[center][h2]Slavers get thrown into jail[/h2][/center] [center][b]I[/b][/center] The first thing that Eleanna saw when she returned to New Dama was a large blue, white and gold flag proudly waving in the wind from the top of the Central Temple of the Bronzed Bloom’s main bell tower. The second thing she saw was a massive group of soldiers - both Daman and foreigner - flooding the streets and pointing their spears, swords, axes and clubs at her. Yenna, sitting in the pilot’s seat, grimaced and put her hand on the soul-burner valve, a manoeuvre that Eleanna was quick to interrupt with a gentle grab of Yenna’s hand. The Goddess shook her head at her best friend and graced her with an uncharacteristically honest smile. Yenna stuttered. “I-I told you they’d know. The shadows-” “Shh. Don’t do anything crazy now, it’s my turn to walk the Path. Things have changed a lot since the last time I donned the Great Priestess’ Gown, and to be honest I did guess there’d be consequences to sponsoring a bunch of justice-obsessed shrubs. Oh… And killing a god, too.” Eleanna chuckled and shrugged. “I love you, Yenna. Don’t throw your life away for me. Use it instead to ensure your children know how to walk the Path, so that they don’t stumble and fall like I have.” Yenna grew misty-eyed. The passenger cockpit screen hissed open and Eleanna jumped out, walking up to the two-hundred soldiers anxiously pointing their weapons at her. At that point, the half-hyenakin looked at her crossbow, stowed away folded next to her seat, and bit her cheek. [center][b]II[/b][/center] How exciting! To be welcomed in such a way after a long vacation! Eleanna was ecstatic. Every step of hers had a bit of a hop to it as she stepped out and in front of Yenna’s carriage. The men making up the ranks in front of her trembled. They knew of her, and of her time as the leader of the Companions. “You guys know I’m not going to make this easy for you, right?” The Bronzed Goddess’ booming laughter echoed through the avenue, several stained glass windows vibrating. Some of the soldiers up front made way for a massive beast of a man to come through. It was the bullkin, Sun-Downer of the Crescent Axe. One of her oldest Companions, and one of her best friends throughout her whole life. A pang of pain shot across her chest. Images of him, young and vigorous and thirsty for glory flashed in her mind’s eye. Nowadays, she could only see a tired old man well past his prime. He’d struggled. He’d walked the Path. He’d done everything he set out to do, all while Eleanna remained the same. She grit her teeth. There was no need for words. They both knew the situation. Eleanna knew that Sun-Downer was tired of the endless bloodshed, and she knew of his undying allegiance to the United Clans. Shem ay have been on a long vacation, but that didn’t mean her shadows hadn’t been keeping her up to date on the conflict’s progress. She knew she was the last true obstacle in the UDC’s Path. Meanwhile, Sun-Downer knew that Eleanna would never willingly go into exile. He knew she would never drop her position as the Bronzed Bloom. And he knew better than anyone, barring perhaps Yenna, that Eleanna was probably happy to be betrayed. Betrayal. The word left a sweet and sour taste in her mouth. She took aim at the bulk of the small army with her spear, veins beginning to glow. Sun-Downer raised his hand, stopping her in her tracks. “Just you and me, El. Let’s not shed any more blood than we have to.” A pair of large Chariots rumbled their way onto the scene, coming to a stop far behind the army. They looked awfully reinforced. “A duel? You know I carry a crystallista with me at all times, right?” Eleanna frowned. “You’re free to use it, though I think we both know you won’t.” Eleanna smirked, her frown gone and a tired look on her face being all that remained. “Yeah.” She said simply and proceeded to undo the straps keeping her crystallista attached to her left arm, then tossed the expensive weapon away. She looked at the tip of her spear, polished and perfect, exactly how she hated them, and wielded it in both hands. Sun-Downer did the same with his Great Crescent Axe. Then with a scream on each side they clashed. [center][b]III[/b][/center] It was a flurry of strikes, parries and dodges. The barely-trained eyes of the average Daman soldier watching the duel could just about keep up with the movement. At one point, Sun-Downer’s axe came down onto Eleanna’s spear and severed it in half. The Goddess responded by throwing the sharp end at Sun-Downer, the weapon finding its mark as it broke through a rib and dug into one of his lungs. The bullkin recoiled, coughed up blood and fell to one knee. He began to glow as Eleanna approached, now unarmed. Her black claws shone in the midday sun, a couple of them dripping blood from the many fresh cuts along her arms and shoulders. She huffed and puffed as she came to a stop before Sun-Downer and wrapped one of her clawed arms around her friend’s throat. The old man winced. At that moment, Eleanna blinked and looked into his eyes, her own eyes widening as she saw the drops of blood dripping out from where her claws had pin pricked his skin. “What am I…?” She muttered, failing to notice the intensity of Sun-Downer’s glow until the spear popped right out of his chest and he stood back up, slapping Eleanna’s hand off his throat easily. The air smelled like roasted beef. Eleanna only managed to look up at Sun-Downer in time to see his hand raised up in a very characteristic way. [i]The Paladin Chop![/i] Eleanna thought, then everything went black once Sun-Downer’s strike hit. [center][b]IV[/b] -Weeks later-[/center] Eleanna tapped her claw against the cold stone floor she was sitting on. Her usually barely-tamed hair had grown wild and tangled, and her long blouse and cloth trousers had developed stains all over from having to sit on the usually wet, dirty floor of her dungeon cell. On the other side of her cell’s bars stood a hunched over plantkin, dressed in a cheap Eunomian scientist garb and writing something on his clipboard with a pencil. “Preparationss are complete.” He said in a squeaky voice before pushing a pair of glasses up his nose and giving Eleanna a brief glance. “Ms. Eleanna, your community service startss now.” A pair of the biggest, buffest Otori inmates she’d ever seen stood to either side of her cell door as a wolfkin guard opened the door and threw a muzzle and a full set of heavy metal cuffs at her. She complied and put the things on, then followed the group. She was led down a series of haphazardly built and shoddily maintained series of twists and turns, down one too many sets of stairs, and up a ladder to end up in what she could barely recognize as the prison’s feared Hospital Attic. She sniffed at the air as she entered, scrunching up her nose at the scent of stale blood and bodily fluids. Not that one needed to have a good sense of smell to detect those things, what with the way the floors were stained and how the drain in the middle of the room was nearly clogged with a weird, pulsating mass of semi-coagulated blood. “Sit, Ms. Eleanna.” Commanded the leafy doctor. Eleanna felt a rush of adrenaline pump into her veins and she almost scratched the life out of the doctor, but she took a deep breath and kept herself under control and sat down on the lonely metal chair off to one side of the room, surrounded by various rusted tables filled with instruments. Immediately upon sitting down, Eleanna felt a thousand pricks across her back and legs, and felt her body lock up and stop responding. The leafy doctor saw the look in her face and smirked ever so slightly. “Ambroissen, Ms. Eleanna. You won’t be moving until we’re finisshed here.” He said and came closer,picking up a pair of long-nosed bronze pliers off one of the rusted tables. “It’ss a simple job today. Plierss will do jusst fine.” The Doctor knelt down and grabbed onto one of Eleanna’s toe claws with the pliers, then pulled the claw out. “FFFFFUUUUUUUUUAAAAAACCCKKKKKKGGGGHHHH-” [center][b]V[/b][/center] “... Aaaand that’s tha last one! Phew!” The third-generation head of the Church’s in-house smithy shouted in relief and swept her short hair back, spraying every last apprentice behind her with droplets of her sweat. Her arms, muscular and with many, many burn scars, cradled the last of her latest babies. Commissioned by the UDC’s High Council, the last of the 20 Soul Arms was now in her arms. Like all others, it took the shape of a nigh-indestructible translucent egg the size of a child’s palm. And like all others, it wasn’t just a seed for one of the most powerful weapons mortals had ever built – It was a living, sentient being destined to bond with someone it deems worthy, upon which moment it would reveal its true form and function as a soul-empowering weapon capable of turning a person into something more impressive.. The Soul Arms. A medium-scale, extreme-difficulty task that only the Church’s most skilled smith could’ve pulled off. It took months. The Smith grinned and threw herself into her favourite wooden chair, the poor thing creaking under her weight. “Aight boys, pack it up with tha others. The Couriers will be here tomorrow to pick ‘em up.” Two of the apprentices rushed to take the infant Soul Arm off the Smith’s hands and went to the basement, while the other apprentices started to get ready to go home for the night. “Honda! You’re keeping watch tonight. With me. Bring the kegs!” A few of the apprentices near Honda gave him knowing smirks and bid him farewell while he was left by himself. Eventually, he groaned and made his way to the basement. It would be a looong night… [hider=Summary] Eleanna comes back to New Dama, the Daman Lands’ capital, and is imprisoned by the UDC after a short duel with one of her former Companions due to having sponsored slavery for decades. Weeks later, she has all 20 of her claws extracted by a plantkin doctor. Those 20 claws are eventually forged into 20 divine artifacts called the Soul Arms. [/hider] [hider=Might] 5 Might used to create the Soul Arms. They’re sentient weapons capable of bonding with a single person. They empower their chosen wielder’s Soul to unprecedented levels, allowing them to regularly pull off superhuman feats as well as use wielder-exclusive Soul Magic branches. 0 Might Remaining [/hider]