As Clarisamae and her family raced through the dense foliage of the Great Forest of Toph, their hearts pounded with fear, knowing that the relentless pursuit of the Nexar soldiers was closing in on them. Branches whipped at their faces, and roots threatened to trip them with every step, but they dared not slow their pace.
Desperation fueled their flight as they sought refuge deeper within the ancient forest, hoping to lose their pursuers amidst the labyrinth of towering trees and tangled undergrowth. Clarisa, the determined matriarch, led her loved ones with unwavering resolve, her eyes scanning the shadows for any sign of danger while her mind raced with thoughts of survival.
With each passing moment, the distant echoes of the soldiers' shouts grew louder, driving them onward into the heart of the wilderness. Summoning their last reserves of strength, Clarisa and her family pressed forward, their footsteps guided by a flicker of hope amidst the encroaching darkness only to be crushed as the soldiers reached them.
"You gave us quite the exercise, now I'm pissed," One of the soldiers said, a scowl on his face.
"Oh my, what lovely young girls we have here, can we have a taste before we kill them?" The other soldier said, licking his lips in hunger. "You know it has been a while since we started this incursion, my right hand isn't enough anymore." All three of the soldiers chuckled.
"Oh, shut up, you were the first one to have a go at it from the previous village, give some to the rest of us." The last soldier chimed.
"You sick fucks!" Clarisa couldn't control herself, the thought of these men touching her daughters made her want to vomit.
"Oi, oi, oi, don't judge us, and don't blame us either that your daughters are quite beautiful, they must have inherited it from you eh old hag, lucky for you or should I say unlucky for you that I don't do well-used cunt, I like it fresh." The first soldier said.
Those words made Clarisamae vomit.
"That's not nice, you're going to die anyway might as well taste a real man," The third soldier said.
Ethan Jr. doesn't know what they're talking about but he knows that they are in big trouble. He had never seen his mother shaken with fear and anger, as well as his big sister Clarisamae. Estela looks to be still in a daze, Ethan Jr. is scared for her, she isn't usually so quiet. He feared for his family and himself. He squeezed Estela's hands making her jolt and looked at his way. Ethan Jr. looked at Estela with fear in his eyes giving Estela have strength to be in the present instead of escaping in her head.
When all the soldiers walked towards them, Clarisa shielded her family with her body. She knows that it is useless but she would die before she lets these monsters get a hold of her children.
"Step aside old hag and we'll make this easy for you." The first soldier said, seeming to be the leader of the gang.
"Over my dead body!"
"As you wish," The soldier said with a glint of happiness in his wicked eyes.
The first soldier then darted to Clarisa with inhuman speed that she was caught off guard. The soldier's arms are up, about to make a swing with his sword, Clarisa turned her back holding her family, protecting them with her body. Slash! The soldier slashed Clarisa's back making her yelp and shout in agony. Her children started to cry and scream in abject horror.
"Run!" Clarisa ordered her children, but they didn't want to leave her. Clarisa, with all her might, endured her wound and mustered the strength the shout once more. "I said Run!" with that, they ran, but not far enough before the two other soldiers blocked their escape path. When the soldier who slashed her back started to move towards the kids, Clarisa grabbed onto his legs and pleaded, "Please just let the kids go!"
Clarisa's anguished cry echoed through the chaos, tears streaming down her cheeks as panic threatened to overwhelm her. Her mind, a tangled web of worry, fear, anger, sadness, and hysteria, left her paralyzed with indecision. Desperation clawed at her heart as she pleaded with the heavens above for a miracle to save her family.
And miraculously, her plea was answered. From the heavens descended a figure clad in adamantine armor, its wings ablaze with a fiery hue. Though resembling an angel, its demeanor spoke of a darker, more formidable presence. With swift and decisive action, the red-winged knight dispatched the soldiers with ruthless efficiency, leaving no room for mercy in its wake.
As the last soldier lay defeated before the red-winged knight's blade, a thunderous voice boomed from above, commanding the red-winged warrior to stand down. Clarisa was in awe of its power, casting a spell that she had never heard of before. Similar to the red-winged knight, the soldier was dealt with so easily as if they were nothing, or so she thought, she isn't sure because her vision was getting blurrier and she felt cold all over from the loss of blood from her wound on her back. She heard him summon something before she lost consciousness.
When she awoke, she beheld a sight both majestic and terrifying. Above her prone form stood a towering being, emanating an aura of divinity. A green light enveloped her entire body, erasing the fatigue, worry, and pain from her wound, rejuvenating her with a sense of a new. When her vision was clear she was in awe. She wasn't religious but at that moment she felt as if God had descended from the heavens and taken such a form and saved her family. The being stood at its full height, easily seven feet tall and even more with its majestic six glimmering obsidian wings dipped in royal blue.
The being adorned itself in resplendent golden shoulder armor, intricately carved with designs so exquisite that Clarisa could scarcely imagine their worth. Its form seemed fashioned entirely from pure gold, as though a precious statue had been granted life, moving with an otherworldly grace. A porcelain white mask, frozen in a perpetual, unsettling smile, adorned its visage, sending shivers down Clarisa's spine. Beneath that facade of false serenity lurked a hidden, sinister countenance, its unsettling presence seeping through the mask and distorting the smile into something altogether more chilling.
Further adding to the being's ominous aura, it wielded a golden skeleton scythe, its gleaming surface casting an eerie glow. This juxtaposition of terrifying elements instilled a primal fear in Clarisa, yet paradoxically, it also lent the being an aura of awe-inspiring majesty. Despite the overwhelming dread that gripped her, Clarisa couldn't help but sense an aura of peace and tranquility emanating from the being, alongside an undeniable aura of divinity and power that seemed to suffuse the air around it.
'I think the [The Veil of Humility] is taking effect on her now, seeing that she has calmed her expression' Lucent thought. 'I cast a level two healing spell on her [General Healing], seems like it worked.'
"A healing spell?" Clarisa asked. "Thank you…uh"
"Call me Lucent, Lucent Morningstar."
"Thank you, Lord Morningstar."
"Lucent is enough"
"Sorry, thank you Lord Lucent for helping me and my family but I don't have gold coins as of this moment. I beseech you to give me an extension to repay the healing that I have received from you." Clarisa said prostrating herself, urgency in her voice. Her kids darted towards her side, hugging her, clinging on to her, crying.
'Eh? What is she talking about?' Lucent couldn't help but scratch his head mentally.
Clarisa calmed her weeping children with soft rubs on their backs and kissed their foreheads. Clarisa is grateful for Lord Lucent's help but her mind is racing a million miles.
'Healing magic is expensive, the most basic healing magic costs about one gold coin, and that spell could only heal cuts and bruises, seeing that Lord Lucent healed an entire gash on my back and restored me to health, no, even the cuts in my hands from long ago are gone as well, he must have used a high-tier level healing spell! So, the cost of the spell could be about three gold coins or even higher! How will I be able to pay for such a thing? That is worth four years of hard work, day and night without any rest and that's with Ethan helping.' The thought of the fate of her husband made her tears well up and run down her cheeks.
Lucent is left baffled by what is going on for a second. The first thing that the mother did when she woke up was to thank her, which was expected, but then she started talking about repaying him with gold coins for that level two spell, then fretting over it and finally cried her eyes out, and her children cried even more. Lucent couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"I must check with the village, I shall leave you here, it is safe," Lucent was about to turn around and leave when he looked back at the pitiful sight of this family. 'I can't just leave them here unprotected.' Lucent thought. "[Life Cocoon]" Lucent cast a spell on them and a green light similar to the healing spell shielded their bodies inside a dome. "[Protection from Projectiles]" Lucent casted again.
A similar dome of light was erected but this time the color is gold. 'I can't leave them unprotected. I didn't go to all that trouble just to find them getting mauled by a beast or more soldiers approaching them while I'm gone.' Lucent thought.
The spell [Life Cocoon] is a tier five defensive spell that encapsulates someone with a barrier that prevents any harm coming their way, both physical or magical attacks as long as they stay inside the sphere. But it can't negate projectile attacks, thus Lucent cast the second spell [Protection from Projectiles].
[Protection from Projectiles] is also a tier five spell, and as the spell's name suggested, it protects someone from projectile attacks. Both spells would last up to an hour, although Lucent is not sure if the fight in the village would last up to an hour.
Lucent pulled two identical summoning items from his inventory. 'Summoning item: Archangel's Battle Cry' is a low-level item that Keith got from a gotcha game feature in ROTHOF. It looks like a medal made out of solid gold that has the face of a messenger angel on one side and an engraved eye on the other.
It has the ability to summon five mid-tier angels but if you meet the hidden requirements, it is said to summon an entire army of angels at your beacon. Although Lucent had never summoned an army before with this item, so he thought that it might have been just flavor text. Lucent throws the items towards the mother before leaving for the village.
"You will be safe as long as you stay inside this barrier. If there are more soldiers to come, use that summoning item; it will summon five angels to protect you."
"Thank you, Lord Lucent, but I can't accept such an–"
Lucent cut her off. "It is fine, it is just a low-level summoning item, I have plenty." With that lucent left towards the village down the mountain with Opeter in tow.