Cassius was fidgeting in place, gauntleted hands drumming against each other's fingers. Butterflies were making themselves home in his stomach as he waited outside of Tomusir’s tent. Looking up, Cassius noticed a few guards farther out eyeing him with both parts of awe and confusion. “Maybe, I shouldn't have accepted this armor from High Paladin Zakir,” said Cassius as he looked down at his pink suit of armor. It was hot pink with turquoise inlays, and large shoulder additions were bulging out. A Wyvern skull was molded into the chest area to give it a menacing look and adding the hard cutting designs, it made for a supreme overlord look - if it wasn't pink.

Sighing, he looked at where the group of guards were murmuring to each other. As his and their eyes connected, you could see them visibly flinch, quickly the murmuring got louder as they dispersed into smaller groups. Shaking his head, Cassius was definitely regretting wearing this suit of armor. It was more trouble than its worth.

“Come In!” said Tomusir from inside the tent. Hearing this, Cassius looked himself over once more and cleared his throat. “Okay, let's do this,” he whispered to himself as he walked towards the tent flap. Pushing it out of the way, he was slammed into a wall of burning incense. A hundred different smells and tastes assaulted him without remorse, quickly dispatching him and any form of mental defense he had created. Coughing, he tried to suck in as much air, but only found the incense to inhale. It took a while, but with effort, he was finally able to get past the suffocating wall.

“Stop being shy. Get in here,” said Tomusir in a voice filled with mirth. He was standing on the other side of the tent leaning against a massive chest that made the air around it waver. It was either packed with magic or magical items. Wearing a black leather armor, and his signature scimitars in black sheaths, it was hard to stare directly at him - or find him - in the darkness. Luckily for both of them, there were a few torches that made everything in the room visible.

“You look wonderful. Did Zakir choose that for you?” He asked as he tried to hide his smile. Who would have thought someone would actually wear the pink armor of demise. Cassius, who was completely oblivious to Tomusirs attempt at a joke, replied with a serious look and a quick nod, “Yes, sir. High Paladin Zakir gave me the privilege of wearing this suit of armor. Though I fear it may look too nice. The guards and some of the more elite warriors have constantly been eyeing me as I walk by. I do not enjoy having so much attention, even more so when it is because of something I have not achieved.”

Laughing, Tomusir shook his head. While Cassius was a rising star among rising stars, he was oblivious to many things an average person would be quite aware of. Having waited for a while, and Tomusir not forthcoming in this discussion, Cassius took it upon himself to get it moving in the right direction. The ritual itself was only an hour away, and staying here past that would get both in big trouble. “You wanted to see me, sir?” he asked with a neutral voice.

“Hmm, yes, I did want to see you. But, I am facing a conundrum. Which should I give you, the first or the second? Of course, the second is close to my heart, and it would pain me terribly to lose it today.” said Tomusir, his voice thoughtful but undecided. Rubbing his chin, he walked away from the chest he had been at, and towards a brown table, that seemed to have been made with an ancient tree considering it had too many rings on its surface, with two chairs he had set up beforehand. Gesturing at it, he said, “Take a seat, Cassius. No need to be so worked up. We have a good hour before the ritual.” Sitting down with a creek from the chair, Cassius drummed his fingers on the table waiting for Tomuisr to continue.

Yet, unbeknownst to him, Tomusir was testing his fortitude by merely looking him in the eyes. Most people would be too afraid of looking others - especially those of great power - in the eyes. They would look away, trying to find anything else to occupy their sights. Seconds passed, but their eyes never disconnected. Surprised at the result, Tomusir began to chuckle lightly. Shaking his head, he said, “No wonder Zakir keeps bringing you into the meetings. Good, you won't be eaten alive leading, the soon to be, strongest mortals alive.”

Cassius tilted his in confusion, “What do you mean?” Tomusir was more confusing than usual, a task Cassius believed was impossible. “Nothing, Nothing at all,” said Tomusir with a giant smile that showed large canines in a set of perfectly white teeth.

Reaching into a pocket hidden within his leather armor, Tomusir pulled out a silver chain. “ I want to give you this amulet. I should be much-needed help you will need to get there unscathed,” he said as he laid out the amulet on the table. It shined in the dark and flickering light of the torches. Silver, at the bottom it had a triangular shield perfectly unmarred by any design. “Really? That tiny thing will keep me alive through all the bombardment we are expecting to receive?” asked Cassius skeptically. How would that small trinket stop a massive fireball? Or a Warhammer?

“Yes,” said tomusir overenthusiastically, “This is one of a kind. A relic of a time long gone and a treasure of my family. Passed down from generation to generation by my fathers and those before them. It is called The Amulet of Protection. It will create a barrier of pure mana, that for a long time should hold out. If I am right, only in the last few seconds would you find yourself without its protection.” Cassius watch as Tomusir eyes seemed to glaze, reminiscing a past he did not know of.

“That powerful, I don't think I have enough mana within me to charge something like that,” he said, cautiously, he did not want to break something that important. “Do not worry about that. It is fully charged and holds within it a massive mana stone that slowly gathers ambient mana from the surroundings,” replied Tomusir as he began to rub the amulet, a painful past haunting his eyes. “I understand,” said Cassius, he did not want to break Tomusir out of his reverie. Moments of remembrance and pain are necessary to overcome wounds that have lasted for long periods. Cassius, being the recipient of great sorrows and struggles, empathized with those emotions greatly.

“This is the amulet I used to when I fought the wyvern,” Tomusir closed his eyes, but with a sudden intensity, he opened them, staring Cassius with a burning gaze.

“Listen to my final advice. The men will test you before the attack. They will look you in the eyes and demand your attention. Do not look away no matter what unless they do so first. If you lose once, you will lose control of the entire strike force. You are unproven, and to others, you are a product of connections and nothing more. You got into the Church of Light because Zakir owed your mother a favor when he was saved by her. Then she died, and you left in the slums of Grantua, so he took care of you, and made you his personal attendant. Not even a few months later you were chosen to lead one of the most important assaults, if not the most important in recorded history, just because had a connection to Zakir.” said Tomusir, the burning light slowly dimming, but he continued on interrupting Cassius before he could speak.

“What? I wo-”

“I know that, and so do the other leaders, but they don't know that, do they?” he questioned, his eyes narrowing as he waited for Cassius’s reply.

“N-No.”

“Good, we expect great things from you, Cassius. Don't fail us by dying out there.” a hint of warmth sounded out in between the massive expectations placed on Cassius's shoulders. Taking a deep breath Cassius exhaled slowly, the pressure kept increasing every moment leading up to the ritual. It was almost unbearable, but he was going to make it, he had too.

“Cassius! Tomusir! The ritual is about to begin. Hurry up!” Zakir’s voice boomed from outside the tent, signaling the end of their long moment of silence. Looking at each other, Cassius finally nodded at Tomusir as they got up from the chairs they sat on. Leaving the tent, the found Zakir standing a bit away near a few other guards. “Hurry, we need to make it in time,” he said as he grabbed Cassius above the elbow and lead him off. Being late to such a distinguished gathering was not a good sign for any of the three or the guards that escorted them there.

Relaki was waiting with her stationed group for a while when she finally saw Cassius, Zakir, and Tomusir as they were escorted by guards towards the ritual center. Having been assigned as the rear guard commander, she was too far away for Cassius to pinpoint from his position. But, he was easy to spot from such distances. Wearing a bright pink armor, he stood out like a ball of light in a dark room. It was difficult to look away at the incredulous sight before her. Giggling to herself, she knew he probably didn't understand the meaning of wearing such color to an important battle like this.

“He looks almost as beautiful as you do,” said Luna, a close friend of Relaki, in a sarcastic tone. “Pink fits him perfectly.” She was a tall lady, more handsome than beautiful, and with pitch black hair.

“Oh, be quiet, Luna. He is perfect the way he is,” replied Relaki with a dreamy sigh at the end. One day she knew she would build up enough courage to confess her undying love for him, but until then she would make sure to keep all hussies and unwanted competitors away from her man.

It took a while, but everyone was eventually in place. Those receiving the blessings were standing shoulder to shoulder in a perfect phalanx formation; twenty-five in every line. Around them in a full circle were all that were poised to give out blessings - except those of the Church of Light - each spaced equidistantly from the other. Ten representatives from each group were going to give their races unique blessing.

The Dwarves started with a deep baritone chant, hands raised above their heads. Slowly the speed of the chanting increased until the words began to jumble up into an incoherent mess; challenging to parse through. With a sudden flash of dark brown and a metallic silver, you could see the strike force grit their teeth as the blessing tore its way through them - marking them with its runes. After that came the three groups of elves, although there were many different ethnicities among the elven heritage, there were only three with a recognized sovereign government.

Because the significant similarities between the ritual words and execution of them, they would begin at the same time, but one by one finish based upon length - forest elves, dark elves, and then the lengthy ritual of the high elves. Starting out, all thirty of them spoke with a single voice, closer to the whistling winds of a storm than words spoken by mortal beings.

Longer and longer it went, until the ten forest elves stepped forward, making their difference in language clear - though the base structure had the same origin between them all. Their words sound closer to the rustling of branches than anything else. A glow of light brown and green, intermingling between each other, began to shine on their hands. And with a final holler of words, they threw the gathered blessing at the strike force.

Then came the dark elves who, different from all others, began a slow dance in their positions as they continued in the same language they had started with. Shadows began to gather from the surroundings of the dark night, and with a sudden frightful scream of terror from them, struck each person from the strike force.

The high elves, knowing the need for haste, stepped into theirs without a second delay. Similar to the dark elves, they spoke with the same language as they had started. But they did not move from their spots, standing rigidly in position. As their chant continued, a sphere of light blue pure mana grew larger and larger in the middle of their circle; above the heads of the strike force. With a sudden popping sound, the ball collapsed downwards, and the elves took a step back. Splashing on top of the strike force, you could see them shivering from the inherent cold it brought.

One by one, the rest of the races stepped forward. Each completing theirs in ways unique to them. By the end of it all, a beautiful aurora covered the sky, right under the heavy clouds that had mysteriously moved in. Yet, there was one more blessing to be given, The Benediction of Greater Light. Unlike the others, they had over fifty participants circling all the others. This would be the first time in millennia, recorded or otherwise for such a blessing to be given; fit for the circumstance they had found themselves in.

A deep humming voice began the last ritual, as mysterious yet feminine voices began to sing words forgotten. Light tore from the ground, the shadows dispersing in its presence. Louder and louder it became, the mana from over fifty participants and many large mana stones was drained. Cassius was pushed to the front with shaky legs; the previous rituals taking their toll. Until finally with a horrific tear in the fabric of reality, the chanting stopped. Confusion filled the air as nothing seemed to take place after the terrifying sound.

While, farther away, Relaki felt her heart catch. Something was wrong with this, and Cassius was right in the middle of it. “No, no, no,” she whispered to herself. Relaki began to move forward, but her hand was caught by something. Looking back, she saw Luna shaking her head and eyes serious. “Something is wrong,” said Relaki in a harsh whisper. “Where is the tunnel of light? The singing voices? Or… or trumpets? There's nothing!” She continued, trying to pull away from Luna. But Luna's grip did not falter, she knew that interfering with the ritual was grounds for execution without trial.

“It's too late, Relaki,” said Luna.

“Please, let me just get a better look,” begged Relaki, she needed to see this up close. Maybe, she could stop anything wayward from happening.

With a sharp nod, Luna said, “Okay, but I will come along to stop any foolish ideas you might have.”

As they moved past confused soldiers and some not understanding why everyone was confused, a tearing noise that made everyone flinch sounded out again. Everyone looked into the sky as sudden blasts of light began flickering fast and faster. Until the light became a small circle high in the sky, pulsing so quickly it was impossible to distinguish one from another.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Thrice the booming sound, explosions that had the entire army stepping back with wide eyes and some even with fear. But, that didn't matter to Relaki, her heart kept beating faster and her gut demanding she stops this before it got too far. But, she didn't, she stayed in her spot. Rooted by eyes wide with fear and limbs that felt too heavy to move.

Up above, where the pulsing light had solidified into one single dot in the sky, a hole had begun to tear itself in the fabric of reality. Clawed hands were wrapped around the edges of the hole pushing, pulling, and expanding it. With a deep breath that sounded from every direction possible, a voice sighed. “Must you call me so soon?” A voice that grated on the ears demanded.

Stepping through the widened tear in the fabric of space, a being with long claws - half as the length of its long arms, they reaching below its feet - and Angel like wings on its back. Its face had no features a perfectly smooth and silvery face of metal. It wore white armor with black and dark purple lining its breastplate.

“Had, I, not given you my blessing not even three thousand years ago. Oh, how demanding you ants can be.”