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BIRTH OF THE ORDER

Lino sat inside a small tent decorated with a single torch, a bed, and an assortment of old books strewn across the blanketed earth beneath . The light was dim, yet bright enough to illuminate the expression of awe on the elder’s face, and the gleam in the pair of honest eyes . He could faintly hear the excited choir of children’s laughter over Hannah’s ’magic trick show’, and the muffled chatter of others, all unable to peel their gazes away from the tent .

On one of the walls of the tent was an old-looking painting, its frame heavily discolored and chipped . The canvas, however, was perfectly preserved, depicting the sign for infinity superimposed over the golden halo of the sun . A bit on the nose, he mused inwardly, yet inspiring nonetheless .

The old man in front of him, he’d learned, was the closest thing to the leader the Order had -- an old, thousands of years old, washed out, weary mind who’d spent most of his life not trying to enact revenge upon the world, but keep his people safe and sound . It was hardly a cult, Lino quickly realized, an organization threatening the world; they were more like an exiled tribe, shunned by the world .

"A drink?" Lino asked, taking out a bottle of ale .

"A-ah, yes . Thank you . " the old man stuttered, accepting the cup with shaky hands .

"Your people are rather blessed," Lino said, smiling faintly . "Having you as their leader . "

"Ha ha, hardly," the old man laughed bitterly . "I’ve promised them a world once . . . and all I can offer is . . . well, this . "

"More than most ever get," Lino said . "What’s your name?"

"It’s Av, Your--"

"Call me Lino . " he quickly interrupted, fearing the words he’d come to despise .

"Ah, y-yes . . . Lino . "

"To be honest Av, I thought I’d have to do some convincing first . I didn’t think you guys would fold immediately . "

" . . . truth be told," Av said, lowering his head slightly . "We have just recently sent some of our youngest and brightest to the Holy City -- which you already know . It was with hopes of locating you . "

"Oh? Me?"

" . . . you were right . We’ve hardly a friend out there in the world . We’re chased like dogs by whoever fancies a hunt . The world . . . is hardly our home no more . "

" . . . I can give you a home," Lino said, smiling faintly . "But, you must know it won’t come for free . "

" . . . what do you have in mind?" Av asked .

" . . . I’m sure you already know I’ve declared the war on the world . What you may not know is that they’ve already sent the hounds to find me . Or anyone I care about, for that matter . I intend to repay in kind . "

" . . . " Av listened carefully, his heart shuddering upon meeting the cold gaze .

"For the time being, I’d only have one task for you; it’s up to you who you send, how you have them do it and whatnot . " Lino explained . "Afterwards . . . well, you’d have joined a war, Av . I’ll provide a sanctuary for the feeble--"

"--but you need our abled to fight?" Av finished the sentence .

"Ha ha, no, no, of course not," Lino laughed freely for a moment, taking a sip of the ale . "No, the only soldier my army will have is me . What I need are limbs, Av . Many, many, many limbs . Extending all the world over, covering every nook, every cranny, every god-forsaken valley . . . I want to see the entire world, and I want the entire world to hear me when I speak . "

" . . . grand ambitions . " Av laughed for a moment, taking a sip as well .

" . . . ambitions are for the dreamers," Lino said . "But, well, dreams can be rather uplifting . " Av turned to the sound of faint footsteps, realizing that it was the other Descender who joined them -- the crimson-haired woman . "For all my status as an Empyrean, I can hardly expect you to trust me . " Hannah sat next to him, smiling faintly . "So it’s up to you, Av . Whether you take this leap of faith or not . "

" . . . what do you know about us?" Av suddenly asked, surprising Lino .

"What I was told," Lino said, glancing at Hannah . "A splinter group of the Holy Ground, deemed unworthy successor, banished and hunted . "

"Hah, a fitting tale, no? Hardly the truthful one, though . "

"Oh? Do tell . " Lino said .

"I was a small child, barely twenty, when my grandfather told me what happened," Av said . "This was . . . hah, I’d long since forgotten the count of years . A long . . . long time ago . Eternal Paradise . . . do you know how they got that name?"

" . . . "

"The founding father of the Sect . . . was the Bearer of Immortality," Hannah’s eyes turned into slits for a moment, but she said nothing . "And, fittingly, she wanted to create a paradise . . . for all those who didn’t want to become the part of the world’s struggle . That was the creed, carved out into the foundational stone of the Sect’s Ancestral Grounds . For millions . . . tens of millions years thereafter, the creed was upheld . The Eternal Paradise was just a small Sect, obscure, a place the tired went to rest . Until two generations prior to the split . "

" . . . "

"The leaders of the Sect at the time decided being an obscure place wasn’t good enough, so, they fabricated a plan to become a Holy Ground . And they did . Despite the protests, despite the splitting views . . . the Eternal Paradise became everything it wasn’t supposed to be . It was no longer an escape; it was the pit to throw yourself into if you wanted to be at the heart of the conflict . And . . . that was how the split occurred . We wanted to go back to who we were supposed to be . . . and they didn’t . I imagine you already understand why the Great Descent backed their faction and deemed us the world’s vagabonds . "

" . . . that’s quite a tale," Lino said, grabbing at Hannah’s arm and holding her tightly . "But, many tales are out there, Av . Even you have to admit it that a simple power-struggle makes a much more sensible of a tale . "

"Hah, it indeed does . And, there’s really nothing I can do to make you believe me . You either do or you don’t . I am telling you this, Empyrean, exactly because I want you to know the kind of sort we are; we aren’t soldiers, fighters, heroes . Shadows, though? We can be that . Aren’t you, though, afraid of offending the Great Descent?" he asked at the end after a short pause .

" . . . this Immortal . What was her name?" Lino asked instead .

"There’s no name in her records, just her title . "

"Wasn’t, well . . . the Immortal her title?" Lino questioned, seemingly confused .

"She called herself the Immortal Fae . " Av replied . "I very much doubt there are any records of her left in the Eternal Paradise . Last I heard, their founder had suddenly become this heroic figure who uplifted the place from ashes into a behemoth . "

" . . . they’re getting rowdy outside . " Lino said after short silence . "Ease their minds and tell them to start packing . Also recall those in the City . Tell them to get back here within a day; we depart come midday tomorrow, whether they’re here or not . "

" . . . yes . " Av nodded, glancing at Hannah one last time and leaving . The moment he left the tent, Hannah’s fist smashed the table in front of her; Lino didn’t react, seemingly having expected it .

"He’s lying!" she exclaimed, taking off her mask and putting it away .

"Perhaps," Lino said . "Perhaps not . "

" . . . seems awfully convenient that he has this sob-ready story prepared just to buy a few sympathy points off of you . "

"Ask yourself Hannah . . . what’s more likely?" Lino said, smiling bitterly while caressing her hair gently . "That he fabricated the entire story, all the while knowing I’d have taken them in anyway . . . or that you were simply fed more lies?"

" . . . it isn’t right . " she mumbled faintly .

"None of it is . "

"What now?" she asked .

" . . . we go into hiding . " Lino said .

"Eh?"

"The entire world is crawling with people after our heads," Lino said . "If it were just the two of us, we would have been fine . But it’s not . Not anymore . Think as a ruler . "

"Stabilize, expand, infiltrate, resurface?" she mumbled . "That could take years . "

"Yeah . "

" . . . are we really going to vanish from the face of the earth for years?"

"No, of course not," Lino chuckled . "We first have to arrange the farewell present . "

"The farewell present?" she questioned .

"The party they sent to this continent," Lino explained . "I’ve promised them a war . I can’t crawl into a hole right after the declaration . What would become of my reputation?"

"You don’t have a reputation . "

"Exactly . " he said, smiling faintly . "So, we build one . One so grand it will withstand the test of years that, by the time we come back, they’ll still share stories about us . "

" . . . heh, you fucking maniac . " she chuckled lightly, pinching his shoulder . "But, you’re right . Withdrawal for the time being is a correct play . It should give Ella enough time to go through with everything, and it should give the Grounds some time to develop the inner conflict . Where are we going to hide? Not in that tribe, right?"

"Nah," Lino shook his head . "I believe Val will have a surprise for us when we get back . Until then, however, it’s high time we stretched our limbs, huh?"

"It has been a while . . . "

"It indeed has . . . "