Satisfied with Gyo's response, she seems to relax a little. Looking up at Toni she states, "We are all here to support you in whatever way we can. Tell us what you would like to do, and we will follow you."
Drago sat an listened to what the old man was saying. His mind wandered back to when Aunt Inana showed him her death. That was a chromatic dragon, and he certainly had a code of honor. Reference if needed.
There may be some truth to what he says. The Dhampir thought.
Ytias looks to the Szef. "Well?"
"You weave such a fantastical tale about eidolons being conquerers and this well of power," Hyggindi says. "But we exist to bring balance to Zahvroma and drive out evil such as yourself."
"By nature, yes, I am evil," Ytias answers. "But by the duty bestowed upon me, I am neutral to all except those who seek the mana well."
"So, you're not planning on attacking Valwick?" Toni asks.
Jin looks up, "Or any of us?"
"No, my forces and I are on this island to stop you from proceeding to the mana well, if necessary," Ytias answers. "And any other Summoners that may come after you should you meet your end one way or another. My subordinates visitations are merely for supplies and to see what you are up to. We will not act unless we have to."
Ytias then looks at Jin. "No...we will not fight as long as you don't intend to go to the mana well."
"I'm inclined to believe you, Ytias," Toni says. "But I must see Blackcrown with my own eyes...I must see if this mana well is real."
Ytias stands. "I cannot allow that, Szef."
She looks at Toni, "Is there a reason why we need a well of mana Ms. Toni?" Jin shrugs, "I just don't understand what it has to do with us. We are who we are, with or without that well aren't we Ms. Toni? As long as they aren't intending to harm innocents, or come after any of us again....I just don't see why we need to see something that has very little to do with who we are now. That age of who the summoners used to be is in the past, can't we just leave it there and make our own futures the way we want them Ms. Toni? Isn't there enough evil to deal with, without fighting battles and enemies from the past? Don't you want a life outside of just being a szef?" Jin asks, satisfied with the answers given, and not wanting to get involved in a battle that has more to do with the past, than their future.
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"Also, why did your minions attack my grandmother and me, I've never even heard of a mana well?" Toska simply asks.
"I don't have 'minions' beyond those who live on this island," Ytias answers. "If other Kuroikaze have attacked you, then you must look elsewhere for the culprit."
Hyggindi interjects before Toni can speak. "If we do not retake Blackcrown, then its power shall fall into someone else's hands and it will inevitably cause strife. It's our responsibility to create peace."
Toska closed his eyes and merely started breathing through his nose, keeping some curses in the back of his head.
"How about we destroy this mana well?" Laenid asks Ytias. "It would free you from your obligations and it would keep this power from falling into anyone's hands."
"If were only that easy," Ytias answers. "The other mana wells were drained dry by the Predecessors...that is the only way to get rid of them. A spellcaster would have to take in that immense power, which would likely kill them."
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"I'm sure there's no shortage of volunteers there," Auric says sarcastically.
"How many spellcasters would you need to not die?"
"An army, perhaps," Ytias replies.
Jin just shakes her head, "It is simply not possible to create peace in that way. There has to be a balance yes, but you don't obtain it by trying to subjugate others wills to our own. There will always be strife and war, that's just the way it is. We are not anyone's judge, jury, or executioner, at least I'm not. I want to know what Ms. Toni thinks though. We ourselves are not perfect, therefore I don't think we have the right to pass judgement on others just because they have a different point of view from us." Sighing she stands up from Gyo's lap and goes to Laenid, "I'm sorry if I seem like I'm repeating myself, but in order to move forward....I believe we need to let go of the past."
"One probably shouldn't go around giving out vague platitudes on not judging others for having a different point of view until you know what that point of view is."
"I don't have 'minions' beyond those who live on this island," Ytias answers. "If other Kuroikaze have attacked you, then you must look elsewhere for the culprit."
Looking at Toska she sighs, "I don't think I was being vague at all. We are not gods, therefore, we have no right to judge others because we ourselves are not perfect or all knowing. The past is in the past, so let it go, or you're going to be living in the past forever. I was given up by my parents at a very young age, but I don't cry about it or let what happened to me in the past, dictate my future. There is nothing you can do to change the past, so I feel that it's best to just get over it and move on. You don't seem to care about any kind ofc reasoning, and I don't think it would matter what anyone said because you're just looking forf a fight. Not everything needs to be settled with bloodshed. Of course, that's just my opinion, so you can take it or leave it. I don't really care. The only thing I care about is getting to go home and live my life. Well, that's something I'd like for all of us. To just be able to live our lives. I'm tired of all these expectations that were just thrust on me with no explanation. I am not concerned with what happened in the past, and I don't want to pick a fight with these people. As long as they are willing to go and leave us alone, I see no reason to fight. You go ahead and keep carrying around that grudge if you want to, but I'm over it." She felt like she could talk till her face was blue, and he still wouldn't get it because the only thing he wants to do is fight, but that decision wasn't up to him. That was for Ms. Toni to decide.
While still holding her crossbow, Jin puts her free arm around Laenid. Leaning against her she sighs again, "Of course my loyalty and duty is to Ms. Toni. She is the ONLY one that gets to decide where we go from here, and I will do whatever SHE asks of me." Jin ignores everyone else and turns to Toni, "What do YOU want to do? Whatever you decide, Gyo and I are behind you one hundred percent."
Gyo Shin stands up from her place on the floor. She wouldn't do anything without permission from their leader, but she didn't liked where things were hwaded.
Toska was practically insisting on fighting a group of dragons that they knew nothing about, and in a room where they would have no protection of the destructive power of a breath weapon. Neither did they know the actual numbers of their enemy. This was not thed time to be picking fights. She understood his feelijngs, but you don't start a war against an unknown enemy.
”I’m not you,” Toska says to Jin. ”If you want to forgive people for making attempts on your and your family’s life then you do that, but you’re not me. And you don’t get to forgive them on other’s behalf. And you’re right, I can’t change the past, that weighs a lot more with me than you realize.”
”But I can prevent future ills from happening, especially if I don’t accommodate mindsets that wish us ill. Burying your head in the sand and saying everything is valid isn’t how you go about, trouble will sneak up easier on you and those you want safe that way.”
Turning to the man on the throne he adds ”I’m also not as bloodthirsty as everyone claims, if your and your’s leave and we never see each other again I would be perfectly amicable to that outcome.”
Letting go of Laenid, Jin walks over to where the man stands, as Gyo Shin takes her place by Toni and Hyggindi. Even though the elderly man towers over her four foot and nine inch frame, Jin shows no fear in his presence. Jin completely ignores Toska and his ramblings as she prepares to address their "host".
Reaching up with her hand, she tugs on his tunic to get him to look at her. Resting her hand lightly on his arm as she looks up at him with her deep brown eyes, "If you were so interested in finding out what we were up to, why didn't you just ask to speak with us? We have nothing to hide, and it makes it difficult to trust you, when you've had your people skulking around in the shadows of our town spying on us. You could have just asked....honestly, I'm not sure any of us really know what we're doing, or what our plans are. I mean...I've been a summoner for a really long time now, because I was raised to be one.....but all this house stuff, blah blah blah....it was just sort of thrust on me with no warning and almost no explanation, so I really have no idea what you're all talking about. I know about the traitor house and what they did though. I just don't understand why." She pauses for a moment to collect her thoughts and to take a breath before she looks up at him again, "If you and your people are so powerful and could squash us in a second....what's the harm in at least allowing us to go back to Blackcrown, and see it for ourselves? What are you so afraid of?" She asks, genuinely curious as to why he was so against them going there.
Toska does not seem to think that Ytias is lying to him.
"The Summoners have never been reasonable people and any attempts at diplomacy have failed," Ytias tells Jin. "After so many centuries of trying, we no longer see the value in trying to talk things out. We decided if..."
He glares at Hyggindi. "If we cut the head off the snake, that would solve the problem at long last."
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"There is no reason to trust you, Ytias," Hyggindi says. "Even if you didn't attack Toska directly, you are associated with those who did."
Toni yells. "We're disbanding the Summoners once and for all. Go home, Hyggindi."
She concentrates on dismissing her eidolon.
Hyggindi resists his master's command as his body crackles with arcane energy. "I cannot allow that, Toni. You will do as you are destined to do."
Toni stares defiantly at Hyggindi. "No, I get it now...You did this. You were behind all of this. That's why you're so insistent upon us going to Blackcrown."
She continues to try to dismiss Hyggindi. "You've been playing us all along."
Hyggindi roars, banishing Gyo and Sareash. "And I must start anew. The Summoners must have the mana well and, if you will not cooperate, then you must be destroyed and new Summoners chosen. I do not care if it takes a thousand lifetimes, I do not care how many mortals must die, but it will be done!"
The eidolon turns to Ytias. "I have a use for you."
Hyggindi turns into a mist enveloping Ytias and his eyes turn dark red. "I am more than just an eidolon, Toni. I am the Right Hand of the Allfather."
Possessing Ytias, Hyggindi forces the man to turn into his natural form: a giant black dragon. "Good-bye, Toni."
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Ytias moves jerkily as if trying to resist Hyggindi's control.
Initiative:
Roll-off:
Round 1: Drago, Hitome, Auric, Laeind, Ytias, Jin, Toska, Toni
Jin jumps back to Toni's side, "Well, guess we get to fight afterall. Happy now Toska?" She says quickly as they prepare for the fight of their life.
"We have to free Ytias from Hyggindi's possession...it may be difficult...if you want to run, run..." Toni says.
Jin shakes her head, "No way, I'm here for you Ms. Toni, I don't run from anything."
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”Why would I be happy? Why does everyone think I want bad things to happen? More importantly, what the f~~& did he do to Sareash!” Toska declares.
"He's the enemy you were seeking Toska. He banished them both back to their plane, and they can't come back for twenty-four hours. We can discuss everything else later, if we live through this." Jin responds, tired of his crap. Their experiences were just too different. She doubted that they would ever understand each others point of view. She was just tired of trying to explain things, or justify her beliefs to someone who had no interest in actually listening to what she had to say, and now was not the time.
Jin looks from Toni to the possessed dragon and tries to figure out the best way to separate the two.
”He is? Sure why not. If he wasn’t before he is now.”
Jin just rolls her eyes and sighs while shaking her head. She doubted that he would ever really get it, in fact, she wasn't sure she exactly understood what happened either, but all those questions could be answered if they lived through this fight. She didn't know if Hyggindi could be destroyed, but they couldn't let him continue with this insanity.
Drago stood up and drew his intelligent blade. Focusing on his other blade, the Dhampir absorbed it into his body, causing his eyes to burn with orange flame. Tapping into his newfound magic, his form shimmered then split into other copies.
Jin believes if enough damage is done to Ytias, it would free him of Hyggindi's control. However, she's not sure of how to go about damaging an ancient black dragon.
Round 1: Drago, Hitome, Auric, Laeind, Ytias, Jin, Toska, Toni
"I can summon Mathias, but that would take a minute..." Laenid says.
"I'm going to try something..." Auric says, walking towards the dragon and touching it.
"If we do enough damage to him, it should free Ytias of Hyggindi's control....but I'm not sure how to damage an ancient black dragon. Do whatever you think is best love." She says to Laenid, not sure what else to suggest.
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The dragon snaps its jaws at the halfling.
But luck favors Auric and Ytias misses.
"You are far too feeble to overcome me, Auric," Hyggindi says in Ytias' voice. "Next time, I shall find a stronger candidate..."
Jin grabs Toni's hand, "Come on, we have to get help. We can't let Hyggindi kill them all."