Light spilled into the city of Valdasta, the sun having climbed just above the horizon. Unlike the other cities of Matron's Hallow, this one held walls high enough to block out intruders, as this was once a fortress of great importance, and soon would be again.
The cool morning air fell on hot skin as two Mordecai stood before a little girl, the fate of Connoloath changing with this particularly explosive point in history.
"Heretic!" Mason shouted at her, his words so hateful it ignored all stereotypes, even the fact that he yelled this at a girl of no more than 12 did not phase him. The mageslayer wrapped in white and clad with steel breastplate and steel leggings, though less impressively equipped than other Mordecai, was an important one. He is a product of a Fae and a Connoloathian. While being half Fae is not inherently special, this granted him the rare gift of Adharaism; this gift was previously thought to be absolutely impossible for males to have. Mason dreams of one day finding his parents, and telling them exactly how wrong they were to leave a prodigy like him to fend for himself; He dreams of one day telling them how utterly stupid they were, and if it hasn't been made clear, he resents his parents vehemently for abandoning him. He has been highly viewed by his superiors and by nobles because of his powers, although to some extent they all hate him, because he' has quite a knack for pissing people off.
Mason drew his broad sword, with a simple design of a flat wide blade extending three feet. The light played on it as he pointed it towards her, "Renounce these claims or be judged!"
The little girl smiled at him, "Are you not afraid of my blades?" It was true, the king's swords had some of the most intimidating craftsmanship of any blade, and the carvings cause many to stay at least 20 feet from her.
"You can hardly lift the damnable things." he growled angrily, she was testing his patience, and in spite of his foster mother, he is not a patient man. "Renounce these claims or be judged!" he shouted one last time.
The unusually quiet Mordecai at his side nodded. She knew where this was going, and drew her own estoc. Her rapier was far longer than most would think a rapier should be, with a strong base and a long blade, this six foot blade is longer than most other rapiers by a whole foot. There was a reason she was paired with Mason, though he himself doesn't even know it. She is the daughter of a noble particularly well known for having made love with a mage, though her mother had renounced magic. She was proud of her mother's stance against magic in spite of being born into it, so proud in fact, that she swore to always give magic-user's a chance to redeem themselves. If they refuse, she kills them, but always prays for their soul.
Her blade shimmered as sharply as her eyes, though it was clear her eyes were scarier. "It is not too late for redemption." she spoke softly, a shaky yet hating tone ringing in her tone, in spite of her efforts.
"No, it is not too late." the little girl responded, "Redeem yourselves and point those blades towards The Holy Kingdom of Connoloath's enemies, rather than at her savior."
Her weapons drew from their sheathes, and the Mordecai took a step back in sheer shock. "Wh-...what?!" Mason yelped, more involuntarily than not. The girl held her ground,
"You will be slain, monster!" she shouted in defiant rage, clearly more defensive than prideful. She had her doubts either of them will survive this.
"Heretic!" was the only thing he heard before turning to see a gathering crowd nearby. Curious George made way through the barriers of flesh that impeded his vision of the event, and he found himself facing two armed soldiers –probably Mordecai- and gasped in awe as the man in shining steel armor withdrew his broadsword. Will's eyes marveled over such a beautiful blade, he only wished it was his. The woman standing next to the man then drew her own rapier, but it just wasn't the type of blade that interested William, his eyes were slanted on the large sword that was carried by the former.
Regardless, something just didn't seem right. The man who seemed heroic in Will's eyes was pointing his blade –not at a monster, but at a child even younger than himself. He fringed his brows together in disapproval but he couldn't bring himself to act. The matters of their kingdom were not to be interrupted by mere commoners, especially little ones with no glory or honor to his name; but it was still just a little girl and they seemed about to execute her. William didn't know why, but for some reason he felt the need to help this young girl.
Unfortunately, his sword had been left behind. His feet moved him anyway and he rushed in-between the purging blades and the defenseless girl. "Stop!" He cried with arms extended protectively to either side. "She's just a girl!" he closed his eyes, not wanting to see the impending doom that waited his guts. He didn't know why they were attacking her nor why they called her a monster. But he couldn't just stand and watch. Usually, he would, but for some odd reason fate had caused him to act.
Two figures is black cloaks watched over the event, though they were not together nor were they even close to one another. One was a giant figure who did his best to conceal himself, though he was crouching, he could still see over the heads of others. The other barely stood out in the crowd, even in the broad daylight it seemed nothing could penetrate the shadows cast over his face by the hood. Both knew of the fate of anyone with a hint of magic, this girl was no different, however, both became rather interested when the girl drew her blade then called herself the country's savior.
As the ten blades, almost with a mind of their own, swirled around the young girl in a vortex of steel, a young boy came between the two. "Move aside!" Aio commanded, her voice carrying through the town with a holy thunder. Mason steeled himself, his breathing still irregular as he focused on the boy. "This boy..." he thought, "this boy would make a fine soldier. He can't be in the way."
Mason moved forward, his blade still drawn, and he faced the man who stood between him and the fake goddess. Mason, though appearing as calm as the Mordecai could in the face of Connoloath's future, was worried about the spinning blades. I mean, they're spinning blades... The female Mordecai's eyes sharp and fixed on the girl, completely ignoring the boy's existence. This is why she became a Mordecai. This is why she never lost, gave up, or cried. This is the culmination of her life, defeating a demon.
Mason laid his hand on the boy's shoulder, "Look beyond you child, that is the face of a little girl, the face of innocence. Stare into her eyes, though, see her for what she really is. A shell for a demon. Stand aside, and let us, the heroes of Connoloath take care of this, and I pray to Ansgar you one day honor him with your blade." He was used to giving flowery speeches like this, after all, for a Mordecai, he had become something of a public speaker in situations like this.
Aio moved forward, the little girl finally ready to battle. One thought hung in her mind, "May your will be done." "May your will be done. "May your will be done." "May your will be done." Like drumbeat, it rhythmically repeated in her mind. The loveliest music possible. Her blades ten distorted the sight around them, almost like an invisible barrier had taken hold of them. The King's Blades were finally prepared to battle, and this child gave them enough time to be readied.
William shuddered when he felt that strong hand land on his shoulders. He couldn't dare look as he expected to be thoroughly gutted on the spot –or even decapitated; not that he has ever seen such a sadistic Mordecai in his life, but he still felt like it was coming. His racing heart, though, was put at ease with the comforting voice of the man standing before him. Will turns under request to face the little defenseless girl, but she didn't seem very defenseless now with those spinning blades that filled the air with the sound of steel. He gasped and staggered back in surprise. "Magic-User" he murmured. After seeing what was truly going down, William came to side with the Mordecai, whom were wrongly accused by first impressions of a benighted child. Slowly, William returned to the crowd where it felt safe and watched Connlaoth's heroes face off against the demon girl.
The larger cloaked figure, Jax, had no intention of intervening. Who was he to meddle in the affairs of this nation. Based on his appearance, he might become the next target. However, it was still very concerning to him that she told the Mordecai to point his sword at Connloath's enemy. Was she trying to start a war?
The other cloaked figure, Raiden, had a vastly different plan. He calmly walked up to the edge of the crowd and grabbed each of the present Mordecai, even those standing in the crowd not wanting to get involved, with his telekinetic power and lifted them into the air then he walked out to face the girl. "You will stop your attack." His deep voice echoed, amplified by one of his Denzien abilities. "Then you will say by who's authority you have called youself savior." Then he turned to the Mordecai who were engaging the young girl. "And all of you. What if this girl was indeed Connloath's savior? You were about to doom your nation. Have you never considered the possibility? Think of it this way, not even demons are so daft to show their power in the cities of Connloath, least of all a large city like Valdasta. The Mordecai garrison here is what? Seventy-five fearless souls." He turned back to the girl. "Start with your name then go from there." He had yet to remove his hood, no one could see his face, no one could see the tattoo that marked him as an Asgardian, though he doubted he could keep it hidden for long.
Aio eyed the man awhile longer. Silence hung as she failed to answer for a full two minutes, then her eyes shot with a look of understanding. She gathered herself as the blades pointed back towards the little girl, then shot back into their sheathes. "I am Ansgar, and it is by Connoloath's authority that I name myself savior. These Mordecai would have done nothing to doom Connoloath; they cannot match me sword for sword." her words echoed as Raiden's did.
Her form shifted as she made a slow walk towards him, careful not to provoke another fight. "I'm not interested in pointless duels, why I am here is to lift the darkness from Connoloath's eyes. She stands a tarnished country, accepting trade with magic-users and dragonriders. We were never to associate ourselves with them, where has the teachings gone?!" Aio turned to the crowd and gazed across them, "Is this right?! We may not use magic ourselves, but trading for magically crafted goods is no better! Trading for crops that were grown with magic is no better! We should not accept this, we should not lower ourselves to them! Connoloath deserves more, she deserves purity!" At the last word, her head shot to the god. The silence of the crowd broken into harsh whispers.
The Mordecai said nothing after the speech, unsure of what to make of it. A witch hating magic users? Something is terribly wrong here, and it was clear that this one was not like the others. This one intended to trick Connoloath into self-destruction, and Mason's eyes deepened into a rage. He held his tongue though, for as long as he was immobilized by this intervening bastard.
Everything happened so fast before the eyes of William as the Mordecai flew into the air. For a moment, he thought it was doing of the demon girl, but then a cloaked man revealed himself from amongst the crowd. Pitch black shadows sheathed his identity from curious eyes and only his voice was heard. He had convinced the demon to withdraw and a drop of sweat began to roll down Will's face as everything unfolds before him; defenseless Mordecai floating in the air and two magic-users, immune to the power of Mordecai, facing each other in the center of attention. William looked to either side, but everyone was stoned and froze on the spot without the slightest intent of intervening. After-all, what could they do against such magic? They would only provoke the Mages into sending them to join the Mordecai. Will clenched his hands; only if he had his sword... he thought.
What came next was news to William. The girl had named herself Angsar. Will always thought their god would be a man and although what she said made sense in accordance to the teachings, William wasn't sure whether it was correct; instead, he turned to the rest of the crowd and judging from their reaction, he'd determine whether she was wrong or right. One man amongst the crowd called out a seemingly valid point; something which Will had pondered if only briefly within the recesses of his mind. "Assuming you were Angsar, why would our god wield magic?"
William fringed his brows as he got his brain working. He made quite a good point. From birth, Will had been flooded with teachings of Angsar; how he was a man –perhaps the first Mordecai, whom drove the Magic-Users away. They went on and on about how Mages were poor cursed souls with the burden of magic and the temptation of using it. Yet, here she was, their God –not only Mage but Magic-User, succumbed to the dark temptation of artificial power. More began to whisper amongst the crowd and draw out conclusions.
Raiden looked down to the young girl and spoke quietly, so only she could hear. "I know you are not Angsar. I know Angsar, he is one of my few allies. He serves under the GrandSouls. I have no love for the GrandSouls so let's see who has the sharper tongue." He turned to face the growing crowd, he could hear their whisperings. They had a point, one that he would use to his advantage.
"A lot of you are asking why Angsar would use magic, well I will tell you. Magic is the future! And your god realizes that. Every nation but Connloath has accepted magic. And every nation but Connloath has prospered. You suffer defenselessly from famines and plagues while all other nations are able to fight it. Don't you see? Angsar has realized her mistake and has chosen to return and help you build a better future. One with magic. You are a super power in this world without it. Imagine how prosperous and how powerful all of Connloath would be. Every nation would bow to you. Every nation would serve the almighty nation of Connloath!" The people weren't cheering but he could see his words were taking affect, he could see the the doubt spreading across their face.
Anger flashed in her face, "Righteous anger." her mind exploded, light arching across her fingers as she almost lost control and attacked. "No!" she shouted, and leaned up to him on her tip toes, ensuring he heard this and none other, "I may not be Ansgar, Asgardian, but the 'Goddess' speaks to me, and this is Her will. Do not interfere with powers higher than your own." her words were sharp as her ever-blazing anger. Aio took a step back and gazed over the crowd, "He speaks lies! What I have is the next step in a Mordecai's power, the next step in cancelling evil magics like his!" with those words she shot her palm, gathered with all her psychic energy, at the trapped Mordecai. Unless Jax was focusing all his might into keep the weaklings where they belonged, her counter-psychic-attack would surely free them.
Even had the freeing spell worked, people were curious, they were unsure and confused. This was a delicate matter and each and every single one knew it. This was the history of Connoloath in the making. Whether she's a magic user or not will not change the fact that it's clearer now more than ever that she will become a booming debate for everyone from scholars to farmers. Many people have claimed to be Ansgar, and many have claimed to be magic users of ferocious power, but never has a magic user been so unafraid of the Mordecai and so unafraid of showing their power in public. Never has a little girl wielded such magical power.
She opened her mouth again, this time it boomed with the psychic voice, and of the holy voice, giving a sound of harmonic anger, "I am female because Adharaism is the only path to unlocking the true psychic potential given to US, the chosen ones! The ones who are to wipe away the taint and cleanse this planet! We are given the tools to stand, we are given the willpower to defend! WE MUST FIGHT, OR DIE UNHOLY MEN!" This time, she did not yell to each side of the crowd, though her voice was easily loud enough for the entire town to hear, thus they came and the crowd grew larger. Mordecai joined and quickly surrounded her, separating the two gods from the civilians. Aio's voice, in all its "righteous fury", was pointed directly at Jax, making his hood fly off.
The young demon girl definitely had a way with words. It was the way she took ordinary words and formed them in a way to express such exotic things like cleansing the world. But more importantly, with every phrase she preached, William was slowly engulfed into the lie and began to believe it himself. Just forcing one of the Mordecai to lower was proof enough and his heart rate would accelerate and he cringed under the loud voice that encompassed the area and reverberated. At first, he hesitated, but everyone around him was walking and cheering beside their new ostensible goddess and he soon joined them.
Raiden let the Mordecai down, gently as to make it seem that she was the one who did it, because now he had a different tactic. Walking up to the front of the young girl, he squat so that they were at eye level. Very quietly, he spoke to her. "If the 'goddess' talks to you then you surely know who I am and why I would be a grave enemy, you are obviously planning war so I warn you, I can be the one that demoralizes and destroys armies. Or I can be the one that leads your army to a complete and total victory with barely any casualties. So you decide. do you want a proud fearless army? or do you want a fearful and broken army?" And with that, he was gone.
OOC While Jax is in the scene he will be rather inactive for a while. feel free to continue the story without me
The little girl smirked as he vanished. He may have just offered her destruction, but he offered help in the same sentence. She was never good with people, but she assumed the Goddess had a plan for that. She always did. Still, there were more pressing matters. "Now you die!" the Mordecai Mason drew his blade. "I am not amused by your little speech! If you're truly Ansgar, then you can beat me without your silly little witchcraft!" The little Ansgar stared at him, accepting his challenge, "Very well. I will defeat you bare handed." her tone rung brightly with derogatory deceit. "You...-" he was cut off by a completely new look for his partner.
She dashed at the fake god with the might and fury as Ansgar himself, her body moving almost completely without mind and purely on anger and will. Her speed was unmatched, and many of the lesser trained men of the crowd couldn't even keep track of her, though they saw the next part as clear as crystal. In a flash, the blade had missed its stab, then missed again as she flung it sideways towards the little one, only to have the hand holding it met with another, and her left pulled out by the girl's left. In just under a second, both of the Mordecai's arms had been snapped like a twig, leaving her defenseless.
"That was quick," the goddess sneered. "Stand down, I have no desire to kill those weaker than myself." The girl spat at the fake goddess, "I will not fail!" she yelped, half in the sheer pain from her bones stabbing her innards, and half in unrivaled anger. Her legs flung towards the little one, though it missed and the try-hard Mordecai fell face first. The other Mordecai in the ring were confused, though they immediately closed in. The goddess stepped on the female Mordecai's spine, shattering it. As the Mordecai approached, Mason shouted, "Stand down, Mordecai!" his commanding voice forcing them to a halt, even though they didn't know Mason's rank. "It is my job to avenge my partner, or I will die trying!"
"Unlikely." the girl countered. "I have no intentions of bloodying my hands further. You may attempt to overcome me, though." her words came out in another conceited, yet bored, tone. 'I have defeated a Mordecai with my bare hands, and you still doubt my birthright?! I am Ansgar and I will defeat this Mordecai and every Mordecai here with my bare hands! I will defeat EVERYTHING Connolaoth is foolish enough to send at me! Anything so she can see the truth!" her voice of gods appeared yet again, the double harmonious holy and psychic shout reaching through the town.
Bump.
(Wasn't planning to post cause I didn't really have anything more to contribute. I thought someone else would post, but here goes... xP)
Everything was going so fast and he could barely follow their conversation with such fancy words and phrases. It was then that his heart raced like many others and seemed to skip across an ocean of water when one of the Mordecai had begun to intercept their 'Goddess'. Her movements were so swift and quick that their reactions occurred a minute after it was too late. He gasped, first astonished and awestruck, but then from fear and pitty.
Will covered his eyes, but temptation drew his fingers aside and from the parted crevasse in his hands, the chauvinistic girl had readily and effortlessly snapped the woman's arms –both of them. Dilated eyes slanted, not a soul spoke, not a sound amongst the crowd; only fear and silence overwhelmed their hearts. And it would not end there for the remaining Mordecai would soon join the fray. Who could stop this? Whose side was he in? He moved to Ansgar's side, but was she truly who she claimed to be? William couldn't help but believe her words, everyone else seemed to believe, and her abilities really did incline what she appeared.
"Someone, please, stop this!" a woman cried and broke the silence amongst the crowd. If she was Ansgar, could she not settle everything without bloodshed and violence? Could she not revive the fallen? Heal the injured? Purify the tainted souls of Mages like he had done once before? Could she not persuade?
Will clenched his hands into a tight and nervous fist. He closed his eyes. He was afraid. He had already made a spectacle of himself not very long ago, and once again he found himself defending the little girl. "STOOOOOOOP!" he yelled, though he didn't leave the crowd. That first scream had done it. His body was shaken and his voice trembled.
Mason growled at the wench, his volcanic anger erupting once more, and once more it ignored all logic. With his sword held in both hands, gripped so tightly he was damaging his own skin, he shouted at the goddess, "Revive her then! Show us all you can! SHOW US ALL YOUR POWERS!"
The goddess shook her head and kicked the dead Mordecai on her back, "I would never kill a Mordecai. However, for her acts against me, she can no longer move. I will heal her when she ceases her attack on Connolaoth's future. Bring me your sick and injured, and I will bring you the bright glory of the Heavens, but bring me your devils, and I will bring you the fist of righteous judgment." Her words proud as a lion's, the goddess knew in heart and soul, she could do no wrong.
Mason shouted inaudibly and charged her, his blade was held forward and slightly down, ready to slice her in life. The girl easily avoided his slash and met with a strikeback. The Mordecai easily blocked her palm with his blade, which... cracked the blade. Mason ignored it and sliced sideways, met by another palm, shattering it, then followed up with a kick that shot him half a yard backwards. "Are we done? I'd rather not hurt you further."
"What happened to righteous judgment?!" Mason screamed explosively her.
The fake Ansgar smiled back at him, "You will one day repent."
Will gasped. Bewildered eyes stared at the sidelines as the brave Mordecai charged forward to defend what he believed was right. Jaws were wide open, the blade cracked and then crumbled by the palms of the little girl. William watched, awestruck, as a single kick propelled the man back and away. He stood no chance against her. But he shouldn't be punished. He wanted what he believed was right for Connloath, surely, Angsar could understand; but the man only needed to surrender.
"Stop it!" William yelled at last, somewhat shaken –not only because of the events that had just unfold, but because he had already foolishly called out attention. This time, though, the foolish one was that man still trying to win a losing battle. "Don't you see you can't beat her?" he screamed. He always spoke about slaying mages, but apparently, William never knew what 'slaying' truly was. This side of fighting was beyond him. His views of fighting were more disguised –but this was the ugly truth.
The crowd was silent.