There was little quiet for the remainder of the night within Orchidia.

The return of the expedition group, or more appropriately the remainder of the expedition group, had left a very dark and disappointed sense throughout the city. People were depressed. They were terrified. The poor state of the people that returned, only six of the original fifteen that were sent out, was as much an indication of two things, both of which were brutal realities to the people of Orchidia.

The first one was that the Titans – creatures that they had thought were destroyed and wiped out, having finally spared them generations worth of fear and panic – were back. And that they were able to wipe out so many of them, despite the means of escape that were at their disposal, did not bode well.

The second was that this time they would not have the benefit likely of Paradise Dawn to save them. The guild had sworn to defend the North from threats, and gained a great deal of fame and high regard throughout Fiore thanks to their efforts before, but time had passed and other threats had emerged in the wake of that. Not too long ago there had been a threat posed by the Midnight Cult, but that seemed to have vanished under mysterious circumstances. Nevertheless, that there was a Titan threat again, people feared that they would not be saved by the guild again. Thus, the only option they had may well have been the walls built for just this reason.

But what the people did not know was this defense that they had constructed may have been in dire jeopardy. Because while Astrid did recognize that there was likely a threat that existed outside of the borders of Orchidia, she had come with the expressed purpose of getting the city to accept the decision handed down by the Office of the Auditor, one that they had been resistant to. A decision that likely would have spelt out a massive decline in the ability to maintain and upkeep these walls.

Perhaps even to the point of degradation and non-repair, potentially.

355/1500 (-40% | -20% Frosch the Exceed, -20% Symbiotic Fleshweave)

Even before they both arrived to the meeting, Astrid knew that it was going to be miserable. Sia too could recognize that there was an uneasiness heading into this discussion, making an offhand remark at one point that there wasn’t likely to be any sort of friendly discussions at this point. Astrid regrettably found herself agreeing, realizing that this was – as cruel as it may have sounded – the best case scenario for the Orchidian leadership. The deaths of the expedition meant that there were threats, which meant that the walls were needed, which meant they were not going to honor the demands of the Office of the Auditor.

When the pair entered, they saw the Orchidia leader seated at his desk, at no point bothering to stand up to greet the pair. Instead he simply focused on several documents that littered his desk; service records of the men whom the city had lost in the expedition last night. After a few moments, he finally spoke, his voice weak. “Two of the men who returned last night passed away this morning… One succumbed to his injuries…” He paused, struggling to contain his emotions, “The other took his own life… I don’t know what to tell their families…”

Sia had a look of concern upon her face while Astrid seemed largely unaffected. On one hand, it was always tragic, the unnecessary loss of life, but the fault was in nobody’s hands but the man before her, as far as she was concerned. He had organized them and sent them out, and while the situation was horrific, especially to those affected, it would not win any pity with her. “I am sorry for your loss, but I still have an obligation, as do you.”

The man looked up at Astrid, his eyes red and teary, exhaustion evident upon his face, “Can’t it wait? Allow this city and its people time to properly mourn.”

“I cannot do that. While the situation is tragic, what you ask for simply impossible. You know why I am here, you knew that this had to be addressed, and you know what will happen if I leave here without a proper accord between Orchidia and the Office of the Auditor, correct?”

“You saw what happened to our people. Who knows how many of those things exist outside our borders. Do you expect us to simply allow them to coexist with us? How can anyone get behind that? How can you even entertain such a notion?”

It was at this point that Astrid sat upright in her chair, clearly offended by the man’s emotional response, “I understand that as a leader you are grieving, but do not mistake your pain as an excuse to misrepresent me or otherwise disrespect me. I am here both as a Senator and as the Executor of the Office of the Auditor, authority granted by the Senate and the King. Our meeting now and previously extend to you having failed to answer or address the outstanding budget discrepancies that for months now you have allowed fester. You refuse to engage in conversation and reach an accord, and I will return to Crocus and see that not a single fund from Fiore is made available to Orchidia.”

“You would really threaten the people of Orchidia in such a way? How do you think the people of Fiore would react to that? Think that they would stand behind you?”

“Do you truly wish to make such a gamble? This project of yours, however long you may have been working on sustaining it, the reality is that not a soul outside of Orchidia is aware of its existence. News of it to the rest of Fiore would certainly draw a great number of questions, including why are funds going to you instead of those who are suffering?”

994/1500 (-40% | -20% Frosch the Exceed, -20% Symbiotic Fleshweave)

And with that, the division had been made. Neither side willing to budge at first, but the reality was that one of them was going to have to fold, and there was no chance that it would be Astrid. After a few moments, the man sighed, recognizing that there was no way he would be able to avoid Astrid forever. The sad truth was that she was right; it would be impossible for him and Orchidia to get out of this without having to answer the audit.

“Without investments into the walls, we will be at risk if the threat the Titans pose are too great, you have to understand that.”

“I understand the risk, but you are hopeful that these walls are sufficient. They’re a deterrent, for now. But if Titans encounter a means of combating them, what then? You are gambling the future survival of your people on the idea that walls alone will save, and they won’t. They can’t. And the deeper and deeper you invest into that philosophy, you condemn future generations even further.”

There was no response given by the man, simply as he took in what Astrid was saying. There was some truth to what she said, and the sad truth that the walls had never been battle tested did cast some level of worry over his mind.

“Walls will not end the Titan threat. They will simply delay it. Like Paradise Dawn before it, it must be people who quell that kind of threat.”

“But we are not Paradise Dawn. We do not have Mages capable of fighting with the precision that they did, the effectiveness they have.”

"And if that is all you wait for, it will never come. You will have to adapt. You will have to learn, like any other craft. Like warfare itself, it is not immediately known, but victories and defeats define your approach in the future.”

1313/1500 (-40% | -20% Frosch the Exceed, -20% Symbiotic Fleshweave)

The Orchidian leader slumped back in his seat. It was clear that he was concerned, and rightly so. Orchidia has never been much of a military force before. It was in part why Paradise Dawn had so much influence, because while they acted as defenders, they also proved to be a force strong enough to control the North if they so wanted to. What Astrid was proposing, although in theory it was sound, it would take a long time. There would be an exhaustive amount of resources invested into building a force that could fight the Titans. Not to mention the likely hundreds of deaths that would take place before they saw any real success. It would be years and then even at that point, could they manage to win?

He looked up, a response in his head about to be spoken when he saw the glare coming from Astrid’s face, more specifically her eye. It illuminated yellow as she channeled the power of the Eye, its influence overtaking the man, much like how it had done so with numerous others before him, from members of Blue Pegasus, to the members of the Senate, to Sia, to now him.

He was a pawn now of Astrid’s, a slave to her Authority.

“It will not be the walls of Orchidia that protect its people, but it will be the people themselves. Over the next twenty-four hours you will consult with your military leaders to plan an operation to combat a Titan. On top of the walls of which we met yesterday, we will witness the people of Orchidia defeat a Titan. And once that happens, you will agree to the proposal submitted to you by the Office of the Auditor and there will no further objections, no challenges. Only acceptance. Understood?”

“Yes…” He was like that of a husk, there being no life to him, but that was more than enough for her, having made sure that this was going to happen.

Astrid had no choice but to go this route if she wanted the accord reached. But as she and Sia left the meeting so that the Orchidian leader could meet with his commanders, she realized that there was still a massive hole in her plan that she would have to address.

Making sure that everyone else was on board with the “success” of their planned operation.

1710/1500 (-40% | -20% Frosch the Exceed, -20% Symbiotic Fleshweave)

Name: Submission
Rank: S
Mana Cost: 500
Requirements: Makima's Controlling Eye
Type: Supplementary
Element: N/A
Range: -
Cooldown: 2 Posts
Duration: Sustain
Effect: By gazing upon a chosen the target, the user can force others into submission and obedience as long as they have seen the user's eye. To use the effect, the user must issue an order, while the target may either submit to the user and obey, or attempt to resist the spell. Should the enemy attempt to resist, they must roll a D100 and roll higher than 50 in order to resist successfully; if they fail, they will take 1S rank damage directly to the head, while their Speed, Intelligence and damage dealt will be considered one rank lower for that turn. Additionally, the difference between the user's and their enemy's reputation will affect the threshold needed to successfully resist. Every 1000 points of difference in reputation between user and target will increase or reduce the dice success threshold by 1 depending on who has the higher reputation: The user or the target respectively. The treshold cannot increase above 75 or decrease below 25. In subsequent turns that the target attempts to resist, they may roll again to break free of the spell while taking only A-rank damage if they fail. Each success or failure in resisting will decrease or increase the threshold by 5 respectively. A target cannot be asked to commit actions such as the taking of their own life, committing explicit actions upon others, or other actions that would be considered taboo according to site rules. Attempting to have these actions carried out will result in the spell failing upon the target for the remainder of the topic. Though the user may look at multiple targets, they may only issue a single command per turn.