31: Resolution and Inquiry
Story by JBukharin on SoFurry
Part of: Among Stars (Prequel to 'The Golden Month')
The story of how a crew of misfits shattered the dominance of the Empire's tyranny.
Their victories, their losses, and their ultimate fate. An odyssey across the endless frontier that is space!
Las Lindas Web Comic Spin-Off, OC-Insert
The characters in this story (Except the OC-Insert) are © chalodillo
Chapter 31: Resolution and Inquiry
Betareader: Ant0nius
A Solitude Chamber was considered the finest place to seek guidance within one’s inner darkness.
The procedure was seen by many Chaos practitioners as a risky way to achieve enlightenment and a method only a few rare individuals with an affinity for chaos could use within moderation. Darcy was unique in that regard, having primarily sharpened her meditation skill only through the Chamber. It was a ‘test of faith’ as some of her foolish old teachers had tried to make it pass as, but the truth was that jealousy ran strong for some of those idiots. And they expect a prodigy like her to falter and break through a few intense sessions in the school’s oldest version of the chamber. Rougher, more hostile to lifeforms. And in a way, she did break.
Darcy was no fool to believe her old self survived these harsh mental exercises, and her current mood and pattern were among the few clues that confirmed that possibility. She was broken, but she was also bound back by the sheer will of chaos. She was blessed with incredible power and she was recognized as the finest sorceress in the whole empire.
Great achievements for risking losing her soul to pure madness. She existed, she knew as much, but the rest felt quite a blur when Darcy entered that kind of chamber. Her senses were dulled before being fully deprived, nothing persisted but those senses that were directly tied to chaos. She could feel it, growing listless and restless within her body as she tried to keep it under check while also giving it freedom. No one but the emperor could succeed in such a feat.
Still, the need for clarity in her meditation wasn’t driven by doubt but by acceptance. She needed to feel like this plan could work well. The chaos user had found it, a good place to stage an attack and, hopefully, draw out her target in the open to be captured. She had long tried to think of something else about the Grand Knight. But his potential- the overall attractiveness he held over her body, mind and chaos felt to him was too strong to ignore.
He could be taken, he could be ‘convinced’ with enough methods, and she would score herself glory and someone to continue her line with. Grinning eye-to-eye at that notion, the upset caused by the chamber weakened by the bizarre feeling burning in her chest and then… and then she got it. A confirmation. It was strong, it was familiar and yet not. The chaos user still took it, too wrapped up in her own desire to realize that the one responsible for such acceptance was not the one that she had sought approval from.
No, this one was less into seeing her win and more in her getting a foothold of chaos in the right individual. If she had known back then, Darcy would have pulled away and distrusted any attempt to approach the Grand Knight, but the obsession she had for the human was too strong for her to ignore and the mindless delight sent her out of her usual mood to study each ‘message’ chaos relayed to her. Soon she was out of the chamber, eagerness building up as she gave the final orders for that attack. And while the sorceress hummed jovially and cruelly, the source of her mistaken view grinned at the circumstance she had created.
Pandora may not have the same hold she once had over chaos, but she still knew a few secrets the Emperor knew nothing about. Mostly simple things he wouldn’t mind ignoring, such as faking one’s chaos pattern and using it to pass messages to the right person. To distract, to trick and to have them do his bidding without any doubt or hesitation. It was as amusing as essential for her to commit to a side during this war.
It was odd to imagine, but now she was completely sold to stop her own mistakes from spreading and winning over the very side that killed her. Pandora was assaulted by a sense of amusement before this irony, but the old Queen was genuinely compelled to put an end to this charade. Chaos had been left ‘tainted’ with control for too long. Yes, it was ironic coming from the very first master of that power, but there was a difference in letting it do what it wanted and using it to control a whole galaxy.
Chaos existed even before the emperor in its pure and uncontrolled form. And while some religious texts rejected it as an acceptable element even before Prism was unified, it would be foolish to deny that ignoring that form of the problem was nothing short than expected and necessary to allow life to not fully fall under a rigorous order of life. It was easy to grasp and easier to allow to happen. It was the way life really worked, order and chaos- both equally indispensable for a proper chance of free will and a healthy amount of free choices.
_ If only the gods of old could see how favoring one good factor and bringing it to the extreme was going to be the doom of them. _
Kate Aryoko was never one to start interactions with those she hardly knew much about.
Yes, it would be a lie to say she didn’t trust any of those bearing similar duties to her, similar gifts, especially after training with them, but it would also be wrong to assume she would just shed her own reluctance to speak with others in general. It wasn’t like she couldn’t speak to them, but she found the notion of starting a conversation with acquaintances fairly distressing on her part. With Bengala it was different because the insufferable moron was always poking fun at her and getting her to react. Kate was not exactly Buddha, and that the Tiger Prime knew very well. Especially since she held no patience in handling righteous punishment the moment he caught the fool being a pervert too.
Still, there were things that could easily get Kate interested in starting a conversation. Tea was one of those, having slowly started to build an interest in studying how many blends of tea exist in the world and beyond. The arrival of Prism’s remnant and the original culture of her homeland further expanded on her current knowledge in that regard. But, there was also another topic that warranted her utmost attention and interest. And that was swords. How were they made? Who made them? What was the style used to forge those weapons? The alloy used? Could she learn some new methods through these interactions?
The hobby stemmed from her own childhood. With her father being a swordsmith, it would be expected for his heiress to be entertained by the hard labor tied to producing fine pieces of art. Pieces meant for war, yes, but also to provide a noble warrior with a partner they could enjoy life with. A sword was like a lover to some extent, with trust being the most valid similarity with that comparison: a blade would trust its user to use it correctly, while the user would ask trust from the blade to handle the threats it poised it against. It was symbiotic, and it was beautiful.
The Cat Prime could still feel the need to huff at remembering how Bengala called her a ‘dork’ for being so intense about weapon-making, but the idea was not just the making. It was the admiration of such fine masterwork. It was how artists of all sorts felt in drawing a picture or creating a written manuscript. It was so intense and filled to the brim with the inner concept created by its maker, that it was undeniably the best feeling possible: to make something that could help others in the long-run. Which is why Ambar had provided her with some insight on the matter when Kate asked for something, even producing a book for her to read which detailed a few fascinating ideas to test out once peace was restored.
But there was one thing that really got her inquiring a few questions about her fellow Crests: their weapons. It was easy to get ‘vague ’ answers from some of them, specifically Xeanica, Grace and Geecku. Their weapons had been either passed down by their ancestors, or were made on the spot with minimal effort in giving them specific details. That last bit prompted an interesting attempt to give the Life Crest some points to make her Wild Axe a bit better, especially with the uneven weight it had compared to the side.
The final tight hug that was to thank her sure left her in a somewhat amused mood. The rest was also particular. Howl mentioned that his blade had been granted by some legendary smith that once lived in the Northern region of Scandinavia, Carmesi confirmed her swords were produced by the finest foundry of the Empire, with this last explanation used also by both Sem and Feather. Minos grumbled something about ‘making it himself’, but he didn’t hand out more info in that regard. Pulsar used magic crystals, Ambar’s lance was a family heirloom she adapted with new alloys, Queen Adela’s bow was a relic of the third Queen of Prism and then there was him.
The Grand Knight’s Sword stood out from the rest due to the literal bond it held with its user. Even as Theo gave her the chance to wield the sword herself, she could tell the blade wasn’t too happy of being wielded by someone it didn’t trust. Something about the blade just felt alive and unusual compared to the rest. Meanwhile Theo was handling the Shin-aki and… the blade was ‘okay’ with it. Quite the odd development, but one that intrigued her rather than annoy her before the notion she was getting rejected.
Then again, it was tied to ‘requirements’ that differed between the two weapons. Where the Shin-aki was a blade meant to be wielded by anyone with enough light in their heart and good faith in their noble ideals, the other sword was more restricted to knights, to protectors- not outright representatives of a virtue. So yes, the rejection was nothing more of a formality-related limitation.
“So, you were saying that your ancestors forged this blade?”
“My father’s-”
“So yours,” The human re-corrected flatly, stunning Kate to a brief moment of silence. “I mean, if they are your father’s ancestors, then they are your ancestors.”
The Cat Prime was tempted to say no due to blood relation, but that would outright debase the notion she considered her father the closest thing to a blood-related one minus the blood-relation. It was frustrating, but she conceded to it. It made her feel a bit warm to believe they were hers too even though it felt so arrogant to do so calmly. Yet, the human made it sound so easy and… it kind of made her feel less reluctant to accept such a point of view.
“So, about what I asked-”
“Yes, they made it, or so my father said was the case,” She admitted, sparing a curious look at the knight. “What about it?”
“I just feel surprised that one was able to muster this level of perfection during medieval Japan,” Theo reasoned. “I’m not saying it’s not possible, just odd that they didn’t go down the path of being remembered as Muramasa with this kind of art.”
Her lips twitched at that fair argument, dispelling any possible accusation on that claim, but raising a fair concern that she never put much thought behind. Mostly because she saw no reason to, but now Kate couldn’t help but consider that. Yes, it could have been a case of trying to keep humble of their skills, but perhaps the reason was directly tied to the very sword Theo was currently holding.
“It’s an assumption, but it could be they didn’t want anyone coming to take the Shin-aki. As I have tested myself, the blade is too powerful and would have been seen by many humans as a way to impose control on others.”
The young man nodded, soon returning the blade and talking with her about simple things. How was her training going? Did she feel alright with the change of pace and place? And did she have any complaint she wanted to make about the overall situation? She replied with a simple comment.
“The only complaint that I have is that this Empire is still up and causing pain. It will fall soon.”
He smiled. “I agree.”
Something about the human’s agreeing tone struck her as pleased. It wasn’t exactly something intense, but it sure left a sweet taste on her tongue. It didn’t take long to realize it was because the very thing she heard many say about Theo was happening to her: he was a good friend that listened and worried about others. Not too much, never too much, and yet enough to grant her and others a soft blanket that they could all fall onto if needed.
So, out of interest and perhaps in an effort to return the favor of that openness, Kate decided to be more ‘exposed’ with her own thoughts and the blonde was soon rewarded with one of the most relaxing conversations possible. It had been so difficult to find some peace through just meditation and talking with Bengala was… intense. Because of how flirty he tended to get. Theo was more on the friendly and less-flirty part of things.
Definitely because of his attachment to the Queen… and Grace. And Carmesi. How did he end up getting the affection of the Fox Prime, Kate would never know. Still, the conversation left her in a good mood and… that good mood was then ruined when the imperial forces finally struck again and forced them all to react. It was going to be a big battle-
_ But she could rely on those she was fighting with. That much Kate knew without a doubt. _
AN
A battle soon beckons!