Dreadlords Big Brothers

[Soleil Verdane]

Soleil let out a twinned pair of excited giggles when Mieri said she could read first. Plays really were the one consistent thing that got her very engaged.

A fissure formed on her face and bisected it straight down the ridge of her nose and then split into two separate waves which crested gently out toward her ears, disappearing (and sealing) behind the wisps of her hair.

She opened the book. Carefully. Treating it as if it were the most delicate and precious thing in the world.

"Act One, Scene One. Enter Anirius over the stage, gazing out over Set of Fields of Gold."

Then, speaking with lush effort the full sentences and a sincere attempt to embody the voice, "Anirius: 'Premonition pervades my very bones. In what presence, other than these very Fields of Gold, shall I witness greatness become? Here upon this land it stands before my eyes as though deliver'd by prophecy a coming battle, whose import shall echo down the annals of all-time and lay claim to legend, never forgotten, carried on in the hearts and blood of my enduring kinsmen. Mark my very words, Arethil! Here shall I stand, embodied of all that is and will be of the name Anir, to prove with the final strike of my sword upon my wretched foe the eternal might and majesty of the nation which, from that very blood spilt, will spring forth with unrivaled vitality and vigor. Never will...'"

And on Soleil read, with a vitality and vigor all her own, through the first act.

Mieri

 

[Caeso Diemut]

"To the surprise of no true Anirian," Caeso said, giving a small snort afterward. Was there any doubt that the sniveling playwright in question twisted history to suit his own purposes?

Caeso browsed some more. A throaty snicker rumbled in his throat when he saw a particular one.

"Fedic and the Triumph of Urahil," he said. Probably the site of some battle or the name of an unimportant nobody. "Whosoever spends any time contemplating the so-called triumphs of House Urahil, of all Houses, is the king of turning said time into utter refuse."

A little more browsing.

"Ah." He pulled a book out. "Ventor: A Tale of Vengeance. Why did such a fantastic selection escape me before? For a man of commonblood, his deeds were admirable indeed."

Cassi Azura

 

[Mieri]

As Mieri picked up reading the second act, it was obvious she was barely looking at the text.

She had read the play so many times that it was practically already memorized. The worn pages of the book more than enough evidence for that fact. She gripped the pages only loosely, waving her free hand and clutching it into a fist as she orated.

"...LO! KARTHIX! YOU HAVE BEEN FOUND WANTING!" She shouted loud enough for those down the Hall to hear. "THY ARMIES HAVE FALLEN! Thy generals have abandoned you. Thy people have dashed the black name which was forced upon their lips. You are done, finished for all time. For nothing remains to keep you standing."

Quickly, shifting off the wall and waving both her hands Mieri continued, switching to narration.

"Anrius points his sword at Karthix! But the wizard laughs. His voice a thunder. Karthix; Ah, but my old friend."
Mieri changed her voice as though the inside of her throat had been burned. "You forgot one pillar that remains, the greatest of them all!"

The Initiate practically jumped on her bed as she broke into narration again.

"The Stage shakes! The hills are pulled away and the Black Dragon Terrymyr swoops from the sky. His flames burning the earth and forever creating the Fields of Ash." And so continued Mieri's reading of the second act. Adding all the animation and thrill she possibly could. Detailing Anirius struggle after his defeat.

 

[Fennec]

Snort.

The sound audibly echoed from above the heads of Caeso Diemut and Cassi. In following it to the point of origin, the pair would find the small form of Fennec lounging atop the stacks with an apple and an open playbook.

Risen City: The First Dreadlord. One of her favorites.

 

[Soleil Verdane]

Soleil had her hands clasped and tucked just underneath her chin, eyes gleaming with a golden brilliance as Mieri put on her performance, giving it as much gusto as if she were in full costume and already upon the stage. At certain peaks in the narrative and the rising tone of Mieri's delivery, she even bounced on her butt in giddy excitement.

At the great turn in the rising action, when Karthix says his infamous line, You forgot the one pillar remains, the greatest of them all, Soleil cupped her hands to either side of her mouth and made to call out, "Booo Karthix!"

There was a cry of "Hey! Shut the fuck up down there!" out in the hall from all of Mieri's loud delivery. Soleil ignored it. Or perhaps made a mental note of the voice and the speaker to whom it belonged for later.

Then it was her turn again. Act Three. Anirius's recovery, his fulfilling of the rites necessary to complete his apotheosis, and then the final battle back where it all started: in the Fields of Gold. The climatic ending, triumph for Anirius.

Soleil closed the book, an exalted exhalation of breath following. A curious question then came to mind. She looked over to Mieri and asked her opinion, "Anirius return? One day? God, right? Such awe! Better than King."

She laughed aloud.

"Our King? Useless."

Mieri

 

[Caeso Diemut]

Apparently, Captain Odal and Proctor Melina, even with their combined capacities for preparation, still managed to make an error. It came to light that Cassi Azura was scheduled for a mission, upon which she was already an hour late now in departing for. Caeso wasn't particularly surprised; the Academy used to run efficiently, like a well-maintained wagon axle, robust and reliable. Then the petulant Guard had to thrust their hands into matters which did not concern them and which they were wholly unprepared to understand. Magic was none of their business.

Yet, here they all now were.

Regardless, it was Fennec who was meant to be his so-called "Little Sibling" now. A stroke of dumb luck had saved Odal and Melina from outright embarrassment, for just so happened that Niamh did not show for this program. Her loss, perhaps. Putting aside the stupidity of the whole affair, it was to Caeso's sense of practicality an easy gain. Far easier than any mission, and highly rewarding on the academic side of the Academy.

After everything was cleared up with Odal and Melina, Caeso came back to the same aisle with the small selection of plays. Fennec was still there, lounging atop the stacks.

I suppose you are here for the same reason as I, Caeso signed up to her.

The boost in academics, of course. Else, she would have disappeared like Niamh. Like Caeso himself almost did.

He shook his head then, smiling in a way Odal or Melina would not have found warm. He commented through signing, Captain and Proctor do not fully appreciate our deadliness. Yet here we are, our talents put to... A pause, ...queer uses.

Fennec

 

[Fennec]

She had come to the conclusion that she'd be doing this little charade on her own after Niamh failed to show two hours into her reading. Just as well, she required no assistance for the play she'd selected. Risen City: The First Dreadlord was a silent play - stylized in Morbid Noir of grayscale scenes and sets, horrible masks, and naught but the chiarascuro of sharp lighting and frenetic orchestra to tell the tale that most everyone knew by heart. While not a particularly modern or in-fashion affair, attending a showing of Risen City on the eve of the city's christening anniversary had become tradition.

Fennec first experienced the play four years ago when she'd been tasked for a covert mission.

The rest, as they often said, was hist-

Caeso in her peripheral. The girl raised her brows at him and his inquiry and commentary. She set her book flat in her lap to free her hands for response.

[N I A M ghosted you too?]

Fen's right hand took up a half-eaten apple set beside her for another bite; one of the few perks to being a mute, she could talk with her mouth full.

[I was given the option of this or another mission with D E L I L A,] a bob of her black-painted brows as if the obvious choice were clear. She had no care for the academic boost but anything was better than dealing with her on a mission again.

[Where did your sibling go?]

 

[Mieri]

Oh boy. Melina had warned her that sometimes being a big sister entailed conversations that weren't exactly the easiest. Mieri had personally hoped that hers was going to be something easy like how to talk to boys; she'd never much thought of them as any different than girls.

But no, this was her lot. "Oh..."

Mieri answered slowly, deciding that for once in her life she needed to use that ever elusive thing called 'tact'. A deep breath filled her lungs, and she slowly nodded her head.

"Yeah! Well I don't know if I'm honest, Kiddo." She'd never much learned anything about religion. The Academy had certainly never taught anything aside from the 'evils' of the gods, and in her own time...well she'd preferred punching things. "But it certainly would be neat."

In an odd sort of way, it would be too.

Not necessarily a God, mostly because she didn't know what all that entailed. But a Leader she could trust? One whose heart was pure and whose intention was only for the good of man? Yes, yes that would be neat.

"Hell of a lot of better though." She grinned wide, then admitted. "I don't even the know the name of ours!"

Mieri said with a laugh of her own.

 

[Soleil Verdane]

"Same!" Soleil agreed, laughing along with Mieri.

Interestingly, she delved further into the topic.

"Vel Anir? Not religious. Why? We forgot."

She leaned over, giving Mieri's arm a squeeze, the tips of her fingers with that strange, even paradoxical, blend of coarseness and smoothness, like a cat's tongue. "Strong."

Then she shook her head, smiled knowingly, and poked Mieri's bicep for emphasis. "Strong like Anirius? No."

Her smile seemed to stretch further, further than naturally possible. Her cheeks had split open momentarily to give the illusion that the smile nearly reached her earlobes before the flesh sealed again.

"Anirius here? Ha! All Arethil, now Vel Anir. What was many, now one."

Mieri

 

[Caeso Diemut]

Fennec had come away with the wrong impression of what he had said. Had she been one disposed to humor, Caeso might have thought it a joke. It was not. But, no action was necessary to be taken on the matter, for the matter was a small one and inconsequential.

There was a mistake. C A S S I was supposed to be on a mission.

He had noticed the particular play Fennec kept now in her lap, and, truly, was it any surprise? It was not as though there were a surplus of choices for her in this regard. Caeso had to wonder if Captain Odal or Proctor Melina even spared a thought for Fennec's unique circumstance with regard to the activity they were all supposed to engage in.

Well, why wonder? Why not inquire of the best source available?

Captain and Proctor do know that you are mute, yes? Caeso signed, his motion of the word do deliberate and pointed for the added emphasis. And still they had you do this?

Fennec

 

[Mieri]

Oh boy she was really not ready for this particular conversation.

Mieri knew fuckall about religion. The only thing she knew about Anirius came from this play, and she was almost entirely certain that most of it was made up. A faltering smile still flickered on her lips. Some power of will keeping up the cheery nature she so often put up.

"R-right." She exclaimed as she watched Soleil's face merge back together. Truthfully not entirely sure what the Initiate was trying to communicate.

Consternation crossed her features as she tried to read into the words. As if she were picking apart some sort of puzzle that had been set out for her. After a few seconds she shook her head, and then gestured to the small book. "So."

She began, her smile a bit more confident.

"Anirius' ascension?" Soleil did seem interested in Anirius, and as a big sister it was important to encourage interests. Besides, maybe Mieri could learn a little more herself.

 

[Fennec]

[I do not find either one of them to be very intelligent.]

Fennec looked upon the boy with bemusement.

[They seemed more concerned about N I A M playing nice and me making friends.] A shrug followed, [I do not see a point to either.]

Friendship had nothing to do with anything, so far as Fennec was concerned. She only needed the other Initiates to stay out of her way or do their job when they couldn't. The plight of the missing 'siblings' between the two of them only spelled out one obvious solution: they would have to work together. Fennec understood this innately without having any need to discuss it aloud.

[This one needs a fresh take,] she flipped the book up to show him the cover, [oral narration and dialogue. I can act, you can speak.]

 

[Soleil Verdane]

"Anirius ascension good," Soleil said.

She trilled her tongue, a rising and then falling of pitch.

"Who play Anirius?"

With either no concern for social boundaries or a complete unawareness of them, Soleil reached over and cupped one of Mieri's breasts in her hand. "Not man." She then withdrew her hand and cupped, as much as was possible anyway, one of her own meager breasts. "Also not man."

She threw her head back and laughed, distinct Ha's at the apex of her hitching shoulders. Of her own chest she said, "But close!"

Mieri

 

[Caeso Diemut]

An elegant solution, Caeso signed. Such will play to our strengths.

Force came in various forms. A common misconception amongst his peers, who knew only the eternal bedrock of force: violence. A wasteful act, unnecessary violence, like the gross misuse of a tool (often Caeso imagined some of his thicker-skulled peers to be digging up dirt with a hammer instead of a shovel to complete the simile).

Hence, rhetoric and oratory. An art with as much depth, if not more, as any martial pursuit. The precision of a few well-chosen words could be worth more than a thousand swords in capable hands, a fact the brutes of the Academy could never understand. To bring one's foe to submission without ever needing to draw a weapon or unleash a spell was an immaculate victory indeed.

Creating narration for Risen City: The First Dreadlord would be ample training in this regard. Just as one needed to stay practiced in the ways of war, one needed also to stay practiced in the ways of diction and delivery.

We will need to ensure our, Caeso paused, then signed, production is good as well.

Risen City, given the nature of the play, was more demanding in terms of stage production. He hadn't seen a live performance himself, but he knew enough of it. Maybe, though, it would tip Caeso and Fennec's performances over that of Mieri and Soleil's.

Because, oh yes, the spirit of competition had its due say in this matter.

Fennec

 

[Mieri]

"I thin-" Mieri's words died on her tongue as Soleil's hand reached out and gently cupped the slight curve of her chest, eyebrows shooting up almost immediately.

A cough escaped her throat, and she suttered. "Well! I..errr.."

Melina had never warned her about everything this whole Big Sister thing entailed. First talk about Religion and now Sex Ed too? What the hell.

Briefly she wondered if Caeso was dealing with the same thing! "First off, Kiddo."

Mieri said with a smile.

"You should always ask before touching someones..." She gesture to her breasts, and then smoothly to her other no no zone. "Otherwise it's impolite!"

Nailed that. Then she continued on. "As for the problem of our bits."

She declared.

"I propose we both play him....TOGETHER!" Mieri said, whirling up and ripping the blanket from her bed. Wrapping herself up as though the black comforter was a cloak. "We will tower over the audience! Strong! Imposing!"

Her voice echoed out beyond the small dorm room. "POWERFUL!"

"MIERI WILL YOU PLEASE, SHUT! THE FUCK! UP!"​

Someone from down the hall shouted.

 

[Fennec]

Good, they were on the same page.

Fennec considered Caeso for a moment before returning:

[I have seen the play twice.] Well, once fully ... once again mostly within her peripheral attention while on a mission. Close enough. Her memory was a fortified and reinforced vault - or so she liked to believe.

[It is one of the few drama noir productions remaining in regular rotation at the capital theater.]

This was not a conversation she had ever expected to have with a fellow Initiate. It surprised even herself as she finished that sentence.

[Drama noir places emphasis on the story tone and theme rather than the actors. The sets and costumes are made in grayscale and they use lighting and music to set the mood and emotion.]

Caeso Diemut

 

[Soleil Verdane]

Soleil glanced in the vague direction of the aggravated shouting. It sounded like Angela. She considered her options. Decided on one. Stored it for later. Angela usually went to sleep after midnight (she was an insomniac, very prone to anger). That would be the time.

In the meantime.

She looked up to Mieri. Clapped her hands together. Said, "Big stature! Appropriate! Us? Short. Anirius? Tall." And further justifying it, she added, "Easy to do. You? Strong. Me? Light."

Soleil glanced around Mieri's room. Made a popping sound with her lips. "Need big clothes."

Mieri

 

[Caeso Diemut]

Twice? What fortune. If it were anyone else, suspicion might have presented itself to Caeso that they were willfully derelict, sneaking off or being a laggard on a return trip from a mission to greedily lap at the lake of leisure time. But this was Fennec. Such was simply not in her nature, and the softness of the Revolution hadn't infected her in the slightest.

She put into the air some of what Caeso had been thinking. Mieri and Soleil would have their own concerns with their set, yes, but theirs simply needed to look good. Risen City required its sets to look good and be cohesive thematically.

First, Caeso signed and then patted the coin pouch at his belt—the stipend Captain Odal and Proctor Melina procured for this program. We will need to have our costumes tailored.

Fennec

 

[Mieri]

"Yes. Yes we do." Mieri said with a broad grin, kipping up from the bed and sweeping towards the door. "So lets go get them."

It was not long after that the four Initiates would find themselves in a small carriage. Taking a ride to Vel Anir, and then shortly after to Leora & Nori's Costume shop. One of the most famous of such establishments in the whole city, having supplied nearly every big show for the last hundred years.

Mieri was the first out of the carriage door, sweeping onto the streets with all the gallantry of an actor already famous. "Okay, kiddo!"

She shouted, drawing more than a few eyes on the street and turning back on her heels. Hoping to find Soleil had stepped out after her.

"We need somethin-" Her words suddenly cut off as she noticed the next person was most definitely not her little sister.

Her eyes narrowed. "No spying on the competition!"

Mieri declared, entirely ignoring the fact that she had been shouting again.

 

[Fennec]

Reticent as expected, Fennec had spent the carriage ride seated next to Caeso, sketching costume ideas. Though no Leovata Vianci, her skills with a bit of charcoal or lead were practiced well enough. Holding the book upright so that neither Mieri or Soleil could see, she'd pass it to Caeso every so often (the road to the Capital was not so short) for his thoughts until they had settled upon a design that both met the traditional look of their chosen play, but allowed for a bit of a modern day take.

She exited the carriage after Mieri and was immediately given an earful as the girl whirled around and bellowed at her. The smallest Initiate stared up at her, unimpressed and possibly a bit offended by her terrible breath. The painted skull glowered wordlessly up at the redhead before stepping around her, bypassing the entire invitation to squabble, to be the first inside the costume shoppe.

Fennec then reached into the inner pocket of her cloak and withdrew a small, silver bell which she then rang briskly for a keeper's attention.

 

[Caeso Diemut]

"What use have we for spying?" Caeso said, stepping out of the carriage after Fennec. With a goading smirk he added, "Such would only prove a detriment to us."

"Bold words," said Soleil, the last to leave the carriage.

"True words," Caeso said. Where Mieri and Soleil had contented themselves with the leisure of the carriage ride, chatting and gawking in turn, Fennec (with an artistic talent that Caeso was thoroughly unaware of up until that point) had been sketching ideas. Brilliant, it gave the tailors a base to start with, and it was more expedient than gathering expert opinions as he would have done.

Soleil had said something to Mieri, but Caeso ignored it. He followed Fennec up toward the keeper's counter of Leora & Nori's, lagging behind slightly as he took in the sheer breadth of the costumes on display throughout the famed shop. Never would he have traded his time in the Academy for anything else, yet there were some things he knew he was missing out on—the majesty of theatre being one of them.

Leora, first of the shop's namesake keepers, turned from her work (a gorgeous blue dress set up on a mannequin) at the sound of Fennec's silver bell. Mildly confused at first, yes, a bit visibly taken aback by Fennec's unusual appearance, yes, but she quickly shifted into a smile and pleasantries. "Oh, hello. Welcome! Such young patrons, oh my. What might I be able to do for you?"

Caeso stepped up beside Fennec. Said, "We are in need of specific costumes for a special performance. Have a look, if you will."

And he prompted down toward Fennec's sketch book.

Fennec Mieri

 

[Soleil Verdane]

"What use have we for spying?" Caeso said as his large frame exited the carriage next. "Such would only prove a detriment to us."

Soleil hopped out after him, hardly making a sound as her shoes touched the street outside of the costume shop. "Bold words," she said.

"True words."

Soleil made no further comment or challenge. She merely smiled with a blissful character, eyes on Caeso's back as he made to enter the shop.

She leaned a little toward Mieri. Said, "Them? Smug. I say, good. We win? Ha! Rub in face."

It wasn't officially a competition, but that's quickly what it was becoming.

Mieri Fennec

 

[Mieri]

Mieri gave Fennec a cheerful smile as the skull-faced girl stepped past her, though did not offer the same to Caeso.

She knew he would be the true conspirator of the duo. "Oh yeah."

The redhead said to Soleil as the two of them stood a bit closer together.

"We're going to wipe the floor with them." It was hard to take the competitiveness out of Dreadlords. They had been trained all their lives in an environment which lauded the benefits of trying to one up the person next to you. Taking that away was not an easy adjustment.

Even for something as silly as a stage play. "Let's go."

Mieri said, grabbing Soleil's hand and leading her into the shop right behind the other two. Almost as soon as they stepped inside, a rather flamboyant man seemed to burst from one of the racks of clothing. His hair colored a bright blue, his face so animated Mieri for a second had to question if she was looking in a mirror.

"Hello there young Dreaaaaaaaaadlords! I understand you're looking for some costumes?"​

A wide grin set on his face, one that Mieri returned in fervor.

"Oh you bet your sweet blue frizzles we are, mister." And only the best would do.

"What exactly are you looking for then?"​

 

[Fennec]

Per her cue, Fennec withdrew the book from her rucksack and parted it open to the page marked by a tiny braid of black hair. Pointing with a gloved hand to the final sketch, she held the book up to the taller woman.

"Oh my, did you draw this yourself?" Leora remarked brightly, Fennec detected the nuanced wariness behind the woman's smile. The skull-faced girl nodded once.

"You're quite talented. Now let me see here..." she peered down at the various sketches, and then took several moments longer with the finished piece on the second page, "yes we should have everything here you seek to make this. It looks familiar, the mask especially, dare I say The Ri-"

Fennec abruptly cut the woman off by snatching her wrist with an iron grip. The girl lifted her free hand to place a finger to her lips for silence.

Caeso Diemut

 

[Caeso Diemut]

Leora, as one might expect, was stunned when Fennec grabbed her by the wrist.

Caeso offered a thin smile. "It's a competition, you see." With a slight backward gesture of his head he pointed out Mieri and Soleil, elsewhere in the shop. "And in the manner of an adept gambler, we are holding our cards close to our chest."

"O-Oh," Leora said. "Of course." A tiny nervous laugh escaped her lips. "I-I will need to take each of your measurements, is that alright?"

"Naturally." Clothes without a custom fit, like the standard fatigues provided by the Academy, were truly awful to wear.

"Great." She was at least trying to maintain her professionalism after having been so startled. "Over here to the pedestal, if you would please."

Caeso, admittedly a touch amused by Leora's lingering fright from Fennec's abrupt wrist grabbing (and really from her whole demeanor), signed to her as they walked, A good scare you gave her.

Fennec