Much to Ellanor surprise, Jennifer's husband, Gur Khan Jiro, had summoned her.
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She walked into Jennifer's bedchamber – which Jiro shared now that he had returned from mainland Empyrea – with confidence in her stride.
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This was the chance that she needed to influence the Heir to the Dominion, but to do that, she would need to find some secrets to threaten him with, just in case.
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It would be kinder than that her second plan would do, at least.
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Jiro definitely looked the part of the estrin Gur Khan, but it fitted the man himself poorly. The title appeared to be several sizes too large for him to wear.
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Jiro sat on the bed, deep in thought. Jiro had happily accepted the mantle of being less important than his brother due to him being the second rather than the first Khan. His brother had been groomed to lead a region that respected might above all else while Jiro had buried himself in books, devoting himself to intelligentsia. In short, Jiro Estrin was a thinker, not a fighter.
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“Hello, Gur Khan. You summoned me?” Said Ellanor plainly.
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“Ah..yes. I am in need of someone to...open up to. My father would beat me if I tried to tell him I am stressed and feeling depressed all the time for being weak and not manly enough. My wife knows just enough to comfort me, but if she finds out too much, I fear she will be frightened of me.” He said. Melancholy was an unusual emotional state for the people of the Estrin Dominion of the Northwest and East, but Jiro seemed to naturally fall into it.
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And then she noticed the scars, cuts, and scratches on his arms. Jiro noticed her staring and quickly folded his arms.
“It is nothing... I am just clumsy.” He said quickly.
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Ellanor decided it was a lie. Was it self-inflicted, or was it his fathers doing?
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“It..is good to be home, though. Do you like it here?” He said innocently. Jiro was more clever than his lack of self-confidence, suggested – he knew she was from the East and was testing her opinions.
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“Honestly? It's a bit gloomy, and the cultists seem uncomfortable around here. Perhaps it is hard to chant to Æraxis the Maelstrom or whatever during the storms.” She said, hoping that the answer came across as anything that was not inflammatory.
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“True. I was in Aquiloria, and the weather there is excellent compared to the Estrin Archipelago. Though the Dependency of Skála gets it worse than Estrin and all the other islands for that matter, the Warden of Skála is generally pitied despite essentially ruling the most fortified place in Empyrea.” Jiro may have noticed and not cared or failed to spot the harsher underlying opinions.
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“I was your mother’s handmaiden not that long ago. How is Khatun Xarai?” Ellanor had a suspicion that Jiro was terrified of rousing his father’s, Great Khagan Xantè, wrath and tried to test this theory by steering him onto the subject.
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“I have not heard from her. She will be returning to the Archipelago soon based on what my...my father has said. More likely than not, it will be something important.” Jiro muttered.
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“And how is Great Khagan Xantè of the Dominion?” She asked carefully.
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“Er..”
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She had got him.
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“M-my father may be angry about something, but I do not know what it was.” Jiro said nervously.
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“You are scared of him, of your father. Did he give you these injuries?” She pointed to the cuts and scars on his arms.
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“Some. You were not listening when I said I was clumsy. He beats me when I fail him or just b-because....just because he can.” Jiro was becoming agitated, judging by the tone of his voice.
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“And why does he do that? And there are a lot of injuries, Gur Khan. Do you fail him often?” Ellanor was gambling that she could set him off to see if he really did become very different in temperament on a dime like the rumours said.
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Jiro looked down at his hand, Ellanor noted the particularly deep and old scar on his palm that seemed to be from a knife.
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“Jiro, I have noticed in the short time I have been here that you seem troubled sometimes. If there is anything you need to talk about, I am here for you.”
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Jiro hesitated, but the sincerity in Ellanor’s tone disarmed him. He began to open up, talking about the stresses he faced and the inner turmoil that plagued him. As he spoke, Ellanor watched him closely . Suddenly, his expression changed. His eyes darkened, and a menacing sneer crept across his face while his body became stiff and rigid.
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“What do you want from us?” he growled, his voice deeper, raspier, and more aggressive than before. He stepped closer.
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Taken aback, Ellanor tried to hide her glee at discovering some sort of second personality, Jiro's mental illness could be turned against him to make him feel the east. “I just want to help you, Jiro,” she replied softly, testing the waters, which were becoming stormier with each word that was said.
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The person before her was not Jiro. Far from it, in fact. “Help?” he scoffed, “You are lying. We see right through you, Provisional Ellanor Etatè.” His expression twisted into something monstrous, filled with rage and contempt; was this spiteful thing really the same mild mannered Gur Khan that she had met the day before?
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“Who are you?” Ellanor demanded, she made her voice tremble to feign being afraid. Though she would not have to fake it if things escalated.
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The sinister smile widened. “I am Jürgen,” he declared, his voice echoing slightly, “And you are meddling in things I think you aught not to.”
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Ellanor’s heart raced as she came to the conclusion stumbled onto something far more dangerous than she had anticipated: Jürgen abruptly became far more aggressive. “You think you can control us with secrets and lies?” he snarled, eyes glazed over. “I shall not let us be your puppet!”
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Without warning, he lunged at her. His movements were quick and surprisingly strong. Ellanor barely managed to dodge, feeling the rush of air as his fist missed her by centimetres.
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Jürgen’s breathing was heavy – Jiro was not the most athletic of men. “You have no idea who you are dealing with,” he hissed, his voice low and threatening. He advanced on her again, grabbing a nearby chair and smashing it against the wall in a terrifying display of strength. Splinters flew everywhere, and Ellanor regretted thinking that Jiro was unfit.
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In a desperate attempt to regain control, Jiro’s higher, softer voice broke through. “Jürgen, stop!” he pleaded, his voice quavering with panic. But Jürgen’s presence was overwhelming. “You are weak, Jiro. If I were in control, our father would be proud, not disappointed.”
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Jiro was terrified of his other personality, yet he tried to reason with him. “Please, Jürgen, I am trying my best. You do not understand what it is like.”
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Jürgen’s laugh was cold and abrasive. “You are wrong – I share your bloody body, you complete and utter pillock! – and a failure, Jiro. Let me take control. We will be stronger, better.”
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“No, Jürgen, you are the one who is wrong,” Jiro argued, his voice weak. “I can handle this. We do not need to resort to violence, especially against someone who is my wife's handmaiden and a young woman.”
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“Handle this? You struggle to even handle yourself. Look at you, grovelling and begging for mercy. If I were in charge, things would be different. We would be feared and respected, not pitied, and certainly not disciplined like a dog by our father when you fuck something up like you always do!”
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Jiro shook his head, tears brimming in his eyes. “Fear and respect aren’t the same thing. You do not understand. You never do. Our father—”
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“Don’t you dare bring him into this,” Jürgen interrupted, his voice contrasting with Jiro's “He is a fool under his armour, and so are you if you think you can do any better. Let me take control, Jiro. We can be powerful, unstoppable.”
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Jiro clutched his head, the internal struggle evident in his contorted expression. “No, Jürgen. We should not live like this. I can’t live like this. You are not making things better, you are making them worse, as per usual!”
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Ellanor could only watch in fascination the man that was Jennifer's husband basically argued with himself.
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Jürgen sneered. “You are too weak to see the truth. Empyrea is cruel, Jiro. Only the strong survive. Let me show you what real strength looks like.”
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As Jiro and Jürgen’s argument intensified, Ellanor decided that it was enough. She stepped forward and punched them hard in the stomach. The sudden pain caused Jürgen to lose his grip on Jiro’s mind, allowing Jiro to take full control once more. He collapsed to his knees, the blow having landed directly on his solar plexus and knocked the wind out of his lungs.
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Ellanor looked down on him, her expression a mix of calculated concern and hidden triumph. “Jiro, are you okay?” she asked softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
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Jiro looked at her with wide, wide eyes. He realized that despite her manipulation, she had saved him from a darker part of himself “Thank you,” he whispered.
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Ellanor, still playing her part, gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m here for you, Jiro,” she said, even as she knew she had him exactly where she wanted, “But I want something in return for keeping your....condition under wraps.” She said sweetly.
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The room fell into a tense silence.
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“I-Its called...a divided Ego or something by the Adepti in psychological fields. The trauma caused by Xantè was the start of Big Bad Khan Jürgen Estrin. He makes me do things I am not proud of...when I was in Aquiloria he made me push a cleaner off of the balcony for his amusement, for example. When I refuse to do something he takes control and makes me cut myself.”
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“But he is right, you ARE trying to blackmail me. What do you want in return for not leaking this to every press in Empyrea and to my wife?”
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“I want a few things. You will kill Great Khagan Xantè for me when I ask you to, and if you won’t ill get him to do it instead. You will give the East its independence from the Dominion and you will get rid of those dammed cultists from both the Northwest and East. And you will join CATAE.”
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“Tell all of Empyrean love, you have given me a to do list that is seen facto political suicide. I can’t do any of that without killing an Ætharch hosting Æonex the TORMENTOR and a short angry man with massive insecurities.”
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“Better yet...I will tell Großfürst Brottslight of Eclipse-Verbrechersyndikat instead. They will not only leak it further than me....they will beat you within an inch of your life and send someone to keep an eye on you.”
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“You are not a nice person, miss Etatè. But that does require money.”
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“Alas It does not. I will let them have a seat at the on the Assembly of the Sixteen Gaur-“
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“Oh bugger...right... Get. Out. Before. HE. GETS. IN!”
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and then Add to home screen.