This is How the World Ends (Florian/Brenner)

[Brenner Dornkirk]

16 Ash, 121
The Otherwilds

Things had rather escalated since they'd reached this next level of the Warrens the prior day, but amidst the rising threat level there were also signs of progress toward their ultimate goal. It seemed Brenner's mysterious and unlikely benefactress had been telling the truth about at least some of what she forecast for their journey. The intelligence upon which they based their path to-date was broad-ranging, and rather byzantine- with poetical passages in the purple verse of yesteryear that oft conflicted one with the next. They weren't flying completely blind, but neither had they been afforded the luxury of a clear-cut roadmap. All of that notwithstanding, they now had something of a trail to follow in the form of ghostblooms. Those, Brenner had been informed, would lead them to the Fademire where their ultimate quarry dwelt.

It was around noon, if Brenner's pocket watch was to be trusted in the midst of the odd magnetic fields and magical influences that likely surrounded them, and they had come to a crossroads. Ghostblooms burst forth like the eruptions of viscera that had likely claimed the lives of the corpses they now adorned, heading in either direction. Piers called for them to pause and Brenner suggested scouts be sent forth in pairs in either direction.

Eitan had pointed out that Brenner hadn't properly bonded with their Lysanrin cohort, and the mission commander took his point. It was a middling leader who let his personal prejudices impact the morale of his men and women. So, Brenner reluctantly sent Eitan and Stefan to scout the cavern to the right, whilst he volunteered himself to head left with Florian Albrecht. The others would camp temporarily to await reports as to whether the eerie blossoms continued deep into either or both of those tunnels.

After a long silence during which Brenner wracked his mind for how to come off friendly to the strange little creature Eitan had taken under his proverbial wing, he finally spoke.

"We... haven't had much chance to speak, Albrecht. Not alone, at any rate. How are you finding the mission, thus far?"

► Show Spoiler

[Florian]

Florian was not eager to be assigned to search the left fork of the cavern with Brenner, but he was in no position to voice his displeasure. After all, it was Brenner's expedition — and that meant that he should at least try to be cordial to the man, and maybe even talk to him once or twice, no matter how reluctantly. Perhaps, as Eitan would say, it would look good to the higher ups if he played nice.

"I've yet to delve this far into the Warrens," He replied to Brenner's question, obstinately ignoring the awkward introduction. His gaze followed the Ghostblooms as they trailed down the crossroads, and he blinked a few times, his eyes mercurial silver in an attempt to spot any Dragonshards that might jut out from the cavern walls. If he looked carefully, he could even almost see where the aether began to grow thicker and congregate. Florian took a few steps ahead and almost ran into the aetherite jutting out of the wall at the turn. He stood there and turned back to look at Brenner, looking him in the eyes as he started to siphon the aether out of them. Aetherite was common and neutral and by now Florian could easily recognize the fractal pattern that glowed from them specifically. It was incredibly boring.

"What's your plan if both of the tunnels have the Ghostblooms?" He asked. He had no desire to talk about anything personal with Brenner, and so he opted to keep the topic on the mission itself. Not that he had much things personal going on, anymore. Every ounce of numbing work just allowed him to work longer without breaking down. It had barely been...two weeks? Over? Since she had died, and he was having trouble keeping track of how many nights they had slept. Given the frequency of his nightmares, he was surprised he had yet to wake anyone up with them.

[Brenner Dornkirk]

"Mm." Brenner just grunted his initial reply, before remembering himself and that the whole goal of this side quest was to get to know the Lysanrin at his side. After a moment's thought, he spoke on:

"I think that's likely true of all of us aside from Lightborn... But even if he delved deeper, it was so far North of here as to be almost irrelevant." Indeed, they were all out of their element. Perhaps none more so than the Air Commander, whose typical work environs were about as far as possible from these subterranean caverns.

He pursed his lips and paused his gait as Florian halted to practise his strange craft. To siphon magic seemed like a magic of its own, so his reflexive response was discomfort, but he knew the talent was to the boon of their mission. It was no great wonder that Zaichaer was starting to adopt an interest in these bizarre little creatures, with their peculiar set of talents.

Broken out of his reverie by Florian's question, he considered for a moment before responding.

"If they're to be found in both tunnels, we'll follow the tunnel that boasts the more copious supply. The more abundant the blossoms, the closer we're getting to our ultimate destination." When Florian had finished his siphoning, Brenner gestured forward. "Shall we?"

He held his lantern aloft, and continued down the route.

"I imagine you're eager to get back aboveground..." The human mused to the Lysanrin. "It has not been lost on me that you are not the most enthusiastic member of the party, but your sense of duty is to be commended." He pursed his lips, hoping his compliments didn't seem too contrived. He meant them in earnest, but he wasn't the sort to deal out praise blithely, so it still wasn't altogether comfortable.

"I'm no stranger to serving on missions about which I'm not particularly enthusiastic, but... We military men must cow to the chain-of-command and rely upon the wisdom of the State." He glanced sidelong to the Lysanrin,

"Believe it or not, my hope in all this is to save millions of lives." His gaze turned back toward the path ahead, "If we succeed, we'll be in a position to deal about a bit of discomfort for a minority that will avert a war and equalise the balance of power in Karnor and beyond. Whether or not you agree with our methods, I hope you can at least respect the nobility of our aspirations."

[Florian]

Florian followed Brenner and mulled over his goal here. Not jsut the goal of the expedition, but the goal of...trying to talk to him. Even complimenting him, however forced it may have seemed. He was initially unsure on how bold he wanted to be. He didn't want to upset the man, though he wondered if he could take him in a fight. He had a size advantage, but he was quick... He broke his own train of thought to speak.

"What is your goal here, Commander?" He had to stop himself from saying "Dornkirk", or worse, "Brenner", no matter how funny it might have been. "Not with this expedition. With talking to me."

The Lysanrin's gaze roamed the Ghostblooms that the trail followed, but there wasn't much else since the dragonshard he had found. At least he had aether — it had started to make him feel safer since they had entered the Warrens to have a bit of power stored in his bones. He looked back at Brenner with a look that he hoped made it clear how intimately familiar he was with the concept of chain-of-command.

"Can I be candid?" He asked, but he waited no time for the man to reply. He was going to be candid regardless. "How do you plan to save millions of lives with a aether-eating parasites, then? Sounds to me like it'd sooner start a war than avert one. Nobility of aspirations or not." He paused and sighed. "And you've got plenty experience dealing about a bit of discomfort to minorities."

The last jab slipped out from his thoughts unintentionally, but he couldn't take the words back. His eyes widened and he diverted his gaze from Brenner and started mentally tracking how many Ghostblooms they passed compared to how many had been at the beginning of the trail.

[Brenner Dornkirk]

Brenner parted his lips to respond to what he thought the question was, before Florian elaborated and clarified that it was the interpersonal intentions after which he was inquiring.

"Ah." He grimaced a bit, supposing that his attempts were as transparent as he'd feared. "You are a member of my crew and I have been negligent in getting to know you. My goal is to, um... to remedy that." His eyes remained forward as he spoke, but they did hazard to turn toward Florian when he asked if he might be candid.

His jaw set at the dig, but he let that slide without answer, focusing instead upon the interesting question he posed.

"A cogent query." He acknowledged, "Which I shall answer to the best of my ability." He took a breath and looked ahead,

"People can live without magic. Billions already do. The majority. If we can utilise a natural remedy that will excise the magical ability without causing further harm, which is our optimal goal, then we will save lives by circumventing the world war that will otherwise prove inevitable." He furrowed his brow,

"I will wage war, if I must, but to embark upon such an endeavour, Albrecht, would be as distasteful to me as I fear this mission is to you. I will observe the chain of command and engage in the shedding of blood, if I must, but I've done enough of that in my life. I've lost my brothers-in-arms... watched the life fade from their eyes as they died in my embrace. I do not wish that on anyone. This whole mission is about dismissing the gathering clouds that loom ominously in the skies of Karnor." He tilted his head,

"I will freely admit that I am a severe person. That I have made and will continue to make sacrifices that you may deem unacceptable, but to me these things are last resorts. Whether you believe in my intentions or not, all of this is about preserving life and liberating the many wretched souls who are enslaved by the yoke of witchcraft."

[Florian]

Florian looked sharply at Brenner, not angry but...snarky. As if he wanted to make it clear he respected the man about as far as his title could take him, and that it was not far. He opened his mouth to reply to Brenner's desire to get to know him but closed his mouth and shrugged instead. "There's not much to get to know."

Whether Florian really believed that was up for question. Lately he had less of his usual personality and more depressed mood and overwork. If anything could make him throw himself into work, it upset him that it was the death of the one person that truly cared for him. The grief threatened to spill over again, and if the man wanted to make an effort to get to know him, that is what he would receive. A double-edged sword. At least he wasn't crying in front of him like he would certainly have been crying in front of Eitan.

"My mother died on the 91st. Last season." Florian started off, quietly. "She didn't do any magic. No aether manipulation. She didn't like that I did. She was my only family." He realized Brenner hadn't earned this level of detail, but once he had started speaking it started to fall out, like when he opened up to Eitan. But it was different with Eitan, because he knew what to expect from him, whether it was a joke or empathy or a hug. But he could and would judge him on his reaction.

"I found her body. She was murdered. I know what it's like to see death. Maybe you're right, and you'll avoid war with your goals, but it seems more like you'll instigate it." He shrugged as they walked on. "But what do I know? I'm not even human." Another jab. "I'm still here, anyway. I'm going to see the expedition to its end to the best of my abilities because that's why I'm here and I don't want to disappoint—" He didn't want to disappoint Eitan, but he didn't want to say that. He didn't care about disappointing anyone else. "Anyone."

[Brenner Dornkirk]

"Ah," Brenner smiled wanly, "But I'm certain you're selling yourself short. You'd not have captured so much of Eitan's attention if there was that little to you." The Air Commander understood the young private's reticence. He clearly just wanted to keep his head down on this mission and, thus far, he'd done a capital job of it. Brenner's attempts to make inroads were directly counter to that goal and so he could justify Florian's hostility without taking it personally. The next revelation only further mitigated the behaviour.

Brenner paused in his tracks and turned to face Florian as he spoke of his mother.

"Mists..." He sighed faintly, "That is a nightmare, Albrecht." Brenner was very close to his own mother and the notion of being in the position Florian described felt bloodcurdlingly horrifying. "I... don't know what I'd have done in that situation, but... I know I wouldn't be all right for quite some time. I'm very sorry for your loss and for drawing you away when you ought to be grieving properly." There certainly wasn't time for any such thing in the here and now, when threats were abounding around every corner and within every crevice.

Brenner frowned slightly.

"This war has been a long time coming and whether or not this mission succeeds someone is likely to catalyse a conflagration. I believe that my way represents the path of least resistance. Without magic, they would be in no fit state to vie with Zaichaer and our Fatherland would have no reason to war with them. The oldest and most deep-seated feuds afflicting the North would become wholly obsolete..." He shifted his lantern back down the path and started to walk again, in that direciton.

"I don't expect you to accept the case I make at face value, but these are my earnest aims." He noticed a glint of glistering blue clinging to a cluster of stalagmites ahead, and made his way over to investigate. A bit of dust crumbled down from the stalactites overhead and peppered Brenner's dark hair with grey-white powder.

[Florian]

Florian sighed, a small weight lifted from his chest. He had only else told Franky and Eitan what had happened, though to receive what felt like earnest sympathy from Brenner was almost upsetting. It was easy to hate someone for first impressions and misguided aims, but it was more difficult when you actually spoke to them, when they showed emotions and awkward behavior. A real person was hard to hate. But even him, for every ounce of Zaichaeri propoganda he had experienced, for every poster and story he had heard of magic gone wrong, for each tragedy that befell the city, Florian was unsure if the eradication of it was the way to go. Though Zaichaer had done well for itself, even they manipulated aether in controlled amounts. He would know; he was state-sanctioned, too.

"Ahh..." Florian replied. "To lower the stakes. Kalzasi is too dangerous otherwise." That was something he could understand. While he was uniquely suited to fighting mages, there were not many Lysanrin in the military, let alones one who used their inborn power. There were less mages. If the ambush he had experienced was any measure, they were illsuited to fight rebellious sects without it, let alone Kalzasi. And he was in the military; any war would include him, surely. But even as he could see Brenner's...perception of the situation, he was not convinced it would save millions of lives. Perhaps he was too cynical. Like Eitan, he seemed much more optimistic than Florian could bring himself to be. Typical human pride.

He said nothing more on the matter of the purpose of the expedition, his attention drawn to the ceiling. It was a bit higher here than it had been just before them, and he was not a fan of the dust. He waited back while Brenner went forward, but he did not want to find himself stuck in this tunnel alone, either. He took a step forward, and the same dust fell onto him from the minor tremble of his step.

"What did you find?" He asked, standing still. The Ghostblooms continued, but he didn't think it was Ghostblooms he went to investigated. He took a few more steps, and more dust sprinkled down. He was beginning to think it might be a touch unsafe.

[Brenner Dornkirk]

"I don't know if you knew this, Florian..." Brenner began, as he drew closer to the blue speckled stone and knelt beside it. "But I was in that courtyard on Glade the 8th." He placed a moderately sized pouch on the ground and opened it.

"My aversion to magic is more than academic. I saw the breadth of its destructive potential as it tore through trained, veteran Reconciliators and innocent bystanders alike without regard for the lives or families of its targets. Men, women, children... Anything in the path of that vile force was torn, sliced or burned to ash and viscera. Many orphans, widows and widowers were forged on that fell day." His voice wavered and broke as he recounted what he saw.

"I tried to stop it and... Perhaps I contributed a bit, but..." He shook his head, as he scooped a bit of the glistening substance into a vial. "I cannot begin to compare my experience with what you just went through. I saw a massacre, yes, but the dead were strangers. Countrymen, yes, but not loved ones. Still, all I could think about for weeks after that experience was- What if?" He sealed the vial and wrapped it in cloth, before placing it back in his pouch.

"What if my mother, my brother, my father, my best friend, Eitan, or... my future children fell victim to such a force of evil. What if I knew it my heart that I didn't do everything in my power to stop it? Could I live with myself?" He shook his head, "I decided I could not, and so I began the research that led us here." He placed a hand on the stalagmite and pushed himself back to his feet.

"I don't believe anyone deserves to wield such power that they might blithely cause so much pain at the slightest whim. Power corrupts." He stowed his pouch and shrugged at Florian's question.

"Probably nothing, but I'll let Stefan be the judge of that when we get back to the main group." He placed a hand against the nearby cavern wall and leaned against it. "So, anyway, I hope I'm not being overly-..." The sound of Brenner's voice was overpowered by the sound of crumbling stone tumbling from above.

[Florian]

He had heard of what happened on Glade the 8th, but it had always felt so distant from himself. He sighed, and started to close the distance between him to get a closer look at the glowing blue, to see if it were aetheric in nature with his own power. But he did not get the chance to look because the sky was falling. The sky was specifically falling over the two of them, and a particularly large stalacite hung precariously over Brenner, shuddering with dust.

Florian ran, using some of the aether he had absorbed as he did so to remove the tired and hungry from his bones, and more aether went instinctively into shield above himself. If everything wasn't happening so quickly, it would have felt comical that he was using magic to protect a man who wanted to end it. In a matter of seconds and a surge of adrenaline Florian had crossed the distance between them and pushed Brenner out of the way, his hand held up as the stalacite hit the faintly glimmering surface that the Lysanrin projected above their heads. It broke to pieces against it, eliciting a grunt of exertion from he who held it.

It was a short cave-in, but much of the way they had come was covered by the fallen stone of the now much higher cavern ceiling. Florian stood there for a moment to catch his breath as the crumbling ceased and the shield dissipated. He looked at Brenner and choked out a laugh, mercurial silver eyes blinked away into blue.

"And here I thought it was a monster that would do me in."