When Mercy Refused To Kneel

Sorry if there are any weird typos or misreads in this. I’m writing this by hand and I’m using a conversion software to convert my handwriting. I give it the once-over for the most egregious misreads, but I definitely do not catch every single mistake! To elaborate on the tags a little, Penny is indeed human in this AU because I kind of need that for her to be a princess. She’s 19 here and very sheltered by her parents. There was no intentional abuse on their part but they definitely did unintentionally abuse her by limiting her agency. That’s going to be continually present in this story, so if you’re sensitive to that kind of content, please use your own discretion. Also, please keep in mind any views expressed by characters DOES NOT mean they are the view of the author! I am open to the idea of translations. Please contact me if you want to translate this work. However, I only want translations on sites I've already posted to, so this means they must be posted to AO3, SquidgeWorld Archive, or this site. You must fully attribute me and send me a link.

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The winds howled around Penny as she stood outside. Rain pelted down on her cloak and people milled about her. Excitement filled the air as Thunder crashed around them and lightning flashed in the sky. Normally, people would be inside daring such a severe storm, but today was the exception. Early spring always signaled the start of the storm season and people had scrambled to set things up when it was clear this would be the first great storm of the season. The storm call Festival had begun and truly marked the start of spring. Yes, the equinox did mark the start of the year and spring. but it remained cold and snowy through Lunai's and into Solaris. But once the Stormcall Festival happened, it meant people could start planting crops and truly get the year underway. She had never been down to the city alone before. Her parents always said the city was too dangerous for her to be down in period, but she had always wanted to come down. They especially forbid it now. A slave uprising had began in Uln Dareth few years ago and refugees had come into Nytheris to not have to deal with the uprising. Nytheris had long banned slavery on a nation level, generations before Penny had been born. but there were people who practiced it against the law, unfortunately. Why Uln Dareth hadn't done the same, nobody really understood. Nytheris tried to keep relations between the two nations to a minimum, but with the flood of refugees, it made it hard. She knew she shouldn't be down here, especially with all the refugees that had flooded Florwynne, but she wanted to see the city-wide celebration to Kalethir the Stormbearer. She had already done the Veiling of Light that morning and it was said to be bad luck to do Threadweaving during a holiday. Plus, everyone would be wearing cloaks to protect against the heavy rain. She would fit into the crowds perfectly; there wouldn't be any risk to her and being found out. She had brought money since she knew she needed it, but she really had no idea how to use it. Shops lined the streets and people darted into them. Even when people had rain-resistant cloaks, they didn’t want to be out in it. She could hardly blame them, though; the rain was unpleasant to bein for an extended period as she was rapidly learning. She spent most of her time in the castle unless she went to Selyra's Arcane Cathedral on the weaving of Fates. the new Year's celebration. Though.. she had no idea where any of the city's Arcane Cathedrals were while on foot. She was always used to going by carriage and didn't pay any attention to the routes they took. She was honestly lost to try to get to Kaethir's Cathedral. She had only visited it a few times before, though she knew it was in the western part of the city. She stopped in an alleyway and under an awning, frowning as she looked around. The city was more populated than she had thought it was, but it may have also been the fact that it was a festival day. She wasn't sure. All she knew was she needed to go west for Kaelthir's Cathedral. She wanted to see the lightning duels and maybe even participate in the Thunder Dance. As a priestess to Selyra, she didn't have much training in rites to other Arcanum Lords, but she did know a lot of the dances that came with holidays. She did get to celebrate all holidays, but generally only at the castle. Shivas finally fed up with being cooped up all the time so she'd snuck down here. "Hey, you're lookin' a little lost, there." She heard a voice with a strange accent and she looked up. In the low light of the storm, it was hard to make out any features. but the much taller height than her own and voice heavily implied male. Lightning flashed and, for a brief moment. she could see blue eyes and puffy blond hair beneath his hood. His eyes were bright and he had a warm, cheeky grin spread across his face. Penny blinked and looked up at the guy. Was he from Uln Dareth? The accent definitely didn't sound like the standard Nytheris accent she was used to. Ciel had a different accent as she had come from up north but it was still identifiable as a Nytheris accent. She knew she shouldn't speak to one of the refugees for her own safety but she needed help. She needed to get to Kaethir's Cathedral. So she gave a slow, hesitant nod. "Yes, I would appreciate some help. Do you know where Kaethir's Cathedral is?" Hopefully that wouldn't give her away as the oldest princess. She had to be careful about what she said and did because her parents had warned her about what refugees and desperate people might do to her if they learned she was Nytheris' next in line. She hoped that not knowing her way around the city wouldn't be a dead giveaway. "Oh, yep! You're heading in the right direction. but the way there is a little obtuse from where we are now. I can take you there without problem." She could hear the smile in his voice. He seemed to be very cheerful which... she wasn't sure how to react to. She really did need to be careful about who she trusted. Even someone friendly could be an attempt to manipulate her and take her off guard. She needed to get to the Arcane Cathedral but… Ugh. She'd just choose to trust him. She was trained in unarmed and dagger combat so she wasn't completely helpless, but she was still worried she was making the wrong choice by trusting a random stranger. Bat she really needed to get to the Cathedral and back to the Castle before nightfall. She was already lost in the city and it'd only get harder to navigate when dusk fell, "I would appreciate it." She gave a hesitant smile though she knew he wouldn't see it. Thunder rumbled overhead and she shivered a bit. Was Kaethir offering her a warning or was it just thunder? She didn't know. She knew she was playing a dangerous game by trusting this young man, but it seemed like her best shot at getting to the Cathedral. "Follow me then!" Again, she could hear the grin in his voice. He motioned to her and she followed him. "So what's your name? I'm Sun Wukong." Yes, that all bat confirmed that he was from Un Dareth. His name didn't sound the same as typical Nytheris ones. Uln Darth names had a much different sound to them than Nytheris ones And she realised she shouldn't use her real name. It'd only give her away. "My name is Mary—short for Marigold." She hoped the pause wouldn't give her away. She really had to be careful about what she said, lest she be kidnapped and raped by a man seeking her virtue. It was one of her most precious commodities—her mother had impressed on her how important her virtue was especially for her future spouse... though her parents would definitely prefer a man so she could conceive the natural way. "Mary, huh? Why are you so lost?" "I spend most of my time in the northern part of the city and tend to not leave it too much. Other parts aren't as familiar to me. I only go to the Cathedrals for holidays." Well, she wasn't entirely lying. She did spend most of her time in the northern part of the city which is where the castle was. She only went to certain Cathedrals for certain holidays. Those were usually The Weaving of Fates and the Verdant Awakening which would be in a few weeks. She was a priestess to Selyra the Moonweaver but also a Lifebinder which meant she needed to pay some attention to Elyndra the Verdant Mother. The only other holiday she got to celebrate at the Cathedral was the Day of Echoes in mid summer. "So a noble then, eh?" She shook her head. "My family serves the Ekonis." That was an affluent noble family that visited Florwynne during the spring and summer. From her understanding, they worshiped Thyressa and nobody else really. They expected the same of their servants in observing only the Siren of the Depths. It seemed like a good cover story in her mind—she was being rebellious and sneaking out which it was also the truth of the matter. Her family worshiped mainly Selyra but they still did observe the other holidays as it was considered critical the royal family know at least a little bit about all of the Arcanum Lords. She just really wanted to seethe the Stormcall Festival celebrated in its full glory for once. "A servant, hm?" He sounded suspicious but didn't say anything more about it. "Are you from Uln Dareth?" She couldn't help but ask. His accent strongly implied it, but she wanted to confirm. The uprising had started several years ago, but it was still ongoing to her knowledge. Not that she received much information about the outside world in the first place... Her parents really didn't allow her to learn anything about the world outside the castle beyond basics. She wanted to learn more, but she simply wasn't allowed. She saw his hood move in a way that indicated a nod. "Yeah, been here for a couple years. Took a while to learn the language-really different from Un Darth's! But it's not bad. Just different." "Are you planning on staying here?" She couldn't help but be curious. Ihe city now had an entire district full of people from Uln Dareth to her understanding. She had heard servants gossiping which was how she got most of her news. She wasn't sure how accurate the reports were, though; she knew gossip could twist and morph in ways nobody could predict. Maybe there were as many refugees in Florwynne as she'd heard, maybe there weren't. She really had no idea. She wasn't sure where she stood on the issue at all, really… There were so many unknowns. "Not sure, really. Things are still bad from what I understand. What should've been easy to put down proved to spread pretty widely. Uprisings are usually easy to quell but even people from the Arcane Orders were involved. It seems like this was planned from pretty high up since it wasn't just a localised uprising like most pastors were." Penny blinked. "Do you align with slave-holding ideals?" She was curious. The way he talked made it sound like he did. Nytheris saw slavery as abhorrent and had for half a millennium. It had taken Nytheris time to fully get every slave integrated. but they had in due time. Now it was merely an echo in the country's past that was seen as a blemish. Uln Dareth still had regions that practiced it which wasn't good. She saw Sun's shoulders move in a way that indicated a shrug. "I think it's more complicated than most people believe. No, it's not good to own another person, but just setting all the slaves free will cause a lot of issues economically and socially. They'll need places to go. jobs to support themselves, and so on. Plus, there'd be hella discrimination against people that were slaves. It wouldn't all be rainbows and sunshine if the king and queen banned the practice overnight. There'd be a lot of upheaval and issues that would come from freeing the slaves in regions that still practice it." "That's... a lot more than I thought." She honestly hadn't considered any of what he said. He definitely wasn't for it. but there were far more factors to consider if the practice were going to be ended. She only had the limited knowledge of Nytheris' distant past to learn from. She thought Uln Dareth was in the wrong because those were people who should be citizens and have freedom... The logistics were important, though. And if there were no plan…the country would struggle on every level. She didn't know the logistics of running a kingdom despite the fact she was heir apparent. Her parents really hadn't taught her much about ruling a tall now that she thought about it… She might have to change that… "Most people don't. I lived in the state of Zhailin where slavery was banned. I was only a little kid, but I'm a commoner, so we saw the brunt of what happened. The discrimination against previously enslaved folks ran rampant and they were treated incredibly poorly. Most had no choice but to become serfs since all they knew was farming and they had to support themselves and their families somehow without skilled labor." He shook his head. “There was no plan and they had to figure it out themselves. The fallout was still happening when I left..." "I see..." She never would've considered those points if he wouldn't have told her. "How do you like it here in Nytheris?" If he'd been here a few years, he would've had to adapt to some degree, right? Had he found his place, his calling? She knew the cultures were different though she didn't understand how. They shared the same pantheon but not how interpretations differed. She knew so little about the world outside of the castle and how it worked; this was her first time ever being outside on her own. Her Volkhund had to be freaking out at this point, but even she knew it would be a bad idea to bring him. It would've automatically marked her a noble when she was trying to blend in as much as possible. Sun's shoulders moved up and down in a shrug. "It's definitely not home. Even if we share the same pantheon, the interpretations and worship are pretty different as is the social order. Magic is still generally how society is stratified but in different ways. Magic use is relatively the same from what I see, though. Granted, I don't see much music since most magic users are recruited into Guilds for the furthering of their wealth." He shrugged again. "Most people don't care for commoners much when they're higher in the Order." He paused. "For us, we call society the Order in the same way you call Society the Magisterium. It should technically only refer to one part of how society is structured, but it refers to all of it." "I see." She was definitely intrigued. Learning about the differences between Uln Dareth and Nytheris was very interesting. She could probably ask a million questions but she didn't want to annoy him. She did have at least one more question, though. "What did you do in Uln Dareth before you came here?" It sounded like he was a commoner from his earlier comment. She was going to be the highest authority in Ny them's at some point... Why didn't her parents wanting her learning about the outside world? It still didn't make any sense to her personally. She needed to know these things if she wanted any hope of being a good leader. "I was a priest to Vaelis the Radiant Dawn, but I had to give that up when I fled. I was almost a full-fledged priest from an acolyte. But the way Nytheri worship compared to Unites is completely different. Liturgy and customs differ from each other pretty greatly. Plus it didn't help I didn't speak the language fluently until the past year or so. I work in a bakery now and it's definitely a huge downgrade from my life as a acolyte." He sighed and shook his head. "I'd have to start from square one again. FF wanted to be a priest here in Ny ther is due to everything being so different. I'd have to learn everything from scratch and be an acolyte for years again. That just doesn't sound like a good use of my time honestly." Penny frowned. "I'm so sorry. I'm a Moonweaver priestess, though not a a qiute fully trained yet. Threadweaving will take me a while totally master yet still." "I have no idea what a lot of that means." "I worship Selyra and am being trained as one of her priestesses. Threadweaving is a specific type of divination we use to see where the threads of fate will take us and see how each individual day will happen and how each person's presence will influence us. I didn't do it today, though, because it's seen as bad luck to Thread weave on holidays that aren't the New Year." she wasn't sure if she believed that or not, really, but she didn't want to risk anything. It did leave her anxious to not know where her tateforthe day lay, though.But she knew better than to tempt fate itself. She absolutely refused to do something That could endanger not only her fate but that of those she cared about. She would've seen meeting sun coming but she couldn't risk the threads of fate being harmed. “Interesting practice and belief. I know that Selyra is the one that controls the threads of fate, but that sort of reading would be considered taboo in Un Darth unless you were an Astral Weaver. Do you have magic?" Penny was faced with a decision. She wasn't sure how much Sun knew about the Nytheri royal family. Lifebinders that worshiped Selyra weren't common. In Nytheris, it was pretty widely known the main family that did that was the royal family. Even if he didn't know that, it would almost immediately give her away as… Damn. She'd already given herself away without thinking about it. She wasn't sure how much he knew about the Ekoni family but she'd said she was a worshiper of Selyra and not Thyressa. Either he didn't know or he simply didn't react. She'd already given away a lot unintentionally. His easygoing nature and her curiosity had lowered her guard to the points he had revealed things about herself that she hadn't meant to. She was really between a rock and a hard place. She had no idea what to do. She didn't want to oust herself as Nytteris' princess but she was stuck. It didn't seem like a trap of any sort, but she'd still stupidly walked herself into a corner that she didn't know how to escape from. She really wanted to get away from this situation but she had no idea how to do that… Penny heard a melodious sound and a flapping of large wings. Within a moment, a large bird with silvery feathers landed next to them. Its long neck craned up and it tapped its beak against her. "Wow..." That was all she could say. A Silver Veilwing. They were rare enough on their own, but to see the nocturnal bird during the day? It was almost unheard of. It was a harbinger of some sort of change. Though whether it was blessing or dir warning was usually unclear. They trilled but rarely ever communicated directly like Veil Strider Kirin or an Echo keeper's Murmurean. Trust. The single word intoned in her head. "What?" she looked at the Silver Veil wing. To receive such a direct message must have meant Selyra herself had sent the bird. She had only heard of this happening in legend. She had no idea it could actually happen. Trust. The word intoned again, the bird's eyes fixated on Sun. Check fate, Selyra says. Read the threads when You return. Have your mother do the same. The bird pointed her wing at Sun, staring intently. Penny had no idea what to do with this. It was clearly a message directly from Selyra herself which was incredibly rare. The Arcanum lords had created the weave but rarely ever gave direct guidance to humans and Faunus. This was a rare blessing to get such a direct message from the Arcanum Lords. She would need to have herself and her mother do a coordinated Threadweaving session. Rare to do, as Threadweaving was generally a solitary practice aside from when a priestess was still learning. She was mostly independent at this point, but she would still need several years of guided interpretation when things got too complex. "I understand." She was apparently supposed to trust Sun despite what her instincts told her. She was still worried people would overhear their conversations, though. She really didn't want someone to know that she was the princess because of what her parents had told her what would happen if they knew. And he was from Uln Dareth too. The bird stared intently at Penny for several more moments until it flew off back into the rainy skies. It was absolutely insane that had happened. A Silver Veil wing on its own was a rare sight but during the day and on a holiday at that? To break its silence? She could barely wrap her mind around what had just happened. A direct message from Set ran. This was definitely important. Sun apparently had some role to play in her life though it wasn't clear what that role was, at least not yet. She would have to thread weave when she got back to. the castle. “What was that about?" Sun asked. "Selyra had a direct message for me." Apparently the Silver Veilwing hadn't spoken to Sun directly. It was definitely odd in some regards but at the same time. Sun was a Vaelis worshiper, not a Selyra one. If Vaelis wanted Sun to know something, he could send a message instead of relying on Selyra to send one. Still, it was completely insane that she'd gotten such a direct message. The Arcanum Lords so rarely sent direct messages like that. She definitely needed to pay attention to and follow Selyra's instructions despite the belief of bad luck. "I see. Well, want to keep going to the Cathedral or go home?" “I’ll keep going." "All right then." she could hear the grin in his voice again. "Let's go!"