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- Sep 7, 2019
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Have you ever wondered what it truly is you see behind the eyes when you close them? The games we play? The lies we tell ourselves about who we really are?
Those gorgeous sea green eyes see past it all, Alice Guthrie. You always have.
You are among the Ones Who Know the Truth. The way the world really is. How it is decaying from the inside.
If you're getting this letter, it is because my representative has judged you worthy after seeing you, once again, do extraordinary things. And so, I know you and your protege are the only ones who can help fix this.
Whatever our history, I ask you to travel to the old castle and help me end Lord Tyvanwek. End my half-brother. We NEED to, or this world is doomed.
Sunday, August 20th, 1893 After Caledoria
Alice Guthrie still had that letter in her coat pocket, written by yet another ghost from her past, in the breast pocket of her jacket two weeks after grinding Lord Iarmenor Tyvanwek's invading forces into a bloody stalemate at the Battle of Chenkarat. Prompted by this very letter, she'd been making her way from there north through the infamously long and dark woods of Gudaria, a subject nation of the elvish-ruled Ananki Confederation since 1600 noted for their impressively easy to use synthetic building materials and resulting massive palace cities.
Alice had had plenty time to ruminate on her circumstances as she traipsed through the snow. Something about mysterious letters that contained vital information, usually from lovers, lovers to be or ex-lovers of hers, was like catnip to her, she mused. That and castles, apparently.
This communication in particular struck close to home, as Taiga had been only the second person that she'd told about her Darkness curse after she'd helped him solve a missing persons case back in 1890. Then she'd been surprised when he was honest and said he had it as well, and all the power and responsibility that came with it, which he helped teach her how to wield more effectively before she decided to suppress it instead. Though, his initial outreach halfway across the world to a human two hundred years his junior had always seemed...strange considering Alice was only a minor celebrity at the time, famous for killing a Kraken and putting away her serial killer ex-girlfriend Elizabeth Jersey, both things he couldn't have possibly known about from his remote castle in the Shantochan Mountains. She knew he was instrumental to the Thieves Guild, and that granted him immense resources, but the way he could just...know things was what drew her to him, out of curiosity, even now. Especially now.
Sure, Taiga was her ex, their romance had been passionate and breakup contentious, and Alice was now pregnant with her comatose husband Jareth Williams' twin half-mermaid offspring. However, if Taiga had contacted her again, three years after he left Caledoria and Radiant City to retreat back to his centuries of isolation and invoked the Declaration of Those Who Know the Truth (the supposed foundational creed of the First Shades written down after they had exterminated all demons thousands of years ago), it had to be important. From what Taiga had mentioned, his determination to get back in touch with her was probably due to his realization about Alice's reemerging Darkness presenting an opportunity to take down a common foe. She hated to have to use it again so soon, but what could be more important than employing their combined powers to stop the Lord Governor of the Confederate Colonial States of Gudaria and Klandethan, and the most powerful and brilliant Confederate general to ever live? Who, it turned out, was Taiga's brother all this time? Somehow, he'd always managed to keep that tidbit away from even the World's Greatest Detective.
As Supreme Commander of Imperial Forces for the Caledorian Empire, Alice had the Sun Cutter Continental-class gunship at her beck and call, which was following a few miles away, flying as low as it could. That airship also contained a half dozen planes belonging to Javelin Squadron- the most ferocious aerial strike force in the history of Caledoria- and two dozen Goliaths piloted by Sergeant Paige Atkins and her loyal Meteor Company pilots. These Goliaths were fully approved by the Emperor for delivery to Taiga in order to bulk up the efforts of the Shadow Accord to resist the Confederacy's mighty Angluroq dragonriders and the airships of their Sky Navy. He'd also approved leave for her and Javelin Squadron for a few weeks in order to make sure
Since, apart from the sales of Goliaths and other weapons platforms, it couldn't appear as though the Empire was directly aiding the Shadow Accord, its own forces were the spear behind her tip on this recon mission. And at the head of the Bamban guerilla fighters and Jadwan Badshahon Ka Haath assassins from Sura (both of whom were veteran rebels of the Surabamba Rebellion of 1884-86 against the Empire), Midvadirian Nightstalker assassins touched a bit but not cursed by the Darkness, dispossessed Thieves Guild rogues from various chapters, and assorted mercenaries was the other woman traveling next to her.
19-year-old Akari Takahashi was as much of an enigma to her as the ancient force of Darkness itself, even though Alice was only six years older than her. It was also strange how Taiga's letter had called her Alice's protege when Alice hadn't known the slender Gudarian thief for but two weeks. In her estimation, there were many Darkness abilities that Akari possessed that Alice didn't, or that Akari did better. Perhaps he simply assumed incorrectly, or he hoped to flatter her? (The only other possibility was that he was stupid. While Alice did know him to be condescending, he had always been her equal in intellect.)
In any event, what Akari had told her so far on this trip had made the Commander see much of her own stubbornness and determination in the former dancer. While Alice had been with Taiga, Akari had spent much of 1890 dragging her broken and battered body away from Iarmenor after he nearly raped her and gutted her boyfriend as revenge for her getting away, only to gain the Darkness rather unusually- from the Darkness artifact, the Siphon of the First Shades, which had been in the Lord's possession. Alice had then shared how she had been violated by a homeless man she purposefully didn't name, because she'd had to kill him in self-defense, and they'd held each other until they both fell asleep that night. It had been this incident that had driven Akari to explore- and steal- other dark artifacts, including by tricking Lord Tyvanwek into employing her to steal Alice's hair, which she instead secured for the Shadow Accord and then made sure ended up in the right hands.
That had been a few months ago, and in that time Akari had faced off against Lord Tyvanwek twice to no avail. In the Battle of Chenkarat, however, Alice had seen Akari rally Alice's long-lost sister Chloe Rose (who had had nothing but high praise for her close friend when the sisters reunited), Chloe and Akari's other friends, and the fighters of Akari's Shadow Accord cell to deal some significant blows to the invaders, which truly impressed the embittered older woman. Such accomplishment gained and loyalty inspired by one so young...it was no wonder that Chloe had a crush on her. Yeah, there was that...Akari's friends were actually her lovers in a polyamorous mess, one of whom Akari was on the outs with for reasons Alice could only surmise, as Akari had refused to elaborate. That might have been part of why Akari agreed to accompany Alice on this mission.
Chloe had in fact been so loyal to Akari that she'd demanded to her sister that she go along with them, saying it was her right as the third and final Darkness user present at the battle. But Akari had kissed Chloe so sweetly and said, "Look to the east each night, and upon the moon I shall return to you one day, my dear. For now, someone needs to keep the others together." That combined with Alice's pleas for Chloe to stay out of danger, to keep the Guthries apart just in case Elizabeth, who had already killed their brother Edward, was to come after her too, had made Chloe relent.
Still, Alice was pained that she only got to see her sister again for one day before having to leave again, carrying her husband's barely breathing body, her memories of this place, and her various guilts with her to see the walking embodiment of her darkest past. And so, Alice had been grateful for the steady hand of Akari as the solemn, constantly masked woman opened herself just a tiny bit to let Alice be her rock, and vice-versa. She considered Akari her spirit-sister in Darkness now, and as they all approached the hidden shortcut to the interior of Taiga's castle that Alice had used when she was younger with his tacit approval, Alice also appreciated that one raised fist from Akari was enough to get the rest of the fighters to stand by outside the little-watched corner and wait for further instructions.
"You ready?" Akari asked. Simple and to the point as always, which Alice liked about her.
"As I'll ever be," Alice said. She'd done this before, but only a handful of times, and never with another Darkness user.
And yet, they embraced each other anyway, embracing the uncertainty of facing the Void and this man who might or might not have good intentions for them both, as long as they did it together. They didn't bring any of their guns in order to indicate that they were coming in peace, but in case they were spotted by Taiga's guards and those forces assumed the worst, their fighters were standing by, and they also each had flare guns to summon their backup forces if need be.
And so, as said fighters nervously watched, the two women became as one and dissolved into shadow to accomplish the most important mission of the Final War so far.
Those gorgeous sea green eyes see past it all, Alice Guthrie. You always have.
You are among the Ones Who Know the Truth. The way the world really is. How it is decaying from the inside.
If you're getting this letter, it is because my representative has judged you worthy after seeing you, once again, do extraordinary things. And so, I know you and your protege are the only ones who can help fix this.
Whatever our history, I ask you to travel to the old castle and help me end Lord Tyvanwek. End my half-brother. We NEED to, or this world is doomed.
Sunday, August 20th, 1893 After Caledoria
Alice Guthrie still had that letter in her coat pocket, written by yet another ghost from her past, in the breast pocket of her jacket two weeks after grinding Lord Iarmenor Tyvanwek's invading forces into a bloody stalemate at the Battle of Chenkarat. Prompted by this very letter, she'd been making her way from there north through the infamously long and dark woods of Gudaria, a subject nation of the elvish-ruled Ananki Confederation since 1600 noted for their impressively easy to use synthetic building materials and resulting massive palace cities.
Alice had had plenty time to ruminate on her circumstances as she traipsed through the snow. Something about mysterious letters that contained vital information, usually from lovers, lovers to be or ex-lovers of hers, was like catnip to her, she mused. That and castles, apparently.
This communication in particular struck close to home, as Taiga had been only the second person that she'd told about her Darkness curse after she'd helped him solve a missing persons case back in 1890. Then she'd been surprised when he was honest and said he had it as well, and all the power and responsibility that came with it, which he helped teach her how to wield more effectively before she decided to suppress it instead. Though, his initial outreach halfway across the world to a human two hundred years his junior had always seemed...strange considering Alice was only a minor celebrity at the time, famous for killing a Kraken and putting away her serial killer ex-girlfriend Elizabeth Jersey, both things he couldn't have possibly known about from his remote castle in the Shantochan Mountains. She knew he was instrumental to the Thieves Guild, and that granted him immense resources, but the way he could just...know things was what drew her to him, out of curiosity, even now. Especially now.
Sure, Taiga was her ex, their romance had been passionate and breakup contentious, and Alice was now pregnant with her comatose husband Jareth Williams' twin half-mermaid offspring. However, if Taiga had contacted her again, three years after he left Caledoria and Radiant City to retreat back to his centuries of isolation and invoked the Declaration of Those Who Know the Truth (the supposed foundational creed of the First Shades written down after they had exterminated all demons thousands of years ago), it had to be important. From what Taiga had mentioned, his determination to get back in touch with her was probably due to his realization about Alice's reemerging Darkness presenting an opportunity to take down a common foe. She hated to have to use it again so soon, but what could be more important than employing their combined powers to stop the Lord Governor of the Confederate Colonial States of Gudaria and Klandethan, and the most powerful and brilliant Confederate general to ever live? Who, it turned out, was Taiga's brother all this time? Somehow, he'd always managed to keep that tidbit away from even the World's Greatest Detective.
As Supreme Commander of Imperial Forces for the Caledorian Empire, Alice had the Sun Cutter Continental-class gunship at her beck and call, which was following a few miles away, flying as low as it could. That airship also contained a half dozen planes belonging to Javelin Squadron- the most ferocious aerial strike force in the history of Caledoria- and two dozen Goliaths piloted by Sergeant Paige Atkins and her loyal Meteor Company pilots. These Goliaths were fully approved by the Emperor for delivery to Taiga in order to bulk up the efforts of the Shadow Accord to resist the Confederacy's mighty Angluroq dragonriders and the airships of their Sky Navy. He'd also approved leave for her and Javelin Squadron for a few weeks in order to make sure
Since, apart from the sales of Goliaths and other weapons platforms, it couldn't appear as though the Empire was directly aiding the Shadow Accord, its own forces were the spear behind her tip on this recon mission. And at the head of the Bamban guerilla fighters and Jadwan Badshahon Ka Haath assassins from Sura (both of whom were veteran rebels of the Surabamba Rebellion of 1884-86 against the Empire), Midvadirian Nightstalker assassins touched a bit but not cursed by the Darkness, dispossessed Thieves Guild rogues from various chapters, and assorted mercenaries was the other woman traveling next to her.
19-year-old Akari Takahashi was as much of an enigma to her as the ancient force of Darkness itself, even though Alice was only six years older than her. It was also strange how Taiga's letter had called her Alice's protege when Alice hadn't known the slender Gudarian thief for but two weeks. In her estimation, there were many Darkness abilities that Akari possessed that Alice didn't, or that Akari did better. Perhaps he simply assumed incorrectly, or he hoped to flatter her? (The only other possibility was that he was stupid. While Alice did know him to be condescending, he had always been her equal in intellect.)
In any event, what Akari had told her so far on this trip had made the Commander see much of her own stubbornness and determination in the former dancer. While Alice had been with Taiga, Akari had spent much of 1890 dragging her broken and battered body away from Iarmenor after he nearly raped her and gutted her boyfriend as revenge for her getting away, only to gain the Darkness rather unusually- from the Darkness artifact, the Siphon of the First Shades, which had been in the Lord's possession. Alice had then shared how she had been violated by a homeless man she purposefully didn't name, because she'd had to kill him in self-defense, and they'd held each other until they both fell asleep that night. It had been this incident that had driven Akari to explore- and steal- other dark artifacts, including by tricking Lord Tyvanwek into employing her to steal Alice's hair, which she instead secured for the Shadow Accord and then made sure ended up in the right hands.
That had been a few months ago, and in that time Akari had faced off against Lord Tyvanwek twice to no avail. In the Battle of Chenkarat, however, Alice had seen Akari rally Alice's long-lost sister Chloe Rose (who had had nothing but high praise for her close friend when the sisters reunited), Chloe and Akari's other friends, and the fighters of Akari's Shadow Accord cell to deal some significant blows to the invaders, which truly impressed the embittered older woman. Such accomplishment gained and loyalty inspired by one so young...it was no wonder that Chloe had a crush on her. Yeah, there was that...Akari's friends were actually her lovers in a polyamorous mess, one of whom Akari was on the outs with for reasons Alice could only surmise, as Akari had refused to elaborate. That might have been part of why Akari agreed to accompany Alice on this mission.
Chloe had in fact been so loyal to Akari that she'd demanded to her sister that she go along with them, saying it was her right as the third and final Darkness user present at the battle. But Akari had kissed Chloe so sweetly and said, "Look to the east each night, and upon the moon I shall return to you one day, my dear. For now, someone needs to keep the others together." That combined with Alice's pleas for Chloe to stay out of danger, to keep the Guthries apart just in case Elizabeth, who had already killed their brother Edward, was to come after her too, had made Chloe relent.
Still, Alice was pained that she only got to see her sister again for one day before having to leave again, carrying her husband's barely breathing body, her memories of this place, and her various guilts with her to see the walking embodiment of her darkest past. And so, Alice had been grateful for the steady hand of Akari as the solemn, constantly masked woman opened herself just a tiny bit to let Alice be her rock, and vice-versa. She considered Akari her spirit-sister in Darkness now, and as they all approached the hidden shortcut to the interior of Taiga's castle that Alice had used when she was younger with his tacit approval, Alice also appreciated that one raised fist from Akari was enough to get the rest of the fighters to stand by outside the little-watched corner and wait for further instructions.
"You ready?" Akari asked. Simple and to the point as always, which Alice liked about her.
"As I'll ever be," Alice said. She'd done this before, but only a handful of times, and never with another Darkness user.
And yet, they embraced each other anyway, embracing the uncertainty of facing the Void and this man who might or might not have good intentions for them both, as long as they did it together. They didn't bring any of their guns in order to indicate that they were coming in peace, but in case they were spotted by Taiga's guards and those forces assumed the worst, their fighters were standing by, and they also each had flare guns to summon their backup forces if need be.
And so, as said fighters nervously watched, the two women became as one and dissolved into shadow to accomplish the most important mission of the Final War so far.
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