“So, if I understand you, and what I’m staring at right there, that, is some sort of sacred beast like draconic creature gotten as a reward from the archailect after destroying an apocalyptic creature of the abyss, bearing in mind that you weren’t the one to strike the final blow, and the fact that ascensions have perpetually been stopped from the very moment we entered this accursed proto realm and system?” Ashira asked, staring at him,
Moyo nodded from where he reclined, eyes closed,
“Seems about it” he replied,
“And for some reason, you aren’t even the least curious why?” Ashira asked,
Moyo cracked open his eyes with a sigh, gathering his thoughts before speaking,
“Nothing I can do about it, too many weird things have been happening, Ajax going rogue, my ascendancy to near primordial status, unknown power welling up within me, the sudden expansion of the clan into a house” he listed, taking a deep breath,
Ashira placed one hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly,
“Calm, it will be alright” she said,
He gave a silent nod,
“So, what’s been going on with you?, been to any great adventures?” he asked,
She snorted, sitting on his leg, arms across his neck,
“I wish, due to my status as near ruler, I’ve been given more secrets and responsibilities to the house, and believe me, we’ve barely seen a fraction of just how large the archailect really is. Do you know there’s an entire galaxy filled with insect type ascenders?, diamonds and even a master all caught up in their own inter-insectoid war between themselves in the system?’ she said, fascination and revulsion both on her face,
“I’m guessing you don’t like that” he replied as she gave a shudder, Moyo chuckling,
They both relapsed into silence, just enjoying each other’s company, then Moyo spoke,
“Do you ever miss it?” he asked,
“Miss what?” she replied,
“Those days when we were nothing but bumbling golds and diamonds, galvanizing around on adventures, Duhiri for example?” he said as she chuckled,
“I do, Duhiri was a mess though, whatever happened to that system I wonder” she replied,
“Probably got censored, heard the Azartes clan went rogue, joined the undying hands of Rohan” Moyo said,
Ashira’s face darkened,
“I find it odd that we haven’t met significant resistance by the undying hands themselves” she said,
“we’ll meet them soon enough, that I know” he replied,
She stood up,
“Well, I have house politics to deal with, someone has to hold the forte when three grown up primordials go galvanizing into battle, leaving the running of an entire empire as large as ours to masters to oversee” she grumbled,
“I’ll probably go forge some new weapon or train, our journey to the next planet being slow as it is, damned carnage striders” Moyo replied,
The never-ending hordes of carnage striders carrying the combined forces of all the lords of the abyss kept pouring out from the distance, slowing down the forces of the archailect from catching up with the primordials at the battlefront. Moyo had literally itched to join their battles despite his tired state, assured that his aspect could clear a path powerful enough to make a pathway jump by honing in on Kairos and the other primordials he could feel.
Ashira had literally smacked sense into him, his body was barely recovering not from injuries but the stress he placed on it, true, he might have near primordial power and the aspect to back it up, but his body while being reforged over and over in its own unique way hadn’t undergone the final baptism in aether for the rank of ruler. For all purpose, a ruler should be able to get one over him in the long run of a battle,
Assuming the ruler escaped the first few attacks of course,
He had resulted to resting, allowing the cohorts to have their fun while honing their martial skills and bodies for the coming battle, his ten legion commanders, the titan guard as they were once known as were on a war path, taking every mission they could, the legion now made up of only golds and above could be called an elite fighting army. Moyo watched as Ashira opened a pathway through to her vessel, the fortress of a ship she won at the swordsmanship competition that felt like ages ago, leaving him within his quarters.
The room could hardly be called a quarters, the size of his entire castle back on Gaia, it had hundreds of spatial rooms just wasting away, filled with inconsequential things to him such as elixirs and dungeon cores of different varieties, apart from the ones within his deific vault. It spoke to the absurd riches of those who had ascended past the rank of diamond, it also spoke of the absurd riches of house titan blade, for Moyo had ensured that lady Martha had enough resources to run the house from Ibere itself to its vassal planets as well, stockpiling the capital world of Ibere so full of resources, the average ascender on the planet was estimated to rich the rank of gold easily.
Not that Martha would start handing out elixirs and cores free of charge, numerous large entities had risen within the nascent empire of the house, growing into large conglomerate that vied for even a speck of notice from the clan leaders of the house, ensuring to be in their good graces just to be able to get a glimpse of him. Martha was in her element, enjoying the intrigues from holding court, Moyo had simply warned the entire empire that should they commit offenses in his name, he’d send the sentinels or stormcallers down on them, and as far as threats were, it had terrified the entire empire into acting straight.
He sighed as he stood up, sending a message out to Urne and all the top officials within the Defiance, sitting back down and calmly waiting for their presence. Shola materialized first, shimmering into existence, her once purple crystalline look now with a more human visage, her hair and eyes remained purple though, her connection to him clear as day. She was master ranked, her entire body now the Defiance and her power able to grasp with that of top ranked masters, she was a trump card he would keep hidden for the main time.
The mithril warden appeared next, stepping through a pathway from what looked like a sparring room filled with the Shieldborne who bowed at the sight of him through the pathway, he nodded at them, feeling the sense of pride flowing through their bodies. Josh walked with the confidence and deadliness he carried usually, but Moyo began to detect subtle changes to his form, seeing as the Valoris was without his hammer. Where Josh usually walked in a relaxed manner, calm but deadly, now he oozed a deadly cold feeling, like an automaton built for destruction alone, his aspect singing around him.
Idris, the champion of the titan stepped through another pathway next, dressed in a simple brown robe, his shaven head gleaming along with his oiled beards, eyes glowing slightly, he bowed to Moyo, opening his spatial storage and tossing the slag of a spear to Moyo who nodded, it was to be his next forge project, to turn the weapon into an arcane mythical weapon befitting of his champion. He glanced as Urne, smartly dressed in what looked like a militarized version of a robe, her cropped hair and silver eyes glowing, she was diamond, on the precipice of breaking to master on her own, but it would take a while.
He had an instinct for things like that now, perhaps it came with rank, but it felt more like a gut feeling, besides, she seemed happy at diamond and in charge of the behemoth of a vessel that was the Defiance. He sat up, opening his vault and tossing the slag into it, speaking,
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Now that we’re all here, what’s the update on our entire force?, how do we stand?, and where’s Ahib?” he asked,
“The artillery commander is overseeing the latest batch of promethean battlesuits, something he was quite frankly adamant about not leaving to his underlings, something about needing to prepare for what’s coming” Urne replied,
Moyo narrowed his eyes at that,
“hmm” he replied,
“And how do we stand on ascenders?, morale?” he continued,
“The legion of the titan as well as the ascenders of the order all serve under a master and pseudo primordial, although that knowledge still seem to be secret, perhaps it’s because I’m new to the rank of master and knew it since I was gold or something” Idris replied,
Moyo nodded,
“Good, for we go into the literal mouth of hell, and I want to ensure most of us make it out” he said,
“Most?” Urne asked,
“We go into the literal domain of all three lords of the abyss that remain” Shola put in,
“Suffice to say we would be cut off from the archailect during that duration and whatever power we have would slowly be leeched away unless we can put them down quickly enough, which, by my calculations, has a fifty percent chance of succeeding, even while factoring in the other primordials, it goes up to a seventy percent chance” Shola explained,
“We have more than five primordials coming along, and that’s at seventy percent?” Annika asked as she entered,
Moyo nodded at her,
“she’s factoring in the fact that the primordials are not one unified body, there are factions within them as well, of course, you all know better than to say whatever I tell you here outside, don’t you?” he said with a hint of warning,
They nodded,
“Good, among the primordials, there exist two factions, the celestials and the terrestrials” Moyo started,
“The former, are more or less servants of the supreme beings, they call it being allies, but more or less, they do the bidding of the supreme beings, beholden to their wishes and in return they are given rare metals and relics that other primordials themselves are after” he explained,
“The terrestrials on the other hand, are primordials who have decided to band together and rely on their own strengths, forgoing the supposed help of the supreme beings” he finished,
“And where do you fall under?” Annika asked,
“Well, I already said no to the messenger of the supreme beings, technically, that would put me in the camp of the terrestrials” he replied,
“But?” Idris said,
“But it’s still too early to decide such, I’m not there yet no matter what anyone says, I can’t logically take on a primordial for long in a battle without inadvertently causing irreparable harm to my body” he explained,
“Besides, it’s better to keep your options opened, you have no idea whose help you might need” he finished,
“So what you’re saying is that these politics would come into play when we get to that planet?” Urne asked,
“More than likely, I won’t be surprised if those we can rely on the most are the jades and house Kairos, I mean, the ancients are proving themselves, but no ancient would willingly risk their lives in a battle where even primordials would be having a tough time” Moyo replied,
“Makes it even worse for we masters and those beneath us” Josh muttered, Annika nodding along,
“The first thing we need to find out is why ascensions have come to a stop, something is wrong and I doubt it’s the work of the abyss” Moyo said softly,
They all turned their faces to him in alarm, Moyo stapling his fingers calmly,
“Think about it, what else isn’t working in the archailect?” he asked,
Everyone brought up their Hud’s scrolling through as they all had glazed looks, one by one they snapped out quietly, as if coming to a realization themselves,
“Everything else works fine” Urne said softly,
Moyo nodding along, Annika crossed her arms,
“I’m guessing you have your theory?” she asked,
Moyo eyed her quietly, as if ruminating before gathering his thoughts,
“a few, nothing tangible, not until I speak with the other primordials, see if I’m right, but if I am, my rule would be clear on one thing” he said,
“you’ll be sending the bulk of the house’s forces home, wouldn’t you?” Josh said softly,
Moyo glanced at the Valoris whose gaze stayed on him, unwavering, Idris glancing at the regent of his clan,
“Indeed, unless of course, you have a better plan?” he asked mildly,
Josh looked away, deep in thought before he sighed,
“No, I see where you’re coming from” he replied,
“Well I don’t” Annika said,
Moyo reclined back on his seat,
“Something greater than this abyssal war is coming, don’t ask me how, but it’s a gut feeling, first, Eses is missing from what could be the biggest fight of the archailect in a while, then Xerxes goes too, meaning something greater than three combined lords of the abyss is enough to draw the attentions of two of the archailect’s most powerful beings below the supreme beings” he said,
“as well as the other harbingers of the other supreme beings” Urne said, drawing Moyo’s attention,
“What?” Moyo said,
Urne adjusted calmly, if not awkwardly,
“there’s been rumors going around the fleets, the harbingers are missing from their fleets, the forces of Ernesh himself have retreated entirely, when this happened, we have no idea, but word comes that Iteq, the great omnidroid primordial is in hot pursuit, something is happening within the sphere of the constructs” she explained,
“This close to the climax of the war, and one by one, our forces are being broken, why do I feel this is the goal of cult of the undying hand?” Idris asked,
Moyo nodded,
“Might as well be, I’ve had few interactions with that creature, his line of thinking far surpasses the textbook behaviours of our own forces, he and that lord of destruction of the abyss?, now that is something I’m not looking forwards to” Moyo winced,
“Then you need your forces by your side” Annika pushed,
Moyo sighed, turning to her,
“I see the rage in your eyes Annika Stormseeker, you want to prove yourself, the same way my Shieldbornes want to as well” he started,
“But this war is coming at a time that your forces and underlings simply cannot participate in” he said,
“I could as well tell you to try to best me in a fight, but we all know how that’s going to end, and where I go, I’m also an underdog, think about that” he said,
Annika could see the truth of what he said, still she grit her teeth,
“Besides, the house now has not a single world but worlds to look after, we’re a house now, and Mrs Martha is to defend our holdings, she needs power houses she can get to defend them, we owe it to those who decided to leave Gaia and move with us, that speaks about trust Annika” he said, eyes glowing softly,
She huffed,
“I hate it when your arguments are right” she replied as Moyo gave a soft smile,
“And what of the Shieldborne?” Josh asked,
Moyo tapped one finger softly,
“How many are they?” he asked,
“Ten, no more” Josh replied,
“Send the ten back home, they will go with instructions to Martha, they are to raise a force of a thousand Shieldborne, they will stand in absolute defense of Ibere, the capital world itself, throw open recruitment to every single faction within the house, I leave it to your just judgement” Moyo said,
Josh took a shuddering breath, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders,
“So, the Shieldborne are here to stay?” he asked,
Moyo nodded,
“For as long as the house stands, there will be a Shieldborne to hold the capital world in defense” he said,
Josh nodded,
“Meaning he stays with you?” Idris asked,
“For the main time, we push as far as we can and when the truth of this war is revealed, if necessary, the Defiance as of this moment will have standing orders to ferry the rest of you back straight for Ibere at breakneck speed” Moyo said,
“There, you will defend our people to the best of your abilities” he finished,
“And Gaia?” Annika asked,
“I’ll leave it to the best knowledge of Martha, let her handle that nest of vipers and games, overall protection depends on us anyways to protect, and from space, Asa itself will be our base of command, no force of house titan blade should step foot outside the shores of that continent, leave them to their games” he ordered,
They all nodded,
“So, what now?” Idris asked,
“Address the legion, inform them of the probability of them being deployed back home, those within the legion that want to immigrate to our domain should be given free access, they’ve sworn oaths to me anyways, let Martha and the administrative bodies settle them on the various worlds” Moyo said,
All these and more were dealt with, till finally, they all moved to get their respective orders done with, Moyo however, called Josh and Idris to himself, even as the rest left. Josh stood close as Moyo opened his vault, grabbing a piece of Aserite, the metal humming with his aspect, the Valoris and champion of the titan both stared at the metal in awe. Moyo tossed it to Josh,
“Try bending it” he ordered,
Despite the mithril warden knowing just how insanely strong the metal was, seeing as it was what the Defiance was now made of, he bent his entire will and authority into the task as reality warped a little around him,
“BEND” he commanded it even as he exerted his full strength on the metal,
It didn’t budge an inch, not that any of them had expected it to anyways, it was a metal imbued with the very aspect of the titan, its power as resolute as the titan itself,
“I intend to send this metal as well as your Shieldborne back to Ibere, but before that, it’s time to upgrade the armor of the Shieldborne” he said,
A gong echoed around him,
Notice!: you are about to break an oath sworn on the archailect, consequences could be severe!
Moyo snarled to himself, a ping coming from all around him,
“Apologies lord” Shola said, her voice reverberating from all around him,
“But lady Tania thousand whips of the brigade is requesting for your presence, quite forcibly too I might add” she said,
A slight vibration ran through the ship,
“And that would be her ineffectively attacking the Defiance, ship mistress Urne requests permission to open warning shots on her” Shola said,
Moyo chuckled,
“No, allow her passage, lead her straight to my quarters” he commanded,
“I comply” Shola replied, cutting off the transmission,
Moyo nodded, crossing his hands as he tapped his feet rather impatiently,