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Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

Giselle de Farry

Undead Princess, de Farry

---

Giselle held up her index finger and wagged it in response. “Manipulation tactic, perhaps. Kindness, no. Call it a difference in philosophy,” she replied, acknowledging both Julene and Akyasha. She refrained from rolling her eyes at the nun’s far more intimate tactics.

“And no, I won’t sugarcoat it. Our kind has done enough terrible things in the past to warrant such a label, although I’d like to think that as a whole we’re better than that,” she continued, looking a bit chagrined. “Yes, swearing an oath does require giving up your free will. To an extent.”

“Yes, swearing that oath can be for the rest of your unlife. And for some, that is true,” she agreed, “But that’s not my style. I really don’t like making people work for me just because they’ve been forced to. It’s not my governing style. It’s not why I became what I am—my very existence as a vampire was to protect the people under my wing. No, if you’ve given enough years of loyal service, once the terms of the contract are fulfilled, you are free to leave of your own volition. Pursue your own power, but to remember who first helped you grow all those years ago,” she explained. “Although, obviously, I’d greatly prefer if you remained in my service afterwards.” Giselle had always preferred that method—creating a wide, network of contacts and followers that were not loyal because their wills had been bent to fit hers, but because she had given them a reason to be loyal. Oh, how she missed her maids… “It’s bitten me in the back more than once, yes, but I think the mutual benefits outweigh the negatives.”

“That said, more importantly, I’m far more focused on protecting people and rebuilding towns and villages more than a nun who’s overly focused on religious worship. Do you really want to do that constantly for the rest of your life, instead of doing what you do best? However different our methods, I do still intend to rebuild –protect the villagers-- and people like you are integral for that. I can teach you far more than anybody else in that regard—I was renowned in my time for engineering and building, after all.”

She turned, briefly, letting her eyes obviously fall onto the nearly pristine sword that she had repaired for Julene for emphasis.

Giselle held out her hand for Julene to take. “Swear an oath to me and Ichor, and we can become so much more. Do so much more. What do you say, partner?”

She’d mention having to become a maid and wear the proper uniform later, if she accepted.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

---

Seeing Leifur’s surprise at her comments, the redheaded Skaelan began to enlighten him on the variety and differences of coffee. “Not quite,” she began to lecture grandly, “Two cups of coffee can very different from each other. They can be almost two different drinks entirely, depending on where the beans are from, how you roast them, and the method of actually brewing the coffee, and that’s not mentioning how you like to take your coffee,” Éliane insisted. “I can absolutely spend several weeks here and not get bored trying out the variety.”

It was clear that Éliane could just about go on for the rest of the day about her beverage of choice, but she was interrupted by some of her party members, who at least agreed with her that it was a good idea. The gunbreaker nodded enthusiastically about this, and with the overcast sky, hurried over to the shop that Neve and Galahad had pointed out. She had frowned at some of Galahad’s comments, hoping that they weren’t true tourist traps.

The coffee shop they chose was suitably cozy, with cute pastries and the pleasant smell of both baking and coffee. It didn’t hold up against her own family’s shop in her mind, but it was clearly a well-cared for shop.

Éliane found herself being crowded by Izayoi and Leifur again. Apparently, they were rubes who had no idea about coffee. Well, she could continue her lecturing from before…

“Absolutely,” she nodded towards the mystrel woman. “Midgard’s known for regional variety of preparing coffee, which makes for a stronger, somewhat more thick brew,” she commented. “It’s particularly good with something called condensed milk, though I usually prefer my coffee just black.”

Tapping the table, she continued, “I would probably recommend the cappuccino you’re staring at on the menu. It’s espresso—foamed with steamed milk. With some sugar it’s a very inoffensive drink,” she nodded sagely. A flat white is similar to a latte, which is…”

The coffee-lover continued to go on.

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

Giselle de Farry

Undead Princess, de Farry

---

“A pleasure to see you too,” Giselle dryly greeted her back. She frowned at both Julene’s answer and at Akyasha’s sudden antics. The white-haired vampire audibly groaned at the cleric’s sudden hard sell. “Really? Now, Akyasha? Is that tantamount to emotional blackmail?” Running her hand through her white hair, the princess stared at her incredulously, as if she herself wasn’t just as easily willing to stoop that low at times if she needed it. Nonetheless, the red-haired vampire had let the cat out of the bag. This was either going to end badly, or Julene was becoming a thrall or vampire herself today—and Giselle rathered the fanatic not get another follower. Time to put her skills as a diplomat to use and make another speech.

“I would consider her offer very carefully, Julene. Yes, some of what she speaks is true—we are vampires. Not the type you might have come to know from bad fairytales, but real, noble ones from an era long past whence vampires and humans could peacefully live in coexistence if you lived in the right place.”

“We are powerful, and if we did not chance upon your village when we did, it’s likely it wouldn’t exist at all right now,” she admitted frankly, “but even we couldn’t defend the entirety of it with our numbers. Not like we used to, at least.”

“Akyasha’s offer is not a light one. If you accept, you will gain power—perhaps enough to peacefully rule a nation for over a millennia, as I once did—and you will become immortal. But as she said, you will have to serve her, and our goddess, Ichor. And you already know she is a fanatic.”

“I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t want you to accept any sort of offer, Julene. Even hers is better than none. You’re smart, capable, and have a strong will to survive and protect even as you are now, and that is the sort of person I respect, and somebody that deserves a reward better than your current lot in life. Her offer is not a bad one. There are just better ways to be rewarded with such power than through her.”

“Julene, I had said that I wanted to rebuild this broken world, and I still intend to do so. The loss of your fellow villagers pains me just as it does you, and makes it all the harder. It will not be easy, and I still need allies to my cause. I can give you an alternative, without the poisoned chalice that some others may offer you—if you want agency, your free will, then it’s a luxury you’re unlikely to receive from her or others. I was always known as the most secular and ‘human’ among the vampire lords; if you help me rebuild, I can give you the same gift, without permanently binding your heart to one of us. We can rebuild the village, the nation, a civilization once more, and protect them all through strength in numbers, but it will require your utmost dedication and loyalty over years of service.”

Giselle left out the fact that she would have to wear a maid uniform in exchange for her leniencies.

The Maids Guide to Demon Hunting

Polina Laye

Farisian Maid

---

Polina didn’t care to make much small talk with the owner of the mansion, but she nonetheless dispensed some words of wisdom for helping with dealing with his son. As it was, most of her advice involved “discipline your son better,” although phrased in a more diplomatic way. It was clear, though, that neither of them were interested in talking with each other very much, so she gladly let Livia take over.

Playing the part of her partner, she gave her a playful smile of her own with Livia’s kiss. It wasn’t even a false one; she wouldn’t have minded if the woman made it up to her… as long as it didn’t involve dungeon time, that was.

She was surprised, though, to be intercepted by one of the local maids not long after on behalf of the lady of the house. She too thought that was strange; after all, in this guise, she wasn’t affiliated with the mansion. “You would be right,” Polina muttered back to Lucrecia under her breath.

She approached it differently. “Apologies, but I’m only Lady Fiore’s plus one, so to speak. I’m not with the Maison in the manner you’re thinking of,” she informed. “I understand Lady Havershel is feeling ill this evening, but perhaps I can help arrange a meeting with Livia later instead?”

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

Giselle de Farry

Undead Princess, de Farry

---

“Do what you must,” Giselle nodded, before turning and giving her a casual, backwards wave—one that Aleksiya and Kordelia were more familiar with but hadn’t seen since the world had gone to shit. Nonetheless, the white-haired vampire couldn’t help but to look back and steal a glance, sighing as she saw the fallen bat king whither to dust. She smiled wryly to herself at being nostalgic for an age that, from her perspective, had only been a few days ago.

The Farisian princess hardened her feelings once more as she approached the village. Even from this distance, she could feel the death in the air, and the scent of blood –though, to her, it was as appealing as the smell of fresh pastries wafting from a bakery—was thick. Entering the village proper, or what remained of it confirmed the terrible massacre that had taken place. Giselle took heart in the sight of survivors milling about, almost aimlessly in the aftermath of disaster, however despondent they might have seemed.

Despite the great tragedy, her eyes were drawn to the piles of the dead piled up, their corpses still fresh and oozing ichor. Giselle grimaced; at this point, she still needed the blood to regain her strength, but this was not the refined, cultivated way that she would ask of humans for in the past. Taking their blood here was no more than vulturism, but at this stage, prudence took priority. Waste not, want not.

With a sigh, she approached one of the body piles, kneeling down as if to inspect the dead. Taking an angle where she would be more obscured, she drew the blood from their bodies with her blood magic, taking it in and infusing her body with their vitality. With the volume of blood here, she could feel her strength returning.

Taking as much as she dared to take, she stood back up, looking for the other lords. Seeing the gorebats in the air, she was led to Akyasha and to her mild surprise at her survival, the blacksmith girl.

Overhearing some of the conversation, she stepped in. “Leave it alone, Akyasha,” she sighed. “It’s not her fault that she’s been dealt a shit hand. We barely survived in the forest as is. I can guess at numbers, but how bad is it, really?”

The Maids Guide to Demon Hunting

Polina Laye

Farisian Maid

---

Polina approached, curtsying when she stopped. She was, briefly, the very image of politeness as she was introduced, despite her personal distaste for the man. Since when did she find so many people unlikeable at this party?

She didn’t keep her politeness for very long. “A very great pleasure to meet you,” she responded dryly, answering in kind to the man’s obvious disinterest. Nonetheless, she shifted her tone, “But that I would be interested in,” she laughed, mostly for the benefit of Livia’s small joke. The short exchange aside, though, she stepped back as they made small talk, but the way the lord mentioned his son made her tilt her head.

“Ah,” she hedged, “A spirited child?”

Mahz's Dev Journal

@Ambra
On the flipside, it's selfish of us to expect Mahz to drop irl for the forum. He's been the one paying to keep it up all this time, we should give him some credit. Just like we should give the mods credit for doing their best in the ways they have.

@The World

Ah. Yes. The one paying to keep this site fully hosted. The one that at one point had no money to pay for this to actually stay up. The one that refused donations, causing the site to get wiped. That guy?

You know, the 10th anniversary of guildfall is coming up? Still salty about that.

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

Giselle de Farry

Undead Princess, de Farry

---

“Yes, well. You may have been indisposed, controlled by that… thing, but you certainly did.” Giselle shrugged, looking Kordelia in the eye. “I hope you didn’t do too much damage, but I doubt it. If there are human survivors though, the true cause remains a secret among us,” she continued, pitching her voice loud enough so that Aleksiya could also hear her words. Giselle wanted to gain their trust, and even if it had been against her will, having the source of what was likely a massacre walking among the remaining humans was a little bit of a minefield.

She straightened herself out a bit, making herself look a little more presentable after that harrowing fight. “Consider this a favor or so owed, Kordelia. For now though… I’m glad to have you back.”

Giselle barely caught the arm that suddenly sailed towards her face, frowning as she felt some of Aleksiya’s cold fingers briefly touch her forehead. With a scowl at the crude treatment, she tossed the smaller vampire her severed limb back.

“Try not to lose that again.”

Glancing back at the dead Bat King with a sigh, she gave Kordelia a knowing nod. “Fine. We’ll talk later, I trust you’ll know where to find us?”

With a gesture of agreement towards Aleksiya, she started back towards the village, although not without a glance at the state of the vampire’s dress. Giselle had already repaired hers to its proper state, making the contrast between her and Aleksiya even greater…

“Want me to fix that?”

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

---

In the end, Éliane had taken third watch to a thankfully very uneventful night. That wasn’t to say that she didn’t like eventful days. But there was a time and place for eventfulness, and bedtime was not one of those times. But there were no blightbeasts, bandits, or even nightmares, and the day broke soon enough. It seemed like some of her companions had enjoyed a better night’s rest than the others, as she glanced over towards Arton as everybody woke up to greet the morning at the end of her watch.

The rest of the journey to Midgar had been slightly inconvenient on account of the heavy industry they passed, but it was nothing Éliane wasn’t familiar with back home, only more concentrated. As they approached the city proper, she took in its sights, comparing them with what she knew in Solitude. It was a dirtier, grimier place than the Skaelan capital, and the more temperate climate didn’t help, allowing some of the smog from industry to linger more than its counterparts in her country did compared to its colder climes. Objectively, like Balmung, it was an inferior city to any in Skael, but it had some very obvious upsides that weren’t as common back home.

The abundance of coffee houses.

The quantity and variety of available coffee.

Éliane knew that they wouldn’t be spending too much time here, but before she left, she had to try at least a few coffee houses. She cursed the oncoming rain; if it weren’t for the weather, she would have been prepared to do a coffee shop crawl right then and there as she tied her chocobo to an available post along with the others. With the talk of inns and planning, she decided to join the conversation.

“Spending a few weeks here trying out the coffee shops sounds like a fun idea to me,” she bluntly replied, but she nodded at Galahad’s offer of lodging via his family. It sounded like it was out of the way, but free was a great equalizer. It was then that she caught Arton staring at her with a strange expression. Giving him a bit of side-eye at first, she tilted her head in mild confusion before frowning as he turned away. What was that about? She decided she would have to ask the fellow Skaelan about it later. If he had problems with her, then she didn’t want it becoming a greater issue in the future given their mission.

But for now… She fixed the dragoon with an intense stare of her own. “Galahad. Tell me more about the coffee shops. What are the best places to visit?”

The Maids Guide to Demon Hunting

Polina Laye

Farisian Maid

---

Polina shrugged. “That’s understandable, given the divisive nature of your politics here, as I’ve come to experience. Things are far more pleasant in the north, I find.” Who said she couldn’t subtly but shamelessly brag about her princess as well?

She gave Cassandre a wry smile at her observations on the good lord. “Truth to be told, I think most of us are here for the snacks and other guests… and perhaps his business connections, rather than any real support for the lord Havershel. Us nobles have a bad habit of looking down on the newly made, although I can’t help but to see the validity of such views when it comes to the man in question.” Polina pronounced her judgment of the man freely. Aside from the ostentation that he presented in general, the subtext was obvious when both the Maison and the Church were here for his own missteps.

The Farisian maid in disguise paused as Lucrecia leaned in with some words. She gave a nod. “Speaking of snacks, I’m of the mind to sample some of the delicacies at the food table as well,” she responded, both to her fellow maid and to the priestess. “The two of you are certainly welcome to join us there as well if you’d like to continue our conversation,” she offered. Polina actually didn’t mind talking with the two churchwomen, despite her dislike of the church itself, but despite the offer, she doubted they would follow. They had been sequestered off in the corner after all, with the rest of the guests shunning them.

Giving another nod to Lucrecia, she made her way towards the food. “Try some of the food, too, Lulu. The other nobles might judge me for letting a ‘servant’ step out of line, but I’m not in a position to particularly care, hmm?” With that said, her eyes returned to the tasty Orosian snacks. She only paused in that endeavor when the Lord Havershel made his personage more widely known to the guests. Giving him a glance, she sized him up, but she returned her attention to the food as she made it her mission to sample each dish before the mission began in earnest.

Nonetheless, she could only dally with the food so long, so with a plate of food, she made her way towards the host, where Livia seemed to having a… discussion.

Oh dear. Polina hoped she would have enough time to enjoy the cooking before they had to throw hands.