The Shepherds, a gathering of three that carried the flag of their goddess not on their shoulders but their heart itself. In their eyes, nothing was greater than their service. Almost blind to other ideas and the suffering of the enemy, there was nothing they wouldn’t do to spread her name further and further, until the whole world was marked with the same flag deep within their hearts.
As the ankh with Athenia’s likeness swung from their necks, the shepherds finally stopped with an uniform slam of their weapon against the throneroom’s tiles. Their eyes cast upwards, they stared at the giants seated above their thrones right next to each other. However, to the royals with the faces of the shepherds hidden behind helmet for one, a veil for the other, and at last white paint that covered every facial feature, they couldn’t quite read them or what to expect from the loyals of Athenia.
"The gate remains locked."
"The needle of fate ticks away."
"Mercy adores the grateful, do not turn it away with hubris."
The shepherds spoke in a chorus, their voices in perfect harmony. One a tall man with broad shoulders and a firm body clad in silver holy armor blessed by the goddess herself. The other a woman with a veil with burning eyes of twilight color, one an amber the other a deep orange the mix of which went perfectly with her snarky smile. The shield, the blade, and last came the jester. His body, covered in white paint with a monotone attire of dark and gray.
"We’ll accept the army, but allow us time to calm the public," said the king, but his excuse was just a lie to save face.
Seeing right through him, the shepherd of the sword stepped forward, her translucent, long amber sleeves flowing with each step. Closing her arms under her revealing bosom, she cast the giants a smile with a head resting on the back of her right hand.
"We’ve heard you were incompetent, but to wait until the army is at your footsteps to take such measures? Pahh!" Laughing out loud, she turned around with a smirk and looked at her companions. "Should we test them brothers? Test their conviction to the one true goddess?"
As her crimson dress with reflective red scales shone in the eyes of the giants, the shepherds talked to each other without saying a word, and already came up with a conclusion. Right as the scale-hugged curves of the sword shepherd came into view of the giants, she began walking back to the group and in her place the jester stepped forward.
"Asmareth’s temple shall fall before the army walks through the door or you’ve tempted fate far too much."
"What?!" Anger contorted the king’s expression, but with a gentle hand placed on his shoulder by the queen, he was reeled back to a more sane state. Turning his head to his wife, he stared at her, still visibly upset.
Slowly turning her head away, the queen glanced down at the shepherds and declared.
"Do what you must, but the army stays at the gate until the people have calmed!" Her voice rumbled with authority, but none of the shepherds were moved even an inch.
Taking a step forward as well, the shepherd of the shield planted the edge of his sharp shield into the dark tiles under him. As soon as the tiles cracked, he looked up at the giants again and declared in further retaliation.
"Consider this your last warning. For if our brothers and sisters get so much as bitten by a mosquito, sister blade and I will come for your heads."
"Who are you to threaten our king and the queen!" Before the royals even had the chance to retort, a voice came echoing from the hallway that led to the throneroom. Marching steps and the muffled voice of someone cursing came next.
Shifting their attention to this person, they found it to be none other than a paladin of Asmareth, Flitza, the half-dragon half-harpy that would aid the heroes in this quest. Following right behind her–or rather chasing after her was Melenai, the royal advisor and the goat-horned scribe.
"And what did you say?! YOU’RE GONNA DESTROY OUR LORD’S TEMPLE, HUH?!" Through gritted teeth she kept on complaining, all the while, Melenai kept trying to calm her down and not threaten the ambassadors of the hero’s army.
Without a single thought behind her eyes, the paladin raised her flaming sword and leaped up high. Grabbing the handle with both of her hands, she spread her wings wide and although her flight would be brief and uneven, she aimed for the shepherd’s heads.
"Nobody dies today." But before her weapon hit the ground or anyone’s flesh, the jester moved his hand in front and with a wave he conjured a shield made of glowing golden words. Flitza’s blade crashed against the shield and spared into a thousand lights. Her skin burned a little and so did her feathers, and yet before she could realize, the chained blade of the sword circled around her body, squeezed her by the waist and then slammed her into the tiles.
"AAUGHH!! FUCKING PEST! HAAAAUGHH!!" Slowly lifting her head from the cratered ground, the half dragon tried to look at the shepherds. However, the same blades that had brought her down, smacked her in the head with its hilt, knocking her unconscious at once.
The giants watched in silence, their mouths left agape and their minds absolutely stunned. In the time that it had taken the woman to fall, these ambassadors have not only disarmed their only paladin but also knocked her out without breaking a sweat. Melenai on the other hand, being more sound of mind, felt grateful that Flitza was knocked on her ass before she did anything else that could cause this alliance to shatter before it truly starts.
"Anything else to say, you majesties?" Having not even turned around while his companions took care of the distraction, the shepherd of shield challenged the giants through his words.
But after seeing their greatest hand being dealt with in a second, they remained quiet and simply gave the shepherds a nod. A nod to destroy Asmareth’s temple, a nod to the end of their reign alongside their useless god.