#and the long term solution is uh. The Knight Of The Abyss...

[secrettreestuffidk]

ok but idea: @card-of-the-day

https://card-of-the-day.tumblr.com/ random

click link three times for a tarot reading

[jiankimura-ffxiv]

The Legacy of the Broken Lance

Jian raps at the hard, oaken doors before clearing his throat and patting down his clothes, making sure his furs are in order. His chest pocket empty, the soul crystal remains behind at the Forgotten Knight, a precautionary measure in case his shade wished to throttle the man who seeks to criminalize the dark arts.

The door creaks opened, and an elderly eleven greeted him.

“Hello, I’m Jian Kimura. Chartered accountant of Limsa Lominsa, Vylbrand, Eorzea. Acting finan-“

“My master, Gilles Raoult, has been waiting for you.”

“-cial- Oh. Uh, sorry.” Jian chuckles nervously as he bows humbly. 

The door widens to invite him into the warm interior of the house. The lacquered walls are homely, made of wooden support beams and white plaster. Light emanates dimly from glass wall lamps stalled down the hall and up the stairs. The servant of the house escorted him to a brightly lit study room, with books lining the walls to the ceiling. A large window let in the morning light onto a clean, ornate desk and a pair of lush sofas facing each other with a low, coffee table between them.

A tall Elezen man -judging to be two heads taller than the accountant- stood to the side of the windows, watching the snow fall. The dark shades of his red satin suit accented his silvery blonde hair and pale, youthful face. If Jian had to guess, he would probably be ten or twenty years his elder. He subconsciously rubs at his aging sun-touched skin, thinking about it.

“Tea or coffee?” A firm voice erupted from the man, startling the Hyur from his thoughts.

“Uh tea. Thank you.”

The Ishgardian turns around; his violet eyes glance over him as he then looks to his servant.

“Tea for two, Rene. With cream and sugar on the side.”

Rene bows quietly, closing the door behind Jian, leaving both in the studies in uncomfortable silence as the statesman examines the highlander, from the wild wisps of his black hair, down to the wet leather boots. Gilles speaks up, offering the man a seat at one of the sofas.

“Jian Kimura.”

“Aye, that is me.” Jian smoothes down his coat again as he moves to sit.

“You are my first visitor that is not of Ishgardian citizenry. However, that letter you sent piqued my interest in your concerns, seeing as I am indeed the editor of Leaves from a Nymeia Lily.”

“Well, it’s been an honor, sir, to invite me here to have this discussion, as I’m just simply waiting for the trade hearings.”

Gilles put a hand over his chest, realizing his motion in the house of commons had left behind an inconvenience to a visitor. “Oh, well, I do humbly apologize for prolonging your stay in Ishgard, but the matters in regards to my legislation could no longer be ignored by my peers.”

“So, these dark knights, have they been that much of a large threat to Ishgard? From what I’ve discerned from the locals is that they don’t work in an organization of sorts, and so far, I don’t see them running around causing havoc, let alone seeing any.”

“The powers they wield are a much larger threat, second from the Dravanians. And since Dravanian are now our allies, instead of our enemies, most of the heresy laws have changed to criminal laws, and the dark knights are to be given no quarter or exceptions.”

“You are confident in that assessment.” The door opens once more, letting in a tray of tea and biscuits.

“Of course, I proudly specialize in handling them when I worked as a senior inquisitor prior to the end of the dragonsong war. You see, the dark arts these knights wield are amplified by their raw emotions. The stronger the emotions, the more potent their spells. There have been written records of incidents where dark knights were consumed by the arts, and caused untold slaughter and destruction in their wake, threatening the peace within the borders of Ishgard and Coerthas.”

Jian rubs his chin in deep thought, “If the dark arts is drawn by one’s emotions, shouldn’t there be more dark knights? From my experience in my field of duty, there are quite a number of folks with emotional personas, but I’ve not seen any that seem to be dark knights.”

“Well, that just means either I did my job well or they are well hidden,” Gilles chuckles, before his face returned to his serious demeanor, “As a means to handle these cases and identify suspects of the dark arts, I had to understand the source of their arts, the Abyss.”

“The Abyss?” Jian raises his brow incredulously.

“From what I’ve observed, the abyss is the source of one’s inner darkness. It mostly consists of one’s vices and personal trauma. Everyone has them, and several acted on them. The dark knights, however, somehow formed aethereal magic with the abyss, at the cost of being driven into insanity or death when they draw too much.”

“So, you are saying, if a dark knight loses control of their emotions, the magic will make them crazy?” He frowns in concern.

Gilles nods, “And I have experienced the consequences of the repercussions.”

“Surely, there’s a means to dispel the abyss, or control their powers. If someone finds it, then the knights won’t be a threat anymore.” Jian gestures in thought, “Sorry to offend, but I tend to consider long term solutions that don't require offing people.”

“None taken, Mister Kimura, but once someone drinks from the abyss, they are at the mercy of the abyss for the rest of their life.”  Elezen closes his eyes for a brief moment in thought. “However, there was once a means to somehow prevent the abyss from consuming a dark knight, despite having fallen.” 

“And that is?”

“It’s a lost cause.” He sighs as he opens his eyes, looking up at a painted portrait of an elder Elezen, with similar striking violet eyes and dark gray hair, holding a serious expression that borders between fatigue and determination. Jian furrows his brow, and his eyepiece whirs quietly, feeling some familiarity with the man, like he recognized his shape somewhere.

“Say, are you interested in some family history of mine?”

Jian leans over to pick up the teacup from a tray on the coffee table, before sitting back and making himself comfortable.

“Well, I do enjoy listening to stories.”

“You might enjoy this one then, as it had been stricken from the written history of Ishgard.” He looks back up at the painting.

“That portrait you are seeing is Sir Jacques de Raoult of the Stalwart Lance. That was his full title. Now, he goes by Jacques Raoult of the Broken Lance. He was a decorated dragoon who belonged to a well-established house under the Fortemps, one of the four high houses of Ishgard. He was a fierce warrior and well-versed with Halone’s scripture. With so many dravanians slain under his lance during the early era of the war, he was chosen to be the next Azure Dragoon.”

Jian tilts his head in thought, as he sips from the tea cup.

The statesman continues, pacing back and forth, “Then one fateful day, he decided to defend a caravan of heretics during a Dravanian attack onto Ishgardian soil. The Holy See was displeased by his actions, indicted him for dereliction of duty,  and sentenced him to trial-by-combat as a means to restore honor to the Raoult house.”

“He lived?”

The Elezen’s face darkens. “He survived indeed, and the house of Raoult fell into obscurity for his actions alone. What was even worse was finding out months later that he was consorting with the dark knights.”

“And so now you are on a crusade against them?”

“Whatever it takes to restore the Raoult name for the sins of my forefather. The portrait is just a painful reminder of what I am fighting against.”

“So, what happened to Jacques afterwards?”

“The dishonored coward fled the lands, abandoned our family, so he could live a different life under a different name. Judging by your letter concerning a book I edited, you are familiar with an author named Fudo Yasumura.”

“Yes, I-wait. Fudo Yasumura was your ancestor?” Jian nearly choked on his tea. 

“The very same.”

The highlander looks down at his emptied cup, feeling the room shrinking all of the sudden. He stares once more at the portrait.

“So, Fudo- I mean- Jacques had the remedy to cope with the abyss?”

“Of the sort, but his scriptures were not accepted in Ishgard. No one would read to the harmless ramblings of a dark knight’s thoughts, fearing being branded a heretic. I had to take the liberty of editing the literature so it would remain in Ishgard.”

“So, you can not use it to help the dark knights cope with their problems because the un-edited book itself is heresy?”

“The book is merely half the solution. The other half also requires the soul crystal that housed the memories of Jacques de Raoult.”

The accountant blinks, “And he died somewhere in the Far East. That sounds like finding a needle in a haystack then.” “As I said, it’s a lost cause.” Gilles sighs, “And so, we must cull the knights as tradition.”

Jian returns the tea cup back onto the tray, “I thank you for your insight, but I shall not overstay my visit.”

“You’re welcome. Pray tell, what made you decide to stay in Ishgard? You could have left when the trade talks were postponed.”

“Oh, well, it's rather an embarrassing reason, but I tend to get air sick, and had only ordered enough medication for a round trip. And of Ala Mhigan descent, I don’t work well with the cold to travel on foot.”

“I see. Well, I hope you enjoy your stay, Jian Kimura.”

He stands up, and gives a curt bow as Gilles opens the door out to the hallway. Rene awaits at the entrance, stoically opening the door to the bitter cold. Jian pauses midway out, and he turns.

“I almost forgot, Sir Raoult, but do you have the original manuscript of the Leaves from the Nymeia Lily? I lost my copy decades ago when the Garleans invaded my homeland.”

“Unfortunately, no. It had to be burned like the rest of the heretical manuscripts.”

“Ah, forget that I asked,” And the man leaves.