A Guide to Kingdom Building

Chandea, Year of Severus, 21st, I.R., the 79th day of Spring, Oyue's Moon

------------------------------

"You asked for this, sister." Oyue said as she summoned her spear out of thin air.

"Don't you think for a moment that I am the same younger sister you knew." Chandara gritted her teeth and lifted her shield. "Where is that other weapon? Why not use it?" She asked.

Oyue twirled the pale, blue spear acrobatically, taunting her sister through her athleticism. The spear's glow pulsated like as she waved it. The long aetherium-made spear looked like an ice sparkling under the tender light of the moon. It was beautiful, and very deadly.

She pointed the blade to her sister. "This shall suffice." Oyue rushed towards her sister and began her first attack.

Chandara immediately raised her shield and defended the blow, while doing an attack of her own. They descended into Oyue's head, if it weren't for her fast reflexes, the battle could've ended already. But instead, she gracefully dodged the lance then pirouetted behind her sister.

"Oh no, you don't!" Chandara lifted her lance and cleaved the space where her sister was.

Oyue quickly blocked the attack and parried with a kick to her sister's gut. Chandara went flying off the ground and crashed herself along the willowy crystal trees of her sister's garden.

Chandara stood up and dusted herself as quickly as she could, but before she could raise weapons, Oyue came leaping towards her, spear on hand and was about to whack her with it. She barely dodged the attack and was blown away by the force of the spear's impact.

Dust clouded the garden. The impact of Oyue's spear shattered her marbled floor, releasing dusts upon dusts of fine, celestial stones. Oyue stood back and watched her sister's silhouette tumbled into the ground.

"That is enough!" Apholak mediated. "You have made your point, Oyue. End this now." He pleaded.

Oyue stared at her brother for a moment before taking a deep sigh. "It wasn't my intention to do this, big brother. It's just—"

A sudden bolt of light passed between the two siblings, barely missing their heads in the process.

"It is not over until I say so, brother." Chandara's voice trembled as she stood up on her feet.

Oyue felt her domain shaking as her sister walked towards them.

"No one could stop me! Not even you, brother!" Chandara declared. "Oyue, I challenge you to fight me to the death!" She spat.

Oyue stood calmly and silently as Chandara uttered those nonsense. However, she felt something awry. Apholak took a step back quietly and chanted his binding spell.

"No one is dying here tonight." He exclaimed.

Oyue looked into her brother's eyes, "I won't let that happen either." She gripped her spear tightly and rushed towards Chandara when suddenly golden chains appeared and bound her by the wrist.

A shining halo appeared right above them. Her movement became slowly and became heavier as she pushed with every step. As this happened, the chain on her wrist tightened and slowly burned. Oyue could feel her strength slowly dissipating from her, but she was determined to prove her point.

She took a gaze at her brother who was calmly standing right in front of her, while holding the golden chain. Oyue tugged the chain from her burning wrist. She gnashed her teeth in pain as the fire continued to feed on her, but she wasn't giving up. Her confidence to break her brother's binding came in with proof.

For the past three years, Oyue eagerly studied her magic once again, after a thousand years. She thought of his brother's binding spell and tried to unlock its secrets. Until that point, she still wasn't able to counteract the spell, however, she was determined.

Using her exousia, she focused her magic on the bindings on her wrist. She used her magic to counter the bindings, freezing it and quenching the fire on her wrist. It only took her a few tries to break the chain; and when she did, Apholak stood shock and speechless over what he witnessed.

After countering her brother's binding spell, she tore the chain off her wrist and broke the golden halo hovering above them using her spear.

"I told you not to interfere." She gleamed over him.

Apholak stood unmoving, shocked by what she did. 

"Would you like to continue, sister?" Oyue asked.

Chandara stood up leaning on her lance. "Do you underestimate me, sister?" Red-colored shards danced around her. "You're not the only one that grew powerful!"

Suddenly, Chandara's eyes glowed red. Her long, white hair flowed crimson, and her skin became red as well. Strange glowing markings appeared all over her body, and her abode turned red too.

"I SHALL DESTROY YOU, SISTER!" Chandara's voice morphed into something monstrous and serpent like.

Oyue braced herself after seeing her sister changed into something she couldn't describe. Chandara turned into a monster of her own rage, a beast of anger that was about to kill her. Her sister moved a finger, and the dancing red crystals came rushing on her in lightning-fast speed. She barely parried the projectiles, dodging at the last moment when the attack became overwhelming.

"I am here, sister!" Chandara's serpentine voice slithered into Oyue's ear.

Oyue glanced behind her and saw her sister's monstrous form smirking at her. Chandara grabbed her by the neck and threw her against the wall.

"Do you see this, dear sister?" Chandara shouted while raising her arms. "This will be your end!"

Chandara pointed her lance towards Oyue, gauging her for the kill, but Oyue simply came out of the rubble, undeterred by her sister's appearance and power. It was mediocre compared to hers or her brothers.

Oyue knew that even in that form Chandara was an easy match for her. She calmly pointed the spear back at her sister and challenged her.

"Your form doesn't scare me." Oyue confidently declared. "I have fought worse."

Stirring Chandara's emotions, Oyue buckled up as her raging sister came rushing towards her with all of her weapons.

Oyue closed her eyes and tried to recall their father's secret technique. No one in their entire pantheon was able to replicate their father's cancellation magic. But after releasing herself from her brother's bind, she grew confident that she could do it somehow.

As her sister got closer, she felt her massive energy pressing against her chest, squeezing out her own magic and draining her. However, she felt no fear. She took a deep breath and focused all her remaining strength into the tips of her fingers. She lifted hand, and with a snap of a finger; the world shook.

Her snap sounded like one hundred loud thunderclaps simultaneously banging together. She was thrown away by the impact and was temporarily blinded by it. As she recovered her eyesight, she saw how clear the sky was. She stood up and saw the extent of damage her newfound ability had. Her garden was obliterated from its sheer power. Her moon was riddled with cracks, a blanket of dust covered the rest of her abode.

She tried walking around, coughing as she went deeper into the thick blanket of dust. Not a moment passed, and she noticed Chandara lying on the ground, stripped of her armor and unconscious. She was about to approach her sibling when, suddenly, a wall of golden light blocked between them.

Apholak came out of the dust, limping while holding his left hand that appeared broken. He got in front of them and looked at her straight in the eyes.

"Y-you proved… your point." He said, while kneeling to her. "Please, stop this already. I beg of you, sister."

It was the first time she saw her strong and proud brother begging for her to stop. The way her brother's shoulder slouched in defeat tasted bitter in her mouth. She took a step back, confused about what she must do.

"T-this is not what I intend, brother." Oyue said as her voice cracked, seeing the potential devastation Chandara accused her with.

Apholak looked at her in the eyes and said nothing.