Answered with tight lip silence. Even when sheltered in Illusio he hardly said a word to Lady Aya. The moment his blade sparked a war it seems as if he lost his voice to grief and fear.
In this case it was more fear than anything else. Now in the enemies hands they can do whatever they wanted to him. The spotlight had him in literal chains. Funny how the pressure during a battle could not make him so much as flinch โ a Cragspur general, he knew how to direct himself and his men in action.
But diplomacy? No; his older brothers took care of it. He was the third in line after all. Whatever diplomacy fell to him were small business or already taken care of.
โพ ย ย โ ย โ Dear, your silence can betray you. โ Aya finally spoke from her seat. She couldnโt speak for him anymore least the dragon warlord takes it as a crime of some sort.
โ โฆIโveโฆalready said what I needed to say when I came bearing a seal of warfare. โ Voice gruff and a little hoarse from lack of use; Ujikuni was going to keep this as general as possible. They canโt punish him for what canโt be said after all. ย ย ย ย
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย โ Lady Aya, with all due respect - your charge is a man and a warlordโs son at that, โ he chides her,ย voice slicing through the air. heโs aware of the coldness in his voice,ย like steel, like desolation - wearing the mantle of a blood-soaked warlord. a dragonโs quiet anger is far deadlier than flame after all.ย โ Let him defend himself for he has intruded upon my kingdom and thus understand the consequencesย of his and his fatherโs actions, c
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย there was a story of a war years ago of a general whose brother had been held captive. the boy was a young, held as a peace offering, a hostageย -ย ย ย ย ย - not even a warrior and was trapped in illusioโs cold halls for a year. illusio dealt in lies, that was what he had learned, liesย and trickery and illusions like what the kingdom has been named for. he had lost something there, plagued with nightmares for the next two years.ย
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย illusio lies, aya lies but this man - this warrior has not the cunning for lies nor trickery. and his honesty will cost him and his father dearly. he thinks of his lordโs missing arm, the Lady Hirokoโs quiet resignition at the death of her retainer. what Ujiyasu has done was declared war upon the nation of Ransei and Dragnor โฆ well, Dragnor always keeps its promises.ย
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย a region of endless war, that was what Ransei has been and his eyes are aflame when Ran asks:ย โ Then you are aware of what you have promised?ย โ it would be a war until one side or the other surrendered and Dragnor has only ever surrendered once -ย ย ย ย ย - through the will of Arceus. there would not be another. he gestures for his retainers to step forward, swords at their sides forged of iron and dragonscale. that would do nicely.ย
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย he turns towards Aya.ย โ I trust that you have Lord Ujiyasuโs current location? โ he asks, hardly daring to believe the words that he was about to utter. but this is what he must, this is Dragnorโs justice, the justice of dragons and the justice of war and Ujikuni has signed away his life the moment he declared himself for his father at the onset of the war. Ran is a warlordย after all.ย
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย โ In Dragnor, we have an easy way of finding those who escape from justice. Ujikuni, hold out your hand. Weโll send a letter to your father asking for his return, accompanied by a contingency plan. You said that you would gladly fall for his cause - I will allow you that. I will also afford you a small mercy. Now tell me - which hand is your non-dominant hand? โ