The large training hall aboard the defiance was a large room able to comfortably take the entirety of his former castle on Gaia, how that was possible, Moyo had no idea and simply chucked it up to the spatial aether magic running within his upgraded spaceship and fortress. The walls glittering with crystalline Aserite forged into pillars, a large Aserite throne sat on a pedestal, overlooking the entire sparring arena and tall glittering columns of pure Aserite and gold adorned the corners of the hall, leading to the large great mithril doors carved with images to the titan blade himself.
Moyo found it a little over the top, but Ashira had taken one look at it and nodded,
“Now, you live like a primordial” she had said,
Moyo held back his comment about how it was a waste of space, and he was seriously reconsidering said comment, seeing as the sheer size allowed him to spar on a level previously unseen. The large circular sparring space was big enough for a stadium and Moyo flexed his muscles slowly, feeling his titan’s might flowing through him. He attempted to tamp it down, seeing as he was about to face a set of diamonds and two master ranked beings, granted, he was a master as well, but he was also a primordial, which put them at a deadly disadvantage against him.
His eyes roamed across the participants of the supposed sparring march and winced again, wondering why he had agreed to such a preposterous idea,
The Shieldborne they called themselves,
The five strongest of the titan’s sentinels who stood guard over their clan, in a similar version of the Stormwardens Annika had, they were the best of the best the sentinels had to offer, and they had not been happy to learn that ten ascenders who were literally trained under their noses by the titan blade had taken their positions and by masters at that. They had presented their complaints to josh who took it up with him and Martha who had returned to Ibere to coordinate the running of the house along with the other clan leaders. Moyo had tried to explain to them, but the diamonds had literally prostrated themselves to beg his indulgence in proving they were up to the task,
But they were diamonds,
And so Moyo and Martha had gone back to the drawing table, Moyo complaining that he had too many organizations under the house, within his personal chamber, a place big enough to be a large condo, seating on soft foam-like materials, he had argued,
“We have the legion, we have the order, we have the clans, we have the titan guard, what use do I need for more protection?” he had asked,
Martha had played with a strand of shadow webs, phasing it in and out of reality, waiting for the rest to speak,
She had brought back the clan head's as well,
“I speak for the sentinels when I say that we were the first wall of protection when bastion was nothing but a stronghold, now we’ve protected Gaia and bastion with our very lives, I would not see us relegated to mere bystanders when the very core creator of the path of the titan’s sentinels journeys through space to battle” josh had said resolutely,
Martha had raised an eyebrow at that, amusement dancing on her lips, her first spider behind her, arms folded behind him, Ayo spoke next, her form shimmering with ethereal flames,
“Give them what they want Moyo, the sentinels have been the policing force of the entire continent, the people even started a saying” she started,
“Wherever there is a sentinel, there the titan moves” Martha completed,
Moyo glanced at her and then Forgelord, Boyle, who was busy tinkling with a piece of mithril in a semi-liquid state, floating inches over his open palm and changing shapes. He blinked, turning his smoldering gaze to Moyo with a smile,
“The Shieldborne, I like the sound of that” he had simply said,
He could see it was a losing battle, and he turned to Matthias who raised his hands up in mock surrender with a smile,
“The sentinels do the bulk of training for the order’s ascenders, the bulk of who go on to join the legion, they’re more than up to the task, they have my vote” he had said,
Moyo had sighed and reclined on his chair,
“One chance, in a spar against me, right?” he asked,
Martha had choked on a laugh at that, the preposterous idea of diamonds going up against him brining a smile to his lips as well. Josh hadn’t hesitated,
“You as a master against I and my sentinels” he pushed on,
“And I as well” Idris Geb hand, stepping forwards,
Moyo glanced at his champion, raising one eyebrow inquisitively,
Idris stared at his hands,
“I haven’t tested the full strength you’ve bestowed upon me; caution has held me back from dropping untold damage I can feel within my body, this would be the best chance to test that power, against you” he had said,
Moyo had stared for a few terse seconds, josh mithril warden hanging on to his every move, aware that his gambit had been played. Moyo was of the opinion to let him stew more in his indecision, he had relented though, nodding his acquiesce,
“You do realize that should you not last a full minute with me in this spar, you will maintain your positions as guardians of the house, right?” Moyo asked,
“We humbly want to be the wall between Ibere and your enemies, the shield between you and your foes, and I will prove it” the mithril warden said, eyes smoldering with mithril clad will.
They had finally settled for a duel within the defiance, with the entire force of the archailect stalled and the dispatch of the specialised teams to bring down the carnage striders, Moyo had opted to have the spar now to take the minds of his forces off the coming battles.
The Shieldborne surrounded him, josh and Idris both north and south of his position and the rest in a wide circle, careful of his every move despite the fact that he was restricted to the powers of a regular master. A floating member of the Hexenblades hovered above them on a shimmering jade colored disc, small floating master ranked constructs that relayed the image to the entire defiance, its hundreds of inhabitants watching with baited breaths. Then a loud gong echoed and they all sprang into action,
all except Moyo,
sage’s sight and Digi aye laid down, he observed their movements with keen interests, watching as aether and powerful force aura moved together in harmony through their form, preparing for their barrage of attacks at the same time. He took a deep breath and grinned, tamping down his flow of veneration and using simply a drop of his aspect, but it was enough. He felt seven separate realms clamp down on him with brutal efficiency and smiled, the seamlesness, the perfect overlapping of pure force aura mixed with different flavors of individual path powers made for a crushing master ranked restriction,
no ordinary master would be able to move a single muscle,
Moyo moved with ease, coating himself with aspect has he literally brute forced his way through their realms, going straight for his two masters. The sentinels neither flinched nor showed signs of the pure agony they must had felt when he had broken through their realms, their eyes locking in on him with pure concentration,
“Two points for the sentinels” he chuckled to himself,
The first diamond to step in his path was a hulk of a man even by sentinel standards, nearly reaching his size, the man crashed his way towards him, whispering two skills into activation, Moyo frowning at that, known as Aldric Stonefist on the path of iron juggernaut, the behemoth glowed with silvery aura and authority,
- Unstoppable Charge: Aldric charges forward with incredible force, bulldozing through obstacles and enemies in his path without slowing down.
- Unbreakable Fortitude: Aldric taps into his indomitable will, temporarily gaining immense stamina and resistance against debilitating effects.
“First rule in the wider archailect” Moyo said as he literally watched Aldric crash into his fist and flip through the air with blurring speed,
“don’t call out your skills, that’s an acolyte level mistake” he said as he shot past the Stonefist,
He felt the sentinel right himself with a snarl, attempting to reach for him as Moyo nodded, the diamond knew better than to be at a disadvantage for more than a few seconds. Grabbing him, he turned to face another of the sentinel, a lithe but muscular figure wielding what looked like a mithril staff, Moyo pushed his very aura down on the sentinel as he grounded to a stop, pushing all the terror he could into the sentinel,
“Come if you dare” he rumbled,
The sentinel’s eyes blazed silver, his form expanding,
His body burning with silver power,
“I am Abel iron centurion of the sentinels, and I move with the authority and will of the titan, I dare” he rumbled,
Moyo grinned as he felt the diamond push with all his willpower and authority, leaving the centurion there fighting his aura, he slammed Aldric into the ground, effectively knocking him out as the force of his body sent a wave of power, blasting the three remaining sentinels backwards. Then josh barked a command, Moyo feeling the authority of the mithril warden pulse through the air, a surprising feeling,
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“Execute containment protocol!”
Moyo laughed as he saw and felt all five sentinels burn pure aether and aura in a desperate attempt to accomplish something, they were making a desperate last stand against him, burning this much power could only mean one thing, they were prepared to go all out, and all out they did. Spatial vaults opened as rare ranked weapons poured out, the signature hammers of the sentinel clan with shields made of pure heavy mithril inscribed with runes from unknown origins, probably Samantha's work from the delicacy and strength. He stopped as they surrounded him, blocking him from his aim,
His throne,
Moyo pushed power through his entire body, blazing like a bonfire,
“let’s do this” he said laughing and shooting for them,
He felt the aspect ring through the very aether around the hall, jolting him in his step, marveling as pure diamonds became a blur that his restricted sage’s sight actually had to work to follow, weapons blurring through the air as he pitted his titan’s might and mantle into shielding his body and form.
Weaving and dodging in a hail of attacks that even the eyes of a gold ranker would struggle in vain to get a glimpse of, he parried weapons that rung on his skin, dodged devastating strikes that would cause him a little ache while at the same time tracing the link to the aspect that rung in a similar fashion to his.
He traced it to josh, the mithril warden standing firm with a rune burning bright on his shield, gold in colour, and it felt like an unyielding defense. Moyo became a blur, throwing hands and feet in unrivaled coordination as he moved with the step of Ogun, phasing around the diamonds while using the steps to the path of the titan blade, disarming and crushing their defenses despite the amount of authority, willpower and even pure aether they burned.
And then they were down on the ground, cores running on empty while their diamond ranked bodies sore from the pounding and utter devastation Moyo had wrought on them, even with their rune infused mithril armors. Steam coming from the points he had touched them, literal sweat running down the faces of being who were to have supposedly surpassed such a human reaction, he turned to their leader and named Valoris,
“Well?” he asked,
Josh stared at him with cold dead eyes, simmering rage within it but calculated, over to a side, Idris had withdrawn his domineering aura, watching with pure impassiveness, letting the young one fight for himself, it seemed irdris had changed his mind about dueling. With deliberate steps, Moyo watched josh heft his Warhammer, a weapon that Boyle had reported to him weighed as much as approximately two Ija tanks, his eyes of silver and pinpricks of purple glowing. Moyo felt the mithril warden cut himself off from the aspect of the titan, and then he felt another aspect blossom with a smile on his face,
“Congratulations mithril warden, your road to ruler seems to be smooth” he remarked,
Josh simply inclined his head in appreciation, his body taut, like a coiled feline ready to strike, and with a move, the mithril warden tore space apart to get close to the titan blade, his lord.
************************************
Josh mithril warden, regent of the titans’ sentinel clan, lord of Titanprime and lord Valoris of the soon to be established Shieldborne had trained till his master ranked body screamed in agony. Within the bowels of the defiance, he had trained against his former mentor and lord of the sentinels himself, Idris Geb hand, the two moving in a blur as he had prepared for the eventuality of the proposition he had brought up. Again, Within the bowels of the defiance, he and Idris, along with the other clan heads had met in secret from their lord.
The Shadowweaver had been the one to bring up the issue along with josh and Idris, the champion of the titan in accordance as well,
“You know” Ayo started,
The lady on the path of the crimson eye was like a subtle glow in the barely lit room, the shadow webs Martha had weaved around the room obscuring them from even the gaze of the now evolved ship entity known as Shola. It had been necessary for the discussion they were about to have,
“Some would consider what we’re doing mutiny” she remarked, hands on her waist,
“And yet, we are gathered to discuss the safety of the titan blade” Idris replied,
“The absurdity of your claim that the titan himself needs protection still seizes to amaze me” Boyle said,
The Forgelord had been of single mind that the meeting was in itself wrong, and it had taken the promise and concession of the Shadowweaver to force the lord of Moltenheim to attend the conclave, Martha turned to Boyle,
“at least let his champion and the mithril warden present their cases” she had said with a frown,
Eyes like molten lava, Boyle had nodded subtly, let it not be said that he was as hard and unyielding as mithril. Keeping silent, Idris took it as his chance to speak,
“I thank you all for attending, I will not waste your time, for I know we all have a lot to do, with the speed at which the house is growing” he started,
“The titan guard, the ten ascenders that were initially trained on Gaia and left the planet with the aim of being the protection of the titan have strayed from their paths, albeit not willingly’ he said,
“They are now commanders of thousands, lord of their own cohorts within the legion of the titan and his generals in battle, they cannot prosecute the singular aim to which we agreed to his creation of the titan guard’ he continued,
“While unsaid, the titan guard are gone and the legion of the titan stands in its place, that leaves our lord with no first line of defense against the horrors of the archailect” Idris pressed on,
“I know, believe me I know” he said, cutting off Samantha who made to talk,
“I know what you want to say, you believe our lord invulnerable, and I believe so too, I have watched him do battle” Idris said,
“I have watched him grow so strong, that I sometimes wonder what foolish being would be stupid enough to challenge him to battle, and I have watched him fall more than once, saved by stokes of fate or luck, which, I cannot decide myself” he said,
“True, the titan at his most powerful is nothing but a cosmic natural disaster, you could curse it and flail against him, or you can run and hope that whatever disaster he unleashes avoids you. And with the latest upgrades he got?, well, let’s just say he’s a one-man walking planet of pure destruction” Idris had said,
“But I advocate for the creation of another guard not because of the mundane attacks that may or may not come, but for the not attacks he might not see coming. Among the many gifts bestowed upon our lord by the archailect, the gift of visions was not among, as such, it is up to use to protect him” Idris pushed,
Gesturing to josh who moved close to him,
“The mithril warden has brought up a proposition, that the sentinels do what they were created to do” he said,
Boyle turned to the both of them,
“The sentinels were created to protect all that Moyo holds there” he said,
“Careful!” Martha hissed as her webs vibrated,
“Do not mention his name, you draw his attention to us” she said,
Boyle nodded softly before continuing,
“If the sentinels abandon their posts as guardian of the house, what do you think would happen?” he argued,
“The titan put the sentinels in charge to protect a fledgling clan, that clan has expanded and now we hold planets, it is time for the various clans to see to their protections individually” Martha replied,
“Besides, with the amount of powerhouses each clan holds, I foresee no cases needing the intervention of the help of another clan, much less the sentinels” she finished,
“Is that regular wise Martha, or is the Shadowweaver talking?” Samantha asked,
“Both, ceaselessly have I watched the threads of fate that bind the titan to reality, I see a cataclysmic future, one that I dare not stare too long at or risk burning my very eyes out, futures whose paths are so malevolent, I still dare not stare for long to draw the attention of indescribable evil entities” she said,
“But in all these futures, one thing remains constant, our lord somehow perseveres, somehow endures and gains the powers needed to surpass them all. As of now, the only threats to the titan blade are ones that not even the entirety of the house can deal with, as such, while I focus on the larger threats, we need a body to protect him from the immediate ones.” She argued,
“As always, your reasons are sound despite me unwilling to agree with you” Boyle said,
“But fine, I agree” the Forgelord said, relinquishing his doubt,
With all the clan heads in accordance, they had voted to bring the matter before the titan blade. Josh would not let their faith in him go to waste, and as he barrelled for the titan, shield raised, burning with his still growing but relatively weak aspect, he prepared to fight till his body failed him. If that was what it took, then he would do so, he would fight till his last breath to prove to the titan that he and his Shieldborne were worthy.
Josh hit with the force of an earthquake, the very ship shuddering from the impact, his hammer crashing into the titan with such force, the pulse of power blew the diamonds backwards from where they attempted to join the battle again. The titan moved back two steps, much to his surprise, josh however catalogued it for later, he would savor the look when he was done, perhaps find a memory crystal to record it into and show the recruits of the clan during their first day of training.
His hammer became a blur, wrapping himself in his skill: shield of resilience,
* Shield of Resilience(R): ascender can summon an impenetrable force field that protects them and their allies from physical and magical attacks. The shield absorbs incoming damage and can be strengthened through their force aspect abilities.
Used for large groups, it nonetheless served its role perfectly to build up his attack, eyes calculating two to three of his next moves in advance, he became wary as all his attacks hit the titan, Moyo weathering it despite the increasing force of each attack. Josh might be new to the rank of master, but he was sure there were few masters that could weather the sort of beating the titan was currently receiving from him.
The moment the titan moved, josh felt it deep within his spirit that he as in danger, first came the authority and aura of the titan. like a looming disaster, it settled over him, crushing him straight into the Aserite grounds of the training hall, but the warden had activated another of his skills before his very body touched the ground,
* Guardian's Resolve: Josh possesses an unyielding determination and an unbreakable will. This grants him increased resistance against mental attacks, fear effects, and status ailments. He can inspire his allies, boosting their morale and fortitude in battle.
The skill manifested like a bubble of silvery energy, rippling as the titan’s aura slammed against it, slammed against it and blew it wide apart, the skill shattering the moment it even activated. Josh had been expecting it though, it wasn’t like his skills could stand with the very force of the titan’s very presence. The moment his body touched the ground, he activated one of the abilities of the rune on the shield, something he had to beg the arcane elemental for, Samantha smugly accepting on the grounds that he owed her a favor.
An explosion of force shot from the shield, throwing him into the air in a fraction of a second, a mini vault opening within that same second and josh grabbing the two items within the vault and dragging them out, shaping and shooting them for the titan. He had tested it on Idris as well, the attack completely catching the titan hand offguard, with the titan though, he should had known better. Two blobs of liquid mithril, shaped into sharp needles shot at Moyo, it crashed into the titan’s chest and summarily rebounded, josh cursing internally.
He had fused as much force aspect into the mithril as possible, and when the blast went for the titan, he had expected it to at least, break through his mantle. Instead, it had harmlessly crashed into it and rebounded, therefore josh let lose with everything he had, aura, raw strength, aspect, and belief. Belief that he could overcome the titan, belief that he had what it took to be the first line of defense, he was the mithril warden,
He was Valoris,
His spiritual form, a giant wielding a Warhammer with reckless abandon, bringing the entirety of his authority, his strength and his willpower that twisted the very fabric of reality, drawing the very aspect of strength down on himself, his actual muscles screaming, Idris’s eyes going wide in the distance,
Still the titan grinned,
Even as the weapon dropped with all the power of a demigod made manifest, even as Shola appeared through the walls of the hall, her eyes wide, even as josh burned aether like a column of fire, the titan grinned,
“CRUSH!” the Valoris commanded,
All reality around him obeyed, bringing its full might down on the titan, alarms blaring as the defiance rumbled from the forces at play,
It crashed on the titan, and then fractured,
Josh began to wonder, just what he was fighting, what sort of entity the titan had become even as he felt his fledgeling aspect wane from its torturous use, he smiled as the titan stood over him, unblemished despite the devastation wreaked around him. He crashed into the ground, his muscles spasming from continuous use of his attacks, his hammer crashing from his hands, the titan stared down at him,
“So?’ josh asked weakly,
He stared into the otherworldly eyes of the lord of house titan blade, the ruler of Ibere and all its vassal worlds and trembled as he saw what was truly behind the façade of mere master ranked power the titan had used for their spar,
To think he thought he had a chance,
“Your Shieldborne need training, lord Valoris” the titan replied,
The mithril warden smiled.