(Or: Linkara gets humbled)
Chreydo and Jeremis are finally on their excellent adventure through time and space. Just what awaits the-
Nah, I've looked a bit ahead. They're just gone for the next couple chapters, so we'll have to put up with those other losers again...
RecapShow
Past
I'm pretty sure Linkara (the author) is starting to struggle with keeping the timelines synced up with equal amounts of stuff happening, so Linkara's portion is mostly filler about him being a passive-aggressive bitch. Again.
Here, let me summarize it for you:
"I remember this forest. From the future."
"Captain, shouldn't we stop wasting time and continue our mission?"
"Is that so, eh? We should continue our mission, eh? Don't wanna fail in our quest to change the course of history, eh? Stupid fucking bitch..."
"..."
"Oh, and by the way, I know you retards are planning a mutiny. You better not try anything funny - OR ELSE."
"Curses! Foiled again!"
Worldbuilding tidbits:
Indow is 150 years old. It is safe to jerk off to her.
Ahem. Chreydo finally leads the fellowship to the super secret and most ingenius hiding place of the time travel spell.
It's on a random page.
In a random book.
In a random house.
In a ruined village.
Which conveniently just so happened to be the very same village where Raven did her world-famous butchering, and used Indow's grandparents as guro pinatas.
I could say that even Jar-Jar Abrams call this MacGuffin hunt retarded, but I have seen Rise of Skywalker so I know I'd be lying.
There was some artifical drama because skeletons were about to pop out (not that that's an issue; Indow can Turn Undead like an epic-level Cleric) and maybe some Dark Sorcerers as well (which would be a much bigger issue), but eventually Chreydo and his new BFF Jeremis managed to piss off into the past, so all important characters are safe.
Meanwhile Raven is having some boring slice-of-life hijinks with some female Dark Knight who actually acts like a normal person and has a name so retarded I'm just gonna call her "Raven's friend".
I'm just gonna predict that the purpose of Raven's friend is for her to get killed by the good guys to cement Raven's return to the dark side, or to be one of the founding members of a hypothetical group of unironic "White Knights" once enough of the Dark Knights decide they don't feel like taking orders from a psychopathic bitch.
Worldbuilding tidbits:
I'm pretty sure Linkara (the author) is starting to struggle with keeping the timelines synced up with equal amounts of stuff happening, so Linkara's portion is mostly filler about him being a passive-aggressive bitch. Again.
Here, let me summarize it for you:
"I remember this forest. From the future."
"Captain, shouldn't we stop wasting time and continue our mission?"
"Is that so, eh? We should continue our mission, eh? Don't wanna fail in our quest to change the course of history, eh? Stupid fucking bitch..."
"..."
"Oh, and by the way, I know you retards are planning a mutiny. You better not try anything funny - OR ELSE."
"Curses! Foiled again!"
Worldbuilding tidbits:
- The forests of Ai apparently don't really change even after 1000 years, and stay instantly recognizable even after all this time.
Indow is 150 years old. It is safe to jerk off to her.
Ahem. Chreydo finally leads the fellowship to the super secret and most ingenius hiding place of the time travel spell.
It's on a random page.
In a random book.
In a random house.
In a ruined village.
Which conveniently just so happened to be the very same village where Raven did her world-famous butchering, and used Indow's grandparents as guro pinatas.
I could say that even Jar-Jar Abrams call this MacGuffin hunt retarded, but I have seen Rise of Skywalker so I know I'd be lying.
There was some artifical drama because skeletons were about to pop out (not that that's an issue; Indow can Turn Undead like an epic-level Cleric) and maybe some Dark Sorcerers as well (which would be a much bigger issue), but eventually Chreydo and his new BFF Jeremis managed to piss off into the past, so all important characters are safe.
Meanwhile Raven is having some boring slice-of-life hijinks with some female Dark Knight who actually acts like a normal person and has a name so retarded I'm just gonna call her "Raven's friend".
I'm just gonna predict that the purpose of Raven's friend is for her to get killed by the good guys to cement Raven's return to the dark side, or to be one of the founding members of a hypothetical group of unironic "White Knights" once enough of the Dark Knights decide they don't feel like taking orders from a psychopathic bitch.
Worldbuilding tidbits:
- Having sufficient catgirl and/or sorcerer blood in your family can cause you to live for hundreds of years. You'd think it would do a number on society when some families just live way longer than everyone else.
- The elusive Infinite Power Spell is finally revealed to grant "unlimited magic power" for 30 minutes. Was probably banned to prevent Skyrim enchantment exploits.
Still doesn't explain why Indow thought that Linkara might've used the spell to pose as the messiah. - Having too much fun slaughtering a village apparently just naturally FUBARs the place forever, granting it the same Feng Shui as your average Soulslike location.
ChapterShow
"Please, sir, it's raining! Allow us to set up shelter!"
Louis shook his head as his eye twitched angrily. His eyes were on the road ahead of him, and his expression was one of anger and rage. Water dripped down his face as he trudged along on the muddy path. He grumbled for a moment before he replied to the troops.
"Just be thankful that I allowed you all to remove the Arbiter uniforms to protect them as we traveled towards Walsz!" he shouted.
"Captain, please! It's cold and we can't take much more of this!" Jordahn said.
"Soldiers on my world can certainly take it!" Louis growled.
"I have news for you, Captain: this is not your world! These men are not used to rain in such quantities, or at all, for that matter!" Jordahn exclaimed.
Louis turned and stared at the troops behind him. He stared into the eyes of those nearest to him, and saw the tired and dark looks in them. He saw the water splashing down all around them and on top of them, sliding down their skin and making their light clothes cling to their skin. He saw these once-proud warriors standing in humiliation and fear from the environment, and so he sighed and thought about the logic of their request.
"All right, very well. Let's get out of this weather." he said.
*
Indow growled and sighed as the Dark Knight that had been holding her shoved her back into the cell she had spent a short time in the other day. Another Dark Knight took hold of her wrists and reattached them to the magic-blocking manacles. She was then placed against a wall while the chains were locked in above her. She turned her head and saw Lithmenar beside her, smiling as ever. Myrrha stood in the doorway of the prison cell, staring at them with excited glee as she crossed her arms.
"It wasn't too difficult to find you, Priestess. A simple locater spell with the Dark Sorcerers easily identified your position. What ever made you go to Vahn of all places is a mystery to me, but at the moment I really do not care. Thanks to the locater spell we put on you the instant you left, we now know where an attack will most likely come from, if an attack even happens!" she stated.
"I'm ecstatic for you." Garik said, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, simple Priest, how ignorant you are of the changing world around us. You obviously have a very large problem with the idea of a free culture away from the harsh whip of tyranny that is the monarchy." Myrrha stated.
"And yet you're the self-proclaimed Queen of the Eclipsed Legion, you Ackjahvis." J'Vok growled.
Myrrha rolled her eyes and sighed. "It's not a 'Queen' in the sense you're used to, you primitive fool. Do not worry, you may be able to see in time the true height of what I'm trying to achieve."
Myrrha turned and began leading the Dark Knights out of the prison cell. Once they were clear, she closed the gates behind her and smiled at her captives.
"Just do try to do it before the ceremony, for after that, you won't be understanding anything except how much pain you will experience there."
And with that, Myrrha turned once more and proceeded up the steps with the Dark Knights quickly behind her. The group in the cell all turned to face one another and discuss the new situation.
"Were you successful, Priestess?" General J'Vok asked.
Indow nodded. "At least, we think we were. Chreydo initiated the spell and entered it with Jeremis. However, we cannot be certain that they arrived in the right place and time to find the Linkara. For all we know, the spell was not successful and they reappeared in Terlough at the same moment they left."
"What did happen at Vahn? Was that the location of the Forbidden Spells?" Lithmenar inquired.
Garik replied, "Yes, it was. After we found the spell, it was revealed that Dark Sorcerers had tracked us there and were using Necronomica to bring the dead in the village back to life. We fought as valiantly as we could, but they overwhelmed us. Then, by using mass Teleportation Vortices, they brought us back here."
Indow shrugged. "Well, it's understandable how it could happen. Lithmenar, my arms are getting tired, could you please free us?"
Lithmenar shook his head.
"Why not?" Indow asked.
"They took the key from me and ensured that my hands could not take another one from them. I'm afraid that I have no way of freeing us." Lithmenar said, still smiling.
Indow sighed and narrowed her eyes at him. "Some thief you are."
*
Louis glared over the ridge of the hill he stood upon and down upon the small Terafell Arbiter encampment at the base of the large hill. Jordahn was at his side, her lip quivering as she anticipated what his next action would be. Louis smiled and pulled himself back from watching the Arbiters. It was now night, so the only indication that they were there was actually the fires that illuminated their camp. They apparently were very comfortable with their position, having removed their helmets and been eating heartily from meats that they cooked over the fires.
Louis got up and dusted his front clothes off, moving with Jordahn at his side, down to the Unit. It had been a few days since Louis' act of kindness had allowed the troops to rest comfortably in a cave for a day so they could treat their wounds and try to get better. Shortly after they were strong enough, they moved onwards once again, although a gloomy air still hung around them as they trudged along towards Walsz. They had set up camp for the night at the base of a cave next to the large hill that blocked their path, which would provide them a little shelter should any rain come in during the night.
As Louis approached the Unit, many already had an idea of what he was going to say, and they all held their heads low in depression. Louis smiled as he approached, putting his arms behind his back as he stood ready.
"We have located another Terafell Arbiter encampment. I'd like us to attack them early in the morning, so allow me to go over my- OW!"
Jordahn had finally had enough. She knew that even with the help of her brethren in the Unit, they could not defeat Louis by fighting him. She knew open resistance through words in front of the Unit, undermining him, would not work. Louis was a stubborn teenager, and she knew that she could only do one thing that wouldn't get her injured so she could finally explain to him why he was wrong.
She grabbed onto his ear and pulled it really hard.
"Ow, ow, ow! Leftant [sic], what the hell are you-"
"Come with me." she simply said, pulling Louis by the ear away from the Unit.
Louis continued to voice his protests through exclamations of "Ow!" as Jordahn pulled him farther away from the Unit. She brought him to a small outcropping of rocks about thirty feet from the cave where she finally released Louis from her grip. She balled her hands into fists and glared at her Captain.
"You have to stop." she stated.
"Jordahn-" Louis began.
"No, you HAVE to stop!" Jordahn yelled, interrupting him.
"I don't HAVE to do anything! I am doing this to save lives!" Louis shouted back at her.
"You act not as a man trying to save lives, but as a man on a vendetta for blood!
You are acting more and more like a Terafell Arbiter than as a man!" Jordahn growled.
Louis narrowed his eyes and stormed up to Jordahn's face. "Don't you ever compare me to those monsters! How dare you even begin to contemplate that I am anything like them!"
"You slay them simply because they are Arbiters! You do not take into account any facts or details before you! You kill simply out of hatred! That is not honorable!"
"Well, you'll forgive me, Leftant [sic], if I don't think your fucking honor of all things is a logical reason for war with the Arbiters!"
"Then what is, oh 'Linkara?!' What possible justification is there for any action to be taken against the Arbiters as you have?!"
"Oh, here we go!" Louis growled, rolling his eyes.
"What are you talking about?!" Jordahn demanded to know.
"You know, you're a real piece of work, you know that? You and every other goddamned tree-hugging commie hippie fucker! Oh no, we can't go to war with Iraq, it's none of our business! This isn't a war on terror, it's a war on Islam! Hitler isn't a fascist dictator hoping for world domination, he's a fairly stable leader with a Charlie Chaplin moustache! We only want Kuwait's oil! We're desecrating holy land! On and on you people constantly open your mouths but it's only an excuse to avoid the fact that people are dying and no one is doing anything to save them!"
"And what about the Arbiters' lives? You are embracing their principles of death! You reject the Linkaran religion, which is one of truth, faith, and peace! Even I, a member of the New Blood Order know that!"
"This war we're fighting isn't about principles, religions, or conquest, Jordahn, it's about life! I am not doing the things I do because I like to kill, Jordahn, but because I want to save LIFE! God forbid we actually care about human life on this planet! No one can ever see the fucking picture! Do none of you people ever look out the goddamned window?! In Saudi Arabia, seventeen schoolgirls burned to death because the religious police wouldn't let the girls escape from a burning building because they weren't wearing the proper dress! In Iraq, Saddam Hussein tested chemical and biological weapons on a village just to test their effectiveness and staged a massacre of Iraqi Kurds in the name of ethnic cleansing! Iran, Pakistan, North Korea; half the world has gone to hell in a hand basket but we refuse to do anything about it because we're so caught up in the idea of hating anything our leaders have to say because we supposedly can't trust them anymore! Eleven million people died because of the Nazis! Three thousand people died in the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11! And hundreds of people die every day on the streets of Israel because of suicide bombings! Look around you, Jordahn!"
"And what am I supposed to see?!" Jordahn growled.
"You're supposed to see the horrible things that happen all around you and do something about them! How about extremist groups not only bent on religious terrorism, but domestic terrorists like Neo Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan?! How about the people who raise their kids to hate other people, eh?! How about the sickos out there who convince innocent children that it's right to hate someone else because of their skin color or who they want to fall in love with?! The Arbiters are no goddamned different than any of the organizations from my world! All that's different is the NAMES. Al Quaeda or Arbiters! Hitler or the Darkness! I refuse to let it happen anymore, Jordahn! Do you hear me?! I won't let it happen anymore!"
"I don't even know what you're talking about!" Jordahn stated, backing off.
"That's right, you don't!" Louis said.
And then, Louis winced. He looked away from Jordahn and closed his eyes.
"I... I don't even know what I'm saying anymore."
Louis winced once more, then sat down on a rock, putting his head in his hands as a tear escaped his eye. He began to slowly rock back and forth, breathing carefully as he held his face in his hands.
"There's so much evil on my world, Jordahn. I'm not sure if there's more on yours or mine. I can barely keep myself steady. All I can do when I see an Arbiter is see the millions if not billions of people who have died because of evil. I hear the voices of the people who have been wronged, whose lives and ways of life have been ripped from them because of the acts of madmen. All their voices seem to scream out at me for vengeance. I see them when I close my eyes; even when I blink, they're there. Do you realize just how hard it is to be an optimist in this world? Every day I know exactly what goes on in the world and all the evil that exists there, but I have to constantly hold out hope that everything's going to be all right and that I or someone like me can make a difference out there in a world run by madmen. I... I'm so tired, Jordahn. I'm just so very tired..." he said, and he closed his eyes and cried silently.
Jordahn's face turned to one of regret and sadness. She walked over to Louis and put her hand on his shoulder to try to comfort him. She slowly sat down beside him on the rock. Louis' weeping slowed as he began to calm himself. Jordahn turned her face to him and met his gaze.
"I have seen evil, myself, Captain. I have also learned to see when others are acting for evil, like you have been. I have lost many friends and loves in this war. And by what you tell me, I shall lose many more. But even if I knew with absolute certainty that with a single weapon I could slay every Arbiter on this planet, I wouldn't. Because even though we seek to eradicate evil any time we see it, we cannot abandon our humanity. After all, if we do that, what will be left when the evil is gone?" Jordahn asked.
Louis put his hand on her's. "A hollow shell. No happiness. No celebration. No glory or vengeance for the dead. Perhaps the Darkness won our battle, after all. He turned me into the very thing he was creating with the Dark Knights: a joyless, mindless soldier bent on destruction and suppression of free will. You're right, Jordahn. I have made some colossal mistakes as our leader. Perhaps it is time for me to get back on track with the mission."
"And although we do, Louis, we shall not abandon the people of this land, either. Come, Louis. Walsz is no more than a week away. And even if we fail in our mission to rescue the good prince, we shall not fail in our mission to fight evil." Jordahn stated with a smile.
Louis nodded. "Maybe, but there's something else I need to do first."
Louis stood up and offered Jordahn his hand. She took it and stood up with his minor assistance, Louis leading her back towards the Unit. As they approached the group, the Unit noticed that both were smiling, which made them wonder what they had talked about in the short distance away where they couldn't hear them. When they arrived back at the camp, Louis found the largest rock near the cave and climbed on top of it so that the Unit could see him.
"Listen carefully, troops! Jordahn and I just had a little talk, and she's managed to convince me that I've made a hell of a lot of mistakes while being in charge. I want to apologize right now for it. My hatred for what the Arbiters stand for blinded me from what I was doing. Maybe in time you can trust me again as a Captain and leader, but you can't do that now. Because of that, I am resigning my position of Captain of this Unit and appointing Leftant [sic], no, I'm sorry, Captain Jordahn Aver as my replacement!" he proclaimed.
Jordahn's mouth hung open, not expecting this turn of events. Louis offered his hand to her once more, and she took it. Louis pulled her up to the rock and stood behind her as she now faced the troops. The Unit was now all smiling, staring at their long-time friend and confidant who had now become their leader. The nearest soldier pumped his fist into the air and shouted:
"Hail she who has become our Captain! Hail Jordahn!"
The soldier began repeating 'hail' over and over, and the entire Unit quickly joined in unison with him, pumping their fists into the air and shouting 'hail.' Jordahn smiled and finally calmed them down by raising her own hands into the air. She looked back at Louis for a moment, who gave her a smile when she glanced at him. She returned the gesture and then twisted herself back to the Unit.
"I know this has been a hard time for us all, but now is the time for us to retake the glory that was taken from us! My first act as Captain is to officially declare that we will no longer attack any Terafell Arbiter forces without just cause! We'll wake up early tomorrow, but only to avoid the one near us and then proceed on towards Walsz! We'll recover the Prince and destroy the Arbiters in open war, where fighting should be!"
The Unit let out a triumphant 'hail!'
"Furthermore, for my next official act as Captain, I am appointing Louis Williamson as my Leftant [sic]." Jordahn stated.
The Unit stopped for a moment, confused by this. Louis was especially shocked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
"I know you have reservations about this. I may be making a mistake, but it is my mistake as Captain to make! Louis has lost his honor, and do we not always believe that redemption and the reclaiming of honor should be the top priority of every Kien warrior? I say that we should help our Leftant [sic] reclaim his honor! Let all of the Arbiters know that the Sand Warriors of Kien will never abandon it's own and will always fight the unjust!" Jordahn shouted.
Jordahn turned her body slightly, her head still facing the Unit but her arm extended out and pointing at Louis.
"Hail he who flew through the skies to deliver us from the axe of the Terafell Arbiters!"
The Unit once more let out a triumphant 'Hail!," repeating the phrase over and over again as Louis only stood on the back of the rock with a smile on his face.
*
White Raven smiled and nodded at Antillitz, taking the cup of hot tea that she had been offered. White Raven cradled it in her hands for a moment, examining the drink before taking a sip of the hot liquid. The sweet taste brought another smile to her face as she gulped it down. she placed the cup onto its saucer, holding both the saucer and cup as she sat down at Antillitz's table. There was another Dark Knight in the room, who looked pretty similar to Antillitz, in the ways that Dark Knights look the same. His hair was long and black, with pale skin and cold blue eyes. Antillitz had introduced him as Illotel, hopefully her husband to be if they were successful in creating the Eclipsed Legion.
"Like I said," Antillitz had explained, "we were in the same Assault Squad together. When the Darkness was totally destroyed, we took solace and comfort in each other's company, embracing in a frenzy of passion we'd never experienced before."
"We had both been small children when we were first assimilated into the Darkness. We knew nothing of love or sex, although we learned of them over our lives. We were, of course, taught to reject the idea of love by the Darkness, but when the Darkness' control was gone, we realized just how wrong he was." Illotel said.
"Love is a wondrous, fantastic thing. It's filled with the good and the bad, but you always cherish each moment while you're in it." Antillitz continued.
White Raven stood up from the table, having finished her tea. "Well, it was wonderful to meet you both. You know, Myrrha has appointed me as her adjutant for the time being, and one of my duties is seeking out candidates for Consuls of the local government we're going to establish. I'd like to appoint two people who will be an embodiment and symbol of the new system, and you two might be just what I'm looking for."
Antillitz smiled and looked over at Illotel, who returned the smile. Antillitz looked to White Raven again and nodded.
"We'd be honored." she said.
White Raven smiled and nodded, turning away and walking back out the front door of the cabin. She walked away from the house and back towards the ruins of the Soyah castle, wondering if she could get a chance to speak with Myrrha before she began work on her own dwellings.
To try to encourage the idea that they were a free society, each person would work on their own home, dwelling, and surrounding. Myrrha, being the "Queen" of the Eclipsed Legion, was granted the right to have the former home of the Darkness as her own shelter. She had set up her office first of all, considering most of her time from day to day would be there, while her home was made up of a few stonewalls and animals furs as a bed.
It took White Raven a few minutes to get to the castle from Antillitz's home. When she arrived, she noticed that Myrrha was not in her office as she usually was at this time of the day. She walked around for a bit, searching for Myrrha. She finally located her in her dwelling, but she wasn't alone. White Raven found Myrrha on top of the animal furs with a man, and both were quite naked. White Raven stared at them for a moment as they finished having sex with one another.
"Ah, Raven! How nice to see you. Thank you, Empol, I'll let you know if we were successful." she said, getting up from the makeshift bed.
Empol nodded and grabbed his own clothes from the dirty ground, walking away from the two. Myrrha herself was already getting up and putting her own clothes back on. White Raven raised an eyebrow, curious as to what had just happened (besides the obvious, of course). Myrrha just smiled at White Raven and proceeded to cover herself in black clothing before she finally spoke:
"Empol wishes to have a child to raise."
"And so you are then selling yourself out with the promise of birthing children?" White Raven asked.
"Not selling, doing only what the law says." Myrrha replied.
"Law?"
Yes. I've drafted a few laws for us to confirm once we've established a government. One of them include a requirement for all the women of the city to be willing to take on multiple partners, if necessary, to bear more children. Both of us, included." Myrrha said.
"Isn't that a little unfair to the women of the Legion? We're forcing them to bear the responsibility of childbirth." White Raven stated.
Myrrha shrugged. "After the Hundred Year War, the five lands legalized prostitution in an attempt to recover the populations that were destroyed because of the war. The principle's no different."
"Well, what about people who already wish to raise a family? I have met two people named Antillitz and Illotel who seem very enamored with one another."
Myrrha held her hair up as she tied some type of bra (although having sides that were as wide as a shirt) around her chest. "Well, there will be, of course, exceptions. The majority of women here, however, have not experienced love before. We wish to allow the people here to express the emotions that the Darkness expressed, so the mandatory pregnancy will only applied to those currently not involved romantically involved."
"Is it even possible for us to have children? I have never heard of an instance when it was done..."
"That's because the Darkness deeply discouraged sexual fraternization between soldiers, although did not forbid it. I believe he did, though, suppress our ability to have children while we were Dark Knights because he wanted each 'pure descent' Dark Knight to be one that joined him from the outside and not born into it naturally. Hmmm... I just realized that we'll have to address another issue: marriage."
"Religion, as well." White Raven said. "But those can wait for another day."
Myrrha nodded and slipped on her chest plate. "Indeed. Let's get to work."
*
"It seems... smaller than I remember."
Louis was referring to Walsz. The Unit, after a long journey of sickness, health, pain, and happiness, had finally arrived in the former capitol of the once-great land. Stepping into the city limits, it was clear that this place was under control of the Arbiters. On each street corner there contained at least one fully robed Terafell Arbiter. In most other places, partially robed Arbiters stood guard with axes in hands around stores and buildings, always vigilantly watching for anything suspicious or not conforming to their code of conduct. As with the city of Kuen, citizens who were taken by the Arbiters when they conquered Ai wore red triangles on their chest and bowed anytime they had to come face to face with an Arbiter in robes.
"There aren't any children around here." one of the Unit stated.
"Arbiter children are usually trained to be soldiers when they reach seven years old. For eight years, they undergo intensive physical training and then are given the choice to return to society or continue serving the armed forces. Most choose to stay with the Arbiter military, since they know it so well." Jordahn explained from behind her helmet.
"What about the children who were Aian citizens? What's happened to them?" Louis asked.
"All taken by the Arbiters. Most are put into orphanages and are usually taken by Arbiters who require pageboys or clerks for a cheap price, or are taken to be brainwashed by the Arbiters and to serve unquestioningly in their own army. Some manage to escape these orphan houses are try to live on the streets. The Arbiters don't mind them, for the most part, as long as they don't attempt to disrupt the day to day operations of public areas." Jordahn said.
"Is this a regular thing for all the cities?" Louis asked.
Jordahn shook her head. "No, but most likely they will begin implementing the process into the rest of their cities as soon as they can."
It was at that moment that Louis saw a different sort of Arbiter approaching them. This new one didn't have the blood red robes, but instead wore black robes with gold lining along the collar and sleeves. Obviously, this Arbiter was more prominent in the hierarchy of the system, considering none of the Unit had ever seen one wearing black before. The black-robed Arbiter stood in front of Jordahn and stared at her at eye level. The Arbiter had two red-robed Arbiters at his side, each carrying an Executioner's Blade.
For several moments, the Arbiter simply stared at Jordahn, but then he extended his arm, holding out as if waiting for Jordahn to give him something.
"Show me your credentials." he spoke in a deep voice.
"My what?" Jordahn replied.
"Your credentials. You do not walk like true warriors of Terafell's gaze, so I wish to confirm your identity." he responded.
"We have been walking for some time now-" Jordahn tried to explain.
"Hand me your credentials NOW." he interrupted.
Jordahn bit her lip inside of her helmet. They hadn't taken anything besides the robes of the Arbiters and a few food supplies they had killed back at the border of Ai and Kien. Because of that, they had no credentials to speak of to fake their identities as Arbiters. The Arbiter they were now facing realized that, as well.
"You will accompany us." he ordered.
Jordahn looked back to Louis, who smiled beneath his helmet and nodded. In an instant, Louis leapt up and kicked the Arbiter in the head. The two Arbiters beside him were stunned for a moment, not sure of how this one person could jump so high. However, they quickly threw caution and surprise to the wind and charged at the Unit, but they were already ready for them. Jordahn slammed her axe into the nearest one, piercing his chest and killing him. The other one made the mistake of trying to grab Louis, who quickly slammed his fist into the Arbiter's helmet. Not only was the Arbiter's helmet cracked and destroyed, but also Louis slammed so far into it that he managed to hit his face at the same time.
Jordahn quickly threw off her helmet and proclaimed, "Run!"
The Unit didn't need to be told twice. They immediately began to run down the streets deeper into Walsz, stripping off the Arbiter garb while they were moving. Although it might've been a wise idea to remain inconspicuous, it was obvious to the group that they would be unable to remain incognito while they had no credentials or paperwork certifying who they claimed to be. And so, as they were running, the red robes of the Terafell Arbiters were substituted with the leather armor of the Kien military and Louis' Linkaran armor.
Arbiters from all across the streets started pursuing them when they saw who they were. Many of them didn't have weapons, but they still were dangerous in high numbers. Jordahn considered ordering the group to scatter in hopes of evading them, but realized that being picked off one at a time wasn't an honorable way for Kien soldiers to die.
"This way!"
Both Jordahn and Louis heard the voice calling to them and looked to where it came from. A small boy was standing in an alleyway and trying to encourage the Unit to follow him. Seeing that they had nothing to lose, Jordahn altered the direction she was running and the Unit followed closely behind her. The Arbiters fifty feet behind them assumed they had them cornered, considering that the alleyway ended when it came to a building on the other end of it. However, as soon as they entered the alleyway, the Unit and the boy were gone. The leads stopped, looking around and trying to locate the Unit. After three minutes of looking under trash bags and air vents, the Arbiters gave up and turned around, checking to see if they had gone down a different street.
Louis slowly opened the doorway that was made of pure bricks. He peeked his head around the corner and smiled when he saw that the Arbiters had gone.
"It's clear." he stated.
Louis slowly walked outside of the small room they had been crammed in to and stretched his arms. The area that the boy had led them to was a small storage closet for the building that, for some reason or another, had been constructed so that the door was made of bricks but opened just as easily as any other door. The boy hid them inside of it and closed the door, making it look like they had disappeared into thin air.
"Thank you, child. Your help was most appreciated." Jordahn said.
"Don't think of mentioning it. Are you from Kien?" the boy asked.
Louis nodded. "Yes. We're on a mission that could mean victory in this war. Do you have any parents you can go to hide yourself better than in an alley?"
The boy looked down, shaking his head. "When the Arbiters first took the city, my parents were slaughtered when they attempted to fight back. They managed to get one Arbiter before they were killed."
"I'm sure your parents died with honor and love for you in their hearts. Have you been living on the street since then?" Jordahn said.
"Yes. I've become something of a wonder around the city, because I know so many ways to evade detection and steal food to live off of. I've also been trying to form up a Conlum Resistance force to fight back against the Arbiters, but most are too scared or stupid to move against them." he explained.
"I'm sure in time you'll be able to attain this, but unfortunately, we have our own problems. We're on a rescue mission, so we need to have access to some credentials that will allow us to get to a certain building." Louis said.
"Credentials aren't too difficult to forge. Here, you can follow me back to my workspace and I'll make some for you." the boy said.
*
It was another two hours before Louis and Jordahn were on the move. Believing that more than two people would appear suspicious, Jordahn instructed the others to wait and protect their temporary dwelling (the basement of an abandoned bakery near the edge of the city) while she and Louis went to the military building to retrieve Algaren. They were wearing the spare Terafell Arbiter cloaks that they had brought along with them in the event that the others would be damaged or lost. They also carried forged documents that signified that they were a part of the local police force and therefore had the right to interrogate any they wished to.
The plan was to get into the building, request to interrogate Algaren, and then slip him out of the city as quickly as possible. So far, the plan was working well. No one had stopped or given them a second glance (with the exception of Ai citizens, who had to bow to them when they approached). The military building that they arrived at had only one guard in front of the main gate, which made their job considerably easier if they had to fight their way in to get to Algaren. They approached the guard and Jordahn held up her identification pass.
"We are here to speak to a clerk named Aloren." she said.
The man stared at them, bewildered.
"Aloren?" he asked.
"Yes. Kindly go inside and get him for us or allow us entry to retrieve him." Louis said.
"You are making a joke, yes?" the Arbiter asked.
Jordahn and Louis exchanged glances, then looked back at the Arbiter.
"No, of course not. Why?" Jordahn inquired.
"Aloren was arrested two days ago for acts of treason against the Terafell Arbiters. He's slated to be executed with the other prisoners in about five minutes in the main square."
Louis shook his head as his eye twitched angrily. His eyes were on the road ahead of him, and his expression was one of anger and rage. Water dripped down his face as he trudged along on the muddy path. He grumbled for a moment before he replied to the troops.
"Just be thankful that I allowed you all to remove the Arbiter uniforms to protect them as we traveled towards Walsz!" he shouted.
"Captain, please! It's cold and we can't take much more of this!" Jordahn said.
"Soldiers on my world can certainly take it!" Louis growled.
"I have news for you, Captain: this is not your world! These men are not used to rain in such quantities, or at all, for that matter!" Jordahn exclaimed.
Louis turned and stared at the troops behind him. He stared into the eyes of those nearest to him, and saw the tired and dark looks in them. He saw the water splashing down all around them and on top of them, sliding down their skin and making their light clothes cling to their skin. He saw these once-proud warriors standing in humiliation and fear from the environment, and so he sighed and thought about the logic of their request.
"All right, very well. Let's get out of this weather." he said.
*
Indow growled and sighed as the Dark Knight that had been holding her shoved her back into the cell she had spent a short time in the other day. Another Dark Knight took hold of her wrists and reattached them to the magic-blocking manacles. She was then placed against a wall while the chains were locked in above her. She turned her head and saw Lithmenar beside her, smiling as ever. Myrrha stood in the doorway of the prison cell, staring at them with excited glee as she crossed her arms.
"It wasn't too difficult to find you, Priestess. A simple locater spell with the Dark Sorcerers easily identified your position. What ever made you go to Vahn of all places is a mystery to me, but at the moment I really do not care. Thanks to the locater spell we put on you the instant you left, we now know where an attack will most likely come from, if an attack even happens!" she stated.
"I'm ecstatic for you." Garik said, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, simple Priest, how ignorant you are of the changing world around us. You obviously have a very large problem with the idea of a free culture away from the harsh whip of tyranny that is the monarchy." Myrrha stated.
"And yet you're the self-proclaimed Queen of the Eclipsed Legion, you Ackjahvis." J'Vok growled.
Myrrha rolled her eyes and sighed. "It's not a 'Queen' in the sense you're used to, you primitive fool. Do not worry, you may be able to see in time the true height of what I'm trying to achieve."
Myrrha turned and began leading the Dark Knights out of the prison cell. Once they were clear, she closed the gates behind her and smiled at her captives.
"Just do try to do it before the ceremony, for after that, you won't be understanding anything except how much pain you will experience there."
And with that, Myrrha turned once more and proceeded up the steps with the Dark Knights quickly behind her. The group in the cell all turned to face one another and discuss the new situation.
"Were you successful, Priestess?" General J'Vok asked.
Indow nodded. "At least, we think we were. Chreydo initiated the spell and entered it with Jeremis. However, we cannot be certain that they arrived in the right place and time to find the Linkara. For all we know, the spell was not successful and they reappeared in Terlough at the same moment they left."
"What did happen at Vahn? Was that the location of the Forbidden Spells?" Lithmenar inquired.
Garik replied, "Yes, it was. After we found the spell, it was revealed that Dark Sorcerers had tracked us there and were using Necronomica to bring the dead in the village back to life. We fought as valiantly as we could, but they overwhelmed us. Then, by using mass Teleportation Vortices, they brought us back here."
Indow shrugged. "Well, it's understandable how it could happen. Lithmenar, my arms are getting tired, could you please free us?"
Lithmenar shook his head.
"Why not?" Indow asked.
"They took the key from me and ensured that my hands could not take another one from them. I'm afraid that I have no way of freeing us." Lithmenar said, still smiling.
Indow sighed and narrowed her eyes at him. "Some thief you are."
*
Louis glared over the ridge of the hill he stood upon and down upon the small Terafell Arbiter encampment at the base of the large hill. Jordahn was at his side, her lip quivering as she anticipated what his next action would be. Louis smiled and pulled himself back from watching the Arbiters. It was now night, so the only indication that they were there was actually the fires that illuminated their camp. They apparently were very comfortable with their position, having removed their helmets and been eating heartily from meats that they cooked over the fires.
Louis got up and dusted his front clothes off, moving with Jordahn at his side, down to the Unit. It had been a few days since Louis' act of kindness had allowed the troops to rest comfortably in a cave for a day so they could treat their wounds and try to get better. Shortly after they were strong enough, they moved onwards once again, although a gloomy air still hung around them as they trudged along towards Walsz. They had set up camp for the night at the base of a cave next to the large hill that blocked their path, which would provide them a little shelter should any rain come in during the night.
As Louis approached the Unit, many already had an idea of what he was going to say, and they all held their heads low in depression. Louis smiled as he approached, putting his arms behind his back as he stood ready.
"We have located another Terafell Arbiter encampment. I'd like us to attack them early in the morning, so allow me to go over my- OW!"
Jordahn had finally had enough. She knew that even with the help of her brethren in the Unit, they could not defeat Louis by fighting him. She knew open resistance through words in front of the Unit, undermining him, would not work. Louis was a stubborn teenager, and she knew that she could only do one thing that wouldn't get her injured so she could finally explain to him why he was wrong.
She grabbed onto his ear and pulled it really hard.
"Ow, ow, ow! Leftant [sic], what the hell are you-"
"Come with me." she simply said, pulling Louis by the ear away from the Unit.
Louis continued to voice his protests through exclamations of "Ow!" as Jordahn pulled him farther away from the Unit. She brought him to a small outcropping of rocks about thirty feet from the cave where she finally released Louis from her grip. She balled her hands into fists and glared at her Captain.
"You have to stop." she stated.
"Jordahn-" Louis began.
"No, you HAVE to stop!" Jordahn yelled, interrupting him.
"I don't HAVE to do anything! I am doing this to save lives!" Louis shouted back at her.
"You act not as a man trying to save lives, but as a man on a vendetta for blood!
You are acting more and more like a Terafell Arbiter than as a man!" Jordahn growled.
Louis narrowed his eyes and stormed up to Jordahn's face. "Don't you ever compare me to those monsters! How dare you even begin to contemplate that I am anything like them!"
"You slay them simply because they are Arbiters! You do not take into account any facts or details before you! You kill simply out of hatred! That is not honorable!"
"Well, you'll forgive me, Leftant [sic], if I don't think your fucking honor of all things is a logical reason for war with the Arbiters!"
"Then what is, oh 'Linkara?!' What possible justification is there for any action to be taken against the Arbiters as you have?!"
"Oh, here we go!" Louis growled, rolling his eyes.
"What are you talking about?!" Jordahn demanded to know.
"You know, you're a real piece of work, you know that? You and every other goddamned tree-hugging commie hippie fucker! Oh no, we can't go to war with Iraq, it's none of our business! This isn't a war on terror, it's a war on Islam! Hitler isn't a fascist dictator hoping for world domination, he's a fairly stable leader with a Charlie Chaplin moustache! We only want Kuwait's oil! We're desecrating holy land! On and on you people constantly open your mouths but it's only an excuse to avoid the fact that people are dying and no one is doing anything to save them!"
"And what about the Arbiters' lives? You are embracing their principles of death! You reject the Linkaran religion, which is one of truth, faith, and peace! Even I, a member of the New Blood Order know that!"
"This war we're fighting isn't about principles, religions, or conquest, Jordahn, it's about life! I am not doing the things I do because I like to kill, Jordahn, but because I want to save LIFE! God forbid we actually care about human life on this planet! No one can ever see the fucking picture! Do none of you people ever look out the goddamned window?! In Saudi Arabia, seventeen schoolgirls burned to death because the religious police wouldn't let the girls escape from a burning building because they weren't wearing the proper dress! In Iraq, Saddam Hussein tested chemical and biological weapons on a village just to test their effectiveness and staged a massacre of Iraqi Kurds in the name of ethnic cleansing! Iran, Pakistan, North Korea; half the world has gone to hell in a hand basket but we refuse to do anything about it because we're so caught up in the idea of hating anything our leaders have to say because we supposedly can't trust them anymore! Eleven million people died because of the Nazis! Three thousand people died in the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11! And hundreds of people die every day on the streets of Israel because of suicide bombings! Look around you, Jordahn!"
"And what am I supposed to see?!" Jordahn growled.
"You're supposed to see the horrible things that happen all around you and do something about them! How about extremist groups not only bent on religious terrorism, but domestic terrorists like Neo Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan?! How about the people who raise their kids to hate other people, eh?! How about the sickos out there who convince innocent children that it's right to hate someone else because of their skin color or who they want to fall in love with?! The Arbiters are no goddamned different than any of the organizations from my world! All that's different is the NAMES. Al Quaeda or Arbiters! Hitler or the Darkness! I refuse to let it happen anymore, Jordahn! Do you hear me?! I won't let it happen anymore!"
"I don't even know what you're talking about!" Jordahn stated, backing off.
"That's right, you don't!" Louis said.
And then, Louis winced. He looked away from Jordahn and closed his eyes.
"I... I don't even know what I'm saying anymore."
Louis winced once more, then sat down on a rock, putting his head in his hands as a tear escaped his eye. He began to slowly rock back and forth, breathing carefully as he held his face in his hands.
"There's so much evil on my world, Jordahn. I'm not sure if there's more on yours or mine. I can barely keep myself steady. All I can do when I see an Arbiter is see the millions if not billions of people who have died because of evil. I hear the voices of the people who have been wronged, whose lives and ways of life have been ripped from them because of the acts of madmen. All their voices seem to scream out at me for vengeance. I see them when I close my eyes; even when I blink, they're there. Do you realize just how hard it is to be an optimist in this world? Every day I know exactly what goes on in the world and all the evil that exists there, but I have to constantly hold out hope that everything's going to be all right and that I or someone like me can make a difference out there in a world run by madmen. I... I'm so tired, Jordahn. I'm just so very tired..." he said, and he closed his eyes and cried silently.
Jordahn's face turned to one of regret and sadness. She walked over to Louis and put her hand on his shoulder to try to comfort him. She slowly sat down beside him on the rock. Louis' weeping slowed as he began to calm himself. Jordahn turned her face to him and met his gaze.
"I have seen evil, myself, Captain. I have also learned to see when others are acting for evil, like you have been. I have lost many friends and loves in this war. And by what you tell me, I shall lose many more. But even if I knew with absolute certainty that with a single weapon I could slay every Arbiter on this planet, I wouldn't. Because even though we seek to eradicate evil any time we see it, we cannot abandon our humanity. After all, if we do that, what will be left when the evil is gone?" Jordahn asked.
Louis put his hand on her's. "A hollow shell. No happiness. No celebration. No glory or vengeance for the dead. Perhaps the Darkness won our battle, after all. He turned me into the very thing he was creating with the Dark Knights: a joyless, mindless soldier bent on destruction and suppression of free will. You're right, Jordahn. I have made some colossal mistakes as our leader. Perhaps it is time for me to get back on track with the mission."
"And although we do, Louis, we shall not abandon the people of this land, either. Come, Louis. Walsz is no more than a week away. And even if we fail in our mission to rescue the good prince, we shall not fail in our mission to fight evil." Jordahn stated with a smile.
Louis nodded. "Maybe, but there's something else I need to do first."
Louis stood up and offered Jordahn his hand. She took it and stood up with his minor assistance, Louis leading her back towards the Unit. As they approached the group, the Unit noticed that both were smiling, which made them wonder what they had talked about in the short distance away where they couldn't hear them. When they arrived back at the camp, Louis found the largest rock near the cave and climbed on top of it so that the Unit could see him.
"Listen carefully, troops! Jordahn and I just had a little talk, and she's managed to convince me that I've made a hell of a lot of mistakes while being in charge. I want to apologize right now for it. My hatred for what the Arbiters stand for blinded me from what I was doing. Maybe in time you can trust me again as a Captain and leader, but you can't do that now. Because of that, I am resigning my position of Captain of this Unit and appointing Leftant [sic], no, I'm sorry, Captain Jordahn Aver as my replacement!" he proclaimed.
Jordahn's mouth hung open, not expecting this turn of events. Louis offered his hand to her once more, and she took it. Louis pulled her up to the rock and stood behind her as she now faced the troops. The Unit was now all smiling, staring at their long-time friend and confidant who had now become their leader. The nearest soldier pumped his fist into the air and shouted:
"Hail she who has become our Captain! Hail Jordahn!"
The soldier began repeating 'hail' over and over, and the entire Unit quickly joined in unison with him, pumping their fists into the air and shouting 'hail.' Jordahn smiled and finally calmed them down by raising her own hands into the air. She looked back at Louis for a moment, who gave her a smile when she glanced at him. She returned the gesture and then twisted herself back to the Unit.
"I know this has been a hard time for us all, but now is the time for us to retake the glory that was taken from us! My first act as Captain is to officially declare that we will no longer attack any Terafell Arbiter forces without just cause! We'll wake up early tomorrow, but only to avoid the one near us and then proceed on towards Walsz! We'll recover the Prince and destroy the Arbiters in open war, where fighting should be!"
The Unit let out a triumphant 'hail!'
"Furthermore, for my next official act as Captain, I am appointing Louis Williamson as my Leftant [sic]." Jordahn stated.
The Unit stopped for a moment, confused by this. Louis was especially shocked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
"I know you have reservations about this. I may be making a mistake, but it is my mistake as Captain to make! Louis has lost his honor, and do we not always believe that redemption and the reclaiming of honor should be the top priority of every Kien warrior? I say that we should help our Leftant [sic] reclaim his honor! Let all of the Arbiters know that the Sand Warriors of Kien will never abandon it's own and will always fight the unjust!" Jordahn shouted.
Jordahn turned her body slightly, her head still facing the Unit but her arm extended out and pointing at Louis.
"Hail he who flew through the skies to deliver us from the axe of the Terafell Arbiters!"
The Unit once more let out a triumphant 'Hail!," repeating the phrase over and over again as Louis only stood on the back of the rock with a smile on his face.
*
White Raven smiled and nodded at Antillitz, taking the cup of hot tea that she had been offered. White Raven cradled it in her hands for a moment, examining the drink before taking a sip of the hot liquid. The sweet taste brought another smile to her face as she gulped it down. she placed the cup onto its saucer, holding both the saucer and cup as she sat down at Antillitz's table. There was another Dark Knight in the room, who looked pretty similar to Antillitz, in the ways that Dark Knights look the same. His hair was long and black, with pale skin and cold blue eyes. Antillitz had introduced him as Illotel, hopefully her husband to be if they were successful in creating the Eclipsed Legion.
"Like I said," Antillitz had explained, "we were in the same Assault Squad together. When the Darkness was totally destroyed, we took solace and comfort in each other's company, embracing in a frenzy of passion we'd never experienced before."
"We had both been small children when we were first assimilated into the Darkness. We knew nothing of love or sex, although we learned of them over our lives. We were, of course, taught to reject the idea of love by the Darkness, but when the Darkness' control was gone, we realized just how wrong he was." Illotel said.
"Love is a wondrous, fantastic thing. It's filled with the good and the bad, but you always cherish each moment while you're in it." Antillitz continued.
White Raven stood up from the table, having finished her tea. "Well, it was wonderful to meet you both. You know, Myrrha has appointed me as her adjutant for the time being, and one of my duties is seeking out candidates for Consuls of the local government we're going to establish. I'd like to appoint two people who will be an embodiment and symbol of the new system, and you two might be just what I'm looking for."
Antillitz smiled and looked over at Illotel, who returned the smile. Antillitz looked to White Raven again and nodded.
"We'd be honored." she said.
White Raven smiled and nodded, turning away and walking back out the front door of the cabin. She walked away from the house and back towards the ruins of the Soyah castle, wondering if she could get a chance to speak with Myrrha before she began work on her own dwellings.
To try to encourage the idea that they were a free society, each person would work on their own home, dwelling, and surrounding. Myrrha, being the "Queen" of the Eclipsed Legion, was granted the right to have the former home of the Darkness as her own shelter. She had set up her office first of all, considering most of her time from day to day would be there, while her home was made up of a few stonewalls and animals furs as a bed.
It took White Raven a few minutes to get to the castle from Antillitz's home. When she arrived, she noticed that Myrrha was not in her office as she usually was at this time of the day. She walked around for a bit, searching for Myrrha. She finally located her in her dwelling, but she wasn't alone. White Raven found Myrrha on top of the animal furs with a man, and both were quite naked. White Raven stared at them for a moment as they finished having sex with one another.
"Ah, Raven! How nice to see you. Thank you, Empol, I'll let you know if we were successful." she said, getting up from the makeshift bed.
Empol nodded and grabbed his own clothes from the dirty ground, walking away from the two. Myrrha herself was already getting up and putting her own clothes back on. White Raven raised an eyebrow, curious as to what had just happened (besides the obvious, of course). Myrrha just smiled at White Raven and proceeded to cover herself in black clothing before she finally spoke:
"Empol wishes to have a child to raise."
"And so you are then selling yourself out with the promise of birthing children?" White Raven asked.
"Not selling, doing only what the law says." Myrrha replied.
"Law?"
Yes. I've drafted a few laws for us to confirm once we've established a government. One of them include a requirement for all the women of the city to be willing to take on multiple partners, if necessary, to bear more children. Both of us, included." Myrrha said.
"Isn't that a little unfair to the women of the Legion? We're forcing them to bear the responsibility of childbirth." White Raven stated.
Myrrha shrugged. "After the Hundred Year War, the five lands legalized prostitution in an attempt to recover the populations that were destroyed because of the war. The principle's no different."
"Well, what about people who already wish to raise a family? I have met two people named Antillitz and Illotel who seem very enamored with one another."
Myrrha held her hair up as she tied some type of bra (although having sides that were as wide as a shirt) around her chest. "Well, there will be, of course, exceptions. The majority of women here, however, have not experienced love before. We wish to allow the people here to express the emotions that the Darkness expressed, so the mandatory pregnancy will only applied to those currently not involved romantically involved."
"Is it even possible for us to have children? I have never heard of an instance when it was done..."
"That's because the Darkness deeply discouraged sexual fraternization between soldiers, although did not forbid it. I believe he did, though, suppress our ability to have children while we were Dark Knights because he wanted each 'pure descent' Dark Knight to be one that joined him from the outside and not born into it naturally. Hmmm... I just realized that we'll have to address another issue: marriage."
"Religion, as well." White Raven said. "But those can wait for another day."
Myrrha nodded and slipped on her chest plate. "Indeed. Let's get to work."
*
"It seems... smaller than I remember."
Louis was referring to Walsz. The Unit, after a long journey of sickness, health, pain, and happiness, had finally arrived in the former capitol of the once-great land. Stepping into the city limits, it was clear that this place was under control of the Arbiters. On each street corner there contained at least one fully robed Terafell Arbiter. In most other places, partially robed Arbiters stood guard with axes in hands around stores and buildings, always vigilantly watching for anything suspicious or not conforming to their code of conduct. As with the city of Kuen, citizens who were taken by the Arbiters when they conquered Ai wore red triangles on their chest and bowed anytime they had to come face to face with an Arbiter in robes.
"There aren't any children around here." one of the Unit stated.
"Arbiter children are usually trained to be soldiers when they reach seven years old. For eight years, they undergo intensive physical training and then are given the choice to return to society or continue serving the armed forces. Most choose to stay with the Arbiter military, since they know it so well." Jordahn explained from behind her helmet.
"What about the children who were Aian citizens? What's happened to them?" Louis asked.
"All taken by the Arbiters. Most are put into orphanages and are usually taken by Arbiters who require pageboys or clerks for a cheap price, or are taken to be brainwashed by the Arbiters and to serve unquestioningly in their own army. Some manage to escape these orphan houses are try to live on the streets. The Arbiters don't mind them, for the most part, as long as they don't attempt to disrupt the day to day operations of public areas." Jordahn said.
"Is this a regular thing for all the cities?" Louis asked.
Jordahn shook her head. "No, but most likely they will begin implementing the process into the rest of their cities as soon as they can."
It was at that moment that Louis saw a different sort of Arbiter approaching them. This new one didn't have the blood red robes, but instead wore black robes with gold lining along the collar and sleeves. Obviously, this Arbiter was more prominent in the hierarchy of the system, considering none of the Unit had ever seen one wearing black before. The black-robed Arbiter stood in front of Jordahn and stared at her at eye level. The Arbiter had two red-robed Arbiters at his side, each carrying an Executioner's Blade.
For several moments, the Arbiter simply stared at Jordahn, but then he extended his arm, holding out as if waiting for Jordahn to give him something.
"Show me your credentials." he spoke in a deep voice.
"My what?" Jordahn replied.
"Your credentials. You do not walk like true warriors of Terafell's gaze, so I wish to confirm your identity." he responded.
"We have been walking for some time now-" Jordahn tried to explain.
"Hand me your credentials NOW." he interrupted.
Jordahn bit her lip inside of her helmet. They hadn't taken anything besides the robes of the Arbiters and a few food supplies they had killed back at the border of Ai and Kien. Because of that, they had no credentials to speak of to fake their identities as Arbiters. The Arbiter they were now facing realized that, as well.
"You will accompany us." he ordered.
Jordahn looked back to Louis, who smiled beneath his helmet and nodded. In an instant, Louis leapt up and kicked the Arbiter in the head. The two Arbiters beside him were stunned for a moment, not sure of how this one person could jump so high. However, they quickly threw caution and surprise to the wind and charged at the Unit, but they were already ready for them. Jordahn slammed her axe into the nearest one, piercing his chest and killing him. The other one made the mistake of trying to grab Louis, who quickly slammed his fist into the Arbiter's helmet. Not only was the Arbiter's helmet cracked and destroyed, but also Louis slammed so far into it that he managed to hit his face at the same time.
Jordahn quickly threw off her helmet and proclaimed, "Run!"
The Unit didn't need to be told twice. They immediately began to run down the streets deeper into Walsz, stripping off the Arbiter garb while they were moving. Although it might've been a wise idea to remain inconspicuous, it was obvious to the group that they would be unable to remain incognito while they had no credentials or paperwork certifying who they claimed to be. And so, as they were running, the red robes of the Terafell Arbiters were substituted with the leather armor of the Kien military and Louis' Linkaran armor.
Arbiters from all across the streets started pursuing them when they saw who they were. Many of them didn't have weapons, but they still were dangerous in high numbers. Jordahn considered ordering the group to scatter in hopes of evading them, but realized that being picked off one at a time wasn't an honorable way for Kien soldiers to die.
"This way!"
Both Jordahn and Louis heard the voice calling to them and looked to where it came from. A small boy was standing in an alleyway and trying to encourage the Unit to follow him. Seeing that they had nothing to lose, Jordahn altered the direction she was running and the Unit followed closely behind her. The Arbiters fifty feet behind them assumed they had them cornered, considering that the alleyway ended when it came to a building on the other end of it. However, as soon as they entered the alleyway, the Unit and the boy were gone. The leads stopped, looking around and trying to locate the Unit. After three minutes of looking under trash bags and air vents, the Arbiters gave up and turned around, checking to see if they had gone down a different street.
Louis slowly opened the doorway that was made of pure bricks. He peeked his head around the corner and smiled when he saw that the Arbiters had gone.
"It's clear." he stated.
Louis slowly walked outside of the small room they had been crammed in to and stretched his arms. The area that the boy had led them to was a small storage closet for the building that, for some reason or another, had been constructed so that the door was made of bricks but opened just as easily as any other door. The boy hid them inside of it and closed the door, making it look like they had disappeared into thin air.
"Thank you, child. Your help was most appreciated." Jordahn said.
"Don't think of mentioning it. Are you from Kien?" the boy asked.
Louis nodded. "Yes. We're on a mission that could mean victory in this war. Do you have any parents you can go to hide yourself better than in an alley?"
The boy looked down, shaking his head. "When the Arbiters first took the city, my parents were slaughtered when they attempted to fight back. They managed to get one Arbiter before they were killed."
"I'm sure your parents died with honor and love for you in their hearts. Have you been living on the street since then?" Jordahn said.
"Yes. I've become something of a wonder around the city, because I know so many ways to evade detection and steal food to live off of. I've also been trying to form up a Conlum Resistance force to fight back against the Arbiters, but most are too scared or stupid to move against them." he explained.
"I'm sure in time you'll be able to attain this, but unfortunately, we have our own problems. We're on a rescue mission, so we need to have access to some credentials that will allow us to get to a certain building." Louis said.
"Credentials aren't too difficult to forge. Here, you can follow me back to my workspace and I'll make some for you." the boy said.
*
It was another two hours before Louis and Jordahn were on the move. Believing that more than two people would appear suspicious, Jordahn instructed the others to wait and protect their temporary dwelling (the basement of an abandoned bakery near the edge of the city) while she and Louis went to the military building to retrieve Algaren. They were wearing the spare Terafell Arbiter cloaks that they had brought along with them in the event that the others would be damaged or lost. They also carried forged documents that signified that they were a part of the local police force and therefore had the right to interrogate any they wished to.
The plan was to get into the building, request to interrogate Algaren, and then slip him out of the city as quickly as possible. So far, the plan was working well. No one had stopped or given them a second glance (with the exception of Ai citizens, who had to bow to them when they approached). The military building that they arrived at had only one guard in front of the main gate, which made their job considerably easier if they had to fight their way in to get to Algaren. They approached the guard and Jordahn held up her identification pass.
"We are here to speak to a clerk named Aloren." she said.
The man stared at them, bewildered.
"Aloren?" he asked.
"Yes. Kindly go inside and get him for us or allow us entry to retrieve him." Louis said.
"You are making a joke, yes?" the Arbiter asked.
Jordahn and Louis exchanged glances, then looked back at the Arbiter.
"No, of course not. Why?" Jordahn inquired.
"Aloren was arrested two days ago for acts of treason against the Terafell Arbiters. He's slated to be executed with the other prisoners in about five minutes in the main square."
RiffingShow
"Please, sir, it's raining! Allow us to set up shelter!"
Louis shook his head as his eye twitched angrily.
What? The invincible evil bad guy armor can't handle a bit of water?"Just be thankful that I allowed you all to remove the Arbiter uniforms to protect them as we traveled towards Walsz!" he shouted.
"Back in my world, we march naked through rainstorms and snow. And we like it!""Captain, please! It's cold and we can't take much more of this!" Jordahn said.
"Soldiers on my world can certainly take it!" Louis growled.
"I have news for you, Captain: this is not your world! These men are not used to rain in such quantities, or at all, for that matter!" Jordahn exclaimed.
Pussy. You morphing back to Mr. Nice Guy or something?"All right, very well. Let's get out of this weather." he said.
*
Aaaand another action scene has been skipped.Indow growled and sighed as the Dark Knight that had been holding her shoved her back into the cell she had spent a short time in the other day.
What do these simple spells hone in on, exactly? How do you tell it who to find? Have you collected some blood and flayed skin from your BDSM session last book?"It wasn't too difficult to find you, Priestess. A simple locater spell with the Dark Sorcerers easily identified your position.
Ah, so it's a tracker, but magic."Thanks to the locater spell we put on you the instant you left, we now know where an attack will most likely come from, if an attack even happens!" she stated.
Those are some very smooth lines."Oh, simple Priest, how ignorant you are of the changing world around us. You obviously have a very large problem with the idea of a free culture away from the harsh whip of tyranny that is the monarchy." Myrrha stated.
Also aren't you a queen?
I think this is cultural appropriation.Myrrha rolled her eyes and sighed. "It's not a 'Queen' in the sense you're used to, you primitive fool. Do not worry, you may be able to see in time the true height of what I'm trying to achieve."
Man, your gloating has really gone to shit."Just do try to do it before the ceremony, for after that, you won't be understanding anything except how much pain you will experience there."
Screw deciding where everything is in relation to everything else. Just have everyone teleport all over the place off-screen!"We fought as valiantly as we could, but they overwhelmed us. Then, by using mass Teleportation Vortices, they brought us back here."
"Boo-hoo. They took the key from me and made extra sure I won't escape again. You suck, you fucking loser!""They took the key from me and ensured that my hands could not take another one from them. I'm afraid that I have no way of freeing us." Lithmenar said, still smiling.
Indow sighed and narrowed her eyes at him. "Some thief you are."
*
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! CHARGE!Louis glared over the ridge of the hill he stood upon and down upon the small Terafell Arbiter encampment at the base of the large hill. Jordahn was at his side, her lip quivering as she anticipated what his next action would be.
Fires illuminate shit, you know? Also what about the stars and the moon?It was now night, so the only indication that they were there was actually the fires that illuminated their camp.
Jordahn had finally had enough. She knew that even with the help of her brethren in the Unit, they could not defeat Louis by fighting him. She knew open resistance through words in front of the Unit, undermining him, would not work. Louis was a stubborn teenager, and she knew that she could only do one thing that wouldn't get her injured so she could finally explain to him why he was wrong.
She grabbed onto his ear and pulled it really hard.
"Ow, ow, ow! Leftant [sic], what the hell are you-"
"Come with me." she simply said, pulling Louis by the ear away from the Unit.
"Not ear-pulling! The Great Linkara's one weakness!"
"You have to stop." she stated.
"Jordahn-" Louis began.
"No, you HAVE to stop!" Jordahn yelled, interrupting him.
"I don't HAVE to do anything! I am doing this to save lives!" Louis shouted back at her.
"You act not as a man trying to save lives, but as a man on a vendetta for blood!
You are acting more and more like a Terafell Arbiter than as a man!" Jordahn growled.
"I'm a violent psychopath in super-armor. I am nothing like those Terafellas!"Louis narrowed his eyes and stormed up to Jordahn's face. "Don't you ever compare me to those monsters! How dare you even begin to contemplate that I am anything like them!"
"Well, you'll forgive me, Leftant [sic], if I don't think your fucking honor of all things is a logical reason for war with the Arbiters!"
"Then what is, oh 'Linkara?!' What possible justification is there for any action to be taken against the Arbiters as you have?!"
"Oh, here we go!" Louis growled, rolling his eyes.
"What are you talking about?!" Jordahn demanded to know.
"You know, you're a real piece of work, you know that? You and every other goddamned tree-hugging commie hippie fucker! Oh no, we can't go to war with Iraq, it's none of our business! This isn't a war on terror, it's a war on Islam! Hitler isn't a fascist dictator hoping for world domination, he's a fairly stable leader with a Charlie Chaplin moustache! We only want Kuwait's oil! We're desecrating holy land! On and on you people constantly open your mouths but it's only an excuse to avoid the fact that people are dying and no one is doing anything to save them!"
"This war we're fighting isn't about principles, religions, or conquest, Jordahn, it's about life! I am not doing the things I do because I like to kill, Jordahn, but because I want to save LIFE! God forbid we actually care about human life on this planet! No one can ever see the fucking picture! Do none of you people ever look out the goddamned window?! In Saudi Arabia, seventeen schoolgirls burned to death because the religious police wouldn't let the girls escape from a burning building because they weren't wearing the proper dress! In Iraq, Saddam Hussein tested chemical and biological weapons on a village just to test their effectiveness and staged a massacre of Iraqi Kurds in the name of ethnic cleansing! Iran, Pakistan, North Korea; half the world has gone to hell in a hand basket but we refuse to do anything about it because we're so caught up in the idea of hating anything our leaders have to say because we supposedly can't trust them anymore! Eleven million people died because of the Nazis! Three thousand people died in the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11! And hundreds of people die every day on the streets of Israel because of suicide bombings! Look around you, Jordahn!"
"And what am I supposed to see?!" Jordahn growled.
"You're supposed to see the horrible things that happen all around you and do something about them! How about extremist groups not only bent on religious terrorism, but domestic terrorists like Neo Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan?! How about the people who raise their kids to hate other people, eh?! How about the sickos out there who convince innocent children that it's right to hate someone else because of their skin color or who they want to fall in love with?! The Arbiters are no goddamned different than any of the organizations from my world! All that's different is the NAMES. Al Quaeda or Arbiters! Hitler or the Darkness! I refuse to let it happen anymore, Jordahn! Do you hear me?! I won't let it happen anymore!"
"I don't even know what you're talking about!" Jordahn stated, backing off.
"I... I don't even know what I'm saying anymore."
Louis winced once more, then sat down on a rock, putting his head in his hands as a tear escaped his eye. He began to slowly rock back and forth, breathing carefully as he held his face in his hands.
Not even Hitler made water black, so I'd say Sin is more evil."There's so much evil on my world, Jordahn. I'm not sure if there's more on yours or mine."
Look at Mr. Savior Complex over hereAll I can do when I see an Arbiter is see the millions if not billions of people who have died because of evil. I hear the voices of the people who have been wronged, whose lives and ways of life have been ripped from them because of the acts of madmen.
Have you tried not being an optimist?Do you realize just how hard it is to be an optimist in this world?
Oh, I'm sure you'll come up with an excuse to be an asshole again in due time."After all, if we do that, what will be left when the evil is gone?" Jordahn asked.
Louis put his hand on her's. "A hollow shell. No happiness. No celebration. No glory or vengeance for the dead. Perhaps the Darkness won our battle, after all. He turned me into the very thing he was creating with the Dark Knights: a joyless, mindless soldier bent on destruction and suppression of free will. You're right, Jordahn. I have made some colossal mistakes as our leader. Perhaps it is time for me to get back on track with the mission."
She basically just said you're crazy and that you're talking nonsense about shit she's never heard of."Listen carefully, troops! Jordahn and I just had a little talk, and she's managed to convince me that I've made a hell of a lot of mistakes while being in charge."
Oh, I'm sure Linkara will never question her orders"I am resigning my position of Captain of this Unit and appointing Leftant, no, I'm sorry, Captain Jordahn Aver as my replacement!" he proclaimed.
This warms my Germanic heart."Hail she who has become our Captain! Hail Jordahn!"
The soldier began repeating 'hail' over and over, and the entire Unit quickly joined in unison with him, pumping their fists into the air and shouting 'hail.'
"Furthermore, for my next official act as Captain, I am appointing Louis Williamson as my Leftant [sic]." Jordahn stated.
*
The blokes who (apparently) all look the same, in a shocking turn of events, turn out to all look the same.There was another Dark Knight in the room, who looked pretty similar to Antillitz, in the ways that Dark Knights look the same.
Hooray for nepotism."Well, it was wonderful to meet you both. You know, Myrrha has appointed me as her adjutant for the time being, and one of my duties is seeking out candidates for Consuls of the local government we're going to establish. I'd like to appoint two people who will be an embodiment and symbol of the new system, and you two might be just what I'm looking for."
Also how many consuls do you need? Even the Romans only had two.
And the professional soldiers know how to build/renovate houses because...?To try to encourage the idea that they were a free society, each person would work on their own home, dwelling, and surrounding.
White Raven found Myrrha on top of the animal furs with a man, and both were quite naked. White Raven stared at them for a moment as they finished having sex with one another.
Fucking Mormons."Empol wishes to have a child to raise."
"And so you are then selling yourself out with the promise of birthing children?" White Raven asked.
"Not selling, doing only what the law says." Myrrha replied.
"Law?"
Yes. I've drafted a few laws for us to confirm once we've established a government. One of them include a requirement for all the women of the city to be willing to take on multiple partners, if necessary, to bear more children. Both of us, included." Myrrha said.
LMAO."Isn't that a little unfair to the women of the Legion? We're forcing them to bear the responsibility of childbirth." White Raven stated.
Myrrha shrugged. "After the Hundred Year War, the five lands legalized prostitution in an attempt to recover the populations that were destroyed because of the war. The principle's no different."
"We shall repopulate the world with bastard children and literal sons of bitches!"
Oh, come on. Even the Greeks had bras.Myrrha held her hair up as she tied some type of bra (although having sides that were as wide as a shirt) around her chest.
"If you can't find a boyfriend, you will be send to the breeding farms.""We wish to allow the people here to express the emotions that the Darkness expressed, so the mandatory pregnancy will only applied to those currently not involved romantically involved."
Linkara (the author) spent way too much time on this."Is it even possible for us to have children? I have never heard of an instance when it was done..."
"That's because the Darkness deeply discouraged sexual fraternization between soldiers, although did not forbid it. I believe he did, though, suppress our ability to have children while we were Dark Knights because he wanted each 'pure descent' Dark Knight to be one that joined him from the outside and not born into it naturally."
And it's still stupid.
*
"It seems... smaller than I remember."
Louis was referring to Walsz.
Boy, it sure is funny how much a place can change in a thousand years.
Not bowing before an Arbiter, that's a paddlin'.As with the city of Kuen, citizens who were taken by the Arbiters when they conquered Ai wore red triangles on their chest and bowed anytime they had to come face to face with an Arbiter in robes.
How long would a catgirl be stuck in this training? Do they go by physical or actual age?"There aren't any children around here." one of the Unit stated.
"Arbiter children are usually trained to be soldiers when they reach seven years old. For eight years, they undergo intensive physical training and then are given the choice to return to society or continue serving the armed forces. Most choose to stay with the Arbiter military, since they know it so well." Jordahn explained from behind her helmet.
Shouldn't they all get some brainwashing?"What about the children who were Aian citizens? What's happened to them?" Louis asked.
"All taken by the Arbiters. Most are put into orphanages and are usually taken by Arbiters who require pageboys or clerks for a cheap price, or are taken to be brainwashed by the Arbiters and to serve unquestioningly in their own army.
Could be a trainee, though.It was at that moment that Louis saw a different sort of Arbiter approaching them. This new one didn't have the blood red robes, but instead wore black robes with gold lining along the collar and sleeves. Obviously, this Arbiter was more prominent in the hierarchy of the system, considering none of the Unit had ever seen one wearing black before.
Enough with this shit already. Why the fuck is everyone so goddamn autistic when it comes to greetings?For several moments, the Arbiter simply stared at Jordahn, but then he extended his arm, holding out as if waiting for Jordahn to give him something.
"Show me your credentials." he spoke in a deep voice.
The walk of a true warrior:"My what?" Jordahn replied.
"Your credentials. You do not walk like true warriors of Terafell's gaze, so I wish to confirm your identity." he responded.
How come Gyaru Casca has to deal with the rules nazi while Linkara just had to make a stupid joke about how many people he had killed?"We have been walking for some time now-" Jordahn tried to explain.
"Hand me your credentials NOW." he interrupted.
Those poor food supplies.They hadn't taken anything besides the robes of the Arbiters and a few food supplies they had killed back at the border of Ai and Kien.
Kicking their boss probably also helped.The two Arbiters beside him were stunned for a moment, not sure of how this one person could jump so high.
Oh, so their armor isn't special after all.Jordahn slammed her axe into the nearest one, piercing his chest and killing him.
How did two Terafellas manage to wipe out your previous unit, Gyaru Casca?
That guy is probably dead, as well.The other one made the mistake of trying to grab Louis, who quickly slammed his fist into the Arbiter's helmet. Not only was the Arbiter's helmet cracked and destroyed, but also Louis slammed so far into it that he managed to hit his face at the same time.
Great. Now they don't have to ask for your loicense to know you're the enemy.Although it might've been a wise idea to remain inconspicuous, it was obvious to the group that they would be unable to remain incognito while they had no credentials or paperwork certifying who they claimed to be. And so, as they were running, the red robes of the Terafell Arbiters were substituted with the leather armor of the Kien military and Louis' Linkaran armor.
Why? Do they have an axe shortage?Arbiters from all across the streets started pursuing them when they saw who they were. Many of them didn't have weapons
How very convenient. You get saved by a random boy who just so happens to live in a house with a secret fucking door.Louis slowly walked outside of the small room they had been crammed in to and stretched his arms. The area that the boy had led them to was a small storage closet for the building that, for some reason or another, had been constructed so that the door was made of bricks but opened just as easily as any other door. The boy hid them inside of it and closed the door, making it look like they had disappeared into thin air.
The People's Front of Walsz leaves something to be desired."Yes. I've become something of a wonder around the city, because I know so many ways to evade detection and steal food to live off of. I've also been trying to form up a Conlum Resistance force to fight back against the Arbiters, but most are too scared or stupid to move against them." he explained.
What's with this kid? Is he like quarter catboy and actually 50?"Credentials aren't too difficult to forge. Here, you can follow me back to my workspace and I'll make some for you." the boy said.
*
Well, it's not like those nameless goons actually matter, so no big loss here.Believing that more than two people would appear suspicious, Jordahn instructed the others to wait and protect their temporary dwelling...
(That's the guy with the super-important secret that can turn the tide of war, if you've forgotten. I know I almost did.)... while she and Louis went to the military building to retrieve Algaren.
Wait. How do you know that he's been captured already?The plan was to get into the building, request to interrogate Algaren, and then slip him out of the city as quickly as possible.
I'm gonna assume that "Aloren" is Algaren's fake identity. It's only used in this exchange and never properly explained, so it's a bit confusing."We are here to speak to a clerk named Aloren." she said.
That can't be good."Yes. Kindly go inside and get him for us or allow us entry to retrieve him." Louis said.
"You are making a joke, yes?" the Arbiter asked.
Jordahn and Louis exchanged glances, then looked back at the Arbiter.
"No, of course not. Why?" Jordahn inquired.
"Aloren was arrested two days ago for acts of treason against the Terafell Arbiters. He's slated to be executed with the other prisoners in about five minutes in the main square."
