Ashborn Primordial

Chapter 134: Raiders of the Night

Vir awaited his summons for the raid by meditating cross-legged in the subterranean room the Pagan Order had given him. His room. One that would remain his possession, even if he left.

Come to think of it, I havent had a place to call my own ever since Brij

He was just a temporary visitor at Riyans abode, and since then, hed either slept in inns, or under starlight. Now that he thought about it, he understood how much he missed having a home. It wasnt just the home itself; it was the people, too.

Vir had spent the past day exploring both the Undercity with Badal, and the Upper City with Spears Edge. True to their word, they hadnt pried anymore about his upcoming mission. Theyd visited merchants, parks, pubs, and had even watched a play put on by local actors.

In that time, Badal filled him in on how the Undercity society operated. All demons living there were given a small stipend of food. Enough to subsist on, but not much more. Gainful employment was expected of all demons, though no restrictions were placed on what jobs anyone could take on. Overall, it sounded quite idyllic to Vir. Brij never had a stipend like thatif you couldnt feed yourself, youd starve.

All the touring had left him exhausted, and he was glad to return to his room to relish his time alone. It allowed him an opportunity to consider his own abilities and advancement, which hed neglected due to all the goings-on. If he was honest, he missed the days of training with Riyan, each day focused solely on strengthening his body, tempering his mind, and delving into the mysteries of prana.

As hed soon found out, though, progress with prana grew more and more difficult the more proficient he became. The breakthroughs came rarely these days; a fact that irked him.

The best leads he had so far were Parai the Ancient and Narak the Destroyers visions.

For the longest time, Vir had wondered how to attain the effects Narak achieved with Balancer of Scalesmanipulating the weight of objectswithout his tattoo, but came up short every time. Whatever those tattoos were, they gave the wearer abilities beyond anything that could be accomplished by mere prana manipulation. Of that, Vir was sure.

Prana Blade, Blade Projection, Blade Launch these were all things that weaponized prana itself, and were relatively straightforward. But Balancer of Scales affected physical objects. Even objects at a distance.

It really works like orb magic, doesnt it?

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Vir shook his head. Hed been down that line of reasoning many times, and it always ended in a wall. There was nothing to be gained by banging his head against it.

Instead, he turned his thoughts to Parais cycling technique. Even now, he kept the technique active, though apart from boosting his recovery time, he wasnt sure what else it did. And even its ability to accelerate his healing process was really just a matter of increasing the amount of blood that circulated around his back, just via an unconventional pathway.

There wasnt anything there that leveraged the prana itself, though Vir knew Parai had several other circulation paths as well. Hed seen how his past incarnations' techniques sucked in prana from the surroundings, gluing it to his body like armor.

As always, however, the issue was how to safely experiment with those. Done incorrectly, Vir would rupture blood vessels, cause internal bleeding, and very possibly kill himself.

On the other hand, playing around with small amounts of blood did little to help him learnhed been experimenting with that ever since he left Riyans abode.

Parais body had felt like a raging river, with prana surging through his body. Vir had thought himself proficient with prana manipulation, but after seeing Parai, he now understood he was just an amateur. His prana felt like a gummed-up damfull of prana, but one that refused to flow.

Then there was the Pagan Orders non-magical lighting, where Lightning prana flowed at unbelievable speed, decoupled from its carrier objectin this case, metal. Electricity, theyd called it.

This differed starkly from how mejai used prana. They formed a suction to pull ambient affinity prana into their orbs, which trapped it to power spells. Prana manipulation didnt even seem to be part of their training regimen.

Or perhaps it was but only at the higher ranks?

Right as Vir began to grow frustrated at his lack of progress, he heard a series of knocks on his rooms door.

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Neel, whod been sleeping on the floor, immediately perked up and ran to the door, looking up expectantly at Vir.

Sorry, boy. Youre gonna have to sit this one out. No telling how dangerous this will be, and well need to be stealthy.

Neel tilted his head at Vir, prompting a sad smile.

Vir opened the door to find Badal waiting for him, dressed in a robe that was as black as the night.

It is time.

Vir nodded. Ill just grab my weapons.

You are sure you want to do this? Badal asked. I will not lie to you, Vir. You are the lynchpin in todays plan. With your powers, we will find the prisoners faster, and with less blood spilled. But this will be a great risk to you.

Im sure, he replied, staring Badal in the eyes. I want to help them.

Understood. I shall question your resolve no more. Forgive me.

Thanks. Truly.

Vir cinched down his greaves and bracers, donned his cuirass, collected his katar, slung his chakrams around his neck, and wore his chakris as bracelets. He gave Neel one last Im sorry look before shutting the door behind him.

There will be thirty-five of us on this raid, twenty pilots flying twenty Acira, and fifteen raiders, Badal said as they proceeded down the tunnel. Our beasts are bred for carrying weight, unlike most Acira. They're slower and require more frequent stops, but in return, each can carry five, including the pilot. Enough for all fifty of our brothers and sisters.

Vir nearly balked at that figure. Twenty Acira was an incredible force. He wondered why they needed so many to rescue fifty prisoners, but realized it was optimistic to assume all Acira would be filled to capacity. Depending on how heavily defended their prison was, it was possible theyd have to take off before they were full. Having excess not only allowed them a larger raid force, but also gave them a margin of security.

It sounded like a well-thought-out operation. A fact that was corroborated when Vir finally emerged through the maze of tunnels, leading to a ladder that led back up to the surface. Right into the castles Acira berths.

Vir wasnt sure which was more impressivethe sight of twenty Acira lined up in a perfect square grid, their black wings glinting off the moonlightor the squads of demons beside them, all dressed in identical black robes.

This was military might the likes of which Vir had never seen from Hiranya. Only the Altanis skyships had invoked such a sense of professionalism and power within him.

The training and upkeep costs, the fact that most of the warriors wielded seric weapons It spoke not only to the depth of the Pagan Orders treasury, but to the high degree of competence with which it was run.

Projecting such a force well away from their own borders could not come easily.

Theyre elites. Theyve done this before. Many times.

Vir immediately understood that despite their lack of prana, these warriors were not to be underestimated. All boasted Talents, and their prana-starved bodies made their abilities more potent, drawing a stronger suction from the prana in the Earth.

As Vir scanned the disguised faces of his brothers and sisters, he saw neither fear nor excitement. Only cool, composed determination to complete the mission and bring everyone home. This was a group of veterans. Like him, each wore face paint, sporting the tan shades of the Kinjals, and unless Vir knew they were demons, hed never have guessed.

It was a secret force that the world knew nothing about. A force that wasnt supposed to exist.

Vir swelled with pride as he nodded to each in turn.

You must be our guest of honor. Well be counting on you this night, a demon said, grasping his forearm in what Vir had learned was a kind of demonic handshake. Fare well, brother.

And you, Vir replied, genuinely wishing the man well, despite never having met him before.

Hed known the Order for only a handful of days, and yet he already felt more at ease than he ever had around Tia and Spears Edge. Because, though they all wore disguises, these were his people. Individuals who recognized him and accepted him for who he truly was.

Vir boarded an Acira with Badal at the head of the flight. Their pilot shot his finger up into the air, and without even a word between the squads, they took to the sky, ripping the silent air with the beating of scaled wings.

The dust swirled around them, as the Acira built more and more force. Then they lurched into the air, clearing the tall castle walls in seconds.

Aciras took off one by one, with each avian creature slotting seamlessly into its position. Before long, theyd organized into a V shape formation, tearing across Balindam as they climbed ever higher.

Each aerial turn was executed in perfect synchronization as if performed by master acrobats.

The night wind swept past their faces, and before long, theyd crossed the South Legion Mountains, flying over Ranian airspace. It made Vir wonder whether Rani knew of the Orders operations. He figured they must know, and that they were implicitly alright with it. He guessed the Order ran these sorts of raids regularly.

The Acira flew at less than their maximum capacity, and as such, required fewer breaks than they would on the way back. As the minutes turned into hours and Ranis lush valleys and forests fell away beneath them, a feeling grew within Vir.

I could see myself among their ranks, he thought. What if he joined the Order? Working with them to build a home for demons? I might be able to make a real difference here

It was a thought hed had several times over the past day. Though regardless of what came after, he had to survive this mission first. Not just survivehe had to bring those demons home.

Badal had briefed him earlier on the layout of the place, since conversation in-flight was difficult with all the wind. The prisoners were kept in a structure built like a castle, out in the middle of the Kinjal countryside within the Eternal Plains.

While all the demons on this raid wielded Talents, Vir doubted any would be more effective than him within the complex. It was a strong reason why he'd volunteered to join them.

Hed Dance inside, breaking prisoner shackles and cutting down jail doors, assisting the other demons as they filtered through the compound.

At least, that was how it was supposed to go. But Vir knew from experience that these plans rarely ever went as expected.

See those mountains? Badal shouted, pointing down to the snowcapped peaks that blurred beneath them. The Bulwarks. We just crossed into Kinjal territory. Five minutes until we descend!

Vir took a deep breath. Lets do this.