-Ewerim-
Kuro and Jarou arrived in Royal City late that evening, the sun having set more than two hours before their arrival. The embassy was abuzz with activity when they walked in, with well over ten Hunters, mostly black cloaks, there were a couple white cloaks, and Rel stuck out like a sore thumb in his crimson clothing. Some Hunters were getting themselves food, others were chatting idly, some sitting at the large table, others standing near the walls. Rel was one of a few that were actively working, he was standing in a corner, a thick stack of paper in his hands, intently going through each report one at a time. He looked up from his papers when he noticed the two newly-made black cloaks.
“Oh good, you two made it, Danfis told me to expect you and that it would likely be later in the day,” He said, tucking the sheets under one arm. “Congratulations to you both for your promotion. The room you were using should still be open. Go drop off your things and come back down here, and we'll start our briefing meeting.”
They made quick work of the task, finding the room in the exact condition they'd left it barely over a day before. They silently decided they'd use the same beds as before as well, each throwing their luggage onto their respective mattresses.
When they returned to the common area, Rel got everyone’s attention, and corralled them into one of the meeting rooms. “Now that the last reinforcements have arrived, I'd like to debrief you all on the situation and what we know so far.” He said in a strong, authoritative voice from the head of the table the second he saw everyone was sitting. “Firstly, our numbers. We have fifteen Hunters here in the city, in total we have eleven black cloaks, three white cloaks, and me. This will likely be all we get, as our Clan's total forces are getting spread thin. Per Danfis's orders, I am in charge of every Hunter in the city, and you are to follow my orders as though they came from him directly. The keen-eyed among you may notice we don't have all fifteen of us here right now, that is because a few members are currently out in the city. On Danfis's command, I had to extract all blue cloaks from the city, along with their mentors. The members not present right now are finishing up the jobs they were working on. They will get their debriefing whenever they return.
“The entire city is in a high-alert state, with the city gates being watched at all hours. You likely already know why, but just in case: The New Spire Empire is in the Royal City and has delivered a warning to not only us, but all eight Lords that they will begin their assault in earnest on the Fifth of the month. That means we have scant time to prepare. They are likely already in the city, and so we are to collaborate with the city guard and help patrol the streets for any sign of them.
“In addition to the New Empire having operators in the city and actively making threats, there has been a major rise in Sigil activity in the area, with over seven reported incidents of the beasts attacking the city walls just today. We have no real evidence, nor any idea how they would manage to do it, but we suspect that somehow, some way, the Empire is responsible. This is mostly based on the timing between their public arrival and the attacks starting. Assisting the City Guard with defeating any Sigils that appear is also part of our responsibilities for the next few days.
“Our enemy was generous enough to give us a count of how many of them are in the city, by way of a calling card delivered to the steps of the old royal palace. By their own report, the leader, who calls himself the Sixth Shadow, as well as four of his most trusted officers. They may have additional soldiers in place, so we must always be on our guard.
“Lastly, I wanted to assure you we are not the only Clan that has sent people for this battle. Both the Incol and Ishen Clans have sent a fair number of their officers and combatants to assist in defending the city.” Rel finally finished, and opened the room up for discussion.
“Do we know what exactly it is they’re after? What specifically needs to be defended?” One of the white cloaks, a bald man with narrow, yellow eyes asked. He would later introduce himself to Kuro as Ulber.
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“We believe they wish to kill or capture the eight Lords, as well as potentially take over the old palace. Ancient laws placed during the First Era indicate that he who controls the palace rules the land. Of course, the entire world has changed greatly in the sixteen hundred years since the First Era ended, so I personally doubt this would be enough for them to place themselves as the rulers of the realm. That said, the Lords and even the Guardians indicate it’s a real possibility they may shoot for, so that will be one of the places we always have people in position to defend.”
“So what are our plans to prepare? It sounds to me like we are on the back foot, and it’s all we can do to simply react and respond.” A seasoned black cloak asked - a woman with faded red hair, and tired grey eyes.
“For starters, the Lords are being divided amongst the Clans for protection. They will always have at least a member of each Clan with them at all times. Our Clan is to be responsible for Er’anum, and Sen’anum. The Ishen will be responsible for Yun’anum, Ten’anum - whenever he returns to the city - and Shen’anum, and the Incol will be responsible for Reil’anum, Kats’anum, and Onn’anum. We have a bit of an odd split, but Sen’anum asked for us specifically. The other Clans are taking on three each as they have more staff available, in addition to this being more in line with their usual jobs.” Rel explained, illustrating the assignments on the board on the wall.
“And the nobles? Do they need our protection as well?” Tesar, the woman from before, spoke again.
“We can provide it when it is convenient, but we are stretched thin as is. Many of the noble families have significant presence in the military. We will have their support as well, and they will be helping protect the nobles and general civilian populace.”
The conversation proceeded like this for many minutes, with several similar questions being asked. After every question was asked it seemed the Tsumi’s responsibilities were the following: defense and escort of Lords Er’anum and Sen’anum, patrolling the city and keeping watch for any movement from the New Spire Empire, and the bulk of their forces would be stationed at the city walls helping rebuff attacks from Sigils.
“Any more questions?” Rel asked. After being met with silence, he continued, “Excellent. I will be giving out assignments first thing in the morning. White Cloaks, please stay here for a few minutes so we can discuss how to split up responsibilities. Black Cloaks, you are dismissed. Go get some rest, you’ll need it for the coming days.”
Kuro always found these kinds of meetings exhausting to sit through. He wished he had more to say or ask, wanting to feel more important and involved. he told himself, He stretched with a yawn as he stood up, following Jarou silently to their room. The other Black Cloaks were chatting excitedly, but he was too tired to listen, not to mention participate.
A young man sat, a black cloak covering him from head to toe, on the head of the Last King’s statue, observing Royal City from high above. Hidden in the darkness of night, he watched as the last people who would be allowed into the city for the night arrived. Two young boys, dressed in black clothing. The shorter of the two, with dark hair and eyes to match, had his family’s emblem proudly displayed on his shoulder, making it easy to identify the two’s origin. “That brings the total number of Tsumi in the city to fifteen,” he murmured quietly.
a feminine voice said in his mind. Her voice always seemed to echo, resounding and layering over itself. He’d gotten used to how it sounded, but he remembered how disorienting it was the first few times he’d heard it.
“She did. Temeranse hasn’t reported how many have arrived in Port of Fyr’ra yet, but I’m expecting similar numbers.”
“I agree. It was sound advice on your part, Fourth.”
There was silence between them for a few moments, before the voice continued.
The man sighed, “We’ll see what we can do. What about the other one?”
He received a signal in his mind indicating a sly smile from his conversation partner. very
“I suppose I can’t get you to elaborate on that, can I?”
He sighed once again. “Very well. I suppose I’ll just have to wait and see for myself.”
