Update 11/3/17: Combined the important parts of the Gala into a single chapter like they are in the book so I could add in some more pre-gala scenes.
Part II: Break:
"If you're a fox, play the hare.
If you're the hare, play the fox."
Lorn au Arcos
Chapter 9: Blood for Blood
Hyperion
Luna
December 18th, 2840
While Octavia began her opening address, Shiro noticed Darrow stalking back into the dining area. He ducked beneath the Augustus table and scrounged around on the ground for a minute before emerging with a Pegasus pendant. He put it in his pockets and straightens his jacket. Pliny hissed the young lancer's name as Darrow ignored the questioning glances and boldly moved away from the table towards one that had clearly captured his attention. Shiro was as stunned as everyone else in the Augustus household as Darrow weaved through the tables seating all the noble families, gathering eyes the way a stone rolling down a mountain collected snow. But the confused stares only added to the infamous young man's velocity.
His gait was careless, hands coiled with danger. Thousands watched the man who conquered the Institute of Mars and whispers formed a cloak behind him as they realized his target. Cassius sat at the long Bellona table, surrounded by his family. He behaved like the perfect Gold attentively listening to his Sovereign speak of unity, order, and tradition. No one rose to challenge Darrow, either because they didn't understand, or because they felt the force of him now and didn't dare to move. The Bellona clan finally noticed the whispers, and the family of over fifty turned as one to see Darrow, a martial man, dressed in black. He's young and untested in war, unbloodied beyond the halls of the Institute and the asteroids of the Academy. Some thought him mad, and others brave, but tonight, he appeared to be both. The Sovereign's voice faltered, and Darrow smiled.
Then, the gala went dead silent as the Reaper sprang thirty feet in the low gravity and landed hard on the Bellona table. Dishes cracked, servants scattered, and Bellona fall back. Some shouted at him, while others don't move even as their wine spills all over their expensive clothes. The Sovereign watched with a look of curiosity, her Furies stirring at her side. Pliny gripped his knees in panic, looking as if he's about to have a heart attack. Beside him, The Jackal wore a strange and unreadable expression on his face. Porcelean shattered as Darrow walked along the table, shattering pudding dishes and squashing steaks beneath his thick, heavy boots.
"I'll have your attention," Darrow declared. "You may know me." Shiro noticed the other Golds in the room chuckling nervously. Mustang had explained to him that the major Gold families knew everyone of worth. Although apparently, Darrow's was more rumor than substance. At least to those who do not know him personally. Time to see if he lives up to his reputation, I guess, Shiro thought to himself as the young lancer continued. "Do I have your attention?"
"BOY, SIT DOWN!" Someone shouted from across the room, although Shiro couldn't see who it is from this angle.
"Make him!" snapped the drunken voice of Tactus au Rath. "No? That's what I surmised." No one else bothered to repeat the man's mistake. With all eyes and ears turned in his direction, Darrow continued.
"For those of you who do not know me," the young man went on. "I am a lancer of the House of Augustus, for another hour or so." He paused as the crowd laughed. "I am the one they call the Reaper of Mars, who struck down a full Peerless Knight, who stormed Olympus and made slaves of my Proctors. My name is Darrow au Andromedus, and I have been wronged. We Peerless Scarred come from Golden ancestors. From conquerors with spines of iron. Honorable men, honorable women. But before you today, I see a family that is dishonorable. A family with spines made of chalk. A corrupt and fraudulent family of liars and cowards that conspires to steal my master's Governorship, illegally."
Shiro cast a glance at Mustang over at the Bellona table as Darrow crushed a serving plate with his boots. They knew that the Sovereign was planning to give the ArchGovernorship of Mars to the Bellona family, but Octavia had yet to reveal her hand. Did Darrow know? The Bellona looked like wolves about to pounce with the murderous looks on their faces. Family matriarch Julia au Bellona's right hand trembled, as though aching for a knife to stab the man with.
"Twice, I have been wronged by this family," Darrow continued. "Once in the mud of the Institute. Again, at the Academy by that one… and this one... and that one..." He paused to point out the members of the Bellona clan who had attacked him at the academy two months ago, before striding forward to the edge of the wine decanter sitting in front of Cassius. "All courts of Golden law permit a man to defend his honor against any force that would desecrate it unjustly. From the old lands of Earth to the icy bowels of Pluto, the right of challenge exists for any man and any woman. My name, gentle lords, and ladies, is Darrow au Andromedus. My honor has been pissed upon. And I demand satisfaction." And with that, the young man tipped the wine down into Cassius' lap.
Shiro barely had time to blink before Cassius exploded up at Darrow. Golds all over the room burst up from their seats in a thundering roar. Tactus rushed over from the Augustus table, followed by Leto, Victra, and all the other aids and bannermen of the Martian ArchGovernor's vassals – House Corvos, the Julii, House Voloxes, the Telemanus family… Whips uncurled into blades as every Gold in the room drew their razor. A crossfire of cursing shattered the cold air. Even Shiro couldn't help but activate his razor, if only to protect himself and Mustang from the furious crowds.
"STOP THIS MADNESS!" Aja roared as she leaned down from the Sovereign's table. But it was already too late. The challenge had been issued, the tension raised to a boiling point just on the edge of tipping over. Whatever Darrow's doing, Shiro thought to himself as he watched the chaos unfold, it's only just begun.
It took half an hour for the combined efforts of the Furies, the Olympic Knights, and the Praetorian Guard to calm the raging crowds. With the challenge issued, there was no other legal option but to allow Darrow and Cassius to duel. Countless Golds clustered around a large circular area while Citadel Browns removed the tables and Octavia gave a speech. About how martial duels mark the greatness of their race, so she would make an exception for the day, permitting the two young men to duel beyond the gaming grounds. She said this blood feud needed to be put to rest there and then, before the august of humanity. She's really confidant that Cassius will win this, Shiro observed silently in the privacy of his own mind. Although she probably wouldn't have allowed this to go so far if her advisors hadn't assured her of a beneficial outcome.
"Unlike the cowards of old," the Sovereign recited dramatically. "We settle flesh to flesh. Bone to bone. Blood to blood. Vendettas die in the Bleeding Place virtue et armis." By valor and arms, Shiro mentally translated the Latin by reflex now after two months living among the Golds. "As it was with our ancestors," Octavia continued. "It is now and again to the death. Are there any contentions?" Neither Cassius nor Darrow said anything. Mustang stepped forward to object, but Aja, the Fury, shook her head and stopped the young Augustan.
"Then today," the Sovereign finished, "res, non verba." Actions, not words, Shiro repeated in his head. Browns carted away the tables from the snowy plain. Pliny hovered beside the ArchGovernor, along with Leto, Tactus, Victra, and the great Martian Praetors. So many famous faces – warriors and politicians alike – crowded around the head of House Augustus. The Jackal stood farther away, shorter than the rest, his face impassive, and speaking to no one. Mustang stood near Cassius' side of the circle, where all the members of House Bellona present gathered. Shiro stood halfway between the warring families. Close enough to be within arm's reach of his employer, but also close enough to rush to Mustang's aid should Darrow win, and the Bellona try to take their anger out on her.
Though Shiro couldn't hear the words over the din of the crowd, he could still grasp the meaning. After a conversation in which Darrow managed to convince Nero to support the duel by telling the man what he wanted to hear, the young Gold pulled a knife from his boot and made a quick cut beneath his eyes, the blood falling like tears. Silence fell as the crowd witnessed the ancient blessing. Shiro clearly recognized it from his education of this era as a pre-war benediction from the age of the iron ancestors, the Conquerors. It was a Martian blessing of iron and blood. Of the ragging ships that burned the Britannic Armada above Earth's North Pole, and dashed the fastkillers from Japan among the asteroid belt. Nero's eyes lit up like dormant coals reignited into an open flame.
Shiro was too far away to hear what Augustus said as the ArchGovernor touched his finger to Darrow's blood and then pressed the mark beneath his own eye, but he understood the intent behind them. Whispers echoed throughout the crowd as Darrow stood up from his knees. Even though Shiro was not born in this time, even he could recognize the significance of the old Martian blessing. This was not some cafeteria fight between two angsty teenage boys. It was a battle of houses, champion against champion.
"Hic Sunt Leones," Nero said to Darrow, part benediction, part challenge for the young lancer to stay in his good graces, knowing he stood playing with matches on a powder keg. Here be lions, Shiro translated in his mind. Ironic given my status as Paladin of the Black Lion. Lions are starting to become a recurring theme in my life.
"Hic Sunt Leones," Darrow echoed before he paced back to the center of the circle as both families began the final preparations. Mustang walked over to him as Cassius' mother kissed her son's forehead. Shiro took a few steps out of earshot so he wouldn't be eavesdropping on their conversation, but kept his eyes on the pair so he could at least follow their facial expressions and body language. He sighed when Mustang flinched before curling her lips into a small sneer. Clearly, Darrow said something to piss her off, he thought to himself. Despite Darrow's presumably harsh words, Shiro had seen Hunk's desperation to save Shay early in their career as paladins enough to recognize the look in the man's eyes. It was the look of someone desperately in love. And Shiro was beginning to realize the biggest obstacle to Mustang and Darrow getting together again was whatever awkward tension was keeping Darrow on the defensive and lashing out. In any case, Mustang cocked her head at him, smiling sadly as she spared a glance at the two thousand Peerless waiting around them. Her bright golden eyes cut through him, searching, judging.
As they quietly argued, likely about their respective career choices, Shiro noticed the fact that Darrow won't meet Mustang's eyes. Clearly, you two care about each other, Shiro thought as he cradled his head in his hand. But for some reason Darrow is gorydamn terrible at communicating, and this will blow up in both of your faces if you don't just sit in a room and talk this out. He sighed as Mustang looked like she was about to say something deep, but instead she just shook her head and turned away. Goryhell, he thought to himself. So help me I will lock you two in a broom closet together if that's what it takes for you both to get over this gorydamn communication barrier. Mustang walked past Cassius, hands in front of her before she joined the Sovereign's entourage on Octavia's raised dais.
Darrow and Cassius bantered as the White rushed forward, hustling as fast as his long robes and crooked back would allow him. Cassius said something to Darrow low enough that none but the two of them could here, but afterward the Augustan lancer asked the question that Shiro and Mustang were certain will strike a nerve. An expression of regret crossed Cassius' face for a moment, and Shiro could tell that it had something to do with his deceased twin. Way to rub salt in the wound, Darrow, Shiro commented to himself as the banter between the twenty-year-old men continued. The Morning Knight uncoiled his razor and ignited his aegis as Darrow's last comment struck another nerve. The Reaper activated his own in turn, snow melting as he swept it near the ground. A corona of haze formed around its blue light.
"We are all devils," Carrius laughed, speaking loud enough for the crowd to hear him now "This was always your problem, Darrow. You have an inflated view of yourself. You think you have some sort of morality tucked away. You think you are better than us, when really you are less. Forever playing games you cannot master, against people you cannot match."
"I matched Julian well enough," Darrow retorted.
"BASTARD!" Cassius snapped as his face contorted in anger. He charged forward, bellowing wordlessly, knocking Darrow back before the White can give the pre-battle benediction. Everyone shouted for the two of them to stop, but as the razors scream, the shouting faded away and all eyes widened as lethal metal seers through the slowly falling snow. Shiro rested his head in his hand. This is not going to end well for anyone tonight, he thought, and he could tell from looking back towards the dais that Mustang was thinking the same thing. Cassius slipped into the tenets of Kravat. Four seconds of precise, kinetic violence. Retreat. Assess. Engage.
There was no sound in the Bleeding Place, save for those of combat. The high-pitched keen of arching whips. The thrum of solid blades. The crack as aegisis on left arms spark white when blades slash into them. The crunching of snow and the creaking of leather. Even a Kravat novice like Shiro could tell that despite his anger, Cassius's form was perfect. His feet never crossed as they shuffle acround the ring. His hips swiveled as he lunged into compact salvos. His breath was measured and paced. His whip lashed forward in a sweep, then the blade hardened and swung up, aiming for Darrow's groin. His movements flickered fast, belying his training honed by masters and Swords of the Society. It's easy even for Shiro to see why he's devastated all his opponents since childhood. Why he managed to gut Darrow at the Institute. It's because his enemies fight the same way he does, only slower.
"You've been practicing," Cassius remarked to Darrow as he drew back. "You can match six moves a set. But you're still a novice." He darted forward, feinting high and sweeping low to aim for Darrow's ankle. He sent a flurry of seven blows at his opponent, almost skewering Darrow through the right shoulder. The young man barely escaped, throwing himself out of the way of a thrust at the last moment. Two more sets of seven came in quick succession. The once famed Reaper barely escaped the last one, falling to one knee, panting, and looking around at the gathered spectators.
"Do you hear that?" the Morning Knight asked rhetorically. But there is no sound but the wind. "That is the sound of dying alone. No one to weep. No one to care." Darrow whispered something the crowd could not make out between ragged breaths. But Cassius could hear it, if the way he stiffened in shock is anything to go by. "What did you say?" he asked, clearly not believing whatever it is he heard.
"Lorn au Arcos will care if his last student dies," Darrow said, louder this time as he stood, no longer panting, his body straightening proudly as the act fell away. Wow, Shiro thought, stunned at how easily everyone had fallen for Darrow deliberately holding back. If it weren't for the fact that nobody in this era reads The Princess Bride anymore, I would have expected Darrow to be fighting left handed.
"While you ate, I trained," Darrow continued. "While you drank, I trained. While you sought pleasure, I trained from the weeks after the Institute to the days before the Academy."
"Lorn au Arcos doesn't accept students," Cassius hissed, still stunned by the revelation. "Not for thirty years."
"He made an exception," Darrow replied.
"LIAR!" Cassius snapped.
"Oh?" Darrow laughed. "Did you think I came here to be killed? Did you think yourself entitled to my life? No, Cassius. I came here to cut you down before your parents." As Cassis stepped backward, eyes dancing to his father and older brother, Shiro couldn't help but be impressed with Darrow's ability to manipulate everyone's expectations and plans. "Come now, brother," Darrow called to Cassius. "Don't you want to see how well I can really fight?" The Morning Knight paused, and Darrow charged him like a predator going in for the kill, shoulders hunched with primeval economy, quiet at the night itself. Darrow went for the legs, sending in seven seconds of sets into him, then six.
Whenever Cassius tried to counterattack, Darrow moved to the side until he could break him, utilizing Lorn au Arcos' signature fighting style, "The Willow Way" to flow around his opponent to create new angles of attack. His blade flashed between a whip and a curved sickle, crashing into Cassius' sword and aegis. The Bellona faltered, like a prizefighter being pummeled by a back-alley brawler. Darrow laughed madly as the crowd cheers and screams. Sparks hiss when Cassius' aegis overloads. A wound was ripped open there, on the man's elbow. Then his kneecap. Then his ankle. Darrow flicked the blade up and slashed Cassius's face, then stopped and moved back fluidly, posing with his blade so that those watching would never forget. Old lovers of Cassius screamed for him, and all around the ring, Shiro could feel the tension between Bellona and Augustus rapidly approaching a boiling point. Is he trying to start a war? Shiro wondered incredulously as Darrow continued to embarrass his opponent.
"Your son is going to die," Darrow said savagely to Cassius' father, Imperator Tiberius au Bellona, as he circled the ring to stand in front of the Bellona patriarch. "Will you just watch?" he turned to shout at the rest of the Bellona clan. Tiberius maintained his composure even as his eyes simmered with the promise of tears, but his wife wasn't so noble, seething as she glanced accusatorily at the Sovereign, desperately begging for Octavia to intervene.
"Lady Bellona, are you noble enough to watch your Cassius die?" Darrow asked the matriarch of House Bellona as he circled his opponent. "Watch as he disappears from the world? Is that the strength of House Bellona? Do you watch like sheep as the wolf comes among the fold?" The more Darrow acted like what Mustang said he wasn't, the more Shiro began to suspect that Darrow might actually be part of the Sons of Ares. His behavior before the gala and his behavior now were too different for there to not be a reason for him to antagonize the Bellona.
But what if that's the point? Shiro realized as he had an epiphany. Golds aren't afraid of the lowColors revolting against them. What scares them is the idea of their government collapsing through infighting and decadence. And if two of the most powerful families in the Solar system start going for each other's throats, it'll snowball into a system-wide civil war. Cagney au Bellona, urged on by her aunt, had already taken a step forward. Her sharp, pretty face was riven with rage. But before she could try to break into the ring, Imperator Bellona jerked her back with a stern hand. He glared darkly at Nero, then peered around the assembly.
"No Bellona shall interfere," he declared. "On my honor." But his wife clearly disagreed, aiming one last pointed glance at the dais before the Sovereign raised her hand.
"Hold!" Octavia called out as she raised a hand. "Hold, Andromedus!" Stunned at the blatant favoritism for the Bellona family, all eyes turned to the Sovereign's dais. Her interruption only confirmed the rumors that brought Mustang to Luna in the first place. Cassius would have been important to the Sovereign's plans for the Bellona to supplant the Augustuses on Mars. And now, because of the terms of the duel and her miscalculation in predicting the outcome, he's about to die and her plans are about to go down the drain. What is she trying to do then? Shiro wondered, thinking what everyone else in the crowd was thinking.
"These has been an addendum to the rules," Octavia declared, glancing at Cassius's mother. "Since the White was unable to give the customary benediction, the contest will be to death or yielding. Those are the limits to the duel. So many of our prized children are lost at our schools. No need to waste these two prime men on account of schoolyard pranks."
"My Sovereign," Augustus protested, clearly greedy for whatever prize Darrow has promised him. "The law is clear. Once a contest is declared, the rules may not be altered by man or woman."
"You cite laws," the Sovereign retorted. "That's a pleasant irony, coming from you, Nero." The crowd snickered, reminding Shiro of the fact that his employer rigged the Institute so that his son would win.
"My Sovereign, we stand with Augustus in this matter," boomed another voice. Daxo au Telemanus, Kavax's eldest son, stepped forward. Golden angel tattoos covered his bald head, and a mischievous sparkle danced in his sleepy eyes hidden under great swirling eyebrows.
"Hardly a surprise," the Bellona matriarch snarled.
"Perfidy!" Kavax roared, alternating between stroking his forked red beard and the large pet fox he cradled in his left arm. "This reeks of perfidy and favoritism. My temper is slow, but I find myself offended. Offended!"
"Careful, Kavax," Octavia warned coldly. "Some things cannot be unsaid."
"Why else would he say them?" Daxo retorted, glancing at the noble families from the Gas Giants, knowing that he will find allies among them in this debate. "But I believe he would counsel you now, my Sovereign: even your words cannot change law. Your father discovered this by your own hand, no?" Shiro grimaced, recalling from his education how Octavia took power by decapitating her tyrannical father. But it seems she's become just as big a tyrant as he was, the Black Paladin thought to himself as he watched everything unfold. The Furies step forward menacingly. For her part, the Sovereign only offered a small smile in response.
"But, young Telemanus," she replied. "You fail to remember; my word is law." The crowd tensed in response. And there goes any chance of this whole thing ending well, Shiro remarked inside his head. One thing he'd quickly learned from Gold history is that this was something you just do not do. A Gold may rule other Golds, but declare your rule at your own peril. The Sovereign had sat on the Morning Throne for so long that she had clearly forgotten this. Her words are not law. Instead, they now become a challenge. Octavia clearly recognized her words as a mistake when she met Darrow's eyes, and everyone in the crowd realized that there is only one move the lancer can make that she can't counter.
"You will not steal what is mine!" Darrow growled as he wheeled on Cassius. The young Morning Knight brought up his blade. His face went pale as Darrow charges, thinking of everything he's about to lose. How precious his own life was. Golds on the Bellona side of the crowd shouted at Darrow to stop, screaming that it was unfair. They were just about to let him die five minutes ago, Shiro commented inwardly, disgusted by the hypocrisy. Cassius might be somewhat decent for a Gold, but as far as their own laws are concerned, they have no right to complain about it being unfair. The Olympic Knight feinted at Darrow's throat, then whipped his razor down to wrap around his opponent's leg, expecting Darrow to recoil. Instead, the young Reaper charged straight at him, inside the arch of his swing, jumped over his head in the low gravity, and then swung his whip backwards without looking.
Darrow's whip coiled around Cassius's extended right arm. He pressed the button to make the razor contract, and with the sound of a frozen tree branch cracking in winter, he claimed the sword arm of Cassius au Bellona. It's hard for Shiro to tell which is louder: the silence or the screams. When Darrow finally turned around, Cassius was still standing, teetering, and clearly not long for this world. The Black Paladin found himself feeling a stab of pity for the Bellona. Everyone was motionless as Cassius falls to the ground, not dead yet, but too weak to stand. His father looked silently at the ground in sorrow.
"I SAID STOP!" The Sovereign shouted. Two Furies leaped from the dais, landing with their blades in hand.
"FINISH IT!" Augustus commanded. Cassius spat at Darrow, lips trembling, as his foe stalked towards him. Darrow raised his blade for the killing strike, but before he can deal the final blow, Shiro let out a silent sigh in relief as Mustang's hand settled around the Reaper's wrist.
"You've won, Darrow," she said quietly, coming around in front of him so their eyes meet. The Furies paused outside the circle, and Shiro discreetly moved to put himself between them and Mustang. "Don't lose yourself to this," she told her friend. After several seconds, Darrow's hand fell to his side. And although he couldn't see her, Shiro knew that Mustang was likely smiling. "There you are," he heard her whisper to Darrow.
"KILL HIM!" Cassius's mother screamed. "KILL HIM NOW!"
"NO!" Her husband roared, but it's already too late. Mustang's eyes widened as the circle of Golds dissolved, crumbling inward as if it were made of sand. One Bellona sprinted towards Darrow in silence, low and deadly. Another one followed. Then Shiro darted into the ring, razor stiffening into a blade as he moved, followed by Tactus racing over from the Augustus ranks. Then another lancer. Tactus let loose a war howl that other Golds present from Darrow and Mustang's army quickly echoed. Cagney au Bellona reached the Reaper first, swinging the razor she stole from him at the Academy. Darrow ducked, and only managed to keep his head thanks to Mustang throwing her own blade up to deflect the slash. Sparks stung Darrow's face and Tactus cut Cagney clean in half with a swing to the side. Screams echoed as the Bleeding Place collapsed into bloodshed and anarchy.
Bellona and Augustus Golds sprinted to protect their fellows while other families fled. Darrow rushed to Tactus's aid as Karnus au Bellona bore down on him. They held the Bellona killing machine off until Victra and others came between them and Karnus. Shiro ducked beneath the blade of a Bellona lancer and skewered the man in the stomach. It wasn't the first time he's killed flesh and blood sentient beings before. Gladiator matches as a prisoner of the Galra were always to the death, and he wasn't so naive to think that the crews of Galra warships didn't suffer casualties every time Voltron blew up a ship. But face to face killing was not something he relished at all. Can't seem to avoid it this time, he thought to himself as he removed the head of a Bellona lancer who tried to stab him in the groin.
Shouts boomed as Octavia futilely called for peace, but stopping this chaos was beyond even her power. A woman screamed over Cagney's ruined body. Dozens of men and women, all armed with blades, slashed into one another. Tactus took a blade through the shoulder defending Darrow, who spun to his friend's aid and hacked off the arm of the Bellona man who had stabbed Tactus in the side. Shiro weaved his way through the throng towards Mustang, who shielded Cassius' wounded body from further injury. Shiro cut off the hand of a Bellona attempting to skewer him as he noticed Darrow and Tactus rush towards Mustang, throwing their weight into the bodies blocking their way.
Darrow and Tactus quickly encountered Victra's half-sister, Antonia, who attempted to stab Darrow in the stomach before Victra punched her in the face. Tactus started kicking her in the head as she fell. Victra offered a laughing smile before Karnus dragged her down by the hair. He was forced off her as Leto entered the fray, turning back the tide with precise thrusts from his rainbow-colored razor. The Telemanuses joined in, father and son decimating every Gold who came before them with razors Shiro swore were as tall as Pidge.
"TACTUS, ON ME!" Darrow shouted. Together, the two men jumped high in the low lunar gravity, going for Mustang. But the Bellona crowds were too thick, and their razors too deadly. He desperately called for her as he fended off two Bellona, slashing one's face and punching another in the throat with his aegis. But more continued to join them until a thick Bellona bulwark blocked his path.
"PROTECT THE ARCHGOVERNOR!" She shouted back as Shiro finally reached her, standing with his back to her as he slashed at any vengeful Bellona that dared go near her. Her voice sounded much more composed than anyone else, making both Darrow and Shiro feel like idiots obsessed with chivalry. She didn't need anyone to save her. "PROTECT MY FATHER!" She ordered as she slashed at a Bellona who attempted to take their anger out on her. Cassius' mother came to collect her son as Tactus jerked Darrow away by the collar towards the retreating Augustus line while Bellona assaulted the group from the side. Someone else roared for people to protect Augustus. Others screamed to defend Imperator Bellona and Cassius. Many other family lords were being carried away by armed cadres of family members, backing out of the chaos with their blades at the ready.
Families fled the spire, using the lifts to get away since gravBoots were forbidden. The rooftop gardens were nearly deserted now. The Sovereign's Praetorians – Obsidians and Golds clad in purple and black armor – clustered around her and flew her away from the ruined gala. With Cassius safe with his family, Shiro dragged Mustang away from the swarm of death and escorted her inside himself. Praetorian Golds led Grays in riot gear to disperse everyone. The Grays' scorchers shot painballs and scatterwaves at the battling families, scattering Golds like flies in the summer.
"AUGUSTUS!" Karnus au Bellona screamed as he rushed through the scatterwaves like a madman. The murderous Bellona knocked someone down with his shoulder, shattered a lancer's face with his aegis, and charged headlong at the ArchGovernor, hoping to kill his family's rival in one swoop. As they joined the line of families waiting to escape in the lifts, Shiro and Mustang turned to watch as Leto, Nero's ward and the household's best swordsman, intercepted Karnus in front of the Martian governor.
"HIC SUNT LEONES!" Leto called to the sky as he moved like the sea, fluid and terrible in his grace. He knocked Karnus back and is about to open up his belly when he suddenly froze mid-swing. It was too far away for them to see what happened, and they didn't have time to stare as the lift returned to the top and the crowd surged onto the circular platform before it began its descent down the tower once more. The last thing Shiro and Mustang saw before the gradens were cut off from view was the sight of Karnus au Bellona chopping off Leto's head.
And so the war begins. The next chapter will be what Shiro and Mustang are doing while Darrow and the rest of House Augustus flee the tower.
Terminology:
Bleeding Place: Gold slang referring to the makeshift arenas in which duels are fought.
Aegis: A semi-transparent, arm-mounted energy shield used in combat and honor duels.
Kravat: A style of martial arts favored by Golds to help hone their skills with a razor.
Scorcher: Gun. Size may vary, as the ones used by the Grays in this chapter are basically rifles, while Antonia and Sevro use pistol variants later in the series.