Huge thanks go out to Radioactive for inspiring Krotia and Plunos. Six for inspiring… well, Emilia. Astraeuzz for inspiring Astreuz. Asri for making me make Asri. Lovely for making me think up Lyn's role in this story. LeePrince for giving me a vision of the ill-fated Adriel (sorry darling D: ) . And that's about it. Kayle and Ana belong to Rito Gems. Have a good one folks!
Chapter 5: Inquisition
And the sky came crashing down.
High Templar Meridius faltered as her wings fluttered weakly and carried her half way back down to the bastion. But with the last vestiges of her power, however, the Protector of Irongate summoned whatever was left of her reserves and shot a beam of brilliant golden light into the sky.
Watching from beneath her, Emilia gaped. Panic hit her like a charging Minotaur; why wasn't the High Templar pushing back the avalanche of destruction that was Mount Ashbourne?
Her answer came one second later as a golden protective barrier began covering Irongate from the ground up.
Emilia, like the countless other Sefiro around her who were still alive, heaved a collective gasp of relief and awe.
It was Divine Intervention- one of the most powerful Sefiro spells since the beginning of time, and mastered only by a few. It was a shield that could supposedly protect the shielded from anything and everything. Which indeed it was doing, now, as the ashes and lava and rock boulders came to a crashing stop yet again on their path of destruction towards Irongate.
So one disaster had been averted, if only temporarily.
But what of the enemies?
Surely, the avalanche must have buried the them already, no?
The Defenders of the great fortress city got their answer one second later as Fallen soldiers began scaling over the bastion, and with one bloodthirsty battle cry swords began clashing as the war, for the first time in six thousand years, breached the walls of Irongate.
(break)
The Guardians Council…
'We need the Inquisitors.'
The Sefiro saying it spoke with the conviction and finality of a decision already made, heedless of the fact that most of his five fellow Guardians were giving each other uneasy looks. Some were even squirming in their gilded seats.
Aatrox was disgusted. How such weaklings managed to ascend to the Council of Guardians was beyond him. The blade resting at his side hummed with energy. But he would have no use of it here. Aatrox was frustrated.
'No', Josephine Kayle and her husband, Josephus, both shook their heads.
'Yes', Syndra disagreed, cutting in, as she leveled a glare at the two married Guardians, 'Meridius is faltering even as we speak, and even her Divine Intervention will not last forever.'
'At most, it will buy us half a day, and even that is a huge stretch', Syndra cast her gaze across every faces in the room, as if daring them to challenge her judgment, 'either we call in the Inquisitors now and Irongate will hold…'
'…or let your Justicars handle it, and Irongate will fall', Aatrox finished, giving his ally the slightest hint of a smirk. With Syndra's backing, the request should come through. And then, the Fallen would all be vanquished under the terrifying might of the Undying Scourge that was the Order of the Inquisitors.
'Syndra, Aatrox, please', there were clear traces of worry, some might even say desperation, in Josephine's voice, 'not a single Sefiro has been evacuated and all the Justicars are still fighting on the bastion. If you call in the Inquisitors now… none will survive.'
'They will all be dead. There is blood on their swords', Josephus gave Aatrox an icy stare, 'you know the Inquisitors cannot differentiate friend from foe.'
Instead of faltering at the subtle implications that he was deliberately going to order the murder of countless Sefiro, Aatrox homed in on the point. He would have his Inquisitors, at whatever cost, and he would win the war. Then he would be a hero to the people and easily make High Templar. Maybe even Judicator was within reach…
Matters of hand disrupted his fantasies, however, and the crimson-eyed Guardian was snapped back to the present.
'Precisely, but we will wipe out all of the Fallen in the valley. And as they retreat with blood on their swords, the Inquisitors will follow them all the way back to the Twilight Council.'
'We could end this accursed war right here, right now!', Syndra exclaimed gleefully, balling her hands into fists. There was a maniac-stricken glint in her eyes. The other two Guardians in the room looked between Aatrox and Syndra, and the two Kayles. They were silently hoping they would somehow not be noticed.
'Well…', Aatrox turned to them slowly, dreadfully.
'What are your opinions?'
'We will call in the Inquisitors', Syndra phrased it like a statement rather than a question, 'and we will have your assent… right?'
She added the last part as an afterthought.
Nevir and Astreuz did not appreciate the way Syndra thought of their standing, though only one immediately made her decision.
'I decide to not call in the Inquisitors', Astreuz spoke up, locking eyes with the Kayles and briefly nodding before she turned the full force of her gaze on what was in her personal opinion the war-mongering Aatrox and his equally insufferable compatriot- Syndra.
'Josephine was right, we need to give time for our people to evacuate', she emphasized the point by giving the disgruntled man and woman a pointed look, 'once most of the Sefiro are safe, you can call in the Inquisitors as you wish.'
'Hmphh!', Syndra huffed, though most ignored her. Being the youngest member on the Council of Guardians, the former Mage had been promoted again and again and again as she proved her capabilities in battle, many times being almost single-handedly responsible for repulsing the waves of Fallen approaching the Dark Mountains Canyon.
A young Sefiro, and her Force of Will was already surpassing many of those far superior to her in both years and training.
Her eventual ascent to Guardian had been foreseen by Aatrox for hundreds of years, who, seeing in the younger Sefiro the same bloodlust that was the core of his being, had had quite the hand in guiding Syndra towards her eventual position.
Allies were hard to gain, especially in the Council, what with the two Kayles having dominated their seats of power for more years than Aatrox could remember. And more years than were necessary, he mused from time to time.
For now, however, all eyes turned to Nevir. He, too, was a more recent addition to the Council, his place made possible by the ascent of Meridius- that being a blessing unto itself.
Meridius was the epitome of all things Sefiran, the living embodiment of Justice, an avatar of the light and a source of inspiration for all her people. That also made her annoyingly…chummy…with the two Kayles, and what with Meridius's opinion often being held in higher regard than even any two other Guardians combined Aatrox had felt isolated sitting on his seat of power.
With her rise to High Templar, however, and with the relatively un-experienced Nevir taking her place, Aatrox had dared dream for things to change.
He was to be sorely disappointed.
'I agree with Astreuz. We should… uh… evacuate our people. Yeah.', he spoke, haltingly. Aatrox saw Astreuz give the young Guardian an encouraging look and felt his patience, what little of it was left, bleed away.
'Right', he snapped, with perhaps more force than was necessary.
'It is decided, then', the two Kayles spoke as one. Astreuz nodded her ascent, eyes condescending as she managed to stare down Syndra, who was trying her best to not have an outburst.
'Fine then. Evacuate your people. We will call in the Inquisitors the second they leave.'
'…', Josephus gave Aatrox a silent look. But the look said more than whatever words could. Aatrox grimaced.
'Evacuate our people, we will.'
The subtle implications were clear in the way Astreuz implied that Aatrox saw Sefiro as people of not his own.
But he let it pass. Astreuz could act stuck up for all she wanted. She could not stop what was coming, anyways.
He would have his Inquisitors, if only a bit later.
And then, there will be blood.
He had waited for thousands of years. Half a day more would be nothing. With that thought, Aatrox reclined in his throne, one hand absent-mindedly caressing the hilt of his mighty sword as the Kayles and Astreuz filed out of the chamber, quickly followed by Nevir.
Syndra sat across from him and frowned at his smile in her typical Syndra way, Aatrox could almost feel the girl asking him telepathically just what exactly there was to smile about.
The smile did not leave his face when Aatrox himself exited the chamber.
Irongate's walls might be crumbling not too far from where he stood but…
It might be a great day, after all.
(break)
4000 years ago, at the Keep Of Azmarin…
The Justicar's breathing was ragged as he ran. While not prone to tire, as was the norms for the Sefiro race, our particular Justicar in question had been maintaining a steady running pace for the last twenty one hours, and it was beginning to cause his vision to get a little unfocussed.
Aatrox was carrying a vital battle order to a secret location which he had only learnt of the day before. Flying was not an option- the Fallen Arch Mages had cursed the skies above Azmarin with Torment, such that any Sefiro attempting to lift their wings would have to endure mind-numbing pain, which could be fatal if exposed to for lengths of time.
Thus, the high ranking Justicar had to endure the run while carrying the mass of his immense sword that was clasped to a sheath on his back, easily seven stones in weight and tall as a man.
The order, in itself, was odd. Aatrox had had a lot of time to mull over every written word as he ran, but he was still puzzled. Yes, he had been sent to summon units before; detachments of Justicars, units of Legionnaires, and once he had even been part of a three-man party sent to sequester the aid of Judicator Arianna to stop a massive tsunami that threatened the coastal provinces east of The Wandering Seas.
But never before had he been asked to go alone with such specific instructions as these. They went along the lines of;'Get to the altar. Read out the precise incantations. And no matter what happens, never withdraw your sword.'
Never withdraw his sword? First of all, why? And secondly, why would there be a need to ever contemplate withdrawing his sword if he was summoning friendly forces?
But being the good Sefiro soldier that he was, Justicar Aatrox did not question his orders any further, mind drifting off elsewhere as his tiring feet carried him forwards. Still, the weight of duty another burden resting on his strong shoulders as he ran.
(break)
At the same time, in the Institute…
'Lyn. No', Asri groaned as she felt a pair of familiar hands snake themselves around her waist. Lyn silenced her with a nibble to the ear and cut off all attempts at resistance by cupping her girlfriend's breasts through the armored weave.
'Not here!', she hissed, even as her knees began to go weak and her sword fell slowly her side, with her hand gripping it like it was the last plank of wood and she was a sailor lost at sea.
The momen-
Stop.
S.V's note to readers: (sappy stuff you can skip if you don't want to know about my sad life)
I'm sorry. (going to unbold now) I can't write anymore. Something came up. Allow me to explain. A while back I fell in love with a certain someone. As I finished up Chapter 3: Lucid I professed my love. Relieved, I sped through writing 4 and was exactly at 5 above when said person took my offered heart, put it on the cold, hard ground, and drove into it with the pointy end of a serrated knife.
It will take about two more weeks for my broken heart to finish bleeding and begin to mend. On that very day I applied for and got a job at a supermarket (Cold Storage). While loading cargo is not the best job for one of my delicate and petite frame, it does take my mind off my shattered hopes and dreams. Best to keep myself busy these days.
With time, I might heal.
Maybe.
I don't know. Sorry for the short chapter.
I will resume writing as soon as I can, as said above. Until next time, have a good day folks!