30 Minutes After the Reveal of Matsuo's Death…
Santiago slammed the desk in front of him, his face emblazoned with a mixture of fury, despair, and disappointment. Through the past few years he'd watch any semblance of effort he'd used slowly fade away, Matsuo's rampant isolation preventing him from doing his job aggressively. He'd been a spymaster now for four years, and at the start, it was in its prime. He'd spent his days weeding out potential threats, taking advantage of the original veterans of the second layer before their either moved on to the third, or died in battle, allowing for The Garden to become the powerhouse of the region. Still Matsuo, always denied that final push he wanted. He needed that validity, that accomplishment of raising their nation up to the highest level, but instead Matsuo pushed away, leaving him in the dust, with less control than before.
As they'd turned isolationist, they'd stepped back in their diplomatic affairs, barely even interacting with any group outside of The Refugees, and even then it was minimal. His relegation of duties was suddenly moved from every day missions, death-defying excursions that pushed the limits of his prowess, and now it was… gone. Taken from him completely. Now here they were, left behind once more with Matsuo's death. The council had all seen their roles taken from them, their only sense of responsibility taken away, only to be relegated by Matsuo himself. They'd long felt that their role within the nation was that of a placeholder, a name to validate their democratic leniency, but in reality, it was nothing more than a constitutional dictatorship, if they could even call it that. There was no Magna Carta in the second layer, much less obligation for Matsuo to listen to the council, not that it would benefit him anyways. Despite this, other, more artisan-based roles took the limelight, growing their infrastructure whilst giving more towards internal politics, organizing themselves and growing their subsisting community. He knew Bernard shared his disappointment, with his only real role being the preparation of guards for raids and potential threats. Due to a severe lack of involvement with the outside world, his job had become a symbol of alcoholism and merriment, with Bernard's excessive drinking and philosophical rants becoming more prominent than his martial prowess. Still, Santiago knew it was for the better, he'd just wished he had more to do.
Until today. Matsuo's death had brought a terrifying new age into the limelight, an age without their overwhelming protector, without the man who used to show death to his enemies, who fought against the Strollo's. He used to be a face of warfare in the region, using his uplifting and high ideals in order to inspire the rest of the world and encourage submission. Matsuo was the perfect figure head, the heroic idealist who fought for the people, who provided his people with a home, but prior to his death, he'd become nothing more than a despondent leader of a stagnating nation, a nation which was in dire need to a resurgence.
"What do you think about Sarah taking charge?" He asked the group of ten huddled council members around him, after Arnold and Sarah had walked away, discussing something clearly unimportant.
"She's in shock. She just lost most of her colleagues in a terrible accident, another to suicide literally last night, and now she's become the de-facto leader of our nation through the death of the person who literally took her in" A woman named Akari, a Japanese woman who'd come to The Garden around three years ago, spoke up, her voice filled with confidence. "It's got to be a hard time for her, and honestly it's a miracle that she even came up with anything at all." She held her head very high, which was surprising to Santiago. She'd always been a rather inactive colleague, never really making conversation with people until she had to. She'd worked as the treasurer for two years now, and her prowess was practically essential for any form of spending.
"I think she might have what it takes to fill Matsuo's shoes, and she's one of the strongest fighters in our region, even if she doesn't hold a candle to Matsuo. She could be a good fit, or she could fumble and panic. It all comes down to how much time she has to handle the situation before something goes wrong." Akari continued, adjusting the small glasses atop her face. She was rather pale, with stark black hair bundled into a tight ponytail that barely poked out past her hair. She was rather slim, but still relatively well fit, having kept her stats up to par with an average warrior throughout the course of her career.
"The only issue is if something goes wrong, how much will we have to pay for the cost of that mistake?" asked Santiago, which earned a nod from Akari. "She's never led a government before, not even shadowed Matsuo. She is second in command only, specifically for the contributions the scouts have contributed over the years. Who says she won't make a mistake? I'm sure we all remember the… last time a mistake was made in leadership, no?" He asked, getting a series of downcast glances as they remembered the Great War, the mistake that led to their nation being nearly wiped out.
"So what do we do?" Asked one of the council men. This time it was Evander who spoke, the head of public relations. He'd spent years begging Matsuo for something to do, only to be denied at every turn.
"We push her a little. Once something goes wrong, big or small, we pressure her. Call her out on her mistakes, see how she folds under pressure. If she takes it in stride, confides in us, and makes a good call, I'd be plenty satisfied in her leadership." Santiago replied, tapping his chin with the tip of his finger.
"And if she doesn't?" Evander asked.
"Then we deal with it accordingly"
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Present
"Orders from the boss, let's press them a little, eh?" A man covered in all black moved in the shadows of the outer region of The Garden's territory. Despite the small foundations, caravans moved back and forth between the settlements, bringing truckloads of supplies and trade from neighboring nations back to them, specifically through this series of bridges.
Getting into their territory was surprisingly easy. They hadn't set up a proper guard yet, instead focusing on clearing the massive amount of territory that they had claimed, making them significantly weaker than Alpha had predicted. He'd gathered over twenty men to challenge their authority, yet their moved in packs of five? Ridiculous. Their security was laughable, their awareness was pathetic, and no one was around to contest them!
Easy pickings thought Alpha, as he pushed through the dark halls of the complex. His squad had hid in some of the unlit rooms of the outskirts, looking for an unsuspecting victim, and now the time had finally arrived. A group of six supply runners, a mixture of four soldiers, armed in full soldier garb, and equipped with a few minor weapons. Upon further inspection, none of their arms glinted with the familiar glow of weapon energy, meaning that they were barely passable as warriors. Two more people accompanied them, clad in small leather armor. He couldn't tell if they were soldiers, scouts, or common townsfolk decked in protective gear, but their weapons remained cleanly in their sheathes.
"Move out!" He shouted, and his team reacted instantly, the squad of nearly twenty bursting from the darkness like a horde of wolves, descending upon their prey in an instant. The caravan had just reached the edge of their complex, and the bridge was thin enough where carts couldn't turn around easily while moving along the bridges, making this trap inescapable if they wanted to keep their supplies.
His men charged the caravan, who reacted surprisingly quickly, though shock still overtook a majority of their faces. They jumped to attention, but the warrior in the front was far too slow, a dagger slicing past their armor and plunging deep into their chest. They screamed a loud, harrowing scream, but fell to the ground, tripping on their own legs and plunging themselves off the edge of the bridge, doomed to fall into the eternal void.
The next soldier stepped up in just a few beats after his compatriot died. Due to the narrowness of the bridge, the squad had fallen back to the bridge, leaving the only true way to fight them in a one on one fight. With this much restricted space, it was certainly risky to try to fight these soldiers, but Alpha had the resources and manpower to spare. Ordering his men forward, he continued the push, his man who slaughtered the first defender quickly stepping up, only to be met with failure this time. As he swung his large dagger towards the soldier, the defender's longer ranged longsword stabbed into his gut, pushing him back while cleaving a massive hole through his chest, digging through the skin down to his heart.
A chunk of flesh fell from the man's chest, spilling a murky pool of blood across the glass bridge, coating it in a brief carpet of gore. Despite this, the next man pushed forward without hesitation, looking for the exact same maneuver that killed his comrade. The longsword swung his way, and the assassin leapt over the blade, shooting into the sky towards the back of the collective group that huddled along the side of the bridge. Launching into their huddled group, the man landed between them, his legs buckling for a brief moment, but stabilizing quickly as he leapt into action. Throwing a wide, arcing swipe towar-
The man behind him grabbed him by the scruff of his hair, before pulling with all his might, sending him flying off the edge of the void. The person equipped in leather armor didn't react, their face deadly series, a series of two small scabbards at his side. It seemed he might've been a fighter after all. Alpha grunted as he watched another one of his men approach the first, lunging towards the armored figure with his razor sharp dagger, only to slip on the blood of his first ally, sending him tumbling off his feet. In an instant, the defending soldier plunged their sword into the fallen body of the assassin, killing him instantly.
The lead defender roared, sending a small shockwave into the air as the collective attention focused on him, and Alpha felt his own psyche be directed towards the man, who clearly was using some sort of taunt skill, which directed their line of attack. Before anything could affect the men however, a small earring shined, glinting off the side of their ears, and they snapped out of it, the front man almost leaping towards the defender in a fury.
Stopping themselves just in time, the attackers held back, falling together and grouping up along the bridge, the two sides staring at each other, one from the safety of the complex, and the other from the safety of the bridge. Alpha looked around, counting the soldiers.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
No fifth.
Where did the fifth go? Alpha looked around in a frantic hurry, only to realize that the only place that the last man could've gone was where they came from, the direction of Hope, The Garden's newfound headquarters within this newly charted campus. Shit! The man clearly had some sort of invisibility ability, so they were already out of sight. Reinforcements was bound to come as soon as possible, and if the complexes were clear, within thirty minutes. There was no time for an elongated siege.
Still, the group waited patiently, watching the soldiers who refused to even speak to them, instead holding their weapons at the ready, prepared to make any move to prevent the attackers from reaching their part of the bridge. They gathered their forced and managed to squeeze two people side by side, barely having the space to keep a stable line of defense, knowing that trying to go past this front line was suicide.
Alpha readied himself, infusing his palm with a sliver of mana, causing it to glow a dark purple hue. He'd been planning on using an attack like this much later, hopefully in a time of emergency, but it seemed like this was a good enough excuse to move forward with it. Bringing his arm back, he let the mana begin to accumulate, slowly creeping into his palm until it enveloped his whole arm, his entire appendage alight with its ethereal glow. Shining like a beacon in the darkness, his attack broke through the huddled group, which aimed to push past the defensive line all at once, with a singular, oppressive attack.
As his attack finally reached the maximum point of charge, he thrust his arm forward, aiming to release the blast of energy towards the front wall of soldiers, but just before he did, he noticed a sharp blur exit the group. Finally, it seemed the man in leather armor was revealing himself.
Unsheathing a pair of daggers the length of short swords, the man teleported towards Alpha, his speed so immense it all came by as a blur. In just an instant, he'd closed the gap between the two, even across the void itself, proving his strength as well. Landing in front of Alpha, the man unleashed his weapons towards his direction, causing his arm to lurch back in order to avoid it, attempting to stop his own attack, but it was already too late. The mana was invested, and the attack was bound to go somewhere.
His blast veered wildly off course, spraying into the air, escaping into the void above and going on for what was probably eternity, or until it eventually petered out, enough resistance stopping the blast from continuing even further. In his attempt to avoid the first attack, Alpha dodged to the side, but to his dismay, a second blade was waiting for him, stabbing him cleanly through the back, plunging into his exposed body and leaving him winded, staggering to the side in a panic. As soon as he lifted his head however, another dagger plunged into his other side, the first missed attack arcing around him to stab into him once more.
Alpha screamed in pain as he launched himself into the air, sending a small shockwave of purplish-black energy around him. The blast hit the man face on, sending him flying backwards for a brief moment, before he found his footing once more, however the blast also impacted Alpha's own men, sending a small wave of them collapsing on the ground, unable to retain their balance from the rapid movements of the two fighters. Despite their sudden advantage, the defenders chose not to move forward, instead letting the lone soldier to fight it out. Despite the seemingly apparent carelessness of their comrade, the man was in no real danger, dashing for Alpha within another second, reaching the man just before he hit the ground, sending a shockwave through the floor as he slammed into him, shooting him across the carpeted flooring, causing him to bounce several times before coming to a halt.
Enraged, the massive number of attackers pressed into the man, overwhelming him with numbers, but the man dashed away, leaping over the several soldiers that laid between him and his comrades, and finally returning back to the safety of the defensive line.
Alpha grunted, holding his hurting jaw in one hand, whilst unsheathing his sword in the other. Fine... that's how you want to play this? I'll play it your way! He held his arm far above his head, shouting a few unheard words, before disappearing from view before their very eyes. Continuing their rampage, the group collectively threw themselves towards the defenders, uncaring of the consequences any further as they leapt over each other to get to them. Two nearly identical swords flashed out between the two side by side swordsmen, slicing through five men in a single second, yet as the fifth fell, one of the fallen attackers grabbed a swordman by the foot, sending them falling off into the void alongside them.
The comrade of the fallen defender shouted, leaping forward in a fit of rage as he attempted to cleave through the horde of enemies, taking another three with him as he finally fell still, a dagger buried in his neck as he gave them the space to move around him,
With the front two defenders removed from their path, the remaining soldiers had no chance, falling before they could even take a single attacker down, choking on their own blood as they fell into the void, leaving only one man left: the devastating fighter who took down their leader for the time being. The man leveled his head towards the ten or so remaining assailants, his face solemn, yet focused entirely on the battle at hand
In just a second, the man went from a calm, collected warrior standing against an overwhelming force, into a force of death, slamming into the collective group with his daggers, dancing between the ten remaining assailants with practiced ease, before slicing chunks of gore out of them, his blades slashing through them as if they were one solid being, their flesh carving together as one. In just three seconds the man had already cleared out all of the remaining soldiers, finally able to get the space to tear them apart. Still, the man was cautious. He knew that if the entire group had collapsed on top of him, instead of giving him a series of one on one fights, he would've likely lost in an instant.
Sighing to himself, he looked back the mass of carnage and death that lay before him, the sight making him feel sick. He clenched his hands together, frowning to himself as something wracked his brain, a painful memory, or some other. He walked back towards the bridge, satisfied that the job was done, but feeling like something inherent was missing…
Shink! A knife slid into his now exposed back, sending the man crumbling to the floor. Blood spewed forth from the wound as the may screamed an agonizing cry of pain, doing his best to shift his body across the glass bridge, yet every action he tried to do only seemed to slow him down further, spilling more blood on his already bloodstained body. He coughed up a phlegm of bloody mucus, wiping it away with the brim of his sleeve, yet the gore never seemed to go away.
"Always keep count, my friend" chuckled Alpha, who emerged from the shadows, punching a hole through the darkness like he was ripping open a door. He smiled brightly as he paced around the man, careful not to go too far within arms length. He didn't want to be thrown into the void, after all.
"W-ack~ Why?!" The man exclaimed, clutching the wound, as if cradling it like a puppy would stop the blood freely flowing from the now permanent scar protruding from his skin. He sounded like he'd been betrayed by a lover, it was so pitiful.
"Orders, I'm afraid, my dear man. Now, I have some questions for you, if you don't mind. What is your role? A knight? Perhaps a skirmisher? A spy? A tactician? A famous general who's bested the odds several times over? Or just a nobody with the power of a nearly gold tiered awakened in them? Because you, my friend, could-should've killed me several times over with that display." He said, grinning from ear to ear, twirling his dagger in his hand. "So why didn't you, hm?"
The man merely grunted, leaning over atop the body of his previously slain comrade. "I don't need to- cough- tell you anything, pendejo." He said, smiling briefly. Doing his best to rid his mouth of the blood that continuously began to fill his throat.
Alpha merely smiled back. "Then I have no use for you then. Care to give your name? I prefer to know who I kill." His words were blunt, almost absurdly so, and the man began to laugh. A chocked gasp turned into a giggle, a giggle into a chuckle, and finally, full blown laughter, accompanied by a subsequent coughing fit, full of blood.
"C-Carlos. Name's Carlos. I hope you remember that name when I put my blades between your eyes." He said, staring defiantly into the man's vision, not letting his eyes droop, no matter how much they threatened to close. He knew if they closed, they would be closed for good.
"Ah, how quaint. Pathetic even. Not even sophisticated!" Alpha flourished his hands into the air, as if directing a play or a symphony. "Not even remotely as intriguing, mysterious, or enticing as I, Alpha. Lord Black sends his regards, by the way." He fluttered his hand in the direction of Carlos, the scout bleeding to death slowly but surely. "Any last words before I kick you into the void?" He asked, his expression cocky and careless.
"Fuck you" replied Carlos, lifting his middle finger towards the man that taunted him. His face scrunched in focus as he waited for the man to grab him, and attempt to throw him into the void, ready to combat the move, throw them both off if he could, preferably just this Alpha character. Maia flashed before his eyes, Xavier, Ben, Reginald, Matsuo. All of them flashed through his vision as he prepared absolutely everything he had for one final, massive push.
Just as Alpha began to move, Carlos lunged forward, dashing towards his legs with all the remaining speed he had, reaching for a desperate limb to grab, to hopefully take down the man. His efforts met air, and another dagger launched into his side, sending a jolt through his body as his eyes suddenly became too heavy to lift upwards anymore. As his vision began to dim for the last time, he watched Alpha's cocky expression turn into that of a scheming, sniveling thief.
"You- I thought you-" Carlos began
"Please, I'm not an idiot. I've seen how you move, you abomination. Die, and join your brothers in the afterlife, if there even is one." Alpha said plainly, giving Carlos a bow.
"I'll… see you… in hell" Carlos' last words were a whisper, barely audible in the silent battlefield. Finally, he closed his eyes, and fell back, completely still.
"And so-" Alpha started, turning back around, towards the massacre of his men. One by one, he began to grab their bodies, throwing them off the side of the complex, to avoid leaving any clues behind. They would think some simple bandits overpowered a caravan, and think no less as he walked into their territories unopposed!
"Let the war begin!"
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Zander gasped as the group of younger scouts happened upon the pile of corpses along the northwest exit of Garden's End. He spotted two bodies of armored soldiers, Bernard's lot, a caravanner, and one man, left dead in the familiar scout garb. Charging forward, ignoring the questions of his squad, he ran towards the downed man, flipping him onto his back, and finally, with harrowing reluctance, looking into the man's face.
It was Carlos.
Battered and bloodied, Carlos now lay dead along the glass bridge. Another scout lost to the terrors of the second layer. Tears welled in Zander's eyes as another one of his few remaining friends lay dead in his arms, another wave of grief, twenty times greater than the last washing upon him like an unforgiving tide.
He did not sob, he did not cry, he wailed. He wailed for the world, he wailed for his friends, he wailed for the grieving loved ones Carlos had back in Hope, he wailed for revenge, he wailed for grief. He wailed and wailed, and wailed. Until his lungs gave out, until his lips were dry, and his fingers crinkled and shaking around the man's arms, desperately trying to shake the man awake until he'd woken back up.
This man was one of his best friends. They'd gotten so much closer over the past two weeks, bonding over their loss, cherishing the memories they'd had with each other. Carlos would tell Zander the tales of his fallen scouts, of Maia and Reginald, the duo who worked hand in hand, of Reginald, the wisecrack old man who spouted "deep" quotes at any given second, of Xavier the warrior, who trust himself into battle on the first day on the job, jumping in front of Carlos like he was some greenie that needed to be protected. Carlos had only begun to tell him the stories of the people they'd lost. Logham was the newest member of the group, and never had those stories to share, and now they were lost, lost alongside his dear friend.
"FUCK!" Zander shouted. "FUCK, FUCK FUCK FUCK!" He leaned forward in a lurching sob as one of the newer members placed their hand on his shoulder, but he shook it off, standing the second the man's palm reached his skin. "We need to leave" He wiped his eyes, removing the tears that had begun to flow. He had shed so many in the passing weeks. He was more surprised he had any more left to shed.
He turned back where they came from, but not before giving the area one final, sweeping glance. There were no bodies left of any attackers, but he knew that was impossible. Carlos was strong enough to take most people down in a fight, much less an ambush. Unless they knew he was coming… or if they took the bodies, he supposed.
Just like that, he got up, his face stoic and unmoving, and left. The others followed in tow, not saying a single word to Zander, instead watching the events with solemn expressions, their faced filled with concern, concern which they were much too afraid to speak aloud.
"Time to head home" Zander said, his eyes towards the floor.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The council of The Garden was in an uproar at the news of their caravan being attacked along the road of their own territory. Throughout the hastily erected council meeting, shouting had begun before any of the meeting had actually begun, and carried through much of the unimportant information that they discussed prior, before finally reaching the topic at hand. The massacre on the bridge.
Arguments rang out across the room, accusations of debauchery, of insanity, of betrayal, but Sarah would have none of it. "ENOUGH!" She shouted, catching the attention of the council members, who once again awaited the harrowing news. This time, she was accompanied by Zander, the last member to join the alpha team of the scouts.
"A new danger has reared its ugly head. In the two weeks since our decree of rapid, immense expansion, we have had relative peace and tranquility from the neighbors. However, an approximated three hours ago, one of our core scout members, alongside four members of the guard, and one caravan leader, were attacked. The caravan leader managed to survive, and is currently being questioned about the exact details of the attack, and notified our nearest scouting party, which was led by Zander here." She said, pointing in Zander's direction. Zander forced a smile towards the council, who did not reciprocate such an expression, and waited for Sarah to continue.
"On their usual route into the territory of the Refugees for supplies, their caravan was attacked by nearly twenty attackers. Clad in a dark navy blue and black, the attackers made no indication of their allegiances before they moved and acted with malicious intent to kill our people." She continued the story, the council's faces drooping softly as they thought of the murdered citizens.
"Our caravan leader, who had long ago obtained the ability to go invisible, stayed within the area, suppressing their aura as to not be heard. Upon the death of Carlos, one of my own soldiers, the leader announced themselves as Alpha, and expressed their actions to be in service of "Lord Black." After some further digging into the background of said lord, we found no record in our database, however Alpha has been seen years ago, appearing in the former territory of the Strollo's after the war, profiteering off of citizens who had lost their homes and livelihoods. He has never had any association with the Strollo Group, nor has he openly declared any thoughts towards their cause, however it is apparent that someone has us in their sights." She sighed, placing her hand flat on the table. "The council is now open for questions, begin." Internally she began to cringe, knowing the harsh questions that would likely come.
"Are the Strollo Group involved in this? Have any of their former members spoken out about the attack?" As one of the council, earning a solid no from Sarah, who proceeded to move onto the next question.
"How many resources were lost in the attack? We know of the manpower, but were any priceless artifacts or magical items lost?" Akari, their treasury specialist asked. This prompted Sarah to tilt her head at the unusually loud woman, who'd never really spoken during these times. Why now? She asked internally, but never vocalized the words.
"The daily supplies from the Refugees were all that was lost, and even then, the attackers never took any of the items. It's clear that their intention was to kill, rather than to take from us, otherwise our soldiers would still be alive." She said, and the realization of the attackers' intent caused a small uproar to rise up in the hall, before quickly petering out once more. "Next question."
"Forgive me for overstepping my boundaries, captain, but how was this allowed to happen? An excursion of nearly thirty people inside of our borders, going undetected? In what world should this have been allowed? Our men are losing their lives because of YOUR incompetence, captain, and yet we sit here and talk. If you want to take over Matsuo's role, what should we do about this devastating attack?" Evander spoke up, his voice piercing over the squabbling council before him. As he spoke, the crowd turned towards him, sending a flurry of observant eyes his way. He blushed slightly, unfamiliar with being in the limelight, before turning back towards Sarah, looking for an answer.
"Our supplies and defenses at the moment are spread too thin. With our rapid expansion, we don't immediately have the trained manpower to police our peoples, so the core of our force are currently dedicated in the settlements, keeping the peace and ensuring everyone gets their fair share of resources each day. Our scouts are spread thin due to the incident two weeks ago, and our minutemen are not yet field-ready, meaning our only remaining security, until we get this situation under control, are the guard patrolling the caravans, and the scouts that patrol our territories. None of these groups would've been able to deal with twenty or more attack people, and therefore had been ordered to retreat unless there was no possible escape. The fact that our people didn't retreat meant there was enough understanding of danger to keep them in place, and therefore resulted in their deaths. As for enemy casualties, they lost nearly double the amount of soldiers as us, losing all twenty of their foot soldiers, and leaving one alive, their captain, to put the final blow on Carlos." She coughed into her fist. "That is, if the words of our caravan leader are true, which are almost certain to be."
"If we can't defend ourselves, we leave ourselves exposed to more attacks like this! If their leader was given the chance to leave, tell his boss about our apparent lack of security, he could continue to raid our caravans with greater force! Not only that, but he could also hide anywhere within our largely unmapped and unexplored territory, and even if we did know the entire layout of these new complexes, we cannot patrol every nook and cranny!" Evander exclaimed, with great emotion. "How do you plan to fix this problem, before we lost more soldiers at the hands of these… barbarians?!"
"Oh don't call them barbarians, you spoiled prick." Piped up a councilwoman, the botanist of all people. "You know just as well that these people are as susceptible to evil as you and I. To even classify them as "Barbarians" is outright disrespectful and unprofessional!" She opened her mouth to speak again, only to be interrupted by Evander.
"And what right do YOU have to tell me how to classify our enemies? I will call them barbarian, bloodsucking vampires if I so choose! Do you sympathize for the people who murdered our citizens, who butchered our soldiers, and traumatized our dear friend Zander here?" Evander retorted, and pointed to Zander, who looked around with surprise, putting his palms up as if defending his stance.
"That's preposterous, and you know it! To classify a certain people, we must treat them as we do everything else, but to dehumanize me and proclaim I am a sympathizer of our enemies is barbaric in itself, is it not, you hypocrite?" The botanist's voice jeered back, setting the two into a back and forth shouting match, which went on for a whole three minutes before they could finally wrangle the two council members into silence.
"My point still stands, captain" Evander said, turning back to Sarah. "When you proposed this expansion, you promised safety, security, and prosperity, yet when we have worked diligently to achieve your orders, we find these promises severely lacking! How can you expect to be leader when you let our enemies waltz into our homes so freely? It's preposterous, and fraudulent of you to even assume that our livelihoods are something to toy with, and I will not stand for it!" Evander's voice turned into an overwhelming shout, pointing his finger in defiance. His aggressive stance earned a few cheer from the council, who joined in on his concerns for safety.
"Look, council. I have promised safety and security, and you will get it! This is just some unforeseen consequence in the face of prosperity, and I assure you our safety issues will be dealt with, and our new home secured. It will just take time. Please, give me that luxury and I will prove to you that you can feel safe within our new home." She said, her voice soft and comforting, but her words barely left her mouth before another chorus of contention emerged from another councilman, this time Santiago.
"And what promises are those? You've never stated how our work will secure a place for our people! You've always sat here, giving out promises and stories left and right, yet there has been no visible proof of progress! It's ridiculous, I say! How can we feel secure in our governance if we have baseless, bland promises that mean nothing! I don't think I can support a leadership like that, what say you, council?" Santiago's voice rang out amongst the hall, echoing around the new round table room they sat in, centered in the massive meeting hall within Hope.
"AYE!" nearly half of the council members responded with cheers and hoots, each voicing their support for a change in leadership, raising their fists in the air. Sarah glanced at the massive group with concern, before speaking once more.
"I give no promises because this is a tempestuous time. New enemies and struggles emerge left and right, and you expect me to know them all? I gave a plan that would, in an ideal world, give us everything we need and more, and provide us all with everything you ask for and more. Despite this however, life is not so simple. It will throw at us struggles and tribulations we could never dream of. Give me the opportunity to prove myself, and I assure you that there will be great things to come. I promise to deal with these murdering menaces, and to build the infrastructure for us to thrive within the second layer, but I need your support, in every aspect. Am I clear?" She asked, her face exposing her frustration. Her cheeks were flushed red, and her posture had straightened, her muscles tensing with her movements.
Zander noticed her anger through her movements, having lived with her in the scouts enough to recognize the internal struggle she was facing, but he chose to do nothing. He knew that these questions were harsh on her, but it seemed like it forced her to think in the right direction. Besides, he couldn't pull any willpower to speak any longer, his mental stability drained from the events of the day.
"So more empty promises?" asked Santiago, who tilted his head at Sarah, his face scrunched in a mixture of confusion and anger.
"More "empty promises," as you put it" She said, looking out across the room. "You all have every right to criticize me when I make mistakes, but this is ridiculous. No one could have predicted this wanton act of violence, and even if they could I doubt there would be much they could do about it. I WILL make this place safe, and I WILL take back the revenge we deserve to get, but it will take time. Give me the chance to right the wrongs that have been made, and I will reciprocate in kind, understand?" Another set of nods came back to her, and she slapped the table once more, standing from her seat. Without saying another word, she pushed past the crowd to the oversized doors that marked the entrance to the meeting hall, opening them swiftly and walking rapidly into the hall nearby.
"Well, how was that?" Evander asked, getting a series of smiles from the people around him,
"Excellent, well done Evander" said Santiago, who patted the man on the shoulder, smiling brightly to him. "Everyone, thoughts on Sarah's competence when facing this tragedy?" He raised the question, and the council members took their turns on analyzing Sarah's reaction to the danger. Zander had already begun to leave the room as those words rang out around the council members, yet despite his innate curiosity, he had no desire to continue partaking in political debate with those who doubted their own, so he left.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sarah brushed away her hair, which now sat long and uncut as she entered her own private office, sighing as she sat down. She threw her head onto the face of the table, being careful not to hurt herself, and heaved a series of endless, dry sobs. She'd already run out of sorrow long ago, and these emotions just continued to build further and further, until the hurt was in a state of normalcy. She'd not felt such a cycle of hatred and despair since her entrance into the second layer, when her entire world was death and misery. She'd lost so many in those few days, so many that she'd never recover from the horrors she'd seen before her introduction to Matsuo.
"Why'd you have to go…" Her voice was soft as she whispered a few words to herself, upset at the world, upset at Matsuo for leaving her here, all alone with these beasts of a council. She'd known something was up since the day Santiago spoke up, and it was clear to her now that they were pressing her authority, and authority they had no right to press. To expect her to be perfect in such a frantic situation was foolishness, was it not? Yet she knew that it didn't matter. It never mattered, to those on the hunt for brief moments of power.
No. It wasn't so black and white. It was foolish of her to assume that they were after nothing but power.
She sighed, opening her status to check if anything had changed in the past few weeks, despite knowing that nothing had changed whatsoever.
[Status]
[Core: Silver (Upper)]
[Soul: Bronze]
[Traits: Masterful Crafter (Species Only)]
[Species: Human]
[Status:]
[Strength: 64]
[Constitution: 72]
[Dexterity: 77]
[Intelligence: 56]
[Spirit: 25]
[Charisma: 13]
[Abilities: Blade Dance, Aura Manipulation, Strength Boost]
[Essence: 5,456]
She'd spent countless hours staring at this pointless screen she'd learned to hate so much. It just sat there, taunting her like she was a plaything, daring her to work to improve herself, only to be disappointed. She knew there was little left within the outer territories to truly challenge her enough to improve her statistics, not without another lure. Even the trial was pathetically weak, though she was incapacitated a majority of the time due to the magic dampening restraints placed upon her. Despite that, if she had been given a fair chance, she could have slaughtered the entire kingdom of goblins before the sun set on the first day.
She pulled out a bottle of alcohol, freshly purchased from Johann's now relocated shop, based entirely within the headquarters of the Garden's End campus, Hope. Popping the cork, she filled a nearby glass she kept under the desk with wine, drinking it down as she lulled over her thoughts. She was a mess, and she knew it, but there was no room for her to settle down and relax, not between the constant management of every minute crisis that appeared, and now the actual threat to their people. It was impossible to keep up, or at least, that's what she thought.
"How did you do it?" She asked to no one in particular, her mind focusing on Matsuo once more. "How could you live through this fucking nightmare without going crazy?" She chuckled, pouring herself another glass of wine as she pondered, a smile appearing on her face as she went over the information presented to her at the council meeting. Despite the push back against her authority, it had gone rather well, at least in her opinion. No one was calling for her head, and so far, hopefully no one was plotting to murder her in her sleep, so all's well that ends well, right?
"Lord Black… Lord Black… Loooooord Black…" She spoke the name over and over again, feeling the word out on her tongue as her brows furrowed. Where had she heard the name Black before? She assumed it was a surname of some sort, or at least a stage surname. If he had some vendetta against The Garden, they'd have to have some form of history, but they hadn't made any real enemies since the Great War, so that was out of the picture. Unless…
Her mind began to spin, possibilities flowing across her vision, her thoughts visualizing in front of her, her drunken and entirely exhausted stupor creating the images not only in her head, but in real life. Flashes of memories passed through her mind, memories of war, of danger, of death. She watched herself charge the front lines of the enemy complex, led by a few hundred of her own men, uncaring as to their fate. All that had mattered was the death of the enemy.
She remembered their de-facto leader, Jason Strollo. He'd been a shriveled little rat when she'd caught him, and he died rather quickly too. He was quite pathetic for one so feared and respected. Of course, I guess the muscle came from the man's sidekick, Remus or whatever. She coughed slightly, finding something slightly amiss. Remus… Reeeemus… Remas? She couldn't quite place what was bothering her so much about this man. He was a simple sidekick, was he not? Just a boy in muscle, destined to die alongside his mafioso, or whatever the hell the Strollo bastard had decided to call himself. Why did he even matter?
Strollo… Remus? Remus… Strollo…
Sarah shot straight up in her chair, a new understanding passing through her very being. Her posture straightened upright and at attention. Her mind worked fervently to process what she was trying to tell herself. What could this mean? Who could this pertain? What relation was there? Was there any at all? Was she just being paranoid? Once she asked every question to herself the answers seemed to fall into place, just lingering on the tip of her tongue.
Then it was gone.
Damn, thought I had something there. Ah well.