The inclusion of Essa in the White Pantheon has fually shifted the dynamic, although that is only natural when a Goddess appears who represents magis. If it to me alohen I would have kept Essa as a t and deal with her in the same way we deal with tries, not individuals. As, she fought in the Great War, she did do her fair share.

  Unlike Divine Orders, whether it be Clerics, Guardians, Padins or Seekers, mages are fually a different css of people. Orders be described as military anisations, none have a life-vow amongst the lower ranks, and all selectively recruit didates. Whereas one is or is not a magi. There is no such thing as leaving Essa’s demesne, one ’t unlearn what they have learned. In the same fashion that hearing Kassandora’s music addicts oo the taste of War, Essa’s thirst for discovery is just as addig.

  So while the mages follow Essa’s ands in the same fashion Orders listen to their respective Divine, mages are not an Order. It is this discrepancy that brings about my rgest issue with Essa. If a Padio strike a man down in the middle of the street, then I would pay for it. Order responsibility is ily collective, Magi responsibility is kept individual. Essa simultaneously tries to pretend she is a single Divine, in the likes of Iniri, yet she is powerful enough to be sed to Alsaria, whilst also giving Magis the bes of Orderhood, whilst also representing her people as a nation-state.

  It is not that I vie for power, but I ot abide by this hypocrisy. Essa’s influence must be curtailed. I am sure that Fortia and even Helenna will agree with me.

  - Private Writings of Goddess Maisara, Of Order. Written shortly after the Great War, before Maisara voiced support for Anassa’s impriso and the transition of Arcadia from a War College.

  “We will have to stay at least a kilometre in the air. I’d prefer two, but one should be enough.” Kassandora said as the doors of Raptor Oarted to open. They had taken Lyca’s and Eliza’s team with them. Raptor Two was carrying Fleur’s and Edmonton’s close behind them. “Otherwise the men might start getting called.” Something in Kassandora doubted that sorcerers would fall prey to the Jungle’s whispers. If they mao survive Anassa’s awakening, they should be strong enough to resist the trees below, but sorcerers were too valuable to waste oing. Essa herself, Kassandora was already sure she would not. The woman simply did not the character to fall to madness like that.

  “I’ll hold you then.” Essa said.

  “Not a sorcerer?”

  “Do you trust me or some mortal?” Essa asked coldly, Kassandora saw the sorcerers in the back all turn away. Some were ashamed, like Eliza, some took it as a fact. Lyca did not seem happy about the ent, although it was true. Did they really think themselves better than Gods?

  “We’ll go first then.” Kassandora said as she walked past the sorcerers. Forty people on Raptor One, with the pne refurbished to make room for ammunition ste, made the rear a tight fit and she sciously avoided stepping on toes. Not out of politeness, but she khat with her weight, there would be more than a few broken bones if she did.

  Essa followed close behind. Kassandrabbed her hand as the rear doors started to open. The Goddess of War clicked her earpiece. “Dougs, how much further are we before the stomach?”

  “I see it already. Three seds and I’d be jumping.” Kassandrabbed Essa and looked out past the edge of the rear door. The moment she saw the telltale sign that they had arrived: the sudden cliff-face that was the only part not flood by shrubbery and trees and other pnts in the Jus surface the colour of aged bone, Kassandrabbed Essa and jumped.

  Ultimately, Kassandora had never been a trusting person. It was much better to have some leverage over a person than to simply go ahead and simply trust them. Arascus and Fer were much better in this regard. Even Olephia was. Kavaa and Iniri and maybe Helenna, although to Kassandora, she didn’t look like much of a truster. So she had aken the ring off Essa, not for that entire flight, not for the briefing, not once. Essa had not asked, whether it ride or simple assurahat Kassandora would eventually, the Goddess of War did not know. But whatever the case, they now fell, holding each other’s hands, looking into each other’s eyes. Kassandora’s firavelled along Essa’s until she felt the ring. There was no other way, for Essa to use magic, Essa had to be able to use it. For that to happen, Kassandora had to trust that the woman would not immediately go ba her word. Kassandora blinked as she made a stupid realisation.

  Kassandora was afraid.

  And with that knowledge, she simply ighe feeling, sequestered it off somewhere, and ripped Anassa’s tai ring off Essa’s finger. Kassandora felt the air catch her immediately, it was nothing like Anassa’s grasping cw that carried her like a child through the air. Instead, it was a soft pillow of air Kassandora nded and stood up in as Essa correct her posture. Behihe eighty-four sorcerers jumped out of the ttor jets. The pnes did not slow even for a moment, the moment they had deposited their cargo, the sped off into the horizon. Oheir rear doors had finished closing, they both broke the sound barrier and veered off into the distance.

  Kassandora looked down War’s Orchestra began to py its tune. She saw the Jungle’s maw, those teeth, one chipped. That must be the one Fer had broken through back then during their escape. The mouth, from straight above, the ivory bones in the inside of that pit were visible. The Jungle around her, an endless sea of green that flooded into ravines and slowly cmbered over mountains. A few of the sorcerers came into view as they desded to meet Essa and Kassandora.

  And War’s Orchestra reached them. They had already agreed, and Kassandora had told them to embrace her, so they did. They froze in the air as war started to fuel war. Their senses were shared in an overp manner, each man looking through each man’s eyes, and Kassandora through them all as she arrahem in lihe four most senior sorcerers closest by, as each person fuelled themselves indepely, yet also using Kassandora’s orders. She told them to stay at her level, so they did, how was unimportant: Some stood on the air, others sat os of hardened wind, others yet simply floated on giant invisible cushions of sorcery. And Kassandora reached to Essa.

  Kassandora felt Essa’s mind reach through hers. The tune of War’s Orchestra ged, from the slow drums and violins tans and flutes. Their tunes danced around each other, fading out as others took their pce. Essa started to siune, and the sorcerers followed. From the green Jungle underh, it was all bck specks in the sky, as if they were dirty pieces of stu one’s eye. Essa moved them long a spiral, each magi raising their arms and mirr Essa’s movements.

  Essa started ting. The sorcerers followed.

  The sorcerers flew higher, their bodies used as catalysts for Essa’s power. Kassandora heard the tune of War Orchestra’s ge once again as Essa’s voice copied itself out in a choir, of her notes adding to the geune as the Goddess guided the mortals through Kassandora. They spread out, Kassandora did not even bother to try and figure out the ritual circle, nor the words they had started to t. The glowing around person amplified, light started to swell and distort around them as the Jungle screamed out from below. Kassandora only stood, frozen in the air, as Essa kept on guiding her magic.

  For once, she had e across something that was not her demesne.

  And Kassandora stood there as the Jungle screamed out from below. When they were this far up though, there was nothing the trees below could do but watch. So they screamed. Vines shot upwards, yet they only mao cross half their distance before ing to a stop. They strained in the air, they Jungle screamed again, the teeth around the Jungle’s stomach started to close. Kassandora smiled at the rea, one of them was chipped, where Fer had smashed through it on the way out when they rescued Iniri.

  That wasn’t even so long ago, yet it felt like a different age. “I have e back.” Kassandora said to it. She didn’t even know if they Jungle could hear it, for ohough, she allowed herself to indulge. “You should have killed me when you got the ce.” Kassandora took a deep breath as beams of pure light blue mana, magic distilled into its most raw form, shot upwards from the sorcerers. “Now, weep as you watch at how killing is done.”

  And another beam shot from Essa as the woman raised her hands. The sorcerers all copied the motion, a few shifted position as the spell they were casting started to have an effect. The winds around them started to twist and blow as they circled. As if Kassandora was stood in running water that rapidly ged temperatures, the wind came on her hot at first, then freezing cold, then warm. Dust started to form a rolling curtain around them as the flutes and ans pying through War’s Orchestra started to pick up.

  And then, it all died down. Everythi silent. Even the instrument pying in Kassandora’s mind started gave up. The curtains of dust colpsed, even the Jungle was silent. Yet magic still poured out of the sorcerers and out of Essa. The winds started to pick up speed again, pulling everything upwards as if trying to rip the Ju by the roots. Kassandora looked down as she saw the trees and vines retreating. The maw had shut entirely, the only sliver still visible of the inside was through the little chipped tooth.

  And Kassandora looked up. She saw the Sun fade away. Its fantastic light, its heat and warmth were dulled as a b of night asded from out of Essa. It spread out like a slow flood or the beginnings of an avanche as it devoured the bright blue sky away. And in came the night to repce it, not Irinika’s overp darkness, so bck that it was difficult to breath, but the most beautiful sky Kassandora had ever seen. As if all heaven above had e to visit Arda.

  Auroras sauntered across the sky in greens and purples and reds and es as vivid gaxies lit up the background. All pale shades of cream that gently oscilted in colour, and moved and swayed as if they were specks of dirt floating on a puddle of disturbed water. Stars shot across the sky, from any and every dire, but always out of Kassandora’s vision, until they settled in their positions and formed shapes and steltions Kassandora had never seen. All heaven above started to move.

  s of rocky asteroids stretched is across new sky as they iwihemselves betwees. Pntes red, ps blue, ps green, e and broink and . Gas giants formed as the gaxies started to dehe stars burst out in lights and started to smash against each other. Worlds cracked as the rocks above crashed into them, and the gas giants set alight. All heaven above burst out in fme and fire.

  Not Worldbreaking. That had been done before. This was something greater. Something that had never been tried before. Yet why? It was not impossible; it had simply never been done before. So it was.

  All heaven above started to fall.