“Thee are to love one, and never hurt the other. Thou shall not draw weapon against thee own, or thou should die without the love of the Light,” the father reads the commandments, as he was thought by his father, and his father’s father. The words are inscribed inside the young boy’s mind, to form an innocence which will be lost in time.
As the sun rose from the west, and the armies gathered outside of the east wall of Thranes, the armies of Uel would finally make their appearance. The thirty thousand strong men and women from the three armies of Amouldes, Kinlakes and Thranes, would unite with the ten thousand strong from Euldes, the kingdom furthest north of all the others and closest to the Lightborn country. On their way to this place, they have passed by the city which is under siege. Their sister makes haste and meets with her siblings before having her army draw closer. After she received the news, and the fire has been set ablaze in the tall, blonde-haired woman, strong features and muscles that would make some men seem frail, the armies started to march up north.
Ame’s army would work detached from the main one, as Amel has requested as such. The other First Six didn’t have an issue with it, as the constructs were fierce in aspect and behaved in such an unnatural way, that it made them uneasy. However, what they truly didn’t want to look at, was Femel. A hatred which brewed for over twelve years, much like the other humans, but with a fever attached to it, was ready to explode in a culmination of rage and destruction. Hran II grew worried for him. He wanted, once the war was over, for this boy to finally experience the world as he should've had. Not through the struggles and horrors which have been set abound, but through the eyes of innocence and kindness. Something he realised sounded foolish, since the man-child was wiser than most, has seen more than mostly anyone and has endured so much more than anyone should. Even then, as the war was approaching, while his thirst for vengeance and irrevocable rage were showing through, when his brother placed his hand on his shoulder, his expression would change into a gentle one.
There was still good in the boy, but give it a little more push, and the good will turn into something evil. Hran II didn’t want for this to happen, humanity, he will lose something precious. Was there something he could do? Or was it too late for him to try? Inside Amel’s mind, the plans he meticulously put together from years back, started to converge into a point. And the vision of him standing atop a corpse of a man who shouldn’t have been born, is starting to become clearer. It won’t erase the past, it won’t bring his parents back, and it won’t fix this broken world. But those things didn’t matter to him. He lived to bring the fury of all those which have died, all those which have lost the good in this world. He thought of himself as the one to represent them. His parents, friends he couldn’t make, wife he couldn’t marry, children he couldn’t have, things he wouldn’t be able to attain, all because of the madness of one man, and the rage of a wild force. Those were things which could’ve been controlled, perhaps evene solved in peace, if both of those had come to terms with one another. But they didn’t, and their ambitions brought about a worst time in history, threw the world in a darkness that light could not breach.
This wasn’t a war for Amel, but merely a blind step towards a light that didn’t exist, a hope for a better future that may never come, and a dream shared with his brother. Even if his visions didn’t allow him to see that far into a possible future, he could form the steps inside his head. Step by step, mistake by mistake, he was sure he would get somewhere. He was aware of the dangers of stumbling blind in the dark, but he did not care. His sights were upon the goal ahead, and to achieve it, he would be willing to do much more than bring to life tens of thousands of immaterial bodies, or fight the First Six. If he had the time, he could accomplish all of them, no matter how many times he would fail.
Femel swallowed dry, he was nervous. Since he was aware of his feet and hands, he remembered his brother whispering in the dark, at night, about the ways he would kill the Foolish King, how he would imagine Umshaow going down. They weren’t wishful words, but thought methods of dealing with them. Amongst them, the whispers of an army of his own, led by his own mind, arose. To stand witness to the day where he would lead such an army, was a sight to behold. The trembling of the earth from Omega’s steps, enforcing the reality that his brother had brought to fruition all the whispers he told himself in the night, when they couldn’t find warmth inside a house and the guards hunted them like feral dogs. He became one of those soldiers, no, he was much more than that. He was the commander of a unit of special individuals, much like him. Those which didn’t have a place, and they were joining forces with his brother, a force, an army himself, something which no man could say. Mou didn’t even come close to his brother when it came to it. Sure, he was stronger, larger and much more experience, but given enough time, his brother would surpass Mou by leaps and bounds. It wasn’t wishful thinking, it was the minimum necessity in order to confront Umshaow. They had both heard of how the First Six managed to hold Umshaow’s main body away from the six kingdoms, thus why Opeldes was able to lose not a single man, except for those foolish enough to try and assist the First Six while fighting. Apparently, where they fought, a crater of sorts was made due to the exchange of forces. A tall fence had been erected, and people would come by from the kingdoms to see it with their own eyes. Apparently, some could still see the lingering heat from Hran, who had used his gauntlets to blast flames so hot, they could melt black steel.
During the time he trained with Hran II, Femel developed in more than one way. Having the one hundred unit to lead, he had to become something a bit more than a simple warrior. Attending the tactician institution, he sharpened his mind, and showed a side of him that wasn’t seen before. His field intuition and ability to make use of each individual to the small and large level, impressed even Hran, who had attended one of his training sessions with the unit at one point. His skills were not to be underestimated in strategy or fighting. Light or nor, Femel was rising above all expectations and proving worthy to soon sit at his brother’s shoulder. He was still not there, but had all the time after the war was over.
Optimism was high even amongst the First Six. This was something which was caused by forces beyond them. But they believed it to be their fault. Something which they didn’t manage or accomplish which forced the birth of the Foolish King one way or another. They couldn’t know that the threat which was encroaching upon Erta, came from outside the world which they could see. A place where gods were at an eternal war, won only by the slightest margins. Something of such an ancient time, that the perception of it would need a lifetime of understanding.
Their road would normally take twelve days, across the fields and forests, then the river and into Opeldes. But, keeping a high pace, maintained by both Hran and Kinak, the soldiers were to make it in half that time. They had to resupply and unite with the other two armies, which should be able to repel at least the army of the Foolish King, and destroy a good portion of its forces at best. The Foolish King had only brought ten thousand beasts and monsters, and while those could easily kill three of Thranes’ soldiers, their armies still were roughly five-to-one, with the constructs possessing a power which couldn’t be measured. Together with the likes of Omega and the Primas, the odds were stacked against the Foolish King.
Amel had constructs which already made it to Opeldes waiting in silence. He had another ten thousand of them, the other half of his army of constructs, in the forests nearby, monitoring the movements of the Foolish King. He had eyes as close as he felt safe to have them. He couldn’t see the Foolish King, but could see some of his soldiers. Beasts of animal, insectoid and other shapes, were everywhere. The ten thousand which he brought, didn’t seem to get any lower in numbers. Some flying units were sent, in order to try and capture the city from the inside, but they would be repelled by strong ballistas and wall crossbows. The efforts of climbing the wall weren’t too good either. Each time the monsters tried to climb up high, they would be pushed back down by large stones thrown from above, molten materials and whatever little and large things the soldiers and few remaining people inside could find. Most of the people had already been evacuated a couple of weeks prior, as Opeldes would be the closest to Mouner, and if something went wrong, they were to be in Thranes, in order for Mou to protect them. Amel kept watch for the past day, and saw how the units which the Foolish King had been using, never lowered themselves in numbers, although they were basically throwing themselves at the walls and climbing them in large numbers. Elde’s army on the other hand, was getting tired of the constant assault. The soldiers weren’t normal either, they were enchanced by Elde’s own light, which allowed one to be revitalised and replenish their energy through her. However, Elde had her limits, and while she could go for another day or two, there were signs that her powers were weakening, as the strands of light attached to the soldiers, were getting thinner.
Beyond the stalemate going on for the siege, Amel noticed something peculiar. The monsters which have been killed down or those who managed to climb the wall, were having their bodies carried around by other monsters. He was sure that the Foolish King didn’t care for those monsters, much like he didn’t for his constructs, so there was no way he would recuperate the bodies, just so they could be buried. And since he eliminated the possibility of the Foolish King being afraid for the people of Opeldes to get the bodies, since they didn’t posses light, but something which swallowed the light around them, he started to believe that the Foolish King had either methods of reviving the dead creatures, or at least make use of their bodies in a capacity as such that would allow the war to continue. The latter would seem to be suggested, as the monsters started to take new, odd shapes. They were made of both animal and insect parts. While that was true to begin with, the parts started to get more diverse as the siege continued.
The Prima were with him, so sneaking tactics wouldn’t work really well with his present constructs. And given the awareness of the monsters to light, he didn’t want to send a weak, little one that could be discovered, which would lead back to his army. He didn’t have much choice, but he would have to wait until the Prima he had sent would arrive. That would take two or three more days, as it could go at a constant, high speed, day and night. Meanwhile, Amel was focusing his attention on a new system for the Prima. Some of them were starting to grow rapidly in terms of complexity, due to their own light interacting with the environment, so they were getting a bit out of hand. He didn’t want them to lose the experience gathered so far, so a new system would have to make it before they arrived in Mouner. He estimated it would be done by then, as long as nothing sped up their march.
Femel was spending time with his unit, the hundred people in his care, were each an issue on their own, as they had really individualistic natures. No two of them looked the same in terms of clothes, weapons and tools, let alone in the way the thought. Some of them were more intellectual in nature, reading ancient texts while walking and using their light to enhance their senses, while some were hunting as they were marching. Alone, each of them could kill a dozen soldiers or more. But that was only if given a proper environment and there wouldn’t be any allies around them. The issue with the unit, was how they would work together once the arrows started firing and the chaos around them overwhelmed even the generals. Femel had time to prepare, as he was made their leader a month prior, but all his attempts proved futile, as each of them tried to do their own thing when fightings. In order to make some use of this, Femel had thought about dispersing them amongst the other armies. If fighting alone is what they did best, then they could do it between the ranks of others. However, that would prove even more troublesome, as they would either get into arguments with other soldiers, over philosophy of nonsense that didn’t matter to warfare, or would sit back and let the soldiers do their work.
Frustrated that he couldn’t figure it out, he thought about asking Amel for some advice, but given how busy his brother was of late, he thought that he couldn’t have bothered him even for a second. Hran had suggested that he talk with the General1 about it, but he had a sort of pride which he wanted to uphold after defeating the General1 in battle. This pride would prove harmful, and would bring issues. But for the moment, Femel was trying to figure it all on his own.
The four of the First Six that were overseeing the armies of Amouldes, Kinlakes, Euldes and Thranes, stood at the middle point. Large, towering figures, each dressed in different armours and wearing different weapons. Kinak had a broadsword, made of folded steel, Hran his cold steel sword, Uel a large, round and spiky shield, made of molten steel, and Eve didn’t have any weapon, she was the only known human to be able to cast rays of light from her hand, and the power and intensity, were above that of even the Lightborn. As for armours, Kinak wore none, as he thought his body to be made of the required steel, Hran wore his black steel armour, Uel had plate armour, made of folded and black steel, while Eve wore no armour, once again her light sufficing for. Her light was able to heal her at astonishing speeds, making the Lightborn seem like the ones who came after, not the other way around. Hran had wanted to on multiple occasions to make her a custom armour, one so light and durable, that it would rival his made of black steel. Eve wouldn’t hear of it, as she wanted her enemies to see her light, Hran, Kinak and Uel thinking of her as either too confident, or too naive to believe that in combat, any of that mattered. Pride aside, she proved to them that even if they attacked her, she would be fine. Her siblings had nothing to say after none of their weapons managed to inflict any serious injuries, and those inflicted, were healed in mere moments after. Even when they attempted to destroy her organs, like the eyes, the same would remain, her light healing before the weapon even had the chance to completely accomplish its task. The pain which she felt from the cuts and hits, she would be able to ignore by stimulating her own brain with light, making anything harmful to her, seem like a pleasurable activity in which she partook.
Surrounding the First Six, were the other generals. Some were taller and more muscular, while some smaller but wiser. They were all selected by Hran himself from the variety presented by his siblings. He had even replaced some of his own with some of Uel’s, as they had a better sense for tactics and bolstered more experience, as they had fought beasts of the ocean while travelling with many of their ships.
Night would fast approach the lands, the armies would walk some more, led by Uel’s own troops, as they were more accustomed with the area. Then, some hours after the dark has fallen, they were able to rest. Amel would continue to use his mind in working out a new system for the Prima, while Femel would spend his time trying to make his people get along better. This wasn’t met kindly by the others, who thought it was stupid in the first place for them to be gathered together like that. Femel started to grow infuriated with the unit. And while he could’ve disciplined them better through some harsher methods, those weren’t the kind of people to be disciplined over the course of a few days. Something had to change before they arrived in Opeldes, otherwise, the unit might fall apart.
At the centre, where the war tent has been built for the First Six to strategise, Hran II spent his time looking around, trying to gauge the strength of the other armies. While watching them, he started to think upon a glaring issue, the composition. While the army of Thranes had a good distribution of archers, foot soldiers and chivalry, the other armies were either lacking or having too much of one type. The main offender was the army of Kinlakes, which had mainly foot soldiers, no riders and a few archers. He knew those people wouldn’t be taught in any capacity the discipline required to make an army, but he wouldn’t have imagine this sort of issue could occur, not at their time of need. Another issue was with Uel’s own troops, which was mainly archers and riders, few foot soldiers. Amouldes’ army had a nicely balanced army, lacking a bit in their riders, but nothing to fret over. He went inside the tent with this issue in mind, the First Six looking over a map of the redesigned city of Mouner. The city was true abomination in terms of construction, were you to try invade it. Tall walls, some of which built in different sections of the city, in order to detour any large force and slow them down, in a spiral like pattern, that wen from within the mountains, where a castle had been built, down to the the lower section, where the outside wall was at. What’s more, the houses have all been destroyed and burnt, replaced by traps and lures. They weren’t too sure of the inside of the city, as the spies they’ve sent have been relentlessly murdered by some monster or monsters which they couldn’t make sense of. The few which have escaped, the First Six, have noticed to be those which lacked in their light or had little of it. This gave them the right impression that the monsters were lured by the light of a person, having none of their own, they wanted that which humans possessed.
Hran was moving a piece of his army on the table, represented by two crossed swords, then Uel represented by a shield, Kinak by a scythe and Eve’s by praying hands clasped. They were trying to figure ways to tackle the issue of the inner walls, which threatened assaults of beasts from above the walls down on invading soldiers. The issue was the ascending hill on which the city had been built, then the mountains behind, which had winds too strong for normal humans to attempt ascending. Hran II analysed the map himself, seeing possible solutions with Amel’s constructs. When he gave his input on it, besides his father, the other were scoffing at his words. No one wanted to rely on a criminal such as Amel to ensure their victory. It was pride and duty which the First Six had. They wouldn’t even put the lives of their own children above the duty which they had from Kilon through the Commandments. This bothered Hran II, as the fate of humanity and maybe more, was at stake, yet there they were, not making of a fifth of their force, which could easily be estimated to be more due to Omega, due to their faith and pride. He found himself enraged at it, his father knew how frustrating it was, but they had no choice, as the others were the ones in command of their respective armies, without their word, the armies wouldn’t follow.
After establishing some strategies to conquer the walls, albeit lacking, they moved on to the issue of the Foolish King himself. Some reports suggested that he wasn’t the one leading his armies, that he was somewhere inside the city still, with a lingering presence that their spies couldn’t put their fingers on. He had something more hidden, and the thought of a second army, suddenly shook them as the discussion would ensue. Hran II thought there might be something the Foolish King was hiding, but not necessarily an army, more like a last resort or something of the sorty. Whatever it was, much like Amel, it was a possible unknown variant which worried those present. Amel was already onto it, his constructs making their way towards Mouner, from where he could better understand the situation of the city, as Opeldes was attacked by the monsters, but no sign of their master. For Amel, this would prove a golden opportunity. Were there to be a chance of the Foolish King to be nestled inside his castle, then his constructs could make short work of the city built to resist human sieges, but not constructs, volatile and highly modifiable creations. The Foolish King could also not expect for him to bring something which could take his walls down, Omega that being. Half of his second army was already moving through the forests, past the Citadel of Creation, which still had humans and other races of beings gathered there. Apparently the Foolish King didn’t want to cause more wars with his neighbours, or so it’s assumed at least, thus not touching upon the holy grail of knowledge. There were humans, sollims and even Sunborns that were sharing their knowledge there and learning from others. The reasons as to why none of them have fled, was due to them wanting to witness these historical moments. And being between Mouner and Opeldes, meant they would get a clear picture of the war while still going. Most of the recollections of the war were done through those which have been in the Citadel at the time.
Amel had been interested in the Citadel of Creation for a while after he arrived in Thranes and have read about it. The place of wonder and discovery, something most people of his kind, those which wanted to know, gathered there, shared knowledge and learned together more about the world around them. The were rumours of some talented individuals that were making a sort of machinery below the city, one where knowledge could be stored indefinitely through a core of light, which would act as the nexus for other lights to connect and let information be shared through. This was based on the pure faith that those which came and shared their knowledge, wouldn’t try to insert anything that is already known or harmful to the library. Amel thought that to be his next step in designing and improving his constructs. If the knowledge in there would prove to be half as valuable as the word of mouth and books made it to be, then he might awaken something stronger inside of him and in his constructs. The interaction between his light and those of others, was also a curious prospect he wanted to explore. He first wanted to complete the cold steel interactions, as he still couldn’t fully grasp how much his light was affecting wild light, let alone the tamed light of an individual.
While he was thinking of the Citadel, one of his constructs had lost contact with him. He had sent in advance a party of a hundred towards Mouner, Mover constructs. It happened around the Citadel of Creation. He thought it must’ve been one of the sunborns or sollims that had destroyed the thing or approached it and burned or melted the materials. However, further away from it, he would lose contact with more of them, they were dying before any information could be gathered from around. Not only that, but the contact was interrupted in such an abrupt manner, that the flow of information was being corrupted, and only bits and pieces of prior moments would fully be realised in his mind. This wasn’t something which the Sunborns or sollims would do, not without a good reason, and there was none. “One of the monsters,” Amel spoke to himself, surrounded by his constructs and joined at dinner by Ermel, who was organizing some of them. Ermel gave him a strange look, but then reminded himself that he was sometimes doing that when concentrating a lot.
Amel stopped his Movers, sent them closer to the river in the west, so they could get out of the forest and analyse the danger presented before them. The Snatchers, Offenders and Defenders stood their ground, formed groups of ten and looked around them. There was no movement which they could see, nor anything hiding. By the time the Movers have arrived at the side of the river, and beyond the tree line, twenty of them have been lost. After he implemented his tactics, none went missing again. Whatever it was that destroyed his Movers, it was smart and was watching his constructs, trying to probe them and see how they react probably. He couldn’t have this, his forces slowly chipped away while trying to approach Moner. Each construct was a valuable asset, if he lost one, it meant time and resources lost, above all, power, he would lose power he didn’t have to spare.
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While he didn’t like it, his surprise got busted by whatever it hunted his constructs. Whether it was natural or not, it didn’t matter.
In order to prevent them from getting dwindled any further, he grouped them together once more, those ahead, standing in place until the rest have arrived. Whatever attacked them, didn’t do so anymore, as the constructs have made it to the first challenge ahead, a branch of the Ertver River, going as far as east into Euldes. While the constructs were heavy and would have issues crossing the river, the more pressing matter was the potential of natural and unnatural beasts hiding in the water. Amel already accounted for it, as the many simulations in his mind wouldn’t omit such a basic fact. So, in order to counteract it, he made the constructs build a new bridge, made of the trees behind them. While this couldn’t be thought to be an effective tactic, due to wasting time on building something that was already available, and the pressing matter of the monster that could alarm the Foolish King of his incoming forces, it wasn’t of importance to those constructs, as they could make the bridge far faster than humans could and would actually speed up their plans. What Amel wanted to do, if the city proved to be as he thought it to be, then he would have his constructs circle Mouner, climb the mountains and attack from behind, effectively making the natural defences and intricate traps and such inside the city, useless.
The constructs made short work of the trees behind them, and built the bridge in just a few hours. No monster has attacked them so far, so, with speed behind them, they passed the river. Amel would be satisfied with the progress, and let them handle the road ahead, as he needed to ensure his current constructs were up to speed with what was going on. His constructs all relayed information through him, and he gave them information back. In order for two constructs to coordinate, they would have to first give Amel their intention, which his mind would work out and seek the best options, then sent back to both constructs. This would be slow in the case of a younger Amel, but his current self, could exchange this kind of information in a thousandth of a second. Thus, he was able to make all the constructs work in tandem, moving them in an unnatural fashion, individually and perfectly aware of their surrounding allies. The reason why he let them handle the road ahead, as mentioned, as so he could relay the information to his constructs, making sure it didn’t conflict with their system.
He also had to participate in the war meeting, that was already undergoing, his actions finished after Hran II had entered the tent. He was only a few minutes late, and when he stepped inside, he would see what he could only describe as a mess. Not only was their army compositions unevenly distributed, they had held his army piece off the table, showing that they weren’t willing to use his constructs in the assault of the city.
“Can any of you explain to me why are my constructs sitting idly, while your troops have no chance of breaching the city?” his tone was presumptuous, his attitude could be described as spiteful at best, and the lack of respect he showed the four of the First Six, simply astonishing. Hran II was ready to slap Amel into sleep, but his father stopped his hand before it hit. Hran wanted to say the same things, but he had to uphold his reputation and pride, so he didn’t mind the young genius inputting his own thoughts on the matter. “Get angry at me after we set this mess into proper order,” he gave his friend a dirty look, disappointed that he didn’t step in sooner. Hran II would feel as if he was scolded by the kid who wasn’t even a tenth of a tenth his age, but he couldn’t deny what he said, nor could he lash back at him, because that would make him see below the young man.
“Plainly,” Uel had spoken, still wearing her armour and standing much above Amel, some head above Eve, but below Kinak and Hran. “We don’t like the idea of having a dirty criminal like you running his toys around,” she placed her hands on the table, covered in leather gloves and thick armour. “You are, afterall, one of the most notorious criminals, and even after the war is over and your crimes maybe forgiven, we won’t forget.”. Eve shared the sentiment, but Hran was feeling the same as Amel, while Kinak didn’t like the idea that his men would have to die, all because their pride stood in the way, so he said nothing.
“You don’t like the idea, hmph” Amel puffed his nose, a disappointed smile on his face. “But you like the idea of thousands of your own dying, don’t you?” his words cut deep, while not true, it wasn’t as if their actions could say the contrary. Uel straightened herself, looked him in the eyes with her light brown ones, her hair long and braided over her back, her head unprotected by the large helmet which stood at the table’s foot.
“Boy, don’t dare speak to us as such. We are already allowing you such insolence as to speak with us as if you’re our equal, don’t make this harder for you,” her words were powerful, and a tension in the air would raise. The other First Six were watching the exchange. If Uel was to raise her hand against Amel, except for Hran, none could stop her. Amel straightened himself, looked her from deep below with defying and hateful eyes. It was the same philosophy as Mou’s, not as strong or palpable, but there nonetheless. He knew all about the commandments, but given their dire state and what was happening, those commandments were seen by Amel as pointless rules, which if they kept following, would only lead towards their doom. He would’ve liked to simply return to his tent and maybe think some more, guide his far away constructs in a good manner, but the issue was that if the armies didn’t perform well, and got wiped as a result of their inability to look past their pride and sworn fealty to the commandments, then his brother would be at risk. He couldn’t allow that, so he had to push harder before retreating and having to find another way. His mind would intervene, trying to make use of the information available, but he would cast the light away, and let his true self show through.
“As if I’m eual? Remind me, my queen, wasn’t one of the commandments along the lines of ‘you shall not raise the blade against your own,’ and we seem to be doing exactly that. So, how am I different from you?” his question made everyone present tense up. If not Uel, Kinak and Eve would’ve jumped at the boy’s neck. Uel grabbed her shield that rested heavily against the tent, and brought it upon his head, ready to kill him. But, from outside the tent, in a sudden dash, a Prima showed up, blocking the strike with black steel blades instead of hands. Uel was surprised, while Amel stood unchanged, his mind enhanced once again by the light, alarming all the constructs nearby, the Prima already surrounding the tent. Uel wouldn’t allow this go, so she kicked the constructs pointy legs, while falling, the construct hugged the shield with the blades instead of hands, and then put its legs, which were blades also, around Uel’s armoured arm. The exchange was so fast, that aside from those present, and Femel, no one would’ve been able to see it happen. The construct was pressing hard against the armour, cracking it where the blades met the armour. Uel tried to shake it off, up and down, but even she managed to strike the demonic thing, it clung onto her arm harder and harder. Kinak was ready to intervene, but Hran stopped him.
“Get away brother, I’m going to smash that thing and then kill the boy, and you can’t stop me,” Kinak’s eyes were burning with hatred. The words which Amel spoke were true, what they did was out of necessity to survive, much like Amel had to when he was cast alone in the world. To Hran, Hran II and Amel, there was no greater hypocrisy than to believe they were different from he who spoke it all up.
“And will you do so because he spoke a lie, or because what he said is true?” Hran challenged his brother’s answer. Kinak widened his eyes, not believing what he was hearing from Hran. But he knew, deep inside, that the reason for his reaction, was due to the fear that, aside from Mou, they already broke the commandments. And while Mou had provided them with his constructs, it wasn’t out of his wish to contribute to the war, but due to Hran’s constant persusasion. “Sit back and watch, tell me if you still feel like the boy deserves to die after this,” Hran pushed his forearm against Kinak’s chest, pushing his smaller brother back with sheer force. Kinak could tell Hran wasn’t going to back down if it came down to it, a worst case scenario, where them, the first of men and women, would start fighting against each other due to conflicting ideals.
Uel grew tired of waving her arm around and not being able to shake the thing off, so, she brought out her ability, that being, enhancement of her body. The armour started to swell and her forearm grew too large for the construct to clutch it with its two metres long limbs. So, it let go, and stood by Amel’s side, between him and the monstrous woman, whose hands could crush boulders to dust and lift hills. Once the light fully circled through her body, her muscles were three times as large, and her specialty, defense, was brought to a level which armour couldn’t compare to. Due to the high degree of light which invaded her cells and emanated from her, a sort of thin layered shield, made of solely light, has enveloped her. This ability was akin to how the Sunborns had their bodies, which upon touch, would melt or burn. Her skin wasn’t at the same degree, but that was mainly due to her focusing a portion of it in strength and speed. If she was to infuse her body with the sole purpose of defence, then hardly anything could make its way through, without either starting to bun or melt, or be repelled.
The Primas didn’t wait, together, they cut down the tent, letting it fall upon those inside, while the Prima guarding Amel, pushed him out. The other four inside managed to dodge the falling clothes, Uel letting it crash upon her as she looked at Amel without flinching an eye. Once the tent was upon her, so were the Primas, cutting and hitting the tall figure. Some other constructs have arrived from nearby and started to throw rocks, stones and other heavy materials, Omega lurking in the near vicinity in case it was needed. Amel wanted to test the strength of the current Primas anyhow, so this would prove a golden opportunity. And, to his expectations, with the swing of an arm and the throwing of a few punches, all forty nine of his Primas, flew away, some broken, some getting buried into the ground. The cloth of the tent was burning slowly away, as Uel started to walk towards Amel.
“Now what, little boy?” she was looking unphased by the attacks she suffered, but Amel, in his enhanced condition, and time which he perceived slower than normal, could see at her back, the armour had been cut open. He didn’t know if she was bleeding or not, but that was good enough to him. His Primas were barely in their infancy, and given what he might find in the Citadel of Creation, their power could easily reach the expectations he had envisioned. But, he first had to deal with the enraged being before him.
“Instead of trying to kill me, how about we-” while Amel tried to speak, he was pulled back by the Prima, stepping in front of him and taking the blow from Uel, its head shattered to pieces as it flew some hundred metres into the air, stumbled a few dozen more into the ground, and finally stopping. By that point, the commotion had drawn in the soldiers from around, Femel’s camp being a kilometre or so away, would hear of the conflict a bit later. Ermel heard the noise and fighting, seeing a few hundred constructs fleeing their ranks. This meant that Amel was fighting something, or someone, and it warranted such attention, that by the thousands, the constructs started to move towards their creator. Amel brought himself back to his feet quickly, not wanting to die trampled by the woman. His Primas have recovered, three of them destroyed, the one who’s head got shattered, still retained control and kept itself ready. For a Prima to be destroyed, one would have to break at leat three fourths of it, and even then, those individual pieces may attempt to fight still. And so they did, those which were damaged, and even those broken, sent themselves at the giant woman.
Uel fought them with ease, dodging their attacks while further breaking them apart. But, amongst them, a few were starting to not only read her moves, but make use of their fallen allies to fix themselves mid fight with suitable pieces to deal with her better, then join the fight again. Soldiers and constructs have arrived. The soldiers stood behind the constructs, so that if something flew hurling towards them, they wouldn’t die immediately. Kinak, Hran and Eve were shocked, as the Primas were starting to gain on their sister. Hitting in one place, then slicing in another. While there were only half of them left in a matter of a few short minutes, those remaining got hit less and less, fixing themselves with the pieces around them. Uel could see no way out of this mess, as these constructs were reading her movements perfectly, then came up with ways to deal with them and wound her. Her light would heal her fast enough, before even a drop of blood would fall, but the issue remained that she was started get injured more and more. She had in mind to use one of her main attacks, but that would drain her and she wasn’t sure if it would manage to get all of them. However, there was Amel, whose abilities she didn’t understood since they weren’t explained to her in time. She thought that, like her brother, if she killed the defiant kid that spoke those words to her, the constructs would stop. Issue was, the other soldiers started to get in the way, and the constructs between him and her were growing more and more in number. To add to the list of issues, Omega’s steps started to make the ground tremble, soon upon her.
Her siblings looked at her, knew of what she might do, and Eve even thought of killing the boy herself, but once again, Hran would stand in her way like he did for Kinak. She exchanged glances with Kinak, and both agreed in a silent manner, that if Uel was to use one of her attacks, they would rush for the boy, as it was sure to distract Hran for a moment.
Amel watched the woman struggle, thought that ‘This isn’t it. She’s retaining something. She isn’t the Stone Maiden for nothing. She fought stronger beasts, she’s aiming for me probably,’ his simulations told him as much. There was a power inside of her that his mind was replacing with something he knew. He was expecting something that would need him to be closer, further or away from those around him. Meaning, he was covering all three possible criteria for her to use her attack, something direct that would need for him to move from where he stood. The soldiers were starting to back away from him once they realised he was the target of the rage, some even trying to capture him, being stopped by some of the Offenders, sending them crawling to the ground.
While the battle was ongoing, Femel would get word of it, and started to make his way. Running, on the way, he passed by Omega, who was also making its way towards the conflict. He saw from all around constructs rushing in, sign that he was fighting something really strong, probably one of the First Six knowing him. ‘Remember our promise, brother,’ he thought, making jumps while running to cross over terrain faster. ‘Don’t do something we can’t come back from.’.
In the three minutes which took Femel to cross the distance, the Primas were down to twenty, and they have accumulated all the pieces from around them, making themselves highly mobile, sensitive and powerful, with the added experience of their adaptation. Amel started to grow a bit worried, as the constructs were making such fast progress, that it might become extremely hard for him to handle them, especially around other people. What further hammered that in, was one of the Primas, who managed to get on Uel’s back and pinpoint her weak point, the portion of her neck below the skull. The Prima didn’t hesitate, and brough its pointed blade down. While Uel’s shield repelled much of the force, it still managed to pierce through and reach a bit deep inside. Uel reacted like a wild beast, threw the Prima off her back, which simply recovered to its feet and kept aiming for the weak spot. Kinak and Eve were going restless, Hran himself saw the danger. He looked at Amel who was just as surprised as them. “Uel! Stop this madness right now!” his shout made the sounds of battle seem like mere whispers of the wind. Femel was making his way through the gathering of soldiers and constructs, hearing the shout of Hran.
“You want me to simply let his words past me! Do you not have any pride left brother!” she cried back at him, in her rage, grabbing one of the Primas who kept slicing at her hand. She infused more light into that part, and the Prima melted down quickly, nothing remaining for the others to scrap and add to themselves. Uel was starting to reveal her methods of attack, Amel found it intriguing, but was of accord to Hran. Things were starting to look dire, as his constructs fought better, and through the exchange of information, he could tell that their emotions and actions were starting to evolve solely for the purpose of killing and murdering. While that was part of their purpose, it was also part of them to not try and harm someone else, unless required to do so. This was starting to change, as the Primas were starting to see everything as a threat, no matter how small.
“Listen to him Lady Uel!” Femel appeared, screaming his mind from between the constructs. “Those constructs have will of their own, if you continue fighting them, and they adapt, they might soon start attacking everyone!” even Femel could tell that the constructs were getting more aggressive, their actions reflecting a strong purpose to kill and nothing more.
She looked back at the boy, who was younger than the one she was trying to kill, then at the soldiers, who were growing worried. Then at Amel, who was watching her with cold eyes, thinking with his chin on his hand. She felt offended by that, as she thought he was thinking of her as nothing more than something he had to take care of, some rogue child he had to deal with before moving on, or back to talking with the others.
She didn’t care anymore, and by with a sudden surge of her light, from within her body, a sphere of light pushed out, burning and melting everything around her. Some Primas managed to dodge, while another ten of them got melted, nine remaining. Amle changed the look on his face with a raised eyebrow. He was not impressed, more like curious of how much light it was needed for one to be able to do such thing, what kind of nature her light possessed in order to be able to melt and behave like that. Those were all things he would wonder, as if her showing her power was nothing more than another thing he could cross off his list. Uel didn’t care, she just wanted to get those constructs off of her, then, with a dash, she sprinted towards Amel, who stood behind layers of constructs. She blasted through them, Defenders and Offenders alike, melting them down. Amel saw the incoming threat, but it was too late for her, his magnum opus had arrived.
People started to run away and disperse throughout the area, as Omega was taking its steps through the crowd of people. If Femel didn’t come through rushing from the same side, perhaps the soldiers would’ve realised too late to move out of the way. Uel was surrounded by constructs, which tried to kill her, but she was moving through them, melting one after another. Finally, the last row, covered in constructs that were slowly melting on her, she was in front of Amel. Amel stood there, his face a cold stare, while her eyes were mad, ready to kill.
Amel rose his hand, then said “If you as much as move, I will bury you twice the height you are into the ground. Stop this and let us talk,” Amel was trying to appeal to her rationale, while also buying time for the Primas to get to him, as they were jumping on top of the sea of constructs around them.
Uel looked around her, saw the running soldiers, the gathering constructs and Omega standing high above her, its fists looked heavier than hills, and its movements were easy and fluid. A highly powerful, destructive and armed construct. Omega alone was worth a hundred Primas, and was something Amel wasn’t going to restrain in using, ready to confront the other First Six if needed.
Amel saw his brother, his cold stare and risen hand, he was ready to kill Uel then fight the other First Six. He thought his actions were rash and foolish, given that this was his entire force, unaware of the other half that was approaching Mouner. So, he made his way through the constructs, grabbing and throwing them in all directions. The constructs weren’t reacting to him, he was the highest degree of priority for safety after their creator. Were Amel to die, they would follow Femel and protect him to the end of days, it was done by design. Femel knew that, which partly explained why he was going so far, but that didn’t mean it had to end that way.
“Talk? With a criminal?” she spat to the ground, raised her hand above her head into a fist, at the bottom of the fist, light gathered, ready to be unleashed. “You should stop looking down at those above you, kid” her fist started to descend, then it was stopped, the Primas made their way through and slashed her wrist, elbow and armpit, the joint sections. By focusing on her attack, Uel had to give up her defences, the constructs had learned that when they watched her melt one of them with her hand.
“Fine, if all you can think of me is some worthless piece of human trash, then I bid farewell, tell my parents I sent you as a gift” from above, Omega’s fist descended, the weight of the construct so great, that it made a large noise as it fell and changed the surrounding pressure of the air. As Uel tried to get away from its path, the Primas clutched her limbs, other constructs attaching themselves to their blades instead of limbs, and form a root-like pattern, which would force Uel to move a few tons of mass before being able to move. Seeing no escape out of it, she placed her left arm above her hand, and braced for impact. Before she could feel anything, closing her eyes, she waited for the impact. Nothing happened, she opened her eyes and the giant fist of the construct stood above her head, stopping mere centimetres away from her head. Looking down, she could see a boy a bit less than a third her heigh, standing in front of Amel, who was looking at him with shocked eyes.
“Enough brother! She shouldn’t die,” Femel words were fierce, his face stern and his body firm, ready to confront his brother. Amel didn’t understand his brother’s actions. Even amongst the countless simulations, one which led to this moment, except his brother wasn’t into it, Femel would simply watch, as he does, and not intervene in any capacity. He was different, something inside his brother had changed, no, he just couldn’t see it, that his brother cared truly for those around him, unlike Amel who only saw people as tools in general. Something to use and discard, forget about in some place. “The other three are watching, what do you think will happen after?”.
“Oh, I wasn’t going to kill her, Femi, I was just going to knock some sense into her,” his voice was playful, a clear smile on his face, and Uel couldn’t help but feel terrified by the boy. He was going to kill her, take her life, and then simply forget it, she could tell. ‘Something like this can’t be allowed,’ she thought, looking at the opportunity below her. Amel was hard to reach, but kill this other criminal, and the other will fall in line, too stunned by his death to move. “Besides, brother,” he pointed at her, “she’s the one who aimed for my neck. All I did was simply defend myself.”.
Femel looked up at Uel, saw her glaring brown eyes staring down on him, thinking of something. He then looked at her bleeding arm and body. He thought she was of no more threat. “Look at her! What do you think she can possibly do in her condition?”.
“Right, you weren’t here to see it. But she was a step away from killing me, you know?”. Femel didn’t know what to trust, his brother’s words, or the scene before him. Uel was constricted by the constructs from leaving, while Omega was ready to push her into the ground, possibly killing her. He couldn’t make sense of things, as he didn’t know nor he understood how these people, with so much power, could arrive at a conclusion without cutting each other’s necks. Then, Femel thought there would only be one way to stop his brother, achieving half of that by standing in his way, the other half would be to make him stop from attempting to kill her in an unseen manner.
“Our kingdom, who do you think will follow us? Who do you think will let us be? You have to ask yourself these things, Amel” Femel told his brother who had thought about such things hundreds of thousands, no, millions of times. He knew Amel had the answer, but didn’t know which one he chose.
“No one has to follow us, and no one has to let us be. I will ensure both these things won’t be an issue,” his eyes started to glow, and the air around started to feel different. “And it starts here, with her dying and me standing atop her corpse. So the others can see that us, those which they cast aside and hunted like animals, have the power to drive a knife into their presumptuous backs,” it was the worst answer Femel would have expected. His brother’s morals and virtues were long corrupted, but it was visible then that they were gone. He couldn’t blame Amel for the way he became, the hell he endured was what allowed him to see heaven amidst the chaos.
Uel laughed to herself, the sound of it filling the silent air. Amel watched her carefully, sending information to the Primas attached to her to cut her neck the moment she attempted something Femel, since he was sure she was going to. “You fools,” she said in a grave tone, “a kingdom? People following you? That is not for the sinners to have, but for the righteous to get. And you” she pointed at Amel, Femel watching from below and sensing something about her changing, she was preparing to do something. “You’re the worst there is,” Amel didn’t have time to scream, and Femel couldn’t see it, the light gathering at her fingertip. His mind was able to process it faster than his body was able to move and make a noise. He sent the signal to all the Primas, but they too were too slow, as the woman showed a strength and speed beyond comprehension. With a pull back of her arm, and then going below, her finger touched Femel’s chest, an explosion engulfing him, her and the Primas.