The city below lay quite close to the First Temple, though it still took a bit of time to reach, their journey prolonged by the precariousness of the path that led down the mountain.

Nevertheless, the Custodian and her guard made good time. All of them were experienced riders and their horses had plenty of training.

Though the mountain path would be described by many as idyllic this time of the year, Serana did not relax her vigil. She spread her senses even farther than she usually did, ignoring the blooming trees surrounding them.

She patted Snow absentmindedly. Serana was beginning to regret her initial enthusiasm a little. She still did not think that the Terrans could actually win any war they might start as they’d need to kill her for that, after all. Yet it seemed almost certain that their arrival would end up being a great catastrophe for the people of Eigos.

Which would result in a lot of work for her.

The aliens were already pushing her abilities quite a bit. After seeing the initial demonstration of the Terran Colonel, Serana had spent much of her time thinking of countermeasures.

Not for herself. Such an attack, despite its power, was rather worthless against someone of her might. Yet for anyone else, it might very well have been the very hand of the Goddess striking them for how little they could do against it.

The Custodian had devised a solution. Yet she hesitated with its implementation. Like the pendants, it would tie up some of her power semi-permanently. Unlike the pendants, it would also amplify one of her weaknesses, and in an easy-to-figure-out way.

However, should a war break out, she would not have much choice, lest her people be helpless. A strange situation for her. She had pushed the boundaries of her power before of course, but never for the purpose of a physical confrontation.

Those had always been quite trivial.

Despite Serana’s thoughts, her mood was unchanged.

The Terrans would prove a disaster for Eigos at large, of that she was now near certain. Nonetheless, they had also broken through the creeping apathy that had been seeping into her heart for the past decades. A mixed blessing.

It did not matter much, in the end. She had not brought the Terrans here and the only way had always been forward.

The Custodian did wonder what Eternity would think about the whole mess once she woke up, though.

The rest of the trip passed quickly, with Serana deep in thought. Soon the city walls and the assembled host were in front of her.

The thousands of assembled knights waited on the plain, within arrow distance of the immense city walls. All of them already mounted and in formation, their discipline plain for everyone to see. They wore the customary plate armour of the Temple Knights, with a few of the more ornate exemplars interspersed throughout the assembled soldiers. A few of those wore pendants hidden behind their armour, she both knew and felt.

The chosen thirty-seven had yet to learn to make any real use of them, but that did not stop Serana from utilizing them herself. If it came to battle, it would serve as good practice for her people. Fighting with magic took time to get used too.

The auxiliaries stood mostly hidden behind them and to their sides, their arms and armour much more eclectic, though still fairly standardized. Most wore either leather armour or leather alongside a metal chest plate. They were composed mostly of pikemen and archers, along with various support staff, most of which had been left behind.

The Custodian felt fairly certain that the pikemen would be almost entirely useless. She had yet to properly understand the capabilities of the Terran soldiers, but it seemed obvious that they preferred to fight at range and had the weapons to back such a strategy up. The archers were more uncertain, but perhaps they would prove useful. Lastly, the knights could at least hope to close the distance in a reasonably quick manner, giving them a chance even without her help.

What they could do with her help depended entirely on how much she chose to do, of course. She was leaning torward to letting the possible battle play out mostly on its own. It would show the people that the Church could and would handle the Terran threat, while simultaneously making the Terrans properly understand why they would have to bow their heads.

When the assembled army spotted her, most of them erupted into cheers. Serana did not at all appreciate the noise, yet she understood their reasoning. The enemy might be an unknown, but now they could be certain of their victory.

She did note with some satisfaction that all of the senior knights, marked by their intricately engraved armours, stayed silent.

Serana acknowledged them with her gaze, but otherwise paid the assembled men and women little mind. She rode towards Aisac, who waited on his horse at the front of the formation.

The Knight Commander wore his intricately engraved silver armour, though this time his face was fully covered by a helmet. His black horse stood a bit shorter than hers, though unlike Snow, it wore barding. A longsword was sheathed at his hip and a shield had been fastened to his left arm. A squire stood somewhat nearby, his head bowed respectfully, clutching a lance.

“Everything in order, Commander?” Serana asked softly, once she reached him.

“Yes, Lady Custodian, the soldiers are assembled and eager, though…” Aisac replied, shifting a little in his saddle.

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“Yes?” Serana prompted, looking down at him from her horse.

With his face hidden by a helmet, Serana could only barely make out Aisac’s eyes. Even so, she could tell that he felt rather uncomfortable about the topic.

“There have been… Rumours.” He said, then shooed the squire away with a look before continuing, “That the Terrans can match Eternity’s might, that they are favoured by some sort of a Sun god and other things of similar nature.”

Serana kept her expression neutral, but grimaced inwardly. She expected it, but for the Church’s soldiers to be affected meant that she had been underestimating the effect of the Terran weapon.

The fragility of their faith annoyed her and not for the first time. She should really know better at this point. Yet the ease with which humans started doubting Eternity when presented with the smallest of problems still often took her by surprise. She did not expect blind faith, but surely the millennia of Her presence were worth something?

The Goddess of Eternity had done so much for them. She had given them Eigos and guidance, not to mention that she welcomed them all to her embrace once their time came to leave this world.

Yet humans were still the same, rejecting her gifts with annoying regularity. They should count themselves lucky that the gifts of a Goddess were not something so easily rebuffed.

And that she had no say in the matter, Serana thought coldly. The Custodian had little doubt that annoyance would have gotten the better of her long ago.

“Worry not, Commander. We will almost certainly have the opportunity to fortify the faith of many today,” Serana said, looking towards the occupied hill, from which she could see seven people descending, “The Terrans seemed rather stubborn in their heresy, after all.”

Aisac nodded, his eyes trained in the same direction.

“I will go meet with them. Prepare the men for the coming battle, Commander. Our opponents should arrive soon.” Serana said, before spurning her horse, not waiting for a reply.

A few members of her escort tried to follow, but Aisac stopped them. One of the biggest points in his favour, in Serana’s opinion. A generation or two of peace, and the knights tended to start treating her like some fragile noble flower. Somewhat amusing the first few times, not so much later. Not Aisac though, he understood.

Snow trotted towards the seven Terrans, while Serana examined them. All wore armour, though there were two types this time. Three wore the same kind of armour as the Colonel’s bodyguards had all those weeks ago, dark blue and with many interlocking plates. One of them lacked a helmet, letting Serana identify him as the Colonel himself.

The other four looked like the runners she had spotted earlier today. They wore black and purple armour and owl-ish-looking helmets with golden streaks and very prominent lenses covering their eyes. They were also notably taller, easily a head or so above their compatriots, perhaps only a little shorter than herself.

Her gaze dwelt on their visors for a while. The Custodian had not paid it much mind the last time she had met with the Terrans, but sticking glass into helmets seemed like a rather foolish concept. Another little mystery.

The distance between them quickly disappeared and along with it the time for idle thoughts. Soon she was left just a few meters from the Terran group, leaving them to crane their necks upward.

Serana did not dismount. Her own height along with Snow’s size made her tower over the aliens, giving her a bit of satisfaction.

The Colonel did his best to school his expression, but unlike Phaedra, his attempts were just that. Attempts.

The mix of nervousness and determination on the Colonel’s face was as clear as day to her.

As she looked the group over, the Colonel suddenly bowed, quickly followed by the rest of his group.

The four she mentally referred to as “runners” did so with eerie synchronicity.

The Custodian looked on impassively.

“Venerable Custodian, we beseech you for your time,” the Colonel spoke in his strange accent.

How polite. It seemed that the Colonel had prepared a bit more for their second meeting.

She would have appreciated it more were his intentions not so transparent.

“Speak,” Serana commanded.

“Firstly, I would like to apologize for my previous conduct, I did not have enough time to properly prepare for our previous meeting,” he continued.

Serana did not react, simply staring at him.

The Colonel’s expression became a bit more strained.

“Secondly, we have come to warn you of an impending danger and to propose an alliance,” he said.

Pathetically predictable.

“And why should I care for your life?” She responded, voice flat.

The Colonel smiled, while the shorter two guards stirred. The runners stayed still.

“Our mutual enemy doesn’t care about my life, Venerable Custodian,” The Colonel replied, craning his neck to stare into her eyes.

Serana returned the stare without blinking, fixing her grey eyes down on the man.

He averted his gaze a few seconds later. Just a mouse thinking himself a tiger.

“You have not answered my question,” she said a moment later.

“Right,” he said, a little off balance, “Simply put, they wish to steal your power. Killing me and my people will just let them cover up what happened better.”

Serana blinked, only barely succeeding in keeping the incredulousness of her face.

Mistaking her silence as an invitation to continue, the Colonel spoke, a bit quickly, “Of course, we know that Eternity’s grace is not something so easily attained, but that is not something they believe.”

Curiously, the Colonel did not seem to be lying, even though he had not believed her at all when she had told him about the nature of her power.

“There might not be that many of us, but you have seen the strength of our weapons first-hand. Our chances would be much better if we joined forces,” The Colonel finished.

There had been many to covet her power over the years. Perhaps there had been some who thought that it could be stolen, but Serana never learned of them. The Terrans would be the first to act on such a ridiculous notion.

The Colonel’s impromptu monologue only served to heighten Serana’s amusement. She could have stopped herself, but that would have been a waste of a good joke.

She laughed, first softly and then louder once she saw the Colonel’s astonished expression.