The duel began slowly, both men circling the training grounds, measuring the distance of their skills, and the best place to start from.

  Jeolas opened his mind for Paladins thoughts, feeling them and gently filling in any blanks he could to ensure his champions victory.

  It took them five circles around the ring before they suddenly stopped.

  They turned to face one another, bowed, put their hands on the blades, and stormed into the middle.

  At first, it looked like both sides intended to slash, a position Paladin would have an absolute disadvantage, given the Rapiers singular purpose of stabbing.

  As the Guard slashed upwards, Paladin didn't dodge, forcing his opponent to enter his optimal striking range, something that he took advantage of with a quick stab forward, his opponent abandoning his attack with a large step back, the battle continuing in this way.

  Most only stared with whide eyes, and Jeolas could only follow these events because one of the participants was quite literally in his mind.

  The only announcement that the fight happened at all was the wistle of the weapon moving and the blur of colours.

  After a minute of this fight, the scene was stopped by screams that must have come straight from the hells themself.

  Finally, Paladin had landed a strike on his opponent, and without any indicator of a wound, the man had dropped to the ground.

  Most would assume the blade was poisoned, but Paladin and Jeolas saw what happened.

  They saw the moment the corrupted system had been purged and his connection to it was burned.

  He would not be standing up anytime soon, though he certainly tried. What happened to him was worse than anything Goron had to go through. Even as his stats were temporarily taken from him, he had been capable of restoring them easily and working around any limitations. The person now laying on the floor relied upon those stats and skills to wear his armor, and Jeolas was sure that every mark the gods had left upon the guards body had been used to fuel the purification.

  Paladin took a step back, his now shocked face and desperate thoughts racing as he wondered whether they would still gain whatever their leader wanted from this duel.

  Jeolas sent him emotions of comfort and hope, something Paladin clinged on to as the Warden stepped into the ring.

  "The gods false promises have blinded him, but don't worry, he will be fine. Although he will not connect to their corrupted system again, the true system will welcome him with open arms, now that he has been purged of all darkness. If you are ready to achieve true strength, you need to discard the gods and let yourself be judged by the Paladins blade. Only come before him if you are a warrior that strives for purity, for we will advance into our enemies land this night, and will take anyone with us that is willing to drive back the darkness that these cretins harbour deep within. We come from the heavens themselves, and your kin stem from the dreadrock mountains. Thus, I ask your leaders to support our righteous cause, and accept the Larvean Inquisition as the heroes we strive to be."

  It was easy to elict cheers when the people just saw their best fighter turned into a screaming mess and a mysterious figure offering hope.

  It was a moment Jeolas knew would at least partially strengthen their foundation within the Empire, even though they where primarily spoken to reassure Paladin.

  The man did not plan to actually hurt his opponent, and without his leaders speech, he would have thought his deeds wrong.

  He still considered smiting an ally with a power he did not fully comprehend a rather stupid Idea, but at least he felt the genuine happiness of the Prophet and the cheers from his allies.

  Paladin began to buzz with pride, his frills flaxing as everyone got in.

  It felt appropriate, and although he only knew march songs, his current mood called for it.

  As everyone got into the chant, even the Marga and the mummies joined in.

  Jeolas had been a fan of this kind of music, and although the insectile accapella would definitely not be everyones taste, combined with the sweet victory from before, he felt himself drifting off mentally. It was a beautiful night, and at an instinctual level, he joined in.

  He infused everyone with mana, letting the song carry and transform it as it bounced between them, gaining an ethereal quality as it did so.

  His Aura of royality buzzed. His every skill wanted to activate, but he kept reinforcing the song. It spread further and further from the city and drew in all the ambient mana, reinforcing itself as it got louder and louder.

  For half an hour it continued to spread. Its size increasing every time as it enchanted everyone that heard it to join in.

  Every mote of mana was drawn to the phenomenon, and even those asleep joined in.

  Then, it stopped. From one instance to the next, noone remembered the entire song, its existence stolen from the memories of those who had sung it.

  The mana gathered in the piece of music was unleashed in a single spell, the intend of everyone that had participated coalescing into the very core of their intentions.

  And thus, it was given what was wanted the most.

  For a night, every living being knew of safety.

  This night, noone would get hurt and every living being was restored to their best conditions.

  Jeolas smiled as he stepped forward, the mummy lords and the Margan Ambassador acknowledging him with a nod.

  "It seems our alliance needs to be put on paper. We only need your signature, and everything will be as agreed."

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