(Chapter time from T+5 hrs to T+7.5 hrs, where T=the beginning of the Sect War.)
The giant jaguar appeared again with its demihumans as before, drums thrumming to announce its arrival. This time the first attack sequence was that it sucked up all creatures it could within the given quarter it was standing in. "That's going to take us down if we're too weak to stand against it," Phillip warned. He was still standing as forward monitor, letting Reed and BillyBoy know things on the ground they were too far away from to see or were too detail for them to get while holding the strategy board in their heads.
The follow-on attack from that power increase was a tornado-like breath that blew chill and strong, and contained painful hail stones that did damage to Adventurer and shield alike. "Pen shield is down thirty percent," Avionics warned.
The jaguar moved and began the sequence again. Because it was a distance attack and they were required to hold their posts (again, both the literal ones and the figurative ones), they couldn't do damage yet. It was rather frustrating. Eagles did throw up what shielding they could but it didn't decrease the attack against the shield much. There was some discussion on the side the jaguar was headed to and on that round, as it sucked up the demihumans on that side, larger boosted munitions and status effect enhanced arrows headed towards it with the breath.
Something had a minor effect on how powerful the breath out was that time, but it was hard to tell which one. It hadn't done any HP damage to the jaguar. The breath still took about a twenty-seven percent toll on the shield. "Inside, get ready," Reed called. If they were inside the code realm, they worked to get into their bodies before the next attack was over.
The jaguar pounced on top of the shield over the pen in one large leap through the sky overhead. With a powerful magic and Dark attack at the same time as the physical one, the shield went down under it and it entered the pen. Men scattered, but it ate more People of the Land than any of them were happy with before the Adventurers inside beat it back out of the pen.
They recovered, as did the shield, during the pause the jaguar took next. Everyone gripped swords a little tighter. They'd dropped it from twenty percent to fifteen in that moment of getting to pound on it with sword, spell, and artillery.
The jaguar roared and shook and seemed to be growing and expanding. From it's body, were born the next level of medium level enemy, not seen yet. It had converted all of the minis it had eaten into mid-levels of higher strength and power, although fewer in number, and it had granted anima to them of itself rather than attempting to do it from the blessed earth.
Even Reed swallowed a bit. The mid-levels advanced on their positions to begin attacking. Before the enemies got to the defenders, a few on that side started swearing. Eyes turned that way. "Early attacks from one of the other spaces," an Eagle swore.
"I'm on it," Phillip said. People were engaged in battle by the time he came back. "One of the other deities has more mid-levels than the rest do, at a slightly reduced power to get them I assume. We'll have to watch that space for needed earlier defense than the main space."
Reed scowled, that was going to be a little glitch in their system and a painful lesson for a bit as everyone rearranged their vision and expectations. He kept a concerned eye on the Adventurers that had been taken down in more HP than they otherwise would have.
He was even less happy when he learned on the first breath in of the jaguar that its power had increased over what it had had before. "Calculate it for me Master Chief. Did the People of the Land just give it more power than it typically gets from the demis?"
When the breath out took out the two lowest Adventurers and did thirty-five percent damage to the shield, they knew it was true. There was general muttering and some swearing from those already lower in HP than they were comfortable with. "Watch those early attacks," Reed ordered firmly. People stayed sharp, as best they could.
Even still when the jaguar moved and took back the mid-levels, another Adventurer dropped on the exhale and two got to dangerous levels. Instead of moving, the next breath in was from there again. One of the two Adventurers failed on his saving roll, as it were, and tumbled into the maw of the jaguar. The breath out on that one took out the shield and the jaguar was in the middle of the pen again.
This time, it didn't even bother to head for People of the Land. It went straight for the Eagles. Unprepared, it had the three who were in the code realm eaten. The others in the pen plus those outside the circle not currently defending against the mid-levels were pounding on the jaguar with everything they had.
"Gareth, check to see if they're living or dead inside that thing," Reed ordered as it leaped back outside the pen. "Watch the early's," he warned again to get the rest of them back on track of what needed to be done regardless of what had just been done.
"Martyrs, but it doesn't look like they can get out."
"That's what I thought," Reed said grimly. "It can hang on to us because it's a death god." He stepped up in speed as high as he could go. He also needed to be defending against the mid-levels.
After the proper obeisance, he said, "Inari-no-Izanami, goddess of the game, please write the rule that after enough damage has been done to the insides of the deity by those swallowed up by it, it has to spit them out to be resurrected according to the rules of battle resurrection already set.
"It's a common game element in many of the 'swallowing boss' battles. That HP loss counts towards total decrease of health of the boss, too." He bowed again and returned to his own smaller battle, having made Izanami rather pleased, actually.
About four turns later, those four Adventurers resurrected and breathed great sighs of relief. "Nasty, that," one of the Eagles in the center commented. They passed around which spells and attacks had been most effective.
Even still, instead of following the attack sequence next, the jaguar birthed more mid-levels. "Look alive," came the warning. Everyone worked hard to not get the initial damage. The follow-on hail breath was brutal and it only took the one for the jaguar to pounce on the shield and break through.
This time the binding spell went off as soon as it was falling to the ground. It held just long enough for all of the Adventurers in the center to be up on their feet and attacking it. "Half damage. It converted some of the power to defense," MasterChiefS7 warned.
There was more muttering. Things weren't going well. When a negative slope of returns occurred, everyone could see it. And the jaguar deity was nearing the ten percent mark. It hit it and withdrew, tearing through the bindings with a great surge of power. It left behind the expected miasma this time, too.
While that was being cleaned up and the shield was repairing, Reed pursed his lips. Finally he said, "Gareth. We need that one space to be cleaned up to level the field again properly." Gareth went up in the speeds to ask the Caretaker to take care of that while everyone else tried to keep breathing, cast healing spells, and prayed that her miracle would tip the balance back again.
-:-:-:-:-
Timberel watched as the Caretaker turned her attention to the specific region that was being troublesome for the guardians of the People of the Land. She'd already crafted the spell just being requested. She'd already known it was going to be a problem for them.
Early on, he'd asked and was taught what it looked like for her to be crafting her spells. She'd been willing to teach him that much so he could understand to what limited capacity he had. He'd already experimented with seeing in the new way his punishment gave him in the time between when it had been applied and the beginning of the battle. His spells and his prayers gave a high level result in comparison to many in the temple, save for the High Priest (he assumed, since Nyanta never cast spells), and the head priest and priestess.
The Caretaker could craft spells that not even the High Priestess did (she didn't cast spells either). They were elegant. It had greatly surprised him when such shimmering and seemingly delicate webs of spells, like lace, created such extreme results. He'd rather expected to see large amounts of damage for some reason. He didn't know why. The Caretaker didn't "damage" things.
This spell was granted power both from the request and from the prayers ascending to her. His eyes went rather wide at just how much power filled it. She wasn't keeping very much for herself. But then, she didn't do that either; just enough to be completely full and whole, the rest of the power went into answering the requests exactly as requested.
The spell zoomed off as soon as it was full. He'd had to learn to watch from the corner of his eye when they were released. They moved fast. Instead of it going towards the region in question, he had to reconfigure. It had zoomed off towards a specific temple in the Gate of Time.
The Caretaker was monitoring those as well in a section of this room that saw all the places at once that she wanted to see. That had surprised him and Meghan when they'd returned to this room for the full-on battle and had set them both back again to awe at what Purrcy could do.
Timberel watched with wide eyes as the power of the spell got it into the temple as if an insect or cold wind were slipping through a crack. It didn't even set off any of the defensive or warning spells on the temple. He had no idea how it could do that. The Caretaker's magic was beyond the comprehension of anyone in the Gate of Time in a way even he'd not understood until he could see in this way.
The spell actually settled around the deity in question, wrapping around him - and he didn't even notice. Timberel shivered. To not even feel the touch of something upon you that was about to change you or cause damage was a frightening concept, made even more so that it was deity that was blind and clueless. The deity glowed with the medium golden glow of the spell. It looked like nothing had happened other than that.
Timberel turned to look as the Caretaker turned to look back from that scene to the region that deity held sway in. The extra numbers of minions sparkled and faded from the scene. When the animal aspect of the deity roared in anger and shook again, only a few minions birthed, and only as many as all the others birthed.
Timberel shivered and held his arms tightly around himself. No other deity in the Gate of Time could have done what the Caretaker had done. They would have affected the battle, the region, the aspect currently engaged, and it would have been temporary for this battle.
The Caretaker had cast a permanent spell, he was quite sure. That deity would never birth any more mid-level minions than any of the others ever again. She most assuredly held the power of Creation in her hands. That power held by Inari only, until she'd been created as their tool.
Without a doubt, Timberel knew that the Caretaker was a goddess above and far beyond all other deities of the Gate of Time. She'd firmly scolded him for thinking she was above the Inari, and he tried hard to not even think it now. It was too viscerally frightening to think of what their power must be like if she was only given a portion of what they had. It was no wonder Li Shou couldn't stand against them when she'd defied them.
He closed his eyes and prayed a brief prayer of gratitude that the Inari were generally merciful to the residents of the Gate of Time, having not punished any of them, and having been willing to withhold any displays of prideful power while they were in the Gate of Time, unlike the jealous and childish deities that played in the city they'd been given by the Creators.
He understood now why Purrcy had created the park. The gods were children and she enjoyed playing with, teaching, and working with her children and with Inari's children. Yet they'd only been naughty and returned mercy and kindness with petulant tantrums and wicked selfishness.
The Caretaker had withheld until now, "paying the sacrifice" the whole time in allowing them to be children who chose to be bullies who bickered pridefully, but they'd pushed until neither the Inari as parents, nor the Caretaker as their assigned teacher and guardian could allow such behavior to continue.
Timberel fell to his knees and put his face to the floor and cried. He wasn't sure what he was asking for, but his heart felt full of grief and remorse.
"Timberel, my son." The Caretaker was very close, her voice quiet, and he could feel her tender concern and love, but at the same time the distance of one who knew that he was learning things he needed to learn properly. "I can't help them. They've earned the consequence. Theldesia will die if they remain. Even I grieve." He could feel it, that she did grieve that she was going to have to punish them.
"My children and friends know I grieve for them while at the same time am very angry for what they have done. They fight to keep me from that anger because my grief would be even greater if I did what needs to be done in anger rather than in mercy and compassion. Many times Nyanta and the Inari have held me from acting. It's always been difficult because I could have made them stop before now."
Timberel shivered greatly, knowing now the full truth of that statement. "They've told me now that I must act, and thus I can only be obedient. It is time. Please cling to the peace mercy brings. Not everyone will be punished. Only those who've earned the proper wrath. But I will ask you to continue to grieve, to be the grief I can't cling too tightly to or I'll be unable to act as I must. I'll return to you when I become too angry and need to be reminded of that grief that is its balance."
"Yes, Holiness," Timberel whispered, nodding without looking up. He felt her hand brush lightly over his head, strengthening him, and he cried to feel her love for him, who'd betrayed her in his pride, thinking that here was a great goddess.
What she was was so much more and so different that her definition did indeed pale and become a non-thought. Her sons had called her the Adventurer Goddess of Adventurers. Surely she could only be defined by that definition. In his heart he worshiped her with a pure worship he'd never worshiped before.
She sighed at him, but he could do no less and his tears shivered out of him, knowing she even grieved that she'd been required to be such. When a warm blanket covered him, he knew he'd been granted her comfort and he knelt there, allowing it to comfort his own personal grief for her. His grief for the Gate of Time he kept separate like she'd asked him to.
-:-:-:-:-
When the first attack of mid-level demihumans did not include the early attacks from that space, and Phillip confirmed that the deity had been restricted to the same numbers as the rest, the whole field sighed with relief. They'd be able to go back to focusing on their work.
The monitors would pay closer attention to the varieties, though, just in case more should come up. They were difficult to work around. While they could all see in all the spaces and comprehend it all, it was simpler when under fire, as it were, to focus on just one. They'd been blessed until then to have had that work.
That changed at the ten percent, as they supposed it would have to. Suddenly arrayed around them were all the deities, separate and surrounding them. "Oh, my," BillyBoy sighed.
"So...does that mean that each attack against one of them is as strong as a full blow instead of a partial blow?" someone asked and their own kami were quite pleased with that suggestion, immediately granting it.
"Right then, focus and pound," Reed gave the order, "in your quarters, starting with the left-most one and working clockwise."
Guardians and Kannagi protected, healers healed, short range attackers took out mid-level demihumans, and everyone else pounded on deities, hard, heavy, and fast. It went how most end of boss battles went. The deities got faster the fewer of them there were and available range of motion was opened up.
Adventurers who got eaten did even more damage than those who weren't eaten, and it was a simpler take-down because they didn't have any distractions and the deities hadn't been able to figure out how to defend their innards, except one. That one was the final one standing in the end, but they didn't let up and with the patient focus of all gamers, eventually it had to go down, too.
There was a rather large surge of re-strengthening of the Adventurers, but when they heard the cheers and prayers of gratitude from the People of the Land, they understood. The blessing of gratitude was being returned to them.
"Um...," BillyBoy's hesitant voice sounded. "Not to be a wet blanket again...but, does that mean we get the repeat?"
Reed drew in a breath, then morosely answered, "Yeah, probably." That calmed down Adventurers who'd decided to celebrate a little too early.
In the air over them was coming a swirling of a Dark Void. They all looked up at it soberly. Down through the center of it came a felinoid deity. "You think I, a god, can die? This is the time I am fed the most, the most strong. In battle every death is food. Every cry of pain and moan of sorrow or despair is a song of worship to my ears and I am strengthened." The deity was imperious and mocking. A few silently parodied it. The rest just watched it silently.
"Do you really believe we didn't know this was next?" Reed asked back mildly. "We know the Caretaker and how she has many aspects. Your animal form was merely one of them. We also know that you have another aspect in battle standing as support for your own army of Adventurers against the armies of Adventurers we fight for, and we know that aspect will also lose.
"How many do you have? Is this your only other one? If we kill this one here, will all of them be dead, then? We'd like for it to be. We're already done with you and Theldesia doesn't need you. It has rejected you and we're here to see that you are obedient to that rejection."
The deity that was all the deities they fought in one became very angry and used that anger to increase in size until it towered over them and the People of the Land fell to the ground and cowered, shivering, in fear. "Are you a god to presume such lies?"
"You've watched Purrcy in the Gate of Time. What do you think Adventurers are? Have you learned it yet?" Reed countered. "No Creature or Person of the Land has been able to define us yet. Have the deities of the Gate of Time figured it out yet?"
A weapon appeared in the deity's hand, then it had one hand for every deity it represented and in each hand was the favored weapon of that deity. "That's a lot of pounds," OciferJeff quipped. "So each does it's standard damage not multiplied, right?" The Inari liked that, too and firmly enforced it.
This battle went about how Reed had expect it to, also. They had to die a lot in the beginning to figure out how to handle each weapon, the speed attacks of the multiples at once in one area, followed by the sneak attack at the far side by the few weapons held in reserve. He was ever so glad that Izanami was ensuring this battle held to game rules and expectations and sent up a prayer of gratitude for said restraint on the deities.
He had to pull out and up in surprise when Izanami looked at him in surprise for that gratitude. "What? It's not?"
"It is," the High Priestess answered, "but not because it was required by any of us. That is part of the fabric of Theldesia."
Reed blinked. "Oh. Then let's not break that one, shall we? We rather need that boundary in order to function against things more powerful than us. When we fight ourselves it's a lot more chaotic and dangerous."
"So we noticed," Izanami said dryly, glancing towards the south.
"Ah. So you're also getting your lesson in what it's like when we fight ourselves, then," Reed glanced that way as well, and indeed the North Army against the army of the High Priest of Night Sun was going about how he would have expected it to - chaotic warfare of humanity.
"Indeed."
He wasn't surprised when Izanami wasn't willing to give commentary on it. He did hope they learned that it was neither pretty, nor pleasant. It would help if they got a good sense that it was sometimes random who would win out in the end if it wasn't for the help of the deities that cared enough about the planet and the creatures that lived on it. Reed sighed and returned to his own battle.
"Why does it make you sad?" Izanami stopped him.
"Because that's what we Eagles do for a living on Earth. Fight those kinds of wars and battles. It's different, but the sum is about the same. We've yet to be able to remove warfare from the planet. We can't get rid of the greed and pride and selfishness so we can't get rid of the oppression and violent desire for ill-gotten gain. We'll always need good defenders and protectors of those who just want to live peaceful lives with their families.
"Choose wisely when you decide if you will keeps us and whom. You will see this again and again the whole existence of Theldesia. Those same traits are what are necessary to rebuild upon a collapse. Those who hoard food without sharing it will live to have children. They're also the ones who won't help in times like this when they want all the power. Those who fight to live, keep a world alive - but they also kill it. Thus why Earth cycles. Thus why we believe you don't need to have us in your world.
"Once we've repaired all you want us to repair, you could send us home and not have to deal with our cycle of destruction and rebuilding. Be careful that you don't have to live the lesson you've made us live. What you want right now may not be what you really wanted in the end."
Reed looked at her soberly until she finally bowed slightly and disappeared again, allowing him to return to his own work. It left him particularly sober from then on, though - the reminder of what humanity and Adventurers really were.
"Flight," Reed said as they reached the first change in the deity's form. "Get airborne as soon as it's done trying to find food." They managed somehow by the skin of their teeth to keep it from breaking through the shield around the People of the Land, and it held to not calling on demihumans this round.
The dragons skimmed in and picked up their parties of Twin Falls men. "Billy, keep your group to the legs. We'll focus on the head. If we split up we might keep all those arms better occupied."
"Yessir," he got back.
The dragons circled the hips and knees of the giant deity. If anyone fell off, they attacked the feet and ankles until they'd run and climbed their way high enough to leap back over to a dragon. If they died on a dragon, or the dragon died for that matter, they resurrected back where they were (Izanagi was resummoning the dragons they all presumed, under the resurrection rule of the engagement).
One of the Eagles watching the dragons in flight below where they were attacking high in their usual fashion, put on the loudspeaker a sound track that played instrumental emotional and dramatic music. "Figured if we're going to be in a movie, we may as well have the background music to match it."
"Works for me," more than one said. Reed recognized it but didn't say anything. The rest hadn't heard it except Michael and he wasn't here now.
"You know that's unfair play, though," Purrcy scolded them all by chat. "I can't stay away, and I have to grant bonuses. And since Shiroe likes it, he's decided I get to broadcast it."
They laughed at her. They did like to play with her, in the end. The bonuses of increased Grace (dodge bonus), and Peaceful Strength (intelligence and accuracy bonuses) were nice, as was the fact it really became an areal dance for them since music had been added in.
They were a bit surprised when the form changed again. They'd stopped paying attention to how much damage they were doing overall in their focus on getting the job done. The music paused with them, and then the sound track changed. "Waltz with him this time, boys," Hahaue ordered. "His tempo is different and the speed will change, too. I've made the soundtrack special for you."
"Yes Ma'am," they said and felt the beat for the first few measures while watching the new attacks. They changed to their strafing formation. A party in under the flailing arms to attack on the flyby, then a pause for the fast attacks while staying out of range and dodging, then another party from a different direction for the next strafing run.
As the tempo increased, they had to shorten it to half a party in to strafe, from two directions at the same time. Reed pulled back out again at that point and watched the health meter and the tempo changes closer. "Right in thirty, pull way back and let it transform," he said to the whole party.
He gave them a five second count-down when they got to the twenty-five second mark and they were all flying out to circle the deity - the Eagles at about shoulder height on average (they were in their usual net formation), and the dragons at about knee height.
The music turned into crashing emphatic music and Reed immediately ordered. "Pound it for all you're worth. Get it as low as you can." They'd already started on the first word.
When the music died and the smoke cleared, as it were, there was silence for about two seconds, then awful maniacal dictator laughter bubbled up from the deity's form and it was surrounded by a miasma of dark swirling smoke that seemed to be eating it up as it erased from feet and head ends. The face that looked out through the miasma at them made their hearts fall.
"Night Sun," Reed said grimly. "You've eaten them, haven't you, these aspects at least."
"They'd already agreed that if they should reach the escape point at this level, then they would sacrifice their aspects to me so that I could finish you myself."
"Of course," Reed pursed his lips. They already knew they couldn't touch the miasma and the rebound against purification attacks was difficult at best. "Full surround Holy purification shield. Make it rebound back inside. I want to see what mixing fire and water together will do to him.
"Billy your group's on HP support this round. If it looks like it will work, we'll need to hold it until he does himself in. Get your defenders back on the ground and watch to see if he's going to try to wiggle cracks into the shield behind our backs. Call for reinforcements if he does. That's our priority." He said it under the umbrella, firmly keeping Night Sun out of the conversation. He didn't need to be given ideas he hadn't had yet, but he was already sneaky like that.
"Caretaker, I'd like to request no mercy for this one, even if you do grieve all the rest properly," he added after he knew Night Sun could hear him again.
It was a miserable fight, nearly a repeat of the last one against him. Reed waited, though, until the grumbles were from the mild Eagles and the cursing from the more tempestuous ones was getting rather loud. "Shall I spend a miracle, then?" he asked them quietly.
He got angry looks for not already doing it. "Very well," he said, not really liking it, but having to do it anyway. He was sure Michael had felt this way about making them all servants of Izanami back in the Sierras.
Reed took a breath, then said, rather quietly actually although it rang through the whole area as if he'd called it powerfully, "Guardian of the Caretaker and of all she loves, we've reached the ultimate of what we can do. Your arm and defense are required. Please, come to our aid, and bring with you her priest who comforts her and those she cares for, so that we may have the justice and mercy she provides to aid you."
He apologized in his heart for adding one more deity to Brenner's list, but it was necessary, too. He'd been holding the intent for this miracle since he'd known he'd be doing this game on his own. As the new High Priest to the newest god of Theldesia, he could feel all of the prayers and relief of the men fighting under him as they agreed wholeheartedly with his words. He could only hold as firm as possible against the pain in his heart at his betrayal of his best friend.
By his side appeared Michael and Brenner - the Michael and Brenner of their own time who'd been sitting with Shiroe in the past to comfort him and give him the information he needed for the current time. "Final exam time, Mike," Reed said quietly, keeping his own eyes on Night Sun.
"We've reached our limit, so I've been allowed to call you in. We need the God Slayer and the Archangel. That's the two of you. Brenner, I'll let you know what miracle I need and when after Michael's done with his part."
Michael was none too happy to be looking Night Sun in the face again. The strong wishes of the Eagles that he come help them get the bastard back out of their own faces again had pulled the two fairly quickly, and added to make his and Brenner's size changes larger than normal so that they were Giants standing face to face with Night Sun (again, in Michael's case).
Both were white robed and white winged, but Michael had his four arms again. Two held physical purification blessed shields, one sword hand had the God Cleaver ax in it, the lower one had a Monk's gauntlet on it and the fist was wreathed in flowing holy light.
"What do you want me to fight with?" Brenner asked Reed as Michael joined the battle in progress. Brenner was so versatile now he could do anything.
Reed looked into Brenner's eyes. They were about the same height since Reed was flying that high and Brenner was standing that tall now. Brenner's eyes were still filmed over, although it was a lot thinner than the milky white they'd started out as. It would have to do.
"We have a present for you. The Caretaker and P/R worked hard on it while you two were helping the Archmage. We all added, though, so that we could claim it's from us, too. Hold out your hands. It won't be this big unless you're this big, by the way. It should size to you."
When the large book appeared in Brenner's hands, he almost jumped, then swallowed and ran one hand down the front of it. "I hope it does," he whispered without thinking about it. "Is it what I'm hoping to God it is?"
"It is," Reed said quietly.
Brenner's eyes leaked tears. "If I can have my sight just to read the words again..." The drops of salty water dripped and made rather large puddles at his feet.
"What words will help you purify this aspect of Night Sun so he can't use the power it grants him again?" Reed prompted him.
Brenner was silent as he walked through the Holy Bible in his head, then he bowed his head to look at the book in his hands. Without needing to see the details of the words, he flipped through to the page he wanted. He had to stop and hold the open book to his heart for a moment as his heart wanted to sob his relief at just really holding it again in his hands after almost three years of desperate longing.
"God, thank you for Purrcy and her faith," he said through his tears. "And for companions who care. Please, walk with them and with all of us through this place we feel is a hell on most days. Bless her, Nyanta, and Shiroe as they fight this fight for all of us and for all the creatures of Theldesia. Their strength strengthens us and gives us hope. Don't let their's falter, particularly here at the end where we need them most."
Brenner took in another big breath, then pulled the book away from his chest to look at it. He read through, then shook his head, and flipped back towards the middle of the book. He scanned, flipped a few more pages, then paused and looked like he was getting a bit of a revelation.
"Oh. I can read but not see yet. That's a bit odd. And the most clear words are useful words to what we're doing." He frowned. "You're not going to make me read what you want me to read, are you, Caretaker and Inari?"
"No," Purrcy's voice answered. "The Inari don't understand what's in them. I've already told them they don't get to choose. They get to learn.
"We're just a bit pressed for time so I'm reading over your shoulder and helping you see the words that might be helpful by translating them into the spirit realm. I'm sure as you practice in this battle it will become clearer on your own and I'll get to refocus on other things. You get to choose the words to read regardless."
"Oh. Okay. I'd prefer the slow way, but I get we're in a time crunch and will accept the help here at the beginning."
"Thank you," murmured Purrcy.
"You'll allow them to refuse help when it's needed?" Night Sun scoffed. "And let them treat you as a lesser being? What kind of goddess are you?"
Brenner's head whipped up and he scowled. "Night Sun!" his voice echoed. "Close your mouth, you wicked creature." His fingers flipped a few more pages and he skimmed again and found what he was looking for. "Hear, oh wayward child of Theldesia, the words of the Caretaker to you:
"Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry. Disaster follows disaster; the whole land lies in ruins. In an instant my tents are destroyed, my shelter in a moment.
"How long must I see the battle standard and hear the sound of the trumpet? My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.
Night Sun wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?"(A)
Night Sun's face had been full of the delight of the suffering in the words and he mocked both Brenner and the Caretaker.
"Then hear the Oracle of the Caretaker in your behalf, if you will not repent and turn from your wicked path," Brenner said and his fingers turned back the pages.
"In the last days the mountain of the Caretaker's temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Caretaker, to the temple of the Goddess of Adventurers. She will teach us her ways, so that we may walk in her paths.' The law will go out from Akiba, the word of the Caretaker from the mountains.
"She will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Come, descendants of Adventurers, let us walk in the light of the Caretaker." (B)
Night Sun had paled just a little and Reed was a bit surprised to see he'd also dropped in rather a high number of points on his status bar just from that much. But then, it had been a true Oracle and had taken from him his power through war, even if in thought and in the future.
"Silence!" Night Sun roared. "What strange magic is this, to read words and have such an effect? That the Caretaker should need to resort to asking Adventurers to do her battles for her?"
The entire party all stared at him in amazement. "Well, the prideful speak words of the thick-headed," Michael finally said in dry mockery. "Who was it that wanted the Adventurers to do his battling for him and started all of this in the first place? Hmm?" His ax twirled in his hand as Michael loosened up his wrist. "I think it's my turn, then. I preach with a different tool."
His ax moved faster than one would expect, but it was in the hands of an expert and master swordsman, and it was spurred on by the desires of the Eagles to see it knock the deity down more than several notches. It slammed into Night Sun and split his miasma in half, the cleaving leaving a white line behind it.
Night Sun screamed and the miasma writhed. When it reformed, Night Sun had a scar across the center of his face that gleamed a pale white. Night Sun raged.
Brenner already had his page and passage marked. "Why do you think the Adventurers are fighting her battles for her now? We've brought in the big gun." Night Sun blinked, confused. An attack formed and Brenner bent to his page.
"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once our own obedience is complete." (C)
At that one, every Eagle rose up and drew their purification swords, willing with all their beings to share in that one, even if their blows were less effective or took fewer HP. If they could have even a small portion of the flavor text of the God Cleaver added to their weapons, it would still be whittling their least favorite deity down in permanent points of damage.
They attacked without concern for their own health, letting out their rage and hatred of the mad god, finally without reservation. And deep in their hearts they wished it was only this simple to remove war from a world, to kill the god who delighted in it.
For all they took down this aspect of Night Sun fairly quickly now, that didn't mean they weren't taking damage. There was a clearing of a voice that was as loud as Michael and Brenner's. It still took a moment to find the source and that was okay, since it made Night Sun mad, too. "I think we'll take a turn since it's rather hard for you all to get back over here for healing and we'd rather you not go down right now."
"Sure," Reed said as his blow struck and he danced away, his wing getting clipped painfully. It was only one of many pains and they could be ignored. He'd resurrect eventually and begin again. He was okay with BillyBoy taking over for now as battle monitor.
"Caretaker, thank you for letting us have our scriptures, too. If it's okay with you, I'll read one of our favorites that has bearing at the moment, and hope that you also will find it to your liking. I'll go ahead and modify it to fit the situation, although we like it best as written. We know it will help the flavor text and bonuses this time." That got a brief purr, which helped the Eagles just a little, since her purrs always did.
"I asked my men, 'Therefore what say ye, my sons, will ye go against them to battle?' And now I say unto you, my beloved brother Michael, that never had I seen so great courage, nay, not amongst all the Adventurers. For as I had ever called them my sons (for they were all of them very young) even so they said unto me: 'Mother, behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth; we would not slay our brethren if they would let us alone; therefore let us go, lest they should overpower the army of the Caretaker.
"Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them. And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: 'We do not doubt our mothers knew it.'
"And now it came to pass that when the enemy had surrendered themselves up unto us, behold, I numbered those young men who had fought with me, fearing lest there were many of them slain. But behold, to my great joy, there had not one soul of them fallen to the earth; yea, and they had fought as if with the strength of God; yea, never were men known to have fought with such miraculous strength; and with such mighty power did they fall upon the enemy, that they did frighten them; and for this cause did the enemy deliver themselves up as prisoners of war." (D)
Reed blinked. Purrcy's purr had deepened and gotten quite loud as if she'd increased in size now, too. It resounded through Reed's bones and he could feel the healing it was doing, erasing the pains and aches and the festering cursing left behind.
"I do like it, Billy. Very much. I'll need to read that section in more detail later. Even I want my sons who've been so obedient and faithful to have such a result. And if their faith was because they were taught it by their mothers whom they loved, than how can I not find delight in it as well?"
Reed smiled. Hahaue had been particularly brought out by that passage. "Hmm... by the rules of Adventurer worship, can I select people I want, too, or do I have to ask?" Purrcy asked.
Michael paused his swing just a moment. "Well, I wonder," he finally answered and shrugged. He went back to attacking.
"Lazy," she accused him. Reed looked around and could finally see the large cat sitting behind Michael, her tail contentedly waving as she was watching one of the small (-er than her) dragons circling lower down.
Michael just snorted. "We're breaking flavor text, remember? What does that best? You know."
"Right, then." Her nose bent down and she made that particular dragon land on it. "Walk up to my head, except Billy. You can take a break for a minute, but not him." The dragon let off Billy and hop-flew up to the top of her head, in a somewhat reverse of how she sat on larger Creature's heads. She carefully bent her head down to the ground and the very small BillyBoy jumped off.
She licked him a cat's grooming lick and he was suddenly as large as the other Avenging Angels (proportionally) and white-winged like them. "You get to be an assisting high priest too, for the rest of what's coming up. Just keep going like you have been."
BillyBoy was blinking in surprise. "Really? You know I believe like Brenner does, right?"
"Yes," Purrcy blinked at him. "I actually prefer it. I don't want real worship. I want help meeting our goals to get us home. You already do that. Play the game and be yourself. You already do that, too." BillyBoy, considered that.
"Besides, you're the one that offered the gift I required and it pleased me immensely, so I get to do what I want with you now anyway. Izanami opened up that cheat wide open so I'll use it, too." Purrcy's tongue was hanging outside her mouth in her wide cat-grin.
Michael's laugh rang over not only their immediate battlefield but over the one of the Adventurers to the east. Reed was quite pleased to see that Night Sun cowered in the face of that laugh. "Right then," Reed brought it all back to reality, as usual, with that pair. "Can we finish this, then? Focus, please." Michael and Purrcy both laughed at him, but did their best to get back to proper work.
"No really, you are very odd," Night Sun finally said and fled.
Purrcy's paw swiped out and snagged the fading miasma. "No, you don't get to flee this time," Night Sun was suddenly back in their space again. "Not this time. You chose this at the beginning of this fight. Stay put and take your proper punishment for your choices until now."
Reed was pleased it was said as a scold of Hahaue, rather than in anger, and he had to wonder if Michael had worked his own magic on her on purpose, to keep her relaxed and calm. He sighed to himself. They really were a pair - of crazies. "Right, on my mark, shall we," he said calmly, but feeling very resigned.
"Can I make you big, too, Reed?" Purrcy asked suddenly.
"No!" he exploded finally. "Just let us get this over with, will you?"
"Sorry," she muttered petulantly and her ears fell.
He sighed. "Sorry. I'm just needing my rest break. If we could, please?"
"Okay," she muttered into her chest.
Michael was looking at Reed with big eyes. Reed blinked at him, then turned away and waved at him. Michael reached over and patted Purrcy on the head until the ears relaxed. "That's from Reed. He really is sorry...or will be once we let him relax."
Purrcy sighed. "Okay. I'm sorry to lose focus again, Reed."
Reed took a deep breath. "And just what damage has that distraction cost us this time?" he scolded.
"None," she said, still humble. "I kept him in a lock box so he couldn't do anything. Put him on pause as it were. I have learned enough from all my scoldings so far to know to do that much. I've quite scandalized everyone in the Gate of Time, though, I'm afraid."
"Like we care about them," Michael shrugged at that one. "They all know you're crazy already, too."
Purrcy sighed. "True."
"Well, then, I guess I can forgive you, if he's been on pause. But really, I am weary. Can we please finish now?" Reed asked. He got an extra hug, kiss, and boost up for that one, although he was pretty sure she understood it was more mental than anything.
"Well, we liked the temporary entertainment," Compliance said. "It's been a while to see that with all the stress we've been under." Reed sent a Snap Spark at him. Compliance glared at Reed, but didn't retaliate. It was just a symptom of how stressed Reed really was. Once he calmed down when it was over, he'd probably agree.
He suddenly had a kitten purring on his shoulder. He almost knocked it off except that he realized that she was actually helping his mood. "How are you doing that?" he whispered.
"Cat Mesmer, but this is what it's really for," she answered back quietly. "Don't tell."
He waited for the additional five seconds it took to be back into the reasonable mental and emotional state he knew he needed to be in to properly do his job. "You really are too good for our good," he said to her.
"Sometimes," she said, noncommittally. "When it's important."
He saw that. She did move like that when it was important to the outcome they were all looking for. He looked at Night Sun, ignored until now since he'd been brought back and locked down. "It's so tempting to just leave him locked up in there forever," Reed said. "To tell him he wasn't worth bothering with at the end."
"Hmm, yes," she agreed. "But things locked up eventually get loose. We can't let him do this again. Why not let everyone have the break they need, including you? I'd bet Brenner can find the one passage that will give Michael what he needs to just finish the deed."
Reed sighed, but it was true. The rest of the Eagles were looking very wrung out, and like the entertainment had helped them relax, perhaps a bit too much. "Fine," he said. Increasing his volume again, he gave the order.
The kitten (large now to fit the shoulder) was whispering in Brenner's ear now, and he nodded and flipped to the back of his Bible. The kitten moved to Michael's shoulder and licked him on the jaw. "Be my anger for me, please, Michael, so I can stay calmed into the next set, too."
Michael pet her. "Always. Please don't pick it back up, though. Go let Timberel pet you while we wrap this up, and play with Nyanta a bit since he's going to need the break, too, most likely."
The kitten looked thoughtfully at the sky, then nodded. "Okay. Good luck and good hunting."
"You, too," Michael said and gave her one more pat before she disappeared.
Brenner looked at Reed and he gave a nod. With a breath, Brenner said, "Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But the dragon was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
"Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death." (E)
Brenner paused, then closed his book reverently. "The Word of the Lord."
"Thanks be to God," said the believers in the Eagles.
Michael's ax came down in a great arc, blazing with white Holy light, and the captured aspect of Night Sun shattered into many pieces that disappeared into sparkles of light that faded. Reed was quite sure the expression on Night Sun's face was of relief that the strange creatures called Adventurers had finally let him be released from his odd and uncomfortable predicament.
It was right that he'd finally seen that what he'd thought to use to his own ends was something he could never comprehend. And if that was what had given him the sudden negatives in all the other battles they'd fought with him, then it was enough. More likely it was the scripture Brenner read and the bonus strength that aspect's death gave to Purrcy combined.
A: Jeremiah 4:19-22, 14; Holy Bible, NIV.
B: Isaiah 2:2-5, Ibid, NIV.
C: 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, Ibid, NIV.
D: Alma 56:44-48, 55-56, The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, pub. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2013.
E: Revelations 12:7-11, Holy Bible, NIV.
Do you remember that Brenner lamented on Christmas Day that there are no Earth scriptures at all in any game? Even the Eagles came to lament that the positive, hope-filled religions weren't allowed to be represented without massive modification. Purrcy has taken matters into her own hands, having gone through the recesses of the internet (the Inner Great Library) in detail with Li Gan, to print out everything she wanted to have and bring into Theldesia, answering the pleas of Adventurers of Earth like Brenner in the process. But she needed the help of P/R and the Programmer Eagles to actually get them from the electronic versions into the paper versions. Thus why they're a gift from them, too.
Any bonus to help them win the Sect War, you know? In particular this battle to save the People of the Land. Reed wasn't about to fail his test - not at all. (He hates Inari too much to do that.)