Chapter 208: The Trial of Faith (One) (Maiya)

Chapter 208: The Trial of Faith (One) (Maiya)

Maiya shivered at the chill of dawn in Jatan Forest. While not nearly as ancient as the Godshollowthe trees were shorter and less girthyit had its own mystique. Moss covered the trunks and ferns decorated the forest floor. The variety of flora surpassed the Godshollow tenfold, and sounds of birds and rodents filled the air as the forest awoke.

Were it not so close to the Ash Boundary, it mightve become a tourist destination. As it was, however, Jatan Forest went largely unvisited by humans.

Sane humans, at least.

A crowd had gathered at the spot the cultist priest had informed them about a month before, and Maiya saw several familiar faces. Yamal, unfortunately, being one of them. The man searched the crowd, likely looking for her, but Maiya ensured she stayed far away.

For this initiation ritual, Maiya wore only light gambeson, concealed under her faded brown cloak. The hood concealed her red hair, which was tied back into a ponytail. Shed even smeared a bit of dirt on her face to better blend in with the type of people shed seen at the Childrens briefing shed attended a month prior.

Her unassuming appearance was a carefully crafted guise, of course.

Maiya hadnt spent the past month idling. Quite the opposite, in fact. After securing permission from Princess Ira to reduce her duties in preparation of her infiltration, shed trained almost nonstop. If there was one thing shed learned about power, it was that one could never have too much of it.

The days shed spent fighting Ash Beasts hadnt been in vain. Shed even meditated near Ash Tears, despite the danger, soaking in the prana. All to expand her bloods capacity, as Vir had taught. Itd been painful. Itd been brutal. But shed grown strong.

Strong enough, she felt, that she wouldnt lose to Virs own gains in the time hed been gone. The thought had consumed more of Maiyas attention lately. She feared. Not only for Virs safety, but of being left behind. She feared Vir would grow so powerful that shed no longer see him as an equal.

Vir would grow powerful; that much she knew. Hed been unsure of his future, but Maiya knew. That when he reached the demon realm, hed see his peoples suffering. And hed help. Because that was who Vir was. And by helping them, hed become something great. A king. A monarch.

And if Maiya wasnt at least his equal in both strength and authority, how could she stand by his side in good faith?

As a direct result of her effort, Maiya was now a Greater Mejai of Ash, and with that came a sense of relief. Of tangible progress. It also brought with it a small but crucial perkshe could now slowly charge B Grade orbs, though not quite fast enough to use in battle. If she could, shed have been a Mejai of Realms.

Moreover, she could now activate precharged A Grade orbs of Wind Affinity.

As such, under her robes, Maiya had brought along an entire arsenal.

She carried with her two C grade Wind Blade orbs, two B Grade Gale Blasts, one B Grade Water Spear, one each of the B grade Mend Flesh and Set Bone orbs, and finally, one A Grade Tempest. All of which were precharged.

Tempest was the most powerful weapon shed ever wielded, and the mere ability to set off a precharged one had sent her Balar Rank soaring to two hundred. With this single spell alone, she could easily annihilate the fifty hopefuls whod appeared should she choose to.

Not that shed ever do such a thing, of course. A Grade spells toed the line between the tactical and strategic levels for a reason. They tended to affect an immense area and did catastrophic damage to all those caught within, whether they were friend or foe. Every usage had to be reported to the Kinjal military, and they were a tightly governed resource.

Borrowing even one had taken pulling every string Maiya had.

Despite their power, or rather, because of it, they were incredibly unwieldy and difficult to safely deploy. Yet some situations called for Veras might, and only A and S Grade orbs could deliver such unbridled firepower.

Maiya glanced down at her armor. Though her gambeson looked ordinary, it had been custom-made to her specifications. The magic pathways covering it allowed her to slot B Grade Slashing Protection, Piercing Protection, and Blunt Protection orbs, with Enhance Speed C Grade orbs in both of her greaves. In addition, she carried six daggers strapped to both of her thighs. Two for melee combat, and four to throw.

Maiya was, without a doubt, the most well-armored and armed attendee at this initiation.

Maiya glanced around to find that the number of hopefuls trickling in had diminished. Just then, the priest began walking.

Maiya couldnt help but notice one among the crowda man who towered over the rest. For a moment, she thought he mightve been a demon giant, but soon realized he wasnt. He was just exceedingly tall. And muscular. He was easily the tallest human Maiya had ever seen.

The tall man strode boldly forth, and after glancing hesitantly at one another, the other initiates followed.

It was a smaller crowd than the one that had attended the briefing at Sonam but not by much. Whatever zealotry drove these people was clearly not something to be underestimated, if they were willing to risk their lives coming this close to the Ash.

Maiya was beginning to understand the value Princess Ira saw in the Children of Ash. They didnt just make for ideal spies. They were spies whod take their knowledge with them to the grave. Whod apply themselves to whatever task the Blessed Chosentheir holy leadercommanded. Perhaps even becoming an army if needed.

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Versatile.

It was near impossible to find such a dedicated and multifaceted group. To craft one took decades, if not centuries, of careful effort. And here was one, just ripe for the taking.

The irony was not lost upon Maiya. The Children were attempting to convert her, while she was trying to do the same to them.

Unfortunately, not all beasts followed that behavioral pattern. Every so often, an errant beast would decide to press on, sometimes raiding a village or encountering a town. Such events represented major crises, so Kinjal did everything in their power to stop them. It wasnt a good look for the strongest military power in the world if their heavily manned wall failed to achieve its purpose, after all.

Or so Ira had said during one of their teatime chats, which had been happening more frequently as of late. Sometimes, Maiya questioned whether the princess really felt it that urgent to speak to her, or if she just wanted a friend to chat with.

Sooo, Yamal asked, interrupting Maiyas thoughts, plopping down beside her. From the moment hed spotted her, hed never ventured more than a few paces away, clinging like a child.

Hard to blame him, Maiya thought. The safest place for miles was next to her, but that didnt change the fact that he was still an annoyance.

Why are you here, Maiya? Yamal asked. Forgive me for prying, but it doesnt look like youve fallen on hard times

Im interested in the Ash, she replied with her rehearsed response.

So you believe them. You think the Ash is sacred? You want to ascend?

As much as Maiya resented the effort of correcting him, itd be bad if he thought she wasnt right in the head. The Childrens logistics and intelligence network was run by sane people. At least, relatively sane. If word got around that she was a zealot, itd actually hurt her chances of infiltrating that cell.

Not at all, Maiya replied. I just want to understand more about it. The Children have the most experience dealing with the Ash, so I figure theyll have something I can glean.

It wasnt quite trueKinjal knew more about the Ash than most thanks to their scouting missions, but Maiya wasnt about to divulge her privileged access to top secret military intelligence.

Oh. Oh, I see, Yamal said. But that just begs the question of why youre so interested in the

OUR GODS MESSENGER HAS ARRIVED! The Rector shouted, raising his arms to the sky. Quickly! Up! Show their holiness the respect they deserve!

The Rector prostrated himself in front of the incoming beasts.

There were six.

Maiya stood, discreetly palming a hidden orb, but soon exhaled. They were merely Greater Zards. Balar Rank Thirty to Fifty in the Ashtheyd be weaker here.

Maiya could dispatch them all alone.

Yamal hid behind her, cowering. She ignored him.

Wonder how this is supposed to be a test, though

The Childrens cultists lacked military training. How were they expected to defend themselves against these beasts? And what if a single individual took them all out? Would she be the only one to pass?

Maiya brought out her daggers.

The priest whirled.

No! No! What are you doing!? he wailed in panic. Put away your weapons! Hurry, before you incur their wrath! Bow down! Prostrate! If you are worthy of our cause, the divine messengers of the One True God will protect you!

Maiya froze.

No way.

Er, did he just say we cant defend ourselves? Yamal asked, gripping his own dagger. Because thats what it sounded like This is madness.

Is he out of his mind!? Maiya thought. Nevermind.Stupid question.

Maiyas lips grew taut. She agreed with Yamal. This wasnt merely insane. It was suicide.

And yet, she had a job to do.

With great reluctance, Maiya sheathed her blades and lowered her head to the grass.

Damn you to Ash, Ira.