The Falner Estate hosts the graduation of Balamb Academy’s 50th batch of students. During its proceedings, Karlo Antonio Zobel de Ayala – the eldest grandson of Inquisitor Neeka Zobel de Ayala, and a future member of the War Hounds – is approached by Godhand Yue Rukia, Cardinal of the Order of the Mani dello Spirito Santo. Godhand Rukia’s interest in the boy is understandable: he has been selected by the Wings of Therion, a God Weapon that has been inactive since its “destruction” during the historic Battle at Vatican City. An interesting word from Hikaru Shinta, the Blade King of Zangyaku, has Kaz changing his mind about joining the Order: he decides to pursue a license with the Brotherhood of Violence instead.
In the meantime, while the rest of Netsach is busy honoring their graduates, the Malice Kings meet with Wiseman Elias Tagabigay to discuss the latest rulings from Pax Deorum. The world government is keen on unveiling their plans for Arcis – the first multi-community supernatural city in the Fifth World – by June. The group also discusses recent reports of a shift in the activity of the remnants of Grendal’s forces. Their old enemies are becoming much more organized: a worrying turn of events, given the fact that the Darkest Vigil is still fresh within the minds of the denizens of the Fifth World.
MARCH 18-19, 2063: AN INTERESTING FLIGHT TO FALNER
What should have been a routine transfer of a new batch of special cases to the Falner Estate turns into an engagement of note when the Blade King eliminates a sleeper agent that had been in charge of bringing the airplane into Falner. The agent leaves a Grendal coin behind; Hikaru delivers this personally to Kaiser Liandrin Delacroix, after she meets with future War Hounds Yulia Bostova, Estanislao “Taning” Marisigan III, and Joshua LaRue.
Elsewhere, a Changeling named Brianna Lopez – another future member of the War Hounds – eliminates her fetch. She is accompanied by Tala Vega and Selene Vega, the two members of the Searing Wind who were responsible for saving her from her durance in Arcadia.
MARCH 22, 2063: THE BEGINNINGS OF A BLADE
Taning and Yulia, with Kaz as their witness, receive their new orders from Voidseeker Aidan Clayce, the Fürst of Netsach. Because of the fact that they performed well during their first engagement together, the three of them – together with Joshua and Brianna – will be assigned to work together as a blade of Netsach. Yulia, being the only hunter among them at the moment, is ordered to watch over them. Her first assignment involves seeing Taning through his initiation that night.
This event is of special notice due to Hikaru’s “unfounded” interest in the War Hounds even before the group truly became the blade that they are known for today. A concrete manifestation of this is the fact that the Blade King later gives the group a peculiar assignment: he wanted them to research on his life, and come back to him with the results. Their reaction to what was contained within his files was something that he wasn’t expecting.
MARCH 30, 2063: THE FOURTH?
After putting together the many things that he has noticed since his arrival at the Falner Estate, Joshua summons Kaz and shows his findings to the younger boy. The Sin-Eater had discovered, for himself, how their new “friend” (Hikaru) had been instrumental in bringing some of the greatest blades of the past together. In fact, the three most influential blades of the so-called New Age – the Pack, the Rockin’ Rollas, and Wolf’s Choice – were a direct result of his intervention. Their own blade, the still unnamed NSC-FAL-206304-001, appears to be Hikaru’s new project.
Lorenzo Reyes, Malice King and Master of the Arcanum, confirms this after presenting a list that shows that most of the greatest blades within the Vigil were brought together, one way or another, through Hikaru. Their blade, however, is peculiar for one thing: he stopped that practice of “adopting” blades years ago.
APRIL 1, 2063: NSC-FAL-206304-001 ENGAGEMENT 001 – “HAWKE’S NEST”
NSC-206304-001 was enslaved by Jessiah Vice and assigned to guard a Rhiannon transport in Palawan. They ended up facing Roland Stevenson – a 122-year-old Promethean who is better known under his alias “Brigade” – in combat. Brigade ends up joining Netsach and becoming their blade mate after he discovers that the package that Bostova, Marisigan, LaRue and Zobel de Ayala were guarding was actually Inquisitor Lincoln Hawke, his mentor from World War II. The two of them were original members of HECATON, the precursor of Taskforce Valkyrie.
APRIL 2, 2063: NSC-FAL-206304-001 ENGAGEMENT 002 – “BLACKOUT”
While he was observing NSC-FAL206304-001 in the Training Hall of Balamb, Wiseman Tagabigay received word of a “situation” in Seoul National University, South Korea. He and Hikaru decided to use this opportunity to field the new kids of interest, thus marking the blade’s first solo engagement as a complete team. In spite of two significant mishaps (tension between members NSC-FAL206304-001 and Hikaru, misdemeanor on the part of operative Zobel de Ayala through his activation of the Wings of Therion), the engagement was successful. As a result of the engagement, Joshua confronts Hikaru on his ruthlessness during the engagement. He inadvertently discovers the Blade King’s ban as the Vessel of Death, thus making him one of the few individuals outside of the three blades and the upper echelons of the Vigil who know Hikaru’s secret.
APRIL 3, 2063: THE DAYWALKER’S RETURN
Riley Falner, Daywalker of the Fifth World and one of the Originals of the Malice Kings, awakened prematurely sometime after lunch. Overjoyed as Ordo Daywalker and his fellow Kings were to have their comrade back, it was difficult for many within the Vigil to ignore the implications of his rousing from Deep Slumber.
On another note, operative Zobel de Ayala was chastised for his actions during “Blackout”. The meeting resulted in the boy giving the Wings of Therion up.
APRIL 4-5, 2063: WAR HOUNDS ENGAGEMENT 003 – “THE GREEN”
NSC-FAL206304-001, like all other blades of Netsach, had a one-on-one talk with Riley. The group finally decides on a name for their blade: the War Hounds. The party departed for a town named Sta. Cruz in Mexico for their third engagement, which involved the extraction of a Green One from the area.
Interestingly enough, the presence of the Green One merited Setsuna Shinta’s first sighting in 2063. It was through the intervention of Brigade that the Shinta siblings managed to see each other for the first time in fifty years, since Setsuna’s Ascension.
APRIL 6, 2063: FROSTRIVER VISITS THE FALNER ESTATE
Balamb Academy opened its doors to welcome a contingent from Frostriver, one of the elite Hunting Academies in the United States of America. While this practice, in itself, is not significant, the circumstances of this particular program were: a Grendal operative attempted to sabotage the plane, perhaps on the premise of converting the entire contingent into agents and using it to infiltrate Falner. It could have been one of the more aggressive attempts at striking against the Keepers of the Vigil since the Armistice.
On another note, this effort was thwarted by Cindy Louise Brennan, future member of the Pride. She is a Technomancer of notable potential, and Joshua LaRue’s younger sister.
APRIL 7, 2063: INQUISITOR LINCOLN HAWKE RETURNS
At 3 AM, medical specialists from Ziz and technicians from Leviathan ended Inquisitor Lincoln Hawke’s stasis. Hawke was a notable figure in Taskforce Valkyrie’s history, as he was the commanding officer of HECATON, Valkyrie’s precursor. He was brought into the Methuselah sometime after his Embrace, and later followed the Dragon to Netsach.
Brigade of the War Hounds and Riley Falner were around to witness Hawke’s reawakening. This marked the first time that the vampire was able to return fully cured of the insanity that had poisoned his system since the Darkest Vigil.
APRIL 8, 2063: ENGAGEMENT PDVGL-20630408-001: “OPERATION BIG TRACKS”
Netsach spearheaded a cross-conspiracy engagement around the world, targeted towards deactivating bombs set by Grendal operatives in nearly every capital city in the Fifth World. This was the first major engagement that the War Hounds found themselves participating in. Interestingly enough, they were also the blade that noticed the first signs of the terrorist attack.
Operation Big Tracks caused some notable stress upon the relations between the Malice Kings due to the main complication that the bombs presented: they were complicated to disassemble or deactivated, and only two entities in the Fifth World – Aidan and Hikaru – could do such a thing effectively. The Kings were ready to hold Hikaru back, something that the Blade King would not have appreciated. Aidan and Hikaru ended up doing the engagement together, but the damage was done. It’s important to note, as well, that Operation Big Tracks was the first time that Hikaru used the Godslayer on an engagement since the Darkest Vigil.
On this same day, Wiseman Tagabigay recovered the first solid evidence that the Keepers of the Vigil had regarding Taskforce Valkyrie’s illegal experiments, and placed the compact on immediate suspension. He and Aidan met in order to discuss their next move, and both parties decided to work towards dismantling the current Valkyrie in order to push for an eventual restoration of the compact.
APRIL 12, 2063: SETSUNA SHINTA’S SECOND RETURN
Setsuna Shinta inexplicably appeared in the Falner Manor during breakfast. This presupposed that someone within the vicinity was in great need, and only a Great Spirit like herself had the ability to provide a solution.
It was later discovered that Setsuna was the one in great need, specifically in need of closure and the companionship of the people whom she viewed as he family. She ended up staying visible from that day until June 2, 2063. This did not, however, end up being the last time that she would descend upon the Fifth World that year.
APRIL 19, 2063: THE VIGIL GOES TO WAR AGAINST TASKFORCE VALKYRIE
After an extended period of deliberation, Pax Deorum finally gave the Methuselah permission to launch a full-scale investigation on Taskforce Valkyrie and penalize the compact for its violations of the Code.
MAY 4, 2063: THE LIVING LAND IS CHALLENGED
All Keepers of the Vigil with a license with Zangyaku received the same memorandum: a challenge has been issued to the Living Land of the Searing Wind. A second Ceremony of Measuring will take place on May 13, 2063 at Seigi. This was a notable event, as challenges issues after the current year’s Ceremony of Measuring was completed rarely happen within Zangyaku’s history. What made the challenge even more peculiar was the lack of information with regard to who wished to unseat Aria Skye.
MAY 13, 2063: THE ASSASSIN RETURNS TO THE SEARING WIND
The near entirety of Zangyaku gathered together in Seigi to witness the second Ceremony of Measuring between the Living Land and her challenger. Said challenger turned out to be Tohru Fukuzawa, former Assassin of the Searing Wind. Suffice to say, he soundly defeated Aria and returned to the ranks of the Searing Wind.
MAY 31, 2063 TO JUNE 1, 2063: BROTHER DEATH’S FIRST “SHIFT”
This date marks the first of the many appearances that Brother Death made in 2073, something of note about this year beyond all of the historical events that occurred. Although testimony from the Blade King himself on the matter is vague, many suspect that Death chose this day to take over his Vessel’s body due to the psychological stress that Hikaru was under during that time.
JUNE 4, 2063: JESSIAH VICE’S SURVEY
On this date, all operatives on GeistNET, LogosNET and ViceNET received the same memorandum: Inquisitor Jessiah Vice has left on an extended survey of the Dark Hour and accessible Borderlines. He had originally scheduled the survey over a month ago, but had decided to delay in order to gather more information and make himself available for Setsuna Shinta.
no subject
The Falner Estate hosts the graduation of Balamb Academy’s 50th batch of students. During its proceedings, Karlo Antonio Zobel de Ayala – the eldest grandson of Inquisitor Neeka Zobel de Ayala, and a future member of the War Hounds – is approached by Godhand Yue Rukia, Cardinal of the Order of the Mani dello Spirito Santo. Godhand Rukia’s interest in the boy is understandable: he has been selected by the Wings of Therion, a God Weapon that has been inactive since its “destruction” during the historic Battle at Vatican City. An interesting word from Hikaru Shinta, the Blade King of Zangyaku, has Kaz changing his mind about joining the Order: he decides to pursue a license with the Brotherhood of Violence instead.
In the meantime, while the rest of Netsach is busy honoring their graduates, the Malice Kings meet with Wiseman Elias Tagabigay to discuss the latest rulings from Pax Deorum. The world government is keen on unveiling their plans for Arcis – the first multi-community supernatural city in the Fifth World – by June. The group also discusses recent reports of a shift in the activity of the remnants of Grendal’s forces. Their old enemies are becoming much more organized: a worrying turn of events, given the fact that the Darkest Vigil is still fresh within the minds of the denizens of the Fifth World.
What should have been a routine transfer of a new batch of special cases to the Falner Estate turns into an engagement of note when the Blade King eliminates a sleeper agent that had been in charge of bringing the airplane into Falner. The agent leaves a Grendal coin behind; Hikaru delivers this personally to Kaiser Liandrin Delacroix, after she meets with future War Hounds Yulia Bostova, Estanislao “Taning” Marisigan III, and Joshua LaRue.
Elsewhere, a Changeling named Brianna Lopez – another future member of the War Hounds – eliminates her fetch. She is accompanied by Tala Vega and Selene Vega, the two members of the Searing Wind who were responsible for saving her from her durance in Arcadia.
Taning and Yulia, with Kaz as their witness, receive their new orders from Voidseeker Aidan Clayce, the Fürst of Netsach. Because of the fact that they performed well during their first engagement together, the three of them – together with Joshua and Brianna – will be assigned to work together as a blade of Netsach. Yulia, being the only hunter among them at the moment, is ordered to watch over them. Her first assignment involves seeing Taning through his initiation that night.
This event is of special notice due to Hikaru’s “unfounded” interest in the War Hounds even before the group truly became the blade that they are known for today. A concrete manifestation of this is the fact that the Blade King later gives the group a peculiar assignment: he wanted them to research on his life, and come back to him with the results. Their reaction to what was contained within his files was something that he wasn’t expecting.
After putting together the many things that he has noticed since his arrival at the Falner Estate, Joshua summons Kaz and shows his findings to the younger boy. The Sin-Eater had discovered, for himself, how their new “friend” (Hikaru) had been instrumental in bringing some of the greatest blades of the past together. In fact, the three most influential blades of the so-called New Age – the Pack, the Rockin’ Rollas, and Wolf’s Choice – were a direct result of his intervention. Their own blade, the still unnamed NSC-FAL-206304-001, appears to be Hikaru’s new project.
Lorenzo Reyes, Malice King and Master of the Arcanum, confirms this after presenting a list that shows that most of the greatest blades within the Vigil were brought together, one way or another, through Hikaru. Their blade, however, is peculiar for one thing: he stopped that practice of “adopting” blades years ago.
NSC-206304-001 was enslaved by Jessiah Vice and assigned to guard a Rhiannon transport in Palawan. They ended up facing Roland Stevenson – a 122-year-old Promethean who is better known under his alias “Brigade” – in combat. Brigade ends up joining Netsach and becoming their blade mate after he discovers that the package that Bostova, Marisigan, LaRue and Zobel de Ayala were guarding was actually Inquisitor Lincoln Hawke, his mentor from World War II. The two of them were original members of HECATON, the precursor of Taskforce Valkyrie.
While he was observing NSC-FAL206304-001 in the Training Hall of Balamb, Wiseman Tagabigay received word of a “situation” in Seoul National University, South Korea. He and Hikaru decided to use this opportunity to field the new kids of interest, thus marking the blade’s first solo engagement as a complete team. In spite of two significant mishaps (tension between members NSC-FAL206304-001 and Hikaru, misdemeanor on the part of operative Zobel de Ayala through his activation of the Wings of Therion), the engagement was successful.
As a result of the engagement, Joshua confronts Hikaru on his ruthlessness during the engagement. He inadvertently discovers the Blade King’s ban as the Vessel of Death, thus making him one of the few individuals outside of the three blades and the upper echelons of the Vigil who know Hikaru’s secret.
Riley Falner, Daywalker of the Fifth World and one of the Originals of the Malice Kings, awakened prematurely sometime after lunch. Overjoyed as Ordo Daywalker and his fellow Kings were to have their comrade back, it was difficult for many within the Vigil to ignore the implications of his rousing from Deep Slumber.
On another note, operative Zobel de Ayala was chastised for his actions during “Blackout”. The meeting resulted in the boy giving the Wings of Therion up.
NSC-FAL206304-001, like all other blades of Netsach, had a one-on-one talk with Riley. The group finally decides on a name for their blade: the War Hounds. The party departed for a town named Sta. Cruz in Mexico for their third engagement, which involved the extraction of a Green One from the area.
Interestingly enough, the presence of the Green One merited Setsuna Shinta’s first sighting in 2063. It was through the intervention of Brigade that the Shinta siblings managed to see each other for the first time in fifty years, since Setsuna’s Ascension.
Balamb Academy opened its doors to welcome a contingent from Frostriver, one of the elite Hunting Academies in the United States of America. While this practice, in itself, is not significant, the circumstances of this particular program were: a Grendal operative attempted to sabotage the plane, perhaps on the premise of converting the entire contingent into agents and using it to infiltrate Falner. It could have been one of the more aggressive attempts at striking against the Keepers of the Vigil since the Armistice.
On another note, this effort was thwarted by Cindy Louise Brennan, future member of the Pride. She is a Technomancer of notable potential, and Joshua LaRue’s younger sister.
At 3 AM, medical specialists from Ziz and technicians from Leviathan ended Inquisitor Lincoln Hawke’s stasis. Hawke was a notable figure in Taskforce Valkyrie’s history, as he was the commanding officer of HECATON, Valkyrie’s precursor. He was brought into the Methuselah sometime after his Embrace, and later followed the Dragon to Netsach.
Brigade of the War Hounds and Riley Falner were around to witness Hawke’s reawakening. This marked the first time that the vampire was able to return fully cured of the insanity that had poisoned his system since the Darkest Vigil.
Netsach spearheaded a cross-conspiracy engagement around the world, targeted towards deactivating bombs set by Grendal operatives in nearly every capital city in the Fifth World. This was the first major engagement that the War Hounds found themselves participating in. Interestingly enough, they were also the blade that noticed the first signs of the terrorist attack.
Operation Big Tracks caused some notable stress upon the relations between the Malice Kings due to the main complication that the bombs presented: they were complicated to disassemble or deactivated, and only two entities in the Fifth World – Aidan and Hikaru – could do such a thing effectively. The Kings were ready to hold Hikaru back, something that the Blade King would not have appreciated. Aidan and Hikaru ended up doing the engagement together, but the damage was done. It’s important to note, as well, that Operation Big Tracks was the first time that Hikaru used the Godslayer on an engagement since the Darkest Vigil.
On this same day, Wiseman Tagabigay recovered the first solid evidence that the Keepers of the Vigil had regarding Taskforce Valkyrie’s illegal experiments, and placed the compact on immediate suspension. He and Aidan met in order to discuss their next move, and both parties decided to work towards dismantling the current Valkyrie in order to push for an eventual restoration of the compact.
Setsuna Shinta inexplicably appeared in the Falner Manor during breakfast. This presupposed that someone within the vicinity was in great need, and only a Great Spirit like herself had the ability to provide a solution.
It was later discovered that Setsuna was the one in great need, specifically in need of closure and the companionship of the people whom she viewed as he family. She ended up staying visible from that day until June 2, 2063. This did not, however, end up being the last time that she would descend upon the Fifth World that year.
After an extended period of deliberation, Pax Deorum finally gave the Methuselah permission to launch a full-scale investigation on Taskforce Valkyrie and penalize the compact for its violations of the Code.
All Keepers of the Vigil with a license with Zangyaku received the same memorandum: a challenge has been issued to the Living Land of the Searing Wind. A second Ceremony of Measuring will take place on May 13, 2063 at Seigi.
This was a notable event, as challenges issues after the current year’s Ceremony of Measuring was completed rarely happen within Zangyaku’s history. What made the challenge even more peculiar was the lack of information with regard to who wished to unseat Aria Skye.
The near entirety of Zangyaku gathered together in Seigi to witness the second Ceremony of Measuring between the Living Land and her challenger. Said challenger turned out to be Tohru Fukuzawa, former Assassin of the Searing Wind. Suffice to say, he soundly defeated Aria and returned to the ranks of the Searing Wind.
This date marks the first of the many appearances that Brother Death made in 2073, something of note about this year beyond all of the historical events that occurred. Although testimony from the Blade King himself on the matter is vague, many suspect that Death chose this day to take over his Vessel’s body due to the psychological stress that Hikaru was under during that time.
On this date, all operatives on GeistNET, LogosNET and ViceNET received the same memorandum: Inquisitor Jessiah Vice has left on an extended survey of the Dark Hour and accessible Borderlines. He had originally scheduled the survey over a month ago, but had decided to delay in order to gather more information and make himself available for Setsuna Shinta.