************************************ALLIANCE HEADQUARTERS************************************“The chances of failure far outweigh the chances of success, and even if we succeed the victory will be bitter sweet, you know that. You know one of us is going to end up really hurt, or worse.”Lora walked closer to him and rested her hand on his shoulder. He was still watching the fold of slaves working their lives away. “This is my plan Jrue, if it fails I'm ready to face the consequences on my own. Trust me on this.” “What about the other prisoners?” “Leave them to me. I will find a way to convince them. All you need to worry about is setting up the stage, do things right on your side and I’ll do things right on mine and I promise there's nothing that will go wrong, promise!”“Okay. On the next moon, Ladzgery Tyndale will not be able to use his soul magic. That is the day we begin the coup d'etat.” SALS VILLAGE IN DISTRICT DARK Alicia tried hard to keep her gaze locked on the convolu
"What happened!""Would you shut it with the questions and heal me already!"The other figure dropped to one knee and rolled up sleeves of his robe. He began a familiar incarnation."I call to you great presence. Heed to my orison and grant me your unfathomable power! For we serve you oh great link, our path to Tomasa!"The gush of wind and an orange halo ring appeared as usual. The injured figure took his time before getting up."What happened?!" the spell caster asked."Well it seems your plan was not that fool proof!""It wasn't my plan it was the administrators'. And he accounted for everything.""Well he didn't account for me getting hurt!""But that's why I gave you two miracles, one to leave behind for Martha and another for yourself in case you got hurt!""Yeah that was the initial plan, until circumstances arose that weren't planned for!""... Which ones?""Tulip! She's still alive!"There was a brief moment of silence before he continued his speech."Tulip? You mean lady Mel
"You monster, you killed all those people in cold blood, what... What have you done to me?""Nothing, I just slipped in a little poison in your afternoon food, and the deity is already sensing the vurhans who are surrounding the city as we speak so it can no longer stay inside your dying body!""... It, was you... In... In the forest in Defectors s... State,""Oh yes, I remember that, only last week. Time sure does move fast... Speaking of which the others might be at the gates ready to come inside, and the king is probably looking for me to assemble the army, I'd better be off... You will be remembered brother, it is just too bad it won't be for good reasons. And too bad you will never get the chance to clear your name...TRAITOR!" Alvatrone said, the orangish halo popping up from above him as he vanished, his villainous laughter bouncing on the walls for the last time. Just moments later Daito walked into the dungeon."Hey Slejj, something is happening! I'm gonna sneak you out to som
Reene relentlessly plucked the strings of the citole as he danced around the podium bruising people's eardrums with his torturous voice. Others booed him, others showed appreciation for his effort, while others just laughed out loud. He never cared none the less, and pushed on with his performance. Alicia stood by the podium, masking her laughter. She covered her face with her palms and tried hard to act as composed as she could hope to be in that situation.With one last heavy Crescendo that drained out all his breath, he raised his arms and gave the crowd a bow before he choked himself out. They all clapped, others thankful for the end of the torture, others appreciative of the effort, while others just thanked him for giving them a good laugh. He walked over to Alicia."So. . . How was it? "She couldn't hold it in any longer. She burst out laughing so hard she started snorting. She knew it was awkward but there was no way of stopping it. Although the laughter of the crowd masked h
“Of course I do. Do you think I havent considered the outcome! I am well prepared for what is to come if it fails. But now Im not so sure if you are.” “The chances of failure far outweigh the chances of success, and even if we succeed the victory will be bitter sweet, you know that. You know one of us is going to end up really hurt, or worse.”Lora walked closer to him and rested her hand on his shoulder. He was still watching the fold of slaves working their lives away. “This is my plan Jrue, if it fails I'm ready to face the consequences on my own. Trust me on this.” “What about the other prisoners?” “Leave them to me. I will find a way to convince them. All you need to worry about is setting up the stage, do things right on your side and I’ll do things right on mine and I promise there's nothing that will go wrong, promise!”“Okay. On the next moon, Ladzgery Tyndale will not be able to use his soul magic. That is the day we begin the coup d'etat.” SALS VILLAGE IN DISTRICT DARK
MEANWHILE“Okay let's move. The rain will help cover our tracks so we better make hast and utilize it.”. So began their exodus, a muddy, cold, and wet journey across the woods, a plight for freedom and safety. Though they were thrilled to be free nobody bothered to ask about the cost of their freedom. The mysterious savior who called himself Anato Strider could not have just decided to wake up one day and free them. They lived long enough to know that everything comes at a price, so what was the price tagged in their freedom? One would have to wonder what lay ahead, hopefully, it would be greener pastures.Lora and Jrue were lost in the woodlands, limping through puddles of mud, occasionally stumbling to the ground and taking forever to get back to their feet. Their bodies had been broken, Lora’s left shoulder was heavily swollen and her ribs made breathing one painful task. On the other hand, Jrue's leg was also not looking as good as her sister’s. He broke his fall with his lower bo
As the blue rings circulated his forearm Alvatrone intervened and pulled it back down.“No, not this time. I want this to be more entertaining. Kill them with your bare hands!”Daito obeyed. The blue rings faded away and he slowly began charging towards the crowd. Alvatrone stayed behind to watch. As he descended the slope, gravity accelerated his locomotion. He took flight a few feet close to the charging group, cutting across the atmosphere with a flaring dropkick. The guards put up a barrier of shields but he just charged through it, breaking the wooden shields like they were pieces of paper.The absolute force of the impact discarded the back row of the line of defense like rag dolls, they tumbled across the ground licking grass and covering their bodies with a fresh blanket of mud. Those that we're able to recover from the first blow did so, charging towards Daito with their spearheads and sword tips pointed at him. The first to engage swung his blade momentously, aiming for his
On the other hand, his sibling was tranquil, and he was very different from his other half. Even though they had the same looks, they were quite different. Something flared inside Valmon about a month after they were knighted, and he swiftly altered. He recognized that what Drom had told them was correct: prejudice and maintaining class divisions had no place in the army. He knew that if he was going to survive, he needed to adapt, thus he began his journey from crested brat to honorary state guard. His only wish was that his scared brother would man up and change, follow the path he took if only his wish was heard."Sal, be quiet! The commander might hear you.""I don't care if he hears me, Val, I'm not doing this... after this mission, I'm quitting the State Guard core and returning home.""We both know that father would never allow you to pass through the gates.""I'm done with it...""Would you please close your hole, if you don't have anything meaningful to say, keep your blunt c
They rushed into the palace, two awls trailing behind them, holding a huge wooden box. When they were climbing the flight of stairs, one of the awls relaxed his grasp on the case's side handle and it slid off, falling to the ground. The case's housing broke open and objects spewed out, including several scrolls, a large book with a lock restricting the pages, and a fairly long dagger. "Wait, I'm familiar with both the book and the sword. They are normally at my father's place. He's been devoting a lot of time lately to reading that book." "And what is the purpose of the blade?" "It's for, yeah, I read about it in my father's library a long time ago, it's used for the rite when when...no!" Daito's eyes abruptly opened as he realized what the intention of the visit could be. He made a hasty descent down the trunk, losing his balance and slipping off several times. Drom pursued him blindly. "Hey! Dai, what is it tell me!" "Come on Drom! We have to hurry before it's too late." They
Needle-like pain reverberated across her skull. She lost her orientation, the world began spinning. As she tried to straighten to her feet another powerful blow landed across her frame, knocking the air out of her lungs, sending her spinning and spiraling across the floor. She collided with the wall, breaking her momentum. Jrue swung his twin blades with malicious intent. Though it wasn’t him succumbing to all those terrifying blows they were so brutal that he felt the impact of his raw strength. Before his blades could gain momentum he was rudely picked off the ground with an inhumane tackle. He was driven to the wall, the impact so violent it pushed the bricks out of position. Once he was pinned to the wall a flurry of punches started coming his way. The iron-like knuckles dug into his face, he felt like a hammer pounding his cheeks. His mouth filled with blood. The relentless attacks were halted by a deafening sound of a metal bar striking Tyndale’s skull. It seemed to have less
“A paralytic Poison. I see I taught you well my son…” “Don’t you ever dare call me that again!” He picked up his right arm and slit his wrist across, doing the same to his left hand. Jrue wanted him to suffer. He wanted him to bleed to death knowing that he was powerless, unable to do anything about it and save himself. He left him outside and limped back into the house. All the soldiers guarding the house had evacuated, deployed to handle the uprising of the slaves in the mines, giving the two siblings all the time they needed to execute duties assigned to them by Anato Strider as part of their escape plan. He managed to reach the room where the fight had begun. He shook her sister to wake. “Lora, Lora! Wake up, it is done!” All Lora felt was an unrealistically powerful force driving her to the ground. She landed with a thud, her head bouncing off the moldy floor. Needle-like pain reverberated across her skull. She lost her orientation, the world began spinning. As she tried to s
Albert was unconcerned about her feelings. He spread the crinkled letter out on the table and began reading it aloud. "The official report. On the second day of the third week of the sixth moon of the year, the commander of the independent states arrived at Defectors State headquarters, where honorary State guard, Lora Deryleen, provided information on the whereabouts of the fugitive, ex-commander, and traitor to the States, Slejj. In the evening, the commander gathered an army to go over to make a stand. "What are you babbling about, is it a fantasy scenario you've been dreaming about?" "Come on...you of all people should know the report never lies," "You seriously can't be considering something this low Albert!," "I made a deal with fugitives Lora, fugitives you wanted to protect. now it seems like their crimes have caught up to them, and there is no way I can delay the inevitable," "You're not going to be able to accomplish it, Albert. We struck a deal!" "Lora...dear Lora, I
The kick was aimed at the shield. Tyndale pushed out the shield with his kick so violently that it broke the teeth submerged into the metal. As the shield rolled on the mud with the teeth sticking out of it, Jericho shrieked in pain. Daito finally came to, getting to his feet just in time before the blast shot the Vurhan's entire face off. He charged forward with a blast of his own. Tyndale reverted his attention towards him which left him exposed to the mercy of the beast. Another swipe of the claws ripped up a shred of his skin, allowing blood to run over his chest. His muscular arms pushed Daito back onto the ground once more. He kicked the vurhan and took out its left knee with a blast of energy, rendering it immobile, momentarily. As the vurhan stumbled to the ground he grabbed its arm and pulled it back up, directing its head towards his punch. The two targets collided, leaving a bloody green stain on the Vurhan's face as it slid across the mud. Tyndale felt a severe force pus
"I made a deal with fugitives Lora, fugitives you wanted to protect. now it seems like their crimes have caught up to them, and there is no way I can delay the inevitable," "You're not going to be able to accomplish it, Albert. We struck a deal!" "Lora...dear Lora, I mean, come on, you knew what you were up to. We all knew this make-believe family you built wasn't going to last." "Albert, you're a jerk!" "Let's not talk about that princess. I'm aware of your darkest secrets!" "Wait... What secret?" He moved closer to her face, leaning in. Her stomach turned at the smell of his alcoholic breath. "You think I don't know about your little secret, Deryleen... you're not from around here, are you?" "You're not selling it Albert...get out of here." Lora bumped shoulders with him as she walked into her quarters. "Get out of my quarters now!!!" "... According to the second official report, Lora Deryleen and Alicia Iko captured the previous commander of the independent nations and we
Alicia dazed in a similar trance. She looked on as her apparently dead little brother reaped his swords and whirled them, chopping off delegates arms and legs. At one point he arced his head and caught sight of her, but ventured on with his slaughter as if she wasn't even there, as if he had no clue who she was. Reene and the others tapped them out of their stupor as they pulled out their swords. Alicia began galloping straight towards Drom, and Lora headed for Deryleen. Before they could both reach their intended targets the rest of the faction popped up under the teleportation circle and dropped to the arena, jumping straight into the action. Outside the castle, the intense battle raged on. The army of undead knights fought relentlessly like they had nothing to lose, mostly because they didn't. They overpowered the knights trying to secure the castle and fell to their blades, most of them cowardly retreating. The vurhans continued their orchestra, by then the whole city had awoken
"You know the truth is I was never your brother you simpleton! I was never your brother!" "... Wha... What did I ever do to you brother?" "NOTHING! And that is why I despise you. You never did anything for anyone, only cared about yourself. Using others to get what you wanted... Using me to become the commander!" Slejj coughed up a couple of times before speaking. "What in the hell are you talking about?" "I do not need to explain myself to you! Have you ever heard of Enkai, the forest deity who supposedly guarded the gates against crossers? Protected the Independent States from the world outside, especially vurhans." Slejj stared back in discomfort as a response. "Well, do you remember the day we were on the battlefield, fighting off the hoards of vurhans? I was the one who called on to him. I corrupted him with the help of some new friends I made. Using the power I made it turn against us... It killed and devoured those soldiers, and it was also to devour you! But I didn't pla
Fear was creeping in and Jrue was re-evaluating his options. A retreat would seem reasonable at that point. Lora had been completely taken out of the equation. “Well! I am Waiting!” Tyndale barked, his voice full of excitement. Jrue charged towards him. He wasn’t that good of a fighter in tight spaces but give him an open field and he would perform his acrobatic stunts that surprisingly packed a punch. He sought to tilt the odds to his advantage by taking him to an open field, and there was only one way he saw how. Running full steam ahead he tackled Tyndale and they both burst through the window, shattering the glass and falling three from a height three stories high. There was no object below to cushion their landing, so they sprawled to the hard ground. Jrue landed on his chest, breaking a bone or two. Tyndale landed on the shards of glass. They dug into his back, yet he seemed not to feel irritated by the pain. Before he could get up Jrue rushed over to him and impaled his leg w