Hyboria

Act I: Dead Men Walking

Following Clive's capture, Bellamy left his storehouse in a hurry to investigate the cause of the noise. Especting to find a collapsed building, or perhaps a flaming powder room, he instead saw a gigantic galley, filled to the brim with Risen, plowing full-speed through Trada's main pier. It beached itself with a crash, and proceeded to partially tip over due to how far on land it was.

J. Gregory initiated negotiations with the pirates, though all were too terrified of his appearance to offer him any kind of response (and his overly aggressive demeanor did nothing to lighten the mood). It was only after the arrival of Raziel that civilized talks were allowed to begin, and Bellamy joined shortly after. After establishing just what exactly the skeletons were, and that they indeed meant no harm, the dread captain offered to take the conversation to a location more private, where Raziel discussed the origins and intentions of the Risen.

Having overheard the discussions, Nathan reported to Oberon, who showed interest in the Risen. Per Oberon's suggestion, Nathaniel arranged a meeting between the two and Raziel, who was operative leader of the Risen. The three met onboard the Entropy, the Risen's galley (which, along with the dock, had been fully repaired by then), and discussed the nature, origins, and mannerisms of the Risen. They finally convened upon an invitation to dinner for Raziel, sent by Bellamy.

Raziel and Bellamy conversed over dinner, at which point the pirate offered to employ Raziel as his spy within Aurora, his unusual body allowing him to enter and exit buildings as he pleased, so long as he rested in all the right places. After minimal deliberation, Raziel accepted the offer, and Bellamy, overjoyed, began leading him towards his storehouse, to discuss his first assignment.

Act II: Kids with Guns

Unbeknownst to Bellamy, however, Nathaniel had caught word of the missing Auroran diplomat, and embarked on a hunt to find and free the man. It wasn't long at all before his trail led him to Bellamy's storehouse, where his skill in both stealth and combat granted him a quick and unnoticed entry. Having been silently trailed by Loki the assassin (all day, in fact), the guards inside were swiftly dispatched, and the two promptly set Clive, William, and Captain Hood free. Knowing that the Dawnstar would have been occupied by Bellamy's men, Clive asked if he could rest at one of his rescuer's places, to which Loki was eager to oblige.

Upon the discovery of his missing prisoners, Bellamy immediately suspected Oberon, whom he had encountered earlier in the day. A series of questions led to unveiling that Bellamy was in fact Oberon's son, and had led a muntiny against him which ended in Bellamy controlling the fleet that once belonged to Oberon. Raziel and the pirate left for a bar in town, where they encountered Oberon, who was just about to part ways with Nathaniel and his longtime friends Ryu and Tak. A very tense conversation ensued, punctuated with pistols being drawn and pointed, and ended only with Oberon agreeing to leave Trada and never return, upon holstering his pistol.

As he left the table, he turned and, beating Bellamy to the draw, fired a single shot which obliterated the pirate king; along with half the bar. Raziel eagerly grabbed Bellamy's boots (all that was left of him) and quickly returned to his ship, to plan for an escape. As preparations were being made, Oberon and Nathan joined them, expressing that continued stay in Trada was no longer feasible for them.

Act III: The Importance of Being Earnest

It wasn't long before Loki, Clive, and their respective entourages realized that escape from Trada would never be more feasible than it was then, and immediately departed to request passage aboard Raziel's ship. It took little convincing to get the assistance of the Risen, and half the crew even volunteered to help Clive retake the Dawnstar, which was found to be the convenient prison for all of Clive's surviving crew.

The two ships departed for Aurora, where, upon arrival, Clive was given a hero's welcome and promotion to Captain. The entire journey there had been spent preparing each other for the threat of Edward (discovered by Loki to be a Moteca in disguise) and where to go once everyone finished their business in Aurora. After re-encountering Edward and confirming his fears, Clive tracked down Jericho, a Dragon expert who had worked with Clive on Navy business in the past. He convinced Jericho to join the crew and help with Edward.

After holding counsel with Jericho and Loki, Clive set up a meeting with his father and his uncle, where the three agreed on a plan to dispose of Edward while still maintaining Clive's progress with Calypso Incorporated. Clive and Loki were kept on lockdown until then, and three days later, at the plan's supposed completion, they were set loose from Aurora via the Dawnstar, which had been signed over to the private sector in Clive's name.

Several weeks later, the whole group (Including Oberon, Nathaniel, Raziel and the rest of the Risen) arrived in Kumari Kandam where they were given instructions to "lay high," as Draxis would only be looking for people who were trying to remain out of sight. Since the last thing they wanted was an army of Edwards with a vendetta knocking on their door, the crew threw a massive party at their estate (which had been so warmly gifted to them, again, by Mr. Conner). Several thousand beers, two hundred blackouts and one dead body later, the party adjourned and the team decided to leave with it.

Act IV: (Non-Hu)Manslaughter

Four days later, after arrival in Montahq, Raziel sought to reveal his undead nature to the Alchemists at the academy, in hopes of learning more of his state. Using an illusory glamour, he made his way to the academy and requested an audience with the senior professor of the alchemy department. His audience was granted after a short wait, and he revealed his true nature behind closed doors. Initially unsurprised (as he had encountered undead many times before), the professor slowly became more and more intrigued as he realized that Raziel was entirely sentient and lived within the undead body.

Hours of discussion led to Raziel realizing that most of the Risen possessed citizenship anywhere, as they were announced dead in St. Brendan's. While Nathan went to go see his grandmother (who lived in town), Raziel lobbied a bit with the mayor's office and managed to get an "immigration citizenship booth" set up just off the gangplank of the Entropy. Having recieved a doctorate in medicine from the Academy, Raziel instead investigated to see if his citizenship was still active, which it was, under the name of Alexan Ghazaros, Raziel's name while he was alive.

Several nights later, following an evening of boozing, swooning women, and generally raising hell, Clive and Loki returned to the Entropy (being too frugal and cautious to spring for an apartment in town) only to find their mutual friend, Edward, waiting for them. A few minutes of tense conversation ensued, revealing not only that Edward had yet to report back to the Bones, but that he also never had any intention of controlling Aurora. The time for words passed, however, and Edward fired the first shot (as a miss, fortunately).

Frustrated with his miss, Edward removed his human glamour and revealed his true Motecan nature as a towering, beastly creature that resembled somewhat of an anthropomorphic lizard, covered in strange tattoos and other markings. Clive and Loki fought to the best of their abilites, and Nathan's timely arrival helped ensure victory. Had it not been for him, Clive and Loki might not have fared as well, and indeed Clive was very seriously injured in the fight.

The message was clear: let Draxis know that this arrogant move was out of line, and that Clive and Loki were no longer willing to play his games. They decapitated Edward, and sent his head via care package to the Bones, to the attention of Draxis. His body remained useful to the others, as Nathan skinned it and began studying the intricate patterns tattooed into the reptilian flesh. Raziel, intrigued by this new life form, performed a full autopsy (including the brain), and saved some of the beast's blood, for use in future experiments.

-Act V: Under One Condition

Days passed, and Nathan decided to enroll himself in some classes at the academy. While he was in line to register, he was approached by a man who handed him a letter, which contained a location for a lunch date on the following day. Apprehensively, Nathan went to the location the next day, and after a brief wait, was greeted by the Brahm. Immediately angered, Nathan barely gave the Brahm a few words before he stormed out of the restaurant.

After a bit of coercing, Nathan allowed Deron to make his case. Practially begging on his knees, Deron explained that every potential heir, every person even potentially related to royalty, had been killed off; except Nathan. He said that, whether he liked it or accepted it or not, Nathan was the King of Lon, and that there were things that, despite the best wishes of every Lon, only the King could do to improve their current state. Hearing Nathan's objections, Deron mentioned that should he take up the crown, it would be within Nathan's power to dissolve the monarchy and establish some other government in its stead.

Nearly an hour of discussions arguments passed before Nathan finally agreed to go to Lon to take care of this thorn in his side. With the accompanyment of Raziel, Clive and Loki, and escorted by the Death Knights themselves, Nathan, his Mightiest and Most Divine Majesty, began the trek to Kethenecia.-