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Catghost
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 PostPosted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 5:18 pm Reply with quote        
“Do a final check of the trenches,” Lutalo ordered his nearby lieutenants, “Make sure there are enough resources all around. You; get every civilian indoors. Make them stay there. Also, go check on our guest of honor.” The Poison Dragon leader leaned on the gap in the crenellations, staring intently out into the dark forest. He knew that the Earth, Fire, and Water dragons were out there, waiting for dawn. They’d attack from the east, Lutalo knew, so the sun was in the Minor Dragon’s eyes.

Despite himself, Lutalo grinned widely. His liberation, the liberation of his people, was so close. He felt that he could almost taste it.





When the sun was high in the sky, the battle had reached a short lull. The fighting had been fierce, and despite the overwhelming numbers, the Minors had held their ground. Lutalo was a skilled general, directing his forces with expert precision. However…everyone knew that they could not hold out indefinitely.

“Lutalo,” Rin said quietly, “Scouts say that we’ve hardly made a dent in their forces. To continue would be foolish at best, and suicidal at worst.”

“We won’t lose,” Lutalo insisted, “We can’t.” The other Dragon Leaders glanced nervously amongst themselves, but said nothing in response. What could they say?

A boy burst into the tent, holding a small scrap of paper aloft.
“Di-Qiu Tu wants to talk!” he cried, “He and Huo Lien are waiting for you on the battlefield. They want to negotiate.” With a fierce grin, Lutalo grabbed his spear and veritably bounded to the tent door.
“Shall we, my friends?” he said to Rin, Lin, and Jon. “Let us see what the great Tu has to say.” Intrigued, nervous, and excited, the other Dragon Leaders followed Lutalo’s lead out of the tent, out of the city, and into the battlefield proper.

The forest surrounding Liyujin was more chaotic than normal. Many trenches surrounded the city, trees had been uprooted and scorched, and the number of dragons clustered around was more than had ever been seen since the last war.

The walk was not long, and Lutalo soon saw Tu and Lien, standing in a small clearing, clad in full armor. Tu, as always, had a stony countenance, and Lien had her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes blazing.

“Let me make this brief,” Tu said gravely as the Minor Dragons approached. “Despite all your efforts, our forces greatly outnumber your own. You cannot hope to defeat us, and these tactics you employ are only delaying the inevitable. We will win. Your city will fall.” Lutalo cocked his head to the side and leaned his spear against his shoulder.

“Where’s Sho?” Lin Tanso-Qi asked, “Not up to sneaky subterfuge while we chat here, is he?”

“Sho,” Tu replied with a pinched tone, “Decided to take no part in this conflict, as he has no stake in it. His exact words were, ‘Figure it out yourselves.’ Which is what we are doing.”

“The ultimatum is this:” said Lien harshly, “Surrender now. Lay down your arms, return Hanako, and no one else will be harmed. The four of you will be taken to Huo Xing to discuss new laws to make sure this ridiculous attempt at a coup will never happen again.” Her gaze was challenging, and the air around her armor was shimmering from the heat pouring off of it.

“If you insist on fighting,” Tu said, picking up the ultimatum, “Then we will be forced to raze not only Liyujin, but Xailao-Jin, Yuanlin, and Tanjin. Not one building will be left standing, and anyone caught resisting will be dealt with…harshly.”

“What you’re saying,” Rin Jinku said slowly, “Is we give in or we die?”

“Yes.”

With that single syllable, Tu brought the temperature down a few degrees. He continued, cold rage apparent on his face.

“You must end this wildfire before it consumes everything,” he ground out, “Are you so arrogant to think that you are the only ones affected by this? These islands that we gave to you are full of resources that many rely on. If you hoard these resources, then the fragile system that spans many miles on the mainland collapses, leaving far too many without. To take it for yourselves is to make the original treaty, designed so that the islands could be shared, void and is the highest form of avarice, and this revolution is the highest form of disrespect.”

“What about our needs?” Jon Tanso-Qi asked, “We work these lands, create useful items from these resources, and then you take them from us. Our people are poor, our economy dwindling.”

“Overpopulation is taxing the resources you prize so highly,” Lin added in, “We give you so much that we do not have enough for ourselves.”

“If we force the resources from you,” Rin said firmly, “Your system crumbles. Our system is crumbling already. Why do you think we finally chose to speak up at the Lotus Festival?”

“Enough!” Tu shouted, his voice rumbling dangerously and cutting off the rebuttal, “This can all be discussed at Huo Xing. For now, however, the ultimatum stands. As Rin so bluntly put it; give in or die. Choose.”

There was a long silence as the Minor Dragons made their choice. It was a personal decision, not discussed.

“We want peace,” Lin said simply, holding her husband’s hand. Jon nodded once, his gaze fixed on the ground.

“You have my home,” Rin said, “and the home of many of my people. I do not want to see it alight.”

Tu and Lien looked at Lutalo, who had been strangely silent throughout the negotiations.

“And you?” Lien asked, the heat shimmer intensifying with each moment. “What do you say, Lutalo Lefu?” Lutalo took a solemn look at his comrades, then set his gaze squarely at Tu and Lien.

“You started this war,” he said quietly, forcing the others to listen close, “We wanted nothing but you to listen. You gave us these islands not for our benefit, but for yours, and yours alone, but make no mistake. These lands are ours. Ours!” The spear, which had been resting against Lutalo’s shoulder, was now pointed at the Earth Dragon’s chest.

“If you actually think I am going to let you take my home,” Lutalo hissed, his voice almost literally dripping with acid, “Then you are bigger fools than I thought. I would rather die than surrender Lefwa to the two of you.”

“Lutalo!”

“You’re mad!”

“They’ll decimate us!” Rin, Jon, and Lin protested loudly, alarmed at Lutalo’s suicidal conviction.

“Lutalo, you cannot expect to win,” Rin said, laying a hand on the Poison Dragon’s shoulder.

“They will not take Liyujin,” Lutalo insisted.

“We can’t risk our people,” Jon told him. “If you won’t surrender too…we’re leaving.”

“Then leave,” Lutalo snapped, “I will finish this fight without you.”

“Luta-“

“Go!” the Poison Dragon shouted, still only having eyes for Tu, “I have no need of you anymore.” Slowly, the Metal and Energy Dragons turned away. A sly smile crept across Lutalo’s lips.

“You have made a very bad mistake,” Tu said, ignoring the spear point pointed at his heart. “We were willing to spare you, despite this offence.”

“Now now now,” Lutalo tutted, his tone patronizing, “We still have more to discuss. Your ultimatum was ‘give or die,’ yes? Well…I have a counter-offer.” The poisonous smile grew a few more teeth as Lutalo played his ace.

“Leave immediately,” he said, “Or Hanako dies.”






Tu and Lien gasped.

“You won’t touch a hair on her head!” Lien roared.

“If you harm her,” Tu growled, “I swear we will fall on you like the wrath of the Dieties.”

“You forced me to this,” Lutalo told the pair, “Hanako is a sweet woman. I would rather she came to no harm but…” The Poison Dragon turned to the soldiers just beyond the tree line and shouted, “Tell my lieutenant to prepare our guest of honor!”

“For which outcome, sir?” the soldier responded. Lutalo glanced back at Lien and Tu, who were standing in shocked silence.

“Well?” he asked, “Answer the man.”

“Let her go!” Lien cried, suddenly pleading. “Tu, tell him to let Hanako go!” Tu was glaring at Lutalo with more rage than even he had thought he could muster.

“No,” he said, his jaw bunching with strain.

“What?!”

“Lien, this is about more than one person,” Tu said stonily, refusing to look Lien in the eye, “I…I cannot justify surrendering everything because of a single sacrifice.”

“I wonder what the Water Dragons will do when they find out you let their leader die,” Lutalo mused, the soldier having already disappeared into the brush.

“It cannot be worse than what they will do to the one who killed her,” Tu ground out. Lutalo shrugged, nonchalant.

“Do you think she’ll forgive you?” he asked, “She knows what’s happening, of course. She’ll know you chose the war over her. Pity, really. She never wanted it to get this f-“

Off in the jungle, there was a roar so loud that it shook the trees. Lutalo spun, going pale with either fear or fury, as a massive blue dragon flew over the treetops and landed in the clearing.

“Hanako!” Lien cried in relief.

“Fine!” Lutalo shouted, “I’ll do it myself!” He gave his own roar, more of a bestial scream, his mouth distorting at the powerful noise.

“You will do no such thing!” Tu called out, running forward. He had to scramble to a stop as Hanako exhaled a jet of scalding hot water between Tu and Lutalo, keeping them seperated, then transformed out of her draconian skin.

Exhausted, swaying on her feet, Hanako marched forward.

“You are fools, all of you!” she shouted, “You think this is going to solve anything?! Lutalo, when I came to you, I told you to make your plight known to us. Not try to intimidate us into giving you what you want!”

“It was the only-“

“I came to you to discuss the best peaceful paths! What good did you think holding me prisoner would do?” Lutalo narrowed his eyes in anger.

“I needed something to stop them,” He spat back, “In case Tu could not be reasoned with…and I was right.”

“Ends do not justify means,” Hanako replied, with equal scorn, “You knew that Tu was planning war, you knew exactly how to stop it, and you responded in precisely the way you knew will inflame the situation: doing nothing. I tried to help you, then you betray me and act to do the very thing we were trying to avoid!”

“I wanted-“

“Yes, you wanted what was best for your people,” Hanako said, as if she’d heard the phrase dozens of times, “This…this is not what’s best for your people. Betrayal and deceit will not win you their hearts, nor will martyrdom win you their freedom.” Lutalo glared at the ground, unable and unwilling to reply.

“I knew you locked her up,” Tu growled angrily.

“You!” Hanako cried, rounding on the Earth Dragon, “You are as bad as him! I sent you message after message after message, telling you where I was, and what I was doing there, so you wouldn’t worry, so you wouldn’t do anything stupid!

“Wait,” Lien interrupted, staring at Tu, “You knew where she was?”

“The notes were obvious forgeries,” Tu responded, “I couldn’t trust them.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about them?” Lien demanded.

“There was no reason to,” Tu snapped, “If they were genuine, then Hanako would be returned when we asked. If not…well, I couldn’t risk them being fake.”

“That wasn’t your decision to make,” Lien said, folding her arms.

“Deceit and betrayal,” Hanako repeated, calm. “Tu, if you had sent a message back, instead of assuming Lutalo’s guilt, then nothing would have happened. Instead, you lied, invaded this place, and are currently holding two beautiful cities in an iron grip. People have died. Lutalo, if you had let me go when Tu announced his intentions instead of panicking and deciding to hold me prisoner, then we could have reached an understanding.” Hanako looked at the assembled Dragon leaders and sighed.

“Mutual respect,” she said, “That’s what’s necessary. With mutual respect, there’s no need for deceit and betrayal. With it, there is no bloodshed. Lutalo, Tu, I understand that you’re angry with each other, but please, don’t make this any worse than it is. We can work this out. Tu, Lien, if you are willing to withdraw your armies, I would like to extend an invitation to all of the Dragon Leaders to come to my home in Mizu-Qin. You have my word that it will be a safe, welcoming place for everyone. There, we can discuss trade agreements, land boundaries, and whatever else we need to. We’ll discuss it peacefully. We’ll discuss it until we’ve reached an agreeable compromise. Tu? Lien?” Hanako looked expectantly at her fellow Dragon Leaders.

“I cannot overlook this act of disrespect,” Tu said painfully.

“It wasn’t disrespect,” said Hanako, gently laying a hand on Tu’s arm, “It was desperation. Please, there is no need for this strife. Withdraw your forces.” Tu sighed and nodded once, shame written on his face.

“Very well,” he said simply, “We will withdraw.”

“As will we,” Lien offered. Hanako turned to Lutalo, her eyes soft and kind.

“Lutalo?” she asked, “Can we move beyond these past few days?”

“As long as you are truly willing to compromise,” Lutalo said, “Hanako…I regret what I did to you. I just wanted-“

“I know,” Hanako said, smiling, “What was best for your people. Come to my home, and we will try to get that for you.” Lutalo nodded once. Hanako guided Tu and Lien away, and Lutalo stomped back toward Liyujin, leaving his spear behind.



Thank you for participating in the Ocean Enclaves Summer Event! We were absolutely overwhelmed by the effort you guys put into this, from the quests to the daily goals.

We really hope you enjoyed this event, and the conclusion as well! The story has spanned many months, possibly years, and we've finally reached an end. Who knows what lies in Midorea's future, but we'll be continuously working to uncover it! Don't worry, as we have plenty of new things planned.

And lastly, this wonderfully crafted conclusion was done by none other than our writer, Malverne! Her skills never cease to impress.

Thanks again for joining us!
Catghost
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 PostPosted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 7:58 pm Reply with quote        
All quests close on Sunday, August 18th, so get your extra ingredients traded in before it's too late!

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 PostPosted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 10:57 pm Reply with quote        
-claps-

Well played....

Hopefully the talks go well, and glad that Hanako is alright.

Same about allllll the dead soldiers... :c

T_T Poopy wars...

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Areishia



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 PostPosted: Fri Aug 16, 2013 1:12 am Reply with quote        
The plot was very nice and exciting. I feel very sorry for the minor dragons, it's clear that they've suffered a lot because of the major clan's actions and theft of their resources.

Frankly, I really don't blame Lutano for his actions, it's clear that he was pushed to them by his clan's circumstances as well as the unwillingness of the fire and earth dragons to stop being as selfish as they were.

Still, the fact that he actually turned against the only major dragon clan leader who wished to help him and the other minor dragons out and was willing to listen to their troubles and see reason... Those actions are indeed to condemn, he should have betrayed Hanako.

Still, it seems that he was right about Tu...

I hope the minor dragon clans won't be robbed by the major clans in the future. If the major clans want those resources, they should pay for them or exchange other goods for them.
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 PostPosted: Fri Aug 16, 2013 9:56 am Reply with quote        
Where do we take the leftover elements to trade them in again?

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killerkitty
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 PostPosted: Fri Aug 16, 2013 10:04 am Reply with quote        
Woohoo, happy ending! Weeeee I hope it all goes well from now on and everyone is treated equally.

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Catghost
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 PostPosted: Fri Aug 16, 2013 10:19 am Reply with quote        
Unicorn Dancer wrote:
Where do we take the leftover elements to trade them in again?

The quests are still in their respective zones. Ingredient drops will be turned off later today as well.

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 PostPosted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 11:45 am Reply with quote        
Oh darn I'm stuck with 20 nightshade and can't get anything with that.. Sad
lexi luthor
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 PostPosted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 12:40 pm Reply with quote        
Wooow, that was amazing, great conclusion.. I am left wanting to know what happens next!

Excited for the next future event! ^_^

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 PostPosted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 3:34 pm Reply with quote        
mikuhiko wrote:
Oh darn I'm stuck with 20 nightshade and can't get anything with that.. Sad

Try the market. Smile Some people probably have extras they'd be willing to sell.

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Catghost
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 PostPosted: Sun Aug 18, 2013 7:08 pm Reply with quote        
You can now exchange your leftover ingredients for silver. Simply locate the item in your inventory, check the box, and press "use".

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 PostPosted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 3:26 pm Reply with quote        
    Man I was so busy playing with my new laptop (And doing laundry) I didn't get the chance to come on over here and use up my extra ingredients :c


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