The entirety of holy bastion as it was called by those who believed in the veneration of the titan blade was calm with the usual raging aura of the titan blade. Moyo found it a bit distasteful with the whole holy bastion name, however him expressing it out would result in him having to expose himself to the people and he wasn’t ready for that, not yet.

It was why he sat in the throne room; a place now devoid of its usual pompous nature with a large round table he ordered through Martha to be installed for this very night. Shrouded from the sight of everyone around, he watched as the servants and maids he had so carefully shielded from his powerful aura and who in turn took it up as a blessing from the titan set the tables with food.

Moyo never really bothered to look into the agricultural aspect of Asa, most ascenders who climbed high enough never really needed food than to wet the occasional cravings they had. Learning Samantha and her mages were in charge of growing of crops, it came as a surprise to him that quite a significant amount of people followed one form of agricultural path or the other.

Now with the increased size of the continent, large swarths or areas of lands that included a few green zones and yellow zones had been subdued for agricultural purposes, leading to the flooding of the market with more than enough food. The table ranged with different produce from meat to seafood dipped in elixirs of life and strength, another thing he had no idea existed.

Often times he wondered what his path would had been like had he not chosen to walk the path of a swordsman, or even take the path of the crushing blade itself. He frowned at the thought, he’d be dead in that cave, dead before he even met ajax. It was not an amusing thought and he supposed he had his fate and Altair to thank for that.

Staring at the food, he could feel the elixirs of rare quality if he was not mistaken drench the meals in their power, enough power to revive an iron ranker from the tip of death if he was not mistaken and wondered at the miraculous power of the archailect.

There were rarely any fledglings and initiates in the cities surrounding holy bastion, the lowest rank being acolyte due to the level of ascenders living around and Moyo approved of it. Fledglings or initiates rarely stayed weak on Asa, the environment forcing them to ascend to at least advocate in a short few years.

The clan had structured the continent in such a way that his influence permeated everything, entire colleges built to cater for the weak who wanted to be strong, providing internships to those who strove hard for it into the different sects of the clan.

It was in view of all these he decided to call this dinner, waiting for the rest of his sect leaders to arrive, arms crossed and in silence. Martha as usual, was the first to arrive with her first hand, an ascender in a blank mask, rumoured to be the best spy in the entirety of the clan, his identity unknown to everyone but Martha herself. Moyo watched as she sat down and glanced at his chair, eyes narrowed, trying to discern if he really was there or not. Moyo gave a light smile, shaking his head at her antics,

“Bloody primordial” she muttered as Moyo held his laughter to himself, shoulders shaking,

Boyle entered, clad in an armour of pure mithril, painted in the silver colors of his sect, strapped to his back was forge ruler, the weapon Moyo forged for him, now remade in Aserite and glowing with restrained power. He glanced at Martha, Cassandra his assistant behind him,

“Ah, the mistress of the webs” he hailed in greeting as Martha snorted,

“You say it like I’m some folklore villain” she said,

“Well, they do tell kids scary stories about you to get them to behave” he replied,

Martha waved her hand dismissively,

“Scarier than tales of the storm empress?” she asked,

Boyle gave a hearty laughter,

“You appear in children’s stories, she’s talked about in terror stories” Boyle replied as they shook their head,

titan’s storm, realm of the storm empress Annika was a place ruled with an iron hand, the rules were fair on the common folk but were terrifying to those who sought to commit heinous activities, the storm bringers brokering no form of avarice or crime within their realm.

Each realm of the different sects was ruled by different ideas, the dawn archers ruled in a loose feudalistic manner with Ayo at the top, the realm of the hammers of Ogun a place where science took precedence and was ruled by Boyle in a form of council with him at the top. Samantha and her school of mages were an independent faction located at the extreme of the continent, a place where she ruled with her order of mages of different predominant paths.

Martha ruled from the shadows, commanding a shadow government who in turn commanded another shadow government who were the actual face of the ruling power of Trellis, each member a bronze ranked expert of a significant lesser sect or school in the realm. Moyo found it most amusing since everyone knew she was the sect leader of the hands of Anansi and by proxy should be the ruling lady of the realm.

He watched as Ayo strode in, her second in command Felix behind her and her diamond ranked bow also modified with Aserite, dawn piercer, strapped behind her. The lady of the dawn archer sect cut a most beautiful figure, one layer of her hair now a dark red color, Ayo was the most reserved of their group, living a most inconspicuous life as it was.

Sitting on a chair and placing her legs on the table, Martha scowled at her, Ayo simply forged an arrow, stabbed a piece of meat with it and brought it to her mouth, winking at Martha who rolled her eyes, Boyle chuckling. Annika entered next with Julius behind her, arms folded behind him and his dark tinted round glasses hiding his electrifying blue eyes.

Her white tattoos glowing softly in the silver armless dress she wore, she cut every inch the goddess for which her sect members edified her as. Asagai, her spear strapped to her waist where it hummed, Moyo watched as she sat, glancing at Martha who was staring at his position, eyes narrowed.

He grinned and rolled his eyes, Annika was indeed a beauty in her own right, a cutting figure of a dark-skinned goddess, but his heart already belonged to one woman. Samantha and Matthew entered next, in a heated discussion, Idris behind Matthew with josh his assistant also behind him. Moyo listened in on the argument between his chief mage and pontiff,

“So what you’re saying is the runes of the titan blade are divine in nature, hence can’t be replicated?” Samantha asked drily,

Matthew nodded,

“Most runes come from an aspect of reality, Lumia was light, farmers use a bit of runes from agriculture, which is life, the titan’s runes come from him, it’s self-styled so to speak” he said,

“Matthew, anyone could use a rune of strength or protection” she said with a sigh,

“True, but it won’t be the titan’s runes, would it?” he replied eyes alight,

Moyo rolled his eyes, watching as they sat down and seeing everyone gathered, the maids still bringing in different plates of food to fill the table to the brim. The moment they all exchanged pleasantries, Moyo removed the shroud about him, Martha seeing him first as she chuckled,

“I knew you were there” she said as all noise stopped,

The maids frozen on their feet, eyes wide at his presence, Moyo smiled at one as she summarily slumped. The sect leaders and pontiff stood up, bowing as one to him, Moyo grunted and gestured for them to sit, glancing at the chefs who had peeked out for a glance,

“Just so you know, Martha saw me first” he said to them,

One of the chefs screamed out in delight as another cursed in anger, muttering apologetically as he stomped away, the former chef screaming “I’m rich” as he ran away. No doubt the news would spread like wildfire about the titan showing himself again. Martha shook her head at him,

“Entire communication channels were dedicated to analysing where and when you would reveal yourself, the stakes going as high as wagering entire strongholds and towns and you appear here in your throne room, wow” she said, Moyo smiling,

“I’ve missed you all” he said fondly, his eyes alight,

Annika sipped from a glass of wine, nodding,

“We could do it more often, if you bothered to stick around” she said,

Ayo glanced at her, lips pursed, Moyo nodding,

“And I apologize, the archailect is a turbulent period these times, my attention is needed elsewhere” he replied,

Boyle nodded,

“It is for precisely this reason the hammers of Ogun have decided to give the patriarch a gift” he said as he glanced at Cassandra who nodded and brought out a small cube,

Bowing as she handed it to Moyo who turned to Idris,

“Within that cube is a compressed heavy armor we have decided to name the armor of the titan” he said,

Moyo kept silent as the sect leader continued,

“Now we know nothing short of another primordial can harm you, making this armor redundant really, but it is the best and finest work from my forge and I pray it proves it’s use someday to you my lord” he said,

Moyo nodded,

“I will wear it with honor, thank you, really” the titan replied,

Boyle bowed satisfied,

“You know, if you had told the rest of us about giving gifts to the titan, we’d had prepared, now we all look bad” Idris said,

The rest grumbled their replies, Moyo smiling,

“Being here is a gift to me, you might not understand, but what is coming…well” he said as he frowned, lost in thought,

Martha placed one hand on his,

“Then let us accompany you, the clan can run itself, we have capable hands” she said,

Moyo smiled,

“I wish, but where I go, not even my safety is assured, no, please understand, if I were to fall, I need the clan to retain its strength” he said,

A crushing of glass drew attention to Annika whose fist held the remains of the wine glass,

“You think us not strong enough?’ she asked,

Idris groaned as Samantha happily picked a plate of vegetables, humming to herself as everyone turned to her, she paused confused,

“What?” she asked,

Matthew rolled his eyes and turned back to Moyo,

“No, I do not, but in this war, anything less than diamond will be used as fodder, in fact, if my predictions are right, there will be an uncountable number of expert ascenders gold and below” he said

“Then?” Annika asked,

“Then I will not sacrifice my family as fodder, you all are all I have left, while other may view their silvers as dirt beneath their feet and believe me they do, I view you all as an integral part of my life” he said firmly,

“Believe me a time will come when you all are diamonds, maybe even masters and if I have my way, rulers, you can travel the archailect and see for yourselves the selfish and brutal reality it is, but until then, please, let me protect you in any way that I can” he pleaded,

Annika paused, sighed and nodded,

“I apologize for my outburst” she said softly, Ayo patting her on the shoulder,

Idris sighed,

“So when do you leave?” he asked,

“a week from now if my predictions are correct” he replied, picking a piece of roasted meat and chewing softly,

“Then the titan guard will accompany you” Idris said,

Moyo paused, eyebrows raised,

“Did all I just say not sink in to you?” he asked,

“It did” Idris replied,

“Then why even bother asking?” Moyo said, irritation slowly creeping into his voice,

Idris turned to Matthew who nodded,

“My primordial” he started,

“Moyo, my name is Moyo, and if you want to be formal, titan blade, no primordial nonsense” Moyo interrupted,

It was a hard pill for Matthew to swallow but he nodded,

“My lord titan blade” he started again,

“By the teachings of lady Ashira chimera Kairos” he said as Moyo groaned, already knowing where this was going,

“Each primordial has a personal following of ascenders led by their emissaries” he stated,

“Lord Kairos has the wardens, his primordial wife the watchers and a ruler called the sage has the plantsmen” he pointed out,

“Idris is your emissary, your champion, and the titan guard are your followers” he stated,

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but only the ten and Idris are silver rank, correct?” he asked,

“indeed” Matthew replied,

“So you want me to take over a hundred plus ascenders of bronze rank, many just joining and eleven silver rankers to a war where experts would die like flies?” he asked,

“Idris, you run the titan’s sentinels” Moyo said,

Idris nodded and placed one hand on josh who stared awkwardly,

“It is for this reason I move to elect josh steel sentinel as regent of the sentinels in my absence” he proclaimed,

Josh frozen on his feet squeaked,

“My lord?” he sputtered,

“Josh has an outstanding record of keeping the peace in bastion, the men love him and would go into battle for him, the sect is in no safer hands than his” Idris said,

“Still, I won’t take bronze rankers to an inter-galactic war, that’s like taking recruits to a battle front, they’d be dead in days” he stated,

“Then take the ten, lead the ten alone” Martha chimed in as Moyo turned to her,

“Look, we understand, you don’t want to lose people, but Moyo, your standings in the archailect requires a level of performance” she argued,

“The effects of this action, I cannot foresee” he replied,

“All the better, they would be off Gaia, no effect or karma whatsoever, and I believe many ascenders will be coming to ascend right?” she asked as he nodded,

“Good, I know you and I know how hard you’ll drive the ten and Idris, I won’t be surprised if they came back diamonds or masters and you a ruler” she said,

Moyo crossed his arms,

“All in favor of this action?” he asked as all hands went up,

He rolled his eyes,

“of course, you all planned it, typical, ganging up on me” he said as they laughed,

He turned to josh,

“Regent josh of the sentinels” he said as josh went to one knee and bowed,

“I leave bastion in your capable hands” he said as josh nodded with determination,

“Not one stone will crack in its foundations lord titan blade” he replied,

“See?, none of that primordial nonsense!” Moyo said as they laughed,

***********************

The last week of the titan blade on Gaia was filled with trips to the different institutions around Asa, schools, colleges, factories, farms. All manner of industries that kept the now enlarged continent moving, were visited to let the people see him before he embarked on his journey.

Cities and kingdoms played hosts to the titan blade with as much fan fare as they could manage, hundreds of thousands coming out in throngs to catch a glimpse of the legend himself, paying veneration to him.

Moyo had stopped looking at the veneration counts from the moment it entered a million, using it to solve issues with each place he visited ranging from landscape issues to fortifying their defences against monsters. It finally occurred to him that there were other powers beneath the clan and sects he had no idea of, ascenders who ruled kingdoms as royalty and swore fealty to the main sects of the clan.

Moyo made sure with every place he visited to remind them of the consequences of oppression, Martha assuring him she was watching for any sign of misconduct from the royalties of Asa who were only too eager to please the clan and in extension the patriarch.

With all those cleared, Moyo had a meeting with the ten on the eve of his departure, calling the meeting at the citadel of endurance that served as the main training grounds for the guard when they weren’t undergoing brutal endurance training at bastion itself. The citadel had been enlarged, turning into a full-scale city and ruled by the ten themselves, each with their own zone within the city that would soon become a kingdom. Seated in a circle were the ten, Idris standing by his side as Moyo placed a holographic construct on the table,

“You all have agreed to follow me into the unknown, to act as my guard for the coming war” he started,

“I want to make it clear that we have no current timeline for the war itself, it could rage for decades or a century, the scale being an entire galaxy, anyone who wants to step down now can do so” he warned,

They all stared at him mutely, Moyo nodding,

“Alright, here we go” he said as he snapped his fingers, sealing the room, despite the fact that no entity save the supreme beings could scry into Asa as a whole, the titan was taking no chances,

“You all will be serving under me, directly, I say this because I believe I will be given an army to command, as such, I will do my best to get you all to peak gold and if possible, diamond” he started,

“Each notable power would be expected to field a force for the attack, and I believe I will be scrutinized by primordials, ancients and rulers” he said,

Yemi raised a hand,

“Yes?” Moyo asked,

“What are ancients?” he said,

“Who, they are the evolutionary step before primordial, we have rulers, then ancients and then primordials” Moyo explained,

“you were an ancient?, without even being a ruler?” Vaughn asked, eyes wide,

“Sort of skipped that step after I was killed, long story” Moyo replied as they all looked in awe, Idris included,

“Anyways, do not trust anyone apart from master Ashira, do not antagonize anyone, they could potentially end your existence, literally” he said in a deadpanned voice,

“No matter how I’m treated by rulers, realize that the majority of them have no idea of my status as a primordial, ignore them, especially the Dracons, they are the family of dragons and their particular species” Moyo stated,

Watching as they nodded, he continued,

“Good, now I have no idea what form the war will take initially, but our goal is this, you all ascend to a respectable rank, we watch and see what happens and whatever assignments we are given, we go as a squad, together” he stated,

“The guard goes wherever you go lord titan blade” Idris stated,

“we’ve all sworn oaths to you, our lives are yours” Romulus said,

Moyo nodded,

“To give you an extra edge, I crafted weapons for you all, diamond ranked” he stated as their eyes lit up,

Opening his vault as weapons began to pour out, Moyo watched with amusement as they grabbed theirs with giddiness. Forged from the numerous diamond ranked primordial essences he had, they were all legendary weapons, it was a step in ensuring their safety and Moyo felt a little bit at ease knowing they would be better protected.

Together the guard and their primordial spent the rest of the day preparing for their journey, the clan sending large boxes through pathways opened by the titan blade to the defiance on the moon. It was filled with fresh foodstuffs, clothes and other menial items to help them keep a sense of home.

Finally, it was time to go and the clan organized the largest gathering it had ever called, clearing an entire zone to hold a send-off for the titan. A large platform had been raised, made of metal and handled by the hammers of Ogun and other sects under them, it was to be the stage where the titan and his guard would stand for all to see.

Sects and schools from all over Asa came, banners flapping in the wind, ascenders in different colors stood in the sun, its heat doing little to them as their bodies had transcended such mortal discomforts. The clan stood at the front, their banners trimmed in gold flapping in the wind, awaiting the presence of their patriarch.

A loud rumbling signalled the coming of the titan as the skies above turned purple and a strong wind blew, the entire area darkening a bit as drums began to beat, ascenders stamping their feet with chants of titan blade filling the air. The first to arrive were the sect leaders, arriving arraigned in robes of gold and the colors of their respective sects, taking seats on the platform also.

The next were the ten of the guard, arriving on flying constructs as they stood stoically, facing the crowd, arms folded behind them, dressed in black and purple robes each fitted to their personal specifications. The ground quaked, the aether in the air rumbled as the drums beat harder, the very air thick with the aura of the titan as many began to whisper silent prayers to the titan, feeling his presence suffusing them.

He appeared, one minute his space empty, the next he stood there, silently watching them with dominion at his waist, purple and white eyes glowing with his tattoos glowing. The crowd became silent, the very air stilling,

“More than a year ago, two years by the calculations of the clan, we established bastion, a defence against the horrors of the archailect"

“Now bastion serves as the light that protects Asa and Gaia in its entirety, we are the wall, the mountain and the shield that ensures humanity’s survival and I couldn’t be prouder of you all” he said as the ascenders roared,

“And now, a greater evil threatens the archailect and I am needed, my very presence being called upon, but fear not, for I leave you in the hands of my family, the sect leaders, and know that whenever you need me, whenever Gaia is in peril, look to the stars, for I will come, Gaia is my home, and no one can break what we have” he said as they shouted,

“So get stronger, ascend, explore, show me and the archailect what Gaia is made of and I promise you, when I return, we will explore the stars together!” he said as he drew dominion and raised it sky high,

The crowd charged roared, beams of power shot skywards, the ten saluted and beams of light descended from defiance that hovered over the continent, beaming them to the ship. Moyo glanced at his clan leaders and nodded,

“Be safe” he said,

They nodded and a beam of light took him as well, the titan ascending skywards his venerators kneeling in awe as they watched his exit.

***********

Moyo appeared in the command station of defiance, he took a seat as shola the A.I of the ship appeared,

“Welcome back lord titan blade” she said as she bowed,

Moyo nodded,

“Has the overseer sent any message?” he asked,

“Not yet” she replied,

A chime on the ship echoed,

“Incoming message from the overseer” she said,

“Put it on screen” Moyo replied,

A large holographic image of the overseer appeared,

“Primordial titan blade” Atreus said and Moyo could feel the reluctance with which he said it, it brought a measure of satisfaction to him,

“Overseer Atreus” he replied,

“The coordinates for muster point Lotes has been sent” he said,

Moyo resisted the urge to frown, that name again,

“We are to proceed to the point, join the armada converging and then make our way to muster point dire” Atreus said,

“Then we best be on our way then” Moyo replied,

“I have sent the route, due to the quiet mustering, we won’t be using any nexus point to hyper travel, however I heard you can open pathways to far distances, it would cut our travel time short if you can” Atreus said,

Moyo raised an eyebrow,

“And you can’t?” he asked,

“All brigade overseers are to refrain from such, any ripple in the archailect could alert the spies of the abyss” Atreus explained,

Moyo nodded,

“Dominion, if you will” Moyo said,

A large ship suddenly appeared next to the defiance, the craft of the overseer, a sleek red ship that sacrificed weapons for speed. Dominion flashed outside of the ship and with the aspect of the titan tore a pathway open, revealing thousands of ships. Moyo merely felt a little of his aspect drain, a significant amount no doubt but in his sea of aspect it was nothing, the holographic image of Atreus looked astounded but quickly covered up his expression,

“Well, let’s get on with this” Moyo said as Idris summoned the aspect of the titan, his eyes blazing purple as he grinned,

Atreus nodded, the video feed cutting off,

“Here we go everyone” Moyo said as the ten sat up straight,

The war for the archailect was beginning.