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[Regime]

2nd Day of Winter, 517 A.V.

When a Dragoon was told to jump by a superior within the Sun's Birth, they were expected to respond to the question by stating 'how high?'. However, when told to jump by Warmarshal Jardeg Joander, they were expected to not say a petching word and jump until told to stop.

That was why when Iztel the Swift, an overseer of The Proving Grounds, was turned into a messenger at the behest of her superiors that morning to invade Zukai's room at The Barracks; let right into Zukai's room by Jaren Joander the son of the Warmarshal who oversaw The Barracks.

Iztel, in many not to kind words, began to berate the young Dragoon Raider until she and her roommate were both up and running to go see the Warmarshal at the top of Nightfall Tower, she was expected to do so Immediately.

"Get your asses moving, NOW! WAKE UP! Get up, get dressed, get out! MOVE IT!" Iztel shouted as she slammed the broad side of a wooden practice shortsword against the walls. If Zukai or Corine were moving too slowly, they'd feel the hard twack of that practice sword against their upper thighs.

When they were finally let into Warmarshal Jardeg's personal residence at the top of the tower, they would find the elderly man sitting behind an immaculately crafted wooden table. The Warmarshal was dressed in a simple light orange tunic, with a longsword leaning against the arm rest of his chair. Strewn all about the table were various books, mizas, sealed messages he'd not yet gotten around to reading, and a very well made map of the entire city that was only made last season. There were two chairs on the other side of it that the Warmarshal motioned a hand to for the Dragoons to sit.

"Hurry up and take a seat." The voice of a women spoke out from behind the two Dragoons. The voice belonged to a woman clad in all full plate armor. Where ever The Warmarshal went, Dinah Brand wasn't too far from his side. She then moved to stand on guard behind the two chairs.

[Zukai]

xx Day of Season, 5xx A.V.

Covers shifted as the myrian slept curled up under the cover in her bunk room. The girl and her roommate had stayed out late the night before partying with the rest of their gang for the turn of the season. Coughing some, she shifted on to her stomach and passed back out again hidden from the world around her. The girl had no idea the wake up call she was about to get. The loud bang of the door being slammed open made her jump some. Covering her ears, her head pounded when Iztel started shouting. The sound of wood hitting the chest at the foot of Corine's bed caused her to jerk up and start grabbing clothes and changing without actually standing up. She knew good well, if she was standing up and not going “fast enough”. The man would hit the back of hers legs with that damn wooden sword.

Jerking on her boots, the girl jumped up completely dressed and ran around finding her weapons trying to strap them on as quickly as possible. Corine cried out when the wood hit his thighs for taking too long with his armor. Standing still, she panted already out of breath while trying to get her kopis properly attached. Seconds after getting it fastened, the girl felt wood against her upper thigh. Hissing, she bounded out of the room with Corine close behind her. Soon it went from them running away from Iztel's sword to a race. Zukai knew that she had the speed to beat the male who was all decked out in his armor. Smirking the woman pumped her legs harder ignoring the burning in her lungs from the effort.

“Come on old man! Can't keep up any more?” Zukai called with a laugh.

She was always confident in her speed. The only time it seemed to be a question was when it came to racing a horse of all creatures. Laughing the girl having the time of her life competing. It was not often the two were on equal playing fields, so she took advantage of the moment. Panting, the girl slowed down when the two reached the Nightfall Tower. Wincing, a stitch panged painfully in her chest from not having time to stretch first. Corine lead the way up to the Warmarshal's office; Zukai had not been summoned very often so it was still new to her. The girl moved to stand beside Corine and followed the order to sit in the two chairs before their boss.

“You called for us sir?” Zukai asked looking at their leader.

[Regime]

"I did," The Warmarshal mused with a quiet 'hm'.

"There are some who would say you are ready for more responsibilities." His intense removed itself from Zukai to set onto Corine. The way he said it made it clear that the statement was a rhetorical one that needed no response. "And, you. Those at the Proving Grounds say that you are doing well, but can do better... are you riding on the coattails of your fellow, Raider?" Jardeg questioned at Zukai as he leaned forward to rest both his elbow against the desk while cupping his hands together in front of his face.

"For better or worse, I'll now thrust responsibility upon you to see if you will stand steadfast in the face of adversity, or crumple under the weight." That was when the Warmarshal stood up from his seat to look down at the two seated Dragoons. "In the name of prosperity, I have built this organization from the ground up to help this city prosper."

He spoke as he shifted a hand towards the near open double doors behind his desk that led to a balcony of the Nightfall tower which overlooked the entire area. "Our territory is a paragon of safe civilization ... And despite our swift retreat from the Gated Community by the angered ignorant populous, we have finally rebuilt. Its time to reclaim what is ours."

Jardeg then pointed down at the map of Sunberth. His finger pointing at the area known as The Gated Community. "The Gated Community remains the economical hub of our organization even as we are no longer based there. It is the heart of our gang. Our home." The Warmarshal's voice, which was already deep, grew far more serious with every passing moment. "When I first battle against Baron Berth for control of it, there were people who supported me, and made that assault possible. And to this day, they are the Sun't Birth greatest economical allies.

You know them as The Council of Four."

Jardeg then motioned a hand towards the woman in full plate armor to continue the conversation. Dinah placed a hand onto one of Zukai's shoulders from where she stood behind her. "Councillor Silvertongue has informed us that she's seen Daggerhand Brothers staking out her place. You are both charged to keep all trouble away from Silvertongue's Silver Tongue. This is not just some job. This will be your mission for the entier season until you are told otherwise. You two will shadow Silvertongue and do as she says. She has informed us that she will allow you to stay in her shop when the gated community closes at night... As such, you will be our lone agents without any aid should anything happen during the night."

Jardeg then chimed in. "You have your task. So, unless you have any questions..." The Warmarshal waved them away with a gesture that silently meant, 'direct any questions towards Dinah then get to work'.

[Zukai]

The dark skinned Myrian was about to snap at the old man’s accusation of using Corine. But the male put his hand on her back warning her to keep her mouth shut. Releasing a sigh, the girl listened to their leader. Her partner was right nothing would prove the man wrong nut her actions. And pissing him off was not the right path to take. Zukai listened closely to the man when he began speaking of their gang’s history.

The girl had not gotten a chance to research the history of the Sun’s Birth between Jaran having her escort his um “lovers” around the barracks and training. She was lucky to eat and bathe every day. Yet there were still days that not both actions got done much less getting any kind of sleep. Sleep was turning out to be a privilege that not everyone was afforded. When Jardeg turned back around he pointed to the map before them. Shifting some the teen sat on her feet giving her a better view of the map.

“The council of Four,” Zukai whispered under her breath.

She needed to learn more about the Council of Four. The girl planned to get some answers when the pair goes on their first night. Looking behind her some, the raider listened closely to what the fully armored leader told them about the assignment. Zukai had heard of the Silver Tongue, but she had never been within the business. The girl pushed her nerves down after hearing that they would be the only two there. She had not been on an over night mission before, and the added pressure of it being somewhere so important stressed her out even more.

“Thank you, sir,” Corine and Zukai answered in unity.

The pair moved away from his desk after being dismissed. Corine suggested that they get more information from Dinah. The girl nodded agreeing with him as they left the room.

“Hey, Dinah. Do you mind us asking some questions?” Corine called after her.

“What do you want to know?” The warrior asked looking at them.

“Has she said how many daggerhands have been hanging around?” Zukai asked looking at her.

“She has only said the most she has noticed was three at a time. Their appearances are all over the place. Some days it is every two bells; some days it’s more sporadic,” Dinah explained.

“About what time do we need to arrive?” Corine asked next.

“Two bells before Syne is out of the sky,” Dinah instructed.

“Yes, ma’am,” Corine stated and the pair left to go prepare.