Moyo stood with a befuddled look on his face as he stared down the rows of people in different colors. Each color congregated together with a banner above them and on their fronts were people Moyo was familiar with, and to his surprise had changed in the space of the two weeks he had left Bastion behind.

In front of the men in silver armless coats stood Idris who had shaved his head smooth with a trimmed beard and eyes that glowed a faint brown, at his side stood Josh who leaned on a massive war hammer with two swords behind him, and behind them stood rows of men in silver coats with what looked like badges on their right breasts with different colors from iron to silver and gold, their flag showed an eye above a mountain,

“The sect of the titan sentinels welcomes the lord!” Idris shouted as Moyo could feel the aura coming from Idris suffuse the area, the sentinels behind Idris slammed their weapons on the ground twice as the floor shook,

Idris and Josh walked to his side as Moyo plastered a fake smile on his face, still not understanding what was going on,

“Sect?” Moyo whispered at Idris as he got to his side,

“Play along, keep smiling” Idris replied as Annika snorted and walked over to the group in blue and black robes with a flag that displayed a cloud over a mountain, Julius with his silver glasses matched her steps.

They got to the group and Annika turned back to Moyo, Julius puffed his chest and shouted in his loudest voice as Moyo felt his embarrassment double, already an idea of what was going on forming in his head,

“The sect of the storm bringers welcomes the lord!”

From above the storm bringers, a dark cloud formed immediately and thunder boomed from within it before the cloud dispersed, Annika walked back to him with a barely suppressed smile on her face

“Please make it stop” Moyo groaned quietly to Idris,

“Still have one more sect to go” Josh whispered back with a broad smile, obviously enjoying their leaders’ discomfort,

Ayo who stood behind a group in red coats with a flag that signified a bow and arrow above a mountain shouted in her best voice as she walked toward him

“The sect of the dawn archers welcomes the lord!”

The archers in all raised one finger skywards as they shot a pulse of piercing yellow and white light skywards, watching as it formed a giant blazing arrow before dispersing.

“This is the point where you greet them back” Annika whispered to him,

Moyo gave a stiff bow,

“The lord appreciates the welcome” he replied as he heard Annika snort and Josh choke on a barely suppressed laughter, glancing at them showed them looking forward into the distance with a straight face.

He sighed as they ordered the groups away, Moyo whirled at them as the groups left,

“Alright, can someone explain what in heavens name is going on?, sect?, clan?, and where-“ Moyo said, pausing as he felt Mrs. Martha appear in their location through one of the barely visible webs made of aether he felt as they arrived Bastion,

Turning to face a startled elderly woman with grey hair but lines of black hair at the sides, behind her stood four people in grey cloaks but with masks hiding their faces. They knelt on arrival towards Moyo, Mrs. Martha sighed as she smiled,

“Used to love catching you off guard, now you know my every move,” she said,

Moyo stored the memory of her admitting defeat away to relish later, he raised an eyebrow at her,

“I’ve been gone two weeks and I barely recognize Bastion again, what’s going on? and who are those assassin-looking people behind you?” he asked,

“Perhaps we should discuss all these issues in the halls of Ife?” Mrs. Martha suggested,

Moyo nodded and with one step as he activated his path of the titan skill, appeared in the core room of Ife. Moyo smiled as he looked over the whole room, it had undergone massive changes, the stone chairs that sat in a semicircle had been replaced with six chairs that were distinct and unique in their looks. The chairs encircled a round table that seemed to be made of bronze and silver, a large crest of a mountain with a shield in its middle, and a katana running through it. On the wall stood a dark banner with the same image of a mountain with a shield and katana in its middle imprinted on it.

The first chair was made of a metal that gleamed in the ray of light that shone in through the glass-covered roof, made entirely of mithril, it gleamed, on its backrest gleamed a crest, a hammer that seemed to blaze atop a mountain, it looked like something Mr. Boyle would have forged, plus its artistry spoke volume as it seemed forged from a single slab of mithril, most had cost a fortune. The next chair was a red crystal that shone with an otherworldly glow, a crest glowed white from its backrest also, a mountain with a bow and arrow atop it, the crest of the dawn archers. The storm chair got Moyo smiling, Annika had fashioned her chair in an almost imposing form, a dark blue metal chair that had yellow arcs of lightning running around its body, a yellow crest that showed a storm cloud that flashed with yellow lightning above a mountain shone from its backrest.

Mrs. Martha’s chair was the most plain of all, but it reflected a power that Moyo felt but couldn’t put a finger on, a grey-looking bronze chair with an image of a spider sitting atop a mountain with numerous eyes painted on its body, and Moyo was pretty sure he could feel those eyes monitoring his every move, it gave off a very subtle feeling of transparency like every little action was being watched by an all-seeing eye, again Moyo questioned who was working for who, was he in charge of Bastion or was he a figurehead subtly being controlled like a puppet on strings by Mrs. Martha?.

He waved the thought away as he stared at what was his chair and tried his best not to roll his eyes. It was made of mithril, its armrest shone with gold, its body gleamed a dark purple that no doubt was made to reflect the color of his eyes, on its backrest shone a crest of a mountain with a shield and katana running through it, it was also the most imposing of all the chairs. He felt Mrs. Martha appear behind him as he folded his hands, his mind arguing with itself,

“how do you like the renovations?, it took Boyle a whole week and working overnight along with a lot of stamina potions,” she said quietly, Moyo grunted, hearing the large golden doors that now opened up with the whole crew walking in. Mr. Boyle sported a bald look while wearing a leather vest, in his left hand was a hammer that glowed red and seemed to give off a primordial feel, not that anyone else would be able to feel it but ever since he became an expert, he could sense these things.

He clapped Mr. Boyle in a hug and watched them all sit in their respective chairs, still crossing his arms as he stared at them with a hard look,

“Gee, the boss looks angry” Ayo muttered with a raised eyebrow, Moyo noticed she was now an advocate, they all were,

“I guess we owe you an explanation,” Mrs. Martha said,

“First of all, before anyone says anything, let me say a few things” Moyo started,

“I am proud of you all, you have overcome the horrors of the arrival of the archailect. Lord knows what you all must have witnessed, the deaths that you must have seen and the mind-scarring situations you must have faced, but here you are, all advocates while leading a whole kingdom” he said glancing at them all,

“But I remember telling you all that I didn’t want to rule over others, I created Bastion as a refuge for humanity against the horrors of the archailect and the invaders that would soon land on our soil and while I understand the need for an organizational structure, the whole issue of a sect or clan as Annika said on our way hear rubs me the wrong way” he finished as Idris glared at Annika,

He reluctantly sat on his chair as the whole room became quiet,

“one look at it all and the man thinks we’re overlords” Mr. Boyle joked as everyone chuckled, Moyo cracked a smile,

“your points are duly noted,” Mrs. Martha said as she waved her hand over the table,

A blue hologram appeared with an image of the mountain with a shield and a katana, below it was the five crests that signified ach leader in the room with him, from the doors, strode in five individuals as moyos’ eyes flickered to them for a minute, Julius with his gold-rimmed glasses lead the procession with Julius who slung a hammer over his shoulder with a smile, behind him strode a masked gray man with an image of a spider artistically drawn on it, a dark one-eyed man with a patch on one eye held a bow followed Josh and a young looking woman who tied a scarf on her hair followed behind the man.

Julius stood behind Annika, Josh stood behind Idris, the masked man stood behind Mrs. Martha, the one-eyed man stood behind Ayo and the woman stood behind Mr. Boyle. Moyo flicked his eyes at them, noting they were all acolytes and turning his gaze back to the hologram, nodding to Mrs. Martha to continue but he was one inch away from drawing dominion from his spatial rip. She nodded at him and continued,

“deep and excess research into the customs of the archailect revealed the organizational structures that exist within it. Every notable group is known as a sect, groups of sects usually come together under a clan, a clan consists of one ruler and his master subordinates, the masters are usually the founders of their sects and have a subordinate expert that is in control of the day to day activities of the sect” she explained,

“what we have done here is simply follow that same method of government, albeit with a few modifications seeing as we have no master or ruler…yet. You are the glue that unites us all, hence you’re the clan leader, we your subordinates are your sect leaders and our vice commanders, acolytes in all are in charge of running the day-to-day activities of the clan” she said,

“and the people, are they fine with this…arrangement?” Moyo asked,

“Moyo, the world collapsed, every form of long-distance communication crashed, monsters right out of nightmares and dreams roam the lands, and no form of safety is guaranteed. Then you stepped forwards, a blazing light that has shown the way forwards in these dark times, the only form of safety and a path to strength, what do you think?” Mr. Boyle asked,

Moyo drummed his hands on his armrest, his mind still not settled, he glanced at Ayo who smiled and glanced at the one-eyed man behind her, a dark-skinned man that stepped forward,

“this here is Charles, he’s half Jamaican and half Canadian. Charles explain how you got to Bastion” Ayo ordered,

“you don’t have to if you don’t want to” Moyo said quietly,

“it would be my honor lord Moyo” Charles said as he bowed at the waist, a dark tattoo of a bird on his biceps,

Moyo nodded and Charles stepped forwards

“I was a pastry chef when the archailect hit, lost my pregnant wife and mother that same day, watched as the explosive wave burned away everything in its path, and only survived cause I was outside my store picking supplies. For days we ran, foraging for food and hiding from mutated animals that are too grotesque to survive in a landscape we couldn’t identify.” Charles started,

“the messengers returned saying ninety percent of humanity had been culled and we were the last of our kind, we came together and created a stronghold after raiding a common dungeon, but some of our elected leaders grew greedy and attacked the neighboring stronghold, only for the crisis to hit. Again I watched as people were mauled by monsters and our stronghold lost. Sect leader Annika and the storm bringers arrived a few days later to save the rest of us, bringing us to Bastion where I trained and proved my place as the vice sect leader of the dawn archers” he finished,

Moyo had unknowingly drawn dominion out of his spatial rip and only grew aware of the pressure he and his blade had begun to subtly emit, the room becoming suffused with the overwhelming aura of the titan as he noticed the acolytes had difficulty breathing. He banished dominion back and reined in his aura as everyone breathed a sigh of relief,

“apologies, I tend to lose my calm when I hear stories like that” he apologized,

“Charles’s story is one out of thousands we have saved. The people are happy Moyo, they can sleep and wake with no horror looming over them, their kids go to bed with filled stomachs and can run around and play, they want to defend their new home” Annika said as Moyo stared into her blue eyes, she blushed and looked away as Moyo raised an eyebrow at the reaction, still not sure what was going on with her these days,

He sighed and sat up, locking his fingers and resting his head on it,

“what’s the population of Bastion now?” he asked,

“with the new refugees? more than three thousand” Mrs. Martha said as Moyos’ eyebrows shot up,

“How did we go from less than a hundred to over three thousand in two weeks?” he asked shocked,

“refugees, some braved the green zones and dived into the yellow zone as fledglings and initiates where the sects met and escorted them to Bastion. Since sector one is the only path into the yellow zone unless you pass the red zone, it was fairly easy to find them since we own the whole zone” Mrs. Martha explained,

“And can Bastion handle thousands of people in a place?” he asked

“Currently we’re filled to bursting, camps have been set up for the newer refugees, but in the long term it wouldn’t work out, it’s why I propose setting up strongholds all over the sector, each stronghold would be managed by a sect and would be under their purview but all tied to Bastion,” she said,

“Done, the sooner the better” Moyo replied,

Mrs. Martha smiled and nodded as she produced four sets of rare dungeon cores and gave them to Annika, Ayo, Idris, and Mr. Boyle, Moyo glanced at her in question,

“The sect of Anansi is meant for espionage and information gathering, they are to be heard and not seen, as such it would be counter-productive to own a stronghold” she explained,

“The sect of Anansi, cool name, what names do the other sects have?” he asked with a smile,

One by one they introduced themselves, the subordinates of the sects speaking with pride,

“I am Julius, sect of the storm bringers”

“Josh, sect of the titan’s sentinels”

“Charles, sect of the dawn archers”

“Maya, sect of the hammers of Ogun”

“First hand, the sect of the hands of Anansi”

Moyo raised his eyebrows at the last two,

“In honor of the god of blacksmiths in your culture,” Mr. Boyle said as Moyo smiled and nodded in his position,

“first hand?, sounds like a cult” Moyo said as he glanced at the man who knelt in his position,

“Espionage my lord, can’t have them spilling their names now, can we?” she said,

Moyo stared for a few seconds and stood in one move, turning to stare at the large banner of his crest, the crest of the titan. He walked up to it where the legendary dungeon core hummed to his presence, sending a feeling that Moyo could only call joy,

“Back in the dungeon I was trapped, as I trained away, I swore that I would escape this hell hole and protect humanity and stand, first in line, waving the banners of freedom to usher humanity through this turbulent period” he started,

Turning to them he drew himself to his full height as his eyes glowed a dark purple and the room darkened as a presence loomed over them all, the markings on his skin glowed as his eyes glowed brighter, his mantle coming forth. He glanced at them all,

“And I am glad, so glad that I have people who share that same vision with me, but I need to know, a time is coming when I might need to go somewhere for a while. Would the sects of clan titan blade stand as a torch in the dark for humanity? would they wage war on the coming oppressors? would they rain thunder and fire on those who would oppress the weak?” he asked softly, his voice resonating around the whole room,

Annika stood first, eyes flashing with lightning as she slammed her spear into the ground with a resounding thud,

“I Annika, leader of the storm bringers sect swears to protect Bastion, the domains of Bastion, and humanity as a whole” she thundered,

Idris stood next as one by one the rest stood,

“Idris of the titans’ sentinels swear to shield Bastion, the domains of Bastion, and humanity as a whole”

“Ayo of the dawn archers swear to shield Bastion, the domains of Bastion, and humanity as a whole”

“Boyle of the hammers of Ogun swear to arm Bastion, the domains of Bastion, and humanity as a whole”

“Martha of the hands of Anansi swear to watch over Bastion, the domains of Bastion, and humanity as a whole”

Moyo smiled as a loud gong reverberated around the whole of Bastion

Global notice!:

The domain of Bastion has now created a clan and five sects!

Hail lord Moyo of the clan titan blade! Hail sect leader Annika of the storm bringers! Hail sect leader Idris of the titans’ sentinels! Hail sect leader Ayo of the dawn archers! Hail sect leader Boyle of the hammers of Ogun! Hail sect leader Martha of the hands of Anansi!

For this monumental first-time event, the clan titan blade receives:

1 legendary dungeon core 100 rare dungeon cores 1000 uncommon dungeon cores 10,000 common dungeon cores 5,000 diamond coins 10,000 gold coins 100,000 silver coins 1,000,000 bronze coins.

The sects individually receive:

1,000 diamond coins 5,000 gold coins 10,000 silver coins 100,000 bronze coins

Long may the clan titan blade rule!

Moyo winced as everyone smiled, a absurdly large chest of the loot appeared in their midst bearing the rewards from the archailect,

“Well, there goes any anonymity we held,” Moyo said as they laughed,

“Anyone still thinks we’re getting too lucky?” Idris asked,

“I believe so,” a voice said as they all turned to see a red-haired man with orange slit eyes in a red suit staring at them all,

Moyo withdrew dominion with speed as he took one step and brought dominion crashing down on the man who stopped the blade with one finger, the blade hardly making a scratch as his eyebrows rose,

“An expert on a new world? interesting” he said with a feral smile,

“Who are you?” Moyo asked with gritted teeth, struggling against the might of this man who seemed to hardly notice,

“I am Atreus of the dragon brigade, master on the path of the sun-burning dragon and overseer of this galaxy,” he said as he grabbed dominion, using it to fling Moyo into a column,

“And you, lord and clan leader of Bastion have much to discuss with me”