chikaidestroyer | ∞ 60: Much-needed practice [written/action]

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Location: library

Entry tags:

∞ 60: Much-needed practice [written/action]

[written]

Genis, please send a message when dinner is ready. I will be out for awhile.

If anyone needs me, I will be in the library.

[action]

[For lack of anything better to do on a nice summer afternoon, Albert has decided to sit in the library with a ... somewhat-odd setup. A map stretched across a table out of sight from the front door, dotted with small wooden figures designed as soldiers, cavalry, archers, mages... The map, upon closer inspection, shows patches color that denote plains, mountains, water bodies, and forests.

In some ways, the setup looks like a game board. It's really a lasting reminder of another strategist's presence in Luceti; he was the one who had introduced Albert to the method of practice, after all.

Nearly two years in Luceti without access to strategy books and news of warfare have dulled his skills. He doesn't look pleased as he makes moves for both armies.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[just kind of makes an agreeing sound and goes back to reading. Best not to agitate him at this point]

Indeed. Some residents were in need of more supervision than others during that experiment.

Edited 2009-07-08 06:25 (UTC)

[And back to writing. Weather conditions, wind direction, sunset and sunrise times, battalion positions...]

Yeah. My best friend's little brother kept changing back and forth during this past one. And Ammy was having issues too, and Yamato was locked in his room all week. It was kind of a huge mess.

[Another day. Spies have sent out their reports on both sides; the Imperial scouts received faulty information on the traveling formation of the Patriarchal troops, and the Patriarchal spies' information was intercepted by the Imperials. Two inches rainfall at sunrise on the mountains, overcast on the plains.

These are all mental notes. Albert circles the map, contemplating his next 'order.']

[It's like he's in his own little world, there. It would certainly make understanding the game a bit more interesting to know what was going on in that head of his, but maybe Albert would just be content to have something fully for himself.

... But she keeps watching anyway, while occasionally musing over her book choices. It's something different, after all.]

[Travel calculations. The faulty information places the Imperials' estimates of the Patriarchal army at four days until they reach the overpass where the plains and hills meld. They need to not be in the vicinity of the overpass to avoid confrontation; the cavalry's positioning at the front will delay the march by three days.

Perfect. He rearranges the Imperial battalions so all of the mages are at the front and continues moving them through the plains. The mages will set the pace of the army, and they will have ample time to cross the area where the two armies could potentially meet.

They will clash on the seventh day. Albert circles the table again.]

[He was wondering what happened to you, Albert. That silence had him wondering.]

Hm, I dunno. Maybe some hotpot, or stew. But I've been wanting to try something new - any suggestions?

I'm not disturbing you, am I?

Oh, plenty of things. Not sure if you'd want to do them though, so the point's a bit nil.

[And considering the game there... Hmm...]

Think the side I'm on here is being played a little defensively.

Try me.

[His eyes trail over to the other army.]

Correct. They have more to lose should they engage and retreat.

Mind you, they're kind of blindsided. The ground is fairly defensible, but terrain can only mean so much if you're lacking a good fortification. [...And then, considering:] Plus they seem to have less of the robed looking guys, whatever they are.

[She pointedly ignores the earlier challenge, but does make a mental note of it all the same]

[If he can't fly, he'll damn well find one way or another to stay in the air. So Sephiroth continues watching. And watching. And then has to comment.]

Do you account for monsters?

[All his moves seem so calculated. It does seem to be taking some time, though, especially with the amount of times he's circled the table. Raine's still not entirely sure what to make of either army. A very hypothetical game. How very like him.

... It seems like the clash is being built towards, in any case.] Hm.

Mages. The Imperial Faction has always employed a distinct amount of mages. In the right hands, they are the faction's most valuable troops.

What the Patriarchal Faction lacks in fortification, they make up in cases of division. [He traces one finger along the path the cavalry-led army is taking.] They are a force of peasants and discontent ex-military, after all. They do not need a singular leader to complete their plans.

[New scouting information reaches the Imperials on the seventh day; the Patriarchal army is still not in sight, but now they know they are there. General Reinhardt won't merge the mage units back into the central battalion, in spite of the advice of his strategist; he is a loyalist, after all, and the mages are the only units not completely consisting of Imperial Faction members and family. The leader of the mages himself, Simeon, has been forced to assist them. The head strategist sends scouts out to General Busk to report Reinhardt's bias, but they will reach the capital far too late.

He again reforms the mages at the base of the hill, grabbing a ruler to measure their trajectory. A thunder attack would provide a directional wave attack.]

Your game here happen to take psychology into effect? That would be the turning point of a battle like this.

Morale, history, politics, weather patterns, and officer dispositions are taken into account. It's still far from a realistic setting, but there is only so much that can be randomized without including ... dice and charts. [And then it becomes that much more of a game.]

Species taken into account, or are they all assumed human?

Considering the geography... They are all human. Nekobolds have no stake in what is going on within the country.

Of course, depending on where the campaign was to take place, that would be taken into consideration as well.

Nice one. [...Considering... Yeah, this looks like it might be fun to do some other time. Her eyes dart around the board here, taking in the positions of the others more keenly. She'd mostly been trying to digest the meanings of the pieces here. She can't help but be amused; this type of warfare is so... barbaric. Admittedly, he people aren't much better a lot of the time and she has witnessed many wars fought like this, but it's still amusing to see someone study this type of conflict]

Do the malcontents have a figure they're rallying around, or just a cause?

[Thankfully, he has the excuse of living in a medieval-ish world often wrought with conflict, lest his life's work would be rather ... unnecessary. He continues to look at Nina as he leans over the table.]

Theirs is a cause often heard of -- revolution or reform. They have no central leader; the various lower senators are actually the loudest dissidents, and their supporters have taken to blaming the imperial upper class for the slow ruin of the empire and the death of the country's last great hero.

Hah. Yeah, that is a pretty common one.

[A light pause there, and she licks her lips. After finishing looking at that battlefield she pulls something out of her pocket: it's cigarette, actually. She seems to be considering where to place it on the board, but this type of thing... hm]

It's a little unrealistic to have a brilliant strategist on both sides though.

[He raises a brow slightly at the cigarette, but focuses on the comment made.]

It happens from time to time. Though, yes, you are correct; there were no notable strategists participating in this war.

[It's another several seconds before he replies.] I'm in the middle of something, but your message was slightly expected.

I would suggest the sweet curry, but considering that is supposed to be the Professor's undertaking... Hotpot sounds appealing.

It happens, but it's a lot less frequent that it's the same one.

[A shrug and then she smirks a little]

Of course, I'm more of a soldier than a strategist, let alone a military analyst or historian.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 5 of 7

∞ 60: Much-needed practice [written/action]

no subject

[Action]

no subject

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Voice]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

[Action]

no subject

[Action]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

[Voice]

no subject