Adventurer who's not looking for trouble, but keeps finding it.
"Damn, when she said she'd be back I didn't think she meant so quickly." Athis says, peering through a telescope at the inquisition forces setting up their base camp outside the town below. "How'd she even manage this?"
They're going to war. They're going to war and it's all her fault.
"Look, over there-" Pherusa says, pointing. "They're teleporting in. Must be really pissed at us, to shell out for wizards to move so many."
They're going to war and it's her fault and Lunaeris might be in trouble and she can't help AND she still doesn't know what the gods want her doing now.
"Do you think- Oh, Kallixenia snap out of it-"
Kallixenia banishes the thoughts from her mind. No use for them in battle.
"Sorry, what?"
"Do you think they can port them right up here?" Athis asks.
She shakes her head. "No, it's too disorienting, they'd be sitting ducks. Keep patrols going round the clock just in case, she might try one or two, just to see if an assassin gets lucky."
Athis heads inside to pass along the order, passing her telescope off to Nephele.
"Wish we could teleport." She grumbles, peeking at the gathering army. "We sent word to everyone in the field, but it'll be ages before we even start to get reinforcements."
"We can hold out." Kallixenia states confidently. "I want all our full paladins down at the stable outpost, we set our first line of defense there. Anyone else who wants to help can, but they retreat when the fighting starts- I think the Inquisition needs reminded why our order resides atop a mountain."
They spend the day fortifying the outpost, then leave a small squad there to sound the alarm if the inquisition tries to attack during the night. Kallixenia returns to the monastery, where sleep evades her.
Three days, three days now Lunaeris has missed her evening check-in, and that's infinitely more terrifying than the coming assault. What in the hells could have happened to her?
The inquisition strikes the next morning.
On the one hand, they outnumber the rebel paladins more than five to one.
On the other, there is exactly one route to the monastery- long and narrow and treacherous- and the defending forces have wings.
Kallixenia doesn't know what they expected, if perhaps Dione is so unyieldingly sure of her own correctness that she thinks any moment now they'll all simply fall from the sky, but what they're getting is an absolute rout.
Their superior numbers are completely bottlenecked, their arrows fly wildly off course in the fierce mountain wind. If they have offensive casters, they aren't utilizing them- maybe out of fear. As long as her and her sisters are so visibly favored by the gods, those with a gift to lose aren't likely to risk it.
And so they have complete control of the battlefield.
They descend on the slow trickle of attackers like birds of prey, diving down the mountainside to strike and then circling back up to do it again. Those unfortunate enough to be caught on more treacherous sections of the mountain path face swift death, either at the end of a blade or the bottom of a cliff.
The luckier among the inquisition still find themselves struggling to defend against foes both larger and more maneuverable than them. Kallixenia herself is in one such battle, thoroughly enjoying the freedom of movement her wings allow her. She slashes at an inquisitor and then when he moves to counterattack, simply flits right off the edge of the path into open air, where he cannot follow. She swoops back in to bash another with her shield, and-
"Hey Kallie, I'm sorry I haven't been in touch. Things got... intense, here, but I think I'm okay. Are things alright there? I love you."
Oh thank the fucking gods, Lunaeris is okay.
"Lunaeris!" She replies, clutching the glowing orb that bears her wife's voice to her chest and making a quick retreat to the sky. "I love you too! I'm glad you're okay, um- Things here are... weird, I have good news and bad news!"
'Weird' is underselling it, but- gods, all her worries just melt away in an instant. The magical light blinks out, and another materializes.
"Give me the good news, gods know I need it."
"Well- I did it! I changed my oath! And the gods are okay with it!" She declares excitedly.
The church isn't okay with it, but- well, she asked for the good news. Besides, Lunaeris didn't like them anyway.
"Oh, Kallie that's wonderful! So that's it then? Are you on your way back?"
Ah.
"W-Well-" Kallixenia starts, before Nephele butts in and snatches the light away from her.
"Your girl started a schism, call back when we're not fighting for our lives, yeah?" She says, and then once the light blinks out she flicks Kallixenia on the forehead. "Focus, lovergirl, for fuck's sake. Slightest hint of elf pussy and she forgets all her training."
"I- You-" Kallixenia sputters, outraged. "That's not- I don't- How dare you-"
"YOU'RE WHAT!?!?" Lunaeris shrieks, saving her from having to focus her ire on any specific aspect of Nephele's jab. "I'm on my way!"
"Wh- No! Lunaeris do not come here-"
"Kallixenia for the love of the gods TELL her you're in the MIDDLE of something!"
"Beloved we can discuss this in a little bit okay don't do anything rash I love you bye-"
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