Chronicles of the Scions
Chapter 5: A Dance in the Dark
"The outside world believes Ul'dah to be a sultanate, ruled by the Sultana Namo. In truth, however, it is ruled by the six wealthiest citizens who hold the most sway. The Syndicate…. Be it as it may the Sultana has the support of the people of the nation unless a certain event becomes public knowledge." Momodi stated in a bit of a neutral state as the lalafell and S'elene were in a private office where no eyes and ears could know what they were talking about, at S'elene's behest.
"The crown has been missing." the lalafell finalized to which, the Vierra's exposed eye widened a bit in surprise before going back to its neutral state, keeping its owner rather neutral as well.
"If I was a betting woman, and I am, quite loaded. I'd be willing to bet that this letter was written by the imbeciles that stole the crown." S'elene commented with her arms folded against her bosom before drinking a bit of her tea in front of her.
"Aye, if anything…. Take this to Yulianna. Tell them I sent you. And that it concerns a lost heirloom. They'll know what I'm talking about."
The plan was set in motion, the letter had been a ransom with a set location, although the ransom they wanted was rather unusual, too unusual for S'elene's suspicions as of late. As good with black magick and a claymore as she was, she need something more light, more agile and there were only two other skills she had of the offensive variety that she felt she could use at the moment.
'I need to see if Shinja-chan has gotten any progress on my blade and equipment I need. Though they are rather specific if I have to be honest here.'
The Vierra pushed her linkshell once and waited for confirmation.
"Yes, Selene-chan what is it?"
"Just looking for an update on my equipment Shin. How are we looking here?"
"Still going to be a few weeks away. With what you described to myself and Code-chan. I need to employ one of the finest crafters I have connections with. I can rush order it, though it'll probably cost you another couple million gil. I know you're good for it, but I have to ask to be completely sure."
"...Do it. I'm running out of options here. I'll be in contact."
S'elene ended the call as she and the sultansworn charged towards the battlefield. The thieves made a mistake thinking they could leave with the crown and try and slaughter one of their own.
'Only twenty? Good. Shouldn't be hard for us with the Sultana's guard with us…' she thought as she unlatched her claymore before side-stepping past one of the thieves, bisecting him cleanly in half as she ran past.
Most of these were like canon fodder for her they didn't care to hone their skills, she looked over and saw the captain was having issues with Archibald and his battle-ax.
'Oh? A battle-ax? Don't see a lot of TRUE wielders of such a weapon… Time for a test of their reflexes.' S'elene mused before charging at the man getting in a gridlock with the man.
"Captain go help your men. I have my victim. Your blade won't find purchase with his ax."
"You think you can "handle" me woman? You can barely hold on to your weapon!" the man laughed as he pushed forward against the Vierra.
"Is that what you think?" S'elene smirked as she channeled her aether into the blade as she infused her blood weapon and start her assault.
The Vierra started to seemingly flow like a river down the stream. The edge of the blades battling for dominance. The woman started to pick apart Archibald sapping away at his strength with her abilities.
Blow or blow, the two seemed to dance in the river, for S'elene she was like a calculated surgeon, aiming for the openings in the Roe's form. For Archibald it was akin to sacrificing accuracy for power, occasionally hitting the dark knight with a blow that hit her like a train causing her to have to retreat a bit in their dance before they continued onwards.
The Vierra decided to switch up her style a bit, infusing her blade with more of her dark aether sapping her opponent if both blood and aether as she used more of her leg strength for leverage and dug more into his skin and pushed him back with a blow to the back of Edge of Darkness.
The Roe was getting frustrated that a woman of all people was getting the better of him especially with a clunky weapon as big as hers was. He'd be impressed if she wasn't so venomously against him.
"And here I thought I met someone who honed their skills with a battle-ax for once. You are sad Archibald."
That was the thing about bandits especially about men, piss him off and they lose all thought of actual combat prowess and become drolling hulks, making it easy for people like her to take advantage of in battle.
Slowly but surely she started to wear him down, nicking him with her blade in vital spots on his body before finally making him drop to a knee before beheading him in a single slice.
The vierra took slow deep breaths as she saw the rest of the sultansworn finish their fights before wiping the blood off of her blade and sheathing it.
"Wait…. This feeling…"
The dark knight brought her blade to her front as a giant claw almost impaled her in the chest.
"Captain! Voidsent! Kill it now!" The Vierra shouted, almost ordered.
Papashan wasted no time in doing just that as the lalafell's blade shone with a silver light before bisecting the voidsent's head while it was busy trying to get to S'elene's head and chest before dropping to the river floor.
"That is some sense you have there lass. Even paladins of Ishgard have trouble sensing voidsents that quickly."
"You don't live as long as I do putting down your guard completely captain," she remarked.
One of the sultansworn yelled from across the river at that moment to chase after more of the thieves that were hiding, since the group they did face meant to delay them quite a bit.
Owyne and Papashan took to chasing after them leaving S'elene by herself.
"Huh guess I'll head back to the city, I suppose everything is tied up now… Although I doubt this is the last we've dealt with that pesky lord…" she mused as she started walking towards Ul'dah eating an apple along the way.
"Son of a…." she turned around to find the cloaked man again who was already chanting an incantation.
"O mournful voice of creation, Send unto me a creature of the abyss, a thrall to command that I might smite my enemies."
Another voidsent appeared from the mage's summoning as the man chuckled a bit.
"You can not be suffered to live, Your very being imperils the plan."
"That is not the first nor last time I have heard others say this sweetheart. You will find my will quite strong against yours."
Seeing as how all the sultansworn were busy elsewhere, she snapped her fingers as her gunblade appeared in hand.
"After all a good warrior is capable in multiple battle styles." she gave a grave chuckle as she stared at the creature with her white eye.
S'elene charged at the lesser gargoyle, charging in with a Danger Zone blast from her glove, knocking it back onto the ground before starting to slice away at its wings, gathering aether into the cartridges she held within her coat.
The gargoyle managed to get a few swipes in before she snapped her fingers as a light silver aura enveloped her that seem to boost her defenses and regeneration that she was known for in the past.
The Vierra started to gather speed and heat as she started to overwhelm the creature, going into an explosive combo that seemed to have every hit explode on impact.
"Gnashing Fang!"
The blade struck right in between the lesser gargoyle's eyes as the head exploded in the aether.
"You're mine!" a young voice shouted as Thancred appeared and started to attack the dark mage before S'elene had a chance to.
S'elene panted a bit, she cursed her body a bit for not being as used to long combat as she felt a hand on her arm and looked down to find Y'shtola looking up at her with her staff glowing slightly as she cast Cure II on her.
"We can't look away for two seconds without you getting into trouble can we Elene?" Y'shtola quipped a bit at the Vierra look up at the bun.
"Better me than the twins eh sweetheart?" S'elene replied with a soft chuckle.
"No, I suppose not…" the white-haired miqo'te shook her head before casting another Cure II to finish amplifying S'elene's recovery for the two gauntlets she endured.
"Oi! Love cats! Less flirting more attacking the Ascian for Hydaelyn's sake!"
"Oh, you're no fun Thancred!" S'elene teased a bit as she ruffled Y'shtola's hair a bit before returning into the fray to help rush the Ascian and try and prevent him from casting spells.
Between the three Archons, they easily overwhelmed the Ascian and cut him down much to his chagrin.
"Ughhhh that the wisdom of the Paragons should be brought low by mere mortals…."
"Paragons? That does bring a startling revelation." Thancred mused.
"Seems we were right in our theories that the bringers of chaos, Ascians, to give them their true name." Thancred further stated.
"We could not be completely sure, however, that the recent disturbances until now. As if the Sultansworn had more than enough on their plate." Y'shtola continued by the Vierra as the three looked down at the Ascian.
They all looked like the dark crystal the man held broke as the dark aether within was released.
"Least we know he's dead… for once. Hope we have a reprieve for once." Thancred mused as Y'shtola was deep in thought.
"Would not be best to lower our guard Thancred, that's how we just possessed by them if the rumors I've researched to be true," S'elene stated with a similar state of thought to the Miqo'te next to her.
"I suppose I should head back to the city, I lost track of the twins a couple of weeks back and need to see how they fare in the city. You two stay safe, I do appreciate the help though, even I have my limits."
Y'shtola sighed as she saw her walk away and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I forget she is a workaholic, even worse than I at times," Y'shtola commented.
"Try to do something about that eh Shtola? I'm sure she'll be more herself once she has her original body back. From what I recall in my youth, she always hated transforming for long periods of time."
"I suppose I should…. I should get back to Limsa at any rate. I have some leads to chase." the teal-eyed Miqo'te commented before teleporting leaving Thancred by himself in the desert.
—-
A couple of weeks later
S'elene sighed a bit, she didn't often have to dress up but she had an invite from the Sultana herself for a banquet in her honor. While it didn't say to dress formally outside of the usual earrings as is the custom in attending ANYTHING related to her highness, she decided first impressions were important especially with higher-ups in the chain.
She decided to wear a simple black dress with a leather corset to help accent her curves. She also decided to wear some leather boots with heels as well, luckily she had up an incantation to hide her archon mark, for now, she made it known to the Commander amongst a few things she figured would help her out. Such as having a permit for wielding a gunblade within Eorzea so she didn't have to hide that. It seemed a little too easy honestly in her eyes.
She was interrupted by her thoughts by a knock on the door. She raised an eyebrow before taking another sip of her wine and made her way to the door.
"May I help… you?" she looked down to find her fellow archon at the door.
Y'shtola was at the door also dressed up, instead of a dress like most ladies prefer she decided to wear a black vest overtop a long-sleeved white shirt, paired with a pair of black pants and dress heeled shoes. The look seemed to accent her figure and make her quite the distinguished woman.
S'elene was at a loss for words as she absent-mindedly let her in the room, her jaw hanging out slightly much to the miqo'te's secret delight.
"Not expecting me S'elene?" she teased as she pushed up on the Vierra's jawline before seeing the wine on the vanity table.
"To be fair, not really Shtola. What brings you here this moon-lit night?" she inquired and she shook her head to not seem like a hormonal teenager.
"For one I am your date for the banquet. Commander Aldynn requested one of the Scions here to join you. Thancred was rather busy with some missions on leads in the area so they decided to send me anon. Not that I'm complaining mind you. I forgot how much you clean up Elene." the miqo'te explained as she took a sip of wine as she eyed S'elene up and down.
"Heh, you're one to talk, about nearly took me out via nosebleed there for a second. First time I ever saw you in a suit." she quipped as she finished looking over her makeup in the mirror finding that she was done preparing.
S'elene walked over to the door and offered her an arm with a soft smile on her lips.
"Shall we head to the ceremony Moonlight?"
The miqo'te blushed a bit on her tanned skin before taking the arm and leaning against S'elene as they made their way.
Upon arriving at the entrance of the sultana's palace, one of the head guards stopped the two.
"Ah, Miss Rhull and Akashiya. You have been expected for quite some time." Bartholomew greeted the two white-haired women.
"Her Grace should show herself soon, please enjoy the time here and talk with the other guests while we wait for the others to arrive."
The two offered a small smile to the Hyur before pasting beyond the doors. As they breached the threshold, despite being known for lalafell royalty, the room was quite enormous even by most standards while not being too gaudy.
A center chandelier showed much-needed light in the room while a large center table was near the back of the room with cards at each spot for each guest of honor, Y'shtola and S'elene seemed to be next to the commander of the immortal flames, which was unusual since the six most influential citizens and lords tend to have that aisle of the table.
In the corner nearby, an open window allowing for moonlight to shine through was a cello and a piano unused, either the bards that accompany it were elsewhere or they were for any musically inclined guest to play if they felt the courage to do so at such an event.
Raubahn came out, still dressed in gladiator gear came out causing most people to shake their heads or facepalm at the commander not wearing formal wear.
'The Raging Bull never does change does he?' the Vierra thought to herself as she handed a rather sweet wine to Y'shtola and offered her a seat at her spot at a table.
"Hail her Grace!" he suddenly seemed to exclaim as the Sultana was perched elegantly on his arm as if it was a make-shift chair allowing all to see her in full view due to how tall the Commander was to most of the guests there.
"By the right of the ruling house of Ul, I, Namano, Seventeen of my life, have summoned you all here on this moon-lit night."
"We are graced this night by the presence of a hero of Ul'dah and a dear friend of the crown."
Hearing that part of the speech from the royal lalafell, S'elene had to raise an eyebrow at that statement. She looked over to Y'shtola and shook her head, seemingly to know what was going on in her head before whispering in her ear.
"You know as well as I do that none of us would reveal your bloodline under pain of death. Although you did make it rather easy to put two and two together Elene-chan."
Upon hearing that, S'elene managed to settle herself down, get a lot more answers as she looked at the Commander who had a knowing smirk on his face.
"Honored guests I give you our champion! Selene Akashiya! And with that I bid you enjoy the feast!" the sultana finished up as the guests in the room gave well-mannered applause for the vierra causing her to blush slightly since she didn't take to public settings too well.
The Commander sat down next to Y'shtola and S'elene as they watched as the guests ate their food, almost seemingly to gouge on it.
"How long did you know Commander?" S'elene simply asked as she took a sip of her wine before cutting her Chocobo meat.
"Oh a couple of months, when I found out from Thancred, I was sorely tempted to chase you down and beat the seven hells out of you for seemingly disappearing from your post as Flame Marshall. Thankfully your feline friend here and Urianger explained much of the events from the Calamity." The highlander explained as he tossed her her badges and credentials
"Try not to lose those eh? What is your current objective, Marshall?"
"With Bahamut still in the sky and Primals being summoned left and right, I'm currently getting leads across Ul'dah about a possible summoning of Ifrit, which obviously, can not be allowed to pass." the newly reinstated marshall explained.
"I can not stay as a stationary member of the Grand Company anymore Commander Aldynn. The mother crystal has implored me to step forward and gather crystals to become her champion that I must find myself."
"As much as I trust your world Akashiya, I must have proof of said blessing. Otherwise, the politics of a high-ranking military woman would be rather….. Troublesome."
S'elene said nothing as she lifted her sash, revealing a single Miqo'te eye but instead of the usual silver-white eyes that her true form was known for, it was an azure blue that shown like crystal in the sun. Even Y'shtola had to gasp a little bit, she did not know about this yet. Her fellow Archon must have been playing this extremely close to the chest.
"I have what they call the Echo and while I have been helping the people the past few months as well as stopping an Ascian with the help of Y'shtola and Thancred. I have been working on mastering this power. It is possible to harness it so it will not impede my defenses if it were activated in combat. After all that just get me killed in any circumstances." she continued explaining.
In a split instance, her eye shown brightly at the iris, before a large pain hit her head as visions of Cartenau came to her head, not from the eyes of her but the Commander and the other leaders of the Three Grand companies. She saw what seemed to be two Ascians in the distance near where their station was during the battle, they seemed to have spoken a mysterious language that both knew and did not know at the same time along with feelings of friendship as if she had known them for years. She shook her head slightly as the vision faded, fairly winded but more favorable than being out of commission for a variety of minutes to possibly hours.
"By the Twelve, you were not kidding about that…."
"What concerns me Commander is that the Ascians were there that day, but focused more on being watchers." Y'shtola explained as she handed a glass of water to the Vierra that was sweating a little bit."
"Yes, this bodes ill for us…." Aldynn mused deep in thought.
"Flame Marshall Akashiya, your mission from until further notice is to work with your allies and be our delegate for the coming battles ahead. I will be sending you to both Limsa and the Black Shroud to talk with the commanders there to reunite the three again for this coming threat."
S'elene did naught but a nod to the Commander still a bit wore out from the vision, she still had much more work to be done if she were to control this power, and by Hydaelyn's name would she see it through.
—-
Author Notes:
There will be a few changes to this story as to which characters are around and possible changes due to s'elene's lore in this story. Also, I tend to use Japanese honorifics for those that the warrior of light is close to let you all know, please leave a like and a review as I continue to update this story.