Vargo Seldon

Keleth turned towards the newcomer. "Ahh, you're here, I..." He trailed off as Returned walked in through the door. He surveyed the room, than turned towards Keleth. "Hello, Keleth. Great wedding. It looks as if you already have the meeting under way. Have you handed out the missive?" At a nod from Keleth, Returned turned to Jules, "I will need you to put a watch out on Darkness. I saw him at the wedding." He walked across the room to the man sitting to the side. "Keleth tells me you want to join. You may do that here. Just say this: I, (character name), swear upon my life that I will serve all superiors in the aims of the Diagramists. I will, above all, serve The Most Brilliant, and defend him from all harm. I will not harm, and will take extreme measures to defend, any and all of my superiors within this guild. I will in all things obey any and all superiors, unless given the order to harm myself. I will willingly put myself in peril to obey The Most Brilliant. I will not willingly seek harm or death while in service of this guild. I will not betray secrets of this guild upon pain of death. Above all, superseding any previous clause, I will obey the diagram, and seek to serve it in all things. This I swear, (character name) @Furamirionind @Sunbringer

Returned checked his watch, then, surprised at the time, left quickly —— Darkness looked over at the woman who had just spoken to him. "Hi," he said, "who the sparks are you?"

You guys have way too much time on your hands. A M A N A P L A N A C A N A L P A N A M A

R A C E C A R

Keleth noticed the man enter, and walked over to him. "Welcome," he said in a warm voice, "The footman said that you would like to join? Returned will be here shortly to accept your oaths. Until then, take a seat right here." He gestued towards a chair by the side of the room. @Sunbringer

@Lord Meeker@MetaTerminal

Keleth noticed Jules pick up the note, and held out his hand for it. He motioned for Milton, the scribe, to draft a reply. The reply read: Yes, of course. We didn't draft that treaty for nothing. He motioned for the others to gather around, and handed a missive to each of them. It read: Hello, my faifthul followers, you are hear on the authority of my representative, Most Holy. The position of this guild is as follows. Xena, you are to serve as Most Holy's successor, being trained in the ways of diplomancy. You rank above everyone in this room, other than the second, @#Voidapple, who doesn't seem to be present. @MetaTerminal, who is also absent, is the speaker for the council. Jules and Hasharan are of equal rank. Hasharan controls the Militia, and Jules is in command of the Silent Gatherers. Both of you are members of the council. The guild is allied with the Ghostbloods, and are neutral in comparison to all other guilds, a fact which will soon change. My faithful servant Most Holy, or his faithful servant, Keleth, will guid you. ~Vargo Taravangian A footman approached Keleth and whispered, "Sir, a man is at the door. Says he wants to join." Keleth nodded, and said, "Hurry, admit him." @I think I am here. @Gancho Libre @Furamirionind @beantheboy12 @Sunbringer

Returned, sitting in the back because of his bulky form, stood up and clapped as the couple passed by. He was almost as tall as the groom. He thought with amusement that that usually wasn't the case. —— Darkness hastened up out of his seat as soon as the ceremony was over, and headed straight for the chocolate fountains. He barely spared a glance for the newlyweds.

A man from the back of the room yelled, "Crank up the Disco!!"

Darkness chuckled in an extremely annoying way, and opened his mouth to speak. He was interrupted by Ludawan beginning the ceremony, and he reluctantly took his seat.

Darkness walked over, and overhearing the Bride and Groom's conversation, hesitated by them. "Uh oh," he said, close enough for them to hear. "This'll be interesting. I wish you the best Old Man." @#Voidapple @AxeliustheGreat

Keleth walked behind Returned's desk and addressed the two in the room, "Thank you for coming. His majesty Most Holy is away for the time being, and he has placed me in command in his absence. The first order of business he asked me to conduct is two make you, Hasharan, the Miitia Commander. The Militia's primary duty is to police the city and act as an invasion force if neccessary. Once @Furamirionind joins us, he will take his Silent Gatherers to collect intel. For now, we will prepare to host a government party here in the ballroom to expand our political influence. @Gancho Libre @beantheboy12

Returned led Darkness away to the edge of the clearing. "Darkness, I don't want to instigate any violence here, that would ruin the wedding. No violenc until after. But with what happened last time, I don't think that you and I can be within one hundred miles of each other." Darkness tried for a smile, but his nervousness showed through. Darkness froze. Returned's smile fell, and he tried to move Darkness. Nothing. He was storing kinetic energy. Returned sighed, and resignedly thought that this always happened. Darkness suddenly moved explosively, ripping Returned's hand off of his shoulder, kicking him in the chest, and dashing across the field. Returned flew backwards, hit a tree and fell to the ground. It all happened in the space of a few seconds. Returned sighed again, but let it be.

Baked goods of the hemalurgic variety.

That is, in fact, stated clearly in the thread's rules.

Darkness regarded Zan with pleading eyes, "Yes, of course you know me old friend. Anyway, I've got to go." He turned to the side, and bumped into the hulking form of Returned. Returned placed a massive hand on Darkness's shoulder, and guided him away. As they left, you could hear Returned say in an ominous voice, "You and I need to talk. Old friend."

Birds were singing a merry tune as sunlight filtered down through the bows of a green oak. Returned walked along a path, whistling a quick rhythm, watching the wildlife tumble in the grass about him. Yes, he thought, humanity has done a fine job with this world. This place will do... —— Seven Months Later —— Returned stood proudly atop the battlements of his brand-new fortress. He had inspiringly named it "Fort Fortress". Hmm, he though, If my name is any indication, perhaps I should leave choosing names to my advisors. He shrugged, and went on enjoying the fruits of his labors. Even here, on the Alleyplanet, where the science of returned was well known––even taken for granted––there were still people who worshiped returned. That was, in fact, how he had managed to build this monstrosity anyhow. He had the faint worry that the laborers would stick around after the project was done, and he hadn't the faintest idea what to do with a bunch of fanatics. He shrugged, discarding his worries, and resolved to enjoy this day. The short man, Keleth, walked up. "Hello your majesty. How are you doing on this fine day?" "Thank you Keleth. Yes, I am in fact enjoying this day immensely. You know, the opening of the fortress and all. Sadly, I'll have to leave after this, I have a wedding to attend. By the way, are you good with names?" "Um, maybe. My kid has a good name." "You have a kid?" "Yes, his name is Jonathan." "Good name. Are you good with city, or, maybe, perhaps, fortress names?" "The name is kind of lame, isn't it." "Yes. I fear that I am absolutely hopeless with names." "I think I noticed. My lord Returned. How about 'Fortress Eternal' my lord?" "I like. I like it a lot. In fact, have the scribes change the name to that. Thank you, Keleth." "You're welcome my lord. I assume you caught the reference?" "Mm. Are the people almost settled in?" "Yes my lord. They are setting up temporary residences and shops in the main courtyard." Returned looked over the edge, and indeed, many canvas tents were erected in the courtyard. The Fortress was huge, perhaps a square mile, and the construction had been a huge undertaking. It had taken more than seven months with the assistance of large amounts of investiture, including the sacrifice of two other returned. "It will happen soon Keleth. Soon, we will have a city to rival the capitol. A center of trade and economics. A hub of politics and industry. A truly majestic city shall arise here." "Speaking of a city, we have the projected logistics worked out." He handed a writing pad to Returned, which was perused with a careful eye. "A militia of one-hundred thousand strong? Getting a little optimistic are we?" "It's also to serve as a defending garrison, and possible an invasion force." "Are we to be a sovereign state, or under Alleycity jurisdiction?" "If I may advise to start out under their jurisdiction..." The conversation went on like this, discussing many of the logistics and specifics needed for running a budding city. After the conversation with Keleth was over, Returned sauntered over to his office, in the top tower. "Milton, please summon my officials." The thin secretary jumped over to a desk, where he grabbed spanreed. "And what would you like me to say?" "Say this: @#Voidapple, @Gancho Libre, @MetaTerminal, and @beantheboy12. I summon you to the new Diagramist headquarters. You are to report here, and we shall discuss goals and objectives of our great guild. Thank you." The spindly man wrote this, and then hesitated. "Um, sir, what about the... other one?" "Hmm? Oh, yes, draft another message." The scribe took another spanreed in his hands, and set it to the paper. "Say this: Hello @Furamirionind. You have acted with great loyalty and are to be commended. Although your position within the greater guilds has been very beneficial, it is time to end the charade. I'm calling you to the headquaters of the Diagramists, and you will now serve as the known leader of the Silent Gatherers. Godspeed." Milton finished the message then set down the pen. He looked at Returned gravely, "This will cause quite a ruckus in the Alleyverse. They will not be happy." Returned slowly walked over to his window, and surveyed the budding city below. He finally turned towards Milton, "No, they will not. It is time though. Time to break expectations. It is a new era, after all."

and we were doing this on page one.

Huh. Who'd a thunk it? Hi 16. Is it all right if I call you 16? Welcome to the shard, and you get an upvote for your signature. Blah blah blah alleyverse blah blah Last post blah blah blah I recommend blah. Enjoy your time here!

Welcome the shard! That's good. It's always nice to see someone who actually knows that they are here, although I don't think ITIAH can help it. Please accept this cookie on behalf of the DA, and don't accept archer's cookie. It's... perfectly safe and harmless poisoned. Stay away from the sub forums on books you haven't read, because they are full of spoilers. If you're interested in role-playing, join the Alleyverse and possibly my guild. The last post wins or the longest thread are great places to hang out. The general cosmere discussion is a good place to present theories, or just talk about the cosmere in general. All in all, you can't really go wrong in the shard (unless you join TUBA) and I hope you enjoy your time here.

Returned walked over and sat down. He looked bored for a second, but then he noticed a man who wandered into the meadow. He stood up, a stern, cold look on his face, and walked towards the newcomer. —— Darkness nonchalantly wandered into the meadow, and made a beeline towards the hors d'oeuvres. A large shadow loomed above him and he looked up to meet the gaze of Returned. —— Returned hid his satisfaction at the look of complete shock that crossed Darkness's face. Darkness masked the look quickly and put on a bored, but amused expression. "Hello Returned," he said in a clear, unwavering voice. Returned was surprised at that. Darkness had never been good at hiding his emotions. "Hello Darkness. I never expected to find you here." "Yes, well, um, I've got, um," A feigned look of recognition crossed his features, "Hey, Joe! Storms but it's good to see you," he half-ran across the meadow and clasped hands with a random person, who just happened to be Zan. His voice echoed across the clearing, "It's been forever, I, storms man. It's great to see you here. Hide me." Returned looked across the meadow, amused, but also slightly troubled. @Turtle373

Darkness held up his hands defensively and said, "Ok alright. I can see where you're coming from, but I had to give you your options since I'm loyal to the Ghostbloods." He began to walk towards the door, and near the door he cast a look over his shoulder, "I've got a wedding to attend, so I will see you later." With that, he left the building. @Queen Elsa Steelheart

congratulations ark. Lunamor just earned you an upvote.

Returned smiled at the two and said, "As much as I don't want to miss this, I am on a rather time sensitive schedule. I will have to leave before the reception, sadly. Running a guild is tiring."