Order Clan: Sisters 2

“Insults,” The elder hissed. 

Heavy steps shook the ground and walls around them. The three sisters didn’t flinch but looked toward the source of the sounds. Loose rocks fell around and bounced with every step the imposing haedian took as she revealed more of herself to the three empyrians. Eventually, a large haedian with twisting horns stepped into view. 

“There will be a test,” She said with a wicked tone, “You have 20 minutes to prepare.”

“Test?” Cheiro hissed back, enraged, “Why should I? Oris knows our worth.”

Shira didn’t fall for the taunts, as she warned, “20 minutes goes by quickly.”

“What if we refuse?” Cheiro snapped. 

“You,” Furor cut in, “What if you refuse, I’ll do it.”

Cheiro glared at her younger sister, but Kaimana couldn’t decide what she wanted to do. She wouldn’t mind fighting, but she was tired. It had been a long journey. 

“You’ll be treated as heretics,” Shira hissed back. 

“So either way, we fight,” Cheiro clarified, “What good is being honest if that’s the result?”

Shira countered, “As devotees of Oris, I don’t see why not fighting is even crossing your mind.”

Kaimana and Furor were preparing to enter the test. They stretched out their wings and sharpened their claws on some rocks. They hadn’t brought much with them on this journey, so they didn’t have elixirs or potions to prepare. They didn’t even have armour, but they were confident they could rely on their magic for some evasive tactics. While they prepared, Cheiro remained stubborn. 

“I’d love to fight you,” Cheiro scoffed. 

Shira laughed, “Then why all the arguing?”

“Fighting to show strength is one thing,” Cheiro glared, “But fighting because you and yours don’t believe what I say is insulting.”

Shira rolled her eyes and mocked her before she added, “Think of it however you want. You have 20 minutes, well less now, and then we fight.”

Kaimana pulled at Cheiro, urging her to retreat from their verbal battle and get ready. Cheiro glared at the clan once more before following her sister back to where Furor waited. Cheiro went through the motions of preparing. She did everything her sisters had; sharpening her claws, and stretching her arms. 

“We should try to relax,” Furor said, “Recoup the magic we used in the last few clans.”

“Good thought,” Kaimana replied as they settled on the ground, leaving Cheiro to stew. 

Silence filled the space. Kaimana and Furor closed their eyes to meditate, while Cheiro glared at a tear in her wing. She was envisioning her victory as well as some of the strategies she was going to use in her fight. However, she was struck with the same anger from earlier. 

“Test?!” Cheiro hissed to her sisters, “Can you believe it?”

“Cheiro, let it rest,” Kaimana sighed. 

“Kai’s right,” Furor added, “We’re going to fight her anyway, so why does it matter.”

“The void,” Cheiro said loudly, throwing her hands up, “I am the void, my magic is so similar to parts of Oris’. How can they question me?!”

Furor rolled her eyes, “They don’t know us, Cheiro.”

“They should,” Cheiro replied ominously. 

Kaimana gave her elder sister a strange look, “What’s gotten into you?”

Furor echoed Kaimana’s sentiment, “Yeah, you don’t normally let your pride affect you.”

Cheiro’s sisters’ observations caused her to pause. They were right, of course, and thinking as much caused Cheiro to shake out her head. She looked around to see if she could determine if someone was manipulating her emotions, but she couldn’t see anything. She released a large sigh and closed her eyes to try and mediate as her sisters had done earlier. 

When she opened her eyes sometime later, she felt much calmer. Kaimana and Furor watched her with suspicious eyes to see if there was any change. When Cheiro looked at them, they were relieved to see that Cheiro had managed to settle herself. 

“Are you ready?” Cheiro asked her sisters. 

“As I’ll ever be,” Furor scoffed, and Kaimana mirrored her reply. 

“Have a battle strategy?” Cheiro continued. 

Furor and Kaimana paused, they hadn’t thought about it. As always, it was Cheiro who would wield the strategies and plans, the other two just followed her lead. When Cheiro noticed her sisters’ hesitation, she exhaled loudly. 

“Alright,” Cheiro said, “Let’s talk about strategies.”

“Aren’t we going to be doing this as a unit, together?” Furor asked. 

“That’s a good point,” Kaimana added, but Cheiro shook her head. 

“We can’t assume that,” Cheiro spoke quickly, unsure how much time was left, “We’ll talk both. Plans for us individually, and a plan for the group.”

Kaimana and Furor listened intently to Cheiro’s instructions. She drew loose plans in the dirt and answered any questions either of her sisters had. Cheiro talked as quickly as she could, trying to include as much information as she could until their time was up. 

[814]