MISSION: SALT THE EARTH

[initiatesnpc]

Date & Time: October 17 - October 23
Location: Southwest Russia, 1223 CE
Characters: ALL; tag yourselves in
Summary: The Initiative sends all of the Transports on a mission to fight troops of the Golden Horde.
Warnings: war, violence, npc death (notify a mod if there's cause to add a particular warning!)

It is a warm day when the Transports arrive, a breeze blowing and sparse clouds in the sky. Before them is an expanse of flat land interspersed with some short, rolling hills. There are sparse trees, but for the most part it is grassland. It would be ideal for farming, but has not been utilized as such yet. Several miles in the distance is a small town, and the troops of the Golden Horde have made their camp just outside of it. There are about a thousand soldiers present, and the mission is simple: send a message that this land cannot be claimed. They will do this by defeating these warriors who are feared throughout the medieval world. They will then punctuate this statement by ensuring that this land cannot be farmed for centuries.

It is a small expanse of land that the Initiative has their eyes on, no more than ten miles in diameter. But for some reason, they have deemed it to be of a deep strategic importance.

The Transports arrive in the early morning, escorted by several Initiative officers, whose presence is meant primarily to keep things organized while the actual battle is to be left to the Transports. Under the guidance of these Initiative officers, the first order of business for the Transports is to set up a camp of their own. The battle will commence in the late afternoon, six hours after their initial arrival.

The battle will take place halfway between each side's respective camps. Many of the Mongolians will fall in combat. On the fifth day, the remaining soldiers will retreat, surrendering the area. Once the region has been secured, the second portion of the mission will commense, in which the Initiative will oversee the dispersement of a chemical agent over the land to ensure that no crops may be grown there. It will be harmless to all humans and animal life, and some weeds may even be able to take root, but the grain farming that would have otherwise taken place on this land will not be able to be undertaken. The land outside of this ten mile radius will be unharmed, but this small region will be barren, seen as cursed when the legend of the defeat of the soldiers of the Golden Horde is passed on.

A week after the mission's commencement, the Transports will be sent back to Exsilium. Their mission will have been a success. But the fallout of it will remain to be seen...

Comments

Mahdi offers blessings - OPEN!

[moralperil]

[Mahdi is sitting out of the way somewhere, watching people go about their business. He weaves his fingers together, stretches his arms out and rocks slightly in place. His expression is pensive. Occasionally he catches the eye of someone passing by and gives a warm smile.]

Would anyone like a blessing?

[wrexy]

[Wrex is unable to dodge a smile from his incessant roommate. He's bored as hell and doesn't want to clean his gun another damn time. So he bites. He stops his stride and looks at Mahdi with one red eye.] And what's that worth, whelp?

[moralperil]

Wrex! You definitely need a blessing! [Mahdi hops to his feet. Okay, he doesn't get along with Wrex. Or to his viewpoint, Wrex has decided that they won't get along. But he still values Wrex's life (of course he does) and wouldn't want to see him get hurt, even if Wrex is a mighty, intimidating warrior.]

It's totally free. It's my job to help protect mortal souls, so I'm going to do my best here. If I can't stop the violence from happening, I hope my blessings will keep our side from being hurt too badly.

[wrexy]

Hrm. But does it work? [He's giving him a skeptical eye, but he hasn't walked away yet.] I can do a lot of hoping on my own.

[hostage]

[That's a weird thing to hear, and it gets Jesse to pause in his wandering. He'd been expecting people to be either running scared or all gung-ho about fighting. He hadn't really considered the possibility that there'd be priests doing sermons or whatever, too.]

What, like a prayer circle thing?

[moralperil]

Um... kind of? I'm really not familiar with religions, but I guess you could say that my blessing would be like me saying a prayer that you'd have good fortune, and it coming true a little bit? [Mahdi tugs on his ponytail, brushing the strands of it against his cheek. He gives a sheepish smile as if to say Is that a good enough explanation? Because I have no idea.]

[hostage]

Ah...

[Like an RPG cleric. He gets it.]

That's cool. I probably don't need it as much as some people do, though, if it's gonna tire you out.

[Don't waste all your MP on him, bro.]

[strategic_guile]

[Wandering by Blaine hears the question and curiosity compels him to come over] What kind of blessing?

[moralperil]

[Mahdi stands when he's approached, smiling cheerfully.] Just a small one to improve your luck. Will you be fighting in the battle?

[strategic_guile]

Nah, I plan on avoiding any fighting. I'll stay back and man the kitchen.

[feel_nevermore]

[Raven turns around giving him a dubious look.]

A blessing? ...You're a priest?

[moralperil]

No, I'm not a priest! [He hops up, admitting that cheerfully enough.] Don't I need a collar or a special robe for that?

[He's dressed rather plainly in a collared shirt beneath some brown, short overalls.]

[feel_nevermore]

Not necessarily. I reckon it'd depend on the religion you're represent.

[On Azarath, spiritual leaders wear the same outfit as Raven does.]

[inwhichwar]

[Maria stops in her tracks and turns to look at him, leaning heavily on a forearm crutch held in her left hand, while her right holds a large mug of (frankly pretty terrible) tea from the mess hall. Her expression seems to waver between skeptical and amused.]

Ach. It's some fifty years, I think, since anyone offered me such a thing as a blessing.

[moralperil]

Then today must be your lucky day! [Mahdi's upbeat response is immediate, but he reneges a little:] I mean, as lucky as a day of violence can be. [He frowns. Violence makes him very sad.]

[inwhichwar]

In my experience, it's days of violence that are more in need of luck than any others. Other days take care of themselves, mostly.

Re: Mahdi offers blessings - OPEN!

[speakveryclearly]

[She showed up. Woooooo!]

Mahdi?

[moralperil]

[Mahdi sees her approaching and waves enthusiastically.] Hi! Kanaya, right?

[speakveryclearly]

Yes, that would be me. [Standing in place, her arms awkwardly crossed.] So, how does this work...

[healplz]

[ Ashraf nearly misses Mahdi entirely. There's an awful lot on his mind before the battle begins, from setting up the medical tent to ensuring all he speaks with are ready for the impending fight. It's difficult to ignore the voice when he catches it from off to the side, though.

So over he heads, to drop to a sit next to Mahdi, and there he offers a small smile. ]

One might think you were a priest too, with an offer like that.

[moralperil]

I've already been asked a few times. Maybe I should try it, I'd look really nice in one of your robes, don't you think?

[Pause.]

Except it'd be totally too big for me!

[healplz]

[ pppfft. That gets a breath out, which could be a faint laugh if you look at it right. ]

You would look like an acolyte in priest's robes.

[whatsupcroc]

[ Mark that as one coyote trotting up, tail wagging very dog-like. ]

< Mahdi! How're you doing? Blessed a lot of people going out there today? >

[moralperil]

[Mahdi claps when he sees the coyote approaching, though not out of recognition:] Oh, what a cute doggie! [He immediately crouches to pet. Yes, he has no idea that a coyote is different and a wild animal. One of these days he's going to get bitten by something unpleasant, probably. He blinks suddenly when he - he thinks he hears-]

Is that - Collette?

[whatsupcroc]

[ Since he's obligingly brought himself down to her current level, Collette looks for his hand to shove her head under it. Her tail wags again, all part of the show to say how harmless and happy she was. As an extra measure, she let the tip of her tongue hang out of her mouth, exaggerating her canine grin. ]

< Got it in one! This is Collette, in the fur! >