Thanks to all any faithful readers of this story! Okay, here goes, another chapter of Ruz's life! Enjoy!
Exactly six months later, I found myself yet again in the chamber of the councilman. The entire council and a few others had shown up to this event. It was raucous with a few dozen whispers. Some eyes glared at me while others admired. Ignoring them, I glanced at any reflective object could find to check on my appearance. My fur has been brushed so many times over the course of my prepared arrival that it was now very smooth, soft, and had a natural shine. I was pleased at my new look. Even my claws were formed to decent length. Unfortunately, my tail wouldn't stop twitching nervously. I had six months of training, just to appear before them, never in my life did I imagine I'd meet them - without father by my side. If he were still alive, this meeting would be less nerve-wracking. Just as I calmed myself down, the gravity lift in the center of the room came up, revealing our triumvirate Lords. The room hushed down instantly as I knelt down in submission. I quickly examined their Holinesses, I noticed that Truth was the leader of the three. Oddly, from knowledge, his age lies between the other two. I expected Mercy to be the leader, as wise as he is old.
"Rise up, Sangheili." I stood up with my spine straighter than it ever had been before; I would not allow nerves or emotions distract me from my goal! I would bring honor to my father's name and his grave!
"Ah, yes, so you must be the Shipmaster's daughter, am I correct?"
At first, words escaped me, but the memory of my father aided my tongue.
"I am, Your Holiness."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, kin of N'tho." Interjected Mercy, as he did, he bowed his head slightly, showing me respect. I was honorably surprised to this gesture. I bowed a most genuine bow of thankfulness.
"As we understand it, you wish to become a warrior in our Empire. For what reason do you, as a female, have to join our ranks?" Regret was the one to be straight to the point.
"Noble Ones, I may be female but I do not come to you on this day just a female who wishes for equality, but I have asked you for your attention to my father's dying wish." I picked my words to the best of my abilities; having rehearsed countless lines, when not being taught manners, from Orri. Fortunately, I predicted various questions and answers they would give me and this should allow me to answer and reason with them appropriately. "His very last words spoke of honoring your names, silencing those unworthy to live. His only wish was that I follow in his footsteps. I had hoped that on this day, he would be here, as my advocate, as my leader in this war. However, his passing has put me forward to a place where I stand alone in the field of battle. Though our enemies may be numerous, a true warrior walks fearlessly towards his victory and the Path! This is what my father has taught me while sparring with me. I only beg that you not take my request as my own, but as one from a fallen soldier whose linage remains strong." I picked my words carefully, as not to enrage them.
It was silent for a moment. I had realized I raised my voice as I tend to do when I become enthusiastic. "Forgive my sudden outburst of noise, O Great Ones." I looked around the room as they whispered amongst themselves. I noticed the Lieutenant sitting next to Chancellor. I'm assuming that by his presence, he obviously isn't old enough to be Councilman. Perhaps maybe a Councilman in training? Possibly not…yet, no other reason comes to mind as to why he would be sitting in the room during this discussion. Truth stroked his beard, taking a breath, as if he would reply to what I had to say.
"Filth!" I heard a voice cry out in the room. "Do not let her walk amongst us!" I knew who it was. "Why should we allow such a creature whose origins SHE doesn't even know into our ranks?" Said Garr.
"What evil has she committed by walking into our doors? Why not let her prove her worth before rejecting her, Councilman?" Mercy interposed.
"My Lord, she has committed none, but we cannot trust her!"
"For what reason?"
The Councilman didn't speak for a moment. At first, I expected them all to adjourn this silly dispute and call me into the ranks. Until one of Garr's lackey's spoke up and for Garr's loss of words…
"Noble Ones, do you not see her…her visage? It is not of this City! Or Sangheilos!" He exclaimed.
"I concur, Councilors." Agreed Regret. By this time, I could not only feel Garr's eyes staring at me, as if heated plasma trying to burn my very soul, but also the overwhelming notion that Regret more than likely wishes for my death. This assembly would not be so painlessly brief.
"But Prophet of Regret, Garr, we haven't even received the chance of observing her skills. And you, Garr, of all species should know that if honor is present, your kind is eager to train and pleased to follow if made a leader." Mentioned one of the San 'Shyuum Councilors.
"Indeed, Minister. Our kind values honor above all else. It is the driving point of why we fight for the Journey. And NOT through blind ambition. Or have you left what remains of that to be butchered by your lack of morality, Garr?" Chancellor Alei pressed on. Garr was no doubt fuming; for which I am eternally grateful by those supportive of my excursion.
"Be as it may, honor or not, we can't simply accept something that we do not know the origins of. But, on the same hand, without careful observation and testing, we will not know just how capable she is at fighting, either." Truth interfered. It seemed he saw both sides of the argument. At least two of the three weren't against me, or the odds wouldn't be in my favor and I'd be in pieces by now.
"But…my lord!" Garr was growing upset and impatient now. Blatantly giving me the most hateful scowl, he pointed at me. "While we may not know exactly where her blood has its origins, I surmise that at least half of it comes from whatever world the Demons descended from!" If he was not so furious, I could swear he had a smirk that would scare even a Jiralhanae.
By this point, redundant and new accusations and spats commenced within the room; undoubtedly stemmed from the event that took place the first time I arrived to this room.
"Quiet! I demand stability in this council! We all have heard what you have to say, now let us dissect to the very conclusion before this entire preoccupation gets out of hand!" The room was more calm than it had been before the Prophets had entered. "Now that this quarrel has stilled, let us all reason together rather than brashly be verbally at each other's throats. Now, Chancellor, you said you had important news to state as we discussed this matter?" Alei leaned forward.
"Yes, Your Godliness. I have here Garr's Lieutenant who desired strongly to participate in this event. He still hasn't given me a reason as to why yet." My attention was drawn towards him. What reason could he be here?"
"Yes, uh, well…" The Lieutenant cleared his throat.
"Well, go on, Nikhal." He told him. Nikhal stood up, shaking slightly.
"Um…yes, greetings Noble Ones. I am..I am Nikhal 'Sivee."
"Are you training to be a Councilor, Nikhal?" Truth asked him.
"Yes, he his, your Grace, however, I wasn't aware he had plans on attending this assembly…" Garr spoke up.
"I'm sorry, sir…I-"
"Councilman Garr, I was not inquiring for an answer from you, only to him. Now then, Nikhal?" He looked at the Prophet and swallowed hard.
"Well….forgive me, my Lord, if I seem unusually nervous. This isn't at all like me. However, I am uh…quite interested in seeing what she has to offer in the training grounds with my comrades and myself." He said, now speaking very bravely. This shocked me. I still was discerning the rationale for this council-to-be's fascination with me.
"You mean what entertainment she has to offer?" Garr chuckled. A few others did also. Nikhal glared at his specialist.
"No, sir. I mean what experience, as a different gender and mindset, could she enlighten us with? What could she teach us through her father's upbringing? After all, her father was a notable Shipmaster. How unfortunate of his passing, might I add." He looked directly at me, saying this. I was flummoxed. No one else bothered to console me about my father, not even Mercy. Never you mind that his reasoning for support of me is more naïve being younger than the others, he defended me!
"What? Surely, you're not siding with the buffoons who think this eyesore should be perceived as equal to us and live to fight along side us?" He said, chuckling again. This time, no one joined him. His side of the jury, all Sangheili that is, eyeballed Garr with a deadly gaze. And quickly, he attempted to foolishly right his wrong.
"I mean, um…" He had not only insulted a noble warrior, Chancellor Alei, but also insulted Hierarch Mercy.
"How dare you!" Chancellor proclaimed, more concerned with Mercy's well-being rather than his own.
"I cannot believe you just said that, Councilman!" A San 'Shyuum said.
"What arrogance! And to think, I sided with you!" Another said.
"Garr, you have just soiled upon your own rank. What say you?" Mercy said in his own defense.
"I…You see…what I meant was…" He knew he had been caught. This whole time, his act of tyranny was nothing more than a game to cause a riot. True, he may have actually despised me, being something unknown to him, but he could have dealt with me personally and quietly if he truly wanted to. But instead, he chose to attempt and humiliate me publicly; and possibly even the Hierarchs if given the chance.
Still, there were others who were loyal to his reasoning, but not necessarily him. And for that, Truth ended this entire thing.
"Very well, despite the fact that Garr has pathetically try to cause harm to an individual deserving of no punishment to any crime committed, I hereby declare Garr stripped of his rank. The only affiliation you have now as a Councilman is to continue to teach your apprentice, as you are his father. But as far as ever stepping foot in here again, if anyone here sees him doing so, you are to, at that moment, take the limb that touched this very floor from his body and bring it to me at once! Nikhal, you are granted a promotion but you still must train daily to earn that rite. Your teacher's other punishment that will earn him death is if he fails is to teach his apprentice how to be a Councilman and the opposite of everything he has stood for in this assembly." Truth took a deep breath and looked to my direction.
"Now then. To the important affair at hand. Ruz 'Malamee, we recognize that your father was an exceptional warrior and an inspiring leader among us all. Therefore, we will not hesitate to take his last dying wish into account-"
"But my Lord, her origins!" Garr desperately cried out, pitifully trying to reason with the highest authority.
"One more utter from your detestable tongue and I will send you to the cell whose quarters house carnivorous Kig-Yar that will gladly rip off all your mandibles and consume them!" Garr recoiled and slunk into his seat.
"As I was saying… we will honor his desire. But, even though Garr is no longer a threat to you now as he is very much a fool, we still have to assess your origins. Do you have any idea where you acquired your…visage?" He queried.
"No, I'm afraid not. Father didn't know, and neither did Sasa 'Jinaree. He was the one who rescued me from the hands of his rebellious brother."
"Who was that brother of his, Ruz?" Mercy asked me.
"That is something I do not know also, I've never met his brother face to face."
"How long has it been since you saw Sasa?"
There was a piece of information I haven't thought of at all.
"Well…unless the initial impact of unconsciousness just before speaking to my father one last time had destroyed my discernment, I saw him that very day. He was supporting my father, as his best friend, and me, as a family member, during my training lesson. That lesson was to be one of, if not, the last of my spar training"
"In any case, back to the root of my topic. You do not know the origins of your visage and therefore cannot inform us of any inherent genetic heresies to be cleansed or healed of, then we have no choice but to please both sides."
I knew that "cleansing" meant rid of forever; destroy, kill. That was obvious. But this business of pleasing both sides?
"As of now, odds are in your favor, young one. The council has dramatically changed its opinion based on the constant murmurs I overheard. With our blessing, you are accepted into the Covenant Empire and its soldiers-" The individuals that impressed so much upon the others who were in terror of me cheered with a loud joyous noise. Not an extremely long cheer, but more along the lines of a blunt shout of victory. I was glad to see that without speaking directly to any of them, I had acceptance into a family of warriors.
"-However, due to the reality of the unknown still lingering in your shadow, we will not only assess your skills and talents, we will push you harder than your father ever did. As I'm sure, he challenged you to your greatest height whilst simultaneously gently leading you as his precious daughter. He did indeed spoke fondly of you to his comrades; I've heard him say many things of you. Clearly, he valued you as much as he did his duty as a warrior. If you wish to follow in your fathers footsteps, we will be more than willing to grant you that and the satisfaction for his dying request. You will be accepted, as I stated before, all the same, you will be undergoing what your father did years ago. His trial was quite overbearing; exceeding the stamina of many average Sangheili, he rose to a greater height than his brethren. You, also, will have to show your worth in the same manner if you wish to step into his boots. On the same hand, your origins still baffle us at large and must be taken into consideration. Therefore, not only will you endure assessments that drive your inner warrior, you will have to complete this task over twice as much as the normal given time for a newly initiated Minor - seven weeks are the amount of time you will be given to prove yourself; starting tomorrow at sunrise. No more, no less. The Council who still adhere to the fool who began this charade will be happy to know whether or not she breaks under immense tension. If after the fact that she does prevail our task and those opposed her still adamantly try to harm her, any of those individuals will be stripped of their honor." He said with bitterness towards the remaining loyal dim-wits who side with Garr's reasoning. Those simpletons condescendingly talked amongst themselves, as if they won in the war of words, and making deals on what I assume is whether or not I would last the full seven weeks.
As Truth and the others adjourned the assembly and many of them took their leave, Nikhal motioned to me that I come follow him, as he knew the arrogant ones might do something suspicious to me if I crossed paths with them. Gladly, I made my way towards him, watching for any clues to his peculiar behavior.
"Um…hello, I am Nikhal. I, uh…I am eager to see you fight tomorrow." I took strong note of his anxiousness in his voice. I wondered if I was in any way intimidating to some.
"Oh, are you? You mean eager to see me fight…you?" I inquired.
"What? Oh, no. No, no, no, that is what I was meaning at all. All I meant was, eh…" He paused for a moment before I heard him swallowing a pocket of air. "I meant that I am eager to see how you do in a fight. To see who bests you and whom you best." He said this with more bravery in his voice tone, as if trying to impress me with these words.
"I see," I chuckled. "If you are eager to see how I spar with your comrades and just how long I'd last before giving up," I gave my own pause, leaning forward, not really paying attention to my motions. I noticed more apprehensiveness in his demeanor as I leaned forward. "Then maybe you should fight me yourself rather than waiting around for me to pick a fight." I said giving a smile with my mandibles. He nervously chuckled.
"Yes, of course." I huffed at his response, being humored by this strange male Councilor-to-be. "Very good, whenever fate has us both spar, we shall see who lasts the longest." I said walking away with a flick to my tail. Before I left the room, I turned my head behind me, saying one last piece of advice towards Nikhal. "One word of warning when that day comes, Nikhal, my father was one of the best swordsman in the Covenant. So don't be surprised if you spot a few cuts where you felt no pain." I said chuckling, nodding to him, and walked out the door, ready for my seven weeks of self-assessment.
Whew, my brain officially needs a break from this story until I can think again! I would very much appreciate some people noticing non-canon elements in this story or better ideas. I'm always willing to lend an ear to something more interesting! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the last! This is my longest chapter in this story so far as of Oct. 19th! Let's see if I can exceed six pages with another chapter :P
Next Time: Ruz begins her training and boy, is it rough! Will she make it through or given in to quitting her dream and her father's last request?