"Are you really serious about this war thing?"
Helsyn questioned Nephy's decision on declaring war against the other nations of Severis.
"I mean, it's not like we even have the power to do it. Vindyr is weaker now more than ever."
Helsyn was fixing her hair in the mirror while Nephy sat at a table behind her.
"Well... I have a plan, of course. It's not like I came empty-handed."
That part made sense to Helsyn, as Nephy took quite a long time to show herself to the public after she had awoken. She must have been spending a lot of time in preparation for that moment.
"I'll tell you right now that it isn't a one-sided war. We'll have allies on our side as well."
Helsyn glanced at Nephy curiously, wondering what exactly she meant.
The overall make-up of Severis was four major nations, along with some smaller communities here and there that were usually left alone.
Helsyn wasn't very well-educated on the cultures and politics of each nation, but she knew that they each held a special unique characteristic that made them classify as one of the major nations.
One that she was aware of was Caelestis and their talents in magic and sorcery. They were well-known for being the best nation for aspiring mages or scholars. Helsyn figured that Invictas probably studied there in the past.
As for the other two nations, Infre and Dreath, she didn't know much about them aside from the fact that Infre was a nation of dragonkin, and that Dreath was a heavily isolated kingdom who kept mostly to themselves.
Vindyr, on the other hand, was the newest of the four nations. A couple years ago, there were only three recognized nations, but Vindyr became the fourth after attaining one of the three secret holy treasures scattered across Vindyr. What power this treasure possessed to allow Vindyr to become recognized as one of the major nations is unknown, but Helsyn figured it must be something fearsome.
Helsyn finished tidying herself up and sewed the holes in her dress in a rather messy manner.
"I'm ready to go now. Sorry for taking so long."
It had been the first day at the Enseraph estate for Helsyn, as she immediately went to sleep as soon as Nephy brought her to her room. Upon waking up, Nephy asked if Helsyn wanted to spar, and she agreed, only after cleaning herself up first. Helsyn also needed to help take care of Arien, who was now currently resting on her own.
"Okay! But hold on a sec, I need to introduce you to our sword instructor."
Nephy left the room for a moment and returned promptly, holding the hand of a tall, distinguished battle-hardened woman with long, brown, curly hair and green eyes.
Upon looking at this woman for the first time, Helsyn felt a resemblance to someone she knew, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"This is Alisha! She used to be part of the royal guard. She was actually recently hired only a bit before the Cataclysm to teach me swordsmanship, but all that stuff happened and y'know... things got out of hand. But now, we can finally get to work, and I even have a rival! Isn't that fun?"
Helsyn let Nephy blabber on about pointless details she didn't really care about.
"I never said I was going to be your rival, but... okay. Whatever. Just tell me what I need to do."
The three women walked outside to the courtyard where they would spar with each other. Alisha handed them both wooden swords, making sure they knew how to hold it properly.
"Okay... I don't know how skilled either of you are right now, so on the count of three, go ahead and fight as best you can. Remember, you're just using wooden practice swords. Don't be afraid to go all out."
Helsyn and Nephy stood across from each other, both holding a wooden sword. Helsyn sighed, appearing as if she didn't want to participate, and Nephy seemed overwhelmed with excitement, eager to fight.
"Three... two... one... go!"
In that instant, Nephy immediately rushed towards Helsyn at an unexpected speed. Helsyn reacted a bit too slowly than she should have, allowing Nephy to gain momentum and swing yet again.
Helsyn managed to continue avoiding Nephy's onslaught of attacks, but she was clearly on the defensive and struggled to gain the upper hand.
Helsyn figured she needed to try something unorthodox, causing her to duck below Nephy's sword and attempt to sweep her off of her feet.
Before Helsyn could execute her plan, Nephy swiftly jumped over her leg sweep.
The two then stood across from each other in a stalemate, gazing at each other eagerly.
Alisha was more than impressed with the raw display of skill and technique she had just witnessed from the two girls. She had two unpolished gems right in front her that she could turn into one-of-a-kind fighters. The very thought excited her to a point where her mind was overflowing with opportunity.
Nephy and Helsyn grinned at each other, as Nephy chose to take the initiative once more. She lunged towards Helsyn once more, except this time interrupting her movement by abruptly stopping and spinning around, throwing Helsyn off guard.
It was a feint. Helsyn fell for the bait and tripped over her high heels as Nephy swung her sword, knocking Helsyn's weapon out of her hands.
With Helsyn on the ground, she looked up at Nephy as the confident blonde-haired woman pointed her sword directly at Helsyn's face.
"Right about now, you would be dead."
Nephy possessed a menacing aura about her, a change in her usual happy-go-lucky behavior.
Helsyn simply scoffed and lifted herself up off the ground.
"Excuse me, but the both of you are supposed to have no experience, right...?
Alisha came between the two and asked to make sure what she was seeing was correct.
"Yep, that's right! Both of us have absolutely zero experience in combat."
Nephy nodded her head energetically as Helsyn sighed. Helsyn attributed this performance to the fact they were both Lucids, and possessed higher physical capabilities than they normally would have. Helsyn knew this for sure, as she was able to track Nephy's movements as if they were in slow motion. If she were still her regular old reclusive self, Helsyn wouldn't have lasted even a single second in such a situation.
"Hm. I see. Then it seems like I've got lots to teach you two. Come on, watch carefully."
Alisha grinned, eager to mold these two girls into warriors capable of handling any opponent.
---
xxx
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Invictas sighed and leaned against the wall of an empty alleyway as the sun set beside him. He was aware of the whereabouts of Helsyn and Arien as he saw Nephelin dragging her by the collar a day prior.
The search for his sister seemed to be fruitless as he had expected. He couldn't gain any information due to the overwhelming amount of missing people.
"Master, there seems to be someone watching us."
Prada notified Invictas of an unknown presence who seemed to be watching over them. Invictas pretended to be oblivious to this situation, but kept a sharp lookout around his surroundings.
In the corner of his eyes, he spotted a hooded figure in the midst of a crowd, attempting to blend in.
"You're obviously not fooling anyone with a suspicious get-up like that, dumbass..."
Invictas lifted his foot off the wall behind him and proceeded to approach the suspicious figure in the distance.
"You're going to come with me, alright? Let's just have a chat."
Invictas placed his hand on the man's shoulder and cast a spell on the both of them.
Suddenly, they had both appeared at the alleyway Invictas was resting at moments prior. It was warp magic.
"Which nation are you from?"
Invictas peered into the man's eyes whilst forcibly removing his hood to get a good look at his face.
"You don't look like you're from here. A Dreath spy, perhaps?"
The unknown man glared at Invictas, making note of the snake around his neck.
"I don't think you people understand the position you're in. You just declared war against the major nations of Severis. It's only natural for the news to get out one way or another."
The man finally spoke, possessing a gruff voice and sinister look in his eyes.
"Is this a warning then? You couldn't have come all the way here dressed like that on accident. You wanted me to find you."
Invictas continued pushing the man further, trying to get as much information as possible.
"Smart boy, aren't you? I'm sure you know war is something we would all like to avoid. Do me a favor and send the Enseraphs this message: We know of your declaration. This is your last chance to take it back and prevent chaos. Otherwise, Dreath will take it upon themselves to destroy this nation before you even get the chance to strike."
Invictas gulped, but continued to maintain his stance.
"That choice isn't up to you—"
The man lifted up his right hand and performed a gesture before disappearing in a beam of light.
"So... that guy knew how to use warp magic too. Shit."
Invictas pondered for a moment about the information he just learned, and decided he needed to visit the Enseraph estate and notify Nephelin of the knife on Vindyr's throat.
"Ah... right. Thank you, Prada, for letting me know that guy was watching me."
"No problem, Master."
Being a beast of Ferdoa, Prada possessed heightened senses and instincts that allowed him to feel things that humans normally wouldn't be able to notice, like a person's gaze.
"Well... time to get going then."
Invictas stretched his arms out before placing them back in his pockets. He then began walking towards Nephelin's estate, where Helsyn and the others had been.