Have some viewpoints from the three OC monks that might make them amenable to negotiation, or not, as the QM decides.
#Fanwork
Sesus Birabok was not a happy monk. He had long been displeased with the existence of his distant cousin Ulyssian. The lad was a mark of shame on the entirety of House Sesus, and that was felt by no one more than those born of the household that dealt with Sesus' political interests. He had fought long and hard for the realm, for the Elemental Dragons, and to have a member of his house so blatantly unfavored was a tremendous humiliation. A humiliation that was only made worse by the young idiot's refusal to hide his shame. He had considered quietly killing the boy in the past to remove the blight upon the House, but Ulyssian never seemed to quite cross the line into outright heresy.
Then had come the strange news at Calibration. It seemed that the shame of House Sesus was in fact a prodigy, and one who had been chosen by Hesiesh while young and shown such promise that the eccentric Admiral Zao had chosen him as a successor. The Immaculate Order did not truly approve of Zao, but he was a great servant of the Realm regardless, and being chosen by him was a tremendous honor. Sadly, it wasn't all good news.
It seemed that there was some doubt as to whether Ulyssian had truly exalted or not. There were accusations of Anathema being thrown around by a young hot head named Resolute Flame. What was more Ulyssian had continued to abjure his family during Calibration, and instead cleaved once more to Admiral Zao, as he had apparently been doing for years.
Now, here Birabok was facing an unfortunate situation. Either he and his Brotherhood would kill the boy, proving him an anathema, or the boy would kill them, proving his status as Zao's successor. Whichever outcome House Sesus would lose either him, or a young prodigy. Granted, said prodigy could be an anathema, but the information declaring him as such was scanty, and his accuser had a negative history with Ulyssian. Then there was the swiftness with which his Brotherhood had been dispatched, it was suspicious as well. Sesus Birabok found himself almost wishing for an alternative to bloody combat. He did not like the feeling.
Nellens Ta was bemused. She wasn't sure quite what to think. Ever since she had been chosen by Sextes Jylis her life had been... odd. Life as a Dragon-Blood within House Nellens was somewhat atypical by Realm standards. They had a place of honor, but it was not the same as the other houses. It was that strange dichotomy that had eventually driven her away from her House and into the arms of the Immaculate Order. They were said to stand above the bickering of the Houses and meant to protect the Realm and Creation as a whole from all that would imperil it.
She had seen many things in her time as an Immaculate Monk, some beautiful, others terribly, and many both. She had always kept up with her former House, however far she had traveled it did not do for a tree to forget its roots. That was how she had first heard of Sesus Ulyssian. Her status as a member of a Perfected Brotherhood of Immaculate shikari had given opened connections that would have otherwise been closed. She had not known what to think of Sesus Ulyssian. He was apparently a mortal who had defeated that fool Benan single handed. A mortal defeating a dragon-blooded was unheard of, and possibly blaspehemy, but Benan was known for his own foolishness in that regard so she had taken the matter as a wash, and not expected to hear of Ulyssian again.
When her contacts within House Nellens had told her the House was after him as a possible husband to the heir of the house she had been of two minds about it. Her training as an Immaculate disdained mortals and their works, but she had been raised as a member of House Nellens, and she could understand why the young mortal would be attractive to them. Ultimately, it hadn't been any of her business though, unless and until something dire happened.
Sesus Ulyssian's exaltation as a Fire Aspect was apparently that dire happening. The accusations leveled by Resolute Flame were serious. The idea that an Anathema could be present at the heart of one of the Realm's most important institutions was terrifying. Even if Flame struck her as a hothead and a fool, and a cursory examination of his history showed great reason for him to hate the young Sesus, the accusation must be treated with due concern. That was why her Brotherhood was here.
Ta did not know whether this was the right course or not, but it was needful to determine the truth of Sesus Ulyssian, and she would do just that.
Ledaal Elaneef was not bored. As a child of House Ledaal she rejoiced in that lack, unlike some brutish Dragon-Bloods she could name. Though, it could perhaps be wished that the interesting things were not ones that threatened the stability of the Realm. She knew all too well that the current state of things was teetering most unstably. The solid bedrock of House Tepet had been destroyed, and the recent threat of the Deathknights showed that Creation and the Realm at its center were anything but safe and secure.
To find an accused Anathema in the heart of the Realm in this manner was worrisome indeed. It showed that things were even less secure than she had thought. Elaneef did not quite think that such a thing warranted the presence of a full Perfected Brotherhood though. And the manner in which they had been ordered to resolve the issue was unnecessarily violent. Surely things could be dealt with in a more reasonable fashion! This WAS a place of great influence in the Realm after all, and battle was not the only way to prove ones virtue. This conflict could shape the minds and thoughts of all who viewed it.
Elaneef would not have the Immaculate Order thought of as thugs. They performed a valuable service to the Realm, and were far more than mere fighters. True, that was a large part of their work, but they also helped to set precedent across the Realm and interpreted the wishes of the Immaculate Dragons for all those that lived there. Too often in these days of dissolution had she found herself dismissed for her status as a Monk rather than revered. That it had happened at all was a disgrace upon all of the Children of the Dragon.
She had not heard of Sesus Ulyssian before her Brotherhood had been briefed for this mission, but the information had painted a somewhat odd picture to her. His actions as a putative mortal were somewhat objectionable, though his defeat of that embarrasment Cynis Benan was much appreciated. That idiot needed taking down a peg or ten, and the whole Order knew it. Elaneef was inclined to believe the best of him just from that.
Still, the dangers of an Anathema in the Imperial Naval Academy had to be addressed. She would prefer to deal with things in an intelligent manner, but it seemed that insert Earth Aspect's Name would have his wish for combat granted. A pity, there were other means available to the Immaculate Order than main force and it would have been pleasant to use them here, for all the Realm to see.
Word count 1248