Notes:
1) This is a crossover with the Black Jewels Trilogy, by Anne Bishop. A basic explanation of this world's rules will follow the notes and warnings, but if you've actually read the series, this will make a heck of a lot more sense to you. Fair warning though: the books will scar you for life, at the very least. They are great pieces of writing, but very graphic about torture, violence, NCS, and enough other topics that they probably top the Moral Majority's banning list. (Of course, in my mind, that is a badge of honor)
2) This is AU for both universes, but it's close to both of them. There are still Gundams, there are still all the countries and realms from Jewels, and most of the original casts still exist. However, I've bent rules from both worlds, added and subtracted some background, and warped more then a few things. Don't worry, though, it's still recognizable.
3) I played merry hell with the timelines from both worlds. I bent them, stretched them, folded them, smashed them to pieces, and chopped those pieces to smithereens. And I had fun doing so. Deal with it.
4) Several people might feel or be a little OOC. This is because it's my first time writing them. If any hard-core fans of a character that I screw up wish to correct me, please do so...
5) ... but no flames. I beg for feedback on my knees, but rants don't count as feedback. If you must rant (and believe me, I know the feeling) please do so in front of a captive audience (i.e., your friends at school/work/local club/library/etc.) because I will print out said flames, laugh at them, and use them to stock public paper towel dispensers.
6) This is going to be a very hentai series. Characters from Jewels have several het relationships, and the G-boys and G-girls are going (mainly) yaoi and yuri. I know for a fact that there will also be threesomes, and possibly/probably more then that. There will be definite lime, and I don't know about lemon, cause ff.n don't allow it. If you don't understand these terms, have a personal problem with them, or for some other reason can't accept this, get out now. I say this with no malice intended, but merely with a wish to preserve your sanity, save myself some flames, and cover my legal rear.
7) Continuing with the legal rear covering, if you're under legal age and don't have your parent's permission, you really shouldn't be here. I highly doubt that this will stop any of you, as the rest of the warnings apparently didn't, but it's said.
8) The last hole in my legal pants is this: I own none of these characters, which is probably just as well, as what I would do with them would either get me lynched by the Moral Police or get me committed to an insane asylum.
Bwa ha ha ha! Try and get me now, you evil legal sharks! ...
9) ... Which brings me to the next warning. The deranged, maniacal voice you just heard (well, read) belonged to my evil, sadistic, insane alter ego, Catclaws. I keep her locked in a closet, but she escapes occasionally, and influences the story. She doesn't show up overtly, but she can be channeled through some of the bitchier female characters, and almost all torture and/or evilness are directly from her twisted mind. A further warning to flamers: If I manage to fill those paper towel dispensers, I will start tossing the flame print outs into her closet to be used as kitty litter.
10) There will be torture, NCS, violence, language, etc. in this piece. Anyone who actually listened to Warning #1 and/or has read the series will know that in this world, they are kind of unavoidable. Again, if you have any problems, leave. My goal in writing this was to create something, not to traumatize you people! I have no wish to be sued for your therapy bills!
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Oh-kay, with the warnings and notes out of the way, here are the official rules of the Jewels world, as they apply in my fic:
The various levels of (known) Jewels are (from light to dark):
WhiteYellow
Tiger-eye
Rose
Summer-sky
Purple Dusk
Opal
Green
Sapphire
Red
Gray
Ebon-gray
Black
Opal is considered the dividing line between the dark Jewels and the light Jewels, because it can be both.
The level Jewel is an indicator of the bearer's psychic strength; the darker the Jewel, the stronger the power. A Jewel acts as a reservoir for that power, and an uncut Jewel is large enough to produce a pendulum/necklace, a ring, and several chips for varying uses. Getting an uncut Jewel from an offering is very, very rare, however. The Jewel more often appears in the pieces it was cut into by its previous bearer, leaving the current one to reset it in any way she or he wills. The Jewels can be cut and refined like any normal gem, with no loss of power. Each cut Jewel holds a reserve of power independent from the other Jewels that were cut from the same stone.
A Birthright Jewel can be received by any of the Blood from a Dark Alter at anytime past their 16th birthday. An Offering to the Darkness to possibly gain a greater Jewel strength can be made after the 20th birthday. Whether or not they make either offering to gain strength is up to each individual person, but an offering is needed to gain that strength. When making an offering, it is possible to go down at maximum three Jewel levels from your Birthright. So, for example, a Birthright White can remain the same, or descend to Yellow, Tiger-eye, or Rose.
The G-boys (and one main character from the trilogy) break all these rules to pieces- just like they always have.
Wearing a Jewel and using Craft (spells) puts a strain on your body. Channeling that much power is akin to doing major workouts daily, or training for a sport. The darker the Jewel, the more this applies.
No witch can channel power during the first three days of her Moontime- or, she can, but it is physicly painful for her to do so. During the first three days, a witch also tires easily, is far weaker then normal, and needs more nutrients then her body would consume at other times.
The Blood Ranks are:
Males:Landen: Non-Blood of any race. (The animal Blood, kinded, includ tigers, wolfs, unicorns, and several others. I've added two to the number of kindred species: hawks and foxes) There are also several different human races, the most noticeable of which is Eyrien, due to their wings.
Blood male: A general term for all males of the blood; mainly used in reference to a Blood male that doesn't wear Jewels.
Warlord: A Jeweled male equal in status to a witch.
Prince: A Jeweled male equal in status to a Healer or a Priestess.
Warlord Prince: A dangerous, extremely aggressive Jeweled male; in status, lower then a Queen, but higher than a Black Widow.
Females:Landen: Non-Blood of any race.
Blood female: A general term for any female of the Blood; mostly refers to any Blood female who doesn't wear Jewels.
witch: A Blood female who wears Jewels, but isn't one of the other castes. Also refers to any Jeweled female.
Healer: A witch who heals physical wounds and illnesses; equal in status to a Priestess or a Prince.
Priestess: A witch who cares for alters, Sanctuaries, Dark Alters, witnesses marriages and handfastings, and performs offerings; equal in status to a Healer or a Prince.
Black Widow: A witch who heals the mind, weaves the tangled webs of dreams and visions, and is trained in illusions and poisons. There are several physical differences that mark them. They are higher then a Prince, Healer, or Priestess, but lower then a Warlord Prince.
Queen: A witch who rules the Blood. She is considered to be the land's heart, and the Blood's moral center. As a result, she is the focal point of their society.
A caste is something you are born into. While anyone can take the training for a particular set, only those born into those sets can use/take that training to its fullest. It is possible to be born into more than one caste; for example, there can be a Priestess/Healer. The rarest, and most powerful, combination is a Queen Black Widow Healer. Only three currently exist (correction- are known) among the Blood. A rank can be revealed by the psychic scent an individual gives off- if the person who receives that scent recognizes what it means, which isn't a guaranteed. Several other things can be told from that scent, too, including current temper.
Only two known males hold a traditional female rank: two Black Widows. They are the only two recorded crossing of the gender barrier between castes. Again, the G-boys (and G-girls) are going to have fun breaking rules.
A further note to those familiar with the trilogy: You will notice that Priestesses are almost totally ignored in the books. This leaves me a free hand to create and make up what I will. And I will so much... Shut up, Catclaws!
For those of you who have read the series, you know that there is a 'golden age' in the middle of the third book- when everyone has made it to the Dark Court, but Hekatah and Dorothea haven't yet begun their schemes to tear it apart. All (most) relationship problems have been resolved, everyone's happy, yadda yadda. My crossover starts with the idea that that 'golden time' has been extended for several years (with the sides at a stalemate), and coincides with the long peace years after the Endless Waltz. The G-boys are about 23 right now, but you wouldn't know it to look at them; for various reasons, which will be explained, their bodies (and the bodies of many in their group) have remained about the same as they were when they piloted the Gundams. They now use this to their advantage, as many people underestimate them because they look like teenagers. And the Gundams haven't been destroyed- just hidden away by the G-boys.
A last note before I (finally) start the story. There are several sound effects/speech types in here. Hopefully the following guide will help clear up confusion.
yadda means emphasis:yadda: means psychic communication (since they don't allow stars from me, for some reason...)
:yadda: means psychic communication with emphasis.
"/yadda/" means the G-boy's language. Don't worry, this is explained in the third chapter.
yadda means thoughts, but this one is kinda rare.
And now, on with the show!
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Saetan buried a resigned sigh as his staff helped the latest of a long line of representatives move his bags to a Winds carriage. As the main peacekeeping force of the world outside of the Three Realms, the Preventers were supposed to have a permanent agent assigned to their allies in Kaeleer to help communication and to keep an eye on what was happening here. This worked in theory, but there was a major flaw in practice. People who lived in and around this court were at times disturbed or frightened by the sheer power it's leaders could wield when they chose. Hell's Fire, even he was still occasionaly scared silly by a spell one of the coven pulled off- or messed up. It was a thousand times worse for someone who came from another Realm all together. Saetan buried another sigh and retreated to his office to contact Lady Une.
Centuries of tradition had kept the Fourth Realm, Earth, fairly isolated from the other Three Realms. The ratio of Blood to landen was far less there then it was in the others- in fact, until about 20 years ago, the main population hadn't believed the Blood had existed at all. But before a reliable contact had been established, the war in that Realm had isolated it once again. It was only in the recent years of peace that the relationship was growing again. Saetan thanked the Darkness that Dorothea and Hekatah had both dismissed it as inconsequential due to its very low Blood amount- and he was equally grateful that after the war the people of Earth had managed to come into contact with Kaeleer first, and avoided much of the taint that Hekatah and her disciple Dorothy were poisoning the land with.
The isolation, however, hadn't been complete- and the native Blood had never disappeared all together. As a result, Blood from Terreille and Kaeleer had settled into life on Earth, and the numbers of Blood due to either immigration or birth was growing.
As he reached his study, Saetan braced himself. Not only for the use of the videophone that would contact him to Lady Une (the alliance with Earth had brought in many new items- it was something of a shock to one as old as he), but for facing the Lady herself. She was... formidable.
And, it appeared, a step ahead of him. As he entered the office, the chime that signaled and incoming call rang. Saetan slipped behind his desk and activated the audio and visual connections. As he expected, the face that flicked into view belonged to the Head of the Preventers. "Lady," he greeted her, nodding. "I take it you received the news?"
"I have," she agreed, frowning.
"I believe this one set a new record," Saetan observed calmly. "He was only here for a total of two days."
Lady Une's scowl deepened, but not in disapproval of the remark. She seemed, instead, to be thinking over the problem. "To make matters worse, the ones that come back tell enough stories to make everyone who might take the job reluctant to do so."
Saetan let none of his rising bitterness show. Of course. The price all of them paid.
The Lady wasn't finished, however. "What would you say if, instead of one person assigned to the post, you get several?"
"So they can offer each other support?" he asked skeptically. It would need more then a few people to help each other through what was a typical day for this court.
"No. The five of them simply don't work separately from each other; they refuse to do so."
"Five?" Saetan demanded before he could stop.
"Yes, five," Une confirmed. Her expression had changed. In place of a frown, an oddly amused smile was decorating her lips.
"May I ask why you didn't send them earlier, if you think they might be effective?"
"They were busy with other things before. But lately, there hasn't been much in for them. This is something that should suit them."
"You think they'll be able to... handle life here, with us?" Saetan was still skeptical. The things that had driven off the last three people had been relatively mild, by the standards of this Court.
That amused smile stretched, and Saetan sent several mental curses at the box on his desk. For all it's advantages, there was at least one major drawback: in a conversation like this, it was impossible to pick up any emotional flavors from your partner's psychic scent.
"I am absolutely sure, High Lord, that they will be able to handle you. My concern is how you will handle them." With that, she cut the contact.
After starting into the blank screen for a long minute, Saetan got up to inform Helene, his house keeper, that a new suite would be needed for the expanded... delegation.
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A/N: This chapter, and the next one, are mainly going to be world building. Explaining things to people who don't know the area, and setting up some foreshadowing around the arrival of five very special agents. And I SWEAR that next chapter will have more content then notes!
I'd like some reviews, please... I don't care if you don't have a CLUE what's going on, review and tell me so! I'd love feedback...