Gaht damn. We're here boys. Chapter 11. Who'd have thunk it?
"Heavy Lacerations to both sides, additional lacerations to the left shoulder, a bruised right collarbone, puncture wounds in the stomach, a shallow cut to the bottom of the left lung." The sound of a page being flipped echoed through the dorm. "A bullet lodged in the left thigh, first degree burns to the forehead, broken nose, broken left pinky finger…" The page was flipped once again. "And a single black eye." The very angry noise of a stack of paper that was far bigger than it should've been hit the floor.
"Professor Goddwitch we-!"
A single finger rose from the hand of the splenetic professor. She readied yet another paper. "As for you, Ms. Caniem, you got off quite easily compared to your teammate: Skin deep bruising on your legs, left arm, and left breast, as well as flesh wounds on your back and a sprained wrist." She dropped that on the ground too. Luka's head followed the movement.
"Ms. Goodwitch, she was trying. Rexus isn't the easiest to keep pace with." Anna defended.
"Oh yes, Ms. Castellen. Though you did try, stealing a 120 million Lien sports car. The owner of which was very angry to hear that you used it as a battering ram." Glynda dropped that bundle of papers in the ground as well. Anna's head fell low with it.
Glynda set her predatory gaze on the remaining member of team LYAR not currently unconscious in the school infirmary. "And you…Mr. Laythe." She added a bit of venom to that one.
He looked at her skeptically. "Respectfully, Ms. Goodwitch, I didn't do anything!"
"Glossing over the fact that you attacked active terrorists without our express permission, or that of law enforcement, or our new Atlesian attaché! Not to mention the millions, or most likely billions, in Lien worth of damages to the freeway and accompanying cars, business, and roads!" With a final drop of paper, Yossif let his head droop.
She looked over the now depressed three with a look that bordered on resentment. "Have you any idea the absolute storm of media and financial idiocy you've kicked up?" Her teeth were bared, her tone hostile. "I wouldn't be surprised if you four just single handedly raised the price of tuition for the next decade!" The three felt their mood fall further. "If it were up to me, you'd be expelled and your families billed!"
"Oh please, Glynda, their weekend is uprooted enough as it is. No need to torture them excessively." Ozpin, who had been sitting quietly on Rexus' bed up until now, finally spoke and stood.
"Oh, but it's fine when I'm the one getting tortured." Mumbled the combat teacher.
"I'd like to personally congratulate you on your performance. From your ability to synchronize an attack on a hostile convoy, to your ability to reform your team cohesion under fire," He leaned in, "Especially after letting it degrade for two weeks." He leaned back out after letting that one sit for a moment. "And for your ability to seriously disrupt the operations of the White Fang." He picked the mound of paper from the ground and organized them. "Under normal circumstances, this would merit a great celebration. Perhaps even a medal from the Kingdom of Vale." He flipped to the front of the packet and held up Rexus' MRI for all to see. "But seeing as you nearly sustained a casualty, I hope you'll allow us to sidestep the festivities."
Again, the mood dropped. There was a resounding 'Yes' that went through the room.
"Good, good. If it's the glory you're after, however, don't fret. You're on the news." He motioned towards Glynda, who pulled the news up on her trademark tablet. Even though the distance from her made it hard to hear clearly, all could make out the anchor discussing the groups of hunters that thwarted the White Fang. "But glory is not my endgame. Nor is it to belittle you three. My goal today is to debrief you, as the Atlesians would put it." He once again walked over to Rexus' bed and reclined on it, using the wall as a back rest. "You're very lucky that I care so much for my students. General Ironwood was very adamant on doing this for me. He wouldn't have acted so…agreeably."
He looked over the three. An anxious and blue mood hung over their heads. "What was the point of this little outing?" Yossif and Anna gave Luka a sideways glance. "Well, Ms. Caninem?"
"I don't know what Rexus was going for…but I wanted to get the…" She trailed off, unsure if she should tell him about the box she sought, or the half assed life she gave Blake.
"Wanted to get the…?"
"The driver, sir. I had known him from Menagerie." It wasn't like Ozpin could refute her own motives. And even if he did, she didn't have the box.
"I see…" He looked at Luka with critical eyes. "And you two, Ms. Castellen, Mr. Laythe? What was your reason?"
Anna looked at the ground for a while, gathering her words. "We…I wanted to have a little team meeting. So I dragged Yossif out with me to find Rexus and Luka. One thing led to another…and…" She trailed off, using hand motions to finish her thoughts.
"I see." He examined her with a less critical eye. He stood again and walked to his aide's side. "And did any of you happen to enter the armored car?" He said, eyes never leaving Anna.
Knowing that she was the only one with any real amounts of dust on her clothes after the ordeal, Anna didn't bother hiding. "I did, sir."
"I see, was there anything in there that was out of the ordinary? A box, perhaps?" Out of the corner of her eye, Anna saw Luka jump. Did she know what it was?
Regardless of that answer, Ozpin certainly did. She had taken too much time thinking to deny now. It'd be too suspicious. "Yes?" Her voice carried a bit of a question to it.
"And what was inside of it?" He asked with a curious lean in.
Anna was faster here. "Nothing, sir."
He moved his head to the side a tiny bit. "Nothing?"
"Yeah, when I got to it, it was buried under things. And when I dragged it out it was empty." Anna fabricated a half truth with all of the lying prowess she had acquired in her lifetime.
Ozpin leaned away. "Interesting. Was there a key next to it? Made of Dust?"
"Yes, actually, it was in the lock." Anna hoped that she had left the key in the chest by accident.
"Really…?" Ozpin nodded to himself and stood in thought. "Well then, anything else to declare?" Heads shook from left to right. "Then consider yourselves debriefed. Do try and keep the rest of your leisure activities this weekend to a minimum in terms of destructiveness." With that, the headmaster left, a scowling Witch in tow.
The sound of heels clicking against the carpeted floor was loud. Too loud to ignore "What?" Ozpin finally bit the bullet, so to put it. He already knew that his senior aide was very unhappy with him.
"No punishment? No detention? Not even a revoking of parking passes? What type of example are you setting for everyone else?"
"Oh please. Only the one had a vehicle. Considering said vehicle now resembles more of an art piece than a motorcycle really eliminates the need to revoke parking passes." Ozpin pushed off the disciplinarian.
"You miss my point. If we allow this complete and utter violation of confidence to stand, then we set a-." Glynda stepped in front of the Headmaster and blocked his way.
"I fully understand your point, but what would be the consequences of severe punishment here?" He asked. Glynda knew he'd answer his own question and just waited. "A loss of personal initiative. Last time I checked, that was a very desirable trait in a Hunter."
"But where does that cease being personal initiative and graduate into reckless abandon?" She asked, half annoyed and half tired of the Headmaster's current track record of passiveness.
"That is for us to decide, and then to instruct them on." He walked past her and continued on to his next destination.
Internally, Ozpin was just as enraged as his partner. At first. But then he used the centuries of experience that he had gained as Ozma to reason. Sure, they now had the book. He saw through Anna's lie and Luka's untrue motivation. Their target was the book, and it was in their possession.
So what?
It was a powerful artifact…that they had no idea how to utilize. Plus, it was a key…to a key…to a key, etcetera. This small gain was nothing on a wider scale. A book to keep on the mantle, or ponder on the toilet, nothing more.
But the fact that they were being led on this path by forces he couldn't control weighed a small bit on Ozpin's conscience. Surely that was not a desirable state. Nevertheless, the track record played on in Ozpin's favor. If more events like this happen, team LYAR would be disrupting a lot more than your average White Fang weekend getaway.
And he could play on that.
Ozpin and Glynda arrived at their destination. "Well then, let us hope this next team is less of a wildcard."
"They're certainly less damaging." Glynda stated as she opened the door to the RWBY dorm.
Why? Why? Whyyyy?
Anna had the chance to hand over the book to Ozpin. He made it very clear that he wanted it. Very clear. But she held onto it. She had even lied to make sure it stayed hidden.
Why?
"Well, should we go see Rexus?" Asked Yossif.
"They aren't allowing him visitors, or did you forget?" Anna said while reclining on her bed.
Yeah, that was the thing that all weighed heavily on them. As sad as it was, they'd all grown used to the battle between Rexus and Luka. Even when it had descended into a type of cold war, they could've at least gone to see Rexus. But now, as Yossif had eloquently put it, 'The nurses were too busy stapling his guts back in to allow visitation hour.'
While that was mostly a metaphorical statement, it was still true. Not the guts part, but the visiting part. What was left of Team LYAR wasn't allowed to visit their teammate. Officially it was because he was unconscious. Unofficially, well, Anna hazarded a guess that it had something to do with the team's strained relationship. Wouldn't want two people who have shown that they're openly hostile to each other to be together in a small room, doubly so when one was unconscious. The fact that the conflict had become cold was also irrelevant. It could get hot again at any time.
Speaking of hot, her thoughts ran in her head like an engine.
Why hadn't she given the book away?
"Oh…Yeah." A silence came over the room. Luka and Yossif's was aimless, while Anna's was a bit more… contemplative.
Why?
"Well…what now?" Asked Luka.
"Dunno… I guess we… Wait?" Yossif said from his bed. That sat wrong with all of them.
But in absence of an objective, and considering that it was Saturday, that was really all they could do.
Anna nervously glanced over at her book bag.
There was that gnawing feeling again. The one that told her she should just blow past all the nurses and give this book to Rexus. But at the same time, it told her to keep it a secret. Do not let anyone but Rexus know about it.
And at the same time, it told her to do the same for Luka.
And there was nothing that should be giving her this feeling. It wasn't like the book had a label saying 'Deliver to Rexus Gallant and or Luka Caniem.' And even if it did, she couldn't read the writing.
But she still just had that feeling. It was just there, and she was just unable to get rid of it.
Yossif suddenly stood and dug around under his bed. After a few seconds of searching, he pulled out a tightly rolled and long piece of paper. He immediately began to hang it up above the room's one desk. "What's that?" Asked Luka.
"Well, when I first got to Vale, I figured that buying a map of the city would be a good investment. I couldn't expect everyone on my team to know the city as well as I did." He searched for tacks to pin to the wall.
"I thought you had never been out of Vacuo before?" Luka followed his movements.
"So? I still know my way around." He scoffed
Luka rolled her eyes. "So why are you only putting it up now?" She inquired.
"Between Rexus and me knowing where we were at all times, I kinda forgot about it. I figured you and Anna were also on the up and up. Suppose I was wrong." Yossif reached into the desk, which Anna had made her own, and produced a tack to secure the map. To the right of that was a little bookshelf, and on top was one of Luka's Bandoliers that she had been meaning to put in her locker. He took a bullet from that and slammed it through a paper corner and into the wall. Inside a book, being used as a bookmark, was a very small knife belonging to an Atlesian that really couldn't complain about its misuse. Yossif slammed that into the wall to pin down the third corner of the paper. And from his own person he produced a bigger blade about the size of an extended hand. A final thwack audibly sounded the successful hanging of the map. Yossif stood back to admire his work.
A very in-depth map of Vale proper was now on the wall. A very long map that took up most of the wall, a very precariously secured map that probably violated Beacon ordinances on hanging things, a map that was as armed as the rest of them, but still a map. "For your info, I was just as orientated as you." Luka crossed her arms.
"Really, cause you're looking at it like you've never seen it before." He moved his knife around a bit. The sound of shearing paper was heard.
"No, that's because you hung it like a maniac." Luka motioned towards the bullet and knives, all sticking a significant way out of the wall.
"It's called adaptation." Yossif turned away from his genius of ingenuity.
"It's called, 'Anna probably had more tacks in the desk and I was too lazy to look." Luka cracked a grin.
"I'm not lazy."
"Yes you are."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are." Luka antagonized Yossif. The big man was falling for it.
Here goes nothing.
"Guy's…I have something to tell you." Anna said quietly, but just loud enough to be heard.
Both looked at her, then Yossif pointed and looked back at Luka. "See! No tacks!"
"Pssh." She waved him away.
"No. Not that. It's…" Should she? She still had time to make up an excuse. Maybe she could say that she had to step out for a minute. Maybe she should go to the bathroom. "I need to step out to get a book in the bathroom!" She immediately covered her mouth.
Both teammates looked at her, gobstruck. "What? Asked Luka.
"I…I!..." She made several hand movements. She pointed around. She even stood and sat back down again, but no words left her mouth.
"You good?" Yossif asked while Luka looked on. Both inched towards Anna.
She puffed out her cheeks and made more hand signals to no avail. "Look!" She launched into a pile of her own clothes, much to the surprise of her teammates. They walked the rest of the distance to her and stared down into cloth.
At the corners of her mind she could feel it, that unsettling weight. The vague suggestion that what she was doing was wrong. She was making the wrong choice. But as she pulled the book from the depths, that feeling lessened. The black receded. The doubt vanished. Just as clothes fell off of it and removed weight, the uncertainty fell from her mind and lessened that all consuming feeling.
Luka immediately covered Yossif's eyes, and he peered through the cracks in her fingers at whatever it was that Anna held. Both sighed in relief as the book became visible. Actions that mirrored Anna. "That's a relief." Yossif said.
"Don't scare me like that." Luka scolded.
Anna was taken aback just a bit by this response. Their faces showed relief far in excess of what she was feeling right now. "You guys seem… relieved."
"Well yeah." Yossif smiled. "We already knew you were hiding something in that pile of clothes, being that you've never left a pile of anything anywhere before. I'm just glad that it's not a dil-."
Luka's hand made a resounding slap as she threw it over Yossif's mouth, but the damage had already been done, judging by Anna's quickly crimsoning countenance. The flaming heat that came off of her cheeks was enough to cook with.
Locked in place as she was, Anna was unable to resist as Yossif took the opportunity to steal the book from her open palms. "You didn't get this from Blake, did you?" He smiled and opened it to the first page. "That might end up being worse than…instruments."
Anna once again lit up like a flare, but she was just composed enough to offer resistance. "Certainly not!" She made some more hand movements before settling on covering her face. "I found that in the wreckage last night."
Luka came up from Yossif's blind spot and snatched the book from his hands. She quickly flipped and caressed the pages while burning through them with her laser focused eyes. All the language was in runes from what Yossif could tell. "Calm down man, the book's not going anywhere."
Anna stood, her embarrassment only lightly forgotten, and circled around in order to get a better look. "You can read all that?"
It was bright, unfathomably so. So bright that nothing else but white was visible. She squinted at her surroundings, unsure if it was too bright to see or if everything was the same sterile shade. Her fingers tingled with a warmth she could only compare to holding another's hand, but far warmer. Her head swam in and out of an obscuring miasma. The smell was like a bed of flowers left to rot. Far sweeter than anything rightly should be. The sound, like birds early in the morning. But they were spooked and refused to quit. Her head began to pound. Like a food too rich to rightly eat, she was torn between hating and loving her surroundings.
This was all terribly unfamiliar. What would be pleasant if taken in separately became muddled and distorted when combined. A cacophony of experiences made to please turned to a symphony of discomfort. But this mustn't be for her. It was too much. It was like this was made for something else. Something capable of understanding it. Like a dog, sounds that weren't meant for those who made them to hear tore at her ears, her hands, her head, her being.
But there was nothing she could do. She wasn't bound or held, but she couldn't feel her body beyond an abstract sense of heat and presence-of-being. Her hands felt the warmth, but she couldn't feel them. Her head felt the pressure of the mental fog, but she couldn't turn it. Her ears heard the screams of birds, but she couldn't hear herself.
She gasped and breathed out a breath she couldn't feel. Almost immediately she tasted what she smelled. A sick green smell. Like fresh cut grass, sliced and left to rot next to a rose. The aftertaste held hints of walnut and mint. The aftertaste held hints of decay. The aftertaste held every pleasant feeling. The aftertaste held a looming feeling of terror.
The aftertaste…
"It is pleasant, no?" Through her overloaded senses, one voice was heard.
She didn't so much turn towards the sound as much as she…willed it into view. It was hard to describe the feeling. Like having no eyes and all eyes, the source just appeared.
A Woman, both shorter and taller, stood and read from the book Luka had held. Her hair was a long blonde, with the edges undulating and changing colors. Her skin was a fair white, and then a fair black, then brown, then something else entirely. And her eyes…were everything. Like looking for the colors after rubbing your eyes, she could never pin down the pigment.
She wore a loose white dress. The sleeves hung below her arms and were fastened to her wrists by cuffs. Her skin exposed. Her legs were also exposed by a slit in the dress, leaving yet more skin to the open air and exposing the two metal bands on her right leg. Her back also lacked cover, being left open by a slit in the dress. There was so much fabric not on the dress that she questioned how it could even be worn. She would've questioned the lack of shoes if the woman didn't seem to float.
It was hard to explain, but she could see the back of the figure just as easily as she saw the front. Not a mirror reflection, the image just sort of wrapped around. It was always perfectly in view and yet so out of focus.
"This place is but a poor man's dream of what my kingdom is! But it is all you can experience as you are." The woman spoke theatrically, waving her hands and dancing around gracefully while never looking away from the book. Her voice was in song, but out of tune, but on note. It wasn't unlike listening to someone sing karaoke with the real song in the background. Half of what was heard sounded right, the other so far gone it barely seemed the right language. She was unaware of which was which.
"Are you..What are you?" She spoke at the woman, hearing her own voice within her ears, her head, and her surroundings, but not from her mouth.
She laughed and danced around gleefully. "I have been called many things, Mother, Goddess, creator of all, She-Remnant, The Spirit of Trees, Lover of Man, Child of life, God, etcetera. Many names for me. But you may call me Regina, be it a bastardisation of ancient tongues or not."
"What is thi-" She tried to open up a volley of questions, but was cut short.
Strangely enough, it was her own voice that failed her. A flick of the woman's hand simply silenced her. "You have no end to questions, I know. But I cannot answer today. You must learn all of this yourself."
She found her voice again. "But why? Can't you explain while you're here?"
"Silly girl, look at yourself. You can barely handle being here. If I were to explain anything, your poor body would simply give up." She waltzed closer, "You must find more texts like this, and learn at a slower pace." She tossed the book behind her and disappeared just as easily as one would walk around the corner. But her voice was still as clear as it had been. "Head to a temple within the city and claim your next tome. Do make sure he doesn't get it." A single finger pointed ahead.
The white warmth of the world around her suddenly receded. A frostbitten wind blew through, covering all in a black shadow. She could finally see herself in the contrast. She was pure white on Black, and fading away into shadow. It was cold, too cold.
A single figure, cloaked in a long black robe, marched towards her. A simple greatsword was held in its right hand, just as black as the surroundings. She tried to run, to turn away and flee, but her body still refused to listen. The figure came closer. And closer. And closer still.
She was powerless to stop the specter from raising the sword. And with a scream from her, the sword came down upon the book.
Luka screamed and fell to the ground, clawing at her neck. She couldn't breathe, smell, hear, feel the ground, taste the air. Nothing. She felt nothing. "...ka, Luka!" Her senses slowly began to return with a burning cold sensation. "Luka! What's wrong?" Anna kneeled over Luka and grabbed her shoulders. She shook lightly.
Yossif also kneeled, but farther away. He pushed Anna off Luka. "Give her some room to breathe, would you?" He waved a hand in front of Luka's face. "You still with us?"
"I…What?" Luka's mind bucked against itself. That vision…Vision? It seemed more like a memory than a vision. It was clearer, more describable and recallable. But at the same time, there was no way that was a memory. That woman, Luka remembered that she called herself Regina, was definitely not real. She changed color. Color! Just as easily as changing the background on a damn scroll, she changed pigments. And she wasn't a chameleon Faunus. Her skin had no marks, or scale type look. Completely fair skinned. And her eyes and hair both changed as well. Unless Luka was mistaken, those two hat tricks weren't in a chameleon's repertoire.
And the fact that she was suspended in a white void, and then a black void, really put the validity of this 'memory' into question. Last time Luka checked there were no such environments anywhere. But there was still just this feeling that what she saw was at least somewhat truthful.
Luka had probably just hit her head when she fell and hallucinated the whole thing. "C'mon, let's get you up." Yossif said. Both him and Anna gently leaned her against the foot of her bed.
"What…Happened?" Luka asked as a monumental headache began to bear down on her mind.
Yossif gently grabbed her forehead and peered into her eyes. "Well, you read that book. Then we touched you and then this." He used a few fingers to move her entire head from side to side. "Do you feel like you have a concussion?"
"Oh, wonderful. Maybe we can convince the nurses to let her and Rexus share a sick bed." Anna sarcastically waved her hands.
"If you can get the staff to agree to a new cherry red paint job for the infirmary beforehand." Yossif quipped.
"I- Go find that book would you. She flung it over there." She pointed and shooed Yossif.
"Anna? What happened?" Luka inquired again as Anna moved closer and began her own investigation.
"Well, like Yossif said, you began to read. Do you remember that?" Anna gently rubbed Luka's shoulder.
Luka wracked her brain in order to pick memories from vision. "Y-yeah. But after that it's just…" She moved her hand up and then down in a stumped manner.
"I suspected as much. We lost you for a moment there." Anna scooted back. She was worried.
Luka's ability to understand the situation was made far worse by false vision memories. "What?"
"When you looked at the book, you seemed unusually invested. Th-." Anna began.
Yossif popped his head up from behind the bed he was searching and added, "It was weird because we've never seen you read before." Before immediately taking cover against Anna's glare.
Anna sighed with small amounts of irritation and amusement. "Then you began to speak in a weird language. Low mumblings and such. I originally thought it was in Menagin, not proper but a dialect."
Yossif once again popped his head up. "Then you caught the flu!" Once again he snuck away from the glare.
Anna picked a loose flip flop from the floor and continued. "You began to shiver. Violently shiver. We got worried. I tried to get your attention."
"Then you fell like a-BFT!" Yossif could hardly continue as the sandal impacted his face. He fell back and ripped into a probably not so nice Vacuan tirade.
The smile that had been slowly growing on Luka's face suddenly gave way to a powerful laugh, the sound like a warm blanket to chase away the fading memory of that pitch black, frozen void. "Honestly, Yossif," Anna turned to where he was supposed to be. "I'd expect the quips from Rexus, not you."
The monsoon of fiery curses paused. "C'mon!" His head cautiously peeked above the bed. "You can't tell me that you're not a little excited! We just beat up the White Fang and caused possibly millions worth of damages that we don't need to pay for! And on top of that, our team leader just passed out and then woke back up screaming! This has been the strangest weekend ever!"
Anna looked at him expectantly. "Aren't you worried about said team lead?"
"No. She's fine. Right?"
Anna scoffed, a light grin tugging at the edges of her lips. "I suppose I should be glad Rexus is bound up with the nurses. He'd probably be far worse to deal with than you."
Yossif shrugged as he came around the bed. "Rexus could never be anywhere close to me." He posed dramatically for a moment, to the annoyance of both girls, before continuing. "But when he gets out, we'll probably need to take him out on the town. Unless, of course, you enjoy a dismantled room." He kneeled down so as to be eye level with the rest of them. "Also I can't find the book."
Anna looked at him with exaggerated bewilderment. "You can't find the book?"
"Yeah." He stated.
Anna held the bridge of her nose and sighed. "You're a complete nunce."
"That means idiot?" Yossif inquired.
Anna looked at him with a complete lack of empathy. "You. Nunce."
"He won't find it anywhere." Luka stated from behind.
Both turned to her. "Come again?" Anna cocked her head to the side.
"I lost the book." Luka sighed.
"Well sure. But you probably just tossed it under a bed. A bed that someone should still be searching under." She got that last bit out through a mumble.
"You don't understand. I lost it. It was taken!" Luka explained.
Yossif scooted closer. "You sure you don't have a concussion?"
"I…" She briefly considered not telling them about the vision, but seeing as it would be harder to lie away the outburst, she eventually decided on the truth. "Look. When I read the book, I had a vision. I know it sounds crazy. I know you'll probably call me a schizo, but you need to trust me. Because I know where we can get another."
Luka braced for the immediate rejection of her teammates, but as she counted the seconds past with closed eyes no scolding came. She slowly opened her eyes and squinted at the two in front of her. They held a cautious look with each other. They made no motions, spoke no words, but conversed back and forth all the same.
Then they nodded and turned back to Luka. "Well…I belie-." Anna began.
"Fuck it, lets do it!" Yossif smiled.
Luka looked at him with an incredulous smile. "Fuck it? Really?" Her smile grew.
Anna exhaled with equal parts displeasure and enjoyment. "What Yossif is trying to say is that yes…you are crazy. Yes, the vision makes you sound like a schizophrenic. And yes, we have no reason to trust you. But…"
"But we have nothing better to do and no reason to not go." Yossif finished.
Anna sighed once again. "Put more eloquently, you're our teammate. And while we've all run into a rough patch in terms of teamwork as of late, this would be a good chance to get out and stretch our legs. Provided that it all stays calm."
"And we'll just work on getting Rexus back up to speed later." Yossif added as he nodded at Anna.
Luka looked between her two friends with a smile. "Thanks, guys." She stood with their help and gathered some loose bullets. "Let's go get religious!"
Luka had a sort of intuitive knowledge of where this temple was. It was no doubt a leftover from the vision.
But her team trusted her, or at least didn't bother to say otherwise, and followed her verbal dictation to the letter. Even as the sports car liberated from the nice part of town crossed over the tracks. "You ever going to explain how you can just pick locks and hotwire cars?" Yossif directed at Anna from the passenger seat.
Anna made another turn at Luka's request. "It was this or learning how to correctly serve tea."
"There's a right and wrong way to serve tea?" Yossif scoffed.
Anna turned towards the Vacuan. "Don't ask me, I was too busy stealing the tea instructor's car."
"Eyes on the road, please. Right here." Luka said from the backseat.
"Sure. Are you sure the temple is nearby?"
"Positive." Luka climbed forward and leaned on the back of the passengers headrest.
"Should I have brought the map?" Yossif asked.
"No need, I know where I am." Luka assured.
Anna quickly glanced back. "Without ever being here before?"
"Dude, a book gave me a vision. I'm fairly certain about where I'm going." Luka peered out of the vehicle.
Anna turned back towards the road and tightened her grip on the steering wheel. "That was supposed to make me feel better?"
Yossif turned in his seat and glanced skeptically at his driver. "What? Scared of a little Sunday drive? Got homework you haven't done?"
"Our navigator is going off of a vision she received after touching a book owned by former criminals. For all we know, she could be having the trip of her life and leading us on a wild goose chase around the city." Luka jokingly looked around and grabbed at the air while mumbling. Meanwhile the clouds, which had been dark for awhile, finally loosed their complement of water upon the world. "And now it's raining!" She flipped on the wipers with a vexed flick.
"You seemed a sight more on board with the plan back at Beacon. What's with the change of heart?"
"I'm driving a nice and expensive sports car through a slum! That the change of heart!" She raised her voice slightly in order to convey her point. And as secondary reinforcement, they passed a few run down and rusted car hulks. "We shouldn't be here."
With less adrenaline running through him than he had last night, Yossif was far more composed. "Hey, you picked the car."
"Yeah, because when she said temple, I thought that it'd be a respectable destination. Not a mission into the concrete jungle!"
Yossif turned away and looked forward. "The poor need religion, too. We don't subsist off of poverty alone."
"Oh we, we we! You are not poor! You're in Vale, going to Beacon, and you came loaded with enough ammo to financially bankrupt a village. Not to mention Baneshot, your custom shifter sniper rifle!" Anna had been waving her hands around in the air and was unable to read minds. So when Luka dictated another turn, she had to play fast and loose with the pedals. She slammed the wheel to the left and skidded around the corner. It was such a hard turn that Luka was flung around the backseat. That's what she got for not wearing a seatbelt. But righteous indignation waits for no woman, and so just as soon as the Gs dropped back down to regular levels, Anna and Yossif we're back at it.
"My kit has been salvaged over the course of my entire life. Some of the ammo I use is probably older than your entire family tree!" Yossif's fists clenched.
"Oh really? It's all worn and wore and dirty and dank? Then why does it all look like it came off a clean shelf? EIther you're lying, or you had a very secure place to hide it all. Namely something that doesn't suggest poverty!" Anna's fist's whiteknuckled on the wheel. Her face twisted with annoyance.
Yossif's face scrunched up and creased. "Ever heard of maintenance? Probably not, no you probably got your whole city's worth of servants to clean everything for you!"
"Yes I did! That's the right my family has worked for for generations!" Anna indignantly replied.
"Worked for? You mean cheated, lied, and killed for for generations?" Yossif countered.
"And you're different? Just because you didn't have money meant that you had the moral high ground to take mercenary work? To prey upon hard working people?" Anna shot back.
Yossif finally turned towards Anna and shouted. "I did what I did to support my Father!"
Anna turned away from the road and glared at him. "Did you?" She said slowly.
Before the raging fire of class war could consume them all, Luka shoved her torso between the two combatants. "Hey, yeah, could we not do this while inside a couple hundred pound bullet? Please, thank you." Anna turned away from Yossif, content with getting the last word in. Yossif turned away and looked out the window with an angry glower. Was this what her and Rexus were like, thought Luka with slight embarrassment. "Right here."
They had reached their destination. A rather innocuous looking building made of stone and just as badly kept as the buildings surrounding it.
Anna did a horrible parallel parking job unbecoming of her seemingly high skill with cars and rapidly exited the vehicle. Yossif did the same, just with an extra sigh and a bit of cushion time to avoid the driver. There was a part of Luka that denied any responsibility for this new conflict. Afterall, this had nothing to do with her. But then again, there was something in her that believed she set an example with Rexus. She set the bar low with her own infighting. It was her responsibility.
But as she got out of the low car, she was relieved to see that the two weren't exactly like Rexus and her. They shared shelter from the rain, albeit with some distance, and weren't actively trying to maim each other.
This innocuous building was run down in the exact way that all others around it were, but there was a certain feeling to it. A sort of homely feel. Outside stood a man in a brown cloak, dishing up and passing out soup to a line of poor souls. He greeted them warmly despite the horrible gray day and agonizingly cold rain. The door next to him was left ajar, and a warm orange glow poured from it, enticing them with the heat and shelter it promised. An old wooden sign creaked on old hinges above the door, 'Order of the Silent King', it read.
Of course, all this homely and welcoming feel was lost on Luka. She had an intuitive sense of where this place was. The closer she got the more her body told her to turn around and leave. Just the same feeling she felt when faced down with the specter in the vision. With no other indicator to tell her where the temple was supposed to be, Luka used the dread like a compass. If this wasn't some big fever dream, she could say that Regina was one sadistic deity. This was probably one of those 'tests' that deities were so often fond of making their followers bear.
That annoyed her somewhat. "Luka, it's cold out here, can we go?" Anna called from one side of the door.
"Yeah, wouldn't want Princess breathing any more poor air than needed!" Yossif added. Both teammates were too busy shivering to do anything about the other.
"One minute!" She called over the torrent of rain.
Luka walked to the cloaked server and patiently waited for him to stop laboring over his pot. The warmth and smell emanating from the stew was almost enough to make her completely forget her feeling of dread. Luka took the time afforded by him serving a few more of the disadvantaged to inspect him. She could see his face under his hood. A young man probably somewhere in his late 20s with a strong jaw and sharp chin. Blue eyes, ears that made him look like dumbo the elephant, and a small nose. She couldn't see his hair. The outside of his cloak was mainly dark blue, with the inside a brown fur type material. It was covered in dull studs layered in patterns that could easily be used as improvised defenses. His hands were encased in a sort of padding, like light armor from ye olden times. And though she could only see glimpses of it when he moved, Luka swore he had a little warhammer looking instrument attached to his side. "An armed and armored priest. Huh." She mumbled quietly.
"You are right, my child, I stand always ready to defend His domain." He put a hefty emphasis on "his," in the same way all religious types do when they speak of their gods. "But know that I also stand ready to defend all his children as well. Be they newly adopted, long passed, or yet to be welcomed into his embrace." He put the pot's lid back on and hung his ladle from the handle. The smell and heat still hung in the air, persisting through downpour and cold. "We don't get many people through here, even fewer in a car, fewer still in what some would call a nice car, and before now none that were hunters. You three are truly unique."
Luka took a single step back, but quickly re-oriented herself. "Who are you?"
He smiled widely and bowed slightly. "I am a Warden of the order. Warden Seras."
Luka looked at him in a somewhat cautious manner. "Is this a temple?" Her dread still persisted.
He smiled warmly at her, "Perhaps not one you're used to seeing in the movies, all bedazzled in gold and ivory. But this is a place of worship all the same." His tone was exorbitantly friendly. Luka's dread should've lessened, but it hovered at a very stable level.
Luka's wolf ears batted at the rain, she shivered. "Can we go in?" She pointed at Anna and Yossif, freezing to the bone a few steps away.
"Of course." He ushered her towards the door. "Please, go in and shake off the cold. And speak with Master Aquila if you have any questions." He motioned for the others to head inside, much to their relief. But before she could join them, the Warden grabbed her arm and stopped her. "You have the look of dread on you, child. It's the same look I had when I first came to the order." He slowly removed his hood, letting the rain soak his head. He had an extra set of ears atop his short cut hair. He was Faunus. "Rest assured. This place is home to all." With that, he flipped his hood back up and retook his place at the soup stand. More poor trickled over from somewhere unseen to eat their fill. Luka smiled at him the best she could, but the hole in her stomach refused to leave.
The orange glow that Luka had seen through the door from outside was not an exaggeration. With torchlight, the entire building was bathed in a soft orange glow. The floors were unpolished wood that seemed to either reflect the light or glow the same color. Wooden rafters hung low like those inside of fantasy medieval castles. Rows upon rows of pews stretched out in front of them like a sea of religion. Assorted types of rooms branched off of the main gathering place in such a way that confused the mind. The place was big enough to even have stained glass windows installed. She noticed very massive similarities between the story of the Horsemen and the story of the glass.
An Atlesian Religion, now she knew why she felt the dread. That is, if she was one for superstition.
The homeless, vagrants, disadvantaged, and really anyone else who needed a place to shake off the cold were sitting around. Some prayed, others slept, and others still spoke with what Luka believed passed for priests under the warm glow of fire. To say that this place was impressive would be an understatement. And to highlight that, she couldn't see the roof. She knew it was there, but either the light couldn't reach it, or the paint job was too dark to pick apart from shadow, or something. All she could see was an endless black expanse above her. Like looking up into a starless sky.
And yet, all this homely feel of the wood and low fire glow, minus the one strange oddity of the roof, was deeply contrasted by the state of things. The wooden floor looked as if it had seen better days. It splintered in places, and gave a little too much when stepped on in other places. Some of the stained glass panels looked like they were missing pieces. Some torches were burnt out. The pews looked older than all three of them combined. And all the offshoots from this main room looked like they were dungeons not fit to enter.
These two confounding variables blended together into a strange type of feeling. Luka could only really liken it to stepping into a distant relative's home. It was warm and welcoming, yet there was something at the fringes that was off. Not quite bad, just different, unnatural. The three of them stood with agape mouths.
Of course, it wouldn't be a religious institution if they weren't pestered by the god-botherers every moment they were there. "May I help you three?" Asked a man wearing an outfit not too dissimilar to the one out front. Heavy clothing, weapon, face obscured.
Luka was just about to speak for all of them before a man in a nicer getup stepped forward. "Warden, why don't you go start a sermon? I shall handle these ones." Said the man.
"Certainly, Master Aquila." Said the Warden before bowing and departing to the front of the room.
Luka had meant it when she said "nicer." Whereas the rest of the important looking people here wore a lighter and rougher cloak colored a dark blue, she believed that marked them as the so called "Wardens," this man wore a darker cloak. It was still bluish, just further leaning into black. It was made well and looked smooth to the touch. And the studs that were on the warden's cloak carried over to him. Except these were polished enough to stand out. And they were arranged in an even better way defensively. She could imagine that all he'd have to do is to stick his own hands into his cloak and grab in order to create an improvised shield. The fur inside was also of a darker color. Not quite black, but blackened brown. His cloak wasn't wrapped as tightly around him as the wardens. That either meant he wasn't expected to go outside where the others were or that it was a way to further distinguish between the hierarchy. Either way, she could actually make out the rest of his outfit.
Brigidine. Brown brigandine that encased him so thoroughly that you would think he was made of armor and not skin. Solid brown brigandine that was only rarely broken up by dark blue highlights organized in such a way to look like rank insignia. Religious markings, probably.
And he had a long sword dangling from his side.
He watched the Warden walk away for a moment before turning back to them. "Well, I suppose one fourth of the introductions have been completed for us. May I ask your names?" He very cordially asked.
Despite the assurances of the man out front, Luka was wary of this guy. But she couldn't really put her finger on why. Maybe it was because he had an Atlesian accent, maybe it was the state of his institution, maybe she just didn't vibe with him. Whatever it was, it was just on the tip of her tongue. But Anna and Yossif were less on edge. "Yossif." Said the tall Vacain dryly.
"I am Anna Castellen." Anna said politely.
"Ah, yes. I have heard of both of you." The two were surprised. "Yes, Anna Castellen, darling daughter of the MTC. Next step in line for CEO of Mistral's own company. I had heard that you were going to Beacon, but to have you under our humble roof is truly an honor." He turned towards her and bowed his head slightly. "I hope to make your stay with us an enjoyable one, even if we lack all the conveniences of home."
Anna was taken aback by the sudden attention. She had probably forgotten that she was important on the world stage. To Luka's knowledge this was the first time someone had referenced her family in any way. "Wait, wait, wait… You know…Who I am?" Her refinement had left her in favor of awe at the knowledgeable man.
"Certainly! Though your business may not be as profitable or widespread as the SDC, the Mistral Trading Company has its own market. I find myself often buying general goods from them whenever I take a trip to that beautiful green jungle you call home." Anna looked flattered. "And you, Yossif L. Together with your father, you've made quite the name for yourself in Vacuo. The mercenary dune duo, as I've heard you called before. A warrior such as yourself would be an outstanding hunter, and a great son to any father." Yossif smiled slightly.
But then his tone dropped in friendliness. "Yours is a face that I am…Unfamiliar with. Who are you." It wasn't unfriendly by any means, but seemed to mirror her own caution.
Luka stood tall and still. She briefly thought about not speaking, but her worries about being cast back into the rain coaxed the word out of her. "Luka."
No words of admiration fell on her like Anna and Yossif. Just a single question. "Luka?"
"Caniem."
He held her gaze for a moment before standing back and placing a hand to his chin. "Luka Caniem. Yossif Lathye. Anna Castellen. LYA…" He tapped his fingers on his jaw. "Ahh! You three are the rascals that wrecked the freeway!" He clasped his hands together. "I've seen you on the news!" Aquila happily chirped.
Luka's first thought was who the hell even uses the word rascals. Her second thought was along the lines of hoping he didn't have to drive to work. "You're not… angry at us for that?"
He shrugged. "I might've if it was a random act of aggression. But it wasn't, you three put to bed a terrorist threat. Well, four. Where is the R in your team? Rexus Vallant?"
"Hurt." Luk dryly stated.
"Oh, shame. I had wanted to meet the boy. He would've been supremely suited to the Order." He stood silently for a moment before continuing. "Oh well, I doubt that's why the rest of you came here today. We'd only be able to take this young man anyway." He motioned to Yossif.
"Why only him?" Luka squinted her eyes in a critical manner.
This would be the point at which other religions would try to either downplay or avoid the question. Apparently Aquila held no such reservations. "Because you two are women."
"What?" Anna demanded.
Once again, this would be the point at which others would offer platitudes and compliments to calm someone. Aquila made no such actions. "We are descended from an order of his most holy knights. Though we can take you on as a member of the lay, we cannot elevate you any further than that. Unless, of course, you wish to be a missionary." He was elegant in his tone, but simple in his message. They didn't quite belong.
He stood for a minute, glancing between their faces and waiting for something. The three of them stood still and stared back. One with a feeling of caution and dread, one shocked and appalled, and one probably feeling warm and fuzzy on the insides. "Well, should you three need any further assistance, my Wardens and I would be overjoyed to help. Until then, please stay and shake off the cold. No food for you, however. That is reserved for those who haven't the ability to get their own." Master Aquila left, immediately going to the front to converse with the Warden he had sent away earlier.
That left Luka with the fallout. Glancing at her teammates, she read the feelings in the air.
While he didn't look completely sold on the idea of a religious life, Luka could tell that Yossif was interested in the words of Aquila. He had a strange little smile and stared down at the floor.
Anna's face was scrunched up in appalling disgust. She had apparently taken the news that religions have weird recruiting laws badly. She clearly looked like she wanted to leave and never come back.
That left Luka, sitting somewhere between the two. On one hand, she was damn interested in what this place was. Armed and armored priests, head honcho having the title "Master." And this was all under the roof of a humble little building housing and feeding the poor. But that little seed of doubt still lingered inside of her. Like Anna, she wanted to leave. But not for the same reason. Luka had dealt with religious outreach programs in Menagerie and experienced the sexism that came with it. No, she was still worried over that little seed of caution inside of her. The same one that she had when she got here.
Luka could try to be democratic and ask her team for input. But the following argument between the two would succeed in nothing but causing her a headache. Now wasn't the time for parliament. It was the time for tyranny. It was only her right as the leader. "Mr. Aquila!" Luka called after the man.
He finished the rest of his conversation with the Warden before walking back over. "Yes? Did you need something?" He politely asked.
Me and my friends were just talking about it and we decided that…we'd love to learn more about the Order." She declared.
Aquila stared at her with an analyzing gaze. So analyzing that he didn't seem to notice the heavy protest from Anna and the confused acceptance of Yossif.
A quick smile and a clap of the hands signaled Aquila's acceptance. "Excellent! I shall give you the full tour! Let me Start. I am Master Aquila of the Order of the Silent King, and this his temple."
You know Doctor Who? The time traveling whatever he is from an imaginary land called "Britain'' that everyone talked about for a few years before it mysteriously disappeared? Yeah, Vale had some strange programming. But anyway, that whole phone box that has a massive room bit that the show did? That was exactly what this place was.
The three followed Aquila through one of the corridors at the back of the main room and into a long hallway. This place was similarly lit as the main room. Torches cast flickering orange glows on the still wooden floors and walls. The roof was no longer made of existential crisis and was now visible as just a normal brown wooden ceiling and rafters. Multiple doors branched off from the main path in such a way that would've gotten someone lost without direction.
"What's with the sexism?" Anna asked with bite.
Luka immediately turned towards her with a questioning gaze. "Pardon?" Asked Aquila.
"Why won't you take women?" Anna demanded with a thin veneer of politeness. Luka nearly laughed. She didn't like it either, but had Anna never encountered a religion before?
Aquila glanced backwards as the four walked on. "Have I not already answered this question?"
"I've forgotten your answer." Anna pushed.
Probably knowing that she wouldn't take the original vague answer for a second time, Aquila turned his head back around again and raised a hand in expression. "To understand that point, you'd have to delve into a library's worth of history. And really, that wouldn't get you very far. So let me explain it like this. The anatomy of women is not suited to our order. Your bodies, minds, and souls simply rend when put to the test." His hand fell to his side and disappeared under the cloak as he walked.
"Oh, of course. You've covered all the bases. Women aren't strong enough, women aren't smart enough, women's souls are evil. Does your order also believe that women shouldn't be able to vote? Or perhaps that they should live exclusively in service to men?"
Luka couldn't help but slightly mirror Anna's feelings. Though she wouldn't go so far as to accuse Aquila of thinking that women were property, she was still a bit put off by his answer to the question. "Yeah, wait a minute. I know that religious organizations aren't really known for their forward thinking, but this seems a bit too far into the past."
Aquila stopped in the middle of the hall, flanked on either side by a door. He turned sharply towards Luka and whispered. "You alone should know the validity of my words." Before turning to the left and opening the door. "As for you, Ms. Castellen, you should know the power of heritage and tradition. You are a part of the MTC. A business that spans a continent like that isn't constantly torn down and rebuilt in a better way. People tend to stick with what works. This way please."
The three lagged behind, one waiting for two, one concerned for her fellow woman, and one racking her brain. What had Aquila meant by that? That Luka alone knew what he meant. She had never met the man in her life. All she knew was that a book told her to come here in order to find another book.
Wait a minute…
No way.
"What did he say to you?" Anna inquired. She looked worried.
"Nothing. Nothing." She waved off her friend and pointed towards the door that Yossif was hovering near.
His face also held a worried expression, but lesser than Anna. "Told you that she'd be fine." Anna made an irritated gesture at him as she walked by. He followed behind, and Luka behind him.
All but Aquila gasped at the sight, "Welcome, children, to the training room." This room was big. Nearly 4 times the size of the main room they had started off in if she had to guess. All lit by torch and firelight. There was a main roof far above them, bathed in an impenetrable black like the front room, but there was also more. Direct to their front was a normal looking training ground. There were rings, weapon stands, weights, and a lot of guys. But behind them was a village. What looked to be multiple rows of houses with one to two stories each stood like sentinels behind them. And what's more, she could see small groups of men entering and leaving the hamlet by a main path.
And the guys, there were the Wardens that they had seen out front, but they were way outnumbered by bald headed men. Even the faunus weren't spared, as their ears were shaven bare like the rest. Like tin soldiers, they all looked the same. Long pants, short shirts, and a training sword to each.
Groups trained in combat, others sat and listened to the careful instructions of the Wardens, and a larger amount than both the previous groups combined worked out. "I suggest that you all take a good look now. Not many are allowed to see this."
Luka would've loved to take him up on his offer. There seemed to be enough in here to take up a full afternoon of exploration and still fail to take in everything. But Luka had far more burning questions for the Master than a simple glance at the blueprints. "Aquila?"
He gazed on from under his cowl. "I know I didn't make a production of it earlier, but if you truly wish to convert, you should start addressing all servants of our liege as their title."
Luka smiled with chagrin and complied. "Master Aquila, about what you said."
"Ah, please, over here." He stepped farther away from the group and turned his back to them. They stood right below a stained glass panel. "Have you any idea what I mean?"
She double checked her memories for a moment to see if she had missed anything. "The book."
"Yes…The book. Team LYAR's brief introduction to spirituality."
"It's not just a book. It-!" Luka tried to recount her experience.
"Gave you visions of a white room that felt strange and familiar all at once?" He sounded less than surprised that she had prophetic visions from a book. "And then you met a woman who you were unable to identify as a human, faunus, or something else. She then probably talked your ear off with epithets and finished off by telling you her name was Regina and that she couldn't answer any of your questions?"
Luka was dumbfounded. He got it all right. "You seem like you're familiar with her."
"It, more accurately. Luka Caniem, may I be the first to congratulate you on surviving a meeting with the Order's version of the devil." He stated, motioning to the glass. A fight against a hellish monster, bedazzled with white, bore down upon a squad of black figures in the art. "That is the one you saw."
"What!" She blurted out. Luka was being messed with here. There was no way that she wasn't. Meeting Regina wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't like she was being attacked by a monster. If anything, the monster that attacked her in the vision looked more like the men in the stained glass.
Luka's quick outburst got both the attention of Yossif and Anna almost immediately. "What? What happened?" Anna demanded.
"Bring it down, would you? I'm sure it's all right." Yossif scolded Anna, who almost nearly turned the fury meant for Aquila on him.
For his part, Aquila covered up the incident with rehearsed grace. "Oh, there is nothing wrong. Your compatriot was merely shocked to learn that this room holds within it a twenty house hamlet used exclusively for training purposes. That and that this is on the more humble size in terms of our order. Quite a reaction is normal for first-timers."
That didn't quite reassure Anna, but Yossif bought it. "See, just take it easy."
"Be quiet." Anna's tone flirted the lines between composure and anger. "Why would you ever need something like this as a religious institution? And why would you ever need it bigger?" She very forcefully inquired.
"Ah, a good question." Aquila began to walk away, making the three follow to hear his words. "As I stated at first, we descend from the very generals of our Liege. As is the case, all members of the order are required to undergo combat training. For when our lord returns, we shall once again march by his side as the host of his new kingdom!" His voice raised in holy absolution. But it just as quickly dropped when he turned his head around. "But the more practical reason is that grimm and other religions pose a unique threat to our missionaries and temples. To learn how to fight and thrive on the battlefield is just as useful as learning script."
"And the reason for the village?" Luka inquired.
"Cause it's cool?" Yossif offered, much to the disdain of Anna.
Aquila let out a loose laugh. "No. It falls under the same reason your militaries have kill house courses. Because our main environment would be backwater villages, why not train in a place similar?"
It made sense to Luka. They were all equipped like warriors because they had to be. The grimm weren't known to take prisoners. And you didn't want to be taken prisoner by the bandits. To be able to protect the villages and temples they were in, these guys built goodwill and a follower base. And were able to protect their donation boxes.
And as much as she could see that Anna didn't like it, Luka saw that it made sense to her too.
There were a few breaths worth of silence as they walked into yet another hallway. "Alright, well I saw a donation box on the way in with no money in it. How do you guys stay open?"
They all saw Aquila's back fall with a sigh. "As much as it pains me to say, not as well as we once did. Though we will always take in the poorer of our Liege's children, they don't give much in the way of material value. Most of our income actually comes from what we wear. Members of our order, what we call our missionaries, contract themselves out in the same way hunters do. Between what they bring in and the sparse donations, we keep ourselves up."
"But you used to do better?" Asked Yossif.
"Yes." He sighed once again. "Far before my time, we were the rulers of continents. The Order was known among all. But as society advanced, few saw the need for religious warriors. We were replaced by the Hunters, because their secular ways were more palatable to the weak willed kingdoms." He scoffed. "You see how well that has turned out."
"Weak willed?" Luka asked.
"He means advanced, smart." Anna offered without mercy.
"No, I mean weak." He turned and leaned against a doorway, gesturing inside while barring entry.
It was a dark room, destitute of light, and yet still viewable. The sound of strange language reflected and bounced around off the walls. It echoed inside their head and reverberated through their bones. It was a prayer being recited by more than a dozen men. And they all stood in a circle around two duelists clashing swords. But this was no simple spar. The fighters struck without mercy and roared with hateful spite at the other. And every hit drew blood.
"We do not practice with dull, training weapons. We train with real steel, real blood. Not because it's dangerous, but because it requires strength of body. We pray, not in the tongue of the kingdoms, but in all of the Lieges children's mother tongue not because it is hard, but because it requires strength of will. We worship our liege, not because it is old fashioned, but because it requires a strength of spirit." He turned towards Anna, a small bit of composure lost. "Your conduct is highly unbefitting of yourself, Ms. Castellen. If not for how well behaved your friends were, I'd have carried you out." Anna immediately looked like she was going to shoot back, but was stopped by a quick poke from Luka. "Just because you aren't allowed into the order does not mean you have the right to say what you will about it without consequence." His tone was threatening, uncovered by any niceties or politeness. That brought Anna right to her snapping point.
But before she could start, Yossif changed the subject. "Alright, who's this Liege guy you keep talking about?"
Aquila looked about half shocked at that question. "Who is our Lieg… Well, I suppose I haven't introduced him yet." He beckoned for them to follow. Yossif and Luka did so, the latter of which actually dragged her along. After minutes of walking down endless corridors, each leaving farther behind the wooden construction and orange glow in favor of stone and the dark, they reached a smaller round room. Inside, a few more Wardens ran around while tending to various trinkets. Luka believed it to all held religious value and decided to not ask about them. "Ah, listen to that wondrous sound!" Aquila sang with glee.
Muffled banging, sounding like steel on steel, could be heard all around. "What is it?" Asked Yossif.
"Ah, funny story. There was a design oversight during this building's renovation. This room was supposed to be a silent sanctum, but now there is only silence when the blacksmith is asleep. He's sadly afflicted by insomnia." Aquila chortled.
"Blacksmith?" Luka asked. Since when did priests need a blacksmith?
Aquila laughed again. "Have you seen our garb? We need quite the amount of specialized gear. Rather than purchase it all for an exorbitant amount of Lien, we manufacture it for every man."
"Wouldn't getting the material and the equipment to do that be just as expensive as buying the clothes outright?" Anna asked, no longer angry. She was just a bit done with this place.
"Ask of the Liege, and ye shall receive." Replied Aquila.
"Who is that?" Yossif asked again.
"Ah, yes, may I direct your attention up?" He gestured to the ceiling. Specifically to the multitude of stained glass windows. Each detailing an encounter between figures of black and figures of white. "Our Liege is a warrior." He pointed to a window with a man holding a sword. "He is a philosopher." He pointed to a window with an open book. "He is the chief of all riders." A picture of a black figure riding a black horse. "A master strategist." A Black figure standing above an army.
He put his hand down and stepped farther into the room until he reached a pedestal. On it was a long rectangle covered over by a light blue curtain. "He is the king of all his children. Leader of the Land. Man on the throne. Or…in lay terms…" He tore the curtain away, revealing an artfully crafted stained glass window. On it was a throne. Black like tar, or obsidian. And even though it was a 2d glass representation, it looked lifelike. Stone in construction, with light blue veins coursing through it. Gems gleamed harshly onto the floor in the work, casting two dimensional shadows. The hand rests looked decadent and comfortable, all the while looking decidedly unwelcoming. The back looked to be made of rough and cold stone. And yet they held a welcoming aura. It was like Regina's vision to Luka. Equal in both allure and repulsiveness.
And to contrast the ultra artistic throne, the one who sat on it was plain. No crown, or dress, armor, or even a face. Just a cloak in the shape of a man, and a cowl that covered the face.
"A God. Pleasant, is it not?" Aquila looked on in admiration. "But this is only a fraction of his elegance. Sadly, it is all we can experience as we are." Luka caught a bit of deja vu.
"What's that?" Anna lazily pointed to the pedestal.
On it was a bound book, about a half fist deep and two wide. Covered in runes and art of swords.
There it was.
Luka immediately rushed over to it and stared. "Ah, the order's prayer book. One of our most prized possessions. It is the words of our liege himself."
Luka turned sharpy towards the man. "Can we have it?" She quickly requested.
Aquila jumped at the request. He was totally unprepared for that ask.
"She- eR- meant to say-." Yossif tried to help, but was just silenced with a raised hand from Aquila.
He leaned in, stopping only mere inches from her face. He gazed into her eyes, her very soul. Luka gazed back. It was a tense standoff that Luka refused to lose. It was strange, but Luka still failed to make out any features from this distance. The only thing she could confirm was that he was breathing. But the breath was frigid.
He suddenly stood straight up. "Certainly! I'd love to give any perspective convert a copy of our Liege's words!" He picked it up.
"But…You said it was a prized possession. You'd just let us have it like that?" Anna inquired.
"Of course, child. I said prized, not rare. This book is far from one of a kind. That being said, they are not cheap, so you'll have to share." He turned towards Luka and presented the volume to her. She looked at the cover and slowly took it into her hands, preparing for the vision. And upon opening to the first page and reading, she waited.
And waited…
And waited…
But no vision came. She was confused. "Ah, and that's the caveat. I'll give you the book, but you won't be able to read it. There are no translations. You may come tomorrow and ask one of my Wardens to help you learn. Or you can try your luck with the teachers at Beacon." He turned to Yossif and handed him a small sheet. "Here is a prayer schedule. Come whenever you wish, and we can discuss if your order material." He gave a small smile to the group. "Now, that is it for your tour. Warden Tike! Please see our guests safely back to their vehicle." He called for one of the wardens tending the room to be their guide. He began to usher Anna and Yossif.
Luka looked up at the man from the book. "I don't understand, there was no vision."
Aquila smiled from under his hood and closed the book. "Not for you. Remember what I said about women and the Order. This isn't a bias, but a limitation of genetics. Women simply cannot handle the power in these books. Don't fret, however, if you wish to chase the devil. You will come across her cursed texts in time. For now, remember this. Don't trust her." And with that, he gently turned her around and lightly pushed her towards the rest of the team."
But as they made their way back out, there was no prayer, no fighting. All had stopped their activities to watch as the three were led out. All the eyes glued to them seemed to even make the stained glass watch them. It freaked Luka and her friends out.
And after a few nerve wracking minutes of walking, they were nearly shoved out the door and into the rain by the Warden. The man who used to be out here was long gone by now. It was just cold and wet.
Yossif brushed himself off. "Well, that was something. Anyone up for food?"
"They've left, Master." The Warden interrupted Aquila's prayers with his report.
"Good, please replace the book." The Warden nodded and left. Aquila would like to say that he was overjoyed at the prospect of new converts, even if two of the three couldn't be recruited directly into the order, but he wasn't going to delude himself. They would not come back. Fine enough by him, Aquila wasn't one for Hunters, even in training.
Still, losing a few converts hurt.
Just then, a crow flew in. It was large, unnaturally so. And it was smart. It landed on Aquila's shoulder with grace too smooth for an animal that size. "And how is the child?" It nodded. "Alright?" A second nod. "Excellent." Aquila tossed a piece of bread, saved from the night's dinner, onto the floor. The bird pounced on it.
"Well then. I suppose you've been a silent king long enough? We are ready for your return…"
Aquila kneeled and looked up at the glass.
"Princeps."
Ooh. Spooky.
Three claps for my subtle story building. I take after my father. Sprocket W. Sledgehammer.
Oh well, As long as you guys like it, I'll keep sharpening my skills and eventually create such a good story that a singularity forms and a second big bangs kicks off.
And if you don't like my story, criticism is always helpful. Criticism beyond, "It's bad." I mean.
Anyway. Thanks for taking interest in my hobby.
Have a good day!
Don't die!
And for God's sake get ready for summer!