Complete[PP:F11: KoTB Guild Hall] Meeting of the Two Tone Knights

[Opal 0]

OOC: This meeting will take place directly after the Boss Meeting. Hikoru, Ariel, Zero and Shark as members of the Azure Knight are welcome to the meeting. As well as Oikawa and Takao. 

 

As the meeting came to a close, Mack and Commander Heathcliff remained as the other knights had their duties to fulfill before going to the boss room. Opal sat in her chair, fingers locked as she looked at the remaining players in the room. Those of Azure Knights, Takao and Oikawa to whom both had no color of alliance or under no banner...yet. With Mack sitting to her right and the Commander to her left, the woman stood up and cleared her throat. 

"I wish not to beat around the bush. We are all busy people so I wish to get this out of the way and come to an understanding. Ariel, you once thought of joining the Knights of the Blood Oath, we even did that quest together some time ago. I enjoyed my time with you and I consider you a close friend, albeit we have not got to spend too much time together. At the end of the day though, we are all bound by blood. We are all fighting for the same thing; freedom. That is why we have these meetings, so we can learn the about the boss. But even then, learning about what is to be expected is never truly significant until we are in that room ourselves. Anything can happen in a boss fight, we lost good men and women during those raids because of hastily created plans. None is to fault however, we each dipped our hands in the blood of the others, therefore today and forever, we will all be Orange Players. For every life lost, fresh air is never to be given outside this game." 

Opal spoke with a direct tone, looking at each Azure member in the eyes not for intimidating them, but out of respect and clarity of her wishes. Although at this point, her words were rather cryptic, "Let me speak in plain tongue. I want you all to fall to command in the Knights of the Blood. I understand you all belong to the Azure Brigade as a branch off unit for whatever purpose that may be. But I can see that each of you have your own goals as well. What exactly has the Brigade done for you, that you couldn't do alone? Do they supply you with uniques when the raid is over? Do they share col or information on dungeons that they find? Zero, I understand you still own the Darkness Blade if memory serves when we fought the Darkened Souls before the Angel Raid. Such power given to the Azure Brigade for what purpose and what extent? You all are strong individuals, each one of you possessing more value than the Brigade could ever quell. If not to join with my Knights of the Blood Oath, then surely you are all strong enough to create your own Banner. And as such, as Vice Commander and I am sure Commander Heathcliff and Mack will agree, a strong unity on our established ties could cause a monumental change within Aincrad. In short, I would like to make a proposal. If you were to join us, and fall under my command as a Knight of the Blood, you will be free from oppressive elitism of that guild. Not that they are wrong in what they do, but they hoard their uniques and their information. That does NOT make Aincrad stronger. Only when we can abolish such ideals can we move forward together. You may not know it, but the people suffer in this world, some more than others, but we all suffer. I have seen it time and time again, how many more dark hours must we carry upon our shoulders before we ever see any glimpse of true happiness or light? Forge that path with me, and for the future of Aincrad. With our combined forces, not only will we see light of day in the real world sooner, but we will give freedom and happiness back to the players. Hope, that is what we all long for..." she smiled to Ariel and Hikoru, "And love...to feel that warmth once again outside these prison walls, outside this bird cage of a world. Together, stronger, for Aincrad, for us all." 

Opal cleared her throat, she now turned to Takao and Oikawa. Two players she briefly knew personally, but their reputation long since standing for as long as she knew of their past affiliations, "You two worry me..." she said with a light laugh, "You could swing either way and cause this world to be ripped asunder. So I give you the same proposal as them, join my Knights and together we can see tomorrow of the real world sooner. Or, if the Commanders of the Azure Knights wish to break ties with the Azure Brigade and become their own guild, and in need of valuable prospects, Oikawa and Takao would be welcomed additions? And I will do all I could to help strengthen that bond in anyway possible. "

Edited May 24, 2016 by Opal

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

The planning had ended a strategy had been discussed, opinions have been made public and all that. The blonde was overall satisfied with how it went and had nothing to add more. As the rest left, the blonde just watched and waved with her fan at the ones she was well acquainted with. Still unarmed with nothing but her white fan and in her winter flower themed kimono, the blonde took seat on one of the empty chairs near @Zero(if he was still around) or in his seat if he had left, then motioned her promised one to sit beside her. Then Opal, the one that requested this meeting, began expressing her wishes and opinions. This blonde had some idea what they were going to be about as she corresponded before with the raven headed vice-commander. It seems that the fact that she once contemplated... and even made some arrangements on joining their guild didn't go unmentioned. Meeting Opal's eyes the blonde showed a smile, she'd vowed to herself that she wouldn't break her facade as easily as she did during the previous meeting, she'd now have @Hikoru to morally support her at the least.

The blonde let out an light audible 'tsk' with her tongue behind her fan, as Opal went straight into the middle of the matter, wanting to protest a bit as this wasn't what she proposed to the woman during their mail exchanges. But she decided to abstain until she'd say what she had to say. On some things she agreed on some others she didn't. At the mention of a banner her eyes squinted as Opal almost seemed to knew that Aincrad's Master Tailor... provisional for now, was tasked by @Shark with the making a new logo for the guild. She couldn't give a reply to her offer nor reply in Zero's behalf. As a matter of fact she was surprised that Opal knew about his unique skill, from her knowledge he was doing his best to not make it that public.... the fact that she said it out loud, for the rest of the people to know wasn't helping his case either. To that she couldn't help but glare at him and chuckle behind her fan.

'United we stand stronger!' seemed to be the general idea as the woman continued, reminding the blonde of a army recruiter that relentlessly tries to convince friends to join him. She let out a small sigh then after seeing as none of the other Azure Knights wanted to offer her a reply, she raised her folded fan vertically and stood up herself next, lightly tapping on the planning table's surface. "This is not what I messaged you about... Vice Commander." she said with a smile while looking at the person in question. "But I don't blame you, I too have been put in charge of recruitment of new blood for the guild so it's okay as long as we don't center the discussion about it. Of course, both of them are welcomed to join us." she said, directing the fan towards the two and switching it from left to right. " As for what the Brigade gave me? I answer not to their council nor their commander or officers. Shark is the only one leader that I recognize, Zero being second in command and my senpai. I'll tell you what happened while I was a member long ago. And what the Brigade gave me at that time: They forbid all members to join the 10th, what would have been my first boss raid!" the blonde was beginning to get... passionate as she continued. "And all because they didn't get to plan it but Mari, I was stupid at that time and didn't have a ...good relation with Mari thus I didn't complain as I was a relatively new recruit." she breathed out slowly to calm herself down then added with a displeased expression. "Not long from that the Council decided to kick every Brigadier except themselves out of the guild and retreat into seclusion without offering a proper explication as to why."

This action left scars on the blonde as she felt betrayed after being denied of reaching her aspiration: to become a part of the clearing team, that was what she was given. Luckily the blond wasn't that hot headed and realized that she began to deviate out of the course and stated: "I despised the old guild but.:" a smile creeped on her face as she continued: "I'm quite fond of the reformed one, even more so as the last remnant of the old one 'Commander Zelrius' has stepped down from command letting a new generation take over. Their curse is that they still bear the 'elitist' mark passed down to them, despite some of them not being like that." and with that she wanted to end those kind of talk, tapping the tip of her fan on the table.

"First thing that I asked and didn't get a reply during our messages was this:
-Is the formerly named guild 'Knights of Christ', now the 'Azure Knights' still allied with the Knights of the Blood Oath?-"

Ariel wanted to see if the alliance made by the ones before her and Opal was still active to date.She then looked at Opal and switched to Mack and their leader, Heathcliff. Something about the guy didn't go right with the blonde he'd been too quiet during the planning and she heard little things about him actively be a part on the front lines......'why start now?' she asked herself as Mack listen him in the team deployment earlier. For now it was just a minor gut feeling that she decided to ignore as it would impede her during the rest of the meeting.

Edited April 2, 2016 by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Shark 0]

I was walking the 11th floor city when I received a message from Ariel saying that the boss raid meeting was over and that the alliance meeting was about to begin. I then made my way to the recently bought Knights of the Blood Oath's guild. On my way to the guild, I began to think about a course of action I could take in the meeting that could result in the best alliance. I thought to myself that if we break from the Brigade and made the guild its own entity, then made a strong alliance with the KoB, we could shift the entire momentum of Aincrad. I have met Commander Heathcliff once before and we relatively shared the same ideals on helping the players of Aincrad. I was then outside the doors of the guild hall and remembered that the last time I was in this position of creating an alliance was when Ryujin, my best friend at the time, was the Vice-Commander. I walked through the doors as I was prepared to discuss the details of this alliance. 

I opened the doors and saw the players that were still in the room. I noticed Ariel and Hikoru sitting at the table and made my way to the opposite side of Heathcliff. I stood standing as I introduced myself for those that did not know who I was,  "Hello everyone. For those who do not know me, I am Shark, leader of the Azure Knights, formerly known as the Knights of Christ." I said as I gave a nod to those I knew personally and took my seat. I listened to what Vice-Commander Opal had to say about this alliance. She mentioned about having us fall to her command under the Blood Oath and a slight displeased look came across my face. I stayed quite and respectfully listened until she had finished talking. She then asked if Oikawa and Takao would be welcomed to join the guild. Upon hearing that, a smile came back to my face as I was happy to recruit new blood. After that, Opal was finished talking and Ariel began to speak her mind. 

As Ariel spoke, she hit every point that was on my mind after what Opal had said. After Ariel wrapped up what she was saying, I began to speak. Concurring what Ariel has said, The two are welcomed with opened doors. With that said, and if they accept, we will have more than enough power to break from the Brigade and stand alone. As what Ariel said earlier, that is our objective and purpose of this meeting. We do not want to fall under command of the Blood Oath but rather be more like a brother guild where we have strong connections with each other and are on equal footing. The purpose of this alliance was more or so, that we can work together to help beat this game as well as helping the players come together and grow not only as players but as people too. I said as I smiled at my guild mates. "With our two guilds working together, who knows what we can accomplish. The Brigade helped keep the guild alive while we were low on members and would have been wiped from the system for not having the guild minimum. Now that we have enough members, we do not need them. With recent inter-guild disputes, it prompted me that the guild was no longer for us so we needed to break away and reclaim the Knights of Christ and rise once again." I said while looking at the other players and awaiting responses or other words from them. 

[Mack 0]

Mack sat back in his chair at the table and listened to the conversation going on around him. For the time being, he could see no reason to get directly involved in making a pitch to anyone. Opal had covered all the bases, Takao already had been pressured by the ginger giant on several occasions to give up his solo adventuring ways to join forces with the Knights of the Blood Oath, and Mack really didn't know Oikawa all that well outside of a few planning meetings and boss raids and his rather public rejection of the Azure Brigade a few weeks ago during the clearing operation that had resulted in the death of Rohk the Death Eagle. As he listened to the conversation Mack's attention was drawn to his menu when the received message icon blinked at him. Reaching out a finger, Mack tapped the icon and quickly read the message.

"Damn," the Raid Commanding Officer swore under his breath and then looked up at both Oikawa and Ariel. "Change in plans, Lowenthal has just resigned from this Raid. No idea why, I'll speak to him when I get a moment, but I do need to rebalance the teams and their leadership now. Luckily, Oikawa and Ariel are still here. Oikawa, I'd like you to take Lowenthal's team command, you'll have Charlie Squad and Ariel, I'd appreciate if you'd take the reserves," the hulking axe man said, leaning forward in his seat and steepling his fingers. He had faith that Ariel could handle the responsibility of command and the deployment of the reserve forces. "It's either you or Jomei to command the reserves and, honestly, I think that either of you would do a fine job. As for combining the guilds, I'm fine either way. Together, we would run the tower, but I can appreciate wanting to maintain autonomy as well," Mack paused for a moment and nodded in Takao's direction. "Whatever is decided is fine with me." Mack crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his seat once more.

[Takao 0]

Takao hadn't planned on lingering in the Knights of Blood meeting hall beyond the duration of the meeting. As those few not of relevant alliance left, Takao's own legs had tensed in preparation to stand, but found his movement paused by Opal speaking. He relaxed his muscles and reclined back into the chair to listen. Her words irked him, and it was clear on his face. Furrowed eyebrows and his mouth curled downward into a very apparent frown. Him, an orange player? Metaphorically or literally, it didn't matter to him. The simple notion was arrant nonsense, he would never stoop so low. His hands and the hands of everybody else in the vanguard were clean, there was only one person to blame for that heinous transgression. Narrowed eyes were set like stone on Opal, watching her every move and listening to every word. He wanted to speak up and to have his voice heard, but something kept him biting his tongue.

"I appreciate the offer, but... I've tried guilds in the past and they haven't worked," Takao said in response, his voice carrying an atypical monotone. "... Which isn't to say you guys won't work out for each other in the end. Just not for me. I'm fully capable of helping the efforts by myself, like I've been doing with scouting." He still had the itch in the back of his throat, the burning desire to confront her for what she said. He'd fought as hard as he could and done everything in his power, yet things had still turned out as they did. Just like they always did. If he could go back and change things, to do things differently, there wouldn't be a moment of hesitation. He'd take it all back and fix everything, but he couldn't. Life wasn't fair like that, and the game especially wasn't.

His legs tensed up once again and he slowly rose to stand. "Also, I have every intention of forwarding information I get from scouting the bosses to the Knights of Blood. I'd really rather not have the Azure Brigade try to plan another boss fight if I can help it. They don't seem too competent in that department lately." He said bluntly, knowing fully well that their alleged hero would be doing everything in his power to clear the floors as quickly, and as recklessly, as he could. Even if things had ended up working out regarding that strategic blunder, Takao didn't have any desire to see how long they had until their luck ran out.

"So uh... s'at all? I've got some stuff I wanted to get done, 'n I don't wanna linger too long if this is just gonna be talkin' about guild politics."

[Oikawa 1]

Oikawa had every intention of exiting the guild hall post meeting, however; he found himself now seated and listening in on the talks of guilds and recruitment. Quietly he listened to what everyone had to say and offer, suppressing his own thoughts until his time to speak was granted. Once Takao had concluded his thoughts on the matter, Oikawa lightly rapped his knuckles against the table to gather everyone's attention. Sighing, he made eye contact with those heading their guilds and their subordinates before speaking.

"As many of you know, I've retaken up the title of Solo Player. I've been in two guilds to date. One stripped away from by fate, the other undeserving of my time. Like Takao here, I've come tot he consensus that guilds seem to never work in my favor, as such I'll remain solo in the sense that I will answer to no one but myself. However, also like Takao I will offer my services to those that aren't Azure. Shark, Zero, I like to think of you two as separate from that mess Zelrius has created. I still fully intend to help you recruit players so you may stand alone from them. Opal, Heathcliff, Mack, while I also appreciate the offer, I don't fit in with this guild and due to it losing the only member I connected with on a personal level, I have zero intent on joining for the time being. That being said, the future and eighty plus floors are still to be cleared, anything can happen."

Tapping his gloved knuckle back against the table, the blonde opted to remain seated to see what else would be said.

[Shark 0]

After I spoke with my thoughts, Mack seemed to have scrambled to fill a last minute issue with the boss raid that was going to start in a week or two. Shortly Mack addressed the last minute issue, Takao rose and spoke his mind saying that guilds just weren't for him. following that, he mentioned how he didn't want to do anything that had a connection with the Azure Brigade. After that was said, Oikawa concurred the same thing but will still aid my guild with recruiting players to help us break from the Brigade. Upon hearing what has been said by the two players, I let out a sight as I moved to a standing position at the table. 

I looked at Takao, "I appreciate you taking the time to think about the offer Takao. I would like you to know that if you change your mind, there is a spot for you in our guild". I then turned and looked at Oikawa, "Same goes for you old friend. There will always be a spot open." I looked around at the members of the Blood Oath and my own guild, as well as the two unaffiliated, "If you are worried about having to deal with the Brigade, I assure you that they will not have anything to do with us. Once we have enough players we will break away from them to be our own guild once again. We would work together with the Knights of the Blood Oath to help the players of Aincrad and beat this game so that we can all go home to our friends and family. After all. that is the main point for this meeting and alliance, so we don't have the Brigade ruin the lives of the players with the so called guild that is currently in shambles due to their higher ups. If you, Oikawa, and you, Takao, join us then together we can work to make sure they don't have a hand in anything this important ever again." I let out a deep breath and sat back down. I thought to myself that if they joined us, then we would have enough strength to rival their guild and change the momentum of this game for the better. "Oh one more thing". I said as I looked at Oikawa and Takao, "If you are feeling something against having to answer to anyone but yourself, I'm sure we could work something out. I have 1 Field commander spot left and a few Guild Council spots as well. Field commanders are responsible for making their own squad so that gives you all some options should you choose to join." I told them as I sat back in my chair and relaxed a bit.

[Mack 0]

"Shark and Opal, with all due respect, neither of these guilds is a professional military," Mack began in a low, rumbling tone that still managed to fill the space of the meeting hall. "I imagine I'm one of the few professional soldiers, from the real world, trapped in SAO," the blacksmith said, leaning forward and resting elbows on the table as he steepled his fingers. "Neither the Azure Knights nor the Knights of the Blood Oath can compel Takao or Oikawa to join either of our guilds, we have no power to conscript other players and to continue to pressure either of them to align with either guild as both have made their desire to remain solo clear is to, in my opinion, border dangerously on conscription. I have said to Takao, several times, that the offer to join KoB is open should he ever desire to become a member. He, in turn, has stated a willingness to work with us in most any capacity we ask while remaining a solo player. Given that he is the finest dungeon sniffing bard in Aincrad, that's good enough for me." The axe man leaned back in his seat once more and crossed his arms over his chest again.

"Oikawa, just now, has stated much the same thing as Takao. Again, this is good enough for me. If you're looking for a real world parallel, think of them as Private Military Contractors," the ginger giant said with a slight smirk as he referred to both Oikawa and Takao as mercenaries, albeit in very polite terms. "They have their own sets of goals, ideals, and rules which happen to match our own. Oikawa, I do hope you will take command of Charlie Squad for the Raid now given Lowenthal's seemingly abrupt decision to retire from front line combat in the past few minutes. There are no strings attached to that, you don't have to join the Guild. I'd also like Ariel to assume command of the reserve forces. I prefer not to trust any members of the Brigade with a squad command, if I can avoid it. Ssendom, though my friend, is too unpredictable with the berserker skill. Zelrius, as I said, is a weapon and is focused on speed and nothing else. I don't know Manta, Rebekah hasn't been seen or heard from recently that I know of, and Kiru is much too low-leveled to take part in a Boss Raid. I trust Tristan alone of the Azure leadership but he will be in Alpha Squad with myself, the commander, and Macradon our hands will be plenty full as a lead tank, based on what Takao has said."

"Now is not the time for petty squabbles and hard sales pitches, it is a time for unity. In historic terms, this fight will be like the first day of Gettsyburg, I think. A numerically inferior force will be tasked with holding back the horde of minions, not unlike General Buford's dragoons who held off Heth's entire Confederate Division to allow the Union Army coming behind him a chance to deploy in a tactically and strategically advantageous manner. In this analogy, Alpha represents Buford's troopers, the rest of you are the Union Army. I will try to maintain command and deploy everyone accordingly, but I probably won't be able to micromanage everyone, so I need squad leaders I can count on and trust. Obviously, I trust the Vice Commander to do her job. Oikawa, I was in Rohk's Nest when you rather publicly walked away from Azure, that earned my trust. Ariel, you've ever spoken your mind, a valued trait in a leader. I have no use for sycophants."

"It's irrelevant, right now, whether Shark, Zero, Ariel, Hikoru, Oikawa, and Takao join with the Knights of the Blood Oath or not. What matters is whether or not we can trust each other and work together. Win this battle first, then focus on whether or not we can all join hands, roast marshmallows, and sing campfire songs," Mack said in a coldly logical tone, slipping easily into a discussion on the subject he knew best. "Politics and politicians destroy cohesion. We are allies, we are on the same team, we carry different banners. That is all that needs to be said. Now," the mountain of a man said in a suddenly business-like tone, pushing abruptly back from the table. "If there is nothing else, the bard and I have some more power leveling to accomplish before the Raid. With a bit of luck and work level forty-five should be well within reach. I suggest you all use your preparation time wisely."

[Opal 0]

Opal had wanted to begin to approach the subjects, her mouth was open but before anything could come out, Mack had started his spiel. Opal sighed lightly and took a seat to wait her turn, just when she thought Mack was finished, she rose a finger to make a point then he started again, "Can't get a [censored] word in edgewise in this..." she mentally complained as the 3rd in Command spoke. She waited till he was finally finished and then when no one else was talking, she quickly stood up and began on listing off what was said.

"I'd like to address these matters that have been brought up. First off, to Field Commander Ariel and the rest of the Knights of Christ," Opal made a pause before looking back over at Commander Heathcliff, she gave a nod to him before approaching the subject again, "The alliance is still intact and I have no need to abolish such strong ties that those before me have initiated. Therefore, the ground of alliance between the two guilds still stands." 

Opal cleared her throat, a quick hand to cover her mouth as she tapped her chest and then continued on, "Thank you Takao for that. We will honor whatever information you may bring to us in the future in your scouting mission. So long as we are in agreement that the Azure Brigade no longer holds these sorts of meetings, I believe we can finish out SAO without another loss of life. I understand there is a great deal of pressure on us to hurry up and finish this game. But we are closing in on twenty pretty soon, and then twenty five thereafter, meaning we will have completed a quarter of Aincrad's Castle. However, it is also important to know, as you all may know that the system fluctuates with ongoing patches and updates which can throw a wrench in our gears if we are not fully adapted to the next floor boss. Zelrius and his knights like speed, its admiral but speed is not safety. They care only for themselves at this point. But that's something else entirely." 

Opal took a moment to think back on what else was said, both Takao and Oikawa both stated they were not interested in joining the guilds before them and wanted to adopt that solo player playing much like Calrex had been doing. Though she was at ease when they offered help to both guilds as important allies, "Thank you both for clarifying that for me, as in your alliance with the KoTB and the Knights of Christ. We appreciate all you have to offer. And it was not my thoughts for enscripting these two men to join another's alliance. I only offered, if they were not comfortable with the Knights of Blood, they might be more comfortable with the KNights of Christ, I was definitely not trying to sell them off as anything. I respect them to make their own decisions and it was an offer on my part to make a suggestion to them, nothing more." Opal felt obliged to state her intentions after the goliath redhaired axe wielder had pointed out her faults in the speech prior to his own. 

Opal slicked the platinum blonde hair from her eyes and her eyes wandered back to Takao and Mack, "I suppose I can finish up the meeting alone with Commander Heathcliff. If you two have other important matters, you may be dismissed at your leisure. I would like to continue talking on what we can do to help the Azure Knights become their own identity though. I can help recruit members or do some public appearances, but I highly doubt my voice would carry as strong as your own Field Commander. At the time being, the Knights are no longer recruiting players except for maybe one or two. I would also like to state that Jomei and Zandra are free agents. I am not sure their plans on the moment. Jomei had turned me down respectfully a few times, but I believe he could use a solid guild to fall back on in the future. Zandra is a great Support Player as well, she would be a valuable asset should you seek her out." 

The Vice Commander had stopped there, she wondered if she hit all the subjects that had been presented to her as the discussion had continued. For now, she sat down and allowed them to soak up that knowledge given and to solidify their alliance. 

 

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

Seeing the leader of her guild step in and attend the meeting, the blonde instinctively gave him a nod with a lopsided smirk that was void of any malice. Of course the blonde's sharp eyesight didn't miss the expression on his face when they were invited to be under her command, she let out a subdued giggle with her eyes closed as she brought her fan in front of her face covering her mouth and nose. Not wanting that somehow happy expression to be misinterpreted by the rest. Next came Mack's news and the blonde couldn't help but click her tongue, a habit she'd gotten just recently. She eyed the crimson mountain and spoke again:
I'm fine with that and have one request to add I want you to swap Hikoru with Jomei since the third team will be on boss duty. He's got as much firepower as I do and I'll be more than glad to play the tank role for my team. No offence to Brax but I'm not leaving the safety of my future husband in the hands of some new aspiring tank that I never heard of." She said with a snap at the end produced by her quickly folding the fan, as to point out that it was something more serious than a simple request.

Next came Oikawa and Takao's 'polite' refusals of the invitations from the two groups. The blonde could more than  understand where they were going as she too was a solo player not too long ago. A sad expression came across her face as one of the guilds that 'haven't worked' was the resurrected Guardians of Aincrad, Lessa's second attempt to make this place a little better, the first one being the original founding of the guild of which Ariel was also a part even if she joined as one of the last recruits alongside her friends. Then came the 3rd ranked officer within the KotB, with his pitch on things. She couldn't help but once again giggle under the cover of her fan as he spoke of the two as mercs and then about her Kiru-ojouneechan who has been attending boss raids and similar events even before Ariel or Mack stepped into the front lines. She then simply nodded as a thanks to his praise after the comparison from which she just got confused as American history was almost nonexistent in her overall school curriculum. As the matter of professionality was brought up, she couldn't but listen carefully. It was as though he thought of himself as superior to them in some way. 

"Professional modern soldiers." she added at the end of his words. Now she's done it... with recent events she was already a bit on the edge. Combine that to her sincere personality and a trigger and you're bound for disaster. "Last I checked swords training didn't enter in a regular soldier's training even since long ago.... The ones that had it doing so out of their own free will. Tell me 'Captain' when was the last time you help a weapon in your hand? and I'm not talking about guns, pistols, army knives or machetes but a actual sword?"

Realizing that provocation wasn't necessary, she shook her head with a complex expression to try to drive away the past and turned towards the two Solo Players in the room: "Thought you would say that. I knew you guys would say that and that you're tired of hearing the same offer over and over again. We've known each other for a while now and I think the next topic of discussion would interest you at least, if nothing else. So bear with me a little longer 'kay?" she asked with a wink at the two before she redirected her attention towards Opal:

"Thank you for answering my question. Opal!" she said showing her friend a gentle smile, bypassing the formality that seemed to have been by default established. Ranks and such meant little by now to Ariel who had been through so many guilds, even had one of her own. With a light exhale the blonde stood up and spoke again:
"Now that all that is out of the way I suggest we go to the second point of why I wanted this meeting and that is this." She took in a deep breath continued: "I'd like to have a joint-venture between our guilds. In simple terms, a duel series or even a tournament with members of our guilds...." she showed a sly smile as she turned towards the two solo players and added: "...and guests / allies."
*Just as she finished saying that a notification appeared from her Inbox. Ignoring the rest she read the context and let out a sincere laugh as she then with a horizontal swipe, dismissed the window. The she directed her attention towards Mack, this raid's planer: "Good knew, you'll have to alter your plan a bit to also include the..." she let out let another giggle before she continued with a grin: "Ultramarine Knight!" 

*got permission from the blue man itself.

Edited April 4, 2016 by Ariel - The Crowned Lion

[Hikoru 0]

Hikoru sat and listened silently to the conversation at hand. He hadn't been one for conversation, but he knew that he needed to be here. He had been accepted into this Guild with Ariel, Shark, and a few others that he had conversed with over the past few weeks, and he had been enjoying the feeling of being in a family. He listened as the other Guild people spoke, one by the name of Opal, and another by the name of Mack. They had been trying to get them to join their Guild, and he did his best to stifle a laugh. They hoped for him to join their guild? Hi wife-to-be said what was needed to be said, that they we're a family, and he nodded in agreement. But soon, she also asked to switch him with Jomei, and he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. He judged her and what she said, but he knew that she was being a bit overprotective. He just gave a small laugh and continued to sit in silence, waiting for this to all blow over.

[Opal 0]

"I believe a tournament of sorts would be a great idea. It would provide sport for both of our guilds and provide some much needed entertainment after such a stressful couple of weeks. Let's plan something after the floor boss raid, hopefully we can get some down time in before we start up another boss." Opal had relaxed and released the tension in her shoulders. After discussing the matters at hand, she had wondered if there was anything else that needed to be said or done. From the looks of it, none of the others had spoke up, perhaps that was slightly off putting but she noticed Hikoru smiling anyways as the talks continued. She cracked a smile to him for the moment before looking back to the blonde rapier user. 

"As for this tournament of sorts, I believe I should be left out of the equation. If this is to be of sport than higher ups such as myself should probably not be included. Unless you had another idea or alternative to go about devising this program?" 

[Mack 0]

Mack paused in his crossing of the Meeting Hall and turned to face Ariel as she spoke up. "If you'd like to swap out Hikoru and Jomei that would be perfectly acceptable. I can quite understand the desire to want to keep someone who is important to you close by during a tense situation," the crimson headed man said, nodding his head once in Ariel's direction. Swapping out Jomei and Hikoru would also give the boss clearing team every bit as much firepower, so it wasn't a big deal to do a bit of shuffling. "I have also handled swords in the real world, though the sabers in today's Army are, of course, purely ornamental," the behemoth continued, refusing to rise to Ariel's bait. "Beyond that, I have studied tactics, both ancient and modern and tactics do not change, whether you're in the real world or a digital prison. There is always danger on a battlefield, the important thing is to minimize that danger as much as possible, which I believe this strategy will do given what we know of the enemy from Takao's information."

"Beyond that, closer guild ties are always important and I agree that a tournament is a good way to go about that," Mack rumbled. "As such, I will openly challenge you and Hikoru to a two on one duel," Mack commented, confident in both his own combat prowess and the ability of his armor to be able to handle both Ariel and Hikoru in such a battle. "It should prove far more interesting than the recent four on one duel between several of the Knights of the Blood Oath which was conducted for educational purposes in demonstrating the superiority of tier two equipment over tier one."

[Oikawa 1]

The gray-haired player simply sighed and moved along with the matter of his solo/guild  decision. Echoing his earlier statement, he spoke on the matter of the tournament. "Like I stated before, I aim to help the guild s the best i can but I wish to remain solo for the time being. That aside, the talk of this tournament intrigues me. Especially given my record in the last tournament that was held by Ssendom and Zelrius. With a record of nine wins and zero losses, one would be inclined to say that PvP is my element. It's where my build thrives despite the game itself being PvE. So in short, I'd love to see this tourney come to fruition, I'd like to see how far I've come since then."

[Ariel - The Crowned Lion 0]

'I guess half of something is still something' thought the blonde as she at least managed to confirm that they alliance between guild stayed while agreeing upon a future public display staged between the two guilds. "No, I think just confirming it will do for now. And I don't agree, if you're worried ranks would get in the way of swordsmanship display during duels, then don't claim the prize or whatever. Donate it to a random player or something similar. Hell I'm not doing it for a prize, I just want to have a good time with you all getting to know each other while clashing blades for more than our own survival." said the blonde with a smile then listened to Mack's proposition. 

"Oh?" her eyebrows raised at Mack's challenge. She couldn't help but to grin, stealing a glance in Oikawa's direction as he owed her a duel. "I'll gladly take you up on that challenge. Well get a chance to see the balance between DPS and Tank builds." she offered an official excuse to accept it while her 'warrior spirit' ignited at Mack's last words. "But as far as I'm concerned, we talked about what needed to be discussed... the rest can be handled via PMs, confirmation was something I wanted to get face to face on a meeting like this. If there isn't anything more, I'll take my leave." said the blonde as she scanned around with her gaze to see if anyone had anything to add more. If it was something with no direct link to her she would stand up and leave the meeting once everybody said what they needed to say.

[Oikawa 1]

"Well if nothing else is to be said, can we call this meeting adjourned?" Rising from the wooden seat he had occupied for the last hour, the young man offered a stretch and yawn before readjusting his attire. "Well I hope this tournament comes to see the light of day, I know a many of folks I owe a duel to as well as many who'd like to try their hand at defeating me. All that aside, it was a pleasure meeting with you all as usual." With that said and done, the blonde gave a slight bow in everyone's direction before heading for the door. Should no one care to stop him, he'd promptly exit the meeting hall and head back to his own place of work.

[Hikoru 0]

After everything had been cleared up, people started to filter out, Ariel included. He stood up quietly and looked around, giving a few players a small nod, then cleared his throat

"Although i'm one of the weaker players here, and I may not know all of you as well as others, but I do know one thing, and that's we all have one goal that is the same, no matter what ideal. We want to get out of this game, and we are willing to get out of here at all costs. I may not be a leader, or really have a big say here, but I do know that this group may be one of the key points in our history here in SAO, where we clear countless floors together, and make a difference. It's good to see players like us coming together and forming bonds that will eventually let us escape from here, but only time will tell. It was wonderful meeting you all and seeing a bit of your personalities, and I hope this isn't the last we meet. See you all at the next raid." And with that, he took his leave with Ariel, taking her arm and holding her close

[Mack 0]

"Agreed, we don't seem to have much else to discuss. At least as far as I can see," the third in command of the Knights of the Blood Oath rumbled in a low tone. He crossed the meeting room and clapped a massive hand onto one of Takao's shoulders. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have something I need to discuss with Takao. He has certain dungeon finding skills that I need to make use of based on a few tips and pieces of information I've picked up from a few of the low-level players I've helped. Generosity has its own rewards everyone, never forget that. Takao, a few moments if you don't mind. I'll be at the pub near the center of town."

Mack Exits Thread

[Takao 0]

The people around him spoke at length on various topics, yet he had zoned each of their voices out. His ears were filled with white noise and his eyes wandered onto something half worthwhile to stare at. The distant look in his gaze and the aloof body language were both clear and obvious indications that his mind was elsewhere. Some keywords would make his ear twitch, yet he never alluded to the idea that he was listening. They mentioned something about a tournament, which he couldn't care less for. Aincrad was not a real castle, and Sword Art Online was more a prison than a game. He had no interest in attempting to prove his superiority over another player, and found that doing so would be an utter waste of time. They had floors to scout and bosses to fight, petty squabbles for fame and thinly veiled attempts to remain relevant in the eyes of others would do little to help in that endeavor.

Takao was stirred from his distracted daze by Mack's hand clapped onto his shoulder. His head turned as Mack spoke, and he nodded slowly. As Mack left and Takao rose from his seat, his mouth opened as though he was about to speak. But instead of saying something, he opted to remain quiet instead, and simply departed from the meeting hall without a word.

Thread exited.

[Opal 0]

Summary: +1 SP All, Col if anyone wants it can figure this out. Otherwise it'll go to KoB War Chest.