The Dark Covenant

THE DELEGATES MEETING: CONVERSION OF CHAOS

FLASHBACK

Slejj and Daito were outside, both enjoying their day in their own unique way. At the moment, Daito was reading some literary works by one of his favorite authors. Slejj was soaking in as much sunlight as he could while avoiding the clouds, occasionally casting sneaky glances towards Daito, who was doing his best to avoid him. Slejj inhaled deeply before closing his eyes and muttering his ideas aloud. He then returned his gaze to Daito, clearing his throat violently.

He said, vaguely, "I kidn*pped you."

Daito tried to ignore his nagging, but this wasn't one of his normal obnoxious musings.

He was perplexed. "What?" he inquired. Slejj was slow to answer.

"

Have you ever imagined what it might be like to return to Royal Republic?"

"Never, ever... Because there's no way I'm going back."

"Are you confident you'll never return to North Angus? What if they discover I'm hiding in Defectors State and come to arrest me, and they, in turn, find you?"

"Well, unless you're stupid enough to get caught, I'll just find a way out and hide," 

"In any event, it doesn't have to be an option; as soon as they catch me, put this on your wrist; I'm sure someone will figure it out," he said as he drew an oblique design on the muddy ground with a piece of wood.

"Is that a slave emblem?" "

"So you understand my plan?"

"Yes, either right now you're drunk, or you are stupid, or both!"

Slejj paused for a while to relinquish the laughter quickly building up inside his elderly lungs.

"Look, kid, what do you think will happen when you return to Royal Republic? What will people think of you? The dark bender who ran away because he was too afraid to face his responsibilities. You are one half of the duo who is supposed to lead the entire nation, and do you think people will respect you, a coward? No one will take orders from a frail man who runs away from his responsibility. Look, kid, I'm already a traitor, or so people say, and my return to Royal Republic is going to end in one way or another with execution, so if I can't help you right now, I might as well go down preserving your reputation."

"... That's stupid. You know I'm never going to agree to that..."

Slejj re-lit his pipe and inhaled the energizing smoke, "When the time comes, you'll see that I'm making sense, and you'll make the proper choice," he said as he blew a ring of smoke into the air and watched it dissipate.

Daito paused for a moment, moving his gaze away from the book for a time to comprehend Slejj's comments. He did make sense; no man would appreciate a spineless wimp like him, so he made up his mind over time. He had no choice but to do what needed to be done. Once again, fate treated heroes as trash, never acknowledging their selfless efforts for the greater good.

PRESENT DAY

They sat quietly in the back of the train, serializing the events to make sense of how they had arrived at this moment. The troops were on high alert, their sweating hands gripping their lances firmly, and the fact that they were riding with the feared traitor gave them ample reason to be terrified. They all rushed off of their wooden seats when Slejj sneezed, preparing to impale him.

Daito was also riding in the same carriage, which added to their anxiety. A divine magician capable of wiping them out of existence with a flick of his wrist. Worse, they had no idea of his loyalties, whether he was still under the influence of the slave insignia or whether he had defected.

The carriage was a sweltering mass of sweating frantic troops and two revered prisoners in either case.

With Alvatrone, Albert, and Lora, Alicia rode at the front of the pack. Alicia felt betrayed; she had no idea why she wasn't a member of the make-up family, but she was upset about how things had turned out.

Lisa had been awakened by the uproar and had remained silent ever since; she was riding in the back of one of the State Guards' horses, Carrs Armani to be precise. Reene and the twins rode alongside the captives' carriage, getting dangerously close to it at points, waiting for the horses hauling it to walk over some rocks, jostle the carriage, and swing the curtains apart so he could catch a glimpse of the dark bender. He was dying for a full-fledged chat with Daito, but he wouldn't be so eager if he knew how 'talkative' Daito was.

Albert decided to break the silence by asking, "So, Alicia Iko, I'm guessing you know who I am."

Alicia took some time to bottle up her raging emotions and to be sure traces of them were not to be left on her speech.

"Yes, that's me. I do know you."

"A very promising State Guard. I appointed her myself." Alvatrone jumped in.

"I see, promising indeed, you know Lora told me if it weren't for your signal she would have never found out where Slejj was?"

What signal? Alicia wanted to ask but Lora intervened before she could.

"

The forest's burned-out state guard cloak. I saw it and knew you were in trouble right away, which is why I intercepted Slejj before he had a chance to go, remember? " She finished by moving her eyebrows slightly, a signal for Alicia to decipher, and she continued to ponder what this strategy was.

She was initially perplexed by the slave insignia and other details, but she was persuaded that the only reason they were apprehended was that Lora sold them out, and she was certain of it. Now she would be considered as a victim rather than the hero she desired to be.

"So," Alicia inquired, "what's going to happen to them?"

"The delegates conference is in three days, therefore I'm betting the council will decide Slejj's fate there, while Daito will be safe. We're only holding him captive for his own protection; we don't know if he's still under the slave emblem influence, so we're confining him as a precaution. For his good performance dispatching knight guards in the arrest of the fugitive, Albert will be promoted to second rank lieutenant. Lora will receive a state recommendation and be promoted to work as a state guard in the Royal Republic, reporting to the king. You, you get to reunite with your family and friends and the dark bender returns just in time to defend his seat in the delegates meeting. All ends well, just as fate planned."

So it was all for the sake of promotions, I knew it! Alicia spoke in hushed tones to herself. Lora had sold them out for a promotion, and she, along with her loyal snot of a boss, were all in on it.

They waved Garwin goodbye as they crossed the border at sunset. Back in the Royal Republic, Drom learned of the situation and learned that the commander would arrive in a day with the two surprises. The god Arekin's whisper was unfolding, and despite the fact that it was supposed to be good news, it didn't sit right with him. Was he ready to face his doom, as Dark bender Hashi had said earlier?

South of the walls, nefarious schemes for the destruction of the Independent States were afoot, the vurhanil king and his right-hand man Dakario's surprise arrival was imminent, and outside the walls, a truce had been reached between old adversaries. Kanchi Asobi and the Tyrant were on their way to the Capital, accompanied by a contingent of knights prepared to destabilize the already frail and feeble form of government.

The clan with the eight heads waited in the shadows for the dark bender to return. They had big plans for him, and he was the focal point of it all.

The forgotten god up in the skies had sensed a reunification between him and his long lost brother Alestio, the flower garden he trampled on reminded him of a wicked past, but also gave him hope, and so began his journey out of the prison dimension and into the mortal realm to reunite with his long lost brother Alestio, and so began his journey out of the prison dimension and into the mortal realm to reunite with his long lost brother Alestio, and so he started his voyage out of the prison dimension and into the mortal realm to meet him, down below the old Dark bender. The Shinigami Akoru whispered to Hashi, telling him of the second conflict, which was just around the corner, and how thousands of souls would flood the gates of the dead.

Three days felt like an eternity, and they were there before they realized it. As they approached Royal Republic, crowds of observers began to form in the streets, and rumors began to spread throughout the town. They'd been missing for seven years, but now they'd returned.

It was reported that the nation could sense the coming of a major struggle, with strong winds from all directions adding fuel to the fire, a lack of rain to dry the battlefields for c*****e, and the sky filled with fowls fleeing the marching army. Drom knew what was coming as he sat on his throne for the first time in a long time, he knew this delegates meeting wasn't going to be a celebration, worst of all he knew he didn't have the power to stop whatever was coming.