Reim Empire

[Bloodedge]

"Familiar? That's it? Yas, we've known each other our entire lives. We used to play together in the palace all the time, until you were kidnapped..." Though there was the slightest chance Malik did indeed have the wrong Yasmin here, he couldn't even see the smallest of possibilities that were contrary to his beliefs. This was the Yasmin he'd known, but he didn't know what could make her not recognize him. After all, he hadn't changed all too much since childhood.

Fudo waited in silence for Shadiya's research to be completed. She was very quickly proving very useful to the group by being such a vault of accessible information, and she was quite quick to confirm Fudo's memories of this story. "I guess there's only one thing to do, then..." With that said, Fudo turned toward Yasmin and held out his sword. In doing so, he also extended an open hand in hopes of retrieving her Metal Vessel, if for no other reason than to confirm these possibilities.

[Apollymi]

Yasmin looked at his pink haired young man and had to admit that they looked a bit alike when she considered it from the third person perspective. Beyond that, she was relatively certain she hadn't always been a slave because her parents weren't slaves and most of the others from where she was also knew her to be an addition a great purchase made by one Shaqeeq Harron. The idea of playing together with someone made the girl smile, as she remembered the only other person she'd been close to... And in remembering that boy, she remembered the face of a little pink haired boy that her slave friend had reminded her of. "Palace? Kidnapped?" she mentioned as if confused. "What are you saying?" she asked of him. As this conversation happened Nasira found herself questioning these moments but believing more and more the words of the pink haired lad. 'Her skill with a weapon and her education were far too advanced for her to have lived her whole life as a slave.' she thought but she knew this could potentially be a shattering moment for the girl.

She was stunned but Fudo holding out his weapon for her brought her back to this moment. She shifted handing him her flabellum by the end. She knew at least what was being discussed and though she had no inkling that such a thing would work. Once she was holding the sword in hand she looked at it a bit. "Hmm... " she thought looking at it only for a second before turning the sword around in her hand as if she was at least familiar with the basics of sword handling. After a second though her Magoi was concentrated through her hands and into the sword which took on the flames provided by the Djinn Amon. "So... that works at least." said the girl who only created a small bit of flame directly in front of her person.

[Bloodedge]

"I'm saying... wait..." Malik's attention was dragged away from the immediate discussion by the words of Nasira. "Slave? What do you mean slave? Yasmin is the first princess of the Reim Empire."

Meanwhile, Fudo handed off his sword, simultaneously taking Yasmin's flabellum into his other hand. Yasmin was the first to act by successfully producing Amon's flames from the sword, which left Fudo to look even further into things. Holding the item in both hands, he began to focus his Magoi. "The Spirit of Maniacal Love and Chaos, I order thine ancestors, To use my Magoi to give me power. Paimon!" As he spoke, wind began to stem from the flabellum. With a quick expulsion of Magoi and wind around him, Fudo's attire changed to a gold, pink and white armor and robe set, which strangely left his upper torso exposed. One issue Fudo took with this was the chains attached to his nipples through this armor, but he supposed the trident-like weapon he now wielded was enough confirmation that this was, indeed, Paimon's Djinn Weapon Equip. "So... this is what the whole weapon equip looks like? Not that I have a problem with this or anything, but it's definitely not my style," he concluded as he reverted to normal form. With that out of the way, he held the flabellum out toward Yasmin. "I guess that's that. We're ridiculously compatible."

[Apollymi]

"Woops, didn't mean to say that aloud but the truth stands. When we met Yasmin, she'd recently gained her Djinn and her freedom in Parthevia. She then went back to liberate that country, we helped." Nasira said. This was kind of interesting to her, and since Yasmin had heard what what this young man said she'd looked to be rather calm about it. She was content instead to watch as Fudo used her Metal Vessel to take on her full weapon equip which she liked the look of though it was rather obviously meant for someone with a female figure. Still she couldn't help but giggle just a tad as she found it odd for this to be possible and amazing that she'd gotten to see Fudo dressed as such. "Aww, I don't know about that... seemed pretty cute. And of course we are..." while she had been speaking she'd retrieved her flabellum and returned Fudo's sword but once this exchange was complete she stopped speaking. Her words seemingly lost as she returned her attention to Malik with her eyes wide. "Wait a minute, what did you just say?" she questioned because it would seem that the girl's brain had completely glanced over the information this other young man had just provided. That he would say such a thing made Yasmin's stomach turn with uncomfortable recognition.

While this happened Samiya looked to Ali and sighed. It was completely like Shula to cause the kind of ruckus that was happening below, but at least they now had a reasonable understanding of the mixing of the Rukh around their two chosen candidates.

[Bloodedge]

"That... but that's..." Malik's words were jumbled as he tried to find the sense behind Yasmin, the former crowned princess, to be subjected to the life of a slave. Soon enough, Yasmin's attention would be brought back to him, prompting the pink-haired lad to sit on the back of the carriage and sigh. "I guess I should start from the beginning, huh..."

"More reason for you to keep it," Fudo had replied to the girl, though he too was quite interested in what this other male had to say. As such, he took to Yasmin's side with a hand upon her shoulder, in wait for the coming explanation.

"My name is Malik Matar, first prince of Reim's seventh Emperor. Emperor Caligula, the previous Emperor of Reim, had a child once. Many years ago, he and his betrothed lost their child to what the Vizier called a kidnapping. The Emperor and his wife were assassinated a few years later, but with their child missing, the only one to take over was the Vizier himself. That child returned about a year ago, and began training to stage a coup against the Empire and reclaim it. Thing is... I let people believe that, but that child wasn't named Malik. It was Yasmin Matar. Malik is the name of the son had by the old Empress' younger brother. I just wanted to use the name of the rightful child to help keep the family's legacy intact. Your legacy."

[Apollymi]

Yasmin seemed a bit astounded, still she managed to return her object back to the place it belonged enchained by the jeweled and gold studded chain belt she wore around her waist. As the boy began to speak on what was apparently his plan to take by the Empire from the Vizier, Yasmin learned of her history, her place in this world, and even the death of her parents in the space of a very short amount of time. Even so there was a reassuring hand on her shoulder so she was able to remain standing even though her knees felt weak and her heart felt heavy. She opened her mouth to speak after Malik was done, but she couldn't find the proper words to say to this situation. Instead she found herself fidgeting with the bangles around her wrists. "I..." Yasmin started the sentence only to have her vision blur and her knees lose what little strength they had. The girl simply started to collapse right on the spot only to have Nasira appear at her side catching her by her unoccupied arm, assuming of course, that Fudo would help out as well. "Whoa, you might want to have a seat? It'd probably be easier for you." mentioned the girl who thought this information was rather fitting given the demeanor of this particular young woman. After a few seconds Yasmin finally managed to take a seat beside Malik on the back of the carriage and she turned to him offering a smile. Of all the information she'd managed to process, the best news of it was that she had family.

"I'm really happy to have family." Yasmin said looking to the boy beside her as she wiped a fallen tear from her face. "But you know, you don't have to do this for me or anyone else. Though, if you want to liberate this country... I'd be more than happy to help you. What's wrong with the Vizier?" Yasmin said curiosity about this situation replacing all the possible negative feelings she could have had when finding out this information.

[Bloodedge]

When Yasmin collapsed, Fudo was at the ready with his free arm to prevent what he thought to be an otherwise inevitable fall. As he went about catching the young woman, he looked to her other side to see that Nasira had been up to speed on the catch as well. With a nod, he took up half of Yasmin's weight and offered what assistance he could in helping her to her sitting place. "Easy does it. Lean on me if you'd like," he said as he sat down at her other side.

"But I do," Malik replied. Though Yasmin's claim that he didn't have to do what he did for her, or anyone else for that matter, was a lovely sentiment, it simply wasn't one he could agree with. "I'm glad you feel that way and all, but your parents would not have wanted this Empire that Sorio has created on their graves. They had goals for an amazing country, and those goals deserve to be met. That's why I came back to train with the Yambala Gladiators."

[Apollymi]

Now sitting it was mentioned that Yasmin could lean on Fudo, she did so while thinking over what her apparent cousin had to say about her parents and their dreams for the country they ran together. She'd have to remember to thank Fudo for his kindness when she was finished talking, but she didn't want to forget anything pertinent to this conversation. Her cousin building a country of good, was something she could get behind, even though she felt least connected to this sort of rebellion. "Well, I suppose if you feel so strongly about it I won't try and talk you out it. What were my parents trying to do, and how do you plan to do it?" asked Yasmin who seemed to really be all for helping her cousin out as he planned fix the wrongs of the country they were presently in. Meanwhile, the girl whose name was Shadiya had gone quiet, and had been that way for a long time. Right at this moment she was digging through her pack because the name of the Vizier mentioned by Malik was one she'd seen somewhere before and now that she knew the truth of Yasmin she could only think of one place it probably was. She pulled out a book which held the records of her elder brother. In said book was a record of the transaction which had made Yasmin a slave and the name assigned to it, was Sorio and it was signed in the Vizier's handwriting, probably as insurance against him being able to claim directly that her brother had done anything wrong. Technically speaking this was probably the most legitimate evidence of wrongdoing by this individual and Shadiya felt obligated to give it to the people it most affected.

Shula who'd been utterly quiet since she'd found the interesting parts about the interactions between the Rukh belonging to Fudo and Yasmin peeked over the girl's shoulder taking in the information on those pages and sighing. "Hm, well... that is interesting fuel to a fire. I wonder what they'll do with it." she said not even entertaining the idea that the purple haired girl wouldn't hand over the information if and when it was needed.

[Bloodedge]

"They were on the verge of creating a treaty with Artemyra to prevent a war that has been on the horizon for decades. Sorio has been pushing for that war since he became Emperor. Artemyra isn't open to trade with other countries, and they are a great war potential. Sorio has created a special army he calls the Fanalis Corps to wipe them out and open a path that would let him rule over the Seven Seas using slave warriors he takes from other nations, in addition to his own great forces."

Fudo, always one to pick up on key bits of information, seemed astounded by the words spoken by Malik in these moments. "Did you say... Fanalis Corps?" he asked. Malik nodded in response, lowering his head thereafter. "Yes, and it is exactly what you think. He's been recruiting Fanalis, the world's greatest warrior tribe, to create a military force of raw power that could trample over anyone. Apparently, his ultimate goal is to strike out against Magnostadt with a power they couldn't possibly overcome."

[Apollymi]

Nasira and Yasmin both listened picking up the information they both were missing about the current state of affairs in this country. Of course, there was an expectedly jumpy reaction from Nasira when the Fanalis were mentioned, but Yasmin seemed to be a bit outside of why that would be important. "Artemyra? Fanalis? Magnostadt?" questioned the pink haired girl who felt surprisingly like she imagined her friend Bakura often felt when something was mentioned that she couldn't pick up simply based on context clues. Though she understood the gist of the problems mentioned by her cousin. Shadiya reached out from the back of the carriage and passed the pink haired girl a book following with a statement. "This should answer all of those questions... my fingers are marking the important places. It covers the history of all those places up to the last decade..." she mentioned. This made the pink haired girl take the book careful to leave the pages opened as they were so that she might read up on the things that were being said that she didn't quite get. "Oh, thanks... never mind then continue." she said knowing that she could both read and contribute to the ongoing conversation.

Nasira watched as this girl began to read and brought a hand up under her chin. "I get the rest of it with the neighboring countries being what they are, but what on earth does anything have to do with Magnostadt?" the black haired girl questioned. It wasn't very obvious why anyone would try and bother with such a country considering it was filled with Mages and a society built around them and had been for years.

[Bloodedge]

"Right," Malik said with a nod when Yasmin gave him the clear to carry on. "Sorio lived in Magnostadt during the civil war they had several years ago. He had always come here to visit the family, but after that war ended, he took up permanent residence in Reim. He was... very different then, but your dad still thought to make him an important person in the palace."

"What do you mean he was different?" Fudo asked. "It was just... the way he carried himself, you know? Being around him felt weird. Sorio was a magician, and though they won in Magnostadt, it almost seemed to him as if they'd lost."

After such a long time being in one place, Ali stretched and yawned, wondering how much longer it would take for them to move on. "We could be in Reim right now. Hey, Shadiya. You have Dantalion; maybe you could give me a hand in moving us there."

[Apollymi]

As Yasmin read up on the history of the areas and people mentioned by Malik, she also took in his speech about the man apparently known as Sorio who was currently acting ruler here. She couldn't help but wonder what about being involved in a war would change a man so much, but given her own life experience with her radically changing circumstances she could understand how it could go awry without any real intention on the parts of the people involved. "According to this that wasn't a winnable situation. The Mages who rose up in what used to be the Kingdom of Musta'sim slaughtered the entire royal family and all of their personal mages as part of their uprising. The Royal family because they were a symbol of the previous oppression and their personal mages because many refused to turn against people they saw as doing no wrong against them. After it was renamed Magnostadt and run under the leadership of the former leader of the Mages school there. But apparently there was a bit of unrest because of the way the previous leadership was dealt with, the man currently leading that country has become extremely paranoid which has led to an extreme bit of inaction in the country. Literally it seems to have completely stagnated following those events." Yasmin added, not knowing if this would be important or not but it could explain the mindset of the change Vizier.

Meanwhile, Shadiya was called upon by Ali who seemed to want to get this group properly settled in Reim sooner rather than later. She looked out at the horizon and hopped on top of the carriage as well. "I can help with that... if you the heavy lifting so to speak. I am not quite strong enough on my own to move all of us... it'd likely render me unconscious for weeks if I tried. I can however, show you where we're going." she said. Shadiya had in this place a villa previously owned by one of her brothers which had been set up for her extended stay here. Of course, she was more than willing to open this place up to her new friends since they'd all likely be here for a while, and it happened to be placed in a very lively part of the empire. With this in mind the girl touched her locket. The Rukh around the girl began to bend as her locket melted into her hands creating a partial equip which would make two eight sided starts on the backs of each of her hands. These were glowing with a bluish light "Dante Al-Thais." she mentioned and she began to draw with this the constellation of the Big Dipper over this group. In so doing another would appear over the open courtyard in front of the Villa. Waiting only to to pushed up and through the transportation circle as the conversation continued between the others below.

[Bloodedge]

"So, there are problems in Magnostadt, as well as Reim, which go beyond our current understanding. Regardless of the situation between the countries, it's only right that we do something about this Sorio." These were the last words spoken by Fudo before Ali and Shadiya went about their use of Space-Time Magic.

Shadiya's partial Djinn Equip opened up the pathway to their next destination, and now that he was able to see it, Ali began to utilize his own Magoi to physically transport the group and all their belongings through the rift, virtually teleporting them through Shadiya's path and having them reappear within the villa. "There we are. Thank you, Shadiya. Now... I'll be back soon-ish," he said with a wave as he walked away.

Fudo took a moment to look around the area from his place on the carriage, taking note that this place seemed to have reasonable living conditions, yet no residents. "This place doesn't look inhabited, but it looks ready to be. Where are we?"

[Apollymi]

During the use of the space time magic, after Fudo had spoken all was quiet with the young women currently occupying this place. Once they had moved though, Yasmin nodded her agreement to the clause that something had to be done about the Vizier known as Sorio. "I agree." she said there were plenty of problems in the world, and she had nothing better to do than help conquer them one by one.

Shadiya gave a quick bow and cancelled the use of her partial Djinn equip as it was more than a little draining for the young woman. Once it was gone and her locket was back secure on her neck she nodded. "Alright... this place is ready for everyone and there is more than enough room for all of you to stay here if you wish." she said of this place. Upon reaching their destination she jumped down from the roof of the carriage in time to hear and answer the question posed by Fudo about the place they were currently in. "This is my villa. Hmm, rather a place that was acquired for me when I said I'd be coming here. It was abandoned in the past and while I was on my way here it was refurbished and fully stocked. I figured... if we were all going to be here, we'd need a place to stay. So... " Shadiya seemed to be suffering a moment of minor embarrassment at the offer she was trying to make to her newfound companions. "I mean... if you want to stay, there's more than enough room..." she said trying to downplay her feelings in this matter. It only made Nasira chuckle and Yasmin smile. She really was a nice girl.

Meanwhile the landing of these people and all of their things caused someone from inside the villa to exit. Upon doing so, one would see a slim yet curvy young woman with fearsome scarlet hair pulled up into a ponytail that still hung down to her waist. Her bangs parted to cover her right eye only a grim look to her face. She was dressed in partial armor pieces black with silver filigree and a linen loincloth. Her outfit completed by a black scarf draped around her neck which blew into the breeze. "Hm. This is way more people than I expected."

[Bloodedge]

Fudo's mouth curled into a grin when Shadiya explained the existence of this place. Knowing that it was hers, he immediately felt more comfortable being in the area. "I'm sure we'd all be glad to stay. Thank you, Shadiya."

Malik wasted no time literally leaping from the carriage, finding this area dangerously familiar to him. "Ah! We're right next to-" he began to speak, only to abruptly stop his sentence upon seeing the trademark scarlet hair of one particular gladiator. "Oh! Erza! I brought some guys!"