Private Tales Reshuffle

[Elias]

Vel Castere

With the sun overhead, and open tomes and unraveled scrolls in the grass on either side of him, Elias lay on his back staring up. He thought of a lecture some time ago in a dark, windowless room filled with straight rows of wooden benches. Shoulder to shoulder, packed from wall-to-wall, young scared children sat beside each other.

"... You win every battle by whatever dogged means you must. Worry no longer about trifling things such as purpose or fate. For you who still yearn to find the meaning behind your existence here, remember what I have to say: Your lives, as mine, are no longer your own. You are blades, and your hilts are wielded by the greatness of Vel Anir, and when She swings it you will kill any number of men She wills dead... Only total victory will suffice."

Old Pallatrix may have been a sorry bastard, but even as the young Apprentice Dreadlords grew into sturdy young men and women, seldom few could match the senior Proctor in even one field on their best days. Elias had never seen a single person best him completely on any occasion. The lordling may say the name Mars Pallatrix with a bitter sneer, but the old man possessed an ability that demanded respect. When he spoke, you listened. Simple as.

Elias stretched his limbs before sitting up. He found peace on the terrace between the daily drills with his new unit. In the middle was a perfectly square patch of grass with a single tree where he would enjoy napping. Or, more recently, read during the day.

Were Eli to quantify what amount of his ability could be attributed to innate talent, eighty percent seemed fair enough. He trained his body to sustain the celestial flames coursing through his blood but never had a single worry that he would ever be lacking in might. Everything was just there from the beginning. He just had to grasp it. Learning traditional schools of magic had been beneath him. He was Elias fucking Sirl, for heaven's sake! He was born to be great and spat on those who lacked the talent to match his and those that had to endeavor to achieve growth. Thought that their efforts were distasteful. Disgusting. Thought of all of them as lesser.

Yet here he was, studying the very basics of constructing wards and barriers. The only specialist (big dumb oaf that he was) Elias knew of was off doing God-knows-what God-knows-where.

Two weeks had passed since his arrival at Vel Castere, and in that time, he'd been expected to quickly integrate with his new unit, but without the presence of Ralene Black, it proved to be an easier task when spoken of.

Rigid structure, discipline, and Elias Sirl were not things that gelled with ease.

 

[Samantha Black]

Didn't like being a pessimist, but it had been over a month since she'd arrived at Vel Caster with Davi, yet no word on Elias. While Ralene was well aware the road from Vel Anir to Vel Castere was a long one and she had of course routed Elias to Vel Draza as his destination, she was certain he would have been sent properly on his way from there. She'd been sent off on rotational patrolling duties in the northwest that lead her to discovering a strange elf named Ianthir and just how badly kept those outlying villages were when it came to the Republic's new laws and mission.

Left her with a bad taste in her mouth. Morally and legally speaking, every member of that village should have been tossed in irons for what they'd done to the elf. Yet how to condemn those who had no shephard of the new ways to guide them and hold them to that standard? She couldn't - but some poor Marshall would. Ral didn't envy them that job of cleansing the prejudice from that town. Bit like gilding a turd, if you asked her. She was endlessly grateful that Davi had chosen to go with her and not follow his own plan of becoming a Marshall.

That could have been him.

She had Wolf at her side now, figuratively speaking. Now if only she had Elias here at the other. Ralene had made a plan to send a missive to Elspeth Sirl, of all people, to ask after what she knew. Anything? Elias had mentioned having some personal business to take care of before he joined her, but surely that business was done with. He wouldn't keep her waiting, wouldn't set her nerves to singe on the what if'isms of the very small concern she held but would never voice at the back of her mind. Elias had always been good to his word, but he'd gotten quiet just before graduation. Stopped talking so openly. Stopped sharing the way he'd been in the years leading up to their final departure from that place.

Don't overthink it, Ral told herself as she rode in through the familiar stone archways of the walled fortress city. He'll be here.

He wouldn't just leave without saying something. He wouldn't ditch me like that.

Still, her fingers itched to write that letter, let her misgivings fly on parchment to the beat of raven wings.

That was until she made her way back through the streets and walkways of her new home, toward the eastern quarter of the city where stone buildings and perimeter walls intersected rolling hills of grass. There in the green she saw an even more familiar and welcome sight: Elias Sirl lounging between the blades.

"HEY!" the yell erupted from her throat before she could stop herself, and the few eyes in the area turned to watch as Ralene Black stormed across the gentle slope like a boulder preceding a landslide, and threw herself at the boy where he sat. Her arms grappled around him with all the strength of her trust in him and her head sank into his shoulder with the weight of her worry.

"You're fucking late," she said as she embraced him.

 

[Elias]

Elias had thought: Oh, I'm so great. Learning rudimentary magic shouldn't be a problem.

Except he'd forgotten that years ago, learning rudimentary magic was a problem. It was a big problem that had earned him no shortage of beatings and punishments. The Proctors had given up, though. Beat him for wasting their time, too.

Fucking stupid. He'd never needed it and thought he never would, not when he had the ability that was embued within his body. But his predecessors had written of a technique within the Annals he uncovered with Aura Ventress that piqued his curiosity. The first step, at least what Eli thought would be the first step would be, was understanding the mechanics of a magic barrier.

I fucking understand it just fine so why can't I grasp the fucking feeling of casting the fucking thing.

"HEY!"

The Dreadlord flinched, and his gaze snapped toward the voice. Elias perked, startled, wary about how Ralene approached him. Like she was gonna sock him one good. But, why? Fuck it, don't worry about the why. Just don't get hit. It hurts when Ralene hits you, more than when anyone else does it.

Eli braced himself. He was ready to slip a punch and jump to his feet. Clenched his jaw just in case.

Wait, she's diving-

"Oomph!" Elias was knocked flat onto his back, smushed between the soft earth and Ral's weight.

"Says you," he hoarsely responds after a small delay, no longer than a breath. "Thought you would've been here when I arrived."

Eli finally returns his friend's embrace. He squeezes her tightly, then loosens up only to push himself back upright.

She had a job to do, too. They wouldn't just waste her by having her sit around on her ass all the time. But the two weeks without her there felt like an eternity.

"Did you think I ran off?" He asks with a scoff, and his expression grows grossly smug when he sees the look on Ral's face, "Oh, you did. You absolutely thought I ran off. That's great. That's really funny."

 

[Samantha Black]

"I was working!" Ral grumbled into him, huffing as he sat up and extricating herself just enough to sit up, half-straddling him. His smug self was met with an irrate grimace and a hand grabbing his jaw to smoosh the grin on his face with her fingers, "I almost wrote your sister," she hissed, "thought you went on another brothel bender like that time in Sol Rienne."

Endless booze, bitches, and brothels. Eli hadn't been in a good place then.

"You weren't you right before graduation," she frowned, her grip loosening on his face without fully letting go, "I wasn't sure what to think, I just hoped you'd be here when I returned."

 

[Elias]

"Oi, I thought we agreed not to talk about Sol Rienne," Elias protests through her grip on his face.

And then the boy fell silent. Mars Pallatrix's lecture on purpose and fate never carried much weight with Eli. He'd always been so sure about who he was and what he was going to be. Hearing that from her, that he wasn't himself, wasn't easy to digest.

"It's not like me to leave a fine woman wanting," he says, "I'm here, yeah? So don't go and blab to my sister. She'd probably fuckin' collapse or something."

Eager to talk about anything else, Elias reaches out to Ral's face and traces the fresh scars there. He had been by her side to see her earn most of them. The ones he hadn't been there for, he'd asked about. Made for good pillow talk.

"I'd hate to see the other guy. I know you didn't let them off easy for that."

 

[Samantha Black]

She wasn't mad. Not anymore, anyway. He was here, so her trust in him was founded and she could stop clinging to simple, meager hope. Still, a smile did not find its way to her expression despite the air now in her lungs lifting that wait of concern away. Elias fell under a stare he was most familiar with. The one that held the weight of words that would not fly, especially not with that change of topic.

Her eyes disengaged from his in a flash of heated emotion she did not want to direct his way.

"I killed him," she said shortly before looking back, "at graduation."

An event Elias had not been present for. Perhaps he'd been ordered to stay in like some of the others. Or maybe he'd just slept through the event, uncaring for the ceremony in question. Either way, they didn't have that to bond over like she had with Davi. In some ways that she wouldn't voice, she was actually angry about it. But to be angry about his absence from further torture and suffering ... well, of course that just wasn't right, and talking about graduation wasn't going to happen over a pillow.

It wasn't going to happen at all, as a matter of fact.

With a deep sigh, Ralene cleared the tide of roiling feelings from her mind and pushed the subject from her thoughts entirely. "So," she forcibly planted a faint smile on her lips, "what codename did you end up with?"

 

[Elias]

Swing and miss. Elias lets his hand slowly drop from her face and uses it to prop himself up on the grass.

"Blaze. Blaze." When he repeats his alias, he lowers the tone of his voice in a jestful attempt to sound menacing. "I wanted to hate it at first. It's kinda growing on me. What's yours?"

 

[Samantha Black]

Sol.

She mentally chewed on that for a moment and considered it. At the end of the day it didn't matter if she liked it or not, most of the Squadron chose their own codenames but sometimes ... sometimes a codename chose them.

"Black," Ral replied, "as is my new surname. Ralene Banick doesn't exist anymore." She didn't have to explain that to him, Elias was already well aware of how she felt about her purported noble origins. Now she'd finally and officially cut ties, a different sort of weight had left her entirely. She would never bear that wretched name or wear its sigil again.

"Sol is good. Thought Holstag might suggest Scorch ..." her nose twitched and she did this time smirk in earnest, "Sol is better. Davi's is Wolf."

 

[Elias]

Elias beamed at Ral. About damn time. That's great. His smile said it all.

Having her support on his codename gave him some needed confidence in it.

"I reckon it is pretty damn good, actually."

His smile faltered—a small quirk down in the corner of his lips.

"Wolf is fucking cool..." Elias sighed, and the smile faded completely. He quietly groans and scratches the back of his neck, "I used to be hard on Davi way back when."

 

[Samantha Black]

Yeah, she sure as hell missed that fucking smile. Elias may have been a loose cannon the majority of the time but there were few others Ralene trusted completely to watch her back like him. She'd had to have that conversation with Davi - one that had unveiled a litany of other issues that they would now need to work on. Made her wonder, rather briefly, how he was doing with his meals here. Leaving him for his first few weeks had been difficult now that she knew, but she'd informed Holstag before her departure so at least he knew to keep an eye out, too.

"We all were," she replied quietly, shifting to remove herself completely from him to take a more comfortable seat in the grass, "but I think he's willing to look past that. Fresh start. Told him to leave the Academy behind," her eyes shifted sideways to look at Eli, "the same goes for you. The Squadron is your family now and we look after our own."

 

[Elias]

"It's hard to gel with them." And it was for several reasons. A lack of chemistry, clashes of personalities, and the fact that Elias just seemed to misstep during teamwork-oriented drills and exercises, just to name a few.

Elias remembered the words of an old one-legged Proctor, Arne Kellmir. Mars Pallatrix's best friend, or so Arne had said. But the man was Jovial and unlike any of the other Proctors, and was so different compared to Mars that Elias never believed it. Whereas Mars possessed unrivaled martial prowess and sword skills, Arne came second to none in regard to his magical abilities. There was a time when Elias received a lot of private teaching from the aloof Proctor, and the lessons he learned from that time built the foundation of the warrior he grew into.

"But I'm trying my best."

 

[Samantha Black]

Didn't have much sympathy for that. Ralene knew Holstag's company as well, if not better, than those she knew from the academy. It was hard to fit in with a crowd that had years upon years of history, but so far as she felt there were hardly too many of them not willing to give a newbie a helping hand.

The trouble was Elias didn't like receiving helping hands and he'd mostly been a lone wolf in the academy. Funny how she ended up with him and Davi here. Ral wasn't going to question how that all worked out, it was just easier to accept it at face value.

"There's only a handful I can guess would give you trouble on purpose," she remarked, her mind instantly going to a man called Flint who no one particularly liked. Flint had a personal vendetta against Dreadlords, so it didn't make relations any easier to smooth over. He'd been sour enough with Ralene coming in - but when he learned she was made Lieutenant before him? Oh... she'd known the man for several years now and never seen him so infuriated.

"Steer clear of Flint if you can. He's not worth your anger or the trouble."

A couple others weren't especially pleased with the change of things in the military regarding Dreadlords. They didn't trust them and, frankly, Ral didn't really blame them. Especially not after what happened during the revolution.

"Just stick with the core group," she said, head leaning toward him, "Sparrow's off on mission with Davi but I promise you'll get along with her just fine. The Twins: Mess and Mizer will appreciate your melee style. There's Fern, she's quiet and keeps to herself but..." a smirk as she looked over at him, "she likes to read and will talk books with you all night. Hammer's all about his weapons, won't stop bugging me to make him something. Oh, and Big Man - that's Holstag's little brother."

Little was perhaps the understatement of the century. Holstag's brother was two years his junior but perhaps a whole foot and a half taller. Born with a rare condition of gigantism, the man was positively massive - topping the charts at just over seven and a half feet. He would have been ostracized from the Vel Anir community had the condition not run in the family. Despite not being of noble standing, the Holstag name went back to the foundations of Vel Anir itself and nearly five of its family members had grown to gigantic proportions.

"You'll not find a nicer person or better ground cover," Ralene's smirk broadened.

 

[Elias]

"What's that look for? I read one book..." He trails off, aware of the irony of being surrounded by open tomes and unraveled scrolls.

Not that Elias needed any hand-holding or babysitting. But it already felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Elias felt almost a sense of invincibility with his longtime friend back by his side.

"It'll be better with you here."

 

[Samantha Black]

"Uh huh," Ralene smugged at him and then eyeballed the various literary pieces strewn about him. Reading was a good habit for him to have and she hoped he meant to pick it up in earnest, but it was nice to see him making an actual effort to settle in. Even if he wasn't making a big effort to fit in.

It would get better with time.

"It'll be better with you here."

She snorted at that, "That so? Guess you have always enjoyed taking orders from me," she smirked and lifted a hand to push at his face before moving to get to her feet, "now you get to do it for real."

"Gods I need a soak and a drink. The long hours in the saddle are not doing my back any favors. Holstag got you settled in an apartment yet? Thought he put you in the same flat as me and Davi."

 

[Elias]

Elias rolled his eyes. Trying to explain himself now would just put on more of a show for Ral than he'd like. It was something that could wait, anyway.

The boy grumbles and snorts a chuckle, putting up no resistance to her playful shove. He moves to his knees and begins to gather his strewn-about study materials into a neat stack.

"Listening to you never led me astray," after a beat, he rubs his ass where a spearhead-sized scar was, "Well, mostly never."

Elias scoops the stack with one arm and stands all in one fluid motion, then shakes his head.

"He's working on doing just that. For the time being, I've been staying in Route's flat while he's out on a mission." They begin to walk from the terrace. Eli gives Ral a sideways glance, "Your back wouldn't be an issue if you'd just do the stretches I showed you," he snickers and ripostes tenfold with his own smugness, "Or are you that wanting of me to knead those road-weary muscles of yours that you're bitching about it? There's no shame in just asking for a favor."

 

[Samantha Black]

"Your stretches don't fix a month straight in the saddle," Ralene scowled, "Holstag wanted time alone with Davi and you - sent me out on Patrol around the north-western outlying villages..."

She digressed. Much as she wanted to be here to help her companions get their foundation within the Knights, she understood why Holstag did not. Davi and Eli needed time to adjust on their own because at the end of the day, they wouldn't always be on mission with her.

"Route's good people," Ral nodded, "bit odd sometimes, dependable, and shit at giving back massages."

Her smirk returned as she side-eyed him. Missed having Eli around to grin with. Davi was usually a struggle to talk to, though he was getting better, but his sense of humor didn't hit like Eli's did.

 

[Elias]

"My stretches will make you invincible."

Eli couldn't help but laugh at Ral's expense, "Academy made you the world's deadliest pack mule."

Then he shrugs. Never met Route as he'd been long gone upon Eli's arrival, and Holstag hadn't spared many details about the absent Knight. He kept a tidy place at least.

"Everyone's shit after me. Sorry to ruin massages for you."

 

[Samantha Black]

"A sad truth," Ral chuckled, "but I wouldn't mind you workin' out some knots before the games tomorrow."

How had she managed to arrive home right before the start of the Tourney of Castere was either sheer dumb luck or someone above was having a laugh.

 

[Elias]

"At your service," he intoned. She could count on feeling brand new after he was done with her.

From what he understood, the tournament was less about individual might and emphasized tactics and teamwork. He recalled the fun he had trading blows with the wayward Prince Anireth and longingly sighed. Elias was prideful and competitive, but despite that couldn't feel any excitement for the morrow.

"I say fifty-fifty chance that I'm dead weight for the Tourney."

 

[Samantha Black]

That got an arched brow from Ral.

It was a wholly different format from what they'd grown up with at the Academy. Aside from the last year of their life there, everything had been about self preservation. Might makes right. Survival of the strongest and most powerful or, in some rare instances, most cunning. Here they had a team to watch over, and for Elias in time she hoped it would feel more like a family as it did to her.

"Don't ruin my good word with the Captian, eh?"

Holstag hadn't been keen on bringing in a Sirl, but she'd convinced him Elias wasn't his father's son. She stopped walking, taking a moment to look up at him, "Dead weight doesn't protect lives. These people in the company are people who will bleed and throw their lives on the line for you but only if you're willing to do the same for them. Are you in this for real?"

 

[Elias]

"I have set my mind to it, so don't fucking ask me that again," he snapped and immediately winced.

Proctors would often assess Elias as lazy and unmotivated. He showed little enthusiasm when doing drills with his classmates, and would go through the motions of training sessions. In front of others, he was an easy-going, listless student. Despite that, for years, he was elite.

Though it took ages, Elias allowed Ralene to see his gross, unsophisticated side. By his lonesome, he trained like a demon. His effort was tenfold what most others could muster.

The boy sighed and scratched his forehead with his thumb, "I'm trying, Ral. I'll fuckin' get there, alright?"

 

[Samantha Black]

Yeah, that was about the same reaction she got from Davi for a similar challenge. A cool gaze of frozen blue caught the wince and knew of his immediate regret at the tone without him ever having to admit to it. Elias was perhaps one of the few she could stand disrespect from before, but this wasn't the Academy anymore.

"I never questioned your dedication to me," that went without any doubt in her mind. Elias had never let her down personally and was one of the very few people she trusted to watch her back. But...

"I just want to make sure you're willing to show that same dedication to the rest of the team. You and I are the strongest people in this company. They don't have any reason to trust in or count on you other than my word. A lot of them don't like the idea of Dreadlords in their ranks. Some are scared of us, some resent us, but I've had ten years to gain their trust and earn their respect."

She frowned, looking down at her hand and slowly rolling it into a fist, then releasing it, "I..." Ralene's voice dropped to a quiet level, the tone softening in a way it only did in Eli's company, "I care about these people, Eli. They're like family to me."

 

[Elias]

"Well you should have said that first," Eli averts his gaze from Ralene as she expresses a rare moment of vulnerability.

Elias couldn't imagine he'd ever refer to them as family, but all those years ago he couldn't have imagined forming such a close bond to Ralene either.

Too absorbed in his pride and frustrations to even make an attempt to fit in, and while over the past two years all of his peers and even the nation as a whole changed, Elias had stagnated and stubbornly clung onto what he has always been used to.

"We won't have to have this talk again," his warm, earthy gaze settles back onto Ral as an assurance of his conviction.

 

[Samantha Black]

A short and terse sigh flushed from Ralene's lips. Start with vulnerability? No, that wasn't something she had any practice in, but he had seen the most of it from her out of anyone. When his gaze met hers again Ral found herself suddenly grateful that he was there. Elias had provided for her the sort of kinship no one else in her life had. He knew things about her no one else did and likely ever would.

It was good to have him here with her in this new stage of her life. She just hoped he could find himself in a similar place of contentment.

"Good," Ral gave him an easy smile, held it for a meaningful moment, then jabbed him in the shoulder with her fist, "and don't talk back to your ranking officer."

Smirk.

 

[Elias]

"Yes, ma'am," Elias rolls his eyes and turns on his heels to continue on their walk. First order of business was dropping his armful of books off at his temporary accommodations, and from there he'd catch up with Ral.

"Where's that put you on the pecking order with the squad?"