"You taught her swordplay?"
"Hm?"
Yrix pretended to be clueless. She loved extracting the yoke of a compliment as slowly as she could. Venrith, however, had already caught on.
"I know Form II of the Vespirian Codex when I see it, Yrix, don't play dumb with me."
With a flourish of her blade, Sonera parried and deflected her surrounding opponents, dancing over their jagged edges with silent gracefulness. Her new limbs added a certain weightlessness to each evasive hop and skip, covering the ground around her as if it were that same familiar ballroom. The Blade Form Venrith spoke of referred to the mindlessly effective stance Sonera had taken, wherein she'd block high against her taller opponents using the most flexible appendage she had - that being the gap in her heels in which her weapon fit so snugly.
"I taught her no such thing," Yrix shrugged, trying not to express amazement as Sonera manifested and dematerialized her sword all around her body, choosing each new implement at just the right time. "Really."
Venrith raised her eyebrow, the commanding formality leaving her voice. "That's a miniaturized replica of your blade."
"Indeed, it is. Let it serve as your reminder as to what I do here. Any Teacher could drill a routine into her students' heads. But I specialize in turning the immaterium into the material. Sonera draws from her heart and mind as if it were as physically consequential as her fist. She couldn't possibly be this much of a prodigy without it. None of them could," Yrix hissed like she was lecturing a child.
As if to prove her point, Sonera balanced herself on her own hands, swinging with a delicate leg while flexibly bending her body over a piercing lance. Attaching a sword to a foot would have, of course, been laughably impractical if not for her new limbs and abilities. Yet with her, it proved effortlessly effective. Even Venrith understood that truth.
"I see," Venrith placed a large, scaled fist to her chin. "Psionic power is more than an implement. It's a gateway. You mean to turn these fraudulent, emotional humans into deadly warriors with this power alone?"
Yrix nodded, keeping her eye on Sonera. "I do."
The assassin was under a hail of fire again, twirling her blade at rapid speeds as it began to run hot like molten metal. She protected herself that way for as long as she needed until the necessary space could be crossed. Such was the sword's heat that upon impact with a Vesper's shielding, it shorn clean through like butter.
Or perhaps a Saber, as Lila would call it.
"Hm," Sonera twirled her defensive fan behind her for a moment, sighing with annoyance at the pesky snipers that harassed her before chucking a radiant knife over her shoulder. "Lunae…"
She could feel the Princess prying inside her mind. It wasn't much of a distraction, of course. If anything, Sonera felt the soreness in her muscles loosen up. But that was enough for Venrith to notice.
"Who does she speak of?" The Numeth snorted at Yrix.
The student peered out from behind her teacher's thin legs. Her blue hair veiled her shy face.
"Where do you think their motivation comes from?" Yrix crossed her arms again, this time even tighter. "Fear doesn't compel fury like what you see."
"I'd hope it would be a warrior's sense of honor," Venrith spoke in a disapproving voice. "So what is it then?"
"Human greed. Sonera wants my student here. Not only for her tactical support, but for her beauty and heart."
"Well," Venrith waved the thought away. "If she wins, she can have her concubine. Forget I asked. I merely hoped it would be something more noble."
"She is noble," Lunae spoke up, much to Yrix's visible delight. "And brave."
Venrith raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And whom do you speak of so arrogantly?"
It was like talking down to an ant. But Lunae stood firm. Her face carried the same malignment towards Venrith as it did towards her mother.
No one could talk down to Sonera when it came to her heart.
"She fights you for us. To protect us. She's a knight. Bravely defending the innocent from pompous bullies," Lunae's teeth grated together.
"And what exactly does she see in you?" Venrith probed, unbothered by Lunae's disrespect.
Had it been any other member of the Consoritum near her station, Lunae would be silenced for her insolence without delay. But Venrith had a special curiosity for the bold and the ignorant. Besides, she didn't come all that way to leave a stone unturned.
"Is that why you dress like a whore? By your species' standards, I mean," the Numeth continued with a snort. "Will this brave Sonera not be as devoted if she is not first seduced?"
Lunae retracted, placing her hands near her chest like a scared animal. She didn't have a retort for Venrith's words. Or so she thought.
"She does enjoy how I look," Lunae looked up with courage in her eyes. "And I provide her enjoyment because I love her. You'll never understand that sort of mutual engagement, I know your people."
"Careful," Yrix whispered into Lunae's mind. "She'll kill you if she knows what you are."
Venrith looked back towards the table. "Then we shall see. If you are enough motivation to keep her alive."
Phew.
Lunae exhaled, feeling a little naked after being called a harlot. But it felt good to admit she liked to put out for Sonera. And it felt good to be wanted, even if it meant boasting to an old, toad-like warlord.
She's just jealous.
We're both filthy aliens to Sonera.
Yet I'm the one who's got them salivating.
"Focus," Yrix chided. "Sonera isn't out of this yet. Her arrogance has limits."
The Arch-Flayer's words rang true, for on the display, it seemed Sonera had come face to face with an old enemy and was already having her fill of trouble. Lunae hid her worry, making a slight gasp as a golden Vesper came into the hologram's view. The last time Sonera faced the high-ranking class of Vesper, she had to rely on Lunae's treachery to win.
It had emerged from the fog like a phantom of death, gliding over its dead, lesser brethren with two swords in hand. The Primus loomed on the horizon still, waiting for Sonera to finally break through. But the Vesper wouldn't let her. It stayed poised for battle, unwilling to let Sonera's strength go unmeasured.
Sonera heard the Zealot speak in an alien tongue, gesturing for her to come forward and face it in an honorable duel, just as its predecessor had done before. Her response was more determined than that day in the Crimson Forest, circling her prey like she was the cold reptile. And after a mocking flick of her sword, Sonera engaged.
"Does she know what she mimics?" Venrith huffed, watching Sonera as her weapon bounced off the liquid energy of the Vesper's blade. "Their people's art isn't just a tool of war. You studied it, Yrix. But did she?"
"It's up to Sonera to search her opponent's story," the Arch Flayer responded calmly.
Venrith chose to explain the concept, regardless of Yrix's deflections. "They believe in shapes, as childish as that sounds. The shape you take when you die. When you kill. It's a song. And only those perfectly reverent in their own shape can be the truest killer."
As the Numeth spoke, Sonera found herself pushed back by a double-pronged assault, blocking with her arm whenever her blade was too slow. The strength of the Vesper's shield rendered her unable to strike it down with one blow. And after her radiant knife proved that unfortunate fact to be true, disintegrating against its shimmering shields, she left herself open for a swipe of its tail.
"Sonera," Lunae whispered to herself.
The Assassin skidded across the floor, her Ambience flickering before releasing a slight growl. She wasted no time tossing herself back into the fray, renewing her sense of purpose with a spinning overhead swing. Her enemy deflected high, causing Sonera to balance on her own weight and flip over the Vesper.
She was baiting it.
Sonera grabbed onto one of the Vespper's liquid blades, wincing in pain as several vibrations shot through her shoulder. Holding its appendage hostage, she squinted in preparation as the Vesper swung with its remaining options. The Assassin first kicked aside a lateral attack before grabbing onto the plasma-heated edge of the tail, which dug into her shoulder.
Lunae could feel the little whimper that escaped her mouth. But it wasn't enough to stop Sonera. She dug the tail out of her shoulder before pulling on it with all her might, hurling the Vesper over her shoulder as she spun around. The Vesper landed on its feet, of course, graceful as it was, but was completely unprepared for the radiant sword that came flying towards its face.
"Now," Lunae whispered under her breath, realizing what Sonera was looking for.
Her sword was embedded in the Vesper's armor, having finally gotten through the shielding. But instead of prematurely detonating her construct, Sonera held it there, wrestling against the Vesper's attempts to remove the blade with her Psionic grasp. She spun around like a ballerina, her outfit flickering to life as she began to coalesce her strength around the burning edge. By the time the Vesper wrenched the object free, it was already simmering with a power so bright it blotted out the room.
"Bang," Sonera muttered to herself as she pulled the imaginary trigger.
The resulting rumble could be felt in the Aerie. And when the dust cleared, the Vesper was gone. So was everything else beyond the Primus, as it were, leaving Sonera untouched by her own radiance.
"Let's finish this," she grunted in a tired voice.
The Primus nodded. It had accepted its role as the final step in Sonera's ascension. Either she would rise, or Venrith would keep her champion, and her opinion on Psions.