The past several nights in Orchidia had been an uneasy one, with perhaps the lone exception being the first night; the opportunity for Astrid to enjoy Sia’s body once again being enough to overlook the urgency of their presence within this city, a delight that was shadowed by difficulty upon difficulty, it having come to a head the other day. With a city in mourning, it would have seemed that the efforts by Astrid to carry out an agreement had failed, and under most circumstances it had done exactly that. It was impossible for her to try to work out a justification behind the defunding of a wall when the other option would have led to the deaths of hundreds, if not potentially thousands of people in the long run.

But Astrid was the exception to the rule. She had come here determined to get the arrangement completed to her liking, and she had an ace up her sleeve that although she would have preferred saving, she admittedly was ready to carry out its use if she deemed necessary. Barely a minute into her conversation with the leader of Orchidia the other day, she knew that it would be a requirement that she utilize the Eye of Makima. And it was for the best that she had done so.

With a single stroke, she had managed to salvage what certainly would have been a failed accord and turned it into an almost guarantee of success.

At least, it would be a guarantee after the events of today, that much she was confident in. Of course, the events still had to play out, but she was confident about the likelihood that it would work out, especially given that she was fully prepared to once again rely upon the Eye of Makima. She had already crossed the threshold of utilizing it, her only regret not opting to use it right from the beginning. But now, as she and Sia made their way to the great lift once again to meet with their fellow audience members atop the wall, she realized that it was for the better that it happened this way.

In a single fell swoop, she would reverse course on their resistance and set forth a glorious new age. She was about to empower the people of Orchidia in a way that they did not know they needed.

397/1500 (-40% | -20% Frosch the Exceed, -20% Symbiotic Fleshweave)

It was just them on the lift as it ascended up high, a few minutes of only the two of them with an absolute guarantee of privacy, something that was barely afforded them in recent memory, at least without the risk of there being some sort of eavesdropper that may have lurked within the shadows of this unknown city. Upon this rift however, they had all sense of privacy, not a soul around them, either around or that high up, beyond them both.

“Sia,” Astrid began, her words somewhat quiet despite the sense of privacy that was afforded them, “When we return to Oak Town, I have a task that I need you to accomplish.”

“Of course, My… Astrid… What do you need me to do?”

“As your first assignment within Oak Town, see to the local magistrate that they prepare offers of conscription for the nearby farm territories surrounding Oak Town. They will provide you with the precise details.”

“Conscription? But what for, if I may ask?”

Astrid said nothing for a brief moment, but then turned to face the woman, “We are being proactive. There will come a time when the people, those of Fiore, or perhaps even just those here, will be in need of aid. I expect that Oak Town will be the one to answer such a cry for help.”

Sia said nothing for a moment, just ingesting Astrid’s words, putting the pieces together in her head, “You suspect that this will go poorly.”

“How it goes does not matter for our purposes. I will see that the demands of the Office of the Auditor are satisfied. I have little doubt that this city will be in dire need of our aid down the line, whether in the immediate or down the line. So, to reiterate, see to that the rest of the Magistrate is on board. I do not anticipate them being in disagreement.”

“Of course, Astrid.”

720/1500 (-40% | -20% Frosch the Exceed, -20% Symbiotic Fleshweave)

Atop the wall were the original individuals that she first envisioned seeing. The Orchidian leader along with the three military leaders whom had been there previously. Even before she was within close proximity, she could tell that the reception to all of this was less than warm, Astrid somehow convincing the leader to organize such an operation being so outside of the realm of believability that they must have thought her to be insane or perhaps charming him. She wouldn’t admit it, but she would be unable to appreciate just how accurate they may have been, particularly towards the latter consideration.

“You must be kidding me? You arrive here and suddenly think it’s in the interest of us to try to FIGHT a Titan!?” One of the commanders bellowed out in anger, the suddenness of his booming voice being enough to cause Sia to flinch backwards a little. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I fail to see the issue. Your walls, as much as you have invested into them, cannot sustain things forever. Eventually the Titans will break through. Or Orchidia goes broke. Whichever happens first.”

The remark of Orchidia going broke was enough to send one of the commanders into a frenzy, stepping forward right in Astrid’s face, anger all over his face. “Say that again. I dare you… bitch!”

Astrid smiled weakly as she simply looked at the man, taking a step back, not out of fear, but rather so that she could get a look at all four men, each of them staring right at her.

“I apologize. I know tempers are at a high right now, so allow me to better phrase what I meant to convey.” She covered a hand over her mouth, fingers spread across her face, a trick that she learned to emphasize the focus towards her eyes, namely her left eye that had begun to glow with an intense color that caused the men to simply look on in captivation, to become slaves to her will.

To her Authority.

“The four of you have worked hard in conducting this operation, planning it, arranging men, materials, everything. And now you shall reap the benefits of it all. No matter what happens, you will all see the same thing. Success. Great success. Titans vanquished. A future in the palm of your hands. No matter the dead that will come of this, it will all spell the same thing. Glorious victory.”

1129/1500 (-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.

They said nothing at first, but as they returned to reality, they all looked out, intensely focused on the battle below. On the ground they had managed to secure one of the Titans, a rarity in that it had come somewhat close to the gates and were able to lead using a loose horse as bait. Against the Titans stood a small battalion composed of nearly thirty soldiers, much of them relatively new recruits or those whom had non-essential roles within the Orchidia army. They had been presented with an option to participate and in exchange have their service to the city satisfied with the ability to retire at a higher rank; an effective bribe.

Astrid could smell the fear on the people, even from up above, watching as they did battle with the Titan. She did not have much confidence in their chances, but even she was surprised at how poorly it ultimately went.

Even this one Titan, a massive creature in its own right that seemed to simply tower over the people, did not seem to struggle much with fighting against the soldiers. It tore through the group and it was only after a few moments that the people dispersed, terrified and having given up on trying to fight. A number of them were slain in quick succession by the Titan while others did whatever they could to try to escape. Some flocked to the gates, hoping to get back in, but were locked out. They were eventually killed by the Titan. Some of them ventured into the woods beyond, no doubt going to be at risk for whatever lurked within, be it Titan or otherwise. Some refused to accept either option, opting instead to commit suicide than face whatever fate would otherwise be in store for them.

In all, it was fair to believe that the overwhelming majority of the thirty soldiers deployed were dead. All of them were either dead or missing in action.

And yet, from atop the walls, there was wild celebration from the generals as their warped minds believed this to have been a great victory for them. A Titan was dead by their hands! It was proof enough that things could be achievable, and in that moment seemed to show the leader of the city that what Astrid said was correct. They could win and did not need the aid of some walls like this.

While the commanders patted each other on the back, the leader joined Astrid and Sia as the trio descended down the great lift. There was plenty to discuss and after what she had seen, Astrid was ready to be done with everything here and on the way back to Oak Town. Sia had plenty of work to do to prepare Oak Town for its role in the salvation of Orchidia, and Astrid was very interested in finding out more about some select Witch Hunters and what information they may have for her.

1624/1500 (-40% | -20% Frosch the Exceed, -20% Symbiotic Fleshweave)