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Chapter 10: Right and Duty

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

It took a couple of tense hours to finally find a planet good enough to set up a temporary base on.

The task proved to be taxing considering a big problem behind the logistics, in this case, the fact we had to find a decent place to hold the planned meeting between Addie and the ‘leaders’ of the prisoners that had joined our cause.

Despite my trust in the Primes that wanted to fight with us, I held some concerns over another section of the ships that I hadn’t taken under consideration during the first round of calls with the prisoners.. While the men we had spoken with seemed genuine with their interest to join the royal banner, the idea that some Narakhans wanted to pledge their support to Adela felt rather… odd.

Until that point, I hadn’t considered the odds of finding any rebellious member of the Empire that weren’t Primes. People like Carmesi were who I expected to be unwilling to completely submit to the imperial rule since the Empire itself didn’t care much for the Primes.

Some would manage to be promoted in the military, by showing great dedication for the Emperor, but the rest was either put in prison, or turned into a mix between slaves and serfs. Lifelong servants that, albeit held some rights that protected them in the long run, couldn’t do anything beyond that.

But Narakhans? The mere concept of this happening was enough to cause a new debate with the ship’s occupants. Carmie complained how it wasn’t possible for Narakhans to fully break free from the Emperor’s influence, mentioning how their marks were abstract chains that kept them tied to the Empire, one way or another.

Adela confirmed this idea to be true by bringing up the fight I had with her mother’s knight. The man had been corrupted during one of his last battles, leaving him susceptible to the Emperor’s manipulation, becoming a sleep agent to use against the Royal family. It took me a moment to nod at that explanation as I slowly came to realize that, by this very logic-

“I fought the Emperor?”

The Coyote Prime sighed, barely holding an amused smirk about it. “Would it kill your giddiness if I told you no?”

I frowned at her cheeky comment, but Carmesi was the one that replied in the queen’s stead.

“The Emperor might have controlled him, but you fought a puppet in his hold, not the real monster,” The Fox Prime muttered, her eyes glinting in anger even now. “Still, it’s not something to scoff at. Roland was an excellent swordsman, and with the Emperor taking over his body… he wasn’t an enemy that could easily be beaten.”

“Yet… I beat him with Archie,” I commented with a grin. “I don’t think I would’ve defeated him without his help.”

“And bombs,” Adela teased with a smug smile. “You were barely holding him off when you only fought him with a sword.”

I huffed, crossing my arms by my chest. “It’s not my fault the sword was cheap and of poor-quality. I figured it would break from the moment I noticed how unbalanced it was.”

“And yet you still decided to fight with it?” Gracie quietly pointed out, her pink eyes exuding some mirthfulness as she joined the little teasing session on me. “Why didn’t you… pick another sword, maybe from one of the fallen enemies?”

…

…

“You didn’t think about that, didn’t you?” Carmie pressed on with an infuriating grin. “Ah, our strategist does have his moronic moments-”

“T-That’s- I was thinking of running away to check on-”

“Did you or did you not consider picking a different weapon from any of the enemies you’ve fought during that situation?” Adela interjected calmly. “I think we all understand you were under pressure, but I actually want to know now.”

…

“No, I was too… distracted.”

She nodded. “You know, I’m glad that you care more for people than weapons compared to...”

The girl briefly glanced at the Fire Crest.

“A certain someone~.”

The Fox Prime scoffed at the indirect, blatant tease.

“You couldn’t be any more wrong, your highness,” The fellow woman rebuked. “I value my opponents’ worth more than their blades.”

“And maybe their abs too,” Gracie added innocently.

“And their abs-” Carmie paused, narrowing her eyes at the calmness on the Gazelle Prime’s face. “You think you’re funny, don’t you?”

“Maybe,” The Love Crest said with a giggle, seemingly failing to grasp the undertone of that response.

The conversation shifted back to the problem at hand. While in normal circumstances the first thing to do would’ve been to contain and check the Narakhans’ loyalty, the truth was that the leaders of the other ships had provided a summarized list of crimes committed by the people to be sent to that prison.

High Treason.

Despite the idyllic vision the Emperor tried to impose on his subjects, many still refused to accept the viciousness of the corruption, lamenting how it polluted their minds to accept Chaos as their driving force.

Chaos was a force like any other Elements first and foremost, and while it was supposedly the main tool used by our enemies, it was also true that it technically was the same as Love, Fire, Light, or even Death. It was the user that truly determined its usage, and in this case the Emperor managed to gain complete control over it by taking over most of the Narakhans’ minds.

In these specific circumstances, the prisoners actively fought the Emperor’s influence to keep themselves from acting against their current allies, but, just like Carmie had mentioned more than once, the influence couldn’t be beaten back easily. It was a permanent mark that, by all means, couldn’t be removed and it would haunt these individuals to their death.

A grim look from an outsider’s perspective, and one that reminded me that our enemies fought with manipulation rather than by possessing true loyalty in their armies. I could only wonder in morbid curiosity how things would’ve developed if the Empire had managed to create the proper compound to use to fully mind-control everyone through Grace’s blood.

“We shall still give them a chance,” Adela commented with a serious tone. “While I understand your worries, Carmie… I believe we should still give it a try.”

“It will only come back to bite us in the ass later on if we allow them to stay with us,” The Fox Prime shot back with a fierce voice. “Sure, I don’t like it to have to ditch manpower- but these people are beyond redemption. Their souls are already sold to the worst being in the Galaxy.”

“But… have any Crest done something about it yet?” Gracie pointed out. “I mean, surely someone had tried to-”

“It could work if we had Light on our side,” Carmesi interrupted with a nod. “I don’t recall anyone ever mentioning a Crest doing anything about this, but I believe Light is the best bet on that kind of stuff since it’s the best counter to Chaos itself. Still, we don’t have them on our side.”

“Yet,” I added without hesitation. “But surely we can come up with a solution. There has to be a way.”

“I thought you didn’t feel confident about giving them a chance,” The Fire Crest commented with a surprised tone.

“I still am. But… the more I consider the situation, the more I realize that if we leave them to their own devices, we would be no better than the Emperor,” I elaborated my change of mind. “I can’t say we can find a solution about their plight while still accepting them, and while I understand the need to be cautious about who we take in, I… I really don’t want to leave anyone behind.”

I couldn’t afford to do that, not with how things have changed and… now I was sure I could do my best to at least try to save those troubled souls that were asking for a chance they were never given before that point. As much as their people might have caused so much pain, I wasn’t going to label them as overall evil individuals until I had the chance of meeting them and judging them on an individual level.

…

“I agree with Theo,” Adela finally replied. “As much as caution is needed, I can’t just look away from those that could become my subjects once this is all over. When the Empire falls, it would be foolish to imagine all Narakhans will just… go away. Some will want to leave in peace with Primes, and we can’t just turn our back on them. I will do my best to give them reprieve.”

“It will… this will not end well,” Carmesi lamented with a surprisingly weak tone. “I’m not the one that usually gives up on people but… this is a tough topic.”

I was confused by her uneasy attitude about it. Sure, I knew she was against this but… maybe she wasn’t wholeheartedly opposed to it. Deciding to keep them in our fold will surely result in some complications but… we still had to try.

“Ruling is all about making the difficult calls. Mom used to say this,” The Coyote Prime muttered quietly. “I think I’m still far from being as wise as she was, but I know that we still have to give it a try. It’s a duty towards my subjects to be fair and righteous about their needs.”

“I will not say that isn’t the thing but… I’m not sure this is the correct way.”

“But can we manage it? Do you believe it’s doable with proper attention?” Gracie inquired with a fascinated voice while looking at Carmesi.

The Fox Prime tensed up, spending some more time pondering about the big topic before offering a solid response.

…

“Maybe.”

I sighed, knowing that I could count on the Fox Prime’s reluctant support on this matter. Still, with everyone leaning on trying to handle the Narakhans instead of ditching them for the Empire to execute them. There was no way they were going to be spared after that prison break and for trying to join us.

We had to find a solution to this issue, it was all about proving once and for all that the Royal Cause was a real alternative to the Empire instead of a rebellious group meant only for Primes. It was a banner of hope for those that didn’t want to be subjugated by the Emperor and his cruel hold over his fief.

The discussion went on for a while , with the recurring element being that the easiest way to deal with this issue being having the Light Crest with us. Someone that wasn’t within our chances of reaching in just a few hours, leaving us to once more brainstorm how we were meant to deal with this problem.

The exchange dragged on until it was time for the ship to land at the announced zone together with the rest of the small fleet. I was tense as I helped around where needed to make sure everyone was ready for the event and I had to keep my emotions in check as I prepared for it myself.

There was never enough preparation for an event of this kind. Movies failed to describe it, though not some books and comics. It felt bizarre to be suddenly part of a greater state of things instead of the usual mundane lifestyle I was normally accustomed to.

A fresh adventure where I’m part of the forces of good and I had to fight evil? It was straightforward, and while it was tough to get up to pace with the rest of the warriors, it still offered me plenty of time to grow accustomed to the ‘small’ burden.

But to be among the leaders of a full-fledged rebellion that was much larger than merely a dozen people? Things felt more serious. It was no longer about me keeping an eye out for the few I knew and cared for. Now it was about succeeding in a real war with the few numbers we currently possess.

Adela would be the leader, and while young and slightly inexperienced in leading a force this large, she seemed to know how to handle this. She knew when to ask for advice, but even with that, I still worried that things would still be tough on everyone. I braced for the change of pace, as I knew things were going to be different.

_ And not by a little bit as the other members of the ship’s crew believed. _

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The landing, thankfully, was particularly smooth.

I would’ve expected Archie to have some trouble in ‘parking’ the ship since the pre-meeting’s assignments were going to need a lot of space between the ships and the area that was meant to host the whole event. It had to be done quickly, and in a way that once done, everyone could’ve left swiftly and without wasting too many hours on it before resuming our journey.

Setting up a perimeter, we soon prepared a big tent with the help of Archie. The spirit managed to employ electrified gates all around the area to hopefully keep native creatures from interrupting the meeting while also using some of the ship’s drones to aid with the tent situation.

Two hours later, the only tasks left to do were setting up tables, food, and the documents for the event. Archie prepared the right table for us to take and soon we were sitting in our seats, with the Spirit deciding to float near Addie while we waited for the beginning of the reunion.

We were ready to begin now that everything had been set up correctly, and gave the signal for the other ships to release their occupants to fill up the location. There were way more people than I had originally expected, leaving me concerned about what would happen if things went south for one reason or another.

Still, I tried keeping my composure as everyone took their seats. Some preferred to stay standing as they tried the available food, swiftly taking a liking with it based on the way they almost started a riot due to the delicious dishes presented there.

Four leaders had rallied to sit on the opposite side of the table, with one of them being the elder leading the ‘small’ group of Narakhans. It took them a moment for them all to be settled, and soon the meeting began.

“I wish to thank you for having accepted my invitation. I understand the grave situation and that we can’t stay for long to attempt to unravel problems and talk about solutions for our current situation,” Adela started to say, her voice taking a regal and formal tone as she tried to show decorum worthy of a ruler. “I’m Queen Adela of Prism. May I know your names, loyal children of the lost homeland?”

This is so… formal. So unlike how Addie usually speaks.

The five nodded, and the first one to speak was an old looking Lion Prime with gray hair and tan fur. He had some muscles that could be seen through his clothes, and a few scars visible on his exposed arms as his shirt didn’t possess any sleeves.

“My name is Muraty, and I once served as a General under Queen Rehema. I’m glad that you’ve succeeded to the throne and are doing well, your highness.”

Adela nodded slowly, clearly surprised by that detail but still keeping herself calm as she turned to the next individual.

“Your Highness, I’m Alwin,” The Hawk Prime muttered with a cordial voice, sounding quite polite and appearing rather supportive with his introduction. I was surprised that there were Primes that had bird-like features, but I didn’t let the surprise show outwardly. He had a silver beak, shoulder-length gray hair and black feathers. His body was much slimmer compared to the previous leader. “While I may have not served directly under your mother, I was the leader of a group of informants that tried to relay as much news from the Empire to her before we ended up being captured.”

“I believe I’ve heard of your group’s efforts,” The young woman mentioned with a nod. “I’m sorry to hear that your actions led to your incarceration.”

“None of that, your highness,” Alwin rebuked the apology. “We took an oath on our duty. We knew the risks, and we accepted the imprisonment as further proof that our actions were natural.”

Nodding once again, Addie turned to the third Prime leader and the fellow woman smiled kindly at the monarch. A Polar Bear Prime with dark-blue eyes and short silver hair, she was a bit on the curvaceous side, but far from plump, considering the limited amount of food given to the prisoners before the jail break.

“I’m Anneli, and I was an underground activist that worked for a group independent to the royal cause,” She explained with a calm voice. “But now, I’m willing to pledge my group’s support to your highness.”

…

“Why?”

Anneli blinked. “I… I don’t understand?”

“You said you weren’t tied to my mother’s faction. May I ask what made you change your mind and ask to join us now?”

“I suppose it was due to the time spent in prison, your majesty,” The woman slowly admitted. “To be fair, I’m still not sure that doing this is the right thing since your group is the far more hunted compared to other rebellious cells… but since we have all left a maximum grade jail, it’ would only be a matter of time before the Emperor labeled us all as criminals to be killed on sight.”

“So it’s convenient?”

“And the fact we share the same objectives and enemies.”

… “What about after the Emperor is defeated?”

The older Prime almost ‘corrected’ Adela on the certainty of the dangerous threat’s demise, but she stopped to avoid souring the event so quickly. Instead, she gave a more truthful answer.

“We will continue to support your highness, but only if your highness continues to champion the very ideals she sports right now. We will not change one tyrant for another.”

“I will be the ruler of everyone and for everyone.”

That seemed to convince the last Prime leader for now, leaving only a single individual that had yet to speak up. The old Narakhan was currently staring at me, and glared with his glowing red eyes.

I could feel some form of pressure being exerted onto me, but I managed to oppose this sudden development by flushing some Light magic through my body. The result was the opposing leader’s scowl widening in response to my resistance.

“_ You foolish human, _” The voice was familiar, and I felt dread expanding as I realized who it was.

“So you’re the big guy himself,” I grimly stated, and as soon as I said this the rest of the table stood up and moved away from the possessed individual. The rest of the Narakhans tensed up, but looked more fearful than else as their leader had been taken over by the Emperor.

“_ You shall pay for your continuous effort in undermining my rightful claim over everything- _”

“I believe I will not. In fact, you...” I paused, feeling my anger bubbling at the fact the one behind Rehema’s death was now once again in front of me. “You deserve nothing!”

Before anything could proceed beyond that furious proclamation, the Narakhan suddenly tensed up and started shivering as he seemed to be fighting off the influence he was being subjected to. Trembling, the rest of the table was confused at the sight, but I still decided to move and attempt to subdue the man.

I swiftly walked around, reaching for the guy’s arms as I tried to restrain his actions… but as I did so, I started feeling drained. At the same time, the Narakhan’s shivering ceased as he slumped against me. I managed to hold him from falling on the floor, and soon I helped him back to his chair as I tried to understand what had just happened.

One moment he was fighting and now he looked like he was spared from the struggle against the Emperor altogether. Despite this outcome, the event continued and the rest of the conversation proceeded rather tensely, with everyone stealing looks to the unconscious elder as two of his fellow Narakhans approached to check on him while we were busy talking.

I was still surprised at being drained so suddenly, but decided against mentioning it as I quickly found myself handling another difficult question from the other leaders.

“Human. The Emperor seemed to consider you this… I guess that’s the name of your race, Theo, am I right?” Alwin asked with a fascinated tone.

“Yes, that would be the case.”

“You’re the Queen’s Grand Knight, young Theo. A position not many have heard of for a long time, and that it was long thought to have been a myth,” Muraty added with even more intrigue dripping off his voice.

“A legendary role. Expectations will be high considering the circumstances,” Anneli pressed on with a sigh. “Then again, you were part of the group that planned the massive jail break that saw all of us freed from the imperial yoke.”

I nodded, unsure how I was supposed to face this latter bit of the subject. Thankfully for me, someone decided to intervene and spare me from the full-fledged onslaught of questions.

“How about Crests? I’ve heard those were rarer than that,” Carmie finally spoke up, drawing the attention of the three leaders on herself and… Grace.

“The Fire Crest and the Love Crest,” Alwin muttered with a serious look. “While it’s far from the full set, it is the beginning of it and… this adds more legitimacy to your claim to the royal cause, your highness.”

“Many of your ancestors have come close to having three Crests during their reign, but with their deaths, the old ties unfastened and left the cause with only the mission to find them while having none with them.”

“I plan to complete the Gathering. Once all Crests have l be reunited, the final battle to defeat the Emperor shall begin,” Adela confirmed with a nod. “I trust both Carmesi and Grace in being prepared by the time this happens.”

Both Primes nodded silently at these words, and soon the conversation shifted elsewhere as a certain Polar Bear Prime decided to inquire about another pressing matter about the current state of things. Something that had to do with a certain sleeping individual.

“Apologies if this sounds too sudden, your highness, but may I ask what your opinion of… Narakhans is?”

…

“If they ask to join my cause and are genuine with their pledge, then I shall consider them my subjects.

“So the Queen is still willing to allow the Narakhans?” The tall Lion Prime inquired with a hint of surprise within his voice. “I’m… not against the decision, merely curious. May I ask why you decided to go through with this, your highness?”

The Coyote Prime, looked down to the table, seemingly collecting her thoughts before releasing a resolute nod.

“When mother used to speak about her subjects, she mentioned how easy it is for a monarch to merely favor the grand majority if those are the ones that are important for a ruler’s reign,” The young woman started to explain. “But only a good monarch understands that they are the ruler of everyone, and that their duties are to the people as a whole, not just to a majority or a group with power within their domains.”

…

“Many years ago, I had the chance of meeting a younger Rehema. She was older than you back then, but she was dealing with the loss of her mother just like I can see you are doing with her,” The old man commented. “She was nervous as you were now, far from reaching your full potential… but at the same time, I have to say you’re shining with a brighter glint than hers. I can feel… much more strength behind your words, more confident,” He paused to look at me and give me a thankful nod. “More support.”

Just as he finished saying this, our attention was taken away as we noticed the previously unconscious Narakhan now stirring and preparing to wake up. I tensed, ready to restrain the guy again before he could try anything funny on us.

The elder shifted tiredly, slowly waking up and revealing that while we had all been distracted, something bizarre had occurred with his appearance. His face and left arm… there was no sign of the cursed mark that once had occupied these parts of his body now.

He seemed to notice that something had changed based on the way he tensed up and looked around. Finally, he looked back at the rest of the people sitting at the table and… spoke up.

“W-Why is everything so… quiet now?” The old Narakhan asked, his confusion soon fueling a shocked reaction from every single occupant of the tent.

The signs were gone, and from the comment he had delivered, many knew that the most absurd development had indeed happened. The Narakhan, albeit an old one, was cleansed from the taint left by the Emperor upon his subjects.

I paused in an effort to try and understand what had caused this phenomenon to happen, only for my mind to bring up a couple of moments that eventually cemented the only viable option at it. Light Magic was, by all definition, the strongest Element to use against Chaos. It was a known fact in combat but, by definition, it should also have some major effects against a Narakhan’s mark.

“I- Could it be that Light magic works on the taint?” I asked with a brief stutter, turning to glance at the others. “I was using Light magic to shield myself from the Emperor’s pressure, but I didn’t stop using it as I grabbed his arm.”

There was an eerie quiet as I waited for a response, only for the table to descend in a silent brainstorming session as they all tried to confirm this phenomenon as the result of Light Magic itself.

“He has been purified from the corruption,” Archie commented. “My analysis confirmed this four times now.”

“So it’s...”

“Light Magic seems to be responsible for curing marked Narakhans,” The Spirit interrupted with a solid nod. “But I would suggest more studies before rushing to this conclusion.”

One of the Narakhans that had been standing by the elder carefully approached me, offering her right arm, the one that sported the taint, as I carefully took hold of it and started to carefully draw on my light magic. Shortly after that action, the young woman pulled away as I let her be and she stared at her mark-less arm and… she couldn’t feel any connection with the Emperor.

“I-It worked just like with Naghi.” She muttered in awe. “It worked!”

Before I could say anything about the matter, I saw the rest of the group swarming my seat as I was quickly asked to deal with their marks too. I wasn’t sure if I had the means to do so since I was getting very drained from merely two purification attempts. Still, I tried to get as many Narakhans purged from the Emperor’s influence as possible, only for Addie to have to step in and handle the last few remaining since I was too tired from the couple more I went through.

I was relieved when we somehow managed to get all of it done at the expense of my body straining the most and forcefully growing exhausted as the novelty drew for a while and the final notes of the conversation began. Addie managed to be barely winded by the experience, but she seemed to keep her composure just fine until the meeting was over.

The Narakhans were quick to praise me and swear absolute allegiance to both me and the queen I was a subject to, drawing some awkward looks from the rest of the table as I tried to handle this barely awake. I was close to falling asleep by the time the entire meeting came to a closure. A proper division of leadership happened, with Carmie working with Muraty’s soldiers, Grace collaborating with Anneli’s activists and… I was left with both Alwin’s spies and Naghi’s Narakhans.

For now this would hopefully only be temporary, and I really hoped for someone more experienced with spies to come by and handle that kind of mess. I doubted the Narakhans would’ve accepted me ditching my ‘job’ as their ‘merciful savior’. They seemed rather certain of their loyalty to me, and by proxy to Adela, and I wasn’t planning to shake the boat just yet.

With the reunion ending, the need to start packing things began. Now that the Emperor had shown himself and was surely aware of the last position of his rogue Narakhans, it would’ve been foolish to linger too much by the planet we were currently waiting by.

The journey resumed, this time with the order of the fleet far more organized as we prepared for the next step in our journey. Now that there was a foundation for the renewed royal cause, it was time to move on and try to find the other Crests.

_ A tough task that was easier said than done… _

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AN

‘ Insert funny joke and lame request for feedback’

Also lemon is coming soon… and it’s gonna be spicy.