Suleyman didn't know what to expect from the Hunt.
It was a simple contract. A Hunter Clan found a roving Ahamkara around the vast Taigas of what used to be the Canadian-American Border of the North American Commonwealth. The overgrown government buildings were all caked in a layer of Snow, making a perfect nesting ground for the Wish Dragon. Suleyman and several of his friends were contracted, being paid in Rare, Blue-Quality Sparrows, Legendary Marks, and Awoken-Forged Armor.
Now, Suleyman lays inside an abandoned building, providing only a roof over his head. He sits down cross legged, trying to drown out the Wish-Dragon's roar and the orders of Fireteam Commanders on his Helmet Radio.
His helmet lay beside him, an Obsidian Mind, forged from God Knows What from the bowels of Luna. He hears the commands of various Lightbearers and Guardians, all giving directions and ideas to proceed with the Hunt.
He hears the muffled voices of Carlos, Terrence, Sera, and Alnar. Their commands and directions resonate through each other. Such communications are vital to the survival of every Lightbearer. Thoughts need to be directed, Focus needs to be Captured. All so that the Objective may be completed.
The Current Objective? The 'death' of the Dragon of this land. Of course, Suleyman knows it can't actually die, but so long as its bones are fine-dust, spread into the winds of this Arctic Hellscape, it shall no longer be a problem.
Why was he here? Suleyman thinks about the scenario over and over again. Realistically, the Ahamkara, designated by itself as Orion, shouldn't have been a threat. It minded its business for a time, only proving hostile once a group of Hunters disturbed it with scathing Insults.
"Fools…" Suleyman murmurs as he closes his eyes. He focuses on the Void Net woven around the trapped Ahamkara, and constricts.
—
Sera dodges as the Ahamkara spits acid at her, melting the tree behind the Hunter. Using what she learned of the void from Suleyman, she tears open a space and Blinks through, emerging from the other side with an Estoc made of Arc Light shimmering in her hands. She holds herself steady on the branch of a spruce tree before charging off the branch, jumping onto the Ahamkara thrashing about its restraints.
The Ahamkara remains pinned from several wrought-iron chains and the intricate Spider-Webs of Nightstalkers and Voidwalkers. It writhes in Paracausal Power, shifting its appearance to free itself, but the weight of the Void around it Suppresses it to the point of surrender.
Grasping one of its shimmering tentacles, she jumps again onto the creature's head. The bone of its skull attempts to contort as she clambers onto its face, turning into slimy flesh, then shimmering scales, then to a rotten mass, and finally back into shimmering scales.
Sera grips her Estoc's long, stiff blade made of Arc Light, jamming it into one of the Ahamkara's Eyes.
The Creature writhes.
"Correct Eye!" Sera calls out. "Alnar! Jannah! Bring it down!"
"Let's do this!" Alnar and Jannah, Strikers from the scorching desert of Old-Arabia, fall upon the Dragon with a bolt of Lightning. The Dragon reels as the two land upon its spines with a crushing strike, contorting the Dragon and breaking its bones. Sera jumps off the Dragon's screaming head as Arc Light engulfs it.
"Mouth agape! Carlos!" Jannah calls out. Both Jannah and Alnar jump off the Dragon's broken spine and land upon the concrete exposed from the writhing power and wind.
"Eat Light, Shark-tooth!" Carlos feeds Solar Light into his Machine Gun as he hears Jannah, sending nuggets of Solar Light into the Dragon's skin, setting its flesh ablaze with incomprehensible flame.
The Ahamkara continues to writhe and scream. It cannot escape. The relentless assault has immobilized it, the Void Suppression leaves it unable to reliably utilize its own power. The fire does not relent. Lightbearers surrounding the creature fire grenades and rockets. The explosives worsen the Dragon's condition, sending chunks of flesh and bone across the concrete. black bood spills across the snowy concrete field.
Suddenly, using five of his eyes, Orion the Dragon notices a Hunter that has approached far too close. With a swift exertion, the Dragon manifests a claw from its Left Side, slamming down on the Hunter. The Dragon smiles as he feels the unlucky Lightbearers bones splinter under the weight of his claws.
The Pressure of the Void lifts slightly. The Ahamkara laughs.
—
Suleyman feels the Void weaken from his concrete vantage point. He constricts harder. The stress on his face is apparent to his Titan Guards.
Enlil and Mardak know that a Warlock's might is not to be underestimated. Such stress causing Suleyman's furrowed brows and obvious grimace isn't to be trifled with. The Titans standing by can only watch as Suleyman attempts to patch the gap in the Ahamkara's cage, stretching his influence from the concrete building Suleyman is stationed in, to the park a few kilometers away.
Enlil starts his helmet radio and asks for a status report from someone within the Kill-Team. He hears nothing but shouting and the sounds of death.
Eventually, a voice is heard. Making sure the radio is only heard by Enlil and Mardak only, Enlil asks a question.
"Report?"
"Sh-Shavi ist tot… u-und Terrence auch…" an exhausted voice speaks over the radio. "Their Ghosts are fine, b-but the Cage… Shavi got too close… a-and this turkey managed to crush her… The Void is loosening…"
"Shavi?.. The Nightstalker?" Mardak asks.
"Ese Pendejo no se rinde, Sera! We have to- Ergh!" Carlos speaks up, his voice echoing loud through Sera's radio.
"Y-yes! Hold him off… … Ahh… Tell Suleyman to get over here… We need to… Agh!" Sounds of falling ruble blare through the radio.
"JUST! Get Suleyman… And get him over here, ich bitte dich. Tell him… Sera is looking for him… GO!"
Enlil hears the signal cut. He looks briefly at Mardak before squatting down to shake Suleyman's shoulders.
"Sera is looking for you… one of the Nightstalkers is dead… and I think one of the Titans are too… Sera wants you to come over there…"
"amınakoyim…" Suleyman curses silently, opening his eyes. Void Energy flows out of his eye slits like a gentle smoke from a candle. "If I let go, there's no doubt that the beast escapes… What the fuck does she want from me?"
"We have no idea as well, Suley… But if the situation is that bad… It might be best to let it go…"
"Aaah…. yarrağı yedin…" Another curse, Suleyman loosens his grasp on the void. No doubt now the Ahamkara is free.
Suleyman stands, picking up the Obsidian Mind on the concrete floor.
"Fine… Let's Go…"
—
Sera was sitting down on a concrete ledge, outside of a long abandoned building. Snow melted around her as her rage seethed just below her skin. She rested her face in her palms, closing her weary eyes.
The Hunt was going really, really well. The Beast was chained and Suppressed. They were stocked up on ammunition and weaponry. The plan worked…
So how… How did that Beast free itself?
Was it really all Shavi's fault? Was it because she got too close?
No… Sera cannot think about that. The Past is dead… Seize only what is Today… Sera grumbled a mantra under bated breath, still buried in her hands.
"Die Vergangenheit ist tot, also nutze den Tag…"
Her mind wandered back to her New Light, the one she found that fateful day in the European Dead Zone. She thinks about her now, down in the City, in the warm Southern Air.
Better there than here. Amongst the ice and snow, nothing can be seen but an endless sea of whites and grays and browns. Sera couldn't smell anything but the overwhelming smells of pine needles and elk urine.
Sera wanted to leave.
"Madame…" A voice cut through Sera's thoughts. Sera straightens up and turns around.
Shavi was standing there, her armor was fixed and her face was no healthier than she had been when they started. Such is the power of the Lightbearers that Death cannot hold them long.
"Shavi… What do you need?" Sera stands up, the melted snow flows off the plates and the skinsuit comprising her defenses.
"Suleyman is here… Much like you he isn't thrilled about… all of this…" Shavi looks at Sera with a hint of guilt.
"Bring him out here…"
"Your will be done…"
Shavi turns to enact Sera's command, bowing slightly with her hands furled before she leaves but Sera stops her, calling out her name.
"Hey… Shavi?"
"Yes?" Shavi turns around, caressing back her Black hair behind her ear.
"It wasn't your fault… Don't blame yourself… Okay?"
"..Yes, ma'am…" Shavi hesitatingly replies, turning to leave, her back straighter than when she entered.
—
Suleyman was angry at their failure. Angry at the time wasted. Angry at the very scenario. He saw no reason as to why they're here. This conflict served zero purpose. Why, oh God, Why was he here?
If there was a God, Suleyman would like to strike at him with every ounce of Light he has.
Walking through the broken, wet corridors the Hunting Party has taken shelter in, following a very frightened Shavi, Suleyman tries to think of what he would say to Sera in response to whatever she would say to him.
Suleyman considered himself- no, prided himself on being a forward thinker, thinking several steps ahead for every scenario. But for now, anger consumed him. He could not think. Not even when he approached Sera, standing out in the open snow.
"You called?" Suleyman gruffs, annoyed.
"Yes…" Sera breathed out. A cloud of vapor floated in front of her as she whirls around to face Suleyman. "We had a nice long talk with the rest of our little Hunting Party and we have decided upon two choices…"
Sera raises two fingers.
"Suley… We either stay here and keep looking for that fucking turkey… or we call in die Kavallerie and attempt to finish what we started…"
Sera's eyes glow a threatening gray, her rage only barely contained. Though Suleyman and her are relative equals, no doubt she wouldn't hesitate to strike him down if he says anything to provoke her. Although…
Suleyman did want to leave, to get the hell out of this frozen wasteland and spend a year or two in someplace warm and nice. But with his pride, he couldn't let a Beast he had worked so hard to wound escape while it's on the verge of death.
"You know exactly what I want, komşu."
Sera smiles subtly.
"Do I? Do you want to leave, go back to Anatolia while the rest of us freeze to our deaths in this hellhole?" Sera teases, her subtle smile growing bolder by the second.
Suleyman chuckles. Sera's anger diminishing, leaving only scathing remarks in her words, makes Suleyman feel just a little better about their conversation.
"If only I was that sensible… Life would be so much easier… Who are we calling?" Suleyman suddenly turns serious.
Sera sighs.
"Jalus is an obvious pick… Crayon Eater isn't smart but he is tough… and he is also fairly good when it comes to defense…"
"Just Jalus?" Suleyman asks, raising his eyebrow quizzically.
"No… maybe get Fairy and Lux to join us… You know how much they love each other..." Sera grumbles as her mind wanders to more… obvious choices. Suleyman notices this and points it out.
"What about Mazdam and Mithra? Are they not your closest allies?"
Suleyman watches as Sera looks back out at the white and snowy world beyond, thinking.
"They are focused on rearing New Lights. They wouldn't even be four Weeks Risen by now… I can't leave the Blueberries alone in the City so if I bring Mithra and Mazdam… the New Lights would have to follow…"
"What is the harm? Just let them stay back and watch… Inform them of how the Ahamkara work… Make sure they don't get any ideas… What problem will they bring?"
"That's the issue, Suleyman… I don't know what will happen. If the Dragon gets to their mind… What's stopping him from using them like a puppet or… whatever malicious deed…"
"Well… if you're this hung up over it, will Mazdam and Mithra be that big enough of an advantage to weigh against that risk?" Suleyman reasons.
Sera grumbles. "Mazdam and Mithra are the strongest wielders of Light we have… Mithra specifically… You know what it would mean for her to help you, Suley…"
"Well… It's your choice, Fireteam Leader…" Suleyman breathes in the frozen air.
"Jalus, Fairy, Lux…" Suleyman lists off names of the aforementioned Kavallerie. "Mithra and Mazdam… and their New Lights?"
"Yes… Yes.." Sera confirms the selection, mostly to herself. "The New Light's names… one of them is likely to be a Hunter, call her Caravel… The other, an apparent Warlock… he has no name… but call him what he pleases…"
"Understood… I'll head back to the rest of the Party and give them a summary of what we're doing now. Should I let the the others begin a search party?"
"No need… I'll lead the them myself… Just let them know, Suleyman…"
"As you wish, Glorious Leader…"
Suleyman leaves, leaving Sera in the snow.
—
Sera's mind reels, thinking about the decision she's made.
The two New Lights will be coming north to Canada. They won't be helpful. They may very well prove to be a burden on her and her team. But Sera can't help but feel protective. After all, the City wasn't perfect… rats of all kinds stalk the alleyways. Criminal lightbearers, Dredgens and Dredgen barons trying to emulate that killer's footsteps. They're mostly pretenders, edgelords who value deep shades of Nothingness-Black than real threats, but due to how many of them there still are, Sera doesn't feel confident. Only a single true Dredgen is needed to massacre a good portion of the City. Though the Consensus is strong with many Loyal Lightbearers, it's cunning and cruelty which caused Yor to terrorize as much as he did.
Sera's mind rushes back to the two New Lights. The Hunt has gone on for three weeks longer than expected. No doubt much has changed within the two. Thankfully, messages sent from both Mazdam and Mithra both inform Sera of the New Lights' progress.
Caravel, Sera's New light currently under Mazdam's wing, has taken a liking to marksmanship, often toying with the bolt of the hunting rifle she has taken from the E.D.Z. Sera chuckles as she remembers how bright Caravel's eyes were when she asked Sera if she could keep it and how wide she smiled when Sera said yes. She has grown more consistent, sending bullets to their targets with greater accuracy, though it is revealed she still has a long way to go before she'll ever match Sera's accuracy with a bow.
Otherwise, Caravel has apparently grown fond of close ranged fights alongside further engagements. Mithra even remarks how Caravel had almost killed Mazdam while they were training on a "Sniper in close range" scenario. Apparently, Caravel, instead of pulling out a dagger or using the Light, had simply decided to use the butt end of her rifle as a club and almost beat Mazdam to death with it.
Mithra claims Caravel was only frightened at being snuck up upon, but this voracity in close range was almost continuously observed. She skillfully dodged, wove between punches, and returned some more. Even Jalus had trouble sending her down, though he eventually did. Mithra even ponders getting Caravel a shotgun. Mazdam remarks that a deadly Close-Quarters fighter and a frightening Far-Ranged Assassin would be a useful ally to have.
Mithra's New Light, in contrast, has become a voracious learner and fighter. A warrior-mage, befitting of Sera's description of him as a Warlock. He is growing more and more proficient at Solar Light. Mithra has even tried teaching him how to harness Arc Light, although he still fails to harness its power. He has also shown a surprising interest in Humanity's history and culture, being voracious not just in learning history and philosophy, but also in language and traditions.
Sera cannot form any meaningful opinion about Mithra's New Light. Unlike Caravel who had been cared for under Sera's wings for the long two days they went through the European continent, being found by Sera only a few hours after she woke up, Mithra's New Light began his new existence as a Lightbearer in a wrought iron crucible, fighting against Fallen all on his lonesome, relying only on the weapons he found, his Ghost, and his Light.
Sera held that New Light in high regard because of his tenacity, of course. However, the psychological effects of immediate violence following First Awakening are severe. Jalus can attest to that. So Sera cannot help but keep guard concerning that New Light, even though she saw first hand that the poor thing was only confused and afraid.
Mithra had reported that her New Light had a tendency to simply roam the City, interacting with the locals and playing with the children. That was one of the few times Mithra had noticed him to smile. Of course, Mithra wouldn't dare let him out of her sight, but she said she quite liked seeing him impress the kids with his Light.
Still. That New Light's psyche cannot be good. Sera's glad that Mithra is so caring and permissive in his innocent indulgences. Otherwise… Sera shudders to think what horror he could become if he turns against them. Another Dredgen Yor so soon after Six Fronts?
"Maybe Caravel can help him out…" Sera thought internally.
Both Mazdam and Mithra reported how close they've been getting, spending time after their training alone together. They eat together, train in shooting galleries together, even watch the City Plays together. Sera cannot help but smile at the thought of them both happy.
No matter. The task at hand is more important. She'll have plenty of time to tease the two once they are in her direct gaze. Walking back into the abandoned concrete complex, Sera pries her eyes from the frozen outdoors.
The Dragon will die. She'll make sure of it, and she'll make sure the ones who hired her and her team will pay handsomely.
—
Mithra and her New Light stand in the middle of a Wheat Field inside the Last City. It's dusk. The field is lit only with the distant light of the urban areas and by the charred embers of the training, several ears of wheat are burned in a radius of a few dozen meters surrounding the two.
"Good job! Again!" Mithra calls out to her New Light standing a dozen meters away from her.
The New Light holds out his hand, summoning a Firesprite which grows into a rough sphere of Sunlight. He gestures outwardly, sending the Sunlight-Ball flying towards Mithra.
Mithra dodges to her left as the ball explodes upon contact with the grass, forging another scorch mark with a blast of heat and otherworldly flame. One amongst many dozens. If Mithra hadn't stepped aside, she would've been incinerated. Thankfully, any injury would be quickly healed by Ghosts.
Mithra's New Light still couldn't believe that is the case. His confidence has risen exponentially these few weeks. With training on his mind, his Light, and his gun, he feels like he can take on the Universe.
Of course, his confidence shatters immediately once Mithra decides to train his defense.
Mithra flies, literally flies, towards him. Wispy White wings propel Mithra towards her New Light, her palm wreathed in purple flame.
"Think Fast!" Mithra scolds as she brings her palms forward for a strike. The New Light dodges with honed instinct, Mithra's purple hand speeds past her New Light's face, indeed, Mithra speeds past her New Light, period.
Mithra turns to find her New Light flexing his palms, golden flames curling between his fingers as he takes up a defensive stance. Both of their blue eyes bury deep into each other as they circle. On the thirteenth step, Mithra sends forth a hand-held Supernova.
Her New Light jumps, using Light to propel himself upwards, but his control isn't complete enough, leading him to float helplessly, only watching as Mithra shakes her head disappointedly, a small smile upon her face. She jumps up, propelled by Light, grabbing her New Light's Right arm, twirling to face the Earth and throwing the poor newbie down towards the ground.
The New Light crashes. A cloud of dust arises.
The New Light gasps and groans in pain as he feels his bones broken and his body dirtied from the fall. Mithra floats down serenely as her New Light's Ghost appears before him and fixes his body, realigning bones with a sickening crunch.
Mithra offers a hand as she lands beside the shallow crater she buried her New Light in, pulling him out.
"You're doing good! The only issue right now is that your aerial mobility could use some work… But overall you're doing wonderful!"
"All because I have such a proficient teacher…" The New Light teases as he grasps her arms.
"Ha! You flatter me… Come. You worked hard Today so I'll treat you to some Empadão."
Mithra's New Light hums appreciatively, following Mithra's lead as she takes him out the wheat fields. Soon, the Clan Homestead comes into view. They rest for a while before turning and walking down the dirt pathway leading towards the City Center.
With a very good teacher and with much support, Mithra's New Light has learned many things from the past Weeks. Not just about the world, but about the people around him.
Mithra, Mazdam, Sera, and Jalus. They are members of a clan calling themselves the "Starlit Aegis", a Clan dedicated to the support of those in need. They're "Humanitarians", basing their operations and systems on a philosophy of fervent, almost familial sense of duty towards those with less experience in this uncaring Universe. The Eagle on their banner, the one stored inside the Starlit Aegis' Homestead, was the personification of that very Aegis. A bird eager to defend its children, but quick to let them go once their wings are sufficiently grown. Such is how they train their New Lights.
They train the New Lights as their own personal Prodigies, treating them like their own children. All for the Tax of 50% of whatever the New Light gains. Of course, this Tax goes back towards the Development of the New Light, whether it is in Armor and Weapons, Knowledge, or even simple Spaceship Glimmer-Fuel.
Once New Lights are deemed sufficiently skilled and trained in handling the Universe's threats and horrors, they will be "Let go of".
Of course, the training period is very long, Mithra and Mazdam themselves claimed training can take years as that's how long both Mazdam and Mithra took to be let go by previous members of the Clan.
The Clan has very strange rules. Being "Let Go" simply means the Clan no longer is expected to provide for the Lightbearer once they have a good grasp of the Universe. The Lightbearer is made free to do whatever they wish and their Tax is lifted. The Lightbearer also has the formal choice to join the Starlit Aegis as both Mazdam and Mithra had done when they finished their tutelage.
"Who was their teacher?" Mithra's New Light wonders as he follows Mithra down the dirt path towards the City.
The City felt eerie as the people had all retreated into their homes. The only ones still out on the street are the occasional wanderer and aimless Lightbearer. The darkness was made worse with the moonlight unable to pass through the Traveler's shell. The New Light wasn't afraid. He couldn't be with his Magister so well armed.
Mithra wore her White cloak as always. This time however, over her torso was a lamellar cuirass, protecting her torso and even as far down as her thighs. Over her arms were stiffened leather sleeves protected by small steel guards over her forearms.
She looked less ethereal now, more hardy and gruff. Similar to the look of Warlocks that the New Light saw in Blueberry Pie.
Soon, the smell of cooked meat and vegetables fill their noses as they come upon a block of the City where many bakeries and restaurants have opened. Soon enough, they find a seat within one of the quaint restaurants. A calm homey building lit by a dim red-light. The many visitors laughed and ate, though there weren't many of them.
Mithra orders a batch of Empadão with a raise of her hand. A frame writes down her order on a Datapad, soon leaving to relay Mithra's order.
Mithra doesn't sit down after having ordered her New light food. She remains standing as the New Light gets comfortable in his seat.
"You stay right here… I'm going to go get you something… I can trust you to stay here alone, right?"
"I'm not a child, Mithra… Yes, you can.." The New Light replies, disappointed in how she views him.
"Good… Here's the payment for the food in case you need to pay before I get back… Don't save food for me, they're all yours…" Mithra drops off a handful of Glimmer Cubes, soon turning and leaving the New Light alone.
Mithra exits the building. Her New Light watches as she simply looks up and, using Light, floats up into the air, disappearing from his view.
Being left alone with his own thoughts wasn't something he was planning on for Today. Though the Meat Pie that came was tasty and fragrant, it did little to sooth the anxiety welling in the New Light's chest. Mithra never usually left the New Light's side. Never in the past three Weeks did Mithra ever step farther than 10 meters from him. But now, he's in a dim-lit restaurant all alone, with only the intoxicating smell of meat and spice for company.
The New Light took another anxious bite, the taste of breading, beef and corn does little to calm his nerves.
It was about Ten Minutes of loneliness before a voice chirped up inside the New Light's head.
Hey… Mithra's Coming back.
The New Light's Ghost speaks inside his head, zapping the New Light out of his lonely stupor.
I was wondering when you'd come back…
What do you mean? I'm always here.
But it never sounds like that… Why have you been so silent these past few weeks?
The New Light speaks to his Ghost with his mind.
You know how Lightbearers and their Ghosts are like… two Halves of a whole?
"Mhm…" The New Light voices his affirmation with a quiet hum, barely audible.
So basically… The more the Physical part of us… that's you… takes charge, we usually resign. to sit inside your mind… Think of us like… your Spirit…
Or like an actual Ghost?
The New Light realizes. A metaphorical light bulb strikes alight inside his head.
Yes! Basically… The more a Lightbearer does the talking… The more their Ghost does the thinking… That doesn't mean we leave all of our opinions to you… but it does mean we only become vocal when we… Have a Reason to…
Reason like what?
N-nothing… it's nothing to worry about… You should go outside… Mithra's not alone… Caravel and Mazdam are with her.
The New Light feels his Ghost's presence diminish. He stands up and walks to the restaurant's entrance.
Mazdam and Caravel were waiting outside. Mithra was floating a few meters off the ground. Caravel notices the New Light first, giving him a heartfelt smile, her artificial freckles, arranged in a Hexagon design, warp as her smile lights up her whole face. She raises her hand and waves slightly, ruffling her rough Purple linen robes.
"There's the Boy of Honor…" Mazdam speaks up, pushing off the wall he was leaning on, caressing back his Silver hair, his Green eyes looking upon the New Light with a hint of pity.
"We have things for you two…" Mithra floats down, dispersing dust as she lands softly before them. In her hands are two massive plastic bags.
Mithra gives the Orange bag to Caravel. The White one to her New Light.
"What's this?" The New Light asks.
"Mmm…. Necessities…" Mithra says hesitantly.
Sure enough, looking into the bag, it indeed held necessities… Steel Plating… Glimmer cubes… A whole rifle… A bowie knife… A pair of boots… Even belts…
"Mithra… Thank you!" Caravel's voice rings out as she pulls out a shotgun out of her bag. It had a Gunmetal Grey stock and a pearly white barrel shell. A Black and White symbol is emblazoned on its side. She was careful not to point it towards the street or anywhere risky.
"Don't mention it, Carey…"
Mithra produces a smooth, Black mass from thin air, it appears in her hands in a cloud of Light. Mithra splits the mass into two,
"These are your skinsuits… You put these on and put on your armor over it… If you don't know how to, we'll help you…" Mithra holds the Black masses towards both the New Light and Caravel.
They both accept. Mithra turns and grabs Caravel's arm.
"Hold on tight…" She whispers. Caravel yelps as Mithra floats them both up and away.
Mithra's New Light looks at Mazdam, the Skinsuit and "Necessity Bag" in hand. Mazdam chuckles at the New Light's awkward look.
"Come on Newbie… Let's get you changed…" Mazdam turns down the street expectantly waiting for the New Light to follow him.
—
Mithra's New Light and Mazdam walk down the empty streets.
"What is all of this for?" The New Light asks the Veteran.
"We're going somewhere… and Mithra doesn't have the heart to let you two go…" Mazdam replies, not looking back at the Newlight behind him.
"Where to?"
"Canada…"
"North? Why?"
"Classified, Blueberry… but we'll tell you when we're up there…"
Unable to challenge his assertion, the New Light continues following Mazdam down the streets of the City, turning into alleyways and avenues as they wind throughout the City to arrive at a destination unknown to the New light.
"Say… Mithra and I spent a lot of Glimmer on these toys…" Mazdam turns suddenly towards the New Light as he catches up with Mazdam's lithe and agile strides.
"You're asking for payment?" The New Light raises an eyebrow.
"Mmm… Maybe one thing…" Mazdam smiles slightly as he turns to look at the streets.
"And that is?"
"Get you and your Ghost a Name…"
The New Light is stunned at the request.
"Why are you so shocked? It's been three Weeks since you first woke up and you still don't know what to call yourself? Brother… just find a word you think suits you and roll with it… If you want to change it after, no one's stopping you…"
"I don't know why I haven't yet… Maybe I just haven't found anything to suit me… I'm just focused on learning and learning… I don't really have any idea yet…"
"What about titles?" Mazdam offers. "You know… The cool stuff like… Loremaster… Detective… Hell, Gumshoe could even be your name if you want…"
"No… I like having a name, a proper name, better…" The New Light smiles.
"Excuse me? How can you say you like one over the other when you don't have any to begin with!"
Both Mazdam and the New Light turn a corner, coming upon a building with Purple streamers and Purple banners emblazoned with a Silver Eagle.
" One of these days I'm taking you exploring with Sera… You'll find your name in no time… There's this one warlock who calls himself Whyndham because he found a billboard of some… Golden Age Hotel Chain… and Caravel calls herself that because she found the remains of a boat inside an abandoned museum…"
Mazdam opens the door to the building. It smelled of the uncleaned first-risen.
"Besides… I don't want to keep calling you Blueberry or Newbie when it's clear you aren't that anymore…" Mazdam says quietly, holding the door open for the New Light to cross.
"Understood… I'll try to find one soon…" The New Light whispers, walking past Mazdam.
This Charity Station was of a different building but still had the familiar atmosphere he now associates with the Stations. The food is constantly being served at the Back of the room with windows to the Left and Right from the Entrance. A stairwell at the building's center emanates steam from below, indicating that's where the showers were. The steam was slow and thick however, meaning that the Showers haven't been used in at least an hour.
Mithra and Caravel were sitting at a table for four, by a window. Mithra was raising a single hand while Caravel waved the two over with a bright smile.
"What took you two so long?" Mithra asked teasingly as the pair approached.
"I'm sorry we're of the grounded type…" Mazdam brushes off her tease.
With a chuckle, Mithra gets down to business.
"Alright… You two Little Mice have new toys to play with… That's because we're going someplace new… and expecting a fight…" Mithra opens up Caravel's bag and gestures for her New Light to give his own. He does so with no hesitation. He also sets his skinsuit on the table.
Both of their bags were filled with similar, yet different, pieces of gear. Both of their bags held Glimmer, knives, armored plating, and durable boots. However, Caravel's had binoculars, a shotgun, and a Bright Orange and Purple cloak. Mithra's New Light only had a small circular linen band embroidered with Blood Red and Ocean Blue revelry and a rifle.
"The Glimmer can be programmed into ammunition… The Bond and Cloak are identifiers… They're colorful so they stand out against the Snow… The weapons you both have been given I believe suit both of your tastes…" Mithra explains, pulling out the gear they've been given, setting them out on the table and explaining how each bob and gizmo works.
"Give me your rifle…" Mithra looks at her New Light, urging him to show her his weapon. The New Light reaches into the Light, the rifle he currently owns appears in whispy White smoke.
Mithra takes the rifle, removing the magazine and the round in the chamber. She sets the emptied rifle on the table. Mithra reaches into her New Light's bag, pulling out the newer rifle within. The Rifle has a green shell, an Orange V emblazoned on the side of its integrated scope.
"This is your new rifle, Blueberry. Treat it well… Morass-AR4… manufactured by Daito. If it ever breaks down, see a gunsmith… Banshee-44 has done pretty well ever since he showed up a Year ago… I recommend him.. Though you should mind his memory when you do…" Mithra turns to Caravel and her bag, pulling out the Pearly White shotgun.
"This shotgun was lended by the folks over at Dead Orbit, they call it the Patch-A… Manufactured by Häkke, they had a promotion going on and I couldn't help but buy this thing… Field Choke, Smooth Ballistics… a Fitted Stock… They even sold it with Dead Orbit designed knee pads…"
Caravel takes the gun, holding it like a baby as she looks at the clean design, aww-ing at the pattern and fingering the Gun's loading port. Her smile is almost sadistic, but it shines brightly.
"You two go take a shower. Once you're clean, put on the Skinsuits… then you ask your Ghosts to fit the armor you've been given… After that… Meet us outside." Mazdam orders. Both him and Mithra turn and head outside, leaving both Caravel and the New Light alone.
—
As the two New Lights walk down into the showers, Mithra and Mazdam both head outside, resting themselves against the Charity Station's entrance. Purple banners and streamers cast long shadows in the dim, buzzing lights.
"Do you think they're ready?" Mazdam asks, turning and whispering to Mithra.
"As much as they can be… I still don't like following through with this…"
"Isn't it to be expected? We said that we'd be free of them within the First Week… Now it's reaching fourth and they're still at our beck-and-call…"
"You think we overestimated them?"
"No, I think we overestimated ourselves…" Mazdam remarks plainly, staring up at the darkening sky. "Everything feels wrong… Like we're going down the wrong path through a forest…"
"You're afraid…" Mithra claims.
Mazdam doesn't say anything but the uncertainty on his face speaks volumes.
"Don't worry… They'll be fine… We'll make sure of that-"
"Or else what purpose does our Clan serve if not to help the Freshly-Risen?" A Hulking figure floats stiffly down the side of the Charity Station.
The Black and Blue armor, the Eagled Mark dangling about his backside, and the hulking machine gun he carries on his shoulders serves as a prominent indicator of who he might be.
"Jalus… How kind of you to finally show up…" Mithra unenthusiastically greets him though she clasps her arms around his shoulders and smiles slightly.
"Fucking Crayon Eater waits until I'm all teary eyed to show himself…" Mazdam pushes himself off the wall, wiping the tears of fear and doubt from his eyes.
"Hey… not everyday you see Mazdam The Confident cry… I wanted to relish the vulnerability you showed…" Jalus reasons, letting his machine gun disappear into the Light.
"Ha Ha…"
"How are the New Lights?"
"They're in the showers… They should be out here in a couple minutes give or take…" Mithra replies.
"How do you feel about all of this?" Mazdam asks suddenly. "Sera's in a tough spot and she's calling for help- Sera, of all people, is calling for help… All for just a single Lizard?"
"I heard the Dragons are known for being crafty… Maybe Sera and her folks got too overconfident… started assuming things she thought were true, turns out they maybe weren't…" Jalus reasons.
"Whatever it may be… Sera told us to bring those New Lights with us…"
"Ehh… Could be worse right? That Caravel chick could throw a punch and take one just as! And that Battle-Mage you're cooking up, Mithra? I bet he'll be able to throw a Solar Flare the size of this Station at the enemy!"
Mithra chuckles slightly. "Your encouragement is well founded, Jalus… But they're like… children to us… Do you think it's wrong that we feel this way towards them?"
"No… I don't blame you a single bit… But…" Jalus decides to roll his shoulders, taking a knee beside the two, undoing his helmet.
He sits casually in the middle of the street while Mazdam and Mithra lean on the wall. Thankfully, the darkening sky means that there are few pedestrians to be bothered. He removes his helmet, revealing Awoken markings on his cream Human skin and his graying hair smushed by the weight of his helmet plastered against the curvature of his head.
"It's also not wrong to have a little confidence…" Jalus speaks, no more having his voice muffled by his helmet.
"Prime exemplar of confidence..." Mazdam jests after absorbing Jalus' words of advice.
"Hey! No one's walking down them anymore, right?"
Mithra sighs. "You two… But yes… I have confidence in them… but I'd say it's fairly limited…"
"Limited?" Mazdam asks, looking at Mithra's quickly sterning gaze.
"For the sake of my own confidence… I'm going to test their Wards…"
"Really?" Jalus questions surprised.
"I'm very serious… Once they're done cleaning up… I'm shooting them…"
"Wow… so blunt?" Mazdam whispers.
"Mhm… What harm is there? We've done way worse to the two than merely shooting at them…" Mithra reasons.
"Like how you fried your Progeny's arm that one time last week? Or how Jalus almost killed them with how hard he punched them in their livers?"
Jalus laughs. "Hey! All bets were off when the chick kicked me where the Traveler's Light doesn't reach!"
The trio laughs. Quiet but sweet.
"Ahh… I ripped open Caravel's gut during training once… She failed to properly analyze her surroundings… got behind and just… opened her up.." Mazdam silently speaks up.
"And she didn't die before her Ghost could heal her? Resilient one, she is…" Mithra chuckles slightly.
"They all are… we put them through as tough a hell as we can but they still haven't died yet…" Jalus laughs along on his spot, sitting in the middle of an empty street.
"Mhm… The Universe out there is cruel… The Hive especially… if any one of them ends up like Dredgen Yor…" Mithra doesn't finish her statement.
"We have to be thorough, right?"
"Of course… but don't you think being too thorough might end up… You know…"
"I know…" Mithra firmly replies to Jalus' concern.
The two New Lights already have a firm grasp on who their enemies are. They show no hatred or rage at the pain they suffer through. Not even Mithra's own New light who had been brutalized and burned many times over the course of their training. They were very flexible people. So long as they didn't give the New Lights any reason to oppose them, they are already effectively friends.
Her New Light responds well to his training. Everything is going so well.
"I'm thorough… not Cruel."
—
The Showers were quieter than Caravel had thought. Mist had accumulated around the room, floating into small vents and up through the marble stairwell. It was only Her and Mithra's New Light there. They each grab an unused bar of soap and make their way to the back of the room.
The room was divided into halves with shower stalls running down the far sides with four long benches running down the center.
The two find comfortable stalls, the ones farthest back, with their entrances facing each other. They waste no time entering their respective stalls, pulling off their clothes and turning the water on.
Time passes by as the two New Lights bask in the ambience of running water, opening the unused bar of soap they each took and began cleaning themselves. The smell of Lavender and Eucalyptus leaves coats the air around them.
Despite the relaxing ambience, Caravel could feel the tension in the air. Mithra and Mazdam had shown it earlier. They weren't the nurturing caretakers they were the past weeks. Now, they acted like professionals, like soldiers. All that Caravel could gather from Mazdam was that there was a message received and that they needed to go North as soon as they could. The only detail she could pry further was that it was Sera who needed help.
Sera was something of a lifeline for Caravel. She didn't know her for long. Only, at most, three days before she left to go to the North, but over the course of those three days, they had braved the Hostile Darkness of the European Dead Zone together, wading through swamps and destitute buildings.
She awoke wearing a decayed outfit. A cloak of pure White, smudged by burn marks whose decayed Cotton and Polyester strained against her newly resurrected flesh and sinew. She wore strange regalia and a badge signifying her identity in the world. Yet the badge was marred in several places by burn marks, leaving only the side showing her face and an incomplete barcode.
She wanted to learn who she was, spending a day in the overgrown facility she first drew her New Breath in. She would've continued until Sera discovered her and persuaded her to come with.
"The past is dead, seize only what is Today…" That is what Sera told her when she figured out her intentions to discover who she once was.
They ventured across broken highways, evaded Fallen raiders, and pillaged abandoned shelters. They drank Centuries Old Alcohol stashed in Golden Age Vaults together and when they came upon the remains of a museum featuring a time of Ancient Humanity, she took the name of a boat used to explore the Old Earth. A Caravel.
Then, once they had reached their destination, an abandoned Observatory at a Mountain range splitting a Peninsula from the mainland, she gave her Ghost the name Muhlif, "Oath-Taker", after a Star with a similar name she had seen in the Observatory's records.
That observatory was where they got picked up. Where Mazdam picked them up.
Now she's here, under their wings. She was ready to face whatever challenge awaited her, even though she was, in her heart, extremely nervous.
As she lets the water run over her skin and Hickory colored hair, the ambience hits her in a way it never has before.
There was nothing to be heard in the bathroom. Only the flow of water. Mithra's New Light wasn't talking.
This is strange. She had been thinking for quite some time now. She should've heard his voice pierce through her thoughts by now, but nothing. He was unusually silent. Perhaps the Tension has gotten to him as well?
Talk to Him
Caravel feels Muhlif's voice strike the back of her head. She still needs to get used to that.
I will She thinks her answer to him.
"Are you okay?"
There was silence for a few moments, before a faint pitter patter was heard. Then Mithra's New Light gently speaks out loud.
"Yeah… I'm alright…"
"Are you sure?" Caravel gently turns down the cascading water to reduce its volume.
"Yeah… Just nervous that's all…" Caravel hears the other New Light turn down the water on his side as well.
Caravel sighs in relief and giggles slightly. Just nerves…
"If it makes you feel any better… So am I… The sudden shift… Isn't it oppressive?"
"The Tension?"
"Yeah! It's honestly strange…"
"You didn't think it was warranted? Having to go out and face potential danger?"
"Ha… No. I wanted to try the outdoors for a while… I think it was after I beat Mazdam during one of our exercises…"
"The one where you beat him mercilessly with the butt of your rifle?"
"Yeah… I felt good after that one…"
"Good to know you're very bloodthirsty…"
"I'm not!"
"Oh yeah… Tell that to Jalus… Remind me again, where did you hit him to bring him down in your last duel?" The New Light's teasing voice echoes through the bathroom. Caravel was very glad they were alone.
"I'm not telling you! But… I sure as hell won't hesitate to hit you there if you keep provoking me!"
"See! Bloodthirsty..."
"No! Tenho certeza!"
"Você tem certeza do… quê?" Mithra's New Light puts the languages he's learned to the test, though his speech isn't perfect.
Caravel sighs and laughs slightly. "Tenho certeza de… que não sou tão uma mulher sanguinária quanto você diz…"
Portuguese was a language he needed to know. As a good portion of the City Populus spoke it. It was more prominent among the Mortals, more so than English and definitely more than Mandarin.
Caravel had become his teacher in that aspect, teaching the New Light how to speak the people's language while at the same time, He teaches her some of the abilities from Mithra and the Knowledge he's gained from books and the people. A good trade, Caravel thinks.
Caravel hears the other New Light laugh and strainedly reply, "Hahaha! Ahh… yiati... eisai toso kharitomeni i foni sou…"
"What did you say about my voice?" Caravel asks in a teasing manner, understanding most of what the other said, with only a single word not registering.
"Nothing that hasn't already been said…" The other New Light teases back, his voice smooth as butter to her ears.
Caravel and him only laugh quietly to themselves, enjoying the downturn in events.
The pair soon calm down, washing away whatever suds still remain. The sounds of running water stop. They each grab towels and begin to pad themselves down. Caravel hears the stall door opposite hers open.
Caravel grabs a set of new Purple undergarments hanging on the stall door and fits them on. She dries her hair the best she can with her towel alone, running the long brown strands through the thick cotton towel. She throws the towel over her shoulders, instead deciding to dry herself off with Solar Light. She buries a hand into her hair, gently starting to heat it up.
Her hands are still in her own hair even as she opens the door of her stall. Mithra's New Light was sitting on a bench in the center of the room with his back towards her, wearing nothing but a pair of briefs. She notices him slipping on the skinsuit given to him by Mithra, stepping into the mass and pulling it over his legs.
The New Light turns and looks over his shoulder, giving Caravel a friendly smile as he returns to his suit, pulling the patterned mass over his thighs and eventually over his lower half entirely.
Caravel begins doing the same, fishing out her own skinsuit from the Light. She prematurely stops drying her hair, fitting on the skinsuit. Sitting on the bench, Caravel goes through the motions, fitting a limb per each extremity, securing a hard, cartilage-like seal tightened around their chin and neck, and lastly reaching around her back to zip up a long zipper running down her back.
"Want to help me out?"
The other New Light's voice cuts through the silence as he looks at Caravel with a gentle smile as he demonstrates his inability to reach the necessary area of his own back to pull the zipper.
Caravel smiles. "Sure thing…" She says quietly, stepping over the benches between them.
The New Light's hands fall to their sides as Caravel grasps the zipper and tugs up.
The zipper ran from the small of his back up to the back of his head.
"Thanks…" He says, the tightly fitted bevor around his chin and neck obscures his smile.
"No problem… but… Aren't you going to help me too?" Caravel turns around, showing the New Light the same difficulty he had, the Purple of her undergarments peeking from the open bodysuit.
"Of course…" The New Light whispers as he tugs the zipper up. However, he pauses, noticing the semi-wet hair in his way.
"Would you…"
"Oh… Right." Caravel bundles the hair behind her into a tight bun, heating her hands once more to continue drying them.
"Go ahead…"
The Zipper meets its destination. Caravel's cheeks feel slightly warmer.
The two began fiddling with the many pieces of armor they had.
Caravel grabbed a padded leather overshirt, a piece easily worn over her skinsuit. She tightens the shirt with a belt on the curve of her waistline.
Next, she grabs a heavier, but still relatively light, cuirass. Its exterior shone with steel, though it was thick, almost as thick as three fingers. It no doubt had to be padded with Kevlar within. The curious part was that it was short, covering only down to her waistline. This meant only her upper-upper body was protected and everything from her stomach down wouldn't be.
She looked over at Mithra's New Light who had his Ghost out now. Caravel watched as his Ghost zapped joints and connecting limbs around the armor, shutting it tight around the man's torso. She noticed the armor seemed to be made of a similar material but was twice as lengthy! It extended down to where his legs met his torso; and it even had steel side skirts!
She wants to voice her discomfort at the armor disparity but thinks suddenly about Mazdam and Sera's own armor. Their armor was substantially thinner around their stomach, thickening significantly around their chests. Their legs were not as armored, only shin guards and simple thigh coverings that wrapped around the outer side of their thighs. Their arms only guarded by simple vambraces, not the intricate Manicae or heavy gauntlets.
Caravel realized they wanted her to armor herself like Sera and Mazdam. Like a Hunter.
She was very nimble in her training, moving quickly to destinations or striking hard and fast. Her movements weren't based on tanking hits but on being able to weave between assaults. Caravel realizes that the relative freedom provided by Hunter armor in terms of flexibility gave it a very specific style of fighting, one that Caravel herself was able to fit right in.
She swallows her displeasure and begins fitting the Cuirass over her leather under-gear.
Muhlif appears and begins working with little to no instruction. As Caravel slides the thick vest down, forcing her arms and head through their respective holes, her Ghost interacts with various latches and panels of armor. He carefully takes two small, metallic pauldrons and welds them directly onto her skinsuit's shoulder. The heat causes Caravel to gasp a little.
Then, moving onto her legs, her Ghost fits on steel thigh-guards, welding them into the skinsuit with a precise beam of Light. Caravel looks over at Mithra's New Light. His only leg armor was steel greaves. His thighs were only protected by the Steel skirt hanging off his cuirass. His Ghost had similarly welded steel shoulder pads onto his skinsuit, but the armor on his arms consisted of interlocking steel plates, Manicae, over a thickened leather sleeve.
Caravel turned back to herself, fitting on simple steel vambraces and having Muhlif weld them onto her skinsuit directly.
Her last piece of equipment besides her helmet was more like an accessory. It was an Orange and Purple cloak. It had frizzy edges and a hood. Caravel didn't see why it was necessary to wear it but she decided to put it on anyway. She draped the thing over her neck and secured it by shoving the fabric into gaps around the upper part of her cuirass.
Now completely armored and adorned, she turned to look at Mithra's New Light as he fiddled with a similar regalia-piece on his Left upper arm. His, however, was a Deep Red and Blue with an interlocking pattern. It looked like the pattern was woven in through thick leather. She noticed how the Manica on his Left arm was separated into two pieces to make room for the bond.
"All set?" Caravel asks, picking up her helmet.
"Yes… Let's go."
Mithra's New Light picks up his own helmet, cradling it in his left arm before he begins walking towards the Bathroom's exit. Caravel follows him.
Right before they reach the exit, Caravel calls out to him.
"Hoy… Lindo…"
"Hm?" The New Light turns around, his lower jaw covered by the rubber Bevor, eyes shining.
Caravel looks up at him as she takes a step up the stairwell.
"Please get a name soon… I really hate to have to call out to you in a fight and not know what to say…"
"But you already have something to call me by, no?" The New Light pauses halfway up the stairwell.
Caravel passes him smoothly, staring back at him when she passes. "I don't know what you're talking about…"
He chuckles. "Seriously? Lindo… that is what you called me, right? What does it mean?"
"It.. means… You're someone so miniscule, that you don't even have a name to distinguish yourself…" Caravel shrugs and walks towards the Charity Station's entrance.
Thankfully, He didn't try to challenge her. He only raised an eyebrow and continued walking up the stairwell
Since Caravel was the New Light's sole teacher for Portuguese, she didn't have to worry, for now, about lying about the word's meaning. She knew, however, that he will one day learn from the locals and then she'll have to face the consequences. But even if he knew, what would be so bad about it? It's just a compliment… Why was she so hooked up about this anyway?
The Charity Station was getting emptier as time went on. It was mostly New Lights still there and they were all focused on eating their food, not so much about taking a shower. Both Caravel and the other New Light walked towards the Station's entrance. They saw Mithra, Mazdam, and Jalus outside. They opened the door to greet them.
—
"We're ready…" Mithra's New Light declares to his Magister.
Jalus stands up from his seat on the Streets. "Look at you two! I almost can't believe you were but scroungy New Lights just a few Weeks ago!"
Jalus' helmet was in his hands, a Black glass dome over a gunmetal rim. He puts his helmet on, the small seal protruding around his chin hisses as it connects with the bottom rim of his helmet.
"Alright then let's go?" Caravel asks.
"Not so Fast…" Mazdam speaks sternly and suddenly.
"What? I thought we were ready?"
"Mithra…" Mazdam looks over at her expectantly.
Mithra takes a deep breath. "You need to learn how to focus your Light through your armor… You cannot always rely on it… It can break and it can splinter… but the Light is binding in ways steel cannot… It can never be truly broken…"
Mithra grabs her New Light's Arm.
"You need to learn how to project your Light as a Defensive Ward… Both of you…"
Mithra gives a cold glance at the New Lights, her compassionate eyes give an air of uncomfortable sternness.
"Wouldn't… our Ghosts be able to do that for us?" Caravel asks in a quiet voice.
"Yes… but what if your Ghost is not with you? What if they're out in the field performing some task and not able to attend to you?
"Say your Ghost is attempting to force open a door and you're assaulted by The Enemy. What if they're overwhelming and well defended? Your only choice then will be to use your Light… Either Offensively and risk your Ghost being shot by The Enemy… Or you use your Light for your defenses…"
She turns around, down the street and begins to walk.
"Let's return to the Aegis Homestead… After you're able to figure out how to properly use your Wards… we'll take you North…"
Mazdam and Jalus share a look. The two New Lights are hesitant but do not question, following Mithra down the street.
The long walk back is tense. Few words are exchanged. It was almost Midnight before they arrived back at the Starlit Aegis' quarters. The Wheat is silent, with only a gentle breeze rustling the ears of Golden Grass. The two New Lights set their helmet down nearby.
Mithra takes a deep breath and orders Jalus and Mazdam to get behind her slowly so as to not startle the two New Lights.
"How are you going to test us?" Her New Light asks.
"I'm going to shoot you…" Mithra says plainly, letting her words sink in before continuing, a slight hint of fear reveals itself in each of the New Lights' Eyes.
"Tell your Ghosts to get over here…"
Caravel and her New Light look at each other before their Ghosts appear and slowly float towards Mithra.
"Alright… Let's begin…"
Without any warning, Mithra draws a rifle, pulling it from the Light and aims it at Caravel's thigh. The shot rings out, Caravel immediately drops to the ground, dirt coating her armor. Her gasp and a loud groan of pain emanates out of Caravel's gritted teeth. Mithra's New Light wanted to help her, to crouch down to her, but he held himself there. It was all just training, right?
Another shot rings out. A numbness radiates from his Right thigh as he loses balance, falling onto the dirt below. He grits his teeth as the numbness gives way to a searing sensation and a deep, hot ache. He groans.
"Damn…" They hear Mazdam's voice, a fraction of his usual volume.
"Again… go ahead heal them up…"
The two New Light's Ghosts float over to them and heal the wounds with a blast of Cerulean Light.
"It's not about moving past the pain! It's about desiring to Not want to feel the pain! The Light bends to your Will! Will yourself to not be shot!" Mithra instructs as their Ghost floats back to her.
The New Light remembers what his Ghost had told him back in the Cosmodrome. The several instructions to Will things to happen. The Desire to change the world made into the Physical Universe by the Light. This is the Power they have been given and thus it's how they shall survive.
After another set of debilitating shots, Caravel screams out and stands up, even as her leg bleeds through the enter and exit wound of Mithra's shot. Mithra doesn't shoot her immediately, waiting for her wounds to be healed by her Ghost before aiming again.
This time however, Caravel braces, standing her ground, Right Leg in front of the Left. Mithra's New Light looks up at her as he recovers from the latest set of bullet injuries. She closes her eyes. The shot that follows lands true, but this time, where the bullet lands, there is a small flash of Light.
There is no injury, only a small glow where the bullet should've landed. It quickly fades.
"Good job, Carey! You did it… Now see how much you can take!" Mithra calls out.
"Haha!.. Wait-What!?"
Several more shots rang out, this time, they weren't just on her thigh, but all over her body. Several flashes of Light erupt from areas on her arms, shoulders, stomach, and chest as she takes on a more defensive stance, raising her arms over her torso and crouching slightly. A massive flash of Light erupts from all over her after the Seventh bullet. The Eighth lands true, but instead of Light erupting from the bullet's collision, there is a spill of deep red blood as Caravel keels over and staggers onto the ground. A sound emanates from her mouth like a choking of fluids.
"Eight shots… Impressive… Heal her up."
Muhlif floats to Caravel's writhing, pain ridden body, looking in apparent sympathy as he works his power on her again. The other New Light watches in fear at the manslaughter Mithra has proven to be capable of. He turns to look at Mazdam and Jalus behind Mithra, but they refuse to watch, instead standing around and facing away.
"Your turn… ready up…"
At Mithra's declaration, her New Light prepares himself mentally, willing himself to not be hurt. He takes a solid stance. Caravel gasps at his side, signaling that she's alright.
"How'd you do it?" He asks Caravel as she tries to stand up.
"Just… try and not focus on the bullets and just how much you don't want to get hurt… It's that simple… ha…ha…" Caravel smiles slightly, clutching her stomach.
Her continued wretches and groans do not inspire confidence in him, but he does as she says. He makes up his mind about not wanting to get shot (even though he doesn't want to get shot already). Mithra readies her gun.
He thinks of light air, focusing on standing and living through this onslaught. The New Light thinks about the outside world. Of the foes he'll soon fight. Of the people he's met. Of Caravel and her smile. Anything but the rifle Mithra, his master, is pointing down towards him, and the bullets soon to pour forth from it.
The shots ring out. He doesn't notice at first as his thoughts swim with everything he's learned so far. He doesn't notice the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth. It isn't until the seventh shot that his concentration returns and the eighth lands true, striking the Right side of his upper chest, tearing a hole just under his collarbone.
The pain was immense. Thankfully, the numbness helped to curtail it and his Ghost was able to quickly fix him.
"Good… I think you two are ready to face the outside world!" Mithra says cheerfully as her rifle dissipates.
"Ainda bem…" Caravel whispers under her breath. "I was beginning to think Mithra was just going to torture us for an hour straight…" Caravel turns to her New Light friend whose relief is evident on his straightened posture and gentle smile.
"Thank the Light it was quick…" Mazdam looks over at the two. "I couldn't stand hearing your groans… if it weren't the fact you two haven't died yet, I would've encouraged Mithra to aim for the head…"
"If our lives are so dispensable, why haven't you bothered to show us what it's like to die?" Caravel asks as the group gathered around. Mithra enters the Aegis Homestead for an unknown reason.
"We like for our New Lights to die on their own terms… But it's usually because we can't bear to do it ourselves…" Jalus reveals "Universe is a cruel place… You'll meet death eventually… It's not like he'll hold you for long…"
Mithra comes back outside. This time, a helmet covers her head with her long, white hair somehow buried under that, relatively, small headpiece. The helmet was gray and maroon, much like the Lamellar armor she wore. A long black visor appeared like a T along the Helmet's face. A White and Yellow torse wrapped around the Helmet's circumference leading to a White mantle draped over the helmet's back.
"Grab your Helmets. We're going North."
—
Sera received word of the Cavalry's arrival. Fairy and Lux will arrive within the Half-Hour. Mithra and the rest of the Aegis within two Hours.
She can't help but drool at the power under her command. Mithra, Mazdam, Suleyman… all working together to bring that damned Dragon to heel….
Not to mention how strengthened her defenses can be now that Lux and Fairy, a Defender Titan and a Sunsinger Warlock respectively, can strengthen and heal their team. It was perfect.
What made the situation even more perfect was the news Suleyman and Shavi brought back to her the moment Dawn broke. The Dragon was spotted. It took the form of a swift fox-wolf hybrid, skipping over frozen ponds and dead trees. Instantly, Sera ordered Shavi and Jannah to intercept and brutalize the beast, keeping the Dragon entertained as the rest of the Hunting Party prepared to bear their arms upon him, and slay Orion once and for all.
—
The Snow was thick. The forest floor was drenched in a sea of Crystalline White. The Hunting party navigated by jumping from branch to branch. The snow was too thick to wade through, and the trees made it too difficult to Sparrow Ride through. Thus the trees themselves were to be their mode of transportation.
The various members of the party alternate from jumping trees to summoning Sparrows when they come upon a clearing or an icy pond. It wasn't long until a message blared into Sera's helmet radio. Lux's crisp voice was heard.
"Cavalry's here. We landed at the drop point."
"Good… We've pinged our location… See to it that you're here by the afternoon…" Suleyman's voice interjects.
"Understood, Lights out…"
Sera groaned internally at Lux's departing words, but moved on quickly.
Eventually, as the team cross lakes and forested hills, they spot blasts of Paracausal Energy in the distance, at a forested area not far from the Hunting party. The Forest glowed with a hellish, unnatural blaze, a perimeter of melted snow marked the Battleground. The Hunting party moved in to intercept.
The Ahamkara thrashed. Fur and skin blended and molded to scale and rock, its wolf-like snout turning into that of a lizard's and back into a wolf as it molded itself to fight its aggressors.
Shavi tugged on a Void tether connected to the Beast's neck as Jannah mounted its crested head, beating the molding surface, breaking off chunks of skin and scale alike.
"Fire at will! Bring it down!" Sera commands. Relays emerge from her subordinates as they join the fighting. Sniper rifles dent weak points in scaley areas, rocket and grenade launchers cause the creature to lose balance.
"Finally! We thought we had to bring this Beast down ourselves!" Jannah teases as she hops off the Dragon's reeling head, gently Lifting herself with Light down to the ground.
"Sera! Ma'am! Ugh… this Beast isn't going to last long… I can feel it…" Shavi groans as she tugs the Void rope around the Dragon's neck.
Terrence summons a Crow-headed warhammer out of Void Light, smashing the beast's shifting paws. Alnar joins his battle-sister, striking the beast's wings with Arc-engulfed fists. Suleyman suppresses the Dragon with a field of Thickening Void. Sera fires an occasional arrow into the eyes and pustules emerging from the Dragon's ever shifting skin.
The brutalization of Orion, the Dragon, proceeds as planned.
—
Several Iron birds flew North, chasing the biting cold.
Mazdam, Mithra, and Caravel flew on Mazdam's personal gunship, a Vimana-Class vessel bought from the Vanguard shaded Blue and Purple.
Jalus flew on his own personal vessel, a Gray Kestrel with large engines hanging in the wings and a sharp nose. A machine gun protrudes from its underside.
Mithra's New Light flew alone. His Iron Bird, a Phaeton recovered from a Cosmodrome in old Russia, refurbished with as much modernity as he could obtain from Glimmer lended to him by Mithra. It had angular, forward facing wings, looking like a Trident from an upper view.
Due to the age of his bird, his vessel was slow in comparison to the other two ships. Jalus remained at a constant speed for the New Light to follow while Mazdam set his Vimana ahead, serving as the Vanguard for their team.
"What should we expect once we get there?" The Mithra's New Light asks Jalus as he looks over the cockpit of his vessel, staring at the verdant golden fields stretching miles below them as they fly over the Midwestern American continent.
"Snow… Lots and lots of snow…" Jalus answers with a gentle chuckle.
"Yeah… I mean.. The battle… we'll be fighting, won't we?"
"Haha… Me and the rest of them? Definitely… You and the girl? Nah.. You two stay safe… preferably as far away from the Dragon as possible…"
"If that's all Caravel and I are doing.. Then why bring us along in the first place? Why didn't you guys just leave us in The City?" The New Light asks with annoyance seeping through his voice.
"Ahh… It's because The City isn't completely safe… You may not have noticed it, but behind every alleyway and every building, there are burglars and swindlers and killers of the highest make… You may think yourself powerful, but against people who've lived lifetimes in cruelty… you're nothing."
Mithra's New Light stays silent, remembering the shady figures behind every laughing fellow. Those who prefer to stare, dipping in and out of alleyways. It frightens him slightly to know that those are Lightbearers who may be as strong as, or stronger, than him.
"Of course, we also reasoned you may use this time to get used to life outside the City Walls… Just because we Lightbearers are immortal doesn't mean we don't need to learn how to live…" Jalus speaks up once more, dousing the dreadful atmosphere.
The pair continue following Mazdam's signal as the Gold of the Midwest turns Greener and Whiter. Eventually, there is nothing but white, marred only by a small patch of housing. The clouds grow denser and denser.
Soon enough, they spot Mazdam's Vimana, slowing down amidst a gap in the Greying clouds.
"Why'd you slow down?" Jalus slows down his vessel as well, going into a slow glide as he mimics the Vimana's movements.
"We're in range of the Party's Signal… Fairy gave me a holler and said to slowly descend… apparently once we're below the clouds, well have a clear understanding of the situation… or whatever the fuck she told me… Can never understand the crap coming out of her mouth sometimes…"
Mithra's New Light follows the two veterans' lead, slowly reducing his Engine's propulsion, letting his Phaeton slowly descend past the cloud. As the clouds pass by, leaving nothing but vapor and droplets in their wake, the pale landscape of snow makes itself apparent.
It was a sea of White as far as the eye can see, only punctured by the masses of Brown, dead trees and the occasional Gray building. It was like this within the entirety of the New Light's view…
That is until he tilted his vessel to his Right, pointing it North West, bringing into view a whirling grey and black storm emanating from a center of bright whirling flames. There were flashes of purple and blue as the fire sways, an unknown shriek pierces through the clouds, gently vibrating the glass of the New Light's cockpit.
"Listen up you two!" Mithra's voice blares through the radios. "They had the bright idea of going on an all-out assault… Thus… you two New Lights are coming with us…" A hint of annoyance emerges in Mithra's voice. There is a slight laughter in the background.
"They'll be fine, Mithra… just tell them what to expect down there." Mazdam's voice rings out.
"Fine… Stay behind us… Keep moving… stay alive… And Do NOT listen to its voice…" Mithra speaks sternly through the radio.
Mazdam's Vimana slows to a halt, floating many meters above the trees, its back door opening. Mithra and Caravel jump out. Caravel clumsily grasps at the trees while Mithra floats down gracefully.
"Great! You two just made it to the best part!" A light, feminine voice speaks through all channels.
"Clear a landing zone for us, Fairy. We'll be landing soon…" Jalus speaks up, his gruff voice emerging from the radio.
Fairy giggles. "Thank me later, Lulu… just how I like it…"
"Okay! That's enough!" Mithra suddenly shouts, cutting Fairy off. "Enjoy each other later, we have a Dragon to kill!"
"Yes ma'am!" Jalus replies way too quickly and way too lightheartedly.
"Seriously… Lulu?" Caravel teases.
"Don't mention it… You don't need to know the shit Jalus gets into when he's not with us…" Mazdam quickly shuts down Caravel's thinking.
Another Firestorm ignites to the West of the main blaze. Mithra's New Light watches as snow melts and trees are reduced to ash, creating a clearing fit for three ships. In the center of the clearing is a figure robed in Orange and Gold. Steel glints underneath her cloak. The figure waves the vessels over. Behind that figure comes another two. One with a rifle in her hands, another with her hands on her hips, waiting for the vessels to land.
Jalus lands first, setting his ship gently down, Mazdam faces his ship's back towards them before opening its rear hatch. The New Light sets his ship down last.
Mithra's New Light shuts off the Glimmer Burner, swiftly exiting his vessel through a door on the vessel's underside.
The wind was biting cold. As he looks over the firestorm, watching as Jalus and Mazdam convene with the figures ahead, he dons his helmet. The pale glass dims and a Blue Heads-Up-Display activates.
Can you hear me, Ghost?
Loud and clear, Lightbearer…
Good… Just… help me out whenever possible, okay?
Of course! That's my job!
The New Light walks forward, greeting the rest of the Lightbearers convened. Caravel smiles at him as he approaches. She breaks off from the group to talk to him. Her hair is knotted into a tight bun, resting slightly higher against the back of her head.
"You excited?" She asks with a cheerful stare.
"What's there to be excited about…" The New light looks up at the raging firestorm.
"Just… Excited! Nothing in particular…"
"What about you? What are you so happy for?"
"Oh… Nothing… I just am!" Caravel smiles as she puts on her helmet, her tightly knotted hair compact enough to fit inside.
"I wish I could be as cheery as you…"
"I bet… come! Fairy wants to see you!"
Fairy is a Warlock. Unlike Mithra who's both regal and heavily armored, Fairy is dressed in nothing but soft Orange and Yellow Linen wrapped securely with a large belt about her waist. How she can tolerate being so fragile was answered by her apparent proficiency in Solar Light. How did she manage to cleanly burn this space otherwise?
"Look at you!" Fairy pulls off her helmet, a leather and Steel construction with a slit dividing the piece horizontally. "All armored up! I can't tell if you're a Titan or a Warlock!" Fairy's skin is pale, freckled. Her hair is Fire Orange and her eyes are dizzyingly Green.
"As you can tell from just a glance… Mithra didn't hesitate to spend Hundreds on him…" Mazdam adds. "A couple of those hundreds are from my earnings, might I add…"
"Ugh… did you not personally buy the shotgun Caravel has? Wasn't that thing a couple hundred thousand at least?" Mithra retorts.
They continue bickering about the cost they've put into both of the New Lights, greatly disturbing the two. Caravel and the New Light exchange helmeted glances at each other as the more experienced Lightbearers bicker.
The New Light thanks himself for putting on his helmet beforehand to spare himself the embarrassment. He knows it's normal for Newly Risen to be treated like children, but this is ridiculous. Don't they have something more important to get to?
As if she was reading his mind, Caravel speaks up. "Don't we have a Dragon to slay?"
"Oh yes! He's over in the forest. Mardak and Carlos are managing the fire, Shavi and Suleyman have the thing tethered to the floor… And Alnar and Jannah are keeping its limbs pinned… It's not getting away easily this time…" Fairy takes the group deeper into the firestorm, brushing aside flames, forming a pathway for the group to easily enter into.
"Why don't you kill it?" Mithra's New Light poses a question, staring into the raging firestorm.
Fairy chuckles at his question, snorting. "Damn thing is too nimble! Every time we strike its neck or aim for the head, a new limb just pops out like, Pschh! It's insane... But don't worry… It's getting tired… We'll be rid of the Dragon soon enough… and I swear to whatever God is out there, I will rob those Hunters who hired us, dry!"
—
The Hunt becomes a torture session as the beast refuses death.
Sera fires several arrows into the beast's hind. Its stupid refusal to face death infuriates her. She summons a Spear of Arc Light and throws it at the Ahamkara with all the rage she has. It strikes the beast's side and sends Arc scattering beneath the translucent skin. It creates a patch of "consistency". As the Dragon shapeshifts and struggles, the Arc Spear renders the skin around the impact a consistent fleshy Grey, different to the Shiny scales and fur growing and shedding around it in undulating patterns.
"Cavalry inbound!" Fairy's cheerful voice echoes into Sera's helmet radio.
"Good… keep the two New Lights safe, let Jalus, Mazdam, and Mithra join the fray."
"With pleasure!"
Figures emerge from the smoke and ash. The Hulking armor of Jalus, the lithe figure of Mazdam, and the graceful coat of Mithra enter her view. She waves them over. They swiftly move over to the tree she's perched on. She lands in front of her friends.
"Long time no see!" Sera chats them up as they approach.
The group looks over at the one-sided carnage in the center of the blaze, the Ahamkara's bloodied, maimed, struggling form screaming from the pain serves to be a good conversation piece.
"Where is my Little Mouse?" Sera eventually asks.
"They're with Fairy… She can't help but want to talk to them… You know how she is… let's just hope she doesn't get too handsy…" Mazdam says disdainfully.
Sera laughs. "Take me to them… I'd like to see how well you handled them…"
—
The two New Lights sat on charred tree stumps on the flats beside a small hill overlooking the area. Fires rage around them, yet the space around them is calm. The searing heat of the combustion around them negated by their armor, the only nuisance for them to deal with are the groans and screams of the Dragon whose body casts flickering shadows in the smoke.
Fairy gives them a summary of the situation. The Dragon is almost dead. The Two are free to watch but it's advised to not get anywhere near so the Ahamkara is unable to use their desires.
"How does it work?" Mithra's New Light speaks with a quiet voice.
"How does what work?" Fairy replies.
"The Dragon… The Ahamkara… How does it…"
"Utilize desire?" Fairy finishes his thoughts for him.
"Yeah… How and…" He wanted to ask why, but since the Dragon is currently being beaten to death, the question's answer is very apparent.
"We don't know… We think it might be a similar process as to how our own powers work… Shit just happens…" Fairy shrugs. "I'd like to know too, you know… But sometimes the Universe doesn't make obtaining its secrets easy… It keeps it guarded and bolted shut… so resistant that the toughest blade, bullet, or hottest plasma cannot break through…"
Orion's screams punctuate the Firestorm around them. Despite their surroundings literally set aflame, the atmosphere is serene, calm. Is this how Lightbearers are supposed to be? Calm in the face of Death?
"We've already had several mishaps over the course of this Hunt… Damn thing's defensive as all hell… We've traveled over a hundred kilometers over the course of this Hunt… Too far, if you ask me…"
Fairy summons a flask of water and takes a quick drink. "But now you're here… Because Sera's so kind and doesn't want you two to freeze to death you're both stuck here in the center of hell with us…"
"You all sure have been through a lot… What are you guys getting out of this?" Caravel asks, leaning forward slightly.
"A fuck-ton, I hope… I'm not exaggerating when I say that I'm going to rob our employer, dry… But considering the whole… Starlit Aegis schist… you two may expect an armor piece or two… maybe a weapon… all Awoken Forged of course…"
"What are the Awoken about? I've seen them in the City… but… I don't know much about them…" Mithra's New Light asks, staring into the unnatural walls of fire.
"Same here…" The two New Lights voice their ignorance.
"Mmm… The Awoken are from the outer System… Sol has eight to ten planets encircling the Star… you both know that, right?"
The two New Lights nod.
"Okay… between the fourth and fifth planets there's a region of space home to countless planetoids… Yes?"
The two New Lights nod once more, urging for Fairy to continue her lecture.
"Within that space is the Awoken Heartland! We don't know how they're made… but they emerged from that area. From there, the Awoken migrated to every corner of the System, even making their way to the Last City…" Fairy takes a suspicious look at Mazdam.
"Do we really not know anything about them?" Mithra's New Light asks, looking at Fairy with a quizzical stare.
"We know they were born out of some sort of calamity… But otherwise we haven't been able to contact them about anything other than basic trade, resources, and structure… They're a Monarchy with a Queen and a Prince at their head…"
—
As the fire continues to burn, a familiar figure walks up behind Fairy as she continues explaining Awoken History. A Hunter, cloaked in Dark Grey and Light Blue. She removes her helmet revealing straight, Platinum-colored hair, shaded Orange by the fire-light.
"I heard the Awoken are particularly fond of the Ahamkara… for some reason…" The familiar woman speaks, smiling as she approaches.
"Sera!" Caravel jumps up and rushes to embrace her.
"Mäuschen… How have you been?" Sera chuckles as Caravel embraces her tightly.
"Amazing! You should've seen us!"
Sera chuckles with a closed mouth, gently tightening her embrace around Caravel before letting her go.
"I bet… You two look like you can take on the world!" Sera's eyes fall upon Mithra's New Light. Her smile fades slightly.
"What about you? How have you been?" Sera takes tentative steps forward, sitting down on a fallen tree's stump.
"I'm fine… Thank you Sera…" was all the other New Light could say.
He didn't know what to say. He had no history with her in comparison to Caravel. Even then, Caravel had only known Sera for three days at most. To see them both so comfortable made him wonder what exactly they went through to be like this.
Sera's mood dampens at the New Light's answer. She thinks for a moment, looking at both Caravel and the Nameless New Light before fishing out a freshly boiled egg from a pouch hanging about her belt. She un-shells it and offers it to him.
"You must be hungry…"
"No.. I'm fine… thank you…" The New Light gently raises his palm in rejection. Sera accepts and instead offers the boiled egg to Caravel.
"Okay.. you both know the situation, right?" Sera looks at Fairy.
"I told them all they needed to know!" Fairy cheerfully answers.
"Wonderful… Sit back and enjoy the show… But whatever you do, DO NOT listen to any voice… You both stay right here, okay? The Dragon will die soon enough, the spoils will be ours… Verstanden?"
Mithra's New Light didn't understand the last word but nodded his head at everything else.
Caravel yelled out a cheerful "Jawohl!"
A piercing roar erupted from the center of the wildfire. Sera and Fairy turned towards it. Both Sera and Fairy put on their helmets.
"Stay Safe… Remember to not follow the Voices…" Sera orders before she and Fairy leap into the flames.
—
Orion thrashed against their Tether, squirming against the Thunder Fists, resisting Radiant Bullets and a screaming Abyssal Hammer.
The fire licked his skin, melting his fur. He tries to change, but every extra limb is broken by renewed assault. He screams in pain as every nerve and sense is set alight.
However, in spite of the pain, Orion smiles.
He can't literally smile, his face is bloodied and broken, his lower mandibles split and torn in several places. But he is content.
It's because he can sense his Hunters' collective desires.
They're weak. Incredibly weak. No doubt these Dragonslayers are veterans, being able to force down their greatest desires to such an extent that they'll be unusable to him. If it weren't for the fact that there were so many of them and for the fact that he's tiring them out, Orion probably wouldn't have been able to flip the situation on its head.
For the past few weeks, he has evaded capture, wrestled for control, and fought for dominance over his own body. He knows he's wearing thin the patience of his pursuers and now he can feel their desire for his death boiling over like hot lard.
He could've taken advantage of… 'softer' desires. Desires of Flesh and Loot, deception in the form of advantageous positioning and the like. But to warriors like the Lightbearers who maraud him, such deception will only slow them. They will always hunt him, no thanks to those who sent them to him in the first place. Only their True Deaths will truly release him.
So Human… That they're pursuit is so neverending…
He feels a Lightbearer stab his side with his polehammer, Orion feels the Vacuum tearing through his insides. He groans. He can't take much longer. He has to act now.
He takes notice of the Lightbearers surrounding him. One with a Tether made of Void, similar- no… same… in form to the Lightbearer he crushed under his palm a day ago. One on his sides, stabbing at him with a Void Warhammer, twisting the thickened spike inside his guts, causing him to writhe in pain. One stood far away, hammering his wings and tendrils with Bullets that glowed like the Sun. Two others flew over him, occasionally falling and breaking limbs that were newly generated.
He searches some more. He notices several more desire-ridden presences among the fire and flames. Two Lightbearers stood on opposite ends of him, summoning thick rivers of Void flowing over him, weighing him down. One summoned a Golden Rifle and fired upon his neck with extreme accuracy, another joined the two falling onto his back to break his bones. A familiar figure draws a sharp sword of Arc Light and stabs his chest.
The Lightbearers devour him like a vulture upon a corpse, but he holds on still, letting their Desires boil over, their powers fueling his own.
Orion suddenly feels his body go numb.
One of the Lightbearers has wrangled her way up his neck, grasping on to his tendrils and fur, stabbing into his great spine with her sword. The sharp, Electrifying presence disallows him from regenerating and shifting to a better suited form. His lower half is paralyzed. One good hit and he is sure to die….
That's fine… that's fine… So long as he finds a way to cement himself into reality permanently, he doesn't care whether or not his physical form stops breathing. However, he needs to come up with a plan and fast. No doubt these Hunters have no interest in Wishes. They may very well grind his Bones to dust and spread them into the wind. At that point, he'll be truly dead. Think… Think…
There… Two Presences, sitting behind the rest, beyond the crest of a nearby hill, in a site hidden by dead trees. There were two Strong Desires.
They must be newbies… how fortunate for him…
Orion reaches out into the aether, reading into their minds… And then… he whispers… A voice so quiet to mimic distance, but one so urgent it may as well be a scream.
Cara! Over Here!
—
Caravel feels a presence grip the back of her mind. It was quiet at first. Only the loud crackling of the fires around them serving as oppressive ambience was heard. But as time goes on, she notices a voice piercing through her skull. She stands up, ignoring the other New Light's questioning.
She summons her rifle into her hands and slides the bolt back once, pushing it forward, chambering a bullet.
Safety is off.
Caravel moves away from the other New Light as he questions her action. To be honest, She doesn't even know what she's doing either.
Caravel crests a hill, seeing the silhouette of the Dragon and her comrades in battle.
They kept us here because they think we're useless… Caravel hears herself think.
No… We're not useless… Why would they bring us here… if we're just burdens.
Caravel hears the call, louder this time. The voice makes itself clearer. It's the voice of Sera.
C-Cara! Help us!
A choir of voices belonging to all of the other Hunters and members of the Hunting Party all begin to pile on top of Sera's shrill voice. Caravel sways in building dizziness.
The scene before her shifts, shimmering with Paracausal energy. Her eyes do not perceive the subtleties, seeing only what is before her.
What is before her? Sera is in the Dragon's mouth, Shavi is buried under the Dragon's left claw, Terrence and Carlos are mutilated in a ditch. Suleyman, Mithra, Fairy, Lux… They're nowhere to be seen…
T-Take The Shot… Caravel hears Sera say, her voice is so loud… so oppressive… but she's so far away…
Caravel raises her rifle, aiming at the Dragon's eye. She cannot hear the Other New Light's protests from behind her as she grips down on the trigger.
—
A Shot rings out from Caravel's rifle.
"Cara!" Mithra's New Light shouts, pushing down Caravel's rifle. Too late…
Caravel blinks slightly, emotion slowly returning to her Purple eyes.
The other New Light looks to where she shot. Chaos is all he sees.
The bullet Caravel fired struck Sera's hand, disengaging her from her Arc Estoc. The blade disappears as Sera's concentration vanishes. With feeling restored from unpaused regeneration, Orion roars.
—
What a perfect scenario…
Orion regenerates his broken body as much as he can, shaking off the opposition, and draws back his power. The illusion he's built for the New Light named Caravel shatters thus. It matters not, now was his chance. Grasping the Desires of everyone within, the Desire to Kill him, Orion subtly grants this wish, condemning himself to the embrace of Death. Death, however, isn't' the strongest force in the Universe anymore. Anyone can live if given the means to do so, and thus he invokes the Anthem.
The Anthem Anatheme- The Law of Will.
This is how the Ahamkara thrive. To use the power gained from Wishes… to break Laws... to devour the unsuspecting with curling paws.
This will be how Orion aims to survive.
He has resigned himself to death. Sooner or later, the Lightbearers will kill him. However, using the Anthem he can live on. He just needs to find the opportune moment. the right Wish with which to ricochet from, to subvert.
All Ahamkara wish to survive, to be able to influence the Universe after their untimely demise. They usually do so by granting wishes through their very bones and dust, challenging the very idea of their death by proving they're still capable of influencing the Universe beyond. Orion, however, wanted to do something inherently smaller, but something so much more profound.
He pours all of his Energy into his very identity, his Name. All he needs now, is a being to bestow his name onto. That way, his identity becomes theirs and theirs becomes his.
Orion reels back, forcing off the Lightbearer straddling him. He splits his muscular tail like a flower whose petals are like spear tips. He stabs down onto his foe, forcing them into a retreat. He morphs his mouth back into that of his kin. He spits Acid at the foe, letting them retreat further and further. He hears them speak rapidly, he knows his plan has caused much confusion.
He grins, outwardly this time, as his foe attempts to suppress him further, but with renewed strength he stands on his hinds and on his fores, pushing against the Heavy Void. He jumps, sprouting leathery wings on his back, gliding to the deceived New Light who had so generously helped him.
He is still alive all thanks to her, after all.
—
"Was zum Teufel war das, Cara?!" Sera yells as she clambers up the dirt and burnt branches, her voice blaring through the radio. Sera's eyes glow a thunderous Blue below her helm's visor.
"I… Sera… Eu… Eu pensei…" Caravel struggles to form an answer, her eyes glued onto the Dragon grinning at her.
Orion's mouth glows a brilliant Orange before he springs forward with a gaping maw, spitting hot acid down onto Caravel. Without thinking, the Other New Light tackles Caravel onto the ground.
"Den Ekhoume... khrono yia avto…" The Other New Light sternly says, getting off of Caravel's heaving body. "We need to move… Now!"
The New Light looks over at the acid dripping off his armor. Despite the clear contact, his armor glows with a White Light and has suffered no damages. The New Light stands and turns to face the Wish Dragon. Orion's wounds seem to be all healed and his form is large and terrifying. The Dragon's face plates split open, revealing shark-like teeth and ten dark eyes all staring down at the two New Lights.
The rest of their comrades had long fled, jumping up into the dead trees, preparing to act. However, as the Dragon approached the two New Lights, their actions became less apparent. Were they even going to try and save them? With a wide smile, the Dragon takes a hand with six elongated fingers and raises it over them, far above their heads.
"Cara! Move it!" Sera's voice radiates from their radios, her anger replaced with dread.
Caravel was frozen with fear on the forest floor, doing nothing but staring at the impending doom to literally befall her. As the Dragon's claw fell, she didn't muster the courage to do anything as the Dragon crushed her.
Mithra's New Light dodged to the side right before the claw fell. He fell onto the dirty ground. He slowly looked over at Caravel's direction but saw nothing but a single bony, bloody paw. He stifled the vomit threatening to pour from his mouth. He turns to look at the Dragon once more. This time, Orion's face was mere feet from the New Light's body. He only stares up at the Dragon's ten eyes before he feels his body go numb.
He looked down at his torso to see a spiked tendril that had emerged from under the Dragon's neck had pierced one of the few unarmored areas of his body. His sides were only protected by padded leather, not steel. The Light wasn't able to protect him.
As the Dragon retracts the spear-like tendril, the cold seeps in.
The New Light falls over and dies.
—
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hope you guys liked the story so far! Sorry for the late update. In compensation, this chapter is almost twice the length of the first two! This chapter is fifty-eight pages long in Google Docs in comparison to both chapters one and two which are thirty-two each.
I'm trying to find a good length and how to structure the story. Otherwise, I'll try to be quicker with the updates. College is ramping up though, keep that in mind.
Criticism is Welcome! Per Ardua ad Astra!
SECOND UPDATE (10/22/24):
I Changed quite a lot here. I hope you guys enjoy the new changes as well as point out mistakes I've made. Per Ardua ad Astra.
