[Ardyn phases to the side but not to the other end of the hall and that makes Nyx hesitate, briefly. He's gotten the spiel. No murder, no death, a place of peace and of healing, blah blah blah.
How he can be expected to sit idly by while this man exists he's not sure. But he agreed to try.]
You've got too much to answer for to just let bygones be bygones, Chancellor.
[He watched Nyx warily, pen still in hand in case he needed to dodge again.]
Look...I know. I can't atone for what I've done no matter how I try. I ask not your forgiveness and barely even your tolerance. But I'm not dying here.
[You should know, Chancellor. How many Galahdians did you order murdered, slaughtered, left for dead after their villages were razed. How many of his people did you twist and manipulate and torment emotionally for years before you sacrificed them to further your own fucking agenda?
But as much as he wants it to be a threat, as much as the words hold an edge of that rage still surging through him...
There's also a measure of resignation in it.]
Your brother mentioned something about an agreement you all have...
[He flinches at that, a subtle flicker in his eyes. Wanton violence.]
Now you sound like a Lucian.
[Wild, savage Galahdians, immigrants, not like the properly civilized Lucian people. Too in tune with the magic, too willing to fight, too eager to take risks.
Because they were survivors. Because they would never step down when Hearth and Home were at risk... pale eyes widen and he nods slightly to himself.]
Tell me what you told them. What lies you whispered into the ears of scared boys that didn't even remember the home they were fighting for.
Tell me what false promises you made, what you swore to Luche and Tredd? Sonitus? Axis? ALL OF THEM!
[Ardyn answered sharply, yellow eyes bearing something hard and cold and perhaps too ageless to be entirely human.]
I will accept responsibility for all that I've done. If you seek someone to blame for Diamond Weapon, for the grander movements which ended in the capital's fall, look no further. But I will not grovel at your feet and be accused of that which I had no hand in. The architect of the Glaives' rebellion was he who you have already dealt with yourself, Nyx Ulric, not me. Glauca was the one who fostered the faint unrest in your ranks, that was not my concern.
And I'm sure you had nothing to do with poisoning him into thinking that working with the Niffs was the only way to get Galahd back.
[Izunia had told him something of what Ardyn really is, and being here face to face with him it's hard to deny... but it's hardly enough to cow someone like Nyx.]
You're the one who strolled into Insomnia and set up the peace treaty, made sure the King would be right where you wanted him so you could make sure-
[He can't even say it. His expression twists into something dark and vicious, as much pain as it is rage. Glauca... Drautos had slain his own king. And who had given him that power?
He is going to punch his fucking lights out... but he wants answers first, he wants to know what's going on before he knocks him out cold. So he does the next best thing. One strained breath, hissed in through clenched teeth.
And then he's hawking the biggest, slimiest ball of spit he can muster in Ardyn's face.]
[Oh but it would be so much easier to blame Ardyn for it all than consider that Drautos was just legitimately insane. That none of them had noticed. That they'd been so thoroughly played. That the King's death had been secondary to seeking out the ring.
He's on edge, at best, and the phase, the little shift out of the way of something so viscerally satisfying is what finally makes him crack. He doesn't want logic right now, he wants one moment to be gut-wrenchingly angry, to feel all the hurt and grief and betrayal. So Ardyn phases-
And Nyx follows with his fist, aiming for where the man will stop as best he can, and it's certainly something he has a fair bit of experience with. ]
[He didn't phase out of the path of that strike--by choice, not that it was clear. Nyx's fist connected with Ardyn's jaw, sending him jerking back and reeling for a moment.]
[...Damn, he definitely could hit as hard as it had looked.]
[There's something vicious and hungry in him, something that wants to keep going, just continue slamming his fist into the man's face until there's nothing left of it. But there's rules, there's reasons not to murder him, even if he's reaching for a blade before he realizes he's even doing it.
He turns abruptly on his heel, slings the knife across the hall and warps to it, crashing into the wall and slamming his fist into it. It's the only thing he can do to stop himself from trying to tear Ardyn limb from limb.]
Maybe you didn't do it directly but you pulled all the strings. You're lying to yourself if you say it's anything less than entirely your fault.
[And then he's wrench the blade out of the wall and throwing it down the hall, warping away from Ardyn before he does something that will get him in even more trouble.]
...Perhaps so, but do take care not to lay a disproportionate amount of blame on the wrong person.
[He half muttered that as Nyx retreated, spitting out blood from a split lip and wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand.]
I take responsibility for what I've done and admit my hand in things where it mattered. But Niflheim had far more malice and moving parts to it than one monster eventually taking the reins.
[As much as he wants to ignore Ardyn, ignore the logic, ignore all of it... he can't. He stops at the end of the hall, a fair distance from the redhead. If he looks at him he'll punch him again so he doesn't, doesn't dare look back over his shoulder.]
Don't.
[He's not ready for logic, not so soon and not from Ardyn's own mouth. Even if there's part of him that knows so much of this is on Drautos' shoulders... even if he has to acknowledge how deep that betrayal went.]
If you decide you want to hear from me the truth of who I am and what I've done--then you can come find me when you're prepared. I won't seek you out before then.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hardbargain) wrote2018-11-08 08:23 pm
no subject
[He phased to the side in the same magenta afterimage, not countering despite being at a perfect angle to land a strike.]
I'm not the Chancellor anymore!
no subject
[Ardyn phases to the side but not to the other end of the hall and that makes Nyx hesitate, briefly. He's gotten the spiel. No murder, no death, a place of peace and of healing, blah blah blah.
How he can be expected to sit idly by while this man exists he's not sure. But he agreed to try.]
You've got too much to answer for to just let bygones be bygones, Chancellor.
no subject
[He watched Nyx warily, pen still in hand in case he needed to dodge again.]
Look...I know. I can't atone for what I've done no matter how I try. I ask not your forgiveness and barely even your tolerance. But I'm not dying here.
no subject
[You should know, Chancellor. How many Galahdians did you order murdered, slaughtered, left for dead after their villages were razed. How many of his people did you twist and manipulate and torment emotionally for years before you sacrificed them to further your own fucking agenda?
But as much as he wants it to be a threat, as much as the words hold an edge of that rage still surging through him...
There's also a measure of resignation in it.]
Your brother mentioned something about an agreement you all have...
no subject
You get one free hit, and that's all.
no subject
Now you sound like a Lucian.
[Wild, savage Galahdians, immigrants, not like the properly civilized Lucian people. Too in tune with the magic, too willing to fight, too eager to take risks.
Because they were survivors. Because they would never step down when Hearth and Home were at risk... pale eyes widen and he nods slightly to himself.]
Tell me what you told them. What lies you whispered into the ears of scared boys that didn't even remember the home they were fighting for.
Tell me what false promises you made, what you swore to Luche and Tredd? Sonitus? Axis? ALL OF THEM!
no subject
[Ardyn answered sharply, yellow eyes bearing something hard and cold and perhaps too ageless to be entirely human.]
I will accept responsibility for all that I've done. If you seek someone to blame for Diamond Weapon, for the grander movements which ended in the capital's fall, look no further. But I will not grovel at your feet and be accused of that which I had no hand in. The architect of the Glaives' rebellion was he who you have already dealt with yourself, Nyx Ulric, not me. Glauca was the one who fostered the faint unrest in your ranks, that was not my concern.
no subject
[Izunia had told him something of what Ardyn really is, and being here face to face with him it's hard to deny... but it's hardly enough to cow someone like Nyx.]
You're the one who strolled into Insomnia and set up the peace treaty, made sure the King would be right where you wanted him so you could make sure-
[He can't even say it. His expression twists into something dark and vicious, as much pain as it is rage. Glauca... Drautos had slain his own king. And who had given him that power?
He is going to punch his fucking lights out... but he wants answers first, he wants to know what's going on before he knocks him out cold. So he does the next best thing. One strained breath, hissed in through clenched teeth.
And then he's hawking the biggest, slimiest ball of spit he can muster in Ardyn's face.]
no subject
[He phased out of the way of that, because really.]
-and while I hardly claim myself blameless in all of it, what you hold grudge over is far less my fault than you think.
no subject
He's on edge, at best, and the phase, the little shift out of the way of something so viscerally satisfying is what finally makes him crack. He doesn't want logic right now, he wants one moment to be gut-wrenchingly angry, to feel all the hurt and grief and betrayal. So Ardyn phases-
And Nyx follows with his fist, aiming for where the man will stop as best he can, and it's certainly something he has a fair bit of experience with. ]
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[...Damn, he definitely could hit as hard as it had looked.]
no subject
He turns abruptly on his heel, slings the knife across the hall and warps to it, crashing into the wall and slamming his fist into it. It's the only thing he can do to stop himself from trying to tear Ardyn limb from limb.]
Maybe you didn't do it directly but you pulled all the strings. You're lying to yourself if you say it's anything less than entirely your fault.
[And then he's wrench the blade out of the wall and throwing it down the hall, warping away from Ardyn before he does something that will get him in even more trouble.]
no subject
[He half muttered that as Nyx retreated, spitting out blood from a split lip and wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand.]
I take responsibility for what I've done and admit my hand in things where it mattered. But Niflheim had far more malice and moving parts to it than one monster eventually taking the reins.
no subject
Don't.
[He's not ready for logic, not so soon and not from Ardyn's own mouth. Even if there's part of him that knows so much of this is on Drautos' shoulders... even if he has to acknowledge how deep that betrayal went.]
Not yet.
no subject
[Ardyn straightened up, hands in his pockets.]
If you decide you want to hear from me the truth of who I am and what I've done--then you can come find me when you're prepared. I won't seek you out before then.