Captain Blake's Home Archive

Jun had donned her armor and weapons almost as soon as she woke up, and so she stepped out of the carriage ready for battle. It would serve no purpose however, other than to make her feel braver and more confident. She actually felt like the woman who helped besiege Goraia's walls.

It also helped her compensate for the fact that she was the shortest member of the group by at least half a foot.

She took a deep breath when she saw the familiar gate leading to Blake's doorstep. Camilla, her old friend, was here. She wondered if her baby was on the way, how Blake was faring with the challenges of being a father. She had almost forgotten that she was there to help inform Camilla that she was a queen again, that was, if she wanted to be.

She nodded to Alliandre and smiled, saying nothing.

Nodding once to the servant that provides her entry, Lady Naoki moves over the threshold into the Blake residence. She proceeds through the halls with silent steps, in a perhaps irrelevant effort to be considerate, given the noise the door knocker must have made.

Regardless, it doesn’t take long for Naoki to reach the parlor. As she enters, she raises a hand in greeting to Camilla, and offers a light smile. Moving over to an armchair that faces Camilla as she is on the couch, she seats herself, draping her tail over one of the armrests, opting to leave it to someone else to begin with the greetings and such.

Jun was nervous. She didn't know what to say. As she crossed the threshold just behind Naoki and beheld the familiar furniture, she attempted to rehearse, but the right words didn't quite come to mind.

And then she saw Camilla resting on the couch. In that moment only one phrase came to mind, and it was fortunately a very efficient one to convey the totally of her thoughts.

She whispered, "It's over... your highness." Her face broke into a grin at soon as she finished the S in the world "highness".

Looking on quietly as the rest of her party enters the room and Camilla tends to her child, Naoki seems more or less at ease. In response to Camilla’s inquiry, she begins without ado, “There isn’t much to tell.”

“Early this morning, I lead a combined arms offensive to land on the western coast of Medan, a few miles south of New Brimiarde. The force was comprised of The Depravity, The First Legion, two companies of dawn riders, and a selection of warships. We moved north, up the coast, to within striking distance of the city. We sat there, posturing, for a few hours, and then began to move forward, beginning with The Depravity and the Dawn Riders. After two volleys, the first group defenders surrendered.”

Leaning back into her seat, Naoki steeples her fingers and continues, “Over the course of the rest of the day. Goraian defenders continued to surrender, and the occupation began. Outside of a small handful of incidents, the occupation is proceeding smoothly as we speak. Simultaneously, I had the Second Legion and another group of Dawn Riders advancing south through the mountains, and they are currently in Stonevale, finding similar success in occupying that city. Other, smaller groups have been dispatched across Medan to secure outlying outposts and assets, and have yet to encounter anything significant.”

“The interesting bit,” Naoki continues somewhat smugly, “Is that all Goraian leadership figures seem to have up and disappeared. Jill is nowhere to be found. Zephidel is reportedly dead. Almost all of the other high ranking officials I am aware of no longer seem to be in the region. This is a bit of a problem in that they’re still presumably out there somewhere, and not receiving their just deserts, but they’ve abandoned their posts and allowed me to take control of Medan all but bloodlessly, so I’m not terribly upset about it. I don’t have very much more detailed information yet, as occupation procedures are still underway and reports are still coming in, but it’s safe to say at this point that the ‘war’ is over, and the Goraian regime is well and truly toppled.”

"How are you feeling Camilla?" Jun said kindly. She didn't want to add any more details to Lady Naoki's more than adequate summary and knew Camilla would need time to process everything. She stood, patiently, as some of the memories of when they first met started to flood back into her mind.

Blake had remained silent as the women talked, as always he felt a bit overwhelmed by the events that surrounded his wife. When she took his hand he smiled and squeezes back trying not to let his feelings show. He did not know how he felt about what was undeniably good news for the world, which would have a huge and not necessarily good impact on their family. Still, he would be there and he would be strong for his love rising as she did offering his arm to help her steady herself.

Alli found herself wondering vaguely what the big deal was with these gems Naoki was always so obsessed with. They were clearly different from the ones she normally carried about, but what the difference was she did not know. She listened intently to the conversation as it unfolded, hoping to gleam some of this information.

As she leans closer to observe, Lady Naoki’s ears swivel about to point toward the gem along with her eyes, perhaps just out of instinct. She spends the space of a few moments quietly looking the thing over, visually exploring the facets, edges and the like. All else put aside for just a moment; it certainly is pretty, she muses.

Nodding slightly, Naoki murmurs acknowledgment; there isn’t much to said in response. After waiting the appropriate moment or so, she looks up to catch and hold Camilla’s eye and asks only, “What do you intend to do with it?”

“Mmmmmh. Yes. So noted.”

After a few moments, Lady Naoki murmurs her thoughts on the subject, “Personally, I doubt the thing can be destroyed safely. All of the power contained within the gem must go somewhere if we destroy the container. If uncontrolled, that seems as if it would be highly destructive. As I understand magic, an endeavor to control such a burst of power would be... challenging, to say the least.”

“But!~” Clasping her hands together, Lady Naoki abruptly takes to her feet.

“The gem can be locked away and dealt with at a later date. There are more pressing matters to attend to. Namely, the Region of Medan and the people therein, which is the principal reason for my visit. As I said, we have won the battle. Isra is claiming the territory, and we will create Free State in place of the Goraian regime.”

Now standing just before her chair, it seems as if Naoki is speaking just as much with her hands as with her mouth.

“The largest obstacle therein will be physically assembling the government of the new state. Wealth, infrastructure, manpower, resources, all of this, the Free States can provide. But Isra cannot spare much in the way of high government officials. Very few are qualified and willing. Fewer still are competent. The fact of the matter is that I don’t have anyone in Isra or anywhere else that would be suitable to be the face of Medan’s new government.”

Naoki turns to face Camilla directly, gestures toward her with both hands, and gives her a meaningful look, prompting her to share her thoughts on the matter before she continues.