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sounds good, cannot wait! :p
 
Looking forward to it! It'll be interesting to see the team Raoul pulls together :)
 
Grubnessul: For some of you out there , you're going to laugh hard core about who the new cast will be . Furthermore , I don't think I've been silly enough to reveal Raul's last name yet , have I ? Mmhmm let the guessing begin !

English Patriot: Oh yes , and he'll need a good team for what I'm going to put them through ; I've been having great fun in my World Epics class so it's going to show up here as well as i've mentioned . Very good stuff planned for the long term arch of this season . A lot more planning than last season that's to be sure haha . But I suppose that's just the natural course of how things go when you start writing after a while .
 
Well, I've managed 10 pages so far...I must say this is very masterful work. I was somewhat surprised that Isabella 'betrayed' Antonio. At least it certainly looked that way, when in fact she had a plan all along. One he didn't seem to know about. He also seemed rather easy going about it as well. I suppose in the world of spies it is a good skill to have.

The Ming also being involved in Japan will make things more interesting. Wolves and Lions indeed. The timepiece certainly seems quite powerful. The mild quake in Japan that created such large aftershocks throughout the world certainly lends credence to that fact.

I look forward to making my way further into this epic story. Well crafted, with little snippets of our modern world like Carmen SanDiego and so forth. I actually nearly snorted root beer out of my nose when I read that portion.

Spanish spy teams seem to be a paired set of a man and a woman...or perhaps a Lion and 'Lioness' such as Carmen. Mixed teams seem to do good work for the Spanish. Was that an intentional thing on your part or did it just kind of come about?
 
Amric said:
Well, I've managed 10 pages so far...I must say this is very masterful work. I was somewhat surprised that Isabella 'betrayed' Antonio. At least it certainly looked that way, when in fact she had a plan all along. One he didn't seem to know about. He also seemed rather easy going about it as well. I suppose in the world of spies it is a good skill to have.

Ahh yes , in Japan ; Yes , especially when they were younger they were very bold in their approaches almost suicidal in some aspects . Although it was a plan , it was a risky one and I had wanted to input that as a sort of staging point for contrast in later developement .

The Ming also being involved in Japan will make things more interesting. Wolves and Lions indeed. The timepiece certainly seems quite powerful. The mild quake in Japan that created such large aftershocks throughout the world certainly lends credence to that fact.

Yes , the Timepiece will be a central object in all of this . Its power certainly is earth shattering but how or why is still something to be grasped .

I look forward to making my way further into this epic story. Well crafted, with little snippets of our modern world like Carmen SanDiego and so forth. I actually nearly snorted root beer out of my nose when I read that portion.

Haha ! Well that's very encouraging , thank you ! I'm glad you're enjoying it and each chapter is filled with an Easter Egg or two . One of the things about it is how there's something for everyone .

Spanish spy teams seem to be a paired set of a man and a woman...or perhaps a Lion and 'Lioness' such as Carmen. Mixed teams seem to do good work for the Spanish. Was that an intentional thing on your part or did it just kind of come about?

It's an interesting point you bring up . It was actually not so 'intended' in the beginning but I also wanted to infuse ladies into the picture . Especially with espionage where the physical duress of open warfare would not be too big of a factor I wanted to make sure that Women were equated into the plan . It is , perhaps , on a deeper level the Catholic idea that Women are also integrally intertwined in a complementary goal with their Male counterparts in the process of salvation . This is present in the glorious properties of the Blessed Virgin as the New Eve and so I wanted to make sure that there was a presence of women in the story . If I was female , I would perhaps have focused more on lead Female characters but as it is since I'm male I can more readily convey a male psyche into the characters so that's the reason why the males take the usual lead role (although it can be argued that Isabella is definitely more aloof than Antonio) . Either way , there is a genius to women that I also wanted to make sure was there and I wanted to advance this idea that when and if two are paired in a complementary fashion , the product is greater than the sum of the parts . Thanks for the great insight and I look forward to more !
 
It still amazes me how you manage to weave so much catholicism into it without sounding like a boring old priest :D
 
Avernite said:
It still amazes me how you manage to weave so much catholicism into it without sounding like a boring old priest :D

Haha , why thank you , sir . Always've been trying to sound more interesting than a boring old priest haha . Though old priests do have their own special style to them . They're good people to have over , bless houses , feed and all that . Very jovial fellows .
 
You're right. It is scary, and that makes it somewhat entertaining, although there are groups that are very similar to certain European groups from the 30s/40s, etc.
 
that novgorod update was excellent. but that's what we've all come to except, I think

also two great interviews. :cool:
 
ColossusCrusher: Don't know much about European Evangelical groups I'm afraid .

rcduggan: Thanks for reading ! :D
 
Talkin' about some other guys, the ones in Timelines' ATL that were responsible for the briefly mentioned 'German Revolt' in the 30s/40s.
 
Well now I am 25 pages in....Scarlet Academy, eh? Interesting use of the SA as it was the precursor of the SS....The House of the Rose being a boat is quite brilliant actually. I feel bad for Tom...He's been bustled about and doesn't raelly know anything other than he ideas on alternate history seem to have created a real problem. One I would imagine he had never created.

Isabelle seems very confident...yet twice now<as I have read> she has been sucked into a trap. Antonio, on the other hand, may be intelligent but he gets captured seemingly as often as James Bond...But unlike Bond, he usually seems to need help to escape. I'm becoming somewhat disappointed in him. Perhaps it is just he started with such promise and spend almost half his time imprisoned or hurt in some fashion.

Rodrigo...well, being Janus he is well up on the things of 'modern' Spanish spying activity. Not a real shock, since he IS a Jimenez....Seeing Lara as a descendant of of the Lion wasn't really a surprise. I, too, pretty much figured out that Chinatown had been given to him. Not really a surprise. What better way to ensure the lid stays on is to give the problem fully to him. He'd keep a lid on things, I am certain.

Overall I am still very impressed with the very high quality of the writing. You've traveled much farther than I have read but I am willing to bet that at no time has the quality flagged. Overall I have to say that I wish I had started reading this sooner, but well.....My time is so little that I have carved out extra to try and read as much of this as I can.
 
ColossuCrusher: OOhhh I see ;)

Amric: Twenty Five Pages ! Good grief , not bad at all considering the time constraints . But I appreciate it very much ! Yes , the Academy was something actually from my tenure playing World of Warcraft ; sort of an inside joke with a nice structure that I wanted to use to imprint a memory so to speak . An ace in the pocket for whenever I need it to make something cool later on . The House being portable made me a bit proud , actually ; it was a nice shocker so I enjoyed making that little bit .

Yes , Isabella and Antonio are both , in their own rights , a bit incomplete or insufficient . I intentionally put that in as part of the dynamic ; neither can complete something without the other -- the only times they've pulled things off have been when they were working on concert ; such as the siege of Jerusalem , and the trickery in Japan .

Rodrigo is implied to have latent training but the earlier parts of the work also suggest that he was not entirely cognizent of what his training was applied to . That is to say that they were just latent skills and information that were activated the more the situation unfolded and the more he realized that the time for his Work had begun . As for Tom , he has a large role still to play and being caught up is something that he will be doing for a while , I'm afraid haha . I don't want him to break him in and lose a surrigate figure for the audience in bewilderment sometimes . Thanks again for reading very much looking forward to your great comments !

Update coming in about an hour or two !
 
chapter62tile.gif


Chapter LXII: Unlocked​

December 12, 1506

Even with nearly ten years of stealth training behind him, Raul could not help but crush the softly forming frost underfoot and squeeze it against the muddied ground underneath. Already, the grey overcast howled another chilling reminder of the latitude that he treaded. He had left the siege lines prematurely earlier that month and had bribed stable masters desperate for gold for changes of horse all the way to his current destination.

The winter food hoarded by the now incensed armies of Russia subjected most of the serfs and especially those taking care of animals to scant subsistence—only the ones with that extra coin could in turn bring some food home. Perhaps it was this thought that Raul used to justify his massive spending for the intrepid ride northward to the land of the Finns. It was the land percolated by various lakes all racing to be the first to freeze over in the newly descending winter. Nonetheless, he did leave Colonel Santiago to complete the rest of the siege. He had left him enough gathered information to secure a capture, he had explained.

Despite Santiago’s aloof nature, he had acquiesced to allow his chief eyes and ears in the region to take off into the wilderness in search of some truth which only barely lingered in the heartstrings of that colonel. In the present moment of his thoughts, however, Raul expected that Santiago would have captured the city by now. “You may not have a job when you return,” Santiago had told him before he had begun his half a month ride. Raul dismissed the memory from his head as he continued to ascend a small embankment—the town of his destination should be on the other side.

It was strange, he thought, the Metropolitan’s words had only done more to spur him to find the mysteries of events long past despite the foreboding warnings. At times he was unsure about why he continued to do so—was it some scheme to get promoted? He was already one of the youngest operators and was only rivaled by those missing masters of whom he now investigated about. A stack of smoke ahead of him from firewood burning almost hid too well against the silver background of the sky, but that only meant that the town was only a few steps away.

Already heightened in anticipation by the end of the journey, Raul’s keen ears registered the familiar snap of a fallen piece of wood. Knowing that issuing his pistol might alarm the villagers on the other side, he decided to swing fully around with his sharpened daggers arrayed like a fan in his fist. His eyes, being sometimes distracted by his idealistic pursuits now focused on the familiar bane of his trek.

“Willem, I should just kill you here and tell Colonel Santiago that I caught you defecting to the enemy if you’re going to be that obvious while you walk,” Raul hissed. Willem Van Axel, a native of Zeeland, was the lieutenant under Colonel Santiago sent on the unhappy mission to provide “military” escort to Raul should he need it. Naturally, it was just a formality for keeping tabs on the spy’s movements. “Santiago may think he’s clever to send you to spy on a spy, but he could have sent someone more discrete,” Raul added.

“Don’t be so worried,” the lieutenant responded dispassionately. It was illustrative of the difference between Willem and Raul. Although Raul apparently inherited some features of the remaining Visigoth stock that had immigrated to the Peninsula—a set of sapphire eyes and a nearly blonde set of hair, his military counterpart was more exotic; Willem’s hair was a firebrand red that shot into the cold air from underneath his hood like some warrior of old and his eyes were a piercingly narrow green. Sharing a similar complexion, they both also shared a similar annoyance of each other.

“If a patrol comes around, I won’t bother to save you from it,” Raul persisted while reluctantly putting away his weapons; his careful turn towards the embankment was met with a quiet huff from the man trailing behind him.

“And if this was some ploy the Metropolitan set up to distract you from your actual duties, then I’ll make sure the Colonel knows that you’ve been had,” returned the soldier as he steadily approached where Raul was climbing. It was not hard to tell how little faith he had in Raul’s supposed “mission.”

“The Metropolitan is a good friend to us, Willem. It’s best if you remember that. If he told me to seek out this village then there is a good reason.” As Raul spoke in place, the lieutenant passed him and took position atop the small hill. “He would not lie; if he had wanted to disrupt my goal he would have had me killed before I even got into the cathedral.”

“And you’re sure this is the right place?” Willem quickly interrupted.

Raul did not even dignify the question with a response but he was suddenly aware that Willem reached for his espada cautiously. With a compressed forehead, Raul ascended the last bit of snow and dirt before gazing upon the valley below. As soon as the view reached his eyes, his breath silently caught the cold arid air and grated it against his throat. Willem turned to look at him and then turned back to the sight: where Raul had imagined chimneys quietly puffing the wastes of warmth into the sky, a charred set of buildings stood half collapsed.

“This was recent,” Willem pointed out while allowing his grave voice to emit clouds from his lips. “I can even see horse and wagon tracks going in from the south and exiting west.”

“If they came from the south then Moscow must have done this,” Raul added bitterly as he began to descend the other side of the embankment towards the half blazing pyre. It was already evident to the sharp eyes of both that it was not only wood that was being roasted. Willem could not help but follow while holding his gauntlet to his nose.

“We should return,” the soldier recommended with a hushed voice as he caught up to his companion, “there is nothing more to find here than perhaps that patrol you were talking about.” The advice did not seem to stir any emotion from the other.

“I didn’t come here just to see the quaint country homes,” that spy explained bitterly as he weaved through the carcass lined streets. Already, the ice-mummification was beginning on the hewn men, women, and children that huddled along the sides of the road still half fleeing.

“What are you searching for, Raul?” Willem asked as he tried to keep up with the other’s fast pace. Without answering, however, the latter led him to one of the half collapsed buildings. “Don’t tell me you’re going into one of these buildings…” but before Willem could continue, Raul already disappeared within.

With another huff elongated to almost a sigh, the soldier looked to his left and right along the roadway before bowing his head to enter the now charred home. “It’s unlocked!” he suddenly heard ahead of him. Finding a huddled Raul, he only had a second to gain his bearings in the black morass before his counterpart slipped into a trap door on the floor. As soon as Willem tried to step towards the hatch, however, Raul’s head erupted from the opening as fast as he had entered it.

“They must have taken it,” Raul announced loudly as he stepped out into the open road once again.

“Taken what?” Willem addressed him while taking his time to exit the home. He watched the back of Raul as it rested evenly in the half snow obscured air; it was a sign that the man was thinking.

“You said the tracks headed west from here?” Raul abruptly asked as he began to storm away in the direction where the sun was attempting to convey its weariness through the thick clouds.

“Raul!” Willem shouted, “We didn’t come here to chase bandits!”

“These aren’t bandits!” Raul shouted back with his face turning the colour of Willem’s hair in annoyance. He turned around to face the soldier. “If they knew to get the Artifact then they weren’t just simple bandits.”

“Artifact? What are you talking about? I thought you were here to get information; we’re not supposed to be chasing after Arti—”

Raul had pulled out his pistol and the direction it took forced silence into Willem. The soldier’s discerning eye, however, realized that the aim of the shot would be behind him. Twisting his body around, Willem drew his weapon while stepping back towards Raul.

“Who are you strangers?” a man from the other end of the road called out to the two. The question was posed in Spanish—the man they now encountered must be a learned one.

The man facing Raul and Willem was not an unimpressive figure; despite the winter weather pouring around them, the individual wore no sleeves but maintained gloves and a vest with a great excess of natural skin and fur from the surrounding game. His arms showed his capability as a man in their muscular build, but his language betrayed the intellect of someone who was taught in one of the cities. The voice was a steady and confident one and did not waver even in the face of Raul’s pistol.

“I am Willem van Axel,” Willem introduced himself in Russian; seeing no weapon upon the stranger gave him the confidence to betray his identity. Somehow, his instincts overcame his caution. The response was surprising- the man immediately spit on the road.

“Don’t speak that tongue here,” the stranger said gravely in Spanish, “unless you’re working for the Czar to finish off what you started in this poor place.” The probing accusation stirred between all three as a soft whistle of wind shifted the heavy cloaks on Raul and Willem. “And who are you?” the man said again towards the one holding the pistol towards him.

“One name at a time,” Raul quietly replied with a calculated tone. “You have one of ours, now let us have one of yours.” The quirky and almost childish remark elicited a fair grin from the young stranger.

“In that case,” the man said, “I am called Rikhard, but my friends call me—”

“Riku!” Raul finished putting away his pistol with great relief in his voice. “We haven’t heard from you in five years ever since we assigned you to this God forsaken wasteland!” With a boisterous laugh, Raul turned to Willem and explained, “This is Riku; we sent him to this place as our regional officer from here in Karelia all the way to the Lapland. He’s a native from this region but we recruited his grandfather and his whole family ever since the Russians overran the area.”

“Third Generation,” Riku said proudly as he casually approached the two. Willem cautiously sheathed his sword. “And I’m guessing you’re the great Raul sent over here that I have been hearing about,” the playful tone was slightly morbid considering the desecrated bodies laying about them—nonetheless these agents for the crown were apparently adept at attempting to find a joyous occasion in the midst of their macabre professions.

“The Room told me to expect you around here but I didn’t know you’d be in this village,” Raul admitted.

“Neither did I,” Rikhard responded, “but I intercepted a cavalry patrol a bit west of here riding hard towards the sea so I set up a small ambush with one of my traps thinking that since the Armada had arrived I could do my little part to help out.”

“And you retraced them back here,” Willem noted.

“Riku,” Raul addressed him to immediately redirect the conversation, “were they carrying anything with them that might—” as soon as Raul intimated such a thing, a small container was procured from within the great folds of that coat-skin.

“It was well guarded so I assumed it was some kind of dispatch. When I tried to open it, it was already unlocked and there was nothing inside except—” Raul had taken the container from him and stole a peek into its interior. It was enough of a glance to interrupt his new friend.

“Thank you, Riku; you’ve done more than you think. Quickly; we must make preparations to head east; into the tundra.”

---​

January 3, 1608

“Two of our riders managed to escape the ambush,” one of the young men reported while handing over parchment across the polished tabletop. “But they were not able to retrieve the Artifact.”

“Have them both killed,” was the simple response from the other side of the table delivered faster than the news was given to him.

“We’ve also been tracking the suspected agent who ambushed the men,” another young man said on the other side of the chamber, “and he has met up with two from the Spanish landing—a Willem van Axel and a Raul Roxas. Both are most likely agents as well.”

“Riku… Axel… Roxas…” the man at the end of the table familiarized himself with the names. “Follow them closely,” he added, “let them keep the Artifact for now; let them do the dirty work in finding that Key for us.”

The Key! That man thought about the words quietly to himself in the midst of the silence of that chilly room. Yes, that Blade which could unlock worlds, he mused. Soon, perhaps those in charge of its stewardship might finally open such mysteries to the East...

“How are you enjoying the Siberian weather, Lieutenant Drescher?” the pondering individual now addressed the man farthest from him. Deep within the shadow, a heavily uniformed individual stepped into the dim oil lamp light. There was no response, just a heavy stare from those German eyes. “Patience, Lieutenant Drescher,” the man at the end of the table seemed to soothe, “we are not as restless as the Ming here in Russia. And as soon as that pathetic force in Novgorod is crushed, we will be safe to have our meetings in the comfort of Moscow again. For now, you must endure the Siberian weather just a bit longer…”

interlude2.gif


Interlude​

“Just a little bit longer!” Miss Obidos called out into the cabin as the din of combat and the tumult of the Siberian countryside caught in the middle threatened to deafen her messages. “The transports should be here in two minutes.”

Acknowledging the call, Marcus Councilman motioned for some of the men crowding the lopsided causeway of the lower level of the plane to take hold of Duke Jimenes and Father Xavier. “You should not have done this,” Marcus said calmly as the men lifted up the two persons and began to tug them to one side of the aircraft. Turning towards the tall man with dark hair on his side of the airplane, Marcus ordered, “Tseng, get the equipment from down below, we’ll have to make due elsewhere.”

As that suited mercenary understood and began to execute Marcus’s order, a hatch unlocked along the side of the craft furthest from the firefight. “Get them into the transports!” Marcus yelled. Despite some token resistance, Father Xaiver and the Duke were quickly thrust into the howling dissonance of the Siberian tundra followed closely by Marcus and then Tseng carrying with him a suitcase with the symbol of radioactive death adorning its side.

Despite the spray of bullets that could be heard on the opposite end, an even greater noise whirled into existence from across the nearly blinding descent of snow. Two heavy machines with tires the size of small vehicles sprang into view from behind the dunes of snow that dotted the scenery. Already, their powerful motors gave away their prowess in this weather. In the delight of such a display, Marcus took the moment to approach her captives and leaned in to say to the half freezing Duke, “Welcome to my Siberia.”

Chapter LXIII: Siberia (coming soon)
 
You're definately right about Raoul needing a good team! I'm interested to see Raouls pursuers (if thats the right word) in action, although we may have to wait a while for that by the sound of their plans.

Out of the frying pan and into the freezing wastes of siberia for Jimenez and Father Xavier :D
 
Dun dun DUUNNN!!!

Seems like our heroes are getting properly started in their new quests! I wish them many interesting adventures!

The key: Unlocker of worlds, eh? Slowly, the keys take shape in my mind. It cannot take full bodily form yet, but I am seeking it...all my thought is bent on it. They want to be found... ;)

Still confused but enjoying the exercise...
TheExecuter
 
Engish Patriot: Yes , another multi-national team is in the works . Though 'Roxas Axel and Riku' should have raised some feelers ; I'm wondering who will be the first to guess it .

Murmurandus: What a dreadful place , Siberia ! I was playing Defcon with Tom (the Tom that inspired the story) the other hour and I tried to get my EU subs to the Indian Ocean to pick off his Siberian cities but there's a timer on the dumb game . Bah , who ever heard of a timer to global thermonuclear war !

TheExecuter: Haha , interesting little reference there you made . Yes , the quest has begun and new characters , a new object , but an old evil all put into play !
 
An excellent scene to start. I could feel the cold. And a few more hints on the artifacts - cool.
 
coz1 said:
An excellent scene to start. I could feel the cold. And a few more hints on the artifacts - cool.

Thank you ! I'm glad the harsh winter of the north managed to filter through well enough ; and yes , a look into the nature of the Keys .