Arsha looked over some papers in her room at the Emboramiis\u2019 castle. As she worked, she heard the door chime. \u201cCome in,\u201d she called. Reb then entered the room. \u201cAh, Captain Rojam, I heard you were here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA DELIGHTFUL pleasure to see you,\u201d remarked Reb as she sat on a couch opposite Arsha\u2019s chair. A red tendril grew from her slime and idly picked up a paper Arsha had already looked at. \u201cAnd what are our BLAZING yellow eyes looking over right now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cReports from the front lines,\u201d replied Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAh.\u201d The room fell silent. The silence became uncomfortable. \u201c\u2026Doesn\u2019t your BELOVED ship have somewhere to go?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026I don\u2019t have any movement orders just yet. Orbak, Malnar, and Rellmeer are still planning which ship\u2019s going to Frigandor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI thought the fleet was heading there RIGHT now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, that\u2019s tomorrow, at the latest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTomorrow. I see.\u201d The uncomfortable silence returned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Okay, Reb, what gives?\u201d demanded Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPardon me, my DEAR Arsha?\u201d asked the pirate woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRellmeer\u2019s here to take down Dr. Borg\u2019s parents from what I\u2019ve heard. What\u2019s YOUR angle?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026Well, now you force a confession from me. The truth is, Arsha, there\u2019s someone out there with a way to end this war right now. I want to be there when they reveal how to do it and I want to make sure they hold to the mark. That may or may not involve tarsaline, given the person\u2019s character.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTarsaline? You\u2019re joking, I hope.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI must admit I\u2019m too scared to joke.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026My Ones, you\u2019re serious. You\u2019re actually scared of Dr. Borg, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRemsu, actually,\u201d corrected Reb. \u201cI admit that I\u2019ve never shied away from taking a life, but it\u2019s always been as a means to an end, to obtain the riches and power that was denied to me and my loved ones by the usual methods. I wanted to grab respect where I could.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd look where that got you,\u201d scoffed Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I was part of the breakout of Realmfleet Max, I saw only a glimpse of Remsu\u2019s power! And once she and the rest of the Imperial Council obtain godhood, their power will increase a thousand times over that!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou think they plan to destroy people that wronged them?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThink BIGGER, Princess!\u201d snapped Reb. \u201cKilling their tormentors would just be their opening act! They\u2019ll have the power to reshape all of existence AND the will! \u2026I made sure of that with Remsu.\u201d Arsha arched an eyebrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSorry?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI contracted her for a job before she got married to Dr. Borg. She once didn\u2019t have the stomach to kill and now she\u2019s a vindictive woman. I feel responsible for her being what she is today. I didn\u2019t recognize her during the breakout, but I soon discovered old files on those I contracted. Her picture and kills were QUITE prominent. I\u2026I helped mold that monster into what she is today. \u2026But it\u2019s FAR from over! We still have a chance and\u2026I can\u2019t believe I\u2019m saying this aloud\u2026if we put aside our differences one last time, I can get us close to the Divine Tower! But, if we\u2019re to survive, you\u2019re going to need to amplify your Candidate\u2019s Aura. The rumor is that you\u2019re considered a Candidate for being the Divine Ones\u2019 Champion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe rumors are true and I\u2019m trying to amplify it, but I don\u2019t have enough mana to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a DREADFUL lie. I heard that you had that power during your first fight with the Titan! Rumor has it that it was once contained in your hairpiece!\u201d Arsha\u2019s eyes widened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat you heard about-\u201d Arsha took her rose out of her bun- \u201cwas the pent-up rage of the ones who wore this when they misinterpreted Sorsha\u2019s original instructions on this thing! You saw untempered power that would turn a woman into a mindless, dangerous animal!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd the only kind of power that has a chance against a god, should we fail to stop their ascension!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI will NOT use that kind of power again! It nearly killed me! It would have killed-!\u201d Arsha stopped as she thought about Foresna, then the rest of her lovers. \u201cNo. Never again unless there\u2019s no other way.\u201d Reb scowled at Arsha\u2019s refusal<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you were TRULY picked to be our gods\u2019 Champion, born to save the Realms, how now can you refuse their plea?\u201d Arsha then got an idea. She looked at a report stating that there were fifty-one unknown life-signs detected in Frigandor. She grinned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think I know how to beat Dr. Borg, but the first step starts in finding out who these fifty-one are if they aren\u2019t who I think they are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026The Divine Ones?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd Oyed. He\u2019s the one we need to talk to. He must have some sort of weapon that was meant to destroy his children. Maybe he can help us modify it to use against the Council should they ascend to godhood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThen what are we gonna do if there IS such a DREADED weapon? Ask him nicely to please let us use it and please not kill us in the process?\u201d Arsha smirked. Reb\u2019s sarcastic smile\u2026faded. \u201c\u2026Oh, sweet Ones, we are!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKeep your tarsaline on standby in case Oyed says no. I have a feeling he\u2019s gonna need it.\u201d Reb arched an eyebrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the Under to Mid Realmgate now repaired and synced to the Mid to Under Realmgate, the plan was set in motion. The Endeavor<\/em> would lead the larger fleet to free Frigandor and get them back on their feet. When Frigandor is freed, Arsha would lead a team to find Dr. Borg\u2019s base and see if the unaccounted life-signs were Oyed and the Divine Ones. Once done, Arsha would make her case to Oyed and convince him to join us. What those who signed the initial Blood Contract didn\u2019t tell everyone was that Oyed was going to die one way or another. The details would be made public once Oyed was gone. As the fleet moved towards Frigandor, everyone was expecting the eventual firefight. They were rather surprised when only a few Imperial ships rose from Frigandor\u2019s borders to meet them. \u201cRealmfleet,\u201d called the enemy flagship, \u201cthis is Captain Draysna. You are ordered to surrender and prepare to be boarded by order of the Realm Trinity Empire.\u201d The Endeavor<\/em> crew looked at each other in disbelief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey can\u2019t be serious,\u201d muttered Malak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOpen a channel,\u201d ordered Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cChannel open,\u201d replied Shalvey. A Revenant human man\u2019s face appeared on the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is Princess Royana of the flagship, Endeavor<\/em>. Frigandor is under Realmfleet protection. Withdraw or be destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNegative,\u201d replied the Revenant. \u201cWe have authority here. Do not force us to engage your fleet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy not? There are very few of you that survived battle against a fleet this size. Their location is currently unknown, yours was made obvious by your arrival here. If you value your lives, be elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCaptain, something\u2019s coming up from behind us!\u201d called Malak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCan you identify?\u201d asked Arsha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026They\u2019re Shadow Dragons with Drow riders.\u201d A relieved smile then crossed Malak\u2019s face. \u201cGeneral Dotan\u2019s leading the charge with Tanta on his back!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a while!\u201d chuckled Arsha. She turned to Dalengor. \u201cIf you wish to join him, I have no qualms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll be back, Captain!\u201d replied Dalengor. She then cast a teleport spell on herself and vanished from the bridge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Arsha looked over some papers in her room at the Emboramiis\u2019 castle. As she worked, she heard the door chime. \u201cCome in,\u201d she called. Reb then entered the room. \u201cAh, Captain Rojam, I heard you were here.\u201d \u201cA DELIGHTFUL pleasure to see you,\u201d remarked Reb as she sat on a couch opposite Arsha\u2019s chair. A […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,238],"tags":[482],"class_list":["post-5278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-three-realms","category-the-three-realms-book-5-the-final-fight","tag-fantasy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5278"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5281,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5278\/revisions\/5281"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}