Shield I:
The North of Empyrea is a bitter, hostile place to live, but it does have its advantages. Thought the Shield of Empyrea.
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And indeed, it did. Away from the prying eyes of the Covenant, it provided sanctuary to all who refused to embrace the Void. CATAE operated from the North as the last group capable of fighting back, of hitting the Covenant of the Void where it hurt.
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If the Coalition Against the Æbyss was a person, then the Shield would be its brain. And the beating heart?
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The Assembly of the Sixteen Guardians, of course. The Shield looked up, his stony features gave no hint to the yearning that bubbled within him. He wanted nothing more than to be himself again, his name – Eirlys Ravyn-Valtor – was yet another thing that had been stolen from him by them. The Æbyssal Triumvirate had entered into Empyrea sixty-five years prior with a rain of deep crimson and a violent tempest to accompany them. Eirlys did not know a world without their malignant tendrils of corruption reaching nearly everywhere to squeeze the life out of Empyrea.
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The Shield of Empyrea finally spoke, his voice echoing around the chamber. It was furnished with a large, circular table that enveloped the circular pedestal upon which the Shield stood. Sixteen chairs were carefully arranged around it, each placed in the direction that each one represented. To the sides, benches were filled with members of CATAE that were important enough to be there: The Banes of Æonex, Æraxis, and Æcordia; The Heads of Projects Ætherwall and Deicide; The Archbishop of Ecclesia in addition to the Aide of the Star; and the Lead Tester were all there. Each and every one of them appeared defeated and tried, exhausted by their desperate battle against the forces of the Æbyss.
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“Guardians! For decades, CATAE has been working tirelessly to achieve its goals – without success. Cerulea holds out against covenant encroachment into the southwest, and tens of thousands are spread across resistance cells all over Empyrea. But today, I bring a new development that could tip the balance in our favour!” Said the leader of CATAE in a strong baritone voice. The onlookers perked up – good news had become increasingly rarer as the years passed.
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“It has been discovered that, as theorised by our researchers, that the Æbyssal Triumvirate of Æones the Tormentor, Æraxis the Maelstrom, and Æcordia the Temptress cannot exist on the same layer of existence as Empyrea without assistance. They must anchor themselves to their servants to avoid death and wield their malevolent powers. If we eliminate their anchors – Berote, Malum, Xantè, and Limos – we can destroy them. We suspect a fifth anchor exists. Berote had an accident recently, and he began to apologise in the tongue of the Void to Æonex according to our spies. “ The Shield of Empyrea was full of life as he jabbered excitedly. Every pair of eyes stared so intensely at him that they could burn a hole through him.
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“I propose that we offer the Biotechnological Commission of Umbracrest the ability to chose the Guardians of the West and West-Northwest as well as some favours in return for the assassination of Supreme Meritocrat Berote with a biological weapon as our first action based on our new knowledge.”
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He is met thunderous applause by most people that are present. The Guardians who will probably lose their seats to people chosen by Biotechnological Commission of Umbracrest are predictably not amused in the slightest by this idea.
The Guardian of the West rises from his chair to protest. He is a balding, slightly overweight man with a booming voice. “Sir, I must object to this proposal. The Biotechnological Commission of Umbracrest coordinated the development and deployment of the Biological Superweapons for both sides of the Umbracresti Civil War! They caused the West to fall into fracture into many bickering factions. We should approach either the Archduchy of Umbracrest or Verber-Eclipse!” came the booming argument, the shield sighed to himself, knowing an argument was coming.
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The Guardians of the Northeast, North-Northeast, East, and East-Southeast all react with horror at the counter-proposal from their colleague.
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“The Archduchy of Umbracrest answers to Earl Malum, and the Eclipse-Verbrechersyndikat is a criminal faction. They are definitely not to be given more power!” exclaimed one of them. The Shield was not paying attention to the argument.
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“If I may...” began the Northern Guardian, a calm and logical woman by the name of Zoma Taurinè, the other fifteen, respected her in most cases.
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The Guardian of West-Northwest begins to interrupt her but is cut short by the Shield, who was bored with the constant back and forth.
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The man who once went by Eirlys Ravyn-Valtor calls for a vote. Immediately, fourteen hands shot up into the air as fast as they could. Only the Guardians of the West and West-Northwest vote against the proposal.
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“It is settled then, I have already exchanged letters with Chairman Mao. A messenger is present to give him the confirmation that the deal has been accepted by the Assembly of the Sixteen Guardians. Once Supreme Meritocrat Berote is dead, we should focus on reaching out to people who would have a reason to help us kill these important people. Technocrat Limos, Great Khagan Xantè, Earl Malum Ego, and the unknown anchor are our primary targets, of course. Banes of the Triumvirate, who could be secondary targets for elimination to weaken the Covenant of the Void?” said the Shield in a neutral tone.
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The Bane of Æonex seemed to glide up from his place on the bench to respond. “Malum's sister – Grand Vizier, Viscountess Victorine Elizabeth Ego of Valerium – could work, but there would be little point to this and thus may force the Earl to tighten his grip. Another one is Khatun Xarai, but she would be nearly impossible to assassinate.” He growled.
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The Bane of Æraxis nervously wobbles his way up to join the Bane of Æonex the Tormentor. He wipes sweat off his forehead – despite the room being rather cold – and manages to say his suggestion in a voice barely a step above a whisper, “We have not been able to identify anyone associated with the Great Maelstrom, I am afraid...” he gives a terrified squeak when the Guardians of the West glares at him. He flees back to the safety of his seat.
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The Bane of Æcordia materialises before the Shield of Empyrea, or perhaps she had crept up while the previous person was speaking? A slightly mad looking woman occupied the role. She was jittery and energetic, possibly from regular usage of Æther Foci Capsules only slightly below the threshold for Æther Fatigue. “T-The Aide to Technocrat Limos, Audrey Fara, is unusually close to such an introverted man, according to overheard conversations that spies have transcription. Possibly a romantic interest?.”
“None of these people are worth removing from the board. We must wait for Chairman Mao to deliver.” Stated the Shield firmly
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Someone blurted out a question, “What is the agent he plans to use?”
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“EHF-B, or Eastern Haemorrhagic Fever type B. Its a faster acting version than what broke out in the East in 4 YAP. Nastier symptoms as well once it kicks in.”
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The Guardian of the Southwest attempts to speak but breaks out into a coughing fit. He manages to feebly whisper . “T-The Red Death! Astarious help us all...”
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The meeting of the assembly was over. The Shield walked up to the messenger. “Go tell Chairman Mao that he may have his seats.”
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“His Excellency wishes to give the first to himself and send someone in his place when he is unable to attend personally. The second seat is to be given to the Viceroy of the Anocratic Union of Fire to improve relations with what used to be Ashfyre Reach, the Cinder Protectorate, and the Ember Dominion.” The messenger has an oily and devious sounding timbre to his voice, the Shield of Empyrea took am immediate dislike to the grinning diplomat, but he dares not let it be seen, he needed Berote dead!
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The Shield sends him off and walks away....
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