Timestamp: 22nd of Saun, 722
Location: Scalvoris Town
Kura sighed to herself as she went over the reports on the strains that Saun was putting on the island. She hated the heat of the season, and really wanted nothing more than go back to Sweetwine, find a cool spring or river, and spend a few hours swimming. Unfortunately, she had work to do and there were general issues across the island to deal with. There were fires that the rangers appeared to be dealing with, and there was the usual trouble where naval ships were going through their ship-board water faster than usual, on account of the Saun heat. She made a note of that second point, as keeping shipboard water supplies on hand was vital if the Scalvonite navy ever needed to sail beyond their own waters. She was pretty certain that there were ways to take the salt out of sea water, and if there weren't, then maybe the university could come up with a way. Defiers could maybe do it, but that wasn't a particularly viable solution unless they could put a Defier with the proper level of skill and the proper training on every ship in the Scalvonite navy, which seemed remarkably unlikely.
However, as she tried to work, she was distracted by a commotion outside. She glanced over at the open window, knowing that if it were something that required her attention, either Speck or Ornery would report it to her. The two owls spent most of her work day perched on the roof of the Scalvoris Town council building, keeping watch over the area for her while she worked. After a moment, Speck's voice sounded in Kura's head. "There's an issue. Someone's taken over Gregorios Glassworks. He's got Stephan Gregorios held hostage and he's demanding to speak to the Council." Speck said, her voice sounding urgent in Kura's head. Kura, for her part, didn't even hesitate. Standing up, she called Cally and her wolf familiars to her, then left the Council building, telling her secretary that she would likely be out for the rest of the day.
Once she was out of the building, she headed straight for the Glassworks. She knew Scalvoris Town well by now, and it didn't take her long to reach the shop. It helped that it was surrounded by Elements, who were trying to decide how to enter the shop without getting Stephan killed by the man holding up the shop. The Elements looked at her when she approached and she nodded at them, her eyes already a bright gold. "Stand aside and let me pass. I will attend to this." she said, her tone cold. The Elements looked at each other for a long moment, and Kura could practically see the wheels turning in their heads. She sympathized with them, since a large part of their job was to keep the Council safe, and that generally didn't include letting what appeared to be an unarmed and unarmored member of the Council walk into a dangerous situation.
On the other hand, Kura's reputation practically preceded her, as she was known for how capable she was in a crisis, having been on the front lines of almost every crisis that Scalvoris had faced since the disappearance of the Pirate Lords. After a moment, they nodded and let her pass. It was kind of too late by that point anyway, as her wolves had already gone past the elements in their non-corporeal form. They would be key to this situation, and she walked into the shop to meet with the grand idiot who thought that threatening her people was a good way to get her listen to his complaints.
It didn't take long to see the problem that the Elements were having in reclaiming the shop. The hostage taker wasn't in the front room, but rather back in the workshop away from the windows. She walked into the workshop and turned to face the hostage taker. He wasn't a particularly outstanding looking man, lower middle class at worst. There was a roughness to him that made her think he worked in a physical trade, a lumberjack or sailor or builder perhaps. She had been the one to order the near dismantling of the Logging Consortium a while back, so perhaps that was what had provoked this idiocy, though in reality, she didn't really care much what this man wanted.
Stephan was tied up against the back wall of the shop, apparently largely uninjured, but the hostage taker had a large knife and was between him and Kura. Kura, for her part, was simply dressed, with a dark red short sleeved shirt and a dark purple skirt that came down to her ankles, under which she wore her usual boots. The only weapon she had on her wasn't obvious, since it was her Hunter's Rescue bow, which was currently a bracelet worn around her left wrist. It wouldn't help her anyway, she didn't have any arrows on her. It wouldn't matter, she could already see her wolves moving to surround the hostage taker, with Phelan, her Beta wolf, standing between Stephan and the hostage taker. Cally, her assistant, was outside assuring the Elements that Kura wasn't in danger, waiting for a single from Speck that all was well inside the glassworks.
It would take a bit for her familiars to get into place and then take physical form, so for now Kura had to keep the criminal's attention focused on her. That was easy enough, as she had turned sneer at her the moment she'd walked into the room. "Well, well, the high and might Albarech herself. How gracious of you to join us common folk, your majesty." he said, his tone mocking. Was that what this idiocy about, her autocratic proposal a few cycles ago? Kura didn't respond to the taunt, her eyes starting to take on a slight glow as her anger at this cretin deepened. "Cat got your tongue? Well, no matter. These are my demands. First-" he said, and that was all the farther he got.
"SILENCE!"
Kura's voice came out as a roar, backed by the shrieked rage of a thousand different species of owl. It wasn't just her physical voice either, as her Xypha Blessing allowed her to send that single roared command into the mind of the hostage taker. "You demand nothin'. You have threatened an innocent under my protection. Your desires are no longer relevant." she said, her physical and mental voice both coming out in a snarl, still back by that chorus of owls. The man, shocked by both the intrusion into his mind and the warping to Kura's voice, tried to gather herself and speak, but was again cut off, this time by a trio of growls as her wolves phased into the corporeal realm, surrounding the man and snarling as if to tear him limb from limb. He turned to Stephan, but found Phelan, who was able to nearly meet his gaze from all fours, standing between him and the innocent he had tried to take hostage.
The man turned to face Kura again, then turned pale as he saw the Albarech. Her eyes were now glowing a bright gold and there was no pity, no forgiveness, and no leniency in her expression. There was, however, a clear intent to her expression, and he could tell that she wanted him dead in that moment. "Jail or death. Decide." she said, her physical and mental tone clipped and strained, as if she were trying to keep herself from ordering his immediate and violent execution. Realizing that he was outmatched by the wolves alone, and now aware that he didn't know entirely what powers the Albarech could bring to bear, the man dropped the knife and announced his surrender. Kura sent word to Speck, who raised a wing to signal Cally. The ghost, who knew what to watch for, nodded and sent in the Elements. The wolves parted to let them take the criminal into custody, though Kura had a hard time allowing it.
She wanted to have him dragged into the street where all could, then torn apart by fang, claw, talon, knife, and axe. She wanted to string his corpse up in all its parts to show all who thought to threaten her people the fate that awaited them if they threatened her people. She wanted, more than anything in that moment, to embrace and become the monster she had locked away in her mind over a century, to kill this creature that had threatened an innocent just to get her attention, to kill him and anyone like him and put them all on display. Part of her felt certain that if she killed enough of them, people would learn and they would never again threaten those under her protection, much less her friends and family. But the rest of her knew, for sure and certain, that the people she cared about would never be able to accept it if she went down that path. They'd have to stop her, and she'd become their enemy as much as those she herself was trying to stop.
So instead she took a long, deep breath and nodded to the Elements, who dragged the hostage taker out of the building. She had made her decision a long time ago, and this was her chosen path. Law and order would be her tools, not death and fear, however hard it was during times like this. Walking up to the Elements that were untying Stephan, she waited for their report as a medic checked him. After a moment, it became apparent that there were no severe surface injuries, but they still wanted to take him to the hospital to be sure. Kura nodded, then looked at Stephan. "I apologize, but would you mind terribly if I made use of your shop for the day. I would do my best to ensure this doesn't happen again." she said, her tone calm. Stephan gave his permission, then let the Elements take him out of the building and to the hospital. Kura went back into the shop, ordering Cally to find a decently comfortable chair and put in the middle of the shop.
Then she opened the door and looked at the people of Scalvoris, her eyes gradually losing their glow and slipping back to their usual icy blue. She stopped the Elements as they loaded the hostage taker into a carriage for transport and addressed the crowd that had gathered. "This man sought to force the Council to accede to his demands by takin' hostages. This is not how change is made on this island. We have, I believe, outgrown such violent methods. However, I do understand that some might find the Council inaccessible and hard to approach." she said, before pointing back at the shop. "I will be in there the rest of the day. Any who wish to present an issue to me directly can find me here. I will here your complaints and issues, and do my best to address them. All I ask is that we do this in an orderly manner." she said, her tone calm and focused, showing no sign of the monster to the innocents outside.
Turning, Kura went into the Glassworks and sat in the chair Cally had presented, awaiting the first citizen who wanted to present their issue directly to the Albarech. She stayed in that building most of the rest of the day, only pausing to eat something as the day passed into evening, and only closing a few breaks after she normally would have left the office. She saw a lot of people, she didn't keep track of exactly how many, and she answered their concerns as best she could. Most of what she dealt with where very personal complaints, people with specific issues that really only concerned them. Frankly, she was happy to help with those, as it meant that those people were largely happy, if they didn't have bigger concerns. There was another major group that wanted Beacon to have a representative and those were easy to attend to, as she largely agreed with them. She told them that she'd bring the matter to the council. There were a few complaints about the abolishment of slavery, and she had to have the Elements that had shown up to provide security break up a few fights as a result of those issues, and she made her own support for the abolition of slavery clear, and suggested that perhaps they could seek training in a new trade in Beacon, where such a thing was readily provided.
There were a few trickier matters. Some were very concerned about the worship of certain Immortals being permitted and she promised to bring that matter up with the council. She sympathized, genuinely and she explained that she wasn't personally fond of the more hostile or destructive Immortals, but she was not going to be single-handedly ordering the removal of any Immortals from the temple. She did, however, ask any who had their livelihood or homes damaged by Chrien's rampage to give Cally a list of the damages, and she would see what help could be given to them. The second matter of concern was the letters. Kura had anyone who had gotten a letter give their name to the Elements, who she repeatedly stated were already looking into the matter.
Once she ended the audience she had Cally get a carriage for her, as she was frankly tired at this point. The ghost complied and the two were soon in a carriage taking them back to Kura's cabin. She paid extra, as she always did, because her cabin was a bit outside of town. Once she was inside, she collapsed into a chair as Cally, who appeared genuinely tireless, made a light dinner for the night. It had been a long day, and far more stressful than usual, but it was one she felt had been a day well spent. She would have to see about making those open courts a regular thing, she didn't have enough direct contact with the populace. She would sort that in the next few days, however, as that night, she was ready to eat and just go to bed.
Location: Scalvoris Town
Kura sighed to herself as she went over the reports on the strains that Saun was putting on the island. She hated the heat of the season, and really wanted nothing more than go back to Sweetwine, find a cool spring or river, and spend a few hours swimming. Unfortunately, she had work to do and there were general issues across the island to deal with. There were fires that the rangers appeared to be dealing with, and there was the usual trouble where naval ships were going through their ship-board water faster than usual, on account of the Saun heat. She made a note of that second point, as keeping shipboard water supplies on hand was vital if the Scalvonite navy ever needed to sail beyond their own waters. She was pretty certain that there were ways to take the salt out of sea water, and if there weren't, then maybe the university could come up with a way. Defiers could maybe do it, but that wasn't a particularly viable solution unless they could put a Defier with the proper level of skill and the proper training on every ship in the Scalvonite navy, which seemed remarkably unlikely.
However, as she tried to work, she was distracted by a commotion outside. She glanced over at the open window, knowing that if it were something that required her attention, either Speck or Ornery would report it to her. The two owls spent most of her work day perched on the roof of the Scalvoris Town council building, keeping watch over the area for her while she worked. After a moment, Speck's voice sounded in Kura's head. "There's an issue. Someone's taken over Gregorios Glassworks. He's got Stephan Gregorios held hostage and he's demanding to speak to the Council." Speck said, her voice sounding urgent in Kura's head. Kura, for her part, didn't even hesitate. Standing up, she called Cally and her wolf familiars to her, then left the Council building, telling her secretary that she would likely be out for the rest of the day.
Once she was out of the building, she headed straight for the Glassworks. She knew Scalvoris Town well by now, and it didn't take her long to reach the shop. It helped that it was surrounded by Elements, who were trying to decide how to enter the shop without getting Stephan killed by the man holding up the shop. The Elements looked at her when she approached and she nodded at them, her eyes already a bright gold. "Stand aside and let me pass. I will attend to this." she said, her tone cold. The Elements looked at each other for a long moment, and Kura could practically see the wheels turning in their heads. She sympathized with them, since a large part of their job was to keep the Council safe, and that generally didn't include letting what appeared to be an unarmed and unarmored member of the Council walk into a dangerous situation.
On the other hand, Kura's reputation practically preceded her, as she was known for how capable she was in a crisis, having been on the front lines of almost every crisis that Scalvoris had faced since the disappearance of the Pirate Lords. After a moment, they nodded and let her pass. It was kind of too late by that point anyway, as her wolves had already gone past the elements in their non-corporeal form. They would be key to this situation, and she walked into the shop to meet with the grand idiot who thought that threatening her people was a good way to get her listen to his complaints.
It didn't take long to see the problem that the Elements were having in reclaiming the shop. The hostage taker wasn't in the front room, but rather back in the workshop away from the windows. She walked into the workshop and turned to face the hostage taker. He wasn't a particularly outstanding looking man, lower middle class at worst. There was a roughness to him that made her think he worked in a physical trade, a lumberjack or sailor or builder perhaps. She had been the one to order the near dismantling of the Logging Consortium a while back, so perhaps that was what had provoked this idiocy, though in reality, she didn't really care much what this man wanted.
Stephan was tied up against the back wall of the shop, apparently largely uninjured, but the hostage taker had a large knife and was between him and Kura. Kura, for her part, was simply dressed, with a dark red short sleeved shirt and a dark purple skirt that came down to her ankles, under which she wore her usual boots. The only weapon she had on her wasn't obvious, since it was her Hunter's Rescue bow, which was currently a bracelet worn around her left wrist. It wouldn't help her anyway, she didn't have any arrows on her. It wouldn't matter, she could already see her wolves moving to surround the hostage taker, with Phelan, her Beta wolf, standing between Stephan and the hostage taker. Cally, her assistant, was outside assuring the Elements that Kura wasn't in danger, waiting for a single from Speck that all was well inside the glassworks.
It would take a bit for her familiars to get into place and then take physical form, so for now Kura had to keep the criminal's attention focused on her. That was easy enough, as she had turned sneer at her the moment she'd walked into the room. "Well, well, the high and might Albarech herself. How gracious of you to join us common folk, your majesty." he said, his tone mocking. Was that what this idiocy about, her autocratic proposal a few cycles ago? Kura didn't respond to the taunt, her eyes starting to take on a slight glow as her anger at this cretin deepened. "Cat got your tongue? Well, no matter. These are my demands. First-" he said, and that was all the farther he got.
"SILENCE!"
Kura's voice came out as a roar, backed by the shrieked rage of a thousand different species of owl. It wasn't just her physical voice either, as her Xypha Blessing allowed her to send that single roared command into the mind of the hostage taker. "You demand nothin'. You have threatened an innocent under my protection. Your desires are no longer relevant." she said, her physical and mental voice both coming out in a snarl, still back by that chorus of owls. The man, shocked by both the intrusion into his mind and the warping to Kura's voice, tried to gather herself and speak, but was again cut off, this time by a trio of growls as her wolves phased into the corporeal realm, surrounding the man and snarling as if to tear him limb from limb. He turned to Stephan, but found Phelan, who was able to nearly meet his gaze from all fours, standing between him and the innocent he had tried to take hostage.
The man turned to face Kura again, then turned pale as he saw the Albarech. Her eyes were now glowing a bright gold and there was no pity, no forgiveness, and no leniency in her expression. There was, however, a clear intent to her expression, and he could tell that she wanted him dead in that moment. "Jail or death. Decide." she said, her physical and mental tone clipped and strained, as if she were trying to keep herself from ordering his immediate and violent execution. Realizing that he was outmatched by the wolves alone, and now aware that he didn't know entirely what powers the Albarech could bring to bear, the man dropped the knife and announced his surrender. Kura sent word to Speck, who raised a wing to signal Cally. The ghost, who knew what to watch for, nodded and sent in the Elements. The wolves parted to let them take the criminal into custody, though Kura had a hard time allowing it.
She wanted to have him dragged into the street where all could, then torn apart by fang, claw, talon, knife, and axe. She wanted to string his corpse up in all its parts to show all who thought to threaten her people the fate that awaited them if they threatened her people. She wanted, more than anything in that moment, to embrace and become the monster she had locked away in her mind over a century, to kill this creature that had threatened an innocent just to get her attention, to kill him and anyone like him and put them all on display. Part of her felt certain that if she killed enough of them, people would learn and they would never again threaten those under her protection, much less her friends and family. But the rest of her knew, for sure and certain, that the people she cared about would never be able to accept it if she went down that path. They'd have to stop her, and she'd become their enemy as much as those she herself was trying to stop.
So instead she took a long, deep breath and nodded to the Elements, who dragged the hostage taker out of the building. She had made her decision a long time ago, and this was her chosen path. Law and order would be her tools, not death and fear, however hard it was during times like this. Walking up to the Elements that were untying Stephan, she waited for their report as a medic checked him. After a moment, it became apparent that there were no severe surface injuries, but they still wanted to take him to the hospital to be sure. Kura nodded, then looked at Stephan. "I apologize, but would you mind terribly if I made use of your shop for the day. I would do my best to ensure this doesn't happen again." she said, her tone calm. Stephan gave his permission, then let the Elements take him out of the building and to the hospital. Kura went back into the shop, ordering Cally to find a decently comfortable chair and put in the middle of the shop.
Then she opened the door and looked at the people of Scalvoris, her eyes gradually losing their glow and slipping back to their usual icy blue. She stopped the Elements as they loaded the hostage taker into a carriage for transport and addressed the crowd that had gathered. "This man sought to force the Council to accede to his demands by takin' hostages. This is not how change is made on this island. We have, I believe, outgrown such violent methods. However, I do understand that some might find the Council inaccessible and hard to approach." she said, before pointing back at the shop. "I will be in there the rest of the day. Any who wish to present an issue to me directly can find me here. I will here your complaints and issues, and do my best to address them. All I ask is that we do this in an orderly manner." she said, her tone calm and focused, showing no sign of the monster to the innocents outside.
Turning, Kura went into the Glassworks and sat in the chair Cally had presented, awaiting the first citizen who wanted to present their issue directly to the Albarech. She stayed in that building most of the rest of the day, only pausing to eat something as the day passed into evening, and only closing a few breaks after she normally would have left the office. She saw a lot of people, she didn't keep track of exactly how many, and she answered their concerns as best she could. Most of what she dealt with where very personal complaints, people with specific issues that really only concerned them. Frankly, she was happy to help with those, as it meant that those people were largely happy, if they didn't have bigger concerns. There was another major group that wanted Beacon to have a representative and those were easy to attend to, as she largely agreed with them. She told them that she'd bring the matter to the council. There were a few complaints about the abolishment of slavery, and she had to have the Elements that had shown up to provide security break up a few fights as a result of those issues, and she made her own support for the abolition of slavery clear, and suggested that perhaps they could seek training in a new trade in Beacon, where such a thing was readily provided.
There were a few trickier matters. Some were very concerned about the worship of certain Immortals being permitted and she promised to bring that matter up with the council. She sympathized, genuinely and she explained that she wasn't personally fond of the more hostile or destructive Immortals, but she was not going to be single-handedly ordering the removal of any Immortals from the temple. She did, however, ask any who had their livelihood or homes damaged by Chrien's rampage to give Cally a list of the damages, and she would see what help could be given to them. The second matter of concern was the letters. Kura had anyone who had gotten a letter give their name to the Elements, who she repeatedly stated were already looking into the matter.
Once she ended the audience she had Cally get a carriage for her, as she was frankly tired at this point. The ghost complied and the two were soon in a carriage taking them back to Kura's cabin. She paid extra, as she always did, because her cabin was a bit outside of town. Once she was inside, she collapsed into a chair as Cally, who appeared genuinely tireless, made a light dinner for the night. It had been a long day, and far more stressful than usual, but it was one she felt had been a day well spent. She would have to see about making those open courts a regular thing, she didn't have enough direct contact with the populace. She would sort that in the next few days, however, as that night, she was ready to eat and just go to bed.
Off Topic
Citizen concerns given by Pegaus and Avalon.
