PATH OF ASCENSION
by Ulquiorra9000
Chapter 26
This could be the day we vanquish the Shadow League.
Jaina knew that the thought was a bit optimistic, but still, she couldn't help feeling the old thrill coming back as she marched to war with the Setessans and mercenaries. The day dawned like any other, but this time, Jaina could literally feel the Shadow League's assembled presence, a distant, ominous force. She supposed that having a bunch of pack masters and the four trusted ones together would give away their presence, and Sophia agreed.
"Magic always leaves a mark," Sophia told her friend as they moved out with the flanking division. The Nistros Forest loomed to their right while the sun rose in the sky to the left. "Sometimes it can be hidden to those who don't have the right training, but believe me." She smiled. "We know exactly what we're getting into this time. Jaina, I really think we're ready for this. We've come so far, and you've been a wonderful leader. It's been an honor."
"Well..." Jaina faltered at Sophia's words. She didn't want to disappoint her, but then again, Anthousa was really the one who was orchestrating the Shadow League's downfall. So, she compromised. "We've done good work, you and I. Let's have the Setessans finish what we started."
"And that we will, young warrior," a Setessan archer grinned. She twanged the string on her bow. "Watch and learn, Meletian. The Shadow League's going to regret challenging the daughters of Nylea."
Jaina shivered. The Setessans didn't quite have the bravado or reckless daring of the Akroans, but in a way, the graceful, deadly forest archers were even scarier than Akroan brawlers and pikemen.
Anthousa's overall battle plan was simple enough for Jaina to digest. The scout squads had confirmed the direction and timing of Shadow League cell movements, as well as the League's approxiamate numbers. In short, the four trusted ones were surrounded by more than forty cells, headed right for Setessa. That equated to about 800 grays and enough pack masters to lead them, but then again, the Setessans and mercenaries had their own battle mages to even the playing field. Once the main force engaged the Shadow League army, the flanking division, which included Jaina, Sophia, and Katrina and about two hundred assorted warriors, would punch right into the League's exposed side and route them.
At least, that's how Anthousa saw it.
"So..." Sophia said a few minutes later.
Jaina raised her eyebrows. "What?"
"What's the first thing you want to do when we return to Meletis?"
"Hey." Jaina put her hands on her hips and looked Sophia in the eye. "Aren't you getting ahead of yourself?"
"I know," Sophia admitted. She picked at a spot on her blue robes. "But... well..."
Jaina grinned. "Are you getting nervous? Scared of the Shadow League?"
Sophia flushed and balled her hands into fists. "No, I'm not!"
"Come on, you can admit it to me."
"All right, I am. But what about you? Are you scared, Jaina?"
Jaina didn't falter or change her expression. "I'm absolutely terrified."
Katrina clapped Jaina on the shoulder. "Good girl. Those who don't respect their enemies will be crushed. Just turn your fear into strength against the League, and you'll be fine."
"Thanks."
There wasn't much more time for chat. Nearly a hundred yards away, the main force slowed down and battle mages conjured barriers of white mana and enchanted wooden shields. Archers prepared their bows and swordsmen unsheathed their weapons.
Jaina saw why. A mass of gray-cloaked figures, dotted with gold masks, was approaching.
"We've got to get into position," Katrina said tensely. Up ahead, the flanking division's commander lead her two hundred-strong around the battlefield's edge and through the Nistros Forest's outer edge. Copses of trees provided just enough cover from Shadow League archers and battle mages, should they open fire on the flanking division.
Then, the Setessan squad commanders sounded the horns of battle and led the charge. A collective war cry filled Jaina's ears as archers, pikers, swordsmen, battle mages, and mercenaries rushed across the grassy field. At the same time, the grays raised their scimitars, bows, and maces and charged to meet the Setessans. Bodies and weapons thrashed everywhere as the two forces crashed together.
"See that? Nylea fights with us today," an archer muttered into Jaina's ear.
Jaina could see what the woman meant. As the Setessans crossed blades with the grays, star-speckled auras of green mana encased the strongest and fiercest of the Setessans. The auras drove the Setessans to new heights, slashing and bashing grays apart with inhuman power. The mercenaries also fought with bravado, but they couldn't match the blessed Setessan warriors.
Katrina clenched her fists, eyes fixed on the scene. "I can't wait to take those gray bastards apart." Around her feet, Nylea's blessings hummed and sizzled with pent-up energy.
"When do we move in?" Jaina asked. The wait was killing her; she was acutely aware of her two swords' weight in their sheaths. And besides, Rikko and Alexis were fighting in the main force. She didn't want to leave her friends alone against the Shadow League.
"Soon enough," Katrina said tensely. "Just hang on, Jaina, and wait for the signal. This shouldn't take long to - wait. What is that?"
The same question popped into Jaina's mind. For a moment, the grays and pack masters were faltering before the amped Setessan warrirors. Now, however, a sinister, blood-red aura rose among the grays' ranks like a noxious mist. The stars of Nyx glittered amongst the Shadow League's ranks, wrapping deadly red and black mana on the grays' weapons.
Suddenly, explosively, the grays turned the tide on the Setessans and mercenaries. Despite taking heavy losses early on, the grays rallied and cut down all nearby Setessans and mercenaries with alarming speed and power. Blasts of vicious red mana flared up every time an enhanced gray landed a blow, and what was more, the pack masters' power seemed to have increased, too. Fireballs, lightning bolts, and life-draining tendrils of black mana tore through the coalition's ranks without mercy.
Sophia gripped Jaina's upper arm, tightening her fingers in terror. "Jaina... is that...?"
Jaina swallowed and nodded. "It's got to be Mogis' influence." She felt helpless watching the Setessans and mercenaries struggle against this shocking development. Since when did the Shadow League consort with the god of slaughter? Either way, it would spell disaster for the coalition if something wasn't done fast.
A blinding red flare of mana streaked into the sky and popped, the signal for the flanking division to move in.
Out of the foliage raged the flanking division, bows and swords at the ready. Jaina felt her heart race as she sprinted across the field with the others, and she was reassured by the sound of the archers releasing their arrows. As long as her allies dealt the first blow, they'd have a small but definite advantage. One dead gray now was one less to worry about later.
Dozens of grays toppled to the grass, arrows sticking out of their bodies. The rest of them shifted to meet the new force, faster than Jaina expected. Several pack masters joined them and met the flanking division with their spells. The Setessan mages and warriors responded with equal force, and for a moment, Jaina felt that the plan was starting to work.
Then, two gold-robed figures emerged from the fray.
"Trusted ones! Two of them!" Jaina hollered, pointing.
"I see them!" Sweat ran down Sophia's face as she frantically threw up mana barriers everywhere to protect the Setessans. Grays' arrows bounced off her arcane barriers and pack masters' spells washed right off their surfaces, but Sophia was tiring fast. And the two trusted ones looked eager to spill some blood.
One of the trusted ones stretched out his hands and allowed two lashes of corded mana to shoot from inside his sleeves. One lash, composed of braided red and black mana, came down on a squad of Jara's Raiders mercenaries. A chain of fierce explosions ripped the Raiders to shreds.
"It's Alexander!" Katrina realized. "And the other whip... look!"
Jaina could see the other whip, and confirmed that it had blue mana weaved into the black mana cord. It had been a year since Jaina had faced Alexander, and she felt a burning desire to slice his head right off. She unsheathed her swords and gripped them tightly.
However, Alexander reached up and took off his mask, and the face that Jaina saw confused her. It wasn't Alexander, but a cocky-looking youth with messy hair. "Hey, Belaz!" the youth hollered. "You gonna help or what?" His mana whips easily knocked aside all incoming attacks while he spoke.
The other trusted one, a wide man whose robe strained to contain his belly, stepped forward. He tore off his mask to reveal sun-darkened skin, short curly hair, and an expression that made him look frightening despite his portly body. "Don't mind if I do, Irami!" he gloated.
The Setessans raised their shields as Belaz brought his hands up, but the trusted one didn't release a direct attack. Instead, he clapped his meaty hands together and released a disk of black mana that swiftly expanded all around him. As soon as Belaz' mana disk touched them, the Setessans suddenly shrieked as though tortured. They dropped their weapons and scrabbled their hands over their faces like animals, thrashing and squirming everywhere.
"Fight back!" Jaina hollered. "Do something!"
It was for naught. Belaz merely chuckled and released another wave, and this time, Jaina felt ice-cold black mana course through her body. And with it came terror beyond her comprehension.
"NOOOOOOOO!" Jaina felt her body go slack and she felt herself fall to her knees, her swords slipping from her hands. She didn't care; her heart felt like it would explode, but at the same time, she felt paralyzed by fear. Any second now, the Shadow League was going to cut her down and rip her body to bloody pieces. She could already feel the grays' cold, steel swords around her neck, slicing into her body, smashing her bones...
"Make it stop! Anyone! Please!" Jaina fell over and curled into a ball, shaking as though freezing. Her breath caught in her throat and her lips trembled. She wanted to die, to end it all, just to escape the terror of impending death. Let it happen. Get it over with. Release me...
From far away, it seemed, a woman's voice was shouting at her. Jaina couldn't register the words, but a second later, something hard collided with Jaina's stomach and she felt herself rolled onto her back. Sunlight shone in her eyes. So bright...
"Jaina!" Katrina towered over Jaina, arms folded. "Get up, you stupid girl! We're in the middle of a battle!"
Shocked, Jaina shakily got to her feet. Everything seemed to clear, almost surreal in its clarity. The fear... it was gone, blasted away by Katrina's kick. She vowed not to let that happen again. "Thanks, Katrina," she said, her voice sounding hollow.
"Don't mention it."
Some of the Setessans had been cut down while Belaz's spell had controlled their minds, but now, the Setessans threw off the spell and pushed back the grays with their swords and bows, aided by Nylea's enchanting power. But Katrina had another idea entirely.
"Jaina, come with me. We're taking out Belaz," Katrina told the younger woman. "Sophia, cover us. And you, battlemage... help my friend here."
Dutifully, a Setessan battle mage ran her hands along Jaina's swords and imbued them with Nylea's star-spangled blessing. "It won't last long on an outsider's weapon," the mage warned Jaina. "Just for a few minutes."
"That should be enough," Jaina assured her. She nodded to Katrina and indicated Belaz, who was currently charging up another spell. "Let's go."