Mini Event A New Dawn
Hotaru Kaito
the Valkyrie
Masseuse / Headmistress

Age: 33 | Height: 5'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: King's End
Level: 3 - Strg: 38 - Dext: 38 - Endr: 54 - Luck: 40 - Int:
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#1
HOTARU
I know when you were little girls
You dreamt of being in my world
The morning is bright and frosted over with twilight particles as she and Noah step side-by-side onto the raised platform in the square. A notice had gone out for the citizens of Halo to read, asking for their presence that morning. Her thick furred coat hides most of her pregnancy, though with the turning of time she knows the birth itself will come soon. Now, at least, the worst is behind them. They can all take a breath for just a moment.

“People of Halo we come to you to inform you that Morgan Aristomache has been removed from her role as Warden as commanded by the Old Gods, and upon revelation of her ties to The Voice.” Her association with Neron would not be used to drag her through the mud. Hotaru simply would not do it. Much as she might dislike the man, she would not fault the Glacier for something so human as love. Even if it was love for the wrong person.

“As the ones who unseated her, myself and Noah stand before you and ask that you place your faith in us as your new leaders. Both of us together - a unit, and not a singular soul. So that we might be balanced - Outlander and Natural, hybrid and Attuned, man and woman - but both with a love for Halo, a cultivated presence here, and a shared desire to keep Halovians safe in the coming war.” Her hand reaches for Noah’s, gently hooking their fingers together in show of solidarity that is quite sincere. Hotaru had been pleased by his interest. Had vowed to be a better ruling partner than Morgan had been to him. “This time is to tell you of the changes in government - but if you have any reservations or objections, please speak them now.”

- - -

Please wait for Noah to post first, then welcome to all (who conceivably were in Halo and saw the notice!)
Don't forget it, don't forget it
respect that and bow down bitches
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Noah Olson
the Forsaken
Hunter

Age: 34 | Height: 6'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 9 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 47 - Endr: 46 - Luck: 47 - Int: 1
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#2
I am not a scholar and I don't believe in fate
To say that the hunter was not wrapped up in his mind after what had happened would be untrue. He walked beside the Valkyrie as warden, the title falling heavy on his shoulders even in the waking hours of it. Glacier eyes scanned out through the crowd, falling to rest on those he care for most. He let his eyes settle on Korbin the longest, before returning to scanning. Hotaru addressed them all, and Noah stood as he ever did beside her -- strong, able, glacial.

He took her hand in his.

"The change of the crown is not unusual here in Halo. We have seen many wardens here. Many wardens overcome by themselves. With the guidance of our people, our council, and our gods, we vow to be your protectors and providers." His voice was as steady as the frozen mountains that surrounded them, and as full of hope and sincerity as the sun that rose after Longnight. "If there are any among who that do not agree with what has happened, step forward and share your piece." The Olson lifted his free hand, palm up, gesturing out for the crowd. His heart pounded in his chest, wondering if anyone would step out and challenge them here. He locked it all away within himself, however, even from the attuned bond.

NOAH
Sah Lovi
the Wild Thunder
Hunter

Age: 26 | Height: 6'0" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
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#3
yet my blood renders me a King
Sah listened to the announcement, his brows pinched as Hotaru and Noah finished speaking. The Outlander respected both Hotaru and Noah and though he wasn't confident in the former's leadership capabilities, he was in the latter's. But that confidence in them wasn't enough right now. Not when a war was coming. And certainly not when this coup had implications that could harm Halovians.  

And so Sah stepped forward, eyes guarded and wary. Would he too be persecuted for voicing his concerns? For not being sworn to the Old Gods? "I have one major concern. The Ascended that still live in Halo are part of our community, Halovians just as much of the rest of us. What is to happen to them? With Halo declaring itself formally for the Old Gods, are they to be driven from their homes?" That was the defining issue for him, his one problem with the change of  leadership.
Sah
Deimos Ignatius
the Resurrected Sword
Warden of Halo / Guildmaster

Age: 33 | Height: 6'4" | Race: Hybrid | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 14 - Strg: 72 - Dext: 72 - Endr: 73 - Luck: 80 - Int: 3
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#4
DEIMOS
ache first, but then let the cuts close
spit out the blood
He’d taken many breaths. Gone to his house, poured cold water on his face, become immersed in the nonchalance when somehow all he felt was pride and betrayal and something akin to other emotions he was incapable of naming.

So when he wandered in, eyes widening upon pretenses, at Hotaru standing there, with Noah at her side, the measures of regard, satisfaction, for his friends, for all the measures and machinations they’d undertaken, simply slid through the Attuned bonds for them. Otherwise, he was a figment of shadow, wandering further into the fold to listen, to reside in some manner of calm, while the rest of Halo deciphered the meanings, the implications.

Like for the Ascended, as Sah had done. Reticent and composed, he merely folded his arms across his chest and became a part of the backdrop, a demeanor suggesting listening ears and cool, precise musings.
watch your body pull itself back together
then let your soul do the same
Seren Taliesin


Age: 25 | Height: 5'7 in (170cm) | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
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#5
Dark hair for catching the wind, not to veil the sight of a cold world
Bundled up against the ever present cold, Seren stood anonymous and unobtrusive amidst the crowd. Subdued and unusually quiet for being her, she watched the proceedings without speaking. This was a Halo affair, and for all that she had helped to bring about this change, it was to remain a well kept secret. Only three people knew that she had been present in the Palace that day... and they had convinced her that it was better to keep it that way. For her sake, for safety - and while it seemed reasonable enough, it still left her with an uneasy sensation at the pit of her stomach.

Only half listening, her attention was drawn in anew when a familiar voice spoke up. Sah's expression was difficult to read, and his question and concerns were quite valid. Balling up her hands into fists in the depths of her pockets, the young demi-goddess turned her gaze back to Hotaru and Noah, to hear what they had to say.

Letters only just received and read crunched in her grasp - she was itching to leave, very much feeling the need for her presence elsewhere. But she would stay for this. Just a few moments longer.
Seren
Starlight (Passive) | Starfilled night billow around her like a veil as she moves. It is more noticeable in daytime and when she make sudden movements.
Korbin Hale
Healer / Bartender

Age: 25 | Height: 6'3in (190 cm) | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 19 - Dext: 17 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
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#6
KORBIN
A raucous crow, a rootless tree
A coiled adder, night-old ice
A raven perched on a nearby rooftop, with a prime view over the square. It was not the first movement of change it had ever seen, where governing faces changed and new times were promised. It was not even the first time he had found himself staring at a familiar face, wrapped in new garb and burned with additional worries. Images of Weaver standing where Noah now did kept haunting Korbin's mind, and for all that he was proud and confused about this new preemptive Noah, he was also afraid.

Would a dragon come sweeping in to take this last frayed cord from him, too?

The woman by his side was a stranger. Outlander, then - and once that might have brought a searing bile of hate roiling up through a raven's gullet. Now, after so long time spent beyond the reach of any humans, he couldn't quite bring himself to care. Let her sit in a chair and play at governing... Korbin suspected that she was tolerated mostly for Noah's presence up there. The last Outlander to call themselves Warden had not done so great, after all.  She had plenty to prove and live up to, if she wanted to become more than tolerated.

As for concerns... If the dark bird had any, they would not be voiced here. Better address them later, when he could speak to Noah alone. The man had a lot to explain.
A racing stallion who has wrenched a leg,
Are never safe: let no man trust them.
Aino Jandar
Soldier

Age: 36 | Height: 5'8 in (175cm) | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
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#7
Who am I without my armor?
Well, wasn't this a surprise. She had gone to bed, thinking all was well with the world. Only to wake up and find that the peace of Halo was once again overturned, changes made and decreed over the heads of the people. Not the first time. Not the last either, likely, but that did not make this any easier to swallow.

"You mean your gods," she piped up, after Noah's pretty little speech. Arms crossed over her chest and feet splayed in a broad stance, there was a grim look on Aino's face. "I've never been much favored by them, nor do I care to be. And I sure ain't about to fight any wars for them. You say you want what's best for Halo, yet you place it squarely in the thick of this idiotic conflict - how are you going to keep anyone safe when you've turned us all into weapons?"

At least Morgan had claimed to try for neutrality. But this? It filled her with a deep unease, such as she hadn't felt since she was a young girl, heckled and disparaged for the magic in the core of her soul. They were hunting Ascended now... how long until they would be coming for Abandoned?
AinO
Kiada Njovu-Reyes
Hollowed Grounds Registrar

Age: 30 | Height: 5’7 | Race: Ancient | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 2 - Strg: 18 - Dext: 16 - Endr: 29 - Luck: 17 - Int:
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#8
it's 2am and i took 17 shots of vodka trying to forget your name
but the only name i forgot was mine. and sober —
She has been gone a while, quite a while in fact that she hasn’t noticed what’s happened to the frozen north. She’d been in Torchline, with Chulane, while things there sparked and happened, tried their best to avoid any confrontation, and simply tried to thrive with the things they had in the name of vacation and also not exploding.

So it seems she’s returned just in time. She lingers at the back, watching as Hotaru, her aunt, heavily pregnant as well as addressing their people (she wonders idly who the father is because last she’d heard Hotaru had just left Sunjata), but that’s neither here nor there.

Because she’s standing up there, speaking as a queen as she was so used to, but the words? The words that leave her chill her more than her already cold body could. But she remains silent, gaze slipping to Deimos yet she remains in her corner, in the shadows, waiting. But Noah speaks, and soon after someone else with concerns regarding the Ascended, and Kiada watches with a bit of apprehension.

Everyone else seems to remain silent, and Kiada? Well, the Harpy remains silent until the answer comes.

She remains silent until the choice to stay or leave is given to her on a plate of their own making.
— or drunk, you're the only thing on my mind
KIADA
Kiada has a large X scar on the right side of her neck.
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Kiada, without killing her <3
Deimos Ignatius
the Resurrected Sword
Warden of Halo / Guildmaster

Age: 33 | Height: 6'4" | Race: Hybrid | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 14 - Strg: 72 - Dext: 72 - Endr: 73 - Luck: 80 - Int: 3
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#9
DEIMOS
ache first, but then let the cuts close
spit out the blood
More words and stares, and not his place to say anything. Muted, his eyes glanced towards Aino for a moment, and only because he understood the nature of it all. Except they were in the thick of it, whether they wanted to be or not, simply for existing in Caido. Immersed because this was a world with ties to both mortal and immortal stirrings; wars from the past, wars in the future. Was it safer to coast by and pretend it wasn’t happening? To instill the blindness, the ignorance? To be taken unawares later on down the road, without any preparation? Or to begin now, fortifying a sovereignty they all believed so strongly in?

There were no right, good, wrong, answers. Merely justifiable ones.

It was Kiada’s presence though, and only hers, that caused any other shift. A figure in the shadows, looming in the corner, another maelstrom in the mess of their making. Automatically, his hand ghosted towards her – a realm of comfort, of support, if she wanted to take it, of things unsaid and still lingering from when she’d been gone (of how Sah had given him an idea, and how he’d like to implement it but didn’t know how, but it was something to try).
watch your body pull itself back together
then let your soul do the same
Cordelia Olson
the One-Shot
Hunter

Age: 30 | Height: 5'7 | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 4 - Strg: 15 - Dext: 16 - Endr: 21 - Luck: 13 - Int:
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#10
Cordelia

Cordelia lingers close to Aino, silent as she watches the pair address the crowd, one of them unknown to her and the other someone she's only heard spoken about in passing from her cousin. She didn't share the same unease as everyone else seemed to, glancing around to those gathered, the tension was palpable and heavy. A hand reaches to take hold of her cousin's hand, giving it a squeeze that she hopes is reassuring, but she's not sure it does the job. The woman stands silent, having nothing to say that others haven't already expressed themselves, unwilling to potentially stir the unease that already travelled through the people here.

For now she lies in wait to see what they have to say in response to the words and questions slung their way instead, curious to see where it all went.
Present all your pretty feelings
May they comfort you tonight
Hotaru Kaito
the Valkyrie
Masseuse / Headmistress

Age: 33 | Height: 5'2 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: King's End
Level: 3 - Strg: 38 - Dext: 38 - Endr: 54 - Luck: 40 - Int:
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#11
HOTARU
I know when you were little girls
You dreamt of being in my world
They arrive in droves, and though their eyes are wary and their words sharp, Hotaru is undaunted. She is proud of these people, proud to have been one of them for so long before this chance to lead. Their trust is something she will have to earn, but Noah’s calloused hand around her own proves it’s not an impossibility. The Valkyrie has faced worse odds.

As for the Ascended, even Kiada’s presence cannot - will not - stray her from her conviction. She addresses them in turn, starting with Sah: “No. We will not permit violence against any Halovians, the few Ascended included. Any attempts will be punished accordingly - however, because of our stance and the majority of non-Ascended Halovians, the protections we seek might conflict with those individuals’ ideals and feelings. If that is the case, it will be their own decision whether they desire to leave.” With Neron’s banishment that left only Kiada. Would she turn away from them entirely, and seek the rest of her new family in the Grounds? Or would she continue to attempt to straddle the line until the very end, as all the citizens before her seemed intent on doing?

Aino seems to veer halfway over the line herself, which is disappointing to say the least. Hotaru had hoped…but no. “If you do not care to be favored by them, then why care at all? We are not forcing you to a shrine to submit yourself to the Gods individually. Protections of any kind of magical nature must come from somewhere - or would you have us not defend Halo at all?” Her logic is inconsistent, squalling and crying for the sake of it, hateful of change but providing no alternative. “The Old Gods made Halo. Made you. So where do the lines of your patriotism lie? You will distrust an Outlander as a native, but not respect those who made the land you were born in?” The question is posed to all, even if Aino’s words had prompted the initial response. “Do not be mistaken; individuals are not being conscripted into war by us. We will not expect any of you to join the fight when it comes, but we will strive to place defenses that match those of bordering lands so that Halo is not used as a pawn, or leverage. We cannot remain neutral while achieving those defenses, because they must come from somewhere. And the Old Gods can deny us for any dawdling, or childish bids to ‘stay out of things’ - and that would leave only The Voice’s power to call upon, which would align us anyway, no?” So what would they prefer? No defenses at all, or alignment with Gods that had lived millennia longer than The Voice, that had created Halo and all her people? Even those on the fence surely had to see the logic on not betting an entire country of innocents on a singular, untested goddess whether she was trustworthy or not. Against a pantheon? As a leader, regardless of allegiance, the answer was obvious to Hotaru.

“Neutrality is a farce - war is coming whether we like it or not, and has been confirmed to come in eight seasons. We are not of the mind to bet Halo and her citizens on a new, untested, and questionable god. As I said before - nobody will be driven from their homes, but if your ideals cannot bear the thought of this change, you will not be stopped from leaving either.” Turning her eyes to the crowd, her last words ring clear. “If you leave, it will be your own choice. Not ours. But we will do what it takes to defend Halo.”

And their complaints will not slow Hotaru in her efforts to keep them - all of them, even the dissenters - safe. They are her people now. And Hotaru always protects what’s hers.
Don't forget it, don't forget it
respect that and bow down bitches
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Sah Lovi
the Wild Thunder
Hunter

Age: 26 | Height: 6'0" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 11 - Strg: 40 - Dext: 40 - Endr: 48 - Luck: 40 - Int: 1
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#12
yet my blood renders me a King
Sah grimaced slightly at the aggressive exchange between his sister and the new Warden. Both did have valid points. Choosing a side was necessary for Halo's survival. The region was tied closely to the Old Gods already with all of the help that Frey had provided. And now with so many of those loyal to Safrin taking positions of power. Sah didnt' trust the goddess, or any of Caido's gods really, but he respected them. Halo had closer ties to the Old Gods, so it made sense that that was where the region would fall in terms of loyalties.

But it was true that by declaring a side meant expectations. And those expectations would likely lead to more and more people being pulled into fight. Even if they weren't, Halo was now an active part of the coming war, which led to the possibility of the region itself being attacked. If that happened, there'd be no avoiding the fighting.

Regardless of that, Hotaru's assurance regarding the Ascended had Sah nodding towards her in acceptance, tension bleeding out of him. It wouldn't be ideal for the Ascended, but it was the best that could be done given the situation.
Sah
Aino Jandar
Soldier

Age: 36 | Height: 5'8 in (175cm) | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
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#13
Who am I without my armor?
Aino shook her head, still unconvinced. Hotaru was as good at talking now as she had been before, but the soldier got a feeling that the woman was failing to see the inevitability of what had now been set in motion. Cordelia's hand in hers and Sah's bold presence by her shoulder only served as a stark reminder of everything she stood to lose, and she could not forgive either of these new Wardens for making her job of defending her family this much harder.

"Every favor you ask of gods comes with a price," she persisted, level and bold as she spoke her mind. "The moment you delivered Halo into their palms, the conscription of us all into their army was inevitable. Halo's only enemies used to be our own exiles and the weather. Now you've pitted it against the Voice and her people. Even if I never set foot before a shrine their decrees through you are forcing my hand into defending my home against far more than cannibals and cultists. Don't expect me to be grateful for it."

Shaking her head, Aino turned to stalk away from the square. She had spoken her piece, and no amount of speeches from on high would be able to change her mind. This was a bad idea. It galled her that there was so little she could do about it - and that her only option seemed to be between leaving her homeland and accepting this shackle around her neck.



Aino out!
AinO
Kiada Njovu-Reyes
Hollowed Grounds Registrar

Age: 30 | Height: 5’7 | Race: Ancient | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
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#14
it's 2am and i took 17 shots of vodka trying to forget your name
but the only name i forgot was mine. and sober —
She listens, and she sees the edge of a hand that reaches toward her – her iceberg gaze narrow and sharp like a wild animal as it peers at Deimos with nothing but frustration, anger, and hunger thrumming in her bones. The look she seems to shoot him says “talk later” before she’s turning that sharpened gaze back on Hotaru, her aunt, as the words fall from her lips.

And she already knows she isn’t safe here. Or at least won’t be in the coming days. And it’s that which has her itching to leave, has her muscles bunching and pulling to depart just as quickly as she’d arrived – a ghost in the shadows of the meeting, hiding away as she’d become good at.

Sure, the Old Gods have done a lot. But it wasn’t them who had given her a second chance. It was the Voice, and while she had been so terrified to return, to see if anyone accepted her back the way they had before, she realizes that she’d been right in her assumption. Chulane had, but the rest of them had made their positions known.

So before Hotaru is even finished with her speech, Kiada tilts her head up to regard her aunt, before she turns on her heel and steps out the door into the snows.



Kiada out!
— or drunk, you're the only thing on my mind
KIADA
Kiada has a large X scar on the right side of her neck.
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Kiada, without killing her <3


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