In the Lir Valley, silence like never before hugged the land. No matter how much one listened, they could not hear a sound for miles to come. Just as the cold clouds rolled in from the mountains and light morning mist hugged the valley's grounds, dark horses neighed at the valley's pal and veiled nuns were revealed in the horizon.
"They seem to have begun their journey," A veiled nun said.
"Descend," An old voice from behind her said and the nuns descended like horde of ghosts on hunting night. Their figures seemed to glide as their lower halves looked not too far from dark clouds rolling down the hill; horse hooves unheard as they moved, veils flapping to the winds.
Under the Lir Valley in dark tunnels, a group hurried along. The tunnels shook at that moment causing the already tense people to shiver.
"They are here. Run, Aiona" Lady Vion hurried the grand dowager empress of Khul and the old woman picked up her skirt and hurried on faster. Her martial arts was no use in these caves. One could not use internal energy, but she was stronger than many her age and was barely keeping up. She glanced back to find veiled nuns closing in. They were agile, despite the restrictions in the tunnels and were easily gaining on them. Lady Vion dashed into a great open room and continued on towards a large doorway swirling like ink in a bottle. She turned around and called to her grandmother, "Aiona, Hurry!" she said.
"Go, Vion!" the dowager empress of Khul scolded.
"My lady," A guard dragged Lady Vion.
"Go get her," Vion scolded. The nuns were on the same pace as the dowager empress and one of them grabbed her quickly. The agile old woman swayed away from the outstretched arm and kicked the nun away.
"Take her!" the dowager empress instructed the guard as Matriarch Lilac closed in and tapped the dowager empress on her shoulder and the empress felt all her joints lock, causing her to tumble and fall.
"Grandmother!" Lady Vion screamed and the guard made the decision seeing the circumstances to kick Lady Vion into the door way before a sickle tore through him. the Nuns saw Lady Vion disappear into the doorway and it winked shut. The space around them warped wildly, but the nuns stood firm like a tall tree as soon, they were all standing in an old shack, with a dinner table set in it's middle.
Matriarch Lilac walked over to the table to see the reserved card marked cutesy of Aston.co, causing her to smirked.
"I wonder what Lady Wickshire offered Linna to move from exporting weapons to exporting Thraines," Matriarch Lilac said looking at the finely penned words that read Thank you for your patronage. She then glanced at the panting Dowager Empress in the corner of the hut and walked over.
"Don't bother struggling. My magic is yet to be undone, it will only hurt," she said to the dowager empress.
"What do you think you are doing, Lilac?" the Dowager Empress asked.
"How could you have run? Are you making me out as a monster?" Matriarch Lilac asked.
"Never has another Thraine killed the rest unprovoked. You dare..," the Dowager empress started tosay.
"Thraine. What a dastly bunch. A clan without rules is no clan at all," Matriarch Lilac said.
"There are rules!"
"She knew I was going to kill you bunch. She knew the moment she saw my cards. She could have instructed that I do not, yet she did not. This meant she agreed or at least did not care. I broke no rules," she said and flicked her wrist and the stiff jointed dowager empress rose into the air and spun upright before forcefully bent into one of the chairs by the table, all the while letting out painful screams.
"Who knew you too could feel pain," Matriarch Lilac mocked.
"She knew, yes. She knew long before you met her," The Dowager Empress taunted through ragged breaths, "Your goals are unholy. Lucy was probably waiting for you to burn yourself in your dark ways."
"Unholy? Do you think all the altars and prayers no matter what kind are worthy of the lady? We are the only ones who do the Holy Lady's work. What do you know of her?" Matriarch Lilac sneered at her words.
"You don't even know who the holy lady is," Matriach Lilac said, her teeth stained with blood.
"Nonsense. I admit you are an anchor to our bloodline, but do not think you could possibly know more about the world than the religion and the Nunnery. When the holy lady created our orders, this world had yet to spawn light," Matriach Lilac snorted.
"This world, how many times has the realms been through rebirth? Ten? Twenty? Your orders can ignore such a thing while you concentrate on those Ku clan ruins…" The Dowager Empress said, causing Matriarch Lilac and the rest of the Nuns to still.
"Yes, I know. The religion and your order, oh wait, there used to be a third order…" she started to say, when a sinister energy tore through her skin and crawled through her veins causing waves of pain to crash into her mind. Her scream was muffled by Matriarch Lilac's leathery skin hand clasped over her mouth.
"You really think you know the secrets of this world, don't you? I used to wonder what the use of an anchor was, is this it? Knowledge through the bloodline maintained in one person?" her long nails sunk into The Dowager Empress' face, drawing blood. The moment the blood from her lips and torn skin touched Matriarch Lilac, it burned and she let go instantly with a yelp. The other nuns were alerted and approached hurriedly, only to be stoped.
"I am fine," Matriarch Lilac said to them and they seized their approach at her raised hand. The Dowager Empress felt her pain lessen greatly as she looked up at Matriarch Lilac.
"I wonder what a world biased to women truly wants. I wonder, what the creator is looking for? I wonder…" the Dowager Empress' words did not finish when her head fell from her shoulders. Matriarch Lilac felt as the resonance a loud string snap slam from within her, escaping like a gush of wind; her layered dress and veil dancing in response as she returned her dagger back into her sleeves and walked out.
"Clean Up," she said to the nuns.
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