Consequence

[Lady Sierra]

ninja  

[Lady Sierra]

Several candlemarks had passed since the sun dipped behind the Pandryl Tylal Vali, bathing the grounds of the Dark Sakura Guild in darkness. Light from the windows of the guild's many establishments dotted the darkness like earthbound stars. The Palace os si Eilaras sparkled like a dark gem, but even brighter than the palace, was the glowing beacon that shone from the highest tower of the Citadel of Guidance. The beacon was lit with mage light and burned day and night-- a light to guide lost souls to a safe haven. But ever since the disappearance of the guild's founding Lady, the beacon seemed to burn infinitely brighter, shattering the darkness at the very centre of the guild's grounds, seeable for miles. A symbol of hope-- that one day, SHE would return.

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A great light marred the beauty of the shadowy night, and stung her eyes painfully. Two crimson orbs leered out from the black depths of their dark sockets. Her lip curled into a sneer as her entire frame quivered with the force of her anger and contempt. It lurked within her, like a rushing river behind a dam. A beast tethered and chained.

Why had she come?

She hated this place more than any other on the face of this world. That hate burned at her core, through to her very soul. And yet, here she was.

'I want to know my enemy.' She had told the Brother's Harite. The swords in her hands seemed to resonate with the fiery rage building within the shadowling and quivered with apprehension as she stared down at the citadel and the palace beyond. She had heard, that the heart of the palace was a great library-- and she suspected there was a great wealth of knowledge to be gleaned from the bounty of it's shelves.

How better to know her enemies, than to infiltrate and walk in their world? Observe their actions? Read their histories and learn of their intentions. What motivated these selfish soldiers that they thought they had the right to seize a soul and sentence it to death in order to what? Restore another? This woman, Sierra-- who was she? What was she like? What was so great that these people would murder in her name? She wanted to know. Who was this woman who shared her face?

Her face. Because of that cursed similarity, she had not been able to walk openly through the guild gates. Nor could she be seen, for risk of being mistaken.

"Let's do this."

The words broke the silence that permeated the shadows around her. And she leaped forward from the rooftop she'd been standing on. Speeding through the darkness towards the palace.  

[Vahn Fah]

The lone figure moved rapidly in an otherwise still night, making no distinction between gravity and the slanted or arched rooftops that she traversed. She had thought herself hidden; speed and grace wrapped about her in equal bond in the hope of breaching the compound.

Why have you come? The voice seemed to break through the air around her, even as the sound of someone in pursuit would come to her ears. Moving in equal fluidity, opposite her would be revealed another racing figure, traveling alongside her as they both seemingly raced towards the palace itself- a pillar of bright light that stabbed into the heavens.

He was heavily cloaked, his voice unrecognizable and his eyes unseen- yet he spoke with certain firm familiarity, even as he kept pace with her. What is it you seek? He suddenly pushed forward to overtake her- swerving in stride in order to place himself squarely in her path, the ends of his cloak fluttering out and swept away as he landed in front of her.

Why are you here...

...a stain of darkness that cannot survive within the light.

He was lightly armored, and armed with but a single greatsword that seemed to be strapped to his back. Even with the cloak swept away, he seemed to still possess a deeply cowled hood that kept his identity from her. From head to toe, he was garbed in thick leather, and gleaming slightly as the chainmail he wore underneath his surcoat reflected the beacon's fierce light.  

[Lady Sierra]

Why have you come?

To learn.

The voice was familiar, but muddled by the layers of cloth and leather that swathed the figure racing alongside her.

What is it you seek?

Answers.

The shapeless form of the thing pursuing her was unrecognizable. It was hard to judge size or form beneath the many layers masking them. But that voice, it was unmistakably male, and despite the muddled tone--

He swung from his trajectory and stopped in front of her. She didn't slow, instead she put on an extra burst of speed as adrenaline crept into her veins. Her own cloak fell to the ground as she pushed off the ground with her right foot and leaped several feet into the air. Her left knee drawn into her chest, she brought her arms in to her torso, crossing her blades in front of her as gravity caught her and pulled her down towards--

Why are you here...

...a stain of darkness that cannot survive within the light.

"YOU!"

Her voice cracked through the night as she bore down on his position. There weren't enough layers of cloth in the world that could disguise HIS voice from her keen ears. And the anger that had been burning in her gut, now seared through her veins.  

[Vahn Fah]

A flare of sparks illuminated the scant distance between both of their faces- as her crossed blades forcefully met the flat of his greatsword; the weapon drawn with almost a flick of his right arm. "You sound surprised."

Gravity had no say in the matter for almost half a moment, as he held her aloft- right arm slightly bent in front of him, blade tip pointing down and pommel skyward -his yellowed eyes meeting her own bloodred ones, before he pushed her off him by extending his right arm out in a short, tight motion- aiming to push her off and back.

He would sweep the greatsword out in half motion, bringing the left side of his body forward and turning, blade tip hovering just inches from the ground- before a second hand would grip along the weapons haft. "But I'm the one who should be...since you have no business being here."