Olivia Duma

Several years ago ...

As the blood of the executed Valkyrie begins to soak into the chapel's carpet, Nock crows triumphantly, her deployment earring exploding in a halo of light, summoning her bulwark. Cursing under my breath, I rush forward at full tilt looking to finish this fight before things get even more out of hand. I swing hard with my sword at point blank range, the servos of my machine screaming in protest.

Nock's machine is still in the process of materializing as my sword slices straight into her neck, decapitating her neatly. But Nock remains standing, the semi summoned machine keeping her body upright. She jerks about spastically as her bulwark vainly seeks to establish the pilot - machine link to complete the summoning process. Its not going to happen since Nock is obviously missing her head, but her machine is persistent, with cables sprouting from the partially forged hull, questing outward blindly.

"ERROR - ERROR." Nock's bulwark warbles a canned message from its speaker as it takes several unsteady steps forward.

"Just go down!" I snarl and slash at the out of control machine again, this time seeking to carve it into two.

My blow cleaves away Nock's arm at the exposed armpit and the blade slices down her partially exposed torso. But it meets unexpected resistance from the rapidly spawning armor plates popping into existence around Nock's chest. I smoothly pull the sword out with a spray of blood, readying another attack as Nock's arm lands on the ground with a wet splat.

"Oh Divines!" the priestess shouts at the top of her voice as both she and the man whore stand rooted to the spot, stupidly watching the show.

"PILOT INCAPACITATED - IN - IN - INCAPACITATED -" Nock's bulwark drones as it drops into an unhealthy looking hunch with the remaining hand drawing its own sword, "ENGAGING AUTOMATIC DEFENSE PRO - PRO - PROTOCOL."

There's an annoyed beep from my HUD as it registers the headless, rampaging piece of junk locking its fire control systems squarely on me. Nock's machine takes several staggering steps toward me with its sword raised high and a thumb drive falls from the nasty gash that I had carved out of its chest. Looks like Nock had been praying recently. My best guess for the craziness unfolding in front of me would be Nock had the misfortune of using a malfunctioning tower for her prayers. The decryption process did not work properly when she received the response from the divines. And combined with her already fragile mental state, Nock would have completely snapped.

I easily parry the incoming attack from the malfunctioning bulwark and push back, sending it reeling off balance. Another stroke of my sword takes off Nock's other arm at the elbow. Her machine swings the useless stump about, running through its rote programming without any real degree of awareness. A solid kick from me sends the Nock's body flying into the altar, knocking it over with a crash and leaving the carcass spasming on the ground as more cables keep growing out of the gaps in the armor.

"Its over." I announce grimly to the man whore and the priestess as I turn to face them.

The man whore shudders and sinks to his knees, clutching his body tightly while the priestess bows deeply at me, her relief palpable.

"Thank you, thank you so much, Yellow Rose." the priestess gasps, "That Valkyrie would have killed us all, I know it."

"Sure." I mutter unhappily while reaching down to pick up the thumb drive Nock had dropped. Two dead Valkyries. Not one, but two. The Garden is going to have my hide. The only consolation is if I can prove Nock had been driven insane by one of her own prayers, I should be able to be in the clear for this disaster. Good thing I had recorded that rant Nock was going on earlier. That's proof she's both crazy and a possible heretic.

I just hope its enough.

"Why didn't you come earlier?" the man whore bleats while I dust the thumb drive off, "No one came to help when Sara attacked us at the hotel!"

"Not now, Piotr." the priestesses hushes, probably aware of my growing ill temper.

"No!" Piotr shouts, "Sara caused trouble at Loveless, the Roses let her go! This is all their fault!"

"Shut up." I state flatly, turning to confront Piotr. He can't see my expression underneath the armor, but the tone of my voice makes it clear that I am not in the mood for this tantrum. Piotr immediately pales and backs down, realizing his mistake.

"We are grateful, noble Rose." the priestess says nervously, her eyes lowered in submission.

"Its fine." I sigh resignedly, no point getting upset at small fry after all, "Its been a long night for everyone. I'll call the Militia to secure the area and this nightmare will be over."

"The Valkyrie's bulwark is still growing those cables." the priestess remarks uneasily, "Is that alright?"

"Probably." I grunt, "It'll just expend all the stored divine energy and fall inert sooner or later."

Despite my annoyed reply, I take a quick glance at Nock's corpse just to make sure nothing is wrong. And sure enough, the cables coiled around the body are still increasing in length. The sheer amount of divine energy being expended by the broken machine is nothing short of astounding, giving off a dull luminescence that illuminates the shattered altar. Nock's bulwark must be dumping all its accumulated divine energy at one go. I do a quick scan of the body and my suspicions are confirmed.

"Nock's still alive," I explain to the duo, "or at least she counts as alive as far as a bulwark is concerned. Her heart is still beating, that's why the bulwark is trying to establish the link up between the two of them."

"Cables not connecting to anything though." Piotr mumbles a weak objection to my explanation.

"What's there to connect with?" I answer sourly, "Those cables will keep searching until the bulwark loses power."

Suddenly, there's a venomous hiss and my HUD screams a warning. Spinning about, I am confronted by one of the cables flying outward like a striking viper, its connecting head sparking with divine energy. Instinct and training take over, sending my sword slashing in an arc, severing the cable.

"Shit." I curse, as the offending cable flops about on the floor like a worm. My sensors read Nock's heartbeat beginning to quicken and fresh blood starts to ooze from the gashes ripped into her machine. More cables rise from the coils around the body, rearing backward to strike. But not at me. Every single one of those connecting heads are aimed at Piotr.

And right on cue, the cables throw themselves at him in a single thrashing mass.

I throw myself forward, blocking the cables path with my bulwark with barely any time to spare. My sword flashes as it battles the voracious mass in front of me and chunks of wiring begin to litter the floor. The thrashing cables slump downward slightly, as if catching their breath and I deliver a powerful slash, looking to take off all the heads of the snake with a single blow. My blade makes contact, but a single thread of cabling breaks free from the mass and darts forward, right over my shoulder.

Straight at Piotr's face.

"Back!" I roar and abort my attack in favor of grabbing that loose cable. It wriggles like an eel, but I manage to hold it long enough to slice it apart. As the mass of cables breaks apart into a swarm, I swing my sword frantically, hoping to intercept this attack and regain my previous advantage. In the background, Nock's body begins to jerk up and down with fierce energy as more blood gathers in a pool around her.

And the cables are no match for my training and the bulwark's speed. One by one, they get cut to ribbons. The cables still press their attack, abruptly twisting and wrapping securely around my sword. I pull hard and free the weapon in a shower of sparks as a single intact cable spirals away from the mass. My HUD screams a warning but its too late. The viewscreen shatters as the cable, sheathed in divine energy, punches cleanly through the armor.

"No!" I hear someone yell as the cable flies right at me from the cloud of shattering glass and pierces into my eye.

The pain, its excruciating. There's a wet burning sensation spreading all over my face as I swing my sword blindly about. Someone get it off, get it off, get it off, get it -

.....

Now ...

"It still hurts." I murmur to myself as I examine my reflection on the blimp's window. Gingerly rubbing the eyepatch, I turn my attention to Donna Kuat, who has been standing silently behind me all this while.

"What is it?" I ask plainly without bothering to turn around.

"Paladin Duma." Donna bows respectfully, "We need your advise on how to proceed."

"We're already close to the border of Rais Land," I say, "and you're the leader of this expedition. Why do you need my advise?"

"I've been informed by my source," Donna licks her lips, "to consult with you first. Something has happened in Rais Land that changes things."

"Hm?" I grunt and gesture at Donna to continue.

"We managed to intercept a communication." Donna frowns, "The Saint has already been found, but there are ... new ... complications to contend with."

"Your source." I reply, giving the door behind Donna a significant look.

Made out of heavy sheets of metal, no one other than Donna was allowed to enter that room. Donna even brought meals into the room periodically. It was obvious whomever Donna had been conferring with was staying inside and had no interest in interacting with anyone else onboard the blimp. Donna merely looks straight at me, completely expressionless at my query. I'll get no answers from her about the mysterious source, that's clear.

"You're talking about the Coalition bulwarks?" I note, going back to observing Rais Land from the window.

"Yes." Donna confirms, "The Coalition is pulling back from the border, most likely to grab the Saint. We could charge in to secure her now ..."

"But we're badly outnumbered." I conclude, "We might be trapped and unable to return to the blimp, even if we secure the Saint."

"Just so." Donna agrees, "We will be relying on your strength Paladin, so we defer to your judgment in return."

"I see." I murmur and close my eyes. Was this why I was marked? It all comes back to that day when I met Nock. I killed one Sara. Now I have to protect another. Pushing all doubts away, I clear my mind and attend to the problem. This is no time for hesitation, what I decide now may change how everything may unfold.

Perhaps even the fate of the world itself.

And with a palpitating heart, I make my choice.