Post by Dion Lesage on May 9, 2024 9:21:05 GMT -6
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[attr=class,wordcount]756 words
[attr=class,lyric1]I fear death
[attr=class,lyric2]no more
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Dion was uncertain how to respond to Clive’s comparison to his father. Had he intended some kind of insinuation, or was it merely as he’d stated – a comparison and little else. Dion wavered between praising the memory of the late Archduke Elwin or indicating that perhaps Clive should not place his faith in a man who reminded him of one whose fate had been sealed in a game of bloody politics. Neither option seemed particularly wise, and so he said nothing. Silence, he had been taught, was often the most tactful response.
He understood the elder Rosfield’s animosity towards the Holy Empire. Dion wondered if that animosity extended towards himself.
Despite Dion’s expression of sympathy, Clive looked…somehow affronted. Dion frowned back at him, uncertain of what he could have said to cause offense. If anything, he had thought himself as vulnerable before him, offering no excuses for the lives he had taken as Bahamut, for all of the homes burned and the livelihoods rendered inert. It was well known that Eikons existed for war. Had…Clive not considered Ifrit in the same light?
Once again, Dion sensed the gulf of experience which differed between them. Dion had known Bahamut’s light from birth. He had studied the scriptures and the art of combat in equal measure and been raised not as a child, but as the great dragon’s vessel. He had once feared that power then grown numb to it and then hated it for everything it had taken.
He had blood on his hands in the name of his eikon. He had assumed that Clive must have borne the same weight.
If he had caused Clive any offense, the other dominant did not show it. Instead, he merely sighed and straightened himself. ”I can live without being able to prime,” he said. ”My mission is complete. However, we may both feel differently if Benedikta, Kupka, and Barnabas return as well with eikons intact.”
”Ah.”
He had to admit, the thought had crossed his mind. Already, he felt his mind focus. He listened to Clive’s tale with a hand at his chin, turning over each piece with careful consideration.
”Of course. We are bonded by all we have lost and all we would stand to protect. You may forever count me as your ally, however…” He had been trained in the art of politics, including diplomatic relations. He had gone to war against every sovereign nation in Valisthea, and he knew their players well.
”While I have no doubt that Commander Harmon and Hugo Kupka would hold a grudge against you, they are not the type to strike the innocent at random – not even with their eikons. Harmon was ruthless, but sharply intelligent. And Kupka…” Dion’s brow furrowed. ”He had no interest in the state of Dhalmekia nor his role as the Warden of Earth. He never acted without personal incentive. If either were revived, I doubt that they would find cause to prime except to smite their enemies or at the command of another.
“King Tharmr is the far more immediate threat. He was a conqueror by nature and cared nothing for human life. If he were revived in this world then it would be a grave danger indeed.”
Bahamut’s full strength had only been enough to briefly deter Odin’s might. Dion felt a chill at the thought of confronting the Warden of Darkness without it.
”We will face these threats together,” he said, straightening his posture. ”Despite our history, I may be able to reason with Harmon and Kupka. If we hear word of the King, rest assured that you will not fight alone.”
Dion doubted that even their combined efforts could strike down Odin’s blade, but then, he had once doubted that their efforts could kill a god. They had sacrificed their lives to that fight, and yet they had succeeded nonetheless. Dion did not fear death so long as his life might be in use of a noble purpose.
”I shall alert you if there is any sign of their revival…Or that of your allies.” He knew well of Clive’s comrades, of the cursebreakers and the many faces which had passed him in the blighted Hideaway. He knew of Cidolfus Telamon, and of course, he knew Joshua.
Clive knew none of Dion’s associates, but that could not be helped. There were more important matters at hand.
Dion was uncertain how to respond to Clive’s comparison to his father. Had he intended some kind of insinuation, or was it merely as he’d stated – a comparison and little else. Dion wavered between praising the memory of the late Archduke Elwin or indicating that perhaps Clive should not place his faith in a man who reminded him of one whose fate had been sealed in a game of bloody politics. Neither option seemed particularly wise, and so he said nothing. Silence, he had been taught, was often the most tactful response.
He understood the elder Rosfield’s animosity towards the Holy Empire. Dion wondered if that animosity extended towards himself.
Despite Dion’s expression of sympathy, Clive looked…somehow affronted. Dion frowned back at him, uncertain of what he could have said to cause offense. If anything, he had thought himself as vulnerable before him, offering no excuses for the lives he had taken as Bahamut, for all of the homes burned and the livelihoods rendered inert. It was well known that Eikons existed for war. Had…Clive not considered Ifrit in the same light?
Once again, Dion sensed the gulf of experience which differed between them. Dion had known Bahamut’s light from birth. He had studied the scriptures and the art of combat in equal measure and been raised not as a child, but as the great dragon’s vessel. He had once feared that power then grown numb to it and then hated it for everything it had taken.
He had blood on his hands in the name of his eikon. He had assumed that Clive must have borne the same weight.
If he had caused Clive any offense, the other dominant did not show it. Instead, he merely sighed and straightened himself. ”I can live without being able to prime,” he said. ”My mission is complete. However, we may both feel differently if Benedikta, Kupka, and Barnabas return as well with eikons intact.”
”Ah.”
He had to admit, the thought had crossed his mind. Already, he felt his mind focus. He listened to Clive’s tale with a hand at his chin, turning over each piece with careful consideration.
”Of course. We are bonded by all we have lost and all we would stand to protect. You may forever count me as your ally, however…” He had been trained in the art of politics, including diplomatic relations. He had gone to war against every sovereign nation in Valisthea, and he knew their players well.
”While I have no doubt that Commander Harmon and Hugo Kupka would hold a grudge against you, they are not the type to strike the innocent at random – not even with their eikons. Harmon was ruthless, but sharply intelligent. And Kupka…” Dion’s brow furrowed. ”He had no interest in the state of Dhalmekia nor his role as the Warden of Earth. He never acted without personal incentive. If either were revived, I doubt that they would find cause to prime except to smite their enemies or at the command of another.
“King Tharmr is the far more immediate threat. He was a conqueror by nature and cared nothing for human life. If he were revived in this world then it would be a grave danger indeed.”
Bahamut’s full strength had only been enough to briefly deter Odin’s might. Dion felt a chill at the thought of confronting the Warden of Darkness without it.
”We will face these threats together,” he said, straightening his posture. ”Despite our history, I may be able to reason with Harmon and Kupka. If we hear word of the King, rest assured that you will not fight alone.”
Dion doubted that even their combined efforts could strike down Odin’s blade, but then, he had once doubted that their efforts could kill a god. They had sacrificed their lives to that fight, and yet they had succeeded nonetheless. Dion did not fear death so long as his life might be in use of a noble purpose.
”I shall alert you if there is any sign of their revival…Or that of your allies.” He knew well of Clive’s comrades, of the cursebreakers and the many faces which had passed him in the blighted Hideaway. He knew of Cidolfus Telamon, and of course, he knew Joshua.
Clive knew none of Dion’s associates, but that could not be helped. There were more important matters at hand.
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[attr=class,tagline]Clive Rosfield
The most awkward alliance[attr=class,dioncredit]punki
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