Anarion

Huntresses of Hybrasil

Jade and Dolly

You dance faster than fire. The shots buzz past you one after another, and you move through them somehow, impossibly. They brush past you so close that you can taste them. The heat upon Jade’s skin, the heat upon Dolly’s tongue. It’s like Ksharta’s spiciest stew and a carbonated drink all together, hot and bubbling and promising pain at every angle. And yet they are only a brush, an instant, a thousand instants that you move through and past and you are upon her.

To most observers, the patterns would be difficult to follow. For someone like Mirror, the key routing is the way that jackal two’s path arcs low, forcing the Roar to re-adjust itself to maintain fires on all three approach routes (being unable to fire directly below its feet with currently visible weapons). That movement creates the spaced opening that the real idol uses to close and cut the lines. Amid the steam and the roiling water, the suddenly failing lasers create a rainbow across Dolly and Jacinta, a backwards light source splintering itself through the water onto the surface of the two machines. So close, so brushed.

“You know, I didn’t believe the reports.” Jacinta is laughing, loud and long and interwoven with her speaking. She is rerouting power to her thrusters, letting the cut ammo lines and useless lasers fall below her. “AIs aren’t known for being the best pilots and the priestess has no proven record. I’d never give you a job in my business. Well, not before now. Now, if you want, you can join me and I’ll give you your own hoard, an independent station segment, and two support ships fully crewed.”

She takes a punch at one of the drones, flying higher above the water, the rainbow fading against her tan metallic skin. Around her neck, though, a sizzling electric main bursts into life and she headbutts the second jackal as it flies in close to her, sending electrical feedback flying through the system, even though it stops her motion too.

“My power is that I can give you these things. The space, the equipment, the crew. They are mine to use as I please. You’ve felt it, haven’t you goddess?” She says the word with a certain mockery. “Yes, the way you chased after Valynia, the fights you had before. You need to control them all, control everyone or else you have nothing at all. You understand what it means to truly be free. That’s my freedom. It’s the only real freedom.”

Her confidence tells you that as far as she’s concerned, the fight has barely begun.

Angela

“Stupid. Do you really think that you get worse because you have support? Because you have backup plans and people to help you when you’re down?”

The elbow slammed into the chest of the Barn Owl is so strong that the feedback from your mesh makes you double over. Metal crumples, and Ada uses her strength to push herself out of the headlock, leaving your vulnerable to her fists.

“I am strong because of everyone who supports me! Every hand that helped give me the time to train and customize! Every word of encouragement! I want to win for them! It may not be the only way to provide, but it’s a damn good one and damn it, I have my pride girl!”

Blows rain down upon you and they hurt. This really was an overmatch. You’re not entirely out of options, but the Barn Owl can’t last through this for very long so it’s already time for pulling out all the secrets and last ditch efforts. You thumb your ion cannon nervously. The trick hadn’t worked on Solarel because she’d never given you the chance. It still grated. Over an hour in that miserable strom and you never even got to take a shot. You really do miss all the shots you don’t take.

But that did mean you have it now, still available, still an option. But if Ada catches wind of it, if she dodges your only shot or even manages to take it on the side and only lose non-critical systems, you’re finished.

***

Isabelle

“Oh good se it is then” she copies where you cut off with a blush, but then lets it go.

“My wish? I’m planning to wish for an infinite supply of the best coffee from Calysil. They make it incredible there, like you have no idea, it’s literally got some kind of drugs in addition to the stimulant that just make you happier, but like, without losing your edge. Wish I had a cup now but it’s prohibitively expensive to export out of the Hybrasil star cluster and it’s not even on the beaten path for black market piracy.”

She chuckles, pulls her spear out. “You probably think it’s dumb, but like, the thing with wishes is that even all the power of intergalactic empires can’t really give you what you want. Like, if I wished I were a better detective, what would they do? Give me some really expensive cybernetics and the top of the line AI assistant like that one that got inhabited by a goddess competing in the other match maybe? But would any of that actually make me a better detective? Would I be happy with it even if it did?”

She waves her spear around, tests the balance, cuts a few blades of grass. “You’re making me think maybe yes. Maybe I could get the same nanotech as you and I’d be just as excited as the experiments you’re talking about. But even then, I’m not sure I want to become a better detective that way, if that makes sense? Like, if I get it because I wished for it, then it isn’t actually what I wished for anymore. I know, I know, that’s dumb. But that’s why I figured, hey, the coffee is where it’s at, absolutely no way that one goes wrong.”
“Alright, good enough, you’re getting me all jazzed up thinking about this, so I’m gonna stab you now. No saying you weren’t ready~”

She sets her spear and comes at you. Like she did with Mirror, her real talent isn’t in the technology (though Hybrasil tech is very good) but in her handling. She’s got perfect form. It’s a flexible charge with options to adjust depending on how you respond and yet committing in such a direct way that’s already put you on the back foot to make a response even with her warning. Hurry!

***

Solarel

The Kathresis told Akaithon the truth. It simply withheld some information. For example, the fact that the Kathresis places functionally zero value on the life of its pilot beyond the relevant capability to achieve operational objectives.

Akaithon uses her particular brand of puissance to put as much power into her forward-facing shields as possible, blunting as much of the small arms fire as she can. And then when she’s close enough, she puts the power into the spear and she simply takes the rest. Indeed, she takes it directly, centrally, right through the center of mass to ensure that the Kathresis’ small frame does not have its momentum arrested or lose an important grip or connection on that powered lance.

The match would be over right now if the Kathresis were a little taller. And you might be dead. But it isn’t quite tall enough, and it didn’t have the luxury of a more exposed attack vector. The blow is to the leg, and with it, your entire left leg feels as though it vanished. It might as well have, the spear has completely severed its connection to the rest of the Aeteline. It hangs limp and useless and a cold sensation runs up your waist near it where the particles at the edge still have enough energy to vibrate at all.

You’re forced immediately to direct power to thrusters to avoid toppling, reducing some of the weaponry by necessity.

Even so, the Kathresis can’t maintain its position or it will simply be ripped apart, and so it retreats, all power split between thrusters and defensive shields to maintain itself intact in order to be able to deliver another blow.

With the damage sustained, it will be harder for it to land another blow, though it now has an angle on attacking you where your own leg is blocking the ability to direct fires.

The Kathresis is certainly still active though, so Akai didn’t die either despite the fire directed at the pilot’s cabin. But you have to consider that if you repeat the tactic for your victory, it could kill Akai in the process. The Kathresis clearly doesn’t care.

The way the Kathresis used Akai, it’s exactly how everyone imagined you in your legends. It’s why neither of two empresses would accept you. But now none of them will intervene on behalf of Akaithon. None of them thought she was worth ensuring her own protection before she went into this match in a new and untested machine.

***

Mirror

“[Claws out only for show]” Maelia murmurs, still wincing from the claw bite and trying to bring herself back from her own daze as a result. Neither of them has tried to land a decisive blow yet. They’re each holding back. The Roar, despite its reputation for intensive weaponry, doesn’t seem fazed at all by switching to melee combat, and Smokeless Jade Fires has moved decisively but without truly penetrating the armor, she’s only cut lines and external cables.

“Gosh, isn’t that beautiful though? The way they crossed over the water, and the rainbow effect (caused by concentrated light diffusion not previously seen due to the laser being held coherently until its source was destroyed), that’s not something you’re going to see in most matches.”

She nods, fluffs her mane to think. “[The legs poised to pounce] make me think the favor is still tilted towards the Roar. She has yet to truly strike.”

Huntresses of Hybrasil

Solarel

Akaithon is a puzzle solver and a fine pilot. In this light, her attack approach is the “correct” solution to the Aeteline, to the extent such a solution exists. She has a power core in the Kathresis to match yours, and a light frame that can emphasize speed and shielding. If the pilot is adequately quick, adequately precise, and adequately in tune with the machine, they can switch power over to the attacks just as they connect, defeating even the defenses of the Aeteline. It demands intense focus, precision control, and split-second reflexes. But then, that’s the best possible solution that Akai could offer you: she has made herself the point of failure in her attempt to beat the Aeteline.

She has, also, though she rides in your shadow, chosen a different approach to this fight than the last. “Sol, I think you’re up to speaking on more than one level” she says, making any attempt an approach, looks for your response, and then cuts her speed and changes her angle. “And I want you to hear why I’m in this machine. I was only going to pilot it back from the crystal hangar originally, but once I was tied into it, it spoke to me. It spoke of you and the mistake we both made. The Aeteline is evil, Sol. It was made broken, the fires it channels ruin things, break things. It breaks the world. The Kathresis begged me to bring it down and it showed me how it could be done. I know…I know you won’t be able to see that from within it, I can only imagine the rush of piloting it. Which is why I’m going to have to show you in the only language you really speak.”

Her lance is coming, a single blow could be a deadly strike nod her speed is a match for the Aeteline. What do you do?

***

Isabelle

“Oh wow, you’re really upbeat compared to the gala!” You can hear Kiriala’s smile as she answers you. “Must have been a good prep week! Whispered Promise is fine, I think. She’s been doing some really intense stuff to prep for her next matches and uh…some other stuff, I think. She told me she’s working on her promise to you, too. We’ve all been trying to help, she’s got a lot of ideas and doesn’t always think about how to share that with other people, you know?”

Similar to her prior match with Mirror, Kiriala isn’t going for anything underhanded. She’s not the type to try and cut your head off in the middle of a casual conversation and she’s perfectly fine taking the match at her own pace. She keeps to the ground as well. The wide space offers free room to maneuver and she’s taking a stance that says she’s ready to react to you if you get started, but at the same time she’s not going to be the one to make the first move before you’re both ready. This isn’t naivete, it’s just an approach to fighting that she likes. The patient hunter.

“Oh but don’t think you can go prying any info out of me. First off, I wouldn’t give you details during a match where anyone who wants can hear and second I don’t know them anyway!” You can absolutely hear her sticking her tongue out at you in the way she ended that sentence.

“So, what’s got you all upbeat? I hope it’s our help? Give me some clues though. I’m not a good enough detective even among Hybrasilians to hear your tone of voice and distinguish whether you’ve got the good exercise glow, or the good food glow, or the good sex glow, so help me out here!”

[There’s a generic string XP in it for you if you open up to Kiriala to start the fight]

***

Dolly and Jade

The water bursts around you like a thousand spears thrusting in formation. Laser blasts from Jacinta strike the foam and burst into steam, sizzling with heat. She lets out a primal roar all her own, deep and low that rumbles through her whole body. A challenge and a war cry all in one.

As she does, the Roar, crazy as it sounds, is doing its best to strike all three targets simultaneously, splitting its cannon fire among auto cannons and lasers to avoid presenting any completely open front. At the same time though, the split means that no front is completely impassible. Instead, you’ve got a difficult but manageable bullet hell Fromm each approach.

And here, you can see a piece of Jacinta Niares as a character. She’s not willing to leave herself open. The Roar is full of surprises still, don’t let your guard down, but you have this insight that the way she reacts is that she’s just not willing not leave any opening in any direction. [Take a string on Jacinta]

She’s also rising, moving herself above the level of the water and steam, but you’ve created this much opportunity: until she gets clear and can take in the various jackals you’ve unleashed, you have the situation in hand and a chance to act.

Angela

“Please, I saw you at the party, you’re hardly one to talk” comes the chuckling response over the Comms. And Ada does indeed launch her attack, wasting no time in closing the distance to her preferred fighting range. She’s careful about it though, damn her. She uses every bit of natural cover to close and avoid shots, and she’s got a reserve booster to dodge suddenly if you pull out a secret weapon. It’s a little like being smothered, but instead of in a hug, it’s in an inescapable net as she comes at you and you’re forced back.

“I told Jade the same thing I’ll tell you now though. I’m about providing for my family, tournament or no. And you, backwater Terenian daughter, does that mean anything to you? Do you understand how I might feel? The way your people forget about you ring any bells, huh? Win, lose, or draw, I’m open to anyone who wants to work together.”

And therein lies her fire. The pride of being the provider, the pride of protecting.

You’ve got to come up with something before you’re forced back into the forest or the rocks and have nowhere left to cede ground. It’s lucky that the Barn Owl is a workhorse model and can take a lot of glancing blows without losing any core functionality.

***

Mirror

“Oh, uh, gosh, wow” Maelia says, trying not to look too closely at all the different ways you’re disheveled. She doesn’t want to look like she’s judging, but she also doesn’t want to look away because that would be embarrassing for both of you, so she’s settled on looking at you, but kind of awkwardly past you without looking at anything in particular and hoping that works for everybody.

“I mean, wow, um…who knew my co-caster was such a dedicated go-getter? I mean, a lot of people probably did if they watched your matches because that mecha of yours is something else and you must have trained just as hard to pilot it without passing out from the feeling of cutting off your own arms, right?” She laughs, nervously.

“Well, um, anyway, let’s get on air. The match is already starting.” She hits a button and a light goes on. You’re on a slight broadcast delay, but current with the monitors and there’s Dolly and Jade blasting above the lake with several duplicates against the raining firepower of the Roar.

“So, I’ve got a um, new caster with me today, and we’re going to have to jump right into it because Smokeless Jade Fires and her pilot Dala Hunters looked like they drew the short straw but instead of the match ending before it started, they’ve made a brilliant move and shifted all their power to a terrain and multi-unit simultaneous distraction! The use of the water to absorb laser fire in particular is inspired. As a medium it will both dissipate heat (folks at home, did you know that water has one of the highest specific—heat absorption ratios of any commonly found substance?) and deflect the blasts from their intended target. Jacinta isn’t letting up though and she refuses to offer a clear approach vector! Mira, what do you make of this fight?”

Huntresses of Hybrasil

Solarel

You’re set up to face Akaithon not in the darkness of space, but in a tight arena within the planet. There’s room to fly, but there’s a reinforced dome ceiling that even the Aeteline would need focused effort to destroy. The walls are light tan stone sloping outward and the floor is flat in the center and then curve up in steps so that it’s like fighting at the base of a great amphitheater. Akaithon has the lance that you wielded in your last match. But something is different about it…

A short while earlier
…It was Charon himself who took your call. Dressed now in a navy blue suit that contrasted his cybernetic implants with their red glow. You were somewhat distracted at the party, and of course now you were seeing him through the viewing instruments of the Aeteline, but even so, there was a chance to focus on him and it was an odd sight. The cybernetics ran their own AI, but to a Zaldarian it would be quite a hard one to place in the hierarchy of spirits. It’s subservient to and interacting with Charon’s own brain, but he’s chosen to allow it to run more freely than most AI assistants on personal equipment would run. It’s actually most comparable to the Kathresis or to Smokeless Jade Fires, if you’ve been following her activity. Essentially, this man is running two functional brains on the same overall physical platform, and in a much smaller space than the sort of gods you’re used to.

He was all business when he took your call. “Solarel, my dear! We haven’t met properly, but you’ve been a fine associate already, well worth the upfront investment!” His smile was genuine, and when he heard your request about Akaithon, he was quick to check references, quick enough to even stay on the line with you as he made a few inquiries on his own terminal and then put one of his dock workers on speaker for both of you to hear.

“…I was working with the Kathresis as ordered. What I heard was that after the theft, Akaithon piloted it out of the gala. She came to us first, the Kathresis had information on its own dock, and the Zaldarian cult immediately followed it to a new berth in a different dock that Akaithon had assigned. A few of us went as well, but weren’t allowed in the new dock, since we didn’t have the same permissions and the deal was with Solarel and not the empress of Zaldaria. That’s what they said, and it meant we couldn’t come in. But I saw some of the work they were doing. It was…mmm I dunno how to say it, Akai seemed a bit how Solarel seemed before. I think being hooked direct into the Kathresis ain’t good for you. But anyway, they were setting up the lance that had been used before, but to link with the Kathresis core somehow. I could tell based on the lines they were using. I think it might work like how that freeze pistol worked. One touch of that lance and anything would go to nearly absolute zero. Probably make it shear right off of any other material from the sudden change in molecular motion if I had to guess.”

And there you have it. Charon smiled with the satisfaction of immediate information. Of course, since you still have your same dock and his crew just lost their access to the Kathresis from your last deal, you’ll be giving them access to the Aeteline now. It’s only fair after all.

***

Isabelle

You’re deploying in the open plains. This is similar to Kiriala’s last match with Mirror: an open, grassy field full of tall brush but little cover big enough to fully obscure you or the Ginger Tiger. Perhaps the match organizers liked how that fight went and thought that for the semifinals, seeing Kiriala in a similar environment against a different opponent would be illustrative. When she fought Mirror, she used the ground to her advantage, since it offered additional maneuvering angles compared to relying strictly on midair thrusters.

Though, there’s a question how much of all this you really studied, isn’t there? After all, a lot of your prep went into yourself. The Zaldarian nanobots change how you see the world. There are spirits of some sort or another in everything. Mostly little heists, automated functions. But to the Zaldarians, these are existing things, animated and acting, even if they have only a single function such as opening a door or operating a memory weave. Having the nanobots offers you a new perspective on these things. They’re not nearly strong enough in just your body to shut down an opposing mecha or anything that grand, and indeed even things like tapping in facilities security were only possible in the Trak’tho facility because they were already keyed to it and had the right passwords and access levels. But what you do have is the ability to see these things in a new light. That vision is something you never had before and it might open new doors of combined Terenian and Zaldarian (and Trak’tho!) engineering principles. You’ve had just enough time to scratch the surface there.

And of course, there’s the other sort of personal time. Asil has taken advantage of this opportunity to actually get you somewhat on the regular without causing problems. She hasn’t had to sneak around as much. And what you have found is that she’s a hungry, but gentle lover. She wants, always. She wants kisses. She wants your touch. On her neck, on her chest, on her ears, her cheeks, wherever she directs. And she wants to touch you and make you feel her. But she’s got the sense that you don’t want her to be too aggressive. That you’re a little bit like a wild cat and you might start if there are too many sudden movements. So she works gently to find the right spots, goes carefully over you, probes, asks questions and then asks them again, always listening, seeing how your answers change over time until she finds the right ways to touch you just so.

And this too is important match preparation because this may be one of the rare times you come into a bout not totally stressed out of your mind.

What sort of greeting does that lead to?

***

Dolly and Jade

You are deployed amidst running water. A mountain lake. Broad and deep, surrounded by alpine trees and snow-capped peaks. Clear weather, cool and crisp, a handful of clouds. In another time, this would be an idyllic vacation spot. Incredible as a show-piece of what the Akar Arena is capable of producing.

Jacinta deploys visibly across the lake. She’s not known for using a cloak, though she has one if you lose sight of her. But she’s already training cannons on you, setting up a firing solution to end the fight before it’s even begun.

She’s got an open comm line immediately as well. “How unlucky for you, goddess. Here, I am the mistress of all fires and your deployment was directly in my sights.”

She’s not waiting to fire while she banters either, autocannons are starting up already, and so are the first lasers, which she can fire with abandon without even worrying about ammo unless you force her to reallocate her power to defense.

This is, without a doubt, a trap for you. Though of whose devise exactly, it is not clear. There are many suspects including random chance among them. Perhaps it’s simply bad luck that you deployed at Jacinta’s best range with a clear firing arc. Or perhaps this is how Jacinta Niares likes to play it. Her freedom is that the rules and laws of others don’t apply to her, after all.

No matter which way you cut it though, you’ve got to claw yourself out of this hole before it’s too late.

***

Angela

This is a bad matchup for you and there’s nothing you can do about it. No amount of frustration or pride will help you. The anger that you often feel at being a backwater branch of the second most powerful family in all of TC space doesn’t matter one tiny bit when it comes to the fact that you’re just not up to specs. It’s doubly infuriating because Ada Smith is an “independent free trader” and so her access to superior technology including from the Hybrasilians, rankles with you and your limited access.

And that’s the thing, you have limited access. You can get any weapons you need, but Ada isn’t beatable with better weapons, not even a surprise ion burst. She knows those tricks, she wrote the book on those tricks, and has given herself the speed and strength to work around that. It’s an outclass of mind as much as it is of technology.

She’s wary and she’s motivated and god in another context that would be so goddamn hot. It’s one of the things you like about your relationship with Dolly and Jade. You get to be their villain, to make them think about you all the time, even when you’re not there. To loom large in their life, for both fear and revenge. If that means sometimes you have to accept a little humiliation, that just gives you cause for further strikes and them cause for renewed attention, does it not? That makes you smile to consider. The games they play are something special and you’re glad to have found them. They help you think more creatively too. Which is why you’ve done nothing special for Smith at all. Let her see nothing and thus expect everything. If she looks for you at every corner, then when you strike her in the face, you might just land a blow. At least, that’s the hope. You still have to worry that even without seeing it coming, she’ll have the reaction speed to block it anyway.

***

Mirror

It is Maelia who picked you as a partner. Apparently she was really excited to co-cast with another Hybrasilian. Something about understanding each other’s cues better. When she joins you, she’s wearing a fisher cat station suit in a light yellow, a far cry from the fancy dresses of the ball and instead something comfortable and easy for her. She has a lens in one eye, feeding her information, giving her one regular golden eye and one that’s glowing with a blue-green tint from the text being fed to it. Her shaggy mane is tied back in a neat bun that won’t get in the way of someone examining equipment. She is known for having lived long stretches of her life in border space stations (one of the things that led to her getting so good as a mecha pilot).

“I picked the match with Dolly and Jacinta for us to commentate, I hope that’s okay. I uh, figured the match being all Hybrasilian would get everyone back home kind of excited. Plus, Jacinta comes from basically the opposite end of the galaxy from me, and I’m really hoping to see some new tech. I’ve studied up a ton on her weaponry and its balance, but the Roar’s got something special up its sleeve and I think Dolly can at least get her to use it!”

She blinks, looks a little bashful at already having gotten into the tech side of things. “How about you, Mira, any particular standouts you’re looking for here? I hope I didn’t presume too much.”

Huntresses of Hybrasil

All

Not even the sudden departure of the Aeteline can fully end the party aboard the spiraling crystal shell space station. But it does take the energy out of the room. The Zaldarians, nearly all dazed and enervated after the brawl and the rush, slowly filter out of the hangar, not knowing what to do, none able to properly give chase. Other guests eat and dance, they spread, the Terenians and the Hybrasilians discuss trade and piracy and all the myriad matters of bureaucracy and delicacy that ultimately boil down to how many fish everyone will wind up getting.

Still, even among five such grand festivities so far, this will be one to remember. The grand theft of what is debatably the greatest mecha known to exist. Though "known" and "debatably" carry much weight in that description.

Kimri Blessed daughter of Grandmother Night may, perhaps, have offered the best observation. Watching from just outside the hanger, she commented to the delegation: "Hunger is with that one."

***

Even so, time passes. Food and drink run thin, the music stops, and the guests depart in their turns. And after that there is rest, training, tune-ups, and all the myriad ways that one might prepare for the finals. For now, every match counts. No more round robin, no more friendly competition and wondering at the cutoffs. The elimination stage is prepared and the fights will be coming so very soon.

In the first round:
Match 1: Ada Smith will face Angela Victoria Miera Antonius
Match 2: Jacinta Niares will face Dala Hunters
Match 3: Isabelle Lozano will face Kiriala of Maeahu
Match 4: Solarel will face Akaithon, Knight of Zaldaria

In the second round:
Marcina Villajero will face the winner of match 1
Mira Fisher will face the winner of match 2
Marna Kerne will face the winner of match 3
Maelia Dala will face the winner of match 4

***

Dolly and Jade and entourage

Ksharta chose cooking first. It's not what she wanted. You could feel her heart rise when you offered her a knighthood in the house. And she said as much, she's not so utterly blind to her own feelings. But then she had said "I can't see how that looks yet. It sounds right, but...I can't see it. So I'll cook first, and get you all prepared for the matches and then we'll find out what it means to be a knight."

And, well, it may not have made her heart soar, but she was honest and it was stable and that made her happy in a different way. It's good to see this, Jade. Happiness can be big and small. It's not always fulfilling someone's fantasies. Sometimes happiness is feeling safe, and the happy little twitch of a girl's tail when she tastes her curry and she got the spice mix just right.

That's what she's cooking now. Angela needs it after a grueling tiebreaker that she barely scraped out, and you all need it to cheer for her. She still plans to play the villain in a sense, but for now with everyone else involved, there's something of a united front and everyone cheered for her in her final matches to qualify.

[Ksharta chose to accept emotional support in her way.]

As for Valynia...

"You think I hate her, but you're wrong. I see her." She had smiled then. "Just be extra loud when she's seen me back and I'll come find you, little Dolly."

And then she had glided out of the room, leaving behind the scent of spice before you could stand under your own power.

And now, you've got one more pirate to face before you can go up against Mirror (Mirror!!!). The boss (maybe) of the whole Red Band (question mark) and one of the most feared lionesses in the galaxy. Jacinta Niares. This one is probably real, but after everything you've been through with Valynia, what sort of power do you think her boss wields?

What you know about her mecha, The Roar is fairly limited. Statistics are listed as
Power: ****
Speed: ***
Defense: *****
And it's known for its overwhelming medium-range weaponry. There have been a lot of imitations though, so if it's the real Roar and the real Jacinta, expect surprises.

***

Isabelle

It is a funny thing, but after the party, you find that your schedule isn't quite so booked. This is not to say that Almira Lozano didn't hear everything. It is not to say that she isn't plotting something. She has certainly not disappeared, and her advice is available whenever you wish to seek it, with the same skill and judgment as always accompanies it. No, it's just that your training schedule is a bit more open and sleep might just exist in small quantities.

Perhaps it's simply that you danced with Adriana and met all the superficial goals your family had set? Perhaps it's the unusual business deal you struck. Perhaps it's the deal you struck with the Fisher cat and the fact that for the first time your mother might view you differently than the daughter she so often cowed.

Though, this is not to say that you shouldn't be very busy. Kiriala won every match she fought except for her match against Mirror. Her mecha sports the latest in Hybrasilian technology: perhaps not the match of the most esoteric mechas out there (again, Mirror herself seems to deliver the unusual) but at least the equal of anything the Terenius Consortium can manage to field at the moment. Meanwhile, Kiriala's skill and focus have been top-notch. A steady hand and a calm mind are her hallmarks, the exception of Mirror yet again notwithstanding.

The Ginger Tiger's ratings are slightly upgraded from before as well (or perhaps merely updated based on the range displayed in the fight with Mirror)
Power: ****
Speed: ****
Defense: ****

You'll need to do a lot to prepare for her.

But then, competing with that are other things. You still have a Zaldarian nanobot connection and they have been positively shrieking warnings at you (insofar as a vague mental sense of unease can shriek) since the end of that party and the reactivation of the Aeteline. You still have Quar as a prisoner in some sense. And Asil is still there and she's going to call for you as many free evenings as your stamina is prepared for. And you did promise to come when she called, didn't you?

Tell us what your life is like as you build up to your match.

***

Mirror

Congratulations! You had the best record in the round robin (officially at any rate, and notwithstanding your own description of the matches). You thus received the one bye extended from the tournament, putting you in the illustrious ranks of the three prior faction champions. You're even slated to face Marcina in the semifinals, which as it turns out was the soonest you could get unless she had decided to forego her own bye (perhaps possible if she's seen the bracket keeping you apart, but she seems content for you to face one opponent at the least). On top of that, if you're lucky, you'll face Dolly first, and of course Jade as well. Assuming they don't both melt in embarrassment the second they see you.

In the meantime, you, along with the other three will be commenting the first set of matches. You even get to pick your co-caster. Marcina, you've met: keen intellect, analytical, thoughtful and caring, but absolutely a sub in conversation. Maelia is also known for being analytical, being a keen scientists, but with more of a humorous and passionate streak and of course her own Hybrasilian deep space background. Or Marna, who is loud and teasing, with a keen ability to read people quickly and focus on the emotional heart of matches.

***

Solarel

Travel in the Aeteline is a unique feast for the senses. It presses against the universe, it warps the space around it with its vicious furnace. A small part of you may realize that the Kathresis would find the Aetline offensive, perhaps even filled with irrational and vicious hatred for it in its active state. Its Trak'tho masters would have believed such a thing to be an abomination. That said, the one thing you will not hear news of in the intervening time is the location of the Kathresis, which was taken by someone else from the crystal hangar and is either not known to the cult it had attracted or they will not say.

But what matters is that now that there is a host of new tactics available to you? Tiers of strength, speed, and energy control that you haven't touched in a long time. You don't need to land in the days before your scheduled tournament match if you don't want to. And even if you land, you hardly need to leave the mecha or its dock.

If you look for news about your match, you'll find you're facing Akaithon again, though apparently she has unregistered the Makhaira and the briefing has no details of what mecha she plans to pilot the face the Aeteline. Her own statement about the plan you two executed together, in its way.

What will your tactics be to face Akai again so soon?

Huntresses of Hybrasil

Solarel
The door is open and it is full of fire. The threshold is made of light. The spirit of the Aeteline is the spirit of fire. A nuclear furnace. It is yours, it has been yours, it remains yours. What is the burning of your blood to a silver sword in the face of this cursed spirit? What is pain when everything is already consumed?

The Aeteline is ready. Connection lines extend freely to take you. All the explosive energy waits to be commanded. Protection routines snap into place, nanobot reconstruction systems throwing thin but regenerating walls to separate you from your attackers in nothing more than a reflex.

To join with the Aeteline is to be so much more. Is this not your true body? Was everything you were before not merely a scouting system to collect data to return to the core? Is this not the true scale of the universe?

It would not do to remain here. Nor to crush the small things beneath you. They are unworthy of such attention. They are nothing but the dust before your eyes obscuring the universe. Your calling is to ascend above such things and see that which is beautiful. Is this not also truth?

***

Ksharta and Jade

“You did” she says, and smiles, but her eyes are sad. “I…worry that I’m broken. I look at the great Hybrasilians and they are all so…so wild. Look at your pride, at the abandon that Dolly seems to so easily take on, how willing she is to give herself to something greater. To…someone greater.” She blushes despite herself, as she certainly has felt the connection all night.

“Look at Mirror, or Kiara, or the many priestesses. The heroes and goddesses in the myths. Did Irtana grow despondent because her tribe was defeated and she was left alone? No, you rose to the goddesses and so gained her own godhood through boldness and bravery. Mu Ysha did not give in to despair when she shattered her sword on the rock of Hunger, but instead she meditated and sought penance, and in the hunt she drew her sword of blood for the first time and fought with Hunger as an equal.”

Ksharta sniffles. “I thought maybe with your blessing that I could be strong like them. But I couldn’t. So I thought that maybe I’m the one who’s broken.”

You know, Jade, that as a faithful Hybrasilian, it would never cross her mind to consider that you are in any way the problem, it’s either her fault or some other goddess who overruled your authority. She isn’t crying very hard though, and she isn’t done talking. “Maybe I just set my sights too high. I’ve always relied on the others, I’m a good cook, I make people happy. Now I get to experience these other feelings too through your favor and I can stay here where it’s safe. Do I really need my own victory or my own knight or my own pirate?”

She sniffles again and tries to smile because you did help, Jade, and she loved this, and she’s glad to be here, and it’s even more special that you came and gave her all her attention so gently even though she knows how much you’re hurting too. It’s just that even with all that, her heart is aching and so things are very hard.

***

Dolly

“You know” Valynia says quietly, “I’ve half a mind to rip that sleeve back off of you. I didn’t think my feelings were for sharing with the whole group. But…I see your choice and I won’t take it from you now. Not…not right now.

She breathes, and you can feel her taking in your scent, the feel of your body and your hair and the headdress pressed against her.
“You smelled like this when I jumped on you the first time” she says, and breathes again. “Like prey and excitement. Ready to bolt but so so hungry all at the same time. It made my heart beat then, and it does now. It’s why, at the little station…Whispered Promise is her own goddess, but I don’t want a goddess, I want you, little priestess. I want you. I’ll take the goddess you come with if I must. But. I. Want. You. Dala Hunters.”

She breathes again and her claws are sharp against you as she quivers, and her muscles harden.

“Personally, I think your goddess is being jealous and petulant and you’re too willing to go along with her. You say I have the Red Band and you have her. Well, fuck you. I’m a pirate, Dala Hunters. I’m greedy. I want everything I want.”

She smiles then, twisting you just sideways enough that you can see her face, her grin with her teeth out, ready to bite. “But I don’t think I want unfairly~ I think you can have me, and you can have her, and she can come gallantly to your rescue, but every time in the meantime I get to have you. ♡”

“So there you are, little Dolly. Do you think my offer is fair? If you want it, your face is right here. You don’t have to say anything at all. All you have to do is nod, just a little, just the tiniest little motion.”

***

Mirror (and Isabelle)

There are eyes for your dance. Eyes for Mirror’s impassioned speech. In the center of it, Adriana nods to herself. Perhaps she agrees. It would certainly match with her manner of choosing a successor, something she chooses by merit despite her family name carrying the greatest weight of any blood in the entirety of the Terenius Consortium.

But now the music is ending, and soon the party will be as well. Also there’s probably going to be a warning klaxon going off in the hanger presently as a result of Solarel’s particular door smashing talent.

Huntresses of Hybrasil

Mirror and Isabelle

The room dances and people swirl, and the singer sings of the rain bathing her face. Below you and above you is the shifting of people, the glinting of crystal in impossible angles, gravity that spirals around you.

It’s Kiriala who sidles closer, keeping her distance from Adriana but coming to join the dance next to you.

She offers her own answer, unasked for. “Are you a goddess then?” She cocks her head, looks at Mirror like she’s wondering it seriously before looking back at Isabelle. “If you’re not, you can’t know everyone perfectly, and if you can’t do that, you can’t always avoid hurting people. You can try really hard to know people as well as you can, but if you don’t let anybody know you then they won’t work around you either.”

She tosses down the rest of her drink and stands close, deeply intrigued by the topic.

***

Dolly

Valynia doesn’t let you go, but she’s not hurting you either. She’s just firm. Her grip strong. There’s a sound of distant jazz, but in this side room, the door is shut, the crystals darkened, and only the depths of space bear you witness from beyond this room.

“Did you only want me because you thought she wanted me?”

She’s talking to you, Dolly. Only to you. Her hand closes over yours, her fingers brushing the glove. And in that moment you feel: anger, pain, rejection, jealousy, humiliation, and beneath it all, so small and so deep hope.

What do you say to her?

***

Solarel

It’s so close. Memories of the Aeteline flicker within you. It’s not like the Kathresis at all. Not cold, not the vision of angry ghosts. The Aeteline is the polar opposite: it’s a nuclear furnace. It’s young and it’s powerful and the Aeteline knows its own power. It bathes in it. It revels in it. The great god seeks to be wielded. It seeks to move! To run! To fly! It makes you ask what it means to fly, to truly feel the very space around you bend to your power as you flex your wings. The Aeteline is agitation, it is unbridled, and yet it has sat inert for so long, unwilling to accept another pilot that fails to deserve it.

You could touch it. You could connect to that god. It’s so close. Everything is so close.

But an inch may as well be a thousand light years. Because you weren’t fast enough. You didn’t win the race.

No, the winner of this race is Angela. Angela who you fought before, Angela who dances in the circle of that young Hybrasilian, so different from Mirror, with her new goddess.

Her hand is upon you, and as she slows you, so too is Voctine who demands her own birthright, her silver blade aimed for your throat. More are coming, and more besides.

Beside you, a vague part of your senses feels the floor shake as Akaithon leaps down to lend her own aid, the impact of the jump sending energy coursing through her legs. But it’s hard to focus, hard to concentrate on anything that you need to do when everything you want is so close and yet so out of reach.

Stagger and then tell us how you reach beyond the possible.

Huntresses of Hybrasil

Solarel

You’ve done your job being the focus of everyone’s attention too well. When you go, they go. It’s a brawl, sure, but it was a brawl focused around you. Angela was laser-focused on you and she’s chasing. She was the one who was holding up the empress Nialkai, so as soon as Angela broke off, Nialkai was rushing with her to chase you, full of all the energy that Angela Victoria Miera Antonius could put into their fight, glowing brightly. From there, you’ve got a split of retainers, and the empress Voctine recovering from your clash. So it’s all a chain of dominos crashing down after you, one after another.

But there’s one that was hurt a bit more than the others. Voctine was your empress. The one who gave you the Aeteline. The one who made you her champion. She is…less than she was. She has defined herself by what she lost and in so doing pinned herself to another. But in that brief cross of swords, there was something of her old self. Of the woman who hungered for the stars, damn what might stand in her way. She felt that hunger, and when you gave her nothing to feed it and then broke from her, it hurt her deeply.

She staggers after you. Not fast, not stable. Dangerous as only a woman scorned. A woman who knows the Aeteline had always been hers to give.

As you run at the head of the pack, you catch a glimpse of Akaithon, already in the hanger, undoing restraints and detaching docking latches. But there are several women, Terenian and Zaldarian both who won’t let you go.

[Roll to defy disaster however you think best.]

***

Dolly and Jade

That had been a moment where a look of real pain had crossed Valynia’s face, if you’d been looking. But it’s gone in an instant, nothing but an illusion, a trick of the light. That had been her lips curling in a sneer as she strides forward, nothing more. She reaches a hand up, and in a flash, she’s back before you Dolly, her talons barely click on the crystal floor.

“Yes, I want you” is all she says, but her voice cuts through your tears all the same. Then with a hand that is fast, rough, and strong, she yanks you, not gently, into her embrace. It’s a tug that makes your arm feel like it might pull out of its socket and it’s hard enough to spin you completely around so that one hand is over your stomach and your back is pressing against her chest. She keeps her right hand firmly on your arm, her grip tight, hands over the neural mesh that links you to Jade.

And Jade, she’s talking to you while she holds Dolly protectively, her left hand across your priestess’s body, interposing between you.

“Oh I’m not good enough for you?” she asks, and the sneer is so deep. “I’m nothing but pirate scum, is that it? Well, this pirate scum already has her prize.” She laughs, and it is a cruel laugh. Not like Dolly’s laugh, nor Angela’s, nor Ksharta’s, nor even like Whispered Promise. It’s the laugh of mockery, the laugh of Dishai the stone goddess, whose grip you could not defeat.

“You don’t deserve her” she says, and the words drip with venom. “Look what you did. Look at your priestess crying in the heart of the crystal gala, in that beautiful dress made to display her just for you. This wasn’t my doing, Smokeless Fires. It was yours. So you’ve forfeited her and I’m taking what I came for.”

With a grand motion, she rips the neural mesh from Dolly’s arm. And then, gently, slowly, ever so carefully, she tucks it neatly into Dolly’s belt as you watch, Jade.

The gesture is excruciatingly clear. Dolly is suddenly, resoundingly cut off from you, but only as long as she wants it. She could reach down and put it back on this very moment if she wanted. But does she?

***

Mirror

There’s a commotion elsewhere, but it doesn’t touch the dance floor. Marcina gives Mirror a look of commiseration for a brief moment, but you get a respectful distance. The music shifts to jazz. Slow and delicate, with a building crescendo beneath it. The band fills the dance floor with a melancholy bass, the slow building of drums, and a languorous piano.

And around you, mixing with the Hybrasilian delegation but keeping well clear of Adriana, are your family members, who have filtered in and are avoiding the rush to the hangar as well. Slates sipping a drink, Matty’s calmed down and is even speaking with excitement about something in her specialty that somebody got her talking about, and Kiriala is relaxed and watching your dance.

Isabelle
Family. That really is something. Whispered Promise has something she asked you. Does that reflect on your family, do you think?

Huntresses of Hybrasil

Solarel and Angela

They attack.

There’s a melee of chaos, and in it is a dance of love.

The two empresses are, for a moment, united. They each share a target, each move forward in their style: Voctine with her sharp, flashy advance and Nialkai with her graceful, flowing movements. But they share a direction and so they advance side by side. If it were just the two of them and Solarel, theirs would be an impossible temporary alliance to crush a shared threat.

But it is not just the two of them and Solarel. Their own retainers rush in a scrambled frenzy and so they must split like a mountain river striking the rapid rocks. Voctine slams an elbow into one of her own people, then quickly spins her before she can release the energy, causing a chain reaction of Zaldarians piled in a rush of sudden exhaustion. In the flickering lights, her body glows a sparkling energetic blue as her short dress and cape snap after her.

Nialkai ducks beneath the release of energy, the rustle of her dress like a breath of air, but then Angela is there spinning a stave and Nialkai is forced to raise her own energy blades to meet the challenge, stopping her momentum. She spins and her dress spins out and widely, brushing against Angela’s body with waves of sparkling gold and black. The force of her against Angela is like a rushing wave and it’s everything just to keep it from pulling her off her feet. But then it’s beautiful too, the stave sparks against the energy blades and Angela’s muscles glow in the golden reflected light of her dress and her body.

Solarel, what comes at you then is not a sharp attack of two united empresses, but a rolling chaos. Retainers first, pushing and shoving, some already charged up and radiating molten heat, others fresh and eager. And then Voctine will reach you first, the empress you so loyally served, who abandoned you, and yet just tantalizing out of reach are Angela and Nialkai and a whole other set of retainers dancing their way towards you.

This is the love of the steppe just for you, Varangian. The love of the whole self, of ten or twenty whole selves being poured out, shaping and rushing, stepping and twirling, all for you, all at your word, a Terenian shining as brightly as any Zaldarian amidst them. How do you manage to find yourself in the heart of this fight?

***

Dolly

“This isn’t fair” Valynia whispers into the ear that she’s biting, and you can’t tell whether she’s talking to you or to Jade. “I’m the kidnapper, I take what I want.” Her claw is digging into your shoulder blade in just the right spot, hand slipped beneath the cloak to touch you above the low-cut corset. The way you purr against her chest is filling her with a heat that you can feel through your cheek. “You’re not supposed to want it, you’re not supposed to invite it. To…to make this a fair game for both of us.” She tastes like sweat, and like wine, and like spice all together.

She shudders and it runs through you. Through all of you all the way down to the tip of Ksharta’s toes. “I haven’t felt like this since I was a girl on Terysil, since the first time I let someone…” she breathes through her nose, long and deep, and the tension floods out of her shoulders even as the claw digs deeper, deep enough to hurt in just the right way.

“I wasn’t supposed to love you…” and then she’s pressing and she’s pressing, and her hands are at the edges of the corset and her tongue runs along the exposed neck below the headdress woven into your hair, her face working its way through the soft fur. And as she takes, you hear her whisper, so quietly “are you sure this is what you want?”

***

Isabelle and Mirror

“Do you see what my dress-maker has offered me?” Angela asks, speaking to Isabelle as she twirls, audible to Mirror, audible to Marcina Villajero, hovering nearby, hooked into the role of chaperone for the evening, too responsible to fully entrust her charge to someone else once Adriana started leaning on her.

“At the greatest international political event of the cycle, no Hybrasilian would dare approach me for I am a gift to the gods. Nor can I make a daunting approach myself, their nectar makes me far too unsteady. The Zaldarians are…” she gestures, and from the swirls above you, you can see the flashing of lights and the glow of energy releasing over your head. The world moving above and around you in a dazzling display, unapproachable without violence. Do you remember the heat you felt from Solarel in that moment? An unconventional fire.

“And every Terenian who supports me finds themselves a little muddled before long. I appreciate your little drones. That’s the sort of preparation that makes you something special. But I don’t want the challenge removed. I don’t want it bypassed, I don’t want to be cheated out of it. I want to face it head on, to make everything I can from it. That’s my heart, you see. That’s the truth I’m living tonight. You need to have a heart because if you close it off for the sake of power, you’ll get lost and never find what you’re looking for.”

She looks at Mirror as the dance comes to an end. “Thank you for answering me Mira of the Fisher Clan, whose star name is Whispered Promise. I look forward to your match with Marcina when you have it. I’ll be sure to have a rose sent to your hangar as a token of good luck. I hope you enjoyed my attempts at education. I want this…kitten you’d call her, to stop running from herself.”

She grins and extracts herself from your arms Isabelle, Marcina quickly coming to help her balance. Marcina will lead Adriana gently into the next dance, offering a grin for Mirror herself before they separate. Leaving Mirror and Isabelle for their dance.

Huntresses of Hybrasil

Mirror and Isabelle

Adriana Teresio, held up again, a breeze cutting across her dress and ruffling the flowers, looks at Isabelle first.

She says nothing though, not at first. First, she slides a hand up your arm, Isabelle, to the control device and tap taps expertly, causing all three drones to gently float back and withdraw themselves.

She looks up at Isabelle’s face then, conscious despite her swoon that frozen on the dance floor, she’s garnered quite an audience, including a Hybrasilian who’s slipped among the dancers to come up close and inspect them.

“I am…more than okay. I thank you for your concern, Isabelle, though you’ve misconstrued what I needed. Even so, your preparation is damn impressive. If those are in production, I’ll take a hundred thousand of them, and if they’re not, where would you like your factory located?” she smiles, showing you her teeth, and she is not joking.

“Bold of you to show them off in this party though. I see our new guest has taken a keen interest. You there…”

Mirror, she turns to look at you, using Isabelle’s weight to move herself safely down to be level with your eyes. It’s clear that even though the nectar was briefly kept away from her head, the effect on Terenians is lasting and so she didn’t so much sober up as hold steady there for a moment. Her eyes don’t look clouded though, in that the effect is somewhat different from drunkenness. It seems instead to have affected her balance and her inhibitions. Perhaps some indication of the Terenian brain structure that it offers her clarity of speech rather than the unique vision that it offers to Hybrasilians.

“Mira Fisher, yes? The one who goes by Mirror, an undefeated pilot, hmm, I think at least, you expressed discontent with your last match. It seems I’ve attracted quite a few experts with unusual control structures tonight. But I have a different question for you. You’re the first Hybrasilian who’s approached close to me tonight. Might that be because my dress has as much of an…unusual effect on them as it does on me?”

There are several people listening to this with curiosity. But you can see in her eyes that what she wants to know is the intention behind this dress, not merely a passing curiosity of differing cultures. She wants to be sure that the challenge wasn’t simply a mistake so that she can fully enjoy herself.

The lights flicker as movement and violence play out beneath your feet, in a wider arch of the crystal spiral, but here the dancers are hanging on you.

***

Solarel and Angela

There’s a crash when the table goes, and the lights flicker as other Zaldarians slam into the walls and unleash a cascade of energy. The room shakes, but the fighters still. Even Angela, who’s about to gleefully throw a punch at a royal retainer notices the changed expression and stops.

Voctine and Nialkai both stare, recognizing you instantly. Then they both turn to each other.
“Usurping bitch, did you put her up this?!”
“Fallen Queen, what game are you playing?!”

They speak at the same time to each other. Voctine sweeps a hand past her ear, letting her short cape flare and stretching her glowing shoulders in the flickering darkness. Nialkai raises herself up, gathering all the substance and height her lavish outfit can offer her.

Around them, their retainers are looking to them for a cue about what to do, and looking to you to see what you’ll do. At first, it seems like with all the posing and posturing that they’ll fall back into bickering. But after the first round of insults spoken at once, they’re both looking at each other.

Then they look at you and there’s a different sort of greed in their eyes. “First one to bind her will be crowned an imperial knight!” yells Nialkai, and “whoever seizes her will be first of my house when I reclaim the throne!” shouts Voctine.

Angela is smiling gleefully, her opponent cast aside as she looks for an opening to take a swing at your herself. And above you, blurred through they crystal, a crowd of its own freezes to hang on the words of Mirror and the most powerful Terenian woman.

***

Dolly

You’re in a private side room in an inner swirl of the crystal ammonite shell.

This is without a doubt one of the most overwhelming experiences you’ve ever had, but the thing that you may, perhaps, be remarking on, is that this is working.

Valynia does not purr, but she has a quiet roar, a deep-throated rumbling within her as your hands make their circles. She revels as she takes the gags from Jade and shares that feeling back into the circle, pulling on Dolly even as she herself is touched and pressed in all the right places. There’s a shared feeling of relaxation and joy and Valynia herself is like a furnace, taking in fuel and outputting more and more heat.

Outside of you, the light of the stars and the lines of empires converge, but before you is nothing but gray and black speckled fur and a long tail wrapping around and around your legs as all hands are too busy to hold.

And blessedly, joyously, underneath it all is an undercurrent of relaxation, the release of tension, as someone ducking under a table Ksharta feels Jade’s touch as well and relaxes and lets herself enjoy the show.

Huntresses of Hybrasil

Solarel

Solarel, the intensity of your gaze burns where it lands. It’s impossible for anyone to endure it unmoved.

Matty can’t handle it on her own. She’s soft and gentle and very shy, and when you look at her like a predator, she doesn’t feel safe. She clings to Mirror unconsciously, taking the offered arm without even being aware she’s doing it. Her eyes never leave yours so long as you have her attention. You’re like a cobra that has hypnotized her, every instinct in her body says she dare not turn her attention away lest she react a millisecond too slowly in the moment you strike. When she is held, and safe, this turns to a fascination. You can see it in her, that she’ll be going back over that gaze in her mind, tumbling it around from every possible angle, trying to understand everything that happened until she’s forced to turn her brain off entirely from the overload.

Kiriala, well we’ll get back to her in a second.

Slate stares back. She’s an engineer of a different stripe from Matty and you can see in her gaze the determination that could support someone like Mirror for a long time. She stares and bores into you, and someday maybe there’s a new battle of wills to be had there. It’s one that couldn’t be had in a mecha because Slate can never match you in that. But perhaps this is the first time it might have occurred to you that someone could match your will without matching your power.

Back to Kiriala though. When you gave her your gaze, she didn’t move. She wasn’t scared or frozen in place, but she averted her eyes, blushed, made it seem like you’d complimented her. So you turned your attention to Slate. And it’s only then that you see Kiriala come up to you and steal a kiss in the only way one possibly could from you. No request for consent and no hesitation. She took your gaze for an invitation, right or wrong, and she walked up and now she brushes her fangs across your cheek with the lightest pressure. “You’re everything she said and more” she whispers before turning away.

And then, at last, the external world forces its way in and breaks the silence. At first, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly. The murmuring of a crowd that’s different than the regular murmur, the vague feeling of a group all reacting to something specific. Then the lights cut for a moment, and as the movement surges closer to you, you hear the sound of shrieks that can only be the former and current empresses of Zaldaria having it out with each other. The crowd is gathering around them and its inexorably going to pull you in as well.

***

Mirror

You find yourself holding a very distracted Matty as everyone’s attention starts to shift away from the entrance at last and the spell of Solarel’s eyes is broken. And indeed there is the matter of the two empresses.

But you may also see another thing of interest. Adriana, intoxicated by your flower dress, deeply engaged with Isabelle, that unusual troubled pilot, who seems indeed to be manhandling your beautiful sacrifice’s dress to her own disadvantage. They’re dancing above you, visible through crystal spirals, and it would be little trouble for a Hybrasilian to slip through the Empresses crowd to reach them.

***

Isabelle

Adriana absolutely loses her balance when you pull her. It very nearly topples you as well. Your own balance wasn’t as good as you thought. Or…maybe drunk wasn’t the right word for what was going on here because holding her this close through the dance, you’re starting to feel a little woozy yourself.

It might be a good thing though. Less inhibitions to throw your brain into disarray. Enough to let you start thinking with your own brain and not your mother’s paranoia.

Adriana Teresio isn’t an unknown quantity, after all. She’s made hundreds, maybe thousands of public appearances across Terenian space and into Hybrasilian and Zaldarian space. The woman is known for being fearless and flamboyant. Nobody, literally nobody, has ever reported her a drunkard, nor the sort of actor who’d play one. She’s an actor, yes, absolutely, she knows how to play a public persona and she’s leaning into this one, but it’s patently obvious to someone like you, who’s supposed to have obsessively studied the woman, that this wasn’t her decision. This is something that happened to her and she’s playing the role she was handed rather than the role she wanted.

This is important background information because you’re trying to figure out what she wants from you in a situation where she’s obviously intoxicated in some manner against her own intentions and she nevertheless came up to you and cut in. Stop thinking with paranoia for a moment. This isn’t a five-D chess thing, Isabelle. This is a first order optimal strategy given a set of limiting constraints: or in other words, she’s sincere in what she’s saying.

Stop and take that in. You wanted her attention all along, isn’t that right? Destined to become her protege. And congratulations, you got it! And now she’s telling you that you were in the midst of blowing it and she’s trying to help.

You ever see someone stuck on a tricky math problem or trying to build something and you know how to do it way better than they do? Like you’re watching them handle the screwdriver and you can see that they’re about to strip it? Where you know that you could help and you have the overwhelming urge to step in before they fuck it up because you know at a level of deep empathy how stupid they’re about to feel? That’s Adriana, you’re the one about to ruin the screw.

She responds to your last comment, about making enemies, it takes her that long to regain her balance. “I’m telling you that you can be better, child. You can. You’ve shown that spark, but you keep crushing it.” She shakes her head, then nearly falls into you again from the dizziness that causes and everything is the smell of roses for a moment.

Let us be further clear. This is a moment when Adriana Teresio is going to determine what sort of person you are. If you can’t break out of Almira’s mold now, you’re done with Adriana forever. Even if you win the whole tournament. You can wish for her job, but you can’t wish for her trust. That’s beyond the power of material wealth and the greatest technology that has ever existed.

Now tell Adriana honestly, what do you love most, Isabelle Lozano?

***

Dolly

This is fun, right? Jade’s right there with you (sort of, she did need to give Angela her undivided attention, but you’ve still got your sleeve on and you know Jade will be right there with you any second). And that makes it okay that Valynia is back. This time you can seduce her properly! With Jade’s help and encouragement!

So it’s not a problem when her warm spotted fur suddenly fills your face and covers your mouth, muffling your meep of surprise. It’s not a problem how strong Valynia’s perfume is and the way it seems to wrap all around you through her loose dancing dress as she presses you into her body and against its folds. It’s not a problem that they’re pulling you deeping into the crystal spiral, into side rooms that can’t be seen from the main corridors. None of these things is a problem because you’ve got Jade with you, and Ksharta and Angela, and you can feel everything and – oh goddess is Angela into the Empress fight? Oh gosh she’s totally into the empress fight, she’s loving every second of this and you’ve left her unsupervised and you can feel her intensity through the bond in combination with everything that’s happening to you and Ksharta’s growing awe!

Angela

You have to duck when they throw the first punch. Well, it’s not really a punch, you know how to throw a proper punch and Zaldarians don’t do that. It’s more of a push, coming from the empress with the shorter dress and cape (she’s the old one, you think) into the one with the long dress. It’s just, when that happens the one with the long dress pushes back only…it’s not a push, it’s like she shoves with her chest energy, which is a thing Zaldarians can do, you guess?

And it definitely doesn’t seem like either of them are listening to you, but they did both grin when you offered to let them get back to it, which you didn’t really understand until this very second when the empress in the longer dress turns the force of that Zaldarian energy away from her Zaldarian opponent and hits you full blast. “Wouldn’t want to cause a diplomatic incident, you see” she smiles, and there are sharp teeth in her smile and the glow of her shoulders still faintly hanging in the air as she moves, seeming perhaps a little brighter. “But of course, when that pathetic bitch comes for another round, I will appreciate your fine support!”

But before you can do anything, there’s a tug from the short-caped empress, who has grabbed your arm and is pulling you away from the long-dress one. “Don’t let that usurping bitch get the better of you, you’ve got us going which clearly means you support me!”

So now they’re fighting over you and Ksharta is very extremely neutral right now actually and Dolly is gone because of the pirates you so helpfully directed towards her while Jade races her attention off that way. But that does mean there’s nobody else who’s in your corner at the moment.

Jade

This sure is a lot, huh?