Cold and Dark [Wyntre Cold/AE]

Arcose was cold. Cold enough for the Arcosians that evolved there to be able to handle the coldness of space with ease. Cold enough to not facilitate any life other than that which was either native or had enough ki to burn to heat the body for extended periods, unless that life was in one of the artificial atmosphere bio-domes covering the planet. Cold enough, mind you, to freeze just the vast majority of the atmosphere. It was an amazingly hostile planet, yet such attention was brought upon it: it was a center of intergalactic trade and the seat of the Arcosian Empire, after all. Monks and spiritual men from across the stars (humans, namekians and saiyans included), wishing to distance themselves from their desires, their emotion and their nature (otherwise known as 'tourists') attempted to seek enlightenment through spending a day on the outside without any food, hydration or warmth. Few made it.

The point was, the Yunzabit Highlands felt like a warm bath in comparison.

Wyntre Cold had used to spend entire weeks in Arcose's cold, living as her ancestors had, before she became Empress. However, currently, she was meditating under many layers of snow. She had triggered an avalanche with the sonic boom caused by a single punch and had let the snow bury her.

Then, her scouter picked up a signal. Not seeking to do anything that someone could sense, she got out from the snow with a short burst of Intangibility and started to head towards the disturbance. When she got there, she stood on top of a nearby tree (for even the trees didn't think it was too cold) and watched the consumption unfold.

It wouldn't be very polite to interrupt a meal, though, no matter if it wasn't on a plate. So, patiently, she would wait until the meal was complete before swooping down to the snow below and unleashing her until-now suppressed power.

"Hello," she would say simply.

"Arise."

She did not recognize who he was. She might have met him in the past, but the faces of generals have a tendency to blur together into some vaguely masculine blob. Perhaps she met him at a military carnival. But, alas, she did not even know if he was, at any time, a general. His stature, his posture, the way he regarded himself and his reverence for her was not something she had come across in a while: someone who was Arcosian, competent and loyal to the cause of the Arcosian Empire above their own. It was comforting, almost. There was a time, a year ago, when she would have ignored such a gesture. But times have changed.

There was a lot you could tell about someone by the way they stand. There was even
more you could tell about someone by the way they kneel. You could determine the quality of someone's youth, their handedness, how much money they had in youth, how ready they are to work and how ready they are to kill someone, among others. Wyntre could tell that the fellow before her was raised in a harsh environment. Military, perhaps? He was able to tell that she was the (ex-)Empress with only a glance, so he must have cared about the government enough to memorize a few faces. That was good. Although, his Power Level… it was only a few years ago when she were as powerful as he. Still, it wasn't much. If she got this much more powerful, then surely so could he? Well, maybe, with greater effort. The raw potential of royalty is just that… of and for royalty.

"Identify yourself."

Kind greetings, Artickahn Shiviera. Your father had served me well. Your grandfather had served my father well, and so on."

Wyntre seemed to have been right in her suspicions. Military background indeed: he had hailed from the Shiviera family, a family which has served hers (or, barring that, that of whoever was in charge) for a very, very long time. To give you a little perspective, 'Wyntre' and its female variations (Winter, Vetre, Vyntr, Viintar, among countless others) are the female variations of 'Vetur' and variations (of which I'm not even going to get started). Knowing that Wyntre's father's name was Vetur, it stands to reason that she was named after her father which, indeed, is the case, but it doesn't stop there. Her father, in turn, was named after another Wyntre (although it was probably pronounced differently), an ancient monarch whose diplomatic exploits were the stuff of legend. Wyntre and Wyntre even had the privilege of meeting each other, through timey-wimey shenanigans. But, it doesn't end there. Her grandfather, Vetur, who she herself was named after, the first known to bear the name, had married some seductress who ran away with his wealth (before being hunted down and violently murdered). His child was raised by his good friend, a member of the Shiviera family, the first ever recorded. That's just how deep it goes.

Then, questions. "Watch your tongue, Young One. An Empress does not have to tell a servant anything." She said this is jest, without any threat behind her words. She smiled during it and most certainly wasn't going to punish him. Neither did she expect him to watch his tongue. "Oh, but I'll tell you anyway. And, the truth is, I'm not entirely sure myself. While as bad as Retsu is, the Arcosian Empire is in a delicate position. Unless he abdicates and had me made Empress again, he won't come down peacefully. There are those in the administration whose coffers have suffered under my benevolent policies and are taking advantage of Retsu's stupidity for their personal gain. They would attempt to stop me from being Empress, and they have a tendency to be too good at their jobs to justifiably fire. Of course, if I can prove that they stood against me, then that's justification enough, but… We will see. If Retsu dies, I will mount the throne. If he makes any more crippling mistakes or corrupts the administration any more than he had already, which at this point is almost a certainty, I will step in."

It was true, Retsu was made Emperor through means her ancestors would have been disgusted by. It showed that he had no care for honor, and therefore for Arcose's history. It showed those who ran the administration that he was a tool to be played. It showed the Galaxy Arcose no longer cared who sat atop its throne. That was just how he got in, though, and what he's been doing since wouldn't make anyone proud.

Wyntre could not remember much of her youth. Arguably, she was already in her youth, being only about a quarter of a century old: this isn't much, compared to the hundreds of years that many wise men have had to live through before their words carried any weight. Age was respectable in Arcosian culture, as long as that age does not impair power or judgment. Some would say that Wyntre was too young for the position, yet the wisdom she gave was too profound for someone of her youth. The monarch after her, Abzerute, was a few years younger than her. Wyntre did not believe that he was wise, she actually thought him a fool, but she would be quick to admit that he was a better ruler than Retsu. Retsu was more than twice as old as either of them, yet he was a fool. The profundity that was supposed to come with age had not come to him. Perhaps this was because of the environment in which she had grown up? She had a mother, she had a father, yet she had no parent figures. She had faced constant adversity, for even the ground beneath her feet would attempt to crush her in her sleep through gravity if she did not channel energy through herself as she slept. Such an environment teaches one to distrust one's environment and to distrust those around them. Yet, seemingly, she did not display those qualities.

She listened to his words. She knew what he was talking about. She had felt the same thoughts, in parts she even said the same words. She was glad, though, that he used the conjunction 'we're' rather than 'they're' to refer to the Arcosian Empire. "The Empire has not had a singular goal for a very long time. Currently, it doesn't have any goals; rather, it is puppeted as if it does by those that do. Many of the generals— much like your father, except they place themselves above the Empire— are gaining as much out of the system as quickly as they can, giving no thought to the administration's continued sustainability. Honestly, Shiviera, I have asked the same questions as you. In many cases, there are no right answers. But, if everything abided by what is 'right', there wouldn't be an awful lot of reason to live. If I have to imprison Habana— or kill, if it comes to that, and it probably will— I will. I just don't know if I have the power within me." She knew that she could attain the Royal Form (again, timey wimey shenanigans), but will that power be enough to defeat... what number were they up to now? Super Saiyan 2. Perhaps... there was something beyond even the Royal Form? Perhaps.

Her Power Level was suppressed down more than a hundredfold, to 2,000, matching his. "It's nice to know that I have support. Don't worry, I need to train, too. Perhaps, you would honor your Empress with a spar?

Wyntre still had ties within the Arcosian administration. Security cameras, audio cameras, thermal readings, even three-dimensional sonar readings. The point was, she had seen what had occurred when the Emperor before the current one gave way to the current one. She had listened to their conversation. She had seen how Abzerute had been killed. She did not know what this 'Nitrogena' was, but there were no records of her existence. Not that there would be any records anyway; Retsu was neither important nor powerful enough to warrant enough attention for his offspring to be recorded. She watched the whole ordeal enough times to memorize everything anyone said... not that that was very difficult, everyone in the recording was incredibly predictable, script-wise. Still, she did not know if she could face this 'Nitrogena' and win in combat. If she were fighting her with Zexama , though, their victory would be swift. Abzerute was literally killed by words... which is poetic justice if it ever existed. Yet, in the same vein, Retsu would have to die in an equally poetic manner. Perhaps she could kill him, assuming she wanted to kill him, with the Themis Cannon, as Themis was the Grecian Titaness of justice, truth and natural order. After all, his reign was unjust, built on lies and against the natural order, as he has no right to rule. Or, perhaps she could learn to reflect attacks with her shield. That way, his death would be by his own attack, representing his misguided attempts to rule with an iron-grip leading to his control slipping from his fingers. It was absurd, just how little he understood government.

Giving no thought to one's actions, if you were to ask a saiyan-aligned saiyan, had gone very well. But, in truth, giving no thought to one's actions was the reason for the SSE's poor administration and primitive legal system. Adopting the methods of the SSE for the AE was seldom a good idea... Arcosian politicians (and by that it is meant to mean politicians of the planet, Arcose, rather than the species) simply didn't have the carelessness to pull it off. Not all Saiyans were like this, of course, an amount of them had managed to overcome their nature through great effort and nurturing.

"Very well. Prepare yourself."

The move was hers. Her first thought, then, was to show him something he had never seen in combat before. Or, maybe he has? It was only a first thought. With an almost-robotic move of her fingers, masterfully-used telekinesis had ripped multiple nearby trees from the soil below them. It was a testament to human stupidity if they thought it was impressive for a human to survive here when trees could do it with far greater ease. And then, with one swift and sudden movement, they would fly at the Lieutenant's location with tremendous speed.

Wyntre's telepathic and telekinetic capabilities were always there, but the first time they were actually used was when they were learned, not many too years ago. How she had come across her mentor was quite a story, actually, involving another lot of timey wimey shenanigans. Or, rather, the same lot of timey wimey shenanigans. Wyntre Cold, the ancestor of Wyntre Cold (or Vintr Cold, ancestor of Wyntre Cold, for the sake of simplicity, as Vintr was how it was pronounced) had been acquainted with her descendant after a long bout of time travel. Vintr, Wyntre and a few others from alternate realities (like Wyntre, her saiyan equivalent, or Winter, her human equivalent) had been brought together by an eccentric powerful figure called Egregore, the one responsible for providing Wyntre with a way out of hell. She had learned techniques from all of them, and had taught them a few of her own. Some of her more non-standard techniques, like Tulpa Touch and Intangibility, had been learned from them.

Wyntre watched with mild interest as the Lieutenant made short work of the wood. Yet, there was a bit more wood, wood that it seems has been missed... except not quite. No, it hadn't been forgotten. It was split cleanly in two, yet his fist was not faltered. It continued straight into the ground, causing an audible boom. Debris, dust, fallen trees. Where there was dirt, there was no longer dirt. Where were no dirt, there was dirt. A vast displacement, really. She only hoped not too many people were around to see it.

"You have demonstrated your power. You may have enjoyed it, but it was unnecessary. I know how powerful you are. I was once as powerful as you are now, after all, and that was only a few years ago. But, you have spent energy on something not directed at you. You have cut up this wood and directed energy into the ground when you could have directed the same energy into the fight against me. Is that not a part of the point of suppressed forms? No matter. I do believe that it is your turn to strike."

It seemed to be the case that Lieutenant Shiviera didn't give himself enough credit. Wyntre had been sparring with Zexama a lot recently and had grown accustomed to her irrational and unpredictable fighting style. All you needed to do was ask, 'what is the least sensible thing Zexama could do in this moment?', and then defend against that. Fighting her newest sparring partner would have been refreshing, but they were barely a move in as of yet. He could surprise her, you see, by being a sensible adult and by acting like it. Besides, frankly, any power gap between the two was removed when she started suppressing her power down to his level. Meaning, he could potentially learn telekinesis and telepathy just about anytime he found a tutor/way to do so.

"Strength grows with time, training and a mastery of one's body. You are young, just as I was. Your power will come to you. It is promised." She said 'it is promised' instead of 'I promise' because 'it is promised' almost makes it seen like Arcose was the one making the promise. Kind of like the Royal 'We'. "Oh, please. I am most certainly not bored. Besides, if my entertainment is the driving force behind the unnecessary power put behind your attacks, you may as well read some poetry."

His 'turn' had begun. He began by sending the ex-trees towards her, but this was not the main attack. That much was obvious. However, she was prepared to let herself be surprised, if needed. She phased out of corporeality for a few moments to avoid the wood with her Intangibility technique. Soon, though, there were punches towards her back. Momentarily, she was shocked. However, when he tried to kick her neck, she tried to catch his leg with her tail and throw him to the side, into the only remaining tree in the general vicinity.