Alexandra Etapaq

New Orders:

gggggjj

Days have passed, Alexandra had prepared the rest of the move through Etepaq. A full on invasion seemed useless, so the plan was made to send all the troops back home and remain with a core group that would do the battles per arena. Working their way up.

At a night Alex is in her tent. It is alot more quiet with the troops gone, at least she didn't have to babysit the Bright Edge groups anymore. Arlo had already left angry with her. Drinking a bottle of some sort of liqour she tosses now and then pieces meat in the air for the little dragons to catch it.

Hearing footsteps outside she calls "come in."

Hirem walks in, Alexandra hands them another bottle and points to a folding chair.

"Things are arranged, we can move tomorrows, start our battle campaign. "

Alexandra nods "Good. We can work faster without the masses of troops. Without to many eyes watching over our shoulders. "

She looks at Hirem and smiles "You still want to join me when going back to Amber? I keep my promise, i told you i'd introduce you, or Arlo will, he might be angry with me, but he does always keep his promise. " Alexandra takes a long drink and lights a cigarrette on a candle.

Her other hand she holds in the flame staring at it. For a moment a look in her eyes changes. A slight grin appears on her face.

"We should burn the fields of those herbs. Which makes the people so complient. Cause a riot. Anger the masses against the big guys. "

She tosses another 2 bits of meat in the air and watches her Pseudo- Dragons swoop down.

"We could wait for the antidote, but this would be faster. Fire is faster. "

She looks at Hirem, "I just want to get out of here. This was another failed attempt of me to gain some sort of pat on the back. Since i became one of the family, or well it came out, i have been failing my way through. All i got was lies, manipulations, shit and grief. When i was an Elite things were easier. My loyalty was undying, my love for everything Amber was fed to me by a silver spoon.

I start to detest those feelings, I will never go against the ways of Amber, that would be wrong. Perhaps i just need to start feeling something else. "

Alexandra looks at Hirem with an apologetic smile.

"I am rambling, i am slightly drunk, and i am feeling less then i usually do. "

she holds her hand into hte fire again and shrugs "I feel no heat, thanks to my dad... i feel no cold... also thanks to my fathers blood. I don't feel that unwavering sense of duty and loyalty anymore."

Alexandra hisses and throws back the rest of the bottle.

"We move tomorrow, let the rest know. If you run into Shaz Far, let him know he can go his way with his group. No need to hold back. "

she stands up and stretches. "I saw a small lake nearby and going to try and sober up before sleeping."

A Cold Bath and a hot night:

Undressing and stepping in the cold water Alexandra looks perhaps even more annoyed. She washes quickly. She then hears footsteps behind her and quickly turns and takes the knife she had kept around her ankle in hand. A wide grinning Shaz Far stands at the side of the water. "What a nice view this night."

Alexandra rolls with her eyes and turns again to finish her washing up and sobering up before walking to the edge of the little lake.

"What can i do for you? Or did you just come to stare at the full moons?"

Shaz Far looks for a long moment at Alexandra ass she takes up her clothing and starts to dress.

"Aren't you in a mood. The war getting to you? Things getting to rough?"

Alexandra gives Shaz Far an annoyed glance

"No, just crisis of faith i guess. Or midlife crisis... existential crisis. I don't know. Realizing things don't matter. But that doesn't matter, have you heard of the changed plans?"

Shaz Far nods with a serious look "Mmhmm that too was a reason to seek you out, making sure it was really your order and not your drunk version speaking. "

Alexandra closes her blouse and looks up at Shaz. "Yes i am serious, i feel the ways i've tried to approach it won't work. We need to play the game as they expect it to be played. All towns not siding with us will be wiped out."

Her face dead serious and her tone flat and cold

"Go ahead and do what you do best. You won't hear a word from me. This is the way we will reach the top quickest and with the most show of power."

Shaz Far raises an eyebrow "As you wish General. I will rally my forces tomorrow and start to march along the towns. "

Before he turns to walk away he hessitates

"You are not falling apart right? That we need to prop you up with a stick to pretend you are still in charge?"

Alexandra turns "I am not falling apart, just realizing it doesn't matter. Realizing i don't feel anymore."

She starts to move away from the lake leaving Shaz Far behind her.

For a moment she walks alone but after a moment she hears heavy footsteps behind her. Annoyed she adds

"I don't need an escort. "

For a moment silence. Then in a tone she had not heard from Shaz before "It is getting to you, isn't it? That Abyssal Mark? You are fighting it to much."

Alexandra is silent for a moment, in a calmer voice she answers.

"It is not just the mark. It is the lying my parents both did around it, the realisation that i will never be as usefull or well regarded as i was as an Elite, that the manipulation from the others is annoyingly obvious, that i feel like i miss half of the senses. Can't feel heat, can't feel cold. I used to feel this overwhelming sense of loyalty and duty, and i don't anymore. I don't seem to care.

And yes, yes, i am whining and complaining, shouldn't be doing that. I am just now seeing these things now. And i am in the middle of a war that doesn't even feel as my choice. "

Shaz Far stops and so does Alexandra, she turns to face him. Before she can utter a 'what' Shaz grabs her by the back of the head and presses their faces together in a painful, hot kiss.

When he releases her he grins "Did you feel that?"

Alexandra her first instinct was to hit him across the face. Though her hand stops and she litteraly jumps him. Grabbing his face.

There were rumors started that night that wild animals had come closer to the encampment.

The March

The next morning Alexandra stands before the troops, the CCC troops are send back towards the Jeweled Road and from there Amber. With a small core group they move further together.

Alexandra had not seen Shaz Far anymore after their bestial moment. But she knows he is going to have fun in the villages ahead.

Sending a messenger along the troops the word is spread to break up camp and start moving. Alexandra starts to move herself with a few people that camped near her. She knows the troops will follow. Riding Scully and her dragons resting on her shoulders she follows the path.

For a while they travel in silence. A tension is growing and noone really dares to speak up, or question a thing about the new orders.

At a point they reach a village, it is clear Shaz has been there with his forces. Eyes turn to Alexandra but she just calmly rides through it. She takes out her red sword and while riding she stays behind a bit. She calls upon the fire and burns the village down. If there were survivors, now there are none. Hours they travel. Until nightfall. Hirem suggests, breaking the silence "Perhaps time to set up camp and wait for the rest of the troops"

Alexandra, who has been riding in silence the whole day nods "See to it, i see how far Shaz Far got."

She turns Scully and goes along the path. Followed by worried eyes of those making camp.

That night another village burns down, the fields around it as well.

This continues on for several days. The opposition is not great, not that Alexandra had expected that. There wasn't alot of problems before. Except for the trainwreck.

It is not after 2 weeks that Alexandra meets up with the group of Shaz Far. Appearantly they have encountered now more resistance, a well armed group. Alexandra leaves Scully at a safe distance, she then stands near Shaz Far.

"Really, something you couldn't handle? " Her voice has a touch of amusement in it.

"What seems to be the trouble?"

Shaz Far shrugs "They are well armed and held up in that building, we are just planning on an attack. Send out a few scouts to see what they have in there. "

Alexandra nods calmy "Then let's wait for a report. " It is not long after that the scouts return.

"A warehouse, they are living there with alot of people. And also keep a weapon storage, vehicle storage all that. Seems a small community. "

Shaz Far looks at Alexandra "Orders General?"

Alexandra thinks for a moment and gestures with her head "Let's go in and discuss their terms of surrender. Have you troops on standby."

Shaz Far gives his orders and Alexandra and he walk towards the warehouse building.

"We come to discuss terms. No violance. "

Two men and a woman step eventually outside, they are clearly more of the militant types the way they are dressed and hold themselves.

They gestures for Shaz Far and Alexandra to move closer. When they are a few meters from the group of three and closer to the warehouse one of the men start to talk.

Alexandra is not paying attention, she sees on the side of the building a partially opened door. Vehicles and the pungent smell of fuels and other chemical fluids.

Calmly she looks at the group. The building. A sense of untamed hatred fills her. For a split second she is wondering where this intense feeling of hate comes from. But it only lasts a fleeting moment. A slight smile appears. She feels at least something.

With a motion of a gun from her hand she points at the barrels that seem to hold flamable substances.

"Bang." With that she shoots a ball of fire dripping what seems like, with molten material. She waits till it makes contact with the barrels. They explode, fires start to spread so fast. Alexandra tilts her head and then looks at Shaz Far

"Solved. " With that she turns around and starts to walk back to the troops waiting. Shaz Far following her. Not looking back to the fire and the explosions.

Those we leave behind

((People leaving Alexandra her warband due to reasons))

the final steps down

((Last part to describe Alexandra her stepping into madness))