Private Tales Read between the lines

[Talus]

"Alright." He said quietly. "I love you."

There was an extreme difficulty in pulling himself away from her, his arms nearly refusing to unravel from around her as he took a single step back. His eyes lingered on her for a few seconds, almost as if capturing the memory of her.

Then slowly he let his head turn a ghostly blue. He stuck it out through the door, turning left, then right before drawing himself back. "It's clear."

He said as he pushed open the closet door and stepped outside. A few seconds he cleared his throat.

"This way, Zana." He made his voice sound even. "I'll show you to the training ground.

 

[Zana]

"I love you too," Zana smiled and stepped back at the same moment he did, her hands lingering on his for just a moment more before letting him go. Whilst he went about checking the coast was clear she scrubbed at her face some more to remove the tear stains, fixed the mask back in place and rolled her shoulders to try and ease the turmoil still running through her body. She wanted nothing more than to sleep. The past few days had been draining and this argument even more so.

"So, run me through what training you have done with them," Zana clasped her hands behind her back once more as they adopted the same pace as they had before though with distinctly less tension now between them. "Are your men here today?" the sooner she could see them run through a few things the quicker she would know where she needed to start.

 

[Talus]

"Most of what I've done so far is show them how Dreadlords fight." Though many thought of the Mages of Vel Anir as simply that, the fact of the matter was that most of them were also incredibly deadly warriors.

A Dreadlord with a sword or bow was just as dangerous as one with magic, and many people simply did not expect that to be true.

"The Guard trains it's swordsmen well, but in a different way than we do." Dreadlords fought individually, the guards together. Talus had tried to show them how to do both. Most of them had caught on well, especially considering he'd been teaching them. "I've taught them some Rune Magic too."

He said that more carefully, knowing that it might come as more of a surprise to Zana.

The practice was highly illegal, something restricted due to a rebellion some years ago. "Next is...well actual magic. I can use College Magic well enough, but it's a poor excuse for a Dreadlords abilities."

His own magic was more suited for on on one combat than anything else. At least...it had been.

 

[Zana]

Zana nodded to each thing he said like a higher ranking officer would to a subordinate. Whenever they passed another soldier her green eyes flicked to study each of their faces. There was a mixed reaction; some smiled and then faltered as they seemed to realise what exactly she was, others looked at her with open hatred. It was going to be an... interesting deployment that was for sure. When he mentioned Rune Magic she missed a step in her stride and gave him an almost unreadable look before... nodding. She could see the value but it was dangerous. Her lips pressed into a thin line but she continued to listen until he had finished.

Her knuckles actually cracked when he spoke about the next stage of training.

"Well, telekinesis and energy manipulation are pretty wide spread and similar enough to others to cover quite a broad spectrum," Zana's voice was almost a reflection of the blank look on her face. "As long as they are comfortable working with a Luana I will do my best for them."

 

[Talus]

He nodded his head. "They'll be fine."

When he first arrived Talus had always had a certain amount of difficulty actually reading any of the Guardsmen. They had acted so differently, so...human, that it had been difficult to tell if any of them hated him.

As it turned out...most had just been afraid.

As they neared the training field Talus took in a deep breath.

"Most of these men and women are here because they hate the Houses." Talus stopped just short of an open entryway that lead to the training field. Dozens of men and women were there, most of them sparring while others rushed around in simple exercises. "Their family farm was taken, their sibling executed, parents arrested."

A myriad of injustices they'd had to endure. "A lot of them were afraid of me when this all began, some probably still are, but they all want to learn."

That was the important part.

 

[Zana]

"And they will hate me," Zana came to a stop beside him and turned her gaze to his. He didn't need to say anything more she could read between the lines perfectly well and they reflected now in how she spoke. Blunt but they truthfully. She stood before them as the representative of everything they hated. Talus at least had sworn to the guard, but to the rest of them Zana had been sent. She was a spy, a watchful eye in the guise of a friendship. The Olive Branch, Ashur had called her affectionately and sent her on her way. Despite the pain of that knowledge spreading through the bond her face was impassive.

None of them probably even cared that the Dreadlords were as good as slaves.

"Good, hatred will make them fight me harder," Zana looked away from him and then set off ahead of them towards the training field.

 

[Talus]

Talus waited a moment. "Not forever."

The words were loud enough that she could hear them.

It had taken him time to understand, had taken a while for him to really properly understand. The Guardsmen were human, truly human. They hadn't been taken like the Dreadlords and snapped into a thousand little pieces.

They were faster to warm to someone, faster to relate to them, to befriend them.

It was a quality Talus wished he'd had.

Without another word he quickly followed Zana onto the training field. As soon as he stepped onto the dirt there was a call, and the thirty or so Guardsmen present quickly snapped out of their training and into attention.

"These are only about a tenth of what I've been training, Most are at Castle Tirel." The Guard's main fortress near Vel Anir.

 

[Zana]

Not forever.

Perhaps. But for now she was a symbol of the Houses who had taken their friends, their family, their homes. She wasn't going to let the possibility of a future where they didn't hate her cloud the fact that that was going to be their attitude towards her for now.

Even so, the words echoed in her ears as she came to a stop in front of the assembled men and women who had snapped to attention when Talus had entered. The brief glimpse she had gotten before then hadn't been bad but it could be better. It would need to be better.

"Wise," especially when practising magic. Luana did most of their training at a venue out of the city too. In fact, she was pretty sure it was only basic training that was ever done in the city proper. Exercises and hand to hand combat. "Let's see what the Guards can do then," Zana reached behind and gathered her hair up, braiding it with quick deft fingers and tying it off with a piece of leather thonging she had tied about her wrist.

 

[Talus]

Talus cleared his throat.

The men and women on this field weren't the best of his lot, though he would never say that to any of them. These were...well, the worst of those he had trained so far. Zana would likely be rather unimpressed, but Talus had chosen them for a reason.

They needed the largest kick, and if anyone here was reporting back to any of the Houses they would see soldiers who were struggling.

It was a move that the Houses would have made in their little game, and he felt no small amount of shame in having made it. "This is Dreadlord Zana. You will show her the same respect that you show me. She is here to teach you, just as I am."

He motioned to her.

"Zana?" Talus waited for her to start, somewhat curious where this would go.

 

[Zana]

There was more than a few dark looks. What a shame they had no powers to back them up, they would have made quite the frightful Dreadlords with such glowers. Casually she counted their number as if she were a teacher about to take a class out on a field trip. Every face she mentally put away in the back of her mind so that she could add marks against their faces, both good and bad. Her blank expression broke for the slightest of moments to give a mild look of disgust. A few more dark looks.

Good.

"30. Very well," with deft fingers she took off her jacket and hung it over one of the wooden armour stands so that it wouldn't get dirty; she liked her uniform. "Let's see if 30 of what the Guard deems passable for soldiers can take down one Dreadlord with the training Talus has given you," as she spoke she rolled up the sleeves on her shirt until it was above her elbows.

To add insult to injury she even took off her sword and dropped it to the side.

"When you impress me enough I'll bother using that," then she walked through the ranks until she was stood in the middle, arms folded with a look of absolute boredom on her face. "First person to land a blow I will buy a new horse."

 

[Talus]

To Talus' surprise, none of them immediately rushed forward.

As soon as Zana offered her challenge he had expected a few of them to move to strike her down as quickly as they possibly could. Instead of that happening though, they actually fell back to watch he had taught them.

In almost synchronized movements the Guardsmen fell into a space out line, moving into a loose formation before quickly yelling out an order.

There was a bark, and then six men ran towards Zana.

Their movements were quick, practiced, though sloppy. These weren't the best he had trained, but it was clear that they had been listening at least.

Instead of attacking Zana one at a time they moved together, spreading out with erratic movements to make it more difficult for her to predict just where they were going. The others watched, apparently waiting and learning.

 

[Zana]

A rather fond if painful memory came back to her as she watched the six Guards run towards her. They had done this as a training exercise at the Academy; a student was selected to stand in the middle and face off against three opponents, then five, then ten, and so on and so on until they were facing off their entire class. The first time Zana had been put in the middle she had been 11 years old and she had managed to survive without a strike against her until she had reached 10. By the time she had graduated seven years later she had been able to take fifty.

And those had been Dreadlords.

Zana didn't move until the first few strikes came towards her and then she turned into a blur. There was a scream from one man as she caught his comrades fist and pulled him forward, sending him with all of his force into the person who had been coming at her from behind, smashing his jaw in the process. Her leg came out at the same moment to trip another up and then the fourth she flipped over her body and smashed into a poor unsuspecting lad who had been about to throw a well practised kick towards her knee. The sixth man Zana wasted no fanfare and simply punched in the nose then sent a sharp knee up between his legs.

A sympathetic groan went up from amongst the crowd.

"Next," the Dreadlord sighed, tucking a ribbon of hair back behind her ear.

By the time she was finished there were thirty people on their backs or stomachs. Some had managed to sit up and were leaning against one another for support.

"That," Zana picked her way through the maze of bodies to collect her sword. "Is what a Dreadlord can do without magic. Would anyone like to try with it today? No?" She pretended to look disappointed. In truth she was actually impressed; they worked together well and if Talus hadn't warned her she would have been on the back foot from the offset.

 

[Talus]

Talus wouldn't have called what he did swooning, but it was about as close as he had ever gotten to something like it.

The way Zana moved was impressive, and in a way...a dance of it's own. He couldn't help but remember theirs times in Karak, at the cabin, and as she beat his soldiers into the ground he couldn't help but keep the soft smile on his face.

By the time it was all over, Talus had run out of memories.

He had never run this particular test with the Guardsmen, mostly because he had not wanted to discourage their progress. Yet he remembered doing the same thing at the academy. His first try had gone terribly, beaten to an inch of his life.

By the time he'd graduated the situation had been reversed.

Talus slowly walked over to Zana, looking around at the moaning soldiers. "Well done."

He wondered who would win between the two of them.

 

[Zana]

"You shouldn't give them praise when they failed," she had obviously known his compliment was for her but a Dreadlord would never give another Dreadlord a compliment.

Zana caught the thread of curiosity and her gaze snapped to his almost like a predator eyeing up her prey. The smile didn't touch her lips but it was in her eyes for the barest of seconds; dangerously tempting sin shrouded in her own curiosity.

"Perhaps when your whole unit are here we should offer them a demonstration so they can see where they went wrong exactly," but only after they had had their first initial spar in the privacy of the forests around his cabin. She wasn't entirely sure the first time they lay hands on each other in such a fashion would end the way it needed to in front of the Guard. She might be able to control herself once it was out of her system.

 

[Talus]

Talus had to resist the urge to wink at her, or reach over and grab the curve of her rear in full view of the scattered soldiers.

There was something intensely alluring about Zana in that moment, his heart thundering in his chest as he tried not to jump her like a lion having seen his lioness bring home new prey. His fingers tightened, and he slowly looked around the rest of the training field. "Aye."

He agreed with a nod of his head.

After a few seconds some of the men slowly began to drag themselves to their feet. Some were scowling, others were holding their arms, and still others were looking at Zana with a strange sort of aw.

He noted that most of the latter were women.

For a brief moment Talus frowned, realizing that there might be something else to all of this he had never even thought about before.

"We'll take a little trip." He said, glancing at Zana for a moment. "And see what happens."

 

[Zana]

Zana met each glare or stare directed her way with her own icy disapproval. It was very clear what she thought of them - what any Dreadlord would have thought of them - and Zana wasn't about to drop the ball and give the group the villain they all wanted to see in a House Dreadlord. A small frown marred her face as he spoke of a trip - did he really wish for her to visit the fort today? Of course she wouldn't mind throwing the rest of his unit around but she would have thought there were more things here he needed to show her.

She had been about to answer him when one of the woman timidly approached her.

"Excuse me, Lady Zana, but..." the woman physically flinched when Zana turned towards her and a spike of guilt travelled through the bond even if her face didn't show her. "A few of us were wondering... if you could show us again the technique you used to flip a person who is of greater size to you?" For a moment Zana was shocked, stunned even. Then slowly she nodded.

"Of course, that is why I am here," her eyes flicked to Talus. "Would you mind being my partner? I do not want to bruise anymore of your men today."

 

[Talus]

Talus wasn't entirely sure that was a good idea.

He was half positive that if he put a hand on Zana some of her clothes would be leaving with it. Fingers flexed for just a brief moment, and he took in a breath. "Of course."

The move that the young woman had described was one taught to even men at the Academy. In world filled with orcs, trolls, and other giant monsters it was handy to know these things regardless of being male or female.

Slipping the sword from his belt, he tossed the weapon to one of the nearby Guardsmen before motioning to Zana.

Then, with slow deliberate movements he stepped towards the love of his life and let her throw him to the ground.

 

[Zana]

Zana was trying to not let how pleased she was someone had approached her show.

"The key is in using their weight to your advantage so you don't take the strain of it, bend your knees, put your hip into the action like this," she took them through the movements slowly, one hand fisted in Talus' shirt whilst she pressed her hip into his right hip, legs bent. "When you stand up, use the momentum like so," Zana demonstrated by rolling the light of her life over her shoulder and letting him drop to the ground on his back in one quick flourish.

There was a crowd of women now who had come to watch with interest.

"Come, try it on me I'm lighter," Zana motioned the woman who had asked the initial question forward. There seemed to be a collective holding of breath as the woman warily stepped forward. "Now you want to put your hand here, yes, your hip- perfect, now -"

Zana ended up on her back staring up at a horrified face.

"I'm sorry-"

"Do not apologise that was excellent," she rolled to her feet and brushed the dirt from her clothes. "Now try it on him," she nodded to Talus then eyed up the next woman. "You next."

And through the motions they went, testing first on Zana and then Talus.

 

[Talus]

It took Talus a few moments to get up after Zana threw him onto the ground, her interactions with the Guardswoman sending a spike of admiration and love through him like never before.

He couldn't quite keep the stupid smile off his face as she pulled himself up from the dirt and stared at her, coughing a second later as he realized he probably looked like a love struck puppy. His gaze tore away, and he followed through the motions of helping out the other Guardswomen.

After a while the men of the group volunteered themselves, and Talus instructed them on a move they could practice as well.

Things slipped into a routine for the afternoon, one that broke up as the sun began to set in the distance.

The Guardsmen around them were quietly breaking up, Talus overhearing a few of the women speaking excitedly about what they learned. A smile touched his face as he stood by the entrance he and Zana had stepped out of earlier.

His expression only grew as his arms crossed and he watched Zana with one of the Guardswomen who still remained on the field.

 

[Zana]

A punch came for her face which she ducked, blocked a leg that came up to try and catch her on the ribs. She returned the favour with a spinning kick that took her off the ground but the other woman caught. Zana was impressed. The woman - Lola - who had first asked her the question had turned out to be an incredibly good student who was eager to learn. The two had ended up leaving the rest of the group to the basics whilst they had progressed further. The woman moved like a viper now she knew how to use her weight and shorter statue to her advantage and the pair moved in quick patterns back and forth.

Zana swept the girls legs out from under her that would have sent her crashing to the floor except she pillowed it with a burst of energy. Lola looked at her wide-eyed but then a grin spread across her face. The Dreadlord couldn't help the smile she returned and then reached out a hand to help her back to her feet.

"Perhaps, we will use blades next time," Lola looked a mix of excited, terrified but also full of pride that she had done a good enough job to warrant the step up. The girl snapped off a salute then jogged to join the girls who were already leaving the training field. Once they were alone Zana wiped the sweat from her brow and wandered back to Talus.

"I am actually impressed."

 

[Talus]

"Me too." Talus said as he smirked at her.

After what she'd told the Generals he had expected her to at least break a few more bones, but instead she had fallen into a far more calm rhythm of teaching in a far more...relaxed manner.

It had made pride swell in his chest, a joy that he couldn't have described before he'd actually felt it.

"You did a good job with them." His voice was softer, lower. "Lola, especially."

The girl had always been a quiet one, and today was the first day he had ever seen her ask a single question or look even the slightest bit excited. He had tried to coax such things from her, but had never succeeded before. "Her father was Executed during the decimation in Stratholm, her mother died of a fever shortly after."

That had only been a short few months ago. Most people remembered it well, the news that Elise Virak had ordered the slaughter of a tenth of the once Religious city of Vel Stratholm. A decision that all of the Houses had come out in support of, one meant to send a message of power and control.

 

[Zana]

"I have been training children for seven years, you need not look so surprised," Zana gave him an unreadable look as she picked up her jacket and rebuckled the sword about her waist. Even though they were alone she couldn't be entirely sure and she couldn't speak how she wanted to. A part of her wondered what Talus had thought she was going to be like training, but then again she hadn't got to the point of teaching them how to fight against magic. That would be a whole different sort of training but not one to be conducted in the city under watchful eyes.

Rubbing a hand around the back of her neck she glanced around the field before back to Talus.

"Is that all, Commander? I do have other duties to attend to today if you have no further use for me," she blinked at him with those blank cold green eyes and waited to be dismissed.

 

[Talus]

He smiled at her, just shaking his head. "No."

There was nothing much to say anymore. Over her shoulder he could see General Yarl lurking in one of the windows. He had been standing there for some time, watching the training and keeping an eye on Zana specifically.

"You can go." He said quietly. "I'll see you back here in the morning."

Sooner than that, but there was no telling who was listening.

With that he stepped away from the double doorways, letting Zana pass as he made another pointed glanced towards the window Yarl stood in.

 

[Zana]

Zana would have to be blind not to know she had been watched but Talus' shift in gaze was all the confirmation she needed. Without so much as raising a hand the window through which the General was staring suddenly disintegrated in a haze of purple energy, falling to the grass below in a shower of glass.

"Tomorrow," the Dreadlord nodded curtly to her fellow, before exiting the grounds without a further word.

She hadn't been lying about having other duties to attend to. Zana was one of the better trainers and after her lesson with the guard she had run a session with the latest crop of apprentices to make it out of the Academy and swear themselves to a House they believed best served the people. By the time she pushed open the door to her home she was beginning to wonder if she was getting too old for this.

Grey leapt on her the moment she opened the door and the tiredness eased back just a little bit.

"Hey you," her eyes flicked up from wolf to the man whom she had known was waiting for her the moment he had entered her house.

 

[Talus]

Talus smirked as he watched Yarl's face when the glass disintegrated his gaze never shifting away as Zana began to walk away.

It was hard not to watch her as she left. Hard not to turn around and tell her that he loved her. He allowed the feeling to flow through the bond instead, his eyes closing for a brief second as he focused, before snapping off a half-assed salute to Yarl.

The General scowled, walking away from his place and leaving Talus standing utterly alone in the training ground.

When Zana returned to her home, Talus was already sitting in the plush chair that he had occupied his first visit to her home. Grey's hair half covered him, and it was clear that the Wolf had been doing his best imitation of a lap dog.

As soon as Zana stepped through the door Talus stood. "Hello, My Love."

It felt painfully good to say those words out loud.