Progression Interlude: The Jade Wall

These were Sihai and allies sign-up in Progression Orders from the recent Jade Wall call to arms some time back.

Ren Maiyusa looked over the paperwork she still had on her desk while the ship gently swayed back and forth, considering the many forms she still had to fill for the eventual back-journey. As the thought dawned on her that she might actually have to throw away some of these files as not everyone might return, her melancholy drew her gaze to the port window. Tián Saizhou was in the background on a bench, reading a book, while all the others were scattered around the deck, watching the seas beyond. It was obvious they were reaching the end of the passage, the currents had gotten a lot less rough, and there weren’t ominous large black shadows in the mists beyond their line of sight anymore. Her gaze eventually fell to the watch she had commissioned from the smithing cart. She had been looking at it a couple of times, perhaps hesitating to wear it at all, because it looked so garishly western. How would the other commanders feel about her western-isms? Would the bureaucrats look down on her ostentatious western opulence? Eventually she decided to don it anyway, regarding the disrespect to its crafter of a greater concern than offending some bureaucrat who wasn’t going to be very helpful on that wall. The watch itself was made of a strange white almost marble-like material Maiyusa was not familiar with, the band itself of interlocking silver and golden pieces. It was really quite Regal, but concerns of judgment over this little object quickly faded as Saizhou put down his book and remarked it was time to go above deck.

Dexai came back in sight sure enough, and sure enough as Maiyusa had seen many times before, preparations were well underway to defend Dexai itself from the coming Akula. Many of the massive towering Jade constructs had taken up a line across the docks, arms locked together like a moving extension of the Jade Wall itself, the ports being busy with all manner of colonists and diaspora returning to answer the call to arms. Overhead large airships ferried military supplies along the elevators up and down the first sets of towers. As the group landed, Maiyusa grouped up the others that had come with her, Ki Asehe, Ku Senshou, Li Senunro, Sun Heishan, Lin Senira, Beiren, and the odd duckies: Lyonel Deceres, Eleanaire of Jophael, Ailred and Wilvamair, who had never before seen Dexai.

All at once the four newcomers were assaulted with all manner of senses, from the sheer verticality of the place, Dexai’s small passage nestled between two huge wall sides, the high towers and Sihai roofs decorated with drones of lanterns gently dancing in the wind, and the chiming of Jade-tech propulsion of the airships high above them. It was made abundantly clear that everyone was getting ready in a well oiled and rehearsed proceeding that had been done time and time again over the past centuries. The group proceeded to what looked like a large administrative bureau where Maiyusa acquired the registration papers from the bureaucrats, and retrieved her assignment tablet and chain, clearing her party to mount one of the nearby airships that would ferry them to Maiyusa’s tower.

As the airship departed, the others once again saw sights that few in the west ever behold, the Jade Sea in all its splendor, a vast and endlessly stretching ocean of green glass, its turbulent waves frozen since the moment they petrified, some of the sea-foam still rising from the very crest of the timeless waves as more whitened crystal than the dark green shades of the deepest parts. Some ships could even be seen still half-frozen in glass, the top half rotten away from time, the lower half preserved for all eternity. As the airship climbed higher and higher however, it would not only bring new sights for the foreigners, but some even for the locals, as time had been progressing. Perhaps yet, the visit of Emperor Cedromar so many years ago had opened a small crack that others had found fitting to sneak through also. As they reached the top of the wall, crews of dwarves were packing crates on infernal machines that rapidly shuttled back and forth on a set of black steel tracks, moving crates which such speed that they far outpaced the traditional jadetech pack mules, and there were even some Eronidas near the first tower, pushing vast mortar pieces into place that bore the striking signature style of their Polon kin.

The airship trotted along the length, allowing Maiyusa to inspect the other towers which had fared, more or less, well since her departure. The first was of course the Golden Chorus Tower, which always prided itself in killing the first Akula. The Dancing Crane tower which loved competing with the previous, The Golden Chrysanthemum Tower which was the scene of a mutiny not too long ago, and the ruins of the Silver Pond Tower, which was destroyed almost a hundred years ago but did not need to be rebuilt because it was close to the Blue Fall Blossom Tower which was very popular with local recruits. She counted the towers until eventually the Gold Leaping Cat Tower came in view. It had since long been rebuilt after it was destroyed, but it didn’t feel the same. It was smaller than Maiyusa remembered it to be, no doubt a sign from the bureaucrats who had downgraded the efficiency grade of the tower in respect to the others.

Here still, Maiyusa was shown surprises, as clearly either the diplomats or the Dragons had been at work mending old rifts for unity sake, or desperation perhaps. The first thing that hit her was the distinct smell of tamarind sinigang that was being cooked up as a quick pre-battle meal by a group of Balantagi on the first floor of the tower, their colorful robes standing out in stark contrast to the very boring and drab monochrome outfits worn by the Regalian foreigners she had brought, and their jovial and family like attitude a reminder of the somberness of everyone else around them. One of the Balantagi even made a fairly crude remark about how his robe was far brighter than Lyonel’s skin, which Heishan could not resist translating for Lyonel. Eleanaire was the first to notice a strange, almost angelic sound coming from the upper level of the tower, a sound that she was instinctively drawn to for its celestial beauty. Maiyusa equally was confused, as it was a sound she had never heard before. As Heishan approached the stairs to go up however, she was held back by an administrator, who clarified that there were Thiêndân monks present on the higher level, committing to their sacred Om and should not be disturbed.

After the shock of their presence settled in, Beiren tried to joke to ask if the Hkarait and Ölöötümen had also sent some helpers to make the family complete. The Bureaucrat remained quiet, but pointed downwards, which silently confirmed that they were indeed present, but were inside the Jade wall itself, as one would have come to expect of the Hkarait. Maiyusa was quickly met with the other sub-commanders and went over the plan of battle, while Senshou joined the lookouts at the very top of the tower, passing by the Thiêndân who were both seated absolve the ground and floating down as if they disregarded the laws of gravity, having completed their sacred Om. The Regalians were unsure where to go, everyone around them spoke the Sihai language and all intimately seemed to understand what was expected of them, but nobody paid attention to them. Eventually Saizhou came to collect them to position them near himself where he would act as translator between everything else going on and the battle.

Ki Asehe, Li Senunro and Lin Senira had positioned themselves on the opposite extension of the tower to deal with the first wave, while Wilvamair eventually took up a position near Maiyusa. And then the wait started. For hours they waited, so long in fact that Heishan and Beiren started playing some kind of Sihai stone tossing game the loud clattering of the stone resounding through the otherwise silent tower save for the flags in the wind. On the third hour however, Senshou signaled the first arrival of an Akula. This Akula was absolutely massive, its legs largely obscured by the ocean, its upper body appearing like that of a turtle but with the head of a hammerhead shark. The Void mutations were unmistakable, but as opposed to singular large mutations, it appeared as if the Akula had tentacles all over its body, smaller ones and bigger ones, and was also had holes all over its arms. Saizhou explained to the foreigners that this was where the smaller Demons would come out of in large hordes, so they should always pay attention to the Akula’s arms, even if they are in a fight, because being surprised on a tight formation wall position was one of the worst things that could happen.

This time however, the fact that beckoned concern was the large Vaarda demon on its shoulder, seemingly directing the Akula like some massive mount, no doubt with an army of lesser Demons at its beckoning call. It was large, easily six times the size of a normal Ailor man, with large horns and a dark blue skin, wielding a massive spear. Velheim symbolisms were unmistakable all over it, and as the Akula strode closer, the Vaarda Demon unfolded its wings and rose up. The battle would soon commence, and so everyone got ready, waiting for the thirst range marker. Sure enough, the Akula reached the marker, from above the tower it was called out, and Maiyusa ordered free fire of the artillery. Large scorpion crossbows and mangonels fired shot after shot in the direction of the Akula, peeling off parts of its body, but never quite being enough to dislodge large enough pieces to stop it entirely.

By the second range marker, the archers knew to get ready, and would not wait for their signal to fire. The Akula shook, hordes upon hordes of insect-like demonoids flying like locusts from the holes in its arms like hornets from a hive. The Regalians had a moment of repulsion, shivers from the thought of these insect beings living inside the Akula in their hundreds perhaps even thousands, the Sihai meanwhile were well acquainted with these beings, having seen many of them dissected in schools or fought first hand on the wall. Arrows and bolts alike flew overhead, with an occasional sound of firearms as Ku Senshou started picking them off one by one. The Red Hunters readied themselves for the first waves, but knew not to jump off the wall, well aware that there was no way back up, and their battlerage would have to be sated on the wall itself.

The first waves started hitting the extended platforms, these six-legged creatures with four wings, a long spiked tail and the head of an insect slammed down in large numbers, many of them still falling down as they were impaled with projectiles and shots alike. Asehe, Senunro, Senira and Beiren started cutting through them like butter, there was a well-oiled technique to all of their fighting as Eleanaire observed, a far cry from the dirty western fighting of two armies clashing and disorderly screaming and hammering in on each other. The Sihai seemed almost emotionless as they wove back and forth between the enemies, stabbing with great precision and remaining calm above all. Was it faith? Was it confidence? Before long, her own would be tested too.

This battle would have almost been silent were it not for the shrieks and growls of Ailred and Heishan who had meanwhile started re-arranging the black and red painted walls with the purple blood and gibs of the invading creatures, claws and tail rending through corrupted flesh. Overhead, Lyonel had taken flight and landed on particularly large one, acquainting its soft insectoid carapace with hundreds of pounds of muscle and scale and metal. Saizhou held back with Wilvamair for now, the latter ensuring Maiyusa’s safety, while Saizhou stayed with the foreigners to occasionally translate orders for them or make sure they understood what was going on.

Eleanaire was rough-housing some of the demonoids along with Beiren on the right side, getting pushed back. Eleanaire was unsure whether to recite the classics of the Heroes of Void-purging, they were common poems and chalix (faith chorus songs) performed when fighting those whose souls had fallen to demonic vice to pray for their forgiveness, but these creatures were mindless beings without a shred of humanity. To reinforce this flank being pushed back by the sheer number of them, the Balantagi were sent forth, whose colorful capes accentuated their rotating movements and jumps as they leapt from foe to foe. Below their feet, large hatches were opened in the side of the Jade wall, high up enough not to cause structural damage, where the tunnel-digging Hkarait had created subterranean levels with what looked like Regalian demi cannons, shooting barrage after barrage at the Akula, slowing it down as more and more was chipped off its body.

The battle seemed to be going well, until Maiyusa noticed, or rather, realized that she had failed to notice the Vaarda Demon that had been flying under the ramparts out of sight of the defenders, an angle that the Akula would never attack from. Akula would always attack from the front, stupidly charging straight ahead like a troll would in the west, with no tact or self preservation. Her gaze shifted to Saizhou who was halfway across the tower, looking back at her with a face of confidence, perhaps even a re-assuring glance that this would not be a repeat of the last time, that terrible time. And yet.

Break.​

The Vaarda Demon suddenly appeared, large wings wide as it soared past the defenses and hung in the air in front of the tower. The defenders were either too busy or stunned by the sudden change in tactics to immediately react, except for the Thiêndân who unleashed their protection Om. Their song was deafening, quite literally in that the sound was so profound that the battle beneath stopped, with the Demonoids’ bodies erupting from the sound, while the fighters had to steel themselves. If Eleanaire would ever be asked to describe what it sounded like, she would describe both the loudest and yet most beautiful sound, an angelic choir of the most gracious sopranos, that hid the darkest of basso profondo that could topple towers. And then it abruptly ended. The Vaarda Demon raised its spear, and shot a terrible Demonic spell at the top level of the power, cleaving it clean off and erupting the stonework around it. Eleanaire looked up, and could only utter the word forgive, before she was crushed by the stone and killed on the spot.

Wilvamair jumped up sword drawn to attack the Vaarda Demon, which instead snatched him from the air, plucked off his wings and then ripped him in half, tossing the part-silver remains off the wall to tumble hundreds of feet down the wall. Maiyusa charged forward with the intent to fight also, but the Vaarda Demon had seemingly decided that she was to witness the end of everything around her, and so she would. Senshou was surprised from behind by one of the flying demons who grabbed him, and threw him off the wall, tumbling to his death on the Jade Sea. Asehe, Senira, and Senunro were overrun by the Demonoids, ripped limb from limb as the cacophony of screaming started all around them, with all the other warriors being overrun as well. Further down the wall, the sound of horses being thrown off the wall could be heard, and explosions ripped through the lower levels of the Jade wall, blowing Beiren, Ailred, and Heishan to pieces. Lyonel too charged at the Vaarda Demon in vain who impaled him from his own flight momentum and discarded him in much the same fashion as Wilvamair.

With just Saizhou and Maiyusa left of the original group and less than half the wall defenders remaining, Maiyusa called for the retreat to the lower level on the back of the wall as the Jade wall’s upper level always had at least two plateaus. Even this level was overrun quickly however, the Vaarda Demon landing on the wall now, and brushing aside Saizhou’s body like an old newspaper, his body snapping on the nearby battlements and falling motionless. With just Maiyusa left, she tried to summon the strongest of her Dragon Powers she possessed, of both anger and desperation, but the Demon merely taunted her as it swung its spear, breaking her arm and discarding her sword. It approached once more, as its spear swung one last time to kill her, she instinctively raised her other arm to shield herself, and then something unexpected happened.

Just as the spear was about to make contact with her arm, no doubt swinging through to impale her, it was met with her watch, that watch she commissioned not mere days before their departure, the one which she had refused to wear for months until the final day of landing. At first a purple light erupted, a shockwave seemed to freeze everything in motion, and parts of the watch came loose and erupted into a display of smaller pieces and parts. The ticking continued, as the purple light was quickly replaced with green light, though not the usual Ordial sickly green she was familiar with. This green had a pleasant almost warm hue to it, with Maiyusa only daring to think in that moment of anguish that this was Emerald Time Magic.

Indeed, as the Watch’s incantation seemed complete, time rolled backwards, backwards and backwards through all the death and destruction and loss, their bodies recovered, their supplies recovered, and the Vaarda Demon was pushed back top where it was then when the watch finally finished its incantation.

Break.​

Her gaze shifted to Saizhou who was halfway across the tower, looking back at her with a face of horror. There was no confidence and comforting look on his face as there had been prior. Just a sheer terror on his face, a face of realization. In that moment Maiyusa knew that she was not the only one privy to what had just happened, her gaze shifted to Wilvamair next to her who instinctively grasped his wings to make sure they were still there, and Eleanaire who had already grabbed her prayer chain in confusion. They remembered what happened, as Maiyusa had too, they did not understand it, but none of them were planning on letting it go to waste.

Time proceeded just as it had prior, the Demon suddenly appeared, soaring up as it did so, but this time it did not anticipate feral Heishan and Lyonel, each clawing and biting onto one of the Demon’s ankles, distracting it. The Demon still cast its magic, which terrified Maiyusa, but this time, Eleanaire threw up her Martyred Chain of the Faithseeker, making contact with the foul Void spell, and dispelling it in glorious golden light and the hymn of Ness ambiently resounding in the air. Where it had previously stood destroying the monks in the top of the tower, now it was met with Wilvamair, speeding towards the Vaarda Demon and instantly decapitating it as it was distracted by Heishan and Lyonel and did not see him coming. Heishan detached, jumping near Asehe, Senunro and Senira who had all turned their backs to each other and turned into a deadly whirlwind of blades against the superior numbers, now also thinned out by Heishan.

Ailred raged against the brickworks below them, eventually digging through the Jade itself (ignoring the staircase nearby) and landing in the gunpowder room that had exploded earlier and taken him out. Faced with a fire Demon, he suckerpunched it off the wall, grabbed a nearby barrel of explosives, lit it, and had Lyonel toss it out of the jade wall’s cannonport with him on it. The barrel flew for some time, until it erupted, creating a shockwave with enough force (and less explosive power so he could survive for just a little) to turn into a dying lava-bullet that drilled its way into the Akula’s eye and incinerated its head from the inside.

Senshou turned around at just the right moment to shoot a carefully placed shot, ripping apart the Demon that approached him, before swiveling to the other window and clapping a dozen more. Beiren and Saizhou as well as Maiyusa had meanwhile joined the flank that was previously overran, placing their defensive at just the right time and place to turn the tide of the battle in their favor, especially now that both the Vaarda Demon and the Akula were dead. The Akula’s upper body still stuck out of the water, but dead Ailred’s lava pond was still vigorously leaking out of its eye, keeping his recovering body safe inside.

It took less time cleaning up afterwards for the bureaucrat to ring the bell of victory. In their elation of victory, and barely grasping what had just occured, the group met on the west side of the tower, only to notice that the adjacent tower was on fire, with explosions ripping through the lower plateau. Maiyusa rallied the soldiers who were in high spirits for losing so few of their men and women, and with a loud battlecry, the group charged, Balantagi and Hkarait and Ölöötümen in tow, which had meanwhile given Eleanaire a horse to lead the charge forward in reinforcing a nearby tower.

By the end, the waves of Akula had been defeated, but casualties were high across the wall. Maiyusa’s tower had comparatively taken very little damage, and even less casualties than the usually better performing Golden Chorus Tower, with their casualties cited as 24.7% higher than Maiyusa’s. Though this event would not prove to feel like redemption in Maiyusa’s eyes, because for them, it raised far more questions than the elation of battle could satisfy or dissipate.