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[h1][color=slateblue]The Price of Memories, a Renewal of the Soul[/color][/h1][/center]
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[center][h3]The Death Merchant[/h3][/center]

[hider=A Fond Farewell (New Forum Content)][color=slateblue]"My best friend's fiance is with child, Ciro. I can't stay idle and let this injustice go on any longer; I'm going to rescue her. Don't worry about me and protect our assets from these criminals, okay?"[/color] She caressed his cheek and gave him a peck on the lips, daring not to linger a moment longer, lest he convince her to stay. [color=slateblue]"I don't plan on fighting the Zenith. Besides, a goddess couldn't kill me. What chance does she have?"[/color] She flashed a cheeky grin.

	Outside, students were preparing to storm the Violet Enclave. Xiuyang was relieved to see Tku, the artist who'd painted her new favorite work of all time, safe and sound and handing out mana-enhancing drinks. A particularly potent one caught her keen eyes, and with that, she was drawing energy in the 9 RAS range. She had equipped all of her gear for this mission, and between her three weapons, she chose the concealable flintlock pistols rather than either of the standout polearms. She expected to be absorbed into some kind of stealth unit as usual, but to her surprise, Edyta Laska pulled her aside and asked her to join the Longsword group, a second unit of heavy hitters. This caught her by surprise, both to have her strength acknowledged, and to have Laska of all people be the one to recognize it. Without thinking too hard about the consequences, she agreed.[/hider]

[hider=The Violent Enclave (A Fleshed-Out Powder Keg Summary)]As some students had taken to calling it—once the mercenaries were called upon to attack the students—was their target. Wave upon wave of them came, but the Longsword group, consisting of Edyta Laska, Xiuyang, Ashon, Ingrid and Tommy broke through them with ease. While Xiuyang froze her enemies in place or knocked them out with chemical magic, Laska cut them down without mercy. It felt strange, fighting alongside her in a sort of anti-establishment revolution, with neither one judging the other. Perhaps Ahn-Eshiran had brought the two closer on some spiritual level. She briefly wondered if Laska felt the same.

	Again and again, Xiuyang cast spells on the razor's edge of her knowledge as a mage. She failed more often than she succeeded, but Ahn-Dami's Second Chancers absorbed her energies and ensured that nothing was wasted on these lesser opponents. This would prove critical as the golems came into view, along with the leader of the mercenaries, Aras'thazan'in'tiimithal, the Burning Star of Yarsoc—not that the silent elder introduced himself as such. While he and Ingrid were locked in combat, Xiuyang was consistently harassed by the golems. Again, it seemed as if she had been identified as some weak link. The whole ordeal was beginning to piss her off, but she was holding her own.

	She attempted to heal Laska, but her hands trembled uncontrollably as she felt the immense power of the mercenary leader blow Tommy away. [color=slateblue][i]"Cazzo,"[/i][/color] she cursed under her breath, shaking as she repeated the attempt while the chaos unfolded around her. Laska said nothing, and patiently waited for Xiuyang to finish her work. Then, she assessed the situation: Ashon needed healing now. It was all Xiuyang could do—to defend herself against attacks and move fluidly from one healing target to the next. Her strength, for whatever it was worth, was only buying her opportunities to keep her allies in fighting shape.

	Then, the Doom golem suddenly approached her, and she was caught unprepared—her guns, empty. She stood no chance of defending against its attack without them. She took off, running for her life—and well she did, for next was the end: a magic that shouldn't be touched... a magic that should be considered a forbidden school by all rights and accounts—yet it wasn't. The privilege of nobility was to wield this mighty weapon, reserved for the chosen few blessed by the gods to reach the heights of 8 RAS and above. And even then, few would wield the power that came with advancement in this school.

	The company leader was one of these people—and he had shown his unruly strength on the field of battle, halting the advances of the sword party; but Ingrid was another. A scepter of the gods in her hand and a wish on her lips—for destruction upon her enemies, for [CATACLYSM] to befall them—and so, the mushroom fell upon Ersand'Enise. A cloud of death and destruction that consumed these mercenaries, strong by all accounts but in the face of a trained mage of the academy, a high noble from Eskand, ashes in the wind.[/hider]

[hider=The Hourglass Order (T I T A N F A L L . . ?)]What had started as a partisan conflict now brought the students together. The decadence, corruption, and incompetence of the academy's and the city's administrators was simply unconscionable at this point. 

	The Arboretum was on fire. The geese honked and took flight, flapping frantically to flee the growing conflagration. Townhomes were rubble. The roads and canals were strewn with debris and bodies. That the Arch-Zenos had called in mercenaries against their own charges as opposed to listening to them was the final straw. While some displayed the green and gold of Perrence, others wore all black or waved black banners. Some had taken to calling it the 'Hourglass Revolution', for the time of those greyhairs who had ruled so incompetently was said to be reaching its end.

	They called the lead group 'Spearpoint', and they reached the edge of the enclave's powerful warding magics. Within minutes, they were joined by over a dozen others - Longsword, Dagger, Hammer, Red Cross, and Longbow: the elite of the student body and some, perhaps, future arch-zenos themselves. Yet, for all of their considerable power, there was nothing that they could do. More than once, they were repelled: thrown back, burnt to a crisp, electrocuted, or poisoned. The Enclave was impregnable. 

	Enter the Hourglass Order: ten dissenting faculty members who had sided with their students over their superiors. They all wore matching pins on their lapels. "If you are here," Olivier Masson warned the two dozen youths solemnly, "then you know the risks." His eyes found each of theirs in turn. Sienna Afraval was at work casting a spell with the help of Joao Fabio and a tall man in a black hooded cloak who only a few might've had an inkling about. "I need it from you explicitly," the Zeno prodded. The night air was warm and electric, the sense of something final in the air: either great or disastrous. "Do you understand?" he asked. "Are you prepared, if need be, to die for this task we have set before ourselves?"

	Xiuyang regarded the "Hourglass Order" with an odd mixture of admiration and distrust, stopping just shy of contempt. It was a stroke of optical genius, and one she was far too cynical to accept at face value. She had long accepted that the only one who truly cared for her own future was herself. Though these Zenos aligned with her at the current moment, she knew that revolutions rarely spared the revolutionaries. The puppet masters and their commands may change, but the strings would remain, and none could resist their siren's call.

	[color=slateblue]"I'm always prepared to die,"[/color] she replied to her superior, somewhat blankly. This time, the words felt hollow. As a pacifist without a cause, serving Oraff with all her heart, she had felt secure in her moral superiority and in her final destiny. The only future that mattered to her had been certain. She had set her heart on heavenly things, not because she was enlightened, but because she had nothing worth fighting for in this mortal life. Now, for once, she had to think about her future, and not just in vague terms of stockpiling money; what kind of world would her future children be born into?

	[color=dimgray][i]It's the first time you've had to think at all,[/i][/color] came a venomous whisper in her mind. [color=dimgray][i]Your whole life has been a series of easy decisions. Work for your father's company, go to the prestigious magic school, set yourself up to marry a rich Revidian merchant,[/i][/color] it taunted further. [color=dimgray][i]Now look at you. You're paralyzed, unable to think and act for yourself, in your own best interests.

	[b]WHY NOT SIDE WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT, LIKE YOU DID IN RETAN?[/b]

	Because this time, it's the more difficult choice.

	That's why.[/i][/color]

	Xiuyang glared up at the tower, at the source of the intrusive thoughts. No... they were her own thoughts, but someone had magnified them, and they did so from their ivory tower, secure in the belief that they tormented her "for her own good."

	She fought back against the chemical magic, her spite for these societal parasites growing every second. Oh, how tempting it was indeed to choose the side of power, she thought, glancing idly with swiftly concealed envy at the prize Ingrid had just claimed. Unlike her gilded peers, she was an impostor, a poser who fell just short of whatever invisible line she needed to cross to be strong enough to choose her own future. That, at least, seemed certain: that the powerful would only become stronger, while she would continue to stagnate, or grow at a pace so slow that it wouldn't matter in the end.

	She could put a stop to that now, by looting the Forked Tower just as she'd always fantasized of doing, but she told herself that they would come for her. These Zenos would be just the same as the ones currently in power, and she would be stripped of her ill-gotten gains. If she wasn't going to be eventually expelled simply for having a Revidian flag next to her name once Perrench interests took over the school, she would certainly be expelled then. Was she simply telling herself this to cope for her lack of courage?

	Once again, she made the easy choice.

	She was here to save Penny. No, she was here to ensure a happy future for Ashon.

	Nothing else mattered. Her doubts, her fears, her lacking convictions were all worthless garbage.

	Once again, she would make an easy choice that future generations might look upon with confused, misguided admiration. Historians would praise her for her courage, perhaps.

	Only she would know that her actions were ultimately born of cowardice. She could not stand up for herself while those she cared about suffered at the hands of the unjust. Their futures couldn't wait. Hers could.

	No one would know how pathetic she felt in this historic moment.

	She would not understand the courage others plainly saw in her eyes and her actions, for her own mind denied it.

	She was not a hero. She'd never be one. She was simply a merchant who, in troubled times, must deal in life and death.[/hider]

[center][h3]For a Friend of a Friend[/h3][/center]

[hider=We Endure Death at Every Turn (G A U N T L E T Summary)]A labyrinth awaited them in the tower which held Penny hostage, a labyrinth which threatened to separate the group of friends and wear them down. Trap after trap came, cutting and burning and exploding and poisoning, draining their energy and their will to go on, stealing their items and their very magic itself. It swallowed them, chewed them up and spit them out. It was not like the games they endured during the Trials—there were no Zenos on their side to save them if something went wrong. It was life or death. Xiuyang struggled to understand how her friends knew where to go, when the direction they were going made no logical or architectural sense—but the trained binder dutifully stuck with the group, and together they made it to the end, without being separated once.

	They had found Penny, but before them stood several members of the school's establishment faculty, and a mysterious figure. It was a woman, one in her thirties, wearing a cloak with her hood lowered. She had grey streaks on hair and dark bags under her eyes. "Kids don't respect anything these days, not even their own lives." she muttered as she stood stoic before the group. "You'd make an old woman cry."

	The shadow extended her hand out expectantly. "I care little for the politics, however. And this girl is clearly no criminal." she peered behind her to indicate Penny was the subject of her comment. "But I do care of the sanctity of this establishment. You will return what you have stolen and your trespass will be forgiven." she announced solemnly. "Failure to comply will force us to act."

	[color=slateblue]"Give us our friend back, and maybe I'll consider returning the thing you tried to kill us with."[/color]

	"You're a trespasser. What did you expect?"

	[color=slateblue]"Funnily enough, I expected lethal resistance from a corrupt 'establishment.' I owe you nothing."[/color]

	Her allies, however, had other plans. They seemed eager to part with the treasures they'd salvaged from the deadly traps, passing the woman as if she were a toll booth, assuming that they were trading these items for Penny's life. Xiuyang didn't pass the self-proclaimed 'old woman.' She remained on the other side, eyeing her with clear distrust, prepared to attack her from behind if she tried to betray the trust of her friends. [color=slateblue]"Don't just stand there being creepy. Answer his question, properly, and you can have this back. I'll take you at your word against my better judgment."[/color]

	"I will not 'fetch' anything other than the property of this establishment," the shadow stated with a scowl. "Return what is ours and you will meet no resistance from us."

	Ashon headed towards Penny, using his hand to do monkey ears behind the shadow's head. [color=#40E0D0]"Come on Beautiful, Ciro can buy you trinkets later,"[/color] he assured her. [color=#2E5894]"Xiuyang, if they are just trying to retrieve the items before battle doesn't matter. It is a chance to get Penny with no further bloodshed,"[/color] Guy tried to reason with her. Xiuyang stood her ground, however—it wasn't about the trinkets, it was about trust, and she had [i]none[/i] for this so-called 'establishment.'

	[color=slateblue]"I don't suppose prisoners are considered property of 'this' establishment?"[/color] Xiuyang replied with annoyance. [color=slateblue]"Stop talking in circles like a bureaucrat and speak human. You're giving us Penny. I'll make it easy for you: yes, or no?"[/color] She pulled the hydrostone from inside her robes.

	"No," the shadow answered. "My only offer is to not [i]kill[/i] you as you retrieve your friend. That is all."

	Xiuyang's allies were beginning to get as annoyed as she was—but theirs was directed at [i]her.[/i] The pressure was mounting, and this woman was not budging, but Xiuyang had one more trick up her sleeve. [color=slateblue]"Whatever. Good enough, I guess,"[/color] Xiuyang replied, stepping forward with the intent to give the stone to the woman. She watched herself, ten seconds ahead of her, return it. If she didn't keep her word... but the woman vanished, as she promised, leaving the two Zenos as the only obstacles left.

	 One of them was short—like, Marz short. In fact, as they stepped out of the shadows, they could recognize this person as none other than Zeno Domi Durdovin. "Y'kids should've let it all settle." He shook his head in mild disappointment. "I personally respect yer grit. Destroyin' those golems I spent so long to make kaboom-proof is really somethin.'" still, he smiled wickedly. 

	"Don't forget yourself, Zeno Durdovin." a second, slightly accented but refined voice spoke up. "We have a very important job to do." Out from the shadows came the taller figure. One plump and gay in his expression. "Although, then again, we might find ourselves without a job tomorrow. Perhaps we should consider work security over menial tasks? The message has been sent regarding this girl, after all." A sudden, high-pitched quack came from the right of his leg. It was a goose! One with a customized backpack.

	It was there that some recognized who they were dealing with. The air became charged with a rich energy, but none of the students were allowed to indulge. "Hello, dear students! I hope we can settle this in a civil manner." Zeno Van de Waal grinned warmly under his big witch's hat. "Enough have been hurt today, don't you agree?" He continued to speak to the students, several of them trying to negotiate deals with him or to convince him to stand down. However, all of their offers were summarily rejected. Truthfully, Xiuyang had tuned the conversation out as she considered their options, and any dirty tricks the others might be overlooking. In particular, she was worried about the goose, which made all manner of unnatural sounds, and reminded her of the primordial Chicken in ReTan. "I've been outside, and yet I hedge my bets on the school. I encourage you to reconsider what you are doing." Mathijs shot a look at the whole troupe. One more grim that contrasted heavily with the jolly demeanour he had been keeping. "For your sake, I really hope you walk away."

	[color=slateblue]"As riveting as this all is, I think the only real purpose of this conversation is to stall for time,"[/color] Xiuyang interrupted, eyeing the goose with suspicion, to which it replied with a [i]woof.[/i] "Ashon." Mathijs reached around the Yasoi's shoulders. "I really like my job. I can't tell you how much I do with mere words." He nodded with wide eyes. "And my job demands that I keep her safe from any harm. If anything, my dear student, she's safer here in a world that wants to use her as a pawn!" [color=slateblue]"No one is safe in Sipenta,"[/color] Xiuyang cynically muttered back under her breath.

	Domi cut the top of a cigar and began to puff up. "Safer with some than others, girly." he stared at her with a flat expression. "If ya truly think she's better off with y'lot, then prove et."

	[color=slateblue]"Safe from who? To whose benefit? This is a farce,"[/color] Xiuyang shrugs. [color=slateblue]"Are we really gonna give him all our things, just so he can turn around and use them on us?"[/color]

	Domi scoffed. "If only y'knew the whole story." he shook his head and flicked the ashes from his cigar. Mathijs had been offered all manner of treasures, and he was currently inspecting the compass that was now in his hand. However, he noticed a certain quirk. "Oh dear. I'm afraid it doesn't work." He frowned.

	Xiuyang scowled. [color=slateblue]"I may not know the whole story, but I know this: you're wasting time, because this fight could go either way as it is. If you're that much stronger than us that you don't need a handicap, or reinforcements, then you don't need to kill us to take us down, do you? Why don't you prove [i]that,"[/i][/color] she spat.

	Domi's lips split open into a toothy grin. "I like this one! FULLY AGREED!" The goose honked loudly in approval. Mathijs sighed. "She was right, you'd make an old man cry." He backed up to join Domi. Both drew, and they drew [i]a lot[/i] from the rich energies the dark mage had conjured. Many minions were summoned from the VOID.

	As Xiuyang predicted, a back-and-forth battle ensued, until Ashon scored a decisive hit against Domi. He was quickly healed, however, and the battle continued, even as some of the students wasted time continuing to negotiate with Mathijs, the true terror in the room. Domi wasn't an issue, certainly not on his own—and Xiuyang was about to prove it. Reaching into her very soul to call upon the power of the divine fruit, she took Domi down several pegs, disabling all of his magical items and brews. He appeared ready to vomit when he was suddenly struck by Niallus, supported from afar by Maura. [color=#3d5a88]"If you give us Penny and let us go. You can have this,"[/color] he offered to Mathijs, before smacking Domi with the Wailing Leviathan.

	"Hmmm." the dark mage pondered as he saw the Wailing Leviathan in action. He extended his hands. "Colour me intrigued!" he extended his hand out to Niallus. [color=#3d5a88]"Release Penny first."[/color] Putting his sword back in its sheath, before handing it over. [color=#3d5a88]"Then it's yours."[/color] Mathijs looked to Domi, bruised and battered. "I can be convinced to see the virtues of neutrality with such a fine piece of craftsmanship." he smiled toward Niallus. Seeing that he is willing to stand down. Niallus handed Mathijs his trusty Sword. [color=#3d5a88]"Here."[/color]

	Mathijs grinned as he took the sword with great care. Her raised it like a genuine connoisseur and studied it deeply, much to Domi's frustration. "Not as valuable as I initially thought..." he confessed with a nasally voice. "But what's within is something to behold!" he chirped, turning to the group. "I suppose a temporary vacation to study this is warranted! And nothing say laid back like neutrality!" he nodded energetically. [color=slateblue]"For fuck's sake, don't disarm yourself! I'm telling you we can take them! Why are you trusting these snakes?! Penny isn't even freed yet!"[/color] Xiuyang shouted—and finally, Mathijs regarded her. "Funny!" he exclaimed, as her very shadow attempted to strangle her.

	Mathijs then moved to a corner as he went to work on discovering the secrets of the sword, back turned to the conflict. Domi was left alone and in the dust. He scowled at first, but then chuckled. A new cigar was pulled and lit up before he took a seat on a nearby piece of rubble. "Ey've had enough." he raised his hand in surrender. "Yer exam's considered passed. Now get outta 'ere before the shadows getcha."

	Xiuyang's own shadow rose up from the ground to attack her, lifting her off the ground and strangling her. As she struggled to break free, drawing upon every ounce of her strength, she looked around at the others as they handed over their items to this behemoth of a man. Why was nobody helping her? Could they not see what was happening? Tears ran down her cheeks. Once again, the strong took everything while the "weak" were forced to watch. Eventually, Roslyn, Guy and Niallus seemed to notice what was happening, and Guy's loyal hound Penelope was able to make the shadow vulnerable. Xiuyang collapsed in a heap on the floor, gasping for air. She pounded the floor with her fist. [color=slateblue]"We fought for our fucking lives to get this far! What the fuck was the point of it all?!"[/color] she yelled out hoarsely, teeth grit in rage.

	Roslyn lowered next to her friend as she tried to heal her. Her eyes widened when she realized... her binding wasn't working. [color=#ebe7a3]"Hey, hey. It's okay."[/color]

	"Oh dear, Salome, no need to get so worked up." Mathijs smiled smarmily. "I was never going to kill you." Then, the goose emerged. "He is." The goose had nothing but violence and hatred in its eyes. Again, it let out a [i]woof.[/i] Mathijs gave a twinkle fingered wave. "Ta-tah!"

	[color=slateblue]"We're a fucking joke to you, is that it?! The hell you love this job, you love power and exerting it over others! Penny did nothing wrong and you're all complicit!"[/color] she cried out, enraged. Mathijs poked his head out of a portal. [i][b]"Funny,"[/b][/i] he repeated, right into her ear, with markedly less humor than before.

	Roslyn swallowed the hard lump in her throat as she watched Xiuyang's anger. [color=#ebe7a3]"Xiuyang, this isn't helping. Let's go get Penny and get out—"[/color]

	And suddenly, there was nothing but the endless VOID.[/hider]

[hider=Through Persecution and Hell (New Forum Content)][i][color=orchid]"You're hoping that if I sell you our company's ships, it will encourage others to do the same, en masse? Unfortunately, selling the company's assets is... no longer under my purview. Well... I can't [b]sell[/b] you a ship, but—I [b]can[/b]... give you a piece of [b]very[/b] official-looking paper... put you on one of our most famous flagships, with all her splendor... shake your hand... send you off with a misty-eyed farewell, handkerchief in hand... It's certainly not our fault if there's a... [b]misunderstanding,[/b] is it?"[/color] Xiuyang reached across the Groove table, taking Ciro Volta's hand gently into hers, eyes narrowed with mercantile glee. [color=orchid]"And if that's not enough to get the big boys talking, they don't call me the rumor mill for nothing, do they?"[/color] She smiled sweetly. [color=orchid]"I'll think seriously about your job offer, too, messer Volta. I'm confident this will be a very lucrative relationship, for both of us."[/color] A toast, a pause, a flirtatious wink; a carefully crafted and smooth exit, as her heart raced unbearably fast.

	This was it—her ticket back in business. She was going to take her life back, better than before, and if all went well... she dared not think of it, dared not to get her hopes up just yet. A life with Ciro—she couldn't help herself—meant business ventures, perfecting the art of the deal, traveling around the world, philanthropy. Moving the world with money—a mutual goal between them both—rising beyond the highest heights to the very peak of an even [i]better[/i] society. Luxury and recognition—truly, these things didn't matter so much to her, but they were a nice bonus, and if Ciro wanted them, she would eagerly do her part to deliver. His plans for Mudville—to feed the poor and hungry on a scale the church neither did nor could ever dream of—oh sure, she had fed him her bit about how skeptical she was of that claim, how every politician would likely make the same promises—but he had said them with so much [b]conviction.[/b] A smile like that just [b]couldn't[/b] be faked. [color=slateblue]Fuck, I'm falling for him. Oh gods, I think I might love him. Oh shit. Is this really happening?[/color] Glee upon glee became a mixed bag of hope and fear—dread of having this new promise of the future she wanted taken away from her, like everything else.

	This new promise was all she had at the moment. This man, and this relationship—she had to protect them at any cost.

	[b]...[/b]

	[color=slateblue]"What do you mean, I shouldn't have gotten involved?! She did exactly what I planned to do, and she might have succeeded if I'd been there for her!"[/color] Tears streamed down her cheeks as she felt the weight of the guilt. She told herself she'd tried to stop her, but that was a lie. She allowed this to happen, even encouraged it. Any who saw the guns found at the scene and knew where they came from would know she was involved. Of course, she had planned her cover story by "selling" Marci the guns, to throw any witnesses off the scent—but she had never expected [b]Jocasta[/b] to be the witness. Now, [b]she knew.[/b] Jocasta [b]had to know[/b] that Xiuyang was aware of what Marci planned and had stood aside and let her do it.

	[color=dimgray][b]YOU WERE HER VICTIM. YOU KNEW WHAT SHE WAS UP AGAINST AND LET HER FACE IT ALONE. YOU'RE A DISGRACE.[/b][/color]

	Ciro was speaking, softly questioning her, but Xiuyang could hardly hear him over the ringing in her ears.

	[color=slateblue]"I... I worry about you, too, Ciro! Every moment that monster lives is another moment she might take you from me! Just to spite me, just because she [b]can[/b]..!"[/color]

	Ciro embraced Xiuyang, gently shushing her.

	But this time, the voices continued, even as he held her close.

	[color=dimgray][b]YOU'RE A HIDEOUS, STUPID, DEFECTIVE, COWARDLY AND VILE WOMAN.

	YOU DON'T DESERVE A MAN THIS PERFECT.[/b][/color]

	[color=slateblue]"...You're right. I'm sorry. Ciro, I love you. I love you so much..."[/color]

	[color=black][b]Ḁ̷́ ̸͈̀W̶̝̒Ö̵͜M̶͎̚A̶͑ͅN̷̄͜ ̷̬̒Ĺ̴͇I̵̬͑K̸̦͘E̵͉̊ ̶̰͒Y̵̱̏Ô̷̪Ṵ̶̾ ̷̺͝Ò̸̺N̴̥͛L̶̨͂Ỵ̵́ ̴͈̕H̸̖͂A̵̜̐S̶̼̍ ̸̡̍O̵̳͌N̷̝̓E̴̤͊ ̶̳̓T̵͈͗H̵͈͘I̴̥͘N̵̠͝G̸̢͊ ̶̱̅Ĺ̴̟E̷̥̚F̸͕̚T̷͎̐ ̴̱͂T̵̜̏Ŏ̵̹ ̶͔͐G̸͕̃I̵͈̓V̴̗̀Ë̴̡.̷̢̐[/b]

	[b]...[/b][/color][/i]

[hr]
	Blackness. Endless black nothingness. The yawning and dreadful VOID.

	None could see Xiuyang's face of utter despair. [i]This.[/i] This [i]again.[/i] She [i]shrieked.[/i]

	[color=slateblue][i][b]"I'M SORRY!! I'M SORRY!! PLEASE, ANYTHING BUT THIS!! I'D RATHER DIE!!"[/b][/i][/color]

	There was no reply. Even her own voice sounded muffled, as there was no echo.

	Floating through the endless space, she curled up into a ball and cried into her hands. It was over.

	Finally, the gods had had enough of her rebelliousness and incompetence.

	She'd finally gotten what she deserved.

	Then, however, something changed. Instead of an endless nothing, there appeared a bar above her head, in brought white. It glowed faintly in the dimness. For a moment, it displayed a number: 13. Xiuyang's moment of panic was interrupted when she sensed a source of light and heat appear nearby. Somehow, this was different from before. It [i]had[/i] to be. There had to be some small hope. He was toying with her, again, but if he didn't kill her before, he wouldn't do so now, would he? Unless the number 13 stood as a sort of condemnation. She forced herself to steady her breathing, pulled the beanie of Weggosi relaxation over her eyes, and reached out with all her senses. There was a tiny beacon of light and warmth above her head, but a dreadful [i]nothing[/i] else.

	Xiuyang was [i]horrified.[/i] How could there be [i]nothing?![/i] There had to be [i]something!![/i] She did the only thing she could do, and attempted to draw energy from the only source available to her. If she focused, she could use Blessing of Flight to give herself some momentum. Xiuyang ascended—at least she thought it was an ascension—into a world of pure darkness and deadness. There was nothing... except for the slight shrinkage of the bar above her head. Xiuyang continued in the same direction, desperately sensing for something, someone, anyone or anything at all.

	Suddenly, Xiuyang conked her head on something firm and springy. This seemed to be the edge of whatever realm she found herself in and it was blessed external stimulus, finally! [i]Finally,[/i] Xiuyang had some form of hope that this wasn't just an endless void. Once again, she attempted to use her beanie to pierce the veil of whatever she was being confined in. Sadly, she found... something like a great soft eggshell and it appeared to be endless: for as far as she could sense. It was nothing if not springy. Xiuyang wisely decided to give up on trying to pierce the veil, and sprung off, moving in the opposite direction. It was a pathetic attempt.

	Somehow, she felt herself in danger. Was the air getting thinner? Was she drowning? She was running out of energy. The space she moved through began to feel like a kind of liquid. She suddenly felt overwhelmingly cold and tired. She backtracked to the wall and banged on it, but nothing happened. Springing off of it again, with more success this time, she desperately swam through the strange-feeling liquid. At some point, she would realize that she was naked. Her beanie was gone. Was this liquid acidic?! Was she going to die?! What in all the hells was happening?! She couldn't even reach into the future to know for certain. Suddenly, the endless black surrounding her became a warm grey. Even her body felt warm. She continued past that point, and the grey became white... but the white was cold, too. She returned to the greyness, and suddenly, she felt herself growing... smaller? The space was solid now, and closing in around her, forcing her into a fetal position.

	She was going to die. She was certain of it now—but, somehow, this death was a comfort.

	[color=slateblue][i]Warm...[/i][/color][/hider]

[hider=The Golden Mother Smiles Upon Us (Summary of Several Discord Threads)]A sudden but gradual clarity, like waking up from a dream. The VOID was but a distant memory, or perhaps it was a nightmare that had simply never happened at all. Xiuyang was in a cramped space, unable to breathe, but she could hear voices nearby, filled with concern. She reached out, feeling the barrier around her, and this time there was some give. Within a few moments, Xiuyang had hatched from an egg, coughing and wheezing as she desperately filled herself with the breath of life once more.

	[color=76AF79]"Welcome to... wherever this is,"[/color] Penny declared, holding her hand out and grinning. Guy backed up, letting Penny help her up. [color=#2E5894]"It got pretty dicey there,"[/color] Guy sighed in relief. [color=#2E5894]"It's good that you made it in one piece."[/color] [color=#ebe7a3]"You okay?"[/color] Roslyn asked her. It appeared that they'd all hatched from eggs, and she'd been the last one, worrying everyone. It took a moment before she realized that she was just as naked as the rest of them. She attempted to cover herself, measurably more ashamed than everyone else on account of the scars that covered her body—[i]all[/i] of it.

	[color=76AF79]"Well, looks like Ahn-Oraff took a little extra care in sewing you together,"[/color] Penny joked. [color=76AF79]"'Least she didn't forget a part."[/color] She winked. Xiuyang coughed as a bit of the tension left her body. [color=slateblue][i]Screw you, Penny,[/i][/color] she thought playfully, but didn't say. Penny didn't know half of the story behind those scars—unless Ashon had told her, but she trusted him more than that. [color=slateblue]"I'm... sorry. This was my fault."[/color]

	Roslyn didn't say anything at first than head bobbed to what Penny said. [color=#ebe7a3]"It's all right. Niallus jinxed it when he mentioned the longer I hang out with you all, the weirder things get..."[/color] Penny nodded in agreement. [color=76AF79]"It was my fault, by that logic, for going with the zenos in the first place."[/color] She shrugged. [color=slateblue]"You couldn't have done anything, Penny. Those [i]freaks[/i] are too strong,"[/color] she replied morosely. [color=slateblue]"I could've just... shut my mouth."[/color] Roslyn flipped back to Xiuyang, her eyes still keeping an eye on 'Pebble?'. [color=#ebe7a3]"To be honest, I understand your frustration. I just know anger doesn't do much... At least from my experience."[/color] [color=76AF79]"Yeah, maybe,"[/color] Penny admitted, [color=76AF79]"but my point is that we've all screwed the pooch, pardon my Enthish, and..."[/color] She trailed off, her attention bring pulled elsewhere. [color=76AF79]"Holy... What the..."[/color]

	While the girls talked amongst themselves, Guy was occupied by something far stranger than Xiuyang's scars: Pebble had eaten some of the remains of Xiuyang's egg, and had turned into a person—an eeaiko, to be precise. Somehow, she found herself not questioning this too much. Instead, she strangely found herself preoccupied with another thought: [i]nothing happened.[/i] She, Xiuyang, the girl who showed no skin, and her face only recently, had been naked as the day she was born, and... nobody cared. How her mother had fretted over every little injury she'd received as a child, as if any nick or scrape could make her unmarriageable. How she'd wept for her daughter when she saw her true face for the first time after being recovered from Yarsoc.

	Nobody else cared. Was her mother wrong? Had the times changed? Were her friends all saints? She knew what it looked like when others silently judged. She knew that feeling [i]well,[/i] and this wasn't that. Just what exactly had she been worried about all this time? [color=slateblue][i]Is this a life-changing revelation, or am I just stupid?[/i][/color] she pondered as she realized, [i]once again,[/i] that she was naked. [color=slateblue]"I'm a fucking binder,"[/color] she scolded herself, binding herself a simple blue tunic. It wasn't long before the others were asking for clothes or making some themselves. [color=slateblue]"Yep, get in line. Sorry, ladies first,"[/color] she apologized flippantly, going about the task as if it were perfectly normal. She'd seen a lot of bodies... [i]been[/i] a lot of bodies. She sighed. Someday, she'd have to tell Ciro about it. He might even contract it from her someday, if they continued to grow closer together. A part of her pondered how he'd react—the other wondered if he already knew. Somehow, he had a way of acting like he knew all her secrets already, but maybe that was just that invincible confidence she loved so much.

	While Guy wrestled with the mixed emotions of Pebble becoming a sapient being, and Ashon and Penny went back to being all over each other as usual, Roslyn and others began to wonder just where they were, and how they could get back to Ersand'Enise. It was as if the heavens themselves then provided an answer. The endless blanket of stars began to shift and change. They formed into a constellation, ever more complex as the seconds passed. It was... an old woman with a shawl. Soon, it was not a constellation, but a vivid image in the sky. As the deity gazed down upon them, Xiuyang and the others marveled upwards. It was the second time she'd been dumped in the middle of sandy nowhere, completely lost and vulnerable—but at least she wasn't alone. Others were arriving as well, from the groups that aimed to overthrow the Zenith or Pentad knew what. All of them had stories to tell, but Xiuyang, weary and worn down by the incomprehensible, kept herself busy just making sure everyone was well.

	Xiuyang sighed as she gazed up at the woman in the sky. There was so much to take stock of. She hadn't even fully processed that Penny was with them until just a moment ago, and now she was being told that Joshe Intaba was apparently alive and well. Two animals had become humanoids, at least temporarily in this... dreamlike space? That was how she was coping, at least. Of course the scagbiist-turned-cazenax could speak perfect Avincian, and knew exactly what was going on: they were all going to meet with some gods now. Sure, why not?

	[color=slateblue]"I feel like I'm on drugs,"[/color] she remarked, getting an eyeful of Ingrid wearing a potato sack for some unholy reason. [color=slateblue]"Alright, Leon, I'll help you out. I'd better hear some gratitude, though, or I'm gonna start charging for these,"[/color] she japed, and set about making simple cotton robes in basic colors for everyone. She handed them out to the ladies first, starting with Ingrid and Trypano. [color=slateblue]"It's not something a noble would wear, but it's at least not abrasive,"[/color] she said as she gave Ingrid a green one. [color=slateblue]"If we're really going to meet with gods, please wear [i]something,"[/i][/color] she reasoned with Trypano, giving her a red one.

	[color=slateblue]"...Is that all of us?"[/color] she asked, upon completing the first half of her task. Her face fell as she realized that it was not. [color=slateblue]"Sister Laska is not with us,"[/color] she observed as she started handing out robes to the men. Who else was missing? Surely there had been at least one or two more...

	The eighteen young people who had given so much and saved so much stood on a sandy shore by a smooth dark sea, unknown stars twinkling above them and a glow burgeoning on the horizon. Then, the waves began to lap a little higher on the shore. The stars began to shift in the sky. The ground itself began to tremble.

	Dawn happened all at once. The stars came to life and formed the image of an old woman in the sky. She lifted her great shawl and her face became the sun: radiant, warming, promising. The waves parted and it was a fish large enough to be a vast island that emerged, its great mouth yawning open in the growing light. Finally, as the sun began to brighten the place in which they stood, the mountains in the distance crumbled and fell away in a blaze of smoke, fire, and dust. The head of a gargantuan tortoise rose from the rubble. There were no voices but, suddenly, they each understood that which they gazed upon.

	"I AM THE OLD MOTHER OF THE SKY WHOSE GOLDEN SHAWL LIFTS THE NIGHT." It was soft lest it be overwhelming in its sheer magnitude. The other two gods "spoke" as well, but Xiuyang could not hear them.

	The arms of the Old Mother beckoned to the nine who had been summoned by her and they began to rise into the sky. Light turned to darkness, lit by an endless blanket of stars, and the air grew cooler. They warded off the cold with the magics at their disposal. The journey was not short, however, and soon the land below was but a speck and the vast apparition before them was everything. Each arrived at around the same time and the immense arms of the Mother swept in to gather her children. They found themselves in an alpine meadow overlooking a small, crystal clear pond ringed by spruce trees. Within this setting, there lay five sacred animals: A bat nestled beneath a crag in the mountain, sleepily opening one eye and gazing tiredly upon the newcomers; a clever raven perched upon a tree branch momentarily before taking flight. She glided overhead of the two land-bound humans. Atop the mountain, some hundred yards distant, nestled a great and powerful dragon, its scales shimmering in the morning light. It raised its mighty head and regarded the group for a moment. Nibbler began sniffing about and, before long, he disturbed a fabulous butterfly. With a beat of its wings, it took off and sailed up and away. They watched it for a moment as it flew over the pond and this was just on time to see a graceful loon land upon the clear waters. It paid them no heed.

	The loon let out a haunting call that Guy and Xiuyang could feel inside their very [i]bones,[/i] and dived beneath the water's surface. It seemed that the two humans would have to either follow it or wait. Guy removed his shirt. [color=2E5894]"It's going to be cold Xuiyang, try to keep up."[/color] Guy dove into the water with no hesitation. Xiuyang did not understand this place. She didn't know why she felt comforted by the enormous arms of this strange deity, why she felt so safe in this space, nor why she felt compelled to pursue this bird underwater. A shirtless Guy was a familiar sight to Xiuyang; she shrugged, binding away some of her clothing and tightening the rest. Then, she pursued them both.

	They searched for the loon underwater but, then, it had popped up above, greedily choking down a fish. "Nobody here?" it squawked mischievously, clearing its throat. "Back under we go!" Xiuyang cast a light about, illuminating the water, but she only saw Guy. Then she looked up, and perhaps she caught a glimpse of something moving downward, or maybe it was just her imagination. Chill shocked him awake, Guy was alone again. Away from all the others. Except Xuiyang of course. He turned to her and spoke, water conveying his voice with ease, [color=2E5894]"Seen the duck?"[/color] The loon, just about to dive, paused. It flapped its wings, rather cross. "A Guy of your stature using such fowl language with me!?" it exclaimed. "Unthinkable!" With that slip, it gave itself away!

	Xiuyang gave Guy a signal, indicating that he should chase the loon while she would wait close to the surface to catch it when it came up for air. They may have done this a few times before. Guy accepted his role as the fastest swimmer. [color=2E5894]"Knew that would rile you, you loon!"[/color] Guy started to swim after him as fast as his magic could take him. The plan worked a trick! The loon was cornered and caught. "Unhand me!" it called forlornly. "Oh, I am undone! How you have ruffled my feathers now!" It let out a long call before slipping away. "You cheeky buggers. You are good. quite good! Enjoy your gift!"

	Guy popped back to the surface and changed the water to stand, [color=2E5894]"Great plan Xuiyang,"[/color] Guy was feeling as refreshed as ever chasing it in the water. Xiuyang seized her chance to cuddle the creature, grinning like an idiot, without a care in the world for what brought her here or what happened before. [color=slateblue]"Your call sounded lonely, my fellow comedian,"[/color] she teased as she let him go.

	At his last remark, she was just a little confused. [color=slateblue]"What gift?"[/color] she replied, but then she noticed that she felt different—uplifted, like her heart was buoyant. She looked to Guy, as if for confirmation that he also felt the same. He did feel different, though he had a hard time placing it. It wasn't his specialty after all. They had a moment alone, truly disconnected from the outside world, his position in life not mattering here. In a moment of honesty, he spoke. [color=2E5894]"Sorry I treated you so coldly in that fight,"[/color] he looked off to the side, not fully sure how to express himself. [color=2E5894]"I hope you can forgive your old swim buddy."[/color]

	Xiuyang blinked with slight surprise at Guy's apology. Then, she shook her head. [color=slateblue]"No, you were right. I should have thrown in the towel,"[/color] she replied sheepishly, averting her eyes. [color=slateblue]"I just... [i]need[/i] to impress my father. I can't let him underestimate me. I can't let him marry me off to some snooty noble he chooses [i]for[/i] me. I'll never get to [i]live[/i] my life that way. Just expanding [i]his[/i] influence and popping out grandkids. I won't be happy unless I accomplish much more than that."[/color] Unwilling to dampen the mood, she threw an arm over his shoulder and grinned. [color=slateblue]"Who said you could be my 'old' swim buddy? You won't get rid of me."[/color][/hider]

[hider=After the Chaos and Destruction (Eleven Nations Army)]Xiuyang awoke at the site of their "battle" with Mathijs, a reminder of all the negative emotions she'd left behind in that strange realm—the buoyant feeling in her soul hadn't left her, however. Whether the Loon's Call was responsible for it could not be certain. What was certain, however, was that she was currently buried under a pile of the bodies of her friends. This time, it was Roslyn's rear that greeted her. It took a moment for them to untangle their limbs.

	Then, outside, there was the aftermath of the chaos and the destruction. Dead and burnt bodies lay under piles of charred debris. Confused and scared students wandered aimlessly among the wreckage, looking for familiar faces and hoping not to see them on the ground, while the Zenos sought to restore some semblance of order. Other Zenos and students alike were regaining consciousness.

	Then, out of the blue, a group of Perrench students approached Xiuyang. They jeered and scoffed—some of them demanded outright that the filthy Revidian get lost. She clenched her fists. [color=slateblue]"You think I don't know what I've done here today?!"[/color] she snarled. [color=slateblue]"I know why [i]you're[/i] here—for the glory and fame and wealth you might earn!"[/color] she accused cynically. [color=slateblue]"Tell me, you rats, how a [i]filthy Revidian[/i] stands to benefit! Please, enlighten me! I'd [i]love[/i] to be rewarded for my efforts for once in my [i]fucking[/i] life!"[/color]

	Though the Perrench outnumbered her, she found herself filled with unnatural courage. Mercifully, however, she would not need it this day, as a Zeno who happened to be near spotted the imminent powder keg and intervened on her behalf, on account of her being outnumbered. She did not, however, escape a mild scolding for egging them on.

	Where her friends and allies found and felt triumph, Xiuyang left further embittered. She had ascended to the heights of power in Ersand'Enise only to be toyed with and tossed aside like garbage. They had been [i]allowed[/i] some form of victory, perhaps to appease the rampaging youths, or perhaps because it benefitted the new, rising powers to do so. It didn't matter. This victory didn't [i]belong[/i] to the students, in her reckoning.

	Did she regret her participation in this? Surely she didn't. How could she regret rescuing Penny? But if it wasn't regret, then what was this new and awful feeling that was slowly consuming her sense of reason? And, who could help her make sense of it all?

	Guy would probably be angry. Ashon wouldn't want to hear it and wouldn't understand. Ingrid couldn't; she was among the "truly strong." Roslyn wouldn't want to hear her complaints about being weak. Trypano wouldn't care. Maura would just try to sell her something, probably.

	Perhaps Ciro would understand her turmoil. There was [i]always[/i] Ciro.

	While she, led by misguided feelings had stuck her neck out for the princess of an enemy country, Ciro, who always seemed to keep a more level head than hers, had been protecting their assets—their future. Perhaps she ought to have done the same.

	The battle had run late into the night, and a new day promised—or threatened, perhaps, to dawn.

	It was not too late, however, to join him.[/hider]

[center][h3]Clarity, and a Turning Point[/h3][/center]

	Xiuyang sat at her desk, faced with two big decisions—first, the school faculty was asking the students if they wished to keep their memories of everything that had happened in the past two weeks, or if they wanted to return to blissful ignorance. Xiuyang found the whole thing unconscionable—if forcing the Trials and Mano e Mano upon the students was being inhumanely cruel to children, erasing their memories of the riots was an equal but opposite offense of infantilizing them. Of course, Xiuyang would choose to keep hers. She couldn't imagine how she'd react to the knowledge that something so monumentally important had happened, and that she had chosen to forget about it and now had to rely on secondhand information.

	Was a Xiuyang who had forgotten the past two weeks—or even just the most traumatic events that had taken place then—even the same person? There was surely no guarantee that she would be happier. If anything, her resentment and self-loathing would only deepen for making such a weak decision. That was to say nothing of the possibility of having other memories conveniently tampered with, or rifled through like so much private correspondence. What if they discovered that she was a Facemimic? What if they learned of her plans? Her actions had surely made her new enemies, and she couldn't afford to be at such an insurmountable disadvantage as to have them know of her schemes, and for her to forget that they even existed. The only real question was whether or not it was a genuine choice. Was there an unstated threat that, should she choose to retain her memories, she could become a target?

	Bah. If there was a political target on her back, it was only a slightly larger one than she was born with. She would take her chances—which just left the matter of the piece of paper she was currently poring over carefully. Even as the school sent out inquiries regarding the mammoth in the room that was the revolution and change in management, they also sent out inquiries regarding Tan-Zeno positions. Xiuyang was faced with a kind of dilemma; did she really want to dabble in a teaching career? Not really—but the need to impress her family and Ciro, who she hoped would [i]become[/i] family sometime next year, continued to hover over her and weigh on her mind from time to time. Additionally, there were the benefits it could bring—potential access to forbidden magics which could cure her defects and allow her to become a match for Juulet. Everything she could want was being dangled before her like a carrot on a stick; the only issue was whether or not the school at large saw her as a liability, which she would only know if she sent in an application. A rejection, in itself, would present potentially valuable information.

	She found herself filling out the form, slowly and thoughtfully, a process that took all the hours of Oraff and continued well into the hours of Eshiran. As she did, she found herself deciding upon reasons why she might actually be good at teaching, and find some enjoyment in it. Of course, she had lied about her mana type, and made no indication that she'd received any instruction in blood magic. Technically, it wasn't a lie—as she hadn't had her level of skill in the school officially [i]evaluated[/i] in any capacity. Overall, though, she was surprised at how truthful her statements felt when they were finally finished, and had found reasons to be optimistic about the prospect by the end. [color=slateblue][i]Maybe... I really need this. Something to call my very own—an important role to play, where others can rely on me.[/i][/color] She carefully folded up the form and waxed the envelope shut. For a moment, she simply held it in her hand, letting time pass her by while her third cup of undrunken tea grew cold, and simply breathed in and out.

	Accepting a job offer from Ciro would be yet another easy decision, in a long line of easy decisions. She enjoyed working with him, but [i]that[/i] was what she wanted to do—work [i]with[/i] him, and not [i]for[/i] him. Already, she caught herself relying on him too much. No matter how long the past few weeks had felt—(if only their time together would always feel so long!)—it was still such a short amount of time. A little voice in her head told her to slow down, told her that things were moving too fast. Whether it was a voice of reason or a voice of cowardice, she couldn't yet be sure. Another voice told her other things: that she was a worthless girl, growing more and more dependent on her boyfriend by the day, already irresponsibly deep in his debt, and that someday he would surely collect, just as any sensible businessman would. She needed to do more—[i]be[/i] more than she was: ruthless, brave, strong, smart, beautiful.

	The envelope she held in her hand represented a difficult decision, and challenges ahead.

	Unlike before, she would make this decision, and face these challenges of her own will.