“If you use a spell on them under a truce it’ll be broken!”
“I was just going to…”
“To cast a spell on them!”
“Yeah…’Examine’, not fucking Firebolt!”
“Is it a spell?”
“You know it is!”
“Well, do you want to die?”
“Noooo….”
“Then don’t! Besides, if they’re who they say they are, you need them. Be nice, and for all our sakes, don’t annoy them!”
I shook my head, turning from Oracle, and looked the three over again before gesturing to a handful of chairs that had been knocked about during the fighting.
“Let’s take a seat, then…” I offered, and the eagle-looking motherfucker snorted through some hugely impressive nostrils on the top of his beak.
“Arrrrrk! I do not….’sit’…!” He screeched, then shook his head like a dog, turning on the horizontal, and fluffed his wings up. A huge flanged mace clattered against his armor where it hung from his waist.
“Well, no offense, but I’m going to,” I said and walked over to the chairs. I could feel Oracle facepalming, but I was past being sociable today. “Nice mace, though,” I told the bird, and he patted it in response.
“You have a good eye…” he said, nodding jerkily.
“I’m a fighter,” I smiled faintly. “I know the difference between something that’s built to look pretty, and something that’s a real weapon.”
“Hmmm,” said the second elf, stomping over and turning a chair over. He sat down with a smooth grace that surprised me. I’d heard in fantasy that elves were graceful, but so far most that I’d met had just been regular people. These fuckers, though, they moved like silk. While he sat, the first elf, Yen, pulled up another chair and reversed it, sitting down facing me.
“Why do you do that?” I asked her, and she blinked, glancing down at the chair.
“Sit like this?” She asked, and I nodded. “Makes it harder for someone to stab you in the belly.”
She had clearly done it so many times, it was reflex now.
“Sooo, you’ve either not a lot of faith in the Oaths, or…?”
“A bit of both.” She admitted. “I’m always going to distrust any that claims to be a Scion of the Imperial Line after so long, and I expect that there are several ways around the basic Oath we exchanged.”
“So, what do you want then?” I asked gruffly, unsure of where this was going.
“I want proof of who you are,” she said simply.
“Well, I want a cold beer and a blowjob, but I don’t see me getting either of those,” I replied without thinking. “Ah…look, what proof do you want, and who the hell are you? What are you expecting out of this truce?”
“Do you know who we are?” Yen asked, and I shook my head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
I turned to Oracle and gestured her forward from where she’d been hovering behind me, for some reason.
“Okay, Oracle, this is Yen, and…?” I asked, gesturing to the other two.
“Tang. Speculatores Cohortes Praetoria.” The second elf stated proudly, glaring at me.
“I be Amaat! Speculatores Cohortes Praetoria!” The bird man said, and I nodded to them.
“Well, I’m Jax, as I said, and this is Oracle.” Oracle settled gingerly on my shoulder, nodding to them.
“Very well; perhaps your companion would like to explain who we are?” Yen asked, and Oracle shook her head.
“I know who you claim to be, and I know who the Speculatores Praetoria were.” She said slowly. “If you want us to treat you as Speculatores Praetoria, we want proof, too.”
“Okay look, I’m clearly the only one who doesn’t know what the fuck is going on here.” I said, rubbing the bridge of my nose. “So, do you have any proof of who you are? And how can we prove who we are?”
“I suggest a second Oath. The Oath of Truce would have failed if we didn’t use our identities correctly, but it is…too generalized for something this important. Use these exact words in the Oath…. ‘I’ then your name ‘swear by my Soul and the Empire to speak no lie for the next five minutes. I swear by my Soul that every word I utter will be the absolute truth, as best I know it…’and I will swear the same.”
“You swear it first.” I said, looking from one to another of them, “And you all swear it, not just Yen.”
“I, Yen of the Speculatores Cohortes Praetoria, swear by my Soul and the Empire to speak no lie for the next five minutes. I swear by my Soul that every word I utter will be the absolute truth as best I know it.”
“I, Tang of the Speculatores Cohortes Praetoria, swear by my Soul and the Empire to speak no lie for the next five minutes, I swear by my Soul that every word I utter will be the absolute truth as best I know it.” said the second elf, taking up the Oath next.
“I, Amaat of the Speculatores Cohortes Praetoria, swear by my Soul and the Empire to speak no lie for the next five minutes, I swear by my Soul that every word I utter will be the absolute truth as best I know it.” the bird dude repeated, and they all looked to me.
“I, Jax of the Imperial Line, swear by my Soul and the Empire to speak no lie for the next five minutes, I swear by my Soul that every word I utter will be the absolute truth as best I know it.” I repeated after them, feeling my mana dip drastically before taking a deep breath and meeting each of their eyes.
“I am Jax. My Birth name was Jack, but I chose Jax as the name to call my own. I was acknowledged as a Scion of the Imperial Line by Amon, Eternal Emperor,” I said, and I felt a quiver run through me as the magic of the Oath examined me, then relaxed its grip. I could feel it inside me, my own mana prowling through my body, examining my
