The garnet Champion caught the head of her Bastion. Then she screamed and dropped it as she leaped backward in terror. A moment later, Sunstorm was on top of her.
“Your head doesn’t suit me either,” the assassin murmured.
Then she simply stabbed the garnet Champion in the heart, twisted, and pulled her sword back out.
An arrow slammed into her back. Sunstorm winced, then looked down at the blunted arrow on the ground.
“You can’t hurt me anymore,” she said, before looking back at the archer. “What do you think? Am I a bitch?”
“You… you’re a fucking monster,” the archer gasped out. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to nock another arrow.
Sunstorm walked over to her and kicked her down.
“Get away from her!” an all-too-familiar voice shouted.
Sunstorm froze. Why was Sen here?
Then she looked over and saw the mage Champion preparing a third rank fire spell. Her face was wracked with fear, but she continued to cast.
Sunstorm’s hands tightened around her swords. The mage looked nothing like Sen. In fact, the mage looked more like Sunstorm herself. What the hell had that been?
“I’ll… I’ll shoot,” the mage warned, her voice wavering. She still sounded like Sen. It must be coincidence.
Sunstorm rolled her eyes. “If your training wasn’t terrible, you’d know how useless that spell is. You’re from Kurai, aren’t you? Like me?”
“So what? You killed Nic!” the mage screamed.
Presumably, Nic was the name of the headless Bastion lying on the ground.
“What are you going to do about it?”
The mage stared at her. Her spell slowly fizzled out.
“Go home,” Sunstorm said. “Normally, I’d kill all of you after your friend’s threats. Consider yourself lucky.”
“I don’t have a home. Neither do you,” the mage mumbled.
Sunstorm’s lip curled. “I do. But you won’t find a home if you give up like that. If you survived the death of Kurai, you can survive losing your shitty underage Bastion. What, did you tuck him in every night and sing him a lullaby?”
Despite herself, the mage giggled, although it came out more like a hiccup. The archer looked between them in horror.
“Leave,” Sunstorm said. “Whatever revolution you thought you were supporting doesn’t exist. Find someone who is worth fighting for.”
Then she teleported away.
By the time she reached Tartus, the enemy soldiers had engaged with the defending knights. Sunstorm distracted herself by helping out. The rebel soldiers screamed in terror as she carved a bloody path through them. Within a few short minutes, the remainder surrendered or fled.
The knights saluted her, but she waved them off.
Instead, she teleported away and headed for the palace. Anna needed to know that rebel Bastions had already arrived, and what her enemies thought they were fighting for.
The palace itself was locked down by beastkin knights wearing both Anna’s emblem and the altered beastkin emblem that now stood for supporting Nathan. When Sunstorm arrived, she found the knights cleaning up corpses.
“How did they get in here?” Sunstorm asked one of the knights.
“Probably here all along. This is a trade city. There’ll be hundreds of them hiding here, so we’ll just need to keep Her Grace safe,” the knight answered with a shrug. “Leave that part to us.”
Inside, knights patrolled the hallways. Servants still moved around, but they were checked for weapons before entering any rooms. Sunstorm ignored everyone and made a beeline for Anna’s study.
The reception desk where Fyre usually sat was empty. Instead, several knights stood guard outside. They waved Sunstorm in, before remembering to salute.
Upon entering, she saw more knights around the edges of the room. Anna sat on a sofa, a huge wireless device in front of her on top of a glass and wood coffee table. Sunstorm hung back.
“Things are a disaster out here,” the angry voice of an old man said. “This has been planned for months, at least. I’ve already lost contact with two of the other dukes.”
Sunstorm recognized the voice as Duke Ilmarn’s, one of the original regents from the Federation who had opposed Torneus. Supposedly, he traded heavily in food and had worked closely with Anna and Nathan over the past two years, given their food needs for this war.
Also, Nathan needed a lot of food to keep Fei happy. She consumed industrial quantities of meat and grains.
“Do we know if any of the other dukes are working with them?” a calmer voice asked. Duke Terrius, if Sunstorm guessed correctly. Narime’s old friend.
“Of course they are. But this has spiraled out of control already. Nobody knows what they’re fighting for, unless they’re fighting for us,” Ilmarn said. “Some of them hate the beastkin. Some of them hate us. A lot of them hate the Empire.”
“But they all hate something,” Anna said.
“Oh, yes. That I can understand. They’re angry. But that’s all that unifies them, and they seem to have gotten very confused. They don’t know what nobles they’re trying to overthrow, so I think they’re just trying to overthrow all of them. I’ve received messages for help from counts and barons that I’m certain sent their soldiers to try to kill me yesterday.” Ilmarn laughed bitterly. “What a fucking mess.”
“Things aren’t that bad over here,” Terrius said. “For now.”
“Yes, for now,” Anna said. She sighed. “Do we know where George is?”
“For once, he’s not betraying us,” Terrius said. “He and I control the duchies on the west coast of the Federation—sorry, of the Amica Duchies.” He chuckled at his own mistake. “He actually has a fleet capable of naval warfare, unlike me. But it’s not equipped with the wireless. He’s busy making arrangements, in case the rebels have ships of their own.”
“Can we not call them rebels?” Anna suggested. “It makes them sound noble, somehow.”
“Insurgents,” Ilmarn said. “That’s what Torneus always called people who opposed him. Can’t say I like borrowing his methods, but he knew how to handle this sort of thing brutally well.”
“Emphasis on the ‘brutal?’” Anna asked.
“Do you need to ask?” Ilmarn replied with a cynical laugh.
“What about the Houkeem Desert? You’re all alone in the west, Ilmarn. I doubt you can reinforce it,” Anna said.
“Do not worry about us,” a cold feminine voice said over the wireless, surprising Sunstorm. “Although all of your Champions have abandoned your posts, we remain vigilant. Humanity may squabble and forget their duties to protect the world, but the dark elves shall not.”
Nobody replied.
Sunstorm could feel Anna and the dukes collectively roll their eyes, even if she couldn’t see them. The condescension from the dark elves wore thin and was particularly frustrating given Nathan was saving the Spires from a Messenger right now.
Something suddenly occurred to Sunstorm. If the dark elves were the only defenders of the Houkeem Desert, didn’t that mean…?
“Anna,” Sunstorm said, trying to interrupt.
“Not now, Sunstorm,” the duchess replied, waving her off.
“Anna,” she repeated.
“Talk to Lord Nathan’s Champion, Anna,” Ilmarn said. “Unlike our natter, hers might keep you alive.”
“Thank you for your extremely positive words, Duke Ilmarn,” Anna said drily. “I’ll return shortly.”
Then Anna froze. She stared at the wireless device in confusion.
After several long moments, one of the beastkin knights stepped up and fiddled with the device.
“The call is on hold, Your Grace,” the knight said, clearly suppressing her amusement.
“Thank you,” Anna said. “I’ll learn to use these things one day.”
“Not too soon,” one of the other knights muttered. “Listening to her get flustered over them when she tries to contact Nathan is half of the
fun we have.”
A few nearby knights nodded in agreement. Clearly, entertainment was rare in Anna’s palace. But their appreciation for their duchess was plain.
“Sunstorm, what’s the matter?” Anna asked as she strode up to her.
“Do you have a way to contact Nathan?” Sunstorm asked.
“I can probably get through to him if necessary. Don’t you have a way?” Anna asked. She looked at her bedroom.
“No,” Sunstorm said. “He needs to be reminded that the dark elf Bastions can’t die under any circumstances. If their Champions are the only thing protecting the Houkeem Desert, then it doesn’t matter what else happens. We lose if one of those Bastions dies.”
Anna stared at Sunstorm. Her eyes slowly widened in shock.
Then she ran into her bedroom.
After several minutes, she returned, but flustered.
“He should find out soon,” Anna said. “Did you need anything else?”
“I wanted to tell you about the Champions closing on Tartus, and their motivations,” Sunstorm said. “But did you need me to help somewhere else?”
Anna frowned. “I did, actually. Fyre fell out of contact not long after heading up to help Vera at Kravum Rock. I’m worried about her.”
“Someone has to be,” Sunstorm said.
“Don’t be a bitch. She’s a little overenthusiastic, but her heart is in the right place,” Anna said.
“You mean, she wants it to be pierced by Nathan’s cock,” Sunstorm said.
“I suspect she wants something else penetrated by him. But yes. Now go and make yourself useful. Shoo.” Anna waved her off.
As Sunstorm left, the wireless discussion resumed. She didn’t bother listening in.
The disappearance of Fyre piqued her interest to a far greater extent. Fyre was a duogem Champion. Despite her dislike of the horse beastkin, she felt trustworthy to Sunstorm. At least, trustworthy in the sense that she wouldn’t work against Nathan directly.
If Fyre was missing, something was very wrong.
Hours passed before Sunstorm found any trace of the duogem Champion. Night began to fall. Nathan was apparently remaining behind in the Spires to deal with some problem that had occurred there, so he’d be slow to return. With him still missing, Sunstorm focused on Fyre, as she was Nathan’s only other Champion in the field.
Word from the soldiers in the field was that Fyre had been in the thick of fighting. She had gone west. Always west, deeper into enemy territory.
They also said some stranger things about her. Things about how she glowed, or had wings, or strange religious talk.
Sunstorm noticed that everyone wore Nathan’s crest now, and not just the beastkin. Humans did as well, including non-combatants. She saw people sewing wings onto their patches.
A chill ran down Sunstorm’s spine as she pursued Fyre’s trail. There were fewer bodies than she expected. Most of the insurgents surrendered or changed sides when they encountered her.
With every village that Sunstorm passed through, she felt the strange fervor of the defenders more and more.
A golden glow loomed in the distance, outside a town on the border of the duchy. Sunstorm stared at the hundreds of soldiers fighting in the open field. Townspeople stood at the edge of their town, many of them on their knees and praying.
No fewer than four Champions battled a golden figure with massive golden wings. Two of those Champions were duogems, although they were only garnets. One was a sapphire, and another a diamond.
Two Bastions cowered behind the diamond Champion. Another Champion lay dead in the field, her entire body bisected.
The soldiers gave the battle of Champions wide berth as they brawled. Sunstorm ignored them.
Instead, she teleported into the real battle.
She appeared next to the diamond Champion, who wore no markings and was clearly an insurgent. The Champion screamed and tried to fend off Sunstorm.
Ignoring her, Sunstorm vanished in a puff of darkness and appeared behind the Bastions.
“No!” the sapphire Champion screamed.
She raised her arm toward Sunstorm, and a glowing square appeared in her hand. An instant later, a blast of light slammed into the assassin.
It hurt like hell, but Sunstorm simply grunted and slammed her sword into the face of the closest Bastion. He didn’t have the time to defend himself, and died. One of the duogems screamed in response.
A moment later, the golden figure vaporized that duogem Champion in an explosion of light. Nothing was left of the corpse. Not even ash.
“All who oppose the faithful of Omria will be judged,” the golden figure shouted. Her voice echoed deep within Sunstorm’s head, as if penetrating her mind directly. But it sounded familiar. “The faithful will defend the goddess’s Empire, and they will be remembered.”
The remaining Bastion flung his sword at Sunstorm. She leaped away to dodge it.
Then he ran. Behind him, the diamond Champion collapsed to her knees, staring in horror at the fallen Bastion that Sunstorm had killed.
Before the Bastion made it very far, the golden figure pointed her sword at him. A moment later, he collapsed.
Sunstorm barely felt the magic used. It had been so subtle that the only reason she recognized it was long familiarity with Nathan’s ascended magic. Nathan couldn’t use ascended magic anywhere near as complex or subtle as that.
She gulped, then stared at the golden figure.
The remaining Champions collapsed to the ground, their gems now inert. The townspeople let out shouts and cheers. They praised the goddess en masse, and repeated lines of scripture that Sunstorm had been forced to memorize in her youth.
The golden figure approached Sunstorm. She had long blonde hair, red eyes, a pair of pointed horse ears, and a silken horse’s tail. Two garnet gems sat in her collarbone, but they glowed with a golden light.
“Fyre?” Sunstorm asked.
“Choe,” Fyre said, smiling gently.
Sunstorm froze. Then her expression turned thunderous. “Never call me that again. I don’t care who or what you are. Only Nathan and Sen have the right to call me by my true name. Do not insult me.”
Fyre’s smile turned frazzled. “Oh. Uh, sorry.” She scratched the back of her head. “Um, it seemed like the right thing to do. I’m still getting used to this prophet thing.”
Taking a deep breath, Sunstorm tried to let her anger dissipate.
Whatever or whoever stood in front of her, her power was the real deal. And those gems appeared to be Fyre’s.
Also, her red eyes held an almost accusatory look in them. Sunstorm would recognize that jealous gaze anywhere. Fyre looked at all of Nathan’s lovers that way. As if she would give anything to take their place.
Sunstorm genuinely wondered what went on inside this horsegirl’s head, to be so obsessed with Nathan. Even now that she had this insane power, she still thirsted for him.
“Prophet?” Sunstorm asked, taking the bait.
“Of Omria. The goddess spoke to me. Has been speaking to me for some time,” Fyre corrected. She gave Sunstorm her familiar smile. “The time is right to drive out the imposters who use faith as a weapon against the true believers. I know you don’t believe me, but it doesn’t matter. You stand with Nathan. That makes you a true warrior of Omria. You even leaped in to help me without question.”
Given Nathan had just revealed he was working with Messengers, it seemed a bit rich that simply serving Nathan made Sunstorm a warrior of the goddess. But Sunstorm ignored that part.
“I had a hunch it was you,” Sunstorm said. “I saw your golden swords back in Aleich, a couple of years ago.”
Fyre blinked. “I see. Then I know I can trust you. Tell Nathan that I’ll be with him once I’ve done my duty.”
“I’m not telling him that,” Sunstorm said flatly. “For one thing, if you’re really a prophet, he’s not going to believe me. For a second thing, tell him yourself. He accepted you as his Champion. Remember that, and what it
means when it comes to loyalty. He trusted you, and you should return that trust.”
The horsegirl’s eyes closed. Her body shook for a second. When she reopened her eyes, her jealousy had magnified intensely.
“I wish I could act as freely around him as you do,” Fyre said with a pout. “But I need to do this first. He’ll forgive me after all this is done, right? That’s what he does, isn’t it? Forgive people?”
Sunstorm glared at Fyre silently.
Once she realized that no answer was forthcoming, Fyre left. The townspeople and soldiers flocked to her. They held their hands against her glowing golden wings. Many waved figures of Omria in the air or asked her to bless them.
Instead, Fyre gave them a speech on the need to ensure peace and stability, and to fend off the insurgents. She even slipped in how important Nathan was.
Sunstorm sat down on a nearby rock and stared up at the night sky for what felt like an hour.
Today had been a long day. She doubted that Nathan would like this piece of news, whenever he got back from the Spires.
Chapter 43
“Does someone want to tell me who this prophet is supposed to be?” Nathan asked the day after he returned, to an assembled room of his closest Champions and Anna. “And where the hell is Fyre?”
They all looked at each other, then back at him.
Nathan clenched his fists, then took a deep breath and calmed down.
After returning through the gateway, he had shut it down, then summoned everyone to Anna’s palace in Tartus. Due to a literal miracle, the worst of the violence in the civil war had settled down.
Said miracle being the appearance of a prophet of Omria preaching the word of the goddess as she drove back the Nationalist insurgents.
His primary Champions joined him here, along with Anna, Vera, and even the Twins.
Suspicious looks were thrown at the succubi, but they had thrown a huge tantrum when Nathan tried to send them away. His connection to them allowed them wander around freely, apparently. Although Maura mentioned that they needed to be careful with her full strength outside the portals.
“Fyre is the prophet,” Sunstorm declared.
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