Chương 1704: [1601] – Y07.101 – A New Moon Rises I

The noonval sun illuminated the Order of the Five Moons, the fortress built upon the tallest hill, the five black watchtowers like long spires that seemed to reach the heavens, which loomed so high one might have though they could see Arisa from the top.

The carriages strolled towards the large spires, and with the sun beating behind them, they approached the gates of the Order, formed of dark stone, almost black, each engraved with a rune or the symbol of one of the various phases of the moon, carved expertly by hands long taken by time. As the gates opened, they revealed a small group of women, each in black and silver.

The woman in the lead wore black from head to heel, her vestments, though similar to those of Black Mountain, held the slightest hint of purple, and the silver weaved throughout even brighter. Those she was covered almost entirely, her face remained as a blessing to the world, as dark as the night sky, her eyes silver, her face holding supernatural fae beauty. A silver amulet fell in front of her, shaped in a crescent moon, and at her side she wore a pair of silver khopesh.

She was slim, one may have assumed, for it was hard to understand as her vestments lay in such a way she seemed to be both the slimmest and yet the thickest woman one might have seen.

"So pretty," Jirot whispered, glancing up towards her mother, her hands slipping up towards her mother's cheek, rubbing it gently.

"Not as pretty as you, mummy." Vonda smiled, for the girl had spent the day with her aila and her ahm, and now she had to adore her mother, for the girl required to regain her strength, and thus she remained within her mother's arms, those strong arms, those same arms which filled the girl with such warmth. A pair of eyes snapped to the side, to find the wall of iron staring directly at the floor. The half elf's finger was ready to accuse, but since he had lowered his gaze, the half elf showed mercy to Nobby.

"The Moon Mother's blessings upon you," the beautiful woman adorned in black stated.

"Moon Mother's blessings upon you, Mother," Sonarot said, bowing her head gently.

"We seek shelter for the night."

"We have prepared the buildings for your use," Mother Crescent replied respectfully, her eyes falling upon the small army of Iyrmen, as well as that particular fool, though quickly shifted aside.

"The Moon Mother's blessings."

"Mother's Mercy," the woman, who wore an amulet of Mother Soza above a silver sun replied, her lips forming a wide smile, radiating a warmth one might expect of her, meanwhile the twins within her arms beamed up in awe towards their mother. As the two, each considered Mothers, one through her title as Ray, the other through her title as Mother Crescent, and yet each were greater Mothers in their own rights, each with their own children.

It was not just Mother Crescent who greeted the Iyrmen, but two in full plate, a third in slightly lighter armour, and the last adorned only in vestments, the four whose eyes remained entirely focused upon the Iyrmen.

The titular Five Moons had come to greet the Iyrmen, two whom had stepped into the realm of Paragons, the other two who had long stepped into the realm of Grandmaster, each holding their own great aura, and yet when it came across the oppressive walls of the Iyrmen, the titular Moons held their voices, for there was an even greater oppressive wall pressing back against them.

"Hello!" Jirot called, waving her hands towards the Moons, her eyes glistening.

"…" A hand upon the half elf's shoulder stopped him from speaking, for at this time the children were about, and so he needed to keep his words at bay. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Jirot, you should not bully the Moons," called a gentle, soft voice. Jirot flushed, gasping as her eyes met the woman's.

"Kako! I am not bullying, I am not!" Kitool remain stone faced as the girl buried her head against her mother's shoulder, hiding herself from the world.

"Since you are so powerful, you are accidentally bullying them with your pressure."

"Oh," the girl replied, blinking innocently. She buried her head back into her mother's shoulder, remaining silent, for the attention was too much.

'Why are you bullying my daughter?' Adam thought, but he didn't speak up, since Kitool was so scary, and she had managed to bully the Five Moons appropriately. The Order was formed of firm stone, dark, engraved with runes of ancient magic, the domed buildings gathering around the central temple, various banners of black and silver fluttering in the air, the rainbow of flowers adding splashes of colour and scents to the air, while the beautiful fae women drifted throughout like butterflies.

The Order allowed the Iyrmen to remain to various buildings to one side, seemingly not building any new buildings to house the Iyrmen, though the entire group doubled the Order's size. They settled themselves within one half of the buildings to one side, with the children towards the centre, and the Iyrmen spreading out, while those who were not of the Iyr remained to one side.

'Wow,' the Twin Steel Sabres thought, their eyes darting between each of the beautiful women. They had met a few beauties previously, but to think there were more beautiful women each of whom were members of a singular Order… Though there were some matters needing to be spoken of between Five Moons and the Iyr, especially between the ones with such tattoos, this was not the time in which they could speak of such matters.

The one armed Otkan noted the way her cousin looked at her, Steel Strike, who made quite a name for himself in the east. She ignored his smirking, instead settling herself beside her greatnieces and greatnephews, who spoiled her, as the old one armed Iyrman spoiled them in return.

Tarukan was certain they had made the right choice, for bringing along the moonsabre could have caused some issue, and although it was justification enough to wipe out the entire Order with who they had brought along, the children were most important, and they had no reason to remove any of the Aswadian Orders at the time, especially with the Reaver threat on the horizon.

'Did they send no one to fight?' Adam thought, though he couldn't speak the words, not in this place, not at this time, and in this place, perhaps not at any time. Purple took the sky.

"It is always an honour to host a Ray of Life's Rose," Mother Crescent said as the woman accepted her invitation to drink tea in the evening.

"It is always an honour for meet with those of the Five Moons," Ray Vonda replied, sipping the tea lightly within the small cabin, that which the Mother Crescent called the Lunar Palace, the most humble of all palaces, for it was a cabin with a singular room, and to the untrained eye, no secrets, to the trained eye, a great many secrets, and to the eyes of one who could see through the world, no secrets at all.

"I have heard recently Life's Rose has stepped forward onto the battlefield to lead a great crusade against the Reavers."

"I only pray our presence can inspire hope."

"I am certain it is the case." The pair of women continued to sip their tea, and within the silence of speech, their conversation continued. Meanwhile, but a hundred steps away at most, a pair of amber eyes remained fixated upon her father. The half elf sipped his tea, sighed, and brought the tea to his daughter's lips, the girl slurping it noisily, for she was the daughter of her father.

"Jibaby," Adam began, his eyes closed, not daring to coax the little girl to bully him.

"Did you know?"

"Of coas I know."

"Of course."

"Of coas."

"…"

"What I know, daddy?"

"This father of yours, he married your mother, so he is so wise," Adam said, peeking open an eye, towards the girl whose eyes remained upon her father. The girl stared into his eyes, and with a huff, she sauntered away from her father, placing a hand upon her grandmother's knee.

"When did daddy get so good at talking?" Jirot grumbled, peeking open an eye towards her grandmother, whose lips slowly began to form a smile.

"Jirot, will you cause trouble?" Sonarot asked.

"If daddy does not cause trouble, how can I cause trouble?" the girl asked, letting out a soft sigh, but she endured, for her mother had requested her to behave while they were within this Order, and if her father ever made to cause trouble, she would need to stop him immediately, in this Order of all Orders. However. A grave mistake was made. Indeed, for even Vonda hadn't realised, and the girl had spent so much time watching over her father, they forgot who he had inherited his trouble from.

"Full Moon, was it?" the old man asked, his eyes flaring with delight, his lips forming a wild grin.