3 - They Will Collide (Patreon)

The Manufacturing District of Tulimeir was the easternmost section of the eight-pointed star design that made up the city. Currently, it was taken over by Adventurers, Ducal Guards, and volunteers to the latter that served as a temporary defensive force. The civilians had been cleared out as much as possible during the last week in the event that the Soul Reapers reached the city which seemed to be coming true soon.

Phoenix had been surprised to find the more powerful members of the Wayland House all in attendance on the roof of one of the wider buildings that the Ducal Guards had claimed while trying to organize their forces in conjunction with the others since it had more open space to gather upon. The duke himself was in attendance as well, currently talking with the AOA director near the northern side of the rooftop.

King’s Dream had joined House Wayland for the moment, Patricia and Pualani both insisting on Phoenix’s presence as the current Regent while Paul was unavailable. The lord’s status as being out of commission –rather than dead– made the situation not quite as straightforward now regarding who was leading but it naturally fell to her as his heir.

Luckily, the House members were fairly unified in most things, and Patricia had effortlessly stepped into the role of “Ambassador” since she did most of the management behind the scenes already. Apparently, when a Regent or Head of a noble House was considered too young for governing within the overarching aristocracy, an Ambassador would be chosen to participate in their stead –which Phoenix was more than willing to let Patricia do.

Pualani, Paul’s however-many-greats aunt, was also a surprisingly commanding presence despite having entered what Phoenix had learned was called “The Caster’s Descent”; where they reached the end of their mortality and the magic began to leave their bodies.

From the outside, Pualani looked like a frail grandmother who had seen plenty of years, which was the truth, but it was her aura that revealed the half-century the Emerald Caster had experienced. This made her an invaluable source of knowledge and wisdom for the noble House and it would be a sad day when she left them in the near future.

One of the things both women had agreed on once Phoenix had met up with them was her change of outfit. Requesting her to wear one of the many outfits that Patricia had gotten from their visit to the BEL that would show off her Soul Mark. When she asked why, they stressed the importance of it giving both hope to those who relied on their house and also the position of importance it helped grant them.

She donned a green vest with attached billowy sleeves that cinched at the wrists with a matching skirt in a soft cream color. Both runeforged were surprised by the new addition of the Champion’s Favor she had to reveal but were then even more adamant about the display.

Patric and Padma flanked either side of Phoenix in a show of support while the rest of their combined parties, with the welcome inclusion of Mohala, stood behind her as well. Paul’s status as her Mentor also put her in an odd place in regards to the AOA but it seemed like Director Trayvious wasn’t looking to pull her from her family at the moment.

That was until the director made her way along with the Duke over to the section of the roof where the family was quietly waiting and discussing things.

Agatha gave a weary smile to Patricia as the pair walked up and the director gave a small bow in greeting, “Ambassador Wayland,” Trayvious said then gave a slightly deeper bow to Phoenix as the woman addressed her with her temporarily inherited title, “Regent Wayland. You have both my condolences for your father’s current situation and the gratitude of the city for the sacrifices and risks Lord Wayland took to protect us all.”

The Wayfarer was at a loss for words at the unexpected statement but Patricia came to her rescue as the runeforged took control of the conversation, “Thank you, Director. My brother might have been away from the city quite often but he truly cared about this place and the people within it. He is an Adventurer through and through and we plan on finding a solution to end his current tribulation once the city is safe.”

Patricia glanced towards her before adding in a subtle message that Phoenix couldn’t quite interpret, unsure if it was meant to be reassurance or a warning, “Regent Phoenix is young and also an Adventurer but still only Crystal Caste. However, we are all here to offer our assistance to both the AOA and Duchy of Tulim in whatever way we can, based on our individual strengths and capabilities, of course.”

The director gave a curt nod and gazed at the assembled Waylands and their respective party members, as though taking mental notes of the additional forces they had to work with, and Duke Tul finally spoke up as well, “We are grateful for anything House Wayland can provide. As you’re aware Ambassador, our potion supply has been heavily depleted, not able to keep up with the demand, so your work at the Cultivator’s Citadel has been invaluable.”

The director focused once more towards Phoenix who was still standing and watching quietly, not offering up words of her own as the woman said pointedly, “I am also grateful for the fine Adventurers that have responded to our call. The enemy’s numbers have continued to grow over the course of our retreat…”

The director trailed off before admitting grimly, “Including more Emerald Casters that were spotted among their numbers. There are also nine more ships to still contend with. Based on their continued speed and trajectory we believe they will collide,” she pulled out a pocket watch to reference before adding, “Within the hour.”

“What do you mean by ‘collide’?” Patric asked from beside her.

“As in crash into each other,” Agatha answered bluntly, “The Soul Reapers have not decreased their moving speed and, after going through an entire mountain, we have reason to suspect they plan to do the same to our walls.”

The director once more leveled her gaze at Phoenix and said, “I don’t think I need to elaborate on how bad that would be and the fact that we cannot allow them to breach the walls lest we need to deal with even more casualties.”

Phoenix frowned at the woman’s words and the way the official seemed to be addressing her as though she might have some miraculous plan to offer up. She was very aware of the surrounding crowd of very important people belonging to other noble Houses and prominent organizations who were watching the group and listening to any scrap of the conversation they could eavesdrop on.

Trying her best not to instill some sense of false hope in everyone, she said cautiously, “We agree and are ready to fight in defense of the city, Director Trayvious, but like Patricia said, I’m still only Crystal Caste.”

The woman made an overt glance towards the Soul Mark emblazoned on her chest and said carefully, “True, Regent Wayland, but you are slightly more than just a Crystal Caster. I see you are the Champion’s Chosen as well now. Did she not offer aid in our time of need?”

She was uncertain for a moment about exactly how much she should share with the director about her bargain with the goddess but was saved from having to make the decision when shouts of alarm rang out from the south side of the roof and the city beyond it. 

There was a flurry of motion and concern as the Adventurers present all tried to react to the unknown threat when the source became apparent a moment later as they all felt the immense power of an Obsidian Caste aura.

Phoenix had never felt a mortal aura that powerful and she suddenly found herself wanting to train her own aura more, wondering if it could ever reach the potential of the one coming towards her now.

The owner of the aura quickly came into view, flying through the air at an insane speed with nine long fluffy tails trailing behind her. Then to the shock and awe of everyone present –and Phoenix’s absolute horror– the Obsidian Caster landed lightly in front of the redheaded Crystal Caster standing next to the director with her mouth gaping open.

The newcomer was a golden-colored voxen, even taller than Uriel, with long wavy blonde hair trailing down her back, and had a perfectly sculpted cream-colored face that held shocking ruby-red eyes. She wore snug-fitting white armor that was trimmed in gold that vaguely reminded Phoenix of a lighter version of Paul’s old conjured armor before he had rededicated to the Avenger.

The Obsidian beauty was only comparable to the goddesses that the Wayfarer had met with how perfectly proportioned and balanced her features were. When the stranger gave a broad grin that showed off a perfect set of white teeth, elongated canines included, she couldn’t help but think the woman would be the ideal model for every dental product on earth despite the vulpine appearance.

Of course, an Obsidian Caste voxen would be a freakin’ nine-tails! How insanely awesome is that?! 

Her random thought was interrupted when the woman greeted her brightly, “You’re Phoenix Wayland, yeah?”

She hesitated a moment in front of the stunning woman before responding with as much eloquence as she could muster at that moment, “Um… yes? I’m guessing you’re my loaned champion?”

The chipper Obsidian appeared as young as Phoenix when she gave a toothy smile and almost seemed to strike a pose as she placed her fists on her hips while announcing, “Here to save the day!”

“Well we could definitely use some saving,” Phoenix replied to the grinning woman who clearly had more energy than a chihuahua that heard a doorbell, “You seem a bit, um… confident though.”

“Yeah. I am,” the voxen replied simply, still smiling from ear to ear as she quickly glanced around to survey the gathered crowd of Adventurers. 

Then the strangest thing seemed to happen as the woman’s aura completely vanished from Phoenix’s senses and she felt a weird sense of dissonance as her aura could no longer perceive what her eyes told her was there. Phoenix hadn’t even realized how much she had become accustomed to her aura senses feeding her information about the people around her until this moment when it felt completely out of sync. 

When the stranger looked back at Phoenix and gave a wink, she added, “I’m an Obsidian Caste Sunlight Champion after all.”

“Riiiight…” Phoenix said uncertainly, still feeling disconcerted by the missing aura and the too-merry disposition of the woman. “Well, I would have said ‘good luck’ but I get the feeling that would come across as an insult to you.”

“Good instincts there,” the champion replied as her smile seemed to become slightly more predatory. Then the woman lifted a furred hand and pointed a thumb over at the city wall to the east, “Well, I’m going to go take care of that little problem over there real quick then we can have a nice long chat about how you managed to convince my goddess to send me all the way out here to help a little Crystal Caster, yeah?”

Phoenix flushed a bit at the reminder that she was way out of her league in the immense power gulf between them and that this woman, who most likely would never have even looked at her, was now tasked with helping her and protecting the city until the end of the war whether the Obsidian wanted to or not. 

She found herself wondering what kind of person –who reached the pinnacle of mortal power and gained immortality– would be willing to dedicate themselves to a god and then was further willing to lower themselves to be the bodyguard of a Crystal Caste nobody or, even worse, be willing to risk that immortality by fighting as a champion for others.

Despite her sudden nervousness, the stranger kept smiling and then rested a hand on Phoenix’s thin shoulder as she said, “I’m honestly dying to hear the story.” 

The newcomer paused as if reconsidering and added, “Not, like, literally, though,” then gave a short laugh, “I’m not a Paladin of the Champion because I go around dying all the time, ya know?”

“Actually, I can't say that I do,” Phoenix muttered distractedly, trying hard not to seem rude by removing herself from the tingly magical feeling the woman’s grip was giving her despite every instinct in her wanting to shy away from the power.

“Ooo, now I’m more interested,” the blonde replied with a mischievous smirk then turned away from the gathered group, “Well, I’ll be right back.”

“Wait!” Phoenix called out, subconsciously grabbing the woman’s arm to stop her from leaving. As the stranger pointedly glanced from her grip to her eyes with a raised brow, she awkwardly released the woman and sputtered, “Sorry. I, um… I just wanted to ask… What’s your name?”

This time the Obsidian Caster seemed to give her a genuine smile as the voxen replied, “I’m called Kara.”

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