Chapter 52: Ch. 52 – The End of the Coalition

Raven and I talked for an hour or so, as she described what she had gone through under Iseto's control. It was not a pleasant topic, but I knew that the others would need to know when we had our meeting tomorrow evening. Although his influence was gone, the memories of the neglect by her mother on the Ark, combined with Finn's death, made that anger and pain that she carried turn easily on me.

 

Lexa may have been a good leader of the Coalition, but it was easy to stir the masses against a figurehead in moments of crisis, even without mana involved. The danger that Iseto posed was to more than just Arkadia if his powers could penetrate the ground. Even if we sealed up the bunkers, he would be able to turn anyone with a weaker mind into his slave and use them to destroy them from the inside out.

 

Unfortunately, I realized after Raven described everything that this had been yet another instance where my meddling with the timeline had affected another person. Raven had faced her fair share of troubles throughout her past, but since I came into the world, I had saved her from having to live with a crippling injury, the early loss of Finn, and battling Alie which would have strengthened her resolve far more than what she had been through this time. 

 

The next day I spent outside of Mount Weather while Abby and a few others checked in on the members of the different clans. I sat near the entrance in a lounge chair that Kane had brought out and healed myself in short spurts to ensure that I would not fall asleep. As long as I sat close, I was confident that I would be able to sense if anyone had been tainted by Iseto's power, but thankfully, it was a quiet day.

 

When I was resting between healing sessions, I took the time and started reading 'From Darkness to Light'. It seemed that Katye was following the path of the main character, just as I had with 'Grand Master of the Five Elements', but I also noticed why she thought my healing ability came from her story.

 

While the main character was a young boy, he had become close friends with a girl in his neighborhood. At the age of eight, children in the kingdom were tested for their affinities, and the lucky few that had any would be recruited into the various Kingdom Guilds. The boy, who had a Shadow affinity, was taken in by the Dark Blades who were the kingdom's assassins. The girl, though, had the Light affinity and was brought into the Temple of Light as a Priestess. She only had a chapter or two devoted to her backstory, but the first gift she had awakened was the Healing Light spell which made her incredibly valuable to the temple.

 

The whole story was a tale of star-crossed lovers with a sad ending, but it told me more about my powers and Lexa's. There were Elum Sola, or Warriors of Light, who could use their powers in similar ways as the Naru Darc, but there was little information of their rituals. The main character received his Elum Sola contract from his love when she was killed right before the final battle against the Lich King, so I only knew that I could have both, but not how to make both. I could become a Naru Darc easily though as the ritual was clearly spelled out and Lexa had already confirmed that it worked.

 

On a moonless night, I needed to draw certain symbols on the ground with my blood. This would open the passage to the Shadow Realm, and I would have to fight my way back out. Using the blood ritual as a means of passage meant that I had a way to escape, but the longer that I stayed within the Shadow Realm to fight, the higher my rank would become which meant that I could be granted more abilities. Any Naru Darc could face the trial again to increase their rank, but every time that they relied on that power, the Shadow Realm would record their strength, so they would need to rely on powers outside of them if they wanted to advance their rank.

 

There was a new moon in two days, so depending on how tonight's meeting went, I might try to to confirm whether or not my body had truly recovered. Raven was not ready to rejoin the meeting, but at least she spent the day doing various repairs with the engineering team which proved that she was feeling better. I ended up walking alone to Kane's office, but I ran into Indra on the way.

 

"You are stronger today," Indra remarked.

 

"If I'm not being sent off immediately, I'd like a chance to spar against you again when I've fully recovered," I chuckled.

 

"I would also like to confirm your current level before you take on Iseto again," she agreed. "Do you feel confident about taking him on if you do not have to protect the others?"

 

"I'm not sure since we did not exchange many blows and we were both transformed... but I don't know exactly how to tap into it and can't maintain that state for long."

 

"Then that is something you should practice soon."

 

"Yes, seda," I replied with a smile.

 

She huffed as we reached our destination. I opened the door for her, then followed her in and we greeted Kane. Roan appeared a few minutes later and we all gathered around the large screen as Kane called Polis. When the screen changed, Lexa, Clarke, Echo, and Luna were sitting in Cadogan's Lab.

 

"Good evening," Lexa greeted then looked at me. "Have you recovered, Octavia?"

 

"Mostly. Another day, and I should be completely pain free," I replied.

 

"Good. I'm afraid that we will still need your help to face Iseto after listening to Echo's and Luna's decription of his powers. He poses too much danger to the bunkers if he is able to approach them."

 

"He does," I agreed.

 

"Kane, will you show the movements of the army and give your report?" Lexa requested.

 

Kane typed in a few commands on his keyboard and the view window shrank while a map appeared, with multiple dots of different colors.

 

"The red markers represent the movements of the main force while the yellow we believe are scouting parties that are hunting and leading stragglers to the main group. The main force is moving through Ouskejonkru's territory and seem to be moving rather slowly. The green represent villages that have emptied and started heading towards the army. The blue line is the path that Iseto has taken, so you can see that he just needs to approach within five hundred feet of the villages and use his power to mobilize the people," Kane explained.

 

"Five hundred feet... ridiculous," I scoffed with annoyance. "I might be able to achieve a two-hundred-foot radius if I really pushed myself."

 

"It's just the difference in abilities. I can cross over a thousand feet with my Shadow Meld, alone that is," Lexa replied. "The main question that we need an answer to is what are the lasting effects of his power. Has Raven recovered?"

 

"She has, and I don't sense any of Iseto's mana within her as I did when she attacked me. The problem is that she told me that some of that anger he stirred up remained after she woke up. Thankfully, Raven can easily tell that it was caused by an outside influence and has been able to let go of it, but it makes me concerned for those who are still under his control. She was only under his control for a few moments, but his army has had days of suffering under his aura... I'm not sure that normal people can recover from that," I answered.

 

"What are your thoughts, Echo and Luna?" Lexa asked as the screen returned the video feed of them.

 

"Working under Nia, I learned long ago how to suppress my anger, but I could tell that Iseto's power was trying to twist my hatred towards Octavia instead," Echo replied.

 

"It was similar for me as well. If Iseto can twist someone's hatred towards his target, then it won't be difficult to turn their anger towards you, Heda. The effects last even after his influence is gone because I still find myself trying to tie Octavia to the Conclave which she clearly had no influence on," Luna added.

 

"Does that mean we are just going to abandon the three clans, possibly five if we find problems in Boudalankru and Podakru members that come?" Lexa asked.

 

I sighed, "Lexa, I know you want to honor the Coalition of the Thirteen Clans, but you haven't felt what his power can do. Raven, Echo, and Luna all had their anger turned towards me where Raven, the youngest and least experienced, actually turned on me... Do you think everyone in the bunker has no grudges against you or any other leader that will be in the bunker? Echo may have some room to complain towards me, but Luna certainly doesn't."

 

Lexa sighed and looked away from the screen as she rested her chin on her fist then asked with weakened hope, "Luna?"

 

"I'm sorry, Heda, but I agree with Octavia. Living with the anger that he draws out of you for days, weeks... even if we remove his influence, we can do nothing about the source of their anger. Living tightly with the other clans will be difficult enough without the seed of fury that Iseto feeds. Accepting any of his army, even after freeing them from his control, will likely lead to problems down the road when things get difficult in the bunkers," Luna replied.

 

"Twelve years of hard work and countless sacrifices, and this is how the Coalition dies," Lexa sighed. "Roan, send out your riders and collect more of your people, but I also need you to send word to Sankru. Indra, gather your people as well. I'm granting the three clans the remaining four hundred and five seats."

 

"That is great and all, but what are we going to do about the approaching army and the madman leading them?" Roan asked.

 

"Octavia and I will have to face him, most likely alone. We already have proof that he can even turn loved ones against each other; bringing anyone else could make things more dangerous for us," Lexa replied, straightening up.

 

"Heda, his army size is approaching fifty thousand. They may be made up of common folk instead of true warriors, but the sheer numbers would overwhelm you both," Kane said.

 

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"That's why we will use the remaining missile in Mount Weather to weaken the force."

 

Lexa's words brought a mixture of reactions, none of them good or happy. Kane and Clarke were the most neutral of the group since they were used to the level of technology, but Indra, Roan, Luna, and Echo looked almost sickened by the statement. The missiles of Mount Weather were a legend among the Grounder culture, so for Lexa to use one, it was the same as evoking that myth.

 

"I know it is not a comfortable decision, but this is something that needs to be done if we are to follow this course of action. If anyone has a better method, I will listen," Lexa said.

 

"Could we just assassinate Iseto? The moonless night is tomorrow, so I could develop your Shadow powers and then we could go together. He is the main threat, after all," I suggested.

 

"Could I truly sneak up on you, and where will his army turn after they are free of his power, Octavia? We are right back to Arkadia being attacked and likely compromised. You, Luna, and Echo are all saying that his power has lasting effects after you were removed from his influence. There are no easy solutions, and you know it," Lexa said.

 

I sighed and sunk further back into my chair, unable to argue. 

 

"Is there anyone else?" Lexa asked, but no one said anything else. "Since no one objects, the missile will be launched in three days' time. Octavia will hopefully have recovered fully and gained new power in that time. Echo and I will come and pick up Octavia since Echo has shown the most resistance to Iseto's power. Kane, I would like for you to find the narrowest point along the army's path where Octavia and I could create defenses and traps. We'll set up our position as best we can and do whatever it takes to keep Iseto from approaching the bunkers. There are twenty-one days until Praimfaya, so we just need to hold them off until then."

 

I sighed and looked away. The blood of the original residents of Mount Weather still clung to my hands, and now, I would be fighting on the front lines, against whatever remained of Iseto's army. This would be an up close and personal fight, unlike irradiating the mountain.

 

"If you are bringing Echo, then you must need seasoned warriors. I could lead a team of my most trusted men to assist you, Heda," Indra suggested.

 

"The Black Rain is coming soon," Lexa said, shaking her head. "We can survive it, but anyone without Nightblood cannot. We can't waste Octavia's strength healing people when we are going to be holding back an army. I understand your desire to help, but this is something that we must handle, I'm afraid."

 

"What if you are killed? We'll have no chance to recover the Flame," Roan asked.

 

"That is why Luna is going to become Heda. Titus will transfer the Flame before I leave Polis and I will officially step down as Heda. If we survive Iseto's army, Octavia and I will fully support Luna's decisions."

 

"She fled from her Conclave! She has no right to become Heda!" Roan snapped.

 

"The days of us pitting children to fight each other to the death is over! The first Praimfaya was caused by our ancestors waging wars against each other, and we are still paying for their mistakes. This is our chance to join all of the remaining clans together as Wonkru, ending the conflicts between our different factions once and for all. We need to stop repeating the mistakes of the past, if we want to have a future," Lexa said with authority.

 

"Are you okay with this?" Roan asked, looking at Indra.

 

"Heda has made her decision. It is not our place to question it," Indra replied, though I knew her well enough to know, that she was not happy about it.

 

Roan gave a huff and leaned back in his chair, no longer willing to argue. Lexa looked around for a moment, waiting for anyone else to speak up, but no one did.

 

"This meeting is adjourned until I come to Mount Weather. Everyone has their orders, and I want to keep receiving regular reports on the movements of Iseto's army." Lexa said.

 

"Yes, Heda," Kane, Roan, and Indra said in unison.

 

My eyes drifted to Echo as I remembered our last parting, but she looked calm as usual. I sighed when the screen went black, not sure how I would handle the matter, though how much it would matter in the long run was questionable. There was still an army that we had to defeat, and even with our powers, over a thousand to one did not seem like good odds.

 

"You look excited," Roan remarked.

 

"I'm sure," I retorted. "Not every day that I get to face off against an entire army."

 

"I guess Lexa really is going to kill you," he said.

 

"Better me than the rest of you," I replied, standing up. "I know you aren't happy with Lexa's decisions and Luna becoming Heda, but aren't you tired of having blood on your hands?"

 

"You better not die," he huffed before he headed out of the office.

 

I smirked, shaking my head, since that would be the best that I would get out of him for his concern.

 

"Charming fellow," Kane said as he moved behind his desk.

 

"Now you see why Lexa and I both agreed that you needed to be the one stationed here," I chuckled.

 

"Major Bryne has been training Echo on how to use rifles, so we'll be sending what we can spare, ammunition wise. Is there anything else that we can provide?" Kane asked, sitting down.

 

"Whatever hydrazine that you can pack into the rover. I can turn that into some nasty traps with my powers," I replied with a sigh.

 

Kane shook his head, but agreed anyways, saying, "I'll have Arkadia start working on it."

 

"Are you ready for this, Octavia?" Indra asked.

 

"It doesn't matter if I am or not. Just like when we took down Mount Weather, I can't stop until I achieve our goal, or die trying."

 

Indra placed a hand on my shoulder and said, "I have never been prouder of any of my Seconds than I am of you, Octavia kom Skaikru."

 

"Thank you, Seda," I said with a smile, "but I don't plan on dying now. I'm less than a month away from you all having to take over, and I want to enjoy my break."

 

She sighed, shaking her head with a rare smile, and said, "I will hold you to that then."

 

I gave her and Kane a nod as I said, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to fight the first of my battles: telling Raven about the decision."

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