Foxtails and Fairytales: Facades and Fables of the Phantom Prince

[Arc 17] Ch.4 Nov'Lecaern Stolen

The door to Nov'Lecaern was built exclusively for spirits, but sometime on a cloudy day when the sun peeked through the clouds just right it could be seen. That meant that every day during dawn and dusk the glistening towers would shimmer in the sky.

It was a place of myth and magic. A beautiful castle-wrought metropolis that seemed to be built on the very clouds on the border's edge of the world. Fountains were scattered fairly within the domain and connected to many waterfalls that created a layer of mist that became the clouds that separated the divine realm from the mortal world. Gardens were carefully tended by lesser spirits, and they could be as simple as a lawn with some flowers or even as vast as a small forest.

The entire structure was made out of one platform meant to be the grandest of castles. Each building and plaza matched the aesthetic perfectly as if the whole thing was hewn from one stone by one master craftsman. And it was because it was, it was crafted by Governance. This place was his power and authority. Unlike Justice who created a body in the sky where no one but he could touch, Governance favored majesty and grace. He wanted to be lauded and so he created this exclusive realm for the spirits.

But in Justice's eyes, Governance had lost sight of their original purpose. He built this palace realm and separated it from the mortal world. This caused the spirits to equally set themselves apart from the world, imaging they were beings above it rather than beings of it.

Thus Justice decided to take it from the grasp of those who no longer deserved it.

In preparation of this Justice decided who would live and who would die.

*

With a portal spell he had invented, Inari guided Stygia and her troops into Nov'Lecaern. They then laid waste to almost every spirit they came across and shook the foundation of the spirit world.

For those that Inari had deemed righteous enough to survive, he captured. They were bound, gagged, and dragged along as they watched the rest of their kin slaughter with almost no rhyme or reason.

For Stygia who had never seen Inari fight before, she was once again impressed and entranced with his beautiful swordsmanship. While she and her men brutally slaughtered the spirits, Inari wove a handsome dance of death that didn't waste any movement nor seemed to have any weakness.

She was right when she had determined that she may not be able to match him in a fight. Even against the great spirits who were leagues above some of the Immortals best, he seemed to dance around them as if mocking them for their weakness.

She was also surprised by the number of spirits and especially warrior spirits that fought against them. Without Inari they would have been done for, however without Stygia and her men he would have been woefully outnumbered.

Finally, Governance donned his armor and joined the battle with his royal guard. They were the mightiest of the spirits and it was only at this point that Inari and Stygia were pushed back. At this point the fight became a spectacle that can't even be related with words.

They fought for a month until they were all exhausted. Finally, Inari captured Governance and held him hostage so that all the spirits and immortals could see. With the magic he had reserved for this moment, he created a gate in the center of the battlefield unlike any had seen before. It was a great arch with a heavy door that had no handles.

"Stygia, open the gate." he said, and she pushed it open. On the other side was the mortal world. "Throw the prisoners through it."

She did as he ordered and the gods who had witnessed all of this were thrown through it.