Chapter 13: A young candidate´s viewNotes:
The poll from last chapter was relatively indecisive so I get to decide how it is done. Probably half a chapter of Tanya´s thoughts that I add after Emilia´s POV. It´ll be fun.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 13
Crusch was irritated that this mysterious fifth candidate would not show herself. Had she no spine? Cowards were not fit to be queen and whoever this woman was her first impression had already been terrible. To not even show her face was a sign of huge disrespect towards the gathered nobles and the other candidates as well. Even Emilia had faced the hateful glares and contemptuous comments of the audience with as much courage as she could muster which earned her Crusch´s respect.
But when she saw how the girl captured the attention of the whole room instantly without saying a word, she understood her reasoning. It was clever to stay in the shadows and observe until the perfect moment, even if it was dishonourable.
The girl looked no older than fifteen years, but her posture spoke of determinations and dignity that came from experience. Her presumption was proven correct when the mystery girl floated up the stairs which was a not very subtle way to demonstrate her enormous magical potential and matching skill. Crusch was extremely sure that the girl had added the dramatic billowing of her cape intentionally to make her entrance even grander than it actually was. Nonetheless was it an eye-catching performance.
So eye-catching in fact that Crusch had completely overlooked the sword at her side. Why had she brought a weapon? Was that not prohibited? Had she come with violent intentions? Had she not already embarrassed herself in front of the council by mistaking this event for a drinking party then she would have openly questioned the girl about her armament.
"Tanya von Degurechaff" was apparently her real name, but she had never heard of a noble house by the name of "Degurechaff". Her monikers of "Argent" and "White Silver" were equally unknown to her. How strange...
Tanya proceeded to twist each candidate's words until she had made a mockery out of them all. Why did she think she was better than them? What could she have possibly done to qualify her as queen what they lacked?
When she told the audience that she would share her biggest secret the winds of untruth were beginning to blow around her. This would have deeply upset Crusch had she not been so shocked by what came next.
"I do not hail from this world, but from another one. I am as you would describe it ´from beyond the great waterfall´."
Chaos broke out in the audience. Many were unwilling to believe such outrageous claims, but to Crusch her statement was undeniable. The winds of truth now surrounded Tanya; so either she was delusional or she spoke the truth. Crusch knew not which of these options was more terrifying.
With one swipe of her hand an unnatural silence fell over the room as if a thick blanket was suppressing all sound except from Tanya. What was that magic? A really advanced form of shadow magic perhaps?
"My world was far harsher than yours. It was torn apart by a war so great that it made the mountains tremble! A battlefield so large that it encompassed the whole world! I have seen stretches of land burned and bombed from one horizon to the next. I myself have slain thousands and have laid waste to cities. You cannot even begin to imagine the uncountable fields full of nameless gravestones that I walked upon. The charred husks of once great buildings and the ruins of monuments that were build to last an eternity that I flew over. It was merciless. Millions of men, women and children were ripped to shreds and reduced to dust in our blind efforts to eradicate each other. No home was safe and no temple was holy enough for us to spare it. It was a killing that knew no ends. Our own state was transformed into a soulless machine with no other purpose than to produce as much fresh meat as possible to throw against the tide of our enemies. A slaughter that filled our whole world with death and misery."
Like before she created illusions in the air. But instead of happy pictures full of sunshine and laughter these showed rainy skies and burning cities. One of these depicted Tanya herself walking through a street filled with burned corpses that looked like they were frozen in time; trying to escape the horrible inferno that had ravaged their city. Another moving picture showed the remains of a gigantic forest, but every tree had been uprooted and every green piece of land had been bombed away. Thousands upon thousands of dead bodies lay strewn about like the toys of a giant. The sheer scale was breathtaking and gut-wrenching at the same time. Many more scenes were shown, but most people in the audience were too horrified to notice them all.
"I myself was nine years old when I joined the army, because of my large magical potential. I killed my first man at twelve when I was thrown alone into battle with ten veterans. I managed to take out seven of them and was awarded this medal for my efforts."
She gently laid her hand over her heart.
To kill seven veterans on her first deployment. Alone! Had she not possessed her Divine Protection of windreading then Crusch would not have believed her. Against her will she felt her respect now rising for Tanya.
"With only sixteen years I was promoted to Colonel. I have the most confirmed and unconfirmed kills of any single soldier and I have been my homelands greatest asset in the war. In theory as well as in praxis have I had the single greatest impact on the course of the war. Had it not been for my self-developed combat doctrines, weapons and management systems than we would have surely lost the fight against a world that threatened to swallow us whole."
At this point Tanya had talked the longest out of all the candidates, but nobody cared. Instead everybody hung at her every word, because this was unforgettable, mind-bending information.
"I have been hardened by the fires of struggle that you would not even be able to comprehend. I have mastered the art of the impossible and forced an entire world to its knees. I know how it is to care for a country at the brink of chaos. How it is to keep a system intact that should have logically collapsed long ago. I can defeat threats that seem insurmountable and can give hope to those that would otherwise despair."
Crusch felt suddenly very small. Not only was this not the only world, but her conflicts seemed laughably small in comparison. Her experience that she had collected appeared so pitiful as if she was just a child playing war. With every word that Tanya spoke she could see the truthful winds that swirled around her and that became more frightening by the second.
"I, Tanya von Degurechaff stand here undefeated and unbroken. A human that has not and will never cave in to the whims of fate. Who will overcome every difficulty and will not rest until her dreams are fulfilled. With you by my side I can bring about a future that is fair and stable, but I will achieve that with or without becoming queen. It matters not, for the people of this country deserve peace and prosperity and I shall provide. Whatever it costs."
The sound-smothering spell had apparently been lifted, because the applause that followed was nearly deafening. An understandable reaction. Even Crusch herself had been gripped by the unwavering determination in her voice. Tanya von Degurechaff would be a worthy adversary in the fight for the throne.
Suddenly Tanya turned around and gave her a wide smile that probably was intended to give her a friendly appearance. To Crusch it looked predatory instead.
"Lady Karsten? You thought at first the purpose of this event was to form connections between the candidates and I would very much like to keep this great idea alive. I hereby want to issue an invitation to all willing candidates for the throne to visit me tomorrow afternoon at the Astrea estate. My knight Reinhard was generous enough to provide me with a hopefully fitting location for this meeting. There we shall be able to discuss our visions for the future in detail and complete privacy. Respect and mutual understanding are, as Lady Karsten undoubtedly said, highly important if we want this royal selection to go over civilly and decisively."
Reinhard van Astrea was her knight? The swordsaint? It was not even fair at this point! And because Tanya had twisted her words again she would have to go to the damned meeting, because else she would look like a hypocrite. If there was one thing Crusch couldn´t stand then that was hypocrites.
"I am sure we all could gain something from this, no?"she said while directing her dangerous smile at Anastasia.
"We are not the same, but we can try to empathise with each other. If you will graciously give me a chance then I will too."
Now she was speaking to Emilia. It looked like she already knew how to manipulate them all. Only Priscilla received barely any attention at all, but she would have probably ignored it anyway.
Tomorrow would be more busy than usual it seemed.
Notes:
Which of the seven deadly sins fits Tanya best in your opinion?
Pride? Wrath? Greed?