The PacificBoard

Old City
Arleba
Former Capital Province
The Collapsed State of West Lebatuck

The oldest sections of Arleba were simply called the Old City. Streets too small for vehicles and structures of uncertain integrity, having witnessed centuries of history of the iconic city. Once the heart of the famed Arol'Bi Region, Arleba was the most prosperous of Hyronvid cities and as capital of the vast Lebatuckese Empire, also the most fortified. But ever since the Empire's decline started more than 600 years ago, scores of assaults eventually wiped off most of the fortifications and large structures. It saw some conservation efforts in the younger days of the West Lebatuck democracy, but the cash crunch caused by enmity with the larger northern neighbour didn't help.

After the Democracy collapsed, chaos reigned supreme. Gangs roamed the streets and cartels controlled resources, often run behind the scene by EL elements. Despite the economy speeding towards oblivion, the people's condition was not chaotic. An alternate economy had sprung up, based on bartee of daily goods. The Kiul Feinyx protected settlements from gangs, as did some vigilante groups. There were rumours of Samasbh covert elements neutralising drug dealers and human traffickers, but the elusive island nation seemed otherwise uninvolved. The crumbling Arleba's future looked bleak, before mysterious private entities began to buy and restore sections of the Old City. Now, nearly the whole of the Old City was privately owned. On-paper owners seemed unrelated, but it was all operated as a whole. Mercenaries quickly weeded out gangs and eventually all residents, and the Old City was mainly avoided today.

The security head was standing on the roof of an old granary, looking at the stormy skies. Today, he openly wore the Union's emblem. The rumble of thunder drowned out the sounds of any aircraft that might be hidden within the curtain of clouds. He was tempted to activate mobile SAMs to deal with any rogue craft, but instructions explicitly asked to deal with surface based security alone. The clouds were soon broken by a trio of shadows approaching the square that he overlooked. They made no sound, but he could discern the blades slicing the air.
Stealth Helicopters, he thought. The sound footprint was admirably lower than the last time he had seen those. He was just glad to be on the same side. They hovered over the square, and 5 soldiers roped down from each. Before the helicopters had even begun ascent, the soldiers had taken positions. The security head was instructed to withdraw and monitor the city periphery, which he promptly obeyed. There was no room for error today.

Moments after the local security team had withdrawn, a jet-black hovership silently glided to the square. Soundless and nearly invisible in the night, it might have been overlooked by anyone not the soldiers. It seemed vaguely Samasbh by design, but the larger insignia that now materialised on its side put any doubts to rest. The logo of the Celestial Palace. The hovership touched down, and a single cloaked person stepped out. Four of the guards immediately took up escort positions, while the rest set up a mobile perimeter.

Like all Maelar settlements, the original Arleba was a planned city built in their iconic ellipsoid shape. There were three cores of the city. The square at the centre of the ellipse, and the two focii. One focus once housed the administrative headquarters of not only Arleba, but also the vast region of Arol'Bi. After centuries of war, pillaging, and neglect, it was now just a large field of rubble. The other focus housed a large Maelar temple. As Maelar cultural influence gradually faded from Lebatuck, the temple was abandoned. Ever since antiquity, it was considered as a bringer of luck for the city, which was why it had managed to survive for this long.

The former-headquarters, square, and temple were connected in a straight line by the city's widest road, paved in ancient stone blocks. The large group now walked from said square to the temple. The aircraft could have easily landed near the temple, but no one dared question the figure that they so closely escorted. After 15 minutes of walking, they finally reached the temple. Half of the retinue proceeded to sweep the area, while others checked the temple itself. Once the all-clear was given, the cloaked figure gestured all of them to set up perimeter outside, entering the temple alone.

The ancient temple was fully built of stone, supported by scores of pillars throughout. The figure dropped his winter garments in the outer hall; the Hall of Pillars as he knew it to be, and approached the inner sanctum barefoot and without weapons or communication tools. The inner sanctum's ornate steel double-doors were once the strongest throughout Lebatuck and beyond. He opened them reverently, and stepped within.

The sanctum never ceased to amaze him. During day, light entered through cleverly designed shafts in the roof, while a cool breeze was now directed inside. The floor, walls, and the roof were carved in stone reliefs, all directed towards one point at the sanctum's centre, opposite the doors. The magnificent statue of the temple's Deity. Chiselled out of reddish granite, the statue depicted a standing woman covered by flames that rose from the ground, twisting around her. She held a sword having a long flame for a blade, her other empty palm facing outward, radiating energy. Her minimalistic crown was the only piece not made of flames and had the solar ring fashioned into a halo. Eyes, calm and resolute, her expression exuded confidence and benevolence.

The world called her Potentia, Goddess of Power, primary deity of the Lebatuckese people. The common ground between a people mired in decades of conflict; she was revered on both sides. Such was her influence that the Union's new capital was named Praepotentia, meaning Abode of Potentia. Countless generals & political leaders of both Lebatucks as well as the united Empire had paid obeisance to the Goddess over centuries. But it wasn't always so. Potentia was centuries old. The temple: millennia. It was originally consecrated for a deity that held sway over most of humankind. A deity that guided the most powerful of civilisations. A deity that represented the most fundamental element of civilisation: Order.

She was Ira, Queen of the Gods, Preserver of Order, Harbinger of Civilisation, and the Eternal Matriarch of the Collective. The fire didn't represent power, but raw energy that she harnessed and channelled, thus creating order from chaos. Later societies couldn't understand Ira's symbology and quickly associated the fire with power. Thus Potentia was born. But the man today had come to Ira and Ira alone, as had his ancestors since time immemorial.

The Sovereign of the Union of East Lebatuck checked his watch. It was almost time.