Chapter 37: History of the Harbingers

1.4K 62 88
                                    

Author note: There is a slightly spoiler about scaramouche if you haven't played the end of the Inazuma Arc btw.

***Your POV***

The following day went pretty quickly. We were moved nearer the castle, and we were each given a large flat on the castle's grounds; it felt weird having ample open space to myself.

Most of the other harbingers had an area around the castle which would be their headquarters. I didn't see exactly where they were, but I suspect they were bigger than ours since we were not officially harbingers yet. This operated as their resting point when they returned from their activities. But many had other houses and residences all over Teyvet, and some were currently away now doing business.

The first test we had to overcome was to prove we were strong enough to hold our own in a fight and be useful if the time ever came. We had partly demonstrated this in training, but Dottore insisted we fought another harbinger.

I went up against La Signora, the 8th Harbinger: the Fair Lady. She had gorgeous long blonde hair with an air of elegance and acted very professional. After being asked other the Dottore to help us train, she agreed. She only uses her Pryo magic, which gave me the advantage as I had used Hydro. I had heard that she was in possession of a Cryo delusion. It was strange as she didn't seem to own a vision, which confused me about how she could wield the Pyro elements.

I had heard rumours of her fighting ability, people called her the Crimson, witch of flames, and I soon learnt why she had gained that nickname

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

I had heard rumours of her fighting ability, people called her the Crimson, witch of flames, and I soon learnt why she had gained that nickname. She was definitely not a force to be reckoned with. It was a tough fight. She clearly had a lot more experience than me; sparring with her was definitely an eye-opener. I could see why having the opportunity to have a fight with a harbinger was such an honour, especially amongst the lower ranks in the Fatui. Dottore watched the whole battle writing down notes, but he seemed a bit deflated after it ended without me using move I had used to defeat Ajax. I was very close to being beaten by the end of the battle. It was a strange feeling to know that I had come across someone much stronger than me, and I could nearly go all out in battle, except for that move which I promised Ajax I wouldn't use.

I sat and talked to La Signoria afterwards whilst tending to my wounds. We talked about our battle, and she gave me some useful pointers, which I was very grateful for. I did note in our conversation, she seemed to talk down to me a fair bit. Was it because I wasn't from high society, or wasn't officially a harbinger yet? Either way, she kept the convocation professional. I tried to find out her background, but she didn't seem like she wanted to say much and avoided the topic. I did manage to find out that her original name was Rosalyne-Kruzchka Lohefalter.

Soon after, the Rooster came to congratulate me on my performance. He wanted us to succeed in becoming a harbinger since he nominated us, and his reputation was on the line a bit. I don't know if we were the first harbingers he had nominated, but he tried to act like a mentor to us.

An Encounter in the Abyss: Tartaglia/Ajax X ReaderWhere stories live. Discover now