Chapter Text
Snow was falling once again. And once again. And again.
It was an everyday occurrence for that land, a land which never felt the greenery of the grass and the ticklish touches of it’s flowers, and a fauna which gave it life.
It might’ve felt them once, after all, it was a land of a nation just like every other land of a nation. It had its own history, it changed throughout the times. But now, that land recalled none of that, feeling only the weight of the endless snow and its frozen water.
So did a young ginger boy, holding a dagger in his hand. But instead, he was smiling, his deep blue eyes glimmering with joy. He didn’t care about the memories, for he admired every drop of blood that soaked through the whiteness, spreading all around the area.
The hoarders brown insignia barely reflected the light of the Snezhnayan sun, promising a fake warmth surrounded by Morespok’s coldness.
“Ajax!”
He swung the sword to the direction of the voice, only to barely touch the hat of an old, frail looking creature. His ears were long, so where his ears , his eyes radiated a golden color and his mustache gave him the look of a strict worker , as well as the look of a caring grandfather.
“My boy, I’ve been looking all around you!” He scolded the ginger teen, as he lowered the sword, barely hiding a mischievous grin.
From the Fatui insignia shining on his chest, while holding another in his hand, adding to the large coat and fancy hat, he was someone important from the get-go. He was the major, after all! He had certainly had connections with the Fatui. Ajax didn’t know much about what he did in the organization, but he didn’t doubt that the old gramps would find a good place within the Tsaritsas order.
“Quickly now!” Ignoring the bodies laying on the ground, he put the insignia he held on his hand, on Ajax black coat, who was crouching for him to reach his height, as he fixed his hair.
“Sir, where are we going?” The boy followed him, the Fatui called Pulcinella holding his hand.
It was a question that didn’t need an answer.A camp was appearing within their eyesights the further they walked through the snow.
Pulcinella slowed his pace.
“After a careful look into you and also taking my words into consideration.” He coughed, choosing the right words to give him an answer. “The Fatui workers assigned you to someone who seems fit for your talents and capabilities, Ajax.”
The ginger frowned a little, looking down at the elf.
“Does that mean that I won’t see you again, sir Pulcinella?” He asked in a tiny voice.The man was a bit too serious and work oriented, but his care for the young boy and his family had already grown into him.
“Oh, of course we’ll see each other again soon, as the major, I’ll make sure of that.
But for now, you’re under the command of someone else.Worry not, though I heard that he is not very likable as a person , he is considered as an ace among the higher ranks.”
“An ace? “ his eyes lighten up with curiosity, both of them now approaching the entry of the camp, as the soldiers guarding it bow to Pulcinella.
“Yes, he has the capabilities of a politician and a researcher, a fairly knowledgeable Harbinger and his combat skills are something to marvel at.”
Ajax could care less about politics or researching, however, it was rare when the major made a compliment, especially about fighting, a thing which he wasn’t very fond of, even if he scouted Ajax for that reason alone.
“I’ll have to leave you here.” He stopped. There was a line of soldiers in the centre of the camp, possibly new recruits just like him. “Now, go Ajax “ he slightly pushed the young boy.
“Goodbye sir Pulcinella!” He waved as he rushed towards the line of recruits. The elder gave him one of his rare smiles, as he greeted the teen.
He could hear the whispers and chit chats of other soldiers, as the Harbinger had yet to come. “I’m really nervous!”
“Will we be under the sixth Harbinger?“
“I think so...”
“You dumbasses, of course we are!”
Some comments were lighthearted, often expressing confusion. It was clear that some were completely new here, just like Ajax. Some however, had a bit more knowledge to what was going on.
“I heard he has a very bad temper!”
“Really?”
“He has killed soldiers for simply messing up orders!”
Apparently many of them came from the orphanage. Ajax made sure to listen ever detail carefully. After all, it was an unknown territory to him and his simple heritage.
Yet even through most harrowing of rumors, someone would find a way to turn this into that faint spirited atmosphere of confusion and excitement again.
“Could we be this screwed on a Monday morning?”
None of the recruits could hold their laughter.
Neither did Ajax.
But what they were saying about him was really worrying.As far as he was aware of, a Harbinger killing soldiers was upset on the Fatui, yet people were saying that he did it like it was nothing. The rumors, however, went a little further than that. Captives were usually sent to him, where he “questioned” them. One never realized how they got manipulated by him, until it would be too late.
However, this was all but casted aside, as some girls, who looked like brand new cicin mages, were complaining about the cold, while some stout looking men, were stressing out over the training they would receive.
Fortunately, between the loud chitter-chatters, no-one had noticed Ajax, who had sighed in relief and thanked the Tsaritsa for not being bombarded with questions over his age.
It took a roar from a senior Fatui to stop the continuous murmurs, growing louder by time.
“All shall bow to the might of the Balladeer sixth Harbinger !”
The recruits kneeled, cautious to not get too in contact with the snow and slightly tilted their heads, trying to peek on the figure that was about to approach.
There was a moment of silence, the anticipation and fear reaching a peak, as footsteps echoing in the snow would give shivers to the people present, clearly the ones of the Harbinger that was about to appear.
To everyone’s surprise, and especially to Ajax, he was short, almost as short as Pulcinellas, but quite stocky too.
Most of his face covered with a fancy large hat. It had flat a mask nailed onto it, as a dark transparent veil hung from the edge behind, having a mysterious symbol. He didn’t wear a coat, even if the weather was way below freezing, but his Inazuman heritage could clearly be conveyed by the golden electro ornament hung on his broad chest, and by the details that made his clothing look lavish.
His presence was overwhelming, the air tasted bitter, he felt like each hair on his skin going up as if a thunderstorm was about to strike down.
He took a long look at each recruit, them kneeling further down. Ajax could the hitched breaths turning into dense vapor from their mouths and their droplets of sweat freezing on their skin.
All of a sudden, Ajax dead blue eyes faced his glinting purple ones. Even though he should’ve bowed his head down, he kept staring at him, the bright white pupils which he had never seen before, not even in the abyss.
His eyes would then lift on his crossed arms . He noticed the strange gloves on his right hand, definitely not made of robe or leather, and then he noticed how his wrist on his left, the hand sunk between his arm, didn’t look like an actual wrist , but a purple spheres instead of it. Those spheres didn’t look like they were part of the gloves either...
He lowered his head, refusing to look at him for longer, not wanting to catch any more details over how almost inhuman he looked. He didn’t want to think about it either. He was in the normal, human realm now, not inside the abyss anymore…
“How old are you?” an overly sweet voice, as if someone was forcibly shoving honey in his throat, came from the Harbinger, the first words he had said since he appeared on the scene.
“I said, how old are you?” Scaramouche asked again, this time sounding impatient, as the other recruits slightly shivered from the frigidness that came out of the once sugary fake ness.
Ajax realized he was asking him. Fortunately, he picked himself up quickly.
“Fifteen, sire.” he answered, his voice loud and clear, like Pulcinella had instructed him to a while ago.
He clicked his lips, his eyes glinting with interest and something else, unidentifiable to him.
Then, the Balladeer walked out, leaving Ajax to thank the sky above that he ended it with just that.
“So you’re the new recruits, the new soldiers who are going to spread the Tsaritsas cause…”Someone almost jumped to affirm his statement, but was immediately stopped by the seniors glances, those looks conveying a clear message.
“I’ll start this with a...friendly match.”
Everyone raised their heads, as he gestured them to get up.
“Now?” Someone whispered, making sure Scaramouche leading the way didn’t hear them.
“Against a Harbinger!?”
Ajax felt his heart picking up, his breath getting quicker. He was going to face with a Harbinger! He was going to face one of the summits of strength!
He clenched his fists as he followed along to an open field.
“Anyone who lands a strike on me, will have that bag of ten million mora” Scaramouche pointed at a skirmshier holding a rather heavy bag.“And most importantly, will have my respects.”
What was he saying, felt too good to be true. The impressions he gave to them made Ajax feel like there was a catch of some sort, but, they had no choice but to engage.
All the new Fatui were positioned for combat, Scaramouche in the centre.
A whistle echoed the area, the match had started, yet none of them were moving. Scaramouche had closed his eyes, staying still. The recruits on the other hand, nervously looked around, their hands shaking.
Ajax fingers clenched on his silver dagger, a gift from his father. Before he fell down the abyss, his father used to tell him a lot of stories, full of adventure and fantasy.
This dagger he would say is what will help you go through your very own story
And he was right. Though this story was not what one would expect, it was what. Even so, this was what he wanted, after all. Him fighting someone that was way more powerful than him, in the coldness if Snezhnaya and sorrounded by this air of suspense.
He started counting backwards, as he fixed his position ready for attack. Scaramouche was still not moving.
“Five...four..three...shit!” he immediately looked up. A Fatuus got impatient and jolted on the Harbinger. Some got brave and followed after him.
Some, just marveled at the way The Balladeer just clash with their weapons, no matter how heavy, with only with his one arm, as he hovered on the attackers, hitting them either on the back or the front within a second.
How did he just do that, especially on someone who was twice, three times that Harbingers body, Ajax could no explain. He took a step back, his eyes widened. Could he figure out the enemy like this?
Maybe he just had to watch the impatient recruits throwing themselves to it, for now. That would help figure out his attacks...
A what would look like a cicin mage threw elemental powered attacks on him, only for her to get knocked out by one of the very attacks she did.
Many of the recruits would team up and build strategies in the span of seconds, some trying to distract the Balladeer, while others would charge at him. There was an onslaught of attacks on the Harbinger, all of them failing to hit the target.
“So, you want to play like this...huh”
Now he had a sword, no, two. Two inazuman katanas, holding the close to his body in an x pose, both the edges stroking each other, reaching his chin.
For the first time, he saw a slight smirk on the Harbingers face, his hair covering his eyes, as he started walking around the people he had just rendered unconscious or heavily injured.
Ajax frowned upon figuring out his attacks.
He wasn’t fun, he didn’t fight for the sake of battle, he fought for the sake of oh so suddenly tricking the enemy. It wasn’t necessarily bad, but he would rather like someone who fought face to face and enjoyed the combat instead.
At some point he started taunting them, not just by words, but by tactics the ginger never thought someone would pull off.
Both of his swords fell, the Fatui who supposedly made it happen gaining some courage, only for Scaramouche to knock him out. This was all a game to him, a very nasty one at that.
“What are you waiting for, everyone? Come and catch me! I’m one, you’re almost fifty! Don’t you all have an advantage?” he smiled so warmly, calling them as if they were his friends.
It left a bitter taste on his tongue, but he knew very well that he shouldn’t leave the enemy provoke him. He was feeling even more upset by the second, as he felt like he was doing nothing. Advantage in numbers, he said, but the ones left standing were starting to decrease, some had fainted, some had moved aside, injured, waiting for it to end while watching the other miserably fail to land a hit on him.
“You are the last one standing, child.” he felt the edge of the sword touch the back of his neck, as he leaned forward. For a moment, he wanted to give up, to lower his weapon and raise his hands and retaliate. Maybe he’d go back to his family, to his mother and father and to Tonia and Teucer.
But, he did none of it. This thought was gone as soon as it came in his head.
He wasn’t Ajax anymore. After he fell into the depths of hell, at least. He was someone else, who was called Ajax. He was someone who picked the remnants of his body and was putting him against a Harbinger.
He ran towards Scaramouche, swinging his knife in, which he unsurprisingly avoided.
However The Balladeer didn’t expect to pick himself up this quickly, instead of tripping a few steps away, he still went for the strike. Unlike the others, he never once lost his footing, he was sure of every attempt he did, and he was astonishingly fast at it.
Far from actually touching the Balladeer and end this now nonsense of a challenge, but good enough to impress the higher-up.
The shrill voice of the others were muffled and blurred in his ear, the only thing he could hear were his heavy breaths, as he focused on his overly powerful opponent.
“What are they doing?”
“Is the child that good?”
Some Fatuus assisting the fallen, would chuckle at such a scene, not afraid tp hide their surprise at such a moment too.
“Hah, look at the lord! He’s just playing with him!”
“I think he looks impressed at boy. And to be honest, I’m quite shocked at his skill fullness too.”
The fight went on for what felt like hours. It was a point where Ajax almost believed he could land a hit on him, only to suddenly fall forwards, as he took a hit on his back, and then another. The pain fell numb, the snow now letting his face sink even more so. He had finally welted on him, making him loose the match.
“Pick him up.” He heard the voice of the Harbinger order, as he simply scoffed and walked out.
He had failed the challenge, but Ajax didn’t care. Though he wasn’t his most desirable opponent, the fight was satisfying, almost feeling like a death match, almost, with all the glares the Balldeer shot at him.
Ajax felt two hands of different Fatuus, carefully picking him up. His vision was blurry, he could feel blood prickling on his skin. He couldn’t tell where. The cold had numbed his face.
“Take the injured to the medic, I’ll speak to them later.”