mouth to hide it.

Martin turned his head to look at her.
He was gazing deeply into her burned ivory eyes.
Just what was he expecting to see in there?
It didn't feel like he saw anything in particular.
Did she see something different when she looked at him?

"They say that I am Starlight as well, you know," Lana told him.
She sounded and looked uncertain of herself at that time.
"Th-... That Starlight was used to create me. It's a part of me."

Martin was thinking about things for a moment.
He didn't say anything, but continued to stare at her blankly.
She had trouble meeting his eyes at first.
But with a shy glance she managed to return to him.
"Do you feel that way?" Martin inquired.
"Perhaps you could bring me peace as well. Happiness."
---

Lana looked down at the water. "Martin..." she said.
"I have no experience with these kinds of things."
"But I didn't come here to look at the water or the stars."
"I came here looking for you," she admitted.

Well, that much was obvious by this point.

"I know there is something wrong with me," Lana said.
Her voice became strained. It was difficult for her to give voice to the thoughts she was having.
But she still had enough self doubt, she still hated herself enough, to say it.
"I know I am ugly," she told him. "I... I..."
Now her thoughts began to meander as she lost herself in that bottomless pit of self doubt.

The truth was that Lana was not so unpleasant to look upon.
Although she was marked was some fairly unfortunate afflictions.
Jessie Lawlier's assessment had been that Lana's scars had affected her self confidence.
And this lack of confidence had impacted her ability to grow and develop socially.
It was her lack of development, of experience, that had completely prevented her from romantic pursuits.
Certainly her looks were going to be a hurdle.
But it was Lana herself that had made it impossible for Lana to find love.

Now, however, Martin was carefully considering his own thoughts on the matter.
His past experiences had been with young ladies that had pretty faces.
Those had all ended badly for him. It would be an exaggeration to say he had been hurt.
Not deeply, not maliciously, but, well, even rejection hurt.
And Macina had certainly hurt him physically when she punched him.
Martin was thinking less about Lana Lake at that moment and more about himself.
He had come to the conclusion that maybe the pursuit of pretty young women was not for him.
However, saying it that way was not the way to make her happy.
And so Martin also decided that sometimes it wasn't so bad to lie to a Lady.
"I've never thought there was anything wrong with you," Martin told her.

The truth was that the Spade family had been declining for some time now.
As the sole heir it was his responsibility to make sure that did not fall into ruin.
And Martin reached out his hand and placed it over hers.
And she turned and looked back at him while they sat under the moonlight together.
And Martin imagined, for just a moment, what it might be like to be a King.

Maybe he hadn't changed at all.
Maybe he was just playing a different kind of game now.
But in the end it felt like Love and War were quite the same.
Filled with mistakes and innocent people being hurt.

[End]

Thanks everyone for following along up until this point!

If there's stuff you feel like you'd want to know about more feel free to ask. I will very likely answer anything and it may inspire me to write a few more little send-off epilogues to resolve things that require a more complex resolution that I wasn't able to fit in up until this point.
---

Wasn't expectin that little end conversation!

King Spade sounds like somethin. Well, however things turn out, hopefully Lana gets a personal "feel good" win. Girl needs it.
---

Pirateking2000 posted...

Wasn't expectin that little end conversation!

King Spade sounds like somethin. Well, however things turn out, hopefully Lana gets a personal "feel good" win. Girl needs it.

the sequence of scenes is actually pretty important too
like when she goes to return the crown
Martin is there and he's thinking about how Aldus gained power by getting close to the royal family
so later when he realizes that Lana is attracted to him
he's thinking about how to capitalize on that

granted I think this is honestly not the worst thing a person could do, I don't think he is like a villain or anything
if it was someone like Aster who has asperger's then Lana would probably be miserable
this is more like her relationship with Aldus honestly
where Aldus has ulterior motives
but their familial relationship that grew out of those motives is genuine
I think that kind of complex dynamic is very reflective of a lot of real world relationships
where we grow interest in people because of our own selfish reasons
but can form genuine and close bonds with them over time
---

Yeah hopefully things all work out

on some side notes
that fucking Silver Prince hah
and I guess Macina and Aster won't be hooking up for a little bit
---

From that ending I see the Martin does care for his family but has no luck with women which doesn't work with him being the heir of the family, Lana is the Queen has no luck with men, has self-confidence issues, finds Martin attractive and Martin finds her appealing (not absolutely beautiful but still pretty) so it should work out but that means the Spades are then mooching off the royal family so.... No more Spade making for me!
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Well the Spades were already involved with the Lakes / Esland royalty even before this and there could always be some Spades runnin around

Oh yeah is that Arland admiral guy still around?
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Cameron Bright? I haven't decided yet. I could have had him make a cameo in this story but realistically he probably either died when Lighthouse fell or he's fighting in the north now.
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Ah, yeah I was just curious where he was at if he was still about

(I think there was a part where it was mentioned some double of the prince got hurt and I wondered if that was actually Kordy which got me thinking about Bright and all them. May have actually been some regular double though so I kinda shrugged it off as other stuff was going on)
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you can believe it's Kordy or not. whether it's him doesn't change much.
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oh jeez
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I've been watching a ton of videos on writing in my free time lately and discussing different sci-fi concepts with my friends

I feel like whatever I do next is gonna be GREAT
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neat!

still felt in the mood doin some pics so for last time when I never really got around to em:

https://imgur.com/a/fK82o
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Really good stuff as always!

I planned to write an outline last night but accidentally wrote a huge character background for the main character. Did not even get to the point where the story actually begins.

This tale is going to have a pretty dense background! I'd like to focus on some world building too.
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cool

so this is more of a space themed setting?
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yeah it's pure sci fi

I've created a relatively omnipotent force in the story (the main character who has technology orders of magnitude greater than the species he interacts with) and allow for this obstacle to interact with moral and cultural dilemma.

basically like all of the best sci-fi it essentially explores the condition of intelligent life at philosophical extremes.
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Is it in the same universe as your previous sci-fi story?
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no this is a self-contained thing, it takes place in a sci-fi universe that I've been working on over the last year or two. I haven't actually written anything that takes place in it yet but there are a ton of details already fleshed out because I was originally planning on doing some kind of campaign setting there. now I'm not so sure I'll realistically be able to do that so I have this completely fresh world at my disposal for writing.
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is anyone interested in me perhaps sharing outlines and stuff? I haven't really decided if I will or not though. probably not in public. but I might chat about it in private with those who are interested going forward.
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Sure
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okay

what is the best way to contact you outside of board 8?
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discord fine?
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yeah I have the discord

Ellery #9074
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