Pillars of the Kingdom

Man, this is corny, he thought to himself as he nodded once. “No more games, right?” She nodded back her approval and he drew a slow breath.

“Right,” she said as her sword was suddenly sheathed. A golden aura began to shimmer around her body, and Branden felt that intimidating power lurking within her as it manifested. Similar to Lilith’s yet so far removed from it...Well, there was nothing he could say other then that he was both impressed and disturbed at once.

He decided restraint was no longer necessary and shortly after Iona’s power manifested an ice-blue aura sprang up around him as well. The dirt he stood on began to gather dew as if it were a cool evening. He conjured a small streak of lightning with a fraction of his Arcane powers, a distraction to the coming main event. The AI raised its palm and allowed the attack to hit him, proving one thing. The bitch...Is arrogant. Point for me.

Iona moved forward then, drawing her sword in a traditional Iai motion and watching it be deflected without remark. Branden followed suit, moving in and performing his Freezing Spiral technique. His hand hit the ground, lifted his body and he spun in midair as he raked his saber across the foe’s figure. This too, he was surprised to note, was blocked by the red laser, and his momentum took him over the enemy’s head. He kicked his feet backwards, swung downward, and balanced himself on the foe’s laser as it blocked his attack.

The Devil’s Hellcat knew where this was headed; she moved forward and thrust her sword into the machine. The blade pierced armor, sparks shooting outward before the red liquid fired out of her. Her eyes widened first in victory, then in shock - The shoulder of the machine opened up and a small, gun-shaped probe popped up. This device swivelled quickly, aiming its barrel at her, and she pulled her sword away with all of her strength. She felt the energy weapon strike her in the chest.

It stunned her, but did not get past her armor, managing only to disperse her aura temporarily. The AI’s left arm quickly moved forward and unleashed its fury upon her. Most of the attacks were deflected with that katana of her’s, but enough connected that she fell to her knees, exhausted and almost finished. The gun was still firing, and despite the golden barrier she erected around herself she was bleeding rather badly.

“Not yet, we haven’t even had our first date!” Branden exclaimed angrily, dropping his legs down to quickly land. He was faster than the machine and he knew it, so he used that to his advantage and lunged upward. His sword also pierced the AI’s chest, but he soon learned the same lesson Iona had; a thrust could be a fatal mistake, because he only had enough warning to deflect the thrusting energy weapon with his dagger. The parry kept the blade from his heart, but only by pulling it to his right. Into his shoulder the blow went, and he barely managed to yank his sword away after two more stabs had landed on his abdomen.

Luckily, the energy blade was narrow. Also luckily, the attack had forced the AI to stop concentrating on Iona, who quickly moved back toward the ship. Unluckily, the three strikes had done some serious damage to Frost, who coughed softly as his blood dripped out of his body. Well, seems this is it. Damn it, no way, he thought to himself as he shattered his despair, I have to get Valin! This can’t end. Not until I end this.

Iona picked up on his weakness and shouted loudly, “Get the hell over here Frost! You have to get that bitch of an Apostle or it’ll be me who takes your father’s killer’s head!” How she knew this didn’t matter, but what mattered was that she had let her guard down and paid for it: A large red bolt of energy struck her in the chest and sent her flying back-first into Martin’s ship. A loud clang of metal striking metal came from the collision and Iona fell face-first onto the ground.

As the Solascians ran out and grasped the fallen warriors, taking them backwards to a marginal level of safety, Jacin heard that whispering in the back of his mind. Nefarious, he knew what was being offered.

“I can heal them quickly, you know,” his relic proposed. He sighed gently, trying to figure out if help was really necessary.

Alright, that was a fast decision, he thought to himself. What’s your price, you ancient piece of metal?

The mental voice sounded bemused. “Just that you work to preserve every ounce of the enemy you possibly can; the damaged parts will be useful to people like Martin, those with creativity. What’s more, you’re the one who’s making the healing aura, not me. I’m just unlocking it in your mind.”

The offer was too damn appealing. Fine, you win. Again, he thought back at it with a hint of mirth. The gauntlet sent a non-literary response, one which felt similar to a chuckle, before Jacin felt his body become infused with a very faint golden glow. Words appeared in his mind, words he was compelled to speak.

“In the name of The Hallowed Healer,” the letters haunting his thoughts spelled out, “I offer you aid!” It was nonsense, yet suddenly a golden light flowed from Jacin’s form to everyone in the area, including even the Solascians who had chosen to aid them. Iona looked up, gasping at the sight she observed, and bit her bottom lip to stop it from whispering a word that had formed on her tongue.

Charles smiled downward at himself, a satisfied nod coming from his head as he placed a helmet upon it. A salute was given to the AI, who surprisingly returned it. Jacin moved forward and readied his spear, giving a nod to the foe and finding it returned. The two humans exchanged a glance and set forth on what was not at all an easy undertaking.

Jacin’s spear was dodged almost effortlessly, while Charles’ sword merited a casual deflection from the red laser beam that the AI used for a sword. The AI was humoring them, avoiding and occasionally parrying their attacks without so much as a hint of difficulty. Sure, Jacin’s use of his earth-elemental technique forced the AI to quickly move out of the way to avoid it, and Charles’ unexpected manipulation of his spiritual energy into a bolt of green light fired from his sword was neutralized by a similar attack from the AI’s right hand, but the battle’s outcome was clearly predetermined.

“Clarice,” Kathy said with her face getting a bit pink. For a moment, Blind Justice considered the unthinkable - That somehow, Kathy was getting aroused by this! This strange idea was quickly overcome and Clarice looked toward her dear one. “Do you love me?” That question was completely different then the usual seduction scheme, so the newly-appointed Hora took a long second to calm herself.

“I...” Clarice began, closing her eyes tightly. She opened them, shaking her head. “Dammit, you know I do! But why does that matter now? Because we’re about to be killed?” Clarice’s spirits were also in the deepest pit they’d been in all fight - Charles collapsed after a crushing blow to his stomach, one which left a large dent in his armor, and Jacin alone was no match for this thing and every onlooker could tell.

“If you love me, I think I know what...Well, how to win this.” Kathy did not sound wholly assured of this measure being such an asset, but Clarice shared that disposition so Kathy’s doubt wasn’t very unsettling.

“How the hell does my caring for you make us stronger?” Clarice was admittedly frustrated. Why would Kathy bring this up now, unless to say their love could make or break the battle. No, Clarice definitely felt for Kathy: but was it really, fully love?

“Cassandra and Shade,” the scientist began with a soft sigh, “trusted one another to share their powers. If you love me, then I can probably open the same channel. The downside is,” she continued while ignoring Clarice’s obvious surprise (not to mention others who overheard this.) “If you doubt, it can destabilize the link, and that would remove my power from yours and cost you bigtime at a moment of need.”

Jacin managed to avoid an attack from the AI and counter with his own slash, the spear’s head managing to graze the AI’s armor and draw a trickle of that red sealant. The machine’s plasma gun locked onto him and quickly fired a burst of six rounds. Lancir stepped backwards, falling to the ground, and Clarice knew she had only one hope left.

“I do love you, and I trust you, so...” She sighed softly, making her move. “Kiss me.” The request was one that drew a number of raised eyebrows, including a soft growl from the wounded Serge. Kathy gladly obliged, stepping forward and leaning in to allow their lips to graze. The kiss deepened, and as the would-be medics moved to recover the wounded Gataminians, they observed the most lovely merging of auras they could have imagined.

First, Clarice’s spiritual power emerged as a deep, purple glow. Kathy’s was a much brighter pink, but as the kiss lasted the two colors meshed, and finally the scientist-Arcanic opened her eyes. They took a step back, the mixed color remaining around their bodies as Clarice put her helmet on.

“Remember lover, I’m feeding you,” the older woman offered as a warning. “I can’t do much while I charge you, but I suspect you’ll be able to guard me, right?” Finally, she sounded convinced in her course of action, and not one of the onlookers could deny that in an instant, both had gone from mediocre might to devastating strength. For the first time since Branden and Iona teamed up, the fight looked even.

Clarice looked at her hands, feeling this rush of new energy coarse through her body, and she grinned to herself ever so slightly. If loving Kathy meant this, she could get used to it! Of course, to abuse something like this would be foolish beyond any belief, but she would cherish the rush for a little while longer.

It was then that an engine roared to life, and from behind her came...A Yenoharan tank?! She stepped to the side, nearly dropping that Arcane link with her love in the process, but watched as the small, six wheeled and dual-tracked vehicle raised a small tube from its right side and unleashed a series of six small rockets into the AI’s direction.

“Damn,” Martin exclaimed as he opened the cockpit, observing the scene for a moment. He quickly closed the shielded green-glass cockpit and angled what appeared to be a large cannon toward the robot. It unleashed a gigantic metal shell at the AI, but Martin was not to be satisfied with the result. The AI was standing there, having caught the shell physically with a hand nonchalantly held out. He knew what was coming and opened the cockpit, leaping out as the machine threw the shell back at him.

“Fucking bitch!” Martin complained as he rolled away from the thing. No, the shell did not manage to actually strike the mammoth machine and its physica frame, but it did cause enough impact even through the tank’s energy shield that it went aerial and smashed into the Regalia much like Iona had done previously.

“That’s my Mauler, ahh god damn!” he cried out, reaching inside of his jacket and drawing a small submachine gun. The red lights which flew from the gun showed he’d loaded it long ago, his feet taking off as he broke to his left in a run. Of course, the AI dodged or used its fingertip to flick away every round, but he tried right? He slid to a stop, sliding a chamber open and popping in a small, dazzlingly bright pink crystal.

“That’s...” Kathy stated softly, focusing more on gathering her energy to feed to Clarice than anything else. Once the gun was re-loaded the mercenary shouted with glee as he unloaded pink beams that left trails of steam in their path. Unlike this time, the AI suffered desperately for trying to negate these bolts so easily - A number of small holes were punched clean through its frame before it realized that these weapons were not antiques.

“Eat Dragonite, you son of a calculator!” The joke was lost on many, but the effect of Dragonite, one of the rarest forms of Crystal, was not. “I’ve saved this just for a prick like you, wrecking my wheels!” Of course, once this android’s wrath was triggered Martin was flattened like a pancake - It took only a series of punches to the face to have nearly killed the poor human, the first leaving him unconscious and the rest coming so quickly that even Clarice was stunned.

“Enough. Let’s make this a one on one, eh?” she proposed idly to the AI. It mulled it over, and then apparently agreed by chucking Martin’s unconscious form into the hands of the waiting wannabe-paramedics from Solasce. Of all the wounds, his and Branden’s were definitely the worst of all of them, but Clarice couldn’t spare the time to think about that.

She was too busy dodging that red blade herself. She found it surprisingly easy - The blade itself made an abundance of sound, generated a good amount of excess heat, and was easily visible against the landscape. The scent of ionized air was faint, but even this clued her in as to the enemy’s position, and the fact it burned Crystal gave it a gentle spiritual impression. All in all, she was this thing’s worst nightmare, so why was it keeping pace with her?

She spiraled quickly, her blades flashing up and down almost at the same time as she created a moment where she resembled a buzz saw. She quickly neutralized that momentum and brought both swords down, finding the first blocked while the second connected and dug into its shoulder. The machine retaliated by readying its trusty gun and firing toward her.

Clarice knew that alone, she’d be sorely overwhelmed by this thing. As she evaded the hail of gunfire, she knew her own reserves wouldn’t have allowed such a quick movement. As things were, she managed to bring both swords down on the gun itself and cleave it off, sparks flying from the protruding turret which receded into the AI’s left arm.

This time, her foe’s retaliation was sincere - It delivered a vicious kick into Clarice’s chest. She recovered, feet skidding along the surface of the dirt before she came to a stop. She looked up to find the AI was slashing downward with its blade, and she ducked so late she lost a few strands of hair in the face of her survival. She countered with her left sword, striking the AI in its side before parrying another slash with her right.

Something’s wrong, she mused as she leaned to her right to avoid another attack. She brought both swords against its chest and slashed deeply. This is too easy. I mean, it’s damaged, sure, but even with Kathy backing me I can’t be that strong...Can I? She crossed her swords to nullify one of its palm-cannon blasts, then uncrossed them in a scissor like manner and nearly removed the AI’s arm. No way, something’s gotta be off.

She closed her eyes, narrowly dodging yet another wide slash, when she heard something very familiar. It was masked by the sound of the energy blade and the electrical feedback from all the damage the thing had sustained, but she definitely knew that particular tone of mechanics. It was...

“Oh Gods no, another bomb!” she screamed. The AI looked up to her and grinned, dealing her a cruel elbow to the forehead in her moment of shock. She heard the bomb’s detonation pace raise in intensity, and she got to her feet quickly. “How do we stop it?!”

“You don’t,” the machine responded as he bowed slightly before springing back into action. “I go down, you go with me, and even that little, flying tin can of yours can’t get you out of here in time.” The machine had about summed it up - They had no logical recourse at this point other then to run as fast as they could or hide behind the greatest shield they could muster. It was tragic, but even a machine had grasped the concept of self-sacrifice.

“Fucking...Alright, I’ll freeze the AI, do you think that will help?” rang Branden’s voice. Clarice turned to see that his three puncture wounds had slowed to a mere trickle, and while he was pale he at least appeared operationally stable. Iona was also standing, her face set with that grim determination that made her golden eyes almost terrifying.

“Alright, so what now?” Clarice exclaimed as she dodged a blow and decided she’d have about enough of things. If this AI wanted to play around, she’d take advantage. She feigned a thrust with her left and wound up her right, cleaving the bottom portion of the AI’s body off. Its legs and part of its waist was gone, leaving it a ticking time bomb.

“Well that helps, the damn thing is next to defenseless,” Kathy muttered. For good measure, Clarice removed its arms and even the small gun on its shoulder which had earlier surprised Iona. It was almost a form of torture, yet she heard the weapon cycle even faster and started to get worried.

“Kathy!” Blind Justice exclaimed. “Draw from me and shield this thing senseless after Branden freezes it.” Frost replied by waving to it (getting an angry yet impotent glare in response) before layering it in a barrier of frozen water, one that cracked at first yet ultimately held firm. It could not escape, but its grin did not fade.

The weight dropped as Clarice felt the energy flows reverse and a sudden exhaustion overtake her. The other reason Kathy needed that degree of trust was evident - Her lover could easily kill her with such a link open. The shields integrated with the ice as they snapped up, forming a doubly powerful barrier against the incredible heat that would soon be released. Clarice could only pray it was enough.

Serge and Kendrick, however, added their own amount of energy into the defense. Neither were fully Arcanics, but they’d trained their spiritual essences to the point that, despite the dimness of the auras around them, their contributions would be useful. Still, could they hope to do what it took the deaths of Shade the Man who Flew and Cassandra Retholden to accomplish? It seemed downright doubtful.

As the weapon completed its last cycle and detonated, a cruel twist of fate was played on all parties. The AI did not have its complete body, thus it could not generate the full blast of its explosion - It would detonate its power core perfectly, but many of its energy nodes were in its arms and legs, and it had obviously expended a catastrophic deal of power to deal with its injuries. Therefore, even its kamikaze attack was not as deadly as it might have otherwise been.

Unfortunately, the detonation was concealed only enough that they felt the initial blast underneath their collective barriers. Something in the magical gemstone’s detonation provided them with a terrifying feeling just before the entire party lost consciousness, along with all those who were around. Wether they lived or not, not a single one of them could tell. To them, the lines of life and death might well have not existed, although the feeling Clarice felt in the back of her subconscious - That subtle, mystical link with the one she loved - reassured her that this was not her eternal sleep, despite the images she saw of the two legendary Arcanics bowing to the both of them in thanks.

No, these two were visiting to congratulate them on learning at least one thing - Not to be ashamed of their love and the power it could bring, despite what some might criticize about its nature. Who were they to say what Clarice “Blind Justice” Saffron was for loving Katherine London, a Solascian Arcanic/Scientist who happened to complete her? Nobody, because only Clarice could know who she loved, and for what it was worth, she knew.

Epilogue

As Branden recovered, he first looked toward the sky without much expectation. After all, he’d heard Heaven would appear no different than the physical world he was used to, at first. Yet the dirt underneath his body, hot and...Bloodstained? No, either he was in hell and atoning for his sins or he was not yet dead. He moved to stand, felt the pain in his body from his wounds, and knew it was the latter. A good part of him rejoiced, for he now had the chance to continue his path of redemption.

He could hear Jacin blabbering, likely in his sleep, but the words weren’t very clear to him. As a matter of fact, his vision began to blur and he looked to his left, finding his arm and moving it to ensure it was intact. He felt resistance and fear gripped him for a moment before he realized Iona’s hand was in his. He looked toward the unconscious woman, saw that she’d suffered a few wounds of her own, and he began to channel what little healing energy he could afford back into her body.

A few others were up and moving. Clarice and Kathy had taken a small trip away from them, and he could only imagine (with envy, might one add) at what was going on. Jacin and Charles were fine and resting, Jacin’s awkward prayers having done them all a world of good. Serge checked on Branden and Iona to make sure they were alright, and gave his foster son a wink when he noted whose hand was grasped by whose. Branden blushed and looked skyward again, ignoring a voice he first thought was Charles’. He was surprised when the groaning identified itself by a reference to “wheels” and “who is going to help me get this damn thing back on its treads!” So Martin and Charles had something in common. Personally, he preferred Charles - At least Charles was funny.

*****
In the bowels of this fortification, the general looked to his adjutant and growled. “What do you mean,” he said aloud, “That the Artificial Intelligence units were eliminated by barbarians - Savages who came to the aid of our people and not even the other way around?” It was almost too good to not be a joke, but there it was in black and white, in official order. It was signed by Black Legend, a man who confessed both his sin in treason and his death to save the world from a greater disaster, yet...Well, that peculiar Arcanic’s plea never had a chance of working. It was time, long past it in fact, that Solasce’s glory come to fruition. Rhinegold’s descendants would pay for their treachery at long last. The order had been given, and he was not about to recind it – War would come to this little land called ‘Emor,’ regardless of an insane Arcanic’s wishes.

Afterword - Jesse Pohlman (himself!)
Revision is the key to success, but one has to admit that nothing will ever be perfect. When I released the first edition of this book, my life was different. Over the last few years, I’ve grown as a writer. I could probably have taken this entire book and overhauled it, rewritten every word, but I decided that would be dishonest. I can’t change the past, and I can’t unmake some of the mistakes. Sure, I can change a poor choice of joke for a book dedication, and I can change a sentence that didn’t belong here or a phrase that should have been italicized; but, would it be fair to change the entire story, to have events happen at different times or in different ways?

I couldn’t live with myself if I did that. The purpose of re-writing this book before releasing Volume Two is to clear up as many minor errors and moderate mistakes as possible without tampering too heavily with the original material. A lot of people had said, “wouldn’t it be really cool if so-and-so did something differently?” I’d admit it would! But, then, it wouldn’t be fair for my characters to exercise another’s logic in the second edition. Nor would it be good for a character to do something differently and wind up needing to re-tool the entire plan for the trilogy!

Writing is fantastic because a writer can come up with any outcome he likes, but to abuse this and create characters that have no flaws, to provide the reader with the blandest experience possible by having every hero be infallible and every villain be easily thwarted despite their alleged strength, well…It would be simply taking the “deus ex machina” route. It would be invoking the higher power. A perfect case: Shade and Cassandra sit out the first battle with the Apostles when, by all signs, they could easily have intervened and given Valin a run for his money. In a perfect world, perhaps Shade and Cassandra would have done it; but, their reasons for not doing so are always subject to a reader’s questioning. Perhaps, as they theorize, this wasn’t the Apostles’ real strength – It was a test of the enemy as much as the enemy was tested. Ultimately, there is even the viewpoint that I needed the villains to survive so they may menace another day. Accept it as you wish.

In the time since my first publication of this book, I’ve improved incredibly, but I’ve suffered too. My mother’s passing was tragic, and student teaching was an amazing trip to say the least. Friends have moved away and new ones have been made. If there is a writer controlling my life, I’d say he’s a good if cruel one. That’s really all there is to say about it.

In my first edition’s afterword, I referenced how Emor was heavily influenced by my youthful days spent playing with Legos™. Slap together a few bricks and you have a jet plane – Give a human-shaped piece of plastic a sword and you have a knight. Put the two together and see how the experience breaks out! Emor can be compared to plenty of other things, Final Fantasy™ for example, or a number of Japanese comics (Manga), but ultimately it is unique in that the characters and not the action, combat system or, ugh, graphics are the focus.

Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed, and hopefully you’ll join us for part two!