Rising Kite - A story from the world of HWFWM

“How is the situation out there?”

“It is the surge, dear Rupert. I imagine that you have a vague idea,” Frost among Morning Dew remarked from where she walked besides the deputy director, having just arrived back at the adventure society campus. Both were currently on their way to the director’s office, but neither seemed to be in too much of a rush.

“While that may be the case, mistress, I would like to point out that this is my first surge not directly on the front lines.” Rupert retorted, an eyebrow raised at his companion while he kept his professional veneer, even if the facade cracked slightly soon thereafter when Dew spoke again.

“Mistress? That is quite far away from the titles you gave me the last time we had a quiet moment together.”

“Dew, please, I need to keep at least a bit of prof-” Rupert tried to backpedal, but the woman at his side continued punishing this little slip-up as relentlessly as her way of fighting.

“ ‘Splendid image of perfection’ was quite flattering, and while ‘the unparalleled glimmer before the sunrise’ was a bit wordy, the sentiment behind it was quite sweet,” Dew said, keeping her collected facade while Rupert’s continued cracking as they passed functionaries hurrying to their different assignments.

At her companion’s silence, Dew turned her head to look at him. “Why, Rupert, are you blushing there beneath all the fur? Have you started regretting actually asking me to share that bottle of wine after the war?” Her tone remained cool but Rupert could see the mischievous glint in her pale eyes.

Chuckling, the leonid shook his head in defeat. “Oh I would be lying if I claimed any regret, dear Dew. While you are as sharp as the ice you wield, I have it on good authority that the chill does recede at times in the eternal winter that is your path. And all of you truly comes together to perfection.”

His words elicited a small, satisfied smile on Dew’s blue lips as they drew close to the director’s office. “Fortune favored me in meeting you on the way here, Rupert. I must admit that it feels good to get a moment to smile, even in times like this. Or as I bring tidings such as these.”

“So, they-”

“Yes, Rupert. They did,” Dew said, with a shake of her head as she pushed open the doors to Jarvan’s office. Her next words were spoken loudly enough so that all of those present could hear. “The Descending Star sect has officially seceded from the adventure society. At least those that remain after your departure, gra- I mean, mistress Meridian.”

Present in Jarvan’s office was the director himself, seated behind his large desk. With him were Meridians of the Sky as well as high priest Bringer of the Tranquil, gathered to receive the very news that Dew was bringing back with her.

At Dew’s words, the former grand elder seemed to deflate for just a moment before catching herself. The director himself shook his head while the high priest just looked sad.

“I…” Jarvan began, trailing off. After a short moment of steadying himself, he began anew. “I see. While their last three days of not responding to any contract sent to the sect compound, the outcome was no surprise, but having it confirmed is still important. Thank you, mistress Dew, for undertaking the contract. Were you accosted while carrying it out?”

“No, the grand elder to whom I spoke was quite polite, although he was also stressing the point of the sect not taking kindly to further interference in their affairs quite a lot. As did he once more point out that alleged traitors to the sect would receive their due punishment in time.” As Dew conveyed the last part of the message, she looked at Meridian. “It seems like you and your people will have to tread carefully going forward. Assuming that clearing your people for further contracts is going well?”

“It is, Healer be praised,” high priest Bringer asked, entering the conversation. “We have discovered but a few cases of the mind taint among those who left with mistress Meridian, and are quite sure that we are facing the same phenomenon as was found with the Victorious Sunset sect. The process should be done in a week at most, with more of the adventurers being cleared to go back to the field every day now.”

“That is something to be grateful for, at least,” Jarvan said, looking grim. “But I will not lie; effectively losing command of just under a third of the area’s essence-users would be disastrous in the best of times, and now we have the surge to contend with as well. I find it hard to believe that the adventure society will let such a thing stand after the surge is over, other politics be damned. I sure as the depths will not hesitate to lay each and every casualty at the feet of your cousin. And should I receive word of even a single one of those who chose to leave being accosted by the sect while the surge is still ongoing, the response will be swift. And personal.” The last words were accompanied by a ripple in Jarvan’s aura, clearly hinting of danger.

“I- Thank you, director,” Meridian said, bowing slightly. “While I know that we have not always seen eye to eye in the past, me and mine will have to submit ourselves into your care. As such, I will be ever grateful.”

“Oh, do not thank me too much yet, mistress Meridian,” Jarvan said. “While it was a boon that almost a quarter of the sect warriors chose to heed your advice and come here, there is still a lot of slack to pick up in the wake of your cousin’s less than wise decision. I will aim to work you and your people as hard as every other adventurer under my command.”

“Heavenly Shaft; Thrusts of Exalted Celerity!”

“Kyyyyaaaaah!”

Compared to Will’s clarion battlecry as he landed among the galezard swarm, his glowing spear but a blur of golden lines as more and more conjured javelins were shot outwards in all directions, Dragonfly’s wordless roar was more true to her passionate self. Having also made her descent a violent one, her twin greataxes were already moving in her spinning special attack, with the one made from smoldering metal, given to her by Kite, in a firm grip while her conjured one made from solid flames made its own spinning orbit around her.

While the iron-ranked galezards fell in droves before them, their rather frail bodies breaking under the bronze-ranked onslaught, Kite still had trouble getting over the sheer number of monsters he was currently facing along with his friends. Galezards usually manifested in packs of somewhere between six to ten, sometimes with bigger bronze-ranked specimens appearing as well. Before his friends had initiated their assault of the monsters, Kite’s first rough estimate told him that there were at least forty of the iron-ranked monsters present, with three of the bronze-ranked alphas in attendance.

As such, closing the distance had been a bit of a challenge in itself, but a dispelling wave from Kite timed with Serene assisting her friends in closing the distance had seen both Will and Dragonfly safely cross the distance. Or at least as safe as one could be when approaching close to half a hundred monsters shooting wind blades toward you.

But the initial assault was only part of the plan, as Kite followed in the wake of his friends, already casting another spell.

“Wall!”

The barriers of leyline warding started appearing around the battlefield among the trees in the forests of the autumn lands, one of his favored tactics of spreading out the panes of force to complicate the battlefield once more put into use. This ‘forest within the forest’ helped to further reduce the attacks coming their way as finding a clear line of fire for the monsters became just that much harder.

The speed-increasing enchantment of his boots already active, Kite dove into the fray after his friends. His spear, blade and staff were all brought forth in a stream of attacks and moves to intercept projectiles as he quickly made his way towards his own targets; the alphas. Because if it was a point that the surge had so far driven home in Kite, it was that a huge number of weaker enemies were not his forté. While he had some alternatives, his most potent ones were all depending on the battle progressing a bit to unleash Potential of Stolen Power, either through the sweeping strike of Void-Sunders-Firmament or the scattered rain of energy unleashed by Sage.

However, with both Will and Dragonfly much better suited to handle quantities, Kite instead went about his task to grab the attention of the quality. A projected strike from his sword carrying the sundering void impacted one of the bronze-ranked alphas, the rending force detonating part of its back and shoulders. Shrieking in pain, the monster sent a small storm of wind blades toward Kite’s position, although the hastily aimed projectiles scattered upon the barrier of Heaven-and-Void Warding as Kite was already mid-swing in his next attack, his staff appearing to deliver another projected swing to the next alpha. After another swift sidestep, the third and final attack of the series was delivered to the final alpha, leaving Kite as the focus of the trio.

Throughout his short career, Kite had learned that retaining a monster’s attention on you was not an easy thing, being both a consequence of action and circumstance. Dealing a lot of damage and identifying yourself while doing so would usually leave a monster wanting to handle the nuisance, but even just in the step up from iron to bronze-rank there had been a notable increase in the intelligence among some monsters. Surprisingly to Kite, the vortex of Spirit Singularity had proven one of the most effective tools for the job, truly seeming to be as annoying as auntie Crow had predicted there in the beginning of him stepping into the world of magic.

As such, his twin vortices and constant harassing of the three bronze-ranked monsters managed to get the job done, even among the constant madness of wind projectiles, unleashed attacks and falling pieces of foliage or shards of bark flying as the landscape around Kite was torn up.

His goal was to delay and engage as many of them as possible at once rather than an efficient takedown of numbers. The whole experience would surprisingly enough turn out to become an optimal moment for Kite to continue his work on the combat meditation he had been touching on during the months that had passed, the constant motion and numerous opponents putting further strain on his mind as Kite strained to shift and filter information as needed while acting decisively enough to make a difference. With Serene close by, Kite did not need to dedicate as much attention to his allies, instead focusing on letting his spiritual senses and attention float out from him in a gradually expanding circle to complement his encompassing field of vision.

It was Phiona who had started the process of drilling Kite in the art of trying to let the physical and spiritual merge like this, and she had so far praised his efforts even though she had warned the process of mastery to be a long one, stretching up to silver rank and beyond. Still, Kite could but marvel as the unshielded auras of his foes let him, at times, start to glean just a hint of their intent. An alpha whose attention was about to stray got some extra attention to keep its focus on Kite. A stray projectile was intercepted by a dispelling counterattack before threatening to strike Will from behind. One time, Kite even used his smaller barrier to shield Dragonfly from a rather sizable piece of falling tree, knowing full well that the obstacle would not hurt her in the slightest but still taking the opportunity to practice.

The process was not perfect, his focus sometimes rocked by stray blasts hitting him or groups of the iron-ranked galezards teaming up on him. With practice over the last few months, Kite had found it gradually easier and easier to return to the calm state of focus even when it had been broken. Having been feeling like the eye of the storm for over five minutes, the final galezard alpha falling was the signal for Kite’s mind to finally leave the meditative state.

Walking over to join Dragonfly, Will and Serene, Kite took in the carnage of the sundered forest around them, mere stumps remaining of some trees as the rest were shredded and partially mangled for dozens of meters in all directions.

“That was fantastic!” Dragonfly cheered, still high on the thrill of battle as the fires and embers lingering in the area were drawn to her to further assist her recovery, like a swarm of fireflies returning home.

“I know, right?” Will agreed, in equally high spirits. “So far, the surge is all I could hope for. Our paths will be unstoppable after this is over and done!”

“Not to put too much a damper on things, but it will get worse before it gets better,” Kite reminded them, even though the pair’s enthusiasm was a bit contagious. “Imagine if it had been a dozen bronze rankers we were staring down? Or two dozen?”

“Then our mighty team leader would have seen us through by the power of his strategizing and calm temperament,” Dragonfly countered, continuing to playfully jibe at Kite, whose position as their team’s leader during the surge had been extended. But with Dragonfly’s return, Whisper had been called away to other duties as the group had been assigned a contract to go assist in the area around one of the region’s fortresses, although the older adventurer would join them if more word came of the remnants from the fallen sect being sighted, or at least suspected to reside in a certain area. Kite had to admit to himself that the chances of such reports getting to the society, or even getting prioritized anytime soon, might be slim. There was simply too much of the basic adventuring work to be done in the region to dedicate too many resources for such special assignments.

“Come, let us return and see if the scouts have spotted any more incoming packs,” Kite said, gesturing back toward the small fortress in the distance.

Like most parts of the world Kite had heard of, the populace of most villages in the Autumn lands were evacuated during the surge, their inhabitants sheltered away in more secure fortresses. In the more populated regions of the world, these would rival the size of cities in and of themselves, but in the rural Autumn lands these safeholds were merely fortifications with some scarce creature comforts to take the weeks-long stay from unbearable to merely uncomfortable.

As with many fortifications in the region, the fortress was built inside and around a series of the stone cliffs which rose from the sea of foliage below, and as Kite and his group drew close they could all sense the groups and small caravans of people still arriving to seek refuge.

“I can’t believe that the sect would just abandon the people like that during a surge,” Dragonfly said darkly, looking out over the throng of normal-rankers who would have been torn to shreds by the pack of galezards which the group had just dispatched.

“Not all sects, Fortune be praised,” Kite noted, nodding to another group of adventurers wearing the red, gold and white of the Victorious Sunset sect who was patrolling the road and the small stream of refugees. While not exactly kind or easygoing, the group had found that the sect warriors seemed to have had a change in their general attitude towards those not amongst their members. Kite had no illusions that everyone had willingly accepted whatever new ideals and guidelines that had been presented to them by the sect leadership after the incident at the Jade-Sky gate, but also knew that their actions were what truly mattered in the end.

“Also, I have heard that the Descending Star sect has at least sent out their warriors to protect the fortresses in what they deem to be their domain,” Will added. “But also that they have been quite threatening, if not outright violent, to other groups ‘encroaching upon their territory’.”

“One can only hope that the gods may be allowed to bring guidance to them once more in the future,” Serene noted a bit sadly. “Otherwise, I only foresee my fellow clergy singing their requiem in remembrance over the years to come.”

“Oh, I’m sure it won’t come to that,” Dragonfly said consolingly, before adding; “Besides, Kite can just make sure that another diamond-ranked being comes down from the heavens to chastise them.”

“Still bitter that you weren’t there to witness it?” Kite asked her with a slight smile as her cheerful attitude did somewhat combat the gloom encroaching upon his thoughts.

His comment had Dragonfly bump her hip into his where she walked beside him, continuing with the same cheer. “I guess I'll just have to one-up you the next time and bring two diamond-rankers of my own.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” Kite retorted, a fond smile now stuck to his face. “The attention of the mighty is not always that enjoyable.” Turning to the gate of the fortress ahead of them, he continued. “But for now, we better report in. I am sure that there are plenty more immediate monsters on which to temper yourself. If meeting diamond-rankers remains your goal, you better start working up to it.”

When packing a lot of normal-rankers together in close confines during the surge, there were always several logistical issues. Kite could remember the last surge, but also realized how different it all had felt when viewed through the eyes of a child. For him, the surge had been a bit like an exciting outing, sleeping in the dormitories together with Brook and Leaf and overall being less bothered by the close confines than the much larger adults. Meeting Dragonfly and hearing of her experiences during the last surge had been quite the wakeup call in how fortunate that Kite had been.

What had been an exciting memory for Kite was to Dragonfly the moment her life changed; her older sister and caretaker dying as the smaller and much less maintained safehold they had been in had been breached, with aid arriving too late to save the essence-users of the garrison. This had also led to her coming under the tutelage of master Force, who had been iron rank back then. That surge was when Force of Raging Torrent earned her name for her diligent and impressive performance, and when Dragonfly too took her first steps on the path that she still remained upon.

Knowing all this, Kite made sure to find Dragonfly that night where she stood on the outer wall and looked out into the darkness beyond. The surge arriving surprisingly early had led to more scrambling to evacuate all villages than what was the norm, but as they were now a few days into this recurring time of trials and calamities, things had started stabilizing somewhat. When the group arrived, the stream of people seeking shelter had been thin but steady, but this night was the first where no torches or lamps could be seen moving towards the relative safety that the fortress had to offer.

“How are you?” Kite asked, leaning against the battlement beside her while she in turn leaned into him.

“Ever since I was a little girl - since the last surge, that is - I always swore that I would make a difference during the next one. And while I think that we’re off to a good start, I also still can’t help to think of how many people did not arrive here in time, just because there were no people like us around to help them.” She looked up at him through the corners of her eyes. “So I am both proud and worried. And sad. Down south, I got my fair share of the times when adventurers - no - when we arrived too late.”

As she began talking, Kite reached around her and draped his left arm over her shoulders, finding that this was one of those moments where listening rather than talking would serve him best. Only after she had lapsed back into silence, and said silence had lasted for a little while, did he speak.

“When I find myself faced with similar thoughts, I find a bit of comfort in that uncle Walker is out there as we speak. Doing just that; helping those he can. And now at silver rank, his reach is so much more vast.”

“It is a comforting thought, true. But even more comforting is the idea that you told me about. The guild, I mean. Just the thought of more people even just a little bit like Walker walking these lands fills me with a lot of comfort,” Dragonfly said, smiling faintly. “Is there any way I can help out?”

“For starters, was that wordplay intended?”

“Always assume that it is,” Dragonfly retorted with a wink.

“Understood,” Kite chuckled. “As to your other question, such a new little group will probably need all the support they can get. Fortunately, director Jarvan is already with us, and he did not doubt that the city lord would be as well.”

“So, how will you know then? Which people to give the offer?” Dragonfly asked.

Kite was silent for a little while, thinking. “As I said before, the guidelines should be rather loose. But I hope for them to have a connection to these lands and a willingness to stay, at least long enough to see the next generation of members arrive. And to be decent people, even if I know that to be a trait both vague and unreliable.”

“Oh, I don’t know. So far, you seem good at picking them out,” Dragonfly said, gesturing down to the courtyard where Serene was singing for a crowd of locals seeking shelter, Will had even joined in to perform a spear kata along to the music to create a little impromptu performance.

“Present company included, of course,” Kite said, nudging her. “But that is something in which you can help too. Should you meet people you think may fit the bill, tell me. And share your thoughts on those I suggest so that I don’t just fall into the trap of pridefully trusting only my own judgment.”

Dragonfly looked out into the darkness of the night for a while longer, then turned back to him with her normal fierce smile back on full display. “Now that is an offer I definitely cannot refuse. You can count on me, Kite! And… thank you.” The final words were softer, causing Kite to hold her against him a little tighter.

“Any time, my ardent Dragonfly.”

“- and please, everyone, bundle your things properly before calling me over. We will soon leave for the nearest safehold!” Brave Walker of Paths called out, having thrown out several glow stones to illuminate what was left of the little village and its inhabitants. While a lot of the wooden structures had been crushed to splinters, even more had simply rotted away to stinking mush as the now defeated Necrooze had systematically worked its way into the settlement. Being one of the smaller and most recently settled villages, what magical defenses that had been in place had done little against the inexorable silver-ranked monster, its fleshy, gelatinous mass having left a wide trail of decay leading back to the location of its manifestation.

Defeating it had been a bit of a slog, Walker having arrived at his destination a good few minutes after the monster had breached the outer defenses of the village, but he could at least take a bit of pride in having been able to force the creature the size of a small hill back out again. But another feeling gnawed on his mind as well.

“Oh Death, carry their souls to where they belong,” Walker thought in grim prayer. “Because this old man is unsure if there being barely any bodies remaining is a blessing or not.”

Sensing all the normal-ranked auras torn and stricken by loss and grief had weighed on Walker during the last surge as well, but having now ascended to silver rank also carried the mixed blessing in that he was now able to feel even more nuances in their suffering. Most of the survivors just looked at him blankly or even with a bit of fear, but Walker tried to make it just slide off him as he started going around and gathering what possessions that people had been able to salvage into his dimensional bags. Being the premier courier of the area did mean that his bags were quite roomy too, courtesy of the adventure society’s appreciation for his work.

Having almost completed his rounding up of people and items both, Walker did stop as he sensed one aura which seemed to look at him with excitement. Turning, he saw the little girl half-hidden behind her father’s legs. She was probably somewhere between one and two years old, too small to really understand the carnage around her now that the incident in itself was over. Her little round face looking at him entirely unabashed brought some fond memories back to Walker, a certain little Kite having stared at him much the same way around two decades prior.

Not being able to resist, Walker winked at her while holding out one of his hands. From his palm, a pair of stalks grew, reaching upwards and sprouting bright yellow flowers which soon turned into shimmering, fluffy balls. A little flick of his wrist then sent a cascade of glowing, floating seeds in the little one’s general direction, the toddler laughing and waving her small arms in that ever so familiar way as she tried to catch the conjured seeds as they dissolved around her.

Having had his fun, Walker straightened again and caught everyone’s attention with a gentle push of his aura, careful as to not frighten the already harried people.

“I believe that it is time to depart. We will head for the closest fortress. Quarters will be cramped, but you should be safe there,” he called, trying to keep his voice as gentle as possible while still being heard. “My powers will have us traveling more swiftly than usual. This might feel a bit disorienting at first, but just keep your eyes on my glow stone and try not to dwell too much on it. Now, form a line, keep hold of the rope and let us be off. To safety.”

“You called for me, sect leader?”

“Yes, elder Bliss. Enter.” Comet Banishing Clouds, leader of the Descending Star sect said, waving for the bronze-ranker to come over. His study was empty except for the two of them, where Comet was currently studying the deployment of their members. “Too few, that traitor be damned,” he thought, turning to elder Bliss.

“What do you see when you look at this map, elder?”

As usual, the younger man took his time, studying the map. Ever since he had joined the sect a few years ago, Comet had always admired his silent calculations, the celestine’s shimmering, bismuth eyes always seeming to want to take in all of his surroundings, not missing any detail.

“You have always given me interesting seeds for further thoughts on matters of strategy before, elder Bliss,” Comet continued, “So I thought that I might put your talents to the test yet again here tonight. As you see here, the deployment of our forces feels less than optimal. Any suggestions?”

“Sect leader, I would not presume-” the elder began, humble as always before, but Comet just waved him off.

“Please. Humor me.”

The celestine nodded gravely, then took in the map, reaching out to make some slight changes here and there. His aura read only slight trepidation, eventually fading as the young tactician lost himself in the task. Comet found himself impressed, as had always been the case so far, mentally congratulating himself for having taken the time to start cultivating the asset that was the young man.

“An excellent suggestion. I will probably even heed at least one or two of them,” Comet praised, knowing full well that he would heed them all. But if there was one thing that the sect leader had learned in regards to assets, it was that they had to be kept grounded. “If I may ask though, why concentrate our forces more to the north and east?”

Elder Bliss looked back up at his sect leader, bowing respectfully. “Sect leader, I just assumed that you would want additional warriors ready in that region, as that is where the adventurer’s or the traitors might seek to encroach upon our territories. I would also suggest taking the opportunity to expand slightly during the surge, showing our great sect standing tall and unbroken.”

Comet smiled wide at his words. “A fine asset, indeed,” he thought before speaking. “Ah, fine advice. If only I had taken your advice in regards to my cousin earlier as well.”

“Sect leader, you-”

“I know, I know-” Comet said, once more waving away the elder’s attempts at explaining away his mistakes. “But in this, you were right. I should have excised Meridian long ago. But if we prove ourselves here, the heavens might even provide me with the chance soon enough.”

“The sect leader will surely prevail. It is clear that the heavens have sent you this trial to further your growth,” elder Bliss agreed.

“Indeed,” Comet replied, nodding in satisfaction as he envisioned it. “But this can be both a trial and opportunity for you too, elder. Prove yourself further during this surge, and the rank of grand elder is as good as yours.”

“The sect leader humbles this unworthy one,” elder Bliss said, bowing deeply again.

“One should give out praise when it is earned through loyal service, no? Now, go see to the redeployment of our warriors according to what we planned,” sect leader Comet said, making a few token corrections to the suggested redeployment before dismissing the younger man who bowed again before leaving, the huge doors closing behind him.

Once outside, the young elder smiled contentedly, a spring in his step as he walked down the corridors as he was told. “Senior sister, please forgive this young fool for doubting your decision to have me remain here for a while yet,” Bliss thought as he walked, looking out through the windows at the sect compound still marred and broken from the conflict of the former grand elder’s department. “Because I can now see what you foresaw; there remains plenty of room for the seeds of our god to grow here.”