The Greatest Sin

“An existential threat, by definition, is one that threatens existence. Such power cannot be stopped, it can only be contained. We talk of things such as the creeping jungle in Arika, we talk about major Divine Dragons in Guguo, the titanic beasts that lay dormant. None of them classify as an existential threat.”

- Excerpt from the secrets texts in the White Pantheon’s closed library. Written by Goddess Maisara, of Order: ‘The Policies of Ruling a New Arda.’

Kassandora quelled the excitement in her teams. “Binturong Teams One and Two, start pulling back.” It wasn’t enough, the Caretaker, even with the loss of one wing, was still approaching them. “Team One, go south-east, Team Two, straight east from your position.” Splitting them up was the obvious choice. “Split up in to half-teams, Zalewski, angle your second team north, Sokolowski, your second team angle south. Over.”

Zalewski and Sokolowski promptly responded to confirm they’ve heard them as Kassandora watched the Binturongs start to drive off. Six moved off from each one, kicking up ash and dust as they went. The trucks started to turn as men jumped on board. This was still part of the plan, it was an expected move... But the Caretaker should have slowed down at least a little by now. “Fer, go to Team Two, and assist with the stuck Binturong, if its damaged, evacuate the men and leave it. Iniri, you’re on team One. Over.”

Fer’s handlers responded for her as Kassandora watched the Goddess become a blur below as she jumped towards Team Two. Iniri also made a show of her travel, with surfing along the ground as branches quickly carried her. The two damaged vehicles, both marked with white X’s, were ignored and left behind. Fer got to her team first, Kassandora watched the quick conversation as the Binturongs of team Three started firing from the north again. Once again, shells impacted against the massive mountain of the nature and beast amalgamation approaching them. Once again, the drums of artillery sounded, once again flames burned vines.

The Caretaker kept moving.

Fer roared, then gave the Binturong a push, it lifted off the ground, treads started to move again, and it rolled forwards, trailing behind the vehicles that just escaped. Over on Iniri’s end, the Goddess grew wooden tracks that gave her machine traction, it moved and started to roll through the ash. Kassandora clicked her radio as another voice came through, Neneria this time. “Kass, I’m deploying the Legion.” That was how Neneria asked questions, Kassandora clicked her radio.

“Siege engines and archers. Don’t bother with melee troops. Air cavalry too. Over.” Neneria’s voice came back.

“Understood.” Kassandora turned to look at the Goddess of Death as she stood her ground, only a mere few miles. Neneria stood in her HAUPT suit, the only addition being the cape of raven with a scarf of thick raven feathers covering it. She slowly raised her arms to either side, her body lifted off the ground and ghosts started to appear around her.

Kassandora kept watching as she fiddled with the radio again. “Team Three. Do you have a shot at the Caretaker’s legs? Over.” One green catapult appeared, with a crew of men long dead around it. Then a ballista. A tall trebuchet once used to breach the walls Tourai. Another catapult. The pace accelerated. Archers materialized around her. Ranks upon ranks of them, a flood of ghastly green to counter the winged and wyvernesque mountain of a monster approaching them.

The Caretaker kept moving.

“Two of the three, but the angle is too low for continuous volley.” Ekkerson replied over the radio. Ghostly cavalry started to appear on the ground, then their horses started to trot into the air to make way. More trebuchets, more ballista, more catapults came into existence as if they had just rolled off an ethereal production line. Bannermen with Neneria’s symbol, the headless rider, came in to organise the troops and propel their Goddess’ will further.

Zalewski’s tone interrupted the radio before “Team Two reports another Binturong down! A tread has fallen off! Over.”

“Evacuate the troops and leave it. Fer, don’t bother with assistance. Over. Team Three, load Type-B shells into all eight guns. Split four and four on the legs, take time with aiming, you have one shot. Down it. Over.”

Ekkerson gave a swift reply as Team Three unleashed their final volley of eight napalm shells. “Understood. Give us a minute to calibrate. Over and out.”

The Caretaker kept moving.

Kassandora looked at it again as Neneria came through, her voice was ragged and her breathing heavy. “I’ve done as many as I can.” Kassandora pulled away her eyes to glance at her sister, there she was, bending down with her hands on her knees as she tried to catch a breath.

“Send them.” Kassandora said as Neneria heaved on the ground. She threw an arm casually forwards and the ghastly Dead Legion started to move. Kassandora went back to looking at the demented design of the tropical atrocity beyond her. Symmetry was a mere suggestion for it, that snake’s head hissed again and it raised an arm. Kassandora heard her heart beat again as her eyes jumped around the battlefield. The din of artillery, of men shouting, of vehicles rolling and helicopters in the air slowly faded from her ears as her mind dealt with the clash of calculations. “FER! GET NENERIA OUT OF THERE!” Kassandora shouted into the air. Fer would hear, she had to.

There was a roar, a shimmered blur along the red dust, Neneria’s army charged forwards. A hail of arrows and bolts and musket rounds erupted into the beast, and Neneria disappeared from view. A moment later, a massive limb, a lion’s paw twisted with vines and snake scales and trees impacted where she had stood. The crushed ghosts simply walked out of the object, but Kassandora heard Neneria’s tone over the radio. “That was close.” She said. Kassandora stopped holding her breath, it was too close for comfort.

The Caretaker kept moving.

“Team Three! UPDATE NOW!” Kassandora shouted into her microphone again. She felt joyous stare as the battle turned against them. A retreat had been expected, but Kassandora had also expected even the tiniest slowing or sign of effect against it. Instead, its first wing was regrowing, its second had moved to safeguard its head again. The vines and roots and leaves and muscle flooded over the napalm, what was burned was regrown, what wood fell off was a like a single layer of an onion. Maybe if they had a thousand Binturongs, if they had more than napalm, things would turn out differently.

Ekkerson’s voice came over the radio. “We’re ready over here! FIRE!” He dropped the connection as team Three unleashed another volley. Kassandora once again entered her trance. Eight shells fired, she tracked them through the air, the Sun was coming close to the horizon, purples and oranges were starting to tint to the sky, but there was still more than enough light to make them out.

Eight shells fired. Eight shells hit. Four in each leg.

The Caretaker kept moving.

It’s legs started to discolour immediately, to putrid purples and sickly oranges, the vivid greens became diseased and dull, vines burst, the Caretaker took another step. The sound of tree and bone and muscle breaking filled the air like an explosion, and then its leg fell off. Once again, just as with the wing, the poison had been swiftly contained, even faster this time. The second leg did not even rip away, wood and vine shattered, the burning giant stumbled and fell.

Ekkerson’s voice come the radio. “We’ve lost five guns in that volley.” He took a pause as the monster crashed down, it sent a wave of leaves and dust to make a fog as the ground of Arda of shook with the weight of the monster. The Snake’s head hissed so loudly Kassandora saw men fall over, those Clerics holding the cordon fell over. The Crocodile’s maw tried to close and made two fresh valleys in the dirt. Immediately. Ekkerson spoke again. “Five guns were lost. Over.”

Kassandora clicked her radio. “Continue firing with what you have. Teams One and Two, all units, stop retreat, turn and fire. Over.” It was do or die now. If it regenerated and started walking again… Kassandora looked on as Fer smashed into the vines, they wrapped around her, she broke free, and then jumped away back to Neneria. and quickly downed two more canteens. Another wave of energy pushed dust away from her as she looked around. Kassandora felt her own magic and Kavaa’s, the woman must have had broken bones then if she needed the healing of Kavaa to amplify her own natural regeneration.

Kassandora looked east, to the remains of teams One and Two. Three vehicles each, split into four sections, separated from each other by maybe a half mile each. They stopped. Guns started to turn, stabilizer arms extended from the Binturongs, the ploughs at their rear dug into the dirt. Of Death’s voice came over the radio.

“Fer says it’s too dangerous to get close.” Then Fer’s shout came through.

“I SAID ITS IMPOSSIBLE! IT’S TOO THICK!” Good to know, Kassandora had already assumed that, she had told Fer not to test it out herself, but that woman always needed to try something to believe it.

“Copy. Neneria, open fire with your Legion. Over.” Kassandora clicked the radio as Binturong artillery and Neneria’s ghastly siege opened fire. Hails of arrows came in, ghosts charged in from the sky and bounced on the edges of the plant. They made small cuts as vines passed through them in some vain attempt to stem the ethereal.

Napalm shells once again impacted over the monster as trees sprouted around it. They whipped around, crushed the Binturongs that had been abandoned and retreated back into the monster. “This is Squadron Four, we have another bombing run ready. Asking for permission, over.”

Kassandora clicked her radio, she did not even glance at the two 77Ts in the air. “Permission granted, drop it. Over.” Her eyes were entirely focused on the damage the ghosts were inflicting. Stabs were quickly regrown, shreds of torn muscles transformed to vines, then the wounds closed. Impacts caused by bolts were simply worthless. A hail of ethereal rocks came in, they ripped through leaves and broke branches, and then the leaves came back.  

With the Caretaker out of the Jungle, the 77Ts came in lower, their huge cargo doors opened, barrels of napalm streamed out, they exploded against the tapestry of textures that raised and receded in plateaus and pyramids across the roaring green mosaic that had been felled. It became a bonfire, more artillery came in, more shells fired from the east and south. Kassandora took her binoculars and close at the monster’s legs.

The Caretaker kept moving.

The disease caused by Baalka’s poison was retreating, strands of gigantic animal flesh were falling off to be replaced by flora. The leg that had fallen off had been grabbed by thousands of veins, each a tiny wire of muscle and was being pulled closer. That leg had already healed, what had once been poisoned had been recovered entirely.

The Caretaker kept moving.

Kassandora watched onwards. She did not expect the monster to be so large. With the little amount of firepower they had, it would regenerate soon. It was regenerate and rampage across Kirinyaa, if it had come for them now…

The Caretaker kept moving.

The Caretaker had to be killed, it had to be killed here and now. Kassandora looked up at the sky as she took a breath. She readjusted her high black cap as the bonfire raged a mere two miles from her. Shells came down viciously on it, and it did nothing. Neneria’s Dead Legion, enough to put fear to cause entire armies to turn tail and flee, did nothing. She needed more. She needed…

The Caretaker kept moving.

If she was fighting the beast that brought a continent to fear, she needed someone who would bring the entire world to heel. Kassandora pulled out her phone, unlocked it, clicked the contacts. Everything was nicely organised here, with numbers at the start to sort people by their importance. “1” for Divines, “2” for her army and so on. She clicked the top contact: 0-0 Arascus.

The Caretaker kept moving.

He answered immediately as Kassandora took a heavy breath. “Dad, I need some help.”

The Caretaker kept moving.

It was time for plan B.