video; un: eisner

[hegemonwings]

Name: Byleth Eisner
Date: 5/10
Format: video

[ a dark-haired young woman in glasses and dark local fashion sits in front of the camera. she can't be older than 21, surely. anyway, byleth's been here for over a month and she's only posting to the network now. ]

I'm Byleth Eisner. I've met some of you already. I suppose you would call this an... interest check? [ she takes off her glasses, hanging them from the neckline of her shirt. ] Most of my recent work before coming here was in commanding my Emperor's army, but I'm an experienced teacher as well. Armed and unarmed combat, archery, strategy and tactics, riding, magic... rhetoric and composition. [ was that last one a joke? it's impossible to tell. her face gives no hints one way or another. ]

The Coven trains witches in magic, but that only does so much good. I'd like to work towards establishing a school where the Mirrorbound without martial skills can learn them. As it is, the Wilde is too dangerous for too many of us, and ad-hoc lessons aren't enough. [ she waves a hand. ] This is all... hypothetical, right now. But if this sounds something you'd like to either help with or learn from, please, let me know. In the meantime, I'm open to teaching one-on-one.

[ she seems to consider something, briefly, before: ]

... Also, firearms are new to me. I'm familiar with powder explosives, and I've seen cannons, but if anyone might help me to understand the use and maintenance of guns, I would appreciate it.

[ byleth pauses again. ]

That's all. [ and off it goes. nailed it? ]

[ ooc: open to fourth wall people! ]

Comments

video - un lupins;

[fordola]

I was a commander in my home as well - I held the second-highest rank a foreigner could in the Imperial Army. If you require somebody who's got that discipline to help keep order in such a school, I'd be open to it.

[ The griffin has a slight awkward look, though. She looks young as well - but she's waiting to be rejected for being a beast. ]

...while I did not use firearms like this realm, my weapon before arriving here was a type of gun which used explosives to augment the swings of a blade.

[hegemonwings]

[ byleth looks slightly more alert at the understanding she's speaking to a fellow officer, nodding. this woman's changes—she assumes they're changes, in any case—don't seem to register to her as odd. ]

Swings propelled by explosive force...? [ she's curious but sounds... skeptical. with an enchantment, perhaps, but... wait, hang on. ] I'd be happy for the help. Though—your Empire had limits on the foreigners in its service?

[ after all the work she's put into helping to transform the adrestian empire into a meritocracy, and how many top officers in the black eagle strike force were foreign nationals, something about that feels. less than cool, she thinks. ]

[fordola]

[ A firm nod - she seemed to lose any fear as she spoke - she could speak about her position so proudly. (Discussions on gunblades could come later.) ] Yes. Only those who were pureblooded Garleans - or those closely connected to such - could be promoted past the rank of sas in the Garlemald Empire.

--Our rank is a three-letter title which can mean multiple things. We use it as a middle name - and carry it with pride. My name, for example, is Fordola rem Lupis. And it took a hell of a lot of work to get to that place. Even so, many doubted me due to my nationality. [ A little snarl to herself. ]

[hegemonwings]

[ she tries to suppress her distaste as fordola explains the structure of the empire she served. once it becomes clear that she's not fully okay with it either, her mouth twists slightly. ]

Such a system would be unthinkable in Adrestia now. The core of the Imperial Army hails from the Empire itself, but countless soldiers came from neighboring countries during the last war... a majority of my elite officers included. Merit and resolve are all that mattered. I'm sorry to hear that your chosen homeland doesn't see things the same way. [ it's not pity, or even sympathy, exactly. just irritation on her behalf. ]

Though it sounds like you've done well for yourself.

[fordola]

[ She listened, and closed her eyes. ]

There was one who believed in merit and resolve. He is how I gained my rank - for he believed in me. Lord Gaius...

A pity he died, hm? And that his word wouldn't stop rumours. Just because we were fighting the very homeland I came from.

yells about 2020

[hegemonwings]

[ she nods at that, a bit of sympathy now actually clear. byleth shakes her head. ]

I'm sorry. There's no justifying—that sort of elitism is... just irrational and cruel. This Lord Gaius sounds like a much more reasonable man than many of your fellows. [ she sighs. ] The Adrestian Empire was neighbored by the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and the Leicester Alliance before the last war. As a consequence of the conflict, the Empire reabsorbed them, but... as I said, many of the top officers under my command were from those countries. I was indisposed for much of the war, so I don't know if rumors were spread for a time, but... [ another slight head shake. ]

By the end, none would have dared question their commitment to the Empire's revolution, even as they fought their homelands. I find it... disturbing, that the Garlemald Empire would see things so differently.