The dwarves were allowed one of two choices. They could leave their holds and ie themselves into the new, Post-Arascus, world, or they could bury themselves underground.

  Most dwarves chose the former but we still suspect that certain holdouts exist behind the colpsed underground highways.

  - Excerpt from the secret texts in the White Pantheon’s closed library. Written by Goddess Helenna, Of Love, and Goddess Fortia, of Peace: ‘How to Mahe Post-War World.’

  Maisara sat in her meeting room. Now that she was healed, she could return to strolling around her se with ease. The meeting room was as bare as the hallways, as decoration-less as the doors. There was no grandiosity in it, it was simply cold stone, a table, and ets. Maisara herself sat at the head of the table, her Chapins, each a leader of his own order, then fhe sides. They sat in their heavy ptes, with swords on their backs.

  Maisara caught herself pying idly with her silver hair once again. She shook her head and straightehe strands out again and flicked them behind herself. Why did she go to Kassandora? Why did she even think about the Fading Light tingency? Who was she to pete in battle with the Goddess of War? It was only her pride that made her fet how terrible Kassandora was. “Goddess? Is something wrong?” One of the Chapins, Heinrich, asked. Captain of the Order of Daylight’s Pilr. An old fellow, although all the Chapins were, with wrinkles and grey hairs and a moustache.

  “Nothing.” Maisara said sternly. She had made a promise. It was what it was. She couldn’t go ba her word now. “Hons going in accordao the tingen?”

  “We’ve started active recruitment of squires. In the past week, my order has grown by twelve men.” Heinrich didn’t even have to check his notes. Maisara wao ugh and cry at the same time. Twelve men? They wore foolish smiles as if that was a good result. In the past, a Padin strolling through any random vilge would have twice that themselves as squires without even searg them out. Now it took a week to find twelve new recruits?

  “And all the orders bined?” Maisara asked. She felt like a piece of gss fag down a hammer strike.

  “Across every order, in the past week, we’ve recruited one hundred and sixty-three.” Heinrich said, a tinge of pride in his voice. The rest of the Chapins in Maisara’s meeting room nodded approvingly. The Goddess herself felt as if that hammer had e and smashed that sheet of gss into a million pieces.

  “Do we have reports on Fortia’s Guardians?”

  “Two hundred and five.” Fortia was always more popur than her, Maisara had long grown to accept that fact. That popurity usually meant that where Maisara would have a hundred, Fortia would have three. Two hundred new recruits in the Guardian ranks was a number so measly it would have beeer if she did not even ask.

  “And Alsaria’s Seekers?” Maisara asked.

  “bined, now the Guardians and Padins outnumber her.” Heinrich said. “But that situation won’t hold. If we ot secure a quick victory, then the war will drag on. Then Alsaria will have the advantage in recruitment simply from prestige of being the official leader of the White Pantheon.”

  Maisara nodded. “Very well. Good job, you are dismissed. meeting is here, week, same time.”

  The Chapins stood up, pulled salutes, and marched out of the meeting room. Each step a heavy sending a heavy thud as steel pte crashed into cold stone.

  “Which of us should go talk to her then?” Kavaa asked the other two Goddesses.

  “It ’t be me.” Helenna said.

  “Why not? You’re the best at talkiween us.” Iniri said.

  “And it was your idea.” Kavaa reminded her.

  “Because I’m scared of her.” Helenna replied.

  Maisara sat down in Kassandora’s cell. Bed in one er, table with the two tables iher, tai crystal in the tre. The Goddess of War stood over her, her smile wide. There was a little bit of Helenna in that woman, she had the same arrogant pride, the same smiles and mannerisms. It was easier to deal with though, Helenna was like that simply because she found enjoyment out of being annoying. Kassandora at least had done something to deserve it.

  Kassandhed, sat down and threw her crimson hair back with one magnifit movement. Silver hair was brilliant, Maisara loved it, but she wished there would be some colour. Kassandora simply… she simply stood out when pared to others. “So, you want help again?”

  “Please, don’t beg for anything. I’ll free you when it’s time but…”

  “Shh Maisara.” Kassandora shut her up. “I’m not an impatient little girl. Freeing me now would be bad for both of us.” Maisara didn’t know what to say to that, the woman was simply correct. She couldn’t imagine any oddess but herself saying something like that. “I assume we’re officially in the preparations for war now.” Kassandora cracked her fingers and smiled. “I said I’ll assist so ask away. What do you wish to know from War’s Mistress?”

  “Our recruitment efforts aren’t doing too well.” Maisara said.

  “Not too well?” Kassandora asked. “There’s no such thing as too-well.”

  “They’re doing terribly.” Maisara gave the figures to Kassandora and the woman he Goddess of War didn’t even think, she gave an answer immediately.

  “You’re thinking with the wrong mihe goal is not to be a purehead, it’s simply to be more popur than Alsaria.” Maisara blinked as Kassandora went on. “This be done in two ways: firstly, and this is much harder simply because you and Fortia are…” Kassandora shrugged, made a weighing motion with her hands and fihe gesture off with a terribly desding smile. “I’ll leave it this, you two are not the best with on folk, but it would be to make yourself loved and so on.”

  “And the other?”

  “Much easier, especially sidering who you’re dealing with. It would be to destroy Alsaria’s reputation. Remember, the goal isn’t to take over the world, the goal is simply to defeat Alsaria. You don’t need an army of millions, you just wice what she has. If she has ten thousand, then you o recruit twenty. If you mao half her numbers, you only o recruit half.”

  Maisara blinked as Kassandora crossed her arms, pushed her chest up and smiled desdingly. It did not annoy the Goddess of Order in the slightest. It was so obvious… how did both her and Fortia miss it? Kassandora raised one of those delicate eyebrows, her red eyes almost fring. “Did I help?” She asked.

  Maisara stood up and smmed the table. “Immensely.”

  Ilwin stared at the several locations he had found. Airports in Karaina B, locations that would have little prote, little public traffic, but still rge enough not to have simple one engine farm pnes. Arascus wanted airliners as. The biggest and the best.

  Maisara finished expining to Fortia, her Guardians and Maisara’s own Padins the ge in pns. Recruitment was obviously a failing strategy, but destroying Alsaria’s image? “I cur.” Fortia said. “We have to pn for a long haul, we ’t let the on people even have any inkling of wanting to join Alsaria.”

  The Guardians started to d the Padins smmed the table with closed fists. That ping for them. “It is Kassandora’s idea.” Maisara after the g finally calmed down. The mood did not ge an inch. Kassandora had already given them ideas before, the Goddess of War did live up to her name. One of her Padins, Konrad, raised a hand. A thin man, old and greying, but with obvious signs of strength, his neck was thin, but it was all muscle. “What is it?”

  “In regard to mages, we still don’t have a proper way of dealing with them.” He spoke slowly. “Every single n we’ve ceived works on the fact Essa stays out of the fight.” Maisara nodded, she herself did not know what to do with that either.

  Time for another humiliation session with Kassandora, another debt she would be paying back for a hundred years.

  Ilwin assembled the final team and took a sigh. He lit up anarette, finished his coffee and closed the notebook: Operation Sky Stealer

  Maisara avoided Kassandora’s crimson eyes once again as she ehe prison cell: nothing had ged in here, the bed in the er, the table, the two chairs, the tai crystal. It was impressive that Kassandora had not lost her mind out of boredom already... Maisara bit her cheek, the woman already lived rent free in her mind, she didn’t need ara pliments. The Goddess of Order sat down by the table and shook her head. “You had a meeting today, right?” Kassandora asked.

  “How did you work that out?” Maisara asked. Kassandora smiled and sat down opposite Maisara, there was a good few inches of differeween them, not a lot, but enough that Maisara had to look up at those crimson eyes looking down on her.

  “You e at the same time every week.” Kassandora answered. “So? What’s the issue this time?”

  “It’s a big one.” Kassandora’s smile grew wider and she motioned for Maisara to tinue. “Mages, we ’t deal with Essa’s schools, you yourself know how many soldiers one mage is worth.” Kassandora nodded, smiled and answered immediately. That always impressed Maisara, the woman really had an answer for everything.

  “You do realise any attempt on Alsaria will turn Essa on you?”

  “Yes. Me and Fortia already know we’ll have to deal with Essa.”

  “So you’re ready to have the blood of two Divines on your hands?” Kassandora asked. Maisara nodded slowly.

  “It’s just precautions, if Alsaria does e for us, when Leona finally dies, we’re the weaker pair, we have to make the first move.” Kassandora nodded.

  “Then it’s rather simple.” She said, smiling wide, her arms spread wide.

  “Is it?”

  “Essa, then Alsaria. Mages are terrible to and, without their Goddess, how many will risk their life for Alsaria? Will they even care?” Maisara blinked.

  “Do you think so?” She asked. The Goddess of War shrugged.

  “I do, but there is another case which assures victory.” Kassandora said, leaning forwards and smiling.

  “What is that?”

  “You free Anassa. She gift sorcery like this.” Kassandora snapped her fingers. “Mages to sorcerers are what meo mages.” Maisara felt the blood drain from her face. Kassandora was trolble, Kassandora had some sense of honour, Kassandora… Maisara felt her own thoughts ugh at her. Kassandora was likable and easy to get along with. The few times she had met Anassa, she had thhly hated the woman. It wasn’t just the fact the domains of Order and Sorcery did not match, there wasn’t a single person out there who actually liked Anassa. Even the woman’s own domain-twin, Essa, only had a cold retionship with her.

  “I…” Maisara shook her head. Freeing Anassa? That was a step too far… but then… The magical arms race would swing into their favour immediately. No… she had to ask Fortia about this… Maisara blinked, but then how could she expin her reasoning? She had promised not to say that Arascus was free, allying with Anassa and Kassandora would guarahem a p Arascus’ Empire…

  The blood drained from Maisara’s face as she realised the line of thought she was walking down. This wasn’t self-preservation anymore, this was actual heretical thought. Allying with Arascus. Kassandora yawned in front of her and started swinging on her seat.

  “Before…” Maisara said. “You said… about…”

  “About Arascus?” Kassandora said, smiling like a like little girl. The woman was so talented in expressions, even that cute smile rested perfectly on her face. “He is free, but we did make a promise.” Maisara nodded immediately.

  “I know, I know.” She said and wao sp herself. She was ag like a damn dog for this woman, for this prisoner. “But you said, you wouldn’t mind taking on a new sister.” Kassandora’s eyebrows rose up in surprise so genuine, Maisara did not see how it could be faked.

  “You’re thinking if you both me and Anassa vouch for you, you’ll be accepted?” Kassandora asked. Maisara made a single nod.

  “Holy Mai, I would like to say yes. Do I think I could vince him? Of course, but then every battle you enter not hoping to win, you lose. Anassa and Me? I think it would be enough.”

  “You think?” Maisara asked and Kassandora shrugged.

  “With three or four, I would say yes definitely. Not any single one of us could voudividually for a new person. I say this, the fact you fought against us would be wiped away, the fact you helped us would make sure we would not go after you.”

  “That’s if you win.” Maisara said sharply and Kassandhed.

  “Like I said, every battle you enter not hoping to win, you lose. The fact your asking about this means you’ve not found any sort of lead on him.”

  “Alsaria doesn’t even sider the fact he’s out.” Kassandhed again.

  “I have immense respect for the fact you somehow mao put up with her for a thousand years.” Maisara ughed at that. When was the st time she ughed? A few months ago at least, before the meeting where her and Fortia decided on how to move forwards. She stayed and talked with Kassandora for a few more minutes, simply small talk.

  When the cell door shut behind Maisara, Kassandora in her chair and watched the door. She had never been fishing before, but she knew a few men who did. This is what they must feel when the liugs.

  Maisara was caught: hook, line and sinker.

  Maisara finished her speech to the audien the war room. She took a deep breath and sat back down. “That cludes the choices we have: Either we kill Essa first and elimihe maihod of mages anisation, or we turn to Anassa to grow our owion of sorcerers.” She looked at the faces before her. Her Padins were deathly statues, they would marto Hell if she told them to. Fortia had her brows burrowed in thought, her Guardians were looking at their Goddess for affirmation on what to do.

  “Anassa you say?” Fortia said and took a deep breath. “It will be sidered. Personally, I prefer the Essa assassination pn first.” Maisara didn’t know how tue for the Anassa pn without revealing what Kassandora had told her. She merely nodded. “I have my own proposition though.”

  “What is it?” Maisara asked.

  “There is another Divih holy orders. Kavaa, of Healing.”