Rise Of Pandora

Rise Of Pandora: LII. With My Life

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XI. Stoic

"The truth is we have many trusted informants in several empires around the continent, some you'd never expect, that have consistently given us useful and accurate reports. This has been going on for centuries. And it doesn't take long for news to spread about a hoard of flying creatures so if there were we'd know about it by now," Alastor shared confidently.

"Well, Alastor, you are not entirely correct in your statement. The reason our system of informants worked so well over the years was mainly that those were times of relative peace where nothing would often impede on our back and forth exchange of information. But this is an entirely different circumstance with a harsher set of limitations. We are oblivious to what fully may be out there. Truly, beyond the alleged rumors, I held no knowledge of Deathknights in the imperium until you all arrived. So, there could very well be Deathknights in other empires beyond just Ereignfall and Sindirin," Atlas pronounced.

"As oblivious as we are, there could be Deathknights wreaking ruin in more than just Shyonnississ, we are talking countless imperiums and civilizations under attack as we speak. And to add injury, there may, in fact, be a new threat out there capable of causing destruction beyond anything we've ever fathomed. And as long we are held up by the Deathknights and Shadowbirds, we will never even know. There could very well be Deathknights and Shadowbirds within the Rare Nations and we'd never know. The Rare Nations are three islands separated by miles of burning ocean, so we'd have a difficult time knowing about anything unless we'd go there ourselves."

"So now the real question is how do we go about taking back the control. With Chaos, Mors, and Erebus accompanying Bessarian in retaking Ereignfall...Alastor, I would have wished you retained a mental connection with either of them so we could have consistent communication between us," Atlas shared with a hint of disappointment buried in his tone.

Alastor, knowing he had made a vital error, slouched his body downwards and sighed tensely to himself.

"There is nothing we can do about that now, however. With the Rare Men assisting Bessarian, and assuming the threat of the Deathknights and Shadowbirds is not as concerning as we were led to believe, then it should not take them too long to clear most if not all of them out of Ereignfall and then work to reclaim the others parts of Shyonnississ that would have likely been invaded in that time. Perhaps it will take them no more than weeks in doing so."

Baccus, with the intention of remaining respectful, interrupted as soon as he was able.

"I am not so sure, Father. I was down there; I saw so much more. About halfway through my travel to claim the Bessarians, I saw hundreds of them swarming south of the village. Then there is the matter of the giant Deathknight, that one is a special hazard. The Shadowbirds is a whole other dilemma in itself and I saw what I thought to be thousands soaring through the sky throughout the course of that day alone."

"And it only got worse the lower south that I traveled. There were Deathknights everywhere, several different parts of the forest were burned to ash despite the cold and rain. I had to detour several times just to avoid being spotted, and now we have reason to believe that they are in the earth below us where they rest dormant. I believe in our family entirely. Still, there are just so many surprises that much of us are not aware of. Say they do clear out most of the Deathknights and Shadowbirds within weeks, and that's being generous, who is to say that there will not be anymore inside the earth. And with the situation of the deities and every other issue that we've discussed as of yet, unity is more needed than it has ever been. We all need to be informed and together."

"At that time, I did not care that we had our own ventures but we cannot afford it now. I do not want to have another Moontown incident repeated. We were naive to think we could face such a threat on our own."