The Angel Armor Saga by Lewis "The Lightbringer" Lovhaug

[Complicity]

Didn't expect that rendition, eh?

One has to admire Trey Parker's dedication; in order to cosplay as Eric Cartman for that concert he became as fat as him.
Btw, are Primus woke and/or virtue signallers?
I really hope not because i like their music.

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

Nigga, if you've ever heard about Primus before, you know more about this shit than I do. Fuck if I know what bands these SP yokels employ

One has to admire Trey Parker's dedication; in order to cosplay as Eric Cartman for that concert he became as fat as him.

That's some real method acting right there.

[Complicity]

Nigga, if you've ever heard about Primus before, you know more about this shit than I do. Fuck if I know what bands these SP yokels employ

All you need to know is that they are a 90s band, ironically Nu-Metal, Doge is the vocalist and bass player, Spoony on the guitar, Michaud behind the drums.

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

They've really let themselves go, man.

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

Book 2, Chapter 5 - Culture Shock
(Or: The Cosplay Infiltration Plan)


(If you think that's bad, the OG song is 100% Chipmunk Miku)

Thinks are kinda heating up, with both timelines enjoying their first proper fight against the forces of evil.
At least in the past. Maybe Myrrha's just gonna gloat or something.
Can't way for Linkara (the author) to make it gay and lame.

(Post was getting too long. The riffing will be in a later post.)

RecapShow

Past
In a disgusting display of character assassination, Gyaru Casca just kinda gives up her captain-killing ways and is easily converted to Linkara's cause.
The Kien Special Delinquent Detachment shall henceforth be known as the Band of the Linkster.

Speaking of Linkara's cause, we finally find out about his great keikaku: To rescue a prince turned spy who allegedly knows some dirty little secret about the Terafella's defenses that could've ended the war decades earlier.
It be really funny if he succeeded, and the ensuing Butterfly Effect were to erase his catgirl sweetheart from existence.
Also apparently he can just do whatever the fuck he wants with his unit, instead of answering to some general? Or is he just going rogue?

The chapters ended with an attack by a random group of Terafellas. Considering this is a cliffhanger, and the Terafellas had just been hyped as inhuman combat monsters with the fighting strength of at least 10 men, I take it that Linkara will handily defeat them.

Also we find out that nobody in the past knows WTF was going on over 90 years or so ago. Seriously.
I can get it with dirty peasants whose collective memory only goes as far as their most senile village elder, but everyone? What the fuck happened? Was there an extinction event that forced them to rebuild human civilization from the ground up?

Present
Myrrha continues her quest of failing upward by revealing that she is now the queen of all the Dark Knights, now rebranded as the Knights of Ekke Ekke Ekke Ekke Ptang Zoo Boing! Eclipsed Legion - which I can't imagine sticking because it sounds stupid and really, how are you gonna call a single Dark Knight now? Eclipsed Legionary? Not happening.

From a hack writing standpoint this reveal is not shocking at all. She and the Darkness where the only bad guys in the entire first book who were actual characters. The only other Dark Knight with a name was some dude who got killed by a tornado or something before the plot even started. It was either gonna be her, or some new villain that materialized from nowhere - and why go through the time and effort to introduce some Lord Darkbad Evilman when you can just use Myrrha like you always do when you need some villain gloating about how Eeeeevil they are?
In-universe it's just weird. There are four other Horsemen around, and three of them actually succeeded at their assassination quest while Myrrha was just wasting time.
I guess the Dark Knights really were just that impressed by her sizzling tales of catgirl lovemaking.

Now of course this doesn't explain why she just popped up in the new Good Guys HQ to gloat, troll, and risk getting killed five times over.
She apparently expected getting captured, and for two of her Dark Knights to successfully sneak in and bail her out. All for shit she could've probably accomplished by just surrounding this revelry with her forces, and/or using one of those Horsemen who can actually get shit done.

Really the only shocking twist was J'Vok suggesting that Myrrha might want to forsake her evil ways, which is retarded at best, and foreshadowing to what Linkara's gonna do to her at worst - for all women must bow before the Linkara eventually.

ChapterShow

White Raven gritted her teeth together as she launched an arrow out at the head of a Dark Knight. The arrow sliced through the male Dark Knight, hitting the door of a nearby building and leaving the Dark Knight dead at White Raven's feet. The day had started off relatively well for White Raven. She had a general feeling of happiness about her life and had begun thinking about petitioning Pulmeth, who was now the King of Ünaré, about possibly becoming his Champion so she could have a little more of a future for her life. General J'Vok had gone to see Myrrha, against the advice of both Indow and herself, to attempt appealing to her conscience to try to find the locations of the remaining Dark Knights of the five lands.

The festivities in the area had begun to die down. Things were now being focused upon the renovation and reconstruction of Soyah now that the city would once again be the capitol of Jilad. Many of the troops were being given recall orders back to their respective lands so they, too, could heal the injuries of war. Indow had been making travel plans to visit Pulmeth in L'Sol before returning to the church to finish her training as a Priestess. Lithmenar was the only one who hadn't been making plans. He just had gone with the flow, which was to party and have a good time.

However, the city was once again seeing action.

The Dark Knights had swarmed into the city like locusts, dozens of them just moving through the city gates and attacking anyone they saw. Most of the troops didn't know what to make of the situation and were in a state of shock, so most of them fought very poorly against their opponents, barely doing anything to try to beat them back. To make matters worse, General J'Vok, who had been coordinating all the forces in the area, had gone missing. And so, the large group of knights and soldiers had no leadership in the chaos. White Raven had taken charge of the few knights she had been near, but most of them were falling quickly to their enemies.

"Retreat!" White Raven ordered.

Three soldiers responded to the order, pushing away whatever Dark Knight they had been fighting and walked back with White Raven. The four were heading for the nearest defendable location, which just so happened to be the same bar that Lithmenar was fighting a Dark Knight in.

"I'll cut out your tongue, you toad!" the Dark Knight growled, pushing his sword down against Lithmenar's daggers.

Lithmenar grinned. "Cut your own out, while you're at it! Your breath reeks like that of a Terpa!"

White Raven quickly aimed an arrow at the Dark Knight and launched it through its head. As it toppled over, Lithmenar quickly snatched away a small pouch tied to the Dark Knight's waist. He opened it and smiled, seeing several golden coins within.

"I love my work!" Lithmenar exclaimed.

White Raven rolled her eyes.

"DEOL FLAME!"

Lithmenar and White Raven ducked as a Dark Knight crashed through one of the windows and landed on a table. His skin was charred and crisped while his armor smoldered and smoked. White Raven and Lithmenar slowly got up and brushed whatever glass or debris had fallen onto them from the window exploding and saw Indow climb in through the hole that had once had a window in it. The two helped her down into the bar and smiled.

"Good to see these last few days of celebration haven't made your magicks thin out." Lithmenar stated.

"We must retreat to a safer location! We have no hope of victory here!" Indow exclaimed.

One of the knights stepped over to them, having just looked out a window. "It appears that Jeremis is leading a group of knights back to a building just on the hill outside of the city. We must withdraw there!"

White Raven nodded. "We know the place. Let's go!"

*

One of the Unit troops growled as a Terafell Arbiter's axe rammed into his shoulder. The soldier tried to raise his weapon to fight back, but the Arbiter then raised up the stick end of his Executioner's axe and slammed it against the soldier's head. Jordahn winced as she swung her axe and managed to knick the hand of one of the Arbiters with the end of the blade. However, it was small comfort to her in this situation.

Twenty Terafell Arbiters had come to the encampment, and they had already slain two of Louis' soldiers. Louis was the only one having luck against his opponents, with his blades easily countering each blow that they sent at him. Louis was not enjoying himself one bit in this battle, considering he hated not seeing the faces of his opponents. Even though a large number of Dark Knights had worn a helmet that hid their faces, the majority Louis fought had shown their complete faces to him, allowing him to have some idea of the person he was fighting. However the Arbiters were different. Each one of them had every bit of their skin covered and hidden. They wore red leather gloves and long, red robes that they somehow managed to move swiftly despite their size. To top if off was the large red helmets they wore. The helmets had two slits cut out for eyeholes, and had a tiny hole in the center for breathing.

Louis turned his head as he blocked another strike with his gauntlets, seeing the difficulty his troops were facing. And as he stared at them, he began to feel his own heart beat rapidly. He saw these people who were simply trying to survive be beaten down by these... barbarians. He gritted his teeth, thinking of so many others who had fallen fighting against beings such as these. He had read the history book that Indow had provided him, read about the atrocities carried out by the Terafell Arbiters.

And Louis got pissed.

Louis roared and leapt into the air, much to the surprise of the Arbiters he had been fighting. Defying gravity briefly, Louis stayed in the air long enough for his full armor to come out from his gauntlets and form around him. The Arbiters stared at him for a moment before he fell back down, his gauntlets and blades sparkling with electrical power. In an instant, he sliced his blade towards the nearest Arbiter, cutting his axe in half and sending the axe head to the sand beneath them. He then slammed his other blade into the Arbiter's chest, killing him on contact. The Arbiter screamed and fell to the ground, his red capes and robes not showing too much of the blood that now began to splatter out of him.

The other two Arbiters that had been fighting Louis came at him, but Louis was already ready for them. He leapt back at them and immediately slammed his fists into the two chests of the Arbiters. Although Louis had retracted his blades for the punches, the instant that his fists had touched them, the Arbiters were sent flying back several feet from the electrical shock they suddenly experienced.

"Yo, dickweeds!" Louis shouted.

Somehow, Louis' voice had gone over the battle, allowing for everyone to hear him. Most of the Arbiters simply turned their heads to face Louis as he suddenly stood in a battle pose of his hands balled up into fists in front of him. Louis grinned maniacally, licked his lips, and then spoke.

"You Arbiters seem to enjoy picking on people smaller than you. Well, I'm smaller! TRY PICKING ON ME!" Louis growled, and his blades quickly slid out of his gauntlets.

Any of the Arbiters who were fighting the Unit quickly shoved their adversaries aside and began advancing on Louis. Louis just grinned and beckoned them over to him.

"That's it, you crazy motherfuckers, come closer." Louis said.

The nearest Arbiter swung his axe at Louis. Louis immediately grabbed the axe blade with his hand and crushed the metal like it was tin foil. He then proceeded to slash his blade across the Arbiter's neck, slitting his throat. The Arbiter fell back, clutching it's bleeding neck. The other sixteen Arbiters suddenly charged at Louis, but he didn't look worried. As they came close, Louis jumped up into the air, once again defying gravity and physics. He felt a cold feeling run down his back as metallic wings sprung forth from his back, allowing him complete flight. The Arbiters gasped, not sure of how to take this latest development. However, they soon decided that the wise course of action would be to fight.

They were wrong.

Louis began picking them off one at a time, swooping down and lopping their heads off or stabbing their faces with his blades. When he was down to only three of them, he went to the ground and fought them hand to hand, destroying their weapons and, consequently, their bodies, as well. And immediately, the Unit stood up from having watched the brief but furious battle and was completely amazed. Louis' armor quickly melted into a golden liquid and swarmed back into the gauntlets as if it never existed. One of the soldiers looked around and grabbed a bottle of Geest from his travel pack. He raised it into the air.

"Hail Captain Louis! Hail Yokui Killandro Lan!" he proclaimed.

And with that, the entire Unit was cheering and shouting Louis' name. Louis smiled and took the bottle of Geest in his hand, drinking it heartily. Jordahn looked down at the bodies of the Arbiters and smiled. After a feat of such nature, she could only come to one conclusion.

Louis was indeed from the future.

*

Within an hour, Indow, White Raven, and Lithmenar had returned to the abandoned building that they had used as a shelter before arriving in Soyah with Louis. They were not alone, however, this time. Although the Dark Knights had killed a great number of the forces in Soyah during the initial attack, most of them still managed to get back to this shelter to regroup and plan a counterattack. When the three had reached the shelter, they saw all these soldiers and knights resting on the ground, many of them with wounds from the blades of Dark Knights. Medics were assisting, but it was mostly the sorcerers of the divisions and units who were healing them.

Dark Knights now controlled Soyah. Myrrha tactics in conquering the city were exemplary, and now the large band of military officers that were now located on the hill needed leadership and guidance if they hoped to retake the city and stop the Dark Knights from whatever they were planning.

Jeremis took that leadership.

"My friends, listen to me! We cannot simply sit around here and wait for reinforcements. We have obviously made some mistakes, the first being so complacent about the remaining Dark Knights. They have taken us by surprise, but now is the time for us to turn around and eliminate the legacy of the Darkness! We shall organize ourselves and within a few hours, retake Soyah and eradicate the Dark Knights once and for all!" Jeremis shouted to the crowd.

The troops quickly gave cheers of agreement to Jeremis. Many had drawn their swords and held them high in the air in salute to him. Indow, however, walked up in front of the other knights to address Jeremis.

"But sir, what about General J'Vok?! He may still be alive!" she shouted to him.

Jeremis shook his head. "He is probably the first one who was killed by that snake Myrrha... He informed me of her before going to speak with her."

"That may not be the case," White Raven stated, stepping up beside Indow. "It was a common practice of the Dark Knights while the Darkness still existed to keep high- ranking military officers alive, torture them for information, then slay them. The Dark Knights might keep him alive in order to find out about Ai's defenses."

"Then what do you propose, my friends?" Jeremis asked.

"Allow us to return to Soyah. I can use an Invisibility spell whenever we approach a group of Dark Knights and go through all the back alleys of the city so that we can avoid detection. No doubt they will be keeping J'Vok in the jail cells where Myrrha was being kept. We can retrieve him and get him back here!" Indow suggested.

Jeremis stroked his chin, considering what Indow proposed. He looked over at Lithmenar and White Raven.

"You two would be willing to return to that area?" he asked them.

White Raven nodded. Lithmenar shrugged.

"Well, I don't suppose I'm going to live forever, anyway, so I might as well go on a suicide mission." Lithmenar replied.

Jeremis once again considered his words, and then smiled.

"Very well," he said. "But I am coming with you."

*

"So why were you unaffected?"

"What do you mean?"

"When we were fighting the Arbiters, you were fighting with more focus and drive than the rest of us. We were inhibited by the Geest."

"Most of you only took one swig of the stuff! Is it really that strong?"

"It most certainly is. Geest is one of the most sought-after drinks for its potency."

"Well, in any case, my physiology is different from other humans on Sin. We may look similar physically, but biologically we're completely different. The alcohol from this world didn't have any effect on me."

"It was a glorious battle, Captain."

"Indeed it was."

"Although much more bloody than I would have anticipated."

"War is hell."

Jordahn shrugged her shoulders as she continued walking onwards. For a few more days, the group traveled onwards towards the Kien/Ai border. The problem with getting so close to the border was that they were eventually going to run into Terafell Arbiter patrols. When that happened, a fight would immediately ensue, and this was supposed to be a stealth mission. So, because of that fact, the group had looted the Arbiters that Louis had slain, taking their red outfits and some of their supplies for when they crossed the border. They remained the way they were until they were one day away from the border. At that point, they put on their new outfits and marched towards the border, hopefully without much resistance.

"I must tell you, sir, that I am very uncomfortable with this plan. The idea of wearing the uniform of these monsters is... dishonorable to the dead." one of the soldiers stated.

"True, but if we were to show up on the Arbiter side of the border in Kien uniforms, we'd be killed on sight." Jordahn replied.

"Also true, Jordahn, but by wearing these outfits that have been stained with the blood of the Arbiters, would you not have their souls sent into you, as per your beliefs as a member of the New Blood Order?" the soldier replied.

Jordahn smiled inside of her helmet and shook her head. "I must bathe in the blood for it to join with my soul. And even if that weren't the case, I sincerely doubt that my soul would ever allow an Arbiter to join with it."

"Look sharp, guys! We've got a patrol approaching!" Louis stated.

The members of the Unit winced from within their outfits. What was approaching them was a collection of Terafell Arbiters on foot with executioner's axes in hands. However, what made the troops truly worried was the fact that there was a Dragonrider with them. The dragon hovered in the air above them, the sunlight reflecting off of the dragon's crimson scales. The dragon snorted steam from it's nostrils as it saw Louis' Unit approaching, but was not prepared to take any action until the rider on it's back ordered it to. Louis looked over at his Unit and ordered them to stop. He then walked forwards towards the patrol group in front of him. The patrol all stared at Louis as he approached, a somewhat shorter Arbiter than what they were used to.

The leader of the patrol walked forward, as well, towards Louis. They met between the two groups, and the leader of the patrol saluted Louis by holding his axe in his left hand while his right hand moved from his left shoulder to the area in front of him. Louis repeated the salute, hoping to bluff his way through without a fight. He had managed to kill a Dragonrider before thanks to the element of surprise. This dragon was larger than the one Louis had slain, which especially worried him.

"May Terafell's gaze fall upon thee." the patrol leader said.

Louis blinked. "Um... yeah. Same to you."

The patrol leader was a little surprised by this response, not expecting it. He tilted his head to the side in confusion, but then decided to just disregard his reply.

"What brings thee out here, Emenent?" the patrol leader asked.

"We are returning to Walsz after a very long patrol tour along the Kien border. We are eager to return to civilization and fresh life giver." Louis replied.

"Oh? How many of those Kien rats did you exterminate while you were out here?" the patrol leader inquired.

Louis narrowed his eyes, although the patrol leader couldn't see that he was glaring at him.

"How many stars are there in the night sky?" Louis responded.

The Arbiter tilted his head back and laughed, then nodded at Louis before turning around to rejoin his group. Louis clenched his fist tightly, desperately resisting the urge to ram his blade through the patrol leader's back. He managed to fight his violent desires and turned around, heading back to Jordahn and the others.

"This is going to get ugly when we reach Walsz." he whispered to himself.

The group waited for the patrol group to be well out of range before they continued moving onwards to the nearest city for rest. Soon, after many hours of traveling, the desert sands began to give way to green grass and forestry. The hot, arid temperatures of Kien gave way to the temperate, acceptable climate of Ai. By nightfall, the group was well inside the Ai border and ready to set up camp before the continuation of their journey.

"You know," Jordahn said to Louis as she raised a tent pole. "I was thinking about how differently we reacted to the geest. What other sort of differences do people of your world have in comparison to ours?"

Louis shrugged, pulling a cloth over the arranged tent poles for the camp. "Well, where to start? For one thing, we're centuries ahead of you guys in technology."

"In what way?" Jordahn inquired.

"Well, for one thing, we domesticated and tamed horses a long time ago." Louis stated.

"But horses cannot be tamed. They are wild creatures that trample any who approach." Jordahn responded.

"Read a bit further in the history book. Another hundred or so years, horses will become a vital part of transportation throughout the five lands." Louis replied.

"Six." Jordahn corrected.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Six, Captain. There are six lands on this continent." Jordahn explained.

"Not in the time period I came from. After the war, Ilkjem was split apart and given to Ai and Ünaré." Louis replied.

Jordahn sighed. "The future is indeed a complicated thing, isn't it?"

"So is time travel. You know, there's a theory on my world about time travel that I've already figured out as opposed to the idiots who dwell on the question on countless occasions." Louis said, sitting down to rest.

"Explain it to me." Jordahn said, sitting next to Louis.

"Well, the idea is what if you went back in time and killed your own mother before you were born? If you had done that, you would never have been born, therefore you never went back in time and killed your mother, and so you were born and went back in time and killed your mother, etc., etc." Louis explained.

"'Tis a paradox." Jordahn stated.

"Precisely. The real answer is that it's entirely possible to do that because once you travel back in time and exist before you were born, you've moved outside of the normal confines of the space/time continuum, making you immune to any changes in the timeline." Louis replied.

"Did you have a lot of odd conversations in your time period?" Jordahn asked, standing up again.

"Yeah, but they were mostly just philosophy politics, religion, and what's the best topping for pizza. You know, come to think of it, I wonder what's going on with Indow and the others back in the future..." Louis spoke.

*

Indow shifted uncomfortably around in the heavy armor she was wearing. The weight of the armor wasn't what was bothering her, but the fact that the armor had been that of a Dark Knight’s. In order to successfully infiltrate the Soyah without a great deal of suspicion, the small group had to dress up like Dark Knights in the hope of fooling the Dark Knights long enough for them to get General J'Vok and escape unharmed.

Provided, of course, that the General was still alive.

Now that the Dark Knights controlled Soyah, there was a very different kind of atmosphere and activity occurring within the once-dead city than that of the gathered armies of the five lands when they had inhabited it. The gathered armies had been celebrating for a full week the end of a war that had lasted for roughly 300 years. There was drinking, dancing, singing, and a basic overall party. The Dark Knights had no need or reason for such things at that time. The victory in Soyah may have been there's, but now came the task of defending the city from a retaliatory strike, which Myrrha sensed could be imminent. The Dark Knights were hurrying about, assigning patrols and new Assault Squadrons. Crude city walls were being erected to replace the ones that had been decimated so long ago.

"Indow, is there something wrong with your armor?" Jeremis asked as he gazed at Indow.

Indow shook her head, but continued to fidget in the black armoring. "I do not feel comfortable wearing the armor of a murderer."

"You can't be certain the armor you are wearing even belonged to a combatant Dark Knight to begin with. The Darkness was no doubt still accepting new recruits into its army up until the Linkara finally arrived in Soyah." White Raven stated.

"And what about you, Raven? How does it feel to be back in the dress of a Dark Knights after so long?" Lithmenar inquired, trying desperately to hold back smiling.

"It feels no different than usual. The armor I usually wear is the same armor I wore when I was employed by the Darkness." White Raven responded.

"But the color's different. How is that so?" Lithmenar asked.

"A few years after the Darkness exiled me, I met a kind Sorcerer who changed the color of my armor, eyes, and hair." White Raven explained.

"And where is he now?" Indow asked, intrigued by White Raven's brief story.

"Dead." White Raven said, turning away for a moment.

"Still, your hair is now back to it's black appearance thanks to that dye." Lithmenar said.

White Raven narrowed her eyes at Lithmenar. "Why are you suddenly so talkative?"

Lithmenar shrugged. "It's the only thing that's keeping my sanity in check for going on this mission with you."

"You said yourself that this would probably be a suicide mission and that you weren't going to live forever." Indow stated.

"Yes, but I had always hoped that I would." Lithmenar replied, smiling.

"Please, would you three be quiet?!" Jeremis said, turning back to look at them.

The group nodded, complying with Jeremis' wishes. The four had now gone through the main gates of Soyah, and Indow felt a slight chill pass down her spine as she entered. The last time she had actually entered the gates was when she had first arrived with Louis into Soyah. The Darkness had created an illusion of a happy, joyous city that celebrated the Darkness' coming. The instant that she had entered the city, a vial of water that she kept at her side had boiled itself black, shattered the glass container it was in, and evaporated before it had hit the ground.

She shook off her memories and winced slightly, looking at her hair. In order to further perpetuate the illusion that they were Dark Knights, her hair had been dyed black along with the others'. She wondered if the light layer of fur that covered her skin required to be dyed in any way. She had never encountered any Anakos who had joined the Darkness, but that didn't mean the possibility didn't exist. As a matter of fact, Indow realized that she had never encountered any Dark Knights who hadn't been human. For a brief moment, Indow wondered if it was only humans that had ever had the desire to join the Darkness.

The four moved through the streets without any of the real Dark Knights in the city giving them a second thought. From small conversations that the group heard as Jeremis led them towards the jail, the group picked up a few facts about what was going on. Apparently, Dark Knights were still coming and arriving in the area after Myrrha had somehow made out a deep call for them to come to Soyah to create a new empire. A much more interesting fact that they heard, though, was the fact that emotions that had been held back by the Darkness were now free to be expressed. Many of the Dark Knights were laughing and smiling as they finished their own reconstruction efforts or told jokes to their comrades. Some of the male and female Dark Knights who had been in an Assault Squad together even hugged and wept for joy or sadness due to loved ones found or lost.

"This is not exactly what I had expected." Indow said, moving alongside Jeremis.

"What do you mean?" Jeremis asked.

"The Dark Knights appear to be behaving like actual people instead of the monsters they were when they were controlled by the Darkness. Is it possible that Myrrha could be hoping for a gentler hand with her troops than the Darkness had had when it controlled them?" Indow suggested.

"I sincerely doubt it, Priestess. These Dark Knights might hope for a gentler hand and hope for themselves, but Myrrha herself has shown no desire for that." Jeremis replied.

Jeremis pointed at a building they were approaching. "We have arrived."

The group readied themselves for anything, with Lithmenar reaching for a throwing knife and White Raven for her bow. There were no guards in front of the doorway. Indow looked to Jeremis for guidance. He looked back at her, then took in a deep breath and pulled for the doorknob. He twisted it and pulled the door open. The four walked inside, seeing two Dark Knights sitting at a table inspecting documents. They looked up from their papers and stood up. The one to the right of the group spoke first.

"Unfortunately, my friends, you cannot enter the prison without strict permission from the Queen." he said.

"Is it true what they say? Is there a General of the Ai scum in the prison?" Jeremis asked.

The Dark Knight to the left nodded. Lithmenar grinned and stepped up.

"I'd love to taste the flesh of a General,” he said, licking his lips.

The right Dark Knight groaned and rolled his eyes. "I'd recommend you do not say such things around the Queen or any Potents. You must have only just arrived to assume that the bloodlust and psychotic tendencies of the Darkness’ Regime have any bearing here."

"Well, I must at least request that you let us see the General." Jeremis said.

"And I must deny your request. We cannot allow him to be spoken to until the Genesis- wait a minute, aren't you the Priestess that traveled with the Linkara?!" the left Dark Knight exclaimed, pointing at Indow.

The group exchanged quick glances. Jeremis turned back to the Dark Knights.

"Raven!" he shouted, and quickly ducked.

White Raven aimed her bow at one of the Dark Knights and quickly shot an arrow over Jeremis' head and hit the Dark Knight to the left. The other Dark Knight opened his mouth, ready to call out for help from the outside, but Lithmenar moved faster, throwing a knife out and into the Dark Knight's forehead. The Dark Knight fell to the ground alongside his companion as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Jeremis walked over to one of the desks in the room and picked up a key from the edge of it.

The group walked around the bodies, making sure that they didn't step into the building puddle of blood as they walked into the door behind the desks. They quickly opened the door, revealing a set of stairs that led down into the prison itself. Jeremis nodded to the others and moved down the stairs with the others closely behind him. They entered the dank, dirty prison that was lit only by candlelight on the opposite walls. They looked at the cells around them, trying to locate General J'Vok. They finally saw him in the cell that had formerly housed Myrrha when she had first arrived in Soyah.

"General!" Indow cried out.

J'Vok had been sitting in the corner of his cells with his hands on his knees as he sat in a light meditation. He suddenly opened his eyes and stared at the four, shocked that they looked like Dark Knights.

"By the heavens, what's happened to you all?!" he shouted.

"We disguised ourselves so we could rescue you. The Dark Knights have taken over the city!" Indow explained.

"I'm aware of that. Myrrha gave me a tedious lecture about being the Queen of the 'Eclipsed Legion' and how everything would become clear at the 'Genesis Ceremony.' Any idea what she was talking about?" J'Vok asked.

"No, but I do not intend to stay around here to find out." White Raven replied.

Jeremis was quickly using the key he had grabbed in order to open the door. "Come! We shall free you and dress you in the armor of a Dark Knight we've slain. We can get you a helmet to hide your-"

"Well, well, well."

The group stopped. They then slowly turned their heads to see that Myrrha was standing in the stairway with five Dark Knights behind her. Each of the Dark Knights held a large black axe in their hands. Myrrha grinned and crossed her arms as she stared at the group assembled before her.

"I had hoped that I could persuade the General to join our side and assistance in some strategic planning for an invasion of Ai, but it seems you all have given me a much more grand idea: sacrifices for my inauguration as Queen of the Eclipsed Legion." she stated.

Next Time: Maybe the party's rogue will finally get to use his rogue skills. I'm not getting my hopes up, though.

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

Time for some advanced riffing.

RiffingShow

White Raven gritted her teeth together as she launched an arrow out at the head of a Dark Knight. The arrow sliced through the male Dark Knight, hitting the door of a nearby building and leaving the Dark Knight dead at White Raven's feet.

I see Linkara (the author) still hasn't figured out how arrows work and/or look like.

The day had started off relatively well for White Raven. She had a general feeling of happiness about her life and had begun thinking about-

Stop right there, wench. Just because this is your first spotlight chapter in this book doesn't mean you have to overdo it.

General J'Vok had gone to see Myrrha, against the advice of both Indow and herself, to attempt appealing to her conscience to try to find the locations of the remaining Dark Knights of the five lands.

Err, yeah, I did read last chapter.

Indow had been making travel plans to visit Pulmeth in L'Sol before returning to the church to finish her training as a Priestess. Lithmenar was the only one who hadn't been making plans. He just had gone with the flow, which was to party and have a good time.

Fuck me, that's quite the exposition before we get back to the current mayhem going on.

However, the city was once again seeing action.

The Dark Knights had swarmed into the city like locusts, dozens of them just moving through the city gates and attacking anyone they saw. Most of the troops didn't know what to make of the situation and were in a state of shock

What, you thought the Dark Knights would just vanish after the Darkness bit the dust and you started partying in their former HQ?

To make matters worse, General J'Vok, who had been coordinating all the forces in the area, had gone missing. And so, the large group of knights and soldiers had no leadership in the chaos.

It's called chain of command for a reason, everyone.

White Raven had taken charge of the few knights she had been near, but most of them were falling quickly to their enemies.

Did they consent to your command?

White Raven quickly aimed an arrow at the Dark Knight and launched it through its head.

WTF are you firing?

As it toppled over, Lithmenar quickly snatched away a small pouch tied to the Dark Knight's waist. He opened it and smiled, seeing several golden coins within.

"I love my work!" Lithmenar exclaimed.

Dude, you might not live long enough to spend this shit.

White Raven rolled her eyes.

Even she thinks you're retarded.

"Good to see these last few days of celebration haven't made your magicks thin out." Lithmenar stated.

Well, she spent most of it depressed...

*

One of the Unit troops growled as a Terafell Arbiter's axe rammed into his shoulder. The soldier tried to raise his weapon to fight back, but the Arbiter then raised up the stick end of his Executioner's axe and slammed it against the soldier's head.

Define "ramming" someone with a fuckhuge axe. The description is a bit confusing. At least I'm moderately sure he didn't actually hit him with the axe blade, because I don't think you can do much weapon raising if you have a fuckhuge axe cleaving into your shoulder.

Jordahn winced as she swung her axe and managed to knick the hand of one of the Arbiters with the end of the blade.

Yeah, it seems only Linkara's gonna be able to do much of anything here.

Twenty Terafell Arbiters had come to the encampment, and they had already slain two of Louis' soldiers.

From the previous chapter's horror stories, it looks like they're holding back.

Louis was not enjoying himself one bit in this battle, considering he hated not seeing the faces of his opponents.

Ah yes. Linkara's famous pet peeve. He could never shut up about how much he hates not seeing his enemies' faces.
No, wait. This never came up before.

Even though a large number of Dark Knights had worn a helmet that hid their faces, the majority Louis fought had shown their complete faces to him, allowing him to have some idea of the person he was fighting.

Now you might think this ist stupid, but of course did they show their face. How else was the narrator supposed to remind us that they were not smiling?

They wore red leather gloves and long, red robes that they somehow managed to move swiftly despite their size. To top if off was the large red helmets they wore. The helmets had two slits cut out for eyeholes, and had a tiny hole in the center for breathing.

So what, they're Teutonic Knights with prettier dresses and even goofier helmets?

Louis turned his head as he blocked another strike with his gauntlets, seeing the difficulty his troops were facing.

Turns out the Terafellas fought nothing like stationary logs.

He saw these people who were simply trying to survive be beaten down by these... barbarians. He gritted his teeth, thinking of so many others who had fallen fighting against beings such as these. He had read the history book that Indow had provided him, read about the atrocities carried out by the Terafell Arbiters.

And Louis got pissed.

Since when do you care about others? I call bullshit.

Defying gravity briefly, Louis stayed in the air long enough for his full armor to come out from his gauntlets and form around him.

You didn't fight at full power? Are you stupid or something?

In an instant, he sliced his blade towards the nearest Arbiter, cutting his axe in half and sending the axe head to the sand beneath them. He then slammed his other blade into the Arbiter's chest, killing him on contact.

Dude, I'm pretty sure those two minions of yours are only dead because you held back.

Somehow, Louis' voice had gone over the battle, allowing for everyone to hear him.

So your armor has loudspeakers or something. Cool.

"You Arbiters seem to enjoy picking on people smaller than you. Well, I'm smaller! TRY PICKING ON ME!" Louis growled, and his blades quickly slid out of his gauntlets.

Any of the Arbiters who were fighting the Unit quickly shoved their adversaries aside and began advancing on Louis. Louis just grinned and beckoned them over to him.

So your armor can also draw aggro like crazy. Cool.

The nearest Arbiter swung his axe at Louis. Louis immediately grabbed the axe blade with his hand and crushed the metal like it was tin foil.

This is about as exciting as watching Superman fight a bunch of common thugs.

He felt a cold feeling run down his back as metallic wings sprung forth from his back, allowing him complete flight. The Arbiters gasped, not sure of how to take this latest development. However, they soon decided that the wise course of action would be to fight.

They were wrong.

How are they gonna fight a dude with wings? Do they throw their axes at him or something?

Louis began picking them off one at a time, swooping down and lopping their heads off or stabbing their faces with his blades.

It's probably not a good sign when these fearsome super soldiers remind me of a group of joke villains from One Punch Man.

One of the soldiers looked around and grabbed a bottle of Geest from his travel pack. He raised it into the air.

"Hail Captain Louis! Hail Yokui Killandro Lan!" he proclaimed.

"For he is the Kwisatz Haderach!"

Jordahn looked down at the bodies of the Arbiters and smiled. After a feat of such nature, she could only come to one conclusion.

Louis was indeed from the future.

Or he can just summon a suit of celestial super-armor at will. It's pretty much the same thing, really.

*

Within an hour, Indow, White Raven, and Lithmenar had returned to the abandoned building that they had used as a shelter before arriving in Soyah with Louis.

This abandoned building which is far, but not too far away from Soyah really gets a lot of use in this story.

Although the Dark Knights had killed a great number of the forces in Soyah during the initial attack, most of them still managed to get back to this shelter to regroup and plan a counterattack.

How many people are we talking about? And how big is this building, anyways?

Medics were assisting, but it was mostly the sorcerers of the divisions and units who were healing them.

Medics are kinda lame when healing magic exists. There's a reason why nobody cares about the Heal skill in D&D.

Dark Knights now controlled Soyah. Myrrha tactics in conquering the city were exemplary

She attacked while you guys were busy getting drunk. That's really mostly your fault IMO.

Now the large band of military officers that were now located on the hill needed leadership and guidance if they hoped to retake the city and stop the Dark Knights from whatever they were planning.

Jeremis took that leadership.

Well, he is the only other named NPC besides J'Vok, so...

"They have taken us by surprise, but now is the time for us to turn around and eliminate the legacy of the Darkness! We shall organize ourselves and within a few hours, retake Soyah and eradicate the Dark Knights once and for all!"

"Let's attack them!"

"But sir, what about General J'Vok?! He may still be alive!" she shouted to him.

Well, he's not called Rain, so...

"It was a common practice of the Dark Knights while the Darkness still existed to keep high- ranking military officers alive, torture them for information, then slay them. The Dark Knights might keep him alive in order to find out about Ai's defenses."

As far as we've seen, they keep everyone alive and decide later who they feel like killing.
And why should they care about Ai specifically? That's not even the nearest kingdom.

"Allow us to return to Soyah. I can use an Invisibility spell whenever we approach a group of Dark Knights and go through all the back alleys of the city so that we can avoid detection.

It sure is handy when someone remembers that magic exists.

"You two would be willing to return to that area?" he asked them.

White Raven nodded. Lithmenar shrugged.

"Well, I don't suppose I'm going to live forever, anyway, so I might as well go on a suicide mission." Lithmenar replied.

You're a spineless cuck, Lithmenar.

*

"So why were you unaffected?"

"What do you mean?"

"When we were fighting the Arbiters, you were fighting with more focus and drive than the rest of us. We were inhibited by the Geest."

Maybe don't get wasted on the hard stuff before a suicide mission, then.

"Most of you only took one swig of the stuff! Is it really that strong?"

"It most certainly is. Geest is one of the most sought-after drinks for its potency."

"Well, in any case, my physiology is different from other humans on Sin. We may look similar physically, but biologically we're completely different. The alcohol from this world didn't have any effect on me."

"Just how did Linkara fight so well after imbibing an unspecified amount of unspecified booze?!"
"Why, it's his different genetic makeup that we have to bring up once per book!"

It's a sign of a true master of the pen to answer the questions that no one was asking.

The problem with getting so close to the border was that they were eventually going to run into Terafell Arbiter patrols.

Err, you already did.

When that happened, a fight would immediately ensue, and this was supposed to be a stealth mission.

Well, I guess some of the Terafellas must be wondering what happened to 20 of their soldiers by now...

So, because of that fact, the group had looted the Arbiters that Louis had slain, taking their red outfits and some of their supplies for when they crossed the border.

No description of the Terafellas looking fucked-up under their helmet? Sad.

"Also true, Jordahn, but by wearing these outfits that have been stained with the blood of the Arbiters, would you not have their souls sent into you, as per your beliefs as a member of the New Blood Order?" the soldier replied.

Jordahn smiled inside of her helmet and shook her head. "I must bathe in the blood for it to join with my soul. And even if that weren't the case, I sincerely doubt that my soul would ever allow an Arbiter to join with it."

I don't think Gyaru Casca is a particularly devout vegetarian who bathes in animal blood.

"Look sharp, guys! We've got a patrol approaching!" Louis stated.

Linkara's so gonna fuck this up.

What was approaching them was a collection of Terafell Arbiters on foot with executioner's axes in hands. However, what made the troops truly worried was the fact that there was a Dragonrider with them.

Don't worry. Linkara just has to stab it once.

The patrol all stared at Louis as he approached, a somewhat shorter Arbiter than what they were used to.

I'm sure nothing will go wrong.

This dragon was larger than the one Louis had slain, which especially worried him.

You've one-shotted a giant kaiju blob before.

"May Terafell's gaze fall upon thee." the patrol leader said.

Louis blinked. "Um... yeah. Same to you."

Smooth moves there, Linkster.

The patrol leader was a little surprised by this response, not expecting it. He tilted his head to the side in confusion, but then decided to just disregard his reply.

These guys are denser than their armor.

"Oh? How many of those Kien rats did you exterminate while you were out here?" the patrol leader inquired.

Louis narrowed his eyes, although the patrol leader couldn't see that he was glaring at him.

"How many stars are there in the night sky?" Louis responded.

The Arbiter tilted his head back and laughed, then nodded at Louis before turning around to rejoin his group.

Ah, turns out they spoke the same language after all: senseless bloodshed.

Soon, after many hours of traveling, the desert sands began to give way to green grass and forestry.

There'd probably be a lot more steppe and/or savanna before the first proper forest, but whatever.

"You know," Jordahn said to Louis as she raised a tent pole. "I was thinking about how differently we reacted to the geest. What other sort of differences do people of your world have in comparison to ours?"

Louis shrugged, pulling a cloth over the arranged tent poles for the camp. "Well, where to start? For one thing, we're centuries ahead of you guys in technology."

That doesn't have anything to do with biology, mate.

"In what way?" Jordahn inquired.

"Well, for one thing, we domesticated and tamed horses a long time ago." Louis stated.

"But horses cannot be tamed. They are wild creatures that trample any who approach." Jordahn responded.

"Read a bit further in the history book. Another hundred or so years, horses will become a vital part of transportation throughout the five lands." Louis replied.

So Sin only had domesticated horses for 900 years in the present? You know it took us about 3000 years to breed wild horses into something you could actually ride into battle?

Jordahn sighed. "The future is indeed a complicated thing, isn't it?"

"So is time travel. You know, there's a theory on my world about time travel that I've already figured out as opposed to the idiots who dwell on the question on countless occasions." Louis said, sitting down to rest.

"Listen up, sheeple! For I, the Great Linkara, have figured out the one universal truth about time travel!"

"Well, the idea is what if you went back in time and killed your own mother before you were born?"

Well, the traditional thought experiment involves your grandfather, which is why this scenario is known as the Grandfather Paradox, but you do you I guess.

"If you had done that, you would never have been born, therefore you never went back in time and killed your mother, and so you were born and went back in time and killed your mother, etc., etc." Louis explained.

Well, at least that part is about accurate.

"'Tis a paradox." Jordahn stated.

How educated are you, Gyaru Casca? It's weird enough that you can read.

"Precisely. The real answer is that it's entirely possible to do that because once you travel back in time and exist before you were born, you've moved outside of the normal confines of the space/time continuum, making you immune to any changes in the timeline." Louis replied.

And you came to this conclusion because...?

And I dunno why you're so smug about this solution. Sounds a bit sus, and hard to prove.

*

Indow shifted uncomfortably around in the heavy armor she was wearing. The weight of the armor wasn't what was bothering her, but the fact that the armor had been that of a Dark Knight’s.

It's the great "Dress up as your Enemy!" chapter, apparently.

In order to successfully infiltrate the Soyah without a great deal of suspicion, the small group had to dress up like Dark Knights in the hope of fooling the Dark Knights long enough for them to get General J'Vok and escape unharmed.

Provided, of course, that the General was still alive.

Oh, don't worry. Unless it turns out that he's related to Rain, he'll be fine.

Indow shook her head, but continued to fidget in the black armoring. "I do not feel comfortable wearing the armor of a murderer."

"You can't be certain the armor you are wearing even belonged to a combatant Dark Knight to begin with. The Darkness was no doubt still accepting new recruits into its army up until the Linkara finally arrived in Soyah." White Raven stated.

Oh, it might have been a trainee Dark Knight. That makes it okay!

"And what about you, Raven? How does it feel to be back in the dress of a Dark Knights after so long?" Lithmenar inquired, trying desperately to hold back smiling.

"It feels no different than usual. The armor I usually wear is the same armor I wore when I was employed by the Darkness." White Raven responded.

"But the color's different. How is that so?" Lithmenar asked.

"A few years after the Darkness exiled me, I met a kind Sorcerer who changed the color of my armor, eyes, and hair." White Raven explained.

"He also changed my body to that of a woman."

"Still, your hair is now back to it's black appearance thanks to that dye." Lithmenar said.

White Raven narrowed her eyes at Lithmenar. "Why are you suddenly so talkative?"

Since when has Lithmenar not been talkative? He's always been bitching and moaning about how much he hates following this group (while still following this group).

"You said yourself that this would probably be a suicide mission and that you weren't going to live forever." Indow stated.

"Yes, but I had always hoped that I would." Lithmenar replied, smiling.

I'm really starting to get sick and tired of your bullshit, mate.

The last time she had actually entered the gates was when she had first arrived with Louis into Soyah. The Darkness had created an illusion of a happy, joyous city that celebrated the Darkness' coming. The instant that she had entered the city, a vial of water that she kept at her side had boiled itself black, shattered the glass container it was in, and evaporated before it had hit the ground.

I don't think this bit of exposition will be relevant to anything, but whatever.
And how did you enter the city after the Darkness' defeat, if not through the gates?

She shook off her memories and winced slightly, looking at her hair. In order to further perpetuate the illusion that they were Dark Knights, her hair had been dyed black along with the others'.

I guess you could just keep your helmets on, but then the other Dark Knights couldn't confirm how not-smiling you are.

She wondered if the light layer of fur that covered her skin required to be dyed in any way.

You have fur? Bitch you look like a glorified elf with a tail.
Also dyeing your fur might count as blackfacing, so we better not go there.

She had never encountered any Anakos who had joined the Darkness

We have also never encountered any Anakos (aka catpeople) period.

As a matter of fact, Indow realized that she had never encountered any Dark Knights who hadn't been human. For a brief moment, Indow wondered if it was only humans that had ever had the desire to join the Darkness.

Except you very much had the desire to join the Darkness last book. For about two paragraphs, but still.
Also you're not really ticking differently from humans in general. This bit about having fur is really the first hint in this book that you are not human. Even the prologue found you being a slut more important than you being some weird elf catgirl.

Apparently, Dark Knights were still coming and arriving in the area after Myrrha had somehow made out a deep call for them to come to Soyah to create a new empire.

If they're still supposed to be a hive mind (which they never actually were, but whatever), Myrrha is basically Kerrigan.

A much more interesting fact that they heard, though, was the fact that emotions that had been held back by the Darkness were now free to be expressed. Many of the Dark Knights were laughing and smiling as they finished their own reconstruction efforts or told jokes to their comrades.

So they're just dudes now. Fine. At least this will put an end to the narration's weird fixation on whether or not someone is smiling.

"The Dark Knights appear to be behaving like actual people instead of the monsters they were when they were controlled by the Darkness."

I wouldn't exactly call grumpy people "monsters".

"Is it possible that Myrrha could be hoping for a gentler hand with her troops than the Darkness had had when it controlled them?" Indow suggested.

Methinks she was so impressed by Linkara's bloodlust that she's now trying to replicate it.

"Unfortunately, my friends, you cannot enter the prison without strict permission from the Queen." he said.

"Is it true what they say? Is there a General of the Ai scum in the prison?" Jeremis asked.

The Dark Knight to the left nodded. Lithmenar grinned and stepped up.

"I'd love to taste the flesh of a General,” he said, licking his lips.

Either Dark Knights have been cannibals all along.
Or Lithmenar is a fag.

The right Dark Knight groaned and rolled his eyes. "I'd recommend you do not say such things around the Queen or any Potents. You must have only just arrived to assume that the bloodlust and psychotic tendencies of the Darkness’ Regime have any bearing here."

"This is a place of quiet contemplation and inner peace!"

"And I must deny your request. We cannot allow him to be spoken to until the Genesis- wait a minute, aren't you the Priestess that traveled with the Linkara?!" the left Dark Knight exclaimed, pointing at Indow.

Helmets. You can put them over your head. They hide your face, among other things.

Jeremis was quickly using the key he had grabbed in order to open the door. "Come! We shall free you and dress you in the armor of a Dark Knight we've slain. We can get you a helmet to hide your-"

"Well, well, well."

Uh-oh.

Myrrha grinned and crossed her arms as she stared at the group assembled before her.

"I've got you, Indow!"

"I had hoped that I could persuade the General to join our side and assistance in some strategic planning for an invasion of Ai..."

Bloody hell, she's just like the Darkness.

"... but it seems you all have given me a much more grand idea: sacrifices for my inauguration as Queen of the Eclipsed Legion." she stated.

Well, this is a cliffhanger, so nothing will come out of this. I was almost worried about Jeremis.

(Btw how do you pronounce his name, anyways? It's probably "Jeremy", but written more French-y.)

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

Book 2, Chapter 6 - Allegiances I
(Or: One Betrayal and a whole lot of Nothing)

One group of heroes has yet to blow their cover, while the other one never stood a chance. Just what will happen now?

(Riffing split off once again due to size limitations.)

RecapShow

Past
The Terafellas actually kinda live up to their hype. If I understand correctly (the beginning, non-Linkara of the fight was a bit confusing), it seems that conventional weapons do dick against their armor.
Not that it matters, because Linkara can fight them just fine. For some reason he didn't go full power until after he notices that his merry men were dying too fast. Not sure what the deal with that was. It's not like he's like Kaiketsu Zubat or Garo and has to deal with an annoying time limit for his +5 Invincible OP Suit of Ass-Kicking. Near as I can tell he can go full Linkara Cloth as often and as long as he wants. Maybe he just wants to relish his bloodlust.
Oh, and the Terafellas don't appear to be the sharpest tools in the shed, with Linkara having now trouble luring them into perfect multi-kill combo position. Also you'd think people who ride fucking dragons might have an idea or two about how to deal with a winged asshole dive-attacking them over and over again.

This sudden surprise attack from the Terafellas turns out to come in handy for the Band of the Linkster, as they can put on their fallen enemies' getup better infiltrate the enemy. Somehow Linkara manages to tard-wrangle himself long enough to not blow his cover at the first opportunity - though I still won't rule out him fucking everything up with a dumb joke eventually.


"Am I not terafelly enough for the Terafell Arbiters?"

Linkara als embiggens us most cromulently with his unprompted master thesis on the One True Solution (tm) to the Grandfather Paradox - except he doesn't even know it's called "grandfather paradox", so you know it's good.
It's a bit weird, and I have no idea why he can be so sure about it if he has absolutely no way of proving it.

autistic time travel spergingShow

So he postulates (or copies from somewhere else) that the very act of time-traveling renders you immune from time travel changes. Sounds to me like he wants to have is cake and eat it, aka change the past while dealing with neither time paradox nor having your changes create a different timeline instead of affecting your timeline.

His explanation is this works because by time traveling you have escaped the confines of spacetime - except I'm pretty sure you have to re-enter those confines to actually get anything done. I mean, spacetime is literally all of reality as we can perceive and comprehend.

I think he's making shit up. Or I am mistaken, and the Linkara we've been following in this book is actually the three-dimensional shadow projection of the brand-new extra-dimensional ghost god that the real Linkara has become.

A few additional bits of worldbuilding, which will no doubt be vital to my upcoming Angel Armor Campaign Setting book (the system will be decided upon after the Kickstarter - but it's totally going to be F.A.T.A.L.).

• The humans of Sin have a lower tolerance for alcohol than the Glorious Isekai Master Race.
• This past is about a hundred years before people even think about domesticating horses, which is a bit fucked up and raises the question what other basic-bitch shit they haven't domesticated yet.
  This didn't even came up naturally in the story, like say people looking at Linkara funny when he was asking for horses for him and his minions. He just brings it up because he wants to brag about what he's learned from his history book - because fuck having the Great Linkara be clueless. He don't need no man explain shit to him about this time period, for he has a book that tells him everything.

Present
The good guys get wrecked by the Neo Dark Knights by a combination of surprise, booze and General J'Vok having been captured.
No, really. The entire chain of command consists of J'Vok at the top and everyone else below him - which is weird considering we're talking about an international coalition army that includes at least two kingdoms and several de-facto city states.
So they retreat into everyone's favorite safe house from the previous book (which is far enough from Soyah that they apparently don't have to fear Dark Knight attacks, but close enough that you can get to the city with a short scene transition).

Linkara's fellowship plus Jilad noble Jeremis - who has either become a full-time new member, or just a temporary ally like that champion dude from last book - also decide to put on bad guy outfits to inflitrate Soya and try to rescue J'Vok.


Inside the city, they make the horrifying discovery that the Dark Knights have undergone a most shocking evolution to... having a normal range of emotions
Unliek Linkara and his gang, they get busted pretty quickly - not just because Myrrha conveniently shows up, but also because the guards aren't morons and Indow didn't put on a fucking helmet.
For some reason, Myrrha decides they should all be sacrifices for her inauguration ceremony. Maybe the Dark Knights are really an outgrowth of those weird blood vegetarians after all.

Also apparently Indow has had a thin layer of fur the whole time. You'd think that would've come up in the previous book, what with her getting (half-)naked all the time.
Would it count as blackface if she dyed her fur black? Asking for a friend.

ChapterShow

Indow growled and struggled futilely against the chains that were binding her to prison wall. She growled at the large Dark Knight that was locking her hands together with, oddly enough, chains that were painted bright silver. Indow sighed, realizing that Myrrha was placing her in a similar position to the one she had been in when she had kidnapped and raped her. Fortunately, though, Myrrha hadn't made any indication that she would repeat the torture she had experienced a few weeks ago. She looked over at the others. Only Lithmenar was being chained to the wall the same way that Indow was, but that was only because Lithmenar could probably very easily have picked the locks on the chains. The others were chained differently, with heavy chains that were attached to the wall, but allowed them little movement. Strangely, though, White Raven had not been chained yet. Two Dark Knights were holding her back.

"Coming to save your friend on a foolish rescue attempt? HA! I can't believe that you would be so idiotic as to do so. You know, once my inauguration during the Genesis Ceremony is complete, I plan to actually make it official military law that rescue attempts for one person are illegal unless otherwise sanctioned by myself or the next in the chain of command. Still, I think your hair looks better this way, my whore." Myrrha said, pointing at Indow's hair.

Indow gritted her teeth. "I hope the worms choke on your fetid remains after I slay you, you impudent, conniving, snake-like hag!"

Myrrha sighed and rolled her eyes. "Oh well, I suppose I can't use you as a plaything for the time being. I know you can't activate any spells while your hands are so close together, Priestess, but I decided to err on the side of caution. Those silver chains suppress the energy that creates magic. The material is native only to the Aigol continent, and the weak Darkness managed to acquire some before his demise."

"Witch! You shall face the wrath of Jilad after-" Jeremis began. One of the Dark Knights punched Jeremis in the stomach, stopping his statement.

Myrrha laughed and grinned at Jeremis.

"How pitiful! Jilad would be in flames if not for the Darkness. Perhaps you should keep your tongue behind your teeth lest I decide to revoke his protection of your precious land!!" Myrrha proclaimed.

"And where am I being taken?" White Raven asked, narrowing her eyes at Myrrha.

"You and I have much to discuss, Blood Raven. However, another will fill your place in the chains. We caught him riding into town in quite a hurry. He apparently did not know of our new ownership of Soyah." Myrrha replied.

Myrrha snapped her fingers, and two Dark Knights came down the stairs on the other end of the prison. In their arms held a man wearing similar robes to Indow's, but were longer and had golden lining stitched in several areas. Most of the imprisoned group recognized him.

It was Garik Chyprea, Indow's father.

*

Louis glared at the streets in front of him as he led the Unit, clothed in the red robes of the Terafell Arbiters, into the Ai city of Kuen. Against the urgings of his Unit, Louis had decided that their route to Walsz would travel through one Ai city to save time. And that was the city of Kuen, a city originally founded by Kien civilians who had hoped to form an independent city from Kien, but were later annexed by Ai when the country began to expand outwards decades ago. Unfortunately, this city was now in the control of the Arbiters.

The Unit proudly marched through the streets, trying to fit in with the few other Terafell Arbiters that were on the street. Louis was clenching his teeth and digging his fingernails into his palm from his tight fist as he traveled through the dirt roads of the city. Citizens of Kuen were easily recognizable from the Terafell Arbiter civilians, considering each Kuen townsperson wore a red triangular patch on their chest. Added onto that was the fact that each one was required to bow down and dig their faces into the dirt each time the Arbiters came near them. Louis wanted desperately to tell them to stand up and fight, but he knew he had to keep up the illusion.

Louis bit his lower lip, looking into the eyes of some of these people and saw fear in them he had hoped he'd never see. Each one looked malnourished and tired, obviously thanks to their current status as annexed citizens under the axe of the Terafell Arbiters. Louis took a quick look over to some of the farther roads, seeing citizens without the triangles gladly smiling and moving about the streets freely while still bowing to the Arbiters that were in full uniform. Although these citizens looked healthy and somewhat excited about the arrival of more Arbiters into the city.

Louis sighed and moved on further down the streets, seeing what appeared to be a gathering not a quarter of a mile from where his Unit was marching. Curious, Louis decided to lead the group away from the main road that would lead them to an inn to where the gathering would take place. Jordahn stepped up and asked Louis what he was doing.

"I want to see what's going on." he replied.

"Sir, with all due respect, we should just continue to the inn and prepare ourselves for the journey tomorrow instead of worrying about little things." Jordahn stated.

Louis turned to her, but continued walking towards the gathering. "What do you mean, 'little things?'"

"It's just a public execution, sir, we should just-" Jordahn began.

Upon hearing the word 'execution,' Louis sped up his pace and forgot about Jordahn. Jordahn sighed and went after him, the other troops beginning to run faster, as well, to keep up with their leaders. Louis grit his teeth and glared at what he was seeing on an elevated platform going several feet above the gathered townspeople. The platform had five Terafell Arbiters on the stage. Two were holding down two citizens of the city, as marked by the red triangle on their shoulders. They were looking downtrodden as they were being held down by the Arbiters, their faces pointed towards the platform. Two other Arbiters were sharpening their axes, and the last Arbiter was speaking directly to the crowd.

"...The fifth charge is incitement to riot against the lawful government of the Terafell Arbiters. The sixth charge is murdering an Arbiter guard-"

One of the men lifted their head. "We were trying to defend ourselves from him!"

"Silence the prisoner!" the Arbiter calling out the charges shouted.

The Arbiter who held the man who had spoken slammed his fist against the back of the man's head, knocking him into the platform floor. The man slowly got back onto his knees and coughed up some blood onto the platform floor. Louis growled under his breath and clenched his fist tightly. Jordahn came up next to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Captain, we must be going now,” she whispered to him.

Louis ignored her and continued to stare at the public display. The Arbiter who had been announcing the charges turned back to the crowd to speak.

"For these crimes, these two criminals will now be beheaded. May Terafell show your rat souls mercy in the Judgment Hall, blasphemers!" the Arbiter shouted.

Few in the crowd cheered for the execution, but those that did weren’t wearing the red triangle. Louis winced as he looked at the two people on the platform who feared for their lives. He looked up into their eyes, seeing the fear and disbelief that was overcoming them. The Arbiters who held the axes lifted the two men back up onto their knees and straight up. Their heads were pulled back, exposing their necks to the crowd. The two Terafell Arbiters held their axes tight and got on either side of the two condemned men and raised their axes, preparing to swing them to the side and decapitate the men.

And it was at that moment that Louis felt a choice rise up inside of him. He thought of how he had defeated the Arbiters back in the deserts of Kien a few days before. The Arbiters were no match for the unbridled power that was given to him by the Linkaran armor. He realized he could save these two men and possibly this entire town. However, such a thing would expose himself and his Unit and possibly put their mission to rescue the Prince Algaren in jeopardy. And so, Louis weighed the possibility that he should continue on his way, allowing these two men to be killed while keeping his cover in check against the possibility that he would be doing something incredibly stupid.

And in the end, he decided to do it, anyway.

Just as the Arbiters were about to swing their axes, Louis leapt upwards, getting the attention of the Terafell Arbiters on the platform. The agility that the armor provided to Louis assisted him in this spectacle, but he realized that he'd need something else to keep their attention transfixed on him. And so, while in the air, Louis gave the mental command to his gauntlet to form up his torso armoring and to activate the wings in the back of it. Louis felt a cold feeling pass through his chest, stomach, and back as golden liquid surrounded his body from within the red cloak he wore. The liquid solidified into his Linkaran armor, and just as he was about to fall down to the ground again, his metallic wings tore through the Terafell Arbiter robes and turned them into nothing but useless rags as the remains of his cloak fell to the ground, replaced by Louis in a pair of jeans, white Chuck Taylor converses, and a winged armor that allowed him flight.

The crowd beneath him gasped in shock, and the Arbiters on the stage turned their attention away from the prisoners and readied their axes to fight this new menace. Louis took hold of the helmet on his head and threw it off of his head, revealing his appearance to the true Terafell Arbiters. He glared down at the Arbiters on the platform as his wings flapped, keeping him in the air. Jordahn, meanwhile, only glared up at Louis, and fell back to the other Units to inform them that they were leaving the now chaotic gathering to try to hide while Louis went on his rampage.

Louis stared down at the Arbiter who had read off the list of crimes for the two men and grinned. He slowly descended towards the edge of the platform and extended his arms, feeling his other gauntlet form on his left hand. Louis stood now on the edge of the platform and let his blades unsheathe from his gauntlets. He smiled at the Arbiters and quickly gestured his head back.

"Let's go!" he shouted.

*

Myrrha poured herself a glass of a golden-colored liquid from a bottle that she was holding. When she had filled the glass to her satisfaction, she stopped pouring and turned to face the other side of the room. White Raven was standing with her arms crossed on the other side of the room. Myrrha had asked that she be released into her custody and that the guards leave the room. She now stood, with a glare on her face, against a bookshelf that had was located in the room. The room they were in was none other than the ruins of the Soyah castle, where a makeshift building had been constructed for the delegates from the other Jilad cities and villages. Myrrha had taken it as her own as the sight for a new castle to be constructed.

"Would you like some Autas? Some of my reconstruction crews managed to find large stashes of it buried underneath an inn. We were fortunate that the raving drunks of the militaries hadn't found it themselves when they occupied this city. If they had, the stashes would've been gone within a day." she said.

"I am not thirsty." White Raven replied coldly.

Myrrha sighed and set the bottle down. She then took the glass to her lips and sipped some of it. She then clenched her face and giggled, sighing contentedly.

"300 year-old Autas! It phases the senses for a moment! It is a quite rich sensation! I do believe that you should try some, Raven." Myrrha suggested.

White Raven continued glaring at Myrrha, giving her no response. Myrrha rolled her eyes and approached a nearby window, looking out it at the Dark Knights who were busy reconstructing the city.

"In a day's time, this city will be a fortress. Let the armies of men come, Raven! We are strong and ready for anything that they might throw at us." Myrrha stated.

White Raven merely continued glaring at Myrrha. Myrrha sighed once more and walked over to White Raven, getting into her face.

"Will you say something?! Are you not proud of what these people have done?! They have purpose and life again!" Myrrha stated.

"What they have is a false hope of a military victory over five armies determined to destroy them. They are led by a deranged murderer who would sooner see them all fall instead of let herself face any consequences." White Raven stated.

Myrrha smiled and walked away from White Raven again and back to the bottle of Autas. She poured a little more into her glass and took another sip of it. White Raven leaned against the wall once more, deciding to ask Myrrha a few questions while she had this opportunity.

"How did you get control over the Dark Knights?" White Raven asked.

Myrrha stopped smiling, turning away from White Raven. "The instant that the Darkness was slain, we all felt it. It was a cold, dark feeling that traveled into every Dark Knight. And in an instant, the voice of the Darkness, the one that had always guided and encouraged us, was gone. Those that were not members of the Five Horsemen of the Armageddon realized that the full range of emotions that had been suppressed by the Darkness were now theirs again. When all of this happened, we realized that he was finally gone from us. Many took their own lives rather than continue existing without the Darkness. Others starved themselves, refusing to eat until they heard the voice. Some fought amongst themselves when they had different ideas of how to proceed."

Myrrha turned around, facing White Raven again. "Furthermore, the telepathic link that we all shared was beginning to become chaotic. The Darkness had brought order to us, had kept us focused on our tasks and purposes. Sure, there were problems that arose every now and then, but for the most part, the Darkness was the one thing that kept us all going. Without him or a leader, we lost sight of our goals. I myself was the most devastated by the loss of the Darkness. I was his chosen one; his most favored one after you were exiled! I was the first to be selected as one of the Horsemen of the Armageddon, and now he was gone."

"I'm sorry for your loss." White Raven said with a voice that indicated she was in no way sincere.

Myrrha glared at White Raven, but then let her face return to normal as she continued: "After a brief time, maybe a few hours, I slowly began to realize the truth: that the Darkness was imperfect. The Darkness had formed us in hopes of being the perfect beings, yet he, an imperfect being, had the audacity to lead and direct us?! I rejected the poison that he had whispered in my ear and realized my true destiny: leading the perfect beings into creating a new society for ourselves. My first step was reasserting a leading presence over the telepathic link and shared my revelations to the remaining Dark Knights. They began realizing the same things I did, and we all agreed that trying to return to the lives we had before we joined the Darkness was either impossible or too difficult. I suggested that perhaps we should create a new Empire over the remains of the one that the Darkness had tried to build, and they agreed. Most of us met a few miles outside of this town, and when we had enough, I went ahead to scout out the city. I discovered Indow's dwelling and thought I'd pay her a little visit. When I did not return, the other Knights of the Eclipsed Legion stormed the city to rescue me and take the city."

"And now you have an army that's ready to swarm out into the world and take it just like the Darkness tried." White Raven said.

Myrrha shook her head. "We are not like the weak Darkness, Raven. We shall not seek conquest. All we want is the city and to be left alone."

"Until you can gain enough troops and support that shall enable you to take over the five lands!" White Raven yelled.

Myrrha walked over to White Raven and pointed out the window. "Look out into the streets, Raven! Do you see people roaring with a thirst for battle?! Do you see Terafell Arbiters trying to enforce their religion on others?! Do you see the Monarchs of the Dark Times imposing unjust and unfair laws on the civilians?! No, you don't! Most of them have grown tired of war and constant battle! Many of them have expressed the desire to hang up their swords and attempt to raise a family with the few female Knights that we have among us! I myself have already declared that I shall take on many mates if it means letting them have children. You cannot deny these people their rights, Raven! They want a home of their own, and this is the ideal place for it!"

"And what do you want of me, murderer? What does the Queen of the Eclipsed Legion want of me?" White Raven asked.

"I want you," Myrrha replied, "to join me."

*

Louis smiled as he walked out of Kuen in a newly acquired Terafell Arbiter uniform. After the very bloody mess that occurred on the platform ended in Louis' victory over another group of Terafell Arbiters, he freed the two men who were slated to be executed and managed to steal a new Terafell Arbiter cloak to wear considering his last one was torn to shreds when he expanded his wings. He spent the rest of the day and night with the Unit in the local Inn, hearing stories from real Terafell Arbiters and local citizens about some winged creature who had interrupted a public execution, but supposedly he was killed while trying to escape from the local militia. Louis smiled, realizing that the Arbiters were attempting to feed propaganda to the actual populous of Kuen in an attempt to stay any future rebellions by the citizenry and force them to abandon all hope of ever leaving their current state of living.

I'd love to see the looks on their faces when they lose this war long before they're supposed to. Louis thought.

Jordahn and Louis had not spoken to one another during their entire stay at the inn, despite several times passing one another. Louis had also outlined the plan to the group once more, basically stating that they would proceed on a direct course for Walsz without entering any more cities along the way. The active policy was to avoid confrontation with the Arbiters at all cost, but the closer they got the Walsz, the harder it would be to bluff their way out of any situation. That meant that there was a higher likelihood that they would have to fight Arbiters.

"This trip's going to take at least a month, so let's make sure we cover as much ground as possible each day, people." he had said.

The first day of their long journey across the countrysides of Ai went simple enough. They didn't encounter another soul for miles, and everyone managed to move safely through the area without any serious cares or worries. However, the second day had been considerably more difficult. The Unit was used to the harsh, arid climate of Kien, filled with hot sands and a blazing sun that was constantly beating down on them until nighttime. In Ai, the temperature dropped about twenty degrees. Because of that, everyone was feeling a lot colder than they wished to be, despite the Arbiter uniforms that they wore that provided them some minor protection to the cold.

To make matters worse, because of her own personality or her high irritability thanks to the cold weather, Jordahn had exploded at Louis when he had told the others about his fight with the Arbiters back at Kuen. She had informed him that he had made a colossal mistake and that he had put the entire mission in jeopardy for a group of strangers who could've actually committed real crimes. Louis had responded with a quick "fuck you," and proceeded to tell Jordahn that their mission was a mission of saving lives, and considering that the Arbiters possessed superior military skills, it was more than likely necessary to have all of the allies that one could muster. He also said that if Jordahn had a problem with that, she could very well leave the Unit right now and try to walk back to Kien alone and without the Arbiter robes to protect her.

Needless to say that was the end of their discussion.

"This situation with him may be getting more out of hand than I believed." Jordahn stated to a few members of the Unit that night.

Louis had already gone to bed for the night, so Jordahn had discussed her fears with a few of the other Unit members.

"What do you mean?" one asked, scooping some meat that they had hunted earlier into his mouth.

"Simply defending those two would've been something I could get over, but ever since we arrived in Ai he has been acting strangely... More aggressive and spiteful towards the Arbiters than any one of us could ever be. When we encountered that boarder patrol, I could tell that he just wanted to rip off the uniform and slay another dragon along with that entire Arbiter patrol. In Kuen, he killed twenty of them before he even tried to escape, and some if not most of those there hadn't been sent to fight him, but were actually just ones that he saw on the street! It's almost as if he's seeking revenge or has gone mad with rage against them." Jordahn explained.

"There's not much we can do, Jordahn. We cannot move against him unless he is acting with cowardice, and there is no proof of that,” another one stated.

"Maybe not, but randomly slaying Terafell Arbiters is not the way of a true, honorable Kien warrior. For now, we shall continue to obey him as usual, considering he is our Captain. However, if he acts with abandon..."

Jordahn left that hanging in the air for a moment.

"We may need to start a mutiny." Jordahn finished.

*

"Father, although I am happy to see you, I must ask, what are you doing back here? The trip to back to the church usually takes two weeks on horseback and a full month when going there and back... How could you have gotten there and back within a week?" Indow inquired.

"I hired a freelance Sorcerer to use a Teleportation Vortex to get me there and back in under just under a week. You see, Indow-"

Garik was interrupted by the sound of the jail door that was nearest to the stairs creak open. White Raven, Myrrha, and two Dark Knights walked inside and stood in front of the cell that the group was chained in. Myrrha smiled and looked over her captive who all glared back at her.

"Raven, perhaps you should inform your companions of the news,” she said, although still looking at the chained group.

"What news?" Indow growled.

White Raven looked straight at Indow. "I have decided to join the Eclipsed Legion."

Most of the group tried to stand up in shock, but were held back by their chains. Garik gritted his teeth in anger, while J'Vok merely gaped at White Raven.

"Oh well, no real surprise there," commented Lithmenar.

"How could you, Raven?! What could possibly possess you to ally yourself with that monster?!" Indow yelled.

White Raven raised up her right hand and began tapping on the side of her head. "Think about it, Indow. I'm sure you can use that Linkaran Priestess intellect and all of your mental magic to figure out what I'm saying."

J'Vok struggled against his chains, desperately trying to free himself from them.

"I'll rip you to pieces, you filthy traitor!" he growled.

"Don't hurt yourself over it, General." Indow suggested, sitting back against the wall while narrowing her eyes at White Raven.

"How touching. Well, Raven, you've told them everything you need to tell! Come now, there is much we still need to do." Myrrha said, turning away from the group and walking back up the stairs with the two Dark Knights.

"For what it's worth," White Raven said. "I'm sorry."

She then turned and followed Myrrha and the two Dark Knights up the stairs. The group relaxed back into their former positions, but still burned with anger. Well, except for Lithmenar, who remained exactly the same way he had been since he had been first chained to the wall. He simply smiled and laid his head back as if he were resting.

"I shall kill those vermin when we have escaped from this pit." J'Vok snarled.

"We'll worry about White Raven's betrayal later, General. In the meantime, we have other matters to worry about. Now, father, please tell us why you went back to the church." Indow said.

Garik turned back to the others, but leaned his head against a back wall, trying to think of what to say. He licked his lips quickly and began to speak once more.

"There is something that has been kept hidden from the entire Linkaran religion. It is a secret that has been passed down from one head Priest of the First Church to another." Garik stated.

What secret?" Indow inquired.

"The prophecies of the Linkara that were split apart and sent to the other churches are not the only prophecies of the Linkara." Garik replied.

J'Vok blinked, staring at Garik. "You mean to tell me that there is more than the depicted battle with the Darkness?!"

Garik nodded. "There is much, MUCH more. The Linkaran man was haunted by visions day and night. When he was not sleeping or preaching, he was writing down everything he saw and tried to interpret it into words. The primary scroll, the first prophecies, were the ones that were publicly declared before his assassination by the Terafell Arbiters. Because of his death, he could not tell the people of what he saw in store for the Linkara after his victory over the Darkness."

"But how is that possible?!" Indow asked. "The Linkara was killed in the battle with the Darkness!"

Garik bit his lower lip. "Well, actually, he wasn't."

Indow's eyes went wide. "What?!"

*

"So, you have to understand that the thing that was taken away from the people in the book Brave New World is their ability to make choice. They've been conditioned and brainwashed since birth to only believe and think certain things, and forced into a class system. They aren't given the choice to actually have children or have their children genetically engineered. As a matter of fact, love is considered taboo and illegal!"

Throughout the rest of the week, Louis and Jordahn managed to get back on speaking terms. They hadn't encountered any Arbiters along the paths towards Walsz, which they considered a good omen. Along the way, they had resumed their cultural discussions. The fifth day of their journey had been spent discussing the issue of what honor actually is when it comes to battle, and what was truly considered a glorious death. The sixth day had forced them to stop for a full day due to heavy amounts of rain that would've only impeded their journey if they had traveled the whole day through it, so they had spent the time together discussing the fact that sex was a normal pastime for the Kien soldiers, used as a form of exercise and adrenaline-boosting.

"'Tis indeed a disturbing idea, Captain. What does this 'conditioning' entail?" Jordahn asked.

"It includes things that would normally be used on testing laboratory rats! Babies at a young age, when they're taught to be the working class, are brought into a room. They are shown a book with shiny colors on it and some flowers. When they try to approach the objects, they are given electrical shocks to deter them from nature and reading. It's horrifying! And every one of them in any class system is forced to listen to brainwashing tapes basically telling them that they are happy with their place in the world and they need to be obedient little servants in their fucked up little world." Louis replied.

"The idea of the individual's rights and honor is sacred among my people. The Kien Warrior's Code specifically outlines that it is the honor of the individual that takes precedence over the goals of society, because a society can corrupt more easily than a single warrior who can believe honor. We act as a united people, however, to help each other obtain honor and glory." Jordahn explained.

"It gets even worse." Louis stated. "At later ages, at like six or seven, most of the children who are grown in those factories are let 'roam free' like cattle. They're naked and encouraged to have sex with one another. And why not? Most sexually transmitted diseases aren't a threat anymore, love isn't a consideration, and birth control takes care of pregnancy! I swear... It's sickening that these people in the book believe that a child is in any way emotionally and physically ready for the act of sex or should engage in it. It's not just a matter of religious beliefs, but of biology and psychology."

"But if this is all fiction, then why do you feel so horrified by it?" Jordahn inquired.

"Because it's a warning. Anything like that CAN happen, if we're not careful. That's the real backbone of dark futures: they're entirely possible, and that's what makes them like a horror tale." Louis explained.

Jordahn shrugged. "How much longer until we create a way to mass produce books? Besides for your history book, I've only seen one in my entire life..."

"Unfortunately, according to the history book, the first printing device created was in the year 246. You've got a ways to go. I'm surprised you know how to read if you have no books." Louis said.

"We are taught the languages of other lands at an early age using writing devices, but no actual books. It's always best to know the language of the enemy. I was most proficient in Elven speech." Jordahn replied.

Louis smiled. "Well, I'd love to hear it some-"

Louis stopped. He and the rest of the Unit had been walking over a hill, and they were now standing on top of it, looking down into a great countryside and valley with lush blue-green grass and trees providing shade for any who needed it. The light brown path continued onwards as far as the eye could see. However, it wasn't the stunning beauty of the area that had stopped the Unit, but a large group of Terafell Arbiters that were camped at the base of the hill. Louis immediately signaled the group to get down and out of sight. Louis began staring down at the Arbiters, not saying anything. They remained like that for another minute before Jordahn spoke up.

"Perhaps if we moved off the trail for about a mile or two, we could go around them and continue without-"

Louis interrupted her: "Prepare for combat, guys. We're going through them."

*

Myrrha looked out at the busy Dark Knights working in Soyah for the finalizations of their effort to make Soyah into a home and fortress for the Eclipsed Legion. She thought of everything they could do under her command and of her rise to the throne of Queen. She grinned, baring her teeth to the glass.

"I'm going to enjoy drinking the blood of my whore."

Next Time:More senseless violence, and I assume the great prison escape is delayed once more because we need more exposition.

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

Chapter 6, Part 2: The Riffening.

RiffingShow

Indow growled and struggled futilely against the chains that were binding her to prison wall. She growled at the large Dark Knight that was locking her hands together with, oddly enough, chains that were painted bright silver.

That's a lot of growling. And what if those chains are silver?

Indow sighed, realizing that Myrrha was placing her in a similar position to the one she had been in when she had kidnapped and raped her.

Heaven forbid we get a Myrrha-centric story arc without a "Did you know that Indow got raped?!"

Fortunately, though, Myrrha hadn't made any indication that she would repeat the torture she had experienced a few weeks ago.

In due time, my dear...

Strangely, though, White Raven had not been chained yet.

Mysterious~

"You know, once my inauguration during the Genesis Ceremony is complete, I plan to actually make it official military law that rescue attempts for one person are illegal unless otherwise sanctioned by myself or the next in the chain of command."

"You tried to free my prisoner?! I will make that illegal!"

Myrrha sighed and rolled her eyes. "Oh well, I suppose I can't use you as a plaything for the time being."

"Later though..."

"I know you can't activate any spells while your hands are so close together, Priestess, but I decided to err on the side of caution."

Right. She'll burn her hands if she tries to cast anything, which will never not be weird.

Those silver chains suppress the energy that creates magic. The material is native only to the Aigol continent

Usually it's iron that suppresses magic, but whatever floats your boat I guess.

"Witch! You shall face the wrath of Jilad after-" Jeremis began. One of the Dark Knights punched Jeremis in the stomach, stopping his statement.

Myrrha laughed and grinned at Jeremis.

Myrrha snapped her fingers, and two Dark Knights came down the stairs on the other end of the prison. In their arms held a man wearing similar robes to Indow's, but were longer and had golden lining stitched in several areas. Most of the imprisoned group recognized him.

It was Garik Chyprea, Indow's father.

"What are you doing here, Dad?!"
"Uh-oh, SpaghettiOs..."

*

Against the urgings of his Unit, Louis had decided that their route to Walsz would travel through one Ai city to save time. And that was the city of Kuen, a city originally founded by Kien civilians who had hoped to form an independent city from Kien, but were later annexed by Ai when the country began to expand outwards decades ago.

Apparently just a few decades ago, there used to be plenty of land free for the taking.
Why didn't Kien annex this region first? Are they just happy with their shithole desert?

The Unit proudly marched through the streets, trying to fit in with the few other Terafell Arbiters that were on the street.

Actually, I think your unit's advice might've been for the better. The more Terafellas you run into, the more they might wonder what your deal is.

Citizens of Kuen were easily recognizable from the Terafell Arbiter civilians, considering each Kuen townsperson wore a red triangular patch on their chest.

Phew, they're just political concentration camp inmates.

Louis took a quick look over to some of the farther roads, seeing citizens without the triangles gladly smiling and moving about the streets freely while still bowing to the Arbiters that were in full uniform.

I feel like you're just asking for people to get shanked at night if you bring your own smug citizens into your military occupation zone.

Louis turned to her, but continued walking towards the gathering. "What do you mean, 'little things?'"

"It's just a public execution, sir, we should just-" Jordahn began.

Upon hearing the word 'execution,' Louis sped up his pace and forgot about Jordahn.

There goes the cover I guess.

Two were holding down two citizens of the city, as marked by the red triangle on their shoulders.

Oh, so now they do have the symbols on their shoulder like a true concentration camp inmate.

They were looking downtrodden as they were being held down by the Arbiters

There are probably jollier situations than your own imminent execution, so yeah.

"...The fifth charge is incitement to riot against the lawful government of the Terafell Arbiters. The sixth charge is murdering an Arbiter guard-"

Murdering a Terafella? How did that happen? Was he skinny dipping?

"Captain, we must be going now,” she whispered to him.

Louis ignored her and continued to stare at the public display.

"Don't. Tell me. What to do. Woman."

Few in the crowd cheered for the execution, but those that did weren’t wearing the red triangle.

Great. Now they're intermingling. Can't see that going wrong. Is getting sent into an occupied city like a punishment for Terafell citizens?

The Arbiters who held the axes lifted the two men back up onto their knees and straight up. Their heads were pulled back, exposing their necks to the crowd. The two Terafell Arbiters held their axes tight and got on either side of the two condemned men and raised their axes, preparing to swing them to the side and decapitate the men.

So they get beheaded via their trademark axes, but they're victims are kneeling upright like a beheading via sword (which was considered the more "high-class" and dignified way of getting your head lobbed off).
And why are the heads pulled back? People throughout history have effectively always been beheaded with a swing from behind, both because they might squirm or do some other dumb shit when they see the blade coming, and because you probably want to get through the spine first if you want to nail it in one go.

And it was at that moment that Louis felt a choice rise up inside of him. He thought of how he had defeated the Arbiters back in the deserts of Kien a few days before. The Arbiters were no match for the unbridled power that was given to him by the Linkaran armor.

Yeah, we know you're OP. Get on with it.

However, such a thing would expose himself and his Unit and possibly put their mission to rescue the Prince Algaren in jeopardy. And so, Louis weighed the possibility that he should continue on his way, allowing these two men to be killed while keeping his cover in check against the possibility that he would be doing something incredibly stupid.

And in the end, he decided to do it, anyway.

So much for moral dilemma.

The agility that the armor provided to Louis assisted him in this spectacle, but he realized that he'd need something else to keep their attention transfixed on him.

You crashing their execution is not enough?

His metallic wings tore through the Terafell Arbiter robes and turned them into nothing but useless rags as the remains of his cloak fell to the ground, replaced by Louis in a pair of jeans, white Chuck Taylor converses, and a winged armor that allowed him flight.

The narration will have you know that he's not just wearing any sneakers, but genuine Chuck Taylor All-Stars (tm)(r)(c).

*

Myrrha poured herself a glass of a golden-colored liquid from a bottle that she was holding.

The room they were in was none other than the ruins of the Soyah castle, where a makeshift building had been constructed for the delegates from the other Jilad cities and villages.

Was there even anything left of the castle after the Darkness burst out of it?

"Would you like some Autas? Some of my reconstruction crews managed to find large stashes of it buried underneath an inn."

Does no one make booze anymore? Everyone's just quaffing down this old shit.

Myrrha sighed and set the bottle down. She then took the glass to her lips and sipped some of it. She then clenched her face and giggled, sighing contentedly.

(That might actually be a different K-On! waifu but fuck it)

"In a day's time, this city will be a fortress. Let the armies of men come, Raven! We are strong and ready for anything that they might throw at us." Myrrha stated.

If you can rebuild this shit so fast, why did you hang out in a city ruin for 300 years?

"How did you get control over the Dark Knights?" White Raven asked.

"I bragged about fucking a catgirl, and the rest just kinda happened."

Myrrha stopped smiling, turning away from White Raven. "The instant that the Darkness was slain, we all felt it. It was a cold, dark feeling that traveled into every Dark Knight. And in an instant, the voice of the Darkness, the one that had always guided and encouraged us, was gone. Those that were not members of the Five Horsemen of the Armageddon realized that the full range of emotions that had been suppressed by the Darkness were now theirs again."

So the Darkness had to actively suppress their emotions this whole time? I thought they got converted into Überritter permanently?
And if it had a telepathic link with every 24/7, why could the Dark Knights openly talk about ignoring its orders?

Myrrha turned around, facing White Raven again. "Furthermore, the telepathic link that we all shared was beginning to become chaotic."

So the hive mind that they never had was just a telepathic link that has never actually been a thing? Okay.

"Without him or a leader, we lost sight of our goals. I myself was the most devastated by the loss of the Darkness. I was his chosen one; his most favored one after you were exiled! I was the first to be selected as one of the Horsemen of the Armageddon, and now he was gone."

Bitch you just wasted time literally fucking around instead of following your orders.

"I'm sorry for your loss." White Raven said with a voice that indicated she was in no way sincere.

Aka she said it "sarcastically"?

"After a brief time, maybe a few hours, I slowly began to realize the truth: that the Darkness was imperfect. The Darkness had formed us in hopes of being the perfect beings, yet he, an imperfect being, had the audacity to lead and direct us?!"

For what it's worth all of you are idiots.

"My first step was reasserting a leading presence over the telepathic link and shared my revelations to the remaining Dark Knights."

Wait, how was our hero's cosplay disguise supposed to work anyways if the actual Dark Knights still have their telepathic link? They should've been caught instantly, but instead they only blew their cover because one of the Knights recognized Indow.

"Most of us met a few miles outside of this town, and when we had enough, I went ahead to scout out the city. I discovered Indow's dwelling and thought I'd pay her a little visit. When I did not return, the other Knights of the Eclipsed Legion stormed the city to rescue me and take the city."

So the new leader of the Dark Knights goes on a dangerous scouting mission on her own, and immediately fucks everything up after getting distracted by her favorite victim.
I can see why she became queen.

Myrrha shook her head. "We are not like the weak Darkness, Raven. We shall not seek conquest. All we want is the city and to be left alone."

"I'm still gonna bathe in your friends' blood, though."

Myrrha walked over to White Raven and pointed out the window. "Look out into the streets, Raven! Do you see people roaring with a thirst for battle?! Do you see Terafell Arbiters trying to enforce their religion on others?! Do you see the Monarchs of the Dark Times imposing unjust and unfair laws on the civilians?!"

Not sure about any "Dark Times" and its "Monarchs". Seems about the first historic even that has not explained beforehand. Who knows if it'll come up again.
These better not be the main villains of book 3, lest Linkara (the author) repeat himself.

"Many of them have expressed the desire to hang up their swords and attempt to raise a family with the few female Knights that we have among us! I myself have already declared that I shall take on many mates if it means letting them have children. You cannot deny these people their rights, Raven! They want a home of their own, and this is the ideal place for it!"

Fucking slut. Also who cares about your precious feelings?

"And what do you want of me, murderer? What does the Queen of the Eclipsed Legion want of me?" White Raven asked.

"I want you," Myrrha replied, "to join me."

"Join me, and together we can fuck all the Dark Knights."

*

After the very bloody mess that occurred on the platform ended in Louis' victory over another group of Terafell Arbiters...

Man, those new bad guys are so dangerous that we're skipping fight scenes with them now.

... he freed the two men who were slated to be executed and managed to steal a new Terafell Arbiter cloak to wear considering his last one was torn to shreds when he expanded his wings.

So you just managed to fuck off and disguise yourself again?

I'd love to see the looks on their faces when they lose this war long before they're supposed to. Louis thought.

I assume it wouldn't look any difference than when they'd lose this war when they're supposed to, since unlike you they don't have an almighty history book.

Louis had also outlined the plan to the group once more, basically stating that they would proceed on a direct course for Walsz without entering any more cities along the way. The active policy was to avoid confrontation with the Arbiters at all cost

Oh, now you agree with avoiding cities.

"This trip's going to take at least a month, so let's make sure we cover as much ground as possible each day, people." he had said.

So they roughly have to cross Germany from top to bottom.

The Unit was used to the harsh, arid climate of Kien, filled with hot sands and a blazing sun that was constantly beating down on them until nighttime. In Ai, the temperature dropped about twenty degrees. Because of that, everyone was feeling a lot colder than they wished to be, despite the Arbiter uniforms that they wore that provided them some minor protection to the cold.

Do you have any idea how fucking cold desert nights are?

To make matters worse, because of her own personality or her high irritability thanks to the cold weather, Jordahn had exploded at Louis when he had told the others about his fight with the Arbiters back at Kuen.

Oh, now she's getting uppity again.

Louis had responded with a quick "fuck you," and proceeded to tell Jordahn that their mission was a mission of saving lives..."

"Fuck you, woman. The Great Linkara does as the Great Linkara wants."

"... and considering that the Arbiters possessed superior military skills, it was more than likely necessary to have all of the allies that one could muster."

I'm sure those two random peasants will make all the difference.
Though you should've recruited the one that actually managed to kill a Terafella. Sounds like he's way more badass than your minions.

"Simply defending those two would've been something I could get over, but ever since we arrived in Ai he has been acting strangely... More aggressive and spiteful towards the Arbiters than any one of us could ever be."

I know it's supposed to be that Linkara has read about their various atrocities (which Gyaru Casca should know about as well since she's been reading this, too), but we all know that Linkara loves nothing more than bloodshed and senseless violence.

"We may need to start a mutiny." Jordahn finished.

I can't wait to see how quickly you'll give up this time.

*

"Father, although I am happy to see you, I must ask, what are you doing back here?"

You're asking this like he just came for a surprise visit, instead of being a captive like you.

"The trip to back to the church usually takes two weeks on horseback and a full month when going there and back... How could you have gotten there and back within a week?" Indow inquired.

"The plot demanded that I be here."

"I hired a freelance Sorcerer to use a Teleportation Vortex to get me there and back in under just under a week."

Oh, it's the convenient teleportation magic which you'd think would change the way people travel in this world on a fundamental level, but doesn't.

White Raven looked straight at Indow. "I have decided to join the Eclipsed Legion."

"Oh well, no real surprise there," commented Lithmenar.

"How could you, Raven?! What could possibly possess you to ally yourself with that monster?!" Indow yelled.

Did you two get your lines mixed up or something?

White Raven raised up her right hand and began tapping on the side of her head. "Think about it, Indow. I'm sure you can use that Linkaran Priestess intellect and all of your mental magic to figure out what I'm saying."

"Are you picking up what I'm putting down, Indow?"

J'Vok struggled against his chains, desperately trying to free himself from them.

"I'll rip you to pieces, you filthy traitor!" he growled.

You're just overcompensating for your stupid attempt at converting the Dark Knights to the side of Good.

"For what it's worth," White Raven said. "I'm sorry."

"I'm with the bad guys now."
"*gasp* But why?!"
"I'm sure you can figure out out. Bye~"

What a scene.

The group relaxed back into their former positions, but still burned with anger. Well, except for Lithmenar, who remained exactly the same way he had been since he had been first chained to the wall. He simply smiled and laid his head back as if he were resting.

Lithy don't give no shit about dem crazy hoes.

"I shall kill those vermin when we have escaped from this pit." J'Vok snarled.

"There is something that has been kept hidden from the entire Linkaran religion. It is a secret that has been passed down from one head Priest of the First Church to another." Garik stated.

Even more secret than the pieces of your Bible that no one can translate anymore?!

"The prophecies of the Linkara that were split apart and sent to the other churches are not the only prophecies of the Linkara." Garik replied.

Heaven forbid this story is ever gonna escape the shackles of fate.

"But how is that possible?!" Indow asked. "The Linkara was killed in the battle with the Darkness!"

Garik bit his lower lip. "Well, actually, he wasn't."

Indow's eyes went wide. "What?!"

Please don't tell me the reason he traveled back to the past is because the prophecy said so.

*

"So, you have to understand that the thing that was taken away from the people in the book Brave New World is their ability to make choice."

Brave New World is actually like the one klessik dystopia book I haven't read, so forgive me in advance if I can't tell if he's getting shit wrong.

"They aren't given the choice to actually have children or have their children genetically engineered. As a matter of fact, love is considered taboo and illegal!"

AFAIK the people in the book are expected to fuck like animals. You make it sound a lot more prudish than it actually is.

Also why the fuck are we talking about Brave New World?

Throughout the rest of the week, Louis and Jordahn managed to get back on speaking terms.

Well, that plot went nowhere alright.

Along the way, they had resumed their cultural discussions

The fifth day of their journey had been spent discussing the issue of what honor actually is when it comes to battle, and what was truly considered a glorious death.

"Jordahn! What is best in life?"

The sixth day had forced them to stop for a full day due to heavy amounts of rain that would've only impeded their journey if they had traveled the whole day through it, so they had spent the time together discussing the fact that sex was a normal pastime for the Kien soldiers, used as a form of exercise and adrenaline-boosting.

Basically like in Brave New World?
And is no one worried about their female soldiers becoming useless due to getting knocked up?

"The idea of the individual's rights and honor is sacred among my people. The Kien Warrior's Code specifically outlines that it is the honor of the individual that takes precedence over the goals of society, because a society can corrupt more easily than a single warrior who can believe honor. We act as a united people, however, to help each other obtain honor and glory." Jordahn explained.

So you're like dumber Klingons? No wonder your king so grumpy if he has to tard-wrangle you all the time.

"It gets even worse." Louis stated. "At later ages, at like six or seven, most of the children who are grown in those factories are let 'roam free' like cattle. They're naked and encouraged to have sex with one another."

...

"I swear... It's sickening that these people in the book believe that a child is in any way emotionally and physically ready for the act of sex or should engage in it. It's not just a matter of religious beliefs, but of biology and psychology."

Well, at least he has scientifically proven that pedophilia is wrong.

"But if this is all fiction, then why do you feel so horrified by it?" Jordahn inquired.

"Because it's a warning. Anything like that CAN happen, if we're not careful."

It's a guide book for the powers that be, really.

"I'm surprised you know how to read if you have no books." Louis said.

"We are taught the languages of other lands at an early age using writing devices, but no actual books."

Ah, the famous writing devices. Everyone knows what that means.

"I was most proficient in Elven speech." Jordahn replied.

Friendly reminders that elves are thing in this setting, though the only one we've seen so far has been some thug that Linkara punched in the face.

"Perhaps if we moved off the trail for about a mile or two, we could go around them and continue without-"

Louis interrupted her: "Prepare for combat, guys. We're going through them."

"The Great Linkara has need for violence and bloodshed!"

*

She grinned, baring her teeth to the glass.

"I'm going to enjoy drinking the blood of my whore."

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

Book 2, Chapter 7 - This Gray Spirit
(Or: (Fuck) This Gay Retcon)



Will Myrrha succeed in building a (mostly) peaceful Dark Wakanda? And will Linkara's thirst for blood ever be quenched?
All this (maybe), and more (maybe), in this episode of Angel Armor Z.

RecapShow

Past

Linkara can no longer contain his bloodlust and decides to kill himself some Terafellas. Oh, and stop an execution I guess.
I have the nagging suspicion that Linkara (the author) couldn't come up with a good way for Linkara (the character) to escape the scene of the crime, shake off any pursuers, reduce his Wanted Level and successfully reapply his disguise - so he just skipped all of this.
Basically this whole scene was pointless filler.

The Band of the Linkster meanwhile was getting a bit freaked out about Linkara's continued anger management issues, and even toyed with the idea of a mutiny.
Luckily this also gets resolved off-screen, as Linkara and Gyaru Casca spend the following days of travel with deep philosophical discussions about whatever IP Linkara can think of - like Brave New World, which Linkara uses to declare his undying support for free will and the age of consent.

There's something ironic about Linkara shitting on a dystopian setting for deciding its citizens life for them - when he himself is nothing but a glorified actor in a play written a millenia before he was born, by some prophet who was dripping balls.

Worldbuilding tidbits:

• The population of the cities conquered by the Terafellas are marked by symbols like in a Third Reich concentration camp - apparently to easily tell them apart from their own citizens which they've brought with them.
  I don't care how many Terafellas are patrolling the streets. If you fill your conquered cities with smug immigrants who react to the occupation and general misery of the natives with shit-eating grins, you're just asking for daily lynchings.
• Books are rare af in the past, but people still learn to read with the help of "writing devices". Whatever those are.
• Apparently the people of Kien are anarchistic Klingons in that their personal honor and glory comes before their own society. Also apparently this works out alright, and does not result in blood feuds, honor killings, and unruly soldiers.

Oh, and after almost a week of wandering through the woods without running into anyone, Linkara spots some Terafell army camp and decides it's been way too long since he killed someone.

Present

We get more exposition about the hive-mind / telephatic link the Dark Knight supposedly have (except we're never actually shown any sign of it existing). I guess it's like a Discord channel, and the Darkness' death had thrown it into chaos until Myrrha managed to secure admin rights or something.
You know, I wonder what Raven's relation with all of this is. Is she still technically in contact with the other Dark Knights, or did she get banned?

Anyhow, Myrrha tells Raven of her grandiose plan of turing Soyah into a (mostly) peaceful ethnostate for Darkies only with absolutely no desire to conquer anyone ever again.
Mind you this is coming from the lips of a mass-murdering psychopath who can't be in a scene without trying to kill someone, or gloating about who she killed and/or is planning to kill.
Oh, also she's still gonna kill the good guys and drink their blood, but that's totally the last evil act of the Dark Knights I swear.

Somehow this works, and Raven decides to abandon her friends to be with her people. I hope this is just a trick of hers so she'll be in a better position to help her nakama escape, but you can never know with this kind of quality writing.

The other nakama meet Indow's dad in their cozy dungeon, who not only hints at Linkara still being alive, but reveals that there's a bunch of super-secret prophecies from the elusive Linkaran man - because heaven forbid anything happens in these books without some almighty prophecy spoilering it.
Personally, this sounds a bit like a retcon. Why, I do not know. Prophecies are fucking lame. And gay.

Deep Lore:

• You can just throw money at a sorcerer to have yourself teleported.
• In the 300 years that the Darkness and its minions have been sitting in the crumbling ruins of Soyah, they've never once thought about renovating the place.

ChapterShow

"In order to maintain the secret of the other texts until I was ready for you all to return to the Church, I left them behind there." Garik stated.

"Weren't you ever concerned that the prophecies contained within might be helpful to the Linkara on his quest to destroy the Darkness?" J'Vok inquired.

"The instructions that were always passed down were that the chest that contained the scrolls should not be opened until the Linkara defeated the Darkness. I barely even thought about the chest until we began the celebrations in Soyah. I realized how important they might be, which is why I ventured back to the Church to find out what was within the chest." Garik explained.

Indow could still scarcely believe what she had been told. During most of the time of the celebrations, she had secluded herself from everyone else, fasted, and wept heavily due to the loss of the Linkara. She was only finally brought out of her depression by General J'Vok in accepting Louis' death and forgiving White Raven for her past crimes. But now, Louis might actually be alive, so this opened a whole new realm of possibilities for her. They had openly declared their love for one another just before Louis' final battle with the Darkness. If he were alive, they could meet each other again.

If he were alive, she could get the kiss she desired.

"Where is he?! Where is Louis?!" Indow exclaimed, desperate now to know of her love's situation.

Garik winced and began to explain: "Well, it is a little complicated, my daughter. To quote the prophecy, 'I foresee a time not twenty years from now, when the Great Enemies that serve the Demon Terafell shall spread forth throughout the lands like locusts unto a field. And twenty years from then, the wielder of Chat-Najil shall appear. He shall be misplaced in time, and shall encounter many friends that appear as foes. He shall warn the people of the impending doom that awaits, but none shall listen to him, for the future cannot be changed by the wielder of Chat-Najil.'"

Indow gawked at her father. "He's... in the past?"

Garik nodded. "To be precise, he's several years into the Hundred Year War."

You know, I just thought of something..." J'Vok stated, his mind deep in thought.

"What?" Jeremis queried.

"Well, I was born and raised in Kien for most of my youth. I heard many of the stories of the great warriors of the past. One in particular comes to mind: the legendary Yokui Killandro Lan." J'Vok said.

"Indeed. He is best known for single-handedly slaying twenty Terafell Arbiters, a feat never accomplished by any other single soldier during a battle." Garik said.

"Well, it's just that Yokui Killandro Lan translates from Kien to Ai to mean 'Warrior of the Future.'" J'Vok explained.

"Yokui Killandro Lan was actually the Linkara?!" Indow gasped.

"We don't know that for sure." Jeremis interjected. "Although it fits the facts."

"What supposedly happened to Yokui Killandro Lan?" Indow asked.

"He disappeared. Some legends say that he went to the Krenym Mountains in Kien and secluded himself from the rest of the world. Others believe he was killed in battle when he was besieged in a castle in Ai by Arbiters. Some even believe that he returned to the future." J'Vok said.

"And just what good does this information do us?" Lithmenar asked, finally getting involved in the conversation. "Even if he is indeed alive and back in the past, which I don't believe is possible, what can we do about it? It's not like we can find some other version of the Darkness, fight it from within, and then get sucked back in time like he was. There were no magicks during the Hundred Year War, and even if there were, I have never heard of a spell that could send, or retrieve, someone in another time period! So, in fact, this information is useless to us."

Indow thoughts about this, but when winced. "Well, actually..."

Everyone looked at Indow.

"That's not entirely true, thief..." she stated.

"What do you mean? You mean there really IS a spell that would allow travel from one point in time to another?!" Jeremis exclaimed.

"Long ago, certain spells were forbidden from use because of their deadly and catastrophic power. Included in these spells was the Infinite Power Spell, the Golem Spell, and the Tempil Gadrius, or Time Gate. Each one has the power to help or destroy Sin, and it was long ago decided by the Sovereign that such spells would be forbidden to ever be practiced. However, the Sovereign also felt that at some point in the future, a spell of such power might need to be used, so the spells were locked away, and their location only shared with those who have achieved Magi or Wizard status in the Guild of Magic and Sorcery." Indow explained.

"This Tempil Gadrius... We can use it to retrieve the Linkara from the past?" J'Vok asked.

Indow shook her head. "It's not that easy. It's a level 7 spell, requiring someone to actually travel back into the past to recover him, otherwise he won't know what to do. Not to mention we don't know where he is in the past. Exact dates would be sketchy; we'd have to search through records meticulously to get the right date and time to locate him. And then of course there's the real problem that none of us knows where the spells are!"

J'Vok thought about this, and then suggested: "What about Chreydo? After his services at the Battle of Elana River, he was sent back to Walsz for the full promotion to Magi status. Considering the gathering that was occurring at Soyah, he's more than likely already on his way here! He should be able to tell us where the forbidden spells are."

"Well, we also have one more problem: we're stuck in this cell and Chreydo's not in this city." Garik stated.

Lithmenar grinned and shook his wrists. The chains that held him in place against the wall opened and he lowered his arms, rubbing his wrists with his hands. The others gasped at him as he continued to smile at them all. He then lowered one of his hands and revealed a key that slid out of his shirtsleeve. He held it in his hand and waved it at the others.

"I lifted it from the Dark Knights when we were first brought down here." he explained.

"Lithmenar, you're amazing!" Jeremis exclaimed.

"I wouldn't be much of a thief if I couldn't pickpocket a key." Lithmenar laughed.

Lithmenar quickly proceeded to use the key on Indow's chains, freeing her hands from the magic-binding items. She then went down to Garik's chains and aimed her index finger at the lock on the chain. She closed her eyes and focused her mind at the menial task before her. A small electrical charge fired from her finger into the lock. It clicked, and opened the lock, freeing Garik's chains. By then, Lithmenar had already freed General J'Vok and Jeremis.

*

Jordahn stared at Louis who was sitting on his knees in the middle of a corpse-filled valley. He had closed his eyes, bowed his head, and was clasping his hands together as he began a prayer for the people he had just slain. All of the other members of the Unit stared at him as he did this, curious as to what he was doing. When Louis finished his prayer, he stood up, put his Terafell Arbiter helmet on his head, and began walking. The Unit quickly followed behind him, Jordahn at his coattails. Jordahn stepped up beside Louis and stared at him as he continued walking.

"Has my head been replaced by a pumpkin?" Louis asked, still looking forward as he marched.

"What?" Jordahn responded, tilting her head to the side.

"Why are you staring at me?" Louis said.

"There was a short time that I actually believed you might be the Linkara. Now I am having second thoughts about thy claim." Jordahn stated.

"You know, the translator thing in my armor that allows me to speak your language is really starting to piss me off. Half the time you speak in the clear English that I know and love, and other times you speak in fancy-pants Middle Ages speech with 'thy' and 'thee' and all that bullshit." Louis said.

"Do you even listen to what I'm saying?! You slaughtered those Arbiters for no reason! At least in Kuen you actually had some just cause to rescue those people who were about to be executed." Jordahn exclaimed.

"They are the enemy and they need to be destroyed, don't they?" Louis asked.

Jordahn glared at Louis, although he couldn't tell that she was. "That's not enough. This mission is too important to risk ourselves on foolish attacks."

"They're not foolish attacks. If our mission fails, this war will come down to pure, merciless numbers. The more of you to them will be what wins the war in your favor." Louis stated.

"And our mission surely will be a failure if you conduct more brazen attacks against the Arbiters!" Jordahn shouted.

Louis stopped, then quickly reached out and grabbed onto Jordahn's neck with his left hand. She gasped and struggled against his grasp, which held her firmly in place. She grabbed at Louis' arm, trying to pry it off of her as Louis' head slowly turned to face her. Louis used his right hand to remove his helmet and hold it at his side. Louis' face was filled with a cold anger with narrowed eyes that locked with Jordahn's.

"Don't you EVER question my authority in front of the Unit again, Leftant [sic]. Ever since this mission began, you have been nothing but spiteful of my abilities and me. As I've said a million times, I could give a shit whether you believe I'm from the future or that I'm the Linkara. What I do understand is that I am in charge of this Unit and you will obey my orders. Failure to comply with my orders will result in immediate expulsion and possible termination from this Unit. Am I perfectly, absolutely, crystal clear, Leftant [sic]?"

Jordahn bit her lower lip.

*

Indow nodded to Jeremis and closed her eyes. She aimed her hands at the doorway at the top of the stairs leading down to the jail cells and a green aura surrounded her. The aura was like fire, moving upwards and evaporating as it reached a certain height. Indow tilted her head as she began to whisper magic words in order for her spell to complete itself. She then opened her eyes, they now having been covered by a green haze.

"CHAINS OF SIN!" she shouted.

And after she finished proclaiming the name of the spell, General J'Vok stepped up and kicked the door open. Within the main room above the jail, two Dark Knights who had been assigned the duty of keeping guard of the prisoners were wrapped up in thick green vines that surrounded their bodies and squeezed them tight. They struggled helplessly against the vines, trying to call out for help. Fortunately, however, the vines covered their mouths to prevent any loud sound from escaping their throats. Lithmenar walked up to each and reached into a pouch he had brought along. He sprinkled some Gethric powder down upon their faces, the red dust melting into their skin and disappearing. The Dark Knights' eyes rolled into the back of their heads and they fell unconscious.

Indow released her control over the vines and allowed them to slither back into the ground from whence they came. The group acted quickly, storming out of the room and beginning to run as fast as they could towards the area where they had first entered the town. Most of the Dark Knights ignored them, considering they were still wearing the Dark Knight clothing, and they had J'Vok between them all so no one noticed his Aian uniform or his orange hair.

Unfortunately, they couldn't protect him perfectly.

Two Dark Knights spotted the General and realized what was going on. Instantly calling out that they were helping the prisoner escape, the two Dark Knights raised their swords and began chasing after the fast-moving group. Indow winced and turned around slightly, launching fireballs out of her hand in an attempt to slow them down. It worked at first, with the fireballs colliding into their chests, but the Dark Knights that followed managed to intercept the oncoming fireballs and slice them apart with their swords. Indow looked ahead, but instantly winced when she did. Myrrha was standing, arms crossed, in front of the gateway with a Dark Knight on either side of her.

Indow growled as she continued running at the gates, very sick of seeing Myrrha's face. She clenched her fists together, her eyes glowing a brilliant white. She moved her fists forward as if she was hitting someone, and a mighty burst of wind flew out from her hands directly at Myrrha. Myrrha winced as she realized what was happening, and tried to step out of the way, but was too late. A powerful gust of wind slammed into her stomach and knocked her onto her back.

"I'll try to hold them off, my friends! Make a run for it!" J'Vok shouted, raising his sword as the group split off from trying to protect him.

"We shall not abandon you, General!" Garik proclaimed.

As Myrrha began to get back up, she was slammed back to the ground as Indow's foot stepped onto her stomach, knocking the air out of her. Indow's other foot quickly stepped onto Myrrha's head, kicking it slightly with the heavy metal that protected it. After Indow had gotten off of her completely, Myrrha rolled to the side to avoid being stepped on by Jeremis. She tried to grab hold of Jeremis' leg, but instead grabbed Lithmenar's leg. He tripped over from this, falling onto his stomach.

Indow turned her head to look behind her and immediately grimaced. J’Vok was engaged in combat with the two Dark Knights who had been with Myrrha, and several more Dark Knights were beginning to approach them from just on the street. Indow stopped when she also saw Lithmenar upon the ground, trying to get up as Myrrha held him down. Indow was about to run back to try to help them, but Jeremis grabbed onto her arm and pulled her with him as he and Garik continued to sprint away from the city.

"Jeremis-" Indow began.

"There's nothing we can do for them, Priestess! We must continue to the hill and warn the armies!" Jeremis interrupted.

Indow was about to voice protest, but she quickly shut her mouth and realized that she agreed with him. Jeremis let go of her arm and the two ran, side by side, towards the hill.

"We must also contact Chreydo so that we can find the forbidden spells! If only we knew if the Linkara was all right..." Indow wondered.

RiffingShow

"In order to maintain the secret of the other texts until I was ready for you all to return to the Church, I left them behind there." Garik stated.

Wouldn't probably help, anyways. With the way you guys handle your sacred texts, these new prophecies have probably been split into dozens of parts and just as many languages and writing systems - including Braille and Wingdings.

"Weren't you ever concerned that the prophecies contained within might be helpful to the Linkara on his quest to destroy the Darkness?" J'Vok inquired.

It's almost like this is a retcon or something.

"The instructions that were always passed down were that the chest that contained the scrolls should not be opened until the Linkara defeated the Darkness."

Definitely a retcon.

If he were alive, she could get the kiss she desired.

His corpse would do fine for the task, too...

Garik winced and began to explain: "Well, it is a little complicated, my daughter. To quote the prophecy, 'I foresee a time not twenty years from now, when the Great Enemies that serve the Demon Terafell shall spread forth throughout the lands like locusts unto a field. And twenty years from then, the wielder of Chat-Najil shall appear. He shall be misplaced in time, and shall encounter many friends that appear as foes. He shall warn the people of the impending doom that awaits, but none shall listen to him, for the future cannot be changed by the wielder of Chat-Najil.'"

"So our messiah will actually show up way earlier than I initially prophesized, but that's just him on a pointless time travel adventure, so let's not put that in our Bible."

Thanks for clarifying that nothing Linkara does atm has any impact on anything.

And I guess "many friends that appear as foes" refers to the Band of the Linkster, considering the only other foes are Literal Dragon Nazis.

"Well, I was born and raised in Kien for most of my youth. I heard many of the stories of the great warriors of the past. One in particular comes to mind: the legendary Yokui Killandro Lan." J'Vok said.

Ah, here's how Linkara's time travel adventure is retconned into Sinnian history.

"Indeed. He is best known for single-handedly slaying twenty Terafell Arbiters, a feat never accomplished by any other single soldier during a battle." Garik said.

Do these fancy stories also includes the bits where he flies and claims to be the Linkara.

"What supposedly happened to Yokui Killandro Lan?" Indow asked.

"He disappeared. Some legends say that he went to the Krenym Mountains in Kien and secluded himself from the rest of the world. Others believe he was killed in battle when he was besieged in a castle in Ai by Arbiters. Some even believe that he returned to the future." J'Vok said.

I know what I want to be true, but we all know he'll just get back to the future.

"Even if he is indeed alive and back in the past, which I don't believe is possible, what can we do about it? It's not like we can find some other version of the Darkness, fight it from within, and then get sucked back in time like he was."

How did that work, anyways?

"What do you mean? You mean there really IS a spell that would allow travel from one point in time to another?!" Jeremis exclaimed.

Ah. Indow once again remembers some ancient spell that would just be the right tool for the job.

"Long ago, certain spells were forbidden from use because of their deadly and catastrophic power. Included in these spells was the Infinite Power Spell, the Golem Spell, and the Tempil Gadrius, or Time Gate."

Ah, the Infinite Power Spell. It got mentioned once in the previous book, but it just sounded like it's some regular old spell. And we still don't know what it actually does.

Each one has the power to help or destroy Sin, and it was long ago decided by the Sovereign that such spells would be forbidden to ever be practiced.

How does the Golem Spell cause this? Does it summon Hebrews into Sin?
Also who the fuck is the "Sovereign"?

"This Tempil Gadrius... We can use it to retrieve the Linkara from the past?" J'Vok asked.

Indow shook her head. "It's not that easy. It's a level 7 spell, requiring someone to actually travel back into the past to recover him, otherwise he won't know what to do.

This means you have to be at least a 14th level Magic-User, btw.

"And then of course there's the real problem that none of us knows where the spells are!"

I guess y'all aren't Magi enough for the Magi club.
Hang on a sec. Wasn't there a newly-promoted Magi in the last book?

J'Vok thought about this, and then suggested: "What about Chreydo? After his services at the Battle of Elana River, he was sent back to Walsz for the full promotion to Magi status. Considering the gathering that was occurring at Soyah, he's more than likely already on his way here! He should be able to tell us where the forbidden spells are."

Muh homie Chreydo. The only one allowed to be as badass as Linkara - only off-screen of course, but still.

Lithmenar grinned and shook his wrists. The chains that held him in place against the wall opened and he lowered his arms, rubbing his wrists with his hands. The others gasped at him as he continued to smile at them all. He then lowered one of his hands and revealed a key that slid out of his shirtsleeve. He held it in his hand and waved it at the others.

"I lifted it from the Dark Knights when we were first brought down here." he explained.

The Rogue finally did something rogueish.


*

Jordahn stared at Louis who was sitting on his knees in the middle of a corpse-filled valley.

Okay. I know everythin Linkara does in the past is pointless, but it's not exactly help make the new villains look threatening when Linkara can wipe out an entire army of them off-screen.

He had closed his eyes, bowed his head, and was clasping his hands together as he began a prayer for the people he had just slain.

Great. All the bloodshed has made him too euphoric. Now he thinks he has seen God.

"Has my head been replaced by a pumpkin?" Louis asked, still looking forward as he marched.

Well, from the way Linkara (the author) keeps describing the Terafella helmets has having "carved" holes...

"There was a short time that I actually believed you might be the Linkara. Now I am having second thoughts about thy claim." Jordahn stated.

It's not your religion, anyways.

"Do you even listen to what I'm saying?! You slaughtered those Arbiters for no reason! At least in Kuen you actually had some just cause to rescue those people who were about to be executed." Jordahn exclaimed.

You know you've fucked up when Miss "Let's kill my new captain" thinks you're too murderous.

"They are the enemy and they need to be destroyed, don't they?" Louis asked.

"And our mission surely will be a failure if you conduct more brazen attacks against the Arbiters!" Jordahn shouted.

Louis stopped, then quickly reached out and grabbed onto Jordahn's neck with his left hand.

Better choke a bitch. Hoe's getting too uppity.

"Don't you EVER question my authority in front of the Unit again, Leftant [sic]."

Jordahn bit her lower lip.

He's so gonna get stabbed this night.

*

Indow nodded to Jeremis and closed her eyes. She aimed her hands at the doorway at the top of the stairs leading down to the jail cells and a green aura surrounded her. The aura was like fire, moving upwards and evaporating as it reached a certain height. Indow tilted her head as she began to whisper magic words in order for her spell to complete itself. She then opened her eyes, they now having been covered by a green haze.

"CHAINS OF SIN!" she shouted.

Is it weird when her casting one spell gets more text dedicated to it than Linkara's last two big action set pieces?

Lithmenar walked up to each and reached into a pouch he had brought along. He sprinkled some Gethric powder down upon their faces, the red dust melting into their skin and disappearing. The Dark Knights' eyes rolled into the back of their heads and they fell unconscious.

I see Lithmenar still has an ample supply of his date rape drug.

Most of the Dark Knights ignored them, considering they were still wearing the Dark Knight clothing, and they had J'Vok between them all so no one noticed his Aian uniform or his orange hair.

Unfortunately, they couldn't protect him perfectly.

Any reason he couldn't just steal the armor from one of those roofied Dark Knights?

Indow winced and turned around slightly, launching fireballs out of her hand in an attempt to slow them down. It worked at first, with the fireballs colliding into their chests, but the Dark Knights that followed managed to intercept the oncoming fireballs and slice them apart with their swords.

Apparently fireballs don't explode if you slice them. Must be video game logic.

Indow growled as she continued running at the gates, very sick of seeing Myrrha's face. She clenched her fists together, her eyes glowing a brilliant white. She moved her fists forward as if she was hitting someone, and a mighty burst of wind flew out from her hands directly at Myrrha. Myrrha winced as she realized what was happening, and tried to step out of the way, but was too late. A powerful gust of wind slammed into her stomach and knocked her onto her back.

Ah, the dreaded Rocket Wind Punch. Guess you can't slice that one.

As Myrrha began to get back up, she was slammed back to the ground as Indow's foot stepped onto her stomach, knocking the air out of her.

LMAO. Bitch doesn't even get to gloat in this chapter. Indow's just wrecking her shit.

"There's nothing we can do for them, Priestess! We must continue to the hill and warn the armies!" Jeremis interrupted.

So their plan to free J'Vok failed, and they lost two more nakama, with Raven betraying them and Lithmenar being Myrrha's new bitch.

"We must also contact Chreydo so that we can find the forbidden spells! If only we knew if the Linkara was all right..." Indow wondered.

Looks like a job for Chreydo.

Next Time: It's Chreydoin' Time.

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

Book 2, Chapter 8 - On the Firing Line
(Or: Do the Chreydo)



Will Magi Chreydo be able to save the day? Will the Band of the Linkster finally have enough of their tyrannic Master and decide to just piss off while he's sleeping (with or without shanking him first)? Read on, and you might just be shocked and amazed and the disappointment revelations!

RecapShow

Past

I'm starting to get the feeling that Gyaru Casca is two different characters smashed into one: An obedient dick rider easily charmed by Linkara's "deep" and "intellectual" speeches, and a delinquent thug who thinks Linkara is batshit insane.
Part of the reason is because Gyaru Casca is the only real character in the Band of the Linkster, what with everyone else being a name- and faceless NPC. The other reason is that Linkara's characterization keeps flip-flopping between ""Nice Guy"" and "BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!".

So Linkara has another fit of bloodlust and kills what must've been a couple dozen Terafellas - of-screen of course, because the bad guys have just kinda stopped being a threat at this point.
Gyaru Casca is somewhat annoyed at Linkara carving a bloody trail through occupied Ai because this might endanger their actual mission, but Linkara's pimp hand remains strong and quick - aka he just chokes this unruly bitch and reminds her that he is her Lord and Master, and that she better start to shut up and follow his orders without asking questions or even thinking.

Because the best way to keep the troop morale high when deep in enemy territory is to do stupid shit and to be a complete asshole about it.

I dunno if this is the author's intention, but Linkara has pretty much gone mad with power and went full fascist.
It's also kinda funny that he insists of the divine might of the chain of command, considering I'm pretty sure this whole black ops operation is unsanctioned.

Present

Lithmenar finally does something with his Rogue abilities and busts everyone out of the dungeon cell. Unfortunately both he and J'Vok get recaptured during the great escape.
Also Indow casually beat the shit out of Myrrha, but the latter was barely a character. She didn't even get to gloat or anything. You could've replaced all references to Myrrha with "Just some Dark Knight", and you'd scarcely notice a difference.

We also get blessed with what I'm pretty sure are blatant retcons to explain/justify the time travel nonsense going on. Not only do the super-secret prophecies confirm that Linkara was always destined to end up in the past (still no idea why and how this happened, though), and a few characters conveniently remember some old Kien legends about a warrior from the future.
This is fucking terrible for a number of reasons:

• The plot is once again shackled to some stupid prophecy - and we know from last book that these prophecies are always 100% correct
• The prophecy also confirms that the whole time travel plot is a stable time loop, aka nothing Linkara does will have any impact on the course of history, aka his temporal killing spree is a complete waste of time
• Gyaru Casca is blessed with perfect plot armor. The legend includes Linkara's stupid new nickname he got from his minions, as well as tales of exploit only those minions could've known. So at least one member of the Band of the Linkster has to survive this little adventure, and Gyaru Casca is the only real character of this group.

The fellowship even has a rough idea about what to do about the whole Linkara being stuck in the past thing: Indow conveniently remembers that there actually exists a time travel spell. It's part of a group of forbidden spells, but it just so happens that they no a guy who has the correct loicense to get access to the spell: Chreydo, the guy who killed more Dark Knights than Linkara did in the entire first book (back when Linkara's power level hadn't taken off like a rocket; I swear ever since he got his wings he's become a Dynasty Warriors character).

Still, even if Best Boy Chreydo gets the spell, they still need to somehow know a specific time and location where Linkara can be found...

Worldbuilding tidbits:

• Another named forbidden spell is the Golem Spell. Probably too Jewish.
• Also forbidden is the Infinite Power Spell mentioned once in the previous book, which is weird because Indow talked about it like it was a fairly common buff spell - and not a forbidden, world-threatening dark incantation that must never fall into the wrong hands.
  And we still don't know what it actually does.
• For some reason the time travel spell is the only one with a gibberish name ("Tempil Gadrius", which apparently means "Time Gate"). Sounds like a garbled, tortured mix of Faux-Latin and English. It's like calling the Infinite Power Spell Infinitis Bowarius.
• Fireballs are completely harmless if you can slice them with your sword.
• We actually do get a confirmation that magic just didn't exist in the past.
• Apparently there's a "Sovereign" who decides which spells are halal and which are haram. No we don't get any more information about the guy.
  Must be this world's Wizard King I guess.

ChapterShow

Chreydo Neretei had once been a simple Sorcerer in the Third Ai Division. The entire Third Division had been devoted and loyal members of the Linkaran faith, and Chreydo had been no different. He fought alongside his brother during his stay with the Third Division, but that had ended when his brother was slain by two Assault Squads of Dark Knights. After a massive buildup of rage over his brother's death at the hands of his enemy, Chreydo hunted down the two Assault Squads that had killed his brother using his magicks and slaughtered every last one of them.

The process had left him heavily injured, but his efforts had earned him a field promotion to the rank of Magi in the Guild of Magic and Sorcery. During his recovery period, Louis had arrived at the Elana River and met with the Third Division, complementing them on their fantastic job so far. However, the true test of their abilities came when the Dark Knights gathered their forces and attempted a blitz at the weakest defense point of the Elana River, which just happened to be the Third Division's point. Louis convinced the group to fight off the invading army by quoting Shakespeare and naming the battle 'Magi Chreydo's Day,' for, by then, Chreydo had recovered and was now fully ready to assist the Third Division once again. With the combined forces, the Dark Knights army was defeated, and Chreydo returned to Walsz to be officially appointed a Magi and to conduct a ceremony honoring those who died among the Third Division.

It didn't take very long for word of the Darkness' defeat to spread out across the five lands. Chreydo had, although, already been on his way to join the army amassed to assist the Linkara in his final battle with the Darkness, as unnecessary as it turned out to be, when he got the news. Still, he felt obligated to still come to the army, considering he had already gone so far. A scout had been sent out from the expelled armies of the five lands to try to find him after Jeremis and Indow returned to the shack that had become the new temporary HQ for the forces, and that scout had just found Chreydo and explained the situation to him.

"Chreydo, it is wonderful to see you again!" Indow said, bowing her head respectfully.

"And 'tis wonderful to see thy face again, gentle Anako." Chreydo replied, smiling down at Indow.

Jeremis stepped forward. "Magi Chreydo, as much as it is an honor to meet you, I believe we have much more important matters to discuss."

Chreydo nodded. "Indeed. So, you are in search of the Forbidden Spells?"

"If the Linkara is indeed in the past, we must find a way to retrieve him." Jeremis stated.

"Tempil Gadrius has not been used for two-hundred and fifty years. It was forbidden so that no one could attempt to disrupt the past and therefore disrupt the present. No one has dared ask where they are or how to use them in that amount of time, meaning that we have to study the spells carefully before we begin any rescue attempts." Chreydo stated.

"Time is a precious commodity, Magi. The Linkara's skills could be priceless in our fight with the Dark Knights." Jeremis said.

"Well said. The Forbidden Spells are hidden in a very inconspicuous place. The Sovereign decided that the spells needed to be protected from the Darkness, so he placed them somewhere he would never look to find them. It is a four day journey on horseback, so we must get ourselves ready immediately." Chreydo said.

"You hid them in Jilad?" Indow inquired.

Chreydo nodded. "Yes, in a place more feared for it's desiccation than Soyah was."

*

White Raven blinked and looked all around herself as she caroused through the streets of Soyah. Most of the military defenses and upgrades had been completed, so now the reconstruction effort had been switched to reconstruction of dwellings and houses. Every Dark Knight was hard at work doing one thing or another, and most of them had smiles upon their faces. White Raven smiled for a moment at seeing this, remembering how when she was first exiled from the Darkness, she was alone in a world that completely hated her. Here, she was no outcast or exile. She was amongst her own people again, except this time she could smile and enjoy everything about her.

"Excuse me, good lady!"

White Raven turned her head from hearing the voice. The voice had come from a female Dark Knight who, surprisingly enough, was not wearing armor. She was wearing the black skintight pantaloons and heavy shirts that were worn underneath the black armoring traditionally for Dark Knights. White Raven looked at her for a moment, curious as to what she was doing. She was sticking wooden boards onto several sections of the roof of the building she was standing on. She held one down and smiled at White Raven.

"Could you pass me up some of those nails?" she called out.

White Raven nodded and walked over to the house, quickly spotting the nails in a wooden box that sat near the doorway. She took a few in her hands and wondered for a moment how she was going to get up to the roof to give them to her. However, she quickly spotted a ladder off to the side of the porch of the house. White Raven climbed up the ladder that was sternly put together with vines and wood and got onto the top of the roof. She then handed the nails to the woman, who smiled and nodded.

"Thank you very much, good lady." she said, and got back to work on the board she was installing.

"What are you doing?" White Raven asked, staring inquisitively.

The women picked up a hammer and placed a long nail on top of the board. She smiled as she aimed her hammer in the right position to pound the nail into the board.

"Reinforcing the roof of the building. My lover and I wish to spend the rest of our lives here, so we thought it prudent to repair the damage done to it and upgrade it to a much more sturdy and rigid architecture." the woman replied.

White Raven raised an eyebrow, surprised by her statement.

"Lovers?" she asked.

"Yes. Illotel and I were a part of the same Assault Squadron for fifty years After the Darkness was eliminated, we realized how much we truly cared for one another. We arrived two days ago with the rest of our Assault Squadron in the hopes of possibly raising a family together." she explained.

"And what is your name, fair woman with such high dreams?" White Raven asked, placing her hands down on the board to keep it steady while the woman hammered the nail down.

The woman smiled and slammed the hammer down onto the nail twice.

"Antillitz." she responded.

*

"Why are you staring at that forest, Captain? Shouldn't we be continuing?" Jordahn asked.

Louis had stopped the Unit and was continually staring at a forest that they had come across to their left. Louis' eyes never left it as he tried to determine where he had seen it before. He examined the redwood-sized trees in the distance and the shorter yet still-tall trees in the front, with teal-colored trunks and a smooth surface to them. He bit his lower lip, thinking that his uncertainty of what this forest was to him was beginning to upset him. However, he quickly realized what it was.

"When I first landed on Sin, I was in a forest. This was the forest where I arrived." Louis said, smiling.

"That is very nice, Captain, but we must continue onwards to Walsz. That is, unless you have more Arbiters to kill and more forests to reminisce with!" Jordahn exclaimed.

Louis' smile disappeared and he turned to Jordahn. "Do you have something to say, Leftant [sic]?!"

"Only that I if I didn't know better, I'd think that you were deliberately trying to slow us down from getting to Walsz!" Jordahn growled.

Louis glared at her and picked up his supplies once more. "Then perhaps we should get going then, eh?"

Jordahn nodded, and the Unit once more began to walk down the trail towards the city of Walsz. Louis continued in the front on his own, for Jordahn retreated back to the rear of the Unit to confer with her associates. Two weeks into Ai had been nothing but trouble for the group. They had once again encountered a Terafell Arbiter group, this time in a full-blown battle. Although the troops were quick to defend themselves, Louis had been the one to annihilate the attacking group. During that, most of the Unit had begun to grow miserable of their journey. None had ever traveled such a great distance, and some were starting to develop blisters on their feet from the constant walking and little rest. Added to that was the fact that the Kien soldiers were beginning to feel the effects of a flu-like disease from the cooler climate of Ai.

Even Louis was beginning to feel the tolls of their quest. During his journey towards the Zlad Delta with his companions, most of it had been done on horseback, and although his butt was sore a few times, he didn't have to worry a great deal about his feet. However, after so many weeks of traveling, even Louis had his limits. However, he pushed himself onwards, knowing that at the first sign of weakness, the Unit would try to rebel against him. He decided that maybe he should just discourage them a little early from any plans of usurping him.

"Oh, and by the way, Unit: I am aware of your plans to mutiny against me, so I'd recommend you shove any subversive thoughts you might be having into a tiny little box in your mind, because the instant someone tries anything funny, I swear I will nail you to a tree in that forest and let the Arbiters find you!" Louis shouted.

Jordahn gritted her teeth and whispered to one of her companions, "Okay, we need a new plan, then."

*

It actually took considerably less time to reach the destination of the Forbidden Spells than was originally expected. Working with a few sorcerers that had arrived shortly after Chreydo did, a group consisting of Indow, Garik, Jeremis, and Chreydo used teleportation vortices to arrive much faster than the few days that it would normally take to reach them from Soyah. Over this time period, they discussed many things. Indow revealed to the others about how she had come very close to having a romantic relationship with Louis, to which Garik felt proud but worried that Louis would reject her. Indow comforted him with the promise that he had made about kissing her after he defeated the Darkness.

The news of the Linkara being alive was something that had made the group deeply encouraged by their task. Each of them, with the exception of Jeremis, had had contact with the Linkara before and had spent an important part of their life with him. Indow had been Louis' first companion (second if Rain Vendre counted), and had been with him throughout his entire journey. Garik had met Louis twice before joining his party, once at the First Church of the Linkara and again at L'Sol, capitol of Ünaré. As for Chreydo, he had met with Louis a few times during his brief stay with the Third Ai Division.

Chreydo still had yet to inform the group of the location of the Forbidden Spells. Indow especially wondered about what kind of spells were located among the Forbidden Spells. She had heard of the Infinite Power spell, a magic so powerful that it granted the user unlimited magic power for a period of 30 minutes. She also knew of Tempil Gadrius, the infamous Time Gate, which some people attempted to exploit hundreds of years ago by traveling to the past to change the future. There was also the Golem spell, where a magician could summon forth a beast of rock and earth to serve it. The spell was condemned and forbidden after a madman attempted to rise up an army of Golems in an attempt to conquer Kien. Who knew what other kinds of spells were locked away from the world, never meant to see the light of day again?

When Chreydo finally brought them to the final resting place of the Forbidden Spells, all except Chreydo were shocked. With Soyah, there had been skeletons draped over most places or just decayed bones in several locations, their flesh having long since rotted and melted into the dust. A dark cloud had constantly hung over the city to block sunlight thanks to the Darkness' existence there, and buildings had long since given away to entropy and decay.

However, this place was far worse than Soyah could have ever been.

It appeared as if the road had been paved with blood, although it had long-since dried up on the streets. It was puzzling that the humid and watery climate of Jilad hadn't long ago washed up the blood that remained, but the idea didn't exactly help the imagery that the group was observing. Worms and insects also hadn't come to this place, so there were still minor amounts of fleshy remains of people lying about the small buildings. Weapons that had rusted ages ago were spread out about the remains of this once happy village.

"Vahn." Indow coughed out.

Chreydo nodded. "No one ever comes here. Not even the Darkness dared to tread here after the massacre."

When the Darkness first appeared at the Zlad Delta at the bottom of Jilad, an agreement between the Darkness and the former King of Jilad, Kolponax, was forged. The King would give one hundred stout men as warriors for the Darkness in exchange for safety for Jilad's cities and villages. However, the Darkness betrayed the agreement and sent his first Dark Knights to Soyah and destroyed it utterly. After that, for a short time, Dark Knights came in peace to villages and cities across Jilad and Ünaré. The Darkness' forces had begun waging a war against Ünaré, pushing their armies back as they recruited new forces each time they conquered a small plot of land. The villages and cities of Jilad were left alone, save for a few and sought out information and new recruits.

Unfortunately, that all changed on one fateful day.

Of the many names that White Raven has held, the most infamous was 'the Butcher of Vahn.' Over 100 years before, White Raven had come to Vahn in search of new recruits for the Darkness. The dominant religion of the village, however, was Linkaran, and she was immediately forced out of the village. The Darkness, tired of old agreements that protected the weak, ordered White Raven to massacre the village and leave no survivors. She did so single-handedly, eliminating each person and taking such pride in her work that she drank the blood of those she killed, adopting her the name of 'Blood Raven.' However, during another massacre much similar to the one she performed at Vahn, she smiled. After such an act that had been condemned and thought suppressed, she was exiled from the Darkness, barred from ever returning to it.

And now the group had come to Vahn, home of the massacre and where White Raven killed Indow’s grandparents.

Indow shivered as she stepped inside the village limits, slowly looking about her and fighting the urge to vomit. After a few more moments, she could take no more and she covered her eyes with her hands. She quickly went off to the side of the road and threw up. The gesture did not surprise any of the people with her.

"My love's parents used to live here." Garik said, looking away from the streets and closing his eyes.

Jeremis raised an eyebrow. "The massacre was a hundred years ago. How could they have lived here?"

Chreydo bit his lower lip, continuing to stare at the bloody scene in front of him. "There are several ways. Anakos, for one, live considerably longer life spans than most humans, although the age difference is compensated by a lack of physical or mental sign of how long they’ve lived. Indow, although by human physical and mental standards, Indow is only fifteen years old. By Anako standards, she's very close to 150 years old."

"What about you, Garik? Are you just as old as Indow? And if you are, how?" Jeremis asked.

"My family has had a habit of not only marrying Anakos, but also magic-users. Most Sorcerers and Sorceresses use their magic to extend their lives well beyond a natural human life span. That is then carried over in my family into me. So yes, Jeremis, I am actually closer to 200 years old than to the forty year-old man you see standing next to you." Garik said with a smile.

Jeremis nodded and saw Indow was beginning to recover. "Are you all right?"

Indow nodded and took in deep breaths. "I believe so. I have not actually been to Vahn since before the massacre... I did not know it was this terrible."

Indow turned and looked back once more at the carnage that had occurred. She took in slow, deep breathes as she moved forward, Chreydo leading the way through the village. It was not long before Indow stopped again, although this time it was because she was staring at one particular house. Dried blood covered the archway of the small house, the doors having been knocked inwards. Indow collapsed onto her knees as she stared at the house, and Garik put his hand on her shoulder.

"They were quite spirited even for their age, my daughter. They would've put up a valiant fight against Blood Raven." he told her.

Indow nodded and slowly got back up. "I am tempted to go inside and collect anything that's undamaged."

"We must proceed with our task, Indow. I know how much it pains you to see this, but we have more important things to think of at the moment." Jeremis said, stepping towards her.

Indow stared at the house for a moment longer, then turned back towards the others. She slowly began walking behind Chreydo again, her head hung low and her eyes staring at the ground beneath her. Chreydo walked along the streets, turning once another half-mile down the road. He approached one house along the side, one of the few in the area whose door was not blown off. However, it was open, making it match with the general atmosphere of the village.

"We chose the house at random, but also made sure it was deep within the village so grave robbers wouldn't necessarily go after it first." Chreydo stated.

"There have actually been grave robbers here? How vile!" Jeremis growled.

Chreydo shook his head. "We've never been sure that there have been, but we still wanted to make sure of the chance in case there really was someone sick enough to defile this place."

The group approached the house and each stepped inside. The entire floor was covered in dust and soot that had blown in years before or recently, depending on how the winds were blowing. If anyone had entered here to deposit the Forbidden Spells so many years before, then it was not obvious. The building was only one story tall, so they didn't need to go far to find the area where the Forbidden Spells were hidden. Chreydo showed it as a drawer in a desk that had been torn in half, but what was the most clever thing about the hiding place was that the drawer was filled with papers, although most of them had nothing to do with the Forbidden Spells, the papers all matched the pieces of paper that Chreydo identified as the Spells.

"It was done so to prevent people who were seeking the Spells from taking them by identifying them easily. The papers have all been matched together to look like they're all part of the same document, which would be a scientific progress report that was obsolete today. Each spell was hidden deep within the total tonnage of the document, the pages containing the spells being spread out. I, however, know which ones to look for." Chreydo explained, sifting through the papers.

Chreydo finally found what he was looking for, because he pulled out a single piece of paper and smiled.

"Tempil Gadrius, as requested. Indow, do you wish to be the one to recover your lost love?" he asked with a grin.

Indow smiled and closed her eyes. She titled her head downwards a little and moved it from side to side, indicating a no.

"When this quest began, yes. However, I've had time to think about this on the way here. Chreydo, there's no sure way that you'll end up in the same place as the Linkara, correct?" she asked.

Chreydo nodded.

"And whoever goes back has to initiate the spell to return here, yes?"

Chreydo nodded once more.

"Chreydo, the fact is that I lack the necessary talent in magicks that is required for using such a spell. If I were to go back to try to retrieve the Linkara, but I lacked the skills in which it would require for me to perform the spell once more to return to this time period, we could both be trapped in the past. I am not certain that I could do such a thing." Indow explained.

"Nonsense! You have performed extraordinary feats of magic! You performed the Lokmanwo spell during the final battle with the Darkness!" Garik stated.

Indow continued to shake her head in an obvious assertion of 'no.' "I had previously studied the Lokmanwo for some time before the Linkara first came to us. To perform such a difficult spell as Tempil Gadrius without any prior training... I could kill the Linkara rather than save him."

Chreydo smiled and nodded. "Then I shall go to the past to find our lost friend."

"And I shall accompany you!"

Everyone looked to Jeremis, who was smiling as he stood in a corner of the room. He looked to each, a little surprised that they were staring at him like that. He quickly decided to share his thoughts.

"You have all met the Linkara at some point in your life, and I believe that it is now my time to meet this great boy. And also, no offense, Chreydo, but if we are to travel back to the time of the Terafell Arbiters, you will need all the help you can receive." Jeremis said.

Chreydo nodded. "Very well, then, but only the two of us! This will be difficult enough trying to perform it just for myself. More than two would take some very serious study of these ancient texts."

"Then please, proceed quickly! This place is beginning to disturb me..." Garik said, biting his lower lip as he rubbed his hands together nervously.

Chreydo nodded and began examining the spell. For several minutes, he merely sat at a desk reading and re-reading the document, inspecting it very closely to ensure he wasn't making any mistakes. He stopped and winced for a moment, turning to the others.

"We may have a problem." he stated.

The others asked him what he meant.

"Considering I have no experience with the spell, there may be some difficulty tracking the Linkara to a specific point on Sin and at a time. There's a large margin of error, so it's very well possible that we may actually appear in a time well before the Linkara's appearance or years after the Hundred Years War is already over." he explained.

"Is there any way to better our chances?" Jeremis asked.

Chreydo shook his head. "Only if I performed the spell multiple times to try to get its accuracy. We'll have to take what we can get."

It was then that Garik suddenly noticed something strange. Across the room they were in was a skeleton hand, the rest of its body missing. Garik had tried to ignore the thing, but now he could not keep his gaze off of it. He wondered for a moment - wasn't that over a little farther to the right the last time I looked? At first, he tried to believe it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. However, his opinion on it quickly changed when he saw that the skeleton's fingers were beginning to move. The disembodied arm began to slowly crawl towards the doorway of the building, and a cold chill ran up Garik's spine.

"Look!" he exclaimed, pointing at the arm.

The group turned and stared at the arm as it continued to move towards the entranceway. They exchanged glances and winced, realizing what was happening without difficulty.

"Necronomica." Indow sneered.

"But I thought only the Darkness could do such skills?" Garik asked.

"It would appear that he gave this power to his Dark Sorcerers, as well!" Indow stated.

"Which means that they know we're here and will probably be engaging us in battle! Quickly, Chreydo - you must engage the spell!" Jeremis stated.

Chreydo shook his head. "I still need time to study it! Not to mention I won't abandon Garik and Indow!"

"We are unimportant, Magi! Only the Linkara matters now! Quickly, initiate the spell and get him back! Hurry!" Indow shouted.

Indow's body soon began to radiate with red energy, the aura surrounding her expanding quickly into an orb. She clasped her hands together, silently chanting a spell to be fired when she gave the command. Garik unsheathed the sword at his side and prepared himself for a fight. Jeremis looked to Chreydo and nodded. Chreydo took the paper in his hands and faced the wall away from Indow and Garik. He held the scroll up in his arms and began to read:

"Lana es tepela nor trepedik! Lana no teqretesit! I am time, never ending and never beginning!"

Indow narrowed her eyes as she heard the rattle of bone against bone.

"Lana es tepela nor trepedik! Lana no teqretesit! I am a gateway, promising entry or escape!"

Garik gripped the hilt of his sword tighter, glaring at the doorway.

"Mones ton ketsituist! Tron lana tewetosits! Let the curtain of time be unveiled and allow me passage to the ancient times!"

Jeremis bit his lower lip as the winds within the cottage began to pick up.

"TEMPIL GADRIUS!"

And with that, Chreydo roared into the air as the wind formed electrical bolts. The electrical bolts converged on one corner of the room, quickly collecting into a swirling mass of colors. Red, blue, and green all became a hurricane of rainbow-like attributes as small lightning bolts fired out in the corners of the portal. Chreydo stuffed the spell into his Magi garb and nodded to Jeremis. He turned to Indow and spoke:

"Come with us! I may be able to bring all four of us!"

"That's a lie and you know it, Chreydo! Do not worry about us!" Indow replied.

"But you could be recaptured!" he shouted over the noise caused by the spell.

"And if our future lies on the firing line, my friend, we will be able to face it with pride knowing that you are recovering the Linkara! Now GO!" Garik yelled.

Chreydo turned back to Jeremis and they nodded in unison. They turned and ran at the corner of the room, the vortex closing swiftly as they entered. The spell dissipated around the two, making them disappear from sight and mind. For a brief moment, a few stray electrical bolts fired about as if the spell were occurring, but they disappeared, as well.

And then the skeletons charged the door.

RiffingShow

Chreydo Neretei had once been a simple Sorcerer in the Third Ai Division.

Until assholes killed his brother, and Chreydo chose violence.

The process had left him heavily injured, but his efforts had earned him a field promotion to the rank of Magi in the Guild of Magic and Sorcery.

You'd think wizards would get promoted based on their mastery of the arcane arts, but killing enough people seems to work as well.

Louis convinced the group to fight off the invading army by quoting Shakespeare and naming the battle 'Magi Chreydo's Day,' for, by then, Chreydo had recovered and was now fully ready to assist the Third Division once again.

Thanks for bringing up this bit of retardation from last book. Dude just invented a holiday because his appropriated speech required one.

"Time is a precious commodity, Magi. The Linkara's skills could be priceless in our fight with the Dark Knights." Jeremis said.

"Well said. The Forbidden Spells are hidden in a very inconspicuous place. The Sovereign decided that the spells needed to be protected from the Darkness, so he placed them somewhere he would never look to find them. It is a four day journey on horseback, so we must get ourselves ready immediately." Chreydo said.

How about putting them in some kind of magic vault? You know, like that other Wizard King has.

"You hid them in Jilad?" Indow inquired.

Don't you mean "He"? Chreydo just said it was the Sovereign who hid them.

Chreydo nodded. "Yes, in a place more feared for it's desiccation than Soyah was."

I'm pretty sure Linkara (the author) meant "desecration" here.

*

White Raven blinked and looked all around herself as she caroused through the streets of Soyah.

"Carousing" is a very olde-timey way of saying "getting wasted". I'm pretty sure that's not what she's doing.

Every Dark Knight was hard at work doing one thing or another, and most of them had smiles upon their faces.

*Sigh*, and here I thought the narration had stopped autistically pointing out whether or not someone was smiling.

White Raven smiled for a moment at seeing this, remembering how when she was first exiled from the Darkness, she was alone in a world that completely hated her. Here, she was no outcast or exile. She was amongst her own people again, except this time she could smile and enjoy everything about her.

Dark Knights really are the kangz and kweenz of Sin.

White Raven turned her head from hearing the voice. The voice had come from a female Dark Knight who, surprisingly enough, was not wearing armor.

You guys must absolutely reek if you never take off your armor.

She was wearing the black skintight pantaloons and heavy shirts that were worn underneath the black armoring traditionally for Dark Knights.

Pantaloons are more or less puffy by design. Whatever you're wearing underneath your armor, it's not pantaloons if they're skintight.

White Raven looked at her for a moment, curious as to what she was doing. She was sticking wooden boards onto several sections of the roof of the building she was standing on.

Bitch, you just saw everyone renovating the place. Myrrah explained this to you. Why are you so confused now?

"What are you doing?" White Raven asked, staring inquisitively.

The women picked up a hammer and placed a long nail on top of the board. She smiled as she aimed her hammer in the right position to pound the nail into the board.

"Reinforcing the roof of the building. My lover and I wish to spend the rest of our lives here, so we thought it prudent to repair the damage done to it and upgrade it to a much more sturdy and rigid architecture." the woman replied.

White Raven raised an eyebrow, surprised by her statement.

"Lovers?" she asked.

Myrrah also explained that the Dark Knights are gonna fuck like rabbits now. Did you not listen to anything she said or something?

*

"Why are you staring at that forest, Captain? Shouldn't we be continuing?" Jordahn asked.

Do you want to get choked again?

"When I first landed on Sin, I was in a forest. This was the forest where I arrived." Louis said, smiling.

I'm pretty sure that forest would look a lot different a thousand years ago, even if it was left completely untouched by humans (which it didn't because Rain lived there).
This is of course provided that the forest even existed back then.

"That is very nice, Captain, but we must continue onwards to Walsz. That is, unless you have more Arbiters to kill and more forests to reminisce with!" Jordahn exclaimed.

Man, she's really asking for a beating. Maybe she likes it?

Louis' smile disappeared and he turned to Jordahn. "Do you have something to say, Leftant [sic]?!"

"Do you question MY authority again, woman?!"

"Only that I if I didn't know better, I'd think that you were deliberately trying to slow us down from getting to Walsz!" Jordahn growled.

Oh, this buck will be hard to break.

Louis glared at her and picked up his supplies once more. "Then perhaps we should get going then, eh?"

Heaven forbid your second-in-command reminds you of your mission.

However, he pushed himself onwards, knowing that at the first sign of weakness, the Unit would try to rebel against him.

They will also try to rebel if you continue to be a douchebag.

He decided that maybe he should just discourage them a little early from any plans of usurping him.

Oh, I'm sure that won't backfire.

"Oh, and by the way, Unit: I am aware of your plans to mutiny against me, so I'd recommend you shove any subversive thoughts you might be having into a tiny little box in your mind, because the instant someone tries anything funny, I swear I will nail you to a tree in that forest and let the Arbiters find you!" Louis shouted.

Our hero, everyone. Ruling over his henchmen with an iron fist!

Jordahn gritted her teeth and whispered to one of her companions, "Okay, we need a new plan, then."

Just fuck off back to Kien when he's sleeping. You don't even have to try and kill him if you're too afraid. Just leave.

*

It actually took considerably less time to reach the destination of the Forbidden Spells than was originally expected. Working with a few sorcerers that had arrived shortly after Chreydo did, a group consisting of Indow, Garik, Jeremis, and Chreydo used teleportation vortices to arrive much faster than the few days that it would normally take to reach them from Soyah.

The Sinnian teleportation network: It only comes up when the author doesn't want too much time to pass.

Over this time period, they discussed many things. Indow revealed to the others about how she had come very close to having a romantic relationship with Louis, to which Garik felt proud but worried that Louis would reject her. Indow comforted him with the promise that he had made about kissing her after he defeated the Darkness.

Man, there's a lot of shit just happening off-screen in this book.
I guess we can't have prolongued dialogue scenes where Linkara isn't abusing or threatening anyone, or being a general asshole for no reason.

The news of the Linkara being alive was something that had made the group deeply encouraged by their task.

Tell, don't show: The thinking man's writing style.

Indow especially wondered about what kind of spells were located among the Forbidden Spells. She had heard of the Infinite Power spell, a magic so powerful that it granted the user unlimited magic power for a period of 30 minutes.

Finally we find out what this spell does.
Why exactly did you think that Linkara might be under its effect, back during that short moment in the previous book when you thought he might be an impostor? Also back then you said the spells lasted "an hour at most".

There was also the Golem spell, where a magician could summon forth a beast of rock and earth to serve it. The spell was condemned and forbidden after a madman attempted to rise up an army of Golems in an attempt to conquer Kien

That's unfair. Golems don't kill people. Madmen do.

However, this place was far worse than Soyah could have ever been.

Shit. They're in Detroit

It appeared as if the road had been paved with blood, although it had long-since dried up on the streets. It was puzzling that the humid and watery climate of Jilad hadn't long ago washed up the blood that remained, but the idea didn't exactly help the imagery that the group was observing. Worms and insects also hadn't come to this place, so there were still minor amounts of fleshy remains of people lying about the small buildings. Weapons that had rusted ages ago were spread out about the remains of this once happy village.

I'm pretty sure those "fleshy remains" would've gone long before those weapons became rusty.

"Vahn." Indow coughed out.

So what? Raven slaughtered every motherfucker in the place so hard that it just stays that way forever?

Chreydo nodded. "No one ever comes here. Not even the Darkness dared to tread here after the massacre."

Why? You'd think the Dark Knights would party there every weekend.

Of the many names that White Raven has held, the most infamous was 'the Butcher of Vahn.' Over 100 years before, White Raven had come to Vahn in search of new recruits for the Darkness

How fucking old is Indow's dad, when her grandparents got murdered over 100 years ago?

However, during another massacre much similar to the one she performed at Vahn, she smiled. After such an act that had been condemned and thought suppressed, she was exiled from the Darkness, barred from ever returning to it.

Thanks for reminding me that Raven turned good because she became too evil for the bad guys.

Jeremis raised an eyebrow. "The massacre was a hundred years ago. How could they have lived here?"

Exactly. What the fuck is going on here?

Chreydo bit his lower lip, continuing to stare at the bloody scene in front of him. "There are several ways. Anakos, for one, live considerably longer life spans than most humans, although the age difference is compensated by a lack of physical or mental sign of how long they’ve lived. Indow, although by human physical and mental standards, Indow is only fifteen years old. By Anako standards, she's very close to 150 years old."

Of fucking course Linkara's (the author) self-insert sweetheart is a 100+ year-old loli. I'm sure that makes her brutal rape less weird!

"What about you, Garik? Are you just as old as Indow? And if you are, how?" Jeremis asked.

"My family has had a habit of not only marrying Anakos, but also magic-users. Most Sorcerers and Sorceresses use their magic to extend their lives well beyond a natural human life span. That is then carried over in my family into me. So yes, Jeremis, I am actually closer to 200 years old than to the forty year-old man you see standing next to you." Garik said with a smile.

Does he just age a bit faster because he has less catboy DNA, or do they just naturally start aging faster some time after 150 years?

"We must proceed with our task, Indow. I know how much it pains you to see this, but we have more important things to think of at the moment." Jeremis said, stepping towards her.

If you have enough time to sperg about legal lolis, you can probably spare the 5 minutes it'd take her to look for some trinket.

"We chose the house at random, but also made sure it was deep within the village so grave robbers wouldn't necessarily go after it first." Chreydo stated.

Wait, so you actually did hide the spells? When the fuck did you have time for that?
Must've used the teleport network I guess.

The building was only one story tall, so they didn't need to go far to find the area where the Forbidden Spells were hidden. Chreydo showed it as a drawer in a desk that had been torn in half, but what was the most clever thing about the hiding place was that the drawer was filled with papers, although most of them had nothing to do with the Forbidden Spells, the papers all matched the pieces of paper that Chreydo identified as the Spells.

"It was done so to prevent people who were seeking the Spells from taking them by identifying them easily. The papers have all been matched together to look like they're all part of the same document, which would be a scientific progress report that was obsolete today. Each spell was hidden deep within the total tonnage of the document, the pages containing the spells being spread out. I, however, know which ones to look for." Chreydo explained, sifting through the papers.

Or you could've just stored this shit in a vault, but I guess the Sovereign loves playing detective too much.

"Chreydo, the fact is that I lack the necessary talent in magicks that is required for using such a spell. If I were to go back to try to retrieve the Linkara, but I lacked the skills in which it would require for me to perform the spell once more to return to this time period, we could both be trapped in the past. I am not certain that I could do such a thing." Indow explained.

"Nonsense! You have performed extraordinary feats of magic! You performed the Lokmanwo spell during the final battle with the Darkness!" Garik stated.

Whatever that spell ended up doing exactly.

Chreydo smiled and nodded. "Then I shall go to the past to find our lost friend."

Yes. Let him do it. He's strongest when he's alone!

"You have all met the Linkara at some point in your life, and I believe that it is now my time to meet this great boy. And also, no offense, Chreydo, but if we are to travel back to the time of the Terafell Arbiters, you will need all the help you can receive." Jeremis said.

Oh, he'll be fine. I'd be more worried about you, honestly.

"Considering I have no experience with the spell, there may be some difficulty tracking the Linkara to a specific point on Sin and at a time. There's a large margin of error, so it's very well possible that we may actually appear in a time well before the Linkara's appearance or years after the Hundred Years War is already over." he explained.

Yeah, we've already established that last chapter.

"Is there any way to better our chances?" Jeremis asked.

Chreydo shook his head. "Only if I performed the spell multiple times to try to get its accuracy. We'll have to take what we can get."

Sounds weird, but I believe in you, Chreydo!

The group turned and stared at the arm as it continued to move towards the entranceway. They exchanged glances and winced, realizing what was happening without difficulty.

"Necronomica." Indow sneered.

Oh no, undead.
This would be a lot more exciting if we didn't know that Indow can summon a wave of holy water to kill an arbitrary number of them.

"But I thought only the Darkness could do such skills?" Garik asked.

"It would appear that he gave this power to his Dark Sorcerers, as well!" Indow stated.

"Which means that they know we're here and will probably be engaging us in battle! Quickly, Chreydo - you must engage the spell!" Jeremis stated.

I thought not even the Darkness dared enter this forsaken city. And all the Dark Knights are smiling around in Soyah. Why the fuck are there skeleton sentries here?

"Lana es tepela nor trepedik! Lana no teqretesit! I am time, never ending and never beginning!"

Indow narrowed her eyes as she heard the rattle of bone against bone.

"Lana es tepela nor trepedik! Lana no teqretesit! I am a gateway, promising entry or escape!"

Are the English parts supposed to be a translation? 'Cause you just gave us two different meanings for the same series of gibberish.

"And if our future lies on the firing line, my friend, we will be able to face it with pride knowing that you are recovering the Linkara! Now GO!" Garik yelled.

Exactly, Chreydo. Leave those losers behind!

And then the skeletons charged the door.

And then a skeleton popped out!
(Shouldn't they have more "fleshy bits"?)

Next Time: I would like to say "Chreydo and Jeremis' Excellent Adventure", but it appears our time-traveling duo won't be seen for the next couple chapters. Just my luck.