Parallel: The Legion

Chapter 9: Big Betty

The massive golden hammer stopped all the activity within Valerium. A few moments passed before a scream and a few sounds of things crashing down. That seemed to bring everyone back to reality. Kovac groaned and placed his head on the table as the others shook their heads, some even mimicking his action. One idea was shared within all their minds, one guild, one person.

"So.. The Hopeful Maggots strike again." Athena sighed shaking his head. "I heard they were deadly but damn..."

"Well, we have a chance to start our own story... Your Highness, I would like to join Kovac's crusade." Talon placed a plated hand on the table. He then turned to Athena and Cordis pointing at Kovac. "I don't know about you two, but combat follows him."

"Aye, that I can vouch for..." Maddox shook his head and kept his arms crossed. "Fortune favours either the brave or the foolish, I've never seen it favour the insane.."

"He's crazier than he looks but he gets the job done." Eclipse groaned and placed her head on the table. A few chuckles made it around the table when Nicola made her entrance accompanied by two official looking..elves? A male elf, who looked to be in his mid-forties led a younger female elf carrying a brown leather ledger. The male had long silver hair which cascaded behind his pointed ears and a pair of glasses sat on the bridge of his nose. He had a few scars on his face, and his hands were calloused. Resting against his back, was a finely crafted elven longsword and a steel dagger on his hip. His light brown leather armour shifted a little bit as he took a position behind the table in the corner of the room. The younger female elf with her shorter light brown hair followed the man behind the table. She had a belt of daggers around her waist, but other than that she looked quite nerdy. She bit her lip as she nervously played with the end of her hair not really feeling that comfortable being one of the slightly less armed in the room. She placed the ledger on the table and opened it to a page. A magic quill appeared as she started to scribble on a page. Her guard watched Kovac intently as he paced around the room deep in thought.

"How many armies does Valerium have your highness?" Kovac clasped his arms behind his back holding the hilt of one of his daggers. The guard clutched his own dagger, ready to throw it if Kovac did anything drastic.

"Four, all having a number of the three main battle forces. Owls, Bears, and Rams. The forces that held the line, presently led by Maddox, have come to call themselves The Storm Legion. For you people who are new to Valerium, Owls are the archers, Bears are the main fighting force, and the Rams are the cavalry. The Owls and Rams usually select the Goddess of the Hunt while the Bears are religious towards the ways of the Rogue Prince. Auxiliary forces include artillery, scouts, and intelligence units scattered within." Xander replied and stepped behind the male elf and looked at the contract being formed.

"The Fifth Legion. Simple and inconspicuous." Kovac said in a quiet voice "The Fifth Legion." This time in a louder voice and looked at the younger elf.

Her hand flew across the parchment as the writing began to glow after she wrote. As she finished writing she turned it towards him and the rest of the Summoned. Kovac stepped forward and signed his name, followed by Eclipse and Talon. Cordis and Athena were a bit more hesitant though. They walked over to the contract, searching for any loopholes or anything that might be against their morals. Eventually Cordis signed the parchment while Athena stood back.

"I have a few concerns... A good chunk of our force will be Residents. Even if Summoned were to lead them, what's stopping them from going against us if we encounter something that they can't handle. Beyond this, there are a few Summoned that I know of who would simply.. be rude to these soldiers. There would be inequality within the army and possibly even more conflict that could tear all of this apart." Athena spoke in a somewhat disconcerting tone and looked at Kovac with a mix of concern and curiosity.