Juvia I

The first thing Juvia felt, was heat. And not the pleasant kind; it was nearly burning. With a gasp, the Rain Woman sat up, and looked around, noticing vast sand dunes everywhere she looked. Her first instinct was panic, and no it wasn't because she was separated from Gray, but because she was stuck in a desert, with no idea where she was. While it took a lot for her to get dehydrated, that didn't mean that never happened to her. With that desert being too hot even for her, Juvia loosened her coat, and took off her hat.

"Of all the times to be without my prince," she moaned, as she started walking. She had no other real option at this point, except to hope she found civilization, or at least water, somewhere. After walking for some time, she hadn't seen anything by more sand. But finally, she climbed atop a sand dune, and noticed a river. On reflex, Juvia dashed down to it, but upon arriving at it, she noticed the river was murky, and dark. It didn't take a genius to realize that the river was tainted. But where there was a river, there were people, and Juvia figured that if she followed the river, she'd find someone with drinkable water.

After walking for even longer, she finally saw buildings in the distance, the beginnings of a city, and when Juvia finally arrived, she was awed by the sight of it. The city was vast, with great column and statues. Juvia had a feeling it may have been beautiful at one point, but had since fallen into ruin. Unfortunately, there wasn't a single person, just more broken structures and statues. That was when she saw the pyramid.

Being even taller than the Mercurius castle in Crocus, with an other wordly shine to them, Juvia couldn't help but be drawn to it. She wondered if it was made as a tomb, or a palace. She figured it could perhaps have been both, as she found herself drawn up stairs leading into the pyramid. Framing the entrance, were two painted statues of humanoid beings, only with the heads of animals; one with a falcon, the other with a crocodile. However, as she approached the entrance, in a flash, the statues moved, so that the spears they were holding blocked the way in.

Leaping back, Juvia looked up, to see the statue looking straight at her. That was when she felt something grab her leg; turning into water, she managed to get away, as seven figures pulled themselves out of the sand. They were emancipated, skeletal beings, wrapped partly in bandages, with hollow eye sockets. They were clad in armor, and carrying long curved blades. While the armor and blade looked old, they were not rusted, and seemed in good condition.

"Intruder in the city of the King, " one of the beings poke. Its voice was dry, and raspy. A chill ran down Juvia's spine; these beings were far too similar to Keyes from Tartaros.

"Who are you?" another one of the being's demanded, pointing its sword at the mage.

"My name is Juvia," Juvia answered, "I'm just passing through."

"A likely story. One many tomb raiders have used before."

"Juvia is not a tomb raider!" Juvia insisted.

"That's what they all say," one of the warriors sneered, though that was hard to do when one didn't have any lips. Deciding enough had been said, all seven sprung at the Rain Woman together. The first blades passed cleanly through Juvia's water body, who then splashed out of the way.

"What magic is this?" one warrior growled.

"You're no match for me," Juvia said, "Just let me go. I'll never come back again." Admittedly that was a bluff, since Juvia couldn't be sure what they were capable of, or what kinds of magic they had their disposal.

"We will not tolerate the presence of intruders in the lands of the Great Settra!"

"Settra?" Juvia asked. She hadn't meant to say that out loud, but considering how all the warriors visibly flinched, she must've said something wrong.

"You dare to tell us you do not know of Settra the Imperishable? The Great Lion of Khemri?"

"The Emperor of the Shifting Sands?"

"The Eternal Sovereign of Khemri's Legions?" As they listed more titles, Juvia tried not to roll her eyes, until they finally had enough.

"Look, I'm not from here," she said, "Don't blame me for not knowing about your country."

"It doesn't matter, trespassing in the home of Settra is a crime, and all must face justice for their crimes." Before Juvia could say anything further, the seven soldiers sprung at him immediately, swinging their swords at him. The blades passed cleanly through Juvia's water body again. However, instead of dodging, she decided it was time to fight back.

"Water Slicer!" A stream of water blades lashed out from them, though these soldiers proved more agile than they looked, managing to dodge or block most of her attacks. So with that in mind, and knowing the more she used her Water Magic, Juvia decided to take it to the next step.

"Water Nebula!" A massive stream of water formed, and washed over the soldiers. They tried to hold their ground, but the force eventually sent all the warriors careening away, slamming into the stone structures. When the water receded, they are all on the ground, not moving. Juvia let out a gasp, thankful that it was over, only to find it was far from over.

Suddenly an extremely powerful aura descended upon the area. So powerful, it rivaled the master's when he was mad. That was when Juvia saw him, as the statues knelt before the figure descending from the entrance of the pyramid. This new figure was taller than all the others. He was also dressed in armor, but his was far more intricate. A large crown was also on top of his head, and a pole with a blade on the end was in his hand, that had a golden glow emitting from the blade.

"On your feet, all of you," he ordered. Immediately, the soldiers all rose, to Juvia's horror, and they all knelt before the figure.

"By your will, King Settra!" they all said in perfect unison. Juvia looked at the being, who she now knew was Settra, the king of the country she was apparently in.

"Juvia isn't here to pick a fight," Juvia said, holding up her hands, "She was just trying to defend herself." Settra descended to the ground level, spinning his weapon through his hand as he did.

"You can summon water out of nothing," Settra noted, "Even I have never seen such power."

"Juvia is not from here."

"So I gathered," the undead being said, as he came closer to Juvia, who stepped further back. While it was impossible to tell what he was thinking from that decayed face, Juvia didn't like the way he spoke.

"This magic is interesting," Settra said, "It deserves some study."

"Juvia is not some lab rat!" the water mage answered. She had a feeling Settra would be rolling his eyes if he had any.

"You will be coming with me," he said bluntly, "Preferably by choice, since I'd rather not damage you." Juvia's response, was to take a battle stance.

"Very well, I'll oblige." Juvia acted first, sending a stream of water at him. The king easily dodged the attack, and dashed forward, swinging his glowing blade at the Rain Woman. Juvia expected it to simple phase through her as always, only for the weapon to blast her with a stream of light, sending her flying.

"Wha..," Juvia muttered, as she slowly got up.

"The Blessed Blade of Ptra can cut through anything," Settra said, holding up his weapon, "Now I give you another chance. Come with me willfully, or I'll fell you in a single strike."

"Juvia won't bend for you!"

"And neither does Settra." In an instant, he flashed over to her, and Juvia didn't even have time to hold up her arms, before a glowing fist slammed into her cut. That was the last thing Juvia remembered before she was struck unconscious.

Note: Juvia with the Tomb Kings happened more by process of elimination. I wanted someone to go to the Tomb Kings, and nobody really fit well, and since Juvia didn't fit well with any group really either, things just happened. I think it can lead to an interesting scenario.

From the research I've done about the Tomb Kings, unlike the Vampire Counts, while their mummified Tomb Guard are strictly loyal to their sovereigns, they still have a level of free will. However, when unprepared to deal with a woman who can create massive torrents of water from her body, even the Tomb Guard would be overwhelmed. Granted, against Settra, easily in the top 5 best fighters in the Warhammer world, even Juvia might be overwhelmed. Speaking of which, it bears mentioning that while Settra was certainly a arrogant, ruthless and an all around douchebag, he was really no worse than some of the other "great" leaders of the Old World.

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