The Ideal's Release

"The Ideal's Release" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread started on [IRL DATE] and finished on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
Like glowing smoke over the horizon, the new situation in Central territory began to exacerbate, sending half-breeds and sympathizers alike moving quickly south like wildlife escaping the embers of a greedy fire. Older refugees whispered in fear of the times of the Exodus when they were young, but even then, the current events were on an scale unprecedented even by High Central’s united, aggressive movements at their peak. Their migration, whenever it became visible from the ever-growing Rebellion’s perspective, was aided by rippling waves of cascading light, which incoming half-breeds swore up and down had helped them evade prowling faction forces by covering their tracks and distracting otherwise vigilant patrols. Numbers continued to swell, and because of the tentative agreement between the Jaw and Haligan Island, those unfit to aid the cause were quickly portaled away, so that room could be made in a quasi-military outpost that was finally living back up to its reputation. Armed to the teeth with the newly-forged weapons of wolven bone, slowly stocking on resources and trusted individuals enlisting to the cause, gathering information on faction behavior–High Central may have been trying to squash them, but the Rebellion was gnashing at the bit, ready to break off its leaders’ reins as soon as it was given the word.
That was, however, something they were fearing. Intelligence was still shallow, and as each day passed it seemed more likely that they were going to be jumping off the cliff of assault rather than carefully scaling it. When Lila sent for an inner circle of operatives she knew well and trusted, the Warden could feel it in the air like a dog scenting blood. They were close to piecing together their final moves.
She’d brought Liam by her porcelain side, which Lila surprisingly approved, most likely because of his awkwardly close experience with the mental network they’d been grappling with since he returned from scouting. Nala and Darien had been working closely in tandem to prevent another incident happening, and the violent outburst reaction had been reduced to something far more passive after painful trial and error. He had a bundle of tied leather that he kept in his pocket at all times, and when he detected another urge, he gripped it tightly, also using his claws to invoke a little bit of pain and stay conscious. Such fits were becoming quite rare, and thus Liam was mostly cleared of being a liability, with Nala’s supervision. 
Milae was attending the meeting as well, and though the demon and goat eyed each other, they were on relatively amicable terms after the ordeal with Frigga. The Bookkeeper that Milae had been housing recently was behind him, ready to record, as usual, though from their positioning it seemed like Milae was purposefully signaling Juro to stay watchful and not to add to the conversation. 
Lila Ericson: Lila sighed as everyone stood before her. These past weeks had been more stressful than the entirety of the war had been up to this point. He pored over the map and all relevant intel that had been gathered since the Reformation, as people had begun calling it. She felt better with her sister’s advancement with the weapons and the Construct, but she still did not feel at ease assaulting the city blindly, though it was becoming more and more obvious that it was heading in that direction.
She stepped forward in front of the group, her siblings and Deoiridh among them as well. “Thank you all for coming. I called you all here to discuss our plans for the inevitable assault on High Central, as well as a… Proposal that has come from a most unlikely source.
“Firstly, Ai Kauri gas promised the use of her fleet for the assault, however the use of said fleet is contingent on her release. Now before anyone says anything allow me to speak. Ai, is one of the few if not only factions that has no true love for High Central or any of the other factions, in this we have a common enemy. She also commands the largest fleet in the continent, or at least the largest willing to ally itself with us.
“Finally, and I am loathe to say this but, we are desperate. We are going up against High Central, as powerful as they were before Ragnarok, if not more so. And worst of all we are going in completely blind. We do not know who leads the group, or even if there are multiple. We don’t even know if our maps are completely accurate anyone. We cannot afford to toss aside the offer of aid purely because of its source without serious consideration.”
The Warden: Liam coughed as the Warden cut him off before he got a word in, and he grumpily subsided, waiting for her to speak first, which took several moments. Shorter than most people took to contemplate such a large decision, but longer than normal for a being like her.
It is a large, succulent piece of game, she finally said, eyes piercing, mask featureless. But it is big enough that we have no way of knowing how many hooks are embedded inside of it until we try to sink in our teeth. One I can already see from merely observing–you must have an extreme faith in your people in thinking that they will not immediately strike back for attempting such an alliance. At best, there will be infighting, dissent and betrayal; at worst, we find ourselves in the exact predicament High Central themselves suffered from, where splinters will form and our strength as a united front will fail us. I highly doubt the assistance that someone like her wants to give, under her conditions, could compensate, along with the additional risk of traitors and turncoats.
Lila/Jari: “As I said I didn’t want to dismiss it out of hand with the position we’re in. But you’re points are valid, thank you N-” she cut herself off as she caught the bookkeeper in her gaze. “Warden. Does anyone wish to add anything further.” She glances at Liam for a moment. “Anything constructive?” When there was nothing left to say she spoke once more. “Very well, we’ll consider this matter closed then. Moving on, our best course of action is likely a full on assault on the city. What do we have at our disposal currently?”
Jari pipes up. “Well, I was able to remove the trap in the Construct so that should be good to go. I also have a couple hand cannons made that I can start people training on. As well as the actual cannons that I made working off of Dixie’s original design.”
Lila nods. “Very well, give them to our best rangers first and start their training.” Deo fist pumps at that. The Commander looked over at the demon. “How acquainted are you with the Construct?” She asks.
The Warden: The group caught a brief flash of distaste at the thought of her restraining form from so many months ago, but it was quickly overriden by a hot, excited flash of daredevil determination. I have not been able to inhabit it while the antimagic field trap remained inside, but now that it is gone…I feel ready to run a test, especially now that the Construct is no longer restrained by ice.
“But unless you’ve got people that wouldn’t mind being vegetables for the rest of their lives, it takes a shit ton of energy to march it around,” Liam interjected. “That’s why the Conclave built that cage in the middle of it, to hold human fuel.” The Warden relented his point.
I can sustain it for several minutes at a time, but my capabilities remain a bit limited without a consistent external energy source. I believe I can practice channeling my essence into certain functions at a time, depending on what the situation calls for.
Jin Juro: It wasn’t the dying hum of the portal as Akkey sheepishly slid into her seat, tardy to join the meeting, that felt off when the Warden finished speaking. Rather, it was the absence of sound, the silence out of place as they realized that the scratch of pen against parchment that persisted all this time had disappeared.
Juro sat quietly as promised, hands now unnaturally still and frozen midsentence, face practiced and unreadable underneath his blindfold, save for the stiffness in his jaw as he slid an amber eye towards Milae, the journal on his lap lifting in a way before his chest almost protectively, uncertain, “…external energy source…” he murmured, barely audible.
Milae/Liam/The Warden: Milae caught his drift immediately, and his hoof unconsciously shot out to grip the crook of Juro’s arm, squeezing in comfort. His goat eyes looked bright at the idea, but they were sympathetic as well. 
“There are other options,” he whispered protectively.
“You could just scoop High Central soldiers off the ground and use them,” Liam mused aloud, leaning back in his seat and crossing both arms and legs in front of himself.
I could, in a moment of urgency. I would like to avoid provoking unnecessary fear amongst our ranks or making a mistake and using the wrong person as a source of fuel, so with permission for a test run with Jari, I would like to see if I can manage different parts of the Construct separately. Though she seemed completely engaged in the current conversation and outwardly paid no attention to the bookkeeping pair, Juro could feel a subtle but sharp attention from the demon, like a nearly-invisible spotlight, tinged with curiosity and some confusion.
Jari/Lila: Jari nodded. "Yeah I'm excited to see what this thing can really do." As she spoke a very visible excitement and curiosity can be seen in her eyes. Despite the strain the war had placed on the Rebellion and her people it seemed that she had been able to keep a hold of her joy and curiosity of the world around her much like her father was. "It's a shame we won't be able to use it all at once though."
"Why not?" Lila asked seriously.
"Well we don't exactly have a power source. I mean our guys are devoted but I don't think I want to be vegetables for the rest of their life." Her sister explained.
"I'm not talking about them. I would never willingly sacrifice, or even ask any of our men to sacrifice themselves in such a way. No it seems we have the perfect battery sitting down in one of our cells right now." She said grimly a cold silence filling the room as what she's suggesting sinks in.
Juro/Akkey: Juro turned his head away in reaction despite his efforts not to, and the mental walls that were screaming ‘no help, no harm’ rose again in his subconscious. He attempted a small, lopsided smile to return to an air of nonchalance even with the Warden’s pressing stare, “Options like that right?” he said softly as a large hand squeezed a hoof. But despite that, even without speaking out loud, he knew that what he had was their best path. And he knew Milae was thinking the same thing. 
“It would make for a quick, short test.” Akkey spoke up in agreement. “Until we find a more permanent power source, then using her would be a good experiment to see how things unfold.” She couldn’t help flick her gaze towards the immortals, and the Bookkeeper caught it. She knew enough from their own conversations as agents. She could warrant a guess what was going through his mind, and she hoped that the test run would provide some comfort to him as he saw the same intense light in her eyes as he did Milae’s. A favour. “I say we try that first.”
Juro’s hand tightened involuntarily again, and it seemed like a long time before he relented his defenses ever so slightly to the demon, with a request to delay to speak afterwards instead of then.
Lila: Lila shook her head. “I’d rather not use her to experiment with.” She said. “After all she’s the only one we can really use and I don’t want to waste it on a test.”
The Warden: The Warden eagerly but calmly accepted Juro’s tentative proposal, offering to meet at a time and place both at his choice that he would consider safely away from prying eyes.
For a test, I can sustain myself, she countered.
“Maybe have a dragon or two on hand just in case,” Liam added.
Possibly. At the very least, I wish to move the Construct to a more convenient and less alarming location than it currently resides in, and for that, I believe I will be capable.
Lila: Lila nods. She hated to us the dragons like that but it was them or us at this point. She wasn't sure how much power Ai would provide, but she was a Nix, and a decently powerful if the reports she'd heard were accurate. "Alright. Get everything ready and schedule the test. If there's nothing else, this meeting is dismissed."