Across the grassy planes, the flames died down, and embers smoldered. Maidens, clad in glittering plate of metal forged, rode upon their
magic steeds. With purpose, their spears drove down into flesh, and soon followed by their nimble hands. Out of the ruined bodies, rose brilliant gems. Some perfectly round, some like drops of water, some like uncut diamond. But all shining red. Red as blood in the sun's light. One woman, amongst all the others, emerged from within her steed of air.
What did her gazers see?
The image muddled, of maidens mounted on noble steeds of the ground, their manes unfurled, their dark eyes watching. Closer, she neared, their fashion shifting. Until the truth unveiled, their forms cold and bellicose. Closer, their glamor was gone. They had no liking for her. Their partners, mounted, watched. The one woman beckoned. Demanded. The maiden glanced to her mistress, unseen behind cut timber, painted.
As though spurred on by words unheard, the gem was cast.
Aitana caught the stone easily enough and stared at it. The native called it a
heartstone, but her suit sensors said it was catonite. Only, something was very different about it. This wasn't the dull, metallic stuff of their FTL drives. No, there was something special about it. Very, very special. Looking up, Aitana could see the others of the maidenguard gathering more from the fallen creatures and bringing them to the howdah. She could keep this one to herself, couldn't see?
Aitana thought,
'After all, why not? Why shouldn't I keep it?'
"Anyone injured?"
Reina asked aloud and in their virtuality.
"It doesn't look like it,"
Hoshiko replied, the hologram of her face and head still cast over her helmet for aesthetics. Stepping out side the howdah and looking around, she spotted Xian flicking blood off of her jian. Everything was being wrapped up, nice and neat. Only...."I do see something strange though," the princess noted. Gently groping Reina's bosom, she carefully felt the weight. "Wow! They're smaller!" her eyes went wide. She suddenly cleared her throat and tried to look serious again as she changed the topic. "These things, they acted like they were given very specific orders."
"Yeah....Sun's supposed to be formerly haunted," Hoshiko pointed out in their cafe.
"More importantly," the princess stood, putting her hands on her hips to aura farm before pointing at Aitana.
"You've seen too much! Consider yourself Shanghaied!" As the feathered woman received a transfer notice in her inbox and her
gunship departed, the maidenguard handed over the
heartstones to Lady Nimue, who opened the roof ornament again. The princess realized it was not just storage, but something to harness the stones.
"Until we can 'recast' the spell or mess with an example of it, we probably won't make much progress analyzing it," she replied to Wen's musing. True to her words, the bull could tell that the 'illusions' were more than just smoke and mirrors. The bullets
struck something. That something though, became more insubstantial than air as soon as the ruse was up.
"Yes," Lady Nimue began, "These were most likely agents made with a singular and specific purpose." As Aitana came aboard, the massive testudine creature began to emerge from its shell again, and soon enough, strode across the landscape once more. The howdah was easily repaired, and the seats were properly drawn up again as though they were gathering for tea. "Well. I am certain you have many questions," Nimue's golden eyes looked across them all. "Will you ask?"
