The Path 052
'This world is too peaceful...' thought a young girl with bronzed skin, feathered brown hair, and a supple, athletic body sporting well-defined muscles. Like many who dwelled within the desert metropolis she called home, her body was garbed in relatively light clothing that consisted of a white bralette, white short-shorts, a single white legging on her right leg, white vambraces, a golden medallion fastened to a white choker, and a brown, dual-sword belt with a gold, white-tipped sash.
Contrasting the girl's words, the bodies of several people were strewn about on the ground behind her, including that of her former Master, the Sultana, Ainu Adhara. Moments prior, the girl, who had been vested the name and title 'Desert Rose' after proving herself in the Colosseum, had been absentmindedly washing and even kissing her Master's feet. What led her to slaughter everyone in the spacious, opium-heavy chamber was her Master ordering her to service one of her guests, a weak, grotesquely obese merchant who peddled silks and dye.
rumble rumble rumble
Bursting into the chamber, a group of primarily female warriors wearing scant, dancer-like attire attempted to encircle Rose, standing on the edge of a semi-circular balcony overlooking a vast, seemingly infinite cityscape.
"Rose! What have you done!?" shouted the group's leader, a woman with the same brown skin, eyes, and hair color as Rose but much longer and in a ponytail. In her hands were two silvery, green-hued scimitars, but Rose seemed oblivious to the danger they represented as she half-turned to meet the woman's gaze, smiling as she replied, "I've grown weary of this facade, Aaliyah. The people of this country believe they can force people to fight and die for their entertainment. Now, you will all be forced to fight for mine..."
Punctuating her words, Rose raised her right hand, her forearm swelling to more than three times its natural size, an effect that rapidly spread up her upper arm and shoulder. More notably, a layer of dense white fur emerged from her flesh, her fist becoming nearly as large as her head as she flexed her fingers open and closed.
"So, that's how it is. You've made a deal with a Demon..." accused Aaliyah, hatred exuding from the depths of her dark brown eyes.
"Believe what you want," replied Rose, clenching her hand into a fist as she asserted, "In the end, you, and anyone else who opposes me, is fated to become my prey..."
Without warning, Rose abruptly kicked off the floor with enough force to shatter the balcony. Aaliyah veiled her scimitars with a thick layer of Aura and made a cross-slicing gesture at Rose's outstretched hand, but while she was able to slice through the flesh, bone, and muscle comprising the simian appendage, something inexplicable and horrible occurred.
"Attack...!" bellowed Aaliyah, her eyes closed and face scrunched in pain as the segments of Rose's wounded fist and arm morphed into powerful, octopus-like tentacles that promptly ensnared and began to squeeze her body.
"Bring it on...!" appended Rose, making a sweeping gesture with her left hand, the appendage instantaneously transforming into the blade-tipped wing of a Harpuia. A volley of razor-sharp feathers capable of penetrating granite was unleashed, but since the average Grade of the Sultana's Elite Blade Dancers was Three, they managed to evade or deflect the majority without issue.
Taking advantage of the gap created by her allies, another Blade Dancer moved into Rose's blind spot, slicing through the tentacles threatening to wring their Captain like a rag.
"Did you know that a cephalopod's tentacles can act independently of the main body...?" Rose asked, exposing rows of sharp teeth as the tentacles ensnaring Aaliyah contracted and squeezed tighter. At the same time, she leveled her dismembered stump at the Blade Dancer that had cut her arm, steam, bones, and sinew erupting from the end to form the scale-covered appendage of a Fire Drake.
Before the Blade Dancer could react, a hole opened in the palm of Rose's hand, spewing a pressurized stream of highly corrosive liquid that quickly burst into flames capable of melting stone. The targetted and surrounding Blade Dancers all shielded their bodies with Aura, but as flames filled the chamber and deprived it of oxygen, their combat efficacy dwindled by the second. Those who valued their lives fled toward the destroyed balcony, but they quickly realized that wasn't an option as they ran face-first into the Magic barrier that was supposed to prevent burglars and other ne'er-do-wells from entering and freely escaping the palace...
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With nearly three months passing without incident, Will, despite his best efforts not to, found himself succumbing to a routine. It was difficult not to when he had a schedule to follow, and since he was the de facto leader of a group that had grown to eighteen strong, he had an ever-growing list of duties and responsibilities.
"Will! Will! Big news...!" exclaimed Alessandra, bursting into the former's room as he was in the process of comparing his group's receipts against the market value of various training tools, items, and equipment.
"What's up...?" asked Will, raising his gaze and frowning when he saw that Alessandra was wearing a pale pink crop top that exposed her navel and a pleated white skirt that barely extended past the tips of her fingers. She wore a matte black sports bra and spat-like shorts underneath, but he felt like she was deliberately skirting the guidelines he had established.
"The media is reporting that there was a major terrorist attack in the south and that the Sultana is missing in action," explained Alessandra, passing a curious gaze over the many receipts and request forms roughly organized atop Will's oversized desk. She felt like she recognized some of them, but since Will paid for most things post-shopping spree, she could only guess how much she had gotten him to spend on her the past three months. All she knew for certain was that it was a lot.
"The Sultana is missing...?" asked Will, leaning back and reclining in his comfortable leather chair. Alessandra gave him a look as if she wanted to sit on his lap, but as he had been pretty prohibitive when it came to direct contact, she remained silent, understanding his question wasn't targeted at her but his inner monologue.
'The Sultana is the central authority in Deisceart...' Will thought pensively, closing his eyes, turning his chair sideways, and tapping his armrest with his right index finger.
'If she's truly missing or deceased, it will plunge the entire region into chaos. If that happens, the refugee crisis burdening my homeland will worsen...' concluded Will, a conflicted frown adorning his face.
As the Oirthear territories were the first places people fled when shit hit the fan, Will envisioned a massive influx of Deisceartians fleeing into their lands. The problem with this was that most Deisceartians had been raised to regard Oirthearians as enemies. Thus, instead of trying to integrate into established towns and villages, they tended to try and create settlements of their own, encroaching on Oirthearian lands and hunting grounds.
"When, exactly, did the attack occur...?" asked Will, opening his eyes and turning to face Alessandra.
"They're saying it was last night, but it's hard to know if this was the first or a follow-up attack since Deisceart is pretty secretive about things like this," replied Alessandra, spreading her hands and shrugging. "One thing for certain is that someone had set fire to the Sultana's palace, burning a large section of it to the ground."
"Is anyone claiming responsibility for the attack...?" asked Will. Deisceart was by far the region with the most inequity, with nearly sixty percent of its population being classified as slaves or indentured servants, so there were a number of small and major terrorist groups that periodically acted to undermine the Sultana's influence.
"Several are trying, but since none have submitted proof, many believe an external force carried out the attack," answered Alessandra, taking a seat on the edge of Will's desk as she revealed, "The two candidates everyone is pointing their fingers at are the Oirthear Constellation and the Diabolica Imperium..."
"So fucking stupid..." muttered Will, closing his eyes and reaching up to trace his middle finger and thumb across the ridge of his brows in a self-soothing gesture. He wasn't surprised that people were trying to libel his family, but as they were the region that would be most impacted, outside of Deisceart itself, anyone with a functional brain would understand they were being set up.
"If you're feeling stressed, would you like me to give you a massage...?" asked Alessandra, quickly supplanting, "Just your shoulders, of course."
"Ask again in ten years..." responded Will, closing his eyes and leaning onto the knuckles of his right hand. Alessandra was tempted to point out that the Kingdom's bylaws set the marriageable age at fifteen, but since Will was impervious to such arguments, she remained silent and watched him think.
'He's really handsome when he's wracking his brain...' thought Alessandra, a faint smile developing across her face. She wished he would pay more attention to her, but as they still had more than four years to get to know one another, she was certain he would eventually notice her ever-growing charm.
'Should I just ignore this development...?' Will asked himself. Even if he were to return home, there was only so much he could do as an eleven-year-old kid. He might possess strength that exceeds most adults, but if he were a seasoned warrior or even a new recruit, he would doubtlessly have misgivings if one of his Commanders were a child.
Ding!
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[Emergent Calamity]
Rank: S~SSS [Main Quest]
Objective(s): A great beast has awakened in a distant land, scored by cascading sands and endless jungles. An ancient shadow begins to stir, whispering of a lost but unforgotten God. Will you seek the truth, turn a blind eye, or prepare for the coming calamities? Know that, regardless of your chosen path, every era must meet its end, eventually.
Optional Objective(s): Seek the Desert Rose, nourish it, or clip its thorns outright(0/1), Escort the twins, Aisha and Azir, safely to their home(0/1), Prevent the people of Deisceart from intruding on your family's domain or welcome them with open arms(-/-), ????(0/1).
Rewards: Variable.
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'Mmm...I guess it makes sense the two of them might be recalled home...' thought Will, referring to Aisha and Azir. Their mother was one of the most powerful and influential female warriors in service of the Sultana, so if the latter had gone missing or been killed, the Seven Stars of Deisceart were the leading candidates to inherit her position and authority.
'Smells like a power struggle...' Will thought, his expression morphing into a slight frown. He hadn't interacted with Aisha and Azir much over the last three months since the duo spent much of their free time working. But, as he often saw Aisha training tirelessly during their guided lessons, Will had a certain fondness for the hardworking half-zoan. If he allowed the duo to return home, the odds of them being caught in the crossfire of the coming conflict were high...
'This is why I hate Quests...' thought Will, opening his closed eyes to re-read the Quest details. The Optional Objective to escort the due safely to their home was clearly a trap as his presence in the region during such a volatile period would be all the 'proof' some needed to confirm his family was somehow responsible for the Sultana's death or disappearance. The odds of him being captured were exceptionally high without the use of his Innate, and depending on how things played out, his family might declare war to reclaim him or seek vengeance...
doo-doo-dowh
"I'll answer it!" said Alessandra, hastily departing the room as she felt that Will needed time to organize his thoughts. She couldn't really understand it herself, but he clearly had a lot on his mind. Thus, for a fleeting moment, Will was left alone to contemplate, his gaze focused on a particular line of text in the Quest's Optional Objectives, specifically the section pertaining to a Desert Rose...
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(A/N: What do you guys and gals think? Should Will allow himself to be influenced by the whimsy of the System and its Quests, or should he continue as he has? Depending on the answer, the direction of the story could change drastically (O w O)...)