The Halls of Reikland
One thing Karl Franz knew from youth was that ruling was about small duties just as much as it was about big. Little activities like signing documents could have just as big of an impact on Reikland as leading ten thousand men into battle against a Greenskin horde depending on the nature of the document. These lessons became all the heavier when Franz became the Emperor, and every duty ceased being "little" in their entirety.
Franz had been returning from inspecting a garrison in Bögenhafen, to the Southwest of Altdorf. The night had been somewhat restless, which unfortunately left Franz with little energy to get through the day, but he made do, as he was often forced to; it was part of being emperor, after all. But then one morning, as they were breaking camp, a message came from Altdorf, and from none other than the Supreme Patriarch of the Colleges of Magic, Balthasar Gelt.
Gelt and Franz had a decent working relationship, but that was more or less the extent of their relationship. The Patriarch generally didn't come to the Emperor unless he needed something, and vice versa, and it was arrangement both men seemed happy with. Franz always found gelt's attitude abrasive and arrogant, making him an all around unpleasant person to be around; but he was still one of the greatest spell casters the Empire had ever seen, and he did his duties diligently. Perhaps that was the best the Emperor could hope for, and all he could really ask. At any rate, Franz liked to keep up to date on magical affairs in the Empire, or at least in Reikland, for reasons that were probably obvious. Unfortunately, Gelt wasn't always the most forthcoming or communicative of men, so Franz sometimes needed a personal servant there to let him know what was going on. That was why it was such a surprise when .
Some protested that the Adviser on Magical Affairs didn't call on the Emperor, but Franz didn't care much for. Besides, if Gelt thought it necessary to personally call Franz, then it must've been serious. With that, Franz took Deathclaw to mount, and flew ahead to Altdorf on his own, save for a small company of pegasus riders. He got to Altdorf as the sun was setting, and he went straight to the Colleges, where he was now waiting in a conference room for Gelt to arrive.
"This is unacceptable," Imperial Chancellor Siegfried von Walfen grumbled, "The emperor should not have to wait on anyone, least of all in Reikland."
"It's no real matter," Franz answered, "If I concerned myself over such trivialities then I wouldn't get anything done in the day." As if on cue, the door opened, and in walked the golden masked visage of the Supreme Patriarch.
"Emperor," Gelt said, bowing his head briefly. Trailing behind him was a younger man with the shaved head and blue robes of a Celestial Magister, who bowed a bit more formerly.
"Gelt," Franz answered, with a nod of his head.
"You got here quickly," Gelt said, "That's good."
"Mind your tone, Magister," Siegfried said.
"Not when there are things that need saying, I won't," Gelt answered plainly, "And I was speaking to the Emperor, not you."
"I will give you this, Gelt," Franz said, folding his arms, "You never mince words."
"Minced words lead to mis-casted spells," Gelt said as he walked around the table, "And I'm afraid we are on a bit of a schedule, so I will make this as brief as I can. Late last night, our keepers in the Orrery Hall noticed a disturbance the Winds of Magic. We're not sure what, but they were thrown into disarray, as if a great hand had reached down, and swept them all about."
"With you so far," Franz said with a nod.
"When I went to investigate, I noticed the Winds were churning particularly aggressively in this very region," Gelt said, "And it was not that far from Altdorf, so I went to investigate personally on Quicksilver." That made Franz frown; he knew that dark things generally followed churning Winds.
"And what did you find?" The emperor then asked. For once, Gelt was silent, as he looked down, though his masked face remained as stoic as ever.
"It would be easier for me to just show you," he said, as he gestured with his head.
()
Gelt lead the emperor and his chancellor down into the halls of the college, and to Franz's surprise, they were joined by a lector of the Church of Sigmar, one Lector Morden. That was strange, since the clergy normally avoided the colleges whenever they could, and when they did come to the colleges, it was to inspect them for any dark infiltration. Even though magic had been an established institution in Altdorf for hundreds of years now, the suspicion stubbornly refused to go away. On the other hand, Franz knew their suspicions weren't always unfounded; after all, a number of their inspectors didn't leave empty handed.
Eventually, Gelt brought the retinue all the way down into the college dungeons (which Franz never understand the need for, this was a school after all), and there he revealed what this was all about. It was three people, two women and a man. They all had certain common qualities, though, to include hair as white as snow. Perhaps they were related? And while Franz was himself a married man, he couldn't deny that both women, particularly the older looking one, were beautiful.
"We found them to the Southwest, not far from Weissbruck," Gelt said, "All around them the Winds were in flux."
"If that's true then we should do away with them at once," Morden said, as he grabbed at the hammer pendant that hung from his neck, "Clearly they must've come from horrid places."
"Let's not jump to conclusions," Franz said, holding up a hand, "They could just be lost travelers, or perhaps aspiring mages who botched a spell."
"They are definitely mages," Gelt said, "Of that much we can be sure."
"How are you so certain?" the lector asked.
"I would not expect you to notice, lector, but those who know the Winds can see it," Gelt said plainly (which made Morden grunt slightly), as he gestured to them, "There is an energy around them, a sort of aura, one that marks them clearly as magic users."
"And they have been unconscious all this time?" Franz asked.
"Yes," Gelt answered, "We've examined them as best we could, but they don't seem to be at all out of the ordinary. I fear we might need to wait for them to wake up before we can find out anything meaningful." As he was talking, a servant came hurrying down the stairs.
"And if they are in service to darkness, then we need to act quickly," Morden said, "We cannot afford to take risks."
"So you would immediately throw three potentially innocent lives into the fire based on mere supposition?" Gelt asked, lightly tapping his staff on the floor.
"If it means saving throngs more from an even worse fate, I think it an even trade." As the two were arguing, the servant whispered something in the chancellor's ear, as his eyes widened, then narrowed. He then nodded in understanding, and the servant hurried away.
"Your Majesty," Walfen said, coming over to the emperor (who had been about to step in and break up the argument), "Something has come up, and you are needed back at the palace."
"What is it?" Franz asked, narrowing his own eyes.
"It would be quicker to tell you on the way," Walfen said, gesturing, "But we need to leave now." Figuring whatever the chancellor was on about was urgent if he felt the need to press the issue now, Franz nodded in understanding.
"In the mean time, I'm leaving them in your custody, Gelt," Franz said, looking at the Patriarch, "They are your responsibility going forward."
"Of course, my Emperor," Gelt said, bowing slightly, "I will see to it."
"With your leave, Your Majesty," Morden said, stepping forward, "I would have a lector inspect them as well. If they are at all corrupted, we cannot afford to act slowly."
"Enough of that," Franz interjected, holding up a hand, "The lector has a point. While I'm not going to pass judgement on them so soon, we should be alert to potential threats. That being said, since this is still the purview of the College, I expect the lector to not do anything drastic." That was enough for Morden who gave a smirk, though Gelt's covered face betrayed no reaction.
"Good fortune to both of you," Franz said, looking between them, before turning to leave, "Sigmar be with you."
()
Mirajane was the first to wake up. She groaned as she sat upon, realizing that she was lying on a cot in what looked like a cell; she noticed her siblings lying across the cell in separate cots, which made her let out a sigh of relief. There was a window high on the wall, letting in a little more natural light, which helped with the otherwise dim braziers that hung for the walls of the dungeon they were apparently in.
She wasn't entirely sure what had happened; last thing she'd remembered was she was at the bar, watching as their strongest team was assembled around a table, looking at some tome or whatever that they got for a reward. Natsu was reading something from it, and though Mirajane didn't remember what it was, she did remember one repeated word: "change".
"Mirajane?" Lisanna's voice said as she sat up as well. Mirajane let a sigh of relief at the sight, before she went over to Elfman, and gently shook him.
"Elfman," she said, "Elfman, wake up!" The middle sibling grunted slightly as he leaned up, rubbing his head.
"Ah man," he said, "What happened?"
"I don't know," Mirajane answered, looking around, "It looks like a dungeon."
"A dungeon?" Lisanna asked, "We're imprisoned?"
"Seems to be that way," Mirajane said as Elfman got up, and walked over the bars.
"These bars don't feel magical," Elfman said as he gripped them, "I think I can..."
"Elfman wait!" Mirajane said, holding up her hand, "We don't know where we are. If we break out, where would we go?"
"She's right," Lisanna said with a nod, "What're we going to do? Just run out and hope we find the others." Now Elfman wasn't argue with his sisters, especially not when they had a good point, but it still frustrated him being kept in the cage.
"So what do we do then?" He asked, stepping away from the bars. Mirajane was going to open her mouth to answer, but she didn't need to, as there was the sound of a door opening down the hall. The siblings tried to stick their heads out of the bars to see the people approach, and indeed they saw two men approaching them.
One man looked younger, perhaps around the same age as Mirajane. His head was shaved, and he wore blue robes, with a sapphire necklace hanging around his neck. The other man looked substantially older, and had a bushy beard that blended into his brown hair framing a hard, stern face. He was wearing a steel plate armor, and had a sword and a gun on each hip.
"So, you're finally awake?" The older man asked, looking them up and down, "So then, care to tell us what this is all about?"
"If you want to find out let us out!" Elfman said, "Real men don't hide behind bars, they face their opponents head on!"
"Are you are opponent, though?" The older man asked.
"Depends," Elfman said, gripping the bars tighter.
"Elfman please," Mirajane said, putting a hand on her brother's shoulder. That made him calm down some, as he took a breath, and stepped back.
"Well, I'm Mirajane Strauss," Mirajane said, bowing respectfully, "And this is my brother Elfman, and my sister Lisanna."
"Hey."
"Hello."
"Strauss, you say?" The older man said, arching an eyebrow. The younger man was also looking carefully at them, as his eyes narrowed.
"You're mages, aren't you?" He asked.
"Y-yes!" Lisanna said, surprised how they could tell that so easily, "How could you tell?"
"You have the aura of magic around you," the man said, gesturing with his staff, "What kind of magic?"
"Oh well, we use Takeover magic," Mirajane said, "All three of us."
"Takeover?" The man asked, cocking his head and frowning.
"Yes," Mirajane said with a nod, "You know. Where you absorb the traits and qualities of various creatures to gain their abilities?"
"So… like the Lore of Beasts?" The man said.
"The lore of what now?" Elfman asked, being the one to cock his head this time. That made the young man, frown some more, but he didn't say anything, as he looked away.
"But yeah, we're mages," Lisanna said, "We're from the guild, Fairy Tail."
"Guild?" The older man asked, "As in a worker's guild?"
"Yeah," Elfman said, "What other kinds of guilds are there?" The two men looked at each other, both clearly befuddled by the situation they were in. The older one then gestured with his head, and they both turned to leave.
"Wait!" Mirajane called, trying to look past the bars, "Can you at least tell us where we are?"
"Someplace you won't be leaving anytime soon." With that, the Strauss siblings were alone again.
"Damn it!" Elfman cursed as he grabbed at the bars again, "Why are they keeping us here?"
"And why did they act so surprised when we told them what we did?" Lisanna asked, "I mean, mage guilds are all over the world. And I know Takeover isn't an extremely common form of magic and all, but most people I've run into since joining the guild seem to know what it is."
"I…. I don't know," Mirajane said as she sat on the cot, bringing her legs in, "I don't know what's going on." Elfman and Lisanna exchanged looks, before both of them sat down as well. Really, it was the only thing they could do at this point, and none of them liked that.
"I hope the others are alright," Lisanna said softly.
()
Dieter Durnberg had been twelve when he and his family took note of his magical abilities; fortunately he was in a city instead of a village at the time (Talabheim), which meant he wasn't abandoned or run out for it. More specifically, he had something of a talent for the Blue Wind of the Heavens, and so he went to the College of Heavens. During his time there, Dieter hadn't proven exceptional, but he did well enough in his classes and his studies. Whatever it was about him that Gelt took note of, Dieter didn't know, but it must've been something, as Gelt took him on as his personal apprentice.
Dieter was not the only one who had been tasked to investigate the strange newcomers. Captain Hans Drescher was an officer in the Imperial Guard, a veteran of multiple battles, and a trusted guard for the Emperor and his family. That just left Lector Mathieu, who worked in the Cathedral as an aid; Dieter didn't know much about him, but his master had always told him to be wary of those coming on the Church of Sigmar's behalf. While Dieter was himself a loyal worshipper of Sigmar, and he suspected Gelt was as well, the Church didn't always have the interests of Sigmar at heart; after all, they were just as human as everyone else in Altdorf. Either way, in this capacity, every important office in Altdorf was being represented, without the influence of the others.
"Well, I'm not sure if that was informative or not, but at least we know a little bit more about them than we did at the start," Hans said, as he took a swig from his water skin, "'Strauss' does sound vaguely like a name in the Empire, though. Perhaps in Stirland or Averland?"
"A guild for spell casters?" the lector asked, his lip turning up in distaste, not that it was a surprise to both Dieter or Hans. He was distrustful enough of magic users as was, and in his perfect world, Dieter would be behind those bars as well.
"It's not completely absurd," the astromancer said, "There are guilds for just about every other occupation, why not mages?"
"They all carry that mark somewhere on their bodies," the lector said, "Have either of you seen it before?"
"I'm certainly not familiar with that symbol, but I doubt it's anything severe," Hans said, frowning at the lector, "Most likely it's just the crest of their guild. Many guilds carry crests like that. Not everything is some dark conspiracy, and I think your suspicion won't help this investigation."
"Suspicion saves lives in the Empire, Captain, no to mention souls," Mathieu said, a hard look on his face, "I will not apologize for doing as much. I shall inspect them myself later, and if they are free of corruption, then we can remove them from the city, and send them on their way. But if they aren't, then we will have to act quickly and decisively."
"That is not your decision to make, lector," Hans said, "The Emperor himself put them in the care of the College." Dieter bit his lip, but didn't say anything, not wanting to be brought into this argument. But it was starting to seem like he didn't have a choice.
"I think all we can do is just wait, and find out what we can, right?" Dieter asked. The captain and the lector exchanged looks, before the latter nodded.
"I will report our findings to His Majesty," Hans said, as he turned to leave, "I suspect you all do the same."
"And I shall return to the Cathedral," Mathieu said, "I've spent enough time in this unnatural place."He seemed to be expecting a response, but Dieter opted not to give it; he was told to never take the bait the lectors would dangle in front of them.
"May Sigmar keep you safe," the lector said, before he turned and left. With that, Dieter was alone, as he leaned into his hands with a sigh. Unfortunately, he had his own reports to make.
()
"Leave it to the lectors to think with their zeal before their logic," Gelt griped, as he and Dieter made their way down the hall, "They spend more of the time shifting through ancient scrolls and polishing their hammers than they do working to understand the world around them. Make sure the prisoners are kept under guard, and make double sure that those guards are loyal to the College."
"Of course, Master," Dieter said as he hurried to keep pace with the Patriarch, "Anything else?"
"What did you make of them?" Gelt asked, glancing back.
"I... I don't know," Dieter answered honestly, "I've never felt aura's like there's before. They bring to mind the Lore of Beasts, but that's the extent of what I can tell." That was when Gelt finally stopped, so suddenly in fact that Dieter would've bumped into him if he hadn't been quick enough.
"Keep them close," Gelt said, looking down at his apprentice, "We don't know much about them, and that does not sit right with me. I expect that to change before long, do you understand?"
"Yes, Supreme Patriarch," Dieter said, bowing his head, but as the Patriarch was starting to leave, he called for him, "Master?" Gelt stopped, and only turned slightly.
"The oldest of them, the one who called herself 'Mirajane'," he said.
"What of her?"
"Her aura, it... it...," he trailed off slightly, running a hand over his bald head. Whatever he was referring to though, Gelt picked up on it. The Patriarch let out a sigh, as he hung his head slightly, drumming a finger on his staff.
"Continue your duties as you are instructed," he said, "We will deal with this one step at a time. And keep such observations to yourself from now on." Dieter opened, then closed his mouth, before nodding. With that, Gelt took his leave, leaving Dieter behind, as he looked back over his shoulder. He then spoke the word that both were thinking; he wasn't sure why exactly, though. Maybe he just had to say it in order to truly understand it.
"Daemons."
Note: I opted to place the Strauss' in the Empire this time in part just because I knew someone would have to be with them at one point or another, though I will admit that they might not fit as well as some of the others do into their factions. Not all of them are going to be obvious fits as the Dragon Slayers in Ulthuan and Cathay are, after all. But as was hinted at the end, Mirajane's "Satan Soul" might raise more than eyebrows amongst the Sigmarites.
Note that Dieter technically isn't an OC; he's referenced a couple times as Gelt's apprentice, though that's about the limit of what I was able to find about about.
Now I know a lot of people liked the relationship that formed between Mirajane and Malekith, and I won't lie, I did enjoy writing it myself, but looking back, it was (once again) too ambitious. When you get a faction like the Druchii, who are defined as the sadistic, unfailingly cruel race of slavers, you can only do so much with them. My plan had been for Mirajane to be a good influence on Malekith, which would lead to him finally making peace with what had happened to him, and giving up on his goal to conquer Ulthuan. This would naturally lead to a Dark Elf civil war that would end with Mirajane and Malekeith killing Morathi together; the two would go on to lead the remaining Dark Elves to redeem themselves, and they would become an Order-aligned faction, culminating in Mirajane giving birth to Malekith's son, and becoming the "Shadow Queen of Naggaroth". I'm sure that would've been fun to write and read, but I think I bit off more than I could chew with that; redeeming individual character is one thing, but redeeming an entire empire that had been defined as evil for thousands of years would be a whole 'nother. It was just too ambitious, and I'm not sure if it would've ended out as good as I was otherwise hoping it would.
Be sure to leave a comment. Again, thanks for all the support.
