Against the blanketed sky, all Diana could see were crumbling walls that were nothing more than a ghostly silhouette of some previous existence. Ash whistled through the skeletal structure bringing with it the laughter of the children who once lived there and the caring call of a caretaker letting them know dinner was ready.

She could picture her childhood vividly. The walls didn’t seem so grey when she was only a girl, nor did they seem so broken. In her mind, she pictured this place as though it were a godly abode where she and her siblings were the all-powerful beings. Caretakers would glide through the once pristine halls, the faithful servants of their divine overlords. She felt like no time had passed since she ran from this place, yet as she gazed upon the burnt walls and the shattered windows it was evident just how wrong she was. 

Like a demonic giant, the now shuddering palace loomed over her, crushing her under the weight of past experiences and old memories. For how long had she gazed at from a distance, its massive figure taunting her as its eerie eye seemed to focus on her and her alone. For years, she lived under the Ciphers gaze, its pointed form a reminder of times she wished away and the bad choices she made. Yet here she stood, gazing back at the now lame eye with dead eyes of her own; eyes that reflected the charcoal clouds that brewed above the storm of ash, their dark beauty lost to this victim of the night – Xerxes itself.

Diana shook her head to dismiss her thoughts. It was time to go. With practiced ease, she traversed the palace courtyard, shimmering ghosts of her past littering the vast park to which she paid the no heed. To those who knew her well, Diana wasn’t the sentimental type, quite the opposite in fact, no longer could a person, place, or thing attach itself to her heart, it was much too dark in there for that. Even the crumbling city that raised her from ignorance behind her was nothing but a distant memory buried deep within recesses of her mind, forgotten to her to make room for grim determination.

Yet, when the city went to shit and her gang left for the Vassals, she stayed and fought, doing her best to right her fathers wrongs in her own unique way. When the minds of the citizens went to shit, she could only watch as her ‘family’ went mad. When the blood rains fell from the sky and turned loveable humans into sniveling demon-wolves, vengeance became fuel for the fire that willed her to live longer than she wanted too. 

Armed with her signature obsidian khopesh now strapped to her back, her blood and ash stained leather armor, and her wits about her, Diana crept deeper into the depths of her old home with such familiarity it scared her. Even now as she crouched under the archway leading into the throne room, she could feel the paralyzing hurt of fear spread through her body like icy, liquid metal. Resisting the impulse to whirl around and sprint back into the thick veil of white hiding sharp teeth and claws, she pressed on. 

Steeling herself for but a moment more, Diana stepped out from the shadows of her hiding spot, entering the grand throne room of the Cipher, probably the only standing room left. Unsurprisingly, she greeted the once grand and colorful display of wealth that now lay in ruins, much like the city outside with mild irritability. Ash, grim and brick lay strewn across the marble floor, blown in by the gaping wound in the Ciphers side. Much to her dismay, the Enas was nowhere to be found, which meant searching, and she refused to stay here any longer than she had to. Left with nothing obvious to go on, Diana took to wandering through the court and up the dias to search for clues. Unfortunately, the thin layer of ash coating the whole bloody place made things impossible to find.

[color=lime]"You gotta be fucking kidding me."[/color] she muttered under her breath, cautious of any who may possess the ears of a wolf dog.

[colour=antiquewhite]"Joke's on everyone."[/colour]

[colour=lime][i]Fate's arse.[/i][/colour]

Heart skipping rapidly in her chest, Diana turned ever so slowly, careful not to make any sudden movements. How had the bloody thing gotten past her senses? She was sure there nothing left alive in the city after whatever massive operation drove the demons underground; she hadn't counted on meeting any resistance at all in fact.

Too vast and open to shelter in, the throne room's dust marked a fresh set of booted footprints, heavily grounded in comparison to the faint cat-marks left by Diana. But the Blowfly's tendrils felt those shallow dents, and they tasted the only human they didn't recognise, resting on Diana's shoulder like a leash.

Her sword was drawn. Long-handled and undecorated, the old scalpel hovered bare. Not a breath was heard from Tauga behind the filters of the black-eyed mask.

For but a moment Diana froze, unsure of what to do. Honestly, she hadn't seen a mask that ugly since day her gang leader tried to incorporate one as their criminal persona, that hadn't gone over well. 

Quickly, she regained hold of the situation, drawing her own blade from her back just as the 'guard' had. Hopefully it knew how to use whatever the hell it was holding in its hand. Sizing up her opponent though, Diana quickly concluded that extracting whatever information she could from the thing was better that fighting it. On second thought, the Tedar-sized scalpel seemed like a wicked weapon she didn't want to toy with. 

With that to do out of the way, now all she needed was a conversation starter. Eyeing the masked man-eater carefully, she searched for any clue as to who, or what it was. A twinge of recognition suddenly past over her face as she once again observed its mask.

[color=lime]"So are you some kind of slavering mutant who happened to stumble upon the Blowfly's rotting corpse and looted it for that god awful mask?"[/color]

The watching head cocked, just slightly, and the suited hain was utterly still. The weapon was not lowered.

[colour=antiquewhite]"I'm not gonna just rush you, you know."[/colour] The taunt- taunt?- was left hanging, and they obviously had no intention to waste time processing it. As if to prove the point, the boots began to stroll slowly and firmly forwards. The gap, considerable though it was, began to shrink. [colour=antiquewhite]"We aren't fucking idiots, kid. Put that down. This isn't your game anymore."[/colour]

Diana was caught off guard by the man-eaters pointedness, that wasn't the response she had been expecting at all. Despite it's disarming words, she refused to lower her guard, instead attempting to shuffle back towards the opposite wall. Blade raised defensively, she continued on, poking and prodding it with her words.

[color=Lime]"Who do you mean by we? And what game am I playing?"[/color] she retorted, genuinely intrigued.

[colour=antiquewhite]"...[i]You[/i] and [i]me,[/i] you [i]dolt.[/i] You need to stop thinking you're safe, stop thinking you're in charge, and if you don't want to die- Put. That. Thing. Down. "[/colour] The advance didn't slow.

Diana frowned and cocked her head skeptically.[color=Lime]"How do I know you not planning to skewer me when I do? Get rid your weapon and I will do the same. Then we can talk about who's in charge."[/color] 

[colour=antiquewhite]"..."[/colour]

Under the flight mask, it was still impossible to tell what the hain was thinking. Whatever it was clearly took some time. For whatever reason. [colour=antiquewhite]"You [i]really[/i] don't know what the hell you're doing, do you."[/colour] They were approaching reach. No tension was obvious in their step. [colour=antiquewhite]"I mean fuck. Neither do I. Not you. You're not making any sense, I mean. Okay. That thing's not gonna save you if I want to open your head."[/colour] This was going nowhere fast, she knew, and 'nowhere' was bloodshed.

Diana blanched, unable to decipher the hain's jarbled speech. She felt out of place, out of her natural element. Talking didn't seem like it was getting her anywhere and fighting with a demon may have sounded like a cool way to go out, but not her prefered way. At least the thing was perseptive, she didn't have a clue what she was doing.

[color=lime]"Amul's Eye you have problems!"[/color] she exclaimed, rasing her blade higher as the thing got closer. Whatever for, Diana's stance relaxed and her face fell uncharacteristically.[color=lime]"You and me both.[/color]

[colour=antiquewhite]"Yeah, and you're all of them."[/colour]

Eyebrows raised. [color=lime]"The solution involves me bashing you over the head with my sword he-"[/color]

Tauga moved.

When she leapt, her feet swung high above their natural arc, twisted forwards, and smashed into Diana's shoulder with a bootheel as violins screamed in the heavens and the little hain body sailed impossibly over her opponent, spun in the air and landed on both feet with a hand to steady her. Already she was moving at the human from the opposite side, sword held backhand over her chest to come up across Diana's thigh. It glinted in the light of the Bludgeons above.

Pain lancing her shoulder, Diana mentally scolded herself for being caught off-guard, even by such a supernatural attack. With a curt hiss she immediately rebounded, using the momentum carried by the kick to twist her body clockwise. The world blurring, she barely caught the hain's speeding form a few slivers too far to the right. Like a whip, her sword hand lashed out towards the Blowfly's sprinting form, carrying the leftover speed from the spin. All the while, her free hand slipped into the depths of her leather vest.

Her sword came from behind and Tauga didn't wait for it. From a sprint to a dive, she left thin air where Diana's sword-arm fell, once again passing her by to the opposite side and turning with barely a skid. She didn't need to see the fighter to feel her move by touch. Throwing-knife. Razor wire. Something. Tauga stood and stepped back, raised a guard stance, and waited.

But Diana's hand never left it's place. Instead, she scrutinized the hain and its flying contraption, taking second long glances between the two. An unfair advantage, but she was used to unfavorable odds. Taking a similar stance, she took inventory of her options. The Blowfly had speed on its side, but if the underworld thought her anything, it was that the tongue cut faster.

[color=Lime]"You know, I respected your methods, Blowfly."[/color]

[colour=antiquewhite]"I don't care."[/colour] It was hard to tell if she'd even listened. The scalpel spun easily in her hand. [colour=antiquewhite]"Respect this. And shut up and stop acting like you want to die."[/colour]

Diana rolled her eyes. [color=Lime]"Wow, I haven't heard that one before."[/color] Her back leg shifted to the left,  signaling a change her stance, but it still hid her intentions. [color=Lime]"Come to think of it, how in Fate's Eye [i]did[/i] you survive the blood rain? Everything in the whole damn city was infected; even the dogs."[/color]

Neither the ignorance nor the obstinance yielded any visible reaction from the Blowfly, but Tauga was rapidly losing respect for the human. [colour=antiquewhite]"I'm the Blowfly. I do whatever the fuck I want. Magic can't kill me, and neither can you."[/colour] She was advancing again, still in a backhand grip, the same slow, grounded walk she'd used at the start. This time she meant to carry it through.

Diana's face deadpanned. Much to her dismay, talking was not working. If she wished to succeed in her endeavors this day, she would either have to beat answers out of the tiny hain, or kill it all together; her usual course of action. Once again she changed her stance, this time shifting her feet shoulder width apart. Her leading foot, or right, was pushed slightly forward, almost square on to her opponent.  Despite relaxing her body, she remained 'springy on the balls of her feet, her knees slightly bent. 

[color=Lime]"Lets test that theory."[/color]

No more talk.

Tauga entered reach calmly, without flipping her grip nor slashing with it. The scalpel's long hilt was what moved, and it moved quickly, catching the arched back of Diana's khopesh and twisting the blade outward, driving her sword-arm up against her injured shoulder as Tauga's left gauntlet leapt towards Diana's belly.

Surprised yet prepared, Diana leaned into the attack for but a split second, twisting her body nimbly out of harms way at the last and only possible moment. It didn't slow Tauga. As Diana dropped her guard stance in order to move, she pushed forwards again, snatching her free wrist and flicking her blade towards her sword-arm as she forced the girl's balance down with grossly disproportionate strength.

Alarmed but refusing to show weakness, Diana adjusted herself. Throwing her right leg back, she forced herself low to the ground, stabilizing herself and pivoting with her crouched left, allowing the hain's strength to dodge for her. With foreign energy wringing new life into her muscles, Diana yanked the hain's now outstretched arm with disproportionate strength of her own. Tauga jerked forward and, startled, did not stumble. They were side by side, locked together.

With a small grunt of effort Diana launched off her back leg, springing up like a weed in the summer, all the while bringing her sword arm across her chest, the distance rapidly closed by a diagonal chop. There may have been time to dodge, but Tauga didn't risk it.

The earth lurched downwards, tearing the fighters' feet off the ground. Diana's stroke, aimed low, fell down further than Tauga's ascending form; And Tauga's blade, still raised from her own failed cut, collapsed into Diana's back as she dragged the human sharply into the air by the wrist.

Diana's shoulderblade stopped the obsidian scalpel before it could open her from back to collarbone, and the cut was too clean to hurt, but Tauga had drawn blood and they both knew it. She slid the blade free, slicing all the way to the marrow, and, tossing Diana's free wrist at an angle her medical training knew would sprain it, threw her to the ground.

With a loud [i]crack[/i], Diana slid against the marble floor, stunned to silence. In both speed [b]and[/b] strength she lay outmatched. But only fleetingly did she let any strain of the truth show. Ignoring laceration to her shoulder, and the burning sensation in her wrist, Diana quickly forced herself to stand, adrenaline now fueling her every move. 

Taking a sluggish stance, Diana questioned her being here still. For a moment, she contemplated fleeing, but chances of her getting far? Little to none. Stalling for time to think properly, Diana blurted out: [color=Lime]"Blowfly, whats your real name?"[/color]

For the first time, Diana's words coaxed an effect.

[colour=antiquewhite]"Tauranga Mason, but call me Tauga,"[/colour] said Tauga without thinking, then quickly gripped her beaktip shut through the mask with thumb and forefinger, the hain equivalent of clapping a hand over one's mouth. The response had come out of pure reflex, but she hadn't given in to that habit... Not since long before... Why [i]now?[/i]

[colour=antiquewhite][i]No. Enough of that. Finish this.[/i][/colour]

Tauga dived, somersaulted over Diana, felt her boots hit the ground and twisted her sword-arm into a lock. [colour=antiquewhite]"No more sword,"[/colour] she said, wrapping her hand around Diana's and tightening her grip until something cracked, then batting the khopesh sharply out of her slackened fingers, not caring if she broke the fragile blade. [colour=antiquewhite]"No more fight."[/colour] She put her foot on the small of Diana's back and kicked her down.

No sooner had she skidded to a halt than Tauga flipped her onto her back and kneeled on her chest. [colour=antiquewhite]"Now shut-"[/colour] Tauga backhanded her sharply- [colour=antiquewhite]"-the fuck-"[/colour] Again- [colour=antiquewhite]"-up."[/colour] Again.

[colour=antiquewhite]"Have I not slaughtered enough of your lot to get the fucking message across? Did you think I didn't know what you were the moment I saw you?[/colour] She gripped Diana's shoulders and shook her with each word. [colour=antiquewhite]"Assassins. Don't. Belong. In. My. Fucking. City. Not now and never. Who the [i]fuck[/i] do you think you are. [i]Talk.[/i]"[/colour]
 
Diana seethed under the hain's weight, struggling to take breath. [color=Lime]"The Enas' fucking daughter!"[/color] 

[colour=antiquewhite]"..."[/colour]

The way she moved, and the shape of her face. Her hair, bleached as white as moonlight.

[colour=antiquewhite]"[i]...Fuck.[/i]"[/colour]

Tauga's hand lifted, slightly, not knowing where it was meant to be. Her scalpel hadn't fallen out of her hand yet, but she wasn't gripping it anymore. [colour=antiquewhite]"Fuck. Ye gods. [i]FUCK![/i]"[/colour]

Shaking left and right, trying to move in too many directions at once, Tauga grabbed Diana by the sides and stood, turning her over. Tossing aside intervening layers, a quaking but blessedly skillful sweep she cut open the back of the human's shirt and dumped her blade on the ground, leaving it to clatter without a care for whether it was in Diana's reach. She popped open a pouch on her suit and pulled out a needle, mouthing 'fuck' all the way as the suture danced back and forth over the open gash in her back, quickly painting Tauga's hand deep red.

Diana squirmed and cursed underneath the hain's attention, screaming even louder as her armor was ripped off her back and a needle repeatedly stabbed her skin. [color=Lime]"Get the fuck off of me!"[/color] she screamed with every stich. She felt no pain, but she screamed anyway. Eventually, her mind caught up with the situation; she was receiving medical attention. It made her furious. [color=Lime]"Now you wanna fucking help me?!"[/color] she spat.

[colour=antiquewhite]"Yes! No! Stop bleeding!"[/colour] Tauga was yelling, hardly because she was angry, or wanted to make herself heard. She just didn't know what else to do. [colour=antiquewhite]"I thought you were all dead! Why are you even here?"[/colour] That stilled her.

Memories of that fateful night filtered through her mind's eye, bringing back that familiar ache her chest. Despite everything, the hain stayed put on Diana's back while she finished the stitches, taking no less time than it needed.
 
Diana grunted under the hain. [color=Lime]"I don't die easy, but I [b]might[/b] die if my back breaks under your arse."[/color] she sneered. Ironically, the hain was light. That said, she didn't move.

[colour=antiquewhite]"Yeah, I noticed,"[/colour] said Tauga, not registering the sass as she examined Diana's upper shoulder. Not dislocated, but Tauga was under no illusions as to how hard she could hurt her enemies, and she felt the rising bruise very tenderly before she squatted at Diana's side. [colour=antiquewhite]"Sit. Give me your wrist. Needs binding. Why the hell did you try to fight me? I kill shit."[/colour]

 [color=Lime]"And I garden for a living."[/color] she said drily.

With aching pain plaguing her back lifted, Diana warily took up a seated position as per the Blowfly's orders. With a gaze of unyielding scrutiny and distrust, she held out her wrist, which, with her adrenaline dwindling, began to burn uncharacteristically. [color=Lime]"Of course you kill people, you grew up in Xerxes, the City of Crime! Everyone killed people!"[/color] she snorted, making a grand gesture with her sword hand, restricted slightly by the the pull of stitches. [color=Lime]"Blowfly or not, I came here knowing full well that I was up against Divine."[/color] she paused, then retracted her point. [Color=Lime]"Actually, I hadn't planned for a hain the size of a four year old child with the strength of Tedar to be here."[/color]

Tauga had been listening, or at least aware of the words, but her focus was elsewhere. Deftly pulling a leather wallet from somewhere on her shoulder, she flipped it open to reveal a row of pouches, one large, three oddly-shaped, and several small ones containing waxed paperbark wrappings. She pulled the stem-arksynth from the former and a little bone scoop from the second, sampled delicately measured dusts from the third and applied it. [colour=antiquewhite][i]One part spermaceti- Three and a half casque scrapings- Stretched.[/i][/colour] Spinning out the 'synth like a strand of gum, Tauga spooled an armslength of brownish membrane around the scoop and cut it off with a flint.

With a skeptical-eye, Diana scrutinized Tauga's work.
[color=Lime]"That's a curious substance."[/color] she murmured drily, half expecting the material to be some kind of crude poison.

[colour=antiquewhite]"Xerxes was fine when I was in charge,"[/colour] she muttered, winding the band of synth-latex in a tight pattern around Diana's hand, holding the damaged tendons in place. [colour=antiquewhite]"Not everyone killed. Just you. Your people killed. So we killed you."[/colour]

Diana scoffed. [color=Lime]"[b]My[/b] people left the city before the crazies hit. Your work was bad for business. And I only killed when absolutely necessary."[/color]

[colour=antiquewhite]"Oh,"[/colour] said Tauga. The more time she spent in the assassin's company, the more hollow she felt. It was a pit, an emotional void left behind after real anger died, and Diana was digging it deeper. [colour=antiquewhite]"Necessary. What is that, even. Why are you even here."[colour]

[color=Lime]"I…[/color] She paused, suddenly unable to articulate herself; that with the adrenaline in her veins filtering away, the flares of pain jarring her wrist only added to the befuddlement. [color=Lime]"Can't answer that..."[/color]

The human's rush was slowing. Tauga wasn't interested in slowing down for her sake. She grabbed Diana's free hand and gave her fingers a short twist back. [colour=antiquewhite]"Don't dump that shit on me. Yes you can."[/colour]

Stabbing pain forced Diana to hiss in anguish and fury. The bipolar hain was far past getting on her nerves. [color=Lime]"Yeah, I fucking can. But I'm sworn to silence by a higher power, and I think you can guess who that is."[/color]

Tauga didn't have the faintest idea and the idea of guessing out loud was almost physically painful. [colour=antiquewhite]"Okay. So you were paid by the Devil himself to murder Keriss in her sleep. Guess I'll execute you now for treason against a general. And my friend."[/colour]

Diana struggled to remember what the point of this conversation was anymore, dancing around the truth wasn't going to get her anywhere. [color=Lime]"I care little for your friend, my sin falls upon the Enas' shoulders alone."[/color]

[colour=antiquewhite]"The Enas paid you?"[/colour] Tauga stared hard, refusing to give up until something started making sense. [colour=antiquewhite]"What? Why? [i]What?[/i]"[/colour]

[color=lime]"Fate help me."[/color] Diana exasperated, pinching the bridge of her nose with her good hand. She had enough. [color=Lime]"I came to kill the Enas; [b]on my own accord![/b]"[/color]

The gloved hand shot towards Diana's throat and hit something with a snapping sound.

Tauga's spare eyes flicked down in nauseous confusion to the point where her left hand had intercepted her right, unwrapped both arms and stared at her palms. Then she realised, once again, who was standing in front of her, and in a moment dragged Diana up by the neck like a caught rabbit- And then dropped her, cradling her own wrist as if she'd touched something burning. Abruptly and without a word, she stalked off further into the darkness.

Disparate sounds echoed out from the ruin. Tauga kicked what had once been a basin or brazier, its copper leg suddenly bent into a sharp angle. A thrown fragment of debris sailed past and shattered on a wall. Stop. Footsteps. Stop. Muttering. The hain took off her mask and pressed her forehead into a wall, cycling through some mantra.

[i]Boom.[/i] The ophan veered off after colliding halfheartedly with the already-broken wall.

Diana rubbed her neck absentmindedly, her face as blank as her thoughts. She felt nothing; no guilt, no remorse, not even a sliver of love could be found in her already barren heart. Her only goal had been to end this useless cycle of killing spawned from that night seven sessions ago. Whatever it took to end it, she would do without hesitation, even if it meant breaking herself fighting Tauga.

[color=Lime]"Why do you still protect the Enas?"[/color] she sighed upon the crack of the hain's skull against a wall.

[colour=antiquewhite]"Why do you think you're even alive right now? Because some time in the last month I started caring for scum?"[/colour] Tauga's fingertips clicked her beak shut as soon as the words came out. [colour=antiquewhite]"I'm... Sorry, I-"[/colour] She slammed the wall with her fist, far too hard. [colour=antiquewhite]"No I'm not. Why would I be sorry? What makes you worth anything? You're an assassin-"[/colour] Reaching for her sword, she found nothing, stared at the empty air in her grip, slowed. [colour=antiquewhite]"...You're the daughter of Sin. I can't just-"[/colour] Her eyes caught sight of Diana again, and her palms rammed into what was left of the wall. The brass-hard organometallic craftsmanship shook under her terrible strength.

[colour=antiquewhite][i]"Fuck you, Jaan,"[/i][/colour] she whispered, slumping to her knees and holding her head. [colour=antiquewhite][i]"I see you. I know what you're doing."[/i][/colour]

Diana snorted. [color=Lime]"Of course you do."[/color] she huffed, laying flat on the metallic floor. She was unsure who the hain meant in her words, but readily assumed she was referring to her. [color=Lime]"I'm nothing. A useless street-urchin with noble upbringing, hanging on the coattails of Fate's games."[/color] Admitting that didn't ease her pain; why did people do it? [color=Lime]"So you're right, I'm not worth anything, I am an assassin. I didn't come here as Sin's daughter, but as a killer bent on revenge for past faults!"[/color] Diana was suddenly on her feet now, her voice rising. [color=Lime]"I watched all six of my siblings get brutally murdered by an invading army sent by the gods! Never in my life have I ran so fast!"[/color] Diana was animated now, her face reddening and her voice peaking. 

Suddenly, she fell quiet, all the fight leaving her.[color=Lime]"You understand? I have to bury the Enas with Xerxes."[/color]

The Blowfly's head didn't rise from its slouch. But she spoke. [colour=antiquewhite]"You won't."[/colour] There was a peculiar emphasis on [i]you.[/i] [colour=antiquewhite]"I'm too strong for you."[/colour] For you. [colour=antiquewhite]"But you're lying, anyway. I can see him in you. The way you curse Fate for its games and spite the gods for overwhelming you. The way you see yourself as a Sinner but aren't scared of punishment. And look for revenge."[/colour]

Diana's resolve crumbled, her very lives goal whisked away by a table-tall hain with an oversized scalpel. Yet, she could find no false in her words, each one a blistering arrow of truth that cut down the wall she called her determination. She was just life her father, no better even. Hands clasped and unclasped, forming and reforming fists. 

At last she pulled away, walked back towards Diana, then past her, picking up her scabbard and then heading for her sword. Her voice was hollow again. [colour=antiquewhite]"You can't untie me. This knot. I'm not gonna touch you, but you're not gonna hurt Amartia either. Only death can change that. And I died a long time ago."[/colour] Tauga sighed, putting away her sword. [colour=antiquewhite]"So what now? Your plan is done. I don't like you, but your life is yours."[/colour]

She could say the same for the hain. [color=Lime]"I don't envy you Tauga, and I envy many people."[/color] she acknowledged, taking solace in the fact that she still had a life to make her own. Tauga did not, she was chained to Amartía…no, to Xerxes. [color=Lime]"I'll take solace in that hope that another will do the job."[/color] A pause. [color=Lime]"And I'll bury Diana, Zilévo and everyone else with Xerxes too."[/color]

[colour=antiquewhite]"..."[/colour]

Looking out, Tauga could see the City through a gap in the ruins. A lot of things had died here. Vigilate and Scitis had risen, shedding moonlight on the broken homes. It was as bright as the night she'd met Help. As bright as the glint in Diana's eyes.

One day, she hoped, the Énas Amartia would restore all this to the tranquil beauty he once built. Together they would win the war, and everything would go back to the way it was. The Blowfly would fight for that with everything she had. In the meanwhile, let the dead have their peace, and the living their anger.

[colour=antiquewhite]"...Good enough."[/colour]

She looked at Diana with unmasked eyes, nodded once, and blurred into the sky.

[center][h3]* * * * *[/h3][/center]

Every step felt like a marathon, each stumble and totter a leech sucking away ones already drained reserves of energy. The sensations of ash pelting ones skin felt as if it was being stabbed by a million sun-spears and scraped by sandpaper. The monotony of the parched wilderness difficult to understand, a crucible of death, a bone-dry basin of vast blandness.

Diana paused in her work and looked back at the distant dot once her home. Her birthright, painted in ash and smoke, a sword the only reminder she had of it. But Diana wasn’t alone in being marked by loss. In this world, you were lucky if, like Sin, you hadn’t actually lost anyone you loved. He loved no one and lost nothing. In fact, Diana was suddenly less troubled than most about her past, and dwelling on it was suddenly lost to her. Being an orphan had led to an acceptance of fate and random change, and maybe this was why she wasn’t about future tragedy. She had nothing to lose, or at least nothing that she couldn’t move on from anymore. No, the past no longer bothered her at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. Tauga forced her to stand alone, to be self-sufficient. And it had also left her rootless; if she left the city now, and made it all the way to the vassals, would she ever have reason to return? She had heard the vassels had walls as tall as the highest trees in the forest, and as thick as rivers. If end times were truly upon them as well as Xerxes, they would be as safe there as anywhere in the world. She smiled to herself. As usual, her thoughts had wandered, from the unchangeable past to the unknowable future. She hoisted her pack on her shoulders, and, standing on the outskirts of Xerxes, and looked around the city one last time. Broken walls were the only complete thing, everything else had worn and crumbled - their decay the only marker if time in a place of uncounted days. One thing was certain: Enas or no Enas, she wouldn’t come back to find birds nesting in her linen. 

[center][h3]* * * * *[/h3][/center]

[colour=antiquewhite][i]...'Prior loyalties to a dead society,' huh.[/i][/colour] A chill wind sang past Tauga as she rested atop the great metal ophan, listening to the faint choir of its many souls in her head. Unnoticed between the light of the white moons, Mirus had risen, and she stared into its strange and beautiful surface. [colour=antiquewhite][i]'Obfuscated attempts to predict my behaviour'. So what happens if I survive, huh? What do you have? What did you get out of this?

A walking corpse with the power of a demigod, that's what. As dead as you are, only stronger. And I won't even care, because I'll be nothing. Just a willing puppet for the Fae God.

I see you, Jaan. I see you.[/i][/colour]

[hider=B E A T D O W N]
Diana, the assassin and a surviving child of Amartia from the Victor invasion, returns to the city and sneaks into the wreckage of the Cipher Pyramid. She doesn't appear to find what she's looking for, but, of course, she does find one Blowfly.

Tauga is unimpressed with the armed intrusion and attempts to rebut Diana's limitless sass with flat confusion and warnings to stand down. Diana, being about as stubborn as her father, refuses, and the hain promptly makes good on her threat. A brawl ensues.

After displaying some admirable resilience, Diana gets a faceful of dirt and, frustrated, asks the Blowfly what her real name is. Surprise, surprise, Tauga actually does have a full name! This isn't actually relevant to anything, it's just a detail I had in mind for ages and never mentioned until it was too late to look anything but shoehorned. ANYWAY

Tauga smacks around Diana a little for being an assassin. She doesn't like assassins.

Diana reveals that she's Amartia's daughter and Tauga flips right out in shock, trying to fix up her wounds before she bleeds out. The change of tack frustrates Diana immensely. 

[b]Worth noting that Tauga has invented a handy new bit of arksynth technology- The synth kit. This is a wallet of small, versatile tools and stimulants along with a lump of arksynth for synthesizing small amounts of simple material on the go. She uses it to bind Diana's sprained wrist with a ribbon of elastic material. 2 Khookies spent inventing the synth kit. Also gonna toss another two levels into the mix since this was a reasonable display of skill, for another 25 Khookies.[/b]

Anyway, the two have a lovely chat in which Diana's banter and self-image makes Tauga feel even more dead inside. Tauga is incapable of figuring out why Diana is here. Eventually she blurts that she's on her way to murder Amartia for his destruction. This information cooks Tauga good and proper.

Torn between protectiveness for Amartia's daughter and loyalty to Amartia himself, Tauga flips rapidly between anger and submissiveness. Diana is confused, and gets nothing but an outburst upon questioning Tauga.

Diana explains that she's here to take revenge for her own ruined childhood. The fact that she is Amartia's daughter didn't weigh in on her decision. If anything, she doesn't even see herself as more than an urchin. 

Knowing the rationale for her actions helps Tauga get a grip on herself. She says eventually that Diana's murder attempt would never succeed while Tauga is alive, but neither would Tauga kill Diana. Once pointed out, the similarities between her and Amartia are too obvious. Diana is forced to come to terms with her own origins.

The two part ways, Diana still hoping that eventually someone else will end Amartia for her. Tauga understands and leaves her to find her own way in life. Exit Diana, finally building a sense of peace with the city and the history she's leaving behind.

Alone, Tauga reflects on her own motives and the words of Heartworm. She starts to realise that if she outlives Amartia and the [s]loyalty[/s] nay, the [i]hope[/i] that will die with him, she'll have no emotional identity left, and Heartworm will have procured an agent almost as cold as itself.

[b]Tauga
9 Khookies
Level Eight[/b]
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