A time when both good and evil can only be red [Plot updates]

It had been decided. Now that Spring was upon them, Yeoun had several tasks to fulfill, in order to continue to be in his Lord General's good graces. The two main roles he would need to fill now, were as assassin, and as Galedon's right hand, so that it could be assured that his will was accomplished, no matter how far reaching from the Chorong hideout they'd come. Of course, Galedon sent another couple of Agents to accompany him, ensuring that while still in this early stage of his coming up in the ranks of the rebels, that Yeoun did not falter in his step. Yeoun's determination to give them no reason to doubt his purpose or ability however, was quite strong, and it would not be long before he was truly, amoungst the Chorong, only Second to Galedon himself. That was, until Sorcha carried out her revenge on him. But by then, Yeoun fully intended to be recognized amounst the rebels as a force to be reckoned with. 

In order to get to that point though, in order to prove himself beyond the shadow of a doubt, he'd been given a test of loyalty, amoungst other things. That test of loyalty was to kill a man; and not just any man, but one of the Blood Moon Squad. His target was Dace, and Dace was his best friend's brother. All of them had grown up together at the camp of youth trained by Telgar's Guard as elite Guardsmen of the future, in order to help prevent something like another rebellion from ever happening. Or perhaps to prevent something like the Chorong making another rise to significant power. Yet, somehow he'd been drawn into the undercurrent of their tide, and swept away with them. Now he was undeniably one of them. 

How had he come so far as to use the excuse of doing greater good in his own way, to justify betraying his closest friends? There was likely no road of ever really justifying what vile things he would have to participate in carrying out, in order to right the wrongs that had been done by the Chorong and bring everything to an end; but he had to try. Even if there was no guarantee that anyone would ever grant him that redemption he would one day desire, he would do everything in his power to bring about the right kind of change that the good people of Telgar deserved. Now that he'd been given the opportunity to do so, it was unfortunate that the only way of carrying out that plan of action, was to become a traitor. 

He had no idea yet, just how much heart ache he would be the cause of or experience for himself along the way. No matter how much he wanted to prevent it, he knew that the worst had yet to come. His friends would likely soon discover his new allegiances, and though his heart would never change in its love of those in the Blood Moon Squad, Yeoun doubted that that would be enough to keep them from hating him.

In this world though, were there such things as treason? The more involved he and the Blood Moon Squad, or even Sorcha and others from the Chorong, began to be in all of this, the more he realized that they all wanted the same thing; they all wanted peace and harmony, but they couldn't agree on the terms of it. Did that make it wrong to try achieving those ends in a different way? It was a funny thing. 

But at the core, there was no right or wrong side between them. At heart, most of the people he'd met, even amoungst the Chorong, who he'd grown up believing were the root cause of evil in the territory, were people just like anyone else. They were suffering, loving, dreaming, struggling to survive day by day, in the best way they knew how, just like anyone else. There was no white and black in this world in which they lived. There was only gray. Or should he say... only red? Yeoun felt as though that was the way the world was now.. or perhaps that was the way it had been since even prior to the last rebellion. Everything and everyone was red. Because at the time they both decided to take part in all of this fighting, both factions were guilty of the same sin, and that made it even more difficult to tell the two apart.

Of all things though, even amidst the confusion and chaos, Yeoun didn't want to lose himself -didn't want to lose his identity- while in that struggle, trying to make amends. That had turned into his greatest fear.





For now however, Yeoun had purposely set aside that most unsavoury job for last; that is, being faced with taking the life of his friend. Having taken the last sevenday or more to make contact with a number of traders and crafters who frequented Southern Telgar Hold, or happened to make it their home, meetings had been aranged with some of them in order to make strategic moves within the Chorong, to further their goals. Many of those whom he'd arranged to meet in person, were listed on the scroll that had been delivered by Axiar, one of the combat agents that had returned just before the winter, from the north.

Axiar had brought back with him a list of traders and crafters who'd been doing business in varying areas of Telgar, and it had been of great use to the rebels to know just who was doing business with whom. The Chorong then, could more strategically choose their allies and pick their battles, arranging things to their benefit. In order to support their revolution, they would need to continue to get their hands on more and more resources, and the favour of more and more people. And doing that, was what Yeoun had been sent to do.

The Chorong were about to hold a monopoly on tradesmen and specific crafts in the Southern half of Telgar.


At that given moment, Yeoun was on his way to meet with one of the better known traders of Southern Telgar Hold, whom the Chorong had been working in league with for some time. Rather, the Chorong was helping stifle or absorb any competition, so that they could build an effective monopoly on trade. In that way, they could better monitor and control the flow of resources, as well as utilize the additional profits paid by traders and crafters involved, to help pay off the many agents they'd been training.

It also wasn't that long ago that the Chorong had purchased much of the raw ores, like iron, from the surrounding mines, having made considerably generous offers to the Mine Crafters in the area, so that they could procure enough of the resources necessary to create weapons and other tools for those they'd recruited from the Fight Club. And after having assured that the Mine Crafters and other crafters like them, who supplied other necessary goods, the Chorong had begun making allies amoungst them, by promising other, future transactions, making them the sole provider of the Chorong's needs in that regard. So long as those same crafters agreed always to cooperate with the Chorong. 

Of course, if they did not, Yeoun had been directed in how to return the discourtesy.

They would wind up dead.





For an occasion that would rely on Yeoun making the most authoritative impression possible, in the face of experienced traders who were for the most part much older than he, Yeoun had dressed well, and taken time to prepare himself mentally, in the case of any incident. Dressed in his usual style, but in the finer fashion of black satin fabric, with a small, crimson ivy pattern and detail that covered the outer surcoat. Similarly, the lining of the robe was lined in red, allowing that with his movement, one could view bright flashes of it. And of course, since spending more time fulfilling his duties under his Chorong liege, Yeoun had traded in his Guard issued sword for dual blades that were slightly shorter. He never went anywhere without them. 


Entering the appointed meeting room just shortly after those traders now affiliated with the rebels had arrived, conversations began to die down. Looking to him to inform them all of the reason they'd been called here, Yeoun met none of their eyes until he too, had been seated. Though, it was the Master Trader present, who'd taken up the place at the head of the table. And it was the Master Trader who spoke up first.

"Shall we get straight to business, now that our Chorong ambassadors have arrived?" The man's eyes were fixed on Yeoun, and his expression had been an easy one of some amicability, but Yeoun had the feeling it wouldn't be like that for long.

After hearing the door to the room shut, the agent that Yeoun had come with having closed it behind them to make sure there weren't any eavesdroppers, the young man began in response, "That is fine. You have all been called together today because our arrangements of business are changing."  There were audible responses murmured between the men at the table, though Yeoun did not pause for any length of time long enough for anyone to speak up to question him. Instead, he continued in a firm tone. "Over the past months, the Chorong have done well to oppress much of the competition that you would all have normally faced in the open markets of Telgar. You have enjoyed a great deal of growth in your businesses due to our intervention on your behalf; not to mention the instability of the markets in the north -which was brought on by the Chorong- that has led to craftsmen seeking to bring their goods to the south, instead of relying on deflated values of their goods in the north."

Around the table, Yeoun met each man's gaze sternly. "The change in our agreement to business is only that the Chorong receive a greater percentage of the profit you have made. We are increasing dues from 27% to 40% of your overall profit."

Once the words were spoken, voices raised again, and with them, even a couple of fists in open defiance. Of course, it would only be natural that they didn't want to lose any more of their increased profits to the Chorong than necessary. But it was only fair. The Chorong had been solely responsible for their increase in business.


One of the several Senior Journeymen Traders amoungst them stood up from his chair to protest, "But 40% is unreasonable. It's too high! Rather... it's outright robbery!"

Pinning the man with a hard glare, Yeoun asserted, "Do you think that your monopoly on trade here will last forever? Do you think that without our aid it would have lasted for even this long?" Again, Yeoun's eyes traversed between the men, searching each gaze, "Those who do not want to be involved any further, say so now."

There came a tense, momentary pause before the same man frowned, pushing his chair back further, so that he could step away from the table to make his leave. Others looked more hesitant, as if waiting to see what might happen. "I refuse to be any more a part of this. The Chorong are robbing us. I have a family to feed and -"

Promptly rising from his chair, Yeoun's weapon was drawn as swiftly as he arrived at the man's side, slicing it cleanly through his gut. The action is what put a stop to the Journeyman's words, as he found himself doubled over, having collapsed to the floor. 

Before cleaning the blade of visceral fluid, Yeoun eyed the rest of the men present, "Anyone else?"

Since Yeoun's actions had made the decision for the rest of them, there were no more complaints. But... in Yeoun's mind, as it should be for the rest of them, 40% when considering their increased revenues really wasn't all that bad. And of course, their continued successes in business could, at least for some time to come, be guaranteed by the Chorong.




[Fading out there, so if anyone else wants to start a thread for STH/ rebels /etc we can do so, and everything's up to date on this end.  ]