The cohorts were united in their decision, and while Moyo had no hand in it, he couldn’t help but feel proud. His guard and masters were not stupid, not by a long shot, they had seen reason with his argument and had decided unanimously. A hundred of the strongest ascenders from each cohort, led by their commander and guard leader would accompany the titan blade to the planet of Molrik. A genuine and sound tactical strategy seeing as they had no idea what they would be facing down below on the planet. The green ball of pure abyssal power pulsed with unholy energies, Moyo standing at the command deck of the defiance and staring at the planet in the distance.
He had declined the call of the thousand blades and the armada council to attend a briefing, sending a reluctant Idris in his place who genuinely didn’t want to be in the presence of angry powerful beings that may or may not lash out at him. He had felt when Mardar probed the shields of his ship, shola informing him of the gentle intrusion, allowing the jade ruler to manifest through a pathway right in the command deck. He turned to face the ruler who stood silently behind him,
“Mardar” Moyo said softly, turning to the jade,
Mardar nodded respectfully to Moyo,
“Moyo” he replied,
“Is there any problem?” Moyo asked,
“You were absent during the meeting, I wondered if everything was fine” Mardar said,
“I simply wasn’t in the mood, not in my current state of mind” Moyo said,
“I can understand, this would be your first inter-galactic war of such a proportion” Mardar replied,
“Is that an excuse for the deaths we enabled?” Moyo asked,
“No, it is simply the way things have been in the archailect Moyo, it’ll continue to be so, as long as the abyss exist” Mardar said,
“a never-ending grind against the eventuality of death” Moyo murmured,
“Indeed, I won’t lie, I’ve always found it distasteful as well if you ask me” Mardar said, Moyo glancing at him,
“but then again, I spent my entire childhood and adult existence learning the sacred arts of the jades, training to battle and kill since I was young, it is the only way I know” the jade said,
“There has to be another way, another way to end the menace of the scourge, we can’t keep on going like this” Moyo argued,
“And I totally agree titan blade, but look around, we’re in a desperate situation, first we need to excise the sore the abyss has implanted in our reality before we can even consider any other options” Mardar replied,
“What about finding ways to totally eradicate the different aspects of the abyss?” Moyo asked,
Mardar snorted,
“you think you’re the first to think of that?, it’s been argued, it’s been said in theory, but the lords of the abyss haven’t been in one place, not like this, not in a long time, too risky for them” Mardar replied,
“So you’re saying this war is totally unprecedented?” Moyo asked, frowning,
There had been a war before that, were the records wiped?, censured and kept from the histories of the archailect?, Mardar nodded,
“Exactly, this is the chance to get the lords together and take them down in one fell swoop, end the threat to the archailect once and for all” Mardar argued,
Moyo stared at the jade ruler in silence, thoughts swirling through his head,
“where are the harbingers?, the primordials and the ancients of the archailect?, why don’t they actively participate?” Moyo asked,
“I get that they are needed for the final battle, but are they fine with the deaths of hundreds of thousands?” he asked,
“they are primordials and harbingers for a reason, their paths to powers have been lined with the blood of thousands, no one gets that level of power without a few hundred deaths” Mardar stated frankly,
Moyo tapped one finger on his arm, displeased with the reply but not voicing his reply,
“Any news?” he asked,
“we move soon, are your forces in order?, do you need more time?” he asked,
Moyo heard the unspoken words loud and clear,
Do you need more time to grieve?
“No, my assigned teams are ready” Moyo replied,
“Assigned teams?” Mardar asked, one eyebrow raised,
“correct, the bulk of my forces will be staying behind and returning to one of my worlds” Moyo said,
Mardar looked surprised for a brief second,
“surprising, that’s a bold move, are you sure?, the planet is shrouded from even my gaze, and I won’t be able to call on my lord, spent that just keeping us alive back on the fortress” Mardar said,
“and yet we go to face odds unknown, against what would no doubt be the bulk of the forces of the mutator” Moyo said,
“we falter and we lose the momentum, besides, between me and you, there are rumors brewing between the higher echelons of this war that the higher powers are about to make their move” Mardar said,
Moyo froze for a second,
“the harbingers?, primordials?, who?” Moyo asked,
Mardar shrugged,
“no idea, not high enough on the ladder if you can believe that” Mardar replied, Moyo scratched his beards,
“Very well, we stand ready” he said,
Mardar nodded,
“I can see you mean well titan blade, you value the lives of your subordinates, a trait missing in those who have reached the peak, perhaps there is hope for our generation after all” he said, opening a pathway and stepping through,
Idris coincidentally came through the doors to the command deck, glancing at the pathway that closed up beside him in curiosity. Walking to Moyo, he bowed a little,
“My lord” he said,
“We were just paid a visit by the jade” Moyo said softly,
“a direct consequence of the things I heard during the meeting no doubt” Idris said wincing,
“Chaos no doubt?’ Moyo asked,
“One sided, the thousand blades went on a rampage, threatened to withdraw his forces from the entire war” Idris said,
Moyo whistled in astonishment
“That bad?” he asked,
“indeed, the planetary forces under the thousand blades lost more than fifty percent of their forces, there are talks of calling for reinforcements, but this close to the end of the first half of the battle and the sort of foes we’ll be facing down there?, they’ll be nothing but fodder” Idris said,
“Guessed as much, what was the final decision?” he asked,
“All forces are to gather those willing to go at their discretion, quite similar to what we want, except the thousand blades has decreed that no more than five hundred from his entire fleet” Idris reported,
“I’m guessing the brigade generals didn’t like that one bit?” Moyo asked with a wry smile,
Idris nodded chuckling,
“apparently, we are the tools of the supreme beings and our responsibility to dive headfirst into whatever forces we face, laying our lives down if need be” he replied,
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“I could see Altair blowing his fuse at that” Moyo said frowning, remembering the lashing out of the thousand blades,
“he may have restricted those two brigade generals from entering his galaxy, his words not mine though” Idris said,
Moyo nodded at the news,
“it seems things are still on track I guess, go, prepare the troops, we move soon” Moyo said,
Idris nodded, glancing at the green glowing planet and frowning,
“I don’t have a good feeling about this particular battle” Idris said,
“no one does” Moyo murmured,
****************************
Vesh phantom scourge floated above the thousands upon thousands of forces, children of the lord mutator who came at the call of the great lord himself. Scores of Devigian priests, the three remaining servants of Molrik at his side and a being encased in metal, glowing green eyes and runic symbols etched on its metal form. The metal being glanced skywards,
“They come” it said, its voice having a techno sound to it,
“Even the blind can sense them, or has the loss of your mortal form deprived you of your ability to think?” Vesh lashed out,
The being squeezed its fists tight, glancing at the phantom scourge with its cold gaze. Vesh returned the look with an almost feral grin, but below the mask was a cold anger, praying to the ravaging powers that the being so much as lifted a finger in her direction. Nursing thoughts of immolation, a servant of Molrik stepped between them, its grey skin also etched with the runes of the mutation and decay. It glanced at the both of them, its mottled face and large dark green eyes cold hard,
“We as children of the lord cannot afford to fight, not when those blasphemers are at our gates” it said, pleadingly,
Vesh phantom scourge snarled and turned away, stretching out her hand as a large halberd formed in her hand, a weapon forged in the unholy flames of the forges of the domain of Molrik himself. Vesh glanced behind her where Muttite priests sacrificed both human slaves and fellow creatures of the mutator who had willingly laid their lives down in front of an altar. She only needed to buy time to finish the plan, touching the scar on her face that refused to heal, she snarled in anger.
If only she had been around to go along with her follow brothers to end the thorn that was the titan blade and the ancients along with him. Instead, she had been drawn to the very edges of the realm of Molrik, where the omega blade had been tearing his way right through the realm of the mutator, intent on by passing the realm to make it to the planet dire itself. What had proceeded that had been a massacre on a scale even Vesh shuddered at,
It was unnatural she thought,
A bit ironical, even hypocritical when viewed from the inhabitants of the archailect, but Vesh knew better. The abyss and the archailect were both two sides of the same coin, light and darkness, both sides of creation and destruction. Reeling back from the beating, saved by the timely intervention of lord Molrik himself, she had returned to the news of her fellow elites dead. She silently blamed the plan of the lord mutator, allying with the brotherhood of the undying hand. They were supposed to be a means to an end, used and discarded, and yet they were now an integral part of their plans.
She glanced back to the sky, letting the servants of Molrik retreat back to the sacrificial circle where the runes were now glowing. Soon enough their plans would be complete and the efforts of even the greatest powers of the archailect, barring the supreme beings would be useless in the face of what was coming. Down below, she signaled to the Devigian priests who bowed and wept, prostrating themselves fully before the magnificence of the presence of an elite and the favored servants of Molrik himself.
Dragging out her latest batch of creations, large heavy looking creatures with decayed fleshy appendages, long necks and teeth that belonged only in the jaws of savage canines. They were a mixture of the unnamed races currently living in the domain of the mutator deep within the abyss, where their unnatural existences had been prolonged by the mere presence of the mutator himself. Watching as their lumbering forms were coaxed out of the confines of the metal cages they were kept, Vesh closed her eyes and savored the power of Molrik that suffused the entire planet, snapping open her eyes. She would bring an end to the march of the archailect on this planet, she would avenge her fallen elites, brothers with whom she had defended the realm of Molrik from both fellow abyssal lords and jades together, besides, she had a debt to pay back to the omega blade.
Feeling the presence of the ships draw ever close to the planet, she turned to the large spire behind her, muttering a few words as the structure glowed brighter, releasing more abyssal energies, the very crust of the planet itself slowly terraforming into a fleshy membrane-like structure. Taking a deep breath, her eyes glowing, she summoned her entire war gear. Helm and armor adorning her body, she spoke,
“The time draws near, we cannot afford to fail the great mutator here, not now, not anymore” she said, glancing at all the great powers of the mutator arrayed behind her, her eyes pausing for a fraction of a second on the metallic being.
They nodded and dispersed to their assigned positions all over the planet, each a conduit for the main runic workings that were going on behind her, and knowing the powers of the archailect, they’d be coming straight for her. This would not be the first time she had faced and killed rulers, and she was sure it won’t be her last as well, and with a grim smile, she prepared to increase her tally.
****************************************************
The ships of the archailect drew ever closer, ship mistress Urne nit down on her lip nervously, glancing between the large holographic display and the planet in question. Already the arcane generals and the ancient thousand blades had to use their auras and authorities to burn away most of the effects of the abyssal energies from their growing proximity with the world. It spoke of how steep the planet was entrenched in the abyss, their HUD’s already fizzling out a long time ago, they were now at the mercies of their inherent strengths. If there was anything she had learnt from reaching the rank of diamond, it was that she was glad not to be some low levelled ascender.
Her aether and mana currently trying its best to purge the effects and terror the powers of the abyss tried driving into her body, it was a miracle the golds were still standing, mostly in part to the protection of the rulers and masters. She approved of the titan blades orders of nothing short of gold rank coming along for what she was beginning to view as a suicidal mission, for whatever creatures were on that planet, she seriously doubted they were your average abyssal creatures. True arcane power resided on that planet, and if she went by the frown that was currently plastered on the face of the titan blade, then she was grateful she wouldn’t be deploying with the ground troops.
Still, she muttered words of prayers for them to the supreme beings, no matter how far from their blessed lights she and the rest of the armadas were. Glancing at the constantly updating information from the holographic image, she spoke,
“my lord, we are currently at firing distance from the planet, sensors show no reaction from the planet below, but aspect crystal shields are now coming online” she said, glancing at the titan blade who had a stoic looking Idris at his side, primordial and champion both calmly assessing the situation,
“Good, inform all battleships of the legion, prepare for deployment on the orders of the armada” the titan blade replied,
She bowed a bit,
“I comply” she replied before turning and sending the message to the ships,
A signal came from the flagship of the thousand blades, and as ordered before, all ships of the armada opened fire on the planet. Blistering, bright and powerful lances of pure destruction shot towards the planet, illuminating the dark expanse of space around the planet. It was a sight to see, one that never ceased to amaze Urne whenever she viewed it, but what happened next had her eyebrows rising in astonishment and trepidation.
A planet wide runic circle came to life around the planet, absorbing the attacks like foam absorbing water, neutralizing the attacks immediately. As if that was not bad enough, alarms began ringing on the ship as abyssal pathways tore open and the large mutation organisms that acted as carrier ships for the forces of the mutator tore out, in hundreds, each making a beeline for the armada,
“Commander, incoming forces!” one of the golds on the command deck shouted,
Urne was close to cursing in her tongue, rage in her eyes as she started shouting out orders,
“Divert all firepower to the aether cannons, inform all battleships to redirect attention to the incoming enemies, burn them out of our reality” she growled,
Immediately all the ships in the legion turned their weapons to the incoming vessels, Urne once again saying a prayer to commander Ahib of the artillery division for adding additional weapons to the battleships to rival even the defiance. Watching as the ships of the enemy replied in turn as well, firing green lances of power that splashed against the shields of the ship, sending a slight tremor through the structure itself.
She was about to bark out orders again when she felt the presence of general commander Idris by her side, a light tap of his fingers on her shoulder. Turning to glance at him, she saw a grave look on his face, the champion of the titan blade speaking,
“Apologies, but is it possible that the teleportation array of the ship could get us down to the planet below the moment the shields are cracked?” he asked softly,
Urne’s eyes widened at what the Geb hand implied, glancing at the titan blad whose eyes were shut tight, gripping the blade known to every member of the legion as dominion in his hand, a look of intense concentration on his face. She turned back to Idris,
“But my lord” she started,
“We have no idea where or what we’d be dropping you into, the planet is totally shrouded from our long range scanners, we’re not even sure communication constructs would work down there!” she protested,
Idris gave her a slight smile,
“Let us deal with that, the question is, will it be possible?” he asked again softly, making sure not to draw the attentions of the concentrating ship members that shouted out commands to themselves,
Taking her eyes away from him to the table in front of her, tapping a few prompts into the holographic display, she shook her head vehemently,
“Negative lord general, without a position for the teleportation array to lock on to, it would be totally impossible for the teleportation array to send you through” she replied,
Freezing as a thought came to her,
“Unless….no, it’s too risky” she murmured to herself,
“What is too risky?” Idris asked,
Glancing up to him, unaware she had muttered those words out, she looked reluctant to speak,
“Commander Ahib has been testing out a new form of deployment method, totally unsafe as of now, but he calls it the puncher, I would not advise such a method” she said hastily,
“I see and what does this puncher do?” Idris asked, eyes glancing at the planet as two bright balls of fire, a glowing figure wreathed in white flames and a purple giant wielding a large blade appeared close to the planet,
Urne stared slack jawed, the purple figure looking and feeling familiar before she realized,
Is that the titan blade? She thought to herself,
“Urne, we have no time, what is the puncher?” Idris asked urgently,
Jolting her back from another instance of powerful beings she had just witnessed, she paused,
“Perhaps its best if Ahib told you himself she said,
“Very well, call him” Idris replied,
A few seconds later, Ahib was on a holographic screen,
“Lord general Idris, I hear you require my attention and one of my budding inventions” the android said,
“Yes, what is this puncher of a construct?’ Idris asked,
The android looked pleased with himself as he answered,
“I’m glad you asked” lord general he said, his voice a warble over the pounding noise of the ship’s cannons,
The battle for planet Molrik had finally begun.