Battle with Au
The Swiftpeak Citadel’s Island
Near the rear entrance of the Citadel
Maybe charging straight forward was not the best idea. But it was the only idea that Au had in her head at the time. She knew that there was a chance that Doi, Nura, Waka and Graas would die, but still, it upset her. And this lead her to acting recklessly, and seeming abandoning any plan that she had for kill everyone and then take the Key. But her enemies would not sit around and let her have her way.
The gunshots from Jackie’s pistol rang out, as he fired all his remaining rounds towards the charging Oni. Despite the fact that his aim was perfect, Au’s charge was not interrupted. Why was it not interrupted? Well, that was because despite perfect aim, only a few bullets hit Au, and the ones that hit either hit non-vital areas or just grazed her. It was as if she was being protected in her charge by an unseen power.
This was not the only strange thing to happen around the charging Au, as seen with what happened to the snake controlled by Eler. As the snake was dropped, it would not find itself landing on Au. Instead, as it left the talons of the hawk, the space below it started to ripple, and the snake disappeared, only to appear a moment later falling onto Eler’s shoulders.
Much like the bullets fired by Jackie, Karlin’s rounds would have done something. But as the bullets neared their target, they froze in the air, allowing Au to push past them. Only once Au was past them did the bullets unfreeze and find themselves making contact with the ground. Again, some unknown force protected her.
“Shit…” Fi mumbled before the dryad twins could respond to her. Without saying anything more, she rushed forwards, charging the charging Oni. As Fi charged, Alicia and Min-Ki fired, only to witness the same thing that happened to Karlin’s bullets happen to theirs. Holding her spear in her hand, she lunged forward at Au just as Salem’s electrifying wall was erected. Just as it looked like Fi’s spear would penetrate the flesh of the charging Oni, something strange happened again. Fi simply disappeared.
The next moment saw Au nearly collide with the barrier created by Salem. Except she didn’t. Instead the space just in front of Au rippled and she stepped into it, only to disappear completely. Moments after, and she did not reappear. Au just simply vanished to the ground expeditionary team. But like the snake that was under the control of Eler, she didn’t just disappear, but appeared somewhere else. Back on the bridge of the Blood Ark.
Someone did reappear a minute or so after the disappearance of Au, and that someone was Fi. She appeared and fell face first into the dirt. A second later she rose to her feet, with a look of panic on her face. The panic quickly disappeared as she looked at the rest of the group.
“What are you looking at?” Fi said, “We got the key. We need to get out of here.”
With that she started back towards the Aetherwing, only stopping to help Silas up as he started to regain consciousness. As they all started back to the ship, if they were to look to the sky, they would see the Blood Ark and the ships that came with it sailing into the clouds to disappear from sight. Lucine would also experience something strange.
”Ah… little Lucine Verrninas…” a strange, feminine voice whispered in Lucine’s mind,
”So, the Key of Order falls into the hands of the blind… Or are you using them as a means to the end? No matter… You seek the Keys and that’s all that matters sweet child… After countless millennia, the Keys are being gathered… Let me aid you child, so that you can find them sooner, and achieve what you desire. Three places, three Keys…. Where the Sun embraces Aeria. Where the Moon kisses Aeria. And where life springs forth under the eyes of Zakenta. I wish you luck sweet child... ”
Au Howaitosan
On the Blood Ark’s Bridge
Leaving Sight of Swiftpeak Citadel
“Wha-” Au said as she looked around. She was just about to collide with a wall of lightning, but now, she was back on the Blood Ark. “I was just… Wait…”
With that she saw the back of what looked like a human, standing and looking out at the Swiftpeak Citadel. Au did not need to see his face, nor hear his voice to recognize the man, for she figured out what happened and knew that it was the result of this individual’s magic. A magic that shouldn’t be possible, from a man who shouldn’t be. It also helped that the clothing of the individual in front of her was quite unique.
“Lemures.” Au said and took a knee, “They killed them. Doi. Nura. Waka. Graas… I promised to protect them...”
“That explains why you charged.” Lemures spoke and signaled for Au to stand without looking back at her. “It was reckless, but expected. It is a shame that they had to die, but there death will not be in vain… after all, we never planned to take the Key of Order now did we?”
“No…” Au said, “But still, it doesn’t feel right…”
“Trust the plan. We all have our own part to play.” Lemures spoke as the space in front of him opened up, revealing what looked to be the bridge of a different ship. “The Restoration will succeed. The world shall be changed as the true heir to Zenith will return and we shall have what we desire most...”
“Understood.” Au said as Lemures stepped through the hole in space, and watched as the hole closed up behind him. She then sighed and whispered to herself, “I will place my trust in you, not the plan…”
TIMESKIP - The Next Morning
A Meeting of the Ground Expeditionary Team
The Mess Hall, The Aetherwing
Airspace Between Nations
It was announced suddenly, but no earlier than any other announcement. The crew was already expected to be up by time the announcement for the Ground Expeditionary Team to gather in the Mess Hall for a meeting. Within the next few minutes, the team had all gathered at the Mess hall. Waiting for them at a table was Sir Silas, Min-Ki with all his books, Fi and Alicia.
“Everyone take a seat.” Silas spoke and gestured to the seats around the table. “I have called this meeting for a few reasons. First, you all should know about who it was we fought yesterday at Swiftpeak. Au Howaitosan. The Drunken Hammer of the Howaitosan Clan. She is perhaps the most dangerous Oni the Epostolis knows of. That said, the Epostolis only knows she is incredible strong and fights for the Howaitosan Clan. But from what we saw yesterday, I can say that something strange is happening. She no longer seems to be fighting for the Howaitosan Clan, and is in command of a ship that should not exist anymore. Not only that, but her forces are far better equipped than any Horde recorded… Which brings me to the second reason for this meeting, Fi if you would.”
“Yep. The second reason is who we think Au was working for.” Fi said, “It is possible that she is working for a group that has been calling themselves the Restoration. I have had a run in or two with beings working for them. Well, saying that she is working for them could be wrong… Not much is known about the Restoration, but we do know that it is under the leadership of six incredibly powerful beings. There is reason to believe that Au is one of the leaders of the Restoration. She fits the rumored description of the Head General of the Restoration; a drunken female Oni warrior with skin as red as blood and hair as white as snow. If this is true, then we can expect that the Restoration is also looking for the Keys, so we need to not only take greater care in our mission but also find these Keys fast.”
“Which then brings us to the final point of this meeting.” Silas spoke, “Min-Ki?”
“Oh? Yes.” Min-Ki said, looking up from a book, “We need to find the rest of the Keys, and assuming that they are like the Swiftpeak Blade, as in they are relics of legends, then we might be able to find them by hitting the books. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of legends and possible Keys. However, after studying the Swiftpeak Blade, I may have identified a list of possible relics that are Keys.”
With that Min-Ki pulled out a piece of rolled up parchment and started unrolling it. Once it was unrolled it became clear that there were lots of possibilities.
“As you can see, I need to narrow down the list.” Min-Ki said and shrugged, “At least to another four possibilities, as I have identified two more relics that could be Keys. Unfortunately, if the relics that I have identified exist, then they are in the Dark Realm. So, before we search for those, perhaps it is better to see if any can be found in our mortal realm…”
“So, if anyone has any ideas of where a Key could be, please talk with Min-Ki.” Silas said, “And that is the last point of the meeting… so any questions? If you don’t have any questions, you may be dismissed.”