By Amber Michelle K.
myaru@etherealvoid.net

This character is from the Suikoden: Pro Patria Mori IF, and not part of game canon.

- - -

Dowaine is the one to watch out for; he and Asen have an old alliance. I do not have the details, but I am positive it has something to do with the old bastard's appointment as a bishop.

Elsa folded the letter between her fingers and leaned back in her chair, tapping her lips with the corner of the paper. The day was warm for mid-March and she had found herself compelled to take lunch in the garden outside the conference room once the noon meeting adjourned. After days of rain, the sunshine was quite a relief. Even if the stone was still damp and the air still had bite, better to be in the open air than huddled by a fire to wait out the cold. Her mother had gotten sick from hiding indoors all her life.

And while Gabriev called her crazy, she wasn't the only one. Dowaine had settled himself in the garden first, in the northwest corner behind a fall of what would eventually be wisteria, though it was merely a tangle of brown and green at the moment. He was talking; his voice carried, not quite loud enough to be understood. An occasional flash of white seen through the gaps in the leaves told her who it might be. She hadn't seen them walk out together, but Lovelle's letter was timely, as always. It was almost as if he had a touch of foresight.

Dowaine, however, while intelligent and also a member of a respectable house, did not overly concern her as an opponent. His votes were predictable. His ideals were traditional to the point of being cliche. Even his own faction, which profited by having his support, did not often argue in favor of his ideas.

She'd read the letter three times, and still couldn't make sense of it. Gabriev was the thorn in their side. Why bother with Dowaine? Asen's power was filtered through Sasarai, in any case.

Now /there/ was something she would like to get to the bottom of. What about /Sasarai's/ connection to the man? He spoke of Hikusaak's orders as if he received them personally, and that was more a subject of interest than Dowaine's career. There were records, letters, even images of the High Priest preserved in the Mercade family's archives. They painted an interesting picture of the mysterious figure Sasarai claimed to be receiving instructions from.

Sasarai himself, she thought, could stand with a bit of investigation. She knew the story of course, they all did - the tragic deaths of his parents, his fostering under the Temple, and the incredible luck that had given him the true rune. But nowhere in that story was a surname or a family history. The records were false; her family had their own chronicles about the rise and fall of related nobility, and the official story was just /slightly/ off.

But what that meant was beyond her. The secrets hidden in that inconsistency were too well hidden for her idle curiosity. And that just made it more interesting, really, and somewhat frustrating.

Dowaine is the one to watch out for, Lovelle said. Well, he would be easy enough to research. He'd had his chances at glory, and made much of them. Finding the circumstances of his promotion to bishop would be child's play.

Elsa peered over the letter at the bench Dowaine had taken residence on, assuming a disinterested expression. She could just see Asen's pasty profile around the screen of hanging vines, as he leaned forward to say something.

If there was anything unusual about the man to worry about, it should be his complextion. He might have been made of porcelain for all the color he had. That couldn't be healthy.

I should return by the beginning of April. There are things to be taken care of at the southern garrison first.

She sighed and tossed the letter onto the table. It fluttered to rest beside the decanter of wine.

It was difficult when one couldn't fully trust one's allies. Lovelle had earned her faith, but she was not sure about the others. Catherine was weak when pressed during meetings, and Sasarai was entwined in a situation she wasn't entirely sure she could - or should - figure out. Theirs was a weak foundation for a revolution.

Elsa snippet, and nothing much. I need to figure out how to write for her, and, god-forbid, Lovelle. I still don't know what I want him to be like. ^^;