Tale of Eldramir

After reaching the border of the territories still firmly under the control of the Morathi Alliance, the assembled Guilds and their allies, Mages and Scholars alike, were quick to integrate themselves into the forces that were there, while still retaining their autonomy as Guild Hunters rather than members of the different clans.

This created some tension at first, but when the local forces realized that there was no risk of losing territory to any of the Guilds, they were more open to receiving assistance. For the most part.

There were still many Hunters and Mages who felt as though their pride was being trampled on. But given their current situation, it wasn’t as if they had any ground to stand on.

Currently, Ezekiel and the rest had created a headquarters in the city furthest out from the central areas of the land controlled by the Alliance. In the distance, there was a distinct line that separated the two territories.

A large no man’s land that was several kilometers wide acted as the boundary between the Kindled and Alliance territories. One that was marked by specially made Artifacts that acted as markers to determine the official control of the Kindled faction’s forces.

Such things were unique to when the Empire was conquering new territory. They were necessary, else the Exalts would have no means of confirming the areas that they could fight in due to the contracts that limited their efforts to defensive purposes.

Against anything other than the Cruor, only territories that had been claimed by these markers for a certain amount of time could act as staging grounds for the Empire’s Exalts.

The army had been sitting for several days now. Outside of a few minor inclusions that were pushed back with ease, the Guild’s hadn’t truly faced any opposition.

It was something that made them wary, and the anxiety that was building up in many of them was beginning to boil over.

“Do you think there will be another attack soon?” Wendy asked as she stood on top of the city walls with Ezekiel and Riley. “Most of the Hunters are getting anxious, and there’s been talk about opening up a battle on our own. They’re saying that removing the markers will make things easier for us.”

Ezekiel couldn’t hold back a derisive snort as he continued to stare into the distance.

“They’re wrong,” he said with a shake of his head. “The markers are only used for a certain amount of time. They mark the furthest territory in which the Exalts can exert their force, but once the land they’ve claimed is consolidated, the markers are only visual. The magical aspects will have registered in the contracts the Exalts have sworn after enough time passes. Even if the markers were removed, the Exalts would still be able to fight without worry.”

“Then how do we push them back?” Wendy’s voice cracked with frustration and worry.

Ezekiel couldn’t blame her. He knew how anxious she was. It was a common factor at this point. Especially since the Lightning Exalt of the Empire had done a fly by once already.

It hadn’t been enough to do anything other than rattle some windows and blow some dust off the ground, but it had still caused some panic among the Hunters and Mages that were stationed here.

The presence of the enemy Exalt had made many feel worried. Especially since they knew that there was another Exalt hiding somewhere. One that had tried to kill Ezekiel several times now.

Fortunately, there was a plan in place that would hopefully get them some ground.

“We can push them back in two ways. The first is to kill their Exalt. At which point we’ll be able to steamroll the Empire’s forces, since they won’t have any means to fight back against our Exalt.” Ezekiel bit his thumb as considered his words. “This is not the ideal method, since it would mean weakening humanity of a force that isn’t a zealous cultist.”

‘The fact that you feel like you own Harras for his actions during the fight for Harkem also leaves the idea of killing him as undesirable.’ Shine piped in as Ezekiel considered the other options.

Ezekiel ignored them and continued.

“The other option is to destroy all the markers that have been placed. Obviously, this is difficult, since the number of markers isn’t exactly small. There’s at least a few thousand since they need to cover the entirety of the new border.” He thought back to the map that the families of the Morathi Alliance had provided when they arrived. The sheer number of markers that had marked the massive map was enough to make even Wolken curse.

As it was, the Morathi Region was now split in half. Meaning that the ten percent of Morathi that the Kindled family had previously controlled had grown by five hundred percent.

Prior to their arrival, the Guilds hadn’t known the exact situation. They had known that the Alliance had lost a fair bit of ground over the past several months, but not nearly half the region entirely.

“Would that even be possible? Can’t an Exalt cross the entirety of Morathi within a few hours?” Wendy was looking more and more despondent, and Ezekiel could tell that the other Hunters had been expressing their own dispirited condition. “I don’t think either of those options is feasible. Not if the Exalts can move fast enough to take us out before we can do enough.”

Ezekiel let out a sigh and turned around. But Riley was the first one to answer.

“Don’t doubt your brother or Exalt Wolken. Neither of them is stupid. They wouldn’t have led thousands of Hunters to do battle against the Hunter of the Empire and Kindled family if there was no hope of winning.” Riley had moved to wrap the younger girl in a comforting hug.

Ezekiel couldn’t help but smile as he saw this.

‘No matter how old she gets, she’ll still be my little sister.’ Ezekiel thought to himself before moving forward and wrapping the two ladies in a hug.

“Tell her about the other options,” Riley’s voice was muffled from how Ezekiel was holding onto her and Wendy. “We’ll be moving out soon, after all.”

Ezekiel pulled back and Wendy looked at him in confusion.

“It’s distasteful, but another option is to simply remove all opposition below the Mythic level. If there are no forces to hold the territory, then the Exalt will become spread too thin trying to defend multiple weak points at once. Holes will also open up in their forces, and the boundary will be peppered with openings that we’ll eventually be able to push through.”

Wendy seemed to think about it for a second, and Ezekiel could tell that she was slowly putting the pieces together. Though, he could also tell that she wasn’t confident about their chances.

“Wouldn’t that still have the issue of the two Exalts being able to push you back? Our forces could go in and get out, they’d be keeping an eye on Wolken’s movements. He’s the only one that could wipe out their weaker forces with any chance of getting away, and even then, if he’s too slow, he’ll get double teamed quite easily.” Wendy’s words made sense, but they didn’t consider one specific thing.

“That’s why I’ll be fighting with him.” Ezekiel puffed up his chest in pride when he said this. “I’m strong enough to be more of a match for at least a handful of Legendaries. Enough to cause distractions that will leave the enemy Exalts distracted for long enough to let Wolken do some damage. Especially since I’m a much bigger target than he is. At least according to the Cult.”

This had been the plan that he and Wolken had decided on. Hit and run tactics with one force or another acting as a distraction. It was well known that the Cult’s Exalt would go for Ezekiel every time. So, with that in mind, Wolken would be able to have a slightly more even chance of fighting since it would be one-on-one, rather than being double teamed.

“But that means that you’d be facing an Exalt by yourself!” Wendy’s eyes widened in fright at the thought. “Even if you’re right at the cusp, you’re still not a Mythical Being yet! Isn’t that just a death sentence?”

Ezekiel just smiled. It had taken some time, and a lot of meditation, but since they hadn’t been doing much but holding ground, he’d had plenty of opportunities to delve into his mind. He’d begun prying up the memories from his most recent enlightenment.

From that, he’d already figured out what his [Truth] was. Now he just had to tie it into his [Understanding] of the Void, then condense his mana into a physical form inside his body.

He would still need to figure out how to do that, but for now, he knew that he was even stronger than when he’d sparred with Wolken. He was now easily capable of taking out Legendaries that weren’t at the Peak of their Tier. Something that his sister wasn’t aware of yet.

“I promise you; I’ll be fine. I’ll mostly be running away anyways, so it’s not that big a deal.” In truth, Ezekiel hoped that the constant state of being at the edge of death would stress his soul enough to make him draw out the last few bits of enlightenment he needed to break through.

‘Don’t get too cocky. This plan is still incredibly risky.’ Shine’s words brought him back to earth, and he took a slow, deep breath to calm down his excitement.

‘You’re right, of course. I guess I’m just anxious as well.’ Ezekiel placed his hands on his sister’s shoulder. “I also won’t be alone, so rest assured that I won’t be taking unnecessary risks.”

Wendy still looked uncertain, but she appeared to be less reluctant than before to see Ezekiel leaving. Her hands were clenched, and Ezekiel could tell that she was conflicted.

“In all honesty, you won’t have time to be worried about me.”

Wendy snapped her head up in shock and confusion. “What do you mean?”

Ezekiel just smiled. “You’ll be acting with the scouting teams again. Though, you won’t be allowed to enter into enemy territory. You’ll mostly be dealing with deserters, Wild Spirits, and logistics that will be moving supplies to and from the front.”

A glint of excitement appeared in Wendy’s eyes. Her mood had been down due to the depressing atmosphere in the army. However, “Doesn’t that mean that I’ll be away from you and Riley even more?”

The two Legendaries sighed.

“Yes, but you’ll be protected, because we will not be letting you go anywhere without enough forces to get you out of trouble if you’re ambushed again.” This time Riley answered, which Ezekiel was thankful for.

He knew that things were getting to the point where his words were losing their meaning with his sister. Hopefully his girlfriend would have an easier time comforting her.

It was clear that the stress of the war was starting to wear on her, after all.

“For now, let’s go meet with Wolken. I think our first mission will be happening soon, and we need to get you moved as well.” Riley began leading Wendy away, and Ezekiel followed after them.

“Why am I moving? Won’t my missions be happening around here?” Wendy asked.

Ezekiel shook his head. With his ability to move between marked points with ease, his mobility was, in some ways, far greater than that of Tempest and Lightning magic. To the point that he would be going back and forth between different sides of the nation multiple times.

Since he could do that with himself and a few passengers, it would be better to secretly take his sister away from her last known position. That way the Empire would be less capable of using her against him. Something that was always an issue when your weak points were your loved ones.

‘Stop worrying. You’ve given her the upgraded pendant, right? We’ll be able to know where she is at all times. So, it would be best if you focused on what we’ll be doing tomorrow.’ Shine’s gentle reminder brought Ezekiel back to the present.

‘True enough. For now, we’ll try to get a few hours of meditation in before resting. I think we’ve managed to incorporate enough [Understandings] into my [Truth], so now it’s just a matter of figuring out how to condense my mana core.’

Shine silently sent their agreement through their bond with Ezekiel.

At this point, the only way he’d truly stop worrying about his sister would be if she was far away from here. But that wasn’t an option anymore since most of the Shroud family had proven untrustworthy.

‘Well... at least a few of them are alright...’ Ezekiel thought back to the final agreements that were made by Wolken. The contracts that had been put into place between the Shroud family and the Church in particular.

For now, all he could do was ensure she had an ample number of bodyguards he knew he could trust. Which, due to the Church’s presence, meant that there were a fair number available.

Now, all he needed to do was get ready for tomorrow’s slaughter.

----------

The next morning, several dozen kilometers away from the city where the Guilds under Ezekiel and Wolken’s direct command were stationed, a handful of Grand Scholars and Legendary Mages were gathered around in a circle.

Each of them was holding onto a circular Artifact that faintly glowed with a Luminescent light.

“Is everybody ready?” Ezekiel asked. Everybody nodded in reply, and Ezekiel surrounded the entire group with his [Domain]. A moment later, the Artifacts all brightly lit up with the Luminescent light that Ezekiel was now well known for.

The entire group found their surroundings changed to something completely different. Only for their surroundings to change again, and again, and again. This happened several hundred times over the course of a few minutes, until the group was well away from their original position.

“Status check!” Ezekiel called out, and the rest all began doing a quick physical check of themselves and their equipment.

They all confirmed that nothing was missing, and Ezekiel waved them off. Each one stored their Void Artifact in their Void Pouches.

One Hunter that was fully concealed by her clothing turned back to look at Ezekiel before heading off. Her hair was nearly twice as long as it was before, and her clothing was distinctly that of the Shroud family. With the family’s emblem and other specially made equipment. A small owl was nestled on her shoulder, but its plumage patterns were strange and seemed to almost be striped.

“Be safe,” Ezekiel said, unheard by anyone else due to his magic.

“I will be.” A light and childish voice replied, also unheard due to Ezekiel’s magic. She then turned and ran to catch up to the Scholars and Mages.

Ezekiel remained still for a few seconds. He refused to take his eyes off his sister until she was out of sight.

‘Ezekiel, we need to go,’ Shine said. ‘Your sister will be fine. The Artifacts and disguise that were given to her will keep her safe. The best thing we can do is keep her away from you. At least for now.’

Though he was still wary of trusting anything the Shroud family did, the fact that they were bound by contracts to ensure that his sister could safely hide using the identity of a Shroud family member was a boon. Especially since she was officially acting as a liaison with the Church of Ten. So, her actual superiors were people that Ezekiel knew and trusted.

‘George, Fiana, and Marc will keep her safe. As will the rest of the Church.’

With those final words from Shine, Ezekiel finally turned around and pulled out a large chain with several of the Artifacts that the other had carried attached to it. The world shifted as he disappeared.

‘Remind me to do something good and expensive for those three. It’s bad enough we didn’t get a chance to meet up on our journey here. Now they’re keeping my sister safe when that’s supposed to be my job.’ He thought back to everything those three had done for him, and he had only been able to briefly meet up with them once or twice before they split up the army at the Shroud family compound.

He’d have to treat them after this was done. But for now, he had targets to kill.

----------

Hidden beneath his [Shroud] Ezekiel had entered the territory of the Empire.

He was several kilometers past the official Imperial land marker. As such, Harras would be able to fly directly to his position and take him out in moments if he got here before Ezekiel left.

‘There it is,’ Ezekiel spoke to Shine while he looked down at the base that was just a few hundred meters away. ‘Spirits... we haven’t done something like this since we were fighting back in Tarquessa, and that was years ago.’

‘Hopefully they haven’t managed to incorporate defenses that will actually work against us,’ Shine replied. ‘But I guess it doesn’t matter.’

Ezekiel couldn’t help but agree. If the cult of the Empire had successfully made defenses against them, it would make this plan a great deal harder to fulfill than they had expected it to be.

However, he also knew that there was no going back. This was the only option they had in order to keep the odds even until he broke through, and they could risk fighting Exalts Harras and Endaria directly. With that in mind, he silently moved forward. His [Domain] surrounded him and kept him aloft as he freely manipulated gravity to float as he [Telekinetically] flew toward the base’s walls.

A [Jump] later, and he was floating on the inside of the defensive formations that covered the base. Moving toward the central building, he could tell that there were currently three Legendary Hunters sitting inside, with another four in different areas of the base.

Utterly hidden behind his spells, Ezekiel entered and hid behind the Legendary Hunters. None of them had donned their Spirit Armor.

‘... This feels like bullying... They’re not even in the upper Steps.’ Ezekiel couldn’t help but lament the difference in power between himself and his current targets.

They were the strongest Hunters in this base, but they were at least four Steps beneath him.

Silently sighing in disappointment, he charged up a [Void Slash] and immediately decapitated all the Hunters with one swing. A second swing killed their stunned Spirits, but a moment later the air was filled with a shrill ringing sound.

Looking more closely at the dead Hunters, Ezekiel found the source of the noise.

‘Deadman switch alarm Artifacts... I’m somewhat impressed.’ Ezekiel mused with a raised eyebrow. ‘Well, we have at least ten minutes before any reinforcements get here. That should be enough time to finish things.’

The wall exploded, and Ezekiel found his [Shroud] shattering, even though he slid around the massive warhammer that flew directly at him. The small, glancing blow that nicked his armor nearly sent him flying, but the [Force Redirect] was enough to prevent it.

‘I don’t know if this guy even knows enough about his [Understanding] to actively enforce it.’ Ezekiel observed the Hunter who had flown into the room when they turned to block with a large tower shield.

However, his eyes widened when he saw Ezekiel’s opalescent armor in more clarity.

Ezekiel saw the man’s body turn to run, but he wasn’t about to let that happen.

Instead, Shine lit up in bright white light that briefly flickered between pure white and opalescent white. Then, Ezekiel [Slung] himself forward, increasing his momentum, and Shine pierced the man’s back and exited through his chest.

Ezekiel then used his reinforced strength to rip Shine out through the man’s side. Blood splattered onto the ground outside the hole he had made. Right as the last three Legendaries arrived to provide aid. Their original distance from the main building was the only reason they were a few seconds slower than the Cavern Hunter that slammed through the wall.

‘That’s one Radiant Hunter from the Kindled family, one Flame Hunter that’s from the Empire, and one Glacial Hunter from the Cult.’ Shine’s observation helped Ezekiel to focus.

‘Radiant first. He’s the fastest.’ Ezekiel [Jumped] behind the Radiant Hunter. He flipped through the air the moment he arrived, since the man had lashed out with his tail. A rarely seen addition to Spirit Armor that Ezekiel hadn’t fought before.

The small dagger held by the tail was also enchanted to the point that the Runes were almost too powerful for it. Ezekiel could tell that it would probably be strong enough to cut through even his Spirit Armor with little to no effort. It might even get through if he was fully reinforcing it.

A sudden flare of mana filled the area, and Ezekiel found himself blinded and reliant on he other senses for several seconds.

“Alert the others!” The Flame Hunter screamed as his body was covered in a flaming tiger.

He punched toward Ezekiel and brought two massive paws raking down Ezekiel’s body. Only for a sudden pulse of force to push Ezekiel backward. A swift kick to the Flame Hunter’s face sent him reeling back into the building.

The next second saw him throwing a dagger at the Radiant Hunter who had yet to flee. Instead, it seemed like they were intent on holding their ground and taking Ezekiel out.

Their tail flicked upwards to deflect it, but the knife disappeared and reappeared right in the Hunter’s face. Tilting their head to the side, the dagger left a gash in the Hunter’s helmet. A trickle of blood showed that it had cut fairly deep.

Ezekiel took the chance to charge forward, intent on finishing the Radiant Hunter, only for his movements to suddenly slow down. A sudden chill seeped into his body, and he focused on the Glacial Hunter for a moment.

‘Damned Cultists,’ Ezekiel thought while he channeled his [Nothingness] to cancel out the magic being used on him. His movements sped back up, and he slammed into the building next to the Flame Hunter. The Radiant Hunter having moved in the brief second that Ezekiel had been stalled.

‘Did you mark him?’ Ezekiel asked Shine. He received a sense of pride and accomplishment in return. ‘Good. Then our options are more open.’

Lashing out to the side, he changed his focus to the Flame Hunter. With his experience from sparring with Riley, who was significantly stronger, he was able to make quick work of the Imperial Hunter.

The man tried to send Ezekiel back with a wave of fire, but Ezekiel could tell that it took up far more mana than the Hunter was used to using. The fact that the man’s body slumped from exhaustion made it obvious.

Ezekiel easily cut through the fire, while the Glacial and Radiant Hunters flinched back. Their own defenses weren’t enough to get away without a few minor burns.

The Flame Hunter, seeing Ezekiel charging at him, hastily raised his arms, which Ezekiel now noticed had enchanted bracers on them. They were obviously enchanted for defensive purposes.

But they were of no match for Ezekiel, who cut through them with Shine as easily as cutting paper. The Flame Hunter's hands, and part of his arms, fell to the ground. He let out a pained yell, but a second swing from Ezekiel took off his head.

The temperature of the area immediately fell, and Ezekiel turned to see something interesting.

“Die! Anathema!” The Glacial Hunter shrieked in rage and hatred. But that’s not what caught Ezekiel’s attention.

It was the fact that her entire body seemed to have become frozen. A thick layer of frost and icy mist emanated from her body, and Ezekiel felt a faint sense of danger coming from her.

Not bothering to spare any words, Ezekiel [Jumped] and came up beside her, rather than behind.

As she swung her weapon, a short spear wielded with one hand, she hit nothing but air, as Ezekiel was now behind her. Shine was now inches away from her neck when their momentum was stopped. Frozen in the air as Ezekiel seemed stuck.

A burst of [Nothingness] allowed him to move again. But a layer of ice stopped him from cutting straight through the Glacial Hunter’s neck. Instead, the ice shattered, and she tumbled through the air before hitting the ground.

‘Did you mark her as well?’ Ezekiel received another feeling of confirmation as Shine focused on maintaining the marks they had placed on the two Legendary Hunters.

He dropped as the Radiant Hunter tried to wrap him up in their tail. But when he thought he was out of the way, he felt something wrap around his neck. A hidden whip made of segmented blades, one that had been made invisible, had coiled around him.

His body reinforced itself, but he could feel the blades biting into him. A beeping sound was suddenly heard as Ezekiel fought against the whip.

‘Damn! We’re out of time,’ he mentally exclaimed.

‘I thought we’d have a bigger window than this.’ Shime complained as they helped Ezekiel exert some force. ‘I guess Endaria was closer? No more playing around now.’

Ezekiel agreed, and his [Domain] grew far more solid. His opponents found themselves moving far more slowly than before, as Ezekiel infused his [Domain] with [Force Redirect] to disperse their movements.

‘Moving forward, we start with this.’ Ezekiel [Reinforced] himself and stabbed forward. The Radiant Hunter turned into a flash of light and flew into the distance. Finally running away from the hopeless situation.

Ezekiel didn’t care, however, and just flew toward the utterly frozen Glacial Hunter. He could feel her [Will] and magic fighting against him, but she was only in the middle Steps, and her [Will] was far below his own. Although, his [Will] was at the edges of the fifth Tier when he was an Adept, so the comparison wasn’t that fair.

A full body swing, enhanced with [Reinforcement], [Void Slash], and [Nothingness] shattered the ice that she had summoned to defend herself. Her head came flying off a moment later.

Ezekiel dispersed his [Domain] allowing the body to fall to the ground.

‘That used up far more mana than I wish it had.’ His Spirit ignored his complaint as they homed in on the retreating Radiant Hunter.

A second later, they [Jumped] in front of the fleeing Radiant Hunter, who had managed to get well beyond their usual sensory range but was still tied to them from the marking that Shine had put on them via their thrown dagger.

They slammed into Shine, who Ezekiel was holding out in front of himself, and was pierced straight through the chest. The Kindled family’s hunter coughed up some blood, but Ezekiel simply ripped Shine up and out, nearly bisecting them before throwing their body to the ground.

Ezekiel didn’t spare the corpse a second glance before [Slinging] back to the base and beyond, to where the marker was. A swing of his sword destroyed it without issue.

A few minutes later, after he had thoroughly destroyed the base, he disappeared.

When Endaria arrived just a few minutes later, seeing the corpses and destroyed base, she let out an earth-shaking scream of rage.

----------

Far away from the base that Ezekiel had just demolished, he reappeared within a group of Legendaries and Adepts that were waiting for him. Each one held a copy of the Artifacts he had made and used by the last group he had met just like this.

“Is it done? Do you realize how stupid it was to think you could do this by yourself?” Riley asked as she held her hands on her hips while glaring at her boyfriend. “You ready to let us help you now?”

For his part, Ezekiel knew he was pushing things when he insisted that he at least try to do this by himself. But he really thought that the pressure would’ve been good for him. But, at least in this instance, there was little to no gain beyond the expected results.

“Let’s go,” he said to the group Hunters.

With their Void Artifacts in hand, the entire group disappeared. Headed off to another base, the first on a very long list that would, hopefully, be completed before Wolken needed to step in.