Fable - Ask The Last Day

[Zael Castomir]

THE ACADEMY
TRAINING GROUNDS​

"I'm not too worried about it," Zael said, spinning his sword around in his hand.

It was the last day before graduation for the senior class of the Academy. The dying light of the sun was in the west. Surprisingly, it had been a day devoid of much for them to do. A Republic thing? Maybe.

What else was there to do then than to get into a few friendly spars in the training arena? A fair number of other Initiates had the same idea. And Kristen Pirian (heh, there's another surprise for ya) was more than willing to fight with him—she was still trying to hone her skills with the sword. Yeah, Zael had to take it easy on her so that she could actually learn something, but hey, it was fun nonetheless.

"Not even a little?" Kristen said. She held her sword in a high guard that was so perfect as to be incredibly rigid. It was something she needed to work on.

"Why would I be?" Zael said, throwing his head back for a laugh. "The old way's gone. And good riddance. So now we got the Republic, right? What are they gonna make us do? A written test? Shit. We'll all just copy off of Alistair then we're good to go."

Kristen gave him a look.

"Relaaaax, I'm jokin."

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"Well, still the question is raised, is it not?" Kristen said. They were each circling one another, now more invested in the conversation than in engaging in the twentieth or so spar they were currently on.

"I'll be findin out tomorrow, no need in wonderin too hard about it."

Kristen pulled a tight smile. "I, however, have plenty of occasion to wonder."

"I'll write you a letter with all of the answers."

Kristen gave him that reproachful, would you please take this a little more seriously look again.

"Relaaaax, Kris, Kress, I'm jokin. You act like you're the one that's gonna be goin up to graduate tomorrow."

"I will in time."

"Fair enough, fair enough." Zael cocked his head. "So...you're, what, sixteen?"

"Seventeen."

"Happy birthday. Seventeen. So, why did the Proctors toss you into our class?"

It was all Kristen could do to simply grin at her fortunes. For better or worse, this was how her fate turned out upon enrollment into the Academy. "From what I understand, the Proctors didn't know what to do with me at first. Then, it was decided that it would be best to 'throw me into the deep end of the lake.'"

 

[Zael Castomir]

They exchanged a perfunctory few slashes at one another, each blocked and parried by the other, and they continued in their leisurely circling.

"'Deep end of the lake' eh? Well they got that right," Zael said, smiling broadly. "Hopefully you've gotten somethin out of it."

Kristen, now with a wry smile of her own, tossed her sword to her left hand and held up her right. The artificial.

"Ah, yeah, there you go, there you go, now you're the one with the jokes."

"In seriousness, I am a different person than I was before I set foot through the Academy's gates. I should hope for the better."

"Have you puked on anyone lately?"

"What!? No!"

"For the better then," Zael said, tight lips holding back a hearty laugh. Success, so he continued, "And you got another couple years or so to keep at it. Me? I'm off to make like ol' Talus Morid and join the Guard." And now he did laugh. "Man, those nobles got to be kickin themselves for lettin that happen, huh? No offense."

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"I take none, for I will remind you that it was we of House Pirian who first pledged our allegiance to the Revolution's effort," Kristen said coolly. It was, of course, a fact that she was eminently proud of, and always would be.

"Ever would say you lot won the hell out of that gamble."

"I shall consult Everleigh if I seek her honest opinion. Oh, and 'twas no gamble. A matter of principle, and the fulfillment thereof."

Zael grinned. "How 'bout you fulfill your way into answerin this question: what are you gonna do when you graduate? Huh? I wanna hear it."

"Serve my House."

"Can't do that."

"Not in an official capacity anymore, no." Kristen clucked her tongue against her inner cheek. "I admit that I was laboring under a misapprehension about that for some time."

"So reservist then."

"'Tis my sole option."

Zael shook his head, a light touch of seriousness creasing his features. "Don't you take that pity money. Noble like you definitely don't need it."

"Not a single copper of it will line my purse," Kristen said. "I intend to distribute my allotments to the farmers sponsored by House Pirian who are in need of assistance. Everyone needs a helping hand from time to time."

Zael visibly considered it. Then nodded vigorously. "Yeah. Not a bad idea at all, Kristen, you do that. Good on you."

 

[Delaney Lennox]

Delaney was just enjoying the sun on her pale skin when she saw two of her friends in the sparring ring. Yes...she did like the sun and yes...she did have friends. She just shook her head as she stood from her seated position and headed towards the duo with tendrils of darkness circling her feet.

"Not a single copper of it will line my purse. I intend to distribute my allotments to the farmers sponsored by House Pirian who are in need of assistance. Everyone needs a helping hand from time to time."

While Zael nodded at Kristen's great idea, Delaney just shook her head with a chuckle. It was quite possibly the most Kristen thing she had ever heard.

"If you are passing out free money, Kristen, I could use some," she crossed her arms over her chest but her expression was contented and happy.

Contented and happy were two things that Delaney had been the last couple of months since she and Gaage had decided that they were a 'they'. She was going to miss him but those were thoughts she did not want to think right now.

---

Kristen Pirian

 

[Zael Castomir]

"Hey, there she is, Queen of Shadows," Zael said, turning to face Delaney as she approached and opening his arms up wide. He cast a sidelong glance to Kristen, "You heard her Majesty. She requires a most generous donation from House Pirian. Quick like."

Delaney Lennox

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"Hello Delaney," said Kristen, looking to her but also slowly extending out her practice sword toward Zael's head after his sidelong glance—while he was no longer looking. "We were merely passing the evening by musing about the morrow."

"The 'morrow' and other things," Zael added.

Kristen smiled. "Yes. And other things."

Delaney Lennox

 

[Delaney Lennox]

Delaney sent a tendril of darkness at Zael's sword. She was definitely going to be on Team Pirian for this little match now.

"Don't be upset because you went back to being boring old Zael after Elbion," she teased as she stepped into the ring and watched Kristen decapitate the unsuspecting Zael.

"Yes...tomorrow..." Her words trailed off and her thoughts turned back to Gaage again. "What are your plans after graduation, Zael?"

---

Zael Castomir

 

[Zael Castomir]

Zael watched his sword go spinning off as the tendril gave it a smack out of his hand, smirking.

"You got me mixed up with someone from that other exchange," Zael said, rolling his shoulders in a relaxed way. "I came back from Elbion twice as hot and four times as—"

Kristen bopped him on the side of his head with her sword.

"Oh that's how it is, huh?" he said in a manner that was nevertheless brimming with a thatta-girl pride.

Kristen giggled and hopped backward and shared the impish look of a victorious conspirator with Delaney.

Zael cracked his knuckles and held up his fists, taking a few leisurely steps back to keep both Kristen and Delaney in view. "Just in time to hear my spiel there, Del. I'm joinin the Guard. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. No exile, no reserve—I ain't takin that 'We're sorry' money. The Academy spent a decade and some change buildin me up, and the Guard is gonna be the lucky recipient of that little investment. They're gonna get what they fuckin paid for: hell."

Delaney Lennox

 

[Samantha Black]

Somewhere off to the side of the sparring grounds, Ralene snorted in amusement.

 

[Delaney Lennox]

Despite their differences, Delaney would always love Kristen and that impish smile was just one of the reasons.

She huffed when he was done speaking. She was sure that he was going to be a good little boy even if he said he was going to give them hell.

“That’s cute that you think anyone is scared of you,” she quipped and then heard Ralene’s snort. “And, apparently, I’m not the only one who feels that way,” Delaney laughed out.

 

[Zael Castomir]

Zael watched Kristen discard her own sword and raise her own fists. She had wanted to practice her swordsmanship, but hey, look at that, KP was being adaptable, good shit. Not like they were really doing all that much actual practicing now. More talking. It was a big day tomorrow, after all.

"Don't matter if they are or they're not," Zael said, quite sure of himself.

Delaney mentioned it, Kristen glanced that way, and then Zael glanced too. Ral was over there relaxing.

Zael just gave a big inviting wave. "Well don't be a stranger, Ral, we're just havin a friendly chat."

Delaney Lennox Ralene

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen tossed away her sword after Zael was disarmed and she'd scored that cheeky hit, and she raised her fists. Ah, though she was keen on honing her skill with the sword, a bold-faced lie would it be if she said there wasn't room to improve in unarmed combat.

A snort, and Kristen looked over. Ralene Banick was there, and it occurred to Kristen then that, though she'd seen the other girl many times in passing at the Academy, not once had she ever the occasion to truly make an acquaintance. There was, Kristen recognized further, a time in which she absolutely would have shied away from any such occasion, so wracking was her fright—just as it had been with Edric and Kalix.

That time was gone now.

She turned one of her guarding fists into an open wave. "Hello, Ralene."

Delaney Lennox Ralene

 

[Samantha Black]

It wasn't one of her usual spots - so close to the sparing yard - but she'd come for the daylight to finish her work on a set of custom leather sleeves she'd made for Henk. They needed some adjustments for sizing and fit, and the finishing touches as well. Considering how dark her east-facing workshop was in the afternoon, she'd opted for the western sun of the courtyard.

"I'm not a stranger, Zee," Ral replied to Zael without looking up from her project, "I'm just working."

But the greeting from Pirian did catch her gaze, Ral looked up briefly with a raised brow to the younger girl, "Surprised you know my name, Pirian."

 

[Delaney Lennox]

Delaney chuckled at Ralene’s response to Kristen.

“Everyone knows you, Ral,” she told her fellow Initiate.

Even though the two of them had rarely ever spent time together, she knew Ral was a force to be reckoned with.

“What’re your plans after graduation?”

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen, bridging off of what Delaney said of it:

"In my own case, I had merely some time ago matched a likeness to a name."

The enclosed environment of the Academy, at least, made it rather easy as time went on. A process of elimination, one could say.

...that thought had a somewhat chilling effect on Kristen, given the prevailing topic. But, like Zael said, the old way was gone.

Delaney Lennox Ralene

 

[Samantha Black]

Such was the way of things, she supposed. Though Ralene had been away on mission more than she had been at the Academy over the last few years - she could hardly remember much of anything in regards to Kristen's life here so far removed from those beyond her own small inner circle as she was.

Delaney was much the same: aside from sharing some classes and facing one another down in sparring sessions, Ralene barely knew her beyond her face, name, powers, and the ever-prevalent rumor mill that circled like a bad cold. She pulled her attention back to her work.

"Anirian Knights," she answered plainly, "that's been my fate for the last ten years."

Zael had met and worked with Captain Holstag at least once - her mentor and soon her direct report.

 

[Delaney Lennox]

“Looks like everyone has their life planned out,” Delaney said in a quieter tone.

Her constant wrestle with her own decisions was real. The darkness that had taken control of her being over the last year had made her restless. The darkness was tired of rules and schedules. The darkness wanted chaos. It didn’t matter what she wanted.

She realized then that Kristen was the only one who had some idea of what Delaney had been going through but she was still relatively in the dark. Everyone was...

 

[Zael Castomir]

"The Knights, huh? You excited?" Zael asked as he and Kristen squared up. Kristen was looking awfully distracted after what Delaney said—kept glancing over to her, taking her eyes off of her opponent—but he didn't take advantage.

Okay, not that much. He just flung a jab her way, which she more flinched back from than properly blocked, but hey, at least she remembered that they were still having a spar. Half-hearted as it was.

Ralene Delaney Lennox

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen's lips pulled tight when Delaney had spoken. Vividly did she remember all that Delaney had revealed in that small room in Vel Yuna (what she had come to think of in her mind as the "Reconcile" room, given the mysterious note left for them).

Still, Kristen prayed for her. Still, Kristen wanted what was best for her. Harsh words had been exchanged in the Reconcile Room, yet these two things remained true.

And come the morrow, Kristen would find out if her prayers were answered—

Zael jabbed at her.

Kristen—inexpertly, she would readily admit—weaved back to avoid it. But, at least she did not yelp or cry out in surprise. That was something! Small steps, little improvements.

Ralene Delaney Lennox

 

[Samantha Black]

Was she excited? That may not have been the best question to ask.

"Been running with the Knights for years already on missions," Ral answered plainly with a vague shrug, "won't be much different except I won't be comin' back here when the mission ends."

And that, perhaps, was the only part she was excited about. Leaving the Academy couldn't come soon enough, because it wasn't just the Academy she was leaving behind. The Proctors, the other Initiates, the rules, the absurd limitations placed on her. So long as she stuck to the law and did her job, Ralene would be free to work as she pleased.

Could move on with her life and put this nightmare of a childhood behind her.

"That's pretty fucking exciting."

 

[Delaney Lennox]

Fuck everyone and their exciting futures. Delaney sat down at the edge of the ring and watched the trio of Initiates.

 

[Zael Castomir]

"You're so goddamn right about that, Ral," Zael said, grinning wildly. He was so wrapped up in following in the wavemaking, groundbreaking footsteps of Talus that he forgot all about the little things. Maybe the accommodations at his future unit in the Guard would suck, maybe even worse than here, but you know what, they sure wouldn't be the Academy. This place did him plenty bad, did him a little good to be fair, but he certainly had enough of it.

Kristen started to follow after Delaney, just fully giving up on their spar. Zael, just a smidge surprised and then disappointed, got over it quickly—it was their twentieth round. He just started shadowboxing. Working up a little sweat, having a bath, and getting a good final night's sleep in this hellhole sounded great.

"Maybe I ought to burn down the dorms before I go. Make a mark," Zael mused.

Ralene

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen just outright dropped her combative stance and followed Delaney over to the edge of the ring. She could always ask Zael again for another round later if she so wished—he seemed to subsist solely off of the raw energy found in fighting.

She sat down next to her. Delaney. The girl who had been the first real friend she made in the Academy.

A moment passed before she spoke.

"I suppose that you...haven't changed your mind much, since last we spoke of these matters," she said, taking all due care to be gentle with her words. Yes, she felt strongly of certain things, of love for her homeland of Vel Anir and of the duty of its citizens to protect it, but these feelings paled before the solemn truth of the moment.

This day was the last day which Kristen would see Delaney for, perhaps, a very long time indeed.

Delaney Lennox

 

[Samantha Black]

Zael's words drew a side-eye from the working magical battering ram. A loft of a brow, a squint of the eye at his ridiculous grin. Truly Zael was a curious creature - a great foil to Ral's usually stoic resting-bitch face of which she presently wore like a goddamn champ.

"That you think you haven't already is a wonder..." Ral replied to him about leaving his mark. Zael the class clown not having left a permanent mark after all his years here? Preposterous. She set her attention back on her work, carefully stitching in the newly measured attachment straps with an oversized needle and a spool of waxed heavy thread.

"Who was it that bet that you couldn't fart flames to the ceiling of the mess hall and you blew a hole through the roof for their trouble..."