Initiate Second Spring couldn’t help but flinch as a nearby building was torn to pieces by a stray projectile from the silver-rankers who were currently clashing in the sky above the sect compound, causing splinters of wood and debris to shower the defensive array of the building in which they were making themselves ready, the barrier already flickering slightly from the strain on the whole network of inner defenses. Even at this distance, their unleashed auras were an almost nauseating pressure to her iron rank, but she would try to do her utmost to persevere.
“Initiate Spring, collect yourself. Such reactions are unbecoming of a member of the Descending Star sect.”
“Yes- I mean- I am sorry, inner disciple! I will do my best!” Spring did her best to sound staunch, but she was honestly terrified. It was hard to imagine her life just half a year ago had been so different, before coming of age to accept the essences that her parents, hard workers of Gilded’s magic society, had painstakingly saved for. Being accepted into the sect had felt like an opportunity for a new life. In some ways, it had been; with so much training and things to learn. She had even earned herself not one but two awakening stones for her hard work, fortunate enough to go unnoticed by the disciples with a bad reputation; with tempers to rival the dragons of the legends.
But then things had started to feel more strained, culminating in them all getting an order to rescind their adventure society membership. And then there was the whole story about grand elder Meridian being a traitor.
“Hadn’t it been her who had spoken to them just a day ago through the barrier, projected voice talking about some afflictions and that those who would surrender would be treated fairly?” Spring thought to herself, but was snapped back to the present when her aura was spiked by another of the bronze-rankers.
“Focus, initiate. Heavens, will they admit any trash these days?” The last sentiment was muttered loudly enough to make sure that Spring heard it. She could feel her face heat, but nevertheless tried to listen.
“-we will soon move out and drive these scum from our compound, the very heart of our power. Reports say that the enemy barely outnumbers us, so with the advantage of fighting for our very pride and existence, victory is all but assured!”
The speaker was another one of the inner disciples, a bronze-ranked young man whose name Spring did not know. What she did know was that the three bronze-rankers here expected all of the eight iron-ranked initiates present to join them as they went out to battle the invaders. Spring had, of course, participated in some sparring and hunted monsters along with her fellow initiates. But going out there to fight the attacking adventurers? To the death?
However, the inner disciple did not leave any more time for Spring to ponder, as he finished.
“So let us stand tall and show them the might of the Descending Star sect. For honor and our just defiance!”
With a surge of his aura, a stone sword rose from the ground, conjured by the man’s essence magic. Another of the bronze-rankers flung open the sliding doors, Spring and the other initiates following in their wake into the sect compound now turned battlefield.
While she hadn’t grown too proficient in sensing the flow of the ambient mana, even Spring’s inexperienced senses could feel the local mana in turmoil as powers were released all around them, screams and other noises of destruction echoing about the sect compound. Rumors said that there were a hundred or so students left at the compound, and while the combined numbers were nowhere near enough to fill the streets, an essence-user, even at iron rank, impacted a lot of space once powers were starting to fly.
“Still no foes,” Spring thought with relief as they made their way through the streets of the compound, navigating the craters and other more exotic forms of obstacles in search of their foes. One street had even been turned into a small glacier as clusters of huge blocks of ice barred their path. “Maybe we can even pass unnoticed?”
But the hopeful thought was soon brought low by the grim reality, as more auras flared ahead of them.
“Over there! More of the sect dogs! Lay down your arms, traitors of Gilded!”
“You dare?! Walk these grounds unbidden, and you are already courting death! Attack! For the glory of the sect!”
A group of essence users, seemingly led by four affluent young masters and mistresses with their entourages, had appeared on the street before them, insults flying before being replaced by magical death. The leader of the sect students swung his stone sword, waves of stone spikes launching toward their foes as rippling cascades of water and some kind of white flames came hurtling towards them.
To Spring’s shame, she froze for the first moment, but snapped out of it as an arrow hissed by her ear. She tried to assist in the attack by flinging exploding pollen towards their attackers, but only managed a single spell before some kind of resonating area attack exploded amongst the sect members. Many were protected by one of the inner disciples, but Spring was not one of them.
“I- where am I?” she blearily thought as she came to. “Did I lose consciousness? Did- did I make that hole through the door?”
Unsure of how much time had passed, Spring wobbled to her feet. Outside she could still hear the chaos of the fight and see projectiles fly. A fellow initiate entered her line of sight, charging ahead with a conjured shield raised. The defensive conjuration blocked most projectiles which impacted it, but the young woman’s charge was brutally interrupted as what looked like a wooden rhinoceros crashed into her a moment later, her broken body impacting the open doorframe near where Spring stood.
Staring at the broken form of the initiate, the corpses eyes almost entirely red and one having fallen partially out of its socket from the violent impact, something within Spring snapped. Or maybe it had already snapped earlier, just now having caught up to her. She turned her back towards the sounds of conflict outside; to the cries of glory and sounds of death. And Spring ran.
“I- I can’t- They- We-”
Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, and Spring was grateful to feel something more primal take over. Her mana surged as she transformed, soft grey fur growing from her as her fingers grew longer and sprouted claws. Said claws helped her to easily scale the inner wall opposite from the conflict outside, Spring finding herself up in the wooden rafters in but a scant three seconds. One graceful leap on all fours took her close to one of the windows just beneath the ridge of the roof, and another had her diving out through the opening.
While the pull of the earth quickly wanted to resume its hold on her, Spring at least had something with which to fight against it. More mana left her and an almost translucent membrane appeared, connecting each arm with the corresponding leg, long and fuzzy tail assisting in guiding Spring’s descent as her leap turned into a glide.
“Away! I have to-”
Landing on the opposite roof, Spring continued. Running on all fours, she cleared another five buildings even as she was almost entirely thrown off one roof as another stray attack from the skies impacted nearby. Ahead of her, feeling almost impossibly far, she saw the edge of the sect compound and the forests beyond.
“I have to get away! Away! Mother, father, I-”
Just as she leapt to cross another street, Spring’s jumbled thoughts were interrupted by pain, sharp and very acute as a glowing javelin pierced her right arm and gliding membrane. This turned her controlled arc into a tumbling fall, her gliding magic still making sure to help alleviate the fall a bit so as to not break anything. But this was of little comfort as Spring looked up to see not one but four adventurers closing the distance towards her, all of them bronze rank.
“Flee!” That was all her mind could muster, springing to all fours and preparing to leap into a nearby building. “I can lose them here. I need to-”
“Wall.”
The salvation of an open doorway turned into despair as it was replaced by semi-translucent walls of force, strange symbols covering their surface. Spring quickly found all four of her paw-like hands and feet pressed to the conjured surface, ignoring the pain of her wounds as she sprung off to navigate around the obstacle only to find that it was not just one wall, but a cage.
That was when an entirely new level of panic set in for the already rather panicked initiate. Spring started unleashing the few spells and attacks she possessed in her repertoire, but neither bursts of wind nor detonating pollen would make a dent.
“-ple- ease - ender-”
“I cannot- this isn’t true - I -”
“-op - ggling - elp- “
“Mother- father- I’m- Sorry-”
“-erene- if you- ease?”
“Help me. Please help-”
Then, suddenly, it was as if the world itself closed in on Spring. Nothing around her changed in any physical sense, but spiritually it was as if she was wrapped tightly in a blanket. Too tight to move, but the usual discomfort of suppression also carried something more. And while it took a few seconds, Spring found herself stopping and actually looking out through the barrier at the four. Where one, a short human woman with pink, curly hair was waving a burning axe menacingly towards a regal blond elf.
“Will, look what you did? How could you even consider hurting such a sweet thing?”
“Dragonfly, she is one of our enemies. I-”
“But look at how cute she is! You are a monster!”
“I-” the elf began, glancing towards Spring and flinching slightly. “Well, I may have been a bit hasty.”
While the argument seemed to continue, the voices were drowned out as Spring heard another; soft and feminine, like a whisper on the wind accompanied by gentle chimes. It seemed to fill the air of the force-cage as it spoke;
“Please calm yourself. While we are here as part of the assaulting force, know that all who surrender and agree to be collared will be turned over to the church of the Healer for examination. We will not harm you further unless you attempt to attack us.”
Spring found herself almost hypnotized by the soothing words, an oasis of calm in her chaotic world. She tried to speak, but didn’t find the words, just feeling so tired.
“Please, just look at me and nod if you understand and surrender.”
Looking up, Spring met the eyes of a celestine with hair and eyes like green jade, the serenity and beauty of her feeling so at odds with the madness around them. Looking into those eyes, Spring managed to nod. While part of her felt incredible guilt towards the sect, that part had long been buried by the will to survive.
“Then my companion here will lower a barrier and put a suppression collar on you. Then we will lead you out and to the waiting clergy. Nod if you understand.”
Shaking slightly, Spring nodded once more. And once more in but half a year, the trajectory of her life changed drastically.
----------------------------------------
“I still can’t get over how cute she was,” Dragonfly said as the group was once more heading down towards the sect compound. “What essences could she have had? Squirrel?”
“While I believe that anyone with eyes will agree with you, Dragonfly, we need to get back to it. The clergy is starting to look quite surprised now since we keep returning with prisoners,” Kite noted, the group picking up speed.
“What, are they going to complain about us being too good at this? They did ask us to when possible, right? And besides, bronze-rankers take getting their limbs cut off surprisingly fine, so even I can have a chance at it.” Dragonfly retorted as the group once more set their sights on the quadrant of the sect compound which was to remain their main focus.
Up in the skies above, the three assaulting silver rankers had continually been pushing the two present from the sect even more on the back foot. During their approach, Kite could see a runic man with an axe trailing shining stars keep trying to attack the former grand elder Meridian, only to be driven off by either her or the constant assault of crushing ice conjured by Lord Indomitable.
The other silver-ranked sect member, presumably the final grand elder, was not one Kite had seen before. But as he knew them to have lost one grand elder during the war, it was not hard to imagine this one being a younger silver-ranker. And from how Will’s sister was thoroughly handling the young man, there was an obvious difference in experience.
Calm of the Indomitable Beyond was in constant pursuit of her opponent, and while it looked as if she was just stepping through the air on a conjured path of pale gravel as if part of a serene procession, she was constantly flickering closer a lot faster than one would think possible. A grim kind of pull surrounded her, barely visible in itself but obviously not one which her foes wanted touching them, at least judging by the frantic attempts of the opposing grand elder to stay away while trying to send what attacks he could her way.
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“She calls it March of the Inevitable,” Will helpfully supplied, noticing Kite watching. “My sister has very much aligned her path with her patron god. From the stories I’ve heard, our foes should at least count themselves fortunate that they are not undead or serving that foul deity. Those will find only the eternal void waiting for them, and their passing will not be pleasant.”
“Then we shall be grateful that her path aligns with ours this day,” Kite noted as they once more entered the embattled sect compound. “But we better focus on the task at hand once more. While the reports and orders we got just now indicate that things are progressing, that is no reason for us to grow more lax.”
“Look at you, being our all-serious and responsible team leader,” Dragonfly teased even as he could feel her aura further solidify as she took a more active control over it. The rest did the same before Serene let her vastly more encompassing spiritual presence envelop the group. It was by no means a perfect shroud, especially not against higher-rankers, but it noticeably lowered the range of detection for most of their opposition.
They once more made their way in among the often proud and beautiful wooden buildings of the sect, all the roofs tiles in the uniform dark blue to match the colors of their occupants. Many of the lacquered wooden beams and fine glazed tiles were now scattered and broken as their defensive formations, part of a greater internal network, had failed from the strain. And as the battle in the skies seemed to be heating up even more, Kite could only imagine what the compound would look like after this day was over.
They spent over ten minutes moving swiftly through mostly abandoned streets before finding more targets. Ahead, they could see a group of retreating iron-ranked adventurers chased by a pair of bronze-rankers from the sect. The adventurer group made a decent defensive retreat, shored up by a pair taking turns to raise barriers of iron and, the more exotic sample, huge glass hands; their palms held up in abjuration.
“Our usual way of introduction?” Will asked as he sped up along with the rest, aiming to get as close as possible before being noticed.
“Yes. We will give them the offer, but so far none of the bronze-rankers have agreed. So be prepared.”
“I will be more than prepared. I will be exemplary!” With those words, Will leapt up on a nearby roof, with Dragonfly taking the other. Contrary to her usual tactics, Serene remained visible so as to not leave Kite visibly outnumbered.
“Wall!”
Once more, Kite initiated their intervention by closing the enemy within his barriers. Unlike the lone iron-ranker, this pair did not suffer more than a momentary surprise before they started unleashing some directed powers to try and break through. This forced Kite to continuously expend mana to reinforce it while he called out to them.
“Please stand down and surrender! Any who does will be taken in by the church of the Healer. We-”
“As if we would trust such blatant lies. You are pathetic for even trying, outcast!”
The angry response being the expected one, Kite flared his aura slightly for his companions to ready themselves while he thought; “While it might be futile, it felt right to at least extend the offer. But fools do not tend to turn into sages while in battle.”
That was why his response was not words, but action. Serene blasted her aura outwards as well, momentarily stealing the attention from the pair just as Will and Dragonfly closed in from each side; a rain of spears and spinning wheel of death already just a scant two meters away when Kite gave the mental command. And his barriers vanished.
“Heavenly shaft; Darkness penetrator!”
“Kyyaaaaaahhhhh!”
Just half a minute later, Dragonfly threw her fiery axe over her shoulder as it vanished. The street, at least the one where the short, brutal fight had taken place, was once more calm even though the sounds and signs of battle could be seen in other places of the compound.
“Do you think you can keep this one alive, Serene? I might have overdone it a bit.”
“He is a bronze-ranker, Dragonfly. Unless he dies instantly or is suffering from something which continually worsens his condition, he will be fine,” Serene said, focusing on keeping watch and letting her companions handle the potential prisoner.
“I am not sure we should bother too much,” Will protested, looking down at the one bronze-ranker still alive. The man had lost an arm and both legs below the knees, and was not in any shape to fight even before they had clasped the suppression collar around his neck. “I don’t think I was the only one who noticed the glee in their auras as these two chased down those iron-rankers.”
“While I can agree, the church still needs as many subjects as possible to study,” Kite noted, a bit conflicted himself as he had indeed felt what Will referred to. Not all battles could ever be equal, but it remained very frowned upon within the local culture to needlessly harry or torment lower-rankers when the need to fight them arose, as it was assumed to be beneath one’s path. At least if one thought your path to be an honorable one worthy of the heavens.
“Then can we at least see if the iron-rankers can bring him back to the church? They looked like they would need some time to recover, and it would just happen to spare us a return trip too.” Dragonfly said with an only semi-innocent look, nodding to the group who had stopped around fifty meters down the road with one of the more defensively oriented members acting as a lookout while the rest had found shelter in an abandoned building.
“An excellent idea. Let me take care of it,” Will said before he started to make his way over while keeping close to the buildings to lessen the risk of debris or stray spells landing on him. Kite, Serene and Dragonfly followed his example, dragging their prisoner closer to the relative shelter of an awning while keeping an eye on Will’s progress.
As the elf scion drew closer, Kite noted how Will’s presence seemed to grow, with small changes in posture and aura causing the shift; from their driven but sometimes clueless friend to the son of the city lord. The sound of distant battles meant that Kite couldn’t hear the words spoken, but the low and respectful bows Will received spoke a bit of the dynamic which would set the stage for the conversation that was to come.
What followed was indeed a bit more bowing, a few exchanged sentences and Will gesturing to where the rest of them stood. Before long, the prisoner was being dragged off as the iron-rankers did their best to keep their heads down and travel in the general direction of the besiegers’ lines.
“Thank you again, young master Indomitable. Your generosity knows no bounds,” the last of them said as she bowed once more, the young woman who had conjured the hands made from glass during their fighting retreat.
“It is of little consequence,” Will responded politely, but with a certain edge of superiority in his voice. “Should you keep growing stronger, you may well stand where the late young mistress once stood. Me and my family will have our eyes on you.”
“I- T-thank you, young master. May the heavens keep you safe through this trial.” Bowing yet again, the woman finally turned and ran to keep up with her comrades, a new but definite spring in her step.
“We are truly fortunate to be in the company of such a benevolent young master,” Kite intoned with faked grave sincerity, bowing along with Dragonfly, who had been quite quick on the uptake.
“Indeed,” she continued. “The Indomitable family is truly blessed with such a jewel as their scion. We’d better thank Fortune quickly for this boon that is your presence.”
“It is sad to see that commoners like you have yet to learn proper appreciation of my presence,” Will said haughtily as he fell into step next to the group.. “At least that young iron-ranker was wise enough to know her place. If you’re not careful, she might just earn yours.”
Their banter was interrupted by a rather sudden increase in pressure, the feeling distant but still enough to cause them all to fall silent. In the skies above them, the source of said pressure was made more obvious as what looked to be a great sphere of blue ice had started growing. It swiftly grew to be at least fifty meters across, hovering in the air above the sect compound and everything which battled beneath, emanating a pressure visible enough to make it look like a great meteor pressing down towards the earth at a glacial speed.
“Father seems to be getting serious,” Will noted, the jesting from earlier gone. “That means that we should probably focus as well.” Even as he spoke, they could see the city lord direct his veritable hell of flying projectiles from the vantage of a great wave of ice which towered diagonally upward from a nearby cliff.
“Should- should we be getting clear from beneath that thing?” Kite asked, feeling the pressure in both body and spirit, making it hard to imagine what its effects must be up close.
“No, we are in no danger,” Will assured him as the group paused to check yet another corner as they started drawing closer to what felt like bigger and even more decorated buildings; the heart of the sect compound.
Even as the battle of the silver-rankers above them seemed to be reaching new heights, so did the conflict below. As the sect compound sloped a bit downwards towards the middle, the group could see more intense battles raging ahead as the defenders were becoming even more clustered.
This made knowing where to go next quite easy, all of them picking up the pace as they grew closer.
“It looks intense,” Dragonfly stated expectantly. “Want to do another count?”
The question was directed towards Will as they ran, whose grin was equally fierce. “Oh, most assuredly. This time, there will be no more ambiguous results!
Team leader, may we go ahead?”
Following Will’s gaze, Kite saw a group of their allies clashing fiercely with a group of sect students, powers flying left and right as their battle caused the mana to churn. Yet the sides were equally matched at the moment, creating a strange kind of balance in the strain of the two sides bringing their strength to bear. A light touch on either side of the scale could thoroughly tip the battle in one party’s favor. And neither Dragonfly nor Will would by any means be considered ‘a light touch’.
“Go ahead,” Kite acquiesced, a bit impressed that the two had stopped to ask. “These last few weeks of the surge have been quite the trial, but I cannot accuse anyone of lying about the tempering part either,” he thought as he saw the pair race ahead to tip the balance of battle thoroughly in favor of the adventurers of Gilded. “As for how we work together-”
He had only just begun the train of thought while planning out how to make the final push and enter the fray himself when he noted that Serene had come to an abrupt stop, having turned to look off into the distance, intense focus written over her features.
“What is it?” Kite called, doubling back while keeping an eye on the unfolding battle through his expanded line of vision as he saw Dragonfly crash into a line of freshly summoned soldiers of sand, the temporary summons who were meant to have reinforced the sect students suddenly being turned into an excellent way for her to hit her stride.
Serene only held up one hand in response, closing her eyes for one moment as Kite could feel her quest out with her aura as if straining. Trying his best to follow her spiritual presence, Kite let his own aura follow in her wake and noticed that the object of her scrutiny was not far away; a body slumped one street over visible through a narrow alley. From what little Kite could gather, Serene was letting her aura sift through the area close to the prone form, as if searching. Or trying to sense something.
A second passed, and then another, before she opened her eyes. As he met her jade-green gaze, Kite noticed both confusion and the slightest hint of repressed fear.
“Serene, what is it?” he asked again, more insistent.
“There- there is a trace on that body. The touch of-” she took a steadying breath. “The touch of Pain lingers.”
“Pain?” Kite asked. “As in-”
“As in the deity,” Serene confirmed. Knowing her history of all too intimate knowledge of that sensation, Kite did not question her. But a question was still raised.
“Have the sect turned to his worship?”
“No, Kite- I… I think I recognize the traces left. It is ever so faint, but I think it- No, I am quite sure. She is here.”
“The disciple? But- why? Now? How?”
“My questions mirror yours. I- I am not sure it is even relevant. Not truly. But when I felt it, just a wisp of it, I couldn’t just ignore it.”
Kite looked at his friend, torn by the duty of the moment what Serene’s discovery could mean. Behind them, the battle was collapsing into chaos as yet more combatants were arriving to join both sides.
Looking to the alleyway, Serene and the battle behind him, he stood for a second. Then two. Then three. And then he made a decision.
“I believe that you will be needed in the battle soon. And I also believe that this is something we cannot just leave. I will go and scout it out. Help them settle things here and then follow me. I’ll leave a trail.”
Serene did not seem surprised by his words, probably having gleaned a bit of his intention from his aura. But her words still came out as a protest.
“Kite, it might be nothing. It was just a trace. Don’t-”
“Serene, from your look just a few seconds ago, I know that this was not just ‘nothing’. I will try to be cautious and retreat if I find too much trouble. And send Glint to find you if that is more feasible.”
Looking behind him, a rain of spears showered half of the fountain plaza in which their two friends fought alongside their allies, Will landing like a glorious statue atop the peak of the fountain before leaping off yet again as two different spells tore through the air where he had stood.
“Go, help them, and then come find me.” He had not intended for it to sound that much like a command, but reality often did not align with even the best of intentions. “And do apologize to them on my behalf for splitting off.”
A heartbeat later, Kite could feel Serene’s aura reach out and blanket the battle with its song.
“May the echo of Song follow you. We will see you soon.”
And with that, Kite could feel his attention start to slide off Serene as she moved past him, unable to completely focus on her even though he knew she was right there.
Kite took another look at his friends, all three of them vibrant even as conflict raged around them. His heart still torn, but his mind resolute. The words of Pain’s disciple from that night in the forest Kite had last seen her echoed in his mind, even though they’d been spoken among rampaging beasts and the agonized moans of the fallen.
“Because of her. Our thrice-cursed sect leader. The one who promised everything, only to leave. And I will rip the answers of why from her writhing body. Because from what little I have gathered, we are being moved. All of us. Like puppets.”
“Is that why you are here, Dancer on the Broken River?” he asked the empty air, words swallowed by the battle in the distance.
Then he turned for the alley and strode into it, to see if he could follow this ominous but portentous and unexpected thread Serene had noticed.
----------------------------------------
Elder Bliss could feel another thrumming reverberation of power as another of the stray silver-ranked attacks impacted close by, the defensive arrays of the building barely holding as the network of formations were starting to fail all over the sect compound. He was standing in one of the beautiful buildings near the heart of the sect compound, a gathering hall with old tapestries and wooden floor polished smooth over the years of initiates gathering there to be sent off on their tasks.
Bliss himself had just sent out such a group to intercept a group of the invading adventurers. It was probably not enough, the sect thoroughly on the back foot as the sect leader and grand elder had seemed to be on their last legs the last time he checked. But it should be enough to at least buy his escape a little more time and leaving none to see the departure of ‘elder’ Bliss; another tragic casualty of this whole affair.
And as the tremors outside ceased, another reverberation became more clear, as the tracking stone in Bliss’ hands was chiming ever so gently.
“Any moment now,” Bliss thought, treating himself to assuming a proud pose with his back towards the door, ready for a bit of theatrics as his ‘allies’ would soon arrive. And just as he had stilled, he felt it. A slight ripple of a well contained aura, too faint for him to identify more than its bronze rank. And no sect disciple would keep theirs so subdued here on their home turf.
“It is about time,” Bliss said as he heard the door behind him slide open. “I almost did not think that you would not make it.” Turning, he continued. “But you would make your late sect leader proud, and once out of here, we can start to properly rebuil-”
Having completed his turn, Bliss’ heart reveling a bit in the glorious theatrics of the moment, he was stopped short as there was no group of bronze-rankers behind him, the expected small group of former students of the fallen Unbreakable Chains sect replaced with but one lone figure. And she was by no means a simple student; her lithe form clad in slate-gray armor, hair so white and fine it almost looked translucent trailing behind her as Dancer on the Broken River’s eyes bored intensely into the celestine’s.
“Found you.”