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""Power in itself is neither good nor evil. It is the man who wields the blade who decides whether he fights for good or evil."

Threaded | Flat

SIDE STORIES / PAST
- meeting sazantos || ("you have a noble flame in you") - 13 years old.

"Our retainers were murdered, and I was almost kidnapped. I wasn't able to protect myself or my younger sister. But, just when I thought all was lost... An azure flame suddenly appeared before my eyes. It incinerated the bandits, saving us. And that was how I met Sir Sazantos.

I decided then and there I wanted to be as strong as him, so I left home to become a Knight Ardante. Though.. I don't think Sir Sazantos remembers me at all." (HE DOES)

- rondo's confrontation with the bandits || ("so long as i am weak, nothing i hold dear is safe.")
- cordelia (the convo about him choosing to leave the family) || ("it's okay, cordelia. i'll protect you no matter what. so don't cry.")

BESTOWER OF FAME
- i need to replay this but honestly as far as i remember there were not that many rondo moments in it

"Incidentally, I'll have you know that the Pontiff claimed you are worthy to inherit my flame. But are you truly prepared to take up that mantle?"
"I am, sir."
"Then what is it that you fight for?"
"I fight for... I'm sorry, sir. That's a secret."
"...Is that a jest?"
"N-no, sir! Sorry, sir!"
ch 2, ends at 8:41

- maybe fighting ceraphina when szn gets hurt?? (end of ch 2) + combo that with being in flamesgrace and talking to the locals with szn

BESTOWER OF ALL
- sazantos' betrayal + combined with confronting him for the first time in hornburg || ( "you wouldn't understand" / "i want to understand, please tell me!" )
- rondo's trial / becoming the flameguard || ("what is the matter, power-seeking knight?")
- having the sacred flame stolen || ("you're wide open, rondo.") this is my canon point probably

Edited 2024-04-27 18:53 (UTC)

tv tropes page

he's a golden retriever

- kindhearted, brave, stubborn, sunshine warm, kind of a doofus sometimes despite having braincells. ambitious, genuine, determined, sweet, a bit of a spazz.
- very energetic and eager
- became a knight because he fell in love with his mentor at thirteen (real) (not clickbait)
- puppylike, desperately wants to be as strong and cool as sazantos more than anything
- utterly incorruptible !!!! ;__; deeply strong moral code
- loyal and loving and forgiving, but also willing to do what's right at all times, even when its heartbreaking
- in touch with his feelings / emotions - he cries!!! wow!!!!
- a very very hard worker
- simple dog

- impulsive, super rash, tends to charge into things without thinking
- can be naive
- has a not always great view of himself ("despite my incompetence") but he tries anyway!!!!
- protagonist disease
- he's a doofus. that's the best word. like he's smart but he might also ask you what color the pink panther is
- has the absolute worst taste in the world
- spoiled rich kid background that he is trying really hard to overcome

#1 motivation is being strong enough to protect others

gate of finis letter from lord ravus

Edited 2024-04-28 00:16 (UTC)

[ one of your very first memories, as old as old can be, is sitting on your father's knee as he told you the story of house ravus.

the ravus line is as long and as storied as the continent itself. to be the head of house ravus - as you are destined to be, rondo, he says, tucking your curly hair out of your eyes - is to protect, to give your life down the line to care for the treasures of this continent, the five dragonstones of innumerable power kept safe in your family's vault. it is a sacred duty, one that will involve you learning to fight and defend yourself, to take care of those stones and ensure they never fall into evil hands.

it is the great honor and duty of the ravus family to protect this continent, and despite the weight, you find yourself enamored with this concept. with daydreams of knights dancing in your head, you swear to yourself that you will be as strong as every ravus who came before you, and even stronger.

so you promise your father you'll take to training with the sword with exuberance and enthusiasm. you pick up the practice blade, and at five years old, you start to swing.

--

when you are thirteen, give or take, your mother and father are killed.

you don't know much about it - only that their stagecoach was ambushed by a group of mercenaries, maybe by bandits. there are whispers of assassins, of family betrayals from other members of the ravus line, but you only hear them because you pay attention. to be a ravus is to be in danger. it is the nature of the beast.

days later, with no lord ravus to guard them, it comes to light that the dragonstones have been stolen from the ravus estate. it's a prophecy foretold, a realization of the lesson of importance that the lord ravus truly holds. just like that, all five stones are gone, vanished into the hands of gods only knows who or what, and of course you could do nothing about it - you're still too young, too green, too little.

the only thing anyone tells you, now that you've been orphaned, is that your retainers will continue to care for you. heathcote, your butler, takes guardianship over you and cordelia both, and the maids fuss over your funeral clothes and your hair. they apologize to you, tell you it's okay to cry, but, rondo, try not to cry at the funeral, alright? they are kind, but you are the man of the house, now, the final male heir to a heavy mantle, and you have to be strong. you have to be strong, because you aren't strong just for you.

you have to be strong for cordelia.

cordelia, your younger sister,, cordelia, only nine years old. while you could easily restate the duty of the ravuses to anyone when you were young, the first time you truly understood what it meant to want to protect something was the day your teary eyed mother placed cordelia in your arms as a newborn. she was so tiny, so fragile, and it was when she curled her tiny fingers around one of yours that you knew exactly what it meant, to want to protect.

as you've grown, the two of you are the spitting image of your mother and father. same blonde hair, same piercingly bright blue eyes, same rounded features; you are the pride of the ravus family, and while you have always had each other, it has never felt more pressing than it does right now.

so, after the funeral, you feel that calling of love and duty when cordelia stares up at you with her wet, round eyes, when the two of you finally get a moment alone, away from mourners or well-wishers or thieves alike. cordelia settles close to you, and holds onto your sleeve, and says in her soft, sad voice: "Big brother...I... I get a little sad sometimes, when I remember mom and dad. And then, I can't stop crying.""

it is in this moment, your own heart broken and heavy with the loss of your mother and father, that things clarify even further. the dragonstones are gone, right now, and the other ravus treasures do not and could not compare to your little sister's life, to the close family you still have.

this is your duty. you step forward and you embrace her, pulling her into your arms and pressing your cheek to the top of her head as she sniffles, curling her fingers in your waistcoat. and you say, softly, soothing and genuine: ] ...It's okay, Cordelia. I'll protect you, no matter what - so don't cry.

[ cordelia sniffles your name and buries her face in your chest, and you make a promise to yourself, to the world, to the gods up above your head.

you will protect your sister. you will get strong enough and get the dragonstones back, one by one if you have to. you will learn, you will learn, you will learn.

so long as i am weak, nothing i hold dear is safe. ]

--

a few months after the funeral, around your thirteenth birthday, heathcote leaves on business for something - he tells you, and only you, it's to track down a rumor of the location of one of the dragonstones, and leaves you in the capable care of the rest of the house staff. you always miss heathcote when he's not there, but life in the house moves on. you attend your lessons, both of the book and the sword, you attend to your sister, you eat delicious meals and live your daily life in bolderfall, waiting for heathcote's return with hope in your heart that the family treasure can soon be restored, that maybe the next time, heathcote will bring you with him.

however, the dragonstones are not the only treasure of the ravus family. the family itself is wealthy - the wealthiest family in bolderfall, if not one of the wealthiest in all of the cliftlands beyond the royalty of edoras themselves. and in the end, it is not continent-ending forces coming to destroy the world who knock down your doors. it's just a set of regular bandits. hungry, mean looking men who cut down your swordmanship coach like it's nothing, who murder all of your retainers still in the home, and who corner you and cordelia in the main hall of the manor, who ransack the place for whatever gold they can carry. they've made their intentions clear - they will kidnap you and your sister, and hold you for ransom, to bleed house ravus dry. high houses rise and fall all the time in orsterra. it's just the nature of life.

cordelia is trembling like a leaf as three of the bandits regard you and your sister in the front hall. and you - this is what you've been training for, isn't it?

you put yourself in front of cordelia, your arms protectively out in front of her.

(truthfully? you are terrified. you've only ever fought straw dummies and sparred with your coach. you've never fought a real person before, you've never swung this sword when your life was on the line - you are thirteen years old, and you are terrified. )

"Rondo," cordelia whispers, her voice reedy and thin, her fingers curling in the back of your coat. you shake your head, your heart pounding, and you take a deep breath, and you say, steady as you can: ] It's okay, Cordelia. I made a promise.

[ because you did. you promised her, you swore you would protect her, and you feel it burning so intensely in your chest, so deeply rooted within you that you will, you will, you will, you will be strong for her, you will protect her even if it kills you in the process. that's what it means to be a ravus. it means to protect the things that matter to you.

you drop your hands, and you reach for the small sword you've carried for years, now.

the bandit regards you, thirteen years old and full of bravado, and shrugs. "Sorry, kid, but we've got no choice here. If you wanna blame anything...blame the fact that you were born into a rich family."

the bandits laugh at their boss's line, cruel and mean, but you barely hear them over the blood roaring in your ears.

it's fear and adrenaline and pure courage, pure love for your sister, as you draw your sword and slide your foot back like you've been taught, strong stance, ravus bloodline, courageous knight. your hands are shaking so hard your sword barely holds straight, and you don't care, because you made a promise, and you repeat - ] I will... protect you...

[ the cruel laughter stops. the leader of the bandits suddenly rushes forward and you don't think "i'm going to die", you think, I will protect you I will protect you IwillprotectyouIwillprotectyou and you push off on one foot --

-- and then there's the shing of unsheathed steel, of the clash of a dagger against a blade, and you're dazed with the sudden realization that standing in front of you is a a man.

you don't know where he came from. you don't know who he is, but he drives the bandit backwards away from you like it's effortless, and it feels like the entire world stops as you stare up at him. broad shoulders, silver hair around him like a halo, that shining, holy sword in his hand. he switches his grip to one handed, effortlessly, draws out his left hand, and his voice rings out like the choir of an angel.

"Come, my flame - and engulf all who oppose me!"

and the man - the knight - summons a flame into his palm, as pure and azure blue as the sky, and you realize from your studies and sheer instinct alone that the man is wielding the sacred flame itself. it takes over the blade of his sword, blazing brilliant, and you, cordelia, even the bandits, you all gasp. there's a flash of steel and that bright blue light rings out, holy, pure, clean, so bright you're forced to close your eyes, and when they open again, the three bandits are dead on the floor, and the man points his sword at the leader, imperious and strong.

you exhale outwards, staring up at him, stunned. awestruck.

rondo ravus, you think you might be in love. ]

You... [ you breathe, slowly, full of a thousand questions and a thousand words and nothing else to say. the man pauses, and turns to you as he sheathes his sword. his face is stunning, carved out of marble, cool features, his eyes as bright and azure blue as the flame that struck outwards just moments before.

the knight regards you.

"Boy..." says the man, his gaze sweeping over you and your sword, and you feel - judged and seen all at once, and you feel the urge to straighten up and puff out your chest but you aren't sure if you can even move. you lift your chin up a little further, heart still pounding, the best you can manage, still staring wide eyed up at the man who became your savior.

the knight folds his arms and you realize what you see on his face, in his blazing brilliant blue eyes, as he raises an eyebrow.

the knight, your savior, beautiful and strong, looks you dead in the eyes, rondo ravus, and he says: "...You've got the makings of the Flame, in you."

the look in that man's eyes is approval.

your heart stops. unconsciously, you shiver. every hair on the back of your neck stands up.

and it is in that moment, staring at the man - who you come to know is sazantos, the flameguard, the holiest and most important position in the hallowed knights ardante - that you know what you want to do with the rest of your life. that you know what strength is. that you've seen it, personified.

that it saw you.

and you will do everything in your power to take his words to heart. ]

Edited 2024-05-30 13:58 (UTC)

Introspection + videos.

LINK

Contains major spoilers for the Bestower of All arc in Champions of the Continent.

Choose me if you want:
- Big Protag Moment
- Family feelings
- A look into Rondo's mindset

Edited 2024-05-23 17:51 (UTC)

[ it's a normal day when you rise early to see sazantos off.

the reports came in by raven a few days ago from king richard - the final ring of the eight rings of the gods has finally been taken back from its monstrously powerful master, the empress tatloch, courtesy of the ringbearer chosen, and her majesty queen alaune. the most important duty of the flameguard - to gather the rings and save them from evil hands - is ready to be performed. the forces of the continent united together against the evil designs of many, and even you had a part in it.

you've spent the past week or so closely monitoring the flameguard, sazantos, even if he waves you off and grumbles about it. after all, the two of you assisted in returning the rings back, retrieving the ring of dohter the charitable after a betrayal within the church where ceraphina revealed herself to have her hands on the accursed flame, the dark opposite of the sacred flame, powered by a false god. the fight with ceraphina was incredibly difficult, and worse, you know sazantos was injured in it - even though he bounced back with aplomb, something was off.

truthfully, you aren't surprised he bounced back, because sir sazantos is and always has been the most amazing, talented knight you've ever had the pleasure to know. he's the flameguard, the paragon of goodness and righteousness, and to you, rondo ravus, sazantos is your everything.

whether he remembers it or not, he saved your life, once upon a time, and it set the course of your future. it was his words - you've got the makings of the flame in you that struck you to your core when you first met him, thirteen years old and desperately trying to defend your sister from bandits that attacked your house. you swore to get stronger, to be like him, to learn from him, and he accepted you as his apprentice - as his future successor. every word of his praise, his recognition, sparing as they are, is what you live for. the beauty of his azure sacred flame struck your heart and soul when you first met him. you've probably been in love with him, though you're only distantly aware of that fact, since first sight.

sazantos is everything you want to be, and your entire world revolves around him, nowadays. so seeing him hurt that badly - and you have never seen him hurt that badly - terrified you. but, he patched himself up, and now you stand at the frosty doors of the cathedral in flamesgrace, trying not to yawn lest you are scolded for it, the sun peeking over the edge of the mountains as sazantos prepares to leave at dawn. it was your choice to get up this early to see him off, ever the dutiful right hand.

sazantos glances back at you as he's strapping his sword to his belt, and you smile at him and wish him a safe trip. he's heading to the isle of orsa to oversee the sealing of the eight rings of power along with the others, and there's no need for you to be there. sazantos, guardian of the continent, guardian of the light, is more than enough.

there's a moment where he regards you, a long pause. instinctively, you straighten a little bit under his gaze like you have done for the past ten years, like you are being scrutinized. you wonder what he sees. you wonder what else to say. what he'll say.

and in the end, he says nothing at all - sazantos turns around and heads off into the sunrise, and you finally release the yawn you were holding the entire time and shuffle back inside for some well earned sleep before your morning training begins.

--

by the time you rise again and perform your usual morning routine - swordsmanship practice, physical training - you receive a summons from a harried looking messenger to hurry to the cathedral at once. that's not that unusual, but it usually just means a mission, so you strap your sword to your side and jog into the cathedral.

awaiting you is the pontiff and captain hugo, the leader of the knights ardante, and they both look - grim. the pontiff holds a paper in his hands. ]

... Sirs? [ you say, after you bow - hand to your heart, low to the ground, traditional and polite as always. but there's something rising in your gut that feels ominous and you stare down at the carpet for a long moment before you rise to a fully standing position. you feel your heart still pounding, underneath your glove.

"...Rondo." says the captain, waving off your gesture. he looks uneasily to the pontiff, who bows his head.

"Rondo. I would like to make for Castle Edoras with the utmost haste." the pontiff tells you, in his gentle voice, as kind and serving as he always is, but the more you stare at him, the more you can see something etched into the lines of his wizened face. and it's not just him, it's the captain, too they both look - you don't even know how to describe it, but something is wrong. ]

... Of course, sir. May I ask what the mission entails...? [ you murmur, looking between the captain and the pontiff, brows knitting together in worry, clueles.

the pontiff closes his eyes briefly before he regards you. he takes a deep breath, in and out.

"...There has been an incident. Upon the imminent sealing of the eight rings of power at the Isle of Orsa, we have been informed that the pinky finger of the Ring Maidens murdered the other fingers of the hand. Additionally, the sealing of the eight rings was attended to by Finis, Father of All, and Finis - " there's a pause, here. his holiness looks at you, and there's something so, so sad in his wise eyes as he continues, "Finis was killed by Sazantos, who summoned the Accursed Flame, and stole the rings. The report dictates that he and Signa opened a portal likely to Hell, and have declared their intentions to destroy humanity as we know it."

the words slam into you like a ton of bricks.

you stare at the pontiff, at hugo, dumbly. all thoughts of politeness and manners are forgotten as the sum total of every part of his report comes together, piece by piece in your head.

sazantos. sazantos, your mentor, your teacher, your entire world, the paragon of goodness and protection, the paragon of personhood, the protector of the rings and guardian of the continent, the strongest person you've ever known, the person who could summon the purest, bluest sacred flame you have ever seen - sazantos betrayed them?

your heart stops. you think the world around you stops, too.

the pontiff says, softly, "...I'm sorry, Rondo."

you barely hear it.

you think - you think, you have to be dreaming. you think this has to be some sort of horrible nightmare, that if you just pinch yourself, you'll startle awake, that sazantos will be staring ominously over you, disapproving that you've slept in thirty seconds too late, that everything is normal and this is just a horrific, awful dream. you think, somewhat hysterically, that your knees must be giving out.

you realize, a second later, that your knees are giving out, because hugo is there to catch you before you hit the ground. you clutch onto his arms, the sensation of being dazed giving way to a dam breaking, as your vision goes blurry and your breath hitches and you start to sob.

it's not on purpose. you can't even stop yourself - you can't hold it together in front of the pontiff, you can't hold it together in front of your captain, as your entire world comes crashing down around your ears.

--

you make your way out of the cathedral in a daze, tasked with your new mission, and for a long moment, you lift your head and stare up at the snowy skies. edoras is a long ride away, and you need to get going - find a horse, get saddled up and rush as fast as you can make it to the side of queen alaune and king richard, but standing here makes you remember.

you have had thousands of conversations with sazantos right here, in front of these cathedral doors. you have seen him summon up his flame - the purest, blazing blue in the world - a thousand times. you have seen him use it to vanquish evil, use it to banish ceraphina's shadow from the world, used it to protect you, not once, but twice. your entire life has been about following his greatness - about becoming like him, about living up to the words he told you once.

you've got the makings of the flame in you, he had said to you, when you were just thirteen years old.

and now sazantos' flame was gone. ]

[ by the time you make it to edoras, you are invited into the throne room by the queen's retainer, and you find yourself standing among some of the greatest heroes of the continent. the king of riven, the king of altinia, the queen of edoras, the lord of grandport. there's a man you don't recognize, and the ringbearer chosen, who looks worried, and finally - there's rinyuu, a very familiar face, a cleric of the church. she looks heartbroken, her expression crumpling when she sees you before she smooths it over. it makes you want to cry, too, because you know - you know she has to understand.

(she loved sazantos too, you know. he helped save her life barely a month ago, and you did too. you've eaten her delicious meals together, you've prayed together. and rinyuu - rinyuu is the kindest person in the entire world. she might be the only person in this room whose heart hurts the same way yours does.)

the rest of the group greets you warmly. alaune invites you to join them, as one of the guardians of light - an honor that should feel world-changing feels so hollow, now, knowing the place that you are taking, knowing who used to stand there. she lists her reasons: that you're pure of heart, that you've gone so far as to help gather the rings back despite all dangers. and that you're familiar with the enemy. it should make you feel proud. praised. worthy.

you just feel empty.

you look down at your hands. ]

I... am still struggling to come to terms with what this 'enemy' [ because you can't - you still can't call him that. you don't know if you ever could. it has to be a misunderstanding. a mistake. the phrase enemy feels like bile in your mouth. you swallow around a lump in your throat and continue. ] - has done. He was my teacher, and...

[ you think of him looking at you when you dispatched the bandits on the road to the garrison. you think of the approval in his bright blue eyes.

"There it is... what I saw in you when we first met. That same spark lights your eyes once more."

you think of him looking on when you were anointed. you think of the unmatched, unbridled joy you felt when sazantos finally, finally accepted you as his apprentice. not because you asked, but because you earned it.

"I expect great things of you, Rondo."

you swallow. ]

... and someone very dear to me.

[ sazantos' strong back, his azure flame, rescuing you from certain death when you were young, has always been in front of you. his vicious training methods have made you strong, have helped you grow as a knight, as a person. he denied you to be his apprentice but beckoned you to challenge him anyway, expected that you could rise to his greatness, saw the strength in you that you so desperately wanted to have. his cool expression, his calm demeanor, his overwhelmingly admirable strength, the way he protects the weak and the sick. his aloof tendencies, his sharp tongue, his occasionally over-dramatic monologue - you even love those - his pure, pure blue sacred flame.

you exhale.

and you clutch one hand over your heart, and you leap the mental hurdle and say with force, with passion - ] And, that is the very reason I must humbly accept your offer. I am a Knight Ardante, and as such, it is my duty to keep watch over the Sacred Flame, no matter where it leads.

[ and in this case, that it might lead to hell is no exaggeration. you're brimming with this overwhelming feeling, with duty and necessity and grief and the desire to understand. to influence, maybe. to help.

the group agrees to research some of the scholarship around the gates to hell, and you volunteer to go with king solon, immediately. you want to stop him, to save the world, of course. but selfishly, you have to know what changed him.

you have to. so, as the guardian of light, the not-quite-the-flameguard, you join the crusade to stop sazantos once and for all. ]

Edited 2024-06-03 17:07 (UTC)

[ after your induction into the guardians of light - hasty as it was - you join the others as they make their battle plans to march on the gates of hell. between your research with king solon and the willpower of the other guardians, preparations are being made for a confrontation of a lifetime, and you feel a little out of place.

everyone here is powerful - a king, a lord, the very ringbearer chosen themselves - and they control armies, countries and politics. this is the kind of thing that sazantos would have handled, where you would stand dutifully by his side and listen, wanting to help and soaking up what you could learn, but...

... but sazantos is your enemy, now. he lounges in hell with the forces of the undead gathering under his influence and might. you haven't gotten to confront him, not yet - you only know now what queen alaune has told you, that he intends to use her older sister, the princess elrica who was executed by her cruel tyrant father, against all of them. alaune tells you all that she wants to go to hell to confront them herself, because she is brave and admirable, and the ripple of shock that moves through the room is heard by everyone, perhaps no louder than richard, stunned at her side.

immediately, you feel moved, moved by the sense of duty and purpose you always feel, and you bow, one hand to your heart, and ask alaune and the ringbearer chosen if you might join them. you know the two of you could protect the queen, and...

... and you need to go to hell, too. you need to see sazantos for yourself.

you need to ask him why.

the queen accepts your offer with warmth as always, and to the background noise of shades of the walking dead approaching the castle in droves, the three of you descend into hell through the portal. ]

--

[ hell is - not what you're expecting.

it's gloomy and dark and miserable, and the oppressive power of pure evil seems to lurk around every corner. you find yourself standing in a near exact replica of the castle of edoras, and though alaune swallows nervously in front of you, she is strong, her shoulders squared backwards: the ringbearer chosen's lantern shines with a safe, warm blue glow like the sacred flame itself, and it soothes all three of you as you begin to navigate your way through the endlessly labyrinthine tunnels of this alternate castle.

you are accosted by shades and spirits of monsters nearly every third step, but you and the ringbearer chosen are both strong and capable, and you slash them back, keeping the queen safe as you guard her journey towards her sister. each monster is twisted beyond belief - some are humanoid, flesh melting from their bones and eye sockets, creatures of rage and despair, and others are just monsters, multi-eyed beings that spit black magic and acid, all designed to torment, to kill, to cause despair. it feels like you wander for days, down plush red carpets and past structures of horrible black crystal and roots, digging up into the castle's surface like claws. the entire time, your heart pounds with purpose and necessity, and though you aren't afraid, the further you get into the castle, the further a gut feeling of dread starts to build.

your gut feelings are usually accurate, and this is no exception. when you round a corner into a hallway, now cleared of monsters, there's a burst of black, accursed flame, and walking out of its embers is none other than sazantos.

your heart stops.

sazantos looks so different than you last saw him. your last memory of the former flameguard was him leaving flamesgrace to head to the isle of orsa - white cloak, silver armor, brilliantly blue eyes, long silver hair braided with a red ribbon that you feel like you've stared at a thousand times. a man you have seen in reality, in your dreams, someone who you have spent nearly every waking moment of your life following, chasing, striving for.

here, sazantos wears black armor, his face covered in a mask - his silver hair tucked into the back of the armor, too. the accursed flame nearly oozes off of him, roiling with purple and black and pink, the same sight the two of you once fought off in berecain.

it is in this moment that you realize that everything that you have so fervently hoped was false is a reality, and the sight of him breaks your heart into a thousand pieces.

you can't help yourself. you rush forward, ahead of alaune and the ringbearer, and his name escapes you in a rush - ] Sir Sazantos...!

(to 33:14)

[ sazantos regards you for a moment, and then walks away from you - he is always walking away - but you hesitate, because you know how he is and it's just like in training, that surely he will respond if you give him a moment. and sure enough, he speaks after you follow him, your gaze stuck to his back. isn't it always?

"I must say. I hadn't expected to behold your foolish face even here, at the very end of the world." sazantos says, almost wry. he turns to you, holds out his hands, as if beckoning you to attack him or run to his arms - mockingly. "Have you improved at all in the time we've been apart, Rondo?"

the way his voice smooths out the syllables of your name is so familiar that your heart aches, because it used to draw you in like a moth to the flame. you have hung on his every word for almost ten years now, and you you taste something bitter and miserable in the back of your throat as you regard him.

you suck in a breath, force the lump in your throat down. you should answer the question, but you - you can't, you can't address that, you don't care if you've improved or not, because the only thing that matters is the secondary reason you came down here, what you've wanted since you joined the guardians, since you heard the news of sazantos' betrayal in the first place. your hands curl into fists at your side, trembling. ] Why...

[ and you run to him, closer to him, facing him one to one. your voice breaks with your anger and your despair and confusion and loss and hurt. your heartbreak, as you finally get your chance to confront him. your composure shatters and you shout, desperate - ] Why are you doing this?!

[ because that's what you've wanted to know from the start.

his hands drop back down to his side, and sazantos shakes his head, says your name again. "Rondo."

the timber of his tone is familiar - he's already dismissing you. "You cannot hope to understand."

(but you want to. you've always wanted to. you want to understand everything about sazantos. you want to know him, want to understand him, and he's never once let you in.)

he turns, folding his arms, and for a brief, terrifying moment, you think he's going to disappear again. "No...no. No one can."

but that's not true. can't you understand him? would he ever let you? why won't he ever let you try?

you want to run to him and shake him, impulsively, want to wrap your arms around his shoulders and shake the truth into him, that you want to understand him that you love him that he is your everything - but you don't. you suck in a breath, and drop your hands to your side, curling them into tight, shaking fists.

sazantos explains to you what pushed him over the edge. he says he never knew if human lives had any value or not - which stuns you - until ceraphina and lyblac, who showed him how greedy and desiring human beings were. how every single one of them deserved to perish, because they destroyed the world around them, based on those desires. that all human beings were evil. that they all deserved death.

you almost can't believe the words coming out of his mouth.

this is sazantos, after all. the flameguard. the brilliant, protective force who cared for the continent, who has saved so, so many lives. it's dissonant, it's wrong. after everything you've seen him do, you feel like you have to defend him from himself, from this insanity, from this darkness that's taken him over that just can't be him. you can't reconcile it. and as always, passionate and impulsive, you can't help yourself, throwing out your arm with the force of your denial - like you could reach out and wrench him back from this cliff he's standing on yourself. ] No! You're wrong - humans aren't all evil!

[ your voice starts to break - your vision blurs with tears, but you barely even notice as you take another step forward, throwing your arms out, and your words pick up volume. you're shouting, now, echoing through the voluminous hallways of the castle in hell, your desperation and despair as you try to make him understand wild and untamed.

(you don't realize it, but you've started crying.) ] You saved me and my sister, didn't you?! You risked your life for us without a second thought! That's why I looked up to you - why I wanted to be like you!

[ because you remember his back then, too - you remember his ethereal presence, the brilliantly azure flame in his hands that saved your lives, the way he turned to you afterwards and told you you were worth something, that you could be something, that he recognized you -

your last word rings out, and the heat goes out of your voice as you run out of air.

you stare at his back, again, always staring at his back, and you ask, tiny and hollow with the horror of realization. ] ... Are you saying that was all some sort of act?

[ sazantos finally turns to you again. he regards you, for a long moment.

"Well, Rondo..."

and then sazantos summons the accursed flame. it's ominous and dark black in his hands - its wrong, its so wrong, and he tells you that maybe you should ask the sacred flame that you love, instead of giving you an answer. the sacred flame that he taught you to follow.

you don't understand. you want to understand him. you want to know what happened, you want to understand why he fell to this depth, you want to know you want to understand him help him you want to know you want to be there for him, you have always wanted -

sazantos looks at you again, and you swear you can see his eyes behind that mask, their bright blue that you fell in love with a decade ago. and then he chuckles, and his mouth turns up in an odd smile. he walks closer to you. he holds out his hands to you. he faces you.

"...You should join us, Rondo." he says, "The dark flame awaits you."

it knocks you for a loop. you stare at him, stunned, and then your feet start moving before you can even stop yourself - not sure if you're going to throw yourself into his arms or tackle him - but before you make it three steps, he's gone. you scream his name and rush after him, but the accursed flame only leaves behind sparks.

and as sazantos vanishes, your knees give out, and you collapse to the ground, staring at the space where your future used to be. ]