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icedark_elf Jun. 15th, 2010 11:53 pm)
icedark_elf Jun. 15th, 2010 11:53 pm)Title: Dain af Niohoggr
Author: GW Katrina
Beta: Skeren
Fandom: FFVII: Mercverse
Claim:![[insanejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/ij-community.gif)
mercverse for story_arc
Themeset/Prompt: Thirty Set 01: 05-Clean
Wordcount: 1,802
Ratings: PG-13
Link to Archive Post: Here
Dain af Niohoggr
This was not a place he wanted to be. Especially with the man he was with.
Standing in the room, so long disused that it was full of dust, Rufus frowned as some of it smudged the white of his pants. Really. This had at one point been considered the focal point of the defenses of the world. Now look at it. Full of dust that was just getting everything else dirty. It was a good thing that the defenses were powered by magic, or else it would have long been clogged to the point of being unable to do anything but rust.
Just outside the doors stood their Turks, who were watching. Well, his father’s Turks were watching. His Turks were providing outward cover. Nobody was going to get close enough to bother them here. Everyone was curious, however. They were still human, and what was about to happen here was something that hadn’t happened since the country had been newly formed.
This room didn’t have a name. The defenses themselves didn’t have name. Everything that they had learned about them, from King on down, had only referred to them as the “ancient defenses.” Rufus supposed it was a simple name, and given the power he could feel humming in the stones around him, probably very apt. With that sort of power, one did not need to give them any fancy titles or names. They were ancient, part of the bedrock of the palace itself. This was why Midgar was the capital city, and why it had never been moved. There was just no way that it -could- be moved. Here was the right of the kings.
Rufus was here as a precaution. One never knew what such old magic might do, and the King was wary of such things. Well aware that his father didn’t want to deal with a war, Rufus had invited himself along, though it was scoffed at by the King. His father was old, weak, at least to Rufus’s eyes. Too weak to carry the country through another war. Perhaps, if Rufus was lucky, the act of triggering off the magic here would kill the man. If not, he would be ready. The King couldn’t last forever, and Rufus had no desire to inherit a throne of a land full of dead and dying people.
Neither of them had been pleased when Cloud had shown up, dressed in full formal gear. Rufus tried to think of how long it had been since he had seen Cloud actually come to Court at all. Several years, when he had been courting those demons of his to join. It had been even longer since he had seen the man in full Court gear. That...was when he had been presenting Zack as his heir, as was proper.
That alone told Rufus that the reason the man was there was serious. He didn’t even need to know the message that Cloud was bringing.
“You might wish to go to the treaties room.” The man was pale and serious. “Cosmo Canyon will be activating the treaty of Bonding States.”
It had taken a moment for Rufus to even recognize that one. It wasn’t something that came up very often, and he had to dig in his mind for remember what it was about. Then it clicked. Cosmo Canyon was activating the defenses. What on earth could be so important....?
The question must have shown on his face, because Cloud sighed. “They have an army coming. One from the Deadlands.” A long pause. “One lead by a son of Jenova.”
There had been chaos for a moment, because the idea that one of Jenova’s sons had come back was preposterous. The King had exploded, claiming Cloud was making up lies, and just trying to make him look the fool so that he could rise up and overthrow him. Never mind that, technically, if he chose, Cloud had a higher claim on the throne than he did.
As his father blustered, Rufus had studied Cloud. He had never seen him so pale before, and...was he afraid? The man was usually so calm and collected that it was hard to imagine anything truly bothering him. But this did. They already heard the reports of the unsealing of Jenova, and Hojo had vanished. Which just made the King more paranoid.
Before the older man could really get going, he paused, and a moment later, Rufus understood why. He had never felt one of the treaties pull at him, but he knew that was what he was feeling. Which meant...Cloud had been telling the truth. A treaty as old as their country was being called into action.
Thus, they found themselves here. In a room deep beneath the palace, filthy and foul, and containing magics so strong that a wrong move could kill them. For that reason alone, Tseng had tried to convince Rufus to stay out, but he was the Prince.
“It seems simple enough,” he said, looking from at the item in front of him. It stood alone in the middle of the room. A small pillar, waist high, a slight depression in the middle. From the center of that depression, running through the pillar itself, and then out along the floor to the walls, were lines of color. They continued up the walls, thin until they reached the ceiling, where not a single bit of the dark stone was to be seen. Instead, it was just broad and dizzying bands of color, which made his eyes blur a bit. He didn’t know why, but assumed it was magic.
“Blood is potent.” His father’s voice was gruff as he looked into the pillar as if it held all the answers to the universe. Rufus did have to acknowledge that his father was right in this. Blood, especially the blood of a king, was potent. Here was a case of it.
The spells were tied to the ruler. Whoever was leading the country would come here, and smear their blood. In theory, that and their desire to trigger the defenses, would activate their portion. It wouldn’t go into full effect until the others were also triggered, but it would activate their portion. Which was all they had to do with this treaty.
“You don’t want to do this.”
The woman’s voice was unexpected, and both men jolted around. Before them, seeming to have come from nowhere, stood a woman. She was breathtaking, and if it wasn’t for the fact that Rufus had intense self control, he’d have taken a step forward. But Court was full of beautiful women, and he had long learned to control any instinctive reaction to them. His father was the same, and both looked to their Turks.
They seemed frozen, though he could see that they were struggling.
Magic.
He almost growled. The one major weakness for all Shinras. They didn’t have any knack for using magic. Only the simplest of magics seemed to work. But that was why one hired mages. His Turks were well trained on how to deal with it. Though, if this was who he thought it was, they didn’t have much of a choice.
One couldn’t fight a demon like that. Not one like Jenova.
Just as he thought the name, the woman smiled. “I see you know me, Princeling.” Her eyes, glowing brightly in the dimness here, turned towards the king. “As I see your father does as well.”
“What do you want?” The King was not pleased, and that tone in his voice had made Rufus cower once. For all his father was weak, his father was King. “You have no right to be here, demon.”
“What if I could offer you power?” It was such a sweet voice. “Power not only here, but over everything.” She moved closer, hair flowing around her, matching the silver of her robes. “To have all of the world bowing at your feet. Is that not what you both want?” A wave of her hand, and for a moment, Rufus couldn’t breathe, his voice stolen as the images rolled over him. Where he did not deal with court unless he chose. Where he did not have to bargain or compromise to get what he wanted. A place where he simply gave his orders, and people would fall over themselves to obey.
It was a lovely dream. But a boring one. Rufus thrived on challenge. On making people do what he wanted without having to give up to much in trade. It was easy, what she offered. And too good to be honestly true.
“How?”
His father’s voice startled Rufus, and he could only look at the man as if he was insane. He couldn’t seriously be considering....
Jenova smiled, moving closer. “Just ignore the request. After I crush the others, I will give you the lands they hold. Land holds no interest for me. I am a queen of an entire plane. This place simply provides me magic. It is not an unjust bargain, is it? In exchange for a power you can’t even use, I would offer you everything.”
Low, seductive voice, and Rufus could almost see the King giving in. His hand moved, but he tried desperately to not think of what he might have to do. It was obvious she could read thoughts, at least make it appear that way, and he did not want to give any hint of what he planned.
“I....”
She moved close, tracing her fingers along his cheek. “Just swear to me, and I will give you everything.” She leaned in, so close her nose almost touched the King’s.
“Swear to you?” A murmur. Sweat beading beading on the older man’s face, Rufus tensed as he saw his father waver. Weak man. He couldn’t give in, though. He -couldn’t.-
For once, the King lived up to Rufus’s wishes.
“No,” he said, sweat still dripping down his fat face. “I am King.”
There was a snap and meaty crunch as Jenova twisted his his head around. “Well, now you are a fallen king.” Her eyes, now full of hunger, turned towards Rufus. “Will you be so foolish, little princeling?”
Rufus smirked. “Of course not.”
With that, he slammed his hand, cut open on the blade he carried in his pocket onto the pillar.
Blood splashed out, staining the stone, and the lines of color lit up. The room began to hum, and Jenova screamed. Eyes blazing red, she snarled at him. “Fool you are. So dependent on another’s advice, and never knowing that he is the son of my son. You will fail, human.”
With that, she vanished.
Light exploded in the room, and the ancient magics flared up.
Midgar honored its part of the treaty.
Then, Rufus dropped.
Author: GW Katrina
Beta: Skeren
Fandom: FFVII: Mercverse
Claim:
mercverse for story_arcThemeset/Prompt: Thirty Set 01: 05-Clean
Wordcount: 1,802
Ratings: PG-13
Link to Archive Post: Here
This was not a place he wanted to be. Especially with the man he was with.
Standing in the room, so long disused that it was full of dust, Rufus frowned as some of it smudged the white of his pants. Really. This had at one point been considered the focal point of the defenses of the world. Now look at it. Full of dust that was just getting everything else dirty. It was a good thing that the defenses were powered by magic, or else it would have long been clogged to the point of being unable to do anything but rust.
Just outside the doors stood their Turks, who were watching. Well, his father’s Turks were watching. His Turks were providing outward cover. Nobody was going to get close enough to bother them here. Everyone was curious, however. They were still human, and what was about to happen here was something that hadn’t happened since the country had been newly formed.
This room didn’t have a name. The defenses themselves didn’t have name. Everything that they had learned about them, from King on down, had only referred to them as the “ancient defenses.” Rufus supposed it was a simple name, and given the power he could feel humming in the stones around him, probably very apt. With that sort of power, one did not need to give them any fancy titles or names. They were ancient, part of the bedrock of the palace itself. This was why Midgar was the capital city, and why it had never been moved. There was just no way that it -could- be moved. Here was the right of the kings.
Rufus was here as a precaution. One never knew what such old magic might do, and the King was wary of such things. Well aware that his father didn’t want to deal with a war, Rufus had invited himself along, though it was scoffed at by the King. His father was old, weak, at least to Rufus’s eyes. Too weak to carry the country through another war. Perhaps, if Rufus was lucky, the act of triggering off the magic here would kill the man. If not, he would be ready. The King couldn’t last forever, and Rufus had no desire to inherit a throne of a land full of dead and dying people.
Neither of them had been pleased when Cloud had shown up, dressed in full formal gear. Rufus tried to think of how long it had been since he had seen Cloud actually come to Court at all. Several years, when he had been courting those demons of his to join. It had been even longer since he had seen the man in full Court gear. That...was when he had been presenting Zack as his heir, as was proper.
That alone told Rufus that the reason the man was there was serious. He didn’t even need to know the message that Cloud was bringing.
“You might wish to go to the treaties room.” The man was pale and serious. “Cosmo Canyon will be activating the treaty of Bonding States.”
It had taken a moment for Rufus to even recognize that one. It wasn’t something that came up very often, and he had to dig in his mind for remember what it was about. Then it clicked. Cosmo Canyon was activating the defenses. What on earth could be so important....?
The question must have shown on his face, because Cloud sighed. “They have an army coming. One from the Deadlands.” A long pause. “One lead by a son of Jenova.”
There had been chaos for a moment, because the idea that one of Jenova’s sons had come back was preposterous. The King had exploded, claiming Cloud was making up lies, and just trying to make him look the fool so that he could rise up and overthrow him. Never mind that, technically, if he chose, Cloud had a higher claim on the throne than he did.
As his father blustered, Rufus had studied Cloud. He had never seen him so pale before, and...was he afraid? The man was usually so calm and collected that it was hard to imagine anything truly bothering him. But this did. They already heard the reports of the unsealing of Jenova, and Hojo had vanished. Which just made the King more paranoid.
Before the older man could really get going, he paused, and a moment later, Rufus understood why. He had never felt one of the treaties pull at him, but he knew that was what he was feeling. Which meant...Cloud had been telling the truth. A treaty as old as their country was being called into action.
Thus, they found themselves here. In a room deep beneath the palace, filthy and foul, and containing magics so strong that a wrong move could kill them. For that reason alone, Tseng had tried to convince Rufus to stay out, but he was the Prince.
“It seems simple enough,” he said, looking from at the item in front of him. It stood alone in the middle of the room. A small pillar, waist high, a slight depression in the middle. From the center of that depression, running through the pillar itself, and then out along the floor to the walls, were lines of color. They continued up the walls, thin until they reached the ceiling, where not a single bit of the dark stone was to be seen. Instead, it was just broad and dizzying bands of color, which made his eyes blur a bit. He didn’t know why, but assumed it was magic.
“Blood is potent.” His father’s voice was gruff as he looked into the pillar as if it held all the answers to the universe. Rufus did have to acknowledge that his father was right in this. Blood, especially the blood of a king, was potent. Here was a case of it.
The spells were tied to the ruler. Whoever was leading the country would come here, and smear their blood. In theory, that and their desire to trigger the defenses, would activate their portion. It wouldn’t go into full effect until the others were also triggered, but it would activate their portion. Which was all they had to do with this treaty.
“You don’t want to do this.”
The woman’s voice was unexpected, and both men jolted around. Before them, seeming to have come from nowhere, stood a woman. She was breathtaking, and if it wasn’t for the fact that Rufus had intense self control, he’d have taken a step forward. But Court was full of beautiful women, and he had long learned to control any instinctive reaction to them. His father was the same, and both looked to their Turks.
They seemed frozen, though he could see that they were struggling.
Magic.
He almost growled. The one major weakness for all Shinras. They didn’t have any knack for using magic. Only the simplest of magics seemed to work. But that was why one hired mages. His Turks were well trained on how to deal with it. Though, if this was who he thought it was, they didn’t have much of a choice.
One couldn’t fight a demon like that. Not one like Jenova.
Just as he thought the name, the woman smiled. “I see you know me, Princeling.” Her eyes, glowing brightly in the dimness here, turned towards the king. “As I see your father does as well.”
“What do you want?” The King was not pleased, and that tone in his voice had made Rufus cower once. For all his father was weak, his father was King. “You have no right to be here, demon.”
“What if I could offer you power?” It was such a sweet voice. “Power not only here, but over everything.” She moved closer, hair flowing around her, matching the silver of her robes. “To have all of the world bowing at your feet. Is that not what you both want?” A wave of her hand, and for a moment, Rufus couldn’t breathe, his voice stolen as the images rolled over him. Where he did not deal with court unless he chose. Where he did not have to bargain or compromise to get what he wanted. A place where he simply gave his orders, and people would fall over themselves to obey.
It was a lovely dream. But a boring one. Rufus thrived on challenge. On making people do what he wanted without having to give up to much in trade. It was easy, what she offered. And too good to be honestly true.
“How?”
His father’s voice startled Rufus, and he could only look at the man as if he was insane. He couldn’t seriously be considering....
Jenova smiled, moving closer. “Just ignore the request. After I crush the others, I will give you the lands they hold. Land holds no interest for me. I am a queen of an entire plane. This place simply provides me magic. It is not an unjust bargain, is it? In exchange for a power you can’t even use, I would offer you everything.”
Low, seductive voice, and Rufus could almost see the King giving in. His hand moved, but he tried desperately to not think of what he might have to do. It was obvious she could read thoughts, at least make it appear that way, and he did not want to give any hint of what he planned.
“I....”
She moved close, tracing her fingers along his cheek. “Just swear to me, and I will give you everything.” She leaned in, so close her nose almost touched the King’s.
“Swear to you?” A murmur. Sweat beading beading on the older man’s face, Rufus tensed as he saw his father waver. Weak man. He couldn’t give in, though. He -couldn’t.-
For once, the King lived up to Rufus’s wishes.
“No,” he said, sweat still dripping down his fat face. “I am King.”
There was a snap and meaty crunch as Jenova twisted his his head around. “Well, now you are a fallen king.” Her eyes, now full of hunger, turned towards Rufus. “Will you be so foolish, little princeling?”
Rufus smirked. “Of course not.”
With that, he slammed his hand, cut open on the blade he carried in his pocket onto the pillar.
Blood splashed out, staining the stone, and the lines of color lit up. The room began to hum, and Jenova screamed. Eyes blazing red, she snarled at him. “Fool you are. So dependent on another’s advice, and never knowing that he is the son of my son. You will fail, human.”
With that, she vanished.
Light exploded in the room, and the ancient magics flared up.
Midgar honored its part of the treaty.
Then, Rufus dropped.