Little Celah, Tseludia Station, Pantheonic Territory, Fifthmonth, 1634 PTS
Pakas let out a deep breath of relief as the final defending enforcer fell, allowing the clan’s forces access to the entrance of the Celan headquarters. It had been a hard-fought battle, but finally, it had turned out as anticipated. However… the costs had been much more severe than he had hoped. He was saddened by the thought, his mind drifting back to Elder Wei. However, Pakas always tried to keep a firm grasp of his emotions. The discipline of the clan’s First Commander was too strong to be swayed by such thoughts, not while his mission still remained. More important than all else was the task that the Matriarch had assigned to him, and he would certainly complete it to the best of his ability. Above all else, Pakas saw himself as loyal to the clan, thankful to the Matriarch for all that he owed her.
His eyes scanned across the battleground, giving himself a rough idea of the casualties, and the remaining fighting force. Wei was the only elder who had fallen, but a great number of core formation and lower practitioners had also lost their lives during the intense fighting. If the forward base was the first, this could be considered the second major battle in this conflict.
Pakas gritted his teeth as he surveyed. Attrition was high on both sides, but the Celan soldiers were expendable, while the martial artists were not. Such trades could not continue if they wished to win the war. But such matters were for strategists, and Pakas’ role was merely that of a tactician. His superiors would paint the broad strokes, and it was merely his role to finalize the details and put the plans into practice. Now that he had been returned to his rightful command position, Pakas was confident in his ability to do so.
Pakas snapped out of his reverie, restraining his wandering mind as he noticed a young martial artist’s speedy approach. It was one of his aides, and the speed of his movement was enough to draw Pakas’ attention.
This aide was a promising, yet inexperienced young man named Ahen Hadal. Though he was a branch member of the clan, Ahen lacked the haughty nature such young masters were known for. Pakas saw a lot of potential in him, and had decided to take the time to groom him as a talent now that his position had finally been restored.
Pakas raised an eyebrow at the young man’s swift approach, noting how he seemed to be somewhat ill at ease. Comparing his current state to his usual temperament, Pakas was easily able to determine that something was wrong.
“First Commander,” Ahen exclaimed, nearly tripping over his words due to his haste as he arrived near enough to speak, “it seems that the Redwater Sect is retreating!”
Pakas frowned, turning to pay more focus to this aide as the news caught his attention. Internally, he was surprised and confused. According to the clan’s reports on the man’s personality, he seemed the type to remain true to his word, and Pakas would not disbelieve this simply because the man was of the unorthodox path. Something must have occurred to alter the status of the situation.
“What happened?” he asked. “Have they said anything?”
Ahen shook his head.
“We haven’t received any messages or explanations. Notably, they appear to have split up inside the building. One of the groups exited from the entrance they originally used, while the other left from the same entrance the mercenaries went into, less than five minutes after the mercenaries entered.”
“Did they fight?” muttered Pakas to himself. He then returned his gaze to the younger man. “Contact both groups and request status reports for them. Report to me if and when you receive a response.”
Ahen nodded firmly, before quickly scurrying away to fulfill his task. Pakas watched him leave for a moment, before firmly returning his thoughts to the matter at hand. Regardless of whether the mercenaries were dead or not, Pakas was very clear that something had occurred inside that building that he remained unaware of. It rankled him to lack important knowledge, but his experience had long taught him that this was a common occurrence, and to be expected.
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The commander’s role was to synthesize the information he knew and make the best decision possible based upon it. At the moment, this meant that Pakas felt it was best to be cautious. He did not wish to send the soldiers inside until he at least had an idea of what to expect. If necessary, they could simply quickly place explosives, and seal off all Celans unfortunate enough to remain inside. This would be more than enough to fulfill the purpose of this assignment.
Several more minutes passed as Pakas’ forces regrouped, making an effort to clear away all of the bodies so they could be treated properly according to the clan’s customs. As he was organizing and implementing these matters, he was somewhat surprised when Ahen returned, far swifter than he had anticipated. It could not have been more than around three minutes.
“We’ve received a message from the Redwater Sect,” said the younger man. “It appears to be a direct response to the query we sent out earlier.”
Pakas’ brow furrowed as he saw the man hesitate before speaking. Whatever it was, he was not sure it would be the sort of matter. With only a slight pause, Ahen continued, his face still slightly pale.
“It consisted of recriminations for our attacks on them, as well as their plans to step out of this operation.”
Hearing this, Pakas was unable to maintain control of his expression.
“...Explain the situation,” he ordered. “What are they referring to?”
Ahen was starting to sweat under the pressure, his anxiety and inexperience certainly surging at the moment.
“I’m not sure, First Commander. They didn’t give any details.”
Pakas sighed, and absentmindedly rubbed his cerebral dantian.
“Who did you speak with?” he asked, continuing the barrage of questions due to his desire to fully comprehend the nature of the civilization. “Hold on, never mind. Show me the message.”
Ahen quickly obliged, and Pakas was handed a terminal, on which a short message from the sect was compiled. As Ahen had explained, the message gave little detail about what ‘betrayals’ were said to have occurred, though Pakas did take note on how the word was spelt in the plural sense. They expected the clan to know about this matter, it seemed.
Pakas’s frown deepened, and he rubbed a layer of sweat off his forehead as he analyzed potential causes. Had the mercenaries attacked the Riverfiend and his forces? That would have caused reasonable doubt of the clan betraying them. He glanced at the bottom of the message, where the sender’s identity was clearly marked. This was interesting, he thought, seeing that the signature seemed to belong to the sect’s vice leader. The fact that it had been personally drafted lent credence to the claim within. A small part of him could not help but doubt that perhaps his superiors truly had attacked the Riverfiend, and he had simply been kept in the dark.
Of course, Pakas knew that had that actually been something the Matriarch was planning, he would have been informed so that he could help ensure that matters ran smoothly. Perhaps, he thought, this was an attempt by outsiders to drive a wedge between the two martial organizations.
Pakas did not personally care much for the idea of an upstart force, wary of it eating away at the clan’s prestige and privileges. However, he had been ordered to work with them, and largely, Pakas liked to think he was a man of utmost devotion to his orders.
Karie had tested that idea, but by this point Pakas hardly even considered the woman part of the clan itself. She was unqualified for the position she sought, and nor did she have the capability to take the position by force.
If she did not leave him with a bitter taste in his mouth due to the callousness of her actions, Pakas might have even pitied her situation. But this, he thought, was not that world. Though he tried to remain unbiased, he could not help but feel that perhaps what she had suffered in the past and what was to come, were both simply the consequences of her own ill-conceived actions.
Seiyal and Firearm Technology: [Even prior to contact with the Staiven, Canvasians had invented gunpowder technology. Fireworks were a staple of large celebrations, and merchant ships operated by mortals and Tovus would at times utilize cannons in addition to on-board martial artist defenders to protect their cargo. Though the smaller, more portable concept of the gun was proposed and even invented, its use did not catch on. Part of this is because initial versions were of poor quality, and another is because the martial-oriented culture at the time focused on growing the quantity and quality of its elite warriors, rather than raising the standard of the general army. In modern times, the great power of the firearms used by the more developed races has in turn inspired many Canvasians, as the trend has started to shift over time. Some suspect that in the near future, it was possible that such weapons might start to pop up among the lower levels of certain more progressive martial organizations. After all, it is not that such weapons are banned outright by great forces such as Sunlit Hall.]