[Video begins. It is an ordinary day in one of our Goddess’s benevolently safeguarded metropolises. The camera focuses on a pair of youths—one male and one female—dressed in different university uniforms walking down the street. They are neither happy, nor sad.]

Hey, you!

[The youths halt. They point at each other, confused as to the source of the voice.]

Yes, I’m talking to you, youths standing there. Let me ask you both, is life good? Do you go to bed every night with a sense of satisfaction in your heart?

[The youths shrug their shoulders. They both say yes, but seem a little unconvinced.]

Really, you are sure? Absolutely, positively, one hundred perfect sure? If I asked you if you were fine with working away at a desk job, would you say yes?

[The scenery shifts. The youths are now in an office cubicle space, where everyone is typing away at a computer, their spirits down. Even the plants and Her standard blessing altar look depressed from the grey atmosphere. A manager with a coffee mug taps the youths on the shoulder and demand they go file some papers.]

You’ve never thought about a more adventurous, outgoing life?

[The scenery shifts again. Now, the youths are exploring a lush and vast forest. The air is fresh, the trees stretch to the skies and the hissing and buzzing of fauna is heart around them. They approach a vast brook filled with fresh fish and clear spring water. Night falls and the two are now camping, roasting fresh game caught with blessed spears.]

You’ve never stopped to think: wow, the Goddess has granted us so much, but I don’t know how to best repay the favor?

[Final shift. The youths are sitting in a prayer hell, in which an Apostle is reading out a list of Her tenets. The service is assisted by Disciples and Servants. Everyone then states how thankful that the Goddess’s blessing of water allowed the crops to endure this season’s sudden famine. The sheer aura of holiness spread across the hall makes the two youths nervous. The girl looks down at herself, ashamed of her past answer. The boy isn’t so hot, either.]

In summary, have you ever thought about how to make a difference?

Well then, have no fear, young boys and girls. The Astraean Defense Order may just be the place for you!

[The Logo of the Order flashes on screen. The hands of the Goddess reach out from above like a wreath, embracing the symbols of the warriors. Beneath them is the solid bedrock foundation of Astraea, upon which billions live. Other logos begin to slide across the scene.]

A career in the Defense Order is career of nobility and grace! Whether it be a front-line soldier, a vanguard in the metropolises or a support unit in the medbays, your actions will go towards a most valuable duty—ensuring the peace of Astraea! Of course, our benevolent Goddess will bless you, but it is you will be doing the work! Still not convinced? How do these sound?

Rescuing civilians from disasters, inspiring Hope!

[Scene cuts to the War Maidens evacuating citizens from a building filled with corruption. They then pile into the building and purge it with holy mana. As they walk from the wreckage, their damage only serves to highlight their determined, dutiful beauty.]

Hunting criminals and rogues, enacting Her Justice!

[Scene is that of a War Maiden tackling a murderer on the ground on the night streets, disarming him in the process. It shifts to his trial in court, where a Disciple takes the handcuffed murderer to his absolution. The victims’ families tearfully thank the War Maiden, who accepts their praise with humility.]

Treating outsiders with compassion and forgiveness, demonstrating our Strength!

[Scene is that of an ambassador Apostle sharing Astraeas’s food and water resources with outsider nations! When asked what the ambassador wants in return, he merely shakes his head, smiling, and says he only wishes to spread the good word and favor of the Goddess to them. The arrangement is a resounding success.]

Standing firm against the corruption, acting with Courage!

[Scene is that of the War Maidens and their support team combatting a Nehem-level corruption beast. The beast swallows up animals and civilians, transforming them into more corruption. A veritable tide swarms the plateau, reducing it into a hellish pit. Yet, the War Maidens continue the purge, screaming the tenents of our Goddess, standing firm against the evil that threatens Astraea.]

Sounds good, right?

[The two youths nod in excitement, having seen the wonderful scenes.]

Now, I’m not going to lie, it’s a hard road. You will need to pass exams and engage in training. Very harsh training, in fact!

[Scene cuts to a Trainee performing pushups in a training ground as the drill instructors bark at the class. Sweat pours down her back. She is clearly exhausted, the same as her peers. She’s now running through a trail in the forest, a heavy pack containing silver emblems on her back. The instructor, dashing through the treetops yells at the trainee to keep up. She almost falters.]

But it’s not impossible. You won’t be alone!

[Another trainee helps the first trainee’s pack up. They pat her on the shoulder and tell her she can do it with a thumbs up]

And you will also have the Goddess with you!

[The first trainee recites the tenents. She is instantly revitalized. She runs, keeping up with the rest of the pack]

Sign up the Astraean Defense Order today! Just dial ██████-██████ on any Apostle-mandated comms for further instructions!

[Video ends.]

To Locke:

I understand your fury towards me. It is never pleasant when a friend turns their back and crosses the line to the opposite side. However, I would appreciate it if you heard me out first. You may reach the same conclusion I did, after I was captured by the Astraean Defense Order.

I expected torture—whipping, hallucinogens or even light depravation. Instead, they placed me in a comfortable cell, provided me with three meals a day and books to read. At first, I refuse to touch either, thinking them poisoned. My hunger strike came to an end when one of the War Maidens came to my cell and fed me the meal. No, she did shove tubes down my threat. She sat down opposite the table from my emancipated self, dug a spoon into the porridge and raised it to my mouth. She spoke encouragement in a gentle, sweet voice that I’ve only heard in dreams of my lost mother.

Yes, it was partially the sheer hunger. But the Maiden didn’t belittle me. She didn’t flinch at my scarred cheeks or belittle me that I came from a band of D-Pirates. She just smiled and fed me like I was a young child. A few days of feeding and I was back to regular health.

I read the books after that. There wasn’t much to do in the cell, anyway. They were informative. They taught me things. How to be diligent, how to resist vice, how to show compassion for my fellow man. They were things I had never given thought to in an addled life of alcohol, violence and pleasure.

What has our path truly granted us? We are constantly on the run from law enforcement and bounty hunters. We take the hard work of others, never considering the sentimentality put into them. We cannot show weakness, nary a hint of fear or love, as our fellow pirates would turn on us. Our fate is to die in a ship wreckage or on the battlefield, just another tiny corpse in a line of billions.

I confessed these thoughts to the Maiden. She embraced me, saying how proud she was of me. The next day, she offered to take me to an Apostle, and I accepted.

I have been reborn now. I serve as a Servant of the Goddess, helping the sick and worn in the hospitals. My expertise as a pirate has helped the Disciples and the War Maidens seek out areas of trouble and quell any upheaval there. I can eat, play and rest now, knowing that every day is fulfilling than what I had in the past.

Can you feel Her hearbeat? Can you taste the radiance emitting Her palms? The stone I have given you is a token of my faith in you.

Let us meet again under the Goddess’s wings.

ACCURACY OF ARTICLE: [DATA REMOVED] %.

It’s a lie! It’s a goddamn lie.

Huh? What are you talking about?

yeah man this is a best apostle thread. which apostle would you like to spend a night with under the stars?

The expedition to ████ DID NOT end in success. Brunhilde and her cohort went missing upon reaching that point. She is not under the care of the Goddess right now!

LOLWIT

Oh god, not more conspiracy theorists…please post this in a different forum, okay?

i like brigid the most. Stars above I would do anything to see that smile. That delicate, sharp smile like a mother that’s disappointed in you but knows you can do better

please smile at me and then tell me to get my life in order and devote myself to astraea, lady brigid. Pleasepleasepleaseplease

uh AKSHUALLY kriemhild is the best apostle, okay? I WILL HEAR NO DEBATE

Look, here’s a document (████.mpf) containing evidence! We have to tell the people about this! The Goddess should not spread lies to her own people! It violates the tenet of Justice!

People! This is a serious problem!

Or maybe she doesn’t want to spread falsehoods from conspiracy theorists…

imagine basking in brigid’s hope

IMAGINE SUPPORTING AN INFERIOR APOSTLE CORRUPTED SCUM

Okay, that’s it, I’m calling a moderator!

Why aren’t any of you listening to me?

Hey, what’s going on?

I hear a noise outsideeeettwatSFD(Ujkoasdfhnlkjsdaf.

Mere days after Lucy and Saria's cohort was transported to this inchoate world...

“Lucy?”

The time was sunset. The ball of light—the sun—had dimmed, turning the skies purple. Saria had stepped away the encampment to get some fresh air before resting, only to find Lucy sitting near the riverbank. It wasn’t her turn on night watch, yet the black-haired girl was clad in her battle dress all the same.

Lucy froze in her spot on the soft earth, then turned around. “Saria? Oh, hello, Saria. Nice night, is it not?”

“Lucy, what are you doing with your blades?” Saria asked, pointing at the implements in Lucy’s hands.

“Just performing a little maintenance on my gear.” Lucy answered.

“The heck you saying?” Saria questioned. She moved towards the river and crouched next to her friend. “I saw you cleaning them this afternoon after we thought those weird skinless guys.”

She sniffed the air. There was the scent of mud and grass, but underlying it was something worse. It was dark out and she couldn’t see properly, but there was no way she could miss that familiar smell. It was the smell she knew from training, battles against monsters and it spilled from her comrades as they fell.

“Is that blood?” Saria asked. “Lucy, what happened?”

“I…” Lucy stuttered. “Goodness, I must have accidentally nicked myself while cleaning. I’m sorry, Saria, these past few days have weighed on me.”

That was a lie. The smell was too potent for that. A big, fat dangerous lie that sent a sick sensation creeping up in Saria’s gut, like a monster emerging from a muddy bog. She grabbed Lucy’s shoulders and whirled her around. Her hand summoned that dreaded red energy that now served as their primary fuel source. As its light scattered, Saria prayed that she wouldn’t find what she thought it was.

“Your right arm!” Saria cried. “Lucy, what the hell?”

A long slice was dug into Lucy’s right arm. Fresh blood was leaking out of it, splashing onto the grass. The wound wasn’t deep, but nor was it shallow. Lucy refused to meet her friend’s eyes. “Saria, I…I was trying to commune with the mana inside of me. I thought there might be some left.” She said.

“But, those guys said we only had soul energy inside of us.” Saria replied.

“Indeed, they did.” Lucy said. “But what did they know? They weren’t there when our Goddess awakened the mana inside of us. They didn’t recite the tenets of our homeworld thrice per day. They knew nothing of our culture, so I disregarded their words and searched deep inside me anyway.”

Saria’s breath caught in her throat. Lucy’s gaze was hollow. Her smile was a façade of glass. Saria had never seen her friend—reliable, confident and amicable—like this Her shoulders shook.

“But, I couldn’t find any. It’s gone. The last thing that our Goddess gave us is gone. It’s all been replaced by that damnable red energy!” Lucy’s voice shook, echoing into a scream. Birds rustled and flew from the trees. Saria glanced around, finding no-one else.

Lucy picked up her blade again. Her tear-stained eyes reflected on the enhanced steel. “So I thought, maybe if I let all the red out of my body, the Goddess would…She would…”

“Lucy, don’t!” Saria exclaimed. “It’s not going to work!”

“But, no-one has tried, haven’t they?” Lucy said. “Maybe this red is the reason why we can’t hear Her anymore. Maybe if we rid ourselves of the red, She will come back to us again!”

Lucy was trained War Maiden, capable of drawing her blade and gouging an enemy within seconds. Had she been well rested, she would have driven the blade deep into her flesh and torn off a huge chunk of her arm. But the blood loss and toll of arriving in the new world had lowered her reflexes. Saria’s hand clamped around Lucy’s wrist. The tip of the blade grazed Lucy’s skin.

“Saria, let go.” Lucy said.

Saria shook her head. “No way I’m letting you hurt yourself any further!” She snarled.

“I said, let go Saria!” Lucy cried. She yanked her arm back, but Saria was stronger. The two girls were locked in place for a second. Saria then launched a kick towards Lucy’s stomach. It caught her off guard, just enough for Saria to disarm Lucy of the knife with a sharp pull and hurl it into the river. The blade made a splash and sank into the bottom.

A shriek erupted from Lucy as she reached for her second blade. Saria tackled her before her hand touched the hilt. The two girls sprawled onto the dirt.

“Let me go! Let me go, damn you!” Lucy wailed as they tussled. “I’m going to break you, Saria!”

“And let you continue slice your limbs into meat?” Saria shouted back. “Fat chance!”

They wrestled there, each girl trying to throttle the other into submission. All it amounted to were the cracks of fist striking bone and newborn bruises on their faces. The two girls were opposite as a front-line fighter and a vanguard sniper could be, but both had received the same marks in hand-to-hand combat.

“It’ll work, I know it will! It’s only logical—”

“Logical, my ass! You’re just being desperate! All you’re going to accomplish is killing yourself!”

“It’s worth the risk!”

“It is not!” Saria roared. Lucy grabbed her long blonde hair and pulled with bloodied arms. Saria clenched her teeth, enduring the pain, glaring at her friend.

“I have to do this, Saria! I have to see Her again!” Lucy’s cries were punctuated with sobs. “Without Her, I can’t fight. Without Her blessing surrounding me, I can’t do anything, so please…”

“Dumbass!” Saria screamed. She rammed her head into Lucy’s, knocking the girl for a loop. She then twisted her body around, pinning Lucy against the ground into a lock. The other girl could only kick her legs uselessly.

“You think She’s going to appreciate you slicing yourself up like this?” Saria cried, “You think you can’t do anything without Her? Did She choose to give those struggling cadets one last chance? Did She come up with the plan to rescue our comrades from that falling building today? Is She the best friend that stuck through me through training and beyond? Glory to Her benevolence and all, but pretty sure those achievements were mostly you!”

“That’s…” Lucy stared at her friend, mouth agape. “I had Her blessing with me, so—”

“No, it was you! It definitely, absolutely was you!” Saria cried. She grabbed her friend’s shoulders. “You’ve done so much for us that I feel guilty at times for not repaying the favor. That’s why I won’t let you hurt yourself like this, Lucy!”

Lucy remained silent once more. Saria chest heaved. “It’s not your fault.” She continued.

“Pardon?”

“It’s not your fault, Lucy.” Saria repeated, firmer this time. “You didn’t ask for the red. None of us did. So please, don’t blame yourself for having it. She wouldn’t blame you either, and if she does, I’ll fight her army of Apostles myself!”

Lucy stared at her friend. Her head drooped. “I miss Her, Saria. I see Her in my dreams.”

“Me too.” Saria said. “Had a dream about my ceremony last night.”

“I don’t want to be like this.”

“Neither do I.” Saria said. “Everyone feels the same. Even Brigid. You’re not alone Lucy.”

“I want my mana back!” Lucy sobbed. The repressed trauma inside of her burst free like water from an overflowing dam. Memories of happier times flashed through her head. She clutched onto Saria and buried her face into Saria’s chest, her tears staining the blonde girl’s uniform. “I want to cast spells again! I want to see the fields of our home world! I want to see my Mama and Papa again!”

“I know, Lucy. I know.” Saria hugged her friend back. Tears leaked from her eyes as well.

“It’s not fair! It’s not fair! Damn it all, why did we have to come here?””

In that moment, they were not the indomitable War Maidens of Astraea. They were two frightened girls crying into each other, trapped in a dangerous new world with no hope of escape.