Sweeping the Trash, Part II: Protocol
For weeks upon weeks, the adventurers of Sapience rallied to the cause of training Sehali warriors. Sceptical at first, the realm at large watched as Spinesreach heavily involved itself in Impish training protocol, with a vast majority of volunteer work coming solely from their people. Initially interpreting this as an attempt to improve relations, the Impire dismissed any suspicions of foul play and simply urged the rest of the realm to lend its efforts in hopes of fostering more avenues of diplomacy. At first, adventuring mentors found the training tasks quick and effective, though none of the would-be soldiers exhibited any potential as ascendants. The training left student and master exhausted, honing each Impish recruit into a deadly force that could one day wreak havoc upon the battlefield. Each recruit adopted a specialisation for weaponry, including bare-knuckle brawling, tricksome bladed yo-yos, and Impish bastardswords that adhered to the dimensions of a common Templar longsword, ensuring a diverse force. Though many Spireans conducted exhaustive classes and left indelible marks upon the Impire’s roster, it was Jondyrr and Tor that managed to foster two Impish Tekal, their tortured hollowing offered unto the realm as proof of their mettle.
As the days dragged on and the campaign against Bloodloch ended, the Theocracy began to plot its next move. Unbeknownst to the realm, select Spireans had entered into a conspiracy to brainwash as many Impish recruits under the Dragon’s collective care as possible, their minds subtly altered to accept a hypnotic suggestion so deeply embedded in their psyche as to go entirely undetected. Overseen by the Jackal, the process proceeded without a peep – until the defection of a Spirean agent known as Tor, who had come to reject the ideology that had prevailed within the city’s top minds. Bartering for peace and safe passage, the turncloak warned the Hammer of Dawn, who subsequently sounded the alarm to the Impish Queen and her allies.
Faced with the potential unravelling of their plan due to this security breach, the Viceroys swiftly convened and decided to enact their plan to salvage whatever they could regarding military advantages. Without delay, Viceroy Whirran bellowed the activating phrase to the realm at large, rousing confusion and suspicion in equal parts. As the infamous Ogre’s voice rippled across the firmament, nowhere did it strike more soundly than the heart of New Sehal. The eyes of over two hundred and fifty Impire warriors glazed over from one syllable to the next, their attention turning towards other Imps nearby as the Impire blundered into the clutches of violent tension.
An eerie silence brought stillness to the Queendom for nary a few seconds before a shrill scream erupted from deep within its heart, heralding a spray of gore that misted the air with the telltale scarlet of friendly fire. The sounds of battle erupted from the Holy Impire of Sehal as hostilities broke out, prompting Queen Dami, Chief-Commander Nido, and Lord Kemo to begin shouting orders to Imperial personnel, each trying to assess who may be compromised. As the trio’s voices cut above the din, they handed down orders with a degree of nigh-instinctual preparedness – a hint that they had received Tor’s news and had formulated a plan in response. Breaking ranks from the onslaught of hypnotised agents, those unaffected swiftly aligned into new formations under the command of their notable leaders and took up arms to mitigate the damage. A brutish party of unarmed Imps, one and all sharing a monastic tutor, swiftly executed an interpretation of Tekura to rob their brainwashed compatriots of armaments, further stymying the damage dealt by hypnotic warfare.
From among the Impire’s warriors arose two standout combatants who hardly suffered wounds in their melee breaking out within Khepri’s hallowed Impire: Dadi and Sulu, the two Tekal trained by Tor and Jondyrr – each upon the razor’s edge of ascension within a bloodied crucible, each delivering gory strikes with their weapons. Moving as a lethal, efficient pair, the two became a crimson whirlwind, consigning their fellows to tragic demises that made a bloody, tattered trail of their unfortunate remains.
Like demons possessed, the pair faced down entire divisions on their own, decimating them in a flurry of treacherous violence. Finding opportune angles, Dadi waylaid countless loyal Impish warriors in a hissing tangle of ragged strings, sending them toppling into the dirt. In a series of callous, practised strikes, Sulu closed in and finished his partner’s work, gutting the unfortunate souls without a second thought. As Sulu turned to select his next target, however, a lone Imp closed in and hurled their warhammer at his head, leaving a near-fatal crack in the hypnotised killer’s skull. The impact rang throughout Sehali streets, coaxing violence’s fevered song to a sickening crescendo. Subdued for now, Sulu collapsed into a bloodied heap, his ascension delayed by the bravery of one nameless Imp soldier. Caught by surprise at the sound, Dadi gave himself over to rage when he beheld the sight of his partner’s limp body lying haphazardly on the bloody ground. Turning his gaze skyward, he lifted both arms aloft and beseeched a higher power that promptly flooded his ascendant frame with familiar charnel energy.
The skies darkened momentarily as tendrils of shadow crept across the firmament to form the terrible visage of the Azudim, Dadi, heralding a sharp rise in his violent prowess. Returning to the fight under the darkened heavens above the Holy Impire, the freshly-instilled Azudim carved a bellicose path towards his objective. Picking up his fallen comrade’s weapon on the way, the violent dervish of Impish fury dispensed with all rivals throughout Impish history, his legacy writ in swathes of dead comrades.
As the murderous Azudim closed in upon a Queen he no longer recognised, a thin line of burnished energy sliced the air beside the imperilled monarch. In a rush of heat and light, the vivid fracture tore open to allow Itensu the Stalwart to take the field in defence of Sehal’s rightful ruler. Dispensing with heroic theatrics, the warrior moved with all the grace of his lost people, the hilt of his venantium broadsword lashing out in a calculated strike that sent Dadi’s eyes rolling into the back of his skull. Unwilling to take any chances, Itensu delivered a follow-up blow with his opposite fist, filling the palace grounds with a sickening crack as he broke the operative’s jaw beneath his unwavering might.
Leaving Queen Dadi to assess the disaster gripping her holy Impire, Itensu turned to the nearest messenger and sent word to Djeir, setting in motion the next war to plunge Sapience into chaos…
Penned by my hand on Tisday, the 8th of Sapiarch, in the year 8 AC.
