Howlend wailed in agony as he and his Spirit were bound by enchanted ribbons that seared their flesh while keeping their mana contained. Meli was also chained up, but her mouth was sealed, and she was forced to watch as Howlend suffered. Her own bindings did not enforce any pain upon her, but the same could not be said for the elders that were nearby.
It was a day after the failure to kill Ezekiel at the Twin Peaks Fortress, and all who had chosen to side With Howlend were restricted and punished. Not because of their failure, but because of the revelation of Howlend’s betrayal.
The fact that none of them had known that Howlend’s whore’s were Cruor was the only saving grace they had, even though the Kindled Ancestor wanted nothing more than to kill them all, due to his own dealings, made to ensure that he retained control over his clan, he was unable to execute them by order of the Cult, whom he now acted in the interests of.
“I still do not understand what the point in keeping these traitorous fools alive is. The girl especially, since she was the little bastard’s right-hand woman.” The Ancestor sat in a throne-like chair as he watched over the fallen Legendaries of his family.
“It is necessary to have fodder when fighting a war, is it not?” Endaria idly spoke from the side of the hall. The formations on the walls, similar to the ones broken by Exalt Harras, flickered briefly, but failed to do anything else.
Much like her Lightning-using counterpart, Endaria had broken these formations as well. Said Lightning Hunter was not present for this meeting, since he had been called to report directly to the Emperor when knowledge of what had happened had been sent via their Com-Slates.
“Besides, we need a girl to replace the one you lost. This one is older, but stronger, and will do as a replacement. It’s not like the Emperor even got a chance to look at his original fiancé, after all.”
Meli’s eyes widened as she strained against her shackles. Noises escaped her as she tried to scream, but a gag that was wrapped around her face prevented any actual words from being heard.
“We also expended a large number of our own members when they received the Radiant Lord’s [Blessing]. It is only right that those numbers be refilled.” Endaria’s words made the suffering Kindled Elders and Hunters struggle even harder. “Why are you struggling? It is a great honor to receive my lord’s [Blessing]. Of course, not all of you will be able to receive it after all. Much like me...”
Endaria frowned at the reminder that she wouldn’t be able to successfully receive her lord’s [Blessing]. As a true and devout fanatic, she wanted nothing more than to bask in the light of her lord. But it was too much for her to handle.
“You sound genuinely displeased at being unable to transform into one of those monsters-” the Ancestor became silent, as a razor-sharp thorn pointed at his neck. His body was perfectly still, and the faintest drop of blood trickled down his neck.
“The [Blessed] of my lord are not monsters; do not think I am unaware of how you treated them like pets when you were within the maze. Your behavior towards your fellow Followers will need to be addressed. But that shall happen later.” Endaria retracted the vine she had whipped at the Kindled Ancestor. “For now, tell me how our forces are doing.”
“Don’t you already know that? You are the strongest member of the Cult in my territory, are you not?” The Ancestor ran a glowing hand over his neck, sealing the wound without a trace.
Endaria turned to address the Ancestor directly. “I’m speaking of the Kindled family, of course. Do not forget that, in exchange for raising you back up to the Mythic Tier, you promised to dedicate your family fully to our cause. Even over the deals made to the Empire.”
Behind her, the imprisoned Kindled family members all widened their eyes in shock. They knew for a fact that several contracts had been signed with the Emperor. So, it shouldn’t have been possible for their allegiances to have been shifted so easily.
“I am surprised that the deal is still in place, given that you failed to kill the Anathema you people rage on about.” The Ancestor didn’t have time to react as a much thicker vine slapped him across the face and sent him flying out of his chair.
“Do not speak of that thing to me! You also failed, when you had the easiest job possible! If it were not for you and your family’s incompetence, then the Anathema would’ve died before he reached Tier five, and this war would be over due to the balance of power shifting fully to our side!” Spittle flew through the air as Endaria screamed at the Ancestor. “Now, tell me how the state of the war is going on the other fronts, or I don’t care if we lose your direct support. We’ll just find an elder to replace you.”
The Ancestor slowly climbed to his feet, blood trickled down his face, and he sat back down in his throne as he channeled his magic to heal himself once more.
“The other fronts are holding fine. There was a push by the Shroud and Flurent families when the news of the plan to kill the Anathema was leaked. Since there would be no exalts to defend our territory. Other than that, we lost a few hundred kilometers on the coast due to the interference from one of the Spirit Rulers in that territory. It appears that the Flurent family finally managed to come up with an appropriate payment to get that damned whale’s support.”
Endaria glared at nothing at the mention of one of the oceanic Wild Spirits. For the most part, the Exalted Spirits of the world stayed out of human affairs, unless humans involved them through their own actions. Such endeavors were always costly, however, and often resulted in more dead humans than anything else.
“How was the territory claimed? Do the Imperial Artifacts that mark official boundaries not count for anything over there?” Endaria asked, since she knew that even if the Artifacts were removed, the Exalts of the Empire should’ve retained the authority to enforce defensive measures due to their oaths.
“It wasn’t so much claimed, rather than flooded,” the Ancestor said with a grimace. “It seems like the Flurent family, rather than let us retain control over their previous homeland, decided to pay to have one of the Ocean Rulers bring its entire territory together to perform one massive magical endeavor. A tsunami that was utterly enormous in size was created, and ultimately wiped out all presence in that area. Since the maps of the coast will have to be redrawn, it’s impossible to identify what is, and isn’t ours or the ocean’s territory. I don’t think I need to explain to you how bad an idea it would be to go to war with the oceanic Spirits, do I?”
Endaria’s face twisted into an angry snarl at the thought. The ocean Spirits had always been neutral, for the most part, and not even this act could be considered as them taking a side.
Since the territory had been conquered, but no new treaty had been made between their forces and the Mythical Whale that ruled the coastal waters in this part of the world, as far as the Spirits were concerned, the only ones they had to appeal to were the original owners of the territory. The Flurent family, who had not only given permission, but had apparently paid for the Ocean Spirits to flood their old territory. Now that that territory was underwater, it would mean going to war with the ocean if they tried to take it back. The best they could do at this point was to come up with a new treaty.
“I’ll get my assistant to form a delegation to ensure that the Mythic Whale won’t interfere again. It’ll take some time, but I’m sure your clan can afford whatever cost will be required to keep the Ocean Spirits from sticking their noses where they don’t belong.”
The Ancestor grit his teeth at the command from Endaria, but due to his new allegiance, it was impossible for him to say now. Something that everyone in the room was aware of.
“Stop looking so sour.” Endaria reached into her Void Pouch and removed a brightly glowing golden orb. “Here. As promised. This is a specially made [Blessing] forged by the Radiant Speaker himself. Pure mana from the fifth Tier, mixed with a unique blend of Radiant soul magic meant to heal the features left behind by your Spirit’s passing.”
Like an addict looking for their next hit, the Ancestor lunged out from his seat in an attempt to grab the orb, but Endaria pulled it out of his reach. Instead of giving it to him right away, she held out a hand with a small book in it.
“Read this first, else you cause your soul to collapse under the strain of your re-Ascension. Apparently, some new discoveries have been made, and you’ll need to [Understand] a few things if you don’t want to explode from absorbing this thing.” Endaria carelessly tossed the book toward the frantic Ancestor. “I’ll give you the [Blessing] once I’m done meeting my fellow lights. Until then, read this book, and consider yourself lucky you are a Radiant Mage. It’s impossible for such a treasure to exist for any other element, after all.”
Endaria visibly pouted at the mention of the Ancestor’s luck at being a Radiant Mage. She then stalked out of the room in silence but paused when the Ancestor called out one last time.
“Why are you so... calm? Given what has happened, I would’ve thought that many more people would’ve died after the failure of the plan?” the Ancestor asked with a cautious voice after restraining his eagerness to Ascend once more.
The Cult’s Life Exalt turned her head, just a little bit too far to be natural, and smiled a little bit too widely to be just happy.
“I’m furious! But I’ve been given orders by the Speaker not to kill anyone, and to restrain myself until our other plan comes to fruition. A plan to hurt the Anathema in a way that simply killing him won’t do. It’s a plan that I was unaware of, however, it apparently involves whatever it was that you traded with the Speaker in exchange for your eventual Ascension.”
With that said, Endaria continued out the door, leaving the Ancestor with his family members as they continued to struggle in pain.
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“... A plan involving the trade I made?” he quietly muttered to himself as he thought about what could be going on. Nothing he had traded had value to him, and only one thing came to mind that could possibly hurt the Void Hunter that had been ruining their plans. “Oh! That’s brilliant! The Void Hunter, the Cult’s Anathema, won’t know what hit him! That will be just what he deserves! Hah!”
The Ancestor laughed loud and long as he bent over at the waist in malicious glee. He had made several trades with the Cult in exchange for assurances that he would retain his power over the whole of the Kindled family, but he hadn’t thought that they would amount to anything. Clearly, things had changed.
All the while, his fallen and broken family members watched in horror. Meli, in particular, glared hatefully at the man who had now held the Kindled family in his grasp.
But there was nothing they could do. They chose their side and lost. Now it was time to face the consequences. For all parties.
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Deep within the depths of the Kindled family’s central compound, Endaria sat, surrounded by five other figures, while she finished her report on the events that had occurred.
While she had spoken to the Speaker privately before this, she was still apprehensive about reporting her failure to the rest of her supposed peers. It was bad enough that she had to confess her failure to the only person she truly respected among the Followers of Radiance. To be judged by those of a lower Tier and loyalty than herself was just humiliating.
For the moment, the room was silent as she waited for someone to speak up.
“If I may?” The Lights all turned to Typhos, the least aggressive of them all. The one that Endaria had least been wanting to listen to. “While Endaria has, indeed, failed in her mission, it cannot be said that she held back in her attempt. While yes, she could’ve performed an immediate suicide attack that would have increased the chances of Anathema dying, it still would not have been guaranteed. Especially since it had proven, time and time again, that its ability to run away has only grown stronger as it has risen in Tier. Not only that, but someone had to keep Exalt Wolken away, and we all know that Exalt Harras wouldn’t have been willing, or able, to do so in this instance.”
The fact that one of her lessers was trying to support her failure was grating on Endaria’s nerves, but she remained quiet, since Typhos words were in a similar train of thought as what the Speaker had said to her previously.
“My biggest concern, at this point, is what do we do now? Without the Emperor’s intended bride, we can no longer follow our side of the bargain, nor ensure that the Empire’s heir is directed in the proper direction.” The Lights all shifted in their seats, except for Endaria and the Speaker, at that uncomfortable statement. “We are running out of time. We need the Emperor to sire an heir before the year is up, or his condition will deteriorate to the point that it will be impossible for him to have a child.”
At this, Endaria couldn’t help but smile. The thought of the girl from the Kindled family who had tried to kill her Ancestor being married to that dying Emperor of the Willowbrush Empire was amusing. Especially so, since the girl had never shown any loyalty to the Radiant Lord.
The thought of any Radiant magic user not worshiping her lord was a thought she couldn’t stomach for long. It was only the fact that she knew, in her soul, that they were mostly misguided fools that had been tricked by the Church of Ten that helped her keep faith in the Radiants that weren’t Followers, yet.
“There is no need to worry about the Emperor’s bride,” the Speaker declared. “A suitable replacement has been chosen, and after she has been properly educated regarding her duties, she will be sent to you post-haste. Given that she is much stronger than the previous one, her training will be much faster. Especially since our people will be taking over. The Kindled family has proven to be too useless to be given authority in this situation.”
All the Lights nodded in approval and agreement. Endaria could tell that those that had previous reservations about using the much younger candidate were no longer concerned. Not that she had cared much in the first place. The only thing that mattered to her was the progression of the Radiant Lord’s plan.
“Harras will likely be an issue. We will need our supporters to explain our view of the situation properly. Though, with the kidnapping of the original bride, we will be able to sow more hatred for the Void in the Empire.” Erkan held a hand to his chin in thought. “It’ll be hard for us, but even more so for the Anathema. He really stabbed himself in the foot this time. His current actions are enough that, technically, we can argue for an offensive attack on him with the Exalts, for indirectly attacking the Empire.”
Endaria smiled at the thought. Though, it was the hopes of everyone in the room that the Anathema would be struck down by one of the Empire’s Exalts. That way, they would be able to focus more on the Radiant Lord’s plans.
However, the Speaker's next words were nearly heart stopping in their intent.
“For the moment, we will have to hold off on continuing our attacks on the Anathema.” Endaria’s jaw dropped in shock, and she could tell that the sentiment was felt by the rest of the Lights. But the Speaker continued before anyone else could say anything.
“The Broodlords have decided to launch a planned attack against humanity once more. East, West, and seaward. All of humanity will be at war with the Broods and their Cruor once more. Given that we still need to consolidate our control over the Willowbrush Empire’s territory, we cannot afford to divide our forces right now.” The Speaker’s words sent shivers up and down Endaria’s spine.
She wasn’t old enough to have experienced the Age of Despair, but she knew the stories. Everyone in the world knew the stories.
“Is this... a prophecy from the Lord?” It was Amelia who asked this, but the thought was on everyone’s mind.
“It is,” the Speaker said in a solemn voice. “For that reason, even the Anathema will be called away, and be forced to direct his attention elsewhere. The rest of Morathi is a small matter in comparison. The Empire is actually on the border of the Desolate Lands. Our attention will need to be focused there.”
Though she hated it, Endaria couldn’t help but agree. The Anathema was a threat on the level of the Broodlords, especially now that it was a Mythical being. But it was a threat that would kill the Cruor, just as the Followers of Radiance did.
In the face of total war, it was better to set one’s enemies against one another.
“For the moment, we still have a few weeks before the initial attack from the Broods occurs in full. So, we shall focus on solidifying our control over the Kindled family and ensure that the plan stays on track in the Empire. The Emperor won’t have any issues with his new bride when he sees what else is being given to him.” The Speaker’s words caused the others to look around in confusion.
Endaria simply smiled. They hadn’t been told about the other gift that would be used to gain control of the Empire. The gift that would strike deep into the heart of the Anathema.
Even though she could feel the other Light’s fear and worry, she couldn’t help but laugh. She dearly wished she could see the Anathema’s face when it heard the news.
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For Harras, today was not a good day. He had returned to the Empire over a week ago, after helping the Imperial forces recuperate from their failed attempt at killing Ezekiel. Of course, the first thing he had done was report to the Emperor, only to be rebuffed by the man’s guard detail and told that he would be summoned when the Emperor saw fit to speak with him.
“If the old Emperor was still alive, he would’ve killed that little brat himself by now!” Harras said while nursing a drink in his private quarters within the palace of the Emperor. Rotted on a perch built into the table was his Spirit, who was drinking from its own glass filled with wine.
Beside him was a woman dressed in bright green robes and an emerald snake coiled around her shoulders. Exalt Talia, who had been slated to head to Morathi soon, was sitting with her fellow Imperial Exalt as he spoke of his experience and concerns.
“Of that, there is no doubt. But do not speak such words aloud within the palace. The walls have ears, after all.” While she glanced around the room they were currently situated in, Harras looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
“I’m surprised that that is all you have to say to me. Given your own noble roots.” Harras threw back the rest of his drinks, before his eyes lit up to burn away the effects of the alcohol.
Talia wrinkled her nose and gave a dismissive sniff. “The nobles of my day were actually deserving of their titles. Now, they are merely slaves to their desires. Willing to throw away anything and everything to get what they want. Uncaring of the duties they are meant to have, as leaders of the people. Besides, given what has been learned about the Empire’s ‘supporters’ in recent years, I have no reason beyond my oaths to maintain my loyalty.”
This time, Harass’ eyes nearly burst from his head with how wide they went.
Talia was the most loyal of the three Imperial Exalts. As well as the oldest, even though she looked like the youngest. However, given that she was a Life Hunter, that was only to be expected. Their vitality was the strongest amongst all magic users, after all.
“Don't look at me like that. I have been displeased with the Emperor ever since it was revealed that it was that damned Cult that was backing the most ambitious nobles.” This time it was Talia that threw back her drink, and immediately refilled it with even more of the crimson nectar.
“... At least you will get to leave soon enough. I am to be held in the capital until it is proven that my loyalties are true.” Harras’ face scrunched up in disgust. “Those damned Inquisitors are getting far too uppity for my liking. They have no place giving an Exalt orders. Neither does the Emperor, for that matter, but with how the Empire is operating right now, it is impossible to deny their instructions, as it could lead to the collapse of the very nation we are meant to protect.”
This time, both Exalts finished their drinks as one, and slammed their cups on the table.
Harras leaned back, letting the burn of the alcohol flow through him. His Spirit let out a gentle trill that helped him to relax. His soul seemingly freed from its current stresses.
“Given how our Emperor lost his Empress to be under my watch, however, it makes sense that they would want to at least put me somewhere else I can be useful.” Harras moved forward to look at his empty cup. “Perhaps I will be sent to the eastern front line again. It would be nice to just let loose, rather than play tag with a bunch of cheaters.”
“Cheaters?” Talia asked with a confused tone. “How so?”
Harras gave a brief rundown of exactly what Ezekiel did to make things difficult for him and Endaria. Not that either one of them cared for the Cultist Exalt, but it was somewhat amusing to hear of her complaints and daily cries of rage and hatred.
“That sounds awful. Hopefully the situation changes once I get there, and I can leave getting destroyed by the Void Hunter to the Cult. It’s not like we have any personal vendetta against him.” Talia let out a quiet laugh at the thought. But the mood turned more somber at her next question. “Has the Emperor decided when he will meet with you?”
Harras scoffed, “Of course not. Some nonsense about having been made aware of my failure, and how the Kindled family had already taken steps to find a replacement. As well as an extra gift, since the failure was partially on them. When in reality, it was entirely their fault, since their damned Ancestor tried to kill me, and sold out his entire family to the cult!”
Sparks filled the air as Harras allowed his anger to flood out of him. Talia watched with concern for her junior and peer but was otherwise unworried. This level of magic might kill an Adept, and injure a Legend, but Myths like them had nothing to fear from this.
“Apologies. I should not be letting my temper get the better of me.” Harrs took a deep breath to calm himself. “Currently, even if the Emperor deigns to speak with me, it will not be until his next address. Apparently, his ‘backers’ have developed something new based on the Com-Slates. Stolen from the Church or the Void Hunter, no doubt. Worse yet, this announcement is being sent out all over the world.”
Talia leaned in with interest in her eyes. “I didn’t hear about this. What do you think the Emperor is going to speak about?”
A haunted look fell over Harras’ face. “I’m not sure, but I know the Cult is involved. I also know that it will involve something that will make more enemies for the Empire. I just don’t have any proof!”
Talia slumped in her seat while Harras threw his arms up into the air.
The room fell into silence as the two contemplated what could be going on. But both of them knew that, even if things were going bad for them in Morathi, things were about to get a lot worse if Harras was correct in his assumptions.