Dodge: Serial 81

Various forces are at play behind the scenes, each with a stake in the looming battles ahead. But what do they truly desire?

Serial 81: Secret plot

March 19th, 33 S.D.        19:12        Sevia, Sventa

    Losha stepped out of the Vental and into the crisp, cool night. As she walked down the stairs and into the streets,  the two guards behind her dared not say a word. After having been paralyzed by her art, they merely looked at each other in silence as she passed. Losha turned and immediately went over to Izel.

    “Sorry to keep you waiting like that,” she said as she untied him from the post. He puttered softly, nudging her shoulder with his snout. For a while, she stared at the ground; her grip tightened slowly around his reins. Izel poked her again as she shook her head.

    “Sorry. Sa, we should go home now,” Losha whispered. “Oh, sa. You have never been to my house. I think you will find it rather lovely. Come on then, before it gets too late.” She was about to mount her stead when she noticed something quite peculiar. A large amount of seras frequencies were moving out of the Vental. By her count, it seemed like nearly half the Tabran were suddenly leaving. Curiously, she heard their crowd coming down the steps and winding their way towards her position. She paused while a number of Torom representatives began swarming around her. At the forefront stood her mother and brother.

    “What is all this?” Losha asked.

    “What else could it be?” Harle responded. “This is a show of support.”

    “Whatever you mean?”

    “We have adjourned ourselves from the meeting,” Lesia explained. “We simply followed your example and left.”

    Losha quickly glanced at her surrounding supporters. “But... was my example really best to follow?”

    “Undoubtedly,” declared a man, stepping forward. He was none other than Fautna Kelta Sventa, the same person who’d accompanied her back to Sevia after she’d traveled from Palostrol. “We believe as we voted. War is not the appropriate direction this clan needs. We will not participate in such actions. The rest of the Tabran can figure out their bloody plans by themselves.”

    “That is right!” called someone.

    “Sa!”

    “Let them go it alone if they want more battle!”

    “Sa...” Losha said. “Yet is this any way for an organized legislature to behave?”

    “This is our protest,” Harle said. “It certainly is bold, and it has no precedent, but we feel this is a valid demonstration of our utmost disapproval.”

    “Well, I suppose I cannot argue with your sentiments,” Losha smiled. “If that is how strongly you feel, then this truly is the only acceptable course. However, despite all of this, the remaining Tabran intend to carry out the meeting still?”

    “Sa,” Harle nodded. “Although now they will not have the backing of nearly half of all Toroms, especially the most influential. They can prepare for war as much as they want, but it is going to cost them. The public will react badly too it, even more so since the Wolf of Sventa is opposed. If anything, their side will probably scale back any future military operations as to make their position seem more moderate and palatable.”

    Losha shook her head. “Better news, but not yet ideal. The loyalists in Henron will likely launch a counter-strike on Capital City soon. I would say in two days at least. We need to assist them right away. Technically, our army is still fighting all Henron.”

    Fautna frowned for a moment. “I am sorry, Losha. As much as we stand beside you, the Tabran dictates high-level decisions for the army. The path is set, but at least we managed to prevent the worst-case scenario.”

    “True enough,” the serialist mused. “However... the Tabran holds no sway over my own choices. With or without the Sventa army, I promised to return to Henron and help the rebels.” Everyone all at once seemed taken aback. Concerned murmurs spread across their ranks. From the rear, a woman emerged, surfacing to the front before Losha.

    “Just to be perfectly clear,” she began. “You intend to disregard your orders from the military? Let us not forget that you are officially a soldier in the eyes of our clan.”

    “I am not going to do anything to which I have objections, Ver...?”

    “Kana Delte Sventa. You know Boz, your commanding officer. We are family. You would honestly turn your nose at the military? If they tell you to fight Henron, you would ignore that?”

    “I have defied more powerful Sventa already, you know. I cannot be persuaded to fight the kind of war the Tabran wants; that is their problem alone.”

    “Losha,” Kana said. “You have had wide latitude in the past, but what you speak of here is bordering treason.”

    “And everyone has tolerated my actions because they brought results. This time shall be no different. I will stop this war. I will give Sventa and Henron the peace they deserve. If that makes me a traitor to our clan, so be it. I will not, however, accept things as they are.”

    “L-Losha...!” Lesia pleaded, alarmed by her daughter’s words. The rest of the group had a different reaction though.

    “What? Who would ever presume to call you a traitor?”

    “After all you have done to protect us, no one would persecute you.”

    “Sa, sa! Sventa owes you a great debt. We will not stand to see anything befall you.”

    “You have clearly always acted with everyone’s best interests in mind. This time is no different. Go and do what you must, Ver Holvate. Leave the Tabran to the rest of us.”

    “Thank you all,” Losha said with a slight bow. “I will take your faith in me and use it to bring this conflict to a close.”

    After a while of talking amongst themselves very briefly, the Torom representatives gradually dispersed. They went to their carriages and departed into the night. Kana, Fautna, Harle, and Lesia yet stayed.

    “Do you really intend to fight by yourself over there?” Fautna asked.

    “Do not worry. I alone could probably best most of their forces. With Core Lead Liveta and the rest of the rebels, I will be fine. It may seem odd for one to say this, but know that you can trust them; they are good people. Once I put down Prime Lead Govan’s units, we will approach Sventa again. I shall be counting on you all here to shift the most stubborn Toroms on their views. The only way we can completely end this is if both clans come to an understanding, no matter how small that may be at first.”

    “And what happens if Sventa still has orders to attack Henron?” Kana wondered. “What will you do then? Fight your own people?”

    “I do not need to fight to subdue. If Sventa is still belligerent, I will simply make them stand down. If I have to, I will drag them all the way to the negotiations table.”

    “Hmm...” Kana hummed.

    “Surely... surely you will not leave right this instant, sa?” Lesia worried. “Oh Losha, you have only been home a few short hours.”

    “Set yourself at ease, mother; I will not depart until tomorrow. Until then, I will make it a point to enjoy my stay.”

    “Harle, Ver Lesia, I must get back to my lodgings,” Fautna said. “I will call upon you later to discuss whatever develops after the meeting.”

    “Alright, goodnight,” Harle waved. “We had better go too, mother. I mean, how often does a session of the Tabran end this early for us? Let us take advantage of it. Besides, I am certain Losha is ready to return after all this time.”

    “If I may, Losha, might we have a moment?” Kana asked.

    “Certainly,” Losha said. “Mother, Harle, go on ahead. Let everyone know I have returned. I shall be with you soon enough.” Lesia looked apprehensive for an instant, however, she nodded and left with her son.

    “When was the last time you talked with my uncle?” Kana asked.

    “It has been a while since we spoke directly. Not since before the operation in the Talimer Forest.”

    “Sa, after that you started doing things on your own.”

    “As I have heard it described to me, I had a long leash.”

    “You have been able to do much as you saw fit. It is not like we can stop you at any rate. However, many have come to respect your work in the field. Sventa would indeed be worse off without you.”

    “What is it you wanted to discuss?”

    Kana shook her head a bit. “Nothing much. Just go see Boz before you leave. You can meet him at this address.” Kana reached into her coat and pulled out a small note. Losha squinted at the print as she took it in hand. “I will send word for him by air. He should be here in under 12 hours. Uncle has been expecting you, after all.”

    “I suppose he wants to have a serious chat.”

    “Do not worry; he will not be angry with you.”

    “That never actually concerned me, frankly speaking. Am I going to receive new orders, a new mission? Is that why you seemed so focused on my intentions?”

    “I am not at liberty to say, Losha. You will have to hear from him yourself about what he wants to discuss. It will be something you like, I can tell you that much. But I am not going to lie to you. Be careful with your choices. You are a hero now, but one slip, one wrong decision could easily see you exiled. Worse, Sventa may brand you an enemy. Helping another clan so extensively and going against the will of the Tabran... These are not things to take lightly. Just... think it through.” Kana sighed briefly. “You heard the Delte vote back at the Vental. We believe in you.” With a slight grin on her face, Kana pushed her hands deep into her pockets and walked off.

    “Come on, Izel,” Losha said, bringing herself over the saddle. “It is finally time to go back home.” The pair galloped away, heading towards the edge of Sevia. Kana, meanwhile, turned down a narrow street. Here the buildings cast shadows along the path, darkening the road entirely in some places. She traveled a few meters into the void before she stopped. Kana recognized the smell of cheap tobacco; this was the spot.

    “Alright, I am here,” she said out loud. Suddenly, huddled in a corner, a little flame flickered but shortly. In the glow of a match, a man’s face appeared as he moved to light the end of his cigarette. Once the tip caught fire, the man inhaled deeply, slowly stepping forward. A cloud of smoke spilled out between his lips as he pulled away from the dimness.

    “So, the Wolf made it back?” he asked, throwing the match beneath his shoe as he smiled broadly.

    “Sa. Just as we expected,” Kana said.

    “And what of the Tabran?” the man questioned, taking another breath of his smoke.

    “Well, what we did not anticipate was the effect she would have on their decision. It was close, but they managed to vote for continued warfare. Delte voted ‘Sa,’ to an Henron peace proposal, but that was for show, obviously, to cover our motives.”

    “Good, good,” the man mumbled. “Clever thinking.”

    “It is not all good news. Losha managed to garner a lot of support. Sventa’s position may be to fight Henron now, both rebel and loyalist, but that could well change during the next meeting. Based on the talk I just had with Losha, she remains adamant about helping the rebels herself.”

    “Not a problem, my dear Kana,” he said. “We will see to it that one of the divisions launches straight away into battle. By the time the Tabran switches favor to Losha’s side, those units will already be in deep; they will be ensnared by battle.”

    “But you know what they have, sa? You remember the report we got from our inside contact?”

    “Indeed. We are fully aware of the assessment BLACKDOG sent us. We know how powerful that so-called serasword is.”

    “Then you can also imagine the results if our soldiers face off against something of that nature...”

    “Kana,” the man said, holding his hands out to the side as he smirked. “That is exactly what we want. Picture this: an entire division gets wiped out by their new technology. Then the loyalists in Henron take aim at their own people, obliterating their opposing orders. At the end of it all, however, Losha proves victorious. We will build her into a legend, a woman who can take down armies and superweapons alike. Everyone will turn their eyes on her, on the power of serialization. Her art will be the very thing that launches Sventa to the status of a true superpower. And once she starts teaching others serialization, once she fulfills her dream of founding a school, we will have plenty of other capable serialists at our disposal. No one will dare stand against our might after this war. For the rest of the Central Plains to understand that, we need to make this an interesting show. We need a situation that demonstrates the true might of Losha’s powers, and our powers, eventually.”

    “So that is why our own people have to die,” Kana frowned, jerking her head to the side. The man simply shrugged her off.

    “Boz explained this already. The other clans will bow before us, in due time. First, let them see how great a single serasword is. Then let them see how great the Wolf is. Sacrifices must be made by all parties.”

    “And what if Losha fails to overcome that weapon? Henron could just as well annihilate us with it.”

    “Heh heh heh,” he chuckled, taking another drag. “Do not worry. She will win. Let us just say she has someone watching over her. Someone Boz trusts. We have made her into a Sventa hero through all of our careful efforts. We will not let anything happen to her. Anyway, I will pass along the message of what happened tonight. I believe we have talked enough, in the open that is. Valanya, Kana.” The man turned around and walked down the road, gradually disappearing altogether. For a while, Kana but stood there, staring at her feet. She shook her head, muttering something as she left herself.



    In the plains deep within Henron lands, a figure all at once wrenched himself upright. Rearing from the ground, he quickly sat straight. Panting in short, shallow intervals he felt his body racing within. His heart, his lungs, his very limbs: everything trembled as if shocked. His vision dashed from side-to-side, yet sight was but a blur to him. Despite his sudden movements, he soon became aware of an overpowering sense of fatigue. His strength quit as he fell on his backside. Immobilized by utter weakness, he could but lie there beneath the stars. A thought flashed across his mind as he realized the significance of the last few moments.

    “I’m alive,” Einer said aloud.

    “True,” said a woman’s gentle voice. “But hardly by any meaningful measure of that word.”

    Though he’d been stripped of most of his power, Einer yet managed to scowl. “Tch. F**k you, Marla,” he grumbled. “The hell are you out here for, anyway?”

    Marla, fair-haired and clear-eyed, was another member of King’s disciples. She stood in his blind spot as she talked to him. “You soul went dormant for approximately 26 hours, and you suffered a 94 percent loss of overall seras,” she said. “By all accounts, you should have died, or rather, most others would have. You were probably saved by a few decimal points of luck, or perhaps your own tenacity.”

    “Ugh...” he moaned, exhaling air. He remained incredibly tired. Every muscle ached as if robbed of vitality. “That wasn’t the answer to my question...”

    “King sent me, as it should be obvious.” Marla moved into view, approaching from the left and dropping to one knee by his side. She held up her hand as it glowed in a soft, pinkish light. “You have recovered 9.71 percent of your normal level of seras. Try not to move so much. You’ll drain yourself. Remember, my orders are to terminate you if you prove too far gone.”

    “Shrieks, do you really have to say it in that soft-spoken tone of yours? You know how much that pisses me off?!”

    “Try not to talk as well, Einer. That can exhaust you as much as moving.”

    “Just follow her lead on this, Einer,” said Laven as he walked over.

    “What? You’re already walking?” Einer exclaimed. “D****t, what the hell is this?”

    “Laven has a higher rate of seratic recovery,” Marla explained. “Unlike you, he can regain seras fairly quick. When I arrived, there was no need to consider eliminating him.”

    “Thanks, Marla, I suppose,” Laven sighed.

    “Oh, it was nothing to do with me. You didn’t qualify as unrecoverable,” she smiled.

    “Anyway,” Laven continued. “Now that Einer’s awake, perhaps it would be a good time to talk about that matter.” Laven and Marla sat down in the grass beside Einer.

    “It won’t do you any harm to listen, Einer, so just stay put here,” Laven said. Einer turned his head and grumbled lowly. “Alright then, Marla, who exactly did we encounter last night?”

    “You fought a man named Duke, an extremely skilled serialist.”

    “Yes, I believe he told us his name, and he certainly demonstrated his prowess to us. But who exactly is he?”

    “He is a problem,” Marla said. “Aside from King’s original ten disciples, no one else should have possessed any knowledge of serialization until Sambur Eltin abandoned us some 33 years ago. However, we know for a fact that Duke has no connections to Palostrol at all.”

    “How do we know that, by the way?” Laven asked.

    “King confirmed it himself. He knows Duke, personally.”

    “What?” Laven blurted as Einer snapped his head around.

    “Laven, you and Einer suspected that Duke was someone who remembered the past, correct? Someone who was there before King changed everything? If he has strong enough memories, he could have recalled the art of serialization on his own. That would explain his abilities, especially if he was once associated with King himself”

    “Even so,” Laven said, hunching forward, propping his arms up at the elbows and resting his chin in his hands. “That is just a theory, that people can even remember what happened over a thousand-plus years ago.”

    “Nabel does,” Marla pointed out.

    “Yes, but he was directly involved with those events. He is the original serialist after all. Not even his soul can forget all of that. Other people, however, shouldn’t be able to awaken that side of themselves. The old world is dead, after all.”

    “As you said, that’s the theory. Theories change. Number Ten is just the same as Duke. He’s returning to the serialist he once was.”

    “You can’t be serious...” Laven breathed. “Is that why King chose him to replace Sambur?”

    “In part,” Marla responded. “It seems they had a history as well, in the last age.”

    “When the hell do we get to meet the little b*****d anyway?” Einer asked. “And why the hell ain’t he helping us yet?”

    “You already have seen him on several occasions so far,” Marla corrected him. “You will find out for certain once this mission ends. For your second question, he’s already deployed in our service. He’s involved with Losha. He may not yet have established himself as a serialist, but he is proving useful in his own ways. Digressing, Duke is not a problem simply because he is a serialist.”

    “So, that element alone is not what most concerns us?” Laven asked.

    “No. While it is troubling that he is both strong and free to do as he pleases, the most pressing matter is how Duke keeps interfering with Losha.”

    “Yes, that struck us the most when we met him,” Laven agreed. “He said he had his own designs for Losha. He called her his ‘chosen’ as well. Duke claimed to be working in opposition to us, but that our end goals would be the same.”

    “F**k, I say that b*****d was just playing with our heads,” Einer spat. “Like he was trying to be a friendly foe or some crap like that.”

    “We know he has introduced Henron to that blasted serastone,” Laven noted. “He may not be teaching others serialization like Sambur, but serastone is just as destabilizing to King’s grand experiment.”

    “Actually,” Marla started. “King has decided it will not affect his final judgments. Remember, he wants to see if this world can handle the art of serialization. Serastone is heavily linked to serialization. This experiment of his hinges upon whether Losha can prove serialization won’t ultimately lead to ruin. She’s going to have to stop people from abusing its power. In King’s view, it’s pivotal that she overcome the Henron and their new weapon. Even if Duke had not given them serastone, it would have only been a matter of time before the world tries to repurpose serialization for such applications as warfare and destruction. Losha’s test is merely ahead of schedule, so-to-speak. King will step in, should she fail. Still, Duke’s intervention is highly undesirable.”

    Laven went silent for a while. “What if... That is to say, could it be that Duke wants to force King’s hand?”

    “What do you mean?” Marla asked, cocking her head to the side.

    “Look at what he’s done so far. He’s shown Henron serastone and meddled with various aspects of the war. We still don’t know how extensively he’s involved in this current conflict. It’s possible he may have even orchestrated it all from the beginning. Before we met him, we were watching Capital City, just after Losha’s battle there. The leader of this clan, Heigon Henron, suffered a most mysterious death some time ago. But someone has been calling shots during the past year. We found Duke’s seras frequency popping up all around here before we finally tracked him down last night. He operates from the shadows, the same as us. We didn’t even know about him until just yesterday. King’s experiment, Losha’s test... It may all have been tainted from the very first moment.”

    “If Duke wants King to take any sort of action,” Marla said, “he’d better be prepared for the consequences.”

    “This guy’s a beast,” Einer said. “I don’t think he’s worried about clashing with King.”

    “Still,” Laven wondered. “What purpose does he truly have? We don’t even know his real aim. As far as we can tell, we should assume the entire Henron state has done his bidding up until now. I’d wager he’s pulling strings in Sventa too. The worst part is, we were all totally unaware of anything.”

    “But now we aren’t,” Marla emphasized, standing up. “King wants you two to double your efforts here. If you see signs of Duke’s interloping, stop it. You don’t have to fight him, but should you chance upon those doing his work, like that Gandian scientist, please eradicate them.”

    “I doubt we’ll have to worry about Duke himself again,” Laven said as he too came to his feet. “We’ve lost all trails leading to him. He only let himself be detected last night, like he was luring us in. We barely made it through that match, but it wasn’t luck. He... wanted to send us a message.”

    “A message, huh?” Marla murmured. “Well, he certainly knows how to present himself. Regardless, you two couldn’t defend yourselves against much of anyone right now. I was told to wait here while you regain yourselves. I’ll continue keeping watch for the moment.”

    Einer tossed his head against the grass as he blew a stream of air past his lips. “F*****g d****t,” he swore lowly, tightening both fists. “This sucks.”

Author's Note

In the reaches of Aste, deep within the grasslands of the Central Plains, 14 warring clans mount constant warfare against one another. Through endless bloodshed, the people are forever rooted in a cycle of conflict. Returning to the place she once called home, Losha leaves Palostrol to go back to her family. Yet in their embrace she finds a world teetering on the brink of devestation. As King's words echo through her mind, she must decide if serialization holds the answers to peace. But are the consequences of failure are worth it? The path of the Continent's greatest struggle has only just begun. The Age of Serialization starts now.

The next installment comes July 29th, 2015. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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* Fautna is using the word "bloody" not in the sense of a minor curse, but actually likening the Tabran's plans to something blood-soaked.

* Herein the plot thickens. We know of at least three groups that are using Losha to their own ends 1) Nabel Viska wants to see how the art of serialization spreads under her charge. 2) Duke has as of yet mentioned plans, presumably on par with Nabels??? 3) Boz and others within Sventa want to use her as a force for their clan to become a superpower. And they're all intertwined. Duke has been manipulating both sides to fuel a war, apparently, giving the loyalists access to serastone and whatnot. Then there is Boz and his group who want to see the war persist to make a show of Losha (and simultaneously Sventa's) power. While King and his party observe all of this, at least one of their agents has been caught up in this mess (Number Ten, Master Eltin's replacement among King's disciples). King and Duke also had an unspecified relationship in the distant past.

* Speaking of distant pasts, the recurrent theme of an older, forgotten age reappears. Again, King is technically around 150 years old (the same as Rikta and Katra, his would-be brother-in-law and wife from the Besnol clan of the Central Plains) and that is the when he introduced the world to serialization, having discovered it himself. But the timeline Einer and Marla mention does not match up. Nor does the things Katra discussed with Siersus in Serial 51. Mysteries abound here, folks.

* Who is this "Number Ten" anyway? Einer mentioned him briefly in Serial 77, wondering if Duke was this same person. As Marla mentioned, you've met him already, several times in fact. By that same measure, who is the agent BLACKDOG the nameless man mentioned in this serial? Same answer: you're met him already, several times in fact ;)

* Einer can be a very provactive and confrontational person, but he generally refrains from dropping F-Bombs and swearing. Here, we see a change in that pattern, largely due to his defeat. Having lost to Duke, and being low on seras, he's a bit on edge. Just a bit :P

* Remember Marla? Yeah, she hasn't been seen since the first arc in Palostrol when King invaded the school (Serial 6!). She has a habit of saying blunt things, cold things in a serene or gentle voice, almost motherly in a way (well, anti-motherly).

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Any feedback is welcome. Just writing because I like it. Always wanted to make a weekly series, so I'm doing it.