The arrival of the titan blade back on his planet domain was met with as little fanfare as possible despite his resounding victory at the trial, Ashira had gone back to her forces, preparations for the final push into the system laden with abyssal energies already underway, the celebrations were called off as the war council sent a single word to the entire forces of the archailect,
Prepare….
It had driven operations into overdrive, Moyo hastily leaving with Idris and his sect leaders back to his domain, finally naming it Ibere,
Genesis,
A fitting name for his new beginnings, Gaia may be his origin, but Ibere would serve as his main headquarters and abode, it would serve as his main fortress as well. Gathering the entire body of powers that made clan titan blade itself, they retreated to his palace that Moyo rapidly realized was as big as a kingdom,
No, it was an entire continent nation unto itself,
Tall gleaming walls made of pure Aserite, paved floors of mithril and the strongest from the sects, order and legion manned the walls and every inch of the palace itself, spiders of the Anansi sect already looking for infiltration spots and mapping them out for reinforcement. Deep within the palace, in a room shrouded from view both physically and through scrying, the major powers of the clan met. Moyo sitting at the head of the table and his sect leaders and pontiff Matthew all around him, kneeling on one leg,
“do you swear to abide by my rules and tenets?, to protect the weak and stand up for those under you, to rule with fairness, justice and morality, to never stray from this path for as long as you serve under me?” he said,
“We swear, by the name of the titan blade and by the archailect, we swear” they chorused as one,
In a rush of power, titan aspect flooded their bodies and then some, filling the room with the pure aspect of the titan as the very purple walls of Aserite glowed with power, the foundations of the room groaning from the sheer strength of his aspect. Just as fast as it had started, it ended, but this time, master ranked power filled the room itself. Martha, Boyle, josh, Annika, Ayo and Samantha all stood as one, their very paths cracking and evolving under his power.
When it was over, the paths of his clan leaders and pontiff had all evolved into an upgraded form from rare ranks to legendary ranks all.
Martha evolved from the web weaver to the shadow weaver her legendary path as a master better suited for her clandestine purposes of her sect, infact, if not for his aspect flowing through her, she was literally invisible to him despite his eyes telling him she was right in front of him. It was a bit scary and spooky all at once as Moyo realized no one except maybe powerful rulers, ancients and those beings of true power in the archailect would be able to sense her, and given the shadow in her path, she was definitely immune to scrying and the likes from that point onwards.
Annika, the storm empress had evolved into the storm seeker, her path now completed with the combined powers of lightning and storms now her very being. She sparked with her elements as her spear floated next to her and her lighting filled eyes now with a hint of thunderstorms, still staring at her hands, Moyo realized just how much power resided within her now and smiled, the storm seeker was a growing power unto herself.
Boyle on the other hand now saw his path evolved into that of the forge lord and bore the most physical of the changes. His hair now glowed with blue flames from within, his eyes smoldering hot coals of fire that glowed also and his hands were blackened to the elbow as if he wore gloves of tar, red and blue runes of fire glowing on them. His hammer also bore a measure of his power as the Aserite metal somehow cracked, blue and red lines of glowing fire from within it reflecting the strength of the forge hammer now represented.
Ayo had also evolved from the path of the crimson huntress to the path of the crimson eye, her eyes had evolved to that of an avian, glowing with fire from within and above her head, an eye appeared as well, mirroring her eyes and stared all around. Moyo felt it gazing at him, somehow trying to dispel whatever shroud he might have put up and realized that her accuracy and sight just entered a whole knew realm entirely, nothing would be hidden from her gaze, not as far as she wanted to find such thing.
Idris though saw a deviation from his path into something unique, his very body glimmered as if made from Aserite itself, his frame had grown bigger and he was close to the titan’s height, standing at a close eight feet to the titan’s ten. His arms were bulkier but Moyo could see the coiled muscles that spoke of strength unparalleled as a master, his body adorned with runes that Moyo realized came from him, for they spoke of the strength of the titan and blessings from his path. The titan grinned, seeing a rune he realized was his crest now etched into the chest of his champion and felt the unparalleled connection between champion and primordial,
Idris Geb hand had evolved into the titan fist,
The titan’s weapon in his hand had now settled to a broadsword, Moyo could feel it, the blade resonating with his aspect fully, the titan fist’s access to his aspect now unlimited. The titan fist stood as an unbreakable weapon of destruction, Moyo’s gaze going from him to Annika, unsure if the storm seeker’s powers could even hurt the fist. Idris squeezed his fists and Moyo could see reality subtly warp at that gesture,
Samantha as well had undergone evolution to her path, judging from the eight orbs of power that hovered at her sides, four on the left and another four on the right, each glowing with a unique elemental power. Fire, earth, water and air, hovered at her left, while lightning, light, darkness and what appeared to be a swirling vortex he assumed to be spatial magic hovered on her right. Coupled with her knowledge of runes had evolved her path into that of the arcane elemental.
Josh, like his predecessor saw an upgraded form of his path, his Warhammer rippled with barely controlled aura of the path of the titan’s sentinels, armour of liquid mithril rippling over his form and his very presence enlarged, the steel sentinel path evolving into that of a mithril warden. Like the metal, josh’s form had grown to monstrous levels of strength, second only to that of his predecessor Idris, the warden stood like a block of solid mountain, his hammer bigger, his body bigger and the barely restrained power that rumbled beneath his very pores, begging to be let loose spoke of a path Moyo wouldn’t want to face if he were an ordinary master.
Moyo finally turned is gaze to the controversial figure that floated a few feet above the ground, a halo of purple ring behind his head and a large grimoire looking book with the crest of the titan glowing from its hardened Aserite and leather-bound cover. A black and purple glowing crozier held in his other hand, the pontiff Matthew like a key looking for its lock had finally found the true path he had wanted. Moyo frowned a bit at what that meant as the pontiff now wielding the path of the titan herald took a knee before him.
Robed alight with purple and gold fire, head bowed and halo glowing, a mark of the bond of the herald’s bond with him, Moyo touched Matthew on his shoulder, the herald shuddering at the touch. He spoke, his voice filled with power,
“Herald Matthew, you have willingly chosen to follow my path, your faith in me while humbling comes with a measure of my doubt, tell me, my herald, what is my first edict?” he asked,
Matthew glanced up to stare into the eyes of the titan and pure power rippled through the room,
“To protect the weak” he uttered as a loud gong echoed around them,
Notice: the first edict of the order of the titan blade has been decided, “to protect the weak”. The order of the titan have decided to devote their very existences to go where those with power scorn, to protect as much of those who need help and to bring them into the protection of the titan blade!.
“My second edict?” Moyo asked, unperturbed by the archailect’s message,
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“To avenge the oppressed” Matthew said with more conviction this time as the crozier, the staff with a spiked orb of titan aspect glowed and burned with purple fire,
Notice: the second edict of the order of the titan blade has been decided, “to avenge the oppressed”. The order would suffer no oppression of the weak, avenging, their very motto and delivering justice their watchword!
“And my final edict?” Moyo said with a smile,
Matthew gripped the crozier tighter, the leather-bound book flipping open as glowing gold words began to scribble itself, the book of the titan attaining his full strength,
“Venerate the titan in emulation” he finished,
Notice: the final edict of the order of the titan blade has been decided, “venerate the titan blade in emulation”. Your very acts will be the perfection the members of your order strive towards, for every member that follows these edicts, your aspect would be bestowed in twofold on them, pushing them to greater heights, long may the order of the titan exist!.
The powers of clan titan blade stood as one, their eyes gleaming with conviction, Moyo smiling as he sighed,
“we’ve finally done it my friends, my family” he said,
“We now decide our own fate” he finished as they cheered as one,
Then a loud gong echoed,
Notice: clan titan blade has attained the pre-requisite to evolve their clan into a full-fledged house, proceed?. Y/N
The message appeared on all their Hud's Moyo pausing,
“Are you all seeing this?’ he asked, his breath seizing despite no need for such,
“Aye lord, we do” forge lord Boyle said,
“It is time” Martha shadow weaver said, a gleam in her eyes,
Moyo turned to the rest of them,
“As one?” he asked, his voice trembling,
They had forged Asa together, they had erected bastion from nothing, they had fought tooth and bloody nail for every inch of territory they had acquired, and yet, here they stood, on the precipice of something greater, something so daunting, Moyo hadn’t actually believed they could had done it. And yet, like the herald of good tidings, the message hung over them,
“together” Annika storm seeker said,
“Clan Anansi swears eternal fealty to the titan blade” Martha said stepping forward,
Moyo’s eyes widened at the words, Annika laughing as she stepped forwards too,
“Clan stormcallers swears eternal fealty to the titan blade” she said
“Clan hammers of Ogun swears fealty to the titan blade” Boyle forge lord said, eyes alight with flames,
“Clan titan’s sentinel swears fealty to the titan blade” josh mithril warden said as he went slammed his hammer on the ground,
“Clan dawn archers swears fealty” Ayo crimson eye said with a grin,
“The cult of the six-side swears eternal fealty to the titan blade” Samantha said, runes dancing within her eyes,
“I swear my allegiance to the titan blade, my fists and blade will be his to command” Idris said, slamming one hand to his chest
“And the order of the titan swears fealty to their primordial, long may your bright and burning light guide us through the horrors of the archailect” Matthew titan herald completed,
“Then it is decided” Moyo said,
“To house titan blade” Moyo said as he selected yes,
“TO HOUSE TITAN BLADE!” they roared,
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All across Gaia, notifications flared to life as every power on the planet sat up straight at the message,
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William, the golden high king of the imperial empire of Avalon laughed as he clapped, a smile on his face, grabbing his blade Excalibur, he shot through the window of his room in the palace, blade burning bright with light as he roared,
“he’s done it!”
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Perun, high chief of the federation roared as he raised his cup of wine, his warriors in the halls of battle roared in celebration despite the feast going on around them,
“We celebrate!” he roared,
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The Luke Finn opened a bottle of wine as shouts erupted around the capital of his continent, reclining on his chair, he smiled,
“Well, about time” he murmured,
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The soldier of the union, a silver ranker burst through the office of his general, jarring to a halt as he saluted,
“General ma'am!” he shouted, literally trembling with excitement,
“At ease sergeant” Cassandra raging fusion said, a cigar in mouth as her gold ranked commanders sat around her, whispering furiously to each other,
“we’re all seeing this” she said, closing her eyes as she dragged a long smoke, she spat the stub and spoke,
“gentlemen” she started as all eyes turned to her, behind her a golden icon of an eagle clutching the flag of the former state of America sat emblazoned,
“As of this moment, the union has cut ties with the construct empire, extend our sincerest apologies to lord talus Crestsun, but we are as at this moment, vassals of house titan blade” she commanded,
The room erupted in an uproar,
“With all due respect ma, they are rumoured to have a harbinger, whatever that is, as their patron, can we really afford to offend them?” he asked,
Cassandra smiled,
“Please, the titan blade would eat him for breakfast” she said with a chuckle.
***********************
Devesh of the Bharat empire fidgeted as he called Ba ji in vain, the emperor of the glorious empire refusing his calls, falling back on his throne, he took a deep shuddering breath,
“I’m a diamond” he whispered into the hollow halls as roars of cheering echoed outside his palace, chants of the titan blade filling the air,
‘I’m a diamond” he continued whispering over and over like a broken clockwork,
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The glorious empire was up in flames, roars came from outside the barricaded doors to the glorious palace, Ba ji gripping a blade with a blue sheen. A man dressed in armour burst into the room through a hidden door,
“Lord emperor!” he shouted, Ba ji and a rag tag of tired and ragged ascenders stood in a circle, poring over a large map with glowing red colour submerging the entire image, patches of blue circles winking out as Ba ji trembled in rage,
“We came so close” he growled,
“Report!” one of the men barked at the man that just entered,
“The rebels sir, they’ve taken the sentry positions, the artillery barracks have fallen to their hands lord, we no longer have any capital weapons” he said trembling,
Ba ji roared, smashing the table,
“So close!” he roared,
“And the rebels lord, they’re chanting” the man said trembling,
“Chanting?” another of the men asked,
“Yes lord” the trembling man replied,
“well?, spill it!, just what are they chanting?” Ba ji asked,
He already knew the answer though, but like a convict waiting for the swing of the executioner’s blade, he waited,
“Titan blade lord, they’re chanting the name of the titan blade” the man said as Ba ji flicked his hand and the head of the ascender fell of his shoulders, blood spurting.
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Over at Asa, the vice leaders of the sect met, initiating the protocols lady Martha shadow weaver had left behind in the possibility of such a situation such as this happening. All over the domains of the sects turn clans, noble sect leaders began to swear allegiance to their respective clans and the titan blade in particular, and the vice sect leaders awaited their next orders.
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Kairos and his bride Tiamat grinned as they sat opposite each other, at their respective sides stood their masters of their orders, a woman with barbed chain for her, the watchers and a man with many eyes blinking all at once at Tiamat's side, the wardens. The sage sat to their right, folding a scroll he had been reading, Eogan the green, master of the plantsmen standing at his side,
“Well?” Wukong started,
“Your pet project worked, no need to look so smug about it typhon” he grumbled,
“smug?, no, ecstatic, and now we can begin” typhon said as Tiamat giggled,
Wukong rolled his eyes as he grinned,
“can’t wait for things to start up again” he said as his golden eyes glowed,
*********************************
Xerxes stiffened as he received the information through his Hud, sighing,
“Come on” tania said from his side as she bumped his shoulder,
“It can’t be that bad” she continued,
“Easy for you to say” Xerxes grumbled,
Tania rolled her eyes with a smile on her mouth,
“Look on the bright side, now you can let him loose against the abyss” she said,
“Indeed, as if giving a mere child neigh omnipotent powers wasn’t bad enough” he grumbled as she kissed his forehead laughing out loud.
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Eses cosmic dragon grinned from her throne of white crystals, barely restraining her power as her ruler servant knelt close to her throne,
“Great dragon” the hooded figure said,
“Your daughter beseeches you oh great one, your last hatchling begs your eternal benevolence to come to the aid of her and her empire” he said,
“The Dracon empire can wait” Eses said with a grin, staring at the skull of her child Azar in front of her,
“Oh yes, it can wait” she whispered, giggling to herself
*************************************
Idris walked into a large hall in another part of the continent sized palace, here, the entire legion of the titan blade were lined up, banners flapping as the ten guard stood next to him. Dressed in his newly forged armour of thrice folded mithril, strapped to his side was the broadsword of the titan blade, runic inscriptions on its entire body and his arms covered in his arcane rank gauntlets that screamed with power.
As one, the entire legion knelt before him as he drew the weapon,
“Brothers, sisters, legionnaires!” he roared,
“We were at the beginning when impossible odds were arrayed before us, we fought, we bled and we buried our fellow brothers and sisters, but we grew stronger, oh yes, we did” he continued,
“By the protection of the titan blade, we have attained heights previously thought impossible, we stand at the precipice of something both grand and inspiring, you all, every single member of this legion is now a member of house titan blade” he roared,
“We will march for the titan blade!” he said as they roared as one,
“We fight for the titan blade!” more roars,
The blade glowed as purple flames wreathed its body,
“For the titan blade!” he finished,
“FOR THE TITAN BLADE!” thousands upon thousands of voices echoed, shaking the very grounds of the continent itself.