World-Valencia

[Ulysses Septimus]

The world of Valencia, home of the Armada.

[Hannah Durante]

((AND NOW I SOIL THIS THREAD WITH A RANDOM POST.  If it's rusty I apologize for that as well, been a while since I've done forum role playing.))

Valencia was absolutely breathtaking at night, Hannah thought to herself, as she watched the storms off in the distance from her current position in Silvella.   The kingdom was magnificent during the day for sure as well, though there were certain aspects of her home empire that proudly beamed in the sunlight the human woman wasn't so sure how to feel about.    Her face fell somewhat as she glanced over in the direction of what had come to be known solely as 'the machine'; a cold, anxious feeling gripping her as an emerald bolt of lightning snaked across the heavens, briefly illuminating at least part of the intimidating thing.   To think, it had taken the clockworks only shortly under a decade to construct such a massive structure...and they still weren't done, from the way their ships constantly flew in and out of it.

"I wonder what they're playing at with that thing.."  the blonde muttered to herself as she looked away and adjusted her position on the small bench she was currently seated at, though a tiny voice at the back of her mind gave a sufficient enough answer for the moment.    Nothing truly 'good', that was for certain, and something she was sure she wouldn't want to know much or was safe to ask about anyway.

"I suppose that's true.. At least for now" She sighed to herself as she finally pushed herself off of the bench and stretched, trying to determine what to do next.    She had been at Silvella all day, taking in the academy for what it was worth; enjoying a few special lectures that her parent's friends taught only a few times annually.    Originally she had only planned to stay as long as the majority of the students were here, perhaps linger a little after in order to catch up with the friends of her family.   But...she had overheard something rather interesting as she had lingered in the wings of the library waiting for Bianca and some of the others to get out.    Hannah wasn't entirely certain she had heard every bit of information correctly, but she could have sworn there had been something about a secret meeting of some sort.

For what, the buccaneer couldn't say.  The voices she had decided to eavesdrop on had been fairly hushed and she'd only been able to pick out a few words here and there.   A meeting had definitely been one of them, though she wasn't so sure where it was being held...or if it even was tonight, though she was also fairly certain she had heard them mention it was.  

"Only one way to find out."  She mumbled to herself as she started walking through Silvella's lonely, dimly-lit corridors, hoping to run into something interesting along the way.  



((...WOW THAT POST WAS HORRIBLE. I HAVE FAILED. ))

[Ulysses Septimus]

((AND NOW I SOIL THIS THREAD WITH A RANDOM POST.  If it's rusty I apologize for that as well, been a while since I've done forum role playing.))

Valencia was absolutely breathtaking at night, Hannah thought to herself as she watched the storms off in the distance from her current position in Silvella.   The kingdom was magnificent during the day for sure as well, though there were certain aspects of her home empire that proudly beamed in the sunlight the human woman wasn't so sure how to feel about.    Her face fell somewhat as she glanced over in the direction of what had come to be known solely as 'the machine'; a cold, anxious feeling gripping her as an emerald bolt of lightning snaked across the heavens, briefly illuminating at least part of the intimidating thing.   To think, it had taken the clockworks only shortly under a decade to construct such a massive structure...and they still weren't done, from the way their ships constantly flew in and out of it.

"I wonder what they're playing at with that thing.."  the blonde muttered to herself as she looked away and adjusted her position on the small bench she was currently seated at, though a tiny voice at the back of her mind gave a sufficient enough answer for the moment.    Nothing truly 'good', that was for certain, and something she was sure she wouldn't want to know much or was safe to ask about anyway.

"I suppose that's true.. At least for now" She sighed to herself as she finally pushed herself off of the bench and stretched, trying to determine what to do next.    She had been at Silvella all day, taking in the academy for what it was worth; enjoying a few special lectures that her parent's friends taught only a few times annually.    Originally she had only planned to stay as long as the majority of the students were here, perhaps linger a little after in order to catch up with the friends of her family.   But...she had overheard something rather interesting as she had lingered in the wings of the library for Bianca and some of the others to get out.    Hannah wasn't entirely certain she had heard every bit of information correctly, but she could have sworn there had been something about a secret meeting of some sort.

For what, the buccaneer couldn't say.  The voices she had decided to eavesdrop on had been fairly hushed and she'd only been able to pick out a few words here and there.   A meeting had definitely been one of them, though she wasn't so sure where it was being held...or if it even was tonight, though she was also fairly certain she had heard them mention it was.  

"Only one way to find out."  She mumbled to herself as she started walking through Silvella's lonely, dimly-lit corridors, hoping to run into something interesting along the way.  



((...WOW THAT POST WAS HORRIBLE. I HAVE FAILED. ))

Dressed in his Armada officer's garbs., Ulysses leaned against one wall, giving a surpressed sigh, tapping his wicked triple hook against the palm of his left hand as he overwatched the meeting between the captain Sentus Optimus and the Armada's prized spy, who was dressed in a black cloak that hid him from head to foot.

They were both speaking in fast, hushed Latin, the contents which Ulysses did not bother to pick up, since he could get it from Sentus later...

He tensed as he heard the light footsteps outside.

[Hannah Durante]

"Hm...If I was a secret gathering of teachers and Silvella staff, where would I be?"

Briefly, it struck Hannah that it was hardly a smart idea to rattle on about this and that if she was trying to find a gathering of several unicorns that had obviously not been meant for anybody outside of the room to know about. If she wasn't careful they would hear her after all, and probably scatter or completely clam up until she had gotten bored or assumed nothing was going on and left.

...Not to mention the fact if she actually wound up finding their meeting and barging in, or even just got caught eavesdropping, they probably wouldn't be too pleased with her. Though, that last part hardly gave her enough cause to turn away. Hannah had thought about at least that much numerous times already as she had waited for night to fall, and already convinced herself it wouldn't be that big of a deal. Bianca was a friend of her mother's, a mare she had grown up around seeing in their home every so often. She was positive that she could explain her case to the unicorn if necessary, and that she at least would be able to understand where she was coming from.

In the end, it was just too tempting not to investigate. Perhaps it was just a routine, potentially mundane meeting about the goings on at the school and what they would be doing next...or perhaps Bianca was a member of that shady resistance group she had heard several things about in passing, and they met here in secret whenever they could? The buccaneer imagined it was hardly anything so spectacular, but she couldn't help the urge to poke around anyway, just in case. What was the harm? It wasn't like she had anything better to do tonight, work had been slow lately, and her parents were off on another of their adventures throughout the spiral.

"...Wait a minute."

She stopped just outside one of the doors as she thought she heard something- far too faint to make out exactly what it was, but enough to draw her interest. Arching a light brow Hannah immediately clammed up and snuck her way over to the collection of doors on this side of the academy, pressing her ear experimentally against several to no avail, before she finally found the proper one. Her face twisted thoughtfully as she tried to listen to what was going on inside the room...only to discover she could barely hear what was being said, the occupants of the room clever enough to keep themselves as hushed as possible, and whatever she could pick out was in a familiar language she was certain she'd heard somewhere..but have never bothered to study herself.

Some stakeout she mentally grumbled to herself the more she listened, as she realized she was going to get absolutely nothing out of this. Why are they-

Realization suddenly dawned on the buccaneer, and her eyes widened as it did. Maybe she was just hearing things, or the unicorns were clever enough to disguise their voices, but the snippets of conversation she was hearing....the more she thought about it, the more it sounded almost like the language she had heard the clockworks use with one another every so often. And at least one of the voices reminded her of what she had heard numerous times over, back during the great war.

Quickly, Hannah pulled herself away from the door, taking several, cautious steps back as quietly as humanly possible. This...This couldn't have been the meeting the unicorns had been talking about- she had seen everybody who had been in the room leave. Perhaps they weren't the only ones who used the school for a gathering, during hours it should have been abandoned. Hannah grimaced at the very thought she had found the absolute wrong meeting- that was just her luck, depending on who was in there if it was clockworks, she could get in so much trouble...and for being here so late as well.

But, well, there was still time to slip away unnoticed, surely. They probably hadn't noticed a presence at all, and if they did maybe they would think it was the custodian- one of the very few allowed to be here so late. So she hoped anyway, as she excused herself from the hallway, deciding it was in her best interest to explore the upper wings of Silvella, maybe even the library. Clockworks rarely had a reason to go there.

[Ulysses Septimus]

"Hm...If I was a secret gathering of teachers and Silvella staff, where would I be?"

Briefly, it struck Hannah that it was hardly a smart idea to rattle on about this and that if she was trying to find a gathering of several unicorns that had obviously not been meant for anybody outside of the room to know about.   If she wasn't careful they would hear her after all, and probably scatter or completely clam up until she had gotten bored or assumed nothing was going on and left.

...Not to mention the fact if she actually wound up finding their meeting and barging in, or even just got caught eavesdropping, they probably wouldn't be too pleased with her.   Though, that last part hardly gave her enough cause to turn away.   Hannah had thought about at least that much numerous times already as she had waited for night to fall, and already convinced herself it wouldn't be that big of a deal.  Bianca was a friend of her mother's, a mare she had grown up around seeing in their home every so often.  She was positive that she could explain her case to the unicorn if necessary, and that she at least would be able to understand where she was coming from.

In the end, it was just too tempting not to investigate.   Perhaps it was just a routine, potentially mundane meeting about the goings on at the school and what they would be doing next...or perhaps Bianca was a member of that shady resistance group she had heard several things about in passing, and they met here in secret whenever they could?   The buccaneer imagined it was hardly anything so spectacular, but she couldn't help the urge to poke around anyway, just in case.    What was the harm?  It wasn't like she had anything better to do tonight, work had been slow lately, and her parents were off on another of their adventures throughout the spiral.

"...Wait a minute."

She stopped just outside one of the doors as she thought she heard something- far too faint to make out exactly what it was, but enough to draw her interest.   Arching a light brow Hannah immediately clammed up and snuck her way over to the collection of doors on this side of the academy, pressing her ear experimentally against several to no avail, before she finally found the proper one.   Her face twisted thoughtfully as she tried to listen to what was going on inside the room...only to discover she could barely hear what was being said, the occupants of the room clever enough to keep themselves as hushed as possible, and whatever she could pick out was in a familiar language she was certain she'd heard somewhere..but have never bothered to study herself.

Some stakeout she mentally grumbled to herself the more she listened, as she realized she was going to get absolutely nothing out of this.  Why are they-

Realization suddenly dawned on the buccaneer, and her eyes widened as it did.   Maybe she was just hearing things, or the unicorns were clever enough to disguise their voices, but the snippets of conversation she was hearing....the more she thought about it, the more it sounded almost like the language she had heard the clockworks use with one another every so often.    And at least one of the voices reminded her of what she had heard numerous times over, back during the great war.

Quickly, Hannah pulled herself away from the door, taking several, cautious steps back as quietly as humanly possible.   This...This couldn't have been the meeting the unicorns had been talking about- she had seen everybody who had been in the room leave.    Perhaps they weren't the only ones who used the school for a gathering, during hours it should have been abandoned.    Hannah grimaced at the very thought she had found the absolute wrong meeting- that was just her luck, depending on who was in there if it was clockworks, she could get in so much trouble...and for being here so late as well.

But, well, there was still time to slip away unnoticed, surely.    They probably hadn't noticed a presence at all, and if they did maybe they would think it was the custodian- one of the very few allowed to be here so late.    So she hoped anyway, as she excused herself from the hallway, deciding it was in her best interest to explore the upper wings of Silvella, maybe even the library.    Clockworks rarely had a reason to go there.

Suspicious and not wanting to let anyone else know of their meeting, Ulysses nodded toward his lieutenant Sentus as a sign he would be gone for a moment.

After recieving a quick nod back, the Armada Admiral opened the door slowly and stepped into the dim hallway, his trainings as a swashbuckler now kicking in to muffle his footsteps.

Whoever it was, Ulysses thought is here at the wrong time.


Those footsteps were far too heavy to be the custodian, Ulysses was sure, since his hearing was rarely wrong.

A grin curved his thin lips as he sheathed his iron claws and drew his sword, holding it defensively as he crept toward another corridor, which he knew would lead him around right to where the source of the footsteps are currently heading to.

The library if he wasn't mistaken.

[Hannah Durante]

"Well that was genius, Devereuax." Hannah muttered under her breath as she quickened her pace, giving only a slight sigh of relief as the main wing of the library came into view. Eavesdropping on a gathering of unicorns, a few of which she knew, was one thing; an occasion she would gladly take risks for. Clockworks, on the other hand...she wasn't so willing to take too many with. Her public standing was still fair enough, and she didn't want to ruin anything for herself, especially not just for curiosity's sake. The fact their kind could often hear the hearts of living beings beating away was only another factor in her hasty retreat. If she put enough distance between them, they wouldn't be able to. Though, now she found herself in a rather awkward position.

"...Hopefully they're not going to stay here until the break of dawn." She continued on quietly, as she continued on toward the library. There were only so many excuses she could think of, if she was forced to hide out and sleep inside this part of the building tonight, and one of the scholars found her curled up in a corner somewhere tomorrow. She stopped briefly, to allow herself a few moments to calm her breathing and mind.

"...Next time, maybe try the more direct approach. She's gotta say something about it if you bring it up, and it avoids nearly playing hide and seek with clockworks."

Thank goodness she had avoided it, Hannah mused to herself. She wasn't sure how she would have explained her actions to them, although a few choice excuses immediately sprung to mind. None that were good, however.

[Ulysses Septimus]

Ulysses grinned again, emerging in the shadows near the opposite exit where the voice was. 

He had sheathed his sword, and drew his Hidden Blades. 

If it was a member to the Resistance, well, it won't be pretty..

[Hannah Durante]

Carefully Hannah pushed the door to the main wing of the library open, shaking her head at herself as she entered and shut the door behind her.   She squinted in the darkness she was immediately presented with, attempting to allow her eyes to adjust for only a few seconds, before she realized it wouldn't do her much good since the custodian had evidently extinguished all of the lights that had been on only a few hours ago.   Huffing to herself, the buccaneer pushed the door back open enough to encourage the few lights in the corridors to provide her at least some ability to see...though it meant she wouldn't be able to go very far.   Which she supposed was decent enough.   Maybe she would even be able to hear when the clockworks left if she stayed here for just a little while and be able to properly gauge when it was safe to start roaming the hallways again..or leave for home.

"I think- augh!"

Her original train of thought was derailed the second she turned around and, in the dim lighting she was presented, swore she saw the outline of a figure shifting in the darkness.    She couldn't be sure she wasn't just imagining things, but her heart skipped a beat regardless, and instinctively one of her hands reached for the Valencian sabre strapped to her side.   She narrowed her eyes, trying to see if that would help her determine whether it was actually somebody else or just her imagination, but it did little in the grand scheme of things, and ultimately she decided to confront the darkness in front of her.    It was silly and paranoid if nobody was there, but if somebody was.....

"Who-who is there?!  You should know better than to try sneaking up on a buccaneer!"

Inwardly, she wanted to smack herself for the less than threatening opening.   Good one, Hannah she snorted at herself mentally.  That'll rile the darkness up.

[Ulysses Septimus]

Ulysses stepped from the shadows, his hands at his sides like he was unarmed, which is a lie.

Dressed in his Armada officer's garb (see picture, and minus the wig), he wore a rather elaborate mask over his face and a tricorne with a ostrich feather decorating it over his head.

"Who are you?" He hissed softly, like a serpent at the female, his ruby eyes shining dangerously.


Here's his mask

[Hannah Durante]

Instantly, Hannah regretted the fact she had gained an answer. For once, she had honestly hoped it had merely been her mind and eyes playing tricks on her, that she had been completely alone within the darkness of the library. Unfortunately, tonight she wasn't one for luck- perhaps she should have gone back home with a few of her unicorn friends as they had tried to convince her before, rather than let her curiosity get the better of her like this. Especially from the way her guest was dressed...practically like a clockwork, though she wasn't sure if he was one or not. The usual clinking and shifting of gears that often accompanied their kind, that she had long-since learned to recognize, seemed strangely absent. Then again, she couldn't say he wasn't some new type of warrior Kane had had mass-produced, a sort of clockwork built to be as silent and deadly as they were fashionable.

"I'm a Valencian, no need to worry." She began, never taking her gaze off this figure for a second. She hesitated at first to go more in depth than that, not necessarily wanting to share her name with this officer or whatever rank he was just in case he was the sort who found it highly unacceptable to be sneaking around the library at this time of night. "A student here as well, when I can afford to be. My mother is friends with one of the teachers. I can assure you, I mean no harm here. I merely....have a thirst for knowledge."

It wasn't completely a lie, and the buccaneer hoped the explanation would work well enough on a clockwork, that she could divert their attention away from the fact she was not giving her name, by drawing their attention elsewhere. She had a feeling it wouldn't do her much good, that there would still be a barrage of questions about why she was skulking around in the dark so late...but if she could get away with a stern lecture, game of interrogation, and not have to give her name, she was willing to deal with that.

[Ulysses Septimus]

He looked at her with his ruby human eyes from underneath his mask, as if trying to tell if she was lying or not.

"Why are you around so late then, when all the other students have gone home? And I noticed you have not given me a name yet."

Now fully in the hallway, light reflected off the cogwheel symbol that was his belt buckle, and the strange, "A" shaped symbol he wore as a necklace,  which was the symbol of the mysterious "Assassin Order".

[Hannah Durante]

Damn, he was one of the more astute clockworks. Hannah felt uncomfortable by this information, though forced herself to maintain as neutral an expression she could, so as not to give anything else away. She even went so far as to force a smile of pleasantry, tilting her head somewhat to the side in an attempt to look more 'innocent' as she gave a light chuckle.

"Well, I'm sort of horribly forgetful, you see. I was in such a hurry to spend time with friends hours ago, I'm afraid I left a few of my valuables behind here in the library. I had to come get them, otherwise somebody might steal them! But...It's a bit dark, so...I went looking for the custodian to help, but I think he went home."

The second she started her rambling little lie, it got easier to produce. And, it was a pretty darn good one, if she didn't say so herself. She just hoped her 'guest' here would buy it, though she didn't know why he had any reason to doubt her. If he did however, well....she would think of something. She always did.

"Oh! Sorry, how rude of me." She continued, inwardly cursing at the fact it had not escaped his attention she had tried to avoid giving him her name. "My name is Hannah."

Her gaze drifted as she waited with bated breath for him to answer her, taking a few steps backward into the hallway herself as she sized him up. Her eyes settled on the necklace as she did so, drawn by the light reflecting off of it. Her brows furrowed in confusion as she looked at it. It seemed rather strange for a clockwork of all things to be sporting jewelry like that, much less one that seemed to be a symbol for something.

Unless....

It took every ounce of self restraint to keep herself from reacting with too much surprise at the thought that rocketed through her mind as she mulled over why a clockwork would be wearing a necklace. Perhaps...Was it possible, that this wasn't a clockwork? If so...she would have to play this game far more carefully.

[Ulysses Septimus]

It didn't take him long to sense the lie, but he didn't show it... 

"I suppose... I'll believe you." Ulysses was a even better liar himself. Sheathing his Hidden Blades, he turned his head slightly to show the small portion of human skin of his face, as he listened to more movements.

Because if there's one, there might be more.

Thumbing his Assassin symbol necklace, he decided that for now he would leave this female, but he would keep a closer watch as he returns to his officers in their rendezvous.

"Go home when you find them, do not let me see you here again tonight." He turned on his black boots and begun to walk away, not showing the typical snappy clockwork gait but with his full grace as a human swashbuckler.

[Hannah Durante]

Her eyes lit up with some sense of surprise as she saw the unmistakable flash of human skin underneath the mask, truly finding herself surprised to see another human here at this hour...and in such a position of power, no less. But Hannah kept herself composed and bit her tongue, nodding her head in a respectful sort of manner to continue making herself look as convincing as possible. She didn't think twice about how easily he was giving up, seeing little reason why she should be paranoid about it. This sort of thing had happened before, numerous times she had to imagine, so it wasn't as if no student had ever left anything valuable behind and tried to sneak in after hours in order to obtain it. There just usually weren't clockworks, or a human soldier among them, here at this time. It was all very curious indeed, the buccaneer felt.

"Well good, I don't really have anything to hide." She called after him, her smile becoming more genuine with the relief she felt knowing he wasn't going to make a huge scene out of this. "And of course. Though, you might have to see me if we leave at the same time...But rest assured, I will be leaving."

So the afterthought had been a bit much, even Hannah could admit that. But, she hadn't been able to stop herself from saying it. He probably didn't care anyway, the way he was carrying himself. It seemed like he truly had written her off as nothing more than a student breaking some of the pettier rules, somebody he didn't want to waste too much of his time on..which suited her just fine. It meant she was off the hook, without even so much as a slap on the wrist. Maybe her luck wasn't so bad this evening after all.

"Oh, and sir? Do have a good evening, won't you?"

She didn't expect a response to that, as he had already begun walking away, leaving her alone with her thoughts. She wracked her brain trying to remember if she had seen this man outside of uniform before, or heard anything about him, though quickly jumped subjects as she realized now she had to make her lie as convincing as possible- she had to grab something from the library to be seen leaving with, in case these soldiers stayed longer than she cared to.

"Oh, whatever. It's hardly the worst that could have happened." THe buccaneer offered herself with a shrug. "Besides....I'm sure I can find something interesting to take out for a few days. And.."

She reached underneath her shirt, yanking the Valencian pendant she had on that had slipped underneath her clothing off. "..There's always this."

She smirked down at the object, grateful that it had been out of sight this entire time so as to give her the perfect excuse. Now, all she needed was a book- the first one she could grab, since there was hardly enough light to do a more thorough inspection of every possible option.

[Ulysses Septimus]

Ulysses nodded without turning around, his coat sweeping slightly as he turned a corner to a hallway which he knew would lead him back to his officers. Though as he did, the pin on his hat that signified his rank as an Admiral may be seen...

She looked familiar.The Admiral and assassin thought as he walked: definitely suspicious, I must consult with my Lord Kane when I return to Cadiz.


Entering the room once again, Sentus approached him, "Admiral Septimus? May I inquire as to what happened."

"It's nothing, but chart a course to Cadiz, I have some private matter I must discuss with my lord."

[Hannah Durante]

((Haha we're skipping in time for any outsiders, so if you're wondering why suddenly everything jumped ahead....We decided upon that offsite. xD))

Fortunately enough for Hannah, the rest of the previous evening had proven rather uneventful after her encounter with the mysterious man. It had only taken her a few minutes of groping around the library shelves in the dark to come away with a book that seemed harmless enough for a student- a history of Valencia's majestic art, that had quite a few chapters devoted to the splendor of Granchia, and in the end she hadn't really needed to wave it or the necklace she'd yanked from around her throat to anybody. She had made it to the docks where her parent's old galleon had been sitting all afternoon waiting without consequence, not even glimpsing the man from before or any of the clockworks that might have been around. Either they had left before she had and the man had thought very little of her, or she had managed to slip away before they had concluded their own business.

The buccaneer had been and still was incredibly curious about who she had run into, the man dressed like a clockwork with such intense eyes... But, she had decided to play things safely with how frigid his reception to her presence had been, and had stayed far away from Silvella for the rest of the evening, going home and resting; though the book, which she had actually skimmed through shortly after waking up, had given her an idea for another new 'adventure'- a day trip to the very, small little city it praised so much in several of its pages. Granchia.

She had been there several times when younger as a few of her unicorn friends and their families had lived there for a good number of years, and most of her memories of the historic and artistic town were fond ones. It had been a while since she had last visited, kept away by one busy thing or another. Hell, it must have been at least a few years since she had ever seriously visited Granchia, a thought that had invoked such a bittersweet chord of nostalgia within her, she had been unable to convince herself to spend her afternoon any other way. Sure, there wasn't usually a whole lot to do there except reminisce about the past and admire the beauty of the art and history the town had, but that would be a good few hours if done correctly.

She just had to make sure to block certain aspects of the past out and let in only the good ones. A feat the buccaneer was already mentally preparing herself for, as she sailed through Valencia's majestic skyways, getting closer to Granchia by the second. Her feelings were mixed as the town came into view, though she quickly pushed any negative thoughts to the furthest corner of her mind. Today would be fun, or at least educational, and there were always plenty of historians and scholars that came to Granchia who loved spouting off what knowledge they knew of its history, to anybody who cared to listen. Finding a distraction if playing 'tourist' here suddenly became too bittersweet would be easy.

[Ulysses Septimus]

"My master, what is thy bidding?"Ulysses was on one knee before the clockwork king, his head bowed in reverence like a pilgrim to their god.

"Rise, Grandmaster Assassin Ulysses."Kane commanded with his usual smooth monotone, "I hope your little meeting with our spy had gone as planned."

"Yes, my Lord Kane, Servus Decimus arrived as expected and delivered the information." He pulled a scroll from his coat pocket, sealed with red wax, "here it is, Your Majesty."


Ulysses sighed, now in his Huntsman outfit--black and red Valencian coat over a vest of black felt and white, long sleeve button down shirt under the vest. He wore this time white pants instead of black, though still with his knee lengthed and gold buckled boots. 

A brown leather belt wrapped around his waist, carrying for once only a single sabre, though he still has his Hidden Blades, Bolt, and Gun inside his bracers which he for once worn on the outside instead of under his gloves.--

Adjusting his black and none decorated tricorne over his silver embroidered black hood, he thought back to yesterday night, when he was speaking to Kane, who told him that female was in fact one of the veterans of the Great War:

"Hannah Devereaux, huh?"He muttered to himself, "strange, she has the same last name as the fool Adrian Devereaux..."

The Armada Admiral was leaning the wall of a building as he watched a unicorn scholar ramble on about something in the distance: Ulysses is now officially bored, considering that he pretty much has nothing else to do other than lead, a job which the Grand Marshal is doing currently...

He just wished that something would happen.

With that thought in mind, he lifted himself from the shadows and into the light: might as well take a walk, maybe he'll bump into something interesting..

[Hannah Durante]

"...I'd almost forgotten how small these docks were." Hannah chuckled to herself as she disembarked her ship, hoping that not too many other Valencians would need to make berth here as well, as she had completely forgotten to grab the Onyx Triumph's concealing bottle in her rush to leave. Though there were more docks on the other side from what she recalled. Just as small as this one, but more often used by the residents of the isle that visitors like herself were asked to stay away from if at all possible, so as not to take up too much space. The space left in the docks she had used and those would probably be enough....so she hoped, anyway. If not, she wouldn't be here all day- just a few hours at most if that. The human suspected it probably wouldn't even take that long to take in all of the sights. Everything would go just fine, of that she was absolutely certain, and if her ship became an issue she was more than willing to leave early so as not to inconvenience those who actually lived here.

For now however, she would simply enjoy another day off from the world she had become involved in. As much as she enjoyed action, battle, a chance for her skills to shine, Hannah hardly shied away from peacefulness. After everything that had happened, and the utter madness she and the rest of the spiral had found themselves in ten years prior, it was nice to get a chance to just relax for any amount of time every so often; to pretend as if it would go on forever, even though she knew it wouldn't, not with the way the powers and colonies often had one dispute after another pop up. With the way some of them behaved, well...it was only a matter of time before the next big conflict reared its ugly head. Valencia wasn't exempt from that either, she knew. And things had already changed here at home....

"Oh, enough of that. You came here to relax and wax poetically about other things." The buccaneer heaved, rolling her eyes at herself as she quieted the negative thoughts that had been about to push themselves into the forefront of her mind. There wasn't any time for that sort of nonsense today- she had come here to escape them as well. Maybe it was odd to escape one chapter of the past by playing tourist and immersing herself in another, but it helped her immensely to look back on and remember the old days; Valencia's first and true 'golden age'- a time of great wealth, trade, art, festivals....

Hannah cracked a genuine smile at the thought of all the festivals she had been exposed to as a child, and even before the Polarian war had taken hold of the entire spiral. They were wonderful, treasured memories. True, the festivals that had been held here in Granchia had been far smaller and more humble than the elegant galas and balls that Cadiz had seen time and time again...but there had always been something so charming about them just the same. The human could practically see Granchia decorated and lit up as it had been many years ago the last time she had come, hear the music and laughter again. She truly wondered why they hadn't held any others for quite some time now, though suspected it had something to do with the clockworks, or politics since Valencia's major cities still saw their share number of festivals. It was a shame, but at least she had her memories she supposed.

Hannah continued ambling her way through Granchia, her smile widening as positive memories came flooding her mind as she revisited all of her old haunts. She stopped in a grassy patch of the city that overlooked the rest of Valencia, recalling all the silly little duels she and her unicorn friends had engaged in when they were younger. Most of them had always been better than her of course, as the majority of them had been swashbucklers, but it had been so much fun just to play around like that. And, when she had grown older, this had been one of the places her father had taught her a few things to help aid her in future duels. Things that had come in quite handy, during the great war.

Overcome with a wave of nostalgia, Hannah gingerly pulled her sabre out of its sheath; admiring the decals that had painstakingly been etched into it, and the short message her father had paid extra for, just for her. Oh, if only he was here right now so they could goof off and train as they once had. But, knowing her parents, they were probably off in the furthest reach of the spiral at the moment, learning everything they could about the other kingdoms. She chuckled again at the thought as she went through the exercises her father had taught her; carefully swinging the sabre around in the air, attempting to practice those swashbuckler exercises he had shown her that she had never been able to utilize as gracefully as him. Which, she certainly wasn't doing now, with her heavy-handed style. Hannah laughed at the mental image of what a buccaneer like her might have looked like to an actual swashbuckler.... She could only jokingly hope that no other Valencian would be foolish enough to get too close when she was waving this thing around, lacking the same control and finesse as a true blade master.

[Ulysses Septimus]

Ulysses walked casually through the little city; as much as the Assassin Grandmaster loved blood and gore and the excitement of battle as adrenaline rushed through his body, he still had a fondness of peace that was special to Valencia...

He stopped near the edge and leaned on the railing, gazing out into the emerald skyway. 

The sight brought back many memories of his past, of when he was still an Assassin Novice and trained under the full moon here at night, often with either his mother Nyx, or his mentor Cristolbol Auditore de la Faiz.

A smile grazed his usually scowling lips, making the scar that grooved his left cheek ripple slightly as his hand went to his hip, where his favorite sword was strapped to his belt. 

Maybe, since this part of the city rarely had any visitors, he could practice his swordplay a little...

Drawing it out of its sheath, the Armada Admiral shifted his footing into his usual stance and begun to practice, twirling, spinning, and turning with the grace that could only belong to a swashbuckler blade master... But unlike most swashbucklers, his style was as deadly as it was fine, for it served the purpose of killing enemies as much as it was to be elegant.

[Hannah Durante]

"Ooh, I think that's enough of that."  Hannah snorted as she realized she wasn't getting much better at the art of finesse, as usually seemed to be the case.   Not that she minded it too much, really.  While there were times she wished she could have been as poised and elegant as her father, what she had more than made up for it in her mind.   In the end, the more graceful side of the swashbuckling art just felt far too awkward to her.   As nice as it was to watch, it just wasn't something she could ever get used to.  She preferred putting much more power into her assaults, fighting up close and personal, and overwhelming any opponents with her peaked strength and endurance.   Grace was a concept utterly lost on her when it came to fighting, Hannah was afraid.

"Well what do you know? I didn't make a fool out of myself to anybody!  Still gotta work on that though...Ugh, dad, I need you home now. I'm hopeless in your art without your pointers."

She sheathed her sabre as she spoke, patting it once as a force of habit before she continued onward, her mind excitedly reminding her of even more childhood memories of Granchia...along with the fact one of the annual festivals wasn't too far away.   It was going to be held in one of the major cities and not here, but it made her happy to think about it nonetheles. Her mind buzzed with enthusiasm the more she focused on it, wondering which city would win the esteemed honor of hosting it this year, if any of her friends were going, what she could wear if she decided she wished to attend as well...

She was so focused on these thoughts in fact, that she didn't even pay attention to which areas of Granchia she was traversing, not until the sign of movement not that far away caught her attention; drawing her gaze immediately to what appeared to be somebody else practicing their swordplay.   Somebody who had a lot more skill than she did, though it was hardly surprising.  Valencia produced so many swashbucklers, Hannah often felt she stuck out like a sore thumb being a buccaneer...particularly since that class was often attributed to the lower sides of society, despite the fact her father was a part of the richer, more extravagant side.  

"Guess I'm not the only one who thought to use this place as a training ground."  She chuckled to herself as she stopped several feet away from where the figure was, leaning up against the side of the nearest building she could as she watched him go at it.   "...He dresses better than I do though.  Maybe that's what I'm missing."

She smirked at her own joke as she watched him- a human she was certain, from the way his body was structured- continue to go at it, in an almost mesmerizing spectacle.   Hannah wasn't even  sure her father could pull off some of the moves she was seeing from this man, though then again..perhaps he was just incredibly inspired by their surroundings.   She for one couldn't blame him; there was something almost magical about the atmosphere here in Granchia, something that made it truly hard to be bored here, for if nothing else it was inspiring to know just how much history and beauty they were surrounded with.

[Ulysses Septimus]

Ulysses practiced for a few more minutes before sheathing his blade with a slight flourish, his black coat flying a little in the breeze: he really have to remember to thank his mentor Cristolbol for teaching him so many deadly moves that was at the same time elegant...

Adjusting his tricorne a little bit more over his eyes, the assassin checked his arm mounted computer again, just in case Kane has another assignment for him to take...

He was so engrossed that he didn't see the female that was observing him..

[Hannah Durante]

Good grief, even the way he sheathed the sword was one of the most graceful things she'd ever seen!   For a moment, Hannah had to wonder if the man realized he was being watched and was only pretending he didn't in order to impress whoever was nosy enough to watch him during his practice through such showmanship.   But he made no move to suggest he was even aware of her presence when he had finished, instead playing around with his hat and...something on his arm, she couldn't tell what from this distance.    The buccaneer felt a little smug at the sight, the fact she apparently had managed to sneak up on what she was certain was an advanced swashbuckler.   Her mind saw fit to suggest perhaps he had just been so engrossed in his practicing and didn't think anybody else was out here, that he just wasn't paying as much attention as he might have otherwise, but she preferred to think she had just been that quiet.     Even though she was just about to ruin the peaceful silence- though, not to be rude.  On the contrary, Hannah felt obligated to say something about his performance, since she had been gawking at him for at least several minutes now.

"That was quite a show."  She spoke up, clapping her hands together a few times.   " Swashbuckler, right?  I have to hand it to you, I haven't seen moves like some of those in...years."

There was a part of her that felt it was rude to interrupt whatever little ritual this man was currently engaging in, but it was no match for the part that insisted it would be far more impolite, not to mention awkward, if she said nothing and just stood there until he noticed her, or if she had decided to leave without saying anything at all-  he would probably have noticed her turning and leaving, after all.   This way, she didn't seem quite as odd.   Maybe a bit too forward, but perhaps this swashbuckler would appreciate the compliment?

[Ulysses Septimus]

"Gratias tibi, and yes, I am a swashbuckler."Ulysses grinned under his hood and hat, "thank you." He closed the cover of his computer--it seemed that for now, Lord Kane is perfectly capable of handling things himself--and turned around.

He recognized her instantly, though he made sure to not display it on his face. Instead, he offered one of his trademark smiles, or more exactly, a small curve of his lips from underneath the black hood of his, "However, may I ask, who are you?"

He must be tactful in his approach, as he sensed that she had not yet realized who he was..

Ulysses never noticed that he was still wearing the necklace bearing the pendent in shape of the Assassin Order Symbol.

[Hannah Durante]

There was something...oddly familiar about the man only a few feet before her, something that was setting off red flags in her head the second he spoke, though Hannah chose to completely ignore them for the moment. She did have a habit of being paranoid at times, and he seemed amiable enough, especially since she had essentially been spying on him. She returned his smile with one of her own, feeling absolutely no reason to be on edge at the moment.

"Thought so! I only wish I could pull off moves such as that. Father tried, but...buccaneer's curse."

She shrugged humorously at that, glancing at the weapon she could see strapped to his side briefly, the very one he had just been practicing with. She caught his question about her name next, and looked back up at him as she did.

"Name's Hannah. Hannah Devereuax." She beamed, not worried about giving her name to him at all. Even though he was a complete stranger, she didn't see him as much of a threat, merely a fellow Valencian who had similar tastes when it came to areas of inspiration. At least, she did until her gaze lowered slightly, taking in the wealth of rich detail on his clothing...and it fell to a necklace she had seen before. One she could hardly forget, as it had only been a few hours. Suddenly, it clicked- and her mind reminded her of where she had heard this voice before, entirely too late.

Besides herself, Hannah couldn't help but widen her eyes in alarm. She quickly tried to rectify this mistake by looking away, anywhere but in the man's eyes, though she knew he had probably seen it just the same. Damn, she had given him her full name- something she had hoped to avoid. Why in the spiral had he decided to show up here?! Was she just magnetically drawn to areas Armada members were in lately, or what?

You aren't doing anything wrong that voice of reason at the back of her head spoke up, scoffing at the paranoia she was starting to feel. Who cares if it's the same soldier from last night?! What is he going to hold against you? Roaming a historical, residential area?

Feeling at least somewhat comforted by the thoughts, and realizing they were right- he had nothing to hold against her here, and at the moment he wasn't even trying, Hannah relaxed her posture.

"Say, do you know where that unicorn scholar that's always here went off to? I was hoping to do some research and explore the more historic districts of Granchia....but he doesn't seem to be here at the moment."

[Ulysses Septimus]

Ulysses sensed the panic, but he kept it down, like he would when he stood near an assassination target, "It is a pleasure meeting you, Hannah, and forgive me for not introducing myself--I am Ulysses Septimus." 

He chose to not reveal the fact he was an Armada Admiral, considering that he had been strictly ordered by his master to not show anything if not needed.

The assassin offered a pleasant smile, far from the murderous scowl he was so used to give some others: "That scholar that was just over there?" He pointed to where the unicorn was, "I believe he went off to Marco Pollo's Villa."

Just as he finished, the bracer on his arm bleeped, sharp and slightly loud... And a black shadow darted from some unseen corner, a knife in one hand as they went right for Ulysses.

Deftly sidestepping his attacker, the Assassin Grandmaster's Hidden Blades--two blades about nine inches in length--unsheathed within moments: deflecting the attacker's knife with one Blade, he drove the other into their shoulder, swiftly and soundlessly pinning him to the ground with unnatural speed and grace.

"Who are you?"He growled, gripping the black garbed attacker by the collar...

"The one that should have ended you, Armada Admiral!"The attacker, a male by the voice, spat...

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