The Twin Cages

silinrul357
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Posted by silinrul357 »


Minasien left a well-folded note on Katani's desk. She felt more than a little conflicted about her current path. After all, fighting was the last thing she was a fan of, but unfortunately, it was one of the first things her best friend in the Cage liked to do, and she was also the most skilled. Meanwhile, Minasien wasn't good at fighting, nor was she good at peace-talks. She was way out of her depth in investigating the other side of the portals too, and that had also quickly become apparent. Her skills were best in magic, and that specifically which protected and healed.

The note she just left Katani explained just that, as well as why she felt guilty following the 'war' party. She felt the most for Katani's mission as well; the idea of trying to negotiate a peace was something Minasien would very much get behind and assist with, but she knew well that she had no skill with words or politics. In fact, her form of politics was to tell people she didn't like to go away. Still, she wanted to make sure Katani knew that even if Minasien couldn't help her, she still fully supported what Katani brought up in the Hall of Speakers that same cycle.

Minasien gave the Hideout one more gaze around before donning her mask, and moving to the exit and back out to the 'streets' of Baha, beginning to make her way back to the City of Doors. Reina had already said she was going to start moving around and gathering help before going to assist with the Gatetowns. She wouldn't be far behind. Even if Minasien couldn't help in battle, she could help save those from the wounds of battle.

She stopped one more time though, looking up into the expanse of the Plane of Air. "Seer." "Aoskar." Names... she was more than a little curious about what they meant. Things for another time though. Minasien moved on in a hurry.
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Gadwin
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Posted by Gadwin »


Finally. Reina had suffered through hours of continuous, unending official nonsense at the hands of countless speakers in Sigil's meeting hall until that magicked word was brought up. Fighting. It took everything she had to not bolt off without much guidance as the messengers came into the hall with word of Faunel being under attack- and the drow beside her telling her not to be a reckless berk, too. Mostly that, really.

Upon the meeting's long-awaited conclusion, her priorities were to round up a decent sized group of highly experienced walkers to aid their defensive efforts. Seven-ish in total, maybe? Once she had enough (or at least whoever was willing to come that couldn't aid in other helpful efforts and were, like her, only good for hitting things), the martial group would be off to reinforce Faunel at once. Minasien had already made Reina promise to not go anywhere without her- and the access to healing and warding would be well welcomed with just about any group. Maybe in the past she'd have done something stupid like bolt off by herself, but things were different now, and Reina wasn't about to go off unprepared. She had someone to come back to, after all.

So, she put out an ad in the paper and started going around asking walkers left and right to join up. She would emphasize that a diversity of strengths would see them in a better place- Sneaks, Mages, Archers, Supportive types, Berserker types, Frontline types- all would have their role to play in the coming battle so that they all made it out alive. With stubborn determination, she sets off into the streets of Sigil to assemble what would hopefully prove to be a group that would keep another gate-town from the hands of the enemy.
Let Sleeping Drago-
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Posted by Let Sleeping Drago- »


With the official word that the Outlands below Sigil were under threat from this new foe, Alios was swift to leave the Hall of Speakers after the assembly was adjourned. While he was no factioneer, his sect no less implicated in the coming storm and he had a duty to fulfill.

His destination was Amoria, the primary layer of Elysium. While the Guardians have no official headquarters, their members are easily spotted and and information was just as quick to spread among Guardians and Guardinals both, once a message was delivered.

His message was concise: Ecstasy, their gatetown, was under threat, with several other gatetowns having already been attacked and captured by an otherworldly Harmonium. There was no telling when they would come to seize Ecstasy in turn: it was no fortress like Excelsior and it was indefensible in the face of an actual army. Preemptive evacuation into Elysium proper should be undertaken immediately. There, under the protection of the plane itself, the people would be safe from harm. He could only pray the warning would both make it in time and the people would heed it with the same gravity it was delivered.
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mimifearthegn
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Posted by mimifearthegn »


The minutes from the Hall of Speakers meeting have been made available to the public.

After the meeting, the Factols retreated into a back room to discuss the information which had been shared, and what role each of the Factions would play. Several hours later, notices were posted around the city. . .

A notice bearing the symbol of the Harmonium:
Those who would assist with the defense of the Outlands should make their intentions known to Mover Tonat Shar at the barracks. Factol Sarin himself will be overseeing the counter-attack in Faunel.
//Those interested should post in the relevant thread here

A notice bearing the symbol of the Society of Sensation:
Gatecrashers wiling and able to help with investigations into the so-called blinks, and expeditions to the other side should make their intentions known to Factotum Da'nanin.
//Those interested should post in the relevant thread here

A notice bearing the symbol of the Transcendent Order:
Cutters with a knack for words, and a desire to investigate diplomatic solutions to the current conflict can volunteer at the Gymnasium. Speak with Mistress of the Heart Zahra.
//Those interested should post in the relevant thread here

A notice bearing the symbol of the Bleak Cabal:
Those who wish to volunteer for healing work in the coming conflict - in the city or on the field - should apply at the Gatehouse, or speak with Factor Ezra.
//Those interested should post in the relevant thread here

A notice bearing the mark of the Fraternity of Order:
Citizens of Sigil,

The nature of the portals being employed by the forces of this "alternate Sigil" bears investigation. With this in mind, volunteers with the appropriate credentials are invited to join the research group being established by the Ad Hoc Bureau of Blink Assessment (ABBA). Those citizens who are able should speak with Bureau Chief Jamis at the earliest.
//Those interested should post in the relevant thread here

OOC Addendum!
Okay, since we've gotten a few questions about this, I'm going to clarify here:

1) If you join an Operation Group in the campaign, it is assumed that your character is focused on that front of the war. Other operations will ICly happen at roughly the same times. Which is to say; one character will not be able to be both in the Outland battle lines as well as Gatecrashing in Sigil while also working on the political front.

2) There will be a War Camp area added soon, with access from it to Sigil. Characters involved in the Outland section WILL be accessible for RP between events (as, of course, will the characters in the other Sigil-based teams). The main point is that each group will be spending the bulk of its time on a specific side of the larger effort.

Once we start scheduling events for each group, your choice is locked! So choose wisely. Failure is a possible outcome.

If there are additional questions or you want advice on where your character might fit, feel free to PM Taurus or I!
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Saiceles
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Posted by Saiceles »


After the meeting, Katherine moved on around for quite a bit, working tirelessly to get these copies of the books ready. Despite the exhaustion of sitting through such a tense meeting, she carried on. She wanted to sleep quite dearly, given she hadn't slept last night to try and be done with the books by the time the meeting happened, and was feeling it now. Something with not wanting people to die, or not wanting to be Flayed. Normal people concerns, surely. Once she managed to produce enough copies, she went about distributing several of them to key members of Factions, Sects, and other forces that might be concerned with learning more about the other Sigil as well as helping out with the tense situation.


The War of Iron
This book tells the tale of the ill-fated Harmonium assault on the Abyss 300 years ago. One million Harmonium troops marched into the Abyss. Only a few thousand marched out... Retreating through a portal which miraculously appeared, and discovering Sigil. They survived, and started the Orthan Empire anew in Sigil, with the help of a mysterious figure called “The Seer.” They never returned home.

Some notable details are different from your Sigil’s history - yes, the Harmonium are known to have attacked the Abyss in the year -174Ha. One survived to tell the tale (not thousands). That one managed to retreat to Sigil, discovering the city, and starting the Orthan Empire’s diplomatic relations with the Cage. The Harmonium didn’t move in as a faction for another 6 years, and they definitely did not re-found the Orthan Empire in the city, as it still very much exists... In Ortho.



The Outland Campaigns
This book outlines the various campaigns of the Harmonium to conquer the Gate Towns in the Outlands. It is fairly dry military history, though written by a Harmonium, for Harmonium, and so filled with quite a few self-congratulatory speeches.

It is noteworthy that the Harmonium have never attempted to attack the Outlands that you know of.

According to the Outland Campaigns, the Harmonium started their campaign through the Outlands in Glorium, and then proceeded to slowly march around the ring, taking Gate Town after Gate Town. They did have trouble in a few. . notably, the battle in Faunel was rather fierce. Excelsior held out a very long time. The writer has much invective against the beast-men of Faunel, describing how they were savages who used guerilla tactics against the Honorable Harmonium. After a long siege, however, the Harmonium were victorious and razed the entire city to the ground. The same was done to several other difficult Gate Towns, such as Bedlam, and Xaos. In Bedlam, there were mass executions "Because the inhabitants were found unable to conform to lawful harmonious society."


With the books properly delivered to its respective places, Katherine has left notes that she will be available and willing to aid the Factions should they require the original books or speak to her about the reading material. For the time being she has retreated to her room in Chirper's for much-needed sleep.

OOC Note: The Books should be larger than the transcript posted here. Poke Mimi if you wish for more details on specific parts and so on. This delay on the post since Saturday's event comes from having needed to wait for the full answer on the books as well as the required IC time to finish reading both.
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Asigai
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Posted by Asigai »


The meeting had gone just about how Katani had expected, few exceptions. Longwinded speeches that mostly filled in those who weren't so well acquinted. It's what she had wanted from get go, when she had first convinced Tavia to come along and try to get this settled. It's a shame it had taken Lady of Pain to force it in the end. Her blood boiled again just from the thought of that entity. But reminded herself again that there were more important things to consider. She'd have a difficult task ahead of herself, made no easier by the passionate speech from the Fraternity of Order member, Crake, advocating for war and demonizing those on the other side. The Mercykillers notion of their outposts having been attacked, though for now repelled. The fall of Glorium according to the Fated, delivered by messenger mid-Sensate speech. And then came time for her to speak.

She knew exactly what needed to be said, up until the point she got to stand on the podium looking at the most influential men and women staring at her expectantly. She wasn't built for great speeches, and she was just a Namer, surrounded by Factols, Factors and all manner of people who commanded hundreds or thousands even, few of them even vastly more. And why'd they have any reason to listen to her probably unpopular stance. "Oh sodding, sodding, sod..." she heard herself mutter under her breath to vent out the feeling, and had a sudden epiphany. Katani, you're on the stage. She slapped her cheeks few times to get the other thoughts out of her mind. She had performed before infront strangers... this shouldn't be much different? Just no music or jokes... maybe a little jokes.

She made her case to balance out the bolster for war, and made sure she'd give no false statements about threat being overstated. If diplomacy was to work, it required open discourse rather than trying to hide facts, truth would come out and if you were hiding something, you'd lose your trust. She made, what felt like a good speech, though in hindsight there was more she wanted to say. She chalked that down to anxiety to get it over with. Then came time for questions, Maraphiel was first to ask. "And What would you have us do as they continue their aggressions?" (Paraphrased, can't remember exact wording) other hands popped up to ask more questions, Katani answered "I believe we should bolster the defenses of Gatetowns first. They seem to prove high importance to them for some reason." as if on cue, another messenger came to interrupt her as she was about to take other questions. Faunel was under siege, by swarms of what seemed like Harmonium, and they had siege engines.

Katani didn't feel particularly confident of her message getting through after this, but she maintained her composure trying to go through facts. Katherine urged to get a turn for speech and Katani pointed at them, doubting she'd do so without a good reason. At which point Katherine revealed she too had found books from the wreckage, that detailed exactly what was going on, the attacks on the Gatetowns. Katani asked her to submit the tomes for the council (not that she knew whether that was appropriate name or not). And before she knew, the Harmonium Factol Sarin decided they wanted to take a speech... she was not in a place to argue with a Factol and bowed respectfully to go back to her seat. Even if technically her turn had been interrupted, she had got her message out.

And it seemed to reach at least some of them.
Slayer of Love
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Posted by Slayer of Love »


The baatorian diplomat passes a comprehensive report, including all publically available knowledge as well as those darks she and few only managed to discover, onto ears of her lords. It is much needed. The conflict spilling into the Outlands exceeds the borders of what she could make claim to be within her juridistiction.

It isn't clear whether there should be a larger scale military action undertaken. After all, the understanding of the conflict is still very limited. And one has to admit those new Hardheads got a few things right. This history's version of them could learn a great many things from them...

Whether Baatorian generals, dukes and deities decide to lend a larger scale aid to either side, or just as likely choose not to interfere directly, is not up to her. She will not be surprised if they would let gate towns within their sphere - or rather arc - of influence, Torch, Rigus and even Ribcage fall into the hands of invaders, and stall until the balance of forces is tipped to either side. For what greater attest to worthiness of Hell's blessing is than the display of might.

Until new orders come through however, her current assignment to Cage stands. The challenge to security of Sigil is a rare moment, ripe for improving the relations between Baator and Cage. And so Maraphiel strikes while the iron is hot. What authority, resources and influence she has, she uses to nurture these relations. Flaunting the Hell's strength and positionining as Sigil's potential ally should do them a world of good. And now more than ever a non-aggression treaty she expects to be desired.

She is quick to follow up on her declarations from the fiery debate. She hands out orders and pulls favours from the Ministries.

Liaisons from the Ministry of Mortal Affairs and Ministry of Immortal Diplomacy deliver the non-aggression pact she proposed to Hall of Speakers, ready to be signed off. Following up formal notifications of its delivery are raised to the militarised Factions. Its wording is simple, it states that the thirteen Factions of Sigil and the Glorious Baatezu Legion both pledge against engaging in any hostilities between each other. The Cage's government is given an expiration time of a week from the moment of delivery to either ratify the proposed treaty or propose amendments to it.

Liaisons from the Ministry of Supply and Bureau of Propaganda deliver the promised humanitarian aid to the Gatehouse, with food rations, clothing, blankets, healing supplies. The donation is sizeable, it would easily cover a year of operation under normal circumstances. Each item signed with "Funded by the Baatorian Legion" mark at the bottom. Of course, what would be the point of helping without that?

Representatives from the Ministry of Supply licensed for wholesale trade of Blood War grade weapons and gear in Cage, are telepathically informed of the Special Local Ordinance she decrees, where a price ceiling of 0.5% profit margin is set on the wholesale purchases by the thirteen recognised Factions of Sigil, under strict penalty of immediate demotion and six hundred sixty six years in a torturing pit for those daring to breach it. Effective immediately until further notice, it amounts from a 30% to 80% discount on catalogue prices. She doesn't mind if they lose some profits - eventually they will regain it in the market share won by the move.

Some devils would accuse Maraphiel of incurring a significant cost to Baator. But what's that in comparison to the Eternal Might of the Nine Hells, she'd ask. What's that in comparison to what benefits they may yet reap out of it. She's been careful to balance out the provided aid, so that it is indeed meaningful, while insofar retaining a neutral position in the actual war. She heartily believes that to be the soundest course of action. For now.
silinrul357
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Posted by silinrul357 »


The imposingly large, half-silver dragon of the Harmonium known as Loredubo had actually for a change made a request to go and assist with the defense of the gate towns. A request that was denied, and he took in some stride. The reasoning was solid: there was no telling when or if the next attacks might come in the cage, and spreading their forces too thin would be a bad mistake.

He respected that fact, if even it was a little disappointing. Still, it wasn't about him or what he wanted, it was about doing what was right for the greater good. He'd said that to the recruits at the induction, and he meant it as much then as he did now. The large half dragon kept a stoic gaze as he slung the greatsword over his back. There were new reports about portals, and where the planeswalkers could both enter and exit the city. Given some minor autonomy in his guard duty while the rest was being figured out, he decided to go keep an eye on these on top of his regular patrol.
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mimifearthegn
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Posted by mimifearthegn »


In the day following the meeting in the Hall of Speakers, the number of patrols through the city increased markedly - especially around areas with known portals to the other side. The so-called "Blinks" were barricaded off, and guards were posted.
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mimifearthegn
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Posted by mimifearthegn »


Canny Cutters with True-seeing might have noticed six planeswalkers escorting an armed man wearing the colors of the Strange Sigil's Harmonium through the Bazaar to the Lady's Ward on the 4th Low of Tithing. Strangely enough, the enemy soldier went with them. . willingly?

On the 4th Void, the Mercykillers gave the following report to the Council of Factions:

Prisoner XH-0001 was brought to the Mercykiller Prison by a volunteer Planewalker party. Upon interrogation, the following testimonies and confessions were offered:

- The prisoner professed to being a member of a Factorial Bodyguard unit. The unit in question was assigned to escort and protect a Fated Inquisitor by the name Rhistel Aidan.

- Inquisitor Aidan was reportedly engaged a meeting with Superintendant Lance Maserby at a location identified as the Office of Civic And Social Affairs. Reports from previous reconnaissance suggests this location is a near-mirror of the Sigilian Civic Festhall.

- The prisoner seemed ignorant of the existence of Her Serenity, both in his world and ours.

- The prisoner denied being a worshiper of the fallen god Aoskar, but claimed familiarity with the name. There was some suggestion of the deity's continued survival in their world.

- The prisoner had no tactical knowledge to offer. XH-0001 claimed he was only a bodyguard.

- The prisoners awareness of the political situation in his city seemed limited. Further questioning on the matter is underway, the results of which will be reported on as they come.
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