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#REDIRECT [[ADanceOfAngels]]
* - Back to [[GoldenCat/DanceOfAngels|A Dance of Angels]]
 
 
 
== Gold Tarnished in Blood ==
 
 
 
''The Great Forks... ''<br>
 
City of festivals! City of freedom! The scent of the drugs in the streets, the scent of the pastries, the scent of the elements as elementals move close to Cael's entourage... and the festival to the Dragon of Summer is in full force! The clouds are vanishing from the sky, the streets still filled with mud, as sunlight cracks through...
 
 
 
With Cael, Millia Gust walks, trying so very hard not to trip herself. Her balance still felt off with her tail, and her feline ears kept flicking. Her dress is a beautiful white and violet, golden jewelry marking her as a beauty, as something to be seen and loved... but a companion. Not a noble herself, but a companion to young prince Cedric... who now looks more radiant than Cael had ever seen him before. Shining. The jewelry, the glass suit, taking his own inner light and suffusing the air around him with it... showing to the world he was divine, a Holysword.
 
 
 
Next to them, Anne paled... but she still looked perfect in her dark blue dress, neat and tidy, making sure not to let the mud even touch her dress, so she appears perfect before the authorities of her school...
 
 
 
And then, they come to it.
 
 
 
To the walls and the great gate, from which the four-store building can be seen, so far away... Empyrean Stair, the Holysword's Manse in the Great Forks. Alabaster hand atop of it seeming to reach to cup the sun, the firmament itself. Their connection to heaven.
 
 
 
Cedric smiles, feeling familiar even though he had never been there before...
 
 
 
And Anne does the same as she had done with much of the city's architecture... she gawks.
 
 
 
'''Cael: ''' Cael leads his three charges through the city of wonders, keeping a close eye on them even as he enjoys the sights and sounds around him, the danacers and the gods and the gods of dancing. Inside he is still thinking, about the prophesy, about the changes to Millia, Millia herself and the person who changed her. And then they reach the gate, and for the moment Cael puts aside the worries of the future and concentrates on the present.
 
 
 
He leads the trio up to the gate, smiling at the guards stationed there.
 
 
 
"Good day to you." He says warmly, and then gestures the young prince forward. "We need to speak with Elizabeth Holysword."
 
 
 
He has in his hand the letter from the prince, the holysword signet quite visible on the seal, which equally obviously does not seal the envelope that bears it.
 
 
 
'''Narrator: ''' They stand proud.
 
 
 
Their white armor ''shines''
 
 
 
Under the helms, Cael can see grizzly, but pleased faces.
 
 
 
In their capes, the elaborate flag of Whiteshield.
 
 
 
At their hips, white lions at the handle of swords.
 
 
 
One of them lifts the helmet a little more. A big moustache, a big beard. Real friendly.
 
 
 
"You need t' speak with t' princess? Wat for?" He asks, picking the leetter, checking the seal on the sun... "Dat's prince Cedric there?"
 
 
 
'''Anne: ''' Anne gawks at the building... and feels oddly safe close to Cael, with the guards, knowing Millia and Cedric will finally find some measure of ''real'' peace... as she watches the dragon dancing on the streets behind them. Well, the many people forming the dragon. She had never seen a party like this. So... great, colorful, lively. Puts the harvest festivals to such shame that it cannot be put on words...
 
 
 
''Are those common? '' she thinks. ''Is it always like this? ''
 
 
 
''So colorful... ''
 
''So happy... ''
 
''So nice! ''
 
 
 
'''Cedric: ''' "Yes, it is me!" He calls out, smiling, his head facing up, catching the sun almost like a halo...
 
 
 
He was proud. Soldiers that would treat him like he deserved...<br>
 
To see his sister again!
 
 
 
'''Cael: ''' "Indeed he is." Cael says with a smile entirely appropriate to someone bringing home a member of the family who hasn't been here for some time, friendly and warm.
 
 
 
"The subject of our conversation is between us, surely? But anyway, I bring her word from the North and from her brother."
 
 
 
'''Narrator: ''' "It can remain so. If you bring the prince, with the seal, you are of course welcome." He nods slowly, lowly, almost a bow with his head alone. And then, he walks to the guardsman place, telling his partner to open the gate... and slowly, without any sort of rust sound, but just the relaxing sound of a metal river, the gate begun to open... as the man took a golden, ornate clarion and blowing on it a set tune, for all to hear, for all to know...
 
 
 
"Please, come in."
 
 
 
'''Cedric: ''' "See, Anne? I am ''im-por-tant''!" He calls, smug, his face getting even higher as he strides foward into the gate... "And you will see, Liz is ''nice''! She loves playing with me! And playing! In general!" The voice, of a hellion, so different than his poise...
 
 
 
'''Anne: ''' "Great, a grown-up Cedric." She mumbles. "We expect buckets of water falling on our face when we step in, then?"
 
 
 
'''Cael: ''' Cael nods to the man
 
 
 
"Thank you."
 
 
 
He leads the three through the gates, and though he makes no audiable answer to Anne's comment, he does let a slow grin creep over his face.
 
 
 
'''Narrator: ''' The Empyrean Stair.
 
 
 
Stairway to Heaven.
 
 
 
The great hand above it reaching... reaching to the sun....
 
 
 
They walk on the grounds... and they can see great fountains to both sides of them, and waterways runnning through some arcane way around the property... the soothing sound of running water all around them. And in fact, they are over a miniature bridge as it happens.
 
 
 
When, for them, the sun comes slightly into the hand.<br>
 
Held by the stair.<bR>
 
The path is clear.<bR>
 
The path to heaven.<br>
 
Heaven and Earth as one.
 
 
 
As it touches, spiritual forms burn into existence around them....
 
 
 
Surrounding them, five lion dogs in bronze armor. Dogs. Jaws out.<br>
 
Growl.<br>
 
Very, very intimidating growls...
 
 
 
And above the four stores of the Manse....
 
 
 
A great figure in gold and crimson.
 
 
 
Seven foot tall.<br>
 
Fully armored.<br>
 
Eyes like twin bonfires on the armor.
 
 
 
Looking at them...
 
 
 
Cael: If the dogs or the figure in red and gold surprise Cael, he gives no external sign of it, beyond that he stops walking, holding his hands a short way from his body spread to show he bears no weapons.
 
 
 
Well, beyond the ones he has wrapped around his body.
 
 
'''Cedric: ''' Cedric takes a step back... "Lion.... dogs...."
 
 
 
He hides in Millia's coattails....
 
 
 
'''Millia: ''' ... but Millia herself wishes to hide behind Cael's. Unfortunately, Anne took those already.
 
 
 
Naturally, despite herself, she hisses, like a cat.
 
 
 
'''Cael: ''' "Greetings, guardians of the Holysword Manse." He says, sunlight suffusing his words.
 
 
 
"I am Cael Pattona, quill of Heaven."
 
 
 
"I bring a Prince of the line back to one of his homes."
 
 
 
'''????: ''' He '''jumps'''!
 
 
 
The figure above the Manor, the giant divine power wreathed in golden armor, falling before them, cracking the ground. A great double-bladed monstruosity, almost like a twin Grand Daiklave appear on its hands... each one shining with globes of sheer liquid sunlight at their tips. It opens a maw. A great, sabre-toothed maw.
 
 
 
"Prince of the Holyswords."
 
 
 
"Brother to the Accursed."
 
 
 
The globe melts over the blade, a thin film of essence shining...
 
 
 
"I am August Blade of Morning. Executioner of Heaven. I have waited here on Dayshield's whim, to fulfill Her Wishes."
 
 
 
His eyes burn on Cedric.
 
 
 
"You brought him to death."
 
 
 
"'''Fulfill Her Wishes! Purify Her Home! Exterminate every last droplet of the Holysword Line! '''"
 
 
 
'''Cael: ''' "You shall not harm them."
 
 
 
Cael doesn't speak loudly, doesn't raise his voice in any way. Never-the-less, his voice echoes with power of pacts far older than the city, far older than the spirits around him, far older even than the goddess at whose bidding this spirit acted, for as he speaks, the caste mark of the Eclipse burns on his forehead, reminding all those present of those pacts.
 
 
 
"Heaven has not the jurestriction to make those choices." his eyes flash gold.
 
 
 
'''Narrator: ''' They stop dead on their tracks.
 
 
 
None take even a step further.
 
 
 
Behind Cael, he sees the 'Guards' become female spirits clad in robes of clouds...
 
 
 
As the August Blade sighs.
 
 
 
"Quicksilver Falcon. You are extending your protection with them? Tainting your diplomatic immunity to make ''them'' your entourage?"
 
 
 
'''Cael: ''' "They are under my protection."
 
 
 
"I made a promise to his brother that I would see them here safe and ensure that they would be well. My word is not something that I take lightly, especially when it is given to a Golden Bull." Cael looks around at the assembled spirits here.
 
 
 
"I wish to speak with the Dayshield, to know the reason she wishes they and their line struck from the face of Creation."
 
 
 
'''Narrator: ''' A moment of silence. The Lion Dogs move away.
 
 
 
"She will not be pleased with this, Pattonna. Her orders were clear to me."
 
 
 
But there was nothing he could do, of course. They laid down their blades, any threatening poises forgotten.
 
 
 
"Are you taking the accursed?"
 
 
 
'''Cael: ''' "If I do not, I will have your word that you will never knowingly let them come to harm and you shall watch over them while I am with her."
 
 
 
Cael says, his demeanor brooking niether condiction nor compromise.
 
 
 
'''Narrator: ''' Another long, tense moment...
 
 
 
But the nobility within the divinity prevails.<br>
 
Set alight by Cael's words, it prevails.
 
 
 
And he offers his hand - so many times greater than Cael's - to seal it.
 
 
 
"Very well. I shall protect them, and not let any harm come to them knowingly, while you are with her."
 
 
 
'''Cael: ''' Cael reaches forward and takes his hand, and the quills of his anima write the oath into the air, sealing the pact for all eternity. As long as Cael supported their cause, they would be under the August Blade's protection.
 
 
 
"Thank you, August Blade of Morning, for the consideration you have shown. I shall depart to speak with the Dayshield now."
 
 
 
He smiles at the three youngsters, hugging Anne. "I will be back soon. Just stay here and don't worry." His voice fills them with confidence, a reassurance that everything would be alright. After all, had he not solved all the other problems that had beset them on the way here?
 
 
 
"I assume you two can take me to Her?" He asks of the goddesses on the gate.
 
 
 
'''Millia: ''' Being protected by the one who had just cried for their blood was not a very happy prospect...
 
 
 
But what choice did she have?<br>
 
And at least the dogs were gone.
 
 
 
She held Cedric close to her chest... and he was shaking. So much, so much... his denial, over the sate of Whiteshield so far, had held up... but now, his sister? They wanted to kill all Holyswords... then of course, his sister... ''Sun... why must you make us suffer so... ''
 
 
 
'''Narrator: ''' Anne held him tightly, but at least she did not have too many emotional attachments, and not feeling the tragedy so much, trusted him completely. Trusted that nothing could ever threaten him...
 
 
 
And then he walked to the gates, and both the cloud-robe clad she-lights made a courtesy, as the gates closed behind him... and he was taken to Shield of a Different Day. In the Palace of the Three, at the center of the Great Forks. At Dayshield's temple, Southeast of the Palace...
 
 
 
Her temple is a grand, sturdy, stoic, spartan. It shines due to what it is, made of great shining glasses, open spaces, places for the sun to shine within. A great spire like a sword, its walls like shields.
 
 
 
A great fortress.
 
 
 
Cael Pattonna walks past the guards, sensing the Celestial Lion in the vicinity.<br>
 
He takes the steps past soldiers and halls where they train...<br>
 
...past the trophies of countless victories...
 
 
 
... and finally, a great door opens... and on the other side, she stands.
 
 
 
Clad in Orichalcum.<br>
 
Raven tresses falling over her shoulders, out of her helmet.<br>
 
The shield at her side.<br>
 
A blade of legend at her hips.<br>
 
A gaze clear as the sun and cold as the void in her eyes.
 
 
 
'''Cael: ''' "Shield of a Different Day, thank you for recieving me to your court." His posture and his gaze conveying that he is impressed by both her court, and the vision he saw before him.
 
 
 
"I am Cael Pattona, the Windwraith and a Quicksilver Falcon. I wish to speak with you on your grievances with the Holysword line. I would know why you wish them slain when that action will plunge the North into a deep darkness."
 
 
'''Dayshield: ''' A goddess of peaceful war.
 
 
 
Staunch protector of her people. Of young soldiers. Of ''life''!
 
 
 
And yet, the Windwraith sees blood on her eyes.
 
 
 
"I know who you are, Windwraith. A thief and a con man, who stands with murderers."
 
 
 
Her words are full of spite, as she considers his question.
 
 
 
"You ask why? Why do I want them dead? I loved the Holyswords. My sister, Amaranthyne, did. The other side of my soul. I loved king Doniel once, and we arranged the marriage of our children. He gave me his firstborn. Such a gesture! It filled me with respect for him, for his respect for me, that he would give her to us, to be married to my little light. My favorite boy. Puissant, proud. They made a beautiful couple." She finally smiles, and seems to be a different person entirely. But then... it returns. "And then, she revealed her true colors. She cheated on him with half my city. She mocked his pride and manhood. She ripped him to pieces metaphorically... before doing so in reality."
 
 
 
"She is one of Luna's beloved, Windwraith. She raped my son. She tortured him. And then, she took his shape... and turned him into her. She pretend to be him..." Her voice almost comes to sobs, now. Almost breaking... "... and had his subordinates rape him in her body. Again and again... before burying him under a castle wall."
 
 
 
"She is a monster."
 
 
 
'''Cael: ''' "Aye, a theif and conman. I have been known as that, and worse. Though I find it somewhat ironic that one theft I am famous for is the one that was no theft. Merely reclaiming my property. Unless, of course, you'd trust the word of the Haslanti over the word of the ship herself?" Cael says easily, though his voice is subtly modulated to tones of respectful correction rather than derision.
 
 
 
"I stand with murders too, because they are the few that will stand with me it seems, against the encroaching tide of the dark, which threatens the whole of the North. The Haslanti will not help, so tied up in the idea I am a thief. The Realm considers me no different than any other demon. Heaven sends only two of the starchosen. Whitewall is too tied up with neutrality."
 
 
 
"You accuse me, and yet you offer no alternatives. Should I refuse their help, let the North, its countless innocents fall to the Deathlords? I cannot stem that blackness on my own, and so I do what I must." Cael grows as he speaks, commanding and impressive, seeming to fill more of the space before the Goddess.
 
 
 
"I am ... sorry for the loss of your son though. To lose a son is bad. To lose someone like that is nothing short of terrible. But still, I cannot condone you punishing one entirely innocent for the crimes of his sister. That you would even consider it speaks volumes for your pain. It is not a noble action, it is not an honorable one and if you carry it through, it will stain you, I am sure." He pauses a little, to let that sink in.
 
 
 
"Even if you care not for yourself any more, know that if you kill the young Holysword prince, you will doom the North. In the North, there is another Holysword prince. He has already seen the man you loved killed before his eyes. He has already seen his own mother cut down. And yet he still carries on. It is he who holds our fight against the deathlord together. It is he who leads us, and if you have his brother killed, it will destroy him. Without him, the North will not hold, I do not think."
 
 
 
"I say that not as a threat."
 
 
 
"But know that if you strike down one innocent life for the crimes of his sister, you condemn countless myriads more."
 
 
 
'''Dayshield: ''' She listens. She listens, for his long speech.
 
 
 
Impressive. Certainly, certainly impressive.
 
 
 
Sun coming through the windows touch the room, illuminating the harmless trinkets and souvenirs of countless battles, of countless soldiers and cultures.... she takes one look at them as he speaks, before finally answering the Windwraith. "... Impressive. That was quite a speech to be made on the fly, Windwraith. Certainly impressive. And I must say it would move me..." She stops for a moment, touching her chest over the golden plate... "But the King knew, and hid it from his people. He knew, and he gave me no help. No help and no sympathy for my child, only for his little murderer. My sister, my poor sister Amaranthyne stood with them... and now she is gone. I feel her on the back of my heart, the emptiness she left. I know of the problems in the North... but they deserve it. It deserves to be broken down. To be remade."
 
 
 
"I want them all to suffer, Windwraith, as I did."<br>
 
"Especially Elizabeth."<br>
 
"And certainly you and Windia will be able to beat those dead ones without another one of those degenerates with you."
 
 
'''Cael: ''' ''Then you are just as much a monster as her. Perhaps even more so. ''<br>
 
''Except that she can live with being a monster. ''<br>
 
''I do not think your divinity would fair so well. ''<br>
 
He inclines his head though, as she mentions his speach.
 
 
 
"That does not sound like the Domiel I know of. That does not sound like the sort man you would love, that your sister would stand beside." Cael says, his tone softer than before.
 
 
 
"Would you tell me what happened?" His voice symapthetic to her pain, if not her response to it.
 
 
 
'''Dayshield: ''' "It did not sound like the Doniel I knew of either. I thought he would go and chase the monster... but he refused to. He simply... stayed away. Gave me no sympathy, did not tell his people of the misfortune, and just swept it all under the rug." She says with disgust. "Protected his spawn, I suppose. And what happened is that... she was beautiful, when she came. Quiet. She had glasses. My Daedrin was all over her... and they were our sweetest couple for so long. Until we all discovered that she had been cheating on him with half the city. And then... well, she did that."
 
 
 
"She brutalized my Daedrin."
 
 
'''Cael: ''' "That does not sound like a holysword at all. Either of them."<br>
 
He pauses.<br>
 
"Your son must have been charismatic indeed that his servants and guards would rape for him."
 
 
 
'''Dayshield: ''' "They have been punished." She says ruefully. "And removed."
 
 
 
"Soldiers have that on their natures. I wished my soldiers were above it. No army I have ever patronaged has raped and pillaged, but most others..." She sighs, thinking of the many atrocities she had seen before... "... but the Lunar must have found weak links in the chain... and called upon the beast within them."
 
 
 
'''Cael: ''' "Did not one of them question it? They do not sound like the sort of people a goddess such as yourself would have have in her employ, especially not to guard one so valued as your son."
 
 
 
"Or is that the soldier's lot, to obey without question?"
 
 
 
'''Dayshield: ''' "They did not. As I said... weak links in the chain. Most outside of my army would not think twice before raping a princess. And even some inside. Like those she had picked. Pehaps it was even her idea to have them close to Daedrin."
 
 
 
"And as for Soldiers.... they tend to obey. And they require a good commander."
 
 
 
'''Cael: ''' "Perhaps it was, though it does not sound much like the thing a quiet girl would do."
 
 
 
"How did you find out that she was sleeping with half the city? What did you do?"
 
 
 
'''Dayshield: ''' "She was not one. Did I not just tell you, Windwraith? She was a monster. A wolf in sheep's clothing."
 
 
 
"And Daedrin found out. She had been sneaking off in the middle of the night to see many strange men and women... and quite a few others knew of this, too. Soon it became gossip, making Daedrin the laughingstock of the city."
 
 
 
'''Cael: ''' "And so you confronted her? And then she ... did what she did?"
 
 
 
'''Dayshield: ''' "I was busy, Windwraith. I did not hear of any of this until it was done."
 
 
 
"I believed that you understood it by now. Daedrin confronted her... and from there, all I know is that I had his body, shaped to look like hers' and brutalized, on my arms. Do not think this was easy. I believed my own son had been the murderer at first. I believed he had been the monster. It chilled my heart."
 
 
'''Cael: ''' "How did you ... come to be aware of the body? How did you know it was him, shaped as he was, as her?" He asks, apologetically.
 
 
 
'''Dayshield: ''' She looks down... "We... wished to know exactly what was done to her.... but my hounds felt something strange. My Lion Dogs, they found it was his scent, not hers'. I asked Dreamweaver, then... and she discovered the truth. The magic used to turn him into her own image... I wonder why she did that. Pehaps that creature hates herself. Or pehaps, she wished me to chill, as I did, when I thought my son was a monster."
 
 
 
'''Cael: ''' "Have you considered the possibility that it was not her either?" Cael asks, very quietly.
 
 
 
"I ask only because I have seen gods turned on their own cities, in the North. Elementals so corrupted they attacked ''me'', despite the treaties those such as myself have. I have seen a lunar so corrupted he was little more than an attack hound. It may well be that your son is just the innocent victim of an attempt to get someone to destroy themselves."
 
 
'''Dayshield: ''' She hears. She listens. She wonders...
 
 
 
And part of her ''wants'' to believe it. Really wants to...
 
 
 
"That... might be. Do you have any evidence to support this theory, Windwraith?"
 
 
 
'''Cael: ''' "None at all, Dayshield." He says, frankly.
 
 
 
"None, direct at least. It merely occured to me that this whole terrible happening is riddled with people not acting as you would expect, as they should, as is right. A king and a friend, wholely dismissive of your pain. A quiet princess, sleeping with half the city then commanding a brutal rape of someone in her own image. Your own trained and loyal men, performing that act without question. It is similar to a patter I have seen in the North, on more than one occasion. They can twist even the noblest hearts and do, to destroy them. They care not for those others that they hurt, welcome it even."
 
 
 
'''Dayshield: ''' The sunlight seemed to almost hide her now. Her eyes were not visible, and most of her form was not. Wreathed in shadows of the day. "If that was to be true... what would you do then, Windwraith?"
 
 
 
'''Cael: ''' "I am not sure. To kill her might be to complete this being's plan for her .... or it might put her out of her own misery. To devote time to hunting her down might be what it wished of you, or might just be a distraction from other machinations in your city." Cael gives her a sympathetic smile.
 
 
 
"Rabidly seeking to kill her and the whole Holysword line will not find you the truth, will not get you your son back. I would suggest that whoever you send after her was capable of fighting, certainly, but was also capable of reasoning, of understanding. Someone who would find out if she were guilty before attempting to kill her."
 
 
 
'''Dayshield: ''' She sits down, thinking...
 
 
 
Thinking for a very long time, almost hidden by the sunlight in the windows now...
 
 
 
"... your words speak sense, Windwraith. More than those of many around me. Many have asked me not to, but..." Her voice is, however, quite a bit bitter. "I will. I will send them only to aprehend her. With extreme prejudice, if nessessary But if an explanation does not come... I shall kill her. She has a blood debt to me. "
 
 
 
"You will, of course, tell me that trying to kill the siblings is not the solution."
 
 
 
'''Cael: ''' "It is not." He says, firmly but quietly.
 
 
 
"If she is a monster, their deaths will be meaningless to her. If she is a victim, then you will just make her pain that much worse. Either way, they are both innocent and ignorant of her plight."
 
 
 
"The blood of innocents does not become you, Dayshield, even in your pain."
 
 
 
'''Dayshield: ''' "... I suppose it does not. And your words talk sense."
 
 
 
"But I will not aid Whiteshield either, and do not think you will find any aid here. My sister is dead. They brought a knife to my heart and the death of my blood. Whiteshield is only tragedy, for me." The light begins to... comes ''from'' her, then, and Cael can see it traveling far and wide... "... it is done. I have recalled my soldiers. The boy is not at risk from me, anymore."
 
 
 
"But his sister will be."
 
 
 
'''Cael: ''' "I did not come down here to call people to the North. I came to take people from the horrors of it. I did not wish, even before I heard this, to call trouble here for that would defeat my purpose."
 
 
 
"Once more, I am sorry for the loss of your sister and of your son."
 
 
 
'''Dayshield: ''' "As am I." She says as she disappears even further behind the light.
 
 
 
"You can leave now." She says, as only her sillhouette remains.
 
 
 
'''Cael: '''Cael bows, and then turns, walking from the room without a word.
 
 
 
 
 
----
 
 
 
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Revision as of 08:06, 5 April 2010

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