#((and b) being either the roaring knight or connected to/working with them in some way))

[abyssembraced]

Thinking about Magolor telling Papyrus about Merry Magoland and him being totally on board and excited about everything dgshshf

"Merry Magoland has everything you could ever want! Explosions, violence, weapons... It's all so much fun!"

"WOWIE! DO YOU HAVE SPIKES, TOO?"

"Sure do!"

"YES, THE PILLARS OF YOUTH!!! NYEH HEH HEH!"

"YOU HAVE CONVINCED ME, TINY FLOATING CAT! WE MUST VISIT YOUR AMUSEMENT PARK AT ONCE!!"

[friend-to-all-peppermints]

deltarune chapter 3&4 spoilers below

My theory about the plan of Knight, Carol and Kris

Before we begin, I need to make some assumptions:

1) Player is the Red Soul

I think that it's already pretty much established. We are the ones in control of the soul, Kris can tear the Soul out and not be in our control. Why I am bringing this up — we aren't simply possessing Kris' soul, we are the Soul. I think that can be deduced from the Goner maker sequence: Red Soul is an indicator for Gaster that we are connected, we make a vessel for ourselves, and only then shoved into Kris.

2) Kris wasn't souless before us.

We had seen in Undertale what soulless creatures look like and behave, and Kris in the past doesn't fit that description. They were mischievous, sure, but it seems to be more of them being a gremlin than them lacking empathy and compassion, like Flowey does.

3) Kris doesn't have two souls.

The Red Soul is directly tied to their HP, even in the Light World. If they had their original soul in the back pocket or something, I assume it would be tied to their health, not us.

With that out of the way, let's move on.

I think that Toby is a good writer. If you are one, you usually introduce different concepts slowly, steadily, and you don't drop plot points. I think every plot point introduced so far clues us in about the Knight's plan.

We learned a very important thing in chapter 4 — deceased Lightners can come back to life in Dark Worlds as Darknners. We know that it was Gerson and not some fucked up version of him. He remembered his books, he had all the memories from the Light World basically. He even continued to write a letter to Alvin, something he probably tried to do before his death. For all intents and purposes, it is just Gerson.

Dess has been missing for some time now. I think it save to assume that she's either dead or somehow can't escape the Dark World. Carol is working on reviving her or bringing her because, duh, she is her mother.

I'm personally a Knight Carol thuther but I think this theory works even if the Knight is some fucked up version of Dess. I just think that Knight is a Lightner because Kris doesn't let us in the closet in the church, plus, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that established that only Lightners can open a fountain? It wouldn't make sense for Dess to be a Lightber, at least at this point in the story. Like, she just hanged around in the shelter for all of those years?

Anyways, moving on. If we assume that that's true, why then bring about the Roaring? I think that Roaring isn't the true goal necessarily. Chapter 4 established that the Knight can bring about the Roaring anytime if they want to — just make a bajillion fountains and bam!

As Ralsei said, Lightners can only be revived in very specific darkness.

We do not know what the criteria are for creating such darkness. We only know that a) it was the Knight who created that fountain b) that the church was a special place for Gerson and us a special place for his son and c) his remains were stored there. But we do not know for certain what the deciding factor is.

So why is the Knight opening the fountains? They are searching for that specific kind of darkness. To revive Dess in it. It might even explain why the fountains were in those specific locations. I imagine that a teenager would visit school, a library, and (not willingly) a church quite often. It can even work for chapter 3 Dark world, we know that Dess used to spend time in the Dreemurrs' house. But I would imagine that, following that logic, her room would be a perfect fit for such Dark world, so I don't know.

Okay, maybe Carol and Knight (perhaps they are even the same person) are working to revive Dess or somehow bring her together in a Dark world. Perhaps they even succeed. So what? Does Dess just hang around in the Dark world forever?

No, that wouldn't work. I think that they're working to bring her to the Light World. And we even know a way to do that.

In chapter 2, we meet Spamton. He's immediately interested in the Soul. When we fight him, his main goal is to take our soul and "see past the dark and look into heaven."

"Heaven" may refer to many things, but I'm going to assume it refers to the Light World, because, you know, heaven is full of light.

So, this is where Kris comes in. If we assume that all of my assumptions about Kris soul are true, then one question remains — where is their original soul?

We had a reveal about Kris in these chapters: they're working with Knight and Carol. Also, Kris has more of a control than we previously thought, and the whole possession thing was on purpose for some reason. With them being in the know about the assumed revive Dess plan, we are certainly aware that Dess requires a soul. So, then they must've given their original soul to Carol. That's why we don't see it anywhere. And somehow, they replaced their original soul with us.

I imagine there would be two outcomes for Kris when the player leaves after the plan succeeds:

1) Kris, without a soul now, will die.

So basically, Carol will sacrifice Kris for their daughter. But, since Kris is going along with it, I imagine it would be voluntary. It would also parallel Chara nicely, and I think that Kris is a Deltarune version of Chara. Chara basically killed themselves in order to give their soul to their sibling for them to cross the barrier. Kris, in this scenario, would basically kill themselves in order for their close friend to cross the boundary between the worlds. And the Soul is given to Kris, so they would live long enough for their plan, or maybe it has something to do with the prophecy, since it explicitly states that human parts are needed.

2) Kris and Carol will somehow take player's soul.

That has a precedent in Undertale, too. We give Chara our soul in exchange for restoring the world. After we do a Pacifist run, Chara possesses Frisk and coming back to life. Although, at that point in the story, Chara has unprecedented control of our game. I can hardly imagine Carol having it, although this theory assumes that it was either Carol or Kris who hijacked the Goner maker so maybe? I dunno.

But if we give our soul to Kris, then both them and revived Dess can walk out of the Dark world.

This theory doesn't contradict the phone calls either.

The missing words can be something like "Dess needs a soul," "Without a soul, Kris will die" and "But Kris needs a soul in the dark world, no soul — can't leave". But the dialogues are just vague enough that anything can be fitted into it, so I wouldn't count it as hard evidence. They even support both outcomes for Kris.

I'm sure that this theory has a lot of holes in it, but whatever man. I dunno what to make of the prophecy yet, so.

[animsid]

AMPHIBIA: SEASON 2B TRAILER BREAKDOWN

NEW AMPHIBIA EPISODES!! (Trailer spoilers and speculation! DUH!)

Y’all have NO CLUE how excited I am!! After that huge mid season finale drop, Amphibia fans all around have been waiting for the second half of the season! I did a Speculation post based on the episode titles, and another one based off of the episode loglines for the March drop!

Check them out, cause I will be referencing them as we go!! I’m first gonna do a scene by scene breakdown, then I’m gonna see if my predictions were right, or wrong. So many theories!!! I will also be mentioning the episode titles Matt released in the AmphibiaDirect, so if you don’t want to know, leave now!

If you haven’t seen the trailer yet, click here to see it all!!! Let’s begin shall we!

00:00–00:21: Completely old information and clips from Season 2A that we’ve all seen before with the music box and Sasha-Angst. One thing I did not expect was that this trailer would be so Sasha heavy. I expected her to kinda fade into the background and we’d focus a lot more on the temples, so this makes me have theories I may not have had before.

00:22–00:26: Marcy’s new bird (as teased in the Amphibia-Big City Greens promo). We have two shots with them, one where they are flying down with only a bunch of books that would last a lifetime, or a few minutes with Marcy. The second shot is them flying in the air with Anne and Marcy riding through the sky. I am trying my absolute hardest to not hope for gay then to be disappointed, but c’mon!!! Has no one seen How to Train Your Dragon?!!?!? But Hop Pop is being held in the second shot by the Bird’s talons so I think this is a little more Marcy and Wartwood kind of situation. Maybe somewhere around “Ivy on the Run” with Marcy and her bird being the B Plot.

00:27–00:31: The First Temple. We know from the colours and the shape from the book that it is the First Temple. It seems to have water flowing out of Frog statues’ mouths, and on the temple’s walls there are imagery of brains and a vague Newt Shape reading a book! Definitely talking about wit here! Even all the mushrooms are green, and we know how much Amphibia loves to use colour.

00:31–00:33: The Second Temple! We don’t actually see the Temple, just the archway leading to the Temple. Marcy seems to have the charged green gem on the music box, which is pointing them in the direction of the Temple, very Onyx Equinox-esque.

00:34–00:36: The entrance to the Third Temple. Lava pouring everywhere and pink statues of buff Amphibians? Definitely Sasha, no questions asked. I have no other thoughts about this shot other than the jagged rocks atop of the cave, seems like it could collapse in on itself and cause people to get hurt.

00:36–00:37: Ivy and Sprig jumping on treetops, I think this is from “Ivy on the Run” where Ivy is running from her mother’s strict rules, and Sprig is trying to talk her out of it. They’re so cute! It makes me wanna hold onto them and never let go.

00:38–00:39: Bessie jumping over a ravine with Sprig and Polly at the reins, which is from “Night Riders”, the first episode we’re seeing this Saturday!

00:39–00:40: A First Temple Puzzle where you have to solve a cube to enter the next stage. Seems like Marcy is in “her own little bubble” (heh. sorry i had to) and as she’s solving the cube, the room also moves on its own, with the Plantars being shifted to another side. Kinda like Wulfric’s gym in Pokemon X and Y. This sets interesting character work for Marcy, since she’s known to have issues with connections, but she’s so into knowledge and smartness that she may not realise the issues she’s causing to the people around her.

00:40–00:41: MADDIEEEEEE!!!! Definitely from “Maddie and Marcy”. I feel like they would get together and Marcy would be so into learning about Maddie and creepy magic that they will form a bond. This is how nerds make friends everyone, they find something the other is SUPER invested in and they learn about it. Either that or an extrovert claims them both, and they know each other via association.

00:42–00:43: Giant chicken bat for “Return to Wartwood”. Don’t ask me how I know, I just do. Seems like the Plantars set up a banquet for them, and they’re running away. So shenanigans!

00:44–00:45: Okay, so I initially thought Sasha’s next episode was gonna be in episode 16 (”Toad to Redemption/Barrel’s Warhammer”) and I initially thought that it would be Toad to Redemption, because y’know... Toads. But with Sasha’s pink powers shown in her using that giant warhammer, I think it’s going to be either one of the two, but Sasha is definitely showing up in 216. They don’t seem to be on a train, but the Earth is moving very fast for some reason. 

00:45–00:46: The Newt Lady from the Bizarre Bazaar seems to be activating the tippity-top of the Second Temple, with Anne near her. The position of this is high above the clouds, and there is a blue glow coming from the writings/symbols on the ground. Perhaps this is the charging method for the gems on the box.

00:47–00:48: More First Temple stuff! Writing’s on the wall (man these visual puns just write themselves y’know!) and they are in the inside of the temple. Interestingly enough, the main floor is green like the rest of the temple, but the other side (puzzles) seems to have red and blue squares, perhaps representing the heart and strength (blue and pink) which is what the wit lacks.

00:49: The Newt Lady from the Bizarre Bazaar opens a Scroll with the Music box, the three gems (which seemingly came before the box) and three people in coats almost praying to it. This is definitely “After the Rain” with the story of the Music Box being revealed. Cause we still have no idea what “After the Rain” is gonna be about.

00:50: GENERAL YUNNAN!! Scourge of the Sand Wars! Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched! The youngest Newt to ever be named General in the GREAT NEWTOPIAN ARMY!! (Can you tell I stan her? because I stan her.)

Anyways, she seems to be in the first temple or King Andrias’ throne room. I’m mainly assuming this because the temple because the building is blue or because the spires from King Andrias’ throne room are in the way back there, but there are several Toads there defeated on the ground. Either these were people to protect Marcy at the Temple, or this is an episode where all of Grimes’ command are trying to take over Newtopia under Sasha and Grimes’ command. Quite the plausible amount for theories and plot just from a one-second Yunnan shot.

00:51: A chess board with Frog knights shooting lasers at Marcy. Another one of the First Temple’s tricks, or it could be King Andrias’ plot, since we saw him with Chess pieces of Anne and Marcy at the end of “Marcy at the Gates”, so this clip could either be “The First Temple” or “True Colors” and either or are exciting!!

00:52-00:53: A mole comes out of the ground as Mayor Toadstool walks around seemingly trying to please Newtopian guards and soldiers. “Toad to Redemption” now makes complete sense! I called that it would either be Anne and Marcy helping a battle-hardened Toad, or it would be a Sasha episode. I think its the first part, where Newtopian inspectors are coming to suprise visit Mayor Toadstool and inspect if he’s doing a good job taking care of Wartwood, to no one’s surprise find out he’s embezzling money from the town. The episode would be Marcy and Anne helping Toadstool to become better so he doesn’t lose his job as Mayor.

00:53–00:58: We have three shots here, one of each of the girls. Anne looks back in the rain, almost distraught. This is definitely “After the Rain” and I’m not ready for the angst. Marcy is visibly frustrated over chess pieces, this is either a challenge from the Temple or she’s found out about Andrias’ plan. As much as Option 2 is interesting, I think the first one is more realistic. Sasha in the Third Temple, activating her Colour Power and breaking the ground underneath her to a circle. I am constantly terrified by and for Sasha.

00:58–1:00: Polly and Sprig’s silhouettes running in the rain. Also “After the Rain” but still nothing much to say here.

1:00–1:01: Giant tentacles grab Sprig and the Plantars. I have no idea what this is, but it also appeared in the “Night Riders/Return to Wartwood” trailer/promo, so I’m assuming it’s from that episode.

01:02: Sasha is facing off against a giant golem! Probably the Third Temple’s trial.

01:03: Newt Lady from the Bizarre Bazaar reveals the secrets of the Music Box. Definitely an “After the Rain” episode. I did not expect Marcy to be there though, that’s interesting now. 

01:04–01:06: Two shots from the Third Temple. First one being Anne having a moment of realisation, and the other with the Golem roaring in front of Anne and Sasha. This freaked me out because wtf??? Sasha and Anne together?? Are they solving it together too??? Interaction equals resolution/conflict/character drama.

01:07–01:12 & 01:17–01:22: So how are we integrating baby Marshanne into this??? As for which episode, I have no idea! But some interesting details in this is that Sasha seems to have been the last out of the three to have joined. Since Anne and Marcy are together crying, while baby Sasha is one on the slide standing up (hehe) for them. Between the first clip and the second, Sasha has a bruise on her forehead, so she may have gotten hurt trying to protect them. They introduce each other and that’s the end of the clip. I’m assuming this is finale material, because otherwise I have no idea where this is coming from or going to.

01:13–01:16: Anne pulls the Plantars in for a hug. Still not sure where this is for, but it is a thing.

01:23–01:28: Two shots of Sasha and Anne, which seemed to have been slowed down to around half speed. Shot one has Anne standing, almost distraught wearing what seems to be Newtopian armour, with Sasha’s foot in the foreground. The second shot is Anne holding her sword at the top of the Newtopian Walls to Sasha who is weaponless and has her hands up in surrender. Smoke is rising from the land below, and Anne looks visibly angry. I have no idea what is happening, but this definitely has to be finale material.

A title card shows Amphibia returning 6th March!! Hype.

01:34–01:45: Of course we need happy stuff to counter ANGST! So we have a bizarre sequence of Frobo making a garden and growing flowers in a matter of seconds. Hop Pop is enthralled by this and welcomes him to the family, and Polly looks at him knowingly. This is a very big development played very casually, since we know nothing about the robot besides his goofy self being able to do this. Frobo is the most cryptic thing this season besides the King’s basement, we also have no information on Frobo so this is a striking change. This will take place in “Friend or Frobo?” and I am stupid hyped!!! I don’t know anything about Frobo and I want to know more!! Also Wartwood is on fire. It’s just a normal Tuesday everybody. 

That ends the trailer breakdown!! But I did have some more general theories and thoughts I’ll include here.

Something I did want to mention before we started was the music in the beginning of the non-speaking part of the trailer. To me, it sounded like an epic reprise of John Legend’s “All of Me”, and I’m thinking there’s one of two things happening: one is that the finale song that we’re all crying to is “All of Me” by John Legend, like how Reunion’s was “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers; or, I’m just theorising like a mad person. Who knows!

Also another general observation is the puzzles and how we’ve been prepped for them by “Family Shrub” where each one has puzzles and riddles each person who fits a specific role must solve. Each girl with each of the Temples, and they need each one to deal with their own Temple. Meaning Sasha being at the Third Temple means some form of resolution/character interaction.

As for Sasha, I don’t know if she’s gonna be redeemed necessarily, but I think she might go to the good side and Marcy goes to the bad side. I don’t wanna believe that cause I love Marcy to death, but Season 2 finales are always horrifying before Season 3 finales wrap up nicely. So I’m expecting even more drama than the Season 1 finale. I want all the girls to be happy, and it’s not happening this season for sure. So much excitement!!!

That concludes all my thoughts on the trailer for Season 2B! Let me know what you’re excited for, your thoughts and theories, and if you agree or disagree with what I’ve said here!! So excited!!!!

[breaks-soulgem]

D&D Magireco builds

Character-Tsuruno Yui

Class-Fighter (eldritch knight)

Race-Human (variant)

Ability score (two,+1 race bonuses are shown and in STR and CON)

Strength-14 Dexterity-8 Constitution-16 Intelligence-14 Wisdom-10 Charisma-12

Proficiencies-Investigation,perception,acrobatics, arcana

Tools-Cooking utensils,playing cards (yui cards)

Starting gear-chainmail,2scimitars(Iron fans),2 hand axes (the fans being thrown)

Note:Swap damage types from slashing to bludgeoning for her iron fans

Variant feat-

Lucky(her magic ability is good luck)-You have 3 luck points per long rest.you can use a luck point on any attack,ability,saving rolls,or when you're being attacked, roll another D20 and choose that new roll instead, choice can be made after the roll but before the outcome

1st lvl

Fighting style-

Two weapon fighting-add ability modifier to second weapon attack

(When fighting with two weapons you can use a bonus action after you attack to attack with the other weapon)

Second wind-heal up to one D10+fighter level of hp per short or long rest

2nd lvl

Action surge-once per short or long rest you can take an extra action on your turn

3rd lvl

Martial archetype-Eldritch knight

spell save DC=8+proficiency bonus+INT

spell attack modifier=proficiency bonus+INT

Weapon bond-you can take an hour to bond with a weapon(up to two),you can't be disarmed,you can summon your weapons if they're away from you as a bonus action(1 at a time)

Cantrips

Firebolt-as an action, shoot a mote of fire up to 120FT for 1D10 fire damage(2D10 at 5thlvl,3D10 at 11thlvl)

Light-As an action, for one hour you can choose anything that's 10ft or less and it will shed up to 20ft of light and 20more feet of dim light,if you target a creature it has to make a DEX save to avoid it.

Two first level spell slots.

Spells known three-

Burning hands(flame spray from her fans)-as an action,shoot a 15ft cone of fire,creatures within the cone must make a DEX save,on a fail they take 3D6 fire damage,on a pass they take half.When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 1st.

absorb elements-1st lvl spell.as a reaction.The spell captures some of the incoming energy, lessening its effect on you and storing it for your next melee attack. You have resistance to the triggering damage type until the start of your next turn. Also, the first time you hit with a melee attack on your next turn, the target takes an extra 1d6 damage of the triggering type, and the spell ends.

Notes:For RP purposes I suggest ignoring the stored and released magic melee damage unless the element is fire

detect magic-1st lvl spell.as an action.For the duration(10min), you sense the presence of magic within 30 feet of you. If you sense magic in this way, you can use your action to see a faint aura around any visible creature or object in the area that bears magic, and you learn its school of magic, if any.The spell can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.

4th lvl

Feat-

Warcaster- advantage on CON saves when keeping concentration while taking damage.

You can cast spells with weapons in both hands.

You can use a spell as a reaction attack instead of melee opportunity attack

Three first lvl spell slots

Known spells four

Shield-1st lvl spell.as a reaction, An invisible barrier of magical force appears and protects you. Until the start of your next turn, you have a +5 bonus to AC, including against the triggering attack, and you take no damage from magic missile

Note:I know she doesn't have a shield ability,but flavor is everything!Tsuruno's a skilled fighter and taking moment (spell slot) to go on the defensive wouldn't be out of character in the least

5th lvl

Extra attack-you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

6th lvl

Duel wielder-You gain a +1 bonus to AC while you are wielding a separate melee weapon in each hand.

You can use two-weapon fighting even when the one-handed melee weapons you are wielding aren’t light.

You can draw or stow two one-handed weapons when you would normally b e able to draw or stow only one.

7th lvl

War magic- when you cast a cantrip as an action you can weapon attack as a bonus action

Four 1st lvl spell slots

Two 2nd lvl spell slots

Spells known-five

Aganazzar's scorch-2nd lvl spell.as an action, A line of roaring flame 30 feet long and 5 feet wide emanates from you in a direction you choose. Each creature in the line must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 3d8 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 2nd.

8th lvl

Six spells known

Dragons breath (connect)-2nd lvl spell. as a bonus action,You touch one willing creature and imbue it with the power to spew magical fire energy from its mouth, provided it has one.Until the spell ends, the creature can use an action to exhale energy of the chosen type in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 3d6 damage of the chosen type on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d6 for each slot level above 2nd.

Note:im aware the spell let's you choose other elements but im keeping thematic with fire.

Ability score improvement- Either two points into STR or two into INT ,at level twelve you'll take whichever you didn't choose here

9th lvl

Indomitable- you can reroll a save throw twice per long rest,you must use the new roll

Three times at 13th lvl

10th lvl

Eldritch strike-When you hit a creature with a melee attack,that creature has disadvantage against the next spell saving throw from a spell you cast till the end of your next turn

Three 2nd lvl spell slots

11th lvl

Extra attack-you can attack three times, instead of twice, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

12th

Ability score improvement- two points into STR or INT,whichever you didn't choose at lvl 8

13th lvl

Two 3rd lvl spell slots

Spells know-nine

Fireball(flame waltz)-3rd lvl spell.as an action,a point you choose within range (150ft)blossoms into an explosion of flame. Each creature in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on that point must make a Dexterity saving throw. A target takes 8d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

14th lvl

Ability score improvement-two points into either STR,INT or CON no wrong answer really

15th lvl

Arcane charge-you gain the ability to teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space you can see when you use your Action Surge. You can teleport before or after the additional action.

Note: honestly couldn't think of a solid flavoring for this,I'd just say work it almost like "disengage" but without the use of it taking your turn

End notes:

While eldritch knights aren't the best at dishing out raw magic damage,Tsuruno's the only actual caster of the bunch!

This was probably the most complex of the Mikazuki villa team to make but it was real fun to do!

I have the other characters ready i just gotta write them up

If anyone wants other builds for different girls just let me know!

[mechagalaxy]

Sten Hugo Hiller - 627184: My Clan war `46 - Second opponents: Black Star Knights

(By Sten Hugo Hiller - 627184)

My Clan war `46

Second opponents: Black Star Knights

Some Commanders prefer the solitude of fighting for themselves. Having none to tell you what to do, or having to follow some underling with the eyes of argus to check that they follow orders is after all quite liberating. You are of course free to play in the lottery, as everyone else. You can fight in the KotM events and the Wave Challenges, and once you get a two-digit licence you can trash others in the Circuits as well. Then there is the sheer mayhem involved in hitting other Commanders to see which one have the strongest formation. If that is the way they prefer to fight, who am I to tell them they are wrong?

Then you have those who form a clan, or join one. As they well understand; If a leader is to bossy you can just leave the clan again, and if some member refuses to follow directions and sound advice he can be removed from the clan. Being part of a clan when it comes to lotto wins will because of the smaller prizes given to the winners clanmates effectively increase your take by 100% for each five other member, up to four times what a single Commander can expect if the clan grows to 16 Commanders. The other things you can do as a solitary Commander is still there to do, but now you have brothers in arms who might give you advice and answer questions. Then comes the Clan Wars.

In a normal War, any clan having enough members (8 minimum) where the discrepancy between licences is not to big, can sign up for the war. In general, Specialists might be assigned to members,-or not. But from time to time it might be one mandatory specialty. The Gaming authorities will then place clans in divisions according to their average piloting licences, and they will over the course of three battle days face a trio of different opponents. If your clan defeats all opponents, good prices will be had by everyone. That is, everyone who managed to get a set number of attack wins Defeating two, or only one opposing clan will get you lesser prizes, but even if you lost to all the opponents you will still get something. (provided you got the mandated wins)

After the war, some villain might appear. If the clan chooses to oppose said villains hordes, and manages to defeat all of them within a given time, prizes will be given to each Commander. Partly by performance and partly by luck. (but no kills equals no prizes. To be lucky, you have to perform first) -----

As for us in the Star League....

We had joined up in the war, and our first opponents had (figuratively) handed us our heads. Mind you, they took them fair and square on the field of battle, and kept them until the fighting was over.

As we returned to what had been our headquarter, Tony`s eyes flickered over the area.

Nothing was left standing. The remains of the ammo bunkers gaped empty toward the cloudy sky, the repair facilities had been burned by fires so hot that not even a trace of POL, spare parts or tools were left and the many wounded lay on the bare earth where a few overworked corpse men ripped pieces from their dirty, tattered uniforms to use as makeshift bandages.

In a dejected tone he muttered "It will take a miracle to get us ready for tomorrow. Right now I would make up to the devil himself if he could get us what we need to get operative in time" I looked at my timepiece. Bruno should be arriving any moment now, bringing the personnel and items I had neglected to bring in the first place. "Well,boss, as to that I have to...." The rest of the sentence was drowned by the roar of descending shuttles.

The Pakothe IV-B shuttles are quite enormous, and if you spend some mega credits at a good yard they can be configured pretty much as you like. These shuttles were mostly mobile repair bays, but a couple of them were fully equipped field hospitals, a trio were ammo carriers and one was a mobile mess.

Tony took in the sight and when he turned toward me what looked suspiciously like a tear was forming in his right eye. "Your work?" I nodded "Good man. Anything I can do for you?" I held out a clipboard and said "just sign here , here and here." After he numbly, still with an expression of wonder on his face had done so, I continued "I did not have the authority to release so much cash from our accounts, so the work was done on credit until you signed." Tony grabbed the clipboard and looked at the numbers. Then, white in the face, he grabbed me and threw me over the farthest shuttle. I noticed the ground getting closer at a breakneck speed and did my best to tuck into a roll. Then, blackness...

I came slowly back to consciousness, and immediately wished I hadn’t. There might have been some parts of my body that did not send pain signals to my brain, but the odds were that was because the nerves from them had been ripped loose.

My AI injected enough painkillers to knock out a tribe of Snavrums, and slowly the world came into focus. My timepiece informed me the second battle day would start in a few minutes. Looking around, I found myself in the cockpit of my ride, and pinned on the battle board was a note. It was from Tony and explained the battle plan and my part in it.

Jorge was covering one of the bridges, rated for no more than 1200 tons, Rob`s 30s was in the broken hills to the north. As for the opponents: Christopher Wallace held the other bridge, a Dual Rainbow one, and Brian Leslie King was supposed to hold the swamps to the south in his 20s. A long winding canyon was another connection between our two clans, My 70s held the eastern part, Joey Goldez 70s held the western part. Then my blood turned cold. "I have placed most of our ammo with you. Guard it with your life, because it is placed in such a way that if it explodes it will bring the whole canyon down on your defeated formation and your opponent" Talk about a do or die mission!!

Then the channels started cracking, the battle was upon us.

The Knights landed the first blows.

Led by Ales Tomasek, Brian Leslie King and Joey Goldez had for the moment brought their main formations along to do some mayhem. Able brought his formation into the fray as fast as he could and went onto the offensive. Despite a couple failed attacks and the appearance of Darryl Proctor in an offensive role, he managed to stabilize the front with us slightly ahead. 10-9 to us.

King returned, this time accompanying Philip Power. They got some unopposed wins, then Mark went on a rampage along their front. Not all his strikes was successful, but it caused them to withdraw, at least for the moment. 15-14 to them.

David Buchanan got a couple wins. In response Mark was once more called into the breach, this time having Jorge as wingman. Again our offensive had mixed success, but at least it pushed the Knights back. 22-17 to them.

It seemed there was only a matter of time before some enterprising Knight would come waltzing down the canyon, so I started to back slowly toward our lines. As the canyon started to widen I drew a deep breath of relief. Really bad idea. The painkillers could only mask so much pain, and the sudden expansion of my chest made my bruised and broken ribs send frantic emergency signals to my brain. After what seemed like an eternity of pain, I finally realized that holding my breath was the worst thing I could do. Letting it out in a wordless scream, slowly reduced the pain level from unbearable to just very unpleasant. When the stars finally stopped dancing in front of my eyes and the monitors once more informed me of my surroundings, I discovered we were surrounded by a superior formation.

"Ah, how good of you to show up. Would you care to join me for a stroll along the front? After some unexpected expidentures we need every commander to earn his keep" Tony`s cold voice belied the bantering tone, so what choice did I have?

"Come along and watch me closely, I will point out a few opponents you might be capable of handling"

I have to say Tony really know how to handle his Mechs. Opponent after opponent fell before him, and under his tutelage I managed to score a few wins as well. When he called off the offensive we had gained quite a bit of ground. 35-22 to us.

Tony escorted me back into the canyon and ordered me to stay there this time. While we were out of the picture, Bob Schlomer made an appearance. Blowing our formations up. Right, front and center. There seemed little we could do to halt his advance. Tony threw himself into the frontline, hoping to make Schlomer break off his one-formation rampage, but to little avail. Then David Buchanan joined Schlomer, and most of the advantage we had held disappeared 36-34 to us.

Rob rushed over to reinforce Tony`s drive, but lady luck was on the Knights side here, and after several fumbled attacks the Knights had the advantage again. 38-37 to them.

As the main action took place elsewhere, Drake Hunter had been left to cover quite a stretch of the front by himself. Now he suddenly found himself face to face with Joey Goldez, and not in a puny 70 ton formation either. Despite being outmassed by a noticable margin, Drake stood his ground, knowing none else was between Goldez and our HQ.

Goldez frontline, a Humbaba, a Reaper, a Cameron and a Boreas, shielded by a Regis met Drakes Cavalier and Guardian, supported by two Nakshi`s and a Drednought.

The first telling blow came from Goldez Cameron. A solid hit on the Cavalier with a Rednose Laser turned into a minor disaster as it both splashed and generated a Wide Fork. The Cavalier weathered the storm, but the Guardians armor disappeared and it was a lifeless husk. Then Goldez Humbaba sent the Nakshi to the scrapyard using a Heartbreaker. Drakes Dreadnought took out first the Humbaba and then the Reaper by crits. The Cameron finally put paid to the Cavalier after lots of hits, and Drakes Dreadnought finished off the Boreas. The Cameron dispatched the shutdown Guardian, and used an overpowered Vadhar to kill off the Dreadnought. Drakes Nakshi fought grimly on, but were killed by the Cameron

Drakes second line, consisting of a Fext, an Anubis and a Boreas supported by an Ignis and a Regis advanced. Drakes Regis blew up Goldez Regis and the Ignis put paid to the Boreas.

Goldez second line consisted of a trio of Onyxes flanked by two Antithesises. One of the Onyxes quickly critted the Ignis, and after a flurry of nontelling blows another Onyx critted the Anubis. Drakes Regis and Boreas took out the two Onyxes, and the Regis took out the third Onyx as well by landing an overpowered blow from its Man Ò War Ray. The two Antithesises was now outnumbered and Drakes Fext and Boreas blew up one each.

Goldez third line consisted of a Frigis surrounded by four Nakshi`s. Amid a flurry of shots the Nakshis were blown up, one each by the Fext and the the Regis while the Boreas blew up the two others. Goldez Frigis managed to land a couple more blows before a Twin Grazer from the Regis ripped it apart.

Goldez fourth line, consisting of a Notos, a Guardian and a Redeemer flanked by a Dreadnought and an Antithesis marched confidently forth. They started by reducing the armor on Drakes Mechs, but when a Tri-Slagger from the Regis critted the Redeemer they understood this was serious business. And when, after another flurry of blows, the Guardian was taken out by a massive blast from the Boreas` Leviathan their confidence seemed to slip. In that tiny moment the Fext landed a massive blow from its Blue Dragon. Enough to blow up the Dreadnought, and the fork it created sent the Antithesis into an emergency shutdown. The Fext quickly put the Antithesis out of its misery, and the now outnumbered Notos was slowed to a crawl before the trio of Mechs slowly blew it into small pieces.

Goldez fifth line, a Dilophos, a Frigis, a Dreadnought and two Torrents charged forth to avenge their brethren. The Dilophos used an overpowered Ursa Strike to blow the Fext apart, and an overpowered Missile tow from one of the Torrents ripped the Boreas apart while the combined Splash/Fork ripped the remaining armor off the Regis. The Frigis gave it a mercy shot.

Drakes third line, a Ballista, a Frigis and an Antithesis flanking a Boreas and a Notos immediately made their presence known. The Ballista opened the ball by letting a Renly`s Revenge crit the Dreadnought. The Boreas followed suit. An Oppenheimer did not pack quite enough punch to take out the Torrent it hit, but the Wide Fork it generated spread lot of mayhem, and the Dilopos shut down to avoid an engine explosion. After quite a few additional shots had been exchanged, the Notos melted the Frigis by an overpowered Chimera, and the spreading cloud of hot plasma shut down one of the Torrents as well. The Boreas took out the last Torrent and the Antithesis put the disconnected Dilophos out of its misery.

Goldez sixt line consisted of a Fext and a Regis flanking a trio of Boreas. Quite a few cold blasts were exchanged, and many a target was frozen for a while. Then Goldez Fext sent an overcharged super explosive missile into the Ballista. The resulting explotion removed all traces of the Mech. In response Drakes Boreas sent another Oppenheimer downrange, killing off one Boreas and shutting down another. Another Oppenheimer blast packed to little punch to take out the Fext, but the Wide Fork shut down the Regis as well. Drakes Notos and Antithesis took out the two crippled Mechs, and the Antithesis managed to take out both the last active Boreas and the Fext as well.

Goldez last line, a Rudy, a Spitfire and a Dilophos stepped gamely forth. If they knew they were outnumbered and probably had scant seconds left, they gave no sign of that. Instead the Dilophos sent an overcharged Chidori into the Frigis, cutting it in two. The Boreas Openheimer arrived less than a heartbeat later, ripping the Dilophos apart and taking the Rudy out of the fight. Goldez last Mech, the Spitfire landed another couple of Ineffectual blows before it too was felled.

The fight was now in the Balance, an even 38 score to both sides.

Mark and Rob tried unsuccessfully to put us in front again and Christopher Wallace got involved as well. Most of the assaults failed here and when the smoke settled, the advantage had shifted to the Knights again. Schlomer put in another appearance and got some more wins. 43-38 to them.

Tony got us another win, and King got a couple. Tony failed on the following attack, but he managed blowing up Ales Tomaseks coffee maker by a stray shot. Infuriated, Tomasek went on a rampage that took a defeat at Ables hands to stop. 52-40 to them.

At this point our ammo stocks was gone, and all we had was what the Mechs carried. Tony disallowed any further offensive operations, and we waited for the light to flash. But while we might be done, the Knights had more fights in them. Michael Beagle drove a wedge deep into our rear, and called Proctor in to help finish us off. Once again Tony provided a critical defense, and in the end they were halted just outside range of the Star League HQ.

The final score stood 64-41 to them.

Yes we had been beaten, but at least we had not been crushed, so there was at least some progress from the first round.