Ama listened quietly as each one of her party introduced themselves, patient as always. Some of her teammates brought forth little giggles, others worried frowns. For the most part, though, she just smiled. She didn't speak through the entire duration of the spoken introductions, interrupting being one of the many things she never did. Though if anyone were watching her closely enough they'd see a disappointed twinkle in her eye as many people harmed or otherwise meddled in the affairs of the large cockroaches skittering about the room. "Such brutality," she thought with sadness. This was their home- it probably had been their home for longer than many of the young men and women had been alive. They had most certainly dwelled here in peace much before they had arrived. Weren't you supposed to treat your hosts with respect and gratefulness? The hasty Redeemers intruded upon their living place and were so abrasive as to either kill them without being provoked or toss them out and into the city where the poor thing would most likely be preyed upon by a Legionnaire. How was that just? She mentally gave a prayer for the two dead ones, and hoped the best for the one now trapped in Vincere's heat. She was glad to hear that the other roaches were safely burrowed in the cabinets across the massive room and would be safe from the Redeemer's impulsive attacks. One would be surprised by how smart the Litasian roach was- they had 3 brains, after all. They could speak to one another in their odd, hissing language and, once the predator had left, the family unit would surround a fallen member and mourn for its death. Ama had heard it happen before. But she knew that her colleagues weren't aware of such things, so she held no resentment against them, letting it pass.
Finally, everyone had finished talking, ending with Mr. Mathis' ridiculously curt grunts. Knowing it was now her time to explain just why they were here, she found herself looking towards the ceiling, eyes resting on a cherub's blank face. "First, I'd like to request that you keep any comments or questions to yourselves until the end of my speech. There's a lot of be said and surely a lot to be asked, but bear with me. I'm sure you're all aware of how Sapentia fell nearly 20 years ago. Since Dominatio has slain her, he's been plotting and increasing the number of Demoni in the world. We thought he'd been laying dormant for the past ten years, but of recent times, he has acted swiftly. Have you noticed a surge of missions for you to complete? Almost as if the number of Demoni has doubled?" she looked back down to gaze at the whole of her group.
"It's because they have. Tripled or quadrupled is probably more accurate, actually. While Litas seems to have been spared the brunt of the terror, Dominatio has sent out The Plague. So far, Vesuvi (the mountainous kingdom just east of Litas), Sospes (the marshy kingdom across the Procello Bay from Litas), and Decessus (the icy kingdom across the Acrim Sea from Litas) have all been infected. Hordes of Demoni unfathomably large trampled through the kingdoms, aiming to slay the patron demigods living there. The troupes of Redeemers in those areas have fallen, as have most of the innocent civilians living there. Those kingdoms are running rampant with Demoni. It has been confirmed that Vesuvius of the mountains and Sospesa of the marshes are both dead, Decess having gone missing though suspected to have fallen a similar fate." her soft voice rang clear through the shining ballroom, how upset she was by the aforementioned fact plain as day. "It is clear that Dominatio must be stopped. The organization has decided to take on an offensive strategy as opposed to defensive, choosing to attack first instead of waiting to be preyed upon."
She sighed deeply here, suddenly looking as old as she was as the gravity of the situation caked onto her features. "The big issue at hand is that no immortal, not even a Redeemer, can kill Dominatio. Only Sapentia, a fellow god, had the power to do so. Not even her children can do the deed, as they only each contain a tenth of the essence of Sapentia- or so the story goes. Even if they could, we're afraid that the demigods are too apathetic on the matter, and most likely wouldn't raise together to fight anyway. The organization has come up with an alternative option. We obviously are not gods- just having the Demoni blood in our system destroys us in..." she paused for just a second here, eyes flashing with an undecipherable emotion "15 years. They think that should we digest the blood of Sapentia's children, much like we have digested Dominatio's children, we will be the perfect weapon against his mighty darkness. We'll be half demon, half saint- essentially having the components of the Original himself in our human body and thereby having the ability to exterminate Dominatio. We have to drink the blood of half of Sapentia's children in order for it to be potent enough to be effective. That's five different demigods- five different kingdoms we have to visit. By the end of this trip, it's a possibility we will entirely lose our humanity, the half of us we cling to as our ego being replaced by Sapentia's force. It's worth it to save the world, I'd imagine. The demigods of the kingdoms may not cooperate, though. Litatio, for example, has hidden himself from his people for all these years now." She was turning greyer and greyer, her light slowly dwindling as she continued to speak of such troubling topics. She almost looked like a deflating doll of sorts.
"I'm sorry you have to hear all of this from a woman who hardly knows herself. I may be the commander, but I too have no idea the details the organization has planned for us. All the Redeemers all over the world are on this same mission. Unfortunately, you do not have a choice. Should you decide not to pursue this mission, you will be considered a rogue warrior and the organization will strike you down. If you do not wish to continue on this mission, I would be glad to give you a swift and honorable death now by my own two hands. I'm sure it'd be much more pleasant than what the organization has planned for you." you could tell she was not pleased by this note in particular. Ama was appalled when she'd heard this news.The board was ruthless in a way Ama could never be. She disagreed with this policy most of all- killing anyone who wasn't willing to bend to their every wish.
"As for our troupe in particular, I've been told to take all of us to a little girl named Nica. She is described as being about 10 years old, having one blue eye and one green eye, and being pale as death itself. She is supposed to be our guide on this journey, but I'm... I'm not sure why. She is somewhere in Litas. It is our first task at hand to find her." she cooed hesitantly. The word why continued to repeat in her head. She had so many questions and the organization refused to answer any of them. What could a small girl possibly offer to them? Realizing that she was becoming a wreck, Ama took a moment to close her eyes and breathe. She titled her head so that her fiery tangles spilled in front of her face, concealing her as she dispelled all the negativity that had begun to fester in her heart. A couple of exhales later and she seemed to be cured of her afflictions, a bright smile tightly wound back onto that round face of hers. They could do this. Even if they couldn't, they had to try. For the good of the world. She titled her head back and looked at each and everyone of them, eyes burrowing into them as her newly refurnished determination burned from within. This was the very same gaze that had reassured countless men and women in the darkest of times.
"Furthermore, it appears some of you haven't been properly using the organization's resources. Your weapons are practically crumbling." she laughed lightly, giving Solvej and Lucas extra special glances as she said this. "I'll send in a request for suitable replacements. Your new weapons should be delivered to us within the next couple of days." This said, she slunk to her feet again and patted her thighs to rid them of the nonexistent dust coating them. "Any questions? Concerns? Rebellions? Anybody want me to take their life after all? Let's not waste time- we can't afford to in the middle of a Plague." she sung playfully, as she dreaded the heat that would soon hug her tightly in an unwanted embrace- like having your guts squeezed out of you by that distant aunt at a family reunion you didn't even want to go to.