Fate - First Reply The Adventurous Seven

[Heike Eisen]

He would still go. She knew he would; she could recognize drive and determination when she saw it. But perhaps that was the cruelest twist of the dagger, the cursing of Kalia and the inevitable subsequent desire such would instill to be rid of the curse through any means necessary. Perhaps the callous gods who oversaw the fall of Djedi Akhmis had made no mistake at all, no underestimation, regarding Kalia. Maybe it was that they wished to see their malevolent play through to the final act: the complete ruination of a good man, twisted by the tainted allure of power to shed his virtue and join in with their decadent corruption.

And it was for this reason that she would not go with Kalia upon his quest. For if the gods saw fit to cause directly themselves or to idly stand back and allow for Djedi Akhmis, for Reikurst, to crumble in tragedy, then to Heike their cruelty--their maliciousness--knew no bounds. To Heike, they were as low as vampires, save only that they parasitically siphoned the hope and worship of the innocent instead of their blood.

How many of those captive women, the daughters of Dunderstahd, were praying to them? Right now? Yet it would fall to Heike, to Kalia, to the militia of Dunderstahd, to rescue them. Mortals do the work, gods get the credit. To hell with them. Only the blood, sweat, and tears of Heike's fellow men and women could be trusted.

Kalia explained his estimation of the situation at the fort, laid out his plan. And yet that purposefully exaggerated tone of voice he used seemed to Heike to be a touch stiffer than before. An actor upon the stage of a theatre, playing his part too well.

Heike stood firm. Listened. Said, "I will do all I am able to prevent those brutes from harming the women. This I swear."

She took a few steps, on track to exit the alley, but stopped. She turned and looked to Kalia from the side, felt compelled to say to him, "Kalia...what we are doing, here and now. This is the right way to live. No matter what we are."

She let a moment linger between them.

Then set off into the village on the street adjacent the alley. One thing she needed to do was allow for herself some brief hours of sleep, somewhere, to heal the burn wound suffered from Piker's enchanted mace.

But the night would come soon enough.

Kalia Oro Khastan

 

[Kalia Oro Khastan]

Kalia nodded at her final words and let out a long suffering sigh.
"I know..."
She went off into the village to prepare and he went again to rest and regain his power, sitting down and looking for some pretense of rest. For him in his current state things either effected him greatly or not at all, and this whole ordeal has been one moment after another breaking past the physical barriers of undeath.
Joy and sadness... It was good to feel but he felt overwhelmed by the frequency in this day alone.

He sat back down on the crate and leaned against the wall again and did the only thing that gave him solice... Listen to the prayers of his people. They resided in the heaven he built for them, the dimensional fortress and paradise he made with magic to give his people a place to go when they died. His entire civilization wasn't much in the grand scale, the other gods had millennia of gathering souls and worshippers, countless beings that have devoted themselves to the gods.
But they were his beloved people, his subjects.

They were praying to him now, comforting him. Sometimes he felt like they were the gods and he was the worshipper.
They found rest while he continued to suffer in un-life.
But as time drew on he felt his strength slowly returning. When he stood up and went into the village there were only a few people out and about, the majority of the fighters resting themselves.

Kalia went back to the battlefield where the burning corpses of their enemies still smoked in a huge pile. Their armor was piled nearby and their weapons were in a pile next to that. He toed through the weapons, kicking aside swords and spears till he found the enchanted mace. He picked up the deadly weapon, examining the runes and design of the weapon.
But what he discovered disturbed him... The mace was recently forged, the runes had fresh etching and the enchantment was still full... There wasn't a magic user in the battle, which meant they faced a far more sinister and powerful enemy.

 

[Heike Eisen]

Heike found rest. More comfortable rest, now that Dunderstahd accepted her, in the small little traveler's inn/tavern near the center of the village. Frankly, it was odd to be speaking so openly to people, to be acting in a way that was not reclusive. Odd, but welcome. Her mannerisms were a bit stiff, faintly expecting it all to be a long ruse and for the innkeeper or the men in the tavern celebrating their victory over the deserters to drop the act at any second and come at her with torches and pitchforks. The innkeeper graciously let her have a room all to herself. Practically insisted on it. Heike would have insisted back on paying for it, if indeed she had any coin with which to pay him, but alas, nothing. She accepted his offer.

And the burn wound on her arm healed as she slept. Her dreams were not continuous, but instead like flashes of lightning in the night sky.

* * * * *​

Heike awoke. Noted the difference in the character of sunlight leaking into the room from the bottom of the curtains. Almost sunset. And her arm was healed fully, no scratching of thirst in her throat yet. Good. The spy had gotten what he deserved, and she had satiated her damnable curse from him instead of an innocent villager of Dunderstahd.

She left the room. Thanked the innkeeper on the way out after asking about Kalia: in the center of town with the elder. Of course.

Heike left the inn and made her way there. A gathering of fighting men, the militia Kalia had assembled for the town's defense, here now to see the task through to its end and the captured women liberated. Them, and Kalia himself, towering above them. Fittingly regal in stature.

Heike approached, keeping her head and her hood turned from the departing sun. Said, "Good evening, Kalia."

Kalia Oro Khastan

 

[Kalia Oro Khastan]

The time was nearly upon them. The fighters of the previous battle were still shaking from the strenuous ordeal, their muscles and bodies unused to that much adrenaline and exertion for an extended period of time. But with the day of rest they stood once more in the town square, their hands now gripping quality sword hilts and their bodies were girded with light armor salvaged from their fallen foes.
Kalia looked over this small band of freedom fighters. Their eyes no longer reflected suppressed misgivings or hopelessness, but in the wake of the battle a hardness was born within them, the steel gaze of resolve now met the painted stare of the bronze masked man.

These were men and women who found hope. And in spite of their imperfections that hope rested in large part on the two strangers that stopped to help a suffering village. They had Kalia, whom they knew could destroy an army single handed. And Heike, whom they knew would protect them.
Kalia reflected on these people who now looked up to him to lead them.
He wasn't making them reliant, in fact the reason the village still stands right now is due to these valiant defenders.
Even though he took the bull by the horns and led the village to victory, there wasn't one bit of that victory that didn't belong to them. Bit by bit, Kalia was truly teaching them how to stand up for themselves.

That's what he did as a king, was it not? He stood as a symbol to his armies and to his people, and he ultimately gave them the strength they didn't know they had to conquer any enemy they faced.

Heike joined them and Kalia greeted her in return with his usual joviality.
"Good evening indeed, Herr Heike! We stand on the precipice of our final victory and the full liberation of this village. This will be a far more difficult battle, our enemies are backed into a corner and will fight like mad if we give them any indication that they could escape!"
The village elder approached to see the group off.
"Well said, Sir Khastan. I did as you asked and sent a message to the keep, appraising them of the situation and asking them for aid. The boy hasn't returned but I'll send him to you the moment he returns with the Lords answer."
Kalia nodded and let out a jolly laugh,
"Well done! With the counts Garrison to back us up there is no doubt in my mind that we can force them to surrender!"
He took Heike gently by the shoulder and led her aside as he politely excused them
He took out the mace and showed it to Heike.
"This enchantment is fresh, the mace recently forged without any wear or tear on it.
I suspect we may be facing a low power magic user, if so that lends itself even more to the reasons why the Garrison disbanded, under the conniving tongue of a smooth talker, a seller of snake oil, a trickster with either malicious or totally chaotic goals for this village. If he's not escaped already, there may be a knot of resistance in the inner keep who will refuse to surrender. I have no doubt the conflict outside will conclude swiftly with only minor encouragement at sword point."
He rested his big hand on her shoulder.
"I know you must want to see this through, but dealing with the physical enemy is where you will be needed. This magical enemy, weak as he might be, could just as easily be our undoing at our moment of triumph. The people need your protection far more than I do."

 

[Heike Eisen]

Spoiler

Took so long to respond because I was under the impression that you were going to be indisposed for the duration of your trip. Cue putting this thread on the back-burner/procrastination. Oops. My bad, Halo.

The militia of Dunderstahd had the look of the blooded about them--they who had fulfilled their duty as fighting men and women. It was one thing to volunteer for the guard, say, or endeavor to join an Order of Knights, say, but it was another thing entirely to see this commitment through to its natural end, the culmination of all of that training and discipline: the taking of another person's life. It was the ultimate expression of service to the innocent, to slay those who would threaten them before any harm could be done, or before any more harm could be done. Heike had been that way once: unblooded. "Green." And that was a version of her that dwelt only in the past now.

She stepped aside from the gathering in the town square with Kalia when prompted. A recognition, as she did: that his jolly tone of voice and mannerisms had taken on a somber quality to her, knowing so much more about him now than before. There was a tragedy in it. Both Heike and Kalia wore physical masks, and both also wore masks of demeanor to obscure the truth about them. And it was a sorrowful thing indeed that these masks were necessary; that they had been brought to this.

She listened to his assessment of the weapon, what it implied. Looked from it up to him and lamented, "Piker...that was his weapon. It would have served us well if I had taken him alive. But what's done is done. And you are right, Kalia. I do wish to see that matter through. But I see the danger in my doing so: if that mage has a firm command of fire or light magic then it would be perilous indeed."

Heike stood a touch more resolutely then. Said, "It is a sound plan that I should stay with the militia of Dunderstahd." And she smiled beneath her mask. "I shall see to their safety, and to the liberation of the captive women. Give that mage my regards if you would, Kalia."

 

[Kalia Oro Khastan]

Spoiler

Yeah, this is the first time I've been to the island and had full access to reception and data. So I'm surprised as well!

Kalia gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and they returned to the gathered militia. Again Kalia raised his voice to address them, even as more villagers gathered to see them off.
"The time is upon us. Remember your strategies but modify them, remain in your groups, watch each other and protect one another. This time we take the offensive and bring the fight to them!
Don't take unnecessary risks, don't charge in without another group with you. This is a critical time, so you absolutely CANNOT break ranks, even to rescue your own daughters."
Kalia nodded at the murmuring this statement brought about, he understood their feelings perfectly.
"Yes, I know. If the enemy has any bit of cunning or intelligence they will recognize that their captives, your daughters, are their greatest weapon against you."
He raised a hand.
"Steel yourselves now and prepare, but do NOT despair! Trust in the abilities of Herr Heike Eisen, she is tasked with their safety and will do everything in her power to make sure your daughters survive to run to your arms once the battle is over."

He lowered his hand and turned his mask, the last rays of the sun glowed against the bronze giant until the last of the days light went behind the mountains in the far distance.
"Take up your shields. The time to war is now."
With that he strode through the gathered fighters and walked to the forest.
One by one the militia followed, picking up shields from the gathered pile as they went.

 

[Heike Eisen]

Heike stood by the pile of shields that all of the militiamen had to pass by. As each man passed, Heike spoke to each individually, saying "May you fight well" and "Bring honor to Dunderstahd" and other small tokens of encouragement. She did not know them, and they did not know her--not truly. But both she and they had been blooded in the defense of Dunderstahd together, and in the primeval bond of battle there was a shared understanding and familiarity that went beyond all instances of lesser import.

When it was done, she walked briskly to catch up with Kalia. Thinking, as she did, how much she would have loved to be clad in her armor, holding her two-handed longsword at her side. She felt woefully ill-equipped for this: not just the upcoming battle (for this same feeling was present during the defense of the village itself) but now more so because she was leading the militia. Her coat, and as well the entire ensemble of plain clothes, simply did not command as much authority as did finely-crafted steel--at least, to Heike's sensibilities.

Across the darkened field around the village they went, approaching the village.

And Heike caught up to Kalia. Said as she walked beside him, "Promise me something, Kalia."

She gave it a moment.

Continued, "After you go on your journey of ascension. When whatever may happen does indeed come to pass. Or even if you should try and nothing comes of it, or you decide against it in the days or the months or the years to come."

An upward glance to him. "Find me. Remember these words and find me. Whether the ascension you seek is for better or for ill, I would wish to know what becomes of you."

Kalia Oro Khastan