ASCEND INTO DARKNESS
by Ulquiorra9000
A/N: This story will be divided into a part I and a part II, and the prologue scene takes place at the end of part I. Part I will be set before the disappearance of Avacyn, but even in her presence, evil sometimes has its victories over humanity, since the angels and priests can't be everywhere all the time. Part II will take place during the Dark Ascension and Avacyn Restored sets.
PART I
Chapter 1
"So, this is Selhoff," Leo commented excitedly as he leaned his head out the window of the horse-drawn carriage that carried him, his parents, and his good friend Rick. The 17-year-old Cathar-in-training breathed in deep, letting cool, salty sea air seep into his lungs. Around him stood well-lit taverns, inns, business establishments, and warehouses, and thousands of commoners milled the streets in a chattering, fast-moving crowd. The afternoon sun shone through the patchy silver-gray clouds in the sky, and a small flock of birds flitted past overhead.
"Wait," Rick realized. "Didn't you say that when we first got here?"
"True," Leo admitted as he brought his head back into the carriage, "but arriving at the outskirts late at night and sleeping at an inn don't count as really seeing this coastal city. This is my first trip to the Nephalia province, and I can't help but be excited."
Leo's father, Wulfgar, chuckled and tugged at his short black beard. "I have been here to Nephalia many times in my work as a Cathar, but I've learned that this place always has new surprises in store."
"I'd rather that Leo not find out too many surprises on his own," Leo's mother, Hilda, added. She ran her fingers through her brunette hair bun, her eyes narrowing slightly. "I know about the kind of trouble you let Leo and Friedrich get into, Wulfgar."
Rick winced at the use of his real name, while Wulfgar rumbled his laughter, taking his wife's hand as the carriage rounded a street corner. "Not to worry, my dear, Leo's only here to meet his soon-to-be fiancee. The only 'trouble' he'll get into will be the domestic kind!"
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Hilda raised her eyebrows, but a spark of humor glinted in her eyes.
Wulfgar leaned over to whisper in his son's ear. "Lesson number one: wives ask a lot of questions. Make a list of excuses ahead of time to draw upon."
"I heard that," Hilda smiled with exasperation.
Leo folded his arms, his stomach squirming with mingled curiosity and anxiety as the carriage now rolled into the grounds of a hilltop mansion. Today is the day I meet my future bride, he thought. Her family and my family have been friends for generations, so here I am, tossed into an arranged marriage. I hope this girl is nice.
"Welcome, good friends," greeted a pair of guards armed with pikes when the carriage came to a halt at the mansion's front double doors. Both men wore expensive steel armor and moved with disciplined grace as they helped the passengers climb down from the carriage. Leo looked around at the well-tended apple tree groves on the grounds, as well as the ponds and stone walkways. From here, he could see the endless blue sea that bore countless shipping lanes to neighboring Kessig and Gavony. Remembering his map lessons, Leo knew that further down the coast lay the bigger coast city of Havengul, which had many ships that led back and forth with Stensia.
Hilda tugged gently at Leo's arm. "Come on, dear, they're waiting for us."
Leo jumped. "Oh. Yeah. Just getting a quick view. Nice place."
"I know, right?" Rick added as the party was escorted through the open double doors and into a lavish reception hall. He and Leo both wore simple but comfortable leather and wool clothing, with long sleeved coats and short-sleeved shirts. "Leo, man, we've got to hit up the taverns later on. Imagine the gambling houses they'll have in town!"
"I don't think our hosts would appreciate talk like that," Wulfgar reminded Rick. "You are welcome on this trip as Leo's friend and my adopted son, but I ask that you keep your... other business... elsewhere."
"All right, sorry," Rick said earnestly, running a hand through his red-dyed hair. Leo didn't say anything, but he secretly agreed with Rick. Already, he imagined himself attending posh dinner parties and being stuck with other pomp and ceremony here in this mansion, and he longed for a new Cathar training mission instead. But he really had no other choice.
Leo squared his shoulders as his father led the party through a new pair of doors and into a comfortable lounge, where an overhead gold chandelier glowed with hundreds of candles. A wide coffee table bore wine glasses, baked snacks, and cigars with silver ash trays. Tall windows had their curtains half-drawn, giving the room a soft level of lighting. At least six people stood from their seats when Leo and the others arrived, and the tallest man approached Wulfgar and shook his hand eagerly. "My friend, so good to have you!"
"Hodric," Wulfgar smiled. "It seems that Nephalia is even more lovely than the last time I visited."
"Well, business could be better, but we've been blessed with good weather," Hodric nodded. "And is Church life in Thraben going well?"
"It is," Wulfgar said. "My team and I apprehended another developing Skirsdag cult the other day and put at least five men into the jails. They were planning something awful, but not under my watch."
"Good, good," Hodric boomed, his pot belly shaking slightly.
Leo and Rick exchanged faces. Is this the kind of rich lifestyle we'll have to put up with? they realized.
Hodric turned to Leo. "And here is the future groom! Glad to have you, Leo. Is your training going well?"
Hoping that he could do a halfway decent job acting pompous, Leo answered, "Uh... yeah, it is. Quite well. My instructors still say that I'm in the top 25% of my class, but there's some guys who still smoke me in all the training exercises. I'm doing what I can to catch up."
"Excellent, you have a strong drive to succeed," Hodric approved. He turned to Rick. "And you are...?"
"Friedrich, but I go by Rick, and I'm Wulfgar's adopted son and Leo's friend," Rick answered, straightening his back. He very much looked out of his element. "I was brought into the family when..."
"Delightful," Hodric interrupted, gesturing to the seats. "Everyone, please, have a seat and sate your palate. Abigail will be in soon."
"Who?" Leo asked as he sank into a chair, wondering if he could get more than his fair share of wine. Anything to make this less boring.
Hodric chuckled again as he sat in the largest chair, reaching for a raspberry tart. "Oh, how I spoil everything! Well, now that you know, Leo, Abigail is the one who will be your bride. She is probably a little nervous, yes, but excited too. She should be finishing up getting dressed. She has three maidens at her disposal. I assure you, my good boy, that you will be satisfied."
"Sure," Leo shrugged as a servant poured him a glass of bubbly white champagne. He turned to his father. "Wait, will I live here with her or will she move to Gavony to be with me?"
Wulfgar winced slightly at his son's bluntness but recovered quickly. "Hodric and I have not yet settled that," he admitted. "In fact, we're hoping that you and Abigail's input can take care of things."
And if I get any real say in the matter, I'm hauling this Abigail girl's butt right over to Thraben, Leo thought. I'd go crazy living in a place like this! I've got a Cathar career ahead of me. It's the family business to be involved with the Church of Avacyn. I can't just go fat living here.
Another set of doors to the room swung open, and two maids in dark red clothing escorted a third girl Leo's age into the room. "She is here, master," one maiden reported to Hodric.
The girl in the middle, clad in a sky blue knee-length skirt and matching sleeveless blouse, scowled and tore her arm free of the maiden. "He can see that," she told the maiden. "And I could have walked myself here. I'm not fragile or anything."
Hodric bolted to his feet and motioned for Leo to do the same. "Of course not, my dear. Please, come in and meet Leo, your future groom."
Looking increasingly apprehensive, Abigail stood before Leo, her eyes searching him from top to bottom. "H-hello, Leo. My name is Abigail."
"Yeah, your dad told me that," Leo grinned, tugging at his shirt's collar to distract himself. Abigail had a gentle face with warm blue eyes and shoulder-length amber colored hair, and he was relieved that she was at least good-looking. Well, that's a good start, at least. "So, it's my first time in Nephalia. I bet you'd like to show me around or something, right? Point out the good stuff?"
Abigail's face fell. "Is this a joke to you?" she said sternly. "Because it's not."
Leo groaned inwardly. And "a good start" is about as far as I'll go, it seems. "Come on, Abigail, it's not like I resent being here. I mean, you've lived here your whole life. Wouldn't you like to show me around your beloved home?"
"If you want to run around the place like a buffoon, have my guards take you," Abigail snapped. "Really, Leo, you're already making demands of me?"
Realizing that everyone else was hearing this and making alarmed faces, Leo hastily added, "I didn't mean that. After all, if you went to Thraben, I'd show you around the place, show you my favorite haunts..."
"Your what?"
Leo gestured. "My favorite places to visit and hang out, kind of like how a geist haunts the same place... and, uh... stuff..."
"My name's Rick," Friedrich popped in, waving from his seat.
Hodric puffed up his chest, snapping his fingers and motioning to his servants "Why don't you show Friedrich the guest quarters?"
"It's Rick!" the boy protested as two guards shoved him out the door. "On second thought, I shouldn't have mentioned my real name..."
Hodric turned to Leo and Abigail. "Really, kids, there's no need to fight. Abigail, Leo has come a long way and is unfamiliar with Selhoff or Nephalia as a whole. He'd be delighted to have you as a companion while he explores our home."
"As long as she's nice about it," Leo blurted, and both Abigail and Hodric stiffened at the slight. "Uh, I meant..."
"Perhaps," Wulfgar offered, standing up, "Leo and Abigail would like some time along in another room, or perhaps in the back yard with some fresh air."
"Yes," Abigail nodded once. "Upstairs, Leo. Follow me."
*o*o*o*o*
As soon as Abigail led Leo into his guest bedroom and closed the door behind her, she turned to face her future husband with a sharp gleam in her eye. She folded her arms, making eye contact with Leo.
"Look, I was nervous too," Leo admitted, backing up a step. Warm sunlight glowed through the open window, but Leo's innards felt cold with embarrassment. "I just blurted things. You know how that is, right?"
Abigail sighed, running a hand over her face as she turned away. "For your information, Leo, I was not nervous, no matter what my dad might have said. I've learned how to handle people with finesse and maturity, but that doesn't mean I'm jumping up and down for joy about all this. I'm still... apprehensive. This is different than what I expected."
"Wait... you don't like this whole arranged marriage deal?"
"Really, I don't fully know what to think," Abigail confessed, turning back to Leo. "I just know that this is for the good of our families, and both our fathers are adamant about this. I will do my part with respect... but I want you to do so too. Don't screw this up! This is the rest of the lives we're talking about."
If this is really the rest of my life, I'd better go find a pit of blood-crazed vampires to jump into pretty soon, then, Leo thought spitefully, then regretted his tone. "Hey, you don't have to be strict about it."
"I'm not strict, Leo, I'm taking this as seriously as I should," Abigail corrected him. "And I think that you should follow my example, all right?"
You don't think I respect the wishes of our fathers? "Well... okay. But we've got off on the wrong foot. We're bound to have something in common," Leo offered. "Let me start. I am a Cathar-in-training, proficient with short swords and offense-oriented magic. Aside from my duties, I also like to hang with friends and I'm also thinking of getting into forging. I'd love to wield a weapon I crafted against the forces of darkness."
Abigail's eyes widened slightly. "You have ambition, at least. Well, my family also has ties to the Church. I'm a priestess in training, and I have a few holy spells at my disposal. My mana reserves aren't as strong as most others', but my focus and discipline are the envy of many."
"Well, there we go," Leo said brightly. "We're both warriors of the Church of Avacyn. Maybe we can go on a few practice missions together to ease the tension."
Abigail gave Leo a sidelong look. "You want to fight together? That's your idea of bonding?"
Getting fed up with Abigail's attitude, Leo answered defiantly, "Yes, it is. We'd both be doing our duty to humanity, and besides, my family's lifeline is the Church. I'm not turning my back on that. Come on, you've got to respect that..."
"And I do, in fact," Abigail said frankly, turning and opening the door. "I'll be in my own chambers. I think we need a break for now. Don't get into any trouble."
"Better to tell that to Rick."
Abigail paused. "Good point."
"So," Leo added quickly, scratching the back of his hand, "do you think we could at least spar at some point or fight dummy targets at a Church training facility?"
After a second, Abigail answered, "We'll see, Leo," and left the room, snapping the door closed behind her.
