Year 2000 AGS Underhaven Calendar
*1 week after the events of Battle of Underhaven.
"We will now convene the Assembly of the Templar Council. I, Elder Gabriel, will be the presiding officer. The Templar in question is Elder Abaddel of the Clan of Golden Black Flames. Everyone in the assembly and spectators are strictly advised to maintain decorum." Elder Gabriel stated before the assembly.
The Templar Capitol is a massive structure. The assembly is where the judiciary council of 21 people, 8 Elders from the Major Clans, and 13 Supreme Council of Masters from the Minor Tribes, are seated at a highly elevated 10-meter-tall Rostrum at one end, and the massive semi-circular gallery for spectators, which can accommodate almost 20,000 people, is at the other end. It is more like a stadium, with an architectural design optimized for acoustics, and a layout specifically engineered to maximize speech intelligibility. It has a very wide hallway in the middle, directly connected to the floor in front of the judiciary council's rostrum.
"Elder Abaddel, based on one of the pieces of evidence given. You were already on the premises before all of this happened. Why did you not take action earlier?" Elder Gabriel asked Elder Abaddel.
"I hate to make these proceedings longer than necessary." Elder Abaddel gestured to the 8th legion. "Roel. Bring them in." Elder Abaddel stated.
MURMUR. MURMUR. MURMUR. The crowd began to doubt Elder Abaddel's words.
CRASH! BANG! The doors of the Capitol burst open with extreme force. Might be on Elder Abaddel's orders because of his fondness for theatrics.
The Golden Black Flames Clan's 8th Legion was carrying a very large metal square crate with metal enclosures.
"UNHAND ME, YOU UNFILTHY SCUMS. DO YOU ALL KNOW WHO I AM? WHY DO ALL OF YOU TREAT ME LIKE THIS? FIRST YOU CAGED ME FOR CENTURIES TH---" Someone or something inside with a very male deep voice was shouting and demanding respect.
MURMUR. MURMUR. MURMUR. The crowd again began to murmur.
"Open it!" Elder Abaddel ordered his 8th legion to open the crate once it reached near him on the floor of the assembly.
"Elder Abaddel, I know you are fond of theatrics but—" Elder Gabriel said when…
CRASH. CRASH. CRASH. CRASH. The four metal enclosers of the crate, along with its golden silk cover, went down at the same time in an instant.
GASP. GASP. GASP. All the spectators, including the judiciary council, gasped in surprise.
"By the heavens!" Elder Michael stood from his seat in the rostrum of 21 people.
"This, my friends, was the cause of it all!" Elder Abaddel shouted in the assembly in front of all the spectators and the judiciary.
"Damn you!..." The one inside shouted, and then he slowly opened his eyes. "Wait, where is this place?" The one inside asked, looking shocked in front of thousands of people. The one inside looked like a massive purple-fire boulder, but with eyes and a mouth.
Elder Abaddel then, in an instant, when the one inside opened his eyes and remarked, he bowed in front of it, lowered his head, and said. "Dear Soul Element, it is not our intention to treat you like this. But we were in haste, and we were only able to transfer you here in Underhaven just earlier."
"Underhaven… You are not the ones who captured me and placed me in a barrier for centuries?" the Soul Element asked.
Elder Abaddel grinned and then stood up and shouted. "Dear Templars, it is what you have heard. An organization called Neo-Illumina attacked us recently in the Mantle and at the 4 entrances. There was an unprecedented phenomenon in the whole of Bastion's history. A new element was naturally created!!!" Elder Abaddel's shout reverberated like an echo in the entire Capitol.
BUZZ. BUZZ. BUZZ. The crowd of Templars began to talk to each other in surprise. The council was also surprised, most especially Elder Michael.
"Order in the court!" BAM! BAM! BAM! Elder Gabriel ordered while striking the gavel.
Once Elder Abaddel had seen the reaction of the crowd, he extended his hands out in the open and made his face grim and serious. "Neo-Illumina, captured this poor new element! Studied him like a lab rat and then monopolized his power for themselves! Unforgivable!" Elder Abaddel shouted then lowered his hands.
"They monopolized the power, intending to use it to annihilate as many Templars as they could find!" Elder Abaddel further added. "The worst case. They used it against us in the Battle of Underhaven, leading to the devastation it caused! Elder Abaddel further shouted.
"If not for the two heroes, Legion Commander Natasha and Great Seer Daniel! All of this would not have been revealed until it would have been too late." Elder Abaddel again stated.
"Elder Abaddel, how did those two know of this?" Elder Gabriel asked. "Indeed. How?... Daniel was our seer, one who could glimpse the future. This was known but only to the Templar Elders. He is connected deeply to the Fate. Thus, he had such gifts. But lately, he had seen visions. Weird visions. One that can't be explained by our current knowledge. Later, after many glimpses of the future, he discovered the soul element and its state, but not its whereabouts. Thus, he contacted me." Elder Abaddel stated.
"Why only you?"
"Because at that time. I am the only one he can trust who would take action in the soonest possible time."
"So all three of you knew that there would be a battle in Underhaven's entrances long before it was about to happen?" Elder Gabriel asked. "Yes!" Elder Abaddel replied confidently.
BUZZ. BUZZ. BUZZ. The crowd then began to chatter.
"Order in the court!" BAM! BAM! BAM! Elder Gabriel again ordered while he struck the gavel.
"But Daniel created a plan. A plan that would save Underhaven and the rest of Bastion from Neo-Illumina's tyranny and schemes." Elder Abaddel significantly highlighted his words.
"Is this the reason why Daniel and Natasha purposely did not call for backup amidst everything that happened?"
"Yes, and no. The Neo-Illumina released a device called an EMP in the area. All manner of advanced communications were down; the analogs could not leave the vicinity, as it was heavily guarded by the Domcreans. The cloud whales, on the other hand, can't seem to handle the EMP, maybe due to their telepathic abilities being suppressed by it, so they left the vicinity. So no, we really can't communicate with the outside. And yes, Natasha ordered Lioel that if divine presence communication would return, under no circumstances would the communication be made to the outside." Elder Abaddel then added.
BUZZ. BUZZ. BUZZ.
"Order!" BAM! BAM! BAM! Elder Gabriel shouted.
"I see the plan succeeded. Since the Soul Element is currently here." Elder Gabriel added.
"Yes, the plan succeeded. But it had required 2 conditions for me to find the location of the Soul Element. First, the one holding the barrier must be burned by a specific intensity of my flames. Second, another person directly affected by the soul-element energy of the one using the barrier must be burned by the same intensity of my flames. Thus, creating a tether between the soul element user holding the barrier and the soul element's location. Once I had located the new element, I ordered my 8th legion to immediately make the strike and take back the soul element."
"So you personally incinerated the said Neo-Illumina barrier holder."
"No, I imbued armors and swords through somatic imprint and gave them to Natasha and Daniel. The moment they were in contact with the said people. They incinerated themselves as well as those stated."
"Wouldn't it be easier if you yourself just did it?"
"No, I cannot. The amount of mana intricacy and magnitude is so complicated that I can't do it in battle. I spent days meticulously imbuing the exact mana energy of the somatic covenant in their armors so that it could locate the soul element in its precise location. That is why Natasha and Daniel had to sacrifice their lives for the sake of Underhaven."
"So, where did you find the location?"
"The Republic of Saint Cobal. Our vampire ally in Unlighted. One that we would not have expected Neo-Illumina to hide."
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*End of Chapter