Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Union

As the herkleri’s healing was complete and their worship of Tiar continued, masses of almeyas suddenly flocked to their ranks, each one seeming more terrified and desperate than the next. Even the six nobles serving as masters of the cities of the New South that were to be executed earlier were filled with dread, all of them also having suffered a number of wounds, making the Viktar look behind them to see what the reason for this was. While he suspected the harpies remaining in Negite were somehow responsible, Tiar was not yet aware of how angered they had become, the sight that revealed itself to his eyes then making it more than apparent.

The surviving harpies of the standard type which numbered hundreds had used their wing multiplication devas, forming a ring of black wings miles wide amid which they had hid and having effectively sealed off the city. After doing that, they had started decreasing the ring’s diameter while increasing its thickness through creating more and more wings. Furthermore, they had encased all the wings in swirling Chaos winds, shredding anything they came into contact with.

No mortal could stand against such evil, all the almeya men, women and children that had survived thus far having been left with no other choice but to run to the center of the city where the plaza was located, going there in search of hope. And Tiar was now expected to provide that hope just as he had done for the herkleri that seemed more than battle-ready, even after having seen the tightening wing-ring around them.

To inspire a whole city to fight as one would require more than a spectacle made by his deva, however. The people needed to be inspired by the man meant to lead them all – the same man that presently stood by the Order champion’s side.

‘Well, Elgo, I think now is as good a time as any. Why don’t you hearten up everyone here to stand together against the coming threat and defeat it?’

Elgo was all too shocked when Tiar said that to him, the two looking at each other as more and more almeays gathered on the remains of the plaza, the herkleri led by the prince’s guardian and the fully healed Bara trying to calm them together.

‘This city has its master. In fact the masters of six of the seven cities of the New South are here. Why should I address Negite’s people? My duty is to the herkleri.’

‘Your father ruled over most of this dimension. You’re just going to ignore your birthright and settle for one race?’

‘Unlike others I know, I am not power-hungry. I never have been. My sole purpose has always been to ensure the well-being of my people.’

‘Clearly you haven’t been raised properly by old herkleri standards.’

‘Most definitely not. I was raised far away from my home under the yoke of your rule, after all.’

Even in the moments when they felt as allies, there was still tension between the child prince and the Viktar – an obstacle Tiar didn’t yet know if he was ever going to overcome. For the time being, though, any issues he and Elgo had with each other were far removed from the main dilemma to be addressed. Uniting all survivors and providing them with something to counter the coming attack was all that mattered.

‘We can discuss my crimes against you family and race all you want later, but can we focus on saving Negite now? All the New South’s masters are wounded and considering they had been imprisoned for an unknown amount of time before our arrival, their condition is far from ideal. They may support whatever you have to say, but you need to be the first to rally the almeyas. In the meantime I’ll heal them and support you however I can. Show everyone the line of the former dimensional lord has not fallen to darkness. Show them its fire still burns. And that it burns strong enough to extinguish all the Chaos in Yut.’

‘And you think any almeya here will listen to a child like me?’

‘If you want me to remove your age seal, it will take quite a bit more time than what we can spare now. So as hard as it may be, you’ll have to rally them as you are. I’d wager this is far from the first time in your long life where someone has looked down on you because of your appearance, though. So prove yourself to them as you have done to any other who’s ever questioned your authority until now.’

‘My words alone won’t make them powerful enough to withstand the fury of the harpies.’

‘I’ll provide the magic, you provide the inspiration to wield it.’

Elgo smirked with feigned irritation when Tiar said that, his reaction resulting in a similar one on his ally’s face.

‘Do you ever stop bargaining, Distroya?’

‘I have no other way of convincing an annoying pest like you to do what I say, herkleri.’

Bara was the one who succeeded in silencing the masses of terrified almeyas by creating a huge hammer base of Order energy and slamming it hard in the ground, Tiar noticing that and immediately changing the construct’s color to purple, spreading pink symbols across its surface again. Once the pink-skinned people quieted down, the Viktar turned to the boy prince, giving him a nod to signal his time to unite all had come.

Elgo in turn exchanged glances with his guardian who went and put him on his shoulders so he could be better seen, Tiar pulling Bara aside as he started making his way to the masters of the New South cities to heal them, all the while the ring of black wings tightening its grip. Whatever words the leader of the herkleri had thought of, they had better be powerful, for the furious monsters would soon be upon the survivors and he would not have long to stir their hearts.

‘All of you, listen to me! Listen as the final moment of our strife draws near! No tomorrow will come for us later. That tomorrow is now! Right now!! If we don’t seize the chance to claim our place in it, tomorrow will never come for any of us! So we need to fight! We need to fight harder than ever before! Every single one of us! No matter how tired, how scared or desperate!!! Overcome all of those obstacles with me and push forward!!!’

As expected, some of the civilians spoke out against this upon hearing Elgo’s words, Tiar listening to them as well after having started the treatment of one of the New South’s masters.

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‘What can any of us do against that? The harpies are going to bring the very power of hell upon us!!’

‘ Without the full support of Order, we could never hope for victory!!’

‘And what would a little child like you know of our strife?!’

Elgo remained silent for a moment after those questions, seeming to gather strength in his mind, the ground under Tiar’s feet already shaking from the incoming attack whose shadow drew ever closer. But when the boy spoke again, the Viktar stopped paying any attention to his surroundings and saw only him. The son of the last dimensional lord – and the only one truly worthy to inherit that title.

‘I know. I know all too well. I am the sole living child of King Ebor of Herklera, the last yuti to have borne the title ‘dimensional lord’. And I have remained a child all this time because I knew I was the last that could be entrusted with the burden of dimensional rule. Anything I could do to hide, to survive, I did. And I prepared. I waited. Waited for the moment a sign would reveal itself to me and show all yuti the time of change has come. That time … the time of promised liberation … IS NOW!!!!’

He continued to point to where Tiar was, the shout rendered from his chest afterwards being far mightier than any child of his body’s age was supposed to be capable of.

‘BECAUSE TODAY ORDER SENT US A CROSS-SWORD!!! THE FIRST HOLY BLADE TO REACH YUT SINCE OUR HOME FELL PREY TO CHAOS!!!’ – that shout seemed to have taken such a toll on the boy that he paused for a moment to catch his breath and let the gravity of his announcement sink in before continuing – ‘It is true, such a long time – seemingly an eternity – passed as we prayed and hoped beyond the edge of reason for salvation to be delivered upon us. But now, finally, hope has been restored. God has provided us with what we need to hope again. And so too I am certain he will provide us with what we need to survive. All we need do is believe. Believe in him. Believe in each other. And pray. Pray for the destruction of all evil. Pray for our dimension to live on liberated from Chaos. Ask this of our Lord and ye shall receive!!! But before you’re given something, you yourself must first give! So give all that you have left. Stake it all on this moment. This single moment of miracles!!! BELIEVE WITH ME NOW AND I PROMISE YOU THE LIGHT OF TOMORROW WILL SHINE ON US TODAY AND WE WILL SURVIVE!!!!’

The almeyas were now stirred, the herkleri having never lost their spirit since their worship of Tiar earlier, the Viktar seeing the time for him to act in secret was ripe. So he summoned the might of Order within him, giving a single command in his mind. One command to bring Order to all: let crosses rain from the skies.

A pulse shook the heavens above Negite and from them suddenly fell a torrent of projectiles of white and dark blue energy, taking a more clearly defined shape the closer they got to the earth. Finally they became crosses, piercing the ground all around or falling directly in the hands of many rebels on the plaza, the tremors caused by this being far greater than whatever the advent of the black wing-ring could bring.

And as both herkleri and almeyas picked up the crosses made of pure energy, Tiar gave another command, changing each of these constructs into a cross-sword based on the design of the weapon that currently was his left hand. The people looked at each other now while he looked at Bara with a smile that was to instill as much confidence as could be in her, the pink-skinned beauty’s response being equal to her teacher’s in might.

No words were spoken between them and there was no need to. They served Order and thus conveyed their thoughts much clearer through action. The action in this instance was hundreds of energy hammer bases raining from the sky, their color being changed to purple midway, by the time they reached the plaza a handle of different length having come out of each of those hexagonal prisms.

These weapons didn’t number nearly as many as the cross-swords summoned before them, but would still be useful to any who would like to dual-wield in the coming march, those that chose to picking them up with their free hands. And as they did that, any and all doubt was struck from their faces, having been replaced by faith and determination. Determination to serve Order to whatever end it would lead them.

Bara picked up one of the hammers that had landed nearby for herself, Tiar stepping forward after having completed the superficial healing of the New South masters, soon enough seeing Elgo’s guardian with him on his shoulders was by his side. The guardian wielded his own sword and one of the cross-swords, Elgo holding a cross-sword in his own hands despite it being too big for him, pointing it forward to issue one final rallying cry to all his people.

‘CHARGE IN THE NAME OF GOD, NEGITE!!!! FOR THE NEW SOUTH!!! FOR ALMEYA!!!! FOR YUT!!!! FOR ORDER!!!!! LET US CLEANSE THE LAND OF THESE UNHOLY MONSTERS!!!!’

Having regained their composure after the partial healing and seeing the very air around them now crackled with rebellious spirit, the six masters of the New South cities gave an addition of their own to the boy’s rallying cry. Rightfully so, in Tiar’s opinion, as whatever the circumstances, almeyas were always inspired best by other almeyas.

‘We are the Cities of Freedom, aren’t we?!! So let’s show them none could ever hope to steal our freedom from us ever again!! Today we will even liberate ourselves further!!! CHARGE!!!’

The herkleri led by the prince’s guardian joined him in a chorus of battle cries before even Tiar or Bara could, all almeyas that had the strength left to hold a weapon crying alongside their masters. This unity of madness in turn made the Griffin Slayer think now was an opportune moment for him to also say a few words to further rouse the rebels and ensure the absolute success of their coming counterattack.

‘Follow our lead! We’ll cut through their whole ring of terror in one swing and prove to these harpies the days of miracles have not yet passed for this city or this world!!! For as is written in the laws of the stars, out of Chaos …’

‘… SHALL ALWAYS COME ORDER!!!!’

The same saying spoken so many times to rally those that would challenge him while he had been a Distroya had now come out of his mouth first to be finished by the two-race alliance members around afterward, their souls, their wills and their weapons becoming as one. And in a single moment of perfection led by him, Bara, Elgo and the old-crown guardian, they swung forward.

All the cross-swords combined into one that threw the shadow of its size over half of Negite, first piercing the wing-ring and then starting to cut it in half vertically. The wielders of the union holy blade started to turn to keep on cutting through the ring, roaring all the while any resistance the Chaos Harpies’ creation offered dwindled further and further.

Finally the rebels’ 360-degree rotation came full circle, having blasted the mass of wings to pieces, separate harpies crushing in the ground around the plaza. As their attackers’ individual weapons returned to them after the big sword was divided into many smaller swords again, herkleri and almeyas of all ages – yuti to the last one – moved to deliver the finishing blow.

Negite’ stand against the Chaos Harpies that day would become known in the histories written later as The March of Crosses and Hammers – the New Order Alliance’s first victory in the Second Intradimensional War of Yut.

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