#loyalty oaths

[umbraastaff]

Occasionally, the Starblaster lands in a place that's actually receptive to their dire warnings. On one such world, with their society being accelerated by the Light of Creation, they even began making plans for how to combat the Hunger.

Barry goes to visit a convene a few months into the year, and finds them developing and honing skills they'll need to detect the Hunger - and to fight it when it arrives. To keep its destruction at bay until it follows the ship to the next planar system.

The skills they train are unlike anything he's seen before. Their healing appears as divine as any cleric's, but without the aid of gods - so cutting off the Celestial Plane won't stop their magic. And they fight, too, infusing that same magic into their weapons, powered by the force of their belief. They call themselves Watchers.

Barry trains with them, just the basics. They teach him how to draw power from the force of belief. From the memory of the Hunger consuming his world, and the promise that he'll do anything to stop it consuming others.

Anything.

Lup would do anything. He's sure. They're all incredibly fortunate to have someone like her onboard - someone who wouldn't ever let them destroy a world just to make this easier (and oh, he wasn't there, but he knows he would have been on Davenport's side about destroying the crystal).

He doesn't take the oath. He can see the way it codifies their belief into reality - the way it powers them, makes their souls divine. He wants to be that person, but he isn't. He doesn't put this foreign world above himself.

(But still, the magic takes to him. His senses sharpen to the Hunger's influence, letting him catch sight of the scouts without Blink. He can raise friends from unconscious mid-fight with just enough healing magic. He's dedicated, he believes, even if he won't commit and tie his soul to it.)

--

For a time, he leaves it there. There's so, so much to do and learn and see on this journey. He stays a level one rogue while Magnus trains up more dexterity and stealth, and he stays a level one paladin too, for now.

On Faerûn, Barry commits hard to an imperfect plan. And when he falls, already dead, from the ship, he already knows - on top of finding her - that he's going to have to defend it.

He's trapped in a cave for months at a time. The thing about plans is it doesn't really take three months to concoct one, no matter how granular he gets (and really, he needs to stop himself getting too detailed - it's hard enough getting his living self to follow basic instructions exactly how he wants). So he takes up other studies in the meantime.

He can't use weapons as a ghost, but he can practice the movements, ingrain the knowledge into pockets of 'muscle' memory. He's no cleric, but he can study their magic, see the ways their spells overlap with that training he underwent all that time ago.

He won't risk asking any god on Faerûn for help with the Raven Queen after him - he's not close with one like Merle is - but he already knows he can pull similar magic from inside himself. And some of the most basic spells look really useful, when he's only ever had wizard spells before.

Even when he doesn't remember, when he's just some guy who couldn't cast a spell to save his life, he feels it: the promise, the belief that drives him. He doesn't remember where he learned to fight, but he knows how to move a weapon like it's a part of his body. He knows when he's really, truly desperate, when his adventuring party of the week is on its last legs, his weapon glows with that fury and hits harder than it ever should otherwise.

--

He appears in his workshop feeling sick and furious, lightning lashing off him. All he can hear is their voices, so casually dismissing the dead guy they'd found the umbrastaff on.

Lucretia knows too. She must know, and she hasn't done anything about it -- still leaves Taako without the knowledge of just how fucking important that thing should be to him.

He drags himself back to some semblance of composure, ignoring the new burns and cracks he's put in the walls. Lup is out there somewhere. Lup still exists in this world, along with Merle's children and Magnus'... well, extended in-laws, and--

And she wouldn't let them flee this world, not with their families rooted here, and she wouldn't let Lucretia destroy this world.

And neither will he.

He's going to find her. He's going to bring them all together. He just needs their trust, and he's sure some echo of that century will get them to listen to him. He can bring everyone together, and once he does that, they'll find some way through this. They always do.

The bonds that tether his soul pull taut, burning now with divinity in the heart of an unholy abomination. He knows now how to change the shape of his soul, how to let its form twist around newfound power.

On the discipline of a decade's routine, on sleepless vigilance, on undying loyalty, he swears his oath.

This world will not be consumed.

#lv 1: lay on hands & divine sense / lv 2: fighting style & smite & spellcasting / lv 3: oath [vigilance discipline loyalty] #taz balance #barry bluejeans #the adventure zone #mine #writes

[kicktwine]

I have done my yearly "look through Kick's stuff and fall in love with the Knight Ven promising Way Too Much to Sora" comic, and mmmmmmmmm, the implications that Sora just GETS and the subtle horror as he knows that Ventus is Extremely Serious about "anything"

anon sorry it took me a month but I have been just looking at this in my inbox and kicking my feet like :3<-< like hehehe… you’re right. You’re right! Keep talking I don’t have anything to say let me kick my feet some more. im very slowly pulling the kintsugi heart out of my bag would you like to stay for lunch

#vens a goofy kid #except for when he’s being strange and offputtingly serious (AFFECTIONATE) #im glad my comic wedged itself in your brain its wedged in MY brain I know where I was while drawing it lol. Airplane #SIGHS WISTFULLY!!! knight disciple wayfinders I love youuuuuu #I love you paladins I love you strange oaths of loyalty I love you wether you like it or not my life is yours to use #and I love you Only You (terrifying) #ask #anon #kh #heavens. u know when they translated the wayfinders group as ‘disciples’ at that showcase I had to catch my breath a little

[transmutationisms]

loving the people on the copyright post like "oh they don't get these rights unless you sign them away" babygirl you would not believe the things i signed because the alternative was not getting paid

#literally a loyalty oath to the state of [redacted]. rights. distro. who fucking even knows what else

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

President Joe Biden’s campaign knocked former President Donald Trump on the third anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack for refusing to sign an Illinois loyalty oath that says he won’t advocate to overthrow the government.

The WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times reported Saturday that Trump did not voluntarily sign the loyalty oath this year when he and his campaign registered for the primary ballot in Illinois. The former president signed the oath in 2016 and 2020.

Candidates who sign the oath – including Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – attest that they “do not directly or indirectly teach or advocate the overthrow of the government of the United States or of this state or any unlawful change in the form of the governments thereof by force or any unlawful means.”

It also requires candidates to attest that they do not support communism or affiliate with communist organizations. The oath is “a vestige of the red-baiting era of the former U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s,” according to WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times.

“Donald Trump can’t bring himself to sign a piece of paper saying he won’t attempt a coup to overthrow our government,” said Michael Tyler, communications director for the Biden campaign, in a statement Saturday. “We know he’s deadly serious, because three years ago today he tried and failed to do exactly that.”

Former President Donald Trump addresses the audience during a campaign event Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024, at the DMACC Conference Center in Newton.

Trump faces a federal criminal indictment for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The former president and 18 of his allies also face an indictment in Georgia for allegedly conspiring to change the outcome of the 2020 election and violating the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO Act.

The Trump campaign did not explain why the candidate did not sign the oath, but instead issued a statement predicting the former president would defeat Biden at the polls.

#us politics #news #republicans #donald trump #conservatives #illinois #2024 #loyalty oath #2024 elections #biden administration #president joe biden #WBEZ #Chicago Sun-Times #Michael Tyler #the news globe

[lloydfrontera]

Hello! Did Javier or Frontera couple actually never find out that Original Lloyd and Kim Suho shared the same soul????

That's so sad :"(

they don't :( but to be fair neither does lloyd. as far as i know, this is an audience exclusive revelation and no one in-universe knows about it.

and tbh i'm kinda glad? i don't know, i much prefer that the affection and love that exists between the frontera family and suho come from their own experiences and the relationship they built by themselves rather than because it turned out suho was their own child all along. i think it would cheapen the found family aspect of it all.

as it is, i think it was... not a bad decision on bk moon's part to make the twist, but only because he waited to drop the bomb til the last chapter, once all the relationships had already been developed on their own. had it been on the middle of the novel, there would've always been the doubt of "oh is he doing all of this because they were his family in his previous life? does he actually care for them or does he just feel guilty? do they only love each other because they were biological family once?" and honestly it would've sucked, i hate just thinking about it lol

as it is, i think it's already a slippery slope, i've already seen a couple comments about how suho is the way he is because of og lloyd's feelings and guilt and like,,,, No ajsdhjka

for one thing suho has no recollection of his previous life, he's not at all affected by og lloyd's guilt or memories, everything he does, everything he feels is because of his own lived experiences and character. to attribute everything he accomplishes to the last split second resolution of a man who never cared enough to do something for himself or his family in his own life, would be a disservice to his character and honestly, kind of a let down if that's what bkm was going for.

and for another, i just think it's way more poignant to have lloyd find a family that loves and cares for him, not because of blood ties or same-soul shenanigans, but because of who he is and what he's done. it would be kind of disappointing for the story to say "they only care for each other because they were biological family before" because,,, then what was the point of the build up, of their relationship development, of the slowburn of lloyd coming to accept that not only does he sees arcos and marbella as parents but that he deserves their love too. it would negate how big of a choice it was for the fronteras themselves to decide that they loved lloyd, even knowing he wasn't their son, that they cared for him not as a replacement but as his own person, that they trusted him even after the deception, that they wanted him to come home and be part of their family.

all of that would be kind of cheapened if everyone knew that suho's previous life was og lloyd, because then what's the big problem, it's still the same soul, it's basically the same person, they were already family once, no big deal to be family again, everything is wrapped up in a neat little bow with no loose ends and they can carry on their merry lives without facing the big difficult emotions that come with all of the previously mentioned dilemmas.

ok maybe i'm exaggerating a little, i do think there would be very interesting feelings to explore if they did end up knowing about it, but let's be honest, they wouldn't have been explored in canon lol. this is not the kind of novel to explore the grand dilemmas that come with a reincarnated soul making amends for the faults it committed in its previous life and that's okay, not every novel can be.

but i don't know. perhaps i just like the found family trope more than the 'they were related all along' one even if it's just soul wise askjdlafkd

again this is just the way i see things, if you feel differently that's also perfectly okay and i would love to talk about it if you guys want! i'm just. being silly :3

#hey i got an ask #faceless-dude #tged #the greatest estate developer #lloyd frontera #og lloyd frontera #arcos frontera #marbella frontera #god i didn't even mention javier in this. #but honestly. i think it's for the best that javier never knew about it. #it was such a big character moment for him to decide to not turn lloyd in when he figures he's a fake #his loyalty divided between the oath he made in protecting the frontera family. his responsibility of keeping og lloyd safe. #and the loyalty he has towards lloyd. his genuine belief that the best option is for him to stay. the ruthless conviction that if he has to #choose what lloyd to keep then there's basically no contest as the fake one is the one that's keeping everything together #it's not a kind thought but it is a logical one and he knows og lloyd is useless if not outright harmful for the estate and so he chooses #what he thinks is best for the estate and the family even if he does feel guilty for not keeping his master's son safe #it is a big character motivation moment for him #and all of it would be kind of moot if he knew that the lloyd he chose to keep and the one he let go were one and the same #so. i choose to believe he never knew and he has to live with the knowledge that when the chips were down he chose #lloyd over a member of the family he swore to protect <3 #god dang it i did it again i promise i'm not trying to make the tags this long they just run away from me lol

[in-tenebris-et-in-solitudine]

#promises #commitment #loyalty #trust #honesty #oaths #vows #pledges #word #honor #duty #dedication #forever #love #relationships #hope #future #plans #dreams #goals

[betweenlands]

fifth horsemen

#deceit smp #loonymc #taneeshahogan #yt #deceit #art #orig #tags out of the way -- here's your solar explanation! #there's a concept around the traffic/life series fandom that you can map each winner #to one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse somehow #and while personality-wise it doesn’t always fit i do think the aesthetics have some merit. SO #deceit has had the exact same duo win twice in a row #now the thing about this duo is they are smart and they are relentless. deceit is a game of trust and betrayal #tan and loony take loyalty very seriously or not at all seriously. you can see that in the Campfire Crew oath #but what matters here is that they are utterly relentless in their winning states even when they’re there by accident #and the thing is -- there’s sometimes said to be a fifth horseman #generally takes the place of pestilence but that’s neither here nor there. the other horseman is Conquest #born of war and born of want -- to impose power over others; to prove one's strength #to conquer all others before you #and that's the thing about conquest isn’t it? it doesn’t stop. it cannot stop. it can make allies of convenience but not keep them. #loyalty to empire only gets you so far; loyalty to each other leaves you as the last ones standing until you turn on each other #...so! campfire crew! anyway the sword halos are for their kills in s1 #four each; two people each they completely conquered in as many words #every single pvp kill in deceit s1 was the traitors! aint that somethin. #anyway i hope they win again in s3 yes i am biased #also okay TECHNICALLY loony should have SEVEN swords in his halo (counting the kills the crash erased + legundo) #but the four swords were already giving me a hell of a lot of trouble so i ain't doing seven #you can picture them being there anyway if you want

[genspiel]

he uses lynette's ascension flower for his tricks QAQ

#tre plays #genshin impact #lyney #lynette #aaaaaaaaaa #and charlotte said rainbow roses (lyney's ascension flower) mean passion and romantic encounters?? #and lynette's mean separation...... what does that mEAAAAANNNNNNNN HOYOVERSEEEEEEE #and it turns out that in the archive the romaritime flower (freminet's) means loyalty and unswerving oaths;;;;; #they're really out here putting relevant lore into people's ascension materials huh

[saulwexler]

i’ve seen enough. taylor needs to make another country album or 3. yes with the fake accent

#not trying to gatekeep but i see y’all rank debut last #and i think new fans should have an opportunity to take the oath of loyalty #herstory

[thychesters]

#wipwednesday! some zoro pov pining but not realizing acknowledging he is until he finally goes “oh. oh lmao.” or sanji kicks him in the head. whichever happens first. (this part is set right at the end of alabasta!)

there’s an awful lot of chest touching in this fic. a lot of “bro. you got a new scar bro. bro, u hurt bro. will it ever heal or will you carry this forever?” and chopper screaming “of course it’s not going to heal if you keep touching it!”

also called “the pine trees fic” because he’s PINING and an entire forest will grow before zoro admits anything. | text under the cut:

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” he says, voice barely above a murmur.

“S’okay,” Luffy says. “Whrrya doin’?”

“What?”

“Said,” he tries to sit up a little, though it’s accompanied by a groan and Zoro gently nudging him to lie back down again, a small spark of panic shooting through his veins. He’s seen the wound for himself and knows it will haunt him for a while still: the bloody mess of Luffy’s body, the (commendable) knowledge that he fought in that condition, and that he wasn’t there. “Ah, what’re you doin’?”

“Came to check on you.”

“Oh. Okay. Yeah, I’m here,” Luffy says, eyes already slipping shut again. For a split second he thinks he’s fallen asleep, right up under a cool hand reaches for his own, fingers looping around his wrist. Luffy’s gaze is half-lidded as he looks up at him, somehow stern even on the cusp of unconsciousness. The same hand he drags toward his chest, toward the upper part of where the bandages lay, where his skin is warm to the touch and alive.

He’s met with a surprising amount of resistance, instead of the usual give in his flesh. As tactile a person he may be, he knows Luffy doesn’t like being touched. But now he finds he wants to pry as much as he can, wants to digs his fingers in and see how far his ribs bend, with a sick, twisted feeling that coils in his gut, like part of him wants to burrow himself into his chest, and all Luffy does is watch him with bleary eyes, blinking himself awake.

There is a reassurance in there he didn’t know he was looking for, and his next breath is smoother, though there’s a shakiness to the beginning of his inhale.

Luffy tugs again, a little more insistently this time, and so Zoro follows to settle down beside him. The mattress dips under his weight and his movements are awkward because Luffy refuses to let go of him, but he lies at his side, Luffy rolling his head on his pillow to face him and holding his hand against his chest.

Zoro can feel the rise and fall of it, the thump of his heart if he lets his fingertips press against the flesh a little more. Luffy’s asleep, snoring loudly in the next instant, but Zoro remains awake for a little while longer. With the cool desert breeze rolling in he could almost imagine them on a dinghy again, Luffy asleep beside him and limbs entangled as he keeps watch. He watches him longer still, even as his breathing evens out and he drools onto his pillow, and something hot and angry, scorching the back of his neck in the desert sun, crawls up the back of his ears, threatening to dig its nails into his hair and yank his head back to leave the column of throat exposed like a fool.

#kate writes #** #zolu #he won’t say anything because that isn’t the oath they swore. that’s not the promise he made. #it’s loyalty and devotion but not that. it was never supposed to be that. #but it has taken root and that tree will grow and those roots will clog up his lungs and twine down through all of his limbs #it will gather in his throat and it will suffocate him and he will bleed for it and he will suffer in this silence he has wrought #and he thinks i will die i will die i would die for you and you hold my life in your palms is that what you want #and he does not speak and he cannot breathe but he burns for following the sun like a fool #i will give my life for you but this is one thing i cannot give. it will lead to my ruination but this is the one thing i cannot offer you. #what a dramatic little shit!

[slythereen]

i didn't know who squeezie was and i don't speak french in the slightest but the impost video has me in tears 😭 i feel like i NEED to start watching his content

#do you see the marketing power charles has ferrari #do you seee it #some random american with zero percent french is going to take a loyalty oath to some random french youtuber #??? im not even sure what he does #is it gaming #is it.... just weird content #how tf did chrles and pierre end up there #charles leclerc #pierre gasly #*delphi

[blackboar]

I would like to know3rd Duke of Somerset?

Henry Beaufort was simply a prominent Lancastrian attempting to avenge his father and secure his estates.

His 1462 reconciliation with Edward IV showed that those two objectives conflicted with each other after Lancastrian defeat. He did try to make peace with the Yorkist. Edward IV really try to reconcile with him and for a time it seemed Henry Beaufort was willing to make peace with him.

History knows what's next: he went back to the Lancastrian faction, fought for Henry VI and lost his land and his life in the process. It shows that the people hyperfocused on the personal interest of individuals in order to explain their allegiance have a dead spot because they can't explain Henry Beaufort's behaviour. He had no self-interest in joining a poor rebellion that had 0 chance to win back the country to Lancaster and little chance to even sustain itself in northern England.

And Beaufort still joined them, because, ultimately, Henry VI is his king. His father died for him. Beaufort and Lancaster are kin. It wasn't enough that Edward IV was more than eager to win Somerset back and friendly, or that Henry VI's rule was terrible. Ultimately his old oath and shared blood mattered more than the preservation of his estates.

The third duke of Somerset, who was willing to risk everything for familial memory and ancestral loyalty, isn't an anomaly. He shares this with the De Veres, the Clifford, Ralph Percy and so many others. The Yorkist side has this too with John Neville torn apart by having to choose between his king and his family (and then his estates), or Hastings dying for his friend's son, or Lovell fighting over and over again against Richard III's foes.

#Henry Beaufort #Duke of Somerset #war of the roses #Henry VI #Edward IV #Oath #Familial loyalty

[blackswaneuroparedux]

I swear by almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors and that I will as in duty bound honestly and faithfully defend her Majesty, her heirs and successors in person, crown and dignity against all enemies and will observe and obey all orders of her Majesty, her heirs and successors and of the generals and officers set over me.

- My oath on being commissioned as an army officer in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers, swore allegiance to you, Your Majesty. Yet you gave much more and swore allegiance to us all. 🇬🇧

RIP Ma’am

#HM Queen Elizabeth II #queen elizabeth II #the queen #monarchy #britain #british army #british armed forces #loyalty oath #sacrifice #service #honour #personal

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: John Sailer

Published: Sep 9, 2023

What happens in California usually doesn’t stay in California — and that’s bad news for higher education. 

In his latest piece for the New York Times, Michael Powell catalogs just how extensively the Golden State’s universities have embraced mandatory diversity statements when hiring faculty. From junior college to prestigious research university, scientists and scholars throughout the state must demonstrate their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to remain in good standing.

By now, this should come as no surprise, but it is striking to see some of the most egregious ways the policy plays out. In 2016, the piece notes, at least five University of California (UC) campuses decided to initially screen faculty job applicants based only on diversity statements. For one large hiring initiative at UC Berkeley — the Life Sciences Initiative — the faculty search committee eliminated three-fourths of the applicant pool on the basis of diversity statements alone. Berkeley’s rubric for assessing diversity statements, moreover, dictates a low score for candidates who speak positively about diversity but in vague terms. Even more remarkably, it gives a low score to candidates who say they prefer to “treat everyone the same.” 

All of this is especially notable because of what California represents to American public higher education. Out of any state, California best embodies the American vision of universal higher education — its promises and perils.

In 1960, UC System President Clark Kerr spearheaded the “California Master Plan for Higher Education,” an attempt to modernise the state’s system of higher education. The Master Plan institutionalised a rigidly tiered system for California’s colleges and universities, reserving the UC system for the top 12.5% of the state’s graduating high school students, the California State system for the top 33.3%, and the California Community Colleges system for everyone else.

The plan captured the country’s strong faith in higher education, its aspiration to send virtually every young person to college. Kerr once jokingly quipped that the mission of the university is “to provide sex for the students, sports for the alumni, and parking for the faculty” — an amusing, and functionally accurate, description. 

No doubt, California set the example. Today, it remains a powerhouse; according to the U.S. News and World Report rankings, the UC system includes six out of the top 10 American public universities.

California still sets the tone for American higher education. And for that reason, we might add one more item to Kerr’s tongue-in-cheek summary of the university’s mission: “DEI initiatives for the administrators.” The trend Powell describes — whereby enthusiasm for DEI, whatever that might mean in practice, has become a virtual job requirement for scientists and scholars —has trickled down. 

Berkeley’s Life Sciences Initiative, for example, was designed to test whether universities could use a method known as “cluster hiring” to advance the goal of diversity. Basically, the approach involves hiring multiple faculty at once with a heavy emphasis on DEI. In a forthcoming National Association of Scholars report, I describe how DEI-focused cluster hiring has boomed since Berkeley undertook its Life Sciences Initiative.

In 2020, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center carried out a cluster hire — hiring researchers in cancer, infectious disease, and basic biology — which heavily weighed DEI contributions. In 2021, Vanderbilt University’s Department of Psychology undertook a cluster hire; it eliminated approximately 85% of its candidates based solely on diversity statements. And the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has allocated $241 million in grant money for cluster hires at universities around the country — with the condition that every search committee must require and heavily weigh diversity statements.

Berkeley’s rubric — the one that gives a low score to anyone who espouses race-neutrality — is likewise ubiquitous. Two of the universities receiving NIH money for cluster hires are the University of New Mexico and the University of South Carolina. Through a public records request, I acquired both universities’ rubric for assessing diversity statements, which was published earlier this year. Both universities use the Berkeley rubric verbatim.

As a consequence of these measures, trust in higher education will likely continue to fall, owing in part to a sense that some views are simply not tolerated. But DEI litmus tests do not merely diminish the public’s trust in higher education. They degrade higher education itself. Clark Kerr knew that the mission of the university isn’t sex, sports, or parking. It isn’t social justice, either. It’s the pursuit of truth, which, following California’s example, all too many universities seem to forget.

==

There are still some people who say stupid things like, "how can you be against equality and diversity?" Except, we all know at this point that these are ideologically-charged words. The rubrics themselves tell you that liberal principles of equality are unacceptable; rather, contested and ideological notions about the world. This makes "DIE statements" ideological loyalty oaths.

It would be like saying something stupid like, "what, are you not against people being bad and doing bad things?" when people object to making commitments and oaths against "sin."

#John Sailer #diversity equity and inclusion #diversity statements #loyalty oath #DEI statement #DIE statement #wokeness #woke #wokeism #wokeness as religion #cult of woke #ideological corruption #DEI rubric #DIE rubric #religion is a mental illness

[crystalmarred]

PLOTTED STARTER ⇢ @diademreigned

When the battle had begun, it had been no secret that the area they found in wasn't well-suited to one. The sharp drop-off nearby, the cracked edges of the cliffside... it was a deathtrap and they were fools to take on an army there with the machina they so commonly used.

So it made sense that he'd have a run-in with misfortune when he made the mistake of engaging a man with striking blue eyes and brown hair. When the glowed blade of a rapier stung the edge of his lance, it should have been obvious what was going to happen.

Something is said between them, something about his preference for a lance over a gun, over a piloted mech that would make shorter work of most Eorzeans.

Most Garleans couldn't, after all, use aether. But X'kijin was certainly no pure-blooded Garlean and anyone with eyes could see as much by the ears unobscured by his helmet and the tail that lashed irritably behind him.

He didn't answer their goading—if it could even be called that.

Rather, green eyes that were shielded by the helmet he wore focused on the twirl of his rapier and the focus crystal in his other hand. It was a style that he recognized, if vaguely, from back home.

X'kijin had heard of the Crimson Duelists as a boy, of the style they used, though this man in particular was hardly dressed in the red they were said to wear. Was it a coincidence, then, that the way he fought seemed reminiscent of those old stories?

When first they started to cast, when the swirl of aether in the air signaled the collecting fire in his hand that raised the temperature of the air around them, he had been prepared for something like a fireball.

The sound of the earth cracking under his feet, however, was not one he expected. Shit, was his first coherent thought, the second was that the Eorzeans had orchestrated it somehow, though anyone with eyes could see it the cracks stemmed from the heavy machine the Garleans themselves had brought.

If he was still determined to blame the Eorzeans, he would have been convinced of their innocence when eyes of brilliant teal caught his own. The way they went wide, it was so obvious—so, so obvious—that nothing about the earth falling beneath their feet was expected.

There was a moment where they both froze before came the desperate scramble of the both of them clambering to the broken edge of the cliffside. They'd drop down into the ravine. If they survived the fall, they'd be crushed under the debris—

He felt the ground slip from beneath his feet. Jump, he bid himself, though his heels found no traction in the air, jump.

A hand caught his wrist, words spoken—yelled—over the din of noise as teal caught plain green again. Something was being shouted at him, his feet met the ground, they started to move. Together.

And then came the sound of another crack. He could hear it in the sound, the finality of this one as it separated fully from the rest of the cliffside, carrying both the Eorzean and the Ala Mhigan Garlean as they descended into the ravine—

When he woke, it was to the unpleasant sound of pained gasping, followed by a curse in a voice unfamiliar to him. Green eyes blinked open as he raised himself from the ground, nursing the pain on the side of his head as he did so, not to mention the ache through his entire body.

Fogged vision eventually cleared and he was met with a familiar face a few paces away.

Green eyes set on his leg and the way he moved it with his hands, the bone clearly broken by his few, pained attempts to move the limb.

"Hey..." he started as he pushed himself up, watched the man startle at the sound and make a sound that verged on a sob. The short-lived attempt to move away from him, from the enemy that could clearly stand when he couldn't.

How quick he'd gone from being bold enough to take his hand and keep him from dropping into the ravine to being afraid of what he might do with the opportunity, now that he was injured, now that fighting back would prove even more difficult.

"Don't—" He started, when they moved again, this time giving them pause. "You're gonna make it worse."

It was the first time he'd spoken since their fight had initially begun. As he approached, he pulled away the helmet, longer hair escaping from it confines as he did so.

"Broken?" he asked as he pulled the gloves off next. He'd set plenty of broken bones, splinted them often enough that he might be able to do the same here.

He'd grabbed him, after all, prevented him from tumbling first, from possibly being clocked by the very ground they stood on when they fell. In some, small way, he may owe him that, at least. And a quick glance around told him that they were at the bottom of the ravine they'd been fighting near, that not another soul was around.

If push came to shove...

No, no, that was treason. Then again, taking the man's hand probably would've been considered siding with the enemy, as would the mere consideration of repaying the offer of his hand. Still...

"... Let me look at it."

#✧ ▌ in character : x'kijin lyzej. #diademreigned #// ooc. we talked about writing these starters WEEKS ago and i've literally already responded to the one you wrote but askjflashkj #// ooc. here you are at long last. conscripted garlean au! #❛ x'kijin lyzej. － dream in the light; dance in the dark. you fill the spaces inside of my heart. ⟨ d'tykha lyrre / diademreigned. ⟩ #❝ diademreigned — d'tykha lyrre. #✕. CONSCRIPTED ／ stolen from their homes and sworn into an oath of fear in which loyalty has no meaning.