To kill a Divine is easy. There is no challenge in putting a God to a sword, apart from driving that sword through the God’s chest. The real thing that needs to be considered is the reincarnation. Kassandora can be killed of course, but what happens to the next Of War? What about Arascus? At least in the past, Pride could have been considered as a virtue in certain aspects. Now, Arascus has dirtied his own demesne, anything Divine that would take on his mantle would no doubt be far worse in character than the man himself.

This is how the theory goes for every Divine, Saranael, of Knowledge was the first to conceive of it: The more of a reputation one builds up, the more powerful one’s reincarnation will be. Of course, not a single one of us is mad enough to actually kill ourselves in some attempt at forced evolution. Whether he is correct will only be proven through another conflict. Personally, I do not know whether I agree or not. Abstracts rarely reform into similar beings and typically get broken up before they manage to reform.

Still though, it’s an interesting thought. What would happen if a Divine built up a reputation, died, and reformed based off its reputation?

- Excerpt from Allasaria’s Diary, Untitled.

“And here I wanted to kick my feet up.” Erik moaned through the radio as Captain Douglas pushed Raptor One further. Erik’s own jet, with its four huge engines fixed to the chassis of the plane, was soaring just next to Doug’s. Painted black, two red eyes just behind the cockpit, the tip of the plane painted yellow like an eagle’s hooked beak. A cannon sticking from within the centre of that beak.

Douglas moved the control stick to the left and felt his plane tilt. Flying without ammunition was a blessing beyond blessings. The plane was manoeuvrable like a sparrowhawk hunting through the sky, whereas when it was loaded up, it felt more like trying to steer a rowboat through jelly. “We get there, we take pictures, we fly back.” Douglas said. Frankly, he had nothing to add, he was just as annoyed as Erik.

The fact the cabin was far too warm didn’t help. But the terrible heater would either cook him alive or freeze him to death, as least if he was cooking, he could undo the front zipper of his jumpsuit to cool off. “Fucking sending us off for what exactly?” Erik moaned again.

“Just shut the fuck up and take the pictures man.” Douglas said.

“No need to get pissy with me.”

“I’m as happy as you are about it.” Douglas said back into his microphone. “Complaining only makes it worse.”

“Alright.” Erik somehow acquiesced. “I’ll shut up.”

“Thank you.” Douglas forced out. He turned the plane to the side and watched the green ocean below them. That was the dreaded Arikan Jungle. Douglas thought about the Clerics, trying to rescue people from it. The evacuations of villages, the tears of people forced away from their homes. The times when the Clerics would get somewhere too late, and all that would be found were empty homes and footprints leading into the Jungle. Frankly, that was one thing he was not jealous for. “Have you ever gone in?” Everyone in the army had tested themselves against the woods at this point, it was almost impossible to be part of the Reclamation War and not.

“Tell me about it.” Erik said. “I only did it once.”

“Who pulled you out?”

“I tied myself to a rope. Was driven out.” Erik said with laughter. “I don’t know how the Clerics did it.”

“I don’t either, I can tell you that.” Douglas said as he looked down. “Twice for me. Both times, the Ambelee girl pulled me out.” Eril laughed through the speakers.

“I don’t know what’s worse.”

“She pulled me out, threw me in when I didn’t thank her enough, then pulled me out again.” Douglas said. He remembered the Jungle’s pull. Kassandora had told them both to get to know the Jungle, so that they would know not to fly too close. Now, they were far above the cloud-layer, if there were any clouds down there.

“Not jealous of that.” Erik replied quickly. “I’ll sweep the north, you aim south, alright?”

“Will do.” Douglas said as he flicked another control stick, this one controlled the cannon, although it had temporarily been re-wired to control the direction the camera in the underside was pointing in. “Honestly, I feel bad for the Clerics.” Douglas said and Erik laughed over the speakers.

“Who doesn’t?” He asked farcically, the words breaking up for a moment because of the shoddy connection. “Is there anyone who does, honest question that?”

“I don’t know.” Douglas said. “No one probably. It’s just…” He didn’t know what to say.

“Just what?” Erik asked.

“Not conclusive.” Douglas replied. “You know…?” Douglas didn’t know how to phrase it frankly. The Clerics did their job well, but…

“I do.” Erik said. “They’ve been here how long? It’s been Jungle, Jungle, Jungle and then Kassandora came along.” Douglas smiled in his cramped cabin. Erik had phrased it far better than he could.

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“And she did it.” Douglas said.

“She fucking annihilated them.” Erik said. “Burn it down, it’s so simple that it’s fucking embarrassing not a single one of them thought about it.”

“They did need the artillery though.” Douglas only argued back for the sake of conversation. He agreed entirely with Erik, everyone who was a Cleric in Arika before Kassandora came felt the same. It was a simple travesty that Kassandora had done in a few weeks what their entire Holy Orders could not do in a few centuries.

“They did, but don’t tell me it would have been impossible to design something like the Binturong.” Erik said. “Hell, we even do bombing runs now, why couldn’t they have done that back then?”

“Just depressing.” Douglas said, his tone low.

“Just fucking embarrassing.” Erik added. “Just a fucking travesty. Honestly, I don’t know how more of them have stay with Kavaa.”

“Priorities probably.” Douglas said. The Clerics were good soldiers, and they were popular in the army, but the Reclamation War was starting to drain their morale as much as it was improving Kirinyaa’s. It was one thing to save a country, it was another to save a country so effortlessly when others could not. “Not my problem though.”

“True enough.” Erik said. “My problem today is a horse-race.”

“There’s one on today?” Douglas asked in surprise.

“It is Friday.” Erik replied and Douglas blinked. These daily scouting runs had basically killed whatever internal clock he had inside him. The days now consisted entirely of waking up, having a drink, a smoke, getting into the cabin, flying, landing, shower, dinner and sleep. And Repeat.

“I’ll go wi…” Douglas trailed off as he blinked. The Jungle below him was an ocean of green, a magnificent, beckoning sea that would call and whisper. It was untouchable, save by the flames that tore it down. It would climb over mountain and it would infest ravine and drain lake and river, no matter how grand. Yet today, that green carpet below him was torn. It had patches of brown.

“You alive?” Erik asked.

“I am.”

“Just checking.”

“You see that?” Douglas asked. The jets on Erik’s plane started to scream louder as the man turned his own vehicle to the side.

“See wha…” Erik trailed off. “I see it.”

“Yeah.” Douglas said. That was the Jungle, yet something had made marks within the Jungle. It wasn’t a case of some exposed rock, or a cliffside that only had vines instead of the ever-present trees. No. They were both gazing down at great brown scars. “I’m taking pictures.” The same a man would make if he was to wade through tall grass, yet what would wade through the Jungle like that?

“Same.” Erik said quietly. “Not a fan of that.”

“You scared?”

“Not for myself.” The man said quickly and they both chuckled. “But no complaining now.”

“Looks like we were needed.” Douglas said with a smile. Scouting the ground endlessly may have had its uses, that was true. Terrain did need to be mapped out and the two Raptors had several times the range of any KAF plane, it was simply obvious that they would be the ones for this job. Yet it was mundane work. It almost made Douglas feel like a servant. Not now though.

“Hey Doug.” Erik said. Raptor two spun in the air and veered in a circle.

“What?”

“You see that?” Erik asked.

“Where?”

“South of your position, turn…” Erik thought for a moment. “Three hundred degrees about.” Douglas turned his head and felt his breath catch. The previous tracks had been odd holes, a dozen trees felled in a circle, as if a single napalm shell had managed to fly all the way here. Yet now, they were looking at something else entirely. “You see it?”

“I fucking it see.” Douglas couldn’t help himself with the swearing. What he was looking at now wasn’t tracks as if something had walked through the Jungle. What he was looking at now were two massive lines. One slithering and curling from side to side, the other thrice as wide, with craters left behind in odd spots. It was thick too, stupendously so.

“We’ve not been testing any new weapons, have we?” Erik asked.

“Have we?” Douglas said.

“I asked you first.” Erik said.

“I don’t think so.” Douglas replied as the two jets passed over the two massive lines. “Which way?”

“We’re not splitting up?” Erik asked. Douglas sighed. That would be the best course of action, but no one had told him about what they would find. They didn’t even have ammunition for the cannons, that had been taken out for increase the fuel efficiency.

“Do you want?” Douglas asked.

“Not really.” Erik replied and Douglas laughed. That sentiment did not have to be repeated. Frankly, splitting up like that was only asking for trouble. They had made it through the entire White Pantheon invasion of Kirinyaa as a pair, they weren’t about to start making stupid decisions now.

“East, both of us?” Douglas asked.

“Sounds like a plan.” Erik affirmed. East, back to the frontline, back to the front. They had their images. And they weren’t about to… Douglas looked down. “Do you see that? I’m snapping photos.” Erik said over the microphone. They both gazed at that moving black… mass on the ground, so dark it looked like a… Douglas blinked and cursed himself. What a fucking idiot, it was a shadow! Simply flowing over trees instead of harming them, huge, easily the size of several container ships put together…

Wait. It was a shadow. Douglas moved his eyes up towards that pale-blue Kirinyaan sky. The Sun was shining above them, but he forgot to squint. He could he anyway? There was a bird with a wingspan as large as all of Central Requisitions. And it was above them. “Erik…” Douglas said.

“I see it Doug.” Erik said in awe. “What the fuck is that?”

“I…” Douglas blinked as the plane malfunctioned and started snapping its own pictures. Standard procedure, faulty electronics, this had happened several times already. It was annoying, but it had a tendency of happening just as he was blanking it. “Is it getting bigger?”

“It’s coming down at us!” Erik shouted.

“EVADE!” Doug shouted more for himself, to get his own body moving rather than to issue an order for Erik. He made a harsh break to the right, Erik went to the left, both Raptors screamed as their engines flared. Red fire burst from their jets, two supersonic explosions shook the Jungle below them, and the two planes broke the sound barrier as that massive vulture dived at the spot where they had been.

It turned and twisted in mid-air. Its massive wings made a tiny hurricane underneath it and the trees below were blown away. “PULL UP!” Erik shouted. “AS HIGH AS POSSIBLE!” Douglas pulled up immediately, for a moment, he was an arrow shooting straight up into the sky. For only a moment, the jets stalled and he had to level the plane out before it fell.

“We’re flying back, right?”

“Fucking Hell we are! I don’t care what command says. That thing is still looking at us!” Erik shouted into the radio and Douglas turned his plane. That massive vulture was resting on the ground, it had fell the trees around without a care in the world. The beast must have considered them simple blades of grass rather than enormous trees that had a canopy so thick they blotted out the Sun.

It twitched its head. That dark red eye blinked. The pupil followed Douglas’s Raptor. The afterburner roared, the jet accelerated even further. There had been days that Douglas had spent longer above the Jungle, and even though he knew he could not have been followed, the man felt watched for every single second he spent above the Jungle.