image [https://i.imgur.com/0Ydb5GV.png]

Just as everyone collected themselves, the other members of Six rushed into the room. Ka-leel of Four, Jordan of Five, and Felicity of Six approached the group before kneeling on one knee towards the Queen.

“Your Majesty, we apologize for our late arrival. What will you have us do?” Ka-leel said with a deep tone.

“Thank you and you’re just in time. You may lift your heads.” Azhane replied, showing a kind smile.

She briefed the new arrivals on the situation and how things came to pass, not missing a single detail. They all fully understood the current circumstances and Jordan of Five decided to give his thoughts.

“Hmm, it seems we are in quite the pickle here. Whatever move we make, we’ll be vastly outnumbered. Last I checked, Lumen’s numbers were in the 50,000s and the Arista Empire is just over 70,000.” He commented while stroking his long white beard.

“Yeah and our forces are currently spread across the nation. It would take them days to mobilize at a single location. And even if by some miracle we hold them off, Volaire has what? 40,000 soldiers at most? This doesn’t look good no matter how many ways you spin it.” Felicity replied, now crossing her arms and leaning up against the table.

The room filled with sighs as everyone tried to think of some way to combat this threat. Suddenly, a soft, unfamiliar voice curiously broke the tension in the air.

“Um, I, uh.. Might be able to, umh.. Help. I-If that’s okay with, um, you guys.” Everyone turned their attention towards the door, wondering who was talking. It was Priscilla, standing next to Nadine.

“Pardon me, My Lady. I was giving the young miss a tour of the castle before coming here to see about your tea. Forgive her for speaking out of turn.” Nadine said with a swift and apologetic bow of the head. Azhane quickly shook her head as she gave the girl a warm smile.

“No, it's quite alright, Nadine. Please, come in. I would love to hear her out.” She replied, welcoming the two into the meeting. They walked over and Priscilla grew more nervous the closer she got, causing her to look at the floor and twiddle her fingers anxiously. They joined the group and everyone stared at the young girl, wondering what she could possibly do that would help them.

“I know we just met last night, but who exactly are you again?” Zalthia asked, having completely forgotten about this purple haired girl.

“Oh, um. My name is Priscilla!” She loudly replied in an awkward manner, bowing her head at the same time.

“I was with the B-Boundless before, um, Miss Azhane saved me. Uhm.. Even though I-I was bullied by them.. I’m not, um, entirely b-blameless.” Everyone gave her their undivided attention as she stuttered her way through a brief story about her past.

Priscilla was an orphaned kid that never knew her father or mother. She was brought there shortly after her birth and was essentially raised at the orphanage. At the age of nine, she was adopted and taken in by a kind man from the Lumen Theocracy. He went by the name of Karris. He was highly religious and dutiful, always following the teachings of the Holy Core Church. He treated Priscilla well for a while, giving her a better life than what she had at the orphanage.

However, one day, Karris got involved with the Cult of Unlearning. A group of ex-members of the Holy Core Church that wanted to uncover the deepest, darkest truths of Alaira. He got heavily invested into this group and was eventually appointed as one of their chief researchers. Karris took over the division that was overseeing the revival of an ancient race.

They had been attempting to bring them back for many years, but barely had any success, only reviving weak citizens from that era. Eventually, Karris was able to make a breakthrough and succeeded where no other member previously had.

His work with the cult became obsessive and soon enough, that obsession turned into neglect towards Priscilla. His entire demeanor and personality had changed completely, no longer the kind man that brought her in under his wing. Once the revival succeeded and Briddle arrived, Karris betrayed his division of the cult and allowed Briddle to take their Core Energy for himself. This allowed him to quickly regain his strength from such a long slumber. Briddle siphoned the Core Energy out of every person within their secret facility, leaving only Karris as the lone survivor.

Even though Briddle hated humans, he took a liking to Karris because of the lengths he went through to bring him back. So he appointed him as one of his chief advisors and relied on Karris to get him up to speed with what was going on in Alaira. As a thank you for showing him mercy, Karris gave Briddle another gift, Priscilla.

Briddle didn’t understand why he needed such a young girl, but Karris convinced him with a few simple words.

“This girl’s ability will be invaluable to your cause. Her power will help you usher in a new era!”

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Karris didn't know the full scope of Priscilla's power, but he knew enough to be sure that she would be a great bargaining chip. Especially considering he had never seen such a concentration of Core Energy like that ever in his life. When he saw her at the orphanage, he simply could not pass up on an opportunity like that.

Thanks to Priscilla, Briddle now had a small army to do his bidding and this allowed him to subjugate many villages during the early moments of his tirade. Her shadowy soldiers killed many innocent people and stripped families apart, making her just as responsible as the Boundless for the mayhem caused.

Priscilla teared up while telling the story, struggling to get through the last few parts.

“I-I didn’t want to d-do it, but everytime.. Everytime I refused, they would b-beat me so badly and threaten to k-kill me.” Streams of tears rained down her small face and her tiny body was shaking with fear as she remembered everything the Boundless did to her. Azhane was incredibly saddened to hear this story and didn’t know what words to say that would comfort this poor girl.

Asiah of Three approached Priscilla and crouched down, giving her a warm hug as she gently rubbed her head. She told her it would be okay and that those days were fully behind her now. The embrace lasted for only a brief period, but it was effective enough to help calm the girl down. Priscilla thanked Asiah as she rubbed her eyes, trying to clear the tears.

“*Sniff* I-I know what I did w-was wrong, but.. I, uhm, want to make up for those c-crimes. I h-have to!” She said while gaining her composure and looking more determined.

“That’s all well and good, but… What exactly can you do that would help us? A few hundred soldiers is hardly going to make a difference against their numbers.” Felicity of Six replied, looking curious and awaiting an answer. Priscilla shook her head and pulled an amulet necklace out that was tucked underneath her dress.

The amulet was a large, dark silver, perfect circle that had a skull imprinted in the center. On each side of the skull were small skeletal hands shaped in an intricate way. They looked as though they were holding up the skull, presenting it to whoever gazed at its shiny exterior. The room showed great interest in this item, admiring all the immaculate details.

“My M-Manifest, Legion’s Shade, can summon more than j-just a few hundred s-soldiers.” She replied, shining the amulet in the light so everyone could see.

“Wait.. That’s your Manifest?? But how can someone so young possess such a weapon??” Jordan of Five asked with great confusion, knowing that most people didn’t receive a Manifest until age sixteen at the earliest.

“Because she’s Calamity Class…” Azhane answered, her suspicions now confirmed. Everyone was shocked to hear this news, not believing that such a child could hold that much power.

“Your Majesty, are you positive!?” The members of Six asked with great surprise. Azhane nodded her head as she stared at Priscilla.

“Yeah.. I first got my Manifest when I was nine years old, so it makes sense that she would also have hers. Plus, I sensed Priscilla’s power last night when I saved her from the Boundless Palace. Her Core Energy pool is beyond expansive. It’s honestly a miracle that she can even control it at such a young age.” Everyone looked back at Priscilla with impressed expressions, finding this girl to be even more interesting.

“Well I’ll be damned.. That makes her the eighth documented Calamity Class Vesta, right? Who would’ve thought..” Ka-leel of Four added, giving the girl a nod of approval. Priscilla glanced around at everyone with confusion, not sure of what they all were talking about.

“So, what were you saying earlier?” Zalthia asked, eager to hear what else Priscilla had to say.

“Uhm, I’m sorry, but.. I don’t know what a-any of that means.. But, uhm.. I was saying that my Manifest can do more t-than just a hundred soldiers..” She replied, getting shy again.

“Well, how many can it summon?” Felicity asked, growing impatient with the low esteem filled theatrics.

“Uhm.. Probably a hundred thousand.. M-maybe more.. I’m not entirely sure..” Everyone stared blankly at Priscilla, causing the room to go eerily silent as the group tried to process the words that just came out of her mouth.

“WHAT!!?!?” Zalthia replied with wide eyed shock, wondering if she heard that right. Priscilla awkwardly nodded before discussing her abilities further.

After her explanation, everyone was floored by her abilities and were curious to see them in action. Priscilla didn’t quite understand what was so impressive about her. She was always made to feel like such garbage and that she had no worth, so seeing everyone show such excitement and admiration towards her was a strange feeling. Hope was slowly beginning to be restored thanks to her and their once somber expressions had turned to ones of great determination.

Azhane stood from her chair and looked Priscilla directly in the eyes, posing a question to her.

“Priscilla, are you willing to fight by our side and help save our nation? I know the Boundless situation was tough on you, but.. Now, more than ever, we need all the assistance we can get. Will you help us?” Azhane’s eyes were kind and warm, but they were also filled with anxious pleas for help. Priscilla stared back and clenched her Manifest tightly before giving the Queen a hardy nod.

“I-I know I can’t bring back, uhm, those my Manifest k-killed, but… If I can help save lives t-this time around, I’ll do it!” She said with newfound confidence, her low self esteem now slowly starting to fade. Everyone in the room smiled and Azhane thanked her for the assistance, greatly appreciating this new ally of theirs.

“Okay everyone, we might be able to turn things around. Let us gather the remaining council members and our generals to formulate a strategy. We don’t have a moment to waste!” Azhane said, ready to put an end to this invasion. The group agreed and the members of Six left to go fetch those that need to be in the upcoming meeting.

Before Carmen and the gang left, she walked up to Azhane and gave her a random hug. Azhane was surprised by this and warmly hugged her little sister back.

“Happy Birthday, Azhane. I wanted to get you something, but.. Well.. You know.” She said with a slightly saddened tone.

“Thank you, Carmen. I don’t need anything for my Birthday. Simply having you home safe is more than enough.” Azhane replied, giving Carmen a kiss on the forehead and a big smile. Their embrace ended and as the group left the room, Azhane began her preparations.