To our roots // Private // Rank Up Exam

What was this? The sounds of chains could be heard all over the Savage Skull guildhall, filling the Guild with its mesmerizing, yet terrifying noise, pushing away the usual silence that reigned in the guild for perhaps too long. Through the dark halls could be seen a short, curved figure walking silently, solemnly, towards a massive, elegant wooden door with beautiful cravings decorating its impecable surface. Big balls of iron and massive chains tied to the ankles of the poor creature, fated to wear them for the eternity. Shivering, a small hand reached up to knock several times on the massive wooden doors, which led to the Guildmaster office. Without warning, not a single sound coming from the inside, the door opened to reveal the gigantic circular room, filled with books, documents and artifacts of all sort, neatly slotted around the multiple shelvings. Prizes of hunts, maps, and the precious emblem of Savage Skull adorned the walls, decorating the circular hall, which more reminded of a library than anything else. Reluctant, almost falling from fear, the skinny girl made her way inside the office, her head low, hands gripped in front of her lap in a petty attempt to hide the fact that they were shivering. Although she had been a slave for Savage Skull for a few weeks already, ever since the new Guildmaster took over the throne, upon the abdication of the previous one, the poor, frail creature would never overcme the fear towards the cold, demanding icy blue eyes, and the constant peril of her head rolling on the floor. Many say that Harrigan was one of the worst Guildmasters, and nobody would really equal him, but the poor slave, now that she had experienced the cruelty of the Blonde who occupied the seat of the Guildmaster, could easily state that she was on par with Harrigan. For a reason she had been called one of the most loyal members. She was so awfully similar to him; although, as the slave had managed to notice, the new girl adored inducing incredible fear in her victims, before slowly torturing them, killing them slowly and painfully, or keeping them as slaves in grotesque conditions, making the poor people that were condemned to serve her to desire the death.

Ávia. A sweet, yet stern, cold voice filled the room, banishing the silence that had occupied the scenery for a few blissful moments. Shivering at the sound of the voice of the woman that had chained her down, that had forcefully taken away from her the right to be free, the slave, who, different than many others, had kept her first name, Ávia,  approached her new master slowly, pulling the chains tied to her ankles with difficulty. Albeit it was still difficult to walk with them, for they weighted so much, and only pulled her back, Ávia had gotten used to them in the time she had spent with them, and no longer tripped or fell because of them, thankfully. The day she'd get used to them completely would be a happy day. Although she obviously preferred taking them off before that day arrived. May I ask why you are bothering me? The tone, the way she said it, everything pointed towards the fact that Janneline Ariel, Guildmistress of Savage Skull, wanted answers, and she wanted them now. Ávia had learnt the hard way, that the beautiful, yet lethal blonde was not patient, at all.

I-I have completed the task you asked me to do, M-Mistress. Ávia said slowly, stuttering from the nervousness. Rising an eyebrow, elbows on the desk, Janna cushioned her head on her intertwined fingers, blinking several times as she watched the frail slave that stood before her, a smirk of pure satisfaction making its way on her lips. Very well, oh, very well indeed. Janna liked people who did what they were ordered to do, without making questions or trying to oppose themselves to her. Getting up from her seat, fixing her skinny, short red dress as she elegantly walked towards the door, icy blue eyes focused on the poor, terrified Slave, Janneline nodded once, hiding her smirk under her eternal emotionless mask, almost pushing the slave out of the Office, closing the door behind her. Very well, very well indeed. Have you informed Miss Thorn already? A nod from the slave, a satisfied look in Janna's eyes. Everything was going good, so far. Although she'd never admit it, Janneline was terrified, nervous about how this little guild matter would transcurr. Her achieving the title of Guildmaster had been unexpected, and, although she had always wanted it, the weight of her new responsibilities and duties fell on her shoulders all of sudden and scared her, making her think she is unworthy. For weeks she had been tortured by the pathetic thought, her mind trying to comprehend and make a strategy as to how to proceed with everything Harrigan had been forced to deal with, yet now that the time came for her to act like a Guildmaster, she had forgotten all plans and schemes. She was once again blank.

Yet, she had no reason to show that. As a proud Guildmaster, the blonde kept her fear and insecurities behind a frozen mask of confidence, which she made sure to let occupy her face as calmly, yet elegantly she headed down the Catacombs, one of the locations which pertained to Savage Skull, and which Janna had rarely been into; yet knew that Harrigan used to examinate members who were ready to rise through the ranks, achieve more power. And that was exactly her reason today to visit the curious location. A member that seemed to be powerful enough was ready to rise through the ranks, but, naturally, Janna would never let someone throught without an exam. Regardless who it was.  

0974 words // @Thorn // Introduction post // ultraviolence

The cold inside the catacombs was much greater than it was on the outside. It being a chamber benath earth, surrounded by cold, stone walls, with only dim torches to illuminate or heat it up a bit most certainly did not help the situation. Janneline was not fond of this location, to begin with; the fact that she was forced to spend time in it from time to time frustrated her. Lips pursued, the chilling stare of the blond haired warrior ran over the dimly illuminated scene, an emotionless, yet mesmerizing and beautiful mask placed on to hide the disdain, evil and aversion resting in her heart, the Savage Skull guildmaster leaned against the walls of the Catacombs, patiently waiting for the arrival of a certain member of the guild. Her petite body shivered slightly as her bare shoulder made contact with the humid walls of the catacombs, her eyes darting over to the wall so to make sure that no insect or anything remotely similar was crawling on it, dangerously near her. Albeit a strong, fearless woman, Janneline wasn't particularly fond on bugs, to put it short.

Surprisingly enough, soon the calm, sweet voice of a certain black-haired member reached Janneline's ears, the sound of her steps reaching to her as well, causing the blonde girl to slowly turn her head to the side, her icy cold stare passing onto the member who had caught her attention; Thorn. Janneline was quite intrigued by this female in particular. Being the little, asocial being she is, Janneline never really socialized with anyone from the guild, the only exception being Aedre Crawford, a woman whom merely weeks ago she swore to serve until her death, like with Harrigan, and whom she never expected to end up being her unerling. Yet, Aedre was, in a few words, the only member of the guild Janna could rely on. Someone that had gained her trust, in some way. The duo had gone through several battles together, and had similar views on a series of subjects, and a generally similar attitude and beliefs, convictions, which was possibly the factor that caused Janna to trust Aedre with such ease.

Yet, Thorn was unknown to Janna. She knew her name; and that was about it. As mentioned above, Janna has always been asocial with her Guildmates, despite the fact they were supposed to be the only ones she could rely on, and the ones she was, and is, supposed to be incredibly close to. However, she still was asocial with them. The reasons? Unknown. There were many hypothesis about this weird phenomena, however. Janna, who was supposed to be the perfect knight, and someone that exceeded in team battles, was more of a solo wolf, an attitude forged by the many abandons an betrayals she had went through in her life. First, abandoned by her "father", or, as it would be scientifically correct to call him, her creator, then, abandoned by her "mother", the Goddess Nyx, who, despite knowning that Janna was no daughter of hers, had made sure to make her life a living hell, for no obvious reason. Or perhaps she tried to avoid getting Janna to near the gods? Who knew. One would never find out. Regardless, all these betrayals and tragedies had forged Janna to become a lone wolf, always working alone, and rarely socializing, hence why she didn't even know half of her Guildmates. As if it mattered, really. One way or another, she'd end up meeting them all in a few; One of the advantages of being a Guildmaster, you could say. You get to meet everyone without having to make any effort to befriend them or get to talk to them. Circumstances or common needs forced you to meet, which was rather convenient, to say at least.

Finally spinning around to face the newcomer, and the member she wanted to see, Janneline straightened, fixing her scarlet dress quickly, her cold gaze, her icy blue eyes focused on Thorn, not moving an inch. Would she scare the member of Savage Skull? Or would she seem ridiculous. It was funny. Janneline had been, and still was, the youngest of Savage Skull, excluding Sinali, and yet she had risen through ranks and had built up more power than many members, becoming a valuable addition to Savage Skull, which had soon been nominated Pillar, and now, Guild Master. Janna was the perfect exemple that age didn't determine power. Because Janna was a 17 years old that was more than ready to cut your head off, and more than capable to do that. She was not to be underestimated. Good Day, Thorn. I indeed requested your presence here today. And before you shower me with questions, if you plan on doing that, allow me to explain my reasoning. Janna's sweet, calm voice resonated through the empty halls of the catacombs, a barely noticeable echo generating as she spoke, a small accent audible as she spoke giving up that she was not from Fiore. Albeit the natives of Bellum spoke the same language as the Fiorean, the accent was rather... different. The Bellumean had a more noticeable accent, perhaps not as much as the Pergrandean, but still. Or most did, to say at least. I have heard from reliable sources that you have completed successfully a few requests and have been gathering fame as a dark mage through Fiore. I must admit, I am quite amused by that. But, you see, I am the type of person that wants to see everything with her own eyes, in order to be 100% sure, and this is why I called you here. I am really craving to see what you can do. But not against any enemies; but against your greatest fears. The demons of your past. All of us are scared by something, tormented by an error commited in the past. And in sights that you are growing as a dark mage, becoming more and more powerful, I wanted to see if you'd be capable to defeat your own fears and demons, the ultimate challenge to prove someone's physical... and mental strength. And in the end, if you succeed, I may consider a promotion...

The words slipped quickly out of the blonde's mouth, yet were perfectly comprehensible, despite the speed with which they were said, despite the accent, everything Janneline said was perfectly comprehensible, and that was a positive side. Letting her hands fall next to her body, Janneline proceeded to point behind her, to the entrance to the catacombs calmly, the emotionless look in her eyes and on her face never changing, not for a second, not letting out even a spark of her true emotions. Janneline was, truly, a master when it came to controlling emotions. I soon discovered the existance of a very peculiar type of beasts. They call them boggarts, and those malevolent creatures take the appearance of your worst fears or greatest demons. They inhabitate dark, cold places, and feed from people's sanity and fear, and don't stop until they've finally consumed someone's sanity completely, or until they are defeated. Well, to the point; I got a few of those in the catacombs, and you have to find them, and defeat them all. At the end of the catacombs, you'll find a rather peculiar book, which gives the answers to all of your questions, regardless how hard they may be, how personal or incredible they are. I want you to bring back that book to me, defeat the boggarts, and most importantly, survive. I'll be waiting in my office, which I believe you know where it is located. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

Was Janneline going too far? Defeating one's fears or demons was insanely hard, as facing them alone was hard already. Perhaps she was going too far in her intent to discover the abilities and limits of her Guildmembers. Should she change it? Give her something easier...?

No. No. And no. Thorn was aiming to become a strong member, reach a greater rank. Janna could do anything, but be soft and easy with her from now on. She couldn't just give out the ranks and all to her members without asking them to prove their worth or loyalty to her, could she? She couldn't. Harrigan had asked her to complete a few minimal conditions in order to become a pillar, and considering Janna was planning the same for Thorn, she had a few conditions too... And this was one of them. Oh... And feel free to peak into the book at any time. Everyone has questions that need answers.

That said, the blonde walked past Thorn, hands next to her body, heading towards the door, and back to her office, where a warm seat and many reports and books awaited her. Where duties awaited her. Yet she had to be honest; her work was much easier than this girl's.  

1924 words // @Thorn // I did the thing. // ultraviolence