Blue Archive - An Otherworldly Sensei

Upon finally arriving at Pinewatch, Rianra was greeted by Vallas who ushered him deeper into the old house. Surrounding a small table with a surprisingly lavish meal laid out was Viralia and several other Thalmor agents, greeting their visitor with a welcoming smile. "I know we don't really have the luxury to be picky, especially considering that the old Embassy would be too obvious... but, did you really mean to invite us to some lowly rathole in the middle of nowhere?" Viralia asked in a somewhat teasing tone. "I know, I know... it's not perfect, but it was one of the few places I could think of that Ja'vassa wouldn't come to look at. As far as I remember, he claimed that this place was frequently used as a bandit hideout. He wiped out the clans that took over every couple of weeks until he eventually decided that it was no longer worth his time." Rianra explained, gratefully accepting both the offered seat and the offered drink given to him. "It's not ideal, but soon enough, we will no longer need to hide out in some bandit's paradise." Always the more serious of the group, Vallas tapped at the table with his cup. "So, I presume you've made some progress in your plans for dealing with Sjel Blad Castle, correct?" He asked, looking towards his companion with an expectant gaze. "That I have. Ja'vassa has returned to the other side of the Milestone and I'm not sure when he'll return next. Though he's away from the castle, it would be unwise to attack it just yet." Rianra said, though he'd be interrupted by another agent. "You've mentioned these Milestones before... couldn't you just destroy them to keep him from returning from wherever he went?" Fareth asked curiously. Rianra quickly shook his head. "I could destroy the Milestone, but that would only hinder him for a brief time. From what I've been told, there are a total of five of them across Skyrim.. I know of one in Sjel Blad Castle, and another one is located near the Blue Palace in Solitude. I'm unsure of where we'd find the others, however." He paused as he pulled a map from his satchel, along with a journal of some notes he's taken. "I failed in turning the castle entirely against him, but I do have another proposal. It would be difficult and the price would be high if we failed, but it's the best option we have." Vallas perked up slightly, clearly interested in what he had in mind. "Speak quickly, Rianra. Time is short, it'll only be a matter before they catch wind of our plans and complicate things further." Nodding in agreement, Rianra set his journal to the side. "We should stage an invasion of Kivotos. I've only had a handful of interactions with Ja'vassa's students, but it's easy to see just how much they mean to him. I've seen how much they've grown to trust the Inner Council and Sjel Blad Castle itself. I can lead the assault... if they witnessed Ja'vassa's own army invading their homeland, destroying their city, it might cause them to turn their weapons against him." Viralia listened carefully, though she was mildly skeptical of the plan. "You speak of this as if we'd have access to the Milestone in the first place. You've told me security around the castle is even tighter than it is around the White-Gold Tower. How do you propose we sneak in there, Rianra?" The risks in the plan were high, they couldn't just waltz in and expect to be given access to the Milestone given that Relumara was already skeptical of Rianra's loyalty. Despite the high stakes, it wouldn't be impossible. "Our staged invasion of Kivotos comes in two parts. We'll need to gather our forces, break it into two groups. The larger group leads an attack on Sjel Blad Castle, while a smaller group sneaks in through the chaos. We can dress the larger force up as bandits, while the remaining forces masquerade as scholars following me, perhaps dressed in typical college robes." Rianra suggested. Vallas raised an eyebrow, slightly skeptical as well. "So, you're suggesting we sacrifice a number of our troops in the hopes that we'll be able to sneak past the elite forces of Sjel Blad? Are you certain something like this would work?" He asked, his gaze hardening slightly as he stared at the other high elf. "I know.. sacrificing our men isn't ideal, but it's the best shot we have. We'll gather the handful of warriors stationed here, disguise them as scholars. Ja'vassa is familiar with Viralia, but I'm not sure if the rest of the castle has seen her yet. With the right outfit, we can have many of you masquerade as apprentices from the College. We'll then march for the old ruins of Helgen, meet up with the soldiers hiding within the keep." Rianra paused, jotting down some notes on his map; drawing out the route they'd take. "Fareth will lead the soldiers of Helgen further up the road and approach Sjel Blad Castle from there. While the rest of us will approach from the mountainside facing Ivarstead." Fareth gulped slightly, clearly nervous about the prospect of leading her own army for the first time, especially in such a dangerous situation. "Are... are you certain about this? What kind of signal would I be looking for? How would we know to stage the attack?" She asked, somewhat frantic by this point. "Calm yourself, Fareth. You'll take the army and move ahead of us, visit Haemar's Shame and watch carefully. You should be able to see the front doors of Sjel Blad Castle from the entrance of the cave. Begin the attack as the sun goes down on the night after our arrival at the castle. One half of your group will storm directly through the front doors, while the rest of you will go in through the stables. This should provide us with the distraction needed to activate the Milestone to enter Kivotos." Rianra set his map and journal back into his satchel, standing up as he finished speaking.* "We should begin preparations sooner than later, we don't want to risk Ja'vassa returning before we can make a move." Despite them being slightly skeptical of the plan, there weren't many other options. Rianra was right, they needed to act quickly if they wanted to avoid trouble with the Dragonborn. Though the Inner Council was renowned, and feared for their incredible strength, perhaps if they were indeed able to catch them by surprise, and with one of their own amongst them, they might have a chance to topple them. Inside the old castle, with chaos and confusion ablaze, perhaps this crazy plan would actually be a success. Sifting through the dusty crates and barrels left behind by the previous occupants, they'd find a number of useful disguises. Mages robes, commoner's clothing; it wasn't perfect, but they'd likely pass off for hopeful scholars. Vallas scoffed slightly as he looked at himself in the dim reflection of an old mirror. "This had better work, Rianra... to put me in such distasteful clothing like this." He shook his head, giving his companion a harsh glare. "Once we step away from this wretched place, we won't return. So, I hope for your sake, that we either win or die trying." Nearly two hours had passed by and they had finally finished preparations. Though none of them were particularly thrilled about what they were made to wear, there was some mild excitement growing. Years of plotting and planning were finally coming to fruition, they could finally correct the mistakes of their predecessors and achieve their dreams of total domination if everything falls into place. However, even the slightest mistake could cause it all to collapse yet again, leading to yet another failure for the Dominion's ambitions. With preparations complete, the ambitious group set out on their journey using the cover of the cloudy night sky to mask their movements. A rarity for the frozen province, they were able to travel with little trouble. Perhaps due to the size of the group, the usually ambitious bandits avoided confronting them, most wild animals steered clear of them. Upon arriving at Helgen, Vallas released a sigh of relief. "For as strong as the Dragonborn is, I'm amazed he's never picked up on our troops stationed in the keep..." Vallas admitted as they'd approached the ruined building. "I'm not surprised, I'd suspect this place holds some poor memories for him... and he's often mentioned that the ruins were routinely occupied by bandits following its destruction." Rianra explained, unlocking the doors to the keep. "Fareth, gather your men and prepare them for departure. We've only got a few hours of darkness left, you'll need to move quickly. You'll lead the group breaching through the stables. Be sure that whoever you choose to lead the other group is aware of the plans." Fareth nodded in response, though she remained somewhat skeptical. "I'm aware of my duties, but... are you going to be able to do this, Rianra? It's highly unlikely that we'll be able to pull this off without killing any of your former allies..." There was a slight pause from him; he held little affection for the servants and residents of the castle, but he'd always looked up to Relumara and developed a strong friendship with Maribelle over the years. Facing the potential of being responsible for their deaths wasn't something he enjoyed, but it was far too late for him to turn back now. If he turned away, he'd almost certainly get killed by Vallas for his cowardice and it'd waste years of planning and plotting. Even if all of this worked out perfectly, it would be nearly impossible to avoid a direct confrontation with Ja'vassa; that alone terrified him more than anything. Swallowing hard and taking a few deep breaths, Rianra returned Fareth's skeptical gaze with a confident, if somewhat uncertain look. "We've come too far to turn away. I'm not thrilled with having to kill them, but if it's to ensure our dreams of conquest are to come to fruition, it's a necessary price to pay." Turning away, he clenched his fists as he'd prepare to set off for Sjel Blad Castle. "It's too late for second thoughts. We've got no choice but to see this to the end. Let's get going." Viralia placed an arm on his shoulder, nodding in agreement. "I'm glad to hear that from you, Rianra. We'll need you at full strength if we're going to have a shot at taking the castle." She'd briefly turn back to Fareth. "Make sure your men are fully prepared. You'll leave Helgen in an hour and with any luck, you'll reach the castle before morning, that way we can catch them by surprise." Fareth bowed slightly in response. "Right. Best of luck out there, Viralia. We'll meet again soon." With those final words, Fareth began to work on gathering and preparing her soldiers while Rianra took his group and began to lead them towards Sjel Blad Castle. Given the close proximity between the castle and the ruins of Helgen, it wasn't a terribly long journey. Upon arriving, Rianra was met with a few castle guards; they trusted him, but it was protocol to inspect any visitors, even if they were in the company of an esteemed individual. "Welcome back, Rianra. May I ask who you're escorting?" A guard asked, standing in front of the doors. "These are mages from the College, I invited them to do some research with me and I intended to outfit them all with some proper robes... it seemed Winterhold didn't have enough for all of them." Rianra explained, vaguely gesturing to the group behind him. "Our Lord knows of them, I had told them that I had coordinated this with the professors at the College." The guard nodded, satisfied with the answer. Looking over the ragtag group of mages in the company of the highly esteemed Council member. After a moment, he'd step to the side; bowing in their direction. "Enjoy your stay at the castle. May your research be fruitful and your eventual return to the College be safe." Nodding in return, Rianra smiled as he led the group into the castle. "Thank you for your kind words." As Rianra's party stepped into the castle, one Fareth's lookouts had been watching from a distance; safely hidden amongst some craggy rocks along the mountainside. As the final masquerading agent stepped into the castle, the lookout quickly returned to their makeshift hideout in Haemar's Shame. "Fareth! Rianra and the others have successfully made it inside the castle. Shall we make our move yet?" Aniel asked as she approached her commanding officer. "Not yet, I want to move just as daylight begins to break out. If we attack too soon, it might make things too obvious. We don't want to risk them catching on. Remain on the lookout and come back for us the moment you see sunlight peeking over the horizon, Aniel." Fareth ordered as she'd return to making final preparations. She wanted to ensure the group was well equipped for the coming conflict; there wasn't a second to waste in making sure everyone looked the part of the bandits that Rianra had suggested. Despite the large force, she couldn't help but worry about the potential outcome. If they fail in this battle, they're more than likely to be executed on the spot and that's if they're lucky. Regardless, she had little time to worry about the consequences as Aniel soon returned to inform them of the breaking dawn. After giving her final orders, the masquerading bandits made their first moves; their movements deliberately looking sloppy and uncoordinated like many of the lesser bandit tribes across the province. The guards standing out besides the gate were caught completely by surprise; in the centuries that Sjel Blad Castle has stood, never has a group even attempted to strike directly at the castle, especially with such a large force. Due to the sudden, relentless nature of the attack, the gate guards were quickly overwhelmed, though one of them managed to sound the alarms just as Fareth's forces breached the front gates and the stables as planned. With the alarm bells ringing throughout the castle, Mordan and Relumara quickly began to mobilize the troops, though given how early in the morning it was, many of them were unprepared. Regardless of their lack of preparation, they quickly began to confront the attacking army. "Mordan! Don't let them advance any further. Hold them here, I'll gather our men and begin getting the residents somewhere safe." Relumara ordered. Quickly pointing towards a few other guards, he'd give out further orders. "You two, stand guard besides the Vault. Let no one go in or out until the situation is resolved. The rest of you not engaged in combat will help usher non-combatant to the barracks." With their orders, the initially confused defenders managed to regain their composure. The bulk of the acting guards worked tirelessly with Mordan, pushing back the aggressive assailants to the best of their ability while the others did their best to ensure all non-combatants were safely moved away from the conflict. Amidst the chaos, with the clashing of swords and magic, the terrified servants rushing through the castle foyer in order to reach a safe place, Rianra and his masquerading mages were able to swiftly move about the castle; aiming for the Milestone. Despite Fareth's forces being steadily whittled down by the superior strength of Mordan and his men, they provided enough cover for Rianra's group to move into the council room. Unfortunately, they weren't quick enough to avoid detection by Serica and Maribelle. Neither of his fellow council members were particularly pleased to see him apparently fleeing, especially with a strange group following him. Standing directly in front of the Milestone, Serica held her sword in one hand and a Thunderbolt spell in the other. "Why don't you explain what's going on, Rianra?" While Ja'vassa was his biggest threat, it would be foolish to dismiss Serica's skill. There was a reason the Dragonborn always spoke of her so highly and kept her so close to him. Directly confronting her wasn't a pleasant idea, but it seemed to be unavoidable. Rianra stepped closer to her, his hand wrapped around the hilt of his own weapon. "The Thalmor will rise again. We may have been defeated before, but we'll rise from the ashes and fix the mistakes of our predecessors. Stand down, Serica. I wish not to be responsible for killing you, but I need to reach the Milestone. So long as Ja'vassa stands, our dreams of conquest can never be realized." For a brief moment, her serious expression disappeared and was replaced with something of betrayal and disappointment. "I had hoped that the rumors surrounding you were wrong. All this time, was it all a lie, Rianra? The laughs and tears we shared, the hardships we experienced? How much of it was a lie?" She asked, her sword trembling slightly in her hand. "I assure you, Serica, none of this is personal. Truly, I cherish the time we've spent together. Out of respect for the past we share, I don't wish to fight you. Stand down, Serica." Rianra urged her, taking a step closer. "You know I can't do that. I have a duty to protect this place and the people within. I will fight to my last breath. I will not kill you, but you won't be leaving this castle again." Shaking her head and wiping the tears forming in her eyes, Serica stood up straight, her resolve unshakeable. "I'm sorry, Rianra. You leave us with no choice. As long as you threaten our people, and our Lord, we will stand in your way." Maribelle approached, preparing her own frost magic for the inevitable showdown. Facing one of them was bad enough, but both of them at the same time was an even worse idea, but he couldn't turn back now. "It doesn't seem I have a choice. I am sorry, honestly." Rianra sighed heavily, preparing his first assault, though before he could move forward with his initial attack, Fareth and Vallas stood in front of him. "Let us focus on them, Rianra. Take the rest of the army and move forward. You don't have time to waste sparring with them." Vallas ordered, entering an offensive stance with destruction staff raised. Despite knowing the danger of confronting two of Sjel Blad's strongest warriors, he knew that this was their only chance to move onto phase two of their plans. "Go, now!" Though somewhat hesitant, as he knew full well that neither of them would likely survive the battle, Rianra slowly nodded and motioned for his group to follow him. Only fifteen of his men were able to join him, the others had either been defeated or were locked in combat with Mordan's forces while Relumara continued to coordinate a search and rescue to ensure that casualties were kept to a minimum. Things weren't looking great despite everything going according to plan, but it was far too late to turn away now. With the much needed distraction from Serica and Maribelle, Rianra was able to successfully activate the Milestone. Though he had little experience in Kivotos, he knew the portal overlooking the Abydos Desert would've made things that much harder on them; he's seen how empty it was and he had little idea of how to reach more populated areas, so he'd settle on the second Milestone in the Academy City; the one Ja'vassa had set up in his SCHALE office. "Quickly now, before they have a chance to stop us!" Rianra ordered, holding open the portal for them. He watched as his soldiers rushed into the empty office; one by one until he was the last one in the Council Room. With the portal closed behind him, they took a brief moment to catch their breath and study their new surroundings. "It seems Ja'vassa isn't here... I'd suspect he's probably still escorting Hifumi home. It seems we've gotten lucky so far. Let us head down to the ground floor and we'll begin our attack from there. Avoid harming civilians, focus your firepower on the buildings." Mere moments had passed as Rianra stepped out of the first door he could find, only to be met with a student who intended to visit with Ja'vassa. At first, she seemed a bit nervous, but relaxed after a moment. "Y-You must be one of Sensei's friends, right? Is he available...? I've got some documents the Vice President would like him to look at and sign when he gets a chance." Ayumu stated as she approached, a large stack of paper in her hands. Despite her general nervousness around new people, so long as it was someone that Ja'vassa appeared to trust, she'd be able to trust them as well. "It seems he hasn't returned to the office yet, but we came to deliver a message in his place." Rianra replied, briefly glancing towards the small army that emerged from the office behind him. "He's done well to gain your trust, but did you ever consider that it was all a ruse? A powerful wizard, feared across Tamriel for his prowess in battle. While he's been gaining your trust, he's been scouting the city out for weaknesses all in preparation for his grander ambitions." Ayumu looked taken aback by his statement, her legs trembling slightly out of nervousness. "What do you mean?" She asked, sweat dripping off her forehead. "Dragons were made to dominate. The will to power is in their blood, and my Lord was no exception. He came ahead of us to scout out the city while we were ordered to be the advance team. Ordered to cause a little chaos while a large force swept over the city streets, but don't worry, I wasn't ordered to hurt anyone unless they got in our way." Rianra raised his hand, lightning crackling through his fingers. "Kivotos will become the first part of my lord's Grand Empire." Unarmed and nervous, there was little Ayumu could do other than stand to the side. "You're lying... Sensei wouldn't do this..." She whispered, watching as Rianra led his group past her. "That means it's working, then. Such a shame, you seem like such a sweet, trusting girl. Unfortunately, you put your trust into the wrong teacher." Rianra gave her a passing glance. "Call for help, or stay and cower in the office. It matters not to us, nothing will stand in our way." Ayumu watched in a fearful silence as they descended the stairs, unable to do much of anything until they were out of sight. She didn't entirely believe them about Ja'vassa's involvement, but it was clear that they'd need his help sooner than later. Her first instinct was to send a message to Rin, and have her relay it to Ja'vassa before the situation got too out of hand. Their attacks were relatively tame so far, nobody on the ground had been injured and the mages in his group relied heavily on frost magic rather than shock or fire magic in order to keep the destruction to a minimum. Cars were destroyed, shattered glass littered the ground. As their chaos spread throughout the city street, they were met with resistance from Valkyrie students dispatched to hold their forces back until Ja'vassa was able to reach them. However, even with their superior numbers, the Valkyrie's assault saw limited success; unable to compete with the barrage of lightning from the invading force. At this point in time, Ja'vassa found himself heading towards Trinity alongside Hifumi. The trip from Abydos took longer than either of them expected, but neither complained about the prospect of spending a little extra time together, especially on such a beautiful day. Walking close besides one another, they idly chatted about their plans for the coming days. Hifumi intended to catch up on the episodes of her favorite anime, search the local stores for any new merchandise, and all that good stuff. Ja'vassa, on the other hand, knew he had some paperwork to catch up and had to prepare himself for inevitable problems that'll no doubt befall his other students. As they'd finally arrived outside of her home, Hifumi smiled widely. As much as she enjoyed the adventures across Solstheim and the quality time she's been able to spend with her teacher, she was happy to finally be back home once again. Standing outside her door, she turned to him with a wide, cheerful smile. "Well, Sensei... feel free to invite me again if you have any big adventures planned out." She said happily, swaying back and forth as she spoke. "Or just reach out if you get bored and need a little company, I'll be happy to stop by SCHALE." Returning the warm smile, Ja'vassa nodded in response. "I'll keep that in mind, Hifumi. I certainly wouldn't mind your company while I'm taking care of paperwork." Just as he was about to continue speaking, an urgent notification popped up on his tablet as the frantic voice of Arona could be here. "Ja'vassa-Sensei! Vice President Rin has sent an urgent request for help, a group claiming to be from Sjel Blad Castle is attacking the block surrounding SCHALE. She needs you to return there as soon as possible." Arona said, her expression matching the worry in her tone. Ja'vassa's eyes widened, a mixture of surprise and anger flashing across his face. "From Sjel Blad...?" He muttered, his anger rising with each passing second. "I'm on my way, Arona. Has Rin managed to identify what the attacker looks like?" Quickly nodding her head, the AI continued to frantically speak. "Some of the Valkyrie mentioned that the leader had pointed ears, golden skin, and golden eyes. He wore blue robes with golden accents, leading a small group wearing cream colored robes." Arona explained, bringing up some blurry photos taken by SCHALE's security cameras. His eyes widened, his anger steadily increasing. "Rianra... so, the rumors were true after all. That reckless fool has gone too far, invading a world not his own..." Ja'vassa growled, clenching his fists. "Send them a message, let them know I'll be there immediately. If Rianra's little army has made it this far, I worry for my companions back home..." Glancing back towards Hifumi, he'd offer an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry I'd have to leave you on such a sour note, but there are urgent matters I must attend to. Stay safe, my dear, and I'll see you again soon." Hifumi frowned, though she nodded in understanding. "Sjel Blad...? I hope they haven't turned on you, Sensei. Stay safe over there." She replied softly, waving him farewell as she watched him hurry back towards the station. With a new sense of urgency, the Dragonborn ran as quickly as quickly as his old bones could take him. Once arriving at the station, he was quick to purchase his ticket and boarded the train to his destination. Unfortunately, no amount of urgency or worry about SCHALE and its surrounding district would speed up the trip. The most he could do now was write up a short letter and sent it through the Void Storage in order to get a status report of Sjel Blad Castle; though concerned for the Valkyrie and the students visiting SCHALE, his priority was to ensure that his companions back home were still standing and in one piece.