Dorun, Merriheim's East Claw.

8:21 a.m. 13th Zelyr 1092.

7 Days to World's End.

A massive shadow zipped over the small village. The villagers, of whom most were felur, trembled under the immense pressure exuded by the terrifying lifeform. However, despite their fear, the felu warriors picked up their weapons, and readied themselves for a terrible fight.

"Stand down!" Just when tensions were at their peak, a calming voice shouted from within one of the mud houses. The felur looked at Brock, who wore a small, bitter smile. "He's not an enemy." Well, he's not a friend, either. Brock looked up at the dark silhouette. "I did not realize you had such a playful side to you..."

The silhouette suddenly descended. Since it no longer blocked the sun, the felur could make out the terrifying, red-scaled Elder Dragon. Nornesh shrunk to his hume form and then landed in front of Brock. The Elder Dragon frowned as he gave Brock a once-over. "Was it you? Did you send that kid?"

"Kid?" Brock recalled the daeben who proclaimed he would somehow convince Nornesh. His eyes widened in shock. "It can't be. Did Kashi really recruit you?"

"Recruit?" Fire burned in Nornesh's eyes as if insulted by the very claim. "You think a mere hume could recruit me? We merely struck a deal; a mutual agreement that benefits us both."

'Yeah, that sounds just like recruitment.' Brock did not dare speak his mind. First, a dragon's pride was legendary. They had no qualms destroying cities to soothe their ego. Brock could not afford to annoy Nornesh. At least, not in the village.

Secondly, Brock, was, quite frankly, scared of Nornesh. Even among the Transcendents, Nornesh was on a different plane of strength. This dragon was the sole reason the Chaos Orders' Transcendents could not run amok.

"I suppose that is the only way." Brock agreed. Judging by Nornesh's relaxed brows, it seemed the flattery worked. Brock breathed a sigh of relief, and then pointed to the mud house. "The others await you inside."

Nornesh wrinkled his nose. "I will never understand why you choose to live in such squalor." Nevertheless, the Elder Dragon crossed his arms at his back, and then followed Brock through the door.

The entrance opened up to a small room. A small, round, wooden table sat at the center with five chairs surrounding it. Nornesh's gaze travelled to a straw mat on the floor. "Really." He spat, but it ultimately was not his place to judge another's lifestyle. Thus, he turned his attention to the three men sat at the table.

Naturally, Nornesh spotted the most flashily dressed man first. Damah Dumm, dressed in his trademark purple doublet, placed his goblet on the table upon seeing Nornesh. "Incredible. I never fathomed you of all people would show up."

Nornesh's eyes narrowed. He did not like this Damah Dumm. Mostly because, he did not know a damn thing about the man aside from the fact that he was anything but human. No human could live for as long as Damah Dumm. However, the fact that Nornesh could not sniff out the merchant's original race was a worry in and of itself. Interestingly, Damah Dumm protected Ederwood.

"You're telling me. Who woulda thought there'd be a day the great Nornesh would grace one of our meetings with his grand presence."

Nornesh turned to look at the green-haired cerulean who spoke. "Watch your mouth, Tritan."

Tritan was a muscular man who looked to be in his late forties. His seaweed-like, green hair was held together by a head band, which the old man occasionally toyed with. Nornesh knew this man well. Tritan was one of those renegade men who liked to explore the world, be it via land or sea. The man was rarely in one place, but his official 'home-zone' was the chaotic Monoch.

Nornesh ignored the angry Tritan and looked at the final Transcendent: a child who looked to be in his early teens. The cute, skinny boy was dressed in white priest robes, and permanently had his eyes shut. Nornesh heard it was because the child did not want to be contaminated by seeing the world's sin.

Nornesh could not ascertain how true the rumor was, but he did know one thing. Palu Sails was as much an oddball as the rest of the Transcendents. To be fair though, one needed at least a few loose screws to attempt breaking past Level 199.

"Hooh." Nornesh let out a pleased sound as he took a seat. "It seems everyone is here. Do you gentlemen truly rate this danger that high? This is not the first time the Order has attempted something big. What makes you so sure that they will succeed this time?"

"This is not about whether the Order succeeds or not." Damah Dumm frowned as he tapped the table. "The winds of fate have been billowing ever since the Summoned arrived. Just there presence alone is enough to consider this a major threat."

Paul sighed. "Is there no end to the pointless bloodshed?" His soothing voice was akin to singing clarinets. It warmed the soul. "The Summoned have incurred great karmic wrath. It only makes sense that the world seeks to cull their numbers. We are but collateral damage."

"I don't know why you've got your panties in a twist. Who cares if the Order wins?" Tritan snorted and then rested his legs on the table. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Razznik gets released," answered Brock as he took his seat. "The results would be catastrophic."

"So says some fancy fortune teller." Tritan snorted. He then recalled something and looked at Paul. "No offence."

"None taken." Paul smiled. "Lady Sayen can indeed seem like a common fortune-teller to the world. But, as someone who has served by her side, I assure you, her fortunes, if not deliberately avoided, always come true."

Brock nodded. "We're not here to debate the veracity of Razznik's return. Need I remind you all that the Order's Transcendents did not make a move when the daeben army was decimated. Yet, this time, I'm sure you can sense them. All ten have gathered at Drakase. They are going on the offense. That, alone, should put us all on guard."

Tritan's eyes shone with glee. "That's what I'm saying! Since they're all here, why don't we go wreck their homebase a little? I've always wanted to wipe that smug grin off Sly's face."

"Sure. If you are tired of living." Nornesh, surprisingly, killed this plan dead in the water. Four pairs of curious eyes prompted the Elder Dragon to explain. "I took a stroll to their island before coming here. There is a terrifying presence hidden there. One which even I do not dare provoke. Whatever that thing is, it marked that island as its territory. It will obliterate us the second we near that place."

"There's something you find terrifying?" Tritan's gaze narrowed. It had to be understood that Nornesh alone was worth 6 Transcendents. This was why the delicate balance remained. Yet, there was someone this dragon found terrifying?

"There are countless beings multiple times stronger than us," said Damah Dum. The others did not react pleasantly to this claim. causing the others to frown. The mertian, however, did not care, and instead, continued, "Besides, there is no reason to believe attacking their homebase will cripple the Order. They have survived through the eons by being extremely intelligent, and adept at splitting up their forces around the continent."

Paul agreed. "Aethir's Mercy. Now that I think about it, this is probably the only time in history that the Cardinals and Primates are together in one location."

"Ha!" Tritan loudly snickered. "I love how your cute cheeks scrunch up whenever you say Cardinal. Does it piss you off that much?"

"Sram's Wrath." Paul shook his head. The anger in his heart did not pierce his doll-like pretty smile. "It certainly angers me that this heretical organization dared to sully the church's good name. I—"

"Y'all had to change your designations, didn't you?" Tritan's wolf-like grin greatly unnerved the young man. "Well, don't worry. Once we kill the Order's Transcendents, y'all can have your names back."

Damah Dumm shook his head. "Our objective should not be extermination, but delay. We just need to prevent the Cardi—Chaos Transcendents from attacking the regular army. Speaking of which—"

"How exactly are y'all planning on transporting the common folk?" Tritan questioned Brock with a raised brow.

Brock chuckled. "I do not know how."

"What!?" Tritan shouted, eyes wide in shock. "How can you not know!? What good will we be if the Chaos kids can just go ahead with the spell while their Transcendents hold us back?"

"Mera's Gift. I agree with Tritan." Paul looked at Brock. "We cannot risk our lives without a solid plan. Needless bloodshed is needless."

"Exactly!" Tritan seconded. "You die when you are killed, you know!? Shit hurts! I'm not planning on doing that a second time!"

Brock laughed and then looked at Damah Dumm and Nornesh, who did not seem surprised by his confession.

Nornesh broke the silence. "It's Kashi, is it not?"

"Certainly." Damah Dumm wore an enigmatic smile. "From what I've learned of him, I can think of two or three ways through which he could transport troops."

Tritan looked at the three men who were happily flaunting their connections. Tritan frowned. "Hey! It's not like I can't grow my own networks too, ya know!? I just like exploring the ocean! I could learn about this Kashi dude in a snap if I wanted!"

Paul, however, was more direct. "Chisoa's Wisdom. Please, who is this Kashi character? The children at my temple often whisper his name in secret. They call him Demon Lord, and they say he has a hellhound by his side."

"I do not know about a hellhound, but I can see why they would call him a demon lord." Nornesh shook his head. "There's something different about the child."

Damah Dumm nodded. "Indeed. If I had to guess who amongst the Summoned could possess a threat to our positions in the future, Kashi would would top my list."

"Be that as it may, we require his help to pass this crisis." Brock sighed and tapped the table. He then looked at the gentlemen around the table. "So, I take it we are in agreement, then? We will hold the Transcendents in place while Kashi and his troops do their best to prevent the summoning?"

There was a pause. And then four voices simultaneously agreed. "We are."

A/N: Was supposed to post this last night... dozed off.