Alis, Trevenor, Reeca and Kosak had somehow managed to get to Marf and just like Kalos said, it was relatively safe, but it wasn’t long before they found out why.

Alis’s stomach twisted into a painful knot as he looked at what could only be described as a pit of guts and blood.

He could see broken pieces of elafriá armour and tones of bones from various large creatures.

People from all over Faacri gathered around the pool of death. Many of them stared in horror while others looked for shelter.

Luckily for everyone, Kalos had created a barrier that protected them from the cold, which explained why Alis could see various people sitting about.

Alis walked over to Kosak, whose condition wasn’t looking too good.

Alis could tell something was wrong with him, but he couldn’t figure out what.

What Alis needed was a knight who specialized in healing, but there were very few knights around and of those, none of them were healers.

Kosak coughed loudly as he sat on the dry grass.

“You know, this could have turned out a lot worse,” Kosak said with a cough.

“Shut up, old man. You’re in no condition to start rambling.” Alis said, even though his tone was gentle.

Trevenor had suggested that they pump darkness into Kosak, but they decided not to, out of fear and uncertainty.

Alis noticed that a group of survivors had gathered nearby.

Alis walked over to them and listen in on their discussion.

“That would only work if we had some sort of protection, but look at the knights around here. Their either wounded, afraid of leaving Kalosýni’s protection, or both.” A man said as Reeca walked toward Alis.

“But we can’t sit here and do nothing either. The forest is half a days trip from here. If we can get a few horses and some carts together, we’ll be able to safely gather resources before those things even know we’re there.” Another man said.

“Safely?” Another man asked.

“Safely? You’ve all seen how fast those things move. Both the dark and the light. Without an elite knight, we’ll be nothing but sitting ducks out there!” He yelled before Alis stepped up, his chest puffed and his nose high.

“I can help with that,” Alis said, drawing everyone’s attention.

The people around him looked at him with sceptical eyes.

“I’m strong. Really strong. I can protect you while you harvest and transport whatever resources you need.” Alis said.

“Are you a knight, by chance?” One of the men from earlier asked.

“Y- no, but-" Alis stopped himself.

If he revealed himself to be a velzen, then people would panic.

He needed a way to convince the people that he was more than capable of killing a few dark beings.

The crowd eventually lost its patience, but just as they turned away from Alis, Reeca’s glorious white armour appeared and in her hands, she held two daggers made from pure light.

“Ooh!”

“Is that the eminence?”

“I heard the current eminence was a woman.”

Such things were murmured by the ground.

Alis took full advantage of the crowds awed state and spoke.

“Behold! Reeca the- great knight. She will protect you in your quest for recovery. Please, place your trust in her and I guarantee that she’ll keep you safe. To an extent, of course.” Alis said as the crowd got larger.

Alis could see it.

Within the eyes of the broken lay hope.

Alis smiled brightly before pointing his hand at no one in particular.

“Mark this day, for this is the day our revival begins! Now, who shall we name leader? Who shall carry the burden of raising Faacri from the ashes?” Alis asked.

No one spoke or moved after this.

Fear crept back into their hearts, even though moments earlier their hearts had caught a glimpse of a hopeful future.

“Umm… there’s someone who I’d like to nominate.” A rather small voice said.

Everyone turned to find a knight standing in the crowd.

“Oh? Then speak up knight.” Alis said while lowering his head. It hadn’t been that long since he abandoned the order-

Wait a minute! Alis raised his head.

Since the world was being torn apart, didn’t that mean that the order would soon cease to matter?

Alis smiled before walking towards the knight.

“Follow me.” The knight said before Alis turned back to the crowd.

“Alright, all of you. Get your best equipment and select the healthiest among yourself as we prepare to leave.” Alis said before following the knight to a tent that had the orders Crest on it.

Surrounding that tent, were many smaller tents which were surrounded by a few carriages.

Alis was led into the tent where he found an injured Neelae.

“Oh… it’s you.” Alis said as the knight stood upright.

“Head knight, the people of Marf are looking for a leader and I think you fit that description quite well.” The knight said nervously.

Neelae got up from her bed, revealing that she had several sounds that were barely covered with bandages and cloths.

But her white eyes retained their radiance and her spirit remained unbroken.

“Hello.” Neelae awkwardly greeted.

Alis sighed. He realized that no progress would be made if we were overly stubborn or aggressive.

“Hi. Come on, let’s go introduce the people of Marf to their new leader." Alis said as he exited the tent.

Neelae followed him out and they made their way toward the group.

Everyone’s gaze fell upon Neelae’s wounded form.

She raised her chest and pumped some of her light energy into her wounds making her eyes glow in the process.

“Greetings everyone. My name is Neelae Yolson. If there’s anyone who feels that they are more prepared or even qualified than I am to lead, then speak now.” Neelae said, but everyone remained silent.

She looked out toward the outer edges of Marf and saw more people trickling in. If they were going to gather resources, this was the most critical time to do so.

“Ok. My leadership shall be simple. We will prosper only through cooperation. I don’t want to hear anything about loyalty to a certain cause and there shall be no theft or murder in this place.” Neelae then thought about Kalosýni’s thought process for a moment as she looked at the people in front of her.

“If you are found guilty of those crimes, you will be sentenced to banishment.” She added causing everyone to gasp.

“I’m sure you’ve all heard about Kalosýni the blue and how he erected barriers around the major towns and cities. There’s one above this very place and if you are found causing any sort of trouble, your case will be reviewed and if you are found guilty, we send you out.” Neelae said to no objection.

She could’ve sworn she heard Alis scoff when she said Kalosýni’s name, but she paid him no mind.

“Ok. Now, our priority, for now, is shelter. Lots of people are going to be coming here and there’s not enough housing for all of us. Our secondary objective will be food. Let me make this clear, I don’t want to see any of you stealing any of the food from the local farmers. Their food shall be obtained only through fair trade. Your second-best option is to hunt for food yourself, which leads to my final point.” Neelae said as she walked over to a small horse-driven cart.

She then counted about twenty people who didn’t look like they needed any medical attention.

“Some of you will follow Alis and Reeca. You will head to the forest just south of here-"

“Isn’t that near the Daeg valley?” Someone asked.

“Yes, but we will steer clear of the valley itself. All we want and need is in the forest.” Neelae said.

Alis smiled as he knew that the threat that everyone feared in the Daeg valley had been killed by none other than himself. Well… with the help of Reeca and Trevenor.

“Anyway, do as Alis says, he’ll be in charge of protecting you. As for the rest of you. Follow me. We need to get you treated so that we have more hands-on the next trip.” Neelae said as Alis and the others rode off towards the barrier's edge.

She led the wounded to her camp where several knights worked tirelessly to heal their comrades.

One of them noticed Neelae’s presence and so he got up and stood attentively in front of her.

“Head knight, I sincerely thank you for getting us out of that death trap.” The knight said with a bow.

“Hey, it was the combined work of all of us that saved everyone. Now, we’re planning on settling here for the time being. I’ve sent out some people to gather resources, but I must ask that you tend to these ones as they will prove invaluable in the times to come.” Neelae said as the knight looked behind her. He looked at all the wounded and saw that they were from all walks of life.

He sighed. It wasn’t rare to find a multi-talented knight, but even then. They were rare. So rare that in their broken society, people with economic skills were more valuable.

“I’ll do what I can.” The knight said.

Neelae gave him a nod before leaving the tent.

It was then that Trevenor approached her.

“Hey.” He greeted.

“Hi. Is there anything you need?” She asked as she made her way to where a large group of able-bodied knights were.

“Not really. I was just wondering what we’re going to do about the security situation around here. I’m sure you can tell that the barrier here isn’t like the one Kalosýni used in his group. It's thinner and only affects the temperature and air quality around here.” Trevenor said as the group of knights stood attentively upon noticing Neelae.

Neelae looked up into the sky and saw that the sun was slowly setting.

The sounds of chaos and destruction could be heard coming from Eslaf.

“Ok, people. I’ve taken the role of leader in this little community of survivors and before I continue, I’d like you to know that you are in no way obligated to serve me or anything. However, the people of Marf- no, the people of Faacri need you. Gone are the days of conquest and glory. It is time to defend your home. Pray not to Eirini and do not look to the sky in search of Kalos, no. This is your home to defend. So I ask that you join me with that in mind.” Neelae said, but one knight walked out of the group.

His armour was relatively clean and had numerous decorative badges.

“Need I remind you that this blasphemer abandoned our order? Not only that, she literally just spat on the goddesses name. What makes you think that she’s capable of leading anyone? Who’s to say she won’t just abandon us?” The knight asked, but all of his comrades turned to face him with death glares.

“Umm… no disrespect, sir, but she saved all of our asses.” A knight said.

“Yeah and besides, she’s not asking that we kneel and pledge our loyalty to her. Unlike some people…” Another said as the group surrounded the knight.

“Stand back, if you know what’s best for you.” The clean knight yelled as he summoned a fosblade.

“You know what? Forget this.” A knight said as he tore off his badges from his armour.

The other knights followed suit and soon a pile of badges were scattered on the floor.

“You’ve all gone mad!” The knight said as he backed away from the group.

“You’ll regret this, I tell you.” He said before storming off.

Neelae sighed.

“You didn’t have to do all that, you know.” She said as she placed her hands on her waist.

“True, but if I can be completely honest. The only reason I enjoyed being a knight was because your leadership in Tolman was firm but fair.” One of the knights said.

“Yep. In my case, I was too scared to go on conquests, so I took up guard duty in Tolman.” Another said before everyone broke into relieved laughter.

The knights shook hands and even higher before facing Neelae.

“At your command, ma’am.” The knights said simultaneously, bringing a smile to Neelae’s face.

That smile quickly turned into a frown as she engaged her mental combat mode.

“Ok, you cowards! Let’s defend this place.” She said as cheers filled the air.

.

..

Alis kept his magic on full charge during the entire ride south. He carefully watched as his group made their way toward the edge of what could be called the northern Daeg forest.

Everyone hopped off their horses and separated into two groups, with each group having ten people, not including Alis and Reeca who were the guards of this operation.

“Ok. You heard Neelae, prioritize getting wood and stone. You guys go into the forest and see what you can find.” Alis instructed before the two groups split up.

Some time passed as Alis keenly watched his group chop down trees and move them into their carts.

That’s when he heard it. A low, but peculiar sound.

He turned to the north as the sun sank and saw a black splotch in his vision.

He couldn’t see whatever it was clearly, but fortunately for him, the area behind the forest was a relatively flat grassland.

Alis summoned his fosblade.

“Everyone, keep your heads low. We have company.” Alis said, prompting the workers to work even faster.

“Hey, be careful! Any injuries you sustain hinder our progress in Marf.” Alis said as one of the workers almost chopped his foot off.

Alis then turned his attention to what he finally identified as a dark being.

Alis dashed towards it before sensing another dark presence behind him.

Alis decided to quickly kill the one in front of him as quickly as possible, but the closer it got, the more he realized that killing it, wouldn’t be easy.

Alis dashed to the creature's side before swinging his fosblade across its neck, but the creature's skin was thick and tough so Alis would need to put a little more effort into his attacks.

Alis’s skin rapidly darkened as his eyes turned black. He then let out a potent wave of darkness before jumping onto the creatures head while taking care not to impale himself as the creature had numerous spike-like horns.

Alis then punched the creature in the forehead in an attempt to give it a concussion, but the creature raised its large hands and tried clawing Alis off its head.

Alis slid down the creatures large back before mercilessly stabbing at where he assumed its kidneys.

He poured darkness into the small wounds he made, causing them to widen bit by bit.

Alis eventually pierced the creature's skin and dragged his swords downward while inside the creature, tearing through the flesh and exposing its insides.

Alis then shoved his blade further inside the creature as he held on to a patch of fur on its back. He scooped out the creature's insides and eventually, the creature fell over as its insides spewed out.

Alis then turned his attention to his group where he saw the other giant dark being. Alis then noticed that it was already in combat and so he hurriedly dashed to where it was only to find it being hacked to pieces by Reeca.

Alis watched as she easily tore apart its flesh even though it took him a while to pierce the skin of one of the creatures.

Alis destroyed his fosblade before crossing his arms as Reeca finished the giant creature off.

Cheers and applauds came from both Alis and Reeca’s groups as Reeca’s glorious white armour disappeared.

Alis walked up to her before noticing that Reeca’s group had caught several live animals.

“You’re already done?” Alis asked as Reeca caught her breath.

“Yep. We plan on experimenting with the various animal’s we caught. We’ll see which ones breed faster and grow faster. Hopefully, that will deal with the food shortage Marf is gonna experience in the near future.” Reeca said as one of the members of Alis’s group walked up to him.

“That’s all the carriages can carry, sir.” The man said with a sweaty brow.

“Ok. Then tell everyone to saddle up.” Alis said and it wasn’t long before they were ready for their trip back to Marf which was only a few kilometres away.

However, their trip back would be slower as they had various animals tied to their carriages.

Some of which desperately tried escaping at various points in the journey.