Northeast Fortress

Damian and his master Gunther, sitting at a table desk, were going through a pile of letters.

"This one?"

"Yet another one, master. This one comes to you from the Solace family," Damian revealed, from reading an envelope he was holding.

Hearing these words, Gunther heaved out a loud sigh, "I'm not sure whether I should admire or pity them for their persistence."

"They are trying to have an audience with you Master. In a sense, I can but only understand where their persistence come from. "

Damian tossed the letter into a corner, keeping in mind to later writing an apology explaining that his master would be unable to comply with their request before moving on to the next letter.

"This one, on the other hand," he said, handing a golden envellope to Gunther.

Intrigued, Gunther took the envelope and recognized it to be something sent by one of his fellow fourteen, an Archbishop of the Church.

He opened the envelope, found a letter, and immediately proceeded to read its content.

"Oh... speaking of being persistant."

"Master?"

"This is a letter comes from Whiteley. Apparently, he had managed to catch two of those "aristocrats" red-handed in one of their..."

"Master, is it really appropriate to talk about this in front of me?"

Both men looked at each other.

"After all, I am..."

"The son of the head of this said-aristocrat."

"Yes." Damian nodded.

Dismissing the said letter, Gunther announced, "Well, why not? It’s not like you were aware of all of what she was up to."

"But that might not be what the other fourteen are thinking."

"What the other fourteen are thinking does not matter. I know you have nothing to do with your mother's choices and actions, which is why I kept you at my side, and treated you the same way I always did."

"For that I am grateful, Master."

"Besides, it was just a notification saying that he had caught two aristocrats red-handed. They weren’t even caught; they killed themselves before being apprehended by the clergy."

"They killed themselves?"

"Yes, if that isn't dedication, I don't know what is... Ah, I almost forgot to mention, these people weren’t nobles, they were commoners, aina-users most likely one of the-"

"-The Brotherhood’s men."

Nodding, Gunther added, "With them dead, they took any possible and potentially valuable intel about the aristocracy with them to the grave. At this rate, I doubt you will ever have to worry about your mother being caught. " Gunther, teased, but as if immediately realizing that he had overstepped, he said, "Sorry for that one. But still, I think you should think about what you will do if eventually we, and by we I mean the Church, come catch your mother. "

Damian simply nodded silently.

"By allying herself with those people and plotting against the church, she really made herself and her family the enemy number one of the church. And I know very well, at my depend, how persistent some of my fellow thirteen can be at hounding someone labelled as the church’s enemy. Which is why I would like you to carefully consider my proposition."

"Yes, Master." I will.

" Well, in any case, your mother seems to be doing fine for now, so it leaves you some time again to think about it. What else do we have beside that letter? "

Skimming through the remaining pile, Damian retrieved an envollope with the emblem of the Acadamia and the Holy City.

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"Master, I think this is it." Damian said, handing Gunther the letter.

Oh, I guess, it’s already this time of year. I wonder how many will dare to enroll. "

"Over the two years and four sessions that followed the Calamities, the number of Apprentice Paladins that enrolled in the Paladin Order had, despite being very small at the beginning, substantially increased as time passed. I’m sure in this recruitment session we will do well. "

"I hope so. Seeing the fortress being filled with new blood isn't a bad feeling. "

"I suppose we can’t blame them, being here on the border, it’s just..."

"Not for everyone, huh?"

"Yes, but I’m sure that is just temporary. After all, the academy faced a similar situation, and now I’ve heard that those who had dropped off students are re-enrolling back." It’s just a question of time, until the fear and the paranoia over the dragons fade away.

"Unless they somehow retu-", speaking Gunther, was suddenly interrupted by a noise that made Gunther's heart skip a beat.

For the last time it rang, it was after the coincidentially after the dragon's passage.

Reaching for his pocket, he retrieved a magical device that he, upon activating, engulfed Gunther within a gentle glow.

In the span of two short minutes, a message was murmured into his ears from one of his fellow fourteen.

"Master, what happened?" Damian asked, once the phenomenom stopped.

"Damian, I think I’ll have to leave the Fortress to you earlier than expected. I am summoned in urgence by the Church. " Gunther said, standing from his chair with a serious expression and an almost ghastly expression.

"Did something happen?"

His master didn’t answer, as if he was hesitating to reveal what he knew, but eventually did so. "The expedition to the Iharana Greatforest, they are back to the Human Continent, or at least what is left of them."

Though the expedition to the Iharana was kept secret from most, both Damian and Gunther were well aware of that operation.

"What?"

"Out of the seven that were sent, only two returned alive."

"That can’t be,"... only two? Master, What about Grandfather Armand? What about Barbosse? He was able to make it right!? "

"He,... if I remember right, he was your brother’s friend."

"Mine as well."

Heaving a heavy sigh, "He,"... was not able to make it."

"That can’t be possible. But with his teleportation, he should’ve..."

As he spoke, both men suddenly remembered what happened with the last person capable of teleportation the church had.

"I was told that in his final effort, he teleported Armand and Ainsley here on the human continent. He was able to make it to the continent but not survive his injuries. "

"Aaah, Barbosse,... what happened? He still had two young sons waiting for him." Damian lamented.

"I’m sorry for your friend, but I must leave for the Holy City. It’s really urgent. We will talk on my return."

Afflicted by the loss of his friend, Damian, and despite his reticence, nodded and took over his master position in his absence.

***

In the four corners of the Human Continent, each of the fourteen received the same summon Gunther received. Over the years, especially the past ten years, each of the ArchBishops and Holy Paladins have seen so many disasters unfold that the moment this kind of summon, they have internally started to associate this Church’s summon with ill-omen, for it was, it always is.

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Somewhere on the human continent

The sun was raging above the barren place that was this place.

A strange phenomenon occurred all of a sudden.

As if spewed from space itself, a column of light appeared to shatter immediately after.

Three men appeared where it all, in a mere split second, occurred.

Under his weakening breath, one of the men muttered, "Moona... Arte... Uriel..."

***

"Come on, Barbosse, you finally got us out of that hellplace. You can’t abandon here. Think of your children. Armand, don’t you have anything, something, I don’t know. Do something"

"Amon!"

"Come on!"

"Amon! Dammit. He’s gone, all your doing is desacrating his body even further. "

A punch flew by. Then another one.

"Fuck you, Armand. All of this is because of... tsk. Aah fuck it!"

Several minutes passed.

And the tension finally calmed down between the two.

One of the two men, Ansley, carried the lifeless body of their fallen comrade.

"What are you going to do now?" Asked Armand.

"I’m going to take him where he belongs. The least I can do for him is to take him to his family. This poor idiot has two sons that wait for their father at home. You? "

"I’m going to my family."

"Family, huh? Go, take them to somewhere safe, if there is such a place, for if these things, whatever they were, came to the human condition, your duchy would undoubtably be razed off the map. I will summon the other fourteen, to inform them of whatever fuck is coming at us."

"Thanks, Amon."

"Next time you meet him, just die or something. I, for my part, am done looking and feeling this miserable each time it happens. "

"Me too."

"Good Luck out there."

"You too."