The sky was a hazy dark, smog and mist clung to the world in a thin veil of white moisture yet to condense. The Sun had not yet peeked over the horizon, but rays of white and gold warped the dark blue of the sky wherever they touched. The Moon hung in the sky in its half formed silver visage, and the far away stars winked to non existence one by one as night gave to day.
The wind was quiet, the people few, just waking up. On the road separating what had been two camping grounds of clans shortly united, only half a camp was still left. It has been days since the Ru Clan accepted the mantle of Scavenged and they had made great strides in fitting in. Ru Wai himself had entered the Council and had quickly captured an important position with his knowledge, and the services his clan offered. The Ru Clan had officially become a big part of a new home, in only a few days, showing adaptability that was only to be praised, so rapid and efficient it could not be envied.
On the other hand the Laertis Clan had stayed on the outskirts of the town, under constant watch by Anthony and his squad of riders, and even the foot soldiers of the Union. A gloomy, deathly black aura clung to their visage, their steps dark and heavy, even the children were poisoned by this mood. Trade had been initiated but never reciprocated, no extra support had been gained in the form of capable fighters, or weapons, or supplies. Xanthip’s word and promise had thus been carried out. They had trained, they had cultivated, they had prepared. A task force of some dozen Laertis men had gathered under the solemn banner of a blood red knife in between two piercing snake eyes. Archeseus was there, waiting from before the sun had fallen, through the cold night, for the squad to gather. A hushed promise with a brother in spirit being the only thing giving him peace. It was now that his final battle would begin. Eternal bliss was just a corner away. His son was living his own life away form the cancer he had nurtured. His clan would find new life under leadership more apt for the difficult times that were coming. If only Xanthip hadn’t been so sharp, so willing. It would have been an easy procedure and the cancer would have been removed without faults. Now another burden had been added on Archeseus’ shoulders. He had to let the rightful leader of the Clan return alive.
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Xanthip watched on with an aching heart as the tent flaps ruffled to a close. The crunching of dirt under Argea’s wheelchair sounded out as she pushed herself away from Xanthip, uneven and lonely.
In her hands clenched, a little knife, a wooden one given to children to train the small muscles hidden within themselves from a young age - the closest thing to a toy the Laertis offered. A thing of no importance to most adults in the Clan. Her old, callused, dirty, bloodied hand, wrapped is tightly, searching for warmth. “I’m sorry Alia, I can’t do better even after taking her from you.” She whispered to the spirit of Argea’s long dead mother. Her grave was shattered now, with no home she roamed the earth.
A terrifying desire to rush to the brave little girl, her daughter, and hug her and never let go called, it was so tough to resist it, it urged and cried, primal. It pushed her up from her bed, her muscles twitched and shouted, egging her on. Yet biting down on her tongue Xanthip barely managed to stop herself. Because a love torn and weathered called as well, a troubled love, so old she could barely remember it at this point. It beckoned her his way.
Backwards attitudes would suggest that responsibility and acting against ones will for the shake of the family were the right things to do. The heart rending pain Xanthip had to bare as she packed her little bag of supplies and gathered all her most lethal weapons on her person would argue for the opposite if it could. She gave one last look at her empty tent. No lantern, no chairs, no fire, only a large sleeping back cut open and fitted with a large woolen blanket. Xanthip closed her eyes wanting to burn the depression of Argea’s sleeping form on the makeshift bed in her mind. Just the shadow of her existence was enough to burn her passion once more, she would return.
She pulled the tent flaps apart and walked out to the cold mist of the more.
She walked with eyes closed shut, in a breath she blew past what could only be Argea held by someone else. Xanthip could tell from the sound of her breath, the tear droplets falling to the ground, from the warmth that traveled downwind, that kissed her freezing cold skin. From the muffled cries, the smell of her hair. It was her, she was sobbing. An unknown hand pushed her forth, guided her in the dark and she found herself standing next to him, right behind his shoulders under the blood banner of the proud Laertis.
“You shouldn’t have come Xanthip. You have so much more to do. So much more you have to do, things only You can do.”
“You think I gave you this position so you could give up on it and go crying to your wife? Foolish little brother of mine.” Xanthip responded. Only now opening her eyes to the rising sun. Its dark golden light melding with her irises. From the coal black of her eyes,a dark, abyssal blue burst forth. A chilling breeze smacked the siblings in the face. A sobering shiver traveled down both their spines as, old fossils, fathers, and former fathers gathered in neat lines behind them. Blazes burning within their eyes, a seething fire bubbled and grew, made manifest by their stoked hatred and fire.
Right before the order was to be given two desperate, shivering, people rushed past the group and grabbed onto Xanthip. Two parents, gone in their years, with gray hair cut short, two freezing old women fell to their knees and whimpered. “Please, you are the only one we can trust with this! Search for our son Ru Feng! He never came underground. We were forced to run without him. We left him behind!” They cried. Xanthip crouched down and cleared the tears running down the elders cheeks and around their dark baggy eyes. “I promise, after the battle I will search for any sign of him. I will do my best. Despite our Union being short lived, we still were one single clan for a moment in time. And that means we’re family. Doesn’t it ladies?” She helped the two of them up. And saw as the two of them were gingerly dragged away by Miss Ru and a few of the women her age. The women thanked Xanthip profusely, despite her not doing anything. It was the hope that they were grateful for. Xanthip sighed.
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Archeseus lifted a closed fist to the skies. There was no need for words. He opened his palm, calves tensed, faces hardened, anticipation gripped the hearts of everyone in the scene. The Arm was brought down, cutting the sun in half. The Death Squad exploded forward, a black surge of Qi darkening the world, mixing in with the rays of sunlight as if in a struggled, two flames of opposite natures.
From far behind, Argea, who was being held by Ru Shi couldn’t help it. “MOM! You better come back to me! I’ll be waiting!” She shouted, the only thing she could see was the black cloud of Qi. Tears flowed down Xanthip’s face as she resisted with bloodshot eyes from turning around. If she did, she’d give up on this mission, on her life so far, on her promises, on her character. She couldn’t. She had unfinished business. She pushed forward even harder. Her legs flying over the fields, galloping at a lightning fast pace, wilder than any horse, gazelle or cheetah could ever be. The group traveled for only minutes before they crossed into the changing climate area that led to the evergreen forests that the Laertis knew and loved. The single most stupid and dangerous mission undertaken by the Laertis Clan since the times of the Ancient Empire had begun.
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The same morning, only a few minutes later, Ru Shi nodded as she pushed Argea’s wheelchair past a pair of inconspicuous guards, plenty of them were scattered around the blocks and roads of tents and dirt of the Mongolian styled city, before slithering in a tight gap between two tents, she took a turn seemingly on the other side only to disappear. She picked up Argea and descended the steps, carved in the earth, silently through the dirt, leaving the tent unfurnished, unused, empty.
Argea twitched with silent anticipation, her fists held in front of her as if to guard from a threat as lights lit up the short, small, hallway that twisted and spun in the underground. It opened up to a steel door with a number punching machine mounted on its lock. Ru Shi did the thing, the spy movie thing and the two of them entered the underground lair of the army men she had contacted. The army had worked fast, and a familiar face was before her, the war torn veteran look tossed aside for a dash of aroma and a neatly cared for beard.
“Joseph. You came quickly.” Ru Shi called out and the medic turned around with a grand smile. “It’s been a while Ru Shi, Joseph Carter. Intelligence Agent and loyal dog of Sir David. I bark yes at his every order.” The two shook hands much to Argea’s continued excitement. Her still red eyes grew larger the more time went by. Her tears forgotten in spy-excitement. It was time for some Spy-business, Spusiness.
“Of course. It seems everyone here, likes David quite a bit.” Ru Shi said as she followed Joseph. This meeting did not come as a surprise, nor his true identity. When ol’David had decided to trust her word, when she had been brought to talk by Anthony, things had been explained plainly, not much later. Their mission here in the underground was simple. ‘Knock some sense into those Overeager Fledglings and Protect the earth. Finally a cause worth fighting for.’ David had said in his gravely, cigarette abused voice. His voice reminiscent of the sound tires made as they drove on gravel roads, or how a boulder being split apart a hundred times would sound.
“How come you brought your little friend today? Are you baby sitting?” Joseph asked before they entered David’s office, separated by a ceiling high wall. Argea scowled at the man.
“Be careful what you say. She might kill you on the spot.” Ru Shi warned. To Which Argea looked up, shocked. “You honestly think I’d kill him for looking down on me? Come on Ru Shi, you know me better than that. I’d have to find his family first.” Argea smiled ear to ear.
Shivers traveled down Joseph’s spine as tufts of black Qi swirled behind her, bewitching, fox like tails danced in an impressive show of control. Not that Joseph or any other normal human would understand the sheer talent and ability she showcase, whether integrated or not. Despite that Joseph had a good brain on his head and he hurriedly opened the door and entered. Leaving the two girls giggling to themselves.
The moment they entered the same rough voice dug a few words out of the deep recesses of its throat. “You brought the advertised ‘controller’ with you? And it just so happens she is only, what, 12 years old?”
“I am turning 11 soon thank you very much, scarred mister. Happy to be here. I want to help, and I am the best we have right now. Nice to meet you, I’m Argea.” Argea rolled forward and pushed herself out of her chair, gripping onto the large conference table, polished to a shine. She extended a hand forward, placing weight on her feet as growths of dark Qi with a hint of white, whimsical almost Qi, supported her. “David O’Donnell. Nice to meet you young lady. How come one as young you is the best from a Clan of supposed Cultivators, who knew of this Qi as you call it since time immemorial? No one left in your Clan of fanatic revenge fetishists?” David did not mince words. Though he probably could with the sheer gravel his throat pound to life.
“Only second best. Brother Atlas is better. My Manipulation comes from talent. The Qi seems to listen to me well.” Argea sat back down after growing way too tired to hold herself up, she turned to Ru Shi, her eyes burning with a tornado, her back supported with purpose. “Isn’t this exciting? Shi?” She spoke honestly. For the first time in her life she would not be sitting around doing nothing. Qi had indeed brought her new life. And it was getting better by the day. Despite the ups and downs, and the anxiety she felt as Xanthip traveled with haste to a mission that had no meaning, a thing that only but further destroyed the integrity and pride of the Laertis people., she finally had something of her own, a path.
“Then Listen up. I’ll be recapping the plan. The NUN despite its fresh and split up nature is still a democratic institute at its core. Hence all we need to do is gather support against the army’s activities, blow the situation up enough to reach the highest echelon’s ears and have them hear us out. Once they do that, we will need you two.” David spoke with a slow measured authority. He pointed to the two girls, that stuck out like two left feet in this dusty, dirty, soldier banker that stunk of all types of musk. “Will act as if you do not know each other and represent the alternative, the dream, the straw, the rope, the escape. As long as your magic manages to convince them that we do not need the tower of the foreigners they will stop challenging it and wasting money and men. That is the simple version. We’ll need a whole lot of marketing, a whole lot of passion, and some acting chops. If you’ll be up to it. Ladies.” He finished with a half drunken smile, his eyes alight.
“Please, Mister. I know you’ve gone to battle and killed people. But we come from the Clans. You wouldn’t understand the tasks we are put through. This is not gonna be my first, nor my biggest challenge yet. I’ll knock the arrogance right out of their system’s. They’ll see what ‘Old’ power really is.” Argea sassed David with the mightiest of finger snaps.
His gravely voice tore up the bunker as he laughed uproariously at the attitude. He smacked Joseph on the back, toppling the man over. “If only you were half as good as little Argea here I’d have had you lead the Intelligence department long ago!” Joseph couldn’t help but whimper, more in pain than angry about the statement. There were no if’s in war. Lesson number a Veteran learned in war.