The Greatest Sin

“We will raze them to the ground, burn their homes, kill every man, woman and child. Then salt the earth so nothing grows, their land will become a besmirched blister of cursed soil so future generations know what it means to go against the Goddess of War.”

• Great War Era, Kassandora’s reaction upon finding out Great Guguo had joined the war.

Kassandora watched the mountain emerge slowly from the horizon for a minute or two. The Sun was still high in the sky, but it had crested its zenith already. Unfavourable, she didn’t want to fight in the night, that was always harder than in the day when commands could be given. She pulled her vision away and quickly closed the distance to the men in the radio. They saw her expression and moved out of the way. She picked up one man’s steel headphones, they were made for mortal, too small to fit on her head, so she just held one to her ear and talked into the microphone as she turned back to the map. “Station South, about three thirty degrees from your location.” She clicked again. “Station North, about two-ninety degrees. Look and give reports; degrees and ranges. Over.”

A response came back immediately, in tone that was low-quality but still understandable. “Station North reporting, we see it at two-eighty-four. Rangefinders indicate thirty three miles. Over.” The man switched off his broadcast from the other station as Kassandora lay out a line on the map. These plastic tools were much better than the strings they had used in the past.

“Station South reporting. Degrees are three-forty-one. Range at twenty-eight miles. Over.” Kassandora laid out another location on the map and kept talking. “Binturong teams One and Two. Reverse your vehicles. Send coordinates.” Kassandora turned to the two radio operators by her side. “Prepare calculations, triangulate the location with our coordinates, give leeway for the ninety-second travel time of shells then send them over.” She clicked the microphone again. “Binturong team Three, move down onto the hill south of your location.” She looked up at the distance, team three was visible, the eight vehicles and the two dozen or so ammunition trucks behind them and judged the distance by sight. “Some two klicks. Over.”

Ekkerson replied swiftly, the Binturongs started to turn and kick up red dust in the dirt. “Team three copies, rolling out, over.” Kassandora took the radio over again.

“Airbase, are the planes ready? Over”

Another garbled tone replied, this was another good lesson. Don’t go cheap on the radios. “Ready as they can be. Over.”

“Warm the engines, get the pilots in and standby. We’ll want you in the air in…” She looked at the behemoth on the horizon. “Twenty minutes, don’t take off without my confirmation.”

“Copy, pilots will be ready.” The man replied. Kassandora clicked and flicked the switch to the microphone to the open channel.

“All units, all units, this is Kassandora. The Caretaker has arrived, I repeat, the Caretaker has arrived. Prepare for combat.” She flicked it off and put the microphone back on the desk. The headphones were thrown to the man who had given them her, he caught them and walked to the cliffside again as she looked out over her army.

It wasn’t grand, barely a thousand men if the cordon Clerics weren’t included, and even with them, it was only three thousand. Back then, she had been responsible for millions of souls serving underneath her. But still… what if one never got the simple joy of commanding barely a battalion, they would never understand what it meant to command Legions.

Binturong teams One and Two rotated their artillery. Guns were raised into the air as her radio operators gave out commands and signals, distances, the direction and speed of the wind, everything and anything needed for shooting. The vehicles had their cabins pointed away from the Jungle as they aimed their barrels high. The trucks and cars around also started to rotate, already snakes of men for handing and loading ammunition had arranged themselves, each battery stood with their command pick-up in the middle.

“Do we have the Caretaker’s speed?” A soldier by edge of the cliff, in a heavy coat and with a sword on his belt, pulled his head away from the rangefinder on the tall tripod.

“Seventy two kilometres an hour! About twenty metres a second!” That was faster than expected, Kassandora had hoped it would be slower than the Binturongs, she had planned around it being lightning fast. Kassandora waved for him to return.

They waited for a while as the giant got closer, it was still on the horizon, only now coming into view. She heard shouts from some of the men on the ground as they finally saw its head. A blast of energy appeared around Fer as she powered up, that was one canteen of Kassandora’s blood down. Kavaa’s blessing came down on the forces so quickly even Kassandora felt it from her hill. A flood of joyous energy and health, they all started moving faster.

Kassandora looked through her binoculars to catch sight of her prey. It was moving forwards to them, a monstrosity of green and grey, red and black. Three legs, mad fusions of crocodile and vulture and lion limbs, sent earthquakes vibrating through the forest as it mercilessly ploughed towards them. Its torso was tight and thin, bound by the thick body of a giant snake, the beast’s head snapped at the air and stared at Kassandora with beady red eyes, two massive fangs protruding from its jaw. Above it was the head of a crocodile pointed up, its jaw twisted open and overflowing with vines and trees, as if it was a moving mountain of an overgrown treehouse. Black wings sprouted from its back, entangled in vines and a giant lions mane, from somewhere, a beak popped out and screamed at them.

Kassandora readjusted her black cap and ran her hands along the buttons of her black greatcoat. She shouldn’t be as excited as she was, her legs felt like melting butter, and it wasn’t the sort of shake that came about in fear. Joyeuse appeared next to her and slammed into the ground, the blade’s alone pierced the stone and it slid a foot in. “Range!”

“Twenty-seven klicks!” The Binturongs could theoretically hit it at this point. Theoretically they weren’t supposed break down either. Kassandora shook that utter terrifying joy away from herself, and walked to grab the radio and the steel headphones again. With one pressed to her head, she could hear sporadic chatter as the commanders repeated their affirmations of disbelief to each other.

“Radio silence!” Kassandora’s command cut the chatter. “Binturongs, status on firing, over!”

Sokolowski replied first, that was the drill, if they knew the order to speak in, they wouldn’t talk over each other. “Battery One, aimed and ready, holding fire until your command. Over.”

Zalewski was next. “Battery Two reports the same. Aimed and ready, holding fire. Over.”

“Battery Three still moving into position.” That was expected, Battery Three was far north. Kassandora looked down at her artillery, then at the Caretaker closing the gap between them in the distance. She had expected it to be smaller, the first shots were only to calibrate the guns anyway. She slowly brought the microphone to her mouth, her heart pounding as if was wanting to tear open that black uniform of hers.

“Binturong Teams One and Two. One volley each. Over.”

They fired a few moments later. The ground shook. Shells whistled through the air as the cloud of red dust cleared. Emptied casings, each the size of an arm, fell onto the ground and the ground swiftly got to readying another volley. Kassandora watched the sixteen shots soar through the air, against the bright blue sky, it was impossible to lose sight of them.

Time seemed to slow down as Kassandora listened to her own heartbeat. Zalewski broke her trance. “Team Two, loaded and ready to fire again! Over.” Shortly after, Sokolowski gave his own report. Kassandora did not reply, she watched those shells reach their zenith and then begin their downwards cascade.

Out of sixteen, nine were direct hits. Far better than expected. Fire burst out over vines, trees cracked as liquid fire trailed downwards, it stuck and coated every surface it touched. It burned in a red blaze that tarred the blue sky with its dark smog. The shells that landed around the ground had their fires swiftly put out as giant legs, amalgamations of vine and lion and tree and crocodile, stepped onto them. The monster gave no reaction to its front being coated in fire, it took another step. Kassandora had expected as much.

The Caretaker kept moving.

Kassandora clicked her radio again. “Good hits. Re-calibrate your shots. Team Three, how long until you can open fire? Over.”

“We’re preparing now. The ploughs are digging in. Over.”

“Report when you’re ready. Teams One and Two, status? Over.”

“Team One, ready to fire. Over.”

“Team Two, also ready. Over.”

“Fire at will. Don’t reply unless it’s urgent. Over.” Sixteen Binturongs started singing once again. Their cannons furious drums that beat, reloaded, then beat again. A volley fired. Men started to shout orders from below, the loading crews got to work, madly passing ammunition from the backs of their trucks in a line to the guns. The third volley left the barrels when the first had descended.

The monster ahead of them came closer as fire burst out around it. Napalm coated the beast, the second volley was more accurate, the third, every shell hit. They dug into the monsters skin, then burst with liquid jelly that set alight. The few that were duds were quickly cooked off by the spreading fires. Kassandora took picked up microphone as she wanted the mountain of flame step towards them again.

The Caretaker kept moving.

“This is Kassandora. Airbase, send your planes out. Remember to maintain altitude over the Jungle, don’t get close enough to hear its whisper. Over.”

“Copy Goddess. Green light given for launch. We’ll be there in four. Over.”

More shells hit the moving monster. A huge wing, a shield of massive feathers held together by bark and flora, with vines hanging off it as if they were stalactites, emerged from it and covered its top. Kassandora smiled, it would have been worse if it simply kept walking. The fact it was guarding meant they were having an effect. Artillery immediately sent that wing alight as the first bad report came in from team two.

“Team Two reporting, one unit is down from mechanical failure. Over.” Expected. The Binturongs never had to achieve the rate of they could on paper.

“Keep firing.” Kassandora replied promptly. “Can you fix it? Over.” There was a moment of men shouting over the radio and the reply came.

“We’ll try. Over.” Kassandora let them try. She kept staring at the monster ahead of her. It wasn’t picking up speed, but it wasn’t slowing down either. That massive snake’s head on its side kept gazing at her. Kassandora smiled. Good to know it was smart enough to realise who to take down first.

The Caretaker kept moving.

“First Squadron reporting in. Over.” Kassandora’s steel headphone sounded, her arm had grown stiff from holding it to her ear, and she swapped hands. She turned and looked up at the sky. In the distance, where the main camp was, three planes were up in the air, mere black dots. Cleric’s jets, the smaller models these ones. Her idea of bombing had proved easy enough, each one held barrels of napalm in its quarters, with men inside to simply push them out the doors.

“You have the green light for bombing. Let him have it. Over.” More planes were rising to meet them. Two huge transport aircraft, the 77Ts had their cargo holds entirely filled.

“Copy Goddess. First Squadron out.” The three planes in the air made sharp turns, then flew towards them. The radio buzzed again.

“Third battery reporting in. We are calibrated and ready to fire. Over.”

“Fire at will. Take it down.” Kassandora said. Her cheeks were hot, her eyes were blazing. Men under her command, a plan following every step, beautifully tight organisation. This was a joy she had not felt in a millennia. With the loss one gun from the second battery, she had twenty-three now to pound the monster with.

The Caretaker kept moving.

The three jets flew high above the ground. Kassandora watched them as they blasted open their doors in an emergency manoeuvre, a dozen pieces of heavy metal came flying from the sky, and then they started dropping the barrels. This wouldn’t be accurate, it had never been accurate. There was a method to fix it though, one Kassandora had developed herself, horribly simple, and horribly effective: sheer volume.

A hundred or so barrels came flying out of the sky, most landed close to the monster, some on it. Those burst from the impact against that protective vulture’s wing it held above itself and burst. Fire raged as plumes of black smoke burst from that wing. Kassandora narrowed her eyes. This fire didn’t set bark alight, it simply melted it. The monster needed to have capability of regeneration then.

“Air Squadrons Two and Three. Are you ready for a bombing run? Over.” She asked. There were multiple ways to deal with monsters that regenerated. You killed them outright, or you simply exhausted them. There wasn’t a more powerful healer than Kavaa, and even she had a limit to her abilities.

“Squadron Two, ready, over.”

“Squadron Three, ready, over.”

“Commence bombing run immediately. Over.” Kassandora took a breath as she looked up and see six more planes fly overhead. Great steel birds in the sky, against that amalgamation of flora and fauna on the ground. The snake moved its head, a lion’s head burst out from within it dirty mane and roared. That was a reaction at least, but it wasn’t the Kassandora had been hoping for.

The Caretaker kept moving.

Another two hundred or so barrels came in from the air. They hit that massive wing, set exploded as the planes made wide banks north to return to the base. Civilian helicopters were appearing near the cordon now, no doubt eager to record everything. Kassandora had expect it, but she had not expected to record a defeat.

Sokolowski’s voice blared over the radio. “Team One reporting. One Binturong just had electrical failure, the doors won’t open. Requesting Fer. Over.” Fer’s team answered for Kassandora.

“Fer is on her way. Over.” Kassandora looked down at the ground, she managed to catch a glimpse of her sister as she knelt down on the ground, then became a blur as she launched herself towards Team One. Of Beasthood landed next to Team One, looked around and found the vehicle that was damaged. It was hard to miss, Kassandora had given all the teams several cans of paint to mark them with a white X when they were damaged beyond repair.

In one movement, Fer was next to the heavy steel door, in the next, the door came off its hinge and she threw it away with one hand, looked in, and then jumped back to her pair of radio support soldiers as the men started to climb out. That was one machine down, permanently. Not good news, but she had planned to lose a quarter by now. It was a damn miracle the rest of the Binturongs were keeping up with the volley of fire. They had moved onto the second set of ammunition trucks now, the first ones were driving away from the combat zone and north. With orders to resupply and then report.

“Squadron Four reports ready to initiate bombing run. Over.” That was Kassandora’s last air squadron, if this did not slow it down, it was onto more specialist tactics. Kassandora looked up at the sky, two ginormous 77Ts were circling in the North.

“You have the green light, give it hell.” Kassandora put her microphone down as she stared at the mass of men before her. Kavaa’s Clerics had split into two groups to cover batteries One and Two. Kavaa herself was stood between them, Neneria and Helenna were both watching from the distance as the two giant transport planes flew above the monster.

Unlike before, there was no emergency dropping of doors, instead their cargo holds opened and barrels streamed out in a line as if they were dropping snakes from above. The carpet bombing started early, some impacting against the Jungle itself and then bursting into flame, then impacting against that vulture’s wing and continuing along its entire body until it reached the other side of the monster. Kassandora watched it burn, coated in fire from above, from the sides. She watched and changed plans.

The Caretaker kept moving.

Kassandora put the microphone to herself. “Team three, load four Binturongs with a round of Type-B shells. Over.” She had twelve shells of Baalka’s blood. Team three had the entire load, there was no reason to separate them about. The Caretaker had come close enough for its massive footsteps and the breaking of trees to be heard.

The reply came half a minute later as the din of artillery continued. “Type-B shells loaded, units one through four. Over.”

“Aim low, directly at the arm holding the wing. Over.”

“Copy and understood. Give us a minute to calibrate. Over.” Kassandora didn’t reply, there was no need to. She kept on watching from her cliff. Men were running around like ants as they loaded the guns. Another report came in from Zalewski.

“Team two reports Binturong failure. Oil pipes have fucking exploded. Requesting Fer. Over.”

Once again, Fer’s men of radio operators replied for the Goddess as Fer herself got to work, once again jumping into the air as men in Team Two painted a white X over the cabin of a Binturong. “Fer is making her way. Over.”

“Team Three. Four guns are loaded with a round of Type-B, calibrated and ready to fire. Over.”

“Fire. Follow up with Napalm.” Kassandora replied as Fer ripped the roof of a Binturong. She sniffed the air, threw the men a dozen metres across the ground and jumped away. A moment later, the Binturong exploded. Clerics and Kavaa came rushing over immediately to heal the wounded.

Four Type-B shells impaled themselves into the arm holding up the massive wing. It started to discolour immediately. The greens and greys becoming diseased reds, putrid oranges and sickly purples as the illness caused by Baalka’s blood started to spread. Vines finally started to fall down, the giant snake’s head hissed, the lion’s head roared, and that beak coming from seemingly out of nowhere cawed in pain.

Barked cracked, wood snapped, vines fell, diseases strands of gigantic bustle and blood rained down on the jungle below. That massive wing above the monster’s head started to lean forwards like a slowly falling oak. Its speed accelerated, it snapped, and fell to the ground, coating the Jungle below in fire. The massive mountain, ablaze and searing with a black tar of a smoke, took another step forwards. Kassandora did even look or listen to the cheers of her men, her eyes were entirely focused on that diseased limb.

It was rotting, it was falling apart, and then it stopped. Somehow, it had contained Baalka’s disease. It took yet another step. The loss of a limb did not even affect by a fraction. It kept walking at the same speed it did when it had first come across the horizon. Kassandora picked up her microphone. “Stop cheering and get to work. We’ll have a drink when it’s done.” The cheers stopped, the guns started to fire again. The monster ahead of them kept coming.

It stepped towards the edge of the Jungle.

And the Caretaker kept moving.