Dark cellar. Small form. Encaged. Two forms.
One. North Rekordian accent. Tall. Masculine. Settling a debt.
He was that debt.
Two. Small. A beautiful, but unaccented, voice. Slight as shadow. Eyes like emeralds, and, from behind, a
giant eye, splitting that murky void. She succeeded in something. She was working for someone. She needed
him for something.
Goetia will fall.…
Oh, this was exciting! Did all Adapa possess such curious memories? What was Goetia? A person, a place, an event, a
star? He had lost his smile, that thin smile that surfaced from cruelty and obsession, but his eyes were still alight with a brilliant curiosity. There was no reason for him to record this on his notebook, not when he had seared that misplaced memory into his brain, not when he knew not how dangerous this knowledge that he came across was. How much did Principal Raja know about these Adapa? He’d have to do further research, see what the libraries of this Academy contained. But for now…
He turned to face the scarlet-eyed grand caster. “Will and determination are inconstant things. I’d rather not test those qualities.” A lie, in truth. The Strigidae was, at the very least, self-aware enough to understand just how stubborn and set in his own ways he truly was, as a mortal upon Castalia. And in that same vein, he was aware too, that of the Sword or Shield, it mattered little where he was placed. Binary divisions were nonsensical in nature. The metaphor of sword and shield itself fell flat. What was the worth of a shield if it couldn’t be used to keep others out? What was a sword if it did not extend one’s reach? There was knowledge and faith, dwelling in every culture and civilization. Rekordia’s Clockwork Empress had fostered a nation of those who subsisted only due to the benefits of science, and yet in turn, she had cultivated a religious fervor that placed herself as an idol worthy of worship.
And, that motto…
Well, he was no hero, nor was he kind, but Otis could be stalwart, at the very least.
With the meeting adjourned, the Strigidae left his seat, casting a glance over to the Mannekins that arrived to take them off to their new place of residence. Ciara had sat beside him, and he turned towards her, a flicker of interest forming with regards to how her own Adapa had meshed with the deep darkness that dwelt within her Ethos. Did she consume it, like a star tossed to the void? Or did she let it shine still, so that she still had something to guide her in the night? A touch poetic for his tastes. There were greater matters to settle.
“I will join the Sword of Wund.” The qualities the factions championed mattered little to him, but their names held weight enough.
“Many others will join the Shield of Leuvalt.” There was no doubt in his tone there, nor any hesitation as he lifted his gaze and turned it towards that red-haired princeling upon his throne of gold.
“Because you will join the Shield of Leuvalt.” Because if Valen was as great as he proclaimed himself to be, he would be the perfect whetstone to sharpen Otis’s tools against. And if, out of contrarian desire, that princeling chose to align himself with the Sword instead? Then that too, informed greatly upon his character.
“If you wish to extend our truce, Ciara, join me.”That was all he had to say as Otis strode off, leaving with a final remark towards that paladin, smoking and bleeding upon the wood she sat.
“And you should seek to become a Shield yourself. We need both to shape this school.”Those last words lingered in his wake...at least until Otis suddenly turned back, strode past the trio of girls again, and held his hand out to Davil.
"You've made it into Wingram. So give me your boots."