Fate / Stained Inheritance

-Freedom

Even as you feel yourself being pulled to the brink of unconsciousness, you cling to the doorway, forcing yourself to stay awake. You can still taste that brief moment of freedom, the dry air of the archives on your face as you sprinted away. And you're so far away from the Clock Tower now. So close to freedom.

You can almost feel the air on your face again, a cool breeze of pure clean air. And as you think that thought, the burning nail in your chest begins to cool, it's fire fading to a pleasant warmth. Then, it bursts, sending a spiderweb out from your chest, and through your body. Looking down, you can see a faint glow from under your skin, following the pulse of warmth as it spreads into you. As the glow reaches your hand where the shocking feeling was, crimson light flares up, shaping itself into a pattern of angular lines that run up your forearm.



As the marks form, your heartbeat pounds even louder, and you manage to pick yourself up enough from the floor somewhat, your hands magnetised to the sigil. As they touch the silver sigil, you find yourself beginning to chant, something you've never heard before, but each word as natural as breathing, the sigil and the glowing spidercracks under your skin pulsing in time with your heart.

"Beat. Relax. Beat. Relax. Beat. Relax. Power flows with the motion of life. My soul cries out and yours calls in answer. My will gives you form, my fate tied to your blade. If you would heed the call of the grail, then know that I will become your good, to drive out all that is evil. O seventh heaven clad in the three words of power, come forth, keeper of the scales!"

As you finish the chant, there's a blinding flash of light, dazzling both you and the pair of bodyguard types who were advancing on you. And as you blink away the dazzle, a long, drawn out whistle fills the hold, as you realise that someone is standing in front of you.

Amber eyes above a joyful smile, matching the highlights at the tips of her fluffy, ember-red hair that reaches down to her shoulder blades. A slender, toned body, wearing a pair of simple wooden geta sandals and a plain white hakama worn low and crudely hacked off just above the knees. Above her abs, a sarashi worn under a loose wrap of blue cloth around her shoulders and chest, with a small, dark, lacquered leather breastplate covering from her ribs up. A bronze wristband adorns her left arm, with a beautiful blue opal set into it, carved into a smooth egg.

Tapping her feet against the ground, she glances around the hold, her eyes fixing on the brand on your hand. Reaching down, she effortlessly snaps the chain of your handcuffs, crushing it between two fingers.

"Servant, Ruler." She says with a laugh. "Stand, my master. Chains are a poor fit for one who summoned me."

As she helps you to your feet,you see motion out the corner of your eye; one of the bodyguards has recovered from the glare of light, and draws a gun from it's holster.
As he fires, the woman in front of you, Ruler, moves, so fast it's hard to see her as anything but a blur. She's standing in front of the bodyguard, one hand curled into a fist. With a playful smirk, she opens her hand, letting the bullet clatter on the ground in front of the stunned guard. And then, she strikes, bone cracking as a pair of effortless finger jabs crack into the mans wrists, sending him screaming to the floor.

A panicked yell from behind you, as the second bodyguard throws his gun away and starts slamming on the far door. "SIR! DR LAINUR! LEO! HELP!"

Ruler sighs, before kicking off a sandal, dextrously grabbing the downed bodyguards collar between her toes, before elegantly sending him flying across the room into the other guard with a spinning hop, slipping her foot back into the sandal as she lands.

As Ruler lands, the far door opens, a pair of men entering.

"Master, just what have you brought here?" The first one says in a gentlemans voice, hastily putting himself in front of the other. He's a man at the end of his middle ages, with piercing eyes, a well trimmed beard and short, cropped badger-coloured hair. He's wearing a pair of reading glasses, a blazer, suit trousers and a smoking jacket, all underneath a heavy longcoat. One hand holds a sharpened wooden cane, the other hand carrying a pistol crossbow. He's dangerous. You're not sure why, but you know that he's dangerous.

The other man just stares in shock and horror. "I- NO, THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING- Caster, what do you mean?"

He's outraged, voice shaking as he leans forwards on an antique looking cane, a similar set of glowing brands on his right hand. He's even older than caster, with the straggly remains of once rich hair running down over his deep brown suit, a bald patch clearly visible on top. As you meet his dark, near-black eyes-

B̀҉̵o͢҉n̡͜y ҉b͢l̛͠ą̶͜c̢k͟ p͞l̢̛at̡̧e͏̀͢s̡ ͘g͟ri̧n̸͜d̴ ̀҉a̸̵cŕ͜o͜͏̵śs ̷̢eąc̢͟h̛҉̸ ̧o̧͟t̸̢h͏e̡͡r͝,̧ ̶̡̀śh͏̨i̸̧͝f̨͘t̨̀͟i̶̧͜n̡̛͝g ̸͡t̛͟o̷͞ ̢̛expo̸͞s̴e̸̸ ̕͜v͠ąl͏le̶ys̵ o̡͡͝f̵̢́ ̨f̢̕͠l͢e͟s͡h̴̵ .̷̀

̛͝Ş̧̕om̀͞e̸̛͞t҉͜h͞i͟͠n͠g҉͘ ͘i̴͝s̷̷͟ ̶͠͠w̛҉ą́t̶̕͝c͡hi̛n̶g̶̡

-You blink, a killer headache sending you reeling as Ruler places herself between you and them.

"Well well, you don't seem like that much of a bad sort. Caster, then? I don't suppose you'd let my master go?" She asks, her voice casual even as she visibly tenses.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT- THEY'RE MY PROPERTY!" The older man yells, cutting off anything caster would say. "Caster, get her!"

Ruler sighs, glancing back at you. "Well then, Master? Your orders?"
[] Take the offensive
[] Retreat
[] Just panic

-Take the offensive.

You don't know what's going on. All you really know is that this Ruler is asking you what to do, and the old man- Lainur, the guards were saying, just told this Caster guy to go for you. You're not going to just let them get you. You're going to get them first.

"Attack!" You yell, Ruler offering a smile in respose.

"Not one to let them just take you, are we?" She humms appreciatively, before charging at Caster, crossing the distance to where he stands outside the doorway in an eyeblink, opening with a flat palmed strike that Caster just manages to block with his cane, the impact forcing him back an inch. Caster instantly follows up by taking a stab with the cane and a bolt from the crossbow, to no avail; Ruler sidesteps the stab and catches the bolt, snapping it between her fingers.

"Can't you see what that is?" Caster asks, stabbing his cane down to knock away a series of low kicks from Ruler, taking a glancing blow from the last in the series, forcing him to take a step back to keep his balance, as Dr. Lainur raises his cane, firing a short beam of silver light at Ruler. She doesn't even attempt to dodge, the beam splashing harmlessly off her skin as Caster racks his crossbow down something on the inside of his coat to quickly reload.

"I know that she is my master, and that she isn't an evil person." Ruler replies, continuing her offensive. The pattern of the fight is obvious by now; Caster is simply outclassed. Ruler is faster and stronger than he is, meaning the only time he's able to make a counterattack is when his crossbow is ready to strike twice at the same time. And until he's had the precious second to do so, he's entirely on the defence.

The only thing keeping Caster in the fight is the doorway he's standing in, forcing Ruler to attack from a fixed spot. But even then, each glancing hit he takes and block he makes forces him backwards. It's only a matter of time now until Ruler can get past him. Lainur might be chanting a lengthy incantation, but Ruler will be through Caster before he's done.

A̷̢҉ ͜h҉e̷a͏r͢͞t̷͠ ̨b͞͞e̵̶at̶ş̸͜ ̸a̴n̸̡d̶̕ ̛b͘͟͜o͘͜͞ǹ̢̕e͜ ̸s̡͝͏h̛͝i͏f͠t̸̨̀s͠,̸ ̀a̸ ̡g̡̨ap̶̀͏ ǫ̀͟p̴̨͏e̵n̶̴i̷̕ng̛̕͝ ͢͞b̶̛͜ȩ̕t̨̡w̕͟e̛e͜͝n̵͜ ̢̢͠ç͠ą͝ŗa̸p̀a҉͟c̕e̵͡d̨ ̸͘p̶͡l͘҉a͜t̷͜ȩs̀̀/́͞
̨
́Ì̵̴ń a ̛͝v̵̀͡allȩ͝ý͘͜ ͠ǫ̵́f̀͝ ̸f̢̨͡l̵̨̛e͘͠s͜h̡̛҉,̴̀ ͢á͝ ͜҉r̢u͟b̷y̶͡҉ ͡é̷̡y̧e̢͡ ͏̀͝op̀͢͟è͘n͏s͜,̧ ̕a̵͞ ̶̶͢c̡͜r̸͘̕o҉̴͟s̢sed͜͞ ̵̡p͠u͡p̴i͡l̨ f̛ơ̢̢cu̧ş̕s̛i̵n̴̶g͡.͏


Ȳ̴̷̧̫̞̬̝̖͍͍̝̼̪͐͌ͤ̎͑͐͑ͭͨ̚͝O̩̳̖͉͉̻̙̻̥̳͓̖͙͚͕̘̫͙ͧ͒͐̈̏̓ͮͩ͒̔̀̕͘͞Ṵ̺̖͈͚̬͔̭̣̮̯̗̱̺͖ͪ̄̅̂̑̈́͒͑ͬͤ̂̆ͨ͐ͬͮ̓͒͢͡ ̴̧͇̯̲̣̗͈̫͚̫̤͍͓̬̜̘̦̂͋̆ͯ̅̅͑͌ͣ́́͞Ç̘̱̞͚̯̟̼̦̞̤̤ͬ̿ͭͪ̊̊ͥ̌ͨ͟͞ͅͅA̵̴̛̞̺̝͖̹̳̖̞̹͓̟̣ͥͯͣͤ͊̈́̒̄ͭͣ̂̍͂̿ͫ́͝N̶̶̨̮̫̫͚͍̙̳̼͈̠̗̜̲̞̖͙͊͛̓ͥ̋ͣ̌ͫͤ̓ͯ̓̆̉͛̚͝N̷̡̢̛͓͈̦͉̹̉̓̓̍͆͑͋̽̿ͨ̉̄ͥ͗̓́ͯ̚O͑ͣ̄̔̋̌̈̃ͤ̅̉̒͑͊͠҉̢̜̭̬̖̱͚̝̙̝͈̪̳̼̙͇T̸̛̒̏ͤͭ̀̋ͪ̌̌͗̓ͪ̈́ͩ̃̆̅̽͟͠҉͙͔͕̥̜̪̠̮̦ ͪ͛̇͐͛̍ͦ̍́̃̒̍̇ͬ̍͆ͪͦ҉̶̶͏̩̗̭͓͚̘̜̮̼͍̗͖̹͎̻̤̲̩̰M̢̾̂ͦͫͤͬ͂̔͂̑̾ͩ̎̇͗̎̌̐҉̷̟͖̞̲͈̲̟͚͈͉̬̤͘ͅE̪̘̻̲̙̖̮͉͔͕̥̭͎̻͙̥͕ͮ̍̓́ͤ̈́̅͌͐͒̂̇ͯ͂̀̀́̚͜͞Ě̵̡̤͚̜̯̪̖̥̂̄ͮ̍̒ͪ́ͮ͒͝͡T͋͊̽ͧ͂ͧ͐͋̆̈́̃̓͋̽̚҉̛̭̱̳͙͈̮̫͔̤̰̘̙͡ͅͅ ̧̭͍̖͚̰̾͐ͭ͒͑͊͊̉̈́̄̒́̓͆ͣ̕̕͝I̢̨̺̲̻̬̪͌̿̀̀̂̊̿̊̓ͯͭ̈͗̈́̚͢͞Tͩͭͥͭͥ̂̏́҉̵̛͍̠̬̗̠̲̺͍͙̦̙̰̱̬͍̰̘͇͙́S̢̫͔̝̖͍͍͈̅͋ͣ̓̅ͤ͊ͦͧ̎ͬ͝ ̵̷̯͕̹̖̥̳̜̬͚͙̰̍̓̉ͥͯ̀̚G̷̴̘̺̗̝̭̞̈́͐́ͫ̽̊̎͛ͦ͗̿̋̃̏̀̀Ạ̛͉̰̗̻͍̙̦̭̯̜̟̽͂ͮ͗ͧͬ̀̔ͩ̋̒̃͜͞͡Z̵̵̧̧̙̱͍͖̑͌̓̆͋̈͗͂̎̏̆͌͘E̡̥̗̫̻̘̔̍̊̋͊̎̓̃̽͌̏ͧͩ͟


You frantically shut your eyes as a vice crushes your head, agony flooding your senses. Blinking them open to blood-tinted vision, you struggle to remain standing as Ruler staggers about. Caster doesn't wait to take advantage of the opening, a shot from his crossbow landing a solid hit in Rulers thigh. Rather than reloading, he drops the bow, and pulls a second one out from his coat, taking a shot at the other leg, forcing Ruler to awkwardly hop into the air; right into Caster's trap, as he brings his cane down in a two-handed strike, aiming right for where Ruler's foot must land, aiming to pin her to the ground.

You feel a tug in your chest as the strike comes down, feeling something more get drawn out of you as Caster's cane buries itself in the metal floor; A foot above the ground, fire flickers around Rulers hands and feet as she floats above Caster's strike, dropping to the ground as Lainurs chant reaches its crescendo. You feel faint as Ruler draws even more from you, the flames brightening in intensity as Rulers sandals crumble to ash.

Caster frantically wrenches his cane out of the floor as Ruler jumps at him, blazing hands in a clawed stance. Her first strike, a downwards diagonal, is blocked by the cane with a crack, before the second upwards strike finishes the V strike, shattering the weakened cane Staggering from the impact, Rulers good foot slams into Caster's gut, sending him flying backwards into Lainur at the exact moment he finishes his spell; the silver beam lances out again, far larger and brighter than before. His aim completely ruined by the impact, the beam bores a foot-wide hole through the side of the boat meters away from you as Lainur and Caster hit the wall together.

You grin triumphantly at Ruler's victory, then almost throw up as the world spins around you, blackness creeping into the corners of your vision. From ahead of you, you see a blinding flash of light as Ruler leaps back to your side, before a pair of deafening clangs ring out as she kicks out the hull panels damaged from Lainur's blast. Your balance fails you, and you fall forwards, before you feel something scoop you up. The last things you're properly aware of before you pass out are a cool breeze on your face and the sound of water beneath you, along with an incensed yell from behind you.


The first thing your eyes see when they open is a black sky, sprinkled with the faint glow of stars. A cool breeze blows across you, as you line back, your head resting on… something?

"Oooh, you're finally awake, Master." You feel a hand ruffle your hair, as Rulers face comes into your vision from… above? Behind you?

"Sorry about that, I must have used a bit more power than you could handle? Are you feeling okay? Anything hurt?"

It's at this point you realise several things. It's nighttime, you haven't eaten anything since this morning, you have a splitting headache and generally feel like shit, and you have no idea what's just happened in your life.

Which of those points do you address first?
[] Food
[] Health
[] General cluelessness
[] Write in