1st of Quartutus, 1492.
***
The curiously maddening thing was that each stream of faith was distinct. Colored, faceted, and polished in differing ways. Each prayer was unique. Each moment of worship was similar to countless others, and yet utterly different from all the rest. As far as the greater realms were concerned, that would have served as a source of madness were it not for the Eternal Eye.
As far as the Legio Noctis was concerned, none made that fact more apparent than the 4th Legion.
The Vulcans were easily the least-pious Legion. No doubt a trait they picked up from their Imperator before her recent oath. Even then, however, there was just as much praise and worship coming from her Steel Cairn as everywhere else; and not because she had other primes and their corps' with her. Although, they contributed greatly. Namely, Elurial.
She was by far the most zealous Vulcan of all. After all, she was the first to experience my first traumatic memory in ways few other Legionaries had. It set her down the Barbaric Path of the Silent Night, granting her a more efficient way to expend her rage.
Moreover, it made her think about my strength, my experiences, and more; always, condensing her once wild thoughts into a spear of unyielding drive to master her mortal self and become divine like she believed I did. The result was a raging river of praise. The evolution of her wood manipulation into Arbor Sorcery granted to her by the passive mass blessing exacerbated that tremendously.
Naturally, she was the Vulcan I kept my eye on the most as a result. My largest window into the 4th Legion, per se.
Worship, however, was a different story. More so than Slate and Kaolinite, who constantly tested and challenged the other Vulcan's skills; more so than Amethyst and Corundum, who formed the Cult of the Vulcanox and fully embodied the exploratory nature of the Legions, it was Roheisa herself who gave the most worship out of the Vulcans.
She did not pray, yet she spoke through death and darkness to converse with me about the future of our home with regularity. Among other things. She spent time with my Metaphysical Form in ways that reminded me of our initial meeting. She did not give thanks for the blessings she was given. She sought perfection in how she used her newfound abilities and diligently ensured her equipment and subordinates were cared for. And, like her subordinates, she fully embodied the exploratory nature of the Legions by creating the only truly nomadic Legion to date.
So it was, I Metaphysically ventured through the Steel Cairn on the 1st of the month, and I wasn't alone. Accompanying me was the spiritual form of the Legions' Grand Quartermaster and the sponsor of the Vulcans, Freki, so he could witness their reactions to the rations, resources, and equipment made by his corporation for the Vulcans.
It was something their Doppelgangers decided to do once the originals delved into the Darkroom- sponsor the Legions. The various stores on the networks had been abuzz with their creations ever since they were released to the Empire. But they were tame in comparison to the things tailor-made for the Legions by me and my Troupe.
Iris created technology powered by the abilities of each Prime. Reina created flora and fauna for them, ranging from pets and livestock to war beasts and wildlife. The others created everything from music, weapons, fighting styles, and potions to recreational facilities, engines, and, in Freki's case, provisions. That, however, was just the start.
In upgrading their equipment and infrastructure, the Troupe quickly realized their affinity with different Legions and thus decided to sponsor them in various ways. Iris blessed the Cogs with augmentations, software, tech, and her divine creatures. Blude gave the Lunarians the blessing of her sea creatures. Wilson made vampiric potions and enhancements for the Lordlings. Reina made elemental creatures for the Keepers.
As for Freki, he intended to imbue the celestial power of summer and autumn into the Vulcans' lands and give them the Blessing of Agriculture, bestow them the wolves of his lineage, and give Roheisa's agents the tools to follow in her footsteps. Grandiose things that I too wished to witness.
I, however, was metaphysically there to await the arrival of those I watched the day before.
The day began for the 4th Legion like all of their days, disorganized, for they were also the least organized Legion. That did not mean they were undisciplined, however. Elurial's Silent Vulcans woke up when they woke up and yet woke up at the same time to migrate through the band of rainforests wrapped around the hide of the Vulcanox she watched Roheisa slay.
Within the hour, they were gathered for breakfast in the 'castle' of their home- a monolith of a tree with roots that wrapped around the severed neck of her Uma like a horse collar, connecting it to the steel skull of the castle Roheisa formed just days ago.
Unlike most other days, they emerged from breakfast to gleefully convene in the throne room to greet their peers and superior, Imperator Roheisa Deapou; for she had orders. Orders and rewards from on high.
"Before you enjoy the pleasantries of your pay, let it be known that we will be departing for the Mazi Council in two days," Roheisa said, standing regally before a vast mural of her triumphing over the Vulcanox. "Our journey will be slow to ensure we arrive before the mid-year ceremony, where we will remain until the revelry at the Tri-Point in six months. As we did here, our goal will be to recruit the barbarians of Mazi.
"Mine, however, will be different."
"I call dibs on the Mazian orcs!" Elurial shouted needlessly.
"They may not get along with my guys, just so you know." Darekhil Mountainpike nonchalantly pointed out, jerking his thumb back at the rugged dwarves he recruited from Kasia and Rhar.
"They're gonna have to get over it." Corundum huffed, much to the dwarf's ire. Before he could express it, however, Roheisa looked up to the ceiling, prompting me to prepare what was gathered.
With a wave, I sent the rewards rolling and Freki's spiritual clone joined me, flicking something into the air that faded into ash and reformed in the shape of flaming portals opening on either side of Roheisa's throne. Out of them came smoldering beasts and blackened flora that set out on the Steel Cairn without hesitation, spreading their combined energies to every point from the snowcapped shoulder blades to the tracks, legs, and wheels spread across the legs of the kneeling beast.
Their wakes left railroads and paths of charred roots and ash sprawling across the wooded 'fur' of the Steel Cairn, beset on either side by the exceptionally fertile soil prowled by celestial beasts. Below, they fed the fires of Roheisa's Vulcan heart. Supercharging her industry and giving rise to an ecosystem of creatures with a similar nature to the now-divine beasts of her heritage. But that was something she would find later.
For now, Roheisa's focus was on the massive crates, pallets, and chest sprawled around her Vulcans, staring at the image of a black wolf howling before a large sun. Seeing it made Freki's clone lean forward and withdraw a metaphorical notepad from the Net, making me chortle in amusement and full-on laugh when he growled in embarrassment.
Bullshit aside, it was nice to see him taking his role seriously. Moreover, it was nice to know the least-organized Legion was still disciplined enough to use their rations efficiently.
"The Ration Policy is as follows." Roheisa began, turning away from the crates to face her Vulcans. "Starting now, different rations will be distributed at different intervals and in differing amounts depending on the rates of consumption and spoilage. At a yearly rate." She gestured to the massive crates. "Each Legionary will receive a set amount of unprocessed lumber, textiles, rubber, and other industrial crops, depending on how much they are projected to us; as well as half a rothay or cow."
"Half!?" Elurial blurted out before fishing through her crate to find a freezer packed with perfect cuts. "Awe." She sagged on her feet. "I wanted to butcher it."
"Noted," Freki grunted.
"Every six months, each Legionary will receive a set amount of dry grains, cereals, and some vegetables. Wheat, oats, barley, rice, and beans among others. We are also to receive half a goat or similar animal as well as medicinal crops." She said with a pointed nod to her future Doctoral Witch, Atum Fulbert.
"Every three months we will receive fish and seafood of various types, mushrooms, and nuts from both above and below, as well as vitamins, dietary supplements, and caffeine; either in the form of coffee or tea. Monthly, we will receive bread, eggs, cheese, and other dairy products; as well as fresh fruits and vegetables; two chickens or the equivalent of some other fowl; as well as booze and recreational drugs.
"The latter is to be consumed off duty." She pointedly said. Then rummaged in one of the smaller chests to hold up what seemed to be something along the lines of canned chicken.
"What was listed was our personal rations. These." She waved the can. "Are our war rations."
"Weekly Wartime Rations from Sam's Kitchen. Sustainment Pack. Used for... Wait." Elurial pulled one of her cans away from her eyes, only to bring it closer with a mad cackle. "No way. Magic food. You mean to tell me this little can is supposed to keep me fed for ten whole ass days?" She waved the can at the ceiling, and I could only shrug.
"Half a rothay every six months?" She cackled again; much quieter this time, as she turned to my Metaphysical Form sitting on the wall. "Kinda takes the fun out of hunting.
"You can hunt recreationally. Our numbers will be too high for hunting in the places we travel." I said both to her and the countless other Legionaries boasting similar or dissimilar trains of thought. "To that end, the Crown is finalizing a new policy. Expect it to come into effect in the coming days."
Pausing, I once again limited my words to Elurial's mind as I began to leave the throne room. "There will be one exception.
"Come. Let me show you what I mean."
***
Zaos Torhorn.
***
"This is the summit, is it not?" Ranren pointed up the mountain, where a horizontal crevasse was pouring a sheet of lava onto the mountain below. Yet above, an exotic hill gave rise to a forest greater than the one in our home and in Vruria combined, centered by a snowy mountain.
"That place is unnatural."
"Few things are now, and it's all his fault. Or rather, it is our ancestors in the Motherland. This is Telin's punishment for meddling with his portals." He shook his head. "To have once thought his Champion would instead build the bridge between civilization and nature is… embarrassing."
"You are not to blame." I shook my head." His heritage aside, I did not think he was entirely evil at first. Then he infected our classmates with his ideologies, robbed the Bodhi Tree of its purpose, and usurped the loyalty of nearly the entire class. Then, I realized two things. One. I almost fell for his spell. And two, that was only the beginning.
"This realm will be no different from what happened to the Bodhi Tree. Neither will the Mortal Plane."
Roren stayed silent as he looked up at the strange landscape. "Regardless," He sighed after a few moments, "we will need information if we are to survive this coming tide. Let's go."
"By Caelarin's grace."
By Caelarin's grace, I had never felt more exposed than when we ascended that mountain. It was as if a million eyes were on us, and with the falls of lava covering every meter of stone, there were no trees for us to find solace in until we ascended. But even that was tiring. That mana itself seemed alive, intent on escaping our grasp. Making me all the more uneasy when we finally ascended the summit and gazed upon the unnatural landscape.
It was like a portal to Vagua had opened here in the Bodhi Peninsula. Beasts of fire ran amok through the forest, burning swathes of land to ash in minutes, only for it to regrow in seconds from the creatures of wood, who saw them rise much higher than before. And there were structures here too. Buildings that seemed to belong to the environment the same way stone outcroppings belonged to the forest. Made of crystal, steel, wood, and stone, their unnatural curves led to winding paths that connected them to various parts of this colossal forest. Even the branch on which we stood was larger than the trees of our home.
I wanted nothing more than to leave. Such things were not up for me to decide, however, so I turned my undivided attention to Ranren as I asked. "What's the plan?"
He stayed silent for longer than I'd liked, yet I could tell from the twitch in his lips that he followed my line of thinking; giving me a sense of solace when he turned to me. "We will-"
"Well, well, well." I turned and loosed an arrow at the source of the voice, only to hear it knock against the bark before I turned to an intricately carved tree trunk that moved in tandem with the familiar voice. "Look who we have here."
While we were shocked to see a half-high orc peel out of the bark as if it were silk, we both regained our composure quickly. Albeit for different reasons. Ranren heightened his guard upon seeing the baleful black tree sprawled across the leathers of her tunic. I grew uneasy upon seeing my barbaric classmate once again.
"Elurial." I sneered, fighting the bile that arose from her feral visage.
Her red skin was bathed in soot and ash as if it were makeup, covering whatever parts of her rust-red skin that weren't covered by leather scraps, pelted cloaks, and obsidian jewelry like the crude shards dangling from her neck; but I'd recognize her voice and those tusks anywhere.
"Zaos." She snickered.
<
<> I sneered, gagging on my next words, as they were undeserving of our tongue. <
"And I didn't know you were so afraid of me." She childishly giggled, silencing us both. "How cute. Or..." She paused, tapping at her chin. "Maybe it's not just me. After all, you both met Executor Snyder last night. Maybe you two just can't get enough of us."
"Please!" Ranren scoffed. "This land is not yours, imperialist!"
"Never said it was, but it is." She laughed. "Our towers are here, and you, you're quite far from your borders, aren't you? It gives the notion that you're looking for trouble."
"Trouble?" Ranren laughed. "You all are nothing but trouble. Look at what you've made of this realm already! Look at this!" he threw his arm to where we came, to where the fall of lava was streaming down the mountain below. "Look at this and tell me this has caused no trouble for the residents of this realm!"
"We clean up our messes." She carelessly shrugged.
"Well, we can only hope someone else will be willing to clean messes as well."
"You're welcome to try." She snickered. "But then again, you can't exactly kill us. Can he, Zaos? We're both students of the Bodhi Tree, after all."
"No," Brother said coldly before I could respond, looking to the huts in the forest beyond. "But not everyone here is a student, are they?"
Her amiable demeanor dropped into a blank stare as he snapped into motion, bolstering himself to draw his strongest holy arrow and fire before any of us could blink.
By Caelarin's grace, the White Shard soared true, but His wickedness saw Elurial watch it fall with a calm demeanor. A stark reaction compared to my Ranren's excitement at seeing the distant forest flatten in explosive fire and regrow into something we could recognize.
A grim reaction compared to me, remembering those who were standing beneath the arrow.
I had no choice but to draw my bow and point it at the half-orc. Yet she countered by pulling the arcana around us into a veil far denser than any of her kind could produce.
"Jaimess warned you." She snatched off her necklace and threw it to the ground. "This is strike two. Three strikes, and you're out."
A cold pit opened in my chest as the ambient arcana condensed around my cousin, where it was forged into a slender short sword that was thrust forward with blinding speed to release a bolt of energy at Elurial.
I was frozen. Crippled with the horror of the worst situation becoming a reality, relegating me to watch as Elurial watched the condensed energy carve into the mana veil that wreathed her arm, slicing the second skin clean off, with some of her own to follow.
"Veil- no, mana, then spirit, then flesh. So that's how that works." She nodded, staring at the small dribble of blood leaking from her shoulder. "Good to know."
"Get ready."
Ranren's words snapped me from my stupor as her body began rippling with the telltale heat of a barbarian's fury. Yet there were no feral screams to accompany her rage. Only the bulging veins, the feral snarl, and a cold sneer aimed at me signaled the perk's activation before she lunged.
We both leaped back in response yet reacted differently, with me charging mana into my quiver and tapping an arrow against Ranren's bow just before he loosed an arrow. But her reaction time was unreal. She dodged mid-step- partially. Enough for the arrow to shear across her jaw, marking it as a target for the arrow in my hand to fly into.
"We can't kill her!" I screamed at the sight of her teeth exposed through her cheek.
"That was her fault!" Ranren snarled back, prompting the bestial woman to pivot his way with great speed.
With that opening, I tried to line up a shot but was halted by something enveloping my ankle with great force. Without thinking, I raised my bow and flexed mana into the grains before slamming it down, feeling thankful the abundant arcana favored me too.
Projected mana saw my bow break through those reaching roots with ease. Yet there were countless more. The entire forest was alive with arms of vines, bark, and wood.
The horrific fear of the forest turning against me infected the entirety of my being, driving me into the sky like prey desperately running into danger to escape a predator. I knew the sky was not where we belonged, yet there was nowhere to go but up. And so I ascended into a barrage of spells that exploded the reaching hands of wood, sending splintered shards flying into my flesh while smoke and ash filled the skies, breaking my field of view from everything.
"No!" I scrambled to gather the mana around me. I could not lose sight of Ranren in this foul place. We had to retreat, somehow, and inform Father and the King about what transpired.
The perks of my class manifested seamlessly, pouring mana into my mind and through my eyes to visually link me to my spotter, near the tree we were first perched in; and from the way he was moving, he was in danger.
Fighting against my unease, I released a wave of mana to clear the skies before ejecting an arcane shield around me; and just in time, for an explosive barrage sounded against the barrier naught a moment later.
Focusing, I tried to line up a shot with the half-orc but Elurial seemed to be dancing. Dodging Ranren's arrows in ways that brought her closer to where I would land. To compensate, he was constantly repositioning for the best angle, desperate to find a shot before I ran out of air time.
Just as I feared, Elurial lunged toward me just before I was to land. But I was prepared. An Arrow of Repulsion hit home at the minimum firing range, pushing her back enough for the trailing Arrow of Obscurity to veil a mana platform I conjured to halt my fall and spring me toward Rohen.
The relief I felt when exiting the smokescreen was palpable. Ranren was just a few meters ahead, launching out a trio of arrows to cover me as I moved to him and he moved toward our retreat. This was it. The moment we would escape this foul place and return to our great forest.
But things were not so simple, I would come to learn.
A cold hand wrapped around my heart during the last few strides and I knew not why until I detected movement behind Ranren; therein I remembered. This forest was alive, and not on our side.
The horror of that realization merged with the coldness around my heart as if it were alive, making the sickening feeling resulting from the two overflow in ways that made my gut sink and my mind go numb, losing any command over my knees once I saw the great arm of a tree branch rise behind Ranren. Enveloped in its paddle-like branch was that necklace of obsidian shards worn around Elurial's neck, forming a flat club with a crude blade that swept down Ranren's midsection without resistance, passing from his hip to his armpit.
I thought it missed at first, and so I used everything I had to get to him. Only to have my incoherent hopes shattered by the feeling of my older brother falling away from his lower half in a shower of blood and gore.
Fire hotter than any Iheat I'd ever experienced rose within me, pulling my bowstring with a strength I never believed I had as I screamed. "YOU MONSTERS! I'll- oof!"
As quickly as it came, my anger was extinguished by a heavy blow to the back of the head, dulling my senses from everything except the steel bar rushing towards my face.
Distantly, I felt my body slump to the ground. Only to feel something hot and unyielding grasp my shoulder and pull me to my feet, bringing me eye-to-eye with a round-faced giantess of a woman with eyes as steely as the hand pinning me to a tree.
"You killed him." I snarled and wept in the same breath. "You monsters murdered my brother!"
The barbaric princess sneered, raising her steel hand to slap my jaw loose. "Your brother murdered Jakobs and injured countless others. Blood for blood makes this round even. But we have yet to seek retribution against Corym for sending his agents after Amun's head.
"Perhaps now is the time to fix that. After I deal with you."
"R- Roheisa! Stop! Y- you can't kill me! W- we're students." I pleaded. Sickeningly so. But there was no emotion behind her steely gaze, despite the heat carried within.
"I can't kill you, no." She shook her head. "However, I can kill your siblings. I can bury your precious Melbenzar Forest in molten steel. I can extend these mountain ranges a bit. Most importantly, Zaos, I can break you."
As casually as one would push a fruit salad across the table, Roheisa pushed me into a tree, shattering my shoulder to dust. Yet her arm of hot steel kept pushing, breaking my ribs, my arms, and my hips against this horrid tree. But…
"By Caelarin's grace, I will not yield!"
By Caelarin's grace, she stopped with those words. Yet it came at the cost of a scalding snort and words so demeaning they threatened to uproot my core.
"Tsk. Your God is unworthy of your worship, Zaos. You're nothing more than his slave. An expendable pawn that he cares not for."
"And you are different?!" I spat. But she only stepped aside, raising her arm to an unmistakable figure of divine winged armor, ascending to the skies.
"You tell me." She stepped before me, grasping both of my shoulders to pry me from the tree and face me toward the southwest. "Let's see which God will save you."
That was all I sensed before a wall of wind and unyielding pressure overtook me. I flailed. I screamed for Caelarin's grace. But both were silenced by the rushing wind for several moments until I was left above the peninsula itself, staring at the entirety of the great forest for an everlasting moment before the rush of wind returned.
My only solace was that I was falling home, but I was beaten, injured, bruised, and scarred physically, mentally, and spiritually. I could hardly move; let alone focus enough to manipulate mana to slow my fall. Thus I cried. Thus I screamed. Thus I thrashed when something began to slow my fall. Pulling me away from the home I desperately sought until I slowed to a gentle landing just outside our estate in the Great Melbenzar Forest.
It was sickening.
"G- get off of me! Get off! OFF! Don't touch me you… y-!"
"Who-" my father's voice came from the door just before my sobbing erupted. "Zaos!" He rushed to me at once with potions and salves at the ready. "My Son, what happened? Who did this to you? Where is Ranren?"
"They- " I coughed and sobbed in his arms. "They butchered him. The Le- the half-orc. Elurial. She…" I gagged. "She cleaved him in half."
"My God…When did this happen?" He demanded. "How did you return here?"
"Just minutes ago. I- we investigated the mountains near the Kasian border. They... killed him. Said they would bury the forest. I was… thrown here. And He caught me." I spat at the silver eye peering through the canopy.
"It's okay, Son." Father hushed me. "Come. Let us heal your wounds. We will discuss this once… once we've had time to process-"
His voice caught just as my heart dipped. Albeit for different reasons. He was distraught over losing his son so suddenly. I was sickened by the sight of a silver mushroom growing before our eyes to emit a stream of spores that solidified before us like a window. A window that showed me and Ranren, kneeling side-by-side atop a branch in that forsaken forest; unaware of the twisting bark next to us.
"Well, well, well." Knock! "Look who we have here."