Manifest War: The Weapons Within

As they got clear of the woods, the carriage navigated off of the public road and turned onto a gravel covered street. The new, winding road was incredibly bumpy as the horses pulling the carriage carefully trotted along. Eventually, the area opened up and turned into a mass cemetery with tombstones stretching across the landscape with impressive uniformity. Just as they crested the hill, there was a large mausoleum with a circular courtyard in the front.

The building had a large golden dome, multiple all white pillars in the front, and it stood at least four stories high. Upon the grand entrance doors was the Belouis family crest, having an intricately designed letter B across the length of them. It was very clear that this building was of great importance.

Their carriage rounded the courtyard and stopped in front of the entrance, allowing its occupants to exit and enter the pristine building before them. They made their way inside and standing off in the distance was Zalthia, Carmen, Tiaran, Nyanza, and the other members of Six. On the opposite side of them were a few other members of the Council having a conversation with the groundskeeper. Curiously, everyone was wearing formal, all black clothing.

Unfortunately, today was the two year anniversary of Allen and Janelle Belouis’ deaths. The five sisters of the Royal Belouis Family made it a point to get together every year on this day, paying respects to their fallen parents.

“Hey Azhane, you made it! How were your travels?” Carmen yelled as she noticed her walking into the foyer.

“Oh you know, just dealt with a little ambush. Nothing too serious.” Azhane replied with a sarcastic smile.

“What!? Again!? Are you okay?”

Concern shot across Carmen’s face as she approached her, wanting to know more about what happened.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Graymoor and Felicity handled it.” Azhane said, giving Carmen a hug. She then turned her attention towards Tiaran and Nyanza, giving them hugs as well.

“Goodness, look at you, Tiaran. How long has it been? Feels like forever.” Azhane took a moment to admire Tiaran’s silver, jaw length hair and the short black dress she wore.

Even though Tiaran was usually the tomboy of the group, the dress looked incredible on her, showing off her rather well endowed assets and toned physique from every angle. She clearly took very good care of herself while she was away on her travels.

“Since the funeral, I think. Has definitely been awhile.” She replied with a rather empty tone, not showing much emotion towards this long awaited reunion. One would think her monotone voice and calm demeanor was strange in this situation, but this was totally on brand for Tiaran.

“You know ole’ Tiaran, she couldn’t wait to get back on the road. Must travel. See sights. Fight strong men. Hohohoho. That’s all she ever thinks about!” Nyanza playfully quipped and laughed, mocking Tiaran’s deep voice with hilarious levels of accuracy.

As she continued to belly laugh, Nyanza’s short and fairly messy silver hair bounced with each hefty cackle. Her thin rimmed glasses started to slide down her nose, prompting Nyanza to push them back up as she straightened herself out. Not only was her loud and quirky personality the complete opposite of Tiaran’s, but her short and petite frame shared no similarities either.

Tiaran gave her an expressionless glare, growing more annoyed with each passing second. She stepped towards Nyanza and with a quick chop, Tiaran smacked her on the head.

“OW!!! Hey, it’s just a joke! Have mercy!!” Nyanza said while rubbing her head gently, faking tears in the process. Tiaran backed off and readjusted her dress, calming down from her prior irritation. Nyanza then gave her a side eyed glance before showing a cheeky smile.

“Oooo Me Tiaran. Me Caveman. Me so strong. Hohoho.”

She continued her cheap imitation as Tiaran started to chase her around the room, being just a step behind her the entire time. Despite her short stature, Nyanza was surprisingly quick and shifty, her change of direction being absolutely immaculate. Nyanza cackled loudly as everyone watched their playful theatrics.

“Some things never change...” Zalthia remarked with a heavy sigh, shaking her head while they continued to make a scene in such a hallowed place.

“Yeah, leave them be though. I’ve missed their antics.”

Azhane smiled, feeling beyond thrilled to see all of her sisters together for the first time in a long while. After a few conversations were had around the room, Carmen turned to Zalthia.

“Soo, who else are we waiting for?”

She looked around the room, wondering why they hadn’t gone into the main chamber yet. Zalthia didn’t even need to reply as the final attendees arrived just on time.

Entering through the doors was an older woman in her late fifties with medium length silver hair and red eyes. Her face was fairly long and despite her age, her body was very well kept as her skin showed very little wrinkles or signs of wear.

She had quite the presence about her and you could tell she was part of royalty with how she carried herself. However, there was another individual accompanying her with an even more striking presence.

It was an incredibly well dressed man, wearing an all black suit with a gray tie and platinum cuff links on his suit jacket. He also had short silver hair that was styled with great purpose, being slightly shaved on the sides while the top was gelled back.

The small earrings that dangled from his ears oozed style, accenting perfectly with the gray and silver throughout his outfit. Unsurprisingly, the man’s eyes were terrifyingly red and piercing, almost matching Azhane’s in overall vibrancy and shade. There was no other way to describe this man other than special.

“Ah! Aunt Mryla! Zolah! I didn’t know you guys were coming today!” Carmen said with a surprised smile, rushing over to say hello. Myrla happily accepted the greeting as she gave her niece a hug.

“Hello, my dear! It’s been far too long since I’ve seen your beautiful face.”

“Didn’t expect to see you here, Zolah.” Zalthia commented after giving him a side hug. He simply sent her a charming smile before entertaining a reply.

“I hadn’t planned on it originally, but mother insisted that I show up. It’s all good though, I needed to stretch my legs for a bit anyway.” Zolah softly laughed once he noticed Tiaran putting Nyanza in a choke hold. His eyes met with Nyanza and she began to wave as she smiled.

“Zolah! How ya doing cuzzo!?” She squealed while Tiaran tightened her grip.

“I see they’re as lively as ever.”

The group shared a laugh together as one of the Council members approached their location. He bowed his head to everyone before turning his attention towards Azhane.

“Your Majesty, shall we enter the chamber?” He asked, motioning for them to follow him. She gave him a firm nod and everyone was escorted through the massive doors towering from the back of the room. The members of Six stood on each side and bowed their heads as the royal family walked by.

Once inside, the room was round, large, and fairly dark. As they got closer to the center, the multitude of lanterns decorating the walls became significantly brighter. Core Energy flowed through them at an incredible rate, lighting up the entire room to showcase various grave sites all around.

The group walked to the back of the room and found themselves at two large gravestones, donning the Belouis crest. Engraved on them were the names of Allen and Janelle Belouis. The room went quiet while the group paid their respects, saying short prayers and giving silent thoughts.

Zalthia stepped forward and Asiah of Three handed her a bouquet of red roses. She placed them in front of the graves and slowly bowed her head. After a brief moment, Carmen started to cry softly as she remembered her parents. Tiaran noticed the tears and she gently placed her arm around Carmen’s shoulder, bringing her in closer without saying a word. Silence filled the room once again.

As time passed, the group said their goodbyes and left the chamber, heading out of the mausoleum entrance. They gathered outside and Zolah tapped Carmen on the shoulder, feeling curious about something. She quickly turned around and gave him her full attention.

“I heard you went through quite the ordeal to get your Manifest and not to mention all the mess that happened earlier this year. How you holding up?” He asked with a deep, yet gentle tone.

“Oh, yeah, never been better! If anything, I feel like all of that just made me even stronger.” She replied with a smile, having a surprisingly level of poise about her.

“I see, I see, that’s good to hear. I was worried you might have had some lingering reservations about being a Vesta. That’s a lot to deal with right after obtaining a Manifest. Happy to see that’s not the case.”

Zolah gave her a kind smile as he put on a pair of sunglasses.

“Nope, no reservations at all. I’m honestly pretty eager to get back out there and fight. At this point, I think I can handle just about anyone standing in my way.”

Carmen returned the smile and her overconfidence began to ooze out at an alarming rate.

“I love the confidence. Well, I’ll be cheering you on and good luck with whatever you encounter next.” Zolah chuckled and walked away, waving as he met back up with Mryla. They said their goodbyes to everyone and were off, riding away in a just as decorated carriage.

As the group approached their carriage, Nyanza stopped and immediately showed an expression of great concern and annoyance.

“Ugh, do we have to travel in these things again?? The ride always makes me so nauseous.” She pouted while holding her stomach. “Can’t you just teleport us like always, Azhane?”

“No, I still don’t have my powers back. I’m sorry, but you’ll just have to suck it up and endure.” Azhane quickly remarked, dismissing her sister’s justified concern.

“Oh mannnnn. I want to puke just thinking about it.”

Nyanza hesitated to enter the carriage until Tiaran silently grabbed her waist. She picked Nyanza up and sat her inside close to the window. Even though she loudly voiced her grievances, fighting Tiaran the whole way, Nyanza could do nothing but accept her fate.

“If you have to vomit, just use the window. You’d think with how smart you are that would be easy to figure out.” Tiaran coldly added, taking a seat next to her pouting sister.

“*sniff* So cruel.” Nyanza stared out the window with saddened eyes.

Once everyone was accounted for, Graymoor closed the door and latched it tightly. He smacked on the side, signaling to the driver to start heading back to Castle de Belouis. The carriage took off with a jolt, followed closely by The Six as they rode horses of their own.

While they traveled back home, the Belouis sisters were catching up with one another, making the most of this rare moment. Surprisingly enough, Tiaran was doing the bulk of the talking. She told them a story about a warrior she fought in the Southern Arista Badlands and how he pleaded for her hand in marriage.

He apparently was greatly infatuated with her because she beat him so soundly. She obviously refused because he was really creepy and she thought bald guys looked weird, comparing him to a thumb.

The group got a hearty laugh out of Tiaran’s short story and found it quite interesting that she shared it. Usually Tiaran would just keep to herself the entire time, but for some reason she actually felt like contributing to the conversation today. As the laughter died down, Zalthia turned her attention to Azhane.

“Speaking of marriage, you turn thirty soon, Azhane. Since you’re still single, you’ll have to take part in the selection ceremony on your birthday. Have you thought about that at all?” She asked with a curious tone.

“Uhhm, not really… The Council Advisors have talked to me about it and gave me a list of potential candidates to look through. I’ve met a few of them already, but… I don’t know. Can’t really say I’m particularly interested in any of them to be honest.”

Azhane’s previous smile quickly shifted to a frown of great concern.

“I see, well you’d better make up your mind quickly. You know Grandfather doesn’t like it when the Belouis traditions are taken lightly. I can already hear him grumbling now.” Zalthia replied with a roll of the eyes, not looking forward to dealing with his bickering.

“It’ll be fine, I still have a few months to decide. I’ll figure something out.”

Azhane let out a soft sigh before looking out the window, now deep in thought. Conversations eventually flowed to other topics and after a fairly pleasant ride, they found themselves at the Castle’s courtyard.

As soon as the carriage stopped, Nyanza burst out of the door and stumbled over to the nearby grass. She began to dry heave and vomit, having been suffering from motion sickness during the entire ride. Nyanza could finally relieve herself.

Zalthia stepped out and approached Nyanza from behind, patting her on the back awkwardly while she spewed her breakfast all across the lawn. The amount of annoyance on Zalthia’s face was dangerous as she rolled her eyes deeply. Carmen and Azhane chuckled at the sight as Tiaran simply shook her head in disbelief.

Once her little mishap was over and she fully collected herself, Nyanza rejoined the group. A host of maids greeted them upon their entrance and Nadine quickly made her way to the front of the group, delegating tasks to the present maids and butlers. She then turned around and sent a warm smile to everyone.

“Dinner will be prepared shortly, my ladies. Shall I escort you all to the dining hall?” Nadine asked with a humble bow. Azhane nodded and agreed before turning her attention towards the members of Six, shooing them away so she could have dinner with her family.

“We won’t be needing any guards for this. You all are dismissed, so go and get some rest.” She said with a smile, clearly not needing their services any further.

“Ah, are you sure your Majesty?” Graymoor responded with an almost child-like cadence. Azhane glanced over at Zalthia and Tiaran, knowing how strong and capable they both were, and glanced back at Graymoor with another smile.

“Yes, I’m very sure. Now please, run along. I’ll call you all if I need anything.”

Graymoor and the other members of Six bowed their heads, not pressing the issue any further. As the group walked towards the dining hall, Carmen chuckled softly.

“He almost seemed sad that you told him to leave.” Carmen playfully quipped, finding that exchange to be quite adorable.

“Oh, he’ll be alright. I think Graymoor is just super used to being by my side these past seven months.”

The group entered the dining room and were greeted by the long oak table covered with a delightful spread of various foods. It seemed almost wasteful to have this much food for five people, but Azhane made no issue with it. They all took their seats around the table and began to dig in, making short work of their decadent steaks and roasted potatoes. For multiple minutes, the sound of metal hitting ceramic could be the only thing heard across the room.

However, the fork and spoon based symphony was interrupted by Carmen as she posed a question to Azhane.

“Hey Azhane, soooo I was wondering if I could attend LaVeda University. This is the last week I can enroll and I-”

Before she could even finish her sentence, Azhane quickly responded with a swift, “No.”

Carmen looked at her plate in disbelief for a few moments until turning her gaze towards Azhane once more.

“But, I really want to attend and I think it would be a good change of pace for me!” She retorted with a determined expression. Azhane wiped her mouth with a napkin and glared at Carmen with her vibrant red eyes, clearly annoyed by the topic.

“We’ve already talked about this numerous times, Carmen. The answer is no. After all the mess we went through with you last year and during the war, I don’t want to put you in potentially more danger again. The best and safest place for you is here at home.”

Azhane put her foot down with great authority and seemed to not budge an inch from her decision.

“But it’s just a school! What could possibly be so dangerous about it?” Carmen exclaimed, unable to wrap her brain around Azhane’s reasons.

“Carmen, LaVeda is not a place for games or a simple ‘change of pace.’ That school is filled with elite students from all over, eager to prove their worth with every chance they get. Some of these kids have been training their whole lives for the opportunity to attend LaVeda and they’ll do whatever it takes to show that they’re the best.”

The table remained silent as everyone listened to Azhane's voice of reason.

“And with you being a member of the Belouis Family, those same students will be gunning for you at every turn. I don’t think you’re prepared at all for what goes on at that school…” Azhane’s harsh tone ravenously cut across the room as she stared Carmen in the eyes, hoping that she would get the memo now.

Carmen was stunned to hear this blunt and straightforward reply, feeling like a serrated knife churning in her gut. The silence continued until the sound of clinking silverware decorated the airwaves again. However, it didn’t last long as an unexpected voice began to speak up.

“Just let her go, Azhane. She should be able to experience her life a little…” Tiaran said as she munched on a piece of steak. Before Azhane could reply, Tiaran added more to her comment.

“Plus, ugh… I wasn’t even going to mention this or even entertain the thought, but I got offered a teaching position at LaVeda not too long ago. Jorah recommended me as a combat instructor over there. Kind of annoying, but.. Whatever.”

She put down her fork as she rested her chin on her fist, now looking at Azhane directly.

“If her safety is that big of a deal, I’ll accept the offer and watch over Carmen while I teach there.”

Carmen’s face lit up like a celebratory firework once she heard these words and she immediately shifted her attention towards Azhane.

“What? You would seriously end your traveling to teach students at a school? That’s so unlike you, Tiaran.” Azhane replied, looking beyond confused by what was transpiring.

“If Carmen didn’t want to go so badly we wouldn’t even be having this conversation… Besides… It might be a little fun.”

Tiaran muttered the last half of her reply as she imagined students calling her master and learning techniques she came up with. Tiaran slightly blushed at the thought and gave a rare smile while lost in her delusions.

“So can I go!!?! If Tiaran’s there then everything should be fine! Right?” Carmen exclaimed, getting out of her seat with excitement. The bargaining and convincing continued for a few more minutes until Zalthia chimed in.

“I personally don’t see a problem with it. You’re seventeen now, sitting around in this castle for eternity is nothing but a waste of time for you. But, that’s just my opinion..” She added, turning her head towards Azhane’s direction. Azhane looked around the room at everyone, and sighed loudly as she could feel the pressure from all the red eyes staring back at her.

“Alright, you can go… But only because I trust the place more with Tiaran there. It may be a prestigious school with many accolades, but LaVeda can be a tough place to get used to for anyone. They’ll do whatever it takes to maintain their position as the no.1 University in Alaira and the culture there is not for the faint of heart.” Azhane said, finally giving in to Carmen’s pleading assault. Carmen leapt from her spot and rushed over to Azhane, giving her a big hug.

“Thank you!!” She yelled with glee.

As she suffocated Azhane, Zalthia added a couple thoughts about the decision with a fairly serious tone.

“Now, just because you’re going to LaVeda doesn’t mean it’s all playtime and rainbows. We expect you to go there with the right intentions and come out stronger than you are now. You’ll need to represent the Belouis family with grace and dignity.”

Carmen ended her embrace and stared Zalthia in the eyes, giving her a firm nod.

“Of course, I completely understand. I’ll be sure to represent our family to the best of my ability! Don’t worry!” She replied while bowing her head to Zalthia.

Looking pleased, Zalthia smiled and patted Carmen on the head. “I know you will.”

As Carmen looked up, she returned the smile and made a comment that put both Zalthia and Azhane on slight alert.

“Besides, even if the students there trained for years, it’s not like anyone will have as much combat experience as me. How many students my age can say they fought in a war and survived the Boundless? LaVeda will be a piece of cake, trust me!” Carmen said with unsavory amounts of confidence, her attitude shifting to that of someone looking down on others.

Zalthia and Azhane glanced at each other with slightly worried expressions, wondering if they should walk down her statement. Before they could retort, Nyanza gave Carmen her full support.

“Yeah! You tell ‘em Carmen! Show them our wrath and crush them beneath your feet! It was painfully easy when I attended DuneVeil Academy, so I’d imagine LaVeda will be the same for you heeheehee.” Nyanza yelled as she devoured a piece of meat, getting sauce all over her cheeks.

Carmen grinned real big as she took her seat again, feeling over the moon that she could attend LaVeda. Dinner continued on and the group began to chatter about other topics.