The Greatest Sin

Lyca and Eliza both looked at the letters they had received.

“Notice of Sassara Training Exercise. All talented Arcadian mages are expected to stand duty. Leaving the territory (Of Arcadia) is not allowed with valid permission.”

• Signed, Divine Elassa, Goddess of Magic.

Iliyal finished giving his report to Arascus. He talked about meeting Kassandora, the situation in Kirinyaa, the Clerical Orders, the fact that Kassandora somehow had two-thousand men sworn to her. The rather amicable relationship she had with Kavaa and Helenna. The Jungle’s taking of Iniri, Kassandora’s plan to take her back. Arascus sat in his throne, in that war-room where every plan had been forged so far, and listened.

Iliyal eventually finished and readjusted his folders on the wooden table. There was little to add, Kassandora had taught him the sanctity of succinct reports, and it took maybe four minutes to give a report on everything. Ilwin and Sara sat opposite him, on the other side of Arascus. Still in the clothes they had from Arika, Arascus had barely given them time to even change. “How long do you think it will take for her to get out?” Arascus asked. He sat there, in that throne, like royalty, in a black suit and with the red cape. The only thing that was missing was a crown. Iliyal shook his head.

“I don’t know.” The elf answered honestly.

“But not soon?”

“Most likely not.” Iliyal said. Arascus leaned back and sighed.

“Very well, we will not rely on Kassandora for this. I’m glad to hear she’s doing well though.” Arascus flicked through the papers. “I was going to tell her we have a prototype for liquid fire already. The one you called about five days ago.”

“That was fast.” Iliyal commented. Kassandora wanted something to burn the Jungle down with.

“It already exists, the mixture just had to be refined. Mikhail has been reassigned from guns to vehicles again. He did not like it. Some progress was made on being guns for the beastmen but they’re all in the prototype stages.” Iliyal nodded. “Him and the plane team are working on a platform for the liquid fire, it should be done within two weeks. We can have vehicles rolling off the production line in Kira in four.”

“That is good.”

“Without Kassandora and Kavaa, we’re limited by logistics. We can’t have flights from Kira to Kirinyaa every single day.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“For Kassandora and Kavaa to propose a joint venture with the Kirinyaan government. Build whatever Alash designs domestically. It would be the first block in their own industrial foundation too.” Arascus waved. “We still have to wait on the design anyway, and now for them to return from the Jungle. Write that down Iliyal, that’s the next move for them.”

“Understood.” Iliyal started to scrawl. It was the sort of simple move that Arascus excelled at. In one move, it would create a binding between the Kirinyaans and them, and whatever these vehicles would be, Iliyal was sure that Arascus had ordered them to be easily re-designed for war. Ilwin and Sara sat silently and merely waited with tired eyes. “Small quantities of liquid-fire can start being transported for field testing, we’ll use the Pelican, although it won’t be flying every day. Neneria is still there, isn’t she?”

“She is.”

“If mortals cannot approach the Jungle, then I would have said to build catapults but she can use the Legion to haul them into place. Send a letter with the first shipment.” Arascus leaned back and put his hand on the folder by him. “Now, for the real reason of this meeting.” He pulled screenshots of weather reports from various Arikan stations. “What is this?” He said as he threw them into the centre of the table. Iliyal leaned in from one side, Ilwin and Sara leaned in from the other.

The ancient elf saw it immediately. It was a pattern that once seen could not be unseen. “Something is moving North, from Artica.” Arascus nodded as Sara readjusted the papers to be in chronological order. There was no doubt about it. Storms faded, turned, winds affected them. They grew and shrank. There was no such thing as a storm maintaining its size and moving in a straight across the ocean. “The question is what, or rather, who?”

“I don’t understand.” Sara said.

“When we killed Leona. She was heading to Artica.” Arascus pulled out a map of the world. He took a pen, marked a point on Olympiada, another in the location they had caught Leona on. Then drew a perfectly straight line that intercepted both of them. The same was done with the path of the storm. They intercepted each other in Artica. “Modern technology is a joy.” Arascus said grimly as he pulled out another printed paper of some scientific journal: Unusual seismic activity in Artica. “We don’t have an exact area, but they’ve been able to narrow it down to this region. He drew a large circle, the centre was at the intersection of those two lines.

Arascus leaned back and crossed his arms. “This journal is largely worthless. They report what they’ve seen and then talk about how it’s a one-in-a-thousand-year earthquake made by shifting ice, the low chances of that happening, and how fascinating it is.”

“Earthquakes do happen.” Ilwin said quietly. It was obvious the elf did not believe his own words.

“We account for natural factors when there isn’t an explanation readily available.” Arascus said and smiled. “And I have one which accounts for the storms and the quake, and the dates line up too perfectly. Not some one-in-a-thousand earthquake.” The God of Pride grinned as he looked at Iliyal. “Really Iliyal? I thought you would have worked it out by now.”

Iliyal did. His gut had told him they would have this meeting sooner rather than later, but it had only been two weeks and a half weeks since Misfortune. Iliyal would have given it a month, maybe two. “Olephia.” Iliyal said. The mood immediately grew grim from Sara and Ilwin.

“You mean the Olephia?” Sara asked.

“The Olephia.” Arascus replied. “Goddess of Chaos. Another of my daughters. She’s woken up.”

“And she will… She can’t be allowed to make landfall.” Iliyal said, plan after plan appeared and was swiftly reject in his mind. Olephia was rarely, if ever, accounted for in the Great War. She was a cannon, you aimed Olephia, and you fired Olephia and that was that. Back then, he had always stood on the firing side of that cannon. Once, just once, Kassandora had told him and the other generals that if Olephia were to turn, then retreat would be the only option. Retreat followed by a swift surrender.

“She will hit the Ausa capital of Igos.” Arascus pointed on the map. A coastal city, straight in her path. “Igos has twelve million people living in it. The city won’t even slow her down.” Iliyal turned as someone opened the door. It was Alee. Dark haired and black-dressed. Iliyal wanted to forget what had happened with her that night of the feast. He had thoroughly embarrassed himself in front of his grandson.

“The sorcerers are currently training outside.” She said, her tone prim and proper.

“Leave them then for today, they’re too late to be part of the planning stage. Send someone to tell them to come back and stop all training exercises.” Arascus said. “That’s it, you’re dismissed.” The maid bowed and left.

“Two sorcerers can’t stop her.” Iliyal said.

“I wouldn’t even entertain the idea that they could.” Arascus said. “Sara, you will fill them in on this meeting once it is over. Don’t try to understate the severity of the situation.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Olephia cannot be allowed to march through the city.” Arascus continued. “With this modern media, news would spread too quickly. There would be no chance to cover it up. A massacre on our hands would be baggage we can’t carry. It would utterly crush whatever chances we have at popular support and it would also give the Pantheon a casus-belli on breaking the Pantheon Directives that stop them from interfering with national politics. Olephia in rampage fulfils the need for an existential level threat. She is an existential threat.”

“So is there any sort of thing we can do?” Ilwin asked.

Arascus smiled as he pulled papers out of his folder, a plan had already been fashioned. “We put on a show for the whole world to see.”