Hidden beneath one of the Empire’s bases of operation, Endaria looked on passively at the woman she had been forced to work with for the past few weeks.
“Incompetent. Absolutely incompetent,” she declared as he talked down to Lana, who was resting on a medical bed. The pair had just arrived after fleeing the battle with the allied Archipelago Guild and Church of Ten forces. “It’s bad enough that you couldn’t successfully ambush the Anathema, but to allow Peri to die as well. How on earth did such a failure manage to reach the Rank of Legendary, let alone become one of the Lights of the Radiant Lord?”
Both women were wrapped up in medicinal supplies, with Endaria only having a few bandages. Even if all her spells and skills were combat oriented, her natural healing ability as a Life Hunter made it so she didn’t need to spend much time with the medics. Though the same could not be said for Lana.
The Legendary Glacial Hunter was wrapped up from head to toe in glowing green bandages. Several wires had been used to keep parts of her body elevated, while most of her bones were also being put back into their proper position.
She was in far worse shape than when she had left her battle with Ezekiel. To the point that her mouth was currently wired shut, and it was all she could do to just grunt in pain. Talking was out of the question right now.
Endaria narrowed her eyes as she bared her teeth at Lana as she tried to make some sort of noise. “You deserve every bit of punishment I doled out! The fact that I merely broke your bones and cut you up a thousand times is a benefit of your station as one of the Lights. Had you been any other Follower of Radiance, you would still be suffering under my thorns!”
A rose shaped Spirit popped up from beneath the Exalt’s enchanted armor. The conversed silently as Endaria closed her eyes and tilted her head in thought.
Lana watched with one eye wide in fear, and the other swollen shut. Chained to the wall beside her, her Spirit whimpered from within a cage. The sound of rattling shackles and splashing water were the only other things that could be heard.
‘Sigh’ Endaria slumped in annoyance. “You’re lucky your life is still needed, and that only the Speaker has the right to dictate who among the Lights is to die by my hand.”
She reached forward to flick one of Lana’s feet. The Glacial Hunter let loose a muffled scream of pain as her body was wracked in painful shakes.
“The healers will return in a couple of hours. For now, think about your failures, and know that you got lucky.” Endaria glared at her fellow Light before wrinkling her nose in disgust.
Lana had relieved herself from the pain and fear.
“Disgusting and pathetic. We were so close, yet you failed so spectacularly. They most certainly made landfall by now, if not made it to the Shroud family territory.” She bit her thumb as the rose on her shoulder leaned in to pet her. The touch of the flower Spirit’s leaves in her hair seemed to calm her down. “You’re right. There’s no point making more of a fuss. Besides, we have a meeting in a few minutes, don’t we?”
The Rose spirit nodded its head, and Endaria smiled at something only she could hear. “Then let’s get going.”
Without looking back, the Life Exalt and her Spirit left the room. A sobbing Lana was left in their wake. Her cries fading into muffled sniffles of pain and fear.
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Gathered in a circle, the remaining Lights of Radiance had just finished listening to Endaria’s report on the situation. None of them were pleased with what had happened. Especially since they had lost one of their own with nothing to gain.
It was not like when they lost Marco, who’s sacrifice had at least weakened the forces that were acting in Tarquessa enough for them to take control much faster. Even if that effort had also failed to kill the Anathema.
“Where is Lana right now?” Typhos asked after a moment to think. “From what you’ve said, she should’ve recovered easily enough, and there shouldn’t be anything that would’ve stopped her from joining this meeting. The Relics we use can accommodate more than one representative.”
Endaria just snorted in disgust. “That wastrel is currently suffering her punishment for her failure. She will recover, for the most part, by tomorrow. Enough to take over administrative duties once more.”
Left unsaid was the full extent of Lana’s punishment, or the fact that Endaria had no intention of allowing Lana to fully heal for at least a week. If it wasn’t for the fact that she had no desire to take on the administrative duties of their forces for herself, she’d have ensured that Lana would be bedridden for a few days longer.
“So long as she is able to continue her basic duties by tomorrow, that is fine,” the Speaker declared before Typhos or the others could speak up. “How are the Imperial forces behaving?”
Endaria shrugged, “Well enough. I don’t deal with them myself. That was what Peri and Lana did. But they have continued to push into the Alliance’s territory at a consistent pace. We should officially have over half of Morathi under our control by the end of the month. With several defensive bases and territorial markers set up to be consolidated.”
The Speaker nodded in approval as Typhos and Erkan shared a look. Since they were the Follower’s official leaders in the Willowbrush Empire, they were the ones that had to report to the Emperor and court regarding the operations that involved their organization.
Given the losses that the Empire had suffered, they were worried about whether their current campaign was one that they should be pursuing, or not. Especially since small pockets of resistance were still present. Even if they were very unorganized compared to before.
Worse yet was the news coming from the south. While they had no pity for the Archipelago, whose inhabitants constantly denied and shot down all their forces that approached, Imperial forces included, the fact that the Broods were pushing further into human territories was bad for everyone.
“If I might ask, Exalts,” Erkan finally decided to speak up, “how do we intend to deal with the likely incursion of the Broods and their Cruor slaves? With so many of the Empire’s forces fighting in Morathi, it leaves us open to the east, should the Cruor decide to push for more territory.”
The two Exalts were silent for a moment, but it was the Speaker who addressed the question.
“Our Lord has declared that it will be no issue once the Willowbrush Empire is under our control. Once the Anathema’s sister is with the Emperor’s child, we will be able to eliminate the Emperor, and place the remains of his bloodline on the throne under our control.”
This was one of the primary points of their plan. They needed the Emperor to pass on his bloodline, else his death would free the Empire’s Exalts from their contracts, and they would be able to act against them in the open. It was a deed that needed to be done for the Followers, regardless of the bad taste it left in a few of their mouths.
Typhos shifted uneasily in his seat. Anyone who saw him would be able to tell that he was still not happy at the involvement of children in such plans, but since the girl wasn’t as young as the Anathema had been when they had first tried to kill him, he kept his mouth shut.
Endaria nodded along with the Speaker’s words, as did Erkan, who was simply happy that his Empire wouldn’t be harmed with their current plans. The fact that he would be the puppet master behind the throne was also something that the others all knew he was looking forward to.
But it was, surprisingly, Amelia who decided to question the necessity of their plan.
“Would such a thing be for the best? Would the Kindled family even be willing to allow that to happen? As far as they know, the Emperor will be granting them numerous benefits in exchange for this marriage. Killing the one who promised these things might upset them. Do we have plans in place for when that happens?”
“There are, of course, plans in place should the Kindled family decide to back out of the agreement. But they will likely not be necessary. That family is messing with forces that they have no hope of controlling. They will destroy themselves well before they have any chance of recovering from the current war. Once they are gone, our Lord will permit us to divvy up the Empire and Morathi as needed, to ensure that the Cruor will be pushed back properly,” the Speaker reassured his fellow Lights.
“Isn’t that still reliant on the marriage happening in time? The Kindled family has been reluctant to push the wedding forward. They are insisting that the girl reach maturity first, are they not?”
Amelia’s question remained unanswered, as Endaria didn’t care to learn about what the Kindled family was doing, and Lana, the main liaison with the Kindled family, was out of commission.
The Life Exalt had the sense of mind to look abashed when the Speaker directed his gaze at her, but she failed to answer.
“... From Lana’s most recent report, the marriage will go through before the end of the year. Though it will still be a few months away. She will be an adult by every standard at that point, and it won’t be an issue.” Amelia backed down with a nod after the Speaker spoke. “Though, we will need to ensure that there are no issues that might prevent the marriage from going through. The Emperor is already dying, after all.”
Typhos and Erkan couldn’t stop themselves from flinching when the Speaker turned toward them.
It wasn’t entirely their fault that the Emperor was abusing the medicines and Artifacts that they had supplied him to undergo several breakthroughs. The fact was, they had warned the Emperor of the potential issues that using their lord’s blessings was the worst thing they could do, but the Emperor had ignored them. Too obsessed with obtaining power, and no longer being in the other Exalt’s shadows.
“What of the Archipelago? I know that they have proven themselves unworthy of receiving the Light’s blessing, but simply leaving such a large territory for the Cruor to take control of cannot be a good thing in the long run. Especially since it will mean that the other areas of the Continent will be ripe for the picking since they will not be restricted to the center of the Continent.” Erkan’s words were a pathetic attempt to redirect the conversation, but it was a fair point that was on the minds of all the other Lights.
The Speaker, however, continued to remain unconcerned.
“What happens in the Archipelago is not enough of a problem to hold back our plans. The Light has determined that the Cruor will not be able to maintain a presence in the Archipelago.” The confidence and certainty in the Speaker's voice was enough to reassure anyone that heard him that nothing was wrong. Each of the Lights visibly relaxed when they heard the Speaker’s words.
“Besides, the oceans have the greatest number of Exalted beings out of all the territories of the world. They will be able to hold off on any assaults from the Cruor should it look like more than half the territories under humanity’s control are going to fall.”
That reminder was enough to dispel the rest of the Lights’ worries.
It was well known amongst the upper echelons of the world, at least the ones that traveled the ocean on a regular basis, that there were at least three Exalted Spirits that lived in the ocean. As well as one Exalted Hunter.
Two Glacial, one Flame, and one Death Hunter with their Spirit.
The first two were rulers of different oceanic territories, while the third ruled over a volcanic island chain that was directly fed massive amounts of Flame mana from within the molten core of the world.
The final Exalted pair, the Death Hunter, was one of the few Exalted Hunters to successfully kill one of the original Broodlords, nearly a century ago. But afterwards, they had retreated from the lands under humanity’s control. Their very presence was enough to cause sickness and disease to spread in their surroundings if they failed to suppress their mana.
They had taken over a large island in the Archipelago, isolated from all the others, but supposedly kept a small amount of contact with the Church of Ten. The unsaid confirmation of their continued existence was something that the Lights contributed to one of the Speaker’s many unknown agents.
“... I had forgotten about the Exalts in the Archipelago. They are so rarely relevant in the world, that they honestly hadn’t crossed my mind.” Erkan admitted with a bow of his head.
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“With those concerns addressed, let us discuss how we will deal with the Anathema.” The Speaker moved on without a second glance at Erkan. “Endaria, will you be able to confront Wolken again? This time with the aid of the Empire’s Exalt.”
Endaria enthusiastically nodded in confirmation. “Yes. The Exalts are constantly swapped out, so as to ensure that they can continue governing their territories in the Empire, but the current Exalt in rotation is Harras. His speed will be more than enough to overtake Wolken, whose specialty does not tie in with the movement aspect of the Tempest. I believe that he is currently meeting with the Kindled family to inform himself of the ongoing battles that need the most attention. A plan is in place to trick their army into an area that is currently under the Empire’s control. That way, he will be forced to defend the Empire’s land, and will not be breaking his oaths to not participate in actively conquering other regions.”
The Speaker and the other Lights nodded in agreement. Had it been Talia, it would’ve simply been two Life Hunters, and the lack of variety in spell work wouldn’t have given more than a numerical advantage. With Narok, the Cavern Hunter would've fallen behind and been forced to defend, more than attack, so it would’ve been mostly up to Endaria to do the dirty work.
But if Harras was the one that was aiding her, then it was basically guaranteed that they would be able to kill Wolken swiftly.
“Good. Then I expect the Anathema to be dead by the time we next convene for an update,” the Speaker said. “Even if you can’t kill Wolken, you must kill the Anathema. Regardless of the fact that Wolken has proven himself to be one of our true enemies.”
“... Understood, Lord Speaker,” Endaria muttered with a slump in her posture.
She had previously expressed her desire to kill Wolken, as he would protect Ezekiel until the day he died, so it would be best to ensure that the Exalt was no longer around to stall them. Especially since he had already declared that he would be doing his best to disrupt the Followers’ plans.
From there, the Lights of Radiance continued to discuss the ongoing operations in the rest of the world. But even though things were looking up for them, each of them remained somewhat stilted for the rest of the discussion.
While they had no reason to doubt that the Anathema would die by their forces' hands, they had all felt the same thing before, on multiple occasions.
Not once had they been proven right.
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Standing within a hall of golden light, Harras narrowed his gaze as he looked toward the assembled Kindled family elders. The patriarch, in particular, was glaring at him, while the others looked on in disinterest. Of course, he didn’t bother to look at them directly. There was only one person in this entire family that deserved even the smallest bit of his attention.
The Grand Elder of the Kindled family looked down on Exalt Harras from a high pillar where he sat above the other members of his family.
Every now and then, Patriarch Howlend would turn and glare at the Grand Elder, but nothing was said. This had been going on for nearly five minutes, and Harras was turning red, and his hands were constantly clenching open and shut in repressed anger. His Spirit let out a cry of complaint, and he nodded his head before turning around and walking back to the entrance without a word.
“Where do you think you’re going?” the Grand Elder broke first. But Harras didn’t reply. He just continued walking. “Is this how the Empire treats its hosts? How rude. I can’t imagine how horrible your Empire must be if you cannot display standard polite behavior.”
The moment the Grand Elder finished speaking, everyone in the room was flattened to the ground as Harras released an immense amount of pressure with his mana. The only one that remained upright was the Grand Elder, but even he began sweating.
“Understand this, you decrepit failure of a Hunter. You asked the Empire for aid in saving your asses when you failed to make a mark against the rest of the Morathi Alliance.” Haras was growling as his Spirit started letting off sparks of electricity. “You are not hosts. You are wards of the Empire. The Emperor has granted you the right to rule your previously owned lands, but every inch of territory that is conquered in this war is property of the Willowbrush Empire. Else the Imperial Exalts would not be participating. There is no point in risking our lives for land that is not ours, nor could we Exalts even fight, since we are restricted to the Empire per the contracts that were put in place when it was founded.”
By this point, most of the Elders had steeled their [Will], and were once more upright and were giving Harras much more wary looks. Only the Grand elder continued to glare, though Howlend also tried to, but failed to meet Harras’ eyes.
“With that in mind, I would say that it is incredibly rude of you to invite me here to provide an update on the war, only to remain silent so as to make me ask for it, thereby giving you the high ground for negotiation.” Harras raised his hand; Lightning channeled through it and formed a spear.
“This act goes against the agreements made by the Empire!” the Grand Elder screamed in rage and fear. “Yes, we were rude, but we did not threaten you in any way!”
Harras just clenched his hand, letting the Lightning within it spread out and strike several spots on the wall. At which point, the formations that were hidden by the Radiant light inside the room were destroyed. Much to the assembled Kindled family members’ shock.
“Your rudeness isn’t death worthy, but trying to manipulate my mind most certainly was.” He turned around once more, ignoring the crumbling walls and flickering lights around him. “For now, I will be waiting for one of you to report to me and give me the information you promised. Or we can continue to address this issue. Whereupon I will use a more appropriate amount of force.”
The Elders were silent, and Harras simply nodded before continuing out to leave the room.
“I shall also be checking in on the prospective Empress. It’s high time that someone from the Empire checked up on her. You will not stop me.”
The doors closed behind him with a slam, and he strode out of the central compound.
He only stopped to ask for directions to where the Emperor’s arranged Empress was staying. After a few minutes of walking, he arrived at a secluded courtyard with a small but lavish house within.
There was a lack of any servants or support personnel, with only a few ground keepers and cleaners with contract markings on their wrists. From what could be seen, this was only barely at the appropriate level of care that would be expected of potential royalty.
Perched on his shoulder, Harras’ Spirit let out a determined, yet wary, caw of confusion.
“I know my friend. But we will get our answers soon.” Harras strode up to the door of the house, and with a hard rap on the wood, the slow sound of footsteps from within could be heard. “Let us see who this young lady is, and perhaps find out why her identity was kept from me for so long.”
Of all the Empire’s three Exalts, he was the last to spend any time fighting in Morathi. In part because he was best suited for defending their eastern borders. But also, because there was something that the Emperor was keeping from him.
The other Exalts had apparently been informed of this already but had been ordered not to say anything until a certain time had passed. Even now, Harras still hadn’t been informed as to the identity of the Kindled family member that was being sold to the Emperor as a bride.
After a few seconds, the door finally opened, and a young woman in her late teens opened it. A beautiful golden owl was nestled in her arms. She was dressed in enchanted garments that any enchanter could tell were just as restrictive as they were protective.
Her hair was also done up in an elegant braid, and she had a small amount of makeup on.
But the things that drew Harras’ attention the most were her eyes.
While gold in color, there was no splendor, no light, no life that could be seen within her gaze.
“Hello. How may I help you?” she asked with a quiet and subdued voice.
“... Greetings. I am the Exalt, Harras. I have come here from the Empire to both aid the Kindled family in their war, and ensure that you, the future Empress, do not come into harm's way.” Harras bowed just a bit to the young woman in front of him. “If I might ask, what is your name? I was never told before I arrived here. The specifics to your identity are somewhat of a mystery within the Empire. It is only known that you are of the primary bloodline descended from the Kindled family’s Grand Elder. Though you are not in the family’s favor.”
A small spark of defiance appeared in her eyes for a moment. Harras caught sight of it and focused on what the girl before him was going to say.
“My name is Ellen... Ellen... Lu...mi... nance...” She grits her teeth as she forced herself to say her name. On her wrist, a contract marking glowed brightly, and she tensed in pain, only to relax after a few seconds. Once it did, she focused her gaze on Harras’ face, which was now twisted in shock.
He knew that surname. Everyone in the world that wasn’t living under a rock knew that surname.
“Spirits dammit all!” he cursed a moment later.
Given the events that had happened in the past, he knew that his work in Morathi was going to be much harder. Moreso when, after leaving the apparent future Empress to her own devices, he continued his investigations, and found a familiar Radiant Hunter bound in chains and shackles in the Kindled family’s dungeon.
While he stood, staring at the broken man before him, a chill ran up his spine.
There was no evidence that the young Void Hunter from his past had reached the Mythic Tier, but he knew how many impossible feats that Ezekiel had achieved in the past. Recovering from his crippling soul wounds and becoming Legendary in his early twenties merely being his most recent.
Idly listening as the messenger that he had been provided by the Kindled family recounted the current progress of the war hours later, Harras let out another curse when he was told that the Church and Prime Guild’s army had landed in the Shroud family territory.
With a peak Legendary Void Hunter standing amongst their leaders.
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Elsewhere in the Kindled family territory, Howlend was drowning his sorrows and anger toward his family and Exalt Harras with wine and women. Several scantily clad women danced on a stage in front of him, even as several more cozied up beside him.
“More wine, milord?” a red eyed girl asked while holding a bottle out to Howlend.
He grunted in approval and held out his cup. It was refilled, and he downed it in one go without spilling a drop. Holding out the cup once more, he allowed the girl to fill it once more, but this time he swirled it around, rather than drink it right away.
“If I might be so bold..., what is it that ails you, Lord Patriarch?” The girl tilted her head to the side.
Howlend clenched his hand at the question, but just as he was about to lash out, his Spirit, who was lying on the floor next to him, let out a warning growl. Not as a threat, but as a cautionary reminder of what he could and couldn’t do in this situation.
“I fail to see how my worries are of any concern to you. You aren’t even an Adept. The fact that you were permitted to serve me wine is already a great favor toward you.” Howlend muttered before taking a large gulp from his cup.
“That has never stopped you before... Do you wish me to leave? Am I of no interest to you anymore?” tears formed in the girl’s eyes. They shone in the dime light with a deep scarlet glow, and Howlend felt himself warm up, ever so slightly, and his body relaxed as the fatigue and tension he had built up faded away.
“... It’s that damned Exalt from the Empire. He thinks that he can just come into my territory and give me and my family orders. Worse yet, that worthless ancestor of mine tried to play politics, only to have his weakness shoved in his face. He should know by now that he’s no longer the Exalt of the Kindled family. He’s just a decrepit bastard with one foot in the grave.”
The girl that was serving him listened intently, even as the other serving girls backed away. Their matching red eyes were wide in wonder as they watched the youngest of them comfort and control the Patriarch of the Kindled family.
“Do you have any way of removing him as a problem? It sounds like he really needs to go,” the girl said as felt Howlend relax even further into her embrace.
Next to them, Howlend’s Spirit was being attended to by several women. His relatively large body was practically a puddle of goo as they massaged and combed every inch of his body.
Heat seemed to seep out of the girls, and the Spirit’s eyes went hazy. Something that was matched in Howlend’s.
“Perhaps... the Exalt did destroy the suggestive formation the Grand Elder controlled... Maybe with the aid of a few helpers, we could ambush him, and I could take my rightful place as ruler of the Kindled family...” Howlend’s voice was quiet, and he took another large gulp of his wine.
The girl refilled it. The rich red liquid now contained an oily sheen that reflected the light in the room. She smiled as the Kindled family Patriarch planned the death of his ancestor.
Her teeth were very sharp. Far too sharp to be human.
“What about the Guilds? I hear they have a special Hunter that’s helping to lead them?” The girl moved to straddle Howlend while her sisters moved to rub along his body. Heat emanated from all of them, but not a single Flame could be seen. They continued to give him the tainted wine.
“I’ll do what you suggested,” Howlend whispered, “all those weeks ago. When I first found you working here. The new girl in my favorite pleasure house... How cute you were... So eager to please... Even now...”
Howlend’s eyes grew dim as his body went limp. He nearly dropped the cup in his hands, even as the women around him began whispering plots and plans to take out his enemies.
His ancestor, the Grand Elder.
His peers among the family council.
The Shroud family.
The Void Hunter.
His niece.
“That’s right... Let yourself go... Realize that they are of no help to you. No aid. You would be better off without them. They’re only in your way, after all.” The girl on Howlend’s lap whispered as he fell into a deep slumber. The Spirit on the ground had nodded off several seconds before.
“Good... Put him in a bed somewhere. Keep him out and continue whispering sweet nothings in his ears for the rest of the day. If his family comes looking for him, just go with the usual excuses. Our [Charms] have reached deep enough for the [Suggestions] that he’s more opposed to, to finally stick.”
The girl on Howlend’s lap climbed off. Her body stretched into a lither form than the eager young woman she had been just moments before. Her hair lightened to a dull white that was flat and dull. No brightness was present. Just a lack of color. Her eyes darkened to a more maroon shade of red.
All around her, the other woman went through a similar transformation. Several lifted the large Radiant Spirit and its Hunter and carried them out to one of the rooms where they could sleep off their most recent session with their leader.
“It’s about time...” one of the women muttered.
“What was that?” the leader asked. Her voice cut through the air like a knife.
All the women froze in their tracks. The leader walked over to the one that had spoken, and gently pulled her chin upward to look her in the eye.
“You have no idea just how difficult it is to ensnare the mind of a Legendary Hunter, do you?” the leader asked. The woman she was holding shook her head in denial. “If a young Blood like you attempted to do this, you would take over a year, and your Ichor would drain out and you’d be a shriveled-up husk before you could get half as far as I did.”
The Legendary Blood Cruor extended her nails and cut into the woman’s face. Oily Ichor spilled to the ground. Mostly red, but the eldritch iridescence was still quite prominent. More so than it was in the wine that their leader had served to Howlend.
A moment later, the Ichor on the ground rose up and flowed into the Legendary Cruor’s mouth. The lesser Cruor in her grip whimpered and struggled but couldn’t do anything.
This continued for a few seconds, until the struggling woman fell to the floor. She wasn’t dead, but she was incredibly emaciated.
“Go clean up and get ready for your other clients. Just because we’ve finally secured one target doesn’t mean we can slack off on securing the rest. Lady Kareena has given us orders. We will fulfill them to the best of our abilities.”
“Yes, Lady Mara!” the assembled Cruor spoke in unison as they bowed to their leader.
For her part, Lady Mara simply sat back down and lounged. A short break from her hard work to reward herself for a job well done.
“Soon. Soon this land will fall to the Cruor, and the Broods will most assuredly reward us...”
Pulling out the wine she had previously poured from for Howlend, she took a long pull straight from the bottle. Her face split into a grin that was too wide for her face.
Images of death and destruction danced in her eyes.