Business Nomenclature, Part IV

[Kylin]

((The following is a excerpt from one of my "Avalon Profiles," 12 batches of stories related to the House Mavanix mini-epic. To view all posts in this particular profile, or other Mavanix profile stories, feel free to visit the Crystalline story forums, as they are accessible to the public. OOC commentary can be posted in this thread if desired, as no other story posts will accompany this post within this thread.))

 

The night after the Margarah Fashion Duelâ¦

 

Kalara slowly took a seat as House Mavanixâs airship, the Scarlet Seraph, took off into flight. Nina sat next to her on the red silk covered bench. âOh sister, is this really whatâs best for us?â

 

Kalara nodded fervently. âI canât show my face in Ulâdah again. And Iâm insulted that Elza tried to âhireâ us back into OUR Margarah. Iâve never been so humiliated in my life. It's just as Veronica foresaw!â

 

Nina sighed quietly. âI feel the same as well. But leaving our home behind? Weâve never been the type to run away. Maybe we should have swallowed our pride and just accepted defeat.â

 

âOh Ninaâ¦youâre always so optimistic. I envy you for that. Maybe that optimism will lead us back home someday in a glorious comeback. But for now, Iâm just too humiliated to stay in Ulâdah. The other houses are likely laughing at us. Itâs a pity William and Xaliel are staying behind for a few more suns.â

 

âOur loves and children will rejoin us after that silly meeting Elza called for tonight,â Nina said with a smile. âI think they just wanted to give her a piece of their mind before bailing on her.â

 

Kalara smiled faintly, patting her sisterâs leg softly. âThank you for coming with me. You are the best sister I could ask for.â

 

The two shared a sisterly smile before leaning back in their elegant seats and relaxing. Within a few moments though, the quiet serenity abruptly came to an end. The airship began to rock violently. The two sisters quickly rose to their feet and looked to one another with a sense of dread in their eyes.

 

Nina rushed to the cockpit and opened the door. She let out a startled scream as she gazed upon the pilotâs motionless body. Quickly, the Mavanix diva rushed to the hyur man and tried to wake him before realizing that he was dead. Not only that, the shipâs steering wheel seemed to be completely missing. A single blood stained parchment was pinned in its place. The Mavanix lady glanced at it in horror, instantly recognizing it as a page from the House Mavanix family contract. It was an informal contract, largely ceremonial in nature only. But every Mavanix had been required to sign one since the days of Darius Mavanix. Nina quickly read over the torn passage. âFamily is the most important unit of society that exists. Betrayal of it in any way is the highest form of treason and is punishable by humiliation and/or permanent exile.â The words âpermanent exileâ were underlined in blood with a small comment hand-written out beneath it in the same blood. âItâs all in the nomenclature.â

 

She turned to look to Kalara, who was now standing in the doorway with a horrified expression. Nina practically ran to her sister and grabbed her arm, dragging her out of the room with a strength one wouldnât think her to have. The airship continued to pick up speed as it plummeted.

 

Wasting no time, Nina began to cast a teleportation spell. Midway through, she stopped and looked to Kalara with an even more horrified expression. âSomeone has placed a ward on the Seraph. We canât teleport outâ¦â

 

Kalaraâs eyes began to water slightly as the realization of what was happening continued to sink in. Nina rushed back into action, moving over toward a large wooden cabinet and opening it. The parachutes were nowhere to be found.

 

Nina moved over to her sister again, taking her hand in hers. âIt was an absolute pleasure being your sister, Kalara darling. No matter what anyone says, nobody in Ulâdah had better fashion sense than you. And nobody could ever replace you.â

 

Kalara fought back tears as she took her sisterâs hand as well. âMy lifeâs journey wouldnât be the same without my supportive sister. Thank you, Nina.â

 

Nina smiled back, reaching forward to wipe a tear from her sisterâs eye. âLive in beauty, die in beauty.â

 

The two Mavanix sisters embraced one another in a final hug, smiling faintly as the airship crashed into the ground below and exploded on impact, sending wreckage and flames all over the crash site.

[Riik]

(I feel almost sad reading that...

 

The only exposure I had to those characters was during the fashion duel, and even then, they were rather unpleasant for me. And yet... idk, reading about them dying... I must say it was well written to invoke such emotions.)