[IC] Swords Beneath the Starlight

Madoc smiles gently at Barnabas.



"Oh, no - they wouldn't dare interfere with our mountains. Not only are they ill suited for the terrain, but our ability to undermine, monitor, and sabotage is feared by all. The Bird Kings are secure as ever, small as our territory is."

He turns then to Saya. "Your tears are wasted upon the corvids. They are no more of the Bird Kingdom than a lion. They might as well be as foreign as-- well, as you, to be frank. We are kin, yes, but kin with distance. Don't waste space in your heart for them."

Not knowing anything at all about Ossory, he turns to Maz and Milo.

"Unfortunately, the answers I've given are about as deep as they go, far as I'm aware at least. They think battle to be a holy ritual, and in having been denied it, they seek other ways to appease their Goddess. As for the lack of communication between our people: I assure you it's entirely intentional. The lands of the Beorc are fractured, ruled immorally, and prone to foolhardy expansionism. It is the belief of the Laguz Kingdoms that it is hardly worth trading with such a riotous people, to grow reliant on economies which might be overturned with the change of a ruler. Moreover, your own people frequently raid us, attempt to slaughter us, and even try to enslave us. Unsuccessful as these people are, it has left a bad taste in the mouth of most. I am not entirely inclined to agree with the generalizations of the crowd, nor are my immediate superiors - hence the relationship we've formed with Adara in recent years. Our faction hopes to see an overturn of the government of the border kingdoms of Renault and Cheswick by supporting Adara's revolutionary peasant movement with arms and shelter when possible. In exchange, Adara does what she can to see Laguz slaves freed. Recent events have only strengthened our resolve to see things changed, but given the rather... underground nature of this transaction, we haven't been able to intervene directly."

At this point, Adara is beaming, though her two compatriots -- Dorian and Alexis -- have unceremoniously departed the room.

"As for the King of Lions - she is possibly the most powerful woman in all the continent, both physically and politically. Hers is the most powerful kingdom by far. Its size, population, and majesty is only made more spectacular by the fact that her court is home to the Prophet and his family. It's-- ah, wait-- you are not familiar with him either, I assume? Let me clarify: the Prophet is the last living being who has spoken directly with the Goddess."