So I got inspired to write this, don’t know how accurate it’s gonna be but it was interesting to write nevertheless. Everyone bear witness to the power of social Charms, and hopefully me not screwing up writing someone who’s meant to be a genius schemer. Motoyasu is probably less of a jerk than in canon? I dunno. I’m rambling. Enjoy, I hope ^^
XXX
Motoyasu’s thoughts were a lumpy stew as he left the castle, and for once, Malty’s sweet voice had no hope of distracting him. His mind was stuck on the duel, and Raphtalia refusing freedom, and whatever had gone on with Naofumi...he felt like he was trying to put together a puzzle when he didn’t have all of the pieces. Had he been wrong to demand that Naofumi let her go? Had she really been happy as a...slave? And what was with the Shield bursting into flames?
“Excuse me!”
A light voice broke through the crowd in the marketplace, and Motoyasu blinked as someone pushed through the crowd and approached him; a pale-skinned youth with short, dark blue hair and ocean eyes somewhere between blue and green, wearing clothes a good deal fancier than most of the others here. The boy (girl? Actually, they were too androgynous to tell, but Motoyasu was guessing male based on their short hair) smiled at him and politely bowed. “You’re Kitamura Motoyasu, right? The Spear Hero?”
“Er—” For a moment, Motoyasu was so taken aback by the newcomer’s presence that he didn’t say anything.
“I watched your duel,” said newcomer continued, not giving him a chance to get a word in. “And I agree with you. What happened back there—what’s still happening—is wrong. I was hoping we would meet up—quite fortunate it happened so soon.”
“Who are you, exactly?” Malty asked, with suspicion that didn’t seem entirely warranted.
“Well...” The stranger paused, ocean eyes flicking from Motoyasu to Malty and back again. “If it’s not too much trouble, could we talk about this in private? Just the two of us.”
Malty’s eyes widened. “Wh— B-but we don’t know you!” she argued. “You could be a spy, or an assassin, or working with the Shield Hero or—!”
“I can guarantee you, I’m none of those things. Especially not the third one.” The stranger’s smile dropped, and his voice grew venomous. “I would not be caught dead working with the Shield Hero.”
Motoyasu stared for a few moments in surprise...then shrugged and stepped forward. “I’ll go with you,” he said; the stranger didn’t look capable of hurting anyone, especially a Legendary Hero, and he definitely shared his disdain for Naofumi. But even aside from that, something about him felt trustworthy. Maybe it was the way he spoke, but he had this air about him that made you want to trust him...whether that was a good idea or not.
Motoyasu turned to Malty and said, “Wait for me, okay?” She frowned, but nodded.
The stranger smiled again. “Splendid. If you would follow me, please?”
XXX
As it turned out, “in private” meant “a small room in the inn, over tea”.
“Why tea?” Motoyasu asked as the stranger carefully poured him a cup. “Why not wine?”
“A few reasons,” the stranger replied, gingerly setting the teapot down. “For one, I prefer to be in full control of my faculties at all times. For another, it makes it much harder for someone to slip poison into your food when you are the one in charge of your food. But mostly...” He lifted his own teacup and took a long sip, then set the cup down with a click. “I much prefer tea to wine.”
It was a reasonable enough explanation, Motoyasu supposed.
The stranger folded his hands and rested them on the table, leaning in closer. “I suspect you have questions.”
“Uh—” Motoyasu blinked, and suddenly, the shadiness of this whole situation became very apparent. “Uh, yes, yes I do. Who even are you, and what do you want with me?”
“For your first question...” The stranger smiled at him, and though polite, it had a dark edge to it that sent a shiver down Motoyasu’s spine. “Tepet Novalis, Dragon-Blooded scion of House Tepet and Dynast of the Realm. Perhaps not the most wonderful place in the world, but certainly better than many of the alternatives...though given some of those alternatives include the Deathlords, perhaps that isn’t saying much.”
Motoyasu blinked. Several times. “I don’t understand half those words,” he finally said.
The corner of Novalis’s mouth twitched. “I’d have been surprised if you did. I am...not from around here. Or, indeed, any ‘here’ you may be familiar with.” He took another sip of his tea.
Motoyasu stared at him for several seconds—and then it clicked. “Wait, you’re from—another another world?!”
This time, the twitch became another slight smile. “Indeed.”
“I didn’t see you at the summoning—”
“Because I wasn’t there. I came later.”
“How?”
“I have my ways. More importantly...” The smile dropped. “Your second question. What I want from you. It’s simple, really.”
Novalis folded his hands again. “You saw how Naofumi’s shield burst into flames, right?”
“Uh, yeah. What was up with that?”
“Patience, I’m getting there. And you saw how he acted afterward, right? Full of what I’m sure he would call... ‘righteous’ fury?”
“...yes?” Motoyasu was pretty sure he didn’t like where this was going.
Novalis went silent for a long, long time. Then, he took a deep breath, and continued. “I have reason to believe that at least one of the...less agreeable spirits of my world has taken an interest in this one, and an interest in Naofumi specifically. The sudden power boost he got, after your fight...I fear it could well come from that spirit. And if I’m right, then this whole world is in terrible danger.”
All the color drained from Motoyasu’s face, and he gripped the table so hard his knuckles turned white. Naofumi was getting his powers from some— some malevolent spirit? A spirit from another world entirely?! He almost wanted to disbelieve it on principle, wanted to laugh Novalis’s words off as the ramblings of a crazy person, but— he needed to know more.
“D-does this—” His voice trembled, and he reached for his own teacup, lifting it to his mouth and drinking. The sweet, cool brew calmed him down slightly, and he lowered his cup to speak. “Does this have to do with those, uh, Deathlords you mentioned?”
Novalis watched him, face impassive save for a slight frown. “Close. But not quite.” He sighed. “I’ll need to give you some context for this—make yourself comfortable. I’ll shorten it best I can, but it’s still a long story.” He cleared his throat.
“Centuries ago, Creation—that’s the name of my world—was ruled by the Primordials. Tyrannical, cosmic beings that created the world, and proved quite cruel to their creations—both the gods, their less powerful children, and humanity. The gods couldn’t overthrow the Primordials themselves, so they empowered humanity to do so through Exaltations. Those chosen by the Unconquered Sun became the Solar Exalted, those by Luna the Lunar Exalted, and those by the Elemental Dragons the Dragon-Blooded—or Terrestrial Exalted, if you want to keep things consistent.” He slightly smirked at that last sentence, but quickly grew serious again.
“Some of the Primordials were slain; these became the Neverborn, bound to eternal sleep in the Underworld. Others surrendered; these became the Yozis, crippled and imprisoned in the hell called Malfeas. Two of them, Autocthonia and Gaia, sided with the gods, and were thus spared. With the Primordials defeated, the Exalted became the new rulers of Creation. Many things have changed since then, but the Exalted’s rulership remains consistent.”
Motoyasu was so spellbound by Novalis’s tale that he didn’t say anything.
“In recent years, though, something’s...changed. I haven’t any clue how it could have happened, but the Neverborn and Yozis are creating Exalts of their own.” The atmosphere seemed to shift to something darker and heavier. “The Neverborn create the Abyssal Exalted, servants of the Deathlords whose goal is to drag all of Creation into destruction. The Yozis create the Infernal Exalted...and I’ll admit to knowing little about them other than their name. But I do know this.”
Novalis’s ocean eyes seemed to bore into Motoyasu’s soul. “The Infernal Exalted are chosen from the ranks of those who have been beaten down and broken by oppression and injustice. The Yozis empower them, tell them to take their revenge...and, in the process, unlock a bottomless well of wrath.”
The cup slipped from Motoyasu’s hands, shattering against the floor. He barely noticed, though, staring at Novalis in growing horror. His mouth moved, but no sound came out.
Infernal Exalt. Naofumi. The puzzle from earlier was finally starting to make sense, though now Motoyasu was sincerely wishing it didn’t. Was that how he’d kept Raphtalia’s loyalty? Some kind of weird Exalt power? Could he do it to other people? To the rulers?! Could anyone actually stop him?! What if someone didn’t?!
“Hey. Hey.” A hand waved in front of his face, and Motoyasu blinked; Novalis had moved to stand next to him, looking at him with concern. “I put too much on you, didn’t I? My apologies.”
“I-it’s—” Motoyasu took a deep, shaking breath. “It’s fine,” he said, even though it wasn’t. “What...do we do?”
“Well, I need to gather my resources. Call on a few...favors, shall we say. Only a fool fights an Exalt alone, especially one like the Infernals. I also need to figure out who gave him the Exaltation, and what they want. In the midst of all of this, someone needs to keep an eye on Naofumi.”
Novalis’s light smile reappeared. “That is where you come in.”
“Me?” Motoyasu said, confused.
“Habit of thinking with the wrong head aside—” Motoyasu’s face flared bright red at that “—of all the heroes, you seem to possess the most sense. You’re the least prone to go groveling at the Exalt’s feet. Besides, you share my...dislike of his practices.” Novalis didn’t need to say what he was referring to; they both knew.
“So I’m asking you to watch Naofumi for me. Spy on him, essentially. Report everything back to me. Do your best to keep him from gaining too much power. I won’t blame you if you fail in that regard, it is difficult for a mortal to compete with an Exalted, but the first part cannot be overlooked. He can be defeated, but only so long as we know as much as we can about him beforehand—and that is what I’m asking of you.”
The smile seemed almost genuine now. “So, Legendary Hero—can I rely on your help?”
Motoyasu was silent for a few moments. The urge to say no—to run away screaming from the whole situation and never return, maybe find out whatever method Novalis used to get here and take it back home—was strong. If Naofumi truly had power once used to slay primordial deities, twisted for dark purposes, then could they really defeat him?
But something—maybe that same something that led him to challenge Naofumi to a duel for Raphtalia’s freedom—made him hold firm, and he stood up to look Novalis in the eye. “Absolutely.”
Novalis smiled again. “As I thought. Now, any more questions?”
“Uh—none that I can think of.” Motoyasu moved to start heading for the door. “Thanks for the talk, I should probably tell Malty—”
“You should probably not.”
Motoyasu stopped, turning to stare at Novalis in bafflement. “Why not?”
Novalis hesitated for a moment, then sighed. “Sit back down. We are going to have a talk about Malty.”
Spitefic: The Dragon’s Spear
XXX
Motoyasu’s thoughts were a lumpy stew as he left the castle, and for once, Malty’s sweet voice had no hope of distracting him. His mind was stuck on the duel, and Raphtalia refusing freedom, and whatever had gone on with Naofumi...he felt like he was trying to put together a puzzle when he didn’t have all of the pieces. Had he been wrong to demand that Naofumi let her go? Had she really been happy as a...slave? And what was with the Shield bursting into flames?
“Excuse me!”
A light voice broke through the crowd in the marketplace, and Motoyasu blinked as someone pushed through the crowd and approached him; a pale-skinned youth with short, dark blue hair and ocean eyes somewhere between blue and green, wearing clothes a good deal fancier than most of the others here. The boy (girl? Actually, they were too androgynous to tell, but Motoyasu was guessing male based on their short hair) smiled at him and politely bowed. “You’re Kitamura Motoyasu, right? The Spear Hero?”
“Er—” For a moment, Motoyasu was so taken aback by the newcomer’s presence that he didn’t say anything.
“I watched your duel,” said newcomer continued, not giving him a chance to get a word in. “And I agree with you. What happened back there—what’s still happening—is wrong. I was hoping we would meet up—quite fortunate it happened so soon.”
“Who are you, exactly?” Malty asked, with suspicion that didn’t seem entirely warranted.
“Well...” The stranger paused, ocean eyes flicking from Motoyasu to Malty and back again. “If it’s not too much trouble, could we talk about this in private? Just the two of us.”
Malty’s eyes widened. “Wh— B-but we don’t know you!” she argued. “You could be a spy, or an assassin, or working with the Shield Hero or—!”
“I can guarantee you, I’m none of those things. Especially not the third one.” The stranger’s smile dropped, and his voice grew venomous. “I would not be caught dead working with the Shield Hero.”
Motoyasu stared for a few moments in surprise...then shrugged and stepped forward. “I’ll go with you,” he said; the stranger didn’t look capable of hurting anyone, especially a Legendary Hero, and he definitely shared his disdain for Naofumi. But even aside from that, something about him felt trustworthy. Maybe it was the way he spoke, but he had this air about him that made you want to trust him...whether that was a good idea or not.
Motoyasu turned to Malty and said, “Wait for me, okay?” She frowned, but nodded.
The stranger smiled again. “Splendid. If you would follow me, please?”
XXX
As it turned out, “in private” meant “a small room in the inn, over tea”.
“Why tea?” Motoyasu asked as the stranger carefully poured him a cup. “Why not wine?”
“A few reasons,” the stranger replied, gingerly setting the teapot down. “For one, I prefer to be in full control of my faculties at all times. For another, it makes it much harder for someone to slip poison into your food when you are the one in charge of your food. But mostly...” He lifted his own teacup and took a long sip, then set the cup down with a click. “I much prefer tea to wine.”
It was a reasonable enough explanation, Motoyasu supposed.
The stranger folded his hands and rested them on the table, leaning in closer. “I suspect you have questions.”
“Uh—” Motoyasu blinked, and suddenly, the shadiness of this whole situation became very apparent. “Uh, yes, yes I do. Who even are you, and what do you want with me?”
“For your first question...” The stranger smiled at him, and though polite, it had a dark edge to it that sent a shiver down Motoyasu’s spine. “Tepet Novalis, Dragon-Blooded scion of House Tepet and Dynast of the Realm. Perhaps not the most wonderful place in the world, but certainly better than many of the alternatives...though given some of those alternatives include the Deathlords, perhaps that isn’t saying much.”
Motoyasu blinked. Several times. “I don’t understand half those words,” he finally said.
The corner of Novalis’s mouth twitched. “I’d have been surprised if you did. I am...not from around here. Or, indeed, any ‘here’ you may be familiar with.” He took another sip of his tea.
Motoyasu stared at him for several seconds—and then it clicked. “Wait, you’re from—another another world?!”
This time, the twitch became another slight smile. “Indeed.”
“I didn’t see you at the summoning—”
“Because I wasn’t there. I came later.”
“How?”
“I have my ways. More importantly...” The smile dropped. “Your second question. What I want from you. It’s simple, really.”
Novalis folded his hands again. “You saw how Naofumi’s shield burst into flames, right?”
“Uh, yeah. What was up with that?”
“Patience, I’m getting there. And you saw how he acted afterward, right? Full of what I’m sure he would call... ‘righteous’ fury?”
“...yes?” Motoyasu was pretty sure he didn’t like where this was going.
Novalis went silent for a long, long time. Then, he took a deep breath, and continued. “I have reason to believe that at least one of the...less agreeable spirits of my world has taken an interest in this one, and an interest in Naofumi specifically. The sudden power boost he got, after your fight...I fear it could well come from that spirit. And if I’m right, then this whole world is in terrible danger.”
All the color drained from Motoyasu’s face, and he gripped the table so hard his knuckles turned white. Naofumi was getting his powers from some— some malevolent spirit? A spirit from another world entirely?! He almost wanted to disbelieve it on principle, wanted to laugh Novalis’s words off as the ramblings of a crazy person, but— he needed to know more.
“D-does this—” His voice trembled, and he reached for his own teacup, lifting it to his mouth and drinking. The sweet, cool brew calmed him down slightly, and he lowered his cup to speak. “Does this have to do with those, uh, Deathlords you mentioned?”
Novalis watched him, face impassive save for a slight frown. “Close. But not quite.” He sighed. “I’ll need to give you some context for this—make yourself comfortable. I’ll shorten it best I can, but it’s still a long story.” He cleared his throat.
“Centuries ago, Creation—that’s the name of my world—was ruled by the Primordials. Tyrannical, cosmic beings that created the world, and proved quite cruel to their creations—both the gods, their less powerful children, and humanity. The gods couldn’t overthrow the Primordials themselves, so they empowered humanity to do so through Exaltations. Those chosen by the Unconquered Sun became the Solar Exalted, those by Luna the Lunar Exalted, and those by the Elemental Dragons the Dragon-Blooded—or Terrestrial Exalted, if you want to keep things consistent.” He slightly smirked at that last sentence, but quickly grew serious again.
“Some of the Primordials were slain; these became the Neverborn, bound to eternal sleep in the Underworld. Others surrendered; these became the Yozis, crippled and imprisoned in the hell called Malfeas. Two of them, Autocthonia and Gaia, sided with the gods, and were thus spared. With the Primordials defeated, the Exalted became the new rulers of Creation. Many things have changed since then, but the Exalted’s rulership remains consistent.”
Motoyasu was so spellbound by Novalis’s tale that he didn’t say anything.
“In recent years, though, something’s...changed. I haven’t any clue how it could have happened, but the Neverborn and Yozis are creating Exalts of their own.” The atmosphere seemed to shift to something darker and heavier. “The Neverborn create the Abyssal Exalted, servants of the Deathlords whose goal is to drag all of Creation into destruction. The Yozis create the Infernal Exalted...and I’ll admit to knowing little about them other than their name. But I do know this.”
Novalis’s ocean eyes seemed to bore into Motoyasu’s soul. “The Infernal Exalted are chosen from the ranks of those who have been beaten down and broken by oppression and injustice. The Yozis empower them, tell them to take their revenge...and, in the process, unlock a bottomless well of wrath.”
The cup slipped from Motoyasu’s hands, shattering against the floor. He barely noticed, though, staring at Novalis in growing horror. His mouth moved, but no sound came out.
Infernal Exalt. Naofumi. The puzzle from earlier was finally starting to make sense, though now Motoyasu was sincerely wishing it didn’t. Was that how he’d kept Raphtalia’s loyalty? Some kind of weird Exalt power? Could he do it to other people? To the rulers?! Could anyone actually stop him?! What if someone didn’t?!
“Hey. Hey.” A hand waved in front of his face, and Motoyasu blinked; Novalis had moved to stand next to him, looking at him with concern. “I put too much on you, didn’t I? My apologies.”
“I-it’s—” Motoyasu took a deep, shaking breath. “It’s fine,” he said, even though it wasn’t. “What...do we do?”
“Well, I need to gather my resources. Call on a few...favors, shall we say. Only a fool fights an Exalt alone, especially one like the Infernals. I also need to figure out who gave him the Exaltation, and what they want. In the midst of all of this, someone needs to keep an eye on Naofumi.”
Novalis’s light smile reappeared. “That is where you come in.”
“Me?” Motoyasu said, confused.
“Habit of thinking with the wrong head aside—” Motoyasu’s face flared bright red at that “—of all the heroes, you seem to possess the most sense. You’re the least prone to go groveling at the Exalt’s feet. Besides, you share my...dislike of his practices.” Novalis didn’t need to say what he was referring to; they both knew.
“So I’m asking you to watch Naofumi for me. Spy on him, essentially. Report everything back to me. Do your best to keep him from gaining too much power. I won’t blame you if you fail in that regard, it is difficult for a mortal to compete with an Exalted, but the first part cannot be overlooked. He can be defeated, but only so long as we know as much as we can about him beforehand—and that is what I’m asking of you.”
The smile seemed almost genuine now. “So, Legendary Hero—can I rely on your help?”
Motoyasu was silent for a few moments. The urge to say no—to run away screaming from the whole situation and never return, maybe find out whatever method Novalis used to get here and take it back home—was strong. If Naofumi truly had power once used to slay primordial deities, twisted for dark purposes, then could they really defeat him?
But something—maybe that same something that led him to challenge Naofumi to a duel for Raphtalia’s freedom—made him hold firm, and he stood up to look Novalis in the eye. “Absolutely.”
Novalis smiled again. “As I thought. Now, any more questions?”
“Uh—none that I can think of.” Motoyasu moved to start heading for the door. “Thanks for the talk, I should probably tell Malty—”
“You should probably not.”
Motoyasu stopped, turning to stare at Novalis in bafflement. “Why not?”
Novalis hesitated for a moment, then sighed. “Sit back down. We are going to have a talk about Malty.”