[The Garden] Praeceptor of the Reliquiae

[Helena]

“You may not,” she said. Her eyes didn’t blink. She found the posturing irritating and wasteful. Helena was not offended or made angry by the amused twist given her name but she would not forget it either. It had been a formal and factual statement and not a means to sway by her title, but clearly it had not been received well. Something she made note of.

Not being permitted to enter was an obstacle. She disliked when a path could not be straight and simple, especially when she understood the benefits, but bureaucracy was rarely logical that way. Allowing Eliot to proceed without her was an option of course. Her pride was not the problem. It was her own refusal to let this thread of fate be unshaped by her own hands.

The Atharim would be reformed whether or not the Ascendancy chose to support or acknowledge it, though the journey would be smoother with legitimacy. Clearly he was intrigued, or perhaps fearful. This meeting had been arranged too swiftly to speak otherwise. Di Inferi knew how to work within the world’s margins, however, for the shadows were their specialty. The network Eliot had begun to create would grow; men and women hunted by their former brothers, unswayed by the amnesty offered by the Custody because it solved precisely nothing. Children still died. And the actual monsters in the dark could no more be allowed to thrive than the injustice of the Atharim’s rule continue. The change was coming; she could feel it in some way she could not explain. This was not about permission but transparency.

Nox Durante intervened a moment before she had been about to turn her head and ask him to be useful. She wasn't unaware that he bristled, but she trusted that he believed in this cause before his own inconvenience.

As it was, it seemed the woman only barred with her words, and if she claimed to have no sway over the Ascendancy, she did have it over the armed men at her side. A pointless pause. 

“No one will die today,” she said in response to Nox's rather morbid assistance. The words she spoke had a strangely poignant depth, like the truth was indisputable. It wasn't confidence on Helena’s part, just one of the things she knew sometimes. “And if there will be flaying he will at least wait until after he has heard what we must say.”

Her tone was flat. It might have been a joke. Though Helena was not known for them.

[Allan]

He had been ordered to the Garden. To stand vigil while the Ascendancy met with a dangerous man who Nox was bring around. Not that Nox wasn't dangerous in and of himself -- but a stranger.

Allan wore full uniform and stood at attention and waited as time drew on and no one showed up. It was supposed to be two, but when the escorted brought in three Allan's hackles rose. Of course the kid would bring down hell on earth. He always did.

But Allan would play the vigilant soldier and await his orders. Though he wanted to smack him with the power and make sure he knew it was him. He could only visualize it for now. Maybe later.

[Bastian]

Bastian’s posture was without yield. If he had thoughts concerning the … unusual nature of the brief, he did not show them. His face remained stone, lacking any acknowledgment of two men who had once been brothers-in-arms, for Bastian shed his Atharim skin the day they rejected him. Concerning his own betrayal and adjustment of loyalties he felt neither guilt nor remorse. His brows did lower the moment the additional woman stepped into view, though, and he made a small disgruntled noise in his throat. A foolish way to start proceedings. It annoyed him.

Neither man channeled, but none here could be entirely sure of the woman. Though no tell tale signs prickled his skin, for which reason he did not immediately seize upon his own power. It was for the Ascendancy to decide what happened next. Bastian would crush without question.

[Jay Carpenter]

They’d been briefed. He knew who to expect, but it was the first time seeing Nox since that night at RLD. He’d been high as a kite, but some memories were clear as day, even if they were twisted with a strange sense of emotion, regret, guilt, and a broken sense of grief. Deep down, Nox had been a friend, and after Axel died in Texas, that meant all his friends were dead. Well, Jared was married… might as well be dead. Heh.

But staying away from Nox didn’t fill the hole. Making out like horny teenagers didn’t fill the hole. The space now between them was just that… space. He had no idea what the in-between was. But seeing him again, like two cowboys outside the saloon, he didn’t know how to handle it. So he just stuffed his hands in his pockets, and stood there, waiting to see what would happen.

Except, problem was, the briefing said nothing about a woman. He glanced at Allan, who stood next to him, for some clue he might know that Jay missed, but no, it wasn’t Allan they were all watching. It was the Ascendancy. Waiting to see how he would react.

[Ascendancy]

Movement at the far end of the courtyard drew Nikolai’s eye. Three figures advanced through the wind-scoured emptiness, feet crunching over frost-hardened earth. Nox walked with that unplaceable swagger of his half defiance while Eliot moved like a man who carried storms inside him. But it was the third who tightened the cords of tension across Nikolai’s shoulders. Helena Asquith.

A woman of pedigree, clearance, and family. He had no particular issue with her specifically other than the surprise of her arrival. Two Atharim he could handle; Nox he trusted. But three Atharim? Not today. Behind them strode Ninacska, posture straight as a knife.

Nikolai felt the first stirrings of true rage then. The cold, deep sort. It rose through him like ice water forced through the veins. Outwardly, he remained still as stone. But the Dominions shifted beside him, each sensing the subtle change in the air. Three Atharim. Three potential channelers. Brought into his presence against his explicit command.

He measured them as they approached: their breathing, stride, and the potential each represented power unknown. He had not prepared for this configuration of power. That alone was enough to sharpen his mind to assimilating the potential threat, but that wasn't the source of his anger. They stopped at a respectful distance. Close enough for conversation but far enough for intent to be read.

Nikolai’s eyes slid past the three guests and settled on Ninacska.

“Despite my order,” he said, voice low, and drawn tight, “you admitted her?”

Ninacska did not flinch. Of course she didn’t. She only nodded short, clean, and unapologetic.

In Nikolai’s mind, the calculus was already done. Loyalty was the spine of his Custody. Break the spine, and the body collapses. Secrets, especially those belonging to the Atharim, were too corrosive to allow fractures within his command. She had known his order, and had denied it. 

“Go to the administration building,” Nikolai said. “Wait for me there.”

She turned without hesitation and started across the courtyard, boots tapping steadily against the stone. She neither hurried nor slowed.

He watched her walk away a few moments before power rushed into his grasp, and a spear of lightning cracked down from the low-bellied cloud above. Its fury was instantaneous; its light bleached the Garden white.

When their light-blinded vision returned, Ninacska lay crumpled on the ground, smoke rising faintly from the furs at her collar.

A quick death. Justice, as he understood it. He felt no triumph. No regret. Only the sobering settlement of order restored.

Exhaling as if resetting his emotions back into their proper place, Nikolai turned back to the three who now stared at him with varying degrees of reaction.

“I hear you want my help, Praeceptor,” Nikolai said, meeting Eliot’s eyes.

[Eliot]

Eliot wheeled himself forward, their escort following as they made their way inside, but when stopping outside in the cold Eliot was starting to reconsider his tactics. Outside was meant to throw them off -- to be a buffer he supposed. Or a better place to kill them without the mess -- most likely the case.

Little registered on the man's face, but the bristling power of a male god flooded the area as their escort left to met out her punishment later. The blinding flash of light left Eliot staring in the direction of the man who'd called lightning like Zeus. Exactly the reason had hunted the gods. Doubt crept in. Should he be making bargains with the godling? What if things were to repeat themselves... His doctrination overriding his own self preservation as he turned to look at the smoldering body once his eyes were seeing clearly again.

Eliot glanced at his soon-to-be wife and then to the boy. While Helena showed no signs of emotion that wasn't unusual. But the boy, he felt the guilt of his actions. It was one of the things in his files. His currently on-hands handler made notes before he too fell into the cult that was Nox Durante. But he didn't flinch, nor more, nor do anything other than meet the man's eyes in front of them. Eliot didn't know if there was a silent conversation going on, but he'd been asked the question, well, he and Helena.

"I apologize for our miscalculation, but my soon to be wife is also Praeceptor, it is a tag team, without her we would be missing a portion of the plan. And yes, your Ascendancy I do need your help in fulling the Reliquiae's mission." Eliot paused, not out of drama, but out finding the right words. He had practiced the information. Knew what he needed to say, but now in front of the man it was a bit more stressful. The four men in front of them could easily wipe him from the face of the planet, and Eliot was almost positive that Durante would let them. He took a deep breath and continued "I wish to broaden the philosophy that drives our common acquaintance here." He indicated Nox standing next to him. "To the whole of the Atharim -- at least on a trial basis here in Moscow. I control the main head quarters here and know that we can enforce the laws decided upon in this and future meetings. Should you agree to help."

Eliot began his speech about his plans for turning the Reliquiae into a mostly transparent entity that kept the city safe. He detailed their mission, the hierarchy of the organization and then went on to how they would handle the sentient beings. "With the help of Helena we've devised a plan to contain those who we believe could be rehabilitated but need to be taught or forced into such rehabilitation. We need your assistance with creating the new laws upon which a channeler or other sentient creature should be considered too dangerous to live and fit into our threat levels. Ultimately it would be the tribunals decision before any Atharim hunter may go after a person to decide their fate. They would be given all the information, could investigate themselves the actions of the person and provide a majority sentence. The tribunal would consist of a man or woman appointed by you, a judge or lawyer elected by the people to upload their rights and an appointed member of the Atharim to ensure everyone understands the consequences of letting the person live and to provide historical insight and data into the hearing. Upon their sentence, a mandated training under one of our." Eliot indicated the space between the Ascendancy and him, their training facilities. "training facilities would be taught and monitored to insure they remain non-threatening. Those who do not comply would be detained and reevaluated until they could be rehabilitated, this is where Helena's business comes in. While it would be more gladiatorial style it would benefit both the violent combatant and the organization. For those who are still too dangerous we would need a secure facility, which I am sure you already possess to house and monitor them before finalizing their sentence, irredeemable should die, but they should be given a chance to try to fit into society. But we understand that sometimes some are too far gone and must be eliminated for the safety of others."

Eliot knew he was talking a lot but there was a lot he wanted to say. But he did still his tongue for the moment.

[Nox]

They walked through The Garden, which might have been beautiful had it not been covered in snow. There were no people, at least none that stuck around long enough to see faces. But he swore he saw Raffe being rushed off from a bench and back inside as they passed. He had looked different, but it was hard to tell wrapped in warm clothes as he was. Why would Raffe be here? Nox told himself. But he had other things to worry about as they drew closer to the Ascendancy.

He did not have a good feeling about any of this. Nox was pissed that Eliot had already broken his trust, and brought his so-called betrothed. But he'd stood up for her, it was in good faith. And when they got there his good faith was rewarded with the smiting of his own people. Nox had felt the rise in power, saw the weave as it was created and knew what would happen before it did. The smell of burnt skin and hair permated his nose -- it would be a smell he would not soon forget, and he was certain that it would join his guilt ridden nightmares each night -- another name to his already growing list of casualties.

He saw the three Dominions behind him, he recognized two, but did not know the third. He hadn't been present at the gala he'd attended. Allan sneered at him ready to lash out he was sure. Nox met Jays eyes but he smiled nor smirked before he passed on to meet the Ascendancy's eyes. It was his mistake, and he was 100% sure that he'd killed her to make him feel the pain of his own existence. Though it probably was just a flea on his back, Nox was nothing in comparison to the man before him. He could have just as easily smited them. But he hadn't.

Eliot began talking and Nox just watched the Ascendancy, his eyes never leaving his face. He studied the man as much as he could. The power was there just sitting at the edge of his sight. He wondered if he could defend himself should it come to it. But he didn't touch the power as tempting as it was. He was not a threat. He was here because Eliot had wanted him there. Nothing more.

The tied warmth weave around Nox faded about halfway through Eliot's speil and the cold started seeping into his bones. Fuck!

[Allan]

The power roared to life in the Ascendancy. The lightning flew from the sky striking Ninacska. The move had been unexpected. Why our own people? Allan's body straightened. His attention on their guests. He would defend the Ascendancy. But he wasn't going to be next on the hit list because of these fucking idiots.

The man drolled on. and on. And Allan was bored. The Atharim scourge should be just as dead for their crimes. Why was the Ascendancy listening to this drivel?

A small smirk played over Allan's lips as he noticed the underdressed Durante began to shiver in the cold. Dumb ass!