Suicharte
Jumbus
Fallenreaper
pantothenic
Lildear18
BlackRoseSiren
Carlyle
Ti
Silly
Echotech71
Present: Rikard Ambrus, Yalen Castel @pantothenic, Valerian Remi Leclere @yoshua171, Maura Mercador @Ti, Salomé Xiuyang Solari @Emeth, Trypano Somia @A Lowly Wretch, Ingrid Penderson @dragonpiece, Niallus Saberhagen @McKennaJ71, Abdel Varga @YummyYummy, and Neki Kaureerah Wenhan
A Clash for the Ages || ♫
The sky writhed and roiled above Wanggang as cosmic entities clashed with the fate of the nation and possibly the entire world on the line. Vast black tentacles blotted out the moons and stars. Heroes of yore clashed with the villains of the present. Enormous bursts of energy - enough to level a city - were released again and again.
Nobody saw any of it. At least… nobody who wasn’t a powergazer or a highly skilled user of magic. At most, some might’ve felt changes in the air pressure, or been woken up in the depths of the night without quite understanding why. They soon fell back into sleep, blissfully unaware.
For those within the grounds of the Imperial Palace, however, the struggle fast became the only reality that they knew. Brother Ash - once the Quentic hero known as Sir Rodric Danneman of Lindermetz - mocked and taunted, having made a temporary alliance with his enemies. From the fabric of space and time itself, he called forth versions of his past allies from the Great Heathen War, fighting alongside them against the Twin Emperors’ forces and the students who had sold their souls to the tyrants for personal gain. Hildr the Red clashed with the Black Guard known as Smoking Bandit. Camille de Saumurre faced down her fellow somnian Yalen Castel. The mighty King Arcel the Victorious did battle with the overwhelming power of Jocasta Re. The Laughing Knight himself was left to the Black Guard Stormcloud, once upon a time his dubious ally, now… an enemy?
Yet, there were other clashes that, if not quite as grand, were nonetheless important. The Nikanese ronin Seki had called forth a copy of the storied hero Hitoshi, who had fought during the Himitsu no Senso. These engaged in a prolonged struggle against the Black Guard duo of Cold Soup and Mountain Spring and their initially reluctant student ally Xiuyang Solari. Meanwhile, Maura, Kaureerah, and the chicken that occupied the former’s lap found themselves facing down the Nikanese tyrant Lady Matsuhara, once again somehow alive following her apparent death at Jocasta’s hands. The two girls were both far better known as charmers than fighters, and what use was a chicken, all told?
Wu Long, a far mightier being who had so roared about the students’ betrayal, was called into battle against the Twins themselves, while the foreign youths set to work felling his - and formerly their own - allies. Cruelly cut down by the Black Guard Golden Monkey was Dragon Smirk, who had offered both Valerian and Niallus hospitality, friendship, and rescue from certain death. In the end, they had decided for greater power, convincing themselves of their moral righteousness and the Black Guard’s honesty. Convinced, also, was Ingrid, who had been swayed by Evil Eye’s emotional entreaty and appeared very ready to gain the powers of a sanguinaire for herself. Only a timely call for mercy by Evil Eye prevented her from killing the slain Dragon Smirk’s sister - Elephant Mouth - as the girl mourned her brother and loudly cursed their betrayal.
The Great White Dragon of Frost and the Golden Dragon of Fortune both fell, the first after being transformed into a hideous three-headed abomination and forcing the students into a terrifying hallucinatory world to rival the very worst of West Callanasti voodoo. The noisy heroes who had felled it and its counterpart strutted about and gloated, the only more-than-perfunctory misgivings among the group expressed by Abdel and the ever-optimistic Trypano who had, in fact, originally sided against the others before - like Kaureerah - being quietly drawn back onside.
The death toll only grew from there as the heroes of yore fell, as did Camille at Yalen’s hands and Hitoshi by way of Xiuyang and Mountain Spring, or were turned, like Hildr by Smoking Bandit. Cold Soup met her end at Seki’s blade and another half-dozen ogauraq allies of the dragons fell in battle. While Laughing Squid and Sleeping Carp battled the Progenitor to a standstill in a contest full of ebbs and flows, the gargantuan power of Wu Long pressed even the Twin Emperors to their limits.
Titan
Then, the Golden Dragon of Fortune collapsed, brought to the edge of death by the combined efforts of Abdel, Trypano, Rikard, and Golden Monkey. Out of him spilled not only his life, but a great many secrets - world-shattering ones were he to be believed: the irrepressible evil of the sanguinaires, the purpose of the dragons and the primordial forces of order who had created them to fight chaos. It was these great beings referred to as ‘Knowers’ who lay beyond time and space lorded over all of creation and now they had been angered.
The air roiled with a strange, rich sort of energy. Try as they might, the mortals below could not properly sense it though they knew it was there. They could not draw from it. They could not use it.
Trypano, seeing that the dragon had made its final choice, decided to heed its words. She looked quickly to see if anyone else required aid in fleeing before she turned heel and made haste. Abdel stood up, still unable to run, and limped back until he could straddle Qadira. “Dammit ...” he cursed, upset over the outcome. He had shown mercy, and yet this beast - no, this individual - was still dying. And by the looks of it, something else was at play. Thoughts on the ways of the world were put aside in favour of his own survival. He and the Skuggvars made as much distance as they could. Rikard, genuinely unnerved, sensed something that he didn't understand. In many cases, his natural curiosity might’ve taken hold. In this instance, caution won the day. "Go!" he screamed. "Go! Go! Go!"
The dragon lasted another ten seconds, perhaps. Then, it began.
The sky opened like a massive eye of the purest blinding white. The scale of it was colossal: stretching across the entire horizon for as far as anyone could see. It parted like a lazy eye awakening, and then it parted further. From within the blazing whiteness an endless black tentacle crawled forth, dwarfing any living beneath it by orders of magnitude.
Then, a second one appeared.
And a third. They snaked and swirled about the vast white eye, their suckers grasping and popping. There came the sense of something hulking beyond - just on the other side of the veil.
The Progenitor, about to glory in his nearly-complete triumph, paused. The Twin Emperors were brought to a standstill, as was Wu Long. Arcel and Jocasta, in the middle of a contest that was as much one of rhetoric as one of strength, pulled back. People ran and screamed. A fourth and fifth tentacle appeared. A sixth. A seventh. An eighth.
A thunderous red glow issued from the depths of the infernal whiteness. A gargantuan eye peered down at the tiny world from above, vast and ancient in its intelligence and intent: a being of pure calculation.
Or was it? Was not this display more than what was strictly necessary? Did not it provoke primordial terror? And this eye, how it looked down, searching the green lands below. What it saw and what it judged, the mortals that it gazed upon could not fathom.
Rage, Rage Against the Dying of the Light!
Then, from within the light emerged a new darkness - a second darkness. Itself, it opened like an eye. A small figure emerged - small compared to the vast horror that surrounded it. It was, much in contrast, a thing of whiteness. It began floating down.
But then it turned. Its call echoed across the landscape, heard by a hundred ears in a hundred different voices - that which they would be most likely to listen to and to heed. "Do not run!" it urged. "Stand! Fight!" And that burning white figure - the will and fury of humanity and her sister species - stood alone before the behemoth, blazing at it, implacable.
It was the Traveler.
Her form was that of Enna Lantisca, among the greatest of mages to have ever lived and a companion of the great Hugo Hunghorasz’s youth. She reached out with all of the magic that she could muster and struck one of the enormous tentacles. Momentarily, it recoiled, but then it redoubled.
Those below were galvanized. Rodric and Stormcloud paused in their halfhearted battle to add their strength. Ingrid gathered her atomic power. Trypano called upon her blood magics, and Arcel of Perrence turned from Jocasta to face the new threat. "I stand, once more, as humanity's shield." He gathered his energy. His companion Hildr loosed a Holy Lance on the beast and Captain Zhu attempted to follow. His explosive spell blew up in his face instead, and only a quick reaction saved him from self-immolation.
Others were not cowed by the mishap, however. Captain Zhao struck true. Kaureerah, over the panicked fluttering and clucking of the chicken that had accompanied her and Maura, managed to launch a sonic attack with her lute. Maura materialized a multitude of spikes that she hurled into the heavens.
Yalen had not been there to hear the last words of the dragons, but he had borne witness to the arrival of the eldritch abomination and, sensing the great danger it posed to everyone present, he decided to do what was necessary. His hated enemy was within arm's reach, but apprehending the Traveler was a duty that could wait for another time. "Smoking Bandit!" Yalen called to the black guard with a hand outstretched. "Lend me your black powder!" However, the young somnian found it already on him. Smoking Bandit nodded.
Yalen nodded back. His intent was obvious: It was time to start a chain reaction. He uncapped the powder horn and thrust it into the sky, allowing its contents to scatter into the wind. The young priest placed a hand underneath his robe and held the dragon's jewel aloft, igniting the ancient fuel source so that it might serve as a catalyst for his final attack. "Burn." The air exploded into flames, and under Yalen's control all of that chemical energy was sent screaming towards the pitch black invader.
Abdel and his beastly companions gathered a colossal amount of electromagnetic energy and prepared to release it. “I will NOT run!” the youth roared. He cast.
Then Xiulan poured what little magic she knew into the growing onslaught. Yin gave it what she had. So did little Yong. Xiuyang let loose an arcane lance. Jocasta threw her considerable power in as well, telekinetically grabbing one of the massive tentacles and wrenching it away from an intended target.
Valerian, exhausted, bruised, and battered, watched as the sky itself was split by a great eye, which was swiftly joined by one, two, three...and finally eight vast limbs. Vel paled, but his mind went to what might happen if he did nothing, if any of them chose not to act. He pushed to his feet and closed his eyes. Legs shaky beneath him, Valerian, Remi. Leclere nonetheless decided to give it his all. Despite his injuries, his exhaustion, and the occasional flare of pain that ran through him from overexerting himself, he pushed forward. "Why stop now," he murmured as a look of intense concentration slipped onto his features.
He drew all of the energy he could get, weaving his three schools into a single attack, but his exhaustion showed through. Despite his efforts, his casting was clearly weakened. He pressed on, conjuring a projectile of pure kinetic force, filled with pressurized fire and separated from a layer of extremely flammable air. Nonetheless, it proved drastically weaker than it ought to have been: unstable, leaking energy. Still, it was something. He unleashed it, hurling the great lance of force and fire up and at the eye of the tremendous beast. Perhaps it would be the straw that broke the camel's back.
He was not the only one who was struggling to make much of an impact. With Maura’s encouragement Kaureerah looked at the chicken that had proven a constant distraction. She knew that there was more to it. There had to be. "Yoo, Eye knoow yoo aur noo naurmel boord. Eye need yoo too look et mee." She made eye contact with its beady little black eyes. It looked back at her. Chicken let out its sixth Primordial Cluck. It grew, and an aura of heat began to emanate from it.
Mountain Spring leapt far into the sky and struck a tentacle with a colossal kinetically-displaced punch, while Golden Monkey burned it with fantastic fire. Energy poured out of Evil Eye's ravaged eye socket, peeling away flesh and skin. A burning crimson Polaris Beam stretched a mile up into the sky and struck the monstrosity. The Black Guard smoked and bled and, when it was done, collapsed in a heap, unconscious.
The ronin Seki looked to the others, having prepared his retreat, but his eyes met his former combatant, Mountain Spring, before he spoke. "Help me, and we can both bury our grudges. Otherwise, we'll meet our comrades far sooner than we should. Whatever you are, that thing is worse."
Spring's expression was flat. Wordlessly, he seized the man with both his hands and complied without even a grunt of exertion. Seki was fired at the speed of a literal missile right at the eye of the storm. The ronin slashed at reality as he was launched, creating a multitude of ripples as he ascended to the height of the eye. Such a disgusting sight was unfit to look upon this beautiful world that the gods had crafted, however corrupted it may have become. He struck true and the titan recoiled.
Sir Rodric was not to be outdone, however. "WHHHAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! EAT SHIT, YOU TENTACLED FUCK!!!" he brayed and, from his hands leapt a colossal roiling explosion that brightened half the sky.
Stormcloud sighed. A pear was ripped out of a blackened portal by her. She ate it and her form shifted: a being with horns of a Qilin and black hair flowing like a fiery mane. Her blade turned into a massive Tetsubo. She raised her almighty club and descended a blackened heavenly wrath onto the monstrosity.
Meanwhile, chicken flapped its wings. "Coome aun! Yoo stoopeed boord!" Kaureerah hissed, gesturing madly at the chicken. She tried to manifest it. She tried to rely on this new magic she was tapping into. Chicken let out its seventh Primordial Cluck. It grew, now, to a monstrous size - easily that of a thresher. Kaureerah's eyes lit up. "Yes!" she crowed. "Yessss, mai meenioon!!!"
The students and Black Guard had started something, it was clear. They had fought when most had thought only to flee. Heartened by the sight, the true heavyweights now threw their full power at the monstrosity. The twin emperors, as one, struck at the great horror that threatened their nation, and it roared and thrashed. Wu Long, the Dragon Emperor, reeled back. He made to flee. Then, he stopped. There was no avoiding this. He turned and opened his enormous mouth.The vast red and silver dragon breathed a stream of molten metal that speared the colossus right in the eye.
The Traveler was everywhere. Now taking the form of a crimson-robed man, he struck again. There was no visible damage, but the monstrosity pulled back.
Hildr launched another lance. Yawen made use of her tethered range. Jocasta tore at space and time itself, deleting chunks of the expanding horror.
Chicken released its eighth Primordial Cluck. A greater aura of misfortune blossomed. "Aulmoost there!" Kaureerah encouraged. "Yoo cen doo eet, mai leetle feathered frend!" With that encouragement, the huge bird let out its ninth Primordial Cluck.
It grew once more, until it towered over all but the dragons. Its feathers gleamed with a metallic light. Its eyes burned ghostly blue. "Cheep"
"Goo, mai meenioon. Nauw ees yoor taim!" Kaureerah took out her lute and launched an attack of her own. The chicken looked rather cross.
Then, as the fell god descended from the heavens, Lucky Dragon collapsed. She lay there on the ground unmoving. A small, sleek dragon with iridescent indigo scales and glowing orange eyes rocketed in from over the palace. It released a burst of concentrated VOID energy. This struck true and the beast let out a shriek.
There was only the Progenitor left to act. He was nowhere to be seen, until… He appeared behind the Traveler. "Your bleeding heart was always your weakness." She had changed forms once again and he reached out to strike her through the heart.
The Traveler grabbed his fist. She tilted her head to one side. "And yours was always your predictable deviousness." She snapped his fist. Her eyes burned with fury and, from one thousand feet up in the sky, she flung him into the hungering whiteness. "Die, tyrant."
The attacks continued to pour in, hammering at the colossus in the sky. Then, it moved. The combined efforts of everyone - of all of these epic heroes and villains - of their great ambition, their rage, their will to live… It was not enough. Marhazannet descended upon Retan.
Burning Heavens || ♫
That was when the chicken released its tenth Primordial Cluck. The sound was immense - tremendous. It reverberated across hills and mountains. It intensified the effect of every ounce of damage dealt to the great black horror. It gave humanity and her sisters the extra boost that they needed to put them over the top. The sonic wave struck the tentacled colossus and it reeled backwards in pain. Great sheets of darkness began to slough away and it… began to retreat. The eyelike gap in reality began to close. "Now!" Shouted the Traveler. "One final push!"
“We finish this!” yelled Abdel. Vel's expression hardened. "You're not leaving alive," he proclaimed, calling upon whatever vestiges he could to level one more blow at the titan's fleeing form. Ingrid looked to Trypano, "Make me Uranium!"
Seeing as Trypano was in the thick of it with the rest of them, combining her assault with Ingrid’s was indeed an appropriate choice. With binding she drew from the giant entity itself, pulling at powers outside her knowledge to try and fabricate the materials Ingrid needed.
Lucky Dragon bit down on one of the tentacles. Stormcloud used her unfathomable, Oni-like strength to seize that same appendage, dragging it along with her fellow Black Guard. “Wu Long!” screamed Abdel at the top of his lungs. “Help her!” he pointed at his fellow, younger dragon.
Yalen could feel it. In its moment of weakness, the creature's power had faded to the point where even an insignificant mortal like him could touch its unfathomable essence. He could command it. "Do not underestimate the strength of humanity, monster. You will submit!" Yalen shouted into the sky. It shifted and wavered and let out an ear-piercing roar. Then… "IGNITE!"
The White Eye began to close. The titan began to escape. It was almost out of their reach, no matter what fire and fury they poured its way. Then, it stopped. It twisted in midair and a massive burst of energy poured forth from its eyes, beak, and suckers. Thick black smoke belched out in every direction. Writhing and twisting, it turned its fury on a target: Chen Linlin, better known as Evil Eye. A tentacle moved to crash down on her unconscious form in a final, spiteful attack.
They would not simply let it happen, however. Abdel mobilized his Skuggvars. As with his final flash, they could serve as batteries for Ingrid to channel even MORE and FASTER. “Ingrid, use them!” and in turn, he used electromagnetism to help her contain the volatile energy. The Eskandr nodded as she felt a helpful grasp outside her experience: the power of a Cataclysm but at the same speed of a fireball.
The massive limb detonated the ground beneath it as Mountain Spring dashed to grab his unconscious comrade, determined not to lose another one under his watch. Everything in the monstrosity’s path was eliminated from reality but Linlin was not among its victims. The combined efforts of the two remaining dragons, Stormcloud, and Mountain Spring proved just enough to delay its journey and skirt her away to safety.
Then, Ingrid struck, empowered by Trypano, Abdel, and his skuggvars, and the heavenly eyelid that had stopped closing began again. Knowing he had limited options, Vel eviscerated the very ground around him, and the air in every direction he could manage. Winds died, fissures formed, and great thunderclaps echoed as he annihilated the matter with binding and translated it directly into energy. Stretching a hand out with an almost pained expression, Valerian began to extend a thread-thin tendril of power out from himself. It penetrated the sky and reached the colossal entity: Touch of Fury.
Betrayer of Humanity
He was not the only one: they hammered away with all that they had, pouring destruction into the gap, but the sliver of perfect whiteness narrowed further still. Then, the Traveler rocketed forward, accompanied by a colossal surge of energy. The eyelid slowed. Then, it grated to a stop. Dozens of attacks poured through and a tentacle broke apart, its pieces plunging to the ground, crushing palaces and mountaintops. The puny beings below were forced to flee. The Traveler’s sheer will seemed to be the only thing holding the great eye open.
Then, she wavered.
She fell from the sky, a hole clean through her centre, and the Progenitor floated behind her in all of his pitch black glory, her blood hissing and boiling away from his hand.
Then, rushing his way came a copper streak. A hulking figure rushed past them all - past Jocasta, floating in the air, past the ronin Seki, maintaining his height with the help of others, and past the two dragons: Wu Long and Wu Xiang, father and daughter. It was Sleeping Carp.
He looked to the ronin who had been his enemy mere minutes ago. "Lend me your weapon!" he bellowed by way of entreaty. "Lend me your strength and I can end him and his evil." Time itself seemed to swirl around him, running fast and slow in eddies.
Seki turned to the other sanguinaire, with a look of surprise. "On your honor, fellow countryman, end your own existence after the deed is done. This is the price. Echiran dictates a life must be given for a life to be taken. as he unclipped the sheath of the blade from his hilt, and held it out towards the running black guard.
The Progenitor's brother rushed past, accepting the blade and the deal and leapt into the sky. "Brother!" he roared. "Even for you, this is a new low!" He brought the legendary sword down.
He scowled. "You can't fight them, foolish little brother." He shook his head as another swing missed. "And now, I see, you have brought me a sword, just as planned." He reached out with kinetic magic. He snapped Sleeping Carp's neck and the hulking figure slumped.
Then, it smiled, and it was a huge, wicked, mocking smile. Sleeping Carp laughed. "Hahaha! She was right. You are predictable!" he crowed, broken neck and all. The illusion faded. Sleeping Carp appeared beside him.
It took one slice. The Progenitor's head was separated from his body. Sleeping Carp smiled faintly. He released a breath. Then, both faded from existence. The sword tumbled back down to the ground.
Seki nodded at his countryman, as he walked to collect the blade that had vanquished the heart of darkness, and the honourable bloodsucker who had wielded it when it mattered most. The best of his kind was gone, and he would continue his fight.
Further hurt poured in at the wounded titan. Yet, for all that this had appeared to be a victory, for all that many people had stood together this day and fended off an apocalypse, it would be a bitter one. The eye was nearly closed and the beast yet lived.
The Cavalry Arrives || ♫
Then, from seemingly out of nowhere, a second eye opened. Only, this one was a portal. From it poured a dozen or more strange flying contraptions. Some had wings that swirled and moved. Some zipped across the sky on trails of blue fire with absurd levels of speed.
Missiles armed; target locked. "Let's light this fucker up, boys!" The tentacles lashed and thrashed and, from the strange craft came fifty-four Alpha-Seventeen Titan Killer missiles. Parachutes deployed from others and, from them, loudspeakers: sirrahi inventions. "Kinetic and arcane shields! Use your magic, raise your shields! Explosives incoming!"
Those who weren't too dumbfounded to react listened to the instructions. Kinetic shields and arcane ones went up. Then, the missiles struck home. The eye rippled. The beast let out a high, pealing screech. Great seething chunks of it fell from the sky, shaking the very ground that people stood on. Most were able to dodge. Some were not. Then, the eye was gone. The monster was slain.
Former enemies stood together on a battlefield even as a mysterious new ally turned about and headed back through the portal they had come from. "Well done, monkeys!" they called through their speaker systems. "'Til next time!" Then, the anomaly closed behind them.
In its wake was left exhaustion, best expressed, in many regards, by Valerian. Remi. Leclere. Perhaps from the shockwave, perhaps from shock, Vel had fallen on his ass, where he now sat. Feeling dead tired, he stared up at the sky, unable to even process half of what had just happened. "I...." He frowned. "I have so many questions...and I'm not sure if I want answers to any of them."
Chicken appeared above him. "Well, if you ever change your mind," a tall lean young man in a parka offered, "you can always ask." He sat down beside Vel, grinning, and let out a sigh.
The Aftermath || ♫
The next ten minutes were a maelstrom of activity as various actors raced out to try to find and secure samples of the fallen goliath. Others gathered about a being whom a handful recognized as the Ice King, trying to glean what knowledge they could from him, searing for answers that might help explain the new and terrifying world they now found themselves thrown into.
Still others searched for the Traveler, Maura first of all, hoping that humanity’s saviour had not been slain by the progenitor’s treacher and, if she yet lived, looking to heal her. They found that she was not so easy to do away with unless killed in one fell stroke. What was spoken between them - in turn Maura, Abdel, and Yalen - remained largely secret, but most made their peace with the protean figure that night in Retan.
Meanwhile, those who had made haste to collect samples found themselves frustratingly stymied. The substance proved lethal to the touch, and only some timely temporal intervention prevented multiple deaths. This was used as a justification by Jocasta to not only contain a small sample of the fallen behemoth, but to destroy the rest. It was simply too valuable dangerous to be allowed to fall into others’ hands. Indeed, the amateurs had barely avoided calamity as it was!
This movement of people and exchange of information, commiserations, and congratulations continued for some time, but wheels had already been set in motion. Yalen had spoken with Smoking Bandit and Captain Zhao in turn, and would be granted permission to retrieve the mysterious Nikanese orb from the evidence room of Wanggang’s central guardian station. Yawen was to accompany him, but she was anxiously searching for Maura first. While the junior White Knight was in no hurry to leave, the same could not be said for Seki, Laughing Squid and Golden Monkey closing in on him with potential aspirations of avenging the fallen Cold Soup. As she was no more, slain in combat, it was Smoking Bandit who presented Niallus with the blade he had turned against his erstwhile allies for. Evil Eye, once healed, made her way quickly to the Wei family and, in particular, to Yong. Yin had been reunited with Captain Zhu Kai and, perhaps it was the sheer relief of the moment. Perhaps it had been brewing for some time. Whatever it had been, they disappeared, hand-in-hand behind one of the few remaining trees, and embraced each other.
Conspicuous by their absence, however, were Wu Long, Wu Xiang (better known as Lucky Dragon), Xiulan, Hui (a man known by many names), and the Twin Emperors. While an entire wing of the palace had been devastated, much of it yet stood.
In the scramble, and with the assistance of some illusory magics, their flight there went virtually unnoticed. That Wu Long had been gravely wounded as the pieces of the titan rained down upon Sipenta’s defenders was known by many. He had shielded his daughter - estranged though they had been for a century before this. A strange black malady was spreading through the Exemplar and it had proven unstoppable. Many wondered; few knew.
Then, Laughing Squid went to work and, momentarily, concerns for those who had disappeared into the palace were put aside, much as they were among the most essential actors in the entire process. Smoking Bandit, Evil Eye, Golden Monkey, and a dozen other binders of various stripes joined him and, weary and cautious, Red Menders began to stream in, eyes wide at the devastation, glances reverent and wary at the Black Guard and the foreigners.
Piece by piece, the palace grounds began to reassemble themselves under the moonlight. Incinerated forests were regrown. Craters and scars upon the land were filled. Ruins returned to functional state. Retan would be as it had always been - as it must always remain: a land of peace, harmony, and prosperity. None would be allowed to lay eyes upon the imperfections that they knew existed. It was, simply, the Retanese way of doing things, and ten foreign students had decided, on one bloody night, that it should not change, at least not more than superficially. If subsequent events had altered that, it would only become evident in the coming months and years.
The rebuilding process took nearly some two hours and, during that time, Ingrid and Valerian were called aside. For what, the others were uncertain, but both likely had an inkling long before they stepped into the hallowed halls of the Crimson Chamber and were led down a long staircase into a darkened room below.
Meanwhile, Stormcloud, who had ducked into the palace for some minutes, emerged to share the ill tidings with her allies: Wu Long had passed from the Knower’s strange malady. She was an awkward speaker at the best of times and this instance seemed no different from any other. Perhaps that was why she had been selected to deliver the news, or perhaps she had volunteered. It was unknown. Regardless, the Exemplar was no more, and his daughter, known as Lucky Dragon, had entered the extended period of solitary mourning appropriate for such an occurrence. It was expected that, following her observance, she would re-enter active service, but her privacy was to be treated with the utmost respect and deference by others.
It was on this rather dark note that the desperately joyous scenes outside the Imperial Palace came to a close and the exhaustion that they surely all felt once again took hold in earnest. Some lay on the ground, sleeping where they could. Others crowded under the pavilions, making use of furniture. Some could not sleep anyhow.
Ingrid Penderson and Valerian. Remi. Leclere. emerged from the palace’s great rotunda at the head of the other eight visitors from afar. They were clothed in long ceremonial robes - gold and deep red, embroidered with the sigils of their houses or else personal symbols. Gongs and drums sounded across the restored gardens of the Twin Emperors of Retan, who sat, triumphant, upon twin thrones in the great plaza behind.
The first glow of the sun appeared upon the horizon, though it had not yet broken that plane, and the air buzzed with music, sound, and energy. At this early hour, the inner circle of the imperial court had been gathered and the Emperors’ wives and concubines took their places in a semicircle about the rulers. Last to emerge was Jiang Xiulan. Gone was the girlish manner, the irreverent quips, and the eternally unkempt hair. Ensconced behind a shield of makeup, ceremony, and fine silks, she strode into the center of the clearing, radiant. She pivoted on her heel, bowed deeply before her husband and his brother, and took her seat at Ten-Jiu’s right hand. The other women barely repressed their scowls and murmurs and, for a moment, Maura could have been certain that Xiulan looked at her and flashed the faintest ghost of a smile.
The Black Guard entered: the six that they knew - Laughing Squid, Golden Monkey, Stormcloud, Evil Eye, Smoking Bandit, Mountain Spring - and four new faces. Among these was the tall white-haired figure of Brother Ash, and he walked towards the head, second only to the mighty Laughing Squid. They took their places in two exalted rows to either side of the emperors, bowing before turning to face what came next.
They stood there as the horizon burgeoned in brightness. The hundred banners of the Retanese Empire flapped in the brisk early morning wind. The drums went silent and a final gong echoed across the clearing, its sound subtly enhanced through sonic magics. “在这一天，我们向来自远方的勇敢英雄致敬。” (On this day, we honour the brave heroes who came here from distant lands,) proclaimed Ten-Jiu, rising. His brother rose alongside him. “他们不必这样做，但他们为我们的国家而战，确保正义得到伸张，确保人民免受巨大邪恶的侵害。” (They did not have to, but they fought for our country, to ensure that justice was served and its people remained safe from a great evil,) Ten-Re concluded. He and his brother bowed in the direction of their visitors.
Then, the drums sounded twice more, thunderously. Other instruments that most of the visitors did not properly recognize played. One by one, the heroes of the day were called to stand before the Emperors, surrounded by applause. Each received the personal thanks of the twins and an item given in reward for their service.
Finally, it was the turn of Ingrid and Valerian. Evil Eye and Golden Monkey detached themselves from the ceremonial guard to stand behind and to the left of each, respectively. The drums settled into a solemn march. The horizon blazed with light and birds chirped and tittered in the trees. A small, screened pavilion took shape behind Ten-Re and Ten-Jiu, its ornate walls wood, paper, and something energetic enough to fool the prying senses of virtually anyone.
Guided by their sponsors, the pair strode up a crimson carpet to be greeted and embraced by the emperors. The drums rose in intensity. The horns blared. The gongs sounded. They were led into the small pavilion for the most sacred and secretive part of the ceremony. There, behind the screens of paper, wood, energy, and sound, they were inducted for their meritorious service as members of the Crimson Order of the Balance.
What took place within that shielded space, only they could say, but when they emerged, they did so as silhouettes, the sun cresting the horizon behind them. Evil Eye and Golden Monkey took a step back and bowed before them. The two newest members of the order returned the gesture and it was complete: all of the ceremony, all of the intrigue, the danger, the betrayal, the conundrums - all of it. This very evening, after being feted and feasted some more, the ten students and Jocasta would return to Ersand’Enise through portals of the Black Guard’s conjuring. That, then, would be it: their happy ending. All was as it was meant to be. Retan was saved. A great evil had been defeated. All was well.
… but was it?
Fin.
Rewards
Postscript
(coming soon)
