When faced with an open fire i, is the solution to blow on it first? Then to work upwards in scales of strength, matg the fire’s power in order to make sure that the fight is fair? Only culminating in flooding the house ohe bze has devoured it? No, the idea is farcical. To defeat the fme, the fme must be overpowered. This is easier do the start, when the fire is merely burning the stove rather thaire kit.

  This battle against the fme be extrapoted to every flict. Sports teams do not win matches through matg their oppos, in situations like that, the reactive force is always in the inferior position. This is simply by virtue of the proactive attacker being able to choose battles where they pick. Possession of strength and no ability or willio use it is simply known as ‘weakness’. The only differeween warfare and other petitions of this nature is that warfare is uinged with violence. In all other cases, the differences between a game and a war are merely ones of scale ahetic.

  Ultimately, if violence is the problem; hyperviolence is the solution.

  - Excerpt from “Steel and Sorcery Doe”, written by Goddess Kassandora, of War, with help from Arascus, of Pride, Irinika, of Darkness & Anassa, of Sorcery.

  Damian Sokolowski had been shocked how many times in his life? He had been shocked and surprised ba Lubska, when he was still a child and a girl kissed him. He had been shocked when she had said yes to going out with him. He had been shocked when he found her with another man. Then he joihe Clerid risen through the ranks of the Order of the Twis. There, he had been shocked an untable amount of times in the first year, and never again: There was only so many times you could see someoh before even that got too on to have effect. And once death was mundane, what wasn’t?

  He supposed he had been shocked when the Clerics had been tasked to free Kassandora, although by that point, he had seen too much to be shocked. The only surprise was that it was the Twis that had been chosen to siege Olympiada’s Skyport. He had joined Kassandora, it was obvious from the start that the Goddess would choose him to and. He had not risen so quickly through the ranks to somehow doubt his own skill at leadership. He had seen Olephia annihite the Caretaker. He had seen Essa’s dispy of power when he was tasked to hold the tral Front in the Invasion of Kirinyaa. He had seen Melukal and he had seen the Recmation War.

  Had he been shocked o?

  Well he was shocked now. The radio fell from his hands as he felt his jaw slide open. The two tall ears bursting out of Fer’s unbrushed golden locks quivered as the woman turned her ba and looked over the hill. The Goddess of Beasthood, her clothes overflowing with fur that covered her whole body, tail swishing from side to side, smiled in pride.

  A mountain began to grow from the horizon. Slowly it rose, to the size of a skyscraper. Its mane a perfect shining gold that reflected the afternoon Sun. Each time it lifted one of those massive legs and smmed its paw back down on the ground, the world shook. The Lion stopped, lifted its head high, and roared. Helenna awoke from her shock before Sokolowski did. “Wh-what is that?”

  “I’ve not given him a . It’s just the Lion for now.” Fer said as that giant looked out from its hill down onto the city. Nanbasa, once a glori of silver and sandstone and steel built around an animal reserve that housed the species who lost their native homends in the wake of the Jungle’s growth. With the rgest port this side of Arika and a stant flow of huge ships seeking to gain access to the city’s huge industrial distriow? The industrial district was no more, the specialist maery had been evacuated west under Kassandora’s Order, the warehouses ay factory plexes had been rigged to serve as yet another speedbump for Uriamel’s army.

  Iniri’s sea-wall, grown from the ground and filled with a co of crete and steel, gone. Blown open and then crushed by the jaws of those massive turtles. The northern district, devastated and reduced to mere ravines on the ground by Alsaria’s beams, then pstered with spikes from Arascus’ onry. The southern part of the ring, bombed and shelled into the ground. The animal reserve in the tre of the ring was nothing but scorched earth from napalm. And the goveral district, in the process of gettiroyed by shelling and Uriamel’s beasts moving through it.

  Damian turo look at Fer again. “Should I call off the artillery strikes?”

  The Goddess she air and shook her head. “Stop firing at the monster.” She poi Ktulu. Uriamel’s massive titan took aep as it locked eyes with the lion. Ktulu’s of tentacles grew taller, its peak opened and closed as it tasted the air. Huge muscles on its arms and chest bulged and veins popped out from us dark-grey skin. Fer ighe monster’s show entirely. “But keep on firing at the city.” Damian started signalling the orders across the radio as Fer tinued. “Keep your carpet bombings to the rear too, block off their retreat.”

  “Uood Goddess.”

  Fer she air again and looked around. “I’ll take one area here.” The final few of Damian’s forces finally made it out of the city. Infantry madly scrambling from Uriamel’s shoulders armed with poisonous swords of red coral. “I’ll take the road, how about that?” How exactly was Damian supposed to answer? Helenna, he could deny. Helenna was not a fighter, but Fer? Denying Fer was like denying Anassa. At least, that’s how he thought about it.

  Damian looked down to Pawel in the driver’s seat. Wiktor in the passenger. Mateusz who was fiddling with wires on the big radio box that enabled Damian to unicate with the rest of the army. All three men, so attentive usually, somehow just happeo have their attention stolen by a more pressing issue. How fortunate for them! Lovely! Wasn’t it!? “Go ahead and good luck.” Damian said and Fer chuckled coldly as started walking off.

  “Luck won’t be a facteneral.” She said. “But if you fire on me, we’ll have a chat ter.” She shouted as Damian grabbed his radio.

  “All troops, I repeat, All troops! Do NOT, Do NOT fire at the road. Goddess Fer is going to be there. I repeat, do NOT fire at the main road. Any heavy vehicles, keep yuns away from it. Do not even THINK about firing anywhere near Fer.” Helenna’s death would probably be a dismissal from his position. Maybe there would even be a way for Damian to talk his way out of it. Fer though? Damian would not let so much as a hair be harmed on someone who Kassandora called her sister.

  The replies came in quickly. “Uood General.”

  “Copy that.”

  “Read you loud and clear.”

  Damian turned back to the Lion, it was still stood on that hill, looking at Ktulu. It’s golden eyes, se Damian could clearly make them out from here, were sing the ruined city of Nanbasa. Damian pulled his eyes away as he watched Fer. “You know what?” Pawel asked from the driver’s seat.

  “Don’t say it.” Wiktor added from o him.

  “Would.” Pawel said and Damian sighed and shook his head. Helenna coughed from behind them and Damian’s eyes widehey had all fotten she was there.

  “How tasteful.” She said.

  “Well I said it now, ’t take it back.” Pawel said quickly as if that was any sort of expnation.

  “You just-“ Helenna’s words were cut off by Fer’s roar. Fer was rge, but she was still a Goddess. A roar that loud should e out of a whale, not a divine only twice the size of a human. The sound echoed back when it bounced against the burning ruins of the city. And then the Lion answered back. Damia his ears start t against that massive wave of sound. The ground started to shake, owice, stronger each time. The civilians in the back started screams, and then stopped them when they realised that whatever this new monster was, it had not e to hurt them.

  A pair of close-air-support jets once again flew close by, autoaking long trails of tiny explosions along the ground as the two jets honed in on a pair of the giant bck crabs Uriamel used as siege engines and line breakers. Damian realised his previous orders had scared the men into not shooting. He clicked the radio once again. “All units, avoid Fer, but fire at will.” The men irearted to fire sporadically in bursts at the creatures emerging from the city. The ranks of Lynx battle-tanks opened fire, two buildings immediately fell down, colpsed by explosions of rod rubble at their bases. Skysweeper AA guns, retuo fire at ground targets, started to tear into anything that moved. Fer stood there, unmoving and watg the shells past her aate anything and everything that ran out of Nanbasa’s goveral district. More buildings started to colpse. A tower from deeper in was hit by a barrage of artillery shells and colpsed.

  And then it all went silent. For a moment, Damian thought that the Sun had suddenly set. He looked up and saw the shadowed stomach of the giant lion above him. Fer should not roar that loud, but Damian could believe she could roar like that. But something that big should not be able to leap through the air like that. It was bzingly fast too, the only reason the shadow above his head sted so long was because of the Lion’s sheer size. And as Damian watched, he realised what was about to happen, and only mao instinctively hurl the order into the air. “TO GROUND!”

  Men dived into their trehose who heard him anyway, as Damian simply let the strength leave his legs and fall to the floor of the off-road car, arms ing around the seat that housed his radio. The Lion’s paws nded on the ground. Its rear legs did.

  And the world shook.

  What tanks and artillery mao do to the city over several barrages, what Alsaria and Arascus had done over several hours of bat between themselves, the lion did in a single jump. The goveral sector of Nanbasa did not shake, the buildings did not start to topple, they did not crack.

  The entire district of the city crumbled. From the shaking ground and uhe winds that ripped rifles out of men’s hands, that made Helenna grab onto the heavy vehicle to maintain her band that even made Fer ge her stao better withstand them. The guopped, even the heavy vehicles and artillery, did. The few of Uriamel’s forces that made it out the city, that weren’t smashed into pulp uhose heavy paws, were just as stunned as Damian’s forces.

  And finally, Ktulu gave a rea that wasn’t simple advang towards Damian’s forces. He ged postures. He lifted up his arms, as if preparing to strike the Lion, his huge muscles pulsed agai one leg forwards.

  And the Lion dropped down to the ground as it stalked around the giant titan. Size wise, the differeween them was the same as between a man and a human. The Lion only reached up to Ktulu’s hips, yet if it stood on its hind legs, it would easily tower over the titan.

  And it moved far too quickly for a man to react too. Damian doubted he would be able tet it with artillery. A bombing run would have to e in close in order to actually score a hit. The Lion dropped, growled, its tail high, its mane shining. It took a step into the rubble and crushed a pack of sea-wolves that were trying to dig themselves out.

  Fer sighed and started to walk baian. “Looks like there’s nothing for me to do today.” She said just as the Lion jumped. It pounced. Ktulu took a step backwards, spun, his of tentacles dropping as if to try and protect his neck.

  And the Lion’s jaw tried to close on Ktulu’s side. The titan took a stupidly fast step backwards as it turned and used the momentum to smash its fist into the Lion’s side. The great feline was thrown backwards, but it recovered before its paws even made tact with the ground. A bruise for a scratch.

  Damian tightened his jaw. At least the Lion had forced a rea from Ktulu, that was already more than all the artillery shelling had done. “Should I and the artillery to fire?” Damian asked Fer.

  “Hold it, he won’t .” Fer replied fidently. Damian narrowed grit his teeth together as he watched the brawl. Ktulu was certainly not untouchable, but it wasn’t a battle between a man and a normal lioher. A man would have already fallen to the scratches, yet Ktulu’s wounds were regeing. And the feline’s? Damian Sokolowski had no idea. Ktulu punched and kicked and fought like a boxer, all blunt attacks that looked at if they would break bone.

  O was o. Even a novice could strike a blow on an expert. Yet two? Five? When the Lion had taken a dozen blows, Damian grabbed his radio and started rolling his finger over the transmission button. The only reason he had not called one i was because he was scared of hitting the feli wasn’t a question of morality, it was a question of what would happen if they feline wanted revenge even for actal-friendly fire.

  “ he kill it?” Damian asked, he could not take it anymore. Ktulu’s chest was scratched but the Lion was moving slower whereas the tita on closing his wounds. The animal was also starting to breathe heavily, its huge maw gulping the air down greedily as if it was water in the middle of the desert.

  Fer made a terribly smug ugh. “Do you think I only brought ohe Goddess of Beasthood pointed upwards into the clouds as they grew darker. At first, Damian had merely dismissed them as rain clouds, now though, he could see it was something differeirely. The dark spot of the clouds was a shadow being cast on them, a shadow from above.

  The Lion once again growled, once again it jumped forwards. A cw swiped at Ktulu’s chest, skin was broken. Ktulu recovered, picked his arm up and smmed down. Ahis time, the Lion did not dodge. It drove the hit deeper and as body so that its ribs would take the blow. The titan dug his heels into the ground, creating two huge walls of earth iy. Its beak made a shriek as the Lion’s jaw closed onto its side, yet its arms closed around the animal o it as if it was trying to crush the humungous feline in a great hug.

  That bck shadow in the clouds grew darker, from light grey to monotone crete. And then they erupted into feathers of pitch bck. A head of ugly flesh red, eyes furious and bloodshot. And a beak that may as well have been an enormous hook. Two great sets of talons, dived onto Ktulu’s back as the Vulture screamed and curled its head down like a snake.

  That hook stabbed into Ktulu’s neck. The vulture pushed its wings back as it pulled out a string of muscle from the giant. Ktulu shrieked a go of the Lion. The beast dropped down like a wolf and its jaw closed around Ktulu’s calf.

  Uriamel’s forces, standing still and watg from the o, started to wail and scream as Ktulu lost its bahe vulture fpped those massive wings momentarily creating two tornados of dust and blood and stone, and Uriamel’s forces advahat reminded Damian Sokolowski he still had an army behind him. He clicked his radio. “All forces, avoid the Lion and the Vulture, those are tagged red.” On Kassandora’s maps, red was friendly forces, red like the Goddess’ hair. “Fire onto the industrial distrid the beach. Don’t let them reinfort Ktulu. I want a carpet bombing north-south as soon as possible.”

  The Vulture made it half-way to the clouds as Sokolowski’s artillery started firing from behind him, and then the bird swallowed that tendril of flesh it had in its peak. It turned immediately, taloended, wings rex upwards, beak ready for a swing, as it entered a freefall onto Ktulu. The Lion lifted up a huge paressed it against the monster’s thigh. Ktulu, shrieking in fury, tried to lean down and swipe at the feline assaulting its leg with a huge-closed fist.

  The Lion was faster. It pushed with its leg, pulled with its head, and Ktulu’s entire calf was torn from his body, down to the pale bohat supported his leg. Immediately, the giant started to topple backwards as artillery pounded into the ground behind it. The Vulture went for Ktulu’s front this time, leaving two giant gashes down his stomach with its curling talons, and tearing as his thigh with its beak. Ktulu smashed into the ground, a wave of dust carried on the wind toppled another one of the few buildings that somehow mao stay standing throughout the battle.

  And the great feline circled around to Ktulu’s head. “Natural hunter.” Fer whispered, her voice full of pride. “Straight for the jugur.” The Lion’s jaw closed around Ktulu’s neck, tentacles and all, as the giant pressed gave o one final swipe at the legs. A paw smashing into Ktulu’s elbow stopped the attack. Ktulu gave one spasm as the Lion shook it head from side to side.

  And in one great swing, the Lion pulled its head up. A fountain of blood from the giant easily as tall as any of the great es that had once been in the docks. It let the ks of flesh, the tentacle and broken bone and shattered beak fall from its maw. The Lion, streams of blood se they may as well have been rivers flowing from its mouth, stood up tall. Its roar came as the set of carpet bombi fire to the ruined city behind it.

  Against all odds, as had been done before, so was done now.

  Kirinyaa stood.

  - - - End of Arc 8: Mad World- - -