A New Flame (Corina)

[Altair Eleison]

I sighed, gently leading the blind girl back to our HQ, somewhat tired from what had just ensued, not to mention taken aback at how directly Caterina had welcomed a new member. In fact, embraced, was more like it.

But far be it for me to argue with a new comrade. As far as I was concerned, she had already proven herself, by the fight with that other mage. And she had potential, that I was sure of. I smiled at her, although, I knew it was in vain, as we reached to guild hall. I opened the door and led her in.

"Welcome to Oracle Phoenix, Ms. Lucifer." I led her to a table with a few chairs, and pulled out a chair for her. "It'll be a bit before Caterina joins us, and Raine, the only other member is on a mission. So take this time to relax. You deserve it." I said, untying my sword sheath and placing it gently on a rack on the wall, before sitting across from Corina myself.

A clock, on Caterina's desk, ticked rather loudly, in the silence, as I wondered what to talk about with this girl.

[Corina Lucifer]

For those of you who were not present earlier, allow me to recapitulate the incident that Sir Altair refers to. I was on my way to the Lord's Manor, to enquire as to the possibility of receiving assistance in my search for a guild to which I may offer my services. Along the way, I met Sir Altair, who, from what I understand, was on his way to the Lord's Manor to coax him into returning some ill-gotten wealth gained from unreasonably high taxes. Within a short period after that, we encountered the mysterious Silent Guide, whose name still escapes me as of now.

Little did I know that this seemingly routine leg of my journey to finding a guild was going to lead to more... complicated... events. In summation, the Silent Guide was not alone in his endeavour, which was apparently, to steal some money for his guild, the dirty rascals they seem to be. Leaving behind enough of the wealth for the people does not excuse the fact that they broke into the Lord's Manor and pilfered his vaults. Sir Altair and I engaged him, and eventually, two of his three comrades, in a battle I could not quite grasp fully, primarily because it had been settled long before it could reach any sort of true escalation.

Realizing that my options had dwindled from 'choose one from the Lord's doubtlessly many connections' to 'join this guild or find search once again in the next town', I decided that two years was a long enough time to wander as a Knight Errant. And that, my friends, is how I ended up within the confines of this Guild Hall, disarming as I allowed myself the humble luxury of lowering my guard, if only briefly. I detached the sword Danwyn and her faithful scabbard from from my belt, following Sir Altair's lead with the placement of the weapon on the rack.

"Please accept my gratitude for your generous offer," My breastplate and gauntlets soon followed, placed at the foot of the rack, where I hoped they would trip nobody. "It has been far too long since I had last slept without my sword by my side; at the very least, two years." I lowered the bag containing my belongings to the floor as I sat myself on the chair with a sigh. The greaves and sabatons would have to remain for now, so that I may at least be half prepared for any sort of engagement that might turn up by surprise. At this point, I cannot fully lower my guard until I am prepared to rest for the night.

Memories of once having been ambushed by Father's maidservant, Aurelia, while I bathed, came to mind. It was the night after a harsh day of training and a hearty dinner with the family. I had announced, quite pompously, now that I think about it, that I was proceeding to the bathhouse before retiring to bed. This was perhaps one of my greater mistakes. Just as I was about to fall asleep in the bath, having spent the past ten minutes relaxing and allowing my tightened muscles to loosen, an aggressor burst into the chamber, yelling obscenities at the top of her lungs in what I assumed to be an attempt to rattle me.

Suffice to say, the attempt was successful, and, taken aback by the abrupt intrusion, I was unable to reach for my sword - stored at a distance from my place in the hot spring - before she could snatch it. What ensued was a desperate move by an addled, naked, unarmed combatant to retrieve her weapon from a fully-armoured opponent who was taking full advantage of the element of surprise. In the end, the combined humidity, wet floor, and greatly unfavourable battlefield conditions saw me kicked down and lying, battered and bruised, and panting heavily as the unknown foe drew my own sword and pointed its blade against my neck. In response, I gave the harshest glare a blind person ever could in what I perceived to be her direction.

She merely cackled, informing me that I was glaring in the wrong direction. I did not plead for my life. I did, however, plead for that of my family, that she spare them from any manner of harm. It was me that she wanted, the squire who had failed her responsibility to protect the House Lucifer's honour. The aggressor cackled again, sheathing the blade and set it aside, I would assume from the confusion that was evident on my face. And that was when I heard my Father's voice. Shame and embarrassment quickly overcame me, and I scrambled back to the pool to hide my bare, beaten flesh from his hawkish, criticizing gaze, even as he explained the true nature of this 'attack'.

It was a lesson well-learned. Once I left the Castle on my journey to find a second guild, I never slept without faithful Danwyn by my side, nor have I ever let my guard down at any time of the day. More importantly, it was a lesson well-applied. I recall at least a dozen attempts on my life or purse while I slept, all foiled thanks to one night of madness in a chamber for relaxation and hygienic cleansing. "Tell me, Sir Altair," I smiled, starting up a conversation. Now that we were in the same position, so to speak, it was only proper that I learned more about him. "How did you happen upon this guild? Surely there must be a story behind the present circumstances."

[Altair Eleison]

I sat down in the chair across from her, letting my weight sink into the wooden object. I smiled at her, as she spoke, her elegant tone soft and gentle, completely the opposite of her clear magic ability and sword prowess, and spoke more of her physical appearance, which was that of a young lady, perhaps even one of a Baronness or Princess status. I leaned back, closing my eyes, trying to decide how best to explain.

"This guild, Oracle Phoenix, was created a little over a year ago, by a dear friend of mine, Caterina Firenze. She isn't much older than myself." I said, and caught myself, remembering she was blind. "For reference, I am seventeen years old. Anyway, she started it with me, and Raine, who is sixteen. Both Raine and I learned magic from Caterina, and we are some of the few in this village, who can use it. We also do what we can to protect it."

I sighed, leaning back, and closing my eyes again. "Speaking of that..." I looked at her, passing on seriousness, with my narrowed eyes, though she would only catch it from my voice. "...what you heard earlier, about me being a vigilante...keep that to yourself please. Raine and Caterina are unaware that I do that, and I intend to keep it that way, as long as I can." I sighed, again, crossing my arms. "We protect this village, as the orphans that were taken care of by the other villagers. And I take care of this village, by my means, to protect my sisters. You may not agree with it, but I'd like to keep it under wraps, as much as I can."

I looked at her again. "Anyway, other than us, well, there is no one else. Our guild is very small, recognized and legal, but small. This place only has three rooms, this room, the commons, and one room for you girls to sleep in, and one for me to sleep in." I looked over at the table, the familar clock of Caterina's ticking away slowly. "Caterina should appear at any time, so it's best to relax and get acquainted." I glanced back at her.

"And please, call me Altair. I don't like all those formalities. I'm sure Raine and Caterina will tell you the same too." I smiled. "So, tell me about yourself, Corina."

[Corina Lucifer]

A history of orphancy, parental abandonment. A plight so cruel as to deprive them of their first and greatest potential role models. O, that I am one of such fortune so as to have a family mostly intact! Octavian and Gracia, may they rest in peace, and greatly I loved them, yet they were not my parents. Cold as that may sound, and I most vehemently disagree with any who claim that siblings are insignificant, but it is the primary role of parents to care for those they brought into this world.

It is true that I have lost family. However, I had the fortune to have been raised by my parents, who, according to the order of life, took responsibility for their actions and gave me what I what I needed. It may have been awful to them, but who am I to judge from a brief retelling? True it may be that they suffered, did they also not have surrogate parents and role models to care for them? Could they even remember who their parents were? I was not one to probe so deeply into these affairs.

I had to remind myself, that though I now worked with them, I was still an outsider. A stranger who had no business poking into the pasts of others beyond what is necessary, at least for now. Perhaps in due time, I can enquire of Sir- ... Altair's, past more extensively, to probe his feelings with greater depth, but now is no such time. It has barely been a day since we met, and it would be most crass to break into his memories like a thief in the night. I shall wait for a latter occasion, when I need not worry about approaching this vault of the past by the front door.

"Darkness once engulfed your childhood, then," I sighed, turning to face the direction of his voice. "It is most admirable that you three banded together and overcame the crisis of orphancy with such fortitude. Disregarding the fact that you were deprived of parents in blood, you rose to the challenge and bonded with your surrogates and friends in a pact that is of the truly familial in all but birth." I crossed my arms, heeding his request.

I could sense just the faintest bit of urgency, insufficient to be called a threat, but certainly of the same calibre and class. As a vigilante, he is of truly good intentions, with a willingness to go beyond the boundaries of the law to fulfil them. I could relate, to the urges to bring about justice, but I cannot condone his methods. Nevertheless, though I cannot, and will not, justify his vigilantism, I can at least understand why he would resort to such things.

There are some elements in this society where the law, though written, is enacted poorly. Especially in cases such as this fief, whose late Lord was corrupt. Though I would not have disagreed with his opinion that the man deserved death, there is a legal way to bring about such an occurrence. It is called Capital Punishment. But enough of my self-righteous attacks on his methodology. Sometimes, people resort to such a crucible because there is no other feasible way. And I shall respect that.

"Know this," I cast my empty gaze as directly at his face as possible, using his breathing as my guide. It was not a glare, but something stern, nonetheless. "I do not, and will not, condone your activities. But for the sake of protecting the precious unity of your family, as the Morning Star is my witness, you have my word. They will not learn about this darker side of your life from me."

It did not make the burden any lighter, swearing upon the highest of the high, the most sacred of the sacred, the true guidance, the Morning Star. But it served its purpose. The meaning of my family's name, 'Light-bearer', refers to the light of the Morning Star, the eternal guide that keeps watch in the darkness of the night, and provides a beacon to follow in the dawn. It is a symbol and rite that has been passed down since we first received our name.

The identity of what higher power gave it to us, has been lost in the inky depths of the past. What records there were had been destroyed in the fire of 176, which also claimed the detailed books of the most ancient of my ancestry. Within a few generations, the oral tradition had been distorted, and the Morning Star had become a quasi-religious image, a godlike sentinel that was revered for reasons none of us can know. To swear upon this divine heavenly light is akin to swearing to a god. To break one's oath to it is eternal damnation.

"You have perhaps heard of my family, the House Lucifer." I leaned into the backrest of my chair. "If not, that is fine. It will only make my explanation easier, as I do not have to dispel any misconceptions that would have formed. It is an ancient and noble line of warriors such as myself, Mage-Knights who, aided by our knowledge and command of light most pure, seek to protect the needy and uphold justice where it is required, within the bounds of the law." My arms crossed. "But you ask not of my family; you ask of me."

I sighed, preparing to explain away. "To be brutally honest, it was not my ordinance within the family to become what I am today. That position is passed down only to the first-born, and I am the third of four. But ordinances dictated by man are petty and weak compared to those dictated by the heavens." My lips tightened as the imagery returned. "My older siblings, Octavian and Gracia, were killed in a horrid accident, leaving me the with no choice but to take up the sword."

"Please make no mistake. It is a great honour that has been bestowed upon me, and is by no means any sort of burden. Despite the fact that I had no grooming in the ways of chivalry, that upbringing having been given to the eldest, I strove to rise above my shortcomings. Along the way, I lost my sight to my own impatience, thus paying a great price for an important lesson. Some may consider it unfair, but impatience has claimed lives in the past. I consider myself fortunate that visual perception is the only thing I lost..."

"Upon the completion of my training three years ago, my family tasked me with assisting the nearby guild Shrike Teppelin in the quest to regain its lost glory. Once again, however, it would seem that the heavens had something else in mind. Not long after my admittance, it succumbed to its reputation of being incapable of subduing a rogue offshoot that became a Dark Guild, the nefarious Crimson Lotus. As such, to uphold my duty to the family, I packed my belongings and set out to find another guild whose noble goals I may assist. It took me another two years until I found you."

[Erza Scarlet]

(Altair's turn.)