Beyond Chaos

It was pristine, the oldest temple of Lady Arya, set deep within the mountains. The stone walls, each hold older than almost any dragon alive, covered in large tapestries, each black, holding various patterns of a myriad of colours. The temple was large, to put it simply, with the half elf walking for almost a whole minute to even reach the altar, in which a statue of a woman overlooked and judged those who knelt, a hand upon the hilt of her blade, ready to draw it if she deemed them unworthy. The details upon the face were bare, for no sculptor wished to dare betray the Lady's beauty with their worthless skill.

Tanagek let out a small breath, feeling the overwhelming pressure of the Divine against him, though he stood tall, though not quite as proud as the Iyrman beside him, whose blade felt so eager to slip out to spill blood.

Mork closed his eyes, feeling the tingle of the Divine against himself, gentle, faint, the feather like touch tickling all across his body.

'Whoa,' Tork thought, his heart throbbing deeply as he stood, allowing the pressure to prick his skin harshly. Had he not been adopted by his father, and trained within the Temple of the Great Lady of the High Seas, perhaps he would have given himself up to the Divine in this moment.

As the half elf stood opposite the statue, he stared at it long and hard, feeling the warmth of the Divine press against him, full of warmth, yet it was a touch full of curiosity. It was strangely familiar, and yet so… unknown? Adam stared at the statue long and hard, but his eyes trailed along the stone altar, in which four of twelve swords lay before him, each emanating the greatest of auras.

'Lady Arya, please, I beg of you,' Dunes prayed, harder than he had ever prayed in his life, all for the half elf not to get himself killed before the Divine.

Meanwhile, the Malawi stood behind the half elf, with a thought that a simple enough justification of the half elf trying to steal one of the divine artefacts was a good enough reason to rid of him.

Adam's eyes then trailed up along the ceiling, the walls, and he narrowed his eyes, his eyes returning back to the statue once more. His arms began to ache from carrying the box, but he ignored it. "Hey, Dunes?"

"Mo Dunes!" Dunes replied, feeling his heart ache, his body growing cold as sweat poured down his face, the Priest reaching up to cover his eyes.

"This is the oldest temple to Lady Arya, right?" the half elf asked, almost confused.

"Yes?" Dunes replied, with the assumption Adam was about to get himself killed, and perhaps himself if he dared to speak heretical words before the statue.

The Fariq of Black Mountain, who was the Malawi of the oldest temple of Lady Arya, waited, his hair standing on end, the old man ready to wield his blade, so full of righteousness that it was.

"Okay," the half elf replied simply, kneeling before the statue, narrowing his eyes towards it. He didn't do what he had planned, instead resting a hand on the top of the box, staring up at the statue long and hard. 'I don't know who you are, but I hope you'll continue to watch over the Order.'

A gentle warmth spread through him, weirdly familiar, but he couldn't quite place that warmth. He furrowed his brows, closing his eyes as he felt the warmth of his wife's cheek against his, her arms wrapped around his neck and shoulders. The half elf fell silent, knelt before the statue, the pair of Iyrmen's eyes falling upon the half elf.

Taygak watched from behind, noting the diminutive forms of those before her, near the statue, though she had no courage to step forward. There was something which had chained her to the entrance, and she wasn't going to tempt the Divine by ignoring their will.

The Malawi closed his eyes and began to pray, prompting Dunes to do the same, the pair speaking a few of the standard prayers, though one was far more desperate than the other. Even after their prayers, which lasted minutes, past, the half elf remained upon a knee before the statue, until finally, he shifted, standing not at his full height, for the half elf's head remained bowed.

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"You can leave it to me," Adam promised, unsure of what he had promised, but certain he needed to make it here, and that he would one day keep it.

The Malawi remained silent, uncertain of what the half elf was doing, but he escorted the young man through the large empty room. The half elf had spent but a moment admiring the swords, but not long enough in his estimations, for they were probably among the greatest he must have seen, even within the Iyr.

Except, what was that?

"Taygak, did you enjoy seeing the temple?" Adam asked calmly.

"Yes," the teen replied.

"As long as you had fun," the half elf said, smiling warmly.

"Executive, which weapon did you donate?" Dunes asked, since the half elf had requested he be the one to donate the weapons, and which weapons and how.

"A Basic Enhanced sword, for the oldest temple of Lady Arya, one should donate at least that much,"Adam replied, with far too much haughtiness.

The Malawi noted the half elf's tone, suddenly so audacious, but at the same time, how many people had donated a Basic Enhanced weapon to the temple? Even Basic weapons were rare, for often it was donations of typical steel, or those of greater steel, or chests of silver, and sometimes chests of gold.

"Although, that isn't all," Adam said, still smiling. "We'll discuss the rest of the gifts in due time, though."

Dunes blinked, noting the confidence, or audacity as one might declare it, within his tone. 'Adam?'

"Young Adam, perhaps we should speak within the garden?" the Malawi said, when they had finally marched up the stairs out of the temple, towards the estate, though passed by the various mountain gardens along the way.

Dunes grew even wearier as the half elf turned, smiling so cheekily to the Malaawi, as though he now held the upper hand.

"As you wish, Mo," the half elf replied, allowing the old man to whisk him away. He turned towards Tanagek and Chosen, nodding his head at them, causing them to pause. The pair had been assigned to keep watch over him, to make sure he didn't get into any trouble, but also to protect him in case the Malawi tried something, or to protect the Malawi in case the Malawi tried something. There was one who was an even greater shield for the half elf. "Taygak, make sure you feed Amal for me when you go back, since ahm Ashmir probably hasn't fed her enough fruit."

Taygak was fairly certain the old man had fed her enough fruit, since the girl was so fun to feed. "Okay."

The garden was a single gahdun, a gazebo waiting for the pair of them, where the tea had already been set, the biscuits seducing the nearby bugs, though the net kept them at bay. The half elf sat upon one bench of the gazebo, as the heavily armoured Malawi sat opposite him, the old man pouring him tea first, before pouring himself tea.

Adam admired the beautiful flowers, a myriad of-

"I see you pray to Lord Sozain, the God of Death," Hassan began, blowing over the surface of his tea, before sipping it.

"I do," Adam replied. "I am the brother of an Iyrman, after all, though the Iyr holds a great respect for Lady Arya, to the point one could include her as one of the Divine of the Iyr, and… as I mentioned, I pay her great respects due to the debt I owe."

Hassan sipped the tea lightly, tasting the gentle berry taste. He thought deeply as he sipped his tea, thinking upon the first law of the Order, and then the words of his brother, who had warned him. "You wish to claim Dunes as one of your own?"

Adam inhaled sharply, his heart beating rapidly, but he soothed his heart lightly. "I like Dunes. I trust him. I think retiring within the business isn't a bad idea for someone like him, though I understand that poaching someone from your Order isn't good, so… I've come here to settle the matter."

"You wish to settle it, personally?" the Malawi asked, noting how the half elf had emphasised this was his task.

"The magical weapon was a gift to the temple, of course, but I'd like to discuss more with you as one of the Chief Executive Officers of the United Kindom," the half elf said, smiling politely. "I know that Black Mountain is important to Dunes. It's so important that he wishes to stay by my side so I can show it favour."

"What makes you so important that one of our own wishes to abandon their Order to stay by your side?"

"Have you ever met Lady Arya, Mo Hassan?"

"I meet her daily, in my prayers."

"Have you met her, personally, have you heard her voice within your dreams, have you seen your form, within your dreams, have you met any of the other Divine, Malawi of Jabal Adh Aswad?"

"No."

"You know, six years ago, I was pretty weak," the half elf said, moving on, allowing him to consider why he mentioned the Divine. "I mean, I had training, with full plate and a longsword, I would do as well as one who was trained in Black Mountain, although, even if the Divine hadn't blessed me with such great abilities, one might note my talents and may train me to become the First Blade. However, within the span of six years, seven, six and a half, we'll say, I have grown so powerful, that when I came face to face with the Grand Commander of High Garden, Sir James Greatwood, in a duel to the death, I'm the one that sits before you."