Unexpected Losses

**Date Started:** July 13th, 2021
**Date Completed:** Ongoing
**Previous Role-Play:** N/A
**Users Involved:** User:Ash9876, User:KontonMan, User:BQD, User:Great Achlus, User:MorellaVoltaire, User:GoldenPiece
**Setting:** Clover Kingdom
**Characters Involved**: Zener Rhine, Melchior, Rosanne Vermillion, Madelynn, Lucielle Silva, Feuer Sirvard, Zahir Fubushi

## Dire News

**499XR**
"Sir...I'm not sure this will be okay. I mean...they're coming right now but what will they think?!" A youthful voice called out. Silver hair, green eyes and adorned in classic Magic Knight armor for the time being. This was Zener Rhine, 2nd Class Senior Magic Knight of the Violet Orca and its Vice Captain. He was currently in a hallowed place among the Clover Kingdom, but his tone was anything but. There was a clear panic in his voice, his eyes, and his pacing.

"Captain Olynthus...how could this be...?!" Zener spoke in despair. The person seated on the throne before him looked at him, his face also mildly distraught.

The man on the throne had his hands interlaced, elbows resting on his knees. He had leaned forwards to let his head hover above them, his brows furrowed. All that information, all that knowledge and skill was gone. How long had it taken to cultivate all of that? But what had happened was inevitable, he supposed. The man let out a sigh, glancing towards Zener as he let his expression relax. He couldn’t wear what he felt on his face, he had to remain a pillar.

“I...” Melchior paused. “I’m not sure myself, Zener. But stand tall and proud, do not waver. You must maintain respect during a time like this.”

It was beyond impressive to someone like Zener that Melchior, the Magic Emperor himself, could manage to keep his composure at a time like this. But he supposed that was expected. Someone who had to lead the Magic Knights had to bear the resolve to take all that pain without wavering.

Zener gained strength from him, and kneeled with his head facing the ground. "I apologize, Melchior-sama." As he finished, Zener stood up and took a deep breath.

"I shall wait till the other Captains arrive. How much will we tell them?"

“Enough.” Melchior had taken but a moment tor reply. He sat up straight in his throne once more, bringing forth the presence he needed for the incoming discussions. This part of the role had always been difficult. “We will tell them enough. Exact details…we can’t quite reveal it. Those events are our truth. But we will tell the Captains about his passing and how they were mysterious circumstances.”

Melchior raised a finger, his expression still unwilling to change. “Nothing more, nothing less.”

"...As you wish." Zener bowed once more, took another breath, and stood to the side of the Emperor. He simply awaited, the sound of his breathing being the only thing to occupy the room. Despite Melchior's presence calming him slightly, he couldn't shake off the despair and anxiety that quickly. But he had to keep it controlled. There were more pressing matters.

Realistically it was no surprise who was the first to arrive. If she was late with that magic of hers, it’d make her too irresponsible for the position she had. A crimson mane of hair, a dark bodysuit with a red jacket that cut off by her midriff with the symbol of her squad embroidered onto one of the sleeves. Black combat boots that elevated her height an additional three inches. Rosanne Vermillion, Captain of the Crimson Lions.

She kneeled before the throne with head facing down. Mumbling a quick prayer, she stood and nodded at her Emperor. He seemed calm as ever, but there wouldn’t be a need to summon all the Captains unless something urgent was the case. Had another S-Rank Dungeon appeared?

“Melchior-sama, I’m here.” Rose said. She looked at Zener and smiled as a greeting. “Hi! You’re one of Oly’s right?”

Following Rosanne, there came a tune from someone's voice. A humming melody, one that could only belong to an incredibly young girl, matching the humming, the sound of shoes clacking against the marble floors over a certain interval could be hear, likely the rhythm of skipping for those that were attentive. Then, finally, she arrived.

An appearance that matched the voice, as the person that walked into the throne room possessed a rather scrawny appearance, body hidden under layers of clothes, colored both blue and yellow. Her green hair billowed behind her as she skipped and jumped happily, and even then it was evident that it was rarely combed. If Rosanne's appearance indicated she was combat ready, this one's was the opposite. But like her comrade, Madelynn too, was the Captain of the Aqua Deer squad, as noted by the robe she wore.

"Hello, Melchiooo-" Amidst her skipping, Madelynn fell over her own foot, landing face first against the floor. "G-god damn it...I thought it wouldn't happen this time...I calculated every variable so that I could avoid an embarrassing scenario like this...surely, there was something I missed..." Madelynn flailed about like a child, a bump visible at her forehead when she slowly picked herself up from the ground.

"I-I'm sorry, Melchior. Here, I a-" Madelynn looked to her sides. "Oh, Rose, you're here! And that boy that's always with Olynthus! Oh, wow. What are you both doing here, I thought I'd have a private one on one chat with the emperor here!"

She came next, silver-hair swaying as she walked. Lucielle Silva. Despite the bothersome burden of that last name, there was a relaxed, almost jovial air about her. As always, Luci's attire was casual; yes, she knew a meeting with the Emperor was today, but she'd rather show up as she is then put on airs. Especially when it was luxury she lacked in her younger days.

The Silver Eagle Captain entered the space, noting those who had arrived already. And the somber atmosphere which quickly dissipated her good mood. Something happened. But what?

She took a customary knee, bowing politely to the Magic Emperor in greeting before turning to those assembled. "Hey Rose. Speedy as ever aren't we? And Lynn," Luci resisted the urge to poke the AD Captain in the forehead as her tone turned teasing, "you tripped again didn't you? How are you doing by the way Zenny? It's been a while."

Following the Silver Eagle captain was the Blue Rose Captain, Feuer Sirvard. She noticed the presence of the atmosphere was melancholy and silent though she was curious of the reason why she was summoned her in the first place. Though her face looked calm and distant, she looked around seeing the other captains that have arrived. Could something have happened that she was not aware of? "*Seems that I'm not the only one summoned here*," Feuer thought to herself, "*still, what could be the reason for bringing us her on such notice?*"

Next to make their way into the room was the somewhat apathetic Captain for the Black Bull Zahir Fubushi who seemed to phase into existence from the shadow of Lucielle, his usual grumpy visage was marred with an annoyance look as bowed towards Melchior as well as as Zener, having once been a member of the Violet Orca during his youth and serving under the guidance of Olyntus prior to his promotion to Captain, Zahir still held a a deep respect for the Squad that other often over looked when in comparison to the Golden Dawn, Silver Eagle and even his own Black Bull. Strapped tightly to his chest was a pink colored sling, a little tuff of black hair could be seen poking out from it before he readjusted the sling and pulled it closer to his chest, due to the unexpected nature of the meeting he had no choice but to unintentionally reveal on of his most important secrets.

Nodding in acknowledgment to the other captains, Zahir made his way to the corner of the room and leaned on the wall almost collapsing on it in his lazy state, titling his head down to create a shadow to cover his face. Glancing around discreetly the Black Bull Captain visibly frowned at missing presence of his former captain, something was off and he could feel it in his gut he just hoped it wasn’t anything that would add more work to his plate as his. His Captain was already overworked as it was, once more adjusting the sling Zahir peered down upon the tiny sleeping face of his daughters with a small fond smile.

"Hey gu-" as the young white haired mage, wearing a pair of black sin glasses, not watching his step the Captain almost fell straight to the floor but he stretched his arms out to regain his balance, "oop, that could've been bad." It was Lucifer Illuminare, the captain of the Coral Peacocks. "Hm? Most of you guys seem pretty serious...though that's not too out of the ordinary." He then looked over at Zener thinking "*If I remember correctly he's the Vice Captain of the Orcas.*" He then shrugged his shoulders and simply went on with what was to come noticing Roseanne and the rest if the captains arriving before himself, something also not out of the ordinary.

Zener forced a smile as the Captains greeted him one by one. He bowed to everyone respectfully as per his position. As the trail of people stopped, Zener assumed that not everyone could make it. Whether that was because of other obligations or simply refusal to acknowledge the Magic Emperor's orders...he'd have to think about later.

"Welcome Captains." Zener bowed. "The Magic Emperor has an important announcement with respect to the Violet Orca." As Zener finished speaking, he moved to the left and gave the floor for Melchior to speak.

“Thank you Zener,” Melchior paused to allow all of the Captain one more moment of normality. A sigh of defeat. “It is my shame to inform you all that...Olyntus is dead. His body was found. And so it comes to me to elect a new Captain for the Violet Orca. And my choice is the man you’ve all greeted, Zener Rhine.”

His proclamation that Olyntus had died struck like lightning would, and his decision struck like thunder. Rosanne looked towards Zener, and back to Melchior. Olyntus had died? Something had managed to kill a Captain of Clover, especially one as evasive and skilled at him. The woman simply stayed silent for a moment, but she nodded in agreement. A Vice-Captain would become the Captain, that’s how it should be usually.

She turned to Zener. “Do you think you’re strong enough to be a Captain?”

The somber mood made sense now. "To think someone could do Olyntus in," Lucielle murmured under her breath. Any thought of reaching for the little papoose strapped to Zahir died as her mind raced. Who did it? Olyn was the most knowledgeable person Luci knew. Too knowledgeable some might say; no one likes a person aware of skeletons in their closet. So numerous potential culprits. Irritating.

Luci half heard Rose's question as one of her own rose to the surface. "Were there any clues about the culprit in the place his body was found or on the body itself?" she asked.

"The exact cause of death...is still unknown." Zener said, gulping. "We were unable to recover the body before an unidentified enemy took hold of him..."

Zener was trying to avoid the question Rosanne asked. It was a painful question. "I...I cannot say whether I am strong enough to *replace* Captain Olynthus..." Zener had to look up and meet them in the eye. "But as Violet Orca members, we are all trained with the responsibility of becoming a candidate for Captaincy. In our squad, it is only through death that a Captain can be replaced. As such...I believe I am qualified."

Zener tried to control his shaking hands as he spoke. "However...I understand any qualms you might have with me. If I am to be tested...so be it."

Madelynn looked happily at Zener, her visage changed only when Olynthus' death and been mentioned, though as quickly as her frown came, it changed into an expression of awe, if not curiosity. That was Madelynn's natural state. For someone that was so physically inept, it was a surprise that Madelynn could move from where she stood to in front of Zener.

Out of her clothes, many scientific and medical tools came out, one of which was a flashlight. Without a moment to spare, Madelynn tapped the button with her thumb, focusing the light on Zener's eyes. "Hmm, eyesight looks good to me. Mind opening your mouth for me please?"

Luci frowned. "So you can confirm he's dead, yet not only failed to recover the body, but have an unidentified body snatcher at large? Really? That's a tad sloppy don't you think?" she commented, her frown deepening. The investigation would be exponentially harder. The corpse could very well be destroyed by now; the murderer's tracks covered, the corpse snatcher home free and no one the wiser.

Irritating.

Zener opened his mouth in bafflement at Madelynn's maneuver, before taking a step back with a slightly angered expression at the Silver Eagle captain's remarks.

"I wish I could explain more...about my helplessness. However, I'm sure you must understand. If even I felt like retrieving the body was impossible...The stakes are a lot more dire than we might think."

"Don't you think you should take it easier Lucielle? This was his captain, don't you think he feels bad enough? I'm sure if he could have done something about it he would've." Lucifer chimes in looking over at the Silver Eagles Captain. "We shouldn't be too focused on what we can't change. Do our best with what we do know." He then paused looking over to Zener, "If you feel like you're ready to handle the responsibility of being a captain and have Melchior's approval then all I'll do is wish you best." Lucifer states, knowing how stressful becoming a captain can be alone, the transition happened for him not too long ago. But to feel like that along with the unfortunate circumstances, he could only imagine how much harder it is for Zener.