A Visit to the Quincy [Open]

The sound of clacking heels echoed from a silver mirror that appeared in the midst of Sofia and Stefan's little get-together. From the mercurial depths came a woman whose snow-white hair framed her strong, feminine face. Niflheim, elect of the Quincy, leader of the Quincy race leveled her platinum gaze upon the emerald gaze of Stefan Soan.

"Welcome to the city of lights. Stefan Soan. " Clipped, courteous, and warm. The muted tones of Niflheim's voice were measured and graceful, each word spilled forth from her lips like music as she studied the warrior that stood before her.

"This isn't the place to discuss things of this nature, wouldn't you say?" Neutrality, that was the underlying tone that summed up the tonation of her voice. Niflheim would motion for the two of them to follow her as she walked forward, her back straight, silver eyes staring straight ahead.

Then the faintest thrum of power resonated from her being, the resplendent azure hues of energy barely misting from her as a silver mirror formed in front of them, born from her very unique set of abilities. She had linked the current location's image within her mind's eye, and the location of one of the many meeting rooms within the vandenreich's government buildings, utilizing the concept of bridging she created a singular point between the two. This, in turn, would allow the mirror that appeared before their very eyes to come to fruition. Niflheim would step through the mirror, waiting for Stefan and Sofia to follow her.

Once they passed that threshold, the view changed drastically. Sleek marble and granite adorned the room that they now resided in. The large table in the center of the room was rectangular in shape. Niflheim sat down in one of the many high-backed chairs, her posture ram-rod straight, her platinum eyes resting on the two of them.

"Please, sit. Make yourself comfortable." Niflheim's melodious voice was like a fresh breeze, while at the same time she glanced at Sofia.

"Sofia, come sit beside me." Niflheim's voice was as neutral as ever. The point of the message, however, was clear, it was to show solidarity amongst them. That the Quincy stood united on all matters.

After all that transpired, Niflheim drummed her fingers on the mahogany arm of her chair, her eyes studying stefan as she seemed to be lost in thought.

"Honestly, I'd like to know stefan. What do you get out of this? " Niflheim asked the faintest of smiles resting on her face. She wasn't the type to take things at face value. She had experienced far too much of the world to believe that there wasn't a single ulterior motive for stefans meeting here today.

The question was, what exactly was that motive?

She kind of liked his forward and straight to the point way of talking. But needless to say, Sofia had never been one to sugarcoat what she said so the resemblance and familiarity was an easy one to see. She took a good look at him, finally being able to put a face to the name. She had heard of his name, and although she already knew some vague details about his overall appearance, this was their first meeting. There wasn’t a lot of focus or effort put into rumors, so she still was intent on letting his first impression be the deciding factor on how she’d view him thereon.

”Hard to say,” said Sofia checking the heft of her bosom, which to be honest, was quite lacking in comparison to what she typically saw on her everyday life.

”There must be something in the water. Or maybe as you put it, after so many near extinction events, only the strongest and most dominant traits continued. Powerful children, dark hair, the list goes on.”

It wasn’t a direct jab at his unique hair color, but there was no denying it wasn’t exactly the most common thing when compared to the dominant genes of brown and black hues. Nonetheless, her point was laced with all sorts of truth. The weak among the Quincy had died either centuries or millennia ago. Very few spiritual races had gone through as many near extinctions as they had. Being strong in this day and age didn’t just mean who could last the longest in battle, but it could also mean who was the best at avoiding it. Regardless of the means, what little remained of their race made it a rule and a habit to ensure their family line continued. The way the Montero family had raised Sofia was more akin what one would expect of soldiers in Vastime, if not more. She never faulted them though, it was a necessity born out of the actions of a man that was no more; a man that Sofia herself had already surpassed.

”I’ll surely try to make your visit worth it,” she added just before feeling the energy of Niflheim approach them.

”I’m the Sternritter Executive, and that over there,” she said pointing at the old lady, ”That’s the Elect.”

There was no need to emphasize what a position meant, as he likely didn’t care to know, and she really didn’t want to explain. What should be obvious was that Niflheim had the final say, even if Sofia had about the strongest chance to sway an opinion. The young woman’s main job was to fight, and lead the forces in battle, leaving the bureaucratic choices to those best suited for that task. Still, she really hoped her friend would at least entertain the proposition of the Stefan.

As far as she was concerned, the Quincy did not need to join another organization, but Stefan had made it clear that was not his intent. As far as being allies, desperate times called for desperate measures, and one could always have more of those. The Vandenreich had already allied themselves to the Vanguard and Vastime, so as long as their allegiances did not conflict, there was no reason to say no to the agreement. As her friend put it however, there was still the matter of what exactly Stefan required of them, as that would likely turn the conversation to its definite and intended end.

In the hopes that everything would be resolved in a way that benefited all parties involved, Sofia took a seat by the Elect, allowing Stefan the floor to move about and speak as he desired. These were indeed troubling times. The war was to come far sooner than later. Although she doubted the Vandenreich would get involved directly, they certainly would hold their ground against whatever forces threatened the region. On the other hand, both Ghislain and Sofia would certainly not miss the war effort or the chance to fight off Shadow Fall. There was still the matter of who they would come to the aid of, but there was no negotiation to be had that would keep them away from the battlefield.

Sofia's sentiment about the weak dying off and the strong passing on their genes, the basic fundamental truth of evolution through adaptation, struck a chord with Stefan. Perhaps there were others who shared and understood his beliefs in this world after all. Many people he'd come across throughout the years emphasized protecting the feeble and frail, acting as vanguards against danger and conflict. To Stefan such a thing was an embarrassment. Those who could not defend themselves should be pushed relentlessly to grow so that they no longer need protectors and can stand on their own two fight, and only organic conflict and struggle could result in such progress. Unlike those who took Darwin's Survival of the Fittest theory and bastardized it to justify genocide and slavery, Stefan could see the value in all life. He didn't seek to whip the weak into form, only merely to grant them every opportunity to grow and meet their true potential.

To Sofia he spoke again, this time in response to her last comment before the arrival of another Quincy "Certainly hope you do", an almost indiscernible smirk on his face as he replied. This other person, introduced by Sofia as the Vandenreich Elect, a fact not unknown to Stefan, seemed like a perfect representation of the white diamond walls and roads around them. Even if he wasn't already aware of who she was and what position she maintained among the Quincy it was clear she was the decision maker. Still, as someone who valued individual power above most else, Stefan was glad Sofia was coming along with them through the weird silverish portal. Had the Quincies willingly invited him into their headquarters without the strongest among them following suit, Stefan wouldn't have been able to resist pointing out such folly.

Upon stepping through the portal, the presence of others was swiftly detected by Stefan. For the most part the rest of the Quincies in the building were mere rabble, clearly more naturally powerful than the average human but otherwise unimpressive. It seemed for the most part, the two women who greeted him personally were the mightiest their people had to offer and so it was logical for them to be at the top. "I'll stand, thanks." he said in response to the Elect's offer. Perhaps the most surprising arrival was that of a thin man not lacking in femininity who introduced himself as the Sternritter Grandmaster....which was strange to Stefan, to say the least. From everything he knew about the Vandenreich's hierarchy, that position was usually reserved for the most senior and powerful among all Sternritter while from his man who claimed such a mantle Stefan sensed Reiatsu barely on the level of Gotei seated officers. Either he was incredibly skilled at hiding his true power, one of the best Stefan had ever seen, or he had other skills which somehow qualified him for such a lofty position. Either way his initial statements seemed a bit unnecessary to Stefan, though worth responding to.

"Pride won't save you from the coming storm. It certainly hasn't saved anyone from my blade, much less from Shadow Fall." Though it could be taken as such, this wasn't any kind of threat from Stefan. To emphasize this fact he continued speaking "And what I want is what I've said, for your people to survive what's coming. Some of you are quite strong, but having fought in more battles and wars alongside and against Shadow Fall I can say without doubt it's not gonna be enough. Your allies won't be enough when they're caught up in their own battles." Having always been on the forefront of war, Stefan Soan was not one to prefer defense. If given the opportunity at no point would he ever be fighting to protect anything or anyone, and instead be cutting down would-be attackers before they even had a chance to threaten the Free Union. Destroying his enemies on their home turf was always preferable. For this reason Stefan stated his only request from the Quincy leaders sitting before him.

"The only thing I ask is that when the time comes, you all join me in the complete and total destruction of Shadow Fall."