The following is the beginning of a story that I created revolving around my characters in Guild Wars 2. None of this material is canonical to the Guild Wars universe in any way.
Chapter 1. Briefing
A full moon sparkled gently in the night sky, its dim beams enveloping the city of Divinity’s Reach in a subtle glow. Violette gazed at the bright orb through one of the small windows that lined the dimly lit hallway where she waited impatiently to be summoned. Countess Anise had been conversing with the Queen for nearly an hour, and Violette, not having the proper clearance to be privy to the conversation, had been forced to leave Anise’s office. Violette was an agent of the Shining Blade, and her rigid discipline would not allow her to show any outward sign of exasperation or indignation over being made to wait, regardless of how much it annoyed her. The Shining Blade were the Queen’s personal military force, serving as body guards, spies, and even assassins when necessary. Having served as a Shining Blade field operative for over six years, Violette had undertaken dozens of missions, and was unused to her briefing being postponed. Finally, the door swung open, and Anise stepped out to hold the door open for the Queen. Violette snapped to attention as the Queen exited Anise’s office, keeping her eyes locked on an unremarkable block of stone directly in front of her. As the Queen passed her, she nodded in Violette’s direction and said, “My apologies for the delay, Violette. There were urgent matters that required the Countess’ attention.”
Keeping her eyes averted, Violette responded hastily, “Thank you, your majesty, it was no trouble.”
The Queen smiled and continued down the hallway, her flowing white garments trailing lazily in her wake. Anise motioned to Violette without saying a word, and strode over to her desk. Violette entered the office quickly, shutting the door behind her. Settling into the comfortable chair behind the large oak desk, Anise addressed Violette in a calm yet authoritative tone, “As you are aware, the bandit threat is growing into something far greater than we anticipated. Farms in Queensdale and Kessex Hills are being pillaged on a regular basis, and the Seraph are too preoccupied with the centaurs to be of much help. Nor can the Ministry Guard be of any significant assistance, as they are mired in the politics of the nobility. I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear, but I have to deal with these bandits. The more they continue to grow, the greater the threat to the life of the Queen. The mission I have outlined won’t be easy, and I need someone experienced.”
Violette was barely able to keep her indignation from surfacing. Bandits? What did Anise take her for, a common mercenary? The very notion was an insult to her station. Fighting to keep her voice calm, Violette replied, “With all due respect, Countess, I did my share of bandit slaying when I was a rookie.”
Anise smiled wryly, “Then you’re the perfect one for the job.”
Violette struggled to keep her expression impassive as she nodded. The very prospect of dealing with bandits damaged her pride. Opening a compartment below her desk, Anise drew out several scrolls and began spreading them out on her desk, continuing the briefing as she did so, “Because this is such a serious threat, and because we are shorthanded at the moment, you’ll be working with the Order of Whispers on this one.”
At this, Violette couldn’t help but cut in, “Did you forget what happened last time you set me up with a Whispers agent? I barely made it out of there alive and as far as I’m aware the Order of Whispers has been unable to locate their agent!”
Anise sighed in exasperation and said, “No, Violette, I haven’t forgotten. What happened up in the Hinterlands was the product of bad intelligence, and you know I regret it as much as you.”
Violette raised her eyebrows and snorted in disbelief. Anise ignored her and pressed on, “You’ll be working with an Asura named Vixx. She has information on the target that the Order hasn’t shared with me.”
“An Asura? Exactly how much worse is this going to get? Did I do something? Is this a punishment?” Violette knew she was out of line, but she could not contain herself. Though she had not met very many Asura, she had found the few she had encountered to be less than pleasant company. Egotistical, insufferable, and insulting were the first three words that popped into Violette’s head when she thought of the Asura, and she did not relish the prospect of carrying out an entire mission in the company of one.
Anise’s tone grew stern as she replied, “You’ll do as your told and that’s that. You’ll be traveling to Claypool where you will rendezvous with Vixx. She’ll fill you in on the details there. Dismissed.”
Knowing there was nothing she could do, Violette gave a resigned salute and exited the office.
END OF CHAPTER 1
