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Normally no one would dare venture into the Imperial Study when Zenos used it for his studies. He did not let the momentary flare of surprise show on his face when he heard the door open, followed by two sets of feet. Slow, heavy boots, the tap of a cane: an older man most likely. Smaller, steadied and almost absent in noise: younger, whoever it was. Neither patterns were familiar to him.
"Aaaaahhh. Forgive us for our intrusion, my lord."
Zenos recognized the voice of Mateus van Imparat, Legatus of the IInd. He also noted the empty apology within that playful tone of his. The presented respect was out of civility. Plenty of rumors circled how the Golden Viper supported the Galvus line solely from the benefits that His Radiance gifted upon his rise to power. If his father did not take the throne after his great-grandfather, the man would swap sides to whoever would be most likely to steal it. If only for the extra years the Legatus had on the Emperor, van Imparat may have fought for the throne himself.
"Perhaps you can learn something from the Genius of the Empire, my dear."
Said as if the individual in question would be worth his time. Zenos continued making notes, still not acknowledging them.
The cane tapped twice, smaller feet stumbled forward three steps, and then van Imparat exited.
He could barely hear the newcomer as they walked across to a table two from his. They intentionally kept silent even when moving their chair and sitting down. No greeting, no introduction, and certainly none of the flare of those within the IInd. Only silence.
Minutes passed, the two working without addressing one another. While Zenos savored his time not being wasted by others, he could not bite down the curiosity from the odd occurance.
"Many would consider not saluting a member of the royal family worthy of corporal punishment."
"You're known to like quiet and being left alone," she explained, her tone neutral and equally as uninterested, "so I saw no reason to pose for you."
Zenos did not recognize the voice, though he was able to pinpoint her accent. People from the Far East struggled with some of the tongue motions used in Garlean words, especially those who learned the language later in life. Her accent was subtle though. More than likely a citizen raised in the Eastern territory. Again, not surprising as the IInd had a large chunk of the Legion stationed outside of Kugane to keep track of trade affairs. van Imparat's tastes in young men and women were barely rumors, though the Legatus bringing one of his potential 'toys' into the Imperial study...
Nowhere near normal, and he found himself curious. Without moving his head, the Prince glanced out the corner of his eye towards his study 'companion.' Unusual became completely unheard of.
She wasn't Garlean, which meant she was not of noble blood, even if she wore the same uniform given to the higher-class military students. This was also his first time witnessing one of the scaled savages. Inky blue, almost black horns extended from the spot meant for ears, the elongated shape following the length of her head until the points extended backwards. Her cheeks and forehead had matching colored scales. When they'd said this particular race were similar to lizards he'd expected more features. And so tiny- she may reach his belt at her height.
"Peculiar for a savage to be allowed access to this space," Zenos noted without betraying his moment of surprise, "guided by the Golden Viper himself. I'd theorize you are a step above the common peregrinus."
The first emotional reaction from her: she clenched her pen tightly and her jaw locked. Like him, the girl refused to allow him to read her. Were he not so skilled in analyzing a person's thoughts via the micro-movements, he may have missed it.
"Alma Iovinus. I am the daughter of Verdom goe Iovinus. Not by blood, and I do not have a title yet as I am still a student. My citizenship is just as valid as yours." She explained, lacking any bite. This statement she's said hundreds of times over. Enough so that potential mockery caused her to steady her shoulders. Zenos did not feel the need to dig in like those lesser than him would.
"A public official of any stature would not hold the eye of a Legatus." There were many hidden strings connecting various points that did not make sense. Zenos did not wish to be intrigued, but he found himself welcoming something new amongst the monotony. "I know the name of each Legion's Legatus and those directly integrated with their work. Each country and territory leader, those of the senate- also common knowledge. goe Iovinus is not amongst them."
"A Frumentarius acting as a shadow Tribunus is not meant to be known." Alma turned a page, continuing writing within her notebook.
Only the IInd would have such oddities. van Imparat was also known for the vast amount of working Frumentarius across the star. Having a figurehead Tribunius did not seem at all strange. To speak it out loud, casually-
"Strange you think it perfectly fine to note what should be unspoken."
For the first time she looked at him in the corner of her vision. "Out of anyone in this place, I'd peg you as the least likely to go gossiping."
People did not dare bite back at him; a savage no less. She held his attention longer than most. Zenos wondered idly how long she'd prove entertaining. He dared to turn his head and actually look at her.
"And if I did? Propose what would come of me revealing such information to the High Legatus." Not that he had any intent in doing so. "Perhaps I pass it instead to my father? Mayhaps to his Radiance? What would the outcome be?"
The girl returned her eyes to the notebook in front of her. She scribbled a few things on the paper, then turned a page in the book above that. "You don't talk to the Emperor- he barely talks to his grandson. No one would care either, so long as van Imparat continues to do his job."
A single golden brow arched upward. She did not take the bait. "You speak confidently in the assertion that I would do no such thing-"
"You wouldn't." Still her eyes remained locked on her work. Alma somehow completely distracted him from his, not that it had been interesting to begin with.
Rarely did anyone interrupt him that were not his immediate family. "... regardless. To assume that you, an outsider to the castle- a savage no less-" The insult did not garner a reaction that time, "- have an inkling of the inner workings of the royal family is arrogant at best."
Her hand paused from her writing. Again she peered at him in the corner of her vision, just enough so that Zenos noted the vivid aqua rings around her eyes. They seemed brighter than before as he could see them more clearly. "Knowledge has greater power than the blade. To know is to see the field from a greater perspective. Only fools walk into foreign territory blind and stupid."
Spoken like a true Frumentarius. Her small stature made her seem so young, but for a single moment Zenos wondered if she was his senior.
Silence lingered for several more moments. The scaled girl continued to read her book, make notes, and pay him no mind. Locked shoulders gave away she remained aware of her surroundings, like one ready for the next attack.
He pushed his chair back from the table, choosing not to make eye contact. A minute smirk appeared, formed by the very tiny lift in his cheeks. "Perhaps you are worthy to provide me some form of entertainment against the dullness of this study."
Her hand clenched firmly around her pen before passing him a narrowed glare out the corner of her eyes. "I am not here to keep you entertained I-"
"T'was it not the idea of van Imparat to learn from me in some form or fashion?" Zenos asked with a coyness lingering under his words. Across the room he fetched a medium sized wooden box. "I believe you too tire of regurgitating the special circumstances to which Gaius van Baelsar used for the domination of Ala Mhigo upon page. Trivial work it must be."
Ah. Finally he'd garnered a suitable reaction: head turned towards him, wide eyed, lips parted slightly in shock. That little smirk grew ever so slightly, and his brows hung lower over his eyes.
"Are you familiar with Ludus Latrunculus?" Zenos asked as he placed the wooden box in the center of the table right before the other. He noticed her flinch from his sudden approach, hands withdrawing from her paper and placing both in her lap- pen included.
It took Alma a couple moments to translate the old language. "Game of Soldiers?"
"She speaks fluent in Garlean, and within that has knowledge of the mother tongue," he hummed with notes of what may have been considered surprise, "A common man would know not the words I spoke. A savage even less so."
Her cheeks puffed in anger, tilting her chin downward to glare at him with a more intimidating gaze. "I am sitting right here..."
The Prince did not reply. He clicked the latches on either side, then slid off the lid to reveal a boardgame underneath: two containers with black and white pieces separated beside a grid of 32 squares. Though the parts were all made of rich stone, it was worn with age. The tiny round disks had chips on the edges, and the board lines had been painted numerous times from fading. It could be potentially older than the Empire itself.
"An eight by eight grid," he began as he sat across from her, "each chooses a place on the board for their soldier. Once our armies are settled on the board, we may maneuver each one step, any direction, so long as it is not diagonal."
While Alma did not intend to 'entertain him', as Zenos said previously, the girl could not help but be interested in the game before her.
"Our aim is to capture our opponents soldiers, via 'jumping' over during our single movement- though one could take multiple pieces in the same fashion. A soldier that finds itself unwillingly flanked by their opponent cannot move, and if not saved by their comrades, that soldier shall be taken upon the next turn."
"Interesting that you call the pieces 'soldiers' rather than... well, board game pieces."
A single cheek lifted one tip of Zenos' lips into an impish smile. "This is a battlefield to which we play. The stakes not high, nor dangerous to another soul. Still we that command these 'pieces' to win. Ours to command: soldiers."
Several times her eyes fluttered with brows flexing in thought. While she didn't truly like the analogy, it made odd sense to her. Alma's lips pursed, then made a small popping noise. "Alright. I'll play."
His smile grew ever so slightly more. "A game you've not played? Was it not you just moments ago lamenting that 'only fools walk into foreign territory blind and stupid'?"
It had his intent to goad her. Yet again she failed to take the bait, only smiling in return. "And did you not just state the stakes were not high? Nothing to lose but my ego."
...
His partner was not boding well, even if Zenos decided to give her a slim benefit of the doubt given she'd never played before. Five games later and she'd learned the rules, and each time she succeeded in taking more of his soldiers, but nowhere close to possibly winning.
And he was growing bored.
Zenos pinched one of his many black pieces, slid it to the right, then hopped over three pieces. Again, she was left with only one: another loss. This time he did not restrain the irritated sigh.
"Perhaps a foolish mistake on my part to believe it would be entertaining to play with a novice..." The prince flicked the remaining white disk in her direction, it clattering on the table in front of her.
The insult did not seem to phase Alma at all. After every loss she collected the remaining pieces, separating the black and white, then returned them to their dishes. To keep them on a semi-neutral playing field, the two swapped who made the first move each game. She placed a white disk towards the center of the middle row.
"Might we increase the difficulty?" A coy smile formed on her lips, giving the scaled girl an impish look. "Add another layer to the game, one that I am more familiar with, as you have the 'field' advantage here with the boardgame."
His brows furrowed towards his nose. Slowly Zenos lifted his head from his fist to which he had perched it on. "You've barely scratched the surface of success, and yet you wish to continue with another level of difficulty?"
Again she'd piqued his interest. Most would have given up by this point, if he did not dismiss them before then.
"A knowledge component. After we've filled up the field, I'll ask you a question," Alma explained, eyes locked on his, glowing with more excitement than when they began. "You answer it, then you ask me one. We repeat this until one of us loses."
Silence passed between the two of them for several moments. Zenos did not look away from the other, eyelids blinking slowly in consideration. What a strange savage... He picked up the piece and placed it on the fourth row off to the side. "Very well..."
Back and forth the two placed their pieces all over the board. Previously she would take the time to plot out her locations for each piece after his. Instead she followed his pace, seeming to put them wildly all over the field.
32 disks, half black, half white, were set in place for the next battle.
"Basch van Gabranth oversees what territories." She slid a disk to her left towards the edge.
Zenos had already prepared his next move before pausing. He knew the answer, but he'd not expected the question. "... Dalmasca, Nagxia, Bozja."
Instead of taking one of her pieces, he slid one closest to him in the same direction. Now he had to think of a question. Before he could lift his finger from the disk, Alma spoke up.
"Trick question. His son Noah now leads the IVth."
Again he paused. He was technically right, but in truth wrong.
A single corner of his lips curled into a small smirk as eyelids hung lower than before.
Finally he withdrew his hand. "What element of the Imperial army assisted in the domination of Dalmaca?"
"Airships. Still it took six months for them to bring down the barrier outside Nalbina Fortress."
He did not know that second fact, at least to that level of accuracy.
The girl hopped one piece on his side of the board. The first blood taken, this time by her. "What is the purpose of a 'limiting collar' and where is it used primarily?"
Zenos hummed. Staying on the same topic gave away part of the answer. "Restrain the ability of the wearer to channel mana. Primarily used on the savages of Bozja to keep them compliant and easily subdued when necessary."
Second blood by one of his soldiers off the center of the board. He placed the piece in the dish. "During the first Eorzean assault, it was decided to withdraw fighting the southern states for what reason?"
"After the XIVth was defeated at Lake Silvertear, primals made their appearance in southern Gridania and Thanlan. Dealing with them after by the Dravanian Horde and Midgardsormr was considered a suicide move." Alma took another black piece off the board. "Who assisted the adventurers of Eorzea to attack Castrum Novum?"
... he paused. Majority of the populace knew about Project Meteor, and less about what led up to it. The prince's pinched fingers lingered above the board.
"Gaius van Baelsar." Again that coy, playful smile formed on her face. "His Radiance censured him for the action, but it mattered not as the invaders could not stop the fall of Dalamud."
She wove her hand across the board, beaming. "Your move, your question."
There were two battles being played at once, and each of them had their advantage. He had mastered the board before him, knowing where to best place his soldiers against a naive opponent. But she, like the good daughter of a Frumentarius, had many things stored in the back of her mind.
"Which Galvus member does Vergilia van Corculum back to take the throne if great-grandfather decides not to name an heir." He hopped another white disk with his own, removing it from the field. A trick question of his own given it was not common knowledge that an heir had not been named.
"Titus yae Galvus," Alma said confidently as she hopped not one, not two, but three pieces total. It placed her in a flanked position, but the piece would remain safe on his turn. The first time she had made such a risky, but well-planned move-
No. It wasn't well planned. The last move Zenos made was a poor one and she'd taken full advantage of it.
"If Lucius yae Galvus still lived, His Radiance would most likely already have passed on the crown."
The prince found himself staring across the table for far longer than he had intended. While his face did not express any sort of surprise for her to read, the level of knowledge she showed still surprised him. On top of that her sudden rashness in the boardgame itself caught him off guard.
Finally- finally he felt true interest. Slowly a smile formed on his face, growing until his teeth were bared between his lips.
"This new game is entertaining. Let us continue."
Alma nodded her head, grinning in reply. "Yes. Eventually I will win."
He hummed an even, low note. "I look forward to your success, Alma."
---------
"Again!!!!"
They should have ended their fight quite some time ago. The Tribuns watching from the sidelines had long since summoned the Medicus to deal with the aftermath. Too many times their Legatus and his Tribunus 'sparred' close to the edge of death.
Blood poured down her face from her head striking the wall prior, the spot marked with smeared crimson. He too left dotted lines of red rushing across the training room, dripping off his gauntlet from his dead arm. Being forced to use his non-dominant arm gave her a slight advantage.
People were screaming at the two, but they couldn't hear them. Both eyes were blown wide, glowing with the thrill of battle. They grinned, laughed even with blood smeared all over the insides of their mouths. She dragged her mighty axe across the floor, creating sparks from metal on metal before lifting it to attack. It met his katana and the two were locked in place.
Laughing. Screaming. Roaring .
"I said again!!" Alma screeched, "Entertain me, Zenos!"
The larger man cackled to the point it echoed through the entire room. Even amidst training they continued to play their war games.
"Why do we still stay our hand against Kugane, though the land lay there, ripe for the taking!?"
She pushed her axe to the side, using the curved bottom to catch his katana and push it away. It gave her just enough time to lift her foot and kick him in the hip to offset his balance. "A neutral state gives us access to embassies of other nations, but an attack on the capital may ignite the Confederacy to rise! An unnecessary move that gains nothing!"
Her attempt to break his stature did not save her from being attacked again. Zenos twisted the katana in his hand so he could position it in the reverse, then swung his arm beneath and up, striking the underside of her arm. If he fully intended to kill her, she may have lost the limb. Instead it sliced into the muscle and he quickly withdrew it. She screamed, and then laughed.
"Current speciality of Nero tol Scavea?!" Alma's voice began to stutter. Exhaustion would soon take her if the blood loss didn't get to her first.
He narrowly dodged her overhead swing of her axe. Even if she too had been forced to wield the weapon one-handed, it could easily cleave his skull. Several seconds passed as he tried to think of the correct way to answer what he realized was, in some ways, a trick question. All the while he had to take a step back from each swing.
"Ground assault magitek, utilizing high ceruleum output to overwhelm a force with pure might! Current project is the Ultima Weapon!"
Zenos prepared himself for another strike, but mid-swing the weapon fell from her hands. Alma stumbled without the weight balancing her momentum. He swiftly dropped his katana and moved in to catch his Tribunus before she fell face first to the floor. Pain from her injuries bubbled up her torso, reminding her about the blood in her lungs and stomach, to which she coughed all over his chest. Realizing the battle was truly over, the Medicus swarmed the duo.
He cared not for all the questions and demands of the men and women worried about their physical conditions. They were but bugs fluttering around, buzzing uselessly in his ears. Slowly he eased the two of them to sit on the floor, still balancing the scaled woman dancing in and out of consciousness.
"I wanna go see it, Zenos..." Again she coughed, adding more dark crimson to her already blood slathered chin. Someone came in to try and clean it off her mouth, only to be slapped away by the back of her hand. Beneath his breath he chuckled.
"Something that can... eat primals? A magitek that big...? No way that Eorzea could fight back..."
"Shh, my dragon," Zenos replied with a low note close to concern, mixed with pride. He cupped the side of her face and smoothed his thumb over her cheek, smearing more red in its wake. "A future adventure we may ponder in the 'morrow, once you speak without slurs."
"I wanna stop talking about war and... do it, Zenos..." Alma grinned with all her teeth bared. The medicus were starting to have issues plugging up her wounds given the two were still fully garbed in armor and refused to separate. "Get van Baelsar to take our assistance... it's boring here..."
While he had no need to find a new opponent, given the little scaled savage had become his most worthy adversary, he could not deny the idea of a new battlefield- a real battlefield.
"Then word shall be sent. Rest so the bones may carry your invigorated mind to our next game." Zenos leaned forward and laid a soft kiss upon her forehead scales.
The blood loss caught up with his Tribunus and the light vanished with her consciousness. He released her so the Medicus could finally do their jobs. If things went the way that she wanted, the staff would soon be taking care of more than their feral leaders.
Who would play black, and who would play white?