“Do you know the only thing more powerful than you or me?
The two of us. Together.”

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Elva's white markings are infused white aether markings. Given that her people were all thaumaturges and blood magic users, the aether markings served as a way to protect them from evil spirits but also as an enhancement to their power: they would draw magic from it, thus intensifying their output. In the village where Elva grew up, there was a hidden source of aether deep beneath the ground. The source provided for several generations, and was used as part of their traditions: the first markings would be added on a newborn's palms. Then, at the age of 10, the child would get its body markings. Once a person was considered proficient enough with blood magic, and fully able to control it, they would get the last set of markings on their face. In Elva's case, she only managed to get aether infused onto her palms and her body.Her biological parents weren't part of most of her life. Her father died soon after Elva was born. Consequently, her mother Lilith thus raised her on her own. While the cause of his death is unknown, Elva's mother regularly mentioned how her husband "betrayed them", and that men shouldn't be trusted, for they may have all the knowledge in the world, but lack any form of wisdom. She kept mentioning that if only he had relied on her, things would be different now...Lilith was an extremely respected leader and seer within their village, but also among Dalamud worshippers. While blood magic was often associated with sacrifices and death, she taught her people how to use it as a regenerative tool. She didn't use it to murder, but rather to enhance, to give life. Lilith sought to put an end to the old ways, and following her stance, she started to be seen as an important figure among their community: someone powerful yet sensible.(See pictures of Elva's parents below)

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Mikhail's parents met when they were just children. Despite their clashing appearances, they bonded and remained close to each other until they married. Emmyth was a bonny and lovely woman whose presence in itself was enough to brighten people's days. Thomas, on the other hand, seemed cold-hearted and disdainful. One thing was for certain though: he loved his wife, and was absolutely devoted to her. He wanted to give her the world, and wasn't satisfied with the little they had — so he sought power. Thomas started making questionable acquaintances, one of which was The Undertaker.While The Undertaker was a cryptically well-versed figure in dark arts and practices, he did warn Thomas of those who could take advantage of his friend. Alas, his naïveté took over, and Mikhail's father ended up making a pact with a forbidding creature: in exchange of lives, Thomas was offered a tonic providing vigor, brawn and enhanced senses, which would help him achieve the powerful position he sought among the hierarchy of Ishgard. As he supped on the drink, the creature quickly bounced on him and bit his neck. Not only was this not mentioned as part of the deal, but Thomas came to learn that the tonic he quaffed was the creature's blood. While the aftereffects were as promised, he saw himself weakened by the light, and forced to feed himself from beings' blood.Nonetheless, Thomas pursued his life despite the struggles that came with the bargain. He learned to adapt to his weaknesses, and continued to provide the lives he was asked to deliver — until Mikhail was born. Vampires weren't supposed to be able to have children, or so Thomas thought. Yet, he would've found joy in this unexpected outcome, had the couple not given birth to a vampire spawn.Gutted after seeing the consequences of his own, selfish choices as his child grew up, Thomas abandoned his half of the bargain and sought to kill the creature whose blood he had drank in order to put an end to this curse... but his betrayal wasn't taken lightly. Through the blood they shared, the creature thus took over Thomas' blood and brought an end to his beloved's life.Following the disheartening events that befell his family, Mikhail was the last to remain... but a part of his father lived on within him.(See pictures of Mikhail's parents below)

Aymeric, Estinien, Elva and Mikhail saw their relationship strengthen as they fought by each other’s side, but also provided support for one another, even after leaving their ranks. Elva remained amongst the Temple Knights until a certain incident, which led to her expulsion.While they initially fought in the frontline, Aymeric later became Lord Commander of the Temple Knights, and Estinien became Azure Dragoon. Elva and Mikhail found themselves in the special ranks of the Temple Knights, primarily serving in the more discreet operations. Their relationship slowly blossomed into something akin to falling in love as they found comfort while in each other’s presence. Being understood, but also sharing a common resentment towards the nobility of Ishgard and its governors only nourished their relationship and brought them closer. Nevertheless, the event which led to Elva’s expulsion was the turning point to their love affair.

A well-known yet retired knight reached out to Thordan’s right-hand, warning them about a possible threat involving a group of exiled Templars who were rumored to be partaking in suspicious activities with a blood mage, conspiring against the Church. A few Temple Knights, including Elva and Mikhail, were thus sent to camp near the location where the group of people was last spotted. The fortress was located in the northern area of Coerthas Western Highlands, near a small village and cultivable lands. Before marching unto them, Elva and Mikhail were tasked to make contact with the retired knight who would then lead them into the small, yet impenetrable fortress protected by several Templars to gain information on the fortress’ weaknesses. But, the knight turned out to have betrayed them — he knew about the Temple Knights’ forces, and he knew just how important and useful Elva and Mikhail were to them. Now stuck in the middle of a small army of Templars, in a fortress that seemed robust and difficult to take siege of, the pair found themselves trapped. Men put them down and rid them of their weapons, rendering them helpless.They didn’t like people getting in their way, especially not when they were in the works of planning something so grand. Elva and Mikhail would’ve let them know that they shared their hatred for the Holy See, were they given the opportunity. But all was happening too quickly; within a matter of minutes, they were beaten by a dozen men, ripped off their weapons, and Mikhail was being tied up. They didn’t like his cockiness, nor the way he talked to them with a sense of superiority. Thus, they wanted to show Elva what happens to those who get in their way, and perhaps offer her a chance to lend her strength to the Templars. The blood mage with whom they were conspiring started bleeding Mikhail and seemed to take joy in the work of art he was creating. He sensed something in him, something different, and he was creepily thrilled about it. Mikhail was trying to wrench his arms free, only to have the narrow straps with which he was tied dig into his flesh. He kept battering at them, and screamed out in pain as the blood mage kept working on him. Elva was gutted and felt sick to her stomach witnessing the pain they were inducing. As she lowered her head, closed her eyes and started mumbling, the Templars were quick to pull her hair and lift her head back up, making sure she was looking at Mikhail. Within a quick glance, she then saw Mikhail’s body slowly going limp. Elva felt a lump in her throat, her muscles tightening — black tears dripping down her face as her mumbling became louder and clearer. And, within seconds, the whole room was filled with darkness, with her markings and her eyes being the only sources of light.

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“CONSUME’RE!”

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Screams of pain filled the room as the darkness surrounding them became a murdering weapon, twisting the Templars’ insides. Elva’s own cries began to intertwine with theirs — she could feel their pain to the point where it became intolerable. She was not meant to use blood magic against people, she hadn’t been taught how to endure their suffering. The agony they felt became too much. Elva started losing control and, unable to maintain the cloud of darkness within the room, left it to expand. Slowly, the shadow clouded not only the whole fortress, but the neighboring village as well. Her lack of control over the unbearable pain caused irreparable damage. The Templars, the villagers, the animals — none survived… except for one. Someone Elva managed to spare throughout the agony: Mikhail. Unable to tolerate the pain she was causing, she then collapsed, only to wake up surrounded by fellow Temple Knights, wearing fear on their faces.While Elva was a thaumaturge, no one knew about her proficiencies in blood magic, nor the purpose of her markings. Despite her use of the forbidden magic as self defense, her actions were still considered blasphemy, and the people of Ishgard were mourning the death of the innocent villagers. They never cared for them, but all of a sudden they did. Thus, she was sentenced to death for heresy, and for committing horrible acts against the people of Coerthas.

The best Aymeric could do under Thordan’s ruling for his friend was to call off Elva’s execution for heresy, and allow her to remain within the city under the condition of being watched by guards. While the sentiment was appreciated, Elva packed her belongings and left Ishgard without a word in order to avoid becoming a burden for Jonathan and ruin his reputation. Not being able to bear the thought of potentially losing perhaps the only kindred-soul he would ever come across, Mikhail decided to quit his rank and look for Elva across Eorzea, thus making the Temple Knights significantly weakened.

[WIP]

A member of the Temple Knights is given a confidential task from the Archbishop,
one even Aymeric does not know about, to bring two mysterious former Knights back to Ishgard.

Gabriel exited the carriage some malms away from the manor… by the time he got there the sun would almost be set and his real work would begin. Thinking he could retain a small element of surprise by arriving on foot and not with a large noisy bird in tow he prepared for the snowy trek by donning what he thought would be necessary for what was to come. Cloak, dagger, signed declaration of intent from the Archbishop. Though his cloak was stitched with the insignia of the Temple Knights he was more known as a negotiator than as a strong armed soldier and those were the skills he, and the Archbishop, wished to employ in this instance. Gabriel thought on the meeting that was to take place. Two disgraced Temple Knights who had fled Ishgard separately after some kind of incident, an incident that was protected and obfuscated by the highest levels of the Church. It was all the same to him, the particulars of what had happened didn’t matter much, what mattered was that he was handed a mission from the Archbishop himself and that mission was to convince these two to come back willingly. There was something these two had that the Church wanted and it was made clear it was not eternal silence, or a simple bauble to be stolen, but something intrinsic to the people themselves that required them to be healthy and breathing upon return. Breaking chain of command like this and bypassing Lord Aymeric’s approval to use a serving Temple Knight was not unheard of nowadays among the intelligentsia of Ishgard but it was certainly uncommon. Briefly stopping to free his foot from an unexpectedly treacherous patch of snow and ice Gabriel needed a moment to gather himself. He knew that succeeding here would change his life forever. Status was everything in Ishgard and he would do whatever it took to never be looked down on again, to finally be able to live the life he felt he deserved. Coming up the road he saw the gate to the manor in the distance and as he got closer it grew astonishingly tall. It was already slightly agape so he took one last look back from where he had come, a look forward at the manor looming in the late evening light, opened the gate, and took his first step into what awaited him.Immediately on both sides of him upon entering the courtyard were two verdant paddocks of roses. They smelled sweet and he bent down to look closer, not quite able to make out the color in the fading light. Quickly he realized why as he plucked one and saw that it was a deep velvet black. Eerily beautiful he mused as he tucked the rose into his cloak. Gabriel stood looking around at the roses and noticed that the snow had started falling slightly faster, already gathering in delicate piles around his feet. Looking out at the roses once more gave him pause as he could clearly see the snow falling onto where the flowers were but it never seemed to gather on top of them. They remained pristine and untouched, as if to reject that something as petty as weather would cover their beauty. Curious. Refocusing himself on his task he gazed up at the manor before him. Multiple stories tall, old and refined, at least a couple hundred years past he guessed. The stone work of the exterior matched some of the finest homes in The Pillars, with smooth arches bordering windows and intimidating spires jutting from the turrets that leapt out of the top of the manor. Bay windows adorned the lower floor, flanking both sides of the massive oak front door. Heavy curtains were drawn over every window Gabriel could see. Ivy-rich trellises wrapped around the sides of the manor, overgrown but not without purpose. It cut an imposing figure against the ever more intense snowfall. The Church’s aether seers had tracked these two here once their aetheric signature could be picked up though Gabriel did find it odd that they had been lost for no insignificant amount of time and suddenly found with little trouble. He quickly strode up to the door and gave a curt one-two-three knock. After he didn’t receive a response he knocked once more and loudly announced himself. Once again no response. He felt his ears get hot as annoyance grew while raising his hand once more to knock when the door creaked open and a gust of wind blew into his back carrying a faint sound. “Come.” Pulled forward by the gust Gabriel found himself inside the house quite suddenly as the door closed behind him.Disoriented from what had just occurred Gabriel stood stiff. Gathering his wits he quickly looked around but could not see much of anything, the manor was pitch black. Not even the moonlight peeked through the curtained windows. Unnatural blackness, heavy and wet. Breathing became harder as his state quickly deteriorated. Deciding that moving forward would help him find his bearings he took two careful steps before quickly turning around in a panic and attempting to open the large oak door that had so strangely taken him into this place. No luck, it wouldn’t budge. A faint glow then outlined his shape against the door. Slowly spinning around he saw a massive staircase in front of him, the light from two candles on opposite sides of the bottom step finally illuminating a small part of the wretched darkness. He took one more cautious step forward and two more candles on the next step lit. Frozen in place he watched as candles lit up step after step of the staircase until finally the entire thing was bouncing with the light and motion of the flame. He could still see little beyond the staircase but did notice an ornamental pillar next to him as light had reached where he stood. At the top of the staircase a massive painting loomed over all. A dark haired woman and a silver haired man posed together draped in white shirts and red silk. He was captivated by the image. A brief obsession flared in his mind staring into the eyes of the two flickering forms. Steps. Faint steps sounded and echoed through the room, vibrating his chest. Immediately he ducked behind the pillar and repeated to himself over and over that he should not be here. The steps continued to get louder until they stopped altogether. Gathering his courage to look at the person who could be his doom or his salvation, Gabriel peeked around the pillar as his eyes swept upward to the top of the stairs. There stood one of the people he was looking for. Shocking red lips, a flowing black dress, pale skin, and raven-like hair that seemed to both absorb and reflect back light. Elva Dufrois had made her entrance into the grand hall.She stood atop the staircase looking down but not at anything in particular it seemed. Certainly not at Gabriel he hoped with all his being. Her demeanor was cool and calm as a small smile formed upon her lips and she took her first step down the staircase. As soon as her foot touched the first step the candles adorning each side turned from a faint gold flicker to a blinding crimson inferno. The top of the staircase illuminated red, the previous lack of light suddenly seemed preferable to the macabre shape that everything now took. As she continued down the steps more candles burned with the same intensity, twisting the space to look like a version of Hell that intoxicated just as much as it terrified. With each step her black dress danced and shone in the light, swaying on her body with sensational grace, cascading shadows behind in shapes indescribable. When she reached the bottom, the scene finally at its crescendo, everything was burning red. It was blinding, as was she. Gabriel realized he had been holding his breath and was suddenly light headed. He gathered himself without taking his eyes off of what was happening in front of him. Elva turned her head slightly to the left, toward a space to the side of the staircase. As if waiting for that exact moment a man emerged from the light of a candle, blending black and red shapes together until his form took. Mikhail de Tenebrae, the other person the Church sought, strode forward confidently toward Elva. In front of her he stopped and their gazes met. Mikhail stood tall over her, broad shouldered, wearing a flowing white shirt that split down the middle to expose his chest, his striking Elezen ears highlighted at the tip from the light. His boots made little noise as he strode, Gabriel could tell he had mastery over this space and himself. His silver hair was combed back and his eyes…they were red but they did not blend into the fiery scenery around them. They glimmered like gems and were of such a naturally deep shade that it felt impossible such a color could exist in nature. Mikhail put his right hand around Elva and rested it on her back. She tilted her head up, exposing the curvature of her neck. This display was short-lived as it was quickly covered by the light grip of Mikhail’s left hand, wrapping almost all the way around. He placed his thumb under her chin, applying gentle pressure, urging her to lift her head just a little more. They both smiled, their shared gaze had not broken once since Mikhail had appeared to greet her. In one smooth movement both separated and rejoined, arm in arm, and they walked into a hallway to the right of the staircase, disappearing into the darkness. The candles dimmed now to their previous normalcy, faint and gold.

Gabriel stood firmly in place and replayed what he had just seen in his head a hundred times. Was this magic? Tricks? Overwhelmingly, with his entire being, he felt it was something he should not have seen. Looking up he saw the faintly glowing candles and in the direction the pair had disappeared he just saw more darkness. Sighing and unsure of how to proceed he tried the front door again but the situation had not changed. The Holy See’s request still in his mind he had to carefully consider how to continue. Obviously these were powerful people and they took his most precious gift from him by leaving him speechless. He knew he could not handle a fight. Weighing his options Gabriel started pacing, walking further into the manor than he had before. Approaching the staircase he suddenly felt eyes on him and looked around. There, at the entrance to the hallway Mikhail and Elva went down two white circles floated in space like pearls in a black sea. The eyes bobbed up and down slightly as if impatient with Gabriel’s decision making. He was frightened of them, not being able to see the figure they were attached to was not a mercy. Suddenly they started to move backwards down the hallway and he knew instinctively that they were beckoning him to follow. Already having half accepted his doom Gabriel picked up a candle, mustered what confidence he could, and started down the hallway.He proceeded slowly, finally having some amount of agency over what he saw thanks to the candle illuminating the hallway before him. Some ways down there were a series of portraits hanging. The name plaques read: “Aelfric de Vermont”, “Thomas de Tenebrae”, and “Emmyth de Tenebrae.” The portraits were masterfully done and Gabriel took time to inspect their details. He could guess that the Tenebrae portraits were Mikhail's parents and though Vermont didn’t look much like Elva, potentially ruling out blood relation, he was sure he was someone important to her. Looking again to his right down the hallway the eyes had reappeared with a more stern look this time. Trying to get me to move a bit faster Gabriel thought, now slightly annoyed. He decided to comply as he hurried toward whatever fate this manor and its residents had in mind for him. He came to a shaft of light spilling out in the hallway from a slightly ajar door and looked in. He saw Mikhail and Elva sitting at a large dining table with a lavish feast set out in front of them. In the back of the room a fountain gurgled with a red, viscous liquid flowing down. The two were speaking and laughing but Gabriel could not hear what they were saying and he dared not get closer. Suddenly all of the food on the table disappeared. The pair did not react to this at all as they calmly rose to their feet and strode around the ends of the table to meet each other in front of it. With a snap of Elva’s fingers, music gently rose into the air. Taking her hand in his Mikhail led a waltz around the room. The circular motion of the dance transfixed Gabriel and the music became slightly more discordant. Violins screeched and drums thumped and the dance went around and around. His vision blurred and he fell to the ground as his eyes rolled back. He began to see things. Mikhail sinking his teeth into his neck. Elva screaming as Templars twisted into monstrous shapes around her. This is what these two are capable of? What could the Church possibly want with people such as these? Heathens. Blasphemers. Those who walk in darkness and reject all that could ever be considered Holy. “Even the Holy can most assuredly be wicked” he heard a voice speak directly into his head as all went dark around him.Gabriel awoke on the ground in front of the door, positioned such that he could see into the cracked door still. There stood Elva on top of a table, this time wearing a white dress that went down to her ankles. Her long black hair swayed gently and obscured her face. Mikhail approached her, for once having to look up to adore the woman before him. He touched Elva’s legs, wrapping his hands around her ankles then slowly moving them up to her calves, continuing to run his hands up them until he was squeezing her thighs, his fingers dug into her and left swollen red marks. Gabriel’s pupils dilated. Mikhail gripped tighter and lifted Elva up as she wrapped her legs around him. With much grace he lowered her down and she appeared almost weightless, such was the effortlessness it took for them to continue this dance. As she was laid on the table her black hair fanned out behind her, swallowing all it touched into the abyss. Gabriel’s blood vessels constricted. Halone will never forgive me if I see more of this. But the forces at work inside this manor kept his eyes opened and forward. Mikhail lifted a knee onto the table where Elva lay and pulled himself up to be on top of her, their faces close enough to feel each other's breath. Fervor gripped the look in their eyes as they came together and kissed. Their mouths moved and they separated, a long line of crimson liquid still connected them as they moved their heads away from each other. Slowly they, for the first time, turned their heads and looked directly at Gabriel. He shrieked when he saw. Blood dripped out of the corners of their mouths. Drops hit their clothes, immediately transforming them from white to entirely deep red. They arose and started toward Gabriel. Finding strength he got up and ran through the dark, screaming, wheezing, begging for reprieve from what he had seen. The eyes appeared in front of him. They turned a very sickly and deranged yellow. Another pair appeared. And another. More and more surrounded him until he was forced to stop, oppressed by the blood-curdling gaze of these beings he could not see. Suddenly the floor gave out from under him and he fell and fell and fell.He plunged, still surrounded on all sides by the disembodied eyes until he finally screamed for mercy. Seconds later Gabriel hit the ground and crumpled into a twisted pile. He was not sure how hurt he was but adrenaline carried him back up to his feet. He was once again in front of the slightly open door but he did not look in the room this time, unsure whether he would have the strength to not be sucked in. In front of him down the hallway he saw only one set of eyes now, eyes red and dry and hungry and severe. Something invisible yanked his arms to their sides and in an instant the eyes rushed to be mere inches away from his own. Red eyes with massive black pupils and filled with madness stared into him. He felt a hand touch his cloak and pull something away. “This does not belong to you” a voice said as Gabriel saw it remove the black rose he had picked. Silence fell and his breathing sped as the eyes stayed close and transfixed. Suddenly the invisible appendage grabbed his head and dragged him along the floor! Through the hallway and grand entrance hall he screamed as the unseen threat’s grip tightened around his skull. The front door flung open and he was thrown out with such force that he flew through the garden, crashed right through the gate at the entrance and landed in the snow. Though hurt and delirious from the experience Gabriel managed to get back to his carriage, the intensity of it all propelling him to survive. He was alive and had to get back to Ishgard. Over the coming days and weeks and months he pieced together the events and told as many as he possibly could about them. Even though the Archbishop still tried to court soldiers to go to the manor and bring back its inhabitants the terror of these events meant no one wanted to take up the task. And so Mikhail and Elva’s goal was met. None would bother them or come to the manor again…unless invited of course.

Epilogue

Simple spells for even simpler men Elva thought to herself. Proud of how the unwelcome visitor was handled she sat down in her art study, ready to finish the portrait of her mother Lilith. She called Mikhail into the room and asked him for a bit of his blood. He happily obliged, knowing that this meant her portrait was nearing completion. She took his offering and mixed it with her own. Add a little bit of paint oil and you have the most beautiful red you’ve ever seen. All of her paintings were finished with her signature using this concoction. Her mother’s portrait had taken the longest of the, soon, four that would hang in their eastern wing hallway. It had been many years since Elva had seen her mother’s face yet her image remained burned into Elva's mind. She was the only person alive who could possibly recall what it looked like, it could not die with her. After drying the signature Mikhail helped haul the painting to where it belonged and produced a gift for Elva once there: a freshly made name plaque that read “Lilith Dufrois: Beloved mother, healer, and savior.” Elva felt so grateful for this extra acknowledgement from Mikhail and his recognition of her mother as a powerful force in her life. The two embraced and walked out into their entrance hall. This was a good home, they agreed. Of course they would be in and out of it as their adventures were not yet over but knowing something would always be waiting for them to come back to was a new experience for the pair. Many times had both been expelled from the lives they knew but this time they felt it was their moment to be wild and flourish. They were sure of it and each other.

Huge thank you to Alex for writing this amazing short story!