Chapter 37 – Alliances

After an incredibly awkward ride back on the shoulders of Tess – who proved surprisingly strong – they finished their morning bootcamp with Chosen Sarge. Rain has decided that his two elective classes will be combat training and Asphodel geography, the latter being his next one. 

'But first, lunch!'

Making his way to the cafeteria with an eager smile on his face, he's surprised to find that he can pretty easily make his way to and through the buffet line without much trouble. Similarly, after he has his tray of food, he sees a couple of empty tables, ripe for the taking. He walks over to one of them, happily plops down his tray, and begins digging into the food greedily.

As he chews his food, scanning the room, he finally notices the reason for the strangely thin crowd. Off to the side of the cafeteria, a mass of people are crowded around a single table. Through the gaps in the lines of people, he can only see one person sitting at it – Ronin. Catching sight of her, and piecing together what must be happening, he has to clasp his hand over his mouth to keep from spitting out precious food in laughter. 

'How wonderful...just imagine all the social skills she's developing!'

Stifling laughter as he watches the scene in amusement, continuing to enjoy his food, he fails to notice at first as someone takes a seat at his table. When their presence registers, he looks over and sees Nik staring at him politely, a plate of food in his hands. 

"Mind if I join you, Rain?"

Rain smirks in amusement and shakes his head. 

"Not at all."

He watches as Nik nods appreciatively and sits down across from him. The handsome Legacy puts a few bites of food into his mouth, chewing slowly, as if he's deep in thought. After a minute, he looks at Rain, his voice a little uncertain. 

"So...uh...I stopped by your room last night, but you didn't seem to be in. Up to anything interesting?" 

Rain's eyes widen in surprise...he had no idea Nik tried to visit him. He offered, of course, but he wasn't sure the Legacy would take him up on it. Especially not so soon. Plus, he was only gone from his room for maybe an hour...it's bad luck that they missed each other. 

'Oh yea...I can't tell him I was in the training room, though...hmm...'

Rain shrugs with a casual smile, then responds in a nonchalant tone. 

"Oh, yah know...Tess and I had a hot date together, so I was gone for a bit. Sorry I missed you, though...was there something you wanted to discuss?"

The corner of Nik's mouth twitches upward as he looks at Rain. After a moment, he chuckles then responds in an amused tone. 

"You sure do like to joke about your love life, Rain...you're fifty-fifty on your choice in women though. You know, that dramatic exit from our table the other day left Tess fuming for quite some time. I don't think I've ever seen her so mad, actually. Speaking of that day...how serious were you about wanting to forge an alliance?"

Rain makes a mental note of the information about Tess. 

'Huh...guess I really struck a nerve before with my comments. At least now her hair-trigger response from this morning makes more sense...she'd been stewing overnight. She might not be completely sane...'

He directs a curious gaze at Nik, a coy smile on his face. 

"I was serious enough. I'm sure the Fel and environment in the Crucible are dangerous enough without humans turning on one another, too. Granted, there's far from any guarantee that we'll be left in close enough proximity in Asphodel to help each other directly. At the very least, though, we can work together to prepare, share information, and the like."

Nik purses his lips thoughtfully while studying Rain, then smiles as though he's pleased. 

"I agree...there's entirely too many Fel and too few Marked for short-sighted violence between people like us. They're the real enemy. Also, unlike Tess, I'm well aware that you're not actually a Legacy, nor were you wearing a Relic yesterday. As far as I'm concerned, the former is only good news for me. Regarding the latter, I'm guessing that your Nature grants you mental resistance. I've only heard of that among the Desire Lineage, and even then it's quite rare, Rain."

Nik's eyes scrutinize Rain, an unasked question evident in them. Rain may want Nik as an ally, but he knows better than to just share important information about his abilities unnecessarily, especially with someone who hasn't seriously proven that they're trustworthy. So, he just returns an amused smile and shrugs nonchalantly. 

"If what you say is true, then I suppose that would make me a useful ally, since I can't be suddenly turned against you by others. Err, I have to say, though, I don't understand why me being a Legacy would be a bad thing for you."

He watches as Nik's eyes become sad and frustrated, his expression consumed by a small, empty smile. 

"Legacies tend to come here with different...priorities...Rain, most of which irritate me to no end. To tell you the truth, I'm considered a bit of a rebellious Legacy child. But that doesn't mean that I'm free from the fallout of wasteful grievances and short-sighted loyalties between the clans. If you were a Legacy from a different clan, I'd find it quite hard to trust you enough to be allies."

A bit surprised by his candor, Rain mulls over Nik's words, trying to read between the lines. 

"In other words, while you'd happily set any trivial family feuds aside and work with other Legacies for the sake of this Crucible, you find it unlikely that they would?"

Nik gives him another small smile, indicating that he's pleased, and nods at Rain. 

"Correct. I've digressed, though...we were discussing being allies. For now, the main thing I need is information about other students, and maybe introductions to other reliable allies. I already have a decent familiarity with the abilities of other Legacies and any citizens already pledged to a clan, but that's only a fraction of the students."

Realization dawn on Rain, and he nods agreeably at Nik. 

"If information is what you're after, I can see why you were associating with Tess. I doubt there's anyone more capable of getting people to spill their secrets."

Nik sighs and nods, as though in exasperation. 

"Those were my thoughts exactly, though I had no intention of trusting her in the actual Crucible. Unfortunately, she's only been here a couple of weeks longer than you, and she had yet to tell me much. For reasons unknown, she's quite distrustful – hateful, even – when it comes to Legacies. Since I admonished her yesterday, she's completely unwilling to help me. However, there's nothing I can do about that now, and I'm not sure she's worth the trouble anyway."

Rain purses his lips thoughtfully, thinking over the assessment. He's inclined to agree. He smiles at Nik lightheartedly and nods. 

"Well, I can assure you that I'm more low-profile than Tess, though I'm also less effective at information gathering. Plus, I just got here two days ago, so I'm not very well connected yet. You, Tess, and Ronin are the only ones I've talked to meaningfully so far. You saw how it went with one, and the other is kind of...abrasive. Still, two people networking and collecting information is better than one, so I'll keep you updated. Please do the same."

Nik's eyes flash with shock, and he leans over seriously, studying Rain. 

"Ronin actually spoke to you? What about? What can you tell me about her? Do you know what that commotion over there is about yet?"

Under the sudden onslaught of intense questions, Rain chuckles nervously while he waves his hands in front of him dismissively. 

"Woah, woah...we're not that close. We just had orientation together, and she sat next to me. When I say we talked, I mean that I introduced myself and she mostly ignored me. Then, at the end of orientation, I got ambushed with some really aggressive questions from her. Truthfully, I can tell you little else about her, other than that she seems to be a big deal for some reason. I heard other students whispering about her in orientation, but I'm not sure of the details. As for the reason people are gathering around her over there, I'm actually able to answer that."

Confusion flashes across Nik's face, seeming to ignore Rain's final comment. 

"Wait...there were several points in there worth discussing, but...are you telling me that you don't know who Ronin is?"

Rain just gives him a blank look and shakes his head. After a moment of staring at Rain in bewilderment, Nik composes himself and shakes his head in disbelief. 

"Rain...Ronin is the daughter of Jensen the Fated Blade. Decades ago, he was the first man to pass the Trial and become a Champion. He went on to become the first Paragon, Demigod, and Titan, too, and as his name suggests, he's a large part of the reason for the reputation of Fate Lineages. He's a living legend...or, at least, he was. He went missing in Asphodel about five years ago. Then, about a year after that, Ronin's mom disappeared there as well. She was a powerful Demigod herself, also of the Fate Lineage. This was all worldwide news...you didn't know?"

Rain's eyes involuntarily widen at the news. Even someone like him has heard of the name Fated Blade, and he knew that the man pretty much pioneered every historical human advancement in Prestige. That was decades ago, though...it never would have occurred to him that a man like that could have a teenage daughter. 

'Although...I know the aging process for Marked can be quite slow, especially as they Ascend, and this Jensen guy made it all the way to Titan. It's entirely possible he could still look like he's in his mid-30s. Crazy...so that's Ronin's dad...no wonder everyone in the orientation was buzzing about her.'

He also heard about Fated Blade disappearing, but he didn't know the part about his wife, or that they'd orphaned a kid. Just another example of his non-citizen setbacks. 

Rain shrugs at the perplexed Nik and responds in a falsely indifferent tone. 

"I mean, I obviously know about Fated Blade...you'd have to be living with the Fel since birth not to. I just didn't know that he had a daughter my age named Ronin, much less that Ronin. Obviously, it makes sense in retrospect. Come to think of it, I guess that she inherited her dad's Lineage...that would explain how she did it..."

He mostly mumbles the last part to himself, but Nik seems to pick up on it. 

"Well, her having a Fate Lineage was all but a given...both of her parents had one. What do you mean, though? How she did what?"

Realizing he was overheard, Rain flashes an embarrassed smile at Nik and scratches his cheek nervously. 

"Ah...yeah...it's nothing really. Just, the way she moves through crowds...it's unnaturally fluid. It's like she always knows where to be and how to move her own body to glide between people effortlessly. If she's of the Fate Lineage, I'm guessing she can predict their actions or something."

Nik's face goes stiff, and he gets a far away look in his eyes. He mumbles, almost as if to himself. 

"Foresight...as a mere Champion...so, she's even more exceptional th-"

Seeming to remember Rain's presence, Nik smiles apologetically. 

"Ah, sorry Rain...I got a little lost in thought there. I think you're probably right, and that's very helpful information. It looks like you're already holding up your end of our alliance. On that note, I can tell you other students that I've determined are not to be trusted in the Crucible. But is there anything else you'd be interested in, to let me repay the favor?"

Rain was about to ask Nik about his strange commentary on Ronin, but the offer of free favors instantly piques his interest. He flashes Nik an excited smile. 

"You know...since you're offering...there is something I'm interested in..."

Nik raises his eyebrows at Rain, curious.

"Oh? Let's hear it."

Rain's expression transitions into a smirk.

"Well, I'm sure you Legacy types know your way around a sword...I'd like you to teach me."