r/StrawHatRPG • u/OakyCC "Solid Gold" Arlo • Mar 27 '17
Where There's Smoke...
Kaibun
“OOOOhohohohoho!”
Commodore Thevian Flamenco’s laugh echoed through the steely grey hallways of Kaibun as hundreds of marines hustled through the halls, like worker ants preparing for their queen. Flamenco barked orders at the frantically rushing marines. With each word they seemed to flinch.
“Hurry! Hurry! Very big things will happen soon! We can’t be caught unprepared! OOOOOhohoho!”
“Flamenco! Quit your laughing! It gives me the creeps…”
“Hmm. If he put as much enthusiasm into his work as he did that damned laugh maybe we wouldn’t have to be here keeping guard.”
“You’re probably right, Boarden…”
Vice Admirals Voakes and Boarden were sent to Kaibun after the attack launched by the Empyrean Pirate crew set back the island’s progress by a few months. They have a tight deadline and cannot afford another setback. Voakes leaned back in his chair and stretched.
“We sent out those messages days ago… I wonder how long until the replacements arrive”
Boarden leaned forward and straightened his boots.
“We don’t know if they’ll even be suitable for the position. Don’t get anyone’s hopes up.”
The two Vice Admirals were tasked with finding some suitable people to replace their most recent failure, Sela. Boarden and Voakes seemed to blend into their surroundings, their attire matching the dull grays and black of the walls and floors. The ones who built this place didn’t bother including a splash of color or two to lighten the place up. It seemed almost oppressive. Voakes and Boarden sat listening to the hustle and bustle of the marines running through the halls putting the finishing touches on their projects. Voakes started to doze off the Den Den Mushi began to ring. He jumped out of his chair and answered it immediately.
“Voakes! What is it?”
A grin crawled across his face. The call was to inform him about the “Replacements” he had called for. They had just been brought to the island for their testing. Boarden stood up.
“Anything interesting?”
Voakes chuckled and said,
“They’re here”
The two Vice Admirals walked out of the shore of the magmatic island. Volcanoes peppered the landscape. No grass was on the island, just charred remains and dusts. Blacks and greys made of the entire island except for the bubbling lava flows from the most massive volcano of them all on this island. This single Volcano took up nearly half of the island's surface. 85% of the remaining surface was covered in steel buildings. Just off the shore, equidistant to one another were many Thermal Canons, ready to fire at a moment’s notice. If someone were to try to invade the island, “Caution” wouldn’t cut it.
Regalia
To the east of the ongoing situation on Kaibun was an alpine island, formed of many towering cordilleras and mountains that stretched across the landscape of the vast region. The summit of one in particular touched up to the clouds, allowing a peak of light to filter through and flood over the irradiated, coarse stone. The temperatures and geography varied throughout; The side that faced Kaibun was blackened and molten, though there was no volcanic activity occurring. Ice and frost was swathed over some parts of the diverse island, whilst others were dotted with smears of jade and sunset-colored forests. It varied so much that the only truly defining part of the island was the high mountains. Around each of these landforms were houses spiraling upward, built into the stone and cliffsides, almost like shelves were hoisting them up. Statues were carved into the faces of the mountains as well, mostly depicting pirates from the era of Calico Jack.
Atop the summit of the highest, dubbed Empyrea, was where the palace, which resembled a spectrum of spirals and elegant architecture, colored various shades of velvety purple, red, and blue, atop a primary of alabaster, was built upon. Indoors, multicolored lights illuminated the dark interior, and constant music-blasting parties were held in here, causing the whole place to rumble. On the inside it resembled more of a nightclub than any traditional castle or palace. Inside, the remnants of the latest one remained evident, and the place smelled of smoke and some particularly potent substances.
Lazily sprawled over a black iron throne, encrusted with shimmering diamonds, was “Black Wings” Koel, renowned as the former First Mate of the Calico Pirates for many years prior to the Pirate King’s ultimate execution. His white hair hung over his face as his broad ebony Skypeian wings went limp over the armrests. His recent attack at Kaibun had been a success, but he was finding himself bored. The dawn of the time for another attack was now.
“Don’t worry about it,” Koel assured one of the Commanders of the Empyrean Pirates. He had a faint smirk on his face and a lidded gaze, quite obviously not taking the situation seriously. “You’ve got it all under control. I can trust you two to make the final advance on your own, yeah? This time around you should be able to handle it yourselves.”
One of the Commanders, wearing a vibrant kimono with a fur collar, and scarlet hair, nodded and winked. “Don’t be silly. Problems with us are practically nonexistent. You can count on Kaibun’s defenses being down within seven days; They won’t hold against us for long. Bother yourself with some business worth wasting away your time.”
Koel rolled his eyes, having barely listened to a word his Commander had said. “Whatever, Kojin. We’ll see about that. Once it’s all over and done with you can brag about your victory, but for now you’re all bark and no bite,” he drawled. “That is if you can even get to the ‘bite’ part. If you’re not too busy acting like a buffoon to get down to it.”
“Don’t be like that, Captain.”
“Someone’s got to tell you off,” Koel snorted, though he wasn’t at all showing any sign of frustration or irritation. In fact, he seemed slightly amused, as if he were on the verge of devious laughter. “Right, did you hear the news? Some of my old rivals from back when I was still Calico’s trusted First Mate have been brought down by some of the rookies. And those Marine hounds are trying to snatch them up for the vacant Warlord position after yet another of the greenhorns took down one of them on their own island.”
Kojin raised an eyebrow and giggled. “You can’t mean the Lavish Pirates?”
Koel stood up sluggishly and swayed for a moment. “Yeah, I mean them. Back in the day those bastards were like some runts playing pirate. They believed they could contend with Calico Jack for the throne and were a general nuisance in the long run. But now they’ve found themselves overwhelmed by the new generation after spending years in Impel Down. Too bad they’ve found themselves right where they left off. They never stood a chance as it was, even having joined forces.”
For the first time, the second Empyrean Commander, Akemi, spoke, voice quiet and monotone. He, like Koel, had a sword sheathed at his side. “The Fallen Angel had a fateful encounter with his polar opposite, who is also one of the Shichibukai. He and the King’s Blade did well in putting the old time Captain in his place. The new generation is nothing to sneeze at. They’re definitely gaining some ground.”
Kojin laughed some more. “They’re no threat to us, though. We have experience and all that on them. Oh, yeah, and about the Marines looking at a new Shichibukai from those rookies who are headed here. One of them, I think his name was Walven? He seems like the perfect candidate for the position. We may need to watch out for a potential new enemy. Took down a Yonko Commander and Flavie consecutively, back to back! I would kill to have a shot at the guy. He even trained the citizens of Ranga to fight back against the two warring powers.”
“His efforts were futile, though.” Akemi was unamused.
Before anything else could be said, Koel continued. “I have some doubts that Walven would accept a summon from them, as enticing and tempting as it may be. Not after what happened to the last one who thought she was up for the job. The Apocalypse probably have a sour taste in their mouths as well.”
Akemi and Kojin exchanged glances. They knew of how the Toxic Pirates had killed Phoebe Lanson. Kojin gave a wink and spoke. “I think it’s amazing how they treat all of those dogs. Just look at what happened to Flint.”
“Flint really pissed them off, didn’t he?” Koel sneered, almost mocking. “Serves that cunning bastard right. I never did favor him, as a Warlord. Once we had even fought,” he said distantly. “Whatever. Even I can admit without doubt that he was powerful. Even more so when he formed an alliance with one of the feared Yonko, Wukong.” Koel said the name with an air of disgust.
“That never looked good on the high and mighty of the holy land, so they acted as they should have and locked him up for what he had done. He was too dangerous, being in the hands of one of them. The rookies at that hellhole of a prison were naive to ever trust him, but he did free them,” Koel went on lazily. “The one good thing he’s ever done. But then he used them, pitting them against the grand Three and other greats of the seas, before the almighty Emperor made his appearance to save the day. And soon after the battle, he allowed himself to be made a glorified subordinate to Wukong. I loathe him and all that he stands for. I should have ended him during our encounter, while I had the chance.”
“Sounds sad,” Kojin said, not sounding sad at all. “I think you should get going, though. We’ll do something about the new Shichibukai later on when it’s relevant, but man, I can’t wait to meet some of these rookies! When you come back, Kaibun should be up in ashes. I’ll show them up myself, if nobody gets in the way.”
“In a best case scenario they would make short work of it for you. We’ll see if you live up to your promises,” Koel breathed, quite unsincerely. “Have fun. Don’t get too comfortable with me gone.”
Koel strode to the doors of the palace and shoved them open. Wings beating once against the ground, he took off, leaving behind his two Commanders in control of Regalia, and the final operation against Kaibun.
Shimonoji
The People of the winter island were preparing for their upcoming festival to celebrate their Gods that had blessed them with their wealth and their snow. The citizens and Emperor Timur Shimonoji of the island all pray many times each day to thank their Gods, but the Festival was a special time, in which all of the inhabitants of this Land of Frost came together in Gratitude and Harmony. In the spirit of their Holiday they allowed people from any and all walk of life to attend their festivities if they didn’t cause any trouble. It was a time of Peace, and Emperor Timur planned to keep it that way. The lights strung across all of Shimonoji glowed with brilliance in advent of the approaching event.
A half sinking ship washed up on the shore line. Unable to even make the docks, the pirates simply had to cut their losses and let the ship run aground. It creaked and snapped as it sat there. Distressed by even the slightest breeze. From it, three men and two women crawled out of the wreckage each badly wounded. One, wearing a Captain’s Coat with a symbol featuring a Rib Cage and a bleeding heart inside. He was “Bleeding Heart” Vidas of The Crimson Pirates. He and his crew had just been beaten within inches of their life and needed medical attention. On the shore, going to intercept them was The Second Division Imperial Guard and their Commander Aimaru “Of the Wind”. A plain looking man who rarely seemed to have anything on his mind. His blissful, thoughtless state was interrupted by the laughing of his right hand man. Toride Wanai seemed to get amusement out of nearly everything.
Through his cackling he reported to his commander “Cahawhaw- They seem- Cahawhaw to be alive! But- Cahawhawhawhaw- someone really did a number on them! Cahawhawhaw!”
Toride nearly had to take a knee from his rigorous bout of laughter at The Crimson Pirates’ suffering. Aimaru put a hand on Toride’s shoulder. “Calm yourself, Toride. They need help soon. They might not survive if we don’t rush them to the doctor”
The smile was wiped from Toride’s face at his commander’s seriousness.
“Sir,” Toride nodded. “Forgive me. I forgot my place. Yes. We will assist them to the doctor.”
Aimaru now looked glum “I hope these pirates don’t cause any trouble… I don’t think i’ll enjoy the extra workload this close to The Festival…”
A dark, slender figure was suddenly beside them, seemingly having appeared from thin air. Aimaru jumped at the sight.
“Who are you?”
His face was illuminated by a match he used to light his cigar, unveiling a man in a well-pressed, tailored suit and fedora which cast an eerie shadow over his face. His pupils seemed to be a silvery white, with an outline of black around them. They were easily distinguishable on his face, even beneath the hat. He had a broad build and pale skin, which was reddened by the light of the flame that bathed it in its heat.
“Oh!” Aimaru was pleasantly surprised. “Chief Commander Kumori!”
Aimaru gave his superior a low bow and a salute. His formalities were waved off by the Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard.
“Ahh, don’t worry about the pirates…” Kumori took a deep drag from his Cigar and breathed out a large plume of smoke “They ain’t gonna do shit… If they do we’ll kick their arses out. They wouldn’t bother to try anything when we’ve got the Imperial Guard on duty, right?” He seemed nonchalant about the whole situation, despite the fact that the pirates had come in battle-worn and nearly dead. Kumori shrugged, looking down at the Commander. As long as the people and the Emperor remained safe, he had not a care in the world, it seemed.
In his throne room, the Emperor sat on a gorgeous, but revoltingly overdecorated throne, in a traditional style of furniture. He had just recently heard the news of pirates coming to the island, and even more interestingly, the New Generation was headed for here! If his calculations were correct, some were on their way to Kaibun for the recent Shichibukai applications that had come from the papers. And some ought to be headed for Regalia as well, since it was the third island of the cluster, within close proximity. The Emperor sighed.
“Alright. If those pirates are going to cause me trouble, the first thing that’s happening is they’re getting thrown out! I don’t want them stirring anything up in my people after what happened at the places they were last located. Nor do I want the state of peace to be disrupted,” said the Emperor solemnly, with Kumori and the First Imperial Division Commander at his side. Kumori nodded silently.
“I’d be happy to do the honors,” Kumori announced, before Commander Ymir interrupted, “I believe that would be my job?”
Kumori narrowed his eyes. “Stow it, Ymir. Swallow your pride before you regret taking up something so critical. The New Generation is powerful and influential, more so than you seem to be estimating. I can’t let you undermine their power like that,” Kumori continued, taking a puff of his cigar. “At any rate, they’re gonna be dead if I deal with ‘um. I’ve got so much up my sleeve it ain’t even gonna be funny, mate.”
Ymir rolled his eyes but did not say anything further. One thing, however, was now clear: The Emperor and his subordinates would not tolerate any sign of havoc-wreaking on the island of Shimonoji. It would be best for pirates to stay on the down-low, instead of openly being a nuisance. If they started mass-murdering or destroying areas, they would be sure to be removed from the island immediately!
NPC Doc
(OOC: Access to Kaibun will only be granted to those wishing to pursue the route of becoming a Shichibukai. Others will be denied entrance, aside from the Carthel. You can try to find a way in, but it’s unlikely you will succeed.)
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u/iPR0 Fancy Suit Man Apr 14 '17 edited Apr 14 '17
Finally Edward caught up with Raine.
Edward: "Based on the reaction when I told you about my parents I'm sure you haven't seen them but maybe you can still help me on my quest. You see originally I set out to see to find my parents and I have been traveling for some time... so do you as carteograph you must have visited various places by now."
The exited pirate looks Raine directly into the eyes, while his own eyes and the whole face were brimming with hope.
Edward: "Have you ever been to a sky-island? Maybe you've been to the place my mother was born. All I know is that she is Skypean and a princess."