- TEARL REGION -
A breeze blew through the spaces between the windows, noticing the mild chill in the air, she went over to the fireplace and lit a clamp of wood. The fire sprung alight and immediately restored warmth to the cold dark room.
Knock, Knock, Pause** Knock**
A sequence of knocks at the door signaled a new arrival, at the sound of the knocks she quickly got up to her feet and approached the door.
"The roar of heaven's cry resounded through the skies..." The lady uttered before opening the door.
After a short pause, she heard a response from behind the door.
"...Like a rain of blood, the years trickled and dripped from the god's eyes."
Assured by the second party's response, the lady proceeded to open the door and was immediately embraced by the chilly evening breeze.
Without worrying about the cold, her gaze lay on the large burly mortal who stood a few millimeters above the threshold and his three companions behind him.
"Maricus." She stated with a sigh of relief.
"My lady."
The big man bowed deeply at the call of his name, and even with him bowing Maricus stood a few millimeters over the lady.
His behemoth size made him easy to recognize even at a distance, and the strength that came with him had been a great asset to her organization.
Maricus then turned to introduce the individuals that he had with him, with his large hand he gestured toward them and called forth their names one at a time.
"Tervin, Gelie, and Sarin."
The lady followed Maricus' large hand as he pointed them out and when he finished she spoke once more.
"Welcome."
Maricus and his companions were let into the house, then the lady proceeded to pour them cups of tea to help warm their bodies.
The three sat on the floor near the fireplace while Maricus stood across the room next to the lady.
The lady's hand ran across Maricus' sideburns and she held his cheek in her palm, her gaze then fell on his grey hair as she examined the decline of his youthful looks.
"It will take much more than Lord Proximo's curse to take me, my lady." Maricus mumbled gently.
She smiled warmly.
Maricus and the lady had met long before the start of the organization, however, her concentration on work had led her to disregard the well-being of her long-time friend.
"How are you fairing?" The lady asked with visible concern.
Maricus sighed.
"I have had better times, my lady."
Suddenly.
Knock, Knock, Pause** Knock**
A similar knock was heard at the door again, the lady immediately approached the door to recite the entry riddle as she had done before. However, Maricus quickly took charge and stood between her and the door.
"A child born of love and hatred, hidden away into the mortal's home..." With a deep voice, Maricus repeated a different phrase of the secret message.
"Where the divine's gaze could not be cast upon, nor could their feet dare to roam."
A swift response heralded the right answer to the secret message, but the lady did not recognize the voice, nor did Maricus.
The two looked at each other before affirming what they had to do, their organization had been built upon trust. So regardless of the situation, as long as the other party knew the secret message, the doors would have to open for them.
In the beginning many had been against this rule, they feared it would threaten the safety of the members and compromise their mission.
So to combat this an ever-changing secret message was created, and only those who remained loyal to the cause would have access to that message.
'The true message...'
The lady stood by the door and took a deep breath, she was not frightened, especially with Maricus standing boldly beside her. She had opened the same door to many a stranger but the feeling remained the same.
'Like a test of loyalty and faith.'
The lady smiled and proceeded to grab a hold of the handle and open the door.
The chilling breeze furiously whipped at her once more, but her gaze remained steady on the individual standing by the door.
Noticing her delayed reaction, Maricus tried to beckon to the lady, however, she remains standing as still as a statue entranced not by the cold, but by the flawless beauty of the young lady standing outside the door.
Maricus saw the figure and is immediately awed by her splendor, her marvelous mages cloak fluttering in the wind revealing strands of pale golden hair, her faint green eyes stare back at them with a dim gaze.
The two notice that the young lady did not exude any malicious intentions, but a sad aura of tranquility seemed to abash them in her presence.
"You are here." The lady finally exhaled as a familiar face suddenly appeared in the picture.
Maricus seemed to return to his senses as the other figure came into view, he shook his head as though to be sure he was awake.
"Where are my manners? Please come in."
The lady pushed the door open to let the two inside, it was odd of her to space out as she had, and she appeared visibly ashamed of holding her visitors by the door for that long.
"You seem weary." The figure stated as he walked by.
It was confirmed that the lady was exhausted, it had been taking most of her willpower just to stay awake lately. However, she merely waved the notion away and locked the door after the two had entered.
Later that night.
All the visitors gathered in the room with the fireplace. Maricus and the late figure stood at the edge of the room talking quietly and would occasionally give out a mild chuckle.
The young lady sat by the fire and quickly acquainted herself with Maricus' three companions.
After watching the group for what seemed like a while, the lady decided to walk into the room and provide them with more hot tea. The feeling of serving these mortals was nostalgic, it made her recall fond memories of long-past pleasures and delights.
"Valentius..." The lady beckoned to the late individual who then placed his cup of tea aside and approached the center of the room.
Maricus dismissed his three young companions from the room, but the young lady remained by the fire.
"I am sure you are all eager to learn the reason why I summoned you today." Valentius began.
Indeed.
The meeting had been made abruptly, but this only verified its significance.
Valentius began his story a few years in the past when he was still a Royal Guard in Quaria. He and his platoon had always been tasked with protecting the Princesses of Quaria at all times during their annual pilgrimage to the twin towers.
Each year he and his men completed their task and brought the Princesses back home safely. However, it was on one occasion when they were suddenly attacked that everything changed for them.
"Bandits attacking a Royal caravan? Absurd." Maricus interrupted.
"These would be no mere bandits then." The lady added.
Valentius nodded.
"Out of all the five carriages the attackers came out of nowhere, and immediately proceeded to target the one holding the Princesses."
"Coincidence?" Maricus queried.
Valentius smirked.
"Not at all." The lady concluded.
Unbeknownst to the attackers and many others, the Royal Guards were naught but the first line of defense for the Princesses.
So when a few of the attackers managed to break through the Royal Guards and charge the royal carriage, the atmosphere around the area seemed to freeze and every mortal could feel the air as though it was solid.
"What of you and your men?" Maricus jumped in once more. "Didn't any of you try to protect the Princesses?"
"They did not need protection." Valentius responded and proceeded to explain what occurred next.
Before the attacker could lay his hands on the carriage, he froze in midair, and when the Royal Guards looked around, they noticed that all their enemies seemed to have been halted by an unseen force.
After that event, the Emperor of Moriandia ordered the King of Quaria to send the young Princess to be trained under supervision in the capital.
It was unfortunate that the King was in no position to refuse, and after having kept this secret for so long, his plans to restore Quaria's complete independence were foiled.
"I have heard about this..." Maricus stated. Valentius paused waiting for the large man to proceed. "It was all over Morland. How some fools had attempted to assassinate the Princesses."
"Yes, the word did spread that way." Valentius continued. "That the Kingdom of Quaria was incapable of protecting their own."
"That's how the Empire stepped in..." Valentius shook his head in agreement, the lady was starting to fathom how deep the Empire's agenda went. "There was a traitor in Quaria..."
Maricus appeared stunned by the lady's realization, even he had not yet come to that conclusion.
"What if I told you that everything you knew up until now was a lie? That there was a much deeper goal to every little thing that had occurred and led up to that day?"
Valentius went on to explain to them events that happened earlier before the ambush on the road to Tazur.
The King of Quaria had known about the young Princess' immense potential during the her infant years, every Royal was naturally blessed by the divines to serve the mortals of Morland better.
However, in rare cases, Royal children were born with even greater gifts than those that came naturally.
A genius among geniuses.
The King knew this would shift the power balance in Morland, so he opted to keep it a secret until such a time was right.
Under the banner of a false pilgrimage, the King used his status to compel the Priests of Tazur and Priestesses of Mayur to teach the young Princess of divinic-level arts that only renowned mortals could managed to learn.
"Divinic arts? Those are some powerful lessons for a young child." Maricus commented unnecessarily.
The lady gave a mild smile as Valentius continued with his story. She understood why Maricus would scoff at that, the divinic arts were ancient teachings that once learned granted the learner near immesurable power.
However, not only were the divinic arts difficult to grasp, but the conditions required to qualify as a learner required decades of growth in mind, spirit, and body.
'An equilibrium of all three forms of understanding. To think a child would be born decades ahead of her time.' The lady wondered.
In short, this child would have to have been touched by Moria, to be able to use divinic arts that only the Morning Star the most powerful protector of Moriandia was known to be capable of using.
"The second Princess had the potential!" Valentius exclaimed climatically.
"Nonsense! Royal or not how could a child begin to fathom the divinic arts?" Maricus queried unconvinced.
"Wait-. What do you mean by 'had' Valentius?" The lady asked abruptly.
Valentius smiled and continued.
After the ambush, the second Princess was taken into the court of Moriandia, but unlike the King's goal of filling her daughter with divinic knowledge, the Emperor chose a more mellow path for Quaria's second Princess.
"Her talents were thrown out the window, and all because she was Lazuriel's descendant." Valentius lamented.
During the same time, rumors that the second Princess of Quaria had been taken prisoner to Moriandia spread across Morland.
Seeing how the King of Quaria did nothing in his daughter's situation, groups of mortals across Morland began rising to retaliate against this injustice.
Riots broke out in Moriandia, Quaria, and some of the small towns across the southern continent. Her people wanted her back, and the only way they could show it was to put pressure on the authorities all at once.
"These same individuals are the ones that greatly fueled the spreading of the Empire's dirt."
Maricus had mellowed, he appeared to be listening more attentively now as the events were now aligning with what he had experienced during his time.
"Indeed, this helped our order gain influence very quickly." Valentius smirked.
Before the end of the week, news of the second Princess training to become a Grand Rank Master reached Quaria, and the people's fires of retaliation began to dwindle. It was a profession that had yet to exist, and the Quarians were fooled into thinking that it was an honor.
"Little did they know it was part of the Empire's strategy to regain a chokehold on the Kingdom." Valentius's eyes seemed to tear up. "Fortunately, our message had already spread across Morland, the Empire was our enemy."
The second Princess completed her training as Grand Rank Master, but she was not allowed to return to Quaria.
To keep a close eye on her, the Emperor employed her in the capital, however, her abilities refused to dwindle and she later trained to become a powerful magic caster.
Valentius got up from his seat and walked to the window, a bitter expression had come upon his face.
"So even after trying to dull her potential with Rank Master abilities, she was still able to learn other magick like a normal mage?" The lady asked.
Valentius smiled meekly.
"Unfortunately, this only made the Emperor tighten the leash on her further." He continued. "Realizing her situation, the second Princess began to dull her potential purposely by using her Rank-Master abilities to fool everyone."
The second Princess made herself appear to have lost her grasp on the fundamentals of magicks and with it, her ability to wield divine power. She made herself seem to have burnt out her ability to absorb knowledge making her appear weak and dull.
The Emperor was reluctant, but his advisors urged him persistently until he was forced to send her away to the altar of Mayurinari in Mayur to learn about becoming a Priestess.
"As a Royal, being unable to use magick of the Titanic echelon was a disgrace. So the Emperor's advisors feared it would sully their reputation as well as the Emperor's honor if word got out that she was no longer gifted." Maricus smirked. "The second Princess truly was cunning."
The second Princess spent years locked in the libraries of Mayur quickly gaining more knowledge and mastering new arts. When not under supervision she sought forbidden spells and engaged in untold experiments uncovering various secrets for herself.
"Could this all be true?" The lady asked not fully convinced.
Valentius went silent.
"You still haven't convinced me." Maricus stated stubbornly.
Valentius merely smiled at them, his aura showed no signs of agitation or malice, it did not even fluctuate.
"You were right about them Valentius. They are a stubborn bunch." The young lady sitting by the fire suddenly spoke.
Maricus and the Lady turned to the young lady in bewilderment, the only reason they had let her listen in on the conversation was because Valentius had allowed her to stay. The two had already concluded what her identity may be, but such a situation was far too favorable for them to believe.
"Twenty years ago the Emperor took my purpose and my father let it all happen." The young lady stated from where she sat. "Neither of them deserve their thrones."
"You'd better not be in on this farse little girl!" Maricus warned the young lady.
The young lady carefully stood up from her sit and as she did, the light of the fire behind her illuminated her body right before their eyes. The two began to sense an aura that they have never felt before as the young lady's body glowed.
"Maricus! This aura..."
"It's... its neither mortal's nor beast's."
The glow proceeded to expand and eventually a light as bright as the sun enveloped the entire cabin, everyone was blinded by its brightness, but during this none of them felt a hint of fear, not for a moment.
On the contrary, it was the opposite feeling that filled them.
When the light faded, the young lady had already returned to her seated posture next to the fire, but this time she turned to face them.
"Now what I'm about to tell you happened a few days ago."