Nine flying ravens had been sent out into the darkened world, each presented with a specific set of instructions to meet with the alpha of each current pack in Boreas and Auster, offering them a chance to meet with himself, his father, and any other alphas who chose to attend. This would be a meeting on neutral ground, one where the current vaguely apocalyptic world happenings would take the forefront above any petty pack squabbles or arguments. It was becoming apparent that the changes Boreas and Auster were encountering were not going to be going away anytime soon, and perhaps there were other alphas like himself who might want to band together for the good of them all. And so he and his father waited at the Battlefield - where he figured might be the most neutral, familiar, and flat ground for them all to meet upon - to see if any other alpha would agree to join their meeting. Of course they’d thought ahead and brought food and beverages for any who would show themselves (all the non-glowing variant, of course) which were placed before them for any wolf to help themselves to.   OOC: This is optional, of course! A bit of a round table discussion on the event happenings, for any other pack that may be worried and willing to set aside their differences to figure out wtf is going on. An invitation was sent out ICly (via bird) to each pack alpha - attend if you wish! No harm done if you don't want to. "Speech"

The Warlord sat beside his son, the two towing dire wolves silent in the gloom of the unnaturally dim day. The strange happenings in the world forced their hand. For the safety of Armada - and, possibly, for every wolf in the world - they needed an open line of communication between the Alphas. Those that would appear, that is. A system in place to pass information gleaned about the strange world. Where Sirius could speak of the strange mushrooms he had encountered, perhaps even the strange ghost that had haunted Zee and himself. Or the fog, and fireflies, the undimming moon and stunted sunlight.

There was too much happening for them to sit on their tails and ignore it, so Azure and Sirius sat there, with their messages out in the world. He was very curious as to who might take their open invitation of Alphas.

"Speech"

When Artorias received a raven with a message from the Armada, he immediately feared the worst. With all the unnatural and downright paranormal things occurring in the world lately, it was natural for his mind to jump to a number of horrible scenarios. Had something happened to Briar? Had the Armada been attacked? Was everyone okay? His relief was immeasurable when it turned out to be a simple summons to a meeting in the north for all the alphas, called by Azure and Sirius. Artorias had no experience with Azure and no opinion of the wolf positive or negative, but he loved and respected Sirius, so with his godfather's name on the message, he had committed to attend. He'd informed Ulric of the meeting and that he'd be gone for a couple of days, then set off for the north. Ordinarily, he would have brought his sword with him for protection against the unknown elements, but... well, that was long gone now.

The trek up to Boreas had been stress-inducing and terrifying in some regards. He still heard his mother's voice whispered on the winds at night, along with a symphony of other horrific cries and howls in the dark, and with the twilight days barely providing enough sunlight to really call it daytime, the entire world felt like it was inching ever closer to dying. Was this how the world ended? In a veil of fading light and shadow? It was a lot to weigh on the young alpha's mind, but his thoughts kept him company on his solo journey. He arrived at the meeting on the Battlefield, a land he'd had no reason to traverse before now. Artorias saw Sirius and Azure sitting in wait, the two Armada wolves alone. No one else had arrived yet; he'd be the first. And how ironic, this would be the first time any of the others saw him as the new Aegis of the Hallows.

"Seer, Azure," he greeted his two allies with a dip of his head. The yearling was almost as tall as they were by now, and it was evident he wouldn't stop growing yet. Rubbing his aching jaw, Art said, "I'd say 'good day', but uh... I hardly think this qualifies as day anymore." Artorias gazed around the dusky battlefield, the ground desolate and covered with snow. It was much colder up here than it was in Auster. Hopefully the other alphas wouldn't take too long arriving. He didn't exactly relish the idea of being out in the dark longer than he had to.

"Artorias Carpathius"

One big happy family

Artorias has two ravens named Corbin and Eira and a fox named Argent. Assume they are within calling distance at all times.
As his mate, Briar may enter Artorias' threads unless marked Private.
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A message from Azure was unexpected, but less so when she realized she was only one of many leaders all across Boreas. That the Empress wasn’t afforded a special invitation by the Warlord himself stung she tried to ignore the facts she had Anko pack supplies and Poison sat upon her back and they tracked towards the battlefield. Venom was completely comfortable with the scenery, night was her domain, and the endless night was welcome. Ignoring the ecological damage and end to life as they knew it.

Sirius and Azure were right where they said they would be with Artorias already standing beside them. Venom was silent on her approach, though her akita lowered herself in a deep bow. ”Warlord, Artorias.” She greeted the two men, and offered Azure a darker glance. She had thought him dead, she had mourned him, and he never returned to her. That he hadn’t come to see her hurt more than the loss of her very first love.

This was not about the two of them however, and her expression shifted back to neutral as she took a seat on the fur Anko had spread on the snowy grass for her. She knew what this was about, but had her doubts anyone would learn much more than could be seen with one’s eyes.

She'd arrived late. Why, why did you come late. You have to show strength. Integrity. It had taken a bit longer than she would have liked to re-secure the borders and leave Rhyme in charge with Corvus at his side. The lack of a true secondary had never felt so apparent. There was sick pebble of unease in her stomach that had been building for weeks now. At least this gathering might set her at ease. Sharing information was always a good thing. Unless, of course, they were bringing false information to the table. Theory stuffed down her anxieties further and further until they were an ugly little pill that she could swallow. There was no point in over-thinking things, she was here, and she was prepared to be courteous and honest. Theory arrived panting softly, her sides slick with sweat. Half with worry and half with the exertion of the journey, but let them think the latter. "Hello," she murmured. "Theory, alpha of Abaven. I'm glad you called this meeting," she inclined her head towards Armada's leadership. It looked like Sirius was preparing to pass the torch to his son. He must be proud. The others she wasn't quite on a first-name basis with, but she recognized the black and white female easily enough as the Empress of Ashen. The other male had a faint, tropical smell - from Auster?

"These are certainly strange times we're living in. Would you like to begin discussing while we wait for some others to arrive?" She had sent Alouette behind Armada's own raven to encourage Sparrow to come, but in the end her cousin would do as she wished. Certainly things were strained enough between her and the Armada. A tentative message had also been sent to Aerie on her behalf, but she wasn't sure what sway she might truly hold with Eligos, if any.

Aurielle Adravendi

The raven had arrived – and been heckled for stories beyond just the message it carried by Ardyn’s Lyr before it could escape – and Aurielle had been left to consider the proposal. It was surprising that it came from Armada of all packs considering Sirius' temperament, and the behavior of his ‘diplomat’. One could only guess at what tall tale she’d probably spun to the man after her less than diplomatic actions and words. While they didn’t anger Aurielle, or ruffle her coat all that much, it concerned her that a diplomat might be so flippant at any pack’s border. The next alpha she got mouthy with could very well be the one with a thin skin and short temper, and a penchant for war and hostages. She, personally, couldn’t see the merit behind hostage-taking unless it was in the heat of battle defending against a siege or raid. Hostages had the chance to see Valhalla from the inside, gather information, and escape, or behave well and be released. The resentment of being a prisoner would be an added incentive to plot Valhalla’s downfall. It had taken a little fenagling to adjust patrol schedules to cover both her and Ardyn’s absence for a day or two, but in time they were on their way, armored – not against wolves, but against whatever the ongoing strangeness might throw – with a few packs of food and a couple clay bottles of a mild mead and ale. Nerves might be frayed and the liquid was enough to take the edge off, but not addle the senses. The field came into sight and the way it had changed just with the crystals and mushrooms was unnerving, but she remained composed, though she gave Theory a welcome, warm smile before nodding cordially to each of those present, regarding Artorias with interest as she remarked softly, “Does this mean a congratulations is in order, Artorias?” Was Ulric alright? Deathbelle wasn’t present, but the woman on plush furs had the look of her, and she could remember the woman as a pup at the festival long ago. She settled herself, setting out the provisions nearby as she went and casting her eyes around the Field. “I’m beginning to really wonder if the world will ever get back to normal. Or… as normal as it ever was.” She wished it would... maybe she'd be able to get a full night's sleep for once... though she was pretty sure she'd sleep for a week if given the chance after all this insanity. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi

He’d been busying himself with the supplies and preparations, but the thoughts were in the back of his mind. His encounters with the strange had been unnerving, unpleasant. If it hadn’t been for them, this would have been pretty. As it was, he was ready for Spring and Summer, and sunlight. He followed his mother’s cloaked form, her mostly-obscured light guiding their paws, though with how bright – and oversized – the moon was, even his mother’s glow nearly blended in. Lyr perched on his back, nestled down against the folded back hood of his cloak, claws grasping the leather of the yearling’s armor. Ardyn paused as he saw the Field, then lengthened his stride to keep up with Aurielle, falling back to his regular leonine gait once he was level with her hip, studying the wolves gathered already. Theory was there, and he smiled slightly, adding a nod to Artorias as he set the packs he’d been carrying aside with his mother’s set and settled beside her, studying the others more carefully, though unobtrusively. He knew a gathering like this was reasonably uncommon, and so he watched closely to see how it panned out. He preferred peace, especially in times like these, but should Valhalla need to prepare for war, he wanted to know who to watch for. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

The raven that had appeared with a message for him had been a surprise - a surprise that Eligos was suspicious of. Armada, calling on all the packs to meet in peace to discuss the changes in the land? Armada, a pack that had proven warlike and devious in the past? Logically, it was a trap. It was, however, a trap that he could not afford to ignore.

Another message followed the first, this from Theory of Abaven urging him to attend. Presumably that meant that Abaven would be present. Eligos sent no reply to either message, simply dismissing the messengers without indicating whether he'd attend. Of course, they likely knew as well as he did that he'd need to be there regardless, but he didn't need to make things easier.

When the day arrived he would need to leave the pack to reach the meetingplace in time, he lay waiting atop a boulder convenient to the edge of the shared border between Valhalla and Aerie, a vantage point to watch and wait until he saw Aurielle and her fire-gilded son, dressed for a journey, set off in the direction of the rendezvous. So, then, they were attending as well.

Waiting until they were well out of sight, Eligos rose from his perch and set out back into pack lands to arm and armor himself and his pack. With the warriors set to increased vigilance, in case this was simply an attempt to get him away from the pack before they were attacked, he set out again alone. While the message invited him to bring another member of the pack, presumably so they would feel comfortable, Eligos was not willing to risk another of Aerie to a possible trap.

Lightly burdened and longer legged than half the Valhalla contingent, he arrived shortly after them despite his later start. A quick glance at the group as he approached showed a few strangers in addition to the familiar representatives of Valhalla, Abaven, and Armada. No Fireside, or the new pack of troublemakers, and if there were any other packs not yet represented they weren't ones he'd heard of so he didn't see their presence or lack thereof being a hindrance. He stalked forward and took a place alone, seating himself with dignity as he watched the Armadans with a cool expression and, settled, gave them a curt nod of acknowledgement.