Authors Note: First off I would like to apologize for the next installment of Zendou taking so long: the second half of it is being a PITA to write, not to mention good o' writers block rearing its head as well. I was able to write the first 'half' of this installment done however before I started to run into these issues, so here is what I'll do. I will post the first half of this storyarc, Revelations, as part 1, which is a total of 7 chaps. Part 2 I will post…whenever I get the second half done….
So in the meantime, here's the start of first half to help sate you while I struggle with the rest. A chap a week as usual.
Thanks to Gecko-1539 for proofing this.
Disclaimer: Halo, Sangheili, Rtas and Thel belong to Bungie Studios. However, Original Characters, like Zeno, belong to me.
Chapter 1: Gi'vea
High Charity
Zeno leaned on the railing of the balcony, looking at the masses below him. Though he could not hear anything clearly, he could see and hear the tension in his fellow Sangheili and even other member races. Things had changed very quickly as of late and Zeno was still uncertain as to where he stood. Changes that didn't just affect him, but the whole Covenant.
It had been eight years, since he joined the Covenant military and the SpecOps. Eight years of knowing how things were supposed to be and his place in it. The status quo, has been changed dramatically within the last few weeks and it all started because of those damn humans.
The road to change started when the fleet invaded a particularly well protected human world called Reach. While Zeno and Miko were still on the surface, Thel suddenly left with the fleet to chase a sole escaping human ship. They were left with orders to assist the remaining forces in eradicating the human infestation and to locate a holy relic of great importance.
While the humans ultimately lost Reach, they were able to steal the holy relic right from under their snouts. Somehow, the humans had stolen one of their assault carriers, the Ascendant Justice, and used it to not only steal the holy relic, but to rescue the surviving demons and other human forces. Zeno would only learn the details once he and Miko finally were able to return to High Charity and those details were terrifying.
They learned that Thel had found a Holy Ring, something the Covenant had been searching for many years. What should have been a moment of triumph however, ended up in tragedy. The forces aboard the human ship Thel had been chasing and hoping to destroy, managed to destroy the holy ring and later assist in the theft of the Ascendant Justice. This small force of humans then proceeded to steal the holy relic from Reach and then assaulted the Unyielding Hierophant, one of their stations. The Unyielding Hierophant was destroyed, along with the fleet that was amassing for an invasion of another system. It was a terrible blow to the Covenant military force.
Thel 'Vadamee, was subsequently striped of his rank and branded a heretic for his failures both at Halo and for allowing the humans to steal the Ascendant Justice. Zeno's gut told him Thel was made a scapegoat to pass blame upon for things he had little control over, but he dared not voice this opinion. Even worse, on a more personal level, they found out that their beloved commander, Rtas 'Vadumee, suffered a terrible blow himself.
He and a squad of SpecOps were sent to investigate and repel an attack on one of their support vessels, the Infinite Succor. They suspected the demon was responsible, but what they found instead was more terrifying then any human demon: the Flood. Rtas was forced to have the ship destroyed by changing its course into a sun due to the threat the Flood posed to the Covenant. He succeeded, but at a terrible cost: he not only lost all of his squad, including Sub-Commander Kusovai, but nearly lost his own life as well. The commander had lost most of his left mandibles and almost his half of his left forearm: the medics were able save his arm, but his face would be forever be disfigured.
The bad trend had not stopped there though. More recently, the High Prophet of Regret led an fleet to another system, looking for another holy relic, only to find the human's homeworld. Regret was ill-equipped to fight the humans there and jumped out not long after the invasion started, only to discover another Holy Ring. The human demon had followed him however and despite the best efforts of the honor guard, Regret was slain.
The remaining Hierarchs, feeling the Sangheili were no longer capable of protecting them, replaced the Sangheili honor guard with the Brutes. This caused an uproar within the Sangheili ranks and the Brutes, having long been oppressed by the Sangheili, walked with a new swagger in their steps. The tension as of late was so thick, Zeno was certain a civil war was soon to break out and he did not know where he stood.
Zeno had long felt the oppression of the brutes was wrong, having experienced firsthand himself what it was like. However, the prophets sudden changing of tradition disturbed him: surely the prophets understood that the demon was a force of nature that few were able to stand up against. Yet, as of late, the prophets seemed to think the Sangheili were becoming inadequate for their jobs, if what happened to Thel was any indication. There was word that the Great Journey was to happen soon, if so, did the prophets still think the Sangheili had a place on it?
Suddenly, something smacked him in the back of the head, breaking him out of his contemplations. Turning around, he saw the one constant in his life as of late: Miko 'Kemotee. "What was that for?" Zeno said to him, a faint smile on his face.
Miko, a Sangheili male almost twice his age, grinned and put his hands on his hips in a mock scolding manner. "About time you came back down to reality," he said. "I have been calling your name for the last couple of minutes."
"Eh…Sorry," Zeno said sheepishly. "Been thinking about all that has happened as of late."
"Who has not, my love?" Miko said softly, looking off to the side as if checking to ensure no one else was within earshot. "So much has happened in such little time….But now is not the time to ponder them, we have a show to watch."
"Yes, I heard the prophets have requested this group to come specifically to help relieve some of the tensions going around."
"To be honest, I do not think even the Gi'vea can help relieve this kind of tension. The changing of a tradition that has stood since the foundations of the Covenant is not being taken very lightly."
"I thought this was not the time to ponder on such things?" Zeno looked at his lover with a mischievous grin.
Miko blinked, then punched him in the arm. "Warso. Come on, we do not want to be late."
They headed down to the spiritual district, which was the closest High Charity had to a recreational area. Most species of the Covenant were either not big on recreational activities or their form of recreation didn't mesh well with the other species. There were a few bars in the merchant district that some species propagated in, but the event Zeno and his lover were going to was far too refined to put in such a location.
"I am curious…," Miko said as they walked. "How come the Gi'vea do not come here to High Charity very often? I have only heard of a troupe coming there five times in my life time: you would think there would be a permanent house here."
"That is because the Gi'vea prefer to work only with Sangheili," Zeno explained. "They train for years to perfect their arts for the Sangheili mindset and it would be…Tedious…to do the same for all other member species."
"I hardly think the other races would care how they danced…."
Zeno chuckled, amused by his lovers lack of knowledge on what Gi'vea did. Then again, it was not likely Miko's keep had a Gi'vea training house. "Dancing is not all they do, Miko. They also soothe our bodies with skillful hands or ease our minds by being a willing ear."
"So…They also do massages and counseling work?" Zeno nodded. "I suddenly understand why they visit here so rarely: I would not want to be one of them having to give a massage to a Brute."
"A Brute would not be permitted for such a thing anyway: the Gi'vea have long refused to provide that kind of service to other member species. Same with the counseling."
"Really? I am surprised the Hierarchs did not protest that."
"They did actually, back when it was just us and the San 'Shyuum," Zeno said. "Nearly broke the Covenant then, but the Gi'vea agreed to compromise before any bloodshed started. They allowed the other member species to attend the dances, but nothing more: fortunately, that was good enough for the San 'Shyuum."
"And just how do you know all this?" Miko gave him a look, to which Zeno just chuckled.
"Well, first off, my keep has a Gi'vea training house. Second, my twin sister is a Gi'vea and she used to talk my ear hole off about its history when she came to see me before I left."
"Your sister…That is right, you told me about her before. I am surprised you do not message her regularly."
"Gi'vea troupes are constantly on the move, so they do not have a permanent 'address' to contact them with. Which means that regular contact is pretty much impossible."
"A pity. I am sure she misses you."
"I know she does…I miss her too."
"I am sure one day you will see her again, Zeno." Zeno simply smiled in response.
As they entered the spiritual district, they saw that the number of patrons was noticeably higher than normal, most heading for the same location as they were. "Looks like it is going to be standing room only for the show," Zeno muttered as they made their way toward one corner of the district. Here there were a series of tents, a number of seats and a stage set up. Wandering around getting everything set up were the Gi'vea themselves. They were in casual attire at the moment, but Zeno knew that shortly they will all retreat to the dressing tent to change into performance clothing.
"I am noticing a lot of former honor guards here," Miko muttered as they managed to find a couple of seats.
"Not surprising. I would not be surprised if some of them want to utilize the Gi'vea's other services as well." Zeno looked around at the crowd. Yes, definitely going to be standing room only, he thought. He noticed a fair number of Brutes in the audience, their faces covered with cocky smirks. Their attitude was starting to get on his nerves, despite how he felt they deserved better treatment.
"Oh this is exciting," a major domo said as he sat down next to him. "I have never been to one of these before."
Zeno glanced at him, a smirk on his face. He noticed this major had green eyes: a rare thing for a male Sangheili. "You are in for a treat then, brother," Zeno said to him.
"You have seen this before?" The major looked at him, curiosity in his eyes.
"No, this is my first as well," Zeno confessed. "But you can say I have inside information on what the show entails."
"Lucky. How long until the show starts?"
"Very soon." Zeno noticed the number of Gi'vea outside the tents had suddenly dropped off dramatically. The only ones left obviously trainees going by how old they looked.
"No flirting on my watch." He heard Miko say, feeling an accompanying elbow nudge.
"Miko," Zeno said with a chuckle, giving his lover's hand a reassuring squeeze. "You are my one and only."
"Just making sure," Miko said with a grin.
Just then, a rather aged female strode out of one of the tents and walked along one side of the stage. She walked with a cane, but it didn't seem to slow her down or diminish her imposing stature. The headmistress, Zeno thought. Why does she look familiar? The headmistress' appearance had an effect on the crowd, which suddenly went quiet. They watched as she scanned the crowd, Zeno noticing the faint look of distaste on her aged face when she spotted the Brutes in the audience.
Then she turned and barked an order: immediately two of the trainees rushed out and drew the curtain around the stage, blocking the audience's view of it. These two were a bit overeager, as when they met at the front center of the stage, they forgot to stop, colliding into each other and falling backwards onto their rumps. Zeno heard a few chuckles from the crowd, Miko among them, as the Headmistress growled at the two klutzy trainees, whom immediately got back up on their hooves and into proper position, the shame on their faces evident.
A note from a string instrument signaled the start of the show itself. A few more string notes rang through then air followed by the boom of a percussion. It was then that the curtains were drawn back, revealing a dozen dancers on the stage frozen in position. They wore simple, sleeveless dresses with high cuts on the skirt, the colors ranging from red to yellow: the colors of their home world. A few of the less disciplined Sangheili hooted at them: Zeno hearing faint growls of reprimand from those that were more mature.
The music picked up a bit, the dancers starting their slow, flowing, haunting dance. They only did their next movement at the sound of the percussion. The Sur'to, Zeno thought, with a smile. Lila had told him, years ago, that the Sur'to was a form of dance where the skill came in being able to hold their position until the next cue. He remembered that Lila told him that she was found to be too energetic for this form of dance and was restricted to the Hi'to, a much faster paced style of dance.
"Boring…," the major beside him grumbled: Zeno gave him a strong elbow for that.
"Show some respect," Zeno whispered to him. "The Sur'to is said to be telling a story."
"I do not see a story…."
Zeno shrugged. "The story is not always obvious."
Moments later the Sur'to ended and the curtain was closed: the trainees did not run into each other this time. A moment later, a faster paced series of notes started and the curtains parted once more. This time, there were only a half-dozen dancers on the stage and their attire was striking. Unlike the Sur'to dancers, these left little to the imagination: they wore a vest like top, a long flowing skirt that was cut all the way to the hips and had flowing ribbons attached to their wrists and elbows. Instead of reds and yellows, they sported blues, silvers, violets and lavenders.
As the music started in earnest and the dancers started moving in elegant flourishes and spins, Zeno realized he wasn't going to be focused on the dance as a whole. Among the dancers, he spotted a very familiar face.
His twin sister, Lila.