Alone, I dropped to my knees, ready to bask in the misery of what I’d lost, when Sania’s panicked voice came through the bond.

“Clive! Are you alright? What’s happened?”

Realizing my overly dramatic heartbreak over the food was both felt and misconstrued by others.

“Nothing,” I sighed, getting back to my feet. “It’s fine. Everyone’s fine. I’m on my way to your location now. Shouldn’t be long.” How foolish of me to think I was ever alone these days.

I took to the skies slowly building my speed to catch up with them, as Sania continued to speak. “It can’t have been nothing, Clive. I felt your pain and anguish. Tell me now, because not knowing is worse.”

“Everyone’s fine, I promise… I had a massive pack of food for us as I left Far Reach. It disappeared during the travel here.”

Sania laughed. “Okay. That is frustrating. How was it all, then?”

“The place is huge now. They have thousands, including the human guards, and the Wultr we rescued on the plains.”

“That’s amazing news. Were Devotion’s people behaving themselves?” she asked.

“Their guards wanted to kill me when I arrived.”

“They did what?” Danivra said joining the conversation for the first time.

“Don’t worry, I sorted that out quickly enough. But it leads me onto an absolute fucking doozy of an offer… request, I dunno. Either way, hold on to your pants for this one you two. I spoke directly to Devotion at her altar and we had an old good chin wag.”

“You spoke directly to Devotion?” Danivra asked, amazed.”

“I did, and I have to level with you. She was okay to be honest.”

“So what was said?” Sania asked eagerly.

“I told her if she wanted her people to remain in Far Reach, they would have to change their attitudes. We had a little talk about how precarious both of our positions might be with Darkness. I suggested we had to become friends rather than just allies, if we were going to survive whatever was coming. But that wasn’t going to happen while her people kept pissing me off.”

“What was her response?” Danivra asked.

“To become Soul Mates.”

“What!” Sania shouted across the bond. The outrage was clear in her voice before she fell silent.

“One second, Clive,” Danivra said. “Sania just lost altitude… it looks like she’s recovered now.”

“I hope you told her where she could go,” Sania’s voice burst back in my head.

“When she demanded that I choose immediately, yeah, I told her where she could go and she throttled back on the pushy, pushy. I basically left it at that. I would need to speak with you both.”

“It’s an intriguing offer with multiple aspects to consider,” Danivra said. “We should look over the pros and cons of such a union in greater detail when we have a moment. No decisions have to be made now. For my own thoughts, what did you feel her aims were, Clive? To control you or to bind herself to a rising tide?”

“Second one, definitely. Though if we proceeded with this, then we would have to make sure there was no control possible at all.

“Agreed,” Danivra replied.

“Not happening,” was Sania's reply, and I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face as I blasted through the air toward them.

Within ten minutes, they came into view. The Nystiobek, all in their bear form for travel, made an impressive sight. At the front of the column, Galota and the other five Nanooks led. Nowhere near as big as Stada, but a little bigger than Danivra’s fifty-foot tall Dokala form. From my current vantage point moving to join Sania in the air, she almost looked small.

One thing was for sure. They would look a real menace to anyone we encountered, as they effortlessly ate up the miles. Their foot falls like the rumble of thunder. Of course, that meant we would surprise no one, ever. But with these guys, it would be a rare occurrence we’d ever need to.

The mid-morning sky was overcast as we continued our journey, growing darker by the minute and throwing a grim, depressing shadow over the land. I suspected rain wouldn’t be far away, which wasn’t ideal, but the dim light allowed us to spot a bright flickering light on the horizon. I saw it almost the same time as Sania this time, though she deciphered its meaning well before I was even close.

“Fire!” She shouted over to me.

She was right. As we moved closer, the faint scent of smoke on the breeze increased until you could taste the acrid black some and the scent of rancid burning meat, amidst others.

I prayed we were not too late to the battle, but the truth was worse. The sight at the burning settlement was not one any of us expected to see.

All of the invading demons, as well as all of the trullan, were dead. The most shocking thing to greet us was, lined along the far side of the valley facing down in our direction was a solid line of Justice’s soldiers. They were about two mile away still, but with the way they stood, I had the sense they were waiting for us, and that didn’t bode well.

Most of the gleaming armored troops lined up on the floor. Long halberds pointing in our direction despite the distance we still had between us. Judging by the order and efficiency of their formation, I had to assume they had archers behind the infantry. Above must have been close to one hundred flying Paladins.

“Over a thousand, at least,” Danivra said.

As much as I wanted to kill them all for the massacre they’d caused here, I wasn’t stupid. Even with Danivra and the Nanooks, this wasn’t a fight we could win. At least not easily, and we had no real idea of the strength of their forces. “Come on, guys, this ain’t a fight we need right now. Let’s fucking bounce.”

“While I agree we should attempt to avoid this conflict, I also feel we should call on Grigor to bring our army back this way with all haste.”

“Doi it,” I replied as we slowly backed off. Our enemy noticed and moved after us immediately, so I waved everyone just to run as fast as they could, leading them in a south west direction.

As we sped up, an unnaturally amplified voice boomed at us. “Halt!” The voice was deep and used to giving out commands. Not that we would be listening to a damn word of them.

Moments later, a barrage of silver and red energy bolts came our way, fizzling past me, but as I looked down, the Nystiobek were getting hit.

Galota, realizing the danger, smoothly allowed the lower leveled Nystiobek to run in front as he and the other Nanooks, with their incredibly high constitution, took the hits in their place to protect them.

I spun around and started firing back, but it was like trying to fill a swimming pool by spitting.

“Faster!” I screamed down futilely as I watched the airborne contingent of Justice's army moving far faster than the slowest of our Nystiobeks.

There were more than just heavily armored paladins among our pursuers. A class that I’d never seen before, were among them. Long, flowing robes marked them out as different, though they still wore some armor underneath. Their movements seemed more fluid and graceful, and their projectiles were more numerous, more powerful, and more accurate than those without capes.

“Keep going! Let’s try and stretch them out,” Sania screamed for everyone to hear.

“A good plan,” Danivra replied. “We should be able to lose their ground forces easily enough and do what we can with the Paladins and Justiciars once we have given ourselves some breathing space.

As she spoke, a number of Elven archers in Justices colors appeared in ambush from a ridge to our left. Firing an array of different coloured arrows. This attack had been prepared, thought out to deal with us. My mind raced on why Justice was entering the fray against me now. Was it my last use of power, and if so, why didn’t they attack once Stada was dead? I pushed it from my mind. It wasn’t important right now and I would have to up my efforts in combat if any of us were going to make it out of this alive.

Letting loose a barrage of return fire, Sania soon joined me. Our projectiles were almost worthless against the onslaught we faced, and I could sense the Nystiobeks were ready to turn and fight, too. So far all they had done was to take damage while they ran, and I worried if that continued they would resent me. We were never going to escape, and it was only a matter of time before we started losing people.

“Grigor!” I shouted across the bond, but I didn’t direct it only at Grigor. I only wanted the Nystiobek below to hear me, but separating the bonds was impossible in my current position so everyone linked would hear. “How long do you think? We’re under the cosh, man.”

“We are split up,” Grigor replied. “I have the Woltar and the fastest of the Dokala and Fensala with me... and Freeler. He is fast. We should be no more than two hours. Less if you can make it closer to us. The rest will arrive when they arrive I’m afraid. The goblins, perhaps four hours.”

“Two hours, okay, Shit. We’ll try and make it closer to you. See you soon, Grigor,” I said, dropping the call.

I focused on the group below me. “You all heard him. We’ll have back up soon though we have to keep moving a little longer. We’ll search for somewhere to make a stand. Okay guys?”

Galota was the loudest among the replies. “We will persevere. Then we will rip these puny bastards to shreds for this indignity.”

“Damn right we will, mate.”

Next, I focused on Sania. “We need somewhere for a defensive position. You’ve got the eyesight and the speed. Go ahead and see if you can find anywhere.”

She shook her head. “There is nothing but flat and for miles around for miles yet. I will stay with you and help with our fighting retreat until I see options on the horizon.”

Accepting her decision, I refocused my efforts on fighting again. Dodging the incoming projectiles to the best of my ability and firing back only to see all of our shots being neutralized by opposing bolts, I glanced down to the ground, Danivra was so mobile that she didn’t seem to take any hit’s at all. The poor Nanooks who protected their weaker brethren were not so lucky.

“Sania! Don’t bother trying to hit them. Just avoid their shots and use your own to neutralize incoming and defend those below.”

“I understand,” she said and fired off a hunter's flame to deflect a bolt. I did the same, building much smaller balls with far more speed.

I faltered moments later as I felt my core tingling. Sparing the briefest moments to focus on it, I found numerous fine tendrils of power touching my core. My initial reaction was to panic, thinking it was some form of attack. But I realized they were prayer tendrils.

With nothing else for it and appreciating what a blast of Ethereal power could do for me right now, I started accepting the bonds quickly.

As the stream of Notifications danced over my vision, I had to stop firing. Though I did just about manage to avoid any direct hits on myself as I assigned every single tendril that reached my core to Rank 3 Devoted. Whether they wanted to be an aspirant, or not. That’s what they were getting.

I recognised only a few of the names, but I suspected at least ninety percent of those who bonded with me, were those from Johan and Sazor’s group. As I thought it was coming to an end, more and more tendrils began to attach to me.

“Clive what are you doing!” Sania screamed out loud.

“Gimme a minute,” I replied desperately. “I think it’ll be worth it.”

She didn’t respond, and I continued my quick-fire acceptance and rank assignment. A couple of minutes and five hundred and thirty-two new aspirants later, I was finished. Yet I received another notification.

Congratulations: Aspirant Johan has met the requirements to be elevated to Rank 3 (II) having provided the requisite 200% of their overall Neuma pool. They have chosen the Cleric Class.

Congratulations: Aspirant Sazor has met the requirements to be elevated to Rank 3 (II) having provided the requisite 200% of their overall Neuma pool. They have chosen the Cleric Class.

Fuuuck! I thought and tried to reach them, as I reveled in a suddenly refilled Ethereal storage pool. “I don’t know if you guys can hear me,” I said across Sazor and Johan’s bonds. “But if you can. Thank you, dudes. You may just have saved all of our lives.”

“Lord Clive!” Sazor replied.

“We can hear you, my lord,” Johan added. “We are honored to have helped.

“I’ll have to speak to you some more in a bit… busy. But thanks.”

I cut the communication and began speaking to Sania and Danivra. “More new aspirants. Let’s give these fuckers something to write home about,” I said as I began building more spicy balls and adding a touch of Ethereal power to them. Nothing Like what I’d hit Stada and Natom with. I intended to get a good amount of projectiles from what I had in the tank.

“Hopefully, you can turn the tide,” Danivra replied.

As the first dark Ethereal infused spicy ball left my hand, sparkling, red, black, and gold. The level 48 paladin I aimed for, threw her own bolt of power to neutralize mine, while her companion threw his directly at me in response. I dodged, she didn’t. Expecting, with good reason for my power to fizzle out when it met mine. But it kept going, unhindered by her attempt, hitting her chest and essentially obliterating her.

The enraged, blood and gore-covered companion, screamed with rage before exploding with a gray gold and white colored Ethereal ball.

We retreated the entire time and for the first time the approaching Paladins and Justiciars looked concerned. Which facilitated them doing something I’d been wondering about. They portaled. Five of the robed bastards. All around me.

“Drop!” Sania screamed, firing at them.

I did, but too late to avoid all of their attack, which sent me spinning towards the ground like I was on an out-of-control waltzer. Smashing into the ground among the Nystiobek, I was as almost as surprised as those watching me that I was able to jump back up just as Sania dropped next to me. Now it was time to stop and fight in the middle of the open plain.