Depthless Hunger

Kai had hoped they would have at least a day to decompress and talk over everything, but the elves seemed to be impatient. They'd barely had time to eat before they were being called to the front and teleportation was being set up by that evening. Soon they were standing on the great Rosemount range between the Elven Wilds and the Commonwealth, overlooking the war as a sunset bled in the background.

"This is the front," Ceryyn said, but her voice was almost drowned out by the chaos.

At first Kai could only see the violence as forces threw themselves at one another in the pass below. He could make out the general sides, since it was bands of elves against the white and gold Commonwealth soldiers, but the constant deaths were overwhelming. Imagining that each one of the figures was a real person... it was too much, he had to retreat to colder logic.

Looking at the war in terms of numbers and tactics was more comprehensible. The majority of the soldiers seemed to be trying to take and hold ground for their most powerful warriors to use as they fought one another. He saw a group of elves overtake a cluster of soldiers holding a hill, then have a demon land on it later. The demon tore through them, but that distraction cost time and a more equal warrior struck him with an arrow through the arm.

The rank-and-file soldiers had 50 or so Power, which was a grim realization for someone from Monskon City. What struck him even more was that warriors with 200 or 300 Power weren't heroes in a battle like this - he saw them going down left and right to stronger combatants. Kai knew he could play a larger role in a battle like this, but he would be facing so much competition...

As he watched, a horn sounded over the valley, summoning a new charge. Elven cavalry swept forward on their desert-bred horses and the elves at the front actually built up a wave of chakra that swept aside their enemies. They slaughtered deep into the Commonwealth army... until a true demon with over 1000 Power arrived.

He landed in front of the cavalry charge and swept his hand to the side. The arc of crimson power that left his hand was silent, but the screams it produced seemed to come straight from hell. Horses collapsed on every side, and even though the elves tried to leap away, their charge was faltering.

A second horn sounded and suddenly pegasus cavalry broke from a hidden position in the trees. They didn't try to charge directly, just swept parallel to the elven lines, unleashing javelins. The demon knocked a few aside contemptuously, but his allies were falling back. He could probably have taken on hundreds of the enemy himself, but thousands? After a final snarl the demon retreated along with the main body of forces and the elves cheered.

It seemed like the battle was done for the day, both sides spent. Kai stared at the chaos left in its wake, almost oblivious to the others until Ceryyn spoke.

"This battle was worse than many, but not the worst." Her voice held a deep sorrow. "You see what this is doing to us? Both the Wilds and the Commonwealth will bleed out much of their strength, only further destabilizing everything."

"And what do you expect us to do about it?" Omilaena asked. "We might be able to help out in one battle, but we can't win a war for you."

"I know, and I'd never ask that of you. I believe we could end hostilities if not for... well, there are several problems." Ceryyn sighed and gestured to the south. "Matiavel himself is the source, but nothing can be done about him. But the larger problem is that our strongest elders can't take to the battlefield except in limited engagements."

Zae Zin Nim frowned. "Why not?"

"Do you remember the great weapon used in the battle at the capital? The demons have seized control of the First Crest and threatened to use it at range. An elven glamour can't stop such a weapon, and if they managed to take down an elder, our advantage would be destroyed."

"That's what you want us to do," Kai said as he realized. "Take down the weapon."

"That's right." Ceryyn clasped her hands in front of her as she appealed to the three of them. "The Council wants to send some of our other agents, but I'm convinced they'd fail and the demons would only increase the defenses. You three are the only ones who have consistently succeeded for us in the Commonwealth, and some of the only ones who know the capital. I know the risk is terrible, but if the weapon can be taken down, I believe that the war can be ended."

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Going to the capital would mean going right back into the clutches of the demons, including some of those who had been hunting them. Kai could imagine the arguments from his allies: they already had qi, chakra, and clothes from the Primal Loom, what else could the elves give them? Hit and run tactics were a manageable risk, but this would mean attacking a valuable target.

Ceryyn had stepped away, staring over the side at the devastation below, which gave them space to talk. Kai turned to the two women, preparing his arguments.

"I know that if we leave now, we can advance more," he told them, "but hear me out. This is the only chance we have to make the Council of Elders owe us a favor like this. We've stretched our training time to the absolute limit, so if we do any more, the war will be over. We need to... why are you looking at me like that?"

Both women had strange smiles on their faces. They glanced at one another, then Zae Zin Nim spoke up with an odd expression. "We knew you couldn't resist getting involved," she said, and he realized that her smile was fond. "You're a stupidly loyal barbarian, but you're our barbarian."

"Besides," Omilaena added, "we haven't been able to properly use our new abilities together. There are kinks to work out before we can really settle into training."

Kai breathed a sigh of relief as he realized the argument he had feared wasn't going to happen. He might be throwing himself into grave danger, but at least they'd be at his side willingly. When he grinned and started to move forward them, he was blocked by Ceryyn.

"You're agreeing?" She tightened her fists and smiled grimly. "Thank you, thank you so much! Let's go back to Sandflower City right away, there's so much to do..."

And so began a final night of last second preparations. Kai's body and mind were taut as a wire and he found himself oddly apprehensive that his wives would treat it as their last night together, but they all seemed focused on the mission. Maybe that was the right attitude: this wasn't a suicide mission, just another challenge they would tackle together.

Hopefully they were right.

.

..

.

The first light from the dawn marked the dwindling hours before the mission would begin. Zae Zin Nim sat and cultivated, but her heart wasn't in it. A little more cultivation wasn't going to have any effect on the upcoming battle and she only did it as a promise to herself that they would keep climbing after this.

Kai had taken the lead on mission information, learning about how the First Crest was connected to the capital city's power and its great weapon. She could leave that to him. Omilaena had pressed for details and additional advantages, including a teleportation totem for them to retreat if things became too risky. Obviously she was better at those negotiations.

That left military intelligence to Zae Zin Nim, so she had learned what the elves knew about the current conditions in the capital. Many of the demons were fighting on the front, but some remained back... unfortunately including Lilaetiel and many of the others they had been fighting. There was also the Crestguard, which would definitely stand in their way. Unfortunately they didn't know the exact details of who else might be lurking in the capital.

"Morning." Omilaena slipped her arms around her from behind and kissed her neck. "Last second cultivation?"

"I just need to calm my mind," Zae Zin Nim said, relaxing into the other woman's embrace. "We need to be at our best today. Did you get totems for all three of us?"

"Unfortunately they only had one." Omilaena hefted the carved totem in one hand. "I think they were telling the truth: their weak totems can't penetrate very far, only those carved by the Council of Elders. So we need to stick together if we want to retreat... do you want to carry it?"

"No, I was only asking."

"Well, I do have something for you."

Zae Zin Nim blinked as she found herself staring at a syringe that glowed bright blue. She took it carefully, for a moment thinking she sensed her own qi, yet that wasn't quite right. It actually felt more like Kai and Omilaena.

"I wasn't just teasing you about the necessity of dual cultivation," Omilaena said. "That's a merger of our essence, if things happen the way you feared. It should give you a boost, and more importantly cloak your qi with our power."

"This is a wonderful gift." Zae Zin Nim quickly put it in her spatial ring before it could lose potency. "Not to be greedy, but do you have more?"

"You really shouldn't inject more than one that potent, not if you want to stay sane. I did make one for Kai, out of pure carnal energy. Should give him an edge when he needs it."

"And you?"

Omilaena hesitated as if surprised, then shook her head. "I can produce a few effects by injecting myself, but nothing this dramatic. All the power I can extract from my own abilities, I've already extracted. I'll have to hope all the boosts you two gave me are enough."

Before Zae Zin Nim could decide what she wanted to say, Kai approached from behind. He grabbed them both in a hug and for a moment they were united, but it couldn't last. When he set them down Ceryyn was already approaching.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

Even though her answer was certain, Zae Zin Nim hesitated. A properly ruthless cultivator would never take a risk like this. It might have been more beneficial for her to switch sides long ago, betray everything she knew about the elves for power from the demons. But if she had done that, she could never have had a life with Kai and Omilaena.

Not long after Zae Zin Nim nodded, they hit the pale streets of Traeton as dawn broke over the capital. It was still lit brightly by the power flooding from the First Crest, power that could be transformed into a terrible weapon. As soon as Ceryyn vanished, it was only the three of them against terrible odds.

Maybe this wasn't what a true cultivator would do, but it was the choice Zae Zin Nim had made.

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