Even though this hasn't been up very long, thank you for the views of the last chapter and I hope this one receives just as many! Special thanks to a friend of mine by the name of Liz who helped me write this chapter a while back! I couldn't have continued if she hadn't helped! Thankfully, I was able to add to what she wrote so now it's much more greater in depth. Enjoy!
"We cannot accept you," Councilor Garr 'Alakavee huffed at me.
It had been many days since I have arrived, clad in my handcrafted armor my father had created for me. The Sangheili Council were horrified and impressed at my very image; something so natural yet alien was my visage. I was of Sangheili blood but my very skin and small attributes—such as my ears and tail—were entirely of another creature. Their guards attacked me the moment I had stepped through those cold and fearsome doors; I defended myself without the need for bloodshed and was victorious. I begged them for an audience, since my request was very sincere and that I had wished them no harm.
The councilor called Garr 'Alakavee had been appalled at my rashness. My father had yet to set me straight on manners regarding anyone of the highest rank before his passing. Garr had declared me as some half demon, something that should never be in the presence of the council and must be destroyed at once. The entire council was in an uproar some, with his accusations and others against it. My stomach turned; I wasn't exactly used to this kind of behavior upon my ingress. I only hoped that if I was accepted that the males I would fight alongside with would curb their compulsions to mock me or impetuously squabble over who has the right to call me their own as a mate or play thing like a pack of uncivilized Jiralhanae. However, my maturity understood that this matter of discussion between them was more than a simple squabble; it reflected whether or not I was to be initiated into the Covenant Army and restore my father's name. It meant I would learn the skills necessary to find his murderer and decapitate him, liquefy his innards, and grind his bones into powder for yearly gifts for my father's grave. His vengeance gave me the right to be as mindless as the Jiralhanae; at least only to his slayer. Never on the battlefield would I intentionally neglect tactful strategies.
Chancellor Alei 'Iakanee was against him in the pandemonium he gave birth to the moment I set foot in the Chambers walls. He was intrigued just by my very appearance. How interesting it must have been for him, to see a strange female Sangheili who was well defined in the most athletic form, wearing what appears to be traditional ceremonial Sangheili armor, modified to boast the strange patterns on her visage. If it were not the semi-reflective visor set into my helmet he would most certainly have seen my emerald eyes.
The Chancellor allowed me to speak my woeful, bittersweet tale of my father's last words, though I never informed them of the blade that was mysteriously covered in his blood. I did notify them of my intentions of why I have arrived here, how it was my father's dying wish for me to join the ranks of the Sangheili army and bring the Covenant to the glory of the Great Journey and follow in his footsteps.
Chancellor Alei 'Iakanee was on his way to rendezvous with the Prophets on his update for the Sangheili armed forces. My arrival would, hopefully, be most pleasing to them. He would be gone many days but would soon return as fast as he could.
After the many days passed, the good Chancellor had not returned and yet I was already being refused. "You filth! You cannot join amongst us! Were it not for your father being a Shipmaster, you wouldn't even be granted permission to touch the doors or access to enter into our Chamber!" Councilor Garr 'Alakavee growled at me with disgust. "You are nothing more than a woman, of origins not even YOU can reveal! You may have skills but none as vast as the experiences of those among the highest ranks in this army! If even you did join, you would be nothing more than fodder for these fine men! What have you to provide us, other than unwilling entertainment of your body and mind?" He glared.
"Maybe a few spare teeth for your face, old man?" I calmly hissed. "I will get more entertainment from watching the others who are honorable fight over you while each tears you from limb from limb," Acid dripped from his voice. Father had warned me about men like him, bitter because they cannot land a female without using senseless force, who use women because they felt entitled to it.
Councilor Garr 'Alakavee left me, fuming with anger while his subordinate watched him leave. As I was minding my own business, ready to leave once more before returning what I hoped to be the last time before seeing the Hierarchs, his lieutenant had eyed me with curiosity, blushed brightly and quickly followed the Councilor. I wonder what he saw that embarrassed him so? Perhaps I would find the answer later in my training.
Chancellor Alei 'Iakanee returned almost a month later bearing great news. The Prophets wanted to see me personally, though honoring as it may have been to some, I was terribly ill-prepared to even be seen among the highest of gods. These councilors had been appalled at my initial behavior when I had appeared, what kind of reaction would the Prophets receive from my first appearance to them?
At least Orri 'Lilamee helped me. She was the Chancellor's second daughter. He had asked her to accompany me to address my behavioral situation and taught me valuable lessons of being in a court with the Lords of the Covenant. Any mistake would damn me to hell were I not careful.
I was to show them strict politeness as well as leaving my attitudes against authority at their door. I would curtsy, bow, 'please and thank you' and mind my manners. My armor, in the mean time, was being polished by Orri's younger sister, though she made it a habit of stealing a look at my spots every now and then. "You have wonderful skin," Orri said kindly although very sad, "It pains me how men are picky these days that they don't appreciate pure beauty such as yourself." I smiled.
"I appreciate this, thank you." She laughed while brushing my mane. "I have never seen anyone like you Ruz! So fierce yet kind and gentle, you've grown up mostly as a farmer before beginning your training. Mother won't even let me work in the garden. Says that if I did my hands would be as harsh as a man's, losing all of my gentle touches forever," Here she gave me a coy grin as she whispered. "She is very wrong though. I have worked in the garden and my hands are not as calloused as those of the men who fight constantly with my brothers. My lover's hands are ever more gentle than I ever could be." She finished with my mane and started to work on my horrid claws. My entire demeanor seemed to have become more wild ever since my father died; especially since I have journeyed almost non-stop to the great city of High Charity. The efforts to obtain an aircraft to travel here paled in comparison to the dispute with Garr and the quarrel with the guards who oversaw the entrance of the Council Chamber.
I went to see Orri every day to test my manners and courteousness as well as how to upkeep my appearance. I would see the Prophets in about six months so I best be prepared.
Many thanks again to my friend Liz for helping me initially write this chapter! And in advance a thank you to a friend I met on to graciously decided to help me on this journey of my character whom I have been waiting so long to write about :) I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and leave great reviews!
Next Time: Ruz has an exciting descussion about whether or not she is accepted into the ranks of the Covenant. And Garr's Lieutenant attends! What does he have to say about Ruz, if anything at all? And what of Garr? Will the Prophets accept her?