Chapter Text

The surprised gasps and murmurs of the crowd filled what would have been a quiet and peaceful morning. The monks of Tau Kor had gathered around the small temple that had been built hundreds of years prior, dedicated to the two monks who had changed this monastery and brought a new light to its door. Men, women, and children filled the doors, lined the streets outside, but none dared to enter in fear of interrupting The Ascended.

Two statues stood in the temple, the shorter one a statue of Jenos himself in his mortal form. In the time before his Ascension, Tau Kor was a place of distress. The monks had split themselves into Greater and Lesser Monks, and the Greater Monks had ruled, decreeing vows as punishments. Tau Kor was a monastery about mortals’ journeys, and the Greater Monks decreed that only they could direct mortals on their journeys… that is until one day, a disrespecting Lesser Monk who couldn’t even keep his vows stepped into the sky and became one with the Cosmos, a journey more physical than had ever been seen before. Jenos left behind his dear friend, a man who had read the forbidden texts of the Pyre and gained the powers of the Heavens, a man who loved Jenos as a brother and listened to every secret midnight lesson Jenos had taught to those who would attend, a man who had preached in Jenos’ absence of the Ascended’s teachings. This man had stood as a peaceful Furia, an Angel of Vengeance who avenged not those hurt by sin, but those blinded by the wrongful rule of those Greater Monks. His sword had never been lifted, and nothing but the teachings of his dear friend Jenos left his lips. The Greater Monks had taught that only they knew how others should traverse their journeys, and Jenos and his dear friend taught that all entities, mortal and immortal, had their own journey on which to go. Others could help one traverse his journey, but no one could tell him where to go with certainty. When Jenos had ascended, his friend had remained to teach those words until his own quiet passing into the Realms beyond.

The statue of this man stood straight, wings outstretched gently, face smooth and calm.

At the statue’s feet, knelt Jenos, his hand rested on the statue’s sandaled foot, as he silently mourned his friend’s passing.

“How long have I been gone?” The god asked, but no one dared to respond. He lifted his hand to his face and removed his mask. His sapphire eyes shone gentle and sad as he turned back to the statue, “I had known… I had known of his passing. I have watched over the monastery all this time, but… it pains me nonetheless to know I will be carrying out my duty alone.”

One monk entered the monastery, a broad-shouldered man with bright green eyes: the retired warrior who the Ascended had approached upon his descension.

“What is your name?” Jenos spoke, replacing his mask. Of course, he knew the answer already: he knew every part of this man’s dark past and broken present, but he chose to allow the courtesy.

“Buck.” The man spoke simply, his hand to his chest and his eyes to the floor, “What- uh… how… how may I-” Jenos raised a hand sharply, and Buck silenced immediately.

“Buck, my friend, do you know why it is you who I have approached?” Jenos spoke with a gentle smile.

Buck slowly shook his head, still too fearful to make eye contact.

“The Darkness on the horizon, the hate in the Realm… I have a duty to my monastery, to my people, and I require your aid. Tell me, Buck, have you any abilities? Are you a Champion… or is it simply ‘Buck’?”

“I- no, I’m not anything.” Buck replied, dropping to his knees, his eyes still locked to Jenos’ feet.

“Nothing?” The Ascended chuckled, “I think not… you’ve been many things in the past, haven’t you? What have you been?”

A heavy knot rested in Buck’s stomach, floating up to his throat as his thoughts raced through his mind, every memory that he had tried to settle away. His work on Tau Kor of accepting who he had been and creating who he had become cracked as he tried to figure out what to say to The Ascended himself.

“Who were you, Buck?” The Ascended spoke after the moments of silence. Buck closed his eyes and spoke in a tone hardly audible, “A monster.”

“A monster?” Jenos responded. He placed a hand on Buck’s shoulder.

Buck breathed, before continuing, “In all the stories, the bad guy summons his crazy, stupid minion, his pet monster. Th-that was me, that’s what I did. And then- and then the Magistrate bought me from him to grant me my freedom, they wanted to give me a chance at a better life. But the war began and- and I guess I ended up right back where I started, even if the Magistrate is a bit more moral… the fight was the same, it was all about following orders, other people making their way…” no more words would come to Buck as his eyes opened and he stared intently at the slippered feet levitating a foot off of the ground.

“You… you are bowing.” Jenos sounded slightly annoyed, “There are no ranks among the monks of Tau Kor. Do not bow to me, please.”

Buck rose to his feet, his eyes and head still lowered. Jenos sighed, “Buck… we are equals in this monastery, and you are my friend, I request your aid. I have chosen you because you are a man who has learned kindness, humility, strength-”

Buck shook his head, “I’m still in training, sir-er-Jenos… I-I’m not like-”

“Silence.” Jenos snapped, “Buck, I trust you, and so I have entrusted you with the knowledge I have gained from my time in the Cosmos. I had friends, friends of the Cosmos, friends of the Abyss, and the friend of the Heavens represented by this here statue. Buck, I require mortal friends as well, will you aid me?”

Buck looked up, staring into the lenses of the mask of the Cosmosian man. The great warrior nodded slowly.

“Radiant! Truly!” Jenos smiled. He reached to Buck and placed his hand on the warrior’s forehead. A surge of power burst from the Ascended’s palm, forcing Buck back in shock.

Energy surged through Buck’s face, through his abdomen and in his limbs. Buck breathed heavily as the Cosmosian power filled him.

“Pardon the intrusion-” Jenos chuckled, “but I find that friends who wield no ability tend to have trouble keeping up.” he glanced at the statue of the angel, before meeting eyes again with Buck, “A Champion, now, aren’t you? Yes, yes, that is much more fitting. Tell me, he who was once a monster, once a soldier, once a monk, what are you now?”

Buck rose back to his feet. He straightened his back and looked his friend in the eye as he responded, “I am Buck, ‘The Unyielding’.”

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Despite the mass of the Giant’s hand, Khan attempted to knock on the great wooden door as absolutely softly as he could muster. Even at his softest, he cringed as the noise bellowed through the halls.

“Your majesty?” he called. He was growing worried for the princess: she had spent the last few days since the news of her mother’s death hiding away in her quarters, banning even Khan from entry.

“Your majesty?” he called again. He heard a small shuffle from the room, followed by her weakened voice, “Go away, Khan.”

“Princess, I beg your forgiveness, but I must protest. We have obtained-” He was interrupted by the click of the door lock. The door opened slightly.

Khan pushed the door open and looked through the room. A shivering bundle of blankets lay beside the bed, with nothing but an arm emerged and touching the top of the comforter.

He entered the room and approached the bundle, before crouching beside the mass of blankets.

“Princess, the floor is not a clean place for you to sit.” He spoke softly as he scooped up the mass. He lifted her to the bed and gently placed her and her blankets on top of the comforter. Lian slightly rolled out from under the bundle, covered in nothing but a nightgown. Her hair was frizzy and unkempt and dark circles stained her sleep-deprived eyes.

Khan sat on the bed and lifted the bundle of princess on to his lap. He rocked her gently back and forth, watching her sway and her eyes close.

It was a long moment the two sat in peaceful silence, before Lian wriggled from Khan’s grasp and moved to the closet to dress.

“Shall I call your maids?” Khan asked, looking away to offer her some privacy.

“No, no, I have it.” The Princess’ voice sounded hollow.

She moved to stand before him, now dressed in a silver overdress, “What was it you wished to say, Khan?”

Khan watched her for a few seconds as she stood before him in her silver dress and its white trim that accentuated her thin frame and wide hips. He slowly glanced away at the great window. He rose to his feet and approached the window, looking out over the sun-streamed Ruby gardens.

“We have intercepted a messenger hawk from the South carrying a message to the Tau Kor monastery.” Khan replied. He could hear a shuffling behind him as Lian approached him. She wrapped her arms around his wrist and leaned her head against his forearm as she replied, “And what use to us is a monastery’s mail?”

“The Tau Kor monastery honours a monk who, centuries ago, floated away into the sky and became one with the Cosmos.” Khan replied, “ Apparently that monk has returned a god, and Tau Kor is not keen on sharing this information with just anyone. The letter from the South is from the Resistance, informing Tau Kor that they ‘would be delighted to come to see the monk and welcome him back to the Realm’.”

Lian rose from Khan’s arm and stepped in front of him to the great window, “It seems the Magistrate wasn’t invited to the ‘Meet and Greet’, hmm? If we could persuade the monk to join us, it would impress Grand Magistrate Karne and turn the tides in his favour. Then, when this trivial war is over, he’ll remember which house granted his victory.”

Lian placed a hand on the glass and glanced up at Khan, “The Magistrate would owe a great favour to the Ruby Kingdom for that, wouldn’t they?”

“And if they don’t believe you?” Khan asked, raising a brow.

“Well, I’m sure Karne is as disappointed as I am not to receive an invitation to the Meet and Greet.” Lian replied, walking away from the window, “I should pen him up one right away.”