The shadowed buildings towered over the dunes to the north of Echolon. Bustles of life gradually become livelier as they come close to the border. The sun had disappeared into the night, but Enarc remained as bright as ever.
The buildings had held on their own long before Aurelius became its first governor. The materials of Corten had left no signs of the need for replacement. The dunes flatten to reveal the region, yet their views were met by the fortification that had been built by Aurelius that stretched far end to the Echolon itself. Only the light and the occasional barking were spared for the outer walls.
The sight reminded Lucaen of the past, where Aurelius was put on trial in Corra for permitting the rise of the walls that trespassed the Land of Forbidden. A hectic memory. The surge of restlessness that bathed Lucaen when he heard the news. Only to be replaced by irritation as Aurelius nonchalantly defended himself with that fist-asking smug of his. He was guilty in some sense for wanting Aurelius to be deemed guilty during the trial because of his bias.
Who would have thought that such a bitter memory would now be a fond one?
Lucaen stole a glimpse at the corner of his sight. Aurelius was too quiet for his liking. The dents on his suit, void of his usual glimmer despite the light of Enarc reflecting on him. The scratches on his body created connected pathways across his suit. Testifying to what he had endured.
In contrast, the wounds on Lucaen's chest were made to look like a child's play. But Aurelius didn't mention any type of pain. He should be alright.
Even so, the silence was painful for him. What was Aurelius thinking?
None of my business either way. Lucaen dismissed the thought.
Nevertheless..
I'm here, why the silence?
He stopped his tracks, before muttering out a hesitant clarification. "We are here." Shifting his suit, facing Aurelius. A part of him was expecting something, to make a subject of their conversation.
Aurelius dragged himself past Lucaen, towards the opulent grille gate. The sounds of his humming core, his joints grating one another filled the tension. "Right. Welcome to Enarc." He breathed.
Lucaen felt the air thinner. Today was chaotic. But this calmness was uninvited, neither.
Aurelius didn't have to announce himself. With only the sound of his feathers, the gate dropped impeccably with a gush of wind that threw weightless matter away. As the grille gate scraped against the sands with effortless friction. It came to a full stop with a loud thud. The quality of its own gate was undeniable.
Upon his entrance into the vast space, the Enarchies shifted their attention before vocalizing their joy for the return of their trusted ally. Their governor. Their appointed leader. It's a normalized routine. They are all informed that Aurelius was assigned to an emergence. Every mission leads back to Enarc.
Shouts, screeches, and raw celebrations became the noise of Enarc. Dozens erupted into a synchronized moment.
Yet, Aurelius glanced back. Not a step further on the crushed granite beneath him. He didn't want to bask in this performance alone. As seen with his right talon, extended it slightly to his assigned partner. An invitation.
Lucaen nodded subtly, sliding in right beside Aurelius. His posture straightened.
Upon entering, the crowd parted, the livelihood of the culture blinds the damaged exos as if the scars were an intentional ornament.
Lucaen stood, rigid. "You never ceased to withdraw from the attention, do you?" Breaking the silence that had cocooned between them. Aurelius at last, glanced at Lucaen for the briefest moment before cocking his head towards the Enarchies. Flaring his wings for all as a symbol of success.
The Enarchies showered him with praises and gratitude that the sounds of his mechanical error were drowned by their cheers. He knew they would be loud; they're, in some part, embodiments of Aurelius.
"Governor! What happened to the Helminths?!" A yell stole Aurelius's attention. He can't hide the sheepish pride as he responds with his irritating tone.
"Helminth? Boiled to death~" He chuckled low, scratching his chest with the very talons that sizzled the assassination target. Aurelius had his right hand fisting his Ivory chest plate. Formally acknowledging his people.
Lucaen had seen this scene many times. Questioned the absurdity of it many times. All came to a stern conclusion that he could not comprehend in their shared camaraderie.
A general is not one to be friended with. This is not discipline. This is noise. Enarc, for all its fortifications, felt like all brute force and no intelligence.
The crowd scattered, the joy dulled behind them as they both came near to the mind of Enarc. During the time of stillness, one might be polishing their exos. Yet, a figure stood in front of the entrance of the Council of Cort. His rhenium longsword was seen rooted to the very path. The figure remained stoic, his cloak serving as a layer to his own jet-black exosuit.
The firstborn heir of Szar of the Corvus Corax family, Lieutenant Solivane Szar. A dignified swordsman clasped his very fist to his chest upon sensing the very governor of the land return to its abode.
Oh, how much he had wished to report the progress that Enarc had made as they strolled the very walls they had schemed together in defiance.
"All praises belong to you." He stated. His figure remained unshaken, absorbing all lights within him.
Before his eyes trailed to the general beside him, and in a breath, that mere wish became a far-fetched reverie as the very presence he was dauntingly bestowed, was not welcomed.
"And of course, the same goes to you.."
"The Theron heir."
Aurelius sighed at the greeting, knowing his words laced more than a meaning. He knew Solivane like the very molecule of his.
"Sol." An acknowledgement and a warning. It felt as if the graphite below them shifted at the silent reprimand of Aurelius.
Lucaen gave a discriminating nod. "Your praises are noted."
With a sway of Solivane's hand on its hilt, his longsword faded to the very air. Only the hollow that had been carved on the graphite of it, was left for the onlookers.
"I trust you have prepared a resting place for our esteemed guest here. The usual chamber." Not waiting for a confirmation, Aurelius headed to the court, followed by Lucaen. A disdain etched in Lucaen's mannerism. The way he maintained his distance around the Enarchies. As if Enarc is beneath him. That did not go unnoticed by Solivane.
Perhaps that is the reason as to why Enarc is a thriving and respected region. The discipline that was engraved in them was a combination of two planets. One is the capital of this planet, Elysium, and the capital of the other, Enclaved. A neighboring planet with which Aurelius succeeded in having an agreement on military and resources.
To be unaware of one's surroundings, is an invitation to death.
Lucaen's critical look?
Noted by Aurelius and Solivane. This only made them more credible against him later on.
It was worth noting, but not a worthy argument.
Lucaen was sheltered. Enarc was..wild. A shared understanding throughout all Enarc. One might question that if Aurelius is pitying the poor little princeling. A lie they all wanted to believe.
A lie, Aurelius kept proving wrong. As if he knew what's on our minds. He is Aurelius after all.
Yet, we never abandoned that idea.
Because we respect you. What you love shall be the state's daily occurrences, what you hate shall be the war we all put our lives to stray. You are Enarc, and what are we if not just exos wandering on a land called home that is tied to no identity?
Never once have you dismissed us, perhaps we are getting spoiled, and we wish for the Theron heir to cease from your life. Say the word, and we will come running to heed your commands.
But the command never made it into your core. Never will. Yet, we hoped.
With a push of his right forearm, the chamber greets Lucaen like its rightful owner had returned home in the Court of Cort. The luxurious beddings, the luxurious furniture that not one in Enarc had used. Including Aurelius himself.
We don't have that kind of luxury. To idle, to ponder, to live. So stay, stay in this part of the court that Aurelius refurnished just for you. The more you do, the more you are an anomaly, to us.
"We had, as per Aurelius' wishes, activated the warming stone. Enarc might be a little cold in the night for your liking. Which, I am sure you are already informed."
Solivane didn't wander his sight to Lucaen. It was set in the vast room in front of him. The warmth that greeted him evaporated the moment it hit his exo. Such comfort befits Lucaen, not him. A part of him flinched at the warmth the room exuded. As if something distasteful had enveloped his core. Enough for him to gag silently.
A resting room in the middle of a strategic court. How befitting.
"I will leave you be, heir of Therons." He retreated. Giving way to Lucaen. His mind was already elsewhere.
Lucaen gave an efficient nod. As always.
The door slammed with a soft, heavy thud. Separating the two of them. Separating the warmth from the outside cold. A necessary border.
Solivane had completed his task, and Lucaen had been courted to his solace room. Aurelius had wished for it to be that way. Yet, it pained him a second longer the moment he saw Aurelius's conditions when he could've been tasked to patch him up instead of playing house with a prince.
He turned his back to the room, the cloak brushed the polished door before Solivane tugged it closely to his side. Everyone had retired for the night, leaving the court silent. The whole building was.
Yet, it was not a wonder when a certain rhythmic step resonated through the hallways. He remembers. He remembered all the scratches that had formed on Aurelius', and all of that is a silent plea for assistance.
"Lieutenant Solivane, request entry." followed a knock to the metal door in front of him. The demand died by the sheer density of the door Aurelius built the court out of. He doesn't need Aurelius to hear it. He did it out of courtesy. Because,
The door opened. Always open for him.
Aurelius sat by his desk, the chair had moved towards the grilled windows overlooking the region. His legs crossed against each other, resting on the desk, while his wings hung uncomfortably. An idle state. Probably restoring himself.
Too battered that his chamber looked sparser than the exo occupying the space.
"A prince should know how to take care of himself." Solivane accused, announcing his presence. His eyes scowled at the sight he was in. The tension between his joints, the subtle twitch of his extension.
"You weren't this weak since the day you set foot in Elysium."
Aurelius sighed, his head leaned to the back, pressing his fusion to the chair. "Do you have nothing else to say, Sol?"
Solivane rested his left hand on the backrest, grazing Aurelius' wings before tugging them.
Aurelius took a sharp breath at the sudden pull. Winced slightly. Solivane saw how he fixed his body away from him. The shuddering jolt that waved in his system.
Aurelius let out a weak statement, "I know what I did."
"I am not here to question you, never will be." He assured. Solivane eyed his syncing port for a brief moment. It was a moment of innocence, with the two presences that had become a comfort since the day they had to endure the harsh cold of Enarc alone.
The peace was cut short. When a sharp pain enveloped Aurelius' senses before the sound registered in his system. The sound of crushed metal filled him.
Solivane had stabbed through his syncing port on the underside of Aurelius' wings, his fusion. Causing him to jerk forward, clenching his fists, wings fluttering above. A painful forced flare.
"You-!" Aurelius snarled, glancing back at Solivane. His wings froze, showing his vulnerable wings' fusion. The thin layer of protection that he had broke through. Bits of it dropped to the floor.
Solivane pressed on his rhythm, noting the claw marks Aurelius made to the desk beside him out of pure pain and suppression.
He still refused me.
Aurelius Everhart, you need me.
Hot, Aurelius's rhythm was fast and untouchable. Solivane shook his head as if trying to tone it down the intense rhythm he was hijacking. Trying to tame and soothe.
Every output of Aurelius' system was streamlined into Solivane's in their current forced synchronization.
[Warning: Hostile Takeover Detected]
[Warning: Fusion Exposed]
Aurelius' rhythms reacted strongly as a matter of course. His rhythm scattered as if saving itself and patching his exo from the unknown that had devoured the old rhythms.
[Initiating: Temperature Amplified]
Solivane gripped Aurelius' shoulder, feeling the sudden burn to his own. All the while, his rhythm guides Aurelius' by letting the Enclaved into his core.
"Do not."
"..enhanced it further." Aurelius growled, gripping Solivane's arm.
With that singular command, Solivane controlled the sheer volume of Enclaved synchronization that he poured.
[Regulated: Operational Prowess Capacity Increased]
[Report: 70% Usable Capacity]
Solivane stood back. Retracting his port from Aurelius' fusion. His wrist was drenched in Aurelius' substance that now dripped coolly to the concrete.
Aurelius retracted his coated wings. Pushing himself off the chair before turning to Solivane with an unreadable presence. He was stabilizing. His internal temperature, too.
"That was dangerous, and you know it." Aurelius was eyeing him down, a demand. His body smooths itself as his own rhythm starts to reconstruct the dents and scars of his exo. Solivane remained under the oppressive gaze of his lord.
"You were denied it far too long--" Solivane's arm opened defensively. The liquid now covered his arm.
In an instant, Aurelius' demeanor shifted. The gravitational force pressed on Solivane. His rhythm stopped.
His sight was limited; it came crashing down as his sight was met with the concrete below. In a desperate attempt for his own dignity, Solivane had held his position against the unseen weight.
[Report: Skills Unlocked]
[Gravikinesis Mastery]
"You know the consequences of what you did."
Solivane flinched at the sheer weight of his words. It echoed, and it tore apart his system. Solivane knew. He always knew. Yet, Aurelius still demanded a clarification from his own words.
As much as he wanted to speak, he couldn't move. He can't defend himself. His rhythm can't sync.
The sheer heaviness of this room froze Solivane's rhythm. Choking himself.
"You were severing my ties to Elysium. Do you know how serious that was?"
"Perhaps you want to be treated as an arsonist?"
Solivane fisted on the ground, never leaving his eyes off the dripping essence with bated breath.
[Alert: Core Dysfunction]
[Alert: System Off]
Aurelius seethed at the very report of Solivane's HUD. A proof of their forced synchronization.
The force gradually dissipated. Letting Solivane stabilize himself. With a heave, Solivane muttered low,
"..Enclaved rhythm enhanced...you greatly."