Shattered Planes Archives (Seasons 4 & 5)
Beyond => Sage Dimension => Caelum => Topic started by: Queen Bright on April 09, 2013, 03:57:55 AM
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Far off within the Sage Dimension, in a sort of subdimension unknown to all but a few thousand 'chosen sages'; There appeared both Kotah and Ezael, one appearing after the other in a brilliant flash of violet. The moment the twins appeared, they instantly hid within the nearest area of cover they could find, which happened to be some bushes just outside the nearest town, and suppressed their magical signatures. As they did, soon, several sages appeared in the area looking for the source of the magic sensed.
"Now remember.. We need to keep a low profile." Kotah sent through closed telepathy to his brother as the two awaited for the other sages to leave. ""We're not supposed to be here."
"That old man sure seemed intent on not revealing anything after his first slip up. Ezael replied back through closed telepathy as well. "Good thing thing he didn't know about your abilities."
Kotah nodded, agreeing as the two continued to wait. "He specifically said, No Embodiments, No Technology users, and No Royalty. I wonder why..."
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One man was at a local grocery store, when he heard a commotion going on about two anomalous magical signatures by the entrance, and that some people were looking for them.
"Eight years," the man said to the store owner with amusement. "Eight years without an incident. Now it's happening again."
"What? The Aralangs are here?" the store owner asked with suspicion.
"No. If that were true, you wouldn't be alive, right now," the man reassured.
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"We technically fit all three. Maybe it was a way to tell us to stop asking and go away."
"Maybe... But then why? Why are they so protective of this realm?" Kotah pondered this in closed telepathy as the two continued to patiently wait. Finally after around ten minutes, Ezael muttered telepathically,
"This no good. We can't wait here forever. They're bound to check over here eventually. What do we do...?"
"Hmmm.." Kotah then closed his eyes for a moment, focusing on the area around them. When he was able to see the signature of the sages beyond their hiding place, he expanded his senses further outward and mentally formed a map of the area and surrounding areas around them, seeing everything with a form of 'second sight.' "In one minute they're going to start looking in the bushes on the other side of the road. Their backs will be turned then. After that, we have only about 5 minutes to make it to another hiding spot. Then after they'll search where we were, and we'll have the chance to make it inside of the entrance without being spotted." Afterwards Kotah opened his eyes. "At least if we're quiet enough.."
"In that case we only have about 30 more seconds. Ready..."
"Just a little more..." Kotah added as the seconds ticked by.
"Go! At Ezael's closed telepathic shout, as if on cue, exactly as Kotah predicted, the sages in the area turned their backs to the twins hiding spot and started to search the are across from them, giving the boys a chance to quietly move from the bush they were behind towards the entrance of the town. When the sages changed their search to the twins previous hiding place, the boys left their new hiding place behind some trees and finally made it into the entrance, quickly falling into a crowd of other sages.
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The man walked out of the grocery store with some food. He turned to look at the crowd that was at the entrance. In his peripheral vision, he saw two young boys walk with the crowd. He never seen them before, and their clothing was unlike what most mages wore in this dimension. However, he pretended not to notice, and pretended to focus on where the main commotion was.
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When most of the crowd had died down and Kotah and Ezael were left behind near one of the buildings, the two made sure they were out of earshot from anyone before letting out sighs of relief while walking. "And your abilities end up saving us once again!" Ezael exclaimed in relief. "Yours sure are a godsend while my own are a curse."
"No.. " Kotah quickly shook his head. "They're not a godsend. They make me just like the Aralangs. Intruding on the minds and privacy of others. Isn't that what our mother and the rest of the magic users hated? I mean that's how we found this place and got here in the first place. By intruding on that mans thoughts."
"There's a difference." Ezael insisted as he shook his head in response. "You didn't intend for us to find out information from that old man. It just happened. Unlike the Aralangs, who do it on purpose your abilities are involuntary. And you aren't directly reading th--"
"Ezael?" Kotah looked over to his brother to see why he had stopped in mid speech, only to see Ezael had also stopped walking and now stared ahead. Following his gaze, Kotah looked over to figure out what had left his brother speechless, only seeing a few people in the distance. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. What was Ezael staring out? Wait... Kotah stopped suddenly as he too froze.
"Isn't that..." Ezael paused.
"I-I think so. But I don't think I'm believing it..." Kotah quickly replied. "How...?"
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The man, who still pretended not to notice the two, noticed, at his peripheral vision, that the two young boys were looking straight at him. He knew right then and there that they were the ASF. The ASF were now using children? Really? How fucked up is that? The Aralangs were much worse than he thought. Well, since they caused a commotion, they shouldn't be that hard to kill, though it was possible that they caused a commotion on purpose to try to deceive him into thinking that they were easy to kill. Only one way to find out. Then again, would he want to kill them? He was a heartless person, but he wasn't that heartless. But hey, it was either him or them. He then walked towards where the commotion was, which brought him closer to the two boys. Very close. In 5.429 seconds, he could have ran up to them and knifed them, including the reaction time and speed of the two boys the man has predicted, based on his history with the ASF. But he could simply grab his guns and shoot them in .448 seconds. That was a much quicker way to kill them. He calculated this within one second.
However, the only problem was that he would be seen as a child-killer at first. He probably would be exiled. But then again, if he proved to them that they were the ASF, then he would be praised by the Sages.
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Kotah and Ezael both quickly looked away and only watched the man from the corner of their vision as he came nearer to them. Every time he stepped closer, they stepped further, soon breaking away from the crowd and joining another. From beside the two boys two cat-like creatures suddenly appeared to the sight of everyone. One took the form of a Lynx, which walked side by side with Kotah; The other a Bobcat who lurked behind Ezael. Both large cats kept a close eye on the man for their masters, not allowing him from their sights.
"Do you think he saw us?" Kotah sent through closed telepathy.
Ezael focused for a moment before replying, "I can't be sure. I'm picking up a lot of worry and unnerve in the area. But it has too many sources.." The twins continued to play keep away, as they attempted to further the distance between them and the man until they were at the corner of the road, which they immediately turned.
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The man continued pretend not to notice them, yet he saw the Lynx and the Bobcat appear. As soon as the two boys and the animals turned the corner and went out of sight, he went to one guard, pointed in the direction of the two boys and their animals, and said quietly, "Hey! Two kids slipped past the entrance! They used the commotion as a distraction!" The guard and several dozen others immediately teleported to the location of the intruders, while other guards surrounded the area. More guards appeared near the gate for just in case anyone tries to get through during the alert.
Three guards appeared in front of the two boys, while the rest appeared around them in a circle, surrounding them. Of the three, the middle stepped forward. "Hey, you!" he said, with a stern voice. "Did you enter this area without checking in?" He pointed to the direction of the entrance.
This attracted a lot of attention. Not once in eight years did something like this happen. Crowds formed around the scene. That was when he saw them. Before people got close, the guards that formed in the circle formed a barrier that surrounded the scene. This barrier prevented anyone from getting through, for their own safety. However, the barrier was transparent, and people were able to see what was going on.
The man kept himself out of sight. He was able to detect the boys' mental signatures, and he knew which mental signature was theirs, despite the three guards that were right with the boys. He then attempted to go into the boys' minds. Surprisingly, it worked. He then read through both of their minds at the same time. To save time, he skipped useless information, and discovered that the boys were indeed trained by the ASF. However, there was a blank spot in their lifetime, between being taken by the ASF, and being recruited by the ASF. He knew that these memories would be in the subconscious, as the subconscious would have recorded everything. He then attempted to get into their subconscious.
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"Guards are coming..." Kotah stopped to stare ahead as his ability of clairaudience gave him the ability to hear things far off or mentally and pick up information through it."He reported us.." Just as Kotah said this the guards appeared around them as if on cue. Kotah and Ezael looked at one another before looking back at the guard. "We were just..."
"Visiting our grandparents!" Ezael quickly interrupted Kotah in explanation. "Mister and Misses..."
"Equus. Mister and Misses Equus." Kotah finished, having mentally picked up several names of people and sage families who lived in the area through his ability of clarivoyance. "They left a note on how to get here. But never mentioned anything about checking in. Are we in trouble?" As he said this, Kotah was able to pick up on the fact the man was reading their minds through his ability of claircognizance. But he was unable to stop it as he nor Ezael knew the spell other magic users used to shield their minds and neither of them had had anyone to teach them it. And if they reacted to it with a barrier, they would only cause suspicion on themselves even further. Therefore, he let it go.
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Through reading their minds, the man found out that he has been detected, but not in any ordinary way. This was interesting.
The man was able to get into their subconscious. He found the missing piece of the blank spot. They were brainwashed. The ASF were even worse than they thought. Not only did they recruit the kids, but they even brainwashed them into joining the ASF. As he continued to read their minds, he found out what he needed to know.
"Really? Alright. We need to screen you, first," the guard said with annoyance. The guards then did a thorough screening, with magic and spells, of the two boys and their animals. Due to the fact that they slipped through, the screening was more thorough than usual, and the four intruders were double-checked. After the screening was done, nothing out of the ordinary was found. "Alright," the guard said, "I'll take you to your grandmother." After that, the guard teleported the boys and their animals, as well as the other two guards, to their supposed grandmother's doorstep. The guard knocked on the door.
"Just a minute!" said an old woman's voice. A minute later, the door was unlocked, and the door slowly opened to reveal an elderly woman. "Hello!" the woman said.
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The Lynx and Bobcat just stood there through the check, their eyes glued to their masters while Kotah and Ezael started to worry. Now what? If they were going to be escorted, they were bound to be found out once the couple didn't recognize them. How would they get out of this? It wasn't entirely a lie as the reason they had even found out about this realm was through their search for family members. But the old man they had came across had slipped up, and mentioned this place in error.
"Mister there's something you should know." Kotah finally stated as they were still being scanned. "Granny might not remember us. It's been a long time."
"A very long time." Ezael reinforced just as the two were teleported.
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"Hello," the guard said to the elderly woman. "We're here to bring you these two boys. They claim to be your grandsons, but it has been a long time."
"George? Timmy?" the elderly woman asked as she looked Kotah and Ezael, respectively. "It has been so long! I haven't seen you two since you were just a week old! Come on in!"
"Would you tell your grandsons to get out of trouble? They caused a huge disturbance by not checking in when entering this dimension," the guard said, annoyed.
"Oh, you know how kids are!" the elderly woman smiled, rubbing Kotah's and Ezael's heads. "Running around and causing trouble! Don't worry, mister. They're good little angels. They won't do it again."
"Thank you," the main guard replied. The guards then went off.
The rest of the guards took down the barrier and went to their posts.
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Both Kotah and Ezael just stood there dumbfounded as the old lady opened the door and the conversation went on. Ezael cringed when she rubbed their heads as Kotah just blinked. "She's senile.." Kotah mumbled when the guards had left the house. He didn't need his abilities to backup that. It could be seen just by seeing what happened.
Just as the guards left, an elderly man walked out and looked at Kotah and Ezael who just stood there as his wife introduced their 'long lost grandchildren.' "What are you talking about you ol' coot'? "That's not Peter and Piper!"
"...Him too.." Ezael mumbled as well, as the elderly woman ushered them inside despite what the elderly man said.
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"Yes, they are!" the elderly woman said. "They're John and Bob!"
As the couple argued, Kotah and Ezael heard a 'psst!' behind them.
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Ezael quickly looked back at the sound as the two elders argued back and forth, motioning to Kotah to follow him as the two of them took the oppurtunity to slip away while they were being ignored. As they left the house and slipped back outside, the last thing they heard was...
"Dagnabbit' woman! I'm telling you that's not Adam and Steve!"
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The man was waiting for them outside. "The funny part is that they don't have any children," he smiled. He then turned serious. "Sorry for snitching on you. I thought you two were here to kill me."
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"And how do you know we aren't?" Ezael quickly questioned defensively as Kotah shook his head,
"He read our minds." Before the 'arguing' could interrupt their conversation, Kotah closed the door as the twins turned to stare at the man. "Are you really him...?" Kotah looked skeptical as he asked this, "As far as we've seen all the Aralangs disappeared. We haven't seen them for eight years. They aban-"
"So how are you still here?" Ezael abruptly interrupted.
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"Yes. I'm Arlgon Ostef. The one the ASF is after," the man replied. "About the disappearance of the Aralangs, I have no clue as to how or why they disappeared like this. It has been eight years. Now, the Aralangs are back, or supposedly, they're back. Me? It seems like I'm the only Aralang in existence that hasn't disappeared. I don't know why. It seems like the Aralangs are up to something." He sighed. "We have a lot to discuss. Follow me. I have a place to live. We'll discuss more over there and on the way." He turned to walk down the road.
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"How do we know we can tru--"
"He won't hurt us." Kotah continued to stare at Arlgon as he said this. "He wants our help.. You should sense no malice in him."
"Doesn't mean he couldn't be masking it like they train you to do." Ezael followed both Kotah and Arlgon. "I can't feel any emotional at all from him. Almost like a void."
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"Trust me, you would have been dead by now, if I wanted you dead," Arlgon assured them as he walked towards his house. "Yes, I want your help. Against the Aralangs, and for mage-kind, in particular. That is, if you're interested. If you don't want to, I won't force you, nor will I kill you. But you have to promise me that you won't give me away." When Arlgon reached his house, he went into his pocket and took out a key to the front door. He opened the door, and walked in. "Welcome to my house. Come on in," he said as he gestured the two to come in. He then walked into the kitchen, and put his groceries, that he had this whole time, on the kitchen counter.
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The boys stared in awe as they followed him inside, albeit a bit reluctantly. This house was nothing like the medieval type town they had just came in from. It was more modern. Clean and upkept with furniture that one would hardly see in the Sage Dimension unless they were traders. It was a place Kotah and Ezael would be more familiar to, yet one they were surprised to find within this realm, especially after the old mans warning. What was it? No technology?
Still reluctant, the twins stayed near the door as they watched him, their focus never leaving him for an instant. Beside the two, their spirit guides, the Lynx and Bobcat both stood beside them, watching the man as well.
"Why do you want our help?" Kotah took the first question as he asked the first thing that came to mind.
"Yeah!" Ezael blurted out immediately afterwards, "What did you do? And why is so bad that you need our help?"
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Alrgon smiled when he noticed that they stood near the door, and constantly watched him. "Come on, now. I won't bite." He then frowned at their questions. "There's... something I need to show you two," he said. He turned to walk into his bedroom. "Close the door if you want to stay in," he said on the way.
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Kotah and Ezael both looked at each other edgily before Kotah nodded and Ezael took that as a signal to close the door. The two of them then slowly followed behind him.
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Arlgon was in the room, waiting for them. When the two came in, he walked to his bed. "I've been waiting for this moment to happen." He knocked on the bed frame in a certain pattern. Immediately after, the bed moved to the side, and the floor that was formerly underneath the bed gave way to a small hole with a piece of wood in it. The piece of wood disintegrated, and what was left behind was a datapad. Arlgon took the datapad. The floor and the bed went back to the way they were, leaving no trace of what has happened. "A friend of mine that built this house for me did this for me."
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Ezael looked skeptical as the two of them watched what was happening and listened to the mans explanation. "How could you be waiting if you don't even know us?"
"Maybe he has a way to tell the future or something like my abilities?" Kotah suggested before glancing at the man had picked up. At the next statement from Arlgon, Kotah spoke up, "Is that why there's technology here even after we were told by that old man in the Sage Dimension that it wasn't allowed?"
"And while we're on the subject of here. Where is here exactly? And if technology isn't allowed. Why are you 'here' of all places?" Ezael quickly accused. "Wouldn't they be against you as well?"
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"I've been waiting for the moment to show this to someone," Arlgon smiled. "I can't tell the future. Oh! I was referring to the magic trick that was done. He did me a favor and hid this for me. Sages look down on technology, but they won't banish you for having it. Right now, you're in Caelum, the Second Sage Dimension. It's a secret dimension, to get away from the wars and such that were going on. Once the Sages found out that I wasn't with the Aralangs, they accepted me more, and trusted me with the knowledge of this dimension." He then turned serious. He held out the datapad for either one of them to take it. "Here, take it, and read it. It explains what has happened in my homedimension. As soon as I read this, I defected from the ASF, and ran away. It's the first reason why the ASF is after me."
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Thought they were still reluctant, the twins said nothing as Kotah reached out and took the datapad to read it. Ezael stood behind his brother, reading it as well.
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The datapad read:
Log Kd03sD99:
Operation Kasazathar:
Objective: Establish control of the dimension of Distha.
Status: Successful.
Procedure:
1. Colonize the planet of Kasazartha.
Successful.
2. Gain trust with the local mages.
Successful. Treaties were made.
3. Send undercover ASF unit to the local mages' homeworld, disguised as one of the mages, and have him become a representative of the mages on Kasazathar.
Successful.
4. Fabricate news reports of precious materials that can be used to fine-tune the magical powers of the local mages.
Successful.
5. Convict old mages, who are living on the planet of Kasazathar, for stealing the precious materials, and for conspiracy to overthrow the Aralang control of Kasazartha, to jail, by planting false evidence on them.
Successful.
6. Have an undercover ASF unit, who replaced a jail guard, poison the old mage prisoners with neurotoxins. The cause of death is to be of old age.
Successful.
7. Send ASF activity reports of conspiracy plots on Kazasathar to the undercover ASF unit, edited to have mention of ASF changed to Aralangs.
Successful.
8. Prepare for conflict.
Successful.
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The two boys stood there somewhat speechless as they read through the document. When at last they finished, neither knew what to say as they handed it back to the man and remained silent.
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Arlgon took back the document. "Do any of you have any questions?"
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The twins shook their heads, the two of them still somewhat lost for words.
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"Well, now you know that the ASF is not that great. They're very skilled at what they do, but they aren't ethically correct. Question: why are you two here? You didn't even know where this place is, in the first place."
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Appearing in a shimmer of light before the two twins was a sort of golden puddle, right on the ground. It looked simply like a puddle of water, but it had a strange, golden tint, radiating with the Dust of Creo -- a special residue that typically appeared around newly created things. Created, as in, from nothing -- as in, by the embodiment of Creation. That could only mean one thing... This puddle began to swirl, like a portal on the ground, awaiting to fulfil its duty.
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"Wait. Hold on!" Ezael interjected without answering the mans questions, "You never said the second reason for why the ASF is after you. You said that was the first. Then what's the second?"
After realizing Ezael was right, Kotah nodded, finding the fact the man had changed subjects so quickly as odd. "And to add to that, what about the other Aralangs? What did they do? So far you showed us what the ASF did and you went into hiding from them. But when you explained, you talked as if you wanted our help to take down the entire race. Aren't they differ--?"
Before he could finish, Kotah quickly jumped back as the puddle started to appear, having sensed it seconds before it actually did appear. A shocked but confused look on his face, Kotah stared at the golden glow radiating from the water before glancing to Ezael who looked equally puzzled. Was this some type of attack by the other sages in the area? The two glanced to Arlgon before continuing to stare at the puddle.
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Arlgon looked down and sighed. "I've released some prisoners from the ASF dimension. However, nobody believed them as much as me. I've had an entire document of what the ASF did, but nobody believed me. They believed the prisoners less. Eventually, though, they all got hunted down and killed by the ASF."
Before he could respond to the other questions, he stepped back to Kotah's reaction. He looked down and saw the puddle turn into a portal. "I doubt this is the ASF's doing. Low probability that it's them, due to several factors."
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Suddenly, from the other side of the portal, there came in a swift moment, a sign of the future, and the shape of things to come. Let it be recorded, then, my dear readers, that this was the mark of destiny. Something exquisite was about to happen, but any particular sage in the realm would not know why, only that it was true. Yes, they would feel it, radiating from the portal, the sense of creation, grand creation, something indistinctly familiar to the sages, buried in their DNA, a trace of a memory of the ancestors who were once likewise created... An instinct of fate.
And from the other side of the portal, there came a voice, radiating into Caelum, a voice of majestic angels, singing an ancient song, long forgotten by the creations of the embodiments -- a war hymn from the Harbinger.
"The reaper comes to see you.
Reaper comes to see you.
Holding out a soul to steal.
The reaper wants to eat you."
Bubbling.
The form of a woman began to rise from the puddle, a woman singing in the chorus of angels, her voice crisp and clean. The woman was made of golden liquid, like the puddle itself, and seemed to be wearing a dress, covering her body, stopping just above her bust. With golden eyes and skin and clothes, she blinked at the group as she continued singing the dark hymn until it had ended, and the voices of the angels radiated in an after-glow, a hum, gently heard in the background, as the woman began to speak.
"Destruction. Are you ready to begin your father's work? The time has come, and a great crisis has spread throughout your realms. Alas, come forth, and take your reigns as one voice upon your lieges. Your army awaits you."
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Though they had heard what he had said in answer, both Kotah and Ezael gave no response to Arlgon. Their attention was now held by the puddle and only the puddle as the singing arose from its depths. They continued to stand there and merely stare, their eyes transfixed on its surface and the woman that arose up from it. What was going on? Though it felt familiar to them, neither Kotah nor Ezael had ever experienced anything like this, at least, not since... Not since they had succeeded their father Koty as the embodiment of Destruction.
But Destruction? That's what the woman had said. How did she know? And what work was it that she spoke of? They had been given no knowledge of what it was they were supposed to do as the new Embodiment of Destruction, only their fathers memories as a guide. And that guide was a lot to take in. Realms? Army? Was it not these same things that led to their father being sealed in the first place?
"W-what is the work?" Kotah at least stammered.
"..And why does it require an army?" Ezael asked as well as the both of them cringed ever so slightly at the scene this was causing. If every sage in the area didn't know who Kotah and Ezael were before, they did now. What with the singing, the magic, and the words said. That was bound to attract all who sensed it.
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The Sage army of Caelum appeared in and around the house. A blue, transparent sphere appeared around the house, including underneath it. With the Sages being as protective of the dimension of Caelum as they are right now, Arlgon was not in the least surprised.
Of the crowd of Sages, one stepped forward. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.
Arlgon kept silent, and watched what was happening.
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The response would be enough to take some, if not most, of the masses that were gathering in the streets of Caelum by surprise...
A giant arm shot forth out of the puddle, through a wall, towards the masses outside. An arm made of the same golden liquid as the woman. It was... An arm of protection. It did not attack, but it did sort of symbolize a hand stopping the army... It was telling them to stop. Radiating with Dust of Creo, the army would feel something supernatural coming from this arm, something they could not quite describe. But it was not a threat. Yet.
Inside, the woman continued.
"You ask what the work is... You ask why you need an army. A great.... enemy has arisen. STEP FORTH, sons of the past... And take the reigns of the future. Allow me to show you... Your enemy."
Holding out her hands, a golden sphere of light formed between them. The golden sphere became slightly transparent, and the twins would be able to see a picture in the middle of the sphere... A picture of a growing army of all kinds of beings, marching loudly. Humans, sages, "angels", "demons", Aralangs, Relorians, and so much more. The army wore dark uniforms, almost like jumpsuits, made of a strange, black fibre, with red marks upon them. And where were they marching?
Through the darkness that was Plex.