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Legatus Gaius Von Baelsar, the black wolf of the imperial legion, had been proselytizing for what felt like ages. In reality it had most likely only been about ten minutes, but Erika never was good at listening to lectures. A fact that had gotten her into trouble more than once during her work as an Arcanist. Oh, she was able to absorb the grand strokes of what was being said, but the finer details eluded her. Something, something Eorzia weak because religion, me strong because atheism, strong rule weak, while not providing an actual metric by which to measure strength. At the very least she had plenty of practice pretending to look invested while focused on other matters.
“And what say you?” Gaius paused, waiting for a response.
Erika began to panic and scramble to think of something clever to say in response. Something that would make Gaius go ‘oh wow, you are a worthy rival and my philosophical equal. I will now go jump off of a bridge since you have bested me ideologically.’
“Have you ever heard of the Brotherhood of Ash?”
And in typical Erika fashion, she had spoken before her brain even realized what she was saying. Wait a minute, this was her out! She was suddenly glad about all the time she had spent learning to weave, since she was gonna have to spin this hard.
“They’re a community of Amalj’aa who’s homeland lies in Southern Thanalan who reject the power of Ifrit. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know them personally, and it has allowed me a number on insights into Amalj’aa culture.”
Gaius motioned to speak but Erika kept going, cutting him off.
“Many in Eorzia and content to write off the many beast folk who we share our land with as uncultured savages. However, if you put in the time and effort needed to engage with them as people, it quickly becomes apparent that their cultures and societies are rich and vibrant, and that a fundamental lack of curiosity and empathy for the world around us is the real evil we should be fighting!”
Gaius began to mockingly laugh.
“Is that all you have to say? I can assure you I’ve seen enough of Eorzia to make my call.”
Well, it was worth a shot.
“Eh, fair. I wasn’t expecting to persuade you anyway. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut it’s a good thing I’m not willing to judge cultures, because if I did you imperials would really, really suck. Tell me, how do you plan on accomplishing anything when you surround yourself with whiny brats and people with no lives.”
Gaius said nothing, but slight changes in his body language told her she had struck a nerve.
“Livia had no ambitions of her own, she only existed to carry out your will. It’s just, sad ya know? Predicating your own happiness on someone else’s success is just a recipe for failure. And this is just a heads up, maybe if you get some free time, you should totally take Nero to the park, play some catch, get him a happy meal, tell him your proud of everything he’s done. I think the guy could use it- “
The sound of a gunshot snapped Erika back to reality as a bullet shattered upon her Carbuncles shield. Evidently Gaius was not pleased.
“Oh, and that reminds me, if your so strong, why do you need the Ultima weapon to beat Eorzia? Surely you could have just waltzed in when we where all reeling from the Calamity and faced minimal resistance? You claim to be the only one strong enough to rule Eorzia but have done nothing to prove it!”
“Silence. I have entertained your mindless drivel long enough and will no longer listen to one who has no idea what they’re talking about.”
Their fight was erratic, due to the one sided nature of it. Erika could not afford to get caught and was forced to play more defensively than normal. Her knowledge of the scholarly arts alleviated this somewhat, as her magical barriers absorbed and lessened the blows she would have taken otherwise, while her Egi’s provided ample distractions to Gaius allowing Erika to slip in a few blows of her own.
“Hey, remember what I said about not understanding Eorzia?” Titan blocked a blow from Gaius.
“Well, how is more strength gonna solve Limsa’s broken treaties with the kobolds that led to them summoning Titan in the first place?
Gaius’s blade passed through Erika cleanly, revealing an illusionary duplicate of her that quickly morphed into Ifrit and struck him in the head.
“How will more strength fix Ul’dah’s crippling inequality?”
Garuda flanked Gaius and struck him from the side.
“How will more strength make Gridania less racist?” Erika paused briefly “Did you know that if the trees say no, the Gridanian’s will leave you to die on the floor like an animal? That’s fucked up. But again, how will more strength solve it?”
Evidently Gaius was to busy defending from Erika’s assault to respond, or maybe he had no response to racist tree’s, which was fair. Few people would even in the best of circumstances. Unfortunately, their fight was cut short as the elevator they where on reached it’s destination, the Ultima weapon stood menacingly in front of them.
“I care not for what prattle you have left, adventurer. Your empty words will break upon the Ultima weapons armor and at last you will know defeat.” Before Erika could react, Gaius was inside the weapon and piloting it. Erika readjusted her grip on her tome and prepared for round 2.