The Gowu Fables

[Achkaerin]

The Gowu Fables

Gowu, Achkaerin's nice Ardian jewel, a symbol of what can be achieved with tolerance, justice and a whole lot of other things. At its heart is the Tsu family the Chief Councillor mother, the recently returned father and the daughter who's still discovering things about her she never thought possible but whether it's them, the other politicians in the city, the military legends from the fort down the road or even the various cameo characters one thing's for certain this is Gowu, all are welcome- well everyone except the 'Queen of Toshindai' but that's a whole other story. So come and enter the city that makes no judgement's whatsoever.

Table of Contents

The Homecoming
So You're My Father
The Lodger
Decoration...Decoration...Decoration
Haunted
The Best Birthday Ever: Part One
The Best Birthday Ever: Part Two
The Best Birthday Ever: Part Three
Crisis
First Flight, First Steps
Prove Yourself
Surprise Surprise
My Name: Part One
My Name: Part Two
My Name: Part Three
My Name: Part Four
Gambits, Openings, Defences and Sacrifices

[Achkaerin]

The Homecoming



Chief Councilor Xiaoling Tsu and Carson Tsu

Xiaoling crouched down and looked into the oven looking through the door to check that the Victoria sponge she was baking was behaving as it should be, it was so that was a good thing. She had the house to herself at the moment, her daughter Kirsty was in Mercia for a parade and then according to the sneaky glances she'd directed towards Kirsty's computer there was a rendezvous with a Mercian girl planned. Although Kirsty hadn't said a word about it to her mother it made Xiaoling smile, Kirsty coming to terms with her sexuality had been the greatest challenge for the family in recent times, it was something Kirsty had barely talked about to Xiaoling but she had spoken to someone else- Sora Yoshimo, the former Shogun of Toshindai, he had helped her and it was something Xiaoling would always be thankful for.

Her attention was then attracted by the sound of a car drawing up outside the front of her home, Trinity House, she wasn't expecting anyone- the diary was clear which was why she was doing the baking for Lady Brianna's open day, she'd taught there a few years earlier and still kept a close association with the school. She headed to the front door and opened it just in time to get the shock of her life.

Standing there was her husband, the father of her daughter, Carson Tsu he'd worked in Achkaerinese intelligence, he'd gone on assignment a couple of months before Kirsty had been born and then been declared as missing presumed dead.

"Carson." Xiaoling said wide eyed
"Xiaoling." Carson said, he staggered forwards clearly in some slight discomfort, Xiaoling met him and hugged him
"How?" Xiaoling asked
"Got lucky with some meteor strike." Carson said
"Come on." Xiaoling said

Xiaoling got Carson into the back garden and helped him into a chair at the garden table then she brought out drinks and cake.
"You still bake I see." Carson said
"Of course." Xiaoling said
"I hope it's as good as I remember." Carson said
"I think so." Xiaoling said
"So." Carson said sipping on his drink "You're the Chief Councillor."
"Yeah." Xiaoling said "Who'd have thought it?"
"Good job?" Carson asked
"I've no complaints." Xiaoling said

Carson smiled and looked around the garden, he spied the conservatory style summerhouse at the far end of it, by the looks of it there were a few interesting things in it.
"What's with that?" Carson asked
"That's Kirsty's work space." Xiaoling said "She's an artist and she goes big and bold with what she does."
"How's she doing with that?" Carson asked
"She's got a big exhibition coming up" Xiaoling said "She's headlining the Royal Artisan exhibition."
"She's headlining that as a first year?" Carson asked
"Yeah I know." Xiaoling said "Nothing like that's ever happened before."
"Now I can't wait to meet her." Carson said

[Achkaerin]

So You're My Father?



Kirsty Tsu

Kirsty trudged her way up the gravel driveway to the front door of Trinity House, after what had gone down in Mercia she was just thankful to be home she'd spent most of the journey home going over ideas for the Royal Artisan Exhibition and to be honest she was so burned out that inspiration wasn't coming to her, not even listening to her music was doing it for her. Maybe it was the 'haunting of Mercia' maybe it was something else she just didn't know.

Up ahead the front door of the house opened and Xiaoling stood there
"You ok?" Xiaoling asked
"Yeah." Kirsty said "Best laid plans of Mice and Men and all that."
"Before we do anything else I need to tell you something." Xiaoling said "We're taking in a lodger."
"Since when did we need to do that?" Kirsty asked
"Don't ask me." Xiaoling said "Are you ok with it?"
"I'll have to be won't I?" Kirsty said
"Yes." Xiaoling said "Now your father's in the lounge when you're ready."

To say Kirsty was apprehensive about this meeting would have been an understatement, her legs felt like lead, her brain slightly like jelly it was almost like she was watching herself walk inside the house, take off her fleece and then walk to the lounge. Carson sat there in an armchair waiting for her he looked at her and Kirsty could see the same edginess she felt reflected in his eyes.

"You certainly got your mothers looks." Carson said standing up
"You would know I guess." Kirsty said
"But you definitely got your sense of humor from me." Carson said, he then wished he'd stayed sat down as Kirsty nearly flattened him with a hug.

"So where do we start?" Kirsty asked
"Favorite color?" Carson asked
"Red." Kirsty said
"Type of music?" Carson asked
"Film scores." Kirsty said
"Favorite film?" Carson asked
"Avatar." Kirsty said "Though I do like Moulin Rouge."
"According to your mother you always turn that off early so it has a happy ending." Carson said
"Nothing wrong with that." Kirsty said
"Boyfriend?" Carson asked
"I'm not like that." Kirsty said
"I know." Carson said "From what I hear Sora Yoshimo was good to you." it was true to all intents and purposes Sora had been the father figure in Kirsty's early life.

"Yeah he was." Kirsty said
"So anyone like that in your life?" Carson asked
"Maybe." Kirsty said blushing slightly
"All I know is I've got a lot of catching up to do." Carson said

[Achkaerin]

The Lodger



Kirsty Tsu

Kirsty sat in the lounge- it was situated at the front of the house, she had her ipad in front of her and was playing around with some ideas for the Royal Artisan exhibition, she had a few decent sculptures that would make great supporting attractions but she needed probably three new pieces to be the centre pieces, she just couldn't decide on what they should be talk about a complete lack of inspiration, usually ideas just spoke to her almost as if she could visualize it in her head within seconds of knowing the sort of occasion it was for, but this wasn't doing that- whether it was still the fallout from Mercia, the pressure of headlining the exhibition or a combination of the two she didn't know. Then the doorbell rang

"I've got it." came Xiaoling's voice, she emerged into the hallway and answered the door while Carson entered the lounge, then Kirsty entered the lounge doorway "Kirsty may I introduce our lodger?"

Kirsty looked up just in time to see a very familiar red and black checkerboard styled coat appear in the doorway, with a soft chuckle she looked from her father to her mother
"Why you sly..." Kirsty said
"I take it you approve then?" Xiaoling said, standing there was Claire Callaghan the Bretton girl who'd been half the reason Kirsty had originally gone to Mercia, Kirsty didn't need to give a verbal answer to that she was on her feet and embracing Claire.
"How the heck did you pull this off Mum?" Kirsty asked
"Well you really need to be careful what you leave open on your computer." Xiaoling said

"We should get going." Carson said
"True." Xiaoling said
"Where are you going?" Kirsty asked now facing her mother
"Ui Cenneslaig" Xiaoling said "The old Ardian stability nugget. We'll be gone a couple of days."
"Right." Kirsty said
"So if you want to continue the reorganization upstairs." Xiaoling said
"I still don't see why you wanted to swap my bedroom and your office around." Xiaoling said
"Well my office is bigger than your room." Xiaoling said "And..." she glanced at Claire
"Is there anything you haven't considered?" Kirsty asked as she realised it.
"I doubt it." Xiaoling said

A few minutes later it was just Kirsty and Claire in the house, they immediately went up to what it now appeared would become their room, it had been completely stripped out of all the fixtures and fittings.

"It'll need plastering." Claire said
"We've got a fun couple of days ahead." Kirsty said "What color do you fancy?"
"I'm thinking red." Claire said
"With black in a checkerboard somewhere?" Kirsty asked, this was sort of a running joke between the two of them- when they'd met on line their 'dating profiles' had both indicated the hobby of chess so they'd started playing each other while talking online- Claire being enrolled as a mathematician and scientist was as skilled in the game as her choice of course suggested but Kirsty tended to win most of their games.
"I've got my giant outdoor set in some boxes in the car." Claire said
"The ornate set?" Kirsty asked
"Yep." Claire said

"So." Kirsty said turning her attention back to the room "We go get the stuff in the morning, and we get plastering in the afternoon."
"So that's paint plaster, what kind of bed have you got?" Claire asked
"I've got a double don't worry." Kirsty said "We should probably get some new sheets."
"Ok." Claire said "And we'll need some extra storage space."

"Though for tonight I think we can slum it downstairs." Kirsty said "Fancy watching a film?"
"You got popcorn?" Claire asked
"You bet we have." Kirsty said

[Achkaerin]

Decoration...Decoration...Decoration



Claire Callaghan

Paint soaked rollers met plastered wall as Claire and Kirsty, in what Kirsty called her 'sculpting clothes', set to work on their new room, they'd done the plastering and were now doing the painting- the only blessing was that they weren't going to have to do anything about the ceiling or the floor.
"So when do I get to see your workshop?" Claire asked
"Once we've got this room done maybe." Kirsty said "How was East Moreland?"
"Nice." Claire said "Found the Achkaerin embassy easy enough and requested asylum. CTO refugee council provisions did the rest."
"And here you are." Kirsty said "I still can't believe my mother managed to pull this on me."
"She's a perceptive woman." Claire said

A couple of hours later the walls were done and they were shifting the furniture in. The bookshelves and table had been easy enough because while they may have been unwieldy, without anything on them they were at least reasonably light, the bed however now that was a challenge it was heavy- even when disassembled to the base, bed head and mattress.

"You know next time Mum suggests redecorating..." Kirsty said as they finished reattaching the bed head "I'm going to make her have Dad do most of the lifting work."
"Good policy." Claire said
"Do you have a side?" Kirsty asked "Window or wall?"
"I prefer the wall side." Claire said "Otherwise I wake up too early when the sun breaks through the curtain."
"Fair enough." Kirsty said she smiled, this was still way too weird "So shall we get you unpacked?"
"Sounds like a plan to me." Claire said

It didn't take them that long to unpack Claire's box's mainly because there wasn't a lot to unpack just the stuff from the University she'd been attending in Mercia. Putting Kirsty's stuff back on the shelves took longer but that was only to be expected.

"So when do your parents get back?" Claire asked
"Couple of days." Kirsty said "Why?"
"Well we've got the house to ourselves." Claire said "Think what we could get up to."
"I am don't worry." Kirsty said

[Achkaerin]

Haunted



Carson Tsu & Claire Callaghan

Carson couldn't sleep, every time he closed his eyes he had nightmares, which in fairness were more like memories, about his time in captivity over the eighteen years of Kirsty's life he'd missed. Every time he closed his eyes it was the crackling sound of electricity, the smell of burnt flesh, the bright lights- all of it overwhelmed him and he knew it was all in his head, but that didn't help. Sitting up in bed he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and quietly left the bedroom the last thing he wanted to do was wake Xiaoling up.

He headed downstairs, wearing his t-shirt and shorts pajamas figuring that maybe he'd get a glass of water and settle down but as he walked past the lounge 'door' he smiled, Claire was sat on the sofa wearing her own nightclothes and wrapping herself in a dressing gown.
"Can't sleep?" Carson asked
"No." Claire said "You?"
"Nah." Carson said "Bad dreams?"
"Memories" Claire said
"About?" Carson asked
"Mercia." Claire said
"What happened?" Carson asked
"I don't want to talk about it." Claire said

"I think that's irrelevant." Carson said "If you want a good nights sleep then you need to talk about it and not leave anything out."
"It's nothing serious." Claire said
"The hell it isn't." Carson said "I know the look in your eyes because I've seen it reflected in my own. I'll do you a deal you tell me your story and I'll tell you mine."
"Then we both might be able to sleep easy." Claire said
"Maybe." Carson said, now sitting next to Claire.

"I don't remember an awful lot but what I do remember I remember vividly." Claire said "There was a lot of confusion, East Moreland's Red Legion had taken over Hassop Hall, but without any backup they had to leave and take all the cultists they had with them. I ended up in the woodland with one of the Legionnaires, we found a group of Cultists about to be executed, he put a pistol in my hand and started shooting, next thing I know I'm pulling the pistol's trigger."

"And?" Carson asked
"And I see two of the would be executioners fall to my fire." Claire said "I can still picture the face of one of them, a lad about my age, blonde hair slicked back and brown eyes, I shot him and he just looked at me for what seemed an age before he fell."
"It was him or you." Carson said
"You don't know that he might not have pulled the trigger." Claire said
"No I don't but I know the probability is that he would have." Carson said "Your a mathematician you know that as well as I do. It's cruel to say it but why take the risk? Self preservation trumps all."

"So what about you?" Claire asked
"I used to work for Achkaerinese intelligence, deep cover. One day I'm sent to the UNP to infiltrate a gunrunning group that's got a link with the black market. Everything was going great for the first couple of weeks until there was a jailbreak of one of the gang leaders who somehow got information that blew my cover. I was tortured for year after year as they tried to get me to help them, my value only increased once Xiaoling was made Chief Councillor."
"Did you break?" Claire asked
"No but I was close a few times." Carson said "But when the hard times came I just kept thinking about Xiaoling and wondering how my son or daughter was doing, what they were like, stuff like that. Though it did help that my captors were quite inept when it came to extracting information I dread to think what it would have been like if the Gungnir had been involved. So that's my story."

"So now what?" Claire asked
"Now we go back to bed." Carson said

When it was a more reasonable hour i.e. mid morning Carson now fully dressed walked into the kitchen and found Kirsty having some toast for breakfast with the television on.

"Morning." Kirsty said
"Morning." Carson said "Anything interesting?"
"Just a sports feature on the Champions League draw." Kirsty said
"Where's Claire?" Carson asked
"She's gone to the university to sort out her transfer into the second year." Kirsty said
"I'm surprised you didn't go with her." Carson said
"I would have." Kirsty said "But I've got to be at Lily port in an hour. Air Force routine test."
"What do you fly?" Carson asked
"I'm rated for Harpy's." Kirsty said "Part one of a very busy month."
"What's the rest?" Carson asked
"Claire's birthday and then the Royal Artisan exhibition." Kirsty said

"What are you doing for her birthday?" Carson asked
"I've got something in mind." Kirsty said

[Achkaerin]

The Best Birthday Ever: Part One



Kirsty Tsu & Claire Callaghan

"Where are we going?" Claire asked, as Kirsty drove them through Gowu.
"It's a surprise." Kirsty said "It's your birthday remember, I've got the whole day planned out."
"Well this doesn't look like a lively part of town." Claire said
"Well we have to go here to get where we're going." Kirsty said

A few minutes later Kirsty was parking up on an airfield.
"What are we doing here?" Claire asked as Kirsty opened the boot of her car and removed her Achkaerin Air Force flight suit, helmet and a spare set for Claire.
"Catch." Kirsty said throwing Claire the helmet, Claire looked at it and then at Kirsty
"Seriously?" Claire asked
"Yeah." Kirsty said "Come on let's get changed."
"Can I have the black flight suit?" Claire teased as they walked towards the locker rooms
"Yes." Kirsty said handing the suit over.

When they'd finished getting changed they were walking towards where the planes were kept, some were kept outside others in hangars.
"Where's our ride?" Claire asked
"She's right there." Kirsty said indicating a small hangar that was opening up to reveal a two seater mark one Harpy
"Wow." Claire said "Is she yours?"
"Yep." Kirsty said
"How'd you get her?" Claire asked
"Won her off Prince Simon in a poker game." Kirsty said
"How drunk was he?" Claire asked
"On the floor pretty much." Kirsty said "I offered it back the next day but he said no."

The pair climbed into the plane, Kirsty in the front, Claire behind.
"Thanks Steve." Kirsty said to the man who looked after the plane.
"No problem." Steve said
"Any problems with her?" Kirsty asked
"No." Steven said "Did the pre-flight before you came. She's good to fly."

Kirsty and Claire put their helmets on and then Kirsty taxied the aircraft to the end of the runway.
"Tower this is Harpy 192. Pterodactyl at the controls request permission to take off." Kirsty said over the radio, she'd given her Achkaerin Air Force call sign something even a reserve pilot like her had.
"Received Pterodactyl" the operator said "You are cleared to take off."
"Thank you Tower." Kirsty said "You ready?"
"Yep." Claire said, Kirsty watched the spinning propellers and then threw the throttle forwards, the Harpy shot down the runway and up into the sky.

"That gets me every time." Kirsty said a few moments later as she leveled the plane off.
"How often do you fly?" Claire asked
"I'm on official reserve duty usually about five days a month." Kirsty said "Mainly we fly patrols and the like during that so it's all routine. We also three monthly annual quals to see if we're still able to perform to the set standard. In short not as much as I'd like."
"I see." Claire said, Kirsty smiled
"Look to the right." Kirsty said dipping the right wing so that Claire had a better view of the Rokkenjiman Sea below them.
"That's incredible." Claire said "All the ships down there look so small."
"Wait till you see a flock of birds cover them up." Kirsty said "Then they look really small." she banked the plane to the right just as the clouds broke and the Sun came out.

"Now that's something special." Claire said "Can I take pictures?"
"So long as you turn off the flash yes." Kirsty said, she smiled to herself as the noise of Claire's phone taking pictures took over.
"What are you planning?" Claire asked noticing that Kirsty had gone quiet
"Nothing bad." Kirsty said "Just thinking about how awesome the rest of today's going to be."
"Wait you seriously have a day planned out?" Claire asked "I thought you were messing with me."
"Course I'm not messing." Kirsty said "Just wait till you see what I've got planned next."

[Achkaerin]

The Best Birthday Ever: Part Two



Kirsty Tsu & Claire Callaghan

Kirsty's next surprise was something Claire had never expected, after a quick change of clothes to something more elegant they were walking into Gowu's largest and most famous casino, the Eclipse. Kirsty now wore a black dress with silver woven into it, Claire was in red with gold woven in.
"We're actually going to do this?" Claire asked as Kirsty handed her one hundred iso's worth of chips, Kirsty also kept a hundred for herself.
"Well we've always talked about it so why not put the theory into practice?" Kirsty asked, they now surveyed the casino floor
"So where do we start?" Claire asked
"Birthday girl's pick." Kirsty said
"Roulette." Claire said
"After you." Kirsty said

Claire led the way to one of the roulette tables, where she sat down while Kirsty went to the next table. They were in this together they weren't about to take each other on, far better to play the house. Claire watched and waited for a few spins before starting to place her own bets, a glance over her shoulder told her that Kirsty was doing much the same thing. They knew the game mechanics and they weren't going to gamble recklessly so Claire started betting on color, dozen and row not anything else, she didn't need to do anything else to raise the amount of chips she had.

An hour later they were both smiling and moving away from the roulette to the main attraction for them - the poker table, now they both sat at the same one each of them with close to a thousand iso's worth of chips- not a bad return for an hours work.
"They let kids in here now?" one of the other players said, Kirsty looked over and spotted the man in question was dressed like a cowboy and had a mountain of chips in front of him. Stepped into the crosshairs Claire thought as the dealer dealt the next hand.

"Just because we're young." Claire said looking at her hand before concealing it "Doesn't mean we play like kids."
"Indeed." Kirsty said the bet was with her and she bet twenty, Claire was next and she saw the bet, then came the cowboy he matched them as well.
"Your bet girl." Claire said
"Raise forty." Kirsty said, Claire half smiled
"Fold." Claire said
"Amateur mistake." the Cowboy said "Raise one hundred.", Kirsty looked around the table
"What's your name?" Kirsty asked
"Paul." the cowboy said
"Well then Paul..." Kirsty said "Will you call me on this? Raise one fifty."

Paul smiled
"Call." he moved one hundred and fifty of his own to the pot.
"What have you got?" Kirsty asked
"Flush." Paul said laying out five cards from the clubs suit.
"Not bad." Kirsty said "Just not good enough" she flipped her cards over "Four of a kind." she had four Queen's and a seven.
"Ok I retract the word amateur." Paul said "But you're still not in my league."
"Want anything from the bar Claire?" Kirsty asked
"Whatever you're having." Claire said
"Have fun taking him down." Kirsty said
"My pleasure." Claire said

Around two hours of hard fought poker later the balance had been somewhat more equalized, it probably helped that Claire's study of game theory meant that she had several decent strategies in what to do. Kirsty was stood behind Claire.
"Who's got more left you or him?" Kirsty asked
"Me by about fifty." Claire said, the dealer dealt the cards and Claire glanced at them, hid them and looked across at Paul with her game face well and truly on "Bring it on."
"Two hundred." Paul said making his bet
"Likewise." Claire said
"Raise five hundred." Paul said
"I'll see you." Claire said, she was managing to keep a straight face but she could see that Paul was losing his cool Come on... if you've got something then do it already.
"All in." Paul said, Claire narrowed her eyes and waited a few seconds
"No backing out now." Claire said "All in."

Paul turned over his hand it was a Full House, Claire smiled and showed her hand- a Royal Flush.
"You have got to be kidding me." Paul said as the dealer pushed the chips in front of Claire
"Hate to say it but this is no joke." Claire said she looked at an attendant "Have these cashed please."
"Are you becoming psychic or something?" Kirsty asked
"No but I know you well enough." Claire said "Where to next?"

[Achkaerin]

The Best Birthday Ever: Part Three



Kirsty Tsu & Claire Callaghan

Next stop on the Birthday train was a restaurant, well they'd picked out a pizzeria, and then after they'd eaten they'd headed to one of the city's clubs. With the music in full swing Kirsty and Claire found themselves at home on the dance floor, not out of place at all for this was Gowu the city where pretty much anything could happen, people from all walks of life called the city home.
"You seriously had all this planned?" Claire asked
"Of course I did." Kirsty said "You don't want to know how much chocolate I had to bribe the airfield mechanics with to get that original Harpy up and ready to go."
"I can imagine." Claire said
"Could have been worse I suppose." Kirsty said "Just glad it wasn't."
"Laugh it up Kirsty." Claire said as Kirsty span her around the dance floor "So where'd you learn to dance?"
"Good friend of mine Melanie Bell." Kirsty said
"Didn't she just set up shop on her own?" Claire asked
"Yeah." Kirsty said "Always enjoyed a good mystery has Melanie and now she wants to go and solve the mysteries of Mundus."
"Well they do say you should aim high." Claire said
"They do." Kirsty said

About an hour later the pair were just getting into the car about to head back to Trinity House
"Tell me something." Claire said "How did you apply for the Air Force?"
"Filled in the application online, then there's the background check and medical exam." Kirsty said "I also ticked that I was applying to be in the reserves, well at least until I graduate university. Why you thinking of joining?"
"I have my reasons." Claire said, Kirsty glanced sideways as she started the engine, the Cult of Helus pendant that Claire wore reflected the street lights.
"I'm sure you do." Kirsty said, it was probably best not to press the matter Claire would say it when she was ready and not before.

Once they were back at Trinity House they found the house a little more active than they'd expected, Xiaoling was by the sounds of it having a late night conversation with some people in her cabinet while Carson seemed to be on the phone.
"What the heck?" Claire asked
"I have no idea." Kirsty said
"Don't worry about this" Carson said when he noticed the two of them "Just go and enjoy the rest of the night."
"Film?" Kirsty asked
"Maybe." Claire said

[Achkaerin]

Crisis



Chief Councilor Xiaoling Tsu & Claire Callaghan

It was a reasonable morning in Gowu, Xiaoling had an early start, because she had to be at the Assembly in a couple of hours, this was the usual routine she was the early riser on days when the Assembly was in session usually up before everyone else, today though was an exception because as she walked into the kitchen she found that Claire was already up and dressed.
"Not a fan of lie ins?" Xiaoling asked, Claire didn't react, "Ok what is it?"
"Just a little homesick." Claire said "It's like I've lost part of who I am."
"The hell you have." Xiaoling said as she put bread in the toaster and then set to work with the kettle "Just because you aren't in Mercia anymore doesn't make you any less Mercian or any less of a Cultist you know."
"It's just frustrating." Claire said "I'd just got my acceptance into the Bretton Dragoons part time when the genocide happened."

Xiaoling smiled she could see what Claire was getting at
"So you'd have been a quarter of the way there by now wouldn't you?" Xiaoling said "Instead you've effectively gone backwards a step."
"You don't get it." Claire said "My parents are Christians, my brothers are Christians, my uncle and aunt were Cultists, I've gone to Christian ceremony's all my life, my brothers wedding, baptisms etc. Just once I wanted it to be my turn, to have them there for me." she was toying with the amulet of Jekar that she wore around her neck as she spoke. She looked up as Xiaoling put a cup of hot chocolate in front of her.

"Try me." Xiaoling said "I am the leader of possibly the most multi cultural city on Mundus, I've been to Deum Beastia festivals, Cultist festivals, Odinist festivals, Rosarity festivals, Christian festivals, Islamic festivals, Buddhist festivals, even the odd Vailor festival. I know what they mean to people. Though I will admit I've never been to a sword ceremony. Now drink up and we'll think this through."
"I don't know what we can do." Claire said sipping the drink
"Well you know the Code of Canley and you meet the education requirement." Xiaoling said "You've got your Achkaerin Air Force fitness exams next week according to Kirsty which you'll pass I'm sure. And you attend Gowu University which does have a strong Cultist community that you've got friends in. Come on that's positive for you isn't it?"
"For someone who's never been to a ceremony you know an awful lot about it." Claire said
"I was reading up on it last night." Xiaoling said "I can see how important this is for you. So let's get you there."

[Achkaerin]

First Flight, First Steps



Kirsty Tsu & Claire Callaghan

It was a big day for Claire, she'd passed her Achkaerin Air Force fitness exam and had just spent the last few weeks while she waited for university to start up undergoing the basic training, now she was going to be assigned to a flight which meant that she was finally going to get to fly as a military pilot.
"Pilot Callaghan." the ranking officer on the airfield Wing Commander Raines said
"Sir?" Claire asked turning to face the man and being slightly surprised that Kirsty was with him.
"I believe you know Flight Leader Tsu." Raines said
"Yes sir I do." Claire said
"Well you two are now a flight." Raines said "Have fun."

After Raines had walked away Kirsty and Claire contained themselves for about thirty seconds before they were hugging each other.
"How did this happen?" Claire asked
"I don't know." Kirsty said "Come on we've got a routine sweep to fly."
"You got it." Claire said

After they'd got changed into their flight suits they walked to the hangar where their Harpy's were being readied for them.
"Raijū?" Kirsty asked noting the call sign written on Claire's jet.
"Thought it was appropriate what with yours being Pterodactyl and all." Claire said "So what are we doing?"
"A standard sweep of the EEZ perimeter, nothing really glamorous." Kirsty said "We'll be doing this sort of thing for a bit, eventually we may get reserve deployment duty abroad but let's hope that doesn't happen because it usually means trouble."
"Ok." Claire said, she was about to put her helmet on but she stopped for a second
"Doesn't feel real does it?" Kirsty said, Claire was looking at the Achkaerin Air Force insignia on her helmet
"It's special." Claire said "Let's go." she pulled her helmet on.

A few minutes later they were airborne.
"You got the feel of her yet?" Kirsty asked over the radio
"I think so." Claire asked, Kirsty glanced out of the left side of her cockpit and saw that Claire was doing a reasonably good job "She's a little more nimble than I was expecting."
"You've just got to be firm in your handling." Kirsty said
"Are we still talking about the jet?" Claire asked
"Yes." Kirsty laughed "Ok let's take it to five hundred feet and see what's what."

The two jets descended down and started their sweep.
"This is beautiful." Claire said "Just about the second most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
"What's the first?" Kirsty asked
"You." Claire said

[Achkaerin]

Prove Yourself



Kirsty Tsu & Claire Callaghan

It was an interesting day for Claire, she'd been doing a lot of reading the latest articles in the various Mercian news outlets, the death of Rupert meant a lot internationally but at the same time it did little for Claire personally, her immediate family being Hassopian and being quite fundamentally Christian was enough to make her keep her distance, she'd become a Cultist through her aunt and uncle - neither of whom had survived the Genocide in Mercia. The advantage of living with the Tsu's was that she got a flavor of what Achkaerin's policy was possibly going to be in relation to certain matters, a lot of the recent conversation according to Xiaoling had been about what to do in regards to Mercia, there were undoubtedly decisions that needed to be taken but for the moment a 'wait and see' attitude seemed to be the most prominent. The ultimate result was that all the things going on in Mercia with various changes to the leadership and the electoral system had led her to where she was today on her way to take an IQ test under the observation of Mercian officials - this had taken some wrangling but with her being a Mercian citizen living abroad, attending university abroad and having gotten university end of year exams coming up Xiaoling had managed to pull some strings. Claire had already sat one of her maths exams that morning and was being driven across the city to Cherry Lotus House, which was where Xiaoling had arranged for Claire's test to take place.

In the driving seat of the car was Claire's girlfriend Kirsty, normally Claire would have driven herself, though privately she suspected that Kirsty would have been in the passenger seat either way, in truth there was a practical reason why Kirsty was doing the driving - during their, now famous within the Achkaerin Air Force, exploits in Phuebra Claire had taken a bullet to her arm, it hadn't broken a bone but it had sliced through muscles, so it was in a sling to keep it immobile while it healed.

"How was the maths?" Kirsty asked as she drove through the streets
"Easy as pie." Claire said
"Are we talking about the food or the equation?" Kirsty asked
"The food." Claire said giggling "You're the lucky one you've sat all your written papers."
"I've still got five practicals next week." Kirsty said "Paint a still life, paint a portrait, paint a landscape, do a spec sculpture and then the freestyle exam."
"So I'm not seeing much of you next week?" Claire asked
"I doubt it." Kirsty said "Apart from at home."
"Well I'll just have to think up what we can do with limited time together." Claire said

A few minutes later Kirsty was parking outside Cherry Lotus House, there was someone presumably an invigilator waiting for her. Kirsty got out of the car and helped Claire out
"Nervous?" Kirsty asked
"A little." Claire said she handed Kirsty her phone, then Kirsty hugged her
"Good luck." Kirsty said "Now go be brilliant."

For the next couple of hours Kirsty sat in her car listening to music, while inside Claire sat the test. Kirsty was humming along to a song when Claire emerged from the building, she got into the car
"Well?" Kirsty asked
"Hundred and forty six." Claire said
"Always knew you were bright." Kirsty said
"Not as bright as you." Claire said "What were you last time you were done?"
"Hundred and forty eight." Kirsty said "But when you're hailed as a child prodigy there's not much else expected."
"I know that tune." Claire said, it had been so great when she'd lost that first chess game online to Kirsty because it meant that finally there was someone who understood her, who was on her level.
"So have you decided which way you're going to vote?" Kirsty asked
"Not yet." Claire said "But at least I'm registered now."
"You do know the press will want to talk to you?" Kirsty asked
"Do I have to?" Claire said
"I'll see what I can wrangle." Kirsty said

[Achkaerin]

Surprise Surprise



Kirsty Tsu & Claire Callaghan

It was a beautiful Friday evening in Gowu, not much was going on Claire, still with her arm in a sling from Phuebra, and Kirsty were making their way back up the driveway to Trinity House, they'd been down at the University perfecting one of Kirsty's exhibits for the upcoming Artisan exhibition, or at least perfecting the foundation of it - it was an interesting one that, it was also quite messy to perfect as demonstrated by the bag Kirsty was carrying that contained old and now dirty clothes they'd been wearing while working, they'd showered and changed on campus after finishing.

"You know I'm supposed to be the one with no balance at the moment." Claire said "But seriously how many times did you fall in that?"
"About seven I think." Kirsty said "And all in the name of you getting the calculations right."
"For an artist you are such a classic scientist." Kirsty said "Plus I'd swear you were doing it on purpose."
"Well maybe a little." Kirsty said
"I knew it." Claire said, she gave Kirsty a playful nudge.

It wasn't long before they were stepping through the front door and they were in for a surprise because sat at the dining room table with Kirsty's mother Xiaoling and her father Carson was none other than the Emperor of Achkaerin Peter Azurewind.
"What are you doing here?" Kirsty asked
"Do I need an excuse to come and see my Goddaughter?" Peter asked, Kirsty was the said Goddaughter, he stood and hugged her and then did the same with Claire, though he was careful of her arm "How's the arm Claire?"
"It's ok, I've got a checkup next week with luck they'll be able to do something about the sling then." Claire said

Peter smiled and picked two envelope's up off the table, one was addressed to Kirsty the other to Claire.
"It's been a few years since the last time I delivered one of these personally." Peter said, Kirsty and Claire looked at the envelope's they were classy, they had the royal seal on the back and the Air Force coat of arms on the front they weren't addressed to Ms Kirsty Tsu and Ms Claire Callaghan they were addressed to Flight Leader Kirsty Tsu and Pilot Officer Claire Callaghan, that meant that whatever this was was official.
"On three?" Kirsty asked glancing at Claire
"Yeah." Claire said "Three."

They opened the envelopes to find a single piece of high quality card inside
"Is this for real?" Kirsty asked as she read it "You're awarding me the Djana Cross?"
"Both of you." Peter said "What you two did during the evacuation of Khyat is more than worthy of that honour."
"It's virtually unheard of for the Air Force." Xiaoling said "I remember a few years back Hannah Nikaido got it for saving Simon."
"She's the only one." Peter said "Or at least she was." he smiled at the girls "So shall we say a couple of weeks?"
"I thought you dealt with these things sooner." Carson said
"Normally I would." Peter said "But if we wait two weeks there's something else that can be celebrated." he turned back to the girls "Isn't that right Claire?"

For a moment there was a quizzical look towards Peter but then Claire got there.
"I hadn't been keeping track." Claire said "But I'd still need character witnesses."
"Would forty do?" Peter asked "Because that night on the Seraphim after you landed that Eagle on the deck I had forty Cultists queuing up outside my wardroom offering to speak for you if you ever decided to do this. So Code of Canley, education, witness's and your national service is met in two weeks." he paused with a smile "Shall we get that sword forged?"
"Peter." Xiaoling said "Do you know how to forge a sword?"
"I haven't done it since my academy days." Peter said "But I do have a friend who will know someone better placed to advise on that come along to the Festival of Sail and I'll introduce you. What do you say Claire?"
"Let's do it." Claire said
"Carson get the champagne." Xiaoling said

[Achkaerin]

My Name: Part One



Kirsty Tsu & Claire Callaghan

East Moreland was ever so slightly different in climate to Gowu but just being there meant a lot to Claire being a Cult of Helus follower this was the Holy Land. Experiencing the Festival of Sail had been awesome but that wasn't the reason she'd come, no she'd come because she was eligible for her sword ceremony - a significant milestone in the life of any Cult of Helus follower it was practically a rite of passage and it came hand in hand with the honor of ones name until that point Claire was technically speaking a 'lackblade' in that she had no name in that way because she hadn't been through the ceremony yet. To be eligible she needed to be able to recite the Code of Canley, check, she needed to have finished compulsory education, she was now at university so check, she needed to have completed her military service minimum bar, as of a week ago that was checked, and finally she needed to have four other Cult of Helus followers who weren't family prepared to speak for her, she had these as well so that was checked.

Thanks to King David of East Moreland Claire knew more about what she now needed to do than she ever had before, and she wasn't alone on this journey either her girlfriend Kirsty had come with her. They were currently up at God's Forge the place where Jekar had forged his blade, this was where the journey would begin, the first task was to collect two iron bars something that Claire had just accomplished now they were readying themselves for the two hundred and fifty mile journey to Ostlake where they'd meet the East Moreland Royal Blacksmith Max Norris and he'd help with the forging of the sword.

They'd opted to travel the distance on horseback which was common sense as they knew how to ride, it was one thing Achkaerinese people had a knack for riding in the saddle, though since Claire was Mercian that didn't really apply to her although she was getting better at it, which generally meant she wasn't falling out of the saddle every few minutes now. Claire was riding a brown horse called Venus and Kirsty had a grey horse called Mirabelle. They'd spread the load of the tent and essentials between them.

"Two hundred and fifty miles to Ostlake." Kirsty said as Claire put the iron bars in a saddle bag and mounted up
"Yeah I know." Claire said "How many times do you think I'll fall off?"
"Not sure." Kirsty said "So are you taking control of this forging or letting Max Norris do the work?"
"I want to do as much as I can myself." Claire said, she glanced up at the Sun "Come on let's see how far we can get before sunset."
"Let's go." Kirsty said

[Achkaerin]

My Name: Part Two



Kirsty Tsu & Claire Callaghan

Two hundred and fifty miles was never going to be covered in a day, it had taken them a week and now Kirsty atop her horse surveyed Ostlake, Claire came up alongside her on her horse.
"Now that's impressive." Kirsty said, the still rising sun made it even more so "Still enjoying yourself?"
"You bet." Claire said "Time to find Max Norris."
"Let's go." Kirsty said

The pair rode down to the city walking their horses through the city until they came to the forge.
"Hello?" Claire asked, a man came into the doorway "Mr Max Norris?"
"Yes?" the man asked
"I was told that you help pilgrims forge their swords." Claire said "I have here two iron bars brought from God's Forge."
"We'd best get started then." Max said

"How artistic are you feeling Kirsty?" Claire asked
"Why?" Kirsty said
"I'd like you to design the hilt." Claire said
"You want me to do that?" Kirsty asked
"Who better to design something that reflects me than the girl who has my heart?" Claire asked
"What's your family's coat of arms?" Kirsty asked
"A peregrine falcon gripping a sword in each talon grip." Claire said
"It would be my pleasure." Kirsty said "Let's get to work."

[Achkaerin]

My Name: Part Three



Kirsty Tsu & Claire Callaghan

Claire was sweating, she'd been so determined to do this her way, to forge her own sword, and she was learning how to do it from the best blacksmith in East Moreland. She'd botched about five attempts already as well, each for different reasons, one had been a badly shaped blade, three had been in bad timing and one in overworking the material. She wasn't one for giving up though as she made her latest attempt under the watchful eye of Max Norris
"Remember this is a part of you be firm not brutal." he said as she hammered the blade into shape, he'd been full of sage almost mystical advice like that throughout the days they'd been at it. Claire was being careful now for once she appeared to have gotten both the material weight and the shape of the blade correct a few seconds more and she was cooling the blade down, after lunch she was back at it sharpening the blade's edge.

And then it was time for the surprise - the hilt of the blade. Max had made it but it had been done with inspiration from Kirsty who had actually ended up describing an idea to Max and then left it to him to do, the hilt made of bronze resembled the head of a Peregrine Falcon, the bird that appeared on Claire's family crest, as if the blade came out of the bottom of the neck the details etched into the hilt the beak curved back allowing the handle to join between bottom of blade and tip of beak thus creating the hand guard in the form of the head, the falcon's eyes were two small topaz stones, Claire's birth stone, the cross guard was as one would expect shaped to be like the wings of the falcon again with all the details of the feathers carved in. Quite how Claire kept her focus as they joined hilt and blade together she had no idea but as the sword lay cooling as the bond between the two parts was properly hardened the two girls sat outside on the steps of the forge.

"It's going to be one awesome sword." Kirsty said
"I still can't believe this is happening." Claire said "I never thought I'd get this far. So while I've been forging what have you been up to?"
"Deciding what we can do at Highwick." Kirsty said
"I can think of a few things." Claire said
"I know you can." Kirsty said

It wasn't soon after this that Claire was testing the weight of the sword it was light in her hands, the edge was keen and the point sharp it was a suitable sword for her. She smiled as she looked straight down the flat of the blade, now there was just one more step to negotiate, get the sword blessed and then have the ceremony itself.

[Achkaerin]

My Name: Part Four

It was finally the day, the day of the Sword Ceremony and one other thing besides that. The Temple of Jekar in Gowu stood on one side of Brianna Azurewind plaze, and had plenty of people filing inside. There was more interest in this one ceremony than there had been at others, after all it wasn't like this was the first Sword Ceremony Gowu had ever seen, the odds were that this was down not to the Sword Ceremony but to what was to come after that. Inside the Temple the various guests were taking their seats, sat on the front row was the Chief Councillor of Gowu Xiaoling Tsu, on her left were two empty seats and then her husband while on her right there was Renee Sandiego and then her fiancee the Emperor of Achkaerin Peter Azurewind. On all but the front row the aisle seats were occupied by members of the Achkaerin Air Force in their dress uniforms. It was a day that the Tsu's were not likely to forget in a hurry, in truth this was a little weird for Xiaoling, she'd been to various ceremonies of other faiths as part of her official engagements as Chief Councillor but this was the first time she'd felt like she had a stake in the event.

The doors at the back of the hall opened and in walked first Kirsty Tsu, wearing her Air Force Dress Uniform and carrying rather carefully on the palms of her hands a sword the blade gleamed brightly as the sunlight coming through the windows reflected off it, the blade was a traditional looking rapier, light, keen and sharp. The hilt was made of bronze it resembled the head of a Peregrine Falcon, as if the blade came out of the bottom of the neck the details etched into the hilt the beak curved back allowing the handle to join between bottom of blade and tip of beak thus creating the hand guard in the form of the head, the falcon's eyes were two small topaz stones, the cross guard was as one would expect shaped to be like the wings of the falcon again with all the details of the feathers carved in. Behind Kirsty came the centre of attention, well at least for this bit Claire Callaghan dressed not in the dress uniform that Kirsty wore but in medieval era clothing, specifically a simple red and white quartered tunic around her waist there was a simple cord rope, around her neck Claire also wore an amulet of the Cult of Helus, this time she'd picked one for Jekar, her usual free flowing blonde hair was tied back into a french braid style. Behind her came Kirsty's father Carson Tsu carrying a round wood shield that was painted dark blue with a metal circle in the centre upon which there was a Peregrine Falcon, Claire's family crest. Slowly Kirsty led the way down the aisle to the altar where waiting for them was Hannah Barker a Priestess of the Cult of Helus and the head of that faith in Achkaerin. Upon reaching the altar Kirsty placed the blade on a special stand while Carson leaned the shield against the front of the altar, they then took their seats as Claire knelt in front of where Hannah stood.

"Welcome everyone to what is a significant day in the life of this young woman, for a follower of the Cult of Helus the Sword Ceremony is an affirmation of their honour, it is an induction of sorts as by claiming their sword a person claims their name." Hannah said "To be permitted to do so an individual must fulfill four criteria which I now test and you all now witness." Hannah paused for a moment "The first criteria is that she must have passed all the stages of mandatory education. I have in my possession a verified graduation certificate and exam results from the candidate's high school. The first criteria is met. The second criteria is to have passed the basic stages of National Service." at this point General Kakashi Fuji stood up and approached Hannah. "Is this met?"
"I General Kakashi Fuji of the Achkaerinese Armed Forces, Commanding Officer of the base to which the candidate is assigned declare this criteria to be met." Kakashi said
"Thank you." Hannah said

Kakashi sat down as Hannah returned her attention to Claire.
"The third criteria." Hannah said "Is to be able to recite the Laws of Canley."
"It is the duty of every man to protect those who can not protect themselves, even if it costs him his life.
Every man must give respect to the Gods at all times.
It is the duty of every man to be prepared to defend the Kingdom
Every mans actions must be for the good of the Kingdom
No man must allow his dishonour to stain his families name
Every man must honour and obey the King above all others.
Remember the deeds of our ancestors and add to their greatness." Claire spoke clearly and precisely, Hannah had made sure to explain clearly all the interpretations of the Code beforehand.
"The third criteria is met." Hannah said

Now things got interesting, the final criteria was having four witness's who weren't blood relations and were Cultists speak of Claire's good character. But first Claire was allowed to stand, first of the witness's was Squadron Leader Wicks of the Achkaerin Air Force - in short this was not only Claire's but Kirsty's superior officer he gave his oath and then after finishing nicked his thumb on the blade of Claire's sword to show his faith in her character, following that Hannah untied the rope around Claire's waist. Next to give his oath was Flight Leader Price, someone who'd flown air cover during the evacuation of Khyat in Phuebra and seen Claire do what she'd done that night, as Wicks had before him he nicked his thumb on the blade and as before Hannah carried out a symbolic act, this time drawing a ceremonial dagger she sliced the tunic Claire was wearing revealing a completely red tunic underneath. Next was a fellow student from the University of Gowu Tori Chase, she spoke and nicked her thumb on the blade and then Hannah proceeded to remove the red and white quartered tunic that Claire wore so now Claire stood there in the red one as the final witness Midshipman Wallace approached and gave his oath - Wallace had been aboard the INS Seraphim when it been pressed back into service for the evacuation effort in Khyat and had witnessed Claire's courage and strength of character in landing an Eagle type aircraft which wasn't designed for it on the carrier that night. As the other three had before him he nicked his thumb on the blade and retook his seat.

Hannah went to the altar, took the blade and sheathed it before handing it to someone Claire had chosen beforehand, Kirsty normally this would be a job for the father of the candidate in this case Claire but the father wanted nothing to do with her and Carson was still nursing an injured arm so she'd asked Kirsty to do this. Kirsty slipped the sheathed blade onto the sword belt and tied it around Claire's waist, then Claire picked up her shield and walked out of the hall the ceremony was complete.

A few minutes later in the foyer of the Temple there was a jubilant atmosphere, though also one of relief.
"Today means a lot to her." Xiaoling said as she and Peter stood off to one side watching Claire
"I can imagine." Peter said
"Well you're the one who thought ahead." Xiaoling said "You're the one who went to King David and asked questions."
"After what she's been through since that genocide seeing her like this is worth every moment." Peter said "Still there's still the other matter to take care of."
"Then shouldn't you get on with it?" Xiaoling asked
"Probably." Peter said

[Achkaerin]

Gambits, Openings, Defences and Sacrifices

Normally the garden of Trinity House, the residence of the Chief Councillor of Gowu, was a relaxing and enjoyable place, the summerhouse usually setting the rhythm but for the last couple of weeks it had been almost stress central for the daughter of the Chief Councillor Kirsty Tsu, a few months earlier she'd agreed to put her reputation as Achkaerin's national chess champion on the line in a series of games against a new AI being developed by a computer manufacturer.
"And that's checkmate." Kirsty's girlfriend Claire Callaghan said, they'd been using the giant chess set in the garden for days, Claire had been trying to get Kirsty game ready.
"How on earth did I fall for that?" Kirsty asked, looking at where Claire had managed to achieve domination in the centre of the board, gotten a rook into position and then struck with knight and Queen and all because of being baited by a pawn.
"Because you got frustrated and tried to force something to happen." Claire said

"At this rate I'm not going to beat that AI am I?" Kirsty asked
"No." Claire said
"Suggestions?" Kirsty asked throwing herself down on a garden chair and pouring herself and Claire some lemonade
"Stop trying to be perfect." Claire said
"I'm not." Kirsty said
"Yes you are." Claire said "You're playing a machine so you're in the mind set of the machine not making a mistake so therefore you can't. I'm the matematician my game is based on logic yours is based on flow."
"So I should stop thinking too much?" Kirsty asked
"Yeah." Claire said "Every move has a countermove doesn't matter what it is, over time the moves shape the game. So for goodness sake start playing your natural game."
"I'll try." Kirsty said
"So shall we go again?" Claire said
"We'll be making bets next." Kirsty said
"Maybe not on this one." Claire said "Save that for the match against the machine."