Great primordial sin-Chapter 204 - 203

Arascus looked at his finished articles. Malam could come up with something better no doubt, but he was quite happy with them himself, quite proud in fact: "Kirinyaa has a (Military) Problem", "Yes, We Won, Now What?" and "Let’s Talk about the Boys with Guns." Frankly, Kassandora would have it easy.

Kavaa didn’t know why she had come. She didn’t ask Kassandora, but Iliyal had requested thirty of Clerics to be brought into Epa. She really did not need to go but then again, the position of Chief Logistician had little to do in the aftermath of a war. The biggest change to Central Requisitions was that it was being renamed to in the native Kirinyaan to Mti Ushindi wa Kwanza. That was hard to say though, so CR it was. The Clerics would be arriving later, in another transport, Raptor One was carrying the main package.

Iliyal Tremali, Fer, and Kavaa. Fer, in was excitedly tapping her foot as Iliyal sat there, straight backed and merely thinking. He was worse than Kassandora, at least she pretended to care. The elf had more in common with machines than with men. Is that what Kassandora’s blessing turned people into? Too many notes of War’s Orchestra and suddenly all they could think about was the job itself and nothing else. It wasn’t that she even minded the man, he wasn’t annoying, he was simply... there was something wrong with him. And it wasn’t an illness her healing could fix either.

"You really did not have to come." Iliyal finally opened his mouth as the steel cabin of Raptor One started to turn. This had changed too, the rear cabin had given up half its size for the ammunition rooms. That was it though, the seats were still uncomfortable pieces of steel and if they had brought on more people then someone would have to stand and hold on to the steel poles that shot from the floor to the ceiling. Even the lights had not been changed, still the faint blinking reds that signified the engine was turned on.

"It will be good to give them a sparring partner on their level for the first few days." Kavaa said. The war had taught her how to deal with Kassandora’s soldiers. She had segregated them into two groups, the grunts would follow whatever order she said because she was part of the hierarchy. The officers technically ranked with her, so they needed a reason. Argumentation: calls to respect her Divinity, moralising or hoping for empathy all slid off them like droplets of water. But one reason and they’d see sense. Iliyal crossed his arms and sighed. Kavaa smiled in satisfaction to herself, there it was. One reason and he saw sense.

"I’m going to be busy then." Iliyal said. "I’ll stay the first day, but if you’re here, you handle the training."

"What are you going to be doing?"

"I have a grandson to visit." Iliyal said and Kavaa stared at the elf’s cold green eyes. In his uniform, parachute strapped to him and with that glare, it was impossible to get a read on him. She supposed he would miss Iliyal, but she also doubted the elf had even an inkling of the sentimentality needed to go visit a family member for the simple sake of family.

"I won’t stop you." Kavaa said. The elf nodded, readjusted his posture from straight to straighter, and closed his eyes.

"I want to meet these new girls." Fer said excitedly. She had to lower her head to not brush her tall ears every time the captain made an adjustment.

"They’re nothing impressive." Iliyal said. Oh! Great! So he spoke to Fer? He turned to Kavaa as if reading her thoughts. "I assume you could take on all five at once." Kavaa raised an eyebrow and felt her lips quirk into a smile. If there was one thing people rarely complemented, it was her fighting skill. She was useful in battle, but that was through the merit of her Blessing of Health. She herself though? She merely knew how to swing a sword around.

"Don’t put them down so badly." Kavaa said.

"You’ll know what I mean when you meet them." Iliyal said, he took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and smiled. "Actually, it’s good that you came."

"Oh so now you want me here?" Kavaa said.

"You’re not bad at all." Fer added from the side.

"We can push them further with your healing." Iliyal said with a sigh. "I don’t like teaching combat."

"I don’t buy that." Fer said.

"Isn’t Fer for that?" Kavaa asked. Fer proudly sat up, bumped her head, then lowered her posture again. "And you’re for tactics and leadership."

"Even worse." Iliyal said.

"Old." Fer said. Iliyal merely smiled, eyes still closed and arms crossed over his chest.

"Too old." He agreed and Fer rolled her eyes.

"And miserable."

"Just content."

"And boring."

"Already had my fill of excitement."

"Alcoholic."

"I don’t drink too much."

"Annoying."

"Can’t argue with that." Iliyal said and Fer sighed.

"And horribly, horribly calm." She said.

"The new girls will be more than enough excitement for you." Iliyal replied calmly and Fer dropped her head. She let out a huge sigh, and swung it from side to side. She looked up and spoke, the tail popping out from under her skirt settled on the ground as she took a breath.

"Kassie is a factory that can take anyone and term them into that Kavaa." She shook her head as Iliyal smiled proudly. "Don’t ever let her." Kavaa only smiled. She wasn’t as extreme as Iliyal, but his existence wasn’t as offensive to her as it was to Fer. The plane swerved again, sharper this time. The three passengers held onto the steels posts arranged through the passenger bay and the radio speaker crackled with static.

"This is Captain Douglas speaking. We’re over the Erdely mountains now." He said. "Opening doors, thank you for flying Doug-Air." The crackling cut off, then cut back on. "Fer, I still have the Misfortune picture." The Goddess of Beasthood burst out in laughter and gave him a few claps. Douglas’ laughter echoed hers through the speaker. "Pleasure to have you on board. Call if you need pickup."

"What’s Misfortune?" Kavaa asked the two. Iliyal opened his eyes, looked at Fer, then answered the question.

"The Leona plan." He said flatly.

"Oh." Kavaa replied, she... she didn’t know what to say about that. She liked Leona, but everyone liked Leona. There was, or had been, nothing unpleasant about the woman. She wondered how differently the Pantheon Peacekeeping operation would have turned out if Leona was alive. They would still... would they have won? Was it possible to battle against omniscient and omnipotent luck? It must be, Neneria had killed her after all. There was no time to start a complex line of logic. Pistons hissed, valves turned and the rear door started to slide open.

Kavaa turned to look as Fer and Iliyal both stood up. The Erdely region, south of Lubska. Even now, it was practically an autonomous zone within its host nation of Dakia. During the Great War, it was practically owned by Fer’s war-herds, no other army had the skill, the endurance, the will or the talent to cross these ancient forests. Fer’s war-herds and Anassa’s sorcerous. Kassandora had managed to add two decades to the war simply because of the sheer impassibility of this region. After, Maisara had planned to settle it. Dakia didn’t have the population at, then Allasaria had instituted the Pantheon Decrees, and Maisara’s plan had shattered.

And so, Kavaa looked out onto the great Erdely woodlands. Pristine and untouched, west of Karaina, it was the last true wild woodlands left in Epa. Mountains stretched all along the western horizon and other than that, it was a sea of dark coniferous green. As far as the eyes could see, the trees stretched on for hundreds of miles, they crawled into valleys and the scaled mountains until there was no dirt left to grab hold of. Untouched, with streams and rivers, and with stars above, although those were quickly retreating in the coming dawn.

Fer went first, she patted Kavaa on the shoulder, stepped to the edge and turned. After spending so much time with Fer lately, Kavaa had grown almost accustomed to the woman’s antics. The cute smiles, the sweet faces, the kitten eyes. And it was moments like this that reminded her who Fer really was. She stood there, red eyes glowing as she downed a vial of Kavaa’s blood. Her eyes started to grow a vicious yellow, her skin shed hair, then regrew it, her perfect teeth turned to fangs and she stood here, wind whipping about in the wind. She turned, gave it another, her ears bounced, she gave them a large smile, a thumbs up, and she stepped backwards out of the plane.

And Iliyal ran past Kavaa, he didn’t even say anything, he simply ran off the edge. Kavaa took a deep breath, took a step to the edge. There was a first time for everything after all. She let herself fall.

The first thing was the view. The rising Sun over the western mountain, the ocean of pine trees, the dark sky retreating against the day’s vivid blue. The second was Iliyal opening his parachute. Far below her, he had put his arms close to his body and shot down like an arrow. The third was Fer. A Divine meteorite falling down, Kavaa would have assumed bestial rage, a scream of joyous excitement, her arms flailing around. There was none of that. She was diving feet first as if she had done this a thousand times already. Fer spanned into a tree, a cloud of dust and pines went up. The fourth was a small trail in the distance, rising from the trees, an obvious campfire. That’s where Olonia and her friends would be.

And Kavaa opened her parachute, she felt her body lurch back, her legs swing, her silver-grey settled down, still carried by the wind but no longer whipping about her head. She looked around, she sighed, she smiled, she enjoyed the breath-taking view.

And as Kavaa fell, she realised an issue. Iliyal had explained the basics to her, although it was as basic as it got. Which strap to pull to release the parachute, which strap to pull in case the first one failed. Then he had merely sighed. ’At the end of the day Kavaa, you’re a Divine. Of Health, will a little even kill you?’ Well now she was looking at those approaching trees, she kicked her legs, she didn’t know what Iliyal did, he must have had some stupid trick prepared for this.

When Kavaa hit the branches, the only feeling she could call upon was a cavalry charge upon lowered pikes. Branches cut and caught her, if wasn’t wearing her armour, she would caught a branch through her chest. A rope from the parachute caught her arm. Why was she even holding onto the other? That strap tightened around her wrist as Kavaa’s vision was consumed by leaves.

Leaves, leaves, branches, leaves and then the forest floor. A fox ran away from her. And then she stopped falling, her legs off the ground. She kicked them, swung forwards, swung backwards, hit a tree, and decided not to kick anymore. She looked up, tested the ropes. Fer would break them, Fer didn’t need them in the first place, would Kassie? Kassie had her armour, she could just summon to cut through it. She tested her strength. She had seen this straps lift Binturongs out of mud and when tightened like this, what could she do? Alone, she would tear her hands off and heal them back on the ground. But that was an all or nothing situation. Now though? She sighed and supposed she could wait for Fer.

Fer never came. It was Iliyal Tremali instead, marching in straight backed as if he was on parade, one hand on his blade, the other swinging about with each step. A light cape flowing off his back, the man’s trousers had one tiny cut on the calf. That was it. "HOW THE FUCK DID YOU LAND?!" Kavaa shouted. Iliyal looked up at her with a content smile. He actually shrugged at her! Who did this mortal think he was?

"You learn how to do it when you have to." He said. Then looked around, then at her. "Are you stuck?"

"Do I look stuck?" Iliyal smiled and turned around.

"I guess not."

"YOU FUCK! I AM STUCK!" Kavaa shouted and Iliyal chuckled. He sighed.

"I know logistics is bad." He said as he pulled out his pistol. "But you’ve grown a real doctor’s tongue."

"I AM A DOCTOR!" Kavaa shouted. Iliyal rolled his eyes as he aimed the gun above her and pulled the trigger. Even more annoying than getting stuck was that the man managed to cut the strap on the first shot. One arm freed, Kavaa grit her teeth as she felt her other hand take the weight. She calmed herself down though, it wasn’t bad for a first attempt. Helenna or Iniri had never skydived before anyway, and she doubted they’d be brave enough to do it into a forest. "And the other?" She said, Iliyal looked up at her and patted his sword. Kavaa looked down at her sheathed blade and then back at him. Could she free herself? Of course! Would she? "Iliyal, just shot it." He sighed and shook his head.

"This is a wasting of ammunition." He said.

"Do I care?"

"Well neither do I." Iliyal pulled the trigger. The other band snapped and Kavaa fell to the ground.

"Thanks." She said as her healing worked the skin and torn muscles, it hurt, but it wasn’t an open wound. These generally were easy to fix.

"Don’t worry about it." Iliyal replied. He took a step and he sighed immediately.

Fer appeared from behind a tree, a brown bear next to her. She patted the animal on its head. "He doesn’t bite." She said. "So don’t worry about it."

"Why?" Iliyal asked and Fer quirked a smile. It revealed her teeth.

"I thought it’d be a funny joke."

Whereas everyone in the White Pantheon is important, there are only three that would be described as irreplaceable. I am not on that list, as my job could be done by any number of powerful designs that survived the war, the only credit I will give myself is that there is none better in keeping Order than I.

Leona, of course, for the containment of the beast that is Olephia. Her omnipotent luck singlehandedly guarantees our survival against Olephia’s rampage. Elassa has proposed a theory I’m not particularly fond of, which is that Leona’s luck also has started to bind us together. Her request to spare Anassa is dismissed by Fortia and Allasaria, but I will push it through. It will utterly collapse whatever goodwill and prestige Elassa has built up during the war and make even the tiniest request seem unreasonable. The dominance of magicians within society will finally be brought to an end.

Allasaria is the second. Of course. The most powerful, the Pantheon’s answer to Irinika. I already know that the upcoming vote will result in either Allasaria or Fortia become heads of the Pantheon. I have little to say about Allasaria, she simply speaks for herself.

And the third is a surprising one, Fortia disagrees with me but I give credit where credit is due: Helenna of Love. Every decree we institute has her fingerprints over the paper, if not in the planning then in the verbiage and phrasing of it. The saying ’Love is Blind’, that is proven by Helenna’s ridiculous love for the ugly swine that is mundane legalisms. Whereas Fortia and Allasaria disagree on a great deal, there is one thing that is certain. One thing all of us see, even Kavaa and Atis.

The end of War Council organisation twenty years ago did not free up the Pantheon to the exchange of ideas, nor has this Divine democratic experiment worked. It has handed Helenna the Pantheon on a silver plate, all of us see it, know it and are aware of it, and yet we still dance to Helenna’s tune. She does not lie like Malam or Kassandora, she says nothing wrong in fact. That is the danger, her stringing of lovely words cannot be argued against or disagreed with, but the proactive stance of Helenna in national politics is something that sits wrong with all of us, we did not win the war forty years ago only to become what we were fighting against. The organisation will most likely take another decade.

The White Pantheon keeps Order in the world, someone needs to keep Order in the Pantheon.

- Excerpt from ’The World on our Shoulders’, Written by Goddess Maisara, of Order. Kept within Maisara’s own hidden library.

Kavaa looked back at the bear as it slowly trotted behind them, huge and shaggy, with thick fur and thicker paws and small rounded ears on its head. Fer had told it something, and then Fer had said she would see them later. Kavaa wasn’t really afraid, it was only a bear at the end of the day. Iliyal should be the one who was nervous, but the elf was covering the forest’s ground as if there was nothing to worry about. They stepped over roots, the walked around bushes, they leaned underneath leaves. The bear merely ambled through it all. Fer had taken a longer route around, guided by her own nose. Kavaa and Iliyal only had that thin plume of smoke in the air. Fer said if they got lost, they had a friend to lead the way.

Birds sung above them as they woke up with the dawn. Foxes and badgers and raccoons scampered away. Every so often, an eagle would cry from the mountains, a wolf would bark in the distance, a deer would casually stop, look at them, see the bear, then turn and flee. Erdely had been like this as far back as Kavaa could remember, it was Iniri’s favourite part of Epa. The untamed forests, the few people who lived here all subsistence hunters, the mountains conquered by vegetation, the land beautiful in its brutality, with ravines and ridges everywhere.

For Kavaa though, it was the part of Epa she got nightmares about. Back then, every bird had been an eye in the sky for Fer, every woodland mouse and every furry squirrel a spy. The wolves organised into disciplined packs as if Kassandora was leading them, the boars and bears made for shock troops. Even without the larger animals, men would be picked off by swarms of badgers leaping out of the undergrowth, swiping and biting as they went straight for the neck. Then the animals started to carry Baalka’s plagues, specifically designed to hunt man. A wild dog would walk into camp and beg for food. Soldiers would feed it. It would sleep by the campfire. Morning came, the dog would walk off, the men would never wake.

Naturally, any battalion of Seekers would last a week in Erdely. Guardians or Seekers fared no better. Naturally, there was only one set of orders that could even hope to traverse these woods. Naturally, it was Kavaa’s Clerics. Naturally, her Clerics had come, and naturally, they died. Kavaa took a deep breath as she looked at the bear again, it was lazily swinging its head around, looking around at the plants by either side. "Do you remember back then?" Kavaa asked Iliyal as she turned back.

"I was never assigned to this region." Iliyal said flatly. "I had northern Epa and Karaina."

"Really?" Kavaa asked. "Not once?"

"Eight years in the initial push, then eighty straight in Karaina. Not once did I step foot in Erdely. This area had Relio." Another name Kavaa would never forget, Tibor Relio, another elf. He had died two years before the war ended, when Paraideisius’ flying armies finally managed to scour Erdely of Kassandora’s Legions.

"I remember."

"Relio knew what he was doing." Iliyal said fondly. "The plague animals were his idea originally before the rest of us adopted them."

"I thought they were Baalka’s."

"Baalka is more into theory than practical applications." Iliyal maintained that fondness as Kavaa walked around another bush. The bear behind them walked through it. "You were this area, weren’t you?" Iliyal asked.

"I was."

"It wasn’t a fair fight from the start." Iliyal said. "I have nothing to say, but I have respect that you stepped up to take the job." Kavaa smiled to herself as she circled around. It wasn’t a fair fight, that was true. She had been assigned this area because no one else would take it.

"What would you have done?"

"In your case?" Iliyal asked. "Or in Fortia’s?"

"Both."

"In Fortia’s case, I would have not tried to push through Erdely in the first place." He said it flatly. "In your case though, I would have done my job." Kavaa smiled to herself as she scaled a fallen tree. That, she could respect. Sometimes, she wished the marshals had been swapped. That she had Kassandora and they had Fortia. "I’ve seen how you train your men." Iliyal said. "These will be Divines though..." He took a deep breath. "I’d rather you follow what I say rather than go with your method."

"I’ve not trained Divines."

"I assumed." Iliyal said. "But these girls, they have enough love already. You want to push them."

"I do push my men."

"Not like I do."

"I don’t do needless exercises."

"You don’t need to." Iliyal said. "Needless exercises build camaraderie, soldiers grow to miss the routine. We didn’t run needless exercises back then either, the battles replaced them." They both scampered around a series of thick blackberry bushes, looked around. There was no sky here, only faint glimmers of blue coming through a blanket of pine needles and leaves. Iliyal came to a stop, he turned to the bear. Kavaa blinked, if this old elf now revealed he was able to speak to animals... and the elf did speak. "Which way?" The bear stopped, he looked left, he took a sniff, he looked right, he took another sniff. And then he pointed his head and rocked his entire body back and forth as if trying to point.

"When did you learn that?" Kavaa asked.

"Learn what?"

"Speaking to them."

"I can’t." Iliyal said and Kavaa turned to look at the bear.

"I just saw you ask him."

"Fer taught him just now." Iliyal replied flatly. "I don’t know how she does it, ask her about it if you’re that curious."

"So he can speak?" Iliyal shouted behind himself.

"Can you speak?" The bear looked up at them and kept walking forwards, past them. Iliyal shook his head. "I don’t think he can."

"But you..." Kavaa pointed to the bear, then started following him. "I... he understood you." Iliyal shrugged.

"They learn a few words and phrases, I don’t know what she exactly teaches them." He laughed. "It’s Fer though so... Sit!" The bear stopped, looked at Iliyal. Kavaa looked into those beady animalistic eyes, she couldn’t place whether there was intelligence there or whether it was simply looking at them. It obviously knew what the words meant. And then the bear shook its head. Kavaa burst out in laughter. The bear turned its head back and kept on walking.

So they kept on walking. Iliyal wasn’t smooth in conversation, but he didn’t shut it down either. There wasn’t a question he shied away from, not even when Kavaa tried pressing him. "What do you think of Kassandora?"

"She’s the Goddess of War." Iliyal answered.

"That’s it?" freёnovelkiss-com

"That’s it." Iliyal replied. "Useless question, everyone knows what I think of Goddess Kassandora." The only Divine to actually hold the title in the elf’s mind, Kavaa had noticed it before. It wasn’t annoying that she didn’t get it, it was simply odd that he made such an exception.

"Is there anything you don’t like about her?" Kavaa asked. Iliyal actually had to think about it for a moment.

"No." He said. These questions were meant to prod him, and they were annoying her!

"Why?" The elf shook his head.

"What do you mean why?" He asked.

"Well why?"

"There is no why. There is nothing I do not like about her." Iliyal said.

"So she’s perfect?" Kavaa asked.

"No one is perfect."

"So then there must be something you don’t like about her then." Kavaa said.

"This is a game of semantics Kavaa." He said flatly. "You can trick the words but you can’t trick me, she’s not perfect, but there’s nothing I don’t like."

"What about if she had elf ears?" Kavaa asked.

"I’m not petty enough to care about trite like that." Iliyal said. Heavens above the man was stern, Heavens above the man was annoying. "Divines don’t need them anyway, you have better hearing than we do."

"I’m not sure about that."

"You do." Iliyal said. "Fer does too. Inventions don’t count."

"That we agree on." Kavaa agreed. And finally, the bear stopped. He looked behind himself as if to check on the elf and the Goddess. They were there, the bear turned back and walked through the push. Kavaa and Iliyal quickly followed. Both through the gap the bear had made. The elf took the lead. There was a clearing here, a few tents scattered about. A few tents, large, obviously not for mortals. Logs and firewood were cut, there was a campfire. A campfire with a series of Divines sitting around it.

Olonia was there, in her scale-mail, a traditional Lubskan sabre on her side. No helmet on her head though. Snowy-white hair cascaded down her back. She was sat on a fallen log, Saksma next to her. That woman wore a chest plate, and colourful clothes underneath. A massive greatsword, easily as long as Kassandora’s Joyeuse but much thinner, was leaning next to her. Paida on the other side of Olonia. A sword next to her and in full plate. Agrita was on the other side of the campfire, in a bronze cuirass and a skirt with a spear. Aliana sat in uniform, a longbow next to her. Along with a quiver of arrows, she wore simple clothes, a skirt, tights, a shirt. It was camping gear, not armour.

Iliyal looked them over and sighed. Kavaa wanted to sigh too. She remembered when the man told her she’d know what he meant when she saw them. Well she did see them, and she knew what he meant exactly. It was obvious in the movements, the eyes dancing around Kavaa. The way they bounced timidly off the bear. Only Olonia had any sort of resistance in her, and even Olonia focused on the sword on Kavaa’s hip for too long.

"I am Iliyal Tremali." Iliyal spoke up first. "This is Kavaa, of Health." Kavaa smiled from besides Iliyal, the bear sat down next to them. Why were these national Goddesses looking at it as if it was going to kill them? It was only a bear at the end of the day.

Olonia stood up immediately. Arms by her side, face half shining with excitement, half trying to look stern and ready. Kavaa let her smile stay on her face. That was cute. Saksma stood up too, next to Olonia. Aliana, Paida and Agrita remained sitting as Iliyal looked through them. He walked in between as the lay down, Paida was still focused on the animal. "Is that Fer?" She asked. "We heard she’d be coming."

"Have a fight and found out." Iliyal said. None of them moved towards the bear. Iliyal clapped his hands. "Right ladies. I’m here to teach you combat, leadership and survival in battle. I am sure Olonia has gossiped about me, that is exactly how I am. I am not your friend right now, I am your instructor. But! I will not keep you here, anyone is free to leave when they want to, I am only a mortal after all." He extended his arm out. "This is Kavaa. She may disappear if she’s needed elsewhere. I don’t when." Kavaa had only been planning to stay for a few days honestly. She was already pushing her luck by coming here. "Kavaa, what are your combat powers?"

Kavaa blinked. What sort of answer did he want? She shrugged. "Nothing unique, I bless troops."

Iliyal clapped his hands again. "You are national Divines, Kavaa is a White Pantheon member, but she’s not the strongest of fighters, as you just heard, she won’t fly off into the sky or blast you with an explosion. I expect the five of you to be able to defeat her." He took a step back and turned around to Kavaa. The smile dropped. "Kavaa, you’re welcome to start whenever you want to."

Aliana stood up. "Excuse me." She spoke in that posh Allian accent. Kavaa had always found it funny. "Is that it?" Iliyal looked to Kavaa, rolled those green eyes, and turned around.

"What is it?"

"Just this?"

"Isn’t there supposed to be more?" Aliana asked.

"More of what?" Iliyal asked.

"Explanation?" Aliana asked. Iliyal shrugged.

"I trust Kavaa is skilled enough to not die to you and I know she won’t kill you." He said. "Pretend this is a battle. Are you going to have an introduction to everyone you meet on the battlefield?" Kavaa smiled, mortals didn’t do it, but in the past Divines usually did introduce each other in the past. Then Kassandora had come along. The first year of the Great War was brutal, when her forces would break all traditions and go for the kill whilst the opponent was still talking.

"And if we get cut?" Aliana asked. Iliyal extended an arm to Kavaa. She stood there proudly, it was rare for anyone to acknowledge the fact she did actually fight. And whilst Iliyal had been a pain to talk to, he did talk to her. The way he talked to these Goddesses was anything but a conversation.

"Kavaa, what is your demesne again?" She didn’t need to answer it. Aliana’s face dropped and the Goddess scowled at the sheer mockery of the reply. Kavaa stepped forwards before Iliyal annoyed them so much the Goddesses decided to kill him.

Iliyal stepped back as Kavaa stepped forwards. "If you want to leave, leave after this lesson. Like I said, Kavaa is not a frontline Goddess. She is not Fer. She is not Maisara nor Fortia. Not Kassandora. If she defeats you, then you can assume that you are not cut out for battle, because she will go easy on you." Kavaa didn’t know about, but these girls didn’t need to know that. "I will watch you fight, I will be able to comment and give improvements when I see what I’m working with."

Olonia stepped forwards first as Iliyal took another step back. "Kavaa, I would prefer if you gave them a chance to strike first."

"I will." Kavaa said. Saksma took the greatsword in both hands. Aliana raised the bow. Agrita hefted the spear. Paida pulled unsheathed her sword. Kavaa weighed them all herself. Aliana would be annoying, archers always were and Kavaa hadn’t brought the shield. Saksma was slow with the greatsword, it was obvious from the heavy steps. Olonia with her cavalry sabre wasn’t a threat, nor was Agrita. She held the spear as if it was a pike, spears weren’t to be used like that.

Olonia quickly stepped forwards. Kavaa stepped to the side. That was the issue with sabres, they swung hard and first, but they didn’t have the agility of a straight sword. She caught Olonia’s arm and pulled her forwards. The Goddess of Lubska yelped, fell, and Kavaa’s knee hit her stomach.

And after a winding blow like that, one was out. An arrow came from Aliana. Accurate but predictable, it wasn’t an opening, it was simply a shot for the sake of a shot. Against Divines, tactics like that didn’t work. Kavaa ducked under the arrow, then rolled to the side as Agrita came in from one side, Saksma from the other.

Agrita’s spear should have had a shield with it. The woman lunged forwards, Kavaa took a step back. The spear grazed her steel plate. Kavaa’s elbow landed on the woman’s back and Agrita was down. Saksma, spinning with her blonde hair, swung her blade. Kavaa took a step back, then another one when she heard the whistle of an arrow string. An arrow shot past her. Annoying.

She unclipped her sword sheath and lazily avoided another blow of Saksma’s. Slow, even Fer’s beastmen were more dangerous than that. She saw Aliana load another arrow and almost stopped in shock. The woman was looking down at her feet, putting an arrow into her bow. Kavaa had to take step away from Saksma’s blade, threw her sheath in a spin and caught its end. She put all her force into the throw.

Aliana looked up and caught the sheath on her forehead. And another Goddess was sent tumbling back. Only Paida and Saksma left. One greatsword, one blade and armour. Kavaa took a step back as Saksma made another amateurish swing, the sword swung far to her and Kavaa closed the gap. Her chest slammed into Saksma’s, she knocked the Goddess of Doschia over with just her bulk. A kick in the side ensured Saksma would stay down.

Paida lifted her sword, her eyes blinking to her friends at Kavaa’s feet. She opened her mouth and took a step back. "I-", Kavaa wasted no time. Her sword slammed against Paida’s. She pushed her hilt to the blade, knocked the woman’s arm away. Her foot swiped at Paida’s. And the last Goddess fell.

And Kavaa stood there as Iliyal came close, arms behind his back, he was watching the five Goddesses on the ground. Olonia was on her knees, trying to stand up, Saksma on her side, breathing heavily, Agrita and Paida both stirred and moaned. Aliana rubbed her forehead as Kavaa went to get her sheath. Her sword was put back in, and she clipped it back onto her belt.

She had no words. That was terrible. There were mortals who could provide a harder challenge. That was nothing to say of the sorcerers she had fought against back then. She saw Iliyal looking at her. "I see it now." Kavaa said. The man sighed and nodded.

"We have a long way to go."

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