Just as the Security Force Agents sent after the god items came near their first objecticve, the gobins were kidnapped by nightlings, taking the items with them before the objective could be reached. This revelation set Joshuek on a rampage unseen in Sascrirans: he winded up slicing at anything left of the settlements he laid eyes on. It would take much to upset a Sacriran to this level.
"Bloodthirsty savages! They must be planning a war of some kind, because now those cannibals retrieved the items we sought to destroy so we could preserve the Middle Realm!"
As the rampage finished, Tamasca arrvied from Paradise with reinforcements, 3,000 of them. "Sorry I'm late. At any rate, I have the first bunch of comrades ready for our cause. There are 500 Prachians, half of whom are masters of elemental magic, a quarter specialize in innervation, the rest having a knack for ennervation. Then, we have an array of Ossis, Werewolves, Senri, Minotaurs, and, oddly enough, Krul."
At the very mention of Krul, Joshuek shivered in fright of what he heard of their vicious attack on Sacrira, the birthplace of the Pre-Cataclysmic Vitaiim. Of course, he and the Agents would need all the help they could get, at this point, yet he still was uncomfortable about the idea of Krul being with his comrades. "How many Krul do we have?" How the qeustion was naswered would determine the tactics needed.
"Three hundred. The other races, aside from the Prachians, number exactly four hundred."
This was good news, indeed. The Krul were made completely of metal by Genocide, then blessed by Adarani with fertility. Unfortunately, Genocide had ulterior motives for them that which Adarani could not see due to the hope she had that the little good in him would win out, yet now it seemed the evil done has turned into something that could yet save the Middle Realm. If any additional races were captured by the nightlings, the sheer military might of the 300 Krul might give the edge the Agents need to hold most of the new enemy forces off for long enough to reach the artifacts it was necessary to destroy.
Joshuek already had a plan. He gathered half of the knives and gave them to the Exorcim girl, just in case things went awry. "Half of our own will take part in this operation. the others are to wait until given further instructions, this time by Adarani. As for you, Tamasca, you must take these weapons I just gave you up to Paradise, where they will be safe from the enemy's hands, for now. You must continue briging reinforcements to further our cause to preserve the Middle Realm by destroying the atrifacts that would destroy it if they were to be used for war by mortals. Having them all among the different nations is dangerous enough. How much more dangerous shall it be if they were concentrated into one? The temptation to abuse such power is too great. The knives of Nightling, as distasteful as it isfor them to be in the Middle Realm, are our only hope of preventing the blashphemous use of God items for mortal wars. Onyl the Gods themselves should have them, which is why, once our mission is complete and all other God items in mortals possession are destoryed, we must seal the ones we have where the infernal beings will not get to them."
"Yes, sir." Tamasca reentered Paradise before closing the portal behind her.
"Alright, those of you without your knives, find places to hide or blend in with non-hostile crowds and stay there until the time you are called upon to fulfill your duty. Should the rest of us not return from the tunnels, you will be our only hope that we know of to preserve the Middle Realm. Those of you who do have your knives, you're with me. Here's the plan: Note that it will be risky, but if Nightling mutates those kidnapped beings, we will have no choice but to face them, at some point. To reduce the enemy's numbers, we'll have to make use of the Prachians' elemental abilities. first, we shall send a flood their way using hydromancy, followed by continual lightning. The magnified electricity caused by coming into contact with the water will be lethal and quickly deal with at least some of those cannibals. Hopefully, their deaths will be relatively painless due to those same deaths being quick ones. Believe me, if there was any alternative but to kill, in this case, we would take it, yet we can't, considering we may be outnumbered, already."
"At any rate, that electricity should also cause that water to evaporate, causing a mist that will blind the nightlings and anybody else among the enemy that might survive, but only by avoiding the water entirely. Should there be no casualties on their side, all the better, since the flood would at least drive most of them away from our objective. Unless some or many of those cannibakls are amphibious, we should not come across very many difficulties other than the underground network itself. Our protective magics will ensure the Krul do not suffer any damage from any leftover electricity within the tunnels we might encounter along the way. Even one spark could be deadly."
"We will separate into two battalions, half and half and everyone going in, in just one group gets lost. We will not be using the same tunnel we will to bring the flood and lightning their way, since leftover electricity could hinder our progress due to the mist possibly capturing some of it, and the likely retaliation we'd receive if we used it, anyway. Instead, we shall be using the two tunnels we spotted on the outskirts of the settlement. The reason being, one of our Agents aquired a map of the network in these parts during the auction. What it indicates is the ones we will be using to enter the armory will be sealed by boulders, an obstacle the Prachians can remove without much difficulty, given the right amount of elemental energy and innervation."
"Unfortunately, we run the risk of alerting the nightlings, who are our main obstruction from completing the mission, at this point. Do not underestimate them or their allies. No matte what, avoid contact with their teeth, since the nightlings are all likenessess of their God. The Prachians will provide support from beind with their devastating magics while the rest of us take to the frontlines. The Ennervation a quarter of the Prachians will conduct should weaken the enemy enough that we can, while enhanced with innervation, make our way to those god weapons and destroy them from within without having to bother with needless casualties to fellow mortals from nations besides the Order."
As the preparations came into effect, the Agents without their knives took to the skies, within the clouds so not to be detected. All the while, the elemental Prachians prepared the water energy for deployment, which took about five minutes to fully charge due to about one hundred of them taking part in this objective of the mission. Next came the lightning that evaporated the water inside, but not before the electricity increased as predicted. Anything and anyone that touched the water at that point would immediately die, that was certain.
To be on the safe side, all the water had to be evapoated before the rest of the operation was to continue, which the whole evaporation took a half hour. The Agents used their protection to keep everyone safe from any possible sparks that may have leaked into the two tunnels they used to get to the armory. As instrcuted, two battalions were formed, one for each tunnel. It did not take long with the map to find the obstacle they had to face: the boulder wall. THe prachians from both battalions used terra-kinetic abilities to move them prior to making them land on where they presumed the enemy was. Ironically enough, the room was empty, save for the weapons the Agents were after. Even with all the mist and fog around them, it was clear they and their comrades were the only ones there, at the moment. Things could go wrong anytime, however, since there was no telling when one of the nightlings would come to check then alert the others.
They all had to move quickly. Without hesitation, the Agents there used their knives with all their strength and destroyed most of the artifacts. The ones that remained were the portal knife, Bow of Lyandra, and Trident of Ulmo. The Sword of Kylian was nowhere to be found. As the God item desctruction went on, all the Krul, Prachians, Ossis, Werewolves, Minotaurs, and Senri got into formation as planned, applying the information the had on the strengths and weaknesses of all those races so that the strategy thought up of would work in case of an ambush.
----
Boaztri remained calm so to be focused on the task, though it was obvious the moment in question had to have been traumatic. "We do not need every detail, just the basics. Pretty much what all led to the incident, as well as the aftermath in regards to what you and Hanryyt experienced before he went after Maarzan."
Hanryyt could tell this would nto be easy for Nala, so he held her hand. "Everything will be okay. Trust me. The Sacriran Order based much of the legal system on teachings Mathias gave to the Pre-Cataclysmic Vitaiim in regards to civilization. Adarani even took inspiration from some of those teachings when she wrote the Code of Monks and Nuns."
Abnerkah nodded towards Mazkat, then posed the query, "Well first thing's first, we should start from the beginning: Hanryyt testified that he assaulted a soldier in the groin while stating that rapists do not deserve his respect, which was also when he took the sword he used to maim you and the others when Maarzan supposedly manpiulated the whole sitauiation to bring more harm to Nala. If there is one thing I know about the Davutite lineage, it is the members of it tend to be honest to a fault whenever they are provoked to such violence, including their complete thoughts on matters. It may be a good idea to keep that in mind as the trial goes on, as it may influence the Circle of Abbots' decision. Anyway, Mazkat, could you tell me your side of the scenario, from what you have seen and heard?"
As the examination of testimonies was going on before the trial, the Abbots eventually were in agreement that this Justiciary would prove vital to the preservation fo the Middle Realm, and decided the Order would give whatever assistance it could, should it become necessary.
Ruthtaika spoke to the Archangels with a warm smile, "Well, you four are free to go. Oh, and don't worry about the Security Force. Constant invasion by foreignors has made our people kind of paranoid when it comes to outsiders with weapons."
----
Meanwhile, as everything went on, one of the Vitaiim women that took part as a Security Force Agent, Hagara, managed to land safely along the coast of the territory within the Alpha Amares' domain. She was but one of several of the Agents told to remain in relatively safe areas until called upon by Adarani. This was one of few nations that any Sacriran might be welcomed at, considering how most nations tend to show some degree of hostility or another. Along the way, she found a homeless child begging for food along the streets, whom she naturally helped by offering a Rejiv fruit to him, which would remove the fatigue.
Upon eating it, the boy felt much relief. "Thanks, weird winged person! I feel a lot better!"
Hagara grinned from ear to ear. "You are quite welcome, little one!"
"I'm Razdan! What's your name?"
"Hagara."
The boy gave a puzzled look when noticing the weapon. "So, Hagara, what kind of staff is that? Is it powerful, like Acanthus'?"
The young Vitaiim woman was pleasantly surprised this Alpha boy actually believed in the Gods and Goddesses, as most did not. Giggling a tiny bit, she replied to the query with, "It's a Bo Staff, a weapon of Sacriran design. And no, it's not usually imbued with any magical quality, as it is meant to ensure the wielder's survival without causing any lethal harm to the opponent. That is the idea, anyway."
"Ever fought any of those Betan meanies?"
The thought of such a thing made Hagara frown of sadness. Even at such a young age, Razdan appeared to have been influenced by the ethnic conflict continually escalating on the Divine Island. "No, and I do not plan on it."
Razdan tilted his head sideways in empuzzlement. "Why not?"
"Because I do not believe either side is justified in their fighting each other. The soldiers claim to be defending their countries, yet all that has been observed by my fellow Sacrirans was instigation, provokation, and continual escalation of the problems in these lands. It is all out of ethnic differences, differences which I believe can be at least tolerated. Agree to disagree, so to speak. As a Nun, I learned to try and find peaceful solutions before resorting to using my skills in martial arts and expertise in the magic I practition. You see, it is written in the Code of Monks and Nuns, which Adarani hersefl wrote, 'Though you know how to use your body in battle, do so only when your life is in danger, and try to keep your assailant alive in the process. Answering death with death is an act which brings more hate to this world, something which contradicts all that is needed for peace and prosperity.' What she refers to is not just answering death with death, but answering a misdeed with a misdeed, in general. In other words, revenge. Should all people be vigilante and try to get even with each other, it would be chaotic, with nowhere to run or hide. That is what war often brings, a constant, vicious cycle of retaliation which escalates with time."
"I don't get it."
The Vitaiim woman smiled, again. She should have known her vocabulary would include words a child would not yet understand. "In time, you will. I can train you in the ways of a Healing Monk, if you like. It would help you, survival-wise, plus it would be an opportunity to learn more about how a Sacriran worships Adarani. She is, after all, my people's matron and creator."
"Really? I get to learn some cool moves and and spells?"
"That and more. I will even add in some camping lessons, along with other important skills. What do you say?"
The youthful Amare appeared to put careful thought into his decision. This would be a step up from the slums, yet it could also mean being looked down upon by most of his own nationality. However, the 'smart guys' (his term for scholars) always told him that the key to enlightenment was to expand one's knowledge of cultures and look at the bigger picture. No doubt, this Nun traveled to many places. If there was one thing he wanted the most, it was adventure.
His decision was made final with the extension of his hand to hers. "I'm ready, Miss Hagara!"
Hagara held the boy's hand while still smiling warmly. "Sister Hagara. In time, once you become a Monk, you shall have earned the right to be called Brother Razdan. There is much to learn. Now, why don't we look around for some room and board? I'm sure there is a farm nearby that could use an extra hand. There, we can earn some money for ourselves that we can use for food and other supplies. Do you know of such a farm, by any chance?"
"Yeah! Fransyuut's Homestead! It's got the biggest field in town! Follow me!"
Hagara could not help but chuckle a little. This boy surely was an enthusiastic one. Once they made it to Fransyuut's Homestead, the Vitaiim woman could tell this was the ideal spot to begin Razdan's training. It had livestock, a vinyard, and all manner of other agricultural areas.
"Fransyuut lives in that house over there! it's also where the workers live! It's perfect for us! We'll get a place to live and money for our work!"
With Razdan guiding her to the front door, it was not very difficult to reach it, at all. Hagara then knocked on the door three times prior to waiting. The door was opened by an elderly Amare man, whom the young Vitaiim woman assumed was Fransyuut. That man looked Hagara up and down with some degree of skepticism, since this was the first time he came into contact with a foreignor.
Radzan, excited to actually have a chance at working in a farm, seemed oblivious to such a demeanor from the man, however. "Hi, Mister Fransyuut! I'm Razdan, and this is Hagara! We want to work at your farm!"
The way Fransyuut glanced at her from head to toe made her receiving an internally gut-wrenching feeling that matters might not end well, yet she did not show it. Instead, the young woman gave a friendly grin, heartwarming but not too strong. "Yes, we are applying to be tenent workers at this homestead, preferably together as a team. I have had extensive, all-around training on how to work the fields and manage the livestock, back at New Sacrira. I even know how to fish at rivers."
"And, I can handle cows and chickens, my best skill! Razdan, in all honesty, actually knew how to handle livestock and chickens. His family, before it was killed by rogue Betan soldiers along the border between the two Amaren nations, would often teach him how it was done.
----
Adarani smiled at Laska. She just could not resist those little puppy eyes of hers, or even her innocent demeanor. It all reminded her of what she used to be like, before her devout creations were ever invaded. "Of course, you can spend time with us. After all, you are practically family." A blush entered her features as she glanced over where Mathias used to stand. "Of course, I do consider Mathias a great friend, and... well... I also kind of consider him husband material." The blush disappearing, the Elder Goddess of Love placed a finger on her lips and stated with a hushed voice, "Just don't tell him I said that. He has enough to worry about, right now."
The thought of all that was discussed gave her an idea, which made her enthusiastically snap her fingers. "Oh! Why haven't I thought of this, before? I do know certain deities who could use companionship! And, what better way than with puppies?"
She immediately went to work creating the winged puppies. The females turned out with light blue hair and white wings, whereas the males ended up brown with dark blue wings. Adarani even went so far as to give them the gft of speech, making them as sentient as mortals and immortals. Of course, these puppies were immortals, so they could give certain deities company without fear of dying to old age. The male puppies' names were Davidni, Saulterky, Jeremil, and Jacobra. The females' names were Ruthyra, Mariva, and Angelira.
To Jacobra, Adarani said, "I believe you, Jacobra, would be best suited to accompanying Laska, here. You surely have the bubbly personality for that."
"Auntie Laska! Auntie Laska!" Jacobra flew immediately to the little Goddess' shoulder, licking her left cheek enthusiastically as his tail wagged furiously.
Next, Adarani addressed Mariva. "You certainly have what it takes to survive in nature. Highly adaptible, speedy, strong, and clever. Not to mention, I'm sure you'd get along with the animals rather well. You'll go with Merida."
The girl puppy flew over to flap her wings and be right next to the Goddess of Nature. "Hi, Aunt Merida! I'm Mariva!"
The Elder Goddess of Love then spoke to Davidni. "You, I think, would make the perfect companion for Mathias! Strategic, analytical, protective, calm under pressure, a fast learner, even a soothing precense to everyone around you. I'd recommend searching for him within the Halls fo Justice, first."
"As you wish, mom. I will accomany Mister Mathias." With that, the ever-thoughful little guy opened a portal to Paradise, went through it, closed it behind him, then began his quest to find Mathias and accompany him on his journeys.
"Ruthyra, You are probably the the most studious out of the bunch. Not to mention, You are quite the cheerful little puppy!" Adarani giggled at the thought of it. "Acanthus would be more than happy to have you at his side, no doubt!"
"Yay! I get to see Grandpa!" Ruthyra excitedly soared into the air to find the Elder God of Wisdom and Magic.
"Saulterky, I see you as a smart little puppy who is rather observant and quite the adventurer. I think Torsc and Riomu would be glad to have you."
"Cool! I'm off to see Uncle torsc and Aunt Riomu, then! To the Citadel! Up... up... and away!" The adventurous runt of the litter was off and in the clouds to head to the Citadel in the blink of an eye, for he was indeed the fastest flyer of all seven winged canines, aside from his brother, Jeremil, who shared his personality and went after him to also see Torsc and Riomu.
"Well, I certainly don't need to tell Jeremil anything!" Last, but not least, was little Angelira. "Angelira, you stay with me. You and I are gong to be working together on helping make people feel better and safe."
"Okay, mommy!"
