The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

"This is unacceptable! We must make a plea to the Primaere. Our long history must not be uprooted!" A man clad in scarlet armor shouted, throwing his helmet to the floor into a series of clangs, the sunlight from the glass ceiling glistening the red metal.

A part of the light forced its way into her sight. Blinking, Maia squinted and watched the helmet roll over the red carpet to the short steps before the emperor. Her eyes glanced over the emperor from toe to head, spotting several more wrinkles than the last time she had met him when they began the siege of Dragonheart. The emperor, Gess Gideon, had been the object of admiration for all, a true warrior and ruler who garnered respect and fear, but now, Maia could see not the faintest bit of that man. She saw a frail man staring out of focus, despair clouding the warrior's face, his straight back that once held up the empire slumping in resignation.

No one said another word, their gazes focusing on the emperor who decayed in all but the body, but the slow and audible wheezing showed soon it would claim his body. Maia shut her eyes, a tear trickling halfway down her cheek. Like the emperor, the glorious throne room had seen better days. The red banners that hung down the arches had grayed from dust, the marble floor no longer shimmered from the sunlight, and most of all, the people looked defeated, many unkempt from days of neglect, some still carrying the stench of the battlefield.

"Emperor, I implore you. The empire's existence is at stake!" The man, a general that Maia recalled had served in another army, pleaded again. "The people have lost hope."

"And what? What?!" Gess said in a deep voice, coughing loudly. He waved off the attendants who approached in worry and suffered alone on the throne. In a grating voice, he hissed, "We lost. To go against the decree is death for all. There is no escaping the wrath of a Primaere." The emperor rose, leaving his throne, picked up the helmet by his unsteady feet as he stepped down, and threw it at the general, who froze as his head was struck. Staggering as his wheezing grew louder, Gess struggled to breathe and lifted his crown from his head, the metal beautifully crafted in the shape of a ring of fire, scarlet gems depicting the core of the flames.

"Every chance wasted. Lives gone. I have brought shame to my house and ruined the work of the ancestors. After centuries, the Dragon has devoured the Griffon." Gess gripped the crown and tossed it to the throne. "The fire is gone. If any of you wishes to reignite it and continue this foolish fight, take it; it's yours." Taking off his royal cloak, dirtying it on the floor where footsteps had painted a picture of dirt, Gess moved to the exit. "The ancestor and I are departing these lands. Anyone who wishes to follow may. The others, do as you will."

Maia had no intention of lingering for the endless arguments about the nonexistent future. Others seemed to have the same idea as her, breaking away from the grumbling masses. Raising their voices offered little help, their shouts reminding her of children who scream when hurt. She couldn't even laugh at their foolishness because she was the same, simply trying to endure in a different way. Floating away, she reached her family's estate, a large manor near the Imperial Palace.

Everyone appeared normal, working a standard day, but she noticed a line of dust near the windows, a mistake the maids had never done in the past, and the uneven trims on the hedges as if the gardeners couldn't calm their hands. The once lively manor sang no more. All the attendants, servants, and other workers gathered in the main hall upon her orders, all sullen and unable to raise their heads, with looks of shame and grief similar to the emperor's. Was it the result of the war that brought them low? Or perhaps it was the news that most of the core members of the Claudes had perished?

She was one of the last. Reminded of that, Maia sighed, silent for a few minutes as she recalled the many bodies of the Claudes stuck in the rubble, their flesh and blood acting like the mortar for stones. Everyone else was dead. The reality sunk her shoulders and dragged her hair down to cast a shadow on her face. The grandfather clock ticked again and again, some of the servants fidgeting around, clearly anxious, another mistake they would never commit; the ones that hadn't were commendable. Putting her grief aside, Maia faced the servants, one final duty for the Claude Family.

"Everyone will receive a substantial reward for all your years of loyalty and good work. Go now and leave out the rest of your lives in peace." Maia turned to the chief butler, "Go into our lands and give severance pay to the servants there. Tell the remaining branch families they are free to decide for themselves. But scatter the few remaining children from the main family to the branches." Since they were children from the main family, they had a good chance of a decent, if not higher, Exolsia. She didn't believe the branch families would mistreat good prospects.

As day turned to dusk, Maia strolled along the halls and glanced at her reflection in the mirror. There, in the reflection, was a sickly woman with a pale face hidden under unkempt white hair and dark bags under crimson eyes. Moonlight scattered past her unruly hair, dotting her skin. Tucking her hair behind her ears, the dots of moonlight merged into a single glow, but it only highlighted her paleness. "You look awful." She said to her reflection. The drain of the past few days showed its ugly effects.

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A set of bells clattered and rang, signaling that someone opened the main doors. Maia slapped her cheeks to rally herself, spots of red that could be mistaken for a blush spreading on her face. She took out her whip armament and hung it from her waist. Aunt Diane always lectured her that anyone who came late at night to her house would either have to be a lover or someone with ill tidings, either news or intent. There was no lover, so it must be the latter.

Below the main stairs, two individuals waited for her by the entrance on the lower level. Clearly, they didn't come to break bread or share a drink as one gave her a thorough, lecherous gaze up and down and up again, a disgusting smirk curling from his lips. While she wanted to tear that man apart, he snorted, releasing the pressure of a Middle Marshal Exalt. As if an icy hand gripped her heart, Maia paled but showed no signs of backing off.

"Speak, you lowly beasts. Why have you come to my manor?" Maia started with an insult. Courtesy was dead, and nothing could change that. "Richard, Lucen."

"Well, Lady Claude, since you set the tone, I shall be direct." Richard, a tall, skinny man who had stared at her without reservation, spoke first with a magnetic voice that attracted several others. "Our families have had our differences for a long time. But we don't want to leave our ancestral homes. After discussing with Lucen, we have come to an understanding."

"Seems fair. What do you want?" Maia scoffed, her hand ready near the whip.

"You," Lucen pointed at her. "Did you think we came here for the empty manor or to give alliance to a family near its deathbed? The only worth left is you. You see, our understanding enlightened us to the fact that we can't regain our former glory in the new empire, not without payment."

Maia brushed some strands of her hair back, disgusted by the audible dry gulp from Richard. "Me. And what value do I have?"

"Many. The most important is that you are guilty of the accursed brainwashing in the Rurin Gaols. Bringing a vile criminal like you to justice is the right thing to do. The Claudes are responsible for the inhumane treatment of the prisoners." Richard smirked again, seemingly enjoying his speech. "And bringing you to the Brilliant Drake Empire will be a boon to whoever wants you. A sturdy bloodline of a high Exalt family, a woman who can bear children, and a beautiful lady that no man would turn down, you're a prime specimen. What better favor to give to the emissary?"

"Don't make it harder for yourself, Maia. Give yourself up." Lucen slowly climbed the stairs, his Ein intensifying after every step, seeking to crush her to her knees.

Maia smiled and raised a flask, laughing. With all her backing gone, the wolves have come to claim her. Well, put in their place, she might have done something similar, but she wanted to deny them their precious prize. No hesitation existed in her as her hand threw the bottle to the floor, the two intruders' faces scrunching in apprehension. The manor's formation activated. A blast of Ein beamed to the ceiling, and the manor quaked, her vision splitting into sixteenths as the reverberations churned through her body. Regaining balance, Maia bolted away, kicking out the window.

"Maia!" Richard shouted, chasing after her, but it was too late.

An explosion of immense magnitude, turning the surrounding night into day, vaporized the manor, sending forth the thunderous call of a thousand storms, deafening her ears. Maia couldn't hear her own shout of pain as several spells struck her back, hasty ones thrown in desperation but painful nonetheless. Gritting her teeth, she pulled through and escaped into the streets, diving straight toward the sewers. Her eerie laughter echoed in the sewers, unable to stop.

'My home is gone. My family is gone. What do I have now?' Maia drank an elixir and changed clothes, sinking her old ones into the sickening waters. She was used to the stench. It oddly resembled the stench of the aftermath of a battle, rotten and everywhere. The sewer appeared endless, a dark tunnel that led to only more darkness. 'Where do I go now?'

Months later, Maia finally made it out of the Farsky continent, avoiding the agents of Richard and Lucen. A cursory seduction spell on one of the men revealed they brought more families into the gambit for appeasement, starting with her capture. They spread her face all over the former Scarlet Griffon Empire, promising a substantial reward and honors for catching a heinous war criminal. Rising from the waters and crawling onto the shores, Maia left behind a trail of red, her hand gripping her stomach that had been stabbed.

'What am I even doing?' Maia stopped moving, sand covering half of her head. What purpose did she have? Was this how Aunt Diane felt after her heart was crushed? It wasn't a good feeling, and she wished it would end. As blood gushed past her hands and pooled into the sand, she never felt so cold. Cursing inwardly, she blinked several times, her vision growing more hazy. Maia had enough, but death offered no comfort, only a slow, painful process.

Suddenly, Ein flooded into her, and she gasped out a cry akin to a baby's birth cry. Her wound recovered slightly, and warmth started in her heart, spreading to all corners of her body. She gazed up at a stranger, a woman who knelt before her, tilting an elixir into her lips, some spilling out, but most pouring down her throat as she gulped repeatedly. 'Why? Just let it end…why am I trying to survive?'

"Thank goodness. I came just in time. She cheers and smiles at a good deed done today. Certainly, the two suns shine well on those who do favors." A soothing voice self-narrated herself, a strange quirk. As her vision recovered, Maia saw a woman with soft golden eyes, kindness in its clarity, and indigo hair braided to the back with bangs covering her forehead. The woman reached out and lifted Maia from the sand, not minding the bloodied sand on her casual dress, while supporting her by the shoulder. "I'm Avril. Who are you? For the timing to be so perfect, it has to be fate! She believes it so."

"Why did you help me?" Maia said through dry lips, the seawater worsening her thirst.

The woman, Avril, stopped and glanced at her from the side. "Because I was like you until someone helped me. The world is strange, making this meeting possible. She promises from experience that you won't regret it if you live on. She guarantees it!"

"That's idiotic…." Maia chuckled. Where did this strange woman come from?

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