RP [Elysia] Ascension, Verse One: Reveille

[FrostJaeger]

Maimakterion XVIII, MMMMX (18/10/4010)
Empyrean, Elysia Novus
Senatorial Office Complex
VII:XIV a.m. (7:24 a.m.)

Like many pivotal moments in history, it began with a simple message: an invitation - delivered to four individuals in the earliest hours of the eighteenth day of Maimakterion - to the office of an Elysian Senator.

The office, located in Empyrean's creatively-named Senatorial Office Complex was, with its maroon, grey, and gold decor - the colors of its occupant's familial crest - clearly a relic from a time long since forgotten, its spartan and functional (yet elegant nonetheless) nature a far cry from the gaudily-furnished offices surrounding it.

The same, really, could be said for the Senator sitting in the sinfully-comfortable slate-grey chair behind the office's (ceremonial office's, to be precise) slate-grey desk, one Barachiel Valeria. Although rather young for a Patrician Senator at a "mere" one hundred and fifty-seven years of age, Barachiel - who, like many of his kind, had served in the First, Second, and Third Elysian Wars before pursuing careers elsewhere - was, with his imposing physical presence (eight feet and one inch's worth of muscles kept in virtually perfect condition), classic white angelic wings (with the gigantic wingspan God had given to his chosen creations), black hair, and piercing amber eyes, clearly a hallmark of Elysia's former magnificence.

And as the first glimmering rays of Elysia Novus began to peek above the Empyrean skyline and illuminate the four vacant slate-grey (and equally comfortable) chairs in front of the aforementioned desk, it was that magnificence that occupied Barachiel's thoughts - for if he was successful in the upcoming meeting, the restoration of that magnificence would be one step closer to fruition.

 

[META_mahn]

Maimakterion XVIII, MMMMX (18/10/4010)
Empyrean, Elysia Novus
Senatorial Office Complex
VII:XXX a.m. (7:30 a.m.)

The notification from Senator Valeria arrived in Antoni's mailbox early in the morning. It was a lucky break from the early morning tedium of paperwork, on paperwork, on paperwork.

Not like Antoni even got that much paperwork compared to the others in the first place. A bill proposed here and there (never worth his time), a minor report on the status on Yamatai's Tenth Fleet (not doing much), and the economy report Antoni requested every morning anyways (inflation was still climbing). Occasionally he'd find some new form in his box; sometimes he got some invitation out to lunch from a fellow Populares. Being one of the only few senators that managed the military affairs of Elysia wasn't very demanding or exciting. The most exciting thing that happened in recent dates concerning Elysia's "grand" fleets was the reactivation of vessels located in Second Chance. At the same time, it never garnered any serious respect.

Let them scorn, anyways. He didn't join the Senate for respect. It was, however, a little annoying that he didn't get any respect, since he needed some to, well, influence people, since ethos was still a decent arguing point to leverage off. So there he was, slightly hypocritical. Good job, Antoni. You ostrich.

In any case. Wow, that was an impressive train of thought, Antoni. And again, in any case. There was an invitation he had to tend to, from Senator Valeria. Young by the means of some senators, yet Barachiel was many times Antoni's age. When Antoni first joined the Senate, he felt like a small child walking amongst adults, despite him being just about on par with height.

Well, then he met his tiny wife, but that was a matter that was not for now. He couldn't afford to be scatterbrained, although a trait that let him consider so many different stratagems in a battle without frying his brain. And helpful in the Senate too, to listen to someone speaking while picking apart that nagging detail in the back of his head.

There he went again. Good job, you dumb ostrich. What was the original topic again? Yes -- the invitation from Senator Barachiel. He quickly scanned through the details. Pretty direct -- yet also lacking detail.

It didn't surprise Antoni that Barachiel called a meeting this early. A good decision, to keep the topic on their minds the whole day. A respectable strategy. It did surprise him that Barachiel left out details in the invitation like he wanted to keep it secret. What had Barachiel to hide? Perhaps some nutty plan like Autunno did in that beloved epic. Except that the plan probably wasn't nutty at all. Barachiel may be willing to gamble hard, yet he always kept his head on his shoulders, and not up his ass like most of the Senators did, Antoni's wife exempt.

Yes, good analysis of the situation. Now, what do you do?

Well, whatever Barachiel said, the old man had a reason for saying it, Antoni had to give him that. As according to the old saying, wise men spoke because they had something to say, and fools always had to say something. Barachiel was no fool, or so Antoni perceived.

Antoni accepted the invitation, and a few minutes later, was knocking on the door of Barachiel's office, a tumbler full of iced tea in his hand. What? It helped keep him awake.

 

[FrostJaeger]

Maimakterion XVIII, MMMMX (18/10/4010)
Empyrean, Elysia Novus
Senatorial Office Complex
VII:XXX a.m. (7:30 a.m.)

Barachiel allowed a faint smile to flicker across his aged - yet, thanks to the marvels of Elysian medical science, relatively youthful-looking - features as the sounds of someone knocking rang throughout the otherwise-silent office. And thus it begins. A flick of his hand (concealed underneath the aforementioned desk) instructed the office's organic computer to polarize the gigantic floor-to-ceiling pane of transparent duranium behind him and activate the office's various privacy subsystems - and then it was time. "Enter," said the Patrician, standing up from his chair in an unusual - for him, at least - display of respect.

 

[META_mahn]

Maimakterion XVIII, MMMMX (18/10/4010)
Empyrean, Elysia Novus
Senatorial Office Complex
VII:XXX a.m. (7:30 a.m.)

He always liked using that polarizing screen, didn’t he.

It was always a thing Antoni never used. He didn’t have anything to hide, so he didn’t ever see a point in hiding. Besides, most of the time Antoni wasn’t doing much anyways. So he picked up the tall task of theoretical warfare.

“What big plan do you have today?” Antoni asked, as he took a seat.

 

[FrostJaeger]

Maimakterion XVIII, MMMMX (18/10/4010)
Empyrean, Elysia Novus
Senatorial Office Complex
VII:XXXI a.m. (7:31 a.m.)

Antonius Castor, thought Barachiel as the former entered the room. Youthful, yet a brilliant strategist - superior to myself, even - and a rapidly-ascending star within the Populares, the Mollesco, and the Council.

"What big plan do you have today?” Antoni asked, as he took a seat.

Blunt, direct, never afraid to speak his mind, and - similar to myself - extremely displeased with the pitiful state of God's chosen empire. The Patrician allowed himself a faint smile as he sat back down behind his desk. Impatient and secular, yet an extraordinarily useful Asset nonetheless - a shame he was born too late to be of any use in the Wars.

"He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious..." - like Antoni, Barachiel had studied Sariel Trucciani's Ars Bellum extensively - "...Honorable Colleague. Patience. For all too many years, you and I have watched the petty squabbles of our fellow Senators drive our beloved nation closer and closer to disintegration or assimilation. A few more minutes spent waiting for the rest of our contubernium to arrive won't make much of a difference - not," Barachiel smiled, "when my 'plan' is for the ascension of our nation into its rightful place as the dominant power of the Celestial Sector."

 

[Arbitrated]

Maimakterion XVIII, MMMMX (18/10/4010)
Empyrean, Elysia Novus
Castor Residence
VI:XLV a.m. (6:45 a.m.)

Arvilla yawned quietly as she stirred a small helping of eggs around, making a breakfast for both her husband and herself - even though she had to basically force him to eat breakfast, she made sure it was still a good meal. Breakfast was the most important meal of the day, dammit! While the food was being prepared, she was scrolling through the new messages on her datapad, clearing away those which didn't concern her and sending others which did into their own little subgroups. How Antoni managed to find anything in his catastrophic organization was clearly a miracle.

Not much there, not much there, that's another spam message sent by the hundreds...

Oh, that's a new one. Opening the electronic letter, she pouted a bit, speaking aloud, "Did he really have to bother saying 'Arvillael'? Ugh..." She sighed a bit quietly, but figured it'd be best to come around anyways. He went through the process of bothering the two youngest members of the Elysian Senate for this, so it probably was important.


Maimakterion XVIII, MMMMX (18/10/4010)
Empyrean, Elysia Novus
Senatorial Office Complex
VII:XXXI a.m. (7:31 a.m.)

There was a gentle rap against the doorway, Arvilla shivering a little bit before it had opened. Even though she'd chosen the smallest size available, her robes were still on the large side, and not all of them had yet been tailored properly. This was apparently one of those outfits. She was running slightly later than he was on account of pausing to take a drink of water in the lobby. Unlike some people, she doesn't drink tea all the time.

 

[FrostJaeger]

Maimakterion XVIII, MMMMX (18/10/4010)
Empyrean, Elysia Novus
Senatorial Office Complex
VII:XXXII a.m. (7:32 a.m.)

"Enter, Honorable Colleague" said the Patrician, standing up once more - and if his earlier display of respect to Antoni had been unusual, this one was just plain unnatural, for Barachiel - in his entire decades-long career as a Senator - had never once before demonstrated such a level of respect to an Elysian female. He wasn't a misogynist, of course; rather, Barachiel - unlike the vastly younger Antoni and Arvilla - was one of the many older Patricians who, thanks to having been born decades before the passage of the highly-suffragist "Jehenniel Reforms" (due to the rampant sexual predations of a Patrician by the name of Jehenniel Cornelia) in BYE 41, emotionally struggled with the notion that women were the equal of men. Put simply, he was one of the many who found it difficult to reconcile the traditional lessons of one's parents with the modern lessons of society - and it was this abrupt change in his "normal" behaviorisms that underscored just how serious Barachiel was about this idea of his.

 

[Arbitrated]

Maimakterion XVIII, MMMMX (18/10/4010)
Empyrean, Elysia Novus
Senatorial Office Complex
VII:XXXII a.m. (7:32 a.m.)

"Greetings, Honorable Colleague." Perhaps the smallest Patrician in recent Elysian history, Arvilla delivered a polite smile towards Barachiel. If there was one thing she liked about this job, the pomp and circumstance that sometimes surrounded it was actually pretty enjoyable. Unfortunately, the Senate was almost entirely males. A... something festival, some Nepleslian had shouted that rather loudly the other week... I think. Her garments dragged across the floor a little bit as she stepped into the office. She did not seem to give thought towards the man when he sat himself down again, as quickly as he did - it was a pretty common thing, actually, to deal with people not taking kinda to her. After all she was a young woman, and they were all old and conservative.

"So, what was the goal of the message gathering us, Senator?" Honorable Colleague was a bit too long to say sometimes. "Why are we gathered here?"

 

[META_mahn]

Maimakterion XVIII, MMMMX (18/10/4010)
Empyrean, Elysia Novus
Senatorial Office Complex
VII:XXXII a.m. (7:32 a.m.)

Antoni expected himself to be called into a meeting such as this one. Although young and with a lack of experience, his strategic capabilities perhaps rivaled that of the former Lorath Commander-In-Chief's, perhaps exceeding hers. The fact he loved using odd stratagems to achieve victory only added a little bonus to the deal. So why was his wife called here? She worked in civil matters. Antoni originally thought Barachiel planned on military conquest and technological development, which is why he thought he was called here.

Although, he had to hold that thought. Perhaps this was a plan with many components. Both Antoni and his wife were sort of a power duo in the Senate, one in military and the other in civil. His wife was, therefore, an integral part of the plan Antoni was reading off of Barachiel...

"Well, this is ambitious. You've gone all out on the plan to Elysia great again, colleague?" Antoni asked. "Military, civil, I'll make the safe assumption a finance department chairperson was invited, and another one who's an ideal diplomat. I'll assume one or two more spots for who you've deemed fit to assist them, perhaps ethics and education."

 

[FrostJaeger]

Maimakterion XVIII, MMMMX (18/10/4010)
Empyrean, Elysia Novus
Senatorial Office Complex
VII:XXXIII a.m. (7:33 a.m.)

"Greetings, Honorable Colleague."

Arvilla Castor, thought Barachiel as he sat back down. Stoic, tranquil, and one of the few Senators viewed positively - loved, even - by the general public...

"So, what was the goal of the message gathering us, Senator? Why are we gathered here?"

...yet also blunt and to the point, a hippeis to her husband's makhaira. Excellent. Another useful Asset, albeit one that will require far more finesse; fortunately, her closeness to Antonius will-

"Well, this is ambitious. You've gone all out on the plan to Elysia great again, colleague?" Antoni asked. "Military, civil, I'll make the safe assumption a finance department chairperson was invited, and another one who's an ideal diplomat. I'll assume one or two more spots for who you've deemed fit to assist them, perhaps ethics and education."

Impressive, even considering the hints I provided him, and a reminder to never underestimate the curiosity of a bored and impatient mind. Regardless, however, it is time. The Patrician folded his hands together beneath his desk, (mentally) uttered a short prayer - Heavenly Father Almighty, God from Up Above. I pray for thou forgiveness and understanding and for thy divine guidance, so that thou may bestow good fortune upon my efforts to make thy blessed nation great again. Heavenly Father Almighty, I pray for this gift in the name of thee, our Lord and Savior. Amen. - and said, "Indeed I have, Honorable Colleague, however not even I can accomplish the task alone - not with the corruption that has poisoned the Senate and made it a mockery of itself."

"It is because of this that I have gathered the two of you here today, for I need your help in drafting the new constitution - the one that, after being approved by the Senate, the military police, the general populace, and the industrial sector on this upcoming Election Day, will restore the position of the Emperor and make Elysia great again."

It took every ounce of Barachiel's decades upon decades upon decades of political experience to keep his features calm and his voice level, for he would never again hold a position of power if this plot of his failed - but if it succeeded?

He, for all intents and purposes, would become the most powerful man in the Elysian Celestial Empire - and that alone was enough to justify anything and everything.

 

[META_mahn]

Maimakterion XVIII, MMMMX (18/10/4010)
Empyrean, Elysia Novus
Senatorial Office Complex
VII:XXXIII a.m. (7:33 a.m.)


That was what Antoni wanted out of Barachiel. The one thing Barachiel wanted to do, past all the weird stuff like "I wish to make Elysia great." Everyone did. Everyone wanted Elysia to rise again; there wasn't a single Elysian in the Senate that didn't unless if one of them was bought out by some foreign government.


Well, everyone 'did.' That was the claim everyone made. When everyone makes the same claim, there's no real point in acknowledging it again. The problem is what they actually wanted to do on top of their claim, and Barachiel just told him flat out. The statement, then, posed another issue. Antoni couldn't quickly back out of this, due to the fact Barachiel held power -- more power than Antoni, at least. It was wise to fear power because fear simply meant you watched your back.


However, this whole line of action would cause other issues in the Senate as well. No one would agree to lose power. It was a foolish thought. Sure, Barachiel may be able to get the lazy ones and his friends on his side, but beyond that, it would be a challenge. And even if that still passed, his opposition would raise hell...and if he employed some disagreeable tactics, well, he'd have the public on him too.


"That's advancing a little too quickly, isn't it?" Antoni asked. "I doubt many Senators would agree to this -- losing power is never a desirable thing for the majority of them."

 

[Arbitrated]

"A new constitution?" The undersized senator's face scrunched up skeptically. "That seems... Risky, to put it lightly. People hate change; we aren't Yamatai, who can support a rapid change with their vast resources. We aren't strong enough as an empire to restructure our entire government... At least not now." She let out the last part of her breath, before inhaling again. Her eyes focused on Barachiel oddly fiercely.

 

[FrostJaeger]

Maimakterion XVIII, MMMMX (18/10/4010)
Empyrean, Elysia Novus
Senatorial Office Complex
VII:XXXIV a.m. (7:34 a.m.)

"That's advancing a little too quickly, isn't it?" Antoni asked. "I doubt many Senators would agree to this -- losing power is never a desirable thing for the majority of them."

A valid concern - even a man as superior as myself would, under such circumstances, be...reluctant to cede such vast amounts of power - but one that Raphael has already addressed...

"A new constitution?" The undersized senator's face scrunched up skeptically. "That seems... Risky, to put it lightly. People hate change; we aren't Yamatai, who can support a rapid change with their vast resources. We aren't strong enough as an empire to restructure our entire government... At least not now." She let out the last part of her breath, before inhaling again. Her eyes focused on Barachiel oddly fiercely.

...and another set of valid concerns, albeit ones that are easily countered in light of recent events - though this Senator's skepticism means my answering parry shall require a degree of finesse and, thought Barachiel with a trace of idle amusement as he took note of the female Senator's decidedly intense stare, a touch of charm. They make a good combination, these two, but they're uncoordinated and inexperienced.

The elder Patrician allowed a bit of honeyed empathy and understanding to soften his mostly-youthful features as he revealed one of his well-honed (and, though virtually impossible to tell, completely and utterly false) "real" smiles, the kind that were only shown to close friends and intimates - the kind that were never wasted in public on petty things like ceremonies, interviews, and photo shoots. He leaned forward a degree or two, shifted his attention ever-so-slightly to Antoni - and began his charisma-laced riposte as the muted sun inched its way upwards in the privacy-screen-darkened-sky behind him.

"It is indeed 'advancing far too rapidly,' Honorable Colleague, however come Election Day I have reason to believe that quite a few Senators will no longer be a problem after some of their financial transactions become public knowledge - and," he continued, seamlessly switching targets mid-sentence without even pausing, "I wholeheartedly agree. This is most certainly the greatest risk I have ever taken in my entire political career - no, my entire life, yet it is one I must take now, Honorable Colleague, because the time and resources of our Elysian Celestial Empire are running out. If we don't take action soon - if we, like the general populace, simply sit around and idly wait for our fellow Honorable Colleagues to debate and filibuster the days, the weeks, the months, the years away..."

The Patrician paused for a moment as he strangled the fire - the decades and decades of pent-up anger, frustration, and rage caused by the agony of watching your beloved nation be choked to death in her sleep by the bumbling FOOLS in charge of it - that had melted its way past his otherwise-ironclad self-control, then continued, "...Elysia shall fall."

"And I, for one..." - Barachiel fixed Arvilla and Antoni with a monomolecular-sharp stare of his own that matched the steely control buried within his voice - "...would do anything and everything to prevent that from happening. After all..." - the steely-edged control was gone as quickly as it had appeared, replaced with that confident, charismatic, and utterly serious persona from before - "...is there anything you would not do for your family?"

 

[META_mahn]

Ignoring the straight and obvious threat, Barachiel's words were also correct. The Senate was not efficient. It didn't matter what legislation it made, truly, just that it needed to make legislation and change. And legislation and change it was not making. And no matter how much the population could be kept under, the populous was already angry to the extent that sometimes Antoni wasn't sure his seat was secure. Of course, that could be his own fault, spending too long with his nose in accounting books.

Ah, the game of politics. The game they all played, and the game that played all of them for fools with all of its silly rules -- a game never won, but he always played. Antoni was so tempted to agree with Barachiel, to jump on his train of creating a new Elysian government, if only to give the game a great rude gesture. It certainly would forward his own strategy. He needed something to happen if only so the defenses of Elysia could stop being slowed down by 'oh we don't have the funding for you, sorry colleague' when they were siphoning funds for...for...

For nothing. Or, using a Nepleslian phrase, 'blackjack and hookers.'

"This will most definitely be the wild card solution." Antoni mused. "The end result, no one can see, but we can only wish to the stars that it will be good. But we all know that the current path we are leading will lead nowhere, as we've all tried and tried again, trying to do something to no avail."

"If we try once more, it is called insanity," Antoni stated, stealing a bit from a little bit of secular text. "And without any serious senator changes, I'm afraid that strategically nothing will change."

 

[Arbitrated]

Oddly enough, Arvillael didn't seem to have anything to say - the undersized senator had gone silent, as she contemplated her next move; for now she allowed her mate to dominate the conversation on their side. Internally, her thoughts were still aligning the information presented: First, Barachiel was going to expose a few of the other senators. About damn time their bullshit got shut down. Second, he believed that Elysia was going to collapse if things didn't change as soon as possible. Okay that was somewhat believable, but should be hopefully fixed by the exposure. But....


Thirdly, he wanted to take everything for himself, even if he was going to give it back. He could easily be hiding his personal goals which may even end up driving the empire into a further decline if they went through. How many times were there stories of a nation falling because a man who promised to be just got corrupted by his authority? The little one frowned.

 

[FrostJaeger]

Maimakterion XVIII, MMMMX (18/10/4010)
Empyrean, Elysia Novus
Senatorial Office Complex
VII:XXXV a.m. (7:35 a.m.)

"This will most definitely be the wild card solution." Antoni mused. "The end result, no one can see, but we can only wish to the stars that it will be good. But we all know that the current path we are leading will lead nowhere, as we've all tried and tried again, trying to do something to no avail."

"If we try once more, it is called insanity," Antoni stated, stealing a bit from a little bit of secular text. "And without any serious senator changes, I'm afraid that strategically nothing will change."

With a fairly significant amount of effort, Barachiel kept the faint smile that had crept its way onto his features from blossoming into a full-fledged grin of joyous exultation as he saw his words strike home. "I-"

Brrrrrrrn!

With an even greater amount of effort, Barachiel kept his expression and voice steady as the moment, the crescendo, the grand finale he had spent the past five minutes building up towards was completely and utterly ruined by the never-to-sufficiently-be-damned intercom built into each and every Senator's desk - the intercom that, fittingly enough, represented everything the Senate had become: a nuisance installed decades ago that had been rendered obsolete by the very thing it was supposed to replace.

With a click, the Patrician's finger pressed the desk's "SPEAK" button, giving the nuisance's painfully-monotonous artificial voice the chance to say...

Senator....Sariel Anex...requests your presence in his offic-

...before a press of the finger silenced once more with another click. Goddamn that arrogant brute! Of course he - one of the few with more power than I and one of the few Raphael couldn't find anything to use as leverage - would be here at this hour!

"I'm afraid you'll have to excuse this..." - the apparent lack of anger, frustration, or rage in Barachiel's mannerisms spoke volumes about his skills in the thespian arts as he stood up - "...unexpected interruption to our meeting, my fellow Honorable Colleagues. Were it anyone else, I would of course ignore their summons, but as I'm sure you're both aware, inviting the wrath of our Honorable Colleague Anex is..." - a pause, as the Senator pushed in his (unpowered, thanks to budget cuts) chair and strode around his desk - "...unwise, to say the least. I'll instruct my secretary to contact yours so that we may finish our conversation at a later date - perhaps at Akilina's?"

 

[Arbitrated]

"Alright; we shall take our leave then. May your encounter with him be fruitful and productive." Okay, it probably wouldn't be either of those things. But being a bit courteous has to count, right? The midnight-winged girl bowed politely, her head dipping only a little but easily enough to make eye contact a brief struggle. From then, she would turn on the spot, the flaming pattern which streaked across a portion of her plumage shining right towards Barachiel, gently shifting from side to side as she stepped into the hallway.

 

[META_mahn]

Antoni did his own little bow as well, to Barachiel, and took his leave.

Sariel was a strange one. He was things Antoni liked about Elysia's troops, loyal and steadfast, but also what he didn't like, which was this strange honor they had, somewhat like ancient warriors that believed they should never sheathe their blade until it has shed the blood of the enemy. Antoni was willing to back down in a military confrontation if it wouldn't net him anything, Sariel was not so.

That, and his distrust of other races. Antoni was by no means a person that put other nations before his own, but he at least respected the prowess of others. To defeat their enemies, they would need other nations. Even now Yamatai was the primary force holding the Kuvexians back, as well as the primary reason why the Mishhuvurthyar weren't mounting more offensives.