Blades of Lunaria


    Yandia sat atop the scaled head of a dead Dream Eater, her silver armor gleaming with the reflections of colorful flames. The inferno raged around her, birthed from a volatile cocktail of leaking liquids that ignited upon the scorched landscape. In her gauntleted hands, she held the severed head of the Dream Eater''s master, its dark ichor dripping down her fingers onto the length of her blade, Day of Glory. The blessed weapon hissed as its enchantments burned away the vile liquid.


    Her Prussian-blue cape rippled in the gusts of wind as a voice emerged from the gale, cold and urgent:


    "Blade Master, planetary cleansing near completion. The Blades of the Lotus are engaging a Scion of the Churn, Dayamak-var-Kamur. Casualties are mounting. Your assistance is urgently required."


    Yandia sheathed her blade with a decisive motion, her breath misty in the frigid air as she replied, "On my way."


    She stepped into a column of pale light, emerging atop the bastion walls of Palaced High Flower—a triad of cities, the crowning jewel of the garden world, Haya''vanti. The Lunarians had shaped these wonders over millennia, nestling them between mountains crafted into towering walls.


    Now, those ancient streets and towers were consumed by war. Gloomy plumes of smoke rose into the sky as fire devoured the city below. Yandia surveyed the battlefield, her cold voice carried by the wind to her legions:


    "Consolidate and push."


    Heavy artillery rained down from the heavens, obliterating waves of the Churn''s blasphemous forces. Within the dust and chaos, she spotted a figure cutting through her soldiers with ruthless efficiency. Summoning the column of light, she stepped into it and appeared behind the monstrous warrior—a mountain of meat adorned with severed hands that swayed as it swung its cleaver.


    Her blade sliced cleanly through the nape of its neck, the creature hissing in twisted ecstasy as it crumpled to its knees. Without hesitation, Yandia drove her sword between its shoulders, piercing its vile heart. The abomination slid free of the steaming blade, its putrid flesh dragging it forward. Its massive body slammed into the broken street with a resounding crash, sending tremors through the ground and collapsing a nearby crumbling building into rubble.


    "Blade Master!" a voice rang out from the chaos.


    Yandia turned, her eyes locking onto a grotesque, floating monstrosity emerging from the fray. Its massive, writhing bulk was a grotesque tapestry of shifting, malevolent eyes.


    "Ivin, Crava!" The accursed words reverberated like a blight upon the air, tugging at Yandia and her soldiers. Yet, the protective seals of Day of Glory flared to life, glowing fiercely as they repelled the dark enchantment. The rebounding energy seared several of the creature''s malignant eyes, eliciting a guttural roar.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Pull back!" Yandia commanded, her voice firm as she assessed the situation. She surged towards the abomination.


    Its myriad eyes began to dart frantically as dark tares rent the air around it like claw marks in the fabric of reality. From these voids, shrieking horrors emerged, their unnatural forms writhing with malice. Yandia moved swiftly, slicing one creature in half before it fully breached, its remains collapsing back into the void.


    Day of Glory flared brighter with every step, its radiant power illuminating the grotesque shadows of the battlefield.


    "Zazaka, Zazaka, Bir Kazin!" the entity profaned, its guttural voice causing the tares to widen. More abominations poured forth, their shrieks empowering the chaos.


    Yandia didn''t falter. Her resolve burned bright. As she closed the distance, she leaped into the air, her figure a streak of brilliance in the chaos. She descended upon the creature, her blade searing into the monstrous head.


    The impact triggered an implosion, a vortex forming where the abomination had stood. The shrieking horrors were dragged back into the void, their howls extinguished as the tares sealed shut. Yandia landed gracefully amidst the settling dust, Day of Glory still glowing in her grip.


    Her victory was swift compared to the continual carnage that erupted in the distance. A large shadow fell over the three cities, a star-blotting object filling the sky. Its shape was that of a massive golden flower. Yandia paused to stare, the chaos around her seeming to halt as well.


    "You did well, Sister," a distant but near voice said as a figure appeared from the dust, surrounded by others in blue robes.


    "Avanti," Yandia said in recognition, her breath restrained. She then continued, giving orders to her legion: "Continue the push. This place will be our forward point."


    Avanti moved closer, gliding over debris and charred earth.


    "What brings the hosts to my warzone?" Yandia asked, sheathing her blade.


    Avanti''s golden eyes gleamed as she stepped closer, her movements graceful and commanding, her shimmering blue robes trailing like gems. Her voice was calm but edged with an urgency that pressed the weight of her task. "Necessity, sister. The Celestial Council summons you to be its blade."


    Yandia''s gaze remained cold and indifferent. "As I remember I was to distasteful for their ways, what has changed?"


    Avanti tilted her head, her serene features showing a faint, knowing smile. "Much has changed, sister. The Red Lord has returned, as you are well aware, forcing our hand away from subtlety and toward..." She gestured lightly to the carnage around them, "methods that proved more effective in the past. The Scions march out of the Churn, festering on our worlds. Haya''vanti isn''t the first, nor will it be the last."


    Yandia''s fingers curled around the hilt of Day of Glory, the weapon humming faintly as though in agreement with her simmering frustration. "Haya''vanti isn''t like any other world. It is not a battlefield of convenience. You don''t get to dictate who it fights for or why it fights," she said sharply. "The Palaced High Flower is more than stone and history—it is a testament to the Lunarian legacy. A legacy the Celestial Council discarded, locking it away in a chest filled with the spoils of war. A war they refused to acknowledge ever happened. A war they speak of disdainfully, despite the countless legions who perished in it."


    Her voice hardened, her grip tightening on her blade. "I will not stand with those who dishonor our past."


    Avanti''s golden eyes softened, though her tone remained firm. "Dreams are only as enduring as those who protect them, sister. I agree with you. Haya''vanti thrives because of you and the sacrifices made for it. Lunaria thrives because of you. But the Churn''s corruption will devour everything if we focus only on Haya''vanti."


    She stepped closer, her voice gentler now. "The Council regrets its mistakes and seeks to mend its wrongs. Ama seeks to mend its wrongs."


    The tension crackled between the two, their contrasting intentions as stark as the chaos raging around them. Finally, Yandia turned to her soldiers, her voice carrying a calm authority as her cold breath moved with the wind. "Push toward the center spire. Consolidate control. Protect the sanctums at all costs—no lives are to be lost and recover the relics."


    She faced Avanti again, her piercing eyes gleaming with resolve. "we will deal with this matter later, you have brought the light of Lunaria here, if it fires its reforger canon on any part of this world its gleaming hull will be a Carcass around Haya''vanti''s skies."