#meziene

[poisonedviper]

A good day on the beach with your wife and mate can’t be beat by much, I imagine. Certainly didn’t feel like it could be.

Beach day with @codecies-zujier and @maelstromkit!

[codecies-zujier]

The small balcony which overlooked the Jeweled Crozier from Meziene’s quarters at the Viper Den did not escape the chill and the wind now native to Coerthas. And yet, she stood there looking down into the market stalls and dispersing crowds. She knew so many that hated the cold there. To her, it tasted of reality. The balcony gave her the opportunity to taste the reality of her life in peace. No one would trouble her up there.

The first time she ever experienced such cold was when her clan exiled her. Tossed into the snow in her nightgown, weary and bloody from the process by which they branded her an exile, the cold had at first been an enemy. It sapped her strength as she wandered away from the cavern’s mouth. It brought her low, and likely it would have killed her if not for the interference of the Eleftheriou brothers that found her huddled in a snow drift.

The Eleftherious had an impact upon her life which rivaled those that brought her into the world. They made her who she was even in that moment. They made her a proper killer, a selfish woman, a creature of revenge. They haunted her still at every turn, but she knew this to be nearing its end. Almost six years after she entered Raceaux’s service, it would be over. She looked up to the sky and took in a deep breath of cold Coerthan air.

Below, the crowds of the Crozier parted for a small contingent of bannermen whose sigil she recognized. Meziene turned her attention to the new sounds and watched as the banner of House Eleftheriou approached the Viper Den against a pale green cloth. At their head, she saw the aging figure of Rellorin Eleftheriou. He stood tall despite the silver that overtook the hair upon his head and the peppered beard across his face. He looked up at her with the sharp eyes of his family. She looked down at him.

“Revered Mother,” he began as cordial as ever,” May we speak?”

Her mouth began to water at the prospect of her revenge laid bare before her, but there could be no breach of plan. He came to her to beg mercy on his House, she knew. Meziene could not kill him the same way she claimed the life of his last conquest, Corvaia, but she could take pleasure in denying him what he desired.

She lifted her head when she finally answered him,” Come inside. You know know the way to my quarters.”

Meziene turned away from the balcony and let herself back into the Revered Mother’s quarters. Rellorin would find it changed a great deal since last he had been allowed up there. For starters, there was no dead woman at her vanity. Meziene had everything arranged so it might double as an office. Still, she had room beyond partitions for any company…

The Black Viper took a seat behind her desk and merely waited. She heard some commotion outside of her room, evidence enough that no one forgot Rellorin Eleftheriou’s face. They knew his people were blacklisted, but if she had indeed given him permission to enter..

“Revered Mother? Rellorin Eleftheriou insists he has an appointment, but he wasn’t on the log,” Leya called out from beyond the door.

Dear Leya. Meziene could both appreciate the woman’s membership of House Devereaux for its inherent value but also for the Halone-given protectiveness that seemed to permeate every member of her family. She heard it in her new secretary’s voice. No one trusted Rellorin. It was a good feeling.

“He may enter. Thank you, Leya.”

The door opened. Rellorin entered, and the door closed again. Leya did not join them, much to Meziene’s relief. She imagined there would be private things discussed within the confines of her office. The Lord Eleftheriou’s defensive stance told her a difficult conversation awaited. The man would not even sit once he approached her at her desk.

“Lift this ridiculous ban,” He said without greeting,” morale suffers. Surely, so do your accounts.”

“My accounts are well padded by the ‘reparations’ you paid to my girls. Your low soldiers are missed in the Low Den, but at least the girls can take clients they actually want now-- not just the ones that pay well,” Meziene gestured to the two seats on either side of the tall elezen,” Please, sit. You aren’t going to intimidate me standing there like that.”

He huffed at her, displeased with her response,” we made you, outsider. You wouldn’t be sitting in that chair if it weren’t for my family. You’d be dead in the snow, frozen and worthless like the dragon worshippers your clan are. I can unmake you just as you were made.”

“I would like to see you try,” Meziene sat up and leaned forward against her desk,” I am not here because of you. I am here in spite of you. You did not make me. Raceaux did not make me. I made me.”

As she leaned forward, he leaned down to her desk. Rellorin laid both hands flat against her desk among the many papers she had collected of reparations paid from his house and many others. He did not look at them. He looked at her, and in his eyes she saw a familiar fury rising. In that moment, she recognized a family trait that she knew how to exploit. Pride. Violent, angry pride.

“Know this. If you do not lift this ban, I will find a way to unseat you. Your girls do not all belong to you. Some of them still crave the weight of gil in their hands.”

“And soon they will forget it for the taste of home.” She relaxed back into her chair, and the gesture infuriated him as much as her words did,” I do not own them, but neither do you.”

“Is this what you do? Do you delight in making a man’s blood boil so that they wage war?”

He spoke of the feud between Raceaux and Alaric Babineaux. They vied for so long to hold primary benefactor position over her, and yet Rellorin had always been there to provide whatever gil Raceaux could not. Always, they had to beat their rival. It did not matter if it was on the field or in the beds of Vipers.

“Women like me don’t just start wars, Lord Eleftheriou. We finish them.”

She saw it again. That violent flash spread from his eyes, and she saw it move into his body. Meziene braced herself against her chair for what she knew would come. Rellorin reached over the desk, grabbed her by the throat, and pulled her forward over the desk with him. Though he had not taken hold of a sword in a long time, his strong grip choked the air from her. Already, she felt light headed as he spoke to her.

“You’ve never fought a war, child. I know war, and I have never lost.”

She grabbed onto his arm with her left hand to try and pull him away, but as it had been with Raceaux, he was stronger. There had to be another way. Too late to stop the bruising, but she could get him off. Meziene looked down at her desk, and the first thing she saw was the fountain pen she used to work at her records. She did not have the strength to fight him, but she knew how to use what she did have.

Meziene took the pen up in her hand, closed her fist around it, and she stabbed into his wrist with the fountain pen. She pushed so hard that it broke skin. The man roared a surprised agony and released her. Down she went, laying on the ground beside her desk. She fought for breath as the man shook of his wound at the other side of her desk. He crossed, and she could hear it. She had just long enough to gather herself and kick her leg up when he leaned forward to grab her again.

The snap of his nose joined the noise outside the door. Leya and perhaps others heard the raucous fighting that broke out within her rooms. Good, let them hear. Leya would take it home. Any man still there that morning would come nobly to her defense, but not before Rellorin made worse work of her. He endured worse injuries than those she inflicted to his wrist and his nose. He did not remain disabled for long.

Meziene had only just pulled herself upright against her desk again when she felt Rellorin close his arm about her throat. He hoisted her high, beyond the reach of her feet, and again she began to suffocate. Rather than fight him as before, she braced her feet against her desk and pushed as hard as she could. He went careening back against the wall, and he grunted in her ear at the impact.

It was then that the doors opened. Leya came in as Meziene tried to block blows to her face and her body from the enraged Eleftheriou lord, but he had her locked in. The fountain pen still held in her right hand now felt wet and slippery from what Meziene assumed was her own blood. She remained vaguely aware of the shocked look on Leya’s face, the looks of the Eleftheriou guards behind her, and the shouting of a male patron as he pushed his way inside the room.

“That’s enough! Lord Eleftheriou, what is this madness?!” He called out, but it was not soon enough.

Meziene raised the fountain pen in her hand, and she slammed it backward at Rellorin’s face as hard as she could. The shocked screaming of both Vipers and men told her the damage had been done just as well as the resistance of the pen she tried to pull away. Rellorin released her immediately.

As she fell, Leya already launched herself forward to catch her. Action was not in low supply there. The Eleftheriou guards well outnumbered the man that came forward with intention to help Meziene, and they blocked him from reaching the man they served. If she could talk, she would have. Instead, it was Leya that said the words Meziene already felt.

“What’s wrong with you!? Do you really want to serve a man that comes in here claiming peaceful intentions just to beat a defenseless woman?” Leya snarled up at them. It was a look Meziene knew well. Rene looked the same when he soared with anger. “Get out! Get him out!”

[poisonedviper]

I went out to the street faire in Shirogane, and had a blast! Met another treasure acquisition company; meant to set a meeting with them but I got sidetracked, so I’ll just look them up in city records. Did the fish catching game I kept hearing about, was a natural and got a fish each attempt; did the last one by hand too. Mez showed up and surprised me, so she cheered me on for all the games; she was definitely my good luck charm! Praised the sun and won a prize for my praising, but it turned out the sun was an Oronir so he gave me an autograph.

All in all had a really fun time.

Fun with the Gold and Glory event and with @codecies-zujier as always!

[codecies-zujier]

Meziene Zujier, The Black Viper

A courtesan of Ishgard and later Ul’dah turned mother and entertainer, the brief period of time following the Dragonsong War allowed her time to withdraw into her family. The simple life could only last the Black Viper so long, however. With war rising in Gyr Abania, she became investor and proprietor to the Red Ladies Brothel that moved from the city of Ul’dah to Ala Ghiri in Garlean occupied territory.

The Viper chooses a new life, balancing family with a silent war.

I’m back! Now that I’ve finished MSQ, I’d really like to start involving Meziene in more RP.  My discord tag is  Meziene#2996 if anyone is interested in pursuing RP.

[poisonedviper]

L’alor had waited until Meziene fell asleep that evening, laying beside her and Eyline, but unable to keep his eyes off of his wife this night. Her dark skin against the white of their bed sheets, framed by the tossed strands of her hair. In all of his expectations or dreams of his life in the cities, they had never been so wonderful as to have her there. Having a life that surpassed his dreams was something breath taking for the man, and it demanded words that he could not think of to say in the moments. Writing was his art form, better suited for it required him to slow down, to truly let it all out.

He slowly climbed out of bed, moving to the writing desk that Meziene kept for herself in the corner of the room. There his surprise would be left. He would be awake and gone before she woke to the morning, left to herself and the children for the short time; at least she would expect to be, but that would be for her to learn later. On the desk was left a note, folded over and bearing the mark of the Black Viper.

Meziene,

It seems almost fitting that we would make vows before the twelve gods of Eorzea and the Viper spirit on a day that existed betwixt normal days. A relationship that was strange to start, at times difficult to manage, and occasionally seemed doomed. It must be fate that technically we would only see the anniversary of our wedding once every four winters, that last day of the season before the turn to spring. On that fourth year where winter is one day longer than it should be, a last day made out of thin air just for you and I. Our own private day, not even shared with the people of this world once but every four years. A day that will always exist for us, but not always for them.

We have had a strange first year of marriage, of that there is no doubt. Made strange by children, finding love in a third, and always that it seems as if we married so soon after meeting. Our life has never been slow together, always one thing after another. These past few months have been perhaps the most calm, the most quiet. It is strange to have such quiet in our lives, I think. Strange, but good, for a time. I do not think either of us are people to prefer the quiet for long. The rush of excitement and thrill of change is scary but enticing for us. Worlds before us with so much to explore and learn, together.

I love you, Meziene. I truly do. I love you more than anything else in this life or any other lives we may one day live. Every day that I have spent with you, difficult or easy, has shown me another thing about you to love. You make me wish I had been born in a different skin and to a different people, only so that I could have met you sooner. To be born a dragon worshiper in those caves so I could have met you as a child, come to love you from our first steps. To be born a dragon slayer of Ishgard so I could have met you as a woman, come to love you from our first dance together. To even have been born a destined red lady so I could have met you as a courtesan of Ul’dah, come to love you from first kiss together. But I was born a child of the sands beneath the guidance of the Viper. I took my first steps ignorant of this beautiful woman so many thousands of malms away from me. I took my first dance around a fire without understand that I was cold because the love of my life was in the frozen north without me. I had my first kiss without knowing that the lips I touched paled in comparison to the love I would one day feel when I kiss the lips of my true love. I waited many summers until I learned all of this. I didn’t get to fall in love with you when I first saw you walk or dance or kissed you. I fell in love with you the first moment I saw you and every moment since then I’ve continued to fall in love with you.

We married on a tomorrow that only rarely comes, but that will always be my favorite tomorrow. It may not happen every year, but it is worth the wait each one because that is the tomorrow that we married and celebrated that falling in love. Maybe it comes once every four years because we’ve just never been traditional. Maybe it happens only then because we have always needed more time than usual. Maybe it happens every four years so that we cherish every moment like it deserves to be cherished because we are not given the luxury of a yearly anniversary.

Whatever the reason is, I’m glad we made it. It may not be the easiest way to do things, but we’ve never been shy of doing things the hard way. It was our choice, and that makes it perfect; even if we didn’t realize it at the time.

Always yours before anything else, L’alor

@codecies-zujier

[poisonedviper]

Starlight gift for @codecies-zujier

Left in Meziene’s office at the viper den was a small, wooden box with a note on top of it, tied with a viper stylized ribbon.

My first love,

Ah, if I could count the ways I’m proud of you I would have to create new numbers. Never in my years, albeit short, have I met someone with so much determination and grit. I’d be horrified if I wasn’t so madly in love with you.

I see that look in your eyes though, and I know you’re afraid again. Feeling lost and directionless. I wish I had an easy answer for you, but I don’t think I’m smart enough yet to know where you should go next in life. I think, for now, the best I can do is just remind you that I’m right there with you in every step. Ready to lend a hand with anything, be an ear to listen, arms to hold you, or a shoulder to cry on. Whatever you need.

But, I know it’s not always easy for you to ask, so I want you to have something that you don’t have to ask for. Something that is just a reminder of who you are, in my eyes.

Always here, L’alor

Resting in the box was a silver backed mirror with some archaic design upon its back. The mirror looked fairly ordinary for an old, ornate mirror of some bygone era. When Meziene looked into the reflective face of the mirror though she didn’t see her image, not exactly. She saw her face with a fierce smile or a sharp smile, eyes glittering with amusement, and an aura of strength surrounding her. The image shifted from time to time, depending on when Meziene looked at it; whether it showed the strong self, the happy self, the seductive self, or any of her many faces, she couldn’t control. It only showed her the image of how L’alor saw her.

[codecies-zujier]

Honest to god, I never loved you like I said Heaven forbid you feel the same I will confess that I have sinned with my hands And there's no one else to blame

[poisonedviper]

Starlight gift to @codecies-zujier

A large scroll was left in Meziene’s office, tied with a ribbon stylized like a viper. When unrolled it revealed a map of the world with red dots placed across it, and a letter lay over the center.

My one and true love,

For so long I have looked back on the past, reflecting on our wrongs towards one another, focusing on the wounds we inflicted and the damage it brought. Those choices have changed so much of our future, and I have spent many nights sitting in pain and contemplating the alternatives to our life. I’ve always been a student of history so I suppose it is in my nature to do that, but the point of history is to learn. The past has been studied enough for us.

The future holds everything now. Our growing family. Our new responsibilities. Our goals. These are where we deserve to look. Honesty is what we deserve, like a wise and gorgeous woman once told me. This is the map of that future. A future where you will see everything you deserve, and more.

Idyllshire - First Umbral Moon Radz-At-Han - Third Astral Moon The Crown - Fourth Umbral Moon Azim Steppe - Fifth Umbral Moon

Only the beginning of our future, L’alor