As Naar Kalaman's band of Celestial (and Terrestrial) Exalts sailed back from the Archipelago of Exiles, where they picked up the remainder of the people they promised to take, Naar Kalaman opted to take a more auspicious route so as not to be seen by the mortals in the horizon. Indeed the Arc of First Light is already a wonder in itself, its orichalcum body shining against the Unconquered Sun's glare like gold, that it rarely escapes notice once seen.
Their little expedition home was hindered, however, as the crewmen spotted a massive wall of fog in the distance, moving slowly towards them. The unmistakable booming sounds of essence cannons rented the quiet air and immediately the crewmen of the Arc went into alert. Drifter checked the horizon along with the others and knew all too well, through a simple thought process, that this was no ordinary fog wall. It's a sunny day for goodness sake, and there isn't even a trace of thick clouds indicating a storm. What else could there be to this mystery?
"Eristrufa!"
Akira's voice rang in their special communication channel and immediately Drifter had his answer. Of course he had heard of these mystic demons haunting the West, and he knew all too well what manner of beings these demons accompany.
Lintha.
Knife of the Ocean suddenly landed beside them from the crow's nest and rallied the forces onboard the ship. With Raging Snowstorm's sudden absence, they were devoid of a military commander, and thus Naar Kalaman had to take up the reins and order the troops onboard the ship. Essence coalesced around them as the entire Arc of First Light became infused with Storm-Weather Essence. At once Drifter understood - a major battle will be underway. Sensing that his presence is better needed below, he immediately went to the engine rooms to tend to their massive Essence engine.
The Lintha forces swam into view as the Eristrufa cleared some of the fog for the battle to commence in favor of both sides - four heavily armed ships flanking a larger, more sinister ship that appeared to bear trace of the lost First Age - a seemingly intact battlecruiser that looks like a smaller version of the Arc of First Light. Drifter's senses tingled with excitement at the thought of running his craftsman fingers on the thing, but he knew it had to be won over first, and that's part and parcel of his problem!
Of course, with higher level Linthas come demons towing these massive warships, thus over the communication channel they shared Drifter knew that Knife had dived under and summoned Siakal's boon - her children's aid in the battle.
The rest of the battle was a wild ring to Drifter's senses, for he heard nothing but Naar Kalaman's commands that he synced with the engine's power. Sometimes they needed to boost the Essence engine to its limits so they can attain a particularly difficult maneuver and sometimes he had to divert power to one engine alone so they can perform a tricky steer. At the end of these commands and after Drifter's execution it normally entailed massive shock such as a powerful collision at first, then the ship rising in the air and landing roughly again, causing Drifter to tumble and get thrown around the deck.
Heck, he knew the expedition in the Wyld Waters in the past was worse, but again he felt like a salad being tossed around. All the while this happened Drifter also sensed severe trauma hitting the ship, like as if something - or some things - were ramming against its hull. He knew he'd have his work cut out for him once this is all over.
But it didn't stop there. To his horror, after the rest of the violent activities around the ship ended, a final, terrible shock hit the ship from the rear, causing one of their propellers to be jammed by something heavy and massive. The force destroyed part of the mechanisms and the Essence engine handling it went out of control and stopped.
Oh man, this isn't good, Drifter said to himself. Then he heard Naar Kalaman's voice, ordering him to join the battle at the deck. Drifter armed himself with his Gauntlets of Distant Claws and joined the throng of Lintha and Tiger Warriors battling on the deck. The wailing of souls in his armor greeted the Lintha unit he struck with doom as his Essence concentrated on his arms, raining deadly blows upon the main Lintha force.
Among the battlers Drifter noticed an inexperienced combatteer who resembled a winged mercenary, dishing out damage against the same Lintha unit that he is scourging. His curiosity was rewarded as the mysterious man lashed out a blow at the Linthas, the mark of the Night flashing on his forehead. It was another Exalt. However it came there, he'd know later.
As the Terrestrial Exalt leading the Lintha unit exhausted its essence and life just to bear a violent attack upon Naar Kalaman, only for the sly captain to dodge it skillfully, the battle grew from bad to worse. He rallied all Lintha forces to concentrate fire upon Naar Kalaman and to Drifter's horror the captain went down almost immediately. It was unfortunate that he cannot share the might of his anima banner against the crushing force of the Lintha now onboard and those on the ships adjacent to them, raining arrows consistently. Peleps Nuada took Captain Kalaman and shoved him inside the cabin, the rest of the unit fighting dearly to defend Naar from impending death. Drifter's blows, while it dealt damage to the Terrestrial Exalt leader of these Lintha, were not enough to divert his attention.
Then, to Drifter's eyes, everything suddenly seemed worthless.
The Terrestrial leader Exalt motioned for his demons, which immediately enshrouded the entire battlefield in fog once again, then in a flash of essence, he disappeared with his demons and his elite unit. The rest of the Lintha who remained started fleeing for their lives upon realizing their leader's sudden departure, some getting unfortunately seized by either Siakal's War Sharks or the rest of the Tiger Warriors.
*****
Now, as they reconvened on the ship some time after the battle, Naar Kalaman now resting in a cabin, heavily wounded, Drifter thought that everything was wasted. True, they had managed to seize the Lintha's First Age ship, and while it was a treasured find in itself, the Twilight was still beset with grief at the effort they put into the battle, only for it to end up so worthlessly. They may have won, but the favor was still in the enemy's.
He did not know whether it was their missing comrades who were to blame, but he realized that it was not theirs to bear. They did not seek for the Lintha for one thing - the Lintha found them, and they just stood their ground for as long as they can. Given time, the force can overwhelm them, but they chose to flee instead. Why?
His instinct as one of Creation's best thinkers kicked in. Of course, they will return. They will return, and bring a greater force and better armaments, probably more demons that their greater demon-tainted family members would commission, and when that time comes they will definitely face one of the greatest battles in Creation - a battle that will either annihilate another band of returning Exalts to this world, or a battle that will permanently scar once again one of the most ancient and most vile families that have withstood even the Primordial Wars.
Their little expedition home was hindered, however, as the crewmen spotted a massive wall of fog in the distance, moving slowly towards them. The unmistakable booming sounds of essence cannons rented the quiet air and immediately the crewmen of the Arc went into alert. Drifter checked the horizon along with the others and knew all too well, through a simple thought process, that this was no ordinary fog wall. It's a sunny day for goodness sake, and there isn't even a trace of thick clouds indicating a storm. What else could there be to this mystery?
"Eristrufa!"
Akira's voice rang in their special communication channel and immediately Drifter had his answer. Of course he had heard of these mystic demons haunting the West, and he knew all too well what manner of beings these demons accompany.
Lintha.
Knife of the Ocean suddenly landed beside them from the crow's nest and rallied the forces onboard the ship. With Raging Snowstorm's sudden absence, they were devoid of a military commander, and thus Naar Kalaman had to take up the reins and order the troops onboard the ship. Essence coalesced around them as the entire Arc of First Light became infused with Storm-Weather Essence. At once Drifter understood - a major battle will be underway. Sensing that his presence is better needed below, he immediately went to the engine rooms to tend to their massive Essence engine.
The Lintha forces swam into view as the Eristrufa cleared some of the fog for the battle to commence in favor of both sides - four heavily armed ships flanking a larger, more sinister ship that appeared to bear trace of the lost First Age - a seemingly intact battlecruiser that looks like a smaller version of the Arc of First Light. Drifter's senses tingled with excitement at the thought of running his craftsman fingers on the thing, but he knew it had to be won over first, and that's part and parcel of his problem!
Of course, with higher level Linthas come demons towing these massive warships, thus over the communication channel they shared Drifter knew that Knife had dived under and summoned Siakal's boon - her children's aid in the battle.
The rest of the battle was a wild ring to Drifter's senses, for he heard nothing but Naar Kalaman's commands that he synced with the engine's power. Sometimes they needed to boost the Essence engine to its limits so they can attain a particularly difficult maneuver and sometimes he had to divert power to one engine alone so they can perform a tricky steer. At the end of these commands and after Drifter's execution it normally entailed massive shock such as a powerful collision at first, then the ship rising in the air and landing roughly again, causing Drifter to tumble and get thrown around the deck.
Heck, he knew the expedition in the Wyld Waters in the past was worse, but again he felt like a salad being tossed around. All the while this happened Drifter also sensed severe trauma hitting the ship, like as if something - or some things - were ramming against its hull. He knew he'd have his work cut out for him once this is all over.
But it didn't stop there. To his horror, after the rest of the violent activities around the ship ended, a final, terrible shock hit the ship from the rear, causing one of their propellers to be jammed by something heavy and massive. The force destroyed part of the mechanisms and the Essence engine handling it went out of control and stopped.
Oh man, this isn't good, Drifter said to himself. Then he heard Naar Kalaman's voice, ordering him to join the battle at the deck. Drifter armed himself with his Gauntlets of Distant Claws and joined the throng of Lintha and Tiger Warriors battling on the deck. The wailing of souls in his armor greeted the Lintha unit he struck with doom as his Essence concentrated on his arms, raining deadly blows upon the main Lintha force.
Among the battlers Drifter noticed an inexperienced combatteer who resembled a winged mercenary, dishing out damage against the same Lintha unit that he is scourging. His curiosity was rewarded as the mysterious man lashed out a blow at the Linthas, the mark of the Night flashing on his forehead. It was another Exalt. However it came there, he'd know later.
As the Terrestrial Exalt leading the Lintha unit exhausted its essence and life just to bear a violent attack upon Naar Kalaman, only for the sly captain to dodge it skillfully, the battle grew from bad to worse. He rallied all Lintha forces to concentrate fire upon Naar Kalaman and to Drifter's horror the captain went down almost immediately. It was unfortunate that he cannot share the might of his anima banner against the crushing force of the Lintha now onboard and those on the ships adjacent to them, raining arrows consistently. Peleps Nuada took Captain Kalaman and shoved him inside the cabin, the rest of the unit fighting dearly to defend Naar from impending death. Drifter's blows, while it dealt damage to the Terrestrial Exalt leader of these Lintha, were not enough to divert his attention.
Then, to Drifter's eyes, everything suddenly seemed worthless.
The Terrestrial leader Exalt motioned for his demons, which immediately enshrouded the entire battlefield in fog once again, then in a flash of essence, he disappeared with his demons and his elite unit. The rest of the Lintha who remained started fleeing for their lives upon realizing their leader's sudden departure, some getting unfortunately seized by either Siakal's War Sharks or the rest of the Tiger Warriors.
*****
Now, as they reconvened on the ship some time after the battle, Naar Kalaman now resting in a cabin, heavily wounded, Drifter thought that everything was wasted. True, they had managed to seize the Lintha's First Age ship, and while it was a treasured find in itself, the Twilight was still beset with grief at the effort they put into the battle, only for it to end up so worthlessly. They may have won, but the favor was still in the enemy's.
He did not know whether it was their missing comrades who were to blame, but he realized that it was not theirs to bear. They did not seek for the Lintha for one thing - the Lintha found them, and they just stood their ground for as long as they can. Given time, the force can overwhelm them, but they chose to flee instead. Why?
His instinct as one of Creation's best thinkers kicked in. Of course, they will return. They will return, and bring a greater force and better armaments, probably more demons that their greater demon-tainted family members would commission, and when that time comes they will definitely face one of the greatest battles in Creation - a battle that will either annihilate another band of returning Exalts to this world, or a battle that will permanently scar once again one of the most ancient and most vile families that have withstood even the Primordial Wars.
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