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

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Current Location: library

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∞ 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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Nina seems to hang in the library a lot, because right now she's watching this spectacle with a seemingly appraising eye there. She might be reading into the moves... or she might just be Alber-watching. Both of them sound good]

[Albert continues giving the campaign setup his undivided attention, circling the table after completing one move to study the other army.]

[...And then Nina is going to pull up a chair here, and sit in something that may or may not be the position for the other army there. It's a little off center, so it probably is just an observing spot]

Hey there.

[He frowns as Nina draws his attention away from the game. Upon seeing who it is, he returns to leaning over the table.]

Is there something I can do for you, Miss Parker?

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]

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.

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 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.

A soldier's cynicism is often a sign of distrust in their command, or experience with the situation at hand.

Indeed, such cases are quite infrequent, and oftentimes left undocumented.

Any soldier who gets enough experience eventually gets frustrated with the ones above them.

Even those who know how to keep the soldiers appeased?

With enough experience in warfare it's hard to keep yourself appeased. People start to get a little... well, [A shrug here] crazy.

[dryly now] The veterans who don't know life beyond the battlefield.

Yeah, those types who can't step out the door with at least two weapons on their person

[...Which she has right now, actually. The sword at her belt which is always there (variable size of course so it's in knife-form) and a knife hidden in one of her boots]

How are such types treated in your society? Universe, I suppose.

Depends on the culture, I guess. Also depends where you look or where they go. They're supposed to be heroes, but well. [She gives a dark chuckle there...] you're only a hero until you snap and kill someone in a bar that you've been an alcoholic in for the last ten years because you have no idea what to do as a civilian. You're only a soldier until you decide that to government robbed you, then you're a terrorist.

[A pause, and then he's going to pick up that cigarette. She puts that in place and then points her index finger at the end of it. Some flames generate enough to light it. She inhales, and then sighs a bit before continuing with:]

And then of course, some of them never stop until they fade out. Medical technology can keep one of you guys fighting for two of your natural lifetimes.

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

...Oh God, is that Mark's game? I love you.

Mark lives on in Luceti! ...If only in props.

/so late

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