Noah stood alone in a vast empty void, at least it seemed like he was alone. He could sense something was there, something big, something powerful, something ancient. It was as old as the world itself, he could feel its power shifting around him. He looked around at the endless dark and all he could feel was that ancient eldritch presence.
Noah has been having this same dream for months now, it began suddenly one night and ever since whenever Neia slept he would find himself in this endless void. The presence around him was terrifying yet strangely welcoming at the same time. There were times he wanted to call out to get its attention but each time a primal terror stopped him.
Lost in thought he didn't notice that for the first time the constant movement of the darkness around him had stilled. Noah only realized when he felt the pressure, it was like a great weight pressing down upon him. Then he saw it, twin red lights appeared in the darkness, the light grew larger as the being approached.
With the pressure around him all Noah could manage was to remain standing, as twin red orbs approached the world around him was dyed red. It was all he could do to stare impotently at the ancient power bearing down on him.
Hmmm curious
A deep eldritch voice said to Noah. Terrified he opened his mouth but no words left his lips. He continued to look up at the twin glowing lights as he struggled to remain upright.
A natural dark soul?
This realm is full of surprises…
"You know what I am?" Noah asked shakily, his curiosity outweighing his fear. All his life he had no idea what he was. A demon? Some shade? An undead born from a womb?
I do, you are something most rare...
A dark soul
"What's that?" Noah asked.
A most curious phenomenon…
You are more undead than you are mortal…
You are cut from the same cloth as the seed of creation
"What does that mean?" Noah asked, this time through gritted teeth as the pressure slowly but surely sapped his strength.
It means you are something that should not exist
But yet here you are, alive and self aware
There are few like you in the history of creation
You are something most special
"I don't understand." Noah croaked out as he fell to his knees. His strength draining away from resisting the pressure around him.
You will in time
For now survive
It seems you can bear my presence no longer
Your sister should be waking soon
Until we meet again
Dark soul….
At those words Noah felt the dark world fall away and he once again found himself looking through the eyes of his dear sister as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
"Good morning Noah." Neia murmured sleepily.
Noah didn't answer, for he was still trapped within his own thoughts. He was a dark soul? What does that mean? The voice said to survive, there must be danger for one such as him. Which means there will be danger to Neia, that is a risk he cannot take.
"Noah?" Neia asked, perturbed by his silence.
"It's nothing, just have a few things on my mind." Noah replied
"If you say so." Neia replied as she stretched.
Nazarick Throne Room
Momonga sat quietly as the revelation of a dark soul in the realm sank in. The natural balance of this world is being disrupted, Jaldabaoth is disrupting the clockwork systems of this realm. The dark soul must be recovered, Jaldabaoth cannot gain control of it. Having finally found the source of the disturbance in his mindscape he could now pinpoint where the dark soul was.
It was far to the west, in Jaldabaoth's territory. He conjured a map with his magic and pointed at an area where a valley met the sea. It was in Holy Kingdom territory, near the border. He should send Maeve to recover it at once… yet, what is precious will be coveted. It just might be the perfect bait to lure Jaldabaoth out…
"Momonga sama?" Albedo asked as she turned to see Momonga looking at a magical projection of the realm.
"Send for Maeve and Elwing. I require their presence." Momonga said quietly as he ran calculations in his head weighing the pros and cons.
"Yes my lord." Albedo said with a bow.
Maeve and Elwing walked towards the door of the throne room wordlessly, it must be serious for only the two of them to be called. Maeve knew currently of those on the world Maeve and Elwing held the highest trust of the 41. They both held a station of equal rank with the successors of the 41. It was the highest honor granted to any mortal.
As they entered the room they saw their lord Momonga sitting on the throne with Albedo standing nervously beside him. They approached and were about to kneel but Momonga raised a hand stopping them.
"We have no time for formalities, Albedo leave us." Momonga said
"Yes my lord." Albedo replied with a bow.
Once Momonga saw Albedo close the door for the throne room, he raised his hand and cast his spell. Magic circles surround him as he weaved his Magi Script. [Event Horizon] a wall of pure darkness surrounded them forming a dome.
"Now then we are truly alone. I must reiterate that what I am about to tell you is of absolute secrecy until the time is ripe to reveal it." Momonga stated. Maeve and Elwing merely nodded and gazed intently at their lord.
"I have for the past few months detected a disturbance in my mindscape when I am in this realm. As I have told you two previously I had assumed it was another child of ash as unlikely it must seem to be." Momonga said.
"So it isn't?" Maeve asked furrowing her brows.
"No, it is a natural born Dark Soul." Momonga replied
"Impossible…" Maeve said her eyes going wide, Elwing was not much better, her usually calm demeanor going into one of shock.
"Nothing is impossible child. You are living proof." Momonga replied
"Most Dark Souls die in the womb, the others…" Maeve said
"Are killed young." Elwing said
"Indeed, the occurrence is so rare it is not fully understood." Momonga said calmly
"Those of the Abyss naturally seek to kill their host, that is why the profaned flame exists. It exists to control and contain the power of the abyss." Maeve said
"Yes most Dark Souls are born embedded in a twin, two souls sharing one body." Momonga said
"For a Dark Soul cannot exist in a mortal shell." Elwing added.
"Yes, this changes a lot of things, the Dark Souls I met is rather old. It has somehow survived within its twin sister for over a decade." Momonga said
"Oh the Scholars of the First Sin are going to love this…" Maeve muttered.
"Umu this is a rare opportunity to learn but more importantly the plan will need to be revised." Momonga said to Elwing.
"I assume we are going to use it as bait." Elwing said
"Naturally, Maeve I will need you to help secure the Dark Soul when the time comes." Momonga stated.
"Of course father." Maeve said with a grim nod.
"Has it been discovered?" Elwing asked
"Not yet." Momonga replied
"Then we are pressed for time, we need to mop up the beastmen in the Draconic Theatre quickly. I will be sending Serbyakov to the Draconic Kingdom along with a Panther Battalion." Elwing said.
"Yes time is of the essence. I had hoped we would have more time to let the tether to work and bring in more troops." Momonga said.
"The Ordo Malleus will press on regardless, as Punito Moe sama once said plans rarely survive first contact with the enemy." Elwing said
"On that note, Carstein has sent his brother Mannfred to clean up the Draconic Kingdom." Maeve added.
"Then those treasonous scum won't last long." Elwing said as her face curled into a snarl.
"Clean up the east, then we must focus on the west. Bear in mind we still need the dwarves on our side, the Dawi will greatly aid in our efforts." Momonga said
"We shall my lord, I believe Crawl has already sent an expedition to the mountain range north of E-Rantel as we speak." Elwing said
"Then see it done." Momonga commanded.
"Yes my lord." the pair said in unison.
Renner's Guestroom
Renner waited calmly as she sipped her tea, the tea was held in an ornate golden box. A gift from Eden, the tea is called Silver Moon. A rare tea made from flowers that only bloom under a full moon when the mana winds are just right. Grown only on the Agriworld Agripina, a box like that would cost ten kilograms of platinum. Renner would have to empty the treasury for this box on her table. Again she was reminded of the might of the 41, wealth beyond your wildest dreams, wealth beyond comprehension.
Opposite her sat Lady Tyra of house Montserrat, the rumors say she was a shrewd woman. Although married into the family she has led the house of Montserrat from a minor house to the second-biggest producer of food in the kingdom. Their territories were only beaten by the domain of E-Rantel, however due to her shrewd practices the grain she sells is at a lower price as compared to those from E-Rantel. This ensured that as far as the private market is concerned house Montserrat held the largest market share for foodstuffs.
"How long must we wait your grace? I must confess I am getting late in my years sitting for too long reaps a toll on my back." Lady Tyra said amicably as she took a sip of the delicious tea.
"I thought you would enjoy the wait, you would get to sample this exquisite tea." Renner replied.
"Yes this tea is exquisite, like nothing I have ever had the fortune of sampling. Where did you come across such a treasure?" Lady Tyra asked
"It was a gift from Eden, this is the only box of it in the region." Renner replied
"Then today is truly a blessed day." Lady Tyra said with a wrinkled smile.
"Although I find it odd that a mere representative from another nation can make you wait." Lady Tyra said
"Maeve dono comes from a rather prestigious bloodline, she is sent here due to her skills. She is no mere representative." Renner replied sweetly.
At those words there was a knock on the door.
"My queen, it is Lady Maeve, she has returned from her errand." the guard at the door said.
"Let her in." Renner replied sweetly.
Maeve entered the room and gently closed the door behind her. She calmly walked over and took a seat at the table.
"Your grace, my lady." Maeve said as she calmly conjured a glass and a bottle out of thin air and poured herself a glass.
"My my, it appears the rumors are true you are quite the thing aren't you. Such confidence in the face of authority." Tyra said with a twinkle in her eyes.
"Authority is a fickle thing my lady, it's a trick, a shadow on the wall. A very small man can cast a very large shadow." Maeve replied calmly without taking her eyes off her drink before taking a sip.
"My oh my, I wish I was as bold as you when I was your age. I am Lady Tyra of House Montserrat." Lady Tyra said with a cordial smile.
"I am Maeve of Eden." Maeve replied, finally looking up from her glass.
"I must say your golden eye is rather entrancing, the stories don't do it justice." Lady Tyra said
"Entrancing? Most find it disconcerting." Maeve replied, raising an eyebrow.
"Most have many a thing to fear child, I am in the twilight of my life. There is not much more to fear." Lady Tyra replied as she took another sip of tea.
"Pain? Suffering?" Maeve said
"Oh young one, I just crossed my seventy-first summer in this world. Age punishes more than any lash I can promise you that." Lady Tyra said with a chuckle.
"So on what matters did you wish to speak about Lady Tyra?" Renner asked
"Oh nothing much really, I just came here to talk about the future of my house." Lady Tyra replied calmly
"The future of your house doesn't seem like a trivial matter Lady Tyra." Renner replied as she tilted her head ever so slightly.
"Oh but it is, the fate of my house is a foregone conclusion. I assume you've met my grandson Philip Montserrat?" Lady Tyra asked.
"Yes, a rather interesting and charming young man." Renner replied sweetly.
"Really? I didn't take you as a fool, your grace." Lady Tyra said
Behind them Climb shifted slightly, his armor clinking at the insult. At those words House Montserrat maids shifted slightly as well.
"Perhaps you could furnish us with your own thoughts then Lady Tyra." Maeve replied.
"On what? My fat head grandson?" Lady Tyra replied with a laugh.
"Yes your fat head grandson." Maeve replied dryly.
"Ah yes my second grandson, dull of wit and uncouth in demeanor. Can't read the room to save his life and overall the greatest imbecile to have ever graced my house." Lady Tyra said calmly.
At those words Renner merely looked on with a strained expression while Maeve simply raised an eyebrow before taking another sip of her ambrosia.
"So I ask you again my queen, is my grandson truly interesting and charming?" Lady Tyra said with a smile.
"No, not particularly." Renner replied with a sigh.
"My house is doomed your grace, after I'm gone you will execute my house to the last soul." Lady Tyra stated.
"The punishment for stupidity is not the noose Lady Tyra." Renner replied.
"No but regicide is." Lady Tyra said.
"I'm not sure what you are implying Lady Tyra." Renner said the smile now gone from her face.
"My first grandson threw his lot in with the usurper Barbro and he was incinerated by demon fire for his trouble. The vial of nightshade came from him." Lady Tyra said calmly.
At those words Climb gripped his sword and drew it ever so slightly. The maids reached into their dresses as if to pull a weapon.
"So that's why you brought armed maids with you, I was wondering why." Maeve said, her eye glowing.
"If you are here to kill me I'm afraid you're understaffed." Renner replied calmly.
The maids stiffened as blades appeared at their throats as the black-clad Ordo Hereticus appeared around the room dispelling their invisibility spells.
"Ah the bogeymen of the nobility, the black-clad warriors of the Ordo Hereticus." Lady Tyra said calmly as she took another sip of tea.
"You're not here to kill Renner are you?" Maeve asked
"No, of course not." Lady Tyra replied.
"Then why the assassins?" Renner asked coldly.
"Those two behind were supposed to finish the job if you didn't take the poison." Lady Tyra said as she gestured to the two maids.
The two maids went pale when they realized they were being sold out.
"Lady Tyra… why? We have served House Montserrat loyally for many years…" one of the maids whimpered.
"Did you now? Who truly rules House Montserrat myself or my grandson? You did something that could have destroyed this house and nation. If you had asked me I would have forbidden it, yet you didn't because you knew I would never agree." Lady Tyra said calmly as she looked over her shoulder.
"Please my lady, Lord Petir ordered our secrecy." one of the maids begged as the blade was pressed against her throat.
"You think I didn't know of the relationship the pair of you had with my grandson? He called you two to his bedchamber every other night, you were loyal to him and his ambitions. You were loyal to your own desires. You were not loyal to House Montserrat." Lady Tyra said calmly.
"So what is this some demonstration of your loyalty?" Renner asked coldly.
"No it is a gift, your grace. A gift of vengeance long due." Lady Tyra said as she reached into her pocket and took out a gold pocket watch.
"And vengeance should come right about… now." Lady Tyra said as she gazed at the watch on her wrist.
At her words the two maids coughed as the two grasped at their neck. Their facing going purple bile rising from their throats. Their eyes went bloodshot as they fell to their knees gasping for breath.
"It will not end quickly, it will be slow and you will feel every bit of my wrath." Lady Tyra said without looking back.
From her seat at the table Renner could see the two women choking gasping for breath as blood ran from their nose and eyes. Their once beautiful faces now purple as veins popped along their faces. They scrabbled at their necks and looked at her pleadingly as if begging to be saved. One of them reached into her pocket to draw a knife with shaking hands. She tried to bring it to her throat but her strength gave way and the knife fell from nerveless fingers. The two collapsed onto their sides as their rasping breaths echoed in the room.
The Ordo Hereticus took one last look at the pair before melding back into invisibility. Climb looked on his face green as she watched the agonizing deaths of the pair of women before him. The croaking and gasping lasted for another five more minutes before the two finally went still.
"I'll pay for a new carpet." Lady Tyra said as she reached for the teapot and poured herself another cup of tea.
"If this is you making amends I'm afraid I am not impressed." Renner replied coldly.
"Oh no, this is just for my own satisfaction. I just wanted to share justice with you, my queen." Lady Tyra said with a smile.
"The real reason I came is that my house is ruined, of that I am sure. However, if my hard work is for naught I feel I might as well come clean with you." Lady Tyra said.
"Come clean with me? You have another confession." Renner asked.
"Yes your grace, have you ever heard of Zuranon?" Lady Tyra replied.
"The undead cult? You have information about them?" Maeve said now very interested in what she has to say.
"Indeed, you see for the past few decades my house has been having an interesting problem. You see the past head of the house knew Zuranon had their headquarters in our lands but he was powerless to stop them. After all we are an agricultural house not a martial one. What were we to do? Throw barley at them?" Lady Tyra said.
"So the previous head of the house, another imbecile that got himself killed by overdrinking. Couldn't bear the shame of being seen as weak so he covered it up instead of telling the crown." Lady Tyra said.
"So when you took over and found out, if you told the crown you would be guilty of harboring a death cult. The crown might suspect your house is sympathetic to the death cult's cause." Maeve stated.
"Yes indeed. So since my house is fated to return to the dirt I see no more reason to hide the truth." Lady Tyra said
Renner sat in silence as she gazed at the old women, she could have hidden that fact to her grave and caused untold damage to the nation. Yet here she sat, condemning her own house with her own lips so that the crown might take action to prevent another calamity.
"I thank you for your honesty Lady Tyra, if your information about Zuranon is correct I will allow you to live out your days in comfort." Renner said.
"You are a sweet one aren't you, it warms the heart that one such as you now leads this nation." Lady Tyra said as she gave Renner a weary smile.
"You are quite the woman Lady Tyra, this nation could use your talents." Maeve said
"I am a bit old to be doing much I'm afraid." Lady Tyra replied.
"I can arrange to fix that, if your information is correct, we could perhaps assign you a child to adopt. You may raise him as a suitable heir to your house then your house may go on. As for your age well Eden has many resources at its disposal we can extend your life if need be." Maeve said.
"Now that is quite something isn't it? An offer of more time on this world, the salvation of my house. Truly Eden is formidable, who would go against you if you would offer such sweet fruits." Lady Tyra said her first sincere wrinkled smile.
"You don't doubt me?" Maeve asked.
"Oh child, why would you lie when the truth is so much sharper. You know I am no fool and yet you speak of reversing age and delaying death. You are speaking the truth, that I know." Lady Tyra said
"Although my grandson might take issue with that course of action." Lady Tyra added not sounding very concerned.
"Will he be a problem?" Renner asked.
"Oh no of course not. I can just arrange for him to fall off his horse while he goes hunting or something along those lines." Lady Tyra said with a wave of her hand.
"Then we are agreed, thank you Lady Tyra. This discussion was much to my great pleasure, a very fruitful discussion." Renner said with a smile.
"Indeed it has been, fate works mysteriously doesn't it." Lady Tyra said as she rose to her feet.
"You have no idea, Lady Tyra." Maeve said with a grin.
Draconic Theatre
Genji stood at his position in his APC as they sped towards the defeated army's camp. The briefing said that there were a number of human prisoners in the camp. The Fallschirmjagers have killed off the scouts in the path of advance so their camp should be none the wiser. The camp was surrounded with wooden walls, the APCs and Dreadnoughts will ram through the walls and take the beastmen by surprise. They might hit a few prisoners but it was a sacrifice that command was willing to make. Better to preserve fighting men rather than rescue civilians.
Soon Genji could see the wooden fort, he looked to the side and saw the formation start to peel away as they prepared to surround the encampment. Then he heard the sound of bells being rung in the encampment. They were less than a 100 meters away and he could see the beastmen taking up positions along the wall.
"BRACE." the vehicle commander commanded.
Genji grabbed the handles on the side of the APC and tensed his body as he heard the grinder on the front of the APC roar to life as the APC accelerated to full speed. Then he felt the impact and was nearly thrown off his feet but he barely held his balance as he heard the shouts of the beastmen and splintering of wood as the grinder chewed through the wood like a hot knife through butter.
Myrrh a young mother with brown hair sat in her pen cradling her newborn. Her pen was a crude cage made of wood about ten meters from the wall. The beastmen liked to keep the pens close to the walls so that the prisoners could see the wall that kept them from freedom and also so that they could see the guards keeping them in. She looked to the small pink boy that was at her breast and felt her eyes go hot. Her son would be eaten tomorrow, it was all she could do to make him as comfortable as possible. The beastmen liked to eat newborns, they liked the soft bone of the babies. She was relatively well-fed, the reason for her health was that the beastmen wanted her to finish her pregnancy so that they could enjoy her child when it was born. She gave birth yesterday and now she sat weeping in her pen as she tried her best to cherish every moment she had left with her son.
So lost in her grief was she that she didn't even notice the alarm bells going off around her. She only realized when one of her fellow prisoners shook her to her senses. She looked around surprised as she saw the beastmen bear arms and run to their positions on the wall.
"An attack?" Myrrh muttered
"Did the beastmen lose? Were they about to be freed?" Myrrh dared to hope in a moment of desperation.
Then she saw the wall buckle and collapse as a red mass spinning of metal emerged from the wall. The beastmen atop the wall were thrown off the wall and landed in scattered heaps below the wall. Then she saw streaks of blue light fly overhead like a mass of shooting stars, the stars cut down the beastmen on the falls. The beastmen bled as they fell off the wall and collapsed into the dirt choking on their own blood.
There was a loud roar of some beast as the mass of metal pushed past the remains of the wall and emerged into the open. It was a metal chariot and atop the chariot she could see… humans?
The humans atop the carriage raised strange knife tipped staves as they fired off spells at the nearby beastmen cutting them down in droves. At the top of the carriage Myrrh could see a man grabbing onto a strange metal contraption that shot a flurry of spells at any beastmen in sight. The once invincible beastmen were cut to ribbons as the hail of spellfire flew out in all directions from the carriage.
The carriage advanced the great ram at the front spinning and roaring. A beastmen was knocked down in front of the carriage. Its legs were bent at an unnatural angle and it yowled like a wounded animal as it tried to crawl away from the spinning ram. Alas the carriage was faster and the beastman was caught in its spinning maw and was sucked in and minced into a red mush.
"Use cattle!" a beastmen brayed.
Myrrh's blood ran cold as she turned and saw a beastmen rip the door of the pen open. Beastmen rushed in and started grabbing the prisoners at random. One particular beastmen stormed over to Myrrh, she turned her back and held her son to her chest in an attempt to protect him. She felt a hand grab her by the hair and she screamed as she was dragged to her feet. She looked on in panic as she was dragged out of the pen, she prayed to the grace of the 41 that they would deliver her in this hour where hope and salvation was in sight.
Genji fired off another shot at a fleeing beastmen and he heard the roaring of engines behind him. He looked behind and saw a Wolverine tank rolling through the breach his APC made. The tank's turret spat shots into any beastmen in sight. With every hit the bodies of the beastmen blew apart into red mist as the shells tore through flesh like paper.
"Dismount!" the commander shouted.
Genji turned and prepared to exit his vehicle as he walked towards the door at the rear he saw a second APC enter the breach. True to their training his squad formed their firing line quickly and took position covering their respective sectors. Soon they were joined by two more squads who disembarked from their APCs. Now that their platoon has formed up they began pushing into the encampment downing any stray beastmen they came across. They moved and kicked down doors shooting and bayoneting any beastmen they ran into. It was strange there was no organized resistance to speak of, there weren't that many bodies at the walls. Where were all the beastmen?
Then Genji came across a large wooden cage, it looked like it was used to house prisoners. The wood was cheap and it looked hastily constructed. Judging by the size it could cram almost fifty people in here.
"A prisoner cage?" Varian asked as he opened the door to the pen and looked around inside.
"Yes but where are the prisoners?" Genji replied, his brows furrowed.
"We need to hurry…" Varian said with a grimace as the pair turned back and ran back to report to their commander.
Genji and his platoon swept the crammed collection wooden huts as they pushed toward the center of the encampment. He could hear the sounds of battle elsewhere, the cracks of spell rifles and the occasional boom of a Fallschirmjager spell. The tanks and APCs rolled forward, collapsing any structure they ran into.
The company pushed until finally they came to the center of the encampment and found something that stopped them cold. They were the first to arrive on the ground but they could already see the Fallschirmjagers surrounding the center from the air.
In the middle of the encampment was a massive square easily enough a 100 meters wide and in the middle was a ring of humans. They were mostly naked with a scant few wearing the rags that were once their clothes. Behind them stood the beastmen garrison of this camp, they were using the prisoners as meat shields.
One particular woman caught Genji's eye, she was thin with a long mane of tangled brown hair at her breast she held a newborn whom she clutched with a desperation only a mother could have.
It wasn't long before the rest of the encirclement arrived knocking down any obstructing buildings. The encirclement stood at the ready their weapons trained on the mass in the middle. Genji watched as the venerable dreadnought Fenix approached the trapped mass.
"Release the prisoners." Fenix said his low baritone echoing out across the square.
The silence was his answer, Fenix held his poise for a moment before turning to look at the dreadnought behind him. In response the other dreadnoughts all strode forward their great forms towering over the group of trembling beastmen and humans. The beastmen normally fearless now looked on at the towering titans with their swords as long as five men. Their frames ornate and gleaming in the setting sun. Their shadows cast a large profile across the mass drowning them in shadow.
"Release the prisoners and we will allow you to surrender. No more need to die this day." Fenix said again.
"Beastmen not surrender, we no cowards." a particularly large beastman replied as he walked out from the group.
"So you chose to die? You will not get a glorious end I promise you. You will not strike a single of our soldiers down. You will die impotent and worthless, your cause will die, your culture will die, your people will be a footnote in the annals of history. Or… you surrender and prove to us that your people can still be reasoned with." Fenix replied.
"We not fear death, we kill all manling here before die." the beastman said as he raised his cleaver and pointed it at a nearby man. The man whimpered and took a step back only to be shoved back by the beastman behind him.
"Very well." Fenix said as he raised his right arm and jet of flame erupted from a nozzle strapped under the arm. The other dreadnought all pointed their right arms at the mass and the humans at the edge began to scream and beg.
"Ready weapons." the officers shouted.
On instinct the Ordo Malleus soldiers raised their rifles but none could make themselves take aim. They merely held the rifles numbly at the wall of humans.
Genji watched as the young mother fell to her knees and begged for mercy. His rifle shook as his mind spun on the current situation.
"I can't do this…" Varian said shakily.
"Aim!" the officers commanded.
"Praise be to Touch Me lord of Justice grant me wisdom in this trial…" Varian prayed his eyes wide in terror.
"Fire!" the officers commanded.
Not a single round was fired, the entirety of the Ordo Malleus couldn't bring themselves to shoot the prisoners. Genji stood there his face pale as parchment his finger on the trigger but he just couldn't make himself do it.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL DOING! FIRE!" his officer shouted.
"FIRE OR I SWEAR BY THE 41 I'LL HAVE THE LOT OF YOU COURT MARTIALED!" another officer shouted.
"Calm yourself brothers, they are new to war. They have yet to be tempered in its fiery crucible." Fenix said calmly.
"My comrades of the Elysian Fallschirmjagers are your arms prepared?" Fenix called out.
"Aye venerable one." the Fallschirmjagers overhead echoed.
"Now then young ones, hear me. Let this be a lesson to you, duty comes easy when it costs you nothing. In war, a soldier must do what must be done. Now gaze, gaze into the true face of war." Fenix said as he fired off a stream of fire at the large beastmen.
The jet of flame turned the beastman and all those around him in humanoid torches. Human and beastmen alike screamed as they burned. All around the encirclement, the other dreadnought released their flame immolating everything within the circle. High above the Fallschirmjagers fired their spells into the burning mass flinging flaming chunks of meat in all directions.
Genji looked on horrified as the woman screamed as she clutched her babe tighter in her chest as she burned. Her once long brown hair was now gone burnt to cinders, her screams stopped as the fire burned her throat to charcoal. Still she clutched the baby shielding it from the fire to the best of her meager ability. Naturally it was for naught as the child was already black from the flames. The woman looked to Genji eyes wide with a desperate hope. Genji took aim with his rifle and shot the woman, the shot pierced the baby's head and entered her heart. Her eyes for a moment softened as the pain left her before closing. Her burning body collapsed into the mud as she breathed her last.
Varian seeing this began shooting the burning humans to put them out of their misery. The others followed his example and began putting down the burning prisoners. In moments every prisoner became a silent corpse leaving only burning beastmen. The large beastman leader staggered forward and raised his now red hot blade and made one last attempt to do a charge. Then two Fallschirmjagers flew down on either side of the beastmen.
[Cleanse] one of the Fallschirmjager intoned removing the fire, the beastman let out a croaking attempt at a bellow. The Fallschirmjagers then each stabbed their bayonets into the back of the beastman's knees nailing the beastman into the ground. The beastman made a haphazard swing at the Fallschirmjager to his right. The Fallschirmjager caught his arm and he then slugged the beastman in the face knocking out a tooth.
Genji watched as the Fallschirmjagers bound and gagged the beastman. They dragged him away from the fire and dumped him in the dirt leaving him in the agony of his burns. The gathered soldiers watched as the beastman all died as the fires scorched the flesh from their bones.
"Officers gather your troops. I have words for them." Fenix said as he walked forward and stood before the mass of blackened corpses.
The soldiers gathered in their units and arrayed themselves before the metal titan. The soldier's eyes were hollow as the truth of what just happened began to sink in.
"Some of you may know me, some may not. I am Venerable Dreadnought Fenix, I am of Legio Venator of the Ordo Mechanicus. This is my sixth millennia in this life, I was once as you are but I fell in battle and was restored as I am now. Today you witnessed the true face of war. Your first battle gave you a taste of battle but that was no true battle. In war sacrifices must be made, if you lack the conviction to do what must be done you will endanger both yourself and your fellows." Fenix said as he paused and looked around at the gathered soldiers.
"You soldier your rank and name." Fenix said as he gestured to Genji
"Corporal Genji Aico squad 4 platoon 3 Matadors Mechanized Infantry Battalion." Genji replied stiffly.
"You were the first to end the suffering of the civilians. For that you have my commendation, you have learned the first lesson of war. There is always a cost to war. It was your duty to protect the prisoners but failing to do so it was your duty to ease their suffering. Tell me was that duty a great burden?" Fenix asked
"Yes…" Genji replied softly.
"Duty comes easy when it costs you nothing, today's events will haunt you for the rest of your days. In truth if you soldiers had fired immediately as ordered some of the prisoners may have survived. The beastmen would have realised hostages were not effective and discarded them as shields. By hesitating you told the enemy that hostages were indeed effective, your inaction damned them. Yes if you had fired many would have died but some may have survived." Fenix said.
"Then why did you burn them all? Why didn't you tell us?" Genji asked tearfully.
"You wouldn't have learned, you would think that war is clean and there is always a way to victory that doesn't require sacrifice. When their scouts return they will find these corpses and report that hostages are ineffective. Remember we still have three cities to liberate, today we lost hundreds of prisoners but tomorrow we shall save thousands." Fenix replied.
The soldiers lowered their heads at those words unable to make themselves look upon the pile of charred corpses.
"Raise your head soldiers, gaze into the true face of war. Steel yourselves there are many battles to come, you are Ordo Malleus. You are the hammer that will crush your foes, you are the shields that guards the realms of men. You are the mailed fist of your nations, a velvet glove serves no purpose." Fenix boomed with a conviction as hard as adamantite.
Genji raised his head and looked to the woman with the babe still cradled in her black charred hands. Even in death the mother protects the child, this woman had no power, no training and no weapons. Yet in the fire she still tried to shield her child…
So how can he, armed, trained and equipped by the best this world had to offer, bow his head. So he raised his head and took one last look at the young mother and raised his head to look at the metal titan. He saw Fenix face him ever so slightly and though the metal titans body could not nod in approval Genji knew he had received the mighty titan's approval.
Genji turned to see Varian still looking at the blackened earth at his feet.
"Raise your head Varian, our weakness and naivety did this. The least we can do is be strong enough to look at what our weakness has wrought. May the ghosts of this place forgive us." Genji said his voice stronger than before.
In the silence his voice carried across the entire battalion and starting with Varian one by one the soldiers raised their heads and looked upon the charred corpses. The despair and horror that was once there now slowly turned to conviction. The conviction was the determination to not let weakness rule them ever again, this will not happen again.
"Good, take five minutes to make whatever peace you have with the dead. After that we return to the line, we cannot linger here. We need the scouts to carry word of what happened here to their misbegotten kind." Fenix said.
Genji and Varian walked towards the young mother and stood before the charred corpse. Varian reached into his jacket and pulled out the rosary of Touch Me and clasped it in his hands. He knelt down and put his hands together. He pointed his thumb, index and middle finger straight up and intertwined his ring and index finger. The rosary hung from his ring finger and dangled above the corpse. Varian closed his eyes and pressed his lips to his index and middle finger. The finger symbolizes the 41 as a pillar that supports all things so when the prayer is said it is said directly to the supreme ones.
"We… we beseech Touch Me, paragon of justice and light to bring…" Varian said, stammering unable to find the words.
Genji felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned to see a Fallschirmjaeger standing behind him. The Fallschirmjager knelt beside Genji and Varian and formed the same pose with his hands. His rosary was more ornate and as he knelt incense within the rosary began to burn and light scent began spreading in the square. Genji looked around and saw the other Fallschirmjaegers were kneeling in a circle around the corpses. When they all knelt and held their position of prayer they began to speak as one.
We beseech Touch Me
Paragon of justice and light
Bring these souls into your light
We beseech Bukubuku Chagama
Mother of life and compassion
Bring these souls into your warm embrace
We beseech Momonga
Lord of Death and Duty
May the one above all judge these souls with mercy
May the one above all punish the unworthy dead we send to you
May the one above all grant us strength
May the one above all grant us the strength to do our duty
So that we do not disgrace your teachings
This we pray to the supreme ones of the 41
May thy kingdom come and thy will be done
41 deliver us
A Morte Perpetua
Domine Libra Nos
As one the those who prayed raised their rosaries and kissed them before stowing them away.
"Thank you sir." Varain said
"Honour the fallen, that is the way of the Ordo Malleus." the Fallschirmjaeger replied from behind his mask.
"Forgive me but what is that incense? I have heard stories of old that prayers must be conducted with incense but we have never been able to find nor afford it. The stories of the past are lost to time." Genji asked
The incense?
Myrrh
Dwarven Kingdom Capital, Feo Jera
Gondo Firebeard walked towards the great hall, under his arm was a great tome. Within the tome was written the great teaching of their lord Amanomahitotsu. The tome was the one of the few complete copies that held the complete knowledge of the sacred craft of Runecrafting. Gondo has been trying to push the boundaries of Runecrafting for years but has found little to no success.
His father was the Grand Runelord of the Dwarven Kingdom answerable only to the high king himself. His father Gandor Firebeard was the only dwarf that ever successfully carved five runes on a piece of equipment. However this was only possible because Gondo had spent years refining techniques and testing his theories. To the court the Firebeard clan were finest runecrafters in the kingdom. However, there was a problem. Although Gondo was an exceptionally talented theorist he had no talent in actually carving the runes. In fact he wasn't even considered a Runelord, he was merely a Runesmith. Runesmith was a rank two rungs below the rank of Runelord. Many in court held the belief that Gondo would never become a Runelord.
As Gondo approached the door of the great hall he could hear the singing of the feast as the proud dwarves sang their songs in honor of their great guest. As Gondo entered he could hear the songs of old being sung.
Down in the deep,
Where the dragons used to sleep,
Glorious gold,
Glimmers in our home of old,
Dark as the night,
Where the day has lost its light,
When the hammer falls.
And it sounds through the halls,
When the hammer strikes,
And the kingdom comes to life,
When the hammer pounds,
Like the thunder underground,
When the hammer falls,
WHEN THE HAMMER FALLS!
Gondo walked past the lines of tables filled with proud dwarfs as they toasted and sang. The food and ale ran freely as the Dawi celebrated. Their loud voices rang out in the hall as one, their voices booming their pride as dwarves.
Of legend and myth,
Is the craft of the smith,
The molten metal poured,
And pounded into sword,
From the fire is made,
Every Dwarven axe and blade,
When the hammer falls…
At last Gondo reached the head table where the king, his father and the honored guest sat. The high king dressed in his finest clothes and his great father sitting proud at his king's right hand. Then there was the honored guest who was dressed in robes of red, his one eye of metal that glowed with a green light. The guests' apparel came from legend, the dwarf wore the garb of the Ordo Mechanicus. The organization of old that exemplified the values of their patron god Amanomahitotsu.
It was said in the distant past, back in the age of the gods, before the manling heresy there was an Ordo Mechanicus branch in the Dwarven kingdom. However, during the manling heresy the Ordo Mechanicus left the kingdom to aid their brother Ordo, the Ordo Malleus. The highking at the time dispatched an army to escort and fight with the Ordos. In the end, news came that the Ordos were defeated by the heretics of the six, none of those who were sent out ever returned. Legend said the high king wept for three days and three nights when he received the news. His grief turned to rage in the coming days and so the high king declared that no manling filth was to ever enter the domain of the Dawi. The Dawi would never bend to the six false gods, if their followers wished for Dawi blood they could damn well enter the mountain and take it.
So the dwarfs sealed themselves away, only recently trading with the nearby empire who did not follow the six. However, the trade was minimal as though the government did not bend to the six many of the traders still followed the faith of the six. If any trader was caught with any religious symbol of the six they and their goods were promptly booted out of the mountain. For the Dawi do not take tainted goods, the faith of the six has no place within their mountain home.
Then a few days before a red-robed dwarf flanked by metal warriors appeared at the gate to dwarven kingdom. At first no one could believe it, it has been hundreds of years since the cursed expedition out into the surface. When the great smiths of the kingdom convened and looked at the quality of equipment that the group wore it was hard to disbelieve their words.
Now Gondo knelt before the high king his head bowed before his liege.
"You have joined us at last young Firebeard." the king said
"I have my king, I bring the sacred tome. I wish to speak with the Magos on my theories." Gondo said.
"Son this is a feast, perhaps this can wait?" his father said
"The Magos is busy. I wish just a moment of his time, a simple yes or no answer would suffice." Gondo replied. He wanted his proof here, before all the naysayers of the court. He knew his theories were possible but he just lacked the means. He would show these old fools who were stuck in their ways...
"Young Firebeard, this is a celebration it would not do to trouble our guest with work in this time of mirth." the high king replied.
"It is fine your grace, to me seeing the passion of a dedicated craftsman is as sweet as any ale." the Magos said calmly.
"Very well." the high king said with a nod.
Elated Gondo approached the Magos and opened the book to the page he desired.
"Great Magos thank you for your time, you have my eternal gratitude." Gonda said with a bow.
"Then waste not, proceed with your questions." the Magos replied
"Yes I have been pondering a theory with regards to interchangeable runes. Runes are channels of mana if runes can be changed equipment can be created that can swap enchantments on demand. Poison can be combined with fire to create miasma, ice and electricity can create the mana burn effect. Elemental tactics once only the domain of coordinated magic casters can now be utilized by front line soldiers on an individual level. If a mechanism can be created to allow for the circuit to swap runes then this would be a possibility." Gondo said.
Gondo could sense the looks of disdain from the other runelords, this idea although sounding attractive was often dismissed as impossible. The moment a rune was removed the circuit would break warping the runes and ruining the equipment. His father has tried to test the theory with him but each time as expected the runes would warp. The other Runelords viewed this as a waste of precious resources and a fool's errand.
"Indeed, go on?" the Magos said not dismissing the idea.
"Yes the only issue would be the runes warping once the circuit was broken which would render the weapon useless. I have thus far been unable to find a solution so I just wished to ask if it was possible." Gondo asked
"Nothing is impossible young one, as for your question, yes it is." the Magos replied with the same tone as one would use when describing the weather.
"Lord Magos if what Young Firebeard says is indeed plausible this would drastically change the way war is waged." the high king said. Now he was very interested.
"I wouldn't say that your grace, these types of weapons are by design expensive and difficult to use." the Magos said
"Lord Magos forgive me but you speak as if you have seen such weapons before." Gondo's father Gandor said.
"I have, I own one myself." the Magos replied as he put his right hand out as if to grab something. Then an axe appeared in his hand, it was massive, easily twice as tall as the Magos, it has pair of double edged curved blades on one side forming a crescent.
Gondo felt his jaw drop to the floor as he looked to the legendary piece of war gear. He counted nine runes on each blade and another ten on the handle. That made 28 runes on a single piece of equipment.
"By the forge lord's grace…" the high king said as he stood up shakily.
Gondar and the rest of the court was no different as they all stood up in wonder. The entire hall went silent as they gazed at the master-crafted axe.
"This is my personal weapon, I constructed this one personally." the Magos replied calmly unfazed by the shock of the entire room.
"You mentioned combining elements to form unique effects? Behold miasma." the Magos said as the axe glowed and Gondo watched as a mechanism spun and a rune was slotted at the base of each blade. The blade was then covered with a sickly brown glow as the miasma enchantment formed.
"It's not 28 its 30 runes?" Gondo asked incredulously.
"It uses 30 at any given time, it has a total of 58 runes that can be interchanged." the Magos said.
"This weapon is considered a transforming weapon, there are many in history the most famous is perhaps the Crescent Rose. A transforming scythe that could fire ranged projectiles, the weapon and the user, inspired a form in the schools of Touch Me. The form known as Ruby's Wail, a berserker fighting style that utilizes evasion and speed to overwhelm the enemy with devastating strikes. This weapon copies some of the concepts of that legendary weapon, observe." the Magos said.
Gondo watched as the two blades rotated and now pointed at both sides at the top of the haft. This turned the axe into a warpick with its twin curved blades. Then the blades shifted again, now they turned upwards with both tips now pointing straight up turning the warpick into a spear.
"Nothing is impossible my brothers and sisters, there is only a desire to seek the next great breakthrough and the will to overcome any hurdle." the Magos said with a smile.
"Will you teach us Lord Magos." Gondar said his voice humbled now sounding like a young apprentice.
"Perhaps later, the food is getting cold, it would be a shame to waste such a fine fare. There is much time to learn." the Magos replied with a chuckle as he stowed his weapon away.
Who knows perhaps I might take some of you to visit the forge world of Mars…
Authors Note:
Hey guys hope you liked this chapter. Thanks to everyone who left a review, it means the world to me.
Anyway, the latest volume of Overlord has been released. So with it comes some canon confirmations, as of writing the fan translations aren't complete so I will be slowing the pace of the story with regards to the kingdom and shifting the focus to Neia, the dwarves and the elves for a while.
As of now, there is a continuity error here, in a previous chapter Philip was named Philip Stultus in this story. However, according to the latest canon material Philip is of the house Montserrat. So going forward I will be following the canon with regards to this. Also the palace of the Re-Estise kingdom has been confirmed as the Valencia Palace so expect that name to come up at some point. So the next chapter will probably focus on the side storylines.
So once again leave a review and tell me what you think. I love to hear from you guys and the reviews really get me pumped up to do more writing especially with the latest volume out.
Also on a final and much more important note to all my readers I wish all of you safety and health during this pandemic. Stay alert but don't panic the world has come a long way since the black death and the Spanish flu. We'll get through this.