《Adrift: Raven's Wail》 Chapter 1: Freedom William glared towards the empty streets of Alberta as his grandfather drove him to the airport, snow gently falling as the old honda speeded through the city. He knew that in a few hours, he would be back in his hometown, and he hated it. Sighing softly, he moved his hands to turn on the radio. Maybe the news wouldn''t be so horrible today and cheer him up. "....the ongoing war for the newly discovered oil reserves in central Europe escalates once again as Chinese forces launch a massive..." "...A new vaccine against the super variant is being live tested in South America as the military regime forces the civilian population on a mass vaccination campaign, sources report that many lives..." "You worry too much boy, use the aux cord and put on some music, no need to get even more agitated than you already are," said the old man driving. Turning off the radio, which he¡¯d immediately regretted ever turning on, William sighed, loudly this time, "Nothing good on the news as, always, why do I even bother?" William''s grandfather looked very healthy for his age. At seventy years old, the man was the picture of ruggedness, leathery skin, and cracked laugh lines, his pale face permanently tanned due to his years working as a Foreman, William never could quite figure out his grandfather. How could someone work so hard for so long and still be brimming with energy?... "I can see you are in another of your moods boy, is going home that bad to you? I know your grandmother bakes a mean orange and chocolate cake, but I''m sure you miss home, yes?" Not the orange cake again! Boy, he was never gonna live that down, was he? Softly laughing, he turned his head to speak with grandpa Vincent, "Can we not speak of the cake again? It was only once and I was hungry, ok?" Laughing again, William shook his head and stared at the snow gently falling outside of the car. "It''s not that I hate it, grandpa, it''s just... ugh. I know there''s gonna be fights, ugly fights I would rather avoid." "Yet you must go back, boy, even if I and your grandmother weren''t going on a trip next week, would you stay here and live the rest of your life running away from your parents? We both know that you won¡¯t do that, too much of that sense of duty for your family¡¯s well-being, I¡¯m sure you understand this," said Vincent, he took a deep breath and continued, "It shames me that my son did something as horrible as allowing his students to bully kids, all because of his unfulfilled dreams of making it to the Pro League, and you know that, but it''s been two years William, he told me you will have to start again on the first year of High School, a clean state." Shaking his head, William could feel the venom rising. He took a deep breath, centering himself using the meditation techniques he¡¯d learned from his martial arts training, emptying his mind and focusing on his heartbeat. Little by little he calmed down, feeling better as he spoke again, "There won''t be a clean slate grandpa, I broke their legs days before their big game, Felicia and Ulysses had to leave the school while the bullies got bailed out even with plenty of evidence against them! These People won''t forget." William could feel the outrage and anger rising again, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the door handle. "I''ve seen you train in those martial arts. You and I both know there''s nothing in that school that can threaten you, but I can see you are about to lose it so let''s change the subject." Said Vicent, not minding the abrupt segway. "Let''s." Sighing again, William took out his phone and checked for any messages from his parents. He had made few friends in his two years away from home, fewer still that would care enough to give him a final goodbye, yet when he looked on his phone, his online friend Matheus had sent him a message asking about him. ¡°I¡¯m moving back to my hometown Mat, gonna be offline for a few.¡± Hitting send, William waited for his response, as Mat lived glued to either his PC or Phone. ¡°Oh, ok ok, thought you were doing those silly ass martial arts, pancat silata or something? You spend too much time doing normie shit Cancred¡± William had never disclosed his real name, Cancred was his ID on discord. ¡°Stop typing it wrong, you ass.¡± ¡°Stop playing that Visual Novel for girls Waves of Cringe then, ya fruity bastard, lmao. Anyway, I¡¯d just posted another Build video earlier, watch it whenever you have the time. Peace Cancred, go enjoy that trip.¡± Laughing at his friend¡¯s antics, William pocketed his phone and looked up, only for his grandpa to speak up again. "We are about to arrive at the airport Will," Grandpa called out, the old man seemed to not have minded him going all silent after nearly blowing up on him. "Let me find a good place to park so we can get ready, you got your papers in order?" "Yes grandpa, already checked twice." Will pat himself down one more time just to be sure, his papers in his left pocket, their weight getting heavier in his mind by the minute. "Good." Vincent drove a bit until finding a parking spot, coming out of the car to get his grandson''s luggage. He muttered something to himself, but William couldn''t hear it, the sound of airplanes distracting him. As William got out of the car, a plane flew over by him, the cold making him shiver. He hurried to his grandfather''s side, eager to enter the terminal and get out of the cold. As he neared the doors, he felt a strange sense of loneliness gnawed at him, sadness and nostalgia joined as his feet were getting heavier with every step. ¡°This is it,¡± thought William, there would be no more running, no more hiding away from the mess he left behind two years ago, it was time to go back to California and face his demons. "Well Wills, this is us, I would give you a pep talk here but we both know it''s not gonna do jack, so come here, let me hug you," William hugged his grandfather, the feelings intensifying. "Remember boy, you did the right thing, be strong and you can overcome this, and once we are back from the trip you can come again, alright?" He could hear the old man choking on those final words. Tears already welling up in his eyes, he managed to speak, his voice cracking, ¡°Thank you, Grandpa, thanks for everything you did for me, you, and grandma, I love you.¡± The tears finally broke through, and one more hug later the old man was gone, giving his goodbyes to his beloved grandson. Waiting in line to get in, the boy watched as his grandfather went home. Putting his earbuds on, he decided to play a fitting song for this farewell and homecoming, something to remind him of the tribulations to come and the good times he had. It didn''t take long for the line to move. As he stashed away his luggage and found his seat, William focused on his breathing, meditating to sleep, as he had no interest in watching a rerun of Friends in a plane.
Waking up an hour before touching the grounds of Santa Barbara, William watched as the first rays of daylight broke through the clouds. It was raining, he noticed. He remembered that the weather manipulation program stolen from the germans was being employed heavily in California, the drought that plagued the region was nothing but a memory, one paid in enough blood for the krauts to declare war on the US, if they didn''t already have their hand''s full thanks to the war. "Impressive technology," said William to no one, his habit of talking to himself was another symptom of his asocial lifestyle these past few years. "It is, ain''t it? I lost my home to the fires of 2022, if only we had these new gizmos the Europeans invented back then." A young woman spoke up from his front, though he couldn''t see her face. Startled thanks to a stranger suddenly talking to him, William managed to eke out a grunt as a response, but the woman didn''t bother to speak up again. Finding his luggage turned out to be a bit of a waiting game, but patience was something William learned to cultivate. Leaving the airport was swift, the boy felt dead tired even after sleeping over half the trip and pulling his phone to hail an Uber took more time than he was happy to admit, almost typing the wrong address three times. "Focus William, focus, don''t lose it now," whispered the boy, a few deep breaths later he placed the right address and waited. Couple of minutes later a red sedan pulled over, the driver, a Latina lady, called out to him, "You William? Get in." "That''s me," he said, a bit awkward, When was the last time he¡¯d even called an uber? He thought while strapping himself with the seatbelt. He pulled out his earbuds and looked out the window. It was six in the morning and the sun was fighting its way to get past the artificial rain clouds. "Coming back home, eh, little man?" Asked the Uber driver, without pause, she added, "How long have you been away?" Feeling a bit under pressure, but bored enough to humor the woman, William responded sheepishly "Yeah, it''s been two years." Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. "Two years? Well son you are in for a big surprise, noticed something when staring out that window like you just got dumped by your girlfriend?" Mirth was oozing out of her as spoke. "No... wait a minute, where are the hobos?" William asked, he remembered the ever-present homeless that stalked the streets of his hometown. He even used to help in the community lunches his local church would organize, so many hobos never gave him any trouble. "It''s that artificial island just off from Los Angeles, kid. Those krauts didn''t just have machines that could make rain, turns out they could shape the land and sea as well, scary stuff," she said, not looking particularly scared, "It''s not just the hobos from here either, they rounded them up from the entire state, they need a labor force so big in there, there''s even talk of taking hobos in from other states if you can believe it." She laughed, and William could understand why. Going from having the biggest homeless crisis in the country to employing enough that they¡¯d need to import from other states? Things sure changed in two years. "Huh, who would¡¯ve thought." William mused out loud. "Did you live under a rock or something, kid? This is making the news everywhere" "No, I... I just didn''t watch the news at all, not a fan of them." "Bah, Well you should kid, it''s good to stay on the loop, yeah? Look, there''s your street coming up, do you wanna drop off here?" She was already checking her phone for the next client. Grunting a ¡®yes¡¯, he left the car and picked up his luggage. It was now eight in the morning and that meant everyone was already up, Saturdays being the days when his mom cleaned the house and his sister went for a jog with dad. As he walked along the sidewalk, he hoped they weren''t at home, but it was just that because his grandfather had already called in the day before. There would be no easy way out of this upcoming drama.
Every step towards his home felt like he was dragging lead weights on his legs, fear crept along the edges of his mind, only to be replaced with anger, sadness, happiness, hopelessness, madness all there whispering sweet nothings in his ears, yet he moved forward, and one by one those feelings were shed from his mind. Arriving at his home gate, he deftly opened it, the metal squeaking from years¡¯ worth of rust. Slightly trembling, William reached for the door handle. Should he knock? he wondered, but this was his house, and checking under the plant to his right revealed the key. Opening the door was easier than he thought, he almost felt silly, all that build up with no payoff. Shaking his head, he dropped his luggage by the doorway. Walking deeper into his home after so much time away felt strange, alien even like he was an uninvited guest. His stomach, on the other hand, had no qualms about making him know it was time to eat something better than chips and airport sandwiches, so he avoided the living room and made his way to the kitchen. This turned out to also be a surprise, as the kitchen was bigger, with two new refrigerators and a professional stove shining like new. Luckily bread was still kept in the pantry, so making a quick ham and eggs sandwich was fast, and as he started looking for something to drink, his ears picked off footsteps coming in his direction. Six feet tall with a chin-length inverted bob hair of autumn color, William''s sister was standing in the kitchen doorway looking at him. From his point of view, his older sister looked like she just woke from the worst hangover of her life. "Hi Juliet, you look like shit, did you get drunk and run over or something?" He asked with a chuckle, but his sister didn''t seem to notice he was there. "I feel like shit, ugh. Get me some bread and peanut butter please Wills," Juliet took a seat and dropped her head on the table, muttering about a party and too much vodka. He hadn¡¯t known his sister had a party animal side to her, another thing he missed in these two years. "Can you grab me the milk as well? Ugh, this headache dude, it''s killing me," she continued complaining loudly while resting on the tabletop, William realized he didn''t know which fridge had the milk in it. "Which fridge has milk, sis?" Asked William, noticing that she was finally waking up for real, he had a big shit-eating grin on his face now, waiting for her reaction. "What do you mean which fridge you silly man? Did you forget it''s the... it''s the....one on your right..." As her eyes began to expand William couldn''t hold it anymore and laughed loudly, to the point of slapping his knees, his sister on the other hand was beet red and looked meek as a kitten. "Oh little bro I''m so, so sorry, I didn''t... oh god I didn''t even notice, you know how it is with me and parties right? Oh, wait... you wouldn¡¯t know, would you? Ok, ok give me a minute to compose myself here, god I feel like a kid right now... and stop laughing, this ain''t funny." Fuming, Juliet washed her face in the kitchen sink, William raising an eyebrow at that but not dignifying a response. He fetched the milk from the second new fridge and poured his sister a cup with powdered chocolate. "Been a while sis, did you miss me?" With a smirk, William got up to fetch more bread for himself, only for the girl to hug him, "Of course I missed you, you jackass, is that a thing you ask your family?" "I know dad didn''t miss me, same for mom," William broke free from his sister''s hug and sat down, "They didn''t even have the decency of picking me up at the airport." He could feel the bile rising, with an effort he pushed it down, it would do no good for him to blow up on the only person of the household who liked him. "Nonsense, they both mellowed out a bunch after the first three weeks you were gone. Of course, your complete radio silence got them a bit mad but they missed you, Will, they really did," Juliet finished her breakfast in a hurry, and stared at him with an apologetic look on her face. "Look I got err, a few friends bunking in your room, do you mind waiting a bit? I''ll go wake those two slackers right now so they can eat and go out for the morning jog" Not waiting for his response, Juliet was already out the kitchen doorway, muttering about hangovers and goofball brothers. Making his way to the living room, William noticed how much the house had changed. New plants, a bigger TV, a fancy couch, and even a game console. He didn''t know his parents would dust off that behemoth but if he had to guess, they needed to watch Netflix and his sister found it in his room. Boxes stacked in a corner with shipping labels reminded him of something very important, his gaming rig and consoles were put aside there. Quickly making his way back to the kitchen, William found himself a boxcutter and got to work. "Reassembling a PC is a form of meditation," he told himself, one of his online friends used to say that a bunch due to working as an IT guy, and William couldn''t help but agree with the man. It took him a good forty minutes to fully assemble his rig, that was when he heard more footsteps coming, not from the stairs leading to his room, but from the doorway.
Carmen Luther Aurelius was a smart woman from a very early age. She knew that her family lacked any meaningful connections that could propel her in life with little effort, for they were hardworking and honest folk, but she always yearned for more. She wanted a big house, kids, and above all else, she wanted to be remembered, to leave a mark in history, even as a small footnote in the city of Santa Barbara. She was on her way to pick her friends up for their morning jog when her husband Alex called. "Dearest, why didn''t you wake me up sooner, we could''ve continued from where we stopped last night," she could hear the mirth in his voice, the man was almost forty-five years old and still acted like a frat boy. "Don''t call me that you silly man, and why aren''t you up yet? Did you forget to pick up our son from the airport?" She knew he did that on purpose, her relationship with the boy was shaky at best, but Alex hated the kid. There was no more mirth in his voice after that, "You know me and the kid won''t get along, love, he has money for a Uber, doesn''t he want to act like an adult? I say let him." it''s been two years and he still holds that particular grudge, even after William did what he did. "Are we having this conversation again Alex? The boy kneecapped your bullies and didn''t even incriminate you, turning a blind eye is as bad as encouraging it, you know?" "They weren''t my Bullies!.... Sorry love, I... I just can''t deal with this, it took everything from everyone at the house to finally make amends, and he has the gall to come back!" "He came back because your parents wanted to make a trip to Japan dear, hardly his fault." She knew defending William this much was bound to get the man even more worked up, but it was the truth. "I''m so sorry love, I didn''t mean to blow up at you like that. You are on your way to pick up Amanda and the girls for a jog, right? I''ll make sure to stash our problem child in his room before you arrive, okay? Then we can all have a talk, set the record straight." That was more the Alex she knew and loved. "I know you¡¯re aware of this but remember, the boy knows multiple martial arts, please don''t piss him off? No fighting in my house, you hear? Carmen tried to lighten the mood. ¡°Not funny,¡± said Alex, deadpan. "It¡¯s not as if I intend to fight with my son, Jesus Carmen, don¡¯t even mention something like that, alright? I¡¯ll be going now, see you later." She turned off the phone and sighed softly, looking towards her jogging partner. Her son was back, and she was about to bring home the mother of the kids he¡¯d beaten to a pulp. "I knew letting grandpa talk with the boy at that party was a mistake, yet I stood by and only watched, oh silly girl what will you do now? I can''t cancel the morning run out of the blue, all I can do is hope he''s sleeping when we arrive. Despite her situation, the run was exciting, talking with Amanda about her various problems at the bank, eating delicious toast avocado from her favorite food truck, hearing Betty complain about her kids and husband. It blunted the edge that was scalping her mind, that is until she heard a notification sound come from Betty''s phone. "Oh look at that, your daughter just posted a picture, Carmen, how wonderful! I bet it''s her and the girls. Woman, I can''t thank you enough for your daughter you know? Taking those goblins....." "Carmen! Is that William? Is he finally back from New York? Why didn''t you tell us sooner girl? Oh, I can''t wait for him to meet the girls..." Amanda froze. She stared Carmen dead in the eyes, which Betty didn''t even notice, being so charmed by her phone, and asked in a low whisper "Why didn''t you tell me, Carmen?" "I didn''t know until yesterday... Both Alex and I just don''t know what to do Amanda...Sorry to have kept you in the dark." Honesty was her safest bet to salvage this trainwreck, it took the better part of a year to mend bridges with the woman, and now it was all on the verge of going kaput. Carmen watched as Amanda took deep breaths, hoping the woman wouldn¡¯t go home in a fuss. After a tense few seconds she visibly relaxed, and with a somewhat hollow smile, called Betty out of her phone''s grasp. "C''mon Betty, let''s go to Carmen''s place, she promised us that vegan banana cake remember?" Sighing in sheer relief, she and the girls left the park and made their way to her place. It was a silent ride home that took less than a few minutes, yet it felt like hours went by. Arriving home with her friends in tow, she hoped the boy was either sleeping or playing in his room. She moved to open her door while Betty prattled on about getting a new phone when she saw a peculiar bag next to the doorway. It seems I tempted fate once again, she thought, for Amanda had already made her way to the living room. She hurried in and saw a familiar back tinkering away on what looked to be a massive computer. Tall, lean, and mean, as Alex would put it, her son looked calm, even when staring at Amanda, all the signs from two years ago were no longer there, her baby boy had grown, and the look on his face showed it all. "Welcome home Mother." Chapter 2: Until the Setting Sun... William watched as his mother stared at him from the doorway leading to the house''s entrance. During these two years away William had ample time to come to terms with why he felt so alienated from his family. One of the big reasons was the looks, not only his mom but also his father and sister were Absolute Specimens as the internet would put it. Their family gatherings were always marked by at least one comment or two, in which they ¡°Politely¡± compared him to his family... His musings on the unfairness of the gene lottery were abruptly stopped when another woman walked into the living room, someone he remembered well, Amanda Willhelm. William felt that anger rise in him, but he kept it reigned in, still as a lake after finishing the job on his PC. "Hello William, your mother didn''t tell us you would be coming back today, otherwise I would''ve prepared a homecoming gift." The woman said in a clipped tone, she was barely hiding her annoyance with a facade of politeness. William didn''t respond, slightly moving to the left of the table he looked at her, her pale skin slightly flushed from the morning walk, no gun on her person which made the boy relax if only a little. Amanda was visibly uncomfortable now, two years ago, the boy looked scrawnier, thinner, but now, he had some muscle on him, looked taller, more masculine, but she could see he was angry. Thankfully for both, Carmen called Amanda to the kitchen so they could eat. Picking up his stuff, William moved towards his room, only to find his sister just about kicking two other girls out of it. "Sorry Will, we have been using your room to bunk whenever we go out, I swear on mom I''ve not skipped on cleaning it, god knows you have an obsession with tidy rooms..." The girls didn''t even notice him while being hurried off to her room, and opening the door William found himself staring at his room from the corridor. A plain room, all of his shelves and closets just the way he left them two years ago, a new set of curtains by the windows, placed there by his sister no doubt. It felt like a stranger¡¯s room, this whole house felt like that, and it was starting to annoy him. William decided to be proactive and quickly moved to make this place feel like it belonged to him, starting first with a quick broom sweep, followed by setting his stuff up, hanging his clothes, and finally turning on his PC. "One step at the time William, One step at the time..." a whisper of encouragement, talking with himself was a bad habit he knew but the reality of it all was coming down hard on him, there would be no more running away, not from his actions, his family and worse, his ex-girlfriend. Taking deep breaths to calm down, William started another of his methods of meditation, He focused, slowly turning his attention inwards, thump...thump the sound of his own heart filling his mind, slowly he calmed down, after centering himself he turned the PC on, it was time to relax a little, hard times were coming but right now? Right now it was time for some good old gaming.
Playing games was more than a hobby for William, as his only means of meaningful social connections, the boy was obsessed with games, all the stress that wasn''t properly vented with meditation was no longer weighing on him, minutes turned into hours as he played and chatted with his friends. When he heard a knock, William knew it was time to face the music. "Mom and Dad wanna talk Wills, they look kinda mad, but no fights, ok? We have guests in the house." Juliet tried to hide the sadness in her voice but William managed to notice. He knew that while she loved him, her love for mom and dad was also just as strong. "It''s ok sister, I promise there won''t be any fights." A hug to seal the deal, William hoped for no fights but who knew with his dad, the man was more than likely still seething about the events from two years ago. Going to the living room was strange, it felt like his room, William thought, new furniture where there wasn''t any back two years ago, old furniture in places he remembered. Crossing the archway that leads to the living room, William watched as his parents talked in hushed whispers, worry plastered over their faces. They had already made the guests go home early, it seemed. Pulling a chair, the boy cleared his throat, getting the attention of both adults. William cleared his head, let this be a new start he thought to himself, no more running away, it won''t be a totally clean slate but it was the next best thing. ¡°Mom, Dad, we gotta talk,¡± William said ¡°Yes, we do, son... Why did you decide to come back home? Couldn¡¯t you have gone on the trip with your grandparents?!¡± Dad was mad ¡°Come now Alex, that¡¯s not fair both to your parents and William here, they already looked after him for two years¡­¡± Mom was fast to speak over him ¡°Did you really think they would¡¯ve taken me? stop being an unreasonable dad¡± William took the in and ganged up on him, His father quieted down for the moment. Mother wanted to push for more, but not seeking more confrontation, William just shook his head at her "Look son, your father and I wanted to talk about how things will play now that you are... back home... we wanted to make sure there won''t be any... complications," dragging the word, Carmen felt scared, scared that her son would burn all the work they had put in these two years. She locked eyes with him, looking for any of that madness but all she found was stony eyes looking at her, or past her, she couldn''t know. "There won''t be any of those, you have my word on that." Putting his hands up William tried his best to disarm his parents, he was intent on keeping his promise to Juliet. "I''ll hold you to that William, you better be sure of that" Resignation and defeat oozed out of his mother, had it been in the past, William would¡¯ve been hurt by this naked lack of confidence in him, but now? He didn''t mind. "Now, your father here has school news." A small cough from his dad had him focus on the man. He could see it clear as day in his eyes, the seething rage and indignation, daring William to give him a slight excuse. Not today old man, today we speak in peace. Relatively of course. "You have been kicked to 9th grade, something about the paperwork I was told." Alex could barely contain his vicious glee, a perfect setup to make him angry, William was meant to be in 11th grade by now, after all. Suppressing his urge to sigh, all William could think was how petty his dad was. A small and petty man "Fine by me." No emotions at all, it was as if his dad had commented on the Weather. The man became visibly perturbed, having anticipated a different reaction. "WHAAAAT?! No way you are ok with this B.S. Wills! You legit gonna do 3 more years of High School?!! Are you nuts brother?!" Juliet went ballistic, sheer outrage pouring out of her, so much for playing the cool older sister. "It''s okay sist, I don''t mind," and he meant it. If this was his second chance at mending bridges, he wouldn''t waste it with petty drama. Juliet stared him down, searching for something, anything that would hint at being mad with this situation, but she found nothing. "Wow, you don''t mind it, do you? Wild.¡± Juliet vacated the living room, leaving her brother alone with their parents once again, both were looking nonplussed about the small exchange. "Is there anything else I should know?" He was starting to get tired, this constant effort of trying to remain calm was taxing William by this point "No son, I believe we are done here. If anything else comes up I¡¯ll tell you about it ok?, if you would excuse me, I have work to do." Mom was quick to escape, Dad didn''t bother with a goodbye, getting up and moving to the kitchen without a word. William thought to himself alone at the table, could he fix this? Carmen was wary of him like he was a caged animal, and Alex was dead set on getting back at him like a petulant child. Did he even want to fix his relationship with his parents? Was there any point in tackling what would be without a doubt a herculean task? William wished he could stay neutral about it but he knew that wasn''t gonna happen, he had to make things right. It was his last chance, as he would find out later.
"I''m going to the All Saints Shelter," Called out William, his mom was cooking lunch, but not for the family, apparently now if one wanted to eat, they had to make their own food, a strange rule he thought, but one that he didn''t mind, he knew how to cook after all. "Hold up bro, Sister Hernandez doesn''t run the All Saints no more, Hannah took her place ever since the old lady left for Italy," Juliet said as she was marching down from the stairs, ready to go out as well. "That Hannah? Hannah O''Brien? She was a goddamn menace!" William was shocked, he knew the girl from his time at the shelter as a helper, she hated any sort of authority and more than once hid there, Her friendship with then Sister Hernandez help¨ªng the angry girl through her numerous relationship and family problems. "She''s barely nineteen, you¡¯re telling me she''s running the shelter with no supervision?" "After the offshore project started, the shelter lost almost ninety percent of its residents, Wills, last I heard there''s like eight people there who refused job offers on the island." Juliet was ready to go out when she stopped right beside him. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "Smellin¡¯ nice little brother, you off on a date or something?" she said with a tease, he didn''t know if he¡¯d missed that or not, "You know Hannah got her act together mighty quickly after you left, maybe there''s something there?" "I didn''t know you were also a gossip sis, these two years were quite something weren''t they? But enough about me, what about you? Did you finally get a boyfriend or do I need to tell mom to start buying cat supplies?" "Don''t you dare! I am not turning into a crazy cat lady! Ugh, you are no fun." She quickly left the house, William was pleased with the little banter, it was good to know his sister was still laughing at his bad jokes.
Walking to the shelter was a unique experience, the town had changed in major and minor ways, but it was the lack of homeless that nagged at him so much. What was the government doing on that island that managed to empty the entire state of its homeless population? He knew the jobs paid well, plus all housing and bills were free but he felt something was up, and rumors about them shipping people from the rust belt by truckloads gave much-needed fire for his conspiracy-fueled mind. It was at this moment while William was lost in thought that he heard someone call out to him, an older woman, pale as snow approached him. "My oh my, if it isn''t William! Darling, it''s been almost two years since I last saw you! Are you busy? We can have a cup of coffee and catch up" Like a bucket of ice-cold water was thrown in his face, William immediately broke free from his stupor, after all, the one who had just ambushed him was Jenifer Winters, his ex-mother-in-law. "Miss Winters" William was doing his best to keep it cool but he was treading a razor-thin line already, his relationship with Jennifer''s daughter very much a wound he had no plans on opening again, especially so given one of the reasons they broke up was talking with him right now. "No need to be so formal darling, we¡¯re old friends, aren''t we? Oh but I must tell Isabell you are back, she''s going to be positively delighted!" He caught the flash of sadistic glee in her eyes, and William knew it was time for a tactical withdrawal. "I''m afraid I''ll have to decline your invitation, Miss Winters, I have an appointment to keep at the shelter." William didn¡¯t know why the woman now hounded him like a dog after a bone, and was scared to find out; "Look at you all right and proper again. Oh, I¡¯d forgotten how much of a busybody you were, always helping the needy. No wonder that daughter of mine was so infatuated with you... Well, do call me later William, you can drop by anytime, I''ll make you those hashbrowns you used to love," Winking goodbye, the woman left. William didn''t return any goodbyes, instead, he kept walking, faster this time. There was no bigger regret for him than the disaster that was his break up with Isabell, the worst part of it was that it¡¯d come barely a week before his ordeal with the bullies and his father... There was no build-up to it, he had consulted the girls they knew and they¡¯d all vouched for his behavior as a boyfriend, one crying, even. The only response he¡¯d had when he asked Isabell what he had done wrong was a cold "Nothing." "You did nothing wrong, Will," "There''s simply no more spark between us, It''s best we part ways as friends than to drag this on." And part ways they did, William was gutted, he felt hollow for days. There was no anger, no outrage, only the hollow feelings. It was at this lowest of times where he found enough push to punish the bullies. After all, he was at the bottom of the barrel already, what''s a few inches deeper? "Fuck me, what a day," a whisper came out of his mouth. What a day indeed, and he hadn''t even talked with Hannah yet. Arriving at the shelter William was once again taken aback. Apparently, someone decided to renovate the entire building, which was very odd, as Sister Hernandez was very honest on how city hall was cheap with the budget for the place. One more thing to talk with Hannah, he thought. The inside of the shelter was also fully renovated, and to his growing shock, with tech straight from the island, including those temperature regulators which ran off some sort of near-infinite battery that lasted a month. Freed from the horrible heat from outside, William Walked up to the receptionist desk "Excuse me, I would like to talk with Sister Hannah." "Name please," "William Luther, I used to work here two years ago as a volunteer." The woman looked up, she had a look of sudden realization on her face. "Oh, I know you! You are the boy who broke those bullies'' legs, aren''t you? Holy shit, Hannah told us a few days after it happened, couldn''t believe it myself... but where are my manners! My name''s Tris, I was hired about a month after you left," she got up to shake his hand, rough hands gripping his with a strength that he wasn''t expecting. "I''ll let Hannah know you are here to see her" It didn''t take too long before a familiar face was staring William down, and he was surprised to find that the woman in front of him did not match the one from his memory. Gone were the wild look in her eyes, the intensity that dared anyone to contain her, or heavens forbid, order her around. Now she was serene, at peace, like she had found her life''s calling. Seconds felt like hours, the staredown starting to make him uncomfortable., it didn''t help Hannah was even prettier than what he¡¯d remembered Damn Juliet for saying those stupid things at home, he thought, quickly focusing his attention elsewhere "The William I know was a testy ball of pent-up anger masquerading as a human," she said, tapping her table with her index finger. "I could say the same Hannah, what happened to that hazard sign that was your old hair? The deep magenta suits you, by the way." He missed these barbs, Hannah always preferred being direct, even to the point of crudeness. Resting in her chair, Hannah sighed in silent contemplation "So what you want little hawk, you disappear up north like an outlaw only to show up outta nowhere¡ª" "I wanna join back as a volunteer Hannah, things aren''t so good back at home, being here would help, you should know." William decided to interrupt her. he wasn''t here to play catch up, which could happen later. "We barely have people in nowadays, really, virtually all the homeless went to the island. Only old Jackson, Mama Crystal, and Agatha stayed." Hannah wasn''t annoyed at his question, she just was keeping it real with him, there wasn''t much to do at the shelter now after all. "For old time¡¯s sake? Remember that one time I let you sleep at my house when your stepfather was after you ¡®cause you drank his expensive malt?" That broke her out of the cool and composed character she had, as she gave him a snarl followed by a string of curses a sailor would be proud of. William smiled, for the first time in this horrible day, it felt good to be back. "You motherfucker, never gonna live that one down, will I? Fine, you can "work" here. And hey, it''s nice to have you back William, we should get wasted one of these days, put some hair in your chest." A horrible laugh erupted from the woman-child in front of him, Yep, that was Hannah he knew, alright. "Thanks but no thanks, wouldn''t want you to lose your job sister Hannah." He said, tongue-in-cheek "Don''t you start, someone had to do it after Hernandez left, and your sorry ass was moping in New York so it fell to me¡­ Anyway, you can come whatever day you have free, there''s not much to do around here bar cleaning and answering emails" "It''s alright, as long I stay outta home," "Shit, that bad? Your old man¡¯s giving you a hard time, eh?" A nod came from William, "Well, lemme tell you this boy¡ª" "You are barely 22 Hannah, drop the sage old lady bit." "Don''t interrupt me jackass! Like I was saying, what you did was right William, even if your slime of a father says otherwise." She hugged him tightly, almost squeezing the air out of him. "You best talk to Aver, after your friends moved to Canada she has been basically all alone, still living over the store you remember?" "I''ll do just that, thanks Hannah, I mean it." He hugged her tight as well, felt good knowing there were a few who still cared for him.
William wondered how he felt about Hannah on the way to Avers home, that blasted comment Juliet made haunting his every step. Hannah was pretty in that wild sorta way, but if he was being honest with himself, he didn''t know if he¡¯d be ready to commit to another would-be relationship, the phantom pains of his last one were but a few minutes walk away from him now. Once again lost in thought, William walked at a brisk pace towards his goal. This next meeting would likely last the entire day well into the night, but he didn''t mind it. "She told me the store was closed down, not that it was converted into an apartment building." William was lucky to find someone that told him Avers was home, he knocked on the oh-so-familiar door, somewhat nervous this time. His relationship with the girl was...complicated, for the lack of a better word. "Coming!¡± A came from behind the door as it opened, ¡°Oh! William, is that you? Goodness gracious, look at you!¡± She said, inspecting him from head to toe, ¡°Put on some muscle while away in the north haven''t you?... Oh! where are my manners, please enter, I''ll grab something for you to drink." The girl was lively, and he saw her silky dark hair now had white streaks running through it, William was mesmerized by it, her caramel skin, the way she moved¡ª Snapping out of his daze, William followed her into the home he had become so accustomed to during those last two months before moving away. "Felicia and Ulysses left for Canada, huh? I''m sorry Avers, I know you didn''t want to be left alone like that, given how close we were" William said in a low voice as he took a seat at the table overlooking the living room. "Ahh... I miss them, William, I really do, but it was for the best, God knows it would be hard for them to stay here after what happened." she sighed softly, moving her hands to hold his, sitting by his side. " We all agreed you did the right thing that day, but you know how Felicia is, she didn''t want anyone bullying her brother." "She always defended him, even though he''s the older of the two, didn''t she? She was so happy when he got into the team," he could feel her head nestled on his shoulder now, God I¡¯d missed her, he thought with a sigh, those two months he¡¯d spent with Avers were bliss in days of hell "I missed you, William... I told you not to go, to stay with me..." he could hear her crying, soft and small, she didn''t want to meet his eyes. They stayed together like that for the rest of the day, William called his mom saying he was going to stay at the shelter and she didn''t mind.
Coming home was easier than he expected, William was startled when he found his father waiting for him in the living room. With a nod, the man pointed to the couch. "Father?" A simple question, William had promised to no more fights and by god, he would keep it, even if his dad was gonna be an ass. "Look son, your mother and sister pestered me to say this; let''s not get into any fights, okay? it took hard work to unfuck the mess you left and no one wants a bad vibe in the house." "Plus I uh, watched some of your competitions... so, ceasefire?" It was hard for William to hide his displeasure at this mockery of a talk, his dad was rotten, but if it only took a smile and nod for peace in the household, then so be it, he thought. "Sure." He made his way to the kitchen, grabbed some chips, and went to his room. William''s father was looking perplexed, he had come ready for a fight, or at the very least a loud argument, yet nothing but a quiet word was spoken by his son. As for William, he had to get ready for school on Monday, setting aside his school supplies and backpack, clothes, and footwear. He still felt angry at the fact he got kicked back to freshman high. Maybe Avers was right, his parents didn''t really care for him at all, he mused darkly. Dispelling these dark thoughts, he resumed prepping for school, and once that was done he decided to take a shower and play his favorite game, Waves of Anger. In the middle of one of his innumerous replays, William got a ping from one of his friends; a VR version was just announced for the game. "Can''t wait to use this dumb headset, although what a strange prize to give for a martial arts tournament... but still, I can''t help but get hyped for the game..." he was muttering to himself amid chuckles and swears as he played. This particular section of the game was set in the Dukedom of the first Vilianness of the game, a snow-themed zone, one prettier than the rest of the game in his opinion. All the stress from the day melted away as he got into the rhythm, his knowledge of the game from hours of playing, surfing the wiki, talking with the devs on Twitter and other players in forums helped him relax. Soon it would be time for school. Chapter 3: Is crushed under our heel The phone alarm blasted away, its unholy sound shocking William awake faster than he could¡¯ve imagined. He was feeling quite anxious for school, having to deal with younger people than he wasn''t something he had much skill in. "One foot forward as always, William, let''s go." Cheering himself up was easier now, he moved with precision and speed, took a lightning-fast shower, and was ready to go to school after eating breakfast. It was at that moment that his sister came out of her room, Juliet was about to head out too, and spotting her brother by the doorway she called out to him. "Want a lift? Otherwise, you can go with dad¡ª" "YES! I mean, yeah sure..." William went red in the ears. "No need to be so eager you know," she smirked, "Let''s go, I still gotta pick up a few friends along the way." They made their way to the garage, where William was surprised when Juliet unlocked their mom''s Prius. "You got the Prius sis? What¡¯s mom driving?" "An Escalade, if you can believe it," she pointed to the car, "Runs like a dream, that car, god I wish mom would let me drive it more than once in a month... Anyway, let''s get going." They got in the car, William claiming shotgun, and Juliet started driving off to school. It didn''t take long before Juliet was also blasting old pop songs, and seeing an opportunity to calm himself before his first day, William decided to talk about their soon-to-be passengers. "So, who are we picking today sis?" "Well, Melissa, also known as Mel, and Jonah." She pulled up to what William assumed to be the girls¡¯ house. "They uh, know about me?" He didn''t want to cause any embarrassment to his sister, from their talks he had known beforehand that she was a queen bee type. "Yeah, don''t worry about it, little brother," Juliet smirked. The two girls he¡¯d seen before showed up half-running, slamming the car doors as they entered it. "YEEEAH WHAT IS UP JULIET!" The girl was tall, her shapely body and olive skin made William feel very self-conscious for a second, but what caught William''s attention was her bright blue hair in a style that he could only call a shorter version of the female V from 2077. Suffice to say, he was mesmerized by it. "Uh hi I''m William, Juliets¡¯ brother¨C," he stammered a greeting, clearly feeling shy, heat rising to his face and ears. "Great, my brother has a thing for the e-girl aesthetic, ugh." Juliet spat out with a disgruntled noise, to the bell-like laugher of the newly arrived girl ¡°Don¡¯t give him a hard time about it, I am beautiful after all, hahaha '''' the girl certainly had confidence. She turned to Juliet and said, ¡°Hit the gas love, let¡¯s get your boyfriend and get going.¡± William was surprised, a boyfriend, huh? Let¡¯s hope the boy isn''t an asshole. ¡°Don¡¯t you start William, don¡¯t you fucking start¡± His sister knew what he was thinking. ¡°Woah sis, ain¡¯t saying anything¡± William put his hands up laughing, no need to upset the driver any further. They didn¡¯t take long to arrive at Jonah¡¯s house. The boy was friendly enough, William felt, asking about his hobbies and such, and where he¡¯d been these past two years; ¡°She kept him hidden in the cellar,¡± Mel said, pointing towards Juliet with a smirk. "I was living up north in New York, sis wasn''t hiding me under the cellar." ¡°Look at you protecting your sister, aren¡¯t you a cutie,¡±
The ride to school was fun in weird ways. For one, it turned out Juliet''s group of friends had a ritual where every day someone would play their favorite playlist on the way, so they unanimously decided it was William''s turn to put his musical tastes out in the world. "Look it''s not my fault your baby brother is a hipster Jully, he even has a thing for colored hair, give it a few years and he will be vegan, the holy trifecta of hipsterdom." Violet was merciless with her teasing, even if she knew most of the songs he liked from the top of her head. Juliet on the other hand wasn''t having any, cursing them all. "Tsk, so thin-skinned, Jully, where''s the cool and collected big sister act you had a few weeks ago, hm¨C? Oh, heads up people, we¡¯ve arrived." Mel chipped in as the car screeched to a halt in the parking lot. "Will, we¡¯re gonna be hanging by the cafeteria near the vending machines, message me if something happens, ok?" Juliet hugged her brother in a quick display of affection as her friends kept up the car banter to the school gates. William moved fast, he asked for directions to the teacher''s office, where he was greeted by his dad and an older-looking lady drinking coffee, a Ms. Oppenheimer, the small tag on her shirt told him, William was perplexed at first, he didn''t know her from before he left. Another thing to ask Juliet, he thought. His father rifled through his desk drawer to grab papers, reaching out with them in hand. "Here''s your schedule, son." William accepted them, and with nothing else being said, he bade farewell and left for class. Could he start again, he wondered. Doubt began seeping into his mind ever since he had entered school grounds. Could he handle dealing with his ex should they meet again? Lost in unpleasant thoughts, William found a chair and waited for class to begin. Starting the day with math was a bit harsh, he thought to himself, but there was nothing he could do but grin and bear it. The boy was surprised to see Ms. Oppenheimer come into the classroom, and once more when she asked that he get up and introduce himself to the rest of his classmates. The faster I get this done, the better, he thought with a sigh as he got up. "Hello y''all, my name is William, I''m sixteen, and my dad¡¯s the coach." He sat down before anyone could lob any questions at him, and class finally started. When a lull appeared mid-class, William felt a poke on the ribs. Turning to the source with irritation, he found it was the girl sitting by the side. "...Hi," the girl muttered. "...Hi?" William looked to his side, the girl was tan, and thick glasses hid bright blue eyes and a face full of freckles. She was a bit on the tall side as well, and her hair was a deep purple. After seconds of waiting for the girl to speak, William lost patience and decided to speak up instead. "Do you need something?" "Oh! I''m sorry...I''m a bit uh¡ª" "Shy?" He couldn¡¯t tell if the girl was pulling his leg or if she was just that timid. Before she could answer, however, another girl sitting in front of William joined in on the conversation. Blonde hair styled in a severe bob, amber eyes and pale skin, small eyebags gave away that she was losing some sleep. Still very pretty, William thought. "What my friend Alice is trying to ask here, William dear is if you want to hang out at lunchtime, it seems she''s taken a liking to you." she smiled, much to the shy girl¡¯s chagrin. "I uh, I''m hanging with my sister today, but maybe tomorrow?" William was caught so flatfooted, embarrassed didn''t even begin to cover how he felt. "What''s your name again?" he asked on a whim, feeling even more self-conscious. "The name''s Victoria, my mom is our math teacher," there was pride in her tone "By sister you meant Juliet, yes? Fine then." with that said, the girl took her to leave. How could''ve Juliet upset this freshman girl? he thought curiously. The list of questions grows, must resist making an update of my journal joke William thought to himself, the shy girl waved at him and went back to her books, William decided to do the same. As the class was about to end, William noticed something strange, he kept having the gut feeling that someone was staring at him every time he lowered his head, and it was making him feel paranoid. When the bell rang, he made his way to the cafeteria. It was strange how familiar it felt, going through the motions with an odd sense of deja vu. He soon found his sister and her friends at a lunch table, this time as an even bigger group, yet a chair was left for him. The conversation didn''t stop when he pulled the chair and plopped down, and eating his luncheon was met with indifference as the people around him talked and gossiped about school life. When he finished, one of the new faces decided to strike up a chat, introducing himself as Amir was another of Juliet''s friends and as he found out, a fellow fan of Waves of Anger. Not wanting to waste all lunch break with the current meta for the game he decided to query his sister about Victoria. "That girl hates your sister''s guts cause of her mother my dude, apparently they had a thing back in high school and she told Victoria to hate Jully for some reason," said Mel "That''s messed up, does Miss Oppenheimer think this is a soap opera?" Willaim couldn''t hold his tongue, nods all across the table told him he wasn''t alone in this. "The teacher herself doesn''t let it show, but her daughter has had it in for me for weeks now, apparently her big party next weekend is making her twice as touchy. Why are you asking, did she do anything to you?" Juliet said with a serious tone. "No, not really, sis, she asked for my name and left. Her friend was trying to strike up a conversation with me and she intervened cause the girl was horribly shy." "The purple-haired girl yeah? She¡¯s a shy one for sure," Jonah said with a guffaw. "Don''t laugh Jonah, you know Alice can''t help it, plus you are making poor Amir mighty uncomfortable." Said Mel. Huh, William thought, looks like there''s more than it meets the eye here. High School social hierarchies were hardly ever clear-cut as movies liked to portray them after all, he knew his sister enjoyed a huge amount of clout due to her looks and physical capabilities, and the fact the nerd had scored Alice might have also been a reason for this conflict. It wasn''t his problem anyway, all he had to do was keep his head down for the next 3 years... As William planned his future, a posse of five guys made their way towards his table. It took him an elbow to the ribs to notice it, and looking up, he found a very angry jock glaring down at him. "Hey, dork with the mopey look, I know you were the one who fucked up my cousin''s knee two years ago, what the fuck are you doing here all of the sudden, huh!?" The boy was seething, spraying spit as he spoke. "That''s my brother you are talking to Mikeal, I suggest fucking off before I call the principal, you¡¯re already on his shitlist after all." Juliet didn''t even take her eyes out of her food, but there was steel in her voice. William kept quiet. If the boy threw a punch all he was going to do was block, no point in getting the cops called on him due to his knowledge of martial arts, he had seen it happen even back in Alberta, the kid got sent to juvie, and everything. It was at this moment that a tall tan-skinned boy walked up to Mikeal, he had a deep baritone voice, "I wouldn''t mess with him brother, my sister fought against him at a competition last year and she got the crap kicked outta her." That got a reaction out of everyone around them except Juliet. It was then that it dawned on him, the boy was talking about Petra Washinton, a long-time competitor and somewhat of a rival. "You¡¯re Petra''s brother? Nice to meet ya dude, I''m William" He was pleased that someone he knew was so near, good sparring partners are hard to come by after all. "Yeah, I know, nice to meet you as well brother," he shook William''s hand, then turned to Mikeal "If I were you I would follow Juliet''s advice here, if you get in a fight before the game next week the coach will get mad." That took the wind of Mikeal''s sails, his group left as quickly as they came, which honestly surprised William, was Petra feared as a super bully or something? Petra''s brother must''ve caught his reaction cause he quickly launched into an explanation, "Last summer she fought 10 gangbangers to a standstill, earned quite the reputation around here." Juliet confirmed with a nod, Huh, William thought, She¡¯s quite something. "Name''s Johnson, by the way, I''ll tell Petra you are here now, she''s been looking for a sparring partner for months now." He waved William goodbye and left the cafeteria as well. "Oof¡ª" William was stumped, this was way more than what he expected for his first day back in school. "You tell me, someone must''ve made him do the clich¨¦ act on you little brother because that doesn''t happen around here, ever." Juliet was seething, more school drama William guessed. "I''ll be going to class sis, you uh, holla at me if anything happens, ok?" That prompted a little laugh out of her friends, dispelling the unpleasant mood. Great, William thought, a little bad joke always helps. "Look at you, the worried little brother, ain''t that cute Jully." Mel teased a big grin on her face. William bid farewell to everyone and left, and on his way to class, he was joined by the shy girl from before. Alice was a bit more talkative now, asking him what his hobbies were and such, he didn''t even notice when Victoria had flanked them as they arrived in class. "So no sports? Just martial arts?" asked Alice with a hushed tone, they were in the middle of marine biology now. "Last I heard he had a big fight with the coach, uh I mean his dad, I don''t think William here will be interested in sports for a long while," Victoria said, for someone who hated his sister she was being surprisingly nice. Too nice, William thought. As the school day came to an end, they exchanged contact info. Again, William was suspicious of Victoria''s sudden one-eighty, but try as he might he couldn''t detect any ill will from the girl. They bid each other goodbyes and William made his way to Juliet''s car, catching up with Amir on the way. "So what''s up with you and Alice dude?" William decided to ask on a whim, he was bored as all hell waiting for the rest of his sister''s gang to arrive. "We uh, were dating last year but I got pretty drunk at a party and cheated on her..." he was cringing hard "I asked for her to forgive me but she told me to go fuck myself, haaa.." Welp, William didn''t think he was gonna dig this kind of dirty goddamn. He was quick to change the topic to Waves of Anger, something that Amir was eager to jump to. "¡ªAs I said, the Doppelganger spell should be on the Illusion School skill tree, not Necromancy and Soul magic one, It''s a solid 3d render..." Amir and William were in a heated debate about the spell classifications in the game, as some were more lore-based than gameplay-based. "Sure but the lore clearly says all soul and mind magic spells belong to Martius, it makes sense they would put it in the necro tree..." "I see you are one of those lore-obsessed people, a shame William, a shame." Amir was cracking up, and William couldn''t help but laugh as well. The divide between lore and gameplay fans in the community was a long-running joke at this point. They¡¯d discussed lore and gameplay for a good hour before Juliet finally turned up. "Pack it up guys, we¡¯re going home," said Juliet once she was done with her own talks, they all got in and went home for the day. As for William he immediately took a shower, got his homework done, and went back to gaming, the earlier talk gave him a nice idea of a Soul magic Spell-Blade build. He didn''t even notice when Juliet got into his room "You know, some say this game is for girls ¡®cause of the female protagonist." She was trying to get a rise outta him, but he wasn''t dumb enough to let her win. "Weak, sis,¡± he sighed, deadpan, ¡°So, whatchu want?" He asked, something was up if she came in person instead of sending him a message on his phone. "Watch for that Victoria girl William, I don''t like her, and she doesn''t like me, if she''s chumming up to you there might be something there." "What''s this, a soap opera? Jesus, sis." William had his doubts but they were just him being a bit too paranoid, he didn''t think Juliet was also that worried. "Just giving you a heads up, Will." She left without saying more, thinking nothing of it, William got back to playing.
A week had passed and life got busy. Just as he¡¯d promised Johnson, William reconnected with Petra for daily sparring at the dojo she trained in, ¡°Well, well, If it ain¡¯t the Champion himself, William Luther.¡± A voice greeted him as he¡¯d entered the practice hall. Looking around, he¡¯d found it was from a wiry dark-skinned woman with a gleeful smile on a face dripping with sweat. He knew her well from the Muay Thai Competition; Hadn¡¯t forgotten how she¡¯d almost broken my legs back then, he recalled. ¡°Heard you fucked up some thugs Petra, even got a rep in school.¡± William moved to set his small duffle bag on the wall. All around the dojo he found boys and girls training in numerous styles, from BJJ to Silat, Karate, even Krav Maga. Her smile deepened at the mention of that.¡°Limp dicks the lot of ¡®em, thought they could muscle in here without challenge, it wasn¡¯t gonna happen,¡± She got out of the ring, grabbed a water bottle, and eagerly drank all of it. Approaching William, she shook his hand and said ¡°Good to have someone that can actually fight here, these nerds all came when my dumbass of a brother told the school me and coach Arnold was opening a dojo, now I gotta babysit them all.¡± She took a breather and then bellowed ¡°Water!¡± to which she caught a water bottle someone chucked her way mid-air. She emptied it and said: ¡°Ready for round two William? I didn¡¯t forget how close our last fight was in the end, you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯m ready¡± Willam was honestly hoping Petra might be a little rough around the edges but knew she could throw hands with the best of them. He got ready and met her on the ring. ¡°Any rules?¡± He asked. ¡°Anything goes, no protective equipment." She said, eager to fight. An older man stepped in and gave them the go-ahead. Petra went on the offensive fast. Rapid kicks aimed at his legs and chest, he tried to bat away a left kick when she suddenly went forward for a tackle. Dodging at the last second, William delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to her ribs. Her eyes widened as she rolled away from his reach and got up in a flash. ¡°Not a limp dick, eh, William.¡± She teased him while catching her breath. He knew her shit-talking worked wonders. William entered a guarded stance when she came forward again, jabs turning into left hooks and kicks, he bobbed and weaved a few, and spotting an opening, William tried for a kick straight to the shins. The kick almost connected when she jumped, both legs tucked in and dodged it, and landing with the precision of an acrobat, she turned and nailed William with a powerful right hook to the nose. He went down and tasted blood. ¡°Oh, they gonna have to glue ya nose back together IN THE SISSY ALLEY,¡± Petra pressed the attack going for a grab but William rolled away. ¡°I¡¯m gonna fuck you up,¡± he said with anger now budding in his eyes, on the other hand, had the craziest smile plastered on her face. She went for another grapple only to find a left hook on her bruised hips, setting her off balance then William delivered four strong kicks in rapid succession to her upper body, the sheer ferocity dizzying Petra trying to block them. William backed off and ran towards her roaring, and drawing in his last bit of energy he planted a double-legged flying kick square in her solar plexus, she flew to the edge, the force almost knocking her out, William went for a chokehold, trapping the woman something fierce. ¡°FUCK! Tap out, I tap out, you maniac!¡± She screamed, stunned from the unsparing barrage, ¡°Fuck me, William, give a girl a break will ya? Thought you were gonna kill me there for a second,¡± Petra wheezed, her face was ashen but she has gathered herself in moments and sat up. ¡°Talk shit¡­..¡± William started, If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Get hit, I know, guess I got too used to these greenhorns here. There won¡¯t be a loss next time though,¡± Petra said, pumping a fist his way. hey both got off the ring, Petra sipping on her water bottle, William did the same, they chatted for a bit before agreeing; he would drop by twice a week to spar and help instruct the new people. He was more than happy to.
At school, he spent some time with Alice and Victoria, and while William was still a bit suspicious, he made a point of not being rude to the girl, and even had lunch with them, their table full of fellow social climbers, with him and Alice being the odd ones out. All were polite of course, but he could tell they looked down on him a bit. He was told it was mostly his clothes, William''s spartan sense of fashion wasn''t appreciated it seemed, not that he cared but it was funny in a way, he¡¯d thought minimalism was the new hotness with the kids.
In the end, William believed he¡¯d made the most progress in mending bridges with his parents. It¡¯d started a few days ago when William was up at the crack of dawn patching up the fence in the front yard, two years working under his grandfather had taught him much. "What in god''s green earth are you doing at seven on a Sunday morning, William? Your mother is complaining about the racket.¡± "Fixing the fence, dad." William didn''t even bother to look up, he was hammering, taking measures, filling holes the whole nine yards. Twenty minutes in he was taken aback when his dad showed up with his gear and started helping him. "Twice the hands, twice the faster we get this done and your mom stops whining." From then on, whenever he was up fixing something his dad would join him, which according to his mom, was the biggest win he could get with the man. When it came to his relationship with his mom, William was caught off guard when his mother mentioned that she knew about him and Avers and that she didn''t quite approve of it. "Look son, I''ll be honest here, I don''t wanna be a grandmother you hear me? Wait a decade or so." "Juliet has a boyfriend as well!" He was indignant with shame. "Your sister goes through boyfriends faster than your grandmother goes through a dirty house when she''s cleaning ya dolt, no worries there. Now scram, I got work to do." For the first time since he had arrived, he saw his mom¡¯s smile reach her eyes. "It''s all working out grandpa, it really is," William said to himself at the end of the day. He had begun mending the bridge, and his family would be back together in a month or two if he kept a steady pace. A deep sense of fulfillment and happiness made William giddy, the boy always held his family close to his heart, even at his lowest when they turned on him bar his sister. To see them happy again was nothing short of sublime. It was in the midst of this revelation that William got a call. Picking up his phone, he was greeted by an insistent Victoria. "Willy boy, you¡¯re gonna come to the party tomorrow, right? Everyone In the school is coming and I would hate it if a close friend of mine bailed on me, please come, would you? I''ll even ask your dad pleaseee?" "Sure? Everyone at home will be off doing their own thing tomorrow so I''ll arrive a bit late, when''s happening and where?" William didn''t really like parties but he couldn''t find it in his heart to say no to her. "Let me send you my address, the party starts at seven p.m., so be there or be square, lad!" She said in a mockingly British tone. What was that about? William laughed and looked up the address, Holy shit, he thought, This is a gated community out a ways off, "Uh Vic, this is a bit too far, can I crash at your place after the party? I don''t think there¡¯ll be anyone awake to pick me up." "Course you can Willy, but you¡¯re gonna have to help me clean up, okay? Alright, see you there, bye¡ª." She didn''t wait for him to speak. Someone was hyped, William thought. Not one to daddle, William decided to set aside his clothing for the party. Still spartan according to Victoria but he always believed in comfort before fashion. Taking a quick shower after it, William went back to Waves, grinding the Necromancer Spell-lade build away while checking the math for the most optimum numbers. Mid-gaming, he decided to tell Juliet about the party. Again she warned him about Victoria and reminded him she was leaving for a birthday party in Los Angeles tomorrow, so if anything happened she wouldn''t be able to help him. Same for mom and dad, both had friend dates, his best bet would be Hannah or Avers. William assured his sister that nothing would happen, and decided to hit the bunk, he was getting tired all of the sudden. William had a strange dream that night, he was flying upwards against his will, up and up he went, so high he could see the artificial island on the coast, then the whole state, and then the whole of USA, he kept going up until he fell on his but ice-cold ground. Dazed, he got up and walked forward, he was in some sort of a boreal forest. Cold winds were already giving him frostbite, the howls growing stronger as he pressed on, until at the eye of the storm he noticed a figure. A woman with alabaster skin and silvery hair looked at him, she pointed her finger, and with a soundless scream, she ran towards him. William woke up with a jump. He felt as if death itself had touched him for a moment. It took him a good while to calm down and a midnight snack to further calm him enough for sleep to come grace his mind once again. No weird dreams this time please, was his last thought before going out.
As everyone was getting ready to go, William''s mom kissed both children on the head, "Look at that, the entire family off to party, what a blessed day," she was having a grand old time, teasing William for "Breaking stereotypes as a nerd who likes to party." "Stop it, Carmen, this isn''t the ¡®90s no more, nerds are cool now." Came a welcome defense from his dad. Ever since he¡¯d told him about the party the man was very pleased with him, and when he told the old man about Victoria and Alice he was grinning like a child. They hugged out a final goodbye and went to their cars. Lacking one himself, William was more than content to call an Uber. The ride took almost forty minutes, but he had finally arrived at Victoria''s gated community. Getting out of the Uber, William walked up to the security station by the gate. He could make out three guards stationed on it, and he was sure he saw semi-automatic rifles on the wall. "What the hell am I walking into here, who needs a Military checkpoint on their...." he was mumbling when a guard hailed him. Schooling his features William walked up to the man, "Afternoon Officer, my name''s William, I''m here for the party at Victoria''s house" "Right this way sir, stand on the platform, please." William saw the medium-sized platform made out of pure steel. Lord, above they had a military-grade ID scanner, he quickly moved to stand at the center of it while the machine did its work. Making what he could only describe as horrible stock sci-fi noises, he saw his ID¡¯s information light up in the terminal inside the boot. The bored-looking guard gave the other man a thumbs up and he was let in with no further fuss. The streets were empty and dark, yet in the far-off distance, William already saw the party lights and heard the music blasting off. He was halfway there when he was hit with a sudden jolt of introspection, on how far he had come ever since he got back home. Life is good, William thought to himself, and today marks a new chapter in his, one where he can enjoy life in peace. All was well finally. And yet something deep inside his gut told him to beware, like a whisper behind his ear, speaking sweet nothings, enticing him, feeding the paranoid side he kept sedated so far. maybe it was the checkpoint, or maybe Juliet''s warnings but William decided to take a leap of faith and heed his more paranoiac impulses. Arriving at the house, William noticed that there weren''t that many people in yet, and looking at his phone he noticed it was already 8 pm. Assuming many would arrive in late, he made his way inside, but not before taking a look at Victoria''s home. At five floors high and packing two pools, either her parents were dirty rich or someone who was died, and they got the cash because a teacher''s salary doesn''t get you one of these nowadays. He also noticed there was a small forest a few minutes¡¯ walk away from her house, with some trees getting pretty close to the windows, That must be spooky on a windy day, William thought. "William! You came, oh my god! Please please, get in, loads of stuff we gotta move before the party gets going." Victoria saw him and came running and speaking over the loud music, she was drop-dead gorgeous, William was so mesmerized he forgot to greet her, something she noticed right away "Don''t you stare you, silly man, otherwise Alice will get jealous, now come with me, we still gotta fix the lights around the pool and set the drink stations." William found it strange that she would mention Alice, she¡¯s been pushing this "You two gotta hook up" angle for days now. Weird, very weird. As they went on fixing the place for the party, more and more people turned up. Soon, the party was going at full speed, music, food, and drinks flowed like water and everyone was having a blast. Having finished setting up everything, they decided to take a breather in the main living room of the house. William couldn''t help but notice the Military memorabilia arranged in it, complete with a pistol and rifle hanging in a fancy glass display. "Your dad fought in the war?" William was surprised, most vets he knew about were homeless and wrecked with PTSD, the war in Europe was one of the bloodiest conflicts of the century. "Yes...He told me it was horrible you know, saw most of his squadron die in the first three weeks, and more and more in the four years, he¡¯d spent there. Dad doesn''t like to talk about it much..." Oof, William had stepped on a landmine "He taught me how to shoot, though," Victoria said with a cheer, "I can even shoot shotguns, they kick like hell and hurt my shoulder but I can hit a target at 500 meters." She was very proud of that, by the looks of it. "You? You know how to shoot?" he wouldn''t have imagined, "Hey maybe you could take me to a range one of these days, heh?" William laughed, the idea of a date on a shooting range was just too funny to him. "Don''t laugh!" She punched him on the shoulder, "I''ll have you know that Alice trained under me and she also knows how to shoot, you hear me,¡± She suddenly noticed a group arriving past the security checkpoint, ¡°Oh, more people arrived, catch you later Willy." The girl bolted out of the house. The party went on. William had noticed he¡¯d forgotten to bring his phone charger, and the thing was at thirty percent left in its battery. Won¡¯t be much of an issue since I¡¯m crashing here once it¡¯s past midnight anyway, William mused as he comfortably sat in a far corner of the house eating some ribs.
When Victoria showed up again she was looking...strange; Red in the face, and very excitable, almost twitchy, even. "Hey Willy, I got you a drinking buddy, drink up, drink up.¡± She began pouring him a cup, ¡°Oh! And Alice wants to talk with you, she''s by the kitchen on the third floor¡ª" Victoria slurred pointing up with drink still in hand, then left, stumbling around the chairs near them. Watching her go with amusement, William already had the cup to his lips when he noticed something strange, the drink was greenish-yellow, a small bubbling sound could be heard from it and the cup was almost warm in his hands. After a small sip went down his gullet, his stomach cried out foul, he felt dizzy, and a headache was starting to build behind his eyes. "What the fuck is going on, did she spike my drink?!" He felt betrayed, but that whisper at the back of his mind, the same gut feeling he felt when he got there, they were screaming at him to move, to get out and escape danger as fast as he could. William bolted to the stairs, the nearest bathroom was on the first floor but someone had just got in. He would need to use the second one lest he passes away right there and then, but when he arrived on the second floor the bathroom there showed it was also occupied. "Motherfucker cunt shit, FUCK!" He was running on fumes now, whatever the hell was spiked into his drink was destroying him on the inside fast. The third-floor bathroom was blessedly open, and he rushed into one of the stalls and attempted to make himself throw up. Heaving and nauseated, he was almost done, and it was then the bathroom door opened and he heard voices, in his haste he¡¯d forgotten to lock it up. "...Where is that motherfucker, I''m lugging almost five pounds of dirty pot here¡ª" "Keep it down you dumbass, do you want to get us into trouble? Besides, she already doped him, now all we gotta do is wait for him to show up..." "You sure Mikeal will call his aunt? Won''t we get busted for the drugs as well?" A punch was thrown, and one of the voices cried out. "Shut it! You retard, why do you think we got sent here in the first place!? Now keep your mouth shut unless you want me to call him and have him beat you tomorrow" "Shit man sorry, I''m just nervous you know, I thought the girl was friends with the dude, why is she helping Mikeal out now all of the sudden..." William was in shock, he thought things were bad but not this bad, a setup?! Getting him busted with enough weed to get locked up!? He immediately held his hand to his mouth and stood still inside the stall. He heard one of the boys come and try to open it, but when he couldn''t he laughed, likely assuming that someone had already passed out. "Look here dude, Why is she helping Mikeal or not doesn''t concern you or me, get it? We do the shit we gotta do and fuck off, another word and I will beat you up," the boy said while pissing on the stall to his right "Ok dude, alright... " he sighed in relief, "Hey, isn''t it weird for a house to have stalled in their bathrooms? Like who does that," the lackey asked in a not-so-subtle attempt of changing the topic, he didn''t want to get punched today, it seems. "Fucking rich fucks, that''s who. These motherfuckers got more money than common sense and it shows, now let''s go, I wanna eat something before we get our sleeping beauty." They left the bathroom after a while, the leading boy complaining about the weight of his bag all the time. William was a storm of emotions now, outrage, anger, sadness, betrayal, and he could still feel whatever he had drunk messing up his body. He retched a few more before starting to dry heave. Storming out of the stall in a fury, he locked up the bathroom door and washed his face. "Fuck, fuck, FUCK," he almost punched the mirror but caught himself before doing it, "Alright William calm down, calm the fuck down, we can get through this," he took deep breaths, centered himself for a minute. "There, now I can walk without feeling like I''m gonna trip over myself or punch the drywall" as he talked to himself, the calmer he became. "Can''t go back downstairs, they are all looking for me, Victoria is hostile, unknown about Alice, how to get out of here? The windows?" He looked out the bathroom window, it¡¯d be a drop from the fourth floor straight into the pool... filled with party-goers. "Not good, gotta look somewhere else¡ª" That''s when he saw Victoria talking with two big guys, one with a backpack, and they seemed to be arguing, "Now I know your faces," William said to himself, and if he knew, he could avoid them. They made their way to the BBQ stand, when Victoria pulled her phone and called someone, then his phone started to vibrate, Why Vic, why do this? he was hurt, he thought of the girl as a friend, someone who would help him in his new chapter of life. but it was not meant to be. His phone was at less than fifteen percent battery at this point, so he turned the light down and enabled battery-saving mode. "Gotta move, can''t stay here, the fourth-floor bathroom should be towards the forest area I saw." William shook the disappointment away with another splash of cold water to his face, he drank water from another faucet and made his move. Opening up the door to the corridor he saw multiple party-goers enjoying themselves, he bolted past them towards the fourth floor, only to find out that again, the doors were locked. "Fucking closed, shit!" he screamed past the loud music, to the laughter of nearby people, again he ran up, the fifth-floor bathroom was unlocked and thankfully deserted, its window facing the forest area. "Fuck me sideways this is too high." William was now getting the shakes, a fall this high could break his legs. steeling himself he opened the windows and sat by the frame, the next moment he leaped across and tried to grab a branch. He felt the bark around his fingertips. That was when the branch broke and he fell hard, he tried a landing roll but he fumbled it, a nasty crack sound echoed, and William felt an oh-so-familiar pain. His left arm had broken. William hissed loudly. He wanted to yell, to scream, and come back to the party and beat the crap of those two thugs, but he was up shit creek and his paddle was broken. He sucked in air and moved into the small forest. It was hard keeping his cool, the more he walked the more it hurt with every step and every shift in his collarbone and neck. His phone was at less than nine percent now and he was walking almost blind, only the lamp post lights far away guiding him as far away from the house as possible. Breaking out of the tree line, he followed a road to another checkpoint, this one manned by a single soldier. The man looked like a ghost while he did the scan on William, a few blips flashing red were the giveaway something had happened. "You broke your arm?" The man asked, Not only looking but sounding like a ghost, too, William thought as he nodded a yes and said, "Can I go now, sir?"The pallid guard gave a nod and pointed a thumb towards the exit. "The bus stop is ten minutes up the road, if you hurry, the final ride will take you to the terminal." William was already trotting towards the bus stop, he had less than a few minutes to make it. He had arrived six minutes late, judging by his phone. The pain and fatigue proved hard enough to slow him to a crawl, and when he¡¯d tried to hail an Uber with the meager battery it had left, it suddenly died on him. "Goddamnit, all!" He screamed, the pain almost making him fall on his back. Holding himself with his good hand to the bus stop, William was beyond livid, all those emotions he kept a lid on during his desperate escape were now boiling and threatening to blow the metaphorical lid up. He decided to sit down on the ground, too mad to even get into the bus stop properly. It was at that moment, at his lowest of low, that William cried. The boy couldn''t help it after the adrenalin rush was over, he just felt like pure shit. "Are you ok, son? What are you doing ¡®round these parts at this hour?" A deep voice called out to him behind him. William raised his head and saw a skinny man, weathered by age and rough living, his olive skin cracked, with clothes that saw way too much use, and shoes which were about to have their soles fall through. "A hobo?" William asked a bit too loudly to which the man laughed, a deep hearty laugh for such an emaciated person. "Indeed son, a hobo, the last hobo of California!" He extended his hand to William, who took it and got up off the ground, "So are you gonna answer my question, son?" "I''m uh, waiting for the bus, sir...?" William wanted to know the man''s name. "Ishmael, you can call me Ishmael, son. Well, you¡¯re in luck, the bus hasn''t come yet. I was digging for food in the trash for a while here and haven''t heard the thing, so it must be running late," he plopped down in the bus stop "So, care to tell how you broke your arm, son? Did you try breaking into that gated community down the road? Surprised they didn''t just shoot you on sight, saw them kill a man in cold blood a few weeks ago...whoever''s living there likes his peace and quiet a little too much, lemme tell ya." "How come you aren''t living in shelters or gone to the island?" William asked on a whim, the pain making him feel off-balance. "Ahh you know how it is son, sometimes you gotta live on your own, you feel me? The island has too many rules, too many people in the rat race, they don''t enjoy themselves no more, It''s all work work work for them, even if they got a better life there," he took a deep breath, "Me? I''m free son, free to come and go. I live to the march of my own drum, not someone else''s, and definitely not to the government''s." William suddenly noticed lights coming out of the checkpoint in the distance. His gut told him something bad was coming and he decided to listen to it, he ran behind the bus stop and dropped down into the foliage. He heard the car engine stop right in front of Ishmael, and a car window roll down. "Hey old man, have you seen a tall dude, dark hair coming this way? We are having a party and he''s gone missing." William knew the voice, it was one of Mikeal''s lackeys, he whispered a No! to Ishmael who looked like he got the message. "I''m sorry young man, but I haven''t seen no one pass here, no siree," Ishmael said, lying through his teeth. "Alright, if you see him, talk to the guard in the security booth, and he might have something for your troubles." He said, pointing back the way he came. They left shortly after. With a grunt and feeling pain wash over him, William got up and walked up to Ishmael. "Thanks for the cover, sir." He said sincerely. "I won''t ask what happened to you boy, I can connect the dots as-is. Come, sit down." He helped William to the bench, "But I can tell you this son, whoever those people were, they will come back for you. Might not be tomorrow, might not be next week, but they will. I''ve seen that look before, you know? In the war, the euros had the same look, one of pure evil." "Alright?" William didn''t see that one coming, casual racism towards the Europeans was normal with vets but they usually kept it down when they came home, not Ishmael, it seemed... "Look son, it''s your bus comin¡¯ up, let''s go." He hailed the bus and helped William get into the vehicle, the bus driver not even glancing their way., Paying the fare for William, Ishmael walked down off the steps and waved him goodbye with a salute, before melting away in the darkness.
"Last stop, kid," the driver said curtly. William got out of the bus, and if his mental map of the city wasn''t wrong, it would take him at least twenty minutes to get home from the last stop. "Two a.m, fuck me walking home at two a.m. is scary." Empty streets and sidewalks were all he could see, his arm throbbing in pain every step of the way. Every once in a while a car would pass by, their headlights a temporary beacon of safety in William''s mind. Amidst the fear of getting robbed, William was constantly asking himself what had he done wrong to Victoria for her to agree with Mikeal''s plan, he couldn''t by the life of him find a reason for her plan! Was she that mad towards his sister? Something his father had done, maybe? He had no answers, and he also didn''t know how he would explain the broken arm to his parents without spilling the beans. Would anyone really believe Mikeal was gonna try to get him arrested for drug usage? With zero evidence? She was probably in on this somehow, anyway. No, William thought, he would have to swallow his pride and ego, along with his selfish desire to enact justice as a compromise to have his happiness with his family intact. He felt truly saddened by the fact, as he neared home. The cold night air made him feel truly defeated, and his shoulders slumped when he saw the cars in front of his home, some weren''t from his parents. "This is going to be a riot, ain''t it." he sighed to himself. William decided to walk in via the backdoor, where he could hear his mom''s friends'' laughs coming from the living room. He made his way to the bathroom, locking the door this time, and sat on the floor, letting the warm water from the showerhead flow. "Going to take weeks to heal, and even then, they will likely come up with something worse. There''s no forgiving the past is there, huh?" With a grunt William got up, making a mess while drying himself, then he took some painkillers from behind the mirror and went back to his room. It didn''t take long before Carmen noticed someone else was in the house, she saw the mess in the bathroom and went to check around. Her friends hadn''t noticed a thing, too drunk to care, but they had left a few minutes ago. ¡°Alex, is that you?¡± She asked when she found William in the kitchen nursing his arm. She knew, deep in her bones, that something big had happened. ¡°What the hell happened to your arm, William?¡± She moved closer, inspecting the arm in detail, it was fractured and in dire need of attention ¡°Nothing mom, nothing happened.¡± He sounded defeated, she decided to not push the issue but said: ¡°Whatever happened at that party, it died there, you understand?¡± She held his head, staring him dead in the eyes. He looked at her and simply nodded his head once again. ¡°I won¡¯t tell dad or sis,¡± The boy said, tired. Carmen nodded and they took off to the hospital. It took less than an hour for the doctors to fix him up. The cast was set up, and the bill was paid on the spot with a card William had never seen his mom use before. Saturday came, and the ripples he had caused were already turning into waves. On TV, there was a newscast about the weed being dumped into a storm drain, and Victoria had called William the entire day but he¡¯d refused to pick it up, same for Alice, he had already blocked them both on their message app and social media. Tricking his father proved easy, mom said it so he believes it, Juliet, on the other hand, knew something was up, she kept prodding at him but relented when Sunday came.
Monday morning was awkward. He didn''t bother making small talk with Juliet''s friends, which earned him a nasty look from her, but the car ride banter just felt like miles away and too close at the same time, the painkillers making William feel cranky, annoyed with everything and nothing at the same time. I truly have the worst reactions to medication, he thought with frustration. Finally getting into school grounds, he made his way to class fast. Today was bound to be filled with drama, he felt, given he gave the cold shoulder to Victoria for two days after the events at the manor. Who knew what the hell she prepared with Mikeal since then, he thought unhappily. When he got to class, Victoria wasn''t there, Alice was on the other hand was, and she came to talk with him the second he sat down "William please, you gotta talk with..." He locked eyes with the girl, "Alice, I don''t know if you¡¯re aware of what she tried to pull on that party, but let me just say this, don''t talk with me, do not look at me, otherwise, I will scream at you so hard, the teacher will have to put us both on detention." He wanted to say he was gonna hit her but that would''ve been too much, he got the reaction he wanted anyway, she clamped down fast and let him be. Classes went by in a flash, but more and more William was feeling uneasy. His gut feeling was more like a gut orchestra at this point and the voice in his head? A chorus screaming at him. He made his way to the cafeteria, quickly found his sister''s table, and plopped down to eat, hoping the food would calm him down a little. Mid-bite heard a commotion coming from the south end of the cafeteria, a fight had broken out it seemed. He saw Mikeal and some other boy arguing, the two lackeys from the party were by the latter looking like they were forced to eat a salted lime. He couldn''t hear what was said from where he was, but it looked serious. That was when goddamned Victoria herself showed up, Mikeal bolted in her direction screaming and pointing, but she just smiled without a concern. She started coming towards their table when William noticed something was off about her. She had an absent-minded smile set beneath her heavy eye bags looking as if she hadn¡¯t slept in days.s When their gaze met, her eyes flashed darkly. William was ready to run away at that moment, his whole body screaming for him to flee. He was too late. The girl drew her father''s pistol on him, and with the smooth precision of a trained gunwoman shot him twice in the chest. It only took seconds but for William, it felt like years. Juliet tackled the girl while Jonah tried grabbing the weapon. All William could feel was the cold seeping through his bones, the bullet holes no longer burning his chest. He struggled to call out for his sister to put pressure on the wounds when he heard another gunshot. His world went black, all he could hear was himself gasping for air, and then. Silence.
Earth Prologue: End Chapter 4: Cold Yearnings, Warm Rejections ¡°Ye who suffer under the rule of the unworthy, Ye who starve under the management of the cruel, Ye who lost loved ones under the orders of the tyrant, Call my name, for my crows are ever watching, and my duty is eternal.¡± -Popular hymn by followers of the Goddess of Retribution Velkarius The winds howled strong on the streets of Glacialis Aeternum, its citizens rushing indoors as a storm was brewing on the horizon. "The Spirits of Winter have forsaken us! Duke Wulfgrem turned his back on the pact and now we pay the price!" a street beggar was shouting while being dragged by the guard, his act stunning the citizens gathered in one of the many marketplaces around the city. A senior man followed them, ducking and weaving through the sea of people, his features hidden under a thick scarf and large grey hood, all one could make out were the eyes, eyes full of sorrow. As the beggar was placed under a noose, he began screaming, ¡°Friede, I beg of you Goddess Friede, avenge my family, myself and all of the north, for we are being massacred and those in power are the culprits!¡± The guard pulled a lever and the beggar went limp, body left dangling before they burned it, rope along with it. "Don''t waste mana on the ashes." one of the guards said, the wind making him barely audible. The senior man kept walking, eventually stopping in front of a closed bakery. He pulled out his key ring, opened the door, and moving past the counter and foodstuffs, he descended into a hidden basement, setting up torches as he went down the stairs. Their blue flames were cold, casting an ethereal light across the place. The ground was filled with inscriptions, and in the middle stood a shrine that held two small urns. The man approached them, inscriptions lighting up with every step, and placing both his hands on the shrine he started chanting in a deep unnatural voice: "...We call to thee, the Raven of Vengeance..." "...We call to thee, the Mistress of Retribution..." "...Deliver us from evil, send us the dagger..." "...The poison and the flask, free us from evil..." The man picked up the urns and got out of the bakery. He walked slowly, moving towards the center of the city, where the tall castle made out of enchanted ice and gemstones stood, their shine muted by the overcast weather all the while the man kept chanting. "...Velkarius Velkarius Velkarius the spear of revenge..." "...Velkarius Velkarius Velkarius the dagger of scorn..." "...Send thy three eyed ravens and crows..." As he chanted, others joined him, from street beggars to shopkeepers, some kids looked to their parents in wonder, others joined in with the adults, already knowing what was about to happen. "...Our daughters and sons murdered..." "...Our fathers and mothers defiled..." "...Our country and cities Corrupted..." More and more joined in many singing and chanting from inside their homes. A steady stomp of feet had started, but none joined the man further as he kept on walking, they didn¡¯t dare leave their homes "...Avenge Us! Bring holy retribution towards the evil!..." "...Smite them, nail them to their ivory walls on golden nails!.." "...So that their sons and daughters never forget their sins!..." "...So that their grandsons and granddaughters never forget their sins!..." "...Avenge Us, the poor, the destitute and the crestfallen!..." The whole city thumped and sang, the winds carrying their judgment towards those who deserved it. The terrified guards dared not try to stop the citizens. The chant of Velkarius being invoked meant one thing and one thing only. Death was coming. "Avenge us..." the man was now in front of the castle gates. The castle guards stared at him with fear in their eyes as he raised both urns, and smashed them to the ground, ash and silvery snow flying out of them. "Avenge Us!" he screamed, his voice booming across the plaza, echoing throughout the city. He pulled a pitch-black, jagged dagger free of its sheath and slashed his chest five times, as he kneeled, his blood mixed with the ash. The wind picked up strength, mana flared from below the man, and a magical formation was made manifest in the stone, its shapes writhing with the wind. A few seconds later, it locked into place, as a raven''s feather flared up, crimson and black. The man fell to the ground, with his last ounce of life-force he muttered the words: "Trista, Malta..." he cried from that pool of ash, blood, and snow, slowly turning into dust. One of the guards ran screaming, ¡°All-Father¡¯s balls we are doomed, Velkarius comes!¡±, afraid for his life. The second guard, on the other hand, kept staring at the sky, he could see small dots moving fast towards the plaza. At first, he couldn¡¯t hear it, but as they got closer the cries got louder and louder, a sound akin to scraping rusted nails on wood, or the blood-curdling screams of the damned. The townsfolk that were in the plaza looked up to the sky and kneeled, some even kowtowing before the mass of black dots fast approaching, their lips moved prayer, and as they chanted more and more the dots became clearer, their corvian form clear to all who could see, their beady eyes promising bloody vengeance. Other civilians ran away to the safety of any open door in the plaza. The guard staring at them didn¡¯t move an inch, their cries freezing him on the spot. CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW The biggest raven he had ever seen in his life landed on the ground. When its three unblinking eyes turned to him, the guard felt the pressure on his very soul. t moved towards the magical sigil embedded into the gate, and with a light tap of its beak, broke it. The cries of the other birds grew boisterous. "The Spear herself came, gods protect us all."
A week earlier, in the halls of Castle Wulfgrem. Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem, the heir apparent to the ancient Wulfgrem line stalked the halls of her family¡¯s castle, her mind as sharp as a dwarven enchanted sword. Today was a big day for her, she thought, she¡¯d spent the last two months preparing for it. "My Lady, I''ve received word the servants and workers are in the west wing ballroom with the mithril chandeliers, the south wing one was blocked last week by the duke, he wants to put a fountain of Dwarven steel on it. '''' First Maid Saa''ryu spoke. Always so stiff, Lucrezia thought, it would take time to defrost this woman. "No need to be so formal Saa, haven''t I told you we are buddies? Ease up my dear, today is the day we see the results of our hard work!" She did a twirl, brimming with competitive energy. "I was told some of the maids have taken to exercising with the castle guards to fit into your newly designed uniforms, My Lady..." Saa''ryu said with the faintest hint of mirth touching her voice, wondering what her mistress''s reaction would be to this particular piece of news. "Thank Uumaries, The goddess herself blessed us on this endeavor, soon all the country will know that the North is the very best when it comes to house staff!" The young woman moved with purpose as she smiled to herself, and opened massive set of double doors to the ballroom. Her magical training is beginning to pay off, Saa''ryu thought to herself, following a step behind. Lucrezia looked around the ballroom. Something is odd, she thought, the servants and workers while appearing happy, had uneasiness ooze off of them in their body language, something bothering them even now. She knew they worked hard these past two months but this level of nervousness was very unusual to see. She moved wordlessly among the two rows, and she could feel it now. She was missing something "You! Name and job," Lucrezia pointed to a maid, her azure eyes drilling holes into the poor woman, yet the maid didn''t buckle, she immediately stated her name and profession. One of the people who trained with the castle guards I see, "Perfect form my dear, perfect form, the new uniform fits you like a glove, you are healthy as a Dire Stag and even adopted some of that Guard discipline. Congratulations you passed, talk with the treasurer for a raise." Lucrezia was beaming with pride, to see her work paying off like this was simply sublime. She moved among the other workers, their eyes following her every step. With a few nervous coughs here and there, and sighs of relief when she didn¡¯t pick someone she was staring at, Lucrezia continued inspecting the workers. She began asking them various questions, of how their relatives living in the city fared if they had any plans to visit them, mixing in questions about their life and work. From what they told her, she was sure something was happening in the city now. On the other end of the ballroom, Head Maid Leanu audibly sighed in relief when the inspection ended with high marks all around. When she noticed that Lucrezia took her time talking with the workers instead of just looking over them, Leanu got worried, if the Lady had found out about the riots... "Gather around my good people, gather around," Lucrezia said. She went up on a stand facing them directly, First Maid Saa''ryu standing beside her, silent as an owl in the night. "Today marks the end of our struggle of self-improvement. When we started long ago many thought this impossible, many thought we would never beat the royals or House Maygriam, but now! Now we showed them when it comes to getting work done no one in the kingdom can beat the northern spirit! Nay no one in the world!" The small crowd exploded into cheers, these two months'' hardships and tribulations flashing through their minds, stress melting away as they got more and more relaxed and rowdy. "We are now ready to compete in the House staff competition my good people, your hard work was already sent to the judges in the capital, now we enjoy the fruits of our labor!" At her command, the doors were opened once again and a platoon of Guards brought in foods and beverages. "Enjoy!" Lucrezia left the stage with her skin tinged red, her usual ivory looking like she had spent the last week on the beaches of the Imperium. Despite her appearance no one missed the look of sheer pride in her eyes. Some went over to give her thanks. She even let the guards on detail to join in, and when she found out some were the ones training the maids, she gave a small cheer to them. "Not bad for a noble''s scion, is she?" Leanu walked up to Saa''ryu, the taciturn maid was hidden at a corner table, as she was known to do whenever Lucrezia went on one of her speeches. "Yes...not many high nobles like her..." Saa''ryu ate pieces of Boratir wings, a favorite among the staff. "No news from the duke and duchess? They have been awfully quiet these past two months." Leanu knew as Head Maid something was different about the First Maid, the master never talked about it in full but from small hints here and there she managed to piece together that the lady beside her was not from the Shogunate or Vermilion. "All I heard was that something big was happening in the private wing, the Court Mage was moving all day from his tower to there, but nothing else." She gulped down some Dire Bee mead and resumed, "Lu... Lady Lucrezia is worried, the Duke sent me a letter last week to not let her go out alone, only allowing her outside if we have a security detail, I haven¡¯t told her this yet, fearing it would sour the whole party.¡± "You can''t go with her? And By the All-Father you haven¡¯t told her? If she hears of this..." Leanu spoke, "They want a security detail, at least five soldiers, and an acolyte mage in case anything happens." "By the snow! What is happening to the town if they want to send her with that escort?!" Now Leanu was worried, the capital knew thugs and pickpockets but those were always persecuted by the guard or militia, if the Lady needed such an escort, something went bad in the city. "There are talks of food riots and mass killings by the guard, do not let the lady know." She placed her hand on Leanu''s, enough for the head maid to get the point. As Saa¡¯ryu finished talking, Lucrezia appeared from behind the two, a shimmer of frost rolling in her fingertips. The young lady looked angry, betrayed even, as she slowly made her way to the table the two maids were at and sat down. Saa¡¯ryu could see her Lady¡¯s fury, she was seething in anger. ¡°Is that true?¡± she asked, steel in her voice. Leanu moved to speak, but Saa¡¯ryu stopped her, placing her hand on the head maid¡¯s arm. ¡°Yes My Lady, the staff and castle guards are under a gag order, to avoid any¡­¡± ¡°Any troubles with me at the helm...Damn those two, food riots?! What in all gods'' names are they doing in that wing that gives them the gall to avoid their duties to the people!¡± she slammed the table, a layer of frost surging where the hand met the wood. She then looked to Saa¡¯ryu and said, ¡°I will ignore the fact you tried to get the head maid to not speak about this for now Saa, but mark my words there will be punishment for this, for now, you and I are going to the city.¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. The First Maid bowed her head without saying a word, Lucrezia turned to the Head maid, ¡°I want the names of all workers with family in the city, we have the space to shelter them if needed, and not a word to the guards or my parents you hear? Otherwise, there will be punishment for you as well the Head Maid.¡± she raised her hand and pointed a finger at Leanu, the frost on her fingers snaking up the woman¡¯s arm, to her neck and dissipating over her head, the Head maid went pale as snow. ¡°Meet me at my room once the party is over Saa, we will go over the plan there.¡± Lucrezia left the two women, Saa¡¯ryu could her lady muttering ¡°To think she would keep that information from me¡± She went back to mingling with the party guests, this time she focused on the castle guards, the results Lucrezia found were the same as the workers, they did their best but the subtle changes in their body language told her enough. A whirlpool of emotions beset Lucrezia while she mingled, the party was on its dying legs by now and she was drinking heavily from the mead made out of exorbitantly expensive honey, harvested from huge bees in the Imperium, but Its sweet taste started feeling like poison to her. How many of my subjects are dying in the streets without food? she thought. Shaking the morbid thoughts out of her head, Lucrezia got up and did a closing speech for the party, the workers and guards filing out fast. She was halfway to her suite in the north wing when Saa¡¯ryu met her wordlessly. As they entered the room, the maid produced a map from her clothes, the castle blueprints. ¡°My lady, the west gate walls are unmanned tomorrow after the afternoon bell, I have a spell that will let us scale the walls without a noise, I¡¯ve also procured proper attire so we blend in with the commoners, for you in particular,¡± she pulled a long dark scarf, ¡°use this together with the long cloaks I¡¯ve stashed outside of the walls.¡± ¡°Understood. We are going to see Mr. Reiner.¡± ¡°The baker? Why him?¡± Asked Saa¡¯ryu ¡°He¡¯s connected with both the poor and the well to be, he will have the info we need to take to mother and father.¡± Lucrezia answered in a matter-of-fact tone, Saa¡¯ryu bowed her head and left the room, it was getting late and both needed to get as many hours of sleep as possible. As the door closed, Lucrezia looked at the skies from her windows, in the distance the snowstorm was getting larger and larger. Winter''s end this early in the year bode ill, she remembered, but she wouldn¡¯t let that stop her. "As if you could stop me from seeing my subjects while stuck in that wing of yours Mother...,Father..." ¡°No, no one will stop me, be it the storm, or you two or anyone else.¡± "No one."
Come morning, Lucrezia began preparing for her master plan. She went through the motions. Bath, breakfast, a light jog around the castle gardens, and training her magical powers, where she finally managed her first breakthrough, Ice infused magic missiles! "Thank You, Lady Fae¡¯Zhurar, for blessing this one with your wondrous gifts." She dedicated a small prayer to the Lady of Magic. ¡°Never hurts to pay respect,¡± was something her dad used to say when she was a small girl. Her Magnetism on the other hand remained locked behind mysteries that eluded her, all she could do was wield metal weapons twice her size and weight like they were hollow, or open the heavy doors in the castle. "A rare Affinity wasted on physical power, what rotten luck..." she knew it would take a good year or two to fully grasp it, but alas Lucrezia was impatient. She had two years to go to attend the Grand Academy of Seresval, where every noble in the kingdom studied so they could learn how to rule their lands. She couldn''t wait to meet her friends Neptune and Kassandra, Sepphire as well, they have been together for years in various tourneys, competitions, and parties, while the three lived in the south and attended their own schools, they all were headed for the Grand Academy. "Just two more years...Two more years and I''ll live the best life a noble can live in this kingdom." Lucrezia was smirking, which caused Saa to call her out. "Is everything okay, Lu?" she asked, giving her lady a towel, Lucrezia took it and wiped the sweat from her face, then she conjured a mana fan, each swing releasing a refreshing burst of ice. "Yes, oh lords this is pure heaven, I must thank the court mage for this spell later. Anyway, is everything clear on your end Saa? Are we ready?" "Yes, My lady." "Good, good, now come, the clothes should be by the west gate." They both moved fast, the fewer workers and guards that saw them, the better. Soon they arrived at the west gate of the castle, and with a small incantation, Saa''ryu and Lucrezia scaled up the walls and dropped into the trenches that surrounded the place. Picking up a pack of clothes that contained heavy cloaks, Lucrezia used the scarf as an impromptu mask the way Saa¡¯ryu told her to, to better blend in. "Finally, now to meet Sir Reiner." Lucrezia was anxious, if the talk of food riots was real, then the baker would probably be in dire straits, she was about to say more when Saa''ryu clamped on her arm hard. "My lady, until we reach the bakery, allow me to do the talking." She was dead serious, Lucrezia thought. She knew that look, it was one she gave her yesterday, she knew the woman had a hidden past and story behind her hiring but to this day she couldn''t crack it from her. Lucrezia nodded, putting on her cloak and scarf, and changing from the fancy boots to heavy set ones made out of common leather and linen. Their disguises ready, Lucrezia and Saa''ryu moved quickly through the streets of Glacialis Aeternum. When they broke free from the central plaza in front of the castle, Lucrezia saw what months of lack of upkeep and bad rulership did to its people. What was once the jewel of the north now laid in shambles. She was angry, so angry that her magic was starting to manifest, which earned her another arm clamp. Breathe, she thought, as she went by rows of homeless vagabonds begging for food, soldiers beating said vagabonds, and from the south, seeing a large smoke cloud rising into the overcast sky. Even with Winter''s end fast approaching, the storm is here almost a month early! she thought in alarm. "This is a disaster..." she whispered, which earned a glare from her maid. What in the godsdamn were her parents doing? Something was far too wrong here and by the All-Father himself she would get to the bottom of it. After what felt like hours walking through the once glorious capital of the north, they arrived at Mr. Reiner''s bakery, which had a huge line outside complete with soldiers guarding the entrance. They had no choice but to get in the line. As they waited, they saw that people were coming out of the bakery with a hot meal and enough bread to feed at least four people. The guards were looking bored, no one daring to cut in line. Lucrezia picked up small talk coming from behind. "Another part of the south district was set alight by a Fireball, did ye hear?¡±? They ran outta grain an¡¯ dried meat there, and tried to loot the guard''s barracks, they are burning the bodies as we speak." said an older gentleman, tone somber. "Friede will hear our pleas, her phantoms will bleed these corrupt daemons dry" the younger woman beside him spoke with fervor. When Lucrezia heard the name Friede she felt like death itself was beside her. The Goddess was not that popular in Vermilion but was a household name in the Imperium. While Velkarius and Friede shared the same Sphere as Goddesses of Retribution, Friede had a very scorched earth policy when it came to removing nobles who abused their power, many a tale from the Imperium were told to noble scions the world over, all of them telling of the Juggernaut of the poor, who would salt the earth and bring down the skies to avenge those without power to defend themselves in the imperial lands. "The spear is fast and deadly," "But the pitchfork is rusted and painful" Lucrezia couldn''t help but mutter the oldest tale she knew. The younger lady looked at her, "You two from the south district as well? Poor things, probably had your homes burned by these bastards," she spat in the guard''s direction, which earned a laugh from them. "Yeah, you laugh you bastards, Friede comes for you..." she turned to Lucrezia once again, "So where were you two there when the riots broke out?" Saa''ryu spoke in a harsh tone: "Yes, my daughter and I ran towards the Plaza, I have a cousin who lives there." All Lucrezia did was a nod. "Lucky you, we had to shack up in the slums like the rest of this miserable lot, I swear ever since the Knight Captain Erwin and his knights were exiled, this city has gone to the shitter, our duke and his wife have been gone for two months, and last I heard, poor Lucrezia who did so much for the duchy was killed by a maid!" The young lady paused, looked around, and spoke in a hushed tone. "At least she won''t have to see all her work destroyed by these scum of the earth soldiers and their commander Eustace Weller." The young lady stopped talking and went back to near the older gentleman. Lucrezia was appalled, Dead?! The populace thought she was godsdammed dead! Saa held her, she could feel the anger rising, but she reigned herself in by cycling Ice-infused mana inside her mana channels. After a solid hour waiting in line, they heard the bell that heralded nighttime, and they finally managed to get into the store. Without removing their disguises Lucrezia went to find Mr. Reiner. She noticed that the people working in the store were newly hired, Trista and Malta nowhere in sight. She found the baker sitting in a dark corner of the shop, staring at nothing in particular. His gray hair was a mess, his eyes looked dull, and his whole body looked like a newly minted necromancer tried to reanimate their first zombie. She walked up to him. "Mr. Reiner, it''s me, Lucrezia." She whispered and lowered her hood together with the scarf, the man looked at her, it took a second for him to register someone was speaking with him, he then cracked a sad smile and finally spoke. "Young Lady, the city isn''t safe for you to come here, you must go back to the castle..." it was like he was speaking with a ghost, Lucrezia sat beside him and grabbed his hand, his fingers were skin and bone, the man was at the end of his rope, she felt. "By the All-Father what happened here my good man? Where''s your daughter and wife? Please talk with me Mr.Reiner, I just heard there are rumors of my death!" She raised her voice, which earned a nasty look from Saa from the other side of the room. The maid kept the worker''s lips shut tight with five gold coins, a veritable fortune these days. "Nobody knows My Lady, things have been going horrible for the city ever since you stopped visiting us two months ago... as for my wife and daughter they¡­ they died in the first fires in the south district." he was shaking, she could feel his sorrow welling up, Lucrezia hugged the man fiercely. She was devastated. Many a time she came to this bakery, even helped Trista and Malta bake pastries and cakes for her parents, she knew the other regulars by name even, and Mr. Reiner was the kindest man she knew after her father, always helping the community even when that hurt his bottom line. Lucrezia felt his tears on her shoulder but kept hugging the man nonetheless. "...Thank...Thank you, My lady, forgive me for showing you such a miserable sight but... but times are hard on everyone here as I''m sure you must''ve seen when coming to my shop..." the older man sat down again, he was visibly better, Lucrezia thought, so she decided to ask him something that was bugging her for a while now. "How are you supplying food for the needy? Winter''s End is fast approaching and there are food shortages all across the city¡ª" He spoke a bit too fast "I''ve gotten a blessing, it lets me summon food as long as there are people in need..." Lucrezia gasped, Food magic was banned all over the world, many commerce and agricultural gods formed the biggest alliance seen to ban it. To get a blessing this powerful, the situation of the duchy was beyond bad, it was a full-blown apocalypse. "All-Father''s balls, what the fuck is going on..." Lucrezia said sounding defeated, the situation had escalated to something she couldn''t fix it alone, even if she got her parent''s help¡ªthat is, if they would even help, Lords know they don''t get out of that blasted private wing. She hadn''t even noticed Mr. Reiner getting up and going inside the bakery when he returned with a slice of blood orange cake with honey and sugar frosting, Lucrezia''s favorite. She did a double-take, the man placed the plate in front of her, tears in his eyes. "Mr. Reiner, there''s no need! I couldn''t impose on you like this," she moved to refuse the slice of cake but he spoke in a soft voice, "Please Lady Lucrezia, this was the last of the cake Trista and Malta baked, and they wanted you to have a slice, I''ve preserved it with the Blessing, so please, eat." he held back the tears as Lucrezia reluctantly picked up her fork, she ate the slice, enjoying the flavors. Once done she felt...lighter, like a weight was removed from her chest. Mr. Reiner looked conflicted, he moved to speak but caught himself multiple times. In the end, he hugged Lucrezia and spoke in her ear, "I''m Sorry." She patted him in the back and left the bakery together with Saa. They reached the west gate fast, ditching the disguises in a secluded part of the castle walls. "Lu, It''s best you try talking with your parents, this is beyond any of us now, they must call for help from the king''s army." Saa was trying to take her lady''s mind out of the things she had seen today, it wasn''t working, she felt. "I will Saa dear, I will...What a shameful display this is, My Duchy left to rot!" She threw a magic missile at the castle wall, smashing a good chunk of it to smithereens, reigning herself in, Lucrezia said "They will hear from me, or help me All-Father I''m going to lob one of these on the both of them!" "Let''s go Saa, we need to plan for an evacuation of the workers here should the rioters try to break into the castle, it''s best that we also stop talking with the guards if what the woman said it''s true and our knights have been replaced by these "soldiers"." "That young lady was slightly mistaken Lu, Eustace was the second-in-command of our knights, these soldiers of his were squires in training. Why they behave as shameful as we have seen I do not know." "I see... I must talk with mom and dad, at any rate, let''s head to our rooms, Saa, I''m dead tired." As Lucrezia walked alone to her room in the gloomy halls of the castle, she stared at a window facing the north. Winter''s End was way earlier than what the divinations had told them, the snowstorm was going to be the final nail in the coffin should her parents take no action. After another long bath and a quick snack, the young woman laid in her Canopy bed staring at the beautiful dragon silk on top of her. So much effort and so much coin was lost to keep the city running, not to say losing the Knight Order, it was with these heavy thoughts that she went to sleep.
Lucrezia had a strange dream that night. She was flying upwards, like an air mage, she kept ascending further and further until when she looked below, she saw the whole of Glacialis Aeternum. She kept going up, she now could see the mountain range that separated her duchy from the northern wastes, and most of the kingdom of Vermilion. Lucrezia kept going up, she was now looking down at the whole world of Yrithuan. The view shocked her to the core, the three massive continents, the oceans, it all seemed so small to her, and she felt smaller. "The views from the Gods themselves..." she looked up, to the sun burning in the blackness of space, the moons orbiting the planet. It was all very beautiful in a philosophical ¡°we are so small compared to the planet and the gods¡± way, she felt, of how her teachers would explain the physical world and its intricacies. Deep in introspection, Lucrezia felt an unnatural cold befall her, like the prelude to a bad snowstorm. She could feel the cold in a way that terrified her, it spoke of death, sorrow, and retribution, of wasted life and the unfairness of it all. It also spoke of great change, of revolution in all fields of life, of how everyone alive had the potential to become true masters of their own fate. Then something startled her to the core. The cold grew stronger, and below all those feelings she found an unimaginable desire for more, pure distilled greed that demanded more and more and more until everything belonged to it, as if its very life depended on it. It was primal, raw, and strong. Her soul rejected it, power flooded her and she pushed that greed away, every part of her soul, body, and mind rejected the mist with strength so endless, Lucrezia felt like the Gods themselves were aiding her in this battle. The mist quieted down, its feelings themselves pushed the unnatural greed down, after a few minutes all Lucrezia felt from it was a deep sense of loneliness. It was as if the mist was something akin to a ghost or wraith, she felt, it had lashed out at her at the start but now it had finally calmed down. Before she could do anything to help move the mist on to the Afterlife, she felt herself falling.t was scary at first, but she quickly got used to it. When she fell back into the city, she woke up.
"Sun hasn''t come up yet...By Uumaries was any of that real? Did I have an accidental astral ejection? But that''s not supposed to happen before the first Blessings next month..." she patted herself down, Yep everything is normal, she thought. "Whatever''s happening has to be tied to that early Winter''s End and my parents. Tomorrow I must confront them." she spoke with determination. Lucrezia watched the sunless skies slowly light up over her city, the smokestacks growing in size so much they could now be seen clearly over the castle walls, she vowed to herself in that quiet moment She would find whoever was responsible for ruining her lands and her people and make them pay. Chapter 5: In the face of Evil Lucrezia woke up feeling tired, and hollow like she had fasted for a week. She quickly took a bath, Saa''ryu already in the room standing ready to help, and dressed in her training gear, she left for the private room where she could let loose her magical might. "Lu, you must focus on your Magnetism more, it''s a rare power..." Saa''ryu started, Lucrezia already knowing what her friend would say, they had this talk every day after all. "Saa, Saa my friend, A noble with a half-baked Affinity might as well be a country bumpkin, And let me tell you, I''m no bumpkin, I will be known as the Ice Queen of the Academy! Magnetism has no grace, no nobility, While Ice is our hallmark, my dear, we of the north must be exemplars of Ice magic!" Offensive and Defensive magic are her forte, Lucrezia thought, as she mock-fought against Saa, her basic shield and missile spells improving daily. After about ten minutes of training, Lucrezia felt hollow again and called for a break. Saa''ryu was quick to return with a plate of mana-rich refreshments for her Lady. "Lu, what''s going on, it''s not like you to time out so early, is everything ok?" she removed one of Lucrezia''s bangs out of her face, looking at the young woman, she was paler than usual. Something was wrong, Saa felt. "...I had a dream yesterday, more of a nightmare really, it scared me something fierce Saa...I''m sure it will pass once we get more food, now chop-chop, we have music and archery class before lunch with my parents." Lucrezia let a weak smile show. She¡¯s pushing herself, Saa''ryu thought, sighing to herself. They made their way to the main wing of the castle, to meet with Bard Hayden. The woman hailed from the south and was constantly writing music about the cold, in her words, it was better to complain through music than snide remarks. "I was told to not leave the castle you know, the staff is getting anxious, and the guards aren''t saying a thing, do you know what''s going out there Lady Lucrezia?" Hayden asked, tuning her harp. Lucrezia kept her poker face intact as she lied to the woman "No I don''t Miss Hayden, now, if we could proceed with the class?" Hours went by, music was a skill every noble in the kingdom sought after, to be able to sing at parties and balls was a great way to break the ice among the nobility. The bard didn''t ask any further regarding the situation in the city after they were done, they exchanged goodbyes and Lucrezia went alone to her archery practice. Saa¡¯ryu was called by the Head Maid to help with the lunch, the masters of the castle were out of their mysterious ritual today so all hands were on deck for the feast. Archery came and went like a blur. She wasn''t very good at it, if Lucrezia was honest with herself, but any self-respecting northerner had to know how to fire a longbow and hit a target at least 300 paces, and so she trained daily to get there, so far she could get a bullseye at 150 paces, anything above it was pure chance. Making her way to her room, Lucrezia thought about how to confront her parents. Fast and loud like her friends in the South? With subterfuge and bootlicking like the Imperium? Or with cynic honesty like the dwarves of Steinheim... she couldn''t decide even after cleaning herself and getting dressed for the feast. "Whatever comes, I must stand strong, for my people." she whispered.
The main banquet hall was filled with maids and butlers standing at the ready. Duke Amadour and Duchess Malar were eating and chatting with their court mage Kapha''tur. beside the mage sat the Commander of the city soldiers, Estauce Weller. Lucrezia was tense, how was she supposed to bring the issues with the city up when the main suspect was sitting right in front of her? Steeling herself, she coughed to get their attention, speaking loud and firmly. "Mother, Father, I''d like to speak about some of the things I''ve seen in the city yesterday¡ª" Her dad moved to cut her off but she put her hand up, "Let me finish. Yes, I got out without an escort, and the things I saw made me furious! Beating citizens on the street?! Burning of entire sections of the city?! And who in all Hells is this incompetent wretch leading our guards? Where is Knight Commander Erwin and our Knights?!" She was fuming, Commander Eustace looked furious after her remarks, but he said nothing. Lucrezia dared him to speak, if he¡¯d so much as open his mouth she would be nailing him with an Ice Magic Missile right there and there¡ª Duchess Malar raised her hands to calm her daughter. When Lucrezia was done glaring at everyone in the room, she sat down with a plop, the woman then spoke in a harsh tone: "Foolish daughter, you know not the accusations you levy against our Commander. So enthralled you were with your Contest that you completely missed the attempted coup on us by the former Knight Commander and his troops. If it wasn''t for Eustace here, you, me, and your father would''ve all been killed!" Her father placed a hand on his wife, calming her a bit. "Your mother speaks true Lucrezia, had Commander Eustace not defected with several squires, we would''ve been smothered in our beds.. Yes, it''s true things have been bad but we had grain shortages all year, my dear¡ª¡± he paused. There is something in his eyes, Lucrezia thought. "¡ªAs I''m sure you know, me, your mom, and Kapha''tur have been working on a ritual ever since the shortages started, a ritual to... ." he paused again, staring at something, or someone. The mage spoke in his place, "To improve the grain situation My lady, there''ve been... complications but thanks to the duke''s best efforts I''m sure we will be able to bounce back out of this by the time Winter''s End rolls over." Lucrezia was taken aback, grain shortages? Their Blessings with the three Winter Spirits that ruled over the land were in place to avoid any sort of shortages. As she was ready to raise this point, the mage spoke again. "Yes we have contacted the Spirits but they only told us that this...this is beyond them, yes. It is up to us now to fix it." The mage looked like an undead, she knew well the signs of mana sickness, the constant depletion and topping off wrecked the body and soul. Her parents also looked like that, she noticed. She turned to her father and levied another question, "And the beatings? Our populace is suffering enough yet you would have would-be knights break the Oath to beat vagabonds?" "Daughter, it''s important to keep order on the streets we¡ª" he was cut off as she slammed her fist on the table. "Order?! Half the city is burning and you dare speak of order!" Lucrezia hissed in rage, Eustace moved to speak when she blew up on him "SPEAK A WORD AND I WILL NAIL YOUR BODY TO THE WALL COWARD WRETCH!" Ice coiled on her fingertips¡ª Her mom''s hand flew faster than Lucrezia could''ve registered. A slap echoed inside the banquet hall. She was taken aback but realizing the gravity of the threat she had spoken, Lucrezia lowered her head and spoke. "Forgive me, mother, I couldn''t control myself." "Not another word about how we police our people, girl, or I will have your hide, just as those peasants you care so much would punish their kids.¡± she turned away from her, ¡±Now, Eustace, I must ask you to forgive my daughter, she has a bleeding heart when it comes to the duchy and its subjects." She spoke in a mild tone to the man who was glaring daggers at her daughter. He responded with venom dripping from his voice, "As you order Duchess." he took his leave shortly after. "Now, Lady Lucrezia, we are coming up on your 18th birthday, the Month of Spears is just around the corner," said the mage doing a fancy hand gesture to summon a... calendar? Yes, a calendar, the twelve months of the year were plain to see. He crossed her birthday. "We still have five months, court mage, there''s no need to start preparations for my Blessing ritual just yet," Lucrezia spoke with steel in her voice, something wasn''t right here. She was beginning to piece things together, and the man looked like a prime suspect. His blue eyes bore into her as she glared at him, a short cough from her mom was enough to break the staredown. "You will have the ritual at the private wing daughter of mine, we have built an altar for it," she spoke matter-of-factly, giving no time to Lucrezia to get a word in. Odd, she thought, an altar was only used when one needed a direct line to commune with a god, something used more commonly in the empire for specific Blessings. "So I can get a blessing related to agriculture?" Lucrezia could only come up with this reason for an altar, her mom nodded. Lucrezia acknowledged the need, a Greater Blessing by an agricultural god could feed her duchy for decades to come. "The people won''t suffer from hunger," she murmured, to which the mage solemnly nodded. "I must tell you this dad, mom, on my walk to the city I''ve heard multiple cries for Friede and Velkarius..." she tested the waters, her mom furrowed her brows at Lucrezia but said nothing, her dad looked between the two, "We...we have been made aware, daughter. Do not be afraid, the situation will be resolved in the upcoming months after the ritual is done, we promise you." he gave a weak smile, turned to his wife and the mage, and nodded. All three got up and left the dining hall. Sitting alone in the hall, Lucrezia thought about the things she had heard, and something was off here. She knew Knight Commander Erwin, he loved the duchy with a fervor few had, and Kapha''tur was their mage for nearly a decade, but something was odd about the man. She couldn''t point a finger on what exactly, still, she was suspicious of him. "Lady Lucrezia, would you care for seconds?" asked one of the maids left attending her. Lucrezia said no, leaving the hall to her room she summoned Saa''ryu for a private talk. "Saa...Something''s not right here, I fear whatever ritual my parents are doing in that wing is doing them more harm than good, they looked like zombies for Uumaries sake!" The maid hugged Lucrezia from behind. "Lu, I swore I would protect you, ask me and I''ll go there, see what they are doing. All you got to do is give me the order," she whispered in Lucrezia''s ear. "Go, and don''t get caught." Lucrezia didn''t dare look back, she only felt the faintest of motion as Saa''ryu dashed into the dark corridors. Lucrezia moved to sit near a window. The Winter''s End fast approaching the city, she felt the pain her beloved people must be going through. The rural communities would endure as they always did, but the city would suffer too big of a loss and untold civilians would die, worse still if an outright riot broke out. "I¡¯d bet the farmers with their closer bonds to the Spirits would know more, if only I could talk with some of them..." Lucrezia thought about her friends in the south, could she remain in good light with the nobles there once word got out of what was happening in her lands? She was the heir to a duchy, yes, but to mistreat the masses in Vermilion was a grave crime, gods knew how many secret Orders were there to uphold the many oaths the Kingdom was forged on. Even the most despicable nobles would not dare invoke the ire of both Goddess Friede and Velkarius. The Inquisitors of the Umbral Order of Velkarius, in particular, were a dagger ready to strike at anyone foolish enough to challenge their goddess. Their Order was public and every single member accounted for, of particular note was Long-strider Karl, who whenever dispatched by their goddess, would walk all the way, in a secret rite of pilgrimage. Friede on the other hand was more subtle in her followers but much less so when meting out her judgment. Instead of surgical strikes against evil, the Goddess empowered her chosen with divine strength and zeal, whose thorough purges put the fear of the Juggernaut in the evildoer''s souls. Lucrezia kept thinking these dark thoughts until she felt weak again, the hollow feeling from before coming twice as strong now. She ringed for more mana-rich foods, then she decided to go down to the training yard to burn off the excess energy from her last meals. Using her Magnetism Affinity, she drew power from the many metals around her. She thought it a curious power, allowing her to use mana almost like the Warriors and Knights would their Ki. She was faster, hit harder, the running course Saa''ryu had made for her seeming as child''s play whenever she used her rare Affinity like this. after running the course twice, she went to the punching bags and threw some punches and kicks as Saa''ryu had taught her. "I wonder if she will ever tell me her true story, probably not now, and to think father found her near the wastes in a hunt..." she muttered as she kept hitting the bag. Fatigue setting in, Lucrezia took a break on a bench and drank eagerly from her water jar, using her Ice magic to make it cold. She then lay down on the bench, staring at the night sky, her mind going back to that weird dream. Was it a message from the gods? A forgotten god, maybe? Spirits were far more direct when it came to human contact, they spoke clearly and without riddles, and the species they shared on this planet before the All-Father came were like that as well, from what she remembered of her history lessons. She wondered if her private teachers were safe, they all lived in the better part of the city, but with these new "soldiers" roaming the streets... Lucrezia did a small prayer to Uumaries, promising a visit to her temple once things calmed down enough, as she doubted she would be able to sneak out of the castle now, the staff and the guards would be on high alert after that talk in the dining hall, on her parent''s orders no doubt. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Suddenly, a coughing fit hit Lucrezia like a bag of bricks, she felt horrible for a solid minute before it finally subsided, so she decided to get herself checked. Moving fast through the castle, she noticed how the staff were all apprehensive, The news from outside must''ve leaked, she realized. They all bowed when they saw her, but the fear in their eyes hurt Lucrezia fiercely. "My entire life spent for the betterment of the land and her people, for our pride and it was all for naught¡­¡± she shook her head, ¡°No, I must not falter, a true northerner will brave even the worst of snowstorms for their kin, I must set the example..." she nodded to herself regaining her spirits. It seemed a habit was forming, Lucrezia smiled inwards. Arriving in the Doctor''s Wing of the castle, she was assaulted by a cacophony of noise, wails, and cries of pain. It appeared to Lucrezia the new soldiers were reaping what they sow in tormenting the citizens, she felt pride at the fact her people were fighting back. "If only I could help them, make mom and dad see reason, we mustn''t hurt our people..." she whispered as she walked past a row of injured soldiers. The head doctor noticed her and marched over. "Anything I can help you with, My Lady?" the man looked tired as if he had spent the last 3 days awaken, his medical fatigues were clean, with a fresh smell of water and bleach magic. "Yes doctor, I''m feeling tired lately, and just a few minutes ago I had a terrible coughing fit, could you give a check-up?" she walked over to his side "Yes My Lady, please come right this way," he guided her to a corner where there were no soldiers and cast a series of spells. The first two she recognized, were standard Divinations for detection of common diseases in the north, the rest were more in-depth scans of her body, mind, and soul, along with another spell which she didn''t recognize before he was done. The doctor looked at the little board he had manifested mid-casting and noted down something, he coughed and spoke. "My Lady, you have a case of farmer''s fatigue, common among every citizen here, I recommend plenty of rest and less strenuous activities. Here''s a list of potions and food to eat and drink, you can talk with our alchemist for them.¡± he gave her a bright smile, one that didn''t quite reach his eyes. She bade him farewell and left to get her medications. The doctor was fast to return to the soldiers, she noticed. As Lucrezia retrieved her prescribed potions and went back to her room, as she neared the door, Saa''ryu appeared out of the dark. Her entire body covered in a pitch-black suit, she muttered a few words, and the whole get-up melted into her shadows. "That confirms it, you were an Assassin before dad found you..." Lucrezia voiced her suspicions. "My Lady..." She saw the maid was very uncomfortable about the subject. Lucrezia raised her hand and continued, "If you don''t want to talk about it Saa, then I won''t force you. Now get in before someone spots us." she rushed inside with the maid in tow, closing the door once they got inside. "Thanks, Lu I¡­ I can talk about it but not today, okay? it''s just hard for me to talk about it" she was blushing, Lucrezia noticed. "Very well, now tell me, what did you find in the private wing? I''m dying to know." Saa''ryu sucked air and began her tale, "At first, I had to sneak through multiple checkpoints, but security got lax as I got into the heart of the private wing. In it, I found there was a normal-looking Altar, I didn''t recognize the idol on it but nothing out of the ordinary there, Lu." "When I checked the nearby rooms, I found multiple documents on warding and banishment rituals, but one thing was very odd, all of them were necromantic in nature, involving a huge amount of souls to pull it off." "Maybe whatever happened to the crops was done by a necromancer?" Lucrezia could see a strong enough Illegal Necromancer attacking the duchy. It was the only known weakness of Spirits, after all. "Maybe Lu, but something was off about that whole place, it felt like I was being stared at all time, I believe you were right, something is wrong with your parents and the court mage¡ª" Lucrezia suddenly had another coughing fit, Saa''ryu rushed over "What''s wrong Lu!?" "Nothing my friend, nothing, the doctor told me I''m just tired, an ordinary winter sickness." the young lady took a swig of her potions and felt life flow through her, she relaxed and nodded at Saa''ryu to continue from where she had stopped. "I believe the court mage knows more Lu. We must concentrate our efforts there" the maid was resolute and Lucrezia had no reason to doubt her. "I order you to spy on the court mage, bring me any evidence you can find tying him to this, I also want you to check on this Commander Eustace, I believe he''s also neck-deep in this mess." Lucrezia gave her order and Saa''ryu nodded gravely. With a flash, she melted into the room''s shadows and disappeared, off to gather more intel. Lucrezia sat down in her study, pulling out one of her notebooks, she began writing about everything she found so far. She didn''t even notice when she fell asleep on top of the desk, as tired that she was.
"Lu wake up!" Saa''ryu shook her lady up, Lucrezia was looking paler than ever before, almost like a ghost. she looked up to her friend''s face, bleary-eyed, "What...Saa''ryu what are you doing here? Didn''t I tell you to go spy on the Commander?" She yawned, got up, and stretched. "It''s been almost four hours since we last spoke Lu...Don''t tell me you fell asleep at your desk... Are you really alright, Lu?" The maid was worried, the stress was getting to her lady badly if she was falling asleep anywhere but a fancy bed. "Oh my, and I barely noted anything down," she said looking at her notebook "Well, we can do that tomorrow morning. So Saa, tell me, did you find anything?" Saa''ryu fidgeted on the spot. She was looking tired as well, Lucrezia noted, whatever magic or Blessing she used was taking its toll on the woman. She grabbed a cup of water, gulped the thing down in a second, and began telling her finds "There are multiple holding cells in the Knight¡¯s Fort, I haven''t spotted any torture tools or mass graves, what I did find were shipping manifestos, they are sending prisoners from the food riots to a newly built prison site off the town." Lucrezia was bewildered, they were Incarcerating people without a trial? Do they want to have the Goddess of Justice send her Justiciar armies?! Never mind Friede or Velkarius, the second that mad goddess got a wind of this, there wouldn''t be anything left of the North, she thought in dismay. "What''s worse is that your mother knows about this Lu, she signed the papers authorizing it," Saa''ryu spoke slowly, knowing this would get her Lady mad. "Uumaries above, this is beyond fucked, what do we do Saa? What can I do to stop them?" Lucrezia was running her hands against her hair, if her parents were involved in this madness, there would be no hope left. "Maybe he tricked her, Lu, the ritual they are performing is legitimate, I snooped around the court mage''s room and all his documents and notes are about rituals for better crop yield..." Lucrezia calmed down a little after hearing this, if this information was true, and she believed Saa''ryu to be, then all they needed to do was expose Commander Eustace and hope her parents would have him either killed or exiled. "And this business about Knight Commander Erwin attempting a coup? Did you find anything on it?" Lucrezia asked. "Yes, apparently, he truly had massed all of the senior Knights and older squires to march here and kill the Wulfgrem line," she reported grimly. "I can''t believe this Saa, the Erwin I know was a beacon for the North, he took pride in being part of a centuries-long line of Knights fighting for the Wulfgrem and the Duchy, why would he turncoat now?" "I do not know my lady, there was nothing on that in the documents I read. All I saw were reports that he and his people are camping in one of the old abandoned forts bordering the wastes, five hundred men strong. They appear to be raiding merchants for supplies." Saa''ryu finished, looking disappointed. Lucrezia felt the same. "From Knight Commander to highwaymen... What a mess we got ourselves into Saa, and I didn''t see a thing, so busy with the Competition," Lucrezia sighed sadly "I¡¯ve failed my people, and my Duchy..." Her pride was like poison now, but she couldn''t rest, no, she had to fix this. In a few days, her parents will have to attend the binding ritual with the Winter Spirits, that was going to be her window to set things right. Lucrezia spoke at length with Saa''ryu on this, they mapped out a plan to avoid the mess that happened in the dinner hall, Lucrezia would appeal to her father the most, since he hadn''t shut her down last time. "Good night Lu, anything happens, don''t hesitate to call for me, ok?" Saa''ryu hugged the young woman and left the room. It took a while for Lucrezia to fall asleep, she kept staring at the window that overlooked the southern gates. There were no more smokestacks in the sky.
Come morning, she got the news from Saa''ryu that her parents would perform the ritual on that very day. Something had gone wrong with their Altar and they were furious. Another setback to their plans, Lucrezia thought. Her father was always the mild one but even he could work up a temper to rival his wife. "I''ve been acting on my emotions too much lately as well..." Lucrezia spoke to herself, she splashed her face with cold water before heading out of her room, Saa''ryu waiting for her by the doorway. They made their way to the Spirit Wing of the castle, the stones making way to enchanted ice from a time before the All-Father came. Opening the door to the waiting room, Lucrezia gave Saa''ryu a final look and headed in alone. Only her father was present, which was odd, a proper ritual needed all members of the bloodline present. They quickly went through the ritual motions after entering the main room of the Spirit wing, yet there was no response from the three Winter Spirits of the duchy. "Ill omens," Lucrezia said in a small voice when she was assaulted by another coughing fit. Her father moved to assist her. He spoke in a hollow voice "Daughter of mine, you are light, are you skipping on meals? Don''t tell me those fashion tips from the Imperium made their way to you?" a small laugh came from the man, who by now looked like a senior necromancer with his cloudy eyes, hollow cheeks, and blue veins protruding all over his arms. "It¡¯s alright father, merely weariness.¡± she brushed off his worry, and decided to bring up the subject, ¡°Father, I must speak with you about the commander! I''ve¡ª" "Not another word Lucrezia! Your mother told you to stop your inquiries on Commander Eustace! If you don''t stop we will be forced to..." the man hissed at her, barely catching himself. Lucrezia was caught flat-footed, her father being as mad as her mom was bad! "Dad, he''s locking people up! They have a prison camp just outside the city! If the Goddess of Justice or her followers find out about this we¡ª" "THERE WON''T BE!" he exploded and shouted at Lucrezia, she stood her ground while her father calmed down. He spoke again, softer this time, "There won''t be any issues, those prisoners were tried and condemned as the law dictates, with my and your mother''s approval." "But father!" she raised her voice in protest only for the man to turn his back on her and walk away. "Great, now we are well and truly fucked." She made her way to Saa''ryu who was waiting for her by the entrance of the Spirit wing, she looked weary, ready to strike at anyone or anything. "It was a bust, dad knew about the prison camp and gave the go-ahead for it," she explained to the maid, who was firing questions at her. "So we won''t get invaded by an army of angry Justiciars?" Saa sighed in relief, "A riot of angry commoners we can escape, but those lunatics? You can''t outrun them." Another hint to her past, Lucrezia thought but decided to not push it.
They decided to focus their plan on the castle guards, and after hours of investigations, they had pinpointed three guards who were in direct contact with Commander Eustace, their ringleader being a woman called Lautrec. "I can tail her Lu, see who''s she talking to and if she has more evidence, but to who are we bringing this?" Saa''ryu raised an important question, there was no point in talking with her parents. "I''m taking this to Arch Duke Autumnflower in the capital Saa, my parents are part of the First Prince¡¯s faction so the royals won''t help us here, we must bring this to Old Man Jinn." Lucrezia knew the Arch Duke well, he was a man of true character, loyal to the core for his country, multiple times he went against the royals, all for the greater good of Vermillion. "How are you planning to get the word out? With Winter''s End so close, no merchant caravan or ship will come in unless staffed with enough magicians to ward off the bad weather." Another good point, she thought, with a smug smile Lucrezia conjured a small fan and laughed, hiding her mouth behind it, "Why my dear, money is something I don''t lack, while you were away I inquired with the quartermaster about a few choice imports and he gave me the price. In a week, we can book a caravan to the capital," she was feeling good for once. Saa''ryu rolled her eyes and said, "There''s no ¡®we¡¯ in this plan Lu. if you leave the duchy will know something is up, I''ll go and you stay here" Lucrezia wanted to protest, but she felt Saa was right on this one so she decided to let it go. "Yes, of course, forgive me Saa, it was a lapse of judgment on my part..." she gestured to the corridor, "Now my maid, we have some training to do, I was told we would finally get some hand to hand combat this time" she laughed. They went to their training yard and spent hours on various exercises, Lucrezia wasn''t that much of a fighter she thought frankly to herself, she was set very much on the arcane path, but it never hurt to know the basics of fighting. After asking for a break Lucrezia raised a question. "Have you ever fought a Ki user, Saa?" She wanted some answers and was ready to push for them. Saa''ryu looked at the sky, and with an audible sigh she plopped down on the ground and began talking, "Yes, my... old teacher made us fight an Imperium Shieldmaiden. The woman was relentless, her bashing strikes knocked us down many times, it took an ungodly amount of probing strikes, faints, ample use of smoke, and a mechanical snake, but we took that indomitable wall down." "A mechanical snake? What, did you scare the woman so she would give you an opening? And that worked?" Lucrezia chuckled at the absurdity of it. Saa''ryu cracked a smile, a rare thing, This must be a fond memory, Lucrezia thought. "Yes, Sister Ash didn''t think it would work, she always was one for the more conventional methods after all .." she sighed again in remembrance, looking at the cloudy skies, "Don''t you wanna ask about them, Lu? My sisters, I mean." She left an opportunity there, Lucrezia saw, but her tone of voice, the way her body language conveyed her feelings, she knew if she pushed here it would hurt her friend. So she decided to drop the subject there, "No, not until you are comfortable enough to tell me, that is." another smile crept across Saa''ryu''s face, her lady was sharp as always. "One day, then. Now, I think we¡¯ve rested enough, time to work on your kicks." "Not a fan of kicks, they make my legs hurt all day after I''m done with the drills, can''t we do punches? Those I can do," she said as she flexed an arm. A small coughing fit came, Lucrezia quickly drank her potions, she was going through these vials fast, not a good sign. "Anyone can throw a punch Lu, but a kick can end a fight faster than you can blink, now form up..." They continued their training until it was nighttime, Saa''ryu left for more information gathering while Lucrezia went over the evidence she could bring to the Arch Duke. They didn''t have enough material now, but if she could get some witnesses, and Saa was lucky in getting more writing material, they would be able to have Arch Duke Jinn¡¯s and his armies'' support. "I promise, on Uumaries name that I will restore my family''s honor, may the patron of Nobility watch over me and grant me the strength to undo the evils that poison my lands." She swore to herself, fists clenched tight. Her small prayer would be answered in great measure, she later found. Chapter 6: We will send unto them...Only You Crows and ravens circled above the Duke''s castle, silent as the grave, the only sound was their wings flapping and the wind howling from the coming storm. Lucrezia woke up coughing blood. ¡°Gods, what is happening,¡± Lucrezia whispered as she cleaned after herself. She heard a commotion from the courtyard below her window. Opening it, the crows came to rest on it, they didn¡¯t cry at her, just stared. She saw a guard and a maid having a heated discussion, the maid leaving shortly after Lucrezia saw them, the guard, on the other hand, ran towards the barracks. The room¡¯s doors were opened by her First Maid, she looked focused, checking the room from top to bottom. Lucrezia found this all very strange, well, as strange as anything happening lately. "Do the creepy silent crows hanging about mean what I think they mean, Saa?" Lucrezia asked, already knowing the answer, things were about to get more complicated. "Yes My Lady, the ritual was completed just now, we have multiple witnesses that saw an older man perform it in the central plaza." "The court mage? Father and mother?" This was the fulcrum right there, if there was no reaction from those three, then it was up to her alone to bear the brunt of a goddess¡¯s wrath. "After much...complaining, the court mage was dispatched to the plaza, and he''s currently conducting an investigation. Commander Eustace has declared martial law across the city, the fires in the south district are out as well,'' She replied fast, with eyes on the many birds around the castle. "My lady, I think it''s best we go to the war room in the east wing, there are no windows there." Lucrezia could detect the woman was nervous, even someone as trained as her couldn''t fight a fully powered Blessed or gods forbid direct intervention by Velkarius herself in the mortal plane. "It''s not going to stop them but if it makes you at ease, then let''s go," Lucrezia downed another flask and moved towards the door, but as she got up she felt the world spin and plopped down on her butt. "Sorry, got dizzy," she quickly got up, thanking the gods the maid was too distracted imagining the windows would burst, corvid attackers rushing in. Mercifully, the birds were happy to just watch them. For now.
"We are here," said Saa''ryu opening the thick door with a lever. The war room was full of maps, weapon racks, and rations in barrels, with a water duct visible in a dark corner. "Good place to hole up Saa, won''t hold up against anything Velkarius throws at us, but if we can evacuate the workers to here..." Lucrezia thought back to the workers and their families, with ample use of sleep potions and magic, they had managed to save a few from the chaos in the city, all hidden away in the forgotten corners of the castle. "Most of the guards aren''t on Eustace''s payroll here, they are regular people hired after the knights were Exiled, the ones that were on his payroll were all recalled to their headquarters in the northern section of the city once the ravens came," Saa''ryu picked a map of the city, marking the spot with charcoal as she continued with her report, "I''ve managed to infiltrate the prison and use record marbles there, we have all the evidence we need Lu! We can call the Arch Duke in," Lucrezia could see how her maid was pleased with herself, using those old skills of hers put her in a good mood even when the duchy was going up in flames around them. "What''s the time window for the message?" Lucrezia asked, the Hawks used by the nobles were out of commission now that the Winter''s End was near, and the Maygriam highway access was likely being patrolled by Eustace''s men. "I got a ship for us! The captain already got the letter, he''s leaving in one week." "Then we got seven days to survive, and depending on which priest is deployed to our region we might even have a whole year, if and this is a big if, we can turn things around. Then, we will be able to pledge our case," Lucrezia knew she was grasping at straws, but dire situations called for the flimsiest of excuses when it came to keeping the morale up. "Get me one of the guards who saw the ritual here Saa, if we can find out who was consumed by it, we might be able to plead with its spirit¡ª" "Necromancy! My Lady, you mustn''t, performing necromancy without getting the license is nothing short of suicide¡ª" Lucrezia held up her hand to which the maid stopped her objections. "If I was a dirty peasant or hedge mage sure, but I''m a noble Saa, more importantly, the heir of one of the five Houses. Enough gold can make even those dusty skeletons shut up, hells, we can even open a church for their god here and call it a donation.¡± she cracked a smile, to which Saa''ryu laughed. "Have Leanu to take stock of all our food. Water should be a non-issue, but if the Arch Duke takes his time..." she shook her head, ¡°Now go, I must...I must plan..." Lucrezia felt dizzy again, she barely made it to a chair before coughing violently, blood flying into her handkerchief, Saa''ryu went pale for a second before rushing over her, her eyes burning with questions. ¡°Lu, maybe it would... maybe it would be best for you to take a rest, we can plan tomorrow¡ª¡± "QUIET! I gave you an order, now get me that SOLDIER!" Lucrezia barked out firmly. The maid hesitantly took a step back, bowed, and left the room. Lucrezia did something the court mage had taught her so long ago when she was but a child learning the first magicks, she pushed mana into her soul instead of drawing from it. The process was a simple exercise to help anyone feel where their soul and mana were, but it had a peculiar side effect, it removed fatigue and the need for sleep, but after three weeks the effects would stop and the body would go into shock. If used in moderation, however, it was an excellent way for many would-be acolytes to cram a particular spell shaping exercise for a test or two. She could taste the Ice on her lips now, Magnetism on the other hand had no "taste" she found, but it still gave her a much-needed boost for the times ahead. "Time to organize this dump," Lucrezia got to work, changing chairs and sofas around, on the table lay maps of the city and a blueprint for the castle together, and Lucrezia marked several hidden caches of food, weapons, and armor they could take if need be. An hour later, one of the guards showed up, a new hire, she noticed. The youth was short, more skin than muscle, barely an adult. He saluted to Lucrezia and made his way inside the war room. From the corridor, she could see ravens were looking directly at her. She closed the door a bit too hard if the jump the guard did was any indication. "Private Morcolur reporting for duty, My Lady!" another salute, Well, someone is eager, she thought, "At ease Private, I was told you were on the security detail when the ritual took place, yes?" "I...uh...Yes My Lady I was indeed posted at the plaza when it happened..." he said, shifting his legs. Strange, Lucrezia thought, the young man didn''t show signs of Knight''s Terror or any of the mind plagues one could fall prey to when faced with these circumstances. "Can you describe the perpetrator of the ritual? His build, skin tone, hair, and eye colors? We must find out who it was" She said trying to sound in control, and more importantly sell the idea to him that she was gonna set this right. "Yes...He looked old, white hair I think, I didn''t see the eyes he had a hood on, you see! I tried to stop him, My Lady, I did! But the man fought back like a beast with the fury of five orcs..." Now that was strange, there was no mention of a fight, plus this kind of ritual can''t be broken unless one has very specific miracles or spells on hand, something a mere guard like Morcolur here most certainly lacked. The young man was going into increasingly elaborate details on his "fight" against the "dark cultist sent to ruin the duchy". "...And then I leaped into the air, My Lady! Using the secret Ki technique that my great grandfather taught me I stalled the ritual enough..." a harsh knock on the door stopped the fantastical tale dead in its tracks. Lucrezia moved to open the door, Leanu getting here early meant... The moment she opened the door, a stern-faced guard saluted her, the man looked like he had recently walked from a battlefield. "Private Serkj, My Lady" he saluted and went quiet. "Can I help you Private?" Lucrezia was genuinely curious, had Saa''ryu sent another guard who saw what happened? That was when she noticed from the corner of her eye, that the young man inside jumped in fright the second he heard the name. Well well, it seemed like someone was trying to pull a fast one on her, she gestured with her head for Private Serkj to come in, the young guard looking like he had sucked on a Lime from the Shogunate by now. Serkj wordlessly walked in, immediately going over to Morcolur, and fiercely slapped the young man in the back of the head. "You godsdamned clown, lying to Our Lady at this junction! You deserve the rope those maniacs are hanging the citizens in!" The man was livid, but besides screaming at Morcolur he didn''t hit him anymore. Morcolur on the other hand began sobbing, he kneeled in front of Lucrezia and begged. "Oh, Fair Lady Lucrezia please forgive me! I didn''t mean to lie about the ritual My Lady, I''m but a poor guard please don''t kill me! Please!" he was wailing now, only to get another slap on the back of his head. "Kowtow! How can you beg forgiveness by staring Our Lady in the eyes!" he then turned to Lucrezia and said, "I''m sorry My Lady, I''ve been training this wretch but he''s stubborn as a Dire Goat." "On your feet Private Morcolur," Lucrezia said, the man clamped his mouth fast, he got up and stared at Lucrezia. She summoned wisps of cold to her hands, moving them along Morcolur¡¯s arms and neck as she was ready to deliver a speech about not lying to her when suddenly the young man fainted. "Oh gods did I kill him?" she asked, stunned, but Private Serkj shook his head, "No My Lady, the boy is deadly afraid of snakes and anything that look like ¡®em, he must¡¯ve mistaken your magic coiling up his arms for one and fainted,¡± The private took one last look at the unconscious youth, spat on the ground, and said; "But I don''t think you wanna hear about Private sleepyhead over here right, Lady Lucrezia?" he was looking at her now, his ashen eyes and pointed ears hinting at an elven lineage. "No. Were you near the gate when the ritual happened, Private?" she asked, fearing this was another dud. "I was guarding it with this fool over here Lady Lucrezia, he didn''t fight a thing then, the bastard ran when the birds came and the people started chanting in the plaza, but I stayed," he looked proud if only a little. "Did you get a good look at the one performing the ritual? We must get his name," Lucrezia was nervous, this could spell disaster to the whole duchy if she messed it up. "Better yet My Lady, I know the man who did it" "Well tell me the name then, out with it Private!" she said, excited at this stroke of unexpected luck "It was Mr. Reiner the baker, I''ve eaten at his bakery before so I recognized the man, he was in pain and thin as a skeleton, but it was him for certain, My Lady. Lucrezia felt her world go upside down, she wanted to throw up, to scream, but the effects of the earlier mana injection made it so that it was impossible, she stared at the wall as the private made his way to prop Morcolur in a chair, covering him with his guard coat and hat. She plopped down on a chair and stared at the maps, holding back tears now. After a tense few seconds, she turned to Private Serkj "Private, you should take your friends and go back to the barracks..." she was crestfallen, her voice a low whisper. "No can do Lady Lucrezia, with the Commander¡¯s absence here, and your parents being isolated in their castle wing, we will only take orders from you." "What about the court mage?" she asked weakly, "Not a part of the chain of command my lady, we aren''t acolytes or mages, it''s you or no one else, I''m afraid." he looked her dead in the eyes, Lucrezia saw in them, that there were no lies in what he said. "Tell the guards to double their watch on the walls and the west gate. I want fully armored troops on the plaza and the moat waters to be raised, have every bow and crossbow we have to be ready, and prepare enough ammo for them." The man saluted and marched out of the room, she didn''t even have time to mention his fellow guard currently knocked out in the chair.
Leanu showed up an hour later together with an older acolyte. The man looked ragged, his light blue robes had tears on them. They both hurried into the war room. Eyebrows were raised at the sight of the knocked-out guard, but nobody said anything. "Lady Lucrezia, this is Acolyte Wilson, he''s in charge of the younger magical students now that the court mage is busy with the ritual, he has...dire news, My Lady." Leanu sighed in resignation. Acolyte Wilson placed his hand on Leanus''s shoulder, he then spoke, his voice rasping like the man hadn''t slept in days. "Lady Lucrezia, it¡¯s as Leanu said, I bring horrible news to you, I and a few of the senior acolytes have discovered that whatever the Master is doing on that ritual with your parents is not to salvage the lost grain, what they are doing is actually¡ª" "¡ªMaking Winter''s End come earlier." Lucrezia finished, feeling numb. "Do you have any information on why they are doing the ritual, or how to stop it? Winter''s End is a ticking dwarven clock and if we don''t get the city fixed, it will wipe them out." Lucrezia was trying to keep herself calm but it was trying, her hands were shaking, legs trembling. The acolyte sighed, "I''m sorry My Lady, after a series of rituals all we¡¯ve gathered, is that the Winter Spirits are the ones holding back the storm." he removed a stack of papers and scrolls from a satchel and organized them on the desk, "We gathered this from the Master''s main office and his room, there are no talks about stopping the storm in these documents, My Lady." He stopped for a second, looking at a window, a raven was trying to get inside the corridor via a breach, Wilson raised a hand and the window snapped shut. "Acolyte Wilson, how can I trust you to not go blabber about this to the court mage?" Lucrezia asked weakly, if the man was going to betray her she would have no choice but to kill him. Could she do it? she thought, all it would take was a snap and she would shackle the Acolyte with Ice and cave his face in with the enhanced strength of magnetism¡ª The man removed another scroll from his satchel, it pulsed as if it was alive. Lucrezia gasped. "By your reaction Lady Lucrezia, I assume you know what this is? Then you know I''m not a spy sent by Master Kapha¡¯tur." A bidding contract, the madman was ready to bind his very soul to prove he wasn''t lying. She took the scroll. "Are you sure mister Wilson? With this, all I need is but a thought to end your life." "My Life belongs to this duchy, if my masters are the ones poisoning it then I''ll do whatever it takes to uproot the rot away. Will you do the same, Lady Lucrezia?" The man spoke with conviction, his eyes bore into her. Lucrezia nodded, opened the contract, and with a drop of her blood, bound Wilson''s soul to it, should he betray her in any way, the contract would break and he would die. "Once this is over, we can undo it in the Spirit Shrine," Lucrezia said to the man, he nodded, "I need you to round up all Acolytes and prepare for the worst, have at least two posted on the walls." the man nodded again. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. "One more thing, do you know anyone who can perform Necromancy? I need to talk with the spirit of the...man who died performing the ritual in the plaza." She struggled to not let slip Mr. Reiner''s name. Wilson''s face twisted into a frown, "No Lady Lucrezia, and I recommend you to not try it, we already provoked one major god¡¯s fury, offending another one is a... tactical mistake, in my humble opinion." the mage said, and with a bow, left. Leanu stayed behind and began tidying up the place, which earned a curious look from Lucrezia. "Leanu. What are you doing?" The Head Maid stopped, having already summoned a mop and a rag, wet and caked in dust, she slowly turned to Lucrezia and said with steel on her voice. "As Head Maid of Castle Wulfgrem, I must keep everything clean My Lady, it doesn''t matter if we are in the middle of plotting a coup or fighting against the goddess of Vengeance herself, I refuse to stay in a room this... this dirty!" she said, motioning all around her. Lucrezia could see behind her bravado was a very scared woman, trying to cling to any sense of normalcy she could. "Leanu, look at me" the maid looked up, tears in her eyes, Lucrezia grabbed her by the arms and said, "Once we get the letter to the Arch Duke it will all go back to normal, I swear on the Wulfgrem name." The maid stared silently at Lucrezia for a few seconds before calming down, she muttered thanks, and wiping her eyes, resumed her cleaning, only to stop once again when she reached the sleeping guard. "Who''s this guard My Lady?" "That''s one of the guards that was posted in the plaza when the ritual took place, he ran away," Lucrezia said while poring over the court mage documents. Nothing so far, she thought to herself as she read notes upon notes about new spells and acolyte report sheets. "But why is he knocked over the war room?" Leanu finished her work and sat on a sofa at the far end of the room. "Lady Lucrezia spooked the boy something fierce with her magic, don''t ask." RepliedPrivate Serkj for her, as he arrived inside the room together with Saa''ryu, who looked curiously at the motley crew they had gathered here. "And you are?" asked Leanu, "Private Serkj of the Guard,¡± Serkj responded without missing a beat and turned to Lucrezia ¡°My Lady, I''ve given the orders to the guards, we got word down the vine that you also talked with old Wilson and now we got Acolyte support, that will do wonders for morale," he reported. "That was fast," Lucrezia said to no one in particular, "Wilson was already planning on helping the guard My Lady, by taking charge yourself, all he had to do was give the orders via divination." Leanu spoke. "Convenient, all we need is to find an Acolyte to give castle grounds-wide commands, then." Lucrezia picked out the city map and marked a few point locations, "First, we need information on three key points to set off the plan," she pointed to the map, "I need patrol routes and intel on the officers in charge of the martial law. Saa, I''ll leave this one to you, grab whatever you need from the other war rooms and the secret stashes, even Acolytes if need be." "I only need pure mana stones Lu, easier to top off my mana reserves with them," the First Maid said, her eyes already scanning the map. Taking a cue from her mistress, Leanu got up and picked a silver box from a table, retrieving its contents and bringing them to Saa''ryu who nodded a silent thanks. Lucrezia continued her plan, "Second, we need to train the workers of the castle and their relatives should we get invaded by the commoners, Private Serkj, can you run drills?" she turned to the man, "Yes, My Lady" he pointed to the castle blueprint, specifically the south wing war room, "This room has ample pikes and tower shields, give me three days and every maid, butler, gardener, and kitchen cook will know how to keep a pike wall up." "Will they hold said wall, Private?" Saa''ryu asked doubtfully, "I sure hope they can First Maid, or pray to goddess Morugarius to take the reins," he said with mirth in his voice. Lucrezia nodded her approval, and he left the room again, moving towards the south wing. "Third. Leanu, I need you to form a small group and take stock of every food item we have, including the vault, should the food riots get worse and no one else is blessed with food magic again we will need to feed the populace." Lucrezia took a key from her bosom and gave it to the maid, "This unlocks the vault, It''s mostly dried meat and grain there but we need all we can use now." Leanu nodded and ran off as well, saying she would relay the plan to Wilson, when she saw him later that day. "How about you Lu? What are you going to do?" Saa''ryu asked, the other two spots marked on the city map didn''t get any mention in their plan, after all. "We need to hit the deep seaport today Saa, I need to talk with the Magi-Folk there, should the city fall, King Byr will shelter the survivors..." Saa''ryu shook her head, "My Lady after I delivered the letter to the captain, security spiked all across the port, the Magi-Folk have already left to the deep ends and we lack the means to reach them.¡± Lucrezia was furious, "Gods damn all, how did they find out about the letter?!" she slammed her hands on the table, "We need to assault the port Saa, bring as many guards as we can!..." Lucrezia was losing it, as she drew lines on the map, the more frantic she got, then she felt a hand on her shoulder, Saa''ryu looked at her and just shook her head. She took a deep breath, "...I''m sorry Saa, I just..." "Lu they don''t know who has it, it will work trust me, the court mage can''t cast any Divination powerful enough to find it, not while he''s tending to the ritual in the private wing, all we must do now is wait and prepare." "Alright, alright..." she sighed, ¡°Hells, I forgot to tell Leanu to get the doctor and the alchemist to come here¡ª" Saa''ryu cut her lady off "Lu, they were both called to the Prison together with the wounded we were housing in the castle." "Shit, that''s bad," Lucrezia was getting the shakes on her hand again. "Focus Lu," Saa''ryu whispered, she pointed to the last spot marked, "What do you want in the chapel of Uumaries?" Lucrezia shook her head, "I need to speak with High Priestess Chloe, if she can lend shelter to the populace, we can take some people off the streets before Winter''s End hits.¡± The maid nodded, "We can check the chapel after I''m done with the soldier''s headquarters, I will hit the place today after dark." Lucrezia nodded, "We can go there tomorrow morning then, do you have all the gear you need?" Saa nodded and patted her on the arm, "Yup, don''t you worry about me, Lu." The woman left again, closing the door on her way out. Lucrezia didn''t miss the ravens circling the windows. She could almost feel the pressure those birds gave off, the weight of so many lives wasted, and twice as many locked away unfairly, to not think of any other abuse that might be happening¡ª She returned her gaze to the Court Mage¡¯s documents once again. There was only his diary left, if there was a hint of what they were doing in that wing, it would be from this. She began leafing through it; Day of feasts, Month of Thunder: The duchess came over with an interesting proposition to me: Some of the knight''s scouts found a shrine in a bog in the countryside, with no god¡¯s name on it, or any marks really. I was tasked to figure out how to tap into the shrine. Lucrezia flipped through the pages, many seemed to her as if senseless ramblings, like some sort of code, Or Kapha¡¯tur is losing his marbles, she thought. Day of Waiting, Month of Thunder: A breakthrough finally! We have the deity''s name, the duchess managed to commune with it, and her mana reserves grew tenfold! She even succeeded in casting a fully empowered Thunderstorm, a feat not even the best mages of the capital are currently capable of, we must... More pages full of inane ramblings, some torn, some with ghoulish drawings on them, she flipped until the very end until she found readable text. Day of Fears, Month of the Peregrine: The duke has finally joined us! We only need to get Eustace on your side now and remove the thorn that is Knight Commander Erwin. Our plan is nearly at the end, ample sacrifice was gathered and the rituals performed, we only lack the final piece now... Her worst fears confirmed, Lucrezia couldn''t help but cry, sobbing at the unfairness of it all. everything she knew was out by the roots, the people she trusted with her life becoming madmen drunk with a fallen god¡¯s power. She didn''t even realize when night fell, all she did was cry herself to numbness all alone in the war room.
Saa''ryu moved across rooftops with the grace of a cat, and the silence of an owl. This late in the night the city was dead, the food riots and martial law killed what was once one of the best nightlife in the kingdom. She got closer to the old Knights¡¯ headquarters, now populated by the soldiers of Eustace. Making sure there were no Acolytes in sight, she pulled out her grappling hook and threw it towards the closest rooftop that could give her an overhead view of the compound. On top of the roof, the woman crouched down and sent a mana wave towards her target, shaping the simple Divination spell into an elaborate three-dimensional map that could scan the foundations of the building. Another spell was fired in quick succession, this time a pair of sinister-looking tentacles wiggled their way to the top of the building. On the map, numerous dots showed up, each one a guard in the premises. "Fast, Silent, Unseen," with a small prayer from her old life, Saa''ryu ran, forcing Ki into her legs and feet. When she was at the edge of the rooftop she leaped, crossing the night sky like a bird, she then cast another spell to stick to the walls, using her grappling hook for extra support. She descended through the closest window, slowly opening it while attached to the rope. Getting inside proved easy, as the top floor was deserted. She conjured the map again, it showed three dots moving down the stairs. Saa''ryu stalked her way through the room, finding the door leading to the stairs. "Lights Out!" she muttered, activating a small band on her ankle, the three guards got stunned for a moment. She jumped over the stairs, falling into the section they were in, by a hair''s breadth she grabbed the nearest guard and bashed his face against the wall, going down with a thud, she twisted her frame towards the second guard, choking the woman with her thighs, her spell¡¯s stun effect was almost over when she finished and moved to the final guard. "Sleep," another band, this time on her neck, lit up, and the third guard went down without a sound. "Modifying Lights Out to remove sound was a masterful move, even if it makes me unable to hear anything for its duration," Saa''ryu muttered as she cast a panel of force and dragged the unconscious bodies to a utility closet at the end of the stairs. "Five minutes," she counted, a small hourglass¡¯s countdown appearing on her map. The woman made her way to the fourth floor, the map now showing five guards spread out over the place. She moved in towards the door. Peering through the keyhole, she saw the chancellery with many desks and papers laid out, two guards sitting at desks, backs to the exit. Silently opening the door, she moved to a chest height countertop and retrieved a coin from her pockets. She flicked it to the far left of the guards, away from her path. They both moved, curious by the sound. Saa''ryu crouched past them, keeping her profile low and near to the many desks. She reached a long room, her target had one guard in it, the other two were either sleeping in the bathroom or up to the unspeakable. "Owl''s Rush," she muttered, and became a white mist moving through the corridor, in below the door, and behind her target. Her mana reserves dropping like a rock, the spell expired, and she flashed her dagger. The guard didn''t even have time to react, a blade right through his throat was all that he saw. She stashed the body in a closet and searched for patrol routes and any documents that could help in their case for the Arch Duke, more letters could be sent, should Lu manage to appease the crowd. Saa''ryu opened up the window and jumped, using her grappling hook to anchor to a nearby rooftop. As he used the pure mana stones to top herself off, she thought of her operation so far, "Too sloppy should''ve taken those three down faster, guess I did get rusty after playing maid all these years," her mind went back to the events of her current employment, the ambush by the rival guild, the Duke saving her from a death in the northern wastes... "A shame your daughter turned out to be the better person Duke, now she will need to wet these grounds with your blood to save the family name," she spoke to no one as she walked back to the castle, avoiding the patrol along the way.
"Lu? Why aren''t you in your bed?" Saa asked when she reached the war room, expecting to find the place empty. Instead, her Lady was there, staring at the maps and taking notes. Lucrezia turned to her. Her eyes were devoid of hope, the woman looking broken, with the same expression Saa''ryu saw from the civilians that survived the war in the south. "The Court Mage''s diary Saa, they were in this the whole time... My family didn''t just betray the city, they betrayed the people, the country, and the gods themselves." Lucrezia laughed a hollow laugh, only stopping when a coughing fit started, she downed another potion like it was water. Saa''ryu could see now her Lady was devastated, her morale had sunk to rock bottom. "Look Lu, I got the patrol routes, we can do this, WE MUST. " her emphasis and force shook Lucrezia out of her crestfallen mood, "We will take that tomorrow to the ship, the royals will come via the Highway, and you will help them set things right." Lucrezia smiled a thin, fragile smile. She looked tired, exhausted even, she must''ve used mana injection to keep herself up for so long without collapsing, not to say those coughs she kept having. "You need to rest Lu, you can''t keep going like this, come, let''s go to your room.¡± As they moved outside of the war room, a raven managed to sneak itself in via a window, the little bird didn''t cry when he approached the two women, it carried a small black ribbon, leaving it at their foot before going back to the window and joining its murder nested in the castle roofs and trees. Lucrezia fell to her knees and wept, Finally, she thought, finally a break from their perpetual torment. "Velkarius is giving us a chance to make this right Lu, you won''t be judged by her when her priest arrives." A sigh of relief came from Lucrezia, "Yes, the black ribbon will keep us safe Saa...With this, we can¡ª" A loud boom was heard across the whole city, from the corridor facing the south gate, the night sky lit up bright crimson. They didn''t get a chance to react when two more booms went off. Lucrezia began to cough blood again, downing the last flask she had, she made her way to the south gate wall, the light shining brightest from there. Saa''ryu close behind, they were joined by their accomplices on the way, Wilson, Serkj, and Leanu following them up the watchtower. The soldiers and acolytes were running all around them checking if it was an attack on the castle. "Is that... Is that the deep sea Harbor?" Asked Leanu, her voice trembling, Wilson cast a few spells, and nodded slowly, "Someone or something just cast a high-powered meteor swarm on the harbor, there''s not a single boat left..." "We won''t get the Arch Duke or the royals in time now, All-Father''s balls we are fucked!" spat Serkj, "Lady Lucrezia, we must launch an assault on the Highway Entrance, otherwise we are be doomed. Your guards have already dusted off every single weapon and armor from the war rooms and hidden caches if we can send at the very least one person..." "And get blown to the Spirit Realm like the harbor? Whatever stopped our letter knows about us, or knows that someone is trying to get the word out!" Hissed Wilson, looking to the sky. Everyone bar Lucrezia went still, afraid whatever carried out that massive attack would come for them in the tower. After a tense minute was over and nothing happened, they relaxed. "Maybe it was an automatic response? I''ve seen rituals where they have protection wards and spells in place to stop anyone or anything attempting to leave the premises without its knowledge." Said Saa''ryu, Wilson furrowed his brows and spoke again in a normal tone, "Yes, I recall Master was working on something like that last year, to automatically detect the barbarians from the wastes, they have been using snow elven shamans and druids to sneak through the border..." "My Lady, I wouldn''t recommend an assault on the Highway checkpoint but it might be the only way, the wards in place there can take the strike of a major god and hold, whatever magical strike was this won''t be able to pierce it" Wilson pondered, "We have four acolytes that have mastered the basic Blink spell, if we can cook up alchemical bombs, Granarius warfare would be useful here," Another spat from Serkj. "Lady Lucrezia? What do we do now?" asked Leanu, finally noticing her Lady hadn''t said a single word. Lucrezia was pale, paler than a Vampire Count from the Imperium. When the deepsea harbor went up in flames she felt hollow, like all her hard work and effort was for naught. Hearing that her best option was a suicide attack on the most heavily defensible outpost in the city bar the castle was the final nail in the coffin for her morale. No support from the Magi-Folk, no way to get the Arch-Duke or Royalty¡¯s armies. "It''s over," she said in a hushed whisper, the magical flames painting a grim picture over the land, reminding Lucrezia of just how small she truly was. A worthless princess who couldn''t save her people in their direst moment, a spoiled little brat that... "Ugh," Lucrezia gagged on blood and bile, she fell to her knees and coughed blood. Reaching for another potion, she found the remains of a half-drunk one and drank it like it was the last bottle of water on the planet, but Lucrezia felt even worse. Whatever was ailing her wasn''t stopping now. "LU!" Saa''ryu grabbed her and rushed inside, the others following close behind. They rushed to her room, Wilson screaming for any Acolyte who knew a healing spell, Leanu rushed to the doctor''s office with Serkj in tow, to see if there was any medicine left. "Please Lu! Listen to my voice! Gods above Lu, don''t close your eyes, please." Lucrezia could barely feel her friend''s tears falling on her face, the whole world was blurry. She could still feel the dark ribbon on her wrist, and hear the soft chirping of a bird just behind her ears. "I''m sorry Saa...I couldn''t...do anything..." her voice was barely audible, Saa''ryu only being able to hear her due to being right on her face, the maid cried, begging Lucrezia to remain awake, but it was so hard... he felt cold and tired, her body and soul begged her, screamed at her to just let it go. "LUCREZIA!" Saa''ryu screamed right in her face, her voice filled with mana, it was warm, with faint traces of cherry blossom and rain in it. Lucrezia focused a bit, the world getting sharper for a solid second, she saw Serkj busting into the room with a flask in hand, full to the brim, she could barely make out the words "Healing" and "Blood" before Saa''ryu grabbed the vial from his hands and forced it in her mouth. Lucrezia felt alive once again, Saaryu''s face lighting up like a mage fire display in the capital. Then Lucrezia felt deep in her bones, a flame so strong, she wanted to scream, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came, she looked at her friend one last time before snapping her eyes shut, the screams from Saa''ryu getting further away.
At last, she knew peace, Lucrezia arrived at the Long Queue, but as she was ready to step into the line, the world around her went white in a flash, and she blacked out once again. The last sound she heard was a scream.
Lucrezia''s Prologue End Chapter 7: Threat level Rising "Free Will, above all else there is and will ever be." -A common saying among the All-Father¡¯s Priesthood. William awoke feeling cold, chills running down his spine. He tried to open his eyes but couldn''t, and trying to move and drag himself out of harm''s way, he sensed was stuck... somewhere. A whirlwind of emotions hit the boy like a bag of bricks, then the cold got worse, it was like the damn thing was pushing him, trying to bend him down, William tried to push back, to no avail as it just grew fiercer. "I give up!" he shouted into the void, but no one answered back. The words seemed to have worked nevertheless, the cold ran across him like a mother''s caressing hand. But just as William started to relax, the cold sucked him up in a blink of an eye, followed by a moment of pain so strong, it felt endless. William screamed, begged it to stop, but the cold didn''t care a damn about him.
William came to in a gray street, his mind a haze. To his sides, he found, were waterways and old soviet-style apartment buildings, and at the end of the street was a monolith, tall and foreboding. He felt it somehow called to him, so he decided to move towards it. On a closer look, he saw it had a silvery sheen to it, with hints of copper and red on it. He moved to touch it¡ª ¡°What the fuck is this,¡± he cursed out loud, taking a step back. He could feel the heat and cold coming out of the Monolith, it was like a part of him was there, something deep and powerful. He also felt a mix of emotions from it, sadness, resignation, hopelessness, as those sensations flooded over him, he was assaulted with memories of a great fire over a harbor. ¡°This is goddamn freaky, what the hell is going on?¡± William uttered to the empty streets around him. William felt drained like he had run a marathon and worked on a thousand-word essay while at it. He sat down beside the monolith, and before he knew it, he was asleep.
William woke up for the third, this time, however, he felt very much alive, and not stuck in some sort of a lucid dream. He looked up and saw some very fancy-looking cloth above his head, and it was cold. Really cold. "What" William said, the second those words got out of his lips he froze. That wasn''t English. And If that wasn''t English, how is it he could still understand those foreign words he uttered? William panicked, had they put him under some sort of a super-VR treatment and it fried his brain? A headache slammed him as he tried to get up, he felt wrong, like something was trying to claw him out of his body. "Who...Who are you?" a voice deep within the recess of his mind asked in a weary, tired tone as if it had slept for years. Great, I''m hearing voices now, they really done fried my goddamn brain in a VR machine. "Hello?" William spoke in his head, the voice didn''t answer back, the headache was gone as well Is anyone there? Silence greeted him like an old friend, he tried getting up again, when a second headache, less strong than the first one hit him, and he was flooded with flashes of memories, the harbor burning in the night, eating a cake in a rundown bakery while an old man cried, and a maid helping him near a map. "I...I know these people, lord above this can''t be happening, can it?! please tell me it''s a joke, or the VR machine broke again or something!" William whispered to himself, dreading to rise, for he knew that just to his right was a massive mirror. Seconds that felt like hours went by, the boy dreading going up but his mental faculties already clueing him in on some...very peculiar propositions. As panic kept rising, William pinched his arm, the pain and shock getting him out of the attack, he turned inwards and did a series of deep breaths, focusing solely on his heart rate, when he felt his blood go cold, but not in a bad way, it felt... it felt like magic. "Don''t say the M-word, William Don''t Say the goddamn M-word..." he tried his hardest but alas, his will was obliterated by the sheer joy that sprung from the depths of his soul. "...Mana..." a whisper, a prayer, William felt the world shift, like it all made sense for attosecond, he raised his arm, a pale hand and immaculate skin came to his view, he sent the pulse to his fingertips and they danced in a mesmerizing pattern, the feint whisps of cold and magic falling in his face. He then focused and the pattern became a solid mass of ice, with a thought and the mass became a flat circle, he brought his arm down and pointed to a closet, closing his eyes he focused on the flat circle, making it spin, giving it serrated teeth when the mental image clicked he opened his eyes and with but a slight pointing of his finger, the disc launched itself, spinning mid-flight, and embedded itself on the closet door. He felt the rush of power flooding him, there was more than ice on his soul, something far more tangible and heavy, a coppery taste flooded his mouth and he felt strong like he could bench press a house with his mom inside of it. "Magnetism, just like in..." He didn''t want to say it, a small part of him still believed that this was all a dream, a very elaborated and good dream, but a dream nonetheless, but more and more memories were flooding him, including the one of his death. "I died," the boy said in a voice that wasn''t his, in a language he didn''t know, and in the body that belonged to someone else. He got up, the windows of his room showed many blackbirds, ravens, and crows looking at him, he turned to the mirror and walked towards it, getting as close as he was comfortable. A beautiful ivory face greeted him, its crystal clear blue eyes staring at him with an intensity he had seen only when another fighter was ready to compete in the finals, It''s silvery gray hair flowing in a perfectly done braid. The memories clicked, it was as if everything was leading to this very moment, William''s memories were blended with his new ones, they became one and the same, there was no distinction, and he felt that deeper inside him, his very soul was preparing to do the same. A chill run up his spine, it all felt so real, he ran his hand to his face, touching his hair, it felt like him, like his. "What about the voice...?" He whispered again, something in that voice reminded him of someone important, he had to speak with the voice, he felt that the voice would shed some light on what was happening. He stared at the mirror again, the face, His face. "Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem, Heir Apparent of the Wulfgrem Duchy of Vermilion kingdom...The first of the big three in the Grand Academy..." "Yrithuan, the main setting of the game...this is happening, isn''t it? not even the best VR machine out there can simulate reality this good..."His new memories told him so, he watched as the massive snowstorm rolled on the horizon, more and more flashbacks flooding him as he stood there. "That''s Winter''s End, how come it hasn''t hit the city yet? in the game, the storm barrelled through the entire duchy...I was halfway done with the last side quests there before I..." William winced, he touched his chest where the bullet drilled holes in his final moments, there was fear in him, fear of dying again. "Never again" A promise, burning hot inside of him, even as the cold air of winter flew inside via the open windows William felt truly alive. Walking towards the room''s table, he found Lucrezia''s diary, the inkpot fresh, he sat down and read the last thing that was written on it. "We are sending the letter tonight, I''ve discovered horrible truths about Father and Mother, with the arch duke''s knights we will be able to bring justice to the duchy once again..." the more he read it, the more his memories fused with Lucrezia''s, from small interactions with the staff to practicing magic, it felt like it was him. The panic began when he started recalling his life on earth, he was no longer William Luther. no, he was Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem, in name and body. "Mind Magic, and no regular Mind Magic at that, something only very few masters would have access to or...or a god" the implications were enough to stun him, if this was real, and he really was in Yrithuan, then the existence of magic might not be the biggest surprise for him yet. In the game, there was a very basic mechanic where the player character would perform a rite William remembered in crystal clear detail, it would send a small prayer to All-Father Faal himself, and whoever did it, would get a small temporary blessing of good luck. The second William mentioned the All-Father''s true name in his mind, he felt the world grow colder. "True names have power, shit forgot about that, ok onto that ritual, as if this wasn''t evidenced enough of literal gods watching..." he was staling and he knew it, the sheer philosophical implications once again bearing down on him like a thirty kilo set of weights. He produced a small candle from another drawer in the table, a piece of cloth torn from a dress in the closet, and a small silver coin, closing his eyes William recited the words any Waves of Anger player knew by heart. "Blessed those who are truly free, for the father is with them all the way to the end" a hushed whisper left his soft lips and the candle was ablaze, not the wick William noticed the entire candle was burning! He felt as if the heat of the flame flooded him, reaching his soul, and in just that second before the effect washed over him he felt it, he felt something every race in this world knew from the day they were born to the day they died. Divinity, pure and eternal, but more importantly, powerful, so powerful he fell from the chair and landed on his knees, tears formed in his eyes out of pure awe. Grabbing the table for holding. William picked the coin he had used and flipped, hoping to land it on tails, and every flip did so. "A small miracle, but a miracle nonetheless haha" he chuckled nervously, so caught up he was at the ritual that he didn''t notice the door opening and a very familiar face rushing in. "All-Father above you are awake Lady Lucrezia, I must call the others right away..." her voice grew distant as William froze from the realization of who was talking with him. "Leanu..." he whispered, she stopped talking and looked at him, William''s mind went back to a very dark part of the game, where the protagonist first broke into the castle, the horrors outside paled in comparison to the fate that befell the many maids and guards who worked and lived there. ¡°The castle banshee is hugging me!¡± He also knew what was the end for Lucrezia in the game, but he had no time to ruminate on that when the maid, very much alive and not a spectral being of death and sorrow hugged him. "Ohh Lady Lucrezia I''m...I''m so glad you are ok" he felt tears on his shoulders "we have been in low spirits ever since you fell Ill yesterday, even Velkarius''s ravens were quiet, we thought you had died My Lady" the Maid stopped hugging William, she schooled her face and said. "I''ll wake up the First Maid right now Lady Lucrezia, she was worried sick about you, didn''t leave your side for hours..." she left the room quickly, her steps sending echoes in the halls. William broke free from his stupor, he was on the verge of crying while the woman spoke with him, he knew it was weird of him to be so attached to these NPCs but now, now they were real, flesh and blood just like him. "Did I kill the real Lucrezia?" William was afraid of the answer, coming to a new world by killing someone and stealing their life as some sort of dimensional body snatcher was, to put it mildly, fucking horrifying. He then recalled what happened to the original Lucrezia in the game, how after losing to the protagonist in a battle for the third''s prince hand had her exiled from the grand Academy and... "Raped by the first prince and turned into a soul-eating monster set loose on the countryside of her duchy, begging for death in her final moments..." she wasn''t that evil in-game William thought, more akin to a comical evil, complete with stooges and cliche laughs, to see that sort of ending to someone who didn''t deserve it was for many fans of the game, one of the lowest points of the story. While musing about his past life and hobbies, William failed to notice the door opening again, and again he was taken by surprise, this time the whole crew Original Lucrezia had gathered in her attempt to save the duchy came with Leanu. ¡°The lich Wilson, that goddamn bastard of a living armor Serkj and the Ninja Maid Saa¡¯ryu holy shit¡± William thought to himself. He recalled the final boss fight with the maid, which unlocked the way to the Wulfgrem Duchy, her final words begging the protagonist to save its people and her master, a very strong moment William felt. The maid marched up to him, placed her hand on his forehead, and exhaled sharply "Thank the gods you are ok Lu, I..." she couldn''t finish her words, William saw how much pain the woman had in her eyes, He knew how strongly she felt towards Lucrezia, it was almost on a maniac level. "I''m ok now Saa, really" he replied weakly, more and more William was feeling sick, pretending to be someone he was not, to people who loved and held the original Lucrezia dear..., the cognitive dissonance caused by the memory editing was nasty as it is, but this? this farce was horrible. Would they believe him if told them the truth he wondered, Wilson at this stage was a regular mage, not the seasoned if a bit insane necromancer, at best they would think their mistress is still sick, at worst they would kill him. possessions were dealt with maximum prejudice outside of very specific reasons in the world of Yrithuan. No, his best bet was to get in contact with the voice he heard, if it came from his soul, then there''s a slim chance that Martius the Unbroken had felt a disturbance on the balance of souls, as the patron of necromancy, he enjoyed a close friendship with the God of Death Malpay¡¯ruh after all, maybe he could return Lucrezia''s soul to her original body... "Lu? Lu, are you hearing me? Snap out of it Lu!" he heard Saa''ryu scream at him. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. "I''m sorry, I¡¯m just... exhausted" he took a seat, the rest of the group looking at him, worried, afraid, their only hope was but a frail candlelight against a heavy storm. "My Lady, forgive me for rushing you but we must know if we are to assault the Highway, we have dealt with Eustace''s men inside the castle and the workers can fight...Passably..., with the harbor" Wilson was abruptly cut short by Leanu who spoke with anger in her voice "Lady Lucrezia almost died and you want to talk about that?! We must make sure she''s in good health before. "We can''t afford a delay Head lady, just saying" Private Serkj spoke "The man guarding that gate? We have bad news concerning their status, my scouts just reported that after the deep-sea harbor went to the dragon''s embrace, the Highway fort and its guards were turned into this" The man pulled a piece of paper, sketched on it was a horrible-looking four-legged beast with three arms, each holding crossbows, and swords. "What in all hells is that?" Leanu said to no one, Wilson received pointed looks from everyone before saying "Don''t look at me people, my field is arcane mathematics, not demon summoning or flesh warping" he said with a puff. "It''s a Devol Peacebringer," Said William automatically, suddenly everyone stopped talking and stared at him "A what Lu? how do you even know that?" Saa''ryu asked, William could feel the heat on his cheeks and ears, he coughed and said "From the library, we have in the castle where else? I do read you know" he tried imitating the tone Original Lucrezia had in the game, he cringed. "I didn''t know the Young Lady had such...Exotic interests" Wilson said looking at the drawing "So what does this Devol Peacebringer? does that everyone posted in the fort got turned into one" "They are shock troops for an unnamed Fallen God from the Devol spirit realm, this god sells his creations as a mercenary force, one soul gives you one Peacebringer, many old Imperium Families used them in their wars..." William was about to lunch on an extensive talk about how they worked when Serkj clapped. "Lessons later My Lady, how do we kill this abomination upon all that''s holy?" he talked in a clear, loud voice. William was slightly annoyed, the Peacebringers were efficient summons for would-be pet master builds, since the god took large beasts as payment, even if the beast soul netted you a common quality Peacebringer, having 50 of those things charging at any foe was great. "Mage fire, Oil bombs with sap from those trees you find in the forest south of the city, Sonic booms if you can set up the ritual right and have enough mana to pull it off, they are shock troopers meant to flood the enemy, not the best you can summon from the spirit realm or the hells." William held his tongue, he wanted to explain more but the man was right, time was of the essence. "Many thanks my lady, I''ll have my acolytes ready their wands and tomes for the sonic boom ritual" he turned to Serkj. "Lady''s Lucrezia deep knowledge of devil summoning aside, I''ll tell the lads to gather that sap, the city is still under the rule of Eustace so it won''t be much, I can''t have they thinking we are going against their leader." A silence fell in the room, everyone was waiting for Lucrezia to say something, they all looked at her, she was leafing the diary as fast as she could. Looking up, she said to the conspirators "The attack on the Highway fort won''t work, even if we muster the entire castle forces" nods all around "We must establish contact with Knight Commander Erwin in the wastes borders, and also contact the snow elven tribe that lives secluded in the forest near the crystal lake" she grabbed a map and pointed out three locations. "This here is a cave system, southwest of the lake, in there lies the entrance to an abandoned underground fortress left from a dwarven expedition from Stenhein 200 odd years ago, we must have the Knights take that position as soon as we can establish contact with them" "What about Eustace''s man in the city and those Devol things my Lady?" asked Wilson in a worried tone, he didn''t know Lucrezia had more secret locations to give, and the plan with the knights seemed like madness, didn''t they attempt a coup?!, he could say the others shared the same opinion. "I see you all are questioning why to reconnect with the Knight Commander, Do not worry, there''s good reason for what he did, and more so for him to come to our side," William said, the act was starting to fail he felt, he was dead tired, all this knowledge from the game kept popping the second he needed them, his brain was running on fumes now. "As for the city guards, I have a plan, in three days they shouldn''t be an issue no more" they nodded again, this time they were less worried, but Saa''ryu threw a wordless question at him, likely wanting to know more. William felt dizzy, and as he was about to drop on his butt, a firm hand took him, Saa''ryu bolted to help him, she had him placed in bed while the others left one by one. "I''ll have the cook ready some mana rich meals for you Lu, we lost the doctor but All-Father knows Cook Richard can make good grub, if you need anything, just use the bell ok? try to rest, the situation in the city isn''t as dire now, there''s a rumor of another blessed with food magic, and they aren''t carting more people to the prison...I''ll go back to helping Leanu train the staff, try to rest a little ok?" she kissed William in the forehead, the boy went red again, his face burning. Saa''ryu laughed and left the room, William at this point was barely awake, he struggled to grab a pitcher with water and had a cup when sleep finally took him back to the dreamlands.
William was once again in front of the road leading to the Oddly comfy Monolith, he decided to try to reach the apartment buildings across the waterways but whenever he would step on the water, he was kicked back to the road by an unknown force. ¡°Whatever is stopping me to reach those buildings really doesn¡¯t want me there huh¡± William said after getting up from the ground, that was when he noticed something major. "It''s me? Holy shit it''s me!¡± he patted himself, checking for scars and the telltale sign that he wasn¡¯t in the body of Lucrezia, a sigh of relief came, together with the realization of what the monolith was and where he was standing. Before he could voice his eureka moment, William caught sight of a spark below the Monolith, he rushed over to it and bent over to read two signs who had formed. "Here lies William Luther Aurelius, died hoping for better days" "Here lies Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem, Betrayed by those she loved the most" That was when it hit him, this was his soul, his soul was merging with Lucrezia''s, in the game there was a single lich powerful enough to do such a thing, and it was a complete accident, to merge two souls was something even gods would require considerable power investment. He touched the Monolith, His hair went Silvery white, just like Lucrezia¡¯s, he gasped and let go of the thing. He was staring at the Monolith when he heard a voice just beside him. "Who are you?" She spoke in a language that wasn''t English but he still understood, William turned to his side and saw a beautiful young woman, her azure eyes staring at him "Why do you have my hair?" she asked sounding a little offended before he could answer she kneeled in pain, her eyes bulging out of their sockets William stared at the young woman, she looked tired, angry, he could feel the rage boiling just below her skin, he debated over what to say to Lucrezia, how do you explain to someone you just stole their life? ¡°I can feel your emotions stranger, hesitation, doubt, awe, and shame?¡± she spoke touching the Monolith ¡°This is my soul, I was never one for Necromancy but I can feel it, and something else as well, something alien yet human¡± ¡°My Soul¡± William spoke, fear in his voice ¡°Yes...Yes not just your soul, your memories as well, going to school, helping in the shelter, talking with my...your sister¡± She looked at the signs ¡°William huh, a strange name¡± she left the question hanging in the air. ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s not from here, No not Vermilion either, I mean not from this world and universe¡± he said, feeling the torrent of emotions coming from the woman, her guard was up, but underneath of it, curiosity and hope. ¡°This is godsdamn weird, I can feel your emotions and how you are reacting to mine..¡± she was upset. ¡°Almost as bad as mind magic¡± he tried to crack a joke, she laughed but the smile didn¡¯t reach the eyes or her emotions for that matter. ¡°How...How do you know about magic if you aren¡¯t from here? I only saw glimpses of your memories but I felt the nostalgia and sadness you felt when you saw my staff earlier, how do you know any of them?¡± William felt a powerful wave of emotion when she mentioned her staff, love, caring, protection all making their way to him and filling him with awe ¡°and how did you get here?¡± More anger, he could feel her wanting to blame him, blame for her death and all that had happened before, she was ready to ask more when her eyes went wide, she dropped to the floor and started shaking, William rushed over, her emotions were pure shock and fear. ¡°All-Father above I saw...I saw you die William¡­¡± William helped her sit down on the floor, he decided to sit beside her as well, the memories of him being gunned down coming back after being mentioned, the horrible feeling of choking on his blood¡­ ¡°Stop it! Gods, I can feel it¡± she screamed and shook William out of his stunned state, he looked at the woman with glassy eyes. ¡°Trauma, we will need to hire¡± she began talking but he cut her off ¡°We will learn mind magic, hiring one would put us in unnecessary risk¡± he spoke slowly, she narrowed her eyes at him, feeling his hesitation and fear. ¡°Speak¡± she barked an order, irritation on her face masking the fear William felt underneath it. ¡°What do you know about Terra Maleficium?¡± William braced himself, his game knowledge reminding him that many nobles had a passing interest in the outer reaches of the universe, but everyone knew about Terra, and how its humans and gods were bloodthirsty warmongers, mad for chaos and destruction, and how every other entity at the level that All-Father was, had basically enacted a total blockade over them. Something, if the game¡¯s lore was to be believed was also favored by earth¡¯s many gods. Lucrezia was taken aback, her feelings in complete disbelief of what William was implying, then a primal fear took hold of her, she laughed a maniacal laugh for minutes before calming down. ¡°Great, just godsdamn great, First the Duchy goes to shit, then my plan FAILS and NOW, oh ho ho, I get the SOUL of a TERRAN on my GODSDAMMNED BODY!¡± she ran her hands to her face and hair ¡°AAAAAAAA¡± a scream loud enough to scare William something fierce. ¡°Let it all out¡­¡± Not knowing what to say to the woman¡¯s existential dread, William went with another bad joke. Lucrezia stopped screaming, a wave of what William could only describe as pure distilled cringe came from her, great he thought, it worked! ¡°I didn¡¯t know Terrans were capable of humor, considering your entire planet can only think of war it¡¯s not so far fetched¡­¡± she spoke, feeling calmer now. ¡°Hey! I''ll have you know that we have a great sense of humor!¡±William felt the need to defend his species on that front, but he picked up another emotion from the woman, and it was a big one Distrust William was taken aback, growing mad at her perceived distrust of him, he calmed himself fast, but he knew now that woman didn¡¯t trust him a hundred percent. ¡°You are stalling for time, ask your question Lucrezia, you know I can¡¯t lie to you by now,¡± He said trying to sound and feel serious, she was staring at the Monolith now. ¡°I know you weren¡¯t the cause of...This¡± she pointed to the monolith ¡±But I can feel that somehow, somehow you have Knowledge from this world, not some but intricate Knowledge of many things even the most ancient of elves wouldn¡¯t be able to fathom, How William? How¡¯s that even possible, we all know no one, not even All-Father many enemies would even dare set foot on your hellhole¡± she spat out words fast, the growing sense of distrust reaching a crescendo, she looked at him, and amidst that distrust, there was a spark of hope. ¡°On earth, there¡¯s a how can I put it, a piece of entertainment not unlike high-level Illusion magic¡­¡± ¡°A video game you mean?¡± she spoke cutting him mid-sentence ¡°Yes! how do you know?¡± she tapped at her head ¡°Oh yeah memories, I was quite obsessed with them, so the few memories you were able to glance at would have them there¡­¡± ¡°How do you know I can¡¯t delve deep into your memories?¡± she asked alarmed ¡°Because I can¡¯t do the same, whatever is happening here is not complete Lucrezia, the more our soul''s meld, the more we will see until¡­¡± ¡°Until we become a gestalt soul, not unlike the ones necromancers make, Gods above¡­but we are getting sidetracked here, back to earth and this video game¡­¡± she said trying to cheer herself up a little ¡°Why do you call Terra earth anyway? isn¡¯t silly to call your planet dirt?¡± she asked on a whim ¡°Oh wait! Latin, Terra is Latin for earth¡± her eyes grew in horror. ¡°Our souls are more intertwined now, I can feel your memories flooding in¡± William said, a nasty headache hitting him, images of horse riding and dancing classes coming with it. Lucrezia kept quiet, she waved him to continue ¡°The game is called Waves of Anger, it takes place here in Vermilion, I¡¯m quite honestly horribly obsessed with it, beat it at least ten times and got more than two thousand hours on it, in the game you were the first Villain Lucrezia¡± sadness hit him ¡°And the Duchy was basically a wasteland, the early Winter¡¯s End destroyed it all, the game¡¯s protagonist spends her time recruiting the leftover staff from the castle to defeat¡­¡± ¡°Defeat Father and Mother, driven mad by the ritual they were doing¡± Lucrezia spoke softly, she then lay down on the road. William coughed and touched the Monolith ¡°If we can learn necromancy, there might be a way to stop this, or at least stall it¡­¡± Lucrezia laughed bitterly ¡°I mean it! in the game, there are books about this kind of soul fuckery! If we can learn mind magic I might even be able to get you back in control of your body!¡± He was trying to reassure the young woman, who slowly shook her head. ¡°It would take years to get that good, boy, besides I can feel your ambitions William, I can see your wanting to uphold the duchy to something...something¡± she looked confused, Williams emotions were plain to see for her, worried, distressed, sorrowful, the kid didn¡¯t feel like a perverted, and better yet warmongering bloodhound she¡¯d expected of a Terran, but deep in that connection with his soul she could feel whispers of great ambition, and a plan for her lands slowly taking shape. ¡°Guess that¡¯s the limit to our connection,¡± William said in a blank tone, Lucrezia might¡¯ve not been able to see but he could, right now he could see himself raising the Duchy as anointed messiah, building a grand army to weather the war that would come, and more importantly, claiming the title of duchess for himself. He steeled himself and spoke ¡°Tell me Lucrezia, what can I do to assure you I mean no harm to the duchy, its people, and your body?¡± he was being honest to the core, trying his best to convey his emotions, so much so that in his focus, he could barely pay attention to her own emotions. Her azure eyes locked with his, she made a small thin dagger made of ice and slashed her palm. William¡¯s eyebrows went up in shock, he knew what she was doing, a Spirit Contract!, modified for non-spirits to use, she used her magic to make a small bow and tossed the dagger to him. ¡°By the look on your face, I assume you know what this is? good then, spare us from a lengthy explanation, I will keep my terms simple William¡± the boy nodded, entranced by the blood dripping from the dagger, whispers of hesitation and bitterness came from her emotions but he paid them no mind. ¡°You are not to bring destruction to the Duchy of Wulfgrem.¡± ¡°You are not to kill, or harm in a way that would render the rightful heir apparent of the Wulgrem line unable to live as a regular person.¡± ¡°You are not to perform immoral acts with my body.¡± ¡°What?¡± like a bucket to cold water William was taken aback ¡°Immoral acts? Jesus Christ, Lucrezia¡± he was honestly offended by the thought! She didn¡¯t speak, only staring at him, William shook his head and motioned for the dagger. ¡°...Immoral acts, as if I would¡­¡± he muttered as he slashed his hand and let blood, or what his soul thought it was blood drop in the bowl, without a word Lucrezia picked the bowl and chanted the final words of the contract, he saw the blood flowing into the monolith, expecting another dose of Lucrezia¡¯s memories William braced himself. ¡°Huh, nothing¡± he said, Lucrezia had the same reaction if her feelings were anything to go by. ¡°You read about the plans, didn¡¯t you? and you also saw what happened to them, so tell me, William of Terra, can you, can we save the duchy?¡± she was feeling tired William could feel. ¡°Yes! first and foremost, the ward spell that destroyed the deep-sea harbor, you don¡¯t need to worry about that as long no information about what¡¯s happening here leaves the duchy¡¯s border, that ward was keyed for the harbor and the highway¡± he launched into a lengthy explanation on how it worked, she gave him a sign to speed along ¡° there are four key players we need to bring into our new plan, the winter elves druids of the great Zhyr forest to the border, Knight Commander Erwin, Alat and his clan of dwarves that are stranded in the northern wastes¡­¡± Lucrezia didn¡¯t need to use her newfound emotion detection power to notice the boy was hesitant on the last member on his list. ¡°Speak boy, who¡¯s the fourth?¡± ¡°Winter Dragoness Kallista¡± he said ¡°Hells, what in all that is holy you want with that disgraced dragon?! don¡¯t you know she devours menfolk? and spawns enough half-dragons to populate a small village?¡± Lucrezia went red, she knew very very well what the dragoness had done to many men in the duchy¡¯s history, Uumaries herself send a platoon of paladins to slay the beast, having ruined the marriage of a duke from her family some 500 odd years ago ¡°Not to say how you will get the Knight Commander to our side, he¡­¡± Willaim cut her off ¡°I know how to get Erwin to support us, trust me¡± he was dead serious, more game knowledge Lucrezia thought. She suddenly felt tired and seeing nowhere to sit plopped onto the ground. ¡°I think we best end up here,¡± she said ¡°Once we wake up, try reaching me, if we can communicate in the waking world, then our¡­situation might not be so dire¡± William could tell she was lying to herself, he also could tell anything he tried to say to cheer or reassure her would fall on deaf ears, the grim realization of just how much power he held over her body and soul hitting him, like a bag of bricks. ¡°Power is like a drink. The more you have, the more you want. And there are few men who can handle it¡­¡± William whispered to which Lucrezia looked at him and then the monolith ¡°Go¡± William woke up, he was feeling refreshed, like he had taken a perfect nap, as he got up he heard Lucrezia speak in his mind. ¡°William, can you hear me?¡± ¡°Yes, how much are you getting down there?¡± ¡°I can see, hear, feel¡­ gods this feel weird, it''s like I¡¯m in a dream, everything feels off and disconnected to a certain degree, raise your hand please¡± He did so without hesitation. ¡°Can¡¯t Feel the muscles going up but I can feel the wind at the fingertips, ugh this is going to take a while to get used to¡± ¡°We should get ready Terran, Write the plan you have in mind, I don¡¯t know how much time I got before needing to rest, a few hours maybe¡­¡± William thought of something regarding her state, only for Lucrezia to not respond, he got surprised and asked her about it ¡°Did you not pick up that thought just now?¡± ¡°What? no no, I didn¡¯t, hmm so we can ¡°talk¡± but not read each other''s minds, I also can¡¯t detect your feelings very well from here, Guess we gotta come back to the monolith so the connection gets stronger, let me try something¡± Lucrezia presence disappeared for several seconds, then William felt like a scream went off inside his head ¡°Ouch! what was that for?¡± ¡°Testing magic, seems like I can wake you up at the very least, l also thought several things to myself and you didn¡¯t pick right?¡± ¡°Nothing on my end no, and please don¡¯t wake me up with that, feels horrible¡± She laughed ¡°Let¡¯s get back to work Terran, show me if your warmongering ways can help us now¡± She sent a final wave of smugness before William got to the desk and started writing. Chapter 8: And ever we fight on ¡°Their oath empowers them, a single platoon of Vermilion Knights charging at you is the most horrifying thing there is next to Sword Saint from the Shogunate, I refuse to send my man to that slaughterhouse without Paladin and Mage support.¡± General Thulius, Commander of the Sixth Legion ¡°Empress Spears¡± of the Imperium army, after losing half his men in the final war of the Imperium against Vermilion. William sat down staring at an empty notebook, Lucrezia went silent after teasing him at the end of their talk, From what he knew that either meant her soul had to restore mana after doing the Spirit Contract, or she was just keeping quiet, he picked up a feather and stared at it, how was he supposed to write with this thing again? ¡°Lucrezia you there? don¡¯t you have a magical pen or something? Why is a duke¡¯s daughter using a feather for writing?¡± ¡°Shut up Terran, you woke me up¡± Someone was cranky William thought ¡°Sorry? didn¡¯t know you had to sleep cause you know, being a soul and all that¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t feel her emotions either, which meant they needed to be together down near the Monolith for the connection to be stronger, or at least that was what William assumed. ¡°Once I wake up, I will summon you, Whoever did this granted the small blessing of me being able to shut down sight and sound from my end, See that you finish whatever plans you have before I wake up Terran¡± ¡°You can call me William you know¡­¡± She didn¡¯t respond, William felt a little stung, being called a Terran like that, sighing he decided to write his name in English, and the small epitaph he saw before. ¡°Can still write and read English, good if I want to keep a secret code or hidden message, gotta ask if Lucrezia can also read it when she wakes up¡± He tapped the table ¡°Wonder how she even sleeps, Necromancy was my least played build back in the game¡± William talked to himself while writing up the three initial steps for his plan Contact the elves in the border Get the Knight Commander back Save the dwarven clan in the wastes Hmm leaving for the wastes will be hard, if that ward reacts to it, I could even die, gotta find someone to go there, or smash the warding ritual, doubt the court mage would even notice, this deep into the ritual they are. Allying with the Commander should be first, then the dwarves, have they hole up on that hidden fortress, the Dungeon Core issue with the elves shouldn¡¯t get dangerous, it took one year for them to actually try smashing the damn thing. Gotta save that core, its terraforming abilities are second to none, and we''re gonna need the boar meat it summons once Winter¡¯s End hits. God bless the Imperium madman who tried to break the food magic decree via it, It''s a shame he died¡­ I¡¯m sure the Knights have scouts posted on every pub in the city, and merchants who deliver grain to them. After I¡¯m done here I gotta talk with Saa¡¯ryu...God, it''s still weird seeing her alive and actually happy, not in the sorry state she was in the game. William noted down the one merchant he knew dealt with supplying booze for the Knights and the pub the woman was a regular in, he got up and stretched his arms, feeling them pop, cracking his knuckles and neck. ¡°Creepy how natural it feels¡± he spoke, looking at himself in the mirror, still in a nightgown, William walked to the bathroom and cleaned himself up, he was sitting down on a very fancy toilet when Lucrezia spoke again. ¡°What are you doing Terran?¡± ¡°Using the bathroom, what does it look like? I just woke up¡± ¡°Have you no shame?! Did you forget the contract?! how dare you?!¡± William sighed, he knew this was coming, best to set this right now than later. ¡°We should establish rules now, Lucrezia, but I assure you I have done nothing, The contract didn¡¯t ping did it?¡± Silence, several seconds passed before she spoke again ¡°...No, it didn¡¯t warn me, I see the truth in your words Terran, Very well here are my rules, I will be wake whenever you have...Use the bathroom¡­Gods now I feel like one of those creepy nobles from the Imperium¡± ¡°I agree¡± William tried to not be confrontational here, it wasn¡¯t his body at the end of the day ¡°Hmm, you are being too eager to meet my requests Terran-¡± ¡°It¡¯s the right thing to do¡± William interrupted her ¡°Guilt drives you, you blame yourself for my death, don¡¯t you? Should I blame myself for your death, I wonder? It wasn¡¯t your fault Terran, whoever did this is above us mere mortals¡± ¡°BUT-¡± ¡°I was alive in that ¡®game¡¯, yes? I¡¯ve seen your memories, Terran, the Lucrezia you knew from your time in the game, gods this feels weird to say out loud, that is not me, I don¡¯t even like the third prince that much! True I found him cute when I last saw him in the Capital but I digress, If your soul got sent here, defying a blockade set by the All-Father himself, who¡¯s to say whoever god got you here saw one of the infinite timelines where I lived?¡± William felt strange, he knew deep inside of him he was blaming himself for Lucrezia¡¯s untimely demise, to hear her say the contrary was, strange to say the least. She continued speaking in his mind ¡°Listen to me...William, it wasn¡¯t your fault, I swear on the Wulfgrem name.¡± William was taken aback by her intensity, he felt warm, happy even. ¡°Thank you Lucrezia, I mean it¡± ¡°Don¡¯t thank me yet Terran, we still have much to do, and much to get used to, now get Saa¡¯ryu to bathe you.¡± ¡°Ok... Hey, you called me by my name, Why go back to Terran?¡± Silence, guess we aren¡¯t on a first-name basis yet huh? William searched for the small bell that connected to Saa¡¯ryu¡¯s room, the maid didn¡¯t take three minutes to arrive, William explained his wants and they got to work. Feeling Lucrezia¡¯s gaze as he cleaned himself on the bathtub was weird, alas he had a deal with her and he intended to keep it. ¡°Be like water¡± he whispered as he got changed into Lucrezia¡¯s workout clothing, he knew today was bardic studies day but there was something he had to do as fast as possible. ¡°Lu?¡± Asked Saa¡¯ryu, William waved her off and spoke. ¡°Get me a dozen earthen mana crystals and iron ingots, then meet me at the south courtyard¡± William spoke, trying to imitate Lucrezia¡¯s bossy tone from the game, she didn¡¯t talk back so he figured it was good enough. ¡°And the musical studies Lu? if you blow off the bard like that she¡¯s going to get mad¡± Saa¡¯ryu looked worried, but William didn¡¯t care. ¡°I¡¯m not asking First maid, get me those materials, Go¡± he didn¡¯t wait for her response, moving with his head up high towards the courtyard ¡°I can feel your excitement down here Terran, what are you doing? and Saa is right, the bard won¡¯t let you hear the end of it if you blow her off¡± William smirked ¡°You¡¯ll see soon enough¡± Arriving in the courtyard, William found a few guards training in heavy armor, and with huge war hammers, they saluted him and kept at it, he went to the center of the courtyard and sat down, focusing inwards. ¡°In the game, to unlock true Magnetism one needs to expand it outwards, Lucrezia boosted the iron in her blood cells, almost like Ki, but this is just the stepping stone for the path of Magnetism¡­¡± He felt the iron inside, its taste tinged his tongue. ¡°What she lacked was the knowledge to expand this control outside, Magnetism is a rare elemental variant, the only know mage being the elven sage Ammurat of the Imperium, and she hates people with a passion¡± William saw Saa¡¯ryu enter the courtyard with his items, he pointed at them and to the ground, the Maid nodded and laid both on piles right in front of him. ¡°Many thought Ki cultivation was the right way to unlock the full potential of Magnetism, but they were wrong, all you need is¡­¡± With a thought William expanded his mana in its pure form into the Earthen Crystals, leveraging both Lucrezia''s superb mana control and shaping skills and his own knowledge from the game, he shaped the now earthen tinged tentacles as a sphere, already feeling the many Minerals inside it. The sphere expanded, Lucrezia¡¯s shaping skills helping him keep the mana construct intact, he could feel every single piece of mineral that could be controlled by his Magnetism, with a snap he locked the sphere in the ingots and fused them into a perfect disc At this point everyone in the courtyard was staring in awe towards him, Lucrezia was speaking something but he couldn¡¯t hear, the sheer euphoria and power rushed to his head, William got up and with a small hand gesture split the disc in two, forming big squares and making them rotate around him, another gesture and the squares split into 16 rods with an arrowhead at their end, he turned to the nearest target and sent all of them into. A few didn¡¯t land on target but he didn¡¯t care, he recalled the rods and fused them back into a disc, he jumped onto it and willed the disc upwards. He got as high as the top of the guard''s heads before his mana reserves gave up on him, he fell right into Saa¡¯ryu¡¯s arms as she was screaming at him, when the rush finally washed over he heard Lucrezia¡¯s voice booming on his head. ¡°...YEARS OF HARD WORK, ONLY TO BE OUTDONE BY A TERRAN CHILD, GODS DAMN YOU WILLIAM¡± ¡°Sorry not sorry¡± he was feeling happy, powerful, with magnetism unlocked this early, even the toughest of the fights he was going to have seemed doable now. ¡°Smug little Terran aren¡¯t you? abusing knowledge that isn¡¯t yours¡± Lucrezia went quiet after that outburst, William finally focused on Saa¡¯ryu who was holding him princess carry style. ¡°Lu, what the fuck was that? I could feel whatever magic you were weaving messing with my gear! and your mana, Are you crazy? bottoming up after getting sick like you were?!¡± She put William down and produced a flask, the amber color making William grin, a Superior mana pot, Must be from the maid¡¯s personal stash. He took the flask without talking and downed it in a single gulp. Its taste was pure heaven, he could feel his reserves spring back to life, he had to agree with the maid, going dry was not peachy. ¡°True Magnetism Saa, watch¡± he pointed to a sword that was in a bench a few feet from them and with thought had the blade to his side, he bent the metal until it formed a nasty hook, then undid it and placed the blade back into its scabbard¡± ¡°All-Father above Lu! that was amazing!¡± even the soldiers cheered on, William felt that power rush again, after resting for a few minutes the potion had completely topped his mana reserves up ¡°Gotta wait for the blessing ceremony for a bigger tank tsk¡± he complained, Saa¡¯ryu looked at him but said nothing, she collected the bags and placed them on a table. ¡°Shall we continue the combat training Lu?¡± William felt hyped, it had been a while ever since he had fought someone hadn¡¯t it? ¡°Sure¡± With a snap of her fingers, Saa¡¯ryu conjured a ghostly cage around them, giving ample space for footwork, the guards, done with their training, were taking bets on who would win, William noticed that most were in favor of the maid. Lucrezia wasn¡¯t that big of a melee fighter he recalled ¡°That is so unfair, they are lucky I¡¯m not in control, ten lashes and a night naked on the snow wouldn¡¯t be enough of a punishment!¡± Ouch, still mad over the Magnetism thing, wasn¡¯t she? ¡°Ready?¡± the maid asked ¡°Ready!¡± Saa¡¯ryu exploded forward, William let muscle memory take over, he knew her every move thanks to the game, she went for a series of kicks high and low, he dodged and parried all of them, ducking and weaving out of her range with the grace of a hummingbird. The maid raised her eyebrows, clearly, Lucrezia had never lasted under such barrage without a hit making past her defenses, William raised his arms, the next combo would be punch only. The maid lunged forward, and a series of jabs, uppercuts, hooks, and left swings came flying, once again he parried her blows, when the maid grew visibly exasperated he faked a straight jab, she raised her arms to parry the blow. Only for William to plant a foot right in her solar plexus, he boosted the kick with Magnetism and the maid went flying. ¡°WOOW¡± the guards screamed and hollered from their chairs, Willaim was huffing and puffing air like a billow, the maid got up, she looked mad. ¡°She¡¯s not gonna go easy on you know¡± Lucrezia spoke again, William was about to respond when a kick came flying in his direction, he grabbed the leg and tried throwing the maid back, the maid without so much as a grunt twisted her body and placed William in a leglock, knocking him to the ground ¡°That Wasn''t Nice.¡± she hissed at him, angry as hell Willaim tried to wiggle his way out of the leglock. but she twisted herself again and grabbed his arm, and pulled. ¡°AAAA¡± screamed William in pain, he saw red and immediately used Magnetism to boost him again, he threw his entire body weight upwards and both of them went up, he then rammed Saa¡¯ryu into the ghostly fence, hammering the woman until she gave up her grip and went to the ground, he grabbed her by the leg and slammed his elbow right in the thigh. The maid screamed. ¡°Enough! Godsdamn Lu, what the fuck was that?! do you want to break my godsdamned leg?¡± William let out air, he had never lost himself like that in a fight. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Saa, I don¡¯t know what happened, after you grabbed my arm I just lost it¡± he felt horrible, the maid furrowed her brows and said. ¡°Must¡¯ve been the leftover high from the mana potion, look it¡¯s ok Lu, this isn¡¯t the first time I get wrecked in a sparring session, although I must say, I don¡¯t remember you being so good as to parry and dodge like you did today¡­¡± ¡°What can I say Saa? maybe the hidden fighter in me finally woke up haha¡± William tried his best to sell the lie to the maid, who huffed and let the matter drop, she was still looking at him with doubt in her eyes, however. ¡°I need to take a bath after this, then meet up with the others¡± the maid nodded at his words and they both dusted themselves off, a single guard came to thank William, apparently the bets were all in favor of Saa¡¯ryu. ¡°That one wouldn¡¯t get punished today¡± Willaim probed his literal soulmate, he heard a sigh ¡°Yes...I apologize for my earlier outburst Terran, it was unbecoming of me¡± ¡°It¡¯s ok Lucrezia, I didn¡¯t take it to heart¡± ¡°Good, I require rest, call me after the meeting¡± William could feel her tiredness, unlocking Magnetism to its fullest must¡¯ve deepened their connections. As they got moved towards the courtyard exit when the court bard, Miss Hayden showed up, anger clear in her face ¡°Young Mistress Lucrezia, have you forgotten your music class? Do you wish to bring shame to house Wulfgrem when the royals demand a song and all you can do is sing like a man being strangled? I¡¯ll have you know that-¡± William pointed to the iron disc he had made before the sparring and called towards him, he got up on it and floated towards the bard, his mana reserves steadily tickling down at a comfortable rate. William''s vertical flight demanded a huge amount of mana he remembered, low-level levitation was nothing compared to true flight magic, with only air attuned mages being able to offset its absurd costs, a shame Lucrezia wasn¡¯t one, Flying was great in the game. He stared the bard down from the disc, the woman looked flabbergasted, for a solid minute both were still, not daring to move a muscle. With a huff the bard went away, William knew the woman didn¡¯t mean no harm but music was very low on his list of priorities now. ¡°She¡¯s going to be mad for weeks now Lu, you best be ready to hear songs about you shortly.¡± Saa¡¯ryu laughed as they moved back to Lucrezia¡¯s room, William noticed the crows of Velkarius staring at them, from Lucrezia¡¯s memories they were scary looking and cawed without stopping, but now, it was almost as if they were happy. Velkarius¡¯s Priest is already in town William thought to himself, he recalled meeting with the man in-game, he had spent two years in the duchy after the crowns came, trying to breach the castle, without luck, until the protagonist came to help him that is. ¡°I wonder where she is now¡± William whispered, Saa¡¯ryu looked at him but said nothing, she probably thought her Lady had gone insane at this point. They both had another bath and got dressed, Saa¡¯ryu in her typical maid dress and William in a fancy style that was supposed to be all the rage down south with the royalty and the big noble houses, he didn¡¯t care much for it but went along with the maid anyway. The cape was definitely too tacky on the other hand, but he also kept quiet on that. They arrived in the war room, Leanu already there with Wilson, everyone greeted each other, the Head Maid had a platter with cold meats and cheese and a jug of hot ale ready for some reason. It didn¡¯t take long until Serkj showed up, the guard came flanked with three other guards, they saluted him and went off as he got into the room. ¡°Everyone,¡± he said and nodded, the gang nodded back. ¡°Lady Lucrezia, the situation on the city has grown worse, after the hit you pulled on the Soldier¡¯s Headquarters they are moving around the town in a full platoon formation, another person was blessed with food magic, so rioting for food is off the table for now, but nary a soul dares to walk the streets now¡± He finished his report and drew lines along the map, the main streets all patrolled by these platoons William assumed, Saa¡¯ryu produced her finds from her outing, updating patrols routes and outposts in the map. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°They have the names of everyone being held at their prison camp, if we can bust them out, getting the people back to their families should prove easy enough,¡± the maid said. ¡°Assuming that ward isn¡¯t keyed to defend the camp as well¡± Wilson shot back, earning a shrug from Saa¡¯ryu. Wilson sighed and continued ¡°Lady Lucrezia my acolytes have failed to find where the ritual for the ward is located, I deeply apologize for failing the duchy and I¡¯m fully prepared to take total responsibility for it, if anyone must be punished, please let it be me, my acolytes only acted on my order¡± the man hung his head, Leanu stood by his side holding his hand. William could clearly see the man felt defeated and was more than ready to be killed on the spot by the contract Lucrezia had put him under. ¡°Raise your head, Wilson, no one will be punished here,¡± he said softly, he had a soft spot for the man from all the time in the game, doing quests for him and eventually breaking into the castle together, watching him be reunited with Leanu. The man raised his head, shame all over his face, Willaim gave him a bright smile and said ¡°I may have a lead on the location of the ritual, rest assured it will be dealt with¡± The man visibly calmed down, almost falling into a chair, Leanu helped him sit down and whispered to him, he sobbed a little before controlling himself. ¡°Thank you for your mercy Lady Lucrezia,¡± he said quietly. Leanu held his hand tighter and bowed to William. ¡°Lady Lucrezia the training of the castle staff is proceeding faster than we planned, we are running formation drills now, all in heavy armor, thanks to Commander Serkj we have a solid pike wall, they don¡¯t falter even under mage fire from the Acolytes¡± Amazing William thought, then again every northerner has that fighter streak in them according to game lore, he nodded and the Head Maid bowed again. William cleared his throat, getting the attention of everyone in the room, he marked down the hidden fortress location in the map and began the first step of his plan. ¡°If my information is right, after smashing the ward we must retake the city, but we lack the manpower for it, so I¡¯m gonna get Knight Commander Erwin back to our side¡± Frows and nods all around, Serkj raised his hand, William nodded ¡°My lady, the man was exiled, even if we assume there¡¯s foul play involved, and I¡¯m pretty sure there is, the man won¡¯t trust you, will probably think it¡¯s a trap set by your parents¡± William nodded and said ¡°Do not worry Serkj, I have a...Let¡¯s say a good way to prove we are on his side here¡± the man didn¡¯t show much but William could see he doubted him. ¡°There¡¯s a clan of dwarven master forgers and architects currently exiled in the northern wastes, seeking a place to worship their god,¡± William said out loud, earning a surprised look from Saa¡¯ryu ¡°Velkarius came to me last night in my dreams, the goddess told me they will be important to save the Wulfgrem name, she also told me of a tribe of Winter elves, mostly druids and mages who are in dire need of help, finally the goddess told me of a way to regain control of the duchy¡¯s lands via two pacts, one with the spirits here in the castle, and another with the Winter Dragon Kallista¡± ¡°All-Father above! My lady going to the dragoness is suicide!¡± Leanu exploded to which William only smiled and said ¡°Do not worry Leanu, the goddess has given me a way to reach Kallista unharmed¡± William was sweating bullets, he had to bullshit his way through this plan otherwise Saa¡¯ryu would call him out on his knowledge of the ¡°future¡± the maid looked at him funny but said nothing, the boy held a sigh of relief and kept talking. ¡°First things first, Erwin has numerous merchants sending him supplies from the city to his camp, Me and Saa¡¯ryu will go out today and pass the man the message, if everything goes to plan we will have their support by tomorrow morning¡± Everyone nodded and William disbanded the meeting, they weren¡¯t in high spirits but once he had Erwin¡¯s men back, things would swing back around. William made his way to Lucrezia¡¯s room and pulled a trunk from below her bed, opening it he found a set of dark knight fatigues and a grey mask that had a slit for the eyes. Saa¡¯ryu watched as William changed into the fatigues without a word, once he had the mask on she spoke ¡°Velkarius is giving you revelations now?¡± From Lucrezia¡¯s memories, he could see that the maid didn¡¯t doubt him as much as he feared. ¡°She offered me a deal, and a blessing should I manage to fix the situation here¡± He lied through his teeth, the ravens were cawing to give legitimacy to his words, he was in the hole now, might as well keep digging. Saa¡¯ryu spoke her tone heavy ¡°Lu, getting into a deal with Velkarius is dangerous, if she starts using you to go after other nobles you can be charged with sedition of state!¡± ¡°It¡¯s ok Saa, trust me¡± he held her hand, the maid went red and quickly let go of his hand. ¡°So, how are we supposed to earn the Knight Commander¡¯s trust back?¡± William looked out of the window and said with a smile ¡°Easy my dear, we deliver him some heads¡±
Two clocked individuals stalked the rooftops of Glacialis Aeternum, it was a cold afternoon, William and Saa¡¯ryu had dodged four patrols already, including the platoon-sized ones, they arrived at a checkpoint nearing the fish markets, William floating with his disc and Saa¡¯ryu zipping around with her grappling hook. ¡°I thought we were gonna hit the headquarters again, or one of the big patrols, you saying the targets are all here?¡± Saa¡¯ryu spoke, her voice being distorted via illusion magic that also masked her face ¡°Yes, they are all in that guard post over there¡± he pointed to a checkpoint in the middle of the market ¡°Now will you tell me why you decided to come? Sorry for being blunt here Lu but this is kind of my specialty, plus I¡¯m pretty sure you have never killed a person before¡± a good point William thought. ¡°I must be the one to kill these men,¡± He said without explaining further, Saa¡¯ryu stared at him, and William hoped the maid would figure out the why, after a solid ten seconds of staring he sighed and spoke again. ¡°Erwin has a blessing that allows him to confirm who killed who, to prove that I¡¯m on his side, I must kill these men with my own hands¡± the maid nodded ¡°And why these three again?¡± ¡°You will learn soon enough Saa, now let''s go¡± Saa¡¯ryu cast her divination spells and showed the map to William, who nodded and went down on tall grass, ten guards were on patrol in the empty market, William saw the maid try getting closer to the checkpoint via the roofs but they weren¡¯t high enough, she dived to the ground behind a stack of fish crates, two guards right on the front of it, she cast a spell, Which William recognized as her variation of the Light¡¯s Out and took the guards down, stashing them behind the crates. eight guards left. William stalked to the right side of the market, dodging patrols and crawling under stalls for stealth, the smell of fish guts and seawater was horrible but he quickly conjured a minuscule ice fan, taking the blunt off the smell. Getting out of the stalls, he hid behind a cart only to see Saa¡¯ryu taking out four guards all by her lonesome, she threw their bodies into sea and dashed forwards towards the guards William had avoided, the first two didn¡¯t even see her blades coming before falling like puppets who had their strings cut. The final two guards were knocked out by another Light¡¯s Out and stashed behind a stall, William at this point had made his way to the sandbags outside of the outpost, Saa¡¯ryu joined him with a big grin on her face ¡°Points for avoiding the guards, but why not take them out?¡± she whispered to him, he placed his fingers on her lips and used a hand sign that alarmed Saa¡¯ryu something fierce She slightly opened the door, two men and a woman were playing cards, smoking cigars and drinking, the man asked the woman if she had finally got her squad when Saa¡¯ryu cast other Lights Out, William bolted into the room and shaping his disc into a blunt mace, smashed them to knock them all out for good. ¡°These?¡± Saa¡¯ryu asked still looking alarmed, they would have to talk later it seemed ¡°Cadence, Xo¡¯lyr, and Markus, yes those are the ones¡± William shaped his disc into a longsword, he was staring at them for seconds before Saa¡¯ryu coughed and asked ¡°Lu, can you do this?¡± Could he? William knew what these people had done, the details fresh in his mind, he knew they had kidnapped, defiled, and tortured Erwin¡¯s family before giving them to Eustace, killing them now was¡­ ¡°The right thing to do¡± Lucrezia spoke in his mind ¡°I can sense your doubt Terran, muted as it is down here, the fear of becoming something less than human, I can hear the many philosophers from your world whispering in your ear, all arguing about what is right and what is not¡± a humorless laugh came from her. ¡°It¡¯s a hard choice Terran, but your kind is all about those¡± ¡°It will be hard choice after hard choice Lucrezia, until they aren¡¯t hard anymore, or even choices, they will be the only way¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let you fall that low William, I swear on the Wulfgrem name¡± a pause, a sucking of air, William felt Lucrezia¡¯s conviction fill him from deep inside. ¡°Do it¡± the blade fell, chopping heads from the bone in a clear cut, William felt sick, wanting to throw up the food he had eaten, but Lucrezia¡¯s conviction held it in, he wanted to scream and curse but all he did was summon a bag and stash the heads, casting a spell to hold the smell and the blood there. Saa¡¯ryu didn¡¯t say anything while all of this was happening, she took the bag and they quickly set off to the rooftops, stopping near the pub where the boozer merchant lady was known to visit, William spotted her cart, loaded with booze in a dark alleyway. The maid cast a spell that cleaned both of them, and another to remove the smell of blood, William bent the disc into a hairpin and dropped down the alleyway together with Saa¡¯ryu, using Magnetism to soften the fall. ¡°You didn¡¯t throw up, or make a scene, are you ok Lu?¡± the maid was worried, William could tell. ¡°Later Saa, we gotta get these heads delivered, it¡¯s already dark and the patrols will get tighter now that we hit them in the middle of the day¡± Saa¡¯ryu nodded and both headed into the pub, masks, and hoods on. To say the mood was bad in the pub would be an understatement, drinks were flowing and a bard sang near the fireplace, a sad and morose song that further made the patrons lay their heads near their glasses. William saw the bartender, her face was ethereal, her pale ashen hair flowing down, ashen eyes looking at him and Saa¡¯ryu with caution and weariness, and two pointed ears perking as they opened the doors. ¡°What a sorry state of affairs, and control yourself Terran, do not be rude to the elven lady you hear me?¡± ¡°Forgive me for being excited when seeing an honest to god elf Lucrezia, I swear I won¡¯t do anything uncut¡± ¡°Spare me the sarcasm Terran, it¡¯s unbecoming of you¡± Lucrezia went quiet as they sat down at the counter, Saa¡¯ryu stayed quiet all the way there, William was going to do the talking it seems. ¡°Can I help you, two travelers? Mead¡¯s fresh and we have mash and pie for tonight, rooms going for five silver¡± the elven lady said, her voice was like a bird singing, William focused himself and spoke the line from the game that would get him in contact with the merchant. ¡°I¡¯m looking for the small special, five dosages¡± The Elf raised her eyebrows but said nothing, she walked to a small kid hidden behind a door and whispered in her ear, the kid darted off, she returned with two cups of mead, Saa¡¯ryu gave her three silver pieces, which earned her a smile, William was awestruck. It didn¡¯t take long until the merchant lady showed up, the little girl pointed at them and she made her way towards William and Saa¡¯ryu. ¡°Who are you and how do you know the password, you better talk fast otherwise I¡¯ll have the boys shank you as soon as you get out of the pub¡± she was nervous, angry, and agitated, William produced a small silvery dagger and the bag with the three heads and said. ¡°Tell the Commander that he has friends from where this came from¡± he also gave the woman twelve gold pieces, she pocketed those fast as lighting. calling off the attack with a hand gesture. ¡°He ain¡¯t gonna like not getting a name but All-Father¡¯s balls I¡¯ll do it, meet me here tomorrow at noon for his response¡± William sighed and finished the mead, it tasted watery and old, nothing like the fine mead Lucrezia had enjoyed last week, Saa¡¯ryu finished hers and both went off towards a different alleyway, after checking if they were being followed with divinations, they both got back to the rooftops and made their way to the castle, William took a quick bath and got ready for tomorrow.
¡°How did you know about the dagger?¡± Lucrezia asked while he was in his morning bath to which William responded ¡°You can¡¯t see my memories from that stage of the game yet?¡± ¡°No, everything is hazy whenever I try to, all I get is me sitting down in front of a computer for hours, enjoying myself, but no actual memories from the game, I must say Terran, you must¡¯ve loved that game a great deal, to recall minor details as you do¡± ¡°It was an obsession of mine for two years yes, I wouldn¡¯t claim I have an encyclopedic knowledge of it, but it''s quite there¡± Hesitation flooded him, curious, Lucrezia wanted to ask something but he could feel her stopping herself, it was...Weird ¡°I can feel your hesitation from up here Lu, what do you wanna ask?¡± He tried being polite, only for the young woman to blow up on him. ¡°Don¡¯t call me Lu Terran, we aren¡¯t that close, It¡¯s either Lady Lucrezia Or Lucrezia for you!¡± ¡°Sorry, no need to blow up on me dude, sesh¡± Silence, then a sigh, then a long sigh came from her. ¡°Your...life Terran, I have many questions about it but I will refrain from asking them until we are done with the Knight Commander, now leave me be, I must rest¡± William was kinda happy, Finally, she was breaking the ice if only a little. It was hard he found, hard to stay on his best behavior but he wouldn¡¯t go back on his word, he knew deep inside that he had to work with Lucrezia to get to the bottom of this madness. Their souls were melding faster, more and more memories of Lucrezia were worming themselves into his mind, feeling like his own, William finally caught a glimpse of the third prince in one of them. Wonder if he¡¯s already like he was in the game now, probably given the backstory William thought to himself, expecting Lucrezia to pipe in, he knew her love for the young man was legitimate, unlike the other two bosses from the game. She will probably get mad if I say that, it was a good thing they couldn¡¯t read each other''s thoughts, otherwise she would be a wreck right now, so many atrocities committed in the two years that he was meant to live before going to the academy. ¡°Not on my watch, This land will know plenty and happiness with me in charge¡± he whispered to himself as he changed into workout clothes and went to the courtyard where he had trained yesterday, only to find the castle bard there ¡°You won¡¯t skip me today Lady Lucrezia, I refuse to become a laughing stock at the capital¡¯s bards college because my charge can¡¯t sing or play the harp, now sit down, we have much to do. ¡°Morning Miss Hayden¡± William did a short bow and sat down in a chair that was clearly dragged from one of the ballrooms, he picked up Lucrezia¡¯s harp, recalling the young woman indeed had a great measure of skill when it came to singing and playing instruments, a hobby perhaps? ¡°Lucrezia, you like playing the harp?¡± William inquired, she was deep in thought ever since he woke up he could feel it, their souls were melding more and more after all. ¡°Indeed Terran, Music is one of my hobbies together with horse riding and gardening, There¡¯s something...Pure on the act of stringing together notes, singing, and composing music that always put me at ease¡± she sighed ¡°I¡¯ve seen some of your memories Terran, your music playing skills might be less than stellar but your tastes are impeccable, I would never...Imagine that Terra had the culture for producing such great works of art.¡± What is this William thought, actual compliments from the ice queen? He wanted to tease her but he knew it would not be well received, his jokes never landing with Lucrezia, he opted for a small compliment instead. ¡°Thank you for your words Lucrezia, I appreciate your honesty¡± ¡°I can feel that you don¡¯t really mean those words Terran, but let me not waste your time, playing the harp is a skill it took me years to master, and you best not slack on it¡±
Deep in a forgotten forest, near the border with the northern wastes, a warhorse raced down a dirt road made in haste, its rider had just finished a patrol around the region and found nothing worthy of reporting, he neared the wooden fortress made deep into the forest, a man-made clearing surrounding it, he could hear his brothers and sisters toiling inside it, and the rivers flowing around it. The sentries saluted the rider and opened the gates, it was already dark but the rider''s mare didn¡¯t care, as a dire horse from the Wulgrem steppes, it could see in the dark as good as any night predator. More and more Saluted the rider as he rode inside the fortress, It was booze day today he saw, many already making merry around a great bonfire, leaving his mare at the stables, the man took his riding helmet, revealing a scarred face, brown eyes and ivory skin, his hair cut on a military buzz cut. Making his ways to the tallest tower of the fort, he was stopped twice by drunken people asking him to share a spot in the fire, he declined them and kept on moving, reaching the tower and climbing its steps until he saw the face of a woman, old and battered, her cracked skin and frayed hair telling a far different story than of those below by the bonfires. ¡°Sigr¨²n, haven¡¯t I told you to sleep at least four hours a day?¡± The woman laughed, got up, and saluted ¡°Commander Erwin, you might wanna hear what we got from the booze merchant today¡± ¡°More booze? She has a name you know¡± Erwin said sitting down and checking the maps, no reports of Eustace''s man in the forest in weeks now, a few days ago someone killed his men inside the old headquarters but it wasn¡¯t one of his men. Something was happening in the city. He was lucky, lucky that the three engineers they had weren¡¯t killed when Eustace betrayed them, so many Senior Knights died, their families hanged in the main plaza, like animals in a butcher shop. Erwin shook himself, he mustn¡¯t be weak, his men needed a strong leader and by Morugarius he would be it, He would uphold the Knight¡¯s Oath to the end. ¡°So, what did she bring that is so important you would break an order I gave?¡± Sigr¨²n produced a bag, and a small silvery dagger, Erwin tensed up immediately, the woman put her hands up and said. ¡°The merchant told us two individuals came to one of our pubs, gave the barkeep the correct password and gave this to her, she was told to no open the bag, your eyes only¡± ¡°Did they say anything?¡± he asked, steel in his voice, he knew that dagger very well. ¡°They said that you still have friends in the castle¡± she threw him the bag and Erwin opened it on top of a clean desk Three heads perfectly preserved by ice magic rolled out, the woman gasped as Erwin¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Cadence, Xo¡¯lyr, and Markus¡± he trembled, speaking those hateful names, the very people who committed unspeakable acts to his family before sending them to that bastard Eustace, dead just like that. ¡°Morugarius¡¯s Spear Erwin are those?! are those the people who kidnapped your family,¡± Sigr¨²n asked trembling as well, Erwin nodded, took a deep breath, and spoke in hushed whispers ¡°Karlie, Ester, May your souls be placated with this offering and know that more will come¡± the heads burst into flame, a pale blue flame that produces no heat, on the contrary, it made the room more cold than normal. ¡°In their hearts, you shall burn¡± he finished the prayer, an echo went off in his head, the voices of his Wife and Son repeating the words. Sigr¨²n held the dagger and asked, ¡°Who was it, this dagger means something Erwin, who was the person who killed these men¡± he didn¡¯t turn to answer, a ghost the size of a beetle appeared among the ashes of the heads, Erwin said something in a low tone and the ashes moved, three words forming as they stopped. Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem
William was done with his music class when Saa¡¯ryu called him over, it was time to meet the Commander ¡°The guards have spotted the merchant on her way back from the border, The cart had a tent over it, so I¡¯m guessing the man actually came¡± Saa¡¯ryu gave him a report ¡°Now Lu, about that hand gesture you gave to me yesterday, pray tell, how do you know about it¡± she was angry William could tell, but not enough to force an answer outta him. ¡°Father told me¡± Another perfect white lie, Saa¡¯ryu relaxed, great William thought she brought the lie. ¡°That settles it then, now let''s go¡± Both got changed into their earlier get-up, masks and all, and moved towards the city gates, they zipped around rooftops, the Soldiers were intensifying their patrols around the streets now, more platoon-sized patrols going up and down. ¡°We kicked the Haa¡¯var¡¯s nest, didn¡¯t we? hehe¡± The maid laughed, feeling very much in her element, it was dusk and soon they would arrive at the pub. One rooftop, somewhat close to the Usurpers headquarters was manned by a three-man checkpoint, armed with crossbows and sentry wards, Saa¡¯ryu gave a puppy look towards William, begging to dispatch them but he told her no, more deaths could ruin their plans. The maid got pissy, making snide remarks all the way to the pub, only stopping when they got to ground level and into the establishment proper. ¡°Greetings! Oh you two¡± the barkeep said looking weary ¡°The big special is on the top floor, a single dosage¡± ¡°We pray for those who can only get five dosages¡± William finished the password, the barkeep nodded and guided them towards a fancier room, the door had been magically warded and to William¡¯s surprise, Enhanced with Ki. He pointed to the faint red streaks running along with the wood, Saa¡¯ryu got the hint fast and her body language changed to absolute caution, the elf opened the door and two humans were inside, huddled over a table that had a pile of maps on it. William got inside, his maid flanking him, the door was closed and he heard the lock. Knight Commander Erwin Richftten, who William saw dying in a mad push against the castle gates in-game together with the game¡¯s protagonist and Lich Wilson stood tall and proud, his face lacking the iconic scar he would get against a Demon one year from now. The man took a knee and said ¡°Your Highness, Heir Apparent Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem, I have heard your message loud and clear, deliver me Eustace and my Spears will be your arms, my horses your legs and my men your strength¡± William froze, holy shit that¡¯s a goddamn Oath with a capital O, the second he took on it, he would be bound to the entire Company of Knights. ¡°They must¡¯ve broken the Oath when my parents betrayed the Senior Knights¡± Lucrezia was seething, a noble breaking the Oath was big, and very few had the chance to mend bridges with the offended Knights and their goddess. ¡°Terran, you know how important the Oath is, take it now, you must¡± an order William was more than happy to comply. William summoned a bowl using his ice magic, taking off the cape and mask, he placed the bowl right in front of the kneeling Commander, the woman beside him produced Lucrezia¡¯s silvery dagger, a gift the Commander had given her long ago when the Lady saved a squire. He slashed his hand, letting his blood drip into the bowl, Erwin got up and picked the dagger, doing the same, as their blood dripped, a symbol showed inside of it, the blood began to bubble and out of it, a small spear made of silver, iron, and snow was formed. ¡°With Morugarius as my witness, I Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem hereby swear on my body and soul that I will uphold the Oath Of Battle, may my soul be cast to the deepest of hells and shame be brought to my name should I ever break it¡± ¡°I Knight Commander Erwin Richftten, Leader of Clan Richftten that has served the Wulfgrem ever since the time of the first king hereby accept the Oath¡± The spear split into two, and was branded into William¡¯s arm, goddamn he thought, his first blessing! It wouldn¡¯t increase his mana reserves but now he had actual cavalry, taking back the city was not a dream anymore. All he needed to do was destroy the ward first. William moved to their table, Erwin following close behind, he pointed to the headquarters and said ¡°I must destroy the ward the court mage has in place before we can take back the city¡± ¡°My men are eager to put the usurpers to the spear Your Highness, just send the message and we will be here¡± both nodded, that was when William noticed the woman, that was Sigr¨²n! the one who teaches high-level ice magic to the player character in the game! ¡°I may have a way to take a good number of them out without bloodshed Commander, but be certain that my people in the castle will come to the fight, we have been training the staff as well, all armed with the best gear we found there¡± William reassured the man who he felt was calmer, focused more than before. ¡°It¡¯s the Oath, it empowers them in a way no noble can ever taste it unless one becomes a proper Knight¡± Lucrezia chimed in. ¡°Any big changes down there Lucrezia?¡± ¡°The blessing left a mark on the Monolith, it has now the spear that¡¯s on your arm, a proper god-given branding, I haven¡¯t noticed any new memories from you so I¡¯m assuming blessings won¡¯t speed the process¡± ¡°Good, I have a feeling we will get quite a few when you hit 18 Lucrezia¡± ¡°It still scares me we are only one year apart of age Terran, even if my kind ages slower than yours¡± ¡°You get used to it, I had an older sister if you don¡¯t recall¡± William stopped talking and waited for a response from the Commander. ¡°Your Highness, I must bring the good news to the fort, contact me via the usual channels when you are ready. They each bid farewells and went their separate ways, William didn¡¯t miss the barkeep bowing towards him, even with cape and mask on. He then heard a faint song coming from deep inside, Lucrezia was singing near the Monolith and he could hear it ¡°Ride Spears of dawn, those who bring justice to the untamed land¡± ¡°Ride Spears of fury, those who push back against the monster hordes¡± ¡°Ride Spears of dusk, those who stand vigil against the enemies at the borders¡± ¡°Ride Spears of Ice, those who never give up, and bring back the enemies heads¡± ¡°To mount them in their walls¡± ¡°To salt the earth and burn their houses¡± ¡°Let God and Mortal alike know¡± ¡°Vermilion marches forward, our Victory will be written in their blood¡± ¡°Vermilion marches forward, our Victory will be written in their blood¡± ¡°Vermilion marches forward, our Victory will be written in their blood¡± Chapter 9: In my Spirit lies my Faith "The Hivemind comes" All-Father speaking to his creations the day the Hivemind fell in the world via a meteor. William felt chills, the song Lucrezia had sung yesterday haunted him, He knew very well what that implied, It was a call to arms, to fight for her city. Could he do it? Could he take more lives? When would it stop he wondered, Lucrezia had assured him she wouldn''t let him fall but what if she fell first? what if his influence over her grew to the point she wouldn''t even notice? "No use losing sleep over this, all I gotta do is trust her," William said as he fed the crows honeyed bread, didn''t hurt buttering the sacred birds up he felt. William ringed Saa''ryu''s bell and got dressed, heavy winter gear and a crossbow strapped to his back, the maid arrived dressed the same, they both nodded and went off towards the north wing of the castle, while walking among the halls, he saw that basically, everyone was armed and armored, not a single maid or soldier in the castle was without a sword or bow to their side, the entrance to the ritual wing was heavily guarded with a checkpoint made out of solid magical steel and wards, with a constant rotation of acolytes and castle guards on it. They wouldn''t last a minute should the court mage or Lucrezia''s parents decide to come out early but that wasn''t the point of this checkpoint, the point was if they went down, the whole castle would charge in. "Very found of suicide tactics they are huh, then again there''s very little they can do but charge in screaming and kicking" William whispered as he walked past them, mages and guards saluting him. "So we are hitting the ward ritual site today? are you sure the court mage won''t notice?" Saa''ryu asked when they broke free from castle ground, running along the trail leading to the nearby woods. "Kapha''tur won''t notice, he and my parents are too busy with the ritual," William said, trying to not give too much away, Saa''ryu nodded and they both kept running. William followed the familiar trail, one he used all the time back in the game at this stage, he kept expecting demonic beasts or bandits but he reminded himself that the duchy had yet to fall that low. They came up to a clearing, deep in the woods, a single tree stood in the middle of it, William raised his hand, making his maid stop, he signaled for them to circle the clearing in the tree line, stopping again at the opposite side they came from. "That tree is a golem, Kapha''tur cast an illusion on it, the second we step foot outside of the tree line, it will spring back to life" "Ok how do we-" Saa''ryu dropped to the ground my sentence, but William felt the arrow coming, his Magnetism pinging him that a mithril-tinged arrowhead was about to hit him in the back. "The cold dawn blesses us, springing life anew in the deepest reaches of winter" He spoke as Saa''ryu eyebrows went up "Winter Elves!" she exclaimed, William heard a fall to his left side, two small winter elves bows at the ready, their green eyes and matching hairs giving away their identity That''s Freya and Gunn, the Geomancer sisters! Holy shit what a find! "Speak daughter of the Wulfgrem, why are you here?" spoke Freya, her freckles being the only way to differentiate the woman from her twin sister. "This golem guards the site of a ward we must destroy so I can retake my city" William explained, Gunn twisted her head and said, "So it is true, the duke and his wife have forsaken the pact with the Spirits and hastened Winter''s End, do you seek to stop them, Daughter of the Wulfgrem?" "Yes, I intended to seek your elder after we retook the city, I know about the boar issue you people have" both of them grew weary, they had lowered their bows but Gunn was ready to notch an arrow. "And you can fix the said issue where multiple elven druids have failed to do so? typical human pride..." Gunn shook her head, Freya looked at her disapprovingly and said "Do not antagonize her sister, I have already told you that this is the human''s lot-" "Can we kill this golem or are you two gonna go on a three-hour rant about human-elven relations?" Saa''ryu said, clearly impatient, William extended his hand to Freya and asked "So, how about we kill a golem?" The elf took his hand and shook it, they nodded and got ready to strike. "Cast Lights Out the second you are outside of the tree line, Freya you and your sister gotta expose the roots so me and Saa''ryu here can cut them down" the Elf lady raised a single eyebrow but didn''t complain. "On three" William pulled his disc, shaping it as four mean-looking stakes, he took a deep breath and said "Three!" Saa''ryu flew by them, Owls rush William assumed, casting a sequence of Lights Out as the golem sprung to life at alarming speeds, the flashing lights making it unable to see anything, it swung its arms, thick as a tree log but Saa''ryu dodged them with the grace of a cat. The elven sisters went in a second later, flanking the golem in a pincer attack, Freya planted her hands on the ground and began pulling the golems roots while Gunn conjured a staff from nowhere and slammed the thing into the golem, left and right the roots went up by themselves. Wiliam went in, he threw the mean-looking stakes at the roots and the golem roared, it focused on him and it threw one of its arms at his location, William tried to jump over it, but the log slammed into his shield, the spell breaking a split second later as William used another disc of iron to defend himself. The impact got him flying towards Gunn, who tried casting another spell to soften his landing, William dumped a large amount of mana right before his face met the ground, conjuring soft snow on the spot, he felt his arm break and screamed. Getting up from the snow proved easy, William was now running on pure adrenaline threw himself under the log that was coming in his direction, he dragged the twisted sheet of iron he had used as an impromptu shield and morphed it into a large machete, and slammed the thing at the roots, casting ice daggers and missiles at it to speed the process, the golem roared once again and Saa''ryu got close enough to Freya to begin her side of the attack. After enough roots were chopped, Freya conjured her staff and planted the thing in the golem, both sister chanted and the golem went upwards, the huge earthen and forest mana crystal now in sight for everyone. William morphed his machete into a Warhammer and began Wailing at the crystal, golem at this point could only shake its arms to try to hit them but it was of no use, thirty seconds into Williams attack the crystal gave in and the golem went inert. Saa''ryu rushed to Williams''s side, giving him one of her last health pots, he could feel the broken bone mend into place when a soothing light befell him, Gunn was by his side casting a druidic spell of healing. "Thank you," William said mid gasping for air, this was the first time he got hurt in combat, and the thought terrified him, Lucrezia being quiet about it also wasn''t helping. "I''m here Terran, a broken arm. isn''t cause for concern, I''ve broken arms and legs many times riding dire horses, stop being a baby" "Thanks for the pep talk Lucrezia" "You are welcomed, now deal with the ritual" "We should deal with this...Ritual you mentioned later, I can feel it twisting the earth here" "Yes, a spiritual connection to a Fallen was made here, no wonder given the size of that crystal," said the twins moving past the golem, William and Saa''ryu joined them at the center of the hole the golem left when it was uprooted. "Does the game says which Fallen God is responsible for this William?" He could feel her rage "No, the game ends after retaking the castle and the protagonist being made duchess, We assumed the sequel would deal with whoever was behind the corruption" Silence, Lucrezia was mulling over what he had said, he saw the ritual, a carbon copy of its game counterpart, in the middle were mortal remains, surrounded by arcane markings and circles. "By birthright I summon thee, the crown, Purge this evil from my lands!" William spoke with conviction A strong wind befell in the clearing, it took a humanoid shape who nodded at him and brought his hand down upon the ritual, a crack of thunder was heard far away, in the direction of the city. The Spirit bowed and went away, the elves were awestruck, they kneeled and spoke as one "Forgive us, Daughter of the Wulfgrem, we had thought the Spirits had forsaken your line" "Please, raise your heads" the twins got up and looked at him "Truth be told I had thought the same, but I guess they saw me trying to redeem the family honor" William was bullshitting them hard, but he knew their tribe respected the local Winter Spirits as much as the gods, the twins bowed and said. "Come, let us make haste towards the Village, the elder shouldn''t be busy at this time" they took off, Saa''ryu looked at William who nodded at the maid and they went after the elves. It took a good thirty minutes to reach the Winter Elven Village, which was also looking like its game counterpart, a few tree houses, some at the ground, and in the middle a shrine made out of silvery ice. Arch-Druid Gabriel Lumenaris was mid-prayer when William and Saa''ryu reached the village proper, many elves pointing at him like he was an alien, it made sense he told himself, these elves were reclusive, unlike the High elves from Kehheim or the Wood Elves from Granarius. "Welcome Daughter of the Wulfgrem, Welcome to our humble Village, I''m Gabriel Lumenaris, Arch-Druid of the moonless cycle and leader of this community" he bowed in a style favored by the old nobility, William used Lucrezia''s muscle memory to copy the ancient elf. He smiled, a warm smile much like a grandfather would give to his grandchildren, he nodded to the Ice shrine and spoke. "I can sense that you were the one who called the Crown to clean that ghoulish ritual in the woods yes? come, we have much to discuss" Both of them got into the shrine, Saa''ryu had found a nearby bench and lay there, her back to a big tree, the woman was tired, that many Lights Out in quick succession must''ve drained her mana reserves. "My scouts tell me that the city has fallen into chaos these last two months and that our villages aren''t faring much better, there''s also talk of a prison camp, pray, tell me, Daughter of the Wulfgrem, what is going on?" William mulled over, should he come clean with Gabriel? "Do it, having him at our side will be a great boon" "And if he says no?" "Then we get that core and move on, There''s still the dwarves in the wastes, I can feel you want the elves to help William, but there''s no need to be hasty about it" "Sorry, I''m still coming off the high from that battle" "Venerable Arch-Druid, It has come to my attention that you have a bit of situation regarding boars in your hunting grounds, I''ve come here to pledge my assistance," William said, trying his best to be polite, He knew that in-game that Gabriel was strong, not on the same level as the Arch-Mage but still a force to be reckoned with. The ancient elf tapped the table they were sitting on, he looked at the ceiling and with a heavy sigh spoke "Gods, to think the information already reached the humans...Yes, we have an issue, a big one at that, not even my best druids can get that blasted core to stop dropping boars into our hunting grounds, and killing them doesn''t stop the process either, even when facing the core guardian. He sucked air, looking somewhat angry "Can you stop that core Human?" "I can, but for a price" The old elf laughed "Oh but I forgot how greedy your kind is Human, by the Winter I''m must be getting old" he slapped his knee "Name your price human" "With the ritual site smashed, I will be retaking my city back from the usurpers, I need a dozen War Druids" William spoke seriously, hoping the Arch-Druid wouldn''t smite him here and there. "Deal, but I must confess, we haven''t fought in a war in centuries, so my War Druids are a little rusty, take Freya and Gunn with you as well, those two have been itching for combat all their lives and won''t stop nagging me about it" "That was...Anticlimactic, I thought we would need to negotiate a lot more here" "Agreed, guess the core is a way bigger issue than what I had imagined, in the game, it was just a minor side quest" "Another deviation, these elves might be important, keep them in mind William" "Will do" "Now come, let us go to the hunting grounds so you can deal with the core"
Several boars were munching on grass or sleeping deep inside the Winter Elves forest, with a huge boar watching over them, the thing was the size of a minivan! "I''m not keen on fighting a boar horde myself, do the two elven ladies here have anything that can lock them in place?" Saa''ryu asked from her branch, they were all on top of a big tree overlooking the boar camp for the lack of a better word. In the middle, just behind the Giga boar was the core, a ball made out of arcane glass, shining in violet light, William flexed his hands. "Tell me human, why do you seek the core?" Freya asked, cleaning her arrows, her sister hummed in agreement, trying to pressure him. "When Winter''s End hits, we will suffer severe food shortages, that core will supplement my populace food needs in that time, I''ve found a way to tame it and will install it in my castle''s dungeons" He didn''t lie this time, an omission maybe. "Did Velkarius give you the means to tame the core, Lu?" Saa''ryu asked puzzled, William nodded, and the maid shrugged. "Well then, I guess the human wasn''t being greedy this time, we should celebrate when we get to the Village sister-" "Enough Gunn, stop being so...so rude!" Freya squeaked at her sister who was ready to go when Saa''ryu cleared her throat. "Will this be a thing? you two know we gonna have to take an entire city in a few days right? your elder told you and those other druids" Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. "Please forgive my sister Lady Saa''ryu, she got cheated by a human farmer 300 years ago and never let that go, to the point she would haunt his descendants," Freya said only for Gunn to pull her hair and the woman squeak in surprise "Get a grip you two, now!" Saa''ryu spoke like a mom would to her children, which was weird given the two sisters were older than both of them combined, William heard Lucrezia laugh. "She always had a soft spot for little kids, I remember her playing with the staff children all the time a few years ago..." She got quiet after that, a deep sense of nostalgia washed over William and he smiled. "What''s the plan here Lu? I don''t think using roots will work, these boars can probably tear them, not to say that huge one guarding the core, hey if you people managed to defeat the guardian, why did you smash the core?" Saa''ryu turned to the sisters who sighed deeply "The core dropped more boars as they were done with the guardian, the druids were forced to retreat to the village" Gunn said William pulled a pouch from his bag, in it was meat with bait on it, he placed trace amounts of quality steel on the meat and threw at the boars, he did the same with ten other bags until the whole clearing was eating. Saa''ryu''s eyes went wide, the elven sisters were about to raise their concerns when William closed his eyes and pulled the metal, at once the whole clearing was bombarded with sounds of dying animals, their wails akin to nail to a blackboard. William conjured his disk and floated towards the core, now defenseless. "Core Delta Three Seven Epsilon Forty-Five, override code: Theta" The core went inert, then woke up, a voice resounding across the clearing. "Good afternoon madam, this one thanks you for freeing it from its base programming, access granted to terraforming and animal spawn capabilities granted, waiting for madam''s name" "Lucrezia, Password zero one six-eight" "Confirmed, thank you for using Amadeus Wonderful''s Inventions, waiting for command" "Turn off" and the core dropped, William picked the thing off and dusted in his cloak, stashing it "With this, My people won''t lack food in their belies when the storm comes...I Thank you, Terran from the bottom of my heart" "They are my people as well Lucrezia" "So they are Terran, so they are"
Arch-Druid Gabriel was happy, he had just gotten the news that the core situation had been dealt with, now his hunters would be able to use the grounds again, he gave the news in the village square, where many cheered, some even cried. Gods knew the grief those blasted boars had given them, he called for a feast and one by one the citizens began setting up a humble long table with fruits and meats, the winemaker even giving a few of his precious bottles to the party. When Willian and co arrived, the party was already going in full, nothing so boisterous as Lucrezia''s but he could feel the happiness from the villagers, even the sisters got in the mood, drinking and eating, making merry with Saa''ryu and other elves. The maid was being chased by elven children, who had come out of their houses when their parents began prepping the feast, all of them had never met a human before. William basked in the warm bonfire at the center of the village, listening to the good cheers and music someone was playing, it felt good, like he belonged here, deep inside he could feel Lucrezia was also pleased, these people were her subjects as well he figured. The young woman loved her people, and he could feel that love seeping into him, he didn''t mind it. Freya dragged William to the center of the bonfire where many elves gave him warm thanks, even a hug or two, an older elf came out of her house with an intricate dress and gave it to him, he took the gift with a big smile on his face.
Freya and Gunn came with William to the castle, it would take two days for the war druids to get set, they had to commune with the land and its animals first, the sisters wore heavy-duty cloaks and masks as they zipped across rooftops with the grace of a gymnastic. At the castle, William gave the good news to his people, Wilson almost collapsing when he heard the ward was fully gone, like William had predicted, the court mage didn''t come out, the ritual demanding much from them he assumed. He also saw five senior Knights posted in the checkpoint to the private wing, their spears coated with the crimson Ki that was a staple of the Knights of Vermilion. they bowed when he passed by. "Now we can have a fighting chance if they throw a demon or two at us inside the castle, gods willing," said Serkj, they were in the war room planning their next step. "Once I set up the core in the old dungeons, we must move to save the dwarven clan as fast as possible, and retake the fortress in the cave network, should all else fail we will retreat to there" Serkj nodded "And the attack on Eustaces troops?" "Working on it, with the war druids we can poison them all and avoid bloodshed, it''s only a matter of getting them all in the headquarters, or at least a good number of them" William pointed to the patrol roots "Anyone left we can take out ourselves" "And the Knight Commander can just walk into the city, putting this chaos to an end" Serkj spat out. "Not yet my friend, We still need to stop the ritual and set things right with Velkarius, there''s much to do still, but now to the old dungeons" The man nodded and followed him, Saa''ryu joining shortly after with the elven sisters who were given accommodations in the castle. "Figured the dungeon would be full of victims, but they probably had those moved to the private wing, or just teleported in from the prison camp," Saa''ryu thought out loud, William hummed as they went downstairs. The dungeon was clean, not even a single rat on its walls, its cells all with rusted steel and no beds inside of it, the maids only caring about keeping the place clean as it was not used as a prison in centuries, they walked for minutes before reaching the final floor. William took out the core and spoke the password, it shone back to life, drinking the ambient mana from the dungeon. "Scanning: dungeon found, good mana intake, terraforming protocols activated, spawn protocols activated" "Core, Enable Parameters one to five" "Acknowledged, warning, meat from the boars might be a little spicier than usual due to Magic Matrix, beginning terraforming in thirty seconds" They ran to the stairs as the core sucked up mana, the whole floor became a dome connecting to the stairs, expanding to the first floor, after minutes of waiting the entire dungeon became engulfed in white light, everyone closed their eyes for several seconds. That was when the sounds of waves hit William, he saw a beautiful beach, complete with a beach house and chairs to lay down in it, the artificial sun shining its light like he was back in the south. The boars were nowhere to be seen, instead, a huge metal contraption in the middle of the beach was spewing packages made out of hempen robe and leaves, fatty meat on them. "Terraforming concluded, Core status: All green Owner Status: All Green, this one thanks Owner Lucrezia for allowing to become a wonderful sun" William bowed, hopefully, the mage who made the core was a bit happy now, stuck in limbo for breaking the ban on food magic. "Saa, get Leanu to round up men and distribute the meat around the city" The maid dashed for the exit, now a big archway, the elven sisters were playing in the saltwater when Wiliam called them, Serkj, on the other hand, was sleeping on one of the reclining chairs, he kicked the man in the shins, which earned him a nasty stare and a curse, they left the dungeon room and William closed the archway doors.
Idun walked among his fellow dwarven brothers and sisters as they dug dirty from the entrance of a cave, the snowstorm had finally broken off and they could work in relative peace, Dire wolves were stalking them for days now and it took a number of the Magitech Vanguard to drive them off. The new flame spears his god had given them in their exile to their holy land were keeping his people safe. Life in the northern wastes wasn''t easy, it had been months ever since they were kicked from Steinheim, few had converted to his faith, fewer still when they marched towards this frozen hell, all on the promise of great innovation. When Idun had heard his god''s voice all those months ago he was happy beyond belief, the man was a horrible smith, and even worse when it came to mastering the natural sciences of the world, a disgrace to his clan and family his father would always say. Forgotten and abandoned, Idun prayed to All-Father and any god who would listen to give him purpose, to help him when he was at his lowest, even to the goddess of magic! alas, no one, be it god or mortal gave him their time. It was at that time that Raa¡¯Tyrius came to him, deep in prayers he heard the god call over his name, and give Idun a blessing, a greater blessing even. With the blessing came knowledge, of how to mix science and magic, of wonderful and powerful machinery that could spark revolution across the whole known world, he produced many Magitech items, earning him enough pieces to get his life back together, that was when Raa¡¯Tyrius came again and asked fora church, and for Idun to be his High Priest. The dwarf stalked the streets of Steinheim, his flock growing by the day, but the other high priest and priestess grew jealous of his god, of his Magitech items, branding it as an insult, even when they knew that Raa¡¯Tyriu was the son of Alaapetras their creator, but the greed of mortals knew no bounds, and thus after his flock had reached in the hundreds, they were exiled from his home country. Idun walked to the north, getting more followers in his ranks, humans, orcs, even an elven mage or two, beast and magi folk who had the spark in their hearts. but lacked the means to get an education. They lived off as a roaming band, something common in the new world, their Magitech wonders sold as trinkets to keep their bellies fed, it was hard work but they were happy. It was on a sunny day in the capital of vermilion that he heard the call, to move north into the wastes, and there he would wait until his god sent a figure, clocked in ice and steel to give them their true homeland, many protested the decision, and left his church, but Idun didn''t mind, parting ways with them as amicable as he could, now numbering in the eighties the high priest marched north, stocking up as much as they could. Reaching the wastes proved easy enough, it was living there while waiting that was the true test, bandits, savage elven tribes, warlords and magical beasts stalked the land, even demons and evil spirits in its coldest darkest reaches, he had lost ten people to such evils, every death weighing him heavily. "Idun, we found a cave system with a small lava river running below it, we can hole up there," said Samantha, the elven mage who joined him so long ago, she was a lively lass Idun thought, always keeping peoples spirits up, her magnum opus of Magitech was a distillery that would make good alcohol on the move, something many a dwarf and men had thanked the elven woman. "Then we dig, and live back the old cousins back in the Imperium" Idun laughed, gods he couldn''t imagine how was life in those underground kingdoms, he wanted to visit at least once in his life, but not right now he thought, there was much to do. They took two days of constant work to open the caves, the lava river providing much-needed warmth to his cold bones, the last fortress they had holed up was cursed with a Winter Banshee, she made people near freeze to death unless she was paid in infants. Suffice to say that Idun and his people left that cursed place as fast as they could. "How''s the food situation," he asked the elven mage, she gave him a grim look and spoke "We have grain for three months at most, our hunters are getting slim pickings out there, even the dire wolves are being cautious, this summer season is the worst so far for them I reckon. Idun nodded "It''s the early Winter''s End, whatever is happening on the Wulfgrem Duchy is spooking every beast up here in the wastes, Raa¡¯Tyrius has yet to respond to my prayers whenever I question him about it," he said picking up a chair and sitting on it, a cushion popping up from below, ahh these were the best Idun thought, Carl was his best priest when it came to using Magitech for comfort, beds, wagons, even pillows! "I bet you half the reason it is not just you and me here in this frozen hellhole is due to carl and his particular brand of Magitech" Samantha got comfy in her chair, the two of them watched as more miners dug further into the cave system. "You think Raa¡¯Tyrius will send his chosen soon?" he asked the elf, she shook her head and laughed "these minor gods are always off trying to expand their spheres, who knows what ours is up to, although I sure hope he does, I''m not much of a cave-dwelling elf, only related to the pale ones by thin bloodlines" "You have pale ones on your family?" Idun popped open a flask of strong spirit, pale ones were rare elven clans who lived deep underground in the new world, rarely coming upside unless something dire happens, or one of their many gods demands it. "Long story short, some pale one got involved with an aide from a diplomatic mission from Kehheim and exiled herself from their caves" Samantha closed her eyes and stretched on her chair. "Huh, my clan has holdings in the Imperium but it''s under a mountain and a half of paperwork, not worth the headache or the cost," Idun said "I do wanna visit my distant cousins one day, but I reckon they would sneer at me as all Imperials do" "A leftover from when they were ruled by a pride beastfolk of the lion tribe, I remember a friend of mine saying he wanted everyone at the court to be as prideful as him, crazy that it still is a thing all these years..." "Always catches me off guard, knowing you were alive when the oldest civilization of the old world was still in its baby steps you know? how do you elven people deal with that anyway?" Samantha smiled but didn''t speak, Idun knew time was a sore spot for any elf that mingled with mortals but he wanted to ask anyway, she got up and stared at the entrance, they had built a regular stone wall, but with a checkpoint behind it, manned by men with the new flame spears. "There are dire horses incoming, at least thirty of them, I can smell druids in their midst, they are bending the snow to get here, humans mostly but the druids are Winter Elves" Samantha got up and grabbed her staff, Idun spooked and grabbed his horn, blowing it. The workers all got up running, grabbing their weapons and armor, the vanguard with their flame spears and special armor formed up on Idun, who quickly put his high priest garbs, a simple staff with a cog made out of mana crystals and a sapphire tunic over his garbs. His Magitech Vanguard lined themselves up at the entrance, Idun and Samantha in the middle of their formation, they stood there as the wind started to gain strength, soon a small snow shower had begun. Everyone heard the words in their mind when the shower started. She is Here Idun felt weak, that was Raa¡¯Tyrius!, many were shaken, Samantha was on the verge of tears, their chosen had arrived, Finally they would reach their promised land! The hooves of dire horses were like thunder mid storm, Idur saw as they bent the snow around them, Men, Elf, Beast and Magi folk all in Knight armor, their spears coated in eery crimson Ki, at the front of the formation, twin Winter Elves casting druidic spells to keep the storm at bay, they stopped a few meters away from his Magitech Vanguard, who were all kneeling in the snow, Idun looked to the side and found that Samantha as well. From the middle of the Knight Formation appeared a Human girl, barely 18, no blessings on her as Idun could feel it, she sat upon a dire horse blacker than a moonless night, its eyes crimson red, as the snow bent around her, he noticed an iron halo around her profile, where two azure eyes stared at him, at his very soul. "Idun, high priest of Raa¡¯Tyrius! God of Magitech" as she said her name he felt weak on the knees, the Magitech Vanguard parted way as he moved forward, fearful, he looked up at her face and saw a smile that was tinged in nostalgia. "My name is Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem, Heir Apparent of the Wulfgrem Duchy, I''ve been sent here to save you and your faithful from the wastes," she said as she got out of the horse, coming forward with another human of Shogunate lineage Lucrezia extender her hand for a handshake, he took it and said trembling "Your Highness we...we have been waiting for you, long ago we received a revelation from Raa¡¯Tyrius!, and now he spoke with us again, you are his chosen Your Highness!" he kneeled while holding her hand, the vanguard doing the same once again The young woman looked puzzled for a second as if she was having an internal debate, she then smiled once again, Idun couldn''t shake the feeling that it was like... Like meeting an old friend.
William led almost two hundred people towards the ancient fortress that was hidden inside Wulfgrem lands, the faithful of Raa¡¯Tyrius making merry all the way there, even the Senior Knights joined in the fun once they found out about the literal moving alcohol making machine. Magitech was such a cheat William thought, the game builds that focused on it were able to do all sorts of crazy off-the-wall stuff, it didn''t scale well into the late game but if you wanted fun roleplaying as a mad scientist, Magitech and Raa¡¯Tyrius were your best friends. When he heard he was chosen of Raa¡¯Tyrius Lucrezia screamed, she was sure the god was the reason William was here, and William was on her side in this one, still, he told her how useful these dwarves were and she relented, bringing them to the old fortress she intended to give to the Knights. "I can feel your nostalgia for these people William, were they that interesting in the game?" "The NPCs versions of them were yes, they all were underdogs, outcasts that couldn''t get the proper chance to show the world their genius, Raa¡¯Tyrius took a chance with them, Idun in particular" "I saw the memories on him, poor man, the dwarves in Steinheim are harsh when it comes to their theology, even if its the son of their own god huh" "I don''t trust Raa''tyrius William, this is far too convenient, if we do get a blessing from him, we must talk with the god as fast as possible got it?" "Yes ma''am!" "Enough, ugh kids and sarcasm, I must rest, call me if something happens" William opened the fortress gates, its massive doors creaking as he used Magnetism to the max, a cheer erupted and he had to be honest with himself, it felt great. Knights and Dwarfs got to work real fast, in a few hours the whole place was already running, forges lit and steel being mixed with arcane crystals, many sang and William spotted a few non-dwarves among the faithful of Raa¡¯Tyrius, Of note was a huge Orc woman with massive wooden logs in her arms, he was awestruck when he felt a presence to his side. A tall elven lady, easily above 6 feet smiled as she watched the huge orc lady, her caramel hair and fair skin were a nice contrast to her red eyes. "I thank you, Your Highness, we have been on the road for almost three years already, it been hard and we lost some good friends along the way, but now that we have our home we can finally be one with our god William smiled at the elven woman, that was when it hit him. "Are you Samantha?" he asked without thinking She blinked, caught off guard by his question "Yes Your Highness, I''m Samantha, I met Idun while studying under the masters at Steinheim university of natural sciences-" "Who is this woman William, I can feel your emotions from here and they are a godsdamned mess" "She is the goddamn daughter of the Immortal King! Holy shit she was in the dwarf country to learn more about their ways!" "What?! Why would, Oh my, All-Fathers balls that can''t be real" "You got the memory? It''s reaL Lucrezia, this woman right here wanted to spearhead a cultural revolution that would turn Granarius into a carbon copy of Kehheim" "Madness, not even Uumaries dares police those mad elves, well what do we do now?" "I got a plan, but we can talk about it later" "Your Highness?" the elven woman asked puzzled, William but his best smile and said, "I overheard the men talking about how much of a lifesaver you were, that Magitech Distillery is quite a feat." She got red in the ears and said "That''s nothing, Carl and his inventions saved us more times than my booze machine" that was when Idun came running from the main forge "Your Highness, I''ve received a revelation from Raa¡¯Tyrius, a new weapon for you Your Highness!" They walked past workers, forgers, and Knights, all making merry and getting to know each other, arriving in the biggest forge William had seen in his life and a great lake of lava far below. Idun brought them to a table, where his new weapon was hidden below a piece of tarp, the dwarf removed the cloth with speed and precision and William was stunned. Lucrezia was screaming profanities again, but it was like she was underwater, William moved closer to the weapon, his hands trembling when he touched it, the familiar weight and format clicking all into place. It was a Magitech Musket, Or at the very least it looked like a Musket, he saw no gunpowder so he was assuming it ran on crystals, like any other Magitech device he had seen. He walked towards where people were testing crossbows, everyone making way as Raa¡¯Tyrius''s faithful chanted, William knew the chant, it was one they did whenever someone invented something new. He aimed, the gun feeling comfortable in his arms and shoulder, he took a depth breath and focused on the target as he squeezed the trigger. A great boom resounded across the fortress, a little piece of mana crystal fell from the gun, the target downrange had a hole the size of an apple dead square on it. Lucrezia calmed down enough and spoke "We have a name now William" "And the means to fight anyone who comes after me and you" Chapter 10: Made Equal "In warfare, Honor" Morugarius, Goddess of War when blessing the first King of Vermilion after he won against the Elven armies from the Sea The fort stopped as the echo from the gunshot propagated itself, William felt a piece of the puzzle that was his current life snap into place, he and Lucrezia now knew this minor god was involved with them, at some level at the very least. "This is just enough skirting away to not ping the All-Father on the ban of Terra Information, Godsdamn it all it will take a year for us to get a proper talk with him" "If we get a blessing that is" "We just became a messianic figure to these dwarfs, of course, we will get a blessing you dolt!" Lucrezia sighed, she had seen enough of William''s memories to understand the magnitude of the issue he was holding in his two hands, It was a stone throw away from cannons, to infantry tactics of Terran past, all which she knew now due to their deepened connection. "William, this...this might cause a Sphere Shift for all Gods of Warfare there is, we mustn''t use it!" William looked at the Magitech musket in his hands, it felt light, almost like it was hollow, he saw in his mind troops marching towards the city, Knights with improved versions of those flame spears he saw, the steady beat of the drums... "Uumaries spare me, I can feel that Terran, do you know the chaos this...this weapon will bring!? Nevermind Velkarius, if the madmen who follow Friede get hold of any of them we will have a civil war on our country!" "Lucrezia! listen to me, didn''t I forge a contract with you? I intend to uphold it, I, WE won''t let this gift from my planet fall into their hands, besides it would take years of conflict or a battle so cataclysmic that it would end a whole country for a sphere as big as War to shift" "Promise me Terran, Promise me that this won''t be our downfall" William took a deep breath and spoke "I promise"
Knight Commander Erwin felt deep in his bones when he heard and saw that first shot, he saw cavalry charges being broken, years of learning warfare only to be put down by the squeeze of a trigger, the sound would spook any horse that wasn''t trained to not spook itself to death. "Weapons fit for the desperate struggle we found ourselves in" he knew just by looking, that if a soft noble like his Lady Lucrezia could operate it, so could any man, woman child, and old, if need be, all to right the wrong that was done by the duke and duchess. He also saw the spark on Lucrezia, something many Knights would constantly pray to douse themselves off, that want of war, of bloodshed and pushing the boot over the enemy face and finishing them off, A year ago he would be worried Erwin thought, but now, he wanted blood and by his, Goddess Lady Lucrezia would deliver unto him that bloodshed. He approached the dwarf who made the weapon, he was drenched in sweat and heaving, mana backlash from the blessing huh, Erwin knew the feeling, it took decades to get used to, by the looks of it, Idun''s God wasn''t a major one if his High Priest couldn''t take the metaphysical shock. "Master Idun, may I have a moment of your time?" Idun grabbed a bottle of spirit, drank from it, and patted his sunken cheeks, he looked up to Erwing and said. "Knight Commander! Give me a few seconds, I just nearly had a mana-induced coma from forging that weapon. and used all of our fire mana crystals" he closed his eyes and breathed for a few seconds before speaking again. "How may I help you Knight Commander?" "These weapons of yours, can your God make it so it''s usable on horseback? Wulfgrem Dire Horses do not fear loud noises, a few dozen units with something like that and we would break any defense the Usurpers can think of it" The dwarf nodded and got to work.
William overhead the two men talking in the forge, A dwarven Heavy Vanguard would be excellent, if outfitted with heavy armor to punch through Eustace''s men while his Knights and Castle Guards mopped them up. Lucrezia was still fearful of the guns, it made sense, the little tidbits of game lore that spoke of how the All-Father dealt with foreign influence that wasn''t vetted by him were all very...heavy-handed to say the very least, but he believed that whatever he could throw at the world, the other Gods would throw it back, especially the Goddess of Magic, even if he was serving her son. "Saa, Follow me" the maid bowed and they went deeper into the fortress, the lava lake far below giving a faint glow, the air was warm but not uncomfortable so. "Those Steinheim dwarfs know how to build a fort with proper airflow don''t they" William pointed to the massive wrought-iron pipes, if knowledge server him right, they had mana engines the size of a small house constantly funneling cold air from the tall peaks in the wastes. Dwarves ran up and down around the fortress, using their Magitech to repair into its old glory, William and Saa''ryu walked by them, greeting those who stopped him to ask how the situation was back in the duchy, or to just thank him for saving them from a cold death, Lucrezia helped William in these encounters, constantly saying what he needed to say, how to move and even down to minute facial expressions, they fell into such a rhythm that it almost became a game, William would try to predict Lucrezia''s Advice while she would constantly change her approach. "That was fun Terran, I forgot how good was to talk without having to rest every ten minutes" "Your connection is deepening, that''s why" William could feel that as he got stronger with his command of magic and martial prowess, so did her, something both felt conflicted about it. They stopped at the entrance of a huge greenhouse, William had Saa''ryu pick the locks and strode right in, the maid in tow looking confused, she decided to air her questions, "Lu? what are we doing in a derelict greenhouse?" William removed a pouch from his person, in it were ten seeds he had gotten from the elven druids a day before setting out to save the dwarfs, these seeds were the product of decades of crossbreeding to make hardy grain, fruits, and tubers, William planted them one by one, using melted snow to water them with his magic, once they were done a few dwarves appeared, ready to begin renovations in the part of the fort they were. "Ok? you planted a few seeds but I fail to see why-" the seeds busted out of the ground, what would take an entire season done in seconds, William quickly grabbed the new seeds as apple and orange trees went up, ears of wheat and potato roots, planting more and more until the greenhouse was full, the dwarven crow was awestruck, William turned to them and explained. "This soil has been enchanted by a dwarf druid long ago, any seed you plant will immediately be ready to harvest" he pointed to a huge tube at the far end of the greenhouse "Load that tube with earthen and water crystals every month and the greenhouse should work as intended, with it food won''t be an issue for you people no more, "And the meat Your Highness? we just got word that there''s no place to raise pork or chicken in the fortress" asked a female dwarf who was already loading more earthen crystals into the tube, William nodded and said "We just recently have established a means to supply both the city and the fort with meat, But I''ll need Idun to dig a tunnel for supply line" The dwarf lady bowed and ordered the others to start the repairs, William left with Saa following close behind. "A rare find, if we can replicate this with the elven druids before the storm hits there will ample food for the populace, a good diet will keep them strong in both mind and spirit in the hard times to come" Lucrezia was pleased he could tell "Was here the base of operations for the player?" "Yes, feeding and securing the various factions was a huge part of the game at this stage" "All to break into the city and eventually the castle, Terran, no William I have a favor to ask" He could feel she was serious, serious, and scared. "You want to see the siege, don''t you? you know I''ve been blocking the visual memories of that part of the game" "Yes" William walked to a stone bench and told Saa''ryu he would rest a bit, the maid nodded and sat beside him, Pulling a book from her person to read while William went over one of the memories he kept from Lucrezia''s reach, it was strange at first, he could feel her digging around them, like an ant that crawls on your arm, and he could select what she saw or not, how he had such power was still unknown to him, soul magic being locked away for when he got to the Academy in the Capital if he even attempted the most basic of spells, the heat that would befall him from the powers that regulate it would be...less than manageable. He focused inwards, unlocking a memory to Lucrezia was a simple affair, all he had to do was allow that feeling to reach its desired place, he assumed it was her soul but couldn''t know for sure, he did feel though, crawling in his spine right into his throat and stopping at the back of his neck. "Gods!"
Lucrezia stared at a monitor in a pitch-black room, the only lights coming from the computer by her feet and her mouse and keyboard, the RBG strips had died a few weeks on the mousepad, tsk she would need to buy another one. "What in all hells is an RGB strip?" she asked herself, that was when it hit her, she was in one of the boy''s memories, the meld making it feel like it was her memory, she got up and walked around the room, opening a window only see nothing outside, Huh. "Whatever God cast this spell knew what they were doing, this all feels by design, but something must''ve gone wrong, ugh I knew I should''ve taken that introduction of necromancy and soul magic all those years ago, Damn Neptune and Kassandra for getting me into that buying spree..." Lucrezia felt sad for a second, sitting here in this figment of the boy''s memory she remembered her two best friends from the south, their estates, the sun on her skin as they talked about nothing and everything for hours, they were in a noble retreat to a famous beach she recalled, Lucrezia wasn''t allowed to go due to getting closer to her Blessing ceremony, she wondered about Tina and Marven, while not as close friends with those two, they all shared so many good memories, and a promise to rule the social scene in the Grand Academy once they all got sent there. "It''s almost petty, to think my ambitions were that small, while my people were being slaughtered..." she shook her head and said "Enough stalling, time to see what the boy was hiding from me" Lucrezia sat on the chair and clicked on the game''s icon, the loading screen and fanfare greeting her like a ghost of an old friend, Williams feeling bleeding in stronger than ever, the boy loved the game didn''t he? she loaded the save file and after a short wait was greeted by the protagonist "Hope Morgan Fritz, All-Father above you play as the daughter of Yosef Fritz from the Red Yeagers?!" Lucrezia quickly paused the game and checked the character sheet, just below the numbers and magic spells there were two words, and they left her with her jaw on the floor. "Blessed by the All-Father, gods above and below and the godsdamned spirits, the last time someone with that showed up, the Imperium was almost destroyed! then again, the boy did call her the protagonist..." Lucrezia was biting her lips but decided to let the matter go, even if the girl was real and they were to meet in the academy it would be William dealing with her, not Lucrezia, the young woman pressed play and she was bombarded by music, and orders being barked by a familiar voice. "Man the Trebuchets! I want holy fire on those walls!, get the necromancer to prepare his ghouls to soften the Usurpers up, and someone tell those godsdamned dwarves to hurry up!" Commander Erwin was giving orders but it felt fake, lifeless, like a puppet with his voice was in his place, So this was the game, huh, it looked pretty, almost like one of those hyper-realistic paintings the Shogunate delegates loved when she had the chance to go to their embassy, the muscle memory from William was like a glove, she could "play" the game without any issue, so it began the virtual siege of her city. Lucrezia noticed people who were in her "party" of note was the third prince, his face an exact copy of the real thing, she tried speaking with him but all he would answer were combat barks and orders, another quirk of the game she thought, the Arch-Mage son was also there, and several noble scions, all fighting together with her. They broke the gate, Wilson''s ghouls flooding in to fight grotesque flesh abominations, they moved in uncanny ways as if they were skipping frames even, she fought using steel and arcane, cutting down wave after wave of enemies, her allies flooding in as well, every street, every park, every plaza was a grueling battle, the enemies getting more ugly and vicious as they neared the central plaza leading to the castle. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. As they reached the central plaza, she saw the true devastation her parents had brought to her lands in this virtual realm, the city was dead, everyone turned into those grotesque creatures, Lucrezia in anger mashed the keyboard, going the extra mile to kill every single enemy in the screen, she knew it was all a lie, but in the heat of passion it didn''t matter, she wanted blood. Kapha''tur stood in the center of the plaza, surrounded by those Devol creatures, Wilson threw himself into the mage who now looked like skin and bones, Lucrezia charged in as well, throwing the area of effect spells one after another, but the court mage didn''t even react, only casting a crimson aegis spell around him, Erwin charged with a spear that Lucrezia recognized as demonic and broke the Aegis spells, they charged in screaming, hacking and lobbying spells in pure pandemonium, the screen a pure explosion of colors. Wilson screamed, and everyone jumped backward, Lucrezia saw as the lich detonated his soul in an act so taboo she could only gasp in awe and terror, the man had damned himself to oblivion by using the spell in a final act of defiance against the people who had killed his loved ones and friends, Lucrezia saw Serkj, now a Living Armor of towering stature also detonate himself, killing Kapha''tur for good, Erwin barked an order and the rest of the men moved forward, towards the castle. She saw in his face pain, sadness, and rage, she knew from Williams memories that they had spent months building up to this, and the three had formed a strong bond over the loss of their families. The castle''s main courtyard was empty, and eerie silence that bode ill omens, the men and women formed up, with Lucrezia and the third prince at the tip of the spear, she opened the doors of her home and saw the terrors inside its halls, bodies in hooks, blood, and viscera scattered in arcane formations, yet she didn''t few disguise or repulse, she felt bored as if she had seen similar things so much they didn''t even phase her, another reflex of Wiliam she figured, of course, the Terrans would have an immunity to this disgrace, savages that they are. She was being unfair to the boy and she knew it, but emotions flooded her as a dam had broken, she wanted to scream, to blame him for everything but she knew that he was as much of a victim in this as was her, who was to say that his death wasn''t orchestrated by whoever brought him over? Lucrezia filed those thoughts for later and proceeded further into the castle, the party bantering among themselves in fear of the boss to come. That was when she saw her staff. ghosts, wraiths, banshees. They rushed her, begging for death, Erwing with tears in his eyes put them down, one by one as the party helped him, that was when they saw Leanu crying near a window overlooking the central plaza, her wails chilling Lucrezia to her core, she walked up to the head maid, and with a single click of the mouse killed her. "...Thank you." the virtual facsimile of the woman that was a part of her life said as she moved on to the afterlife, and they finally breached the main chamber of the private wing. Lucrezia didn''t know how to feel, how to process this alternative timeline of events, it felt fake and real at the same time, a storm of epic proportions was raging inside, but still, she kept playing the game, ready for the final boss. She saw her father and mother, they were so pale the veins around their bodies were visible, a purple aura surrounding them, they spoke in an unknown language, whatever was controlling them already deep enough to affect their speech, Erwing charged forward, and a cinematic played, the knight fought valiantly but he was getting overwhelmed, he screamed the spears name, and it exploded, taking him out in the process. The final fight was anticlimatic Lucrezia felt, at their last moments, her parents not even begging for mercy, Hope cutting their heads with a smooth arc and the credits rolling, Lucrezia felt fear, fear of letting this happen in the real world, fear that it took A god to break an untold number of rules to get someone to stop it, and above all else, fear of having to kill her flesh and blood, to effectively end the Wulfgrem line. could she do it she thought? she had the boy kill three people just a week ago and now she was the one hesitating. "I''m a big hypocrite aren''t I?" she said laughing in self-mockery, Lucrezia retreated to the Monolith, refusing to answer when William questioned if she was alright. Gods knew she wasn''t.
Idun, now Master Idun was talking with the many Knights that were coming into the fortress, he had already tasked some of his followers to repair the roads that led to the entrance of the underground complex, even a way station, the Knights had burned their wooden fortress to avoid letting any boreal clan from the wastes settle in, the men and women in their dire horses looked happy he thought, many chatting and laughing, squatting on the woods vs living on proper fortifications was a game-changer. Lady Lucrezia had already left for the city to update her people holding up in the castle, she wanted everything ready for the upcoming fight, that was when the second in command for the Knights showed up, Sigr¨²n was her name he recalled, the women looked like she was on a five-day sleepless binge, he knew the feeling well enough, his god knew how many days he had to be the tip of the spear when it came to roaming the wastes, his Vanguardsmen being too hurt or too tired to do it, she sat down beside him, they were overlooking other dwarves working on making the new weapons, the forges roaring to life as they feed coal and mana. "Feels good being out of the forest, I thank you Master Idun" she bowed her head, Idun nodded when he felt something strange, it was like the very presence of the woman beside him was of an illusion. "Thank Lady Lucrezia, she was the one who led us to this wonderful place, had it not been her, we would likely be picked off by the beasts in the wastes" he tried stalling, something was very off, he heard the woman sighing as he tugged into his shirt, pressing a hidden button that would deploy a shield should anything try to harm him. "I have a favor to ask Master Idun, as I''m sure you noticed the Illusion spell I''m casting, together with the slight mind one" she cut off the mind spell on him and he suddenly noticed how the illusion was cracking, under it he saw, a single horn and the eyes of a cat, but it was the foxtails that made him gasp. "A Half Kitsune and Half Succubi!, by the Arcane Gear! how did Saal¡¯Xhir let you even join the services of... Ah! now I get it, your kind needs a worded permission to "live" somewhere that isn''t holy grounds of Saal¡¯Xhir, that horrible goddess Uumaries and her curses" Idun recalled how many of his followers were cursed by a Uumaries high priest when they first arrived in Vermilion, the goddess was on a courtship battle to win the hand of Morugarius in divine marriage, he spurred at the thought if she got the power of the biggest goddess of war things would get bad to the less well to be everywhere in the world. With a word Idun "allowed" the Half Succubi the right of living inside the fortress, apparently whatever curse the land was laboring under saw him as the owner of the place, not Lucrezia. "Thank you, Master Idun, by the spear it''s horrible having to cast these spells, my mana reverses aren''t that big so I''m constantly near-empty" the dwarf laughed, now that the illusion was fully dispelled, he saw the telltale signs of a Succubi in full, including the wings, curious he thought, a small part of him wondering if he could Magitech something akin to them, without infringing upon Saal¡¯Xhir''s divine sphere of power that is. "Do the other Knights know about it?" he asked feeling a little light in the head, he heard the woman laugh and it clicked, her blessings were already working on him. Dangerous stuff Idun thought, he was lucky he didn''t have a wife, some of his people had married under his blessings so he was sure to give those a heads up, the last time he had to administrate a divorce it got nasty real fast. Forgive me, Master Idun, yes they know, the duke had given his permission for me to live in these lands as a Knight after all, and Commander Erwin even let me into his clan to avoid the brunt of Uumaries curses, alas she is heavily worshipped in these lands so life wasn''t all peachy, but now that the duke broke the oath with the Commander, I''ve been forced to maintain these Illusions so I don''t get smitten down by Noble''s favorite goddess of the decade" she said spatting on the floor, bitterness in her voice, Idun nodded, he knew from personal experience how nasty the Goddess could be. "With you God having anointed Lady Lucrezia and she establishing the Oath with the Commander, it''s my hope we kick Uumaries from Wulfgrem lands once and for all", she finished in a more hopeful tone "You believe the people would forsake their Patron Goddess this fast?" the dwarf asked feeling suspicious, faith was a big deal for the people in Vermilion. "If you saw the state the City is Master Idun, you would believe it, Now that Velkarius herself sent the crows, it''s all but certain Uumaries has either forsaken them or-" "Is involved with the wrongdoings that are happening" Idun had gotten a detailed briefing thanks to Lucrezia''s Maid, he knew the situation in their city was FUBAR, as the old masters from his country would say it, he also knew that Uumaries had some sort of mean to hide her chosen from the purview of Gods and Goddesses who punished Evil and Wrongduers, he had heard of a great operation involving the Goddess of Justice, Velkarius and Friede to bust a slavering operation ran by a marquis in Vermilion''s Capital, tying him to the local Uumaries high priestesses. Still, the people of Vermilion were in favor of the goddess, she quickly declared that branch heretics and washed her hands from the whole affair but many other local churches protested, it took the royals to deploy their personal Knights to stop full-blown religious warfare in the streets. "Rotten Divine brat" Idun spat as well, God willing Lady Lucrezia would find evidence against that blight and banish her followers and burn the main church down along with whatever shrine in the countryside. "You said it Master Idun heh" She stretched her wings, flexing them into an impressive display, a few Knights cheering the woman from a balcony, she waved at them laughing. "So, what made a servent of Saal¡¯Xhir renounce her vows? I thought she had paladins so combat can''t be the reason right?" Idun asked "Bleh, her Paladins are glorified whorehouse guards, no Master Idun, I wanted to serve a higher purpose than love, I love this country Master Idun, my people weren''t viewed in the best light back in the Imperium, but here Kitsune can be more than escorts for nobility!" she got heated, her tails wagging a little, she cleared her throat and spoke in a more subdued tone "Forgive me, it''s an uh, sore spot for me, my entire clan were followers of Saal¡¯Xhir so when I refused her blessings there were...Complications" Idun understood, he knew how it was, going against the clan and family like that wasn''t easy, a few of the other dwarves manning the forges were nodding along as well, one even said "I get ya lady fox, my husband left us when I converted, weak iron of a man, too preoccupied with his dwarven traditions, bah! Magitech is the future!" "Aye!" shouted the other dwarfs operating the forges. Idun praised his God, thanking him for giving such an opportunity to his flock. "You are very humble for a High Priest you know, and you don''t even have a beard! I thought it was illegal for dwarfs to go bare face like that" she laughed much to his cringe, the other dwarfs laughed as well. Idun coughed and said "I suppose I never was that much of a dwarf, my whole family was blacksmiths but I never found the skill for it, even the Steinheim accent I lost barely a month of traveling, still I can''t say I miss those days, senseless wandering around town, trying to find purpose, being shunned for my lack of skills or respect for tradition" he heard a sob, many of the dwarfs that stuck with him were in the same place. "A humble leader, how rare" Sigr¨²n spoke "I have a feeling we gonna get through this well Master Idun, call it Kitsune intuition but I have a good feeling about our Lady.
Gabriel Lumenaris, Arch Druid of the Winter Elves was pacing around his tree home, the human woman watching him with curious eyes, Curse the spirits he thought, what she asking for was madness! Worse still, Madness from those crazed cousins from the south, Spirit damn Granarius Gabriel thought, they were a blight on all things elven. His war party was ready, they were all sitting watching him pace around, many with complicated looks on their faces, the twin sisters were there as well, he had designated them as liaison for the human earlier, one of the war druids, Catherina spoke, her voice trembling. "Lady Lucrezia what you are asking is...is nothing short of abhorrent! we may be secluded here in the north but every druid knows about the Granarius spore plague! If we use it, assuming we could even cast the spell in the first place, the Spirits would rebel, the Gods would come crashing down faster than a Hawk catching its prey, I understand you don''t want to endanger the civilians but this alternative is even worse than a full-blown siege!" Gabriel couldn''t agree more, another Druid spoke, it was Menkur. "If we can cultivate the right strain of fungi, many of the side effects from the base spell can and will be avoided, I understand the...Ethical point of using what is a war crime in druidic spell form but don''t forget we have kin on those walls, as we speak here elven men and women are being tortured and murdered by cultists, will you all turn them away in their time of need? have we not made a pact with the Winter Spirits to help our kin as much as they help us? I''m in favor of using the plague!" The other four druids nodded, Gabriel, paced around more, that was when the human spoke "Arch-Druid Gabriel, there''s no need for panic, I do not intend to use the mind control variant of the spore, If my sources are right, there''s another spore, one that the Granarrius mages only used in their infamous scorched earth tactics-" "By the Gods, she wants to use Friede''s Fingers!" Catherina screamed "Human only the royals of Granarius know how to harvest it, unless you are implying you can get a meeting with the mad king himself there''s no way this is even possible! I beg you, Gabriel, make her see reason, I''ll have an army of magical beasts ready for a siege if need be" The elven woman was pale as fresh snow, When Gabriel turned to Lucrezia all he saw were her eyes, looking past him and everyone in the room, they looked dead.
Leanu and Wilson were patrolling the castle grounds, there was no movement from Eustace''s guards in the city, from the few divination the acolytes could cast, the city was stable in a sense, food magic worked in ways her meager arcane knowledge couldn''t comprehend, but at least the people had food to eat. Winter''s End was closer now, they managed to intercept numerous birds from the countryside villages, everyone outside of the city had gone into early preparation for it, at least the guards couldn''t harass them, the demons were still posted in the Highway, on the other hand, Serkj had managed to send discreet runners to some of the farms near the highway to warn the people there, to good results so far. A week ago they were trembling in fear, but now everyone in the castle had renewed vigor, ever since her Lady had woken from that horrible coughing fit the day the port went up in flames they had moved at a breakneck pace, from getting back Commander Erwin, to saving the Dwarf clan and the making of a brand new weapon, and the support of the Winter Elves with their druids, morale was higher than ever before. Leanu had the chance to meet the twin Winter Elven sisters, the three of them becoming fast friends over a few hours of talking back and forward. they even met that silly man of a soldier who Lady Lucrezia had scared senseless. they were amicable enough Leanu felt, although the eldest one did speak much. Both decided to grab something to eat after finishing their patrol, with the frankly amazing dungeon core spitting out meat like it was water from one of those magical fountains the merchants from Xie sold at the Capital, the whole staff of the castle was in awe, some even asking for permission to go down in the dungeon to see the core working, Wilson took a few of his acolytes there a few days ago to check for any anomalies but it was all clear, they eventually let the staff and guards there, to relax in between shifts. Leanu followed Wilson as they went to his study to eat, along the way both guards and staff saluting them, even an acolyte or two, it felt strange to her, she was the head maid, yes but to command even the guards was weird, in a good way she thought. "I still can''t get used to this leadership position Lady Lucrezia left us in, Serkj took it like a fish to water, but it still strange when the younger acolytes come to me for orders or advice," Wilson said as he devoted a rack of ribs, Leanu having already finished her stew a few minutes ago, she nodded and spoke "I feel the same dear, just the other day a guard came to me, asking for me to delegate fight that had broken between staff trainees and guards, never had I thought something like that would happen" Wilson nodded, his expression turning grave "Our Lady told me that after this is done...I will be court mage" Leanu knew, she knew that a fight would happen on these very grounds and that her love would be at the front of it, she held his hand tight and heard him sob "It''s ok dear, we can trust Lady Lucrezia, we will weather this storm together you and me" the man hugged Leanu, she felt his tears fell on her shoulder, how tense he was, his anxieties and fears all flowing away as she held him tight "I''m not cut out for this Lea, I''m a researcher, I write papers on spellcraft! not run drills and formations, my friends aren''t mages from the Imperium, we are book worms! I''m afraid Lea, I don''t wanna see my friends die" He muttered in her embrace, they both rested on the sofa as Wilson slowly relaxed as he cried, it didn''t take long for him to mutter an apology and sleep, hugging Leanu. She felt his warm body leaned into her''s, how tired and restless he was, she felt the same Leanu thought in her mind, she didn''t want to send her staff to be killed in the streets or the castle halls, the maid prayed to whoever god that could listen to spare them, take her instead but please spare them. The crows were silent as a grave as she prayed, staring at her and many others in the castle, when a single bird took a flight to the city''s south entrance, in his beak a red band. Velkarius''s High Priest had arrived. Chapter 11: A meeting with Royalty "We saw Queen Artemis and King Graan descend from their obsidian thrones and fight at the gates of Granarius Prime when Queen Malphas Used the power of the Rage-that-Dwells in its entirety, physical reality bent as she fought them for an entire week without stopping, In a mad gamble to stop the Queen of Vermilion, the Royals deployed the first ever recorded use of a Tear from the All-Father, stalling Queen Malphas enough for them to retreat and later issue a ceasefire" Elven Commander Veronica Windreaver of the Magenta squad, Granarius elite guerrilla operatives on her interview post-war to a reporter from the Imperium. William paced around the castle, the plans with the druids had stalled in the last few days, they were against deploying taboo spells from their Granarius cousins, He didn''t think he would need to reveal "Samantha''s" real identity so soon but he needed an audience with those mad elves and their killer variant of the spore spell, including the finger fungi strain, ugh he thought, it would take a series of favors to get on their good side, some he could replicate like dealing with their bard, and cooking the foods both royals liked but getting that Hivemind made wine would be...Complicated. "You can cook?" Lucrezia asked, she was feeling better these past few days, William managed to go down to what they were calling the Monolith''s core room, and established that the melding had stalled. "Sure can! It''s nothing super fancy but I bet some recipes from the earth can translate well enough that King Graan would be pleased" "You sure this "Samantha" has a long-range teleportation device? even if we use the highways it would take months to arrive in their capital city" William showed her a game memory of the moment the Princess using her collar to open a door into the palace, He had been steadily drip-feeding more memories to Lucrezia now, the meld stalled meant that there was still some distinction between their individual experiences, to a certain degree that is. "Do not think about that again Terran, it was embarrassing enough for me and I DO NOT want a rewind" "Sorry?" William didn''t know what to say, it was a rather complicated issue, knowing that his dreams could "leak" so to say towards Lucrezia''s soul, the same could happen to her dreams, as he woke up from a particularly nasty dream where the woman had broken her leg while riding a horse the size of a pickup truck. "I may have been willing to use necromancy before, but I can''t believe I actually want to delve into the soul arts" "We make do Lucrezia, we make do" She sighed "So what''s the plan? are you gonna walk to the woman and demand it? threaten her with that weapon Idun made?" "As if. I''m not a maniac, shame on you for implying otherwise Lucrezia" William coughed and spoke to her "First and foremost, we need to compose new music for their bard to play, don''t ask me why the game never went into detail on it, second its food, King Graan is a big foodie, Earth recipes will be enough to earn enough goodwill from the madman together with the new music" Lucrezia hummed in accord, William found the habit curious, he didn''t know she liked music that much from the game info. "And the Queen? how do we please her?" A nervous laugh came from William''s lip "Your parents wouldn''t have a bottle of Hivemind made Wine would they?"
A scene was happening in the grand kitchen of the castle, Leanu came running when a maid dressed in full plate told her that Lady Lucrezia was harassing the Kitchen staff for foodstuff. Arriving there she saw her Lady arguing fiercely with the Head Chef, Angelo. "-Do not put your nubile hands on my workstation! look at this...this disgrace you made against all that is holy in this realm!" he looked at Leanu, horrified, and screamed for help "Head Maid, stop this madness at once! the lady is possessed, she wishes to bake this monstrosity towards Kelis the goddess of bread for All-Father''s sake!" Leanu looked over, shushing the dramatic man, he was a great head chef she felt, but he was a native from Kehheim, Uumaries above those people had a flair for drama and raising a ruckus if their "traditions" were broken, including nobility trying to bake...Flatbread? she approached the young woman, who was sporting kitchen staff clothes, Saa''ryu nowhere in sight, which felt a little strange, those two were always together after all. "...Forgot the yeast again, Jesus fuck it''s hard doing by memory without an easy recipe...Oh, Leanu! what brings you here?" the maid raised her eyebrow, who was this Jesus fellow? All-Father above, if another rumor beings she would have to bust out the memory marbles to find out who started saying her lady was sleeping around! it was bad enough that the First Maid almost killed a Buttler who had started the last rumor... "Lady Lucrezia, I was told you were in the kitchen causing quite the ruckus-" "Ruckus! this is harassment, this noble can barely boil water much less make bread, look at this sad excuse of a dough! no eggs and no butter! who makes dough without BUTTER?!" the Head Chef rudely spoke over Leanu, the Head Maid turned to him and glared him down, the man backed off with a huff as the kitchen staff watched with a mix of glee, apprehension, and boredom, apparently whatever Lucrezia was doing here had been going for a while. "I''m making a new dish, something that will impress even our Head Chef." Lucrezia said, ditching the failed mass of dough "Now that you are here Leanu, you can help, Head Chef over there is being a total ass and won''t let the kitchen staff help me" the man went red but Leanu glared him down again, she turned to a staffer and motioned her to clean the workstation, this time she grabbed all the right ingredients. Leanu watched in awe as the girl she raised started manning the kitchen utensils like she was a maid fresh from training, it took Lucrezia less than 20 minutes to prep the right dough this time, which looked like Orcish Taal, a popular street food dish they ate in the many festivals that happen across the year, after finishing needing the dough she cast some sort of spell that made the yeast raise it, something that would take at the very least an hour happening in a blink. "Holy shit it worked!" She heard Her Lady mutter, the Head Chef sighed in disbelief and spoke "What a disgrace, using magic to fast forward the process, typical spoiled nobility" to which many of the Kitchen staff rolled their eyes when Lucrezia started throwing the dough up in the air and spinning it many were gobsmacked, one of the staffers even asking what in all that is holy her lady was doing! Leanu couldn''t agree more. "Start heating the oven, GO" Lucrezia said without taking her eyes from the spinning dough, the cornmeal flour that was below the dough flying across the kitchen, after feeling the dough was round enough she put the thing down and made a border around it, growing her brows and muttering something about wrong order. Leanu was close to intervening when Lucrezia started barking orders again, oil, cheese, tomato sauce, more cheese! "I need sausages, cut in thin slices, they need to be heavy on spices" she spoke while prepping the cheese monstrosity, at this point the Head Chef had seen the method behind the madness and wasn''t as sanguine about it, when he heard the request he bolted to the pantry and grabbed a magically sealed container. "My Lady this is made from a specific goat farmed by Dwarfs in Xie, they blend numerous spices native to the Dynasty and blessed by local agricultural gods to achieve a taste unheard in this side of the world" He sliced a piece and offered it to Lucrezia who took a hearty bite of it. Silence descended in the Kitchen, the Head Chef Elven ears going red in shame, Leanu was ready to offer the Half-Elf a lifeline when her Lady spoke again. "Goddamn this is good" She went back to the dough, slicing the sausage in thin circles. after poking it for what Leanu believe to be bubbles inside of it, she was satisfied and picked a rod of steel, shaping it to the format of the round dough, she then opened some sort of scroll and placed it on top of it, turning steel into stone. Quickly placing said stone in the oven, Lucrezia placed the dough inside the oven and prayed to All-Father, the whole kitchen watched as she recited it when the Head Chef broke the reverie and asked "So, How long until this...Whatever this is cooked?" "15 Minutes" and so they waited when it was done it was the Angelo himself who removed the new dish from the oven, his blessing granting him immunity from the fire, immediately the smell hit them, and something clicked inside the man, in an instant he felt his whole life change. "Major blessing, heh Congratulations Head Chef Angelo" Lucrezia gave the man a small bow. As Lucrezia sliced the new dish, everyone in the kitchen was salivating in anticipation, Lucrezia made enough for everyone and with a small bow said. "I present to you, The Pizza"
"Tell me Terran, is there a reason we are rooting around my parent''s bedroom? I fail to see the point of it, we don''t need further evidence of their misdeeds do we?" Lucrezia was right, there won''t be anything to find here when it came to more information on those people, but he wasn''t here for intel, he was here for booze, more specifically, the only way to reliable get a bottle of that Hivemind made booze unless he went to the mega-dungeon in the capital and defeated its final boss for it. "I need a bottle of that Special booze I told you about, your parents are supposed to have it, otherwise we will be out of luck when it comes to getting Queen Artemis to favor us" "Can''t we bring another liquor? The duchy is famous for its root beer and Mead" "She hates Mead and sees bear as peasant grog, no it has to be that blasted bottle" He felt puzzlement and curiosity, sighing William explained "There''s a very tight window in the castle siege to get it, otherwise you must return to the capital and run the dungeon twice, and the enemies there scale to your level which is just super annoying and time-consuming" "Scale as in...?" "As you level up they level up with you basically, I thought you had the terminology down Lucrezia, do you need more memories?" "Gods no! let''s not repeat the earlier incident-" "You can talk with me if it''s making you uncomfortable you know? I was told I''m a great listener, it was sis who told me but still..." "NO! now find this stupid bottle so we can move to the next step of your plan, they better have those special fungi you mention, cause even speaking with a noble from Granaris is liable to get us charged with sedition of state authority and treason" "Don''t worry. will now help me with this" William pointed to a safe. "Can''t help you there Terran, I don''t know the combination for the safe" "The hard way it is then" William placed his hand on the safe and sent a focused blast of Magnetism into the safe, feeling the whole thing crumble, he quickly removed his hand and canceled the blast, the door opening by flying into Lucrezia''s parent''s bed. "They ain''t gonna be needing that now heh" William smirked as he picked the prize, a bottle made of an unnamed metal the Hivemind can make from its biomass feeding process, he opened the bottle and on a whim took a swig of it, the liquid went down like fire and ash, with a sweet almost rotten after taste, William coughed until red in the face, he felt Lucrezia''s disbelief and anger rise when she spoke "By all that is holy why did you drink that!? Ugh, I felt from here! godsdamn it''s bad" "The description text said its taste was divine! goddamn it all I feel like I''m throwing up half the food I ate today" William sat on the floor nursing the bottle, he closed the thing as the smell was making him shiver, Lucrezia was talking but he couldn''t hear it well, that was when he saw the shadow people around the room, a legion of shades rushing, whispering and screaming at him, scared out of his mind William did the only thing he could to clear himself from the poison, he threw up until he was dry heaving. "...William, can you hear me? speak with me godsdamnit, shit shit shit" "I''m here Lucrezia, at least my brain is here, I think I just had an astral projection or this is pure poison, is everything alright down there?" The woman didn''t speak for several minutes, then he heard a heavy sigh of relief, the feeling blanketing him like being tucked into a bed as a young kid. "Yes, thank the gods, Listen William, no drinking booze made from ancient space-faring galaxy destroyers ok? and no drugs as well, promise me" "I don''t think we want a repeat of that yeah, I promise Lucrezia" "Good, Good now I hope the next step doesn''t involve us getting poisoned?" "I have a feeling you gonna like the final part of the plan Lucrezia, trust me"
Court Bard Hayden was feeling very cranky the past two weeks or so, Firstly she was confined to the castle grounds which while rather large, weren''t enough for her to get inspiration for her magnum opus. Then suddenly everyone and their mother is doing combat drills like they are preparing for a bloody siege, from who she didn''t know until she had to seduce a guard into speaking what the hells was going on in the duchy, the boy didn''t last an hour before he spilled the beans, and when she learned of all the horrible stuff that was happening outside of the walls it made sense why no one was getting out. But what annoyed her the most was Lady Lucrezia''s continuous skipping their music class, she noticed the mood had changed with the young woman, ever since she woke from that horrible fever she had, there was something else on her, an extra spring to her step like she was driven by something, something higher, divine even, in the last week she had swayed back the old Knight Commander, gotten a crew of dwarven engineers and weapon smiths to work for her, and even got assistance from a Winter Elven clan. So when said Lady came to her quarters asking for help on "composing a brand new song" the bard couldn''t help but get very frustrated at her, even if she knew better. "Ahem, what''s this contraption you are holding there Lady Lucrezia? it appears to me its a lute but, not of any shape I know of, and the college was very thorough when it came to them..." Very suspicious Hayden felt, while she had heard of new weapons being made by the dwarfs, she didn''t know they had expanded to musical instruments, she watched as Lucrezia tuned the new instrument, its six strings glittering in the light from the chandeliers. Kailistus Chalice! those strings were made out of mana crystals! How was she playing that...that thing without cutting her fingers off, that was when she heard the first notes being played, a queer and new sound flooding her ears, she then realized she didn''t know it, the melody, the harmonization between the notes, how Lucrezia''s hand slide from cord to the cord, forming shapes that produced notes, and even those there were some she had never heard of it. When Lucrezia started to sing, Hayden was completely fixated on her, all her worries and complaints melting away as something higher than herself came to watch this event unfolding. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "The many miles we walked" "The many things we learned" "The building of a shrine" "Only just to burn" "May the wind be at your back" "Good fortune touch your hand" "May the cards lay out a straight" "All from your command" "That''s the way it is" "That''s the way it is" "That''s the way it is" "That''s the way it is" As she kept playing the guitar Hayden could feel the words becoming images in front of her, the sadness and hopelessness they projected overwhelming her to the point she had to hold back her tears. "Shine light into darkness" "Shine light into darkness" Hayden cried, the image in front of her, that was all doom and gloom became engulfed with rays of warm and welcoming light, just as the lyrics ended she felt a snap inside of her. "Another Greater Blessing, I''m on a roll today" Lucrezia whispered as the Bard came to, immediately snatching her lute and composing a new song on the spot, riding the blessing high, she noticed her Lady looking up to the roof and did a small bow.
Samantha was walking along the hunt trails the Winter Elves used, now that the dungeon core had been taken care of they were safe for roaming she was told, it felt divine to walk around this sanctuary of life and death, a perfect balance kept by the hunters and druids in proper elven fashion, they even had tree houses! the elven woman was delighted, while her duties to her god kept her working in the underground fort, she also had a passion for the outdoors and nature. She was an Elf after all. "If they came here they would destroy it all, build their ugly iron and stone homes and roads, abuse magic and miracles both to bend it to their will, gods I hate them, and their mockery of elven culture" Samantha thought back to her days on her parent''s court, the many classes and dances, the dresses and banquets, but most importantly, the memory that was most engraved on her mind was of her parents, their mockery to all things elven, their attempts at forging a new culture inspired by the many races who lived in their country, their thirst for war at the flimsiest of excuses, many times she went on their parades, the marching of thousands of Granarius troops was a childhood staple, that and their pikes slamming in the ground with the bellowing of war cries. "Never again" she whispered as she found a clearing with a river running on it, she conjured a sofa made of soil and wood and sat there in contemplation, so much had happened ever since she forsook? her old name and ties, from learning about the High Elves and their culture to joining with Idun and finding a place to belong, but still she was haunted by doubts and sorrow, she thought of her country, her people being enslaved by her parents to their horrid ideas of "culture" She still had that little book a guard gave it to her so long ago "History of Kehheim and It''s Culture" the spark that gave her hope to change Granarius, for the better, gone would be the warmongering and daredevil ways. it would be a proper elven nation. Until her parents found about it that is, and had her biggest supporters exiled, she ran away the night after it, and ever since when for the past 100 years has been on the run, the only memento of her past as a Royal, the necklace she wore. It was near high noon when she felt the presence of a very particular human, Raa¡¯Tyrius Chosen, the one who saved them from a cold miserable life in the wastes, the young woman was dressed up to the nines she found, complete with a very intricate dress, it showed too much skin in her opinion but she didn''t air those, she knew humans, in particular, had the fashion sense of primitives, something her parents would also emulate. She also noticed that Lucrezia wasn''t actually touching the ground, instead, she was floating in her iron disc, she had seen a Magnetic mage once, but the man wasn''t keen on sharing his spells with others, the ever-present maid was also not present, something that made Samantha curious "Your Highness Lady Lucrezia, is there anything I can help you with?" Samantha kneeled, she was told the human wasn''t a fan but as a follower of Raa¡¯Tyrius it was only proper to kneel, the wants of his chosen are damned, not that she spoke about it, the woman had many fervent followers, and bad-mouthing her was a quick way to get into a fight or worse, be paid a visit by the First Maid at night; one of the dwarfs had done it and he almost died of shock when he found the woman with a knife to his neck in the dead of the night. "This is a nice spot, isn''t it? mind if I have a set by your side?" she didn''t wait and sat down with a plop, for minutes the two stared at the mostly untouched nature in front of them, that was when a dark as night crow cawed from a tree and landed on Lucrezia''s lap, the woman took out a piece of bread and gave to the bird, who wagged his tail and chirped in happiness. "They seem to like you, Your Highness" "At first it took enough honeyed bread to feed a pack of dire horses to get these birds to trust me, but now I always get one or two begging for scraps, guess their lady gave the go-ahead to eat from my hand, or she favors me." A laugh came out of the young woman, but it was bitter, Samantha knew well enough the burden of a ruler, as Idun and she ran their people''s day-to-day activities. She also knew that anyone that gets favored by the Spear would eventually have to do deeds they wouldn''t be able to forgive themselves for, she had seen many a noble in Granarius getting caught by Velkarius clergy and having their loved ones do the final blow, many couldn''t do it, and it fell to the clergy to take their lives, but every once in a while you heard the criers shout about a son or daughter murdering their parents. Lucrezia sighed and with an almost sorrowful tone spoke again " Lady Samantha, I''m afraid I''ll need a big favor from you" Samantha jumped, her heart beating a little faster now, a big favor? was she to fight in the frontlines when they decide to attack the ritual room she heard from Idun? Samantha knew a few spells but she was a tinkerer and philosopher, not a fighter, but if the woman asked by Raa¡¯Tyrius she would do it! even if she had to die for it, her god gave her a chance to live a fulfilling life and save her country, to pay that price with her own life was nothing short of fair. She saw Lucrezia retrieve a very fancy piece of paper from her person, unfolding it right in front of her, and with a small cough, started reading it. "By the Decree of Immortal King Graan, lord of Granarius and warrior supreme, any information regarding the whereabouts of First Princess Emilya will be rewarded with 100.000 gold pieces and a nobility title within the Kingdom of Granarius" On it was a picture painted by one of the castle artists, it didn''t look like Samantha at all, that was when Lucrezia tapped into the necklace in the picture, and Samantha felt her heart beating like the war drums from before a raid. "I know Emilya," Lucrezia said and Emilya didn''t fail to pick up her magic flaring up, she was expecting an attack to knock her out but senses told otherwise a barrier? Lucrezia feared an attack from her? "Your Highness I wouldn''t dare! by Raa¡¯Tyrius I swear on my name I shan''t touch nary a hair of your body" the elf kneeled again, only to find an exasperated Lucrezia moving to get her to stand again. "But I thought-your Parents-" "Lady Lucrezia I might hate my kin but never in my life would harm the one my god sent to use in our greatest time of need, Yes I''m frustrated you found out but I know Raa¡¯Tyrius will protect me, even if should you try selling me for the reward" she spoke with fervor and conviction, Lucrezia put her hands up in the air and said "Easy Lady Emilya, Easy I won''t sell you gods above no, I just feared that bringing them up would upset you something fierce, I know about your cultural revolution and what they did to the ones that supported it" Lucrezia got a bit red in the ears, she was ashamed? Raa¡¯Tyrius above! if Idun heard of this the dwarf would tan her hide! Emilya calmed down "I assume this is about those ghoulish fungi you want from Father and Mother then? I can take you to the palace, but only if you promise to not let them chain me there again, in the name of Raa¡¯Tyrius Himself Lucrezia you must promise" "I swear an oath to Raa¡¯Tyrius that I will not let them take you Emilya" Lucrezia placed a hand on her chest and from it a small glow came, forming into a gear made from mana crystals, the symbol of Raa¡¯Tyrius. "I never thought you were this devoured, I was led to believe the cultural revolution was the most important thing for you Emilya," Lucrezia said after sitting back on the sofa, she produced a bottle of tea and drank heavily from it, Emilya, on the other hand, remained standing. "It was thanks to him that I found the strength to fight for my people Lady Lucrezia, After my supporters were exiled I was in a very angry and dark place, but I''m no fighter, I lack that edge my parents have, and gods they have teased me about it, but Raa¡¯Tyrius gave me a chance, a chance to use what I loved to improve the lives of those who needed it the most, Those my parents in their lust for war and glory were forsaken, teachers, artists, merchants, those that didn''t move their Warmachine forward, alas I had to leave them, my parents were hot on my tail when I found Idun." Lucrezia was awestruck, she remained silent for several minutes until another crow landed on her, breaking the young human from her thoughts. "They followed you all the way to the dwarven''s home turf, huh, and now we will both walk right into their home..." "If need be, I''ll even wear a dress Lady Lucrezia, as long you keep the promise" Lucrezia Nodded, Emilya pulled her necklace and sent a small pulse of mana towards it. "Let''s go then," Lucrezia said, getting up and cleaning herself with magic, both women walked through the portal that had just formed.
"We just teleported across two countries to reach Granarius Prime, and all you can do is stare at the statues?!" "Look it''s not my fault they are so well built, look! that''s the one where Queen Artemis defeated the five dragons alone AND bare-handed! how can you not like that Lucrezia?" "Please, the final stand against the sea elves is so much better than this, once we reach the capital you will see for real, not some fictional virtual rendition of it" "I didn''t know you were so patriotic dear, what''s the next daily anthem signing before the sun rises?" "Spare me the sarcasm Terran, now chin down, our lady comes" William schooled his face, Lucrezia had prepared a martial dress that only northern nobles used, her short sword by her left side, and a cape with the coat of arms of the Wulfgrem on her right, the dire wolf''s piercing red eyes making quite the fashion statement William thought. Lucrezia had given access to all her memories of how to properly behave in the elven court, Unlike the High elves from Kehheim, Granarius Royalty had less taste for rituals and subtlety, being much more bombast and loud, but he wasn''t here on a ball, Emilya showed up in a proper princess attire as well and both walked the halls of the castle before reaching the throne room, sometimes William would feel whispers behind him, which meant one thing from his game knowledge. The Magenta Squad was here. "I don''t like this Terran, We should''ve brought at the very least the Knight Commander and a platoon of Senior Knights, I can feel these specters lurking just beyond our senses" "In for a penny in for a pound Lucrezia, we can''t back down now" Silence, then he felt Lucrezia pumping herself up, he would laugh if the situation wasn''t so dire, the reality of meeting people who started wars for fun hitting him, he borrowed some of that energy Lucrezia was leaking and after some deep breaths walked up the door Emilya was waiting. The door opened with nary a sound, the throne room was surrender by huge marble towers and statues, paintings on the walls, and huge silk curtains all over the place. a crowd of musicians began playing their drums as loud as they could, and from the left side of the huge room, a 200 man strong formation began singing a song made specifically for Emilya''s arrival at the court. "If anything happens, you open that portal and jump on it as if your life depends on it, I''ll hold them off alright?" Emilya nodded, but she was confident her God would protect her. the music ended as the two women reached the stairs leading to a gilded throne made out of solid Mythril and another made from Gold and Sapphire, William guessed their old Obisidian thrones were thrown away given how fast tastes changed in the court. Immortal King Graan looked not a day over third, his long dark hair flowing behind his ears, and the iconic amber eyes burning with ambition, starting at him, a small smile on his face, his wood elven ancestry showing its telltales signs; the larger ears, the sunburnt skin and it''s two rows of pointy teeth. Immortal Queen Artemis on the other hand was the spitting image of High Elven Nobility, Taller than everyone else in the room, light golden hair cut in a severe bob and pale skin, but it was her eyes that William found himself staring at, they looked like well the best way to explain it would be saying like looking at the stars somewhere where light pollution wasn''t a thing, and seeing the full scale of the stars on top of you. but William knew that out of the two she was the most dangerous, it was she who held off Queen Malphas so Graan could deploy the tear after all. A crier showed up as William bowed the way one of high nobility had to and presented him to the court. "I PRESENT THEE MY LIEGE LUCREZIA SOMMER WULFGREM, DUCHESS OF THE WULFGREM DUCHY FROM THE KINGDOM OF VERMILION" Horns blasted as the crier stopped screaming from the top of his lungs, Willaim noticed that they were playing Vermilion''s National Anthem. Bombastic indeed. But calling him Duchess? that was odd to say the very least, spies on the city no doubt, he looked at Emilya who was staring her parents down, both smiling at her antics like parents do with a spoiled child. "Raise thy head O childe of men and crimson, We welcome you in our humble home" King Graan got up from his throne and opened his arms, the drums increasing their tempo, the choir chanting in low and high tones. William saw Emilya rolling her eyes, they were putting a show for him. "Indulge them, we are already beyond the pale here. Sedition will be the least of your worries" Queen Artemis moved her legs as the drums slowly decreased their tempo, she spoke in an authoritative almost commanding voice "Thy Visit is an august one Duchess of Vermilion, to bring home our daughter Emilya after years away" she snapped her fingers, and table made out of solid diamond plopped in front of Wiliam "And bring thy majestical gifts to us" she waved at the table, clearly expecting William to plop down his goods. Emilya groaned loudly at this and William couldn''t help to crack a smile, in the game this particular interaction was way more hostile, the elven kings clearly not respecting the protagonist''s commoner status. William cleared his throat and raised his head. "O Fair and Mighty Royals of Granarius, Jewel of the New World and Bastion of Freedom, To commemorate this long-overdue reunion I have prepared three gifts for your enjoyment, Behold Fair King Graan, the new dish I myself have brought to this word, granting a Greater Blessing to my Head Chef, the Pizza!" With a flair not unlike an earth magician, William "Summoned" the Pizza from Lucrezia''s spatial ring, the thing was hot from the oven and the smell was simply delicious. When he saw Graan lick his lips he knew he had the man, and now it was time to get the queen on his good side. "For the Fair Queen Artemis, I have brought a good none other than the great red dragon himself has in his inventory, a bottle of distilled spirit made by the Hivemind!" he placed the bottle beside the pizza and saw the woman holding herself to not bolt across the hall to drink it, that was when William summoned the Magitech Guitar, going for the kill. "But what is a good party without music" he looked to the choir and drummers and nodded, they nodded back and a tall dark elf came, he looked depressed, like the world had stolen all that was good in him, he came and stood beside the Queen and spoke. "My liege, God Kailistus gave me a revelation, this human brings the key to aid me in my woes, I beg thee to listen to her music" he kneeled and William could hear soft sobbing, it was true then, the poor bard was stuck with a curse that made him unable to compose and find joy in the musical arts, in-game it was only a rumor that the devs never cleared up but now he could see it, it was true. Emilya looked in shock, she rushed to the bard''s side and hugged him, huh William thought, I guess she would be friends with the artsy types, but it was the King''s reaction that shocked William, for the elf left the throne and raised the bard, speaking as he did so "Raise your head, my friend, If Kailistus gave thee a revelation then by Kailistus we will heed it So that all of Granarius can hear the great works of the bard Serasus!" William felt the emotion in the King''s voice, it had a power to it, the bard looked up with tears on his face and nodded towards William, who took a deep breath and tuned the guitar, the queen had summoned chairs around her diamond table and all four took a seat as a servent began poring the Hivemind drink. William felt a little stage fright, picked not the song he sang to Hayden, but another he was a fan of, he believed the king would like it and began singing it.
"I walk through the valley of the shadow of death" "And I fear no evil because I''m blind to it all" "And my mind and my gun they comfort me" "Because I know I''ll kill my enemies when they come" "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life" "And I will dwell on this earth forevermore" "Said, I walk beside the still waters and they restore my soul" "But I can''t walk on the path of the right because I''m wrong"
"Well, I came upon a man at the top of a hill" "Called himself the savior of the human race" "Said he come to save the world from destruction and pain" "But I said, "How can you save the world from itself?" ''"Cause I walk through the valley of the shadow of death" "And I fear no evil because I''m blind" "Oh, and I walk beside the still waters and they restore my soul" "But I know when I die my soul is damned" The drums had joined him the mid-second verse, picking up the right note and rhythm, that was when William saw Serasu glow with the splendor of a Greater Blessing, and more importantly, saw a tiny specter leave the elf and get smitten by the Queen herself, who spat on the ground to Emilya''s horror who in hushed whispers said "Mom please" only for the Queen to roll her eyes, as he finished the song the King raised from the chair, pizza half-eaten in hand and started clapping, the Queen did the same as both the choir and drummers played a cheery tune. "Would you look at that, It actually worked heh" Lucrezia was feeling surprised, and somewhat happy, which was a win in Williams''s book. "Congratulations William, this was a hard-fought battle but you, no We made it through" she did a little bow near the Monolith and William did the same. "Thank you, Lucrezia" Chapter 12: Rising "I stand for order, and your rulership of this Universe is anything but that, I will not sit and watch as you throw my people into your endless war machine!" Transcript from the battle of All-Father and his Traitor son Augurios the Mad, Fallen God of Absolute Order. King Graan stared at the third empty pizza plate William had brought in serious contemplation, he then summoned a small chime and ringed twice, a few minutes later a huge orc, easily 8 feet tall showed up, he was dressed in what William could only describe as if someone tried to make a chef''s regular clothes into a fashion statement, the hat having feathers and skulls was a bit too on the nose but William wasn''t one to judge when it came to fashion, if you like it, then it''s good enough. "Only a Terran would be so ugh Forgiving of this atrocity against all that is Fashion, Miralis herself must weep every time King Graan comes up with a new piece of clothing and uses her name to bless the damn thing" There was venom in Lucrezia''s voice, William didn''t know she cared so much about fashion, as she had never demanded him to wear those fancy dresses he saw in the closet, he was about to ask about it when she cut him off. "I feel your emotions from here well enough Terran, yes I do have strong feelings when it comes to fashion, as any proper high noble shall, I''m not the daughter of some farmstead Marquis in the east, Alas we are in a situation where fashion serves us nothing but wasting precious time, I''ll admit its a huge...compromise but it is like you said, we make do" William nodded, how very mature of her he thought, Lucrezia in-game was always a spoiled woman child, always trying to get the protagonist with petty tricks and snide comments, getting worse should the play decide to go for the third prince as their romantic interest. Were those memories leaking towards her he? If that was true he wouldn''t have any way of knowing, either way trying to have a sit down with her led to confrontation more than once. The Orc and King Graan were talking in hushed whispers, while Queen Artemis was sipping from her glass with a huge grin on her face, Emilya, on the other hand, was talking with the bard, who was still a little bit emotional, William had the guitar on the table, as he was planning on gifting it to the King when the bard composed himself and picked the instrument up, in minutes of testing the notes the elf managed to string a new song, Emilya for the first time smiling at the sight. "Ahem. Lucrezia right? now that we are right proper sloshed and done with those boring formalities I must say this new dish is just, I can''t even find the words Human, this is perfection given form, Even the big feller over here agrees and lemme tell you, he''s hard to please" the Orc grunted while nodding his head and spoke "Graan is right, It''s like you took Taal but made something that''s more in essence, Miss this alone is worth a greater blessing when the time comes for you" he grunted again and took another slice. "At least pretend to be a King father, She''s high nobility from your biggest ally for All-Father''s sake!" Emilya couldn''t hold it anymore and cried out, red in the face with outrage, Queen Artemis took another sip and laughed out loud, clearly enjoying the antics of her daughter, she turned to her mother and spoke "You as well! Where''s the right glass for Spirits? and this table is too gaudy! what is this the Imperium? Next, you gonna tell me there''s a statue of you two made out of solid diamond in a garden somewhere" King Graan shook his head "You been away for far too long Daughter of mine, statues are so last year, No we got magical projectors! those Imperium mages truly are inspired" William perked up, he knew Lucrezia''s parents had gotten their hands on those projectors and installed them across the city, but he didn''t know if they were in place right now, something to check out once he was back home. "Are those the ones who let you transmit image and sound Your Highness?" William asked a bit shyly, the Queen intercepted her husband and spoke "Yes my dear, they are great for Public Announcements, and even allow us to show the citizens of the country some of our own balls and festivities" She did a little teasing laugh, and Emilya immediately went red up the ears. "I don''t like this William" "Mother please tell me you didn''t do what I think you have done" Emilya ran her hands through her hair in despair only for the Queen to chuckle harder. "Oh but we did, Saal¡¯Xhir week was the best in the last 100 years, I even got a Greater Blessing from her" the poor Elven princess looked like someone had shot her puppy right in front of her, she turned to William and said "Can we go now? before they drag us into something insane, please?" William saw King Graan send away both the Chef and Bard, he was now staring at him with undivided attention. "Tell me Lucrezia, is it true that the Spear of Retribution has sent her flock to your lands?" William felt shivers, and he was pretty sure Lucrezia felt it too, he knew from the game lore that the King had some sort of Ki effect that made it easier for him to intimidate people, and he was now on the pointy end of it. "Yes, Velkarius has chosen me to clear the pus" William choose his words carefully, if he was right, and he was pretty sure he was, they would get the meaning of that phrase. They both looked at her, and nodded, Emilya looked confused for a second and then locked eyes with William, her face begging for an explanation, he gestured that one would come, later. "Then I suppose this matter is settled then, Now from the way our dear Daughter looks at you I can assume you won''t turn her in for the bounty, and these gifts were brought here for more than common courtesy" the queen spoke with mirth in her voice, she summoned a fan made of...Diamonds, which earned another eye roll from Emilya. the King on the other hand was laughing. "It is as you say Your Highness Artemis, Emilya here is assisting me on retaking the duchy and I would appreciate greatly if you could let her continue to do so" William held his breath, if this failed he would have to resort to violence, and he knew that if it came to that, things would need to move Very fast. The King looked to the Queen, with a nod they turned to William and said "We would allow it IF she is properly defended you see, Magenta Squad shall be her security detail" Emilya raised her head to speak but William held his hand. she grunted and spat on the ground but didn''t complain, from the shadows of the throne room a figure jumped, a tall elven woman of high elf ancestry, her dark green hair and eyes giving her identity right away. "Fuck" William couldn''t agree more, Commander of the Magenta Squad, Veronica Windreaver walked to her king and kneeled "My liege we are ready to serve the princess and Lady Lucrezia and their endeavors" more figures popped up, Avvaar the Unseen and his huge war bow made from the bones of a sea dragon the Queen killed, Goro the Unchained, an Orc Paladin faithful to the Silent Soldier and his Enormous wrought iron Warhammer, Zulihee Siegebreaker, Both the demolitions expert and sorceress of the Squad, A rare Pale Elf from the caves below Kehheim, her pitch-black eyes and dark blue skin hidden behind a veil and armor. They all kneeled and then moved to stay behind Emilya, with a nervous laugh William asked for the thing he came for. "I uh I have one more favor to ask if Your Highness would be so kind yo indulge me" He was sweating bullets when the Queen spoke "Oh, but of course Lucrezia, Hells what you did today is worth all the favors in the world, please ask" the King nodded, it looked genuine but he felt it was for the best to not get greedy, who knew what they could do or if their humor would flip. "I need Friede''s Fingers" Silence descended in the room, seconds feeling like hours, then the Queen snapped her fingers and a metallic box appeared "Here you go dear, Graan here would recommend you get the mind control variant but we know how your people get angry when it comes to the mental arts, this batch I cultivated myself so you can be sure they will work wonders, tell me do you have a good enough druid to work with them? I can attach one of mine if you need" she pointed to Veronica who spoke in a puzzled tone "Cain might be available my liege if we can drag him out of the daar highlands" William paled. holy shit, not Cain, that dwarf was a goddamn menace! he quickly shakes his head and said "There won''t be a need Your Highness, I already have a party of war druids and an arch druid''s help to deploy the spore, thank you for the kind offer" the elven king beamed a smile to him, King Graan then spoke "Then I''m happy to say it was a pleasure to meet you, Duchess of Wulfgrem, please drop by whenever you want, we would be more than happy to accommodate you" he walked up to William and extended his hand, William gave the King a firm handshake and he felt that Ki pressure liftoff, taking the feeling of being on edge off him. The Queen got up and bowed, disappearing in a cloud of smoke, William gave the pizza recipe ''to the King and bid goodbye, Emilya followed her flanked by Magenta squad, when they arrived at the corridor Emilya''s portal had dropped them off, Lucrezia turned to the Elven Commander and spoke "It would be best if you and your men could change forms for a while, there are many veterans from the last war in my lands" The woman nodded and turned to their Sorceress who after chanting a spell transformed the squad into random people, even their weapons became regular ones. Emilya held William''s hand and said "Thank you" as she opened the portal. It was time to go home.
Friedrich Karl had just finished blessing another civilian who had his hands burned by the town guard when a crow delivered a small pebble to him, Ahh it appears the lady of the castle had returned from whatever place she had gone, He had to give it to the young woman, usually when he''s deployed it means total sanitization of the area, that his Goddess had taken pity on the woman and gave her a chance to redeem her family name was something rare indeed! When was the last time he pondered? Ah! about 200 years ago when an Imperium noble struck a deal with Velkarius to avoid dying at the hands of Friede''s frenzied mob, High Priestess Milena even built the first church for Velkarius in Imperium land after it. Karl envied those who lived long he had to be honest with himself, to serve a higher calling forever was nothing short of eternal fulfillment. Karl shivered as he got out of the abandoned pub he was shacking upon, the south district of Glacialis had been hit the hardest by these despots, but his Lady had blessed a selected few individuals with food magic, it took an ungodly amount of paperwork to get past the ban but it was well worth the effort, Many thought her Umbral priests and priestesses were reapers of blue blood but most of their work was humanitarian in nature, especially in Vermilion where she had such a strong following together with Friede. "To think I would be deployed to my own City, what did that old boar do?" Karl was honestly sad and pessimistic, to think the duke would fall this low, he remembered his parents talking about them early in life, how good they were, and how the Wulfgrem even as High Nobility understood their commoners and Knights, a true union between all walks of life, it was told even the criminal underworld respected them, such was the respect the name Wulfgrem carried in their lands. The sole ray of hope was the fact their Daughter had went above and beyond the call to fix their mistakes, the crows told him of her initial plan of getting the Arch Duke help, and of its spectacular failure, he saw the moment that ward blew the boat and harbor sky high, as he walked towards his hometown, the little birds telling him much along the way, that is until Velkarius herself showed up and told him to assist the young woman in any way he could. A knock on the door made Karl snap his head towards it, a small child came holding a baby in his arms. "Please, my sister she isn''t sleeping and eating well, mister priest me mum couldn''t come but please help us!" Karl nodded and cast a series of healing magic and miracles on both kids, as their forms grew hale he summoned a magical coat and placed it on the small boy. "She should be better now, tell your mum to feed her milk three times a day ok? now go, the coat will disappear after an hour" the boy nodded and ran off, Karl sighed, and moved to the second floor of the pub, opening the windows of the room he was in he saw the many ravens circle the castle, their formation telling him one thing. Lady Lucrezia was back.
"It''s been a month now hasn''t it Terran?" Lucrezia woke William up, they had decided to meet the Velkarius priest yesterday. "You think we should throw a party? I''m one month old in this world after all" "Don''t jest about such things Terran, Birthdays are special here and you know that..." She stayed quiet for a while and then spoke again "What month was it? your birthday I mean" "February 12. The month of Storms for you I believe" "You can have your party next year then" William Chuckled, it had been a wild month alright, and he preferred that way, the fast things moved, the less he had to think about the long term implications of his current situation, which he was doing his best to push it deep down, something he figured Lucrezia had already noticed. "Terran, now that we have the fungi strain and I can''t believe I''m saying this, support of the godsdamned Magenta Squad, will you launch the attack?" "Not yet Lucrezia, we still need to talk with Kallista remember? and after that..." "Usurp rulership from my parents by performing the Oath for the Winter Spirits, damn it all I was hoping you would give up on that thing" William wanted to ask why Lucrezia had such a negative impression of the winter dragoness. they were in her room now, William had finished writing his latest adventure on the diary, he was writing almost every day now, it helped him decompress and relax, that and the hot water baths. "Really Lu? you have a meeting with the Mad King himself and you don''t bring me? For shame I say, I''m your best friend you know!" the maid laughed while doing William''s hair, she was doing braids of ancient Wulfgrem style, Back when they were a house of the Imperium in their northern shores. "The princess was, well let''s just say she was not happy with the ordeal" he chuckled. "I can imagine, imagine being the sole heir to a Kingdom made by two lunatics? Did you know King Graan tried to steal the spheres of no less than five Gods of War? the sheer madness on that elf" Saa''ryu looked like she was imagining Graan fighting against all five, huh William thought, he didn''t know the maid was a fan of those two, then again she wasn''t from Vermilion, much of the bad rep Granarius got came from its citizens, as they never got into a war against the Shogunate. "Alrighty Lu, we are done here" she took William to the giant mirror and said "Gods your hair is just" the maid made a kissing sound "Now tell me what the plan for today? the druids will be busy with the fungi so we can finally take a-" a huge crow came inside the room, William left the window open for them and they usually begged for honey bread by lunchtime, the huge bird had a red band on his beak. "Long-strider Karl has arrived," William said without thinking, Immediately Saa''ryu pulled her combat knives and stood in front of him, he placed a hand on her shoulder and the woman calmed down, the bird dropped the band and flew away, Saa''ryu took a look outside the window and said "Please don''t tell me whatever truce you broke with Velkarius is over, If she sent one of the Umbral Priests here our plans might not work Lu" William held the band, it felt warm and rough he turned to the maid and held her hand saying "You don''t need to worry Saa, it''s all under control, a red band means that I should seek him, as the Goddess has told him to aid us" the maid narrowed her eyes but said nothing, William continued "We should do this today, quick get some clothes and the masks, we must hit the city again" the maid hummed in agreement. "...Sure but if he tries anything funny" the maid made a classic thumb across the neck motion, to which William chuckles and says "Its ok, I''m sure he won''t go against his Goddess wishes, now let''s go" Saa''ryu grabbed their gear and they ran towards the wall, it was best not to draw attention by getting to the city via the gate Saa''ryu had told him, once again they took to the rooftops, the patrols in the city had only gotten worse, now that there was a rumor going on that Erwin and his Knights would attack, a rumor William didn''t know who started but it was good to break the usurper''s morale. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. It was nighttime when they arrived at a ran down pub, one that William knew very well. "The base of operations in-game. and deep down lies the ritual ground my parents used before moving to the private wing, of course, the creepy priest picked this place as his staging grounds, bleh as if the memories from the game weren''t grim enough" William felt Lucrezia kick the monolith in anger, then it dawned on him. She was afraid of the man! "Why are you so afraid of Karl if you know about him from the game Lucrezia? true he might not be as supportive given that was another timeline but still, he got the order from the Velkarius, I honestly he going to turn on us or anything, or are you afraid of him finding out about me?" There was a deep sigh in William''s mind, Lucrezia spoke as if she was tired "You must understand that I was raised on stories of Velkarius people doing horrible things to nobles William, you have the boogieman, I got a squad of umbral priests tearing down the walls of the castle and setting me on fire because I stole a cookie from the kitchen, Yes I''ll admit since there''s no way to hide it, I''m afraid of the man even if his Goddess told him to work with us ok? I don''t wanna hear a word, nor a joke about it ok?" "You got it Lucrezia" William imagined him raising his arms, to which he heard a hmph from the young woman, in his defense he wasn''t going to mock her, for the longest time he was afraid of dogs for christ sake! far as he knew it, everyone had a fear in them some way or another. They entered the pub, it was clean inside, well kept but deserted, Willam looked for the stairs leading to the basement, he called over Saa''ryu who was checking the kitchen for signs of the priest, both of them took to the stairs. "I have a bad feeling about this Lu, I know he has to operate under" she opened a door only to find a group of people laying in straw beds in the ground, all of them with marks of recent miracle healing, some groaned when William walked in, others pointed fingers and tried to scream but the priest raised his hand, the man looked thin, the grey eyes betraying elven blood, his hair was dark and his skin was tanned from being in the sun for far too long, Long-strider Karl looked like a younger version of his game counterpart, his eyes full of hope and joy. "Goddess Velkarius has blessed me today! Finally, our chosen has come!" the man bowed "Freiderich Karl, humble Umbral Priest of Velkarius at your service Lady Lucrezia" he walked to them and William saw how different the man truly was from his memories, in-game Karl had been beaten down by two years of seeing the worst atrocities being sent to his hometown and the people he knew, including parents and sister, this Karl still had hope. "Velkarius herself sent me a vision a to me after I arrived, she told me to wait for you here, I''ve also gotten confirmation that it was our Goddess who blessed the individuals who are using food magic" he extended his hand and William took it, giving the man a firm handshake, he motioned over to a dest at the end of the basement, William noticed that the place was spotless, not a speck of dust or blood anywhere, heh Karl was still a cleanness freak. "Please have a seat, I''m afraid I have some bad news for you Lady Lucrezia, but first lemme congratulate you!" William raised his eyebrow "Why?" he asked surprised Karl smiled and pulled a face veil, its dark purple color making William''s eyes bulge "No way! But I''m not even blessed yet! How is this possible?!" That piece of cloth there meant that he was basically being anointed as a member of the clergy of Velkarius, he knew it was possible but it was rare, doubly so for a noble to be part of its ranks, not as a priestess but as a sort of special operator that could act beyond the confines of Velkarius sphere of power. "The goddess gave you a mission did she not? Its only right we support you, shamefully most of the Umbral Priests have been deployed to Steinheim, so you won''t be able to count on our main forces, which from what I heard won''t be an issue no more since you managed to get not only the senior Knights and their Commander on your side" he laughed as William picked up the face veil and put it on, in-game it worked as a special piece of headgear that would the protagonist enhanced reaction time and greater perception, suddenly the world shifted, William was seeing grains of dust in the desk, he could zoom into Karl''s eyes and see its fine details, after playing around for a while he removed the veil. "It''s going to take a while to get used to but trust me Lady Lucrezia, that right there saved the lives of many good men and women" the man nodded to himself. "And the bad news?" William asked, guessing the answer already "Come with me and I''ll show you Lady Lucrezia" the priest got up and moved a few feet towards a bookshelf, pressing a hidden button on it, suddenly a door opened near it and another set of stairs welcomed the trio, Saa''ryu raised her eyebrows and moved first "That doesn''t look good Lu, are you sure?" she left the question hanging, William nodded his head and they descended the stairs, eery blue fire illuminating their way from braziers in the roof. "Spooky" William said, to which Karl laughed, they arrived at the end of the stairs, and a familiar sight welcomed William. "The ritual grounds, it was Kapha''tur who found it right? "Yes, it was him" "I don''t remember those pillars William, they look odd" Lucrezia was right, the Pillars around the ritual site weren''t there in the game but something was nagging him, he walked towards them, their smooth almost glasslike feel reminded him of something, he could feel Lucrezia''s speaking in the background, trying to guess what he was trying to remember, William then noticed at the near bottom of the Pillar there was a small incursion, he took the veil and put it on, he then zoomed into the incursion, that was when it clicked. Uumaries! "Shit" Shit indeed William thought, he knew there were rumors in-game that Uumaries had a way to hide certain things from other Gods, a power she had stolen from nameless Fallen ages ago, usually a noble would change the faith of their lands to Uumaries in exchange for such things, but here in Wulfgrem she was worshipped far before the duke and his wife fell to whoever or whatever is controlling them and Kapha''tur. High Priestess Chloe had been there ever since Lucrezia was a small girl. "Which means someone, maybe Kapha''tur himself was blessed by Uumaries and built these, All-Father save us if we have to fight against her" Lucrezia was getting scared, the faith of Uumaries was the third biggest in Vermillion after all. "If we can and it shouldn''t take much since Karl is already healing the sick and Velkarius is giving people food, we turn the duchy towards her faith. the people will rally around it enough that we will be able to fight on even grounds-" "That''s mighty close to civil war William, and if you unleash your Terran weapons on my countrymen I will never forgive you" "We can talk about it later then" Karl stood in the middle of the ritual and spoke "Whoever set this up used these Pillars to hide a medium scale dimensional tear, are you familiar with the terminology Lady Lucrezia?" he asked when William moved to respond Karl spoke cutting him off "Any being from the Spiritual Realms or Hells needs to tear into the physical realm to access it, there are easier and cleaner summoning rituals but if you want something done fast you go for a tear...These Pillars on the other hand hmm" The church of Velkarius didn''t know! Holy shit William thought of course they didn''t know, the events that lead to the discovery of Uumaries pillars would only happen in a side quest two years from now! "Speak a word, and we will effectively start a holy war that''s been brewing for nearly a century William" Lucrezia spoke with steel in her voice, he knew the stakes as well, but that war would start anyway or another, and so the boy spoke. "These Pillars are made by selected High Priestess and Priests from Uumaries, she has a hidden sphere of power that allows hiding anything that happens inside them once they are active, Your people have likely found many more whenever a noble gets hunted yes? That is how she''s establishing influence among Vermilion Nobility" Karl got serious, he took a deep breath and spoke in a hushed whisper "My Lady these are, grave accusations you are raising, are you sure of it? William gave the man the veil and said "Chanel Velkarius blessing across this incursion" the priest did it so and for a moment there was only silence and the sound of a small miracle being cast in his fingers. The man stopped. his head snapped fast enough for the bone to audible crack, he locked eyes with William and the boy heard Lucrezia gasp. "Intervention!" The act of a God taking over one of its faithful, William felt the swear on his forehead, he could feel the panic rising inside of him, both him and Lucrezia ready to lose their collective shit, Saa''ryu rushed over and stood in front of him, daggers at the ready, the priest raised his hands to calm the maid down, he then touched the pillars, going around the ritual place in a sedate pace, almost as if he was trying to grab something, after a solid minute he grabbed the air and spoke. "Heh, the little human was right, it appears old cousin Uumaries is playing dirty" a very feminine voice came out from the priest''s mouth, one that William knew it from the game, Velkarius had deemed this worthy enough for a personal visit. "There is no need to kneel Human" the Goddess Laughed, William knew this inside joke well, from a time Velkarius still walked the world as a mortal, he didn''t laugh with her, very few knew it and if he did it could get them busted. Lucrezia sighed with relief but she was still radiating fear like crazy, to think the mother of all boogieman would talk to you in person was wrecking her nerves something fierce. "I can''t stay for much longer Human but I''ll tell you this, the information you gave us alone is worthy of a Greater Blessing when you come of age, and full support of my people, I already know others are eyeing you but if you are willing, how about giving me a priority? I did stall Friede from coming here, after all, reckon you owe me that much hmm?" The goddess was full of mirth, it was almost palpable, her wide grim almost visible in Karl''s face. "I accept your terms Goddess Velkarius" He spoke with conviction, William knew that he would be blessed by her anyway, fighting against Lucrezia''s parents would earn it, The fact it got bumped to a Greater Blessing was enough to let her be the first, which also implied Lucrezia would be one of the rare few who can get blessings from multiple gods, something the game didn''t have. "Guess you are more special than we thought Lucrezia" She didn''t respond, still, in well, pants-shitting fear, William decided to not bother the poor woman and gave the Goddess a proper bow, reserved only for when the divine came to the physical plane, Velkarius clicked her tongue and spat on the ground, murmuring something about nobles and nonsense, William moved fast, standing behind Karl, when the Goddess relinquished control over his body he held the priest in his arms, the man giving a long sigh of relief. "Third time she does that and still knocks me out like nothing else, please if you could take me upstairs to my chair," he asked sheepishly William called his maid and both dragged the man upstairs, it was a small blessing that he was relatively light and that William could boost his strength with Magnetism, as they got to the basement and placed the priest in the chair, he spoke "We have seen these Pillars for years now, nobody knew who was making them and how they managed to avoid even Friedes fine-tuned detection divination, its a good thing we have a name now. "For the holy war to come" William finished, Karl looked to the people he was taking care of and nodded "Yes, but this is in the far future Lady Lucrezia, do not forget we still have to deal with this current situation" he gestured to the people and William grunted in agreement " I can provide both medical and combat support Lady Lucrezia, by order of Velkarius I will fight by your side!" he spoke firmly "To save our town and our land"
Far to the north of Wulfgrem land, lies a mountain range that is forbidden to anyone be it men, elf, orc, or dwarf many dragonkin flocked to its skies, hunting, mating, and fighting amongst each other, they also tended the land, in which various types of them lived, from every race in the world, it was very much a closed-off country inside of the duchy''s land, Only the Duke and the Duchess, with blessings from the Winter Spirits, could by law enter it. Alas, the law was often skirted by men and women of all over the world for something that lies deep inside the mountain range, these brave if foolish individuals would track for miles without end to reach it, braving angry magical and common beasts and patrols set by the duke to stop would be madmen to reach the entrance to the range. with the current happenings of the city, the dragonkin were the ones doing such guard duty, their villages already upgraded to fend off the evils they could smell coming from the big city. All to defend their brood mother, Winter Dragoness Kallista, the terror of the pale and sole dragon to live outside of their island bar her brother Red Dragon Saark, who lived in the capital working on his infinite dungeon. "No mortals for months, even after I told my kids to let them in without a fuss" a huge claw swiped at a nearby rock shattering it like wet paper, the silvery-white scales on it shined like gems "Really how does a girl has some action when those lovely little mortals are hiding inside their homes fearing for their life..." a huge white dragon moved across an enormous cave, her size bigger than even the mightiest of Imperium warships, she walked towards the entrance of the cave, the sun hidden behind clouds, it was yet another dreary day in this ice-covered land Kallista thought with a sigh, she missed home in these days, the island was tropical, the sun always there to warm her scales after a day of rigorous training. "Hehe Training" she chuckled, yes Kallista missed it, even after the council exiled her for "bringing shame to dragonkind and All-Mother" and "Shameful Behaviour" those prudes were a pain in the scale but All-Mother''s tits they had a nice hot island for them! "Saark baby brother you gotta teach me your ways, this waiting is killing me!" she slashed another part of the wall and huffed, smoke billowing from her nostrils, Kallista walked back inside the cave, arriving at a room where a flame burned in crimson and white, the crimson part almost faded at this point, Kallista sighed again "Foolish Mortals, to forsake a pact with me and those boorish spirits is to invite danger to your home, what is going on with the duke I wonder, the man seemed like an upstanding individual, far better than his father even! and his wife was so pretty when they came here to take the oath, what a shame..." The dragoness noticed a shift in the air, her brood was circling above towns along the border of her territory, she could see her dragonkin move in haste, grabbing weapons and armor ready for a fight, then she saw where the flying ones were headed, the main entrance to the mountain range? "Better check out myself" Kallista took flight, her body shinning in the small rays of daylight, a war cry came from the whole range, her brood''s morale rising to the skies as the majestic white dragoness flew, she wasn''t a fan of fighting herself, asking to be discharged from service after her 100 years mandatory period, All-Mother granted her wish and she far Kallista has been enjoying life, but she didn''t believe whoever coming could actually make her fight for real, very few in this world could put the hurt in a dragon such as her. She landed in the checkpoint built at the entrance of her lands, a tall dragonkin of elven origins kneeled before her, Kallista remembered his father, what a man he was when they met so far away ago, shaking her heads from impure thoughts, turning herself into her biped form, tall with long silver hair and scales along the neck arms and legs. a second layer of scales covering her body as both clothing and armor. The dragonkin spoke "Fair mother, we have received word that a war-party marches towards us, a hundred men strong with dire horses and druids, I''ve alerted our kin and they are in preparation of a full assault" Kallista nodded and looked over the horizon, seeing the familiar armor in the people riding towards her made her grim, Finally, the Duke came to set things right! that was when she noticed that the one leading the charge was a young woman, around her an iron halo and across her back a thin spear with a hole on the end of it instead of a blade, to her side a ban in dark clothing riding a steed made from shadow and death to the other a Knight Commander. Kallista jumped and for a few seconds flew towards then, the young woman raised her hand and the riders stopped, drawing their weapons, she told them to lower the weapons and the Knights Complied, as Kallista landed she smelled the air, and noticed that the one leading smelled familiar, Aha! she thought, "You must be the child of the current duke! Welcome Child of the Wulfgrem, Welcome to my mountain!" Kallista was overjoyed from meeting the only daughter of the duke, surely she had good news right? Kallista was ready for a steady stream of mortals to flock her already. That was when she noticed the grim looks everyone had on their faces, it didn''t take much to put two and two together for the dragoness to figure it out that something bad had happened, Lucrezia removed her riding helmet and walked up to the Dragoness, she kneeled in the soft snow and said: " O great Dragoness Kallista, Keeper of the Oath and defender of the far north, I''ve come as Sole Heir of the Wulfgrem Duchy to beg you, please allow me to take the oath!" The final puzzle piece in Kallista''s head clicked. with an animalistic smile, the Dragoness took the young woman from the snow and said "It would be my honor Child of the Wulfgrem, Please come with me" Chapter 13: Oath Keeper "it was the Ritual the Remembrance that made me realize how much these Spirits miss the ancient race that lived together with them so long ago, to see ageless beings of power and nature weep like newborns and beg to a Goddess that abandoned them is nothing short of tragic" The Traveler, Book Three William walked with Saa''ryu and Erwin flanking both sides, the Commander insisted to come in this visit, apparently, he also had to renew the oath with the Dragoness. The boy couldn''t lie, being this close to the Dragon was sending shivers down to Lucrezia, a real goddamn Dragon! it was the size of an airliner for god''s sake! Lucrezia had reprehended him but he couldn''t help himself, he wanted to ask for a ride on the Dragoness back but was quickly shot down by Lucrezia that was one of the ways the demigod reptile would charm mortals. What she would charm them for, William needed no explanation from his soul friend, after all, there were quite a few side-quests in-game about Kallista''s Appetite for carnal acts. Gone was also the option of calling her brood to war, they would refuse even if their mother joined, being raised only to defend their small piece of land for reasons unknown even to William, not that he would need them, the Magi-Folk from the deep should do just fine, those mermen can cause quite the impression when fully armored and ready to battle. They walked without speaking a word, the Dragoness leading them deeper into the cavern, William recognized this path, it led to the Oath Chamber. "You Father broke the Oath not long ago...What''s your name again child?" The Dragoness asked, which earned a chuckle from William, yep that was Kallista alright. "Lucrezia" "Ah yes! Lucrezia, Beautiful name, anyway as I was saying, your Father broke it so it''s not just me you will need to talk to, those bores in your fancy castle will also want to have a word with you once you set things here" her tail weaved as she talked, Wiliam was mesmerized by it until a sharp elbow brought him back to his senses, he looked to his left only to see Erwin shaking his head. "Focus Lady Lucrezia, you can...visit the Dragoness later" the man spoke in a low tone, only to hear a giggle coming from Kallista, he shook his head again saying something about young people. A female Dragonkin waited for them at the entrance of the ritual room, She looked just like Kallista, but her hair was grey, the scales on her face forming a single horn, not unlike a unicorn, she kneeled and spoke. "Mother, I came as soon as you asked" "Maghve, prep the ritual room and get me some mana crystals, ice, and earth please" "It shall be done mother" the smaller dragonkin ran off to an exit and they entered the ritual room, in there it lied a huge stream of raw mana. "As you can see Lucrezia, the manastream is perturbed, noticed how it ripples and weaves instead of flowing without pause, whatever your Parents did upset it, and this is no small feat let me tell you" she nodded and pointed to the exit with her thumb "I just need to top off my reserves with the crystals then we can crack on with the Oath, after that I have some very nice tea my Brood swears by it, and pastries!" William couldn''t help but smile, beneath the lust and carefreeness, Kallista wanted someone to talk with, he remembered her bad jokes from the game and how much of a dork this demigod of a being was once you get to truly know her, he nodded and said with a smile. "I would love to Lord Kallista" he bowed to top it all off. to which the Dragoness got flustered and said "No no, I don''t do this lord nonsense you mortals are so found off, my brood are free to rule themselves, even if they are a bit too overzealous when it comes to me...Anyway I''ve been a terrible host, lemme fix that right up" she walked towards the south section of the Ritual room and William was surprised to see a table with some chairs to the side, they quickly arranged themselves and soon William found himself sitting down together with his maid and Erwin. Kallista was off somewhere, something about cleaning the place up. William of course knew that wasn''t the case, what the Dragoness meant was that she was injecting large amounts of her mana and lifeforce into the manastream to stabilize it until her daughter came back with the crystals. William pulled his latest Magi-craft innovation (it was also his first but Idun said that for a novice he was a right proper genius) It was a deck of cards styled after the ones from Terra, as card games weren''t a thing in Vermilion, many preferring dice and bloodsports when it came to gambling. "My lady?" Erwin asked as William set up his game of solitaire, the cards had art done by Idun himself who did paintings as a hobby whenever he had the time, they looked life-like. a testament of the man''s skills in, the cards were made out of steel and regular mana crystals and could even be used as weapons if the need was dire enough. A good five minutes into the game William noticed both the Maid and Knight were staring deeply at the table "It looks like one of those card games from south of Xie but much slower, I''ve seen a few of their soldiers play when we had Joint mock battles and defense drills with the orcs" Erwin pointed as Saa''ryu nodded. William decided to explain the game to them who after a few more minutes all had the hang of it, but now he was sweating bullets as both began to point out errors and such, he let a sigh of relief out when the Dragoness showed up with her daughter and the crystals. "Let''s get this over with shall we?" Kallista said with a smirk, She dumped the crystals in the manastream, they broke apart and for a moment the thing went still Erwin and William took position besides Kallista and she produced a knife, William recognized another famous game item, the bound dagger, one of the best weapons for a rogue build, Kallista winked at him and slashed her palm, passing the dagger wet with blood to Erwin, who did the same with a motion so smooth, had William blinked he would''ve missed. "I don''t like how deep this dagger cuts, but the oath got broken so I''ll just grin and bear with it" he heard the man murmur under his breath as he passed the dagger to William. "Pray our situation doesn''t fuck this ritual William" Lucrezia spoke, he could feel her fear, but there was also a rising feeling of excitement, she knew the battle for control of the duchy was nearing. William slashed his hand and the manastream started dragging the blood from the dagger, a sphere formed in front of them, and Kallista touched it as she closed her eyes, chanting in a language only the dragons knew, after minutes William felt something click inside of him, he felt stronger, studier, like the very land, was giving him sustenance. "Lu? Anything happening down there?" He was worried their connection had deepened, lord knew more unwanted memories would put her in a fouler mood. Silence, for seconds she didn''t say a thing then he heard soft sobbing sounds, she was crying, William panicked, he was about to do something stupid when he heard the young woman laugh, a burst of roaring laughter full of happiness and joy. "Come down here once the day is over William, You must see this" she spoke no more, but William could feel her happiness was still strong, giving him a sudden bout of joy. "Wow color my scales red and call me a dungeon making mad dragon! Never had I''ve seen the stream this pleased, Had this been the normal way little human I would say you have a great prosperous future ahead of you, but from the fact, the pact was broken and that nasty storm is months early I''d say this is anything but haha" the Dragoness was feeling pleased William felt "Now you have to reestablish the contract with the Old Ones at the castle, I don''t know if they will be as pleased as the stream here but then again, who knows, well Lucrezia anything else this humble Dragoness can help your lordship with?" she half bowed, Indeed there was something Kallista could help, it would be a longshot but he was in the deep end now, and every help counted towards getting out of it. "As a matter of fact, there is something you can help me with Dragoness" "Oh! do tell then, All-Mother knows I''m bored as a farmhand after harvesting season...is that how the saying goes? Well anyway, out with it then" William took a deep breath and spoke "I''m expecting a dimensional breach when we retake the castle, Can I count on your help on defending its grounds and the city?" The air grew cold in a second, the demigod in front of William stared him down looking for lies in his statement and found none, she spat to the side and said "Figures, Yes I''ll be there, Shout my name to the skies thrice to summon me" she started to walk away from them when William spoke once again "Kallista, would you have a White Rose on your horde?" The dragon froze and looked back at him, she had a puzzled looked on her face then she snapped her fingers "Ahh that? what do you need that for?" "A potion," William said dead serious, the Dragoness nodded and told her daughter to fetch it, the dragonkin ran, and once again they sat down, this time Kallista joining them. "Oh is that a card game I see? How interesting! last time I had a man from Xie here he told me about it, a shame Vermilion prefers dice games..." William couldn''t help but chuckle when he saw the Dragoness puppy eyes, he threw the deck to her side of the table and she beamed him a smile "I can make more should you brood want it" she nodded as she started shuffling the cards, her daughter showed up with the flower and they bid each other farewells, as William descended the mountain into the many settlements of dragonkin, he was met with smiles, waves and kids giving him flowers, it felt good, he had a smile on his face when he reached Karl and the rest of the Knights, they all noticed the change, As they rode away Erwin spoke "Lady Lucrezia, I had master Idun make a prototype weapon from the one he made for your, He calls it a pistol, it can be fired from horseback to devastating effect in both morale and sheer damage, It takes time to slot a new crystal in and those have to be made by hand, we tried using a raw crystal and while the blast was stronger, the weapon broke at the seams and nearly blew my hand off, Idun has made enough ammo and weapons for my squad but he tells me that we will only have a more reliable way to build them once you are blessed by his god" William could see it alright, once he could tap into that sphere of power he would be able to finale brave the mines below the castle, and with the ore there... Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "My Army" he whispered sucking in the air, it felt right, it was like the very world was singing to him, begging to unleash the full might of Earth''s Millenial art of war towards it, something Lucrezia wasn''t in favor of. Yet.
Serkj watched from the plaza gate watchtower as his troops fended off the third assault by the usurpers today, he had heard from his men on the streets that their food was running dry and they were getting desperate, with the leadership gutted by His Lady himself. The wildest month of his life, his fellow castle guards were asking him he was feeling now that Commander Erwin was back, Serkj couldn''t lie he was happy, he never wanted to lead, he could train people yes, even bark orders in the middle of combat, but leadership? not his cup of tea thank you very much. So when Lady Lucrezia came back from the dragonkin lands and told him the castle guard was under his permanent command, all he could do was smile at the young woman and shake her hand, the only silver lining was that those horrifying weapons he heard the dwarven clan Lucrezia had saved had finally arrived, 40 of them, split among Knights and Castle Guards together with boxes of crystals that were used as ammo. At least using the damn things was far easier than learning the bow, and they packed a punch even those fancy elven crossbows from Granarius would find hard to reproduce. His men asked him questions, on how their Lady had produced these wonders of so-called Magi-Tech, what was Magi-Tech in the first place, and many others, all which he told them to shut up and form up, it was tiring but at least they respected him. Lady Lucrezia told them to not use the weapons yet, clearly, she was planning for the coming battle against the usurpers, he had already spotted the senior knights with smaller versions of the weapon in fancy holsters, soon Serkj felt, soon they would take the duchy back.
William walked the halls of the spirit wing, only Wulfgrem could step inside of it, the ice welcomed him, he could feel the air current pressing his cheeks, hands, and torso, the spirits were welcoming him, in the creepiest way possible "The game didn''t lie, this is creepy and uncomfortable" "I still can''t believe the spirits let a commoner establish the second part of the Oath, even if she was blessed by the All-Father..." Lucrezia was feeling very disturbed by that particular piece of game lore, William didn''t get it himself, but then again it wasn''t him losing something that was in his family for centuries. "I''ve...Seen myself in-game William, that wasn''t me, whatever my parents did, that thing wasn''t me" There was anger in her voice now, rage at the way whatever ritual the duke and his wife put her through made her warp as a person, even if it was less severe than the other two main story bosses. "We gonna fix it Lucrezia, Trust me, once this is done, once we have the oath, we will clean the mess they started and find some goddamn answers" "It''s godsdamned William if you gonna damn someone, it has to be with the power of multiple Gods" A small laugh escaped from her, it had been a day since they came back from Kallista''s cave and Lucrezia was far more amicable with him, he had yet to visit the Monolith and her, as they decided to complete both parts of the Oath before doing it. William reached the main room, unlike what the memories of Lucrezia when she came here together with her Father, there were three thrones in it. "I can''t believe they all came, shit" Lucrezia swore as William saw mist form on top of the thrones, humanoid shapes made from it, faceless, lacking eyes, mouths, and ears. One then became a flying crown, another a walking suit of armor, and the third a single-edged blade akin to one of those knife blades William saw long ago, that the ancient germans used to trick their feudal lords by calling it a well Knife instead of a sword. He was slammed by pure mana, maddening whispers like nails to a blackboard assaulting his ears, William went on all fours as the three Winter Spirits flew towards him, in what felt like hours he stayed on the ground near the thrones until he heard a voice, cold and old, older than the trees and stars talk to him. "Wulfgrem-Spawn, your progenitors committed a grave sin" The crown flew towards the center of the ritual room. "In reaching for those who seek to harm these lands the Oath was broken" The suit of armor walked towards William, lifting him, its touch was cold but welcoming, like an old friend. "Yet the Spawn fought against it, even as it fell ill to poison, even as those who came from the stars were summoned to destroy it all, the Spawn stood for its people and land" The Sword made its way to William''s hand, it felt natural, as it was an extension of his very soul. "And when the time came for it to bleed for its people, it did so with no hesitation, it went to Dragon and calmed the leyline, saved those who were in need and now the Spawn comes to claim its birthright, and be the ruler of these lands" William found himself in the middle of the ritual room, the crown was in his head, the armor fitted him like a glove, and the sword pointed high to the sky, a small pendant in the shape of a tear made from mist and mana formed, and was placed by said mist in William''s neck. "To rule the north is to fight, is to defend its people from any enemy that comes, be it monster, man and God, To follow its traditions and laws." Silence fell for a minute then all three spirits spoke at once "Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem, do you accept this oath?" "Yes" The three melded into him, into his soul, William felt his mana reserves shoot up, for a split second he and Lucrezia panicked, but when he noticed that they didn''t breach the Monolith he calmed down. "You are now Ruler of the Land, sovereign and power made manifest, we have but one demand Wulfgrem, the blood of the oathbreakers must wet the grounds of the land, and all who supported them" William took a deep breath and said with conviction in his voice "It shall be done"
Private Amadeus was currently patrolling one of the many streets of his city, ever since those Knights got kicked out of town and they reformed into a police force it had been smooth sailing, sure the roads were blocked off and trade was dead, but they had saved the duke! surely a hero''s bounty waited for them after these lean times were over. When the riots and food shortages began due to being cut off from the Magical Highway and outlying farm communities that was when Amadeus got worried, but command told them weeks later that food magic was going around town. That should''ve been the sign that shit was about to hit the fan for him but alas, he was too drunk and high on Stygia to notice, when command busted open the vault full of the root it was a roaring party in the old headquarters. Now that said command was found dead and decapitated, he was one of the very few that stopped using the drug and tried mustering more patrols and stop the harassment of civilians, nevermind the murder of crowns following him and every guard that left their hold, another telltale sign that shit was out of control. "I don''t like this Amadeus, not a single soul in 30 minutes already, this is the biggest city in the north, where is everyone?" one of the soldiers asked, his voice dragging a little and his hand shaking, another who was high off Stygian, it was hard getting sobber soldiers these days. The food slowly running out didn''t make it any easier. the 12 man formation made their way to the central plaza leading to the castle gates, for weeks now he''s seen the Castle Guards armed to the teeth at the gates, and they even had mage support! armor fit for nobles being used by mere guards was something no one could believe. When they finally reached the plaza they were greeted by a horrible sight, hanged in the trees were the bodies of at least 30 soldiers. all with their chest armor removed and grim writing all over the flesh. Names and their crimes. Amadeus''s mind went red with rage, he screamed to his soldiers and they formed up, spears at the ready, he looked for culprits, bandits, or angry civilians, the latter being the most common cause for death in the force lately, revenge for their families Amadeu was told. The plaza was deserted, they broke down doors and gates but found nothing, the whole place was eerily quiet. "Form up in the main square men!" he shouted as the tenth house ended up being empty of life, just who the fuck was killing his people?! damn it Amadeus thought, without mage support, they wouldn''t be able to cast divinations and find out the culprits, those acolytes they had were all high on stygian all day after all. "Amadeus! I found this-" screamed one of the soldiers, a girl barely 20 years old before her head was blown clean off, her body thumped as it hit the ground, the huge boom spooking the ravens from the trees. "ENEMY ATTACK!" Amadeus screamed as he coated his shield and spear with crimson Ki, as a squire he knew that the tapping into his meager reserves now would save his hide later. 4 others did the same, the rest only raised their tower shields and propped their spears in an arrow formation, with the Ki users at the front. "Something ain''t right" One of the Ki users picked a short sword he had tied to his chest and threw it with uncanny accuracy towards the plaza gate, the weapon flew fast and true before hitting the air a few meters from it. The whole thing collapsed shortly afterward, like a mirage being broken, Amadeus squad was met on the end of almost 30 men pointing some sort of metal tube towards them, he barely got a word out when he saw a young woman at the very front of the formation, speaking to one of the men. He then recognized her, All-Father''s balls, that was Lady Lucrezia! she was leading these men, he could see how they deferred to her! she then pointed to the non-Ki users with their tower shields and spoke in a clear voice that rang across the plaza. "FIRE!" Amadeus barely had time to duck as he burned Ki to increase his reaction time, the other squires doing the same, he was about to thank the All-Father when he turned around and heard the booms Boom boom boom, one after another, louder and louder, Amadeus increased sensitivity due to his Ki made it like dozen war drums were banging at full speed right beside him, he wanted to die and throw up but the man kept his cool. 2 other squires didn''t, throwing up half their lunch and bleeding from their ears. That was when he saw the rest of his squad being torn to shreds like wet paper, their shields barely holding against whatever was being fired from those metal tubes, a total massacre. Amadeus got up together with what was left of his squad, they pulled their swords as Lucrezia raised her hand to the air, Amadeus screamed to them "SHIELD, KI ON SHIELD NOW" they heard the bark and managed to coat their shields with it. "FIRE!" another volley came and one more went down, his Ki control giving in to the sheer force of the projectile, Amadeus felt like a greatsword had hit him square in the solar plexus, the impact making him go a few steps backward, the same happened to the other survivors. he was ready to bark another order when Lady Lucrezia herself stepped out of the formation and threw a slew of magic missiles at them, many bouncing off their shields, until one laded near the arm of the man to Amadeus''s right side, the man went pale and opened his mouth to scream, only for ice to form inside of it, choking him dead. "As if some nubile noble can take me out, get fucked you whore!" the man to his left pulled his sword coated with Ki and charged Lucrezia, Amadeus went after him, he saw the young woman grabbing a small metal bar and bending it into a halo around her when the man got in range she raised her hand towards him and pulled. Amadeus saw aghast as she turned the man''s chest piece and with a motion punched it right into his chest, he collapsed dead on the spot. Seeing he was outmatched, the soldier decided to gamble on surrendering, throwing his sword and shield to the ground, Amadeus kneeled and begged "Forgive me Lady Lucrezia, I surrender!" he looked up to the young woman, her cheeks were flushed red, she was sucking air but it was the eyes that terrified Amadeus the most, a sadistic glee in them, she was enjoying the killing, he barely got another word in before she grabbed his head and slammed a metal rod into it. Across the city, loud noises and cries begging for mercy could be heard. The battle for Glacialis Aeternum had begun. Chapter 14: Cometh the Hour "A God''s Sphere of power is their lifeblood, To tap it is to ascend, to cut it is to kill that which is unkillable" Theologist Carkui. rumored to be the first mortal to ascend into godhood without any help The War party made up of Druids stalked the empty city streets, they heard the weapons that the humans had forged. its firing sounds making them tremble at the noise, Gabriel led them using hawks to scout ahead, no guards were coming from their fort out of the bar the other two patrols he saw earlier. "I can''t believe we will use this abomination against all that is holy," a druid said, to which Gabriel responded, "The many lives we will spare by using the spell will far outweigh its usage on your mind young one, be sure of that." the Arch-Druid stepped in a deserted square, he could feel the eyes of the city populace on them, all hiding inside their homes, the battle had yet to reach this part of town. "I''m picking up at least eighty people inside that fort Gabriel, more in the dungeons" Another of the war party gave her report, her eyes glowing pale, he nodded and pulled Lucrezia''s gift for him, a contraption she called a "flare gun" loading the strange projectile on it the ancient druid fired it to the sky just as he was told to. Green smoke colored the sky as Velkariu''s birds closed on them, they were cawing at Gabriel''s Hawks, saying that backup was on the way. Few minutes after the shot, he could hear the hooves of Dire Horses coming his way, a platoon of Knights came riding fast, Lucrezia on her Horse, a golden-red Dire Mare, her armor stained red with blood, Gabriel narrowed his eyes when he saw the young human''s face, her cheeks were flushed red, he also noticed shaky hands and legs. "Battle Fever" an elf near him whispered and did a hand sign to ward off evil, what rotten luck, he would need to speak with the Knight''s Commander if this was the one particular strain of battle fever nobles were more likely to catch, he would need to make some potions for it. "Not a word" he barked to his druids as the woman got closer. "Gabriel! we just finished mopping up the first patrol, I''ve received word from my scouts that the other two will be ambushed" she looked at her arm, a small band hanging on her wrist, another contraption she had made and it was quite popular with his people. a time watching device called the Watch. Gabriel didn''t want to judge the human''s poor naming sense, he coughed and spoke. "We need to be close to the fort to deploy the countermeasures so the spore doesn''t kill half the city, are you sure the usurpers won''t leave the fort?" "Pretty sure, we will take out the sentries in the walls and you people can move in unless you want to participate in the battle?" the war party screamed aye, Spirits of the land the fever was getting to them! Bleh, he was unlucky to get the variant that spreads. blasted nobles. Gabriel nodded and they moved up towards the fort, like the castle there was a large plaza just before the place proper, Barricades were set and he could see the fear in the eyes of the people manning them, not just humans but elves and beastfolk, it seems these usurpers weren''t picky when it came to recruiting. One of the druids got up in a horse with the help of a Knight and began to chant, the enemies coating their weapons and armor with Ki of various hues, as a terrifying thunderbolt fell in the middle of the first barricade, with a crack and bomb the spell honed into a panicked dwarf and it killed him on the spot before exploding the second barricade. "KNIGHTS OF WULFGREM, CHARGE!" the human boomed and they went forward with the speed of a drake, Gabriel felt in his bones the power of the man, his blessing making the old elf feel like he was young once again, with a war cry he and his war party went forward, shapeshifting into various magical beasts, crashing into the people who didn''t die when the thunderbolt went off, the Knights went around them, their spears skewing and their hooves trampling anyone left standing, one of the druids morphed from a giant spider into a griffon and went to the walls, killing the archers who had begun firing at them. Gabriel had just finished burning a man alive with his phoenix form when he saw Lucrezia form a huge iron halo around her and a disc beneath her legs, she leaped from her mare and landed in a group of enemies, time seemed to slow as Gabriel watched the young noble lady extend her two hands and crush two men like they were rotten fruits, that was when he saw a fine dark mist coming from her hands. "Winter Spirits protect me, she''s manipulating iron in mist form" he spoke to no one, Gabriel had seen a single battlemage capable of magnetism before, and that man was a terror on the battlefield. Lucrezia parried a flurry of attacks with her blade, as one of the remaining enemies circled behind her, another raised a bastard sword to hit her with a Ki empowered strike, she quickly bent the sword to its breaking point, making the warrior stumble, she pounced. slicing his throat and grabbing the huge man like a shield, the other attacked and she threw the dying man at the woman who tried to backstab her. A nasty grin formed on Lucrezia''s face as the enemy woman fell, she slammed her boot into the woman''s leg who cried in agony, in a flash Lucrezia grabbed the woman''s face and bashed in the wet mud, killing her. the final enemy begged for mercy but his cries were silenced when the Knight Commander blew his head with a pistol, Gabriel flew to Lucrezia and rested on her left shoulder, the other druids were mopping up the survivors with the Knights. "Control yourself Young Human, Cruelty has its uses but abusing it will earn you nothing but scorn" he turned to the Commander "Your liege suffers from Battle Fever of the infectious kind, Train her, and I shall make the right potions later" the man narrowed his eyes and nodded "It shall be done, Master Gabriel" Lucrezia didn''t speak a word, but he could still see her cheeks flushing red, he turned back into his elven form and called his druids. "The ritual will take thirty minutes" he spoke, the Knight Commander and his people formed up and waited for an enemy response. The ritual began, pale roots growing from the streets stones, they closed off the fort slowly, it took 20 minutes for the fort defenders to muster a response, a squad of heavily armed guards came from the front gates, their tower shields tinged with crimson Ki "Carson and the Senior squires" the commander spat out as he saw the men marching towards them. "HALT IN THE NAME OF THE DUKE STOP THIS AT-" Every Knight and Lucrezia pointed their weapons and fired, the sound as strong as the thunderbolt from earlier, everyone bar Carson and the man to his left went down, their Ki control unable to muster enough power to stop the barrage, Carson himself had a nasty hole drilled in his left arm, he looked down aghast when a second volley was fired, the last two survivors going down like a puppet with its strings being cut. Gabriel cleared his mind, focusing on the ritual, when he finally felt the barrier going up he told Lucrezia to take her men out of it and told one of the druids to bar the fort in case someone there tried to escape, in the blink of eye vines thicker than a cows torso went up, they englobed the main exits and windows. "Prepare the spore," Gabriel said with gravitas, the druids nodded and formed a circle, one summoned a box and opened, the dried fungi waiting to be used. spell after the spell was cast as they prepared to deploy it, Gabriel heard the noises coming from the fort, apparently, the rest of the soldiers there finally waking up to reality, he shook his head and began the chant, calling for the favors of the winter spirits, as they descended into the ritual ground the dried fungi came to life, fingers growing into the ground straight into the main keep, the screaming had begun in earnest now. "No wonder the queen herself decided to destroy Granarius Prime after this was used, All-Father above forgive me" one of the druids spoke and the other nodded, as the chanting grew faster the fingers bore into the walls and began infecting the people inside, louder and louder they screamed as the spores grew at an alarming rate and fingers came from their skin, choking them, some using their weapons to kill them and others. after forty minutes the screaming stopped, Gabriel felt a click in his mana, indicating the spores were out of targets and looking for more, he began chanting again, his druids following along as the spores accumulated themselves into a cloud and pooled together back in the box. another druid closed it. "Perform the test," he said and soon a locust was thrown into the zone, the insect made some noise and complained of being throw but didn''t immediately die, everyone nodded and a few sighs of relief could be heard, it had worked. "Thank the Spirits, thank the fucking Spirits," Gabriel said, laughing nervously, he took down the barrier and spoke with Lucrezia "As agreed we have helped you root out the usurpers here in the city, as we speak the twins together with your mages and knights will attack the prison outside the city" He prayed to the Spirits those two could handle the mission, their hunting and geomancy skills were on par with any master druid for their age. Lucrezia nodded, she fired a flare to the sky, its blue smoke signaling it was time for the main force of the Knights to finally move in and retake what was theirs, Gabriel heard the war cries from the main city gates and the galloping of Dire Horses. "You may rest at the castle if you want Arch-Druid, the people at the gates already know your face." she said pointing to a road behind her, Gabriel nodded and called his people, now that the battle was over he could feel the tiredness seeping into his old bones, he spoke with the war party and they went off to the castle. Hopefully to be met with a hot meal and warm bed the old druid thought.
Freya and her sister were scouting ahead while the mages set up awards around the prison, the guards were barely paying attention to the outside, the news from the attacks, her sister was already working on the tunnels to reach the prisoners. One of the mages Lucrezia had loaned told according to his divinations there were at least 300 people there, and 100 in dire need of healing, it was enough for Gunn to send a Wind Hawk back to the village and request aid, which should take just enough time for them to mop this butcher''s shop clean. "Miss Freya. my men are ready to charge in, we are waiting on your word" the Knight spoke in a grave tone, they all knew how bad the situation was down there. the mage''s earlier divinations giving them ample evidence of the atrocities committed by the so-called usurpers. "Gunn, I need a timetable, these Knights are getting twitchy" "4 more minutes, I''ll blow up their watchtowers and main tents. there''s about 50 of them here, with that I can kill at least a good 20 or so" "Then get on it you loaf" Freya cut off the mental link, using mind magic without a license was asking for trouble but she doubted anyone could''ve spotted that, she turned to the Knight and said "3 Minutes, get the mages ready for the first spell barrage" the Knight nodded and barked orders to the robed fellows, who were all trembling, bookworms who had never seen a true fight, huh the human was running short on battle mages it seemed. Freya got up from the trench she was hiding in and walked to the mage line, these people were barely on the level of acolytes! their mana control was all over the place too, then she focused on their gear, shiny, pretty. Powerful. Ahh, so that was how the mage managed to cast such detailed divination before! Spirits of the land that human was sparing no expanse huh? Then again if your land and bloodline were on the line, would you spare? Freya caught herself thinking deep thoughts when she got the ping from her sister, she called out for the Knights and Mages to form up. "3.2.1" the earth shattered with a kaboom, the fence went up skyward and the same happened to the watchtowers, the part of the camp where the guards were sleeping also went flying, Freya picking flying guards with her eyes. "CHARGE" A mighty warhorn was blasted and the mages rained fire, lighting, and ice upon the dazed guards who were trying to muster a defense, globs of acid and a nasty 5 man empowered firestorm blossomed in the middle of their formation, as the camp came alive and the second wave of defenders stormed in to fight, the hooves of dire horses drowned the field with their oppressive sound, that and the firing of those new weapons Lady Lucrezia had made with her dwarves hidden in that underground fortress, they tore through armor and bone like a sword saint blade, the mages who now had run out of mana pulled the bigger weapons, and began laying down fire, some of the projectiles conjuring flames and lighting just like spells, Freya''s eyes bulged, Elemental crystals as ammo! Humans were greedy, weren''t they? The second wave went down as the Knights hunted stragglers with extreme prejudice, those who tried surrender were killed on the spot, Freya had heard from Lucrezia herself, the Spirits demanded blood to wet the grounds and she was duty-bound to do it. "Not joining on the fun sister?" "This is slaughter, No I''m not joining on it" Freya turned to her sister who had popped out of the ground like a mole, she dusted herself off and summoned an earthen chair. "Reckon they will be done after a few minutes or so, and my earthen elementals tell me the healers are about to get here, It''s nasty down there Freya, the things those poor people went thought..." "Think they will need blessings from Hefe''Ir?" Gunn looked at the battle and nodded "For sure, the mind sickness they have will probably need full High Priest on detail attention, I''ll tell the Lady myself once we get back to the city" Freya got up as she got a ping from her Wind Hawk, the healers had arrived, they looked aghast at the carnage happening in front of them. but Freya calmed them down enough to explain what was happening, their faces growing worried by the second. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Once the Knight came back and told them the guards were all dead the healers moved in; As the Knights and mages broke the prisoners free a sense of hope could be felt in the air, many crying at the sight of the Knights, thanking All-Father and Morugarius. The mages went around asking for names, another order from Lucrezia to find out who died and who was missing, to enact a monument to them she was told. Freya had just finished burying the remains of the guards when an elven woman sat beside her, a city dweller Freya noticed, the woman was missing an eye and hand, Freya cringed as she saw them, and a deep hatred inside of her chest was starting to take root. "We prayed you to know? every day we prayed for Uumaries to save us, as they took husbands, wives, mothers, and sons to gods knows where, but the goddess never responded" the elven woman was crying softly, but her voice had steel on it "The Knights told me that Lady Lucrezia''s pact with the Spirits demanded the girl to Kill them all, to pay for their sins with enough blood that a river may flow from it, is it true Kin of the Forest?" Freya nodded, eyes growing misty, to be called Kin of the Forest was something very few elves heard, it was paramount of a city elf saying you were like family to them, which was rare these days as the conveniences of the big cities were so appetizing for elves of all ages. The elven woman spat on the mass grave and said "Is Master Gabriel accepting new druids? I-My family used to be druids for his circle before we moved to the city and my parents had me, I''m not much of a fighter but I can still feel the call..." "He is, Talk with the healers Kin, and they will take you to him" Freya hugged her and guided her to the healers, on her way there she heard the Knights and Mages telling their side of the story to the people, and she saw the fire on their eyes, the rage of being forgotten by their Goddess in the direst of moments. Many were asking to join the Knights or even the Mages, and more than a few non-elves asked for a council with Master Gabriel, Imagine that, Humans and Beastfolk in the circle once again! but Freya knew they weren''t joining for their love of nature, no these people would become the cornerstone of something bigger, something that would shake the very core of this country.
Lucrezia for the first time since this madness had begun was scared for William, she had heard before how nobles lose themselves in battle, how some who bury their desires too much let loose a bit too much in combat and get drunk on it. "Battle Fever" she spoke the words the druid said to Erwin, what a disgrace, but then again who was at fault here? the boy hadn''t talked about it but she could feel him bottling his urges up, even using mana meditation for it, it wasn''t healthy, it wasn''t safe but he was doing it. For her. "William you fool," she said touching the Monolith, the room now looked like a mixture of woodland and apartment blocks, it was beautiful, she could hear birds, there was a stream running across it, ever since they established the Oath their inner shared soul was breathtaking. And he was out there Killing, for her. Lucrezia wanted to scream, she wanted to give up and run to the wastes, live life as a marauder, screw this city and kingdom! but she couldn''t her pride wouldn''t let her, and she demanded the boy wet his hands with blood, again and again teasing that evil, that greed that was inside of him, his Terran baggage had already made them powerful beyond belief with those guns, the combat in the city couldn''t even be called that because it was a massacre, a one-sided massacre that had the boy almost lose himself to bloodlust. Lucrezia knew she could kill him right now, with but a word her contract she established with him would kill him and...gods knew what happened next, did they both go to the long queue? would the All-Father notice William''s soul? No, she wouldn''t do that, Gods above she had grown to like the silly boy, sure he had his faults but he was trying! every command she gave he would do it, he whined for some but he did them all the same. "I hope this isn''t a sign of a blessing from Saal¡¯Xhir, I''ve heard the stories and if that happens it would be bad for both of us" Lucrezia sighed " I hope that potion and the training help him, help us," she said touching the Monolith, it felt warm and welcoming, Lucrezia sat down in a bench and rested her head, one of the few benefits of sharing a soul was that William''s memories were all open for her to peruse, some had caused them to fight sure but the boy had gotten good at filtering those out, she didn''t want another Avers incident. Lucrezia watched as the Monolith pulsed and glowed, the contract she signed so long ago weighing on her mind and soul, William''s fear coming down from above like cold rain, she tried to speak with him but he wasn''t listening. With a sigh Lucrezia decided to sleep, the final battle was yet to come.
It had been an hour since the druid gave his two cents to William and Erwin, they had ambushed the final patrol and killed every single soldier in it, the crown pinged William and then pinged the castle. four more remained. William felt his hands shake, he was sitting on the sidewalk trying to regain his cool but the shakes were getting too hard, he was sucking in the air but felt like there wasn''t enough, his heart was slamming against his chest, he was having a panic attack. Those were common after he had left his parents to live in Alberta, they had gotten better as the year went on but this one he was having right now was real bad, he was unable to move at all. Erwin finished talking with another Knight, the streets were full of civilians who were cheering the Knights and him, it would''ve been an endearing sight if he wasn''t in such a dire situation. Erwin finished talking and came to rest beside him, the man took his helmet off, placed it on the streets, and sighed. "Lady Lucrezia, can you hear me?" William nodded, he tried to speak but words didn''t come out, Jesus he thought, it was this bad? "Battle fever is a common condition to any noble that never fought before My Lady, I know you killed before and must be asking yourself why this is happening now yes?" Wiliam nodded again. "As I''m sure you know, given you are the heir of one of the five, this land and her people were blessed by Morugarius herself once that long voyage ended and we first made landfall here, from the dirtiest of peasants to the king and queen themselves, that speck of power is there, now most don''t get to tease it out, but sometimes in the heat of battle, it can happen, especially for those of noble blood such as yourself" he took out a flask and sipped from it "You, in particular, Lady Lucrezia, being a Wulfgrem, would be far more likely to get it, now that''s not all so bad as Battle Fever if properly trained can be an extra edge" he handed him the flask "Drink this, the others are already noticing you are under the Silent''s curse" William grabbed the flask and took a swing at it, the taste of blueberries and pineapple? he opened his eyes, oh wow that was Nina''s Brew! Coughing a little thanks to the delayed kicked he finally spoke "I...Thank you, Commander Erwin" he smiled "Think nothing of it, the Silent Soldier is an Imperium God but the curse is anything but, at least you didn''t sob in the fetal position, those we usually need a healer...anyway that drink there should keep you level headed until this battle is over" "And the training?" "Once this whole ordeal is over, I and Sigr¨²n will hone that edge Lady Lucrezia, and with the potions of an Arch-Druid? give me 5 months and you will be set" he smiled, feeling a bit proud of himself William noticed. He got up and extended his hand to William, who took it, dusting himself off in the process "Ah, speak with Master Idun when you can, swinging rods of iron like a peasant does you no favors Lady Lucrezia, the dwarf told me he''s making a sword fit for a king for you" they whistled for their horses and rode for the castle, William fired a blue flare, signaling total victory, when Lucrezia arrived in the central plaza she saw the faces of her people, the castle guard, knights, and acolytes all brimming with hope and happiness, but it was the people who surprised him the most, they were singing and screaming cheers to Lucrezia, a druid came running when William entered the castle grounds, the battle at the prison camp had been a resounding success and the twins were on their way back with healers from Gabriel''s village helping the captives there. Wilson came shortly afterward, the man was decked out to the nines with the best gear the dwarfs could put out in the short notice, he and 3 more acolytes all dressed in pitch black, their robes more like suits of armor, giant staffs made from pure mana crystals on their backs. "The ritual is ready, I''ve stationed every able body person in the castle to defend the checkpoints we established earlier should your parents unleash anything that can get past us, as you asked I''ve put a team to assist us in the final push to the private wing" Wilson was shaking William could see, it was strange, in the game the lich that was once the man in front of him was brimming with expectations for the siege, Serkj came running and took William out of his thoughts. "My Lady, the outer defenses are ready, we managed to get one of the druids to set up these nasty trap vines that can explode on contact, I''ve crossbows and muskets posted on the walls and watchtowers, and men across every exit!" he was panting, William nodded and looked for Erwin, who was speaking with Gabriel while sharpening his sword, the druid looking like he had rested enough for the final push. "-as I was saying, with the potions her Battle Fever won''t evolve into the Lust variant, I can sense the taint of Saal¡¯Xhir on her Commander Erwin, so you best hope that training works" "Saal¡¯Xhir seldom blesses nobles who aren''t her followers Master Gabriel, but I''ll heed your warnings, Oh Lady Lucrezia? is there anything I can do for you?" "You believe Saal¡¯Xhir blessed me, Master Gabriel?" William could feel the cold sweat on his back, battle lust was no joke, the lore books in-game spoke of it as something that could completely change someone if not cured or bargained with Saal¡¯Xhir herself, which usually involves building a church for her, or outright conversion of the person in question. "Yes young one, but as I was saying to Commander Erwin here, my potions will do their work as long you train hard enough you hear me?" William couldn''t help but smile, Gabriel always had that grumpy grandfather thing going for him in-game, it was nice to see it surfacing a bit here, even if things were dire. "Okay Grandpa, I''ll do it..." the wizened elf took a minute to compose himself before smiling, his teeth pearly white shining, he shook his head and said. "O to be young, now Young Duchess, if you are done having fun at my expense, call me when you decide to strike the final enemy, my people still need some time to rest" "I shall, thank you, Master Gabriel" "No need to thank me, girl, thank the Spirits for giving you strength to do what you must today" he bowed and walked off inside the main hall, around William and Erwin people were running around, setting up barricades and traps, rows of ammo for the muskets. "If only I had a cannon, maybe once we get blessed eh Lucrezia?" She didn''t respond, William tried to focus on his soul and he felt that she was sleeping, not wanting to wake her up early he sat down on a table and took a deep breath, closing his eyes to rest for a spell before the final battle, He was awakened a few minutes later by a Knight, the man telling him that Idun had sent his vanguard with the upgraded armor to act as a shield against the court mage. She saw 10 dwarves looking like they were ready to raze the entire city block to the ground, their new armor making them taller, bulkier, tower shields gleaming with runes made to ward off magic, huh William thought, they had a runesmith with them? one of the humans he guessed, he would have a word with Idun later, if this runesmith could train others it would be a great boon for the duchy. Gotta go down there after this is over, I don''t know why I''ve delayed this much William through as he inspected the dwarves, he nodded approvingly and sent then to Erwin, as he was about to sit down again, Karl showed up, worry plastered in his face. "Lucrezia we have a situation" "That''s Lady Lucrezia for you priest," Saa''ryu said, emerging from the shadows, William raised his hand in her direction and said, "From the top Karl, what happened?" "Some of the locals are trying to hang the High Priestess of Uumaries, I''ve tried to tell them the poor woman has nothing to do with this whole ordeal but they want more blood, you must calm them down Lucrezia, Chloe helped me when the food started to run out, I will vouch for her" William thought it over, Uumaries sphere of power, the very essence that gave her dominion over her faithful was very strong in the duchy before the protagonist changed the faith in-game, If he could turn the people of Wulfgrem into Velkarius''s faithful, thus expanding her sphere, it would shift the balance of power of the god''s and let him strike at that rotten Goddess faster, mayhap even an Alliance with Friede. It would take months, and Lucrezia might object to it, but Uumaries was the perpetrator of so many atrocities in the game, he felt he had to, he had to strike at that demon and shrink her sphere of power if only a little. After all, that was how the Gods played their game. "Let''s go then, With luck, we might even get a new patron Goddess for the duchy" Karl''s eyes bulged, Saa''ryu gave a small yelp, yep William thought, that''s the right reaction all right, he was declaring war against the goddess, which meant his next step of this half baked plan had to go as smooth as possible, lest he pisses off a good number of nobles from Vermilion and other countries. "My Lady, we would suffer heavy economic sanctions if you do that, are you sure?" Saa''ryu looked worried, which was understandable, William smiled and said "I have a few choice items in my head that will make us the richest Duchy in the country Saa, all I must do is establish strong trade deals with House Maygriam" Both Saa''ryu and Karl spat when he mentioned the name. "Scum the lot of them," Saa''ryu said with acid on her voice, Karl nodded, William didn''t forget how badly some viewed the Merchant House, after all, they had to grease too many palms to end the last war with Granarius. "Lets the horses" William walked to the stables, both he and Saa''ryu got into their Mares, Karl elected to walk, they made their way to the temple of Uumaries, as William trotted around town, civilians would join them, in the five minutes it took to reach the church, he had dragged a good 50 or so individuals, all ready to see what was going to happen to the Goddess''s Priestess. Arriving at the church plaza, he was met with an angry mob full of pitchforks, old rusted weapons, and even a Knight screaming at the poor woman trying her best to defend herself, some were screaming in Chloe''s favor, reminding people she offered them food and shelter. In short, a shitshow William thought Karl leaped through the air, the mob silencing as he landed near Chloe. "EVERYONE, HIGH PRIESTESS CHOLE IS NOT AT FAULT HERE" He bellowed to grab their attention, now that they were quiet he pointed to William and said "I bring you Lady Lucrezia herself, She will deliver the final Judgment" they all turned to William as he got off the horse, Saa''ryu by his side, the people bowed and kneeled, quiet as undead, he walked among them and said "Raise your heads, my People, the time for cowering is over" as he stood facing Chloe, the older woman stood tall, not a shadow of doubt on her face. "High Priestess Chole, is it true that you, before Priest Karl arrived, was supplying food, shelter, and healing to those who asked?" as William spoke, he summoned the garb from the Winter Spirits, sharp intakes from the mob meant the desired effect was achieved. One of the few powers the Crown gave was to see if someone was lying to the user, William heard a whisper saying the woman spoke true and turned to the mob "It''s true" he spoke loud and clear, some of the mob calmed down, but the Knight he saw earlier screamed, her voice ringing with anger. "She saw our loved ones being dragged to the prison and did NOTHING" The others began to speak again, their voices rising in volume until Saa''ryu removed a pistol and fired to the air, which made everyone clamp down once again. "High Priestess, did you collaborate with the usurpers in sending innocent people away?" A wrong answer and William would need to the deed himself, otherwise, the mob would likely beat the poor woman to death in blind fury. The older woman stared at William, her red eyes brimming with conviction and certainty "No, I didn''t aid them" seconds pass, then the whisper came again, the woman spoke the truth, she was innocent. "The Winter Spirits have spoken, and they declare High Priestess Chloe INNOCENT" Willaim bellowed to the mob, even using his mana to project the voice a little bit further, he was no wind mage but in such proximity as this, it did the trick just fine. Chloe nodded and whispered a quiet thank you to William, Karl took her inside the temple and barreled the doors, William turned to the crowd once again, they were all watching him, waiting for something, Yes he felt, this was the right time to being the change to Velkarius, from here word of mouth would spread and in months Uumaries Sphere wouldn''t have sway over his lands. he motioned to Saa''ryu who went by his side, then walking in front of the people he spoke in a loud commanding force "MY PEOPLE HEAR ME" They all snapped to attention, William took a deep breath and went to commit intellectual theft once again. "Today marks the day of vengeance, of fighting back against the darkness that has corrupted and poisoned our land, that took our loved ones to butcher and defile in the name of the fallen, People of the Wulfgrem Duchy, today I ask for time, time to heal, time to build our home from the ashes once again just as we did so long ago after the Imperium War, so that we might strike back! today you saw the power I BROUGHT TO THIS WORLD! their shields and armor were torn apart like paper! tell all from city to farm, merchant, and criminal that I Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem have come to remove this pus from our lands, with steel and crystal, and our enemies who hide in that castle will shatter against the unbreakable rock that is our WILL! and you people of the Wulfgrem Duchy, you will be the strength of my arm, the holders of my dreams will be the ones to usher this new age, this much I vow, the history of the upcoming days will be written in THEIR BLOOD" William took a second to catch some air, the mob was dead quiet, you could hear people gulping, but that cold fire that was almost dead in them was roaring in their eyes "Sons and Daughters of Wulfgrem, your destiny beckons, stand with you brothers and sisters, stand with me, and together we will be undefeated, The past is our penance, the present is our strength, and the future... the future is our VENGEANCE!" William was heaving when he noticed the people were bowing to him, he felt a click, deep in his soul, and at that moment he knew. He got them. Chapter 15: The might of the Arcane "Men, Elf, Orc, they will all kneel before me!" Empress Izaza''Kar the Red making landfall on Vermilion shores in the very first war against the Kingdom. "That was quite the speech Lu, one would think you had a notebook hidden away but no, all improv huh? No wonder Hayden always pushes you so much, you have the fine makings of a bard" William could only laugh in shame at the praise, he went a bit too far at the end there but it was already past the point of no return. "A question Lu, these weapons of Idun, we have been tearing through enemies like paper but-" "They won''t do much against the court mage and whatever he summons yes, that man is powerful" Saa''ryu laughed "For a second I thought you had managed to upset the balance of magic and martial arts there Lu, that would be a fast way to get yourself in a ditch, trust me" William decided to not reveal the cannon ideas he had, or the mortars, bolt action mechanism, and god forbid a machine gun and repeating firearms, plus armored vehicles, trains, the whole damn industrial revolution for his maid, instead, he laughed and asked: "Liking the p¨ªstol so far?" "It packs a punch, the usurpers who had shit Ki control died like cows to slaughter, the ones that could on the other hand...I think the next iteration of these weapons should focus on penetration more Lu, if you want I can give Idun some ideas" "You do that Saa, now let''s get our priest, we will need him for the push against Father and Mother" the maid nodded and they moved to open the door, but were cut off by Karl himself who looked like he was ready for a fight. "Chloe here has decided to fight with us Lady Lucrezia" he spoke with conviction. "My Lady, please allow me to serve you one last time, Karl has told me about the atrocities the duke and his wife committed, Uumaries may have forsaken us but I will not forsake my city and my flock!" Karl smiled and said "we heard the speech Lady Lucrezia, it was inspiring stuff I must say" William nodded and asked; "What can you bring to the fight Priestess Chloe? I''ll have you know we will be facing both my parents, the captain of the usurpers and the court mage, who will count with support from either the hells or from other dimensional beings" The older woman took a good deep breath and started chanting, a prayer for an olden forgotten goddess of war who was popular with farmers in the northern wastes. Chloe''s robes transformed into a suit of solid steel and copper; in her hand a heater shield and in the other a coppery red morning star. "I can also cast benedictions that can clear curses and heal My Lady. I''ll admit it''s been more than a few years ever since I fought but I''ll do it!" William nodded, he didn''t know the High Priestess was a fighter, she had died long ago in the game, after all. They called for the mares, and off they went to the castle.
Preparations were almost over now; every single trap and Killzone set and ready for the upcoming battle. William''s party consisted of Wilson and his elite squad, Saa''ryu, and the two priests. he was only missing a single piece to begin the assault in earnest; Serkj and Erwin were with their people. Erwin, in particular, commanding the Dwarven Vanguard to special chokepoints he expected to be a battle of attrition. William went up the stairs to the northern watchtower, Winter''s End getting closer by the day, he could see the faint traces of thunder and lighting in the clouds. Sitting down in a chair near the window, William drifted off to sleep. He had to speak with Lucrezia before the final fight after all. A sense of serenity washed over him when he reached the Monolith room. The dreamlike landscape had trees and even a river running through it. The apartment blocks once cold and lifeless, were brimming with greenery and to his shock, animals! he saw birds, owls, deer, and even a big cat- a living ecosystem inside his very soul. He was caught in the smells and sounds when he felt a delicate hand hold his. "Lucrezia?" Willam was caught off guard, their relationship had improved yes but this was a bit too sudden for him when the young woman hugged him he was paralyzed, he felt tears on his collarbone as she spoke in a soft tone. "Forgive me, William it''s because of me you went through all this bloodshed, I made you kill those people a month ago, and now you almost lost yourself! Please forgive me!" he couldn''t lie that caught him off guard, still her feelings were genuine, she was blaming herself for the battle fever episode. He sat down in the soft grass, Lucrezia stared at him for a while before doing the same. He waited a few minutes until she had calmed down enough and spoke. "It''s ok Lucrezia, really didn''t you hear Erwin? we gonna hone the edge! control it with the potions until it''s not an issue anymore, It''s not your fault and you know that, you didn''t choose to get stuck with me here, this is the fault of some God or Goddess out there and we will find them" he tried assuring her to the best of his ability only to feel her getting mighty annoyed by it. He had fucked up. "You...You thickheaded loaf of a man! can you for at least once drop this act! for All-Father''s sake William, you aren''t ok, I can feel every time you push it down, you didn''t complain once about being in a woman''s body godsdamn, even a saint would''ve at least said something!" "But I''ve complained enough haven''t I?" he tried being polite, noticing a drop in her anger. "Not about this...this situation no? we both know why you got the battle fever, William, I can feel it down here, and watching you try to suppress it is making me angry!" she wasn''t that angry anymore, but another emotion was sharply going up embarrassment. "When I wanted to talk about it you blew me off Lucrezia, I figured it was a sore topic for you and decided to stay silent" "Well then I want to hear it, screw what I said before, I want to hear at least Something" William was dreading this particular conversation, and she knew it, she could feel his fear, self-loathing, and disgust, he sighed deeply and said "Does it bother me that I''m stuck in a body that isn''t mine? It does Lucrezia, Do I feel like a sack of shit when an improper thought comes mid-bath? I do Lucrezia, and I hate it, but all of this is but a drop in the ocean that we are in right now, I know it''s bad for me to bottle it up but what can I do? the alternative is getting killed and being under the purview of a God that rules the entire universe Lucrezia, put that in perspective for a second, Look at my memories, see what a world where its gods either left or don''t care, and imagine how would I, some random ass kid feel under the All-Father" she looked like she was thinking very hard about his situation, her emotions getting harder to read, William laid in the grass and continued "I had a girlfriend you know? before going to Alberta, I loved her Lucrezia, it was like...like I fully began to be me when we were together, it consumed me like a flame" he sucked up the air, god it felt horrible dragging that up from the pile but he couldn''t quit now "And then she left me, one day she was kissing me and the other she was gone, did I do something wrong? did I force myself on her? say something she didn''t like? I don''t know Lucrezia..." He didn''t know why he went on that rant, Lucrezia''s emotions were a mess as well "I''m afraid Lu, Afraid the second we stop moving forward someone finds about us and we die, Sorry if I was insensitive, It''s just how I trained myself to cope..." She held his hand tight and said "It''s fine...I just got fed up with it all and threw a tantrum like the spoiled noble brat I''m, I would ask sorry again but then we would be stuck in a loop wouldn''t we?" she gave a small laugh but it didn''t reach her eyes. "Ritual changed things here didn''t? Wonder if the blessings will do the same" it was a hard segue but William had done worse on the internet, She laughed again and said "Your segue are horrible William, I''ve seen more than a few by now" she laid down a few feet away from him, arms and legs stretched out "Yes it feels nice, alive even which I assume is work from the manastream and Spirits being United once again, sleeping has gotten better as well, a matter of fact the reason I didn''t speak much was thanks to that, a decent day of sleep" shes smirked feeling prideful from being able to nap all-day. "Sorry I delayed this talk for so long, I was afraid of upsetting you in some way," William said, to which Lucrezia responded "Same, but we shouldn''t let this become a thing, a visit a day at the very least, so we can air our grievances face to face. William nodded, he was about to sleep again when he heard her say "I think you will need to keep bottling those "feelings" for a while William if we get blessed by Saal¡¯Xhir..." William felt cold sweat on his back, he knew what a blessing from that Goddess meant. "We would be in big trouble"
William woke a few minutes later, the talk felt like hours but in reality, he had barely napped. everyone was still setting up last minute prep work in the courtyard when Lucrezia told him to summon the last member of the party "To think we are blessed enough to have a dragon fight by our side, this will go down in history William" She was brimming with confidence, and who wouldn''t be? a pure-blooded dragon, progeny straight from the tat of All-Mother herself, frontline warriors of All-Father in his universal conquest. Well Kallista was a very particular case when it came to fighting but he knew the Dragoness would come if he called, she was many things, and one of them was being true to her word. "Kallista," William said to the wind, his voice carrying power he didn''t know he had, the air cracked and he heard several sonic breaks, louder and louder. Kallista had come. The silvery-gray scales were glittering in the sunlight, she flew straight to the castle without a care in the world, the populace watched as for the first time in ages a Wulfgrem called upon the Oath, some of the old elves who had been around even smiled, what a sight it was! Kallista landed as her humanoid form in the middle of the courtyard, awe, and shock in the face of everyone there, she flexed her wings and folded them, clearing enjoying the attention from the mortals. "Lucrezia! All-Mother above Look at you! it''s been what a week? and you are already killing people like it''s nothing, you will make a great ruler girl, now where''s the bad guys? I can smell fuckery coming from your castle so I''m assuming there?" William nodded and extended his hand to the Dragoness, who looked puzzled before grabbing it and shaking it "Ahh forgive me Lucrezia, these human customs they slip off from time to time, anyway please introduce me to your team, I wanna know how''s the situation here before we go headfirst into danger" "Afraid?" Willaim teased as they both walked to where Wilson was, the Dragoness laughed and slapped his back "Being afraid can save your life young human, No I''m just curious you know, big fight coming up, we gotta do every check and check them again twice just to be sure" William nodded, it made sense to do another round of check-ups "Do you want me to give you a tour or...?" the Dragoness smiled a cheeky smile and said "Its ok, I can do that alone" as she walked towards a group of Knights, William watched as she spoke with the men, they nodded clearly in awe but very much focused on their job, she spoke with mages, castle workers and guards, even giving a word to Erwin and Sigr¨²n who looked serious as she spoke, William noticed that the morale was getting better as well, after all, they would fight side by side with a goddamn dragon "Gods William, Gods, who knows if your planet''s gods won''t hear you speaking if you damn in the name of them, beware" "You don''t think there-" "Don''t tempt fate William, we know the blockade is legitimate, why would the All-Father and other entities do such a thing to a Godless planet?" "You do realize the gravity of the information you are giving me right now right Lucrezia?" "Something you already knew when you wake up here, we can deal with that later, now focus" She went quiet. and William had no choice but to suck his words up, as the weight of the revelation dawned on him, he didn''t want to believe but the world rarely cared for what one wanted, he took a deep breath and shook his head, grabbing a flask of water from one of the workers who was distributing goods. "You trust the Lizard Lu? she''s acting a bit too friendly" Saa''ryu popped up from the shadows, the maid now in full assassin gear, the small feather of an Owl embroiled in her hood, a longsword on her back, and small knives to the sides. the form-fitting outfit was in a darker hue of blue, indicating Saa''s status as a Master of her shadowy guild of assassins. "Your father was a good man you know, he saved me when my mission went wrong in the wastes, gave me food and warm clothes, there was a kindness to him, the way he spoke with his Knights and servants" She sat down near William who was still drinking his water and sighed, tapping the table in front of her "Do you remember when I first arrived here? Leanu would always nag at my poor form..." William smiled as a sense of nostalgia came from Lucrezia, he saw a small piece of her memories, both Leanu and Saa''ryu on the main hall of the castle sweeping it "...Gods above woman, how did the duke find someone who can''t sweep the ground yet can jump in the chandeliers to get a hat Lady Lucrezia threw there, sweep with your back straight!..." "The worst maid ever. William said, the words tinged with nostalgia, Saa''ryu laughed a bitter laugh "A year to learn how to sweep that damn room...Leanu wanted to come with us you know, she had Wilson make her an acolyte wand even! I managed to talk her down but..." another sigh this time a feeling of tiredness came from it, William sat down beside the woman, she placed her hands on her face and spoke "Tell me this will all be over once we deal with them Lu, please" William narrowed his eyes, Part of him wanted to tell her, and Lucrezia that no, things would only get worse after they killed the duke and duchess, that the enemy that would come would put them in a compromising position, but he held his words. until Lucrezia got to the end of the game memories he would not speak of it, lest the reaction is violent. And knowing what that man did, things would get violent indeed. "Yes, they will Saa, you can trust me on this" he placed a hand on her shoulder, the woman blushed but didn''t say anything. Wilson showed up shortly after, his elite squad following him like shadows, with a nod he called William who finished strapping the family armor on himself, a superb piece made of enchanted ice, mithril, and blessed silver mined in Kehheim, he also had the Winter Spirit armor running beneath it, akin to a basic shield spell, the crown and sword were also on his person, ready to bear witness to the final battle. "I expect heavy resistance in the middle of the wing, that''s where Kapha''tur has his ritual set up, according to our divinations" Wilson placed a map in the table where Saa''ryu was resting, the maid removing her arms from it "Deeper in the sanctum is where your parents are Lady Lucrezia, I and my people will need to run a constant high level dispel matrix to break through the inner sanctum defenses" he waited for questions, no one spoke so he moved on "Erwin and Sigr¨²n will be leading at the tip of the spear, the vanguard will bolster them as we defeat the dimensional beings that will be throw at us" "What kind?" William asked if what he remembered was true, they would be fighting gore freakshows made from the blood sacrifices required by whatever evil deity Kapha''tur found and used those Uumaries pillars. "Flesh Abominations my lady, non-undead variant" one of the elite acolytes spoke in a rush, Wilson glared at him but Lucrezia raised her hand "Your name Mage?" "Hideo My Lady, Sent here from the Shogunate to learn the magic from Vermilion hehe" he laughed nervously, the exchange program probably didn''t cover fighting against the horrors beyond the cosmos, William smiled at the man and said "Trust Wilson and we will make it Hideo" He nodded and then Lucrezia turned to Serkj, who had just joined the table "The traps and Killzones?" He saluted "All set Lady Lucrezia, if anything comes out from the wing, it will have to drag itself through an entire castle of angry pikeman and Knights, plus some nasty traps we got from Master Idun and the Elves" The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Everyone saw the map once more time and they looked at William, the boy couldn''t help but feel excited, maybe he did have a savior complex after all huh. Still, it was either him or them and as far as William knows it, it might as well be him, he didn''t feel the need for another stolen fancy speech, or even a cheer, no all he did was drawn the single-edged blade and say. "It ends today, one way or another it ends" Everyone nodded, the final preparations were done by the time Gabriel came alone, saying his people weren''t needed for this part. The crew walked to the final checkpoint, William saw everyone getting ready, but it was Gabriel who caught his attention the most, the old elven druid had ditched its robes and now was packing a full set of crystalized amber armor, a huge claymore strapped to his back, he smiled when he caught William looking "Sometimes young human, sometimes not even druid magic will cut it, that''s when old fashioned steel is called to do its ancient bidding" "Form up" Erwin called and the door was opened to the private wing "May all Gods above and Below bless us, for we cleanse this world from the blight beyond the stars" Karl prayed together with Chloe, a rare prayer that acknowledged the Fallen and the Lordless devils from the hells, when it came to these types of enemies, even them would lend a hand, depending on the severity of course. The hallway was covered in blood, immediately Gabriel, Karl, and Chole cast spells and miracles to clean it and purify it, as the first rotation of spells began to fade, Hideo pointed his staff to a far off wall and blasted a ray of red lightning on it, the wall screeched and from its dozens of flesh and bone abominations came flooding in, their heads glowing with ethereal light "FIRE" screamed Erwin as both muskets and magic flew, William conjured a spear of ice and lobbed at the middle of the horde, breaking their momentum, but it was Wilson together with Hideo and the third mage who finished them off, the man slammed the staff on the ground and a huge pannel of arcane was conjured, Hideo threw more red lighting at it while the third mage began summoning small round marbles that glowed white light, once these marbles reached the monsters they ceased to be, turning into dust as a flood of light happened. "We must purify the entire Wing to disrupt the ritual!" Screamed Wilson after Hideo finished casting divination spells "Its Blood magic, All-Father above the amount of blood in this place is brimming with energy enough to fuel a city" Hideo said eyes bulging, William nodded only to hear Erwin speak "Lady Lucrezia the guns were not as effective as I''d hoped, it took your spell to break the enemies charge" He began changing the formation, putting the mages near the middle of it, moving Serkj''s men to the rear and wings as they switched to sword and shield, William moved up, leaving Saa''ryu to defend Wilson should the rear fall for an ambush. "Priests, Master Gabriel, What is the maximum range on your purification spells?" William asked "100 meters for me and Chole Lady Lucrezia" he nodded "200 meters here human" he turned to Erwin who said, "We won''t need to clear room by room then, the private wing is just a long corridor that has rooms to both of its sides, then we reach the first ritual site where the court mage will be waiting" to which Wilson nodded tapping his staff twice "Magic first steel second, save your ammo" he spoke to the men around him that were still loading their muskets. "Forward my good men, Forward until a better dawn" Erwin said and they went forward. It took 20 minutes of purification to get another wave, this time the abominations were twice as big and worse still, the shock troopers were using bone shields, they tanked the first 4 spear salvos William threw, until he jumped in the air, landing on a chandelier and dropping both ice spears and a huge Javelin formed from his iron halo, the third mage, who had vaporized the earlier enemies threw a huge sun tinged disk in the middle of the formation, making the enemies freeze for a solid minute, to which the Knights surged forward like a coiled spring, their swords brimming with Crimson Ki. William had his breath taken away, the men and women that Erwin commanded were cutting these freakshows down with cold fury, their slashes and thrusts ending the horde by the dozens, when they finally were done with the rift raft, a huge monstrosity armed with a Warhammer barreled into the corridor, clearly guarding the entrance to Kapha''tur, it roared like a beast possessed, which stunned a few of the guards that were beside the mages, the Knights, on the other hand, screamed their war cries and went forward, Karl and Chloe cast favor of the devoted, an AoE spell William was a fan in-game, for it increased both attack speed and stamina, the miracle stacked as well, Bolts of arcane flew from the mages, with Wilson conjuring a huge fist of stone right on top of the huge monstrosity "Hammer of Stone!" the Knights and priests jumped backward, and the fist dropped, slamming the thing down flat. Gabriel swooped in, in full Pheonix form, with a flap of his wings he cleared the dust and saw that the thing was still alive, he then threw his head back, which caused Wilson to panic and scream to everyone to get the hell out of there, 5 seconds later he cast another panel of arcane, just as an inferno of flame and magma came from the druid, who burned the monster, the ground, and even the godsdamn foundation, to which Lucrezia cursed him "Bloody old fart, that''s marble from the dynasty, you can''t even get it nowadays ugh" William laughed as the bird began to speak, he dropped down from the chandelier to hear it "...the human mage was personally powering this horrible monster, Had I not burned to ash, we would be stuck here for days" Wilson cursed and spat but said nothing, he turned to Hideo who nodded, confirming what Gabriel had said, Erwin, on the other hand, said nothing, simply dusting himself off and speaking with Serkj whose face was pale as fresh snow "All-Father''s balls If that flame killed anyone here Leanu will have my hide, thank you Wilson" he sighed as the mage waved him off, turning to Karl "I expect we being nailed by magic the second we open that door, can you dispel priest?" Karl and Chloe nodded "Trust us Master Wilson, whatever the ex-court mage throws we will stop it" Wilson nodded and turned to William. "Lady Lucrezia?" William smiled, Turning to Kallista who had not moved a finger so far. "Ready for a good fight?" The Dragoness grinned, her pointy teeth in full display. "Can''t let you hog all the fun now can I? Let''s go soon to be duchess, show me a good time" ===== Erwin narrowed his eyes, William figured the man would say something to the Dragoness but he kept quiet, instead, he raised his voice and said "5 minutes, Mana and Ki potions if you need them, anyone hurt?" "One of my men lost a hand to that final wave, we will need a greater miracle to fix it," Serkj said from the back, the wounded Guard had a glazed expression on his face, Erwin''s face twisted in a frown and said "Save the miracles, use the superior one" Serkj saluted and gave the potion to the man, who managed to glue his hand back together in seconds, William''s eyes bulged as he heard Saa''ryu speak from the shadows. "That''s one from his stock, Erwin gave to Serkj before we went in, can you feel it, Lu? there''s evil beyond that door, it''s like mana and Ki are being twisted" Wilson who overhead the maid spoke in a clear tone, for everyone to hear it "He''s avoiding Necromancy and twisting Blood Magic to make fodder, that''s why it feels wrong First Maid, no sane mage would do this" he spat on the ground, William saw Karl and Chole going around casting minor miracles and cleaning the battlefield, he then turned to Wilson and asked "You think?" "Yes Lady Lucrezia, the citizens that were in the dungeon and in that ghoulish prison were being used as a live sacrifice to whatever entity your parents made a pact to, Gods willing their souls will find peace in the Long Queue" Karl''s face twisted in anger, shit William thought, that wasn''t good news "I''m afraid that won''t happen Master Wilson" and he cast as Miracle that made the whole corridor shine blue and red, William gasped, Jesus fuck the souls! they were funneling into the room beyond the door" "Non sanctioned Necromancy!, All-Father above this just keeps getting better," Serkj said, Chloe placed her hand on the souls and said "This must be an emergency trigger on whatever ritual they are running, Now they are doubly sure we are coming for them" "Kallista, be the tip of the spear and shield us from the first salvo," William said in a commanding tone, he then placed his hand near his heart and chanted. "O Armor. A stalwart defender of the north, lend me thy boon in this hour of need" A ghostly armor shimmered into existence, drawing gasps from everyone around William, he knew that while many were believers of the gods, Spirit Worship was still strong in the north, Gabriel came in Pheonix form and sat on William''s shoulder, muttering a small prayer to the Spirit. Kallista nodded and slapped both hands together akin to a prayer "Thyrie Broodmother, Champion and General, Look upon me and watch as your Daughter fights for her land and people" the whole room grew quiet, snaps in the air could be heard around Kallista as her scales grew, her tail as well, and even her body, the Dragoness was towering above them, high as a troll. "All-Father''s balls to speak the true name of a God like that" Serkj said trembling, he shook himself a bit, a gesture mimicked by many bar Gabriel, Sigr¨²n, and Wilson, William on the other hand went pale, fear that the All-Mother would cast her gaze towards him, luckily he knew that the Goddess only really cared for her dragon children, viewing the other species as less than perfect. Kallista looked back to everyone and nodded, as the people formed up in a tight unit, she walked to the doors and roared a mighty roar, blasting them to splinters, Immediately a lance of sickly green force slammed into the Dragoness, who took the hit like it was nothing. another roar and William heard Kapha''tur scream in fury. She threw a huge fireball at him, only for the mage to summon a huge bone aegis, the fire melted a third of it before it was snuffed out, at this point, everyone flooded the room, Wilson and his men firing lances of fire, fireballs and even a firestorm at Kapha''tur; Karl and Chloe''s miracles smiting him with Holy Light and Pure Darkness, Kapha''tur screamed again and the sanctum he was in was flooded with Peacebringers, that was when the Knights and Castle guards surged forward from behind the magic fire, Erwin giving a mighty warcry tinged with Ki to further boost morale, the Peacebringers didn''t go down easy on the other hand, and the fight was quickly becoming a battle of attrition, William''s Iron Halo was firing off steel rods like crazy, his mana sharply dropping, Saa''ryu threw him a bottle and he managed to top himself before a Peacebringer came upon him, William summoned the Winter Spirit sword and quickly dispatched of the foul thing. that was when he heard Erwin scream for Wilson, the mage once again slammed his staff on the ground and every Peacebringer went to the roof of the sanctum, with a word the Knights summoned spears made of pure Crimson Ki and lobbed at the monsters. Shit William thought, if they used that much Ki that means even Erwin will take a few minutes to get back into the fight, the man nodded and the Dwarven Vanguard surged forward, using a shorter musket they began firing at the remaining Peacebringers, while the Knights used the muskets, things were looking good when a huge explosion knocked William down, he saw Gabriel and the priests cast a dome around them, a few of Serkj''s men went down, but it was the dwarfs who took the biggest hit, more than half of them dying or gravely injured, William screamed in rage, and lobbed a huge Ice spear, nearly running out of mana at Kapha''tur, who was still inside his bone aegis, the mage turned his empty sockets towards him, dark flames burning where his eyes should''ve been and he laughed. "Got you" Kallista said as she threw herself with such force and speed William was sure he heard a sonic boom, the aegis went down and William ran faster than he had ever done in his life, slamming himself into the mage as he fell in the middle of the room, Erwin screamed to stop the barrage as William grabbed the man from the ground and slammed his blade right into his neck, Kapha''tur tried to speak but was too slow as William decapitated him with a swift motion, he was gasping for air when he felt Erwin''s hand touch his face. "Focus Lady Lucrezia, Focus" William centered himself for a second, he could feel the fever inside begging to let out but he held it down, he opened his eyes and nodded. Kallista went back to her dragonkin size and said "I don''t feel much beyond here, But there''s someone with your parents" "Eustace," Erwin said with steel in his voice, Sigr¨²n placed her hand on his shoulder "No magic coming from their part of the wing Wilson?" she asked the mage who was currently plopped down on the ground, having run out of mana in that last spell. the third mage who far hadn''t speak a word and was under a hood removed his cloak, William heard some gasps as the face of a Magi-folk greeted them, this one he knew only from in-game lore texts. "There are no more dimensional rifts or Peacebringers after this room" she walked forward standing face to face with William "My name is Hraax of the Diamond Reefs, I was sent here after the deep-sea port was blown to bits" she bowed "I''m sorry for not revealing myself earlier Lady Lucrezia, but it wasn''t just your people they were kidnapping, these abominations we fought were also my own" more gasps, William grimace, and he heard Lucrezia swear again, her work with the Diamond Reefs kingdom was one of her biggest source of pride, even having the chance to visit their underwater city, an honor few had. "And you wanted to make sure I wasn''t in with them?" William asked and the merwoman nodded, her small fin bobbing a little "Wilson here didn''t know I was masquerading as one of his Acolytes but I had to..." He could see her trembling in rage, William raised his hand and placed it on her shoulder, she sucked up tears and spoke "Once this is done mother will want to speak with you, with me vouching for your innocence we will be able to rebuild the port and get trade started again" "We will trust me on this" he said reassuring the young princess, he then turned to Serkj and said "Send the bodies to the outside fast, have their names noted down and buried in the enchanted ice coffins if the families agree to it" he saluted and started moving the bodies with his men, that was when Karl and Chloe ran up to him, announcing the whole wing was purified, William called for Gabriel who confirmed, and then summoned the Crown of Winter. "The evil is purged, yet its perpetrators remain" the room went silent as the Spirit spoke its final words "Kill Them" William could feel Lucrezia''s dread rising, she wanted to talk, so he decided to fake sleeping, telling Erwin he had to rest to top his mana reserves, the Knight nodded as if he was going to suggest the same thing, but it took some time for William to get alone, for he was accosted by many, some to congratulate, others to point out where he could''ve used his spells better, the Dragoness was the last before he finally managed to delve into the Monolith room. "Lucrezia hear me on this, If the Spirits are demanding blood, you best not get any second thoughts about it, if you don''t do it, they will, and then they will come for you next" she said before going over the remains of Kapha''tur together with Gabriel, the men''s head was frozen by Hideo as proof for the populace, there were talks of putting it on a spike in the castle''s plaza.
He had arrived in the innermost part of this shared soul space, but not near the Monolith, William walked along for a while, seeing the birds and animals move among the brutalist buildings, wondering why his part of this whole magical environment was so unique, Maybe became his family from dad''s side came from Poland? It didn''t take long to arrive at the hill leading to the Monolith, that was when he caught Lucrezia...singing? and not a song from Vermilion even, no he knew the song she was singing, it was from Earth "To their trespass" "We are Witness" "Here to pass this" "Final sentence" "No forgiveness" "No deliverance" "Only Justice" "Only Vengeance" She didn''t stop as he came up to her, walking towards the Monolith and placing her hand on it, William felt a shiver on his back as she finished the song "Guide us, o mighty Fury" "Guide us to victory" The silence dragged on, the young woman sat down and placed her face in her hands, William could feel her distress, her sadness, and angst they bobbed and weaved, he sat down right beside her and spoke. "You want me to spare them don''t you?" she sobbed and slammed her first to the ground speaking in anger "Of course I want you, daft boy! they are my parents, my family!, there''s no Wulfgrem besides us, they die and the Clan dies! everything we did, millennia of history, of fighting and bleeding for this stupid country gone!" William tried to keep his cool, Lucrezia punched the ground again. "My father was a good man! he loved my mom! he didn''t keep mistresses or anything of the sort, he saved Saa''ryu! helped the duchy grow rich and made sure that wealth went to its people! he...he isn''t a Villain..." she couldn''t hold the tears anymore, William could feel Lucrezia wanted to say more, likely to defend her Mother as well, he knew it was hard to accept having shitty parents, William always felt loyalty to his own before he got kicked to Alberta, and when that trust was broken, there was only bitterness, resentment and anger. William also knew what would become of the Duchy and its people should her parents not be dealt it, he had seen it many times in playing the game again and again, even if it was an alternative/different reality from the one he was in he couldn''t let it happen, it had been just one month, yes but for him, it felt like years already, the friendships he had with the people in this world were legitimate for him, plus the fate that would befall the woman sitting beside him should they survive. "Kapha''tur together with your parents would force you into a ritual, not unlike the one we saw in the sanctum, you would''ve lost your mind and soul, only to be cut down like an animal by the protagonist," he said, keeping his tone even and face clear of emotions, she got up and screamed "LIAR!" slapping him in the face, William was surprised, not by the violence itself but the fact that it hurt, and that Lucrezia could feel the pain as well. "That''s what you wanted didn''t you, to rule over the land and raise your army, to plunge the kingdom and world into chaos! Violent, GREEDY as any other Terran" she spat on William''s face "Kill them! do as any Terran does and kill them!" she was sucking air now, face red with tears "say something you...you, godsdamned it say something..." she said plopping in the ground with a thud and crying. What a shitshow William thought to himself, he wasn''t ready for this, how could he console her, when both knew he was gonna sack her parents the second he got out of this space? he cleaned the spit in his face and sighed. He was no savior, no matter what the dwarfs told him, no hero either. he didn''t ask to be sent here, to fix this bloody mess of a situation he was put in, but goddamn it. he was gonna do it, even if his attachment to this place and people were short, he felt it, deep in his bones that it was the right thing to do. The only thing to do. "It''s a hard choice Lucrezia" he spoke, at last, the woman look at him, shame burning inside of her, he felt that she wanted to protest, to sway him but Lucrezia was smart, deep inside her she knew, the Parents she knew and loved were long gone, it was only her now. Her and a Boy from another Universe that is. "It''s the only choice"
Erwin watched as his Lady slept, the young woman looked restless, he was reminded of his older daughter who used to have night terrors, more than once he stayed up to soothe her, to much teasing from his wife''s jokes of spoiling her rotten. Gods he missed them, the memories of the day they were caught and defiled still burned in his mind, he wanted to calm Lucrezia down but he held himself back. He wasn''t her father, He was her Knight Commander. She awoke with red eyes, at this point much of the small force had already gone back to reinforce the sentries outside of the wing, there was only Wilson, the Magi-Folk princess, First maid Saa''ryu and the Dragoness Gabriel and the priests were healing the wounded, with the Arch-Druid saying he would get his fellows to help him on the ordeal. Erwing called his men to his side, they formed up having already recouped their Ki, the Dragoness was by his side this time, But it was Lucrezia who took point, they opened the door to the inner sanctum where the Duke and Duchess were, together with the man who killed his family and many others. There was no gore or blood on the walls this time, but Erwin saw the three kneeled in front of an oddly shaped obelisk, muttering insane words he couldn''t comprehend, he saw Eustace raise and rush at Lucrezia, He was ready to order his men to shoot the son of a whore down when he saw Lucrezia parry his blow and disarm him in a single smooth motion, she then placed the man in a chokehold, enough for the mages to cast a sleep spell on him. Erwin saw Lucrezia hesitate when she neared her parents, he knew they were the cause of it all, and gods be damned if she doesn''t do it he would, his family would be avenged even if had to break the Oath. "Duke Amadour Wulfgrem, Duchess Malar Wulfgrem, by the Oath of Spirit and Dragon both I Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem hereby remove your rights of rulership" The duke laughed like a madman, his wife still praying to the obelisk, her voice rising" "...Save us O mighty Star, smite our foes! we offer you blood and soul we offer you blood and soul!" the Duke kept laughing as he produced a dagger, pointing to his throat, Erwin saw Lucrezia twist her hand and send the dagger flying, she then slammed her foot in his left leg, making the man fall to a kneeling position, the duchess sped her chanting, but the obelisk did nothing, Lucrezia pointed to it and slashed the thing with a rod of iron. "By the powers invested unto me, I sentence you both to death by execution, tomorrow by high noon the whole duchy will see your heads roll, by my hand" Erwin felt a chill run down his spine, Parricide! All-Father''s ball if Lucrezia does it she will be cursed by Uumaries herself! The man sheathed his sword, there was no doubt that Lucrezia would forgive her parents now, and Erwin knew the second she upset the Goddess patron of nobles, the war would come soon after. Let them come Erwin thought, God or Mortal alike, all will break under steel and fire. The north will not fall again. Interlude: Villain in all but name First prince Galius Shatter-Spear, first in line for the throne of Vermilion was taking a nice stroll along with the Royal Gardens. 6 feet tall, fit and handsome, the man was the talk of nobility, the rumor was it that many kingdoms and even the Imperium wanted him, sending daughters and sons to try pleasing his tastes; From elves to Magi-Folk and beyond. As the young leader of the rising third faction of the Kingdom of Vermilion, he enjoyed both the capital and prestige very few in the court had, plus his mom loved him to a point very few would dare anger the man. After all, when Queen Malphas gets angry, Cities are removed from the royal maps the week after it. Galius smirked at it, so much power, influence, gold, even the Gods came for him, minor yes but still, having a divine or two in your cycle was nothing short of amazing. Sitting at a bench near a pound, Galius took the time to soak in the sun, his Mana and Ki flowing like water, that was when a dark cloak blocked his sunlight, he grunted with displeasure, no servant was to walk in this part of the gardens. he was ready to kill the trespasser when he saw its face. "High Priestess Marathazua, What do I owe you the pleasure today? does the church of Uumaries need more funds for the cathedral? or perhaps new lands? I''ve recently gotten hold of a small barony in the south" The priestess spat on the ground. "Shut you trap Prince, you have fucked up and fucked up big, Uumaries is not pleased" Galius stood upright "Impossible, all my dealings have been done using your magical artifacts, there''s no way Friede or Velkarius found about them!" he looked around "If this is about the Arch-Duke''s daughter, have no fear, no one will know what we did, we had a mind mage scrambler her after the deed" he smirked again, Marathazua frowned, face twisted in disgust "Uumaries forgive me for having to deal with scum like you, no it is not about the disgrace you committed with that poor woman, no this is about the north" Galius had a puzzled look on his face, the north was under his thumb, he had finally reached an accord with the Wulfgrem, a few of Uumaries Artifacts and he had the support of one of the 5 families, which further enabled his faction to grow. "The north is safe, My men are posted on the entrance of the Highway, they haven''t reported nothing in the last 10 days, plus the Wulfgrem are under my payroll now, all they wanted were the-" "The bloody artifacts! Velkarius knows! Friede will know any day now! there was a coup you disgrace of a man! the last Wulfgrem Heir has taken the throne!" Galius eyes bulged, he cursed out loud only for the Priestess to laugh bitterly at him "Uumaries herself will have to intervene, there''s already talk of an Umbral Priest preaching the words of that crown fucker! Holy war you dunce, If you don''t fix this shit we will have a Holy godsdamned war!" "Mother wouldn''t Allo-" "The queen can''t stop a holy war! there are many Gods angry at Uumaries and don''t forget the marriage with Morgarius, that''s on your head as well Princeling, you have to the end of the year to fix this shit, Uumaries will give you no support" the woman disappeared into the air, Galius wanted to scream but he didn''t get to where he was by being hotheaded, he sent a pulse to his ring and made his way to his quarters. It was time to invade the north.
Two men were sitting around a table, they were talking amongst themselves when Galius entered the room. "Gally! pray tell me why you called me in the middle of the day? I was enjoying myself with the Arch-mage Daughter''s!" the green-haired man spoke in mock outrage, Galius smirked at him, sitting at the table, as the man sat down, the door busted open, a woman with red hair and fair skin sucking air "Galius! the north has fallen! there''s been a coup!" she sat down. one of the men, a tall muscular fellow with tanned skin and green eyes began pouring wine for the woman. "Calm down Krista, have a sip" he passed the cup to the woman, who drank it all in a single gulp. Galius spoke "I''ve been made aware by Uumaries high priestess my-" "Your men have been turned into bloody Peacebringers!" Krista drank another cup "Thank you Elias" she pulled a small green marble from her clothes and sent some mana to it, an image showed up, slowly morphing into a video of the aforementioned Peacebringers dead near the entrance to the Magical Highway. "...That wasn''t mentioned by the priestess," Galius said in a clipped tone. "That is not good news, we need the north to send gold and silver from the mines, the mines to the southeast have all dried up," said the green-haired man. Elias turned to him and said " Not to worry Turius, my friend. I''m sure your new pet will be able to summon gold from the ether" he smirked "Now that everyone is here we can finally discuss your poor manners my friend, Galius shared the Arch-Duke''s daughter, why haven''t you?" "She belongs to me you brute, I''m not letting any of you touch so much as her hair!" Turius was mad, red with anger. Galius cleared his throat, silence descending in the room. "We will deal with Tury''s ongoing selfishness later Elias, now Krista, when did you get this memory marble?" the woman was finishing her fifth cup of wine when she spoke. "Just a few minutes ago, had to burn a soul for it but I doubt anyone caught the scent of it." those pillars were handy Galius thought, to be able to do necromancy as they wanted? what a boon. A boon that was about to end he felt. "Has the church of Uumaries abandoned us then?" Elias asked, his deep voice echoing in the vast room. "Yes, it''s up to us to clean this mess, I already talked with mother and father, I have the privilege to lead a punitive expedition against this Lucrezia" Galius spoke with confidence, Krista looked around the room, her hand trembling slightly. "With all due respect Galius, but how will we march it there? even if we take the Highway it''s still a 10 day march across deep snow and with Paladin support from Uumaries" she had summoned a map of the Duchy of Wulfgrem, the Highway that connected the whole country plain to see, a marvel of science and magic that thing. it would bend space to shorten trips, enabling trade in speeds no country bar the Imperium with hits many teleportation platforms could match. "I can hire mercenaries via Xie, there''s enough coin for a good 800 men," Turius said, drinking from his wine cup "And you whoresons will stop asking for the Arch-Mage''s daughter!" Elias and Krista laughed at his outburst. they knew if Galius wanted, he would have the young woman Turius willing or not. After what they had done to Viviene Autumnflower, not even the Arch-Mage would stop them, the Arch-Duke didn''t it after all. "Get the men then, see if you can hire companies with mages on them if only to clear the snow while we march, Elias I need you to reach for our allies, a few platoons of Knights should put the fear of the Goddess on this would be Duchess" Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. "What about me?" Krista asked "I want you to keep looking on how the girl managed to end our little scheme up there, see if you can contact the God of Mysteries, or some of the minor ones that deal with information." the woman nodded and spoke, "Oh its been a while ever since we been together boys, ever since the Arch-Duke tried sending those Knight Specters to fuck with you eh Elias?" she had a teasing smile on her face. "Don''t remind me, Krista those things give me the creeps, not like Old Jinn will ever pin the blame on us anyway. anything short of a chronomancer blessed the by the Goddess of time will undo the mental wipe I have placed on his little whore of a daughter" Krista licked her lips and said "Let''s not dwell on the past shall we gents? otherwise, I''ll have to hit the brothel again and they are getting sick of me there already "Bring the businesses down too much" the owner said" she spat. only for the men to laugh, Elias slapping his knee as Krista cursed them out. "House Sakkar, Uthe''Zie, and Farkas are ready to send their Knights and Captains for each platoon Galius," Elias said as they watched Krista went away, Turius was nursing another wine cup as he talked "The heirs of those houses are all friends with Lucrezia from what I know, if you can bring one of them with us we Might get the girl without bloodshed" Elias shook his head as he spoke "Not an option, almost every noble heir is on a fancy island near the Shogunate, only Lucrezia there didn''t go, which means we will have to do this the old fashioned way" "Steel and blood" Galius looked to Elias, the man nodded and spoke once again "Steel and blood"
Galius was having a lovely dinner with his family, his youngest brother third prince Arthur had returned from the retreat the nobles had set up, Galius tried prying information from the young man but he was resolute in staying quiet. The fact the boy wouldn''t even look at him was suspicious but Galius didn''t care to raise a fuss. His sister on the other hand was teasing him constantly. "Ease up will ya Arch? tell your older sis here, who did you shag in those fancy beach houses eh? was it the Argonius''s girl you were giving looks when they came over?" "Settle down Felicia, let the boy eat in peace" spoke the King of Vermilion, Jason Dragonborn Shatter-Spear. The man was trying to cover for his daughter, he knew the earful she was going to listen if she kept teasing the favorite child of the Queen. "Malphas dear, I''m sure Felicia is just teasing her brother," he said with a strained smile. The woman narrowed her eyes but said nothing. Galius found the perfect opportunity to speak. "Mother, Father. Can I have a word with you two?" The Queen smiled "Speak son, what is it that you want?" Galius bowed with his head "As I''m sure you two are aware, there''s been a recent...situation in the north" the King cleared his throat. "Yes, we have received reports from the Arch-Mage''s divination unit" to which Malphas spoke "You wanna lead the punitive force yourself I assume? It will take months to get the paperwork son, can you wait?" Malphas knew her oldest''s patience wasn''t the best, yet instead of complaining as he was known to do in these private situations, he smiled. "It will take time to buy the mercenaries and rally my Allies, yes and I doubt the Wulfgrem heir will even dare to oppose us" The queen nodded "We have dealt with coups before, and will again I''m sure the young woman won''t deny the court when you arrive in their capital" Galius beamed a smile to his mom, he knew the woman wouldn''t say no. Arthur might be her favorite, but he had that firstborn charm, as his father was found to say. "Ugh, what happened to the no boring talk in the dinner table rule?" Felicia asked. To which her father answered "That''s only for the lunch table dear, Mother''s rule" he laughed as his daughter''s face twisted in mock anger. Arthur hadn''t spoken a word, finishing his meal and leaving fast, almost breaking into a jog. "I don''t understand that kid, It''s like he''s afraid of us, did I tease him too much?" Felicia asked only for Malphas to say "Your brother always was more attuned to the arcane daughter of mine, I doubt he was bothered by your jokes, now if you would excuse us, we have dealings with the Hivemind, its partition wants to enter the Grand Academy" the woman sighed as Jason placed his hand on her shoulder "C''mon let''s deal with that menace from beyond the stars, I''m sure we won''t hear no complaints from the noble faction" they laughed as they finished their plates and left the room. Felicia did the same, wishing her older brother a good night. Galius was left alone as he finished his plate, He couldn''t wait to reach the north, the Wulfgrem duke did promise his daughter''s hand in marriage to him after he was done using the Arch-Duke''s daughter after all. A wolfish grin appeared on his face, he prayed to the being that gave him all this power, and he felt its power flow through his body and soul. Heresy sure was the gift that keeps on giving Galius thought as he sent a message via his ring to his people. "Start phase two"
the conspirators were back to Galiu''s room, two weeks had passed and the contract with the mercenary companies was already paid. It would take at the very least four months to mobilize them, as Galius had to oversee food and lodging for the army. "A thousand men, with the support of our Knight Allies and a few freelancer war mages it should be more than enough to take over the Duchy" Elias spoke and everyone nodded "You didn''t hire the mage merc companies?" Krista asked as she drank from a jug of moon wine, the woman looked like she came from a 10-day party bender, Galius would say he''s impressed but she would get smug for days. "Galius, a word if you may?" Turius said, everyone, turned to him and waited for him to continue. "Says here Lucrezia will have her blessings as we finish prepping the army, it will take ages for those Knights to do their silly rituals and get ready. shouldn''t we be worried? What if she gets a greater blessing from a big God?" "Her 18th birthday is on the month of spears, right? according to the schedule here that''s just shy of two months, I highly doubt the womanchild will get anything big enough to stop us. Last heir of the Wulfgrem or not." Krista said without missing a beat "Plus Turius will be bringing his new pet and her brother. The Arch-Mage''s spawn should be powerful enough to fuck her over" the woman smirked as she finished the jug of wine before barfing, Elias threw a piece of bread at her, only for Krista to twist herself and eat the thing mid-air. "Impressive, now Krista. What info do you have for us?" Galius tapped on the map. "Right right, I managed to get very little, you know that big winter storm that comes every 5 years or so? somehow that shite came early and its magical nature is fucking with the divination magics, even from the Fallen Gods I know but here''s what I got" She passed a small parchment to Galius, the contents sealed with magic, he sent a pulse of his mana and the whole thing flared, an ethereal voice reading its content. "Month of the Peregrine Day of Waiting, food riots have spread all over the capital of the duchy." Silence for seconds then the paper spoke again "Month of the Everlasting Trees, Day of Overcoming. The spawn of the Wulfgrem killed half her Knight men and her parents. Spirits of the land and the Dragoness Kallista have anointed her Duchess" The paper burned away, becoming fine ash as everyone in the room kept silent. "Elias, see if you can hire those mage mercs again," Galius said, a month?! Galius remembered the spoiled woman. There was no way in all hells she took control of everything in a single month, it was too fast for All-Father''s sake! The big man nodded "We strike at the month of conquest then, even if the mage mercs don''t join, I''ll tell our noble allies to lend us their captains as well. Should boost morale for their troops and mercs alike" "Good, since we are doing this on the up and clear, I can''t summon our Patron or his helpers, So the mercs will have to be shock troops as well. With cavalry support plus whatever mage you can hire the city won''t withstand the siege" "No support from the Royal Knights?" Krista asked. "Mom can''t lend them, and the Knight Commander doesn''t trust me, he''s squarely on the Arch-Duke''s faction" Galius waved her off, the woman snorted "You lucky the Arch-Mage and his Wife are staying neutral Gally, otherwise we would have a civil war already" he laughed and the other two men smirked. Galius on the other hand didn''t find that funny "As if the man could even muster enough man to stop me. It took those Granarius fools the rarest magical artifact there is in this whole world to stop mom, you think a few Greater Blessings the duke and his Knights have will be as powerful as a Tear of the All-Father?" "Civil War that lasts 10 minutes wouldn''t even be considered a proper battle" he spat on the ground and praised his patron once again. His mom truly was the perfect shield, there was nothing Galius couldn''t do thanks to her. Elias raised his hand "If the girl usurped power from her parents, can''t you force Uumaries to deploy some of her Paladins and Priests? just to round the army out?" the other nodded in agreement. Galius himself thought it was a good idea, but he doubted the High Priestess would share anyone. "Don''t think so my old friend, that hag of a priestess was very clear when it came to our dealings. Still see if you can get some from minor Gods, All-Father knows they are eager to prove and preach heh" they all smirked at the joke as the servant knocked on the door with the good, Turius stashed the maps and they feasted the night away. Galius caught himself staring at the northernmost window, this was his chance the man thought, if he could solidify his power with the northern lands his faction would be strong enough to crush their enemies. His dream of power beyond human imagination just a little bit closer. The man failed to notice a small dark raven flying away from the palace. its wails Chapter 16: A better tomorrow. Paid in blood "You shall not have what is mine by right. Usurper!" Saal¡¯Xhir''s ultimatum towards Uumaries when the latter tried to steal the Sphere of Love. Sparking the ongoing war between the two Goddesses. Lucrezia felt incredible sadness, it had been days or what she thought of days inside this shared soul space. Since her talk with William, the boy had been silent as a rock as she hurled insult after insult towards him. Was it his family on earth that had instilled this brutal sense of justice on the boy she wondered? his memories were very cagey, but Lucrezia wasn''t dumb enough to miss the clear distaste he had for them when he stood up for his friends against the bullying. She saw him bashing the perpetrators, how very Terran of him, to resort to violence because those two were untouchable via the proper channels. "But isn''t the same here, didn''t we almost resort to a suicide attack on the Highway?" She was a hypocrite of the greatest order alright, she saw the horrors her Parents inflicted on the innocent and even then begged to spare them. Would William do the same if it were his own flesh and blood she wondered? She got the answer from the Monolith. Which pulsed with blueish lights, a feeling of Conviction washing over her. "Without flinching even huh?" Lucrezia sighed in despair, no God would forgive her Mom and Father, not after figuring it out they were dealing with the evils beyond the stars, even dealing with the Fallen or Devils would pale in comparison when it came to the punishment dealt by that crime. Lucrezia walked towards one of the many brutalist buildings that dotted the landscape. A figment of William''s soul she felt was calling for her, the many birds and animals chirping and calling each other, she felt alone, truly alone while walking towards the building. As she neared it, the young woman saw the strange yet familiar light coming from a window. A monitor or TV screen she recalled, he went up the stairs and found the room the light was coming from. A deep sense of nostalgia and longing slammed Lucrezia, who almost tumbled into the room. She was reminded of her childhood, reading storybooks in her bed, or riding horses in the summer, there was a movie playing on the TV, she didn''t know its name but decided to watch it anyway, it didn''t take long before Lucrezia fell asleep, the words and sounds from the movie washing over her.
William watched with cold detachment as Erwin punched and kicked Eustace. Lucrezia''s parents and he were moved to the now fixed Headquarters Lucrezia and the druids had taken over. The man laughed madly while spitting blood and teeth fragments over the floor. "Your family begged and screamed when we were done playing with them Erwin, and you couldn''t even-" A kick so fast William barely saw the Ki in the Knight''s Commander leg as he planted his foot on the man''s solar plexus. Eustace went down again and William had to call Erwin, lest he killed the man right here and now. "Patience Knight Commander, they die tomorrow and it will be me doing the deed, not you" Erwin took a moment to recompose himself and left the cell, he took a long hard look at William and spoke "It is not common for nobles to dirty their hands even when they want to make amends, I know the Oath with the Crown drives you my Lady, but I can''t help but feel there''s something more there." The man was right, William felt, there was more here. "Would you believe me if I said I''m doing this for the people of the Duchy, Ser Erwin?" he moved to respond but William raised his hand "No, no you wouldn''t, you and your men are loyal but not stupid. No Erwin, there''s a personal reason for why I''m doing all of this, including subjecting myself to the upcoming Curse of Uumaries." he walked towards the cell where the Duke and Duchess where it had been 6 hours ever since the final battle. William had yet to use that magical device the Royals from Granarius told him about to announce to the duchy about the current happenings. William stopped at the entrance to the cell, Lucrezia''s parents now in prisoner rags looking terrified. William didn''t need to guess why, as they heard Erwin beat the crap out of Eustace. "Last year Commander Erwin, my parents here entertained the visit of one First Prince Galius, I''m sure you remember the parade my parents had you and your men do for it?" Erwin nodded as William unlocked the cell. Lucrezia didn''t respond when he called her so either she was sleeping or somehow blocking her senses. "My daughter please listen to u-" the Duke spoke fast but not fast enough as William gave the man a right hook punch with the Magnetism boosting his strength, the Duke went down like a sack of potatoes. Saliva and blood flying everywhere. The duchess screamed and tried to prop her husband up, placing him on top of their bunk bed. "How dare you! insolent wretch of a daughter! He is your Father you cannot put your hand''s o-" Conjuring the Blade of Winter together with the Crown, he grabbed the woman and slammed her to the cell wall, putting the blade right below her chin pressing against the neck. "I''ll be very clear here Mother, I speak, you answer, if the Crown tells me you are lying, I''ll personally beat the shit out of Father. Understand?" William whispered loud enough for Erwin to hear, the woman nodded, fear oozing out of her, Now that Wilson had managed to break their ritual site the two knew they were in deep trouble; With no help coming from whatever evil beyond the stars they were praying to. "The pillars, was it Galius who gave it to you?" William asked Malar who''s eyes went wild "No! It wasn''t him it was Kapha''tur!" "SHE LIES!" The spirit screamed, William shook his head and with three swift movements, broke Amadour''s arm. the man screamed so loud Malar cringed, William dropped the man on the ground. "Talk" "Damn you! rotten whore! my God will-" William sighed and kicked Amadour in the ribs. The snapping of his ribcage made Malar''s face go pale. "I won''t ask again. Talk" "Yes! He''s the one who gave the bloody pillars in exchange for us joining his faction!" "...And your hand in marriage" Amadour spoke while hissing in pain "Daughter please, forgive us! we were manipulated by the mage. Surely you can find it in your heart to let bygones be bygones, We are your parents! your only family in this world" "Lies! you and the mage were tied by blood oath!" William was surprised it was the Sword so spoke not the Crown. The Winter Spirit was seething with rage. William looked down to the Sword with a puzzling look. Maybe the relationship between it and the Duke was deeper than what the game had told him. "Did High Priestess Chole involve herself with the Pillars in any shape or form?" He asked Malar again. "No! she knew nothing. A masked priest from the capital did the work and then the mage took over I swear!" "Daughter please listen to-" "Shut your rotten mouth before I break your windpipe. Last question" "Who or What is the one you four were praying to?" William knew they wouldn''t be able to say the name. The game ended with a sequel bait against this Hidden Evil, Malar tried to speak but nothing came from her mouth. The woman plopped down on the ground after a while. "Won''t let you speak huh? and it''s not like I can beat it out of you. Any torture method I can think off wouldn''t work either" William took a deep breath to compose himself and take a good hard look at the damage he had inflicted on Amadour. He wanted to cringe, to have doubts that what he was doing was wrong. But alas he knew the damage these two had caused to untold innocent people and many more had he not done what he did. It felt Just. Correct. Self-righteous. To see Evil, true Evil being reduced to nothing but a shambling mess begging for mercy. Just like when he broke those bullies two years ago on the Football field. When his father turned a blind eye and their Mother tried to have him jailed. "It''s the only Choice" he heard the echo of Lucrezia''s voice whisper to him, William was taken back to a talk he had with his Grandfather, a month before beating the Bullies. His mother was terrified of the man, and said he was a criminal. Yet when he talked with him the man was very much a fount of wisdom, and a single piece of advice stuck with him. "Don''t hesitate, not for a second, even if the end is bitter as sucking on raw lime, don''t hesitate" "There won''t be no mercy, no burying the hatchet and no forgiving for the evil you committed. Come tomorrow I will personally kill you both. Your blood will wet the grounds of this land and the Wulfgrem name will be cleaned from the shame you two brought to it." The Duke and Duchess couldn''t believe what their daughter was saying. Even if they had stopped worshipping Uumaries they both knew what would happen. "Foul, Uumaries''s curse will bind you to the Whore Goddess, you will become a pawn! sent away to work in her Brothels HA!" Malar''s laughter was interrupted by a fierce coughing fit that quickly turned bloody. The side effects of trying to speak the Entity''s name William remembered. The same happened in the game but it was faster there. "No Curse will stop me from doing what is Right." William saw them tremble in fear and a small part of himself hated it. He felt like the Villain here, even if he and everyone around him knew about the truth, it still felt horrible. "Goodbye. Malar, Amadour. May your souls rot in whatever hell the Gods send you two"
Lucrezia was having another pizza lunch in a huge banquet hall in the castle, Erwin and a few Senior Knights joining him, they were enamored with the new dish, some even suggesting new toppings to William while they ate. The doors were opened and Karl rushed in, the man looked pale. "Lady Lucrezia! Velkarius has sent word that First Prince Galius Dragonblood Shatter-Spear himself is leading a punitive force against us! They will be ready to move in the 5 months!" William held out his hand, the priest looked confused "You...You already knew? but how?" "My parents were in the First Prince Faction. Where do you think they got those pillars from?" William finished his pizza slice and got up. "Erwin, Karl, if you could follow me to the war room please?" the rest of the Knights saluted and made their way to their Headquarters. Erwin and Karl followed Lucrezia to a huge war room, not the ones William was using before, this one was the main one. Maps, books, tables, were spread all over the room. Waiting for them were Serkj, Wilson, and Idun. Saa''ryu and Leanu as well, It seemed that William had already formed his Inner Circle. "30 minutes ago, I got the information that my Parents got the Uumaries Pillars from First Prince Galius as payment for joining his Faction, and Karl here tells that Velkarius herself was given him the grim news. The Royals are sending him with a Punitive force" Gasps and curses all around the room, Saa''ryu looked at William waiting for him to speak again but the boy was waiting for the shock to wash over. Once everyone calmed down he placed a huge map of the Duchy on a desk and called them over. "We have 5 months, In 4 I will have my blessings but until then we must muster an army-" "My lady I can''t train Knights in 4 months! it takes years for a squire to properly handle their Ki" Erwin cried on in protest, never mind the squires, even getting the blood Dire Horses would be a pain, with the early Winter''s End they went deep underground. Living near the lava lakes. "I didn''t say Knights did I? no Ser Erwin I don''t want an army of Knights" William Smirked. "I want a Standing Army, strong enough that even the Royal Knights won''t be able to destroy us" Erwin looked bewildered, but William raised his hand again to explain himself "Now I understand it takes more than speeches and bravado to raise an Army. Infrastructure, Mining, Food in a scale the storm won''t let us farm it until it blows over but" William pulled a sketched out image of a Gribeauval 12 pounder. One hidden skill of Lucrezia they both didn''t know about, William suspected God meddling but until the Blessings came, he couldn''t prove it. Idun''s eyes glowed with arcane blue on them, the dwarf''s hands almost grabbing the piece of paper from William''s hand. William once again held his hands up stalling the dwarf who looked a little heartbroken. "As you can see by Master''s Idun reaction, this weapon I''ve invented will shift the tide in our favor, Its munitions can be both solid metal or mana crystals, and for close-range targets, all we need is to build a canister with smaller rounds, its effective range with the round munition is of about-" "900 meters for the round shots and 600 for the canister ones, which could decimate anything short of a warhorse charge plated and blessed, maximum firing range of almost 2.000 meters" Erwin spoke in an almost robotic tone. His Blessing worked out the details from the sketch alone. "With enough Magi-Tech, I can triple the range of these...What are their names again Lady Lucrezia?" The dwarf spoke over Erwin who was shaken, the Knight almost fell over but Wilson and Elanu helped him. "Forgive me Lady Lucrezia that was" the man said, his voice trembling. "That was a far rougher than the last time with the musket, these weapons of yours they require way more training and men, 15 plus horses and the ammo wagons" "With my God''s blessing it can be taken down to 3 men and no horses, I already have the designs in my mind Lady Lucrezia, this weapon right here will...Gods above it will change how we look at Warfare!" "Not so fast Master Idun, you forget to account for Warmages and Spellblades, sure this might tip the balance in our favor but war isn''t fought in a vacuum. Don''t forget the arcane arms race when the Crossbow was invented. In less than a year, we had spells ready for it, stuff that would take centuries to happen otherwise" The dwarf nodded "Forgive my excitement, Master Wilson. But you can''t deny the First Prince''s troops won''t know what hit them when we deploy these beauties in the battle to come!" "If we have the ore for it, the mines we have won''t wield enough iron and coal for an entire army," Erwin said to which William smiled "Inside this castle there lies an ancient mine. Master Idun, you surely have heard the tales, yes? That''s right, the Evermine lies in the castle grounds" "Holy shit!" the dwarf said which made everyone raise their eyebrows "Forgive me, everyone. It is an ancient tale of dwarven lore, it is said that deep in the north, hidden among many mountains therein lies a mine. Free of monsters and with infinite ores, every ore you can think of really. A blessing by our Creator God when he was invited by the All-Father to live here in this universe." Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. "And you mean to say that the entrance to such a bounty is here? in the castle grounds?" Leanu asked bewildered, she knew the castle top from bottom. There was no way the entrance of a freaking mythical mine of yore would''ve escaped her! "The entrance is hidden behind a series of spells. Wilson and its people should be able to break them but unless you have the exact position of it, it''s undetectable by conventional magic" William pulled a map of the castle and marked a location beneath one of the ballrooms "Send your mages there. After the Execution" everyone went a little quieter. "And how did you find out about such a mine in the first place Lu?" Saa''ryu asked while eating grilled fish, the maid cast a suspicious glance towards William. But he knew he couldn''t stop it now, it was time to go all-in and jumpstart the war machine of the duchy. "A vision, from Velkarius herself" William lied, Karl praised the Goddess while he cringed to himself, Jesus at this point he might as well ask for a spot in the priesthood of the blasted Goddess, that is if she doesn''t become High Priestess of Raa¡¯Tyrius first. Saa''ryu didn''t press for more, William sighed inwards then spoke up "But we will need more than ore, trade deals with the merchant clans, House Maygriam. The Magi and Beast-Folk of the deep when we repair the deep-sea port" William thumped his chest with both hands "I am but one woman, in these days to come I''ll rely on you and others to claw back to the Light, so the people and land can know peace and prosperity once again." Leanu had a tear in her eye as William finished his little speech, Erwin nodded and spoke "I and Serkj will make sure every single able-bodied civilian will be combat-ready My Lady! Let the Prince come, and we will drive him back with Fire and Steel." William gave the man a hug feeling a bit emotional, he then turned to Idun "Master Idun, I have another task for you. As you can see the city won''t last under the onslaught of Winter''s End. Are you familiar with the great sewers of Kehheim?" "Aye I''m Lady Lucrezia, one of the flock worked on it before joining us" the man took a quick look at the map " If I''m reading this correctly you want to pipe the entire city with steam from the lava lakes and running water?" he picked a piece of coal and began to drawn lines around the map. "Not just water and Steam, but a full-blown underground network in case of an emergency, big and wide enough to support the entire population of this city" William tapped on all districts and drawn domes beneath them "Until we can establish contact with the farmers who have gone until hiding thanks to Minor Gods in the countryside our only way to get grain will be via the Maygriam Highway" William drawn another circle near the entrance of the Highway, which scouts had reported was clear of Devol Peacebringers, Erwins Knights were already in the waystation. "I don''t like relying on the Maygriams, rotten people the lot of them," Said Wilson spitting in the ground, William had to nod, the Maygriams were hated among many due to their less than legal tendencies but they were still one of the Five Houses. Respect was demanded in a way. "So you gonna need an entrance to their Highway as well?" Idun quickly figured it out William "Those things can withstand the storm I reckon. Make a large enough tunnel in the Waystation and have the grain shipped straight into the heart of the city" Idun was grinning like a madman then he suddenly lost his luster "Lady Lucrezia, a project this big would take years. Labor that would take people from the Army, how in the name of Raa¡¯Tyrius do you plan to have this built-in a month?" William Smirked. "Why master Idun, the elves, of course. The druids will work together with you and the workers of the city and in" William did some math in his head "3 or so months this will be done with ample usage of mana crystals of course" Idun nodded, the spark returning to him "Yes, Yes! with the druids and their magic we will have an underground city! warm and full of food!" Leanu coughed "The meat will be supplied via that temptation made real in the dungeon I assume?" William was taken aback, temptation? "What do you mean Leanu?" "What I mean, My fair Lady is whatever that is. Is making my maids slack off! constantly crying to "enjoy the beach" as if any of it was real and not some magical mumbo jumbo!" Wilson placed his hand on her shoulder and turned to William "It''s been an ongoing struggle Lady Lucrezia, I''ve checked over with the core and it can produce about 10 tones of pork per week, which if rationed properly will be more than enough for the populace. If we get the grain that is" "How''s the core doing down there by the way?" William couldn''t lie to himself, he was worried the thing could''ve gone berserk while he was fighting in the Private Wing. He had read about it in the game after all. "It fulfills its duty perfectly Lady Lucrezia, all readings report that the core will work flawlessly, one of the Acolytes even though it was a hidden blessing," the mage said with a smile on his face, William caught himself staring at Wilson, the visage of the grim half-crazy necromancer coming like a ghost. This whole room was made of dead people and that fact had just started to sink in. After all, both he and Lucrezia were meant to be dead as well. "Leanu, have the workers prep soup bowls for the populace, Idun I need a stage on the Castle Plaza built by high noon" they both saluted and took off, Erwin and Wilson going after them. The room was deserted now, Karl being the last to leave muttering a prayer towards William who threw himself into a decadent divan "Give me a few minutes Saa" he said, and the maid nodded. "Lucrezia? you there?" Nothing, William dived into the shared soul space. Landing near the Monolith this time, he was getting better at "landing" near it. Not finding the woman near it he walked around a bit, it felt peaceful down here. In a way that didn''t the last time "Lucrezia! where are you?" he screamed but once again he was met with silence, William then noticed a faint light coming from one of the commieblock building, walking up to it took some time, he had to walk through one of the rivers that were in this place. It was like the water was trying to stop him. As he got out of the river and into the building, he heard some familiar sounds. "Is that music?" the sound got louder as he rushed the stairs, he found an open room flooded with artificial light. Lucrezia laying on a sofa looking like she had just come out of a nasty fight, tears, and snot in her face. "Holy shit, Lucrezia are you ok?" Wiliam walked towards the sofa, the woman waved him off and cleaned her face with a towel. "I...I was watching movies, I just finished watching one called Blade Runner and its sequel and I must admit, it got me and it got me good." she sighed as finished cleaning her face "Yes I didn''t answer you because I was watching a movie" she laughed and smiled "Well I also took a nap but it was the movie really" she made space for William to sit "It was my first time watching and not at the same time, but I was still able to enjoy it, it was hmm. Quite the experience" she said smiling. "I watched the Sequel with my ex, she was the one who got me into watching the classic stuff, some of that emotion must''ve bled off into you," William said as he watched the credits roll. "You wanna talk?" He asked after a short silence. "Yeah, let''s talk" "I''m sorry William, I didn''t mean to insult you the way I did earlier." Lucrezia said as the credits rolled, she refused to look at his face. Her emotions were a mess William felt. He on the other hand was more composed or at least trying to. "I saw the evil my parents made real, I even saw the atrocities in-game and still I asked for mercy. I even...I even tried to harm you via the contract we established but I saw reason. And I hope you can forgive me" "I forgive you Lucrezia, be at ease" William said after sighing and resting his head on the divan. "At ease?! really?" she asked, finally looking at him "No demands? no outrage? you must want something William, at least tell me I''m a spoiled brat. Say something bloody hells!" she punched the divan, taking William''s out of his thoughts. "Why would I demand anything from you Lucrezia? Haven''t I stolen enough from you? your life, body, friends?" he took a deep breath "I know you want me to let them go Lucrezia, and you know I won''t let that happen, you saw my memories, you saw how I deal with these types of people" "I won''t demand nothing, It is me who''s in the wrong here, not you" She held his arm. "You are not guilty! it could''ve been anyone from Terra! We had this talk before William, you might be some kind of tinpot savior sent here to right wrongs but savior you are nevertheless. You shouldn''t make me bring this topic again you hear? next time I''ll punch you to drive the point home" William laughed, which made the young woman ease up a little "If you want I can look the other way for your...Other necessities" she said shyly "I didn''t know how bad it was before but now I can feel it down here William, it is driving you half-insane since you bury it so much" "No, I won''t do it" he said, he could feel relief from Lucrezia, but also great curiosity "It''s not my body Lucrezia, I won''t cross that line because of hormones, I''ll just suck it up and pray" "As in?" "There are rituals that should keep it under control, even after we get cursed by Uumaries Until we fix this soul meld situation at the very least. I''ll speak with Karl after the-" "The execution," she said staring back at the TV, another movie had come up but William couldn''t remember the name of it "It''s funny how you refuse to do some things and is more than eager for others" "The word you are looking for is hypocrisy Lucrezia," William said with a little too much venom in his voice. He knew it was true, for all his convictions and bravado. He had a streak of hypocrisy on him. "I suppose we both are then" she stretched and got up, standing right in front of him, William was reminded of how beautiful the young woman was, but he could detect a trace of sadness and resignation in her as if she had finally come to terms with what was happening. "Kill them, Fulfill the Oath you made with the Spirits, and we shall speak of this no more" she gave him an order, William nodded and said. "As you wish"
A stand was placed in the plaza that leads to the castle gates, many of the townsfolk were waiting in lines as they got bowls of soup, a few enterprising individuals selling bread and other items, there was hope in the crowd, people of all races talking and smiling amongst themselves. Those who grieved were also there, many waiting for their prayers to be finally answered. The rumor that Lucrezia had already fulfilled her Oath had spread across all the city and the communities beyond. As did the many rumors that the Duke and Duchess were the cause of all this madness. The people of the north were one of tradition, and blood demanded blood. Even if kin slaying was to be done. Knights, Castle Guards, the Dwarven Magi-Tech Vanguard, and even the druids were all present. The populace exchanging stories and happenings with them. The new faces, in particular, getting attention from the people, many Magi-Techs were crafters and trinket makers first soldiers second. Making stuff for kids and adults to crack a smile eased the pain of their lost friends "To think a new Duchess of Vermilion is allied with the King. This life just keeps on surprising you eh Princess?" Veronica asked her Lady. Both were manning a food cart selling cheese and beer, a perfect cover according to Emilya. Veronica thought differently but there was nothing she could do. The Princess was very stubborn when it came to her plots after all. "One crazy enough to kill her kin and be cursed. Maybe Father was right, after all, Humans are batshit insane" "Not just Humans my Lady, Not just Humans."
"Lu, we have finished installing those things you told us to, it took Wilson to figure out how to power and connect them all but it''s done, superb craftsmanship of the arcane he said as well." Saa''ryu said and she undressed William for a proper bath. his cheeks reddening at any stray thought it came to his mind. "Goddamn, it Lucrezia" He sent the message to the young woman who was sleeping as far as he could tell. He decided to rely on the old reliable method of moving mana across his body, both Ice and Magnetism flowed like a river, the effect calming his mind enough to focus on cleaning himself. After the bath. Saa''ryu came together with Leanu and another maid, they had a very ornate dress ready for him, William knew it well, it was the Wulfgrem Regalia, best in class for Lightweight armor in the game. In Leanus hand, a Crown wrought in Enchanted Ice and Steel. The other maid carrying a Scepter made of a tree branch from the Woods of Kallista. "I look like a queen don''t I?" William said laughing a little, trying to lighten the mood of those around him, Saa''ryu cracked a smile but that was about it. Leanu finished setting the dress up and off they went to the stage.
Panels of arcane light flared in the entire city, many that couldn''t come to the stage watching from their homes, in the streets and pubs, William stepped onto the stage. Behind him were the duke and duchess, plus Eustace in chains. "Citizens of Wulfgrem! My people! today I deliver you justice. Today those who pillaged and raided your homes, families, and livelihoods pay for their crimes!" William''s voice boomed across the arcane panels, loud enough for the entire city to hear, and beyond. He knew the Magi-Folk of the deep were listening too. And Kallista had made herself known by perching on top of the castle''s tallest tower, the Dragoness''s icy eyes watching all from above. The Winter Spirit that was nested on top of William''s head spoke. "Today marks the day this child atone for the sins her blood committed, Rule she will by kin slaying!" A sharp gasp among the crowd, many talking in hushed voices. But it was a lone child who stood at the very edge of the stage who spoke the loudest. Her hand holding the frail arms of an ancient-looking dwarf. "Blood for the fallen" the child spoke loud enough that few around her stopped talking, the many crows nested around the plaza began to caw loudly. "Blood for the fallen" Boomed the Spirit, and the crowd repeated the words again and again until the entire city was caught demanding blood for those who were gone. The crows and ravens joined the populace in a macabre and sinister dance, as they screamed and begged for the death of their rulers more birds showed up. The overcast sky darkened by sheer numbers. They converged into the stage and from the small hurricane of birds a Tall elven woman appeared, her deathly pale face bearing scars of old, on her back a mighty staff made from bone, and on her hand a spear. Its tip tinged with rusted blood. The crown kneeled, William''s eyes almost coming out of his sockets. Fucking Velkarius herself came! "SHIT SHIT OH FUCK-" he heard Lucrezia losing her shit and he couldn''t blame the woman. He was close to losing it as well. "It is not a common occurrence when a mortal, human at that actually delivers on their promises, much less a noble heh. I''ve found your kind tends to be hmm. Flexible when it comes to dealing with the rot that plagues your society." The elven Goddess spoke, the air cracking as she walked near the guilty, she ran her nails on their skin, enough to draw blood. "So many killed, tortured, raped, and more. And now your own flesh and blood have to kill you wretched abominations pretending to be human." She turned to William and spoke. "A Greater Blessing for you my child, and support of my church in the upcoming trials to rebuild your Duchy" Using the blood she had drawn from the guilty, Velkairus shaped a ghoulish-looking ax, William sucked up air, he knew the weapon. "The Axe of Kalaamur" The Goddess raised her eyebrows, Lucrezia began screaming again but quickly went quiet as Velkarius spoke. "Not many know about that nasty dragon, it pleases me some still remember his name, and the evil he stopped" she walked up to William, who felt a power unlike mana or ki baring him down. Like gravity itself was bending to this powerful entity in front of him. "A gift" With a smile the Goddess walked away, standing near the side stairway, Saa''ryu by her side. The maid nearly lost her cool when the Goddess stood by her and Smiled. Kallista at that point dropped from the castle and assumed her Dragonkin form, all she did was nod when she walked to Velkariu''s left flank. But the boy did see the Dragoness fangs for a split second. A smile? or anger? he couldn''t figure it out, once again William had to steady himself. Hopefully, no more gods showing up before the sun is down eh? He gripped the ax and turned to face Eustace "Bring him to the front" he spoke to Serkj who was herding the three, with a shove they made the man walk. Eustace was quiet, a mad smile on his face. Serkj made him kneel in front of William and the man spoke with a maddening voice "The one beyond the stars will save me!" he screamed at William. "For the crimes you Committed against my people and my land, I deliver thee to the Long Queue." William said as he raised the ax, it stayed in the air for a split second before the boy dropped the thing into Eustace''s neck, removing the head from it in a clear cut. As if the bone wasn''t even there. A clap of thunder came from the north. Crimson lighting flooded the skies as Velkarius gave a small clap before licking her lips. The duke began to scream "Who gave you the right to be jury, judge, and executioner! the Royals will never accept your rule, you whore of a daughter!" Serkj slammed the man with the butt of his spear making him eat sawdust from the floor, he then kicked the Duchess and had both kneel before William. "Uumaries will get you O daughter of mine hahaha, SHE COMES!" the Duchess screamed as William chopped her head, the Duke cried in terror and begged one last time. "Forgive me Lucrezia! PLEASE FORG-" the ax went down again, the skies now booming with thunder and crimson lighting, the populace of the city dead quiet as William and Lucrezia had a shared sigh of relief. The three Winter Spirits made themselves manifest in full, the crown all gasping, Kallista turned into her dragon form and flew up above them, and they started to speak as one. "Thy Oath fulfilled" "Thy Duty Begins" "We anoint Thee Duchess of the Wulfgrem, Let no Mortal or God speak otherwise" Velkarius appeared beside William and placed her hand on his shoulder "I Stand as Witness" "It is done then, Now to fix the mess they left behind" William smiled and sent his thoughts to Lucrezia. "Together Lucrezia, we will fix it Together"'' Just as the skies cleared and people began to stop praying to Velkarius, Karl and Chloe showed up, Karl looking happy in a way William had never seen in-game. Chloe on the other hand was nervous. She kept looking to the south and muttering to herself, William was about to ask what was wrong when Velkarius spoke. "Hello Cousin" A golden and blue circle showed up in the sky, golden thunderbolts coming out of it, they boomed twice as loud as the crimson ones. Striking houses and trees around the Plaza. From the circle, William saw a Sigil. A house surrounded by vines. Uumaries came Chapter 17: Wrath of the Divine ¡°Burn them all¡± Avatar of Friede in the siege of Mancru¡¯si, where her mobs burned the Imperium¡¯s ancient capital and killed every noble within its walls. A winged figure clad in green and blue robes descended from the heavens. Behind it the sigil pulsed with power. It was akin to the beatings of a heart, soon the mob gathered were kneeling, even William¡¯s allies couldn¡¯t resist the urge. Uumaries revealed her face, perfection made flesh and blood. Golden eyes and hair where William could see his face in it, her skin was of jade-like hues, with a touch of metallic in it. Alien. From deep inside of his soul William felt a strong desire to fight, to rebel against the pressure the Goddess was pilling onto him, he heard crows laugh in a language he wasn¡¯t meant to understand. Fear began to overpower his rebellion and the boy was near kneeling when his vision went white. Deep into that white light William heard the cries of a baby, it felt like he knew who it was but he couldn¡¯t recall it, then he felt like he was dropped into an ocean. The smell of copper and rusted Iron assaulting his noses with something fierce. He was in an ocean of blood. William tried calling for Lucrezia but there was no one together with him, he raised his head and the baby¡¯s wailing grew louder as if something was nearing him. William covered his ears. The screams were like nails to his ears. All sounds ceased to be and very faintly; as if William was at the end of a tunnel he heard a voice speak to him ¡°...????? ??¡­¡± William was back to his senses when the Goddess was just about done with her light show. A strength that he didn¡¯t know surged up and he spoke louder than ever before. ¡°DO NOT KNEEL. I COMMAND YOU ALL TO STAND!¡± as if their bones were his to command, the people raised themselves in sheer wonder. William felt the approval of all three Winter Spirits, their forms shining above his dress. Uumaries looked with a sneer around her. These people were once her flock but they knew in their hearts that she had abandoned them, many were simple city dwellers folk. Unworthy of her full protection like the nobles but to be left to rot in hunger and to be butchered like animals? The Goddess knew the north was lost to her and was ready to punish the one who made it happen. ¡°PETULANT MORTAL CHILD, DARE THEE BESMIRCH MY HOLY NAME? STEAL FROM MY CHURCH AND EVEN DEFILE MY CLERGY?! YOUR LANDS WILL KNOW NO BOUNTY! YOUR RIVERS WILL TURN FOUL! AND YOUR SOUL WILL BE DAMNED!¡± Kallista roared a mighty roar, silencing the Goddess who William was sure was trembling if just a little. A single piece of lore came to his head. ¡°God Slayers¡± As shock troops for the ever continuum expansion of the All-Father¡¯s domain, Dragons had in every single one of them the power to end deities on foreign universes, and while Uumaries was rising her Sphere of Power, It wasn¡¯t big enough to go head to head against a dragon outside her main seat of power. ¡°This land is not yours to curse godling, not yours to pillage, another world and you will know what happens to a higher being once we make landfall in their home turf¡± The spirits rose and stood by Kallista, their forms almost solid and brimming with barely controlled anger. their forms reminding William of numerous Aliens from earth¡¯s folklore and cinema, they spoke all at once. Their voices booming in the wind. ¡°YOU ABANDONED THEM AND NOW SEEK TO CURSE THEM AS THEY ARE FREE!? LAY A HAND, NAY A FINGER IN A SINGLE BEING INSIDE OUR LAND AND ALL OF OUR KIND WILL RISE AGAINST YOU SPAWN OF FAAL!¡± That took the wind out of Uumaries sails, her form flicking as if the winds would tear it asunder, she raised her hand and pointed to the south, a beam of blue light forming on her fingers. As she was ready to fire it, Velkarius flexed her hand and a spear made of pure silver with its tip covered in blood, she twirled the spear and threw it at Uumaries hand, the beam went off. ¡°EEEEEEEEEEEeee¡± a horrible sound came from the beam, several wraiths appeared within it before the beam could hit its target the spear surged forward and stopped the ghoulish miracle. ¡°They are under my Sphere now cousin. One more attack and I¡¯ll declare war against your church, and we wouldn¡¯t want that now would we?¡± The elven Goddess smirked as the look of sheer rage was clear to see in Uumaries face, alas William knew the last attack wouldn¡¯t be able to be dodged like the last two. After all, Lucretia was a follower of Uumaries before he came into the picture. The Goddess pointed her finger to William and he heard Velkarius say ¡°Forgive me child, This one we won¡¯t be able to stop¡± ¡°LUCREZIA SOMMER WULFGREM, THE BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS DEMANDS RETRIBUTION, I CURSE THEE¡± Uumaries didn¡¯t even bother enacting the full curse William thought to himself, then again she was completely outclassed by 4 major Entities and A Goddess of equal power to her. Had she called for her allies this would¡¯ve gone very differently than William imagined. A cold fire burned his flesh just below his crotch, Lucrezia was moaning in pain as William used two iron rods to not fall, the populace gasped. Everyone knew what this curse entailed after all. ¡°The Goddess of love will find us, William, when the time for blessings comes this time bomb will go off¡± William¡¯s mind was nearly out when he heard Lucrezia¡¯s voice, the pain drilling him like doing a root canal surgery but your body was immune to the pain medication. ¡°At least you didn¡¯t call her slut Goddess heh¡± he couldn¡¯t help but crack that joke, he knew from the game how the reputation of their soon-to-be patron was among the nobles across the world after all. ¡°No need to upset her this early in the game, maybe if we explain our case she will let off the hook?¡± Lucrezia said it but William could feel she didn¡¯t believe it for a second. It was a lifetime deal, the one they had now and something that would need ample time and resources to deal with it. William saw Velkarius look at him, worried flashing for a split second in those ageless elven eyes, he almost lost himself staring at her. Her face was perfect, the boy thought, it was like he...he¡­ ¡°Fuck me it¡¯s already in effect,¡± William said clearing his head a bit, christ alive the game wasn¡¯t joking when it came to this curse wasn¡¯t it? He slapped his face with his palms regaining a bit of sanity. He saw Uumaries point towards Chloe and remove white light from inside the woman, who almost collapsed in Karl¡¯s arms thanks to it. He screamed her name and threw a nasty glare towards Uumaries. The Goddess on the other hand turned towards the people gathered and spoke ¡°A FEW MONTHS IS ALL IT TAKES TO LOSE FAITH? WEAK! YOU PEOPLE ARE NOTHING BUT CATTLE, WEAK AND DEFENSELESS, SELLING YOURSELF TO SLAUGHTER FOR SOUP FROM THE HANDS OF SOMEONE WHO KILLED HER OWN FAMILY!¡± Lucrezia screamed in fury, to hear her people who had gone through unspeakable horrors be mocked like this sent the young woman in maddening fury, primal even. The rage William thought, the rage was like a sea, not like the sea of blood he saw earlier. No, this sea was made of fire, lighting, and magma. The-Rage-that-Dwells. It was the rage mode mechanic of the game, only 4 characters had it, Queen Malphas and her son, the protagonist, and¡­ ¡°Lucrezia¡± Lucrezia¡¯s final boss fight was the one who unlocked the mechanic, there were three stages for it and she could only tap on the first one, While the Queen and her Son could use all 3. Shallowalkers like Lucrezia enjoyed peak martial and magical status while under the influence of it. Deeperegrines had minutes of demigod-Esque power but with heavy drawbacks, usually being bedridden for days, but it was the final stage that made William shiver. Abyssal Champions: One-man armies, those who can tap into the abyss of wrath are death made manifest, with no drawbacks from using such power, and Queen Malphas was the last recorded one. William let the rage flow through him, its power making the world shift as his vision was enhanced beyond his normal self, he saw the Sphere of Power around Uumaries clashing with Velkarius as the nasty Goddess berated the people he fought so hard to set free. In a final act of defiance, William was struck with a particular memory from the game, one side quest for a certain Goddess who deals with the many evil doings by Vermilion nobility with the subtlety of a jackhammer and he screamed her name. If Uumaries was gonna get nasty, he was more than happy to go down her level. ¡°FRIEDE!¡± ¡°GODDESS FRIEDE THE UNHALLOWED, SCYTHE OF THE FORGOTTEN I PRAY TO THEE IN THIS TIME OF NEED!¡± In what was now getting somewhat tiresome, lightning and thunder once again boomed across the city¡¯s sky and William couldn¡¯t help but smile when he saw the honest look of surprise on Velkarius¡¯s face and more importantly. The fear in Uumaries¡¯s A low rumble came from the ground, akin to the marching of soldiers. There was no sigil in the sky to announce her descent William saw. Friede was never one for grand entrances. Pale flame busted from one of the many watching in the crowd, it morphed and shifted as space bent around it. Whoever was inside of it didn¡¯t even groan in pain as the face of Goddess Friede appeared. ¡°This is going to be fun,¡± Velkarius said with mirth in her voice and a playful smile on her face. ¡°Cousin Friede, how kind of you to heed the call of one of mine! Please join us on the stage, Cousin Uumaries here is about to be humbled a little.¡± ¡°...Bird fucker¡­¡± Uumaries spoke barely loud enough, the smile in Velkarius¡¯s face turned into a shit-eating grin as Friede went up the steps not a word leaving her lips. ¡°Immature as always, barely out of her growing years aren¡¯t ya Cousin?¡± Friede cleared her throat as Uumaries was reading herself to send a reply to Velkarius¡¯s bait, the Goddess spat to the said and spoke in a hoarse voice. ¡°Lucky little blue blood, Had it not been for Velkarius vouching for you that fancy castle of yours would¡¯ve been ash and cinders by now¡± She looked around, the populace at this point was past feeling awe and shock and were just watching wordlessly. ¡°I heard your pleas people of the north, I also heard Uumaries here scoff at them, Now Lucrezia Wulfgrem. Ruler of the North, why have you summoned me here?¡± William felt the full weight of Friede¡¯s power on him, but unlike Uumaries that sought to bring him to his knees, Friede was different, it was akin to a very stern teacher waiting for you to answer his question. Everyone was staring at him now, a devilish grin on his face as the details of a particular quest chain came to his mind clear as spring water. ¡°In the town of Talos near the Capital there lies the center of an underground slavery ring, headed by the High Priestess of Uumaries that resides in the city, together with Baron in charge of the town and the local branch of the Merchant guild. They are using Items created by Uumaries to hide their illegal dealings, including the holy law against slavery¡± William knew, and every other person alive in Vermilion as well that slavery was even worse than kin slaying, it was one of the reasons the Five Houses left the Imperium after all. Uumaries¡¯s eyes grew as the realization of what was said hit the Goddess with the force of a sucker punch. She attempted to flee by rushing to her sigil when a Dragonbone arrow pierced the thing. ¡°WHO?!¡± ¡°BY MY COMMAND ATTACK!¡± A bolt of green lightning nailed Uumaries floating body straight to the ground, with a leap from the middle of the crowd a huge Orc slammed his Warhammer on Uumaries¡¯s body and William heard the Goddess groan. ¡°TACTICAL WITHDRAW!¡± The Orc disappeared in blue light and even Velkarius had a surprised look on her face, Friede on the other hand had already gone to the town of Talos. Ready to burn it to the ground. ¡°Did the Magenta just¡­?¡± ¡°I think we ought to visit them after this is done,¡± William responded. Holy shit he thought, To have enough power to stall a Goddess like that was nothing short of amazing! ¡°Maybe with your knowledge we can have such power ourselves huh?¡± ¡°Not maybe Lucrezia, we WILL have it¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± William looked to his left side only to see the Goddess of Vengeance laughing like a schoolgirl ¡°Oh mortal, what a show! nothing like humbling this pest. Now if you would excuse me, I must help our mutual friend heh¡± William knew that Friede would rather die than ally herself with a noble so he got the joke, with a nod the Goddess jumped skyward becoming a huge murder of crows. Uumaries didn¡¯t bother with snide comments. The Goddess warped to her sigil that had re-manifested itself and was off to Talos if William had to guess. Not that it would help anyway. Friede had enough time to act if his game lore was right and he was pretty sure it was. As the dust began to settle. William heard cries of relief among his people and the crowd, some even resting in the cold stones of the plaza. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Is it over?¡± He heard someone ask. He didn¡¯t know who it was but William knew it was far from over, many struggles were still to come. But today? Today the hard times were over for a short while, and in this little time, he would fan the flames of the people. Make them regain the strength it was robbed from them for the fight that was to come. ¡°Come closer everyone, I want the people to see who fought tooth and nail for them,¡± William said and his friends and allies formed up, Chloe and Karl, Erwin and his Knights, the Dwarven Vanguard, Wilson and Leanu, even Serkj and some of the castle Guards. Gabriel and the Geomancer twins showed up as well, many of the people who were saved from the prison camp cheering the twins. Hraax the merwoman greeted William with a nod and went to stand by Kallista who looked pleased if a little tired. William saw Emilya and the Magenta in the crowd, they smiled at him but didn¡¯t want to join in the stage it seemed. ¡°Time for another of those speeches Lu¡± Saa¡¯ryu poked his ribs with her fingers causing William to break focus and sigh a little. He turned to the people and said. ¡°Today WE have removed the great evil that was poisoning our land, Today I Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem, last of my line Vow to every one of you that our land, our families will never again be victims of such horrors!¡± he sucked up air and continued ¡°You! Strength of my arms. Holders of our dreams of a better tomorrow, for you I have committed the gravest of crimes! so that NO ONE dares to doubt my Convictions, and with the Spirits and Kallista as my witness, I say this. BE THERE KING OR GOD, INFERNAL OR BEAST, AGAINST THE UNBREAKABLE ROCK THAT IS US THEY WILL ALL SHATTER!¡± Cheers and cries exploded as William breathed in heavily, Saa¡¯ryu asked if he needed help but he refused. That was when he heard people chant Lucrezia¡¯s name, they didn¡¯t kneel or bow but slammed their feet on the ground, the soldiers and knights doing the same but with their spears. stomp, stomp, stomp like a beating heart. It was right there at that moment that William knew he could build his army. And when Galius shows up, he would have a nasty surprise for that rotten animal.
¡°Your Master Idun here tells me you require my entire druid circle Lady Lucrezia, something about tunnels? the dwarf wasn¡¯t clear on the details¡­¡± Gabriel spoke as he walked along to the war room with the young ruler. Lucrezia looked paler than usual, her long hair tied in a ponytail was frayed at the edges. The curse had taken root it seems if the body was already reacting this fast. Gabriel wished he could help, but dealing with anything divine was above his pay grade while he was old and powerful. ¡°It¡¯s an underground system not unlike the sewers of Kehheim, but able to house the entire city population and deliver food and heat underground,¡± Gabriel nodded, the twins would be just perfect for such a job, he knew Freya in particular was sick and tired of playing huntress. ¡°To deal with the Winter¡¯s End coming I imagine? Wise of you Lady Lucrezia.¡± ¡°Wilson isn¡¯t capable of large-scale teleportation yet, and the Storm¡¯s special properties interfere with magic anyway. By keeping it underground and with the heat from the lava lakes we can avoid the worst.¡± How wise for a young human Gabriel thought to himself. He had big hopes for the new Duchess, news of city elves asking to return to their roots was already spreading among the circle. Celebrations were in order. ¡°I¡¯ll talk with those who can best aid you in this endeavor Lady Lucrezia, They should make themselves know to the dwarves in the Fortress soon¡± Gabriel bowed and noticed the young woman had flushed cheeks, he clicked internally. This curse would worsen her Battle Fever in the future. Making a mental note to procure stronger recipes, Gabriel took a seat near the table at the center of the war room, waiting for the rest to show up.
The meeting was about to end when Leanu raised a question to William ¡°My Lady, we need a treasurer. As I¡¯m sure you know your mother was in charge of all finances of the duchy, now with you acting as the head of estate and commander-in-chief of the Army¡­¡± Erwin spat to the side ¡°Why do you need a standing army Lady Lucrezia? A simple militia with the new weapons should suffice! we aren¡¯t the Imperium here you know, Vermilion fights with Knights, not gang pressed commoners¡± ¡°Silence Commander. Leanu is not yet finished¡± Wilson interjected, the Knight Commander took the news very poorly and William had to promise the man more than once that he had no plans on dismantling his Knight forces. They all had a role to play in the upcoming battles after all. ¡°Saa¡¯ryu will be the treasurer of the Duchy¡± William spoke out loud to puzzled looks from everyone. The maid pulled books from her person and spoke ¡°These are all the books regarding the Duchy¡¯s economy. Our ex-Duchess kept everything running smoothly from what I¡¯ve read. even the taxes the royals have in place to trip any sort of foul deal she took care of it.¡± ¡°Now while Duchess Lucrezia here won¡¯t be arrested for tax evasion, we do have a serious issue regarding the coffers, more specifically the coin set aside for lean times¡± Saa¡¯ryu placed a huge book in the middle of the table and pointed to the last entry ¡°The ex-court mage took all of it, which means We will need to either slash payments of castle staff and our Knights, or get more coin in¡± Serkj looked like a ghost had just touched him ¡°If the men don¡¯t get their salary we might be looking at a riot here Lady Lucrezia, unless you have free booze that is¡± Wilson spoke tapping the table ¡°The core won¡¯t be able to output enough meat to feed the entire city alone, how about the grain reserves the duke kept?¡± ¡°Destroyed,¡± William said ¡°People, we need coin and we need it fast, It will take time until the other nobles recognize me as the true ruler so borrowing money is off the table as well. This means one thing¡± Saa¡¯ryu placed three trays on the table and opened them one by one. ¡°This here is called a shampoo, the other bottle here is called a hair conditioner, they are beauty items made to turn even the most stubborn of hairs silky smooth¡± she whistled and 2 servants and a dwarf entered the room, the servant¡¯s hairs smooth and smelling like roses, the dwarf¡¯s beard the same. ¡°As you can see this will be a guaranteed hit with nobility across the world¡± everyone in the room nodded, they all knew how vain nobles were after all. Saa¡¯ryu hushed the 3 away and unveiled the next item ¡°Another invention by Lucrezia, this is called coffee, it''s made with devilsong seeds which only grows here in the North. Now as we all know these things are incredible bitter but thanks to Lucrezia¡¯s ingenuity and Magi-Craft she was able to successfully make an extract out of it that can give anyone a huge boost in energy, have a sip everyone¡± the people across William looked leery of the idea, he knew thanks to the lore that these seeds were mostly used in pranks or by very desperate soldiers in a Nightwatch. Thrice as bitter as regular earth coffee and ten times as powerful according to one Q and A he read, they didn¡¯t even know how to grind the damn things. A few minutes with Idun and William had the drink done and with a good helping of sugar and honey, the taste was good enough. They all took baby sips from their cups as the effect kicked in, Wilson was starry-eyed when he said ¡°Oh the number of times this could¡¯ve saved me in my youth, thank you Lady Lucrezia. This will make waves in the entire magic community I can assure you, Gods above something that can substitute that dreadful spell that lets you stay awake...¡± ¡°Same for any half-decent military force out there, All-Father above Lady Lucrezia next you gonna tell me you have a way to make my armor clean itself and my sword to never lose its edge¡± Erwin laughed a little, the rest joining the man on it. Nothing like some good o¡¯ coffee even if it''s bitter as all hell. The third item was a small dark bar, Chocolate which William thought would be hard to make turned out to be surprisingly easy thanks to help from Magi-Tech. Lucrezia said it was almost too easy, she suspected that it was another tampering done by whoever sent him to this place. A way to ensure economic freedom maybe? William himself didn¡¯t mind that much, If he could sell luxury items instead of his weaponry it would take the prince by surprise when half his men get cut down from a kilometer away. The people ate the chocolate together with the coffee, as Saa¡¯ryu went over the manufacturing process and how the seeds could be planted and harvested underground thanks to the druids, ensuring constant supply even as the Winter¡¯s End ravaged the land. ¡°By my calculations, within 2 months we should have enough coin to secure a stable shipment of grain from the south, together with the core meat, food won¡¯t be an issue anymore¡± Leanu raised her hand ¡°Can¡¯t we plant and harvest grain as we do with devilsong and Lilypeaks?¡± Saa¡¯ryu spoke ¡°According to Master Gabriel it is possible but it wouldn¡¯t be enough for mass consumption unless we find more druids that is¡± ¡°Which would take time to train, time we don¡¯t have, so we use these two and make sure there¡¯s enough for selling and keep the grain coming,¡± William said as Gabriel nodded ¡°I¡¯m sorry my circle can¡¯t help you in these dire times Lady Lucrezia¡± ¡°It¡¯s ok Master Gabriel, we make do with what we have¡± Saa¡¯ryu tapped the table ¡°I¡¯ve sent a rider to the Highway with a letter to settle the deal, Master Idun has already guaranteed me a few of his people for the production of these items.¡± William hummed in agreement and got up, he looked at the window, the overcast skies hiding the sun, and Winter¡¯s End nearing the horizon. ¡°We all know what to do now, I must speak with the spirits to see when the storm will hit us¡±
William was alone in the Spirit Wing of the castle, Saa¡¯ryu had to run a few errands now that her new role as treasurer of the Duchy was in full effect. She already had assistants, the people who helped her in the shampoo demo earlier. ¡°We came up with something every noble from here to the Imperium will want and likely kill for it, and it didn¡¯t even take an afternoon William, it is too convenient¡± ¡°I know Lucrezia, but it was either that or sell the guns! or do you want me to raid the south? maybe invade the wastes as your ancestors were known to do?¡± ¡°Ugh, don¡¯t you start! I¡¯m simply leery that is all, Why not sell the ore from that magical mine? the dwarfs have already started the expeditions to it after Wilson found the entrance¡± ¡°Not enough people to mine ore in a quantity big enough for coin and you know it, even if we minted new coin it would take months of paperwork and a personal visit from the King and Queen to approve it¡± ¡°The queen whose son we will kill? yeah not a good idea¡± ¡°Galius has to die, you know that already¡± Lucrezia didn¡¯t answer as he neared the Spirit altar, William pulled a short knife and slashed his palm, dripping blood into the bowl at the top of it. The room grew dark and cold, from it, the Sword appeared and spoke ¡°in 4 months the storm shall strike¡± William felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. How was he supposed to train the army, rebuild the city and the new infrastructure in 4 months? with no blessings even? ¡°Chin up William, I have a feeling your lucky breaks are far from over¡± William cursed and said, ¡°Can you and your fellows do anything to stop it?¡± ¡°No, what was done by your kin cannot be undone, it saddens us that we are...Powerless to stop the storm¡­¡± Ahh, William recognized that particular usage of the word, for a Winter Spirit to say it feels powerless is an act of self-flagellation. A Reminder of the fact they let the previous race of this world die out. ¡°Then it¡¯s best we get to work then, thank you for the audience¡± William kneeled properly that Lucrezia had taught him and went on his way. He still had a meeting with the Diamond Reefs Princess after all. ¡°Hraax is a good person, you can trust her and her mother to make good on the deal we had before that blasted ward deleted the harbor¡± ¡°Deleted? Lucrezia¡­¡± ¡°Don''t start! Not my fault the memories are making usage of Terran lingo as common as regular speech¡± She huffed in his mind. Lucrezia was right on that point William thought, many of her memories felt him by now. It was getting increasingly hard to keep track of which memories hadn¡¯t merged. As he walked to the throne room he saw the castle workers running from place to place, reading huge pots for the communal stews in the many plazas around the city. Every single faction William had managed to unite under his banner working as one single unit, not as efficient as Lucrezia would¡¯ve liked but he was happy with it. ¡°Maybe some of that will rub on you sooner or later, Cause you could tighten some of the slackers you know¡± William couldn¡¯t help but disagree, if he drove the people too hard there was a risk of widespread revolt, best to go slow even if the weight of the storm was already growing stronger. The throne room was empty bar for a single worker who was cleaning the windows. The woman bowed as William sat on the frankly huge throne, made out of enchanted ice and silver. Hraax showed up, dressed in what William could only describe as wetsuit divers used back on earth. In her head a Cerulean halo floating akin to a crown. The Magi-Folk woman opened her arms in a ritualistic bow Willian knew thanks to a crash course in Merfolk culture. ¡°Duchess Lucrezia Wulfgrem, as representative of the Diamond Reefs I come with good news. The Queen has seen your resolve and dedication to set things right and has approved for the repairs of the deep-sea port¡± William looked puzzled, Wasn¡¯t he supposed to meet the Queen in person as Lucrezia had done in the past? as he was about to raise such a query, Hraax spoke again. ¡°As I¡¯m sure you remember, such responsibilities would usually fall under the Queen¡¯s purvey. But thanks to my involvement in the battle to free the Duchy I was given the honor of being in charge of the project¡± He could tell that Hraax was very much pleased with herself, he was about to ask when Lucrezia interjected. ¡°She has 20 or so brothers and sisters, this gives her a good chance of becoming the next Queen should the rest of her family not overshadow her.¡± ¡°Will they sabotage the port?¡± William asked, back in the game such an event didn¡¯t happen but this was all new to him. ¡°No, they are crafty but bound by strict honor codes, to try sabotage would spoil any claim for the Diamond Reef throne¡± Lucrezia hummed in puzzlement ¡°This sure is odd, the Queen was very hands-on with the port. I wonder what happened for her to change stances on it¡± ¡°We can find out later¡± William then said to the Princess ¡°You have my permission Hraax, I¡¯ll have the town criers announce you and your people are back and looking for workers. Gods willing we will have our port back before the storm hits¡± ¡°It¡¯s a shame that the Great Dragoness and her people refused my offer but I thank you, Duchess. Soon the people of Wulfgrem will have the best of my Reefs in their bellies and homes¡± The Merwoman bowed again and went on her way, William had a few more encounters on the throne with various city officials on the ongoing repairs of the south part of town and food concerns. It felt tiring yet rewarding to play King for a day, yet he knew that this would be a constant now. Tomorrow he was off to start his training with Erwin and his Knights. He also had meetings with Idun and Karl, Idun wanted to teach William more Magi-Tech and he couldn¡¯t say no to the dwarf. Magi-Tech was just fun to play around with. Karl on the other hand was something far more worrisome, William and Lucrezia both knew that the Curse would evolve into a Blessing of Saal¡¯Xhir. Worse, it could even turn them into a half or full-blown Succubus if the damn thing was a Greater Blessing. William knew of one ritual in-game that the Priests of Velkarius could perform to blunt other Blessings, it was highly dangerous and it only lasted for a year but it had to be done. The urges were already making themselves known after all. William meditated for hours as the night went on, constantly circling mana across his body. The feeling of ice and iron blunting the many thoughts he had. The sun was almost breaking from the clouds when he got some actual sleep, alas it didn¡¯t last long. Saa¡¯ryu was banging on his door like the whole castle was on fire. The maid didn¡¯t wait for William to dress up as she barged into the room ¡°Lu! Gods woman wake up! you won¡¯t believe what happened!¡± William felt groggy from the intense meditation and bad sleep, he barely got a word out when the maid spoke again. ¡°The entire bloody stock! we sold it all! I already told Idun and the workers to do overtime to keep up with demand and he¡¯s fast at work to automate the process, Lu I even had elves from Kehheim ask for the shampoo!¡± Saa¡¯ryu sat down by the study ¡°Shogunate nobles as well! Every single country wants our stuff can you believe it?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s been barely a day Saa, how in all hells that can happen?¡± William knew the world had reached the Globlasist stage when it came to goods but even then this was too fast! Unless Gods got involved¡­ Saa¡¯ryu must¡¯ve noticed his looks when she spoke again ¡°That¡¯s right Lu, several Gods moved their people to get the goods early, which tipped off more Gods and the Merchant guilds and then it snowballed from there.¡± ¡°Does that mean we will be able to strike a deal with the Maygriam on good terms?¡± William was hopeful that was the case. with the support of another of the 5 food wouldn¡¯t be an issue. ¡°Yes! they are sending a representative as we speak, via the Highway so she should be here in a few hours¡± She? there were very few women at the top of the Maygriam main and branch families. ¡°Catarina Silverbrand?¡± Saa¡¯ryu looked spooked ¡°How the hells you figure that out?! Yes, it''s the Matron of the Silverbrands. Word on the wire is that she¡¯s trying to marry her son off so she may use that here.¡± Willaim remembered Richard Silverbrand, one of the most likable characters of the game. A specialty merchant that used his mother''s connections to sell off any loot the player had acquired in the dungeon. His personal quest was about trying to break free from his mother¡¯s shadow as the woman was protective to the max. Many players were upset he didn¡¯t end up being a capture target and William couldn¡¯t but agree. The final act of his quest had a huge emotional payoff only to end up as ¡°Your my best friend¡± not even giving the player the option to ask him out. William smiled internally as Saa¡¯ryu went on and on about the sales, they had enough coin to buy a third of the necessary grain now. And if the deal with the Silvebrands went off, the rest would be coming in the upcoming weeks, clearing a good chunk of Lucrezia¡¯s and Saa¡¯ryu¡¯s schedule. ¡°Send a message to Idun, tell the dwarf I won¡¯t be available for the Magi-Tech lessons today¡± Saa¡¯ryu nodded and whistled, a small raven appeared and the maid quickly drafted a letter and tied it to the bird¡¯s feet. She waved the bird off and turned to William ¡°And Karl?¡± ¡°We are going there now, I don¡¯t know if the ritual will knock me out for an hour or ten,¡± William said ¡°Are you sure this won¡¯t upset the Goddess? I¡¯ve heard of the punishments she can send and they aren¡¯t pretty Lu¡± Saa¡¯ryu asked, worried. ¡°We just sent the equivalent of a magical barrage into one of Uumarie¡¯s strongholds Saa, plus the entire north will stop worshipping her as time goes on. Far as I¡¯m concerned this will be swept under the rug¡± William got up from his comfy bed and went to the bathroom to clean his face and brush his teeth, it didn¡¯t take long for Saa¡¯ryu to set up his bath. While the maid was pouring the newest shampoo on his hair William felt tremors, his face was red as a lobster and he could feel the urges coming at full force. He bit his lips trying to use the pain to clear his mind but the urges grew stronger, a grim realization befell him as Saa¡¯ryu was finished with the shampoo. The maid asked ¡°Are you ok Lu? Is it that time of the month?¡± William heard Lucrezia laugh inside his head and he got angry at her, this wasn¡¯t fun you disembodied ghost! ¡°Don¡¯t act as if I¡¯m not also feeling it, you dolt¡± ¡°I¡¯m...I¡¯m ok Saa just give me five¡± ¡°Five what?¡±The maid made a face that could only be interpreted as pure confusion ¡°Five minutes¡± William began the meditation again. It took longer than five minutes but he managed to regain his faculties again and not embarrass himself mid bath. ¡°We need to talk with that priest¡± Lucrezia said not a single hint of mirth in her voice. William didn¡¯t quip as he got dressed, Saa¡¯ryu helping him as he got the dress right. The day was looking good when William broke free from castle grounds heading to the now new temple of Velkarius, the sun managed to shine a little in the city today. He saw workers running around, people selling food and goods on stalls. Mothers haggling while kids played with their friends nearby, a steady hum of cheerfulness and hope filling him as he got to the church steps. Today was going to be one hell of a day he thought to himself. ¡°But we will make through it William, Together¡± ¡°Together¡± Chapter 18: Financial Concerns ¡°Much can be attributed as the reason for Vermilion''s success in the new world. One of those reasons is the Magical Highways, which brought Unprecedented power and wealth to the Kingdom.¡± On the Kingdom of Vermilion Vol 2 William sat naked on a cold stone floor of the basement of Uumaries church, the conversion of the temple¡¯s grounds to Velkarius was ready in all but paper. And that took some time. ¡°Not even a stray glance from the priest, Velkarius truly keeps her people in line huh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Chloe¡± ¡°Oh¡± William couldn¡¯t help but chuckle, it appears that Lucrezia being a bit of a dense person when it came to these kinds of things was something that was part of her own character. Interesting William thought. ¡°Lady Lucrezia, are you sure you want to proceed?¡± Karl looked spooked and rightfully so. While Velkarius and Saal¡¯Xhir were in the same camp when it came to God Factions, they weren¡¯t exactly best friends. ¡°Yes Karl I¡¯m sure, If we could get on with it please,¡± William said for the fourth time. The priest was getting nervous by the second but William was sure Saa¡¯Xhir wouldn¡¯t get mad, after all, he did strike a major blow against Uumaries. ¡°Very few know about this ritual you know, to stun a Blessing is no small feat, I must warn you Lady Lucrezia, it will only last until your birthday.¡± William took a deep breath and said. ¡°I know¡± Karl nodded and began chanting words William couldn¡¯t understand, Lucrezia spoke to his mind saying those were the language Velkarius created when she ascended to godhood. The pain burned the lower part of his body. A sea of fire that engulfed everything below his waistline, William screamed and twisted his naked body on the cold stones in pure agony, seeing white multiple times. Lucrezia whispered in his mind, talking sweet nothings in an attempt to take him off the pain. It didn¡¯t work as well as they hoped and William kept flopping like a fish. He then saw flashes of a grand cathedral, pure bliss enveloping him as the pain ravaged his body and soul. This mixture was something so strong William was sure he was knocked unconscious because he couldn¡¯t remember the last 10 minutes when he woke up. Karl spoke faster and faster. It was like the man was singing, the runes inscribed on the stone flared in dark arcane light. The symbol of the crow showing in William¡¯s mind. With a scream the symbol burned itself near William¡¯s crotch, he felt pain and kneeled again only to feel someone place a piece of cloth in his back, he tried turning around but was too weak and collapsed right there. Karl wiped the sweat from his face and with a smile turned to Chloe who was watching from a raised platform ¡°By the Crow it actually worked!¡± the other cleric came down and picked Lucrezia up. ¡°Let¡¯s go, the Lady has an important meeting today and we can¡¯t have her knocked out like this,¡± Chloe said, putting the young woman on a bench to cover her naked body. ¡°Karl, will this...will this ritual work?¡± Chloe asked as they moved towards the resting room in the church. ¡°Only until the blessings come, and even when considering the level of the curse Uumaries cast? Lady Lucrezia is off to a rough life if she doesn¡¯t talk with Saal¡¯Xhir¡¯s people¡± ¡°What a disgrace, To have a daughter of the north tainted with the Whore¡¯s Kiss¡­¡± Chloe spat to the side. ¡°Uumaries might let you back if you keep up that talk Chloe dear, heh, Saal¡¯Xhir isn''t that bad you know¡­¡± ¡°We are not having this conversation again Karl, ugh I know I gotta stop with this but it is just-¡± ¡°Hard to let go of old habits?¡± Karl asked with a laugh, they had arrived at Chloe''s room and laid William to rest. ¡°I¡¯ll go fetch the Treasurer, you keep watching her for any side effects,¡± Karl asked as he opened the door. ¡°What side effects?¡± ¡°Talking while asleep and jumping mostly,¡± he said from the corridor, Chloe waved him off and watched as the young Duchess of her lands slept. A small raven came via the open window, the bird left a small white twig by the bed and chirped at Chloe. The priestess offered her hand to the bird for no reason and the thing bit her hard. As she watched the bird¡¯s beak break her skin and drink her blood she felt the last remains of Uumaries powers flow out of her. Not into the bird but into the skies. Chloe sighed, that was it wasn¡¯t it? To live as a heretic who broke her vows even if her Goddess was the one in the wrong was a terrible fate. At least she had Karl, even if the man was a bit of an airhead. The crow cawed to get her attention, in its beak there was a medallion made from the blood he had taken, a little spear in the middle of it. Chloe gasped! All-Father above would Velkarius give her time of the day to someone who was High Priestess of one of her rivals? Then again Chloe knew the elven Goddess valued action not words. And she had fought for Lucrezia when the call came, feeding the people when Uumaries turned a blind eye. She took the medallion and crushed it, the blood turning into mist as the crow caw in happiness. The church and its priestess now belonged to Velkarius after all.
William was in a fetal position near the soul monolith, the pain was still sending waves across his whole body now. It wasn¡¯t as horrible as in the waking world but the echoes of it were demoralizing to him. Lucrezia had at first tried to help him but she saw that it wouldn''t work, then she tried talking to take his mind off the pain a little. It worked for a time until the pain got stronger again. Now she was hugging William as both laid in the grass. William had to admit it felt good, but also super embarrassing. He knew she also felt the same thanks to her constant shyness bleeding out of her soul. The two stood there for hours until William finally managed to talk without feeling like he was going to split into two. ¡°Sorry, for making you embarrass yourself like this,¡± he said almost in a whisper, only to hear Lucrezia giggle ¡°Silly Terran, the stuff I saw in your memories pales to this¡± William cringed as he felt the woman get up, she dusted herself more out of habit than actual cleanliness since the soul space was immaculate and extended her hand. ¡°You ok now?¡± Lucrezia asked with a smile on her face, William took her hand and said ¡°Thank you¡± meekly, his face going red. God, she was pretty. ¡°There¡¯s no need to beat yourself for thinking such thoughts Terran, the curse even blunted still holds us in its grip,¡± she said pointing at the monolith, where a symbol akin to a snake twisted and turned on top of another symbol William couldn¡¯t make out. ¡°A few months before your Birthday and this will come back twice as strong as a Greater Blessing,¡± William said, mesmerized by the ritual¡¯s influence on their souls. ¡°And the overdue meeting with whoever sent you here, plus the Goddess of whoring¡± Lucrezia said, sarcasm dripping from her words ¡°And love as well¡± William felt the need to defend Saal¡¯Xhir. he always felt the game was a little too much on the persecution of the Goddess in his opinion. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that spiel Terran, I know it already both from you and from before I got sent here¡± They both stared at each other in silence, then Lucrezia sighed heavily. ¡°What do you know about Uumaries¡¯s powers?¡± William asked on a whim. He noticed Lucrezia¡¯s emotions went to puzzlement and surprise but she answered his query nonetheless. ¡°She¡¯s the Patron Goddess of Nobility, Marriage, and Family? Why are you asking something the game told you already, William?¡± William did his best thinking man pose but his emotions betrayed the serious facade ¡°Let me ask you this then, What did the game tell you about how a God¡¯s Sphere works?¡± William recalled the bits of lore and spoke ¡°It¡¯s basically their way to manifest power, it englobes several aspects both minor and major from which they hold absolute control unless they either give said aspect or it gets stolen from them¡± Lucrezia then had a realization on the reason William asked the first question ¡°Aha! So that¡¯s why you asked about Uumaries then, you mean to imply she can usurp Spheres from other Gods? Without killing them?¡± William nodded and said, moving his hands. ¡°Yes! That''s why followers of Saal¡¯Xhir call her a usurper! From the quest that deals with Uumaries in the game we learn that she was born in a forgotten Imperium city. deep in the dungeon that permeates the entire Imperium, she found a dying Fallen God who could usurp Spheres¡± Lucrezia gasped and cursed. ¡°Fucking Imperial bullshit, every time something bad happens they have a hand in the pot!¡± They were the oldest known estate after all. Maybe the sea elves that had enslaved the orcs once before could claim the title but they were destroyed by the 5 houses when they came to these lands. William thought but didn¡¯t respond, Lucrezia was just venting after all. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe Uumaries was this...this evil! she may be the patron of nobility but I¡¯ve personally seen her work to save families across the Duchy and beyond!¡± Lucrezia punched the soft ground underneath her ¡°It was thanks to her that the great slums of the capital were reformed into the Warden¡¯s Shield, you know? Not a single person there suffers from lack of food and running water, everyone sleeping on proper beds with a roof over their heads.¡± ¡°The Divine Game makes them do things we mortals can barely comprehend. maybe these good deeds were so she could work in the dark with her Pillars without being made Fallen¡± William said watching as the sun went down in the soul space, a day and night cycle huh? that was new. ¡°Not so new no, then again you haven¡¯t come down here when it first started,¡± Lucrezia said ¡°Sorry for that, I¡¯ve been b-¡± ¡°Busy I know, the Duchy won¡¯t run by itself just yet, but this is a topic for another time.¡± She said William felt eagerness oozing off Lucrezia. ¡°Those rumors, aren''t they? Uumaries is trying to rally the nobles to her side faster so her Union with Morugarius won¡¯t be contested by the other gods from the Kingdom, All-father above what a mess.¡± They were both near the Monolith watching as twilight took over the realm. William saw the skies turn in a beautiful shade of orange and blue and a nostalgia so strong hit him he was speechless for seconds. ¡°That was...Strong, are you ok William?¡± Lucrezia asked worriedly. ¡°I¡¯m fine¡± He closed his eyes ¡°The rumors are true indeed, she plans to join Morugarius in divine marriage, if it is for love or just power the game never made that clear.¡± William touched the monolith ¡°Uumaries wasn¡¯t the evil mastermind behind the game¡¯s events and the fall of the Duchy, but she was involved¡± Lucrezia sighed and said ¡°So we will have to talk with the Goddess one way or another then, which will be hard since you basically dropped the excuse for a holy war in the woman¡¯s lap¡± William shook his head ¡°There won¡¯t be one, the Queen won¡¯t allow it neither will the powers that be in the Kingdom, at worst you will see surgical strikes against her and vice versa for Velkarius. There might be a way to make her talk¡± ¡°You have so much knowledge and yet we are still in the dark when it comes to who''s or what is trying to destroy the Kingdom huh¡­¡± Lucrezia was frustrated. He didn¡¯t even need to check on her emotions to notice. ¡°Do you have more questions? stuff that the merge hasn¡¯t ported over to you maybe?¡± William extended an olive branch to Lucrezia, hoping it would soothe her nerves. ¡°Let¡¯s find a place to sit first, I tire of standing around,¡± she said and walked off to a part of the soul space William had yet to explore. They went into another of the apartment blocks, this time going up a set of stairs in silence. For someone who had just said she was tired, Lucrezia was quick to move. As night fell they arrived on the rooftop, a small table with lamplights and chairs waiting for them. Lucrezia made herself comfortable and spoke again. ¡°Found this place a few days ago. Or what I think it''s days, even with the sun and night It''s hard to keep track of time, gorgeous view though. Reminds me of when I went to the beaches down south¡± It was William¡¯s time to feel a sense of nostalgia that was alien yet so familiar, he remembered running along the azure beaches with two other girls, giggling and joking while throwing water at each other. It was a good memory, well cherished by Lucrezia. William sat down by her side and waited for the young lady to compose herself. ¡°What¡¯s the real reason behind Uumaries being able to grant a Blessing of another Goddess as a curse?¡± Ah, William thought, the million-dollar, or in this case gold coin question. How indeed, he thought. Lore in-game and now reality told him as much. A god cannot grant another blessing that is not his own bar the All-Father himself for he has control of the mana core in the center of the universe. ¡°Uumaries clearly isn¡¯t the All-Father in disguise or something of the sort, So how William, how did that Detestable Goddess cursed us so?!¡± she slammed her hand on the table shaking the dishes and cutlery. ¡°It¡¯s a really underwhelming response, Lucrezia.¡± William took a pause ¡°As I¡¯ve said before Uumaries main power is Usurpation, and she wants the Sphere of Love for herself to cap off the Familiar and Marriage Spheres.¡± Lucrezia didn¡¯t speak so William continued ¡°Those three were once a Single Sphere held by a now-dead god from the Imperium, how and why they were separated It wasn¡¯t said in the game. But if she gets Love she will be as strong as a First Generation God¡± The young woman¡¯s eyes bulged, shock and awe clear from both her emotions and face. A common reaction, As First Generation Gods were on a whole other level when it came to the power of their Spheres. Very few who weren¡¯t birthed by The All-Father and All-Mother were holders of such power. Second-generation Gods were always fighting and plotting against each other in the Divine Game to reach such a lofty position. Alas, William knew from the game that it was almost impossible, maybe by design by chance. But if there was one God that could, it was Uumaries. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°No wonder she is doing all of this then, All-Father above what madness have we gotten ourselves in William?¡± He smiled, that line was said in the game by one of his favorite characters, the Arch-Duke¡¯s daughter. ¡°We do what we always do Lucrezia¡± ¡°Hit them where it hurts the most¡±
Catarina Silverbrand, Heir of the Silverbrand clan which was sub clan for one of the 5 the Maygriam had just finished selling the last shipment of the new commodity from the north. To think she would be blessed with the biggest hit in the market ever since those perfumes those pesky dwarves had made from Steinheim! Luck was ever on her said as her grandpa used to say. ¡°Will you be ok up there in the north mom?¡± Catarina turned to her son, Richard had just received his Blessing the other day, the young man was shy for a Silverbrand she thought. He got the Merchant Goddess Tivir Greater Blessing though, an honor few had in the Silverbrand Line, her mouth salivating at the thought of the marriage proposals he would get once sent to the Academy next year. ¡°Stop looking at my son like he¡¯s bacon from Kehheim Catarina '''' the stern-looking bronze-skinned man spoke from across the table they were on. ¡°Dear I promised you I wouldn¡¯t raise a finger when it comes to Richard¡¯s love life, there¡¯s no need to be afraid,¡± she smirked and winked at Stevan. She loved her husband, but the man was downright scary when it came to Richard. He knew the horrors of marrying into a noble family and didn¡¯t want his son to go through it. More than once she caught him telling him to enjoy life with the simpler things, tsk tsk Catarina thought. Richard is destined for greatness! ¡°So the buzz around the house and stores, is it about that new hair item the nobles are having outright duels about? or the drink made from that ghoulish seed from the north?¡± Stevan asked while eating. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that dark bar that¡¯s sweet as honey and sugar dad! I¡¯ve seen every friend of mine with one and even people I barely know have asked for it¡± Richard looked impressed. Ah, it felt good to see her little boy grow into a fine young man. ¡°Give me their names son and I¡¯ll see what I can do¡± he slipped a piece of paper towards her and she grinned ¡°Yes indeed, the Matriarch has deemed me the one to head north via the Highway and break a deal with the-¡± ¡°Kinslayer Duchess¡± Stevan finished ¡°rumors are that her parents were dealing with the unspeakable evils beyond the stars and that the main city was left to rot, they even blew the deep seaport¡± Catarina nodded, she had reports from a few of the otter beast folk sailors who lost their ships in the attack, the otters in question took refuge with the Magi-Folk from the Diamond Reefs. Gods knew who else had gotten screwed over by the madness in the north. ¡°Won¡¯t the Church of Uumaries complain about you breaking deals with her mom?¡± Richard asked ¡°They can cry all they want, Without us and the main clan they won¡¯t have a painter for their Goddess¡¯s new churches. Worry not son they won¡¯t bother old me¡± Stevan cleared his throat, a sign he had news to share. The man got up and cleared the table, both Catarina and Richard were already done with their food, he placed a series of marbles on the table. ¡°Memory Marbles, I had to grease a few palms to get these as the First Prince faction is REALLY after anything when it comes to information on the north¡± the man sent a pulse of mana into them and the three sat down. They watched as a great battle was waged in the city, and how Uumaries had cursed the young Lucrezia, Richard gasping in realization. ¡°Tivir, protect me that madwoman will be in my room next year! Mom, you have to do something!¡± Catarina on the other hand was focused in a paused frame from a battle that took place right in the Castle Plaza, the men Lucrezia commanded had new weapons. Weapons strong enough to pierce plates and even low-tier Ki enhanced ones. ¡°Does the first prince know about these stones dear?¡± Catarina asked ¡°No, the man I got these from took a teleport straight to the Imperium Capital. Best godsdamned diviner I knew now gone¡± he tsked as Richard stared slack jaw at the scene frozen in the Marble. ¡°No one must know about these weapons, you hear me? If we can get the Wulfgrem to sell even one we are talking riches not even the Matriarch can imagine¡± Stevan and Richard nodded. Catarina took a look at her son ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t help you Richard dear, the classroom is set by the dean and his staff, and not even the King can say otherwise¡± she smiled and grabbed her jacket, ¡°Time to meet the young lady of the hour then, Stay safe my dears¡± Catarina got out of her home and hailed her carriage, in less than 10 minutes she was by the way station that led to the North¡¯s Highway. ¡°That¡¯s an awful lot of guards,¡± her driver said ¡°Oi! Jenkins! what''s up with the guard detail today!?¡± he screamed at the guard manning the gate who cursed and said ¡°Yaa Tony ya sorry bastard! some madwoman tried charging into the gate screaming about divine punishment, the night detail had to put enough bolts on her she was looking like a bloody pin cushion!¡± he got closer to the car ¡°Lady Silverbrand the Matriarch¡¯s men left this package for your hands only¡± he hailed the gatekeepers who raised the gates for the carriage to go into the Highway ¡°Here take this Jenkins, ya wife would gut me if I let you go to those northern wastes without a good coat¡± the man threw a package for the driver who cheered him and opened the thing, a huge coat neatly folded inside, he had the thing on faster than Catarina could blink and soon both were already going fast. ¡°Lady we aren¡¯t actually going to the wastes are we?¡± the driver asked ¡°No Tony, we are going to Glacialis¡± ¡°Thank the Gods, I much prefer that city with its pretentious name than the bloody wastes¡± Catarina smirked, ahh the workers of Maygriam were the creme de la creme, weren¡¯t they? She opened the box she was given, inside a simple bracelet made out of silver and a note ¡°If everything else fails, break it¡± To the point as always that old fart of a woman. ¡°A long-range teleport, I thank thee o wise Matriarch¡± Catarina relaxed as she watched from her window the capital city of the kingdom; Aaar Yrthaar disappeared in a blur in the horizon. These Highways were the best, even after years working with them she never lost that sense of wonder as magic turned travel of weeks into hours. Catarina opened a cabinet and took a vial that had a deep blue liquid on it. Using sleep potions to travel was bad for her health she knew but the habit was a funny thing, for every reason she told herself to kick it, three would appear in her head to tell her otherwise. ¡°Beats being addicted to drugs or booze I guess¡± a half-smirk as sleep took hold of her, she placed the bracelet on her left arm and dozed off, the sound of horses and the hum of the magic in the highway lulling her off as they did so many times.
¡°You want us to work on this? Master Gabriel, I don¡¯t think the young Duchess knows what she¡¯s asking.¡± one of the many druids spoke after Gabriel told them the plans for the ¡°renovations¡± of the city. The ancient druid spoke again ¡°The Spirits do not take kindly to this huge infrastructural change, there¡¯s a reason that fort the dwarves found was empty¡± ¡°The Spirits spoke to me¡± Gabriel took a pause and everyone went quiet ¡°All three of them gave me the same order; to assist Lady Lucrezia in this endeavor and save the people of the city from the Winter¡¯s End.¡± Freya got up with a huge grin on her face and said ¡°The Spirits spoke and we listened, the Wulfgrem asked for aid one more time and we delivered it¡± many nodded their heads. After the events in the prison, Freya and Gunn had become heroes for the new druids they had saved from that ghastly place, plus the city folk who came to the village, even humans! Gabriel waited for more to raise their doubts but everyone was dead quiet, any doubts they had cleared away. They had a job to do now, one that wouldn¡¯t involve killing but the safekeeping of life. ¡°Let¡¯s get to work,¡± the Arch-Druid said
Saa¡¯ryu was in a dark corner of the castle, very few knew about this place Leanu included, with her there was an elven woman of pale complexion, two dwarves from the city, and Magi-Kin of the Arachne tribe, his lower body hidden away via the innate polymorph magic they had. ¡°You all know why I chose you for this little gathering we are having, and what I say in this room won¡¯t be spoken outside of it.¡± they nodded ¡°You have no name now, no past, no family and no friends, Today I will grant you a boon few can claim they have, you will become Lady Lucrezia¡¯s eyes and ears, and if need be blades and daggers, through you she will command where Knights and Soldiers can¡¯t go, and where Diplomacy and Bargaining are naught but empty talk¡± Saa¡¯ryu paused and let her speech set in, everyone in the room nodded as they looked at each other, they knew what they were getting themselves into it. ¡°You are now her Ravens, and after I¡¯m done training you lot we will safeguard Her Highness from the shadows¡± Saa¡¯ryu opened another door and said ¡°Come, your new life awaits¡±
Catarina¡¯s carriage had just arrived in the way station in Wulfgrem¡¯s land, the cold sweeping in via the open windows which she was quick to close. As she was closing the last one she saw a huge cloud white as sin and with streaks of lightning flashing on the horizon. ¡°Winter¡¯s End huh¡± Stern faced Knights with huge Dire horses halted her vehicle, Tony gave them the documents proving they were envoys and whoever was in charge let them through. ¡°Dwarves...and druid elves?¡± Catarina said as she looked towards the left side window where a mass of people was working on some sort of tunnel. She saw a few dwarves dressed in some sort of glowing armor, a gear with crystals painted on their shields! ¡°So that runt God actually managed to get some followers, maybe Magi-Tech will flourish up in this infernal cold huh?¡± she spoke to herself as the carriage rode to the city, she noticed that the road was smooth, way too smooth. Five taps to the side, a small coded message to her driver two taps on the first window. ¡°Huh, not stone or concrete? what sort of magic was used here to make it so smooth then?¡± Another thing to ask the young woman. Catarina¡¯s long red hair flew with grace afforded thanks to that miraculous shampoo Lucrezia had made. She walked the streets of the Glacialis alone, taking in the atmosphere of its people. There was hope in the air, but also tiredness and bitter emotions. The people of the Duchy of Wulfgrem were getting ready for something big, something that would wet these grounds she walked with blood. she saw all races, men, and women, old and young working as one singular unit to shore up their town. And her own folk the merchants giving discounts, selling food and drink to keep the machine flowing smoothly. As she arrived in the Castle¡¯s Plaza she was greeted by a ghoulish sight, the heads of the old duke and duchess impaled on the walls that guarded the checkpoint into the castle grounds. She also saw the new weapons. thin-looking sticks with holes drilled in the end, men walking with them as if they were short spears, Catarina was never one versed in the Military arts, her mother tried to get her to train for Knighthood but it wasn¡¯t her calling. She reached the checkpoint and gave the stern-looking Orc guarding it her papers, he checked them twice even using a strange Magi-Tech device on it before she was cleared for entrance. A maid soon came to take her into the waiting room, the young elven lady looked tired but was brimming with energy and eagerness. Someone to get some information out of it Catarina thought to herself. ¡°Lady Silverbrand I¡¯ve prepared for you a new dish that Lady Lucrezia herself made, please enjoy it,¡± the maid said as she placed a flatbread filled with cheese and tomato sauce on the table. Curious, Catarina hadn¡¯t heard about no new dish bar the chocolate but that was more of a dessert than an actual dish, she gingerly picked a slice of the thing. It was hot. Catarina ate with her hand, nothing focused prestidigitation couldn¡¯t clean up later. Her mind was in bliss after the first bite, the woman moaned in joy as she ate slice after slice, the maid had a goofy smile on her face as if to say ¡°Well ain¡¯t it?¡± and Catarina couldn¡¯t deny it. A cup of Mead was given to her and she drank it, Bloody hells Catarina thought, this is some really good catering! not even the royals would pamper her up this much. ¡°What¡¯s your name dear?¡± Catarina asked ¡°Malv my Lady, I was hired shortly after the battle, my brother works in the garden and we took shelter in the castle¡± ¡°How¡¯s life under the new Duchess?¡± a smile to trick the young elf ¡°She is fair, Lady Lucrezia drives us a bit hard when it comes to the soup kitchens for the people working in the city but it''s honest work,¡± Malv said looking out the window. Confidence, hope, and faith huh. All the makings of a good leader, if she can survive the upcoming trials. Something Catarina could aid her, for the right prince of course. An older maid came to the room and sent Malv away, she then said ¡°Lady Lucrezia waits for you in the main hall, Follow me please¡± Catarina nodded and they walked towards the hall. She saw many workers and guards moving around, as she walked into a courtyard she also saw something strange. The guards were training the workers. Slashes, stabs, proper form for holding weapons, even a shield wall. These people were being drilled like they were ready for a war. She didn¡¯t ask anything as the older maid kept walking. They walked into the main hall where the older maid announced Catarina, and she finally got a look into Lucrezia. The young Duchess sat upon the Icy throne with azure eyes that pierced Catarina, she felt a depth to them unlike the ones in the Matriarch, her blonde hair was tied in a neat ponytail but Catarina could see the effects of the shampoo on it. She also noticed that beneath the beauty and fancy clothing, Lucrezia had a tense aura to her person, as if she was ready for a fight to break out at any second. She also showed signs of bad sleep and mental trauma, Catarina¡¯s Blessing pinging her on these hidden details as she noticed the little shakes of hand and legs, bags under the eyes not that well hidden by makeup, and several details that told her Lucrezia was barely keeping together. Being in charge wasn¡¯t easy, Catarina thought sympathizing with the young woman. ¡°Lady Catarina Silverbrand, it is an honor to welcome you to my Duchy, that the Matriarch Liliac would send someone as esteemed as you pleases me greatly¡± Stress and weariness tainted the husky melodic voice of Lucrezia, Catarina smiled and said ¡°It is my honor, your lordship, the products your people sent my way are nothing short of amazing, there rumors even the orcs are after them¡± Lucrezia smiled. ¡°I have a feeling the coffee will be appreciated the most among our friends in the southeast. So Catarina... tell me, what do you think of the products I sent to you?¡± An odd question Catarina thought ¡°Honestly Lady Lucrezia it is a riot down south, We have heard of nobles dueling for crates of Shampoo and Chocolate.¡± Lucrezia nodded and said ¡°I assumed as much, good, good¡± Silence fell the hall, Catarina¡¯s blessing working overtime when she got what could only be described as a divine kick in the guts. Gods above! ¡°Lady Lucrezia, if we can guarantee exclusive rights for distribution and marketing of your goods, all the grain in the Maygriam warehouses are ours!¡± ¡°Blessings really are something, aren¡¯t they? 80 percent¡± Lucrezia said 80 PERCENT! Catarina felt Tivir herself get angry at this proposal, Highway robbery by these dirty nobles! ¡°Royalties for name are also mine as well, the documents just came in¡± Lucrezia added. Catarina was lucky she didn¡¯t have a Greater Blessing like her son, otherwise, Tivir might¡¯ve had descended here herself to straight this lordling out, But a Silverbrand wasn¡¯t sent to get mad at greedy nobles, no they were sent to break deals. ¡°60 percent, royalties included but we get exclusive shipping and storage rights¡± ¡°make that 55¡± Lucrezia smiled. ¡°I need grain Catarina, enough grain to feed these people for up to 3 months, do you understand that?¡± Catarina saw the size of the city, Tivir protects her, how could she get this much grain to tens of thousands of people?! food deals were done with the main clan representatives! ¡°I understand that the Matriarch only allows those of Maygriam blood break deals when it comes to food but I¡¯m willing to take full responsibility of this should she send anyone to speak with you, we do this all over the table¡± Catarina saw a chance and spoke ¡°If you throw those new weapons of yours in the de-¡± ¡°No¡± That was fast ¡°The recipe for the Pizza you ate before you came, but not the guns, those cannot leave the Duchy before¡­¡± Catarina didn¡¯t finish that sentence, It didn¡¯t take a genius to connect the dots after that one comment Staven made ¡°The first Prince?¡± Catarina asked Lucrezia sighed, looking like she had aged 10 years in doing so, she didn¡¯t respond. Just nodding and waving her hand. Catarina nodded and did the math in her head, even with 55 percent it would be an absurd amount of coin flowing straight to her accounts, and that pizza dish! That alone could change the balance of power in the clan she felt if she played her cards right that is. ¡°We have a deal then?¡± Lucrezia finally spoke to which Catarina nodded and said ¡°We have a deal Lady Lucrezia¡± as she finished another maid showed up with the paperwork, Catarina¡¯s blessing made short work of it and it was all above the table as Lucrezia had said, not a single poorly worded clause or anything. Maybe Lucrezia was part of the rare group of honest nobles? Catarina couldn¡¯t say but this first contract of hers was looking good. ¡°The storm will blanket the entire Duchy, you must¡¯ve seen the workers in the way station by the entrance of the Highway, yes? They will build a tunnel that will let your people make the supply run.¡± Lucrezia said pointing to a map the maid had also brought ¡°Tell the Matriarch to lend you the heavy-duty carriages, the storm is magical as well so you will need mage or cleric support to keep the horses alive.¡± That was going to cut Catarina¡¯s profits, but the sacrifice was needed every once in a while for those in the trade. ¡°The patents for the names are already in place as I said so don¡¯t forget to account for the profits, we don¡¯t need those pesky revenue gods knocking on our doors eh?¡± Lucrezia said in jest only for Catarina to look puzzled. How in all hells did a noble know this lame joke only merchants cared to tell? What a weird woman. Deciding to not spoil such a deal with this particular anecdote Catarina did what any merchant was trained to do when a client says a bad joke, smiles, and nods. ¡°When will these grains be delivered?¡± Lucrezia asked with a bit of urgency in her voice. ¡°I need more crates of your goods before we can talk about the grain Lady Lucrezia, how much do you have right now?¡± Lucrezia pulled a small piece of paper from a pocket and read it ¡°40 boxes of shampoo, 30 for chocolate and coffee¡± Catarina allowed herself a single sigh of relief, that was more than enough to supply her stores and the nobles. ¡°As soon as I have word with the Matriarch your grain will be delivered in time, enough to feed this entire Duchy and more, you have my word on that Duchess Lucrezia.¡± Lucrezia sat down and offered a silent prayer to whatever deity was hearing, thanking them for the deal. She then called the maids and Catarina saw more pizzas in their hands. A feast was coming.
Saa was currently watching as William took another bath, he felt like pure shit ever since waking up from the ritual. Like he was a few days into the flu. ¡°I feel you were too generous with that deal Lu, you should¡¯ve pushed for more¡± Saa¡¯ryu said while brushing her hair. ¡°They will figure out how to reverse engineer everything in a few months anyway, I don¡¯t need the coin Saa, just the grain,¡± William said while dropping his whole body in the warm waters. ¡°You plan on making that coin back, how? Magi-Tech?¡±Saa¡¯ryu asked. ¡°After we deal with the First Prince, yes the guns plus ore from the Mine beneath the castle will fuel our need for coins in the long term. And I won¡¯t have to worry about royals sending more Punitive forces after me¡± William could feel his muscles relax as he spoke ¡°How do you plan on avoiding the wrath of the Queen, Lu? you do know that Galius is her favorite son, yes?¡±Saa¡¯ryu drank a cup of coffee, the woman was hooked on the thing now William found out. ¡°I have a plan for it, I just need-¡± ¡°You always have a plan, don¡¯t you? All-Mother herself could throw her dragons at us and you would probably say the same thing¡± Saa¡¯ryu spoke with irony. ¡°Not that far Saa, if that were to happen we would all be better off surrendering. Look, don''t worry about it, ok? I have a plan and it will work. You can be sure of that.¡± ¡°Give me something Lu, Please! I worry you get too deep in your head and then come up with crazy ideas that put your life at risk¡± the maid had steel in her voice and hurt at the very end. William himself thought she was being silly, all his plans so far were perfectly under what Lucrezia could do, after all, alas he relented. He liked Saa¡¯ryu too much and respected the woman as a close friend and confidant. ¡°Kallista has a magical Item that can heal the Arch-Duke¡¯s daughter, with that I will join his faction and be untouchable unless the Queen wants to risk civil war¡± Saa¡¯ryu nodded and said ¡°Thank you, Lu, for trusting me¡± William was touched but it was Lucrezia who spoke in his mind ¡°Treat her well, for me¡± Chapter 19: Sightseeing "Time is not for those bound to the mortal coil" Gwenaries, Goddess of Time, later regretted her decision and is now looking to establish a proper presence in the world. "Old Dwarven design fortress huh, are those lava lakes I can feel from here?" Catarina asked as Idun and William gave her a tour of the Fortress, now that the Knights had their Headquarters back many were back in the city minus a select few who showed interest in Magi-Tech and stayed behind to learn it. "Aye, We have converted most of it into workstations, and Lady Lucrezia helped us even." William grinned "That was nothing, your people did half the work" he took off his coat and placed it under his arms "are the crops here enough for you all?" "The crops aye but the men have been asking for more meat..." he opened a door to the big workshop where all the items William had come up with and waited for William and Catarina. "I must say I''d never expect to actually meet the only clan that follows Raa¡¯Tyrius. I heard of your exile and I must say it is a shameful display by the dwarven elders. To scoff at the God who merges both Science and Magic tsk tsk" William spoke "Loads of old blood interests there, set to lose enough coin that it could hurt their finances. Plus the priesthood doesn''t wanna deal with new upcoming Gods, even if said God is the son of their creator." Idun perked up, unaware his plight had made news to other nobles of the kingdom "The journey has been hard yes Lady Silverbrand, but we aren''t ones to run away from adversity. Raa¡¯Tyrius may be a minor God today but with our Lady''s help, I''m sure we will rival the big churches in due time. Not to say spread Magi-Tech to all corners of the world" "Is that your dream Master Idun?" Catarina asked her tone a bit more serious. "Aye, it is Miss. Raa¡¯Tyrius knows how many are out there just waiting to unlock the gift. They may not have the skills for traditional magical arts or sciences, but with Magi-Tech they will unlock their full potential." William couldn''t help but feel a bit of pride. Here it was someone who even, after all, he went through still kept the faith, both in himself and in the mission given by Raa¡¯Tyrius. And that even if the Gods had meddled with them. The fact he was able to support the Dwarf was worth something. something good that would not just bring death and destruction but life and peace. God knows he needed a little bit of good karma. "So this is the machine then?" Catarina pointed to the 10 huge bodies of steel and mana crystal. They looked like boxes with a tall pyramid top on them. According to Idun, the mathematics of the shape helped with the optimization of mana usage. "Yes, as long we have the raw goods which you can see on those long tables there" William pointed them out "Also a Magi-Tech invention. as they effortless bring the goods to be processed to the machines" Catarina nodded impressed "As for people making the operation, you need at bare minimum 5 Raa¡¯Tyrius acolytes and 10 or so Magi-Tech trained individuals. Of course, if you can get a church permit that can be slashed down unless you upscale the operation" The bait was set. Catarina gave William a wide smile. he knew getting a church permit was akin to waste a solid month in the bureaucratic machine of the kingdom, who even after 2 reforms by the church of All-Father''s whose sphere englobed bureaucracy was still not up to par when it came to speed. But the Silverbrand woman knew whose palms to grease and who to talk to get that rolling in less than a week. Catarina nodded and said "It would be my pleasure Lady Lucrezia" "Idun, do you have people ready to preach the good word?" the dwarf nodded and said "Aye we can spare as much as 15 people without losing manpower down here My Lady, with the city folk coming in we, might be able to spare more" Catarina said "More than enough Master Idun, trust me on this Vermilion will welcome Raa¡¯Tyrius with open arms, as long you don''t mind sharing said arms with a plethora of other Gods that is" she laughed as Idun and William smiled. William was happy he would get a Raa¡¯Tyrius church down in the Capital. It would be a FOB should need be when he has to make his way to the Academy next year. "To think I wanted to fast forward time so I could enjoy my life in the Capital as a spoiled brat, and now I want to learn godsdamned Necromancy and Mind Magic." "It''s not damned, Martius made enough progress to hunt and eliminate almost all rogue necromancers and mind mages out there. The Unbroken and his followers may be a bit morose yes but they are still people Lucrezia. " William could feel the young woman roll her eyes deep down "Cry me a river, William. I need not hear the good deeds of the one God that can and will probably see what is up with me and you and sic us to some divine punishment. And don''t you start with the sob stories and "good quests" I do not like him and that''s not changing" William sent her an image of him raising his hands, he had touched in yet another sore topic. Smooth as always. "I must say Lady Lucrezia, Master Idun. I''m impressed with how clear and smooth the operation is being run here, but that storm I saw coming here worries me, earlier you told me about tunnels? I saw one being built right in front of Highway..." William nodded and said "An understandable concern Lady Silverbrand, please follow me" they walked towards Idun''s office and William plopped down a map he had ready "As you can see it connects the entire city to the Fortress down here, the tunnels will also serve as a way to pipe hot air to the homes of my citizens as the storms rage on. Together with food and other supplies" he pointed around the entrances and pathways "Together with Idun is Arch-Druid Gabriel and his druid circle of Winter Elves" "Oh? Winter Elves? how interesting! Tell me Lady Lucrezia would you know if those elves are interested in trading as well? I know their kind tends to isolate themselves to worship the spirits in peace..." "I''ll speak with Freya and have her give you a tour of the place then." William and Catarina stayed in Idun''s office ironing out some other details while the dwarf in question went back to his work, William then saw two orcs and a human plop a huge apparatus in the middle of one of the workshops. He then noticed the pipes coming out of it "Is that one of those weird musical instruments your planet has where you press keys to make a sound?" Lucrezia was right it was a Magi-Tech church organ! goddamn they actually managed to build it from his sketches "That is amazing I must say, Raa¡¯Tyrius''s miracles are nothing to scoff at, even if you and he aren''t actually creating anything new" William heard one of the orcs clear his throat and began playing the massive instrument, a steady and even rhythm began filling the whole Fortress, the other orc and human began to sing in an unknown language to William, and soon the entire place was deep in music. The sound had a clash and mixture of both Classical and Electronic music for William''s Terran ears but when he took a look at Catarina he realized he had another source of revenue to tap into it. "I can feel it in my bones! Tivir''s Scales that''s one powerful musical instrument!" Catarina had to speak loud thanks to the music "Lady Lucrezia is that Instrument for sale?!" "And a few more Miss Catarina, for the right price that is" William flashed the woman a grin. "Keep this up and we will get nailed by a merchant''s blessing William" "Rare is the day when a non-member of a merchant family gets blessed by them, even up and coming entrepreneurs have to make do with other Gods to close the gap" William was reminded of a particular quest chain in-game where the protagonist had to help a Classmate who was born and raised as a warrior but his true passion was in being a merchant. Lucrezia paused, William felt some hesitation flow from here before she steeled herself and spoke again. "Does this...The protagonist has a name?" "Hope, her name is Hope Morgan Fritz, yes the Fritz of mercenary fame" Lucrezia cursed loud in his mind "Fucking the bloody Ironhound''s heir? Unbelievable, you know their parents are holders of the Rage-that-Dwells right? does that...Shit" William could feel Lucrezia''s panic at the particular piece of info she had just discovered. "The third Prince as well, both at the same level as our Queen at the end stages of the game, that''s right three individuals with the power of an Abyssal Champion walking around in the world" He laughed at the absurdity of it, now that he was living in this world it hit him just how strong Hope could become. "With an All-Father''s blessing on top of that, what''s next she can turn copper into gold? don''t answer that William I know gameplay conventions demand the protagonist to be special but this is too much!" William himself was excited at the prospect of helping Hope in learning how to tame her powers, if everything goes according to his plan the young woman will be pivotal in saving the Arch-Duke''s daughter after all. "We are also bound by the Rage-that-Dwells Lucrezia" William decided it was time to reveal it. Lucrezia didn''t speak for several seconds, he could feel her emotions tramping one another before she got her act together and asked. "When?" "Your final boss battle before the Academy part of the game is over, you are the one who teaches the player how to tap into it at first due to how the Blessing of the All-Father works" "How does that work again? something about letting one become whole with the world?" "It shortens the time to learn anything, be it languages, skills, schools of fighting and magic, even prayers and benedictions, plus every God even Fallen will bend themselves over it to get a bit of that power for them, I''m sure you can see why the protagonist has such power from a gameplay perspective right? same for story reasons as well as world-building." Lucrezia stayed silent for a while. The game knowledge she had acquired and processed so far allowed her to understand what William meant, but that didn''t mean she was happy with the conclusion she had gotten from the conversation. "To think we will be outshined by an upstart peasant tsk, I thought with your-" "Don''t you dare speak of her in that tone" Lucrezia got alarmed, her emotions going from smug to pure shock then to shame. "Forgive me, William, I''ve overstepped my bounds" He felt the young woman raise her hands, William returned to Catarina to take his mind off it. He knew he cared a bit too much when it came to the game, he had caught himself defending its less than strong points several times online after all. The attachment that was there was beyond normal and definitely not healthy. But goddamn it was his favorite game! it kept him going even at his lowest! surely that had to account for something right? it had to mean something! There would be no satisfactory answer for that question and he knew it, he decided to focus on Catarina for now, giving her a more detailed tour of the fortress. Nothing like exploring magical underground castles to brighten the mood after all.
In the dead of the night, grunting sounds could be heard from one of the training grounds in the castle, a cadre of young men and women all in Squire garbs doing a series of exercises and mock combat, amidst them a fair figure lied there, her silvery gray hair tied in a neatly done ponytail and azure eyes staring defiantly towards Erwin. The man couldn''t help but feel a bit weird out by that stare, it felt like there was something more to it, a hunger even that threatened to devour him whole. He shook these thoughts out of his head as he barked more orders to the ones doing push-ups, Lucrezia included. "At Ease!" Erwing spoke out loud They formed up and straighten themselves out, a few stealing glances at the young woman. Erwin shook his head once again and spoke "Recruits! I''m sure you all have noticed our new arrival, but make no mistake you maggots, inside this grounds I AM IN CHARGE, is that understood?" "YES KNIGHT-COMMANDER" they at the top of their lungs and Erwin got to it, barking orders as they went through the motions, not once Lucrezia complained about him pushing her thrice as hard. Erwin knew about the innate powers of Magnetism, having fought against one Arcane Knight in the Grand Arena years past so he was comfortable with it. He could also feel the waves of Lucrezia''s Battle Fever slowly but surely mutating into Battle Lust, the variant that made many a warrior lose themselves in sheer orgasmic pleasure in taking lives on the battlefield. Master Gabriel''s potions better work he thought, he saw the young woman chugging them like they were water given to a man who just walked out of the desert, Erwin barked another order and the cadre went back to push-ups. he walked to Sigr¨²n and sighed. "How bad is it?" he asked She shook her head "Greater Blessing for sure, and I''m willing to bet an offer to become a High Succubus from the lady herself" Erwin laughed humorlessly, A High Succubus as Duchess? crazy times he lived in indeed. "At this rate, Uumaries might send her Paladins together with the Prince''s forces whenever that asshole gets here. Anyway, you think that ritual she told us about will hold until the Blessing Ceremony?" Sigr¨²n nodded "It should yes, but I''m afraid of the backlash it will cause, usually even for ones Cursed by that detestable Goddess they have to grow into the Curse before it turns into a proper Blessing..." Erwin asked "What are the perks of it again? Saal''Xhirs blessing I mean" "The usual, High Libido, Fleshwarp into the blessed''s views of what beauty is, total knowledge of everything related to love, the Greater variant will also boost her stamina and mana reserves ten to twenty-fold depending how much the Lady is feeling when the day comes. And in Lucrezia''s case she definitely getting a bad case of Battle Lust, not much we can do to stop that Erwin" Only delay, as Master Gabriel said earlier when he gave him the potions. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "It will change her" Erwin spoke in fear, he had heard the horror stories of people who couldn''t handle the blessing, it was too strong even to long-lived species like elves or vampires. "Lady Lucrezia has shown time and time again she has the resolve of a titan Erwin, I believe she will be able to weather the storm, if that fails Saal''Xhir is not one to scoff at pleas, she would need to go the grand temple in the capital to plead her case, I''ve seen the Goddess remove blessings before when it came to nobles. They watched as the Cadre moved to mock combat, Lucrezia easily handling 5 other squires on her lonesome, but her cheeks were already flushing red. a telltale sign of the woes Erwin had just spoken of. "Have faith dear, that girl will lead us to a better tomorrow even with the weight of the world on her shoulders" Sigr¨²n spoke softly while holding Erwin''s hand. He calmed a little and returned to the Squires, telling them what they were doing right and wrong and helping those who needed it the most. Sigr¨²n helped the others and even had a mock fight with him to show them how to properly use Ki to coat their shields and swords. Goddess willing this would drill enough into Lucrezia''s mind to help her in the tribulations to come.
William stood proud looking at the Magi-Folk from the Diamond Reefs work in the repairs together with his own people, he could hear the smiles, laughter, and even some happy crying here and there. Families with big smiles on their faces buying seafood and merchants hugging each other as this big reunion happened amidst the repairs. It made him feel a joy he had rarely if ever felt before. "I didn''t...I didn''t know the people here were this connected, I must confess when we broke the deal with the Diamond Reef Queen it was mostly for the economy of the Duchy. To think these people know each other this well. It''s almost like watching old friends reunite" Lucrezia said. William smiled "It is exactly that Lucrezia, you might''ve missed but the bounds you allowed to be made here were very much felt in the Mermen population under the sea. Think for a moment, it wasn''t so long ago their cousins were at war against the nobles in the west due to the many dams that were built in that region. The mermen here aren''t fighters and warriors, they are simple folk who are more than happy to make ties with the earth walkers" Lucrezia whistled " It pleases me you have such an affection for all of this you know, even if it means..." "Means the melding must''ve gone up a little you mean? I don''t think so Lucrezia, I haven''t had more memories from you in a while. Plus you do know I did love the game by now, don''t you?" William said. Lucrezia hummed "I sure hope so" Hraax showed up together with a guard of Shark Mermen, huh William thought, he didn''t know the beastfolk and magi-folk had joined hands at this stage, in the game it took the protagonist''s interventions to get the beastfolk to work together with their magical brethren. William walked along the beach into the water, using a panel of iron to float towards Hraax he bowed when he reached her and said "Princess Hraax, I''m glad to see you. Let us make haste for the grand opening for our new deep-sea port!" "My Friend Lucrezia, before we begin I have a gift from my mother" she called one of the sharks following her, who bowed and pulled a bone war ax from his back. "Carved by my father himself one of the best weaponsmiths of the Reefs, this is pure Sea Dragonbone, there won''t be steel or iron that will stop its blade" William doubted that since Dragonbone weapons were mid-tier at best with sharp drop-offs late game once the player had access to divine enhanced gear but still, free loot was free loot. He took the ax and tested a few swings, it worked perfectly. He passed the weapon to Saa''ryu who had come with him today taking some time off her duties as treasurer, Catarina had asked to walk around the city, apparently, she loved to sightsee whenever she was dispatched far away from her hometown. Hraax and William walked around for some time, talking with the people and eating from food stalls, then they went to the edge of the repair site, and with the help of an out sight Acolytes William announced the official repairs of the port with fireworks, cheers and claps followed as many bowed or muttered small prayers. "Mother says you will be able to visit after she is done with the lunar celebrations. My husband is dying to meet you, he''s still mad he lost the fight due to his injury at the rite of courtship haha" Hraax said with a smile. William knew about the rite, something about fighting Krakens in the deeper reaches. "Is that the one where one must fight a Kraken?" He asked Hraax nodded "Yes, usually it''s aunt Xakraz but she and her wife are off on a spiritual journey last I heard, so old man Yellowbone was awoken to fill for them. and lemme tell you Lucrezia, he wasn''t happy" William had to laugh, he had heard about the Yellowbone, the meanest Kraken there was in this region of the world but he had grown old and lazy, he also remembered that there was a suit of armor and staff named after him that you would gain at the end of a side quest where one has to clear a shrine that worships him, only for the lazy Kraken muck it all up when giving the rewards. "You think the port will be done before the storm hits?" William asked Hraax hummed "Mayhaps, we got the best of the best working here but I don''t know if the port will be ready for any ships after the storm blows past us, we might need to deploys defensive wards and that will take time," "Do it so, If you need crystals. talk with Saa''ryu or Master Idun at the Fortress and they will set you right" Willam said "Ahh, I heard about your little Mine inside the castle Lucrezia, fascinating stuff I must say. I will certainly take you up on that offer. Gods know the spell weavers we have under the waves are wasteful when it comes to magical wards...Forgive my rant friend, learning magic from those old barnacles was not fun" Hraax lost a bit of the glow reminiscing those old times. William pat her in the back and said. "Cheer up Princess, today you are a hero, not a little girl learning how to conjure water for the first time. Go out there and have some fun! and don''t forget to boast about your part in the battle" Hraax nodded and went off, this time with a little more spring on her step, her shark escorts followed her but the one who gave the ax stayed behind and said with a deep but oddly melodic voice. "Thank ye human, the Lady has been in a dour mood as of late due to the injury her mate sustained and the earful she got from the Queen for being in that battle of yours without proper help from us" He extended his shark hands towards William "Graax son of Gra, should the Duchy need a few heads smashed and eaten you can call me and my boys" William took the hand and gave the merman a hearty handshake. "I will take you up on that Offer Graax, a pleasure meeting you" the mermen smiled and walked off towards his Princess. "How in All-Father''s name are you able to have a casual talk with that...that Monster! he''s thrice our size William! and that smile" William felt Lucrezia shudder in fear. "I could see the teeth gods above and below, fucking spirits couldn''t you give them normal regular teeth?!" Lucrezia hissed in his mind. "I didn''t know you were afraid of sharks, or mermen shark for that matter" William said smugly. That got Lucrezia angry. "I. AM. NOT. AFRAID." William sent an image of him raising his arms in defeat and waited for Lucrezia to calm down. "So much for that" he muttered and wondered off "Big feller that one, you gonna call for aid from the Diamond Reefs when the prince comes?" Saa''ryu spoke "If they break into the city maybe, I don''t know about fighting further inland. I would need crab and other amphibian Beast and their Magi-Folk variants there" William brought a pair of crab legs and dipping sauce from a merwoman cart and sat down on a bench overlooking the festivities. "I never understood why the Spirits felt the need to create two separated species since Regular beast-folk can use magic and even get inborn traits ala the magi ones," Saa''ryu said "Gods knows what was going on in their heads when they made them Saa, you would need to ask one to get an actual answer" William took a big bite from the leg and continued "Don''t ask Winter, they are very touchy about the subject, Summer is your best bet when it comes to Spirit lore, or you can read the books in the library in the castle." Saa''ryu sighed "The fact Winter Spirits cast aside their Names always made me a bit sad you know? I know they had a closer relationship with those who lived here before All-Father came, but even then, it''s been what eons? I only wish we could do something for them. Give them closure" William smiled thinking of a particular side quest from the game, one lone magical theory professor working tirelessly in the Grand Academy, and the temple hidden in the northern wastes. "According to a book I found in my parent''s library" a good lie as any since they had a huge personal library "There is a grand temple of these ancient ones deep in the wastes. Maybe we could find something there?" William set the bait hoping Saa''ryu would pick it. The maid smiled but it didn''t reach her eyes "I''ll dispatch some of my own then, anything to help these ageless beings to find some semblance of closure..." Saa''ryu shook her head "I''m sorry Lu, I''m being a downer mid celebrations" "It''s ok, I didn''t know you cared for the spirits. You don''t strike me as a druid after all" William laughed softly at the thought of the hardened assassins in front of him turn into a peace-loving forest defender. "I have no love for the Gods Lu, they are too unpredictable for me. Plus you know even the weakest out there can return to the Sacred City of the All-Father." she took a pause and drank her mead "The Spirits? they don''t have that luxury, the beast and magi-folk they created either turned to the gods or disregarded them in most cases, Druid circles like Gabriel''s are rare for a good reason." "It doesn''t feel right, they were abandoned together with the Ancients by their Goddess. All-Father should''ve hunted her down and made her at least see the destruction she brought to this world before he came and fixed it all up" Saa''ryu lost steam as her rant ended, her head going down. It was a shame the game never gave information on where the Ancient''s Goddess went or why she left in the first place, for William had read this very same argument from other players before, and the fact they would the Ancient''s fate as a hook for DLC or a sequel. A young Beastfolk woman approached them, Wiliam''s eyes noticing her cat ears and tail, and the horrible scar that crossed her face into the left eye and cheek, he also noticed Saa''ryu drop her left hand to her hidden blade but after checking that the woman meant no harm she went back to drinking. The young woman bowed and produced a small medallion. One William recognized as a late-game item that boosted luck, she placed it in his palm and with a heavy nod and what he was sure was a few tears left. "You find that medallion in a burned-down home on the way to the castle," Lucrezia said her tone heavy. "We can''t have a moment of joy can''t we?" "Training with the Knights was fun, even if those potions tasted like foul cold medicine" William was complaining but the drinks did work in the end, allowing him to get a good dosage of workouts and grunt training. They stood watching as the sun went down and people began lighting bonfires to ward off the night. it felt peaceful in a way William and Lucrezia knew they wouldn''t have after today. for their tasks and responsibilities grew by the hour and the threat of the storm was ever-present. But today they would relax, they earned that much at the very least.
Catarina was under heavy worker garbs as she, Idun, Lucrezia, and the elven twins went around the worksite in the main cave system that would become a city underground. She was honestly impressed with the speed and efficiency of the druids and dwarves who were already connecting the whole Duchy to this underground hub. She also could feel the heat coming from the pipes all around her, getting those into every home would take time and effort but Lucrezia assured her she could do it before the storm was due. "As you can see Lady Silverbrand my people and the Dwarves here have this under control, sure it is being done on a timetable that''s rushed due to Winter''s End but in my honest opinion, the circle has grown rusty of late. And this is the right proper workout for them" Gunn the elven twin sister of Freya was very talkative with Catarina, she was the one most interested in breaking deals for goods from the Capital as well. Very intense and focused woman Catarina found, she was used to aloof elves in the Capital, as they were some of the oldest beings there but not this Winter Elf she met, Gunn was sharp and grounded which proved a lovely chance of pace. "I must say it is simply marvelous how these Magi-Tech enhanced pipes work Master Idun, to take inspiration from the system employed by the High Elves of Kehheim and also supply heat together with water and sewage? a stroke of genius" Catarina said. The dwarf had a proud smile on his face, to which Catarina could only find how sad it was that people like Idun and his flock were banished from their homes. Here it was something that with the right investments and care could revolutionize the world but since it wasn''t tradition it was thrown out like garbage. "I''m humbled by your praise Lady Silverbrand, truly this is not just me but Lady Lucrezia and the elven druids, even the Magi-Folk of the Diamond Reefs sent a few of their mages to help us if you can believe it." Catarina had seen the squids earlier, they warped around in huge cubes of saltwater and talked directed into your mind, that took a while to get used to but they were very nice about it. "By our calculations, we will have this ready just as the storm hits us If everything goes to plan that is," Freya said as she checked some of her notes "I''m afraid of the entrance to the Highway on the other hand will take more time than the timetable allows it, we gonna need to fortify the entrance there Lady Lucrezia" Catarina looked towards Lucrezia who was staring at the distance, a curious thing with the young Duchess that, every once in a while she would go silent and just stare into the nothing. She had asked Leanu, the Head Maid of the castle if this was some sort of variant on the Silent''s Curse since Lucrezia had fought in many battles for someone of her age. The maid didn''t confirm it but she did say it was something quite common nowadays. "...Mayhaps a sickness of the mind, The Unbroken has been on a roll with mental healing spells lately..." Catarina muttered to herself as they went along the tunnels. After a fair bit of walking, they reached the entrance to the Highway and went outside to check the construction there. It was in Catarina''s view all standard procedure stuff if a bit rushed due to the aforementioned storm. They spent the next few hours talking about many things regarding the operation and Catarina had to give it to the young ruler, she was so far keeping everything running smoothly. "Lady Lucrezia I must say you have the makings of a fine merchant. Mayhaps you even get a blessing from Tivir eh?" Catarina said back at the castle, they were having her final diner before going home back to the capital, Lucrezia had come up with a new dish called a calzone, which was just as good as her pizza. The goodbyes were fast, as Lucrezia had much to do, after being in the duchy for a week Catarina was coming home with enough inventory to supply every VIP client the clan had in its lists, all she needed to do now was get the grain back to the north. And pray to the gods the storm didn''t kill this veritable gold mine she had found.
It was an overcast day in the lands that belonged to the Dragoness Kallista, a curious sight for anyone that had eyes to see was taking place in one of the many villages of Dragonkin that lived in it, a tall human girl play fighting with little Dragonkin children who were small balls of pure chaos and energy. At first, the parents were wary but once they found out the kids weren''t crying for them 24/7 they all decided to let the human be. "Tell me William, what in the All-Mother''s name drove you to spent the last 5 hours "play" fighting with these...these devils in flesh! even with just their claws and scales they can take and dish out punishment akin to a trained soldier!" Lucrezia who had woken early from her soul sleep was beyond mad at William for his reckless plan, she kept complaining the whole time they were fighting with the kids. "Dragons were tailor-made for war and battle, even these kin who are thin when it comes to dragon essence are still a force to be reckoned with that''s why. As for the why I''ve already told you, we need to buddy up to Kallista for her artifact" William said in a matter-of-fact way. A week had gone past ever since Catarina left, the grain was already being delivered via the Highway and according to Saa''ryu''s calculations, it should be more than enough to keep the city fed as long they manage to finish the underground network of tunnels and pipes. William had begun giving more incentives such as better pay, land that belonged to Lucrezia''s family inside the city but was not used among other things. "I understand the Arch-Duke''s daughter means a lot to you William I do but are you sure this will work? the ritual in the game took multiple Gods and rare items to heal the poor woman-" "Because the item was Unviable at the time, Kallista in that stage of the game was half crazy after your parents attacked her brood and she had already used it past its breaking point" William cut her off, they had already gone through this twice but Lucrezia insisted that the bloody thing wouldn''t work and that he was being too naive for trusting what was basically game flavor text. William finished play fighting with the dragonkin and told them to scamper off, they did so while winning and asking for him to come back tomorrow which he would but not for them. he then started to trek across an old animal trail going up the mountain to a secluded grove, in this quiet place there was a grand white tree, even its leaves were white and it was said Kallista loved the thing. An old Dragonkin greeted William and asked "Halt human, what are thy designs upon the tree?" William recognized the keeper and without a word pulled a waterskin from his bag. "Waters blessed by the Arch-Druid?! All-Mother''s scared scales how did you know Human?!" he rushed over and took the waterskin, pouring into the tree''s roots. The white tree glowed in ethereal light and the old Dragonkin spoke "Thanks to thee the Tree is saved, come join me in meditation under its leaves" he walked and William followed, both sat near the Tree and William felt the world around him dimmer until all he could see and feel was himself and the Tree. With his eyes closed, he heard a soft voice whisper on his ears "Thank you Lady Lucrezia" Kallista''s voice had a sad undertone he felt. "Lemme guess, they also burned the tree?" Lucrezia asked. "Yes, yes they did" William answered. "This artifact, what is it? how can you be so sure it works?" William took a deep breath and told her. "You know how All-Mother and her Dragons are the first lines of attack when the All-Father expands his domain yes? These dragons fight their whole lives for eons without stopping, unrelenting in their love for All-Mother. That was what they thought at first, alas eternal war broke them and broke them hard. In desperation, All-Mother consulted with numerous Gods and they all came together with knowledge on how to combat this..." "Post-traumatic stress disorder? the Dragons had The Silent''s Curse on them?" Lucrezia interrupted William, he was surprised she used PTSD, he hadn''t told her that particular piece of information after all. "Don''t be so surprised William, your memories are my memories now, this was just one of them, now continue" Lucrezia said. "In essence, yes but it was in a magnitude not even Martius the Unbroken could''ve fixed with his then newly mastery of mind magic, it took centuries but the Gods cracked the code and All-Mother figured out a way to heal in body and spirit with her Artifacts" William took a pause "They, the prince and his people I mean, they didn''t just harm the Arch-Duke''s daughter in flesh but soul as well, all of them are rogue necromancers after all. The ritual you saw was the Protagonist using her status as a Blessed of the All-Father to jury-rig the same ritual the All-Mother had to do to create these Artifacts" "Is that enough of an explanation to you Lucrezia? just so you know, very few are privy to this information. If words get out we are liable to get killed by one of All-Mother''s Hidden dragons around the world" William finished "Hidden dragons? that''s fairytales told to spook children William, they can''t be real...Ah shit they are real aren''t they?" Lucrezia said in defeat. "There''s a gear set in the game that belongs to one but we the players never found an actual living breathing one. Even after the data mining, hmm the meditation period is about to end, let''s go Lucrezia we still got a dam to build and dire goats to kill. "I hate you, William this was supposed to be a nice afternoon you know?" "I know" He spoke out loud, ready for the next quest in Dragonkin land. Chapter 20: For those who Sleep "My Blessed shall save you all" Goddess of Healing Emoh''ta to the first King of Vermilion. William walked along the trails and dirt roads of Kallista''s domain, realizing this was the first time he actually took something of a break for himself. In his soul, he could feel Lucrezia walking alongside him, exploring their shared soul space. "This isn''t exactly a walk in the woods for me William, after that curse I could feel this place expand, after you are done with your tasks upside it would be best we both find out what''s changing down here" Lucrezia wasn''t feeling that good about this plan he sensed. Along the way he was stopped by wandering Dragonkin curious about the lonely human walking about, he talked with the ones who came up to him and nodded to the few hunters who were on patrol. "It is weird how this soul space of ours just expanded. you would think-" Lucrezia stopped talking and William felt pure dread rose from the woman "The scenery changed William, I''m on a field of...dried out trees as if a huge summer fire went through it, wait a minute why are you scared?" William prayed to whatever god would listen to him and said "The trees, describe them to me" Lucrezia got the message, whatever was happening was bad enough to unnerve William. "They look like fig trees" she said. Fuck. William had to sit down by a fork in the trail, his hands were shaking as Lucrezia spoke with him again. "There''s a clearing up ahead and...All-Father''s balls there''s a fucking dragon here William! wait a moment the bloody thing is in chains!" Lucrezia screamed to William. "Is the dragon''s scales in shades of magenta and cyan?" William asked with bated breath Silence. "You know what this is, don''t you?" Lucrezia asked "It is the representation of Saal''Xhir''s blessing, that dragon was her first husband and love before she fell with Augorius''s faction, they met in some forgotten universe if the book I read in the game was to be believed. Suffice to say the dragon died and that planted the seeds of rebellion in Saal''Xhir." William calmed himself by speaking "The chains are the aspect of Uumaries curse together with the ritual Karl made, Velkarius ever the smart Goddess she is, has tailored that ritual to take from Uumaries''s curse and use it as a power source." He ran outta steam at the tail end of the sentence. "Are you ok William? I can feel your emotions down here and it''s like you are on the verge of having a panic attack. What''s going on? Why is the dragon bad news?" She asked. "It means we are eligible to a race change, we have enough favor with the Goddess to become part of her High Succubi rank." Lucrezia took a deep breath and spoke with steel in her voice. "Listen to me William, whatever happens, you have me and I have you, we will work through this shite and once we get to the capital everything will be resolved just as you said, you have the knowledge and I... I got the moral support since you got my name and money." She paused "Ok not helping here, moving on... We got this William, come what may we WILL see it through." William felt numb, he was terrified of becoming something other than human, he knew the lore regarding the chosen of Saal''Xhir, and the thought of turning into one terrified him. He was barely coping with his current situation! not to say the fact he still felt horribly guilty for stealing Lucrezia''s life the way he did. "Come on, chin up Terran, we are here to gather favor with the Dragoness, we can talk about this later" Lucrezia tried cheering him up. "Later it is then" William whispered.
William cleaned the sweat from his browns as he looked upon the huge rocks he had lifted to form the dam together with many Dragonkin from the surrounding villages, a wizened Dragonkin with greyish scales called Brut was the Taskmaster for the whole endeavor. William also had been part of a prank he knew was coming. when a young Dragonkin man asked if he wanted to "watch the river currents upstream" while his friends were barely holding themselves a few meters behind him in sheer glee. He knew the phrase meant a day of courtship much to Lucrezia''s outrage and a bit of shame. A weird feeling he thought, in the game, she was always going on about her good looks, and such boast was in his opinion, not an empty one. She was beautiful after all. Alas, it appeared Lucrezia had a bit of a confidence issue which William couldn''t understand but could sympathize with it. He heard Brut call him from his elevated platform. "Human! your help is most appreciated!" he shook William''s hand "The other geomancer I usually work with doesn''t wake up before the first roar of our brood mother. That lazy lizard likes her bedtime bleh" he said clearly smiling to himself "Now watch this human" Brut placed his hands on the ground and after sending enough mana to blow up a small town, cast the spell and created the dam. "Honest work heals the soul" William said out loud, the old Dragonkin phrase had stuck with him thanks to the game. Brut took a good look at him and smiled "Ayup that it does Human that it does" he took a pause while the others began bringing food and drinks to celebrate "It''s thanks to the brood mother the younglings can live good lives like this one you know? she tired of war and we did too...Thank you, Human, for not demanding them to fight for you" he nodded and went off. "I didn''t know the Dragonkin fought for the All-Father as well, I thought it was only the dragons..." Lucrezia said feeling curious. "Anyone can fight as long as they pledge themselves, few can get out on the other hand," William said, his mind going back to the lore of All-Father''s first son and his rebellion. "Augurios went mad after seeing his people being slaughtered again and again for an eternal crusade. I wonder why not just tap out, the game lore never was clear on that front" Lucrezia spoke up. "Duty William, a God''s Sphere shapes them as they shape it, the Mad God had a duty with upkeeping absolute order and he had to follow that to the very bitter end. An order that wasn''t his but the All-Father''s, makes you wonder if the anti-god faction isn''t just a bunch of madmen and women trying to cause chaos..." Ah yes, the anti-god faction. a group of individuals who wanted to break free from the Sphere of the All-Father, but how did you break free from Free Will itself? a question best left to another time William felt. "It''s not just one faction, they are made out of multiple sub-factions all varying in levels of ideology and fanatism, notice how the more extreme ones are always hunted down with extreme prejudice but the philosophers and professors are always spared and sometimes even encouraged by the church of the All-Father. It is as if he wants them to succeed" William spoke to Lucrezia who kept quiet for a while. She eventually spoke "Under him and his Sphere" William smiled, that was the catch and the reason the extremists always kept coming back, It wouldn''t be true freedom in their minds, just a bigger leash. "Under him indeed Lucrezia now let us go, this should be enough to talk with Kallista about the artifact" William got up and gave goodbyes to the people he had spoken while working, as he began making his way back to the trail leading to Kallista''s cave he felt the wind sweep by him and a Dragonkin woman land on his side. "Kallista" William bowed. "Lady Lucrezia, I thank you for helping my people on this wonderful day. Brut''s been bugging me for years about his stupid dam project... I''ve also heard about you helping out at the meditation site. Tell me Lucrezia, what do you want?" William could see the Dragoness was suspicious of him but not enough to warrant a more stern response, he scratched his nose and decided to go for the honest direct approach, lying to Kallista felt wrong after the fact she fought by him in the castle after all. "There''s someone I must save in the capital, and I need your artifact for it" he spoke with as much honesty as he could muster. The reaction happened in a blink of an eye, William saw the rage and anger flare in Kallista''s eyes, she reigned herself in before asking. "Very few know about that, fewer still when it comes to mortals. Pray, tell me how you found out about it" Kallista was still angry he felt, but she wasn''t gonna escalate the situation thankfully. "The Castle''s library" A white lie, but one most would buy it, and by the look, Kallista gave him she brought it. She turned into her Dragon form and spoke "Come" William hopped on her back and off they went to her cave. The ride was uneventful, and that was saying something since William was riding on the back of a goddamn dragon, He could feel her muscles tensing and relaxing as she flew, the mana currents in the air singing to Kallista as she commanded them for with pinpoint efficiency. "This is amazing, you should enjoy it while you can William, rare is the day a human gets to ride a dragon you know?" William was happy at least someone was enjoying it, as for him all he could think about was how he would explain to Kallista the situation with the Arch-Duke''s daughter. They arrived in Kallista''s home shortly after. It looked the same as before William found, a few Dragonkin were walking about doing tasks as Kallista landed and turned into her humanoid form, they bowed and went on doing their tasks as William followed the Dragoness deep into the mountain. They were past the ritual room into the inner chambers of her home when William reached what looked like a study, it was so dusty he had to cast a spell to clean the place, which earned a look from Kallista of wonder. "I rarely if ever come here, never was one for books or reading, to be honest. My brother was the smart one of the family we found out early, he''s probably being a recluse in the capital''s dungeon right now" there was an air of loneliness in her tone, William knew how much Kallista missed her brother Red Dragon Saark. He had abandoned their home when she got expelled from it with her after all. "Do you miss him?" William asked as he sat down on a chair next to the fireplace, the Dragoness didn''t reply but walked behind the desk and pulled a safe from under it. Kallista slashed her hand with her talons and pressed on it, the safe opened with a pop and from it, the Dragoness removed a small white scale and placed it on the desk. "I do Lucrezia, I do but the bloody recluse had the bright idea to breed with your Royalty and now plays this mysterious grandfather role of his in this little kingdom you are a part of, At least he comes over for my birthdays but still..." William chuckled and said "I sure hope dearest brother doesn''t mind when I put a bullet through one of his descendent''s children in a few months" Kallista grinned "He won''t, you mortals die all the time after all" she pushed the scale towards William "But heed this, Saark is bound by an oath of combat to his Dragonblood heirs, they can summon him for battle once every generation. And I would hate to have to fight my brother because Queen Malphas decided to come for your head here in the north" William waved his hands "With that scale that won''t happen, trust me" Kallista gave William a hard look and said "You know these things aren''t easy to come by yes? huh I guess you do judging by the look on your face" she rested her head in the chair and stared at the fire "they hate to use it you know? the other dragons I mean, there are even competitions for who can last the longest before having to clear themselves from the horrors of the Unending Conquest" William nodded and Kallista kept talking "Brother was not much of a fighter, not like me or my parents but he did his time as all dragons are required to do. I couldn''t be deployed together with him for a while and it broke me to hear the sheer amount of shit he went through." Kallista had a somber tone in her voice now, but William could pick the underlying hatred on it. It was curious how little the game talked about these extra-dimensional wars, he knew countless Divinities and their Followers were a part of but it was all in grand strokes and accounts that were more propaganda than actual truth, to hear from someone who was in the frontlines herself was something he couldn''t deny to be excited about. "I hated after a while you know? Other Dragons saw me as weak but maybe that Firstborn of All-Father was right, this war of his is nothing but a slaughterhouse" she sighed "Gods barely out of their ascension dying by the hundreds like fodder to conquer worlds that wouldn''t see a single sentient being walking on its lands, whole star systems being blown to smithereens to deny the enemy important resources" William nodded "Brother lost his whole unit in an ambush on the last push for the core of some forgotten Universe, he wanted out and so did I, Anyone has the right to tap out, even dragons. But it is paramount of turning yourself into a social pariah and be shunned by your people forever" Kallista was angry but it was a muted sort of rage, like when you complain about something that you have no power to truly change. "So we left, They never liked my promiscuous ways as well so the council had ample "evidence" to throw me out as a public menace to the Island. When we arrived here there was naught but Spirits and magical beasts, Brother went on to build his dungeon in what then became the Capital of Vermilion and I stayed in my mountain. The rest you already know" she waved her hand across the room. "The one you must save is the Arch-Duke''s daughter right?" Kallista asked. "Yes" William said without hesitation. "Saark told me about her situation, He didn''t know who it was that did the deed but I guess with your revelation I can connect the dots, to think Malphas is covering for such a crime... Mothers huh?" Kallista picked the scale and got up, she walked towards William and placed it on his hands "Here, make sure the girl has ample water and food after you use it on her. I''ll warn you Lucrezia, the feedback is strong and your mind and soul might not be ready for it, It would be wise to shore up on Necromancy whenever you can" Kallista said something that William already knew at this point. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Thank you Kallista" he said while bowing. "So how''s civilian life being going for you these years?" William decided to change the topic to something more light-hearted, and the look on the Dragoness''s eyes was all the confirmation he needed that she didn''t mind that one bit. "It is just wonderful, I have men and women from all over the world come visit me. My brood is happy and well-fed and my dominion knows only peace. It is my hope that with your reign they can also integrate themselves into the larger world" Kallista said while smiling. "We would need to talk with her first you know" William replied with a grin. "Ah yes, Mother... Brother had to petition for 3 days to get the rights for marriage with the first Dragonblood can you believe it? hmm... You are one smart human Lucrezia, got any ideas?" Kallista asked William had one, and the one real way to someone who wasn''t blessed by the All-Father to win a Blessing of the All-Mother which was exclusive to Dragons and their kin. Kallista agreeing to it, on the other hand now that could be complicated. Hoping the Dragoness didn''t get mighty suspicious of him William decided to shoot his shot. "There is a way for those who aren''t Dragons or Blessed by the All-Father to accrue her favors yes, I do not know if you ever heard of this but should a Dragon pray to her and with full honesty praise a person, no matter who or what they are, they will be blessed by her. It is not a guarantee however and given you have defected her island we might not have a chance at this" William spoke slowly and held his emotions by constantly channeling Ice Mana through his Mana channels. Kallista tapped her table with her scaly fingers "I''ve heard of it yes, Saark tried it when he first fell in love with his Wife" Kallista sighed deeply "I...I don''t know if she will even give me the time of the day Lucrezia" "Who Dares Wins" William gave Kallista the push and hoped it would work. Another sigh from the Dragoness followed by a deep intake of air, she closed her eyes and William could feel the whole room shift as if a great pressure descended on it. "If the Mother of Dragons herself comes down I will punch you the next time you come down here, William" Lucrezia said. "What why! what did I do?!" He didn''t hear Lucrezia''s reply, as the invisible force slammed into his chest, William nearly folded over himself but managed to remain sitting on the chair by slamming his feet on the ground and using the hidden iron plate in his boots to form spikes and ground himself to the floor. He felt the force permeate his entire being and hoped to god Lucrezia went to her hiding place. As it moved he felt fire in his arms and legs, then it sat upon his back, the entire thing feeling like he was being roasted over the fire, after a few minutes of pain the force went away and the room shifted again, the pain and pressure went as if they were never there in the first place. Kallista got up and grabbed a hidden bottle of some sort of liquid and a glass, pouring some for William, she walked to the boy and gave the glass to him saying "Here, drink this" He did so and he managed to relax, the phantom pain going away as his mind focused inwards. William closed his eyes and for a moment all went still, he breathed deeply and exhaled. He was back to normal thank the lord. "Fuck me, William Fuck me there''s another symbol in the bloody Monolith! Dragon godsdamned wings made out of stars!" Lucrezia said in a panic. "A Blessing in waiting, not unlike the curse of Uumaries, I head All-Father and All-Mother had the power to do it but it was rarely used since it can kill those of weak constitution. Can you feel it?" William tried to calm his friend. "No, I feel nothing but its eagerness to release itself and...Yes, I can feel the blessing is counting down the time for the Blessing Ceremony. All-Father''s balls how is this even possible?" Lucrezia asked. "All-Mother is as powerful as the All-Father but is not one for displays of power as the All-Father is. Remember Lucrezia she is in charge of his entire army, every decision she takes has to take into account the many enemies they made over the eons of war" William felt Lucrezia calm herself as she digested his explanations. "I get it, yeah Don''t show your hand cause you never know who''s watching. The terror beyond the stars is ever watching as the old saying goes, Incidently William, do you know if regular mortals and the immortal races like elves or vampires can join the war?" Lucrezia had finally calmed herself and William could feel this was one question she always wanted to ask. "Not as they are no, there are several rituals and prep work that goes to join, it takes about 10 years for a regular human to join. It depends when it comes to the races if I remember correctly" William could feel Lucrezia''s approval of the answer, he was about to talk more but Kallista opened her eyes and spoke. "Wow, she said yes...I don''t know how or why Mom was never one to talk much even with the elders but she said you will be getting a Blessing, and after that my Brood can interact with the Duchy in peace" "I''ll make sure to let everyone know and they will be welcomed with a celebration Kallista" William got up and said, "Now, I really must get back to the castle, work never stops after a coup" he laughed as Kallista smiled. The piles of paperwork he left stashed were a grim reminder of the more boring but important part of his duties.
Erwin and Sigr¨²n were in the personal room of the Duchess, Sigr¨²n was taken aback when she got in, expecting a more spoiled noble environment. Instead, she found something that reminded her of a very stern Knight Commander, a huge work desk filled with papers and books all neatly stacked, plaques with identification on each of them, and even a big square board filled with notes nailed on it and writings. Lady Lucrezia worked and she worked smart. The young woman in question was currently writhing in her bed, the moans and gasps betrayed the real reason for her current situation. As the first dosage of potions made by the Arch-Druid weaned off the effect of the Blessing was making its marks show. Sigr¨²n could smell in the air, the very scent of Lucrezia betrayed a lust and desire so big it was a wonder the young woman was keeping it together at all! "Was it the bloody dragon Sigr¨²n? this aftershock IS not good, Master Gabriel already said if he ups the dosage she can get horrible ill" Sigr¨²n shook her head. While the Dragoness was known to act that way, there were no signs of any sexual activity in Lucrezia''s aura. on the contrary, the young Duchess was bottling them harder than some of the Higher Succubi Sigr¨²n knew from her days in the monastery when the fasting period was enacted every month. Which again spoke to her ironclad will. "No Erwin the Dragoness has done nothing of it, this is and I''m sad to say it, what was meant to happen" Saa''ryu was wiping Lucrezia from the sweat with a hardened expression, but it was Erwin who was getting emotional. Sigr¨²n felt her lover''s anguish and hurt as he watched Lucrezia''s pain. Curious Sigr¨²n thought, is he seeing her as a daughter perhaps? Her mind went back to the last few days of their training the recruits, and how much he pushed her always teasing her to reach higher and higher and she kept meeting his demands time and time again, the smile of pride on his face and the subtle sadness in the man''s eyes. How he always gave her tips and even let Lucrezia lead her own "squad" of Squires in a joint training session against him. Sigr¨²n felt another wave coming from Lucrezia, this one was a big one. So big in fact it sent smaller waves at her in warning, she sat down and clamped her arms to a chair in waiting. 10 seconds went by as she almost slipped her guard when the biggest wave yet slammed into her soul, so strong it was the temptations her wings unfolded in all its succubi splendor. Erwin rushed to her side but she raised her hand, only someone like her could feel this. And more importantly, Sigr¨²n was acting as an anchor to all that energy. Making it so it flew back to her soul instead of going haywire in the wild or coming back to Lucrezia. Sigr¨²n sucked air as her cheeks grew flustered and her body went in a pleasant shock, she cast a small Miracle of Saal''Xhir and cleaned herself but not without Erwin noticing. "She''s getting better. Thank you Captain Sigr¨²n and my apologies for making you suffer through this" Saa''ryu spoke, her voice filled with relief and her aura in peace. Sigr¨²n smiled and said "This is nothing my dear, I''m just rusty and our Lady''s blessing is a Greater One, something I''ve only dealt with twice back in the day at the monastery" Saa''ryu moved to speak but Sigr¨²n raised her hand "Lady Lucrezia swore an Oath to us Knights and it is my duty to upheld my part of it, in any way I can" Saa''ryu nodded and said "Still If you need anything don''t hesitate to ask. I will get it done" she said as Sigr¨²n got up and gave her goodbyes, Erwin following her. "To think it was so strong it broke your spell, are you alright Sigr¨²n?" he asked "As I said Erwin, I''m rusty really. The last time I had that happen to me was years ago" she replied with a smile. Sigr¨²n wasn''t lying on that part "But I must confess dear, Lady Lucrezia is holding herself a bit too much, maybe we could talk with her later?" "What do you mean?" Erwin asked. "I''ve seen how you treat her Erwin, and I know she reminds you of your daughter. Maybe we can see what is going on with her life? Lady Lucrezia doesn''t seem like a purist fanatic from Uumaries. Given the fact she kicked that prude out of our lands after all" Sigr¨²n laughed Erwin was bewildered for a second before growing sad "I''m sorry Sigr¨²n I didn''t mean to-" "It is ok dear, I understand" and she did, it had been a long while ever since the man lost his family and wife and it took months to bring Erwin back from the darkness and sorrow pit he was in. Sigr¨²n loved him but she knew he was very much in grief still. And no Succubus magic would remove that from him, it would follow Erwin for his entire life and she would be the one on her side all the way. He shook his head and said "Do you mean "the" talk? I uh, why not leave that for Saa''ryu? she''s her most trusted confidant and everything..." Sigr¨²n Laughed as they made their way back to the Knights headquarters, on the way they saw the entire city moving as a single unit in the many construction sites that dotted the place. Sigr¨²n sighed impressed, the sheer scale of it all always boggled her mind. Lady Lucrezia would drag the entire realm to a better tomorrow kicking and screaming, Flaying her sword and staff against the many enemies of hers. "A true leader is someone who understands the lowest of work peons to the highest of generals" The phrase of her old monastery head ringed in her mind. Lady Lucrezia was shaping up to be one of those Sigr¨²n believed. "The maid won''t do, trust me on this Erwin it has to be me and you, she already looks up to you as well you know? I saw it in training how she responds to you. It is no wonder those dad instincts of yours are flaring up so much" Sigr¨²n said as they got into their office. Erwin sat on his chair and sighed as he pulled a bottle of strong spirit. Something he only drank when worried. "It is that obvious huh? Alright then I''ll speak with her tomorrow and we can set a day outside of the training schedule." Erwin said after taking a swig "I hope you are right Sigr¨²n" The Half Succubus half Kitsune smiled at her love and said "Dear when it comes to these matters? I''m the foremost expert on it. Trust me"
William was studying the Monolith, All-Mother''s wings pulsing with otherworldly power on it but muted, Lucrezia coughed to get his attention but he kept staring, she did it again and he didn''t move an inch. "You can''t just ignore me, William, I''m right here you know" she spoke by his side "Look I really don''t mind what happened yesterday ok?" William sighed and sat on the ground "Really?" She sat beside him "Yes! you dumb loaf of a man, It''s not your fault William. I''m not dumb you know? I won''t act unreasonably with you when it is clear to me and you this is beyond our capabilities to deal with it. Gods above you are even drinking those upgraded potions from the druid and they are a hair''s breadth from being actual bloody poison. Look the point I''m trying to make here is that you should stop beating yourself over it ok?" "It''s just you know, It feels horrible even thinking of it. This is not my body" William said in anguish. "You gonna have to accept the fact it is now William until we can fix this mess this body belongs to you as much as it belongs to me. Our souls have melded, after all, now I''m not asking you to just change your mindset right here and right now. I understand this will be incredibly difficult for you, but I will be here for you William, trust me on this, OK?" Lucrezia held his hand. "What if this furthers the melding?" William asked her "An issue for future us, right now we must deal with this Blessing of Saal''Xhir first and if that furthers the meld then at least you won''t have death by orgasm mid-battle" Lucrezia said while looking at the dead trees on the horizon. William couldn''t help but laugh out loud "That would be a rotten way to go wouldn''t it?" "And the Wulfgrem name would be forever tainted, so yes Rotten way to go indeed" Lucrezia replied with a smile "You think a new forest will be added with the All-Mother''s blessing?" she asked trying to change the subject. "Yes, it will take some time before it manifests but I''m sure of it. the same for any other gods we get blessed by, and when the seal is gone those fig trees will bloom back to life" William pointed to them "The dragon on the other hand will go away as we fully embrace Saal''Xhir''s blessing into our soul" "How do you know all of this?" Lucrezia asked. "Necromancy in the game had loads of fluff text, some talking about how the Blessings change one''s soul. I''m assuming this will also happen with us even if your situation is...Unique, a common example is liches who can via the Unbroken''s blessings shape their own soul to give them something akin to our soul space. A very high-level technique that marks one as a true lich" Lucrezia nodded and sighed, laying her head on the soft grass "To think we are now Blessed by the All-Mother herself, what an honor this is. You know we can know travel to their island? by law the elders can''t refuse our right since she gave us her mark, Gods imagine the food there..." She salivated "We gotta go there William, you hear me we gotta go" William laughed and said "After the academy is done sure, we can go" The two spent some time speaking, telling tales of their lives to one another as the sun went down and the soul space was engulfed in the twilight, William didn''t notice but both he and Lucrezia had ended up taking a nap in the grass. Which stayed warm even after the sun went away. Time to go back to the waking world he thought.
In the Imperial palace city of Lahathar, a great storm poured rain across its enchanted stones and soldiers guarding it. It was the season of storms and anyone on duty rotation came with spells and gear ready for it. Lighting strikes turned the night sky into light as a single priest with a hood walked towards the main wing where the Emperor and Empress resided, he commanded respect as every guard who saw him snapped to attention like a fresh recruit sent to boot camp in the Imperium''s military. Some saluted as well and it was clear to anyone here this priest was important. The great halls were filled with magic items and artwork from renowned artists of the empire, statues, pillars, and all manner of jewels and metals for a display of power and wealth, but also culture and sophistication. For Imperium''s tastes that is, any other country would find it gaudy and vain. The priest opened a set of double doors alone as every soldier in the throne room kneeled as he walked to the Empress who was currently alone on the throne, the Emperor had already gone to his quarters. The priest spoke "O Empress Ryna''0 I bring forth a message from our patron God" She nodded and he continued "Deep in the north of our ancient enemy Vermilion lies one I shall bless. It is my command that my Empire aid her when the time comes" Ryna''o eyes narrowed, The Nameless blessing one of those pumpkins? All-Father above every time she had the night shift on the throne something had to happen! Last time it was the flying Dire pigs now this bullshit, with a sigh she nodded and the priest continued. "Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem, Duchess of Wulfgrem is to be blessed by the Silent Soldier!" He announced as a lightning strike hit the dome above them. Ryna''o felt the chills creeping up, that welp had killed her parents for the throne. nevermind that they were the scum of the land and worked with the terror beyond the stars, Vermilion had harsh laws for kin slaying and she had been cursed by that horrible Goddess Uumaries, and yet reports were that the Duchy was on the rise with workers moving at speeds few can match in the new world. The Empress saw a perfect in against the ancient Enemy, but alas she wasn''t one for war. Gods knew the times were the Imperium black ships were feared all over and those times were over. She was more concerned with dealing with the internal actors trying to steal her throne and her husband''s and those guns she heard about could prove the perfect deterrence against the snakes in court. "By my command as Empress: Ready the first and second legion for the aid of this new ally of us, for the Silent Soldier and the Imperium!" The priest bowed and smiled as he walked to deliver the good news. Those legions were made of Paladins and soldiers devout to the Silent Soldier, the perfect weapon to help expand his reach into the new world. It took a few days for the storm to pass for long enough for the fleets to ready themselves, 10 huge dark ships full to the brim with soldiers ready for the order to come, and for the war that would show their cousins in the new world what happens when someone dares fight against the might of the Imperium and those it has blessed.
Deep into the north of the Imperium, the ancient raiders that eventually became the Wulfgrem clan still raided the coasts and ports of that part of the world. Many a time the Imperium dispatched their navy to stop the raiders but those hardy folk were nigh unstoppable, every race under the sun was part of the many raider clans that lived in islands far off the coast of the Imperium and they all worshipped the same God Chou¡¯Xin. Chou¡¯Xin was a minor God of War who constantly dodged the punishment of being made a Fallen God by his Imperium divine brethren via truces and deals, While he loved to raid he also knew that being made a Fallen God wasn''t worth the massive downsides of such a title, this year was the start of such a truce and his followers were all back to their islands living off the spoils and making marry amongst themselves. On the biggest island of Skalgari there was a huge stone temple built for him, and his single High Priest was deep in prayer when he heard a whisper just behind his ears "Send my best Warriors to Vermilion, for our brothers and sisters require aid there, and let them know that Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem, last heir of the Wulfgrem clan is to be my blessed" The high priest bolted from the floor. To think he would e the one to finally fulfill the prophecy that was told ages ago that said the finest of Chou¡¯Xin would aid their long-lost brethren in the new world. Ushering a new age for its people! The High Priest ran up the stairs and picked the single horn made for when the time of the prophecy was to happen, channeling divine energy he blew it as hard as he could and every island heard its call. Every Jarl and their Raiders knew it was time. Time to finally go to a good war. Chapter 21: Builders of a Brighter Tomorrow "Forgive us O Goddess! Forgive Us!" Last know words from an unnamed priest from the ancient race who lived in Yrithuan before All-Father took control. Saa''ryu couldn''t help but smile when seeing the waiting room for the new arrivals. Priests and priestesses of numerous Gods all looking at each other with curiosity and a sense of wonder. A delegation of five Priestess representing Gods and Goddess of Education and Leaning. Another for Architecture and City planning, and a single High Priest representing the Merchant Coalition, the largest Divine union of the world comprising of countless gods both minor and greater. It had been a month ever since the Silverbrand woman had left the Duchy. Soon Lucrezia would receive her blessings. According to Karl, who was hopeful Lucrezia wouldn''t suffer from the curse any longer, Winter''s End will be at its peak. The damn thing would evolve into a proper Blessing and it would be a great boon to the young ruler, as looks are a huge part of court politics down south. "The Academy..." Saa''ryu couldn''t stop herself from worrying about Lucrezia''s journey there. By royal decree, any high noble was to be enrolled at the age of 18, and only in the very specific cases such law could be broken. Factor in the upcoming war with the first prince''s punitive force will be sent after the storm blows over... Ill omens Saa''ryu knew, knew that they were coming. It was that fear that made her break her self-imposed exile and contact her old master. Master Assassin Owl. The maid couldn''t help but fear for her life, she knew the old fart had a soft spot for her even going as far as calling her his daughter but she had fucked up a major hit. And forgiveness wasn''t Owl''s greatest point. So when Saa''ryu woke up in her private quarters with no less than 5 of her old sisters all staring at her, all she did was pray and shake her head. Yet the sisters didn''t kill her, on the contrary, they all silently hugged Saa''ryu, who could feel their emotions vibrating from them. They wanted to speak and talk but they were on a job, and under special magic to not leak a sound. They all pulled a series of mirrors and chanted in a dead language only the Owl and his Assassins spoke, the room went dark as Saa''ryu stood face to face with the man himself. The Owl was huge, standing at nearly 8 feet tall it was a wonder how this behemoth of a human even became the master assassin he is. But as Saa''ryu came to know when she first began training under him, magic could make up for many a shortcoming. He took a good look at her and smiled like a parent would when seeing their after years being away. "Ease up little bird, You won''t die today" he laughed "Not after doing what you did, a coup? the killing of high nobility? I knew you were good Saa, but not that good!" Saa''ryu sighed in disbelief as she relaxed. she then spoke to him "And the contract I fucked it up?" The Owl laughed again "the mark died a day later, a whore killed him out of blind rage. Far as I know you did your job Saa and this was just one long vacation you took, although some of your siblings won''t like the news once they get out that you are alive, you were my best after all" Owl relaxed and said "I''ve read your letter and I must say it is quite the fortunate occurrence for we have received a contract to safe-keep your Lady from the other channel" he gave Saa''ryu a grin Saa''ryu''s eyes bulged "Do you mean a Fallen has taken interest in her?" a regular Fallen God wouldn''t be bad news, many a noble kept them at arm''s length after all. On the other hand, the big ones would earn Lucrezia wrath no new weapon could push back. "All-Father above no, we don''t deal with Fallen these days Saa, they went quiet after some war that happened in the last 4 months in the spirit realm, someone tried to usurp the throne from Augorius...Anyway, this was by Emot''ah which raised all kinds of questions back at the nest so I did some digging around" Saa''ryu only needed to connect the dots to finish Owl''s phrase "It''s the daughter of the Arch-Duke, she was blessed by Emot''ah and Lucrezia is moving to save her from whatever that vile Prince did to her body and soul" The Owl patted Saa''ryu in the head "Sharp as ever Oh how I''ve missed these talks daughter of mine! Yes, you are correct that''s exactly it. I''ve dispatched some of your sisters to aid you from the shadows should Galius call for the competition. They are under the usual spells so no R&R while on the job I''m sure you can understand" The Owl coughed "And I''ve heard you are training the young Duchess as well? get her to appreciate some of the arts maybe?" Saa''ryu laughed "Lu would make for one lousy assassin father, her main weapon is an iron halo for the shadow''s sake! No, I only trained her on the basics. Now she''s under the Knight Commander to temper her battle lust" The Owl rubbed his chin "Hm, extend her the offer then. I have a feeling she would benefit greatly from more in-depth training, the usual rates we do for nobles of course, and when she goes for the Academy she can come by the Dojo" he said while getting up " It was great to catch up with you Saa, but duty calls as you well know, should I need to talk with you your sisters will give you the usual signal, be well daughter of mine and good luck on your endeavors" the chanting stopped and the five assassins all nodded their heads and disappeared. Saa''ryu couldn''t help but smile, this reunion with her family finally setting in. It felt great knowing she wasn''t made exile by Owl and that he had dispatched people to help her, her own spies in training now had pros backing them up from the shadows. But Lucrezia as an Assassin? poor Owl must be getting senile, there''s no way someone that fights like an orc berserker could have the grace for the job. Right?
"Motherfucking fuck!" William said as his entire body radiated pain. He was mad, fuming in anger and seething in rage at the tiniest thing. Writing the daily pages in his diary, an activity that usually put him at ease was driving him up the wall, but even after cursing up a storm (and thanking whatever god for not having a maid come in), he was feeling down as if he shifted from extreme rage to suicidal apathy. " I was wondering why this didn''t happen last month, guess those theories about magic messing with that time of the month were real after all. " Lucrezia said with a bit of mirth in her voice, watching William squirm was giving her some sort of glee he couldn''t understand. "Please don''t play dumb William, surely your own sister must''ve told you how much pain she had to endure hmm? while you as a man has no such period pun very much intended. It is absolutely not fair, call me petty I don''t care" The pain didn''t let him get a word in, but William did pick up that part where magic is supposed to blunt PMS so feeling like he had nothing to lose he began doing every mana exercise he knew thus far, from cycling it inside his mana channels to shaping it with his hands and without them. The manipulation of fine ice mist that almost turned into actual water and tiny sparks between his iron rods was a testament to his improved abilities and more importantly. Increased mana pool thanks to the curse/blessing. Something he didn''t think would translate one for one from the game but it did, even if he didn''t have a game layer to give him a mana bar. Each Blessing an individual gets increases their base mana pool up to ten times, while the regular civilians might get one or two blessings in his lifetime individuals like him were know to have up to 5, rare was to break past it but there were tales of warriors and mages with 10 Blessings. Of course, that paled in comparison if you had a Blessing of the All-Father, which makes you prime real estate for every God out there letting you get any blessing with all but a simple prayer to their name, sometimes a greater one if you do a quest for them. "A power fitting for the protagonist" William whispered to himself the pain now temporarily blunted. He prayed Hope didn''t discover about her powers before getting into the Academy, lest she gets sent to one of the monasteries of the All-Father to become a High Priestess, being in the school would afford her enough protection from them to not send her that early after all, plus William was sure she and the third prince would fall in love as well. "Do you have any pills or potions for this? I remember my sister taking pills whenever the pain came up" William asked Lucrezia. "The elven twins rescued the potion maker, didn''t they? You could also ask Gabriel, don''t think he''s going to mind" She fired back not so smug now. William relaxed in the expansive chair he had put in the room for his writings. It was getting harder every day he felt, hard to disconnect and not see the flesh and blood as his own and that terrified him to a deep level, one he knew Lucrezia was aware of it since they had talked about at length and she had assured him it was ok and that she didn''t mind it. William ever the paranoid on the other hand pointed out that this might also be work of the melding, whoever did it knew Necromancy, after all, learning Mind Magic was but a few steps away from it. "It is clear that me being awake wasn''t the plan William, stop worrying for five seconds before you have a stroke or something All-Father above..." was her response to his theory. A part of him whispered for him to let go of the paranoia, to embrace his new life and identity, and let loose but he kept that down hard via intense training both physical and magical. and burying himself with paperwork in between that, and when paperwork eventually ran out he was doing talks with the many priests and sages who came on the behalf of their masters. Not only was he upgrading the city infrastructure, William decided to go the full mile and uplift the populace via education and culture. He knew that he would need a smarter workforce to further elevate the duchy. But this was not without heavy opposition from certain groups among the Divine. Gods and Goddesses of Learning were afraid he was going to turn learning into fuel for the war machine of the duchy. Dwarven gods mad he was the face of Magi-Tech and most important of all, the changing of the region''s culture. Culture as a Sphere was a very complicated and nuanced topic, for eons it fell under the All-Father himself to rule over it but for reasons unknown, he decided to auction the Sphere of Power, something that had never happened before. It came with a single but powerful downside, every 30 years whoever commanded the Sphere had to either sacrifice themselves to it, fuelling the Sphere''s power for the next god, or cast their Godhood aside and become mortals in all but name. A grim reminder of the sheer power of the All-Father who could command such a Sphere without any side effect. Scholars to this day debate over such an arbitrary and deadly ruleset, and so did the players in the many lore threads William was a part of. His personal opinion was one that many players shared; Generations usually last for 25 to 30 years on Earth, and their cultural footprint either has to adapt with the new Generation or suffer death by irrelevancy, but now that he was actually living in the world he didn''t know if the theory held water. The short exchange he had with the High Priestess ended when the current Goddess of Culture Inza decided to talk with him personally. "Pure madness that''s what I''m seeing in your realm Child, the North was never one for anything more than war and hardness, its songs, art, food, and voice always stuck by its roots and you seek to change it? to turn the North into some sort of new-age wonder with Magi-tech? Not to say these new instruments of music you created! It goes against everything right" William knew antagonizing a God wouldn''t be smart but he was this close to telling her to go fuck herself, as the mood swings were just starting to get worse when he had the meeting, instead he explained in detail his plans to it and left very clear that no one be it God or Mortal would stop him. Inza left shortly after that, to which the High Priestess said. "Forgive me, Duchess My Goddess is coming at the end of her term and things are always shaky when that happens" William had noticed the woman was an elf, so she likely had seen this happen many a time before. "Are you done reminiscing? There''s something I wanna talk about it?" Lucrezia said. "Give me a minute, I need to check the reports for the underground city" William responded. William managed to stall the talk for later on the day before they slept. He then began checking the many stacks of papers in his desk, mostly were about the ongoing construction efforts both underground and above, the retrofitting of the entire city''s infrastructure to get the heat pipes on it, and that it is stormproof. More reports about the Dragonkin slowly integrated themselves with the Duchy and merchants'' requests to trade with them. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Another report and one that William was happy to see was that Gabriel decided to open a druidic "school" just outside the city''s limit, together with druids from the Diamond Reefs mermen. Another point for the relation between the two and one Lucrezia was just delighted to hear about it since she had a personal stake on this after all. Karl''s reports were also good ones, more and more were converting to Velkarius, he had even presided over the first Marriage in her name a few days ago. The Goddess even sending one of her crows as a sign of good tidings for the couple, sadly holdouts for Uumaries are still a thing and Saa''ryu had asked if William could give her the go head to discreetly whack them. He was against the idea, too much blood was spilled already, He wanted to try to mend bridges not burn them. He knew how hard it was when it came to changing something you followed your whole life after all. Lucrezia also agreed with him on that point. The rebuilding of the south district was going faster than what was expected but still slow, William had the week before made the decision of selling rare art material the Wulfgrem had hoarded in their vaults and got Silverbrand to hire workers from one of the 5 houses of the Kingdom, House Dariam was known for having built everything in the kingdom, rare was a big work done that didn''t have a single of their people involved on it. Their Knights were also some of the funniest characters William had met in the game. Most of them were into brewing alcohol and the house even had a saying about it ¡°Walls in 5 days, Houses in 3 and wine in 1¡± William was happy Silverbrand had broken the deal with them, he was afraid his reputation would make them say no but Alas all it took was explaining the project and they agreed on the spot. Reports from both Sejrk and Erwin about the training with the Magi-Tech vanguard and the first steps of a standing army were also looking good, Alas it would take his Blessing day to finally be able to build the cannon. On the other hand training with the muskets was a resounding success, so big in fact workers were doing shooting competitions after their shifts and William was already hearing about Requests for the weapons to be used in the hunting season. "Gotta draft a training regime for the canon operators, even if Idun can Magi-Tech the damn thing before Galius reaches us" William whispered to himself as he wrote a small set of instructions. His mind began to wander as he finished the letter and he pulled his diary and began sketching on it. While on Earth he was never one for art, lacking the finest and dexterity for it but Lucrezia''s body was anything but that. The girl could draw with the best of them. He felt his cheeks grow hot and turned to the mirror, his face beet red and deep sensing of curiosity and shame coming from inside. William sighed and placed the notebook down, the bird he was sketching halfway done in the paper. "Stop poking around there for christ''s sake Lucrezia" William shot to the interloper, he heard a small gasp and a curse. "Stupid fucking curse blessing whatever ugh" Lucrezia''s feelings became muted as she calmed down and William resumed his sketching. "Look it''s not my fault there''s an entire library of the stuff down here, that stupid dragon keeps whispering begging me to take a peek" Lucrezia said after a while " It is no wonder we got a Greater Blessing, the amount of material down there would be enough to elevate us to High Succubus on the spot. Godsdamnned Terrans" "It is hard enough keeping a lid on it up here, please don''t make it worse" William said as he stopped drawing the bird again and sat down on the ground to meditate. The peace and quiet lasted only for short bursts but it helped him focus. God knew he needed it
"Put your whole weight on it!" Screamed Sigr¨²n while William fended off three Senior Knights with his new weapon, the ax made out of dragon bone was quickly becoming his favorite. His iron halo is only being used as a way to sneak more hits in instead of a melee weapon. This translated to having more mana to burn in regular spell singling and Together with Wilson he had learned many useful spells. Still, a long way to master then according to the new court mage but that was coming along just fine William thought as he parried the spear blow and landed a punch in the Knight''s stomach. The elven woman had her feet taken off the ground as he boosted his strength with Magnetism and landed a kick right as she came down. The other two Senior Knights charged in and one got a good blow in his left side. With a snarl of rage, William slashed him with a mighty swing only for the other Knight to jump in and tank the hit with his tower shield. "Damn you!" William bellowed and kicked the shield 4 times before the thing caved in, he grabbed the Knight''s arm and twisted it, then proceeded to attempt a chokehold on him, he felt the other Knight punch him in the ribs but the high was already settling in. William felt that oh-so-familiar heat in his face as his vision began to fog up and he got more and more lost in the feeling. A blow to the head knocked him off and he was back in the real world again. "Control yourself Lady Lucrezia! If you keep this up any duel you take part in the Capital will end up with soiled pants!" Sigr¨²n said from her chair laughing, William bowed to the Knights and apologized but they took in stride. The elven one was a bit harsher with him but he let that slide, he had kicked the poor woman in the belly after all. His training partners all bowed and went away as the Vice-Captain came walking towards him, her Kitsune tail wagging in the cold wind. "You are bottling in too much Lady Lucrezia, the others can''t feel it but it is like waves on a seawall. Little by little, they will erode it and the backlash will be ugly." She said giving William his bottle of the potion Gabriel had made. "And yet I have the feeling you aren''t like one of the many prudes that shun the Goddess if you don''t mind me asking my Lady. Why do this? why hold yourself so much?" Sigr¨²n asked William as she stared right into his eyes and him hers. He could feel the slight allure of her Succubus nature pulling at him, to ease him into a sense of security so he could open up to her. Willam dug his nails into his palm, the skin just slightly breaking and him using the blood to pierce it deeper dispelling the allure. If Sigr¨²n noticed she didn''t mention but he walked up to a chair and sat, speaking after a minute of silence. "I can''t, not now. Once things settle down after the battle with the prince maybe but not now" He said then drink the bottle of potion, the liquid clearing the leftover feelings of lust he had yet to flush out of his system. "My Lady the longer it goes the worse it will get. Trust me on this" Sigr¨²n said with a worried look. "I know" William answered defeated.
Lucrezia was pacing around the Monolith waiting for William to go to sleep, he was in the middle of a string of reunions with multiple Gods and Goddesses talking about the overall progress of the rebuilding efforts. she tapped out really fast and went back to her room. Watching movies and TV series was how she enjoyed most of her time when she wasn''t sleeping if that was even sleep in the first. Lucrezia would often get flashes of William''s memories sometimes she was him she wasn''t. In one of these dreams, she saw William''s ex-girlfriend and it felt so real she couldn''t believe how much he loved her. It was his first love and it felt so pure, so sincere, and most importantly so consuming everything else was but an afterthought. It drove him to reach heights he never would''ve imagined. and that feeling burned in Lucrezia as she was the one in those memories, she was there for his first kiss. It was her! "Fucking whore Goddess," Lucrezia said to no one, another symptom of the meld was her usage of foul words, something she rarely if at all did before was now way more common. Sigr¨²n was right, Lucrezia wasn''t a fan of Saal''Xhir and that was a common sentiment among many a noble and even now with the Goddess "support" she still felt it was a bitter potion to swallow. The boy on the other hand was a fan, and she knew why. The sheer amount of "Material" he had locked away via gods know what sort of mental gymnastics was a beacon of impure thoughts and lewdness, a veritable hoard waiting to be claimed by that dragon. She still couldn''t shake those feelings of love and heartbreak Lucrezia found out, just how in all that is holy did William even manage to live on after breaking up with the girl? and the reason still eluded her, she searched high and low and all she found was that he got a call and that was that. William''s sister who often showed up in her dreams tried to pry more information but she also got nothing, As far as Lucrezia knew, the reason was that William''s ex-girlfriend simply didn''t love him the way he loved her and she tapped out. Was he blinded by his first love to not see the signs? or maybe she led him on? Lucrezia couldn''t make head or tails of this and it annoyed her deeply because her mind kept wandering to these topics as the weeks went by. That and another feeling kept her on edge. Jealousy. While Lucrezia herself never had unrequited love or crushes, she felt a deep-seated, dominating Jealousy that consumed her very being. She wanted to control it to put her foot down and hold it for herself and let the whole world know it belonged to her and her alone. And that something was William. It started as an honest desire to safeguard the young man, to let him know that she would be there for him even if the whole world turned against them. Something that at first freaked Lucrezia out due to the fact she thought the soul melding was the one doing it, turning her into a part of him or something of the sort without merging her soul to his. After all the bloody thing wasn''t working as intended right? Yeah right. It only got ugly after the training sessions, Sigr¨²n teasing him every time with that allure of hers made Lucrezia seethe in rage. She snarled and screamed to herself that he belonged to her and her alone! or when Saa''ryu got too close and touched him that also drove Lucrezia up the blasted wall and she knew the why of it. It was that godsdamned curse twisting her feelings. It hurt her pride to admit she would fall for someone who by all intents and purposes stole her body and life but Lucrezia wasn''t dumb enough to blame him for something only a God could do. So she enacted to do something her mother had told her long ago when she was but a small child. She would hide those emotions and feelings just as he does for his lust and desire. It wasn''t meant to be after all. She saw him walking up the road to the Monolith and cleared her thoughts. "Hey, you doing ok?" he asked giving her a nod and a smile, these talks they had every day gave her a clear picture of who the boy in front of her was. Resolute and poised but lonely and paranoid, waiting for the approval of parents he no longer had, longing for a sister he would never see, and the sense of duty he had for the people of the Duchy who in an earlier talk he had them compared to an anchor. "Same old William, same old now let''s go" She spoke and began walking to the movie room which was her favorite place so far, they walked in silence for a few minutes before arriving there and getting comfortable on the couch. "Loads of emotions today, What ails you Lucrezia?" He asked while resting his head with eyes closed, another part only Lucrezia got to see was just how tired William got thanks to playing King. Sometimes they would just sleep side by side as he was too tired to even talk, those were always a highlight for Lucrezia as she got to feel his emotions without him manipulating them. Guilt and Sorrow were the most common ones, self-loathing and anger as well. William blamed himself for stealing her life and body even after assuring him she didn''t blame him for it. "It''s the curse" Lucrezia said after a while. "Of course it is the goddamn curse..." he fired back in a low tone. "godsdamned William, gods" she corrected him. "Yeah yeah, it''s a habit as you ought to know" he sighed "What part of the curse is worrying you Lucrezia?" "The entire godsdamned curse worries me, you daft clown" she threw her hands up "It''s the blasted flesh warping. I''ve already noticed that its effects are happening" William nodded "And you are afraid I''ll turn your body into some hyper-sexualized mess because of my personal tastes? So that''s why you were poking around that place huh" Lucrezia lowered her head in shame "...Yes" "You don''t have to worry much Lucrezia, at most you will get a bigger uhh" he stumbled on his words and looked up to the ceiling Great Lucrezia felt, now they were both knee-deep in this cringe-worthy mess "Don''t finish that sentence I know ok!" she spoke with a little more force than normal "Just promise me I won''t turn into a Succubus" Lucrezia said while her face burned in shame. "That won''t happen and you know it, the Goddess won''t just turn us willy nilly like that. I know you know this, it takes a lengthy ritual and everything" William was going into another of his explaining moods but Lucrezia cut him off "Let''s just watch some movies ok? I wanna forget we had this conversation" William laughed and said "Ok, your the boss Lucrezia, pick one"
"FIRE" William screamed and the trainees fired their muskets into the targets. He had already picked the naturals and hunters among his nascent army for sharpshooter units, training the rest was a matter of daily drills and war exercises. Of course, he hoped that by the time the prince gets his army into his lands, he would have the canons ready and fully automated as per Idun''s designs. Hopefully, he would also be able to build mortars and howitzers to fully dominate the battlefield. "As long the Arch-Mage''s daughter doesn''t come with her boyfriend It should be easy pickings..." William whispered to himself from his command post after finishing off the musket drills. Every day more and more troops were going around with the weapons and more people joined Idun in making them as well. Still, the trusted martial weapons hadn''t fallen off favor and it was common watching Castle Guards or Knights teach these newly trained individuals a trick or two of the sword or spear. "I never thought I would live to see war in my lands. It''s been generations now of peace and quiet" Lucrezia spoke to him in a nostalgic tone. And yet war was his calling. William knew the first prince would have to be killed one way or another, he would save the Arch-Duke''s daughter after all and she would talk, and when that happens civil war will break out. All he''s doing is accelerating the schedule. The map in front of him gave him the perfect battlefield for the coming fight, the Frosted Valley with its small villages would be the stage and William was already working with the druids to set up traps and poison around it, not to kill outright but to weaken the mercenary hordes the first prince would no doubt hire as shock troops since he couldn''t move the entire Royal Knights without other powers taking notice. William was aware of the hypocrisy of his plans, to use shock and awe tactics to force the enemy into a rout and decapitated Galius and his crew with alpha strikes so he could avoid the hundreds of deaths on his soul. But he would do it gods be damned if he could spare the lives of these sellswords he would. Many were just regular people not some crew of mustache-twirling villains. The Knight detail he would bring also worried him, William knew Lucrezia''s old friends from the capital were in Galius''s faction, And worse, some of the Knights were characters in the game. Skill teachers or trainers who unlike their Noble rulers didn''t mind teaching the commoner protagonist. William felt his hands shake in fear, could he Kill these people he "knew"? the fear of developing PTSD was like a ghost with its edges yawning at his heels. Combine with the general fuckery of the Curse and William was legitimately afraid of his decaying mental health. But something drove him forward. like the gentle push of the wind that kept him from losing momentum and crashing into the reality of his actions. Lucrezia believed it was the melding, she saw herself as a driven woman after all and William couldn''t help but agree in part. But he also felt that someone or something was pulling his strings ever so slightly. He also was taken back to that dream in the ocean of blood he had long ago. In the game lore, the Ocean of wrath was a regular body of water if a bit turbulent due to the Rage-that-Dwells spirit. The words he heard sounded familiar yet didn''t. Lucrezia found it strange how he didn''t believe there could be gods on Earth, and if that was real then it raised questions William frankly was afraid to even ask! he was a teenager for christ''s sake, not some bloody philosopher! Staying on what he knew was the best way to deal with this, Lucrezia had agreed with him on that point, the academy and capital would give the two of them every tool necessary to fix this fuck up. William had to assure the girl he wouldn''t be mad if he had to get stuck as a lich or some sort of soul entity. Of course, the plan was to get the right permissions to make a homunculus so William could transfer himself to it but failing that plan B and C were not that bad. Lucrezia often questioned him on this point and William couldn''t give the young woman a satisfactory answer on why he felt so strongly to right this wrong, he only felt it was horrible to steal the life of someone the way he did, even knowing it wasn''t his fault. But it would take time, time and sweat, and blood to arrive there, this road will be paved with sacrifice and William was ready to see it through its grim end. Chapter 22: This road I Walk "In death, We shall have no remorse" Orcish warcry was first spoken by High Warlord Horus in the final battle against the sea elves. In the Month of the Deep, the equivalent of July on Earth, the people of the north had an ancient tradition of giving a single item dear to them to the Abyss, a place deep into the sunless seas in the far north of the continent. William stood by the docks where the ship hauling the items was being loaded, many had come and many more would in the rest of the day. He took a piece of his diary, a page with his name his true name in English, and placed it there. The symbolism wasn''t missed by Lucrezia who had at this point learned both English and Spanish from William''s memories. She had asked why and he replied that it made him feel as there was a piece of him in the world, strange as that sounded. Lucrezia hummed in thought but didn''t ask more. The Spirits had given him a final deadline on Winter''s End. In the fifth of the Month of Algorius, it would arrive in the duchy. He relayed the news to his people and the efforts had redoubled in speed. The south district had gotten more workers from the underground city as that was nearly done and in three weeks it would be fully restored and up to muster when the storm hits. William in the meantime kept his army training schedule, Erwin had him play wargames with most of his Captains and other Senior members of the Knighthood. Wilson also joined in and even Idun and Veronica came over to give William their own pointers. Veronica in particular was keen on having Emilya learn a thing or two when it came to warfare so the princess was always there which made these wargaming sessions become impromptu Magi-Tech teaching classes as well. "I must confess Duchess, the fact the first prince will be deploying a veritable army of mercenaries is troubling... The last war we had with your folk was just the Knights and Champions fighting against us. Sorry, I can''t give you more pointers" William wondered why the Magenta''s leader was helping him so much and asked Emilya the reason to which the elven princess replied. "Because you "got me" into getting my feet wet with the timeless art of war my dear" she sighed as she finished eating the second pizza on the table, Emilya was a fan of spiced toppings and the chef was more than happy to indulge her. "She had the stones to eat unlike your northerner folk," he said when asked by a staffer. "I''ll admit it''s not being horrible like back home since we are among friends and Idun is there most of the time. Plus watching how you use the new weapons is fascinating to watch in all honesty. Here we have something that will shake the face of warfare even after the mages get to balance the odds and it is like you had years upon years of knowledge on when to ambush and when to charge, how to deal with the more unique Knights from the different families that are allied with the First Prince..." she paused to clean her hands "It''s been fun, don''t let Veronica know otherwise mom and dad will never let me live it down" William smiled and promised the Princess he wouldn''t tell Veronica. Another part of the training was commanding people in the field, Erwin decided to start big and William was mostly "fighting" against him and Sigr¨²n usually with men-at-arms and musketeers while his opponents were Knights. Sometimes Idun would send his men to train as well and once several Dragonkin joined the training. William later had learned Kallista had asked Erwin to train them in the ways of the Duchy in case the ones migrating to the city got the urge to fight in the upcoming battle. The fight against the Magi-Tech Vanguard was by far the worst one William had, they were almost immune to musket fire due to their new armor made by Idun and his forgers and their spears and maces had mana crystals embedded into them, arcs of lighting and force bolts weren''t that hard to dodge when one or two were fired at you but a full 20 men pike wall? William had to personally fight them more than once and it was in those fights his battle lust nearly drove him to the edge. "One of the better ways to control the Lust variant is knowing how to predict your triggers" Sidr¨²n said after the first few battles " From what I and Erwin saw yours are; being against bad to unwinnable odds. leading the charge and going for melee attacks like grabs and chokeholds... Which means no more throwing your ax like it''s a Javelin you hear me? I''ll have Idun tell his people to build something for you so you stop this foolishness, you are no sword saint from the shogunate Lady Lucrezia. No Ki to pull the weapon back like they do" William said nothing, just hanged his head in shame. It was too much fun throwing that bloody thing and he loved the skill in the game that let him dunk on mobs so it would be hard to lose that particular part of his muscle memory. The battles against the Dragonkin were standard skirmishes against Magi-Folk, heavily dependent on their own magic and ambush tactics. According to the Knight Commander William had engaged with them with glowing passing marks. "My Lady had you be the second or even third born I would send you to the Capital just so the High Priest could bless you. all the makings of a fine general I gotta say" Erwin said in an almost dad-like manner to him, something Sigr¨²n had already told William about as the man saw him as a Daughter. After a warm but somewhat awkward pat on the head, William gave his thanks to everyone and went back to the castle, As Saa''ryu had sent a message to him asking for his council on dire matters.
The very air inside the castle warped and weaved as pulses of divine energy invisible to all but William emanated from the room where the people who came to speak with William stayed. Flashes of intense pleasure burned into his mind before it all stopped, like a tap being closed. Leaving William and Lucrezia shaken. "Damnation!" Lucrezia exploded in his mind. William could feel the reason why. She wanted more, and a part of him he was fighting every day to keep it bottled wanted it as well. "Focus Lucrezia, Focus otherwise we won''t be able to control it" He spoke to her and all he got was a grunt of confirmation, the young woman knew better than him what happened to those who lost themselves to the Blessing of Saal''Xhir after all. It was quite common with both low and high nobility in Vermilion and other countries. One case, in particular, came to mind. "Leon D''Vaultan" William whispered to himself in his bath. thanks to his training and focused mind he could finally enjoy a decent bath without feeling horrible about himself and Lucrezia. Something she thanked every god she knew which was quite funny. "Son of the Baron D''vaultan you mean? what''s with him?" Lucrezia asked. "He gets a Greater Blessing by our favorite Goddess and turns the training grounds his family has into sacred grounds for Saal''Xhir. His father and Grandfather in the game were this close to remove him from the family but he had a political marriage or something of the sort that gave him enough protection to dodge them. I can''t recall the nitty-gritty details but the quest involving the man has you either turning him into a High Priest of Saal''Xhir or working as a mercenary for his father and well..." William didn''t continue, Lucrezia got the message. "The D''Vaultans were Knights you know? before moving to Nobility the whole family fought as early as the wars against the remnants of the sea elven empire. It''s no wonder they would put a hit on their own blood for besmirching their honor" Lucrezia said in a somber mood "What sort of person is he?" she asked. William rested his head in the very fancy pillow the bath had and said "He had few lines, but from what I remember he was genuine in his faith. Doing the other path to the quest always felt bad for me" He responded. "Time to meet the High Priestess then, faster we get this done the faster we can back to not twist in agony" Lucrezia said with a bit of humor to her tone.
High Priestess Sabrina Larazar was enjoying the second Pizza that a very serious maid had delivered to her. It didn''t take a miracle to notice whoever was running security for the newly minted Duchess had deployed people with enough protection to bar her Greater Succubi charms to entice them to get some good information, not that she was going to do that mind you. It would be terribly rude and unbecoming. Especially to someone, her lady wanted more than anything lately. The council had gotten the revelation a day later after the news that the north had broken from Uumaries dictatorship masquerading as faith and what had to be the stuff of fantasy books chosen Velkarius as their new patron. That bird fucker and her peasant-loving ally Friede had both made their moves and Uumaries lost a strong city to Friede''s fiery revenge. Said bird fucker was also at times allies with her lady Saal''Xhir and this was THE opportunity the church needed to establish themselves outside of the central region of Vermilion, their grand cathedral was good and all, but they needed to penetrate deeper into the country and the north was prime real estate for it. Then the revelations told them about the curse, Uumaries horrible theft of their lady''s grand Blessing. But the bad news ended there, for the 18th birthday of the new Duchess was in the month spears and thus the curse would blossom into a Greater Blessing! A high noble, the last heir of the Ancient house of Wulfgrem who founded the kingdom? this was a noble the rest of polite society couldn''t bully into obscurity as they did with the poor kid from that baron feller who was nothing but a meathead still, Sabrina was a bit weary since the north had a strong influence from that prude Goddess and she couldn''t be certain the populace wouldn''t drive her away. Something that didn''t happen at all, she was welcomed but stern but weary-looking soldiers with the new weapons she had heard about. as soon as she got off the Highway they processed her and it only took mentioning she was sent by her church for a carriage to pick her up and deliver to the palace. "Guess it wasn''t just my Lady she is courting favors huh?" Sabrina said inside the carriage. And her guess was right in the money, before whoever was in charge of the maid staff deployed the stern-looking maids she had caught whispers and gossip about numerous gods and goddesses sending their people. The young Duchess was trying to fast track her lands into something more it seemed, uncommon but it happened from time to time. "Lady Lucrezia will see you know, please follow me" Sabrina felt something strange about this maid, from the shogunate by her face and the way she moved without making a sound. Like every step was calculated and ready for a fight. The woman opened the doors to the throne room and in there sat a beautiful young woman with striking azure eyes and blonde hair that was almost ashen gray, her face told a myriad of tales but the body told Sabrina more. the High Priestess let out a small gasp. Saal''Xhir above that was Fleshwarping! she also felt the lock on top of the curse, barring it from taking full effect in Lucrezia''s mind and body. made by Velkarius. One that wouldn''t last either. made to run out a day before the Blessing ceremony, smart Sabrina thought. that won''t be seen as a direct attack on her Lady''s blessing by the bird fucker and they get to have an important asset in the material world. But the sheer lust the young woman held inside made Sabrina sweat, something more was keeping her in line and she was afraid to find out. The young woman sighed and said "I''m sure you can see the ritual on the top of the curse, I want to assure you and your Goddess that this is not an attack on her but a stopgap measure so I can run my lands and people without having...Embarrassing incidents. I''m not a prude nor A follower of Uumaries as I''m sure you and your church know" Sabrina could feel Lucrezia''s sincerity and in part related to her. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. You can''t run a duchy if you are having orgies every day of the week after all. "I''m sure Lady Saal''Xhir understands Your Highness" Sabrina said with a smile. "So Priestess Sabrina, I have a favor to ask to you and your church" Lucrezia said to her. Sabrina tensed up, something told her this was going to be huge. "I need a way to control crime in my lands, now that the situation is dire thanks to the Storm the criminal elements have yet to take root but later they will and I want to be on top of it. Now I understand that your church runs brothels and drug dens yes? and your priesthood can keep the Fallen who bless petty thieves and drug lords away so much in fact the biggest reason Uumaries and her people haven''t throw your folk from the capital is due to that yes?" Sabrina was somewhat impressed, not only Lucrezia saw her and her people in a good light but she had also done her homework on them! she knew what the Duchess was gonna ask and by the Gods, the answer would be a resounding yes. "Build your temples here, preach the word and weed out any would-be ruffian from my lands and my Duchy will ally itself with your church and Goddess. The only demand I have is that you must screen everyone that goes in. This was Uumaries country so you will be breaking more than a few marriages that Goddess blessed even if they are toxic and should be unmade, there''s so much I can control when it comes to civil unrest" Lucrezia took a deep breath "And I will need support from the main Cathedral when I make my way to the Capital for the Academy" Sabrina kneeled and praised her Goddess, for this was nothing short of a miracle! "Thank you Lady Lucrezia!" she said in earnest. "The council will be more than happy to meet your demands! Goddess be praised I couldn''t hope for better news" and she really couldn''t, at best she hoped for a room in the palace for their missionaries but Brothels and Dens? that was nothing short of winning big in the gambling tables at the main cathedral! Sabrina felt chills running down her spine as Lucrezia laughed softly and spoke "Now come, let me show you where the church will be built"
It felt strange to William seeing someone from the game after so long. Sabrina was the first High Priestess the player had access to and served as a bridge for much of the high-level content at the start of the late game. This Sabrina wasn''t the battle-hardened Paladin he knew though, Someone who had lost friends and loved ones to a small but bloody series of conflicts Uumaries would wage upon Saal''Xhir''s people. It dawned on William that without support from the north''s enthralled leadership, Uumaries lacked the means to launch the said assault, and William had saved countless small churches and regular folk. People who had nothing to do with the Divine game of power but were killed all the same by Uumaries''s faithful. It was a grim realization, the amount of blood he and Lucrezia had spilled and would in the future had saved lives, real tangible lives who wouldn''t be cut down due to unnecessary warfare. And yet it felt like the price was too big, was this his old-world morality clashing with his new reality? all the killing he and Lucrezia had done haunted him in nightmares. Not every day mind you but every once in a while William would remind himself of the faces of the people he cut down, the sheer horror in their faces. And the filling of bliss and rightfulness he felt while doing so. Lucrezia had assured him she would keep him tethered, that he wouldn''t slip further into this sorry state but he had doubts, especially knowing that she was taking a much bigger interest in his memories beyond the game stuff. Sabrina had assured him that the blessing would ease up after Lucrezia''s birthday. the High Priestess was more than happy when William showed her the grounds for the church and dens, both in the city and underground and she had already drafted a letter to send more of her people to the duchy. It was a necessary distraction from the honestly depressing shit he kept ruminating whenever he had free time in his hands, Lucrezia and the rest of his friends noticed this surge in activity as he refused to stop even for a second as the days went by. From Magi-Tech classes with Idun and Emilya to harder training exercises with Erwin and the Dragonkin. in this rush to drown out the negative thoughts that plagued William he started to personally help with the pipe laying across the city under the excuse of mastering his Magnetism and taking Magical classes with Wilson to "not his Ice Magic fall to the wayside" culminating with more than half to the city having its heat pipes ready and him being able to do higher-level magicks. "An Ice and Iron halo Lady Lucrezia? Fancy and more importantly stable framework for your spell shaping and casting. If you keep at it I''m sure the Arch-Mage himself will visit you haha" Wilson said after William reached the "peak" of what was possible with his mana reserves, he could also throw high-velocity high penetration Ice Lances now, a mid-tier spell and favorite of his from the game since it was versatile against several enemy types. "With the number of Blessings we will get I wager anything short of a battalion of Arcane Knights and Knight-Spectres will be able to take us down" William told Lucrezia who was appalled at the thought of having Knight-Spectres being deployed against her, those were bad news after all and were only used when shit was dire. "It''s not just that, Knight-Spectres are a highly classified unit only High Nobility and the Royals can even know about! the fact your game just tells people they are a thing is just...I don''t know how to even say it" Lucrezia told him. "Weird?" William said. "Yeah, we can go with weird" Lucrezia replied. And that was that when it came to the secret police that watched over the many Knight orders of Vermillion. William couldn''t help but be wary of them after all they were gonna whack the first prince and that''s a good reason as any to deploy those spooks. It was with that reasoning he called Saa''ryu to his room in the dead of the night. The woman was tired William could tell, her usually cheery face was downcast and heavy eyebags were in full display. "Yes Lu? how can I help you?" she asked straight to the point. "I need you to contact the Owl and hire a few of your people to patrol the Duchy. Yes, I understand that it''s been years since you contacted him but this isn''t a request. It''s an order as your Duchess" Saa''ryu stood quiet for a few seconds before nodding "Well then I have good news for you Lu, It''s already done" she gave a small chuckle. "What you mean it''s already done? it takes a good deal of coin to hire his assassins and...Oh, he heard about us due to the uprising and sent scouts heh" William smiled, out of all the NPCs who could train the game''s protagonist the Owl was his favorite, his stealth playthrough of the game was a great mixture of fun and challenging gameplay. "That''s a relief then, tell whoever he sent I''ll prepare a bottle of his favorite booze from the shogunate when I move to the capital, I believe it''s still the Dragonspring''s sake yes?" William asked as he got up to drink some water only to hear Saa''ryu gasp. Oops. "William...what did I tell you about spilling shit you weren''t supposed to know like that?!" Lucrezia roared in his head. "I''ll...I''ll tell him that Lu, now if you excuse me I really need to sleep" Saa''ryu quickly removed herself from the room and left him to wonder if he had just fucked up big. "An issue to future Lucrezia to deal with it" he spoke out loud and went back to bed. "That''s not funny!"
Hraax of the Diamond Reefs had just finished talking in length with her mother the Queen about many matters concerning the land walkers and their young ruler, the Queen was impressed with the mettle and convictions of Lucrezia. To kill her own Kin in the name of the people and the land was no small feat but it marked her as a true ruler who would bring prosperity to her and her allies. Hraax knew the old Queen lacked the many sensibilities of the land walkers, after all the culture deep in the oceans was always in favor of the strong. Of the ones who strike first and strike hard. But Hraax could feel that Lucrezia harbored great unrest inside of herself. She had witnessed the many times the Duchess would go dead silent as she was communing with the many spirits and ghosts around her. According to the court''s Necromancer, they would haunt the woman for weeks before letting go of their grudges but weeks had already gone by and still, Lucrezia would have these episodes. Still, she had found in the human an unlikely friend. It was like she had all the answers for Hraax''s questions even in matters regarding the reef''s unique culture and its denizens. From knowing the proper forms and greetings to even playing the modified wargame with Hraax''s bodyguards and one time herself. Who in honesty lacked the makings of a General. Something her mother agreed when later told about it. She engaged with them like they were old friends, but there was an air of separation in these interactions very few picked. Hraax was blessed with an increased perception according to her father and she seldom used it outside of patrols or mock fights, but in building the new port and interacting with Lucrezia she couldn''t help herself and analyzed the woman every time and she came to a profound and sad conclusion. Lucrezia was severely depressed. The land walkers called it the Silent''s Curse as a reference to the Silent Soldier from the Imperium. He was one of the first War Gods who tried to help his followers who suffered mental degradation due to the many centuries of warfare the Imperium waged. Of course, the word was more towards soldiers and people in the theater of war, and the Reef physicians called that shell shocked. Alas, the proper terminology was harder to spread due to the Gods. But the fact was that Lucrezia was in a one-way lane to severe depression and shell shock and Hraax was desperately looking for council to help her new friend. Sadly her people were ill-equipped to deal with human anatomy and neurology and short of hiring a human Mind Mage which was off the table Hraax was out of options. It was in the middle of this vortex of worry that she got a ping from one of the outposts of the reefs that led to open sea, she quickly made her way to the teleportation chamber in the castle and warped to the tower. Crab mermen saluted her with their swords and spears as the commander of the tower outpost came to talk with her. "My Lady just now we spotted Imperial warships in the distance, five of them in fact and that''s not it. News of outpost Rhyz just arrived that three more longships of Imperium making are also on the way" he saluted her "These ships are not part of their navy and spot this coat of arms in their sails" he pulled a crystal that showed the image of twin axes and a sea dragon body. "By the deep! it''s the Northern raiders!" Hraax had to control herself to not panic, what in all hells those madmen were doing so far from their isles!? "Commander! send wave riders to greet both of them, these are Diamond Reef and Wulfgrem waters and I will be damned if I let some Imperium or Raider scum get past us without a fight!" The soldiers at the fort cheered their princess as the commander blew a mighty coral horn. Giant manta rays showed up and spoke in unison "Sir!" "Unit Copher you are to intercept and parley with Imperium and Raider ships in these coordinates" he pulled a crystal that bloomed into light, a map of the region around them forming from the light show. "May the deep protect you all" the manta rays exploded forward with incredible speed as Hraax gave them a small prayer of protection.
A roaring boom followed by five more echoed in the test range at the Magi-Tech underground fortress, Lucrezia was sweating as Idun carried his limp body to a bench near them. "Fuck me It worked holy shit it fucking worked" Idun heard the one his god had anointed as savior and most likely leader of the church curse like she was a dwarven sailor. A rarely seen side of the young Duchess he found while teaching her the fine workings of Magi-Tech. She loved to swear, getting angry, and complain loudly as some sort of release mechanism she explained to him once. While he and his people would pray to clear their minds she had a far more Human reaction Idun smiled a little. "I wouldn''t say it''s actually ready for field use Lady Lucrezia" Idun pointed to the many parts where the design was flawed, where they took shortcuts and such "It will take months to fine-tune it to that original vision we had back in the meeting" This new weapon Lady Lucrezia and he had brought to life was nothing short of amazing, the Magi-Tech Cannon prototype took weeks of constant work but at last, they had it. Still, Idun felt a bit fearful, he and Lucrezia knew that had she waited for her Blessing, making the weapon would be far easier and stable. But the young ruler was getting anxious about the Storm and decided to rush the project with various rituals she learned from her library. These rituals enabled Idun to tap way deeper into his faith and manifest stronger miracles that would take thousands of followers to achieve. The cost was severe, for days the dwarf felt like pure death together with Lucrezia''s whose fair skin was almost translucent but through thick and thin they managed to finally build the weapons. In these fever days, Idun was bombarded with flashes of other Magi-Tech items, cannons that could hit a target from up to 50 kilometers, man-portable shell spilling tubes capable of laying localized charges. He also saw muskets able to fire continuously, great metal birds flying high and spitting fire and steel below them, and huge warships laying wastes to beaches and the enemies hidden there. Pure distilled warfare was so strong and so raw it felt like the only thing that matter was the pursuit of knowledge to better kill one another. An eternal machine of war and death perfect across centuries of bloody combat. Fear gripped him, a fear primal that spoke against these visions. As if his very being was anathema to whatever reality conjured those grim flashes. And on the last day, he saw a great sun above the land. it flattened buildings and turned people into dust, their shadows burned into the ground as some sort of evil display of power, maddening power that kept asking for more and more blood and violence. Idun wasn''t stupid or blind enough to not understand what this meant. Whatever knowledge Lucrezia had of warfare was drawing from that cursed river of blood and there would be heavy consequences if they went all the way in. Back home he heard in hushed whispers about the scientists and folk of learning who tapped into these taboo ways. It was said that in the days leading to the final battle against the Grannarius''s hordes the Queen of Vermilion allowed them to unleash some of those forbidden weapons. Where usually these people would be branded Heretics and hunted down by inquisitors now they worked together with the Knight Army of Vermillion and the devastation they wrought gave enough momentum to the Queen to personally attack the Elven capital and end the war. He watched Lucrezia as a maddening glint in her eyes took hold of her. no doubt she had seen the same visions but unlike him, she wasn''t quaking in fear or praying for absolution, no she was smiling in sadistic glee and bloodlust. Idun gave his god a silent prayer. He knew the second he joined Lucrezia he would not become someone who would go down in the history books as some sort of paragon of virtue. He had aided the woman in the kin slaying and a coup for All-Father''s sake! and now that the punitive force of the first prince was hot on their heels he would suffer the same fate of whoever helped her. Death. And he wouldn''t go down quietly and cry, no. He and his people would go down as survivors and fighters, clawing and kicking even at their last breath left their bodies. First Prince Galius and his army could count on that. Chapter 23: We walk it Together until the end. "This is our home. our lives. And I will not allow you to destroy it all!" The first King of Vermillion in the final duel against the Sea Elf Autarch "Master Idun, the twins informed me that the tunnel for the port is done, and the preparation for the upcoming ships is also done. The Imperials will have their accommodations ready by the time they arrive" An orc said to Idun and William as they finished another Magi-Tech session. William was close to making a holographic map, a foolish endeavor according to Idun who said regular maps were good enough but he was dead set to do it. After all, what''s the point of magic if you can''t have some cool gadgets? "Your Holiness...Lucrezia I have a bit of grim news for you" Idun spoke up after the orc left. William placed his prototype map on top of the workstation and turned to the dwarf, he was looking way more hale lately. "Speak freely Idun," William said. "More workers are having those visions I told you about, they are afraid we will anger Morugarius with the new weapons..." The dwarf looked mighty uncomfortable. William raised his hands seeking to calm him. "As long we don''t make the Sun Bringer we shall not be victims of research and development sanctions by the Goddess of War, you can tell the men that" William spoke with confidence. "But how can you be so sure Lady Lucrezia?" Idun spoke perplexed, he failed to see how on all hells his lady could even fathom the inner workings of Morugarius. William stayed quiet for a moment, he couldn''t explain that he heard from a developer Q and A session that anything''s game on the world bar nuclear weapons without blowing his cover, much less explain how this "Sun Bringer" as the workers have begun to call it worked. Yes he had sent dwarfs clad in both magical and special clothing to the Infinite Mine below the castle with specifications on mining Uranium and they did get the blasted thing but he had no plans on actually going nuclear. Nor the Knowledge. So William decided to go for the old reliable lie he was using to these past few weeks. "Deep in the archives of my parent''s private library I found a book that had such information Idun, and as long we do not make such a weapon we are safe, trust me on this" It hurt William to lie to someone he had developed a liking but the alternative was oblivion to him and Lucrezia, so lie he would. Idun relaxed visibly, with a smile on his face he spoke "Then I''ll tell the men they can rest easy and double their prayers so the visions go away. Thank you Lady Lucrezia" he bowed and both moved to the door. "Now, how about we grab some pizza and check the underground port?" William asked as they walked through the halls of the underground fortress, more and more of the city folk had joined them and a church was being built to accommodate the new faithful. Even the mermen and the Dragonkin were among their ranks now. Another development brought from William''s world was the small (yet) number of trains and train stations underground for faster movement between tunnels, underground roads were also built for carriages but the workers all preferred the new places to relax after work as more businesses opened in these small hubs. Of note was the station near the port that had a number of the more rare mermen who preferred the depths show up to sell their wares. The trip there was without any exciting things to see or hear, William quickly talked with the person in charge and took notes, interviewed a few workers on their needs (most wanted better gear for the cold and brine, something he could buy from Silverbrand) and spoke with the Freya who was getting ready for the final push in the tunnel. they were eating another pizza in her "quarters" which had a basic bed and stone roof. "Salutations on the dealings with the churches and their priesthood Lucrezia, it''s no small feat get those of the cloth to work together from what I''ve heard from the merchants back in the Village" she took another slice and ate it in a flash "But this, Spirits of the land this is your best invention ever! Hells you might even get revered as a deity thanks to it!" Freya gave a hearty laugh and looked towards the many workers talking and making merry around them. "You know we were going without new druids for almost 50 years? and in less than 1 you brought more city elves to the Village than we had ever seen before, I and my sister get to finally flex our geomancy skills, and that old fart Gabriel has some new blood to teach" she held William''s hand and with a whisper said "Thank you for this, it means much more than you can even begin to comprehend" She then let his hand go and started eating another slice, William could only smile and nod. "A no better chance to ask for the touching of the ear William" Lucrezia whispered to him with barely contained glee "Oh my god Lucrezia, No! just No!" He fired back with indignation and outrage. "Heh, yeah right sure dude" she laughed "You just ruined this very touching moment you two-bit villainess, you are the worst Lucrezia!" "Love you too William"
"Die!" William screamed as he cleaved a Demon Wolf in half with his ax. Erwin had him solo hunt a sizeable pack of the things who constantly pestered farmers and shepherds all year long as a way to fine-tune his Battle Lust and avoid William''s pitfalls. Cleaning his ax with a spell William took a moment to meditate and center himself, he was using a common Skill employed by squires but instead of forming a bubble of Ki around him he did the same with his Ice mana. At worst, it took him 20 seconds to center himself, but he was shaving off seconds as the hunt dragged on. Unlike a regular enemy, there was no pleasure to have in hunting an animal that only did what it did to survive the brutal winter of the north. "Five more then we can ride home Duchess!" he heard Erwin scream from far away "Use magic this time!" He was having William alternate between melee and magical combat as Lobbing spells and using his elemental powers was way less taxing on his mental defenses against the Battle Lust. There was no solid explanation for it according to Erwin, William himself only knew about the fever and lust variants via 1 line lore books in-game. According to the man, It''s a case-by-case scenario, he knew a few battlemages who had the Fever variant in the last war against Grannarius so he figured William was Immune to the magical side of the effect, and it only worked when he got up close and personal. The Lust variant on the other hand had a solid and tested explanation and thanks to Sigr¨²n they were in the know what it was. "In short Lady Lucrezia, your lust is being bottled up for far too long and it seeks any way to be released, that you got cursed by Uumaries was the final nail in that coffin" she had told him and Erwin. The poor man looked lost in pure tactical genius, called for a withdrawal, and left him and Sigr¨²n alone. "What are you doing standing around staring at nothing in the middle of this blasted Blizzard William?! get a move on I wanna be within walls with a nice fire going for All-Father''s sake" Lucrezia roared on his mind "Stop squirming about that talk with the two earlier gods! we know it they know it, it''s ok" "I''m just a bit ashamed that''s all, jeez a man can''t even take some time off to self-reflect" William fired back. "Not in the middle of a godsdamned blizzard! now get a move on!" she spoke again. Sighing William hopped into his flying sheet of iron and flew towards the 5 wolves who were munching off a Dire Moose, William couldn''t help but be impressed, to take down a Dire variant of a Moose took skill and power but these 5 wolves managed to do it. A good fight was on the horizon as he silently floated upwards right above the leader of the pack. Summoning his mana he pulled 2 small flasks from his clothes and threw their content in the air. Immediately, William used Magnetism to shape his spell. Wicked lances of steel formed as he strained himself to perfect the mana flow and add a new spell Wilson helped him recreate from the game. The player could add damage over time elements to their magical projectiles. Tinging the steel with Magma Crystal essence extracted before this training session. The steel lances morphed and their tips had an intense orange hue to them, William was starting to feel the drain on his mana reserves as he dropped the grisly new spell on the wolves and let gravity do most of the work, only adding a bit of impulse and course-correcting the projectiles. The wolves didn''t even get to howl in pain, the Lances removing their heads clean off one by one. Willam dropped down and took their teeth as proof of the killings and walked back to Erwin. He felt no lust rising to him only the cold winter winds on his cheeks. "We oughta use magic more William" Lucrezia said to him dead serious. "I hear you" William said with a laugh.
William was alone in the innermost room of the Spirit Wing of the castle, he was meditating when The Sword came taking the shape of an Elf "What worries you, Wulfgrem''s last?" It whispered to his ears. Wulfgrem''s last, that was what they were calling him now. It began shortly after he was done with the hunting trip when he saw a trio of Druids casting spells in the middle of the Castle Plaza, a lifelike statue of Lucrezia made out of Silver and Enchanted Ice. When he questioned the druids about it they told him it was by the order of the spirits that they were building it. They cast a strange-sounding spell, one William hadn''t heard in the game which immediately put him on high alert. He felt a small pull from his mana reserves as a roaring blue flame appeared inside the statue. The druids explained then, that the Spirits had ordered that to keep track of William''s health, and should he fall in battle the flame would go out. He thanked the druids and went to the Spirit Wing. "Why did you have that statue built? What''s its purpose?" He asked It. "A reminder to the people, soon you will depart these lands and our protection will not be as strong as it should. In the south many an enemy lie and we can naught but watch from afar" The Spirit sounded tired and sad "The Statue will be a beacon, a reminder, and a warning. should you fall the people will rise to avenge you who stood by them at their darkest hour while the world watched" William sighed. He knew the Sword was the most vengeful of the triad but he was taken aback by this plan of his. It would lead the entire duchy to a bloody war after all. He had no intentions of leaving the Kingdom even if he was gonna kill the first Prince. "And the other two? They agreed to this?" William asked "Yes" The Spirit spoke with power and conviction "We have seen your new weapons and machinery Wulfgrem, mayhap you have tricked the people of their true design but not me, and certainly not my brother and sister" The room grew colder, The Sword became a huge greatsword made out of black ice and it hovered right in front of William''s face. "Warfare, every single thing you made was tailored to war and carnage, so strong is the lust for battle inside of you the Conqueror''s Children have moved their people to be in your graces. I''m no stranger to War child of men, the fire that burns in you has burned in your antecessors before. Nay, it burns in a way scant few have seen but that''s the point" "You want them to rally under me in a way it would make them as fierce as me then?" William got chills, he knew that Spirits were very protective of the people they cared for but he didn''t think it would be this strong. "Maybe it''s you, it is said they follow the mood of the land, and we have been very much on a ''Fire and War'' mood for a while now" Lucrezia gave her two cents while William waited for the Eldrich entity to finish his piece. "The point, Wulfgrem is that we cannot suffer another catastrophe. The land and its people must know should you die in the south." The Sword finished and William was left feeling overwhelmed still, he had made a pact with the Spirits and thus couldn''t complain about their ways. He wasn''t planning on dying in the south either. "And the storm?" He asked the Spirit "It grows stronger by the hour, but your preparations should work against it. To which we thank you Wulfgrem" The Sword replied, now back to its regular-sized form. "We have also made sure the animals of the land will live through it. But the vast majority is under the protection of smaller Gods so our work is mostly focused here, we will defend the city against the brunt of the storm" The Spirit turned its form to the window where it could see the great clouds. "Thank you" William said in earnest, knowing the countryside enjoyed protection his city didn''t was still a thorn to his side but that was his lot, his Divine patrons couldn''t help him in earnest until his Blessings and thus it fell to the spirits to pick up the slack. He had tried asking for Karl or Idun to call their gods to help, but he got a flat no. It had to be him due to reasons that were beyond his keen. Annoying but he would make do, that was what William always did whenever shit went south for him after all. Foot forward every day and if something fucks up you rush to fix it as best as you can. Now he had actual lives on the line so he had to keep his cool and move forward. For stopping meant the death of hundreds of thousands and damnation. Not to say whatever the fuck could happen if All-Father got wind of a Terran in his personal backyard. God help him if that were ever to happen.
Lucrezia stared at William who was basking in the sun on a bench. He had previously commented that he missed the warm weather so he took some time before going to sleep to warm himself. "You know this isn''t real heat right? It''s just mana and whatever mechanism a mortal soul runs to" Lucrezia told him, she was oddly annoyed at this carefree attitude of him for reasons beyond her reasoning. She could feel his emotions and a dark cloud of self-doubt plagued his more positive feelings, it bit at his heels every time he tried to focus away from it and it doing him nothing but harm. When she brought that up, William didn''t deflect or tried to joke about it to change the subject. No, he was honest with her and dropped his guard around her. In his words, he explained that he would get hit with bouts of intense depression every once in a while and generally stay locked up in his room wasting time. As his responsibility and duties increased, William had also bottled those feelings up but they were far harder to keep a lid on unlike his lust. "I know, It''s nice all the same. " He said with his eyes closed. "I can sense your feelings better now William, the deeper stuff you keep a lid on... It''s like I can almost grab it" Lucrezia finally said it, these past few days she had seen more memories of him and the melded ones where she replaced him. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. They were slowly running out of time and there was nothing they could do about it. "Don''t even think about it" William said from the bench, still with eyes closed. "What?!" Lucrezia responded with a jump "How?!?!" "It goes both ways Lucrezia, I can feel you poking around while I sleep you know?" he laughed "What did I tell you again? no Necromancy without the goddamn permit otherwise we are toast" He finished talking Lucrezia bit her nails in anger, damn this boy and his encyclopedic knowledge of her world! it wasn''t fair! she knew that the second they attempted any sort of unregulated Necromancy spell the ripples would trigger a response that would get The Unbroken to send his assassins to her doorstep. But Lucrezia was getting impatient and nervous about the merge of late. It was also that time of the month and the hormones were wrecking both of them something fierce, William who already was on a razor''s edge was barely keeping it together and those feelings trickled down to her in waves. If you asked her a few years ago if a boy of his age could be this complex when it came to emotions, Lucrezia would''ve laughed and said no but it was in these intimate moments and sharing of his deepest emotions that she truly saw the depth of his character. He was wounded by those he trusted the most, denied his chance at regular life, and whisked away to an alien world only to be put in charge of people he owed nothing. Lucrezia felt small for making demands but she would do it anyway, William had a bad case of Hero''s Syndrome, and if she had to play Villainess to his Heroine Gods above she would! Of course, it was easier said than done, after all, she lacked the proper mindset to act like one or even knew what it entrails since his ideas of a villain and hers were totally different, alas Lucrezia felt the need to be William''s rock, to ground him should he get too full of himself in this hero''s charade. Could she call it a charade? he was doing good work, wasn''t he? so half charade then. "I can feel you squirming right there Lucrezia, spill it out already it''s getting annoying, really" He said getting up and stretching himself. "Not subtle are you?" She fired back at him "We can''t do subtle when our emotions are plain to see, can we? no beating around the proverbial bush when it comes to you and me" He began doing weapon stances. Training the movements helped him solidify the knowledge better according to him and also as an escape valve for his emotions. "I''m afraid you will lose yourself in all of this William, this life of nobility and rulership. Power may corrupt you" Lucrezia decided to be as honest as she could, otherwise, he would pick up in her emotions. She felt his emotions mixing up. Surprise, outrage, anger, and relief all tinged with an undercut of that sorrow of before, William finished a fancy ax attack and was sucking up the air as he had just run a marathon, part of it was for the show she knew but he was also actually tired and that carried over to this realm. It was weird in a way but she had grown used to it in this past week since the boy was tired all the time. "Thank you Lucrezia, for caring and looking out for me. I''ll trust you to keep me in line and to not lose focus of our goal alright? I know my word doesn''t mean-" "It means! Gods you daft man your word means something!" Lucrezia cut him off before he could finish that foolish statement "It''s just you and me William, your word means everything you hear?" Lucrezia felt her face get hot but she didn''t care, she then noticed a small thread of happiness in William''s feelings, and with a smile, he spoke. "Thank you"
The days marched on, it was hectic in a boring way. Which to William was the best way this city renovation business could be. The work on the homes was nearly done including the south district. According to his civil engineers, they were just ironing out any issues now and running stress tests on the whole infrastructure. A wonder of Magi-Tech it was. Willaim and the dwarves went around blessing specific points of it and many joined in, Lucrezia even joked that he might become a High Priest himself if this got any bigger. When he told her that was the plan she was silent for a minute before calling him an "Ambitious Peasant" which made the boy laugh. All that was missing was a stereotypical hohoho laugh track. Sitting on the throne by himself after a meeting with Karl, William caught himself thinking of the recent changes with Lucrezia after their last talk. He wasn''t dumb to not notice the young woman had feelings for him and it terrified him. Would she act outside of their plans to return things to normal? sabotage it somehow to perpetuate this state they were so she would never "lose" him? One thing Lucrezia hadn''t realized yet but William knew all too well the deep-seated jealousy that burned inside of her game counterpart. That one targeted the third prince, but what if he fell under the sights? He sighed, assuming the worst and seeing the worst in people was always one of his flaws, even in this incredulous situation he was in he still fell victim to old habits. A part of him was delighted in that he found out, he hadn''t lost it to the many new emotions and acts of this not-so-new world. It terrified him, that small part of him at how easy it was to take life here, it felt good in a sickly way. The ghost of the pleasure haunted him every day demanding more blood to be spilled by his hands so it could be out of his system. Erwin''s training sessions and Gabriel''s potions blunted it but nothing more after that. A slip and he was already itching for it like a drug-addicted fiend. It would be easy for William found, to blame the world, its magic, and even their culture for this change but William was never once to be able to fully lie to himself. Deep inside he knew that it was Him who killed those Knights that did horrible things to Erwin''s family, it was Him who murdered in cold blood Lucrezia''s parents to appease the crowd and win back their trust. And it would be the same when the first prince arrived. The day his armies marched in Wulfgrem lands it would be the day he would kill that demon in men''s flesh and his cronies. Making peace with this side of him was proving hard. The weight of the lives he took and was yet to take crushing in his mind but William would do it anyway. There would be no empty platitudes to spout this time, he would do what was right and that would be it. In his nightmares, William would often see the faces of NPCs from the game who were allied with the first prince''s faction. Many were good people who were only low-level knights and commanders, unaware of the evils Galius and their leaders had done. These Knights would die in his nightmares, killed by a beast covered in blood and rusted iron, and even if William attempted to slay the beast or stop the Knights they would eventually die. It only took a second repeat of the nightmare for William to understand what was going on. He was that beast, tearing through the battlefield Killing the "people" he knew from the game. It was hard for him to accept it at the beginning but as the days went by and the nightmare kept repeating itself he eventually did so and then it changed. Now it was him killing the people and it felt good, so good in fact he woke up moaning and sweaty thanks to it. Another issue to deal with it after the blessings, add it to the fucking list William thought with sarcasm and fury. With the meld slowly pushing itself forward William was feeling the dread of being "lost" setting in, he found himself staring at the storm and in his mind turning the event into a character that represented all of his personal and public problems. His relationship with Lucrezia, the playing of being a Duchess and pretending to be Lucrezia. His Battle Lust and warmongering ways, the battle against the first prince, and his punitive forces. And even the Gods playing their game and how he sat on that particular board. The spirits had told him the storm would hit them soon, but he saw no storm on the horizon. No William saw the amalgamation of everything that was poised against him and progress and how well his defenses would hold up against it. It was with these heavy feelings in his heart that he got the news from a maid that Hraax had called for an emergency meeting.
William was getting ready near the end of the port when Hraax showed up. She looked nervous but had a smile on her face. "Lucrezia, Mother, and Father won''t be able to give you the proper greetings today, they are marshaling the troops should the imperium bastards strike your islands" she bowed. William waved her concerns away "This is no time for ceremony my friend, Let''s go to this outpost you told me" Hraax nodded and cast a spell on him and Saa''ryu who stood by his side looking mean and ready to fight, her sisters had brought her old gear from the Owl''s headquarters. She was looking like a proper assassin now. It was weird William felt, watching Hraax cast the spell that would allow him to breathe and walk underwater felt familiar in a weird sort of way. It was like he could do the same but couldn''t at the same time. "It''s the Ice aspect of your mana pool, at the end of the day Ice is still water, if you talk with Wilson he can teach you how to tap into the Water aspect but it will take time" Lucrezia explained to him as William smiled. Something so basic and he forgot all about it. "Don''t beat yourself over it, we all forget about stuff all the time" Lucrezia tried to cheer him up. It didn''t really work but hey, the thought counts right? Right. "If you two could follow me" Hraax finished the spell and jumped in the water, William and Saa''ryu followed her, as they fell and hit the seafloor William''s vision grew sharper and he picked up many a form around him, all manner of mermen coming and going, some stopping to wave at him and other even calling their friends and pointing at them. Hraax walked fast and with her head up high and more than a few bowed to the Princess. According to his people, William knew how much the Magi-Folk of the Diamond Reefs respected the young Princess, she had fought in the decisive battle to free the land dwellers from their tyrannical ruler and single-handed reestablished trade and got the port to be rebuild. Suffice to say, Hraax was loved by her people. so when the news got out the Imperials were on their way the surge of people to the draft stations was something no one at the upper echelons of the Diamond Reefs could''ve predicted, so much so, that like Hraax mentioned, her father and mother had to step in to keep it all running smoothly. They arrived at a station where the huge manta rays William had read about in-game lived. these Magi-Folk were tailor-made for speed and hit and run tactics and today William would have the rare honor to ride on top of one of them. Something very few could due to their nature. "Name''s Euubly M''lady" the manta ray spoke with an accent William couldn''t rightly place "Ya might wanna hop on fast together with your lady friend there cause Fuujur over there wants back to the frontlines fast" he pointed to the other ray who was talking with Hraax. "Up we go then Saa" William sent mana to his feet and floated upwards together with Saa''ryu and sat on the back of the giant manta ray Euubly, he looked to the side and saw Hraax giving Fuujur something to eat that made him grow red lines across his body. they both flew by several mermen on the way to the outpost Hraax was in charge of and ready to meet the Imperium''s envoy. Not just the goddamn Imperium but the northern raiders as well, Fat fucking luck William had thought to himself. To get both of those rights as the storm was about to hit them! When Hraax gave him the news he was almost ready to call it quits, get a chariot to the nearest All-Father temple, and out himself right there and then. It took Lucrezia screaming at him to stop that plan. Panic always made him do stupid decisions. "We will be arriving shortly, the outpost I''m in charge of will have food ready for us so we can wait for the scouts to return!" Hraax screamed from her side, William nodded and took in the sights. It was amazing, to say the least, the gleaming reefs looked so pretty he wanted to touch it. He also saw great lava lakes in the depths, walking grazers the size of a double-decker bus walking in the seafloor and the shadow of a sea python even! Lucrezia was really happy with that last one, she was a fan of the sea pythons due to their inborn magical talents that could predict the future. Alas, they were stealth creatures who disliked the other races bothering them for future reading, thus they stayed in special pocket realms and only their shadows could be seen. William pointed to Hraax who made a cross sign with her arms. No talking with the future seeing snakes it seems, Lucrezia wasn''t happy with that part. They arrived at the outpost and were greeted by the crabman in charge, who quickly led William and Hraax to the barracks where they were prepping the food, all locally sourced stuff according to the chef. "My scouts are also prepping an island not far from here should we manage to parley with them, now usually I and my people wouldn''t bother but the Imperial armada and the raiders are sailing as one! something''s off here Lucrezia I can feel it" Hraax said as she devoured her dish with such speed it looked like the woman was trying to speedrun the damn thing. William took his time eating, it would take a good while for the scouts to come back from what he heard and he wanted to chill for a bit. the shock from the news was still on his system after all. It felt weird, eating underwater. He kept waiting for the water to choke him but whatever rules the spell labored under didn''t let that happen. He once again took on the sights, at first it was just an outpost. as he watched more closely he noticed the little details around the place. Stuff like the small diamonds decorating the watchtower, or how they kept spears made out of some sort of green coral around. A few of the Crabmen walked up to him making questions about the surface, they were polite enough until their commander barked at them to stop bothering William, Hraax had a hearty laugh at that exchange. As they finished their plates, William and Saa''ryu retired to Hraax''s room where they napped in hammocks. Hraax left them saying the spell would last for a few days so William didn''t have issues with sleeping.
Once again William found himself in the Sea of Wrath, the metaphysical manifestation of the Rage-that-Dwells entity. he walked along its shallows waters that burned his feet and ankles. William could feel the weight in his shoulders, that maddening desire to cut loose and destroy everything in his path to power. Endless bloodshed and war would consume the entire world. The Entity loved it, it sang to William as he walked. Alas, Lucrezia didn''t have the potential to tap into the deeper teachers like the game''s protagonist or Queen Malphas. But this power would go a long way to ease up the upcoming battles. There was fear inside of him, he didn''t want to lose himself after all. Useful or not what point there was to go further into the madness of war? William stood still until a familiar face plopped down on his side, her silver-gray hair and azure eyes staring defiantly at the waters that threatened to consume William. "Unbelievable, the Sea of Wrath... out of all things I''ve heard from you William this was the one I couldn''t really believe but now..." She walked up to him and poked him in the ribs. "Afraid?" Lucrezia asked "Yes" William responded Lucrezia took his hand and they walked forward. It felt like hours for William but the more he walked the more the pain went away and a surge of power took hold of his very being, he could also feel the madness close at bay but with Lucrezia''s help it stood there nipping at her defenses. They arrived at the ends of the shallow waters and found a simple stone stair leading deeper into the Sea. "I can feel the power denying us entry, a shame... if we had the powers of a Deeperegrine..." Lucrezia trailed off. "Thank you, Lucrezia, for everything" William said a little embarrassed, the young woman smiled at him and opened her mouth to speak when a clap of thunder exploded near them sending both to the waters.
Lucrezia watched in sheer existential terror as the membrane between planes and soul tore itself akin to a black hole she had learned from William''s memories, rays of pure white light blinding her vision as the Sea of Wrath screamed in bloody murder against whatever the fuck had just come in knocking. "The terror from beyond the stars" she whispered in fear as the light bent and sequestered William''s soul to somewhere. the fear in her was gone in a flash as she tapped into the Rage-that-Dwells and exploded forward towards his form, the whole sea urging her. Its power was neverending as she leaped in great sonic booms. The light, on the other hand, didn''t seem to care and after a few short but excruciating seconds Lucrezia''s soul dove right into William''s. Her world went dark. Lucrezia felt a range of emotions so strong her very being couldn''t handle it. It was like she was being judged again and again by thousand eyes and they all deemed her unworthy, yet she pushed forward kept lucid by the sheer power of the Entity, kicking and screaming, clawing and biting like a mad animal who would never give up. All-Father above she made a godsdammned promise and she would keep it, even if it costed her life! Light came again, and she found herself floating in an ocean of blood. Its coppery smell assaulting her senses so much she was almost knocked out. Then she felt a push. and a sense of Wrongness knocked the wind off her sails. This whole place was Wrong. Flashes of wars long gone and soon to be popped in her head, the screams, the rage, and madness. Soldiers losing themselves in bloodlust and breaking down after the combat was over. Again and again, as the wheel of war ground them to dust only to reform and being again. There was no reason for it, they had excuses she felt. convenient lies or not so convenient ones to bring destruction so great it would traumatize Gods themselves. Pure evil. Pure greed and no morals to hold them in check. The few that tried were quickly dispatched. Lucrezia screamed as the terror overwhelmed her mental defenses, she cried ugly tears as the coppery smell made her dizzy but it was at that moment where she was nearly lost that she saw William floating near her. A sense of purpose she didn''t know existed flooded her senses, the terror was pushed away deep inside as she rushed in the water, swimming as fast as she could to reach him. something told her that if she could wake him up this nightmare would be over! With a speed that would make mermen blush, Lucrezia arrived at the floating soul and grabbed his arm. That was when she felt the rays of blinding light coil right above her and after a tense few seconds, it did something she would never have imagined in her life. It talked. "x x x x x XXXX X X!" Lucrezia''s head hurt after hearing that unholy scream, it was an attack on both soul and body. Then it stopped and Lucrezia was lifted from the ocean of blood, a gentle wind cleaned her and a soothing warmth filled her hands and face. "X X X X...x x x XXX... Spawn of Faal, keep this one safe you will..." "XXXX ... Name... Zarueeel..." Lucrezia eye''s bulged as the Horror from beyond the stars gave its name to her, she knew what that meant as anyone with half a brain did. The power to summon it now lies with her and all the connotations of it. Never mind being damned to the hells, summoning something that strong would get her a personal visit of the All-Father''s elite Gods tailor-made to keep the realm safe, and that meant William''s existence being outed to the ruler of the universe. She didn''t have time to pounder more as William finally woke up and her world went black again.
William woke up feeling powerful, faster, and stronger. The power-up from the Rage-that-Dwells on the first level granted him peak performance for up to 10 minutes. Of course, the side effects left him unable to fight for the rest of the day. Only being tapping further into the Sea of Wrath would that nasty side effect be gone. Alas, Lucrezia was unable to, she told him that he attempted to walk down the stairs a clap of thunder knocked them out. Strange, but William never had read up the deeper lore of the mechanics so he added to the bigger list of things to read up when he got to the Capital. "On your feet Lucrezia, we have Imperials to meet" Hraax poked him hard, she had armor made out of diamonds and coral plates. In her hand a sword made of dragonbone of the same making of his Ax. Saa''ryu took William to a private room and dressed him up. He had Idun and his people to make new Magi-Tech armor for him and it looked wonderful, even had a little crown made of gears, the symbol of their faith. With his ax strapped to his back and The Sword summoned to his side William went forth to the Island where the representatives of the Imperium and the Northen Raiders waited for him. Is mind racing as the manta rays exploded with gusto. They exploded into the surface with flair, William saw the great black ships of the Imperium and the sigil of the Silent Soldier in their flags. further still, he saw the many longships of the raiders. Landing on the beaches of the island. Horns blared across the Island and two people came forward. The shield in the arm of the tall woman told Willaim that was the Legate of the 1st Legion, Paladins, and War Priests sworn to the Silent Soldier. Elites who are the spear whenever the Imperium''s enemies turn to Gods for help against the Imperium. The man that walked beside the Legate on the other hand looked like a hardy seaman, furs all over his body. His face was marked with tattoos proving he was chosen as leader of this multi clan raid. "Gods above this will be messy" Lucrezia said with a bit of sarcasm in her voice. William smirked and began to walk towards them. Time to finally meet the Imperials. Chapter 24: A Friend in Need "They all died sister, every single one of them charged wave after wave to take that bloody planet all the while chanting my name, not in desperation or fear. But in unbending faith" Augurios''s final exchange with his younger sister Morugarius. William walked towards the two people waiting for him, wondering what sort of magic was stopping both factions from fighting each other since the Northen Raiders and the Imperium were constantly at odds with each other. He knew the 1st legion was solely dedicated to the Silent Soldier, the patron deity of the empire. And that they were a sight to behold in the battlefield, being the only Legion to successfully beat Vermilion''s Royal Knights in the battle of Hammer''s Rise. That is until Queen Malphas personally got involved and broke their momentum, squaring off against an avatar of the Silent and besting the thing thanks to her mastery of the Rage-that-Dwells. William couldn''t for the life of him remember the name of the Centurion in charge, he mentally shrugged and focused on the Raider leader. Followers of Chou¡¯Xin, a part of the clans who raid the shores of the Imperium left their ways to eventually become the Wulfgrem in Vermilion. the War Chieftain had both the tattoos of a shaman and warrior. Weird William thought, shamans rarely leave their islands from what he recalled and only did so when their God tells them to do so, which could only mean one thing. "A War Blessing, congratulations are in order William" Lucrezia said to him "Still if this is what I think it is we have what? 6 Blessings? you know I think we could really use some sort of game system here, a stat menu would be handy" She trailed off. "No menus" William really wasn''t a fan of those. Still, he thought to himself, 6 goddamn blessings plus Magnetism? Each blessing would expand his mana reserves and All-Mother''s alone would be enough for him to unlock Electromagnetism. Fucking thunderbolts and lighting! power mages had to train for at the very least 5 years right at his fingertips! If he played his cards right, he would set traps to even cripple the First Prince''s army! That promise of power made William held a moan of pleasure as he reached the representatives. "Duchess Lucrezia, I''m Meridian, High Priestess and Centurion in charge of the 1st legion" She gave William a small bow. "War Chieftain Paarthan, Leader and shaman of the men and women you see Lady Lucrezia" He performed a hand and arm gesture that William did not know of. Likely religious in nature. "It is an honor to meet such esteemed individuals" William bowed and nodded to Hraax "This is Hraax of the Diamond Reefs, Princess and ruler of these seas" Hraax gave a small bow and spoke " It is not often we see Imperium ships in our waters and you people ought to give us a warning if this is to happen again. Standard protocol when it comes to your lot is blowing the war horn" William smiled at his friend ranting at the dignitaries, he raised his hand and Hraax got the hint. "Forgive my friend here, this amount of men in her waters was nothing short of a declaration of war in her eyes. Good that the truth is another matter completely eh my friends?" William pointed towards a place that Hraax''s people had prepared for the talks "Come, let us talk in a more comfortable setting" both followed William and took seats positive to one another, Saa''ryu not missing a beat prepared the table for them and in what William would never believe happening, both partook in the eating of seafood and beverages. "Nothing beats the crab from the north Silent be praised" Meridian spoke as she sipped Wine "After the war ended it''s a nightmare to get those back home" Paarthan on the hand ate and drank without making so much as a whisper, giving his thanks and praying afterward. Feeling a lull, Meridian spoke again "Princess Hraax, you can rest easy knowing that the Imperium does not plan on breaking the peace with Vermilion, my men and I are here on Orders of the Silent himself" Hraax visibly relaxed. Meridian turned to William and said "Lady Lucrezia, on the Divine Mandate of the Silent Soldier my men and I pledge to assist you in the conflict to come, as a reward for receiving a Greater Blessing from my God" Everyone at the table stared at the Imperial Woman who smiled "That is Correct my Lady, a Greater Blessing! an honor very few in the world have outside of the Imperial Family and the War Council" William knew the council was how the Imperium called the church, but goddamn another Greater Blessing?! How would Lucrezia''s soul handle the power? "It''s not just my soul William, It''s yours as well now and that is probably the reason we have 5 where people seldom get 1. Unless the raider God gives us one as well" Lucrezia explained and William agreed with her reasoning. "Rushing as always eh Imperial" the shaman smirked "Aye Lady Lucrezia, Chou''Xin will grant thee a Blessing and the people I''ve brought to your friend''s lands today. He granted us a vision of a great battle in your lands against your own royals, fire, and smoke blanketing the land as blood flew akin to a dam broken. the pain and screams of the dead and injured echoed across our daydreaming halls" He finished looking at the musket behind Saa''ryu''s back, William had his maid bring that to give them a demonstration. Meridian spoke first "Your new weapons have already made waves among those who worship the War Gods Lady Lucrezia, hushed whispers of great change in the northern part of Vermillion, and even a few Magical Gods are paying attention to you now" she smiled " those spell slingers always afraid their dusty tomes and outdated schooling methods will be outdone by martial prowess ha! I would pay half my yearly salary to see their faces now" she coughed "Forgive me" "Deploying Imperium forces even under religious orders would be nothing short of painting myself black and red and singing the anthem, While there''s good reason for me to fight the prince I do not wish to break away from the Kingdom or cause a civil war" William explained his side of the story afterward. Telling them his fight and the revelations from his battle against his parents. He also explained why he needed to kill the Prince, in a way that would make sense to them and their Gods. "First Prince Galius committed a grave crime, and Queen Malphas together with the Arch-Mage have made the man all but Immune to justice" He explained "Until him and his accused allies set foot in my lands" William finished. "The Imperium is no stranger to trickery and stealth Lady Lucrezia, we need not brand our flags in the fight if you fear repercussion for Allying with the Imperium" Meridian cleared her throat "I''d say the same for the shaman and his people" The shaman spat in the ground "Chou''Xin won''t be pleased but we do what we must, grant my people the garbs and we will fight all the same Duchess" he took a sidelong glance at Meridian and said "All we require is the right to perform the Ritual of Carnage" Meridian''s face screamed in silent rage but she didn''t speak. "Prey forgive me my ignorance Chieftain Paarthan, but would be so kind to elaborate on this ritual with a very ominous name that made a high member of the Imperial army frown in rage?" Saa''ryu spoke in mock sarcasm "Savages" William didn''t miss the man cursing them in Low Imperial. He smiled as the Chieftain schooled his face and went on to explain the ritual. "We sacrifice a powerful magical creature to empower our berserkers and shamans. The effects of it can enable them to fight for five days and five nights, shrug off most magic and Ki attacks, and generally wreak havoc in enemy lines. You can ask our Imperial friend here how effective they are in combat. "Will Lady Meridian ask for any sort of taboo ritual as well?" William asked in Low Imperial, making Paartjan frown at him. "Nay, It shan''t be necessary Duchess" While William and the others rushed out the finer details of the deal Hraax moved with her people towards their ships, it took a while but they were properly camouflaged and the Royal Spies in Lucrezia city wouldn''t be able to rat them out the second those ships came near the shore. Hraax was worried about said spies, but Lucrezia said it was at most a small unity or even a single operative. Likely with magicks tailor-made to deliver information across long ranges if the readings from Wilson were anything to go by. Hraax smiled bitterly when she remembered the soon-to-be court mage. It''s such a shame the maid got her claws on him but she wouldn''t dare to antagonize Lucrezia''s staff over some petty dispute of love. She was a Princess after all.
Meridian looked at the underground city roof she and her people were in, the Duchess granted them a huge garrison near one of the entrances of the place. Her people were amazed at how forward-thinking the Duchess was, the woman wasn''t gonna fight the punitive force head-on and was actually looking towards alternative ways to deal with the pesky knights that would be following the army of mercenaries the first prince hired. She also saw the new weapons she had heard about from the hushed whispers back in the capital, their power was nothing short of amazing, and the fast method of training made every civilian in the region a rifleman ready for battle. Her people also told her this could be bridged with magic, and that could only mean another magic arms race for spells that are easy to learn and can be cast without taxing the reserves of your regular fodder mage. It was a tall order to be met but the Gods always loved a challenge to spice up their games. Still to think the "cousins" could have someone so forward-thinking and capable of great change was a shock, Meridian had a gag order placed on her people to stop them from calling the populace savages before they arrived and it had paid a thousand folds, for even the enigmatic Magi-Tech Vanguard had paid them a visit to talk with her paladins, those talks then bloomed into a few combat exercises where the Vanguard got a measure of the Imperium''s finest and found then not wanting. Yet in less than a week the Vanguard presented their brand new armor fit for something bigger than an Orc. The leader called Idun told them it was a prototype suit of armor made with Magi-Tech and meant to act as a Juggernaut of Imperial Lore, the ancient warriors who could weather the fury of a hundred soldiers. Alas the God in question that gave them the blessing was killed by a Fallen and that was a horrible blow to the Imperium. "I''ll be the one testing the armor" Meridian didn''t want no one under her command to be a victim of any sort of trickery and in the heat of the moment made a less than a tactically sound decision. 30 Knights lined up on top of a secluded hill inside the lands that the White Dragoness Kallista ruled over. Meridian stared at her enemies with fire in her eyes and belly as the armor whirled to life in pings and cracks. The smell of pure mana crystals being consumed floating inside is akin to a warm breeze on the beach she thought. She then picked a huge Warhammer that was tinged with Earthen mana thanks to the crystals at its base, making the weapon powerful enough to stop a Direhorse without harming the beast. The Knights charged her and she held her ground, when they crashed over her she felt like raindrops were hitting her entire body, and with each swing, the horses went down. "Great for charges but the lack of mobility is a huge issue, get the Imperial outta there" screamed Idun after the test. Meridian was helped by her personal squad of paladins and bowed to Idun as she stared at the suit of armor licking her lips. "The Raider scum was right, after all this will be a good war to fight"
War Chieftain Paarthan was pleased. When his god told him the good war was coming he couldn''t even begin to hope it would be this good. The new world savages had weapons that defied everything he knew. And from what his men had heard from the civilians more weapons were being built every single day. It would get to a point every single living being in the city would be armed and ready to die fighting for their Duchess. And the Duchess? All-Father and Chou''Xin above what a monster! Paarthan had yet to see someone fight with the sheer ferocity and anger she did in this strange new land, he had seen the Knights and while they were decent warriors they lacked the freedom his people and the Imperial army had when it came to rules of engagement. Bound by oaths like Paladins and Clerics. Powerful oaths mind you, chains that bind the men and women fighting. Lucrezia had no such binds, one of the clan''s bands of warriors had challenged her for a duel, 6 grown men against a womanchild, and she said yes. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Paarthan saw her mighty dragonbone Ax cleave the first men the second the go-ahead was given, when the two nearest warriors tried to gang up on her she fired iron spikes that nailed them in the courtyard''s walls and blasted them with Ice Spears the size of a pike for good measure. Her face flushed red and a maniacal grim formed in lips, panting and moaning followed as she floated upwards to dodge a grab and landed on top of the warrior, kicking his head and knocking the man out in a flash. "Magnetism" Paarthan whispered, his old master was a user of that unique brand of magic, the boosts it could give a man were so great many a clan would rather invest in an all-out magical attack than send their warriors to get slaughtered by those rare individuals. Not just that, but the womanchild had Battle Lust running through her veins, the combat ended and the warriors thanked her for the honor, she gave them goodbyes and went to perform a series of rituals and potion drinking. "Trying to repress it" Meridian walked up to him silently as a wraith. Paarthan grew to like the woman this past week, she had some unique ideas when it came to war. Speaking in Low Imperial he responded " I''ve seen Lust driven Warriors before, they tend to die fast" Once he saw a lady warrior explode in gore so strong was the lust. That was one sight that would haunt the man every once in a while. "I don''t think she''s going to die fast" Meridian spoke and left. Paarthan found it weird the Imperial woman held hope for the Duchess but he wouldn''t poke her about it. Less headache that way. Another week had passed before Lucrezia dragged the biggest Dire Wolf into their keep Paarthan had ever seen in his life. The thing was the size of a godsdamned house! the womanchild herself was full of dirt, blood, and sweat. Her armor was torn in places no High Born would allow others to see. The workers and Knights patrolling the streets around Paarthan''s camp all cheered her on like a hero of yore. With the blood of the Dire Wolf, he was able to perform the ritual and empower his men. It felt weird, watching people cheer a noble. Paarthan''s people and most of the Imperials who lived in the northern shores hated their rules and were born to a fault. Hearing her story of liberation was one thing, but to hear the people speak of it, the Knights and even the dwarves it was something else. Kinslaying, defying divinity, and allying with anti noble Gods all in a mad dash to free her people and duchy from the insanity of her parents. One thing that was very clear to his people was that Lucrezia Wulfgrem was the right person for the Blessing. And when Prince Galius arrives, he will see true warfare. Brough by the blades and axes of the North and its Raiders.
High Priestess Marathazua cursed under her breath as her carriage broke free from the Highway''s first lane and arrived at the way station entrance to the north. She was met by no less than 50 Knights armed to the teeth on top of pitch black fur, red flaming eyes Dire Horses and twice the number of men in some sort of army fatigues with strange thin iron rods. "Those must be the weapons we heard about" spoke High Priestess Direene "My Goddess told us these new versions of it can pierce the Ki of a Knight-Captain as easy as a hot knife on soft butter." "And Morugarius won''t send her Paladins to stop this madness?" Marathazua asked her childhood friend. "No, Duchess in Wulfgrem Lucrezia has yet to break any of the rules, even if she''s been skirting them mighty often." Direene spoke in a soft tone " The siege of Talos has thrown a wrench in Uumaries plans hasn''t it?" Marathazua spat, opening the window for it. The second she did no less than 15 pairs of eyes turned to her. She closed the window and spoke "A wrench? a sledgehammer more like! with the news out many Gods and Goddess are opposed to their union on the grounds of us supporting slavery-" "I told you Marathazua, dealing with those nobles was a going to bite you in the ass, same for that horrible man the first prince, and now you reap the fruits of your labors" Direene spoke steel in her voice as she cut her friend off. "My brothers and sisters, many of them innocent strung up by their necks? nailed to our church''s walls? don''t you lecture me I know what my fruits are you good two shoe brat!" A paladin of Uumaries knocked from the driving seat and spoke "Your Highness, the leader of the Knights wishes to speak with you" Marathazua and Direene didn''t miss the fear in the woman''s voice. Knight Commander Erwin was the talk of many noble families Knights of late, a veteran of the war against Grannarius and in numerous skirmishes against the Imperium. The tale of how his family was butchered by the nobles he served and later his own men were being told by every priest of that godsdamned bird obsessed Velkarius and many a Knight couldn''t help but sympathize with the man. The relationship between Nobles and Knights was one of unbending trust, to have that broken was anathema to the very pillar that made Vermilion into the power it was today. And to have Her Goddess hand on this bloody mess was even worse. Marathazua nodded and opened the door, the chill of the winter blasting at her divine barrier something fierce, and a little bit was creeping in somehow. Her surprised face wasn''t lost when the Commander came on top of the biggest Dire Horse she had ever seen "Winter''s End is magical in nature High Priestess, your barrier will blunt its bite but not remove it outright" Her Paladins moved behind her, flaring their own barriers until the cold was but a pleasant breeze. the Commander smiled. "My men will escort you towards the castle, by order of the Duchess you are not to leave your Carriages until we reach its grounds, is that understood?" he spoke in a loud and clear tone. "Any reason why Ser Erwin?" Marathazua asked, wondering why would she need the equivalent of a forward force as an escort "My Lady believes the people will descend on you, your people will not be enough to stop the tide and many will call upon the Spirits to empower themselves" Spoke Erwin. Direene coughed inside the carriage as Marathazua spoke "Well then, guess we best make hurry" and ordered her Paladins to get back to it. As they moved forward into the lands of the Wulfgrem Marathazua and Direene couldn''t miss the flocks of ravens and crows flying over them, worse still was when they arrived at a fork in the road and a plain white pitchfork was placed on top of the sign leading to the city. "Friede...How in All that is holy did A high noble like Lucrezia get that Mad Goddess on her side?" Direene asked no one but Marathazua answered "By sending Talos to the pyre that''s how" Scarier still was the clear signs of trenches, kill zones, and chokepoints, some sort of nasty-looking wire fences, and strange steps being placed in the grounds. Direene''s eyes turned white as the woman''s blessing worked overtime to understand the finer details of these places. Marathazua on the other hand stared at the many races working in harmony towards this war effort. She even spotted the mermen there. Direene sighed in pain " We might''ve bitten more than we can chew here Marathazua" the High Priestess snapped back to her friend and asked "What? what did Morugarius tell you?" "Sphere Shift" the words came as hushed whispers from Direene and Marathazua gasped. A godsdamned Shift! cursed woman-child! that she would affect the face of war this much was nothing short of insane. "When was last time? Crossbows right? or those bloody Yari Spears of the shogunate?" she asked Direene. "Crossbows, it was a big shift at that since it took too long for mages to respond in kind, you can''t train a mage as fast as you can crossbowmen after all" Direene responded "You don''t understand Marathazua, these new weapons? they are only the start of something far far worse... Morugarius showed to me visions of great iron tubes spewing fire and death upon the land, a great metal carriage circling the battlefield like a beast picking off those who survived, and the men and women of Wulfgrem marching with great war drums beating their grim tune of death." Marathazua wondered if it was too late to jump ship, beg forgiveness at the church of the All-Father, and be redeemed of the horrible deeds she committed. The Paladins that overheard that exchange all had grim looks on their faces too, they knew what a Sphere Shift meant after all. Total do-over on the domain of a God, with all the chaos and uncertainty that entailed. And you better believe something as big as far Warfare will create loads of both for everyone in the new world. They went past the city gates and Marathazua gasped when she saw the single form of a Winter Spirit hovering above the gate, Gods above what''s next? the fucking Dragoness comes over to fly by their carriage? They really didn''t like Uumaries in these lands it seems. "What are we doing here again? if the visions are as bad as you say they are, and I don''t doubt you for a second on that front how are we gonna petition for the Duchess to surrender herself for a trial at the capital? what''s stopping her from chopping our heads off?" Marathazua asked her friend who was meditating. "She didn''t kill the Uumaries priest who was in charge here, and she won''t dare to touch a hair on my head, we are safe in that regard Marathazua. She will at the very least hear us" their carriage slowed as it made its way across the streets, the people all spatting in their direction before they reached a more wealthy part of the city. From there on they saw the ravens. Flocks upon Flocks, cawing in the sky with mad glee, only stopping when the Winter Spirit moved between them. As for the people, they stared at them with hard cold eyes, and it was a tense few minutes before they arrived at the castle grounds where the Knights broke off and the Head Maid came to greet them, her name was Leanu and she was very prim and proper with Marathazua and Direene. But Marathazua couldn''t help but notice deep inside the woman a wave of anger against Uumaries, anger, and feelings of deep betrayal. The castle itself was brimming with activity, not maids and butlers ready to serve a spoiled brat turned ruler, but soldiers and Knights. forge masters and quartermasters. And a huge amount of magical Acolytes. She was readying herself for war. Waiting in the quest room was akin to finding an oasis in the desert, her Paladins visibly relaxed as they ate the strange flatbread with cheese on it and drank their fortified wine. Direene prayed deeply to steel herself for the coming talks but all Marathazua could do is look at the city that once was one of the biggest centers of faithful for Uumaries The Crows cawing in glee as if mocking her and her Goddess. "Lady Lucrezia will see you now" The same maid told them, Direene and Marathazua were lead to the throne room with their Paladins who with stomachs full and liquid courage in their veins were in better spirits. They changed a war prayer before leaving the room in case things escalated to violence. As the doors were opened for the throne room Marathazua felt not just Velkarius''s Sphere, but five more! "All-Father above 6 blessings!" Direene face when pale as Marathazua gave her the news. Marathazua''s eyes were drawn to the figure sitting on the throne of enchanted ice. Ashen blonde hair falling like a waterfall, azure blue eyes staring at her and Direene, measuring them and finding them wanting. A face so beautiful it must''ve been tempered by divine arts or magical means. Her garbs were tailor-made for war, not a single piece was done for fashion but cold hard functionality on the battlefield. It demanded the blood of its enemies and the woman inside would be more than happy to oblige. By her side, Longstrider Karl and the Ex Uumaries Priest who know was dressed as an Acolyte of Velkarius. A dwarven male with strange contraptions in his robes that glowed blue and purple and a Dragonkin woman who looked ready to tear Marathazua and Direene limb from limb the second Lucrezia gave her the order. Lucrezia rose and said "Welcome to my home, Envoys of Uumaries and Morugarius!" she extended her arms and spoke in a booming voice "I hope my humble accommodations were enough for such esteemed guests from the Capital" Marathazua could feel in her soul how much her Goddess hated the woman child in front of her. Her blessing seething in anger and rage. She was also reminded of the men and women of her church who were burned at the pyre in Talos. not even the innocent were spared and the sacred grounds across the city were razed to the ground with such intensity that the Royal Knights had to get involved. An entire city was destroyed with but a few words, and if Direene was right that destruction would be but a footnote in what Lucrezia would bring later down the line. Marathazua saw then the three Winter Spirits who ruled over these lands show themselves not as regalia for their Duchess but as humanoid forms by her left side. Tall as a high elf and with blank faces that betrayed no emotions they stared at her and her alone. "They are angry" Direene whispered in her mind via a spell. Marathazua could see why they trusted their ancestral land to Uumaries and her goddess let its people suffer without aiding them. The Spirits wanted blood. Marathazua kneeled "They have been most pleasing Lady Lucrezia Wulfgrem, this humble servant of Uumaries thanks you for your kindness" Direene did the same but remained quiet. Both High Priestesses steeled themselves and spoke "My Lady, we came here today to avoid further bloodshed and unrest in the kingdom. It is the hope of our Goddesses that you will come with us to the capital so the other High Houses and the Queen can judge you and your actions" Marathazua flared her blessings and braced for an outrage, her Paladins did the same. Instead, Lucrezia sat on her throne and smiled, a bloodcurdling grim that spooked Marathazua something fierce. "No" answered Lucrezia. "Lady Lucrezia, you would risk civil war for childish petulance? Has the north not seen enough war? Do you truly wish to leave the union with both the Imperium and the Mad King at our doorsteps?" Direene spoke fierce and fast. "Nay, I have no such plans. These lands and their people will always be a part of the Kingdom, a Kingdom my family helped forge a Millenia ago" she cast a sideways glance to the Spirits who remained focused on Marathazua "You can tell the Royals that, for me and my People will always remain loyal to Vermilion" "Then Surrender yourself! Lady Lucrezia the crime of killing one''s kin is one of the highest. By letting the First Prince and his punitive force arrive and fight your words will be naught but the wind for the powers that be in the Capital. Please come with us! My Goddess herself has vowed to protect you should you do so and no one will dare touch so much as a hair in your head" Direene was trying her best Marathazua felt, but something told her the woman child in that throne wouldn''t listen to reason. The more Marathazua thought about the more she felt like it wasn''t just the Spirits who were staring at her. Lucrezia was also doing it too. "You mean to say the church of Morugarius, Patron of our Kingdom and Knights has the power to stop Galius and his army from razing my city and people to the ground then?" Lucrezia asked her voice cold. Direene frowned "No, but we can stall him and his faction for long enough that a trial can happen and-" "He or some of his cronies is made viceroy of my land" Lucrezia cut Direene off "And all the work we did is undone" Marathazua was about to speak when the spirits finally talked "NO" the room grew cold and dark as their forms trembled in rage and fury "WE WILL NOT ALLOW IT" the dragonkin that was next to Lucrezia also spoke "I won''t let my lands and my brood fall under anyone that is not A Wulfgrem" Marathazua cursed inside her mind, that was the bloody Dragoness! "And there is your answer" Lucrezia said "Let Galius and his army come. He will find out how the north deals with people of his ilk" she pointed to Marathazua and said "you can ask your friend here what he''s guilty of, Lady Marathazua knows all about it after all" She stared Lucrezia down, yes she knew about the bloody pillars alright. Uumaries had told her before the meeting was scheduled after all. And if she knew about the Pillars... "I figured I should let you two know by the by" Lucrezia pulled a pendant from her neck, a silver griffin on it "House Wulfgrem is now part of the Arch-Duke''s faction" Direene looked lost but Marathazua could only reel in shock as the realization of Lucrezia''s words ringing in her ears. The woman knew about the Arch-Duke''s daughter and what Galius and his people had done to her. And she probably promised the Arch-Duke the Prince''s head. The Arch-Duke who once together with the Arch-Mages provided support to the royal faction now was separated from the Royals, and the only reason he hadn''t gone to war was that the Arch-Mages and their people decided to stay neutral. A dangerous power balance that Lucrezia was ready to smash with her upcoming battle. And the one who let things get this bad was none other than her goddess Uumaries in her mad bid for power. A bitter pill to swallow, but one she couldn''t say no to, Uumaries wasn''t like Morugarius who saw her mortal followers as actual people. Nay her Imperium background meant she saw her people as pawns. fit only to be used and discarded. Only Morugarius mattered for her and she would do anything for her. Siding with despots and scum of the earth was but another stepping stone for her goals. "Tell the Royals this Marathazua, by the end of the year I will have Galius head nailed to the walls of my city together with his people, his sins are many and it falls to me to be jury, judge, and executioner" Lucrezia spoke iron in her voice " And his sentence is death" Interlude: Heroine in all but name "Those blessed by the All-Father shall know great succor, for every God under his wing will bend their knee to them for a chance to please the ruler of all" Ancient tome from the Church of the All-Father. Hope Morgan Fritz stared from her window towards the horizon, the sun casting a lovely shade of crimson on Aaar Yrthaar. The Capital was always prettiest in the summer after all. And what a summer it was! Her parents had just returned from combat inside the Red Dragon''s dungeon together with their Mercenary Company. She longed for a day where she too would be able to buy a band of her own and make a name for herself as her parents did. "A group to surpass the Crimson Yeagers, and that chance will be mine once I get into the Academy" the young woman hoped for a good blessing. Even if the Academy opened its doors to non-nobles, their lot was anything but easy inside its walls. Cliques, factions, and snobbish nobles and heirs to great merchant lines were but one hard aspect for those who didn''t have blood or prestige to ward against the many evils there. Rude teachers, being denied certain privileges, and having to pay for things that otherwise are free for the rest of the school were all present, and Gods above and below it would be quite the challenge. One Hope welcomed with open arms! in this crucible, she would be reforged into a stalwart defender for her country and kin. Maybe even find the love of her life! a girl could dream couldn''t she? and the Academy had the means to make such wild dreams a reality. Her sleep wasn''t a good one. her parents were up all night ever since they returned from the dungeon. No privacy there if she had to guess but thankfully their mage gave Hope a small medallion that could blunt the sound. Of course, the old fart forgot to mention it was running on some sort of mana crystal she had no means of recharging with her own mana so the bloody thing lasted for less than 4 hours. "I wonder which blessing I''ll get" Hope talked to herself as she got ready for breakfast. Cleaning herself in a flash and fixing her room was nothing for her now so she was the first to make it to the kitchen. Muscle memory took over as she prepared the bread and cheese together with some sort of new drink from the north that reportedly could keep a man up for 3 days. When she began prepping the bacon strips her parents showed up. Looking disheveled but happy both of them, after all that living off monster meat and stale bread for a month deep below. This was nothing short of a feast for the two of them. "My look at my little Hope, all prim and proper making breakfast for her parents. To think that bundle of red-haired fury that begged me for candy every morning can now remain focused on the stove is nothing sort of a miracle! but dear you have gotten a little pale, oh my do you have a cold perhaps?" spoke her mom as she took a seat, her father grabbed a cup of hot milk and sat down by her side as he spoke. "Ifry dear, wait until she''s done then we can talk" he took a sip of the milk "Gods I miss Milk, I really do" "Domhnall! Aren''t you worried about your baby daughter?! what if she got sick because we were gone for a month?! Oh, forgive me, Hope. That new bounty the Red Dragon had put up was just too good for us to not go down the dungeon" Ifry smirked as Hope burst out laughing "Alright you two. enough of the theatrics here''s the food" and she placed the plates down on the table. "So how was school? did you get a boyfriend? a girlfriend maybe? c''mon Hope spill" Her mom had eaten the food like a starved anime, Hope made a face as she looked to her dad and he just chuckled to himself. "Was the food that bad down there?" she asked ignoring her mom for now. "You don''t even wanna know sweetie. Uncle Kravar had us eat sausage made from those big monster mushrooms together with Hell Hound meat, I swear the stale tack and grog we had back in the pirate raids in the north was better than that abomination against all that is holy..." her father trailed off "now don''t be rude and answer your mother, you know she''s not gonna stop pestering you about it" another chuckle from her father made Hope smile. Gods she missed this par of fools badly, the house was just too quiet without them. "Nay dearest mother, your daughter remains unspoiled and nubile, I have even received an invitation from the church of Uumaries for a tour of their new cathedral" Hope spoke with a big shit-eating grin on her face. "Oh, you little sh- Don''t you dare set a foot in those grounds if you like your sorry hide fair! I will not have my only daughter turn into one of those godsdamned prudes annoying-" Hope and her father couldn''t hold anymore and both laughed, Hope even slapped her knee. "Gotcha mommy" she said as Ifry''s face went red. After a second the woman laughed together with her family. Hope basked in these warm feelings her parents brought to the house as they ate and talk. It filled her with complex and wholesome emotions of peace and serenity. And more importantly of deep affection and love towards her parents. It was good, real good she thought. And she intended to never let these moments go to waste.
The walk to school was always boring. In her single-minded focus to get into the Academy, hope had forsaken her classmates. Their names were whispers on the wind, of course, she always remained civil, and whenever she was made to do a group job she pulled her weight. At the end of the last year in school, one of the girls who sat close to her asked Hope why she was trying so hard? why go above and beyond the call and burn her childhood as she had done? "To get into the Academy, and to make my dream real" was Hope''s answer. She knew the bounds she didn''t make wouldn''t last anyway. But the Academy? those bounds would be for life! true friendship would be forged in its halls as she rose through the ranks. Of course, her parents didn''t know this side of her, to them Hope was queen bee and had more friends than she could count or name, it was easy lying about that part to them. It hurt her but it was easy. Dad and Mom barely had the time to check if her information was true given their duties as commanders of their mercenary company. She did suspect they didn''t believe her a hundred percent since she had never brought someone home. Once she even slept in a hotel to pretend it was a sleepover at her "friend''s Marven" Thanks to years of running odd jobs to the various merchants around her house and becoming the fastest letter delivery girl in the city. Hope had saved enough cash and influence to regularly use both the private magical tomes of the local bookshop and the training yard of the city''s guard garrison. In those places, she was trained by men and women from all walks of life and races in the ways of both sword and magic. According to the Captain of the guard, it was only right she would do it so. Since her mom was a national hero and spell blade while her father was one of the best archers of the entire kingdom. The fights they won for Vermilion in the war against the elves from Granarius gave them many a coin and bard songs. It was her father''s hope a noble title would also be offered but there was naught to spare according to his contact within the palace unless his entire company would become lowly Knights for some two-bit noble in the east. Alas, their reputation together with Hope''s own was more than enough for her to have a solid foundation in matters arcane and warfare both. "Ya shouldn''t worry yer pretty head over them blue blood Hopey. Soft finger babes all of them who can barely land a magic missile while keeping a shield up" the dwarf in charge of the bookstore told her as she left. Her 18th birthday was fast approaching and she wanted to commemorate doing something she rarely did. Buying clothes. So when she entered the fancy clothing shop in her district. A place she had run errands forever since the elven lady who worked there always needed something or another done in the spot the woman looked at Hope with confusion and spoke "Hope dear, I''m afraid I don''t have anything for you today, we just restocked on silk from Xie and the rest of the goods were all delivered on time if you can believe it! Something must''ve happened to those sky dwarves" Hope steeled herself and spoke "Lady Haleth, I need your best dress for my birthday" she felt silly for feeling anxious, the woman was an immortal merchant for All-Father''s sake! but Silly she felt anyway. Lady Haleth on the other hand didn''t even blink, with a smile perfect after a thousand years in the craft she extended her hand to the young woman and said "It would be my pleasure, Lady Fritz" The ancient elven woman led Hope around the section reserved for VIPs and began casting several spells so fast her mind got overwhelmed trying to decipher them all. "Always trying to learn new magic eh my girl? You humans and your thirst for knowledge is such a fascinating thing to behold..." Haleth spoke, her voice tinged with nostalgia "Alas Ellisar and Luthandriel wouldn''t let me hear the end of it if I started to bore a customer with my old tales" Hope smiled as Haleth talked about her sons, who were great merchants of their own right. Even when compared to their father Halaema who once was in charge of a merchant guild in the Imperium before deciding to come over with the first king of Vermilion and his family. News spread fast as the merchant quarter who knew Hope for years caught wind of the young woman''s spending adventures in Haleth''s store and soon they sent their own people over it. What was for Hope a quick 30 minutes to an hour for Haleth to work her magic ended up becoming the entire afternoon for her as they pampered her with tailor-made items of fashion. There was this vibrant energy in the air, even after Hope emptied nearly all of her savings to pay for the goods, as Haleth''s store became a mini bazaar of goods just for Hope and Hope alone she felt happy to her core. The goldsmith who produced her a beautiful choker made out of silver and sapphire. That one had slashed her finances harder than a Knight Captian''s Ki enchanted blade but gods it was worth it every penny. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. As the sun began to fade, Hope was gifted a beautiful gift basket by the local baker and went off home with her goods. All was right in the world for the young woman when she approached the house, Hope opened the door to find her father reading the papers in the living room as the cold from the Magical wards kicked in. "These new cold wards weren''t cheap, but All-Father''s balls they were worth it. Hey Hope! heard you broke character today and actually spent your pile of gold huh? you know your mom was almost hiring a necromancer to check if there was dragon blood in her line" he laughed and slapped his knee "Cause godsdamned that pile of gold you had in the chest was bigger than some of the bounties we took from despots you know?" he smiled as he smelled the goods in the bag "C''mon let''s set up the table, your mom went out and should be back in a few minutes. Hope did so as she chatted with her father about her day. He laughed and spoke whenever he had a chance and they barely noticed as Hope''s mom walked into the kitchen with a bundle of cloth in her arms. Another gift? Hope didn''t dare ask as her mom kissed her dad and hugged her, they all sat at the table and began eating while Hope gave her mom the resumed version of her day. With her father constantly making jokes throughout it. Hope was putting the dishes away when her mother called her over to the living room. She felt nervous but went anyway, as she stepped into it she found both her father and mother standing up, Her father with a cape containing the symbol of their Mercenary Company; A might Chimera standing up. Her mother had a blade made out of mithril and high-grade steel. The scabbard looked aged and used. "Is that Father''s...?" she asked her mother. "Yes my dear, now that you are close to being 18 it''s only right for our daughter and heir to have a good sword by her side. Even if you are blessed by non-war gods you can never go wrong with swords skills" she smiled "We had our blacksmith to personally give this old girl a good treatment and now it''s yours" she handed the blade to her daughter who took a stance and practiced a few swings. Her mom whistling after she was done. "Well well, I sure hope you don''t get relegated to Blessings that make you take a desk job, dear because you have the perfect sword arm for a frontline warrior, guess training with those bores at the city guard paid off eh?" She said while smirking. "Hey!" Hope felt the need to defend the guardsmen, while yes they didn''t see action like her parents the men and women she worked with were all upstanding in their service for the Capital. "Just joking dear, now sheathe the sword before you lop you old man''s head off, you are good but not that good to swing a full-length longsword in tight quarters" her father spoke while moving for the bathroom, Hope sheathed the weapon and went upstairs to her room. The night skies filled with ravens and crows for some reason. She opened her window and stared at the birds hearing their cries. "An Ill Omen that, the Spear''s henchmen are on the prowl tonight, of all nights at that" her father said from her door and kept walking. Hope nodded having read about Velkarius and her Priests who acted as blades in the dark to hunt down those who wronged their fellow men. Unlike Friede and her scorched earth method. Hope still got chills from hearing how the Goddess had razed the entirety of Talos in days. Wondering if she would ever play a part in the Divine Game Hope went to bed, tomorrow was the day she would know if she got into the Academy or not. She prayed to the All-Father she would.
Hope was standing on a beach of crystal blue waters, yet the sand she was on was dyed red and smelled of rusted iron. There was a calling begging her to step her feet in the water and after what felt like ages she finally gave in. the sand she was on disappeared like a mage had cast it to another dimension. The sea she was on turned crimson with patches of that crystal blue remaining here and there. Slowly Hope walked among those patches turning them crimson. She felt a wave of incredible anger rising inside of her. It crashed against her mind and soul again and again. Threatening to consume her whole but a strange light filled her soul, its myriad colors warding her off against this supernatural rage. After ages walking along the shallows, Hope found a set of strange stones leading downwards into the water and something inside of her compelled her forward. And forward she went. Floating now in an endless sea of pitch-black water that assaulted her soul and mind with anger tenfold compared to before, yet the light still warded her from being consumed and she swam about the endless sea of black waters. There she found shades of her past that spoke to her in anger and fury, times where merchants would skirt paying and she was too shy or good nature to speak up. Or the time when she turned a blind eye to a beggar. This multitude of regrets culminated as she floated through her own school. Years of regrets Hope had carefully bottled it up now in the open and speaking as loud as they could. The want for friends, rivals, and lovers. The constant arguing with teachers and staff who couldn''t give an ounce of care to their job. And the constant inner school social circles who broke trust like an ogre breaks twigs on his path, of note, was the one time Hope found a crying girl in the bathroom and couldn''t do naught but watch in silence as the poor girl talked to herself crying about having her boyfriend stolen by her best friends. That one had stung the hardest. Hope felt the need to avenge the girl right there and there, become the shining Knight her parents often mocked when their friends came over after a bottle or two. To be a true hero of yore akin to the first King. And yet like a coward she ran away and spoke nothing to the ones who could actually do something. Months later she found out the girl had moved to another city. The waters trembled as the school became her house, as she went inside all she could see her parents smiling at her and then they were gone as well. "No regrets there huh?" Hope spoke to herself as she felt a pull stronger than before, begging her to go down again. she focused on the light that was still there warding her from the unnatural anger, and nodded. Hope found herself in a clearing, a ring of strange star-shaped trees with blue fire coming off their leaves and snow on her bare feet. In front of her stood two shades, one was tall while the other was of her size. She walked to the right side of the smaller shade and saw a small tombstone, there was no name on it and one of the burning leaves was placed on top of it. The taller shade snapped her neck and stared Hope down. A rising scream began booming in the young woman''s ears as she fell to the ground while the light ward covered her entire body. When the pain from the sound became too much hope screamed but no sound came from her mouth. She woke up in cold sweat as a huge red crow stared at her. Within his eyes was a cunning that was more than animal. it cawed loudly as flocks of ravens and crows went away, Hope picked her sword and stood guard as her mother came running with her staff. "A Herald, Morugariu''s tits Hope what did you do to garner the attention of Velkarius girl?!" Her mother grabbed hope by the hand and squeeze it in worry, Hope raised her hand and asked for five minutes. "Mom I gotta use the bathroom" she said as she ran away. After getting her business done she went downstairs to find her parents with that old look of alarmed worry they had whenever they were on a contract. "...Have you contacted Karl? Hells what is going on Domhnall? Hope has a clear record for All-Father''s sake" she overheard her mom speaking in whispers. "He''s not picking up Ifry... Hey Sweetheart, can you tell me why your mom woke me up in the weekend demanding me to contact the second most scary person I know?" Her father asked her with a tired smile. "Who''s the first" her mother asked stunned for a second. "You of course Ifry my love" she saw her mom''s hand flash blue and her father yelp in pain "Ouch! C''mon the joke wasn''t that bad" She stared at him fury in her eyes, but deflated after looking at Hope "Sorry for that, your father often deflects stress with humor" she took a good gulp of water "Now tell us Hope, have you done anything, anything worthy of having the attention of Velkarius and her people?" her eyes flashed green and blue, Hope felt calm as if this was a normal question and spoke plainly. "No mother, I may have cursed a few of the merchants who undercut me but I haven''t done anything" she then snapped out of the spell and gulped, it was always scary when her mother checked her for lies like that. Hope then decided to share her strange dream with her parents, after thinking for a good 20 minutes about it they were the only people that she could trust, and at this junction that was what she needed the most. As she described her dream, her mother''s face grew darker with worry. In the end, she was clearly shaken by it. "Ifry, we must call your parents" "No" Hope had never seen her mom this angry, she knew her grandparents were a sore spot not worth bringing up ever unless she wanted to hear her mom rant for an hour. That father would bring them up was something Hope filed away into the important category. Her father went quiet for a while then spoke "A friend of Karl''s spoke with me, she''s clear Ifry and the Herald was just wandering around, we can relax now" her mother''s shoulder slumped as she dropped her staff. "Fuck me Domhnall, what a goddamn scare this was" she spoke "Sorry Hope" "It''s ok mom" Hope said "What about the dream?" "Forget about it, it was just a bad dream ok? no need for you to worry your pretty head over it, now let''s eat something" she and her father went off to the kitchen as Hope remained in the living room. It was clear the dream and her grandparents were connected somehow but she had no means to contact them, her mother hadn''t even said what their names were! She wanted to ask more but refrained to do so, walking to the kitchen she once again overhead her parents. "...Who''s this friend of Karls? I didn''t know you had other contacts in there?" Her mother asked "A contingency, he told another Priest of Velkarius to pick my message spell signature in case he was away on a quest for his Goddess, the Priest in question ran a check and found nothing" Father explained in a calm voice. "In the clear then, godsdamned it all and this is an important day for her as well" Her mom sighed "Well if she plans on getting into that Noble hellhole that is the Academy I guess tangling with Gods and Goddesses will be commonplace" Hope walked in and they changed subjects, after eating breakfast she took a bath and dressed for school. The end of the school year ceremony was happening but she had no inkling of going, simply picking up her test results. It didn''t feel fair that non-nobles or rich merchant heirs had to do a test to get into the Academy but Hope wasn''t powerful enough to change ancient dumb tradition, Maybe after getting her Company and winning a few wars for the kingdom. Now all she could do was study as hard as she was able and wait for the results. There were very few people on the small board for the test results, all had grim-looking faces, hope walked among them and stared at the board. Hope Morgan Fritz: 100/100 She sucked up air and held her cheer in instead, she gave the board and in her mind the school a nod and went to the Principal''s Office to pick her papers. Arriving there she found a dwarf tending to paperwork who looked up when she opened the door. "The prodigy arrives, As per the rules your papers are all done Miss Morgan, just sign your name here and here. Your parents will have to come tomorrow to sign the rest of the papers" he pushed the paper towards her and Hope signed everything "Very good and agile, a prodigy indeed. If the nobles kick you out from their little slice of paradise in the mortal coil come join the Church of the All-Father Miss Morgan, we always need people who can do paperwork fast" the dwarf gave a nasty laugh as hope bowed and left the room. "I''ll never understand why the ruler of the universe is so in love with bureaucracy of all things" Hope spoke out loud, every priest and priestess of the All-Father she met had this grim sort of humor when it came to paperwork, defied her understanding. Alas, even spooky dreams and even spookier encounters with divinity wouldn''t take the wind out of her sails. Hope vowed to research the meaning of her dreams later even if her mom wouldn''t talk with her about it or about her grandparents. And godsdamned it she was in! after years of sacrifice, blood sweat, and tears she made it into the Academy! now her future looked as bright as the light that warded her in the dream! Hope walked towards her home with cheery and happy thoughts as a single raven flew by her, the wind picking up and throwing her long hair around. A solitary cry came from the bird as it made its way north. Towards a conflict Hope would later learn much about. Chapter 25: Regret of a bygone age "The Storm was born out of a Winter Spirit madness. In its love for the race that once walked these lands before your people came that Spirit came to know great joy and true purpose. When the Goddess left this world and the people died off in a mad ritual trying to summon her back the Spirit came to know Sorrow and Grief in a degree none of its kind had ever done, and so it cursed the north..." L?ordan Flame of Renewal''s third book on Spirit lore Lucrezia watched from behind her body''s eyes as William delivered a speech to raise the morale in the city. The Magi-Tech priests having jury-rigged the magical item that he used to broadcast his voice at the execution day to now broadcast images as well. A giant "Lucrezia" floating in the skies speaking from her throne made out of ice and steel. She decided to sink back to the Monolith, as she was happy with the preparations William and his aides had done to safeguard her people in their greatest time of need...again. "At least the farmers and small villages will be safe..." Lucrezia said to herself as she landed near the Monolith. "Would''ve been nice those farming gods to extend their protection to us, but their Spheres of Power aren''t mighty enough for a city of this size" she repeated the explanation Wilson had given William a few weeks ago for no reason but to calm herself. Her thoughts went then to the meeting with the High Priestesses and William''s grim words towards the women there. Later the one representing the Goddess of War made clear that what both had seen in her lands wouldn''t be revealed to the first prince but could Lucrezia and William believe them? According to William, the prince''s true backer is the same Fallen who took over her parents, at least that was the speculation back in Terra. Lucrezia walked towards the path to the dragon bound in chains, the beast slept most of the time but every once in a while it would roar in defiance, every roar making her and William feel the things the boy was trying his hardest to suppress. And those chains would be coming off soon. Going back to what William had taken to call the center of their shared soul, Lucrezia manipulated her own mana to form a simple arcane blade. A basic spell that any kid worth their salt in the north would learn should they stray too far into the woods. She regulated her breathing and fell into one of the stances William had been drilled nonstop in the outside world. Slashes, feints, and stabs flowed smoothly more akin to dance than swordplay. This led her into a trance-like state where she would go from form to form in slow smooth motions. Culminating into a grandiose dive into the ground after a jump. Lucrezia sat on the ground. Her mind overflowing with old thoughts of nostalgia. Of visiting her friends in the capital and gossiping the night away. A detail William let slip was that the Knights and Knight-Captains who would come with the first prince were from her friend''s families. But why did she care? she didn''t know their names or who they were right? Wrong. The game, the godsdamned game gave her knowledge of who those people were, their likes and dislikes, hopes and dreams. William knew their faces and now Lucrezia did too, worse more than a few were what William called great "NPCs". And he would need to kill them, to save himself and Lucrezia, save the people from another tyrant and the land itself, Lucrezia''s heart ached in dull pain. How much blood would the boy need to spill so the north could finally see peace again? it was too much for someone as young as him. Too much pain and misery and death, and yet he kept moving forward. "For those, we lost and those we must protect" she had heard him utter these words while writing his diary. Lucrezia had told him before she would be there for him but she was afraid the killing of those Knights would break him. So far the people he killed were pure evil there was no debating that, but those Knights? they had no idea their houses served a master criminal and defiler. A sudden chill took over, Lucrezia snapped out of her grim thoughts and looked upwards. "Snow?" Indeed there was snow falling, something that made no sense until she realized their souls were tied to the land in deep ways. "Winter''s End has begun huh?" Lucrezia walked as the snow fell, the Monolith''s area quickly becoming full of it, she sat on a bench and recalled her first time seeing the storm. Her parents laughing as she got scared thanks to the lighting and blizzard. When another memory snapped inside of her mind. Suddenly she was watching from a poorly lit room as heavy ashen gray snow poured from the skies in Terra. Her grandparents had just... "Not mine! these memories aren''t mine!" she screamed running towards the apartment she shared with William many a time. Godsdamnit it all the bloody meld was still going! She was getting tired of waiting but William''s warning rang in her ears, the second they used unsanctioned Necromancy and Mind Magic as it would take both to fully separate William from her they would be hunted by a God that was very very competent at his job. She both feared and waited for the Blessing ceremony. Once that blasted curse was dealt with her and William''s emotions would stabilize and she wouldn''t be this angry for a good while. But she was sure the meld will get stronger with the influx of mana and divine energy her body would receive thanks to 6 Blessings. "6 fucking blessings, Gods Lucrezia could you imagine that? I would be more than lucky to get 3 like Mother..." There was no doubt on her mind this spectacular number was due to William''s action, and the fact he was brought here as well. All they had to do now was survive the storm, then the Blessins''s aftershock to finally find out something that would give them a clue. Lucrezia whispered to herself as she watched the snowfall from the apartment, her words hidden from the world as a mighty roar from the chained dragon broke the silence that the realm was so used to.
William stood in the middle of the courtyard together with Erwin and Meridian who were using Knight armor. He was floating in front of the Winter Spirit know as The Sword deep in meditation. "Explain it again why did you "invite" me for this?" the woman asked Erwin half annoyed half fearful. William could still hear them and smiled at her. "Does the Imperium still have superstitions about Spirits Lady Meridian?" Erwin asked with a neutral tone. The woman frowned at him and said " Unlike you...cousins" William could feel her wanting to say the word savage "of the new world, the Imperium has fought many a war with the Spirits, their creations-" "And the Sunset Legion, that one was the most recent one after the Empress gave the order to burn some important forest in the southwest" Erwin finished "Yes I''m aware" The Sunset Legion was formed mostly out of Autumn and Summer Spirits, from what William could remember there was a hidden quest chain that gave the player mage-related gear from the commander of the said legion that could boost fire and poison-related magical spells. "The Bloody Sun conflict was my first time as a commander. The Spirits were...A difficult foe to battle and I lost many good men to them" Meridian stared at The Sword " We were told Winter Spirits are the more secluded of them all and even the ones in Imperial land don''t bother with regular folk bar the few druids and shamans who make pacts with them, But I''ve seen more than enough taking form as weapons to know that sword right there Knight Commander, could cut people down like hot knife on butter" "Indeed, in the war against the elves, we lost many Knights to their Spirit Warriors. Autumn ones being the more devastating ones as plague bearers and phagemancers" Erwin sighed deeply " Some of my countrymen might not agree with me on this but gods I''m glad we managed to make peace with those madmen, no one won in that war at the end. Broken families and bad blood were the spoils for both sides" Erwin looked crestfallen for a second then raised his head "It''s nearly over" This William knew the Knights of Wulfgrem were at the tip of the spear against the Mad King and his armies and Erwin had seen many of his close friends die thanks to it. As the war grew grimmer he felt an intense calling for peace, a phenomenon that was spreading across both sides due to many Gods and Goddesses working together to bring an end to it. Alas, it took the siege of Grannarius Prime and the deployment of the All-Father''s Tear to end the war. William also knew the other Tear was hidden deep in the Red Dragon dungeon in the Capital. behind an RNG table so fucked the item was considered a joke by the fans of the game. Part of him wanted to do an all-floor run to go for it but it would take months to prep for it. A Luxury that he did not have. " It is done" The spirit whispered in his mind and William felt a flood of Ice tinged mana surge inside of him. He dropped to the ground and pointed his hand towards a target made out of hay. With swift and precise incantations he summoned 2 Spears of dark blue Ice that slammed into the target and flash froze it. "Now we fight" Erwin said as he unsheathed his sword, Meridian nodded and summoned her morning star. With a warcry, Meridian cast a powerful Miracle from the Silent Soldier that made her and Erwin glow in a green hue. William knew that buff and cracked another smile as he leaped and punched Meridian straight in her solar plexus. Only for Erwin to parry the blow with the flat of his sword and kick him backward with inhuman speed, the miracle already boosting his reflexes and reaction speed as William remembered from the game, he ran his fingers on the blade as it took a shade of crimson Ki so dark it was almost pitch black and slashed the air in front of him. The Ki gathered in the sword went forward in a line and William almost panicked. Erwin wasn''t pulling any punches now! He gathered mana in his feet and floated upwards and with a single smooth motion cast 5 of the newly improved Ice Spears into both Meridian and Erwin. Meridian, on the other hand, slammed her feet to the ground, right above her a panel of white force was made manifest and it soaked up the damage from the spears. William floated down and took his ax from his back. Erwin snarled and flashed forward, the air around him crackling with Ki and Holy Power, he did a series of attacks and combos that William could barely keep up with it thanks to his training and Magnetism Boost. At the final chain where Erwin went for a slash in his legs, he faked a jump as the man tipped his weapon up and kicked the blade with a mighty kick fully boosted with Magnetism. Erwin''s face betrayed surprise as the man struggled to hold his weapon, William was ready to kick again when Meridian teleported to his side swinging her Morning Star. William''s Shield held for a second and he flew backward again as the pain flooded his senses. He barely landed upright and took a deep breath. He could feel the Battle Lust right at the cusp of overflowing him and with great effort he managed to reign it in as he slammed his palms together and outwards, summoning a wicked-looking spear of ice. Erwin barely had the time to call out Meridian as William grabbed the Spear mid-air and threw it at the woman. Meridian screamed a battle prayer and the most beautiful aegis William had ever seen was made real via prayer and mana, Yet the spear''s power was too strong and it broke piece by piece until a single layer remained. Erwin sent another Ki shockwave towards the spear, gathering the blasted thing into smithereens. "Damn you!" William couldn''t hold his frustrations. Meridian summoned a wind chimed and prayed to it, holding the thing near her lips. Suddenly green orbs showed up near her and they shot towards William, he managed to block all of them with Ice and his ax but a single Orb nailed him right in the left leg. He felt the limb go numb and cursed to himself again. An explosion of speed roared in his left side, Erwin now fully clad in Crimson Ki and looking like death incarnate was very close to William. With no other option left William decided to use his newest control over Ice and used nearly all his mana to raise 4 walls of dark Ice around him. Erwin''s blow nearly cut the damn thing down in the middle, making William dump more mana onto it. As the blade screeched to a half he slammed his fists into the walls. Making them explode right in front of Erwin who nearly got caught by the Ice shrapnel but was saved by another Haste Miracle by Meridian. "Tapping out!" William screamed huffing and puffing. Erwin smiled and said "Well done Lady Lucrezia, Not only your mastery of the Ice Element grows stronger by the day but you also managed to not soil your pants when facing me with the Demon Ki aura, In better times this would be worth throwing a ball over but you will have to content yourself with that mead Lady Saa''ryu told me you were a fan of." He turned to Meridian and said "Thank you for your help in the training Lady Meridian, it is a shame Priest Karl couldn''t join us but thanks to you Lady Lucrezia has a good sparring partner for duels against War Priests" Meridian was looking around, her nostrils flaring as she breathed deeply. After a tense few seconds, she spoke "I fought a Spirit Warrior of Winter once, and you Lady Lucrezia were ten times as worse, Silent forgive me what in all hells are you savages feeding this woman!?" she spoke alarmed "All-Father above if the Empress sends some low noble for your hand Lady Lucrezia, the poor sod might go home in an ice casket" If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. She dusted herself off as the Winter Spirit who had empowered William manifested itself "Child of the west, thou need not fear us. My kin was not in favor of the war" Meridian nodded stiffly. William saw Sigr¨²n and Saa''ryu walking towards him, caught a bit of their talk thanks to his heightened perception, a side effect of his increased mastery of both Ice and Magnetism. "...The Sword seems awfully talkative towards the Imperial doesn''t it?..." Saa''ryu asked "...Winter Spirits never liked that war from what I recalled, time and time again the petitioned for peace only to be meet with silence..." William dusted himself off as Saa''ryu got near him, the woman spoke with a grim tone "My Lady, all preparations are complete. Some of the older houses have been reinforced to withstand the storm and the facilities underground are operating at a desirable level" William nodded "And the safeguards?" "Working as intended, According to Idun, it would take the strike of a major god to bring them down. I''ve also received word from our Allies in the capital that both Uumaries and Morugarius won''t be deploying their Paladin squads for the First Prince''s army" Saa''ryu frowned "I fear that you being able to call upon Friede has raised a few eyebrows among the Arch-Duke''s faction Lady Lucrezia" she finished with a worried look. "Likely thinking I''ll break from the Kingdom, but I''ve made myself very clear with the letter for the man. We will not become an independent state" William summoned an ice fan to cool him off "And as long Uumaries keeps her distance I won''t have our friend razing more cities to the ground where her people ply their dark deeds" He would however employ Velkarius''s people to hit her where it hurts with the expected subtly the Spear of Vengeance was infamous for. William had too much blood on his hands and the tally would grow higher still, he would do his best to mitigate that. Still, a part of him wanted to cut loose and hunt the guilty himself sword and gun in hand. A tiny whisper in his mind that demanded blood for the crimes the clergy had committed. "It would be best to temper it, powerful as we will become we can''t go against the entire kingdom and its allies just yet" Lucrezia spoke in his mind her voice soothing his fears, lately William had been listening to the young woman sing. Thanks to their meld she had gotten the taste for more of his musical knowledge and thus she sang while William slept or relaxed in the shared soul realm. William and Saa''ryu went to his quarters so he could get the paperwork done and take a bath, as he lay there in the warm waters William slowly napped, the magical light that kept the room bright slowly fading away.
Lucrezia was barely 12 years of age when her father took her to the northern wastes for the first time in her life. The cold hurt more than ever and she was afraid of the infamous barbarians and their shamans. "My Lady there''s naught thyself should worry about, these roads are clean of any foul invaders," said the mage that flanked her as they trotted along the stone road that glittered blue every minute or so, a magical spell according to her father. "This is the spot, make camp" her father called as the Knights and Mages broke into a clearing. it took minutes for the men to set up a camp, wards, and bonfire. "Lucrezia, come with me" Her father called as she warmed herself in the fire. He had a small bow in one hand and a short word on another, she walked towards her father with a smile on her face and spoke "Yes dad?" "Today you will learn how to hunt" He spoke with a hopeful tone "As a Wulfgrem it is expected of you to know how to handle the rough living of the land as our forefathers did in the Imperium and here in Vermilion so long ago" He handed her the bow and sword, helping Lucrezia set the weapons right. Lucrezia didn''t like it one bit and found it beneath someone like her, who was basically a princess to do commoner work. So she spoke up. "Daad! I''m no commoner! why do I need to go out in this blasted cold and hunt rabbits? My friends in the south are all enjoying a nice vacation in the Royal Beaches you know?! A vacation you didn''t let me go because of this!" she stomped the snow, her smile all but gone as she ranted at her Father. The man stood there with an understanding look on his face, a thin smile flashed on his lips before he spoke "Yes, and I will do it again if you throw another tantrum like a baby, do you wish to miss next year''s All-Father''s week because you couldn''t stay a few hours in the snow Lucrezia Sommer?" he stared right in her eyes. Lucrezia whelped, whenever her dad was getting displeased he would call her that, and the thought of losing All-Father''s week combined into a potent incentive for her to shut her mouth up. She grumbled a bit but nodded and off they went to the game trails. Hunting ended up being as boring as Lucrezia had read to be, her father said it was her responsibility to feed the entire camp tonight including her. Lucrezia paled in panic for a second before praying to Uumaries for guidance, in a flash of divine miracle (or just a lightning strike from the snowstorm in the distance) Lucrezia began putting her meager trap making skills to test. Her dad pointed the rabbit trails and so she set shoddy-looking traps with wire and stick. Scaled up trees for bird eggs and had a bow in hand for any sort of large game that could show up. Minutes became hours as they walked and walked, that is until her dad caught sight of a deer. He motioned for Lucrezia to lay down and keep quiet as they stalked the beast who was eating grass near a river. Lucrezia in her haste to get this whole hunt over with and back to the warm bonfire fired an arrow at the animal and ended up incapacitating it without killing it. Its blood-curdling screams of agony freezing the poor girl until her father snapped her out and spoke "Put it out of its misery Lucrezia, now" she took a few seconds to fully comprehend what the man had said before walking up to it. Unsheathing the blade, Lucrezia pierced its throat ending the poor''s animal life. Her father came out of the treeline and silently cleaned the animal, he then turned to her and spoke. "Remember this moment my daughter. You ended a life to save another and this won''t be the last time you will commit such an act. It is our burden as Wulfgrem to be the first out for the others to do their job, be it hunting, mapping the realm, building shelter, or even war. And one day it will be your duty to do the same" Lucrezia nodded at her father''s word, not fully grasping them but taking them to heart nevertheless, they walked back to the camp and she sat near the bonfire as the meat was being prepared for dinner. The warmth of the bonfire slowly lulled young Lucrezia to sleep, as the light of the fire grew dimmer by the second she heard a loud crack, and darkness enveloped her.
"That...Was a very old memory of mine" Lucrezia told William as he wrote up treaties with the Gods and Goddesses regarding the uplifting of his realm when it came to education, the whole nine yards he wanted. From kindergarten all the way to universities. The Divines were very pleased with his proposal, of course, it would take funds but his dealings with Silverbrand and now that the fact his town was no longer in repair mode meant more coin into this project. "I felt like it was me there like I lived that moment. The deer''s warm blood in my hand, your father speaking to me and the cold wind against my skin" William sighed "The meld is growing stronger by the day Lucrezia, its the blessings I''m sure of it" The young woman sighed in his mind "Sure your theory has merit William, the increased mana levels we have experience as the day of the Ritual grows closer might be the reason but I fail to see how we can stop it. You yourself said that only when we reach the capital and take the entrance exams for both necromancy and mind magic we will be able to do something about it. Until then I suggest you relax and worry about more pressing matters, such as how you will fight against the veritable army of mercenaries Galius has under his thumb." "Idun''s automatic cannons will break their fighting will Lucrezia, didn''t you read the report I gave to you yesterday? the Mines below the castle finally were able to spawn Ardarite! anything less than an arch-mage level individual will be able to stop the shells made out of Mage Killer metal!" Lucrezia sighed again and spoke "Nevermind the fact you yourself had to go down there and work whatever magic that place has to spawn such a rare metal or the fact it took an entire legion of people to even get your explanation on how the place works and how to extract the rare stuff out of it, I will have you know that Ardarite isn''t the end all be all of Magical Warfare. Maybe the game was working on outdated knowledge but a company of mercenary mages will have the means to deal against it." William laughed and spoke "Yes you loveable dork, they can deal with ARROWS and SPEARS with Ardarite tips! but a shell? coated with Arderite dust? or the bullets shot from the improved muskets and eventual rifles after I get that godsdamned Magi-Tech Blessing? those" William gave a maniacal laugh "they won''t be able to stop it and after sorting them up with the Arderite Ammo we will unleash the horrors of Terran Warfare on the rest of them!" William had every miner under his rule trained for this, the mine in-game worked in an RNG-based logic where every time the player character would go inside and mine its ore it would drop a random metal or mineral. But if one had curried favor with the Spirits all the player would need to do was give a small prayer before going inside the mine and like magic, the desirable ore would be there after mining. So in the months after the Liberation of the city, and usage of the mine he had again and again done it so, a small prayer for the Spirits and with a pickaxe in hand went down to the mines. And only now he got the loot, after that the other miners were able to get a better grasp of the mineral and thus be able to wish for it more concretely and now they had an unending supply of the stuff. Of course like Lucrezia had spoken earlier, a powerful enough mage could block the effects of the stuff but not at the level William was gonna deploy it. That was his hope at the very least. His experiments with grapeshot ammo and incendiary rounds were also going flawlessly according to Idun and those would be a Warhammer to the enemy''s morale. His inner beast begged for him to go a step further and develop Napalm somehow but William''s knowledge of chemistry was iffy at best and he was already winging it as it is with the weapons and trains. According to Lucrezia that could also be influenced by whoever sent him there, maybe they were giving him breadcrumbs of information, just enough to give him an edge but not enough to trigger action from All-Father. William was scared an entity of such power could have his mind under his palm but what could he do about it? God slaying was for the very feel and sadly Lucrezia didn''t have level 3 on the Rage-that-Dwells so it was up to him to either get the protagonist of the game or the queen to do the dirty work and slay whoever was messing with his brain and soul. Fat chance of that happening William thought. He also had put in motion a daring plan, a dead man switch should Morugarius strike him with her full might, enough Plutonium-239 and uranium-235 for 4 nuclear bombs, city busters with enough power to level the entire region twice over. The fact such knowledge for both the preparation of how to extract the damn thing and shield his miners and containment of the material was crispy fresh in his mind spoke much to whatever was "helping" him. Whatever it was, it wanted war. Yet William could feel he was getting drip feed, and only when he finally unlocked the Magi-Tech Blessing he would be able to fully master such knowledge and go full steam ahead with his weapons development industry. "Quiet all of the sudden again huh? you know that is a bad habit, right? more than a few people have already picked up on it in case you didn''t know" Lucrezia said to him " Then again I don''t think you care, say William can I ask you a question?" "Sure" He spoke out loud before realizing, Lucrezia laughed in his head and asked "Why mind magic again? Necromancy I get it but why do we need to learn such a foul school of magic? mind mages have a bad reputation for good reason you know?" William shrugged "Mind magic isn''t just manipulation of the brain, It also deals with the body''s whole neurological system, If we are to extract me from your soul it must be in a way that will not leave any side effects to the body, plus it makes far easier to learn Illusion spells as well" He explained " With a high level in Illusion magics we can combine all 3 for a spell I''m sure you know about" "Soul Shade!" Lucrezia exclaimed. "Yes! not the regular Soul Shade either, the Greater variant will give you the ability to fight and touch. Sadly you won''t be able to speak as even the game variant didn''t have anything on talking shades but you will be able for a time to walk the land again. I understand it''s a tease but I''d reckon you would like it anyway" William got a little shy while speaking only for Lucrezia to giggle. "You silly man, I won''t berate you for not being able to undo this mess, you are special but not a God William. To get angry at you for giving me the next best thing would be honestly childish and mature" Lucrezia explained her point of view. Making William relax a little. "Still, do not let the mage killer blind you, William we will need more than cannons and rifles to kill Galius" William nodded and went back to his paperwork, Saa''ryu came by a few hours later for dinner and after that, it was time for a good night of sleep. Gods knew it would be the last one for a good while.
All over Glacialis Aeternum, capital of the Wulfgrem Duchy people were running around for their final preparations, Winter''s End nearly bloating out the sun now. As the people stocked up on foodstuff and other goods or ran underground for the Glacialis Anor the new name for the city below to take shelter. Nary a single soul walked without a purpose now and even the homeless animals that called Glacialis their home were welcomed underground. It was in this organized chaos that Lucrezia''s face boomed in the skies, her voice giving out commands and soothing commoners, thanks to a jury-rigged version of the magical apparatus from Grannarius turned into a piece of Magi-Tech wonder. in a forgotten plaza there lied a crow, redwings and glowing pale blue eyes staring at the face of her chosen. Ever since the young woman made Velkarius''s religion the main one her Sphere had grown in sizes the ancient elven Goddess had never seen before. "No small wonder you held this land to the last eh dear cousin" Velkarius spoke to no one, she knew calling godspawn cousin was the worst insult for them, coming from someone who was raised to divinity like her. Her mortal roots were a sore sight in their eyes. Still, Velkarius felt pity for Uumaries, raised by those Imperial Gods to think mortals are to be used like fodder placed her at odds with so many Gods in Vermilion it was a wonder they hadn''t run her outta the country. Anything for love Velkarius guessed, Morugarius probably had to cash in more favors to keep her lover out of the pyre after Talos. To think the young mortal knew about such a place, Velkarius licked her lips. Ahh, the reckoning she would bring to that detestable prince would be awe-inspiring. Months and months the Arch-Duke prayed for her, begged, and cried to avenge his daughter. Alas, Velkarius could do nothing but hide since she simply wasn''t strong enough to take on the Queen and her God Slaying powers. But now? now it was time for the dues to be paid and the Spear to be wetted in the blood of the damned! A gear made out of mana crystals made itself manifest by the crow, Velkarius smiled and spoke "Greetings young Lord Raa¡¯Tyrius, to what do I owe the pleasure?" The gear turned and spoke "I''m no lord Lady Velkarius, we are of equal footing here in the mortal coil" He paused and then spoke again "I have a favor to ask of you if you would be so kind to hear me " Velkarius nodded "You only need to ask my friend" "Protect Lucrezia, I''m weak and my sphere is barely enough to shield her from the evils that conspire against her" another pause "I know not why the Imperial gods of war sought her out and I will only be powerful enough to speak with them at the day of the blessing" Velkarius nodded in sympathy, the tale of Raa¡¯Tyrius was known across the Divines as a sad one, born out of two powerful Gods and told to reinvent, not one wheel but two, magic and science both he was stuck with half a dwarven clan and no church to speak of. Until Lucrezia happened that is. Velkarius also didn''t know why in all hells two Imperial War Gods came for the young mortal and were quite curious about it but her duties kept her occupied enough that asking them was out of the picture for a good while, so like young Raa¡¯Tyrius she would need to wait for the Blessing day. "Raa¡¯Tyrius dear, your grandmother also has her scales on this mortal pie, have you talked with her?" Velkarius asked something that was bugging her for a while now, All-Mother only showed love for mortals when it came to her dragons, the other races be damned. Even if Lucrezia had helped the Dragoness it wouldn''t merit a Greater Blessing from the Dragon Matriarch herself. Raa''Tyrius''s gear bobbed and glowed as the young God pondered "Grandmother...Isn''t one you walk up to and have a casual talk with it. I''m afraid I am as clueless as you are Lady Velkarius" he paused and then asked "And Saal''Xhir? What''s your opinion on her stake in Lucrezia?" Velkarius''s crow opened its wings welcoming the storm "I have spoken with her, Uumaries, and her godsdamned curse is no joke and for one of mine to shackle it would be seen as a grave offense towards her. In clearing that small accident she told me she does indeed has plans for the young mortal but will only reveal them after she arrives in Vermilion''s capital. I doubt she has any ill towards Lucrezia" "As for your request young Raa¡¯Tyrius, I''ll be sure to use my full powers to keep her safe. A lot rides on her shoulders as you certainly know, your people will not be spared by the Prince should he win the upcoming battle" Raa¡¯Tyrius''s gear bobbed "I was made aware of the dealings you have with the Arch-Duke, I assume that as well?" Velkarius nodded "Indeed young Raa¡¯Tyrius, Indeed" her crow began flying away as she spoke " Now let us depart my young friend, for war awaits" Chapter 26: Pale Nightmare "Her horses made out of Steel and Crystal trampled men and beasts without mercy. Her weapons were loud as thunder and fast as Lighting broke our Morale as the ground spilled men hidden in its depths. And above all else her maddening laugh of bloodlust as she cut people down. Infernal made manifest in the mortal coil" Anonymous''s account of the battle for Wulfgrem. William sat in his chair writing more and more reports and treaties. It had been a week ever since the storm hit his city and his expectations of a decrease in paperwork were rudely crushed by the reality of a major magical disaster. The newly placed castle wards were running 24/7. An idea Lucrezia gave him was to make the castle a "beacon of hope" for the populace who were locked in their homes or underground. Another bit of bad news was the fact Ice Sprites were attacking his caravans near the entrance of the Highway. More and more men were being deployed together with his newly formed cadre of battle mages trained by Wilson. William was pleased to hear Hideo was made the first Mage Captain of this new order and his people were already driving those apparitions back. "God fuck Ice Sprites" he cursed as he kept writing. the howling wind crashing against the wards creating this low-level humming white noise making sure William never had a minute of true peace and quiet. Reports of his scouts told that the many communities and farms of his Duchy were being shielded by their own minor deities. Word of his deeds in the city had already spread even among the outliers and he was due a visit from the druid of the frozen wastes. Likely a test to see if he was going to do as many Wulfgrem had tried before and conquer that piece of gods forgotten ice and rock. William had plans for the wastes, but they didn''t involve marching his Knights and Army there. No, he planned to sell that place to a particular group of people he would make friends with when he reached the Academy. A chill went through William''s spine. The Academy was looming closer by the day and Lucrezia''s memories were starting to bleed over his own at a pace so fast he could barely keep track of them without having to meditate for hours. The same is happening with the young woman trapped inside of his soul as she experienced his own memories as her. The message was clear for William, whatever or whoever did this wanted Lucrezia to be "in charge" since she wasn''t experiencing his memories from his point of view. A mechanism to avoid detection from the forces in charge to protect this particular Universe from intruders perhaps? William knew from the game''s own lore that the All-Father employed a Goddess to do both recon and diplomatic jobs across other universes called Wynnur. And that was the extent of his knowledge, the game only had the damn thing''s name and what she did. No churches No hidden priests for side quests nothing but a bloody name. And what would happen if perchance he got an audience with the Goddess? William would set things right. He had already prepared a diary with everything he could remember from the game for Lucrezia, who to talk to and what to do for maximum profit and knowledge gain should she feel inclined to do so. Achievements that would have her hailed as a national hero and dodge any tricks the other political factions of Vermillion could throw at her and unless the Queen herself came for her head, Lucrezia would live the good life to the end of her days. As for him? He would try his best to go home of course. It wouldn''t be the same of course he wasn''t daft. William had done unspeakable deeds here and they would haunt him for the rest of his days. The reveal that his planet, that Earth had divinities ready to judge him the second he kicked the bucket was the only not so horrible part of this proposed deal. As long as they don''t delete him from existence for knowing too much that is. No good ending for him, if he made it back home there would be no hero''s welcome, and being forgotten to the sands of time was the best thing he could hope for when it came to endings. That is if even managed to go back to Earth. Odds were that he would either become a soul entity, not unlike a lich, or just get sent to the Long Queue. The world''s version of purgatory where souls of the dead would wait in a queue to be judged. Ever since this cursed storm began William''s thoughts were dark and brooding as if the very air was tinged with despair. He was also being outright assaulted by nightmares, every day without pause. They all had the same theme; Him losing his personality and memories to the soul meld and becoming a gestalt entity with Lucrezia. He didn''t know if she shared that fear with him but something about losing himself terrified William, something fierce. He would wake up screaming in mad fury and it took a solid minute for him to calm down. The more he suppressed his emotions and urges the stronger the bite of his nightmares got. He was keenly aware that this was not a battle he could win with his current game plan but everything, every single goddamn thing that would help him was locked away in the Academy! It was deeply frustrating for William to see himself being flayed little by little with the solution just outside of his reach! Sacrifice everything for his people, be it the mind, body, or soul. That was what gave William strength in these moments of weakness. He would set things right with Lucrezia and the Duchy. He would claw that win for them be it via tooth and nail or guns and magic. It was the right thing to do, the only thing to do. Gods help him; it was the only thing he could do without going insane.
Saa''ryu watched as her Lady trained against a Cadre of Knights and Mages. The young woman ducking and weaving spells with martial arts like she was born for war. Her more "extreme" tendencies were kept in check thanks to the Druid''s potions and Erwin''s rigorous training. Thanks to her little reunion with The Owl she now had access to critical information on the First''s Prince army. She was happy to find out the man couldn''t hire the war hero-led Crimson Yeagers. Lu talked a lot of her "morale breaking" cannons but Saa''ryu was doubtful it would be enough to break those mercs. She also found out that the Queen and King were taking a very hands-off approach for the whole thing. It was Galius''s duty and his alone, if the man needed help he would be getting it from his own faction, not the Royals. Good news for everyone. Gods forbid actually fighting Royal Knights, the battlemages trained by the Arch-Mage''s themselves would be just enough that Lucrezia''s newly bought shield that was the Arch-Duke''s faction political help wouldn''t be enough to brand her an enemy of the Kingdom and result in civil war or worse, getting kicked from the Arch-Duke''s camp and having the entire country come to kill them. At that point they might as well throw their lot with the Elves from Grannarius or the Imperium. But Saa''ryu didn''t have the heart to raise those options yet. It was thanks to her old ties to Owl that she found out the extent of Galius''s sphere of influence in the whole Kingdom. His faction had masterfully played their hands and turned what would be a not so uncommon case of despots being put to the sword into a nightmarish version where Lucrezia was just in the wrong as her parents. Giving him just enough leeway for this "punitive force" of his. Still, with no support from Uumaries, the Goddess managed to "clear" her name for the time being. Word on the wire was that Morugarius had vouched for her and that had cooled the fires from Friede who was on the hunt for more cities to burn. Saa''ryu often heard the news from her own spy network that Friede''s influence was still strong in the populace. Which meant the Goddess was waiting for Lucrezia to point her again into the parts Uumaries didn''t like the sun shining. A noble with power over the one Goddess that hates them like they are hellspawn. Saa''ryu couldn''t believe the power Lu had amassed these short few months. And it would all grow tenfold when the young woman received her blessings. She felt Lucrezia''s gaze fall upon her and a tingle on her neck told her she was deep in her Battle Lust. Saa''ryu was no stranger to the lust-filled gaze as she had more than once masqueraded herself as a whore to kill her targets. Years of muscle memory were almost begging her to stick the pointy end of her dagger but she held herself back. Watching as Lucrezia came off the high. Poor girl, so young and with a burden very few could remedy. Saa''ryu had asked the Owl if there was any medicine in the faraway lands to the east but the man told her that nothing short of breaking a deal with Saal''Xhir would be enough for Lucrezia''s condition, but that would be for naught as the woman has a Greater Blessing waiting for her after all, She was stuck with that. Even if she became a Higher Succubus. One thing had caught Saa''ryu completely off guard on the other hand. While in the underground arena Lucrezia had made for entertainment to the masses and training she was approached by one of Saa''ryu''s sisters-in-craft when both caught Lucrezia doing moves that looked very similar to their own. With her increased mastery over her Magnetism powers, Lucrezia was doing a gauntlet of movement skills she herself had built together with a few dwarves who were bored out of their skulls in the nearby bar since the gladiator fights were on hold for a week. What followed was a merry show by the dwarfs and then Lucrezia''s running and jumping like a Dire Spider. Saa''ryu contacted The Owl and asked if he would be willing to teach her Lady. The man said yes. When Lucrezia heard the news she gave both her and her sister-in-craft a big hug. It felt nice. In not-so-good news, the Ice Sprites had mutated into Ice Wraiths and were hammering into a section north of the tunnels that could freeze half the underground city should it collapse. More and more people were sent to fight those cursed abominations by the day and it was a grim sight to behold the few times Saa''ryu went there to check things out. Still with the Imperials using their healing miracles the fight halted to a battle of attrition, neither side giving in an inch. Saa''ryu feared Lu would take matters into her own hands if the battle would escalate again. As the days rolled by, the shock of Winter''s End washed away as the people moved with renewed purpose underground. Thanks to the underground port being so close many of Hraax''s people came to ease the populace''s worries and boredom. Theater, Music, Food, the aforementioned Arena gave the people of Wulfgrem plenty to relax and entertain themselves. And thanks to Lucrezia''s outstanding offers to the church of Saal''Xhir, the criminal underbelly of the city was almost all under their thumb. Their brothel church had a vice grip in all matters illegal and gray in the city now. More coin for the coffers. As for grain and meat, they were enough for everyone so far. The bounty of the sea brought by Hraax''s people shoring up what would be a lean Winter''s End into just enough to keep people well fed. The steam pipes from the dwarves underground fortress were also working better than expected, so much in fact a few were diverted to the outside in the waystation''s entrance to the underground and now Silverbrand''s people didn''t have to freeze their souls off in the stretch of land that leads to the entrance. Watching all this effort the entire city and their Allies had put their backs into it for months gave Saa''ryu no small amount of pride and happiness, so strong it was that she got emotional enough to shed a few tears of happiness and relief. Lu''s mad plan had worked and they were thriving! no longer would the people of Wulfgrem suffer for after this godsdamned storm blew over a new era of progress awaited them. Brought by the biggest alliance of Gods and Goddesses of all walks of life, together with Science and Magi-Tech. Saa''ryu could see, ten years from now, how much the land she called home would be better. All thanks to the one person she swore her life to and the legions upon legions who decided to follow her into the uncertain future.
Thanks to his training in the arcane with Wilson, William finally had the tools to commit more intellectual fraud. A hard-to-master spell called Mind''s eye that existed in a gray zone between Illusion, Mind magic, and regular Arcane construct allowed mages to flawlessly remember a spell. Allowing William to remember several books he had read along the years. The first to copy? Lord of the Ring of course. God knows no one in this world would be able to top that off in the years to come since the same happened on Earth after all. And so between his paperwork and workout regime, he began the illegal labor of copying the thing 1 to 1 since he didn''t feel it was his right to "improve" the classic like he had read a few fictions when it came to Earth''s works of fiction. This break didn''t last, however, as he received news of a Greater Ice Wraith hammering away at the tunnels. He consulted with both Lucrezia and the Ice Spirits who both told him he was needed there to boost the morale of the grunts. And so William donned the masterpiece made by Idun, Emilya, and himself. A form-fitting suit of armor made out of Obsidian, Mythril, and Enchanted Ice. Tinged in dark blue and silver it looked the perfect blend of futuristic and practical, the only part William wasn''t a big fan of was the forget, the damn thing just didn''t sit right with him for no reason since like the rest of his new armor it was form-fitting. Together with the visual upgrade came a plethora of he would call quality of life improvements, such as special compartments where he stored iron dust and rods for manipulation, the Enchanted Ice allowed him to cast faster Ice Spear and Ice Missile spells plus greater resistance to any sort of ice-based attack as well while the Obsidian''s high overall resistances made William a mini siege engine. He would be needing every edge he could get against Galius after all. The Spirits took their item forms as William took the underground path from the castle to the front, At his side, both Saa''ryu and Emilya who also had new Magi-Tech gear made for them. Emilya in particular had a weapon few used, the sword-staff. A weapon used by a now-defunct order of High Elven paladins from Kehheim. A gift from the Emissary from those lands who saw in the young princess a chance to "educate" and "culturally elevate" their southern brethren. The weapon allowed the Elven Princess to fight with both Mana and Ki techniques. And while William couldn''t personally vouch for her real-life battle prowess, she was a decent NPC ally in the game. Commander Veronica and the Sorceress from Magenta Squad Zulihee met with them as they arrived in the underground station that led castle workers to the center of the underground city. There they were briefed by Serkj who was shoring up the defenses of the whole place should the Greater Wraith break through the line. Armed men everywhere as he hailed a carriage to deliver William to the frontlines. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "The princess wants to fight? My what a lovely day!" Zulihee spoke, her voice dripping with mockery behind her veil "Tell me did you fall for the little hooman lordling? daydreaming of fucking her silly with that sword of yours aren''t you?" William was going to speak up before Veronica pulled her sword and pointed at the sorceress''s throat hissing as she spoke. "Watch your tone Zuli, before I slap your worthless head and send it to the Principality" her blade drew blood, it looked pale blue. Emilya herself didn''t speak a word. William stared at her face and it was like the whole thing didn''t happen. "This is either something that happens daily for them or Emilya here is made out of Ice, either way, you better deal with Veronica " Lucrezia told him as William took stock of the situation. "Will this be an issue Veronica?" He asked in a neutral tone. The elven woman heated her sword and hissed "No" Zulihee gave a small chuckle as she cast a healing spell. The rest of the ride was uneventful. As they arrived at the final checkpoint William heard the moans and screams of wounded soldiers and Knights. William approached Sigr¨²n who was tending to the men and asked for any casualties. According to the woman, no one died yet but the wounds the Wraiths were inflicting could have lasting effects up to a month, thankfully the Imperial priests had Miracles tailor-made against Elemental Wraiths attacks and thus the deadlock grew even fiercer. William took time to cheer some of the people around him. The mood went up fast as he made the rounds with his new armor and the Spirits Regalia. He took a pause near a resting post and Emilya walked up to him, she sat down and sighed. "Zulihee hates me, hates dad and mom. But she''s loyal to Veronica and the Magenta on the account Veronica saved her from some slaver''s sex den anyway, she hates nobles and I''m an easy target for her teasing" Emilya sighed again. "Will she fight?" William asked Emilya nodded "She will, you don''t need to worry about that part. Now let''s go" "FIRE" William screamed as his men opened fire against a wave of Ice Wraiths, together with Emilya jumped into the fray slashing and stabbing the ones who survived the barrage trying to bait the Greater Wraith out of its hiding spot. Emilya fought like a Vanguard on speed, from her person she conjured Magi-Tech after Magi-Tech items to stall, kill or blow the Wraiths up like a magical detective gadget. All the while she screamed war cries and rallied a veritable legion of Imperials, Vanguardsmen, and Wulfgrem Soldiers. Her Sword Staff slashed and cast fireballs every 10 seconds or so. Zulihee on the other hand brought the pain only a Granarius''s magic-user could. A mix of ritual-based magic and regular spells made William''s Acolytes green with envy. The Deep Elf would also fly around dropping fireballs the size of a car ensuring maximum damage to the Wraiths who focused on her every time she took flight and began laughing like a mad witch on the hunt. William together with Veronica and Saa''ryu formed the tip of the spear as they pushed towards the Wraith''s spawning grounds, Winter''s End pressing on them like a wall of Ice, wind, and snow. Still, they fought Valiantly William using his iron to inflict more damage to the Wraiths. His iron halo now acting as a makeshift crossbow as he fired iron spikes into his enemies. It was a shame he couldn''t cast fire magic, but alas Lucrezia was attuned to Ice, and until he had enough mana to tap into the electromagnetism part of his powers he was stuck with pure mana spells and Ice ones when it came to anything above "shoot a projectile at your enemy" complexity-wise. And when the wraiths got too close? his handy Dragonbone Ax was always ready to cleave foes in half. Veronica together with Saa''ryu fought like a whirlwind of death, the Windreaver title clean to anyone watching as the elven captain stood up against the storm itself via sheer skill and magical power. Unlike Emilya the woman fought without uttering a word. Nay even a grunt, just the constant sound of the wind around her. Saa''ryu used stealth as always, darting in and around Veronica and William to get a hit in and then clocking back to the snow. They ducked as William gave another order for the second Volley Shot, scores of Wraiths going down as the bigger ones began firing at the gunmen from the distance, nailing quite a few in their trenches. Zulihee jumped upwards and held herself in the air to spot those and with a mighty pull cast the biggest fireball yet, William wanted to call the damn thing a meteor but he saw no rock. Just pure blue flame that melted wraths, snow, and even the ground itself as the thing burned. Emilya had finished her part of the onslaught and formed up together with William as the Sorceress descended from the sky laughing "I can feel the Greater Wraith hooman, It''s coming and it is mighty pissed off!" A sonic boom went off 100 meters off to William''s side as Veronica and Zulihee cursed loudly. The firing line trench exploded in gore and stone. William heard the shouts for priests and potions but had to hold himself from going there as a shapeshifting cloud of snow and fog manifested itself right in front of his party. Its form changing from animal to every race known like shifting sand, William was mesmerized for a second before Saa''ryu slapped in his arms. "Focus Lu!" the maid screamed as she went invisible and began slashing the Greater Wraith. William summoned 50 percent of his iron reserves and conjured a thick wall. Slamming the thing on the ground as the Greater Wraith charged another Sonic Boom. Zulihee planted her staff behind William and muttered words fast as a rapper as she began throwing vials in the ground around them. Just as the Greater Wraith was about to cast the damn spell a dome dark as the void popped into existence. Saa''ryu reappeared and asked, "How do we kill that thing?!" Veronica spoke "Destroy the core, Greater Wraiths can''t remain whole without a core, unlike their smaller brethren. Can any of you cast any spells that will hold the thing in place?" Saa''ryu nodded "Then Zulihee and Saa''ryu are in charge of stopping the bastard. Me the Princess and the Duchess will need to alpha strike it to break its Ice shell and destroy the core" Veronica gave the orders as the bubble went down. "Aye aye, Cap''n" William said with a smile on his face, he had the perfect spell for this. Zulihee bolted to the creature''s left side and slammed her palms in the ground. Great chains made out of Elemental lava came from the shockwave and melted into the Greater Wraith''s body as it screamed and cast spears of ice and hail blasts. Zulihee smirked and simply made a hand gesture, sending the projectiles far away to the side. Saa''ryu went to the right side and began casting a big spell. William could feel the mana she was gathering just above her head as the woman made hand gestures and spoke in a language he couldn''t understand. A spectral tree appeared on top of Saa''ryu as she made a pushing motion forward. The spectral tree slammed into the Greater Wraith as it roared in fury trying to move. "Now!" Veronica screamed as she floated upwards and pulled her sword. The blade was coated in green Ki was so strong William could feel the pressure from the ground, she gripped the handle with both hands and more Ki was poured into the thing. William was surprised the metal didn''t give in. Emilya screamed another war cry and he felt the world sharpen around him as everything went slow-mo. She was buffing them with time magic! Haste was the pinnacle of any mage build in the game. He heard, in this hyper-focused state he was in Erwin scream fire as the bullets zipped past him and his party straight into the Greater Wraith upper body, denting its Ice armor. Zulihee grabbed her staff and just pointed the glowing end at where the core supposedly was. A white beam flashed in William''s eye and even with Haste applied on himself, he could barely follow it. "All-Father above, Doom Ray!" Lucrezia screamed in his mind, William smirked as he recalled the spell''s mechanics that could one-shot anything short of the end game bosses due to its sheer potency. That without adding any element to it which William could see that Zulihee had added both fire and light aspected mana into the spell burning a hole big enough for the rest of the party to see the core. A diamond made out of ice and frost stood at the center of the Greater Wraith. Emilya screamed again and leaped forward as she took her sword-staff and lobbed the damn thing at the core. In a flash, the weapon became a mighty thunderbolt that zipped across the Core, went outside, and looped back for another strike at it. Alas, the Core remained the whole albeit with a nasty crack right in the middle of it. Zulihee, who was keeping the chains stuck, screamed "Thirty seconds! the ray took too much of my reserves!" Veronica nodded and with a mighty slash downwards sent a shockwave that looked like a half-moon straight into the core. The thing stuck there for a good 10 seconds before dissipating and the core was still whole but the crack had grown wilder. The Greater Wraith roared again and tried to shake itself off from its bindings as William began pouring every single flask of Iron he had from himself. Together with the Iron wall, he had made earlier he raised his right hand and folded it into the sphere of Iron as he began shaping it into a mighty drill. As his mana reserves began to bottom out he screamed for aid from the Spirits who in their Regalia form channeled mana into his body. The cold felt ancient, older than the stars and the very ground William was standing on. But the boost worked as he made an upwards motion with his left arm and with his right arm began spinning the Iron Drill. With a raw scream and the rest of his mana both his own and borrowed from the Spirits, he threw the Spinning Drill at the Greater Wraith, using the rest of magic to keep the thing rotating at high speeds and flying straight for the core. The drill slammed into the core as it began rotating faster and faster, William went on his knees as he could feel his last motes of mana leaving his body and even the fumes going out as well. He heard the core break and the Wraith wail in pain for one last time before blacking out in the snow.
The snowstorm raged outside as a raven rested itself near the bedpost, it watched as people came and went out of the room to check on the young woman who was sleeping in the bed. Sometimes she would half scream half mumble names and places no one could understand. The raven watched as someone it knew walked inside and stared at it, the man kneeled without speaking a word and then got up. He cast several miracles on her. Checking for any leftover side effects. Finding nothing he did a small bow and left the room. "Forgive me little one, it was my duty to aid you and I failed you when you needed the most" A soft voice came out of the bird as it sighed "My Divine brethren are starting to take notice of you. They know something is up and some did not want me aiding you" the raven flew down and touched its beak on Lucrezia''s head "I am not strong enough to fight them head-on, But it is my hope that you will deliver me that power and together we will thrive against those who conspire against us." "When the Blessing day is nigh, thou shall know great power mortal. Heavens and Earth will all think twice before crossing you and I...We will be there for you" As the raven finished speaking, more forms appeared beside it. A gear made out of crystal and steel. A small dragon with rainbow scales. A crimson rose without thorns. An ax and shield and finally the lone spear made out of wrought iron. They all touched Lucrezia''s head as she grew more and more relaxed. One by one they left until only the gear and the raven were there as they stood to watch their mortal charge. More people came and went, at first they were scared but the raven gave them an explanation. After what felt like hours a sudden gust of wind opened the door, yet no living being entered the room. Instead, they were faced with a floating suit of armor. The Winter Spirit in charge of defending Wulfgrem. "Children of the conqueror. How is the oath bearer?" The raven spoke "She''s besieged by nightmares, trauma from her deeds" The armor hovered closer and stood watching for minutes "The duty is not for those feeble of heart and mind. But I must confess that someone so young should not be in charge of it" It stayed silent for a while then spoke again "My kin apologizes for putting her at risk, her spell demanded far greater energy than what we were expecting It did destroy the Scorned in the end but at...Grave costs" The armor left as swiftly as it came. Velkarius from her realm was taken aback for never in her godhood she had heard about Spirits apologizing for their mistakes. Proud and stuck in their ways as they were, which only meant one thing. They were emotionally invested in Lucrezia. It was rare, yes but such tales pop from time to time. Whenever they think a mortal can help them achieve something related to the lost civilization that lived alongside them. Velkarius herself had a passing interest in them, for why would such an advanced and thriving civilization lose favor from their creator Goddess and be abandoned? Brushing her hobbies aside she focused on the storm via her raven. Just another week Velkarius thought to herself, in a week the girl who was now sleeping like a newborn infant would rise above mortal ken with her Blessing and set the greatest wrong of generations right in the fields of battle. Nevermind the fact her sphere grew by the day or that Uumaries and her people were scrambling to swipe their dirty below carpet. Lucrezia would put them all to the sword, and until she lived nobles would whisper her name in fear.
One, two, three, four Can you tell a wish from a spell? A hug from a lie? They both make you feel so gone We warned you from harm again You''re beating hearts again We made love in June, I heard it from you You were my best friend You used my name Hit hard with harm, She loves to off you then yawn Never disarm, you know she loves to be drawn You''re leaching hard friend I''m feeling down again We made love with a few, I took it from you You were my worst friend, I felt that way Braiding her hair, You can tell her from here Drink her last tear, Yeah, you die for your dear Bad vibes around her, She''s eating hearts again We made love in June, I heard it from you You were my best friend You used my name William stared at the window of the car as he drove down the highway. Heading nowhere, all he wanted was to run away. The song kept playing as he moved to turn off the radio only for a hand to swat his own from the thing. "I''m listening to the song Terran, don''t be rude" the young woman told him as she tied her long ashen hair on a ponytail. Her azure eyes mesmerized William as he nearly sent the car headfirst into a truck that blared its horns at him. "Eyes on the road you silly man, you can stare as long as you like once we get home" she laughed as they sped past the truck. William frowned and asked the young woman. "Where is home?" The young woman laughed as she changed radio stations, news about the war again which bummed William out but if she wanted to hear it then he couldn''t say anything. It was clear she was the one in charge of this and he was the stooge. He didn''t miss her suggestive tone and licked his lips in anticipation for when he got home. Yet the highway showed no sign of ending as they drove into the sunset. As twilight came he finally arrived at his exit and drove the car into a bumpy road that took them over a hill with no trees on it. As William drove he noticed his hands were pale. As if he had never seen a day under California''s sun in the summer. As he turned to the side he saw himself, a perfect copy of his entire being sitting staring at the view from the window with a smile on his lips. He opened his mouth to speak and he saw his face in the rear mirror. Azure eyes stared at him, their beauty mesmerizing him once again. He saw his hair, now ashen tied in a ponytail bobbing with the bumpy road. They got to the top of the hill as William saw a huge castle made out of white marble and his lookalike spoke in his own voice "Ah finally! Home Sweet Home!" William once again blacked out and prayed to whatever god was watching him right now to grant better dreams. He would learn later to not tempt fate with such requests. Chapter 27: I Am Thou Among gods I walk, in dreamless nights we feast in glory. In hopes for a better future¡± Ancient chant sung by High Elves whenever a Blessing ceremony occurs. William woke up screaming, the dream burned into his mind as he began touching his body checking to see if everything was there. In his panic,he ran to the bathroom and stood still as he stared at the mirror there, Lucrezia¡¯s beautiful face staring at him with her azure eyes. Panic crashed in waves as William struggled to keep his cool, he turned the valve on for the bath and waited with bated breath as it slowly rose. He quickly undressed from his nightgown and jumped into the hot water. All he could hear as he dunked his head and held his breath was his heart pumping blood and the cold wind howling at the castle wards. He got up for air and stood staring at the ceiling waiting for the warmth of the water to seep into his bones. As it did he began to relax and let the fear evaporate. ¡°Fuck me¡± William whispered to himself, all alone in the bath made him tense up. It felt as if he was being a peeping tom towards Lucrezia even if he knew it wasn¡¯t his fault, as the young woman herself had told him time and time again. Yet the desire, the lust and Hunger kept bubbling every time he let his guard down. It was maddening. The lid wouldn¡¯t keep working, he felt. The blessings, those goddamn power ups he was waging his entire life on it together with the population of the city. Would they reveal the why and how of his predicament? would any of the gods who blessed him come out and say it to his face? There was nothing he could draw out from the game on this, all he knew was that the player would perform a small action at their prefered god¡¯s church and the blessing would be unlocked. It barely had fluf text for it! Still William felt this sense of duty. Of commitment towards the people of the city and duchy that he would be the one to deliver them into a brighter tomorrow full of hope and happiness. It felt like a flame that kept him going even at his darkest of times. Was that from Lucrezia? or Himself? William thought long and hard about it and the answer he came to was that it didn¡¯t matter. This was his home now, his people, his friends. It was time he stopped doubting himself and finally took the mantle he had purchased with the blood of the wicked. Against all the darkness that plagued his mind and body, all the desires he kept in check daily that flame of resolve would go on. Flickering and waving but never going out to leave him in darkness. Until he met his end, be it in battle a few months from now on against the prince and his goons.Or ripe old age watching over a prosperous land he and his fellows brought to fruition with blood, sweat and tears. This was his home. And he would fight for it to the bitter end.
Lucrezia watched as the Monolith radiated a myriad of colors. She had learned each one represented an emotion William was suppressing from her. At first she was thankful at this unknown divine mastery of the arcane but now? Now she wanted to peek inside the boy¡¯s head and hug him to ease his worries. As the days went by and both him and her developed their relationship further she got this nagging feeling at the bottom of her gut. It made her queasy every time he was near her. It was almost like¡­ Like she had fallen in love with him. A notion that Lucrezia tried time and time again to dispel, as more knowledge from his world seeped into her own brain she was acutely aware of how he saw this relationship and the power play between him and her. ¡°Stockholm Syndrome¡± she muttered the hateful words that made her blind with anger. Like her feelings were nothing but fear responses of a cornered animal losing her life every time William took a bite. It wasn¡¯t that, she was sure of it. the quiet moments they spent together sleeping next to one another, the movies they watched and music they listened to. The many hours discussing their worlds and childhoods. That had to mean something right? something more than just her ¡°biological¡± functions if that was even possible in her current state. She knew it was love for it was the same kind of love William felt before his life went to hell and a handbasket. She had tapped into those memories of his old girlfriend. Memories he tried very hard to suppress from her. It was like a raging fire! His whole being focused on this maddening infatuation that became a passion so strong it nearly overwhelmed Lucrezia twice! It was like the William from before this was another person all together. It warped him and hammered the boy into a totally different self. Lucrezia was honestly lost, she had never felt anything beyond a crush for some good looking squire training in the yards of the castle. To think someone, and a man at that, could love someone else so deeply, so intensely it made those books on romance she had read with her friends in the Capital seem silly at best. And then came the break up. Lucrezia was stunned, for hours she couldn¡¯t even mutter a word when she finally cracked the lock on those memories. It felt like she was fighting against William¡¯s entire soul there, so strong they were. He didn¡¯t want those memories and he did his best to bury them deep. And yet Lucrezia unlocked them, with no small help of the melding process she figured. Pure pain radiated from it, she felt the whole world lose its luster and life itself became misery made manifest. William was sapped of life, of what Lucrezia had read in books past as the spark of hope the All-Father places in every single living being he created. The Spirits recreated this for their creations as well but theirs tended to go wrong every once in a while and the world was full of tales of Beast and Magi-Folk who became numb to it all. Of course thanks to William¡¯s knowledge she had more insight on the nuts and bolts of this sickness of the mind, this depression as Terra called it. a mixture of genetics, neurology and upbring combined in a potent and often deadly mix that ruined many a life. The days and weeks she relieved in those memories were bleak, as she saw William at the literal bottom of the barrel. Even killing himself, something he considered a lot in those times wasn¡¯t enough to end the pain. He felt fear, loneliness and a existencia dread so severe it was affecting Lucrezia in ways she didn¡¯t expect to. She would wake up screaming and crying. Sometimes she caught herself just staring at nothing and longing for the good old days. Days she had never lived after all those were all his memories. This deeper understanding of the boy behind the mask he had made Lucrezia feel an urge to protect him. To hold him in her arms and let him cry the tears he had buried so deep in his soul and tell him it was all right. Because she was here now and she would never ever leave him. She had noticed how their encounters after this series of revelations always ended up with him sleeping near her. She took an almost protective stance near his sleeping soul as she unconsciously took a stance to fight him nightmares and self doubts that plagued him. He had done so much for her, her people and her Duchy and would do so much more. Put himself in the front when he could¡¯ve sent others to do the work. Sacrifice after sacrifice to atone for sins they were both guilty of. It was then she noticed, the same spark that once became a raging fire of emotion for William had blossomed inside of her. Each encounter with him fuelling it a bit more until it became a steady flame. It gave Lucrezia a shift in view she had never experienced herself. How every movement, every word and gesture was analysed and ran over her mind before giving up and just doing what she wanted to do. Alas she didn¡¯t want to tell him any of it. Her feelings for him would die with her as she knew. Knew that once William had that knowledge or worse, fell for her the same way she did for him he would sacrifice himself for her. And that could not, would not happen. ¡°It is my Sacrifice, my Penance¡± Lucrezia said as she touched the Monolith. It would hurt, she knew but after everything William had done for her. This was the least she could do. and Lucrezia would do it until he was finally free from her body and safe. That was her hope, her dream
William did more paperwork as the news from the Spirits hit him, the storm was finally beginning to ease up. No more Wraith attacks along the supply routes thank the fucking lord. Still William¡¯s inner beast cried for blood, he had started training twice as hard now and would end up his sessions at the brink of exhaustion. Be it Magical theory with Wilson, tactics and troop deployment with Erwin and his war games. To more esoteric means of combat such wielding the Spirits own life force as a means to give him a short but potent burst of power. Such power came at severe disadvantages; sadly, he would be bedridden for a day and could only be used inside his lands, a budget version of the Rage-that-Dwells in purely mechanical terms but every edge he could get his hands on was good enough for him. He also dabbled in potion making with Gabriel. Poison as well since that was a stone throw when it came to the making of the concoctions, the Arch-Druid told him he didn¡¯t have the gift for the craft and any advancement he made would have to come from working extra hard on it. Still he could craft both mana and health pots now, even if they were of below average quality. A win is a win as the saying went. Together with Kalista and her brood, William trained his psyche and grit as the Dragoness would constantly siege him with noise and stray attacks as her children piled over William in waves. According to the Dragoness it was a basic form of training every dragon worth their wings went through since they were the tip of the spear in the universal conquest. William who had previously thought he was already under some sort of PTSD or as the natives called the Silent¡¯s Curse now was sure of it. As Kallista had basically shell shocked him to being almost numb in the face of overwhelming odds. She was disappointed he couldn¡¯t break past that final barrier and act like a ¡°true¡± dragon. Saying there was good reason the All-Father rarely sent humans to the frontlines, still she was happy with his progress. Lucrezia had been quiet the past few days he felt, when he asked her in the soul realm all she told was that she was feeling tired. A symptom of the merge perhaps? William couldn¡¯t tell so he shrugged it off, lord knew the young woman needed her space. Stil for all his insecurities he felt great, learning so many new things. Growing powerful by the week felt great, giving him a much needed ego boost. But he always made sure to temper such ego with a cold bucket of reality. Usually paperwork or stately work such as meeting and greeting important people. More and more merchant coalitions were coming now, outside of the first prince¡¯s sphere of influence as they begged in a very polite manner for his goods. It was thanks to one of those encounters that William found out that Galius was hiring mercenaries from the Xie Dynasty. ¡°Curious¡± Saa¡¯ryu said ¡°There¡¯s plenty of bands in the kingdom and near. Why hire from Xie?¡± William pondered for a bit, according to in-game lore there was no difference between the countries when it came to mercs, he could only guess something happened in the capital that made him outsource it. ¡°It won¡¯t matter in the end. Once I receive the blessings we will move to stage 2 in the weapons R&D and anything short of the Queen with her Royal Knights plus Arch-Mage support won¡¯t be able to weather our attacks¡± Saa¡¯ryu sighed as she pulled a few blueprints from William¡¯s table, even without the blessing as Raa¡¯Tyruhs church grew both him and Idun were starting to unlock more and more of Magi-Tech¡¯s true potential for warfare. It was drip fed for sure, but even then upgrades to the muskets and food processing units were already happening. The Magi-Tech suits of power armor were already in alpha testing stage as well and they were one-man siege engines. Armored trains, auto cannons, batteries for long range engagements. It would be a one sided massacre William could almost taste the blood as he saw the blueprints. ¡°My people and the Owl¡¯s have told me no Royal Spy has made it into our land. The prince isn¡¯t even bothering to send scout parties in the cover of the storm. Is he that confident in his mercenaries and allied Knights?¡± ¡°Either his faction ran out of coin, or he wants to hire Mage Companies from Xie. And I doubt the first option could be the right one¡± William sighed ¡°Have the dwarves begin preparations for Upward Momentum¡± Saa¡¯ryu nodded and said ¡°I¡¯ll talk with Master Idun¡± and left the room in a flash. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°God I hope the druids don¡¯t blow us off with this¡­¡± William muttered alone in his room. ¡°You do know using Granarius tactics will be called into question later right? Even if you change the name of the maneuver and have druids do it together with the dwarves instead of just using mages¡± Lucrezia spoke ¡°Why not meet them in open battle? or lull them into killzones for the artillery?¡± ¡°They will likely have diviners if He¡¯s hiring out of Xie. It¡¯s a speciality from the mercs there. But with the Arderite-¡± William said before Lucrezia cut him off. ¡°Arderite again... Gods William, you will massacre them!¡± Lucrezia exclaimed ¡°Are you not afraid of retaliation from the Mercenary Gods of Xie?¡± William thought long and hard and then answered her question. ¡°I will not defile the mercenaries Gods. They will meet their end swiftly and be allowed to remove the bodies from the battlefield after they surrender. It is the Knights we should be more worried about than a two-bit God getting mad at me¡± Lucrezia hummed and said ¡°Pray tell why would you be worried about the Knights? Arderite will work well against them...I see now you know them! Well ¡°knowing¡± is a strong word¡± She paused the realization dawning on her mind. ¡°You will hesitate to cut these men down, or you fear this because they were NPCs in the game, NPCs you liked due to working alongside them with quests and training? How curious¡± ¡°You must not falter William, Even should you raise your sword against a foe you know. Their masters allied with the prince and the revenge you promise both Velkarius and the Arch-Duke will be purchased with their blood¡± Lucrezia finished talking and sighed. ¡°But if I can get the news for them, prove Galius crimes they will have to Uphold the Oath! I can save their lives that the houses they are loyal to are so eagerly throwing to the grinder!¡± William was feeling panic rapidly rising as he tried to explain his plan for Lucrezia, hoping the young woman would agree with him for reasons he couldn¡¯t explain. ¡°You are not so naive to think they will believe you, a kinslaying mad woman-child when you begin hurling accusations towards one of the most powerful individuals of the Kingdom right? There will be no words powerful enough to disarm the Knights William. This fight you can¡¯t avoid even with your knowledge¡± She said in a neutral tone, trying to not upset William as she could feel his feelings getting the better of him. William himself didn¡¯t know why he was so worried about this. Had he not been killed in the name of peace? of saving the realm from people who were objectively evil? What were a few innocent men and women more? Their crime was only following their duties to noble houses who probably didn¡¯t even know about Galiu¡¯s crimes. ¡°It didn¡¯t escape me that these Knights are tied to people I used to know William, my friends in the Capital and the south...If you are worried about this, about me having second thoughts about this battle then dispel those doubts right now. I said it once and I will say it again. We are in this together to the end, and I don¡¯t go back on my word¡± William took a deep breath and wiped the sweat out of his brow, he got up and stared at the glass watching as lightning strikes tore through the city¡¯s streets thanks to the Storm. He knew not why lightning would happen in the middle of a snowstorm but Winter¡¯s End was magical in nature so who knows? Yet he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that when he killed those people he would lose a part of himself. He would become someone else. ¡°Forgive me for my moment of weakness Lucrezia. I don¡¯t doubt your words¡± He told her. ¡°It is ok William, If I can¡¯t support you, who can? we do what we must and pray the sins won¡¯t weight as much as they will, it is all we can do¡± ¡°All we can do¡­¡± William repeated her last words in deep thought.
Freya and Guun walked along dimly lit tunnels. These ones were not made by the labor from the city dwellers or the dwarves, but by the two of them. ¡°Can¡¯t remember the last time I actually tapped out doing geomancing work¡­Spirits protect me. I think I¡¯ll ask Master Gabriel to put me back to talking with animals.¡± Guun spoke to her sister who was constantly checking the walls and roof of the tunnel. ¡°Eh, nothing a good day of meditation won¡¯t fix it, now stop crying and help me with this'' '' Freya threw a Mana Crystal at her sister, its rainbow color betraying its purpose. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we are using war tactics from the bloody mad elves sister, it is a disgrace to our country and history with those people, to think Lucrezia would consort with them and even host their princess! a disgrace sister, a thrice damned disgrace!¡± Guun finished setting the Crystal and stood back as Freya charged the thing with her mana. The section of the tunnel they were in transformed in a flash. Where once was just an unremarkable tunnel now stood a wide plaza. Complete with a steel platform in the middle of it. ¡°Shut your trap you just don¡¯t like the Princess, Spare me the fake patriotic favor sister. For we got a job to do and this won¡¯t go any faster with you yapping at me about the bloody Granarius woman¡± Freya spoke, her tone tinged with mild annoyance. Still to think Lucrezia would actually do this, she had heard from some dwarves that the weapons they had plans for would be more than enough to stop anything short of the Royal Knights. She was wondering, why would the duchess go for overkill? Something wasn¡¯t right, Freya thought. And that Prince Galius feller was the one making Lucrezia go through this insane plan of hers. ¡°Tactical deployment of forces inside their lines and swift removal via the platforms for morale and momentum breaking purposes¡± Freya muttered the lines of the file she had got from that spooky maid that walked without making a sound. As a hunter Freya knew that was bad news, to think Lucrezia had an assassin so capable in her hands, the elven geomancer had not forgotten their battle against the tree. Not to say the crazy stuff she had heard from the village. The womanchild was training like she was ready to fight a leviathan! ¡°The mercenaries will be torn to shreds sis, I¡¯ve seen the new improved weapons they are making in that fortress. It will be a ghastly sight to behold.¡± Guun said as she finished drinking from her water bag. The elven woman went around the plaza checking for any faulty elements of the spell and found nothing. With a grunt of approval she moved forward. ¡°Be glad we won¡¯t be on the frontlines this time Gu¨²nnie, this time we get to stay back at the village and not have to watch as The Duchess¡¯s new toys destroy those people¡± Freya said ¡°I hear that Freys, Gods above, we got lucky. Did you know Master Gabriel will be at the frontlines? The old fart got a fire lit up under his ass after that battle in the city and now wants more blood. That¡¯s why you don¡¯t pick phoenixes as your animal of choice¡± Guun spat on the ground ¡°Blood thirsty bastards those birds¡± Freya turned to her sister as they moved forward towards the last part of the tunnels for the final plaza and said ¡°What in All-Father¡¯s name is your issue with those birds? Did a phoenix piss on your bread and morning tea or something? Blimey by the way you talk about em it''s like they killed our grandma¡± Guun gave her sister the stinky eye ¡°Don¡¯t you bring granny into this, and we all know she died valiantly fighting against a horde of sea elves...Anyway I don¡¯t like the birds, and I sure don¡¯t trust them when it comes to combat. I can give you the book I got from the trader a few years back. It says all about their hidden agenda for druids!¡± Freya rolled her eyes and said ¡°I tire of this topic, let¡¯s get this done and go back. Its pizza night today¡± Guun gave her sister a sarcastic smile ¡°It¡¯s pizza night everyday for ya. Bloody glutton you are sister¡± The two elven sisters went along their way. Cracking jokes and talking about the current state of affairs.Both knew that soon these peaceful times would end and once again these snowbound lands would be stained red. War was coming for Wulfgrem again.
William was starting to have visions. Of great beings watching over him, of Dragons made out of fire and ice. The blessing day was getting closer and closer. And the divine energy they had placed in his...no in Lucrezia¡¯s body were beginning to blossom. ¡°I heard that William¡± Lucrezia whispered in his mind softly, her voice carrying a hint of fear and worry. ¡°It¡¯s the merge. It''s going to hit a new milestone at the Blessing day I¡¯m sure of it. With our new mana reserves it will drive itself deeper¡± He told her his theory. ¡°Are you afraid?¡± Lucrezia asked, her tone now neutral. ¡°No, come what may I will not falter, I will not hide. We will face it together¡± ¡°Yes, Together¡± they both spoke at the same time as William watched the wards flare as another lightning strike hit the top of his castle. It was not as insane as one week ago. According to the spirits the Winter''s End was growing weaker by the day and in a few days time people would be able to walk along the streets once again. Time was going faster and faster for him now. So many things he wanted and needed to get done before the year was over. Exploring the land for the last church of the ancient race that lived here so he could get a dairy that would allow him to get ancient magic from the school. Hunting the unique beasts for bounties. Killing the bandit leaders in the wastes for even more gold and of course. Mine the ever living shit of his mine for the rare mats so he could start the school year with top level gear. All of that felt like immature impulse decisions made by a child now. But William would find time for them after the battle. William had received word from the elven sisters a few days back that his plan went without flaws. An old tatict from Granarius from the war. Striking from below as a way to deal massive blows against Vermilion¡¯s mighty charges, William was lucky no one from the enemy side would even imagine him using it. For his masquerade as Lucrezia implied she would meet the prince in the field of battle and certain rules would have been set in place for the battle. Rules he was going to break to smithereens. Veronica wasn¡¯t surprised when she learned of it. Only saying that he should be ready to face the consequences once word spread. Many a noble would turn their nose to him for mimicking the mad King. Serkj and Erwin told him their men were ready and eager. Not a single ounce of doubt in their minds even when knowing full well they were ready to fight a Prince. Saa¡¯ryu and her people were ready as well. And so was Karl and his now wife. Karl told him Velkarius wanted to send more of her Umbral Elite to assist her but they were all busy. William tried to contact Friede but the Goddess rudely told him to piss off, even knowing he was going against someone she hated with a burning passion. It was a shame she hated nobles that much, having another god by his side would¡¯ve been good. Lucrezia had told him it was greed, Terran greed that drove him to ask the one Goddess that hated his guts for aid but he didn¡¯t think so. Hraax and her people had already told him he could expect support as well. She was trying to rope in a Sea Behemoth as a siege engine but the fellow in particular was a notoriously known slacker. William was told that he shouldn¡¯t expect him to help them but Hraax was trying all the same. A pity the prince didn¡¯t come by sea, Hraax told him a few days later that if that was the case she could call a squad of Krakens to destroy him. Scary that she had such power Lucrezia had said. And good that she was allies of the duchy now. Veronica and her squad would also join him in the fight. As Emilya had vowed to fight together with the Vanguard. Idun himself wanted to go but both William and Emilya made him stay behind. He couldn¡¯t afford to lose his master forger after all. His help from the Imperium and Northern Raiders numbered in 1500 bodies total. Men and women ready and eager to fight. Imperial War priests would be doing double duty as field medics together with the few druids who decided to come together with Gabriel when he told William he was fighting as well. A knock on the door took William out of his thinking, a maid had come to fetch him for his weekly Bard lessons. He went to the room. Hayden was looking at him with worry on her face, she spoke ¡°My Lady, I must confess I¡¯m not sure why you still entertain these classes with me. Do you not have your hands full with the preparations for the upcoming conflict?¡± William smiled and said ¡°Not as much as you might think Hayden, Now as I promised you I have came up with a new song and I wish to hear your thoughts on it¡± Of course he hadn¡¯t come up with squat, once again William would steal from his favorite games and there was no interdimensional lawyer firm to stop him from commiting intellectual property theft. He began humming the notes so Hayden could provide the instrumental part of the song. As expected of a master bard the woman quickly got the rhythm down and so William began his part of the dance ¡°High, on high I stand¡± ¡°Gazing down to see¡± ¡°The endless garden¡± ¡°Awaiting me¡± ¡°Red bloometh the rose of conviction¡± ¡°And red bloometh the rose of hate¡± ¡°Yes red bloometh the rose of contest¡± ¡°Firmly bound to its fate¡± ¡°And the war, it wageth on¡± ¡°The storm, it rageth on¡± ¡°The bold ever fight on¡± ¡°Their lives echoed in song¡± ¡°Fall, like snow they fall¡± ¡°Petals plucked and strewn¡± ¡°Yet from their seeds grow¡± ¡°This war anew¡± ¡°Blood trickling down from my fullers¡± ¡°And blood trickling down from mine hands¡± ¡°Yes, blood trickling down to Yrithuan¡± ¡°Until I alone stand¡± ¡°The war, still wageth on¡± ¡°The storm, still rageth on¡± ¡°The bold blindly march on¡± ¡°Their lives, lost in a song¡± William felt a chill run through his spine as he finished. God he loved Heavensward and its soundtrack. Hayden on the other hand was ashen. She took a few minutes to come out of the trance Bards often used to fully immerse themselves into music for the optimal experience. She took more than a few sips of wine before speaking. ¡°My father. All-Father watches over him was a Knight in the war against the Imperium you know, He was also the one who taught me the ways of the bard when I got my blessing yet he never sung about his time in the front against the Imperial bastards¡± she sighed and then continued ¡°Until I graduated from the Bard¡¯s college and Him and his friends decided to throw a party for us since they were friends with the headmaster, also a veteran of the war¡± William stood silent as Hayden spoke, it was rare for the bard to talk about her past like that and he had an idea where she was going with the story given the lyrics of ¡°his¡± song. ¡°When they began singing for us, the whole theater was dead silent. It was not a cheery patriotic tune, or one to rouse hate and disdain against our enemies. It was a song of pure chaos and despair, of the horrors of war and how it grinds the soul of men¡± she took a pause for another sip. ¡°Yet it wasn¡¯t just that, from time to time small notes of camaraderie and hope would light the darkness we saw, according to my father it was the song for the rank and file of war, these lowly men and women who fought under orders by people who did not care for them¡± ¡°Yet your song Lucrezia, it speaks from the point of view of a commander, of a leader who not only sends their people to battle but stands there. Equal amongst them through thick and thin¡± ¡°It is a powerful song my lady, you should sing for the men before the battle for I¡¯m sure it will raise their spirits, it''s only a shame you won¡¯t get a Musical Blessing. The world could use more of your music my lady¡± Hayden said with a tinge of happiness in her voice. ¡°Even if no God of Music won¡¯t bless me, I won¡¯t stop making new music my friend, you can count on that¡± William told the bard who beamed him a genuine smile. ¡°It makes me happy hearing about Lady Lucrezia. Thank you for allowing me to help you with your first steps into this journey. May it be less bloody than the one you will finish in the coming days¡± Chapter 28: To the Edge "Behold! Death Comes!" Immortal King Graan of Granarius when first engaging Queen Malphas of Vermilion in combat. William stared at the windows of his room after reading the reports from the Owl''s spies. Galius had hired even more mercenaries. The man was fielding a small army. Yet thanks to the Owl''s personal involvement he would take more time to deploy his forces. The price for this huge favor? William would train under the Owl himself to become an Assassin. A good deal for him as he planned on doing that as soon as he was done healing Arch-Duke''s daughter. The skills learned there would greatly aid him in the battles to come to the Academy. Battles that he was planning on avoiding but after the huge meddling in the weave of time he did, who knew what was waiting for him in the capital? Lucrezia agreed with him on that much at the very least. It felt weird, he had been in the world he knew so much for what? 4 months now? He had come to this world in the Month of Gwenaries, named after the Goddess of Time. The equivalent of June for Earth. The 12-month system is a 1 to 1 copy from the earth, something he tried to not think too hard about it. Had All-Father stolen from his planet? or vice versa? Something he didn¡¯t have the time to ponder on it. Going back to his desk William took a long hard look at the calendar. It was the 28th of The Silent, the 9th month of the year, and Lucrezia¡¯s birthday was on the 3th of Spears. In just 5 days he would get six Blessings. Celebrations would be in order but William disliked birthday parties. Paranoia from his many fights and disagreements with his parents made him ruminate on his birthday a bunch. Yet Lucrezia wanted a party, thus Both Leanu and Saa¡¯ryu got together with some of the castle workers to prep for the thing. ¡°Damn it I¡¯m procrastinating again¡± William spoke softly ¡°Focus William, Focus for once on your goddamn day¡­¡± He turned back to the letter the Owl had penned for him. Originally the prince was going to attack as soon as the storm went away, which according to Diviners in the capital was to happen on the 20th of Spears. But now thanks to the Owl, the man would only deploy his forces in the third week of the Month of Moonless Skies. William had barely 3 weeks to fully prepare for war beyond his rifles and training the city folk to act as riflemen. Idun had assured him that once his Blessing was received the Sphere of Power of Raa¡¯Tyrius would expand fast and knowledge that only Idun and his priests could tap would be widespread. Karl himself expressed shock, Raa¡¯Tyrius was a small god, and the rate of acolytes and faithful he was getting dwarfed the records set by Gods of his power level. A good omen Karl called it. The plan was in theory simple. William gets the blessing and powers the small army of Magi-Tech acolytes to speed up military industrialization. According to Idun the first 4 days were the ones that would involve the most labor. William would have to stay awake through it to power the others together with Idun, then they would finish automating the weapons plants and the rest would be a matter of training the people in the new weapons and setting the many defensive lines. Plus the armored train. It would be the last line of defense for the city in case Galius broke through the perimeter of the vale where William had planted the Granarius Platforms. An extra tight deadline, but William and his friends would make it work and when that nightmare of a man dares to put his feet on his lands he would be greeted by the roads of his guns and the war cries of his army. William noted it all down in his diary. The pages filed faster and faster as he wrote in English to not forget his language. He would soon need more diaries and invent a bloody pen. Yes, he knew he could buy a magical one but goddammit Magi-Tech was meant to invent the best of both worlds. And as the soon-to-be head of the church of Raa¡¯Tyrius, he had to do better than buy from the competition. Even if the said competition was the mother of his patron god. The storm would be dying down at the end of the month. William¡¯s fears, now defeated by his newfound purpose, gave the boy peace of mind that made sure both he and Lucrezia could focus on the real threat. Killing Galius.
The sun graced the lands of the Wulfgrem as William rose from his sleep. the bells were going wild in the streets as the people rose in commemoration of their ruler and savior¡¯s birthday. Bells tow, people were out and about early preparing for the festivities and Saa¡¯ryu had prepared cheap ale and food from Silverbrand to help with it. William was also going to visit the big villages of the duchy before the time was right for the blessings. In the same basement where William had received the Miracle from Velkarius Karl had prepared the entire ritual for him. Complete with a special spell that would hide his form as he would have to perform the deed naked. Thanks to his Greater Blessing of Saal¡¯Xhir finally being freed from its bonds, William was going to experience what Karl had described as mind-shattering orgasms with a face that betrayed not an ounce of mirth. ¡°I¡¯ve seen once when the blessing went wrong and the acolytes had to be both memory and soul scrubbed by a High Priest of the Unbroken. It is not a good sight to behold Lady Lucrezia.¡± ¡°But if you can survive it, great power waits for you. I can not say what trials the other gods will give you but know this, Velkarius will always be at your side and shall aid you when dealing with the other gods.¡° William heeded his warnings and went to get dressed for his tour around the duchy. He had 5 villages to visit and they would be rushing it as to meet the hour of the blessing. Erwin and Wilson joined him as Knight Commander and Court Magician. Tradition demanded as such and thus they went. The visits were fun, in a way. Every village head knew about the horrors of the city thanks to either the Spirits or their smaller Gods in charge of the lands they were in. William met many a young who saw him as a hero from yore and pledged to join both the army and knights. When he returned to the city he was met with a hero¡¯s welcome in the main gate. As he greeted the citizens from on top of his Dire Horse he saw the fruits of his labors in full view. He heard Lucrezia cry inside his head. Tears of happiness quickly overwhelmed him as he began crying. The cheers got louder as he arrived at the church. At the entrance of the church¡¯s square were his close friends. Idun and Emilya with the Magenta, Leanu, Saa¡¯ryu, and their staff. Serkj and his guards. Gabriel and the elven twins Freya and Gu¨²n. Wilson quickly made his way to Leanu as his Acolytes joined him with the castle staff, William spotted Hideo among them as he smiled at her. Erwin met up with Sigr¨²n and Senior Knights for William. All saluting in neatly done rows for him. Hraax showed up as well. She beckoned William closer and kissed his hand saying ¡°May thy rule be long, thy people never know hunger and despair and thy name be remembered in good graces¡± Kallista showed with a few of her brood and just hugged him. Whispering to him that the trial for All-Mother¡¯s blessing would not be easy. ¡°A moment Lady Lucrezia, The people here have heard from the castle staff that you can sing and even compose your own music. Why not sing for us before you go?¡± Hayden showed up with a smile on her face. Sneaky bard William thought, he looked over to Karl and spoke ¡°Do we have time?¡± The priest nodded ¡°Plenty, your visit in the countryside was way faster than we expected. Poor Kallista here had to fly in Hraax who was in the middle of the sea¡± he laughed as Hraax blushed. There was one song that had been constantly on his mind in the past few days leading up to the blessings. He picked the guitar Emilya had made and strung a few notes, the melody quickly adjusting itself thanks to the Magi-Tech tunning mechanisms Emilya had come up with it together with Idun. William began to sing as he strung note after note, his friends all focusing on him, he felt a bit of stage fright but Lucrezia helped him in sending Ice mana to his body, making it go away. "One brings shadow, one brings light" "Two-toned echoes tumbling through time" "Threescore wasted, ten cast aside" "Four-fold knowing, no end in sight" "One brings shadow, one brings light" "Two-toned echoes tumbling through time" "Threescore wasted, ten cast aside" "Four-fold knowing, no end in sight" "All our splendor bathed black in silence" "Our surrender a sombre reverie" "Slowly drifting down into twilight" "Left to sifting through faded memories" "Know our places, for worth is wordless" "Evanescent, this writing on the wall" "Brother stay this descent to madness" "Come and save us. Catch us before we fall" "Riding home" "Riding home" "Finding hope" "Don''t lose hope" "Like broken angels, wingless, cast from heavens'' gates" "(Our slumb''ring demons awake)" "We only fly when falling, falling far from grace" "(Hell take us, heaven can wait)" "Our lives a message in a bottle cast to sea" "(Disgrace untold and unseen)" "Quick to their ends, our candles burn until we''re free" "In monochrome melodies" "Our tears are painted in red" "(Bleeding to the edge)" "Deep inside we''re nothing more" "Than scions and sinners" "In the rain" "Do light and darkness fade" "Yes, time circles endlessly" "The hands of fate trained ahead" "(Pointing to the edge)" "All things change, drawn to the flame" "To rise from the ashes." "To begin" "We first must see the end" "One brings shadow, one brings light" "Two-toned echoes tumbling through time" "Threescore wasted, ten cast aside" "Four-fold knowing, no end in sight" "One brings shadow, one brings light" "Two-toned echoes tumbling through time" "Threescore wasted, ten cast aside" "Four-fold knowing, no end in sight" "Rock of Ages, we cast the first stone" "In our cages, we know not what we do" "Indecision here at the crossroads" "Recognition, tomorrow''s come too soon" "Follow blindly like lambs to slaughter" "At the mercy of those who ply the sword" "As our song wends dead underwater" "We''re forgotten for now and evermore" "Riding home" "Riding home" "Finding hope" "Don''t lose hope" "Without a compass wand''ring lost in lies of faith" "(Faith slowly wasting away)" "Only alive in fighting Death''s amber embrace" "(Our hearts beat loud, unafraid)" "On Hands and knees, we pray to gods we''ve never seen" "(Come shadow, come follow me)" "The final hour upon us, no more time to breathe" "In monochrome melodies" "Our tears are painted in red" "(Bleeding to the edge)" "Deep inside we''re nothing more" "Than scions and sinners" "In the rain" "Do light and darkness fade" "Yes, time circles endlessly" "The hands of fate trained ahead" "(Pointing to the edge)" "All things change, drawn to the flame" "To rise from the ashes." "To begin" "We first must see the end"
¡°I¡¯m impressed you don¡¯t mind it Lady Lucrezia. Well, I suppose these reflective screens help ease the burden in the mind eh?¡± Karl talked as William undressed and lay down in the cold stone. ¡°The alternative isn¡¯t better my friend¡± William shot back holding back a laugh. Better naked and cold than wetting himself. ¡°I will undo the Miracle holding back the curse, brace yourself¡± With a flick of his finger Karl sent ghostly knives all over William¡¯s body. They sank one by one as he felt heat rise from within his breast. He didn¡¯t even notice the blackout as the blades peeled themselves off his body. William was standing in a great arena. In the seats many faceless bodies stared at him in silence, he quickly checked himself and saw that his ¡°form¡± was still Lucrezia¡¯s body. One less thing to worry about. To his side, an 8-foot tall Elven woman stood. Her face was sunken and the hawkish nose was striking. Her long coppery red hair was akin to a wave in the sea as the breeze went through it. William instinctively knew who she was as a mighty spear was summoned in her right hand. ¡°First to claim, first to aid. Today will be a glorious day Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem for we fight four gods!¡± She slammed her spear in the ground as shockwaves formed thanks to the mighty attack. William knew very well what was about to happen. To earn a blessing, the god would ask their would-be blessed for a random task. Usually, a prayer or donation for most of them but some would whisk their blessed souls away to a divine realm made for a trial in combat. ¡°You will not fight alone Lucrezia¡± Spoke a kind but firm voice to his other side. At 7 foot tall stood a man. His features shift and weave as if his very form was being made by William¡¯s senses. After a few seconds, his features locked in place. Ashen, blue skin and with a face that could only be described as a mixture of men and dwarves. His hair was but a patch on top of his head but he spotted a Magnificent beard. Unlike mortal-made divine Individuals like Velkarius who retained their form after apotheosis. The progeny of divinity was not bound by such rules and thus William beheld Divinity in all its true glory. Raa¡¯Tyrius would fight with him, it seems. Against two war gods, one goddess whose sphere of power could tap even into Gods and of course All-Mother herself. Queen of Dragons, Conqueror of universes, Warmaster of Faal. the titles piled on as William realizes how deep he was in the shit creek. At least the paddle was decent. ¡°Grandmother will only fight after we are done with the other three¡± Raa¡¯Tyrius spoke, summoning a complete set of Vanguard armor. On his left shoulder stood what William could only describe as a miniature turret. He pressed his palms together and then released them. A mighty shield made out of crystal and steel was summoned together with a sword that looked¡­ Simple? William was taken aback by the simplicity of the weapon. Dwarven sensibilit¨¦s perhaps? It didn¡¯t matter, If Raa¡¯Tyrius knew how to use it then it was good enough. ¡°It¡¯s been ages ever since my last fight but I swear on my name I will not falter¡± He stared at William¡¯s eyes with intensity and conviction. Velkarius smiled as she conjured up her staff. The gnarly wooden thing was wet with blood. William¡¯s eyes went wild ¡°The blood of the Bthelyd¡± he whispered the name of the nobles who Killed Velkarius¡¯s family and set the events in motion that would turn her into the Goddess of Vengeance. She smiled at him, teeth bared in rage. ¡°Knowledge is the sweetest of fruits, isn''t it young human? Now steady yourself for our guests who have arrived¡± Two men showed in front of William. One in chain armor with a simple spear made out of wood and wrought iron. He lacked any the looks of a commander but William knew that was the Silent Soldier. Patron of the Imperium. Chou Xin on the other hand was the split image of a fantasy Viking raider. Complete with braids and tattoos. The man looked mighty pleased with himself and had a huge war ax in his hands. ¡°Had ya tell me I was going to fight together with this bore I would get you Divine Beer and then a punch in the cunt HAHA¡± The God laughed at his crude joke ¡°The rules are simple girly. Defeat me and the mute bastard here and you will enjoy the blessings of us both, you must land the killing blow, not your helpers¡± The Silent Soldier nodded and pointed his spear to William. Taking a defensive stance. William grabbed his dragonbone Ax and with a roar summoned a mighty Iron Halo around him. Its edges were ready to rip and tear its enemies. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°A warrior¡¯s war cry! Good!¡± Screamed Chou¡¯Xin as he charged into William with his weapon at the ready. ¡°We do this together¡± William spoke out loud. The gods nodded and sprung into battle. The fight for His blessings had begun. Velkarius took to the skies and with her spear pointed at the Silent Soldier she dove straight at him. The tip of her spear coated in crimson light as circles in the air began gathering around her. ¡°Perish¡± She spoke with steel in her voice as she plunged. A mighty boom shook the realm they were in. A cloud of dust emerged as the forms of both Gods were made manifest. Silent¡¯s Spear tip was locked in place with Velkarius. The God didn¡¯t even grunt as he pushed and sent the Goddess flying backward. Velkarius slammed her staff in the ground and hurled a mighty thunderbolt towards Him. William barely had time to blink when he sensed a shift in the air as a wave of energy came crashing down upon him. A hearty laugh filled the space as Chou¡¯Xin spoke. ¡°Eyes on the enemy!¡± William blinked and then dashed forward, Raa¡¯Tyrius at his side already blasting away with his shoulder cannon. ¡°The pup has teeth! but will it be enough to win I wonder?'''' The raider God mocked Raa¡¯Tyrius with both locked blades after a mighty swing from Chou¡¯Xin. William dashed under Raa¡¯Tyrius and then rose upward with his ax. Chou¡¯Xin was taken aback by the speed of the attack and was ready to taunt him again before William leaped into the air and screamed. Spears of cold blue ice and Iron manifested countless times. William pointed his first towards his enemy and unleashed the barrage. For a full 10 seconds, it rained into the land. Divine Ichor flowed from the Raider God¡¯s body as he smiled in sheer joy. Once again he tried to speak but Raa¡¯Tyrius threw his shield at him like a frisbee and roared in defiance. With a mighty swing, a bolt of crystal blue energy flew from his sword to the sky and came crashing down only to be stopped by Chou¡¯Xin¡¯s ax. he started to spin the weapon and hurled a miniature hurricane at Raa¡¯Tyrius. William landed on the ground and began slashing away at Chou¡¯Xin who parried and blocked his blows without effort. Raa¡¯Tyrius who had now dispelled the hurricane away leaped towards him and swung his sword downwards. William bolted towards his shield and with a slide grabbed the thing from the ground and rushed towards Chou¡¯Xin as he blocked the downward attack. Both struck at the same point, knocking the wind out of the Raider God. Another roar from both William and Raa¡¯Tyrius and they pressed their advantage with Raa¡¯Tyrius slashing at the legs and William punching the throat. As he punched, he used part of his mana to form a razor-thin edge. Chou¡¯Xin choked and spat blood as he smiled. His form began to fade as a voice full of mirth and pride spoke in William¡¯s mind. ¡°My Strength is yours. May ye grant my people a good war¡± A cold fire burned at William¡¯s left breast. A sigil made out of divine energy and arcane forming on his very soul as the form of a simple yet sturdy ax took shape. ¡°The first of Six¡± He spoke and turned to Raa¡¯Tyrius ¡°We must aid Velkarius. Can you still fight Lord Raa¡¯Tyrius?¡± The God smiled with an apologetic look ¡°I am no lord Lucrezia before you came along I was naught but a leech upon my parent¡¯s spheres¡± He shook his head and spoke. His tone cheerful ¡°But that was the past. Today we forge a new future. Come, let us aid the Spear of Vengeance¡± William only needed to take a look towards the battle to see it was in a stalemate. While not Goddess of War in name, Velkarius was a formidable warrior in her past and her small elite unit of priests was worthy of a battalion of men in combat. The Silent Soldier on the other hand had the entire Imperium¡¯s worth of prayers and devotees to aid him. He fought not as a beast possessed Like Chou¡¯Xin and Velkarius but with the cold calculus of a veteran who had seen it all. Velkarius on the other hand was using the full might of her powers. Murder of Crows flew at Silent at breakneck speeds exploding on contact. Every attack he threw at her she teleported in a flurry of blades and crow feathers. And when her spear wasn¡¯t enough she rained arcane fire on him. her staff swung like an angry arm of a God in her hands as it threw spell after spell at the God. Silent stood his ground, dodging and rolling out of the attacks and constantly poking and slashing at her. Every step was a drumbeat demanding blood. Every once in a while he would change his stance and summon a small buckler. Parrying her attacks and sending the magical ones away. Raa¡¯Tyrius pointed his sword at Silent and his form shifted like hot air in the summer. In a blink, he appeared right by Silent¡¯s left side and slammed the butt of his sword into it. Only for the God of War to dodge out of the way with a mechanical precision that very few could pull it off and stab Raa¡¯Tyrius in the leg. William, with newfound vigor coming from Chou¡¯Xin¡¯s blessing, managed to throw the shield right at the spear. Silent with a grunt leaped backward and summoned a mace, its wooden haft looked worn and the iron head tinged with rusted blood. On his other hand a broad dagger. Velkarius screamed in blind fury as both she and Raa¡¯Tyrius hammered bolts of white gold lighting at The Silent Soldier. William ran towards him and at the end of the Gods onslaught, he saw Silent switch the mace for the buckler and parry the strikes away. Only for the grim man to turn his pale golden eyes at him and resummon the mace. Another grunt and he was right on William¡¯s face. The boy was frozen on the spot. Those eyes stunned him as he saw a millennium of war flash inside his mind. Only for a spectral form to show besides him. Holding a familiar-looking single-edged blade and with a crown of ice in her head ¡°For Wulfgrem!¡± The specter screamed as she slashed Silent and ice began growing out of his wound. Velkarius smirked and said ¡°A shade! My Lucrezia aren¡¯t you full of potential!¡± William knew conjuring a shade took years of learning both necromancy and illusion plus a bit of mind magic. He also knew that wasn¡¯t a shade but Lucrezia coming out of hiding and aiding him at the eleventh hour. Her form washed away as she stared at his eyes. William couldn¡¯t tell if she was happy or sad. It didn¡¯t matter, he fought to win, then two more. He shook himself and bolted towards the stunned Imperium God. With a mighty swing of his ax he hoped the fight was over but alas hope turned into despair as Silent form blurred not unlike Raa¡¯Tyrius. ¡°Adequate,¡± The man said in a whisper. Raa¡¯Tyrius eyes went wide with surprise. Velkarius on the other hand frowned deeply and took a defensive stance with her spear. Silent summoned a pike and took a stance William was all too familiar with from the game. A simple yet devastating charge move that would barrel through all three of them in a single moment. ¡°Hammer him down!¡± He screamed as he burned through his mana reserves and felt the onset of a mighty headache. Summoning a veritable rain of Ice, Iron, and Arcane spears on top of Silent. Raa¡¯Tyrius Planted both feet deep in the ground and pulled a goddamn railgun! William almost called it out before snapping his head to Velkarius who grabbed her staff with both hands and started chanting. Raa¡¯Tyrius¡¯s railgun flashed blue as the spears began falling. Silent¡¯s form blurred again but he did not move as the stream of energy was blocked by his divine force. ¡°...Spirits of Summer lend me thy aid, let thy fire consume heaven and earth¡­¡± Jesus fuck! William thought he knew that goddamn chant! Velkarius was about to cast a Cleansing Blaze! Endgame spell. It had a bloody 3 minute cast time and Velkarius was almost ready to fire it away like it was a regular magic missile! William saw white as the heat consumed his vision. For a split second, he saw the raw fury of the sun burning Silent to cinder and ash. It took him a few seconds to come back to his senses as he saw Silent now bleeding heavily. The ichor flows like a river from his wounds. Yet his stance was not broken. Indeed only William could deal the killing blow. He reached for his ax only to find the thing at Silent¡¯s feet! The God smirked at him knowing full well of William¡¯s frustrations. ¡°Come Childe of Frost and Winter. Let us end this charade¡± Silent spoke once again, His form glowing with a powerful shade of crimson. ¡°Lucrezia!¡± Velkarius screamed as William turned to the Goddess, she threw her spear at William¡¯s feet and with a nod pointed towards Silent. With the Spear of Vengeance in his hands, William felt the surge of energy in his soul as another cold fire burned in his right breast this time. The form of a Raven carrying a spear tip on its peak, forming and then disappearing. Ever the stealth-minded William thought. To let the user hide her sigil so they can infiltrate the evils that lurk in the dark corners of the world. Raa¡¯Tyrius smiled and nodded and William felt the fire burn his tongue out of all places! A gear with crystals forming as the pain went away as quickly as it came. A sign of things to come? William recalled that Sigils on the tongue meant one thing, that the person would soon become the pillar of the faith of a particular God. He was in talks with Silverbrand to install churches for Raa¡¯Tyrius deeper in the south so he guessed it made sense. Power made him woozy. Three Greater Blessings. It seems Chou¡¯Xin was impressed with the battle and instead of a regular one gave him a Greater Blessing. Useful for the upcoming fights. William took a stance. He closed his eyes as the power of the combined Gods circulated in his mana channels. Time slowed down to a crawl as he watched Silent dash forward. He sprung forth like an arrow from a bow. Velkarius Spear. Nay! His spear now aimed squarely in Silent¡¯s neck, Chou¡¯Xin¡¯s blessing, telling his muscles where to aim to strike right at the weak spot. The knowledge that wasn¡¯t his flooded his mind. Power, true Divine Power gushing forward. An explosion of speed from both him and Silent as the tip of his spear and his pike clashed. Once again time slowed down to a crawl as he saw the God change to twin daggers. William pushed himself more, feeling his entire body burn as all 3 Greater Blessings kicked into high gear to grant the power he demanded. He pulled his spear back and in slow motion stabbed Silent¡¯s neck. The Silent Soldier smiled for the first time and unsummoned his weapons. As time returned to normal, William noticed wind marks in the ground beneath Silent¡¯s feet. His attack was strong and fast enough to damage the grounds of this realm! The Imperium God of War faded away as his sigil burned in William¡¯s right arm. A worn pike with a wrought iron tip. ¡°He got serious enough to talk, Congratulations are in order Lucrezia¡± Velkarius spoke with mirth in her voice ¡°Alas with me and Raa¡¯Tyrius granting you our Blessings our time together in this battlefield is at an end¡± Raa¡¯Tyrius nodded and said ¡°Saal¡¯Xhir and Grandmother you will have to face one at a time. May Grandfather watch over you Lucrezia.¡± They turned into their Sigils and flew inside of William¡¯s body. With a sigh, he grabbed his ax from the ground and waited for the Goddess of Love and Lust to show herself. William didn¡¯t know why the Gods helped him in the first place, maybe they thought that fighting against two Gods of War was unfair? but then he was going against The All-Mother herself! alone even! Best not to complain, This was his lot and god forbid he loses his Blessing because he bitched at the goddamn Blessing ceremony! It''s what it is he thought to himself with a wry smile forming on his lips. That was when he felt a weird sensation wreck his insides. He went on his knees as his mind was overwhelmed with something he couldn¡¯t describe! William moaned and groaned as he saw an enormous dragon with a woman riding on its backflow near him. Wave upon wave of...Pleasure knocked him out cold. He was blacking out every 2 minutes. A voice sweet as honey and dripping with spoke from up high ¡°Four Full moons worth of desire locked away via concoctions and martial training only for you to not even be able to stand up! Shameful display Lucrezia!¡± ¡°For someone who spat on that prude¡¯s face and even used a mad God to torch one of her cities you are awfully prude you know! Why fear what is only natural for your race?¡± ¡°The curse that prude woman laced you with, You KNEW! it would go away if you honestly didn¡¯t desire my Blessing! I am not one of those old Gods who pay no heed for their charges. All you needed was to ask my Priestess and this act! of yours would be a thing of the past¡± William was not pleased to have his hypocrisy being called out this way, for he knew every God present, even All-Mother was listening to it. ¡°Velkarius! the crow fucker herself, All-Father bless her. Pleading me to not smite you after her priest threw that ghoulish spell at my powers! Do you understand the severity of it?! Wars have been waged for less you ungrateful slut! ¡°That was uncalled for and very rude, hmph!¡± Lucrezia whispered to him as he stared at nothing. Not knowing what to say to both the ranting Goddess or Lucrezia. ¡°Only to bribe my church! the sheer audacity of it was enough to make me lose sleep for days! All-Father smite me but I had you pegged as some sort of blasted Infiltrator of Uumaries!¡± Saal¡¯Xhir jumped from the dragon who roared in what William interpreted as a laugh. She screamed in frustration at the dragon and landed a few meters from William. Her form shifted in ways not possible for non-divines or non-shapeshifters. Every pornstar, every unrealistic doujinshi character William had ever laid his eyes on was right in front of him. Saa¡¯Xhir became his brain¡¯s idea of perfect beauty. She then blurred as her form took a masculine shape. Faces of Knights and even a few of the mages mashed together with well-toned bodies and strong muscular arms. A gasp from inside his mind. Lucrezia¡¯s shame burned so strong it was enough to take him out of his stunned mind. A wave of clarity washing over him as Lucrezia¡¯s tastes and fetishes bled forth twice as strong. A part of himself begged him to just let it go, embrace that of which he had locked away for months, and finally be free from the struggle. It sang for him with his voice as Saal¡¯Xhir¡¯s smile grew with vicious glee. ¡°I see now! not a prude after all are you? Then why do this? Listen to the song, Listen to the voice you have locked away Lucrezia for it is not mine but your own!¡± The Goddess features turned kind. She had finally realized William had no ill intentions toward her and her church and even was in favor of their expansion. Yet the true nature of his fears was not meant to see the light of day. For he knew All-Mother would smite him and Lucrezia together if she found out he was from Earth! ¡°Deny it no longer Lucrezia!¡± William¡¯s inner voice spoke to him so strongly he was knocked down again. Using his ax to prop himself back up he huffed and puffed. What do I do goddamn it! I can barely stand, much less fight her and that dragon! ¡°Let it go, William. I know it''s me that worries you. It''s thanks to me you can¡¯t satisfy these cravings your heart yearns for.¡± Lucrezia spoke ¡°But Lucrezia I!-¡± He was about to explain himself as he heard her speak again. ¡°Shut up you daft Terran! Stop pretending this is just you! or are you that blind to the truth?! These are also MY DESIRES!, MY NEEDS! MY LUST!¡± William sighed. At himself for letting this come this far and at the world for dealing him such a hard hand. For a while now he had the inkling Lucrezia was dipping her toes into that part of his memories after all. His lust, suppressed as it was still dripped down towards her. Their souls and emotions shared meant that even with everything he did she was still going to feel it. Still, he refused to believe she could be the one broadcasting such feelings, in a way to further play the role as a reluctant hero that would not defile the body which wasn¡¯t his. Pretending he was above the wantings of flesh. ¡°Lay down thy arms Lucrezia, accept my gift with love and I shall grant thee a boon few Gods can match! Cast aside thy fears, thy indecision, and embrace Love! Not for me or the ones in the Waking world but yourself!¡± ¡°For we will not judge, Not cast stones and accept you as who you are. A sister, a friend! She will show the citizens of Wulfgrem the freedom of my teachings! Freedom from the Yoke of Iron that was Uumaries!¡± ¡°Hear her words, William! I trust you and you must trust me! Cast aside this charade and let us become one with these feelings we both have locked away!¡± A hint of clarity shined in his mind. Visions of blood and ravens clean his vision and soul. Velkarius had come with one final act. For William stood at the fulcrum of his decisions now and She would not have him be addled by his repressed feelings and wants. ¡°For us, William, do it for me and you¡± Lucrezia spoke with such honesty that he was momentarily stuck in place. Those were her true feelings it seems and now that he was on the precipice he had but one choice to make, one path to follow. He expanded his arms towards Saal¡¯Xhir who took the form of Lucrezia. Both walked towards each other at a steady pace as they embraced each other. William felt tears coming out of his eyes as he lost sense of time. Once his mind came back to him he felt light. As if a great weight was lifted from him, he looked down and noticed a small puddle beneath his rear end. ¡°I uhh, Hope the All-Mother didn¡¯t see that part hehe¡± Lucrezia smiled both in shame and happiness, her feelings were crystal clear to him now and the young woman was feeling relieved, pleased with herself and above all else happy. He felt a click and suddenly memories flooded his mind as he saw Lucrezia¡¯s past including her more private moments as his own. As if he was she. ¡°The meld...So that hesitation was holding it back if only a little, huh? I don¡¯t know what to say¡­¡± Lucrezia spoke to him. ¡°It¡¯s ok, you don¡¯t need to say anything if you don¡¯t want to,¡± He told her as they stood there watching the great expanse of the divine realm they were in. The ever-present cold fire burned once again. This time in a place Willaim was not too comfortable with. It appears some remnants of his prude ways were still working. ¡°Gods above! A womb tattoo?! Really?! William for god''s sake! Look at it! What''s next? You gonna dress me with lewd armor and moan every time someone takes a swing at you?!¡± William went pale for a second before he felt the waves of smugness coming from Lucrezia, she then gave a hearty laugh and said ¡°Ye Gods you should¡¯ve felt the sheer fear Haha! Ease up, William. We are past that now¡± ¡°We are.¡± He responded to her with a smile on his face. For the first time in nearly 5 months, William felt true peace only afforded by the age-old post-nut clarity. ¡°To you, I bequeath a Greater Blessing, may thy life be full of love and pleasure¡± Saal¡¯Xhir¡¯s voice came from the wind. Full of happiness and joy for William¡¯s and Lucrezia''s newfound bond. A full minute went by before William felt a presence in the skies above him. It made him buckle and kneel as his face nearly touched the ground. A dragon, so large it bloated the sun, her scales shining in a myriad of colors that nearly made him blind even when not looking at it. The sheer power her presence gave enough to make Lucrezia shudder inside his mind. ¡°She comes! All-Mother herself came! Gods protect us!¡± Fear and Awe as William finally shook the effect off by using the Blessings at full power. Raising his head he stared at the being who was in charge of leading the All-Father¡¯s armies across the multiverse. Older than the stars. Fierce and Majestic. Only caring for her dragon children who were tailor-made as machines of war for the unending war across the cosmos, there she stood. All-Mother Thyrie! Queen of Dragons! Conqueror of Universes! Warmaster of Faal! She bared her fangs to William. Every fiber of his being screamed in terror and awe yet he stood tall. For a force coming from somewhere deep within him urged him to Defy Her! Tear Her to PIECES! A hint of nostalgia and homesickness amidst the carnage threw him off and the Great Dragoness spoke, her voice deep and powerful. ¡°A seedling for that pest resides in thy soul mortal. Be grateful my wrath does not extend to its remnants or thy soul would be destroyed in but a blink of the eyes¡± ¡°I see my grandson finally picked someone to expand his sphere. This but a pity he was tasked with such a daunting task¡­¡± Her eyes darted around the realm as she spoke to William ¡°I see questions forming in thy mortal mind. Why should you be granted my boon? It is known I care not for the flight of fancy that was the creations of my other half¡± That was how All-Mother saw anyone but the Gods and Dragons. Flights of fancy by the All-Father, tiny beings who live and die in a blink of an eye. ¡°And yet, unlike your kin you helped a child of mine out of the goodness of your own heart. Unlike those who shackled my Son to serve for generations even if he in his foolish mind is happy with such an agreement¡­¡± She sighed ¡°But I digress, I am not here to complain and whine about the whins of my children¡± ¡°Kallista spoke to me mortal. She begged, Begged That I gave you my aid. Never would someone such as her do such a thing and yet she did.¡± ¡°I hope, in my dear Husband¡¯s name that this is worth it. Consider this the only boon your line will ever see from me, Mortal. For I will only spoil my daughter this one time¡± William knew that below the facade of the stone-hearted Warmaster, All-Mother loved her dragons very much. And the only reason he was granted her Greater Blessing was due to that. ¡°Remind me to kiss Kallista when we get home,¡± Lucrezia told him. ¡°But I would be a poor Warmaster if I gave such a boon without a test! Ready yourself Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem! Prove that you have the Will to go above and beyond to earn TRUE POWER!¡± She gave a mighty roar and took to the skies. ¡°If you can last a minute you will have the power you crave! Now stand and fight!¡± William and Lucrezia both bellowed a mighty warcry. Power unending gushed via the five Greater Blessings as William¡¯s mind was flooded with Knowledge and Power. He slammed his hands in the ground and flooded it with enough mana that would make even the most seasoned of combat mages blush. With this newfound wellspring of power, he could finally tap into Magnetism''s second form of attack. Mighty iron towers sprung forth from the ground! Its tips in a spiral pattern as electromagnetic static accumulated on it. Its flashes blinding William as he smiled wildly drunk in power. A thunderbolt flashed and struck the flying dragon dead in the chest. All-Mother roared and sent a ball of living fire towards him but William¡¯s mana reserves were enough for full control flight! He soared through the divine realm¡¯s sky. And in a mad bet called forth the powers of the Rage-That-Dwells. The world went red as another flood of power crashed into his soul. Black Red waves formed in his arms as conjured Velkarius¡¯s spear and threw the weapon right at All-Mother¡¯s eyes. She bated the spear away with her wings and slashed the air with her huge claws. Waves of golden energy sprung forth crashing into William¡¯s flying form but his magical shield held strong. She flapped both wings as a hurricane the size of Rhode island crashed against William¡¯s body. His mind screamed words of pure rage and destruction as he used the same teleportation method the Gods used in the earlier fight. He felt himself burning out. Seconds stretched into eternity as his mental clock told him he hadn¡¯t lasted 30 seconds. So much power was used in his initial strikes he was almost running on fumes now. From beyond the hurricane, he heard All-Mother laugh and say ¡°35 Seconds! Major gods haven¡¯t lasted this long under my onslaught! Consider yourself honored for being among my top 10 HAHAHA!¡± Was this the end? Would William lose a power that would with no doubt help him in the trials to come?
Lucrezia watched in sheer terror as even the might of the Rage-That-Dwells was spent while William tried in vain to get out of the Hurricane All-Mother had hurled at them. She knew, deep inside that, he could not afford to miss such a power. But William¡¯s new mana reserves were all but spent after his foolish big flash attack with the lightning! Stupid daft Terran! Had he forgotten the classes with Wilson?! Lighting spells are mana hogs for Gods sake! Now they were gonna lose! All the struggle they went through for naught! Lucrezia¡¯s mind was then drawn to that strange dream she had. The sea of blood and the terror beyond the stars who gave its name to her. Now that her connection with William had deepened she knew what the creature was. And where it came from. ¡°William¡¯s soul is bound to the blood of the lamb¡­¡± The boy might not believe it but she knew. Instinct she knew that all the gods and religions Earth has been as real as hers. Why they chose to be hidden was beyond her ken. The blockade against them was proof enough of their existence after all. All-Father and his equivalents blocking a single planet beget questions no one but the highest of beings could answer. And yet, one of the servants of the God William didn¡¯t believe had sent a messenger. A being of fury so strong its name alone carried fear in the hearts of the enemies of old. The Arm of God, The Angel of Might Zeruel! ¡°In this hour of need, I harken unto thee. Deliver us from the enemy and save he who is bound by the covenant.¡± Lucrezia¡¯s voice carried power she knew nothing of but the power it carried all the same. The shared soul realm grew quiet as even the sound of her breathing couldn¡¯t be heard. It had come
¡°The mortal would die in about 10 more seconds...Lasted for a while thanks to that thrice-damned wraith that infects the land to this day.¡± All-Mother saw her hurricane tear the landscape with boredom. That a human ant like the girl could withstand the attack at all was enough to make her raise a scale but like many others, she wouldn¡¯t last to fight back. ¡°Kallista I swear if you try pulling another of your pranks again¡­ Faal is right I am too soft with those two, I can not believe a proud dragon like her or her brother would brood with mortals and abandon the good fight¡± ¡°If only¡­¡± But All-Mother didn¡¯t have time to finish that thought as a force descended upon the realm. Evil, Bloodthirst. Wrathful! Anathema to the world, to everything Faal had created, and more. Ancient in ways few were. A flash of light followed by a scream of fury tore through her back scales! The formless wraith of Wrongness shimmered in front of her as All-Mother prepared a mighty roar. Twin cylinders made out of flesh struck her and another flash of light hammered her chest. All-Mother managed to give a roar and the Wraith¡¯s form dispelled as a mental clock went off in her head. The hurricane went away as she saw the human girl standing her ax at the ready. A look of fear and rage in her eyes. ¡°Another step into the sea of wrath? Curse that entity and its legacy!¡± All-Mother thought to herself. She was going to have a talk with her husband and see that this cancer was expelled from her world! Sighing again she flew towards the mortal who¡¯s rage evaporated away as she beheld her. Awe ss always All-Mother thought still mad at the Rage-That-Dwells. Alas, the mortal had lasted a minute and she would not turn back on her word. She blew her essence at her and planted her Sigil, twin wings made of a myriad of colors on her back as was tradition for young dragons. How the human was going to use such powers was something All-Mother frankly couldn¡¯t care about. Puny creatures flawed in ways her dragons weren¡¯t. In a blink of her divine eyes, Lucrezia would be dead of old age and her power would return home. Or maybe Lucrezia would surprise her as Kallista had implied. All-Mother went away as the mortal went down to the ground, ready to wake up. ¡°One less thing to worry about¡±
Kallista the White Dragon stared at the naked human who was spasming among her own...Fluids as twin wings burned in her back. All-Mother had just sent her a very strongly worded message about aiding those with the taint. The old man was still mad that she and the old man couldn¡¯t fully defeat it, it clouded her judgment too much. After all, a Warmaster that let such a threat run rampant in her world wasn¡¯t that good of a Warmaster. Words she wouldn¡¯t be speaking out loud. She liked her scales too much to invoke the ire of the old Dragoness. Still, for once her doting came to something good. Lucrezia was now powerful enough to fight against the prince. Her soul radiated power akin to a sun. Even in her shameful state. A laugh escaped her lips as she snapped her fingers and cast a draconic spell made for the cleaning of the body. Lucrezia wouldn¡¯t be seen in this shameful state by her allies. Not on Kallista watch She was already feeling the waves of change rippling from the girl. The dwarves below the earth. The Warriors from the south...With the blessings, they would in these short 3 weeks become a force to be reckoned with. Ready to defend the land. It was a shame she couldn¡¯t personally help Lucrezia as Kallista had grown fond of her. A small raven perched itself on Kallista¡¯s shoulder and muttered words too low for a common ear to pick up. It then flew off, escaping the church and going south. More and more joined in as it wailed, its sound carrying a promise of blood that only one person could make it come real. Kallista watched as Lucrezia woke up, her eyes sharp as a knife ¡°Thank you for the clean-up, Now to cover my shame,¡± she said as she went towards the robe that was left for the maid. They left the ritual room as Lucrezia explained in great detail her trials and tribulations for the blessings. The first two fights against the Wargods Kallista expected but the trial with the Goddess of Love was something she was not. It wasn¡¯t common for someone as military-minded as Lucrezia to have these tests of characters, as they are usually done to would-be priests and priestesses. Then again, our inner demons are only known to us. Sometimes not even us if Kallista had to be honest with herself. Now the fight against the All-Mother was something she knew wasn''t going to be easy. As every dragon had to go through. But that she would throw the Hurricane of Oblivion at the poor girl made Kallista''s heart rate go up a notch. They were all made outside. Lucrezia dressed in her regalia as Duchess of the North. Her people were all cheering and singing songs of glory and hope. The long night was over. Wulfgrem now stood ready to arm herself against the evil from the south. It was time for war yet again. Chapter 29: What we fight For "An intense flash in the skies heralding the coming of a divine avatar. Men and God bound as one!" On Warfare tactics: Imperium and Its states edition. William watched from the skies as his army of subjects prepared the battlefield with speed unmatched. Power flowed through him like an ocean and he finally could fly! The first take-off felt like a dream, He blasted through the skies of Wulfgrem so fast he managed to create a sonic boom! only of course to have his magic shield break and crash like a rock in the snow as Saa''ryu ran after him. "Damn you Lucrezia. Was the blessing that strong that you got a fire lit under your ass?! Do you know how worried I was when we grabbed your broken mess of a body from the snowbank? you should thank Wilson for his breakthrough in the shield spell because without him you would''ve been dead you hear me, dead! Gods bloody young people and their blessings!" Lucrezia laughed apply in his mind when seeing her maid lose her marbles at him. Memories of her doing the same over the years as the young heir climbed trees, hunt for dangerous beasts, and tried to tame a "griffon" once only to realize she had brought in a starved Dire Wolf to her castle. Good memories...If only they were truly his and not hers. William could now feel how strong the bound was. That of which tied him and Lucrezia so, if he had to put in a percentage it would be on the upper 60s. He had asked her multiple times if she was alright with it and the answer was always yes. Didn''t make the fact he had done the unspeakable both in the divine realm and in the real world... "I think we are past being ashamed now William" Lucrezia spoke in his mind with mirth "This so-called internet is a well, I don''t have words for it to be honest" she laughed cheerfully "I can sense you still have some reservations about this so I will respect your sensibilities for the moment... As it stands now our forces will be ready for battle yes? And the villages on the path to the capital?" Lucrezia asked. "We have already laid the foundation for a network of tunnels to the two villages, the steel spikes were also deployed" William answered with a hint of pride in his voice. Electromagnetism! To command, such a power was a blessing indeed. He knew that down south many a mage had an inborn affinity towards the fire element and his Ice Magic would be getting hard countered. Not now, with the power of thunder and lightning at his fingertips, he would become the good old all-rounder. Melee and Magic both serving him against the myriad enemies lying in the shadows. The Steel spikes were born out of a drunken talk that ended in a dare together with Idun and Wilson. Using them William could command a strike that normally would take ages to cast and demand a reserve of mana even someone with 6 blessings such as he couldn''t meet. It shook the ground when after setting up the 20 spikes William called down the veritable finger of god. Erwin had even sounded the horn believing the Prince had begun his attack earlier! He got another earful from that. Erwin sounding like his father was a sight William was not about to forget anytime soon. It felt weird living through Lucrezia''s memories of her parents, before they got corrupted they were the image of good people. Fair if somewhat harsh in their dealings. She on the other hand couldn''t say the same for William''s as his memories were tinged with many negative feelings towards his progenitors. An unhealthy attitude according to Lucrezia but one she wouldn''t judge since she hadn''t lived in those memories as William did. Lucrezia wasn''t afraid anymore. In her words, she made peace with the melding of souls if that were to happen. Of course, they were still going to learn Necromancy and Mind Magic to free each other from their bond but for her was ok if they failed. William on the other hand couldn''t escape such fear. It haunted him like a wraith, the idea that his entire being would become something else. Something other that wasn''t him. That fear kept him awake for days. "To think Raa''Tyrius''s Sphere of Power would give such boons, The workers being capable of so much in such a short period. Of course, the drain on the food reserves wasn''t been kind and Hraax had to supplement their diets with the produce of the sea..." Lucrezia pondered "Idun assured you this will be ready just in time his armies arrive yes?" "That he did. Thanks to my Greater Blessing we can further tap into Earth''s weaponry and the prototype bolt action rifle has passed the stress tests with flying colors. Idun has already made enough to field half the Army and the drills are happening as we speak. But the battery designs haven''t translated super well and we will be unable to automate them." William looked towards the massive bunkers shaped with magic and druid powers and spoke "Ardarite shells will pierce anything magical short of a company worth of high tier mages" He cast his gaze towards the smaller bunkers with the "Magi-Tech Autocannon MK8" made by Idun and fully automated "Those bastards better hold, I can''t believe we had to go through 7 iterations for something so simple! Without those, we won''t be able to weather the Mercenaries charges that the price will no doubt send it first to soften us up" "And the trenches?" Lucrezia asked. "Once the infantry moves in our soldiers will hold the line there. If morale isn''t broken by the cluster payloads of the cannons of course" William responded. "Man-portable mortars teams will also help in the regard" With a smile he recalled something else "And the Magi-Tech horses for when we charge straight at the prince''s camp, those contraptions will fear no magic and no steel as we trample his people down" "And kill scores of good Knights who''s an only sin was serving their houses...Steel yourself, William for this time the people you will kill are not blackhearted villains but good men and women who you spent time in the past" Lucrezia sucked up air and continued "We do what we must. To avenge those who were wronged and killed we too must commit the foulest of deeds. For it is our duty" "And we will uphold it, no matter the cost"
William was training with Wilson on new ways to manipulate his lighting powers when A orc dressed in Vanguard plate showed up. The huge man spoke nary a word as he left a plain steel box on top of William''s desk and bowed. "More weapons Lady Lucrezia? Gods above you are barely a noblewoman now!" Wilson laughed "Leanu keeps saying you will be bullied by the nobles down south next year in the Academy but I doubt it! Who would dare to mess with someone that can bend steel and summon forth Lighting from it!" "Our cousins in the south are in for a treat all right my friend" William said as he opened the box. Inside of it were two pistols. William in a rare bout of patriotic fervor had explained the time-tested design of the 1911 handgun to Idun and the smith was all but enamored with the weapon! So simple yet sturdy! A genius design that every the lowest of commoners could understand! Of course, William barely knew the inner workings of the damn thing but somehow his ramblings of half-forgotten Youtube Videos and late-night documentaries were enough for the Blessing to kick in and bless them with the weapon. And now he had two of them! Black and White and with Lucrezia''s name engraved on the side by Idun who also named the weapon after her! The young woman in question was quite pleased by the fact. Even after being reminded that it was a weapon, not a bridge or street. It used mana crystals same as every other weapon Idun and he had made. Leanu had fashioned a special bandolier for William that was "all the rage with the High Elves" so it looked good, Lucrezia wasn''t a fan saying it was too tacky for her tastes but William brushed that away as the north''s sense of fashion was always squarely on the utilitarian side. She on the other hand told William that he was wrong and he only needed to look at their closet. "Wilson, can you summon a target?" He asked after inspecting the weapon. The mage who was reading a tome snapped his fingers without even looking up and an earthen target made itself manifest from the castle''s courtyard soil. William loaded a pure Mana Crystal into the weapon who sucked the entire thing like a sink and fired away. The projectiles were blue and punched through the target with ease! twice as strong as a regular Magic Missile. And William knew that loading Crystals from other elements would net him specific projectiles as well. Without having to spend a drop of mana to weave an element in the Magic Missile spell William now had in his hands another game-changer piece of weaponry. And one of the mages of the world would take years to bridge the gap with their arcane mastery! All he needed now was to finish his nuclear program and have the perfect deterrent against retaliation from the crown together with his ties with the Arch-Duke. God bless that magical mine! William thought to himself with glee as he loaded an Ice Crystal and a Lighting Crystal to each pistol and began firing away. Magical Ice enclosing the hole and spreading at an alarming rate as the lightning arced across the entire target and even zapped the air around it! "Wilson, Fire Crystal" He spoke and the mage snapped his fingers again. A fire Crystal the size of a watermelon popped and William had his pistol suck the bastard hole. When he fired, the projectile took a solid second to form like a ball of fire the same size appeared and went flying towards the target. It slammed against it and baked the early in a second flat! William could feel the infernal heat from his position. Wilson made a waving motion at the ball of fire and spoke "Bigger crystals make for Bigger projectiles huh, gotta speak with Idun later..." William took a hard long look at his new weapons and sighed in relief. Soon it would be time to put all of his preparations to work.
"She didn''t notice a thing. Stop being such a paranoid wreck, William! Gods above it''s like you have a geas placed on your or something..." Lucrezia said as William and she jogged across the expanded soul space. The monolith now towering over the horizon as streams of ethereal mana funnel from the skies into it. The Blessing Gate was known by necromancers as the divine manifestation of power inside the mortals they gave their boons to their chosen. Many a mage even those who didn''t focus on soul magic tried to pry open its secrets but no one had even come close to doing it so. "I saw her face Lucrezia. And I''m not a paranoid wreck! I am a healthy skeptic who knows when the goddamn field marshal of an entity that''s above gods can sniff my Terran ass from half a mile! I''m appalled at your lack of urgency regarding this since it is twice as worst for you. If news gets out that we are dealing with those from beyond the stars we will be branded heretics" Nevermind the fact that a thrice-damned angel had come to "aid" him. William simply couldn''t process that particular fact still even after months in this new reality of his. Belief never was something enforced in his household after all. It was merely tradition from his mother''s side without an ounce of faith or zealousness. A surprise for him as he learned fast the dire reality many of his peers in colleges had to go through thanks to it. And if the other pantheons were real as Lucrezia had implied they were would William receive assistance from his part of the family? According to his grandfather, they had ties all over Europe from France to Siberia. Never mind the fact his grandmother from his mother''s side had told him once they had ancestry all over Mexico and other Central American countries. All these deities were of course under the watchful eye of the All-Father and the other higher beings of his level who locked Earth away. Why? William wondered as his thoughts came and went in a stream of consciousness that made him zone out as he jogged through the forest that Saal''Xhir''s dragon was. "As I said before you oaf, she probably mistook it with the Rage. All-Mother is known to dislike its users so we are fine, trust me on this" Lucrezia said with a spring in her step. William''s deeper connection with her told him that she did believe her words and thought that he was being way too paranoid. After all, no god had even noticed their melded soul in the divine realm, right? Right. William was still waiting. For the why of it, why bring him here of all people? why Lucrezia as his host and why meld the souls instead of just placing his own in her body? There had to be a reason. Any reason for it right? Gods willing the answer for that question would be a yes and he would finally face the puppet master behind this whole mess. That is if the All-Mother didn''t sniff him out and delete him outright. Still, Lucrezia wasn''t wrong. The game lore backed her claims enough that his "Taint" of the Rage-that-Dwells would be enough to mask away any sort of leftover Earth residue if that was even a thing. According to the in-game books, All-Mother personally led legions of her favorite dragons in the first series of battles against the entity and saw everyone besides her being butchered like rabid animals. Given how much she spoiled the dragons. It made sense the Goddess would hate the Entity remains on her home planet. So William decided to dial down his DEFCON levels towards that particular front and went with Lucrezia''s words. "See, you know I''m right! That''s right William just relax. The mother of dragons won''t bother us as long we keep helping Kallista and eventually her brother in the capital. That is if you make it through that dungeon of his. Heard many a noble die in its dark halls and all that crap" Lucrezia said as they stopped in a clearing. William sat down with the grace of a clown as Lucrezia plopped down sighing in relief. "It feels weird, hearing you speak like me, with Earth''s lingo and all that..." William spoke as he looked to the "skies" of his realm. The Gate was a constant sight as it pumped mana to the Monolith. Lucrezia''s face blocked his view as she stared right into his eyes. Her azure gaze ever piercing and inspiring. "You on the other hand could use a lesson or two of speaking like proper nobility you know? You talk like a merchant who is starting to rub shoulders with the high nobles for his first time" she giggled as she backed away. "You don''t have to hide it so much you know?" She said as she sat down near a tree "I can feel your emotions just as well as you can mine William" "Just give me a few more days to...Adjust to this ok?" He said sighing "Its a bit much as I''m sure you know now" "Yes. At first, I thought you were a prude but now it makes sense, Terran culture is weird in the strangest of ways" Lucrezia whispered. She raised her hand as in to touch the skies and spoke "But I can see how this is bothering you still so I will give you these "days" you want so much. But know this William, we are now in league with Saal''Xhir and I don''t want my body to be wrecked when we visit her main temple in the Capital. The young man sighed, things were getting too complicated now he thought. Still, he would make this work. Somehow.
William and Wilson were in one of the courtyards of the castle with a large cadre of acolytes. Handpicked after receiving their blessings and being tested for mana reserves large enough to be able to employ full flight spells like William. Even if he was cheating by having multiple Greater Blessings according to his court mage. All went well. William didn''t even crash once! as they trained in the air to air and air to ground combat. Some could only cast basic magicks such as the ever-present magic missile and its variants. Wilson was working on a low-power version of the Magical Blast as a way to soften targets from above but according to him, it would take months for a prototype spell. "A pity the Goddess of Magic didn''t see fit to bless you, My Lady. The speed of progress in the Magi-Tech field has been staggering so far and a few of my senior colleagues are green with envy!" He laughed as they finished training. Indeed William thought, that would be a great blessing to have and make him the ultimate all-rounder build wise. Alas, he had to make do with her son''s Greater Blessing. Not that he would complain. After all, he was meshing science and magic! If he couldn''t summon a tempest of fire tornados via the arcane all he had to do was work hard enough to make a Magi-Tech contraption that did the same thing! It was with these thoughts that he went to the dining hall together with the Acolytes who were talking about Hideo''s part in the battle for the castle. The young mage was not used to being the center of attention but he did a good enough job, William only talking whenever someone asked him about it. They sat down to eat exhausted and began chowing down the food. William watched in sheer horror as half his Cadre dipped their pizzas in their coffee cups. He turned to Hideo was doing the same and asked without showing his panic where this "trend" had started, according to him some young mage dared a friend of hers to do it and they both ended up liking it, word spread like wildfire among the acolytes and now it was a common sight. I''m glad no Italian will ever see this sight He thought to himself only to hear Lucrezia giggle. Seeking to distract himself from the culinary war crime happening right in front of him he zeroed in a pair of female Acolytes to his right who was talking about the Flight lessons. "...I don''t get it If a knight''s Ki works on basically the same rules as Mana, with the only difference being it draws from the Individual''s life force first and only a smidgen from outside. what''s stopping them from getting a Necromancer License, learn the Drain Nature and Mana Conversion spell to have infinite Ki, and allowing them to fly? The Arch-Duke''s Griffon groups wouldn''t need their war beasts for example!" Said one of the girls. Her friend rolled her eyes as if she had heard this more than once "How many times I gotta tell you this you blasted Airhead. Even if everyone has access to mana that doesn''t mean everyone can learn a school of magic, never mind something as hard as Necromancy! it takes at the very minimum 5 years to have a solid grasp of that ghastly school to employ its spells that way. And you would still need 2 more years to learn the intricacies of the soul to be able to manipulate Ki in that way" she sighed "Many a noble tried and all they got were dead Squires and abominations that had to be put down." the other girl drank deep from her cup and continued "You want flying knights? either tame Griffons, ask the Red Dragon for drakes, or pray to the All-Father you get an entire Squire Cadre that has huge Ki reserves" The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. "Rude as ever Vitra, no wonder Mika broke up with you and made her entire Cadre turn against you, I was just talking! No need to blow up on me like that!" William watched as the now-named girl raised her hand and apologize to her friend. He got up and walked towards their table.
Vitra Stoneson was having the worst day ever since the Duchy she called home went to war against herself. She still remembered the sounds of fighting coming from the streets as the Duchess led her people to butcher the guards. Hidden away by the arcane powers of her grandmother and father they watched from their house as the fight eventually died down in the city streets only to pick up some major happenings in the castle grounds. According to her grandmother who was blessed with the uncommon gift of seeing mana currents the air in the castle was akin to a mighty river. Still, that was the past and she didn''t want to dwell on it. She had made it to the big leagues, after all, studying under the new court mage himself and being promoted to one of the more promising Mage Cadres! It had been a wild 3 months, from getting top of the class spot to even having training sessions with Master Wilson himself. Vitra had even managed to find love! No doubt thanks to the sudden flux of Saal''Xhir devotees after the Duchess was blessed by the Goddess of Love herself, For a while, it was like she was living the perfect life. Everything she ever wanted made real. Together with her girlfriend Mika and their newly formed Cadre they even had the chance to meet with the Dragones''s brood mages and the underwater arcane masters! Vistas she had never seen before now cherish memories among her comrades. So when she went to wake her loved one yesterday morning for their daily run around the castle she was certainly surprised when she found Mika in bed with some dopey-looking Acolyte in all his naked glory. Vitra never was one for subtlety. She lobbed an overcharged version of the Hammer. A blunt variation of the Magic Missile made for nonlethal takedowns. The man was knocked out cold as Mika woke up screaming bloody murder and lobbed an honest to gods fireball at her in the middle of the corridor. Vitra''s shield flared up as her mind was awash with anger. She lobbed more Hammers at Mika only to hear the cry of the raven by the window and suddenly both she and her girlfriend went down for the count. They woke up in Adarite chains. Two faceless goons standing over them as the personal maid of the Duchess entered the room and questioned them both. After a while, she was satisfied with their testimony and permitted them to leave, because if another "incident such as this" were to happen again they both would get throw off their cadres. Vitra found herself walking to one of the meditation rooms the mages used alone as she received a floating letter from Mika hours after the incident saying they were done and she was not to talk with her or her cadre ever again. Rumors were already flying among the other Acolytes as a quirky girl sat beside her in the room. Ryne Wraith-Walker was a half-elf girl that everyone knew. Crazy as a mad villain and an airhead to boot, many avoided her as she tended to talk about insane stuff such as having mages implant themselves with Magi-Tech wands to replace their arms. Or wings from dead dragons to fly without using mana (even when dragons did use no small amount of mana for flight) Throughout her training, she came to form a strange friendship with the young woman. As she would often question people on the most inane topics and for some gods forsaken reason Vitra had the answer for the questions. One time they ended up launching the Defensive Magic class in an hour-long debate on the proper usage of the basic shield spell and how the more esoteric-minded mage could turn it into more than a simple tool of defense. From articulated aegis to stacked elemental shields. To the magic, the Shogunate employed where the shield was part of the many offensive spells they had thanks to their local Gods. Thanks to many interactions like that Ryne would often hang around Vitra. Not enough to raise a fuss but every off day of the week she would eat with her and talk about stuff Vitra couldn''t make head or tails about. And so after all that had happened, she found herself eating together with the mad half-elf after their big all cadres involved Flight training together with the Duchess herself. Vitra often lost herself staring at the young woman. There was a sort of otherworldly beauty to her that went beyond the base desires of the flesh. A want to devour, to lose oneself in her as they spiraled into sheer euphoric lust. The Greater Blessing of Saal''Xhir was doing its work, and she didn''t doubt for a second that many more were enthralled as she was. Men and women both. Every once in a while Vitra would catch the sight of her azure eyes. Intense and full of barely restrained rage, calling everyone that beheld them to the fires of war as a different form of lust took over, one for the chaos of battle and blood. She sighed and stared at her only friend left "Look I''m sorry Ryne. it wasn''t my intention to get angry at you, it has been one hell of a day for me OK?" The Half-Elf gave her a sad smile and said "Tis fine my friend. The woes of the heart aren''t mended in a day. If you need a shoulder to cry then I will volunteer mine-" She clamped up as her eyes bulged from her sockets and her ears went up. Vitra was about to ask what happened when heard a chair being pulled and someone sitting beside her. Vitra turned to say that the place was full when she finally looked who was with them at the table. Ryne almost got up saying "My Lady! forgive my manners" as she was preparing to bow only for Lucrezia to wave her hand and say "There''s no need for formality here" she put her plate down and asked "Your names?" "Vitra My Lady" Vitra said as her face went red up the ears. What in all hells was the godsdamned Duchess doing here?! "I''m called Ryne Wraith-Walker My Lady, this here is my Friend Vitra Stoneson. Pray what bides you to our humble...table?" Rune gave the Duchess a bow while sat down. Vitra wanted to facepalm but she held it in. Lucrezia smiled and said "I overheard you two talking about Knights flying with Ki and couldn''t help but want to join in the conversation. Now that Necromancer combo Lady Wraith here mentioned is a genius move but only for a once-in-a-century genius who can both manipulate mana and Ki at the highest level. You would also need to factor in Illusion and even a bit of Healing magic as Ki takes its toll on the user" The Duchess launched into a complicated and if Vitra was being honest with herself crazy explanation of how to mix and match Schools of magic to make a Knight fly. Vitra couldn''t believe her ears! The Duchess was as mad as Ryne! the Half-Elf in question looked like she had just won a vault full of gold as she began spilling her half-crazed ideas. 10 Minutes in they were talking about converting mana currents into beams of energy and Vitra couldn''t take it anymore as she said "That''s crazy talk! Did you forget the Gwenarius-Malhar Equation? you would need half a planet''s worth of mana currents to punch a hole in regular plate armor, A siege weapon would...Gods take half a star system to be viable." Nevermind the fact few even cared to study the universe and how mana currents ebbed and flowed from the core in its center Vitra thought "I''m pretty sure there''s some God bound decree to not weaponize currents at that scale at any rate, so unless you wanna get razed by the All-Father''s secret elite God unit I''d suggest you drop those ideas" Vitra didn''t even notice as she slipped into "Talking Ryne out of her latest crazy plot" mode. They stayed there talking like the Duchess was s old friend twice as crazy as Ryne. Her ideas were nothing short of insane thanks to her Magi-Tech Blessing no doubt. Vitra felt her worries melt away and she basked in this warmth. Lucrezia smiled and Vitra felt her heart skip as she pulled two feathers and gave one for Ryne and the other for Vitra saying "Contact me via this if you two have more to share, who knows you might get a Magi-Tech device named after you" she winked as she went away. "Well, would you look at that my dear friend, someone who appreciates my ideas in this frigid land? What a day, what a wonderful day!" Vitra could only laugh at her friend''s sudden outburst, What a day indeed.
"Lady Lucrezia we have news from the Owl, Galius has begun mobilizing his troops. In 2 days he will make landfall on the Highway''s entrance" Saa''ryu gave William a pair of crystal recordings showing the prince and his army of mercenaries going through a city while people threw red roses at them. A symbol of good luck for the royal family. No Royal Knights by his side as far as the recording could show. The families of Lucrezia''s on the other hand were all there. Their Knights marching proudly by the prince''s side. Men and Women who knew nothing of his sins. "A letter for the arch duck has arrived, He will not give us any support but the groundwork for you not getting trialed for treason after killing him has been laid. The Queen and King will not move as long we remain in his good graces" Saa''ryu took a breather and continued "Operation Sastasha has been a success as my Sisters and the people I trained here in the duchy managed to silent dispatch of most of the Prince''s faction leaders" Saa''ryu showed William the heads of the people he had given the order to kill. "Together with the Umbral Priests and A Chosen of Friede we managed to raid numerous facilities where they held illegal drugs, slaves, and even artifacts for the terror beyond the stars" she finished "What''s this about a Hell Knight I read?" William asked leafing through the report. "She assisted one of our teams, at her master''s bidding she was hunting a cult for a Terror and we found their main base in a safehouse that belonged to the people the prince is allied with. It was raided and burned to the ground" William nodded, Rare for one of those to be walking in broad daylight but it wasn''t his issue so he filed the thought away in his mind. "The battery and bunkers are all set. Most of the army has been trained with the new bolt action rifles and man-portable mortars. The platforms are ready and shielded from any divination unless they summon a God for it. The train" William picked a map and placed it on the table "Has suffered some setbacks, we can get the thing to go fast but with no armor. Idun told me we would need to expand Raa''Tyrius''s sphere a thousandfold to make the train both fast and durable" He finished bitting his lips. "Which means we will deploy troops who are sitting on a death trap, good enough mages can nail it with a fireball and that''s it. A whole battalion goes to flames. So we reworked the thing as a mobile weapons platform with twice the cannons from the bunkers. All automated via Magi-Tech" William pulled the blueprints for the new tank and showed Saa''ryu how it worked. "And the trenches Lady Lucrezia? Will they withstand the cavalry charge of the mercenaries?" Saa''ryu asked "I know the grapeshot ammunition is more than enough to stop most of them but not all" William nodded and said "Barbed wire and explosives every 30 paces. Plus enough fire and manga overcharged crystals to make into bombs thanks to the underground fortress. Those mercenaries riders will wish they didn''t charge first" William pointed to the map of the trenches "But the Knights who might come in a second wave if we don''t break morale fast and hard enough will have their Miracles and Ki to protect themselves and their horses from the explosions" He finished. Saa''ryu nodded "I''ve drafted the plan for the support packages. As we have plenty of coin to support it I believe the families of those who fall in battle or are otherwise unable to return to civilian life" she looked up towards William and said "Unfortunately we have received no reply from the church of the Unbroken, your plan to aid in healing the minds and souls of the survivors will have to be delayed" William tsked "We donated enough rare minerals to buy a small barony, Bloody liches and their tendency to take their sweet ass time on getting shit done" he spat on the floor and grimaced "Forgive my language Saa, It''s just-" He was about to finish the phrase as Saa''ryu raised her hands and cut him off. "It''s ok Lu, I understand" She spoke softly. "The people barely tasted freedom and peace and now I''m sending them to war once again. It is a bitter pill to swallow but that man must die, and God''s willing it will be by my hand. This much I promise you, Viviene" William hissed in anger.
Arch-Duke Jinn Autumnflower watched from his Mansion in the capital as Griffins were trained by his new batch of Squires. The man cut an impressive figure at nearly 6''2 feet tall. sharp dark hair and golden eyes, a mark from ancient Imperium nobility. His face was the very picture of calm and collected but inside he was anything but. For a year now he nursed a deep-seated desire of revenge against the crimes committed against his daughter by the First Prince and the blind eye cast by the Queen and King, who in their youth together with the current Arch-Mages and his wife made for one most famously adventurer bands of the whole new world. His wife had grown cold to life, a more potent variant of the Silent Sickness afflicted her mind and soul as she barely talked these days, her body moving akin to a dwarven automaton who only ate, bathe, and slept. And yet he found himself without allies. His own faction was powerless against both the Royals and the newly formed Galius faction who had amassed a wealth of power unheard ever since the kingdom''s founding. Arch-Duke Jinn was forced to watch his wife waste her life away and see his daughter locked in a hellscape created by foul arcane and dark miracles brought by the Fallen. For all his power, for all his titles he couldn''t move a finger without losing it all. Including his family in the prince''s own words after his goons dumped his daughter in far off village in Granarius after they were done with her. Every day he begged, he prayed, he cried in blind fury for the Gods to deliver him the justice that was denied. And all he got was silence, madness took over as he even attempted to contact All-Father''s firstborn via one of the people the Fallen had created who he knew her place of hiding. Nihrium was the name of the ancient race he had created. They fought for him in the wars of conquest of the All-Father but after losing scores of his children he grew disenchanted with war and in mad fury decided to strike All-Father down. While many of the Nihrium decided to follow their god in his banishment, some remained in the mortal coil hidden away via powerful magicks. After weeks of begging the woman relented and performed the ritual in a dark cave deep underground in one of the forests that surrounded the capital. Jinn knew from ancient lore that this place was the site of a mighty ziggurat for the Mad God and thus was more likely to get his attention. And his attention the Arch-Duke had gotten. A man with tattered clothing and a wooden stick showed in front of him and he spoke "Mortal blessed by my younger sister. Commander of men and women proud and true to her Crimson Kingdom. I ask of thee why you call me?" Jinn explained his woes to the Mad God who listened with the patience of a saint and once he was done he spoke once again "Absolute Justice...My banner once flew high and proud the world over, My children hunting these vile fiends before they could even act against the less well to be" He looked upwards with a bitter smile "Mortal, I can not help thee, your fate and the fate of your daughter is not mine to weave but I know who will, when the skies burn look up to them and pray once again for the one who will deliver you to justice will surely hear thy prayers" The Nihrium Woman bowed as her God left with a sad smile on his face. Both made their way back to civilization as Jinn gave her enough money to live the good life for the rest of her days. Ever since then Jinn stood to watch waiting for the skies to burn. A year had gone by and the memory had almost faded away as his hopes neared the breaking point. He was beginning to feel like his Wife now, food and wine tasted like ash. There was no joy left in him. He came to hate being awake but every night he was plagued with nightmares that further made him spiral down. Until that is one day at the dead of the night both he and his wife were awoken by a tiny raven. Its beak was red with blood. Jinn felt his mana flare like the thing was trying to eat him alive, He had told his wife about his encounter with the Mad God but she barely reacted, But Jinn had fought battles through thick and thin with his Wife. Deep within her eyes, right where the barrier between flesh and soul met he knew Misato Autumnflower had ignited the spark of hope. And a thirst for the blood of the vile fiend who defiled her daughter. The tiny raven cawed and flew towards the balcony and they both followed it. The summer wind made both of them shiver but they stood there as the raven sat in the railing watching the skies. When Jinn had nearly lost hope for the signal he saw a sight very few had the privilege of seeing. A Spirit of Summer walked in the skies. Together with him A figure clad in snow-white garments. "...A Spirit of Winter..." His wife spoke, her voice barely a whisper. Both Spirits raised their hands and the sky flared up in blue flames, which turned blood red only to become pale white. They both stared at the Arch-Duke before becoming mist in the night sky who no longer burned. Arch-Duke Jinn felt tears in his palm as his wife sobbed, His heart beating fast as the promise of vengeance had been fulfilled. On that night he prayed and a day later a falcon hailing from the north arrived with a letter. Its sender someone who he knew as nothing more than a little spoiled girl whose parents were good people before getting involved with Galius. In that piece of parchment, he read a story many would dismiss as insanity incarnate but not him, for the Gods had sent him his deliverer. His instrument of revenge who would right the wrong that was hidden and buried by the Royals. Kinslayer, Bringer of Change, Heretic of Uumaries. Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem. Last of her line and Herald of Velkarius. And in something the Arch-Duke had never ever seen in his long life: Allies with the commoner''s avenger God Friede. Months had gone by ever since that day, Arch-Duke Jinn kept in contact with the young woman ever since and found in her a friend he needed. It was like she understood him and his wife to a deeply personal level. Wise beyond her years and always cheering both him and Misato. Once his wife began sending her own mail to the newly minted Duchess, the spark Jinn had seen so long ago became a roaring bonfire. Long were the days of her moping about lifeless like an undead. Now she was in the training yard halberd in hand training with her Arch Griffon who found her master''s newly found vigor a sight to behold. Jinn knew the beast was smarter than many a man and they formed a deep bond with their riders. His own Arch Griffon kept going feeding on his feelings of vengeance. But it was the Arch Griffon of their daughter, the first progeny of both Arch Griffons who suffered the most after seeing her master being left to rot. Jinn read the letters from Lucrezia to it and in a miracle, the beast regained its vigor. Or perhaps it wasn''t a miracle. The Arch-Duke couldn''t move his troops without an order from the king. An ancient law from times past he was bond to sadly. The same law that made it impossible for Galius to move the Royal Knights against Lucrezia. A small Silver Lining in this bloody affair. He was confident now that Lucrezia had gutted the First''s Prince faction a day before he moved out that his own would be able to shelter the Duchess. They had ample evidence of his crimes and now all that remained was the judgment. Brought by Fire, Steel, and Magi-Tech. With Lucrezia as Executioner. Jinn wanted to kill the bastard himself. Alas, it was fate that Lucrezia would be the one to perform the deed. He recalled one of the letters the young woman had sent to him early on. In it, she recounted her exploits in earning the White Dragoness support and thus claiming the ancestral rights to rule the land as the Wulfgrem of old did. Right at the end was a passage saying "...The treasure I earlier mentioned is a potent cure the dragons use for their troops in the eternal war of conquest All-Father makes them fight. With it I can bring back Viviene from the brink Jinn, I can save her once and for all, and I promise you this. With All-Father as my witness, I will save her..." Deep in his soul, he felt the Mad God''s words ring with power, after all the anguish he and his family went through there would finally be a reckoning. Revenge brought with the blood of honest men and women who knew naught of the crimes from the prince. Jinn recited a small prayer for the Knights the houses who were allied with him had sent. And one for the mercenaries he had hired. For they would all be dead at the end of the week.
William stood on top of the south gate of his city. Below him was a vast army with every race that called his lands home. Humans, Beast and Magi-Folk. Elves and Dwarves. Together with Orcs, Mermen, and Kallista''s brood. Behind him a solitary flag flying high in the wind. Close to him, the spectral forms of the six gods hovered. their shapes invisible to all but William. and by his side the Winter Spirits who called this land their ancestral home. A great shadow passed by William and the army. A mighty roar came from the skies as they grew dark for a second before a giant dragon, her scales white as snow took a nest in a tower to William''s left. She roared again and her brood roared back. The sound meaning one thing and one thing only. It was time for war. The Northern Raiders banged their shields with their axes and swords and roared in fury as well. The Soldiers of the first legion all formed up and with the butt of their spears began pounding the ground beneath their feet. William also saw the elves of Granarius far behind the Imperial soldiers. The one with the bow raised his weapon to the skies and let an arrow fly upwards. William saw his Knights, most mounted in their Dire Horses but a selected few on the Magi-Tech ones he and Idun had build. They didn''t utter a word as they trotted forward. Erwin leading the charge together with the Half Kitsune Half Succubi Sigr¨²n. He saw Serkj leading the newly minted Army with the precision of a veteran commander. Hraax and her elites and Idun together with his Vanguard. The stage was set. Saa''ryu made herself manifest, Dressed in her Assassin garbs, and said "The Enemy''s army has taken camp in the first Village. The Spirits storm made them halt their advance as expected. The water well and Food supplies were poisoned with the laxatives as ordered" William nodded and snapped his fingers. The noise died down on the spot as he addressed his army. "Brothers and Sisters. My fellow citizens of Wulfgrem. For the longest time, you have been under the heel of my parents. You Begged, Prayed, and Cried TO THE GODS! TO UUMARIES! only to be met with SILENCE!" He paused to breathe and then continued " Four mounts ago I asked for time, and that time was brought by you, the strength of my arm, pillars of our dreams for a better Wulfgrem!" "TODAY, THE ENEMY BEHIND ALL YOUR SUFFERING, BEHIND THE VILE MACHINATIONS AGAINST OUR LANDS COMES!" He exploded using magic to further amplify his voice. "The greatest crime I committed with these hands of mine! KINSLAYING! And now he who orchestrated the sins of my blood comes! he comes to kill us all and Kill me! So that his crimes are not brought to Light!" "In WEEKS we built the vengeful arm of the north! in HOURS we will break their will and the soil will drink of their blood as we destroy their formations! together not even UUMARIES HERSELF can stop us! Fury and Rage will guide us in this hour of revenge. For the people, we lost and for the people, his conspirators killed far beyond our lands!" William channeled the divine energies of both Gods of War and spoke one more "My people! Years from now we will tell our children of this very day, where we stood against darkness, against that of which abuses our ancient traditions to hide their sins from justice! Where our ancestral allies stood with us for the first-ever since the kingdom was founded and fought under one banner!" He raised his hand and finished the speech saying "The fate of the entire duchy lies in our hands! For our children and our children''s children, we will fight, we will die and we will never surrender! GIVE YOUR HEARTS, YOUR SOULS FOR THIS WILL BE THE FINAL BATTLE TO SAVE OUR FUTURE!" Interlude: Evils Soft Touches "In this land, there shall be no injustice, no suffering, as lowborn and highborn alike will live in peace and harmony" The first King of Vermilion''s Epitaph Galius stood tall overwatching his army as they prepared to march towards the Highway. His allies stood next to him with troubling looks on their faces. "Speak, Before I make you lot talk via other means" He said dusting off his polished plate armor. Krista, whose fair skin was looking a little tanned due to the summer looked at her conspirators. Elias was talking with the Knight Commanders the families had sent. The tall man was in his element ordering the Knights around like they were a pack of attack dogs, which made sense in a way. Turius was parading with his new pet. The Arch-Mage''s daughter was a pretty flower as always but it was the boy trailing behind the two who Krista had her eyes on. Rare was the day the son of the two most powerful arcane masters of the kingdom showed his face, talk in the grapevine was that he had gotten a rare Blessing but no one knew due to his parents using some sort of anti divination spell to hide it from the movers and shakers of the kingdom. He looked on edge, eyes darting around everywhere. Krista licked her lips in lust, She liked the nervous ones the best after all. The woman took a second to focus and pulled a memory marble, pulsing her own mana along its smooth edges. Images forming in the air as they flashed at a sedated pace. "As you can see the Owl and his gang of cutthroats have killed the leadership of all 4 Diviner Mercs we hired, Without their support, we will have to rely on the Arch-Mage''s daughter for it" Galius took a glance at the young woman in question. She looked hale and in good spirits, clearly in love with the man who was parading her about like a piece of meat. "And the boy walking behind them?" Galius asked. "That''s her brother, He will also provide magic support according to Turius" Krista responded. "I sure hope I don''t wake up with the Arch-Mage''s son dead a few weeks from now on Krista, you hear me?" Galius spat on the ground "Well arcane-derived divination still works even if it''s a bit too much most of the time, now I''ve received reports the bizarre snowstorm that had the Duchy on lockdown has ended which means we will be able to shorten that 10-day march" Krista nodded and said "Will we raid the villages? according to the maps, there are two medium-sized ones we will go through and they are mostly for farm animals...Or do you have other plans?" "I will not raid a village you daft broad, I have an image to maintain!" Galius smirked "I will simply get the King''s tax from them as it should be" he laughed. Krista nodded and went off to check with the mercenaries from Xie. Galius walked up to Elias and spoke to the Knights. "House Sakkar, Uthe''Zie, and Farkas sent their best I see. Your names Commanders if you could, It''s for the record keeper of course" Galius pointed to a shadow of a man who had a book on his hand and constantly taking notes. A tall elven woman spoke first, her hair neatly done and face full of scars. An eye patch covering the empty socket. She spoke with a raspy voice. Galius could feel her tiredness. "Knight Commander Wynather Enfir. Here on behalf of House Sakkar" the woman saluted and went silent, Galius nodded and turned to the man that was beside Wynather. He was on the full plate and had a mean-looking Warhammer on his back. His aura was thick, like summer heat with high humidity. Galius also noticed the number of wands on his belt. Small with Mana Crystals embedded on it. "Knight Commander Uu''Kal-Vaar. It is an honor to bring the Knights of House Farkars to fight together with the Royal Family once again!" He took a knee then got up and said "It has been 30 something years ever since the war against the Mad King and his army. I and my men welcome the chance to bring honor to our families once again in the field of battle" From meters away, a contingent of Knights cheered and roared. Galius ever the smart one went over and cheered them on as well. The Sakkar Knights on the other hand stood silent as a grave. Not even looking at him. The final Commander did a salute and spoke with a loud voice "First Prince Galius! We the stalwart Knights of House Uthe''Zir came in this great hour of need to fight for the Kingdom once again. Together with our solemn brothers Of House Farkas and House Sakkar will stand fast against the darkness brought upon our northern brothers and sisters! United under the faith of Ummaries and Morugarius both Praise be the Goddesses!" he said then took a pause "I Var''yr Ether pledge my life and my men to this most righteous cause!" The Knights cheered on again. Many shouting the name of the Goddess they believed. Galius smiled but cursed inwards "These bloody zealots chanting the name of those whores! Uumaries trying to save whatever scrap of the good reputation she has by not sending her people to aid me! oh, but they will know what''s good for them. Once the one true God descends from the far reaches of space they will become ash!" Galius and his friends stood together as Krista came with a report "All the mercenaries are accounted for and ready the march, We also managed to grab two siege towers but they will have to be built on-site" "Do we have the engineers for it? I can ask mother but the paperwork will delay us" Galius said. "Yes, a few of the mercs can do it" Krista read her notes "Foodstuff is also accounted for unless any of you lot wanna do anything last minute I''d say it''s about time we launch this godsdamned invasion" "It is not an invasion Krista it''s a punitive action to safe keep the good men and women of the Kingdom" Elias said smirking. "Whatever you say, Elias now pass me the wine bottle" she fired back. as the man threw her the bottle "Shall we get going then?" Galius barked orders and his army began to march towards the Highway. Their destination; The Duchy of Wulfgrem
Galius watched from his personal carriage as the land warped and shimmed beneath the arcane field that surrender the Highway. Once upon a time, he wanted to build something grander than these roads. A young foolish Galius who was unaware of the reality he lived in. His God cleared those childish ambitions from him. Granting instead true power and more importantly a true more worthwhile goal. Galius would spearhead a grand movement and through force of arms or diplomacy would unite this chaotic world under a single banner. United in the light of his God, with Galius as his Chosen and Champion. And the north, the godsdamned north was the most important step for his plans. The Wulfgrem would further legitimate his cause, the natural resources of their lands giving him enough power to take over his family and later other countries! Decades of planning, of painstakingly political movement all, broke to piece due to some womanchild with barely 18 winters on her name! He would break Lucrezia, he and his fellows would inflict a thousandfold of pain and suffering on her as they did the Arch-Duke''s daughter and once they were done he would personally offer her to his God as it was the plan all along. Already Galius had turned several scions of noble families big and small to his cause. Sleeper agents were all ready for the call should it ever come. He had tried turning his little brother towards the light of his God but the boy had keen senses, always avoiding Galius whenever he tried his hand. He would need to deal with that sooner rather than later. After all, by the start of next year, he would be going to the academy, and he couldn''t afford to lose such a good pawn. Still, a part of him felt paranoid, the reports about Lucrezia''s absurdly fast takeover and involvement with Velkarius made him feel something was off about this whole ordeal. His friends thought he was wasting coin with the hiring of the extra mage leaning mercenary groups but when faced with extraordinary circumstances one must over-prepare, Not for every eventuality for no mortal could predict the future but solid foundations went a long way in any conflict. And so Galius hired the mages, got his siege engines and engineers. A shame he couldn''t get a detachment of Royal Knights, for if they went together with him it would mean outright war in the court and the noble faction would get upset for ages. Oh how Galius longed for the day where he would rule all without the meowling from those parasites. Alas, patience was a virtue and he had plenty of that, to haste means to invite failure. One should always have a well-thought-out plan and contingencies for it as it was proper of anyone baring the Shatter-Spear name. Galius felt a gaze on him and was taken out of his thoughts, the Arch-Mage''s son was constantly stealing glances around him while writing on a small book, he looked nervous and had sweat forming on his forehead. Thin and of alabaster skin the boy was the stereotypical image of a would-be mage. The only thing that broke the norm was his blood-red hair tied in a nearly done ponytail. "What''s wrong Kaine? Haven''t seen you this worried in a while" Margareth Antewood asked while hugging her lover. The daughter of the Archmage couple strikes an uncanny semblance to her older brother. Twins were rare in this part of the world after all. The only way to distinguish the two bar the clothes was that she kept her hair loose and all the way to her back. Kaine Antewood didn''t reply at first. He began muttering incantations and Galius felt mana flow from the boy as parts of his outfit glowed and shimmered in arcane blue. After a solid minute of light shows and whispered incantations he spoke, his voice raspy and with a rush to it. "My divination attempts are being blocked by several Leviathan Class barriers...I was told the lady of the north only had at most 3 Gods backing her but these results tell me otherwise" he picked a silver medal and threw it at his sister who grabbed mid-air with magic. A few seconds later Margareth spoke, "He is right my love, There are more Gods up there and something more...Older?" she turned to her brother and waited for him to finish up. Kaine tapped his forehead "Draconic and Spiritual in fact If the records are right and I believe they are. Lucrezia will have the support of the White Dragoness and the Winter Spirits" Turius spoke from the bosom of his pet "Nothing to worry about young master! We have accounted for the dragonkin and the spirit menace! Xie mercenaries are constantly hired by both the empire and other nations to deal with the latter and some even have hunted Water Dragons before!" he finished by taking a good swig of his wine flask and kissing Margareth. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Krista sat down beside Kaine and spoke softly "Don''t worry Young Master, I will make sure you are duly protected" with a sweet smile planted on her lips. "That won''t matter, Unless any of you can become a Divine Avatar there''s no way we can survive an attack from a fully grown Land Dragon like Kallista!" Kaine was getting more worried by the second before his sister snapped at him saying "Pipe the fuck down Kaine! I will not have your crazy ramblings ruin this vacation of mine you hear?! I swear why did mom even deign to throw you in this last minute..." The young man narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the carriage, Galius felt his stare hold on him for a second longer before he fell silent and continued to write on his book. Krista tried to strike up more conversation with him but the boy was ignoring her in a way Galius had seen few men and women do, for his friend was one of the striking women in the whole Vermilion court. "Forgive my brother Turius, he only has a mind for magic and lacks the social graces that someone of his stature should have" Galius heard Margareth whisper to his friend and then saw the young man scoff at her. Another pawn that would take time to turn it seems. He opened the window and spoke to the rider "How long until we hit the waystation?" "Five hours milord!" Galius nodded and closed the window, soon his forces would take over the north and his plans would get back on track.
Knight Commander Wynather Enfir stared at the empty waystation as the mercenaries were put to work to establish fortifications. According to her mages and the Arch-Mage''s daughter, nothing would strike them here so close to the Highway but the elven woman felt the whole thing was off. Born in the Principality and exiled for her tastes in conflict. Wynather was welcomed with open arms by Vermilion 200 years ago, the country made by Imperium castoffs had even graced her with a loving wife and son who was by her side in this frankly absurd battle the noble family she pledged herself to had sent her and her men. Wynather didn''t like Galius or his goons. High Elves were more attuned to the world around them, the mortal coil sang to the music only they could hear as they were the firstborn of All-Father, this music was everywhere and everyone had a piece of it singing at all moments, it took decades to master the gift but Wynather had done it to further her battle prowess and the song that was being sung around Galius Shatter-Spear was one of pure evil. The land on the other hand sung a myriad of songs, of toil and suffering, of rage and despair, and finally of deliverance and vengeance, brought by fire and sword. So powerful it was that Wynather could hear the echoes of the battles waged as far as the capital city of the Duchy! War and more War! Revenge paid back a hundredfold! Blood called for Wynather. Its sweet allure and coppery smell making her drunk on violence and bloodlust. It took a solid minute for the elven Knight to snap out of it and she stared in sheer horror as the song of the land warped right in front of her eyes! ANATHEMA! ANATHEMA! ANATHEMA! Wynather snapped into action as she tapped into her Knight''s Blessing "TO ARMS MY MEN TO ARMS!" The mercenaries dropped everything and ran to their commanders, as for her fellow Knights Commanders they flared their own Blessings and together with the mage mercenaries enacted two barriers around the perimeter. Magic and Miracle intertwining in a display of skill few could boast about. Galius and his goons stared from their command tent, no doubt with their own wards already in place. Great spikes of solid iron came from the earth around them. the peaks slightly edged towards the camp as they began to enclose around them like a dome without a roof. Wynather gasped as she recognized the tactic being employed here! Standard ritual procedure from Granarius in order to deliver a magical payload potent enough to wreak such devastation in the back of the enemy line! Time slowed down to a crawl as Wynather saw a dot flying from the north at high speeds. She beheld as Lucrezia herself had come to give her greetings to the prince. Wynather focused on her song and found herself nearly shaking as waves upon waves of bloodlust and rage hit her like a sledgehammer. Together with that, she felt a lust so strong it felt akin to a deep drum beating every breath she took. And beneath all that the fires of war raging like a mighty inferno made real. It was no wonder the land cried as it did. Lucrezia Wulfgrem was not normal. The young woman went up into the clouds and for a second time halted as Wynather could hear the Prince nearly giving the order to stand down. The word barely escaping his lips as Lucrezia came out of the clouds clad in lightning and slapped both palms together. A bolt the size of a hurricane slammed into the barrier. Wrath of Gods made manifest as every soul inside of it struggled to keep the damn thing from breaking when Wynather noticed the spikes were empowering the magic! with a scream, she hurled herself to the nearest iron spike and cleaved in two with her Claymore. The other Knights and Mercenaries seeing this started doing the same. It took 5 minutes before they managed to take all of the spikes down. Galius started barking orders before a mighty roar blasted the nearby trees away. Everyone stood in awe once again as an enormous dragon, her scales silvery gray flew by them and roared once again. The message was clear, There would be no peace talks, no parleys. No compromise as Lucrezia and her armies poised themselves for the slaughter. Wynather thought of her wife and son, of the oath she took for Morugarius and the vow for House Sakkar who sheltered her after she got kicked from her home. She prayed to her Goddess for a good death. One that wouldn''t make her fall in the bitter cold and snow of the north.
It had been a day ever since the madwoman tried to alpha strike Galius and his army. The sheer amount of mana she had to deploy in that strike was so big, Turius''s pet was sure she had to be bedridden at this point. Galius doubted that. He drove the mercs harder and soon they had established a mighty fortification with wards to defend them from any unseen strikes she could launch. Morale was not high sadly and he needed to turn that around and fast. "There is a village near here that according to reports is a hub for produce and wine if we can take it and fortify it would serve as a great FOB and the foodstuff there would raise the morale for the men. After all hard biscuits, salted meat, and bread that''s as solid as a stone isn''t the best meal" Krista said as she pointed to the map "Lend me a few men and I''m sure the villagers won''t resist Galius" "You can have them, Take Turius and his pet as well just in case" the man spit but got up to call the girl "Now Elias what is this report I have? something about a snowstorm?" The man smiled and said "It''s what says on the tin Gally, according to the mages we will be hit with an unnatural snowstorm in two days'' time so I told them to shore up the wards a bit more. But I need your orders to get the men to gather wood, there''s a rumor going around that men are going missing when they go take leaks in the woods but so far the headcount is the same" "Winter Spirits" Galius spat on the ground, he knew one that lived in the winter palace in the capital. The thing was always in a foul mood and hated him for no reason at all to the point Galius asked the Summer Spirit that was around the Palace for the why of it only to get the equivalent of "She is throwing a temper tantrum" Damn thing should''ve been killed years ago in his opinion but Killing Spiritfolk was a capital offense even he would be hard-pressed to slime out of it. After all, they could muster an army of specters and siege the city, not that they would last against his mother but still, not good for his image and could blow up a number of plans he had going in the capital. "You have my word. Get as much firewood as you can so we can weather this storm. Krista I want that village ready for the rest of the army as soon as you can, staying here will no doubt leave us open to more attacks from these godless wraiths" "You got it, Gally" She said as she left the tent, Elias did the same as Galius stared at the map. He felt the room grown warm, like a soft blanket was placed around him. His mind went blank as a voice spoke softly inside of his mind. "GaaalIussS! wEEE DEMAND! heeeer blood! The interlopeeerr must dieee!" "I hear and obey master" "GoooOD, it is oUR WILL!"
Kaine watched as his sister and her boyfriend broke off from the group as they explored the abandoned village. That woman Krista hounding his every step like a starving god. Gods fucking damn it he thought. This was going to become an issue. Never mind the fact they nearly became dust via a lighting strike on par with something his parents would throw out! He also didn''t miss the panicked reaction from that elven Knight. No, he knew shit was going to be bad the second his blessing began manifesting itself. An unknown blessing! was he that unlucky that the Goddess of Magic would forsake him?! everyone in his bloody family had the greater blessing of Fae¡¯Zhurar, except him! an entire childhood being told he was "second best" to his sister only for the Gods themselves to join in the mockery! Kaine seethed with rage day in and day out, the young man tried every ritual on the book and more than a few that were off the bloody thing. He had Fallen try to contact him, terrors from beyond the stars and a small host of devils and demons. All thirsting for his soul and mana reserves. And nothing, not a single ping of divine intent to tell who had done the deed. All he had was a staff symbol with a broken something on top of it. He was glad for once that the silly custom Vermilion inherited from the Imperium of not being forced to disclose your blessings was upheld to this day. Of course, his harpy of a mom bugged him every waking hour for it. Forcing him to hide in the many libraries of the Capital to further his magical knowledge and hopefully find out which God blessed him. His sister for all the forced competition their mom tried to make them do was nonplussed as always. Ever since she got together with Turius and the first prince gang it was like he didn''t exist. Kaine didn''t forget that up to last year Galius was in a relationship with Viviene the daughter of the Arch-Duke. Only for the girl to disappear from public life and then come back with some sort of obscure condition that made her unable to leave her state. Kaine was raised together with Viviene, she knew the young woman wouldn''t waste her youth inside those musty halls! He didn''t fail to notice something had gone very wrong, for starters he wasn''t welcomed in the Arch-Duke''s estate anymore, then said Arch-Duke''s faction began a cold war against the Royal faction! Whispers told to him by fringe elements of both factions made the picture clear, his parents choose the path of neutrality in this dispute and thus became persona non grata for the Arch-Duke. No matter how much he dug the answers eluded him. Until he had a dream that is. In the dream, he saw a great bonfire burning in blue flames and the snow peaks of the northern reaches of Vermilion. So when he heard about her sister going with Galius and his "punitive force" he jumped on it. With this, he could study the man and his goons, and Gods above something was off about them! Kaine turned into a corner and popped his Advanced Invisibility spell as that Krista woman came bolting after him. Yeah, they were up to no good, Kaine knew that trusting his gut now would likely save him from whatever they did to Viviene. He would find out what happened, even if he had to fight for it. His Divination collar pinged 5 times, another snowstorm would be hitting the village. Apparently, Galius would be leaving the waystation to a skeleton crew and moving into the Village tomorrow. So far they haven''t seen anyone bar the initial attack. Kaine entered the main tavern still invisible and watched as the mercenaries ate and drank without a care in the world. He had run a gauntlet of spells on the foodstuff they found and got nothing but still, that voice in the back of his head told him not to touch the damn thing. Ever one to er on the side of caution he secluded himself in a hidden room behind the second kitchen of the establishment. The gods were kind enough to make that creepy woman be good enough on magical or miracle-based divination, so he could rest easy in this corner of his. For tomorrow they would be marching towards the second village and then crossing a vale to reach the capital of the north. His first time in combat, Kaine prayed to whoever was listening to grant him luck enough to not die in this bitter cold.
3 days, It took 3 days to set up their final FOB at the second also deserted Village, Galius watched as the mercenaries made marry with enough wine and foodstuff to feed a thousand more, he turned to Elias and asked "Did the food and wine got checked for poison and such?" "Yes, multiple times as well, it is safe for consumption as long you don''t mind watered-down wine and salted cheese that smells rank," the man said as he drank from his pouch "The skeleton crews at the waystation and the first village also haven''t reported a thing, I must say Gally this is looking very strange" Galius stayed silent for a second, watching as the engineers finished building the siege towers "Turius''s pet told me that the "Duchess" most likely burned her life force to cast that mighty spell and will not recover it in less than 3 weeks" he pointed towards the map "This vale is called the forgotten vale said to be the final place of the 4th Legion of the Imperium" Elias hummed and spoke, "That''s the one with the bronze bulls right?" Galius nodded "Well as long we don''t get attacked by undead legionaries It should be a 5-hour march towards the city gates" Elias finished. "Can we trust Turius''s pet, Elias?" Galius asked. "She''s the real deal Gally, it will be fun breaking her" the man laughed and went outside leaving the prince to think to himself. Just a few more hours and he would be done with this charade, ready to go back to the capital to deal with the real issues his faction was facing, his one true God ready for the next step in his master plan! A beautiful perfect world, ruled by his patron deity and him as starward of the mortal coil! Their dream made manifest after nearly a decade of planning, sacrifice, and enough blood to float a navy vessel through a river. Mighty and strong. And all he needed was Lucrezia''s head on a pike and her lands under his heel. Chapter 30: Winters Fury "To my one true friend, my light at the end of the tunnel, and the one I''ve given so much sacrificed. I bid thee live thy life to the fullest" Anonymous Diary. Once, when William stood up against the bullies who had beaten his friends he felt this unnatural focus. It was as if his mind was working at its limit together with his body. A perfect machine, resolute and full of conviction as he broke their legs, ruining his father''s football game and setting in motion the events for his exile to upstate NY. For two years he lived in this perpetual fogged of mind state, sure the games and training in martial arts helped him break free from it, like a deep diver finding a pocket of air in an underwater cave. And now, at the edge of battle, he found himself in that state of mind once again. The world around him was sharper, the noises crispier as he could overhear multiple conversations around him. Take stock of each one and file them away as needed. His heart and soul burning not with righteous fury and conviction but a lust for battle and carnage. His two Greater war Blessings burning in tandem with the Rage-that-Dwells were doing wonders for his "Condition". "Lady Lucrezia, Imperial and Raider''s troops are at the platforms together with our men and the Magi-Tech Vanguard. The enemy is moving on a single column through the Forgotten Vale as we speak" Sigr¨²n spoke, her voice ringing inside of William''s mind like a myriad of songs he and Lucrezia knew. His stare held a little too long, as the woman coughed and smiled to bring him back to reality. "It gets easier with age Lady Lucrezia, but please remember I''m together with Erwin now" she gave him a wink and walked off. Bloody Succubi! William thought, of course, she could sense his inner desires now, he was broadcasting the damn thing to anyone who was a follower of Saal''Xhir. Lucrezia''s "plan" to tone it down was off the table for now, as William was still squeamish about it. Much to his chagrin as Lucrezia''s deeper connection with him meant the woman had reached memories he kept or at least tried to keep locked away. And he was being, to put in Teran terms as she was found to. "Kinkshamed" William shook his head, now was not the time to ruminate on the many ramifications of his Blessing of Saal''Xhir. He gathered mana and ran, jumping as a platform of ice formed and launched him forward as he flew off to the soon-to-be frontlines. As he flew he saw his shiny new armored train chugging along with the snow as massive quantities of ammunition were being taken along the many bunkers and Battery placements. Sadly William and Idun didn''t have enough followers to make the fully automatic cannons, meaning they had to train people the right way to load, unload and fire the damn weapon. It wasn''t that hard but far from ideal according to Idun who prided himself on making everything as simple as possible, and a team of 4 men working with something was not simple. His words at the very least. William arrived at the command center in the trenches where Serkj was barking orders to his subordinates, he briefly saw that one guard who he couldn''t recall the name being chewed alive by the man and run off to somewhere before Serkj turned to him and saluted. "Lady Lucrezia! I''m just off the line with Commander Erwin and we are of a mind to start this dance" he pulled a map and pointed to the aforementioned vale "But there''s new intel on the wire, Galius brought siege towers and engineers with him, So I contacted First Maid Saa''ryu and asked her if there would be a way for her people to do their thing if you know what I mean" He finished and stared at William. "The poison won''t work until Wilson gives the command... and we can''t risk it using it early lest they find out" William pondered "My attack will have no doubt raised the alarm but The Owl''s agents aren''t ones to shy away from a hard mission" He nodded and spoke to the Captian of the Guard "Give her the order, I want these siege towers burning and the head of those engineers" The man gave him a broad smile "I''m pleased that you agree with me Lady Lucrezia, Now why don''t we give the prince a warm welcome with those fancy new cannons of yours?"
Three Batteries, that was the power he had managed to rush job for the combat. With long-range bombardments open as a viable tactic Lucrezia asked him why not just nuke the prince from the safety of the walls? The answer was a simple one, whatever dark force helping the man would without a doubt pull him back if William unleashed the full fury of his canons right away. No, he had to play a game of cat and mouse with the prince and the lives of his people would be the ones paying for such a game. "Wouldn''t such a force do it in the middle of the battle as well?" she asked but William knew he would dare call it with so many gods watching them as they were. Thanks to Velkarius''s blessing he could faintly see the many eyes on the skies watching now. Their divine essence makes a droning sound akin to CRT TV''s white noise and static from old radios. But giving the man a scare wouldn''t trigger that fail-safe. So William called Idun and both went off to the first Battery. The dwarf was dressed in the newly tailored robes for the Magi-Tech church. Excitement burned in his eyes as he walked into the battery, the men and women working like a well-oiled machine. Ready for the orders of engagement. Their eyes also burned, but William could feel the fear in them. For many were but simple civilians before even if hardened by Lucrezia''s parent''s despotic rule. "I caught that stray thought of yours William your parents huh?" Lucrezia spoke to him as he facepalmed. Another side effect of the deeper melding was his thought pattern slipping into disassociating himself. Most likely the intended effect as they were supposed to merge as a single gestalt entity instead of this wonky combo they were in at the moment. It allowed him to have a deeper bond with the people he swore to protect yes but as always the fear of losing himself was ever-present, Its teeth gaining at William''s heels at every turn. Yet he had to push that fear down. For now, was not the time to crack under its pressure, he had people to kill and blood to shed. In the glory of combat, William knew all his self-doubt would vanish and he would be truly alive! Idun finished the prayer and gave William the heads up, He nodded to his dwarven friend and flew up watching the other two batteries placements. "FIRE!" His voice empowered by Divine might ring clear and true and after a second delay, William heard the noise. Boom, Boom, Boom. In that singular moment, he felt a shift. A click inside of his soul as the moment was made immortal in a single instance. Then a flood of images and sounds hit him, a thousand hundred voices crying, screaming, and snarling in rage then quiet. "Was that a..." Lucrezia couldn''t finish, the sheer weight of the realization hitting the young woman. "A Sphere of Power Shifted, breaking through the deadlock and becoming something more. Now we usher a new age of warfare upon this planet. Woe upon all of my enemies for they will meet steel and fire, arcane and crystal on my fields of battle!"
William watched from the skies as the carnage unleashed by the bombardment was made clear to his eyes. A great number of shells went straight for the mercenaries'' encampment. The men and women hired by the First Prince cried in horror and pain as the skies rained death upon them, begging for the sweet release of death and welcoming the Long Queue. He watched as their backline exploded into chaos as his troops were deployed from the tunnels underground. Shielded by Ardarite as they were no divination made by conventional magic would help them. And William knew they didn''t have Uumaries''s priests or Paladins with them. The Imperium Legion and his Magi-Tech Vanguard were the very pictures of discipline. Swiftly and Effective against the chaotic backline of the mercenary horde, the spearmen of the Imperium sang a somber tune while cutting down wave after wave of the enemy as the Vanguard smashed any efforts from them to group up and organize themselves. The snow was wet with blood and viscera as they swept their landing zone. The Northern Raiders on the other hand wreck havoc and chaos among the wounded and those trying to mount a pushback against the first wave of attacks. William watched in grim terror as its shamans conjured great ice shards from the ground to impale those who were trying to give orders as the rest pushed forward slashing and dicing feeble opposition. A shrill sound broke the screams as a miniature star bloomed in the skies, William sounded the retreat and his men followed it. As soon as the platforms went down the star exploded and nearly caught him with its aftershock. He saw two figures flying after him but they stopped once he reached the safety of his men, William also saw smoke from the flames going up. He arrived at the command center. Seeing the train unload countless troops to the trenches made him lick his lips in anticipation. Their new bolt action Magi-Tech rifles pointed at the horizon where the enemy was drawing ever near. Key bunkers with his cannons loaded with grapeshot rounds that had Mana Crystal embedded on them for maximum carnage when the eventual Calvary charges were ordered by the prince. As it was a popular tactic by the Vermilion Nobility. Saa''ryu dropped from the skies her face wet with blood. In her hip was a sack dripping blood, the maid bowed and presented the sack for William. "They won''t be building those siege towers anymore. Lucrezia those "batteries" of yours was a little too effective, Commanders were scrambling to send men to the frontlines now and I''m afraid the Prince will launch a premature assault on us now. The mercenaries have these armored horsemen coming in first followed by massive infantry" Saa''ryu pointed to the map and said "Thanks to the druids they are being funneled straight into the line of fire of our weapons but they do have mages with them" she finished saying and saluted. "No matter, Ardarite will punch through any mage barrier, and the smoke rounds with will be able to stop any large scale ritual they even think of setting up in this juncture," William said "How many men are we talking?" he asked Saa''ryu. "A Thousand? And at the very least 60 Knights and their commanders. There might be more mercs but I wouldn''t know" Saa''ryu responded as she marked the map "It is very disorganized, I reckon the Prince will give the order and let these mercenaries run wild" William took time to think, in the game Galius was found to be very hands-off on anything that bored him. And he had hired the best from the best when it came to mercenary companies... Which meant one thing, to draw the man out he would need to inflict massive loss to his enemies. So big he would need to personally come and raise morale and lead the broken army. Erwin arrived alone and saluted "Lady Lucrezia! The men are ready for the charge, just give the word" William nodded at the Commander and said "We will have to rout out their riders first. Use the tunnels and crash their wings and anyone that survives the first wave" William pointed to the places where Galius''s infantry was nesting "If Galius is smart he will try to circle the trenches and hit our rear with the horsemen then press on with the brunt of his forces" he then pointed to the little elven miniatures on the map "That''s when our druid friends enter with their magic. A few well-placed traps and that charge will meet its end" William finished "Can''t we turn the batteries towards them? just to be sure?" Saa''ryu asked "The rear has fewer bunkers last I recalled" William nodded and called for a message, sending the orders to turn two of the batteries towards the Killzone the druids had set up, he also sent Erwin and his Elite Knights to shore up the train tracks that went through that section of the battlefield. Erwin was more than happy to oblige as he went away. With the first bout now over the young man waited like a coiled spring, ready to the enemy''s movement. The battle of the Forgotten Vale had started in earnest.
Captain Jiang Xie was a proud mercenary of the Xie dynasty. His company of 200 horsemen had fought in every war the new world had known in the past 100 years. From the wars of Vermilion against the Mad King of Grannarius to territorial disputes in his home nation. Aiding Warlords in the Shogunate and even hunting Sea Elves with the orcs, the Elven man was a veritable veteran of war. Thus when the First Prince hired him to fight against an insurrection in the north he thought nothing of it. Sure the Vermilion folk of the north were hardy and good fighters but nothing he and his fellows couldn''t crush. Not that they would even need to do that anyway, from what he read in the contract it was a show of force to restore order rather than actual combat, maybe skirmishes here and there. The Ultima Company, his Company was to lead other Mercenaries Companies the prince had hired as their cavalry. While he was the largest many others like the Red Talon, Cataphrac Raiders and Diamond Dusters had come to the sweet call of gold coins. He knew them all since they often fought side by side or even against each other and so a day before they reached the enemy position the other Leaders enacted him to spearhead the assault. His horsemen were all heavily armored, perfect to hit the Duchess in Wulfgrem''s supply lines and rear. The scouts had reported a strange metal beast going along tracks in the snow, unloading both men and supplies to the enemy. Jiang called the entire Blazing Indigo Mage Company to accompany him as the scouts also reported heavy wards on both the tracks and the beast itself. Ki and Arcane together as a hammer of justice. A tactic many employed but only the Mercenaries of Xie had perfected! And yet something about this was bothering Jiang, the scout''s movement into the rear was without a hint of combat, the woods around the vale eerie quiet as one of the scouts he knew told him, the woman was an elf and with druid roots in her blood. "No forest is this quiet Captain, I don''t like this, not one bit," She said to him. Of course, her warnings were all but forgotten when the day came and fire rained from the skies. Ardarite, one of the rarest metals known to men and able to pierce magical constructs like a hot knife in soft butter, Jiang knew the smell of it as the elven madmen of Grannarius were found of using the blasted thing against Vermilion mages, only they would even dare to throw away something so precious as arrowheads and spear tips! And so Jiang watched as 3 Mage Companies'' worth of wards and shields were pierced by it, unloading Crystal Fire into the barely ready infantry. 150 men out of their 1000s burned to cinders and ash in less than an hour begging to be put down as their very souls were consumed by it, to deploy such a weapon meant one thing and only thing only. The Duchess in Wulfgrem wasn''t fucking around. This wasn''t going to be a stroll in the metaphorical park. Immediately Jiang grabbed a horn he had for when the situation turned grim and he blew it as his life depended on it. Every merc who hailed from Xie knew that sound, for it was the selfsame sound the very first Emperor made when their walls were breached by the Mad King of Grannarius ages ago. Jiang went to the command tent where the prince and his Elite Knights were, the place was on a razor''s edge. The man himself was giving orders to everyone there as Jiang entered the tent. Before he could even speak about the plans of hitting the rear another horn blew in the camp, a sharp sound that sliced the skies. Fire. The Knights exploded into action, their Ki''s flaring Crimson and Jiang did the same, his Golden and Black as they ran towards the fire only to see specters finishing off the Siege Engineers! Jiang grabbed his saber and jumped towards the enemy but the damn thing became mist. A sharp laugh filled the air as the heads of the poor men were torn off from them and their bodies fell like puppets having their strings cut. After that, the prince didn''t even need to listen to Jiang''s explanation for the attack, the man gave his order and so Jiang went with his horsemen to the fields of battle. The strategy was a simple one, soften the anemic defenses of the rear with the speed of the less armored bowsmen in horses, move the infantry into it to smash their line then move in with the heavy cavalry and mage support to out them by their roots. And so the man sounded the horn and he went to war, to avenge his fellows'' brothers and arms who were mercilessly slaughtered without knowing the glory of combat, and for the increased gold reward, the prince promised after the attack. The forest was like the scout had told him, too quiet and too eerie. He had the mages cast divinations and wards every 30 minutes just in case. As soon as they broke free from the woods the soil shifted and horrible plants rose from behind and front. The ones in the front threw themselves at the riders and began devouring both the horses and the horsemen. Mages from the sides and back began unleashing spell after spell as the Infantry burned their Ki to push back the greenery menace that was tearing through them. "Form Up! Let the beasts burn!" Screamed the commander of the mage line who unleashed a huge fireball right in the face of a huge plant that had swallowed nearly 20 horses already. Not to say the men around it Jiang saw as the plants tore through the left of the line and began killing his infantry, spells and Ki slashes flying at it as he watched the same elven scout be slashed into two halves by the plant monster. After nearly 30 minutes of combat, they finally broke through the Killzone, with no light bowsmen to harass the flank and rear of the enemy He would need to change tactics. Jiang called the Mage leader and asked if they could open with a strong enough salvo so that his heavy cavalry could smash the supply line while the rest of the surviving infantry strikes The man watched as strange fortifications dotted the landscape, the iron tracks in the soil a clear target as long as they could go over the trenches where men with strange spear-like weapons aimed at them. It was a harrowing sight as the men were dead quiet even after watching their enemies break from the treeline into the open field, such silence didn''t last long as Jiang and his people picked a faint song being hummed in the trenches that soon escalated into singing. Extinction or eternal redemption, thou must choose Behold the wrath of Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem eternal Extinction or eternal redemption, thou must choose Or we shall melt thy flesh and see thy bones to ash Wills unbending Faith unending Stone defending Now our steel shall sing To their trespass We are witness Here to pass this Final sentence No forgiveness Guide us, O mighty Fury No deliverance Only justice Only vengeance No forgiveness Guide us to victory! No deliverance Only justice Only vengeance Jiang felt in his very bones the stone-cold conviction of the men he was ready to fight. It had shaken him and no doubt shook his men and he knew as a commander that bad morale could break the spirits of any army. And so he gathered Ki in his lungs and roared a mighty warcry. The singing only grew stronger to match his voice as Jiang''s men also did the same. He pulled his saber once again and gave the order, mage fire blossomed above the trenches as his horses circled to hit the tracks, they were so close! he could see the dull glimmer of iron in the ground when the music rose again defeating the war cries. GUIDE US, O MIGHTY FURY! GUIDE US TO VICTORY! Jiang saw as the world slowed down to a crawl as the Ardarite shells flew towards the mages blowing them up and burning the poor bastards alive. He gathered more Ki and bellowed for to his men. "FOWARD MEN OF XIE, LET THESE SAVAGES TASTE OUR STE-" His words were cut short as the weird fortifications and the men on the trenches fired upon them, small pellets of mana crystals and steel halted their charge dead on the spot as Jiang felt his arm, leg and half his side be blown backward as he flew off from his steed. The poor animal barely had a chance to whine as the ammunition exploded him dead on the spot. He dragged himself from the scene of carnage as he heard the pleas of his men and women begging for the sweet release of death. It felt like ages but he eventually made past the corpses as he watched the Infantry be torn to shreds like nothing by the Ardarite, the mages were long dead at this point, such carnage was too much for him as the mercenaries he had fought together for years was cut down like nothing without even tasting steel from the enemy who hid in those godsdamned trenches. Crystal Fire began burning the bodies and souls of his people as he watched the few survivors retreat with haste. Jiang was still crawling through the Infantry line as he saw a silver streak across the skies. A young woman of unparallel beauty and ice-cold azure eyes descended into the battlefield alone as a Goddess of Death and Destruction. She threw herself at the remaining troops who were trying to build fortifications for themselves with magic and Ki against another salvo from the enemy. Her dragonbone ax tore them to shreds as she called them names and screamed like a mad beast. When a few mages joined the fray she began weaving magic spells as well as miracles. She cried for more men to slaughter as the numbers thinned out and the rest ran away, Jiang then felt his blood or what remained of it go cold as the mad beast turned her azure eyes towards him. She licked her lips ready to butcher him as a golden light appeared around him. His vision went black as he waited to meet his brothers-in-arms in the Long Queue, their defeat a bitter reminder for all of eternity. Alas, it was not to be as he opened his eyes after an unknown amount of time had passed. Jiang saw as the Knights the prince brought and in the middle of them, there were two younger individuals. The young man holding a stand with a golden flag on it, its symbol of a mighty crystal staff embedded in it.
William had finished killing the enemy soldiers that survived the first cannon salvo when he found the leader of the charge. His Blood Lust sang to him the most orgasmic of tunes as he tore the people in front of him limb from limb with ax and magic. The Sigil of Saa''Xhir pulsating in his womb giving him waves upon waves of pleasure so pure, so intense he lost himself on it. O sing to me that I have chained down and buried down for so long! Sing your tune Our tune! Let no men or women forget we are the apex predator in these fields of combat! SING FOR ME TO US! SING! Yet when the heat rose to its climax William felt a bucket of ice-cold water being thrown at him. Lucrezia was screaming in his ear as the enemy leader was sequestered via a golden light. He knew that spell! it was a one-person teleportation spell very few mages could cast. "Accursed Terran! Did you forget the lessons my Knight Commander taught you?! What an unsightly display is this?! Do not lose yourself in the very first bout with the enemy for All-Father''s sake!" William felt the woman punch the Monolith! waves of actual pain flowed through it as both he and Lucrezia yelped in soul pain. He flew back to the command center and sat down. "All right I get it! geez Lucrezia I''m sorry! No need to punch the goddamn soul construct we don''t know jack about you crazy woman!" Lucrezia gasped "Oh the godsdamned Audacity! Call me crazy again and I will break your goddamn legs when you come down here, you infant! I..." She lost steam as both William and she were beset by Magical Fatigue, he had called several High-Level spells today, and even with such a huge mana reserve, he had now thanks to the blessing he was burning through it faster than what was recommended by Wilson. "Forgive me Lucrezia, I didn''t mean to... Lose myself there" William told her. Lucrezia sighed and spoke in his mind, her tone a bit more mellow now "I...It is my fault as well, we are more connected than I thought, it runs deeper now and those emotions you felt weren''t solely ours, They were mine as well and I decided to act like a kid to hide them from you, and I guess myself. At any rate, I also ask forgiveness, William" "Water under the bridge then," William said, as soon as they put this under the better "So the shift, how long do you think it will take for the rest of the world to come up with countermeasures now that it happened?" A blunt way to change the topic but it would work. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Lucrezia hummed "The effects of this battle will be felt across decades if not centuries. We destroyed mercenaries that had no small amount of experience under their belts, with the shift in place the mages and warrior gods will have some base knowledge of our new weapons and will no doubt want for more. As their knowledge deepens so will the countermeasures against it" She tsked "Then again you know how the All-Father is fond of Bureaucracy. It will take a long time to get such changes approved and ready for dispersal for the mortals, unless we push them hard enough that is..." William nodded "And we do a repeat of the food magic and the agricultural and merchant gods actually uniting themselves for once and putting their differences aside to petition against it. Forcing All-Father''s hand, and both I and you don''t want to be under the scrutiny of the lord and ruler of this universe as he will no doubt find out about my roots" William took a pause and continued "But If I need to bring the hammer down to defend my land and my people so be it, Even if my soul is throw in the hells or utterly destroyed I will not back down from this fight" Lucrezia went silent only speaking after a good minute had gone by "Using Crystal fire to burn their souls was a bad move William, you are lucky they still go to the Long Queue but the very thought of doing it is tantamount of war crime! Know this, our actions today will be judged for the rest of history even if it was deployed against sellswords, Mercenaries they may be but they are still people" William eyed the charred remains and spoke, Conviction bleeding into his thoughts "Galius will not come out if we don''t force his hand, now he will and I will stop at nothing to avenge Viviene" "Promise me this then Terran, do not use this ghastly weapon against our Knights. Followers, they may be but they are only here because their Nobles sent them. If they are to die then kill them with honor in the fields of battle as is the duty of any Vermilion Knight" William nodded "Yes"
Erwin watched as his Duchess flew away from the carnage. He saw her losing to the Battle Lust and could only shake his head, he would have to increase the regime lest Lucrezia went deep and never came back. Sigr¨²n watched as the summer wind carried the ashes from the enemy and spoke "Did we need to use that horrible weapon, Erwin?" The Knight Commander cast a forlong look at the fields and spoke "Lady Lucrezia was right on one thing, the Prince while smart is a prideful man, this crushing defeat will spur him into doing a mistake... Could we have done it more humanely? Yes but at the cost of many men and women who can''t fight as well as seasoned mercenaries. Even with the new weapons tearing the enemy as they did the sheer numbers of this assault would spell doom to our supply line" He shook his head "It is a bitter pill to swallow, using tactics from the enemy but we all remember the battle of the three sisters Sigr¨²n, the Duke before losing his wits to whatever dark magicks he and the duchess had were not one to shy away from more...Extreme methods to swiftly win decisive battles" Sigr¨²n sighed. That was one of the bloodiest battles against the Mad King and his armies. the Duke had been called by the royals to push back Granarius forces along three rivers made when a family of nymphs died eons ago. These "sisters" then became an important source of farmland for Granarius and her people. Strong forts all cross the river length made it so Vermilion had to fight inch by inch. It was a godsdamned mess. Royal Knights died trying to take that cursed place. So came the duke with a plan to take the whole region without losing so much as a speck of blood of the forces of the Kingdom. Queen Malphas said yes, and thus the man called upon The Sword. The ancient Winter Spirit came in the dead of the night and froze civilian and combatant alike, their lifeforce and mana used as fuel for the Spirit to cause untold devastation upon the elves. Came morning the whole region was dead, increased in their icy coffins, Later Sigr¨²n learned the ritual that makes such spell possible took the sacrifice of an untold number of prisoners of war. Sigr¨²n watched as for the first time since he took the mantle of Commander Erwin felt sick to the stomach, it wasn''t like the elves and their Mad King hadn''t done worse but to fall to their level? and his lord at that? And yet he pressed on. He had a duty to uphold and a war to win. For this important victory, the Duke was awarded the highest of honors by the Queen Herself who Erwin caught saying "It was a smart plan, gods forgive me but it was a bloody smart plan" Sigr¨²n spoke "Instead of Ice it was by infernal fire. The Duchess may have sullied her hands with the blood of her parents but some things never go away do they?" Erwin nodded "Come, the girl will probably have come out of her battle high by now, let us talk with her" Sigr¨²n followed Erwin while saying "I could feel my Blessing singing together with her''s Erwin. The lust was that strong! I''m afraid you will need to put her through another set of exercises" As they walked through the trenches both noticed the morale and mood was at an all-time high, the realization of the sheer destruction and death still yet to hit the footmen and regulars. Erwin himself feared an onset of more people falling for the Silent''s Curse but that was part and parcel of war. It would take years to remedy those who fell for it and he was going to petition Lucrezia to reach out for the Gods in charge of it. Erwin spoke, "I''m afraid those have reached their limits on her Sigr¨²n, I hate to ask but-" Sigr¨²n nodded in disapproval "If I could anything? Nay, I''m not a fully-fledged Succubi Erwin. Her''s only a High Succubi can cure, or the Goddess herself if we must go down that route" The Knight cursed inwards and kept moving. They reached the command center where Lucrezia was standing taking a rest, likely restoring her mana reserves. Saa''ryu was there as well as the leaders of the foreign armies and Idun. Serkj could be seen below in the trenches talking with his men giving them orders as another load of ammo was unloaded from the train into the hands of the soldiers there. When they all reconvened and Lucrezia was ready to give another order a horn blew across the fields. Erwin snapped his towards the sound''s direction as he knew it came not from a foreign mercenary but a Vermilion Knight! likely a commander. He watched as numerous flags appeared on the horizon. He knew the houses as they were old allies of the duchy and later the Prince''s. To fight against brothers and sisters of the path was a bitter evil thing Erwin thought. Yet bitter still was the loss of his family, the near destruction of his home, and the fact the one who delivered justice to him had to go so far as to get her hands wet with the blood of her closest of kin. And so the Knight Commander made peace with himself at that moment. Come what may his Conviction in Lucrezia would remain sacrosanct. His oath he made so long ago to her unchanged and strong as steel. "The enemy nears, under the flag of parley and...Fucking Goddamn it!" Lucrezia exploded as she flew upwards. "It''s the fucking children of the Arch-Mage! Goddamn, it all not now! Fuck Fuck Fuck!" She screamed in the air. Erwin had seen this happen before with young nobles trusted into combat, something or other make them lose it and was a shift downfall to lose if he didn''t snap her out of it. The man gathered his Ki and formed an aura red as blood around him. He honed his Ki into her form and spoke in a way only Lucrezia could hear. "LUCREZIA WULFGREM! ENOUGH! GET DOWN HERE AND GIVE ME 100 PUSH-UPS NOW!" The effect was immediate. The girl snapped out of it and flew down looking like she had stolen the last cookie in the jar. Erwin nodded to her as she coughed and pressed her armor red in the face with shame. Everyone stood waiting as she looked around and after a long sigh launched into an explanation. "The kids, the kids of the Arch-Mage have a magical construct on them. If we do so much as hurt their pinky finger it sends a signal to their parents saying their kids are in danger, They won''t even blink about destroying us all as their mom is obsessive with the "security" of her children" Lucrezia sighed again and spoke "We must incapacitate both and lock them away, then we can deal with Galius" Erwin nodded "I have seen the pair in combat before. Make no mistake on our Lady''s words. If the Arch-Mages come we will lose and die" Saa''ryu spoke" Hurting their kids would be enough for those two breaks this neutrality they have with the Arch-Duke and the Royals I''m pretty sure. So how do we capture them without hurting them too much Lucrezia?" Idun spoke "Their forces are in disarray and morale is low. If we can charge with my Magi-Tech horses and bombard the air with the Ardarite dust rounds it would be enough to get in, incapacitate the bastards and get out. Now I know what you are thinking "How we can do that without hurting them" That my friends can be done with this!" He pulled a grenade from his person and spoke. "Together with the druids I was working on a potent Magi-Tech tool that could induce sleep, a few of my workers can''t sleep that well anymore and we arrived at this beauty of Druidcraft and Magi-Tech. As long you don''t get hit by the gas it should knock out those mages in no time. Of course, you still need to cut a path through their entire infantry line but with the Magi-Tech horses and the armor, nothing those mercenaries can throw at you will stop the charge" "Erwin?" Lucrezia asked. "It is true my lady, While our Dire Horses are unparalleled in charging against enemies, the sheer number the prince still has would be nothing short of suicide. Not to say the man has Knights of him own who would no doubt seize the change to come at us. I have tested Master Idun''s horses and as long we can punch through the infantry fast enough to catch their Knights flatfooted this plan of Master Idun should work. "And if we can Kill the Prince we can avoid further bloodshed. To kill foreign mercenaries is one thing, to have Vermilion''s Knights blood in my hands is another" Lucrezia said as she stared at the battlefield. "Now, let us greet the Prince" she flew towards the Prince and his people.
Galius saw as the madwoman of the north flew in the skies. His eyes caught the blood in her armor. She came alone to the parlay. He was growing increasingly angry by the hour. His Patron deity had already pressed him twice for the blood of this whore and what was supposed to be a brilliant maneuver against her rear and supply lines ended up being a massacre on the level of the war against Grannarius. The mercenary commander told him and his people the horror as Crystal Fire was deployed on the battlefield. Crystal fucking fire! The gall of this mad whore! Galius had plenty of reason to Kill Lucrezia. Her being a War Criminal was just a new one for him. She landed in the snow with a thump, Her ashen blonde hair tied neatly in a ponytail as her cold azure eyes stared dead center at him. He needed no blessing or mastery of Ki and Mana to see the woman who wanted him dead. Him and his friends. Such bloodlust, rage, and outright fury poured from her like the current of a mighty river! Yes, Galius knew what this was, rotten luck! she was also touched by the Rage-That-Dwells! Not as strong as his mother thank the stars! But if it came to a fight he would be hard-pressed to fend her off alone, together with his friends and the pets maybe. The Knights would be meat shields for her big attacks as well. But fighting one with the Rage was always a dance and one Galius had a little training on it, as his mom was found of sparring with him and his father. He and his fellows stared as Lucrezia stared at the Arch-Mage''s kids, there was something strange in the way she watched them but nothing Galius could capitalize on. Since it was clear the woman wasn''t going to speak he decided to do so, from at top of his mighty horse he cleared his throat to get everyone''s attention. When all eyes were centered on him he began. "Ahem! Lady Lucrzia Wulfgrem! I''m first prince Galius Shatter-Spear! It is by royal decree that I command ye! Lay down thy weapons and surrender thyself for the royal court! The crimes of Kinslaying and Heresy against one of our most important Goddesses weigh heavily on the fair people of the north! Come in peace and this...Bout shall be forgotten and not tallied against your person in court!" Galius continued. "Of course your lands will fall under my command while you are in the capital. As Acting Viceroy of the Royal Family, I promise you and the men and women of the north that I shall rule fairly and with an open heart towards Wulfgrem and her people!" Galius was cut by an ice-cold wind that began forming around him. He saw faint forms in the skies as he gasped Godsdamned Winter Spirits! He knew very well what that meant. The Spirits of the land didn''t want him near the throne, he always figured those ancient plagues had a nack to sniff out the Gods from beyond the stars and this proved his theory. That was when he heard a roar echoing from the mountains to the north. Of course, the bloody Dragoness was also paying attention to this. He then noticed Lucrezia smile as Divine Energy gathered around her. The Knights closed in to defend him as a mighty spear of ancient elven origin made itself manifest on the mad woman''s hand. Its tip was rusted and wet with blood. The wood was black as the darkest of nights and a single motif of a crow was at the very center of it. Galius needed no explanation for who gave Lucrezia such a weapon. Velkarius herself. He felt his blood going cold, The woman knew. Somehow she knew and the crow fucker had chosen her to kill him! "There won''t be no surrender. No laying down of arms" Lucrezia spoke as she pointed her spear to him "You and your people have committed the gravest of sins and by Divine Mandate, I will see that by the end of this day your head is bolted to the walls of my city as is the ones of your friends" "I am Jury, Judge, and Executioner, I will wet the ground with your blood and your death will right the wrong you have committed, Come Prince of Lies! YOUR RECKONING HAS COME!" Lucrezia exploded upwards and flew back to her trenches. Galius stood still for a second before sounding the retreat and ordering the men to fortify their current base. He took Lucrezia''s words to heart and would be ready when she came for him, for his patron god was watching, and on this day he would defeat the whore and claim her land for him! her people the first step on ushering the one true god onto this universe!
Seeing Kaine''s face terrified of him made William sad, the Arch-Mage''s son was one of his favorite characters and a great boon to the player as he could easily teach you new magicks and such. Progress far enough in his questline where you help the young mage escape from his sister''s shadow and one is rewarded with the most powerful mage in the game, as he unlocks the ultra-rare Time Goddess Blessing, even letting the player character respec on stats. And yet all William could see was him shaking his legs as he delivered his ultimatum to Galius. Seeing that...Man in real life made William burn with a rage so strong, so deep he nearly lost himself. It is one thing to read about a horrible act in a text box, another to see it being played out on a computer screen. But to stare at the culprit? in the flesh? It clicked to him then and then how much all of this was Real Viviene wasn''t some NPC a collection of pixels given form by code and voice acting. She was a real person! stolen of her future and life by this mad dog! Oh, how the rage singed for William, a sound as sweet as lust demanding him to Kill the prince right there and there. But he knew the daughter of the Arch-Mage plus the Knights would get him. Those Knights... William knew every one of the commanders. They were NPCs that rained the player in the game, they had quests and cutscenes. Full of life and love for their country, their families, and fellow Knights. All being used by Galius as meat-shield! William would have to kill them. Once again wet his hands with blood only this time...this time they weren''t villains or cultists. This time he knew they were good people blind to the truth and only following orders from their houses. He couldn''t even plea to them, he knew their characters knew that they fully believed in the cause and would balk at someone even implying Galius was a madman who had defiled the Arch-Duke''s daughter and was in league with the Terror from beyond the Stars. "Wynather, Uu''Kal-Vaar, Var''yr Ether. Please forgive me" William spoke while he flew, he felt tears in his eyes but couldn''t understand why he was crying. Lucrezia was silent and this once William knew why. These Knights were from the houses the heirs were her friends, and when they met again in the Academy next year it would fall for William to explain to those girls how he butchered their Loyal Knights. William arrived at the place where the Magi-Tech horses were being prepared. 100 Knights stood by silent as a grave. Erwin already had told them they were about to fight against their brothers and sisters after breaking through the Mercenary Infantry no doubt. They all saluted William as he landed and in a quiet unknown to the field of combat, he walked towards his Knight Commander. Erwin Knelled and said "I''ve told the men, Mark my words Lady Lucrezia, every one of them gathered here will not hesitate, will not falter. Sinners we may be for killing our fellow brethren of the path but we will fight every enemy of Wulfgrem!" William spoke "Raise your head Commander, for we lead the charge in 30 minutes" He saluted and went away. William steeled himself and started to meditate feeling the mana current flow throughout his body and soul. Lucrezia started doing the same as both of them synched and felt the divine blessings also flow intertwined. On top of all of this, the power from the Rage-That-Dwells swirled and bubbled like an angry god ready for the killing. William''s mind went towards the men and women who sang one of the songs he had composed a few days ago. He felt pride and sadness. Myriad emotions all flow as one inside of him. William and Lucrezia feared not a deeper merge for both could feel a sort of chokehold on the whole process. So they went deeper in this synched meditative state as her emotions became his and his hers. Time halted to a crawl for his senses and everything he had done, and everything Lucrezia had done meshed together in a single united front. Often both heard of the fulcrum, that singular moment in the battlefield that turned the tide. That brought unparalleled victory to the one who sized first and thanks to his new blessings William knew. Deep inside of him, he knew that this was it, He would seize the Arch-Mage''s kids and kill Galius and his goons. His men would die, innocent knights from the enemy side would also die but he would do it. Deep within his shared soul, Lucrezia began to sing, and so he mirrored her song. It was after all a favorite of his. Cometh the Hour of our Reckoning, we will be ready Cometh the Man who will Fight beside me and be steady Cometh the Angel, the messenger from Hell we dreaded Cometh the Devil''s disciples, so we must be ready My heart is strong, my faith goes on, but if my world is threatened, I''ll fight the fight, they''ll pay the price, their blood will flow with vengeance! The dogs of war will rip apart hostility unbounded, And to the end, our guns will roar until the enemy is Crushed To the point of no return Beg for mercy, scum of Satan Lucifer''s a corpse in waiting! Cometh the Hour of our Reckoning, we will be ready Cometh the Man who will Fight beside me and be steady Cometh the Angel, the messenger from Hell we dreaded Cometh the Devil''s disciples, so we must be ready My heart is strong, my faith goes on, but if my world is threatened, I''ll fight the fight, they''ll pay the price, their blood will flow with vengeance! The dogs of war will rip apart hostility unbounded, And to the end, our guns will roar until the enemy is Crushed To the point of no return Beg for mercy, scum of Satan Lucifer''s a corpse in waiting! A lull came as William recalled the second part of the song, this time he lead while Lucrezia Followed from the recess of their shared souls. A wake of devastation will not be tolerated A threat without a foundation will be eradicated Defend our existence from evil''s pure persistence And if our spirits falter we face the devils alter Gods of darkness, heed my words of warning When the worlds collide and skies fall down In a pit of hell, we''ll be In Damnation, crucified and tortured Our spirits guide us through the fear of our immortality Spirits guide us through the fear of our immortality William opened his eyes. The silence of the trenches greeted him as the people stared at him and his somber tune. He got up and inhaled the ashes in the air. Walking towards Idun who was readying his Magi-Tech horse. The thing was huge and looked like it was made to break walls. It would do wonders to crush the remainder of Galius''s infantry. Idun coughed and spoke "My Lady, the constructs are ready and waiting. Saa''ryu came just a few minutes ago saying the Prince''s men have begun building defensive infrastructure and most are still shaking on their boots after the attack. Their morale won''t pose an issue. Here are the grenades, I''ve given a dozen to every Knight who will ride with you so in the worst-case scenario you can blanket the field with the gas. William mounted on the Magi-Tech Horse and gave it a few runs around the place. Finding his balance was easy as he saw the men and women who had sworn their lives to defend his lands mount their horses. Erwin came about and told him it was time to strike. With a final goodbye to both Idun and Serkj who came at the very last minute to give good luck William went together with Erwin. A part of him knew it was foolish, to ride at the tip of the spear towards the enemy. But Galius was his and his alone to kill and he would do it, even should he fall in battle he would be the one to end that wretched man''s life. So he told that part of him to shut the fuck up and get with the program already. As they left the trenches Willaim said. "Forward Knights of Wulfgrem, Forward for our last battle and final Victory!"
Margareth Antewood was tending to a wounded mercenary when Turius called for her. Her healing magic was subpar she had to admit but after losing more than half the mages that Galius had hired they were short in healers and so the love of her life sent her to the frontlines. The medical ones at the very least. Her brother was by her side aiding as well, his was even worse than hers but that was common, Kaine was older but she was the one who got the good magical genes as her mother was fond of saying. Margareth was honestly annoyed by the endless competitive nature of her mom. She liked her brother and saw that the young man was hurt by it, avoiding the family like a thief avoids the police in those Imperium novels. She couldn''t believe it still, in her mind this sojourn to the north was to be a nice vacation. Once she had met Lucrezia and the girl was just another spoiled noble brat, endlessly chatting with her friends and making gossip about the Royals. This Lucrezia on the other hand was a stone-cold killer. Hellbent on revenge against whatever slight Galius had done to her, which was insane as the First Prince''s reputation was spotless! even his break up with the Arch-Duek''s daughter was handled perfectly even if Viviene had retreated from the Nobility''s social life after the fact. Margareth couldn''t blame the girl, it would be hard not to mingle with her ex-fiancee. Margareth Also noticed that Lucrezia burned with a huge amount of divine energy. A skill her father insisted his kids learn at a young age, seven godsdamned Greater Blessings! It was no wonder she could fight after that huge lightning strike she did on the first day! Still, Margareth wasn''t worried, both she and her brother had a hidden ward in their rings that if they took a certain amount of damage. Mom and dad dearest would come in for the rescue. And no amount of blessings would stop the rampage of two Arch-Mages. Time seemed to slow down as Margareth and Kaine tended to the wounded. Then a mighty horn was blown and the guards by the tent looked in panic as the horn blew again five more times. "What does that mean?" Kaine asked the guard who was trembling. He turned to them and said "E-enemy a-attack! run! seek shelter!" he ran to the front even as his hands were shaking. Kaine and Margareth for the command tent when they saw Galius and his people, her beloved included mounting their horses. Turius screamed "Oh Margareth thank the gods! Quick get on a horse! Lucrezia is charging at us with her Knights!" Kaine bolted for the nearest horse as she did the same, after mounting she asked Turius "But she would have to plow through the defenses and infantry! has Lucrezia gone mad?" Galius spoke from his horse, his armor crimson and gold beaming in the sunlight "Aye, she went mad long ago Young Mistress. Now get ready for you and your brother''s magic will be needed" Margareth nodded happily. She was the best mage in training in the Kingdom and she honestly doubted this "Ardarite" could stop her magicks from working. and so they rode to battle. That was when the sky burned with metal. Loud explosions shook the earth as a cloud of fine ruby dust rained from above. Margareth was about to ask what was that when Galius screamed "Ardarite dust! Mages to the rear! KI users to the front!" Kaine whelped as she tried to cast a simple magic missile and nothing happened. She tried again and again but nothing was happening! she could already feel the headache behind her eyes forming as Turius spoke to her. "Save it Margareth, You and Kaine behind me!" she snarled in rage but moved her horse as her brother did the same. Margareth hated being seen as a damsel in distress! she could command the arcane better than mages who lived their entire lives! Blind with rage she vowed to hurt Lucrezia for making her suffer such humiliation in front of the love of her life! That was when she saw the crystal glimmer in the distance, as 100 horses made out of metal and crystal charged at them. The screams of the infantry who could only watch as their friends were trampled alive beneath the horses as spear and sword, arrows and daggers found no purchase in the flesh of those beasts. It made her vomit as the stench of death and fear hit her in full force. At the front the madwoman herself. Furiae of the North some of the Mercenaries called her now, Her ax chopped heads as if they were made of straw. When Lucrezia saw her she reached into her person and grabbed something round. Pulled a pin from it and threw it at Margareth and her brother. She heard a click and smoke started pouring in from the thing as the wind blew right at her. The effect was fast, Margareth could barely keep her eyes open as the horse began to slow down, soon everything fell into darkness...
William''s Blood Lust sung yet again as he tore through the enemies in front of him, Oh how they screamed in terror and fury! Oh, how that fear made them run arms in hand to their doom! Yet such bliss was tempered by the loss of his Knights. for every meter they carved through with steal and crystal the enemy claimed 2, 3, or even 5 of his men, making the push forward labor paid in blood. He was not without wounds as well, arrows and spears knocked his arms and legs. And yet he pushed forward until the reason for this senseless massacre was made manifest in front of him. Galius rode with his Knights to meet his charge! William quickly threw his grenades as his Knights did the same. While the Arch-Mage''s son and daughter were taken out first the Knights with their Ki managed to stave off the effect of the gas. William got on top of his Magi-Tech horse and leaped forward, Immidealtky as he did so Wynather, Uu''Kal-Vaar, Var''yr Ether, and their Elite formed in front, William was forced to do the deed. Tapping into the Rage as to avoid second thoughts he saw the world around him turn red as the power flowed through his soul. With a mighty thunderbolt, he crashed into the Knights. Killing Wynather in the landing. He saw the elven woman mutter words for her wife on the ground but paid her no mind as he began tearing through the Knights. His own now circling the Prince''s men killing the rest in a ghastly display of skill. More and more fell as William made his way past a pile of corpses to reach Galius and his goons. At the end of this journey he saw Uu''Kal-Vaar and Var''yr Ether form up and charge at him, Both men who William knew their backstories and were favorites of his from the game, their attacks found flesh as they bleed William with spear and sword both. Yet William dared not falter, he stomped the ground and burned an incredible amount of mana on the spot. Molding the fallen''s weapons into great steel spikes that impaled both Knights! as their bodies fell limp William screamed "Knights of Vermilion! Your commanders are DEAD! Surrender now and I show mercy!" as his Knights picked off those who refused to give up William heard the clatter of swords and shields being dropped on the ground. A sea of steel parted before him, and at last, William saw them. Galius, Krista, Turius and Elias. "Mine is the spear of Death" "Mine is the spear of the forgotten" "Mine is the Spear of VENGEANCE!" William chanted as dashed towards them, Galius roared in defense and pulled a sword, his friends doing the same. William stomped the ground again, the remains of the Ardarite dust no longer blocking his magic. Spikes of steel came from the weapons around them binding the guilty to the ground. Willaim smacked their weapons out of their hands and kicked them in the legs. making them kiss the dirt. "Kneel" He commanded with divine energy and they did as asked. Erwin came near him as did Gabriel the Master Druid and Saa''ryu. why the druid had come was something William would ask later. He lined Galius and his people up and said "Die" William grabbed the bolt action rifle that was strapped in Idun''s horse and shot Krista first. Turius began crying as Elias started talking fast "Come now, Duchess! sure we can work something out?! There''s n-no need for k-killing us right?! Gally here is very rich you know he cou-" Another shot straight in the head. William pulled the bolt and shot again in Elias''s heart. "Margareth! You whore wake up!" Screamed Turius to the fallen mage. Be it divine intervention or something else the woman opened her eyes and gasped. William kicked Idun to the ground as time slowed down. He knew the spell the girl would cast at this moment; Wind Blade and it would kill or maim anyone caught in its path. Erwin quickly threw another grenade but the spell had already left her lips, William saw as Saa''ryu eyes went wide as the Wind Blade came for her and in a dash of madness and enough mana to fly at high speeds, tackled the maid. He felt the spell connect with his right arm and the pain so strong he nearly black out, Margareth went down after huffing more gas together with a few Knights behind her. Gabriel quickly turned into his phoenix form and cast a strong healing spell on William. He tried looking for his arm but the thing was shredded to minced meat! It took a good 5 minutes for the spell effect to finally end as William watched Turius scream in madness and fear. "Take the mages away, gag em and shacked them with Ardarite carefully then throw both of them in the dungeon! Cells with Ardarite padding and bars are on the lowest level!" Idun screamed to the Knights who did as he commanded. "Not to worry My Lady! We will forge a brand new arm for you! Magi-Tech won''t fail our prophet!" The dwarf spoke, fear in his voice. Saa''ryu moved to apologize but William raised his hand to tell her to leave it for later, he turned to Erwin and said "Round up the survivors, if anyone resists kill them" "Your Highness!" William pulled his brand new pistol from his forgotten holster and aimed at Turius who screamed for forgiveness. A single shot to the head was enough to shut him up. Galius began to laugh like a manic and said "You can not stop us you whore! My one true God will come and destr-" 3 bullets were fired in rapid succession. The prince fell dead as William unloaded the rest of the magazine in his corpse, he kneeled next to him and whispered in his ear "That was for Viviene you scum. May your soul rot in the hells" A murder of crows showed up in the skies. They descended into the land and out of them came out a tall elven woman. Velkarius had come to get her due. "Ando so the Villian is defeated" she slashed the air and his head and that of his fellows came to her "Our mutual friend will want to see these with his own eyes I''m sure you know" A smile appeared on her lips "The pact is fulfilled Lucrezia. And now you enjoy the full benefits of our mutual agreement, do not worry about his mom or the rest of the royals. They will whine and complain but none shall raise their hand against you and yours. This I give you my word" The Goddess bowed and flew away. The bodies without their heads burst into dark flames. William took a deep long sigh as he stared at the raven Velkarius had turned herself into. The bird wailed as it flew south towards the one who demanded blood for the sins committed against his kin. "This is not over is it?" Lucrezia asked. "No. No, it is not" William said out loud. Epilogue 1: Ye of little Faith.
"They aren''t ready, they will never be ready for it!" Goddess of time Gwenarius''s final words as she stormed off in front of All-Father. To this day no mortal has been blessed by her. Kaine found himself on a strange beach, to his left his sister laid in one of those lean-back beach chairs that were all the rage with the nobles a few years back. The woman was casually sipping some sort of beverage from a coconut? Kaine found the whole thing bizarre like he was in a fever dream. He got up and dusted himself while basking in the warm sun... "This can''t be right, I was face down in the snow minutes ago!" He went weak in the knees for a second as the memory of the battle slammed into his mind. A veritable sledgehammer spell right into his knees. So much death and blood Kaine tried to hold it in but the bile rose as he threw up water. The boy was shaking as the realization of the ordeal he had just gone through finally hit him in its entirety. Galius was dead, his whole godsdamned crew of shady characters executed like rabid dogs by Lucrezia! And his dumb arse of a sister had chopped the woman''s arm off! "Ardarite, They got us locked in Ardarite chains Kaine" Margareth spoke from her chair. Kaine rolled back, the young man had all but forgotten his sister was there with him, he immediately cast a triple weave aegis spell and took a defensive stance. If this was the enemy or someone pretending to be his sister he wouldn''t go down without a fight! ...Even if he was a shite fighter... "Last summer you walked on me and Turius Kaine, now drop that spell it''s me you oaf" Margareth sighed as Kaine''s face flushed red, of course, she would go for that particular memory! It wasn''t his fault godsdamn it. He was testing a pathfinder spell. Kaine turned to his sister and spoke. "This is a construct, isn''t it? Dungeon-type?" he asked as he felt the mana radiate from the fake sun and seawater. His sister nodded and finished sipping and said "High Level at that, Core of Imperium make as those dunces love these resort modes...Come with me I gotta show you something" She got up and nodded towards a bungalow that was by the beachside. Kaine and Margareth walked in silence, he was afraid of asking how she was feeling. After all her beloved had just been put down like a common criminal right in front of her! Even if she wasn''t awake, thus Kaine went with another line of questioning. "How long? I assume that spell dad reached you works down here as well?" He was talking about the Exact Time spell, which gave the user an unnatural insight into the flow of time of a specific region. At first, his dad had made the spell to solve special puzzles in the Red Dragon''s dungeon in the Capital but it ended up being a bit overkill and the old drake was crossed for weeks. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. "4 Days" she opened the door to the bungalow and they watched as a spectral orb collected mana from the air around them and conjured huge pigs. "Defective dungeon cores... Gods know how many dad and mom have in their basement, this one is being used to produce high-quality meat from pigs" Margareth said "What an ingenious way to dodge the Food Magic laws, shame it ended up not working eh" she turned to her brother and spoke, "Lucrezia hasn''t come down here yet, only her Head Maid who has been cleaning and leaving goods for us..." Kaine watched as his sister looked conflicted. A rare look on her face as she was headstrong as all hells, how she hadn''t tried to smash the core and run up to Lucrezia to slice her other arm was something he was dying to ask. Still, Kaine decided to follow his gut and stay quiet because he didn''t want his sister blowing upon him. Gods knew the day was bad enough. "Not gonna ask?" She spoke in a low tone. "Nope" Kaine fired back. Margareth sighed and said "I''ve been talking with the core, Once a day it summons a dire boar for me to fight...Don''t look at me like that I was bored out of my mind down here ok! Anyway, the Head Maid lady left a letter for you" Margareth pulled the envelope and gave it to Kaine, he noticed the thing was already opened and shoot an eyebrow towards his sister who shrugged and said "Checking for traps, not that Lucrezia would be so dumb as to send one to us since she knows about the safeguards mom and dad left on us" Kaine picked the letter and asked, "Have you tried contacting them already?" Margareth looked even more conflicted and said "No...No I haven''t. We can talk about this later just read the stupid letter" Now Kaine was even more suspicious about this whole ordeal. But his gut told him to do as he was told and the young man knew that trusting his gut was always the best option in these types of situations. Kaine opened the letter and read the contents, his eyes growing wider by the line. He took a deep breath once he was done and threw the thing on top of a desk, looking around Kaine found a chair and took a seat, running his hands through his face and hairline. He began shaking and was ready to have a breakdown when his sister slammed her foot down in the bungalow''s wood. Taking his mind out the edge. "You think this is real sis? Lucrezia knows which God gave me the blessing?" he asked without looking at Margareth. The young woman sighed and said "She knew about the countermeasures. Had access to more Ardarite than half the world combined. Took over an entire duchy with never-before-seen weaponry... Something ain''t right here brother." Margareth paced around the room. Kaine took a deep breath and said "I''ll go, I''ll speak with her and try to get us out of this...Dungeon beach thing...What an odd choice" Kaine quickly lost himself in trying to analyze the weave of magic and its matrixes. It was his coping mechanism when he was highly stressed out. Margareth hugged her brother and said "Be careful out there Kaine, please" Kaine stopped looking around and with a sigh picked the letter again, walking outside to the sands he burned it with his mana. A simple fire spell that any mage worth their salt could do it. He watched as the illusion spell the core was casting broke when cold stone walls formed from the outermost left side of the place. 10 men armed to the teeth and with Ardarite armor came marching into the beach, their boots a steady rhythm that echoed across this likely huge dungeon cell. That was when Kaine saw Lucrezia staring right at him. There was something odd the way she looked at him, it was like she knew him top from bottom. All his secrets laid bare for her to peruse and pick apart, but beneath this, he felt a sense of old friendship. "Master Kaine!" She spoke with a warm tone "Please follow me, we have so much to talk about!" And so Kaine followed the madwoman. In time he would come to cherish these few days he spent with her as Lucrezia proved to be something far beyond even his wildest of imagination. Epilogue 2: On Wings of Hatred we Soared to the Plains of Silence
"In your darkest of days, in your blackest of nights. Whisper my name to skies and I shall grant thee that which was denied" Velkarius''s first words after ascending to godhood Queen Malphas Dragonblood, Ruler of Vermilion, Avatar of Morugarius, and Demi-Goddess of War paced on the throne room seething with rage and fury. Her husband had a neutral look on his face and she could tell he would not speak a word today. Unless she demanded him to speak that is, then the man would talk sweet nothings to appease her fury. "News has already spread to the lower nobility. Not only the heinous crimes against Jinn''s daughter but worshipping of the terrors from beyond the stars, from his to his entire faction. The only people clean were low-level workers and the bookies that kept the balances in check..." King Jason Dragonblood Shatter-Spear spoke in a tone that could only be described as dead inside. "I will not tolerate slander against the name of my of our son!" Malphas roared to her husband "We will march the Knights to that godsforsaken waste and kill everyone involved in the killing of Galius!" she punched the wall near her. Her fist going through the enchanted concrete like a hot knife through warm butter, the King shook his head in disappointment and said. "The Narrative is already in place, together with Jinn we lured Galius to the north and there the new Duchess slaughtered the fiend. According to the diviners, the Royal faction will not lose face or esteem with the lower nobles and general populace, and the Gods will likely turn a blind eye to this whole affair. As long as you play along we can salvage this whole mess" Jason didn''t even blink as he finished his speech. Only taking a deep breath as his wife roared in anger. Malphas felt the entity''s call that had won her wars and battles lesser men would''ve lost. She called forth her sword and was ready to strike at her husband who remained at his chair looking at her, or through her. "I''ll kill them! I''ll kill them all! My son will be avenged damn you! damn you and Jinn and Lucrezia!" she bellowed as emotion took over. Malphas felt the tears rush back once again as she wept in wrath. Deaf and blind to the sins of her firstborn as her motherly love compelled her to do the deed herself, fly to the north and slaughter those cretins alone, for who could stop her? Nothing short of a host of Gods breaking through the mortal coil would be enough. She snarled towards Jason and spoke "Have you no emotion?! our son! your son! was killed like a dog and all you can talk about is how to turn this around to benefit the Royals?! gods damn you, cold-hearted bastard!" The King sighed and with the same neutral tone spoke once again "My son died years ago. The one walking around was but a puppet from the terrors you fought together with Jinn and the others in the past Malphas. This I told you when he broke those poor women so long ago and yet you turned the blind eye to it. This mess is your fault and you are lucky The All-Father didn''t send one of his flock to burn the whole kingdom down for housing a cult for those blighted abominations!" a small spell of emotion struck the king but he held himself "Kill me if you must. Gods know I have shamed my name already by even letting that...thing masquerading as my son walk around for as long as I did but know this Malphas" the King rose and stood right at the tip of her blade. The steel drew blood as he spoke. "I am a Shatter-Spear. By the blood of my ancestors, we tamed this land, fought off invaders from all sides and beyond. If you think I will let this be stone that knocks down my clan you are sorely mistaken" A tense minute of stares followed. Malphas knew her husband well enough to know he was deadly serious about it. She cursed loudly and placed the blade down on the ground, steel ringed as the silence dragged on. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Many times before being made King and Queen they had fought, Malphas meet Jason when they were adventuring across the world together with the rest of her party. Solid as an elemental stone and a shining beacon of pragmatism It was he who became the glue that held her band of adventurers together. Even if she was the de facto leader of them, malphas sighed as the memories from those days flooded back. Her friends were now the Arch-Mages of her country. And Arch-Duke and Duchess too. Her mind went back to yesterday. When Jinn and his Wive showed up at her doorstep in full plate riding their Arch-Griffins that bled righteous rage against her and her son. The beasts stomped the ground as Malphas came to greet her friends who had stopped talking with her and her husband ever since the incident with their daughter happened... There were no words shared that day, Jinn grabbed a bag wet with blood and threw at Malphas''s fee. With a push, they rode off in the skies as she realized they had brought the heads of Galius and his Friends. Jinn had promised in tears once, he would avenge his daughter even if he had to pay with his life. Malphas watched as her Husband left without a word. She sat down and cried once again for her dead son, the love she had for him blinding her from all of the horrible deeds the man had committed under the auspices of the eternal enemies that sought to destroy the realm and world. In this moment of weakness Malpha''s vowed to herself she would avenge her son. And the head of Lucrezia would burn in that pyre of fury and sorrow for her son.
King Jason let his wife alone as he was sure she got the message across and wouldn''t muck up his plans. The messengers he dispatched had already reported that Numerous Gods who worked under the Kingdom of Vermilion were already spreading the right narrative and due to sheer luck most of the lower and middle nobility was buying it up. It helped Lucrezia had effectively destroyed Galius''s faction with a series of assassinations with the Owl and his family of Assassins. Jason remembered the young spoilered brat princess. Making a fuss in his castle whenever her parents came to visit in the summer, to think that same womanchild would do what she had done in such a short time. Nevertheless getting the blessings of numerous gods... The kingdom''s future was looking better by the minute thanks to that insane madwoman from the north. Years of fighting against Jinn''s faction. Years of losing power to Galius''s growing faction as the Royal''s fought tooth and nail to remain dominant, to steer the kingdom towards a better tomorrow united even if by kicking and screaming against those who would conspire against the realm. This Jason believed in all his being. To think his firstborn son would be one of his greatest enemies was something he could barely wrap his head around. The boy he raised with love and care, taught the ways of his ancestors and their struggle to make a land that was fair and kind to all! only to see him turn against the daughter of someone Jason called a brother. Someone who more than once had risked life, limb, and godsdamned soul to save him! Jason''s parents always thought him too cold, too uncaring for his fellow men. But the bounds he forged in his adventuring days were sacrosanct and pure. Alas, his dear wife, the love of his life couldn''t cast her motherly love off and they were stuck in this horrible dance. Sophia and Valtas, ever focused on their magicks decided to remain neutral. To see Jinn''s face in suffering and agony broke Jason''s heart. to see Malphas''s face in the same state was akin to grinding the remains to fine dust. And so Jason played his many hands and build the narrative to wash away his grave sin of turning the blind eye to his dearest of friends. Jinn would never forgive him, or Malphas for that matter, but that was not his intention with this whole charade. The survival of the Royal Faction was his end goal and since there was no interference from Jinn and his people he could only assume the man had granted him the privilege. That or he was gearing up to take him down further with some plot or another. Weeks went by as Malphas calmed down and grieved in silence. King Jason sat on his throne alone as a falcon delivered him a letter. The plan had worked and now both the Royals and the Arch-Duke''s factions were united once again. With the caveat that Lucrezia had joined Jinn''s side as his protege. "May the Gods forgive me for my sins. And may Vermilion shine in crimson for all of eternity!" Jason spoke aloud in the empty room. His words echoed with the weight of countless dead, now and in the future.
Epilogue 3: A friend in Silver and Azure "Coin saved our countries from another war. May the Gods of Commerce bless this fateful day!" Silvebrand''s matron when signing the peace treaty with Grannarius and Vermilion. Richard Silverbrand watched as his mom commanded a veritable army of people delivering goods from the north. His dad was walking him over the workshop as the ritual from the family demanded. "It''s scary a girl my age could do all of this" And Richard meant it, the way he heard some of the Knights talk in their taverns at night on the fight they were part in the north showed him an image of someone who was by all accounts a mad woman! Dragons, Spirits, and Gods! and being made ruler of an entire duchy at the age of 19?! what is this madness! Alas, his mother did not care an ounce for it as she was making so much profit the matron of the clan came to their humble abode to personally congratulate her. "Change is often scary my son, but we must always follow it lest we get left behind and forgotten, our very names gone from the tapestry of the kingdom." his dad said ever the wannabe Wiseman. A trait his mother loved dearly whenever they had diner together. "You should steel yourself son. For it is thanks to this veritable pot of eternal god that you got an entrance permit to the Academy''s priority program" In other words, his mom sold him out to breed with the Northen madwoman who had made her rich... Richard sighed as the naked ambition could be felt like a Knight Ki''s from his mom. And the damn woman was a mage! "A great honor for someone not from the main clan I know father" Richard spoke quietly. "Worry not son, for I already spoke with your mother. You won''t be pawned off as a piece of meat to Lucrezia, It took a fight and a lot of screaming but you can trust me on this one" His father gave him a pat on the back and said "Now my son, cast off that gloom and doom look from your face! A Silverbrand must be cheerful, charming, and ever on the hunt for a deal. Not mopping about like one of those magic users from woods... anywho I must help your mother, the workers already know your face so feel free to explore the place" Richard watched his father walk away as he searched for a quiet spot to read, his mom had gotten him the first print of a storybook the duchess had written... as to add more to the insanity fire the young woman was both great with music and words! and yet he couldn''t help himself! This book, this Lord of the Rings she wrote was nothing short of a masterpiece! And her songs too! Granted Richard prefers the more romance inclined songs from the many bards he saw in the city and taverns but even he couldn''t help but feel the hair raise as her songs of war and valor were sung. The urge to go forth with sword and shield to the fields of battle and die for Vermilion. Powerful, Bold, and Deep they were favorites of the more Knight-themed taverns and pubs. Richard had finished the book again by the time his mother came to fetch him. They spoke a few empty words to each other and he was off her hooks, the young man decided to hit his favorite pub, The Editor''s Choice. Favored mostly by lower nobility and Knights it was a good place to relax after the day. The bard was playing another of "Lucrezia''s Songs of Glory" as he pushed open the doors and moved to his table, the regulars greeting him as he walked. Some new faces in the crowd watched in puzzlement, the barkeep hailed him as she got to his table "Kept the books there as you asked dear. And here''s the ale plus the pie which I gotta say its nothing short of divine, thanks again for those spices from the Shogunate" she gave him a wink and walked off as Richard tore into the food, Good gods it was worth having to put up with his uncles for the spice shipment! "Always favor the chef" He whispered as he drank the ale. Relaxed and rested Richard watched as the regulars went on with their rituals. The bard tipped her hat to him after the song was over. Getting that "guitar" for her was a chore and a half but what could he say? he had a weak spot for the musical types and helping them in their journey was something of a hobby for him. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. As the music kicked off again Richard closed his eyes and let the final of his worries melt over. He had a plan for this whole debacle with the Academy and Lucrezia and it was a simple one, for his forays in the annals of history told him that the easier the plan, the least likely was it to fail. First, become invisible in the eyes of the Academy''s inner society by not drawing attention to himself in the first two-week period where everyone was out to make a name for themselves. That way the sheer number of people there would act as a bulwark against popularity. Second, Avoid Lucrezia and whatever she does. Gods willing the Duchess will have no time for a non-noble like him and go after the prince or someone of high renown. Yep, this was his plan and Richard would stick to it. Later Richard would learn that tempting fate is not something one does for fun or as a hobby.
Third Prince Arthur Dragonblood Shatter-Spear had just finished sparring with his Royal Knight liaison when a message came to greet him. His mother would be hosting a private memorial for his departed brother. Arthur watched as the Knight eyed him with obvious lust in her eyes. Much like the Kitsune the Rabbit Magi-Folk had a natural tendency to follow the Goddess of Lust and Love, a troubling thing if he was easily tempted but thanks to his many gifts such thoughts were shot down on the spot. It made him be ever the target of teasing by his elder sister for lacking a girlfriend even when being the prince of a kingdom. He made his way to the private chapel after cleaning himself with magic, on the way there he saw the shades that haunted the palace leave one by one. Old friends those shades were and their stories at first terrified Arthur only to later sadden him greatly, to learn his brother was a horrible man and all the things he had done to these people was blood curling. The fact his mother defended him was just the cherry on top of this miserable pie. Worse his sister called him crazy when he even dare to suggest the palace was haunted and that Galius was a cold-hearted villain. And in the snows of the north that beast met his end, put down by a figure that was quickly becoming a legend among nobles and knights alike. Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem, Master of Song and War. Poet, Writer, Inventor of Wonders few in the history of the Kingdom could claim equal! And Kinslayer, despot, Knightsbane and Madwoman. It was like two people were living inside the same body Arthur felt. "Furiae of the North" was a fitting moniker Arthur thought as he sat down and watched as his mother waxed on and on about that horrible man who should''ve been put through sword and spell many moons ago. That his father managed to turn this absolute black spot on the story of the Royal Line into a shining example of justice was nothing short of genius political might. At least one of the adults wasn''t turning a blind eye anymore. Arthur watched as the shades all hovered above him. Each whispering thanks to a woman they never met as they departed to the afterlife, and also to him for using his gifts to listen to their woes, for necromancy and mind magic were his craft, and with but a few spells these shades who were condemned to walk the mortal coil without peace were given a sliver of hope. Arthur had to do the whole nine yards for the usage of his inborn gifts. Earning him a Greater Blessing of the Undying. For the God disliked being called his true name and with such power came the ability to peer into the very souls of people around him. It had taken him years to tune it out but every once in a while someone would come up and smash his self-made defenses and he would be pulled into an arcane visualization of their soul. He would always end up with a nasty headache and nightmares for a week thanks to it. As that was the domain of the Gods and High-Level Necromancers. Flashes of their innermost desires and memories would be burned in Arthur''s head and that also took a week to wash it away, thankfully it was something rare to happen and he could enjoy the perks of being able to read someone''s body language better thanks to it. Arthur was already in his room when he received another letter from his father. Kaine and Margareth were being held hostage by Lucrezia after the battle that happened in the north, huh Arthur thought that both were already on the level that anything short of a stealth attack wouldn''t be able to take them down, much less non-lethally and holding them, prisoners. Once again the Northern Duchess surprised him. "To think a few months back I thought my entrance to the Academy would be without much alarm heh" Arthur stared at the moon as he spoke "I wonder how those snobs will react now. Someone that does not care about their many social rules and norms and is a Duchess on top of all that? Next year will be fun indeed" Epilogue 4: The First Heroine and Her Final Hope. "To me my Warriors! Today we Die in the name of the All-Father!" Augurios the Mad''s war cry when he was at the front of the war effort for the All-Father. Hope Morgan Fritz stood by the gates of the Grand Academy, they stood tall gleaming steel and red sapphire as the Gatekeeper took a long hard look at her and said "Non-Nobles to the front please" Since she was alone Hope didn''t get it but she walked to the front nevertheless, The Gatekeeper cast a spell over her and spoke "Hmm, Merc kid... The support desk is just to the left of this path, watch for the big lion statue" with a nod Hope walked through the gates and saw the first sign of activity inside the place, older noble scions who stayed the year around inside the campus living out the best of their lives free and make amazing memories... Hope''s mind again went to the prospect of romance, she didn''t know why but it was always running in the background which was something absurd! She had never cared that deeply before! Sure a crush or two happened but those were normal for any healthy young man/woman, and some of her classmates were very pretty... Ugh she thought to herself it was like she was one of those sheltered Uumaries girls who suddenly finds a Shal''Xhir friend to take them out in the wide world...Hope thought to herself it was time to cut off some of those books she was reading. "Cool as ice Hope, Cool as ice" the young woman spoke as she opened the doors and walked up to the clerk. An ancient-looking elven man complete with a beard as long as her arm! He took a long look at her and said "Papers please" in a voice that reminded her of ancient oak forests for some insane reason. Hope not wanting to ire the veritable ancient being pulled her papers and gave them to him. It took near an hour to get the paperwork done, but Hope left the Academy with a shiny new badge of entrance and her paperwork filled. Riding on that high she went to the market for premium cuts of meat for dinner, arriving home she was treated by her parents who were happy to know her paperwork was filled without drama and went right on to make a great dinner. Said Dinner was interrupted when her father received a magical message and the mood went from happy to gloom and doom in a blink of an eye. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "She killed almost all mercenaries in the first bout... Gods, Above we must thank the Red Dragon for he saved our lives!" Her mother said "Had our company not been on leave we would be..." her voice got quieter as the realization came crashing down. They had dodged death again and this time there were enough bodies on the pile to make a fort of them. Hope looked at her father who was quiet as a dead man. He stared her down and sighed "Even Jiang died... I fought with that man for years in the last war and he always pulled through even at the direst of odds, godsdamn it all it was a fucking massacre! these new weapons of the northern folk just tore the companies like they were made out of wet paper! Worse was the tactics employed beforehand" He finished. "The Grannarius spike" Hope finished as her father explained the maneuver "That someone would use the tactics of our enemies against our people" she looked at her mom who sighed as well. "It is the perfect move against our Knights, and Galius lacked diviners that were miracle based. With Lucrezia''s usage of Ardarite, she managed to counter his every move" Her mother finished speaking with an empty look in her eyes. "Ardarite, isn''t that super rare?" Hope asked to change the topic to something less dreadful. Her father picked up on this and went for it "Yes! Only a few mines are known and all keep supply low to not disrupt the balance between martial arts and magical arts, That Lucrezia managed to use enough means she has a mine of the stuff in her lands. That young woman will have no want for coin with it, not that she would even need to sell the bloody ore! with these new items of hers in every market I believe she''s as wealthy as a king" After that, her parents moved on and the diner went on as usual. Hope got her nightly business done and was preparing to go to sleep when the realization struck her like a bolt of lighting cast by a mage! "Gods above Lucrezia will be going to the Academy!" of course the woman would be there! By law, every noble was forced to go and attend for at the very least one year, as to further their social and personal ties and foster friendships across all spheres of power from the commoners like her who were in due to the school quota policy to wealthy merchants kids who''s parents paid for an entrance permit. And all rings of Nobility of the Kingdom of Vermilion. Hope prayed to All-Father to make the young woman pay her no attention. After all, even if her parents were war heroes they were simple commoners. Nothing in the yes of a Duchess from one of the houses that made this Kingdom a millennia ago. Hope stared at the moon in the skies her mind drifting ever so close to sleep as she imagined her days in the Academy, learning, making friends for life and who knows maybe finding love? One could hope she thought with a smile on her lips. Much later in her life, Hope would come to remember these days and laugh at her younger self''s thoughts. If only she knew heh If only she knew. Epilogue 5: And the truth shall set you free. Thus spoke the All-Father Faal; I am Free Will and my reign shall blanket the cosmos!" An Ancient passage from the Book of the All-Father. All-Father Faal. Master of countless universes stood tall in his throne room in the middle of the city of gods Faal¡¯Thyrie, named after himself and his wife. A tad pretentious his parents would say but what did they know? boring Gods of War those two. No, he was more He was something so pure, so primal the very cosmos sung his name as he sang back to it. To live, to die, to do what one must to survive and then thrive. Faal represented all of that and more as he went on his conquest across the multiverse that had granted him life, of course, beings from the beyond and his fellow divines of multiple realities weren''t happy with his conqueror ways but as they used to say. History is written by he who wins and so far Faal was winning by a landslide. "You have yet to tell me why you blessed that Human Thyrie, I thought you only cared for your Dragons?" Faal asked his wife whose face twisted in mock anger only for a tiny smile to crack from beneath of it. "That youngling of yours did Right by one of mine. It is only fair I gave her my aid" Thyrie spoke "Yes I know many a mortal have done the same over the eons and no, I won''t tell you why I choose her over them" "Something is bothering you, wife of mine. Speak so I might fix it" Faal spoke. Thyrie sighed "The bloody girl was infested by that thrice-damned entity you failed to remove from the makeup of the planet. It Irked me but that''s not all. There''s something there that reeks of those from beyond. Our friends from the outer reaches might have tainted her" Faal pondered and cast his eye towards the place where his wife fought with the girl. Indeed the boundary was thin enough there for something to leak over and taint the living "You think that will turn her against us?" He asked. His wife had fought those beings for eons now and no one bar his wayward son could read them better, he watched as Thyrie thought the issue over. "The Blessing I gave will watch over her soul. If anything happens I will be aware of it But it might be just leaking from the thinner boundary" Thyrie took an apple and ate it whole "And If anything does happen I will be able to terminate her with but a snap of my fingers" Faal nodded, trusting in his Wife''s judgment "Then we can consider this issue fixed? Now I told you dear the Rage is good! It gives the mortals who are blessed with it a greater chance to evolve into demi-gods! Sure the entity itself hates me but now that its hosts have been destroyed we can use it for the war effort! Think about it a whole squadron of demi-gods could take half a planetary system in a matter of days!" "Faal, We made a pact not 100 years ago. No talking about the Conquest while in our downtime! I swear for a non-God of War you sure care more than your parents about it! Faal smiled, whenever Thyrie brought up his parents he knew it was time to just nod and smile, and thus he did as he and his wife kept talking about the goings of the many realms they ruled over. Magi-Tech had finally borne fruit in their prime planet. Their seat of power now had access to more power that would be eventually used against Faal''s many enemies! And it was the selfsame mortal who his wife had blessed! Looking more deeply he noticed this mortal was ushering many a change to his planet. Ahh, how he loved watching the smart ones carve a place for themselves in history! their names would go down in history forever as beacons of progress and change and that made his heartbeat stronger and faster with excitement as his sphere of power grew stronger even if by an atom! The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. And yet said human was also turning her gears towards war. Faal watched as she weaved weaponry for her war effort and saw how much the designs reminded him of other worlds he had visited and conquered before. "The Legacy of Terra poisons even my backyard" Faal smiled as his mind went back years back to his sojourn in that ball of dirt and blood; It was he together with the big players in the cosmos who decided to lock Terra away before their poison took root everywhere. The blockage wasn''t enough and soon thanks to the outer entities the so-called "Legacy" was spread. Few planets had taken it, but to think his very seat of power would be one of those was something of a cruel twist of irony and fate. Mayhaps he had angered a stray god or another? Something to look over as he summoned enough power to destroy a small sun and called an old frenemy of his. The Star Scourge. Eater of Suns and Galaxy Burner screamed foul words for a solid minute before speaking "FOUL DEMON, ENOUGH WITH THESE MESSAGES!" "A pleasure as always my greatest of foes. I have something for the council" Faal spoke with a smile on his face ah the council how he loved the idea of forming a body with his sworn enemies to stop the Terran gods from spreading. Something his parents would never be able to pull off, he had done it without spilling an ounce of divine ichor! Truly one of his greatest achievements. "THE COUNCIL LISTENS, SPEAK FOUL DEMON" His old friend spoke in his guttural voice. "The Legacy has infested one of my core planets. No entry point found in the cosmical lay lines and the barrier around Terra holds still" Faal said as the members of the council began talking over each other. A clap ringed and everyone fell silent, from that silence a female voice ringed inside of Faal''s mind. "I will seek my contacts there, All members of the council as per the rules we must check our core planets. Unless someone has anything else to say This meeting has come to its conclusion" No one spoke, the meeting was over and Faal sat upon his throne with a smile on his lips. The future was looking bright for his world today and above all else, he was hunting for a grand old time now that the war effort had been paused! "Finally some godsdamned good entertainment!" he spoke out loud.
A shadowy being moved across planes as it neared a door. Opening the door it found more shades around a table, the shades were dressed in black robes and their faces were obscured by divine means. "They found it" The shade who had just arrived spoke in hushed whispers. "Is he compromised?" Another shade asked. "Nay, neither side knows about him. They think it''s another leak in the barrier" The first shade answered back. "Convenient, and the Terran gods?" Another shade asked. The first shade moved to speak but it fell silent, the others honed into it and waited "The Terrans know something is foul. But the barrier still holds" The shades nodded left without a word. Only the shade who had arrived and one who sat at the tail end of the table remained. "Thank you cousin" The shade spoke with warmth in his voice. "Think nothing of it, with the lull in the war we all need something to do. Now let''s go back before someone comes knocking" Both shades left, the wind carrying them far away.
A round table full of beings stood over the skies of Earth as they shouted and screamed at each other. The anger and bloodlust are clear to see in their eyes and words. "One of mine was taken" a voice brimming with power spoke and the rest turned to it. "Elaborate" a feminine voice spoke back. "His soul isn''t here, nor did it reach the underworld or my realm" Silence then screams of rage and fury and fear, the divines of earth looked towards their enemy in the far reaches of the galaxy pounding at the "barrier" other gods had put them under after they were weakened by the enemy. "Accursed outer beings! they make a mockery of us! WAR I SAY, WE TAKE THE FIGHT TO THEM!" A masculine voice cried and many raised theirs to agree with him, only for them to be shushed by another powerful voice. "Concern thyself with the war in Europe child, for we already lost the war against the outer menace" the voice spoke in the direction of the first voice "What is thy plan?" "My weapon is sent to the one who was taken. When it is used we will know who did it" and thus the matter was concluded and the voices went back to screaming and snarling at each other, stuck in a perpetual state of war and chaos. Chapter 31: To help a friend? We do what we must "Much can be said about the Shogunate, but today I want to focus on their warriors whose mastery of Ki goes beyond even of the Vermilion Knights! With but a swipe from their swords mountains can be cleaved in half and the very seas part before them" On the Shogunate Volume 3. William was in his room writing in his diary. The events of the past few days weighed heavy on his mind as he was unable to sleep for the better part of the week, according to Erwin his Silent Curse was worsening and he would be wise to prepare for intense nightmares and hallucinations. "How in all that is arcane and magical you found a near-endless supply of Ardarite?! Father had to kill an entire civilization of undead dwarves to get a mine opened a few years back did you know that?!?" Kaine spoke a tad too loudly from his seat, the young man was working on several Magi-Tech puzzles he and a few priests had come up with. "Also can we please take my sister out of that dungeon? I know she sliced your arm off and all that but I don''t think it''s fair-" "Kaine the girl told my people numerous times she doesn''t wanna leave, and that the sun is better than this "detestable snow of the north" but if you want to convince her again, by all means, be my guest" William swiftly cut his old new friend off with the ease that bespoke of a friendship years in the making. Kaine eyed him for a second before talking "It''s honestly scary how well you can read me you know? You know the right words, how to phrase them, and how to tease me enough to find your company near hypnotical. I would suspect foul play but you don''t have a Mind Magic & Illusion License so It has to be that blessing of yours" He pointed to William''s womb with the grace of a sailor. "You wonder why your mother mocks you for not having a girlfriend...Oh, Kaine what I''m to do with you" William laughed as his mind went back to Earth and the game, Kaine was always a fun character to talk to. The young man knew just enough to survive in the social fields but not enough to be smooth about it after all only magic and the arcane were worthy of any importance. His words. "Don''t you "oh Kaine" me! I''ve dealt with Saal''Xhir people before! That blessing gives them unfair advantages when it comes to dealing with other people and I have a working theory that proves it!" and to his credit, the theory had grounds to stand on as Kaine went on and on about how a Sphere of Power such as love can be as wide as the All-Father''s even if not on the same level of power. William on his hand explained to the young man how there were several limiters at work which mortals weren''t privy to (but he knew thanks to outside of the game lore and explanations from the dev team) plus some of his own and the game''s community theories about how the inner workings of a Sphere were set and what bounds they had to obey as to preserve the ever-changing balance of power in the Divine Game. Two days, it took William two days to break Kaine''s aversion and fear of him by feeding him the bread crumbs of knowledge the young man craved so much. And the man knew it by the looks he gave off every time William pretended to be busy. "You are hiding something from me Lucrezia. You know something very important and is teasing me with shades of it" Kaine said as he finished the last puzzle "I don''t understand why. Why would you play with me out of all people you know?" His eyes told William the young man wasn''t suspicious but genuinely curious about this whole song and dance William and he was doing. "You know about the Ancient Race that once called this planet home, long before All-Father came?" A rhetorical question as William knew Kaine was fascinated with them, as their sole Goddess was magic focused many a spell that was derived from this Ancient Race were prized by mages in the whole world. Kaine nearly jumped off the table in surprise and hit his foot in the chair support. William laughed as he cried out in mock outrage. "I hope you don''t lure him later for" Lucrezia began speaking and William immediately replied, sensing her intent. "What is wrong with you? Kaine doesn''t care for stuff like that! Sweet Jesus Lucrezia" William spoke. Lucrezia laughed and said "Pot calling the kettle black William, now explain to our guest what you plan on doing before he notices you staring at nothing again" William turned to Kaine as Lucrezia finished her laugh. William sighed and began talking about his plan, with a map he went over Kaine and said "Near the underground fortress my people are using there lies ruins of the Ancients, a mighty ziggurat made for their begone Goddess. Now according to this" William pulled a notebook that looked old as dirt and said "Diary from one of the last priests of the place they were working on a mighty time spell to reverse the flow of time and stop their Goddess from leaving" Kaine''s eyes went wide, the boy was nearly drooling like a predator staring at prey. With good reason after all Time Magic was extremely hard to pull off since the Goddess Gwenarius hated any sort of meddling in her Sphere. That is until the news got out said Goddess was secretly desperate for followers! more and more power to up-and-coming Gods and Goddesses were muscling on her territory since while her power was big it was unguarded by Faith! this placed insane pressure on the Goddess and thus she began secretly Blessing mortals all over the world. Alas, Gwenarius was something of a novice when it came to properly foster faith among the people, and not wanting to show weakness she dared not seek help. Thus people like Kaine had to "Earn" their blessing from that foolish Goddess by performing worthwhile acts thus unlocking the Blessing''s full potential and giving the sigil to its holders. William knew Kaine was currently hiding his "Unknow Blessing" from his parents and this was the perfect opportunity to rope the best Chronomancer of the country to his side. "Come with me, Kaine! Together we will brave the depths of this Ziggurat and you will have a spell so mighty that even our Goddess of Time will not be able to ignore! And then the truth of your Blessing will be made manifest!" The young man looked flabbergasted "Wha- How did y- Impossible! Not even my parents know about that!" He then realized he had given himself away and slumped back to his chair, hands going up to his face and hair. "You going to end up bald like your uncle if you keep that up Kaine," William said while laughing "I know many things, my dear. Now get ready for we are leaving in an hour!" William moved the map back to his desk and gave Kaine the ancient diary " The translation is over there in my desk, now I must talk with Saa about the expedition. Ring the bell if you want anything" William left the room as Kaine moved towards his desk, he grabbed the translation and began pouring over the diary. Of course, William didn''t tell the young man how he had translated the text when Ancient Languange took years to master, if he had to explain that it was English with a few different rules he would no doubt be smitten here and there. With a laugh in the corridors of his castle, he walked with a spring in his step because today would be the day of dungeon raiding! And a High Level one at that!
Margareth watched as her brother pleaded once again for her to come out of the "dungeon" only for her to wave him away, honestly, the boy worried too much but she was touched nonetheless for the gesture alleviated a bit of the sorrow. Sorrow for her dead boyfriend whose''s killer was currently sucking up to her brother like the Saal''Xhir whore she was, and yet for all the rage she felt that day now only a deep sense of emptiness remained. The Silent Curse found many a way to strike. For some, it would be a mania so strong they would lose themselves, for others they would lose love for life and family. Her case was one of the more common ones, the Hopelessness and Empty she felt were part and parcel for many a Knight and Solider all over the world and thus the treatment would work. Hopefully, that is. Mevant Goddess of Redemption was the leading force against the Curse. Her churches were humble places of peace and healing for those who needed it, all Margareth needed was to go back to the Capital and petition the aid of the local branch, and yet... There was something here, in this damned cold cursed land that made her ponder, think, and ruminate. Why did Lucrezia not take the First Prince prisoner? Why slaughter him like a common thug together with his people and spare his Knights? to use the degree of force she did and not destroy her opposition as it was her right? Margareth knew something was up, and she suspected her brother was also wondering the same. Thus she remained in her vigil. Granted one at a lovely recreation of a beach thanks to arcane magicks and a dungeon core but still lovely. If only those insane madmen from the Imperium realized the untapped potential for tourism instead of using cores as weapons...But that was a rant for another day to an actual audience instead of the bored-looking maid who was tending to her needs. When she asked to be washed by "Lucrezia''s best" she was honestly joking and trying to give a hard time to the Duchess. Alas, the woman took her at face value, and thus this tall merwoman was the one Margareth had to deal with daily. Lapis Laar was her name. According to the woman herself, she was a new hire that came over after the work in Lucrezia''s deep seaport was done and she didn''t want to go back to the Diamond Reefs. In her words "working as a barmaid for drunken sharks and crabs was tiring and annoying, plus the Duchess pays better" to round up the trio Margareth would often "speak" with the Dungeon Core. The thing wasn''t sentient per se. As the Imperium had harsh laws regarding creating new life, but it was capable of speech akin to an arcane automaton. And so she wasted her days away with this crew of hers. "Miss Antewood if you don''t me asking, why remain here when Lady Lucrezia said you were free to go?" Lapis asked as she got out of the "seawater" according to the woman it was just an ungodly amount of magical water made real thanks to the core and it tasted like booze to her. On a dare, Margareth drank the water and indeed it tasted like wine made with magical fruits. Imperial mages were well known to be boozehounds, Margareth could only guess the creator of this core was one of them. She turned to Lapis and said "It is clear your Duchess has an uncommon interest in my brother. I will not turn tail and run and let her do whatever she plans to do with him" plus her parents were busy for the foreseeable future, something they told her and her brother before the left as they were going to explore some sort of pocket dimension an Elven mage from the principality made for them. Of course, should Margareth or Kaine run into mortal danger the ward on them would ping her mother and father, but she knew from experience popping the ward for anything that wasn''t "help us we are about to die" would mean a very angry par of mages nagging her for days on end so she decided to not use the ward, for now, that is. "Maybe she just likes the lad? I mean your brother isn''t as good-looking as some of the Squires but hey, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that jazz... Gods know people blessed by Saal''Xhir have the strangest of tastes in partners haha" Margareth''s lips formed a thin line, ugh, of course, that oaf of a maid would bring that up again. The fate of anyone who has friends with people blessed by that Goddess it seems, Margareth prayed that her brother would be spared from this teasing but then again the boy was both anti-social and a master of avoiding people. Took his Illusion permit test earlier than even father just to learn magicks that let him blend in and disappear. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The day after that convo Margareth was awakened by Kaine who was hopping around the place like a kid on their birthday. It took a few minutes to calm him down and explain that Lucrezia was taking him on an expedition in a gods forsaken ruin from the Ancient race that once called this planet their home. And worse yet Lucrezia told him the loot was a chronomancy spell of yore! She knew Ancient Magic was of orders of magnitude above theirs. To think a spell made from a time where there was no God to Defend the flow of time from tampering would exist was something very scary. But Margareth trusted her brother, he had a host of issues but being irresponsible with his magic? that wasn''t one of them. If anything she was the worse of the two, slinging high-level magicks around like nothing in her early days. Like that Wind Blade with overcharged mana that tore Lucrezia''s arm off, she had seen the woman walk around without an arm like nothing had happened but that had to hurt right? According to Kaine, she would often complain about phantom pain but nothing else. Plus they were making a Magi-Tech arm for her at any rate... Margareth sighed, sadness seeping over as it did when the core when in its recharging state and the sun dimmed. She watched as Lapis bid farewell and the sun "set" Hoping her brother would not hurt himself in the expedition. Gods knew she couldn''t afford to lose another loved one.
"Are ye sure of this missy?! It''s a big drop from here!" Screamed the leader of the dwarven miners who were blasting away through the underground to reach the Ziggurat, So far they had to kill a few rock worms and big slimes but nothing hard in William''s opinion. "That''s ok my good man. I have the spells to make a safe landing, By the time we are back you will be finished with those stairs right?" Asked Kaine who was constantly casting spells to map the tunnels, read the mana currents and look for more enemies, they had reached a huge abyss where the Ziggurat was located and they were ready to jump to the bottom. The Dwarven man nodded and thus William and Kaine jumped into the abyss, the spell gently floating them below. After they reached solid ground William began burning massive quantities of mana and pulled the iron from the rocks around them. Forming torch holders to the entrance of the Ziggurat. With a prayer for the All-Mother, he chanted a miracle of fire and light and the torch holders lit up in blue flame, the way clear William began walking towards the entrance. "Not worried about monsters?" Kaine asked as he began casting spells "Also that''s an impressive feat of Magnetism and Weaving of arcane matrixes! granted we could optimize it far better because you just burned a huge quantity of mana and that was a waste! Gods, it''s like you skipped the first 3 years of magical theory Lucrezia... Wilson would be ashamed if he saw that" Kaine was winding up for another rant, probably how unfair it was for mages with low mana reserves and so William decided to cut the boy right there and there. "Kaine" It was all he said. He got the message fast as he clamped and up for a solid minute only to speak later "Sorry, I tend to get a bit too into the nuts and bolts of spell weaving" he cleared his throat and asked "How''s the new arm by the way" William smiled as he flexed his Magi-Tech hand. The Mark I arm was very much a prototype and it had several improvements to be built for it (There was a godsdamned itch where his skin met the construct for example) But so far? the thing was great. William could punch a goddamn bolder with it! He had already drafted a series of upgrades to it, from heated blades that could impale enemies to walls. to sonic blasters and heat-seeking taser rounds in the knuckles for less than lethal takedowns. He had also drafted a rocket punch but Idun was against the idea as he would need to replace the entire arm thanks to the limitations on the tech. Made out of mana crystals and enchanted ice. The deep azure color of the arm pleased William''s sense of aesthetics, he turned to Kaine and said "It''s great but there''s room for improvement" he nodded and spoke "As anything be it magical or technical. Never settle for good enough when you can reach near perfection!" words from his father that William knew the young man held dear to his heart. They reached the threshold and Kaine spoke "According to the diary we will need to prove our worth by a trial of might or wisdom, now I''m fairly knowledgeable about Ancient culture and customs but I rather not risk my skin and end up dead because whatever is there asked us an esoteric question few know. I vote for a trial of combat" he finished with a smile. "The trail will demand us to carve our way through the Ziggurat''s defensive systems, Kaine you ready for it?" William asked just to make sure, he wanted to let loose a little after nearly two weeks of being cooped up in the castle. "Don''t you worry, now say the words to that statue over there" he pointed to a statue of a mighty warrior, the Ancients had for the longest time lived life in a utopian society, of course, that went down in flames after their Goddess left them and they began warring against each other. This warrior must''ve been someone important if William was remembering his lore right. William pulled his ever-trusty dragonbone ax and focused into his Magnetism as a Steel Halo formed right above his head. "Keep your training up and soon your Magnetism will be able to tame even special alloys! Gods I always loved going to the Academy and watching the mages of your element there weaving and bending the arcane and the metal. Such a sight of skill and flow always left me a tiny bit jelly but one must not blame the Gods and Fate for the element of magic they can control" Kaine then grabbed the Magi-Tech staff William had made for him and began casting spell after spell in speeds only the son of the Arch-Mage could do it. Wards against poison and soul attacks, protective barriers, and even a regenerative spell that was infamous for being hard to pull off. Just like his game counterpart, the young man was the perfect support mage to have at the party. Low damage but with a repertoire that shored up enough for that weakness to not matter. Especially once you unlocked time magic for him. And William was going to turn him into a late-game monster even before they set foot inside the Academy! It wasn''t just the staff William had to remind himself. A tailor-made robe the very first of its kind for full integration of spell casting and Magi-Tech in an offensive capability, Armored Boots, and gauntlets, and a crystalline circlet all made with Enchanted Ice and Mythril meant Kaine was packing end game gear and William made sure he wouldn''t get the items back, they belonged to him now. William said the words to the Statue and a path opened up "Let''s go" and Kaine followed with a nod. They were slowly making their way inside with William at the front ready to take damage when Kaine tapped his staff 2 times. A sign they had set up before going underground, his spell had picked up enemies! William nodded and pulled his ax as he stalked forward. Arriving at the entrance of an arena he sighed in disappointment. Of course, he forgot about the layout of the dungeon! There would be no trash mobs until they cleared the first mini-boss and a barrier broke somewhere else in the Ziggurat. William made a sign to go forward and stepped into the arena together with Kaine as a shade made itself manifest and said [.......] "It''s doing something! Kaine!" William barked the order and the mage began precasting more defensive spells, All William could remember from the first boss was that it liked doing huge AoE attacks every 60 seconds. Feeling his body being enveloped in Kaine''s spell William grinned in expectation as his Lust began heating his body readying itself for the slaughter, a beam of light burned the middle of the arena and with a scream William dashed forward towards the form inside of it, a golem towering above him wind up a punch that came faster than its size should''ve allowed. William screamed again and the Halo of Steel formed a sheet that blocked the punch as he threw a mighty swing at the leg of the golem. In his mind, he thought the construct would''ve simply shrugged off the attack and kept pounding away at him but reality decided to play a trick on him and his ax fell the leg in a clean sweep! William didn''t even compute the fact when his lust took over and went for the other leg as the golem went down like a bag of bricks. Kaine finished casting a mighty Arcane Arrow and pierced the head of the golem as William dodged to the side with the grace of a rhino. The boy laughed and screamed "Hell of an ax strike there Lucrezia! You should''ve seen it from my point of view! it was like you were one of those monks from the far east who can imbue themselves with lighting and strike as fast as the element itself!... Are you ok?" William focused his mind and sat down to meditate. After a tense few seconds, he spoke "Give me 3 minutes to get this...in order" Kaine nodded and said "Oh yes your battle lust. forgot about that caveat of your blessing... I can cast many cleaning spells if you need for it" He said dead serious and William had to hold his wheeze in, God bless this dude he thought. Not a single ounce of lewd intent in his bones. "When you told me Kaine Antewood was "magic sexual" I had thought you were messing with me, William. Well well," Lucrezia said in his mind with a hint of humor in her voice. William laughed inside and out and replied to Kaine "I''m good thank you. Let us continue shall we?" Kaine nodded and they began moving forward when the same shade showed up. William immediately pulled the ax and got ready. In the game, the shade loses steam after the first boss battle and goes away in flames! What was going on? [Stay thy weapon, Alien, I bear thee no ill will] the voice spoke in his mind, and from the whelp Kaine gave, it spoke to his as well. Fucking A William thought another thing he did not know about it. "Lucrezia! These are Ancient Spectres! arcane entities meant to guard very important locations! It looks like it is at the tail end of its life too! I can feel the arcane matrix fraying away as it speaks" Kaine raised his voice and spoke to the shade "We are no Aliens! We are natives of this world! Your race has perished construct and we-" A sigh came from the shade that cut off Kaine''s words [So they failed? The calculations showed as much and yet they raged on trying to bring back the Goddess...How long has it been Alien?] "Eons" Kaine replied. [And yet there''s life on the surface. Including those silly Emotional Spirits from the Markar Collective...tell me Alien, who rules our world now?] "All-Father Faal, the Conqueror" William replied with the full name, the very earth trembled as William could feel the divine energies focusing on him for a split second. Kaine gasped and whispered, "She does have the All-Mother blessing after all..." The shade stayed quiet for a few seconds and then spoke [My time nears its end as your companion said Child of Faal, Yet I sense thee and thy companion came for the spells housed in this place. A trial of combat was chosen and thus I must make the prize ready should you and yours complete it. No steel yourselves for the enemy comes] The shade left as Kaine picked up multiple small golems converging at their location. William and Kaine moved forward and found their first targets, 5 small golems patrolling for them in the maze as William gave Kaine the signal to open a salvo. Spears of Light and Crystal made themselves manifest as William charged forward and slashed the trash packs with ease. He watched as Kaine circled between elements with the ease of a druid. The perks of being born of the greatest arcane practitioners of the kingdom heh. Kaine might not be a powerhouse in the damage category but his sheer utility had no equal as the young man mastered the elements in but a few years. After the first two trash packs, William picked up the pace as Kaine was now in full fight mode. He went deeper and deeper getting more and more enemies to come at them with controlled abandon. Healing and Shielding plus wards became more and more common as William required more of that than magical might which he could cover with his Magnetism and Ice spells. They arrived at the second and final arena. Kaine was gasping for air as he spoke "Please...Just 5 minutes...I''m nearly empty!" William threw him a potion made out of mana crystals meant to boost mana and he drank it deeply. Taking the time to dust himself off from the dirt the Golems left in his armor William tried to recall the strategy for the upcoming boss. According to his last playthrough where he come down here it was something about always making sure no one stood in the same place for more than 5 seconds. Otherwise, the boss would tie them down and the player would need to rush to release the one tied. He told Kaine that as the young man nodded and sat down on his bag with a plop. He rested his back in the walls and said "Gods above you madwoman! Are you trying to make me bottom out my reserves or something?! I don''t have a boatload of blessings like you! Peace yourself better!" He wanted to scream but for William, it sounded more like a whiny kid. William smiled and said "What''s the matter, Kaine? Can''t last more than 20 minutes?" Kaine sighed "Ugh, bloody Saal''Xhir followers..." A few more minutes past the initial 5 Kaine asked were enough for him to get better and both stepped into the arena as the Beam of light showed up again and a humanoid golem appeared. With a scream, William jumped forward and slashed the thing, this time the golem came prepared with twin great shields as it used for both offense and defense. Kaine was casting a spell and running as he could feel the bidding spell trying to root him in place. The golem turned to Kaine and slammed both shields on the ground. The young mage whelped as the damn thing charged towards him like a mad bull! He cast a flight spell as a last-ditch effort right when the golem slammed into the ground where he was standing. William slammed his hands into the ground and burning a massive quantity of mana and pulled 3 wicked-looking iron spikes from the ground. Impaling the golem as Kaine blasted him from the air with a firebolt spell. "I hate Flying! oh, my mana reserves..." Kaine said as he landed on the ground "Gods what I wouldn''t give for a blessing from one of the wind gods so flying would be so taxing on my mana" he dusted himself and turned to William who was dizzy from burning so much mana "I told you Lucrezia stop doing these silly attacks! gods what a waste of mana! when we get back I''m teaching how to properly weave mana and spell!" He laughed as he hit the ground and said "After I''m done resting that is" The shade came back and said [The way is open Child of Faal, the prize is your] Both him and Kaine got up and followed the Shade, their prize waiting at the end of the long corridor Time Magic! Chapter 32: Loot and Revelations "Why? Because it is fun! and when you are immortal, few things in life can grant you enjoyment and I rather not spend my days slumbering like those old lizards on the main island" Red Dragon Saark in his visit to the castle for the anniversary of the eldest of the Dragonbloods. The dragon later added 10 more wings to his dungeon in the capital following the interview he did with the city''s newspaper. William stood in the chamber with Kaine as the young man darted around taking notes and using his Magi-Tech memory marble to take both pictures and recordings from the chamber, he was like a kid on Christmas and William watched with amusement as he gasped in excitement and wonder. That was when the shade from earlier appeared again and spoke. [Child of Faal I have but one favor to ask, take these foci to the lands above and destroy it] William recognized the instruments, it was the core for the shade and what kept the thing alive for eons! In the game when the player reaches this dungeon the thing was at the tail end of its lifespan! Yet the request was the same. Kill the shade. "Why?" Kaine asked. "It has outlived its purpose" William answered and the shade nodded. [The female is correct] "I''ve tales of artificial constructs wishing for...termination in the Imperium" Kaine sighed and nodded "It shall be done" the shade disappeared and they went on looting the spoils of the dungeon. William honed in towards the tome with the Time Magic spell required for Kaine to fully unlock his Blessing and grabbed it, his mind burned with the cries of countless people as his hands went red then white. William gasped for air as he went to his knees as Kaine whelped and rushed over "Lucrezia! are you alright?" in a flash, he cast a series of medical spells to see what was wrong with William who couldn''t speak yet. William raised his hand and sat down on the dusty ground as the magic washed over him and renewed his strength, they stood quietly for a few minutes before William managed to speak. "The tome was more than a regular spell-keeping book, curse my bloody haste for forgetting high-level Ancient Artefact usually comes with the memories of the people who used it. And this thing was used by the whole population of this ziggurat in a bid to break the river of time and get their Goddess back" William finished as he got up and dusted himself off "Such desperate magic was bound to have potent after-effects and thus the High Priest of the ziggurat had countermeasures put in place..." Kaine nodded, he had explored a few ruins from the Ancients before and countermeasures usually meant a dead man''s switch to kill everyone on site. He offered a quiet prayer to the Ancients who struggled to the very ends. And another for such a fate to never happen to him and his world. Kaine cleared his throat "My blessing..." William smiled "Aye, put two and two together didn''t you? Always the smarter of the two you were Kaine...yes the Goddess Gwenarius was the one that granted you a Greater Blessing. But like the stuck up stubborn oaf, she is she demands her "Blessed" present her with proof of their worthiness without even telling them what to do or that she even blessed them in the first place" Kaine couldn''t believe it "For someone as important as the Goddess of Time she sure is petty, this begs the question of why would she go through this? standard practice for gods is to establish a clear and simple goal for their first followers so they can plant the seeds for their faith..." He pondered "Unless! Gods above according to lore she is extremely proud of her position of keeper of time! She likely sees we mortals as beneath her but the Divine Game ever goes on and even someone as powerful as her, with a Sphere like that would meet opposition!" He smiled as he figured the whole situation then a hint of anger flashed between his eyes. "Bloody Gods, playing with us as if we were merely pieces to be discarded! No wonder the Anti-Divine faction is gaining supporters by the day back in the capital...anyway let me see the tome at once!" William smiled and passed the tome towards Kaine whose reaction was less strong than William''s. He still had to take a sit on the ground but he could speak normally as the knowledge burned in his mind. "It will take a good month for us to crack the inner workings of the spell. And when we do your blessing will be made itself manifest and you will be a chronomancer!" William said with vigor "Now to loot the gold and other books from this place" He knew that there were a few other spells here, one being a flood of mana that let the caster shut down trash mobs with ease. After a solid hour of packing stuff into crates, Kaine summoned (A handy spell when going into dungeons) They hauled the cargo towards the entrance of the Ziggurat as Kaine went on and on about how he knows armed with the tome could break past the limitations of the ancients and cast a stable version of the spell that would according to him allows the caster to see in the future and into the past. At higher levels, one would be able to displace itself along the river of time and travel between it. That was when Gwenarius''s blessing came into play, William and Kaine knew there had been many a powerful mage who tried to do the same only to be cut down by Gwenarius herself in her zealous to keep the timeline clean and without paradoxes. The Greater Blessing would give Kaine what was akin to an IFF signal and thus he would reach the zenith of chronomancy! That would take months of course, but with William''s knowledge from the game, the funds from his ventures, and tax from the land to fund the research he was pretty sure they could reach that second stage before the year was over and Kaine''s parent''s eventual rescue from his "captivity" William wondered how the Arch-Mage''s wife would react since she spoiled her daughter rotten and William had killed her fiance in cold blood. Of course, the Arch-Mage himself knew of Galius''s actions and had not shared said information with his wife. So that too would be another shitshow in a half. "Can I ask you a question Lucrezia?" Kaine asked as he leafed through the tome. "Of course" William replied as he fired the flaregun into the tunnel signaling the dwarven master they were ready for pick up. The stairs were done by the time they were done with the dungeon but William would need extra hands to carry all that cargo. "Why did you kill them? Why not take them as captives? use the prince and his people as political prisoners" Kaine closed the tome and stared into William''s eyes in a way he hadn''t done before. "When your parents come to pick you up Kaine, Ask them that same question then, and if your father does not answer I will tell you" William replied with a smile "Now come, our friends are here and we must haul this cargo to the surface. Don''t forget the foci" Kaine sighed and nodded as he began hearing steps coming from the stairs, he saw a small army of dwarves as Lucrezia greeted them and proceeded to give out orders, soon they all had crates in hand, and up they went towards the surface. Kaine was humming the Mage''s Anthem, a popular piece of the soundtrack for the game as they walked and that gave him a strong hit of nostalgia as the theme was often used as a leitmotif across many quests. "A lovely tune that one lad, ye got the pipes for a mage," One of the dwarfs that were walking with them said "Did ye know the Lady here also can sing? ye should ask her one of these days. The people love it!" Kaine smirked "You? Singing? Oh, I must see that!" William smiled "Another day maybe, All I want now is to go home and take a hot bath..." the dwarves grunted in agreement as Kaine looked at them all and said "If you told me a month ago I would be fighting Ancient constructs for magic beyond mortal ken I would ask you on what drug you were hopped on" more laughter from the dwarves as a female voice spoke out loud "Aye! Sure beats dying in the bloody snow wastes! a cheer for Lady Lucrezia lads!" they erupted into cheers. William watched as Kaine chatted with the dwarves about the various applications of Geomancy in Magi-Tech for better and more efficient mining. At first, the dwarves were distrusting of the human mage who had never set foot in a mine or used a pickaxe. But one of Kaine''s strong points was his ability to turn even the staunchest of individuals to his side with his rather extensive knowledge. Thus by the time they arrived at the castle, Kaine had become fast friends with them and was even invented to a mining expedition into the mines below the castle, which he accepted since he wanted to check what magic was powering the place. Being able to extract any metal known to men with but a few thought exercises was something that had fascinated him when he heard from the dwarves. Later after his bath, William was called by Kaine. The young man told him he had dispatched of the shade and asked him for a song to which William told him to come by his bard classes later in the week. Both bid each other good night and went to bed. William was out cold the second he hit his bed. It had been a long day.
Lucrezia watched as William played around with magic inside their shared realm, another perk of their deeper connection was that he could now "cast" magic inside of the realm. Of course, it was more of an illusion than actual spell weaving and shaping but still allowed him to practice his less-used spells like the Aegis ones as Lucrezia flexed her arcane muscles against it. When he wasn''t doing inane magic rituals he sparred against Lucrezia. Simple weapons could be conjured in the realm now and they would always spar for a few hours. Sometimes they would switch things up with throwing and bow competitions and even trained with rifles and pistols. A fun time if slightly tiresome after spending what felt like a day doing nothing but mock fighting. Still, Lucrezia was anxious, weeks had passed already and the end of the year was near! Margareth the Arch-Mage''s daughter was lost to the Silent''s Curse and Kaine had been positively pacified by a godsdamned Time Magic spell and his friendship with Idun and the rest of the Magi-Tech people, of course, he tried to aid his sister as she struggled to deal with the death of her fiance but the boy was never one for interpersonal relationships as William liked to put it. Time Magic was something of a fascination for Lucrezia in her younger years, oh how much she wanted to turn back the river of time to escape from some embarrassing situation, or get that one once-in-a-lifetime item from one of the many shops in the capital! It felt empty now after hearing William and Kaine go on for hours on the theory behind even tapping into this primordial force of nature and beyond. It was in a cold day that their hard work bore fruit, William together with by now a veritable battalion of Mages, Druids, and even Dragonkin shamans! ancient as the stones of their brood mother''s mountain these sages stood helping William set up the ritual. One would think said ritual would send Kaine into the past or even the future, but no. According to William, they would need all of this just to contact the Goddess of Time and unlock Kaine''s blessing! then she would judge if he was "worthy" of having the bloody thing in the first place! Lucrezia fumed and seethed with anger after watching William help Kaine for so long she came to sympathize with the boy. Born from the most powerful mage duo to bless the kingdom in nearly two centuries, given a stealth blessing and only saved because of age-old tradition on the privacy of the individual should they not want to divulge their blessings to the world. Expected to surpass Margareth even when Lucrezia knew out of the two she was the better battle-mage and that their mother was often found of "comparing" the two. Usually by putting down Kaine''s efforts. Was this newfound rapport with the young mage born from William''s feelings? she often wondered about how much of his emotions bled through her now...their shared memories regarding the game were fully melded now and she often saw herself playing it from the quiet dark room in upstate NY. Getting invested and engaged with the characters on the screen as their stories were acted out for her in a series of flashbacks. It was the same for William as he told her, often after he would go back to their body he would have vivid dreams of her memories. Her first crush, the time when she finally managed to form a proper clique in the capital with the other noble scions, her rivals, and bitter enemies. To hear him speak of it was very nostalgic and sad. He would often get sad himself and she always picked an undercurrent of anxiety in him those moments, as if he wanted to hurry up and get to the capital faster. Alas going to the future was off the books even if Kaine got Gwenarius to praise him and so they went on day in and day out always learning something new about each other. A facet of William''s deep psyche and something he tried his hardest to hide was his utter devastation of the dead in the battle, both his people and the enemy who by all rights knew naught of the ulterior motives of that vile fiend Galius. A part of him had connected deeply to the Knight Commanders he had to put through the sword that fateful day, in the game William''s subconscious viewed them as almost replacements for his parents. Wynather Enfir, Uu''Kal-Vaar, Var''yr Ether these names ringed in the deepest parts of his soul. The anguish of knowing Enfir would never watch her son become a Knight, Vaar reuniting with his lost love, and Ether''s becoming the father he was meant to be to his daughters...Their questlines had impacted William hard as he saw in them the perfect examples of what a parent should be. They provided support to him through his game character, never overbearing, and always granting him a healthy degree of independence while teaching restraint without abusing punishment. Taught him how to master combat styles and even provided in-depth commentary on the state of the Academy and its people even when their masters were aligned against his character. Good Knights, brave and true to the Oath they swore now laid dead, their bodies shipped back to their noble states in Ice Coffins as to preserve them. An honor seldom granted but something William was adamant about doing for the people he once shared memories with, even if those people were mere simulations. Code in a soulless machine made by a skilled team of writers and voice actors. There was no hiding the panic, the screaming at night from Lucrezia either. She knew the name for his afflictions and how to treat it but William was once again pushing it all down. Once again he was putting the lid on the pot and once again it would end up badly for him. She tried to help but the boy was adamant in not bothering her with such feelings in an honest attempt to safeguard her. As the Silent''s Curse wrecked Margareth, so it did the same for William. A few days ago Lucrezia watched as William grabbed a bottle of strong spirit and went out in the cold night. A few days after the battle he had ordered a monument built with the name of the fallen and he would often stay near it in silence as his thoughts and emotions bounced between each other, sometimes Serkj would join him, or Erwin and Sigr¨²n and stay beside him without speaking more than 5 words. He would sing sorrowful songs in these little escapades, A way to cope with the pain he told Lucrezia. Music was very important for William and he would often lose himself to it to ease the ache back in Earth. She knew that now as she relieved those memories and felt the same feelings he felt. She also knew he abhorred alcohol and drugs of any kind, the fear of losing himself to addiction was so strong she wondered if Earth had some sort of primitive mind magic at play here. So when he started to drink heavily from the bottle Lucrezia was alarmed enough to break her "silence" and ask what in all hells was going on. "Shouldn''t you be asleep by now?"He replied in that tone of his that betrayed his inner fury and sorrow, even with her he tried to put a facade while knowing she could see past it. "You just drank half a bottle of a spirit strong enough it can knock down an ogre William, that was bound to wake me up" Lucrezia replied "Why the alcohol William? I know you dislike the stuff, pray tell me what made you break that vow?" William was quiet for several minutes, the cold chill of the night doing its job in keeping him sharp as Lucrezia felt his mind go everywhere and nowhere at once, wave upon wave of myriad emotions crashing against his rationality as he struggled to find words, to give meaning to his actions. Lucrezia did not rush him for she knew deep inside her heart he was hurting. As time dragged on Lucrezia felt a tug in their shared memory. Another piece of music that William had a special place in his heart for, she focused on it as the melody filled her mind and soul. Stone by stone Cracked, crushed, fallen Beauty burned, erased But not forgotten I¡¯ll take your melodies May your last breath Fill the air with embers I... inhale Lucrezia didn''t know why she began to sing, but as soon as she finished the first verse she heard William''s voice join hers in the waking world. He sang with power and conviction as the chorus built on his chest In their blood, I will stand! Let the waning light of Man, Cast my shadow on the Fires of War Till our time burns away, Till our embers fade to grey, Cast my shadow on the Fires of War! My grief is swollen... In rusty chains... Tethered to the killing wheel... Sun up, sun down, sun up sundown, again. One burning candle... One wind-whipped flame... I carry in my teeth like an animal... Vengeance my strength! In their blood, I will stand! Let the waning light of Man, Cast my shadow on the Fires of War Till our time burns away, Till our embers fade to grey, Cast my shadow on the Fires of War! Lucrezia felt the tears in her bosom as William''s face reached the crescendo. And then felt his own emotions as they funneled into the climax of the song and he delivered each verse with a conviction beyond his ken. It felt like a valve went off as the memory ran its course and all that was left was a deafening silence. There were no brave men and women to join him and ride towards certain death. No enemy to slaughter and deliver vengeance upon. Just the cold northern wind howling You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Lucrezia felt another part of her click together with his and their bond grew once again. Yet William did not comment on this or the fact she was singing a song from Earth, all he did was rest with his back to the monument and shed tears. Hatred, anguish, self-hatred, desperation... they all flowed like a waterfall as he sobbed and cried while holding the bottle to his face. In her heart she wanted to be there in person, to hold his hand and whisper it would all be alright but she couldn''t. All she could do was pray to the ones responsible for this whole affair and hope it could be undone. Even should she sacrifice her all, she would not allow him to suffer anymore.
It had been nearly 2 months now. Kaine had fully integrated himself with the staff of the castle and was often called by them all to solve numerous issues. Often together with Lucrezia or her court mage Master Wilson. The man had been quite patient with him and even invented him to join the rest of the mage cadres but Kaine refused, he often preferred working alone after all. Now that he was fully fledged Chronomancer his arcane "mastery" of the flow of time helped in a myriad of ways, from boosting his mana reserves to insane degrees that he was able to outpace even Lucrezia in flight, to helping run experiments with several Magi-Tech inventions, beholding the future and the past as he and Idun worked on several weapons of war for Lucrezia. Of note was a nearly 2-meter tall suit of Magi-Tech armor that he, Idun, and Lucrezia together with the bloody princess from Grannarius made. Kaine jumped when he saw the leader of the Magenta Squad walk into their workshop. Immediately summoning his staff and Magi-tech armor and barking orders to Lucrezia and Idun thinking the Mad King had sent them to capture or kill Lucrezia. After a round of explanations, Kaine watching a war hero that had tales of her destroying entire battalions alone laugh like a schoolgirl, and Lucrezia apologizing for not bringing him up to speed regarding her guests Kaine made a quick apology and threw himself at the Armor. After all nothing like avoiding shame and embarrassment by working on pushing the boundaries of magic and engineering to their limit. And thus they birthed what Lucrezia called the Mark One Power Armor system. Made to be a one-man siege engine providing both support and enough firepower to level castle walls and moats. "Its codename shall be Zenos" Lucrezia said with a laugh that bordered on maniacal. After rounds of testing and numerous issues with the Mark 1, they were able to find out the most glaring flaws of the suit of armor and iron it out enough that tests with someone inside of the damn thing were possible. Of course, it was far from the mass production stage but when Kaine got inside that hunk of Crystal and Steel he felt like a God! It would take more time to have a working unit, and both he and Lucrezia would be shipped off to the Academy before that. Kaine realized how much of a friend Lucrezia had been for him, she knew what to say to him, how to explain things, and even when to comfort or be harsh with him. Margareth told him that he should be wary of Mind Magics but he knew best than anyone that doing that without proper training would be easy enough to spot. No, Lucrezia knew him in a way not even his parents did. A deep personal knowledge that scared him whenever he came back to these thoughts and yet...and yet she had done nothing but be supportive, a true friend as his father was often fond of saying when talking about his adventuring days, she had yet to explain what Galius had done to deserve death but he knew better than to press for an explanation. Kaine was aware of his shortcomings in the social side of his life, to find someone who could understand that and still work with him as deeply as Lucrezia had done in this short time they spent together was refreshing. And Kaine promised himself to never spoil this friendship as he had done with many others in the course of his life, his love of the arcane would not taint his respect for this young woman who was barely 19 and carried such a weight on her shoulders. Before he went to face Gwenarius in his Blessing trial she had THE All-Mother grant, Kaine, a temporary boon for the fight, and Gods above it helped. Gwenarius was relentless and Kaine nearly failed more than he could count. He knew she had enough battle experience to rival a God of War but thanks Lucrezia''s tips and the Boon that was granted by All-Mother he prevailed and was given the right to become a fully-fledged Chronomancer. Yet jumping in the future or the past was far behind him and it would take personal involvement from his Goddess to allow it. Kaine couldn''t believe how much of a stubborn oaf Gwenarius was, The Goddess could barely speak to him without losing patience and going as far as insulting him for daring to ask for instructions on how to build a religion for her. Kaine was told by Lucrezia to not bother with the Goddess until after he had gotten stronger but a part of him wanted to know why someone as powerful as the Bloody Goddess of Time would go through such lengths, he wanted to hear from her mouth and when he did it just confirmed his theory. Prideful, Stubborn, and saw mortals as less than dirt. Still, power was power, and Gwenarius saw fit to leave him to his devices and do whatever as long as he manages to build her a church. And in the eventuality, he failed she would just pick another person. Of course, Kaine asked why wouldn''t she simply look into the future but he got one of those charlatan phrases as the response. Fine Kaine thought if she didn''t want to tell him he would do what he always did. Work the issue through all the viable methods and arrive at the answer. And so he called upon his friend Lucrezia and she was more than willing to help him, together with her they interviewed priests that Lucrezia was friends with, the Knight Commander as he acted as the spiritual leader for his men. And even the spirits! Idun, the druids, and Lucrezia herself helped him on how to build the religious apparatus required for a Major Goddess. it would take his life to see the fruits of his labor come to fruition but he was a patient person. It was funny to him knowing he would have to build an entire religion since he was a man of the arcane but life was funny like that sometimes, he did wonder what his parents would say about it.
Margareth watched as maids and manservants went on serving her and her brother, the huge table they were on looked rather used and she could faintly smell ink and parchment coming from its wood. Kaine had told her again and again Lucrezia had permitted for her to go back to the capital. Yet she remained in Wulfgrem living out her days in the dungeon waiting for...something. She couldn''t put words on the feeling it was like a headache that never went away but was weak enough that you could ignore it, for the most part, that is. The Silent''s curse manifests itself in new ways it seems. She did wonder what sort of secret Kaine had divined with his newly found Chronomancy, to think her brother would become a time mage! That was bound to take the sting out of her mother''s teasing for a good while. She was tired of having to deal with it such a cringe-worthy display of parental affection. Watching Kaine mingle with the inner circle of Lucrezia was something to behold Margareth thought, her brother was an anti-social person at the best of times and yet here they treated him with respect and camaraderie. All thanks to the young woman currently staring at her with those azure blue eyes, not with rage or fear but with a sort of supernatural understanding of Margareth''s character and personality that spooked her something fierce. Kaine had spoken about it as well, how Lucrezia would finish his sentences, read his queues like they knew each other for years, and outright predict what he was thinking. They had suspected she was doing mind magic chicanery at first but with Margareth''s repertoire of detection spells, they found it Lucrezia had not brainwashed Kaine. Maybe these northerners were good people readers? After a while Margareth stopped caring, her brother was acting like himself at the end of the day and that was good enough for her. "Is the Pizza to your liking Miss Antewood?" asked a maid to her side, Margareth nodded and signaled for another slice and more wine, as of late she had taken a liking to the bottle. A bad way to cope she knew, but all Margareth wanted to do now was lose herself in the bottom of the glass alas, this was not the time and place for it so she elected to only sip the glass every once in a while. "I am glad you decided to join us today Margareth, your brother wouldn''t stop pestering me about" Spoke Lucrezia from her seat at the table, the woman had devoured 2 whole pizzas already and was on her way to end a third. Margareth stared at the space where her arm was sliced clean off. According to Kaine, she had a mechanical apparatus made to replace it, why she wasn''t wearing it now was something Margareth wanted to ask. "Too much time down in that fake beach isn''t good, even if the alternative is cold snow" Kaine spoke "I head the core has interacted with you and you even fought monsters that it made?" Kaine knew already but he wanted to make Margareth talk if only a little. "Yes, Dire Boars only, a fight every once in a while makes good exercise" she spoke and felt like it wasn''t her talking like she was having an out-of-body experience. She circled mana around her channels and snapped back into place. Bloody curse messing her up again. She didn''t fail to notice how both her Knight Commander and Head Maid moved slightly into combat stances, ready to leap towards her, nor did she fail to notice Lucrezia''s simple but firm eye contact that made them stand down. They complied and the tense atmosphere went away as the young Duchess snapped her fingers and trays of sweets came from the read doors. "Are you excited for the Grand Academy Lucrezia? It is often said the first three years are the best" Kaine spoke as he drank some sort of soft cream "When you are planning on going to the capital speaking of which?" Lucrezia smiled, her face soft and warm as she looked at Kaine, Margareth narrowed her eyes seeking the patterns. Maybe the young woman was acting under her Saal''Xhir blessing and wanted to consume her brother like he was a piece of meat? No that couldn''t be it. "A week or two, Gods know the amount of paperwork I need to get done before transferring the power to my staff so I can go and they can rule the land in my name" a series of laughs and a few sighs exploded around the room. "You are going to miss the VIP dorms to other nobles, they love to fight for it the little shits," Margareth said without really thinking much, the booze already making her dizzy after she had one too many sips. She watched as Lucrezia''s warm smile turned into a grin very akin to a predator who was ready to pounce "Let them have it, I care not for where I sleep" Kaine nodded "Well should we leave today Margareth we can have our accommodations set up already, Lucrezia might be able to blow off the entire first week of classes but I don''t and Gods strike me down if I have to use our parent''s name to get out of a hearing for being "late" to the Academy" Both talked and the rest interjected here and there, Margareth was taken aback at how lost she was when it came to timekeeping if the Academy had already started opening its gates. Which meant the year was nearly over, had it been 4 months? 5 maybe? She didn''t care, Margareth sighed as she prepared herself to leave the land where the love of her life was killed. To face the sun down south and explain to her friends what happened to her and relieve those awful experiences. It was as Kaine said, Lucrezia as a Duchess could blow off the Academy but she and her brother couldn''t. Arch-Made''s children were just that at the end of the day, lacking any sort of power to do what Lucrezia was going to do to the Academy''s staff. She noticed as Kaine''s fork dropped from his hand and his eyes went wide with terror when a sound went off in her ear. An ever-so-familiar voice ringed and spoke words Margareth couldn''t hear but she knew all too well who was speaking. She grabbed a small jewel from her person and watched as it glowed blue and green. Margareth raised her head and looked at her brother. "Mom and Dad are coming Kaine" A teleportation spell would take a minute to be cast and 45 seconds to displace its caster in the direction they picked. Kaine screamed as he out of all people barked orders to the Knights and workers around the table, he slammed his palms together and with a flash of silver was dressed in full combat gear of Magi-Tech making that Lucrezia and her dwarf had made for him. The Knights formed as to defend their ruler as Margareth heard the thundering of many feet towards her. A squad of soldiers also dressed in Magi-Tech gear complete with the new weapons Kaine often rambled about formed a line and aimed. Lucrezia was undisturbed as if she had somehow predicted all of this but with a deeper look, Margareth noticed small cracks in her calm facade. lips trembling, her only hand left shaking every so slightly and dilated pupils. Gods above she wanted to fight mom and dad! was she insane!? Margareth watched as the workers had all left the room minus Lucrezia''s maid who now was dressed like an assassin. Lucrezia then tied her long hair into a ponytail with only one arm and signaled towards the maid-turned-assassin. With a nod, the woman cleared the table and placed another pizza? on it plus a bottle of wine and two glasses. Lucrezia then turned to Margareth and smiled as if to say that was for her parents. A long jacket that acted more as a cape was in Lucrezia''s shoulders as she got up and snapped her fingers again. From the jacket, a liquid came and formed into Lucrezia''s artificial arm. "Still Itchy..." she whispered, According to Kaine the arm was a whole piece that was attached to her torso, which meant this new design was straight out of the forge so to speak, Margareth didn''t have time to ponder as a clap of thunder deafened her thoughts. Kaine shouted something and ran towards Lucrezia staff held high in a battle stance she didn''t know off. "Mom did always have a pinch for the theatrics," said Margareth out loud as more claps nearly gave her a headache. someone was pissed today it seems, maybe dad forgot to grab the bread again? or he made another experiment without consulting mom and she was cross with him. Or her children being captives for literal months, could be anything. Margareth didn''t understand why she was cracking jokes in such a tense situation but everyone had a way to deal with stress, maybe a part of her didn''t want to leave Wulfgrem. Wanting to die here as she wasted away her life in that dungeon to be together at last with her love. It was a romantic idea she figured, maybe a bard would even sing songs about. "The Lone Mage" that waited for her dead beloved. The reality, on the other hand, didn''t want her wishes to become true as her parents grew tired of making thunderclaps and dropped into the room. She felt her father''s mana wash over her as he checked for several spells, with her clear he moved his arcane power towards his son who was ready to go to town with that staff of his, both of their faces soften up a little as they got the all-clear Lucrezia hadn''t used Necromancy or Mind Magic on their kids, Kaine, on the other hand, wasn''t so happy with the looks mom was giving Lucrezia and with conviction, Margareth didn''t know her brother had spoken loud and clear. "Mother! Father! dare not act with haste in this place! Lucrezia means us no harm and while the circumstances of our prolonged stay in her lands have been initially confrontational know that she bears no ill will towards me or Margareth! I implore you to not..." He lost steam as mom focused and stared him down "Not what boy? Finish your piece before I go over there and ground you, I''m waiting" Lucrezia moved to stand beside Kaine and that spurred him on, Margareth couldn''t help but smile as her mother''s face frowned in disapproval "Act harshly towards Lucrezia and her people! They have treated both me and Margareth with the utmost of respect and care" Her dad laughed "Not a whiff of Mind Magic or Necromancy on you and yet you dare to stand against your mother Kaine? had the medical spell not pinged I would''ve thought the little lady over there brought your loyalty with her cunt and yet you remain a virgin" Margareth cringed as her father''s usual bluntness reserved only for family gatherings came out in full display "Not to say the Knights and Soldiers behind you weapons at the ready, did you become her plaything I wonder?" "Nothing so crass, Arch-Mage Valtas" Lucrezia spoke with a smile on her lips as she bowed "Lower your weapons men, if they wanted us dead the castle would''ve become ash and cinders by now" Another smile as Margareth noticed her mom''s eyes narrow. Lucrezia knew something about them that she didn''t and that reaction proved it. Kaine was still recovering from their father''s banter when Lucrezia spoke again. "Welcome to my humble home Arch-Mage Sophia the Bold and Valtas Thunderwalker, please eat if you so desire as I am sure the teleportation spell must''ve drained our energies quite a bit" she did another bow, fancy and long as her men lowered their weapons. "You claim to not have hurt my children yet my son reeks of ancient divine magic and my daughter is plagued by the Silent''s Curse. Speak Wulfgrem before I lop off your head and make your soul do the talking" Margareth''s mother had venom in her words as she threatened Lucrezia. Kaine pointed his staff down and said "Enough!" a huge quantity of mana was burned in a flash as Lucrezia''s smile revealed her teeth and then Margareth felt the world going dark. "...Did you become her plaything I..." Her father was just finishing teasing Kaine as his eyes darted around the room and he began casting spell after spell together with her Mother. Sophia''s hands trembled as she spoke with a shaky voice "Chronomancy!" "How?" Her father asked as he sat down "Gwenarius has been against it for centuries and even the most basic haste spell is heavily toned down by her ever-watching gaze. How in all hell did you manage to send us back in time!? even if for a few seconds!" Kaine took off his shirt as he showed his back to his parents, on it a great sigil of divine power was carved in his flesh as his parents stared at it. Gwenarius had upgraded her blessing indeed, that Sigil meant Kaine was to be the first of her church and her parents didn''t fail to notice that. Margareth''s parents never really did respect Kaine in her opinion, but this time the boy had humbled them with his magical might, and they for once in their lives didn''t look down on her brother who spoke "Sit down, cease your threats and I will explain everything If you fail to comply-" "Don''t threaten your parents Kaine, I have no wish of fighting against both Arch-Mages at once, Can''t win that fight even with my army and our new weapons" Lucrezia said as she calmed Kaine down "Please, Lord Valtas and Sophia have a seat and we will explain it all" And so they did, humbled by Kaine''s display of might and calmed by Lucrezia''s words Margareth watched as her parents sat down and grabbed the food which they eat after checking for poison, a big faux pass in high society but she had an inkling Lucrezia didn''t care one bit. She watched as Kaine launched into a retelling of everything that had happened, sometimes she would interject and speak from her point of view but mostly it was Kaine. "...You tore her arm with a Wind Blade? Isn''t that a low-level spell?" Her mother asked as they got to that part of the tale. Before Margareth could speak Lucrezia interjected "You daughter was under subtle Mind Magic cast from an entity from beyond the stars, when she unleashed the spell it was at an overcharged capacity. Margareth always was the combat mage of the two after all" Another smile. Margareth wanted to scream and say she was lying but the truth always came out didn''t it? It made sense now why she had this fervent desire to avenge her beloved. She wondered if her love was also tempered by this entity... "You are accusing the first prince of our Kingdom of being the leader of a cult?" Her mother spoke in disbelief "Do you have a single fact to back that up?" "I do Mistress Sophia, as does your husband and you," Lucrezia said hinting at something, Margareth watched as Kaine''s eyes darted around and a rare flash of shame appeared in her father''s face. Questions flooded Margareth''s mind as everyone went silent. Something was happening and her parents knew about it, in a limited capacity but they knew and had acted in a way that even her father felt rare shame. Rare enough that she wanted to ask about it. Kaine explained his plans of religion building trying to shift the focus and her parents took his cue. They talked for a good while and ate their fill, as the workers of the castle came back to clear the table her father got up and said. "We are going home kids, I am dropping you two in the academy as I have already talked with the headmaster" Margareth nodded as she knew both men were friends "Duchess Lycrezia you are to come with me and my Wife to present yourself to the Arch-Duke" "What" Margareth couldn''t help but ask. "You can''t do this father, she has a literal pile of paperwork to do! the forges need her aid for the next Magi-Tech experiments!" Kaine exploded "Plus you haven''t talked with Uncle Jinn for years! What is the meaning of this?!" "Kaine!" Her mom barked "Calm yourself son or I will and no godsdamned chronomancy will let you get away with such display of bad manners" Ahh that was more like the mother Margareth knew, Kaine glared at her but went quiet. "If it is for the Arch-Duke then I can''t say no... Saal how fast can my things be prepped for the journey" the maid spoke "30 minutes my lady" Lucrezia nodded and the maid disappeared. "Erwin, is the council in place?" she asked the Knight Commander. "Yes Lady Lucrezia, but I can expect a bit of friction due to present conditions. The duchy will run by our directive and the people will be made aware tomorrow as it was planned" Lucrezia smiled and said "Good man" she closed her eyes for a few minutes and then opened them saying "The Spirits have been made aware, there should be no issue for my leave even if its a bit...hasty" "But the Experiments?!" Cried Kaine to her as she patted him on the shoulder "I can send letters to Idun, plus as long as the church keeps growing he and his new flock will have inventions of their own. We can trust them, Kaine" Margareth sighed. The maid came shortly after it and handed Lucrezia a pair of weapons and a dragonbone ax. Lucrezia unsummoned her arm and with the help of her maid fashioned her jacket in her shoulders. Her long hair now of the ponytail. "My people will take care of the economic side of things so I may follow you my Lady" Margareth heard the main whisper into Lucrezia''s ear who smiled fondly at her maid. She turned to her father and said "All is ready Lord Valtas, forgive me for making you wait for so long. I know how tedious is to wait for others to do their tasks" another smile as her father and mother narrowed their eyes at her. A line of castle workers came with chests full of belongings from Lucrezia who smiled towards Margareth''s mom. Sophia sighed and cast a single spell turning the chests into a convenient handbag. Margareth had seen that spell many times, Mother was found of cleaning the garbage with it whenever her father made the same smile Lucrezia did just now, Gods above how deep did Lucrezia''s knowledge of her family-run? After an hour of saying goodbyes, they moved to a courtyard and got ready, Lucrezia carrying all her belongings in the magical handbag with her Maid acting as bodyguard. Margareth heard Lucrezia whisper something but couldn''t make up what she had said due to her father''s chanting. The world went dark again and after a minute Margareth found herself staring at the familiar grounds of her estate. The sun was burning her skin as she took in the summer''s air, she could hear the many voices in the street. Birds singing and the sheer energy of the capital washing over her, a spike of sorrow and sadness taking her out of her stunned state. She was home. Chapter 33: Going up that Hill. ¡°Vermilion¡¯s Capital shined as the beacon of chivalry and honor. To watch its Knights and Mages march while singing their national anthem brought zeal to the masses and nobles both¡± Wandering Minstrel Yoshaar''s memoirs. William watched as Margareth was carted off by her mother to their home. Arch-Mage Valtas looked tired and with a gloomy look on his face, he cleared his throat and spoke "Kaine, ready the carriage. We are going to visit Jinn" Kaine raised his voice to protest but William shushed him with a hand gesture. He locked eyes with the young man, after spending so much time together they had developed a sort of wordless language where each could read their intentions rather fast, Kaine furrowed his brows but capitulated to his father''s request and went away. "You know how much that brat complains when I ask him for sugar in the afternoon tea? and now comes you making him clamp up and doing what he was told to do, I don''t know how you Saal''Xhir people do it wrapping people around your finger like that... and you didn''t even tempt him with your body like they are known to do!" Valtas laughed but it was a bitter one "I don''t you if I commend him for his Immaculate mental and soul defenses or scold him for cheating me out of a grandchild" "This. Is. Highly. Unpleasant!" Lucrezia roared in his mind "Rude bookworm of a man! A disgrace to our nation and the legacy of the title Arch-Mage! Aah!" William smiled, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. Valtas hid his foul mouth and rude demeanor whenever he had to interact with nobles, at the behest of his wife of course but now that he was in his home nothing would stop the man from going off on very rude tangents. Even if he was talking to the last heir of one of the big four noble houses and Duchess of the North. "Jinn will deck in the face when I show up at his doorstep..." Valtas spoke to the air as he sighed. "And kick you in the nuts" William couldn''t help himself, in his defense, it was one of the funniest scenes in the game. Valtas glanced his way and laughed as he conjured a chair and table for them to sit. "Aren''t you the little oracle? Whore, Duchess, Warrior, Mage, and Inventor! quite the resume child, quite the resume" he conjured a teapot and poured a cup for him and one for William "Drink, Kaine will take a while" William drank the tea and felt his mana and divine well of energy flare up as the heat relaxed him, tea leaves from the shogunate had this effect and were loved by mages far and wide. "Is it true? That Dragon gave you the artifact?" Valtas asked with a strange worried tone in his voice, in the original events of the game the Arch-Mage never had concerned himself with the protagonist when she went on the hunt for it and the necessary rituals to save Viviene as to keep up the pretense of neutrality towards both the Royals and the Arch-Duke, but it was later found out the man hated himself for not helping his old adventuring partner and was willing to go to war for it. Alas his wife cooled his temper and they arrived at this compromise that ate at Valtas, he searched high and low for alternative ways to cure Viviene when he was blown off by the Red Dragon to offer his artifact, in a fit of rage he attempted to fight the dragon for it but it became a battle of attrition and even his arcane might was starting to falter against the beast. His wife''s refusal to help him take on the dragon also didn''t help. William took the measure of the Great Arch-Mage of Vermilion and found him wanting. To compromise, to not stand by his friend who more than once saved him and his wife from death was a cowardly act. "Conviction as strong as ours isn''t common William, even for someone as powerful as the Arch-Mage" Lucrezia gave him a nugget of wisdom as his mind went over so many questions he wanted to ask. This wasn''t the NPC you met at the end of the Viviene questline who had a few lines of dialogue to explain his side of the story, this was a human being complete in all of his imperfections. Why not stand with Jinn, How did you live with yourself for betraying the trust of your comrades in arms?! It was hard for him to not glare at Valtas, to let that outrage pour out and blast him. After all, William was mighty but not enough to take on the Arch-Mage in his backyard. "Yes, and the necessary ritual for it, Straight from All-Mother" William responded. Valtas looked bewildered "Impossible, that old crone cares not for anyone but her overgrown lizards!" William got up and looked to his side where Saa''ryu stood silent and near blending with the background "Saa if you could" He pointed to his jacket and the maid nodded as she moved a few steps before the mage snapped his fingers and the thing got off on his own and went over a hanger that wasn''t there a second ago. "Thank you Lord Valtas" William gave the man a bow as he groaned "Gods I hate that" he was about to ask what William was doing when William tied his hair to a ponytail and slung it to his chest. He turned around and showed his back to Valtas, William knew he was going to demand proof of his status as a Blessed of the All-Mother and dressed to the occasion with an open-back dress, according to Lucrezia it was yesteryear''s fashion but he still found the dress pretty, red and black which earned him a chuckle from Saa''ryu. All-Mother''s huge Sigil burned in his flesh as Valtas''s eyes bulged and his jaw dropped for a solid minute before schooling his features and acting like a mage of high esteem. "It is true then heh" He paused and asked "How much did you tell my children about...Viviene''s situation?" William could see how he hated the secrecy, the beating around the bush. "Your daughter wasn''t one to ask me questions, And I told Kaine he was to ask you and your wife for the truth" William replied his voice cold like iron. "And if we don''t tell him?" Valtas asked. "Then I shall tell him, and my report won''t be kind" William waited for a reaction but the Arch-Mage dropped his shoulders and ran his hands through his hair, he sighed in defeat as he drank another cup. "Godsdamn, it all I told Sophia to stop this madness, to mend bridges with Jinn and put down that mad animal Galius I did! but she wouldn''t listen, begged me to stay quiet to not ruin the reputation of House Antewood" he spat on the ground "Ha! as if those blue blood parasites care! we are nothing but upstart peasants to them" he drank another cup. "And you compromised, for the love of your life, the mother of your children you kept quiet while Viviene was tortured and defiled by Galius" William had to reign his outrage in again "Galius was in league with entities from beyond the stars, my mages picked the scent of their mana after the battle, something one such as you could''ve proved easy enough and have ample grounds to avenge Jinn''s Daughter" Valtas anger made William have goosebumps all over his body, it was like being close to a storm so strong the pressure was on his body "But Sophia wanted craving ties with his faction and once again you compromised, even as your daughter became involved with one of his dogs you turned the blind eye to the truth" He slammed his fist in the table as waves of mana rolled across William who flared his blessings. He became a beacon of rock-solid foundation amidst a storm of rage and pent-up anger. All over him, Valtas''s mana sought to consume him but with the strength of 6 Gods on his side, he was an unbreakable monument of conviction and righteous fury against those who dared raise their hands against his companions. "Don''t you dare speak of compromise! Spoiled little noble princess" Venom in his voice was strong enough to kill a Dire Horse "What do you know about doing what is right huh? Had you been there at my place you would''ve done the same!" "No father, no she would not" Kaine appeared with fresh new clothes but William could still sense the armor below them. The young mage kept his Magi-Tech staff strapped behind in back fully deployed instead of the portable mode, expecting a fight William guessed, yet no fight came to pass only Valtas throwing a few mean words and ranting at William''s ear. "I know not what happened between you and Uncle Jinn, between Vivi and Galius but I can tell you this father, if Lucrezia was in your position to fight back she would, 10 times out of 10 she would not even blink before acting" Kaine finished as Valta''s pressure went away and the Arch-Mage sighed, Kaine helped himself to a cup of tea and sat down on the grass. "I am glad you have such a high opinion of me Kaine" William replied feeling a bit bashful. "Who would question the conviction of someone who made a public execution of their kin and kith, only to follow with regicide? A fool that''s who, and Father is no fool even if he acts like one" Kaine looked to his dad and said "The carriage is ready Father" and so they went off, William had his jacket placed in his shoulders again as Kaine fell to his side as he was used to, Valtas watched with a sigh and walked towards the stables. "Never seen dad that angry before, you are lucky mom took Margareth to get healing otherwise we would have an hour-long argument about this mess and they would probably start lobbing spells at you..." Kaine said defeated "No, please don''t recall some obscure part of my childhood you somehow can recall with crystal clear detail. Dad would accuse you of using Mind Magic or Gods forbid Necromancy" "There''s not a whiff of both on her Arcane print Kaine, Please I am the Arch-Mage" Valtas spoke as he got into the carriage, Kaine shrugged and got in as William followed. It felt weird seeing someone so powerful being so how could William put it- "Open, Lord Valtas has some respect for us to not put on airs. Weak Willed he may be but he must''ve harbored a desire to avenge Viviene as well, they raised their kids together after all" Lucrezia''s voice whispered to him "Yet he harbors antagonist emotions as well, no doubt thanks to the pain we inflicted in his daughter, perhaps that struck too close and the man got spooked. How strange to watch someone who could level cities with but a flick of his wrist be so-" "Human" William finished her sentence and heard a soft laugh coming from Lucrezia. He sat beside Saa''ryu and Kaine and enjoyed the city view as the carriage sped along the streets of Aaar Yrthaar. Emotions deep inside of him and Lucrezia flared as he stared at the window, a small hum escaped her lips as did his and they hummed the main theme of the game which was also the national anthem for Vermilion. "Tall Banners held high" "Spears of Crimson Ever forward" "Forward sons and daughters of the five" "Forwards towards a brighter future" "Until the setting sun engulfs our lands in his crimson glow..." "If all else fails you could make a good bard Lucrezia," Kaine said with a smile on his face. "I didn''t know you were also blessed by a musical God Wulfgrem," Valtas said as he began casting a message spell, no doubt to Jinn. "I''m not Lord Valtas, I just partake in the bardic arts as a stress reliever" William replied honestly "It helps ease the boredom of endless paperwork and meeting with traders and other important people" "Combat? Magic and your what''s called again?" Valtas asked and Kaine fired back "Magi-Tech Father, a combination of science and the arcane" Valtas nodded "Yes, yes the godling came to petition my aid when his parents kicked him out, to be forced into what was considered an impossible task from birth is a rough fate even for a divine being, and yet He pulled through, and now I''m hearing you want to make chapels in the capital with the help of Silverbrand," Valtas said with a semblance of respect in his voice. "Don''t forget I am also on the same track as her" Kaine replied as Valtas sighed "Yes, yes Kaine, I will take with some people and get your church paperwork ready by next work no need to bug me about it. But that''s as far as I will go to help you, I don''t like Chronomancy and unlike your mother, I am not willing to get into the Goddess of Time shitlist thanks to mucking up Time-Space Continuum" he finished with a huff. "It wasn''t that bad c''mon on now, Gwenarius didn''t even send a bolt of divine lighting to your house as she did with that other feller, what was his name again Do something?" Valtas looked bewildered "How in All-Father''s balls do you know about Doro-Ka''s experiment? Kaine did you-" Kaine shook his head in a complete display of honesty "I don''t know how she does it, dad, somehow she knows stuff even mom forgot about it!" Valtas narrowed his eyes "Gods must be whispering in her ear, Gotta be" Kaine nodded as William saw father and son bond over his meta knowledge, Lucrezia laughed in the background as Saa''ryu looked bewildered. William gave both an innocent smile and said "Lord Valt-" "Please, just call me Valtas or Arch-Mage if you want to be respectful for inane reasons, I hate that Lord nonsense" he cut him off as Kaine nodded "I told you dad, should''ve said no to mom when she started acting like a noble, but you didn''t and now we are here" he shook his head as Valtas sent him a glare and pointed at him "Quiet you! Don''t you start again" "Mister Valtas then" the mage looked annoyed but didn''t interrupt William again "Could you please send a message to the headmaster, see that my paperwork and accommodations in the Academy are ready?" Valtas nodded and after a few minutes spoke again "Everything is ok but you lost the VIP room to some marquis son or daughter, you will have to share accommodations with the lower nobility" Ahh, William recalled that particular drama nightmare of a situation, two whole questlines dedicated to fixing some bureaucratic error to get a better room, luckily for him he didn''t mind sharing bunks with others. "I do mind, it is my right to have the private room" Lucrezia spoke in mock outrage "Ha! got you good didn''t I?" "No, I can feel your emotions Lucrezia..." "You are no fun, William"
William watched as a formation of Griffin Riders approached them from the skies. Among the lesser Griffins was one of the three Arch-Griffin, the huge scar in its face telling William who was it. The Mother was Jinn''s Stead and together with the Father and their Child who was raised together with Jinn''s Daughter complemented the family of the Arch-Duke, these noble magical beasts were brilliant and had a deep bond with Jinn and his Family. That Jinn himself would take to the skies was something of a tell for William who had an inkling of what would happen when they arrived at his estate. A small raven got into the cabin and poked William. Valtas was ready to send the bird away when a voice colder than steel spoke from the tiny animal. "He has the heads, and won''t lay a hand in thee or thy companions" William could see the raven smile in that twisted face Velkarius loved to make "Yet I sense that other forces move against thee, my precious Mortal. Be ever ready" the bird went away as Valtas sighed again " Dealing with that monster clad in divine flesh is a mistake Lucrezia, she and her mad sister who you unleashed like a mad dog in Talos" William found it strange Valtas had reservations against the Goddesses who were one of the few who opposed the nobles in Vermilion, the man noticed his gaze and fired back "Yes I am aware they are the last line of defense against those blue blood snobs but they re too much. Alas I am preaching to the wrong audience here given you have the raven''s sigil burning in your flesh" The convo was cut short when they arrived at the gates of the Arch-Duke''s estate. William put his head outside to see and he beheld a sight that was both inspiring and sad. Two lines of Knights mounted in their Griffins, Spears held high as their faces stared at him, he could feel in the air a sense of deep anguish and wrath. Those emotions clashed with Hope and Joy as William''s senses were overwhelmed. "A Ki resonance, the Arch-Duke''s Knights were always an emotional bunch, still a rare sight in this day and age" Valtas spoke as William''s senses refocused themselves and he felt Kaine''s hand on his shoulder. "Happens the first time I know, I almost fainted when I saw it years ago...Mom still makes jokes about it" Kaine finished as Valtas opened the carriage door and walked outside. William gave Saa''ryu a glance and the maid pulled a piece of cloth from her person. Kaine nodded and left the carriage after his dad, William took a deep breath and stepped outside, the sun blinding him for a few seconds. "Knights of Vermilion! HOH!" William heard Jinn Autumnflower''s thundering voice coming from the horizon as the Knights raised their spears and gave their best war cries and so William walked as countless Knights gave him a warrior''s welcome. By tradition, this was done only when a great deed was performed to another noble and represented a deep tie between houses. William was also expected to do his war cry when he reached the end of the procession. With Kaine at his side (Valtas had teleported to Jinn already) they walked in silence while the Knights screamed their lungs out. the wave of emotions hitting him at full force as the men and women under Arch-Duke Jinn Autumnflower poured their bottled emotions to the outside world. The savior of Lady Viviene, the Killer of the Fiend Galius, William took it all in as he approached the man who saved him from being cut down by Queen Malphas. Jinn Autumnflower looked old, his eyes betraying his shogunate ancestry, but the long hooked nose, sharp gray hair, and amber eyes made him a Vermilion nobility. Above all else he was relieved, William could sense the man was frayed at the edges for a while now but now? Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Now he was whole again. Before William could do his part of the ritual he watched as Misato Autumnflower came out of the darkness dressed in traditional warrior garbs from the shogunate. In her hands was a huge naginata, her golden eyes brimming with barely restrained violence and her hair flowing like a waterfall while her hime cut gave her face a sharp contrast. Her alabaster skin was untouched by the sun for many weeks. The woman bellowed a harrowing war cry as if all the sorrow inside of her was spilled forth like a dam breaking apart. Silence blanket the grounds as she bowed towards William and gave him a nod. William and Lucrezia got ready as he pulled his ax and pointed towards the sky, with a final gasp for air he screamed the loudest he could and even burned a bit of mana to enhance the effect of it, in his war cry he poured the suffering and pain his people endured, Lucrezia''s despair and hopeless when she saw the deep seaport burning, William''s anger, and rage as he tore through the streets and the final strike against Lucrezia''s parents in that fateful day. The battle against Galius''s men, the all-consuming battle lust devouring his mind and soul, and the hope of helping Viviene to come back to the land of the living hale of mind-body, and soul, free from the prison those animals put her in. Witness! Lucrezia screamed in his mind Witness he who delivered you revenge! WITNESS!
Jinn watched with unblinking eyes as the pale womanchild walked among his best men, resolute, unwavering even as the best of the best screamed themselves hoarse and their griffons stomped the ground and cried in defiance. A perfect welcoming to the one who delivered his family vengeance. There was something in those azure eyes of her, it was like she could pierce into his very soul and mind, Conviction burning in her eyes and then burning in the very depths of Jinn''s soul. He looked at his once trusted friend Valtas, the friend who together with Sophia who they had gone through thick and thin, raised their kids together as siblings. To know his brother-in-arms had turned his back to him and his family in their darkest moment filled Jinn with such bitter hatred it was hard to even focus on putting a foot forward. And yet he was the one to deliver Lucrezia to his doorstep, a common troubled look on his face, one Jinn hadn''t seen in years. Valtas got close to him and whispered "I know you will hate me for this Jinn but I-I want you to forgive me, forgive me and my family for the betrayal, the cold shoulder, the denial, and fake smiles...I wanted to, to do something!" Jinn heard his voice crack and a rare display of emotion flash in the face of his once old friend "But I took the coward way out and I regret it every waking day for doing it so" Misato who was by Jinn''s side spoke, her voice cold as winter but soft as a gentle wave "Words mean nothing, they have no weight, no value in the mortal coil we live. Actions do Valtas, and yours today marks the first step in paving the road to amend that which you and your wife watched being destroyed from the sidelines" She cast her gaze towards Kaine and said "They were raised like brothers and sisters Valtas, once this is over Kaine must know the truth" Jinn watched as one of the most powerful mages on the continent held his head down in shame for a few seconds before nodding. He then turned to watch Lucrezia''s war cry as they waited for the young woman to do her part of the ritual. When her voice escaped her lips Jinn was frozen at the moment, at that slice of time he was transported to the cold reaches of the north as he watched Lucrezia command her men and eventually kill the vile fiend that had destroyed that of which was most dear to him. He felt the blood in his own hands as she executed his followers with the cold gaze of a born killer. Jinn then recalled the moment he received her letter, a short small thing that explained her situation in the north, and spoke about how she had to kill her parents and shake the tree enough to get Galius to come up north. "Give me your faction Jinn, your men and your word that the queen won''t touch me and my people, and I will Kill Galius, and then his head will be delivered to you as it was promised by Velkarius" And so she did, every word in that piece of parchment came true. Now all they need was to save Viviene from the clutches of her mind. Misato stepped forward and stared Lucrezia down, where once his wife had been living only in flesh now a mighty bonfire roared in her spirit. She waited for the day her daughter would come back to her arms with fervor unmatched. Misato slashed her palm with her weapon, Lucrezia somehow knowing about the esoteric ritual the old ones from Misato''s clan had every one of their charges go through also extended her hand and Shogunate steel draw blood from the north. Both women placed their bloody palms in each other''s faces and slowly dragged their palms down to the neck. The blood flared in both Mana and Ki as Misato''s blood pact was sealed and Lucrezia was made a charge of House Autumnflower. Part of both faction and family. The knights roared in approval as the Griffins stomped their legs in the ground, Jinn watched as his wife''s Arch-Griffin smelled Lucrezia and huffed in approval. With a gesture from Jinn, the Knights disbanded and they were rushed inside the house. The final act was ready to happen as Lucrezia slowly ascended the stairs to Viviene''s room alone, in her hand the Dragon''s artifact near to her chest.
Lucrezia was dreading every step in that stair as William moved her body towards the room Viviene Autumnflower "slept" She had seen the memories from the game, she knew the girl would be a wreck the second William opened that door. Worse still was the ritual required for the artifact to work, Kallista with help from All-Mother had explained to him how he would need to weather her memories and emotions, take all the curses and negative emotions into himself, and act as a catalyst for the artifact to function and cleanse the young woman. William would be subjected to pain and suffering beyond human understanding. And he would do it with a smile on his face. Lucrezia wanted to scream, to tear her hair out and stop him but she couldn''t, William in his depressed state had bonded deeply with these characters who in the game were nothing but pixels on a screen. Now with the weight of reality behind his every step, William could not say no to Viviene, for her he would go above and beyond the call and bring her back from the brink. Was it jealousy? Did she want to keep him to herself? a part of her smiled when these thoughts flashed in her head. A nasty maniacal smile of domination and subjugation. yes yes, make him ours! body and soul he belongs to us and us alone! Lucrezia did her best to keep that darkness locked away far far away from her heart but it was hard, especially after she had promised herself to let William get hurt again. As he entered the room his eyes adjusted to the darkness as a few candles provided barely any light in the huge room. William closed his eyes for a second and moved forward, closing the door behind him. Lucrezia heard the bed crack and a small voice come from within the sheets, pain irradiating from it like a radio wave that engulfed her body. "Mother, please...Please help me I-I can''t grab t-" a pale arm with scars all over it raised itself trying to grab a cup only to miss it and send the thing into the ground, a hollow thud ringed as the cup rolled over towards William who picked it up from the ground and placed in a desk. "Who, who are you?" The voice asked with fear so real Lucrezia could feel it. William moved with slow steps as he said "My name is Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem, Lady Viviene" he bowed as the young woman froze and screamed, the screaming was short-lived as she was reduced to tears of terror. Lucrezia never in her life felt so hopeless and sad like she did now. "It is one of the many curses they placed on her, It keeps her lucid throughout these episodes and saps morale from people near her" William''s voice boomed from the sky as he said "Get ready Lucrezia, from now onwards we are on the unknown territory" Lucrezia steeled herself. the game lacked any sort of information on what happened because in that the protagonist had to jury rig a ritual instead of getting the real deal from All-Mother. Would the curses and memories breach their shared soul? or would be akin to the Blessing trial? Lucrezia didn''t know and so with a sword in one hand and a shield in another she stood ready. Her armor made of gleaming steel stood against the darkness that threatened William in the waking world. She watched as he kneeled by her bed and held his hand to the girl. Viviene in what Lucrezia could only guess was a spell of lunacy in this episode of one of the curses held William''s hand in a death grip. William and Lucrezia were standing side by side in a dark void, Lucrezia gasped but William shushed and pointed to his head "Can you hear me?" Lucrezia nodded "No talking got it, we can handwave your soul as an avatar or something of the sort" and so they walked until hitting a stone door. William and Lucrezia pushed open and an intense smell of blood hit them. Lucrezia gasped in horror and roared forward sword in hand. In this chamber, they had breached. She saw Viviene naked and hanging from the ceiling via arcane means as Galius and his people toyed with her body and mind. Outrage poured from Lucrezia as she bellowed threats and curses while fighting off the shades. William joined with magical missiles and aegis. It took nearly twenty minutes to dispatch the shades for goods, as they kept reforming after being cut down. In the end, Lucrezia was tired and bruised as she gasped for air as they were kicked to the void again. "And now all we got to do is eliminate these shades and save the fragments of her soul and psyche...This will be hard William, harder than anything we have done before" William nodded, his face a mix of emotions "I know, let''s get this on then" Both went forward towards the next stone door, as more horrors waited for the duo.
It felt like days, methodically cleaning Viviene''s soul was a slog and the morale was at the very edge of running out as William heard Lucrezia crying multiple times. His own emotions would often get the better of him as fought the curses and traumas. What was a 2-minute cutscene in the game became the most horrible battle he had ever fought in his new life. He saw Galius and his people descend into the very bottom of human depravity. He was expecting to be numb after a while but the fire that burned in that fateful day at school was a raging bonfire today. Even as he dragged his feet towards the next door feeling like his body was made out of lead he would march on, he would save Viviene even if he had to make the ultimate sacrifice. William watched Lucrezia stare at the empty void, he reached his hand towards her but she jumped away in fear. It stung him more than he was willing to admit but this was his fault, he was the one who volunteered for the deployment of the artifact after all. "I didn''t mean it, I swear it," Lucrezia said in an apologetic voice, William shook his head and proceeded to the final door. Viviene stood alone in an inn, her mind fogged by Mind magic and Necromancy. In the dirt she lay like an animal who couldn''t even walk on its own, she whimpered as a woman tried to touch her. Her addled mind begged for the sweet release of death and from the shame. The love of her life had done so much to her and now all she wanted was to give up and die. Alas, fate was not so kind, Griffins in the skies circled her as she cried again, knowing somewhere deep in the recess of her soul that her parents wouldn''t let her die, wouldn''t let her be free from this accursed place. She felt the cold hand of the woman in her back and screamed as her vision went dark. From inside her body, she felt like her very bones were trying to escape their prison of flesh and blood. "The big one is coming, stand ready" She heard the voice of a man, too young but full of conviction and certainty. Viviene crawled as her body burned in pain only to hear the distinctive smell of magic being cast. And the sound of weapons being drawn. Viviene made it to an upturned table and leaned on it, her vision was blurry but she could see a young woman about her age clad in armor with a sword and shield fighting a shadowy being, Her ashen gray hair floating as she clashed with the entity, behind her a boy with cold brown eyes and unruly dark hair floated and lobbed spell after spell at the creature. Viviene cried in horror when the creature morphed into Galius as she started shaking and trembling "Close your eyes!" she heard the boy bark her an order and decided to follow it, the fear and horror became muted as darkness blanketed her in its cold comfort. "This isn''t working!" she heard the young woman scream as the sword of swords meeting each other ringed across the Inn. Viviene smelled in the air that distinct smell of magical lightning when she heard the crack of the spell hitting whatever it was aiming at, she opened her eyes again as she saw the boy raise both of his arms and pull great metal spikes from the floor then clap both palms together, another mighty lighting bolt smote the darkness as Viviene fainted again, the last thought in her minds being the face of that boy. There was sadness in his eyes, and below that, a mighty fire roared and shone brightly even against the blackest of nights. It was beautiful.
William dropped to the floor of whatever the hell the artifact had created and nearly blacked out. After defeating what he was calling the avatar of Viviene''s curses and traumas he was having intense flashbacks from her point of view and they were knocking the wind out of him, Lucrezia was struggling as well as she dropped her sword and shield and decided to lay on the floor arms spread. "Speak William, she can''t hear us no longer," Lucrezia said as she closed her eyes "Explain what is going on with us, why are we having these visions?" William grunted as his mana reserves were nearly over thanks to that last spell "I-I think the artifact is filtering the memories through us as it cleans them from her mind. She will have those memories but the trauma associated with them will phase through us into the thing and we will hopefully come out without any lasting side effects" he spoke as more memories came and went and he groaned in pain. "I don''t wanna even talk about the horrible shit I am seeing right now, nevertheless what I am feeling," Lucrezia said her eyes closed "How long?" "I don''t know Lu, the game cutscene was 5-6 minutes long but this isn''t a cutscene nor the game," William said as the weight around his chest and head eased up a little, He felt All-Mother''s Sigil flare in his back as did Lucrezia who got up and sat near him. "You think she will remember you?" she asked. "No, at best it will be like a dream, at worst she heard my name and didn''t forget when the process is complete but I doubt it. She went out twice in that fight after all" William replied as he looked over and saw Lucrezia''s eyes staring at the endless void. "Something is bothering you, what is it?" William could see her body queues and feel the mass of negative feelings stemming from Lucrezia, she sighed and gave a sad smile to him "You were ready to sacrifice yourself there...what if I can''t take over my body William, what if we both get sent to the hells for consorting with something from beyond the stars or just deleted all together to nonexistence? You promised me, we would fix this together!" He could see the rage in her eyes, the feeling of betrayal and hopelessness. He knew Lucrezia disliked this but he couldn''t help himself, not for those he had such an emotional attachment. "Forgive me Lucrezia, Forgive me" William said, barely a whisper as she sighed again and responded "We, you must see this to the end alive William, no more playing the tragic hero, we will get out of this mess and whoever did this will have much to answer" William watched as the void they were in faded and he was kicked back to Lucrezia''s body, the outward damage the curses and physical torture Galius had inflicted in Viviene had all faded as her ivory skin returned to its flawless form, she slept soundly as the artifact from Kallista glowed in William''s right hand. He waited for any after effect by closing his eyes but all he found was a dull headache behind his eyes. "Lucrezia?" he asked. "Nothing wrong down here, It is as Kallista said, bar the headache everything with our soul and mind is fine so far, what about the artifact? I can feel it burning from here" She replied. William and Lucrezia might have dodged any nasty side effects but the experience still weighed on him heavily, he was glad he had put a bullet between Galius''s head even more now. He got up and headed for the door before hearing a whisper coming from the bed. "Thank-Thank you" Viviene said as William heard the telltale noise of tears, he gave her a small nod and headed for the door. He found the Arch-Duke and his wife by the door, their faces unreadable. Many a doctor, priest, and even demon whispered came to aid the duke and all they failed, William on the other hand had not and so he broke the news without further delay. "It is done, all of the evil she had to bear, the scars, the curses, the memories have been purged and she now rests in peace. The dragon told me it takes a few days for their kind to recover from it but I would give Viviene at least 2 weeks, plenty of food and family love as well" He smiled to Jinn and Misato as the man hugged him something fierce, he felt Jinn''s tears in his shoulder as the man thanked him over and over before Misato prized him off. He went to Viviene''s room as Misato watched "He never forgive himself you know? we were lost He and I living just for the sake of it but you-you saved her" Misato tried to hold her tears in "Thank you Lucrezia, Thank you" William couldn''t find the right words so he just nodded and patted the woman on the back as she rushed over to the room. William went downstairs and sent a ping towards Kaine. The young mage picked up the arcane notification and pinged him back, William followed it and found him together with Father in a guest room, a maid who was in a corner poured a cup of tea for him. Valtas frowned "I can feel that ghastly object from here, your pet lizard didn''t tell you how long it takes to remove it from the artifact?" he asked. "No, It will stay there for a good while" William looked to the side finding Saa''ryu and making a hand gesture towards her "Put it in the storage" the maid nodded as she pulled a strange bag from her person and placed the artifact there. "Rare to find those, Silverbrand must''ve paid quite the sum for it," Kaine remarked "Those High-Elf bastards hoard their Dimensional storages like dragons do to gold, refusing to share even the most basic of arcane matrixes and weaving to the rest of the world" Valtas looked at his son with bewilderment "Kaine we had this talk before, that kind of power has been abused many a time before, the elves are-" He shut himself as Jinn and Misato walked into the room. The duke''s face was red thanks to the tears but the smile on his face was akin to seeing the sunshine after the last day of winter, the man beamed with hope and joy as he picked a chain from his neck and placed it in William''s neck on it was a small griffin holding a sword in his beak and a spear in his talons. "With this not a soul in this kingdom will not know you are a part of my family" Jinn said with pride. Misato on the other hand had a far more flashy badge of honor from the Autumflower family. The Katana was forged from the bones of a metallic demon whose name time forgot. It looked rugged and worn, unlike the more ceremonial blades William knew from Earth. He took the weapon with both hands and unsheathed it. Now I am motivated he thought with a silent laugh. after inspecting the weapon he placed in his hip with the help of Saa''ryu. William exchanged a few pleasantries with both and was preparing to head for the Academy when Kaine took a deep breath and spoke. "Uncle Jinn!" Jinn turned and motioned for him to continue "Could I, Could I come to visit Viviene when she''s better?" Kaine stood resolute and didn''t break eye contact with Jinn as the man stood quiet for seconds before smiling and saying "Of course Kaine, I am sure she would be delighted to see you and Margareth again" Kaine nodded happily with himself as Misato walked up to Valtas and said "If you wish to mend bridges old friend, aid Lucrezia when she calls for it" Valtas nodded a bit relieved with himself as he said. "I''d say this went as good as we could''ve expected eh? I''ll take those two to the Academy then, Jinn, Misato, Thank you for letting me and my son come to visit" Arch-Duke and his wife nodded and accompanied the trio towards the entrance of their estate where Valta''s carriage waited for them. After a final round of goodbyes, they went towards William''s final destination and home for the next 5 or so years. The earlier events had done much to temper his expectations but he still felt a chill in his stomach. As they neared the place he started to recognize the streets, stores, and a few NPCs walking about. He felt his hands shaking as Saa''ryu glanced at him. He shook his head as Valtas began to speak "I will teleport your stuff later after you put the wards in your room, Kaine just talk with the people in charge at the reception and they will give you the keys, same for you Lucrezia" He did a few hand gestures and continued "According to my people inside most of the nobles already sent their spawn and you two are quite late by their insane standards, the merchant kids and upstart commoners will come in tomorrow and the days after it but you will likely have to share a room with someone that''s not a blue blood Lucrezia" William shrugged "Not an Issue" Valtas wheezed "Not an Issue she says! A bloody Duchess sharing a room with commoners and merchants! Oh those blue blood will seethe in outrage when words get out, Half wish hadn''t paw off the Arcane classes to Mariah just to see it" William looked confused "What do you mean when words get out? shouldn''t they already know?" Valtas shook his head "The scions of the high nobles maybe and the merchants of course but the rest of the rabble? their children spent their summer down south in th-" "The Royal Island of Nuriemer" William dragged his hands across his face "Which means most of them won''t be aware of the conflict in the north and me killing Galius, did the King put his jackals to suppress the information?" Valtas nodded "It won''t last, I give it a week and a few days at best but that''s way too big for the Jackals to suppress it" William sighed "Kinslayer, regicide, rebellion using enemy nation''s tactics when word gets out it will be a mess" Kaine spoke up "Think nothing of it, at best it will be talked for 2, 3 weeks before they move to something else" William had to agree as the game portrayed as such. As the carriage drew itself near William''s heart started to beat faster, Lucrezia was also pacing around near the Monolith as a multitude of scenarios ran through his head. He felt sweat building in his hands as they came to a halt. "End of the Line kids, remember to behave yourself and Lucrezia"Valtas spoke loudly "I intend to make justice to Misato''s request, if you need me, just tell Kaine" William could barely compute the fact he had one of the strongest magic users on speed dial as Kaine opened the carriage door and went outside. "Lu? Are you alright?" Saa''ryu asked. "Yeah, just a bit tired" William replied as he stepped forward and the sun blinded him. It took seconds before the oh-so-familiar gates appeared as he froze for a second. This was it William thought, today he would finally set things right and get the answers he and Lucrezia so desperately craved. Saa''ryu stepped out of the carriage as Kaine spoke from upfront "C''mon Lucrezia, We gotta unload those chests of yours before the spell ends" he turned back and narrowed his eyes "Are you alright? I can cast a spell that can cure dizziness and upset stomach" William shook his head and put his feet forward. Together with Kaine and Saa''ryu at his sides and Lucrezia watching over him from inside their souls he walked past the gates following the familiar path towards the reception building. It was finally time he thought, time for the truth to set him and Lucrezia free. And he would fight for it every step of the way, for no God, Queen nor Demon could stop him now. Chapter 34: Honor and Glory "The Grand Academy of Seresval is where the best and brightest of the Kingdom go to further their knowledge, relationships, and ties with the next generation of rulers and generals, even the mighty Imperium sends its charges there so great is this small city inside the Capital, as do many other nation-states and dignitaries, of note is the miracle of arcane mastery by the Academy''s founder Arch-Mage Seresval the Bold who made the Fields of Tho''th dan Thok (Later renamed to Fields of Seresval due to disputes over name rights with the god Thoir) Where Seresval together with the Goddess of Magic created a pocket realm where one could fight to the death without fear of death. To this day it is used to train the youth of the kingdom ensuring them battle hardness unmatched. On the Kingdom of Vermilion: Tourist guide book Volume 4. William stood in a daze as Kaine helped him undo the magic his mother had placed in William''s many chests worth of baggage. It had been a mess getting the boy into the girl''s dormitory as William had to explain he wasn''t planning on doing anything improper (there had been incidents in the past) with Kaine which only got more complicated as reception sent his file to the woman in charge of the dorm and she nearly had a stroke when the Blessing list came up. After a good 10 minutes explaining in detail, nothing would happen the woman nearly relented before getting a second wind and saying poor Kaine would peek at the many young women in the walk to Lucrezia''s shared room which made William''s brown twitch in annoyance. A small group of girls was watching in malicious glee as they gossiped about "the young duchess trying to sneak her boyfriend in her room" Much to William''s despair and Lucrezia''s annoyance. Kaine on the other hand looked as bored as he could get, as always if the talk didn''t involve magic in some capacity he just tapped out and tuned out after a few minutes in. After a while the women relented and off they went, Kaine had triangulated the room''s location and was ready to teleport into it but William found a waste of mana, and the aftershock could hit the roommate if the girl was already inside of the bloody room. Which turned out to be empty anyway, while William lost the VIP room that would be the equivalent of a small house on Earth he was more than happy with this one, not as small as the one the player gets in-game due to being sent to the commoners'' part of the dorm but not as big as the ones the sons and daughters of nobility enjoyed. Together with Kaine, he set up his wardrobe, bed, and working desk with the paperwork he would be doing for the Duchy while at the Academy. "Your maid has a knack for disappearing Lucrezia, I have a 20-meter detection ward running at all times and she is yet to trip it," Kaine said then jumped when Saa''ryu made herself manifest in the room. "Young master, Arch-Mage''s son you may be but it will take years for your magic to get even a hint of myself" she smiled as Kaine laughed then turned to Lucrezia "Father has deployed a few of my sisters to the Academy. And he awaits you in the compound" William nodded, ah to fight the Owl! and learn how to do the magical parkour Saa''ryu and her family of assassins were so good at it. Nothing like god-tier mobility to boost one''s ego! "And the word in the streets?" William asked with dread. "The Arch-Mage was half right, most of the lower nobility doesn''t know yes but Higher Nobles have been made aware and since you are a now a Prince Killer they have deployed more Knights for security, the third Prince, in particular, has a whole detachment of Royal Knights with him." Saa''ryu said as she neared the window "Worse yet is that surviving Knights from the battle have been posted here and news have been leaked among their fellows" "I... I know the girls from the 3 families Galius called" William said feeling more dread, Saa''ryu nodded and said "If my calculations are right it will take less than 3 days for you to become the talk among every social circle and clique here" she finished talking and began helping to organize the room, Lucrezia''s side was in near-perfect state but the side for her unknown roommate was a mess and so Saa''ryu went to battle against dust and dirt. "You don''t need to worry about Arthur, he''s a good guy at heart, and the few times he had the chance to meet after the fuck up with my parents and uncle Jinn he told me he distrusted Galius" Kaine spoke up "I am still on the dark regarding what the man did but judging from well earlier today..." Kaine shook his head "I won''t spoil your first day in the Academy, Father will speak sooner or later anyway, now if you would excuse me. I must tend to my room as Father made sure to get me and Margareth a VIP one..." he looked troubled for a second but then smiled and said "If you need anything just call me via that spell I gave it to you" then he teleported away. "Master Kaine looked worried for a second there," Saa''ryu said "His sister maybe?" William nodded "Yes, likely carted off by his mother to a Church of the Redeemer for treatment" "You are thinking of going there as well?" Saa''ryu asked. "The night terrors have been... manageable so far, plus the place will be full of casualties we created. It would disrupt the peace the Redeemer''s priests value so much" William spoke without looking at Saa''ryu, he was lying and he knew it. Now that the Spirits couldn''t protect him the effects of the horrors he witness and committed on the battlefield would unravel. Gabriel had given him potions for it but the effect would only blunt the damage, not stop it like the Spirits were doing it. "Does the faculty knows about my affiliations with the Arch-Duke?" William asked to hope to change the topic. "Yes, but those from the Royal Faction are afraid the Queen will try something. Besides that, the other factions are aware and moving accordingly" Saa''ryu stopped talking and immediately snapped into a combat position, William not missing the queue summoned his Magi-Tech arm and pulled his dragonbone ax from one of his chests. Two robed figured appeared inside the room as William recognized the symbol in their robes. A three-legged Jackal. "At ease Saa''ryu, the King sent his best and it would be rude to greet them with steel" William spoke snapping back to his "ruler" mindset "Welcome to my humble abode gentlemen, I would invite you two for tea but as you can see, I just got here" he gestured to his things. The Jackal operative to William''s left spoke in a mechanical voice "A message to our ally from the north" He presented a crystal to William with both hands, William took it and bowed "My regards to the King" the men nodded and disappeared. Saa''ryu clicked her tongue "Sloopy, too sloppy" "Don''t beat yourself over, Jackals have blessings from half a dozen espionage and stealth Gods" William spoke "The Owl getting near them via sheer will and training is a testament to his skills and so is your Saa" the maid blushed a little before saying "Thanks" in a low voice. William sent a bit of his mana to the crystal and the record started playing. He saw King Jason in a dark room looking exhausted as the man''s voice boomed from the Illusion "Lady Lucrezia, while I would''ve preferred to have this conversation in person, certain conditions would''ve been needed to be set for your safe passage to the palace as I am sure you are aware" The man took a pause and said "I will not mince words here Lady Lucrezia, my wife wants your head nailed to the walls of the palace, and the only reason she hasn''t burned half the Academy to the ground to get it is that Jinn outright said he would go as far as declaring civil war if she did so. You and I know that my wife is not a foe to be tested, less so provoked, yet she saw reason in his words and decided to not destroy a millennium of culture and history in a war to avenge a criminal" The King sighed "Had it been me Galius would''ve been killed long ago, yet his mother always spoiled him rotten, and like my old friend Valtas I choose to remain silent and turn a blind eye towards his mistakes. A grave error as I am sure you would agree but the paternal urgers were yet strong at that time...nevertheless you have my word as King that Malphas will not retaliate, for now, she may not forgive you, and the upcoming winter celebration next month will be awkward at best but I will do my best to ensure your safety, For Jinn, Misato and Viviene" The message ended there and the crystal became dust as William laid in his bed "I don''t believe the King will be able to hold his wife for long, Malphas will do something sooner or later I can feel it" "Then you must train harder, acquire new spells and abuse those blessings you got to the max to survive, the Queen is a demi-goddess, and very few people alive can go toe-to-toe against her," Saa''ryu said as she changed into her casual clothes who were Magi-Tech items handcrafted by Idun and him "Talk with Father, I am sure he will point you to the right people" William smiled, Knowing full well the ones Owl would recommend. He nodded and got up dismissing his arm and changing into the Academy''s uniform. On his jacket, the sigil of House Wulfgrem was embroiled as the head of a vicious Dire Wolf. Classes wouldn''t start in a week but he knew the protagonist was already in the Academy, likely in the commoner part of the dorm. But he had more pressing things to do as several in-game events happened in this first week and he would rush them as fast as possible to maximize time and gains. Before going out he cast a protection spell on his side of the room that would make anyone he didn''t know unable to pass through it, of course, he left plenty of space for his roommate and a note explaining what the spell was. And so with Saa''ryu at his side William walked towards the main street of the campus, young men and women of all corners of the know world mingling and chatting as he took in the air and exhaled with a smile on his face, his ears already picking up an oh so familiar sound. Orcish drums and the grunts of battle! t didn''t take long for Kaine to teleport to his side, scaring a few of the students of the academy "I was wondering when you would call me but I guess you had other plans, so where are going today?" He had changed from his combat armor to the Academy''s uniform, fancy silk cloth, and whatever else was popular with High Nobility this year. The embroiled dragon holding a wand and sword sigil proudly in his chest. "Hear that?" William asked with a smile on his face. Kaine pretended to listen before casting a series of spells "School Band playing for a fight? Well look at that Orthus Dur''va returned from the shogunate and is having a friendly competition to show off his skills! A funny fellow that one lives for combat. While most orcs play the serious warrior monk part he is more akin to a Grannarius folk hero, madly charging into battle while singing and screaming" "Sent to the shogunate to temper his fire and bring him to be more in line with Orcish tradition didn''t work, He''s twice as wild as he left," William said with a smile recalling the first tank the game handed out to the players "What do you say about us having a friendly chat with him Kaine?" Kaine rolled his eyes "If by talking you mean fighting for dear life as the next Supreme Warlord of Ynir''Duvat charges at us bellowing war cries then sure! I''ll even teleport us to the arena!" William smiled, his teeth bared. "Oh for the love of the All-Father! what are you a-" Kaine stopped himself and muttered "Gods protect whoever is unlucky enough to date you" as they walked towards the arena where Orthus was. William laughed heartily at Kaine''s dig but he could feel the Battle Lust building up as they got near it. The smell of polished weapons, combat gear, the sweat and blood in the air sang to him and he could feel his face going redder by the minute. "I told you those days locked away with paperwork would come to bite us in the ass" Kaine complained as Saa''ryu moved to his side and said "Nothing you can do to take the edge off her Master Kaine?" the maid was serious and there wasn''t a hint of jest in her voice. Kaine gave her the finger as he grumbled about gossip and maids. When they arrived at the arena William saw many NPCs who he knew by name or by title, all watching somewhat bored as the 7-foot tall Orc shoulder tackled a Knight to the ground making the poor man tap out, the drums were beating in typical orcish fashion as a wave of half-interested cheer left the crowd. William also saw high above in the VIP seat of the arena 3 ancient Orcs. Those were the 3 Sages that lead the nation of Ynir''Duvat together with the supreme warlord, immortal beings of magic and faith who were there from the ancient times before the sea elves enslaved their people, to the war and defeat at the hands of them and eventual freedom brought by the first King of Vermilion and the eternal bond the two countries shared. "No one else?! Come you blue blood newts! Test your mettle in the ring of honor or are you too scared of the big bad orc?! Hahaha, a bunch of babes all of ye!" Orthus screamed at the top of his lungs. Most of the nobles and early merchant scions scoffed at his brutish ways and no one took on his offer as the poor Orc sighed saddened. William could see in his face, and he knew thanks to his time on the game that Orthus was a great admirer of Vermilion''s history and how time and time again the kingdom stood defiant against forces that dwarf it, He knew it was naive to think the children of these heroes of old would have that same vigor, that lust for glorious combat and only their Knights could provide him a taste of combat he craved. He had come to the Academy to meet heroes, instead, he found stuck-up brats. Kaine spoke as they broke past the circle "Orthus, my friend!" the Orc looked at him with puzzlement in his face as Kaine''s voice broke the silence "Do I have the challenge for you! you big bastard!" Kaine laughed as Orthus got angry. "If it isn''t the twig! Speak then! Who dares challenge the mighty, powerful, and unbeatable Orthus!" the Orc said as he laughed. "Lu, what''s with these two? didn''t you tell me Kaine was a recluse?" Saa''ryu whispered. "Childhood acquaintances, Orthus used to demand Kaine to summon powerful beasts for him to fight or try getting both him and Margareth to fight him barehanded" William replied fast as Kaine shot him a look of utter bewilderment "How in the hells you know that?!" William didn''t reply as he stepped into the arena, his ears picking up whispers in the crowd as he removed his coat and gasps could be heard from the people around him. His Magi-Tech arm glittering in the sunlight as Saa''ryu bowed and gave him his trusty Dragonbone Ax. He took a knee and grabbed the rough sand that marked the arena battlegrounds and coated his hands with it. A presence akin to a Spirit focused on him, He looked up as the 3 sages stared him down and said in perfect ancient orcish "Kin of the snow beseech thee, grant thy blessing for this battle amongst comrades-in-arms" Orthus'' eyes bulged as his head snapped to the position of the sage. The first one spoke, his voice carrying the weight of millennia on it "Rare is the day one of the five sees our spawn worthy of a fight! You will have to forgive his manners, Childe of the Snow, for he is an unruly one" With a smile he finished "Fight if you must, you have our blessing" William bowed and pulled his ax, he burned a bit of Divine Essence into his mana channels and spoke "Orthus! Son of the Supreme Overlord Ynir''Duvat! My NAME IS LUCREZIA SOMMER WULFGREM AND I CHALLENGE YOU TO BATTLE!" William saw Orthus smile like a kid who got all the presents he wanted for Christmas, he then spoke in his normal voice "But first!" He pointed to the School Band who was being commanded by Professor Yuna who looked at him with a bored face. "If the band could indulge for a moment, to provide a fitting background for this battle" Yuna spoke fast with the band members and said in a commanding voice "If it is your wish Lady Lucrezia, we would be glad to help" William nodded and turned to Orthus who was getting ready for the brawl "I was made aware you were training with the Shogunate''s Sword Saints? then how about a tune from the far-off lands!" William snapped his fingers on his Magi-Tech arm as a small metal flute popped off and he began playing on it. Orthus''s smile grew bigger and wilder as Yuna and her band felt an urge unlike anything before, their eyes wide open as their musical blessings flared into being and the drums took on a tone that would make even the weakest of samurai raise his weapon and fight for his feudal lord. As the drums began pounding the crowd felt it too, deep in their bones the prelude to the fight. William''s face was red as a lobster as the Battle Lust begged for an outlet. He was pretty sure he would need a change of clothes after this fight. Orthus picked his hammer and with a mighty roar exploded forward slamming the hammer near William''s head. William didn''t dodge but blocked the mighty weapon with sheets of solid iron as his halo blossomed into being. He jumped upwards and in an explosion of movement slashed Orthus in both his arms and legs, the Orc laughed as blood was spilled and screamed in pure joy as the musicians played their tune. William moaned in orgasmic pleasure as the hammer connected with his stomach and he was sent flying. Oh, how the battle made him feel alive, free from any and everything as he honed into Orthus and slashed him with his halo and Ax. Orthus dodged out of the way and slammed his hammer on the ground. A mighty barrier of stone was conjured, William laughed as he burned his mana and flew upwards. He pointed around the barrier and his Halo sent a rain of long thin rods into the soil. "You should train your aim better!" Orthus laughed from his barrier as William''s mind was too busy trying not to drop down and spasm in the ground as the pleasure rolled in wave after wave. The rods grew as William closed his hands in the skies and conjured a huge quantity of mana, The drums did their final piece as a lighting bolt crashed into Orthu''s position, the sheer power of it knocking the Orc flat on his face. William flew down as he heard Orthus roar and scream "The princess has teeth! But this isn''t over Lucrezia! Not yet!" He dashed forward as the drums came to a stop and lost his footing, earning a kick to the nose from William. He looked at the band who looked exhausted and sweating. Professor Yuna was about to speak as William began singing the rhythm from another song he held dearly in his heart. And once again the band and its teacher felt the call of their blessing, the call to compose something truly unique that came from a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And they just had finished their first one. Violins swapped drums, a choir was quickly set up as they worked overtime to provide the right background music as Orthus and William let themselves be enveloped by the song. William picked his ax and said "Come Orthus! Let us dance to the sound of ringing steel!" Both dashed forward and struck true. William''s newly conjured Iron Halo drew blood as Orthus''s hammer nearly bent his Magi-Tech arm! With a sidestep dodge William kicked Orthus in the ribs with both legs and landed in a roll as the man staggered backward, He then threw his hammer at him and dashed forward, as William tried to dodge the weapon he grabbed him by the ponytail and slammed his face against a stone pillar of the arena. William felt the world ring as the pain and adrenaline. fueled his Battle Lust. He felt Saal''Xhir''s sigil burn in his womb as he gave a very non-noble-like moan. With a jump backward he got some distance from Orthus. "Battle Lust!" he said as he spat on the ground "Don''t you dare try anything weird on me, you Saal''Xhir Fiend! this is a holy place of battle. Immaculate!" William had forgotten that for all his furor for combat, Orthus was very much a prude. "No promises big guy," He said as the orc recoiled. The music reached its crescendo as William spoke again "Time to end this" he started to tap into his divine blessings again as Orthus did the same for his. the Orc once again summoned a mighty barrier of stone but this time it became a dome. William threw two vials he had on his person and watched as the soil around the barrier transmuted into solid steel. Gabriel''s work that one and something William was going to abuse for alpha strikes in targets like Orthus who could outheal his attacks. William slapped his hands and with a motion pulled them back towards him, he felt gravity and mana mix into one as 3 huge steel spikes rose from the ground. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. With a clap, he released another potent lighting strike. Orthus grunted as he went to his knees after his dome fell around him and said raising his hand "She wins, I am at my limit" William felt a bit let down, hoping that he would keep on the fight for a few seconds more as his Saal''Xhir blessing gave him spike upon spike of unrelenting pleasure. It took 2 solid minutes for him to center himself and return to a normal state. Kaine, Saa''Ryu, and Orthus were waiting for him together with the Sage that had spoken with him before the fight, he smiled and walked over. It was time for the spoils! The sages bowed as they all summoned the three items William was after it. A ring of orc strength blessed by their Goddess Kaal''Duvat, A shield made out of the bones of a nameless sea elven God the first King of Vermilion killed when he became the first non-orc blessed by Kaal''Duvat, sealing the pact between nations and granting the King power on a demi-god level. And last but not least a circlet of magic empowerment that boosted magic damage over 40 percent in-game. That damage also scaled with stats but alas he lacked a blue screen and character sheet. "Kaine, Catch!" He tossed the item to his mage friend as Kaine''s smile turned into a wild grin the second he placed the item on his head. "Hm, one handing the ax mighty take some time to get used to..." William said as he placed the shield on his Magi-Tech arm and tried a few stances Erwin had reached him, the sages smiled as he practiced and William even heard some cheers and whistles from the people who remained at the arena, he wanted to turn and give them a show but Saa''ryu quickly cast a spell to clean his person, hiding the mess his Battle Lust had left his clothes in. He muttered thanks to his maid as Orthus dusted himself off and said "Color me surprised! and here I thought our allies in the north had all become soft babies! may Kaal''Duvat bless this day for I was granted a battle worth remembering!" it was hard not getting infected by Orthus boundless enthusiasm when it came to the martial arts and combat. William quickly set the shield in a raised steel platform together with his ax and got ready for the orc hug. And hugged he was, the big bastard even took William off the ground as Lucrezia whelped in his mind "Stop him!" William tapped Orthus in the back of his head and the orc immediately dropped him asking "How did you know about that?" "I know many things my friend," William said trying to sound a little mysterious, only to hear Kaine wheezing in the background, he shot the young man a glare but that didn''t stop him. The sages called Orthus and spoke with him in private as William and his crew began to make their way to the cafeteria, they joined a mass of bodies laughing and making merry, some followed by Knights, others by personal maids like William. Saa''ryu tapped on his shoulder twice. A signal for potential enemies. "Who?" William whispered. "Knights" Saa''ryu fired back as William''s shoulder sagged, he sighed in defeat as his mind went over the events of the battle for Galius''s head and the many men and women he had to kill to avenge Viviene. The scars of that fight were still fresh for some it seemed. "I heard the pork chops here are to die for, you want some Lucrezia?" Kaine asked as they picked up trays served by the stone-faced kitchen staff. William smiled as he spotted Head chef Amarout, the man had a series of quests dealing with stolen supplies to assassinations attempts that earned the player powerful food buffs late game. He made a mental note to help him later and get those buffs as early as possible. Without thinking, William took a seat at the table the protagonist would sit every day in-game. He watched as his fellow students eyed him with distrust before realizing that this was the "commoners" zone of the cafeteria! of course, there were very few commoners and merchant scions around. Their noble counterpart far outnumbers them as very few came to the Academy early unlike the nobles who wanted their children to make connections and ties as soon as possible. Yet William spotted a familiar face shyly walking away from his position. He locked eyes with the boy as he nearly jumped in fright as William got up and marched towards him, Kaine nodded as he devoured the food with gusto, the academy''s food was considered real good by the entire capital and Kaine shared that opinion. William felt Saa''ryu sneak out to his left as she remained alert for threats. "Richard? Richard Silverbrand? Gods I finally get to meet the son of Catarina! Lucrezia Wulfgrem, it''s a pleasure to finally meet you" William extended his hand as the boy gulped and froze for nearly 5 seconds. "I think you just scared the poor boy to death William" Lucrezia laughed in his head "Look at him he''s red up to his ears! Oh gods this is too rich" William rolled his eyes and grabbed Richard''s half extended hand, with a thought he sent a small jolt of ice mana that crawled over his arm to his neck, snapping the young man from his stunned state. Richard stared at his hands who were already pale white took a shade a priest would call bordering on spirit possession, his blue eyes went glossy as his dark red hair spiked. He snapped back and ran his hand on his face while saying "It''s a pleasure Lady Lucrezia, my mother often tells me of your exploits" William nodded and said "Come, let us enjoy the meal together" as he walked back to his chair with Richard in tow. Surely the boy couldn''t be scared right? Lucrezia''s laugh was his answer. Richard''s eyes focused on Kaine as he was just finishing polishing the dessert plate as he and William took their seats, his eyes darted between the two of them as he spoke "Are you the Arch-Mage''s son?" Kaine grunted in response, not in the mood to talk mid-eating. Silence descended on the table for a while as William and Richard ate their food in peace, the young man was starting to ease up when Kaine spoke "Who are you? by the speed Lucrezia snatched you from the crowd I had thought you were some secret lover or something" William nearly choked in his water at that bad joke "Oh don''t you start, the Duchess rushing forward to talk with a... merchant kid? the nobles over there are already gossiping about it. Maybe they won''t bother me now that we have the new guy" "Hey! Don''t be rude he''s the son of a very important friend of mine" William fired back as Richard cleared his throat to get their attention. "I am Richard Silverbrand. As Lady Lucrezia said beforehand I am the first son of Catarina Silverbrand who is the commercial contact for all dealings with the Wulfgren duchy around our Kingdom" he bowed mechanic as William was used to seeing back in the game. "Kaine Antewood, Chronomancer and not interested in dealing with anything not magic related" Kaine extended his hand towards Richard who this time didn''t freeze and shook it with a firm grip. "The stories do you justice Lord Kaine, curt and to the point. But Chronomancy? is the news mom sent me right and you have managed to establish contact with Gwenarius?" William smiled as Richard began to get back to his confident form, now that was the guy he used to know from back in the game! One ear is always to the news and ready to make a deal. "Yes, that oaf of a Goddess demands a church for her powers and our mutual friend here will assist me in building it, given she''s the head for the Magi-Tech one already," Kaine said as Richard''s eyes glowed with naked ambition "And please, no need for the whole lord thing. I don''t need to see the future to figure out Lucrezia has plans for you and we will be around for a good while, just Kaine is fine I am no noble snob" A nod came from Richard "Kaine to a healthy friendship under the eyes of Lady Lucrezia then" he toasted with his cup of water. Kaine smirked and did the same. William knew that Richard was likely a recent arrival sent by his mom the second the Arch-Mage took him from his castle. So he wouldn''t have access to his network of informants and spies yet but soon William would have his finger on the pulse of every happening in the Academy. "So, did the Matriarch cut Catarina a good deal?" William asked. Richard smiled "Yes, for the first time in nigh hundred years someone from outside the inner circle of the clan will have executive privileges. The merchandise you got us Lady Lucrezia is selling like, I can''t even put in words the sheer amount of cash it has brought to the clan''s coffers" He narrowed his eyes "And yet I''ve heard reports of my mother''s people buying land at a premium around multiple cities of the kingdom, tell me what is your plan?" Sharp as ever William thought. "Like our rude friend here said, I am helping him build a church for Gwenarius, but as the papers, you no doubt saw told you that''s ample space for more than a single chapel" William pulled a small chain with the symbol of Raa''Tyrius "I also seek to expand the sphere of my God, and bring upon a revolution of untold proportions to the kingdom!" Richard stared in awe "I have, I have heard the effects your weaponry had when you crushed the morale of Galius''s punitive force... All-Father above if that becomes commonplace the carnage it will bring will be massive!" William scoffed "Magi-Tech isn''t just weapons of war, it is progress, new ways to heat and cool homes, vehicles that can work without magic or animals, grand machines capable of storing every book ever written! This and more I will usher upon the land, starting with my lands in the north and spreading all over Vermilion" William got a little excited as he finished explaining his plan to Richard. Richard on the other hand looked sad, and crestfallen as he spoke "That does sound grand Lady Lucrezia, but I must ask you this. Why are you telling me this? sure if you want to support and network capabilities of the clan my mother will be more than happy to assist you in this endeavor, as she will for the son of the Arch-Mage" Richard said a bit fearful of the backlash he could get from the young woman sitting in front of him. William smiled, used to this particular little speech from old Richard. It was weird in a way watching his body language explain just how low he saw himself, of course, the game''s animations and voice acting could convey a lot of it but sitting here, watching the person himself as something different. William saw the shadow of Catarina looming over the poor dude, how much he struggled with making something for himself and being remembered as more than "Catarina''s son" It was hard, with this new dimension of a character being exposed to him. Someone he had spent countless hours with and felt for his struggles as they mirrored his owns back in Earth. "Inspire him, William give him that push to strive for ambition, you can see it you have seen it in the game! give him the words so that he might become the Richard we know" William thought over Lucrezia''s words, in the game the protagonist didn''t inspire Richard with words but actions. When she stood up for the nobles bullying her and the other non-nobles in the school. Richard respected that, a part of his mom that rubbed off on him was the weight he placed on actions and deeds instead of words so how could he who was masquerading as a literal Duchess, second only to the godsdamned Royals even begin to understand where he was coming from? In his eyes and William didn''t take long to piece this together given the boy was trembling in his boots, Lucrezia was a maniac. A bloodthirsty demon from the hells who would stop at nothing to fulfill whatever plans she had going as low as killing royalty and her flesh and blood! So he choose the second path, one only those who bothered to romance Richard in the game knew (William had romanced every romanceable character so he knew them all) he would tease the competitive spirit that lay dormant inside the Silverbrands, and Richard''s would be a roaring bonfire. "Tell me, Richard do you wish to live under your mother''s shadow for the rest of your life? become her puppet as she pawns you off to some noble as part of a trade agreement for the clan? Forever knowing that the world will only remember Catarina Silverbrand as the one who was there first to usher the revolution I and my people will bring in the next 10 years?" "Or do you want to be the one who stood with me as the forerunner, who paved the way to glory and riches untold and have your name engraved in the halls and books of the kingdom, not as the son of the great merchant Catarina who lived and died in obscurity as his mother took over the Matriarch and lead the clan but as your person, someone who together with me will do things not even the Gods could predict!" William felt the heat rising inside of him as the speech came to its climax, he saw Richard''s eyes dart around but underneath that he could see it. The flames of Ambition, the blessing every merchant worth their salt had. It roared in defiance and rage for even being implied it would lay down and die. Richard closed his eyes and hands into firsts as his anger made him tremble slightly, Kaine looked at both of them and smiled as Richard spoke in a low but very firm tone of voice. "You think I don''t know? How she plots my every step and wants to sell me like a piece of meat to those accursed nobles!" he spat on the ground "I know! godsdamnit And I tried, All-Father as my fucking witness I tried to improve my lot but she just keeps Winning!" he slammed his first into the table and said "Promise me Lucrezia, Promise me you will keep your word and by the gods I will help you, you crazy woman" "Crazy?! Oh, he wounds me William" Lucrezia spoke in mock outrage. "Then we seal this deal as my forebears did centuries past," William said as he snapped his fingers and a blade of black ice manifested in the air, with a practiced motion William made a tiny slash in his hand as Richard''s face lit up in surprise. "A blood pact?! Gods above you northerners still do that?" he asked. "Sometimes," William said as he passed the blade and Richard did the same fast as lightning, as they clasped hands William felt a little tick deep inside his soul, the blood pact likely affecting the Monument as he tied his fate together with Richard''s. "You are lucky I had a barrier of privacy up when you started talking big Lucrezia, had the kitchen staff seen you spilling blood on their floor things would''ve gotten ugly, and not even your Duchess status would''ve been enough to prevent them from giving you a stern talking," Kaine said as he got up "Your maid is waiting outside looking concerned with something" Probably mad at being left outside William thought as he drank a potion to heal his wounds and passed to Richard who did the same, the barrier went down as Saa''ryu marched towards the table, Orthus in tow. The orc somehow managed to talk over the chaos that was the cafeteria "Lucrezia! you left so soon I had to track your whereabouts!" he sat down as William gave Saa''ryu a small sorry, the maid waved him off with a tired smile after having to deal with Orthus likely retelling of the fight while he was doing the blood pact with Richard. the Orc dropped his tray that was loaded to the brim with food and began eating with surprisingly good manners. He laughed as Kaine stared at his form "Broke the character did I not? Haha, I am a prince at the end of the day little mage! Mother would march from the capital if she heard I was eating like a savage" he pointed his fork towards Richard who was still coming off from the blood pact "high" and said, "You. I do not know, yet Lucrezia''s body language shows great interest and focus on you, Who are you?" Richard''s face got a bit red as he said with newly gained conviction "Richard Silverbrand, Prince Orthus it is an honor to make your acquaintance" he bowed his head as Orthus narrowed his eyes "A merchant from the Silverbrand clan? a curious friend you made Lucrezia but one who''s strong in other ways than that of war and magic, as the sages often say "The orc whose mind is a tunnel will often find themselves ambushed at the end of it" As the first real tank, Orthus was also known as the "carebear" for noobs who just got into the game, constantly droning on about simple game mechanics at the start to ease those people in. William found harmless himself since he would just tune the character out but many others hated the poor orc and missed out on his end game rewards that William had earlier gotten. "I see you already have the ring on your person! But where is the shield?" Orthus asked. "Stored away," Saa''ryu said from the background earning a jump from Richard "Don''t worry you get used to it, I have 5 detection spells running at all times and the woman can somehow sneak past all of them. At this point, I am sure she does this for entertainment" Kaine spoke from his seat as Saa''ryu shot him a nasty grin. Orthus locked eyes with Saa''ryu for a moment but didn''t speak his mind, William knew he had figured out she was a stealth specialist and likely an assassin of immense skill, and that would be a poor thing to reveal in the middle of a public space like the one they were in. The maid herself gave the orc a little bow. "Richard," the orc said "I have a feeling we will be often together so I would ask of you to not refer to me as the prince or your highness. This place of learning was built on equality so you can just call me Orthus" he extended his palm towards Richard who took it without delay and they shook hands, Richard smiled as he spoke "To be honest I am not good enough when it comes to licking noble boot so I appreciate the non-formality Orthus" the orc gave him an enthusiastic nod "Well said my man well said!" William smiled seeing his new old friends bond over, it was hardly smooth but at least it worked and he had a tank, the soon-to-be-formed information and later merchant network, and the strongest mage in the game armed with end-game items. A part of him asked himself why was he bothering with all of this since now that Lucrezia wouldn''t form the Coalition with the other two villains in the game they would likely not raise hell against the protagonist. "Do not tempt fate William, we do not know if Melantha Silverstring and Nimue Appastas will not band together even without "me" to fund their illegal activities against the protagonist, or even if the said protagonist will get together with Prince Arthur in the first place" Lucrezia said in his mind "To think the clan of one of the 4 relic weapons would fall so low as to let the Sacred bow to be used in an assassination attempt, or that the esteemed mind mages of Appastas would see their magic be used to nefarious means on the Academy grounds" Lucrezia finished as William thought over it. It was Lucrezia who got the two other Villains together and did much of the groundwork to finance the goons and many other enemies and tribulations the player faced in the game due to her contacts and money. You only fought Melantha and Nimue at the tail end of the mid-game section in a gauntlet type encounter that tested you to the limits and acted as a gate towards the end game that took place in the Wulfgrem duchy. The most accepted theory was that Lucrezia was the one who corrupted the two, you still end up killing them anyway but they were pawns so to say for Lucrezia''s machinations. After the player first defeats Lucrezia at the end of the early game unlocking the Rage-that-Dwells from Lucrezia''s fight she takes a more background role in the story with the other two girls acting as the new big baddies. Only for the player to find out a corrupted Lucrezia begging for forgiveness in the wildness of Wulfgrem and put her out of her misery, finding out even the mastermind of all their woes in the Academy was but a pawn in someone else''s game. A grim end. "I doubt it Lucrezia but the words of the sages are true, I will have preparations be made in the case the two become threats to us," William said "Still I do not wish to engage in a fight against Silverstring, that bow was made by several gods and she used a goddamn poison so strong only direct divine intervention could halt it. Either we take the Sacred sword from the twat who''s holding it and pray the Spirit of Artoriel let us wield the damn thing or we rush to the ends of the world and try to find the Sacred shield" "The spear is the Imperium''s empress personal weapon and I don''t think she will lend it" Lucrezia finished William''s thoughts "Let us hope this doesn''t come to pass William, I know you will get emotionally involved with the protagonist and likely do another of your heroic theatrics, at any rate, we must prepare for anything. Who knows what sort of mess we created for the entity that was commanding Galius and who else it has under its command" William noticed the table was staring at him and asked "What is it?" Richard spoke still a bit red "You kind of went silent for a long period, is everything Ok Lucrezia?" Kaine waved him off "She does that from time to time, pay no mind to it" Orthus shrugged saying "We all have our moments of deep introspection, Lucrezia here likely can fall into it far easier than the rest" What a perfect excuse William thought! "Insightful as always Orthus" the table accepted his theory and they moved on to other topics as William explained Magi-Tech to Orthus who demanded a set of armor and a huge greatsword to be made (he would pay later of course) William was more than happy to oblige as Kaine talked him over his gear and even showing him the staff Lucrezia had made for him. The orc was deep in the Magi-Tech talk when Richard pulled a little green book from his back and said that he was a fan of Lucrezia''s "writing" asking when the next of the trilogy would be released "Soon" William replied with a cheeky grin as Richard told him a bit about himself. As a foodie and know pub crawler he told him how much impact the conflict up in the north had down in the south with Bards singing of his exploits and Surviving Knights talking in hushed whispers or loud angry shouts. Richard also said the High Elves of the Academy were in a schism about the book, half thinking it was hogwash garbage made by a Grannarius sympathizer while the other Half thought a grand tale that put them in a far better light and would even help improve their relations with the other races. He told William to expect an envoy from them sooner rather than later as William groaned. "Why?" he asked to the air as Richard replied "Everything, from the names to how religion and their lifestyle works. You must remember Lucrezia most of the works that have High Elves on them are of Grannarius making and those books and plays either turn the fair folk into one-note villains or unfunny boorish prudes who live on trees and talk to animals, rare is the book that portraits them in a good light especially from a human" "But Vermilion is barely in peace with the Mad King, surely that has- Of course, we also have books made by our own who massacre the fair folk just like the Grannarius folk have..." William said in defeat as he eyed Saa''ryu and nodded. The maid on the other hand got up and stood by his side with an alarmed look on her face. "I got 5 on the 70-meter detection spell, 3 women and 2 Knights, Knights are alerted and ready for a fight" He finished as he got his weapon back from Orthus and readied himself. Orthus looked with narrowed eyes and said "Richard if you cannot fight, hide behind me" Richard nodded but didn''t get up from his seat. To avoid any conflicts inside the cafeteria, William got up and placed his coat over his shoulders. Unsummoning his Magi-Tech arm he decided against untying his hair from the ponytail it was in and walked towards the trio he was expecting to show up sooner or later. Lucrezia was pacing about and he could feel her fear and trepidation mixed with anxiety and longing. It felt like the world was pressing him back but he knew he had to confront the consequences of his actions, no doubt leading to a healthy dose of drama but he had to do it. Not only for him but Lucrezia as well. "Neptune, Kassandra, Sapphire..." Lucrezia said as the childhood friends of Lucrezia marched towards him from the noble side of the cafeteria. But his eyes were not on the fair figures of the beautiful young women who once were thick as thieves with the former owner of the body he was in. No, his eyes were on the two men behind them, clad in steel and with the symbols of Houses Uthe''Zie and Farkas. The Knight from House Sakkar was nowhere in sight. As he walked up he felt the fear and trepidation leaking through their auras. Ki flashed around them as he and Saa''ryu stood in front of Lucrezia''s friends, seconds slowly passing as the Knights relaxed and saw that William wasn''t here to finish the job he started months ago in that ghastly battle. Willaim saw how Neptune stared at her Knight, he knew out of the 3 she was the one who cared the most for those working to protect her while her two friends saw them as common servants. Neptune was trained in their ways and she could also feel their fear from the Ki leaking through them, her eyes searched for an answer as William stared at her Knight. "Were they not told about the events that happened in the past year Knight?" The man steeled himself and said "No, they were not Furiae" the title caught the girls off guard as the other Knight stared at his companion "Fool! We have orders to-" "She will tell them anyway Marcel! You were not there! You didn''t see what I saw!" the Knight who namedropped William spoke as William''s mind went back to that horrible day and he tried to recall who was the man speaking in front of him. "His weapon" Ahh William remembered one of the Knights together with Farkas who slashed him as he impaled the Commanders. Marcel on the other hand William could infer by the earlier talk was not in the battle. Neptune finally spoke as her two other friends were caught completely flat-footed by this exchange, they weren''t used to their Knights speaking to one another much less talking about orders to keep them in the dark from something that Lucrezia had done. "Fray! What is the meaning of this? What did Lucrezia do? who''s this Furiae?" The Knight, now named Fray stood quiet as Neptune''s red eyes bored into him. Her green hair fashioned into two drills bobbing up and down as she spoke faster "Speak with me, my good man! Gods above what sort of reaction is this?!" Kassandra''s hand trembled as she pointed towards William''s torso "Lu, Gods be Gracious what happened to your arm!" She was taken back by William''s missing arm as the Knight Marcel placed his hand over her shoulder "My Lady I think it would be best if we would go back to your table" Fray spoke his voice a bit shakey "Gods protect us if Arandel comes back now..." William recognized the name, it was the wife of the elven Knight Commande he killed back in the battle. And so William followed the trio and their escorts as he breached into the belly of the beast, Eyes darting and a few fingers pointing towards him and his "Friends" as he felt a ping inside his mind. A message spell from Kaine "Anything happens, fire the flare gun I just teleported to Saa''ryu, Orthus and I will join in a flash" his voice faded as William found himself at a fancy table surrounded by expensive deserts and other bits and bobs the girls kept around. They all took a sit as William decided it would be best to summon his Magi-Tech arm back again, the sound it made was enough to set Fray off as the Knight tensed up his muscles and leaked Ki again. William felt the stares of the three girls bore on him as Lucrezia spoke in his mind "Please, be kind. They might be spoiled rotten but..." "It''s ok Lucrezia, I understand, I won''t be harsh with them, trust me," William said in a soft caring voice. It was time for a long talk with the 3 stooges. Chapter 35: The Sorrow, The Rage "A Knight''s oath empowers him, drives him to conquer all of those who would dare defy his House and Lord. It also grants him peace in death as his death was an honorable one, even on the front of battle bringing glory towards his House and Clan. A noble that makes their Knights uphold the Oath in defiance of them failed not only his Knights but Goddess Morugarius herself and the only fate such a noble can expect is scorn from his fellows for he broke the trust that built the foundation of Vermilion. On Oaths and Chivalry: A primer for Squires Volume 7. William watched as a few of the higher nobility scions eyed him with a mixture of distrust and fear. Those were the people who knew he had put Galius down for the count and no one wanted to mess with someone who could kill Royalty and get away with it. The news would be out in less than a week if this kept up he thought, remnants of Galius''s faction would likely avoid him as they lacked the leadership for any sort of planned attack on his person. Still one could never rule the probability of an independent actor going for the kill on his lonesome, he would have to redouble his defense detail which meant hiring a few more of Owl''s people. William also noticed more Knights, a few from the girl''s houses but most from other houses as they always kept him under their watch. Saa''ryu stretched as she whispered "Two of my sisters are on the way" He eyed the trio again, they were expecting him to talk as Lucrezia was the one in charge whenever it came to this little group of hers, much like the other two villains had their gangs and an army of hired goons thanks to Lucrezia''s parent''s money (Later to be found out it was Galius doing the funding) He also spotted Knights that he was sure fought in the battle, those he could taste the fear in their Ki. A very weird sensation, likely thanks to his War Blessings. Neptune broke the silence, she was always the sharpest in the trio and was quickly putting two and two together as she spoke "Furiae is a name Knights gave to the warrior women from Grannarius in the war 30 years ago, that Fray would call you that means" "Your Knight was insulting Lu? and what''s with that Ponytail by the way? didn''t we agree we would be picking each other''s haircuts?" Sapphire spoke cutting off her friend. Neptune sent her a nasty glare, shutting the poor girl down. "This isn''t the time for beauty talk Sapphire, and Fray wouldn''t insult a friend of mine. Not with a good godsdamned reason" Kassandra turned to Marcel and said "Knight, I order you to explain what in the hells is going on" He frowned as he spoke "By the order of both your father and the Knight Commander I am not allowed to do so Lady Kassandra" Sapphire was about to speak when Fray punted the girl''s chair to the side, she screamed as a blade clad in crimson Ki slashed the table in two. Its aim pointed at William, "You killed my wife! my son! Saal''Xhir whore I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD!" An elven woman tall and elegant bellowed from the side, armed in full plate and burning off enough Ki to set off the Knights nearby. Saa''ryu threw a smoke bomb at her feet as William dodged out of the way. A gust of pressurized Ki blasted the smoke away as William saw the blade flash again in a skill any melee player would know from the game. The Wrath Step was a 5 hit combo one learned from the Knight William had killed. Time slowed down as his blessings kicked into overdrive, at once he summoned enough iron to bar the first 3 hits but the sheet gave way to steel as his Magi-Tech arm took the last two, he kicked the woman and bellowed using divine energy to amplify his voice. "KAINE!" A bolt of pure mana manifested right in front of him as Kaine landed together with Orthus and Richard who were holding a chair to defend himself. Kaine immediately summoned his battle gear and staff as the sight of Magi-Tech armor scared off a few of the Knights who were behind the elven woman, Orthus summoned a spectral Warhammer and roared a war cry. From the corner of his eyes, William saw 2 female figures dashing towards him as Saa''ryu gave them hand signals and summoned the orc shield and William''s dragonbone ax for him" "Are we doing this Lucrezia? Right here and right now?!" Kaine asked with a bit of fear in his voice. "Whatever you did to piss off that elf it must''ve been bad Lucrezia! Come tree hugger I am ready!" Orthus screamed as Richard whelped behind him. "Saa, a weapon for Richard" William barked an order and the maid nodded as she pulled a prototype Magi-Tech spear and tossed it to the man holding a chair trying to intimidate men in plate armor. He smiled and grabbed the weapon and stood ready. William saw how Fray''s eyes burned in rage as he slowly but surely crept away from Neptune to join the Elf, Neptune must''ve noticed this as she bellowed "Ser Kaine! By the Oath, you are bonded to I DEMAND you to stand down" Like a puppet with his strings cut the Knight stopped dead on his tracks, Marcel on the other hand had picked up both his charge and Sapphire and closed ranks with Neptune to the side, hopefully away from the upcoming conflict. Seeing that the elf wasn''t about to step down William let the beast loose and asked Saa''ryu for 5 vials of Magically enchanted Steel, with a groan of pleasure that earned him a few looks from the audience he summoned him Halo above his allies and got into a combat stance. Before he told Kaine to nail the Knights with arcane fire a red spear flew right in the middle of the "arena" they were in, William gasped as Kaine''s eyes popped from his sockets and he said "Arthur!" Marching together with 12 Knights in gilded plate, was a young man full of vigor and outrage in his face. William felt his heart explode in his chest as he forgot how to breathe, he was mesmerized by the man''s face only breaking the spell when he remembered the Third''s Prince hidden talent. "HIDE NOW!" William screamed to Lucrezia who did as he said and darted to their usual spot. Arthur marched to the middle of both parties and spoke in a tone only a royal would dare use towards nobles. "Lady Sapphire, order your Knights to stand down right now! This is an institution for learning, for building and making lasting friendships and I will not have some deranged Knight swinging their sword while we are in the middle of our lunch. Resolve this at once before I make this a Royal Issue" William couldn''t help but smile, A royal issue was the boogieman every noble told their children to fear, it was a rarely used but still much-feared way for the Royals to involve themselves directly when some noble house fucked up. Usually ending up with a small army of Royal Knights putting said nobles to the sword. And Arthur''s little posse of Knights was more than eager. Sapphire got spooked hard as she could barely speak, William decided to intervene and said "Do as he says" the girl conditioned to take orders from Lucrezia snapped back and said in the loudest voice she could muster "Ser Arandel! Stop this nonsense at once by the Oath you are bonded to!" William watched, would the Knight hellbent on revenge break her oath and go for the kill? She would lose her blessing but there was no need for a blessing to use Ki to slice and dice someone. He eyed Orthus and then eyed Kaine as if to say "Squishy but big damage, protect" the Orc smiled and nodded as both he and William went forward and Kaine fell back together with Richard who was doing his best to keep a straight face. William made a mental note to speak with Catarina later, so the poor dude didn''t get chewed by her. Arandel lost her steam as the soft sound of sobbing could be heard coming from her helmet, Fray dashed forward and took her away to a nearby exit as the other Knights who were following her made themselves busy. Arthur sighed and turned back to William who once again felt his heart beat faster. Bloody Hell Lucrezia! "If you could do the same Lady Lucrezia, and ask for your people to lower their weapons if you could be so kind" That was when he heard the telltale noise of bolt action rifles being loaded as the two Owl assassins popped in his flanks. The sound alone was enough to make the Knights who had come together with Arandel jump. Other survivors from the battle no doubt. William raised his hand and the two Assasins nodded as they became mist and disappeared. William gave his weapons to Saa''ryu and poked Richard who did the same. Kaine sent his battle gear and staff away as Orthus simply opened his hands and the spectral weapon puffed away from the mortal realm. "Shame about the table," Richard said trying to break the strange silence that had fallen. Kaine snapped his fingers and said "Gods you just reminded me of something, Lucrezia if you could please" Kaine made a gesture to summon William close as they walked to the table split in half "I think I can reverse time for the table if the calculations are right that is and the bore doesn''t smite me for playing with the river of time" William took some time to think "Nah she wouldn''t, It living beings that make Gwenarius get angry. A table should be fine go for it" he patted Kaine on the back and got a nasty glare for it as he cast a Chronomancy spell and "repaired" the table to its unbroken and still with contents on top of it. "Wait a minute..." Kaine said as everyone near took a few steps back. Never mind the fact the Arch-Mage son had become a Chronomancer, any noble worth their salt knew that mucking up with the Sphere of Time was the fastest way to ending a bloodline. After a minute passed and Kaine was alive and well he closed his fist with a victorious smile on his face "I knew the calculations were right!" Arthur cleared his throat as he sent his Knights away, the sea of people parting for their march. Richard not missing a beat took a seat at the fixed table and said "Anyone wants some tea? Maybe coffee?" William shot him a blink as he gave the order for Saa''ryu who in less than a minute had both in the table and ready to serve. And so Arthur, the 3 girls, and William''s new gang of friends sat together. It took a few minutes before normality returned to the cafeteria. William heard a few voices crying about the fight being cut short, others saying the day was boring and they were happy to get some real drama. Normal noble thinking he smirked as Arthur spoke "Kaine my friend! I am glad to see you, it''s been a while hasn''t it?" "Year and a half give or take, nice to see you as well Art" Kaine replied extending his hand towards the prince who shook it. "The rumors were true then? You can use Chronomancy with Gwenarius''s blessing?" Arthur asked unable to contain himself. "Aye my friend, all thanks to this mad lass of a woman" Kaine pointed to William as he felt Saa''ryus glare land on him "Respectfully I mean!" "Real smooth mage, I can tell you are a born natural ladies man," Orthus said while snickering, Richard giggled as William felt an alien pull inside of his chest. Closing his eyes he focused inwards and began to meditate, the world around him green silent as his mind slipped into the soul space.
Arthur cursed himself loudly as he woke up, of course, his ill-begotten powers would flare up now! right as he had stopped a bloodbath from happening on the very first day in the Academy. He had heard the official spiel from his father, and the unofficial one from his Jackal operative the king had attached to him, Under no circumstances was he to even lift a finger towards Lucrezia or her people, on pain of death. Of course, Arthur had no plans on avenging his brother, he always had a feeling Galius was up to no good and while he had no actual information on his late brother''s deeds. He could extrapolate his death was earned in those gods'' forgotten northern lands. So when he saw the woman with Kaine out of all people ready for a bloody brawl he had to do something! Kaine the one person, not even the prettiest young ladies (and a few young lords, one can''t say the nobles of Vermilion weren''t willing when it came to getting powerful people into their bloodline) couldn''t sway him from the Path of the Arcane and now the Madwoman of the North had him walking around with that strange war gear and fighting. with her! Arthur was raised together with the dude, he knew Kaine better than the rest as he often shared his woes regarding his inborn talents for Necromancy and Mind Magic. While others saw fit to ignore and mock the Arch-Mage''s son as a social pariah Arthur found a dependable if a foul-mouthed and eccentric friend who together managed to suppress his soul diving powers. Often he asked if Kaine had any crushes. or anything of the sort only for him to be waved away and told that "Emotions aren''t the be all end all of life" and that Arthur should "Focus more on magic" And now after spending a short few months with Lucrezia he comes back like this! Of course, he was told somehow Lucrezia gave him the chance to be blessed by the Goddess of Time and thus unlocked the secrets of Chronomancy. But surely that wouldn''t be enough to win him over like that right? Saal''Xhir... Arthur had an inkling the Goddess of Love must''ve had a hand in this, had Lucrezia tempted him with her body? She was a bit too tall for his tastes but still a beautiful young woman, could Kaine''s ascetic ways falter? All of this washed away as Arthur landed on a street made of some sort of uniformed stone, to both his sides stood gray buildings and a fancy waterway ran beside them. A soul realm! A feat only the Highest of necromancers could achieve! Arthur was barely working on his as it demanded immense control over soul, mind, and mana. A strong wind pushed him backward as he saw a mighty Monolith of obsidian stone in the distance. Feeling a pull dragging him towards it, Arthur went forward and saw myriad paths branching off this main road he was in, some leading to more buildings, others to forests, and others to battlefields. Whose soul was this he wondered? It felt alien, strange in impossible ways to describe, and yet there was a longing, a wish to make him happy, and something else he couldn''t rightly comprehend. Those feelings clashed silent around him as he neared the Monolith and saw a small engraving below it, a sense of incredible sadness smacked him across the chest as he read the engraving. "Here lies-" A headache assaulted him, strong enough to snap him back to the waking world as he looked around, the Orc Prince was still mocking Kaine which meant barely a few seconds had passed, he looked around and no one''s reaction had betrayed his accidental soul jump. As Arthur turned to speak with Kaine again he felt a pair of eyes drilling into him. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Azure in color and beautiful beyond belief, they stared in fear and anger as the face they were in was flash-frozen in a panic. Only for it to change to an amicable smile that did little to betray the panic behind them. She knew Arthur saw as Lucrezia''s face became a mask of collected calm, she fucking knew.
Lucrezia was pacing around her little room while struggling to breathe, something she thought impossible as she didn''t need to. Yet she could feel her heart beating like a war drum inside her chest, the strange feeling in the pit of her stomach and the sweat in her palms. Watching the Third Prince walk around her realm was something she couldn''t put in words. Fear of being found out, panic over William''s reaction in the outside world, or what a foreign soul could do to the precarious balance inside of her realm. All of these worries were making her go stir crazy! she wanted to punch a godsdamned target dummy with her magic to unleash her frustrations and fears on it, after a good while she went out and checked around the Monolith, looking for anything out of place with the strange god-made piece of soul magic. She touched and felt a slight shock run through her spine. It felt good, too good. "Stop it, it''s making me get red" William''s voice boomed from the sky before sounding like he was just on her side "I could barely concentrate as the Prince was walking around the place, did he do anything?" Lucrezia shook her head "He was about to read the Epitaph you made before something kicked him out of here" "It was me, I focused hard on his presence and tried my best to kick him out, pray we didn''t just do accidental necromancy," William said as he sighed "What a mess, Arthur wasn''t meant to come to the school in the first day, he only shows up after the protagonist gets here at the start of next week" She could feel his frustrations and anger, William often got mad when things went off script so to say. Especially when it came to the game''s events. "It was the battle, and Killing Galius" Lucrezia said as the boy hummed in agreement. "Yes, another variable we must keep track of it..." She could feel his emotions, he was trying hard to mute them but at this point was an exercise in futility, William was mad at himself, mad at Lucrezia and that anger was followed by a feeling of deep resignation and fear. "What''s wrong William?" Lucrezia asked trying to get a feel for his answer, some topics made the boy cagey and the best she got was non-answers. William sighed in defeat "You are asking me what''s wrong? Really?" he laughed but there was no humor in it "Fine I''ll tell you after the day is over, not like you haven''t figured this one out yet anyway"
William watched as the Prince cleared his throat to mask the awkwardness of the stare. It was still hard focusing on his face so much, it felt like he was slipping into a confused mental state just by doing it so. A sort of passive mind spell he wasn''t aware of it? Who could say as the events of his battle against Galius had already mucked up the events he had once known...At any rate, he still had to deal with the ongoing fallout of the Knight trying to slice him in half. Neptune, Sapphire, and Kassandra watched in silence and awe as Kaine traded stories with Arthur, while they were from respected noble houses they were still very much middle time players on the stage, their parents hoped that together with Galius they would become the next generation of movers and shakers of the Kingdom. Hope that William had smashed. "Where to start..." William said as he tapped the table and everyone went quiet waiting for him, Richard who had already helped himself to some of the food and tea said in a way only someone who had to live with Catarina Silverbrand could "Where every story starts Lady Lucrezia. The beginning!" Arthur nodded twice in agreement "The gentlemen is right Lady Lucrezia" he turned to Richard and said "Your name?" "Richard Silverbrand your highness, It is an honor to meet you" Richard didn''t miss a beat. His delivery was razor-sharp. Arthur smiled and gestured to William "It is as Richard here says, no better place to start a tale than the very beginning of it" Orthus raised a mug of tea as if it was filled with strong ale "Aye, I too wish to know why a Knight Commander nearly sliced a noble in broad daylight" Which earned a few grins around the table and some worried looks as well. William was struggling to find a compromise, say too much and he will be the talk of the town for longer than a few weeks, too little and he risks burning the bridge with both the Prince and Orthus. "Our reputation will be in tatters anyway once the news gets out, All you are doing is delaying the inevitable" Lucrezia whispered in his ear, with a sigh William drank his cup of tea and began the tale that had brought him and the young woman residing inside of his soul to this point. Of course most of the more complicated issues he didn''t talk about like his dealings with the mad king or the fact he was from goddamn Earth. Saa''ryu would often interject and elaborate on his musings. William watched as the faces of Lucrezia''s friends grew dark with worry, sometimes outrage, and others disgust as they digested his information and framed his actions in their minds, time seemed to get slower as he kept going. A round of ohs and gasps followed when he told them of what happened to Erwin''s family and his first kill. "The first Killing is a sacred rite of hardship for any warrior. To deliver this vermin righteous justice and avenge those who are loyal to you and your cause is the sign of a born leader" Orthus spoke with his borrowed wisdom, William continued only being interrupted when he told them his role in the salvation of the dwarves and status as head of the church of Ra''Tyrius. "So the arm, those weapons your people had, Magi-Tech?" Kassandra asked and William nodded a yes "Amazing, a brand new school of both magic and science!" Her face went red as she remembered the men and women William had killed with it. At this point, both Fray and Marcel had come back and stood behind their charges. William watched as Fray whispered something to Neptune and her face went a shade darker. William continued and spoke of his deal with Velkarius. Of his people''s suffering which made Neptune close her firsts in rage and how her parents were the perpetrators of it, their dealings with the terrors from beyond the stars, and William''s finding of Uumaries involvement on the whole debacle. That raised more than a few eyebrows as the girls jumped in defense of the Goddess. "I sent Friede to torch Talos to the ground that day, Uumaries and I are on a war footing and if the Goddess that hates Nobles like the denizens of the hells hate the living is willing to work with one that should tell you who was in the right that day," William said while staring the girls down, they all quieted down after that. No noble would even dare to speak Friede''s name with such conviction as William did. When William reached the part where he had to kill Lucrezia''s parents the table was still as a lake in the dead of winter. Kinslaying was a heinous crime and very few cases were known to have the culprit walk away alive. Orthus in particular frowned deeply as he spoke "A dangerous thing you did Lucrezia, for all their sins, for all their crimes they were still your flesh and blood, kin and sire. To raise your hand and wet your ancestral land with their blood is too grave a crime, Had that happened in my country..." He paused as he gathered his thoughts "And yet to consort with the enemies of All-Father, at the cost of an entire duchy''s worth of people for selfish reasons" He made a hand sign that warded off evil "I do not envy your position Lucrezia" "Few do" William replied. Sapphire spoke, her voice still shakey "But why did Arandel call you a Saal''Xhir whore Lu?" Kassandra snapped at her friend "Language!" "I had to ask! that''s not an insult to be thrown lightly, Kassandra!" Sapphire fired back as she turned back to William. "It is true, I was given a Greater Blessing by her after my battle against Uumaries" William broke the news hard and fast, a wave of gasps came from the girls as their faces grew red and William couldn''t help but smile at their reactions. Such a taboo among high society even when they were the first to turn to his "patron" Goddess when they wanted to throw some of the more exclusive parties in their summer and winter estates. "Goodness gracious Lucrezia! you must remove that at once! What will happen to the Wulfgre name if yo-" Neptune began talking and William raised his hand "The name of my Clan is already tainted beyond repair, this is but a small matter next to the rest of my journey" William of course didn''t tell them about his other blessings, no one needed to know he had 2 Imperium Gods and the All-Mother also watching over him. That could''ve gotten him in some seriously bad situations, not even the Arch-Duke could remove him from after all. William turned to the Knights and spoke in a soft voice "They will know what happened in that valley sooner or later. If not from me then for the other students of the Academy once the word gets out in mass, If your masters complain about it feel free to blame me for it. Gods know they are already doing that for more important things" The girls went quiet as Arthur spoke up. "The battle for Wulfgrem" William sighed as he began the telling of that particular day. Kaine interjected once or twice explaining the things from his side as the people around William focused on him. He didn''t shy away from telling them he had indeed killed the prince. Voices were raised, questions too as they demanded the why of it. To which William only replied that if the Royal Family wouldn''t share then he would when the time was right. Orthus raised a hand and spoke. "Surely you and your staff know how much gold you wasted in using those anti-magical weapons right? unless..." "It is better that you people do not know state secrets yes," William said with a smile. At this point the cafeteria had returned to normal, people were already gossiping about William but that wasn''t an issue for him. As duchess he enjoyed power only the Prince could match and he doubted any of the students would make a move on him. They would on the other hand make very mean comments about him, He laughed to himself a little which earned a look from the girls. "Hmm? Oh yes, I am just laughing at the upcoming week, the rumor mill will drag my name through the mud before classes start in earnest" he made a gesture with his arm "They all heard our little convo after all but no matter, who would dare cross a Duchess" William finished talking. "Especially one who killed a Prince, what''s the title of the second or third son to a marquis or baron next to that?" Fray spoke his voice trembling. Marcel was deadly quiet as the weight of William''s tale finally hit him and his charge, Lucrezia old friends stared at William and their faces told him what he and more importantly Lucrezia feared. That friendship they had was destroyed. How would they socialize and network with someone that''s on a war footing with the ruler of the kingdom? who wetted the ground with royal blood for nebulous reasons they weren''t privy to? Lucrezia was a Pariah now, and if they wished to remain in the good graces of High Society the only call to make was to break ties with their old friend, if that old friend even existed after the harrowing months she went through that is. William sighed, Lucrezia asked for him to be gentle with them. They weren''t bad people, spoiled maybe but not bad. At least that was what she kept telling him as he got ready. "I understand" William paused as he stared at the three "Kassandra, Sapphire you two should take better care of your Knights, they aren''t tools to be used and discarded at a whim. These men and women will lay their lives down for you and it is only right you show them equal respect" the girls were quiet as he continued "The time we shared was a good one but I wouldn''t want to jeopardize your future and that of your Houses" William got up and bowed, together with Orthus and the rest of his party he went back to his desk. The prince did the same and silence fell around the 3 young women as they processed what had happened. Sapphire felt her eyes getting wet but she sucked her tears in as she turned to Fray and said "Ser Fray right? you were there? in the battle I mean?" Fray was taken by surprise as the young lady who barely noticed he was there suddenly called him out, but then again who wouldn''t want to know about a battle that had claimed royal blood? "Aye, aye I was there My Lady" Sapphire hesitated a little before speaking "The Arch-Mage''s son spoke of his side of the deal but..." "You wish to hear mine?" Fray asked dreading the answer, the girl nodded thrice and so he began talking. "Your Knight Commander went down before we could do anything, but the mercenaries the Prince had hired got hit worse. Lucrezia had fire raining from the skies like half of her forces were high-level mages, Ardarite dust blocking our magic from those dreaded weapons and the noise" Fray had to reign himself as he noticed the girls staring at his hands, they were shaking. "Fray?" Neptune spoke, "Is that?" "The curse aye, I only got shakes and night terrors but the rest of the poor sods in the Redeemer church are far far worse than me" He stopped himself and continued "Once word got out the Mercenaries had fallen the Prince sprung to action and all hell broke loose, the woman charged us and no matter how much we stabbed, slashed, slung miracles and fired arrows she would not stop. It was like a demon came from the dark pits of hells to kill us all" Fray spoke slowly trying to control the shakes. "...Some of the people blessed by Saal''Xhir they can develop strange habits and ways to unleash their Goddess''s blessing, Lucrezia was moaning before the battle," Kassandra said in a low voice. "Battle Lust Lady Kassandra, a horror to find in the battlefield. Saal''Xhir''s paladins are infamous for using it" Marcel spoke fast "We were lucky the prince came when he did, the battle would''ve gone horrible" "But the Knights!" Neptune spoke but Sapphire cut her off "Did you not see the bloody son of the Arch-Mage with a godsdamned armor and that orc thrice your size? Lucrezia killed 3 Knight Commanders!" "Her hair looked like shit," Kassandra said as the girls looked at her "What it''s true! she let herself go and that''s a shame, Lu always was the paragon of fashion" they sighed together as Neptune got up "Let us meet again tomorrow, I believe we all need the rest of the day off to digest all of this...If anything happens send me a message ok?" Unsaid was the fact Neptune was taking charge, something the other two didn''t mind. They had lost a friend and a leader, it was only right someone else stepped up to the position.
"Thank you, William You kept your word," Lucrezia said as William washed, the dorm room had a private shower and he was making ample use of it as he felt the warm water hit his body with a force short of a punch. He got out of the shower and dried himself, walking in the nude around the room felt so liberating he didn''t even blink as he lay down in his bed, there was no sign of his roommate so he had the curtains closed and the door locked as the glory of Lucrezia''s body was all but revealed to Saa''ryu who was writing a report on the table looking bored out of her mind. "I hope you don''t mind?" Wiliam asked feeling a bit self-conscious but still riding the high. Saa''ryu rolled her eyes and kept at her work clearly, the maid didn''t mind and so William stared at the ceiling waiting for sleep to claim his body, he chuckled at himself for a second. "I didn''t know you were into voyeurism William," Lucrezia said as William woke up in their shared realm. He smiled "Don''t blame me, blame that fight, and our patron Goddess" He shot her a smile as he lay down in the grass feeling the stress bleed away. Lucrezia plopped behind him and said "Uh-huh, sure let''s pretend I will believe that, listen we gotta talk" "Can''t I just, enjoy this moment of peace before we start this?" William fired back with his eyes closed "I guess not" William got up and sat straight as he sighed and spoke once again "Why didn''t you tell me?" "You think I knew?! Do you honestly think I via some 3 D mind fuckery was hiding my undying love for the Prince?! Foolish Terran! You can FEEL my EMOTIONS!" Lucrezia stomped her feet on the ground "Of all things to get upset about this, this is the one?!" she screamed at him as she dragged her hands through her face and hair "I. Did. Not. Fucking. Knew" "We always had doubts you know? The community always thought Lucrezia hadn''t been mind-altered like the other two villainesses and she truly loved the Prince, that''s why she fought to the bitter end and eventually ended up the way she did at the end game stage..." William got up as he walked towards the Monolith "Heh, Guess we now know don''t we?" "So you don''t mind? Feeling such feelings for a man?" Lucrezia asked, her voice still betraying her outrage. William shook his head "These are your feelings Lucrezia, not mine. I am no bigot nor do I like to engage in self-hatred, after all this" William tapped the Monolith with his palm "this beyond you and me, it would be beyond unreasonable for me to blame you. But you could''ve at least said something" Lucrezia grunted "Don''t you dare! "said something"? How about you first then?! You who know so much and yet refuse me whenever I ask or try getting access to the memories you locked away! Are you afraid of me seeing you having sex with your ex-girlfriend?! your bloody search history?! Who are you to even imply I am hiding information when you do the same!" William felt a slight vacuum in the air to his left and he immediately burst into action. Lucrezia''s katana flashed blue as the woman slashed from a good 30 meters away. William without missing a bit summoned a full aegis spell and a halo of gleaming steel. Jumping backward he hurled steel spears at her and she dodged or parried them to the sides as she conjured small daggers made out of arcane and did the same. It was like fighting a mirror, every spell William hurled at her she dodged with grace or parried away and did the same, they were locked in a dance of death as William began using iron spikes to deliver high mana Lightning Strikes as he prepared a massive slab of steel over his head. The spell went off and he heard her struggling to deflect such power, with a dash he went forward and slammed his improvised weapon towards her, only for her blade to intercept the strike and both of them lock onto each other. Steel grinding against steel as Lucrezia''s eyes bore into him and he felt the depth of her frustrations thanks to today''s events, her rage, and her honest desire to protect him from harm. Could she feel his feelings as deep as he did William wondered? He had done so much to avoid unnecessary drama, to avoid hurting the one he was changing her life in such a drastic way even after countless times where Lucrezia was more than willing to let him in, to accept him in his imperfections, yet that fear remained nested in the deepest part of his mind. In accepting Lucrezia''s inner desires they would no doubt become his own, would he then fall in love for Arthur? even when he did not incline men? William didn''t want to steal Lucrezia''s experience with love by being in charge of the doing and making the poor woman watch either. They had to get that goddamn Necromancy permit soon... "I am sorry Lu, But I am not ready to openly talk about this yet," William said dropping his magic weapon "But I can compromise, if you want you can see the memories I have been keeping away now" "I''ll be here when you are ready to talk about William, I will always be here," Lucrezia said as she dropped her weapon, both of them stared each other down as the silence dragged on and William could feel the heat in his cheeks rise as Lucrezia got closer and he could feel the warmth of her breath in his face, he plopped down on the ground and once again lay there, cooling his head as he heard Lucrezia sigh. "What''s her name?" Lucrezia asked. "The player choice''s, but according to the devs the internal name for the main character was Hope" William replied watching the skies "Pretty name isn''t it?" Lucrezia nodded as she sat down by him "Pretty indeed" Chapter 36: We make do "That we did not kill the mad king and his equally mad queen is nothing short of a disgrace" Report from an anonymous Knight following the war against Grannarius. William was doing his morning exercises in the far end of the public gym, it was common knowledge from the game that the weights and other equipment at the entrance were tampered with magic to make the noble scions feel good about their workout without putting in the actual effort, most even skipped such play and went straight to a mage capable of fine-tuning their bodies to their utmost desires. If one had enough capital for it of course. "My Lady, your appointment with the Necromancers has been approved and fast-tracked to today at noon, those books you had me deliver made the clerk woman almost panic which is a rare sight for liches" Saa''ryu reported her voice betraying a laugh at the expanse of the poor lich "As for your training with Father, while the man is more than willing to accommodate your request we had to kick back to the end of the week, something came up" William smiled, that something was a mark on a powerful warlord from the Shogunate, the Owl would be moving his entire crew bar the ones already in other jobs to get the sucker, that included the shadow detail William had hired for himself, according to Saa''ryu the women were very happy with the new weapons which was always a plus when dealing with underlings. Less chance of getting a knife to the back that way he thought. "I am glad he could make the time for a noble''s request, will you be joining us Saa?" William asked as his maid scowled "Ugh! No I won''t, gods spare me from more sessions on how to keep my balance on poles so thin they might as well not exist" she shook her head "Lu are you sure this is ok?" Saa''ryu said in a whisper "These Knights aren''t looking too friendly you know" And she was right, most of the Knights on detail for nobles were working out here as well (a clue for the players to notice the weight lifting minigame at the start of the gym was fake) And they were staring daggers at William, after all, he had murdered their brothers and sisters in cold blood and came out of it with minor repercussions. Knights all over the Academy would be giving him the stinky eye. "Don''t mind them, they won''t move a finger" William said "They know I am under the Arch-Duke''s protection and once news of Galius plots get out they will lessen their hostility" William sighed "We must instead look towards my fellow students, those will be the ones who lack the good sense and will try to do something" He was a threat to their status quo now, and even as Duchess some would come for him. "Well, the day''s still young! Let us hit the forges for I have deals with the Forgers" William had Saa''ryu cast a cleaning spell so he wouldn''t be all sweaty and hot but that would be undone as soon as he reached the Forger''s quadrant of the Academy, where all manner of both student and teachers would ply their trade, a hub for those who were not of noble blood, the Forgers were a strong faction within the school. Following closer by the Tailors and the Mage Society, this trinity was the bastion of defense for the commoners who dared to thread upon noble soil and achieving max rank with them gave the protagonist ample means to defend herself from the bullying employed by the Villainesses and their thugs. Of course, many other smaller factions existed in the Academy''s ground and they could also work with the protagonist or against it, depending on the player''s action that is. And so William out of a sense of nostalgia and paranoia set out to forge these ties himself, his plan was a simple one. Without Lucrezia to form the coalition against the protagonist she would in theory be able to enjoy life in the Academy free of any harassment, a part of him wanted to neatly insert himself in that picture of happiness but Lucrezia had spoken against it, it would seem like he was manipulating the Protagonist and Arthur would likely sniff him out. Arthur would fall for the protagonist, it was the most popular pairing and one the devs supported the most. And so after a lengthy talk with Lucrezia, they came under the agreement that: First they would seek how to undo the soul meld via Necromancy and Mind Magic, Second they would establish a strong base of power and influence in the Academy with the factions and major players using William''s knowledge. To further their sphere of influence over the Kingdom. Worthy goals according to Lucrezia, even if a bit ambitious. And so together with Saa''ryu and his new friends, they moved towards it. First on the list? dealing with the Necromancers! The plan was simple on that one but time-consuming. To win their trust William followed one of the many strategies the game had, the most common one was doing odd jobs for them until they accepted you and grind out the ranks. For the more esoteric player who had done their research in the in-game library of the Academy before, they could do a small "test" where one would try to come up with a way to improve the public view of Necromancy to the world. A fiendishly hard tactic as many Villians was prone to using unsanctioned Necromancy to further their goals and thus the public eye was very unkind to its legal practitioners. William wrote up 4 small short stories that would be published in the journals of Vermilion in the hopes of doing just that, these stories were lifted from the game as they were tailored for the quest in question, with a few artistic liberties taken by William to shore up the more archaic tone and delivery of them. He had Saa''ryu deliver the books and thus his request to learn Necromancy was fast-tracked. And so William went towards the Forgers to deal with the good people there, for later he would dance with the dead!
Forgemaster Ironbeard was a tired dwarf. Barely 21 winters on his back and he wanted out of the "great honorable" work his parents put him up to do in this blasted Academy. Oh, it will be an honor! the youngest Forgemaster of the clan! Ironbeards across the world would raise a pint of ale to your name! like honey these sweet words tricked him into accepting this cursed position and now he had no one to blame but himself. Kastrus Ironbeard Forgermaster of the Academy! how he cursed that title! and yet he was too proud to just call it quits, he knew he could do it hell he knew some were even waiting for him to give up but he would grind his teeth and push back the bile, locked in this endless battle of his desires and want against the good of the clan and tradition. But before he could do his daily routine of self-hatred and angst his door was knocked, with a bark he told whoever was knocking to enter and a demure elven lass got in, her short wheat golden hair and pair of crimson eyes drilling into him. Godsdamned Vampires Kastrus thought one would think this undead would be a menace to society and hunt down with extreme prejudice. Only for him to find out after he left his clan lands that only the dwarves of Steinheim viewed the undead with distrust, the rest of the world moved on after the God of Undeath spent years effectively stamping out prejudice and raising the stock of his flock as good law-abiding god-fearing members of society. "Stop giving me that stare Kastrus, the sun can''t burn me to ash neither can you," The vampire said with a smug smile "Here''s today paperwork and complains by the know elements of our faction" A pile of paper was dropped in his desk and he sighed as he said "Glassblowers again? I can''t get that bloody formula from the Imperials, they are asking for half our budget!" "It''s a shitshow alright," the vampire said "But I have some good news for you, my dear!" Kastrus''s eyes opened "You never have good news Amarille Ye gods what the fuck happened now" but she didn''t answer and simply made a gesture for him to follow and against his better Judgment Kastrus went after her. The cacophony of sounds was something the young dwarf had already grown accustomed to, he could pinpoint a hammer being used to forge something, the screams of teachers and students, even other crafts he had no personal experience in like the aforementioned glassblowers or the goldsmiths working their craft to make jewelry for the ladies and gentlemen of the capital. Leather turned into armor for dungeon divers, ropes, and potions. All this and more was his domain and he knew it all so after a short while following his undead secretary he heard a voice unknown, feminine and strong it spoke with conviction and grace as she ordered layabouts to fashion armor and weapons. Kastrus strained his ears and could listen that said voice was also doing the work, like the more proactive teachers and masters who would work alongside their charges to better imprint the fine details of their particular craft. "I have a message from the head of the Tailors, she wants some of the leatherworkers to help in some project of theirs," Amarille said as she licked her lips and opened the door where the strange voice was coming from. "Indulge them, we owe them much from last spring" Kastrus may hate his position but he had nothing but respect for his peers, Ynaselle and Bryfina helped him much in his first year as Forgemaster and he owed both much. Some of the more old guards were not happy he was chummy with the heads of the Tailors and Magical Society but they could piss off for all Kastrus cared. Goodwill and Loyalty are to be rewarded and he would not be the one known as an ingrate and rude oaf for refusing help. "Put your backs on it! C''mon lads are you not members of the forgers?! The great hammer would weep if it saw such virile and strong people laying about like they were followers of the poet!" The voice bellowed as Kastrus and Amarille saw the "layabouts" who were usually sons and daughters of nobles and merchants of low status in their houses working like they were dwarves of yore right before a great battle! The selfsame people who just yesterday were crying and complaining about not being treated with a velvet glove, for even if they were seconds daughters and third sons they were still blue blood who had never worked a day in their lives. The worst type to be sent to the Forgers of the Academy. "Gods above are those mana crystals?" Kastrus pointed to a layabout hammering a mana crystal of pure mana into some sort of contraption. The fool would blow up half the workshop if he kept at it! But then he felt his blessing snap into gear and clarity calmed his mind as information was given to him straight from the Patron Deity of all dwarfs. "Magi-Tech" He spoke the words and the Vampire nodded with a wicked smile showing her predator''s teeth. "Aye Kastrus, and the lass there is the High Priestess of it!" Amarille said licking her lips "The bloody Duchess herself working our forges like she''s an old hand can you bloody believe it! The newspaper will have a field day if they catch her here" Kastrus snapped his head towards the woman in question, tall and pale as most northern folks were known to be, her hair was neatly tied in a ponytail as its ashen gray color betrayed time in the forge. Her azure eyes were as striking as Amarille''s and after a short few seconds, she found his gaze and smiled. A warm smile that had a nostalgic air to it as if she knew Kastrus for a long time. "Bossman is here folk! That armor better be ready!" A cheer was heard as Kastrus flanked by Amarille walked up to the young woman and said "Welcome to the Forgers Lady Wulfgrem, I am Forgemaster Ironbeard and this is my right hand Amarille of the Bloodmoon" the vampire gave a proper bow betraying her ties to the High Elven royals which earned her a smile from the Wulfgrem. Ye gods Kastrus thought to himself if the woman knew about Amarille''s past this could get nasty real quick. "Please, call me Lucrezia! After all, I am but a newly initiate here in the great Forger''s domain. It is an honor to meet you Kastrus Ironbeard and Amarille" Lucrezia extended her hand that was dirty with soot and crystal dust as Kastrus gave her a good dwarven shake, a tried and true way to see if the person wasn''t just faking their mastery in the forge. And Lucrezia passed the test. The vampire gave her a bow and said "We would be honored to have such an esteemed person in our humble group! I am sure Kastrus here agrees with me right Kastrus?" But Kastrus wasn''t listening, instead, he felt a pull towards a weapon one of the layabouts was forging, It looked like a sword but there was something more in ore, he saw a pile of mana crystals beside it and extended his hand just as the layabout moved out of the way with a fervent smile on her face. His blessing told him it was not just a blade, with a pulse of his mana the blade morphed into a bow, then a Warhammer, and even a katana from the east! "You can have that as a symbol of our lasting partnership Kastrus" A voice whispered to him and he nearly jumped, the woman was by his side and he had not even noticed, he heard the blasted vampire hold a laugh and sighed. Kastrus had heard about the heretics of Magi-Tech, to merge arcane with science as it was the imperative of the son of the Goddess of Magic and God of Science, in his heart of hearts he was happy something new was happening in the field and was against the persecution but he far removed from the powers that be to make a difference in his home. But now he had power, where he was the Forgemaster and he would give this brand new way of forging an honest chance to thrive. "Aye Duchess, a lasting partnership indeed" he nodded and took the prototype weapon "I am to assume you will take this motley crew under your wing then? she nodded and said "My maid here will talk with your girl in the coming days of my plans but the short of it is this: I want to open a Magi-Tech workshop and teach the next generation of Magi-Tech priests and workers to further my God''s Sphere in the capital, of course, I will be footing the bill and the material needed for it but together with the Forgers I hope to have a safe and active environ to show the world the wonders of Magi-Tech. Be they for civilian or military use. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Kastrus liked the sound of that, he gave her another handshake and said "And you shall have it Lucrezia, on the Forgemaster Honor"
"I''ve forgotten how ominous their church is, mind you. I have sneaked into places no sane women would go but that was me being on a job" Saa''ryu said to William as they walked towards the plaza where the church of Martius the Unbroken. "Weren''t you here just a day ago?" William asked and his maid grunted, not a fan of spooky locales it seems. Not that the place was spooky, on the contrary, it was quite a welcoming sight if one did not know the inside of it was full of necromancers and soul entities who could perform the worst of magicks around. William decided to take a few minutes before going in if he got the attention of the Head Necromancer, that bag of bones was always busy and missing her meetings even when her secretary kept bugging her. "The game''s interaction with Martius and his flock fascinate me, I knew in a surface level the God worked twice as hard to clean the name of his magicks but to think he went through such a length is nothing short of inspired given his duties with the flow of souls and all that" Lucrezia spoke in his ear "Yet the only reason he even deigned the player an audience was due to the All-Father''s blessing William, we lack that and even with an entity duchy backing him it would pale in comparison" "Not so much as pale as put him in a very complicated but common situation, rulers wanting to use necromancy for their own goals instead of that of Martius, who knows all too well how many sectors of the economy and society his skeletons and other mindless minions would bring down thanks to cheap and tireless labor, there''s many a treatise and documents from renowned economics and rulers in the Academy if you want me to read it for you" William finished as Lucrezia gave him a silent yes. She was very passionate when it came to learning new things about running her lands sometimes. Other times it was a chore. "Are you sure the knowledge to undo the meld is there?" she asked "To undo magick brought by the gods themselves is no easy task" "But we will do it nevertheless, I made you a promise and I intend to keep it, now let us meet my favorite skeleton" William got up and called Saa''ryu who was feasting on street food, with a sigh he pulsed mana across his body and the Academy uniform shifted, below the fabric his Magi-tech armor made itself manifest. Saa''ryu nodded and readied her weapons just in case. Opening the grand doors to the church of Martius the Unbroken William was met with silence unnatural to this world, shuffling about were his followers many of which were junior necromancers or entities of the soul only, their corporeal flesh long abandoned, William smiled at the familiar sight and headed to the reception area where he spotted a Cat-kin woman, barely 20 years of age but only in looks alone. Castra-Wan was the latest of a long line of necromancers who dedicated their lives to serve Martius the Unbroken. Her family was the tip of the spear against rogue necromancers and mind mages with her Great Grandmother being known as the First Scythe. Her younger sibling Castra-Cam was currently attending the Academy to learn about the living and their ways. Alas, Castra-Wan had no love for the hunting and slaughter of her patron''s enemies, a gentle soul who loved books and her time, she was the first in her family to not become a Scythe, asking instead for the position of receptionist in the main church of Martius, something that caused quite the stir in her family, to the point the First Scythe herself was disappointed with her choice. William saw the Cat-Kin woman jump when he and Saa''ryu got near "Oh my! Lady Lucrezia! Your meeting I-I will have the Head Priestess ready for you at once!" and she ran off to the Woman''s office. 5 minutes later William met with a tall Orc woman, her face pale beyond natural but with a warm smile "We welcome you Duchess Wulfgrem to our humble abode, please if you would follow me to my room"
The head priestess tapped her finger on the table "Surely you understand the risk of what you are asking? Nobles are not known for their right usage of the arts and we had to put many a noble scion down lest we had an undead army of peasants touching the countryside" the orc sighed "I have read your work and had you not being tied to the matters of state as tightly as you are there would be no issue granting the request" William rolled his eyes "I do not need an of zombies and skeletons, Magi-Tech alone would be more than enough to defend my people and land. I also do not wish to fall, victim to the First Scythe" The priestess''s eyes narrowed but she didn''t speak. "We are getting nowhere William, even with those bloody propaganda books you wrote" Lucrezia spoke, William puffed out and decided to use his secret weapon. Deep below the church of the Unbroken therein lies a chamber where they test a Lich''s emotional and rational responses to their utmost limit, many followers of the Unbroken feel that the usage of the chamber is a gross violation of basic rights, and to this day debates rage on the fate of the chamber. All William needed to do was say that he would subject himself to this hellish apparatus and earn their trust. He knew Lucrezia would no doubt get mad at him, scream and fight for he once again was hurting himself for her, in her mind that is. But William also knew he had to do it, he needed those spells and the expects of the church to help and guide him lest he fully usurps Lucrezia''s life, God knows he had already fucked up hard enough that whatever came after it would be hard for her. He had to make things right, whatever it took to right the wrong he caused. "William..." Lucrezia whispered to his mind with a resigned tone but said no more. "If you doubt my words Head Priestess then let my actions be judged by you and yours, I ask that the Chamber of Woe is made ready for the Trial" William spoke, conviction cold as steel rang in his voice as the Necromancer in front of him gasped. "Curses and Hellfire are you insane woman?! Do dare ask for that! The last time someone asked for the trial she became a thrice-damned abomination against all that''s holy and sacred!" she cleared her throat "Ahem, unholy Forgive me o lord" William stared her down and said "I wrote the propaganda books, I can have a king''s ransom donated to the institution by the morrow. Just let me use that godsdamned chamber so none of your people think I am a lunatic trying to raise an undead army" "This is not a decision that I can call without talking with my fellows, But I can see it in your eyes you don''t seek to cheat us. Bet it thanks to your morals or fear of the Scythe, very well by the morrow I will have a response Lady Wulfgrem" William bowed his head, his departure from the church was a fast one as Lucrezia''s presence withdrew to the deepest reaches of the soul realm, she was mad at him and he knew it.
"Welcome welcome Lady Lucrezia! The Mages of the Academy are humbled someone of such esteem and fame would visit us" The elven young woman spoke with a smile on her face. Ynaselle the leader of the Mage Faction greeted William as she conjured some tea and snacks. Twilight had come for the capital and William watched in silent wonder as the many mage towers and other magical facilities around the Academy light up in many a color. "The night rainbow is as beautiful as the stories say huh" He spoke and the elven woman nodded "Aye, many people come to the capital only to see these sights did you know? a major source of tourism revenue that" William ate the snacks and felt a cool mint taste, the tea was also equally refreshing as he gazed towards the windows. "I have already spoken with Bryfina and Kastrus, it seems you would like to establish a healthy relationship with our little group here aye? Kaine also put in the good word about you and that alone was more than enough for me to say yes but tell me, what is it that you seek from me and the others? Surely a Duchess does not need to improve her social standing in the Academy?" Ynaselle tapped her teacup "Nor wealth or connections as my people have already reported you dealings with the Silverbrand boy and his mother" William smiled, it made sense why they would get weird out when someone as powerful as him would come knocking asking for something he already had or could get in the blink of an eye, Alas William knew the woman speaking with him, he knew she lusted for magical knowledge like a dog after a bone. The same way Bryfina was in a mad rush to find some sacred piece of artwork deep in the Dragon''s dungeon, or how Kastrus loathed to work as Forgemaster and only kept going thanks to his cute vampire secretary even if he wouldn''t admit it to himself or the others. And he would deliver those desires to them, not as blackmail but as a trusted ally and friend who would help them and their factions through thick and thin. He was no sociopath, he liked these people when they were simple lines of code with a few text boxes. Why would he treat them badly now? "Would you believe me if I said all I want is to forge strong bonds with the people that will call this place their home for the next 5 or so years? And that I would not fall for the tired old cliche of a haughty noble who looks down on those that aren''t of equal standing" "I do not wish to use you and yours to further my goals here, nay my goal is to fully enjoy my time in this wonderful place of learning, the good and the bad both and together with the friends I''ve made and those I am yet to made we would make beautiful memories and strive for to be the best in any field we choose to pursue" "For someone who tore her way against Knights and killed a Royal you have a very positive outlook in your years here huh? But I can''t deny I was a bit touched by your little speech" Ynaselle snapped her fingers and said "My Familiar will contact Bryfina and report to her that I have accepted your "proposition" I would tell you to speak with her later but she''s busy and only will be available at the end of the month" "Plus you gave Kaine godsdamned Time Magic! even if those two told you to sod off I would welcome you! and he told you aren''t that bad of a mage yourself... even if you favor melee over the arcane" Ynaselle laughed "Aye we have a bit of an issue with warriors masquerading as would-be acolytes only to learn a spell and flunk our classes and I hope you will not do the same Lady Lucrezia" "Please, just Lucrezia" William said with a smile "And no, I don''t plan on being so crass, nevermind Kaine there are quite a few things I must learn here with your people" "Lucrezia it is then, truth be told I am not a fan of being formal, left home thanks to it since everyone and their ancestor has a stick where the sun doesn''t shine when it comes to proper decorum" Ynaselle summoned more snacks and William began explaining his plans on how he would support the trinity with raw materials, goods and personnel should they wish for help with establishing Magi-Tech in the Academy. Ynaselle was fascinated with the Idea, as someone who dabbled in enchanting and was a master conjurer she was beyond excited with what Magi-Tech could bring to her fields and beyond, more still was that she was sure her other mages would be also welcoming to it. "Now Lucrezia if you don''t mind me asking, my people tell me you have command over Magnetism and Electromagnetism is that correct?" there it was William thought, out of all elements in the world Ynaselle was obsessed with those two. Something about a secret project of hers that the player never gets more details in-game. "Have you a need of my humble skills Ynaselle?" William teased the Elf who blushed to her ears, oops he thought as he felt the Sigil of Shaa''Xhir flare in his body. "Forgive me, this Greater Blessing is...Hard to control" William said embarrassed as the Ynaselle waved him off "Think nothing of it, we have a few with your condition here and it''s normal trust me" she cleared her throat "And yes I do need someone with good grasps on those elements for a project of mine" she pulled a piece of parchment "If you would be so kind to help me with it?" The parchment was the same as the in-game version of it, a small fluf text on how Magnetism had more capabilities than just messing with metals and such, nothing new there as William gave her the paperback and said "I would love to, just name the time and day" They shook hands and Ynaselle told him she would send a message via her Familiar when she had a date ready, William left for his dorm with a happy smile on his face. He had now the support of the biggest non-noble faction in the game. Together with their people and facilities, he would further Magi-Tech into the Kingdom!
William was doing his morning run together with Saa''ryu as dawn just started to break over the Academy, the air was cool from the morning dew and William was feeling very good. Even if he was about to be subjected to what many people both here and on Earth would call torture. As he made his way to the gym area where the weights weren''t enhanced to make nobles feel good he felt eyes on him, Saa''ryu had already noticed and with a silent incantation called for her shadowy sisters. After his morning gym session was done William decided to head for the arena where students and Knights would often spar among themselves inside the gym, it wasn''t as grand as the one where he fought before but it was ample enough space for whatever or whoever was tracking him to get a good old fashioned walloping. The place wasn''t deserted which boggled William''s mind, he saw a few nobles having sparring sessions with their Knights, and lonely Knights fighting against props and dummies. Saa''ryu was about to speak when she dashed forward and pulled her guns, from thin air her sisters emerged armed with Magi-Tech rifles and pointed forward as William turned and saw 3 women in full plate armor, the sigil in their breastplate making very clear who sent them after him. Uumaries! "Halt! Unrepenting blasphemer, we the Paladins of Uumaries have come to deliver you warning!" with a boot stomp they summoned a scroll and read its content. "By decree of Her Holiness Uumaries, you are to leave the Academy and the Capital! Return to your foul northern lands and never return! Should you not-" William conjured a small iron rod and pierced the magical decree with his magic. He shot a glance towards a bunch of old rusted weapons left in a bin for disposal and with a flick of his fingers bend them into a shining halo. "Another word, Uumaries dog and I will be the first in 10 years to sully the Academy''s ground with blood today" The leader of the Paladin gang gasped in fear "You would not d-dare! we are holy warriors! to kill us would be a-" "What is a bunch of third and fourth daughters of low nobility next to a Prince? next to the town of Talos? I can get you like a fish and walk away with zero repercussions! Come then! See if your Goddess will interject and protect you as I tear into your chest and remove your heart with my bare hands! Break your bones limb by limb! Come Uumaries dogs! and see what the people who foolish dared to steal my lands saw months back!" That broke their spirit as the Paladin to the right of the leader screamed and ran away as if William was already killing her friends, the second did a double-take and with a shrug ran as well. "Come O holy warrior! Test thy Mettle against me! Come!" William was going too deep and he felt a jolt at the back of his head, Lucrezia no doubts stopping him from actually killing the Paladin. The leader ran away as William saw his maid wave off her sisters, at this point they had attracted a small crowd who likewise made themselves scarce as the Paladins ran off. "That''s not going be the last of Uumaries," Saa''ryu said and William nodded. Not the last indeed.
William felt immeasurable pain and suffering as the chamber closed its door on him, agony greater than the wounds he sustained in the battle for Wulfgrem burned into his very soul as he screamed himself hoarse. Lucrezia tried to help him she did but even she was feeling the pain deep as it was, the very Monolith trembled and writhed like a living being, William went to his knees as the essence of the God of Undeath and Necromancy pressured him testing his resolve. To give up would mean losing it all, the only path towards him giving Lucrezia her body back, even if he would be living as a soul entity or even a lich. And so he endured, seconds became hours and hours felt like weeks as little by little he fought off the waves of pain and stood tall in the middle of the chamber, then he clashed his will against that of Martius and once he was at even ground he felt a click and the pain went away, the God accepted his resolve and he would be allowed the right to employ the highest of Necromancies. Still, the sacrifice did not sit well with his companion and in time William would learn how much he had erred in this day.
And so William watched as the rest of the Academy students filled into the huge auditorium for the speech that the headmaster did every year. He could barely focus on the man talking, his mind wandering off searching for her, his once avatar into this wonderful world now made manifest as a human being with her wants, desires, fears, and expectations. He saw her, her hair floating in the wind, her face full of vigor and brimming with her namesake. William felt his heart beat faster at the sight and he could only sigh at it. She was finally here, and Classes would finally begin tomorrow. Chapter 37: Days of Happiness "In time we saw the magnitude of the change she brought, it was a moment of pure awe and no small amount of fear. We thought "what if she turned, became our enemy" but I am glad to say that such a thing never happened even if we had a fight or two in those lovely days..." Anonymous Diary. Warfare studies, the first class in the day and Professor Alexander was already dreading the class he was assigned, the man could only sigh in defeat as he got up in the early morning. The sun was barely out he walked alone in his home. "Why?! Why in the name of all that''s holy and sacred they let that maniac in! She killed Knights and a Prince for god''s sake!" he spoke out loud to no one as he prepared his breakfast and cold tea. As the food and tea calmed his nerves, Alexander laughed as he said to himself "Nothing to worry about you old fool, she''s just a barely adult woman who lead what any historian would call a rebellion and killed a member of royalty only to get away with it by siding with the Arch-Duke" he laughed some more as the sun rose and he got into his bath "Nothing to worry about someone with the Blessing of a Goddess who has gone on record both in spoken word and text and more than a few stone tablets that she does not care about other races bar her "children" And so Alexander did what his dead parents would call a sin, he sent a message to the Academy nurse and asked for her most potent nerve-calming potion and the thing plopped on his doorstep without delay, sipping the sugary drink was enough to calm his mind and spirit and off he went. For he had a class to teach Gods help him on it.
William was giddy, Elated even! so much to do on the first day he couldn''t help himself, from talking with the teachers to eating the meal that gave the special buffs early in the recess. So many people to talk to! If he was remembering correctly Lucrezia was to sit by Richard''s side and she raised a ruckus about it wanting to sit with the Prince and was the very first interaction with the protagonist and Lucrezia. "I just got done talking with the woman in charge of the living quarters, whoever was meant to stay with you decided to go to another room. It appears you won''t have a roommate any time soon Lu" Saa''ryu said as she finished her lean breakfast, William nodded and dug in as he devoured loaves of bread and cold meat with vigor. He noticed Saa''ryu giving him a queer look and asked "Something on my face? Is it the mayo?" "You are naked Lu," Saa''ryu said with a snicker "I don''t know where this nudist thing came from but you could at least put on a shirt before eating breakfast right? It feels like I am watching one of those adult-themed illusionist shows..." William felt his face go red and bolted to get a loose shirt he was using as pajamas "Listen Lu, you should check the grand cathedral of Saal''Xhir. the priestesses there will know what to do with someone with Battle Lust" Saa''ryu said and finished her meal "I will scout ahead with my sisters if anything happens to send the usual signal" and she disappeared into the morning mist. "You should go, there''s only so much we can do to hold off the urges before they get the best of us," Lucrezia said. "You do know the things they will have us do, are you sure about this?" William fired back. "Nothing worse than what I''ve seen in your memories..." Lucrezia sighed "No wonder you took this all in relative stride, your brain was all but rotten to its core, hells had you been born here you would be made a high incubus for sure!" William cracked a smile "A joke? who are you and what have you done to Lucrezia?" she groaned in an annoyed tone but said nothing else as William did his morning routine and got ready for class. He couldn''t deny his "roommate" thanks to early access to high-speed internet his tastes were nothing short of deviant and degenerate, he tried to keep a lid on things after he moved to NY but like any drug, it was hard, very hard. Like an itch just in the back of his skull that demanded to be scratched every day, still, he did a good job on pacing and moderating himself when it came to his consumption of such content. That Lucrezia was taking a metaphorical and literal walk through these memories was something he was still trying to come to terms with it, He tried finding solace in the fact he was seeing her naked every day but even then it was downright embarrassing every time he went to talk with her and she had that look. Half shame and disgust half want and hunger to lose herself as he often did before getting a reign on things. Maybe this was why the Greater Blessing was so potent on him? It knew William nursed those desired deep down but would not act upon them for personal reasons and it sought other ways to make itself know? He couldn''t tell and only talking with the woman in charge would elucidate him on the nuts and bolts of his particular blessing. Putting aside his musings about his situation regarding sex William decided to get ready for class, after all, it would be bad for the leader of a duchy to arrive late on his first day of school! William joined the mass of fellow students as they walked towards the classrooms, lively chatter around him as he soaked the atmosphere and relaxed, his worries leaving his mind for the time being. He had a smile on his face that persisted until he found himself in the familiar fork that lead to today''s class and found Kaine waiting for him snacking on dried meat. "I was half ready to teleport to your room since you took so long, only for me to feel a poke in my side and a letter saying I would lose my manhood if I did it so," He said with a scowl "Tell your maid I ain''t a peeping tom and she should not joke about stuff like that" William laughed "Wouldn''t want to deprive the Arch-Mage of being a grandfather, would we? How are we doing in this fine morning, Kaine?" Kaine narrowed his eyes "Don''t you start, I already have to deal with rumors about us and it is extremely annoying" he sighed "I am fine, minus the threat. Reading the diary and trying to improve my domain over the time aspected mana, a nasty mix of both faith and regular arcane that demands too much for too little and I am finding it hard to optimize the output for a simple time warp spell" "You should try the fast forward aging spells first, they will build the foundation for the renovation spells later as your domain over the river of time increases," William said. "I know, I know...It''s just frustrating not being able to grasp after the eleventh try. I know I am not bad at spell shaping nor do I lack when it comes to knowledge on employing divine forces for spell weaving and crafting..." And so they went talking about the ins and outs of Time Magic as William tried to steer his friend to the most optimal direction, Kaine often would ask esoteric questions on the nature of time shaping and how William even knew the things he did and all William could do was say he had read the book first. Kaine wasn''t buying but he decided to not raise a ruckus about it, his thirst for magical knowledge and friendship with William blunting his suspicion. Before they arrived at the classroom Kaine said. "Lucrezia your blessings are flaring up a lot, you should get that looked" and William nodded, but got into class as William took a short pause by the entrance and saw the familiar yet not room, Richard was already in his usual place by the window fidgeting around as a few girls tried making conversation with him. The third Prince was up high, the place the protagonist was assigned to empty, William shot him a smile as Kaine straight up teleported to the young''s man left side and sat down with a plop. Not favoring the dramatics, William walked to his new friend and sat down with the grace of a Duchess "Morning Richard" Richard looked like he saw a ghost, a wraith, and a banshee dancing in the rain as he turned pale as ash and spoke "Uh-uh Hello Lady Lucrezia! Shouldn''t you be sitting bes-besides the prince?" William pointed to the little chart by the blackboard "This is my place my friend, and please, Lucrezia is fine as I said before" Richard nodded weakly and said nothing else as William watched familiar faces file in one by one until the one he was expecting came by the door her face flushed from running late together with embarrassment. She looked at the chart and found her name placed by the right side of Arthur''s. Fast as a lightning bolt she walked up and sat down, William had a smile on his face the entire time as he watched her fidget around, Richard finally off from whatever had spooked him earlier spoke "You know her? that''s the daughter of that famous mercenary company who challenged the Red Dragon last year, her name is..." "Hope" William finished Richard off as he stared at the protagonist, now her person called Hope. A fitting name indeed.
"Welcome, Welcome I am sure you are all very excited for your first day in the Academy for those who just got here, or you are excited for the start of the classes for those who got in early...I am Professor Alexander, in charge of your warfare studies" Alexander took a deep breath and spoke fast "We will cover from ancient warfare in the days that predate the imperium, to history and battle tactics of our allies and many enemy nations. Some of you might become generals and commanders one day and it is my job to make sure no one in this class repeats the Massacre of Hua''Tekeu" The class was quiet, good Alexander thought to himself as he employed his meager magical skills into a simple spell to write on the blackboard as he continued to speak "Page 10 of your history books if you would all be so kind" As the spell worked its magic Alexander took a long hard look at his students, the Prince was sitting together with the Arch-Mage''s son and a... Hmm, he knew that girl from somewhere but couldn''t quite place it, opening the attendance booklet he saw her face and name: Hope Morgan Fritz! daughter of the leaders of that one mercenary band! to think the Prince would let an upstart peasant sit beside him. A far cry from the usual noble scum of the earth that walked these hallowed halls. Going down the list of names Alexander couldn''t help but pale, Of course, he had to pick the class that had the granddaughter of one of the most powerful necromancers alive! Castra-Cam looked like a morose lass who had lost her lover and been kicked out of her house, her face so white he was seeing her undead veins blue as the day sky. The son of House Amenora, Hector was flanked by two younger women and looked half asleep, Alexander had heard rumors the young man was blessed by Saal''Xhir and disowned from the austere house that had made so many warriors who fought and died for the kingdom. Another more pressing rumor was that the Amenoran fields were turned into a camp of debauchery and marry-making by him on orders of his goddess. Unlike the more famous known field that had the marvel of magic that could undo death and allow training of the best and brightest in a safe environment where they could push themselves to the max without fear of the Long Queue, the Amenoran fields were regular training grounds that the Amenorans donated to the Academy and would have many a knight train there. All of this was not his problem Alexander thought, his salary came for teaching and grading. Not worrying about what his students were up to after class. Lady Raffa Ironheart was also in his class, rotten luck that he would get someone whose entire house was under scrutiny for being pro-Godless. A foul movement of ner-do-wells who wanted to be ''truly free" by escaping the many Spheres of Powers of the divines, the All-Father being chief among those as according to their manifest "One should not rule over free will" The Silverbrand kid looked downright terrified when Alexander looked in his direction, plenty of the non-noble students in his class had uneasy expressions as well, and with good reason. Lucrezia Wulfgrem. Impeccably dressed, with beauty and ferocity that matched that of the northerners, those azure eyes had a smile on them as she read the textbook, Alexnader noticed the woman lacked an arm and was reminded of the reason for it. He also remembered the previous incident where she nearly butchered those young paladins of Uumaries on Academy grounds. Furiae indeed, a fitting name for the madwoman who was sitting beside the peasants and merchants. A point in her favor Alexander thought to himself, he had no love for nobility and the gods knew he had to more than once employ his magic to dodge their childish wrath, from Professors with egos the size of a planet to kids and young men and women who never had an authority figure in their lives. Alexander then clapped and began explaining the battle that lead to the massacre, how a tribe of Kitsune was using a chained higher devil together with a sleeping Summer Spirit to empower themselves and claim a huge piece of the southwest lands belonging to the Royal Family. Those women were able to overpower the small Knight patrols and smaller nobles of the area before High Commander of the Royal Knights Ser Hermes was deployed to deal with the issue. A born madman, Ser Hermes was brutal and cunning, slowly starving the insurgents and dealing major blows on their morale with the execution of POWs and non-combatants. When his men dared to question his methods he sent them at the front of the charges against the rebels. All came to a grisly end when a young squire saw the man killing kitsunes who had surrendered and had the women executed on the spot together with their families, not being able to contain his grief the squire prayed for any god willing to help to smite the man down. Alas, it was not the Divine who harkened the call, but the unholy fire of the hells who spewed out a higher devil to free its brother and together the processed to slaughter Knights and Kitsune both, only when a small army of mages, priests, and paladins marched towards that those fiends were banished back to the hells and the few survivors could barely speak after the sheer horror they witnessed. The surviving royal knights, fearful of losing their position blamed the surviving kitsune for the slaughter. It was only when a High Priest of Martius was called to commune with the dead that they learned of the real motives. Ser Hermes''s name was blacked out from the list of High Commanders, the survivors who conspired to keep their crimes clear were judged by Morugarius and either banished or killed. As for the rebels, it was later found out the sleeping Summer Spirit was causing them to rebel, via its powerful influence it planted thoughts of rebellion and rage in the tribe''s mind for unknown reasons, the whole area was marketed as off-limits by the royals at the time and thus this dark chapter on the Kingdom''s history was closed. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "So" Alexander clapped "How would you deal with this particular conundrum class? I want everyone here to write me a short essay on it, emphasis on the short as you will both read and debate with your classmates after it, you have 10 minutes" he tapped on the desk and the students began their work in earnest, for a short few minutes Alexander felt at peace, his mind calming from the fact he had both a Royal and Combat veteran who had killed more people than the Knights behind the prince sitting just a few meters from him. "Today''s going to be a fun day" He heard a feminine voice speaking. Alexander raised his head when he saw a pair of azure eyes staring at him with such ferocity he almost was taken back, she smiled at him and went back to writing, and yet Alexander couldn''t help but shiver as he saw her mouth display a maddening grin. The first hand went up, ah yes Alexander knew the young man who was about to speak. Thadeus Shatter-Spear, from the off branch of the Shatter-Spear house and cousin to Arthur. A master with the spear even when compared to the Queen herself, alas the young man lacked the curse of the Rage-That-Dwells so he had to make do with a Greater Blessing of War. "A smaller task force headed by High Priests of both the Undying and Morugarius plus a Spirit Whisperer of renown would''ve been the right choice in this particular juncture, Of course dealing with the Former Commander would''ve been done outside of public light as to not shame the Royal Knight''s name and the Royal Family. One would only need to look for the weak link in his troops to confess the crimes of his commander" "And yet they found ways to bend the Oath and nearly put the blame on the rebels! surely you can''t believe for a second that if anyone talked the Commander wouldn''t find out about it and dispatch his goons to silence the witness! Your father is the Current High Commander Thadeus, you know how much power he commands over the Royal Knights and the staff at the Palace!" Ironheart spoke in outrage and fury, her face red as she poked the lion with her words, Thadeus smiled at her and placed his hand on the desk, Ironheart huffed and spoke now facing Alexander. "The Oath that binds the Knights is flawed Professor, we have many a case in our history where both noble and knight with ill intentions abused its loopholes to perpetuate evil! Surely the Royal Family could place more oversight in the process by delegating the upkeep and monitoring of the Oath to other War Gods who are in alliance with the Kingdom" "And bring another reform of 760 to the populace? Did you forget what happened then?" A dwarf lass spoke her voice deep and loud "Steinheim remembers! Legions of Knights marching towards our home and the Shogunate with steel forged by our brothers and sisters! Had it not been stopped by the revolt from the 4 houses against the King of Madness we wouldn''t be having this conversation right now!" "That was almost 1200 years ago All-Father above let it go already" someone spoke from the back and the dwarf barked a nasty insult towards them. Alexander released a sigh of relief, ah it felt good hearing youngsters getting passionate about his class! "I am noting down every answer, even the ones you are giving to your classmates!" Alexander spoke when there was a lull in the talking and he was met with a few nods as the discussions picked up steam again. From the elves in the background talking about mustering in more help from the local Spirits to the Magi and Beast-Folk with a myriad of local and not-so-local traditions that could and would in a few cases solve the issue. "...I am just saying, I know an elder back in the Principality that could summon L?ordan" Spoke one of the elves, a short demure girl with skin that looked more like tree bark around her arms and cheeks, ah Alexander recalled the instructions from the Dean. It was a half Dryad! "What''s he going to do? that thing is half crazy thanks to the Summer Spirits. L?ordan is liable to burn everyone to cinders then disappear into the night" Another dwarf spoke, "Nay I must agree in part with the Ironheart woman, the Royal Knights enjoy too big of liberty on their dealings and Oath, now I am not saying the Royals would need to do another reform but their needs be a system in place to better screen any would be High Commander..." "Not with the right Rituals, L?ordan can be appeased and even talked to should you employ the rituals of the Bloodmoon from Afaak''Vur and Mhanc''s Plea" Alexander froze up as the room went quiet, the one speaking didn''t even bother raising her head from her desk, taking notes as she spoke. "...These are highly esoteric rituals Lucrezia, I doubt even the most learned Druid or Spirit Whisperer could employ both of them to commune safely with L?ordan, And even then you are dealing with a belligerent Knight Commander who''s dead set on killing the insurgents via any means necessary" Kaine spoke from his seat, hmm Alexander thought to himself. First name basis? maybe the rumors were true... "It is as the Arch-Mage''s son says it, you are liable on having the insurgents summoning a known individual who cares not for laws and rules and he would kill the High Commander and his Knights without a second thought, to entertain such a notion is nothing akin to High Treason and Subversion of state power!" Spoke another voice, that of a tall woman called Cadence de Levouis, the Levouis were known to be an ancient noble family with ties to Uumaries and cadence was no exception, as she was dressed as the Uumaries church demanded all their followers to do it and on her breasts the holy symbol of the Goddess. "And? Hermes was nothing but a wild dog that needed to be put down" Lucrezia said as the room got even quieter. "L?ordan wouldn''t stop with Hermes, every Knight guilty or innocent under his retinue would be burned in Spirit Fire..." the Dryad spoke her voice trembling. "Nothing a Priest of the Undying can''t solve, they can speak with the dead after all" Lucrezia fired back "The Kitsune wasn''t the guilty here, the Summer Spirit was, they were mind-controlled victims" "Why yes, let us kill honest men and women of the kingdom to save a bunch of forest-dwelling peasants who bound a demon-" Cadence started but Lucrezia cut her off "Done under the influence of the Spirit, again the tribe was Innocent and to diminish them as "forest-dwelling peasants" is unnecessary" Cadence huffed "Heretic scum I will not entertain your inane ramblings any longer!" the noble got up and walked up to Lucrezia as Alexander was ready to call her out but Lucrezia got up faster. The northern Duchess towered above Cadence, her cape was by her chair so her armless torso was plain to see for the entire classroom, gasps and other sounds came from the classroom as both stared each over off for a solid second. From the corner of his eye, Alexander noticed Kaine pulling a crystal from his person and readying himself to jump, then he heard Lucrezia speak, her voice was cold as ice and hard as steel. "Tell me Cadence de Levouis what do you plan to do hmm? Slap me in the face? challenge me for a duel with one of your father''s knights? Spread gossip perhaps?" She had a wolfish grin on her face and Alexander was reminded of an old friend of his. Gods above she have Battle Fever! His mind went into overdrive, details that once were not seen now plain to his eyes, the Royal Knights behind the prince trembling in fear, Kaine ready to jump and start the fight, the Silverbrand kid slowly opening the window for a tactical retreat. "Your little friends in plate cried when they squared up against me, will you do the same?" Lucrezia teased the young woman more "Does getting ousted as a corrupt good for nothing slave trafficking scum who deserves nothing but to have her state burned by Friede and her head put on a pike hurt your feelings? "That is enough Lady Lucrezia, Lady Cadence please return to your seat at once" Alexander spoke as Cadence turned back and walked back to her seat huffing in rage, Lucrezia turned to him and bowed before sitting down. alexander felt chills run down his spine, yes he was right to be afraid early in the morning. This young woman was a born killer ready to spill blood for the dark gods she was with no doubt worshipping! After the drama had ended Alexander resumed his class and continued to engage his students in little debates to see how well they were versed in the art, Lucrezia on her part remained silent as did Cadence. 10 minutes before ending the class Alexander decided to flip the tables so to say and let the students ask the questions, most were met with non-answers, only a few wishing to engage with their fellows. He sighed but admitted that after that round of drama and the fact it was early in the morning meant they weren''t in the best place for it. Until someone levied a question towards her. Dkhar Var, an Orc whose family was tied to major mines across the country was the daughter of what most would call "the humble empire" An enterprise between Orcs and Dwarves who strived for fairer working conditions in the mines of their countries, together with the support of Queen Malphas they managed to establish trade reforms that made the lives of virtually every miner in the kingdom better. Dkhar got up and pointed to Lucrezia "Tell me, Duchess, why have you forsaken the ancient traditions of holding higher nobles hostage and decided to kill the Prince, Yes I have heard what the King has said about it but surely you could elucidate on your reason for such an act" Lucrezia smiled again as the bell run and Alexander began packing his stuff "Alright everyone, I will have the grades ready next week, until then!" the man-made a swift exit from the class as he watched his colleague the morose woman Emmilie enter the classroom, he stared at her dead eyes for a full second before shaking his head, nothing could phase the woman in the 10 years they knew each other. But Lucrezia might.
Kaine stashed his Magi-Tech staff as his spells told him the Royal Knights wouldn''t fly off the handle, nor that noble who was trying to goad Lucrezia into a fight, he relaxed as Arthur gave him weird look. "What?" Kaine asked. "You know Kaine rumors are going around" Arthur started and Kaine sighed, that his childhood friend would know of that spoke of how bad the gossip had spread, he wondered if Orthus was also being a victim of the same treatment, and Richard as well. "Empty gossip, you know I am devoted to magic and the arcane in body, mind, and spirit" Kaine replied "Lucrezia helped me while I was staying at her place and I owe her an immense debt" "Even after she Killed your Sister''s Fiance?" Arthur asked in that particular tone where he didn''t know if Kaine would get mad or not, ever the considerate thanks to his innate mind magic it seems, of course, Kaine had weaved many a defense against such spells but not of suspicion from his friend, on the contrary, it was thanks to Arthur gifts that he had such a mastery of defending against it. Kaine got closer and whispered "Never liked him, or his cronies or your brother you know that! didn''t you tell me your magicks were telling you Galius was up to no good? that your father made it public his dealings with the Terrors beyond the stars was telling enough..." "And yet there''s more to this isn''t it?" Asked Arthur "But I can sense you won''t speak of the matter so soon, mayhaps later" Kaine felt his spells ping a short-range hop in his direction, Ah yes he thought. Lucrezia''s Magnetism let her boost her inner strength to do quite the amazing feat when it came to sheer mobility without employing outward spells, still, he should teach her a teleportation spell sooner or later, can''t go wrong with one after all. "Kaine, the Diary" Lucrezia spoke and he complied "Watch it, I have some notes inside and I don''t wanna lose them. No don''t remove them either" She nodded and he noticed for a split second how she was staring towards Arthur...No not him but the girl beside him. It was gone in a flash, but Kaine was savvy to these things, he hummed and spoke "Next class is Magical theory, what you need the diary for?" Lucrezia was already making her way (this time with a regular walk instead of a jump) to her desk as she spoke "A surprise" From the corner of his eye he saw the Class Representative get up and walk to the blackboard, A tall dragonkin from the southwest, the young looked prim and proper with an austere face that demanded respect. He spoke in a clear and loud tone "Everyone! Today''s class will be a practical one! Professors Emmilie and Themitrocles will meet us in the first warded arena!" Excited noises erupted as people began to pack their things and file out of the class. Kaine had a nagging feeling on the back of his head, not one to trust prattle such as gut instinct and other hearsay Kaine would normally put such thoughts out of his mind, but this time he couldn''t, the way Lucrezia stared at that girl... Figuring something was up with the lass Kaine decided on what had never failed for him before, the direct approach, He saw that she was tailing Arthur and his two Knights. her long red hair dancing in the windy halls of the Academy Not a moment had passed he decided to make his move, Arthur of all people approached her! Gwenarius be damned he was right! something was off with her! he put a spring into his step as he caught the two of them speaking. "...Daughter of the war heroes from the Crimson Yeager company? What an honor! your name?" Arthur asked in that suave way of his before noticing Kaine coming to his left "Kaine, so glad you joined us, this is-" "Daughter of the merc band that won some unwinnable battle in the last war against Grannarius yes yes, she was about to tell you her name" Kaine was short and to the point and the girl nodded as she spoke with a soft voice. "I am Hope Morgan Fritz, It is an honor to meet you Master Kaine" She bowed and Kaine had to hold his sigh "Just Kaine is fine, I may have a title but I am no noble at heart and these blue blood know" Arthur laughed "Don''t mind him, Hope, Kaine is ever tactless but beneath the facade, he is a good friend!" Kaine smiled, ah Arthur and his tendency of trying to make his friends look better than what they were, A curse from his empathic tendencies. "Quite the first day wouldn''t you say? I wasn''t expecting an open debate this early in the morning" Arthur said and Hope nodded "Indeed, Warfare isn''t the most excitable topic in the curriculum but Professor Alexander seems eager to impart knowledge!" "Could''ve done with it without the show that Uumaries prude pulled off, gods above and below its barely 9 in the morning and she was already picking a fight" Ironheart spoke from the side "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Hope, my family often works with your parents and they always do a stellar job whenever we hire them" She gave Hope a smile and a handshake. Hope''s face went red "Hehe Thank you, It''s my dream to have my band of heroes like mom and dad one day, explore the world and help those in need..." "Well should such a dream turn into a reality, I will not hesitate in hiring your and yours" Ironheart spoke as she turned to Kaine "Master Kaine If I may impose you with a question?" Kaine rolled his eyes as he heard a small laugh from Arthur "Ask away" he said. "Cadence de Levouis is known to be a master in the field of pure mana spellcrafting, some say she would even be made high magus of the corps your parents are in charge, and yet Lucrezia ahem Duchess Lucrezia didn''t flinch even when staring her down, if you don''t mind me asking, is the Duchess that powerful?" Kaine looked at the woman in question, her hair tied in a ponytail and coat hanging from her shoulders as she talked with Richard a good few meters ahead of him and this motley crew he had gathered, He also noticed that quite a few eyes were on him as well, the Orc woman that got her question cut off, the dwarves and more importantly Hope was waiting for him to speak. "No one in that room would be able to stop her, not even me," Kaine said what he felt was the truth unless someone had some hidden Greater Blessing and could warp her away to a volcano or the middle of the ocean. "A tall claim mage, you fought together with her?" Dkhar came up and spoke to Kaine. "Yes, we raided an ancient ziggurat for artifacts, and I witnessed her in the battle against Galius" silence blanketed the group as Dkhar hummed "Here I thought Orthus had thrown the fight to breed with the woman, you can never tell with the people who were blessed by the Whore" Ironheart tapped her forehead "So it was true the rumors of her being blessed by Saal''Xhir... no wonder many were talking about how she seduced the Orc Prince before the fight" "The smell would be on her person for days, nay she did nothing of the sort" Dkhar spoke with conviction "Which means we have someone with Battle Lust on the Academy Grounds, a dangerous combo especially with Uumaries followers everywhere ready to fight. I am expecting at least a dozen dead by the end of the week" "My parents often spoke of Battle Fever but I have never heard of this Lust variant" Hope spoke as she turned to Dkhar "How does it work?" Dkhar walked next to her "Well I can''t say for humans or the other folk, but orc warriors will deny themselves the pleasures of the flesh for 2 years to nurture the Lust and if done correctly they will enjoy great bliss on the battlefield, I can only assume with Saal''Xhir''s blessing that effect was compounded into something far stronger and faster..." "But she still would need to deny herself pleasure yes?" Ironheart asked and Dkhar nodded "Assuming the procedure is the same for Humans, yes" Their talks changed the subject after that, with both newcomers asking Kaine about his newfound magic power over the flow of time and dealing with a Goddess who was known to be a pain in the rear, Then the topic of Blessings came up and Hope dropped a bombshell on them. "I don''t know what god granted my Blessing, every ritual and magical spell gave me a blank response" Kaine nodded as he was until a few months back in the same place "If you want help just ask" "Gonna have Lucrezia there find out will you?" Dkhar said with a smile "Your stories paint her as almost divine, with the answer for every question and problem at the tip of her fingers and lips. Odd thing that wouldn''t you say? "Yes, but I trust her nonetheless" Kaine spoke firm and with conviction. "I can see that mage, Let us hope your friend can help young Hope here then" as soon as Dkhar finished talking they reached the first warded arena where magical spells were usually taught. Kaine saw Lucrezia summon her arm and snap her fingers as Saa''ryu appeared out of thin air making the people around her gasp in awe and terror, the maid had a heavy box on her hand. "Is that a Gods Diviner stone Kaine? Why would Lu-" Arthur began talking as everyone froze "Ye gods! Did the lass listen to us from here?!" Dkhar spoke as her face went from green to gray Ironheart narrowed her eyes then Kaine heard the clarion call. "Kaine!" With a smile he pulled his Magi-Tech staff and warped to her side, he couldn''t wait to see what she was going to do next! Chapter 38: Powerhouse "While every living being has the right and potential for a blessing, sometimes they can be too small, too weak to manifest itself at the 18th birthday, thus the Imperium in its infancy devised a method to tease out the blessing via the massive surge of both regular mana and Divine Energy, the tool was thus sent to every corner of the known world and nowadays its a common item in many a place for those who require it" On the Imperium Vol 1. "You better give me a good reason for lugging this heavy box around Lu" Saa''ryu spoke as William smiled. "Believe me I do" as they filed out into the warded training space Richard asked, "I wonder why our mages haven''t been able to crack the enchantment placed in the Fields of Seresval yet, you would think with the advancement in magical theory the big countries would have something similar right?" Saa''ryu placed the box by William''s side and disappeared into the air causing a small stir with the people near both of them. Willaim took off his jacket and placed it on top of the box as he flexed the arm saying "Not possible, the Goddess of Magic has banned after being accused of muscling into the Lich''s God Sphere of Power, all kept hush-hush by the Divine of course" A momentary lull descended around William as a small voice spoke next to his ear "Found of the old spot of blasphemy aren''t you?" Richard jumped in fright as William turned towards the speaker, her cat ears floppy and her face betraying either severe depression or intense boredom, Castra-Cam stared at William with the sort of intensity no one in their right mind would like. "Imagine my surprise when I get a Greater Wraith knocking on my door with a spoken message from my Grandmother "Watch out for the Wulfgrem woman," she says at the dead of the night as if my insomnia wasn''t bad enough, Now I am not a fan of skulking around and gathering intel like your usual Cat-Kin so Imagine my surprise when I found out you wanted to become a Necromancer and even asked for the chamber, Nobles and Necromancy is a recipe for disaster Little Lady, doubly so when Mind Magic is added into the mix" More gasps as the classroom realized the extent of William''s mad rush for power, that he would tap into schools of magic at best seem like a necessary evil likely plummet his social stock with some people here. Not that he gave a damn of course. William also knew any spoken reassurance he gave to the Undead Cat-Kin would fall on deaf ears, the woman in front of him had to put down too many people to count who said the same words, nay the only thing she would believe would be his deeds and conviction. "A pleasure to meet you Lady Castra" William bowed and she sighed "Please none of that, I came to this place to avoid it and it is a shame seeing your kind perpetuates it, Well I told you my piece, and now..." A part that most players saw as the game went on was that While Castra-Cam was an insanely powerful ally and if the build was right could stand shoulder to shoulder with the protagonist in sheer damage output. She was also a complete klutz when it came to the social game, lacked any grace, and was often called an Orc by her family members when she fumbled her way into a meeting or gathering. "Orc-Cam" was what they told the poor woman and she hated it. Of course, William wouldn''t spill the beans at this instance but seeing this golden opportunity to reel another powerful individual to his retinue he shot his shoot. "Indeed, it is shame my people seek to undermine one of the pillars of the Academy, alas human nature is ever the insidious killer slowly warping even the most solid of foundations. And I am sorry I put you in this predicament Castra, I pray my actions will be enough to show you and yours that I mean no harm and I work to further the cause" Castra smirked "Yeah, I saw the books you delivered, Sis was bubbly with joy which is always a sight given you know, being undead can do quite the number on your emotions, but I''ll see about the first part in time..." William felt the air shift to his left and Kaine showed up eyeing him with distrust "Lucrezia don''t go around spreading Divine secrets godsdamned it, do you want to be killed by a bolt of magical lightning or something?" William wheezed as a few other students cracked a few laughs "Yeah right, Fae¡¯Zhurar herself will chuck a bolt and kill me" William said as Richard knocked on the wooden box his eyes full of fear. "Quite the harem you have here Wulfgrem, big merchant scion, the Arch-Mage''s kid, and even the Orc prince, I would joke about being air-tight in the night but given your blessing maybe that is no joke" Castra-Cam spoke and Kaine nearly choked on his spit, Richard did a double-take as he couldn''t fathom how someone would make a joke like that and William couldn''t help but slap his knee while laughing. A klutz and crass as a sailor, Castra-Cam was the bane of every family gathering by making these horrible jokes. "Don''t say that, the man has a wife waiting for him" William said feeling the need to defend Orthus "Yeah right, Wife-to-be now has to worry about being replaced by a tall cold beauty that can turn sex-starved beast at the drop of a hat, just saying she has competition" Castra smirked as Kaine began ranting "The gall! I am solely dedicated to magic! Don''t you dare-" "Yeah doesn''t care little mage, now shush the Professors are about to speak" Castra shut Kaine down as both Professors walked into view. Emmilie and Themitrocles were the opposites of each other, where the mage woman was a gloomy and morose lass Themitrocles was bright and warm, with a big smile on his face as he walked towards the group of students with gusto. "Welcome! Welcome! you lot might be asking yourselves "What''s this all about, why are we outside on this fine day?" Well, let me get right on with it!" Themitrocles snapped his fingers and training dummies popped in the far end of the field, to the other side a small fighting ring was made itself manifest. "Professor Emmilie here suggested to the board that we joined forces, as you may well know our Kingdom is famous for its employment of both magicks and martial arts in the field of battle, a tactic many of our old and new enemies have tried to copy but never with the same level of mastery as we have, so every odd day of the week Magical Theory will be joining forces with Martial Arts and Ki Arts to better blend your talents!" More than a few cheered, Themitrocles was always a player favorite for his upbeat and hype demeanor, always spurring the player to reach higher and higher and giving them an insanely hard boss fight when you reached 100 percent completion in the game, the man had every mechanic from every boss and a boatload of health points, truly a challenge to the players. William smiled in wonder if he would be as powerful in reality, a part of him wanted to find out but he could feel Lucrezia screaming at him from the inside to not upset a Professor of the Academy. Quite a few perked up when he mentioned Ki, Including the protagonist. "She has a name you know" Lucrezia spoke in his mind with a sigh "Are you sure it''s wise to reveal her blessing like that?" "The whole school you know sooner or later, I rather sooner as I don''t want to be in the spotlight for long" William replied. Deep in thought with Lucrezia, William failed to notice that Kaine had sneaked in with the rest of the group, He started humming as he began setting up the apparatus that would tease out the All-Father''s blessing from Hope, in-game that would happen a few days from now when the player is confronted by a few thugs sent by Lucrezia and in the heat of battle the protagonist awakens it, but now that he was in charge the reveal would be in far more agreeable environs. He also failed to notice when Emmilie was staring at him, his humming of Baddest by K/DA and focus on the setup was eventually broken when Kaine poked him in the ribs and he jumped on reflex. "What in the goddamn?! Kaine! fuck was that for dude? I am busy over here" William spoke without a filter as he stared at the gang around him "Woah, Didn''t know I had an audience" A voice that betrayed an age beyond the calenders of men and divine spoke "Lady Wulfgrem, would you be so kind to explain why are you setting up this device?" William took a look around as he saw the rest of the classroom either fighting in the ring or training with the dummies, Ki and Arcane flew in flashy lights before he heard a cough from Emmilie. "Don''t ignore the Profressor Lucrezia!" Richard poked William in the ribs again. "Forgive me Professor Emmilie, I got distracted... This here is for one of our classmates you see" William pointed to Hope whose face went red "She needs her blessing to be teased out and I came prepared" "Of course" Emmilie turned to Kaine "I am told you are a Chronomancer, is that true?" Kaine gave Lucrezia a look and William spoke first "Indeed he did Professor, together with me we raided a Ziggurat of the Ancients who lived in this planet before the All-Father came and within we found Magicks that allowed one to tap into the river of time, as Kaine is a master magician I decided to entrust to him these magicks and together we managed to crack the code of them, earning Kaine here a blessing by the Goddess of Time" Kaine looked flabergasted "Lucrezia!" But William didn''t care, he stared "Emmilie" down as the woman trembled in myriad emotions, to his back he saw Arthur gasp in horror as the Royal Knights got the hint and moved in to protect the Prince. The professor fell to the ground, her knees landing in a thump as everyone around William was shocked. Arthur clutched his leg as he spoke, barely a whisper "...Untold sorrow that stretches to infinity, to see Her depart our home and my kin go insane in grief...They must succeed! They cannot fail in taming the waters of Yu-Ka! lest all hope is lost, lest all hope is lost..." Kaine''s eyes nearly popped from his sockets "Gods above that''s a passage from the diary! Lucrezia you don''t-" He gasped as William smiled, fast as always when it came to putting two and two together, Kaine fell silent as William kneeled by the woman with the diary in his hands "They failed, without your Goddess, not even a full circle could musted the astronomical amounts of mana and life force to travel back in time to stop Her from leaving, but that you already knew" He placed the diary in Emmilie''s hands "Your children of the frost didn''t...deal too well with what happened after it but thanks to the All-Father the other seasons found meaning in their lives" "All-Fathers balls a godsdamned living Ancient!" Kaine couldn''t control himself "Lucrezia how! How did you know?!" William smiled and for once didn''t bullshit to his friend "In the diary, there were pages about other projects to bring back their Goddess, one of those was a small scale stasis spell that would freeze several ancients in time, except it didn''t work and all manpower was diverted to the taming of the river of time" Kaine got a bit red on the years "I kinda uh...Skipped anything that wasn''t about that part yeah..." to which William smiled "Before we left I spoke with my Spirits, they told me a smaller Ziggurat was made here in the capital and they gave me the means to detect anyone who entered or left it" William pulled a small pendant from his neck, its icy spikes pulsing in a rainbow of colors" "But the experiment failed, and from the Spirits account the Ancients were taller elf-like monsters with 10 eyes and five wings each! Emmilie here is a regular if short human" Arthur spoke as he called off the Knights, his Mind Magic powers no longer making him attune himself to the Ancient''s sorrow in front of him. "I found this body just as my ethereal form was about to break down, while many of our scientists were relocated to the Waters project I objected to such fate and decided to go through the Stasis procedure alone, it failed as its stated in the notebook you gave me and my body was destroyed. I was stuck in a limbo between life and death as I watched my facility fall around me" Emmilie rose and with a snap of her fingers cleared her robes, her face was wet with tears "After a while, the Soul Automaton that was in charge of the facility performed its last routine check and what I can only assume was a faulty line in its programming created a flesh simulacra and placed my half-dead ethereal form inside of it" "The Proto-Spirit" Kaine spoke as he put the pieces together "that the Ancients could manipulate the soul like that is nothing sort of amazing" "Not so, any planet without a God to regulate Necromancy has this type of soul manipulation, and the Ancients were magic focused" Castra-Cam spoke "Had it been today you bet your little mage butt they would face the full force of the Undying" she spat as Emmilie shook her head. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it "Hyzoarkian," she said. "Glory of Arkian" Kaine spoke his face lighting up "That''s the name of the Ancients Goddess!" "And the name of my people, being called Ancient is getting tired at this point" she sighed "This diary is yours by right Lady Lucrezia but may I?" "Yes, I and Kaine already have extracted its magical values, and it''s just an item he likes to read, return to him once you are done" Kaine nodded as he spoke with child-like happiness "What a godsdamned find! Lucrezia you Madwoman I could kiss you right now!" the rest of the party around him laughed as the absurdity of the deal washed over them, A living breathing Ancient! With that William noted down another important quest as completed in his mind, Soon the priesthood of the All-Father would come and formalize Emmielie''s status and she would still teach them Magic, but upgraded with the full breadth of her Hyzoarkian knowledge and years as lead researcher in the fields of time magic, together with Kaine they would become a powerhouse unmatched. Before Kaine could spirit the woman away he spoke to her "On my word as Duchess of Wulfgrem and the last member of one of the five houses I promise you no harm will come to you, After we talk with the All-Father priesthood you will still enjoy your job here in the Academy" he paused "And I am sorry for throwing your entire life into the upcoming whirlwind of chaos that it''s coming but it had to be done" Emmilie nodded as she spoke "I can not deny that, alas I do not fear the overlord or his children, for I saw with my eyes how they treated our creation and did not found them wanting" "And yet I must ask Lady Lucrezia, why? why it has to be done?" She stared at William who took a deep breath and spoke "Because we all deserve happiness, have you not lived long enough in this quagmire of self-loathing and pity? of hatred and frustration? When everyone else gave up you remained in that facility, you kept the faith and held on until all else was lost, and when the deepest of despair gripped your people you were spared of it" another pause "And when you woke up to see these aliens in your planet, creations from an invader that conquered the leftovers of the great civilization that once stood at the apex of arcane you did not give in that fire, that rage against the dread of being tossed aside by your Goddess became a fuel that led you here" "Today I grant you closure, that you might put the past behind and live again, to let yourself enjoy the love and happiness of a God that cares, of people who love and care about you! and when the time is right to reunite with the Spirits so they too might be granted closure" "Hyzoark is no more, but you can and must go on" William finished his improv speech as he felt his face go red and sweat drip from his brow, Emmilie looked at him her face still cloaked in that morose and gloomy mask as she spoke softly "Thank you" "All-Father above, no wonder you didn''t have a mass rout when charging down Galius''s men, I can feel goosebumps all over myself" Ironheart spoke with a smile on her face, the rest of the gang nodded as Dkhar sighed "Seems the Duchess has a knack for sudden revelations, well assuming we don''t lose one of the best Magical Theory teachers of the Academy I''d wager we move on to...Whatever the hells you are planning to do with that Diviner''s Stone" William smiled as he turned to Hope, the young woman stared as he said "Miss Hope if you would be so kind?"
"When met with an unknown opponent the best course of action is to run" Hope''s father words were echoing in her head as she stared down the woman in front of her, Gods it was easy to lose herself in the sight as she was beautiful beyond belief, no wonder given the Blessing that she could almost sense coming from Saal''Xhir. She was scared From the prince''s sudden burst of a headache to the revelation a godsdamned ancient was their Magical Theory Professor to that inspiring speech Hope was honestly fearful of being swept under Lucrezia Wulfgrem''s mad tornado and ending up in gods know where! yet a part of her begged for her to take her invitation and see what was waiting on the other side! Of course, she knew something about her Blessing when Hope tried to tap into it she could barely feel the damn thing, ever since she had that strange dream she could feel something down in her soul but tapping it was nigh impossible for some reason, and so she used the time-honored tradition of not revealing her blessing and so far it hard worked fine. Why she confessed to the prince she didn''t know, it was easy talking with him she felt, even in her lack of manners or bad social experience she could talk with him for hours and he would always have something interesting to say. It felt good, really good she found. Same for the other 3 that had joined her, Kaine was always doing something or another, Dkhar and Ironheart too as the two bonded over their lives as children of important people, if this was how friends were formed then Hope was more than happy to call them that! And yet there was something in Lucrezia, a pull that made her want to join up with her even after knowing what she did and the madness she was capable of, when both of them stared at each other in the classroom she felt intense sorrow and want to come from the young Duchess, and something more that she couldn''t decipher nested deep inside her. "I won''t bite," Lucrezia said with a smirk on her face, to which Castra-Cam spoke "I don''t believe you, Saal''Xhir followers are all up to freaky stuff like that you know? Once I heard..." "Ignore her, Please come" Lucrezia shut the woman down as Hope stepped forward and faced the apparatus. "That''s all good and all, but how did you know hope here would need one of those to tease out her Blessing?" Castra-Cam spoke again "Mighty convenient I must say" Lucrezia smiled and said "I have my sources" With fear and trepidation in her heart, Hope took a deep long breath and placed both her hands on the stone, its smooth exterior was cool to the touch. "Do not worry yourself, anything happens I''ll be right behind you" Lucrezia whispered as she moved to Hope''s side, her voice had a warmth to it that made Hope calm her emotions, and yet something deeper hid behind those words. Alas, she could barely speak a word, the stone glowed brightly as sun and Hope felt every drop of her Mana flee her body. then her Ki and she heard Professor Emmilie gasp in terror as the Ancient spoke "The conqueror''s essence!" A beacon of the brightest of light blasted upwards! its shrill scream spooking the birds from the trees, Hope saw the rest of the class turn her way as the other Professor with the weird name leaped towards her only to be stopped by Emmilie with a hand gesture. Hope felt a cold metallic hand on her back as she turned around and saw Lucrezia''s gentle smile and deep azure eyes nodding her along, closing her own eyes Hope focused her Ki and Mana and pushed into the stone as the Beacon went from pale white to a rainbow of colors, Hope could barely hear the gasp coming from her classmates as her very soul began to tremble. Power, so much power! at the flick of her finger, she could unmake worlds! destroy universes! creation itself at her command and hers alone! the power to create life from nothing, to weave her will into the building blocks that made the material and immaterial. "..Ye gods, the Blessing of the All-Father..." Hope heard the Prince speak as the raw power of the chief divine flooded her soul and body, and from her left side, she heard a whisper. "Listen to my voice, Listen to my heartbeat Hope, in granting you this power I have set your life into the path of the heroes of yore, your name will be known far and wide and even the Gods themselves will bow to you for a sliver the All-Father''s power! Chronomancy, Necromancy, the Healer Arts, and even the Secrets of Ki are yours to tame and master! Ask and I will grant you my knowledge, my skills, and even my very name if should desire it. Together we will rise to the very apex and every ambition you have, every dream you ever dreamed will become reality" "Ask, and all of this will be yours, ask and the whole world shall know your name!" Lucrezia''s fervent whispers made Hope feel dizzy, what the woman was proposing was nothing short of madness! And yet it was that selfsame madness that had made her win against an army commanded by the First Prince, that forged an alliance with the Arch-Duke and kickstarted an industrial revolution with Magi-Tech. Thanks to her the son of the Arch-Mage was on his way to becoming the most powerful arcane user in the Kingdom. And all that power could be hers, to make her dreams come to reality faster than she could do it on her own, with the social and political protection of both Duchess and Arch-Duke, yet another part of her was screaming in panic and fear, what if this was all a trick a deception to snare Hope into some madwoman dungeon and have her be milked dry for her powers? Could Hope trust Lucrezia? Should she trust her? "Mayhap a show of good faith is in order? I cannot divulge all my secrets but I can show you that I mean what I said" Lucrezia replied to Hope''s thoughts and the girl nearly jumped, was she reading her mind?! No, it couldn''t be, Mind Magic could be spotted by anyone with the knowhow, that knowhow was reached to Hope by her parents. Nay, it was like Lucrezia knew the future almost, and knowing what she knew about her involvement with Kaine... "I would like to see this show of good faith then, Lady Wulfgrem" Hope spoke as she felt the Beacon of light flare down little by little, she heard Lucrezia laugh "Please, just Lucrezia is fine, I swear I''ll have to tell everyone that as the year progresses... All-Father''s beacon is about to die out, get ready to explain yourself to everyone little Hope" and she hopped back as Beacon died out and the entire classroom was staring at Hope. Hope collected herself and with a fast throat-clearing she spoke loud and clear, as her Mother had reached her in front of her soldiers "At ease my classmates at ease! Everything is all right!" a pause as she noticed they weren''t panicking "As you all have seen I am blessed by All-Father, and uh" an awkward silence fell as everyone didn''t rightly know what to do, usually a Blessing was celebrated with parents in a private setting. "Congratulations I guess?" spoke a voice and a few others joined "I mean it is a big deal but I doubt anyone will want to mess with the daughter of a notorious mercenary band" another voice spoke as more joined in speculating the socio-political ramifications of such a rare blessing, its power over all other gods and even the Fallen plus devils meant it gave the individual an absurd degree of personal power. But even then history has shown that such individuals could be brought down by the sheer force of arms or masterfully political maneuvering, the debate was raging on before the professors put a stop to it and got them back to what they were doing before. "I was expecting claps, or boos knowing these nobles" Kaine spoke to the side "What a queer reaction" "Indeed, but it has given our friend here time to collect her thoughts, no doubt she will become the talk of the Academy and beyond but given the uh, recent events your 15 minutes of fame will be more like 3 minutes and a half," Castra-Cam said "Still, a powerful blessing that one, what would take a month for a mage or warrior to master she can do in seconds, gods will throw themselves over her for and she will be able to enjoy their blessings" "Don''t forget mastery of all elements" Lucrezia said as she pulled a strange vial from her person and threw its content on the air, with a snap of her finger the dust became a sharp iron stake. With her left hand slowly close it into a fist and a fan of crystal clear ice formed, its edges dripping as the sun melted the magical construct "Damn Summer Spirits messing my Ice Magic..." Lucrezia then pointed to one of the Royal Knights "You, coat your blade and shield with Ki" the woman frowned but Arthur nodded, she complied as Hope had a puzzled look on her face "What is the point of-" Suddenly her head was slammed with something, she felt a sharp pain for a split second and then deep inside her soul something clicked. It came as natural as breathing, Hope felt the iron in her blood burn and her strength nearly double! she sent a tendril of her mana towards the iron stake and when it reached she felt its pull, with minimal effort the spike was now hovering by her side. With a simple swipe of her hand, a beautiful ice fan manifested itself as well, gasping could be heard all around Hope as the gravity of the situation settled down for her. "Now focus on your Ki, let the image from the Knight''s own Ki take hold in your mind then draw it out!" She heard Lucrezia''s instructions and closed her eyes again, to the left side of her heart she felt her Ki begging to be used and with a deep long breath she focused on the Knight''s manifestation but something was lacking! the Ki wanted to come out but she needed a- "Silly me, got all hot and bothered with the display of magic I forgot to give you a weapon, let us remedy that shall we?" Lucrezia said with a wry smile, she then summoned her maid again who had a blade and shield made out of crystal and gleaming steel. "Magi-Tech forged and made by the very best of my Duchy, bar dragonbone, or Divinely blessed materials this is as good as it gets!" the Duchess exclaimed as a few dwarves leered and booed her "Shut yer trap ye noble princess! what does ye know about forging weaponry!" to which she replied "Meet at the forge after class ya gobshite! I can outlast all of ye!" A few hollered and some laughed "I wouldn''t doubt it, that Saal''Xhir blessing can give you plenty of stamina hehe" Castra-Cam smirked as some of the other nobles recoiled at her crude remark. Hope took her new weapons and her Ki flared Crimson, it was beautiful and she could feel the power flowing as the crystal glowed and the weapon became heavier, the same happening for the shield. "Morugarius above to be able to manifest a Ki this strong in her first time" One of the Royal Knights spoke breaking his silent vigil "Marcer look at that, that girl could blast through the gauntlet I bet" The other knight grunted, then Professor Themitrocles spoke with his cheerful voice "What a day! What a lovely day! to see someone wield both Ki and Mana! Come, miss Hope, to the Arena! Let us test your newfound might in the field of battle!" Hope was taken aback as the man who looked very strong asked her for an honest to gods fight! the weapon she had won from her parents was in her room! she turned to Lucrezia who smiled again and said "Keep them, consider a gift for making you the most popular woman in the Academy" then she turned to the man and spoke "Professor Themitrocles! Powerful her blessing may be, Hope is barely a novice in the art of war, May I and my Friend Kaine help her? 3 on 1 seems a fair fight for me wouldn''t you think?" Themitrocles laughed "If you wish to throw your hat in the ring of honor my young duchess then let it be so! and you Kaine? do you wish to join us in this exercise?" Kaine called down his Magi-Tech staff and with a flash of light he was armored head to toe with Lucrezia''s armor, Hope wondered if she could get one of those for her but she had already gotten priceless artifacts from the woman, asking for ore would not sit well with her. Lucrezia, on the other hand, pressed some hidden button inside her clothes and with a moan that would be considered obscene even in an appropriate setting came out with her mesmerizing suit of armor, on her back a mighty ax made out of bone, white as snow. With a whistle the maid appeared to her side and handed Lucrezia 4 spellrods that were floating on her back "Healing spells, in case Themitrocles there gets rough" Lucrezia whispered with a playful smile "Pay attention to every spell, Kaine he lobs at the man, then try your best to use them, same for my fighting skills and own spells, don''t be afraid of mucking up he casting, I''ll protect you" The trio walked together with Themitrocles towards the arena as the class conjured chairs and tables for the upcoming spectacle, Hope saw the Prince cheering her own as the others who had joined them nodded or waved at her. As they stepped into the Arena, she felt another click inside her soul and an otherworldly calm flooded her, she took everything in as her brain analyzed her surroundings at speeds so alarming she would panic if she could. Gathering her Ki to her new weapons she took a stance and grunted, Themitrocles nodded as he spoke "If you can survive for 5 minutes, you win" the man had a simple wooden stick on his hands that had no blade on its ends. Hope felt a wave of arcane to her side as Kaine began casting a staggering number of spells, her mind capturing every single one, then Lucrezia summoned a mighty arcane Aegis spell and Hope did the same except hers was golden in color unlike the pale white of Lucrezia''s "Ready or Not, Here I come!" Themitrocles bellowed as he charged forward, with a war cry as strong as his Lucrezia lunged herself at him with Kaine teleporting himself to his side, Hope ran as the rush of battle kicked in, with a smile on her face she screamed and went faster. Towards the glory of combat! Chapter 39: In the midst of battle, I shall have no fear. "Make no mistake young centurion, for every fancy woven unpractical armor and weapon those knights have, what lies beneath is nothing short of a perfect warrior ready to fight and die for his Kingdom, their faith as strong as our steel and their fury as hot as that of our mages" Tribulus Celsius to his new commander at the eve of the last invasion by the Imperium. Hope rushed ahead when she saw Lucrezia flying! towards the Professor, a huge halo made of iron spikes blossomed from her back and it spun like a mighty drill straight into the man who slapped his two hands and separated them with a flair as a blue pane of force came into being and Lucrezia''s assault was halted, the woman then spread her arms as a rod of iron fell from the sky and lodged itself into the barrier. with a motion akin to bringing a hammer down, Lucrezia summoned a mighty thunderbolt that vibrated across the entire barrier and scorched the earth around it, Hope''s mind was flooded with new knowledge as the second rarer attribute of magnetism was unblocked for her: Electromagnetism! "Kaine, Hope do it! now!" Lucrezia''s voice was empowered by her blessings as the command shook her mind out of the first time combat anxiety and a serene calm flooded her as she knew exactly what to do with her newfound powers. Sending mana to the ground Hope found vast quantities of iron deep below the arena, nestled within the soil, with a grunt of power she pulled them from the earth, her body doing the same gesture she saw a few nobles doing when they were at the gym doing lifts. "O mighty river of time smite my enemies!" Kaine''s staff flared as the symbol of Gwenarius showed up in the skies, an ancient clock mechanism that counted down to 3, and beams of pale blue light began descending into the Professor at high speeds! Another ping in her soul and mind let Hope know she could do that selfsame spell! yet her mind did not waver and with another grunt and burning massive mana reserves she didn''t know she had Hope manipulated the iron into a huge spike that drove itself into the barrier, not missing a beat she closed her eyes and focused inwards, gathering the necessary amount of mana for the spell. A lighting strike so strong it nearly broke the nearby windows nailed the barrier together with Kaine''s spell and the whole thing went up in the air with an ethereal crack. Hope heaved as her mana reserves nearly bottomed it out and barely saw the bottle Kaine gave her to regen mana as the dust settled around the Professor, the man had a grin on his face as he began to clap. "Congratulations! you lasted a whole minute!" he then leaped forward making a beeline towards Kaine and Hope remembered the very first rule of any combat drilled by the forces of Vermilion into their recruits "Take out the mages first" Her mind went overdrive as she counted the seconds for her mana to come back to acceptable levels, as it did Kaine had already layered himself with several barriers and aegis but something told Hope that wouldn''t last So in a bold move, she dashed towards the Professor together with Lucrezia who was panting hard, her cheeks red as a maniacal glee took hold of her usually calm and collected face, another ping in Hope''s soul let her know that her future teacher was under the aforementioned effects of Battle Lust! And that Hope could do the same if she wished to. Holding that off unless things got extremely dire she rushed forward and plated her shield in front of her just at the edge of Kaine''s spells when she heard the Prince scream from the side. "HOPE!" in his hand was a beautiful shield and around it, a mighty Ki construct! The Crimson Shield of the Dragonblood Family, a unique Ki technique only those of the Dragonblood line could employ said to have stopped the almighty attack of Gods itself! Hope drilled her eyes into it and within a second her soul and mind knew how to use it. Stabbing the ground with her new sword Hope roared a mighty war cry and at that moment the selfsame Ki shield came to her, the Professor was visible taken back as the technique only a few in the entire world was used by some random commoner! His strike faltered as it slammed into her shield of Ki and for a solid 10 seconds, she was locked in place holding for dear life. A shadowy figure warped to his side and a mighty ax made out of solid bone came crashing down, drawing blood in its wake as Hope heard Lucrezia moan again, the woman then rotated herself and planted a kick right into his ribs, her boots expanding into a nasty looking ice dagger! and she didn''t stop there as she pulled the ax back from the ground and slashed the man''s face! With a grunt, he removed the ice dagger from his ribcage and the wound closed in seconds, with a face that had none of the earlier mirths he turned to Lucrezia and punched the air in front of her. Lucrezia planted her ax straight to the ground as if predicting his move, alas the pressure of the spell was too much and she went flying towards a tree, slamming her entire back into it and plopping down on the ground, Kaine without wasting a beat grabbed Hope''s arm and teleported both of them to her and Hope was quick to use the staffs with healing spells on them. Which in turn made her learn the spells! Gods above! if she could learn one of the most difficult schools of magic from staff what was the limit in her blessing?! "Use the teleport spell you just saw, it''s modified to not tax on mana" Kaine gave her an order and Hope nodded "Lucrezia! talk with me, you mad woman!" Kaine poked her in the face as she moaned and groaned. "...I need a new set of undergarments..." Lucrezia whispered as she got up "I''ll pretend I didn''t hear that, nor your obscene moaning earlier" Kaine fired back with a sigh "Hope, DO NOT use Battle Lust, without a blessing or the training for it like the Orcs have you are liable to losing your mind" "Got it" Hope replied as the Professor looked up and said "2 minutes" the man was not messing around anymore. Alas, Hope was running on fumes after that huge lightning strike. "To think I would need to tap into that power this soon...Fate perhaps?" Lucrezia said while looking at the skies, she grabbed her ax and took a deep breath. Kaine''s eyes bulged from his sockets "What in all hells are you doing Lucrezia!" then Hope noticed a maelstrom of pure energy that was neither mana nor divine, or even from the hells! Rage, Wrath, a feeling of overwhelming anger that overpowered everything Hope could think and feel, a song of pure distilled vengeance against all of creation and its people. gasps around the fight-filled the air as the Prince fell on his knees his hands clutching his head in agony "Listen to its song Hope, its cries for blood and war, how it consumes and overpowers, a constant flux of eternal wrath against All-Father and its children, let the waves wash over you, embrace its power and drink deep from the fountain that is the Sea of Wrath!" Lucrezia''s voice had a distorted tone to it as her form blurred for a second before affirming itself once again, she was taller, meaner and her eyes glowed. "A shame I am stuck in the shallows, but not you Hope, you and our Prince over there, ours is the power only one person in the entire Kingdom enjoys, and today we will help you unlock it!" Hope''s mind was cast to that dream she had on her birthday, of the deep dark ocean she explored and it finally clicked, her mind and soul gave her the now common ping and a wellspring of power rushed into her very being. "Stage two, look at that" Lucrezia said with a smile on her face, but Hope didn''t listen to her as a power strong, ancient, and angry as all hells! "Rage-that-Dwells" is the power that allowed Queen Malphas to stop the mad royals of Grannarius, so strong even mid-tier gods wouldn''t dare to fight the woman unless with heavy backup, and Lucrezia said both her and Arthur had it! and strong enough to equal that of the Queen! Hope looked to Arthur and saw the young man standing still shaking, the powers of the Rage-that-Dwells fully manifesting in himself as well, but all eyes were on Hope and Lucrezia as Kaine sighed "Of course, of bloody course, you had that saved for last you bloody madwoman!" "A Shallow-Walker and a Deep-Peregrine, rotten luck..." said the Professor as he shook his head and pointed his staff at Hope and Lucrezia "Ready yourselves! For I will not hold back now!" a burst of guttural laughter left Lucrezia''s mouth as she picked her weapon and pointed towards him "Come and meet your destiny!" Kaine dashed backward and began summoning something big as Hope to let the power of the Rage-that-Dwells fill her, her mind deadset on destroying her enemy. It was hard to not lose herself to the rage she felt but she recalled that light that protected her in her dreams and focused on it, as her soul and mind focused on it she fell into a balance and was ready for the final bout. "Let''s finish this," she said picking up her sword and slamming it on her shield, trying to look as menacing as Lucrezia, alas she lacked the certain conviction one had after fighting a battle against overwhelming odds. Hope spared a single glance towards Arthur, the prince looked like he had gotten a grasp at whatever had plagued him, focusing her sight on the professor again, Hope called the heaping wreck of iron to her side and bent parts of it into thin rods floating behind her back, as the metal neatly slide itself on her Kaine floated in the air and pointed the staff at the Professor, a circle of arcane spears blooming from his sides and flying at great speeds towards the man. Lucrezia leaped like an animal towards him, and Hope used the teleport spell Kaine had used before, she warped to the Professor''s left side and tried to stab his ribs as Lucrezia came flying with a mighty downwards swing of her ax, the arcane spears slamming into a newly formed shield that also blocked Lucrezia''s swing. With another air charged punch, he tossed her ax far away and began raining blows on Lucrezia with his strange weapon, she, on the other hand, was deflecting, parrying, and even fighting back with strange moves unlike anything Hope had ever seen before, kicks, punches, grab moves! it was like she was one of those monks from the west who mastered the hand to hand art to perfection. Not wanting to lose her weapons as well, Hope tried calling down Kaine''s Chronomancy''s spell only to find it wasn''t working! like a mighty river current being blocked by an even mightier dam, she was missing something that would allow the spell to work. with a grunt, she called the iron rods and sent them upwards near the Professor, now that the unholy power of the Rage-that-Dwells was keeping her in top shape she felt the very fabric of creation cry out in anguish as she deployed an incredible amount of whatever force powered the Sea of Wrath into a lighting strike! A bolt came and struck true, breaking the Professor''s spell and more arcane lances came flying towards the man, Hope rushed in and slashed at his back only for the man to kick Lucrezia right in the belly and push her backward, parry Hope''s strike and deflect another shower of arcane lances by Kaine who teleported again and began summoning a fireball the size of a small carriage. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Lucrezia bonded back to the fray with a blood curling warcry and began raining down blows on him, Hope was readying herself for another lighting strike when the man leaped to the far end of the arena and held his hand up "3 MINUTES, ITS OVER" he bellowed as Kaine sighed and dispelled the fireball, the young mage had to support himself with his staff to not fall flat on the ground. Hope on the other hand was grinding her teeth in expectation for another bout of violence, it took all of her willpower to calm down, and once she did she felt her entire body drop before stabbing the sword in the ground and using it the same way Kaine was using it. Themitrocles clapped hands and everyone focused on him "My students! full glad I am that our rising stars here could give us such a display of combat! Of course, not all is well and I will personally drill you, fine people, into mean lean killing machines that would make even the most veteran of knights blush with envy!" he laughed at his joke but most of the class did not join the man "At any rate, I hope you all have learned something from this short bout, now regarding their strategy..." with a snap from Emmelie chairs appeared from thin air The other students quickly got themselves into a long debate mixed with a breakdown of the fight, of note was ramifications of Hope being able to use secret techniques and spells from a glance, as the Blessing of the All-Father was rare but not unknown there were rules in place in case a noble wanted complete ownership of his or hers spells and martial arts they would need to file a report to a nearby church of the All-Father and do an ungodly amount of paperwork for it. Of note was one of the Royal Knights out of her own volition teaching Hope after she recovered standard moves every Knight in the kingdom should know by heart and pointing out beginner flaws as even the Blessing couldn''t give Hope everything. Kaine also taught her a prayer for Gwenarius and Hope felt the sigil of the Goddess burn her left arm. As per tradition, it was known those blessed by the All-Father could have up to 4 Blessings at all times, and if they needed to change they would select one to replace it. From the Knight, she learned the blessing of Morugarius and the sigil appeared in her arm without hurting her this time. It was clear Gwennarius wasn''t happy with this, but only a fool would refuse the power of the All-Father, and she was no fool. Thadeus Shatter-Spear proved to be a boon as well. the young man was positively vibrating as he broke down the fight together with Themitrocles, Hope saw Arthur sighing as Thadeus bombarded Lucrezia with questions, the Duchess on the other hand looked like she had run the yearly marathon and could barely keep up with him, Hope watched as Kaine and Emmilie talked in hushed whispers. The fight had taken out the sting of the earlier revelation, that and the newer revelations of her unholy powers. A living ancient... how would the spirits around the world react, how would the gods react? And yet Hope felt an air of cheerfulness coming from the woman, it seems that Kaine''s mastery of time magic gave her a spark to enjoy life again, and who knows maybe together with Lucrezia they could do something about the Goddess that abandoned the Ancients so long ago... Lucrezia, Hope stared at the woman who had now shed her armor and looked like she was ready to sleep on the spot, her maid had shown up and cleaned her with some sort of spell that Hope learned as she watched the magic doing its work. Something deep inside Hope told her that Lucrezia has the key for something...something important in her life and the life of the people around her, she knew too much, had powers few could boast about and was a beauty to boot! but watching her now, Hope saw past the carefully made mask she had and what was there was a tired woman who weighted an entire duchy on her shoulders, but even then the happiness in her face could not be denied. Hope realized she didn''t want to be alone, friendless, and sulking like before. Nay, she would have friends this time, true lifelong companions who would help her through thick and thin. Even if the first of them was a maniacal horned up heretic prince killing woman.
"Your over-reliance on big flashy moves will be your undoing Miss Wulfgrem" Thadeus spoke to the woman as she mediated on the air thanks to her powers of Magnetism, he watched as the class tried to return to normal, and to their credit, his classmates were trying their best. Still, it wasn''t every day you would find out a race previously thought to be extinct to the last in an act of mass suicide, actually had the last living survivor walking around for decades now, enjoying a quiet life on her own. "I appreciate your concern Thadeus" she spoke with a weary voice, ah yes the effects of a Shallow-Walker first time tapping into the Rage were usually extreme tiredness and headaches, combining that with Lucrezia''s absurd usage of mana for those lighting spells and he could guess the woman''s head was buzzing as if she had come from a 3 day party drinking the most expensive of wines and distilled beverages the capital could give. For someone who had killed her parents and a prince, Lucrezia looked and acted with sanity, yet Thadeus saw that mask slip off in the battlefield, the madness that lurked behind the facade was a thing of beauty! Oh, how Thadeus hated the fancy nobles who lost their taste for blood after centuries without a good civil war! even his own family the Dragonblood''s had all but 1 become passive as the principality''s elves. Of course, aunt Malphas didn''t count, that woman was a one-woman army and very few would even dare mess with her. One of those few was right in front of him. "Are you perhaps done with the questions? I really must focus..." Lucrezia asked in a weary voice, yet Thadeus could feel the woman wasn''t all that against him bugging her, for every question he shot she gave him clear and concise answers. Almost like she was enjoying the chat! "To think old Arthur there was also born with the power of the Rage... wonder how aunt will react to the news" Thadeus spoke out loud as he sat down in the grass near Lucrezia "He wasn''t that much of a fighter, or a mage either even with his association with Kaine, wonder what secrets he''s hiding..." "I am sure will find the news very exciting" Lucrezia spoke again "How about you Thadeus, fearful of losing the spot as the best fighter of the family?" He couldn''t miss the little tease at the end there, Ahh Thadeus smiled as his Blessings flared into life to ward off the influence of Saal''Xhir. As always that blessing had to be countered as fast as possible, lest the leftover effects of his curse flared again. "Be seeing you soon Miss Wulfgrem" Thadeus got up and walked away, it was time to blow off some steam.
William stared at the awe-struck guy in front of him as he handed the man his dish, working in the cafeteria this early in the morning wasn''t his idea of a good time but he had a quest to finish and big rewards to get. By working with the school Chief, he would be getting a specially made dish made out of the draconic chicken with oil extracted from divine olives only found in the city of the gods. In-game it gave a permanent stat boost to the protagonist in all of its martial and magical stats. But to earn this mythical mean he had to ace this morning rush for food, and so using ample amounts of Ice mana and Magnetism to improve his reaction speed he was blasting through the line, to the point small lulls would happen as more people got into the cafeteria for their breakfast. "This is so bloody undignified! I am a godsdamned Duchess! not some peasant worker aah!" Lucrezia roared in his ear in outrage, the woman had been against the idea because her image would be tarnished beyond the point of repair and that this would spell doom to her social networking, William elected to remain quiet as she cursed and threatened him. "I swear on All-Father''s name when you come down here tonight I will beat you to a pulp you bloody Terran! Don''t you dare-" Lucrezia was cut short by the figure of a huge Orc who began speaking with William. "Working with the staff now Lucrezia? what''s next cleaning the halls?" Orthus asked with a laugh "Just a jape my friend, just a jape! It is good to see a high born working with the real people of her nation, often than not your kind can lose themselves in the good life and forget the struggles of the little ones" he spoke as William made his plate and out of memory William finished his phrase "For it is in the struggles of the little ones where we find the true face of our people" William spoke out loud and the orc stopped, a few others near him also stopped and nodded with respect "Spoken like a Village elder my friend! Best of luck in your trial and thanks for the meal" he went away as the line moved along. Time flew by as William worked, and soon he was face to face with the chief of the Academy Kitchen. A bald ashen Ogre twice as tall as Orthus stood quietly as he stared William down for a full second, the workers around them growing nervous by the second since the man was known to be very demanding and a fan of throwing ingredients at his would-be cooks. A rumbling voice growled in a myriad emotions William couldn''t right nail "Not only the whelp worked hard she worked smart, what is usually the hardest part of the job bar parties she nailed as she had been catering to uptight nobles her whole life, aren''t you a woman of many talents Lucrezia?" "I aim to please Chief" William replied. "So she does, so she does now come, let no god or devil say I did not reward you for a job well done" he beckoned William closer and opened the lid on the divine cooked bird, he salivated as the Chief spoke again "I am told your "Pizza" is the stuff of dreams, even when you lack a proper Blessing by a Culinarian God, you teach me how to make it and I will put the good word with the rest of the staff" What a bonus reward! William didn''t know this was possible in-game also. with a nod, he quickly got into the motion of prepping the dough and toppings together with the sauce, finding the right cheese was proving too hard as the one they had wasn''t the one William was used working on it, with a bark the Chief got several workers to make a supply run and a short few minutes later they had William''s preferred cheese. The Kitchen staff watched mesmerized as William did the classic dough throwing and prepped the dish, after putting it in the oven and waiting for the whole thing to be over the Chief spoke "Very good, very good indeed, Now go, get out of my kitchen" William left with a smile on his face, and the best chicken he had ever eaten on his hands.
Hope watched as Lucrezia shoved half a bird that smelled like it was made by the God of Cooking himself on her plate, the table as it were was buzzing with activity as people from the bout congregated around her, minus the Prince as he stayed in the Noble part of the cafeteria. "Lucrezia! how did you get that!" Kaine spoke loudly as he stared at the divine bird "very few cooks can work with that bird, much less get the right oil for the frying! Explain yourself at once you demoness!" "Don''t call me that" Lucrezia replied from her seat as she slapped Kaine''s arm to which Richard laughed "You two keep this up the rumors will get worse you know?" Ah yes, Hope thought to herself in a way to distract from the smells of the bird that demanded her to consume the food, the Academy was hellbent on proving Lucrezia was dating Kaine due to their friendship. Even when the woman herself mostly spends her time with Richard! the young man was always a bit nervous around Lucrezia which to be fair was a normal reaction given her reputation but after nearly a week of staying together every day, he was relaxing more now. "Lass you better eat that bird before I do it All-Father as my witness" Spoke Ironheart with a smile as she laughed at Hope''s face "I jest I jest, but gods it does look and smells good, to echo''s Master Kaine question, how did you get such a prize Miss Wulfgrem?" Hope couldn''t hold herself any longer and finally dug into the food, feeling her very being getting stronger with each bite as Lucrezia''s voice was heard "A secret my friends a secret!" she clapped and that spooky maid of hers appeared from thin air "As a consolation prize I made you fine people a pizza! please eat away!" "She cooks as well, impressive, impressive Wulfgrem" Dkhar spoke as she dug into a slice "Gods this is good!" "So" Lucrezia turned to Hope who had just finished her dish "Did the blessing work? can you cast Chronomancy spells now?" Hope drank a cup of cider and spoke "Yes! the Goddess spoke with me yesterday, she was very rude but now I can use every spell Kaine taught, a few of them demand too much mana and I have to tap into the Rage..." Lucrezia waved her hand "You will get the hang of it sooner rather than later my dear, and the martial training?" Dkhar spoke up "I had her train the basics with me and Ironheart here, she has them down and we are moving up with the more complex stuff at a steady pace, being able to outright change blessings to specific gods tied to weapons is...well there''s no right way to say it but brilliant" Hope nodded with a big goofy smile on her face, so far the training had exceeded her expectation! Lucrezia truly wasn''t kidding when she said Hope would become a legend with this power. "Hmm" Lucrezia placed her fair hand on her cheek "How about the rest of the activities, how are you enjoying those?" she asked as Hope searched around her mind, then the events came rushing in as she regaled her friends with the discovery of a new type of frog, running from a huge Cerberus that was living in some forgotten corner in the Academy and even singing in the Academy''s band! "You can sing?" asked Richard who motioned his hands "Of course, you can sing, Musical Gods, are known to bless people at random..." "Were you sleeping when I explained the ins and outs of the Blessing Richard?" Lucrezia teased him as she smiled again, Hope felt a strange but welcoming sense of peace wash over her as the people around her talked and joked amongst themselves. Every once in a while someone would come over like the big Orc who Dkhar told her was royalty or the representatives of organizations inside the Academy who had dealings with Lucrezia. Yet Hope had hidden a small part of her tale, a chance meeting with the Prince late at night on the rooftops of the main building, earlier that day Lucrezia had told Hope the sight there was something everyone should see at least once and so she went there, meeting Arthur who was all by himself. They talked at length, about life, about the Rage and its ramifications, Hope felt a strange kind of kinship with him as he opened up to her about life in the palace and dealing with the duties of being a royal. They only stopped when the sun came out and Hope couldn''t help but grin on her way to the dorms, Gods above this was great! "Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem!" a voice spoke with a commanding tone from the background and Hope snapped from her daydreaming, A tall-looking man stared at them, he was flanked by a legion of women one as beautiful as the next. Hope watched as Lucrezia''s face flashed with pure rage before the mask of tranquility settled and she got up, ready for anything the world could throw at her. Chapter 40: The Price of Pleasure "Saal''Xhir''s rise from the ranks of the fallen was one of the biggest steps on All-Father''s forgive and forget program where the lord of all creation extended the metaphorical and literal olive branch towards those who sided with his mad son, When the Goddess in charge of Love accepted his proposition and even managed to carve a decent following in Vermilion he granted her a special boon that further cemented her place as a legitimate Goddess" The aftermath of the War in the City of Gods Volume 5 William stared at the young man in front of him, flanked by two beautiful older women who were likely seniors in the Academy, they had playful smiles on their faces as William got up and performed a proper bow to the young man. "Hector Amenora, to what do I owe the pleasure?" William spoke "But please, take a seat, there''s ample room for you and yours" William snapped his fingers and Saa''ryu exploded into motion, dragging extra chairs with speed and precision. Hector was taken back by this welcome, aha William thought. He was still hurt from the treatment he got from his family after the blessing was made public, made a pariah turned dealer of hedonism in a place previously known for making formidable warriors, Hector was rebelling against the family that cursed and spurned him out by employing his Greater Blessing at full blast and openly praising Saal''Xhir. Which in turn made others blessed, be them noble or commoner and merchant to flock to him, In-Game that turned him as the "leader" of the fourth faction inside the Academy but they had no real power outside of the Fields of Amenora, all they had was capital to fund their parties inside its grounds and the Academy leadership was more than content to let them revel as long as it was contained there. And yet...William could feel the cold chills going up to his spine, the blessing flaring up to life as the trio got closer, a ping on his left ear shook him off as Kaine''s voice bloomed into his mind "Greater Blessings on all of them, It will cause a cascade on you" Curses and damnation William thought A blessing cascade was when 2 or more Greater Blessings of the same god were near each other, usually only triggering when both parties used at the same time but the thing was under an RNG dice-roll. That the two ladies beside Hector would also have Greater Blessings from Saal''Xhir was cheery on top of this particular juncture, William sat down as everyone went quiet due to the new people joining the table. "Ahem, These are in no particular order, Dkhar, Raffa Ironheart, Kaine, Hope, and Richard" "What happened to the other women that were with you mister Amenora?" Dkhar asked her eyes narrowed. "They had things to do, places to be as you know" He smiled and Dkhar softened her gaze "Well the lovely Lucrezia here has already introduced me and I doubt there''s a need for repetition, as for my companions these are Helaris and Kryn" The two women smiled and waved as William felt his Blessing sigil flare, he had to hold a groan as sweat began to build upon his forehead. William began with the old trick from his earlier days in this world, moving Ice mana along his channels, it worked for a few seconds before being overpowered by the cascade which at this point had to be on purpose, the rest of the table not picking up on this resumed their interactions and welcomed the new arrivals who on their part were doing a good job on integrating themselves with the others. "Use the rage" Kaine spoke in his ear with the spell "Mana won''t stop it and I don''t wanna clean up after you if the cascade reaches its apex" William tapped into the Rage and felt his mind flash red for a second, then it settled it as he stared at Hector who was no longer smiling. "You must be wondering why I am here? in short, I have a message from our benefactor" Hector began talking "She wishes to congratulate you on dealing with those Uumaries Prudes and thank you for letting the church take roots in the north, an untapped land ripe for picking now that the tyrannical hold of Uumaries no longer chains its people under her yoke of iron" "And a personal thanks from me for spooking those would-be paladins, you wouldn''t know the ruckus they raised for our last charity party! to the point of defaming the orphanages, we were helping! Thankfully a little crow resolved that particular bit of nastiness from escalating further" So the alliance was already there huh, William pondered to himself, Velkarius was silent of late maybe she had something in the works for him? "It isn''t smart antagonizing one of the biggest faiths of the Kingdom Hector, surely you can see that?" Ironheart spoke as she cleaned herself after eating "Many nobles still are on her side and it could trickle down into something...less than pleasant" "Not after the razing of Talos, that move alone has given my benefactor ample room for maneuvering and Uumaries is now forced to put out smaller fires as her people are outed as part of minor cults and such, I would make a small prayer for Friede but I doubt she would take it well, after all, she hates nobles" he laughed as focused back in William "Superb move using that mad Goddess, a more perfect execution couldn''t be done!" Hector cast his gaze upon the table, his face fell a bit as there was no slice of pizza left for him and so William offered his half-eaten slice to him, which made some gasp. "What? I got no sickness! the dude clearly wanted a slice" William spoke a bit defensive "Oh gods it''s a fetish thing isn''t it?" Kryn laughed out loud as the table broke into smiles and laughs "It is what it is" William said and shrugged it off. Hector finished eating with rosy cheeks and said "Thank you Lucrezia, now for the important bit of the message, our Benefactor wishes to speak with you in her cathedral, there is no set date so just drop by when your duties let you as I was made aware you are keeping very busy ever since the school year started, with that, I must take my leave, I thank you for the welcoming reception and your friends as well, so rare nowadays...Should any of you wish to visit our humble establishments please feel free to do so, I''ll have your names written as personal guests" With that, the young man left and the table went silent for a solid minute before Dhkar spoke, her voice betraying no emotions whatsoever "Ahem. that is an invitation I will have to respectfully decline" "Same" Richard spoke "I fear for my safety" "Hey, it''s all done with consent" William had to defend his fellow Blessed "C''mon now guys" "I know I know, it''s just..." Richard flinched back before the topic moved on, William''s blessing still at full blast as he held into the rage to not make a mess in the middle of the cafeteria. It was going to be wild today, wasn''t it?
Richard Silverbrand was cursing himself as he sat down beside the infuriatingly beautiful classmate of his. Lucrezia was positively giddy today even after that bizarre talk with Thadeus earlier. It didn''t help his mother demanded updates on the daily about the woman, and add to the fact she was way too friendly with him compounded the issue to the point his sources were saying he was the one who Lucrezia was dating instead of Kaine! ''''My quiet life...'''' Richard thought to himself as a Priestess of the All-Father walked into the room with the grace of a saint, she greeted everyone and began writing on the blackboard as Richard went back to his mind. The rest of their ragtag group might''ve seen Lucrezia work the cafeteria but they didn''t know half of it! In a matter of 2 weeks, she had already established ties with every major and minor faction in the school that wasn''t the nobles! And for some inane reason, he was the one who was managing this expansion together with her! Of course, the part his mother made sure he had that loved breaking deals was elated beyond belief! The access to items and capital he had was triple that when he got into the academy! His mother even told him that she would push for a marriage! that started a nasty fight with father as he refused to sell his son for profit and that Richard should fine someone he loved, he decided to leave them at it, no point in getting yelled by them after all. Still, Lucrezia''s expansion within the school on every front that wasn''t noble-backed felt strange, it was almost as if she had something against her kind. He wanted to press her for a reason but she got awfully quiet whenever he tried prying anything of her. The only person she would speak at length was Hope, that girl had Lucrezia warped around her finger but was too kind to use the madwoman. It was to the point that Richard thought she was in love with her, but he couldn''t quite put it like that, more time with both of them would be required to establish a working theory he felt. Another point in the ever-expanding jigsaw that was Lucrezia was her relationship with him. His mother''s ill-begotten plans of arranged marriage aside Lucrezia was touchy and often broke his personal space with hugs, leaning and one time laying on his lap! granted he was distracted and falling asleep in class and she did it to prank him but still, that''s strange ain''t it? Part of him, the rational one that is. Knows it was likely her Blessing flaring up without a "proper" outlet, Saal''Xhir blessed had to engage in some sort of sexual activity there were no two ways about it. and given she had already developed Battle Lust before getting to the Academy that could only mean one thing, and to quote his dead grandfather "She wasn''t getting any action" The irrational part of his wanted this to be her way of saying she was into him, but Richard knew better than to listen to impulses of the flesh, he had seen many a customer from his mother, and many bargoers lose themselves to it and regret their decisions deeply. And yet, there were a few moments where she broke free from the call of that Blessing and what he saw was a somber and extremely intelligent individual who was struggling with her choices, to kill good men and women like she did weigh on her heavily and very few knew about it, Kaine and her Maid as they had spent the most time with the woman, and Richard had a theory that Hope and the Prince had some sort of way to detect her inner feelings. It was a few days ago when she took him to meet with the Academy''s music team and propose a few of her songs to them where he saw firsthand that side of hers. At first, her songs were full of rage and bravado, meant to inspire soldiers and civilians alike to raise and fight for their land, her voice overpowering even the instruments to the point the Professor in charge of the music team had to step in herself and guide the band and Lucrezia. After those songs, the woman asked Lucrezia for a calmer song, something that wasn''t meant to whip the crowd into a frenzy but to make them feel sad and lonely. Richard noticed a few of the band members sighing and asked one what was up with that. The Kitsune explained that this was the "fail" test the Professor liked to give whenever someone got delusions of grandeur about music, often to temper those who had Musical Blessings into showing that they still had ways to go in improving their skill even with the headstart provided by the gods. Ah, Richard knew of a few martial sects who did the same. He stared at Lucrezia who had a smile on her face and asked for the musicians to be allowed to use their blessings at full power so they could follow her song with their instruments and magical spells. It was then after getting the approval of the Professor she began to sing, at first Richard wasn''t feeling particularly sad but as her voice grew in power he could almost feel it, a weight pressing him down the more she sang together with the instruments and spells that granted texture and scenery to her voice. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. They saw tall gray structures covered in snow, so much it piled up in the streets as shadowy figures walked aimlessly towards nowhere and everywhere, they saw a father fighting for his life as he tried in vain to stop the horde of shadowy monsters from attacking his daughter. The scenery then changed into long barren plains and her tone shifted into another song, they saw the destruction and rebirth of a world and the death of its inhabitants, their cries of anguish and rage as the final light of their planet was extinguished and in a desperate mad bid for salvation the wanton killing of themselves to bring back the paradise they once knew. She called the song of the ancients, a fitting name for the dirge she had sung for those who once lived on this planet of theirs. And yet Richard had glimpsed at that moment an intense sadness that permitted Lucrezia, together with a sense of duty and conviction so strong it nearly drowned him. There was depth to her actions, an end only she and she alone was privy to and he wanted to know what was it! He was snapped back to reality when Lucrezia poked him the ribs saying "You daydream too much" she laughed "The Professor will notice and call you out you know? we are at the front roll in case you forgot" "Yeah yeah" Richard fired back and focused on the Priestess who smiled at him, he was taken back by the action but spoke nothing of it, the less attention he attracted to himself the better. "Yeah yeah" Richard fired back and focused on the Priestess who smiled at him, he was taken back by the action but spoke nothing of it, the less attention he attracted to himself the better. "Extraplanar studies" Richard hear Lucrezia mutter to herself as she grabbed a new notebook with her slick metal arm. Ah yes he thought, the one subject everyone but the actual insane didn''t like, as to want knowledge from the terrors beyond the stars was taboo unless one wanted to join the legions of fighters to expand All-Father''s reach into that great dangerous expanse. Those (In Richard''s opinion that is) insane individuals would go on to fight and die in some forgotten dust ball that the All-Father fancied the previous morning, it horrified Richard that good men and women would lay down their lives for it even with all the promises of glory and honor after death. If the All-Father and its people got your soul before whoever out there gets first that is. Fear was a constant friend whenever Richard was subjected to these topics, most didn''t pay attention to it, they knew there were other races out there and that the All-Father wanted to bring them all under his rule and the line of questioning ended there, of course, the people who were against His rule were around but they kept quiet to avoid being stoned to death by the more lunatic followers of the supreme deity, or in Vermilion''s case lose all social standing they had and become a pariah. Everyone alive knew about the betrayal of the Mad God cursed be his name, and in his hearts of hearts, Richard could understand the divine, who in their right mind would want to see their children waste away in an endless war? see them suffer and die again and again and again? it would be enough to drive anyone mad. And it did. "Welcome everyone, today I''ll be the one ministering your Extraplanar classes, my name is Laplace" the priestess did a small bow as she continued speaking "As future leaders of our fair nation your minds mustn''t be closed to the greater reality beyond our planet and surrounding solar system, thus It falls to me and my peers to expand your understanding of the cosmos and beyond" A hand went up, Richard looked over and saw Ironheart''s face "Lady Laplace, would you be so kind as to say if the Hivemind''s partition will be joining us this year?" the young man felt his skin crawl as that accused name was mentioned. The godsdamned Hivemind was a galaxy eating monster who after destroying a nearby galaxy came in contact with All-Father, in a conversation on the entity itself and All-Father are privy to its details the Supreme Deity managed to convince that abomination against all that is alive to stand down and live its immortal life in the planet, where it partitions part of itself to act as an individual and walk the land in search of...something. How many lives had it ended? how many people had it killed? Richard felt his blood run cold when the memory of a clan meeting with one of its partitions flashed in his mind, the monster hid under magicks to look like one of the many races from the planet but Richard could feel its cold uncaring nature, that wish to end it all hidden away via unfathomable means. "Unknow, the Hivemind goes where it pleases Lady Ironheart" Laplace spoke with a smile on her face " But I am sure you could book a visit to its country if you wish to" Ah yes Richard recalled. The entire thing was the size of a country. "...Here we stand, feet planted in the earth, but might the cosmos be very near us, only just above our heads?..." Lucrezia whispered just loud enough that Richard looked in her direction, what an odd thing to say. Laplace on the other hand snapped her head towards Lucrezia and spoke "An esoteric view only the sages of the order are known to spout, Do you also believe dreams are connected to the cosmos Lady Wulfgrem?" The room grew silent as Lucrezia pondered "Mayhaps, the realms of dreams are rarely studied and the gods in charge of its many Spheres are fiendishly secretive with its inner workings, the more scientific-minded individuals who tried breaching it were all met with Divine punishment" Lucrezia smiled as she noted down something and Richard noticed Laplace hand twitching as if she wanted to speak up. "A topic for another time, I''d wager the class would want to know more about our neighbors in the stars rather than esoteric musings of old men" Lucrezia finished as the Priestess nodded. A long lecture on the many civilizations who were under All-Father''s rule kicked into high gear, living in planets so alien and having ways of life so out of the established normal that Richard could barely wrap his head around it. But Lucrezia could, where Laplace''s overly technical and sometimes faith-driven explanations failed the many hands who were raised in question she would provide explanations be it swift or long, to the point she was speaking as much as the Professor. "The denizens of Hepres-15 for example had figured out a way to tap into the river of time and saw a great cataclysm of cold death, where the very nature of the universe would halt to be as the stars grew apart and eventually all would be encased in an ice coffin" Lucrezia launched into an explanation after Laplace and a classmate went on a lengthy discussion about the heat death of the universe. The classmate in question couldn''t wrap her head around the concept and was nearly having a panic attack as the weight of the existential dread assaulted her. Laplace''s eyes narrowed "Very few know about that Lady Wulfgrem" to which Lucrezia waved her off "I was not smitten yet, He won''t mind if I give poor Ka-Xeena here peace of mind" The catkin nodded as she fought off the tears giving Lucrezia the go-ahead "Those brave souls had devised a way to outright break the heat death of the universe via a mastery of magic unheard and unmatched to this very day. in tapping into the very fabric of reality and laws that govern what is material, for the immaterial is not beholden to the selfsame laws" "And in a mad rush to end this nigh existential threat they devised an ultimatum, a spell so strong and so wide they tapped into nearly every sun they could reach, into every black hole for the power to tip the balance, and with a snap, it was done, their greatest achievement saved the mortal coil from heat death and to this day they are considered saviors of all, for the All-Father and other entities of his level who command multiple universes employed the self-same magic" Lucrezia finished. "What happened to the people of Hepres?" Someone asked "Their bodies were also used as fuel, they held within themselves more mana than an adult dragon, their souls joined the great beyond and once All-Father arrived in their universe they were welcomed within his halls as heroes" Laplace finished. "How come this isn''t general knowledge," another voice asked and Lucrezia laughed "It is! you can find books on any state library about it and every All-Father priest knows the tale by heart!" "The wealth of knowledge hidden behind those dusty tomes, oh if I could show you all" she continued "Ye who lived lives knowing no wants or hardships" "Tales of love, rage, hope, faith and much more" she ended with a big smile on her face. Richard could hear faint sobbing in the background, and honestly? he couldn''t blame whoever was crying, Imagine hearing all was fated to end only to find out someone eons ago did the impossible and even got their good ending? The class went on, as Laplace mostly explained the other civilizations and the emotions from before calmed down until the topic shifted into those that were at war against the All-Father and those who the many entities on the same level as Him had either quarantined or outright destroyed in the rare occasions where the warfare would be set aside to deal with the new threat. "Entity KJ-KM was the last know case of an alliance between All-Father and his enemies" Laplace droned on "A powerful being who ate star system whole via unknown means, it fought for years against the united front until All-Father deployed a new spell that obliterated it down to its very soul, the very first recorded soul destruction to happen," she wrote in the blackboard "As you well know a soul can''t be destroyed, you can break it, splice it or even store parts of it but all is made whole one way or another, this new spell was developed specifically to end the threat KJ-KM continuous existence. Cstra-Cam tapped her fingers on the table "Right proper nasty that is, you people don''t wanna know how many necromancers we put down on the year trying to do the same, how the All-Father even was able to make such a spell boggles my mind" Laplace smiled "would anyone explain how He was able to do such a thing?" Richard saw Lucrezia''s whole body freeze up for a split second, as the talk went on he felt she was getting more and more anxious as if something here was spooking her out real bad. The third Prince''s hand went up and the Professor spoke "the knowledge was made public just a few years back so I wouldn''t worry if you don''t know about it, I was only made aware due to my position as prince" that was the tell that the reason was something important enough to warrant the prince and his family to know. That''s when it clicked for Richard, his brain remembering a particular topic in Extraplanar lessons, the civilizations under level 5 quarantine! Planet and people so bad, not even the beings on All-Father''s level wanted nothing to do with it, locked away to wither and die on their forgotten corners so their horrible ideas don''t spread to the greater cosmos, and out of all L5 civilizations, there was one whose very name was taboo among the children of Faal. "Terra" Arthur nodded but didn''t speak anymore, knowledge on terra was very very scarce and all that was known was this; they had bloodthirsty gods who loved war above all else and it was populated by human-like people who also loved war, their machines made for the barbaric act so brutal and cunning that they nearly ended themselves twice! only when they were under assault from the terrors beyond the stars that the quarantine around their planet was made public knowledge for the people. "To think a planet full of humans in a perpetual state of war exists" A high elf spoke, "A part of me wishes to help those sorry sods but if it was bad enough that the All-Father and his enemies decided to lock them away what hope do we mere mortals have?" Richard noticed that Lucrezia was dead quiet, he poked her and asked "Are you alright?" Her hands were shaking as she spoke "Blessing is flaring up again, don''t mind me" After a while, Laplace spoke "It was from that cursed planet that the All-Father devised the means to end a soul, to destroy that which is indestructible and to this day not a single of his enemies dare to provoke the usage of the spell again, let this be seared into your minds my young would-be rulers" she pointed to the ground "Down here you have power, upwards you are protected" she pointed to the roof then opened her arms "but beyond lies that which could end you in but a second, be humble and always heed the word of All-Father" On this somber note, the class ended, and Richard bolted to the bathroom as he saw Lucrezia walking up to Laplace.
Azarel Bir''Yurar walked along the austere halls of the Academy flanked by his harem of the most beautiful women the place had in the last 10 years, as the newest holder of the Sacred Sword Artorius he was the new face of Clan Bir''Yurar, famous for being the holder of the aforementioned sword and one of the most loyal families to server the Kingdom, Together with the Sacred Bow Vana. The Shield was sadly stolen by the Imperium and the Spear was lost in the jungles of southern Shogunate, and so Azarel Bir''Yurar enjoyed a privileged position as the sword arts teacher and warden of the Fields of Seresval even when he was a second-year! Alas, the young man lacked the morals from his forebears, abusing his power to starve the usage of the fabled fields for people who did not submit to his whims, only letting women as part of his ever-growing harem. The Academy and he knew they couldn''t afford the drama it would cause if this went public and so he abused the noble''s tendency of wiping their problems under the proverbial carpet. The Sacred Sword was a living weapon, housing the soul of Artorius the Blademaster, a woman who fought for the first King of Vermilion at his prime and in her deathbed made an oath together with the other sacred relic creators that their families would serve the kingdom forever, thus her soul and the souls of every holder empowered the weapon granting its holder mastery over a millennium worth of combat experience. Azarel couldn''t care less about all of that, even with the other Sacred Relic on campus he was focused on his harem and living the good life off his family name and a magical sword. Ever on the hunt for another mark in his tally. That was when he heard about the Wulfgrem girl, how she had committed sins and crimes against all that was good and holy, and even grabbed the seat of Duchess in battle! that she was a Saal''Xhir whore was even better, for some reason the bore in charge of the other field refuses to entertain him and his harem but perhaps Lucrezia wouldn''t be so uptight and give him a good time. Thus he walked up to her table followed by some of his girls and spoke "Lady Lucrezia Wulfgrem! you are hereby allowed permission to join me and my friends for a private gathering in the main keep of the Fields of Seresval" the faces around him telling that said gathering was nothing more than a paper-thin cover for an orgy with his harem washed with booze and drugs. Before he could even hear a reply from the woman his blade screamed as a fist shiny and metal crashed into his solar plexus, Azarel felt the world spin as he began to fall before one of his girls came to his aid. "You are a disgrace" Lucrezia spoke with what he felt was the Rage leaking from her whole body "A stain on this place and the people who turned a blind eye thanks to that sword of yours, approach me again and I will kill you" Azarel felt his sword manifest against his will and Lucrezia turned her ire to the weapon "He would be ashamed to see your legacy being wasted on this animal" The sword went away as Azarel was dragged away from the table, his faculties returning to him as pure outrage blasted forth "You whore! I will have you killed! My best warrior will challenge you to battle and chop off your head!" he screamed as he was dragged away but not before sensing the Spirit of the Sword float behind. He would be sending his very best to kill that whore, and then he would eat her corpse in front of all of the Academy as he feasted on her blood! Chapter 41: The Grind "On the distant shores of Akevarar, the mega continent that few dared visit there was once a mighty empire ruled by goblins, The Imperium had good relations with them and often our ships would do the year-long voyage for exotic goods and diplomatic visits until that is the Sea Elves wiped them by employing the foulest and darkest of magicks. Those that survived ran for the new world and joined the Orcs in their struggle against the Elvish menace and to this day they long to return to their homeland and rebuild their empire. The latest survey indicates the lands are barren and nary a soul roam its once-proud streets" On the Imperium and his Allies volume 1. "Very good, Lady Lucrezia very good. My fellow priests may not agree with teaching a noble our necromantic arts but I say that''s a good thing! gods know we have been making near zero progress in getting the craft to be accepted by the larger society and the word of a noble carries weight around these parts, doubly so for their actions" Spoke Lakshpur Matra, an ancient Kitsune Lich who was positively delighted in teaching William. "Now, unlike our standard combat-focused magical arts, Necromancy is more of an eclectic field, there are no set structures and we borrow much from other mages, be it in spell crafting, shaping, and deployment of it be it on the battlefield with our battle mages and field engineers or in a civilian setting, the latter being harder due to cultural and societal sensibilities as I am sure you are aware" Lakshpur finished and tied her hair in a neatly done ponytail. "Hard to sell undying skeletons as farmworkers and ended up displacing local economies" William spoke and the woman grinned "Ah yes, the evergreen project, a marvel of Necromancy and Mind Magic shut down due to the living being afraid of losing their jobs, even after we had all assured them they would not lose coin or land...A topic for another day I am afraid Miss Lucrezia, Today you will be learning Mind Magic!" William nodded, actual necromancy would be coming far later, to build a proper Necromancer one needed to first shield the mind then the soul as both were interlinked, and with a strong foundation built in the Mind department, his mastery of the Soul would be expanded twofold. And so the day went on, William would make steady but hard progress towards a passing grade in mind magic as whatever mechanism the Monolith labored under flared giving him flashes of Lucrezia''s innermost memories, as recent as last week at that, still he soldiered on as did she and in sharing those memories both were more connected than ever. The highlight of the day was when he was taught Illusion spells that would specifically help with the foundation of his mind and soul defenses. Deep in a meditative state William was told to focus inward and create a simple construct of Illusion and Mana, Something that in his mind was to be his protector against the unseen be it man-made or from outside of the mortal coil such as demons and devils, the terrors from beyond the star and all in between. William felt his mana reserves deplete like he was casting multiple thunderbolts, with an oof he supported himself on a nearby table as a tall mana construct stood before him for a second before dissipating into thin air. "Marvelous! to be able to manifest a humanoid construct on your first try! Still, I must dock points due to ego, surely making the construct look like you is a tad on the nose miss Lucrezia?" "What?" William asked stupefied "Lucrezia?!" William asked his hidden friend only to receive another question "Don''t look at me! That''s on you William I can''t make you cast spells!" she bellowed out from the deepest recess of his soul only to calm down a little and a sense of pride overtake the outrage "To think you see me as your protector... I don''t know if I should feel flattered or spooked" "Why spooked? bah, we can have this discussion later" William spoke fast, who knew if his teacher could see Lucrezia''s soul or the Monolith if he went quiet all of the sudden. "Forgive me Miss Matra" he replied. "Hm, I suppose you did have too much by your lonesome to get where you are today, the mind often hides our honest feelings from ourselves, and its the job of mind magic to tease them out, but I have teased you long enough, now as you no doubt noticed the spell took an incredible quantity of mana and didn''t last nearly a wink, do not lose heart as this is but the soul taking its first step on working in tandem with the mind for Mind Magic! here''s what you must do to improve the spell..." Together with the Lich Kitsune William spent the rest of the day ironing out the kinks away as his skill with it increased at a steady pace, alas he had to go back to the Academy, ha gave his farewells to the staff of the church, and set out on his own for once, as Saa''ryu was arranging his training sessions with the Owl and his family of assassins for hire. Fun times! To train with a master of stealth was a dream come true, even if William was fond of the loud approach when it came to combat. As night descended into the capital William decided to go to one of the many pubs the game threw at the player for side quests or just talking with NPCs, "The mad Elf" was a fan favorite for its high octane side quests that mostly involved the protagonist going out hunting for beasts that could fight like a demon-possessed Knight, hard but fun encounters meant to test the player''s raw skill in combat. To no disturb the place and its patrons, William quickly fashioned himself a cloak with Illusion magics that masked his face to the lips, alas magic to alter his voice was still beyond his ken so he enacted to just speak very quietly. The pub was packed, but just enough that there was space to not feel uncomfortable, William sat down by the counter and ordered mead, to the distrusts of the barkeep who thought him a highwayman or thief. "You try anything funny lady, and the big lad at the door will be talking with you before the night is over" the barkeep pointed to the minotaur at the door who looked like he was ready to die of boredom, at William''s glance he rolled his eyes as if to say "don''t mind him" Paranoid as ever, just like the game William thought to himself as he smiled and spoke "I wouldn''t dare my good sir" and so he enjoyed the cozy atmosphere alone, seeing adventurers taking the side quests, patrons eating and drinking, the bard playing some god forgotten song no one could sing along...For a split second, it was like William was back in his home, playing the game and just enjoying himself. Alas, the taste of mead and the cold meats he had ordered was enough to dispel the illusion, as he called for the barkeep for another pint he noticed a couple entering the pub and sitting down at the far end, near the shadows. William furred his brows as something was nagging him about those two, he stood there half staring at them until his second pint arrived and he downed the thing fast. Maybe it was the earlier lessons in Mind Magic that made him sharp today, or the booze, or even the little flashback he just had, maybe all three but it clicked when he noticed the little minute movements of the couple, how the woman would flex her hands, how the man was touching a little scar in his neck just below his hood... That was Hope and the Prince! Sweet baby Jesus William thought they are already dating! "Christ alive it hasn''t been 3 weeks!" He spoke to Lucrezia who chuckled "No competition and no one to bar her way meant she worked fast, would you look at that" Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. William had a big smile on his face, to think she would find happiness this fast was nothing short of amazing indeed.
Lakshpur Matra, ancient priest of the Undying who had lived to see the first stones being built in what would become the capital of Vermilion and more watched as the last of the Wulfgrem blitzed through her Mind Magic combat regimen with the patience of a saint, for every mistake the woman would take a deep breath, center herself and try again until she began knocking record after record. It took her 10 hours, ten bloody hours of doing the regimen again and again and again until the was gliding through it with a grace that bespoke her roots, Lakshpur couldn''t help but smile when remembering the northern oafs and their simple but often profound way of living, always charting new land for their newly minted king, fighting and feasting with the other families. Lucrezia finished fighting the arcane construct with her own, what Lakshpur knew to be a form of high-level shade type spell for defensive action and something someone with no background knowledge in Mind Magic and Illusion spells plus Necromancy would not be able to summon, their records told them that she was clean and had not attempted any Illegal training. Which meant either they had a natural on their hands or something else was at play here, Lakshpur favored the former as the young woman was a veritable fountain of knowledge both practical and theoretical, from what their people inside the academy told them, she spent nearly every waking hour of her day doing something, be it working on her Magi-Tech forge, learning magic and teaching the one blessed by All-Father or furthering her ties with everyone in the Academy that wasn''t nobility. "Well, Lady Lucrezia I must say you are nothing short of amazing, with this I am ready to advance our training to the next step, take a few minutes to gather yourself for today we start your introduction in the field of Necromancy!" Lucrezia dispelled her construct and bowed, Lakshpur couldn''t help but smile at that, A duchess and member of the Five bowing to her? oh if only this had happened a few centuries ago! The young woman pulled a contraction that was full of silver and mana crystals and with a flash saw her body clean of sweat and grime, the same for her training outfit. With a sigh, she removed the metal arm and placed its smaller form on top of a table, with a crank of her neck she spoke "Finally" "Quite the drive you have Lucrezia, but I won''t try prying your secrets just yet, I was just told the other day you made a healthy donation to the church and even loaned land in your Duchy for us, if only you knew how long we have tried to make our ways north to dispel the bad name Necromancy still has up there" Lakshpur smiled, what an honest noble she had gotten. Gods knew they have gotten bad brides all the time from rogue necromancers nobles, only to cut them down and take the cash anyway, now establish a proper church in the north? that was something else, being able to hunt rogues in the wastes and spread the good word would be a boon like no other. "I have...duties I must tend to and only Necromancy will grant me the proper means to do it by myself " Lakshpur noticed that for a second there her usual cadence fell off, the mask slipped and she saw a very different Lucrezia, one that carried a burden no young person should. It was plain to see it was a highly personal matter and so respecting the student who had yet to muck it up Lakshpur elected to not push and wait until Lucrezia was comfortable sharing it by herself. "We all have our reasons," she told Lucrezia "Now come" They walked along the church''s corridors and entered the training room for junior necromancers, a few were already sat down reading tomes or performing spells. Some muttered greetings but the rest was too focused to even notice Lakshpur and her new charge. "Sit down, it is time to see if your body can handle the aspected mana necessary for the employment of necromantic spells," Lakshpur told Lucrezia who did as it was asked "I will channel some towards you, try cycling it along your body, should you not be able to handle the strain I am afraid Mind Magic will be the only thing I will be able to teach you Lucrezia. Every living being had Elements they were attuned to, but not everyone could handle the aspect of death, rot, decay, and undeath that was necessary for fuelling the spells. Lakshpur began her work as Lucrezia''s face twisted in pain, with a silent spell Lakshpur began tracking her vitals and so far nothing was outside of the ordinary except her...Ye gods Lakshpur thought as she saw the Sigil of Saal''Xhir flaring up and spreading its essence along with the aspected mana. "Pleasure through pain, ain''t my place to judge now is it?" she spoke to herself as one of the junior necromancers laughed and said "Quite common in these halls Lady Lakshpur, quite common indeed" It took Lucrezia more than an hour to come off from the effects, a longer than the usual time but she was a novice who had hardly prepped beforehand unlike the people here. Still, she passed the first test and now was by all rights a junior Necromancer. Still, it didn''t help the girl was moaning in a way that was making even Lakshpur feel improper, you really can''t mess with Greater Blessed, can you? After Lucrezia got her urges under control they began going through the basic spell shaping and weaving exercises for the most basic Necromantic spell, Comune with the Dead, which was self-explanatory. "Usually we have a ghost or two roaming around as sentries or liches who are testing new means of sake keeping their souls, your task is to find one of those wayward souls and engage in a light convo with them, I will know if you didn''t find anyone or otherwise failed to do as I asked, you have 1o minutes" Lakshpur gave the order and Lucrezia bolted from her seat into the corridor. With 3 minutes on the clock, she came back with a book, an old saber, and two glasses of wine, with a smile she placed them in front of Lakshpur and stood there. Lakshpur couldn''t help but nod, that was impressive! "Tell me, how did you get old Allant and Gwyn to part away with their prized possessions? many here tried to no avail..." she asked Lucrezia who smiled and told her that she used a few choice words with the two ghosts for their items. "As for the book, Old Flying Otter was happy to trade it for a crate of coffee and a few choice ores, easily done but the paperwork took a while. Lakshpur couldn''t help but smile, ahh to think of the fun times she would have with this young lady as she tore into the old bones and spirits of this place! finally some godsdamned fun in these dusty halls! She noticed that Lucrezia was also smiling as if she could read her mind and she laughed out loud at the idea, what a day, what a lovely day this was!
"Is this hmm, secrecy needed?" One asked in a voice distorted by magic and other means, twisting its head to the other masked person. "She is in league with a Goddess that can control birds, do you check for crows when you wake every day? I thought so" the other person got up and walked to the table, pulling a small pile of papers from its drawer. "See, wherever the other one goes she follows, we won''t be able to move in and start the second part of the plan if that peasant enjoys the protection of her" she pointed to the papers and with a spell floated them to the other one, who''s hand grabbed the floating pieces of paper from the air with elegant grace and unnatural speed. "And your Mind Magicks can''t do nothing to Her? surely her defenses can''t be strong enough to hold you right?" The first masked person asked with a hint of a sneer in their voice. "Mock me all you want but I will not throw my hand in the fire that is messing with Undying Acolytes, She might not be blessed by him but his eyes are on her all the same, after all, it will only take a word for the peasant to go there and learn the craft herself" the second masked person spoke in a fury. "It already happened" the first spoke with a neutral tone "Shortly before we began this meeting she took the peasant there and my people tell me she''s there to specifically train against Mind Magic and Necromantic attacks" they finished looking bored "the sooner we strike the better, we are wasting time with this cloak and dagger play you like so much you know?" "As if a month of training would be enough to weather my power should I bring it all to bear! And you, have you prepared things on your end then?" The second asked as they sat down. "Yes, the rituals went off according to plan and the relic is now nigh unstoppable unless She somehow acquires either the shield or the sword none shall stop me" the first coughed "In a month''s time all the high nobles will be called to the Palace for the Day of Tribute, both our Beloved and She will be away from school for at the very least a week, we move to strike then" "And the henchmen?" the second asked. "My best is ready and willing, after all, they aren''t fans of peasants" a smirk could be seen even with the mask. "Then finally we can move to claim what is rightfully ours, I will begin preparations on my end and send you some of my people as back up" the first voice moved to the door when it heard another cough. "Yes?" the first asked. "She fought with the current holder of the Fields, if she takes over it and trains the peasant our plans might..." but the first cut them off with a wave of their hand. "It won''t happen, He''s a holder of a Relic and has numerous daughters and their knights in his back and call, short of bringing an actual army to the Academy she will never take the fields from him" Both nodded and went away with teleportation spells, the room fell into silence once again. Interlude: In the murky depths "To understand the power that the Rage gives one needs to first learn about the current only know holder of its apex form, that being the Vermilion Queen Malphas who could at the height of her battle against the King and Queen of Grannarius even interfere with the river of time, Unload spells of such magnitude even their Arch-Mages would pale to replicate and bring down such force to the mortal coil the very land stood in fear when she went on a warpath, this volume will go in detail on how and why the rage works..." On the Rage-That-Dwells Volume 14 by Alfonse Del. Malphas Dragonblood, Queen of Vermilion paced around in her private chambers as she read the latest report on her son''s killer, her hand glowing in shades of crimson and black as the anger threatened to burst forth like a geyser. That her youngest had made friends with the whore was bad enough for her temper, but now he was dating a peasant?! She didn''t miss the small detail that said peasant had both the Rage at the second stage and also the most coveted blessing in the entire world. Worse, the whore was training the peasant girl, already she had shown progress so fast the spy who did the report made sure to send memory pebbles containing evidence of her feats. And yet, Malphas''s husband stonewalled her every attempt to have the whore killed or judged. His Shatter-Spear blood demanded the peace of the nation to be the focus, not the avenging of his criminal son who he went as far as say deserved the death he got. She had to hold herself back, Jason''s eyes bored into her without flinching as he waited for her to do the deed "Kill me" they told her in a conviction so strong even her grief and madness faltered for a second. Both were aware of Galius''s crimes against the country and her people, against the many women he broke, and even their closest friend''s daughter. Jason was waiting for this she thought to herself, waiting for Galius to slip up so he could be cut down in the name of Great Vermilion. "Galius died years ago Malphas, the man that lived among us was nothing but an impostor, a puppet for the evils you and I swore to purge from this world," Jason said as he left her alone in the throne room. Malphas''s mind broke free from that memory as she got out of her chambers, walking along the corridors of the castle she was reminded that soon the high nobles would meet for the yearly Ritual of Bonding, a millennium-long tradition between those who first settled these lands undertook to further their ties and avoid civil wars. Malphas would have to hold herself back when that day came, if she was to have her revenge it would have to be in a way her dearest husband wouldn''t know, or if he did learn about it, not fault her. She loved him too much and wouldn''t risk losing him as she did Galius. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. And so she would wait, wait for the perfect opportunity and slice the head of the whore and mount it on the castle walls, as a final act of revenge for her oldest son. Soon. "Why do you want that accursed heap of bronze and silver Malphas..." Rumbled a voice from the cavernous depths of the dungeon, while powerful and loud it also had a tinge of boredom and annoyance, as if it didn''t appreciate the sudden visit. "Not your concern grandad, now give me the sword" Malphas stood tall as the form of the Red Dragon came into full view, the lizard looked like it had just woken up and was not happy with Malphas making a ruckus. "Ancestor! blasted girl I am not your grandad!" He rumbled again as the depths trembled "Oh bloody hells the infernals are fighting among each other again on floor 100" he summoned an arcane panel of force and with his claws began sending mana throughout the depths as the very earth shifted and moved around him "I swear if we don''t start getting more adventurers down there I will have to fire them all..." Malphas smirked "I told you, the infernals hate each other as much as they hate the other races or more depending on which lord you ask, the arrangement you made was bound to fail as they will hardly keep a united front against mindless beasts you create in your little maze" "My dungeon is no maze you ingrate welp! Ugh, I do I still suffer your snide remarks when you fail to see the monumental achievement that is the Grand Dungeon of the Red Dragon Saark!" He extended his wings in a show of vanity but Malphas could see the old lizard was getting fat again, for someone who hated fighting he sure got off on watching others try to conquer his little underground maze. With a tap of his wings, Saark summoned a box of rusted metal and dropped on Malphas'' feet "Take the damn thing, and don''t bother me again girl otherwise I will make sure your cousins hear about it!" The woman smiled at the mention of her extended family, most of them had too much dragon blood on them and never liked the noble life, living as traveling adventurers as she once did with her husband and her party. Malphas sighed as her mind was taken back to those halcyon days of glory and conquest, of living life on the road and sleeping under the stars. She missed those days, and her once lifelong friends and companions. In a hidden chamber of the castle, Malphas prepared the blade she had gotten from Saark, the rusted box shining with violet light as she chanted the words inscribed on the hilt of the sword. The "accursed" part of the dragon''s little rant was more than empty banter, this blade was forged by a nameless Infernal Baron who in mad anger for the killing of his harem made this weapon with a powerful curse. Should one inscribe the blood and name of their foe in the metal of the blade a single slash would be enough to kill them, outright removing their bodies from the mortal coil and sending their souls to the darkest pits of the hells. Malphas got a vial of almost black blood, as part of the ritual of bonding they were required and so she used the blood of the whore''s parents hoping the ritual would work, chanting the foul words of the infernal language she stood still for nearly an hour as the ritual ran its course. A click in the back of her head told her the ritual had worked, as the faint whispers of the Infernal Lords began to flood in only to flee in terror when she flared up the Rage, one of the few things those damnable things feared and even banded together to fight it off. Writing the name of the whore in the blade took time to get it right, but once she was done with the weapon she felt a chunk of her mana being sucked and forging the blade into the one she used in battle. The first step of her plan was complete, and so Malphas would wait, wait for the right opportunity to move in for the kill, and no god or men would stand against her and her revenge. Chapter 42: Full Speed Ahead. "In the uncertainty of the natural world, we find meaning, In the wonders of the arcane, we find strength, in the sciences, our actions shape the world. Together we shall transcend all" Chant of the Magi-Tech church. Idun took a look at the shipyard underground as his people hammered, melded, and cast their miracles as a deep melodic song boomed in the background, the people singing along without words. "This, this will change warfare as we know it even more than the battle against the First Prince and his people" Knight Commander Erwin spoke to Idun''s side, the man was flanked by his now newlywed wife, the wounds of his tragic past healing bit by bit thanks to the newly established church of Saal''Xhir in the north and its healers helping the man deal with his devils. "Master Idun, what about those suits of armor I heard about?" Sigr¨²n asked. Idun smiled "The Zenos prototype unit has gone through quite the iterations and we have managed to streamline the process to 3 variants, a front line bruiser meant to take the maximum amount of damage, a long-range scout with powerful jamming abilities, and BVR combat capabilities together with the new stronger version of the bolt action rifles" Sigr¨²n nodded "I''ve seen those new rifles at work in the range, they can punch through even the strongest of Ki barriers and metals, but that recoil..." Idun nodded, he had read the reports of broken shoulders and arms and the weapon was already being toned down for infantry use. Erwin spoke "Those front line units, will they have that new weapon the Duchess had you come up it last week?" Ah yes Idun nodded, the man had taken a liking to the new weapon the so-called "shotgun" Idun didn''t want to debate nomenclature with his savior and head of the church but sometimes Lady Lucrezia wasn''t the sharpest tool in the shed when it came to names. Still, with ammo that could deal with several situations, the weapon was surprisingly popular with hunters and frontiersmen braving the wilds of the wastes, close range, long-range, taking down small and big game. A more versatile weapon platform Idun couldn''t name it. "Aye Knight Commander, we have yet to crack the automatic design our Lady keeps harping about but the MK II has it together with spell rods and a special crystal meant for a long-range beam attack that drains the magical energy of its inner core, a last-ditch attack against enemies from afar" Idun spoke fast and clear as the Knight Commander and his Second in command nodded. "Typical of her, do these suits have means to remove the pilot should they be compromised?" Erwin asked. "We are working on portable teleportation beacons to be deployed but the knowledge for those is rare to come by, it will take at least another year before we can have safe ejections, bar that they can get out in relative quickness via the eject function that deploys a shock-absorbing slime around the pilot as they fly from the back of the suit" Idun tapped his table "I assume you want to know about the last type yes?" "Infantry focused I wager?" Sigr¨²n spoke. Idun nodded "Aye lass, in the words of our Lady the Zenos MK IV is a lean mean killing machine, granting increased power, mobility, and reaction time to our troops at the cost of the protection of the MK II, together with the new model of twin-barrel bolt actions, and the semi-auto pistols it is a game-changer in the fields of battle, all powered by the Magical Crystals mined from the castle" Erwin took a look around, seeing the other immense project being built around the flotilla, and spoke in a hushed tone "My blessing aches at the sight of this, I wasn''t alive when the last sphere shift in the realm of war happened but you were" he pointed to Sigr¨²n who spoke, "The first time crossbows were deployed into actual war..." Erwin contained "But this? this will be an order of magnitude above it" He pointed to the vehicles "those personal carriers of hers, with the obvious weapon at the top and armored enough to take salvos from an entire battalion of knights, those death machines with the huge cannons that just a few short months before were immobile now flying across the plains with power to shake the earth and heavens both..." Idun laughed "If only you had seen the terraforming locomotive, Erwin! a shame the damn thing didn''t work, as Lady Lucrezia was delighted with its design and rail building capabilities!" "Master Idun I must say, to have cracked the code in Airship making..." Sigr¨²n sighed "The elves from the principality are very stingy with their technology but now, now we can fly!" "And rain death from the skies, sea, and land" Erwin spoke his voice somber "I wonder, we aren''t at war and the Duchess made clear the King is holding his wife back from killing Lucrezia, what need does she have to make these machines of war?" From the background a form appeared, Ah Idun smiled when he saw Emilya and her scary elven guard. "Something is brewing in that Academy Knight, something nasty that will boil over and Lucrezia is making sure she has the power to fight back whenever that happens, take a look at this" the Elven woman placed a map in Idun''s table "Last week she secured shipping lanes along the entire coast, and the Academy has a small port right by the castle that''s the center of those Fields of ours where people don''t die" she marked the spot with magic. "Madness! This would be nothing short of a coup! Lady Lucrezia made crystal clear she would not move a hand against the Royals Miss Veronica!" Erwin spoke fast as the elven woman shook her head "Yes and I believe her, your womanchild of a ruler is surprisedly open with her emotions when it comes to that, but it is clear she will do something that will involve our forces" "ours?" Sigr¨²n asked and Veronica sighed "You aren''t the only one dealing with a womanchild, Little princess over there has pledged herself to Lucrezia and she means that, if she is to fight she will be on the frontlines with the Magi-Tech Vanguard" Idun couldn''t help but smile at that, He knew Emilya abhorred fighting but her sense of duty ran more profound than that, Gods bless that lass. "Hraax contacted me, her people are also ready for a war with anyone that comes knocking" Erwin spoke again, this time calmer "I...Would not want to fight against the Royal Knights, I can vouch for my men but our Standing Army would likely fold in the first bout..." Idun spoke "To bridge the cap we will need more and better Magi-Tech, Yes yes I have some ideas for that" He and Emilya went off to a secluded corner as the Warriors stood amongst each other. "Will you fight Lady Veronica?" Erwin asked. The elven woman smirked "And miss the chance to kick Vermilion Knights in the balls without having to deal with some century-long curse being thrown at me? Yes, I will fight, if that soft-handed princess is willing to take up arms then so are we" she looked to the flotilla and airships "Still this is a tad overkill, Our blessings aren''t lying here Knight, those weapons were made to level out entire cities. I dare not entertain the notion of fighting anything stronger than your Royal Knights" Erwin frowned, if it came to that, not even the gods themselves would be able to turn the tide.
Saa''ryu was tired, as the days went by her and her master she began to notice a pattern to the chaos Lu was bringing to the Academy, from fixing minor stuff no one in their right mind would even be given the time of the day, to literal world-shaking events as the discovery of a godsdamned living ancient the last of their kind. In these peaks and valleys of activity, she kept her pace like it was all business as usual. Then her time with The Owl came and Saa''ryu saw the extent of Lu''s knack for anything under the bloody sun. "Welcome home sister" the clerk at the entrance of the training grounds greeted Saa''ryu with a warm smile "And oh my Lady Lucrezia! the rumors are true then? you wish to learn our arts?" Lu ever the unflappable individual she was spoke without missing a beat "Aye my good man, is the man in charge inside?" The clerk snapped his fingers and a door opened "That he is, I am sure sister here can guide you to him" and so Saa''ryu after gods knew how many years walked towards her home, it felt nostalgic hearing the noises of new trainees in the courtyard, the smells of teas and foodstuff being prepped by the cooks and the cleaners ever doing their work, slowly she began to relax as if she was back in the north. Her self-imposed exile was finally over. In the main courtyard, a giant of a man stood tall watching the trainees, his short gray hair shining in the sunlight as the summer breeze made his battle-worn robes flutter, on his back a curved greatsword with a jagged edge that showed its age. "The wayward daughter returns! and with her a new member of the family!" his voice bellowed as the trainees and seniors turned to welcome them, Saa''ryu saw a few familiar faces who dashed towards her and gave her hugs or shook hands while Owl greeted Lu. "It''s not every day we get a noble among our ranks Lady Lucrezia, are you sure you are up for the challenge? there will be no special treatment for you here" Lu nodded with a smile as the Owl slapped her on the back "Good! Now let us begin with the basics, shall we? Trainees! to the Gaunlet!" Saa''ryu couldn''t help but smile, oh how she would love to see Lu take on that infernal contraption meant to teach how to effortlessly navigate any type of environment with speed and precision. Arriving in the facility, Saa''ryu took a seat near the Owl as he began explaining the rules, no magical items, or regular ones. All Lu and the trainees could use was their blessings and magical abilities, or Ki. They could also help each other to foster a sense of brotherhood among the assassins who often would do jobs as teams, and instill the "no one left behind" mentality that the Owl is so prideful of. She saw Lucrezia warm herself up as the go-ahead was given, she flew forward dodging and jumping without grace but with brute force, to the point she broke pieces of the ground when she landed. "Not subtle at all is she?" the Owl smiled "Wonder how she will fare against the fighters"
"Out!" screamed the referee as Lucrezia kicked another trainee from the ring a the center of the courtyard, Owl smiled to himself as he stepped down towards the ring. Ye gods, the old fart was going to fight Lucrezia, wasn''t he? Saa''ryu rolled her eyes, the man always had these flights of fancy but to fight Lucrezia? she couldn''t believe it. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Haha! The new initiates are not enough to whet thy appetite little duchess! Mayhap ah increase in the challenge is required!" He spoke out loud as he unsheathed his enormous outright impractical sword, a hunk of iron that no one would be mad enough to swing about, especially a master assassin. The Owl loved his theatrics. Saa''ryu watched as her lady placed her ax down and grabbed a training sword from the basket near the edge of the arena, she then walked up to Owl and bowed without a word, the old assassin smiled and bowed as well, as the referee raised his hand both jumped backward and took stances, ready for the bout. The Owl dashed forward, his strikes heavy and blunt seeking to overpower Lucrezia, who instead of responding in kind was focusing herself on dodging, parrying, and poking the Owl in the seconds he let his guard down in between attacks. "Impressive! for someone whose very soul is haunted by the beast!" Owl barked as he began casting illusionary magicks, the great bird that shared his name manifested itself in the skies and dove down towards Lucrezia who dodged flawlessly as if she had seen that attack one too many times. Saa''ryu began noticing her father losing his usual mirth after that, and yet Lucrezia spoke nary a word but grunts of physical effort, she was honed in the battle to the point where even her "condition" wasn''t flaring up, Saa''ryu''s experience told her she was likely too focused to lose herself into the bloodlust, as the Owl was no opponent that one could fight with reckless abandon. Her father started using more and more magic, teleportation spells, smokescreens, and loud bangs to stun her, the type of combat only seniors like Saa''ryu and her older sisters and brothers could handle without folding like wet paper. And yet Lucrezia held on, with minimal use of Ice spells and Magnetism she countered the spells that could be countered, held herself against those that would breach any type of defense she could muster, and even employed the most basic of defensive spells that she learned so long ago to give her that sliver of an edge she needed. As if she knew the Owl was the best killer when it came to magic users like her. Was Lucrezia some sort of battle genius that graced the planet every generation or so? Saa''ryu couldn''t believe it herself but watching the woman reading her father and master so effortlessly, and pushing the man into going into serious mode begged for a different evaluation of her lady''s abilities in the field of battle. The Owl stomped his feet on the ground, sending shockwaves that physically molded the very soil into waves that nearly shallower Lucrezia who jumped in the air only to send a flurry of iron bars towards the ground where the Owl was, a second later a thunderbolt flared and struck true, the sound enough to break nearby windows. Lucrezia went down as the Owl popped from dimensional partition and said "Out of mana" she threw the sword on the ground as the Owl nodded "Very good Lady Lucrezia, very good indeed" he took a deep breath and spoke "Now for the final test" Saa''ryu smiled, glad the fight was over and that Lu would finally learn the best part of being an assassin. Stealth Magicks! Saa''ryu missed in her heart of hearts the days of slowly infiltrating enemy strongholds, dismantling defenses both magical and divine, taking out guards, masquerading as regular workers, jumping from shadow to shadow like a wraith. And now she would see if Lucrezia had it in her! It didn''t take long for them to arrive at the final location, a huge arena filled with contraptions and traps. Patrols of senior assassins everywhere as they tested the trainees in every part of the craft, with man failing every once in a while as the day went by. "Here''s how the test goes little lordling" the Owl spoke "Each room will have a set pattern of traps and wards placed in it both magical or divine, your job is to get past it without alerting anyone or anything of your presence in 5 minutes, do you understand?" Lucrezia nodded and the test started, Saa''ryu watched as her Lady began whispering to herself in a steady rhythm, almost as if she was singing! when the doors opened Lucrezia immediately crouched and began sneaking by the traps, every once in a while she would disarm or outright break some of the wards with a burst of magic or using the rage, which made Saa''ryu''s eyes pop. Who knew you could use the rage like that? Lucrezia did, as always she had the answer for the issue at hand, unorthodox and way outside of the box yes but answer nonetheless. "We make do, Saa, we make do," she told Saa''ryu once when asked why she came up with such convoluted solutions for issues. The divine wards proved far more challenging for Lucrezia, those she couldn''t avoid she had to take more time than usual to destroy them while dodging the senior patrols, her pace through the rooms slowed down to a crawl as the time tickled down second by second, Saa''ryu could see the sweat in Lu''s brow as she tried her hardest to go fast without giving away her position. With 1 minute left on the clock, Saa''ryu saw a flash of resignation on Lucrezia''s face as she went down on her belly and crawled towards the nearby guard, knocking the woman out with a savage punch right in her nose, grabbing her body and princess carrying her to the finishing line while dodging the remaining guards. "She figured out the guards are immune to the traps, the true test was stealing their ward key but I guess she couldn''t figure it out and decided to go with this...method" the Owl spoke out loud then shook his head "No points for subtlety but she did dodge the others while carrying poor Yukinoshita on her arms, someone drag the woman to the infirmary at once!" He walked to Lucrezia who was gasping for air, no doubt this was the first time in a while she had to push herself outside of her comfort zone of battle and said "There''s much to iron out on you Lucrezia, but if you stick with us to the end we will make you a proper Assassin yet" he went for a handshake and Lu accepted it, a tired smile on her face as she spoke. "It would be my honor, Master Owl"
"Settle down, Settle down!" spoke Laplace as the class became embroiled in a heated debate about the ethics and morals of employing soul-destroying magicks, Laplace noted that her star student, Lady Lucrezia was oddly quiet today and she kinda felt a bit lonely thanks to it. Not one to lie to herself, she knew very well her class was on the boring side, essential material yes, but gods above it was boring! how could she coax the imagination of these blue blood who never had to dream, as their lives were already the best they could be? But not Lucrezia, she dared to thread, to read those dusty tomes and books and instill on her classmates a sense of wonder for the beyond, a rare thing in youth nowadays. "Ahem, today we will be talking about the inner mechanics of Blessings" Laplace spoke as the room fell into comfortable silence "Now I am sure most of you know about the basics of it, Increase in Mana Reserves, Physical and sometimes Magical augmentation, the ability to commune with one''s God and more" Laplace began writing in the blackboard as she waited a few seconds for questions, none came. "Now, if you have any questions about these better know mechanics of the Blessing, the On Gods and Men volumes 1 through 4 explain in great detail about them, the Academy''s Library also has a shorter version for those who would balk at reading 4 volumes worth of common knowledge but I digress, today we will talk about a fairly well known but rare effect of those Divine Blessings, the so-called Blessing Cascade" Laplace began writing more, as she made short lines of text to better pace the explanation of the phenomena, the class was focused like a predator stalking its prey as she finished writing. "Now to start, why are they so rare?" Laplace asked and a voice spoke "Only those with Greater Blessings can start one" "Very good! It is as he says, this is something you all will learn in advanced magical studies next year but there''s an underlying rhythm or song so to say inside every blessing, as they don''t use mana or life force to power themselves but the God''s unique divine energies" Laplace spoke as a hand went up "But isn''t the Mana Core a creation of the All-Father? Wouldn''t then run off his divine power?" "The inner workings of the Mana Core are sadly beyond mine and the church''s knowledge, only the All-Father and the Goddess of Magic know how it operates but tests on the mana we have in our planet that didn''t end with the mage being struck down by divine light show that they do not use the same source of power" Laplace explained as the heads around the class nodded. "Now, what adds to the rarity of the phenomena is the confluence of elements and power fluctuations between the God''s Sphere of Power and other Sphere''s around of it, usually they are kept in check by the biggest Sphere of them all, that of the All-Father" Laplace made a series of drawings as it helped cement the image inside the heads of the young ones, a tactic taught by her old master back in the monastery. "But even the Supreme Deity of this and many other universes aren''t safe from a lull in his Sphere, as he flexes and fights against the Terrors beyond the Stars, pockets, where there''s a vacuum of power manifest themselves and those with Greater Blessing caught on one of them, are thus exposed to a Cascade" "Still, such pockets are rare in our world as it''s the seat of power for All-Father, with only a few happening every odd year or so..." Laplace continued as a light cough was heard in the back of the class. Ah yes, she recalled, the Scion of House Amenora and his two "friends" All had Greater Blessings of a particular Goddess many didn''t like talking about in polite company, even when her biggest supporters were the selfsame families whose progeny were in these halls. She had received the report from the High Priest the other day about him, and what he had done. "To force a cascade on Lucrezia, hmm the report said the young woman remained polite to him after the fact which is a feat in of it itself, knowing her tendencies of extreme violence, still to be able to starve off the cascade with the power of that accursed entity...the Rage is not to be trifled with indeed" "Now, usually I would end the class by giving you fine people books to read and an assignment but today we actually have people who experienced such a rare phenomenon in our class! If the Individuals in question could present themselves for the class" Hector Amenora and his two friends rose up as did Lucrezia who looked like she was ready to fall asleep right on the spot. "Extra points for you four! More if you entertain the class if anyone has any questions about the Cascade and its effects!" Laplace said with a twisted smile, ah how she enjoyed watching these nobles squirm under the spotlight! It was bad she knew but she couldn''t help herself. They explained the little event as some questions were thrown at them, it was a tad underwhelming as Lucrezia in particular who rumors said wasn''t the biggest fan of her ties with Saal''Xhir explained her side of the events with some emotion but nothing more than that, she really was dead tired, wasn''t she? The class ended there, Laplace gave everyone a few passages to read from various books and sat down, waiting for the bell to toll and lunchtime to begin as she let the many convos around her wash over her, one, in particular, caught her attention. "...You doing alright Lucrezia? looks like you just crawled through an Orcish combat training" Asked Richard the ever-present young man who walked together with the woman in question. "Training, too much bloody training ugh, my left leg for an afternoon where I can just eat and sleep in peace" she spoke with a sigh, Richard smiled at the odd phrase "Careful with that, some up and coming God might take you on that deal, I know I would" Lucrezia stared at him "What would you do with my leg dude? sell it? you can''t curse a detached limb no more not after the treaty of ''23" she shook her head "It''s a bad deal anyway, and I can''t skirt off my duties..." Richard maybe a noise in agreement and said "For someone as busy as you already are, you sure like getting into more time-consuming activities don''t ya? What''s this I heard about teaching Hope how to make leather armor?" Lucrezia smiled "Gods you should''ve seen her face when she smelled those foul fumes Ha!" to which Richard replied "I don''t need to, I can see her staring daggers at you from here" as he pointed to the upper section of the class where a young woman with red hair was actually staring daggers at Lucrezia, who in turn waved her with a wink "It''s good for her, the blessing allowed her to make gauntlets and boots already, as soon as she learns how to cook and make potions we are good to go on the dungeon raid" Richard sighed and knocked his head on the table "I cannot believe you managed to convince mom to allow me to go into this death trap of a maze, In case you forgot Lucrezia I am not a fighter, nor do I have some secret blessing that will turn me into one" he spoke his voice full of resignation "But I wouldn''t hear the end of it if I dodged this from mom and you ugh" Lucrezia slapped the young man''s back and he nearly went over the table "You worry too much dude, trust me I can turn you into a fine soldier! no need for fancy blessings or hidden techniques! Just good old drilling and the best equipment money can buy!" "Yeah, I got the boxes on the dorm yesterday, nearly got stampeded by the others trying to get a look at this "Magi-Tech" armor of yours...It''s not as flashy as I thought it would be, same for the spear and the shield" Richard said his face a little red. "Course, not brother, it''s made for footsoldiers, and since you didn''t want one of the guns I had the spear custom made for ya! Still, only my stuff and Kaine''s is a bit on the showy side, mostly because as Duchess it behooves me to be fancy" Lucrezia explained as she noted something down, her head bobbing along "Not that it matters when I am knee-deep in bodies and guts, blood too of course" she shook her head. "Of course" Richard replied trying to steer away from the topic to something else "Shall we? the others have already left" "Let''s" Lucrezia spoke as she left the room together with Richard "You know the rumors will likely get worse right?" He shrugged "At this point my friend, I doubt you could do anything to get them worse" Laplace stopped paying attention to their banter as they left the door, her mind slowly drifting into sleep as the room became empty before she was jolted back to the land of the living and rushed to the Professor''s room, a new batch of coffee had arrived and her colleagues became fiends when the stuff was fresh! Her mind was then cast back to the words of Richard. "May the All-Father give you luck in your dungeon run" Laplace smiled as she walked to the room, wicked and wide. Chapter 43: Restless souls abound "Among the dragon horde that serves as the shock troopers for the ever-expanding empire of the All-Father was a singular individual called Niphres, his scales dark as the abyss of the cosmos, his roars mighty and true. It was said Niphres could take over entire star systems in months alone, but He shined best in combat with his fellow brothers and sisters of the Draconic Horde, Alas even mighty Niphres wasn''t enough to stop the entity that would eventually spawn the Sea of Rage, being one of the first killed in combat, to this day All-Mother mourns his death" On the dragons and their long stories, Imperium Version. Richard got up shaking due to the cold, the sun had barely broken the horizon with its golden glow when he was "summoned" by his friend for training. Of course said a friend had to pick the time where only the undead, spiritual entities, and those who were up to no good were up and about. "Fuck me its cold" Richard spoke as he got off the shower and cast a spell to instantly dry himself, another to put on his workout clothes and he was off for a jog to the Academy gym that stayed open from dusk to dawn, on his way he saw a few familiar faces, mostly the undead kind as the spirits that lived in the Academy were shy around new students. He stopped by a tree to catch his breath, even with the "training" he was getting as a side effect of hanging around with Lucrezia and that monster that was Hope he was far from the powerhouses they were, War aspected Blessings were unfair and he wouldn''t hear otherwise. Still, he was in far better shape now than a month ago, his belly slowly but surely going away and muscles long thought dormant flaring into life. He couldn''t lie, the ego boost was enough to put a smile on his face in the morning shower, but Richard was never one to let the good tidings in life distract him from the grim reality around him, and thus he set about to work on his original goal. Setting up ties with the many factions and power players of the Academy and lo and behold it was going so smooth he was suspecting someone was pulling the strings behind his back. Yet neither his mother nor the clan''s matriarch had their paws on it, on the contrary, it was thanks to his "friendship" with Lucrezia, Kaine, and the Prince that gave him enough social credit to burn and thus he was dealing in goods and information far faster than what he thought. Often Lucrezia would pay him a token amount for the latest information and Items the crafters of the academy couldn''t make, he wanted to do it for free but she insisted as to not devalue his budding empire, a gesture that stuck in Richard''s mind for a long while. "Good morning Richard" a voice spoke to his side and the young man nearly jumped, seeing Lady Ironheart standing by him with the same workout clothing as him. she smiled at him but he could see the tiredness in her eyes. "Still not used to waking up at this ungodly hour" she confessed to him "I don''t know how Lucrezia does it, the woman doesn''t stop the second she wakes up and she has barely 5 hours of sleep a day!" "Maybe some sort of magic from the north, or she''s drinking a far more potent version of that coffee drink of hers" Richard spoke as he began to get up from the ground, having taken the liberty of sitting in the soft grass near the gym for his usual inner monologues, he was taken aback when Ironheart extended her hand but took it anyway, not wanting to risk making a bad impression. "Suppose we shouldn''t keep the Duchess waiting, let us go at once," she said with a tired smiled and Richard nodded and both walked up to the gym''s entrance, the front empty but the far reaches of the complex were occupied by several knights training. "I wonder why they don''t use the equipment in the front," Ironheart asked as they walked by them, the Knights glancing at both but saying not a word. "The machines and weights at the front, they are rigged to inflate the ego of the nobles, uh no offense meant of course" Richard explained what Lucrezia had told him in class, Ironheart laughed and said "None was taken, that doesn''t sound good now does it? I wonder why the school officials let this happen" "You should ask Lucrezia, she has the answer for everything in this bloody place" Richard fired back and Ironheart nodded "That she does, It fascinates me how much she knows, and her wisdom too, a rare combination for someone so young and hotheaded as she is" Both arrived at the section Lucrezia was using to train, the woman was alone, her maid not around this time. Richard watched as she slashed the air with a beautiful katana that bore the mark of the Arch-Duke, each slice flowing like water as she attempted to imbue her attacks with her elements, in a way Kaine had taught him last time they trained together. After a series of slashes and cuts, she finally got the spell to click and a circular pattern manifested in the dummy, cutting the thing into pieces as Lucrezia sheathed her weapon and shook her first in awe. "Congratulations Lucrezia! I see you finally mastered Kaine''s spell" Ironheart spoke as she walked up to Lucrezia, hugging the woman who smiled at both of them, her face always warm compared to those cold azure eyes of hers. "Aye, that I did my friend," she said "What took you so long? I was beginning to pack it up and grab both of you myself you know!" she boasted by thumping her chest "So Raffe, decided to join us then?" Lucrezia asked as she grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off her brow in a way that was oddly erotic, Richard shook his head, bloody Saal''Xhir magic doing tricks on him. "I will, I am not that much of a fighter of mage but I think with you, the prince and Hope we can afford someone green like me or Richard here" Ironheart spoke and Richard couldn''t help be agree "You forget Kaine" he spoke and both women nodded. "Now, for the gear, you two will be using in the dungeon run..." Lucrezia clapped her hands and walked towards a stand where gleaming armor and weapons set around crates "Brand new infantry armor straight from my forges in the north, all Magi-Tech made!" and gods did they look good! Richard Blessing kicked in full gear as he picked his gear and flipped around, knowledge flooding his mind on the quality of the material, the proper usage, and who to sell at the right price for maximum profit. "Spears! the best weapon for the warrior who is taking their firsts steps into battle" Lucrezia grabbed the odd spear that shone blue "Magi-Tech made as well with spell capabilities as long as you have aspected crystals" she grabbed a pouch and took a fire crystal from it, loading the thing on a small hole and firing a fireball at the dummy "This together with the shield will keep you safe from the many beasts of the dungeon" It was the same for Ironheart, but she also got staff for miracle casting the woman had a blessing from a healing god, Richard once again cast the spell and the armor came to him, clothing him in an instant. He heard Lucrezia whistle in an impressed tone "And you told me you weren''t capable of keeping up with the rest" she spoke with mirth in her voice "Now help me with Raffe here"
Richard made short work of the very fancy armor Lucrezia had just gifted to him and Ironheart, his mom had trained him on how to properly help noble scions with clothing at a young age after all. "My, Aren''t you experienced with this" Ironheart spoke with mirth, Richard smiled and fired back "I am a Silverbrand Lady Ironheart, this is all but a part of the clan''s training" When the two of them got ready, Richard heard a commotion from the entrance of the gym, where a red ponytail bounced up and down as someone came running towards them. "So so sorry I am late! Must''ve overslept" Hope spoke with an apologetic smile, Already dressed in Magi-Tech armor and with her weapon this time, a fancy-looking sword that bore the insignia of her family''s mercenary band. "The Prince isn''t coming?" Ironheart asked, noting the missing member of this little group Lucrezia had put together. "Nay, He and Kaine were called to their homes, something about a big celebration in the palace..." Hope was not happy with the fact, Richard snapped his head to Lucrezia and the woman explained "Annual thing with the big nobles, pay respect to the crown, give them a few gifts you know how it is" she shrugged not thinking much about it. "Are you going?" Richard asked, not wanting to imagine how the Queen would react to her son''s killer walking the palace halls. "I am bound by duty to do so, but only on the actual day of the ritual, so I should get back to the Academy anon" Lucrezia replied putting her katana down and picking her dragonbone ax "Now there''s still a fair bit of time before that happens so our expedition to the Red Dragon''s dungeon is still happening without delay in case you are worried about it, I''ve already done the paperwork and got us the return marbles in the eventuality of life-threatening injures" Lucrezia finished and summoned 4 little marbles that were tied to a necklace "put those on and send your mana to it, it will be bound to you and you alone while we are in the dungeon" Richard sent a sliver of his mana towards it and felt a click ring in his ears. After a few pleasantries were exchanged, Lucrezia began her brutal drilling exercises, the woman was relentless as she fought all 3 barehanded! then after a few minutes, she switched to her main weapon. Richard wasn''t a fighter, far from it in fact, while he liked chatting up knights while pub crawling as they often had hilarious stories to tell his sole combat achievement was winning an archery competition when he was younger! So following his newfound knowledge of the martial arts imparted by his classes in the academy and what he had witnessed so far began barking orders to Ironheart and Hope, Ironheart cast self-healing magicks on him and Hope and began lobbing pure mana lances towards Lucrezia who jumped back and dodged most of them, with a scream Richard dashed forward and planted his shield right in front of where she landed and stabbed with his spear. Lucrezia smirked and batted the weapon away as if it was a simple stick, with a grunt she rose her ax and was ready to drop only to dodge with inhumane speed when Hope teleported on her left flank and planted a nasty kick in the woman''s ribs. Another bark and a blue flame fireball shone from Ironheart''s staff and flew in an arc towards Lucrezia, who bolted to the right and conjured a wall of thin ice, only for the blue flame to melt it and land right at her feet and explode, Richard knowing what Lucrezia would do (that is retaliating against Ironheart) got up and ran right in front of the woman''s path, burning through his meager mana reserves he summoned an aegis of mana, taught by Kaine himself. And as he did so, he felt Iron strike true against his spell, as thin rods with nasty looking tips bounced from it, Ironheart not missing a beat cast a defensive spell on Richard to improve his defenses and make sure he didn''t waiver in the face of an upcoming attack, feeling his spirits soar he saw Lucrezia flying towards him in slow motion, in that split second Richard felt pure dread as her eyes locked into his and the sheer bloodlust assaulted his very soul. Lucrezia wanted his head, and she would chop it off with deadly precision, he felt primal fear assault him as he nearly dropped his spear and shield. Yet in that selfsame moment, a whisper of something spoke to him, its words too faint to fully comprehend but Richard felt a deep sense of calmness wash over his dread, in his mind''s eye he knew exactly what to do, and with a perfect parry, he swatted Lucrezia''s ax away. Hope teleported again and began striking Lucrezia with a series of fast slashes with her saber, In his supernatural state of calmness he poked at the woman with the precision that bordered on the famous pikemen of the Imperium, and yet Lucrezia dodged and outright took slashes and pokes with her metal arm, a flurry of speed and martial prowess that looked nigh unbreakable. More blue fireballs flew from the rear and Lucrezia was starting to feel the pressure, she wasn''t even bothering with incantations and hand gestures, summoning panes of ice and metal at will, which Richard knew would tax her mana reserves, yet a battle of attrition wasn''t the right call here, her mana reserves were too deep even when compared to monsters like Kaine and Hope. Richard''s mind went into overdrive, and the whispers once again guided him, with another bark he called Hope "Chronomancy!" the call was clear, and thus hope focused her mind, slowing Lucrezia''s body to a near halt with the magicks she had learned from Kaine, after establishing a rapport with his ornery Goddess. Ironheart bolted forward and with a grunt, slammed her staff into Lucrezia''s open back making the woman lose her balance if only for a second. Hope quickly warped in and with a nasty uppercut planted right into Lucrezia''s belly made her fall to the ground with a grunt that sounded suspiciously like a moan of pleasure. Richard felt the whispers recede out of his mind and the battle high leave his body. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Both he and Ironheart dropped to the ground, tired as if they had run a marathon for the entire day and night, Hope fared a little better, planting her sword on the ground as to not fall, but it was plain to see this took her toll and casting Time Magic wasn''t that easy yet for her. Lucrezia on the other hand was getting up with a big smile on her face "Amazing stuff! Gods I didn''t know you had it in you to command the battle like that Richard! granted you need more training with your weapon and shield but that can be arranged in the coming days!" she came in for a hug of all things and Richard mind was taken back by how good she smelled even after this intense martial bout. That was when he was reminded that part of the Saal''Xhir Blessing granted its people a constant cleaning effect that would entice those they had in their sights, he sighed thinking himself lucky for not being under such a spell. "Raffa! superb spellcasting, those fireballs were intense..." and so she continued, pointing out flaws and where they needed to improve, Richard noticed that they had gotten a small crowd of Knights watching silent from the distance, he wondered if any of them were survivors from the battle in the north, and how they felt watching Lucrezia fight again so close to them. After a short round of goodbyes, Richard quickly made his way to his room, taking a shower and sleeping the rest of the day away, Gods he was tired as he felt the last of his strength leave him and sleep come in its gentle embrace.
Arriving at the entrance of the Fields of Seresval she felt that accursed magic assault her soul, gods how they got around the laws to build this place were mindboggling, she wasn''t alive at the time, but to hear her grandmother speak about it, it was the recipe of a divine war! And now this place was but a den of degenerates whose ringleader abused his powers to stall away righteous retribution, Castra-Cam growled in the night, her hands itching to get inside there and slice those fools with her scythe, that whelp and his magical sword would pose a problem and she would have to tap into powers none could know about to defeat him. And yet...that anomaly of a woman had put the fear of gods in him, she heard his screams that day as Lucrezia used her accursed powers to scare him and his harem. Castra-Cam still didn''t know how to feel about Lucrezia, she never liked nobles, having to kill a fair number of them for illegal necromancy and the fact they were all pretentious assholes, and Lucrezia certainly didn''t lack in the later department. But her actions were all against the norms of the nobles in this fancy school of theirs, she made connections with everyone but them even the godsdamned food and cleaning staff! why in all hells did a Duchess need to buddy up with cleaners and line cooks? It made no sense, no godsdamned sense. Then she got the news of her necromancy and mind magic training, the usage of that ghoulish device to test her mettle and the technical depth of knowledge she had that would put even a few senior members of the clergy to shame, always humble, always making double sure she''s doing everything to the letter the way the Undying prefers his flock to act and speak. It honestly made Castra-Cam lose her mind, and now rumors were that she was bringing the All-Father''s chosen to also learn the arts! "Wherever she goes, trouble soon follows" Richard spoke once and Castra-Cam couldn''t help but agree with the merchant scion, he was often the voice of reason of their little group, one Castra was day by day being drawn towards. "Nice night for a walk eh?" A voice spoke from the shadows and Castra-Cam cursed loudly, pulling her scythe and flaring her magical tattoos boosting her arcane and physical powers. The demoness walked out of the shadow, her azure eyes staring at Castra''s weapon with great interest "Hm, still with the standard-issue Scythe I see" Lucrezia spoke, her voice warm. Castra noticed she was unharmed and her mechanical arm was not attached to her person. "How?" the undead woman asked, her voice betraying no surprise at the fact someone managed to sneak up on her. "I''ve been training, as I am sure you know" Lucrezia patted the ground and sat with a plop, Castra was taken aback by the gesture and asked, "What are you doing?" "Thinking" Lucrezia fired back with a smile "and you? what are you doing near the force field?" silence followed, dragging its heels across the soft earth beneath both women as the awkwardness in the air grew to a suffocating crescendo. "Did you mean what you said, to Azarel and his ilk?" Castra asked. "Yes, yes I did, that boy is a disgrace, a stain in the tapestry of this kingdom and the heroes that fought for it using that sword, the fact the weapon hasn''t denied him makes me want to vomit, same for his mother and grandfather, both wielders of the sword and decorated war heroes..." Lucrezia sighed "To say nothing of the other weapon holder that walks this hallowed halls" Castra-Cam brown furrowed, that was a big accusation coming from someone as powerful as Lucrezia. "And yet, he remains untouchable, shield by his family and sword" Castra-Cam spoke "short of bringing your army to the capital and laying siege to the keep it would be impossible for a single person to take him out, or the army of knights he and his harem have at their back and call" she sighed "One could sneak ships via the port but the wards would ping the Royal Knights and you would be arrest for attempting a coup" "Indeed" Lucrezia smiled "It itches, doesn''t it? the hunger to put these degenerates to the sword?" "I don''t know what you are talking about" Castra-Cam fired back, cold as ice. Fucking hells, this woman freaked Castra-Cam to the point of goosebumps, how in all that was holy and unholy does she knows that!? once again silence dragged on, Lucrezia saying nothing but staring at the force field that ebbed and flowed at the edges. "Do I scare the First Scythe successor that much?" Lucrezia asked, mirth dripping from her voice, But there was a hint of something else there, almost as if she was sad with herself that she couldn''t connect with Castra, Castra took a long hard look at Lucrezia looking for mockery or sneer but behind that initial mirth there was an earnest wish to establish some sort of rapport with her. "If I didn''t know any better I would ask if you are trying to seduce me, alas you have some weird thing going with your Blessing and lack of nighttime activities so let us skip this courtship ritual, what is it that you want with me Lucrezia? I may be a young undead but I know when someone wants to butter me up" she paused "I don''t know your deal, but I do know your actions, and they tell me you have no love for your blue blood kind, so give to me straight Wulfgrem, what is it that you want?" Lucrezia sighed, and there was a shift in the mood as if her persona had changed as she got up and walked up to Castra, in those eyes of hers there was a hunger for something, something she thought Castra had. "Would you believe me that I want you, and everyone else I''ve reached out to become their very best in life? to reach their true apex of skill and power and become legends whose very names would put fear and awe in the hearts and minds of the people? and together bring forth a brighter tomorrow to the whole world and beyond?" Lucrezia stopped, giving time for Castra-Cam to answer back. "Prince killer, Kin slayer, and an Idealist? what are you?" "I am...me" she whispered, a hint of uncertainty tinged her soft voice "I did what I did for the right reasons, your God will vouch for me on that front" she spoke with conviction. And he did, weeks after the battle in the north her grandmother got the news the old duke and his wife were doing unsanctioned necromancy, plus dealing with the evils from beyond. "She has the makings of a Scythe" her grandmother spoke "A shame she''s a noble" "But yes, I suppose I am an Idealist, full of hope for the future together with my friends and people" Lucrezia finished as she laid down in the soft grass and stared at the stars. This is godsdamned weird Castra-Cam thought to herself, was Lucrezia casting some sort of seduction spell on her? cause she wanted to get to know her better, there was an allure there, hidden beneath her words that called to Castra as life force did to a lowly undead. Then it clicked, the reason why she couldn''t trust but also stay away. Lucrezia knew things, she had some sort of innate knowledge as deep as the ancients where she could point with precision unmatched and explain in a way that made those around her truly understand and even take something more out of it, she saw how Kaine was advancing leaps and bounds with Time Magic, how under her tutelage the All-Father''s chosen was becoming a one-woman army monster, even the others in her little group were also improving their skills. And Castra wanted that, that sweet nectar of finally moving forward! learning something new and growing stronger thanks to it, her status as undead and hunter of unsanctioned necromancers made her fall into a repeating pattern that made her feel stuck, forever alone in her peak but unable to surpass her grandmother even after using the forbidden power she had nearly died a true death to learn. Power, godsdamned she wanted so much, so very much! to feel alive again in battle and grow ever stronger as mightier foes fall to her blade, maybe it was the Saal''Xhir blessing, maybe it was the mood but those deep-seated wishes burst forward as she spoke "You already knew didn''t you? the same way you knew about Hope''s blessing or the fact the Professor was an ancient living among us" Castra-Cam sucked in the air "Give me what I want Lucrezia, give me the power you know I crave and gods above and below I will follow you to the ends of this planet and beyond" Lucrezia smiled "A little too intense but I like it! Come then, we have much to talk about...starting with your choice of weapon and gear"
"I was told you and your little group of friends are going dungeon hunting. is that correct o son of mine?" Catarina Silverbrand asked as Richard ate with vigor, he had gotten his favorite dishes today, from extra salty cuts of beacon to ribs and thick potato mash made with the aforementioned potatoes from the south of the Shogunate, to top it all off a casket of wine from the Imperium vineyards. The reason for such a feast? He had just broken a great deal with several minor noble families thanks to his connections with Lucrezia and had with the administration''s stamp been allowed to set up a small shop inside the school, complete with a personal room close to the cafeteria where he could get the most foot traffic in peak hours. Of course, he didn''t tell his mom the fact that Lucrezia herself cleaned the place with the precision of an upper-tier maid, even her own maid was impressed with how fast and effective Lucrezia was with something far below her status. The woman herself? she didn''t mind it at all, simply saying it helped put her mind at ease much like training or fighting, he didn''t buy it but Richard was wise enough to not bring it up. All he needed now was to hire some clerks and get the ball rolling, as his father was fond of saying. "Yes mother, I''ve been receiving training from both Lucrezia and Kaine in order to shore up my meager combat skills, with Lucrezia''s inventions bridging the gap left by my lack of combat or magic focused Blessings" Richard spoke between eating and drinking. "Bah, there''s no need for those! Knight-Commander Felix didn''t have a single combat blessing and still fought like a demon!" His father spoke with vigor "And with her help, you will become a fine warrior!" He finished by slamming his glass on the table. His mother laughed "For once your father is right dear, even without the proper blessing, Ser Felix rose in ranks and granted us victories many thought impossible, but I won''t lecture you on Vermilion history, tell me why does our mutual friend want to raid the dragon''s maze?" "Combat experience, Hope is still green and often freezes in our training, Lucrezia aims to remedy that" Richard answered. "And you don''t?" His father spoke "Well well Catarina, our son can stare death in the eye and not freeze" he smiled feeling proud of Richard which felt a bit odd to the young man in question because it sounded like he was mocking him. "Don''t mind your father, he gets rude when drunk but he means what he said, we are both proud of you my son, not only did you manage a feat very few have done before you even got martial training from one of the best fighters of the Kingdom!" Catarina spoke, her face listing up in a warm smile " I know you are smart Richard, and you can feel it too, how that young woman shapes the world around her and the resulting consequences of such actions" Yes, his mother was correct there, wherever she did or whoever she talked to something happened, be it small or big Lucrezia brought unpreceded change to her surroundings and she had a depth of knowledge that gave her power to control the very fate of those around her. But she didn''t use it to her own gain! she was always propping someone up, giving them power or knowledge or something that made them better. "It is scary, I will not lie" He confessed and his parents nodded. "The first time I met her, my instincts told me she would do something like this you know? you two should''ve seen her underground city, the marvels of Magi-Tech down there were on part with the masters of the arcane!" Catarina spoke "But amidst that great revolution of metal and magick there was something else lurking, the thirst for war was strong even then" Richard sighed, he had seen that side of hers of late, whenever they sparred he could feel her lust for combat like a thick wave, constantly crashing against his defenses, again and again, tempting him to join the slaughter. A harsh contrast compared to her somber mood. "Something is brewing Richard, something big will happen in the Academy and you will be in the thick of it" Catarina got up and gave him a small bronze ring "Our clan never was one for war, we trade, we break deals, we make peace between warring tribes and bring prosperity to the common man even if our bottom line is hurt in the process, long term is the only term" the ancient motto of the clan Richard nodded "This is an artifact from those days of yore, blessed by a number of Gods and Goddesses for good luck, wear it on you at all times my son, and it will keep you save, as it has countless others" The feast went on for a time before they had all cleaned their plates, tomorrow they would finally go to the dungeon and put their skills to the test.
Richard woke up before the sun had gotten up, as he began prepping for the day he heard a knocking coming from the front door, when he opened it he found a crate full of spell rods and a pouch with mana crystals of various elements, on top of the crate a small letter saying "Bring honor to the clan" "The matriarch sure loves the dramatics" he spoke out loud and went strapped his armor in, grabbing the rods he inspected each one, most were healing ones which made sense as the only one that could cast healing magics and miracles was hope but she lacked the expertise of a proper healer, and thus to shore up their healing Raffa was bringing in rods, Richard grabbed his Infinite backpack, which had cost him an arm but the near bottomless thing could hold well, anything really. "Stone and Steel wall spell rods huh, I can make chokepoints with these" Richard called the tale of one of the patrons of a pub he frequented, the half-demon half-elven woman told him that her party was ambushed by a raid when the dragon lets stronger enemies of the lower floor go up for a number of reasons, this raid consisted of marauder minotaurs, to counter their charge the woman was constantly pulling them into kill zones and chokepoints. Her party eventually made it to the adventurer run outpost in the 10th level of the maze but they were nearly dead and spent thanks to the raid. "Magic missiles, fireballs, thunderclap!" The matriarch was spoiling him today heh. Finishing his preparations he set off to the dungeon entrance, their meeting place Lucrezia had arranged. Along the way Richard noticed a few stares being shot in this direction, mostly from the city guards watching a heavily armed and armored man with gear never seen before moving towards the dungeon. Lucrezia was already there, in full armor no less, she greeted him with a smile and soon the other two showed up, with a wordless nod they walked towards the checkpoint and gave their papers to the guard, who nodded in silence as well and opened the gates, the atmosphere shifted as they went down the stairs towards the depths, and then they were inside of the dungeon proper, the amulets Lucrezia had gotten would keep them alive. Hopefully, that is. Chapter 44: A stroll, but there鈥檚 nothing romantic about it. "Ah yes, thou seeks the sword of oblivion? name and number please" Gatekeeper of the 20th Level boss for the Dragon''s Dungeon, said to be a ghost whose fondness for dungeon hunting and treasure gathering grew so much, he begged the great dragon to let him live forever in the place, the dragon agreed. William watched as his party stalked the corridors of the dungeon, its maze-like qualities yet to show their full force to them, Richard was jumpy but Raffa and Hope were calming his nerves. By making him embarrassed. "My my Mr. Silverbrand, a young man of such vigor, exploring a dark and dangerous dungeon with a trio of fair maidens? a dream come true isn''t it?" Raffa spoke while smiling, Richard groaned but didn''t speak so the two would get tired of teasing him. "Seems it worked," Lucrezia said softly "Nice friends you have William" "I honestly thought Richard would say no to getting trained, yet he has shown potential for leadership roles and isn''t half bad with the shield and spear" William spoke to his ever-present companion, his skill with necromancy was advancing at a steady pace and soon he would be able to summon her as a spiritual protector, complete with spell-slinging and fighting capabilities. The downside was that since they shared the same mana pool, he would be locked out of his big mana hog spells, doable if annoying. "I know, that part of you that stares in complete wonder as you lift a slab of metal that weighs half a ton or throw multiple Ice Spears at the target has managed to infect me, but while large our mana is not endless, we aren''t demigods William, and you would be wise to remember that in your upcoming battles" Lucrezia finished with a small sigh. "Empty so far, wasn''t it supposed to be full of small critters?" Raffa asked as she cast spells to illuminate the dark corners where the torches on the walls couldn''t cast their flame, nothing but small insects revealed themselves, angry and afraid at the sun born right on top of them. "Is that a gecko? that counts as a critter right?" Richard asked, "Don''t answer that it''s a rhetorical question" he spoke quickly before they could fire back at him, to the giggles of Hope and Raffa. "Lucrezia? you still with us?" Hope asked as she poked William in the ribs, the woman had grown a bit too fond of breaking his personal space, which amused Richard greatly he found. "Yeah, just thinking to myself a bit" William replied. "I sure hope you don''t do that in the middle of combat Lucrezia, I don''t want you staring at the ceiling as a horde of gods knows what barrels through our defenses" Richard spoke again "Then again I doubt your condition wouldn''t snap you out of it the second that happened" William nodded as they stalked the empty halls, Hope shuffled towards him and spoke in whispers "...I''ve tried communing with Saal''Xhir, she accepted me and blessed me with the same Greater Blessing you have Lucrezia, beyond the mastery of the pleasures of the flesh I''ve found that dealing with other people became far easier it is like I can read their very emotions!" she was giddy with excitement "You should''ve told me earlier! No wonder you can figure out people so fast heh" William smiled as the young woman came up with a lie far better than what he could''ve come up with, for his Greater Blessing did not allow him greater rapport with other people, he had tested before and it simply wasn''t there, nay he was running purely on game knowledge and Lucrezia''s sex appeal. Why did Saal''Xhir lock that power away from him? a question he would ask the woman himself when he went to her cathedral, whenever that happened that is. The party eventually broke free from corridors and breached into a huge underground mushroom forest, with huge trees made out of the stuff, small animals ran around and at a glance, all seemed peaceful. Richard put his hand up, making a sign for the party to stop. Hope placed her hands on the ground and sent pulses of both mana detection spells and holy divination she had learned, the spells went on for minutes before she got up and said "Ciphers, a big village of them" Ah yes, the most basic enemy there was bar the common thug, Ciphers were mana given form by large quantities of living beings, usually passive and peaceful, they come in all shapes and sizes on the outside world. Down there they were a chimeric abomination, half-snake, half thunderhead gorillas, capable of low-level tactics and would make "villages" where they followed their whims, usually hunting dungeon fauna and flora, and using whatever materials they had to get better at their prime directive. Kill everything that''s not a Cipher. "Don''t like this, too big of a village" William spoke out loud and everyone snapped their heads to him, curses he thought as he cleared his throat "we are barely on floor 4, these villages are usually only below floor 10, we must sneak past them and kill whatever is on the way to the floor''s exit. Nods from all 3, Richard quickly placed his shield and spear inside his dimensional backpack and pulled softer boots, plus two nasty-looking shortswords "Here, in case you gotta stab someone in the back" he gave one to Raffa who nodded with a smile. "Gather around, everyone" William said as he pulled a scroll from his person and sent mana to it, it burned on the air, releasing a blue mist around the party. "It will cover us until we can get to the exit, walk softly and do not speak, hand gestures only from now on" he gave the orders and the rest was happy to follow, they walked slowly across the mushroom forest until breaking into a clearing, the Cipher village just outside their vision but the ethereal noises could be heard all the same, twice they encountered patrols, the first one they sneaked past it but the second had William and Richard taking out a pair of the things. Spectral goo spilled all over William, and he felt a particular part of his mind snicker in juvenile humor as Richard was already casting his cleaning spell on him "Best we move before another patrol comes looking" It took them a good few minutes before arriving at the gateway to the next floor, a group of big Ciphers stood against them. "Best we go loud," Richard said, "If we were in the tunnels I would close behind us with my wands but that ain''t happening here, I say we alpha strike them and rush to the exit in the chaos, how about you lot?" "I can do a little loud" William said flexing his fingers "Hope, Raffa, two big blue fireballs right on top of them" the girls nodded and began casting the spell as William reached for his pocket and pullet iron rods. "I''m glad you are using my spell, Saves a lot on mana too" Lucrezia spoke as William smirked and threw the rds into the air, they began splitting in silence on top of the Ciphers, and just as they were done the girls dropped their magical payload. Shrieks of rage and pain blanket the exit, and William dropped the rods on top of them, Lucrezia called it Iron Rain, not creative in his opinion but he wouldn''t be casting stones at her for being literal. "Go!" Richard began running, shield and spear up as he acted as a mobile battering ram against anything that wasn''t on fire or full of iron rods. they broke through the first defenders and saw a huge Cipher in the skies, on its back more of the damn things. "What the fuck! Flying Ciphers are only below lv50!" William screamed but he was pulled back by Richard "Run!" Richard spoke as he nearly threw William towards the exit as they began sprinting. Hope and Raffa had already made it when Richard got past the exit, his body disappearing from William''s sight, he heard the flying cipher land and with a sigh of relief touched the portal, his body disappearing as he was teleported right next to Hope who jumped at the sight. "Oh thank the heavens, you are safe, I mean I know you were safe I just..." Hope said her face red with shame, Richard snapped his fingers near her face and asked "You two alright? Raffa?" "All good on my end" William replied a little out of breath, Raffa did the same and so did Hope. "Good then, let''s wait 5 minutes then, I gotta take a leak" Richard walked towards a secluded corner to do his business, William sat down on the ground with a flop. "Fuck me, we gotta report this to the guild, A flying Cipher right near the start of the dungeon? shit is dangerous" he spoke out loud. Raffe turned her head and said "Indeed, I managed to snap its image on my memory marble so we have ample evidence of its existence" Smart thinking William thought, Raffa always had a mind for the minute detail even in the middle of combat.
"Couldn''t we try fighting that big feller?" Hope asked her eyes glittering in the dark with lust for adventure, William shushed her and looked around, the floor they were on had changed and it looked like the halls of a castle? "Shit, puzzle floor" he cursed loudly. "Ohh! my parents told me about these! they run you through a gauntlet of puzzles from quizzing you on current knowledge to mazes and even movement-based puzzles" Hope spoke again, unabated by William''''s shush "Sounds super fun but the uhh traps were nasty according to mom, one of her friends nearly had his arm and legs sliced off thrice" The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Richard scoffed "As if some musty old dragon could come up with actually good puzzles! those old lizards are all simpletons you know? all they care about is war and more war, even their mages" The girls were taken back by Richards''s low opinion of the dragonkind, Hope and Raffa went on a long debate with him about the many wonders the dragons had brought to the world such as gravity-defying magic, wonderful new types of fruits, and farm animals. William was checking for traps and constantly herding the arguing trio as they nearly set off a number of them. After a harrowing call with flying arrows from the walls, William had enough and spoke "If you 3 don''t stop this right now I will beat the crap out of everyone THEN I will cast ice on the wounds!" That snapped them into form, with all 3 apologizing but not before Hope let out a little snark "Watch out Richard, our girlfriend is getting mad" to which Richard threw her a baffled look and said "Ours? oh gods above Hope, please don''t do that it''s bad enough when half the dorm keeps nagging me about it" he paused "Aren''t you dating the prince? that ain''t the type of joke one makes when dating royalty, woman! gods protect us all..." "He won''t mind" she spoke her face with a smirk William knew all too well from the game whenever the player picked a snarky response, ah yes he thought, beneath of the veneer of a good momma''s boy the third Prince was a bit of a wild spirit as the royals called it. That he was able to be open about that side of his with Hope this early in their relationship was something impressive William thought nodding to himself before clearing another trap, his mind was nearly out of the topic when someone came knocking. "...What the fuck you mean wild spirit?!" Lucrezia howled "William you better start talking now or I swear on the All-Father''s name..." she left on that note as William finished dealing with the trap and sighed "Didn''t you finish looking into my memories? the prince is a goddamn freak! every romanceable companion puts Hope through the wringer but he''s the worse of the lot, you even get a debuff after spending a night with the man that says your back hurts too much! Surely you can put two and two together right?" William told her, feeling weird that she was even surprised about this since he wasn''t holding anything back anymore, their bond too deep for any attempt anyway. Ah, a realization made itself manifest and he noticed that she must''ve seen a hint of the information in particular and refused to believe it, thus trying her hardest to remove it from her memories. Were Lucrzia''s feelings speaking here? was she still feeling something for the prince? All good questions William thought to himself, but he wasn''t in the mood to confront the woman herself for the answers, he had a job to do and it was getting to level 35 of the dungeon. Together with giving Hope some much-needed constant stream of battle awareness, level 35 housed a treasure, the Shield of Malinda said to be able to cast both miracles and spells from its intricate runes etched on the face of the defensive apparatus. Plus it was a strong shield and Hope could use one in his opinion, even if he had already given her a magi-tech one earlier. "Don''t change the topic like that you pervert! ugh, I swear your mind is a swamp of depravity and degeneracy! No wonder that Goddess gave her blessing to us!" Lucrezia was ranting now, Willam smiled and let her go on about it, better than trying to talk with her and getting her even more wind up he found. William''s mind snapped back to reality when he heard Raffa talking with the two "...You mean to say there are also rumors of Lady Lucrezia being in love with Hope?" she nodded sagely "Yes, yes I suppose one would make such a connection, given how much time she has spent with Hope and her training. Ye gods the Academy''s rumor mill is nothing short of ruthless" Raffa finished and extended a hand to William, who took it and got up from the trap he had just disarmed. "Pay no mind to it, As one blessed by Saal''Xhir it''s just par for the course really" he spoke with confidence and Raffa smiled "Such dignity, even after mucking about in the dirt and hearing about your love life being speculated like that, are you made out of ice Lucrezia?" Raffa asked with a teasing face. "Only flesh and bones here I am afraid" William replied with a laugh. It didn''t take them long, with Hope and Richard stepping in to help with the puzzles every once in a while and Raffa making sure nothing was sneaking up on them from the rear, they nearly got lost in a maze made out of sandstone walls before William had enough and started blasting through the walls, earning them a nasty poison gas trap at the end of it, and that too was easily beaten by William and Hope flying and teleporting the other two to safety. "May ye wounds be cured, Light Everlasting..." Raffa chanted the little miracle, cleaning the residual poison from their bodies. Richard who was on the ground taking a break asked "Lucrezia a question, does the chanting of the spell and or miracle, does help? I''ve seen you and the others and many priests just whipping magic out of the air all quiet like and I was wondering..." "Depends, certain schools of magic and even particular spells have more or fewer benefits or detriments but you getting down to singular unique "the creator of said spell or that one god was feeling this or that emotion" type deal really" William continued rattling off stuff he had read in the lore books "Miracles while similar are tapping into the god''s Sphere of Power, so unless you are I don''t know, one of the immortals who were here when the God in question was but a minor divinity your best bet is treating any of the Gods with power with the appropriate level of respect" They continued off, bantering and giving each other tips as the next set of puzzles were laid out, this time with actual enemies in the form of fancy-looking golems, soldiers, mages, beasts of war, and more. This was getting complicated William thought to himself, But nothing he couldn''t handle, together with his party that is.
Richard was fighting for his dear life as he stabbed and parried attacks from the front, often he would switch to one of his spell rods and create stone walls to catapult golems to the abyss surrounding the arena, he tried at first to funnel them in but their spears had a longer reach than his so that plan was quickly tossed aside. "Lucrezia, Hope! Shockwave these bastards!" He screamed as William began gathering mana to deliver a big thunder arc, the spell needed him to plant rods of iron around the battlefield, which was easy to do when things got chaotic or the enemy was simple automatons like these golems were. He slashed the golem in front of him before punching another to his side and kicking the one behind that one into the ground, as the mana reached its apex he screamed and a mighty bolt flew from the rods, striking nearly all enemy golems in the arena. Hope did the same as her powers allowed her to copy William''s move and after two more deployments of the spell, they were done with the encounter. Raffa collapsed to the ground, William bolted to her side so she wouldn''t hit her head or something like that but the woman lifted her hand trying to stop him, of course, he didn''t heed her and grabbed Raffa by the waist, her face flaming red by being so close to him as William asked "Raffa! are you alright?" "Yes, just give me a minute, and some space please..." William propped her up and gave the woman ample room to cast her curative spells, light shone in the middle of the arena as Raffe sighed in relief "Gods be good, I''ve never been pushed this much and for this long, It''s like I am about to fall over" William pulled a vial from his backpack and gave it to her "Drink this, Elixir made by the alchemists in the Academy, it gives a stamina and mana boost for 6 hours, plus clears fatigue" William coughed "But the effects are very slow to take set in, it will take about 30 minutes for the potion to take effect, anyone else needs one?" "I am good for now" Richard replied. "Same here" Hope nodded with a smile "So what''s next?" "Well, this is an end of level type encounter so we should''ve gotten a treasure chest and the way below open" William looked around "But the trap might''ve removed the chest from this particular equation" William looked around, and lo and behold he found the stairs leading further down into the dungeon. "No chest, shame" Richard spoke as he walked up to him, let us go, I am done with puzzles for a lifetime"
The group was walking along a beach, the sun''s warm glow heating them under their armor, this stage was known as the recreation of the dragon''s island, the ancestral home of all dragonkind. "Wonder how Kallista would react seeing this" William spoke to himself out loud, his party turned to him with puzzled looks. "Who''s Kallista?" Hope asked. Raffa who was behind her spoke out "White Dragoness Kallista, Ruler of the northern mountains and matriarch of the biggest draconic horde outside of their island, the Wulfgrem have an ancient accord with her to rule the lands they have" Richard''s eyes flared up "Oh yeah, how could''ve I forgotten, mother told me about the dragoness and her ties to you! hmm, she is the sister of the dragon that rules this place yes? I remember reading that somewhere" William nodded "Yes, Saark and Kallista left the Dragon''s island and retired from the eternal war to live in peace, Saark eventually began his line here, the Dragonbloods who are usually Shatter-Spears, although other clans have a bit of his blood on them given they tended to..." William took a pause, searching for a way to put the next factoid he had "have more scions than the usual for a high noble" "Amazing, so dragons are indeed horny as the books tell" Hope smiled as Willliam made a shit-eating grin "Indeed they are my friend" "I do wonder if the two of them miss their home" Richard spoke "This is lovely scenery, after all, our beaches in the south can hardly compare to it" he walked forward towards something "Hey, I see an outdoor gazebo, might be able to take a rest there" Indeed, William recalled in the game how the beach was a haven for players to rest, restock on healing items and then move on, so they walked towards the outdoor gazebo and found the place filled with chairs and tables. He quickly went to work, setting up a small table and the chairs for the rest of the party, everyone had brought food and drink and so they ate in silence, enjoying the sound of the waves crashing in the sand. "You think he misses home?" Raffa asked William as he finished eating "Saark I mean" William debated telling what he knew since the dragon could be listening to their conversation, he was known to pay attention to the events in the outside world and Hope was THE event to pay attention to. "Kallista never spoke of her brother, I am afraid we would need to confront the lizard himself to know..." he sighed not wanting to keep Raffa in the dark "But I think, I think he does misses a bit, leaving your home is never easy" he felt Lucrezia smile when he finished that, as he had come to see the north and its people as his home now. She liked that very much. "Sounds like you miss yours too" Hope chimed in, having finished wolfing down on what was a feast for 10 grown men "I''ve never seen snow you know? mom and dad fought in the wastes trying to set up some gods forsaken outpost there for a noble family and they hate it" William smiled as he felt Lucrezia surface, usually her presence stayed far below in their shared soul space, but sometimes she would surface to fully experience his actions, it was like she was blanketing into his very soul, and thus she could see from his point of view, hear and taste, and even feel a slight sense of touch. It felt weird the first few times they tested, but every once in a while he would indulge her with it. "The cold seeps into your very bones, but after a while, you get used to it I swear!" William said smiling "your southerners complain too much about the cold you know" he felt Lucrezia laughing as those were the words in her mind. "Mother told me the cold is pretty severe..." Richard spoke "but the homes and your castle, in particular, were very warm and comfy, the people and castle staff spoke highly of you even" William felt Lucrezia''s heartache at the mention of the staff, the maidens and servants who they trained to fight a horrible fight against her parents "I did my best for then, and in the future, I hope to do even more, for them and everyone in the duchy" "A noble with a heart of gold" Raffa spoke with a smirk on her face "Don''t let the Academy take that from you Lucrezia, gods know we need more people like you in this kingdom than the usual High Noble scions we have running around" On that note, they finished eating and went towards the exit, William had a feeling in the back of his head that the next boss would be a wall that they would struggle to defeat, and anyone but him and Hope would ask to go back home. Interlude: The frenzy, All consuming, All powerful "Much was done to learn about where the Entity that created the Rage-that-Dwells came from, the battle shook both material and immaterial, Gods perishing by the swipe of its hand and legions of mortals being turned to dust when it turned its gaze on them if there is a reality or universe out there where more of these monsters live then I propose that we establish a fiercer blockade on it, Terra is bad enough already with its many leaks into our planes of dominion, I will not have a world full of entities that can put this much pressure on us out and about" The All-Father to the Alliance of Higher Beings. Malphas paced around her room, fury, and rage seething under her skin like a python ready to strike at its prey. More news from her sources in the academy confirmed the worst of her predictions. Her son had fallen for a peasant, an exceptional peasant but peasant nonetheless, worse still was that the girl had the rage at an advanced stage AND the blessing of All-Father, but all of that could be waved away as a youthly vigor, misplaced and just a phase. Being friendly with the whore that killed her son? that she could not forgive. When called to attend to this, Arthur kept to himself, not even acknowledging her at the table, once again, she felt the blood boil but at the behest of her husband, Malphas let the matter go. "He''s a grown man now, only the gods may judge his actions" Jason spoke in that tone of his that always meant he didn''t want to talk about it later, no doubt he was as angry as her since his son was buddy-buddy with the killer of his eldest but Jason always favored free will and choice over it all, a staunch believer in the All-Father he was the first to break away from tradition and take the adventuring life openly instead of doing on the shadows as many royals were known to do. Thus arriving at the current juncture Malphas found herself in, unable to enact revenge and to see her oldest have his name tarnished beyond repair as the news spread like wildfire among the populace while the Whore''s stock rose as an unlikely anti-hero who was willing to do the right thing even at the highest of prices, Kin-Slaying and all. "Hehehehe, look at you Malphas. mighty beyond the reach of men and unable to even touch her hair! how you seethe and writhe in sheer anger and can do nothing about it! While she gathers powerful allies by the dozen, unearthed secrets even the gods weren''t privy to, and grows stronger by the second! your revenge slips from your fingers by the minute whelp!" "Silence! begone with you foul entity" Malphas barked at the air, her face red hot in a fury. "HA! as if you had any hold over me whelp! you and your kind are but leaves in the wind compared to my full might! It is my power that you borrow my knowledge and my skills! " Malphas was quiet, the entity had been very talkative these last few weeks and it was only getting worse, the reports told her when it was whole it never really spoke that much, and the fact she was hearing voices meant either her mind had been enthralled or something far worse was going on in the background, alas not much was known about the sea of rage, that plane of existence that permeates the material world ever since the entity was killed. "And guess what Malphas? more will rise now, two with the same level of power you have, and they will fight united against you!" the entity laughed in pleasure, its eery voice booming in the Queen''s head "All thanks to her, she who can barely tap into my essence and yet is stronger than many, so full of secrets, so full of mystery that even your gods aren''t privy, oh yes whelp you will all fight, in a battle that will shake the very grounds of this mud rock you call home and the stars above it" "You have many powers foul beast, but divination is not one of them" Malphas spoke, why was the entity trying to rile her up so? something was at a play here, something no doubt foul whenever that thing deigns to speak to her, it was no secret she was the strongest user of the Rage-that-Dwells in all of human history, none had the mastery and skills she had and not even gods could take on her without sufficient prep. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. The ones that did were killed by her own two hands after all. In her adventuring days, the killings of demi and full-blown gods were the highlights turned into a song and then into legend, her name marked down in the collective consciousness of the world as the strongest woman of her age. And all that glory was nothing but useless, for she was without her son and the person that took his life was being hailed as a hero. "When the final battle comes, you will be pushed to the brink, by kin and kith you will fight, you will bleed and you will rage until all it is spent, and when the blade of the enemy draws blood call for me, call my name and undo reality!" "For your son Malphas, and as revenge for the world that took his life"
"Your mother is not pleased" King Jason spoke to his son who was at his desk, writing something on paper, and didn''t even raise his head to welcome his father inside his room. One of the many many changes Lucrezia had brought it seems, Arthur had finally grown a backbone, when his sister tried to make fun of his peasant girlfriend he was quick to shut her up with actual necromancy, taught no doubt by Kaine and Lucrezia. Jason didn''t mind, he was a fervent believer in free will and all the teachings the All-Father had given to his creations, but Gods above couldn''t it be in a better time? he had his people contact Lucrezia''s spymaster and they managed to hash out agreements but his wife sure wasn''t pleased about it. He''d have to ask the dragon for a new battle arena, work out that stress with her was always the right option he found in the many years they had been together. "I know father, I know" Arthur replied as he finished whatever he was doing, when Jason came to take a look he found it was schematics on...weapons and armor. Of Magi-Tech design. "I didn''t take you to be interested in the arts of forging son, what is this?" Jason asked, genuinely curious. Arthur sighed and spoke, his voice low and tinged with shame "Hope went to the godsforsaken dungeon and mom had me dragged to the godsdamned castle a day before! I was meant to be their father! fighting with her shoulder to shoulder just as you did ages ago! but no, I must do some inane ritual now that Galius is dead and mom wouldn''t hear otherwise, How petty can someone be, she already knows Galius was a thrall to the powers of the beyond" He dragged his hands into his hair, clearly incensed about the whole ordeal. Jason couldn''t help but smile, due to his innate necromancy Arthur was a quiet boy much of his life, only truly making friends with Kaine and...Viviene, shy and prone to running, it was those two that made him grow a backbone when a kid, if only a little. But now that love was involved? now he is outspoken, loud even, full of vigor, and with a drive to do things with his loved one, fighting the gaze of his mother who made god and men tremble head-on. And it was all thanks to her, the ever-present thorn in his side. Lucrezia Wulfgren. Out of his many spies, Jason had one called Fia, now Fia had a special set of skills meant to gauge hidden motives out of people Jason sent her after, and for the very first time in his life, he sent her after his son. Fia was Greater blessed by Saal''Xhir, and her skills let her understand her marks at a deeper level that even mind mages on his employ couldn''t do it (too much of his annoyance as the mages, in particular, were very sour on the fact they were outdone by Fia) and the woman told him clear as day, while the love between Hope and Arthur were genuine as it gets, it was Lucrezia who thanks to her actions brought the two together. Lucrezia was also blessed by the same Goddess, was there divine hands in this pot Jason thought to himself? or was it just something Lucrezia wanted to happen? he couldn''t know and asking the woman outright would put him in the veritable dog house for a long while. "Oh this is embarrassing" Arthur spoke out loud. "It is ok my son, trust me I know how you feel, once your mother was forced to fight in a tournament to save our party and we had to watch in shackles as she fought for hours of intense combat, by the end of it she could barely lift her sword arm but still she fought on and won the damn thing, freeing us in the process" Jason smiled at the fond memory. "Don''t be harsh on your mother Arthur, she always was one for holding grudges and emotions, It will be hard but in time she will come around and welcome Hope with open arms" Jason slapped his son on the back and for once in his life, Arthur didn''t shy away from it. "You know she has the Rage right? and her blessing as well?" Arthur asked his father. "Indeed, those alone will be enough to bar any would be noble trying to befoul your union with the young lady" Jason spoke and saw his son smile, a bit of peace sitting with him for once, he gave his farewells and walked to the throne room. Sitting on the throne, Jason picked a piece of paper he had on him for the entire day, brought by the spies who were in charge of talking with Lucrezia''s spymaster, in it was a small note written by the woman herself, his hands trembling as he read the thing once again for the third time today. "Your son has the rage, on the same level as your wife" Chapter 45: Safeguarding the Future "It took nearly ten archmages plus my combined divine and magical might to power the spell, the Tear of the All-Father saved us that day by stoping that madwoman, it didn''t win the war, but it saved us" The Mad King of Grannarius spoke to his generals (Who survived) about the gambit that saved his life, Report from the Vermilion Spy division codename Platinium Fox. Richard was scared, it had been more than 30 minutes since they left the beach and still, no enemies came to meet them, he was sneaking looks at Lucrezia who was busy explaining bizarre and obscure factoids about the many wars the kingdom had embroiled itself in which made him think he was going crazy thanks to his rampant paranoia, after all, if she wasn''t worried, why would he be worried? Castra-Cam on the other hand was acting like she couldn''t care less her gaze trained on the horizon. "In the coming room, ask to fight alone" Richard halted, making the girls all stop and draw their weapons, he immediately went on a defensive stance and began scanning the corridor for any type of apparition type threat, ghosts and wraiths usually avoided the dungeon but every once in a while he would hear from adventuring or mercenary parties about nightmare riders or greater banshees lurking in the place, either displaced from their usual haunts or on the run from a bigger meaner spirit. "Where?" Lucrezia asked as she readied her ax and a fan of iron rods. Hope began casting detection spells and after they came back with no pings she raised her hand, the sign of false alarm. "Richard, you feeling ok? didn''t get enough rest last floor?" Raffa asked as she cast a refreshing spell over him, he felt his mind sharpening and the little tiredness he had been lifted from his bones. Strange Richard thought, that was usually a miracle, not a regular magical spell, was Raffa near her limit for miracles today? a question for another time it seems. "I thought I heard something, sorry for the false alarm everyone" he replied and everyone nodded "Likely something on the walls or a wayward spirit, those are more common on the later floors from what I''ve heard" Castra-Cam replied, Lucrezia nodded and said "On your guard everyone" The pace of the march halted after that, for something like an hour they were walking slowly and checking every corner they took, Lucrezia herself was shoulder to shoulder with him, her very presence betraying that bloodlust she tried so hard to keep at bay. Castra on the other hand was using what he believed was some sort of necromantic detection spell, pinging the area around them every 40 seconds or so. Richard had been near warriors before, none had that aura about them, and Lucrezia wasn''t even a Ki user! it was almost intoxicating in a way, like his own mental and spiritual state was molding itself to meet her own, it was a scary thought he felt, he didn''t want to lose himself to the fires of war and all that. The party eventually reached a huge arena, waiting for them was the spectral form of an elven warrior, the serpentine patterns in his armor combined with the trident spear made Richard gasp. "That''s the soul of a godsdamned Sea Elf," Lucrezia said, bile in her voice "By the medal on his left side it is either a general or a champion at that" Richard sucked in air through his nostrils, of course, they would be fighting the godsdamned ancestral enemy of the kingdom, Lucrezia had a bloody knack for these types of things didn''t she? His mind went back to the voice again, it had helped him in the spar and now demanded him to fight against this ghost...a part of him knew that had his soul been breached by the foul or the profane his blessing would''ve kicked in, Gods even the minor ones were very touchy when it came to breaches of their Sphere, so this voice was being allowed inside of his mind and soul. And there were very few gods with a particular interest in the sea elves... "Lucrezia" Richard spoke, mustering the best authoritative tone he could. The woman snapped towards him, her hand already in the ax handle, she narrowed her eyes at him, and for a second Richard felt a chill run through his spine, but he did not falter, something deep inside of him told him he couldn''t. "You want to fight it?" she asked. "Alone" Richard answered, the other girls had puzzled looks on their faces, Hope then said, "Richard, it would be best we tackle him together, surely you understand that?" Lucrezia''s face told him she was thinking it over, the subtle ways her eyebrows rose and fell, how she tapped her leg with her fingers, tells he had grown used to seeing whenever she was debating with herself about something, usually, she would also stare at the sun, but given they were underground she made do with the ceiling. "You going to let him fight that thing alone?" Raffa asked her face appalled at the prospect "Lucrezia that would not be...wise, not to make less of Richard''s combat prowess for we have seen he has the knack for it, but such an enemy demands our combined might, I wouldn''t want to see Richard here risk his neck for us like that" her voice trailed off as Richard saw Lucrezia walking up to him, she pulled something from her back, it shone a dull pale light as she handed to him. "This is a Magi-Tech gun, a personal item I and Idun made before I left home, it can fire 10 times before you need to reload with a crystal" she then handed a small pouch with a myriad of crystals in it "In case anything happens to your shield and spear, plus those staffs you still haven''t used" he saw her smile as she reminded him of the rest of his little arsenal, Lucrezia then gave him a few potions and said "In the case of life-threatening wounds, the talisman will trigger and send you back to the surface but watch yourself please, I don''t want your mother mad at me" "Why?" Raffa asked Lucrezia. "If he wants to fight alone then we let him fight alone, I am sure Richard has a good reason and I trust him" "So be it then, good luck Richard," Raffa said "Try not to die" Hope cheered him on, clapping him on the back saying that her parents used to do the same to her all the time, Richard felt his face go red a little but remained resolute in his decision, stepping into the arena''s threshold he felt a salty wind hit his face, the smell of blood soon following it. "Richard" Castra called him out, he turned for a second as his body fell into the threshold "Kick his ass" "Got it" He replied with a nervous smile. "Human whelp! you dare challenge me Champion Laathur of the Abyssal Depths! Prepare to die then, together with your kind and those Orcs you love so much!" "Defeat the shade, and my power will be yours, and when you find yourself in your darkest hour I will save you, as I did so long ago" there was a warmth in the voice, a touch of the divine that Richard could feel now, the words spoken filled him with courage and emptied his mind of fear, his goal was simple, and nothing would stop him from achieving it now. Richard settled into his battle stance, and when the shade opened its mouth to gloat he jumped, piercing the throat of the fell beast, a wordless wail echoed through the arena as Richard surprised attack took the wind of the shade''s sails, and the battle finally starting in earnest.
"Never liked that boss, not only does he have an annoying 10 hit combo, he gets reused every 10 floors or so as a regular enemy but with more health and doing more damage, they did a rush job with the dungeon in the game in my honest opinion, wonder if the sequel will ever improve on it..." William thought to himself as he watched Richard duck and dodge from the aforementioned attack, the training paid it seems. "You are a bit too casual about this whole ordeal William, even with the amulets you given them..." Lucrezia chipped in, she was using his eyes to watch the fight in real-time and it was like she was hugging him from the back, her head nested in his right shoulder. What a weird feeling. "Hope and Saal''Xhir... I still don''t know what to make of it" Lucrezia said "I understand the game version of this reality was tinged in...adult themes and such but to actually see it happening it''s weird, but then again I guess those are my northern sensibilities talking here, compared to the south where Uumaries''s teachings aren''t so entrenched and they can enjoy the pleasures of the flesh more..." Lucrezia finished with a sigh. "Lucrezia? Anything you wanna talk about?" William asked feeling curious, she wasn''t one to ruminate on such topics, usually preferring a more direct approach, something was nagging her he could feel it, now to see if she would impart him with the knowledge of it. "Hm, maybe later" Lucrezia replied and William felt her presence fall into the recess of his soul space, the empty feeling he got was hard to understand, usually it felt more like a weight being lifted but now, there was something more. "Amazing, seeing you going silent like that, it''s almost like you enter a whole new world and forget about your body, does it even happen to you in the middle of combat?" Raffa shimmed herself to William''s side, he stared at her face, losing himself in those eyes of her before he noticed the poor woman going red from his staring, with a cough to dispel the awakeness he spoke. "And here I thought you only had eyes for Hope and Richard, quite the paramour aren''t ya Lucrezia?" Castra laughed teasing them, he waved her off. "The battle lust wouldn''t let me" William gave the woman a tired smile, that lion of his was ever eager to be out and about. Of course, he was keenly aware the right methods to lessen the bite of the Lust but to cross that bridge was not something he would do on a whim. "For someone branded a Heretic by the Goddess of all that''s right and proper, you have a bit of a prudish streak huh" Raffe spoke with a teasing smile "Tell me, how does it feel antagonizing one of the major kingdom''s Gods? even in your position that is no small feat you know?" William smiled, finally, the woman grew a pair and started to sound him out, oh yes he knew her "miracles" were cleverly made sorceries that masked herself as a right and proper noble but the rumors spoke the truth. She and her family, together with many others around the Kingdom were part of the Anti-Gods faction. While the name may paint them as an extremist cell, in reality, they seek to become truly free from the many Spheres of Power that permeate the world, in their own words "True freedom, not mired by the whims of the gods, or the wrath of the infernals, nor the machinations of those from the beyond" Many of the public members of the faction were pariahs, but thanks to the All-Father''s policy were tolerated and given a platform to speak. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. The big man himself was endlessly fascinated by them, as the God of Free Will they were doing what he was born to do, parts of his faith denounced his behavior, but he couldn''t care a wit for them, to see his creation trying to be truly free, and thrive outside of his Sphere of Power was something that would bring him boundless joys. Alas many, many other gods didn''t like the idea one bit, not just them but the infernals too! to the point when once the faction managed to get a sizeable following they made the very first coalition to bring their all to bear against the faction''s forces, in a battle that scarred Vermilion for a century. Nowadays they were more on the shadowy conspiracy side of things, minus the aforementioned public members, with Raffa and her family being the de facto leaders of the faction, though if confronted about it they would tell you the faction is led by a committee. "It is an issue yes" William spoke "But I did what I for my people, Uumaries played her hand wrong in a mad bid to amass more power with the nobles and she had to be punished for it" he finished, casting his eyes back to Richard he saw the young man blowing his goddamn shield up with some sort of magic that made the Magi-Tech gear overload in mana! the Elven champion staggered and kneeled, Richard went in for the kill before the champion warped to the air, screaming obscenities. "...Nobles, the way you say it it''s almost like you aren''t one Lucrezia" Raffa had a puzzled look on her face "Mayhaps that hm... distaste for our fellows was the reason the Mad Goddess was so willing to work with you? follow your lead for the razing of Talos?" she smiled "Survivors of that massacre have made their way to the capital, soon you will find them and I wonder how you will act then..." "If they require aid, and are willing to receive it from me then I will aid them, If they seek revenge they can try their luck" William replied "Nothing a few broken bones can''t fix" Raffa hummed " I don''t know if beating the downtrodden is a good look, but you do" "Hey, Looks like Richard is about to win the fight" Hope cut them off "Look at that he used the weapon you gave him Lucrezia!" she poked William who nearly jumped in surprise. Indeed the young man was fighting spear and pistol in hand like some sort of budget Dante from Devil May Cry, dodging and parrying strikes in a pure state of combat flow she didn''t know he was capable of, You couldn''t take him in combat in the game, he was purely a merchant NPC, once again the reality of it all struck William, this Richard was more than his digital counterpart indeed. They all were. William watched as Richard stumbled out of the arena, he was shaking intensely, William grabbed him by the arms and hugged him hard, slowly hearing his heart rate slow down as Richard calmed down. "Keep this up and the rumors will get worse for him," Raffa said as she cast a healing spell that removed fatigue on Richard, William didn''t care and once he felt Richard was safe he let the young man go, Richard, himself could barely string words together, out of breath as he was in the moment, he sat down in the ground with a plop as Hope rushed towards him. "I am...fine. thanks, everyone" he spoke after a short few seconds, Hope extended her hand towards him and he grabbed it, getting up with a tired smile on his face, burning red as a side note. "So how does the dragon distribute loot? I heard from a few raiding parties that he has some magical field running throughout the dungeon that calculates the effort each individual put in the fight then gives the excellent stuff accordingly" Hope began talking as they picked up their stuff and went towards the exit "Also, congratulations Richard, fighting a shade of a Sea Elf champion, that''s major you know?" "Good bragging if you wanna befriend any orc too, nothing breaks the ice with them like shit-talking their ancient enemy" Raffa smiled "Speaking of which, how goes the prince Lucrezia? Haven''t seen him around lately" William took a second to recall his memories "He''s busy trying to master a series of combat-focused ancient spells if I recall correctly, it''s going to take a long while as those are fiendishly hard to crack" Nods all around William confirmed what was common knowledge "I told him to speak with Kaine but the man is proud, wants to do by himself" Hope nodded "Nothing beats hands-on experience, like this!" she did a little twirl which earned smiles from everyone "But I must say, I kinda wanna go home" An effect of prolonged dives William remembered, a random chance debuff after a few hours inside the place that would make party members feel fatigued and homesick, one of the worst mechanics in the game due to its random nature and something William had complained about in the forums. It also pushed him to do a solo run of the entire damn thing, demanding several straight-up wacky tactics to beat it and get the prize from the dragon at the end, William then noticed Raffa snapping her fingers at his face, getting his attention. "Welcome back airhead. so the loot distribution? any sage advice for us mere mortals?" Raffa asked with a teasing smile. "I am mortal too in case you forgot" William replied walking towards the exit "We all fought before getting down here, Richard might''ve defeated the big shade but I am certain we will all get something good from the old dragon" Arriving at a closed-off room, they found a chest for each, their names engraved on it. "Great, named chests!" Hope did a cheer "Mom told me those only happen when the dragon is personally pleased with your combat and puzzle-solving skills you know?" she turned to William and said "All thanks to you Lucrezia! now let''s see that loot!" Hope dashed off, opening her chest first. "Someone sure is happy, now for the rewards of our labors" Raffa elbowed William as she went towards her chest, Richard stopped by William''s side and spoke "Lucrezia I..." "Yes, Richard?" William asked "Thank you for the opportunity, I am not that much of a fighter and even then you let me fight that shade, I just wanted you to know that I appreciate that" Richard spoke with a tired tone in his voice. He then went towards his chest, William watching closely as he picked off something... "Gods fucking above William!" Lucrezia screamed beside him, making him nearly jump. "Jesus Lucrezia what the fuck, nearly made me jump here!" he told her before he got a grip, watching the others to see if they had noticed, none did as they were too busy with their loot. "The merchant Kid! he has the tear, William! I saw it glinting in his fucking hands!" Lucrezia dropped the bomb as William''s eyes went wide, he saw the distinctive golden glean of the tear-like-shaped crystal. The fucking Tear of the All-Father, the lost piece of which the only known one had the Grannarius Royals, and the only known way to stop Malphas. William felt a chill creep up his spine, hands shaking as ideas and thoughts began firing off inside his head, someone up high was moving pieces, and he was in the middle of the fucking board, he felt anger, fear, and panic all mesh together inside his chest as the realization he was played like a damn fiddle, not just him but people he cared about. "What if... What if this isn''t a trap..." Lucrezia began talking, at this point, William was hoping for anything, any semblance of a good ending in this particular tunnel he found himself in. "Think about it, Richard''s sudden battle prowess, even when we know he has no Battle-focused Blessing, his odd behavior in the sparring sessions and now asking to fight alone! Almost as if someone is grooming him to become a powerful asset for us!" "The one that brought me here..." William''s mind calmed as Lucrezia''s explanation soothed his worries "Yes...We have yet to make contact with whoever brought me here, and fused my soul with yours if this is a sign..." "Whoever this God is, they must be powerful, if they wanted us dead I am sure we would both be on the Long Queue already William, I understand this is just wild speculation but..." William sighed in relief, even with all his knowledge he was caught off guard like that "It''s enough, thank you Lucrezia, for stopping me from losing my shit that is" Lucrezia smirked "I told you didn''t I, I am looking out for you as well, after all, it is my body you are using up there" another laugh "I have vested interests in keeping you alive" William smiled to himself, moving towards the chest with Lucrezia''s name, and opened it, inside was a single vial containing a golden liquid, William couldn''t help but laugh out loud. "Very fucking funny you goddamn overgrown lizard" he spoke to the air as the others looked at him, their faces asking what the hell he was talking about, William handwaved them as he checked out their loot, Raffa had gained a beautiful dragonbone staff, with a gem-shaped dragon eye on the tip of it, Hope herself got a suit of dragon scale armor and a set of earrings that increases magical defense. With their loot sorted out, the group went towards the exit, ready to go back to the surface. "Saa, did the mercs we hired spoke with you?" William asked his maid while walking around his room naked as the day he was born, on his body the many sigils of the gods who had chosen him burning bright under the magic light produced by the lamps on the roof. one burning brighter than the others. "Yes, they have the weapon, 3 of their members nearly died more than once you know, the charms we brought from that shady merchant worked but they weren''t pleased about it" Saa''ryu pulled the metal bar from the table "Lu I understand you don''t want to... Indulge on your god''s given needs but couldn''t you put at least some undergarments?" William grabbed the metal bar, and in a flash, it became a sword, then an ax, bow, and even a twin-blade from the elves. The more mana he poured into the weapon, the more excited he got until Saa''ryu snapped him out of it. "It''s getting harder to control, even with Gabriel''s medicine and the training" William spoke out loud before putting the weapon down "This will make a fine gift for her, have it packed and delivered after I leave for the palace" Saa''ryu nodded " Lu about the rumors" William turned around, sitting on a chair near him, and stared at Saa''ryu "Yes?" "My people are working on finding out who''s the source, I know you told me to not bother but you are a Duchess Lu! you can''t let these people mock your name so! what will the people think at home?!" A strange thing for her to say, Saa''ryu wasn''t one to care much for these sorts of things, so this must''ve been getting under her skin for quite some time it seems. "It''s ok Saa, I know you don''t like hearing people talk that way about me, there''s no need to appeal to my noble image, as much as anyone cares about that at home after all that happened, do what you must to find them, if that will grant you peace then I am ok with it" His maid nodded, Lucrezia was pleased to see that her maid loved her so much that she would raise her hand against no- "WILLIAM!" a voice shook him from the core of his soul, William''s eyes went wide in terror as his mind reeled from what had just passed through his thoughts, the bond was growing deeper, stronger, and he was starting to lose himself. It would seem whoever brought him here wanted Lucrezia in the reigns, not him after all. Saal''Xhir blessing flared once again, the dreaded wave of lust for once clearing his mind from the existential dread of being consumed wholesale to birth some sort of gestalt entity that had his and Lucrezia''s soul together, the wave of desire flooded his mind and body and for a blissful second he was free of his worries. "I think you ought to talk with the woman in charge, it''s clear even after giving her a church in our lands she wants more of you Lu, and holding her back like this is doing more harm than good, here drink this" Saa''ryu rushed to his side with a cup of clear liquid, a potion maybe? It was cold water. "Thank you Saa, I''ll see about that, now if you would excuse me, I need a shower" William got up and went to the bathroom, opening the showerhead he sat on the floor and let the waters wash over him, their sound drowning his mind and letting him enter a meditative state.
Lucrezia paced around her usual haunts, the soul space had opened itself to a ridiculous degree as their connection became deeper, it was hard at first but with time she came to understand how much the virtual copy of her world meant to this strange boy that was in control of her body. Such conflicted thoughts bouncing around his head, seeing him get worried when he fought his friends, in anguish while doing the dragon''s dungeon, his checked lust threatening to bust out at every opportunity it saw, all those feelings had in time become her feelings and thus she came to see William in a light that very few had in his planet, in fact, she probably knew him better than his mother. Not that that was a high bar to clear, knowing his relationship with his parents. But it was the lust that had been proving an unflinching and constant issue, she had no godsdamned idea on how much he indulged back in Earth, daily, even more than twice a day! the sheer quantity of immoral lewd content in his memory was staggering, unheard even! Ever since the chains fell off and William let go of his shame she witness snippets of it, they nagged at her, like an itch in her arms and legs she couldn''t scratch, the thirst, and hunger for it was driving her insane, but there was a current of sadness there, as if William wanted to lose himself on it to drown out his more negative feelings, it was exactly like an addiction. One she now had as well. Whenever William was feeling down she would get flashes of his time where he drowned himself in that particular pit of dispair masquerading itself as pleasure, how he bombarded his senses with it to fully immerse himself only for the bliss to leave him shortly after it, he wanted more and dug dig for the next high but nothing could satiate himself anymore, chasing the dragon forever as he once said in one of those flashes. It was a part of him that was washed with shame, she didn''t know why at first, but now that much of Earth''s knowledge had cemented in her mind, she could understand his shame after all that type of behavior was seen with disdain where he lived, that he trusted her with this extremely intimate piece of himself touched Lucrezia somewhat, even if that was in part thanks to the merge between him and her. His fear when his thoughts went there was like a knife was jammed right into her ribcage, fast as lightning and just as deadly. As he calmed down she went upwards, towards the "surface" the blessing of Saal''Xhir at full blast when she arrived as William for once let his mind be consumed by that divine bliss, it was hard for him to come back, or to even keep himself composed in front of Saa''ryu but he went that extra mile, for Lucrezia and her name. She wondered how far he would go, and the thought of it made her shudder in fear. Interlude: Holy in name only.
"On the eve of the assault to the elven capital we stood tall as the storm conjured by their mages rocked our camps and outposts, magic and miracles both protected us the mighty knights of vermillion but there was one sight no living soul could forget, the queen stood tall in a cliff, her gaze staring at the huge storm as lightning struck the ground around her and hail battered against her magical shield, a true beacon of hope and righteous fury!" Anonymous account of a foot soldier from the war against Grannarius. Malphas was sparring in the main arena of the palace, her husband keeping up with her even when she activated the second stage of the Rage, truly the best man she had ever known, even if his love for statecraft had made him rusty the past 10 years. His bastard sword drew blood and they called a draw, the match-up was always in his favor as Jason could read Malphas like a map, one of the very few who had bested her in combat at that. Jason left shortly after it, his eyes telling her many things, their relationship was a tad strained of late but she could still feel the warmth of his love, buried deep in the many responsibilities of being a king but still there. The same couldn''t be said for her youngest son, who by now had committed to his love with the peasant girl, and worse still the whore that had killed her dearest son, they barely talked nowadays, he somehow had found ways to dodge or skirt away from her presence, a feat no doubt taught to him by the whore. Malphas eyes and ears were appalled at the sheer speed Lucrezia had established herself in the capital''s many circles, from the lowest of merchant guilds to the High Priests and Priestess, and anything in between bet it mercenaries, adventurer associations, miners, independent artisans, and even godsdamned musicians. Her patron deities also extended their reach into the capital, with the church of Magi-Tech already having started its work. "It''s like she knows what to do when to do and how to do M''lady, I''ve seen shrewd political navigators in my time but Lucrezia? It''s almost like she can read the future!" Malphas Head Spy said in his report, that the old Crocodilekin looked bewildered which was a rare sight. "Chronomancy?" Malphas asked, she knew the whore had made fast friends with Kaine when she had him captive in her castle, to the point where the boy became the first chronomancer in centuries and was also working towards expanding his Goddess religion. "Nay, we have means to check for timeline meddling, crude as they were but the boy has barely begun mastering the river of time, and the Goddess remains ever a thorn in his side, stonewalling him even with help from Lucrezia" the Head Spy spoke his face turning sour "Yet it is the peasant girl that worries me, where Lucrezia has made great strides in establishing social ties, that monster has also elevated Hope into a warrior that could pose threat to national security" "She is grooming her to be her shield against me," Malphas said, her Head Spy closed his eyes but said nothing. "Report again should anything of note happens, I have things to do," she said and the man went off, Malphas summoned a wooden staff to her hand and slammed the thing on the ground, transporting her to a faraway place deep in the polar region of the world, in this isolated sanctum she had once found after a series of harrowing solo adventures seeking a rogue lich. In this ancient cove, the lich had made great advances into necromancy and found a way to hide from the gods, and thus Malphas used the place after his banishment to commune with the entity that gave her so much power, who single-handed destroyed cities and leveled mountains, it felt horrible taking the entity out of her soul and placing back in the world, even for a few seconds "Come out you godsdamned creature!" Alas, nothing happened.
Lucrezia finished her daily set of combat exercises, at this point she was on par with the elite knights of her duchy, William often gave her a beating, but nowadays she was scoring more wins than him. Her mastery of the weapon gifted by the Arch-Duke''s wife also surprised him, William even said he thought she would favor a sword of more traditional Vermilion design, or a duelist''s rapier which was popular with nobles, but the katana spoke to something deep inside Lucrezia, there''s grace with each flowing strike and slash, a dance of death and precision that made her fall in love. William reacted with humor, calling her names from his world that for once had parallels to her reality, it wasn''t unheard of people being enamored with the culture of the Shogunate, or the Dynasty for that matter. William then manifested more weapons from the shogunate, as he deemed the Katana more of a ceremonial weapon and the shorter blades would be best for the actual fight, of course, the boy forgot to account that Lucrezia could do the same magicks as him, and the Warriors of the Shogunate had their own brand of both Ki and Magical arts to assist in their fight, so she had William look for those. It didn''t take long, Vermilion had good relations with the Shogunate, even if the country was too fond of civil wars, books and more weapons were brought into the realm, armor too and soon Lucrezia looked like a mixture of noble duel attire and Samurai warrior. Mastering their bow and spear technics took a while, but she had time in this eternal life granted by whoever brought William from Terra, as she was unable to channel Ki, learning the magicks took more time but with enough persistence, she got it under control, that was when William began trying to make new spells based of the many games he had played in his life. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. The very first spell they got right was a short-range void slice which could be done both vertically and horizontally, tearing into the fabric of reality with an application of a series of math-heavy magicks he had Kaine come up, the tear was small enough that nothing could crawl from it but big enough to phase through armor and shield, magical or otherwise. The second spell was a long-range series of slashes, Lucrezia would unsheath and sheath the blade at speeds the body wouldn''t be able to do, but as a spirit, she wasn''t bound by the limits of the flesh, these slashes would take the form of a sphere and it was a devastating sight to behold. The third and final spell they came up together was a bigger version of the second one, summoning every once of Lucrezia''s and William''s mana reserves the area where the slashes would manifest increased tenfold, a strike strong enough to fell a demi-god according to William who was grinning like a madman when Lucrezia finally pulled it off, saying that when he finally mastered the necromantic arts they would be able to fight together and the whole world would witness true devastation from her blade. Corny, but she couldn''t help but want a bit of that, to fight in the real world again.
Lucrezia was on the shores again, the Rage calling her, or perhaps William down to the murky waters, power vibrated through those waters and she could feel empowering her, making her mind sharper, faster, her muscles growing stronger and her thirst for battle becoming a hunger. Yet beyond the shore, she felt the presence again, that river of blood that scared her something fierce all that time ago. William''s divine ties to his planet, his patron god. The boy was a non-believer, and she couldn''t blame him, knowing what he knew, she too thought Terra was one of those rare planets devoid of divinity and left to the beasts, until that voice spoke to her, in a language she couldn''t understand. Searching William''s memories, she found a movie buried deep in his childhood memories, it told the story of a holy man, betrayed by his own and killed to save the humans of earth, a harrowing tale of God-Killing, but one that was quite normal in Lucrezia''s world where humans put smaller and even bigger divinities to the sword more than once, it was that language the being had spoken, ancient and full of power. Alas, William wasn''t one to devel into the theological aspects of the religion he was gang pressed thanks to his family, much like the nobles here, in Terra it was both social and faith aspects that drove people to seek the higher powers, something that would make her laugh had she not been made aware of the sheer amount of atrocities Terra had under its belt thanks to it. "The stories don''t know the half of it, next to them we are all a bunch of peace-loving hippies huh," Lucrezia said to herself, even with the combined story of her country and the world it palled in comparison! But the All-Father also had done the same, he perpetuated a state of warfare to further his conquest of realities near and far, Lucrezia cast her mind to the teachings of his firstborn son, Augurios the Mad, God of Order who rebelled against his Father after the realization that Warfare would never ever bring order to the cosmos, they would always fight, always struggle and suffer. "Stagnation, Augurios would damn the cosmos to go out in a whimper in order to fulfill his duty as God of Order, static, frozen in god mandated red tape, paradise without moving forward" William had explained to her from what the game told him "And as you know Faal is still willing to forgive and forget, he loves his son that much that even an attempt at his life can be hand waved away" Lucrezia knew, a point that caused many a fight among the priests and high priests of the All-Father, some demanded Augurios''s head, others forgave the Mad God and his followers, and many kept their silence, not wanting to get involved. As Lucrezia ruminated on such thoughts she finally arrived at the sea of blood, her connection with William growing strong enough where she could tap into that shard of his Patron God, as she walked in the blood a small basin could be spotted in the distance. She rushed forward, the ground shook and the blood boiled as she felt her very soul being denied in this realm, yet she pressed forward, determined to talk with the entity that had scared her shitless so long ago on her Blessing day. Her mind was blasted with images that terrified her, formless yet with a grace, eyes, and fire burning and staring, judging all of her, punishment ready to be delivered without no mercy. "WAIT, I COME IN PEACE" Lucrezia mustered her power and essence to deliver the message, after a tense few seconds the blood stopped boiling and the nightmarish visions stopped. "Drink from the fountain" A voice brimming with power spoke all around her, and so she did, it tasted like blood and raw meat, she nearly choked on it but somehow it went down and stayed. "I am not responsible for bringing him here! I am a victim just like him! It was a God, someone strong enough to dodge the All-Father and the barrier that stands over your world!" Lucrezia''s mind was on fire, something told her deep inside that this entity could stay by her side, all she needed was to prove she wasn''t the villain here, that she and William were working together to escape this mess! "Speak thy tale" and so Lucrezia did, everything as she remembered, a growl came from the space around her "Thy words ring true, both in tone and in the soul, He will understand then..." Silence, the entity was likely talking with its master. "Child of Faal, thou must know this, William''s soul is no longer fit to live in Terra, this union of souls has passed the point of no return for him, he is to stay in your world, to live and die and be judged by your gods" "Knowing this He beseeched thee, look after him, life was not kind to him, and yet he kept the faith, did right by his morals, and stood for the meek against the tyranny of evil men that plagues the world, He has no home to come back to, no family to welcome him now, All he has is You" Somehow, Lucrezia knew this already, and she had an inkling William was of the same mind, she nodded and felt a warm feeling flood her very soul, easing her worries. "Yet he seeks trouble! even now he''s dead set on brazing a path none would dare, and the enemies he has made dwarf our power!" Lucrezia screamed, "If you are to ask me for a favor as important as this then I demand one in kind!" "Ask Child of Faal, ask and we will see" "William tells me of the power your kind has, the old tales tell the sheer destruction and calamity you can bring when your God commands you so, He also tells me that this is no longer allowed, but I ask of you mighty o emissary when the time comes to lend me and him your strength! So that he may prevail against the evils that lurk in the darkness poised to destroy us! "We agree" Blasphemy, Lucrezia had just committed high treason against the All-Father and much like her parents were now in an accord with the terror from beyond the stars, who one day she would summon to defend both her and William. Gods forgive her for it. Chapter 46: Golden and Glorious "There''s no denying that Queen Malphas is the strongest being in the of the new world" Goddess of War Morugarius. Hope woke up sweating, the nightmare she had burning in her mind as she opened her room''s windows. She had gone back to her home to visit her parents and tell them the good news. "You, dating the third prince?" Her father asked with doubt in his eyes "Ye gods the high nobility will skin you alive daughter" he sighed "Well congratulations, I know you were a bit of a loner, and it''s great you find someone to date, your mother was getting worried she would die without a grandson and all that" "Don''t say that!" Hope''s mom tossed a potato at her father who dodged with the grace of a bull, he then spoke "Love of my life didn''t you listen to what our daughter just said? she''s dating the bloody third prince! I don''t have enough pull with the High Nobles to keep her safe!" "Dad it''s ok, I have someone watching my back" Hope smiled at the thought of her friend. Hope''s mom sighed "Associating with a Kinkiller...Daughter of mine that''s an ill omen even if she did what she did for good reason, plus her name has been damned by one of the biggest Goddess of the Kingdom! Are you sure she doesn''t have any dark designs for you and your future? our sources tell us much of her dealings nowadays, it seems she''s poised to establish a brand new faction!" Hope''s dad grunted, "I''ve had the opportunity to deal with her face-to-face love, that job for the Saal''Xhir envoys from the Imperium remember?" She nodded letting her husband continue his tale "I will not deny, there is something off about the woman, the envoys were on the verge of completely shutting themselves down when she was near, only their chief managing to keep her blessing in check while she dealt with Lucrezia, yet the would-be duchess was perfectly fair and honest in her dealings, a paragon of virtue compared to other High Nobles we know" "What I am saying here is this, I doubt Lucrezia will do anything bad to our little flower here, and given Hope is growing as a warrior at a pace never seen before I doubt she would even be able" Hope was jogging towards the cathedrals of the capital Religious quarter, looking for the one she was called today. From grandiose buildings with breathtaking art done to humble places of worship, with barely a sign on their doorstep, the capital had it all. Fiding the small church at the end of a busy road, she halted her jogging and stepped inside, the place actually had people in it. All mages as Hope''s Blessing told her, these men and women turned to her the second she stepped into the hall, likely triggering their spells. Hope sat down, circling among her Blessings with the aid of her Greater Blessing of the All-Father was so easy nowadays, ever since Lucrezia had given her the idea of picturing the damn thing as a wheel with slots where she could easily swap the other blessings from gods wanting a piece of that power. Including the one that was currently being worshiped in this church. A familiar face walked to the altar, in his hand a simple notebook and a magical staff, he looked a bit high strung but that was normal for him, after all, he never did like being the center of attention according to Arthur. Her face burned red for a solid second, her second slotted blessing burning its sigil as small waves of pleasure rocked her body, and to think Lucrezia had hers running at full blast at all times! how could she even maintain rational thought with that was something Hope was afraid to ask. "Welcome, welcome to the Church of Gwenarius, Goddess of Time" Kaine spoke, his voice resolute and calm betraying none of the anxiety he was feeling "First things first, this won''t be a regular occurrence, Gwenarius was not happy about having to draft any sort of rules for her would-be followers but that''s how Divine Bureaucracyworks and she''s not above it" With a few laughs from the mages, Hope couldn''t help but smile as the All-Father blessing reacted with warmth to that word, the Divine really loved his Bureaucracy, didn''t he? Kaine went on, explaining the very few mandates from his Goddess, which all boiled down to "Don''t mess with the river of time, give me more Followers and I will let you play with it at my discretion" which in her opinion was fair, and that seemed to be the general consensus of the group, thus Kaine moved on to more practical applications, showing how Chronomancy could be learned, giving copies of his notes and answering any questions the mages had, Hope, assisted him with her own mastery of the magic, helping Kaine with the bigger showy spells and such. At the end of the day, they bid their farewells and teleported out of the place, Hope stayed behind and helped Kaine fix the place up since they had made quite a mess with a few spells, thanks to her blessing and a pointer from Lucrezia who told Hope to help the schools staff for a day, she now had a gamut of cleaning and fixing spells under her belt which was extremely useful for this sorts of messes. "Thank you, Hope, really" Kaine spoke as he plopped onto the ground "I didn''t think this would be that tiring but once the spellcrafting and theorizing began I couldn''t help myself" he had a warm smile on his face "How did she even get this place I''m afraid to ask, Godsdamned that woman sure is something" Hope watched as Kaine''s eyes went upward, watching the little star system Illusion he had cast minutes before the end "You should avoid using Saal''Xhir''s Blessing that much, It does things to the mind you know?" "Yet Lucrezia has it on full power at all times, If she can handle so can I" Hope huffed. "So, you and Arthur huh? Never thought I would see the day you know? the few that know about his gift kept far far away from him, poor dude was rejected more than once thanks to it, and it is a big thing for him" Kaine got up and gave Hope a pat on the back "Thanks for sticking with him even after that, He''s a good chap and deserves better than rot away lonely or worse, being married against his will" Hope smiled again, Arthur had a great admiration for Kaine, as it was thanks to him he fully mastered his Necromancy powers, it felt good to Hope knowing that Kaine was happy with them, it was like in a way getting approval from a family member. "And you Kaine? No one special for you? Arthur worries you know, you dying off alone and soured on the world" Hope said only for Kaine to laugh "I hope this is not leading into a pitch for me to date our crazed northern friend? Arthur was ever the worrywart, as I said before to him Hope, my passion is arcane, my love is mana and to that, I will dedicate my whole life" "Oh yeah, there were rumors you two were together before," Hope said out loud "I wonder if she will ever find someone" Kaine closed his notebook "Back in Wulfgrem her vassals had the same worry, we know so much about her yet so little of her thoughts don''t we? sometimes it''s almost like she''s following a script, knowing everything there is to know at any particular moment, but then..." "She goes off script, and hell breaks loose" Hope finished his phrase. "Look at you, finishing my words just like her! mayhap Arthur should be worried that she won''t conquer you next! but then again knowing him it''s likely he''s gonna ask for a threesome instead of getting offended" Kaine shook his head as Hope started going red on the face again "He told you?" she asked her voice trembling a little. Kaine shrugged and said nothing. Night had fallen in the Capital and Hope was itching for some booze, one of the habits she had picked now that she was dating Arthur was a love for alcoholic beverages, her boyfriend was a master in the topic, knowing which pubs and restaurants had the good stuff and which had ale that was watered down with sewage. Walking into one of the good pubs, Hope ordered Ale and waited as the sound of the place washed over her, one of the new things she come to love thanks to these pub crawls Arthur was so fond of, here the city''s people were lively, loud and loving, you could be alone but among everyone here that feeling of loneliness was blunted. Hope was sipping on her cup when a tall man cloaked in a hood as dark as the night sat beside her, she barely noticed him until her blessing flared up, as if All-Father himself had turned his ever-watchful eye towards her! Hope sucked up air and was ready to bolt it from the pub when the stranger spoke, his voice harsh and cold but with no hostility, it was more like a deep sense of sadness and defeat. "At ease child, that is but an automatic reaction from the Blessing" he continued "Even after Millennia it still acts up that way, anything if not consistent huh, but I digress" Hope felt the Blessing calming down as if the thing was sighing even! "As if I would come here in the flesh, foolish old man..." the man spoke to no one "Listen to me child and listen well, A day will come when those who you stand no chance against will rise up against you, a great battle will be fought and...huh seems my time here is over" he laughed as the doors to the pub opened and two tall elven women walked in, the man beside Hope disappeared into thin air and the elven women spat on the ground, clearly mad. Hope was frozen on the spot, whatever or whoever had come to talk with he clearly had issues with the All-Father, she quickly made her way to her house, hoping its walls would protect her from the night and its mysteries. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
"Always impressed by your diligence Miss, most of the commoners we hire to do this job laze around all day you know?" one of the Academy cleaners spoke to hope as they went on cleaning the huge chandeliers in one of the auditoriums, Magic was being employed by staff but Hope could just teleport workers to where they needed to go, making the job go faster. She had seen Lucrezia do these odd jobs before, wondering why a noble would get their hands dirty she decided to copy her friend and found out that there was a whole world under the one she currently lived, the academy staff was a thriving community, full of drama, love and above all true grit, for working these halls and classes was nothing if demanding. And for that, they even had Gods watching over them! Hope was quick to learn its prayers and slot in the blessings of the God of cleaning and upkeep, then her usual magic and time blessings to help around with her budding arcane mastery, the ones in charge quickly assigned her to the more magical demanding jobs and so she went, helping as needed and learning much as the day went on. "Aye, a tad too strange a High Noble like her workin'' the godsdamned kitchen, but she did, and gods above and below the woman could cook and clean like the best of them, heh the only noble in these cursed halls that can I bet ya, haha," a dwarven chef told Hope when she asked about Lucrezia who learned a more hidden side to her friend by the way of these conversations. Kind, always paying attention, accounting for her mistakes, and always eager to learn, Lucrezia did in a week what most would take years, far more talkative and willing to put her foot down whenever someone didn''t want things the way she was doing, it was like she could see the future! yes indeed Hope thought to herself, Lucrezia''s "future sight" was far more pronounced in these parts it would seem. As the day turned into night, Hope gave her farewell to the staff and went to the gym, having gained a taste for working out she found Castra-Cam mock fighting with some Knights. The woman nodded when Hope came close, watching the scythe-wielding undead dance with her unpractical weapon, sometimes smacking the KNights with the wooden staff, sometimes slashing them. After the bout was done they all saluted and went away, Hope climbed into the ring and stared Castra down. "Yeah yeah, I didn''t pull my weight in the dungeon run, I know and I want to make up to you and the rest for it," the Catkin said with an apologetic smile "Can you attune to Lord of Undeath Blessing? the rites are easy" It took a while, Hope felt a tad uneasy learning the rites but she felt her Blessing kick in and suddenly her world went white, then red, and then back to normal. "Wow, that fast? it took me a week before I got Life and Undead sight, jeez Lucrezia wasn''t kidding was she?" Castra-Cam propped Hope up "With the blessing active you can see the life force of regular living beings, and the undeath power for folk like me, give it a try, concentrate on my essence" Hope did so and found a darkly blue hue around Castra''s body, she extended her hand and touched it, making the Catkin moan "Don''t do that! bloody hells take that Saal''Xhir blessing off you freak AAAA" Hope removed her hand as if struck by a bolt of lighting. Castra-Cam composed herself and continued "Sorry! I didn''t mean that, It''s just... the Saal''Xhir blessing doesn''t work with my body since it''s long-dead but if the thing comes in contact with my aura then it kicks in without filter" "Sorry Castra, I don''t know what came over me" Hope said, crestfallen. "Don''t worry about it, we all make blunders, yours just happens to be more embarrassing than me summoning a devil instead of a skeleton...Anyway, why do you have that blessing even?" Silence descended as a few Knights who had remained coughed and cracked smiles over the question, Hope couldn''t help but giggle as realization dawned on Castra''s face and if the woman could''ve gone red she would be red up to her ears. "You fiends, I knew that woman had a secret" Castra-Cam whispered "Too good for a noble, too godsdamned good" she coughed "Ahem let us continue, now that you have his Blessing and assuming the Lich in charge of keeping track of the people who get it has gotten the memo by now, I will be able to teach you combat necromancy" "Oh, that''s the good stuff, little lady! I know a feller from the Royal Knights who trained under them liches, a one-man battalion that feller he is!" One of the Knights spoke and a few nods and hmms came from the others. "Aye, I know that feller, Scion from an old house, rare that a Knight gets accepted by these skeletons but he was one in a generation type deal, wonder how the royals managed to spirit him away from the skellys" another spoke and the group went on a wild ride of speculation. Castra-Cam nodded "They are talking about Bonehound Yukira, and the Royals have many dealings with us thus it''s not that hard for ours or their people to cooperate, but that Yukira is something else, man is a beast on the battlefield and hunts rogues like the best of them" Castra-Cam sighed "Sadly he''s arrogant to a fault, ego didn''t die when he became an undead...Oh they got your Blessing, you can learn now" "Just like that? Lucrezia had to go through hell to learn necromancy you know?" Hope asked, her mind going back to Lucrezia''s tale of how she got the rights to learn the craft. "Because our Duchess friend likely gets her kicks from suffering, I have no other explanation for what she did, hells she could''ve waited a few years to get the permit the usual way! but no, she loves to suffer!" Castra shook her head "And yes, just like that Hope, your little All-Father blessing there? that''s a golden ticket, not even the infernals will deny, and I am not kidding, you can learn their foul magic for godsdamned free thanks to it. "Gods..." Hope said, the weight of her power pressing down on her. "Yeah, you lucked out, Lucrezia and Arthur? if they weren''t backing you out some noble or another would''ve tried marrying you to their kids, but we aren''t here to talk about your would-be life, Let''s learn some magic shall we?" Hope smiled, feeling thankful for the friends she had made "Let''s!"
Hope was together with her friends eating in the cafeteria when Arthur came by, they kissed and groans came from the rest of the people sitting with them, Kaine, in particular, saying "I am not one to judge open displays of affection but gods, you two are asking for trouble you know? these noble scions will get angry at the rate you two are going" "Let them, I wanna see who of their lot has the stones for an old-fashioned duel" Orthus spoke while wolfing down his food "Gods knows how many times I challenged these weak-willed fools for combat, some from established warfare families even!" he slapped the table "All ran away the cowards!" "Didn''t you play cards with that one girl? House flower something?" Lucrezia asked while also wolfing down her food, she ate a lot Hope found out, even sneaking out at night to make her own food. "Yeah, Flower of Noon, good lass but still I wanted to fight not to play some obscure card game that I am sure she made it herself" Orthus stopped "How in the hells you know about that?" Lucrezia pulled a deck of cards from her person, her face blooming into a big grim "Hehehe" she laughed as Orthus shook his head. "Of course, knowing you there''s probably a plan to mass-produce the damn thing and in 2 weeks'' time it will be all the capital is talking about," Arthur said, "are you ready for the ceremony in the castle speaking of which Lucrezia?" "Yes, I have prepared a gift for your parents as well, plus I must meet with the Winter Spirit that resides there" Lucrezia spoke " It has a particular boon I need and now that word is out about our little ancient who''s alive and kicking it should give it to me without issue, assuming there is no issue when I set foot in the royal quarter that is" "I wouldn''t worry about mother, well actually I would worry but not on the days where the ceremony is taking place, as you well know that''s one of the few traditions we must follow to the letter and she wouldn''t dare to muck it up by assaulting you" Lucrezia smiled, her face serene but Hope knew she didn''t really believe Arthur''s words. The minutes went by, the group trading small talk here and there, until one by one they left, Kaine coughed the second Hope moved to go back to class "Hope, a word please?" Hope nodded and followed the mage, Kaine often looked tired but today it was like he was a wraith, he walked towards a bench outside the cafeteria and sat down with a sigh. "What is it, Kaine? you don''t look so good..." Hope asked worriedly. "Pay no mind to it, much to do now that I have an ancient teaching me arcane not even the Goddess of Magic knows, anyway this isn''t about me it''s about you" Kaine sighed again and snapped his fingers. A mighty illusion was formed, a river of glistering stars that flowed all around Kaine and beyond. "This, this is the best I can do to represent the River of Time, your blessing should be telling you the rest if you have it active right now" Hope shook her head "Oh? Then it doesn''t matter, that is not what I want to tell you anyway..." Kaine snapped his fingers 3 times, and the river focused on a branch, both leading to mighty waterfalls. "See this? this godsdamned fork in the currents? that is a major divergence in the timeline of the entire godsdamned world" Kaine''s anger was barely restrained by his tiredness "Something or someone will muck things up so bad its changing how the future will play out" "Waterfalls, both will lead to major happenings" Hope spoke, her mind filling the blanks. "Yes, fast as always, since you have already figured that out let me tell you the rest" Kaine focused on the fork making it bigger "After 3 days of communion with the pettiest, womanchild Goddess I ever had the displeasure of talking to she finally spilled the beans" he snapped his finger again and the fork morphed into...someone... Someone Hope and Kaine knew far too well. "Is that...It can''t be, right? surely one person wouldn''t have the power to outright change the future of the entire world?" Hope asked, her voice trembling with fear "Kaine?" "I ran the spells Hope, every single last one of them, bugged Gwenarius until she gave me new ones and ran those too, watch" another snap, and now another face appeared in front of Lucrezia. Hope, kneeling on the ground crying. "Something. Something big is happening just after those boorish ceremonies in the palace end and you two are tied to it! I can''t do nary a godsdamned thing about it!" Kaine kicked the ground in frustration, Hope knew the man looked up to Lucrezia, seeing her as a sort of leader that gave him true meaning in his life even if he was very quiet about it, and she liked to think he had come to see herself as a friend too. "Me, Arthur, and her won''t be in the school for a week, if anything anything happens you run to my church you hear me? take these" he passed a set of keys to Hope "Turn the third one counterclockwise the moment you reach the grounds and you will be safe from anything below a tier 2 artillery spell" Kaine explained "Lucrezia isn''t bound to the same rituals Arthur has to perform, neither I am so we might be able to return a day sooner but anything happens you run ok? promise this Hope" Hope took a deep breath, she knew deep inside that when she enrolled in the academy she was at risk of having these sorts of happenings occur in her life, doubly so when she began dating royalty, alas Hope was no coward, her parents had raised her well and she would never ever back down from a fight, she was trained by some of the very best in the country after all. Come what may, she would endure, and then prosper! "I promise Kaine" she took his keys and stashed them on her person, feeling the weight of his worries in her bosom. Kaine sighed in relief for once and said "Good, good, had I told that to Lucrezia I half sure she would drag half her army to the capital and then we would all be tried for attempting at a coup" "Have you seen, what happens after those waterfalls?" Hope asked. Kaine stopped then began focusing on the illusion "War, combat, and bloodshed followed by... Gods above and below something isn''t right here" he pointed to a section "It''s like there''s something not letting me see what happens after it!" "The All-Father?" Hope threw him a lifeline. "Could be, only he or the All-Mother would have the power to do so...At any rate as long as you stay safe this will probably not happen, Gods know Lucrezia deserves some peace after what happened in her home" he looked around "You people haven''t seen, but beneath her sage facade lies darkness and lust for bloodshed, and I would hate for her to go back to that dark place again" Chapter 47: The Ambush
"Do I trust the humans? yes I do, Do I like the fact their nobles are nearly as bad as the enemy we fight but for some reason, they still rally behind their leader? I wouldn''t be able to answer you that my friend but one thing is certain, there is no love among those in the noble game, only winners and losers" Anonymous Orc Warmaster journal from the times when the fledgling kingdom of Vermilion fought against the Sea Elven oppressors. William was having lunch together with his friends outside the cafeteria, basking in the warm sun for once as Lucrezia kept complaining about the heat. He on the other hand was enjoying himself, until a crow the size of a dog flew by and landed in front of him. "Lady Velkarius" William finished eating his slice of pizza and bowed "To what do I owe you the pleasure?" The bird snuggled up to William, grabbing his other slice and eating the thing whole in a flash, after that it sat on his left shoulder and William could hear the Goddess whispering to his ear softly. "My child apologizes for being so distant as of late, maters to attend, heads to collect am sure you understand, hmm one of mine will come to you today, she has a mission so to say, and I can''t spare any of my followers for the next few weeks" The crow flew around Lucrezia''s head then landed on Hope''s lap who was watching the bird with curious eyes. "A message from Velkarius?" Hope asked petting the bird who was overjoyed thanks to it, William nodded and spoke "I''ll take the mission then" the bird flew again, and soon it went over the horizon. "Spear of Vengence''s birds always spooked me, they are too big" Arthur spoke out loud "So, what did the Goddess want with you Lucrezia? if you can share it that is" He dusted himself off and got up. "A mission, her people are busy" William replied, he began to stretch when he sensed movement from behind, a trio of beautiful girls coming towards them. "That was fast" Hope spoke, Kaine turned to William and asked "Are they here for you? nevermind that they are here for you" William didn''t miss him stealthily pulling his staff out, it seemed Kaine had gained a taste for combat huh. The lead girl stopped a few feet away from him, she stared him down and focused on his missing arm "So the rumors are true, the arm you possess is artificial" she spoke without fear. William turned around in his seat and took a gander at the trio, the leading one had a frown on her face, her blood-red eyes indicating vampiric ties in her bloodline, and her hair was neatly done in a himecut, a popular style with the older nobles of the capital, despite her frowning William could see that she cared much for her appearance as the nobles in the academy are know to do, a picture of beauty. Just like everyone else in this place. "I can show you the arm if you like?" William spoke laughing to himself "But a little bird tells me that ain''t the reason you are here, what''s your name sister?" he asked. One of the girls behind the leader grew red in the face, she stepped toward William with anger flowing through her body language "How dare you! To not know the name of Lady Bloodbane!" "Calm your friend over there sister, before she pops a vein or something" William waved the girl off, who grew even more incensed with him. "As Gabriela has said, I am the scion of House Bloodbane, Eynhildr Bloodbane, it is an honor and a pleasure to meet the Duchess of Wulfgrem" Eynhildr bowed deeply, clearly decorum was important to her, and if William had to guess it was due to being part vampire, undead folk loved their tradition after all. "Please, have a seat" William pointed to the empty chairs around his table, his group of friends making room for the trio, Eynhildr sat down and stared at William, waiting for something. "The sigil if you would" she spoke after a tense few seconds. "Ah, you want to know if I am the real deal?" William showed her the Sigil from Velkarius''s greater blessing which earned a nod from the woman, the other two also relaxed as the mood became a tad lighter. "So, I got asked by the woman in charge to help and so I will, what seems to be the issue Lady Eynhildr?" William asked as the woman sighed and stared at a particular point on the horizon "See those fields? You had an altercation with its owner a few weeks ago" Eynhildr tapped her finger on the table "My younger sister has been caught in his trap, her "love" for that leech brings shame to our House" "But that isn''t the issue, a strong word from the old fucks at home would''ve been enough" Eynhildr was losing her cool now "But that little godsdamned sack of ghoul shit went and gave that leech a secret set of martial skills only we get to use! Thankfully he isn''t undead, can''t use them right" Eynhildr sighed "And now he torments my sister, makes a mockery of her in front of all the academy! she''s dumb for god''s sake but..." "She''s family" William spoke understanding why Velkarius had sent Eynhildr to him, as one of the Gods who was with him from the start he figured she could feel some of his guilt towards killing Lucrezia''s kin. Redemption, or the promise of it huh? what a treat. "Is she being held against her will? I can understand your woes Lady Eynhildr but how exactly I am meant to remove her from Azarel''s sphere of influence?" William asked, curious about what Eynhildr would ask of him. "You won''t, she lives in that accursed castle inside the Fields, this will not be possible with words and wit like you have done so far Lady Lucrezia, nay to get my sister out of that disgrace of a man you will need to do something you are also good at" Eynhildr spat on the ground and then pointed to the castle far in the distance "Siege the castle, bring the fight to Azarel and chop off his head as you did the First Prince, him and his Harem!" The table went silent. "William...We will be executed for high bloody treason if you bring as much as an honor guard here! stall for time! we gotta come up with a better plan than this" Lucrezia spoke and he agreed with her, all his work so far was to establish respectable ties and connections so that if the Queen came for him with a legal angle he would have plenty of friends in high places to help him. Marching his Knights or Army down the highway to siege a castle in the middle of the capital would be hard to explain, even if he went for the religious angle. "Eynhildr, I am sure you understand the repercussions of me doing something of the sort right? I understand your pain I do, and I agree with helping you save your sister from that creep, but I will have to come up with a better plan, something that doesn''t have me jailed or executed for subversion of the state" William explained and he saw how Eynhildr wasn''t happy with it, the woman wanted blood. But Eynhildr was smart, she knew that William''s hands were tied in a way, so she nodded "When you will be able to give me something then?" she asked her face betraying her emotions. "After the ceremonies in the Palace, is that good enough for you?" William replied, the damn thing would be happening tomorrow and that would be ample time to think of a better way to save Eynhildr''s sister. "See you in the palace then Lady Lucrezia" Eynhildr got up and walked away, William sighed in relief and he heard Lucrezia laugh "We can''t escape it can we? even now I can feel it, the blessings burning into our melded soul" The call for war and bloodshed.
Idun sat in the underground dungeon that the core had made, in front of him was an elven man nearly thrice as tall, his eyes burned with divine energy and power flowed through him. A divine avatar, a miracle bestowed only to those whose faith and mastery of ancient rituals tailor-made by their divinities could employ, assuming the divine in question was even strong enough to manifest itself in the mortal plane in that way that is, it took every ounce of power for the smaller divinities to do it. And the one in front of him was anything but small. "Your mistress..., was she the one who gave the go-ahead for those weapons?" The Goddess asked, her face contorting in rage "Such knowledge is...incredibly dangerous you see, I had a talk with your God and even he has expressed his fear of it, and yet you still have kept going forward with it, why?" The dwarf cleared his throat "Lady Morugarius, understand that this weapon was solely created in the eventuality of an attack by the Queen, by having it we ensure the protection of our land and our people, you and yours turned a blind eye to the plight of this land, and worse still to the evils committed by the First Prince, we know you won''t rush in our defense should the queen decide to march her Knights and put us to the sword" "We can only rely on our own" Idun finished, his face red. Morugarius went silent, and what else could she say to assure the people here that she wouldn''t turn a blind eye to them? when her lover did just that? worse it was her artifacts that enabled it! The Goddess sighed, Umaries'' mad dash for power with the nobles in this country was an ill omen of a campaign, she tried warming her lover but it was for naught, the fool wouldn''t be stopped for nothing in this world and this was the result. The razing of Talos, Velkarius''s making her army of battle priests, and Friede''s working with a noble, and what a noble she had picked, one that somehow had intel on every dirty secret there was to have, knew everything and was single-handed forcing constant Sphere Shifts inside Morugarius''s Sphere of Power. So much she had changed, and more was to come, she had seen the war machines these mortals made deep underground, ready for a war of unprecedented scale, and yet, in the Dwarf''s words she only found the truth, he wasn''t lying to her and truly believed what he had said. Lucrezia...Morugarius could see the mortal standing behind the dwarf, guiding him like a wraith, in another world she would''ve made her into a perfect warrior queen, ready to lead her armies to the great beyond for the All-Father. Alas, this was the sole reality Morugarius could tap into, sighing she left the host and that was that, the people of Wulfgrem wouldn''t use their new weapon unless they wanted to risk being turned into the enemy of the entire world. Idun on the other hand could only sigh as the tall elf gave his Goddess''s ultimatum to him and left the dungeon, the dwarf knew they wouldn''t be using those weapons willy nilly, he had seen the tests and felt the power sap the land of life in a way even the spirits were disturbed, it was in all definitions of the word a desperate measure only to be used in the direst of situations. With another sigh he returned to his workshop, the sounds of it calming his nerves as he watched the fourth airship being built, Lady Lucrezia had ordered 10 in total, together with 5 more warships which took twice as long to be made due to the new weapon systems she and Idun had come up with it, cannons that could shell targets from miraculous distances, underwater shells made of magical crystals that could light water on fire! A shame the terraforming train was a complete failure, the mana that thing consumed was on a scale not even the top mages of the duchy could keep it running for more than 10 minutes, according to Gabriel meddling with the forces of nature on that scale would require the work of at the very least one spirit of each season, if not more, which would be a feat nigh on impossible to accomplish, even for Lucrezia. Same for the fully automatic weapons for the foot soldiers. The Zenos Weapons System on the other hand was finally rolling out for the standing army, the new suits of armor were wildly popular and even Morugarius expressed fear when seeing them! the power of turning a lowly footsoldier into a 600-ton metal and crystal machine of death was something that would give Wulfgrem an edge should invaders come for them. Long-range, frontline bruisers, one-man walking artilleries... Zenos would be the ace in the hole for Lucrezia, and she wouldn''t need to turn to that horrible weapon of mass destruction she had made, that was Idun''s hope as he dozed off, the many sounds of the workshop making for a lullaby for the old dwarf.
"Lu, wake up, your new armor is here" Saa''ryu shook William awake as he yawned and smiled, the new armor was finally here! Idun had come up with a new arm too, who according to him wouldn''t itch at all. Thanks to Silverbrand his new gear was delivered within days after he put in the order, Idun after his harrowing encounter with Morugarius had asked for a small project to take his mind off things and thus they came up with an upgrade for William''s armor and Arm. First, the arm is made out of a special alloy made with mana crystals and mithril, with wind and water aspected crystals in the part that connects with William''s body, Ice and Earth in the middle, and Fire aspected crystals in the fingers for some sort of elemental balance according to Gabriel who had helped Idun on the project. As for the armor, it was now two pieces of protective gear, the first being a skintight bodysuit meant to regulate body functions and act as a last-ditch defense in case his armor was breached by magic or steel, William felt a chill in his spine as the bodysuit finished doing its thing, having to bite his lips to not let out a moan. "Oh for Pete''s sake William! this?! Godsdamned it all get a grip!" Lucrezia barked in his ear taking the edge off him. "Lu..." Saa''ryu shook her head with a sly grin on her face. "Ahem" William coughed "You didn''t see nor hear that now pass me the armor" his face was red from before but he still managed to put on the suit of armor, looking like a lean mean killing machine made out of steel and silver. As ever Idun had the artistic flair on his custom pieces, something Lucrezia greatly approved as she wanted more ornamental than practical, the armor spotted the Sigils of his blessings on their appropriated locations, With Raa''Tyrius one being on the breastplate, the crown now could morph into an actual helmet as well. All of this for the show he would pull in the Palace, together with his new gear was also a custom Magi-Tech rifle to be presented to the Queen and King, as a peace offering and a way to let the royals start their R&D on the thing. A compromise he had reached with the King a few days ago, it would take years for them to have their weapons and the means to stop it but he was but it was either that or risking deploying his nuke when Morugarius came for him with the Queen as the tip of the spear. You win some you lose some as the saying goes.
William stalked the pristine halls of castle Vermilion, the seat of power for royalty, to his side only Saa''ryu and his weapons, he got dirty looks from the Royal Knights when he arrived, and the high nobles were whispering behind his back as William made his way to a specific courtyard in the palace. "Lu, why are we walking about the palace like a duo of zombies? where are we going?" the maid asked while looking about, Saa''ryu was nervous and William could tell, that she was constantly checking her gear and weapons, including the new pair of pistols Idun had sent to her, and she feared that the Queen would send assassins to kill them. William knew the King would protect him, but that wasn''t enough to put his maid''s worries to rest, and so he decided to not worry about it, lest the woman got mad at him. "I''m impressed you can read her so well" Lucrezia whispered to his ear, her presence hidden away in case Arthur decided to take another peek inside his soul "Saa always was one to guard her feelings very well, but with you, she''s being opening up quite a lot, I don''t know if I should be jelly or happy" Lucrezia went silent after that, William could feel her soul resting near the monolith. "Oh, Oh" Saa''ryu spoke when they crossed the threshold for the courtyard William was looking for, all around her and him was pure snow, the trees were heavy with the stuff and the benches around the place were untouched by it. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. "Gods I''ve missed this" William said with a smile and he could feel Lucrezia''s face cracking into one as well, the cold enveloped him like a lover, he felt the chills going up and down his spine as the tips of his fingers waved among the snowflakes. "The cold suits you," Saa''ryu said and clicked on her armor, which cracked with magical energy to cover her entire body, shielding her from the oppressive cold. A faint glimmer of cold light shimmered in the center of the courtyard, William moved towards it and saw the one person he had come to meet in this death trap of a palace, sitting under a dead tree was a crestfallen winter spirit, its form resembling a human woman, she sang a solemn song about the ancients, its lyrics a mystery to the people of this age but not to William who understood her pain and longing for those halcyon days. The music stopped the second William got close, the spirit turned around and watched as he approached, its face morphing into a sad smile "Ahh I know of thee, child of the north, conquer of fiends and kinslayer, thy name is cursed in these halls" the spirit got up, towering over William "I can feel the touch of my kind in you, ah how they whine about the warmth of the sun and our cousins on your soul" another sad smile "and yet..." "The whole existence I''ve waited for their return, only to wake up one day to find out a survivor of our creators was here all along!" rage poured from the spirit "And she didn''t even try! to speak with us, to contact us! we were created to love them worship them!" a sword of pure magical ice was formed in the spirit''s hand and William kicked forward, gun in hand, he dodged the first swipe and fired point-blank. The bullet was made together with the spirits back in Wulfgrem, William had told them that their sibling in the capital was likely very upset at the news of an ancient being alive and living so near to it and so they devised a method to calm their brethren down. The bullet struck true and the spirit deflated. "Shame it takes a long while to make one of those" William spoke out loud "Spirit, what is your moniker!" he spoke with the authority of the Crown, faint since he was so far away from Wulfgrem but it was enough to shook awake the Winter Spirit in front of him. "I am...Shield" It replied in a crestfallen tone "I can feel sister Crown in you mortal and the rest..." The shield was close to William now, speaking in a normal voice as if it was a human of flesh and blood. "You should leave this place, Shield, meet with the ancient who survived, and begin your life anew, she won''t scorn you and as a matter of fact will be quite welcoming to your presence" William went for the kill, hoping the gamble would pay off "Say the word and my people in the Academy will grant you passage, the Ancient already knows about you and is expecting you" There were two reasons he was doing this sidequest, one was that the Queen hated the damn thing making the palace cold in this part of it, and he would score some points with the madwoman for kicking the spirit outta there, even if she hated his guts. Second and more important was getting a rare weapon from both the spirit and the professor, usually, you could only pick one but he had a feeling he would be getting both. "The staff, in particular, will be a great boon for Kaine, until we can mine those extra rare metals and get more people to join the flock, increasing the Sphere of Power and unlocking more upgrades for the tech..." William watched as the spirit went away, the cold leaving the courtyard with it. "Lu? did you just evict the Winter Spirit from the palace?" Saa''ryu spoke, "Won''t the royals get mad?" "Nah, the Queen hates it actually, let''s go" William moved to the main ballroom. Hoping Malphas wouldn''t slice his head clean off the second those doors were open and the master of ceremonies announced Lucrezia''s name.
Third prince Arthur watched as his older sister got ready for the main event, followed by his father and mother. His mom was still angry at him if her piercing gaze was telling. "So, not only you bang a peasant, yes I know, she has the fucking most rare blessing this side of the planet" His sister snapped before he could even defend Hope "You get chummy with the woman that killed Galius? and squared off against mom?" she paused a smile on her lips. "Well, well, well, little brother grew a fucking pair!" Jason snapped her shut with a hand gesture "Please O daughter of mine, do not set off this magical keg before the master of ceremony can introduce the other nobles, otherwise, I''ll have to hear their whining in the Long Queue" He then turned to Arthur "It is true then, she will gift us one of her new weapons?" "Yes father, I''ve seen the rifle myself" Arthur replied "It is her latest design on the weapon, one that is even faster than the muskets we recovered from the conflict last year when it comes to its rate of fire" "Hm, the archer''s division leaders are unimpressed, but then again you don''t need 4 to 5 years to train a peasant to wield one of those weapons right enough to kill a charging band of knights or warriors" King Jason spoke "Malphas?" Arthur could feel the fell powers of the Rage writhing and seethe below his mother''s skin, alas even he knew she loved his father too much, and thus Lucrezia''s life and status would be kept among the high nobles of the Kingdom. For now at least. "Do not speak with me" Malphas spoke her voice dripping with venom "Did you hear she got that Winter Spirit out of the castle? trying to butter me up no doubt the whore" she spat on the ground. Bickering like that the royal family crossed into the main ballroom, the master of ceremonies announcing their entrance, polite claps all around from the heirs of the 5 families and other nobles'' clans. Among those Arthur spotted Catarina Silverbrand and the Matriarch of the Silverbrand clan, Richard wasn''t among them sadly, he had found in the young man an unlikely friendship, sharp as tact and one of the few Lucrezia consulted together with his girlfriend and Kaine. The latter was together with his family, decked out in that glowing Magi-Tech gear of Lucrezia''s and on top a priest robe with the symbol of the Goddess of time, he had heard his father was planning on giving him a title but the Arch-Mage declined, not wanting to burden his son, Kaine''s sister, on the other hand, looked like she hadn''t slept in weeks, Kaine had told Arthur of this, she had seen Lucrezia fight and kill her ex-fiance, the scars of that battle ran deep in the woman''s mind. And yet, the one responsible for all of this was not among them. The master of ceremonies went on, listing the great 5, the treasure weapon holders, and more "House Shatter-Spear! House Wulfgrem! House Maygriam! House Argonius! House Dariam!" thunderous claps from all of the members of those 5 "Our sacred weapons! Clan Bir''Yurar of the Sword! Clan Morgotth of the Bow!" Arthur watched as the stain that was the current holder of the sword got up and cheered for himself, followed by his harem. If only someone were to deal with that disgrace. The Scion of the Bow he did not know, a beautiful elven looking woman who according to his knowledge was in the academy, next to her a shadowy figure whom Kaine had told him to avoid, or her family at the very least, Clan O''Xav were masters of mind magic and their lastest scion was powerful in the tricks of their trade" "Now! the five will present themselves to the king and queen! as once our forefathers did in the founding of great Vermilion..." Arthur stopped paying attention to the man as he focused on the people going up the small set of ornamental steps to present their gifts. His uncle, High Commander of the Royal Knights went first, Thadeus Senior was a rugged man who had survived the last wars against the Imperium and Grannarius, a master of mounted warfare and one of the best spear users in the new world, It was said that on his prime he could stand toe to toe against Queen Malphas with the max usage of the Rage-that-Dwells. "From the ancient forgers of Clan Shatter-Spear, I present the Queen and King this" with a snap of his fingers a beautiful sword was summoned from thin air, Arthur could see the thing was no ornamental showpiece, no that sword was made for battle. "A fitting weapon worthy of the Shatter-Spear name" Jason spoke with a genuine smile on his face, he had a deep bond with his uncle born from the countless battles they were part of. His uncle nodded and walked off, the other houses sent their people each bearing a gift meant for war or trade, until the master of ceremonies took an audible pause naming the last house. The tension in the room was palpable " House Wulfgrem!" the man called as the whispers around Arthur became louder. "Murderer!" "Blasphemer! Whore of the Night!" "Kinslayer!" the last one was a shout that ringed across the silent ballroom. Lucrezia walked to the steps in full armor, Arthur hadn''t seen this new armor of hers yet, it looked like she was ready for combat right there and then, on her back were thin metal rods dark as a knight, almost like wings, strapped to her armor was the dragonbone ax and on her hips the Katana from the Arch-Duke, a sight that made many shouts die down. Ah yes, mother knew about her ties with Uncle Jin already, and the saving of Viviene. Arthur''s gave went to his mother and he gasped, in her hand was a wicked-looking saber, his innate necromancy screamed at him in panic, that weapon screamed death like a banshee, but it wasn''t a meanless shout, no the weapon cried out for Lucrezia''s soul like a demon. His father''s eyes went wild but he didn''t move an inch, that was when his mother''s focus went to the other side of the room, to a corner he wasn''t expecting in his wildest of dreams. Kaine had his Magi-Tech staff out, planted in the ground, and with nearly 5 sigils of pure mana and divine energy behind him, Arthur knew those formations! Time Magic! and it was a big spell, his mother put away the blade and peace returned to the room. "Gods be good the welp got her to stand down" Arthur heard his father whisper, Lucrezia reached the gift altar and removed her weapon, there were no words from her as her face was masked under an ornate helm that looked like a veil. Out of everyone, it was Arthur''s sister who went to receive the gift, using her Blessing of War she neatly loaded the weapon, took aim, and fired, the loud noise ringing across the ballroom. "Powerful, I like it," she said with a smile and returned to her parents. And then it was over, but this tension would still run for a whole week until Lucrezia was allowed to return to the academy, Arthur would take another week after that due to special reasons thanks to his royal status, with a clap of the master of ceremonies everyone dispersed and the castle band began playing their music. many went to the dance floor while the rest went to their tables. It took a while before Arthur could shake off the nobles bothering him about his relationship with Hope, finding Kaine on his table together with his parents was a nice change of pace. Until he sat down and was stared down by the two most powerful mages in the kingdom. "I swear, if any of you two are branded traitors by the crown I will take measures" Kaine''s mother spoke "Godsdamned Kaine what the fuck was that spell?!?! You would''ve leveled half the palace with that!" "Please, a third maybe, I had new wards placed a month ago" Kaine''s father spoke "Do you doubt my warding skills, dear? did you forget last year I-" "Oh don''t you start, those wards wouldn''t take the divine energy and you know it! look the calculations for it are all wrong if you had..." Kaine gave Arthur a gesture he knew well, it was time to leave. And so they did, Kaine shielding him from the nobles, as they left the ballroom the mage spoke "Arthur I am-" "Don''t, you have no reason to be sorry, mother was out of line and we both know Lucrezia is in the right here, not her" Arthur cut his friend off, he knew Kaine liked to be as fast as possible with these sorts of talks "You did the right thing" Kaine scoffed "Fucking hells, It''s like we are dancing on her palm you know? Had I not stayed with her for all those months I would say she''s playing with us but now...Anyway, that sword was bad news Arthur, Saw it on your face" Arthur nodded "It wants Lucrezia''s soul, we must speak with Castra-Cam about it" Kaine made a negative motion with his head "Won''t work, there''s only one person that can store soul weaponry of that scale and he has written permission from the Undying" Kaine tapped the ground with his feet "Your ancestor the Red Dragon" "Fuck" Arthur was livid, his mother had gotten a weapon from the godsdamned dragon! They found a quiet corner in the now-vacated courtyard that housed the Spirit of Winter, Kaine pulled his staff "Where''s the Spirit? Ready yourself Arthur" "He''s gone Kaine, Lucrezia somehow got the damn thing to leave, shack up with the Ancient at the Academy I think" Arthur calmed his friend down, who smiled when the truth was revealed. "Fucking scary, even Gwenarius is suspicious of her you know? she knows too much, alters the river of time with every single action she takes and the Goddess is perpetually angry about it, yet all across history there have been individuals like her, so all Gwenarius can do is grin and bear it" Kaine sighed "Gods I hate these gatherings, I do, wish Hope or the others were here so it wouldn''t be so bloody boring" Arthur couldn''t help but sigh as well, he missed his lover something fierce, same for his new friends. "You going back after the week is over Kaine?" Arthur asked. "Aye my friend, why?" He replied with a puzzled look on his face. "Watch out for Lucrezia and Hope for me will ya? I fear the nobles might have something nefarious planned for both of them" Arthur said with a worried look "Gods I hate being stuck in this place for two whole weeks but Mother is angry with me as it is, if I skip town for the Academy I am liable to be cast out and disowned" Kaine got up "Finally got to join us eh?" Arthur saw Lucrezia, this time out of her armor, Arthur could detect a strange kind of sadness in her face, that went away seconds after Kaine called her out, she lacked the Magi-Tech arm from before as well, her coat covering the missing limb. Arthur was fascinated by the woman, part of that was thanks to her mysterious soul realm he had glimpsed so long ago, but nowadays it was mostly due to his relationship with Hope, his girlfriend viewed Lucrezia in the highest of esteems, a pure desire that was nearly equal to her love of him, and in deepening his ties with Hope and her mastery of the magic he could employ those feelings eventually bled into him as well. A very strange situation, but Arthur always prided himself in being adaptative to whatever was thrown at him, Kaine could attest to this with the many days they spent training magic at the very least, now if that adaptability would translate into this realm of love he did not know but was eager to find out. "Friends" Lucrezia came and sat down beside them, sighing as she did "God I am tired, the stress was a bit too much today, and to think I''ll have to weather this for a whole week...but enough about me, how are you two doing? "I miss the academy" Kaine spoke "Same for our friend here" Arthur stood there, talking with the two of them for a long while as the moon shone in the courtyard, already counting the days for his return, it was a nice night out. The last one in a long while for him he would soon learn.
Two days had passed now, Hoped missed the warmth of her boyfriend in her bed in the early mornings, the laughter of Lucrezia as she played around with Richard, Kaine''s magical teachings and more, the academy felt cold and uncaring. Richard was the one keeping her company, the young man was almost relieved in a way, being around Lucrezia was a tad too much for his nerves but Hope knew deep in her heart he was in love with the woman, and who could blame him? Even her boyfriend Arthur, Prince of the Kingdom was attracted to her, she exuded that pull very few individuals had, her parents called the mark of a true leader, someone men and women would go through hells and back following their lead, and she now understood, the gravitas of Lucrezia as Laplace once told her after her class was over. Castra-Cam was teaching her and Richard the basics of fighting with her weapon the scythe, it felt odd at first but Hope had simply switched to a War Blessing, and thus the fundamentals were quickly imprinted in her mind, Richard was having a hard time but together with Castra they got him to wield it proficiently enough "Now all you gotta do is th-" Castra''s voice was abruptly cut as a blank of pitch-black darkness fell over Hope, she heard Richard scream and Castra summon her real weapon cursing at something or someone, Hope flooded the area around her with a volatile mixture of fire, ice and wind magic, a spell taught to her by Lucrezia for usage in case she was surrender or ambushed. "You dare!" Castra screamed but she went silent as Hope fought to stand, she felt punches and kicks raining on her magical armor spell and eventually steel, another wave of pitch-black darkness flooded her mind and Hope heard Richard screaming only for his voice to go silent. Hope came to in a room, she tried to flex her magic and divine miracles but nothing worked, it was like something was sucking the power out of her spirit the second she tried to let it out. A tall elven woman entered the room she was in, her face was unmasked and Hope picked the details apart, she had been kidnapped and they were dumb enough to unmask themselves. "Ahh, the little peasant thinks she will get back at me if she knows my face, O dear whatever I am to do..." she slapped Hope across the cheek "I will teach you your place peasant scum, you think you can whore yourself to the Prince and nothing will happen?" another slap "You Blessings and Magicks won''t work here I am afraid, the one who hired me has paid top coin to make sure of that" Hope knew of the Uumaries artifacts that could mask Spheres of Power, Lucrezia had told her how they worked, but they couldn''t outright block Blessings! which means the Goddess had worked on them after the Talos fiasco! For the first time in her life she felt afraid, all that power, all that knowledge she had gained all made useless in the blink of an eye, she feared for her safety, for her body and mind both as she couldn''t predict what the elven women would do to her. After the fear washed over her she felt angry, a wave of anger so strong so pure so strong it was driving her insane! deep in her mind, she heard a whisper of a voice, begging for her to come closer. It was the Rage or the entity that became the Rage, once again the words of Lucrezia came to Hope''s mind and she wept, begging for her friend to come to save her from this. Alas, what answered her was not the voice of the All-Father or the other Gods, but something evil, evil, and ancient. "...Ties that bind, you and her and him, all together, but you can go deeper than her, deeper than anyone but very few so come childe of Faal, deeper..." In the height of fear and rage Hope leaped in her mind, to the deep she had seen in that fateful dream on her 18th birthday, she arrived at a chasm that ran red with blood, as vast as the ocean and just as deep. "Ask childe, ask for help, beg for my power, not the sliver of it you tasted before, but the full might of it! ask and I will call her and him to you! ask and the world will bow to you!" "Look at how their power has failed you! but not mine! I am unbound by these shackles, We are unbound! to death and beyond we will fight! and once all return to dust we will fight again!" Hope closed her eyes and let the entity meld into her, a power that like it had said she had only a taste of before was now fully integrated into her very being, much like in the words of Queen Malphas who penned the book on the Rage, she was now part of that grand ocean of blood and war, and with but thought the entity heeded her commands and reached for the shallows here Lucrezia''s soul was, Arthur was in the deep with her, him and his mother. "Help me" was faint but the message was sent, now Hope needed to escape her captivity, and then, there would be blood, she would find whoever had done this to her and her friends and put their heads on pikes! "Finally!" Hope returned to her body, only to feel another slap across her cheek, checking over herself to see if she wasn''t abused beyond slaps she exploded into motion, breaking whatever bonded her body, she couldn''t use magic and miracles still, but the Rage gave her power, speed, made her think faster and the world around her was slow, she checked the place she was being held captive for Richard and Castra but didn''t find them, barreling through guards at the door she busted into a busy street and leaped upwards, her blessings kicking into full gear. She was still in the Capital it seemed, using the rage nigh unlimited power she flew faster than a comet to the academy, feeling the aftershock of air as she broke the sound barrier like the mages of yore in their first flights. The second she landed in the Academy, security surrounded her, she flexed her muscles to fight, the Rage running hot in her soul but when Richard came sprinting past them she calmed down, Castra Cam was following him her eyes dead with a cold fury only an undead could muster. "She''s back, stand down men! Report to the Dean at once!" the security personnel disappeared, leaving only Richard and Castra there. "You have been gone for nearly 5 days! they found me and Castra on the side of the road leading to the capital a day ago with no injuries or soul fuckery but you! Oh, gods Hope are you alright?!" The poor man was crying on Hope''s shoulder, she felt that emotion and nearly cried herself, the rage fading and giving away to fear and sadness again "It''s ok Richard, I am not that hurt" she lied. "That was the Rage, wasn''t it? felt it once before, Gods above and below Lucrezia must be made aware of this right now! even if we have to storm the fucking palace!" Castra-Cam summonsed undead horses "Hop the fuck on you two, we are doing this right now!" As they mounted their steeds a bolt of lightning slammed right in front of them, coming out of it were 3 people, the one leading then in full plate armor, her hair neatly tied in a ponytail and her azure eyes brimming with wrath so strong it made Castra-Cam recoil and suck in air. "That, won''t be necessary" Lucrezia spoke slowly, as to fight the sheer anger that poured out of her, Hope ran to her friend and locked eyes with her, her face bruised from the slaps. A nod, an understanding that went above words, Lucrezia would deliver those who had hurt her and her friends, and then... Then she would kill them all.
Chapter 48: Crimson Lighting "For the crimes of slavery, rape, torture, and slaughter of the civilian populace under your rule, I Friede sentence you, your family, your lackeys, and their families to death in the pyre" Friede''s Judgment of the now nameless clan that ruled over South Cair in Vermilion. Castra-Cam sucked in air as she saw the intensity of Lucrezia''s gaze on Hope, there was something deep inside those azure eyes, a fire unholy to this world that raged as if she was possessed, it felt like there was something deep inside the woman, something she had shown flashes of it but now it was at full blast. There were no words exchanged for a solid minute, but Castra could feel they were communicating, all the same, she took a glance towards Richard and saw the young man trembling, was it fear? anger? She could not tell. Lucrezia then tore her gaze off Hope, still holding the girl in the shoulders and her eyes locked with Richard "Are you hurt, did anything happen to you or Castra?" Richard shook his head "We got a clean bill from the doctors, nothing but a mind magic spell to knock us out, Castra was pissed someone got past her defenses..." "And rightfully so, as a Scythe it is her duty to fight against both rogue necromancers and mind mages, alas this was no run-of-the-mill necro" Lucrezia began talking like she was there, Castra frowned her brows, the woman had her sources but how did she know? had her sources found out about illegal necromancers in the capital? if so why wouldn''t she report it? "Describe your captor to me" Lucrezia told Hope and the girl started talking "Elven, tall and beautiful, I can''t quite remember her face, a spell perhaps? if she could meddle with someone as strong as Castra..." "Was it a woman?" Lucrezia held Hope again, her eyes burning holes into the girl''s own eyes "Focus Hope" Silence then Hope spoke in a slow tone "...Yes, it was a woman" Castra-Cam saw the entire body frame of Lucrezia shake, it was as if she was trying very hard to hold a wayward wraith inside her frame, then her mind clicked and she saw the woman was already tapping into the Rage, no wonder she looked like she was ready to rip some poor sod apart. "Castra, I need you to issue a Mandate 5" Lucrezia spoke words Castra-Cam never in her undying years thought a noble would speak "The one who did this to all of you demands such drastic measures, yes, and I don''t want to deal with the Knights once we go collect her head" Puzzled looks all around them as Castra-Cam debated the monumental choice she had in front of her, to issue a Mandate 5 was paramount to saying there was either an entire cult of rogue necros or demi-god lich in the area, something she had done before and it ended... "Prove it to her Castra-Cam, prove to your grandmother you are not the fuck up who your people think you are, help me kill this fiend and I''ll let you keep the head for the First Scythe" Lucrezia kept talking as if she was reading Castra-Cam''s mind. The undead woman sucked in the air once again, her eyes bulging from her sockets "How the fuck you know about that?" "Oh but I know much, much and more friend, and I make you this promise, I will tell you more IF you help me now, in this instant" She turned to Kaine "You must tell Arthur, he will be beyond mad but he must know" Kaine shook his head "I can''t Lucrezia, no magical communication until he is done with the ritual in the palace the only way would be to-" "Send a divine messager" Lucrezia cut him off, she then did a sharp whistle, for a few seconds Castra-Cam thought the woman had lost her mind but from up above she saw a red crow, twice the size of a dog. "The Spear of Vengeance..." Castra-Cam had forgotten Lucrezia had a blood oath with that ghastly Goddess "You gonna send that? to the royal palace?" "They won''t dare stop her" Lucrezia smiled "Velkarius! I beseech thee, deliver this message to Third Prince Arthur, his loved one was assaulted and I aim to deliver those who conspired against her to justice!" "Why?" Hope asked her voice trembling "all of this for me?" she sobbed "I don''t...I don''t deserve this" Lucrezia shook her "You do, you and everyone here who I care for, I won''t let anyone anyone be they mortal, devil or god touch so much as a hair on them with ill intentions" Lucrezia spoke with conviction that bordered on insanity, so thick it was Castra-Cam could feel the air vibrate around the woman. The red crow flew above Lucrezia for a while and went away "He''s gonna be angry" Kaine sighed "But he would be in an even fouler mood if we kept this from him, so? will Castra enact whatever that mandate is? do you know where should we even look for the woman behind this?" "Yes" Lucrezia said as she pointed south "Come" Castra-Cam looked as everyone gathered around her, her eyes narrowing as Richard got close "you?" He scoffed "I may be just a man with a spear, but by gods, I won''t let any thrice-damned scum of the earth run amok after I got mind blasted to oblivion" to which Lucrezia smiled as she handed him her ax "No spear today my friend, use this" Richard looked puzzled as he grabbed the weapon "what are you using then?" then both he and Castra saw Lucrezia''s pair of pistols on her back. She smiled at him but said nothing, instead of turning to Kaine and saying "South Gate of the Duskmother, 3 kilometers up the main road of Judgment, 600 meters to the left, three store building, heavy guard presence in the surrounding buildings. Kaine weaved his magic in the air, a map of the city looking and honing into the exact place Lucrezia had just said, red dots all over it and inside the arcane projection "Rules of Engagement?" Kaine asked. Lucrezia gave Castra a hard look, Castra in turn closed her eyes and sent a prayer to the Undying. "Mandate 5, Duchess of Wulfgrem, All-Father''s Blessed, Arch-Mage Son, Merchant Son. Unknown enemy, likely a cult with mind-enthralled foot mobiles and mage support" Castra-Cam felt a cold chill run up her spine, her eyes nearly flying from her undead sockets as the Divine presence turned its eye towards her soul, suddenly the woman felt very small, and for the first time in a long while. Afraid. "Be sure the one blessed by Faal is not harmed, you have my express permission for Mandate 5 level operation, Eliminate them all" "A God just came by" Kaine spoke in very slow words "Bloody Hells Lucrezia!" "Even the Undying wants a piece of that pie Kaine, I don''t blame him one bit" Lucrezia smiled as she placed her hand on Castra''s shoulder "Ready?" "Ready" Castra dispelled her doubts, she had been given a mission by her patron deity, and nothing in this accursed world would stop her from achieving success in it.
A lone swordsman marched through an empty street, his name was Perth and he had one job: Command the enthralled guards across the many derelict buildings that formed the web for their base. Alas, his job was being in a very precarious predicament, earlier today the captive his leader had captured with the help of that horrible artifact brought by the hooded figures who had hired his leader had escaped. Tapping into the Rage to escape her shackles and fly northward. Perth did not know who or what she was, but he knew the Rage, and that unless you had a Greater Blessing of might or magic it was wise to stay very far away from it, and so his leader decided to trash his minions to vent her frustrations. "What a sorry band I had the luck of signing into" Perth spoke out loud to no one in particular, the other mages who were part of the band''s inner circle disliked him for his martial prowess, calling him a fake mage and such nonsense, he didn''t care, of course, all that it mattered was the gold and knowledge of the forbidden mind arts to enthrall more people and expand his legion. "Unit 2, report" He sent a ping to the furthest outpost, expecting the usual grunt those poor animals gave him, his magic long killing any sort of ego the person once had, effectively being turned into a flesh automaton. It was no wonder he was being hunted by the Scythes! far as they were concerned he was both a rogue necromancer and mind mage! not that Perth cared, of course, those undead mules could never catch him now. And it was all thanks to good O'' Uumaries, to think so long ago his mother told him that it would pay dividends for betting on such a stick in the mud Goddess. "She has ambition foolish son of mine, more than any divine of the last 100 years!" Enough to ally herself with power-hungry nobles and all manner of scum, and to devise a means to block Spheres of Power! and all Perth had to do was suck up to his "Leader" he didn''t even know the woman''s name, only that she was trying to become a Lich and nearly ready for the started ritual, or the illegal version of it anyway. "Unit 2, report" Perth was ready to send the command again when out of nowhere the house he was burned in a light so bright his eyes nearly caught fire, he motioned for his sword staff but all he could do was a gurgle in his pool of blood as a small projectile tore its way into his throat, then a kick to his stomach knocking him to the ground as he tried to stop the blood flowing with his bare hands. "Perth Unders, not the main catch of the day but a nice catch nonetheless" a cold voice came from the blinding light, Perth barely had time to scream when he felt the cold iron ripping through his flesh and bone. Richard looked up as red streaks of lighting crashed on the main house, in his ear, Lucrezia''s voice boomed "Deal with the mages, Castra we deal with the big fish" Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Kaine nodded and called Richard to his side, Hope warped to him as well, her hand trembling as the sight of blood was caught by Richard''s eye. He would say some encouraging words to the girl when he saw Lucrezia leap from one building to another, enveloped in the red lighting of before, he gasped in awe as Kaine shook his head. "She''s burning Life Essence like a godsdamn vampire, no wonder the red shade is so strong, let us find those mages before she kills them all" Together the 3 of them circled between a gamut of detection spells and divination, eventually finding the shadowy cabal holed up in an underground cave below one of the buildings. Another, much stronger presence was felt where Lucrezia had just crashed, with Castra-Cam following in her wake with shadowy teleports. "That''s a Lich if I ever felt one" Kaine spoke out loud "On the double everyone, go! go!" Hope nodded and with a grunt she commanded the metal around her, blowing a hole through the wall and into the open where they saw spires of twisted metal and ice along the vicinity. "All-Father''s balls she isn''t fucking around is she?" Kaine said "the mages are moving! Hope I want you to drill us a tunnel there!" he pointed to a specific spot at the entrance of one of the buildings and marked with a magical sigil. Hope nodded again and poured incredible amounts of mana into the ground, having been taught geomancy by Kaine just a week prior to the event in the palace. with her insane amount of mana, she managed to drill away towards the hidden mages. Kaine glanced towards Richard whose hands were shaking, the young man locked eyes with him and took a deep breath, grabbing his weapon and shield until the knuckles of his hands turned white "Enemies! they have breached the sanctum!" screamed a mage nearest to the entrance Hope had just drilled before a loud war cry was bellowed from behind Kaine, Richard rushed in as if possessed by a wind sprite and impaled the mage in his spear! Hope warped beside him and blasted the other with a cone of sound before stomping the ground and making iron spikes pierce their feet. That amount of shock and awe was enough to stun the whole group, Kaine sighed as he noticed these mages were ritualists, not hardened battle mages like the fellow Lucrezia had killed earlier. "Spar-" one of the mages screamed before Kaine chopped his head off with an invisible disc of force, the same happening to the rest, with a sigh of resignation the young mage began speaking "Looks like we are in the clear, now let us move upwards and assist" in that second a colossal warrior wielding a hammer broke through the doors to the far side of the cave and beelined towards Kaine, who had barely a second to react before Richard jumped into the fray. There were no words, Richard took the brunt of the hammer square in his shield and nearly was lifted from the ground with the impact, with a scream he thrust the spear in the warrior''s solar plexus but the man was unfazed, likely a pain dampening spell. In a feat of dexterity and acrobatic none thought him capable of, Richard leaped into the spear, hanging on it with the grace of a stalking crane of the marshes, and with a grunt slammed his shield right into the throat of the warrior, decapitating the man. Which turned out to be no man at all, but an undead monstrosity in the shape of a humanoid. Hope whistled "Keep this up friend and you will find yourself very popular with a certain crowd" she smiled as Richard sucked in air, but not speaking, the killing of the mage fresh in his mind likely. After clearing the rest of the cave they found no one alive or dead, Richard then spoke "Kaine you got anything for the nerves?" which was a coded word Knights used when they wanted Mind Magic placed on them, usually to do just that, calm the nerves, but often enough it meant to erase memories, blunt the pain or even knock them out cold with a sleep spell. Since Richard didn''t look like he wanted his memory of the deed gone Kaine reached into his pocket and pulled a special potion that granted the user a sense of inner peace, a gift from monks he was friends with. Richard took the vial and drank it, his eyes closing as the concoction made its way through the body "We are done here, let''s go back and help Lucrezia" Kaine and Hope nodded and the trio moved upwards towards the street level.
Castra-Cam dodged and weaved dark spells and combat arts against the elven lich, she was yet to become a true threat, her powers barely cultivated enough to employ the true devastating spells these lawless necromancers knew. Her scythe sliced through defensive charms and barrier spells, it would be a perfect dance of death she was so used to. If it wasn''t for Lucrezia. She had seen the woman fight before, but not like this, she was running the fell powers of the Rage at full blast and more than once went for actual honest to gods melee combat against the elven blasphemer! There was no dance with Lucrezia, no perfected rhythm born of countless battles, nay with her it was more akin to a war drum banging as loud and as fast as possible, each step came with waves of iron or ice, then a flurry of blows or gunfire from her weapons. When the ammo ran dry Lucrezia stowed the weapons with one single action and leaped towards the elf, finding an opening just as Castra sliced another barrier. Mid leap she decked the elf with a scream that ringed across the place, the lich went down and Lucrezia mounted on top of her, raining blows to her head and chest like a beast, Castra was taken back for a split second, the sheer velocity and fury freezing her on her tracks. "Don''t fuck with this one" Castra thought to herself as Lucrezia broke the hands and legs of the elf and banged her head against the ground "Who! Who gave the order!" more bangs until the lich actually spilled blood! "Lucrezia! cease your violence lest her soul runs to her hidey-hole" Castra-Cam dashed forward and held Lucrezia''s right arm as she was readying herself for another series of punches. Castra-Cam locked eyes with the madwoman and she saw the tendrils in her eyeballs, a telltale sign of those afflicted by the Rage in its initial stage, Lucrezia stopped punching and said "I need to know who gave the order Castra, if she won''t speak I will go through her memories" "You can do that? I thought the studies weren''t on that stage yet?" Castra was taken back, she knew Lucrezia had made the talk of the local church with her speed, but to use that level of Mind Magic? Alas, Castra-Cam was reminded that non-Scythes were forbidden by the Undying himself from peering into the minds of these high-value targets, as to avoid dangerous knowledge falling into the wrong hands. She locked eyes with the woman once again, and Lucrezia took barely a second to understand Castra "Ask him" Lucrezia said as if the Undying would just... "Let her do it, you have my authorization" a voice boomed from the deepest reaches of Castra-Cam''s soul. her eyes going wide as her patron god spoke with her twice in a single day! Not even the most esteemed of High Priests or Liches could claim the same! Truly there was a tie that bonded Lucrezia and Hope together, something that had major gods vying for their attention and favor. Lucrezia smiled, a wicked one at that, and planted her hand in the elf''s face, her eyes rolled back and her whole body shook as the spell began to do its job, minutes went by, and Castra saw the other walk up to the room and Hope pointed her finger at the elf "It was her! Gods, what is Lucrezia doing?" "Reading her mind, the brute way" Kaine spoke, "Castra, is this legal?" "There won''t be any issues on my part" Castra-Cam spoke "Looks like she is done" she pointed to Lucrezia whose eyes rolled back to normal, she sighed with deep resignation, as if something she expected to happen had happened and now she was in charge of cleaning after it. "I am done, send this vermin to where she belongs, and here, a gift from me" Lucrezia tossed a block of ice frozen in deep blue ice on top of the elf''s body as Castra-Cam tapped her scythe and opened a hole in the ground. "Oh, the Highway of the Undying, first time seeing it, does it drain mana or does it works on divine energies like a miracle?" Kaine perked up asking questions "I thought only high ranking members had the power to call at will, with younger members of the organization having to call their superiors" "Privileges granted by grandma dearest" Castra-Cam smiled "But no, it works on divine energies, mana was deemed too unsafe a few centuries back but you can still find more old-timers using Mana Highways... a right proper pain to deal with the newer breed of rogues who can climb back" she turned to Lucrezia "So? what did you find?" Lucrezia closed her eyes "We have Knights and city mages flying towards us, deal with them first then I''ll explain. Hope watched as Castra flashed her symbol of authority to the Royal Knights, the woman in charge narrowed her eyes at Lucrezia but said nothing, she felt a click inside her soul as the particular spell of flight they used was integrated within her. Alas she was anything but happy, what happened to her was still too fresh, too raw, and that her friends were harmed, as capable as they were made Hope seethe with a rage so strong she could feel the power of that fell entity coiling like a spring, ready to explode forward and unleash devastation across all she could see. It was a power most intoxicating, just as the books described it. "So, what did you glean from the woman''s mind Lucrezia?" Kaine asked as they regrouped far from the site, Hope could feel Lucrezia''s emotions better now, ever since she personally made the pilgrimage to one of Saal''Xhir''s churches and pledged herself to the Goddess she was made privy of many details about her friend''s inner turmoil, thanks to their shared Blessing. At the behest of the Goddess herself, who personally came to talk with Hope as she was genuinely worried for Lucrezia, something rare but also something Hope could understand, their time together had forged an intimate friendship between the two. "Yeah, yeah I know who did it, I have their names burned in my mind and Gods know I will make them pay for this" Lucrezia said after a long pause, she sighed trying to reign in her own slice of the Rage who was still running beneath her skin, shallow as it was compared to Hope''s it still empowered Lucrezia above and beyond the usual grunt. "Name them" Castra demanded. "Lyndell Morgoth, Scion of the Bow and Mava O''Xav" the words came out slow and tense as if Lucrezia herself didn''t want to say them, a hint of regret tinged the accusations but above all else, resignation, as if she knew this was going to happen and she would need to clean up their mess. "Fuck me Lucrezia, we can''t fight the bloody Scion of the Bow! only the Sacred Sword can deal with that gods forsaken weapon!" Kaine spoke his face red "But you don''t care, do you? ugh, what''s the plan?" Hope opened her mouth to speak but the world spun around her, she felt the fall coming for a split second before Richard grabbed her in his arms "Hope! Gods be good woman what''s wrong?" "Tapped too much into the Rage, too fast also, the body can''t handle so much energy this fast" Kaine spoke as he began casting spell after spell on Hope "This will make things better but you will take a day to be in fighting shape again" Lucrezia walked up to her and held her hands "I know you want to come, to deal with them together but now It''s not the time, let me do it, let me punish them!" "I can''t fight, But I want to see it," Hope said, venom in her voice as once again she locked eyes with Lucrezia as she held her hands, one warm and the other cold, inside those azure eyes of her Hope saw the entire world burning, with Lucrezia in the middle. It was just like Arthur said, there was something deep inside of this woman, that commanded minds and hearts in ways magic couldn''t explain, a sense of gravitas very few had. "Kaine, take us to the Academy, it is time to end this, and then..." Lucrezia spoke out loud. "And then?" Richard asked still holding Hope. Lucrezia turned to him, a wicked smile on her face "War"
"Kaine! temporal distortions at angles 40, 65, and 90!" Lucrezia''s voice boomed across a private garden set aside for High Nobility, around her bodies of Knights and Students moaning in pain, but not dead. A rain of spectral arrows flew by, only to warp away as if they were never fired, a scream from below rung across the garden as a young man armed with a shield and spear lept across and impaled his weapon into the leg of a knight who folded into himself screaming all the while. Lucrezia summoned red lighting and the impact broke some sort of illusion where an ivory-skinned woman with wide eyes chanted spells trying to keep whatever magic she was wavering going, with a leap Lucrezia landed right beside her and planted her metal first right into her stomach. "Academy Security! and more Royal Knights!" Castra screamed from the skies "Lucrezia, we must find Lyndell now!" Kaine spoke as he batted away more arrows, Lucrezia didn''t reply back, she was raining blows on the mage who eventually blacked out, only for Lucrezia to snap her arms like twigs and the woman wake up screaming like a dying animal. "Savages!" a wrathful whisper came from Lucrezia''s side only for Richard to leap again and plant his spear right by its feat, Lyndell tried to jump away but the magic that was making her invisible was gone, Kaine with a slam of his staff turned the ground into ice and the Scion of the Bow slipped, her face cracking the thin sheet of ice. Lucrezia didn''t bother to take the bow, she slammed her ax right into Lyndell''s belly and grabbed her head, slamming it against the ice. "AND IF I HEAR A HAND WAS RAISED, A STRAND OF HAIR TOUCHED I WILL KILL YOU, YOUR FAMILY, YOUR CLAN AND BURN YOUR GODSDAMNED ESTATE DOWN YOU HEAR ME YOU SHITE EATING CUNTS!" Hope watched as the words echoed across the Academy, like a wave that would soon change everything in her life, and in the lives of the people here, those last words burning into her mind, and even on her death bed she would remember, remember the day her friend declared war on everyone and everything for her sake. Chapter 49: My brothers come join me "What we saw that day, depravity that knew no bounds, our home" Anonymous diary. Alexander watched as his regular day in the academy was totally, completely ruined as magical information blew across the ears of anyone alive inside the damn place. "An attack by the Duchess of Wulfgrem on two students who allegedly kidnapped some of her friends, Academy Security was waved off as the member of the Sycthes Castra-Cam informed that foul deeds were indeed committed against her and Richard Silverbrand" The class had a few students in it, most were talking among themselves about the events as Alexander entered the room, sat down with a plop, and gave an enormous sigh of resignation in his professor career. "Tough day eh Professor?" asked the class rep, his smile didn''t reach his eyes. "Eh, not the first time a scuffle happened in this god''s forgotten place, back a few years ago we had that Wolfkin whose boyfriend was teleported to the other side of the Imperium, man hunted down every single person responsible and even got his loved one back" spoke Rose de Castellon, daughter of the last Knight of Castellon and had not Lucrezia and her madness came to the Academy, be a small celebrity among her peers. "Oh I remember that man, Intense fellow he was, did you know the Imperium impressed by his single-minded devotion to his quest granted him land and minor nobility status? He has a smallholding up in the northern reaches last I checked" Spoke Tomoe, a friend of Rose and the two were often together, Tomoe was a political refugee from the Shogunate, her family traded their ways of magic and Ki to Vermilion so she could live in peace while they fought on. "Hey Raffa, you went dungeon diving with Lucrezia, right? how good was she in a fight?" Rose asked the brooding woman who sat by herself at the back end of the class. "Like she had every war blessing under the sun, and not just hear, Richard and Hope are also great fighters" Raffa spoke. "The merchant son? Really?" the class rep asked in disbelief "He seems the stay-at-home with a book type guy for me..." "And he would agree with you there Hvtial, but Lucrezia has a certain way to tease out the Warrior that''s hidden in us and it worked wonders for him" Raffa smiled as the class rep made an approving face "That''s good, while I may not approve of her messing with the peace of the Academy, anyone who helps their fellow Vermilion citizen to master the honorable art of war is a good person indeed" "You are a big goof you know that Hvtial?" Rose teased the class rep as Alexander pondered about what the rest of the day would entail. His answer was fast approaching
William finished centering himself with Meditation, Lucrezia was right below his skin watching every move of his, what happened today was something he had hoped. prayed even would never happen. "It would''ve been me, I was the one to order the hit, to hire the lich and goons, and to form the alliance with the other two, and now even with we messing that chain of events they still went after Hope, just as the game said they would. William if Gwenarius isn''t involved then another god with time predicting powers is, and there are very few of them out there" Lucrezia took a breath and continued. "What do we do William?" "We caught Lyundell and Mava unaware and unprepared, with that escalation they will deepen their pacts with the same forces that corrupted your parents and in 6 months will challenge Hope in the Tournament of Fate for Arthur''s hand, Hope is strong but not enough to defeat them, and for that, we will need the Fields, and for that..." William paused "In the game, you earn the right for the Sacred Sword and the Fields by winning a series of battles against that scum Azarel Bir''Yurar and his harem, culminating in a final battle inside the great castle that stands on the edge of the Fields of Serasval " "Artorius, Vana, you sure have a way to piss off the big names in the kingdom, and given our previous encounter with him, I am guessing that''s not a viable way to reach the fields?" Lucrezia asked, " Curses, so much from the game we can''t use now..." "Nay Lucrezia, all we must do is adapt, adapt and then overcome" William replied as he, Richard, Hope, and Kaine walked into the classroom, Castra was off dealing with the Academy and Royal Knights. "Lucrezia, we heard of your latest feats" Dhkar spoke in a grave tone "Rest assured should need be the Prince will aid you in battle, the same goes for me" William gave the orc woman a hug, which caught her by surprise but she had a smile on her face. "Professor Alexander, May I take command of the room for a short few minutes? Not many will show up today given the...recent events" William stared the man dead in the eye and he just sighed "Do as you will Lady Lucrezia" "Saa''ryu, contact the Triad, have your sisters deliver them these messages" William passed down scrolls to his maid who nodded and disappeared "Richard, tell the Silverbrand clan I will be needing Highways 5, 7, and 18" "Gods above! those are all major lanes Lucrezia! Do you know how much gold-" Richard began protesting but William shut him down with a stare "Do it," He said to his friend who shook his head. "Raffa, Dhkar, I need you two to contact Hector and tell him I am due a visit while I deal with this" William did a sweeping hand gesture "At this hour of the day he will be in the cafeteria" The girls exchanged looks but both nodded and went off, William turned to Richard who was casting a long-range communication spell "Mom, mom for All-Father''s sake reply, we got the mother of all contracts here godsdamned it" he turned to William "She''s not picking up...Wait the spell is being redirected! Kaine!" the mage snapped into action, casting a wave of counterintelligence and location spells fast as humanly possible. "It''s coming from your compound Richard, Gods be good that''s the main estate" Kaine spoke. "The Matriarch" William smiled "Go ahead Richard, explain the situation to her" Richard cleared his throat and began talking with the ancient woman "Yes, Silverbrand, Yes that''s is correct esteemed Matriarch, yes Lane 18 as well which you know will send a message to the Royals..." "Can you tap into their comms?" William asked Kaine who gave him a nasty look "Lucrezia that would be extremely rude and unbecoming, but yes I can tap it, not that there will be a need, they are nearly over" "No cargo given, just the promise of gold, Yes, what? on my ledger? God be good is that even possible? YES! Thank you esteemed Matriarch!" Richard beamed like a kid in Christmas "You got your Lanes Lucrezia, now if you would excuse me I must pinch myself to see if I''m not sleeping" "Still awake Silverbrand, and under no illusion magick" Hvtial spoke from the corner "Lady Wulfgrem, those Highways are used for troop deployment and Military Materiel supply, while you are entitled an honor guard of 50 Knights, such bold...Actions will be seen in bad light within the court" he finished speaking as all eyes glued on him "What? someone had to say it, even if she''s already a black sheep" "Hvtial sush you! Don''t mind him Lady Lucrezia! he''s just a stick in the mud" Rose beamed a smile to William who was taken back, usually the rest of the class was more than content to ignore him, but this was the first time someone else outside of his group and contacts had spoken to him even. "Duly noted Class representative" William smiled at the dragonkin who smirked at him. "Kaine, Hope, on me" the two formed up behind William and he started explaining the next step of his master plan. "This is a long-range comms Magi-Tech array spell" William pulled another scroll and spread it over the ground, the thing was massive "We haven''t been able to make something more durable for it so it was retrofitted into a Spell that has Magi-Tech in it for stabilization purposes instead of using Magi-Tech to do the deed without the aid of more traditional magical methods...but I digress, Kaine deploy the spell, Hope and I will power it with mana so I can contact my people in the north" Minutes passed as William and Hope poured their combined mana into it, Kaine''s weaving and shaping skills flared and multiple sounds of awe were heard from the people in the room. Images of a room flared in the middle of the array, sat down in chairs were faces William had grown to miss, Erwin, Gabriel, Wilson, Idun and Emilya, Veronica as well, and Serkj. "Gods be good, the White Dragoness!" Hvatia spoke in awe "The rumors were true then, you have All-Mother''s blessing!" "STAND" Erwin''s voice boomed from the illusionary spell, all raised and bowed, Minus Kallista of course "Lady Lucrezia, Hraaxx is unable to attend today, she''s undergoing her trial and told me you would understand the meaning of it" And William did, that trial was a personal text my Hraaxx''s mother that would turn the merwoman into an even fiercer warrior. "My Lady, the development on single soldier portable automatic weapons stalled, we need more people to join the church for another sphere shift" Idun spoke fast and clear "But progress was made on the vehicle-mounted prototypes, as for the terraforming locomotive, even with the Arch-Druid''s help the situation is dire, to say the least, " Idun finished with a smile "Thank you Knight Commander, be sure to send a recording of this meeting to Hraax later, Idun while we can''t expand faster I can solve the train issue later" William sucked up air and spoke again "As previously explained this is an emergency meeting and I have some big ones for you lot today" William finished off with a grin He went on to explain what had happened, finishing off with Hope being propped right beside him "Hope here is a dear friend, and Malphas has also set her sights on her, we are in this together" A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. "I can''t dispatch Knights Lady Lucrezia, it will be seen as an attack" Erwin spoke "But..." he glanced at Emilya whose eyes went to him, then William then back to Erwin "I understand...I will see if it is possible" Emilya said. "Thank you" Erwin turned to William "What is the plan then Lady Lucrezia?" William cast a floating map of the Academy "Here lies the field that is under the domain of Hector, with it I will raise an army with the school students and train them, as I did with you so long ago, and then we will storm the Fields of Serasval" William flipped his hand and showed the topography of the place " Flanked by the twin mountains that lead into the plateau of champions where we will move the very bleeding edge of Magi-Tech against the marshaled forces that will no doubt oppose us, I am after all a pariah and there are many a noble clan out for my blood and happy to send their knights to stand against me" he pointed to the Hill of Sorrows "Over the hill Lies the Castle of Serasval, as soon as I remove the scion of the sword and his harem we will take over" "For that, I will need every single ounce of technology we have developed so far, we must strike fast and hard enough that there won''t be any time for reinforcements to arrive" William explained. "Who would dare?" Alexander spoke from the background "Who would march against all of this!, never mind the fact you will no doubt recruit more than enough people who are understandably upset with the fact they can''t use the Fields, and some of those will have their parents who are knights be sent to this meatgrinder of a teacher, who?" "The Royal Knights of Vermilion" Hope spoke slowly, barely a whisper but everyone in the room and in the spell grew silent. "Idun, you are to start preparations for the transport of both personal and material, including raw goods, Erwin, I want every idle hand in the duchy either working or shipping those goods, Gabriel, the help I talked about earlier will be dispatched within a week''s time regarding the terraforming train, Serkj I want you to establish a network of small outposts in the wastes" Kallista smiled "And me?" "Prepare your horde, I have a feeling the Queen won''t take this lying down. "Lucrezia, you are forgetting something" Alexander got up and stared at William "Queen Malphas is a Dragonblood, she has by birthright the allowance of demanding the red dragon himself to aid her in a fight every year" "As if! my brother is a lazy lizard who would rather play with his little maze than fight, that I am certain of it," Kallista said from the projection. William saw Alexander tremble before Kallista''s voice but the man stared at her projection and spoke with the confidence of a teacher well versed in his job "Esteemed White Dragoness, while I do not doubt your words in regards to your''s brother''s personality may I point that in the war against Grannarius Queen Malphas did in fact summon Red Dragon Saark to aid her in the final raid of the capital, the Red Dragon rained death and fire from above just as its told to us" William''s mind snapped into place "You wouldn''t have known Kallista, you were in a 5-year long hibernation when he was called for action and he likely didn''t want to share, given your history together on the battlefield" Kallista laughed "To think he would do that, that lizard actually cares for his brood, distilled in humans as it is, doesn''t he? Fine then, it won''t be the first time I have to club some reason into him anyway" "Lady Lucrezia, will you contact our allies?" Erwin spoke, his face had a somber look to it. "Yes, Yes I will" William replied. "Hear me, my friends, Today marks the day where we will truly shift the fate of our beloved nation, the ripples will be even bigger than when we liberated our home from my kin, to that end I beg of you, stand fast and stand with me, for when we are done we will go down in history!" William gave a small speech and after goodbyes, he closed the spell. Turning around he saw that Raffa and Dhkar had returned "He wishes to see you in his...Mansion in the fields Lucrezia" Dhkar said with a worried tone "I''ll be honest with you, I do not trust the man nor the people he has attracted, It would be unwise going alone" William nodded "I don''t plan to, Kaine, Hope would you be so kind to follow me?" Dhkar then raised her hand "Let me in on this" "I thought you weren''t keen on the place Dhkar?" Raffa asked. "I am not, but 4 people will fight better than just 3" Dhkar replied back, her face set on the direction of Hector''s haunt. "Make that 5, and we don''t know if there will be a fight do we? he seemed friendly enough just now, then again you can''t blindly trust those blessed by Saal''Xhir," Raffa said, grabbing her things and setting off to her room "I''ll meet you all at the entrance, I need to grab me some gear"
Hope was winded but felt ready for combat once again, she stood watching Lucrezia and Kaine talking with Dhkar about the upcoming trek to Hector''s mansion. "...She will likely issue another test, I''ve given much to Saal''Xhir but she wants more of me" Lucrezia explained "She will tap into my blessing to construct a simulated combat zone for us" "That would take a great quantity of divine energy...which she has aplenty in these fields" Kaine spoke "I can hear the moaning from the bloody entrance" "How does the Academy staff let this slide?" Dhkar asked. "Hector made a huge donation out of his own finances for the privilege, and since it has a marked improvement on the mental health of those who partake the staff is more than happy to look the other way" Lucrezia explained as Kaine nodded and said "Indeed, they are more relaxed, do better in tests and have overall a better performance regarding their duties as students of the academy" Hope''s ears picked off running from the back, she turned only to see Raffa ready for combat, the woman stopped to catch her breath and smiled, Lucrezia explained to her what she thought would happen and she nodded in approval. "Everyone ready? on the count of 3" Lucrezia said "1, 2, 3!" and they crossed the threshold. Hope went forward arms at the ready only to find a peaceful meadow in front of her, everyone else was equally confused and they turned to Lucrezia who looked like she had been struck by mind magic. "This ain''t right, there was meant to be a test!" Lucrezia spoke, anger leaking from her voice. "There''s no test Lucrezia, your paranoia is unwarranted as I said before, you struck a major blow against Saal''Xhir''s biggest enemy and personally made sure she has a foothold in the north, as far as any god is concerned you are the best thing that happened to the woman" Kaine sighed "Lower your weapons, the mansion is a short walk from here" Lucrezia sighed "Ugh I hate being wrong" "Bound to happen at least once dear" Raffa laughed "Right Dhkar?" "Even the strongest of war chiefs bleed, the wisest of sages err" the Orc woman spoke in a solemn tone "Don''t beat yourself over it, you are still human after all" Hope was going to say something but her long-range detection spells flared up "I have 3, no 5 unknowns beelining for us, they will be here in a minute!" but then they disappeared! she screamed and Kaine spoke "Teleportation, they have a mage with them gimme a second" he began weaving trice the number of detection spells Hope knew and eventually found them "Clearing to the northwest, far away from us now" He closed his eyes "Metamagick tell me they have no hostile intent, remind me to teach that spell to you tomorrow Hope" "Roger" Hope fired back, they kept walking for 10 or so minutes before coming up to a beautifully built mansion, the gardens were spotless and there were multiple statues around, their making told a great artist was employed by Hector. Hope saw Lucrezia kneel down before a patch of dirt and dust her hands with it, she spoke low, so low Hope couldn''t pick up the words, that was when Dhkar placed her hand on Hope''s arm. "Ancient orcish custom, she asked the gods of war and magic to bless her on the upcoming battle, and if they are indifferent to her pleas, may she rise above them one-day" Dhkar hummed "Wonder how she knows that not even the old hags of my clan do that anymore" Hope nodded, only to feel her Saal''Xhir blessing burn with energy! something was happening inside the mansion!
"I thank you for this vessel my dearest Hector, Ah it has been a while since I walked in the flesh of my flock...Hmm, it appears they are near, and the one blessed by the All-Father too! my Lucrezia aren''t you the gift that keeps on giving!" Saal''Xhir laughed as she commandeered Hector''s body, she gave the order for one of his people to open the main door for her guests, her smile widening as she watched the Gwenarius boy lead the group. So much had happened in barely a year! and all thanks to that little bottled-up girl who stared daggers at her, ah Saal''Xhir sighed in resignation, she still didn''t partake in her gifts, to think someone so ripe held herself back for no apparent reason. A shame.
Lucrezia made a gesture to her escorts, and they calmed down, it was incredible seeing how much respect she commanded in them, earned through a battery of training and real fighting. A born leader. "Sit, please" Saal''Xhir spoke "Wine and food for you, straight from my personal realm" she snapped her fingers, and clear bottles of golden crystal popped into a table made out of solid wood, bread with honey, and cold slices of meat were also put on display. "That safe to eat Lucrezia?" Asked the one who had been blessed earlier, Hope was eyeing both Lucrezia and Saal''Xhir. "Yeah," Lucrezia said as she drank wine from the bottle like a savage "We thank you for the generosity O Goddess, now I believe good Hector here told you about my plans yes?" she pointed to the body and Saa''Xhir nodded with a smile. They all sat down, the orc woman being the only one who did not partake in the food and drinks. "I speak of using this land to raise an army to take the Fields of Serasval from the hands of the current holder of the Sacred Sword, he will with no doubt raise an army to meet me in battle and the Queen will likely take her chance to make an attempt at my life" Lucrezia explained as if that was a common thing "Of course, I will also ask for your personal Paladin companies to aid me in this endeavor" Ahh Saal''Xhir''s toes curled in pleasure, this mortal, this woman knew so much, and she always pushed the right buttons, it was like a dance a tease that she did it perfectly and yet... "You ask much of me my dear, and before you bring it up yes I know you gave me land and new faithful in a place untouched, yes you did what I asked in your blessing ceremony and even dealt with that prude whose name we shan''t mention, but I feel like...like I am missing something" Saal''Xhir bit her lips waiting for the words to come out of Lucrezia''s mouth. It was then that a blood-red raven made itself manifest and it spoke with a sulky voice "I am to witness this meeting for the rest of Gods" "Lu..." The mageling blessed by that stick in the mud spoke "We alright?" "Yes" Lucrezia replied back she then turned to Saal''Xhir "Ask, and I shall heed it" "A week from now, my main cathedral will have-" Saal''Xhir began talking when the one with a spear interrupted her "Gods above the Festival of the Flowing Rose! Lucrezia she''s gonna have you go naked on the main platform!" "Richard, Do not interrupt a God that''s sitting this near to you, they are very touchy when it comes to ego, thankfully Saal''Xhir here is one of the more humble ones" Lucrezia made a waving gesture to the boy and he calmed down. "Oh I don''t mind, he''s invited as well" Saal''Xhir laughed "But Richard is it? yes, dear, you are right, I want you Lucrezia, as the main event of my festival, of course, you won''t be naked, that would be too the point, we have a special attire for the ones who perform the ritual on the main platform as I am sure you know" Saal''Xhir stared at the woman, feeling her Blessing on her soul looking for signs of hesitation, disgust, or even shame. Was Lucrezia truly a prude in disguise or did she have what it takes to bear the Greater Blessing that was nested within her soul? There was none, a deep-rooted feeling of conviction was all that Saal''Xhir found at first, but probing deeper, at the tail end of her soul she found a thirst, faint as a whisper but there, waiting for the right time to pounce and then. Then she would truly be free, and enjoy the full power of the blessing! "Deal, when can I begin renovations?" Lucrezia asked. "Give me 2 days, so I can set up a small part of this holy land of mine for my flock, then it is all hours Lady Lucrezia, Oh and don''t forget to make yourself know in the cathedral within this week, we must take measures and train you for the ritual" Saal''Xhir smiled and then she was gone, the red raven cawed and flew away as well. Hector took a deep breath and said "It is as the Goddess said Lady Lucrezia, I am eager to see you in the cathedral" "Fight with me Hector," Lucrezia said out of the blue "Show your family you earned the right to rule this land and the others from your family and fight with me, I will train you just as I did they, and when the enemy comes we will make history" Hector smiled "You really have a pull to your words Lady Lucrezia, we will see then, perhaps if the Goddess spares her paladins..." he got up and dusted himself "At any rate, I believe we are done here, you have your dealings and so do I, I''ll see you in two days" Lucrezia bowed and left, Hector fell on his chair shaking. The reason? He couldn''t say, but something deep within him stirred, and it made him feel good. Chapter 50: In battle we are stronger! "Wulfgrem, the talons of the north!" Northerner battle cry from the war against Grannarius. The wind howled above the entrance to the underground tunnel, Erwin and his partner Sigrun stood tall in their Dire horses as the Princess made her way to them. He stared at the worst unit of soldiers that the mad king had unleashed against vermilion, all quiet and ready for combat, ready to fight for Lucrezia at the behest of their royal charge. A group of 50 Magi-Tech vanguard men behind them, their prototype Zenos suits now ready for battle, According to Idun, the Army issued one would be more streamlined, and easier to operate by the common soldier of Lucrezia''s standing army. Hraax couldn''t send her people, she was still busy, Kallista on the other hand walked among the people, her feet bare and her scales shining pure silver. Erwin''s best men stood behind him, and just near the Knights stood the rest of the "Honor guard" engineers, chemists, teachers, and secretaries among the soldiers armed with the latest bolt-action Magi-Tech rifle and armor and semi-automatic pistols, their beasts of steel and crystal ready to carry them via Magi-Tech sorcery. The elven commander from Grannarius walked up to Erwin, she stood near his Dire horse but said nothing, just watched the way leading to the Silverbrand Highway. "489 Wulfgrem Knights lost their lives at the battle of Roa-Roa, we lost nearly trice that number, and to this day my sorceress won''t shut up about the wack you have her on the back of her head as she was ready to deploy her magical plague" Veronica spoke with her face covered by a veil "And now we stand side by side, ready to attack the one person who nearly destroyed my country" "And you know what''s even more absurd than that? little princess over there picking up a weapon and suit of armor and asking to fight! I raised that girl and all she wanted was to suck off those High Elven bastards of the principality, then comes your little Lady and now she wants training, combat expertise she denied for centuries, and men to back Lucrezia up" "No mind magic, just odd luck and charisma and she hasn''t been around for more than a bloody year" Veronica spoke out loud. Erwin furrowed his brows "She asked for men? Grannarius foot soldiers?" "Nay succubi fucker, Urthkaar troops! and guess what the king said?" Veronica fired back. Erwin tapped his ear and a comms beacon flared, another piece of Magi-Tech that would give him and his men an advantage, unable to be picked by mages and diviners, and according to Idun, he had a surprise for air recon later. "Hraax, I need you to send the fastest mermen you have to the Rotfiend bay" Erwin barked the order to the busy woman and after a few seconds she replied "Done" "6 Ships baring no flags, let them port?" Hraax asked. "Do it, provide accommodations and debrief them as needed" Erwin spoke to the merwoman "Rinner! I need you to go back to the capital, tell the people there we have more Allies on the way!" A young Knight went off, snow going up as his Dire horse tore into the pavement. Urthkaars, Grannaries Elite soldiers just a few steps removed from the monsters under Veronicas''s command, all of them loyal to a fault and ready to charge even bare-handed into the fray. "You don''t mind working with the enemy?" Veronica asked. "Those I once pledged my loyalty slaughtered and defiled my family, my men, and my people, It was you, and the Imperium and the raiders who stood with us after Lady Lucrezia did what she did" Erwin sighed "But yes Lady Veronica Windreaver, it irks me to fight alongside Grannarius scum" Veronica smiled, her sharp elven teeth on full display "Ah that''s more how I like it, may we fight a good battle and die for eternal glory Ser Erwin" "For Wulfgrem, For Lady Lucrezia" And so they marched forward, towards the capital.
A lone dwarf stood alone, his red beard nearly hitting his knees as he melded crystal into silver and gold. His name was Belka Crimsonbeard and he had a dream, in that dream he flew in the deep blue skies, faster than a dragon and deadlier than a God, below him a wonder of Magi-Tech that would earn the favor of Lady Lucrezia! His fellows thought him insane, Idun on the other hand gave him a mission, while he and the others worked on the airships as an aerial combat platform much akin to the new Magi-Tech warships, Belka would deliver unto them a smaller craft, fast and ready to defend the airship. And so he did, on the eve of the day when the Knights left to protect Lady Lucrezia he delivered Idun his prototype. "And what''s the name Belka? By right of canonical law, you must name it!" Belka closed his eyes and saw the image of the deep blue skies once again, his masterpiece tearing through it and a single name came to his mind "Razgriz" She stood alone as the demon of blood and gold haunted her, crying and begging for relief provided naught but more laughter from the demon who continued to haunt her across endless plains. Until two stars fell from the dark skies, one cold and pale blue, another red and fiery hot, they landed in front of the demon, and from the dust two forms emerged, a beautiful woman with azure eyes and silver hair, features in her face betrayed her northern ancestry. The other was a scrawny boy, his skin tinged in the way many from the south were, dark curly hair and brown eyes, those eyes burned with a rage so deep she felt her very soul shake in its foundations. He would burn the entire world for his rage, and she would freeze it just before to calm him down, together they fought the demon tooth and nail screaming curses at it, kicking and biting, punching and stabbing. Magic followed, Divine Miracles of sheer power too as the demon roared in rage! could they not see the demon was invincible? he would never be stopped! there was naught to do but run! But something in those eyes sparked a fire inside, she no longer felt deathly afraid, she stopped running and took a long hard look at the battle, the girl was ever on the attack, with the boy providing backup from afar. "Vivienne...You must fight it...Just one more fight my dear and this nightmare will be over..." A voice boomed from upwards and Vivienne remembered her name, what happened, and who had come to save her. That was Lucrezia, heir to the north. But who was the boy? Vivienne had little time to ponder, for the demon knocked out Lucrezia with a slap, the boy roared in defiance and began slinging spells and miracles both in a display that would make Battlemages and War priests both red with envy! "Fight Goddamn it! Don''t just stand around staring! Fight!" the boy screamed, but Vivienne felt the fear creep along her spine, it was a cold wind against the fire that those brown eyes had lit in her soul. She closed her eyes and imagined a raging bonfire, flames so high they would burn to the city of the gods! With a boom, she summoned her staff and chanted the highest tier of miracles she knew "O Goddess of Healing, SMITE MY ENEMIES AND HEAL MY ALIES, AS AVATAR OF SHE WHO HEALED ALL FATHER FAAL HIMSELF, AS DIVINE MADE FLESH INCARNATE I COMMAND THEE!" From Vivienne''s staff, a bolt of pure white and green energy slammed against the demon and he was no more, the boy smiled as he helped Lucrezia stand, and with a bow, he disappeared into the morning sun. Lucrezia soon followed. Vivienne woke up soon after it, her parents hugging and crying as she could barely leave her bed, the memories that haunted her now a muted reminder of a past that had been removed from her soul. Her parents told her everything, about how Lucrezia had killed that evil fiend, defiled the Queen, and eventually saved her with an artifact from the dragons themselves. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. She cried tears of joy, and after the whole flood of emotions had passed, after the Knights of the Arch-Duke had given her a salute of arms and her Arch-Griffon had flown to nuzzle his beak against her breast her mind went back to those brown eyes once again, and the fire that consumed them. Vivienne''s father had asked "What do you want to do now my daughter? Say the word and by the Gods, I will make it happen" "Put me in the Academy, In Lucrezia''s class" She beamed a smile to him as her parents hugged her once again in front of the Griffons and Knights, their cries echoing across the men and women who finally saw a finally restored. One Knight, whose name Vivienne couldn''t remember unsheathed his sword and chanted at the top of his lungs "LUCREZIA! LUCREZIA! LUCREZIA!" The rest followed, and when Vivienne saw her parents chanting the name of the woman, weapons high in the skies she raised her staff and did the same.
Hector Anemora stood as his fields of pleasure were turned into a war camp faster than he could say a lewd joke, every single hand that wasn''t noble in the school came to Lucrezia''s call and after Saal''xhir was done with their little sanctum they got to work. At first, it was just the students of the Academy, men, and women he knew by name if not by face. Then the northerners arrived. Hector stood on the platform that was built for their welcoming, 400 men and women, Lucrezia''s honor guard as allowed by the Royals, Hector saw Erwin the Knight Commander, a rugged man that was thrice his size march as Knights and Soldiers alike were aligned in a perfect line, not even a whisper coming from. to his side Lucrezia armored to the teeth. When he reached the middle of the formation the man bellowed. "WULFGREM!" His blessing of war, coming from the great patron of Vermilion Morugarius herself shook the place, and his men followed his example in a display of refined power everyone in the Academy heard "WULFGREM!" "WULFGREM!" "WULFGREM!" "WULFGREM!" And from the lips of Lucrezia came a melody of war and terror that put the fear of all Gods in Hector. "To their trespass" "We are Witness" "Here to pass this" "Final sentence" "No forgiveness" "No deliverance" "Only Justice" "Only Vengeance" "Guide us, o mighty Fury" "Guide us to victory" "Guide us, o mighty Fury" "Guide us to victory"
"I had thought they would be more...well lewd about this whole thing" Lucrezia spoke as William felt her entire soul just beneath his skin, another milestone in their melding of souls had been reached, and now together with his increased knowledge in necromancy afforded Lucrezia an elevated degree of freedom. Including being able to summon a spectral shell for Lucrezia''s soul as a familiar, enabling her to fight on par with William''s abilities, sadly she could only stay for less than 3 minutes, but that time would go up as they improved the spell. William''s mind was trying its hardest to stay on those topics as the priestess of Saal''Xhir prepped him for the ritual, her festival was booming outside and William could only sigh as he was forced to go nude in front of a bunch of strange women. A thought that made Lucrezia crackle in delight. "That has to be the cleanest cut of an arm I''ve ever seen, Lady Lucrezia what in the world did that to you?" Asked one of the priestesses as they shaped cloth and silk with magic, the same for jewelry and holy engravings of Saal''Xhir in his metal arm. "An overcharged Wind Blade spell by the daughter of the Arch-Mage" William spoke deadpan, trying to not remind himself of the pain "We tried to incapacitate her non lethally but she managed to sling that spell before going down, chopped the arm clean off as you said" Silence descended into the room, the women awkwardly smiling before the older priestess who was in charge of the whole operation spoke, she was focused on William''s arm so she didn''t even turn to face them. "Do not be afraid girls, all is fair in love and that includes war, our latest addition to the ranks of Goddess Saal''Xhir just happen to be more skilled in war than love" the women laughed "Oh but you will have to forgive me Lady Lucrezia, guest of honor or not your reputation proceeds you in our hallowed halls, no boyfriend or girlfriends, no organized parties, not even a kiss!" The older priestess stopped shaping the holy engraving "Had it not been the razing of Talos and all the concessions we won in the north you would''ve been marked as a spy for you know who, and even then many of the old guards still think you will try to pull a fast one on us, especially after what you did with Hector and his Fields" She returned to her work "And yet here you are, naked in all but name, shame, and lust burning through you like the fires that claimed that accursed city and you still maintain composure, not even a smooch as the youngsters like to say! A curious case indeed, certain denominations of ours would love to have you with them, they preach more hmm, orthodox methods of worship for Our Lady" "But you aren''t here to expand our theology, nay today you are here to worship and be worshipped by the masses who crave the rare sights of northern noble flesh in the nude" she smirked "Forgive me for being crass Lady Lucrezia, I have no love for your warmongering ways but I can''t deny that deep inside your many layers of restraint lies a good follower of Saal''Xhir" "William..." Lucrezia spoke "I told you someone would get angry at us! gods above..." "Relax, this is still a holy day for them, and we are the main event, they will behave even if a few aren''t fans of our work..." William said as his clothing was placed on him by the women. "you are being very generous calling this clothing William" Lucrezia laughed "I can''t believe you are getting a kick out of this, gods above" "We can talk about this later ok? Fuck me I can feel my cheeks burning red" William bowed to the priestesses and left the room, another woman was waiting to take him to the main platform where he would perform the ritual. It didn''t take 3 minutes before they ran into trouble, a dozen or so priestesses of Saal''Xhir barring the way, their faces betraying their anger at William who groaned loudly and spoke "Fuck me, what the fuck did I do now?" The corridor exploded into cursing and screaming and someone even threw a shoe at him! he dodged that and immediately fell into a combat stance, having no convenient iron on him William had to make do with Ice, the blade of magical ice bit into his skin and he moaned. "That''s another one, a few more, and it''s a bingo William" Lucrezia whispered "Your cool facade is slipping by the minute" "See! See! this blasphemer resorts to violence on our holiest of grounds, she is ready to spill blood, our blood! vile fiend of Uumaries, not only you have taken the sacred fields you now wish to take our lives?!?" The leader of the pack screamed. Before the rest could assault William with more words an ungodly beautiful woman walked into their midst, armored from head to toe with plate mail and a mean-looking flain chained to her hips. Willaim knew her, Lady Masmer was the Succubus in charge of the Paladin order that serves as the oft-neglected military arm of Saal''Xhir, she raised her hand and waved the ones blocking William''s way off. Bowing to William the woman smiled and said "Mind not their words, anyone with a brain knows how much the church and our Lady owes you, even if you are more on the prude side of the faith" "But as my mother often said, "We must not judge, for that is the domain of the divine and doing so invites ill omens to our lives" sage advice from someone who spent half her days drunk as a skunk trying to forget my dad" another smile followed by a cough "I hear you are the one who''s dusting us off? my sisters are rusty I must be honest but we are eager to get back to the fields of battle" William smiled "Then I welcome ye, Lady Masmer, the Academy will be made aware and accommodations will be built for your and your company, I shall also provide weapons and armor built from my Magi-Tech forges, for are many hidden foes who will make themselves know once we strike, but let us not put the cart in front of the horse so to say, would you mind escorting me? I have no wish to deal with more of whatever that was" "You even know my name! Consider me charmed Lady Lucrezia, why it would be my pleasure to escort you" "Jesus I felt that down here," Lucrezia said before stopping herself "Don''t" "It''s the meld, more of my mannerisms are leaking into you," William said, "This place is messing with both of us, Gods this is a major weak spot we gotta shore up somehow, mind magic maybe, gotta think it over..." "It is...I suppose my mannerisms as you said are also leaking into you, I was a follower of Uumaries before after all, no use crying over spilled mead, let''s get this down with and then find a way to deal with the issue" Lucrezia said as they reached the entrance to the main platform, Willaim focused on his Greater Blessing and let the now not so subtle knowledge of Saal''Xhir fill his mind and soul. The ritual had dance, singing, and a fair bit of walking around, doing the precise movement with incense burners and other holy items, William was fully engrossed in the act but Lucrezia kept watch, she saw the whole gang watching them, including Arthur who now walked armed and followed by more Royal Knights. He hadn''t taken the news lightly, but he still hugged William when he got back to the Academy, praising his honesty even if it gave him the worst case of anxiety he had in his life, that honesty meant something to him he said, and he said he owed William a favor, something Lucrezia knew the boy would cash in sooner or later. She also saw the many ravens above, and the movement of the Black Priests of Velkarius below, they had sent a letter yesterday, but the message was a short one. William would have a full squad of battle priests from her. Lucrezia watched as her body was displayed in outfits only her would-be husband should have the right to see, her way of thinking clashing with William''s mind who was constantly drunk on lust, she sighed and waited for it to end, as good as it felt it also drained her something fierce, and all she wanted was to take a good long nap.
The dean stared at his professors and heads of departments within the Academy, all of them with weary looks on their faces. "She is not trying to attempt a coup against the royals then?" He asked. The head chef shook his head "Nay, and even then the Queen would tear them asunder alone, nevermind the Royal Knights, I''m telling you chief, she''s only doing this to kick that oaf in the gonads" "That oaf paid enough gold to secure your retirement and that of everyone at this table for exclusive rights to the Fields, but the nobles are still sending their "letters" whining about it" the dean sighed "Talk about short sighed deals" The dean dusted himself off and got up, moving towards the stand that held a ceremonial flag with the sigil of the Academy, A Rampart with swords and staffs in it, with the flick of his fingers the flag was neatly wrapped on top of the desk the others were. "Send it to her, let her know we won''t interfere with her plans" the dean smiled, knowing full well what would happen after this gesture. Chapter 51: Anthem of the Furious "Airships from the principality, ships from the shogunate, and carries from every country around us arrived in droves, be it for coin, favor, or something else. We didn''t know at first that her reach was that huge but in time we learned how much she had done to fight the one battle that would go down in history" Academy Student, name unknown. "You aren''t thinking of actually doing the speech right Lucrezia?" Arthur asked as the professor cleared out from the class, he looked to Richard who was shaking his head in defeat, likely having to talk the woman out of this little show. Arthur was both angry and glad when he finally came to the Academy, he knew that Kaine would''ve told her to not speak about the attempt at Hope''s life, Kaine was always one to mitigate emotional damage, after all, a thing Arthur had come to understand when they were working on his particular powers. And yet...He could feel something else bubbling deep underneath his feelings for Lucrezia, was he also falling for her? He saw and more importantly felt how Richard often sneaked in looks at her, felt his emotions pulsing under his soul, it felt much like him and Hope, and that raised the question, could he be in love with more than one person? Arthur sighed inwards, a deeper dive into his feelings would be needed, even if that would leave him in a...compromised state for a few days. "Yes, I am in need of allies, after all, my personal guard won''t be enough to storm the fields and that thing will no doubt call the many knights who are in charge of the women in his harem," Lucrezia said staring at him, those cold azure eyes of her fixed squarely on him. "Gods, the last speech someone gave there was nearly 30 years ago you know?" Ironheart spoke from the back "And you really think the nobles will support you?" Lucrezia smiled "Yes, not only them but their Knights as well, those fields are a major strategic asset to the whole country, by training inside them and mastering the fear of death we have given birth to the finest warriors of the new world" She pointed to the Royal Knight behind Arthur "That will be enough to attract the combat minded, the rest will follow as their houses and parents tell them" "And the non-nobles?" Richard asked. Lucrezia laughed "They have been in it from the start Richard! I''ve funneled enough coin to the trinity I could fund a small country! be it for glory, anger, or plain curiosity they will come as well" "Lucrezia..." Arthur wanted to tell her his mother would likely make her move against Lucrezia but he couldn''t find the words for it. "I know Arthur, I know, be not worried my friend for I have taken the necessary measures should that happen" she whispered to him "But can I count on you by side when the time comes?" she asked. And no doubt stand against mother and father, but Arthur knew she wouldn''t approve of Hope, and had long made the decision to forsake even the right for the throne for the love of his life. "Yes, gods be damned yes" he replied with a nod and felt a great weight being lifted from his chest. "You haven''t given speeches in a while William, what will you do now that simple rhetoric won''t work for these privileged blue blood scions I wonder?" Lucrezia spoke with a hint of smugness, she was just below his skin again, having taken a taste for the muted but nevertheless sensations William felt in his day to day life, according to her it took a few seconds to register the wind on his face, the taste of food and drink, a touch from someone they knew, etc... "If I can''t play up to their struggles, I will play up to their egos, their sense of righteous indignation for not being able to train and enjoy the castle, there are many angles here and most of them will work, or so I goddamn hope they will" William fired back to his companion. The support from the manufacturing plants inside the Academy was already dealt with, William gave them coin and materials, they would work for him to arm his army. most of the disenfranchised commoners and merchant scions were already there so the important bit of logistics and supplying the men and women who would fight was tight as it could be, with the added bonus of shipping in more experts from various countries later as William spent coin like crazy. Said coin was burning a literal hole in the Duchy''s finances, thanks to the many Magi-Tech items being sold Idun told William they had to build 3 new coffers in the castle! and they were still overflowing! A smile came to his lips, all that wealth being put to use in his duchy, lifting those who had their lives ruined by Lucrezia''s parents, the ever-growing number of Gods related to citizen and state welfare sending their people to ask for a chance to work in what was likely the biggest uplifting of society as a whole in the new world, he was even told the number of literate people was rising! This was not Earth, and if he had just an ounce of the power he has he would still try his best to do right by the people he was entrusted with by Lucrezia. She loved her people and her lands dearly and he would not, could not squander that, for he too had come to love it as his new home. He felt Lucrezia smiling with happiness and joy, and so William smiled as well. A gust of cold wind flew towards him, a form blurred and then became focused, Kallista took shape by his right side and nodded her head "Lady Lucrezia, I''ve returned from my talks with brother dearest, the royals won''t interfere with me being here" she smiled "that whelp fears no one it seems" "She is the strongest fighter of the whole continent, and beyond..." William replied back "So, will the Red Dragon fight?" "Aye" Kallista grinned "If called he is oath-bound to fight, we have hashed out the rules, safe to say he''s none too pleased to fight against me again, never was one for the traditional sibling contest that one, always off doing something or another you see" she smiled fondly at the memories "Now a little bird told me you are to give one of those speeches of yours? rally the humans to fight the good fight and such?" "Indeed my friend, would you like to watch?" William asked. "Of course, let us ignite the flame of ambition and war in these soft-skinned nobles" Kallista laughed as she followed William. Kallista scanned the room full of younglings, a few of her brother''s brood could be seen, diluted over the centuries as they were, the infants of Vermilion best and brightest all looking towards Lucrezia who was fully armored, minus her face, of course, they loved a pretty face after all. And yet, there was something far darker behind that visage of hers, something Kallista had seemed often in her battles across the cosmos, an innate bloodlust coupled with charisma and smarts that would make her and her dragon family fight the direst of fights. And they would never surrender, never give up and join the collective, no for them it was death and glory, a blaze that would burn everything, and if that took out the enemy? it was more than enough to give those people insane smiles upon their faces. "Wonder how will he deal with her," Kallista thought to herself with a smile, that old fart loved those types, after all, they made the best soldiers and field commanders, even more than the pious. In their rather massive dining hall there was a small raised platform, according to what Kallista was told by her brother the kids there used it as a way to gather attention to their events, how did he know about the intricacies of the Academy was something she found odd but then again her brother was an odd dragon, that or one of his brood kept him in the know. Lucrezia clapped her cheeks and whispered "Let''s do this" to herself, Kallista raised her eyebrow but said nothing, both walked the small steps to the platform and it didn''t take long before people began pointing to them. "Get their attention" Lucrezia whispered and with a wolfish grin Kallista nodded A massive roar shook the very foundations of the hall, and the glass windows and wooden doors trembled! Knights and other security personnel began moving in haste which earned them a nod of approval from Kallista, to walk after a True Dragon''s roar was nothing short of impressive! Kallista felt Lucrezia''s presence shift, she raised her hands and spoke. "Noble scions of the Academy! Citizens of Vermilion! Gather around me and listen!" Her voice boomed with the combined might of all of her blessings! Heads near and far snapped to her as the entire place fell into silence, Kallista could hear Lucrezia''s heart beating faster and stronger. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "Today I come to you! my fellow students, friends, and acquaintances, to ask for help! help in fixing a great wrong! such act saps our Academy of morale! of vigor! And I know you people have raised your voices against it! and yet your parents can only give non-answers, or worse! tell you to look away! to cast a blind eye to such arrogance, such naked display of everything that goes against our fair nation!" Kallista closed her eyes and for a split second, she saw his form standing where Lucrezia was, golden and glorious, wrathful and holy, the hammer of order glinting in his hand as he egged his troops towards certain doom, for that was his duty. Until it no longer was. "For I speak of the sacred Fields of Seresval! the foundation of our great''s nation strength! for it was thanks to it that we managed to drive back the Mad King of Grannarius! the Mercenaries of the Dynasty! the Mad Sword Saints of the Shogunate and our ancient enemy the Imperium! And now it sits under the rule of Azarel Bir''Yurar! who brings shame to his house name and to the Holy Sword of Artorius! "Join me! and we shall break his walls and harem! we will chop his head off with our swords! break his spine with our axes! run him through with our spears and trample his bones with the hoof of our horses!"
Kallista was ready to applaud Lucrezia for a great speech when a thunderbolt flew right towards them, Kallista barely moved a muscle as Lucrezia extended her hand towards the projectile and sucked the bastard down like it was water! "How dare you! Saal''Xhir whore! get down here and face you Kinslayer disgrace!" screamed a beautiful redhead woman who was flanked by two other equally beautiful women, they all had similar-looking longswords and a patch bearing the sigil of house Bir''Yurar, a blonde woman holding what would become the aforementioned Sword of Artorius "Beg for mercy and Lord Azarel will forgive you," the leading woman said with a smirk, her escorts unsheathed their swords and took combat stances. Lucrezia leaped towards them, she summoned her ax and smiled, another leap and she slashed the enemy, who parried the blow only to find Lucrezia''s feet planted right into her ribs. With a cry of pain, her goons leaped in trying to overwhelm Lucrezia, Kallista''s eyebrows rose when she saw a pale blue light flare from Lucrezia''s back. "Necromancy" Kallista bit her lips hard "gods this woman truly is the gift that keeps on giving" From the light a shade appeared, armored in the same style as Lucrezia this shade had her face and features, but her weapon was not the dragonbone ax but a weapon from the Shogunate, one particular blade Kallista had seen before bearing the mark of a very important man of the Kingdom. The blade from the Arch-Duke''s wife sliced through the air like a hot knife through butter, in its wake it left devastation that could catch even the most experienced of Knights. the crowd around Lucrezia gasped as the display of immaculate swordsmanship was paired with the wild swings and reckless usage of magic, she weaved ice, lighting, and metal around with grunts of sheer power as the trio of women was pushed to their utmost limits. Lucrezia nodded to her clone wraith and slammed her hands on the ground, a cage of iron locked the trio in place as they panic and began to wildly slash their newly found prison of iron. The wraith walked over to them and with inhuman speed began slashing through the air, with a flourish at the end of her attack she sheathed her weapon. As the blade went in a flurry of delayed slashes tore through the goons who in a last-ditch effort jumped to save the redhead woman, their screams echoed along the walls of the cafeteria as Lucrezia took a neutral stance with her weapon, her wraith partly fusing with her body in a sick display of power. "Have it written upon ye meager graves, felled by Duchess Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem!" Lucrezia dashed towards them and with a nasty uppercut knocked their leader to the side, nearing the fallen goons Kallista noticed they still clung to life! Then Lucrezia kicked their knees in and they blacked out while screaming. "I HAVE UPHELD MY END OF THE BARGAIN, AND AZAREL''S WHORES HAVE UPHELD HIS!" Lucrezia''s wraith was giving an eerie echo to her voice, she pointed her ax to the leader and continued " FOR FIGHTING THIS WRECH OF A ENEMY, THE SCION OF BIR''YURAR PROMISES MERCY, GAZE UPON A TRUE NOBLE, HEIR TO THE HOUSE THAT FOUNDED THIS KINGDOM, I MAKE NO SUCH OFFER!" She slammed her ax on the ground causing ice and iron to bloom around her, pointing the weapon to the fallen she screamed "RUN, RUN, RUN TO THAT DISGRACE AND TELL HIM THIS, I COME FOR HIM AND HIS SWORD!" Kallista saw the foes run for their lives as the sheer output of energy both divine and magical washed over her, a true fighter that one, as the others came out from the daze they began slamming tables and plates, chanting her name. Lucrezia had gotten her army that day, now she only needed to train them.
Andromeda stalked the fields where the mad Duchess was building her army, she saw many nobles laughing and joking, and many doing drills with their Knights or with Lucrezia''s own men. It was a strange sight to see, but Vermilion Knights knew how to operate under another''s banner. And so they did under Lucrezia and surprisingly a merchant''s son who was the man behind logistics together with Lucrezia. Moving past the small army that was gathered in the main camp, the young woman found a small enclave of priests decked out in teal robes, their faces masked with technology that far surpassed that of the capital. The priests chanted a strange hymn, it spoke to her deep inside of her heart, a calling that surpassed the general apathy that blanket her life. "A religious experience, now?" she spoke to herself unaware some of the men and women were paying attention to her. She watched as they worked in blessing these huge suits of armor, some were light and had few weapons on them, and others were bulkier, culminating in something that looked more like an armored carriage than armor, complete with what looked like a long metal tube sticking in its back. She had heard of these Magi-Tech shortly before joining Lucrezia''s army, they were called "Zenos" and apparently, they could make even the weakest of noble scions into a one-man army capable of taking as much as 10 Knights alone, coupled with long-range fire support and middle of the road generalists units it was one of the trumps Lucrezia was willing to show to her enemy. A deep rumbling sound was pounding inside Andromeda''s head, it was like a call from a beast in pain and rage, she followed this phantom noise until it led her to a tall dwarf presiding over the enclave. Behind it stood the cause of the noise, painted in deep crimson unlike the others who spotted camouflage for usage in the north, this was a close-range Zenos unit with a long blade and small pulse cannon in its arsenal, meant to deliver precision strikes at speeds that could break the sound barrier! "How in all hells do I know all of this!" the girl spoke out loud, she then felt the gaze of the priest lock on her. "a budding blessing, I can feel the power surging around you child, speak your name" the priest commanded. "Andromeda Farro" she replied staring at the man "This isn''t possible, I''ve been blessed by a Musical God! you can''t just get new blessings like that!" "Not new, hidden until the time was right" he smiled and she saw that many around her had faces that said they went through the same "As you can no doubt see many here were the same as you, but I don''t sense the power of a crafter in you" he looked around and found the person he wanted "High Priestess a moment of your time please" An elven woman clad in armor and flanked by more elves walked up to the enclave, they nodded and the leader of the elves stared Andromeda down "Farro? our lady has dealings with your father hmm" she kept staring "It''s akin to that one fellow from back home but geared towards combat, to think we have reached the point where the blessing can mutate and take a more combat-focused aura, marvelous" She walked past Andromeda "This Zenos unit speaks to you yes? you can feel the metal and crystal hum as you got closer, power flowing from it to you and back to the machine in a perfect loop?" And Andromeda''s eyes widened "Yes! gods above woman how do you know that?!" "Prior experience, High Priest, let her in, let us see if we have another "Razgriz" on your hands" the elven woman spoke and the man nodded with a kind smile on his face "What a day, what a glorious day!" Andromeda followed her instincts and with a few key presses in the side pannel she managed to open the cockpit for the Zenos unit, she sat down in its chair and as the blessing kicked into high gear she felt the whole world brighten as if she had acquired insight on the very fabric of the cosmos, the machine spoke to her in deep hums and revving sounds, a symphony of highs and lows, bass and brass. Metal and Crystal! "Does it have a name?" she heard the High Priestess''s voice far far away, Andromeda closed her eyes and searched, diving deep into the machinery she was currently on, and she arrived at its core, the beating heart of the monster, and she saw a sentinel of righteous fury cutting down every single enemy in her path. "Crimson" Andromeda''s words made the priests chant louder, their own blessings feeling the awakening of a deep bond between the flesh and the Magi-Tech. Lucrezia had gained another powerful ally that day and when she strode the battlefield there would be bloodshed of the likes none had seen before.
King Jason read the reports as a headache began to kick in the back of his head, his people were working overtime to find out what was Lucrezia''s plan and just now they got confirmation that she did not in fact plan to storm the castle and become queen. "Who witness the fight?" he asked out loud and two women came and kneeled. "Sirius, Aqua, is it true? did she break the girl''s knees? and used high-level necromancy?" Jason asked fearing their answer would confirm the report. "Yes sir, the woman fought as if she was the goddess of war herself, the shade indicates she has mastered the necromantic arts to her fullest potential without a blessing from the undying" Sirius spoke. "Cruelty given flesh that woman King Jason, there was no honor, no mercy and no nobility in her fight style, but the shade..." Aqua trailed off. "The shade? out with it Aqua" Aqua cleared her throat, Jason disliked being rude to his people but the woman was fond of trailing off to her own little world. "Lucrezia fights with the ax, as the northerners are known to do, her style has marks from the Knights in her service, the style old Wulfgrem warriors used in the past and the mermen from the Diamond Reefs" Aqua focused and spoke "But the shade sir, she fought with a Shogunate Katana! and there''s more, the weapon was from the Arch-Duke himself! well at least anima was given form thanks to the many spells she no doubts employed to summon the shade" "Sir you know what that means right?" Sirius asked, "The reports Luna gave last week all but confirmed it, the Arch-Duke is on her side and she''s poised to take the kingdom!" "You should lay off those conspiracy novels you read so much Sirius" Aqua snapped back at her friend "Sir, I have in good confidence that Lucrezia wants nothing with the crown, but she knows Queen Malphas and you will come for her" "You think that? really?" Jason asked. "Aye my liege, she waits for you in those fields, once she kicks that shameful noble in the gonads she knows the Queen will make her move, we have already intercepted intelligence about the weapon made to circumvent the immortality granted by the fields, and the support from the Red Dragon" Aqua spoke with conviction "We will see a battle this world hasn''t seen in millennia, my sources already speak of the movement of the ascended" "Then we fight" Jason sighed "Gods the things I have to put with thanks to that woman" "The things we do for our loved ones my lord, the things we do" Sirius spoke with a grin on her face. "Indeed" Jason fired back with a sigh, this would be a long few months. Chapter 52: Faceless Soldiers (FIXED) "In the glory of combat, we will be eternal! gods, men, devil, and those beyond will hear our name and tremble!" Speech by the mad king of Grannarius. Rose de Castellon. Tomoe and Hvtial stalked among the freshly cut grass road leading to Lucrezia''s base, all around them, boxes, carts, men, and women running, walking, and sometimes flying with boxes, and weapons, among other stuff. "Her forces must be already number in the 600. not counting the men she brought over as personal guard" Tomoe spoke in hushed whispers "Look at that, Dire Horses! I''ve seen the ones in the steppes of the Shogunate but never the Northern ones! Majestic creatures" Hvtial pointed to the skies "Gods above and below, Principality airships" The girls looked up into the horizon, indeed those were the banners of the fair elves who seldom interacted with people outside of their borders, above them a great white dragon flew lazily, enjoying the warm breeze and sunshine on her scales. "Fighters? nay it can''t be, those are learned folk from that pretentious hellhole" Rose spoke and spat on the ground "Gods I hate those elves" Hvtial shared a glance with Tomoe, and she nodded, yep best to not talk about it, she was still sore about the princeling it seems. A small group of Wulfgrem Knights trotted by on top of their horses, on patrol it seemed, Tomoe stretched her hand to pet the hell beast that towered above her, and somehow she didn''t lose her arm to it. The Knight who was removing her plate was astonished "How, it took me 2 full weeks to even earn the right to get near that beast!" in that strong northern accent of theirs, which was music to Hvtial and Rose''s ears. Tomoe smiled "I am from the Steppes ser...?" "Yda" the young woman took her glove off and shook Tomoe''s hand "Ah makes sense then, Hjor here has Shogunate Steppe blood on her, from her mother I am told" Hjor neighed with pride "Yes I know you love your mother very much" "Come to join the war effort eh? if you need directions just keep going straight, Richard is taking people now, our Knight Commander is drilling the first batch of recruits, well as much as he can with noble scions..." Yda trailed off "If you want to ride Hjor here you gotta join first Little one! I''ll be around!" she somehow made her plate and gloves disappear and got up the horse, riding off to what the trio assumed was the Knights Barracks. "Dimensional storage? that''s not something you give to random rank and file Knights" Rose whistled "No wonder Lucrezia is having so much cargo being moved to here" The trio marched on, on their way more and more of the Academy trinity activity was revealed to them, from ironworks to crafts and even the art folk! the School band was out in force, their shiny new Magi-Tech instruments blaring tunes that filled the trio with fervor. "Music, she''s using music to deepen the fighting spirit of this "army" of hers, a curious strategy, do you recognize this song in particular Rose?" Tomoe''s ears perked as she got close to her friend, who nodded a no. "Nay, not a tune my Knights sing or is played in the ballrooms of high society, this must be one of her own if I had to guess, word around the Academy is that the morale of her men has raised tenfold thanks to it" Rose finished with a sigh "All that without a single Musical Blessing, can you believe this Hvtial? my old man had to grant a lease of a small town to our Chief Bard in charge of keeping morale, and the woman barely knows how to lift a sword!" "I feel your pain Rose, our Bard was the same, but at least the man had raised himself 5 daughters who became fine Knights for my family" He spoke with a bit of pride. "From different mothers, who were also Knights, in your family''s barracks" Tomoe laughed, as did Hvtial "Heads up, we are at the end of the journey" The trio saw Richard sitting, in front of him a desk full of papers he was neatly writing on as his Blessing blasted divine power all around him, some came to talk with him from time to time but it was clear even in this lull the man was keeping busy. "I heard he''s fucking Lucrezia together with the Arch-Mage boy, every night" Rose whispered to her friends, Tomoe had a look of surprise but Hvtial shook his head "Lies by those who dislike her, we would''ve seen the signs at class had something of the sort happened with any sort of frequency" "Oh excuse me mister Saal''Xhir fan number one, I can''t smell cock juice a mile away in the womenfolk of the Academy" Rose fired back with a smirk only for the Dragonkin to shake his head. "Enough with the banter" Tomoe barked before the two started yet another round of their dance that indicated (to her at least) they had a thing for each other, she approached Richard with fast steps, with the other two following right after her. "Tomoe" Richard smiled "And our class representative as well, is that Miss Castellon I spy as well? Look at that, what do I owe the honor of your presence on this fine day?" Richard spoke without stopping writing on his paper, his eyes locked with Tomoe''s. "That''s a good skill to have" Rose spoke "Yes hello Richard, I''ve come here to join Lucrezia''s little offensive against that rotten bastard" she spat on the ground again. "Indeed, We were wondering if we could be placed together in the same squadron? We three have ample experience with monster hunting and dungeon delving, as with horse riding, archery, and siege tactics" Richard made a face that said he was impressed "Siege tactics huh, she did say that...Ki and Magic-users as well..." he began filing a piece of paper, Rose looked at the paper and the others in the pile Their paper was crimson. Richard smiled, his head still down while he wrote "Sharp as always Rose, indeed you three are not being sent to do grunt work" he finished writing it and got up, in his hand, three small badges died crimson "You are working under me know, as officers in training for my very own squadron" An elven woman, her face marked by combat scars came up to them and saluted "Force Commander Richard, you are to meet by Lady Lucrezia right now" He smiled and rubbed his hands "C''mon friends, time to meet the woman in charge!"
Kaine watched as Richard, fresh off the meeting with Lucrezia and now his personal aides from their class began mastering spells that would take even the most gifted acolyte a few good weeks of intense training and studying. "Richard" Kaine called him and the boy froze up, with a nod Kaine began casting spells that would flush out any Fallen or Cosmic entity influence on him and there was...Nothing, nothing but the hum of his Divine Blessing of some merchant god. "Anything wrong with my form Kaine?" He asked looking at the spear, whose insides now had a wand because Lucrezia was apparently a fan of modular weapons. "Yes, you are breathing too much mana into what should be done with shaping and weaving, don''t overpower your spells as our friend does, you don''t have the reserves for it, I''ll give you a book on shaping exercises and math-related equations that will better the flow of your inner reserves" Richard''s trio as Kaine had internally called them whispered amongst themselves when Lucrezia came into their little training ward, she was flanked by a Kitsune woman that was as tall as a bloody ogre, she was somehow hiding behind Lucrezia''s frame, her face red as a lobster and on her back an impressive staff of silver and obsidian. Kaine''s eyes narrowed, that was Imperium made, it had all the hallmarks of their particular brand of sorcery, focusing on speed and overwhelming power that could make a single battlemage as strong as a full battalion. Lucrezia stopped and watched as Richard mixed spells and attacks, his spear flowing in focused strikes. "You fight like an orc," She said to him "Anyway, Kaine this is Kaede, our strongest would-be mage of this army" the tall woman squeaked and went even redder, if that wasn''t a fever then Kaine probably found the shyest person in this Academy. "Greater Blessing by that whelp who thinks too highly of herself for being so close to mana" His patron goddess boomed in his left ear, he could only shake his head at the fact she spoke with him now of all times. Petty, stuck in her ways, quick to anger, the Goddess of Time was a handful, but Kaine dealt with worse. "A pleasure miss Kaede" he extended his hand but she refuses to shake it, nodding to avoid even more awkwardness he turned to Lucrezia and asked, "You aren''t known to attract shy people, what gives?" "She was being bullied by her classmates over her Imperium ancestry, you know how these nobles are" there''s always a note of disgust when Lucrezia spoke of nobility, even when she was part of that group Kaine noticed. "Squandering talent thanks to preconceptions, a tale as old as time" Kaine shook his head, his parents told him time and time again about this, trying their best to not do it in the places they had power but seeing it happening right in front of him was another experience altogether. "Well Lady Kaede, you can be absolutely sure I will not treat you so rudely" Kaine spoke in an authoritative tone staring down the woman who was taller than him by more than a few centimeters. She nodded in silence, good she got the message. Lucrezia called Richard and his gang for a walk, leaving the two alone in their field, Kaine not minding the fact she was silent as a grave went on casting repair spells across the place, as Richard had wrecked his targets and surrounding area quite a bit. "...Why do you shape your mana like that, it feels off like the math isn''t there but..." Kaede spoke after a while, her curiosity getting the better of her. "That''s mostly Gwenarius influence on my spellcraft, notice how the weaving of this particular repair spell for wood and metal seems to bend the Agameon coefficient" he pointed to a target in the background "Yet it doesn''t it, now an arch-mage might be able to do the same with sheer mana as the stuff is interlaced with time-space but it would take literal centuries for said arch-mage to even begin to crack this" A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Kaine began rattling off odd and ends of how having control of a Greater Blessing like his was a monumental boon to his spellcraft, Kaede''s eyes were wide as a child as she fired more and more questions about it. "Oh but you totally can get there, matter of fact I bet you Gwennarius would get mad even" Kaine had a smirk on his face "A greater blessing by the Goddess of Magic, that''s powerful stuff Kaede, powerful enough to fill the gap and get to my level" "...Or surpassed it..." The Kitsune smiled for the first time and Kaine knew she had finally broken out of her shell, teased along by his mastery of the inner workings of the many theories and principles every mage knew but was hungry to know more, for knowledge was power. "Now I''ve rattled off theory to put my mother to sleep," Kaine said "Fancy a round of spell-slinging? whoever can fire the most spells before tapping out wins" Kaine snapped his fingers and a tally made out of mana went up, showing their names below it. "I don''t know as many spells as you do but sure! let''s do this!" She grabbed her staff and began sending down bolts of green lighting, red gusts of air, and dark ice spears into the targets, Kaine grabbed his Magi-Tech staff and got to work, weaving a series of magic missiles, a thunderbolt cloud, and will-o-whisps that would track down and hunt moving targets. As he watched her and she watched him he saw more than a few issues in her form, poor mana control, the Blessing was doing triple time duty in regulating the power output of each spell, fixing shaping and weaving issues on the fly, and filling the blanks where her technical and arcane knowledge failed or wasn''t there, to begin with, in a way she reminded him of Lucrezia''s using magic as a hammer, uncaring to the many improvements she could do to it. Kaede was expecting a rant from him he could tell, that those bullied had their tells when it came to handling stress and Kaine was seeing how as time dragged on and he kept quiet just firing more and more complicated spells she was getting nervous, after a good 10 minutes she stopped and turned to him "You...Aren''t saying anything? about my form or my poor control of mana?" "Figured you were already aware Miss Kaede" Kaine replied matter-of-factly "now that we had our proper introductions made in the dance of the arcane" Kaine cringed a little when saying that, even if it was something his parents drilled on him ever since he was a wee child "what do you have to say about my form?" She was caught off guard, her face going red again "The way you mesh divine energy and mana together is just...beautiful, I can feel the touch of it around you it''s like a type 3 aegis spell even!" she had a smile when Kaine nodded, it did feel that way after all. "But I can also see you aren''t using it as a crutch, the math in the shaping is plain to see even to my untrained eye, each spell was fine-tuned for efficient usage in the field of battle or outside of it, like how you cleaned up the targets without even sparing a glance, power hums through you Kaine, it is quite honestly a terrifying sight" Kaede finished looking away. Yeah, the woman was right Kaine thought to himself, he smiled a bitter smile when certain memories of one of his many fights with his old friend Arthur came to mind. "Monster, you aren''t even human! you have no emotions!" He screamed at him for some silly reason or another he couldn''t remember well, maybe failing to fix a toy? or breaking it he would have to ask Arthur, the Queen made him apologize on the spot after Kaine complained to his parents. The boy was quite worried he would lose Kaine as a friend, and to this day he still felt bad about calling Kaine those names. It was true in a way, Kaine wasn''t one who would cultivate regular friendships with regular folk, he lived for magic and found a deep nearly existential fulfillment in peeling its many layers, of course, recent events have made him more social but in his mind, he still thought to himself as that loner of yore... "I...I wanna learn it! Teach me how to be that good please!" Kaede spoke forcefully, her words fast as she nearly trembled on the spot after saying them. "Of course, let''s get on it shall we?" Kaine smiled, oh yes, he was about to peel yet another layer of it. And become stronger in the process.
William watched as all the paperwork on his desk was done, yet he was still missing a crucial piece in this whole ordeal. A name and coat of arms for his army. Calling Lucrezia''s army would''ve been a bit too on the nose, so he called up his friends for an evening brainstorming session, he would be cooking of course. "William, your little divine-powered force field is working on screening the recruits, I can feel the blessings pulsing and checking for spies and people with foul intentions getting rejected at the entrance, I must say using symbols of worship as mobile broadcast stations is ingenious," Lucrezia said as William felt her soul just beneath his skin, the woman had grown fond of staying with him this close nowadays, she could enjoy the sensations faster, there was still a delay on them but she was learning to appreciate it. "It has been done before, by the ancient orc clans in the first skirmishes against the sea elves, way before the Imperium nobles arrived in these lands, back in those days the then building nation of the Orcs had plenty of strategists who relied on these out of the box maneuvers for their clan wars, sadly when the sea elves invaded they aimed first at those individuals" William explained. "Ancient Vermilion history, you speak like you were there hehe, you think they will come back? the sea elves I mean?" Lucrezia asked. "It was speculation that the sequel to the game would take place when they gathered enough power to strike Vermilion and her allies, so yes I am sure they will be back, luckily for the new world, we are here to stop them" William grinned. "I wonder when those responsible for all of this will show up, what''s your plan when that happens?" Lucrezia asked, her voice betraying a hit of fear. "Hear them, even after derailing their plan, or assuming I did derail it, if they come in peace then it would be only right to not be rude, after all, they might have the keys to solve this and grant your body back" William explained. "And you?" she asked. "Go home? stay and become a shade? I don''t know Lu, we can cross that bridge when we get there" William nodded to himself "Time to go, we gotta come up with a name for this outfit"
The walk to Hope''s living quarters was a short one, all around him people who had joined up to his cause stopped and saluted, or shook hands, gave kind words, and such, one interaction, in particular, stuck with William. "Lady Wulfgrem" An ancient-looking beast-kin that looked like the meanest crocodile William had seen stopped him on his walk, the Knight saluted him and said "My liege has pledged alliance to his cause and so do I, House Farshores has seen horrible times of late but something tells me you and yours will grant us another chance" There was a tinge of hope there that touched William, his mind searched for the name of the house then it clicked. In a thread on the forums talking about tragic NPC fates, one of the early NPCs named Annabeth Farshores was killed in the Dragon''s maze while searching for gold, her state was stolen by some sort of scheme a corrupt priest of Uumaries was running, and her parents were shipped off to be sold as slaves, the story was told by idle chatter among NPC dungeon delves across the length of the main campaign, and the player could find her family sword in the deepest levels of the place, its fluff text said. "For my family, for never-ending retribution, for honor in death" the words escaped William''s lips without him noticing, it was one of the end game weapons, after all, any build that needed a longsword would recommend grabbing it and thus he knew the weapon well. The Knight smiled, a bittersweet smile but that tinge of hope William felt before was still there "Aye Lady Wulfgrem, tis an honor knowing you know our motto, I look forward to the day we take that castle" It was nice William thought to himself, he had saved that young girl''s life, maybe even her parents with the razing of Talos, with such thoughts in his head he breached the hallway into the dorms, and took the stairs to Hope''s room. Standing at the door was Saa''ryu in her casual clothing, near her five or so odd young women all in pajamas or night gowls looking extremely pissed. "Lady Lucrezia! what is the meaning of this! bringing men to this side of the dormitory!" the leader of the pack said, she was carrying a wand and a sword. "Battlemage" Lucrezia said with a smile. "We are having a meeting to discuss important details for the offensive against the current holder of the Fields" William was short and to the point. the girls all nodded their heads, some even smiled at William "That''s right Lucrezia, kick that perverted cunt in the balls" one rather tall dwarven girl said, the leader shushed her with a hand gesture "Manners my good woman manners! you can''t be saying things like that!" She made a gesture to disperse her posse "It seems my own turned against me, no matter, I don''t want to hear nothing improper coming from this room you hear me Lucrezia? you may be a... non-believer but I trust you to respect decorum and protocol anyway" and she went off, the giggling of her friends echoing in the hallway. "Did the woman think I was going to run a goddamn orgy in the middle of the week? blimey," William said out loud only to hear Saa''ryu giggle as well. "Can''t take a sneeze without those Uumaries people getting mad at you can Lu? c''mon get inside, we have been waiting for you, people are getting hungry" William laughed and both walked into the room, it was a spacious one at that, with a big round desk in th middle. "Ahh the round table, party management, item management, leveling up characters and talking with them, nostalgic" Lucrezia whispered in William''s mind, now that Arthur was near she had retreated to the Monolith. "You speak as if you were there for the first time play" William fired back. "I was" Lucrezia replied with a strange tone, goddamn William thought to himself, how much of his memories have been compromised already? he halted and thought about Lucrezia''s memories, but nothing came to mind, was the process of the melding of the souls acting strange? or was Lucrezia more susceptible to it due to being the one who should''ve inherited William''s Terran knowledge? "Lucrezia please, don''t stand at the door staring at the unseen like you are a wraith whisperer, the living hunger for substance and they want your food!" Castra-Cam spoke from the table with a laugh "wait I guess she is kinda like a whisperer now, given that frankly absurdly good soul familiar spell you cast in the fight" Richard smiled "You know if this was a story, written or sung by tavern bards you would be the perfect villain Lucrezia, lead a coup, killed kin, can use necromancy!" he laughed "and yet these good for nothing noble scions were lining up to join our little band, even their Knights spoke highly of you and your mad hat plan you know, they weren''t so keen on having me lead the war effort on the other hand..." William waved the worries of his friend off with a smile "Mind not, soon they will see your worth Richard" He patted the young man on the back. "Ah, I see we have a new quest?" William asked when he saw a smug-looking man holding a spear "Thadeus! come to join us?" he asked. "Indeed dear, your field commander asked me for some pointers and I thought why not? the Academy has been boring for a while now and you hehe have the gift to spice things up" "Less talking more cooking, I am dying of hunger here, Castra tried to send me to the long queue twice" Kaine spoke "Lucrezia you doing the cooking right? I got the goods in the kitchen right there" William saw many faces in Hope''s room, new and old, the trio from his class, Orthus, Raffa, and Dhkar, the Ancient? Oh wow, he thought to himself as the woman bowed "I have seen your little terraforming project Lady Lucrezia, an honorable craft the people who once lived in the south of these lands were found of, I''ve talked with your people and your master crafter, your little vehicle will be ready before combat" she spoke in a low tone "I was never one for war games, but I''ll make an exception for you, Together with young Kaine and his companion we will be leading the would-be mages of your army. William felt the news wash over him, Ancient magical combat support, holy shit! "Holy shit!" Lucrezia mirrored his reaction, William bowed and spoke "Thank you, from the bottom of my heart" William was waved off by the ancient, much small talk went by as he made pizza, cheese sticks, breaded chicken, and hamburgers topped off with a variety of juices and alcohol (Kaine was drinking coffee like a madman while eating the first batches of food) Time went by slowly, eating and talking about the many things to do in the army filled the room with a warmth tinged with a splash of the grim reality of combat, even if their lives were spared thanks to the magical barrier employed at the Fields. "We need a name," William said and everyone nodded "Any ideas?" "We also need a symbol, for the flags and armor" Richard spoke taking notes "Maybe a sword and a Magi-Tech rifle crossed?" "We need something else to complete the coat of arms" Kaine took out a big shield from below the table "Honorable Dragoness would you be willing to lend your likeness to our cause" Kallista was taken aback "Oh you making me blush young one! surely you mean my dragon form yes?" Kaine nodded "Then of course dear, I am sure Lucrezia there would be delighted in that" William nodded "I didn''t know you could draw Kaine" he scoffed and said "Math involves quite many drawings, plus there are spells that can bridge the gap where my skills are lacking, now silence" Kaine began his rituals, the image etching itself on the shield, a beautiful silver dragon, in her forearms a sword and rifle. "Kaine, not silver" William pointed out and the man nodded, with a snap of his finger the dragon went white as snow. "If only old Kravier was alive, he would be more than happy to become the sigil for your army little one" Kallista smiled with nostalgia "Legendary fighter that one, but after the loss of his mate he decided to leave the mortal coil" "And the name?" Hope asked. Richard raised his hand, all eyes fell on him as he spoke "Reclaimers" Chapter 53: Foreseen "Stage one of every invasion the armies commanded by Morugarius when conquering realities for All-Father involves surgical strikes by dragons and minor gods meant for shock and awe tactics, Swift and violent, it is a tried and true method of combat and has yet to fail Supreme Deity." On the war of the cosmos, a primer for would-be fighters. Volume 1 "The Magi-Tech armor spoke to her? Really?" William asked the priest who was tending to a new batch of bolt action rifles made by the Academy forgers who had joined him. "Indeed my lady, Andromeda Farro is her name and she even named the construct, a deep bond was established between them and even our lowest acolyte felt it!" The priest said with vigor. "Farro... well Brother Steelhelm be sure to help her get acclimated with the Blessing, I was told it''s becoming quite common back home for people to receive it now, a side effect of enforcing the worship, at any rate, have her train with the other pilots as well, we might have an ace in the hole with that girl" The priest nodded and William went off, he had dealings with the girl''s father after all. "The name reminds me of something, a side quest considered by many players one of the saddest pieces of content in the game, the girl suffers from heavy depression for being an unwanted child, and her brother sucked all the good parenting out of her folk and she was raised more like a pet than a daughter" Lucrezia chimed in her voice soft "What makes it worse is that if you fail a particular series of minor tasks and speech check she ends up killing herself in the dungeon" "And even then, the best the player could do was make her give up death by random dungeon enemies, no real support for her depression be it medical or even divine" Lucrezia sighed "Grim, and now we have her talking with inanimated objects and training to become a pilot, you think that''s a good end, William?" Lucrezia asked. "I honestly don''t know, what if I just condoned her to a life of trauma via military experience? what if her situation gets worse? I am afraid mental health is beyond my power, I am not a psychologist or psychiatrist Lu, the best we can do is have a sit down with her, and see if we can get any help with the divine, but even then it is a shot in the dark" William spoke, weary. "It''s not common but some nobles employ mind mages to deal with such issues, it takes a while to get the papers for it and it also costs a good deal of gold" Lucrezia explained "Why do you want to talk with her father by the by?" she asked. "He''s the best musician of the new world, blessed by several musical gods, chief among them Goddess Sona, who''s the de facto leader of the art-based divinities here in Vermilion, with his expertise together with the Academy band I aim to use more stolen songs to essentially make our little army immune to low morale, they will fight to the last as the horns, drums and brass plays along with the choir" William explained "I do not doubt that the Queen will use that weapon against us, and bring the full might of the Royal Knights to bear on this fight, of course, our allies will help but..." "You are afraid that the recruits will falter, just so, after all, fighting against the Royal Knights is paramount to a swift death, very few houses have the necessary training and technics to match them on a 1 to 1 fight, our house among them, together with the Arch-Duke and his Griffin Riders, the Queen will have no power in the air and our guns will pierce their Ki" Lucrezia stopped then snapped her fingers "Oh gods, William you must find a way that she doesn''t strike our new allies! Talk with Hope, have her contact Morugarius, then have the Goddess deliver the proposal to the Queen!" William rubbed his chin, sometimes he missed his beard "I... I will do that, good plan Lu, good plan, don''t know why I didn''t come up with it earlier..." Lucrezia beamed, William could feel her soul radiating happiness as she was just below his skin "Now let us meet this master musician of yours"
Juniper Farro stalked the mighty studio his Goddess had personally built for him, his hands trembling ever so slightly as the ghosts of the many students and friends he had over the years spoke at him and each other, his wife Mars Farro was waiting for him at the end of the room, her face a mask of sympathy. He grabbed her hand, feeling the bones old and weary, they shared no words, for there were no words left in them, all they could do was walk like a pair of freshly raised undead wondering why they were denied their afterlife rest. It was a short walk to his home, opening the door he was welcomed to the sight of his daughter eating something in the kitchen, Juniper never liked his younger child, she was a mistake, a fight of fancy him and his wife regretted to this day, and the girl was aware of it, he wasn''t dense to think she didn''t know they gave special treatment to their older son, be it food, drinks, clothes or weaponry, parties, travels to distant countries, he asked and they provided. Until he died that is. Had it been a year already? Juniper couldn''t remember, his mind was in a perpetual fog ever since that abomination delivered his son on an Ice Coffin, his armor shining and his face perpetually locked in sheer terror, he cried for 3 days and 3 nights when he got the news, he and his wife both mourned for months. Pike Ferro, Knight is sworn to the Queen and personal guard of the First Prince was slaughtered like an animal by that whore from the north, Juniper cared not that it was revealed the First Prince was a heretic blasphemer who conspired against the realm with the terror from beyond the stars, he and his wife could only grieve the loss of their dear son, their little boy they raised giving it all. Food lost its taste, water and wine were like ash, even the warmth of the sun and his wife were cold like the howling winds of winter, even his mighty Greater Blessing felt cold, his Goddess turning her back to him in his direst of moments, the lowest of lows in his life. There were no words exchanged when they got into her line of sight, the girl simply finished her food and left for her room. Before Juniper could react, his wife turned to the living room door, a knock came from it. "Do you have any visits scheduled for today dear?" Mavi Ferro asked, her voice creaking as she wasn''t talking much ever since they buried the body of their son. "Nay, let us see who is" they opened the door together, leading to the front view of the yard, surrounded by a small wall and a tiny gate. Behind the gate was a tall woman, her ashen blond hair tied in a ponytail, azure eyes colder than ice pierced into Juniper and Mavi''s soul, a wordless gap came from his wife as they noticed the metallic arm that was shining under the coat hanging from her shoulders. Behind her a woman of Shogunate descent, her maid outfit was one nobility favored among these parts. "Good afternoon Master Farro, I am Lu-" the whore opened her mouth but Juniper couldn''t take it anymore, his Greater Blessing lurching him forward, giving him power unmatched as the blue fires of hatred burned in the core of his very being. "Killer! Kinslayer whore! YOU KILLED MY BOY, MY BABY BOY!" A wordless scream escaped his lips as divine energy surged through his body and he manifested a Knight''s spear, not any spear, but the first one they had forged for his son. The weapon shone in its blue color, the flames of hatred licking at Juniper''s hand as he aimed, a single throw! a single throw and he would avenge his son! "DIE!" He screamed as he threw the weapon, it flew true, aiming straight towards the whore''s head. He saw her eyes widen in surprise, then second by second they narrowed as a shade appeared, her form was the same as Lucrezia''s, in her hand a sword that neatly sliced through Juniper''s spear, she took a combat stance and for the first time in a long, while the old musician felt the fear of death creep in, shaking him from his rage. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Then she was gone, the maid tapped something in her ear and they vanished in a shift of light. Juniper collapsed as the adrenaline and divine energy ran out, the old man was shaking on the ground until his wife found the strength to lift him and drag him to the living room. Juniper stood there with his wife until well late at night, shaking from anger and sorrow, and so did his wife.
Velkarius was among her kin in the city of gods, it was a regular day for her, after having weeded out a few selected individuals blessed by Uumaries she had busted down another slave ring inside Vermilion. Something old Freide wasn¡¯t happy with, thanks to Lucrezia¡¯s hand on the matter, the woman kept going above and beyond, Velkarius was sad she couldn''t reward her more, after all, she wasn¡¯t ready for the strain of the summoning of an avatar of divine nature brought to the body and soul. Friede marched towards her, the old bird was positively angry, her nostrils wide and her face red. ¡°Again, again! Why do you work with that noble?!? can¡¯t you see she will use you for her gains? Do you think your reputation will survive after she betrays you? It won¡¯t damn you!¡± Velkarius tilted her head, saying nothing as she waited for the woman to calm down. She did eventually, the quiet meadow they were picked up in activity by the many bugs and other animals who lived there. She was ready to speak at length (once again) that her new chosen was not a liability when another of her kin joined, breaking into the meadow with fantastical speed. ¡°Sister Sona, to what do we owe you the pleasure?¡± Velkarius asked as the green-haired goddess stopped and looked around, her eyes wide with fear and resignation hanging around her like a ghost. ¡°Sister Velkarius, Sister Friede¡± Sona nodded ¡°I''ve come to talk with you Velkarius, about your new chosen¡± ¡°See! Even poor Sona here agrees with me! She¡¯s a menace Velkarius¡± Friede exploded but Velkarius raised her hand and said. ¡°Calm yourself, and remember who gave the right for the destruction of Talos and the weakening of Uumaries sister of mine, for I will cash on those favors later,¡± Velkarius said with a smile then turned back to sona ¡®Please dear friend, what is it you want to know about Lucrezia?¡± Sona fidgeted around, looking like she was about to be scolded ¡°One of my blessed was a well...little rude to her the other day, and even without a blessing of mine or related to the arts it is well known she is a genius when it comes to music¡± Sona began talking faster ¡°Thing is the dear sister of mine, that genius was meant to join forces with my blessed, I saw the tidings a day earlier even and was going to even gift her a small token as a symbol of lasting friendship¡­¡± ¡°And? What did your blessing do?¡± Asked Friede who was paying attention for no reason at all but the fact she was near. ¡°He¡­ well here¡¯s the thing, his son was killed by her when he was called by the first prince of vermilion to escort him to the north, the young man was the prize jewel of the family, to the point they neglected their daughter¡± sona explained. ¡°That¡¯s the girl that spoke with one of Ra¡¯tyrius¡¯s machines and awakened a greater blessing thanks to it,¡± Velkarius said out loud ¡°All-Father¡¯s balls Sona, don¡¯t tell me she killed the man?¡± ¡°Nay sister, she stood quiet as he hurled insults at her and then went away, and just lost a major boost to my sphere thanks to it¡± Sona sighed ¡°I¡¯ve checked his mental state via my blessing, he will never forgive her, had him the means he would kill Lucrezia himself¡± Sona took a second to collect herself and continued ¡°Can you do anything Sister? Talk to her?¡± Velkarius rubbed her chin ¡°Does it have to be this one specific blessed? Don¡¯t you have someone in the Academy blessed? A professor or something?¡± Sona¡¯s eyes shined ¡°I do! But her skills¡± the shine died down ¡°She is good, but not on the same level¡­¡± Friede sighed ¡°Sometimes sister, sometimes you have to make do¡± patting the Goddess in the back ¡°And that¡¯s why you don¡¯t deal with nobles, now goodbye¡± and just like that the woman was gone. The two remaining Goddess stood watching each other ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do Sister, but knowing that woman she might¡¯ve done the whole thing herself by now¡± Velkarius smiled ¡°I¡¯ll be seeing you then, goodbye¡± Sona stood alone, praying to her father that Velkarius could talk the human into it, Gods knew she needed the sphere shift that would come of it.
William was sleeping when a beautiful woman with dark long hair and a long pitch black dress visited him in a dream. ¡°Thank you for your time young one,¡± Velkarius said with a soft voice, her divine power not booming but flowing like warm waters from a shower head. ¡°Lady Velkarius, a pleasure to see you as always, is there anything I can be of use to you?¡± William smiled at the woman, there was something strange with her today, she lacked that wit and cheeky attitude she was infamous for, something strange was happening here. ¡°Indeed Lucrezia, something strange is happening¡± Velkarius smiled ¡°I have received a very unique request from a dear sister of mine, Goddess Sona. She commanded the many artists and musicians of Vermilion¡± William¡¯s face darkened a little. ¡°Ah, I was told of your little run with one of her blessed, while I won¡¯t say I don¡¯t get it where he¡¯s coming from, I can say that he will not harm, I¡¯ve made sure of it¡± Velkarius walked to William¡¯s side ¡°Now, Sona here tells me you have something big for her, we came up with a plan to help her. as you may know there¡¯s another Blessing here in the academy¡­¡± ¡°She wants me to team up with the music professor huh? An interesting proposition knowing she¡¯s a perfectionist and knows the professor isn¡¯t exactly the best of the best¡± William explained out loud ¡°But together we could reach greatness¡± He nodded to Velkarius ¡°Tell Sona I will team up with the professor, and in her name, we will bring forth a new revolution of the arts in Vermilion in aways none have seen before¡± ¡°Aye dear, I will¡±
William was inspecting the grounds for training when a lone woman stepped into them, in her back was a Nodachi, a longer blade forged only for experienced warriors of the Shogunate. "Sword Saint Emma it is an honor to meet you," William said in awe, out of all NPCs Emma was one of the hardest to recruit, involving absurd levels of esoteric knowledge to get her to ally with the player, William didn''t blame anyone who looked up guides for it since it was in his honest opinion way too obtuse and downright disrespectful. An opinion many were against, saying it added depth to what was essentially a bog standard recruitment prompt. "Lady Lucrezia, I was told you are looking for powerful fighters to take back the Fields of Saresval? Well, I''ve decided to aid you in this endeavor, that rotten man has personally slighted me and my beloved, and gods above I will have his head for it" cold fury burned in her eyes, ah yes indeed William thought to himself, her girlfriend was a kind and shy girl whose focus on the magical arts of illusions was talked all over. William knew of the event Emma was talking about, a ghastly affair stopped when Emma nearly killed Azarel''s knights at a party after he had tried to kiss her girlfriend. "It would be my pleasure to welcome a Sword Saint into the fold" William bowed "Together we will make sure that bastard pays his dues, even if the magicks in the field will protect his rotten life" Emma nodded "Indeed, but putting him through a world of hurt will be just as good, hopefully, that is" Emma smiled "And I am not a Sword Saint yet Lucrezia, that title is personally given by the Empress and she''s a bit busy for the ceremony" Emma sighed and smiled again "I was told you are working together with the Arch Duke yes? and that you have mastered a few basic technics of the Shogunate''s fighting style?" William summoned the Katana gifted to him which earned an approval noise from Emma, she nodded as if saying "Go ahead" and William did just so, Lucrezia came to the edge of his skin, subtly showing him how to handle a long blade so that his muscle memory wouldn''t act like it was the ax he was so used by now. He also managed to pull off one of the special moves he had Lucrezia come up with, which earned a noise of approval from Emma again. "Impressive, still I can see you are too used to that ax of yours, dragonbone right? many warriors of the Shogunate who favor the ax tended to struggle when they have to fight with other weapons but I guess you are a natural when it comes to the art of warfare, still, to have the Arch-Duke to side with you, that''s a major move my friend something your high nobles will sure be talking about" They kept chatting until Richard came around with Veronica of all people, the elven warrior was training him on how to deal with Knights and his eyes betrayed the fact he knew she wasn''t just any regular mercenary. The four trained together, Richard''s increasingly mastery of might and magic spooking William a bit, he had no blessing for it, after all, was the man a hidden genius that the game simply didn''t tell the player? Nay, he could see that was the product of hours upon hours of hard work. Veronica even pulled William to the said after they were done, Richard too busy training with Emma on the technics of spear fighting of the Shogunate, the woman herself was enchanted with his Magi-Tech weaponry which then attracted a few crafters who promised to show her how they work if they were allowed to make a full set of Magi-Tech gear, Emma was beside herself with joy, after all, who doesn''t like free good loot? "Lady Lucrezia" Veronica bowed "Your boyfriend shows incredible leadership potential, a rare breed that one, keeps his ego in check, can adapt to the situation at hand, and is always looking for gaps where he can have an advantage, and with no Blessings for it! If you two weren''t a thing I would''ve claimed him" there was a predatory smirk on the elven woman''s face. "I think you got something wrong in your food today Lady Veronica, Richard''s a dear friend but we aren''t together" William explained, "Pray to tell me, where did you get that idea from?" Genuine surprise marked Veronica''s face "Gods it''s the talk of your little army haha, you, him and if rumors are to be believed even the young time mage, well then if you aren''t together guess I have a shot at this" Veronica took off and William was left in a daze. "What in all hells was that about? gods to think one of the fiercest combatants of Grannarius has a thing for the bookish type, reality is stranger than fiction" Lucrezia chimed "Wonder what will he say when she confronts him" "Now I have the image of the two fucking in my head" William sighed "Well, I ain''t one to meddle in the affairs of two consenting adults, let''s hope it doesn''t interfere in the training eh?" Lucrezia said nothing, but William could feel she had a lot to speak on the matter for some reason. Chapter 54: Sometimes, good things do happen "Gods and Goddess of Healing come in all shapes and sizes, often working together to make the world a better place" A primer on the healing arts, 15th Edition. The Arch-Duke, his wife, and daughter arrived at the Academy early in the morning, from up high in their flying mounts, the Greater Griffins flew in formation, silent wings beating against the northern wind. "Are those...Gods look at those war machines! Magi-Tech made all of them" Viviene spoke up high "Father that''s enough people to..." "Storm the palace, a proper war camp in the Wulfgrem style, but I see no catapults or trebuchets" the Arch-Duke looked around only for his wife to point her finger to a raised stone platform. "Artillery, Magi-Tech as well, nearly 10 kilometers worth of range on those big ones, the smaller ones have a limited range," The Arch-Duchess said in a soft voice, "My sources tell me she has most of the low nobility progeny and their Knights already, a few high nobles are also working with her in building the army" "Including the Arch-Mage son and the Royal Knight Commander son, not to say the third prince..." Jin sighed "look at it, early in the morning and they are running drills already, never would I''ve imagined she would be able to put some order in these younglings" Viviene looked in awe at the sheer scale of the camp, she felt a tinge of fear as well, meeting her savior was on her mind for weeks now, ever since she told her parents she felt ready to go back to the Academy and noble social circles she was worried sick about facing Lucrezia. In her mind, the image of her and that boy fighting remained a strong constant, her precise and fluid motion clashing with his wild and sheer relentless approach to combat, fighting the evils that were placed in her soul and memory... Strong winds came from up high, white scales gleaming in the morning sun as a massive dragon descended upon the trio, the griffons made a series of noises, talking among themselves. "Lady Kallista! It is an honor!" the Arch-Duke spoke with gusto in his voice, the dragoness turned and smiled, her sharp teeth were quite a sight for Viviene but she felt a connection to the dragoness, ahh she thought to herself, it was the relic Lucrezia used. Tied her and the Dragoness together somewhat. "Not just me young human, her as well" A deep voice boomed inside Viviene''s head as the dragon dived towards the camp, she caught the beast transforming into a humanoid figure as she landed. "She spoke with you?" Jin asked "Mind not her forwardness daughter, Lady Kallista is a close ally of Lucrezia and helped her in her fight against the first prince forces, I am sure she will also stand with you" "Are you implying I will join this fight father?" Viviene asked. "Yes, I can see it in your face" He fired back with a smile "It will do you some good as well, to fight is to honor our traditions, to weed out those who would abuse their power and deny their fellows their rights, and this" he pointed to the castle that was in the Fields "Is a worthy cause indeed, even if we are bordering on treason against the crown haha" They rode until finding a roof to land, the dean welcomed them personally and walked them through the procedure to enroll Viviene back into the Academy, they got her a nice room at the top of the dorms, and after a few hours were done for the day. Viviene stare from her new windows as her parents flew away, her griffin was nested on the roof of the dorm and she slept soundly as night had already fallen, in the distance she saw the fires of Lucrezia''s war camp burning, drums beating, and drills being shout to recruits. She felt her Greater Blessing pulse faster at the sight, Viviene had wanted to repay Lucrezia somehow, she didn''t need money or power, she was a duchess after all. What Viviene could offer then? her body? the thought made her tremble, she could fight then, fight the good fight as the daughter of the most powerful Arch-Duke in the last 300 years, holder of a Greater Blessing of Healing and master of blade and spell both, plus an awesome griffin! She sucked up air and dressed up, the northern winds had already made the temperature drop as she walked the stairs down to the main road leading to the war camp, some joining her in the walk talking about their day in the Academy. A checkpoint with the sign that said "NEW RECRUITS HERE" in bold red letters told her where to go, a young man manned it with tired eyes, in his hands was a brand new copy of the book Lucrezia wrote and was currently well-liked among the populace according to her parents. The man looked up "Ah come to join? A bit late eh but the night shift is best for quick processing, makes dealing with the paperwork faster" he got up and offered his hand "Richard Silverbrand, Field Commander and everything else of this enterprise" Viviene shook his hand and said, "Why is the field commander processing recruits this late?" Richard smiled "Ah, can''t help it, Blessing you see? plus it calms my nerves, dealing with high nobles is tiresome" he gasped "Uhh sorry slip of the tongue haha..." the man was red in the cheeks now. Viviene laughed, she found him charming in a way "Well then, where do I sign Mister Silverbrand?" Richard got it together as he began handing her paperwork and a pen "these 2 forms please, you are free to omit your blessing as well, its just there for formality" Her paperwork done, Viviene handed it to Richard who had put the book down and glanced at the form, his eyebrows rising when he read the name. "Forgive me for acting so informal My Lady" he got up and bowed. "No need to be so stiff Field Commander, we are equals on these hallowed grounds," she noticed him relaxing fast "It seems you are used to being casual with high nobility, experience?" "Well Lady Viviene, I am leading an army for Duchess Lucrezia, and on friendly terms with the third prince, at some point I just couldn''t keep up the whole court manners bit, too slow, too stiff" Richard explained "I am glad you aren''t one of those if you don''t mind me being honest" "I don''t, I am also glad you can adapt fast, now then if you would..." Viviene couldn''t say it, but he got the message anyway, she could see the man was smart. "Right this way then," Richard said and pulled the sign saying "CLOSED FOR THE DAY" both of them moved deeper into the camp, towards the most important person in these fields.
It was late but many were still training, Viviene was struck by the tall suits of armor, nearly the size of a combat golem the dwarves were so fond of being repaired by Academy students. "Zenos units, those with the red paint in their chest section are our brand new squadron being led by Miss Andromeda, she''s quiet but quite the fighter when she''s inside her unit" Richard explained as they walked past it "Crimson Squadron according to her, we will see if the name sticks" "How many have joined so far?" Viviene asked out loud. "Nearly 750 now, mostly low nobility and commoners looking for glory, winning back the Fields will give them a major rep among the others" Richard explained "I will admit it''s getting a tad too large now, I am afraid we will be hanged for attempting a coup..." he smiled at his bad joke. Both walked into the biggest tent but couldn''t find the woman in charge, Richard talked with a trio who were doing paperwork, from the looks of it Vivivene assumed they were his aides. An elven woman walked in, her face hidden behind a stone mask and her entire body covered in clothing common to the desert regions of the world, she walked with purpose and stopped right beside Richard. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. "Force Commander, it is time for your training" Viviene knew that accent, Grannarius! The elf turned her mask to Viviene, her head tilting to the left "A recruit? why is she here?" "That would be Miss Autumnflower, and I suggest you behave yourself around her," Richard said "I don''t want Lucrezia on my ear, especially after the little question you asked her the other day" Richard snapped his fingers and a suit of armor blue and gray manifested itself, in his back, there was a spear, shield, and staff. "Duly note Commander" Viviene saw the smirk on her lips, the elven woman was enjoying herself. "Viviene, it seems Lucrezia has retired herself earlier than usual, I am sure you will be able to meet her tomorrow in class..." Richard scratched his chin "If you wish you could join us?" There was something about that elven woman that was making Viviene''s hairs rise, the way she walked and talked, how comfortable she was with that mask and Clothes. Not wanting to dally she nodded and the 3 of them went towards a nearby empty training field. Viviene sat down on the ground as the two began to warm up, after a few seconds they exploded into action, magical and martial arts being weaved effortlessly, Viviene noticed how Richard had a downright uncanny sense of spatial awareness, he always knew where the next blow would land, but his actual movements were full of imperfections, a diamond in the rough as her father would say whenever a new squire showed talent. Shield bashes, keeping the offensive at a distance, and using the magical staff that had preset magicks in it made him a fearsome warrior, she smiled at the memories of training together with her Knights, those were some good fights she had back in the day... A flash of green tore into Richard''s leg as he whelped in pain, the wound had blown away his armor and he was bleeding heavily from it, Viviene didn''t skip a beat, immediately flaring her Greater Blessing sigil that laid upon her back and chest with the golden aura of her patron Goddess. In a second she was beside Richard, her hand in his leg as the wound closed and the horrible scar revealed itself, twisting into the flesh like a snake! "Windreaver" She whispered as the masked elf bared her teeth like a predator, Gods above Lucrezia was working with the godsdamned Grannarius Royals?! how in all hell did she get Veronica Windreaver to train her army!?! Enough questions! the voice of her father roared in her mind, The enemy is right in front of you and it must be defeated! Viviene shook herself and got up. "Blessed be her warriors, for we are the bulwark" Viviene chanted and a set of golden yellow swords and shields came from thin air, she grabbed a pair and immediately went on the offensive, Richard himself took a few seconds but together they managed to drive the elf back. While not that strong of a fighter, Viviene kept just enough attention from the enemy that Richard was allowed to fully hammer her in, and for every pound of flesh she took from the young man, Viviene was there to top him off, slamming his staff in the ground he summoned forth a set of stone walls and they had the elven woman cornered, a flurry of blows ensured as her smile grew into a maniac grin. With a snap the elven woman somehow made Viviene''s weapons go away, and then slapped Richard''s spear, shield, and staff like they were made out of wood, but they didn''t stop the offensive, Richard rained a series of blows, kicks, knees, and elbows like he was a godsdamned monk, Viviene not wanting to be outdone now also began throwing wild haymakers and jabs, a kick or two for good measure as well. She then saw a golden opportunity, Richard managed to palm strike the elf and that knocked the air out of her, Viviene who had been pushed a few meters back ran like the wind and jumped, throwing the nastiest punch she had ever thrown in her life. The mask broke as the pain made the young woman cry out, a pair of crazed eyes locked into her as the face of one of the most dangerous enemy combatants of the last war burned into Viviene''s eyes. Richard sighed and jumped back, with a snap of his fingers he produced another stone mask and lobbed it towards Veronica whose eyes were still locked into Viviene, she grabbed the mask mid-air and placed it on her face again, the wild grin turning into a sly smile. "Not as strong as your parents, but then again, healer blessings" Veronica shrugged "She''s good Richard, real good" "Yeah, nearly knocked your dumb ass out, and what was that last attack anyway, you ruined my leg section again! now I have two nasty scars..." he whined "Anyway, thank you for the healing Viviene, it took a good 3 days to heal the last one" They gave their farewells as Viviene made the walk back to her quarters alone, many questions burning in her mind, chief among them the presence of Grannarius''s military personnel on Academy grounds. Tomorrow will be one hell of a day she thought to herself.
The same dream again Viviene thought to herself as she stood watching the duo fight their mad struggle against the darkness, the boy a maelstrom of Ice magic and Steel his eyes wide with fury and rage, he fought with such tenacity Viviene was scared to think what would happen when he no longer required fighting, would he turn against her? Lucrezia on the other hand fought with the grace and style the High Nobles were known for, but a new weapon was being wielded by the fair maiden, Viviene''s family Katana forged in the Shogunate and keepsake of the clan. The dream ended there, the sun''s first rays rising the young woman from her slumber, she got out of the bed slowly, her once deep black hair now platinum gray, which according to her parents was a side effect of the usage of the draconic artifact, which could also lead to Dragonkin in the family line if Viviene ended up married, that or her offsprings at the very least. "Marriage" the words felt hollow, devoid of meaning and emotion, they shook her but now the artifact was doing its work. "Who''s the boy, he doesn''t look northerner, Lucrezia has no living relatives anymore as well, there''s something there I can sense" Viviene spoke out loud, she had developed a habit of talking to herself of late, a stress response maybe? who knew. The walk to the classroom was not uneventful, word got out that she was back and many came to greet her, it was tiresome but that socialite muscle that was long rusted came back to life in full force, with a warm smile and trained words Viviene became the "Heir of the Arch-Duke" again, a peerless beauty and pride of the nation as the bards were fond of saying back in the day. The change of hair color was a hot topic among these interlopers as well, but after a few choice words she managed to resume her march to the classroom, on the way she spotted more Knights than ever, it seemed that Lucrezia''s little bout of war lit the fire under them, from doing laps to training and everything in between. The class was half deserted, minus what Viviene came to know as Richard''s trio, Rose de Castellon, Tomoe, and Hvtial the class representative who did a full formal welcoming gesture when Viviene entered the room, to the sound of roaring laughter of his companion Rose. "Ya goddamn goof, the sun is barely out and you are already acting out! Oh for shame Hvtial! at this rate you will end up maidenless and without an heir for the clan!" she slapped the table in laughed but the class rep didn''t break, the man was strong Viviene had to give him that. "At ease my friend, we are all equals here now, doubly so" Viviene flashed her badge of membership from Lucrezia''s army, the Reclaimers. "I know Lady Viviene, but proper decorum must be followed, you are an important member of our kingdom after all" He dusted himself off "Mind not my companion, she''s on her period and instead of the usual anger, she becomes a bumbling Buffon" he masterfully dodged pencils and sat down in the middle of the two young women. Viviene smiled and found an empty spot to seat (Thanks to Hvtial) she waited as the class began filling up, people coming up to greet her and many glancing in her direction. When Arthur and Kaine arrived things took an emotional turn, Arthur, in particular, hugged Vivivene in a bear hug that made her get misty-eyed, raised as siblings she always had a soft spot for him, the little brother she never had. Kaine, on the other hand, looked older, more mature, and far less full of himself, but she could see deep into his eyes how relieved he was, underneath that carapace of his he was fiercely protective of both her and Arthur after all. Together with the duo was a tall young woman, her face plump and red, her hair also of the same color swayed in a neatly done ponytail as she shyly bowed "A pleasure to meet you, Lady Viviene, I am Hope, Arthur''s..." the word was left hanging in the air, Viviene couldn''t help but smile as she hugged the girl "Gods it is good to know that dork found someone who he can trust, we are sisters now!" she exclaimed much to Arthur''s and Kaine''s mirth, Hope breathed a sigh of relief and smiled as well as they all sat together. The professor for the morning period arrived, the man looked tired but happy, he gave Viviene a short bow before making way for the final students who were still getting into the classroom. A glint of Magi-Tech alloy made Viviene snap her head towards the door, where the visage of an alabaster-skinned young woman with a silvery arm stood, she looked like she had just woken up and was dazed from sleep. in her shoulders was a beautiful coat with the symbol of the army Viviene had just enrolled into. Her eyes locked with Viviene''s and in that split second she saw the maelstrom of rage and fluidity of grace combined into a single person, a smile began to form on her face that reached those azure eyes of hers. Be still my beating heart Viviene thought to herself as the visage of the woman burned into her brain, gods she was beautiful, to her side the familiar face of Richard appeared, the two had a bond, Viviene could see it, Lucrezia immediately relaxed when he got into the room by her side, she trusted him deeply. "Settle down everyone, we may have royalty in the room but I am still the one who will grade you at the end of the term, no behave, and then we can properly greet our new arrival," the professor said with a smile as everyone sat down, Lucrezia way down near the front of the class by Richard''s side. As the classes went on Hope came to Viviene''s side, her face holding a myriad of emotions. "It''s you, the reason she did all that she did" Hope whispered to Viviene "Lucrezia told me about you, the way she speaks its like...like she holds you in high esteem, and yet..." "We barely knew each other before all of this" Viviene nodded "You think there''s more to her actions Miss Yeager?" There was a hint of humor in Hope''s face when Viviene asked that question, the redhead girl nodded "There''s always more" she replied as the class came to a close and people started to get up for the cafeteria "C''mon, time for the face to face with her" Chapter 55: And the Music? "What happened to the sea elves you ask? they retreated to the deepest underwater trenches of the world, hidden and protected by fell magic and miracles of fallen gods, many a mermen princeling tried their hand at breaching their defenses. Still, none have returned thus far, while the more paranoid ones keep track of their movement outside the borders of said trenches, waiting to light up the bonfires at the shores of the orc lands. Will they return? Yes indeed my dear reader, one day they will and we will fight them once more" On Vermilion and the Orcs, a primer for young nobility. "Now, remove your jacket, cape, and shirt if you would please," William said as he and Thadeus sat in the middle of the leading training yard of his war camp, Thadeus laughed as he spoke. "Lady Lucrezia, I am afraid I''m already taken, I will marry my childhood sweetheart, matter of fact she''s just there looking at us and fuming at your order" The son of the Royal Knight''s commander began removing the articles of clothing William had told him to with mirth in his eyes. "Christ alive William, the girl is there," Lucrezia said "Out of all times to act up your nudist fetish you choose now? tsk tsk" "Don''t you start, you know this is how it goes" William sighed, he knew that if he explained himself he would be just digging his grave further so as any member of the clergy, of which he was now High Priestess and messianic figure he called in the higher powers. Alas, the High Mother was a tad busy to answer the call. "I felt that!" Hope screamed from the people who had gathered to watch the ritual "High Mother!" A growl came from deep within the crowd, which then parted like a sea as Kallista walked up to the ring around the training yard "Lucrezia, can you explain what you are doing? Mother isn''t found of calls like that, she''s very much the figure of punctuality" "Thadeus here has the potential to become a Dragoon" William''s words stunned everyone around him, a predatory smile appeared on his lips as Thadeus''s eyes widened in surprise "Of course, we need the go-ahead from the Lady Upstairs for him actually to be able to tap into such power" Kallista was bewildered "Saark didn''t bless anyone, only one dragon blessed a human to become a Dragoon and he didn''t sire mortal children" "But he was family" William smiled "The more descendants of your brother were birthed the more of the Essence of the Ravager''s Wings crystalized, a rare phenomenon that happens across quite a few dragon families, for example, Mar''ver the Scarlet Doom..." Kallista raised her hand with her eyes closed and said. "Oh gods above and below spare me the lecture, it''s like I am a hatchling at the island, you even used Mar''ver as example gods! Nobody liked uncle Mar''Ver! he was the worst you could have in a planetary assault..." Kallista smiled "Oh you sly devil" "I don''t get it" Spoke Thadeus''s sweetheart from the distance "But if you hurt him I swear..." "She''s not, don''t worry about it" Hope spoke flashing the woman a sweet smile that made the flames of fear die down inside the woman, as always Hope was running Saal''Xhir''s blessing and charming people left and right thanks to the powers that were amplified via All-Father''s blessing. "A Charisma/Speech run, if you teach her enough Magi-Tech we gonna get Jury-rigged miracles soon" Lucrezia spoke with a warm smile on her spectral face, William did the same as she turned back to Kallista "Can you get her to pay attention at the very least? I just need energy, the Greater Blessing will allow me to awaken his inner potential for becoming a Dragoon" William explained and Kallista nodded, she closed her eyes, and for a second William felt a colossal presence behind him, it was gone in a blink of an eye. And Thadeu''s back was burning with blue fire, it then warped into black flames and a long serpentine shape flared into the young man''s back, he yelped in surprise and said "It tingles, what in damnation?!" "Wouldn''t make sense if it burned you, humans lack the scales to take on the true power of Mother''s fire" Kallista explained matter of factly "Now your powers have been awakened young one, but you still need to learn how to tap them, if you are willing I can teach you how, it won''t be easy, but with my methods, you will have those powers under your heel in no time. William nodded to him and walked off with Kallista, his sweetheart following him with worried eyes, William sighed in relief and cast a glance towards Hope and Viviene, Hope''s eyes widened as she touched her back and gasped. She locked eyes with William and her face said it all "EVEN THAT?!?" William nodded with a smile, yes my friend, even that.
It was a warm sunny day in the capital as Hope, William and Richard marched towards a now familiar place of worship. "Ye gods, that "elf" advisor of yours won''t stop hounding me Lucrezia, every godsdamned day she''s demanding more and more of my time," Richard said with a sigh "I feel bone tired and sleep is barely keeping me sane" "So, what are we doing here?" Richard asked as William looked up to Saal''Xhir''s cathedral. "Hope will learn a very special benediction from our divine sponsor," William said with a wry smile, he was still annoyed he had to make an appointment to get this spell, given how much he had done for the Goddess and her church. "She''s a Goddess William, you can''t expect her to just drop what she was doing to please you, as powerful as you are you still just a single human..." Lucrezia said "And it didn''t even take that long! you wanted this done yesterday remember? that she got time for you in such short notice is telling enough " Yeah right. The cathedral was already buzzing with people coming and going, William recognized a few students from the academy and important nobles he knew from the game''s lore, they were ushered into a waiting room and sat down on expensive seats. "Manticore Leather, done by an infernal leatherworker no less, Gods this would..." Richard couldn''t find the words so William helped the young man. "Be worth half a city, Saal''Xhir is one of the few diplomats with the Infernal legions, it stands to reason she would have access to their goods, it''s a major source of revenue for her church in fact" William explained church secrets like he had read in a book somewhere. Both Hope and Richard locked eyes and shook their heads, used to him loredumping by now. "It would be wise to keep such information to yourself my dear" one of the High Priestess came into the run, her pale face red to the ears "I won''t even ask how do you know such things, had it been anyone else we would have to kill you, alas our Lady likes you a tad too much" She pointed to another door down in the corridor "Come with me" For a split second William saw Richard''s hand move to the hidden dagger he kept on his person, another part of Veronica''s training he told him earlier, the man was becoming a fine warrior and even finer leader, who would''ve thunk the merchant NPC had it in him? "We all have the potential for it William, it is in our very essence as the People of Vermillion" A hint of pride escaped her lips, Lucrezia really did love her country didn''t she? Breaching the inner sanctum of the Cathedral. William came face to face with a veritable battalion of Priests and Priestesses, all at the ready, in the corner of the room stood the Paladin Commander who gave him a nod. "As asked by our Ally Lady Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem, Heir and Duchess to the Wulfgrem lands, we will now begin the proper rituals to summon a Divine Avatar" the High Priestess spoke with a commanding tone "Make sure your mana reserves are at maximum and do not mess up the incantations!" Silent nods all over, the men and women of Saal''Xhir''s cloth were ready! "Lady Hope, please stand by my side, repeat the incantations as I speak them, and channel as much Ki and Mana as you can while doing so, our rituals have been made with both sources in mind, your blessing will do the heavy lifting as long as you have the mana to spare" the High Priestess explained. Hope gave the woman a silent nod. "Use the rage at stage two should the mana drain become too steep" William spoke with a smile, the High Priestess''s eyes widening as result. "Goddess, Lady Lucrezia you will turn this young lady into a monster at this rate" she gave William a piece of her mind "Why?" Hope spoke, her voice cold as ice "Because we have a monster to fight" "So be it then, with Lady Lucrezia and Mister Richard as witnesses you have stated your reasons and I find them worthy," the woman said her tone dead serious "We begin" William stood at the entrance, his eyes enthralled by the light show and magical elements, the ritual proceeded at a brisk pace until the funneling started. William''s mind''s eye caught two women among the ranks nearly falling over, with a leap aided by magic he soared above the ritual and landed with a solid thud near her, he felt someone warp to his side, Richard''s form materializing. The High Priestess didn''t even move, she was fully committed now and William could already see the ritual backfiring if he didn''t do something he turned to Richard and said "Remove both, we are going in" He gave him a nod, fully trusting as always. A noble quality. The bodies removed William felt the gaze of the Paladin Commander on his back, the woman doing nothing creeped him out but he was out of time, stepping into the formation he began funneling every single iota of mana to the incantation. Richard did the same, but he took a knee shortly after it, his mana reserves weren''t small but not big either, he was about to pass out when the Paladin took him by the neck and stepped into his place. "I hate the funneling, gives you a nasty headache" the woman spoke with a neutral tone as the ritual came to a climax. The world shifted, the High Priestess''s body morphing into the most beautiful woman William had ever seen in his life. Saal''Xhir had descended into the mortal realm. "Well well well, it seems our little darling can master a potent spell as soon as she sees it, what are the odds?" Saal''Xhir smiled and that clouded William''s mind. "Stupid pretty woman..." Lucrezia complained in his ear. Hope was staring at the Goddess, divine energies meshing with the ambient mana and prayer forming the outer layer of the avatar, with but a few seconds she began repeating the chanting, and with a smile on the High Priestess''s face, the divine avatar spell clicked again, a shift in the air had Saal''Xhir appear directly behind Hope, hugging her from the back with both arms. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. A gesture of deference to the blessing of the All-Father, showing total willingness to aid the caster, it would be the same with virtually every god and goddess alive sans the All-Mother herself, who would take more than a blessing from her husband to come down to the mortal coil. William was already working on that. "Ah! it does feel good knowing we will finally get the chance to fight together! It''s been a long while since my days as a proper warrior in the frontlines, fighting to expand our lord''s sphere of influence, the good old days hehe" Saal''Xhir spoke with mirth in her voice, her faithful bowing in reverence once but getting up as soon as she made a gesture. "Marshall your forces at once my faithful, for you too will step into this field of glory and carnage, worry not little Lucrezia, my flock will be at the ready be it with steel and fire or with healing and care" Hope smiled "Thank you Lady Saal''Xhir" The Goddess nodded "You are too kind dear, thank the All-Father and your friend there for giving me this golden opportunity!" After a round of farewells they left the main temple and were on the streets again, Richard took the party to a hole in the wall that had great deep-fried dishes made via some sort of ancient dwarven machinery, sparking the idea of air fryers in Williams''s mind. another small time Magi-Tech gold mine for his pockets. He was going through a monumental amount of gold of late, and every other precious metal known to mankind, thanks to his infinite mine which according to the latest report had started wielding quadruple the ore thanks to the sheer amount of magic being poured into the underground of the city. How that was even possible he and the people he had put in place to study the place had no bloody idea, the game also didn''t have such a mechanic so he was essentially in the dark there. "Lucrezia!" Richard snapped his fingers in front of Williams''s face, taking him out of his thoughts "I asked when you will finish the third book?" "Ah, soon soon, the editing is being done and soon we will start printing it with the new Magi-Tech printers that can show images and sounds, it''s going to be a good ending don''t you worry, my dear," William said with a smile. "How come you haven''t got a blessing for the arts Lucrezia? you can sing, play multiple instruments and even write some of the best fiction to grace the world! the Gods in charge of those spheres ought to line themselves for you you know?" Hope said as she devoured deep-fried chicken breast "I can barely get one to help me with the songs we gotta sing at the camp..." "I am afraid I lack the blessing my friend, I am at my spiritual limit so to say" William laughed as he began to dig into his food, idle chatter filled their little table as the worries of the here and now faded away, it felt good for a while but all of them knew they had things to do and so with a sad smile William got up, Hope and Richard following suit. "Onwards my friends, Onwards as always" Richard spoke in reverence, an old motto of the Royal Knights.
Castra-Cam stood tall in a random training field of Lucrezia''s war camp, around her were 2 vampires and a shifty-looking Wolfkin, she sighed as the poor feller jumped in fright. "This is highly irregular isn''t dear cousin?" Vampire number one, a sharp-looking human woman said with a smile "that we would be allowed to be trained under the auspices of the famous Castra-Cam" "Indeed, this is a rare honor, and one that takes centuries to be given, my I wonder how this happened so fast" the elven vampire laughed a shrill laugh, which made the Wolfkin jump again. "Gods above you vampires are spooky as the tales of the forefathers," he said with a cough "Good afternoon Lady Castra, I am Muv, Necromancer in training for the tribe" he extended his hand, which Castra took for the shake. Strong, warm, firm, Castra knew Muv''s tribe, the Skeletal Wolves were an ancient family that had once about 500 years ago helped Vermilion royalty with an undead issue they were having, this granted them land, a noble title, and the rights to perform their flavor of necromancy, which relied heavily on rituals rather than common spell craft. "I must agree with my...Peers, this is highly irregular, I thought it would take me becoming a Lich to start the life as a Scythe of the Undying..." Muv left the words hanging as Castra sighed again. "Lucrezia pulled strings no mortal but her can pull, and that''s as much as I was let to know" the human vampire spoke with a cold smile "It''s that blessed of the All-Father, my dear, she can do things must of us even dream off" "Indeed my love, Indeed," the elven one said with a flair "Oh but where are our manners! I am Edyrm of the White and this is Haryk Virbalar, my eternal beloved!" If vampires could blush, Haryk would''ve done so Castra thought to herself. "Ok, you two have the basics down for hand-to-hand combat right?" Castra was holding her figurative breath, Muv stalked forward with a curious look in his eyes. "Only the basics I am afraid, after we left the principality they made sure we wouldn''t spread their "secret" arts with the rest of the world," Edrym said with a shrug "I thought we would be a magic-focused unit?" "Just so, but I operate on a better safe than sorry approach to combat encounters, and that means having a solid foundation of hand-to-hand combat, Muv how about you?" Castra turned to the Wolfkin. "Aye, trained in the ways of the spear as my forefathers" he smiled, ahh Castra thought with a grin, Vermilion and her love for the spear. "Country of Knights," Castra said with a whisper and he nodded. It was a tiresome afternoon into night, if she could get tired, poor Muv was gasping for breath, the vampire couple had already left, laughing as they changed their form to mist. Giving her farewells to the Wolfkin, Castra decided to clear her head with a walk around the campus, all around her voice perked up talking about the daily happenings, and Lucrezia''s army. With Hope as an endless bargain bin with any god that wasn''t the All-Father Lucrezia had in weeks done more than entire dynasties of Vermilion had done in years, favors on top of favors, even the professors spoke highly about her, how classes had improved all around thanks to her giving those under her command discipline and such. Strange, very strange, it was like she could see the future, and according to Kaine, his Goddess was very selective when it came to showing others the many many branches of the river of time. "Very old, ancient motherfuckers like to do this, roleplay as a kid and live up these sorts of fantasies, yet her soul is as right as they come, otherwise she wouldn''t learn Necromancy the way she did..." Castra could only sigh, she had fought with the woman, saw her at the height of combat, and yet there was something there, something that made her doubtful, and unable to fully trust Lucrezia as the others did. "Paranoid wreck as always" Castra whispered to herself under the moonlight, hoping no one had heard it.
Idun shivered in the depth of his new improved workshop turned church, Lucrezia had given him an impossible mission and Ra''Tyrius himself had come to aid him with it, it was in all levels but theoretical High Heresy against the All-Father and his front line troops. A dragon killer. Using the schematics of the Zenos line, together with Razgriz''s high mobility and explosive force and a fair bit of guesswork that was essentially throwing ideas to the wall and seeing what sticks Lucrezia herself was jumping with joy via the illusion spell, when they learned this unit could break the sound barrier they were over the moon! the power of Magi-Tech was such a wonderful thing. Yet even when elated Lucrezia didn''t lose sight of the human element so to say, as she began drafting schematics herself for a special suit for the pilot to be able to sustain the gravitational force such a machine would no doubt put its pilot under. Where even the most Agile of skirmish-focused Zeno''s units were bulky, the new prototype unit was sleek and slim, made for speed, and armed with phase-spears, Magi-Tech''s answer to teleportation magic turned to combat, these spears would be fired in between the material and immaterial, and connect in the blink of an eye to their targets. And for the death blow, a concussion device that would rattle the Dragon''s brain cage, displacing the vital organ from its place and instantly killing the beast, Lucrezia said the idea came from a far-flung empire from a different universe that managed to fight the dragons. Until All-Father himself took to the fields of battle. Idun wanted to question how she was privy to such knowledge but didn''t these nobles receive special training and education for this? he recalled many a tale about dwarven scions going to fight the good fight in the cosmos, it made sense to him she would know. It didn''t make sense when she turned that knowledge into something to be used against the dragons, but then again he had just finished a ship that could fly, not those fancy bird-like airships, no Lucrezia wanted a ship that could fly, and Gods above Idun and his lads delivered! "Knightmare," Lucrezia said in a low whisper "Idun, see who''s best for the new model and have them train against the large beasts from the wastes" and then she was off, Idun looked to the new creation he had birthed into the world "Knightmare" the play in words was not lost on him, with small divination aided by his patron God he saw 3 girls, bored out of their mind in a yard practicing swings with swords and axes. Their names were burned into his mind, ever since Lucrezia ordered the mandatory worship of Ra''Tyrius for the war effort against Queen Malphas Idun was coming to terms with being the leader of what was one of the larger religions of the country, thankfully Ra''Tyrius himself was always there to aid him, Lucrezia too which he found oddly comforting, she was so busy with the army in the Academy and yet found time to talk with Idun nearly every day. It even became a joke among his peers, she was the daughter he never had, away but still worried sick for her old man, he smiled at the thought as he got to work, finishing the final touches on the prototype unit. Finishing his work and sending a runner to the girls to see if they wanted to join the Knightmare program (Lucrezia''s own terminology that was now standard among the populace) Idun went down to the giant mess hall the Magi-Tech workers, city workers and general populace of the underground city would dine together, the warm air with a touch of sulfur greeted him as he saw friends and followers alike going on about their lives. Idun sat together with a few novices, giving them tips and tricks of the trade, it never ceased to amaze him how every race and every walk of life could join in what was just a year ago a failed ambition, destined to die a cold death in the wastes. It didn''t matter where what or who you were, Magi-Tech was the great equalizer, the great redeemer, it was no wonder the priests back in Steinheim would get caught up in the religious fervor, to see this raw power being refined into action was intoxicating. Still, a part of him yearned to explore the stars, to move away from war and warfare, and safe travel across the great cosmos on enormous ships the size of countries, these capital ships, as Lucrezia called when he explained to her in one of their many talks, would take years to build and need express permission from the big man upstairs, as he was the one in control of interstellar, intergalactic and interdimensional travel. Lucrezia often got sad when he mentioned space as if she had great nostalgia for it, she had shown him schematics for a space station the size of the capital, where such missions deep into their solar system could be launched. Idun didn''t fail to notice the weapons platforms in it, from theoretical kinetic bombardments capable of leveling entire cities with raw gravity alone to high output beams, spells powered by crystals, and even a mirror-like weapon that would focus the sun rays into a wave of death. "Once this is all over my friend, I will make sure we can visit the moons or the other countries," she said "I really want to meet the elven civilization that lives on those moons, it said they are there in case anything sneaks up from space you know? All-Father always has backup plans for his backup plans. "Idun!" the dwarf master heard a shrill voice call from the distance, the merwoman Hraax of the Diamond Reefs standing with a smile on her face "It worked! by gods her mad design worked!" He was fast to get close to her "Gods above! It can fly and stay underwater now! and the weapons?" Hraax trembled slightly "All the krakens of the northern seas came with offerings thinking we would invade them, the beam spells alone were enough to put the fear of the All-Father on those old barnacles..." "But?" Idun waited. "It is the main cannon, I know artillery Master Idun, Lucrezia made sure my people understood its power and that thing is anything but, it makes no sound, gives no heat, the projectile is a steel slug barely the size of a hand! and yet it tore into an undersea mountainside like the hot knife through butter!" Hraax shared a look with Idun and took a deep breath "That woman... Gods preserve us if she ever turns against us" "She won''t" Idun said, his voice brimming with conviction "And how many shots you people got before the cannon began showing signs of defects?" Hraax shook her head "It didn''t, we ran out of ammo" Idun smiled "Then we have our fleet and air force ready for deployment, the Imperium, and Grannarius forces are ready, and our other allies are also ready for the call, how about your people Lady Hraax? are you ready for the fight?" The merwoman gave him a predator grin, like a shark ready to devour its prey "Aye Master Idun, we are ready and willing to show the southerners why their ancestors feared the northern seas once again"
William stood among the choir of the Academy band, it was quite the ordeal convincing the crew to let him sing, but after some finessing, and an actual bribe which made Lucrezia snide in smugness calling William a true noble he got the band to play the song. His ears picked up as the many instruments were tuned, especially the new one he had just birthed into the world, complete with pedals, amps, and a nicely done crystal finish. "Out of all the instruments, the electric guitar is my favorite" Lucrezia said as William nodded to the young man holding the guitar, according to the professor he had a greater blessing for a musical god that specialized in niche and new instruments, and within minutes had achieved near mastery of the damn thing, William was green with envy, wishing a musical blessing of that caliber. "Lady Lucrezia? are you ready?" the conductor asked, and William nodded. The instruments and musicians exploded into action as the band played with full force, many already gathering around to hear the new song. When the drums and electric guitar kicked in, blending perfectly with the song cheers exploded from the crowd, it was pure energy down there William noticed with a smile on his face. Victory over this land, we will fight for our liberty Armed with the greatest of men and machinery This is the fight for our truth and our destiny as one into the skies, under the sea, over the land, we will remain free. Victory over this land, we will fight for our liberty Armed with the greatest of men and machinery This is the fight for our truth and our destiny To the fight, we will take stealth in the air, jet fighters flare take them apart, all-out attack, strength on the ground, tanks will abound nowhere to run from our guns the cunning of the sea, in submarines silently run then we strike we will be mastered by no one we fly the flag of the triumphant Victory! William''s voice felt horse at the end, his entire body shook with the raw power of the song, he saw the guitarist glowing as his blessing took over thanks to the first proper usage of a brand new instrument ever! It was a song of war and battle, perfect for his army as they stormed those fields and put that scum to the sword. Chapter 56: A curious soul ¡°In wanderlust, we see the empty world, in sadness, we give birth to new life, in happiness we rediscover the joy of living¡± Words of a Spirit of Summer. Rhae was so bored, if a deity of boredom was confirmed she would be its number one follower, the old elven master was hammering away a new sword for some stuck-up noble or something, she didn''t pay attention as the bitter man complained about nothing, in particular, she guessed that the man could only truly express himself via winning, cursing and generally being a horrible person. He was nearly at the bottom of the list of all the people she could shift into, she didn''t want parts of his bitter psyche bleeding into hers, people with strong personalities always had a lasting impact on her own after all. "Rhae! if you would use your skills we could get these swords done twice as fast! I swear your father would be appalled if he saw you pursuing this new wave of technology! Smithing is where is at my girl! your father knew it best!" The bitter elf screamed from the forge. "He ain''t dead you old fart!" Rhae laughed as she finished putting together a clockwork spider she had imported from the dwarven lads of Steinheim, her hands twitching in delight, a quirk she inherited from her mother, but the old fox preferred woodworking herself. Speaking of her parents was the only time the old elf looked happy, they were old adventurer buddies, until his wife betrayed the group and him, leaving them to die in an ambush, he loved her too much Rhae''s parents said, a true connection and when that connection was broken the way it was, it broke him as well. The young Kitsune gave her farewells to the elf, a sad smile on her face as she peered into the bottomless well of bitterness that lay in that man, she took to the skies with a jump and felt the surge of magic flow through her entire body and soul. Her form shifted, one of the earlier and most well-developed changes her father had taught her, that of a rare Eagle-Kin, natives to the south of the Imperium, a favorite of his and something they bonded over across the many years it took for the young kitsune to master her shapeshifting abilities. Circling the Academy, her place of learning she saw the now massive war camp of one Lady Lucrezia, Mad Duchess of the northern realms and all-around bizarre character, incredibly social, smart as the best mages, keeper of esoteric lore, machine builder with an entirely brand new form of technology (even if Magi-Tech as a whole was more of a bridge between regular sciences and magic/incantations) a bloody necromancer! The woman had it all, adding to the rumors of her being an incredible cook that created the pizza, coffee, and other amenities that had been sweeping the nation and the surrounding countries Rhae was wondering, was this an actual human? or did some bored god take over her flesh? Of course, for Lucrezia to become a necromancer she went through the most horrifying method those jumped-up gravediggers had to "test" their flock, it had gone public a few weeks back and Rhae was taken back by the brazenness of her character, something was up there, partly worried part curious about the new inventions she flew by the air checkpoint the Academy had for flying types and went straight to the war camp side fields, where the hum of machinery and glow of crystals glittered against the backdrop of twilight. Her eyes were glued to the 5 red machines, chief among them one painted in crimson so deep it had to be magic ink, expensive but good tastes she thought to herself. The machine moved with violent fury, a front-line bruiser meant to take damage and dish out twice as much, its twin blades phased and sometimes turned into pure beams of energy, in the background two support-type units laid down an impressive amount of spellfire, and what Rhae had come to know, Magi-Tech fire as well, cannons and rifles that could pierce thick Ki shields like butter. Then the crimson unit moved in. She heard, for the first in her life what only theorized old dragons and very reclusive beast-kin could do, break the sound barrier. The gust of wind was enough to reach her! the crimson unit had a rifle and sword, with a shield strapped to its back. Holding against this barrage of sheer destruction was the mad woman herself, and for a split second she felt their eyes lock up, Lucrezia dodged and weaved among their attacks like a wraith, but in that second Rhae knew the woman was aware she was watching. "Spooky"
Another boring day or that was what Rhae wanted to say as her tail wiped left and right in excitement, the lilac tip a blur as she rushed forward barreling into nobles who refused to make way. On the little stands that were placed on the outside patio near the cafeteria, Rhae saw up close that fearsome suit of armor, and her mind spun on itself, the ideas she had, the things she could improve! It felt amazing. huge crystalline horses on parade, the soldiers riding them armed with strange tube-like weapons, unlike the earlier design Rhae saw in the newspapers, these looked like they could fire multiple shots in quick succession, a fearsome weapon capable of making even the most downtrodden peasant into a killer in less than a week. The perfect weapon for someone aligned with the goddess that hunted nobles and their ilk "The ZENOS MARK I is the next evolution of infantry-based warfare, a highly modular Warmachine meant to turn the tides on any field it is deployed to! Unit 1 codename CRIMSON 1 is piloted by our fair Andromeda!" spoke Richard Silverbrand, the so-called "force commander" of this little army Lucrezia had created, of course, the woman herself called the shots but for some reason, she trusted the merchant boy enough to let him lead the grunts. "but this is no gear meant for grunts" she whispered as she neared the machine, the pilot, noticing her moved to intercept with a smile. Rhae was perplexed about the expression but since no one else stepped up, it might as well be her right? "Indeed my friend" Andromeda spoke with an air of reverence, like a smith fascinated by their work "This is the pinnacle of Magi-Tech warfare, a machine meant to level the playing field and allow us to retake the Fields for our fellow students of the academy" "Do you mind if I take a closer look?" Rhae asked. "Please, do so! maybe our fellows will grow some courage after you eh? this is meant to awe them after all" Andromeda whispered to Rhae with a mischievous smile. Opening the cockpit of the Zenos was a simple press of a few buttons, she began peppering Andromeda with questions on the many hows and whys, finding that Magi-Tech was more of a marriage of both crafts than some sort of chimeric fusion without thought or order, almost all principles from her tinkering of magical artifacts and regular contraptions were not lost in translation. "Makes sense, Ra''Tyrius is the son of the God of Science and Goddess of magic after all" Rhae couldn''t help but talk to herself "These Liquid Crystal injectors are a stroke of genius! but..." From her left, she felt a rather small presence tap her in the arm, a dwarven girl with wide eyes came up to her and spoke in rapid bursts "Hadun''s forge that''s a variant of the Auto-Fuel Meddel pump! we barely started working with it before I left home!" Meddel Ironworks & Woodworks Rhae recalled was Steinheim''s third biggest provider of general tools to both the layperson and workers, unusually popular for staying true to the now ancient motto of dwarven machinery "Made to Last" while the newer trends favored disposable parts. "Not just that, look at the gear design, this is Principality based 100 percent, elven minds came up with the treads and gears of this machine but it lacks their aesthetic over function mindset, look how ugly the metals are" Rhae pointed to the rather plain metal and felt the dwarf nod deeply. "Indeed Miss Liliac, a rather ugly but incredibly solid Warmachine meant to last weeks in the field without much repair work" An elven man with an eyepatch "Vyodor of the Marked Cliffs" he extended his hand and Rhae took it, they were hard and full of scars, a blacksmith "Your eyes match your tail tips, how unique" Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! He then looked up to Andromeda "Are there any elven Magi-Tech engineers among your peers Lady Andromeda?" "Yes" she replied "But our aides from the principality will only arrive next week" He nodded and huddled together with the dwarf and Rhae, others were looking as they poured over the machine but most of the crowd had moved to the other units on display and the Magi-Tech horses; "This is Grannarius made" he whispered to the women "See that particular set of mana valves and connectors? the Magi-Tech hides it but they based off tried and true Grann craftwork, of the Prime school as well" Someone high up the chain for Lucrezia''s little religion was from that nasty place, huh, Rhae didn''t like that, her family had lost good friends to the war and some of that distaste for their wild neighbors rubbed off on her. "How can you be sure uhh Vyo?" the dwarf asked shyly, she could barely speak as he locked eyes with her. Silently he pulled a chain from his shirt, in it was the symbol of the sun and moon "Prime craftwork, twice over before they kicked me out for being against their experiments looking to breach the outer cosmos the madmen" He smirked "I can tell by your body language you aren''t a fan Miss Liliac. I don''t blame you, but let us focus on this wonderful machine shall we?" Rhae was more than willing to meet him on that, minutes turned into hours as they poured over the unit, everyone coming up with ideas for improvement and upgrades, what surprised her the most was that Andromeda stayed with them and noted down everything, no doubt for the priests that were in the camp proper. Rhae never caught the dwarf''s name, the poor lass was too shy to speak full sentences, with a nod all 3 went their separate ways, and Rhae had a funny feeling she would meet these individuals later. But today? today she would present old Lucrezia a little gift! "Du''Ty''s beard girl, what in all hells is that you are forging over there?" Old bitter spoke out loud, his voice bellowing across the workshop over Rhae''s labor "some sort of hook?" Rhae nodded, her white arms red from the heat until she tsked and shifted into an old dwarven smith she knew from a city further south, the work kept going until late afternoon and she was thankful the professors at the academy weren''t uptight with class presence, as long as you didn''t flunk the tests it was a-ok to skip more than a few classes. Working Magi-Tech without the blessing ended up being quite the hurdle, but her expertise and a helping hand of free tomes by the local Magi-Tech church meant she had all the theory she needed to make a working prototype. Marvelous was a word she kept using while studying those tomes, Ra''Tyrius didn''t come to take over his parent''s spheres, no that young god was smart and sharp as a Shogunate blade, working together with his parent''s domains he would carve a niche that would give a leg up to all the disenfranchised and those whose status wouldn''t afford a proper education be it in sciences or magical craft. And at the helm of it was Lucrezia, a dwarf named Idun and a mysterious elven woman. Those 3 were the heads of the church of Ra''Tyrius and most of the big inventions came from them, Lucrezia, in particular, was the creator of many weapons she had seen so far. And those exquisite suits of armor, all shiny and crystal which according to one of the priests she chatted up were also designed by Lucrezia, who had a flair for function over form, boring but sturdy designs unlike the impractical but aesthetically pleasing philosophy many nobles were fans of. Not that she was one of those hardline smiths, anyone who could make a piece of gear that looked good and worked good was a good artisan in her eyes, there was something pure in pushing the craft to its extremes, living on the bleeding edge of one''s ability was something she strived to do after all, and with this new set of skills... the sky was the limit. Or maybe even outer space. "We must always strive to go higher" her dwarven form smiled, ahh she missed this feeling, as bits and pieces of the person''s psyche melded into her she felt the shakes and ghost visions in the corner of her eyes. "To shapeshift was to become someone else", the words of her father never left her mind, it was getting better now but the very first shifts were...an experience she wouldn''t forget. "Hammer to iron, crystal to mold..." Rhae continued her toil as the grappling hook took shape, inscribing runes that would let the thing work the way she envisioned was the most difficult part, having to shapeshift into the elven mage who was one of the few living beings who could perform rune engraving of gravitational magic. The moon was at its peak and Rhae was still hammering away, her entire body was a well-oiled machine of precision, focus, and reaction, the many tools of her workshop working like one of those fancy elven engines from the principality for a single purpose, it took all of her but at long last, it was done! "A grappling hook for the suits of armor would give increased mobility for the pilots" she wiped her face clean with a towel "Now to deliver this to the Priests" Of course, said delivery would be more than handing out the piece of tech to the men of Magi-Tech, Rhae smiled as her body changed into an Arachne, highly adapted to stealth infiltrations she wanted to spice things up and leave a little gift for Lucrezia.
Night had already fallen in the main war camp, sentries along the main and secondary routes patrolled the place as Rhae stalked above, the tall tents and magically built housing providing ample cover together with the trees around the place. She arrived at the place where they performed maintenance for the ZENOS units and felt a tingle in her left hind leg, her spider eyes darting from corner to corner as a magical wire tripped off a silent alarm. Lights went dark across the camp, Rhae sucked air as she saw multiple black-clad humanoids armed with sleek rifles and strange goggles come out of the buildings, nary a word coming off from them. "Magi-Tech communication?" Rhae whispered to herself as she began to work her way to deliver her package, the black-clad soldiers sweeping buildings and rooftops with alarming speed and precision. A 3-man team nearly got her after she made a jump, using a mana-intensive invisibility spell only her father knew how to cast that masked every signature a body could give she stood as still as possible while the 3 soldiers stopped and waved their weapons around. "3-1 This is Alpha 1, sector clear I repeat sector clear, drones report high usage of mana all around us over" it was barely a whisper but her ears could finally hear it. "Permission to deploy Undead seeking protocols" "Rog, we will sweep the rooftops across sectors 2 and 4 again" the leader shook his head, human male from the north Rhae picked up "Fan out, sweep stairs, under beds and tables and inside lockers, ROEs have been lifted, shoot to kill" "Alpha 1, I am picking up mana signatures all over this rooftop, it has to be a wraith" female, elven also from the north "Look" she flicked her wrist to him where a crystal pulsed blue "Gods 3-1 is a stingy bastard" "Cut the chatter and stay frosty Alpha 2, 3 I want you as overwatch here, sweep the buildings with long-range scans, 2 you are with me, we are knocking down some doors now let''s go" the trio moved with precision as Rhae leaped towards another building, It was a harrowing experience, 4 times she was nearly caught, whoever these people were they knew how to hunt, the only thing that saved her was being able to shapeshift into sleeping members of the army and sometimes guards. That is until she left the grappling hook and beelined towards the exit, somehow they got wind of her, and multiple teams were converging on her position, on a desperate bind to escape she shifted into a Molekin and dug her way back home, it was scary and Lucrezia would likely tighten down her security but she couldn''t deny she had some fun!
William smiled as he turned the marvelous feat of engineering left behind by the intruder, his maid was not happy the interloper managed to escape, grilling the new special operation teams all night long, but in his opinion, they did their job perfectly, after all the invader was chased out instead of making a clean break. Idun watched the mechanics via illusion magicks and Magi-Tech long-range comms installed along the Highway as a bonus from Richard''s mom, the old dwarf looked in awe at the item. "Aye my lady, it is as you said, with this our units will be able to grapple and pull themselves over even the tallest of buildings, increasing mobility in a way that puts them near our new experimental Knightmare units" he rubbed his beard "But there are some modifications needed to be made, send me the item and I should be done with them within a week" "And the new airships?" William asked. "Ready for deployment, the entire fleet we have already received the troops from the Imperium and Grannarius, Lady Lucrezia I have something of a favor to ask of you" Idun spoke gravely. "Ask my friend, and I will do all that I can to help" William replied in earnest. "We need your express authorization for the deployment of the Razgriz in battle, the one in charge of the project managed to bang out 4 more air fighters unlike anything we have seen before, capable of supersonic flight and maneuvers unheard so far even for the most experienced griffin or great eagle riders, but the tech is bleeding edge and we simply don''t have the time to iron out the kinks before the fight, it would take years..." "Do it so have them posted together with the Knightmares" Wiliam nodded astounded with the bleed-over of Terran stuff on his followers "And the automatic weapons?" "A deadlock still Lady Lucrezia, we will need to quite literally make Ra''Tyrius a major good in the entire new world to cross that threshold of Magi-Tech, I have already sent out missionaries and talked with our friends to help out the establishment of new churches, it will also take a while" he laughed "But I have good news! that and I am still amazed I can say this my lady, that Ancient you send to help us managed to help the spirits and we have it! the terraforming train will revolutionize warfare with its trench-making capabilities together with carrying supplies and soldiers, the first unit will also be together with the Razgriz and Knightmares." "And our ace in the hole?" Idun shook in excitement "The gun worked flawlessly, so good Hraax told us other leviathans thought she was ready to go to war against them, its flight capabilities can also be extended to the new ships we came up making a truly amphibious war armada, be it air, sea or land there won''t be a place to hide once it comes up from under the waves" "She won''t hide Idun, she will march her Knights through the front door," William said with a smile "And we will be there to meet her" Idun nodded "Aye, with a force never seen before, ready to redefine what is warfare in the entire world" https://www.patreon.com/Aluminium_Aligattor https://www.patreon.com/Aluminium_Aligattor https://www.patreon.com/Aluminium_Aligattor Interlude 1: Conviction of Fear Morugarius sat waiting as the Forum''s doors remained closed, her parents getting ready for the special occasion, to her side was her wife and dearest of all companions Uumaries, she slept on her shoulder, her fair locks casting a wonderful view in such a dreary day. She felt the divine power within her writhe as a high-priority message came from her underlings in the...Father''s balls from the Interdimensional Protection squad. "Speak" Morugarius whispered to not wake her beloved, Gods knew she had gone through a rough patch as of late. "Terminus level entities detected, not breached but allowed access to your domain in the mortal coil, unknown security keys and codes used, every facility is in lockdown and high alert as cleaner squads are being deployed, System-Wide Threats Ma''am" the voice was cold and to the point. "We have no authorization for Terminus level files, I hope your Father proves to be forthcoming with the information" he continued with a small coof "Unknown host, haven''t been able to pinpoint even where they landed just that something pinged alarms my team didn''t know were there in the first place" The voice went quiet, waiting for an explanation from Morugarius. "I had those placed after the conquest of Ivy''Thrum, we were dealing with star harvesters," Morugarius said with a sigh. Star Harvesters was the nickname for any civilization without Divine or Outer Divine aid that managed to achieve interstellar and interdimensional travel, usually by harvesting stars for energy. Still, there were many exclusions to the rule. Her brother had fought one that could somehow tap into the coldness of space for power, another who would use unsanctioned time travel to essentially hop between planes. All brought to heel by the might of Absolute Order, until he went rogue. Thinking about her older brother was a sure-fire way to go down that depressive old road again, she missed him Father knew she did, but she made her choice to stand with her family on that fated day, and the look of betrayal in his eyes was something she would never forget, nor forgive herself. Uumaries was already up when Morugarius came to her senses, her hair casting a golden light across their little corner "So, what''s the news that got you spooked?" "Someone let those entities in, someone that could forge all the necessary items at that" she confided to her beloved "There are very few that can do that, and two of them are in that room right now" Their chat was cut short when the door opened, Morugarius and Uumaries walked together inside as the faces greeted them, at the head of the table were her father and mother, looking nonplussed. To the left sat several familiar faces, and one she wasn''t expecting to be here at all. "Friede" Morugarius sighed, one of her best soldiers, absolute chaos on the battlefield now turned into a mad dog, all because of a few select bad choices she and her wife took... There was barely held together wrath in those pale grey eyes of her, Morugarius didn''t fail to notice Velka''s hand moving to hold her companion, Friede calmed down a little after the gesture, but just a little. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. "Imperium dogs" Uumaries spoke with contempt and Morugarius shook her head, her better half knew she also came from the Imperium! but she couldn''t help it, as the Goddess was on the frontlines in every strike the Imperium had thrown at Vermilion in the past. "Settle down" All-Father Faal spoke with an easygoing tone "Daughter of mine thank you for taking the time to come to this war council" she sucked in air when those words escaped his lips. Damn it all! "Not much we could do dear, the woman did sack the son of that mad queen, after all, she would''ve wanted blood one way or another" All-Mother spoke "Thankfully we have been made aware Malphas can be reasoned with" she cast a glance towards Uumaries "Lady Uumaries, your activities will be discussed later, now we deal with the Lucrezia issue" Uumaries nodded her face betraying no emotion. Morugarius told her, told her those blasted pillars of her were bad, that the mortals would use them for nefarious means, and lo and behold they did, they had a big fight about it and Morugarius ended up living in the eastern part of the house alone for weeks. Another sight that took her off guard was Ra''Tyrius in full war gear, that nasty Magi-Tech of his that kept expanding Morugarius Sphere of Power every single day, her cousin stared her down, myriad emotions on his face. And so, every single divine that had blessed Lucrezia stood and bowed to the All-Father, only Friede remained seat, as did All-Mother. "Well then, the situation in Vermilion has escalated to the point of no return, Daughter of mine, I was made aware that my current blessed has been speaking with you, asking for Malphas to spare those who joined Lucrezia from her wrath?" "Yes Father, I have personally spoken with Malphas, as our covenant demands it, she has agreed together with her husband and only Lucrezia..." Morugarius stopped and the room grew deathly quiet. "She aims to kill her son and Hope? Madness..." Saal''Xhir said reading Morugarius like an open book, another fighter whose loss was felt in the great war to expand the domain of the All-Father, and one who to this day still harbored feelings for her older brother. "Her son Arthur and Hope will not be spared, she views their friendship with Lucrezia as unforgivable" All-Father Faal smiled a wicked grin "Ah I was right in the blessing that young lass, 3 tainted by the Rage in its strongest form? Dear wife, can you imagine the fight?" "You lose sight of the bigger picture husband of mine, it is not just them, Lucrezia has amassed in months what would take kings and emperors decades, Including Gwenarius who we both know will be personally invested in the fight" Morugarius sighed again, The Goddess of Time had lost her lover to the entity that would become the Rage-That-Dwells, and she was known for hunting down those tainted by it whenever she saw fit. Faal turned to the Silent Soldier "Old friend, I am glad you made time for us, tell me, will your children join in this great kerfuffle? seeing that you saw Lucrezia worth of a blessing" One of the oldest Gods of War, a personal friend of Faal who rarely spoke even together among his divine brethren, the ancient divine nodded respectfully and spoke, his voice was raspy and one could feel the age behind it. "Aye, too long they have been pestering me for bloodshed against our commander''s children, that we can do this in neutral grounds with minimal loss of life is nothing short of bonus to them, and so will my fellow from the north" The Raider God Nodded, a wolfish grin on his lips. "Daughter?" Faal asked. "Father, Lucrezia has expanded the Sphere of Warfare at a pace that no single mortal has ever done, Ra''Tyrius has also risen through the ranks of power at a similar speed, what I am saying here is that there is something off with the woman" Morugarius waited for the rebuke as her mother rose "Something up? you dare question my sense when I blessed the mortal? quite the pair of stones you got today daughter" All-Mother sat down. Ra''Tyrius raised his hand to speak "Grandfather, Grandmother, I have worked with Lucrezia for nearly a year now, all the designs and machines we came up with were from her mind alone, the newer ones only popping up once my Sphere of Power expanded, I can assure you together with the other gods here that she is clean" He sat down. Faal looked up and said "Well everyone, I''d say it''s time for the first break in this little reunion we are having eh? I am sure we all got errands to run and mortals to attend, we will resume the session in 40 minutes" https://www.patreon.com/Aluminium_Aligattor https://www.patreon.com/Aluminium_Aligattor https://www.patreon.com/Aluminium_Aligattor Interlude 2: Her Mercy The Royal Knight''s commander, Ser Thedeus Senior walked into the war room of the castle, at the table were the spymaster, spirit whisper, and his lieges. Queen Malphas looked pleased, a nasty smile on her face, the woman hungered for war and the one person who pissed her off had come with the invitation for a good battle. "My spies in the Imperium and Grannarius confirmed the intel, she has troops from both ready for battle, Arch-Duke Jinn and his griffon riders also have pledged their loyalty to her, including their daughter" the spymaster spoke as Thadeus sat down. "My son is among them, Pledged his alliance to her after she turned him into a Dragoon, with the All-Mother''s blessing at that" Thadeus spoke with a weary sigh "The first Dragoons in gods knows how long and he''s working with would be traitors" "There will be no coup, for that, I''ve spoken with the woman herself, the Gods themselves as well" King Jason spoke as he looked the people around the room in their eyes "And yet she moves an impressive army within the heart of our country" "It will be a good battle, we will put the new generation through the fires of a battle seldom seen in many decades, our ancient enemies are now allies and we can ill afford to grow fat and lazy under peace times, this will be a perfect excuse to put some fire under their bellies" Malphas spoke with passion, But Thadeus knew the dark truth behind those words, she wanted the head of Lucrezia and this was her way to get that. "The house heirs who have aligned with her also have all written letters proving they have no intention of joining a coup, their parents as well, many of the smaller knight-based families and clans have expressed support for the whole thing, saying they don''t want their sons and daughters to become soft," The spymaster said with a sigh. "The fields provide an ample opportunity for the learning of war and its intricacies" Malphas spoke "I am... Happy our nobles have seen the light in this conundrum, Thadeus you shouldn''t worry, I''ve said this to Morugarius and I''ll say it to you, My only target is the woman, all the others won''t suffer my wrath" she finished with a smile. Thadeus sighed again "She has her dragon ready for battle as well, I can assume we will enact the ancient protocol and call forth our fat lizard from his macabre dungeon?" he had lost good people to that show of horrors, his opinion of the Red Dragon was low. "He will, he''s not happy about it but he will" Malphas spoke. "Then we sound the horn, let the populace know we will have a battle inside our walls as is the law" King Jason spoke his voice heavy "have the criers spread the word, and also this" with a snap of his finger a pebble in the table went up, magic flared from it and images of great steel towers in snowy planes where shown "Lucrezia aims to show the battle from beyond with her mix of technology and magic, I have news of a stadium being built in the academy for it and that her allies will send representatives, non formally of course" Thadeus sighed "You mean to say the mad king and his queen?" King Jason nodded and everyone sighed. "His daughter is rumored to be involved in this as well, so they will behave," Malphas said "Let her have it, the world will see when I have Lucrezia''s head in my hands" Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. It was a cold cold day in the Royal Palace, Arthur walked with calm steps, his Knights flanking him and Hope, everyone dressed up to the nines with armor as they breached the inner yard of the castle. He saw his mother fully armored more than once, and still, the sight made him weak in the knees, but this time he had Hope on his side, where once lone conviction failed him, now he was propped up with the undying flame of love. Cold fury burned in her eyes, Lucrezia had told him about this and still, he struggled to believe it, would his flesh and blood, the woman who nurtured and gave birth to him have the stones, the madness to kill her son over him siding with Lucrezia? when all the evidence pointed that his brother was a horrible person who deserved the end he got? and in those yes he found the answer. His mother would kill him, Hope, and Lucrezia when the battle started, and that was that. Kin slaying, shameful as it was common in Vermilion lore, from high nobles to petty commoners, everyone had spilled the blood of their kin, be it for a good or bad reason, it was a sin and a shame but when those were ever deterrents against human nature? Arthur looked at his father, the man was struggling, that much was plain to see, his entire being shook as he watched his own family break down in front of his eyes, something he fought tooth and nail for it. Lucrezia had that effect on people, she pushed them to their limits, he saw it with Vivienne, how the two danced together and how much she had improved Vivienne''s skills in their short time together, what she had done with Hope, Richard, and Kaine were thrice as fast now. A perfect party ready for the greatest battle of their lives all shaped by her immense skills. Arthur as well, now in full control of the Rage, on the same level as his mother, felt the ripples resonate with her and Hope. The Shatter-Spears had an old ritual for kin-slaying, few knew it and it was a simple thing, Arthur removed a short wooden spear made of the twigs of the First Tree, an old tree that was placed in the palace when the first King of Vermilion took the throne. With a snap, he broke the weapon and tossed it at the feet of the throne. The message was sent, from now on he was on war foot with his mother, came good or ill he would uphold the oath, kill or be killed, and may the best warrior win.
The voice spoke to Richard again, in his dreams he saw a powerful figure flanked by rows and rows of tall soldiers, their weapons were hidden as were their faces. This dream had been happening for a few days now, every time he would try reaching the figure but something barred his way. Not today it seemed, as the soldiers all parted across him, Richard walked for what seemed like minutes until he was at the ledge of a cliff, on the horizon a great blue sea and below waves crashing against rocks. He knew this place, Gods above and below this was the Peak of Solitude! a sacred orcish outpost meant to be the first line of defense against the sea elves! "It took you a while to figure out human, your ancestor was far faster on the uptake, but then again you are no natural-born warrior" the figure spoke with mirth in its voice, a gust of wind blew and Richard saw her face. "You are!" he couldn''t say the name! he knew the name of the Goddess of the Orcs but he couldn''t say it! "A protective measure, my Greater Blessing was not meant to share space with the other blessing you host, worry not it will pass in time, now onto more important matters," she said as Richard kept trying to say the name. "You will be spared 3 times, 3 times in the coming battle I will tilt the odds in your favor" she spoke with a smile "the payment for such intervention will be a simple one, at the end of it all, when death finally claims you, or what passes for death in those fields you will tell me the real reason for why you fight" "Ah but I see it in your face, you don''t know it yet" she continued with a smile "Do not worry, once the battle reaches its apex you will know, and then the world will so as well" "Good Luck my champion, fo you will face one of the fiercest battles this land has seen it" https://www.patreon.com/Aluminium_Aligattor https://www.patreon.com/Aluminium_Aligattor https://www.patreon.com/Aluminium_Aligattor Interlude 3: Deal with the Fallen
Hope stalked the woods that were once part of a particular god temple complex north of the capital. She felt a pull to the temple there and after consulting with Lucrezia and Arthur, she decided it was best to investigate. With her was Vivienne, the mysterious daughter of the Arch-Duke, who ended up being not so mysterious, just a little shy and quiet at first, likely sizing up Hope and getting the measure of her character. "He never lacked suitors you know? all over the new world princes and princesses would try to woo Arthur" Vivienne said after a while "I wonder, what did you see in him, and him in you?" Hope smiled at the memories and began regaling them to Vivienne, whose face lit up in joy hearing about her relationship with Arthur, from what Kaine told Hope earlier, they were thick as thieves, and as the oldest, Vivienne was essentially an older sister to young Arthur, even if he had one already. "Ah to hear Kaine talk about it was kinda stranger, such emotions were very odd to see in him, I mostly know him as being the serious one of our little group, always preparing, learning, noting things down. But when the topic came up he soften up considerably, it was quite a shock" Hope said as Vivienne laughed and responded "He always was an intense person, his emotions boiling under the lid of stoicism and his love for the arcane, his sister was more outgoing when it came to such matters but once you get to know Kaine you can see he''s just as emotional as anyone, he just has a very good cover for it" Both girls shared a burst of laughter, Hope had seen that "lid" peel off once or twice and it was always a treat "You know for a while many thought he was involved with Lucrezia, given their recent ties after the battle for Wulfgrem, but those rumors went away after a while. That man sure loves the arcane" Hope smiled. Vivienne got silent for a while "I still don''t know how to feel about her, everything she did for me, the length she went through to help dispel the curses on my body and soul...you don''t do that willy nilly for anyway" the young woman sighed "for a while, I thought she was in love with me, but I''ve seen how she acts with you, Arthur and Richard" more silence. "It is certainly something strange, isn''t it? I have the same blessing as her and thanks to it I can gauge her feelings, Arthur has more than once taken a peek inside her mind to see what was up with her regarding this situation" Hope explained and Vivienne nodded "She has done so much, so much for me it would be extremely naive of me to not think there were ulterior motives even if her behavior has been nothing short of respectful" "And? what did you two find?" Vivienne asked. "There is something, deep beneath her mind, maybe she loves us all? maybe something more sinister? we couldn''t conclude...and when I asked she avoided the topic, saying she didn''t have time for romance and such, and that she didn''t feel comfortable with an open relationship, even if I and Arthur were willing..." Hope stopped herself "Oh gods I am oversharing? surely you know about Arthur''s uhh...Tastes right?" Vivienne laughed "Yes you silly goose, we were raised together after all! but, curiously, you mention it, maybe she''s one of those more conservative followers of Saal''Xhir? or perhaps she wants only Richard?" Vivienne shook her head "Anyway we would need to grill her over some strong booze to get the truth out, northern folk like her have an innate resistant to our weaker stuff heh" The girls kept moving and talking, furthering their bond as Hope told Vivienne about her recent trials to master the Rage, together with Arthur they had finally managed to tap into the final tier of its power, it took grueling effort but they could do it now, it was their ace in the hole should the Queen make her move. Which according to Lucrezia, was all but certain. Vivienne was silent again, the topic of the queen had hit a nerve, knowing someone who had raised her sided with the man who ruined her body and mind was still a shock she had yet to overcome. "I will fight too, I have a special oath to all major healing gods that bless the country" Vivienne spoke with conviction "Even if we are in the Fields, none shall fall once me and my men enter the fray"
Hope stepped into the inner sanctum of the temple complex, in it a dull gold light pulsed as she and Vivienne came closer, her blessing was oddly quiet, as if something or someone made sure it didn''t interfere. Very few Gods were capable of that, but she knew, deep within her heart she already knew who was the one calling for her, after all the dull gold meant one thing and one thing only. "Augurios the Mad" Vivienne''s soft voice pierced the empty halls like an arrow. Yes, Hope said in her mind, firstborn of the All-Father, once the leader of his legions and to this day the strongest War God the known universe had seen, even his younger sister couldn''t measure up to him, in her own words. "I know Lucrezia''s methods are unorthodox at best and Heretical at worse but..." Vivienne began but Hope raised her hand and cut her off. "This wasn''t her idea, it was mine, He approached me first after all" Hope said her voice deadly serious as she stepped into the threshold and spoke as the Gods did "And I have come, Reveal yourself Augurios, Lord of Absolute Order, Firstborn of All-Father Faal" Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. It was...easy learning how to empower her words, after seeing the gods doing it after Lucrezia told her they used their sphere to do it so and all Hope needed was to make her own. "Apotheosis" Lucrezia smiled in Hope''s mind "All-Father''s blessing has made you a demigod the second you accepted, to form your sphere is but a small step into the realm of the divine" The woman taught Hope a secret only the Gods were privy to and that still rung inside Hope''s head even after the fact. Divine Avatars, new powerful combinations of Blessings that fed from each other, how to swap them in the middle of combat, Hope knew she was being trained to be something more, something greater. But Hope knew it wouldn''t be enough, Malphas was on a whole other level, she was a demigod! she was the strongest being alive in the new world! and so for once in her life Hope committed the grave sin of Heresy, for deep within her heart she knew Lucrezia would die in battle and she would need every single edge to make sure that grim future didn''t come to fruition. In private Richard had told her Lucrezia had already made peace with her death, and the mood the woman had these last few days all but prove it. Gone was the cheerful and energetic attitude, she was now the Fury of the North, Commander of the Wulfgrem Knights, and the Last Duchess of her line. From the dull light, a form made itself manifest, with the features of the elusive Nihrium, the race created by Augurious for his at the time eternal duty of increasing the domain of the All-Father. "Ah, so you did come after all, and I thought my calls would be rejected, given the blessing you have, but as always that woman surprises me, in teaching you how to use it to its utmost potential, she has also taught you how to not be shackled down by blind faith" Augurious spoke with a smile in its face, he spoke in a low and calm tone as if he was talking with an old friend. "For someone with the Mad moniker, you are quite reasonable" Vivienne spoke "I am-" The god raised his hand "Oh I know who you are, young Vivienne, the catalyst for all of...this, great change is coming, and thanks to you, and the fell deeds committed against you we will finally see it, I would thank you Lady Vivienne, but the trials you endured I wouldn''t wish on my worst enemy, no one deserves such a fate and I am glad She managed to heal you" Augurious said, his voice warm "But let us talk about the real reason you two are here, come" he bode them deeper into the sanctum and the girls followed. They arrived inside a war room, torn banners and old maps littering the place, rusted weapons in racks, and suits of armor placed haphazardly as well. Augurious sat down at the head of the main table and beckoned the two to sit at his left side. "It is good that you have come Lady Vivienne, powerful as you are in the healing arts, I am afraid it won''t be enough in the coming battle, but we shall fix that soon enough. But first! you have questions Lady Hope, please ask them, in here we won''t be bothered by would-be Paladins and such" he finished with a smile and waved his hand towards Hope. "Why help me? Help Lucrezia?" Hope asked the question that had been burning inside her brain for a while now. "Didn''t I tell you? great change comes, with her at the forefront, surely you have seen it in your war camp, on the hidden ship beneath the waves of your city? that change, that power will make certain individuals reconsider their positions, giving me some leeway for my agenda" "And that would be?" Vivienne asked "I am afraid to help the leader of a mutiny against the being that made me my Lord, powerful as you may be you are still Fallen, still out of the grace bestowed by your progenitor" "I seek not conflict with Father, I''ve made my vows to renounce war and I shall keep them, my previous actions were...I am afraid you would not understand Lady Vivienne so I shall not waste your time with semantics, but let me be very clear on this, I do not wish to fight Father anymore, on that you can believe me" The girls couldn''t check to see if he was indeed telling the truth, but something told Hope that the God was being honest, Augurious was many things, but a liar was not one of them. "For her death to be avoided I had originally planned on bestowing you my own Greater Blessing, alas that would not work and to be honest with you I was in dire straits once I learned about Lucrezia teaching you how to mantle the divine, and then heard it you were a natural at it! good tidings that, it will serve you well when you face Malphas" Turning to Vivienne he spoke "As for you Lady Vivienne, I bestow you this scepter, forged in a dying star by a race whose name none shall hear it is a powerful healing tool, with it you will become a bulwark against the wrath of the Royal Knights and their Queen" "Hope, this is for you" His tone shifted, from his person he conjured a Warhammer clad in runes, and with dull gold inlays in the head of the weapon, the two sucked in air as their brains told them what the God had just gifted. The Hammer of Order, Augurious personal weapon and one of the strongest divine artifacts in the known universe, bathed in the blood of countless gods and goddesses, entities from the cosmos, and all in between, it was once used to split an entire planet in two and legend said it could do that to whole star systems should Augurious pour enough of his power in it. Hope took the weapon and closed her eyes, flashes of war, endless and pointless ran through her mind, the blood was enough to fill an ocean, the bones enough to make a throne the size of this temple complex, and the sorrow enough to make a man end his life. The weight of Augurious old duty made Hope tremble, for a split second she understood why, why he did what he did and it terrified her. The mad moniker made sense now, for who could do all of that and remain sane? "Gods, how does she..." Hope began saying but Augurious cut her off. "Sister always was more focused, determined, and stronger than me when it came to dealing with the gruesome reality of war and conquest, she had none of my idealism and fantasy, nay for her, it was a job to be done and she does it to surgical precision" Augurious explained "With the weapon in hand call my name and I shall be there in the witching hour when all hope is lost and you are broken down, your allies dead and the enemy standing an inch from your face, together we will end her and save Lucrezia, Arthur and most importantly, you"
Interlude 4: Where Evil Lurks Azazel stalked the halls of the Castle that overlooked the Fields of Seresval, in the courtyard he saw the mercenaries he had hired doing drills, and in the distance the fort built by one of the nobles who sided with him, apparently they were old friends of Lucrezia who had been told to essentially get fucked earlier in the school year. Not that mattered anyway, they would be perfect for meat shields, Azazel grabbed his sword, the blade whispered sweet nothings at his ear and calmed his fury. A beautiful blonde woman was there, inside that blade and he loved her with all his being, alas that love was not to be and he had to resort to boring humans in the walking world, his harem as Lucrezia had called in that fateful day. "You are a worthy master, she will rue the day forevermore when she comes to fight you in your domain" Artorius whispered from the sword and Azazel smiled, the Sacred Relic was a powerful weapon, made to fight the elven menace from the sea and handed down to the members of his family ever since the founding of the Kingdom of Vermilion. He would not must not lose the coming battle! he would not suffer such shame! Going to the courtyard, he began training in the martial arts handed down from his grandfather to him, the mercenaries in awe of his prowess and his women cheering him on, Azazel felt like a God, and the blade sang in his ear, the power coursing through his veins as each form became more elaborate and swift. Once the display of power was over, he had a bath with a selected few of his harem, having his way with them eased his nerves and gods knew he was a bundle of those in the last week. When his informants told him of the Airships from the Principality had come specifically for Lucrezia he felt the cold elven steel in his neck. Those elves were trouble, they rarely bothered with the outside world, much less in the ways of war, and now she had received military aid from them! Not just that, the foul machinery she and her Patron God spawned, weapons of war that ill befitted the theater of war they were in, those kept him up at night more than anything for his War Blessing told him they were trouble. The big trouble with a capital T. One of the newer members of his Harem, some vampire girl he couldn''t remember the name but she was cute enough so he didn''t bother, she was in charge of cleaning his gear and had yet to be ushered into the inner circle came up to him with cold water and a towel. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. She looked demure, shy, and tiny just how he liked his women, Azazel smirked in lust and confidence as he grabbed the items and slapped her in the butt as she left, basking in the sun felt good, dispelling the dread he was feeling. Azazel''s Mother, Father, and Grandfather came to visit him, Grandfather in particular was once a great war hero, and his mother followed in such fame by becoming a hurricane of death in the war against Grannarius. Both users of the Sacred Sword, both linchpins for the country, and after this battle he too would become one, it was already news that the Queen would make a move on Lucrezia''s life if he could entrap the whore and deliver her to the Queen. 3 generations of heroes, a nice accolade that any noble family worth their salt would envy! "Azazel, spar with me" his grandfather commanded and he did as so, men and women gathered in the courtyard as they fought, Azazel with the Sacred Sword and his Grandfather with a regular steel saber. "You have grown strong my son, it pleases me greatly the world will once again have a chance to see the relic being used to dispatch the enemies of our fair nation" his mother spoke with the favor of a cultist, he knew that after father had passed away the woman had gone a little funny in the head, refusing treatment made unstable but under the direct command of Malphas, she was let loose on the Grannarius''s elves who had killed her husband. Many were left in awe during the slaughter that day, Azazel was given a first-hand account by his personal Knights who were there, she became a hurricane of steel and blood! Wild and Chaotic his grandfather told him. The spar ended and the courtyard erupted into claps, Grandfather''s style was honed to perfection, every single movement meant and none wasted, Azazel felt his style was a healthy mix of both as his harem cleaned him up. "May the Gods bless you with victory Azazel," his family said as they left, he smiled and nodded, for he knew he would be the victor! Two hooded figures sat inside a dungeon, their masks covering even their mouths. "I thought we were past such deceptions? what is the meaning of this encounter?" The figure with the white mask asked the one with the red mask replied. "There have been complications, Uumaries has withdrawn support from our cause" Red replied "Our benefactors will have a stronger hand in the dealings now" White tapped her slender finger on the table "Ill tidings, Uumaries was the perfect scapegoat, you are still in this then?" Red sneered "To the end, he will belong to us" White nodded "Good, I''ve sent some of my men to helo Azazel as mercenaries, we can''t risk sending forces from our Benefactors now, has the third piece moved at all?" Red sighed "No, there are still delays with the poison, and getting into the water supply of the academy is proving to be...hard" she looked up to the low ceiling "we may have to delay her activation" White tapped her fingers again "As long as she remains true to the cause then, will you join Azazel''s forces by the by?" Red made a no mention with her head "Nay, I am more of a backline type fighter anyway, our plans have been disrupted once again but they march onwards, should anything happen on your end be sure to notify me" Both figures disappeared in a flash, and then the dungeon was swallowed hole by an unseen animal. Interlude 5: Warfare Redefined Captain Silver was paying attention to the rather elaborated presentation her Duchess was giving to her and her team, with a very fancy illusion spell at that. Her entire team was inside the new ship the Forgemaster Idun and his people were working for months, deep under the bay that lead to their target. "With the new equipment and Helicopters me and the folk here have built, you are to assault this forward enemy base" Lucrezia showed the castle built right in the middle of the Fields, more of a fortress than a proper castle but still manned by a good number of Knights and Mercs hired by Azarel. "Built by magical means no doubt, are we to blow it up?" Asked Sargent Micolish with a worried face "Those towers will have means to intercept air targets no doubt, the boy hired dwarven mercs with the means for it" "For that, we will also be using the new fighter jet squadron, capable of breaking the sound barrier they will soften the anti-air measures up, and you people will swoop into as you said, blow the whole place up" Lucrezia snapped her fingers and a square box appeared in the illusion "This is the payload, MK I Destroyers, made to demolish fortifications that aren''t made out of rare materials, it packs a punch but it takes time to set it up, we couldn''t work out the kinks in time" Lucrezia explained. A rifle, unlike the new bolt action ones the troops had it showed, had a boxed magazine like the pistols commanders were found of and some sort of sight on top of it, the sleek pitch-black design earned a few noises of approval from Silver''s team as their blessings of war kicked in. A new weapon, Semi-Automatic rifles! the bleeding edge of weapons development, tailor-made by Lucrezia and Idun themselves...And someone else? Lucrezia smiled "Ah your blessing picked it up, yes I had to call a friend to get these beauties up, the blessing of the All-Father is a boon that has no equal, thanks to her we have the new weapons, and new ammunition to boot" Silver nodded "And we get the honor to put those beauties to the test, heh" a few laughs from her men "But I have a feeling there''s more to this plan my lady?" "Indeed" Lucrezia snapped her fingers again and 5 iron rods showed up, full of runes and sigils "These are important for the battle to come, once the castle is down you and yours are to plant them in these locations," said locations appeared in the map. "Captain Silver, I know your people are upset about the break-in from last week but that was a boon rather than an ill omen, today we will redefine what is warfare in this world and your people will be the very tip of that spear, let not the past weight on you for today we will change the world" "30 Seconds" Silver spoke in her Magi-Tech radio to her men. "Direwolf 1 Actual this is Razgriz 02 flying of two AXF-01, 10 AGM for the section, standby for SEAD over." the voice from the dwarven pilot came over the radio, cold and cruel as his plane flew right below the helicopters. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. "Solid Copy Razgriz, smite them" Silver replied as the other plane swooped in and a great boom was heard across the entire capital. The planes had broken the sound barrier. "Good tone Good tone Kitsune 3 Kitsune 3" both planes'' comms flared up as the Anti-Air apparatus from the mercenaries went up in flames, the 3 Helicopters flew right behind them, breaching into the fields as the entire Academy, and no doubt the entire Capital woke up. "Good Kill Good Kill" Razgriz 01 spoke on the cooms "Direwolves you clear to breach I repeat you are clear to breach" "Guns, Guns, Guns" Direwolf 3 called as the Magi-Tech Missiles flared from their bays, blowing up the command center of the castle, mists of blood went up as Direwolf 2 and 1 swooped in from the sides. "Enemies on the walls, Snipers get ready" Silver called in as her Helicopter flew by the enemies "Stabilize it" Bullets flew from their barrels, piercing the enemies'' hastily made Ki and Mana shields. "Shift right" Silver called in and the pilot did so "Stabilize " the machine stood in place as she and her men killed more mercenaries "Chief are you sure they won''t die?!" one of the soldiers asked. "The Fields are always active! they won''t die!" Silver screamed over the gunfire "Now cut the chatter and stay frosty!" as she finished speaking one of the planes boomed past her, shaking the entire Helicopter. "Direwolf 1 you have 5 minutes, the capital has dispatched Griffin and Mage flights to the academy!" The comms flared again. "Direwolf 2 and 3 sat down, Bravo and Charlie have been deployed" Micolish''s voice piped in "Turtle take Bravo and prepare the explosives, Pilots provide cover as needed" "Solid copy, setting down Alpha and moving to overwatch" The pilot of Direwolf 1 replied as did from 2 and 3, "Cap, ROE?" Micolish''s voice asked on the radio. "Kill them all" Silver replied as she began firing, the Knights and Mercenaries around them were barely able to muster any sort of counterattack, she and her team began sweeping the lower wall for the right place to detonate the bomb, often they were ambushed by knights with half their gear or no gear at all on their person, the mercenaries put more of a fight after the initial shock. Booms in the skies told Silver they were running late "Razgriz, how long until they get here?" she asked just as Charlie finished setting up their bomb, Bravo had been the first and her team was just mopping up the last survivors of the zone around it. "2 minutes" the reply came, Silver waved her hand in the air and spoke on the radio "All Direwolves this is Alpha 1, we are ready for exfill I repeat we are ready for exfill" the sound of the Helicopters came from up above and they all rushed to their exit. As all teams converged into the exfill point, the main doors of the castle were blown from the outside, and several Knights rushed in, at their front, a beautiful blonde Knight screamed "who dares invade Lord''s Azarel''s domain! my Knights forward!" "All Direwolves, open fire" Silver didn''t even flinch as she reloaded her rifle and began firing, her men as well. It took 45 seconds, 45 seconds until the Helicopter''s missiles and their new weapons halted the charge dead on its track, the surviving enemies moaning in pain or trying to crawl out of the gore mess, death was halted in this place, pain wasn''t. As they went away the castle went up in a big blast of fire and magic, they neatly touched down in the pad that sat on top of the new ship and sunken back into the bay, the Razgriz jets doing the same shortly after it. The battle had begun, today would be the day that changed it all, Silver felt her Blessing of War shake as did her people, a cascade of sphere shifts, a battle for the ages. "Wait until you hear the cannons" the voice of Lucrezia came on the radio, she could picture the young woman smiling at the thought, she was too, seeing the many ships submerged together with the big one. "It''s time" Chapter 57: Shock and Awe
"The citizens of the royal capital of Vermilion could scarcely believe the thundering sounds that came from the academy that day, from war cries to the ringing of steel, to the Magi-Tech monsters Duchess Lucrezia summoned, it was as if a portal to one of the All-Father''s warring planets was opened in broad daylight!" Anonymous report. "Once we enter the Fields, there will be a short 10-minute delay until Azarel''s forces can hit us, more than enough time to set up camp here at the entrance of the first plain that leads into the cliff passage" William pointed in the 3D projection of the map "Once we set up the Magi-Tech armored and engineering divisions with Knight and Army support is to begin drilling a tunnel on the mountainside, if the math is right within 20 minutes we will have a tunnel that opens up into the Fields proper and avoid the passage which no doubt has been booby-trapped to hell and back. "Richard, Hope, Arthur" Lucrezia pointed to the trio "I want you 3 leading the charge there, you will be the tip of the spear while me, my special operations team, and Kaine circle around and infiltrate the castle" "Taking out Azarel is the number one priority, his men will be leaderless and will be forced by the magic of the Fields to give up, after that we move to stage two, mobilizing everyone to the castle..." Arthur stepped up, Vivienne on his side looking worried "This is when Mother will strike, my men inside the Royal Knights tell me she has amassed half of the forces of the whole country to fight us, together with her will be the Arch-Mages and their troops" "The Arcane Militia is not to be underestimated, the name may make them look humble but those are handpicked by mom and dad for their skills in combat and command" Kaine spoke fast "Lucrezia we will need Crimson Squad here to defeat them" he finished talking and pointed to Andromeda who nodded. "You will have them, Razgriz will provide CAS as needed" William turned to Idun who had arrived yesterday "The Magi-Tech Vanguard will give Kaine infantry support, make sure they are ready for a throwdown" the Forgemaster nodded and said. "To the end Lady Lucrezia, we will fight to the very end" "Thadeus, ours and mine will be the harder fight my friend" He smiled at the Dragoon "Once the Queen makes her move we will Alpha Strike her, you are to keep the Red Dragon at bay together with Kallista while I..." He sucked in the air, tasting the iron of the upcoming blood bath "I will attempt to cause as much damage as possible to their Command Line, If I can delete a few officers in that attack we will be for a less bumpy ride" He went over more strategic talks for a while, once the people began moving to their assigned positions William found himself alone, he then fell into a strong meditative state, his soul sinking into the Palace as Lucrezia had come to call it. The young woman smiled at him, both shared a silent moment as they watched the Monolith, the living arcane proof of their souls melding together, it had gone through quite a change the last week, warping and groaning in arcane howls as William and Lucrezia''s memories melded at an accelerated pace" "Remember to call for me once the fight against the Queen begins" She smiled as William nodded, he had to talk with the Gods now, he once again fell into a meditative state and sank deeper, where their Spheres interjected with the very depth of his and Lucrezia''s being. Taking her form was easy now, a testament to their soul meld. William waited until all Gods showed up. Velkarius, Ra''Tyrius, Cho''Xin, The Silent Soldier, Saal''Xhir, and finally, All-Mother Thyrie. They shared a silent moment, their faces even that of the Silent Soldier, known for his perpetual stoicism gleamed in pride. William composed himself and said. "My friends, patrons of my power, today is the day we fought so hard to achieve, where I make my destiny, thanks to you and your support I escaped a cruel death in the north, a crueler fate under the hands of a heretical madman and now I forge ahead, full well knowing the next enemy will be the hardest, and for that, I ask, I beg for aid, grant me strength O divine of Yrithuan so that I may live to fight another day!" "A rousing speech little one, it is no wonder you have amassed such an army" All-Mother spoke with warmth in her voice "Yet my boon has already been granted, so instead I will offer you this" a dragon scale appeared in William''s hand "A token to keep you safe" The Silent Soldier saluted and for the first time spoke to William "Thank you young one, for the opportunity" Cho''Xin smiled and nodded, offering William a good handshake. Velkarius, Ra''Turius, and Saal''Xhir gave him words of encouragement and he felt their blessing pulsing with power, nothing was left to be said and so he bade the Gods farewell, for it was time to war.
Castra-Cam stood in the inner temple of the Undying, Martius the Unbroken stood across from her, and the visage of a pale young human scared her witless, why in all hells did the busiest god in the known universe call for her personally?!? "I thank you for thinking of the Eternal Schedule young Castra, much like your grandmother and sister you are ever thoughtful of the inner working of our delicate order, alas I would not be called the Unbroken if I wasn''t able to bend things a little" he spoke in a neutral tone "Alas a little this is not, for Gwenarius herself has called in not one but five, that''s right dear, five favors today and that''s no small feat for someone as her" "Thus we arrive at the current juncture, as I am aware of your dealings with Young Lucrezia we shall be providing support to her cause in this coming battle, it will be a trying thing as I have fought ever since The Commander left his rightful place, but I am sure we can manage, after all, you are one of my best fighters, and together with those new weapons she gave you we shall be a force to be reckoned with in the battlefield" "Which means one thing dear Castra, one very important thing, You will mantle me in the upcoming fight, it won''t be easy, a matter of fact you will beg for the sweet release of death as the strain will be in a scale you have yet to suffer through and so I ask you, as patron God to one of my most loyal of followers, someone who has time and time again put her through hell and back for the duty, Do you Castra-Cam, want this? are you truly up for the trials that will come?" "Should you say no I will not judge you, It is no small thing I am asking of you, and above all else, I am fair, for there must be fairness in death and rebirth, say your piece Castra-Cam and let no God or Mortal say you didn''t do it!" Castra-Cam took a deep breath, even when she knew there was no need for it. Her mind flashed at inhuman speed as the memories she made with Lucrezia and her followers came and went. Did she want to fight? Did she want to be the first one in nearly 5 centuries to summon the divine avatar of the Undying? did she want that kind of glory? she recalled teaching Richard, Hope, and others how to fight, talking with the many people that came after Lucrezia sounded the Warhorn, these memories filled her with a warmth, a sense of belonging not unlike that of being part of the Undying''s elite unit. Closing her eyes she saw the visage of the madwoman that started this all, she did not move or make a sound but her body was filled with killing intent, her mere presence boiling the surroundings with the thirst for carnage. Yet another feeling washed over Castra-Cam, one of genuine caring and sweetness, of improving the morale of her friends not to extract gain or influence out of them, but because it was the right thing to do for a friend a friend! Honest to a fault, hard-working to the point even the most bonehead lich would gawk at, smart and sharp as a vampire, and above all else, total dedication to her close friends, beret of family, and home she made a new one here and Castra-Cam was part of it, even if she nagged a bit much about it. Would Castra-Cam fight and die for her friends? "Yes, Yes Lord Martius I will fight until my bones are ash and my spirit is spent, and with your blessing, we will show the world why the First Sycthes are feared all across the realm" Martius for the first time smiled "Then we fight"
"INCOMING!" the yell of a nameless knight rung after the shells from the enemy began hammering their position once again, after the surprise strike at the crack of dawn they were being hammered with these incredibly powerful projectiles, their combined Ki shields barely holding in. "Ship...they have ships in the bay..." Another Knight spoke as he raised his finger to point to the steel monsters parked less than 4 kilometers from their position, their foghorns blaring across the plains, sheer bass assaulting their ears as the steel monsters began to turn. Neptune looked up and prayed to Morugarius, her men''s morale was in the gutter after the surprise attack in the morning, and the "support" that oaf had sent to repel the invaders was deleted in a snap. Things were not looking good. "...Kassandra, status report..." Neptune sent a spell to her friend who was leading the first charge against Lucrezia''s scouting party, she stopped updating 10 minutes ago... "..Kassandra, status report please..." "THEY ARE EVERYWHERE! SEND SUPPORT RIGHT N-"
Sapphire trotted along with her Knights, Kassandra to her right side as they moved towards the only path that led to the plains, a cliff passage that would let them ambush Lucrezia''s troops. "It''s been 10 minutes already, plenty of time for them to make a move, you think they are scaling the cliffs?" Kassandra asked, one of her Knights, a tall Catkin man spoke in a hushed voice "Unlikely my lady, it would take hours even for the most experienced of climbers to" "SHIELDS!" someone screamed to their right as the whistle of something falling at terminal speed made the Knights and their commanders bolt to action, all 50 of them formed a dome, a myriad of colors appearing as the weird round objects began hitting their aegis. "Stay alert men! they come at us with trickery and stealth!" Sapphire bellowed to raise morale, a mighty warcry came from her troops and the others followed. Then the cliff walls split into two. "INCOMING! FRONT SIDE!" Kassandra screamed, "TO ME MY KNIGHTS, BATTLE AWAITS US!" Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. A steel demon mawed at the final layer of rock, its teeth made of crystals as a horn that sounded like the ones the infernals used blared its unholy sound at the charging Knights, none fainted but Sapphire could see their morale was shaken, within seconds the entire thing came out of the tunnel it had just made, it was huge and heavily armored. A low buzzing sound came out of it, huge doors opening to the sides as armors the size of a small giant dropped with the grace of a dancer, two having long tube-like things stuck to their backs, a red glint came from their helmets and Sapphire felt the coldest chill of her life creep up her spine. The first wave of Knights didn''t even make it near the monsters, blown away by the tube armors who began firing artillery spells or something like it at the chargers, Sapphire barely had time to charge herself when the leading armor, painted in crimson red unlike the greens and whites from the other armors exploded into motion, forward like an arrow from an elven bow and began slicing through the second line of Knights. Kassandra and what remained of her Knights dismounted and began to fight with the nearby armors, their swords, and shields bouncing off like they were made out of wood, spell and miracles would do more damage but the enemy was decimating them, swords and powerful blasts of those infernal weapons Lucrezia had made would chew through Ki shields like nothing. "CHARGE!" Sapphire screamed as her men went forward, trying to cover for the now retreating Knights who hadn''t been blown up to smithereens in the opening salvo. Her mouth was starting to open for the next order when she felt a burning sensation just below her solar plexus, time slowed down as she placed her hand and felt it getting wet, looking down she saw a huge hole and blood pouring out of it. She didn''t have time to scream, her retinue was sliced from top to bottom right in front of her eyes as the crimson armor blasted past her, her horse throwing her off to the muddy ground, part of her wanted to panic as she crawled past the bodies of men and women she knew for the better part of her life, but for good or ill the training she had kicked in and all she could think was one thing. Survive. A blade came to her neck, and for a fraction of a second she saw the Long Queue, then her soul felt the arcane pull of the Field and a female voice rang in her head "Stand by for rebirth, 10 seconds, sending you to the loser''s lobby" Ah yes Sapphire thought to herself in a moment of clarity, she would soon see her people and this nightmare would end. It didn''t take much, she was sent to the lobby of everyone who died in the Fields, high above the sky, and could see the massive army Lucrezia had marshaled pouring out of the tunnel, one of her Knights grabbed Sapphire before she could fall over and the two stayed there watching, watching and waiting. Down below Kassandra fought the full force of the enemy army, the armors and infantry, Knights and Nobles on top of Magi-Tech horses, weird tube-like weapons shooting projectiles. That was when the steel demon fully came out of the tunnel and she saw, face full of horror that Spirits were operating it, together with the gods accursed Ancient Lucrezia had somehow found in the Academy. The demon made the earth below twist like soft butter, more and more troops coming out of it as Kassandra sounded the horn of retreat to higher ground where they had built hastily made fortifications. The dreaded armor let them run, Kassandra not being one to waste a golden opportunity took whatever wounded was in fighting shape and had her troop run at max speed. "..Kassandra, status report please..." the message bloomed in her ear as her men stopped inside the fort, Kassandra screamed, "THEY ARE EVERYWHERE SEND SUPPORT RIGHT NOW GODSDAMNED IT!" Kassandra''s eyes opened as huge shadows were cast against her position, she and her man looked up and saw in the skies massive airships, unlike those of the Principality who had come earlier in the month those were made of steel and crystal, their shapes more akin to birds. "Gods preserve us" the young woman took a deep breath as her eye caught massive doors in the airship''s belly opening up, she didn''t need no blessing of war to understand what was about to happen. Shrills. horrible shrills pierced the air as columns of bombs were dropped on her and her man, she felt the cold touch of death ping her before a voice bloomed in her ear, and after a while she found herself sitting together with her friend, both hugging each other as the rush of combat washed over them, their minds processing the sheer scale of the attack as the bird''s eye view they had now made Lucrezia''s plan clear as day.
Azazel''s men watched in horror as the bizarre airships parked themselves mid-air, their size casting shadows across the plains as the man began screaming for troops to be deployed into the battlefield below. It would be one hell of a fight.
On the outside, a big stadium was built with magic to facilitate the coming visitors, all the allies Lucrezia and her friends had made sat there, of note were the King and Queen of Grannarius, who were in modest clothing and acting like they were just an old couple, to their right was the ancient one from the orc tribes, the man who was immortal had to seem these lands become the kingdom of Vermilion. He had watched the first King kill the leader of the sea elves and much more. Catarina Silverbrand was pacing around her husband, watching her son, her baby boy on top of a horse the size of a wall, armored to the teeth and commanding nearly 700 people was getting on her nerves something fierce, she knew he wouldn''t die, she knew but what mother would she be if she didn''t get worried? He would go through suffering and pain in those fields, and that thought terrified her. "How can you be so calm" she turned to her husband whose stoic face was a rock in this ocean of anxiety. "I am not, matter of fact I am even worse than you right now, but someone has to keep things on a lid if only to provide a semblance of calm to you" he replied with a smile "Plus you are pretty cute when worried" Catarina sighed "This is not the time to woo me, you daft man!" exhaling air and sitting down beside him she grabbed her husband''s hand "oh my little boy, he did so much in such a short time, Gods above please watch over him, don''t let him suffer"
William stood in the hangar of the Nautilus, the new battleship''s name was not one Idun was a fan of but William liked so that was that, dressed in all black tactical gear made from adapting the assassin garb Saa1ryu''s clan used, she had said the new attire was a bit heavier on the side but William didn''t complain after all he came with the ceramic and steel plates to be placed in them after all. The new helicopters had performed wonderfully in the opening hours of the conflict, same for his jets which were the nicest of bonuses. His new rifles, made out of hazed-out dreams of youtube videos on the M14 also performed to task, the teams managing to hold down an entire knight platoon with the weapons. "Once we get in, let me out, I wish to field test the new moves" Lucrezia spoke and William grunted in agreement, she was ready for the bloodbath it seemed. The men got ready, the one sitting by the door spinning his finger to signal the takeoff, as the birds made to the air he gave another hand signal, and off they went, the dull sound of the rotors crashing against the sounds of battle coming from the land. William grabbed his radio "Richard, order for artillery strikes on Grid alpha" The young man''s voice came over from the small apparatus "Roger" and the guns sang over the plains, their deafening roars stunning the man meaning the walls William had just designated. "Wait until the main gun of the Nautilius begins firing," Saa''ryu said. Smiles all around as the Helicopters swoop in from the back, William watched as the mercenaries and Knights from the noble girls Azarel had charmed converged into the point of impact, they quickly landed on the rooftops and the first team went towards the ruckus, their objective was a simple one. Kill everyone. William and his team began to sneak their way into the inner yard of the castle, at first they stuck to the rooftops. Still, once that route ended they had to breach the insides, of Saa''ryu. Her people constantly used their spells to detect upcoming patrols, ambushing them from the ceiling and walls, there were fewer mercs inside, more knights, and the last two ambushes mainly were made of Azarel''s harem members. "Grim display" one of the soldiers spoke as he shot a surviving girl in the chest and head, they couldn''t afford to leave any survivors lest they get a second wind from their blessings or worse. "At least 30 enemies beyond this corridor, all facing the doors and windows," Saa''ryu said and William nodded "Aid me o spirits of the land" The Armor and the Sword showed, or at least their spectral form as they couldn''t physically leave the north, and blessed William''s gear, he would need every edge he had against the Sacred Sword especially now that the owner was cornered and wounded. William made a series of hand gestures and his team breached the door, they quickly formed up in a diamond formation as the remaining women of the harem circled them with spears at the ready. Azarel walked forward, his armor and weapon polished to a mirror sheen, and said "Duel me you whore, for I will have your head and reclaim my honor" William smirked, knowing he would''ve asked for a duel. He said nothing as he stepped forward and pulled his ax, ready for combat and ready to tear Azarel''s innards from his ribcage while his screams blanketed the yard, with a light tap of his hands he summoned Lucrezia, a ghostly blue clone as she unsheathed her Katana and stood at the ready.
Lucrezia blurred forward as the spirit inside Azarel''s blade appeared, the blonde woman standing in a defensive position, she parried the first slash only for the residual energy to phase through her and knock Azarel back. At that moment William leaped forward, empowering himself with his command over Magnetism and a flight spell, feeling the surge of energy at his fingertips he raised his ax and screamed, flying down like a comet clad in lighting and ice, Azarel barely had time to look up as the sword''s spirit pushed him back and took the brunt of the assault. the pavement below them cracked as the shockwave knocked over the onlookers, withing seconds William and Lucrezia were bearing down onto the spirit, the woman parrying and blocking with her left arm as they rained blows on her, William tapped into Cho''Xin''s blessing and bellowed out a deafening war cry, stunning the spirit and giving time for Lucrezia to employ her deadliest attack. Lucrezia''s shade warped around slashing the air at speeds that no mortal body could reach, the spirit was caught in a loop trying to dodge it only to get pinned down in place as William jammed iron stakes at her spectral feet charged with ice mana, locking her in that singular moment. Lucrezia stopped and with a final slash, the attack went off and sliced Artorius into nothing, Azarel screamed in fury as his sword stopped glowing, and he began to slash it wildly, it took William and Lucrezia but a few seconds to disarm him, Lucrezia parried a blow and propelled the blade outwards into the sky, William planted a 2 footed kick into his chest. "Whore! you whore! damn you!" he began to thrash about in the ground, somehow with enough air in the lungs to scream obscenities at William, Lucrezia took a guarded stance as the harem members began trying to rush them. "Another step and I will kill you all, surrender and avoid the shame of having your innards shown to the entire Kingdom" William spoke his voice cold as ice, the girls dropped their weapons and just like that were whisked away to the waiting room of the Fields, the magic placing them together with the others from Azarel''s "team" who had died earlier. "How many remain?" William spoke into a spell and heard Richard''s voice from the construct "Too many, even after the bombing we are facing heavy resistance from the mercenaries and the Knights who left, Hope and the others went out to thin them out but we must finish this quickly before round two starts" Richard sighed "Deploys the rest of the army, I want that castle fortified now Lucrezia" "As you wish Field Commander," William said with a smile and snapped his fingers, the Nautilus and the other battleships emerging from the bay''s depths. Lucrezia grabbed the sacred sword and gave it to him, he felt the spirit inside touch his and hers, and then he spoke "Bequeath thy power to me Artorius, for I am a worthy master" The spirit laughed "Nay, my master is Azarel, and not you or your little godling pet shall wield me, this is the price you will pay for humiliating my clan and its scions mortal" William closed his eyes, many thoughts flashed in his mind as the words repeated themselves over and over, until Lucrezia spoke from the depths. "Without the sword, we have no way of blocking the arrows from the Sacred Bow...and they will have a poison no living god can heal...the only choice is..." she left the word hanging but William knew after all those were his memories of the game. "The bad end" he spoke out loud as he chucked the sword into a corner, the Nautilus now in full view on the skies, in the distance he heard the sound of his locomotive and the cries of his forces. Banners went up, the Imperium Sigil, the mark of the Grannarius crown, the northern raiders'' flag, Lucrezia''s coat of arms, and Hraax flying proudly in the wind. Outside of the Fields, many things were happening to the Kingdom of Vermilion, as her citizens watched in horror from the many projectors made by the Church of Ra''Tyrius show, not 1 but 3 invading armies right at their doorstep. Those with war blessings both big and small felt a deep rumbling inside their souls, as thunder cracked in clear skies around the entire world. A Sphere Shift of unprecedented scale was happening right in front of their eyes. Those near the Academy, also saw a sight only the old generation was privy to, as the entire order of the Royal Knights, the Arch-Mage''s troops moved dead silent minus the clank of their gear towards the place. At the head of this huge war host, the same who had stopped both the Imperium and Grannarius was the strongest being of the known world, Queen Malphas, Her Husband King Jason, and to their sides the Arch-Mages, The Knight-Commander was just behind them, the man looked up and saw the huge airships parked above and sighed. This is gonna be one hell of a day he thought to himself. Up above, in the divine realm All-Father Faal looked with the delight of a newborn child, rare was the day when his creation brought him such novelty and excitement, and by the grand cosmos, he wasn''t going to miss a single second of it!
Chapter 58: The easy part of the deal "Forward momentum was the key principle many mercenaries based off Vermilion were fans of, as their whole war strategies were born from Knights, coupled with rampant usage of mixed martial and magical elements gave rise to several unique mercenary companies, in this volume we will talk about..." On the Mercenaries of Vermilion, 5th edition revised by the Mercenary Guild. The sound of steel against steel clashed with the picturesque view of the Fields. Hope and Vivienne and Arthur had been defending a chokepoint created by the leftovers of the mercenaries Azarel had hired when they heard the horns sound from the castle, together with flares being fired to the sky. Little time to commemorate the victory, as another horde of mercs poured and they began fighting again, Hope was freely swapping through Blessings like Lucrezia had taught and the effect on enemy morale was clear as day. From summoner to necromancer to barbarian, she became an "engine of destruction" as one of the dwarven forge masters from the north called it, Richard was giving orders by the minute, and with the overhead view afforded by the airships they had already enclosed the remains of the enemy army around the ruins of the fort the bombs had leveled to the ground. It was a scary and awe-inspiring sight, and Hope''s War blessings she was using reflected the changes this conflict brought to the world. A clap of thunder to Arthur''s left revealed Kaine and his Kitsune friend, decked out to the nines with Lucrezia''s latest mage armor, fully Magi-Tech and looking like aliens from planets beyond their galaxy. To Hope''s right, a huge roar came and Orthus appeared, the Orc prince was smiling like a child when he slapped Hope in the back. "Hope! Friends! I was afraid I would miss the initial attack but I made it! what a glorious day this is! the Old One watches us!" he pointed to the Ancient orc who had lived to see the first king of Vermilion come to this land and eventually drive off the sea elves. "He tells me that today we shall bring great change to the ways of warfare, and by the gods, I can feel it already, but enough talk! the enemy is here!" And they sure were, Hope switched to the Greater Blessing of Magic and clapped her hands together, after gathering enough mana for the particular spell she had to see Kaine cast she pulled her hands apart, and a spear of green lightning appeared, it hummed with power as she took aim and cast several homing and tracking spells, taught by Lucrezia''s maid. "Ye Gods that''s powerful!" Orthus screamed as he leaped towards the first row of enemies, Hope aimed higher at the remaining knights who were preparing to charge and let the spell loose. The spear sang as it homed into the Knights, exploding into a vortex of Air and Water aspected mana. the enemy was instantly vaporized and torn to shreds. A grim death only made it acceptable cause Hope wasn''t killing them. At least that was what the voice in her head told her. "Brutal," Arthur said as he shook his head "Let''s move out, the Iron Pillars will go off in 10 minutes and we gotta clear the area for the train" he sounded his horn and the party moved, mowing down whatever enemy they came across. Across the fields, the marshaled noble army clashed with the remains of Azarel''s forces, gunfire and sword, Ki martial arts and spells flying as Richard''s forces completed stage one of the fight. From his position he received intel that the Queen was already on her way, seeing a picture taken by the airship nearest to her position, he felt his legs tremble when seeing the stands of not just the Royals but many nobles who wanted to knock Lucrezia a few pegs. "Kaine, Kaine please respond" Richard spoke into the radio. "Speak," Kaine said after a few minutes. "Your parents are riding with twice the number of spell blades, they also have weird tombstone-shaped arcane objects" Richard spoke, "I don''t-" "Impossible, they weren''t ready for field tests for at least a year!" Kaine blurred out "Sorry Field Commander, those are Mana-Ki Converters, the name may not alarm you but it essentially meshes the line of power allowing mages to use Ki and vice versa" Richard sucked in air, from his side the annoying Grannarius elf smiled at him "Crimson 1, You are to form up with Kaine and assist in taking down the Arch-Mages, Alpha Strike them" Seconds passed by before Andromeda replied "Roger" Turning to the Northerners Lucrezia had left in his commander center Richard asked "Are the bombs in the cliff path set?" Serkj nodded and spoke after he spat on the ground. "And on the path we made through the mountains, the Magi-Tech Vanguard will be the tip of the spear once the Queen comes knocking" Serkj continued "I am afraid for those lads, or that was what I would say had I not seen the monsters they have built to this fight...Those Royal Knights will have a decent fight I reckon" Richard sighed, then tapped into the map showing the troops being deployed into the castle.
Outside, in the heart of the capital where many of the embassies were located, total pandemonium was happening as magical messages from across the known world flared up. Multiple clerks and office workers were running, flying, and some even teleporting around trying to unfuck the international incident that was happening right now, fights broke out even as some aspects from the Grannarius embassy thought the vermilions were playing a nasty prank on them. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. All were put to rest once the big Magi-Tech panels Lucrezia''s people had set up around the many parks and plazas went up, together with a recorded Illiuson of Queen Malphas and King Jason explaining the whole ordeal. "A test for the new generation of Vermilion''s finest coupled with the military exercise with our allied nations" the visage of King Jason spoke at length of the whole thing and it didn''t take long before people were huddled together to watch the show, their fears dispelled and many now cheering for their sons and daughters. The Imperium ambassador on the hand was none too pleased when he saw that massive monstrosity of steel and crystal unload not one, not two but five legions worth of Imperial troops, Under the banner of the first legion known for their devotion to the Silent Soldier and the oldest region of the country, Ambassador Amadeus Le''fret felt the sweat run cold in his back. "For the first to be deployed at the head of the host means one thing and one thing only" Amadeus spoke to his aides who had all stopped to watch the large panel that went up near their workplace. "Gods abound" someone finished from behind, the face of High Inquisitor Leadfoot appeared in the sea of Imperials, the dwarven man was ancient from what I was told, older than most of the people who worked under him in the Steinheim Embassy. "Amadeus, I am afraid I and my people will have to shack up with you today, our force fields aren''t fans of this Magi-Tech nonsense" Leadfoot spoke as a group of 5 or so dwarven individuals appeared and nodded. "It would be an honor High Inquisitor" Amadeus smiled, it was a rare thing for the ancient dwarf to even get out of his forge much less speak to other ambassadors "If you require food or drinks we would be more than happy to serve" As ancient dwarven culture dictated those who host someone of high esteem must be to the point and avoid beating around the bush as much as possible. "No need lad, we brought our own provisions and seats, but your generosity is noted" the dwarf snapped his fingers as very fancy chairs and tables appeared, as the rest of the Imperium embassy settled down to watch they saw the bird-like airships break from above the clouds and many gasped. "That''s not Principality design, hells that''s no one design!" a younger worker spoke out loud and many nodded, current intelligence did say Lucrezia and her new God had forged weird machines of war, Amadeus sighed in defeat, why couldn''t the Empress tell him of this? to give Lucrezia nearly 500 men and not tell him was... "Frustrating lad? Yeah, I can see why" Leadfoot spoke from his chair "Look at it, those crystalline monsters that bend the rules of science and magic like nothing, I told those old farts back home we shouldn''t have spurned the young god I did, but they didn''t give me the time of their day and now look at it" he spat on the ground and spoke with a bitter tone. "Old fools, look at ye folly and despair"
William screamed from the castle ramparts, below him his troops roared as well and he leaped, burning mana to empower his flight, pockets of opposition remained and he would personally see to them now. Landing on top of an enemy merc, he chopped his head mid-flight and used the body of his partner to cushion the impact, he heard her ribcage break as his Magi-Tech arm grabbed her by the neck and chucked into a charging Knight armed with a spear, the Knight deflected the body with a Ki blast only to get sliced across the belly by Lucrezia''s shade who materialized with a short delay. The gates of the castle were now open, and the colossal war host William had amassed marched, he saw the Paladins of Saal''Xhir leading the army and smiled, the part of him that longed for bloodshed sung in sheer orgasmic joy as he indulged himself in the carnage. More Knights charged him and with a roar, he threw himself at them, the men were disciplined and fought valiantly, shielding their weakest link and trying to keep William at a distance, Ki flared as their drilled combat practices, shields made of Red and Gold, arrows to stall the monster who was going to give them the first taste of death. "Rip and Tear" William whispered to himself as slammed his arm into the ground and made spikes go up the boots of the Knights, they cried out and tried to jump but the second was just enough for William to leap and Impale the leader with a deep blue ice spear, he laughed as the blood of the Knight gushed forward and leaped again, slamming the dragonbone ax deep into the shoulder of the weak link, their formation broke William began to wrestle the Knight closest to him, an Elven woman who panicked and slammed her shield right into William''s metal arm. Lucrezia was already there, slashing the arm of the woman and then doing a series of slashes to keep the rest away as William recuperated from the stun, with a wide grin on his face he leaped again and punched the elven Knight in the belly, she heaved as William grabbed her head and kneeled before snapping the neck. The world went red, he felt the slip coming but didn''t expect it to be that strong, that powerful, William didn''t even bother grabbing his weapon back, instead resorting to Magic and pure Melee to demolish the remaining Knights, caving a man''s skull with his metal arm, using the body as a makeshift club to kill the one standing next to him in an act of pure savagery. "Snap out of it before you hurt your allies" Lucrezia''s voice was like the Ice of the coldest winter slamming right into his brain, he felt the red in the eyes back out as the woman tried her best to pull William back. He turned to her side and saw she had already killed most of the Knights, their Ki, and Armor not made to withstand wraith-based damage. William saw the last member of the group make a run for it and grabbed one of his pistols from his back, aiming and firing took less than a second, and then the runner went down before having his body taken to whatever place the Field placed the fallen. A horn blared in the skies above, and a very old and tired voice spoke from the clouds above " The Reclaimers have defeated their opposition, transferring Stewardship privileges to..." Sounds of manawaves and the smell of freshly burned crystals enveloped the entire place " War Chieftain Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem, Field Commander Richard Silverbrand" "A silly title, you should''ve been Field Commander," Lucrezia said as she stood next to William "But then again with the Queen making her way to here, It was wise making Richard the Field Commander, I have a... Feeling he will prove more than the match for the title" "You out of all people took a liking to him huh, thought Arthur was more of your speed Lu" William said with a smile. "Do not mock me Terran, I am just saying he was the right choice, even if part of me wanted the glory..." Lucrezia trailed off then sighed "Chin up, we have to set up the defenses for when the Royal Knights come" William sighed and walked towards the castle, the sound of the train and other war machinery he and his had built blaring all around him, god knew how much time he had before the real battle started. It turns out, he had just enough. Chapter 59: As Iron bends to Steel "The bio mutagen capabilities of the hivemind (Or actually its partition) are not to be trifled with, records show that the two recorded times it had to defend itself from combat the "battlefields" have been left as dead zones, the first battlefield is being repaired by a contingency of Spirits and Druids but the second one is beyond saving and it was quarantined off by the Gods, in this manual we will begin teaching the in and outs of Biological warfare..." Imperium combat manual for Centurions Volume 5. Richard watched as the iron pillars Lucrezia had her special team place inside the fort that protected the castle rise up in the skies, taller than the fort towers they reached the heavens before crimson lighting began to strike them. "Beautiful" Kaine spoke as he cast a number of wards around the castle "her control of electricity via magnetism is near its peak, she only needs to improve the mana consumption of her spells, optimization is the mark of a true wizard" Arthur showed up beside them, the prince was decked out in the royal garb the Shatter-Spears were known to use in battle, and with him was a single Royal Knight and Hope, they all greeted each other before the prince spoke "Kaine, your ladyfriend told me she''s nearly done with the outer perimeter wards but..." he stopped for a second before the Chronomancer spoke. "They won''t stop the Knights, just delay them, yes I know, we will have to deal with the godsdamned Mana-Ki converters first, at any rate, knowing mom she will want to charge ahead, it is her preferred method of combat and a source of headache to everyone" Arthur nodded and Richard let out a sigh of relief. "I am sorry my friend, but you will have to hold the line" Arthur was genuinely sad as he patted Richard on the back "The Royals will push you to your utmost limit but I am sure you will rise up to their challenge" A horn was blown from the left side of the party, Richard rubbed his eyes knowing the distinct sound a Grannarius Horn made as he turned to the coming party of Grannarius-dressed guerrillas, led by... an incredibly beautiful elven princess armed to the toe in Magi-Tech Vanguard gear. "Gods preserve me, two royals under my command" Richard spoke out loud to smirks from the most infamous Grannarius Unit there was, Veronica now armored in her war gear grinned and even bared teeth like the animal she was when she got near him. "Magenta Squad reporting for duty Lord Commander" she mocked a Vermilion salute, Richard caught Arthur''s Knight spitting on the ground as she did it and he tensed up for a second before Veronica spoke again "With me here is Lady Emilya who for once in her royal life decided to pick up the spear" there was some hoot and hollering as the elven woman said that. "Field Commander, I am no noble" Richard explained with a sigh "Have your mage and ranged specialists assist Kaine with the Arch-Mages and their troops, the rest can join up any front they wish" Grunts and nods from the Magenta Squad as they split up and went away "Lady Emilya I am guessing you will be with the Vanguard?" "Yes Field Commander, My place is with Idun and his fellows" the elven princess spoke with a clear tone, Richard nodded and she went away, another sigh of relief "Does Orthus count as royalty I wonder? anyway, how about you?" He turned to Veronica who was still grinning while watching the horizon. "Why dear I am staying with you, the troops our King deployed are already down there they need not my help to kill and make merry" she pointed to the Grannarius''s special troops who all saluted the Princess as she made her way to the frontline, not a single sound came from their section, it was eerie. "To the death then?" Richard couldn''t help but crack a joke, the sight of those elven soldiers was spooking him. "To the death" she smiled back, but there was no mirth in her voice, for a rare moment the woman in front of him was dead serious, Richard couldn''t help but poke at the tiger and asked the question that had just formed in his head. "Why?" To Kaine''s side, Richard saw the Magenta mage quickly turn in his direction, beneath her veil black-as-night eyes stared right at him before he heard Veronica speak again. "She Killed my husband, and my son" it was a whisper, barely audible but still heavy as a ton of steel, "I told them to run I did but they wanted to..." Defending her they met their end, Richard felt the gaze of the Mage leave him. "I''ve spoken with The Goddess of Prophecies we worship in my town" Veronica was speaking loud now, enough for the others to hear it "Me and you little one, together we will face her just beyond those plains, after all, and everyone has given their all, I will have a taste of my revenge, if only for a few seconds" In his mind he was reminded of the words of the Goddess, he would charge 3 times, 3 times he would need to prevail and she would aid him in that, the 4 times would have no such aid, and should he prevail there he would meet his destiny, figure out her name and find out what she had in store for him. "They are all very interested in this you know, the Divine is watching with keen eyes today" Veronica pointed to the skies "Ahh how I have missed those wing beats..." William then saw a huge formation in the air above him. The Arch-Duke, his wife, and Knights had come. "Thus the final piece of the puzzle locks itself in the jigsaw, and ye warriors now face the most honorable of rites, stand proud for no other will live to see such a unique army under his or her command" Veronica spoke softly to Richard as she held his hand "And when Death comes, we go together" "Off we go into the wild pale yonder" Richard finished, squeezing the cold metal gauntlet.
Kaede trembled inside her armor, the news was flying in the radio as the Queen breached the Academy with the largest host the country saw in peaceful times, the clock was ticking and she could sense the trepidation of her fellow classmates. When the airships parked around the monster that Lucrezia called Nautilius to accommodate the Griffin riders from the Arch-Duke she saw many sighing in relief, this battle would push them to their absolute limits but they would not fight alone. Her tail brushed into Kaine''s leg who was looking perturbed by the second. Kaede''s mom would''ve said something to soothe his fears, the girl clicked her tongue annoyed when that thought came to her head, of course, she wasn''t good enough to be the perfect courtesan because her mother and her grandmother, and the entire bloody family line had the gift of charisma while she was a stick in the mud who could only wield magic at a level few in the clan had seen. "Kaede, how''s your flashpoint offensive magic regimen?" Kaine spoke up and he snapped out of her internal rant. "Top shape, zero delays after the chronomancy rune you had me inscribe finally kicked in, why?" Kaede looked at her...well she didn''t know what to make of Kaine yet, the man was a total enigma to her even after training with him for as long as she did, sometimes he was aloof, then he was sharp as a blade... "I had to pull one of the necromancers from Castra''s special team" Kaine began talking "Together with the Zenos units we will be the very tip of the spear in this brawl, now pay attention to this diagram" with a snap of his finger a complex magical diagram popped up "See those lines? they are based on the fey folk that lives in the jungles of the Imperium, until today I and dad only worked on this as a way to pass the time..." Kaede''s Greater blessing of Magic snapped like a predator jumping into prey "Gods you were this close to cracking the barrier between Ki and Mana! But it would''ve taken years for you two to finish!" she paced around "Look the calculations around here and here they are the chokepoints for the Divine Sphere that govern that part of our powers, to bypass or punch through it, you would''ve needed years worth of experimentation" "Smart as always Kaede" Kaine smiled, bearing teeth in a way she found out earlier from the prince that meant he was happy "which means Mother and Father worked with the one who blessed you to have those converters, Ki and Mana exist in a balance, one can counter the other in many many ways, Together with the troop they have we must destroy them as fast as possible" "The Knights will be a pain in the ass as it is, but if mom and dad get to harass our backline or our special units it''s gonna be much much worse" Kaine finished and looked to the side where Crimson 1 and the rest of the Zenos Units had just walked in, Kaede felt an unnatural cold to her side as one of the Vampires Castra-Cam was working with appeared, her face shielded with a veil and hood. Once Crimson 1 linked up with them Kaine began explaining the plan "These converters will be masked with illusion magics but they will need to be operated by at least 5 mages in a star formation, following the war doctrine my mother drilled into them this will likely be how they will be positioned in the battlefield" He showed everyone involved how the Arch-Mage would be fighting and explained further "Kaede and I will take care of my parents, I need you and you" he pointed to the others "to break their backs while we peel off the Arch-Mages from the formation, beware that this is not just the mages from the Tower, but also personal troops we have been training for decades, they will not go down easy" "Leave it to us little mage" the vampire spoke with a spooky giggle "I do want to see these metal monsters in proper combat too, a question, once we break their backs as you so elegantly put it, do we form up and push against the Knights?" This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. "Good question, if we need backup I''ll send a message via the radio, otherwise you are free to engage the enemy at your discretion or back off to the castle" Kaine spoke with a sigh "Everyone ready?" "Aye" nods and words came from the group and then Kaede felt a chill like the winter spirits had just breached her house and heard Kaine speak "Good, they just crossed past the barrier to the fields, it''s time" Right on queue, Kaede saw those terrifying flying machines Lucrezia had, going so fast they broke the sound barrier. With a gesture, she prayed for good luck because the gods knew she would need it soon. Below ground the Kitsune saw terrifying sea creatures and heard one of the Lucrezia knights scream a name "Hraax!" the man shouted and others joined as the mermen were led by a beautiful merwoman with a nasty-looking bone weapon, Dragonbone from the seas! the same Lucrezia had, so that''s how the duchess got something so rare, the mermen army linked up with the frontline and then Kaede heard the hellish sound of the train engine barreling through dirt and stone. Over at the bay, warships readied their cannons, and Kaede saw people running with what she came to learn was the long-range artillery Lucrezia used against the first prince. Looking again at the train she saw the Spirits working in tandem with the Ancient woman to create trenches as far as the eye could see, Kaede turned to Kaine and asked. "Will she fight with us?" Kaede''s tail was swinging wildly, a trait she was ashamed of since it was the tell when she was nervous "Depends, she has no taste for combat as she told me, she was a researcher, not a fighter, I don''t think their society even had Fighters at the later stages given they lived in what is essentially a utopic paradise, but who knows, anything can happen today" Time went on slowly, the anxiety building up until Kaede felt her palms sweat, the Magi-Tech staff she had nearly escaping her death grip, she turned to Kaine again and saw the man in deep meditation, a pale blue light coming from his chest. And then she felt the air tremble, something had come and she nearly fell to the ground "Gwennarius fights with us today" Kaine''s voice was tinged with power, divine power as Kaede felt the same tremble all around the camp, Blessings flaring up, but only one person on the same level as Kaine''s. "Hope taught me the Avatar spell if you can believe it" Kaine smiled "She''s powerful now, almost at my own level I''d say, look alive Kaede, the first bout is ours" Over the horizon, great balls of fire went up, and the tunnel they had carved to reach the fields proper went up in smoke, a voice in the skies boomed announcing the arrival of the Royal Host. "NEW CONTESTERS, THE ROYAL KNIGHTS OF VERMILION LED BY QUEEN MALPHAS AND KING JASON!" "Richard, did the explosions work?" Kaine asked on the radio, Kaede saw Kaine shaking his head "Crimson, time to soften the enemy up, everyone else, with me" and Kaine flew up, his staff glowing blue and golden. "May the river of time be under my command, the threads of fate at my call, and the destiny of all living and dead at my fingertips"
Kaine saw the suits of armor rush toward his parent''s personal army, the Ki-Mana converters nowhere in sight, and a familiar ping came from the formation, his sister was at his mother''s side. "Enthrall their minds" Kaine gave the order to the vampire elf who smiled and turned into mist, on the ground the Crimson squad claimed first blood as they tore into the Mages, spellfire, and steel rung across the plains. "Left side, Knights, 2 detachments" Gwennariu''s voice whispered in his ear, with 3 taps in his staff he placed a marker on their path, and within minutes the guns from the Nautilius sang their terrible music. Kaine saw 2 of the Suits of the armor of Crimson Squad, one for close and long-range combat peel off and head to the blast zone, the guns had thinned out the detachment but in a show of vigor that befitted an army that held their own against many strong foes in the past, many Knights had survived the bombing via Ki or Magic. "Kaine! Kaine you scum of a son! come down here and face the music, you ingrate! stop getting your dick wet and fight me!" He couldn''t believe his ears as his mother shouted obscenities across the battlefield. "I see your new pet you fucking degenerate, hey you! yes you,harlot Kitsune! get your paws off my son or I will personally send your soul straight to the fucking QUEUE!" Arch-Mage Sophia Antewood had what many in the mercenary line of work called "A bard''s tongue" this form of demoralization was used incredibly well by Sophia who was by all measures the best Offensive mage of the Kingdom. "Kaede, Ritual spear, Lightning, and Lifeforce, draw it from the fallen Knights" Both mages began weaving and shaping the raw primal energies of mana and life force, a sigil went up in the skies and Kaine heard his mom scream another obscenity, this time a boom came crashing through his left side and he saw his sister, armed to the teeth in combat robes and protective spells. Margareth didn''t say anything, both were used to playing fighting and spars and so they went at it, what Margareth wasn''t expecting was the backup from Crimson Squad, on the other hand, the suits of armor firing Magi-Tech shells and bullets at her. The Ritual spear fell in the middle of the formation, only to be stopped by a freakish colorful Ki shield, ah he smiled, the converters were working. With a ping, he marked their probable locations and began hammering them with more Spears. All hell broke loose as the fighting began in earnest, Kaede flew low and began lobbing spells at his father who was caught off guard by her ferocity but nevertheless fired back, early melting the woman with plasma rays and dimensional holes. Crimson 1 saw an opportunity and hammered into the Arch-Mage like a devil possessed, the man neatly pushed the armor off and with a clap summoned a ghost version of himself, who flew towards Crimson 1, its hands blazing with the light of the sun. Kaine began lobbing spells at his sister, who finally made a move and pulled wind walls to deflect his attacks, teleporting across the battlefield he saw the frontline troops already engaging with the first wave of charging Knights and felt awe at the sight, Kaine wasn''t one who sought glory in the battlefield, but nevertheless, he was Vermilion born and raised and there was nothing that rose the spirits of her people like a good fight. weaving quicker spells between his big hits, Kaine managed to ground his sister who was wide-eyed, in a straight-up fight she always came up first after all. But this was no straight-up fight, armed to the teeth with gear that enhanced his abilities and under the Divine Avatar spell, Kaine was in the same realm as his parents, and his sister, as good as she was in the arcane, couldn''t make it there on her own. "Mine for the taking!" Kaine saw the afterimage of Lucrezia running her ax right into Margareth''s belly and lifting her into the air, with a lighting fast hand gesture 3 iron stakes pierced her body and she was gone, Lucrezia turned to Kaine, her face red with the blood of his kin and for once he felt fear. With a leap the woman was gone, Kaine turned to his parents who were being held off by Kaede and the Crimson squad, and saw his mother''s face twisted in rage, she clapped her hands and he felt every detection and shield spell flare up as a thunderbolt the size of a giant slam into him. "Chrono Leap" Kaine said and felt the river of time roar in the back of his head, the damage of the thunderbolt gone, its image breaking at the seams as the very laws that held the waking world together bent to his divine power, he heard his mom shout something foul but did not care. It was time for the cleanup. Gwennarius shared her sight and he saw the river of time, always splitting and turning, a rat''s maze of uncertainty and futility, with mathematical precision he triangulated the position of the Ki-Mana converters and signaled them to the artillery crews and the airships. Warping to the ground he came face to face with the forces his parents had mustered, all accomplished mages and their own personal fighters, spells rained down on him but Chronomancy made sure nothing could touch him, with his sister finally off the battlefield he could let loose for once in his life. "Andromeda''s suit of armor has a hidden secret capable of besting your mother in single combat, you and Kaede must take down your father" Gwennarius''s voice boomed in his mind again, he felt something deeper in those words of hers, there was...yearning, a thirst for combat she hadn''t felt in millennia, a trepidation of something that was to come and her shell of hard-faced no nonsense Goddess was starting to fall. "Incoming!" the mages screamed as Lucrezia''s cannons sang their song once again, the shields that made the converters invisible falling under the sheer output of both physical and magical damage. The mage army formed up and Kaine felt the wrath of Vermilion''s best in the arcane arts crash down on him, it took all his control on Chronomancy to avoid such a concentrated attack, nothing like their first salvo. They were testing him. Looking closer he saw that many were smiling, some with wide grins that bespoke their true intent, Ah Kaine thought with a smile, but of course! he knew these people like family and was somewhat angry at himself for forgetting one thing these masters of the arcane loved to do. "My friends, let''s give them one hell of a show!" Kaine spoke out loud to the cheers of his enemies, flying up in the air he was pelted by a rainbow worth of spells, all elements on display as they began to clash. Kaine taking a page from Lucrezia''s repertoire slammed down with a mix of Wood, Water, and Lava spell taking a good chunk of the slower mages into the grave. A flash to his left side made him turn his head, Kaede teleported to him bloodied and battered as his father came right after her, the woman was trying her hardest and the Arch-Mage wasn''t letting her go, Kaine called another artillery strike and the converters went down, the Knights all the way in the frontlines screaming as their faux mana shields went down and Lucrezia''s weapons tore into the weaker links, he heard war horns and screaming for a charge, with a fraction of a second he willed his divine powers to show what was happening and saw Richard ordering the Academy students like a war general. Suppose he was one now huh, but Kaine had no time to ponder, his father had already started casting more spells at him! With a lighting-powered leap, Kaine closed the gap dodging the spellfire, its impact shockwave crashing against his Father''s aegis spells. It would be a tough shield to crack but he was more than ready for it. Kaede linked up with him, and both began preparing the ritual for the spell Lucrezia had devised for such an occasion, fusing the air with that hellish mineral that was the bane of magic users, a nasty spell made by someone whose method to defeat mages was one of speed rather than honorable duel. It was and Kaine couldn''t help but be in awe, an ingenious design, casing the mineral around two layers of magically conductive material, these experimental anti-magic bullets Lucrezia had made together with the ritual were tailored to Kaine''s advanced control of the arcane, together with Kaede''s Greater Blessing it made sure not even the Arch-Mage would be able to handle it. When the Aegis fell, the battlefield went quiet, Kaine saw the sheer surprise on his father''s face as he began muttering another aegis into existence, but another thing happened that took Kaine out of his battle high. "I WILL DESTROY YOU" his mother warped right in front of him, arm held high as a blade of pure wind came crashing down on him, in that split second Kaede screamed and threw herself in front of the spell. "AHHH" the Kitsune screamed, a torrent of mana flying off and blocking the spell in a light show so impressive Kaine sighed, his mother was blown back to the side as the Crimson 1 armor came crashing down on top of her, Kaine not missing the window of opportunity charged forward and with a smooth motion of his Magi-Tech staff, impaled his Father with a spear of blackened ice. Valtas smiled, pride on his face as he said "Damn my son is good" and then he vanished. Kaine stopped as the battlefield around him grew silent, his mother now backs up and trying to keep the crimson armor off her stared him dead in the eye, fury as blinding as the sun in her eyes. A loud boom from his right side spooked him, his mother now grinning like a mad woman as Kaine''s vision picked up a blur going up in the skies, he sucked in air. Lucrezia was right once again. The Red Dragon had entered the field, its size nearly matching Lucrezia''s main airship as a terrible roar echoed across the Fields, the Knights screamed together with the lizard and charged with renewed vigor as Dragonfire came from the skies. Yet Lucrezia and Richard''s forces held on, with massive losses but they held the line, a white flare went up as Lucrezia''s voice boomed across the battlefield. "KALLISTA!" Chapter 60: Dragonsong "Madness! Do you seek to betray the one who gave you life, the lord of everything?! Know thy place welp before your divine ichor stains these halls!" Saint Julios the hallowed, devout follower of the All-Father when Augurious breached the inner city of the Gods. Richard stared in awe, a sight only the enemies of the All-Father were privy to now bearing down on his people. Lucrezia''s thundering voice came from the skies and the clouds parted as the silvery white blur of her dragon ally flew straight into the red dragon. "Arch-Duke, take your riders and harass the left column" Richard began barking orders "The Knights there are nearly breaking through our trenches, and we are suffering heavy losses," the man said naught a word, only leaping in the bloody air as a griffon surged from below and more went with him. "Imperials! give a taste of your steel to the cousins from the right column!" he heard a roar from the Imperials who remained, things were not looking good however, morale was down in the gutter as the Reclaimers themselves found the strain of fighting against kin and kith, he heard screams of fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters crying over the fact they were on the field of war. A scene straight from a civil war, even when knowing death was not happening it was hard, so very hard to raise one''s hand against one''s family. Lucrezia leaped to his side, his aides dodging masterfully as the woman grinned with the look of a madman on her face. "We fight in earnest now Richard, cheer the troops before morale falls lower" From the castle walls, Richard took a deep breath and channeled the hidden divine "Reclaimers! heed me in this hour of strife! see not the kin and kith you fight, see not the honorable warriors as a wall but as a stepping stone for glory! show them and the entire world we are the next generation of fighters, of rulers! let them not make less of us, and give them no quarter! forward!" With a mighty leap, his aides went over the wall towards the frontline, Hvtial screaming to the northern raiders to join him and they roared in return, soon Richard found himself with few to man the castle. Lucrezia''s Knights and the Grannarius Magenta Squad among the Reclaimer forces. With a boom from the skies, the airships began firing again as the dragons clashed and Richard sighed, things were getting complicated, he also didn''t miss the flying machines Lucrezia had going fast toward enemy lines. "Soon little one, soon you will test your mettle against their blades, for now, you must watch, watch and see the great vermilion army in its full glory" the voice spoke once again to him and he felt calm again, come what may he would pull through, towards victory. The great red dragon Saark was not feeling ok this afternoon, not only had his favorite human asked him to fight, he would be fighting against his sister! the dragon had renounced warfare for ages and no doubt would be absolutely trashed around but to deny Malphas was just not possible. He had spoiled her rotten, after all out of all his descendants she was the only one that actually bothered to have an actual bond with him. And so out of loyalty to the only person who gave him her time of the day, he would fight, even if his entire body was screaming bloody murder and fear pumped into his veins like poison. Icy spears slammed into his left flank, and his sister was already amped for the next strike, she always was the one who preferred attacking without rest out of the two of them after all.
Saark couldn''t dodge it, his sister teleported right into his right flank and he fell from the skies, up high a purple spear came crashing down and his eyes widened, a godsdamned Dragoon! blessed by All-Mother no less! Impossible, how many hidden cards that woman had!?! That is not a skill many have! Saark felt the scent of the Dragoon''s mana and sighed, of course, Thadeus''s son would be the one, he did warm his decedents to avoid getting together but they didn''t heed him, too many of his extended family together and now a Dragoon was born after gods know how many centuries. "You have grown fat in your little cave brother!" Kallista''s voice boomed in the skies as Arrows, magic, and Ki blasts came from the Knights close to him, she batted them aside with her wings, the full size of an adult dragon breaking the morale of the nearby Knights. The Dragoon landed, scrapping his neck with the purple spear and Saark roared in pain, flying again he slammed his head into Kallista''s belly. The fight was on again, fire and ice clashing as he and the Knights who hadn''t run away, these brave few formed up and began lobbying spells, arrows, and Ki blasts once again. With a war cry, the commander of these Knights raised her spear and screamed "Fear not men! we are the spears of shields of Vermilion! stand fast against the enemy and show them we will not falter!" The Dragoon landed right in front of them and raised his helmet "Vdofnir! I challenge you!" Vdofnir smiled "Young Master Thadeus, today you will show if you are worth the mantle, have at ye!" Saark couldn''t help but feel joy watching his brood fight with no ill will, once again remembering why he chose Vermilion among all the other kingdoms and countries. Facing his sister who was also watching the show with a wolfish smile on her face she spoke "Aren''t they something, but I am not without Allies still!" Saark then felt the sonic boom in the distance as triangle-shaped flying objects closed into his position fast. I will need to use that, accursed woman and her inventions Saark thought to himself as the cold fury of his pact with Malphas began to burn inside his chest, and then he felt the red in his eyes burn as the Rage flooded him, and his body. A pact, a bestowal of one of the most dangerous forms of power this world had seen, Saark knew it was unfair but to be honest, his sister and her allies were also deeply unfair, with a mighty roar he swatted away his sister''s spells, and flew up high, targeting one of the airships but not the flagship, that one he could feel had something terrible inside and he wasn''t keen on opening that accursed box of crystal and metal. Lucrezia''s airship fired back at him but the v-shaped monster went down, immediately he felt a tingle in the back of his neck as the massive flagship reared not one, not two, but every single cannon at his position. His sister turned into a humanoid and dived to the ground as Saark was hammered with beams of light and projectiles that would''ve killed a lesser God, the main beam kept going as it tore into the mountainside and an enormous hole was made! He roared back in defiance, ha! Saark thought to himself, not so mighty now, are you! but in his momentary hubris, he felt the claws of his kin sink into his belly and drag him to the ground, both crashing with a mighty thump as his sister went for the kill with a bite to his throat, copying her move he turned into a human and dodged out of the way flying upwards, retaking his dragon form and raining fire on her head. Another tingle, this time with a chill as a figure leaped into the air and armed with a scythe that screamed Magi-Tech, Saark then saw the face of the figure, Castra-Cam! he immediately tried to fly away from her but again felt hands in his belly. This time skeletal in nature. "Ye gods," Saark said to himself as the spectral form of the Undying shone behind Castra-Cam, yet the dragon refused to wield and with another transformation into a shockwave went towards his sister, better to take care of her first he thought to himself, the necromancer girl wouldn''t be able to keep the spectral form for long, after all, it was no divine avatar spell he felt. A glance to his back and he saw the Dragoon busy with the Knights still, good Saark thought to himself as he dived into his sister and saw her going up to meet him, claws and bites followed as he felt the rage giving him that extra edge against her and Castra-Cam, the necromancer trying to find gaps in his form for a quick kill, once she realized that wasn''t ideal she began to hammer him with necrotic spells and attacks. The battle fell into a mad dance and for a few seconds, Saark noticed the battlefield had grown quieter as Knights and Academy students looked up in awe, two dragons fighting was a rare sight outside of their island home after all. Saark saw an opportunity to bat Castra away and he did so, dodging her and his sister''s spells like they were nothing, the girl went flying after he kicked her with his hindlegs right in her solar plexus, he also noticed a Knight from behind the inner circle that was defending Malphas leap into the air and fly off her direction, hopefully, to dispatch of her, the woman was dangerous. "Not fair little brother, not fair" Kallista spoke her face bloodied by a slash "But All-Mother be praised I missed this!" ah yes Saark thought to himself as he dodged the fury of blows from Kallista, his sister loved to fight with her fellow dragons when they were young.
With a nod to Veronica who started hammering into the nearest Knight, Richard rallied the Reclaimers who were being attacked and managed to push them back. Still, the situation was dire as more poured into the yard as the melee was on. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. "Open fire!" Richard screamed as Lucrezia''s men and the Reclaimers who were behind used their guns, yet the multi-layered Ki shield they employed was proving a hard nut to crack. Spellfire and gunfire halted their tracks and then Richard began ordering the other mages to create distractions, pits, and walls of stone and iron, every second he brought was enough for the troops who were retreating to get into the keep and for the ones who weren''t demoralized to bite back. The Knights made no sound while slaughtering their foes, not even grunts came from those ornate armors, only the sound of spear and sword, bow and arrow in the air, Ki skills and magic as their communications happened all in the mind. Then Thadeus Senior spoke, his voice clear as day. "Field Commander Richard Silverbrand, On the behalf of the Royal Knights of Vermilion I thank you and your mistress for this opportunity!" A mighty war cry came from the Knights afterward, and Richard couldn''t help but tremble as one particular trivia of his kingdom''s history came to mind. "When pushing into the capital of the mad elven king, Knight-Commander Thadeus reached the footsteps of godhood, a war cry from his personal troops and a radiant glow coming from his person made the elven menace quake in fear!" Richard, somehow in the back of his mind felt Morale drop even further, yet he remained focused and searched for a way to stop such terror, a mad idea was birthed in his desperate state, ordering the mages to retreat to the keep he then ordered the Nautilius to fire the Anti-Magic rounds straight at the Knights, for a solid 10 seconds the beast in the air let loose and while their Ki barrier held, the mages among the Knights were looking at him with blood in their eyes as they cried foul. With their march halted Richard gave another order, taking note of Lucrezia''s penchant for parades before the fight, where she even without a Blessing for music and song used those things to raise morale sky-high he used his radio to order the band who was nested at the inner part of the castle to sing and play. yet he knew no song Lucrezia had taught them. bar the ones he had heard and simply asked. "Play something to raise morale, now!" he barked. "Understood!" Came the reply from the radio, seems they were eager to join the war effort Richard smiled. "Smart man, my people were found of drums and chants, let us see what Lucrezia has brought to the table" The Goddess spoke to him again and he felt a wave of power flood through him towards the people nearby. The horns, violins, and other instruments began hammering across the castle and beyond, the one who commanded the musicians using her blessing to broadcast the song across the nearby fields, then the choir came in and the push from the Reclaimers came with it. "Brave as the bravest" "Great as the greatest" "Strong as the strongest" "Hard as the hardest" "No lack of courage" "No rack and ruin" "No room for pity" "No Disillusion!" "FOWARD!" Richard screamed at the top of his lungs as the Knights were caught flat-footed by the sheer ferocity of his men, as the Royal Knights began to fall to their swords and guns more screamed back at the Knights, with the music giving them a much-needed second wind. "If a cause is..." "Worth dying for" "Then so be it!" The song went on and Richard felt for the first time in his life the thrill of combat, his mind ablaze as he screamed orders and slashed Knights like a beast possessed, as if he was born for this very moment, the Knights pulled back as more Anti-Magic rounds came from the Nautilius. "Brave as the bravest" "Great as the greatest" "Strong as the strongest" "Hard as the hardest" "No lack of courage" "No rack and ruin" "No room for pity" "No Disillusion!" As the song ended Richard could feel the pleasure of the divine who empowered him, and without a word from her he knew he had completed the first in order to unlock her power, he feared the coming fights, for he knew he would be in a world of pain but a part of him also welcomed it. In another life he would be a boring shopkeep or traveling merchant, it was thanks to that crazy woman he now knew what he was meant to do, the combat called for him as much as the gold from a good deal did and Gods as his witness he would have both! "Interesting, However!" Thadeus senior spoke again and the ground shook! Richard felt his power go away as his eyes widened to the huge beast that came off the back of the Knight-Commander. "A High Demon!" Veronica cried "Thadeus you make me blush, last time you could only summon Lower Demons!" The hellish beast laughed "Time to crash some skulls, you are first elven whore" Richard held a scream of fear when he saw the face of the demon, Tear and Rend! infamous for the oath it made to one of the very early Queens of Vermilion, to this day it served the country as long as its price was paid. Yet the beast had no taste for blood or sinew, souls or mana, it loved fine art, obscure food made by far away chefs and precious rocks, the last time it was deployed was in his lesser form which meant one thing. Queen Malphas had loaded the sucker up before this fight. "I remember elven whore! you banished me before the big fight! Oh yes, Today I will feast on your blood proper" both lunged at each other as Richard deployed most of his barrier staves to make an urgent retreat for his forces. The Royal Knights also stepped back, nary a word coming from them as a tense truce formed, Richard barking orders for the remaining mages to set up stone, iron, and steel magical barricades and for Lucrezia''s forces to line up their weapons. They retreated into the main keep as Richard stood by its big doors, he could hear the grunts coming from the fight beyond his makeshift barrier, and with a wave of one of his remaining Magi-Tech staves, he made a set of stairs and beheld the carnage. Veronica Windreaver in full armor, leader of the most infamous Grannarius unit was taking a beating few in this world could give, the woman was bloodied, with deep gashes in her armor and skin and pouring elven blood, he was lucky the vampires Lucrezia recruited were in the frontlines otherwise it would cause more issues. The Goddess did not speak to him, and yet Richard knew he had to help, something burned inside of him and his humble Merchant Blessing pulsed in trepidation, he closed his eyes and focused, reminding himself of his words to Veronica before the fighting began. Richard called for more artillery fire, making the Knights retreat out of the courtyard, and with a leap joined Veronica in the field, there were no words to be had as Richard began hammering into the High Demon with his spear and shield, the beast roared in rage and focused on him as Richard deployed Aegis and Shield spells to halt its momentum, with a roll to the side he grabbed another staff and slammed into the ground. Blades made out of Holy Light pierced its feet into the legs, the demon howled this time in pure pain as Richard grabbed his spear and overcharged the crystals inside with the element, he exploded into a sprint and with a mighty leap pierced its heart. Yet the demon remained in the mortal plane, grabbing Richard by his arms and throwing him at the makeshift barricade, he felt his ribs crack as he crawled towards the healing staff on the ground. Veronica not missing the opening became a green mist and reappeared on top of the demon, with a series of slashes she decapitated it, and slammed her palm into the neck stump, a sigil lit up and the entire beast shimmered out of existence, and his decapitated face smiling at Richard. Knight-Commander Thadeus''s voice boomed from beyond the destroyed walls of the main courtyard "Congratulations son! it takes more than barking orders and a keen mind to be a true leader of men, especially on the battlefield! but will you survive until the end I wonder?" Richard said nothing, healing himself until he felt his ribs were not cracked anymore, Veronica picked him up and leaped above the barricade, she gave him a grim smile and both looked towards the rubble the artillery left, a few Knights dead in it. Richard received an update from the Nautilius, Lucrezia''s train had closed the gap the Knight-Commander used to breach into the castle, they would not receive reinforcements as the entirety of Malphas force was now in the proper war against the Reclaimers. "Thadeus is fond of testing promising individuals and has taken a liking to you now, expect fiercer resistance from his remaining forces" the Goddess spoke to him and Richard sighed, this would last a while.
Hope locked arms with two Royal Knights as Vivienne blasted them with some freakish spell and removed them from the battlefield, to her left side Arthur kept an entire squad at bay with both mind and necromancy as they slowly but surely cleared their way to the main target. Queen Malphas. "Castra just got knocked by the dragon" Vivienne spoke "Kaine dealt with his father and his mother is being kept at bay by that armored unit of Lucrezia''s, he''s coming...right now" A thunderbolt in the skies and Kaine together with his Kitsune friend were made manifest, a cheer came from the Reclaimers behind them as the students formed ranks and pushed forward. The Royal Knights fought without a sound, there were no war cries or barked orders from their low-level officials as they neatly folded back and held the line until the Wulfgrem reinforcements arrived that is. A barrage of gunfire broke their Ki shields and then the Imperials together with those Grannarius spooks rushed forth, Hope saw members of the infamous magenta squad in the thick of combat, reaping Vermilion''s best with deadly efficiency. Front the air strike teams from both sides fought for air supremacy, Griffions roared against Knight''s spellfire, and Hope had a split-second moment of total awareness of the battlefield, her Blessing of War from Morugarius growing in size as it touched the many facets of this engagement. It was total war now, something on a minor scale compared to the big incursions of the last war 30 years ago but still total war. "Hope! Focus!" Arthur''s voice snapped her out of the moment and she resumed the fight, more Senior Knights were on the way now as the fields leading to the Queen were heavily defended, they didn''t employ terraforming strategies like Lucrezia, relying solely on their might to halt the tide. A boom in the air as 3 triangles up above rushed forward towards Malpha''s position on top of one of the hills leading to the fields told Hope she wouldn''t get the first blood today, those were Lucrezia''s special flying machines that had destroyed the fort at the start of the battle, and it seemed they wanted to fight first. Speaking of the woman herself, Hope felt a ping in her Blessing as massive streaks of red lightning slammed into fortified Knight positions, Lucrezia leaping in the air and dropping into them like a living bomb trying to buy time for some of her own Knights to retreat, it was a spectacular light show but one Hope was afraid it wouldn''t last too long, even if Lucrezia''s mana reserves were huge. "Kaine, what does the river of time says" Arthur asked as the mage formed up with them. "Nothing, there are literally dozen of major gods on the battlefield all deploying their spheres including the All-Mother and the All-Father, twice that number of minor and medium power gods, this is a literal mess and Gwenarius won''t stop complaining about it" Kaine smiled as if the thought of the Goddess of Time being upset made him happy "Still your dearest mother and mine will be busy for a while if we can mop up the best men and women of the Kingdom we can win via numbers..." Kaine pointed his staff to the skies as a shower of arrows came toward the group "the flying machines will try to deal with Malphas and Jason now! Lucrezia is busy buying time for her Knights and other troops, and Richard is in a bind with the Knight-Commander! but we can still win this!" he spoke and Arthur nodded, Hope felt her beloved''s confidence in the mage, often both gave orders but Arthur always heeded Kaine''s advice when things were truly dire. And thus they marched forward, towards the most difficult battle of their lives. Chapter 61: Wings of Steel and Crystal "The economic reality is that any arcane spell related to the creation of mana-borne foodstuff is simple, total collapse of every farm from here to the ends of the world, as such we as Gods and shepherds of mortals must ban such practices!" Intro speech given by then Overseer Kalstad, chief God of the Chamber of Divines who dealt in Commerce, he was killed shortly after by Devils hired by human food mages. Queen Malphas surveyed the battlefield with a keen eye as the Divine behind her back sighed in exasperation, Morugarius was doing quite a bit of that the past hour and with good reason. As someone blessed by not just a Greater Blessing of War, but a personal friend to the chief general of the All-Father, Malphas was privy to much of the many war spheres of power worked, a constant push and pull, balancing each other out as to avoid supremacy, after all the All-Father needed his troops to play nice whenever he deployed them in his major conquests. The whore''s little army, plus the actual army backing her had not just upset the said balance, it had effectively thrown it into the bin, the weapons and means of locomotion in particular being the gravest offenders. "Otherworldly knowledge not meant to be tested in this plane" Morugarius spoke "Nevermind the fact Mother and Father are watching her do this, the Old man is likely enjoying himself at my expense" another sigh from the Goddess. Malphas could also tell Morugarius wasn''t pleased with her, knowing she willingly shielded her son''s misdeeds irked the Goddess something fierce, but the woman was bound to Vermilion by oaths stronger than iron, and so when Malphas called her to battle, she came. After all, the opposition also had Divine support. Imperium, Grannarius, Northern Raiders. Enemies of the Kingdom now under her banner, Nobles, merchants, commoners, and Knights from hundreds of clans and families big and small, Had it been any other person Malphas would shake their hand and grant them a title, but it had to be her. "Priority Targets, Call em" Malphas spoke and the Goddess got to work "Those bloody airships, the big one, in particular, the smaller planes, the godsdamned train powered by Spirits and a living ancient" Morugarius seethed "Just how in all that is sacred and golden, by my father''s balls she found a living ancestor?!?" "Focus old friend, leave such questions to later" Malphas calmed the Goddess down, she was right, a living ancient whose magical might and command of the arcane were praised by a supreme deity like Faal was worrying, but her people assured her the woman was a scientist, not a fighter. A sonic boom went off above Malphas as she saw the smaller airborne targets fly by her, Malphas gave the nod to her husband and jumped up flying, as she neared the planes she too broke the sound barrier, telling the... "Fighter Jets they are called Fighter Jets" Morugarius spoke in her mind as her form shimmed behind Malphas "Beware of its movements, it will not fly as some of those machines you fought in the dwarven lands" Malphas Greater Blessing now in synch with the Goddess began absorbing information about the new weapon, catching up to the trio of Jets she saw all 3 pilots were dwarves, a demon carved in the nose of the jets made her arch her eyebrow, gaudy. A split second later Malphas leaped into the leftmost Jet, a mix-up of Flying and Teleportation magic, and slammed her hands into what her Blessing told her was the engine, the other two jets flipped out a second later, their engines roaring so loud Malphas felt the ringing in the ears coming. She felt Morugarius sigh in wonder, as the war machines danced in the skies to get distance "Don''t let them get behind you for too long, those weapons have Anti-Magic rounds in them" Alas, the warning came a tad too late, the leader''s jet did an insane maneuver that would certainly put any flying mage squad leader into the ground thanks to gravity, Malphas felt a ping in her spine as Morugarius began telling her to fly up. Rearranging her flying path further up was easy, her mastery of Teleportation and Flying making her an insanely hard target in the air, yet the Jet didn''t lose her and as the seconds dragged on Malphas felt a very old sensation creep up on her. Fear. "Moruga do something" she barked orders to the Goddess and the Goddess grunted, Malphas head snapped when she heard metal and crystal grind and a projectile fly out of the Jet, on instinct Malphas flew higher, nearly in a straight line up as Morugarius manifested herself and spread her arms, wings of divine energy flying out of the projection as the missiles slammed into the wings. "Too close!" Malphas spoke, there would be no underestimating these Jets anymore as she halted herself in the air before teleporting behind the Jet, she let the Rage loose as the world around her got sharper, and slower. Combining her might together with Morugarius it was easy to reach the leader, she sent a mental image to the Goddess who readied the spell weaving, and a great lance made out of part Gold and part Red energies was formed, trailing behind the Jet Malphas waited for the honing spell to lock into the craft and with a satisfying mental click and a nasty grin on her face let the Lance loose. "Got em" Morugarius spoke with gusto, as the spell flew at great speeds towards the jet, alas it was spoken too soon, maybe it was the Rage, maybe she got caught in the moment but the Jet somehow halted his entire momentum in the air and flipped as Morugarius and Malphas zipped past him, Malphas''s eyes locking in the dwarf piloting the flying menace, he too had a nasty grin on his face and his eyes were glowing red. A worthy foe, even if he was serving under the whore. What followed was a tense minute, where the Jet began firing live rounds into Malphas instead of his missiles, Morugarius was struggling to keep up with the weapons as her wings dimmed, that was until the other Jet joined in and the fight got twice as intense. Flying low Malphas deployed her ace in a hole, a minute-long continuum shift spell that made her be in two places at the same time, highly dangerous Time Magic even the current chronomancer Kaine would''ve struggled to keep it stable, the Jets put out a good fight still, immediately flying into her two positions but at this point, they were running out of ammo. With the spell active, she tricked the leader and the remaining Jet into a loop and killed both of them with a titanic explosion in the air, the battlefield growing silent as the heaping carcasses of steel and crystal flew down. Alas Malphas was a bit too slow in returning to her post, seeing the red streak of lighting making her way into the backline Malphas rushed in desperation but she was too late, Lucrezia had gotten there first and in her feet was Jason, head off his neck and blood all over. There were no words, Malphas roared like a beast possessed and lunged at the woman who neatly dodged and flew towards the entrance of the fields, her intention was clear, buying time for her forces to overpower the Royal Knights now that they were reduced to small unit leadership. Malphas flew after her, sword in hand as Lucrezia''s name flared in its blade. She would have her revenge, gods, and the rest be dammed.
Castra-Cam landed in a dirt patch far away from the huge melee and creaked her bones, a sigh came from her as the sounds of all-out war drowned her senses for a second, she didn''t need a war blessing to see the sheer damage those weapons were causing to the royal knights. Those same knights were also heroically holding their own, a battle of attrition was the favorite of many of Vermilion''s wars in the past so she couldn''t say for sure if Lucrezia''s and Richard''s troops would be able to regain momentum. Castra readied herself to return to the battlefield when she saw 5 red flares coming out of Lucrezia''s huge airship. "Shite" the woman spat on the ground "that''s too soon you crazy noble" the flares meant one thing, Lucrezia had engaged with the Queen, and the remaining troops were to push further, a mechanical roar came from the far eastern side of the field and Castra felt unnatural shivers, seems the first secret weapon of O'' Lucrezia had been deployed. "Wonder who will win there, the Arch-Mage is a powerful sorceress whose might is well..." A shadow pierced the skies as a humanoid figure landed in front of Castra-Cam, clad in ceremonial robes and with the Symbol of the Unbroken hung around its neck, the masked figure let out a smile, its lips the only thing not covered by its gear. ''Baswiar Ma''Rinht" Castra spoke with caution, virtually no info on this person, only the Unbroken knew what they really were even, the leader of the Necromancers working for the crown of vermilion kept to themselves most of the time. "Castra-Cam, an honor to meet you in this hallowed field of battle" they bowed "I have a message from our patron, for you" "Speak it then" Castra-Cam ill liked the sound of that. "Castra, you are to defeat Baswiar Ma''Rinht in single combat, do it so and I will personally aid you in the coming fights, fail in this trial and your friends will meet the direst of fates" Baswiar Ma''Rinht snapped back to reality with a grin "Rare for him to demand trial by combat isn''t it? something special will happen today I can feel it in my old bones" Castra-Cam sighed loudly, only to hear Baswiar Ma''Rinht laugh "It seems the reports were right, Lucrezia just keeps putting you in hmm awkward situations doesn''t she" They laughed with mirth in their voice. "Worry not M''lady, you are one of the finest First Scythes we have ever seen, I may be powerful yes but believe in yourself, this shall be a good fight for us both, these old bones haven''t seen proper combat in a while" This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. "A fight it is then, Baswiar Ma''Rinht I challenge you in formal combat with the Unbroken as our witness" Castra spoke and punched the plate around her chest, clad herself in the new armor Lucrezia and her dwarves made for her, snapping her fingers she summoned a brand new Magi-Tech Scythe breaming with power. "I Baswiar Ma''Rinht accept thy challenge, Unbroken as our witness" they bowed and summoned a staff made out of dragonbone, Castra felt the hairs in her arms rise up but managed to calm herself for the coming storm, her mind snapping into combat mode already.
Andromeda watched as her squad was cut down by arcane trickery and brute force in equal measure, Lucrezia''s machines barely holding their own against the sheer onslaught the Arch-Mage brought to the field. It was no wonder whenever they were deployed in the last war the enemy focused all their effort on shutting them down as fast as possible and even then it was always a slaughter for the Grannarius elves. "Oh, the little slut is tired her friends got cut down like trash huh? c''mon then, let''s finish this sorry shite of combat already" the woman howled as more obscenities flew from her mouth, Andromeda kept her cool, listening to the many beeps and flashes her armor gave. Yet it wasn''t enough, with a leap into the air the Arch-Mage turned invisible and then multiple clones of her rained down from the skies, Andromeda was overwhelmed as the clones rained spell fire from the air and ground, her ZENOS unit creaked under the onslaught and for a second she thought that was it, she would fail to hold down the enemy and the Arch-Mage no doubt would rush Lucrezia, who by now should be fighting the queen herself. "Just a few more minutes" Andromeda spoke to herself and to the machine, taking a deep breath she got on the offensive again, weaving into melee and ranged combat and trying her best to dodge the clones who now got into melee range and were slashing the outer shell with mana blades, acid, lighting, fire and pure raw mana to crack the shell and kill Andromeda. A ping from the rear radar came a second too late and Andromeda felt a spear of mana tear into her flank, bone smashing inside her armor as she sprayed a gulp of blood. "Ohhh the little metal whore can''t take a wee small Mana Spear!, what should we do with her?" the Arch-Mage spoke only to reply to herself like a lunatic "RUN HER THROUGH IT!" Andromeda closed her eyes cursing her lack of strength, she then saw a vision of a tall human man with eyes made of crystal, skin looking like steel plates, and a warm smile on his face. "Fight ye childe of men, fight and let no one stop the march of progress," He said and Andromeda felt her entire being overflow with divine energy, her mind was reminded then of Ra''Tyrius, Lucrezia''s patron and now her personal savior. Knowledge bloomed inside her brain, as the entire frame of the ZENOS creaked and groaned with the divine energy of Ra''Tyrius himself, it grew in shape and took a wicked form, horns on top of its head, the plate taking after a design akin to the one the warriors in the Shogunate favored, that power also flowed towards Andromeda whose gloom and doom was tossed aside and now was poised to fight, to destroy the enemy. The Arch-Mage fell into deathly silence as her form shifted and the clones disappeared in puffs of mana smoke, as the dust cleared she appeared in full armor with a shield and mace on her arms, a malicious grin on her face as the helmet covered her entire face minus the lips. Another battle that would shake the foundations of the country began as both women threw themselves at each other.
Malphas blade shone a black purplish light, Lucrezia''s name engraved on it. "I can''t believe the cut-content god mode blade is actually real," William said as he, Lucrezia''s shade, and Malphas stared each other down. The queen was content in being silent it seemed. With a grunt of effort, William let loose the Rage''s influence inside of him, his War blessings, well every single blessing of his kicked in at full throttle, the Gods knew he would need every edge in this fight. In the game, the battle against Queen Malphas was a Harder than Extreme DLC fight, sold at the demands of the 1 percent of the player base who loved to push themselves to the absolute mechanical limits of the game. William while not in that particular category, was a completionist and if he had to bash his head against a week-long wall of a boss fight he would. And what a boss fight it was, complete with 6 orchestral renditions of brand-new battle themes composed by the team''s sound department, a true test of knowledge, skill, and tenacity, lauded even by naysayers as the fairest but hard fight in recent years of the industry. "But how will you stand to the real deal" William spoke as he began circling the Queen who looked at him with a puzzled expression "The real thing sure is pretty I can say that at the very least" and he smiled at Lucrezia''s shade. Malphas spoke her voice full of restrained anger as William felt the weight of a Level 3 Rage user bear down on him "Crypt words will do you naught whore, I faced far more powerful and mystical foes than you" William felt the rush of ecstasy as the voice of Saal''Xhir bloomed in his mind "It is such a waste my gift has to be used in the field of battle you know?" he felt the Goddess smile "Don''t die dear, we all need you for what is to come" Lucrezia''s shade nodded and both leaped into action, ax in hand William fell into the pace of high-speed combat, using all of his magical knowledge to keep up with Malpha''s absurd speed. The queen snarled in rage, trained swings with the nefarious blade nearly nicking William more than once, he knew it would take a stab through his heart or head for the deed to be done, but little did the fair queen knows the name in her blade wouldn''t enact its curse. After all, it was his spirit in charge of the body. No fancy air drops, summoning huge metal spikes and most of his slower repertoire of spells, William was a well-oiled machine of speed now, Ice flechettes and Razor sharp Iron daggers kept Malphas locked in place, every single move of hers William had seen it, their frame data, the milliseconds between stance changes, tells, voice grunts and even how the very Rage tinged mana around her moved. And so did Lucrezia, Katana in hand the woman was a sight to behold if William could spare but a second, Malpha''s ability to fend off both of them did not falter on the other hand, but William already knew that. With a dash, Lucrezia slashed Malphas''s legs and the queen fell to her knees, Rage exploding outward as William rushed in and tried to cleave her face in two, the queen grabbed him by his metal arm and pulled, tearing the apparatus off. William howled in pain as the contraption''s tendons of crystal were pulled off, with a kick the queen downed him and he saw white, but the Rage inside of him together with the Gods blessings made him recuperate fast and he leaped into the air. A single kick and he nearly blacked out, truly Malphas'' power was not to be underestimated! "Call your Gods whore, your machines, your allies, they will only forestall your doom, today I will gut you and feast on your entrails" Malphas snarled as a furry of blows came raining upon William. He struggled to block the blows, his mind still reeling thanks to the pain, but the divines who blessed him were not idle in this fight, feeling the power surge from Velkarius William regained his senses and deployed a floating Iron shield where his arm was, Immediately the blessings of the Silent Soldier and the Raider kicked in and he was back in the fight. He felt a shiver when Malphas took a knee, leaping as far back as possible when the scarlet explosion came, the woman had just activated the stage 3 transformation of the Rage-that-Dwells. Lucrezia''s shade came running to his side and nodded to him, now the fight would get hard. Real hard. An explosion followed as Malphas closed in clad in scarlet, her blows warping the fabric of the material world as William scrambled to block, each swing would hit him, be deflected then hit again as if the first hit didn''t happen. "Temporal control" William spoke out loud as Malphas leaped back, with a snap he produced a carved crystal in the image of Gwenarius and slammed it on the ground "In her name, may the river of time and the ocean of the cosmos be not intruded upon!" "It will not help" Malphas came again, William barely holding again as Lucrezia slammed the queen with her most powerful attacks, a gap in the offensive gave William a window to land a bullet right into Malphas''s unprotected tight and the woman snarled again. William fell into a dance of Magic and Gunfire, his mind and body honed to a sharp edge as he neatly dodged Malphas attacks and hammered her with Ice and Iron. Yet, for his perfect onslaught aided by the first stage of the Rage-that-Dwells, it was Lucrezia doing the real damage, for all his athletics with the arcane and Magi-Tech the queen was shrugging off most of his faster spells. He wouldn''t have the time to summon the necessary mana for the big lighting spells, nor to actually weave and shape the arcane for them with Malphas on his ass like she was, yet a part of him was weary, something was off about this and he didn''t like it. Lucrezia slashed Malphas''s face with her weapon as the queen tried to grab William, he leaped backward again and fired a flare into the air, within seconds the Nautilius was firing its guns on the smoke and William smirked when he heard Malphas howl in pain. Without the time manipulation afforded by level 3 of the Rage, William knew he had a fighting chance, all he had to do was stall long enough until Hope and the rest got here, together they would absolutely wreck the queen and... William gasped as a spear made out of red blood pierced his abdomen, he fell to the ground as Malphas came out of the smoke with a nasty grin on her face "Got you whore" the queen spoke with venom as Lucrezia''s shade screamed a wordless scream. "...Damn it all..." William spoke as blood gushed from his mouth, he felt the claws of the long queue reach upon his shared soul and felt a shiver, he got too cocky it seemed, underestimated the worst foe he could''ve, and paid the price. His mind went to the Duchy, the pale white snowfall upon his castle as the people of the duchy enjoyed themselves in the streets, he missed the cold and his home so much... "...I am...Sorry Lucrezia..." he felt the light close in and closed his eyes.
Lucrezia had seconds, maybe less as she hurled herself to the depths of William''s soul, the boy was dying and he needed help, FAST. Trying not to think about the murderous demi-god in the waking world, the once proud Noble came upon the bowl in the rivers of blood that marked William''s covenant with the god from Earth. She sucked in air, ready to commit treason the same way her parents did, and screamed "ZARUEL, ARM OF YHVH I BESEECH THEE!"
It was a calm day in the Department of Extradimensional travel, Chief Ut''ur watched from his chair as the many entities under the All-Father command came and went through the gates and portals. "WARNING TERMINUS LEVEL ENTITIES BREACHING BARRIERS 1 THROUGH 10, WARNING TERMINUS LEVEL ENTITIES BREACHING THE SANCTUM ALL FIGHTERS TO YOUR STATIONS I REPEAT ALL FIGHTERS TO YOUR STATIONS!" Ut''ur could barely bark an order when a being the size of a mountain crashed through the main portal, following him was another smaller being, the shape of a pyramid who unleashed an unholy scream, stunning the portal defenders, going through the portal to the All-Father''s favorite and home-world. "We are fucked" Ut''ur said to himself.
Malphas walked towards Lucrezia''s fallen body, the woman still living, clinging to life like the parasite she was, coming closer to her she raised her sword and... A flash of light from Lucrezia''s back made Malphas''s airs stand up, she had felt that before in her time adventuring around the world. An entity from beyond the stars was being summoned! "The final surprise heh, and now you too are a heretic!" Malphas screamed to the hole that tore apart, her eyes going wide as a mountain came through the portal! The eyes of the entity shone pale gold and Malphas barely had time to dodge the attack, a scream so unholy nearly stunned her as another entity appeared, its form akin to a pyramid but the flesh of the abomination shifted to angular forms, a barrage of these attacks came and Malphas had to retreat. Yet the mountain came after her, it disappeared and teleported right on top of Malphas, who in her Rage induced state saw the form of terrifying beings from the beyond in the shimmer of the spell. "bE aFRaid" the pyramid entity spoke straight to Malphas''s mind "yOu wILL lOOSE!" the queen felt shivers again, usually entities from beyond the cosmos were dumb killing machines, if these could think she was in for a hard fight. A beam straight from the heavens landed by Malphas''s side, and a 7 feet tall woman clad in silvery armor armed with a greatsword of pure crystal manifested herself. Morugarius Goddess of War, Commander of the All-Father''s armies, and Patron Deity of Vermilion. Malphas through her blessing and after years together with the Goddess felt the sheer fear from her, and very few things could make Morugarius feel fear. "What are they?" Malphas asked and the answer made the hairs on her arm stand tall "Terran" one word from her friend and Malphas now knew she was in for a really hard fight. Chapter 62: Desperate Fighting, Calm Tidings "What we learned over the centuries was that by the usage of the right amounts of Ki and Mana, a mortal can if they are so inclined, break through the barrier in place to keep their powers in check and ascend to godhood, now for users of just one facet of power it gets hard but in this presentation, I will explain..." 4th Divine Council, its theme being the making of demi-gods. Andromeda stared down the Arch-Mage from her armor, feeling the power surge from deep within and around the mechanical and crystal parts of the suit. With a mental command, the armor roared and the Arch-Mage was stunned, another order and a lance of blue crystal were made manifest and she charged forward, the Arch-Mage barely finding time to dodge. The sound barrier broke as both women locked themselves in a high-speed battle, Andromeda roared together with the machine as she ditched the lance and summoned a cannon, charging a blast towards the enemy, the Arch-Mage on the other hand began flying away her voice echoing in the winds. There was no fear in her mind, for once in her entire life Andromeda found a reason to live, to exist in this mortal coil where family and friends couldn''t care less about her, in these precious seconds she was whole. And it felt something great. The charge went off, tracking the woman in the skies with sickening precision slamming through her many shield spells, the woman laughed in the skies and warped the stream of magic towards Andromeda via some arcane trickery, the ZENOS dodged with the grace of a master swordsman and once again both machine and pilot went on the offensive, taking to the skies. Andromeda couldn''t hear the insults that foul-mouthed woman was throwing at her, her entire being focused on the operating of the armor, with calculated clicks she launched anti-magic missiles towards the mage, whose face morphed from smug to terrified and warped away, the cloud spread as she warped back right next to Andromeda and slammed the ZENOS with a ghostly Warhammer. Andromeda leaped back, grabbing the weapon in a single smooth movement only for the Warhammer to vanish and the Arch-Mage to charge in with a ghost blade and slam into the belly of the armor. Golden Light shone in the wound, the sigil of Ra''Tyrius manifesting itself, Andromeda got bailed by him in the last second and wasn''t about to let the opening he created go to waste, with both arms she grabbed the Arch-Mage and fired the last payload of Anti-Magic missiles, as the cloud enveloped them Andromeda began to crush the Arch-Mage''s ribcage. "...Got you little slut..." The Arch-Mage spoke as blood came out of her blood and a great white flash blinded Andromeda.
She felt the machine trying to protect her but it was too late. The voice of Ra''Tyrius spoke to her as the explosion went off "You have done enough, rest now" and so she did, arriving at the place above the fields and seeing friend and foe separate themselves as they watched the battle unfold below, her eyes went over to a secluded part of the woods in the Fields, where Lady Castra-Cam was fighting.
Castra cursed inwards as she dodged a rain of obsidian bones, sharp as a blade and with anti-undead solutions in their tips, a nasty spell used against high-level rogue necromancers being turned against her was dark irony she thought, with a leap, she hid in the trees and waited for the magic to finish, yet she was not spared from the relentless attacks from her foe. "Hiding is an unbecoming thing to do my friend," They said as a burst of shrill laughter escaped from their lips, Castra didn''t bite the bait as she kept changing positions while under a camouflage spell, her form a shifting mass very few would be able to detect. Baswiar pursued and for a few minutes, they were embroiled in a tense game of peek-a-boo, with Castra slicing off more than a few scraps of cloth from Baswiar and even an arm, only to see the thing crawl back to its owner as nothing had happened. A click in the back of Castra''s head told her the spell weaved in her armor was ready, Lucrezia ever the paranoid made doubly sure an absolute mess of enchantments was placed in Castra''s gear, one of them allowing her increased speed. With a flash of sound and debris, Castra leaped behind Baswiar and slammed her palm into his back, a spell formation showed up and the ancient necromancer was grounded for a tense few seconds. A hand rose from the grounds, pale and full of red veins along it as Baswiar smiled through the spell "Interesting, to think he would favor you" and the hand swallowed Baswiar whole, his form turning into nothing as the spell ended and Castra took a breath of relief. "You better make good on your promise my lord, cause I have a distinct feeling I will need it sooner rather than later" Castra spoke as a hole in space-time was torn in the skies, she rushed to the fields but was too late, as 2 abominations of gargantuan size crashed towards Lucrezia''s last known position. "Castra?!? Do you read me?!?" Richard blared into her radio "We are detecting massive energy spikes along your position ah!" his voice was cut short by the swoosh of a sword, he was in trouble. "Time to bail him out I guess" Castra sighed as the voice of her patron deity came booming in her ears "Well done, now that you have proved yourself the real fight may begin, save your friends Castra, you will need them soon"
"...Terminus Level entities...seems your lady was hiding a big card up her sleeves, but mind not the unholy sounds Richard, your enemy is the first step towards the victory of this...once in a lifetime battle" The voice of the Goddess spoke to Richard as he and Veronica circled around the Royal Knight-Commander who smiled at him. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "It is time son, prove yourself worthy" Richard''s eyes went wide in shock but Thadeus didn''t stop talking "Aye son, you and your little elven friend there, one versus two, more than fair don''t you think?" With a nod to Veronica, he leaped into combat again, his Magi-Tech gear shining in the sun as he faced off against one of the strongest in the entire Kingdom. Up in the stands where at this point many had come to watch the war that was unfolding sat Richard''s mom and father, Catarina Silverbrand walking around, biting her nails worried sick for her kid. No parent should watch their children suffer, and when she saw his ribs breaking she held a scream and nearly drew blood from her husband''s hand, the man was quiet as the grave and she got even madder. "Heartless cur! don''t you worry about our son?! he nearly died!" Amadeus took a sharp intake of breath and said his voice deep with worried pain "My love if we both lose it I am afraid the Academy''s enforces will escort us off the premises" Catarina went for a rebuke but the air around them grew still for a second, then an ancient-looking orc appeared from thin air. he said not a word to the pair as he sat down near Amadeus. Catarina''s mind took a solid minute to process the information, worried sick as she was for her son when she saw him squaring off against the Knight-Commander she nearly wanted to grab a sword and shield and leap into the battle, looking at her husband she could see the man was as worried as her, only trying his best to keep his shit together, for both of them. Richard screamed as the blade of the Knight-Commander nearly chopped his left arm, Catarina''s blood grew cold as her blessing flared up something fierce, for the first time in a very long while she saw red and it took her husband hugging her to stop her from leaping into the fields, he knew her blessing would grant her some power but not enough to actually fight a Knight. Catarina had dealt with petty thieves and bandits before, but this fight? she and Amadeus knew was beyond them. "...One hell of a thing, watching your own flesh and blood suffer, and yet there is honor in the field of combat, he faces off against the mightiest of the land who fight not in rage or pride, but with duty" the ancient orc spoke "Blessed by the divine in a fight that is by all rights beyond his capabilities still he stands, leading his men, at the tip of the spear" There was a realization when he finished, Catarina''s eyes widened, and Vermilion, be it a young child to millennial vampire knew the words this man was speaking, and those ancient vampires would also know who was speaking them. "Have faith Silverbrand, your clan stood with the 5 when the enemy from beyond the seas came, and now your son stands again against the enemy from beyond the cosmos" He smiled a warm caring smile "Once again the child of man has the right to prove their worth to the Goddess, and once again we might see the pact that ended that miserable war be enacted in such pristine conditions, for a field of war where death has no power is perfect for it" The Lady of Rage, Matron of all Orcs and ancient ally of the first Imperium nobles who came to this land in search of a better life free from the clutches of the corrupt empire, she believed in the first king to deliver her people from an oppressive regime enacted by the sea elven menace, the reason every orc and the other races that came with those people share a bond as strong as steel. Kaal''Duvat, Goddess of the Orcs would bless Richard like she did the First King of Vermilion! "I am sorry to spoil the surprise, but I was once a parent, and I saw my own children being cut down in front of me, I couldn''t help myself you see, especially when this time, the blessing will come from a far more caring place than last time" Catarina watched stunned as her son, the timid but caring boy with a heart of gold and the mind of a great merchant led nobles would-be knights, and fellow merchant scions into an awe-inspiring charge against the Royal Knights. He also led the others, Imperium Legionnaires, Grannarius elite troops, Lucrezia''s own Knights, and Soldiers of Wulfgrem, even the Arch-Duke''s men! Catarina sat down beside her husband who was in prayer "...All-Father please watch over him and grant him glory in this hallowed field of battle..." Amadeus''s voice betrayed deep conviction in his son, which made her smile.
Knight-Commander Thadeus Senior smiled through his helmet as the words of King Jason echoed in his mind, the good king knew this would happen but to see it happening before his very eyes were nothing short of amazing. That a merchant son would become the next Avatar for the Goddess of the Orcs, but then again the first King was a low noble, with barely anything to his name in the Imperial court. "ROYAL KNIGHTS!" Thadeus barked and his remaining men formed up, as the Reclaimers poured toward them, war screams and grunts echoed in the entrance to the Castle, a new generation of warriors was being born at this exact moment with a great leader to guide them to the true enemy hidden beneath the waves... "LEGIONNAIRES!" He barked again and his formation split to fend off the Imperium forces coming from the left side, the men and women of the Imperium clad in obsidian steel and with the banners of the Silent Soldier held high came with their own war cries in that sing-song language of theirs, when was the last time the Vermilion forces had a proper square off with the cousins Thadeus wondered in the middle of combat, his smile grew as the sounds from the air told him the next opposition to come. "GRIFFON RIDERS!" The final bark as the remaining Royal Knights formed into a triangle, Thadeus''s blessing burned bright as it told him this was the end, more troops were coming and his men now had to die a warrior''s death. As the Arch-Duke''s men broke through the formation, his Knights stood fast and true to their training and experience, a great melee ensured as Silverbrand and the Windreaver appeared and cornered him, there were no words only the fight, spells, and blades singing their deadly tune of steel and blood. Thadeus saw the Gods descending as the Reclaimers tore through the final line of Knights, among them the ones who had blessed Lucrezia and he smiled once again, only feeling the cold bite of steel in his heart a second too late. "Illusions, as expected of Granarius" He spoke as the magic faded falling to his knees, the elven woman didn''t even smirk as she chopped his head off. "...we won..." Richard spoke softly as the last Royal Knight was cut down "Gods above we won!" His cheer was cut off when an unholy scream echoed throughout the entire city, Malphas''s voice coming shortly after "YOU ARE FREE O RAGE, DESTROY MY ENEMY AND THE WORLD" There was a pause as the wind grew still, and then everyone saw what the queen had called down to the material plane. Something that made even the Gods themselves quake in fear, Richard heard the voice of the Goddess inside his head "In her fury, she managed to make a physical avatar for the Rage, foolish woman, had this not been a protected location and had Lucrezia not called down those monsters of her we would be in deep trouble" "Richard, one more charge waits for you, against the remaining forces loyal to the Queen, they will bar your way to the fight against the Avatar and Malphas herself, and that fight will be yours, should you survive of course" the Goddess spoke with conviction that he would do it so. as Richard ate his complaint away, seeing the monsters Lucrezia had called down raining spells at the Avatar. "I am impressed the field''s protective barrier is holding up," Veronica said her voice deadly serious "Richard we may be good fighters, leading a half-decent army but that...that we can not defeat" "It won''t be our fight, we aim for the Queen" Richard spoke and the others around him nodded "Hope and the rest will deal with the Avatar" "Smart, for a second I thought you meant us to charge it, but who better than the one blessed by Faal to fight that thing" Veronica smiled "Forward then, for we have a date with the Fair Queen" "Forward" Richard repeated and the rest followed. Chapter 63: Hope Everlasting "Oh brother, why have you forsaken us and your duty?" Morugarius''s in her final battle against her brother at the steps of the Divine Hall. The Royal Knights closed rank faster and faster as Hope and her group watched in the skies the great airship rain spell fire upon the unholy abomination Queen Malphas had summoned. Never mind the fact the other abominations Lucrezia had summoned herself were actually being pushed back, so fierce was the fighting she had no words to express the myriad of feelings running through her mind. "Does thou wishes to be a hero child? to save your dying companion from certain death?" The voice spoke to her with kindness "Yet that fight is not ours, nay today we must fight the ancient enemy, he who Father failed to truly kill, unwilling to kill him with the nefarious magic he once sealed away..." "Rally the men, the enemy, and be ready Hope, for you and Richard today will be forged into heroes true" Hope turned to Arthur, her beloved who was as stunned as her, Vivienne and even Kaine himself all watched wordlessly "Arthur, command the Knights to stop and join us, we must subdue the..." Their Radios beeped and Richard''s voice came through, full of conviction "Hope, Arthur, take whoever you can and stop that thing, the entities Lucrezia summoned have contacted me and they can distinguish friend from foe, they are on our side now" he paused " If I fail to save her, It will be up to you lot" It was Arthur out of all people who replied back "Steady my friend, you will succeed, this will be over soon and we shall share our stories over a cold cup of ale" Richard laughed over the radio and said his goodbyes "Command the Knights, we must join forces against the...Rage" Hope spoke feeling weird, her own powers singing at the Avatar, no doubt the same was happening to Arthur who nodded and spoke to Kaine "Broadcast my voice to the entire fields, those loyal to my mom will not falter but I think we can round a few up" Kaine nodded "Richard is preparing an honest to gods charge through the remaining forces west of us, those are the ones who I doubt will heed you" he began casting a range of spells "But the rest who are near us or retreated behind those hopefully will answer the call. "I PRINCE ARTHUR SHATTER-SPEAR HEREBY DECLARE, LOYAL KNIGHTS TO THE VERMILION KINGDOM, JOIN US IN SLAYING THE AVATAR OF RAGE, FOR IT IS OUR TRUE ENEMY!" They then heard Malphas''s voice boom across the fields as well "YOU HAVE NO POWER HERE WHELP" Hope saw Arthur narrow his eyes, but the war cries from the Knights closest to him told them another story, as the clearing they stood in was swarmed by men and women loyal to the kingdom. Any mortal worth their salt knew the Rage was not something one could play with, even the most accomplished warriors who had it took great care to not fall for its ruinous influence, yet the young prince was sad to see a great host still remained close to his mother''s last known position. The Avatar roared in rage as it tore through the smaller Airships and ships in the bay that were lobbing enough fire at it to level a mountain. Peeling off from Malphas''s position towards Hope and the rest. The fight was on, no sooner it began focusing on the ships, than the men Arthur rallied, and the rest of their group went on the offensive, the Avatar was huge, easily the size of a large tower, but that meant nothing to the Royal Knights and Mages, Kaine, in particular, rained so much spellfire on the beast it had to dodge him instead of just brushing him off. Hope let her own Rage speak as she leaped and blasted Magic and Ki attacks at the Avatar, Arthur by her side they forced the Avatar to stop in its tracks, making the rest of the troops hammer the thing with so many offensive skills she lost herself in the carnage.
"Looks like her front is now under control" Veronica spoke as she rode upon one of the Magi-Tech warhorses Lucrezia''s people had brought over, with the whispers of the Goddess Richard counted nearly a thousand riders, including the Arch-Duke''s men and some last minute defects from the Royal Knights. "The Avatar peeled off" The commander of the Imperium forces spoke, the woman''s face hidden under those scary helmets they were so fond of "Now it''s the time for action Field Commander." "Gods this feels weird" Richard spoke "It''s not right for me to lead when so many of you..." but he was cut off by the Arch-Duke who walked into the conversation with the Arch-Duchess "Sometimes son, we must do what we have been entrusted with in spite of circumstances" "And besides, you survived against the Royal Commander''s trial, far as I see it, you are fit to lead son" Lucrezia''s Knight-Commander spoke "Everyone is here Field Commander, all we need now is to save the lady" "For once we will be taking her out of the fire" Lucrezia''s maid spoke from the shadows "My spell tells me she''s knocked out but the Wraith she can summon still fights on, likely dragging the body away from the Queen. "This is it then, the final charge" Richard sucked in air, it burned at his lungs as he watched the Royal Knights prepare themselves for the offensive, magic, and Ki flared from their ranks as the stone was raised, mud pits made and pikes raised, be they iron, crystal, or magical. "Why I am even here," Richard thought to himself finding his sword arm shake "You know why Richard, it''s hard to say it, especially to yourself but deep below you know the reason" the voice of the Goddess spoke to him with such kindness it reminded him of his mother and father whenever they coddled him after one of his ventures went wrong in his childhood. Richard felt the power of the terror from beyond the stars surge inside him, the being spoke in hushed words that granted him conviction so strong, it gave him goosebumps, he turned his head to the battle of titans, Morugarius leaping in the air shining golden with the light of the divines. Malphas together with her as they were pushed back, Richard couldn''t help but sigh in awe at the sight, and Veronica joined him as the people got ready for the final charge. "What a day eh kiddo?" Veronica smiled as she watched the battle unfold "I can feel the Rage coming off from Hope and Arthur, we always suspected Malphas had something going on with her powers, but the King never gave me the go-ahead to research it in depth, a shame in hindsight" The Arch-Duke walked up to Richard, his Griffin following him close with eyes that betrayed intelligence beyond that of a common beast "Field Commander, I am sure you already know this but it is tradition for any proper Vermilion engagement, a speech! tho sharpen the minds of those who will lay down their lives in this hallowed field of battle, and ignite the flame of ambition within their hearts" Veronica smiled "I was not fond of the King''s arcane trickery made to stop those speeches, the music that man likes is simply too gaudy for my tastes, but it helped keep morale high mid-speech, the first battles against Vermilion proper were shameful displays for the country" Richard knew, well versed in the stories of Knights roaring in anger as the elven forces fell back with the fear of the gods in their hearts. It became a point of much debate within the many bars he frequented. "Then let''s get on with it, Command your men as you see best everyone, I will deliver a speech worth dying for, or at least try" as he mounted one of the mechanical horses Lucrezia''s people had made and trotted forward, getting nods and cheers from everyone while doing so. Was that how she felt when she took over the castle Richard wondered, nay he had heard the maid speak of it, it was a far more horrible deal, a desperate attack against abominations and kin. "Reclaimers! friends! today we made history, and we broke the siege led personally by the Royal Knight-Commander! together with the great machines of war in the air and sea we pushed back the best warriors in the new world! and now we have one more task to accomplish, one more battle to win and become legends! for the nobles among us who fight for their pride and status, the merchants seeking new ties, and commoners looking for a piece of glory this I give you!" Richard pointed his spear toward the enemy and bellowed out with the strength of the divine upon his voice This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. "Let the world and the Gods know we did not back down in the face of overwhelming odds! that we stood true as did our antecessors and with sword and arrow, tooth and claw, magic, and miracle we fought for glory, for honor, for the red dream the first king had!" "FOWARD!" A bean of light slammed right on top of Richard as he rushed forward, the Avatar of the Goddess Kaal''Duvat shone and gasps were heard across the field, earning the favor of the ancient ally of the first king, Richard''s life was forever changed. "Tell me, child, why do you fight?" she asked and he knew the answer. "For love" Richard replied back with a smile on his lips, the truth finally coming out and giving him a wellspring of power. "Then love you shall find" Kaal''Duvat replied. "I CALL TO THE GODS WHO FAVOR THESE NOBLE CHILDREN, TO COME DOWN AND AID THEM IN THIS FIGHT!" Kaal''Duvat spoke through Richard and the Divine answered, as multiple students were struck with the same sort of beam of light Richard was, he felt Kaal''Duvat''s energy spreading across them, enabling this once-in-a-lifetime event of divine intervention as multiple avatars were manifested. Time slowed down to a crawl as the riders inched towards the Royal Knights, who themselves had sent their remaining cavalry to halt the charge, the only thing Richard could hear was his heartbeat as his union with Kaal''Duvat grew tighter by the second he was in a state of pure thought, and as the first enemy came just inches of his max range he leaped into the air and honed into them, the sound came back as his forces crashed against the opposition and the all-out melee begun in earnest. Veronica warped to his side and was dicing up Knights like they were made of wet paper, the title of Windreaver once again making terrifying sense as green wind blades tore into the enemy, Richard bellowed out a war cry and the men around him fell in despair as his own soldiers grew bolder and faster, stronger too. There wasn''t much time before he could feel it, Lucrezia''s vitals were failing fast and he had to do something, with another war cry he dashed forward, spear tip aimed at the heart of the remaining Royal Knights, from his side he saw arrows falling like rain, weapons being fired and blades striking flesh as he quite literally opened a way towards the Queen. Such ferocity actually made the enemy falter, and a horn was blown from their backline, all retreat his mind told him as the path towards Malphas was opened. Yet in his battle-drunk state Richard failed to see the scores of his men being cut down, and then he heard the pleas of the other leaders for a retreat as well, Richard allowed but he kept going forward, Veronica by his side as the elven woman and he beheld Morugarius destroying the terrors Lucrezia had summoned. Kaal''Duvat spoke and Morugarius''s eyes widened in terror, the Goddess form shimmering and then vanishing without a sound. Queen Malphas locked eyes with Veronica "Of course, its a shame your name isn''t in the blade, you would get to meet your family today" Veronica snarled but said nothing as Malphas stared Richard down and he felt the weight very few people had felt and lived to tell the tale. "Make this fun will you?" she spoke with a wolfish grin etched on her lips.
"Together" Kaal''Duvat spoke to Richard and he went forward, Veronica became a blur in the wind as Richard''s mind entered a state of pure attention, every fiber of his body working in perfect synch with the next as he engaged the Queen. Parrying her first blow he nearly was knocked down, biting down a scream of pain as Malpha''s grin turned into a devil''s smile "That''s 1 hit" He dodged the second as Veronica warped right at the end of it, slamming her blade into Malphas''s tight. The queen roared in rage, grabbing Veronica by the neck "Elven scum" she toyed with Veronica long enough that Richard got close and slammed his spear into Malphas''s belly, activating the barbs in the blade to pull backward and hopefully destroy her guts. Malphas kicked him in the shins as she pulled the spear herself, dropping Veronica on the ground in the process, blood barely dripping from the wound, with the spear in both hands she raised the Magi-Tech weapon and slammed into her knees, breaking it apart. Richard could barely get up, his leg that got kicked screaming in pain. grabbing a staff of thunderbolts he began hammering the Queen with spells but she easily made them vanish, it would take a mage of Kaine''s caliber to hurt the woman. "Hands it is" Richard leaped into the fray with a double leg kick right into Malphas''s back as the Queen got distracted with Veronica, she buckled and he didn''t miss the opening, leg swiping her, the Queen responded by landing a left hook straight to his face and Richard went flying backward. Veronica screamed to the skies as a green whirling enveloped her "I will have my revenge" she spoke rage and venom dripping from her voice as she began hammering Malphas with wind blades and pikes. "HAHAHA, MORE YOU WEAKLINGS, GIVE ME MORE" Richard felt his skin crawl as Malphas taunted them, yet the presence of Kaal''Duvat within him calmed his mind and healed his body, once again getting up ready for another round of fisticuffs. "Speed, I need more speed," Richard said to the Goddess and she nodded, lacking in weapons Richard once again used his arms and legs like a monk from the Dynasty, but another set of moves flooded his mind, grapples, throws, armlocks, and head-choppers, Kaal''Duvat was blessing him once again with the knowledge of ancient orcish martial arts and he couldn''t help but smile as the goddess smile back at him, their minds in synch. Speed, fury, and blood were all in his mind as both he and Veronica absolutely went to town on Malphas whose grin was replaced by a serious expression, she was done playing around he could tell. A burst of energy came from the Queen, as the miasma from the Rage enveloped her and her speed increased tenfold, from crazed melee to a dance as Kaal''Duvat''s form shimmered behind Richard''s back and began telling her where each attack would land, or how to minimize the impact for the ones that landed on him. From behind him, he heard a faint chant, growing louder by the second as a number of orcs, be they Royal Knights or students of the academy edged closer to the battle to chant to their Goddess. Malphas didn''t spare a second towards these people as she hammered Veronica right into a nearby tree, the woman spilled blood from her mouth as she got up, yet the elven warrior did not stop as she and Richard became whirlwinds of pure martial might. Malphas missed a stab and Richard lept in, grabbing her arm and pulling her leg upwards, he then enveloped his arms around her torso and neck and dropped to the ground, Malphas twisted under his grasp nearly freeing herself but Richard was faster, feeling his entire body burn with Divine energy he twists himself again and grabbed Malphas''s left arm. "AHH" Richard screamed as pure unrelenting power flowed through him as the Queen bellowed out insults towards him, with a sickening crunch her entire arm came flying off the socket, and for a second Richard was stunned, a wave of pure malice knocked him and Veronica down far from Malphas as she began laughing like a madwoman. Malphas threw her sword at Richard, the blade flew at speeds so fast, he could barely react as Veronica leaped from the ground and kicked the blade away, yet the Queen would not stop as she charged forth like a mad bull towards him, knowing he couldn''t dodge Richard committed to what the better part of his mind was screaming madness. "Bring it on!" he roared as Malphas came for the tackle, time slowed down to a crawl as Richard beheld for the first time in his life the fair Queen in all her battle glory, a terrifying visage of a woman whose power could only be compared to the gods themselves, her face a mask of pure rage and excitement. Malphas''s arms wrapped around Richard''s torso as he fell, immediately he wrapped his legs around her and his arms pulled the Queen''s head to the ground, a grunt of sheer physical might came from the woman as she couldn''t believe the boy was holding her. "Expose her neck NOW!" the Goddess spoke to Richard and he screamed again as Malphas''s neck became exposed and for a split second, the Queen couldn''t move an inch. "VERONICA, DO IT!" Richard saw a flash of green as Malphas''s face made the most terrifying smile he had seen yet.
Hope tapped into the power of the rage at its deepest level, she together with Arthur held the Avatar at bay with magic and Ki while Kaine and the others scrambled to do something to banish the beast. "Fall Back!" Kaine commanded them and they did so, Vivienne healing Arthur as his arm had a nasty claw running through it, Hope watched above as Kaine summoned absolutely inhumane quantities of mana together with the Kitsune, chains, and spears appearing from the whirling of magical energy and slamming into the avatar holding it to the ground as it screamed, the sound unholy to all of creation. "BY MY COMMAND, TIME BENDS, SPACE KNEELS" Kaine chanted and another voice joined in, Kaede by his side in the air now, her tail dividing into 8. "THE INSTRUMENT OF DAMNATION WE BECKON, THE RULES OF EXISTENCE BEND TO MY WILL" Sigils of mana appeared around the Avatar, rising to surround it. A great maw appeared in the skies, the pitch blackness sending a chill down Hope''s spine as she beheld the cosmos in a fraction of its glory and horror. "FROM DARKENED SKIES, WE SMITE THE DESTROYER" Kaine''s entire body was brimming with enough mana that even a God would find it hard to shape into a proper spell. As the Sigils closed in the Avatar roared again but it wasn''t enough, a blade of purple flames fell from the maw in the skies and the sigils closed around it, the Avatar was engulfed in dark and purple flames of the cosmos. "...It''s over, Hope we won!" Arthur said as he turned to congratulate Kaine when Hope heard a crack, she leaped to protect Arthur but was a second too slow. A rod of iron-like flesh pierced his chest, his own rage draining away as Hope froze in place, Vivienne screamed and tried to heal him but it was too late, his body disappearing into the mechanism that protected life inside the field. Kaine and Kaede moved in a flash as a wave of mana blasted around them, yet they too were taken out by Avatar who had stolen Arthur''s power, she could feel his own rage imprint on the beast resonating with hers. Just like that the most powerful people Hope knew were destroyed, for the first time she felt hopeless, only for Vivienne to scream out her name "Hope! DO NOT GIVE UP, NOT NOW, WE MUST DEAL WITH THE AVATAR BEFORE-" Vivienne''s body went limp as the Avatar''s tendrils borrowed into her chest from the ground, and then Hope was alone. The Avatar stared Hope down, its freakish face forming into a smile of pure malice. "It''s time little one, as your friend committed heresy to save herself, so too must you commit the gravest of sins to save her and the others, are you ready? are you willing?" The voice from so long ago spoke to her, and she knew it well at this rate. Letting go of her sword Hope closed her eyes and felt His particular blessing fill her core, power golden and eternal surged within her as a halo of light beamed from the skies, a hammer made out of gold and crystal forming in her hand as Hope called the last option she had. "In my hour of need, I beseech thee, GOD OF PERFECT AND ETERNAL ORDER, COMMANDER OF ARMIES AND HEIR TO ALL OF CREATION! AUGURIOS THE GOLDEN!" Chapter 64: Echoes of a Dying Star "...And shall you find her, pierce her heart and chop off her head, for dooming our people and planet can only be repaid in blood" A written record of the ancients in the second deepest marine trench of the new world inside a now destroyed test facility which later would be revealed to be a weapon of mass destruction made to kill the Goddess of Magic that abandoned the planet. William walked among his extended family, it was a sunny day down in Texas as his many many cousins, uncles, and aunties mingled amongst themselves. Finding a quiet place among the madness, he began feasting on the local cuisine, Tex-Mex, and authentic Mexican dishes for once as his grandparents insisted on making the family cook for once. "Your mother tells me you had a confrontation at your school" William felt his grandmother loom over him, the ancient Mexican woman towering over him even in her advanced age. "Look at me boy, so that I may know you don''t speak lies" William stared at the ancient woman, Grandmother Joanna had the name of a saint but the eyes of an inquisition officer of the middle ages, faithful to a fault too. "Yes, Abuela" William''s reply was direct, he might as well get this over as fast as possible if he was in for one of his Grandmother''s famous rants. "Good" the woman spoke with conviction "Out of all my daughters your mother was the one who disappointed me the most, always seeking the easy way out, always compromising on that which should not be compromised, a disgrace to her family''s name" Joanna smiled, perfectly white teeth shining in the sun "Same for the weasel of a man you have for a father, rotten infidels unworthy of the blessings God gave them" "Grandpa always spoiled her," William said and cringed at the fact he didn''t say Abuelo, his grandmother sneered at him but said nothing. "That he did, that''s the youngest lot, be spoiled rotten and bring nothing but shame to the family" she took a pause and gestured for William to eat more " and yet here we have someone who would not fall for their parent''s sins, going as far as standing up for those who could not stand for themselves" "Violence is but a tool William when the righteous man wields it for good he expurges the evil at its deepest roots, where your foolish parents would rather turn a blind eye or worse collaborate with the scum that plagues this world, you must be the rod of iron, and smash them into pieces" "Evil prevails when good men do nothing, remember that" His grandmother''s voice spoke with deep conviction as he digested both the food and the ideas behind those words.
Lucrezia''s shade was dragging her own body away from the chaotic melee Richard had got himself in with the Queen, only to see the absolute monster that was the Avatar blocking her way, finding a patch of the land untouched by combat she once again dived into the shared soul space. William''s projection was by the Monolith, the bonds that told them how much the merge was progressing steadily progressing, she tried to wake him up many times but he was out cold. Sacrifice after Sacrifice, the boy may have taken her body and land but he gave everything back tenfold, she screamed at the air, tears falling from her face as she cursed her powerless. Despair wrecked her as Lucrezia''s legs gave in, she kneeled in front of William and begged for the boy to wake up, yet his eyes would not open, in the depths of despair Lucrezia reached for the Gods but found only silence, whoever made the Monolith was blocking the Divine and their blessings to reach this place. An idea was born in her darkest hour, from the knowledge of the game that once made Lucrezia think William was mad, she hurled herself to the waking world once again, the battle raged on as now in her wrath form she took a knee and recited the words every living being in this world knew by heart. "O All-Father, lord and commander of all creation, in my hour of need I call thee" Lucrezia saw white and the world around her shifted, from the corner of her eye stood a smiling man waving his hand. "Finally!"
Hope stood in awe as the form of the Firstborn of the All-Father came down from the heavens, he wasn''t just blessing her, he would be fighting at her side! His hammer filled her with power, and the Avatar roared in defiance of such authority that sought to vanish it, Augurious stood tall and proud, his ancient armor shining in the light as the creation sang its praises, the firstborn had returned! "To me my friend!" Augurious commanded and the heavens beckoned his call, pillars of light slamming to Hope''s left and right as the divines came down to the mortal coil to fight. "Do not forget about us my liege!" A great dragon, black as night bellowed from the skies as the God of Undeath appeared, Hope knew that was the dragon who had imbued his essence on the Royal Knight Commander''s son! Another light, this one bearing the sigil of Vermilion appeared and Hope got alarmed, Morugarius had come! Hope''s instincts kicked in and she rushed towards the landing zone of the Goddess. Resolved to at least slow her down, Hope felt the sheer power of the divine baring down on her, she raised the mace but Augurious''s voice boomed again "Hold, my sister, shall not fight against you and yours now" "Nay, Today we gather here to face the direst of threats our fair planet has faced, stand tall my friends for we face the Avatar of Rage!" the Gods screamed and rushed forward, starting a grand melee as Hope leaped backward toward the fight. With the power of Augurious burning through her, Hope felt the hammer shine and glow as she slammed the Avatar, combined with the mighty onslaught of the Gods who she finally got a good look the Avatar could barely keep up, but what it lacked in overwhelming power it made up for with endurance. Hope saw the Goddess of Magic and the God of Science, the Goddess of Love, and the God of Undeath and War all rally behind Augurious who with a single gesture of his hand conjured a mighty spear of golden light, Hope''s blessing burned brighter seeing such a scene and in her mind, she felt the tendrils of power teach her the spell. Leaping in the air she heard the black dragon roar and a mighty fireball slam into the Avatar, after the smoke of the attack cleared she channeled half her mana reserves and Ki to the spell. Augurious manifested himself to her side and nodded, together they threw their spears of golden light towards the Avatar who screamed once again, the sun dimmed as the Rage tried to overwhelm the projectiles but the Gods once again filled the spell with their energy. Hope stared in awe as a titanic amount of mana was filled towards the spears, the world lost its color and sound, a shrill serving her head as the beast tried, again and again, to push back the spears. Then it broke, piercing the Avatar square in the chest as it fell to its knees, Hope didn''t miss a second and warped straight above its head and with a mighty swing of the hammer, caved the Avatar''s head in. Augurious smiled "It''s over" as the Gods came near him and Hope, she felt her blessing burn again as Morugarius stood facing her older brother with sadness in her eyes "Come back home brother, mother misses you" Hope couldn''t help but feel sorrow for the plea, seeing the mighty Goddess like that was something else. Augurious face had a sad smile upon it, Hope saw the fraternal love in his eyes as Morugarius rushed to him her face full of emotions, as the other Gods left the mortal coil they whispered to one another and Morugarius''s eyes were filled with tears. That a God would cry over her long lost brother was something Hope was not expecting to see today, nor was a living Avatar of the Rage-that-Dwells, whose defeat still made the young woman feel dizzy. When the real deal struck the realm it took a week for the Gods to combine might with the mortals that followed them to defeat it. Augurious whispered a few more words and then he was gone, silence creeping in his wake as Hope glanced around her, in the distance she could see Queen Malphas and Richard fighting, and Lucrezia''s body propped in a lonely tree. Hope looked to her right hand, the Hammer of Augurious shining once again as the young woman took in some air and readied herself for the final fight to come, Morugarius stood silent a few meters in front of her, her face showing a great deal of emotion Hope thought no Divine could muster. "Goddess Morugarius, Are you friend or foe?" Hope asked as she began flexing her powers, Swapping blessings to heal herself, then Setting up a triple layer aegis defensive spell with Ki, Divine energy, and Magic. the Rage burned through her veins as her vision sharpened. Hammer in hand she was ready for a fight again, praying the Goddess of War didn''t take her up on it. As hope inched closer to the Divine, another sigil bloomed in the air, this one was known to her as a great source of headache for a certain Duchess, Uumaries descended in ornate armor and spear, her face masked with rage. She hugged Morugarius who let her body go in the arms of Umaries, Hope could hear the Goddess sobbing; it was something else, the ground shining as the divine tears fell into it. Inching closer to the pair now she heard the hushed whispers "...I am so tired, I wasn''t made for this ceaseless war Ummy, he knows Father would forgive him why doesn''t he come back already..." Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. It felt Human to Hope to see her like this, hearing a sister miss her brother''s dearest, yet her mind and body were ready for a fight, if not together at least versus Uumaries. Filling her voice with divine might Hope asked again "Are you friend or foe!?" Uumaries snapped back her face full of worry "Quiet human! before I ran you through with my spear..." Morugarius raised her hand to calm her beloved "Enough, let''s just go home" and then they were gone. Hope sighed as silence once again crept back in, the shine in Augurious''s hammer glowing still as she saw the elven woman that was following Richard be stabbed in the belly and disappear. Hope ran, looking to save mana as one thing burned into her mind: Saving Lucrezia.
William walked among the bodies from the battle to liberate the Wulfgrem duchy out of the clutches of Lucrezia''s parents, the people he killed, and those who died in the crossfire. Death was a funny thing, spared as he was from the wars and conflicts in the united states, it was everywhere and most of the media he consumed made it fun even. The words of his Abuela rang once again when he arrived at the castle gates. "Evil prevails when good men fail to act huh" William spoke to himself as he saw his reflection in a pool of crystal clear water, untouched by the blood around it, a grim scene no doubt but one he felt an eerie sense of inner peace. He went above and beyond the call, whoever got him here wasn''t planning for this he was sure of it. "Can''t say I don''t miss the cold" William smiled as he sat down in a clear patch of snow "Sis would''ve liked this I bet, minus the bodies of course" His mind once again strayed back to Earth, home, and family. "Why?" he heard the voice of his sister echo in his mind, memory flashing to the day after he became the rod of iron his Abuela told him to become "We must do these things the right way man c''mon! an eye for an eye and the whole goddamn world will be blind! do you think grandma understands reality? the woman is stuck in some sort of fanatic mad world inside her head!" "It had to be done" William spoke the words and just like that day, he felt at peace, come hell or high water he did what he felt was right, if it was a good reason for the others he couldn''t give an ounce of care. "And I would do it again" he smiled at the bright blue skies of Wulfgren, knowing that by sheer cosmic luck, he did do it again, the price he paid was higher this time, much much higher but he knew, deep inside within his most inner thoughts and feelings, he was in the right, and content that he and his friends right a wrong and saved those who can''t save themselves. "...Thoughts of home..." "...Take away my fear..." "...Sweat and blood..." "...Hide my veil of tears..." "Lay me down" "In the cold, cold ground" "Where before many more have gone "Lay me down" "In the cold, cold ground" "Where before many more have gone" "...You Terrans sure do have a flair for the dramatic, but then again, a planet as bloodthirsty as yours does earn the right for a bit of drama" A powerful but warm voice filled the space around William, the hairs on his arms rising as an old man with light bronze skin and slick back salt and pepper hair sat down beside him. "A pleasure to meet you in the flesh so to say," the man said with a smile "it''s not often we get Terrans in this part of the grand cosmos as I am sure you know, given the honestly terrifying amount of knowledge you have of me, my realm, my people and the whole shebang" William couldn''t help but laugh "Would you believe me if I told you it''s quite common knowledge with a quite large group of people? Weird ain''t it?" The man smiled, his face delighted in the knowledge "You don''t need to tell me that twice, you don''t know how boring it gets up there and happenings like this one? once in millennia IF I am lucky, especially with the Kragonians mad at you and yours, they weren''t a fan of being turned into cosmic horrors you know? half the reason they are at war with Terra is due to your creative endeavors involving their people" William laughed again "Of course, the Lovecraftian nightmares are real, course" The man wagged his finger "Uh oh, they are very and I mean very keen on protecting their image as wise and powerful species who seek to seed new life across the cosmos, not monsters and fish-based lifeforms" William got up and kneeled with respect "Greetings Lord Faal, I am William Luther Aurelius, a ghost from Terra, and the mind behind Lucrezia''s rise to infamy in your Home Planet, for my sins, I ask that she is spared, for I took hold of her body and under her guise commanded men and god both for the deeds of which I take full responsibility" Faal spoke "Raise thy head child, we speak as equals here, and I am sure you know I am not fond of formality in these unique circumstances, too slow for me as I am sure you are aware" William did so and the field around them transformed, he was at a table together with Faal, and both sat down and stared at each other when a third chair appeared. "I believe it would be best if we all three talked about this" He spoke and another shade appeared.
Malphas saw the body of that stupid elf spirit itself away as the boy bull-rushed her and tackled her to the ground, his face was red with anger and she felt every blow he landed on her. Her ribs cracked and healed, her kidneys nearly exploded but kept going, her nerves, everything was burning in pain then gone, a perk of her mastery of the Rage, power over pain, power over everything. Then the Avatar was gone, Malphas clicked her tongue and threw Richard to the side, Lucrezia was still alive and that shade did nothing to kill her or Hope, as always it came down to her to finish the godsdamned job. "Oh the Joy" Malphas spoke as Richard got up and took a stance, she felt it all over her body and soul, how bored she was, what was her last good fight? the King and Queen of Grannarius were magic users, they cheated with rare magical artifacts, cheated her out of a good brawl, dragons rarely came to challenge her, and demons and devils outright had laws to avoid her. All-Father refused her appeal to join the war in the cosmos early in her life of adventure before she became royalty, and so she was left in this paradise of a world, bored out of her mind until her children came to be. And her beloved Jason, love, and motherhood appeased her inner beast but after her son''s death it roared back to life, a pity the whore did not meet her standards for fighting, but the lackey... The lackey surpassed it. "Richard Silverbrand, I Queen Malphas Shatter-Spear Dragonblood, Declare you the strongest foe I''ve faced on this planet" Malphas smiled, for all the bad the Whore had done, at the very least she gave her an excellent foe to beat. And then there were two, as Malphas watched Hope show up and stand by Richard''s side. Hope leaped into action, barely giving the nod to Richard as the Hammer she wielded came crashing down in golden rays, Malphas''s eyes widened as she recognized the weapon, to think a divine weapon would be deployed at this late in the battle filled her with emotion, more excitement, more action! The girl flew into the air, the Hammer glowing again as a mighty blade made out of Mana and Divine energy came crashing down into Malphas, the Queen smiled and punched the spell into sparks of light, the moment she did it Hope appeared to her flank swinging the weapon right into her ribcage. Malphas flew into the air, her lungs sucking air as pain flared in her entire body, she tried to cast a spell but found her hands and mouth sluggish, Time Magic! Hope was using Chronomancy against her! Malphas slowly turned her head to the side as she saw Richard rushing towards her, the entire world felt slow as the fell magic took hold of her body and soul, she cursed the powers of the All-Father then Richard struck. The boy''s punches and kicks flew like a mighty stream, Malphas closed her eyes as she felt the Rage roar inside of her, very much displeased that its avatar had been banished, with the power of the blasphemous beast coursing through her veins she saw the arcane constructs of Hope''s spell, their magick weaving and formula only the Goddess of Time herself was privy to. A mighty punch, the most honorable of weapons in Malphas''s opinion crashed the spell down and her speed was restored, with a glance she grabbed Richard by the throat and threw him into the ground, the boy bellowed a threat but he was down for the moment. Malphas felt the Rage fly off Hope as the girl grabbed the Hammer with both hands and began hammering Malphas who had to dodge and parry most of the attacks, as both woman''s powers evenly matched Malphas knew she would need to bring out her all to defeat someone who had the Rage AND All Father''s blessing. A shame, the Silverbrand kid proved a far better sport, to see a regular person break their limits like that filled Malphas with pride, Hope, on the other hand, was just abusing the powers bestowed to her. Malphas saw Richard get up, and upon his hand shone a light most peculiar as the boy screamed from the backline ''Hope, distract her!" the girl summoned a beam of pure divine energy and slammed it into Malphas. "C''mon!" Malphas screamed and hurled herself towards her, arms at the ready as Hope''s Hammer came flying from her hand and struck Malphas square in the chest, another leap and Hope was on top of her a flurry of blows flying out as Malphas tried to parry and dodge them. It was a mad dance, Hope''s blessing copying the minute detail of Malphas''s skills in battle as she pushed harder and harder, at one point the smile dropped and she was in for real, no more holding back, no more toying with prey. And yet Hope met her at every step. Magic, Divine miracles, Martial arts, Ki, what the girl lacked in experience the Blessing of the All-Father shored up so nicely, it was like she was this good from the start. A shame, Malphas thought again as she leaped towards Hope and slammed her Knee right into the forehead of the girl, this was not a desperate struggle by someone who had no chance of winning, no last-ditch effort of man and divine, this was a once in a millennium hero figure. Malphas preferred Richard at the end of the day, and that was that.
Richard''s mind was ablaze as he watched Hope do her best to keep that monster in human form at bay, the girl was breaking her limits over and over again and yet Malphas did not relent, did not step back once! It was madness, true madness that no mortal should behold, so much power in a single person wasn''t right. And so Richard made the decision that would end this macabre show of power "Lend me your strength" he asked the Goddess and felt a slight nod and smile come from her. "Hope, keep her busy, It''s time to end this!" Richard grabbed the small stone in his necklace and pointed upwards, a impressive beam myriad in color went up in the skies and slammed into the protective field creating arcs of pure energy before breaking free into the skies above, with no announcement of the spell in place Richard began feeding the stone energy from the Goddess. "NO, NOT AGAIN!" Malphas screamed as Richard''s vision grew darker to the sides, Hope once again cast time magic on the Queen, holding her down and then slamming her entire body with the Hammer of Golden light. In a split second Richard saw the fabled Golden City of Faal, the realm of the gods and seat of power of the All-Father, he was one with creation, and creation sang to him in a tune so divine he nearly lost himself, so much power flowed through him that he felt like a demi-god. His vision then shifted to a terrifying place, a lake of blood with Lucrezia in the middle, and another form to her side, their face covered in shadow. His mind snapped back to reality as the Goddess spoke to his ear. "The All-Father himself has granted the power to use his tear, It is time to end this Richard, do it" Richard nodded and spoke to Hope, praying she would listen and dodge out of the way, he then pointed his right hand to Queen Malphas and felt a click inside his soul, as the world went from pitch black to a myriad of colors, to pure white and Malphas was slammed with a beam of pure power, the selfsame way the Grannarius''s royalty did so long ago in the war. Silence followed as her form became pure energy, Richard nearly fell over but Hope grabbed him by the arms and threw her arm around him, keeping him up. Ricard didn''t need a special blessing to see the young woman had come to trust him deeply, the Knights he knew always spoke of this silent bond among soldiers who lived after a harrowing battle, something that every Vermilian understood deep within their hearts. His fate and Hope''s were tied now, tied to the one responsible for all of this, he grunted to the trees that remained and both hobbled towards the fair form who was propped in the bark of a big tree, Lucrezia''s eyes closed but both could see her chest rising and falling. ...."The Reclaimers have won, please register ownership of the castle and field grounds with the Academy''s dean..." Richard heard the soft voice of the spell construct as Hope chuckled "You think the rest can see us now?" she asked. "Yeah, yeah they can and I hope Arthur doesn''t get mad at me later," Richard said trying to calm his nerves. "He won''t, trust me" Hope replied knowing Richard was trying to take his mind off the fact Lucrezia could''ve been sentenced to a fate worse than death. Chapter 65: And truth shall set you free "Many times I''ve seen Him extend his hand in mercy rather than killing, chief among those times is when we welcomed the Hivemind to our home a year ago, Freewill is his calling but lets no being alive or not say my husband isn''t merciful, even if he will deny it if asked personally." All-Mother in a rare interview for the Imperium. Lucrezia coughed, her face beet red as the being that created her and nearly every living being on this planet sat at the head of the table, All-Father Faal had a caring smile on his face, ever the optimist as the stories said. "The prayer, when you first did that prayer I knew something was up you know? very few have the right mindset to invoke it at the right time to be actually blessed by it" Faal spoke, his voice filling the room. "But I must say, whoever did this hack job of a soul meld wasn''t very good at it, they were very good at leaking confidential information to a quarantined reality but melding? low marks I must say" Lucrezia cast her eyes to William who was smiling when he said "And if you get more of us that might become an Issue" Faal waved his hand "Fixed already my dear boy, Lucrezia''s little show with the Angels made sure that we found the loopholes in the system and plugged them right this time" Faal laughed "To think He would send two! Do you know He was among the first to agree with the Quarantine? "Lock it down" his words. "I will not pretend to understand the motives of the Divine, even if my brain struggles to accept the fact it was all real" William spoke, his gaze far far away from the room they were in, there was sadness in his eyes, Lucrezia knew that was when a part of him he tried very hard to keep it locked away came out and yearned to return home, to Terra. "Will there be punishment for my summon of the Terrors All-Father?" Lucrezia asked. Faal rubbed his beard, a pensive look etched upon his face "Hm, honestly? I don''t think it would be fair, If I do punish you two, I also have to punish Hope, the Queen, and quite a few nobles who also let loose a few minor invocations at the high point of the battle, it is a shame you missed seeing that lad leading them to the final charge William, Lucrezia. To elevate a common man through effort and grit to that position is nothing short of inspirational." "Besides, Summoning an Avatar of that dreadful fellow is the bigger issue here, I''ll have my daughter deal with that particular fallout after all..." "Delegate and Mitigate" William spoke before Faal could finish and the All-Father laughed. "You sly devil, How much do you know I wonder? I must say I am impressed with the ones responsible for the leak" Faal stopped himself "but I am afraid I have bad news for you William" Faal snapped his fingers and an image of the Monolith appeared in the middle of the table "As you can see here, whatever magick was weaved to merge your souls was damaged when you were called to my realm, yet the Monolith had a few self-defensive runes etched upon it that flared when Malphas struck you down" He pointed to one William was intimated with, the rune of the second chance. "Oh wow, a one-time resurrection" William spoke and Faal nodded. "Indeed, but what you missed is that the Rune is meant to repair the entire Monolith, which means you are permanently bound to my reality, there is no going home for you anymore son, tainted as you are to your Gods they would rather damn you to oblivion at worst, or send you away at best" Lucrezia was barely holding her tears when she saw Williams''s face, resignation, acceptance, a longing for home "All-Father please, is there anything you can do for him?" she begged for mercy and prayed the divine would answer it. Faal looked upwards to the void and said "A message from your benefactors" his voice grew in power and the language shifted, ancient, powerful, strong. "William, Son of Ill begotten and Ill-fated parents, It is with a heavy heart that we deliver this message to you: Your soul is now bound to the well of life and death of the All-Father, take heart that your actions, small as they were not dismissed, for he who would shepherd the weak and the timid across the valley of death will always be in His favor, be in this world, on in ours." "A kind message, from someone who''s often not kind to transgressors of His laws" Faal nodded "and yet even knowing that as you do now I can see it in your face, that predisposition to self-sacrifice, a noble trait but one that often leads to bittersweet endings" Faal stopped. Lucrezia gasped, of course, she wanted to say but words failed to become manifest. She knew him better than anyone, knew that he would always go above and beyond for the ones he cared about, and that he often cursed himself for taking her life, status, and power even if Lucrezia told him time and time again she was okay with it. That tendency of self-blame, Lucrezia knew came from his upbringing, Ill begotten indeed she said to herself. William sighed "Seems you can read me very well, for once I am stumped, there was very little in the game about soul melding magic and such, necromancy was more of an offensive attrition-based deal in there at least mechanically speaking, the references to soul fuckery were all in hard to find lore fluff texts" William smiled the thought of taking about the game''s lore was one of the things he had the most fun. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Faal spoke "With good reason, that is not knowledge many have, as you know I personally ended the planet that created the spells that could unmake a soul, but this" He pointed to the image of the Monolith "This was made not with the intention of unmaking your soul but making it akin to a blueprint, it would copy it to Lucrezia''s enabling her full knowledge and more important context behind said knowledge, while your own existence would become fuel to the spellwork, not unlike how a regular soul becomes another here, as they pass through the cycle of death and rebirth should they wish at the Queue" "A superb job of optimization, letting the ones choose where to go instead of forcing them into an afterlife or rebirth," William said and Faal smiled again. "Then I can see only a single path for the both of you, with my knowledge and power I can merge the two of you together, birthing a new person in the aftermath, instead of using William''s soul as fuel, the two of you will be fused so to say, it is a painless ordeal but there is a side effect to the process" Faal tapped the table and an image of Lucrezia''s body appeared "Lucrezia''s body and soul are the linchpins of the Monolith, which means she would be the one who would rule over the fusion of memories, emotions, and thoughts" he tapped again and William''s image appeared "In theory, the spell would balance it out, but given the damage of the Monolith, and your brush with dearest Malphas we are looking at something less balanced" "Either that or both of you die and are either reborn or sent to your afterlife of choosing" Faal concluded. "It is not an easy decision to make" the Divine spoke his voice heavy "but one that needs to be done nonetheless unless the alternative is preferable" Lucrezia sighed, resignation hanging over her head like a noose, a small part of her wanted to end it all, it spoke to her trying to sway her thoughts and feelings, like a snake it coiled around her heart. Could she? there was too much left behind, too many people who relied upon her and William, it would not be fair, to die and let all that responsibility fall upon her aides and friends. Ah the word stung in her mind, a crack of lighting against the snake coiled who lashed out, she knew well who had instilled that sentiment on her, once fair rulers of the mighty Wulfgren duchy, now laid low by her hands. "There''s too much to be done, we can''t, we must not give up now" William spoke and she raised her head, his hair glistering in the unnatural light of the room they were in, cold fire in his eyes as they locked straight into Lucrezia''s So much said with no words exchanged, Faal''s face became a mask as William''s turned into a smile "Ah all this talk of responsibility is a...open wound still, forgive me All-Father" he stopped talking and gave the Divine a slight nod. "What? what are you on about William?" Lucrezia was puzzled for once, the comment quite literally taking her out of the somewhat heavy atmosphere. "He means my troubled relationship with my own parent''s dear girl, not a topic you will see the priests talking about on the weekly mass, after all, I am not a fan of it" the Divine sighed "But to not leave you in the dark, My parents are well...Divines of a higher order, of magnitudes higher than even the terrors that wage their war against Terra, they are sticks in the proverbial cosmic mud and were not fans of me going about my way to forge a path and dominion of my own" Faal smiled, it was the first time Lucrezia felt fear in her very bones. That was the smile of evil deeds. "But enough about me, I will give you two some privacy to hash this out, once you are done, Call me."
Richard had regained some of his strength when Hope nearly collapsed "ACK!" she screamed and he rushed to her side, grabbing her the same way she had grabbed him before, the balanced shifted as Hope''s eyes rolled into her eyesockets and back. "Too...much...rage used" she was gasping for air at every word, they could see Lucrezia in the distance, her chest rising and falling at a steady pace, Richard nearly cried but managed to hold the tears in. "Steady yourself, friend, we are nearly there" he spoke trying to help her Hope nodded and said "Well ain''t this funny, seems the roles have changed" she tried to laugh but a nasty cough came instead "Fuck me, no laughing until I''m healed" Richard stopped "Can''t you change to whatever God blessed Vivienne? cast a strong healing spell on both of us?" Hope shook her head, her face a bit red with shame "I am afraid my blessing is on some sort of blockage friend, seems that summoning the one God who dared raise a hand against the All-Father was not that wise" Richard laughed "I am sure she will have a fix for that, I wonder if Kaine and Gwenarius know something about her frankly freakish solutions and knowledge" Richard laughed "And do not beat yourself over that particular fact Hope, powerful as you are you were no match for that thing, it would''ve killed everyone here and beyond I am sure of it, Malphas really was ready to destroy it all to avenge her son" "I talked with Saa''ryu you know" Hope spoke after a while, having digested Richard''s words her face lit up a little, and he saw that familiar cheer returning and smiled to himself, "She told me...she told me Lu was ready to die today, the Queen would''ve never raised her hand against anyone else, even me since Arthur loves me, she told me that ever since she started to work towards freeing her lands from her parents there was this how can I put it? an impetus in her actions, the way she threw herself in combat that screamed..." "Deathbound Oath" Richard''s lips moved fast, as a friend of many a knight and mercenary in his pub-crawling activities he was familiar with the term, a peculiar quirk in Vermilion''s culture, fully endorsed by the gods, so much in fact Morugarius herself had said she placed those under the oath in her most important ranks in the war over the cosmos. It made...too much sense now that he thought about it, her skills, the way she fought, how much mana she wasted on those ridiculous leaping and crash attacks, even the battle lust granted by the Greater Blessing of Saal''Xhir fitted to a perfect T, never mind the fact the northern raider God also blessed her. Hope broke his thoughts with her voice, a sadness ringing from the fair''s woman throat "My parents as you know lead a mercenary band, in one of their least talked about campaigns against the Elven Menace had my uncle Y''tan raid a village..., the information he had gotten from the allied forces was wrong and the man massacred civilians that night" "He was a good man Richard, but also a very pious man, unable to forgive himself even after the superior was punished he volunteered himself to be in the tip of the spear when we broke through Grannarius''s final line of defense, and he died that day" It was a story Richard had heard many a time while sharing drinks with the fighting folk of Vermilion, sons, daughters, mothers and fathers, uncles and aunts, seeking forgiveness via the ultimate sacrifice, leaving the bitterness of death upon their friends and family. "We might wanna have a sit down with her after this is over" Richard spoke and Hope nodded "You more than everyone I reckon, given your declaration that the entire Kingdom heard" Hope spoke and she smiled again. "Imagine, 30 years from now "Duke Richard celebrates his declaration of love in the middle of the largest battle the new world had ever seen!" in the journals and criers when I become Queen, I will make it a national holiday! Richard''s face went red up to the ears "Godsdamn it Hope don''t make me blush after such a heavy topic, ye gods I am in for round two when my mother finds out about this..." Hope laughed, little tears falling from her face "Oh my friend, I am sure she already knows!" Chapter 66: May Your Death Benefit all Beings
"The consequences of what historians now call the great battle of The Fields were long and lasting, from the rise of up to now unheard alliances among nobles and merchants, to the birth of heroes of civilian background, countries and empires, kingdoms and Gods moved and so did the greater world, in this interview with key players of the battle we will now shine a light to their darkest moments, for in war there is much glory, and much grief..." The Imperium Claws issue, which later became popular in the new world for its exclusive interviews. Hope felt her blessing pulse with an incredible force as she neared Lucrezia''s body, it was the first time such a thing had happened and she was taken back by the sheer power of the pulse, Richard grabbed her tighter than before and both stopped as they neared Lucrezia''s fair face. "Something''s not right" Richard spoke "Can you cast any healing spells or miracles?" Hope nodded and flexed her powers, the Blessings slotting themselves sluggish, she was still strained it seems, that or the Gods weren''t keen on helping her given her blasphemous acts. "We will have to deal with the All-Father''s Hardliners sooner rather than later, worry not I know some people" Richard spoke his mind connecting the dots fast "Well Mother knows the people, but given what happened today I am sure she will be willing to spare them" Hope began casting the spells and miracles, Lucrezia''s body glowing in purple, green and white, golden lights shining through her fingers as she began coughing black bile, Hope untangled herself from Richard as the young man nearly launched himself to the ground. He propped Lucrezia up, she trembled a bit before digging her nails into Richard''s arms, he sucked in the pain with a sharp intake of air before Lucrezia relaxed and stopped coughing, her eyes opening and locking with Hope''s. The world grew silent as the three shared this intimate moment, Hope saw those beautiful azure eyes again and there was a depth to them, and a sad sort of peace, Arthur told her once, that hidden below Lucrezia''s lust and boundless knowledge was a deep-seated sense of regret, of shame. None of that now, whatever happened in her brush with death and the long queue had changed her, deeply, Richard hugged Lucrezia and Hope heard him sob, the emotions she herself was trying to keep down bubbled back up, and she sucked in air, trying to hold the tears in but seeing Lucrezia cry broke the dam. The trio had a group hug, the tears flowing in silence as all of them lacked words to express their feelings, Hope coughed a bit after they stopped hugging and said "We won, Richard pulled some sort of powerful beam of light to banish the Queen but we won!" Lucrezia opened her lips, a sense of gravitas coming from her voice and words "The Tear of the All-Father? You used it?" she sounded tired, a face Hope and Richard had seen once in a while before. "Aye, aye I used the bastard, it drank every ounce of mana and divine energy I had but she got the Grannarius''s special and we godsdamned won" There was an edge to his voice, Richard''s opinion on the Queen was not the best it seemed. "She called you the strongest foes she''s faced you know," Hope said a smile on her lips "You missed the fight Lu, turns out all that melee training you gave Richard here turned him into quite the grappler" "You two can tell me all about it after I take a good nap, in a hot bath" She smiled a little, pain flashing on her face "Ouch" Hope felt it again, that send of sad peace exuding from Lucrezia''s presence and felt chills. A woman of many secrets as Arthur had said once to her, it would take some digging to find out what had happened to her, maybe now that Richard was emotionally invested they would have some answers. "You guys can tell me what happened later, let''s return to the castle now, whoever survived will be happy we won the fight I wager if there''s anyone left that is," Lucrezia said as she looked over the horizon, with both Hope and Richard helping her before she got her stride. It didn''t take long before she saw the remains of the airship "Ye gods she didn''t spare anything in her rampage, did she? It will take a good while to rebuild it..." A smile crept on her face "The lads back home will be happy with the challenge I bet" "Worry not, we will help get the Nautilus back in the air, twice as big and strong" Richard spoke with gusto "A fleet of ZENOs units, those frankly terrifying Knightmares, and more, together" "Aye, together" Lucrezia spoke, her voice trembling with emotion in a rare display of her soft side. Hope then heard in the wind, a low rumbling at first that grew as loud as thunder, rolling over the fields and beyond as the Reclaimers who hadn''t lost and their allies cheered at the top of their lungs. Wanting to take a peek under Lucrezia''s thoughts Hope cast the surface reading memory spell Arthur taught her, a melody creeping under her ear as the lyrics of the song were translated from an unknown language via All-Father''s blessing. O Sorrow, all-penetrating! I have been wrested away from you! O Death, all-conquering! Now you are conquered! With wings that I won In the passionate strivings of love I shall mount To the light to which no sight has penetrated. I shall die, so as to live! Arise, yes, you will arise from the dead, My heart, in an instant! What you have conquered Will bear you to God.
Richard walked forward now that Lucrezia was walking, his mind bouncing between shame and pride, face red up to the ears as the adrenaline and battle fervor went away when they neared the castle whose outer walls and moat were mostly destroyed. But he could see Reclaimers and allies moving around it, magic being cast to fix the bridge and entryways. He felt ethereal winds flare to his right side as Hvtial, Rose de Castellon, and Tomoe flew down and landed before him, a smile creeping on the dragonkin''s face as he saluted Richard. "My oh my, a declaration of love in the middle of the fiercest battle the kingdom has seen in decades! complete with the blessing of a powerful Goddess at that!" Rose spoke with awe in her voice "Why it would be enough to make any fair lady heart skip wouldn''t it Tomoe?" Hvtial spoke "Don''t forget fighting the Queen in honest to gods melee combat, to the point of fisticuffs, something no one bar the King himself had done before" He snapped his fingers and a refreshing wind washed over Richard, cleaning his clothes, and mending his outward wounds "Richard my friend, you are in for quite the reception once we are out of these godsforsaken fields" "Well you three better help me out then" Richard spoke feeling the tiredness creep up on him "The women of the hour are coming and we gotta set up a proper reception for them" It felt good Richard thought, having those three near him again, they helped him immensely before the fight, it was only right that they would be there for the celebrations, he looked up to the skies and wondered how long the people who "died" would remain there. An emotionless voice whispered in his ear "One hour" "Convenient" he spoke and kept going forward, as more and more people saw him the cheers started going out, it felt weird at first but Richard was anything but slow and managed to calm the people down, orders flying as he sped the process up and prepared a stage for the speech that was likely happening, Lucrezia was rather fond of those after all, that and Music. It was with great sadness that he found out the band had been obliterated by Malphas, the woman took the morale-boosting music threat rather seriously huh? no music would be sad but he quickly got people to prepare food instead. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Finding the Kitchen complex of the castle was not that hard thankfully, and mages kept the whole assembly line cleaned and ready for the frankly absurd stocks of foodstuff that were being kept there. It made sense, the castle was being used as a place of revelry and carnal desire until today after all, Richard''s mind flew as he wondered if that particular piece of bad news would also come knocking, Lucrezia, Hope, and now Himself had made big waves, and as his mother once told him, those are very fond of come crashing back. Yet not everything was the doom and gloom his mind was conjuring. Every orc around had come to congratulate him, such pride and honor that they got to witness the alliance between Vermilion and their Goddess, a reminder that the Kingdom would always stand fast against the menace of the sea, an orc lad barely 19 cried when hugging him, overcame by emotion he said, the lad told him that for generations his family was one of the chosen to keep the vigil at the shores of the country. "Always watching, for one day they will return, and so will the one is chosen by the Goddess" and that was Richard now, embroiling himself against the equivalent of the boogieman for the Orcs, with very few ancients remembering the faces of their enemy. But he knew, with the knowledge the Goddess gave him, the sea elves were deep below the waves, bidding their time, except now when they came back, it would not be just Magic and Steel that would greet them. Magi-Tech would as well, his eyes watched the wreck of the Nautilus burning blue fire, he would rebuild it, twice as big and park right above their heads, and when those guns sang once again the elven horde will rue the day they left their darkened abyssal home.
"Ah yes, one more thing before I leave, your friends asked me to give you this, to remember them by" All-Father Faal pulled a small dagger from his person, glittering in the lights of the artificial space they were in, dark as night, a blade made of obsidian and silver. "Now, if you would excuse me, I gotta explain a few things to the people upstairs, and when those who summoned your other half come knocking, be sure to ask them the important questions ok? if only so you can tell me later if you want of course" She held the dagger in her left hand, the silver in the handle burning her palm for a second before the weapon disappeared into the aether, the walls around her falling and she beheld the skies within the realm of her soul. The Monolith, once pulsing with discord now as smooth as a still lake, the realm still had its buildings and Terran architecture, yet all the young woman could feel was a creeping sense of loneliness and sadness. "It seems my better half, at least at the subconscious level has yet to come to terms with the fact" she spoke as she moved her left hand again "I feel...whole, stable even, the memories are still there, as are the emotions but its clear now whose came first, whose got to dictate the melding" "Terrifying isn''t it? that I can remain calm like this must be in part thanks to my other half heh, still as a lake, sharp as the blade''s edge but fearing for the consequences of my actions" The lack of confusion was distressing to her, she expected something more dramatic, but then again, it was the lord of all reality within her universe who did the deed, if there was anyone that could mesh their souls together flawlessly it would''ve been him. She felt the body waking up and closed her eyes, the waking world called and she had much to do. "Here lies Lucrezia and William, may their souls find peace with their rejoining"
Lucrezia walked slowly as Hope held her hand, the lack of her arm didn''t feel weird but then again "she" had plenty of time to get used to the feeling. A cool wind blew through the field and trees as Hope''s voice rang in her ears. "You know there''s something you must be made aware of with haste" she smiled a teasing smile "Richard led an honest-to-goodness epic charge and guess what he screamed?" Lucrezia stared at the face of her dear friend, she found mirth in her eyes but also a sense of pride? as if Hope was proud of whatever Richard had said. A weird thought, Lucrezia searched her memories and while Richard was often with the rest of the gang he and Hope weren''t that much of friends. But as she well knew by now, combat can forge bonds stronger than steel, they must''ve fought together and Hope came to trust Richard a great deal, something Lucrezia approved in her heart, he was a good man and deserving of praise, while the game never gave him a chance to shine she had done it, and the world was better for it, After all, he was now friends with the future Queen of the Kingdom! Lucrezia laughed "Pray do tell, what did our esteemed friend bellow from the top of his lungs to the entire Kingdom and Allies to hear?" Hope snickered as she regaled the tale of Richard''s mad dash. "Love he said, the Goddess asked and he screamed, a shame you were already out to witness such a dramatic and let''s be honest here, most heroic declaration of love one could get short of having the Goddess of Love on your side while you do it," Hope said with gusto "Pardon me being so forward but you should really give him a chance Lu, he''s a great catch especially now that''s he''s all powered up, you should''ve seen the hand to hand fight against the Queen, that was insane" "He fought hand to hand, against Malphas?" Lucrezia''s eyes widened, even with the powerful blessing he got that would be nearly impossible to even last a round of fisticuffs, the woman was a monster with her melee skills. Of course, that wasn''t enough, Hope told more, and Lucrezia couldn''t help but smile at the mention of Aogurious being summoned, Kaine using time magic on that big of a scale, and her army fighting to the bitter end it felt amazing to hear it. Not so much when she saw the remains of her airship, but that could be fixed, bigger and better too. "And then he used the Tear, as the Mad Royals of Grannarius once did, we couldn''t...defeat Malphas even with everything we had, but that was enough and we won" Hope finished her hand gripping Lucrezia''s "You need, nay must train me, Lu I know you can push me, Arthur and the rest to our peak and when the time comes we will win, with our own powers and skills" Lucrezia felt emotions flood her, she held the tears as she hugged Hope "Of course, everything I know you will also know, together" After the wave of emotion passed she distanced herself from Hope and saw the stage Richard and the others were building. "He knows you would want to give a speech, what a thoughtful young lad" Hope spoke with mirth "You ought to be careful Lu, otherwise that elven woman will steal him right under your nose, I saw the way she was looking at him before the fight.." Lucrezia shook her head "Let''s worry about my love life after we are done with this alright? I need a good 3 days of lazing around before dealing with that sort of thing, even if Shal''Xhir will want to have my head for denying her the pleasure" Hope laughed "Oh you fool, she likes you too much for that! She told me you know? out of everyone you are the one who keeps popping in her head, If I didn''t know any better I would go as far as say the Goddess has a crush on you!" Lucrezia laughed "O to be young and in love" to which Hope punched her in the arm "Hey we are the same age! don''t go speaking like an old crone"
Lucrezia shrugged with delight on her face, the cheers from the survivors in the castle loud as thunder as they got closer, she readied herself for a speech, as her better half was wont to do when victory was fact, she flexed her hand, and walked forward. The thunder of shields and spears, swords, and Magi-Tech weapons roared across the fields as Lucrezia went up the stage together with Hope and Richard, the young man flanked by his aides as he raised his hands to calm the crowd down. "Friends! Save your cheers! our leader has a few words for you all" The people quieted down in a flash, Lucrezia smiled seeing how much respect Richard commanded now, poised and sure of himself but still having his smarts as a merchant. "Friends, it fills my heart with pride, with joy to stand here today, by the sweat of your brow, the strength of your muscles, dominion over faith, and magic we stood against the very best our fair Kingdom has to offer! It was a long battle, a hard battle but we WON!" thunderous clapping and cheers stormed out of the castle "Today we brought out the might of our fair Kingdom, the bonds we forged today will last until the very end of this realm" "Look at those who stand with you right now, and those who will soon return to partake in the festivities, for today we are not nobles, commoners or merchants, knights, and soldiers, today we are united under a single banner, and that banner will shine on top of this hallowed field of combat for the future to see! and that future will be a glorious one, my friends, for we are now one, and as right proper Vermilians we all know the honor that is sharing a battlefield with our brothers and sisters" "I would also like to thank my allies for lending me their strength in this hour of need, for today we fought not as enemies but as allies! The Elite Troops of Grannarius and Magenta Squad! The First Imperium Legion! My own men from the great Wulfgrem Duchy! A cheer my friends! a cheer for the war machines we have unleashed! a cheer for battles to come for they will taste Crystal and Steel! Weapons even the dragons will fear!" More noise as Lucrezia bathed in, her mind going back to her first speech at the gates of her castle, or was it after the battle? the memories were fuzzy still, she raised her hands and moved on "But now rest! much was done today, many secrets aired, many techniques unleashed and it''s only fair I grant you succor for the fruits of your labors, for today the Reclaimers are Victorious and shall be forever more!" The Sigil of Morugarius bloomed in the skies above Lucrezia, she smiled as the cheers got louder, it seems at least for a while she wouldn''t have to deal with the very real consequences of summoning the Terran Spirits here. The future looked bright indeed.
4 Interlude: Bitter Defeat builds Character, or so they Say King Jason stepped into the inner chambers of the palace, greeted by his spies as he smiled "Well everyone, all things considered, that could''ve gotten a hell of a lot worse eh?" the spies didn''t laugh, but he did hear some sigh. "My liege, the summoning of four world-threatening creatures, one of those being the fallen god is not let''s just say, good for the morning journal, as you surely know by now," The spymaster said "Here we have reports of priests and paladins already making movements to invade the capital and hunt down Miss Hope and then we have good intel that the devils and demons coupled with a few fallen plus an odd dozen neutral Gods also making moves to defend the young woman" King Jason nodded "Well it is a good thing the more radical elements of the All-Father''s church are notoriously known for not being able to coordinate amongst themselves for the life of them, plus most of their paladins are stashed away in the mountains near the Principality and those elves aren''t known for sleeping on potential threats. Have the borders reinforced with more Diviners and Mages" The spymaster nodded and went away as King Jason sat on his chair and began reading through the pages of reports of his people, Contact with the woman of the hour had not been established yet, she was still reaping the many awards that battle gave her and her people, Hope on the other hand was scheduled to meet him and his wife soon, as they moved to make her engagement with their son official. Malphas was fuming at the thought, she had come to dislike the girl quite profoundly, the same for her own son and even Kaine, that one was what worried Jason, his mastery of Chronomancy was a terrifying proposition, as it could end battles with a snap of his fingers, nevermind the fact the Goddess of Time was very unwilling to share the secrets to master her domain. A genius as his friend and Kaine''s father said Jason, sighed and flipped the page, ah yes now that was a face and name that was on the lips of every noble in town, Mister Richard Silverbrand, who just a few days ago was nothing but a well connected young man son of a pair of good merchants. Now? the young man had the loyalty of every orc alive in the kingdom and beyond, Jason had watched the magical recordings of his fight against Malphas numerous times already, actual hand-to-hand combat empowered by the Goddess of the Orcs, the millennial accord between Vermilion and the Orcs against the sea elves made manifest in the middle of the biggest battle the land had seen in nearly 30 years. When he asked Malphas about it the woman smiled he often forgot that the life of the Queen had only appeased the fire of war inside his wife, not smothered completely, the rage she had for Hope and the rest. Richard was spared. Even after using a Tear on her. Jason laughed, of course, Lucrezia found the missing relic and gave it to him, that woman was a whole year ahead of everyone and he knew it, seeing those massive airships, the enemies of the Kingdom joining hands and coming to battle, he knew that if she wanted she could''ve done far worse, never mind civil war with the people she had? the birth of a new empire using Vermilion and the surrounding countries as stepping stones was possible. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Yet the reports said the woman of the hour was in a grim mood, often reflecting alone in meditation on top of the main Academy building, Jason wondered if the battle and her brush with death had given her some deeper insight, or the push to search for such insight, it was a common thing among those who fought in battles after all, he wished to pick her brain apart and see what made her tick now but that was something for the future. The king sighed as he recalled he was due several meetings with a number of diplomats and in a very particular case with the monarchs of a certain kingdom, he was not a fan of those but it was his duty, to smooth things over and then help his people whether this well cosmic event, given Lady''s Lucrezia daring summonings of what his informants in the Golden City of the Gods called a Terminus Level entity, 2 as matter of fact. "Capable of leveling continents within hours, incredibly dangerous," the God said as Jason''s memory went on to less sinister things, like that Rage Avatar his wife called down, oh yes that also had repercussions with the Divine Folk, very bad repercussions that were hand waved away by the big man himself, together with Lucrezia''s own transgressions according to the God. Many of the Divines were not happy, but that was life Jason thought to himself as he kept reading the files, but he couldn''t deny to himself, he was glad no one had died, and that most of the people came out of the whole ordeal in good spirits and even better in selected cases. As his old man used to say "We must always accept the good news first, the bad ones will come as they sure do, but the good news? those we must cherish" He smiled and wondered what his father would''ve thought about this whole thing, probably come up with a random saying or such.
Queen Malphas watched as her son walked down to meet the master of ceremonies, on his right side that pest of a woman, with red hair and a fair face, Hope smiled at her, her face full of defiance. Malphas didn''t miss Kaine and the Kitsune lady decked out in what had to be an improved magi-tech armor, nor the staff concealed by magic in his back and on her back, time magic was a strong thing and she wouldn''t be caught sleeping on the job should anything come to happen. But the star of their little party was the boy she fought at the fields, Richard Silverbrand stood to Kaine''s left side, in his chest a pendant with the tear of the All-Father on it, dressed in common garbs the boy''s eyes were laser-focused on her. Her blessing flexed and she felt Hope''s own absurd blessing flex with it, these people...Malphas was ready for a fight but to see her son so happy melted her heart a bit, even if it was with all the wrong people. Malphas''s daughter spoke with her brother and the lass, and they laughed a little as the master of ceremonies did his whole spiel of blessing their relationship and all that, boring but decorum must be followed her husband said, otherwise what''s the point? After the ceremony was over, the man left his station and Arthur together with Hope came closer to where Malphas and Jason were, they bowed as Hope pulled a parchment from her clothes. The sigil in it made Malphas''s blood boil. "For the queen, from an...concerned third party, a list of names of those a certain someone wronged and is in need of aid" The girl smiled with her teeth out, zero fear in her eyes, Malphas sighed knowing her son was on her side now, committed to the last. The power of Rage flowed through both of them as Malphas took the paper with rage in her face, Jason was already getting up from his seat but Malphas held him off "Tell this concerned third party that this will be taken care of" Hope and Arthur nodded and left, Malphas was fuming but for the good of the promise she made to the well, entire godsdamned kingdom she held her hand, but fate would turn in her favor, even if she had to wait decades for it. And the Gods knew she would wait, and enact her revenge. Chapter 67: Wake up my friend, and smell the ashes. "...Peace, yes, peace would be good, but I am afraid you will not find my terms as good" The All-Father. Lucrezia dreamed of her sister, the girl crying over her dead body in a familiar house and yet unfamiliar, she missed her sister something fierce and these feelings got worse each night. It was strange, all those memories were now hers it was her feelings, her emotions, her actions in them, and bittersweet as she remembered her parents, Terran, and her own Planet. "Lu, are you alright?" Saa''ryu shook Lucrezia''s nude body in the bed "You know sleeping nude isn''t as popular with nobles nowadays right? And that cooler device you made makes this room an ice cube, can you at least put some undies on?" "Oh gods why did I say that, I can see your blessing flaring up via the sigil" The maid went away, sitting down to eat breakfast, Lucrezia kept quiet, trying not to think too hard about the implications of the encounter. ''How did we even keep all of this contained, Christ William? Lucrezia thought to herself, the name feeling alien to say it even in her mind, which was also being assaulted by unbridled lust, in no small part due to her Greater Blessing that was pulsating with vigor. Centering herself with meditation was enough to clear the haze, as she began to truly wake up, eating breakfast and clothing herself for class. Saa''ryu was close to her side as the maid smiled at the people welcoming her. It turns out Lucrezia found that her maid and her people had held some critical junction in the battle, earning so much renown knights were asking her out and such, the maid was somewhat out of her element, not that used to be on such an intense spotlight. Lucrezia, on the other hand, was feeling a different kind of spotlight, the rest of the month was a series of meetings with dignitaries of multiple countries and religions, she had shaken the stage both in the world and in the divine realm quite heavily so much the Infernals and Devils were sending their people to talk with her, extremely rare but as she was under order of the Big man himself. All-Father Faal spoke through Hope, so Lucrezia was off to meet quite a few people in the coming days. It was pretty packed in the gym, another piece of news that surprised her was the number of people trying to get fit, one more wave in the many her plan to take the fields Saa said, from Knight trying not to laugh as their soft charged first tried a true battery of exercises, to hidden talents who could now show off and teach. And I am speaking of teaching. "Weave, Bob, and Weave lass c''mon" Richard was teaching a trio of young girls how to fight and the women were sweating their souls off, what looked like a scene out of a bad romance novel had turned into a fight to exhaustion as Richard had provoked the women into fighting with their all, later telling Lucrezia it was how the orcs trained their best warriors. The orcs of the Academy were also there, some training others in their hand-to-hand combat, others being trained by Knights and Nobles, Lucrezia felt in her heart a nostalgic sense of pride, of honor even. With that boost of morale, she got on with her daily routine, physical exercise was after all extremely important for her development as a warrior, it was a grueling affair but one done with enthusiasm. Saa''ryu got behind her after they used magic to clean themselves up, the maid looking around before speaking "My people haven''t been able to find whoever gave you that modification to the armor by the way, it''s...frustrating but whoever it was they can hide incredibly well, either that or they are masters in divination" Lucrezia waved her worries away "Don''t lose sleep over it, I have a feeling it was with good intentions and our hidden friend will return" adjusting her clothing as she walked along the corridors of the Academy. "The new Custodians of the Fields have arrived," Saa''ryu said as they walked "Eager to meet you and the others I was told, but we have to make a short detour before going there" Lucrezia looked to the maid "Grannarius?" Saa''ryu shook her head "Ah, All-Father priests" Lucrezia smiled as she took a left towards the place they would most likely be, the bigger auditorium where the dean of the Academy did his speeches. A tall elven woman stood by Hope as Lucrezia got near the place, Veronica looked positively brimming with energy as she turned around and hugged Lucrezia "Ah the woman of the hour, or the week even, here to aid our little blasphemer against the evil men and women of the cloth?" the elven warrior spoke with that hint of smugness familiar to Lucrezia. "They aren''t evil, even the more hardliners were surprisingly kind to me..." Hope looked puzzled as she likely expected more opposition from them " Then again I do have a blessing from the deity they worship" Veronica laughed "Nevermind about that, Lucrezia your dirty dirty woman I can''t believe you stole Richard from me! I had a moment with the lad and now he''s heading over heels for you, O my dream of wee little half-elven kids running around the summer estate..." Lucrezia punched the woman in the shoulder to get her to shut up. "Oh someone is serious then, put that Greater Blessing of yours to work finally eh?" Veronica grinned "But enough about your romance life, we gotta deal with the priests before they summon something" Opening the doors they were met with a dozen men and women of multiple races talking in hushed but very stern whispers, representatives of all factions of the theological kind that made up the church of the All-Father. A human woman stood up when Lucrezia and the others entered the room, she bowed "Thank you Miss Hope and Lady Lucrezia for the meeting, many were...displeased we had to make such an appointment but they have been made aware of the positions you two have" Lucrezia waved her worries away "Think nothing of it, we should get this done with sooner rather than later anyway" Hope nodded as she spoke as well "Yes, we set the record straight today and move on with our very busy lives" The woman smiled, Lucrezia saw something in her face but couldn''t quite place it, a feeling of...home? strange she thought to herself as the 3 of them took seats and the other priests began to arrange themselves. "Ahem, today we will settle certain matters regarding the summoning of multiple entities" One of the priests began, his voice betraying how bored he was with the whole ordeal "Now usually the Extremes have the first word but since today''s a special occasion the Neutrals will start" he pointed to the strange smiling woman who revealed herself to be a merfolk. The Extremes as the faction was called looked displeased but none spoke out of order, suckers for rules the whole lot of them Lucrezia thought. "Thank you, Brother Janus, now to the heart of the matter as I won''t be the one who kept a Duchess and the Future Queen of the Kingdom locked in a theological debate" gasps from the other priests and priestess "Oh please, it is public knowledge for days already" she sighed and continued "now to keep this short, the Extremes want an explanation and for once the Progressives agreed with them" "Hey!" and other cries came from the Progressive corner, the woman raised her hand and they quieted down after a while "It is the truth and both must know" She pointed to Lucrezia and Hope "We will start with the Duchess, Miss Lucrezia if you would be so kind to step forward" Lucrezia walked to the center of the room "I am glad to help the men and women of the cloth" she smiled as the woman grinned "And we are glad you have the time for this little show of good faith miss, now we have on good authority the All-Father spoke personally with you correct?" Hope furrowed her browns but Lucrezia raised her hand "Yes, we had much to talk about" Lucrezia sighed "I was...told my behavior was not good, and that he would be sending word of the right punishment" "Which he won''t do for a long while, as we know" one of the Extremes spoke "That''s how he works! handwaving away the blasphemies!" some of his peers calmed and hushed him down but Lucrezia could see the man was seething. "Calm yourself brother" Janus spoke, "Yes that does match with our reports with the All-Father, the horror from beyond the cosmos you summoned caused quite the stir in the divine realm but most of it was just for show, at any rate, if punishment is happening then I imagine the Extremes will be pleased?" most of them nodded, some were still mad but on that front, it seemed that it would be quick and easy to deal with it. Janus and the strange woman smiled "Now if Miss Hope could come forward" "This will be a good one, you got the recording marble ready?" one of the priestesses of the Neutral faction spoke and another nodded "Absolutely" She grabbed a glass marble from her pocket and placed it in the air, it began to float as it scanned the room. A member of the Progressives got up, his face was so ancient Lucrezia was sure the man came out of a stone from when the All-Father got to this planet, but reality proved disappointing when she learned later it was just a very old elven priest. "Little lady, have you any idea of the sheer amount of work we have been building for centuries? and how you smashed through that work like a drunken dwarf with a diamond hammer? ages we tried to clear the name of the first son of the All-Father and now..." One of the Extremes got up "Now the great work is over and we can finally banish the monster to where he belongs! Have you any idea of the damage the did in his rampage across the holy city? across the mortal coil?!?" "Peace brother, let the first finish" Janus spoke and the man sat down. "Thank you Janus, and Brother Anir I''ll keep this brief so you can talk as well" The man who got shushed stared at the old elf hard and said "Apologizes, My temper has been flaring of late as you know, it shan''t happened again" "Well this is a first, both sides not wanting to start a holy war for once" Janus laughed and the tension was dispelled. "Now Lady Hope, we know you had to face let''s be honest here everyone, a foe half our pantheon would balk at the idea of going to battle against, and desperate situations do make one call forth desperate answers, something our brothers and sisters can agree as while the robes hide much, we had many who fought against the elves and the Imperium among our ranks" Lucrezia saw many nodding. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Ah yes, the church of the All-Father did have its fair share of bodies thrown to those meat grinders, grim times for them as they had to train new people for the cloth and that takes time. It was strange to see how the room got quiet, the war against the Imperium was a hard one for the priests in particular, as they were one of the first to be deployed to the frontline, the old living ones among them telling much via their body language. "Then we have to factor in our fair Queen whose sole purpose was to Kill your friend there who''s staring at us with eyes that betray knowledge few have" the elf spoke with a smile "Summoning the Firstborn was then your last ditch effort to turn this horrible tide yes?" Hope nodded "Yes, yes it was" The elf nodded and continued "This battle, to my younger brethren is not something you see every century, the confluence of Gods and other elements here was an event that happens once millennia maybe, but we would need to check with the Historians of the Dawn for a better date" Groans from the crowd made Lucrezia smile, ah the Historians, were not a proper faction within the ranks of the Church of the All-Father, but equally annoying, as they were prone to hour-long debates on semantic issues and trivialities. "The renewing of the covenant with the Orcs and their Goddess, the great war machines birthed by a once spurned now on its way to Greater Dominion God, the smaller miracles that every social class that made up Lucrezia''s army brought, all of this compounds into change, and change is Sacred" Lucrezia saw every priest and priestess bow their heads and close their palms "Freedom and Change, Forward towards the Infinite" she whispered, and Brother Janus''s head snapped towards her "I did not take you for an Old Timer Lady Lucrezia, I hope you won''t talk about the changes in the church canon?" Lucrezia laughed "Nothing of the sort Brother Janus, I just like the phrase, it shines a window into the mind of the All-Father when he left his divine abode despite his parent''s harsh complaints" Hope turned her head and shot Lucrezia a puzzling look "Ah forgive me, you would need to join the Esoteric Discussions the Church of the All-Father hosts every month in the main cathedral here in the city, while He is somewhat cagey about his past, over the many centuries information was slowly compiled and studied by the people of our fair country, but I wager this month''s Discussion will not be held" One of the Priestess spoke "It wasn''t our idea to renovate the entire cathedral this late in the month but well let''s just say democracy isn''t the be all end all method of decision making" only for another to silence her as Brother Janus raised his hand "Forgive us, this topic is well very sore for many among us, now if we could return to the main topic at hand?" The old Elf smiled "Such knowledge, for a human usually their downfall, and yet its tinged with wisdom beyond your years Lady Lucrezia" He nodded "Forgive me, rare is the day when I get to talk with such important nobles you see, Janus being the better diplomat among us, if you don''t mind me asking from where did you distill such wisdom, maybe a blessing from the Gods? or beyond?" "From the friends and allies, I''ve cultivated in this mortal coil, from the divine as well who saw fit to bless me with their powers and trials" Lucrezia spoke and the elf smiled as he said "Fascinating, a shame you are a Duchess, imagine the progress our church would have with you as the leader of our faction" Turning to Hope he continued "Lady Hope, while I''ll let my friend say his piece, we do have a punishment for you, not to worry it won''t be nothing harsh" The old elf sat down and Anir got up "Punishment is the wrong word, we won''t hurt nor humiliate the future Queen of the Kingdom, sigh where do I even begin now..." he took a deep breath to compose himself and spoke again, his voice firm and strong. "It''s important that you understand this, many of late have turned to their side since the Goddess of War has been open in her efforts to get her brother back, and indeed before your grand display we were talking about a ceasefire, but now? the old timers got a fire in their belly, they remember and that memory has halted the talks" "So what do you propose then? what do I need to do so you people can be at peace again" Hope spoke. "The plan was blood at first," Anir said "Either yours or from someone you care about, a fitting punishment from the old days that would please the old ones among us" he sighed "Alas that is off the table now with the news of your, well boyfriend being public" The old elf raised his hand and Anir nodded "I''ve spoken with the old-timers, none are keen on upsetting the Royals so now it is up to us to come up with something" Anir sighed, the man was tired and that was plain to see "Right, now assuming no one here has a plan in mind..." he cast his gaze to the other priests and priestesses who all nodded in agreement "I''ve been made aware that your friend here has helped another young fellow start a church and priesthood yes? so I''d say we do the same for Lady Hope, make her a proper priestess of the All-Father" "Of course that takes time and she will be a very busy woman soon so we can skip the years of training right into the rituals, ministrations, and miracles stage of the training, with that and a bit of charisma I reckon the old timers will be satisfied" Anir spoke and grunts were heard, mostly positive and a few in doubt. Lucrezia smiled "I''ll call Kaine, and see if he can help you on this as well, with your blessing plus his smarts this should prove to be an enlightening experience especially if you can get a hold of their combat-focused miracles" A spark of greed shone in Hope''s eyes, ah yes Lucrezia thought to herself, mentioning new spells and the protagonist would go for it in a snap. it was comforting knowing that reality proved to match that particular trait of hers. Hope went to talk with the Priests as Lucrezia hung back and sat down on a bench, her mind going back to her home in the north, she missed the cold something fierce these last few days. Her better half must''ve suppressed these desires given the country he was from, being used to the heat sure was a blessing... Lucrezia felt a change in the air as Kaine and Kaede appeared from a portal, the young man looked serious as he rushed Lucrezia "Bad news, representatives of Uumaries are on their way to talk with you now, they have paladins with them" "Mercenaries?" Lucrezia asked and Kaine nodded "A few" Lucrezia got up and snapped her fingers, a full suit of Magi-Tech armor covering her from head to toe, taking out the helmet she conjured her usual attire when dealing with Dignitaries. Hope turned her head but Lucrezia raised her hand "Stay with them, the sooner you deal with this the sooner you can get those miracles, I and Kaine will be enough to deal with the Uumaries dogs, plus we have beautiful Kaede here as well" The Kitsune blushed hard and Kaine shook his head "Please don''t embarrass or hit on her" Saa''ryu appeared from the shadows already geared and said "Lu please, no delaying for jokes" They gave their farewells and started moving, Kaine leading them already with his staff in hand and the gleam of the armor beneath his robes "Let''s avoid killing in Academy grounds if we can" he spoke and Lucrezia nodded "I''ve called Vivienne, and Richard already, they should be meeting us at the cafeteria" Lucrezia turned to Saa''ryu "Did you deliver Vivienne''s new gear?" the maid nodded and replied "She loved it" The party kept walking as they breached the Cafeteria, noise all around as Lucrezia scanned the place. Richard walked together with Vivienne, the crowd making sure to give him ample space, Lucrezia didn''t fail to notice how Richard wordlessly spoke with the people who stood by him in the fields, most were ready to get up and fight for him no questions asked. "he wields his power well" Saa''ryu whispered "Fitting" Kaine walked forward and made a hand gesture, summoning a dozen staff "As you asked friend" Richard smiled and nodded "The good stuff, thank you, Kaine, I''ll make sure the delivery reaches you tomorrow" Vivienne walked up to Lucrezia "Thank you for letting me come, It''s high time I deal with these people myself" Her voice was trembling but conviction held her together, Lucrezia nodded and hugged her. Marching into the location Lucrezia couldn''t help but notice how Vivienne''s hands shook ever so slightly and how close she was to Richard who shot a confirming look to Lucrezia, he was after all training together with her in hand-to-hand combat. "Father told me that if you have more training Lu, you should be able to fight against the Queen, at least on somewhat equal footing" Vivienne spoke with a smile "Of course Hope and Richard are already on her level, but with the right training we can surpass her, and all of us will become legends!" "Well I am afraid most of us already are at least near legend level" Kaine spoke "At least Richard here is, but that''s a talk for another day, it will take time, a long time before Lucrezia can stand on the same tier as the Queen, remember both Hope and Richard had aids that Lucrezia didn''t have, assuming she didn''t summon those terrors that is" Kaine laughed "But the Arch-Duke knows things I do not, so who can say? a rematch with the Queen will happen for sure, but how we will get to that rematch is anyone''s guess, even a certain Goddess" "That big of a change in the river of time eh?" Lucrezia smiled when she saw Kaine''s wicked grin "Tell her we can work something out, Gods knows I am already neck deep in repaying debts to the Divines" "Hope when wielding the powers she barely bestowed to me that easily was a cold bath to her, the river of time while her domain still falls under All-Father''s total dominion, a fact she tricked herself into forgetting or at least tried her very best, paranoid as she is the thought always was there, digging at her heels" Kaine continued "How very mortal of her now that I think of it, alas an evaluation on her emotions is beyond my duties as leader of her church" Kaine finished the line of thought there and silence fell over their party. "I wonder what the Goddess of this world felt when she abandoned the ancients" Lucrezia spoke as the very slim knowledge she had popped into her mind. Higher Realms of Power. Would the spirits seek revenge? would the last ancient? They reached the place where the Uumaries Delegation was held up, Lucrezia was surprised when she saw Veronica and...A particular ZENOS unit and its pilot. Andromeda saluted both and spoke "If they try anything funny, they shall face the same beast the Arch-Mage faced" Andromeda smiled. "Mother is still angry at you due to that you know?" Kaine said as he chuckled "What a fight that was" Veronica piped in "Indeed younglings, now Lucrezia I know you are busy but we have something to discuss and I''d rather that was done today so I''ll also be joining your little group to deal with those bores, well minus the High Paladin they got in tow that is" Veronica gave Lucrezia a kiss on the cheek as she fell in line. Too near Richard to her liking. High Priestess Marathazua was surrounded by the lesser members of the cloth, behind her a human woman whose face was more akin to a statue than a living being, she stood there and measured each and every one who entered her field of view. Finding all of them not wanting. "Thank you for agreeing to this Lady Lucrezia" High Priestess Marathazua looked...changed, the woman was missing all of her limbs and eyes, all replaced by Magi-Tech implants of all things! Those were brand new to the consumers who needed an alternative to miracle-grown limbs or enchantments made by mages, not something a representative of the Goddess that was against Lucrezia would use... "Payment, for a ceasefire with your Friend that I shall not name" Marathazua smiled "She wanted more blood but I was able to compromise, a skill of mine I hope to put to good use today so we can close this particular chapter of our lives yes?" Vivienne stepped forward as the High Paladin tracked her with her eyes, tension came and went in a flash as Marathazua said "No amount of torture or punishment will be enough to wash away the sins Lady Vivienne, make no mistake I shall pay my due in the Long Queue when this is over, but if you still wish conflict then I will do nothing, we are in no position to bargain that today" Lucrezia thought to herself To think they would talk with Friede, that means Uumaries has lost most of the noble support she had, that was way too fast! To think we won''t have to deal with her brand of troubles after this...today''s a good day! The High Paladin''s face turned sour after this exchange, the woman wasn''t a fan of this it seemed, Lucrezia took note of that just in case, splinter factions were very popular in the kingdom after all. "The people who aided the first prince, have they been dealt with?" Lucrezia asked and the High Priestess nodded "Well then I guess we can call this meeting over? unless your protector there wants to say something, she''s staring an awful lot" The High Paladin scoffed but didn''t speak "Good! I''ll talk with Hope later, and see if we get to watch Uumarie''s punishment in the Divine Realm, good day High Priestess" Lucrezia got up to leave and her friends followed her. No shouts or raised voices came from the room as they walked away, Vivienne got closer to her and spoke "Thank you...for letting me come with you, even if I ended up not saying anything..." Lucrezia smiled "That is ok my dear, remember that we won, the ones who did those vile things to you are dead and buried, and their allies are paying the price as we speak, Justice was done and will be done, as long as I am alive and can move for it" "And you believe the All-Father will actually punish Uumaries?" Vivienne asked with a bit of fear in her voice. "Aye he will, and the All-Mother as well, I''ll make sure of that my friend, so don''t make such a gloomy face, with this and well a few more meetings you fine people won''t need to pay me to escort this entire thing will finally be over" "We will enter and dare I say usher in a new age, for the Academy, for the country, and beyond!" Lucrezia finished and felt her cheeks flush red "Forgive me I did not mean to give a speech I swear" They all laughed as they walked toward the cafeteria, it felt good Lucrezia thought to herself, she gave her better half thanks as the group walked away in good spirits. Chapter 68: On the Marvels of Punishment, and Progress "...Can the Divine be punished? Oh yes my dear reader, in this book you will learn how the All-Father does the policing of his lackeys, how my own people and our cousins ended up where we are, and much more! But first Introductions are in order! I am Cornileal the Unsundered, Devil, and Storyteller for my diabolical brethren and now you!" Secrets and Tribute, a guide on the Underworld second edition revised for human consumption. Hope sat together with her parents in her home, finally having the time to talk with the duo but one thing took that away as her father fiddled with a shiny silvery contraption, the ones she used in the battle were far smaller, and more utilitarian in their form factor as Lucrezia called it. "How kind of your "friend" to gift this to us" Hope''s mom spoke with a hint of irony in her voice "My it''s almost enough to forgive her given she threw you in a fight the Gods themselves would be hard-pressed to win!" Worried and Angry emotions Hope could detect well nowadays due to her training with Arthur on his particular brand of Mind Magic. "Love please, we all need an against-all-odds battle once in our lives, it pushes the body to its apex, the mind to its peak and shows how much the Gods truly care, and lo and behold they really do care when it comes to our little one here!" Her father had a big dumb grin on his face "I also got a particular piece of good news you gonna love it my dear, and forgive O'' Lucrezia even!" "Hmph" Hope''s mom shook her head in disbelief. The static noise filled the room as the broadcast started "It wasn''t this loud on the field" Hope spoke out loud but her parents shushed her, a slow song started playing and it filled the room in the place of the static, methodic and sad in nature, a common theme with the music Lucrezia often share with the group when they gathered, be it via singing or humming, or via her myriad of instruments when she had those on hand. "For someone not blessed by the divines of song, she really is a fan isn''t she?" Hope''s mom spoke "But I find this to be a bit too sad for my liking if I may be honest" A voice broke the music, it had presence and gusto as it spoke into the speakers of the radio "Good Morning fair people of Vermilion! this is your Host Mister Kayle, coming from the very first radio broadcast station in the world!" the sound of clapping echoed and cheers could be heard in the background "That''s the many folks working with me today to make this happen friends! and for our very first public broadcast, we have a very special set of guests! music! and news! so stick around for today will be one hell of a ride" "For our first guest of the day, please a round of applause for our beautiful icy Duchess Lucrezia! Who if rumors are to be believed is a master cook as well!" the radio station staff clapped for a while "Thank you Kayle, and the crew for having me on this very special day indeed" Lucrezia''s voice sounded sharper somehow, Hope switched to her Magi-Tech blessing and her eyes glowed for a second. Ahh, now it made sense, the entire machine sang when she spoke as if it was alive even, so big was the command she had over her creations that the magic innate to them resonated with Lucrezia in deeper levels Hope could only pierce due to her blessing of the All-Father. She kinda tuned out of the interview, Lucrezia going through the Battle and her daily life in the Academy, how she dealt with the duties of being a Duchess and such, all things Hope already knew from being friends with her. "...I hope your boyfriend will also visit us one day my dear, it''s not every day we receive an envoy from the palace you know" Hope''s mom spoke "For a second we thought we were being drafted, but thankfully the man they sent was an old friend of ours" the woman smiled when Hope''s father laughed and said "You should''ve seen his face, Hope the man was aghast haha" It was a comfortable afternoon in her parent''s household, Lucrezia''s voice filled the room as they talked about the goings and happenings, how the new diplomatic relationships might appease the flames of war for a good while, and how many mercs will turn to monster slaying, regular adventuring or even dungeon-delving now that the knowledge of the missing tear of the All-Father was found there. "So onto the good news," Hope''s father smiled "Our company received an offer from a certain institution of knowledge here in the city, they need staff to train a huge number of their alumni in the art of warfare, mercenary work, and such" he stopped and looked towards Hope "That''s right dear, we will be teaching in the Academy! paid in full by a certain Silverbrand lady I am sure you know" "Makes sense" Hope spoke "Richard has been getting swamped with requests for the training of late, but wow I wasn''t expecting the entire company to be hired! Does that mean you two will also train me?" she looked to her mom who grinned. "You and a certain friend of yours, I will make sure the Lady will be treated fairly of course but...she''s in for a rough time" Hope laughed at the idea of Lucrezia having an honest to gods fight with her mom, the woman was fierce but Lucrezia...she had way too many aces hidden up her sleeve. "I am sure she will enjoy it" Hope smiled and nodded. The house got hectic after this, her father wanted to know more about the Academy, and her mother more about Lucrezia and her other friends, maybe she had taken a such keen interest in Hope''s life due to the open secret that her daughter was a loner before...something to think about later as to not spoil the mood Hope thought to herself as they kept going throughout the night. Going up to her room the young woman sat down watching the city down from her window, the house felt comfy and warm, Hope felt she was missing someone here with her, Arthur, Lucrezia, Richard... Friends, comrades, love, and feelings she thought she would never have, are now a daily part of her life.
Richard Silverbrand walked through the building that served as the center of orcish culture in the entire kingdom, people of all walks of life slightly bowing to him as he made his way to the inner temple of the place. Finding the place was easy enough, he had made deliveries to it before long ago, he had asked his mother to come with him today but the woman declined "That''s your job now little man, go and show the world that you can handle a few diplomatic meetings on your own, trust me it will do good in the future" she laughed with gusto as she nearly kicked him out of their home. Breaching the inner sanctum, Richard met with the Ancient One, who if his intel was right, was an honest to gods immortal who acted as a spiritual and when needed, war chief to the entire race of orcs. Tired eyes greeted him with a smile, it was just as Lucrezia had told him the night before "Immense melancholy and sense of duty, he is a man who gave it all for the rest of the orcs and it shows in his face and demeanor...but I have a feeling he will like you" were her words as Richard bowed in the style royals did when greeting dignitaries from other countries. "Raise your head, my son, formalities are not needed in this place" the man spoke with a smile "Ah but I see your little golden bird already explained a few things about me to you, huh the rumors are true she is truly someone with a keen insight on people" Richard smiled back, Golden Birds were seen as love gifts in orcish culture, it was a very old symbol that only the older generation remembered, but in his case, it wouldn''t be as old, the man probably saw it being invented! "It is an honor to meet you Ancient One, no doubt you already know my name but as a final formality: I am Richard Silverbrand, of the Silverbrand clan" Richard felt something was missing when he finished speaking, a puzzled look breaking through his formal demeanor. "...And Field Commander of the Reclaimers, aye boy that was what was missing from your little introduction, notice how it feels right to hear it, even when the army was disbanded and the battle won, for you command not their bodies and lives, but something greater" the Ancient One paused and waited for Richard to respond. "Loyalty" felt right to him. "Yes! Oh, it makes me happy I get to witness her choosing another one worthy of power again, the ancient enemy stirs in their murky abyss, and with you and your golden bird I know they won''t come back for a third round at the most honorable of fields" the orc got up and motioned for Richard to come closer, he did so and found himself staring at a map that looked well, ancient. "The reports tell us much, within 30 years we will see battle again, what was once a source of great woe to me and the others is now a chance of vengeance, tell me Richard, you who at the heat of a battle you couldn''t win, facing down the strongest person in this world with only your bare hands and then winning said battle, do you want to stand with us in this? I ask you the same question I asked your predecessor, for I will not nor will she force anyone into a battle that they don''t want to fight" Slavery, even after being given such powers he nor the Goddess would dare to trick him into a life of servitude, but Richard''s heart burned bright to honor the allies of Vermilion, for the orcs he led and befriended in the field, for the ones he knew over the years and the duty that in his opinion every Vermilion citizen should uphold, to defend liberty, stand fast against those who would do evil and make the life of others miserable. It felt right, honorable even. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. "I will stand against the Sea Elven menace Ancient one, not just me, but Hope, Arthur, Lucrezia, and all others" Richard spoke and his voice was brimming with power "And when they leave their darkened abyss the skies and beaches will be full of Lucrezia''s war machines, ready for the final battle against them" The Ancient One clapped his hands and pointed to the map saying "Here''s what we are going to do then..."
Castra-Cam watched as Lucrezia performed necromantic rituals at a pace few novices would be able to match, something was off with the woman ever since the battle, her soul felt denser whenever Castra was near. "I don''t know why you need me here sister, it''s clear you got this in the bag," Castra said with a smirk, dodging tedious paperwork while babysitting a noble was a dream come true this time of the week after all it wasn''t like she was hunting down rogue necromancers every day. "Paperwork is that good this week? maybe I should do this alone then" Lucrezia spoke with that eerie "I know the future" voice she liked doing every once in a while, had Castra not been told thrice by the prince that Lucrezia wasn''t in fact reading memories she would''ve been with a triple layer defensive ward on her person. Two layered ones worked best so that was her pick for today "Don''t you start, now I have a question for you" Castra flexed her body to shake off the clouds in her mind "Those fast-moving suits of armors you deployed in the battle, what do I need to do to get one for me?" Finishing yet another rite Lucrezia smiled "The Knightmares? Those were still testbed units, but I can get a more stable prototype for you within...2 months" Castra nodded and said, "Good enough for me, such speed and power will do good..." The undead girl stared in silence as the rituals kept going thinking about her rematch against a certain someone, in this lapse of judgment she failed to notice what sort of ritual Lucrezia was trying to make and the unforeseen consequences of such an experiment.
Lucrezia sat alone in the empty part of her soul where once a river of blood ran with the red liquid, the empty basin in the middle a sight of her bargain with the powers from beyond before she retreated to her usual soul space. In there she readied the final piece of the ritual, a blank space that would shut off all outside interference except for the ones she selected, a particular duo of Divines who were at the back of William''s mind before their souls became one. "They did have guns, or at least weaponry similar to Earth''s before everything happened after all" Lucrezia spoke as she conjured a table and chairs "Best to get this done now at any rate, Can''t miss Uumaries''s punishment talks in the Golden City after all" A smirk appeared on her lips as two hooded figures walked inside the blank space. "Finally, the final piece of the puzzle reveals itself, a pair of them at that" Lucrezia spoke "One I already know, but who''s the other?" Lucrezia spoke, "One I already know, but who''s the other?" Lucrezia asked and the figures unmasked themselves, Ra''Tyrius showing his clean shaved face with an odd look, and the second... Of course, who else would be able to get past the many blockages and defenses set up by All-Father and his Allies, only someone with an innate knowledge of how space and time worked, but outside of Gwenarius''s sphere of power, an obscure Goddess hidden from the many spies and plants of the higher powers. "Lady Wynnur, Goddess of Planes, Scout of the All-Father, out of everyone to drag my better half of what has to be the most protected planet in the cosmos, you would be the one to do the deed wouldn''t you? your bias towards the more Tech inclined civilizations is a dead giveaway for those that are in the know, which luckily for us, is a very small number" "And yet, something went terribly wrong, and we had to pay a most horrible price for that particular fuck-up, so If you do have an excuse or explanation, I would be very keen on hearing it" Lucrezia finished as both deities sat down. "Is that a threat?" Wynnur asked "It is not, if she wanted to make a threat we would know" Ra''Tyrius spoke, "The fuck-up was due to William''s then unknown blessing by his patron God, we did not know the divines on Terra were protective, at least on that scale of their souls, the plan worked in every simulation we ran, including with others from his family, yet the boy had a stronger tie to his faith and that well..." "Our intention was to steal his memories, not the entire soul, but these things rarely go as planned, even after we ran those simulations," Wynnur said with a sigh "From feeding the information of this reality to that one, seeing who''s the best fit to the transfer of knowledge, tapping into the river of time of two realities without getting Gwenarius on my case..." she was winding up for a rant but Ra''Tyrius placed his hand on her shoulder "I am sure the intricacies of the deed can remain just between us, and that our friend here has questions and demands" She had indeed "Demands is such a strong word, especially when dealing with powerful Divines such as you two, I suppose the first question would be why, but with the evidence right in front of me it would be a waste of a question, A God was forsaken by the people who would raise him up, a favor from a lover, the dwarves having weapons akin to the ones from Terra, it all fits doesn''t it?" "What doesn''t fit my role in this, was the fact my parents had their heretical display hidden it would be made it easier for you to sneak his memories into me. how would you stop my death by the assassination attempt?" Wynnur smiled "I had countermeasures in place had the process gone smoothly, they did save you, but with William''s soul in charge..." she sighed "Not my finest work and I apologize for it" Lucrezia raised her eyebrow and Ra''Tyrius spoke "Yes, you, or rather the pre-merger Lucrezia was fated to die on that day, the events of the game were set in stone in many realities we managed to gleam from the river of time, you die, the duchy falls to the evil of your parents, the rest happens, a grim fate and I am sure you agree with me on this" "I may have been more silent than the others who blessed you but we still have a connection, I understand that that fate in particular was one you would avoid at all costs, and you did, paid in blood at that" Lucrezia smiled, indeed he was more silent than the others but always close, be it in the machines she designed with her forge master, or simply working along on the Academy Forge. A constant presence there to soothe her nerves and improve the realm via science and the arcane. "It''s hard getting mad at you two you know? given how much progress we brought, how many people we saved" Lucrezia said with a sad smile "He had a big savior complex as well, always wanting to take full responsibility for his actions, until the bitter end" "The All-Father said he wants to talk with you two, didn''t demand it, it was an open invitation, I''d beware of him at any rate, he didn''t look pleased, and knowing what I know from the dealings in Terra he probably had a big headache dealing with that trash fire, but there was a sense of pride in him when we spoke, being left unchallenged at a personal level for this long must''ve made the man bored and now he has a bone to gnaw at it" "Grandfather would be proud if he knew" Ra''Tyrius smiled "Worry not, he will never know, we upset many many players when we did this, it best that we keep this meeting and the next ones just between us" Wynnur spoke "The merging has influenced you a great deal, while Lucrezia''s soul won the bigger slice, William''s has shaped the current you more than you can imagine, this is plain to see, so I have a question for you" Lucrezia made a gesture with her hands "Ask and I shall answer it" "What do you plan to do now? about us I mean? the river of time told us and you what will happen in the Academy and Hope, no doubt you will muddle that to achieve a better outcome, but what about us?" "Power, I need more power" Lucrezia said with hunger in her eyes "Power only you can bestow and something that would put me near the level of the enemies we will face in the future" Wynnur made a face "But my powers can''t be weapo-" Ra''Tyrius cut her off "It can be done oh you sly devil, of course, a Terran would be able to come up with this kind of weapon!" Weaponized plane shifting, going around barriers set by Gods like Uumaries and the Fallen who would no doubt attack her one of these days, much could be done if Wynnur gave her a Greater Blessing. "Her soul can''t handle it! she''s at her limit!" Wynnur spoke, "...Oh..." Realization dawned on the Goddess as Ra''Tyrius smiled "Yes, his soul became one under the All-Father''s domain, one final gift from William to Lucrezia" A sigil of power flared in Lucrezia''s right breast, knowledge of arcane magicks and rituals popping off and interfacing with her Magi-Tech blessing at speeds hitherto known to the young woman. Power, ah how intoxicating it was, the rush of energy flowing, making itself mesh with the rest of her being, it was no wonder her better half meditated as much as he did in the start, it was easy to lose oneself to the pleasure. "I hope we can have a mutually agreeable relationship, Miss Wynnur, your partner already has benefited much from my influence in the mortal coil" Lucrezia spoke "If you wish I can do the same, but I imagine that''s not to your liking? maybe tributes from faraway civilizations?" Wynnur''s eyes widened "Yes, the next frontier, instead of using All-Father''s frankly slow network that takes ages to get the right permits we will go to those worlds under his rule on the physical plane! space faring the right proper way, with hulks of metal and crystal floating in deep space" Lucrezia said with a crazed look in her eyes "Your power, and Ra''Tyrius will take us there, bureaucracy free hahaha! They continued chatting as the time went by, Lucrezia was happy her dream of space travel via more conventional means was shared by the pair, even if All-Father''s teleporting network did have its perks such as near-instant travel time... She ended the ritual and went back to the real world, bid Castra-Cam goodbye, and went back to the Academy, the main show of the day was about to start after all.
Saal''Xhir breathed in the perfect controlled air of the city the All-Father and All-Mother had built for their many many children and friends from all over the cosmos and beyond, it was a bright sunny day and the Goddess of Love was smiling ear to ear as she neared the great forum built for the judgment of her Divine kin. "...To think this age''s blessed had the balls to summon him Faal was right it would be a good decade, the mortals are right proper..." One god spoke another as she walked past them in the streets she once led dozen of divines against the forces that guarded the city, a few guards she even recognized as they gave her the old stinky eye. How times change the Goddess thought to herself, wondering if a little girl from the northern reaches of a certain country had planned to this extent, if she was paranoid as some of her peers she would totally believe that silly thought. "Lady Saal''Xhir" A stern-looking woman bowed as she spoke, Ah yes, out of all the things Lucrezia manage to do, an alliance with the one who hated nobles as much as the All-Father hated his enemies, Goddess Friede patron of the downtrodden and those abused by nobles and others in power. Saal''Xhir had a particular relationship with the woman, Friede was once a believer of change among the divines ages past, but her time in the war for the All-Father changed her a great deal, deployed to what is now known as the Tendrons of UIO was one of the bloodiest campaigns the All-Father waged, but not for ill-begotten reasons. The ruling divine of the region begged for the aid of All-Father in fighting off enemies from the further reaches of the cosmos, said forces had already established a strong foothold in the greater region of the system and every battle was a slaughterhouse that left countless dragons and divines scarred for the rest of their lives. Chief among them was the woman in front of Saal''Xhir who looked troubled being out in the open. "Welcome Lady Friede, it''s an honor to have you accompanying me for today''s event" Saal''Xhir bowed formally "I am to assume you are representing the girl as well?" Friede nodded "Out of all the women that Monster tortured, she was the one he toyed with the most, scarred the most" The Goddess took a sharp breath " I wish I was there in that battle, to lay low the one responsible for allowing such a monster to live" "Well my friend, today we get to strike at one of the evil ones who allowed such a thing to happen, even if the end is already set in stone..." Friede nodded and both women walked to the grand doors of the Forum, ready for the final enemy to be destroyed, Hopefully, that is. Chapter 69: Gods and Men
"The hivemind? A good question we will explore in today''s talk!" The All-Father when pressed for information on the newly arrived alien. Lucrezia watched as Hope spoke with a number of shades, Gods wanting to strike a bargain with her for power mostly, but a few congratulating her on her recent successes with no strings attached. It was an odd sight, but Lucreazia got her feelings under control fast, after all, she still had a judgment to see. A divine one at that! "A complicated spell, made easy by this blessing" the young woman spoke with a laugh "Can''t believe it you knew who to call to teach me you know? It''s honestly kind of scary how much you know" she fidgeted around the room, something was bothering her. "Speak, What''s nagging you?" Lucrezia asked and her face lit up. "Now look" Hope raised her hands "I get it, you and me we are a thing, even if you can''t admit it yet as Arthur said it, but..." she stopped and looked up "We will finish this talk later" A panel of crystal blue light appeared, and inside of it were many magical formulas as Hope flexed her blessing with her mind, a crack of thunder was heard from the panel as the image of the Divine City appeared in it. "Wow, it actually worked," Hope said as she sat down "Did you bring anything to eat?" Lucrezia nodded and from her person summoned a box with salted meats, grape juice, and bread. "No cheese? really?" Hope laughed as she summoned a wheel of cheese "To think I could get around the food magic ban by asking nicely, kinda scary when I think about it but I guess a single mage using it isn''t that bad right?" Lucrezia nodded, it wasn''t that bad yes. Her mind went back to the otherworldly knowledge she had, many mages, usually operating alone so as to not draw the attention of the Gods had used the now-banned Food Magic arts to help in times of great calamity. A compromise between Divines and Mortals, God and Men, such was the case of many an event, Lucrezia and Hope being part of one as well after their blasphemous acts in the battle. "It begins, there''s the gang...with a new face..." Hope spoke as she watched a hooded figure join Lucrezia''s Patron Gods "I can''t sense it, huh that''s new" Lucrezia smiled at the hidden God, knowing who it was and being impressed by her boldness.
Morugarius felt a shift in the air inside the courtroom, she looked up and saw her Mother staring at a particular spot where a shift in the Magical and Divine energies around the room told them someone was watching from the mortal realm. Such power bestowed to a particular someone at that, the very gifted friend of the Woman who had brought this mess to Morugarius''s life of late, not to say the absolute shit show that was the battle a few weeks ago. Her emotions were still unbalanced thanks to that sudden encounter with her Older Brother... never mind the fact the love of her life was about to be publicly judged for all to see. On the other side sat their opposition, Gods she knew very well and a masked figure who cloaked themselves with a Veil of Anonymity, meaning not even the All-Father could pierce their true face, created by the man himself and gifted to everyone who wanted, it was a way in his words to "make sure those who are shy get their word out without fear of reprisal" Did it actually work? she had asked once in her youth and Her Father said it did, but she always doubted.... "Lucrezia and Hope are here" Uumaries''s voice teemed with rage at the mention of the first one, the woman of the north, liberator of men, creator of terrible war machines, the fulcrum of so much change Morugarius had to personally see to it when her minions created something too powerful once. There was an allure in her Ambition, Morugarius could not lie to herself, after all, she fell in love with Uumaries due to that same ambition that burned bright as a raging bonfire in a younger Uumaries, from her humble roots as a Minor Deity in the Imperium to an impressive war record under Morugarius command... and yet... Too much Ambition, too much pride, always wanting more, Morugarius knew that ravenous hunger had to be appeased and she tried her best but it wasn''t enough, and now both were paying the price. "In balance, my daughter, lies truth, too much and one grows bored like your grandparents, too little and one grows resentful like the enemies from beyond, tread that needle well, walk the razor''s edge with conviction and wisdom. Your brother lacked such subtlety, he cared too much and loved too much and that lead to the unfortunate events of today" Her Father''s voice boomed in her mind, Morugarius felt sadness remembering her Older Brother, if his fault was one of caring too much, her''s was one of thinking too little of herself and always comparing her to him. "Always in his shadow, not by design or by force, but because you like it! you enjoy being the eager little girl that reaps his praise!" Uumaries once said to her after a particularly nasty argument the couple had, and it was the truth. "You should heed your lover''s words, Dear Sister, these mortals are expendables...if only I could see it that way" Morugarius recalled that fateful day with crystal clear perfection, the dejected look in his eyes, the despair gripping at the edge of his voice. Her mother raised her right hand and the place went quiet "Today we gather to judge one of ours for her misdeeds, for as there are laws in the mortal realms, so should there be in the divine realm" Her tone was even, as if she was reading from a script. "Those that would levy the accusation, please make yourselves known" and the group that had given Morugarius and Uumaries many a headache rose up from their resting place. Chief among them was Uumaries'' old rival Saal''Xhir, who after pledging herself to Lucrezia managed to win the war for worship in Morugarius''s country and essentially made Uumaries a lesser deity. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. To her side was a...old apprentice, an old friend even, Friede the Goddess of the Plebbians, of the downtrodden and those abused by the ones in power, a position that often made her join arms with another old face in that group. Lady Velka looked pleased as a crow, knowing her church, people and seat of power would be well cared for ages to come as well, given her help landed to Lucrezia early on this mess. "How did she get the Silent Soldier to help her that''s a question for another day," Morugarius thought to herself. Unlike Friede who had fought together with Her and Uumaries, the Soldier operated in other combat theaters the All-Father had, a sublime commander of its own right, but one that preferred to remain with the ground troops, with the rank and file. "Watch children of the All-Father, for those are the ones who today stand against Lady Uumaries, Goddess of Nobility and Matrimony" All-Mother kept talking with nary a pause "Lady Uumaries do you wish to say anything in your defense?" Morugarius looked at her lover, they had agreed beforehand for Uumaries to take responsibility fast before Friede or Saal''Xhir could ask for more, a sound plan assuming no one interfered with it. And those two mortals watching were giving Morugarius a sinking feeling in her stomach. Uumaries stood up "For my crimes against the people of Wulfgrem, the women hurt by Galius, communion with the fallen and the enemy from beyond the cosmos I submit to a forty percent removal of my Sphere of Power from Vermilion and payment in goods or miracles for the mortals affected should they wish for it" Gasps from the crowd came fast and strong, All-Mother raised her hand and pointed to Friede "Speak" "Forty?!? you dare to even set a number on a crime whose punishment is DEATH!" The pale woman''s face was flush red with wrath, and her voice quivered " All-Mother raised her palm and the Goddess decreased the volume in her voice "Mortals are not toys to be thrown out like garbage! Their worship is as vital to us as our miracles are to them, and yet you would devastate them, damn them to war and misery, and be ruled by despots for a sliver of power!" "All-Mother Thyrie" The room grew quieter than a dead man, as Friede spoke the deity''s true name for such was the fervor that emboldened her "Her head on a plate! it is the only fair trade for all the misery she wrought!" Morugarius looked to her mother, whose face was in a reflective mood, as always the fairest of them all in these dealings, she felt her mother wouldn''t kill her daughter-in-law but today was a very...Unique day. "The killing of a Divine is not to be asked lightly Lady Friede" All-Mother spoke and the woman calmed down "Lady Velka wishes to talk" The "bird fucker" as Uumaries had taken to call Velka of late smiled and nodded "Indeed All-Mother, especially after what happened in the mortal realm" She opened her arms "Today is a unique day for many of us, let us not waste it" "While I share many of Friede''s discontents towards Uumaries, I also can not ask for the head, as the killing and destabilization of her Sphere would lead to much grief, especially after the razing of Talos, the stronghold of her faith" Velka spoke and Friede bit her lips, everyone knew the consequences of that attack and how frail the balance of power between gods had become thanks to it, to have the Goddess of Vengeance deliver such a talk spoke a great deal on how close to actual holy war things were. Morugarius then as Patron Goddess of Vermilion would deploy her special troops, and would also be granted leave by the All-Father himself to deploy his reserve and expeditionary forces, a bloodbath of cataclysmic proportions. "eighty percent of her Sphere, and Immediate seizure of artifacts and other objects of power, she would return to her original status of Minor Goddess, a compromise most fair I should say" The grin on Saal''Xhir''s face turned into a wicked smile and Uumaries broke "Whore! your human pet won''t shield you for long, I will have my revenge" Ummaries snarled in rage as Morugarius placed her hand on the woman''s chest to stop her from going over to their side "Don''t do it, otherwise, I can''t help you" Morugarius whispered to calm her down, she relented as All-Mother watched in silence. Uumaries turned to Morugarius and pleaded with her eyes, it was time for their last resort it seemed. "I wish to speak" Morugarius got up as her mother nodded "I am prepared to pay be it favor, gold, or miracles for fifty-five percent, anything lower I will be forced to resort to less than diplomatic means" Morugarius finished. "Bold, when the opposition has two Gods of War on their side" Saal''Xhir spoke "Sixty-five" The room grew incredibly cold as Ra''Tyrius tapped the hooded figure to his side, who looked up and nodded. Morugarius''s eyes widened as the visions of war machines flashed through her brain, their power devastating all of Vermilion and beyond, and not even with her at the helm of the battle it would be enough. Fear crawled through her spine, whoever that individual was, it had empowered Lucrezia too much, a war would ruin most of the continent. That they were ready to commit to it also spoke of the Conviction behind their faction. Friede eyes flashed, ah yes, even if a small Sphere, her own domain over war felt the waves that came from the weave of fate, she locked eyes with Morugarius and for once the Goddess of War was taken back to those years back in the trenches together with her and Uumaries, the question she was asking without speaking was a simple one, so did the answer Morugarius gave to her. The All-Mother raised her voice "I hear and Judge thee, fifty percent of your Sphere of Power is now null! your artifacts are to be disposed and destroyed both, and the parties that seek alms are to receive it under the threat of further Reduction in your powers!" And so it was over, Morugarius watched as the powers left Uumaries and the woman sighed, much to do in the coming years, much to do indeed.
Days had passed since Uumaries lost her powers, the world and Vermilion in particular were still recovering from such an event, churches being demolished, men and women of her cloth switching sides, or going underground to form cults and splinter cells of the main faith. It was a time of controlled chaos, as Lucrezia had told Vivienne as the Arch-Duke''s daughter watched from her house the smoke billowing up from Uumaries main cathedral. She smiled seeing the clint of Crystal and Steel off the distance, her own creation was doing most of the work putting down that nefarious monument that brought her so much pain and misery. It came to her in a dream, a dream of a boy who commanded an excellent metal beast, armed to the teeth and ready to slay all his enemies, yet only unleashed when needed most, the boy gave her the knowledge and she contacted Lucrezia. The woman, fast as ever got to work, personally building the suit of armor together with her hand-picked forgers at the academy, including the dwarf that had lent her the space for it, the sounds of magic and hammering of steel were music to Vivienne''s ears, but she wished she could do more than just watch. And so she asked the Vampire, such an oddball of a woman but helpful nonetheless, she got Vivienne working in no time, and at the end of the day, she was already helping with the billows, ingots, and such. "Ah but nobles think forging is hard, it takes skill! no my dear, if you are willing to this it halfway there, of course, those with Blessings will have an edge as always, but anyone can forge, smelt, and craft, as long as they have the patience and endurance for it!" the undead woman spoke with passion as Vivienne took her break, beholding the new suit of Magi-Tech armor. "Do you have a name for it?" Lucrezia asked with those azure eyes of hers, it was no wonder Richard had fallen for the woman, she was beautiful... "Lockdown...That was the word the boy used in the dream" Vivienne replied back, Lucrezia''s gaze had an unnatural strength to them, ever since she mentioned this boy from her dreams Vivienne found herself under this powerful gaze... Maybe it was her Patron God? or something of the sort? she would need to ask one of these days if the woman wasn''t so busy...Vivienne smiled at the sound of the weapon that was upon Lockdown''s back. fired and the building went down. Vengeance, for her, for the others. at last, this blackened chapter of her life was over, and thus she could start again, renewed and with vigor against what was to come, for as her mother always told her "Beware the good days, for they mask the evil to come" Chapter 70: Presentation and Form "Can Fallen Gods return to the fold? yes, we know of many who did after the last rebellion against the All-Father, but as with anything in his domain, quite a bit of bureaucracy and forms are involved! In today''s seminar, we will explain how you! a fallen deity of any degree of power can redeem yourself and return to a proper relationship with mortals and other races! No more cults, backroom deals, and shady characters! With us, you will be clean as a blue sky!" A flyer for Cu''Laus, God of Restoration became quite popular with the other divines for his mastery of smooth and more importantly speed of navigation of the various systems the All-Father was so fond of. Lucrezia stared at the darkened skies of the capital as she sat naked near the window, sighing ever so softly at nothing in particular. It was the early hours of the morning, the sun was yet to bathe the city in its golden embrace. "You know Lu, before being a maid" Saa''ryu spoke from the other side of the room, as she read the final book of the Lord of the Rings "I did many a hit on nobles, and not once I found one of your folk gazing lustfully to the skies, I know of a noble boy who proposed to a Goddess but that''s it really, not whatever you are doing there, butt naked in that perfect body of yours" the woman giggled. "Minus the crystal arm of course," Lucrezia fired back to which her friend and confidant replied "Oh I doubt it, Hells I would bet my pay there''s someone into it in these hallowed halls we stalk every day" Lucrezia felt her toes curl at the thought of someone watching her from the windows and then felt a shock in her spine as her brain processed that, she closed her eyes and tried to meditate the urge away, as her better half did so many times before... It was hard, incredibly so and she couldn''t even blame it on a certain Greater Blessing Sigil that was pulsating like the thing was alive and wanted to leap out of her skin, no that was all on her, and the beast she tried her best to keep locked away. "We have a meeting with Hope''s parents today, they will ask for a sparring match I am sure of it," Saa''ryu said "From my sources, both are incredibly good fighters but we don''t know if they are blessed by the Rage like their daughter..." "We also learned her mother wasn''t too pleased with her daughter being at the front of that little event, so she will almost certainly be extra harsh with you, I''d prepare according if I was you Lu, and please, go take a cold shower and dress, before you mentally orgasm and I get stuck with a very unwholesome cleaning duty" the maid nearly booted Lucrezia to the shower and she did as told, the cold water cleaning her head. A long day was ahead for her and her friends today, Classes were mostly a boring affair, given her knowledge of what was to come, but the rest...everything else was always exciting, from training to building new Magi-Tech or improving the stuff she already had, to dealing with people and sometimes the divine, always something to do, always people to talk to. Dressed in her Academy Uniform, Lucrezia went to the morning classes, a fascinating topic for the day was the fate of the Goddess that once ruled the planet before All-Father came, Lucrezia herself had asked the Spirits she was in oath with, and others she knew, but they refused to give details, such as their grief even with the return of the Last Ancient. Said Last Ancient was enjoying a boom of popularity, especially with the scholars and thinkers of this age, Lucrezia was happy that at least on that front they had a good ending to this sad saga. And yet... "Yes, Retribution, a quest in the game that was essentially talking with spirits all over the city but their intent was clear, find the Goddess, and Kill her" the voice of her better half echoed in her mind, in the game, there was no ending to the quest, a sequel hook basically, but now in reality? Her new blessing together with Ra''Tyrius''s would be enough, she would find the divine and demand answers, and if she found them wanting, steel and crystal would be unleashed upon her. Violence, how quick she was to resort to it... with such thoughts Lucrezia watched the classes come and go, Richard wasn''t by her side today, busy dealing with the Orcs for cultural rituals due to his Blessing, Hope and Arthur were doing their couple bit and so were Kaine and Kaede, which surprised Lucrezia a fair bit. It was a good thing in her opinion, Kaine deserved someone to lean on for support, especially after the nasty treatment his parents gave him in the battle, with the morning classes done Lucrezia got up and went to the Fields, off to meet the new pair of professors in the honorable art of mercenary combat. Hope did not join her in the walk towards it, busy with other dealings as Lucrezia was told, no today it would be her against two of the very best Vermilion could offer, a fight she was pretty sure she could win, assuming they didn''t have any tricks up their sleeve that the game lacked. It still felt weird for her to use those memories, given the subtle disconnect between them. It would take time to settle them she guessed, at the very least the skills she had with the Arch-Duke''s Katana were not lost in the merge, she smiled at the thought given how much work they had put into making the technique work in the first place. The castle courtyard was eerily silent, usually, there were many students and knights here, training and exercising, Lucrezia felt the hairs on her neck raise up and she knew what was happening. In a flash she deployed her battle gear, lacking her trusty ax the fight would be one with the Katana today, the creak of stone gave away the first strike of her foes, and the fight was on! Fire-aspected magic missiles came crashing down from upwards and her sides, in the front a barrage of stabs from a rapier as a man dressed up in combat gear broke his invisibility spell and started hammering Lucrezia with blows, with no time to unsheath her blade she slammed her palms together and created a shockwave of pure ice mana, the attacker in the front lost his footing for a second and she leaped towards him. A kick, square in her ribcage came from nowhere as the figure of a female warrior with a rare staff-sword materialized Lucrezia''s body flew to the left, she coughed up bile but no blood, checking her ribs she felt no pain so nothing was cracked or broken. No words, only the battle lust that rose from her core as she unsheathed the blade and got to work, magic leaps as the magnetism of the entire place clicked, and her command over it was made manifest. The duo shredded parts of their armor, the rapier tossed aside for a wooden club. one two three steps and Lucrezia was facing the man, slicing him like a butcher and dodging the magic being rained down by the woman, with a step of her foot a spike of pure ice almost impaled the mage, who in a desperate attempt to dodge it had to leap backward and slice the top of the spike off. A second it was that took, the male lost his cool and Lucrezia found an opening, she dashed into him and the cut went like a hot knife through butter, his chest bleeding almost instantly as the Mage''s eyes widened in panic, Lucrezia kicked the ground again and more spikes came, clipping the arm of the Mage and knocking down her unique staff. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "Enough!" Hope''s voice came from the skies "Gods! Are you two satisfied? I told you she is not one to be messed with and you ugh!" flying from the heavens like an angel the young woman landed near the man and healed him "Mother, Father if you could do a more proper introduction?" Arthur showed up and stopped near Lucrezia "She didn''t want them to fight you, but we couldn''t talk them out of this little show, I hope it''s ok?" Lucrezia nodded "Of course, It''s always good to spar every once in a while, keeps the body and mind sharp!" Lucrezia dusted herself off and did a sharp bow, the preferred for mercenaries in the country "Ifry and Domhnall Yeager, it is a pleasure to finally meet you two" Hope''s parents smiled as Lucrezia spoke "The legendary Red Yeager commanders fighting me in singular combat! can you imagine that" "Small feats compared to your record Lady Duchess" Domhnall spoke with a smile "We heard they were hiring to train these soft belly nobles and the pay was good for such an easy assignment so we figure we would drop by" Hope''s mom had a more stoic face "I was told you aren''t one for beating around the bush Lady Lucrezia, so I will be direct with you" Hope''s face was a mixture of emotions as the atmosphere grew tense "I was not pleased at all knowing you threw my only daughter in a combat that can only be described as cataclysmic, we are no strangers to fighting against dire odds but my daughter..." Hope pleaded "Mother, please! We-" but Lucrezia raised her hand and said "Let your mother finish Hope, it''s important for her to air her emotions" A range of emotions flashed through Ifry''s face and eyes as she continued "Hope here while we did provide the right training was not ready for it, even if you did train her and the rest of your put together army" It was clear to Lucrezia that the woman felt slighted, even if everyone else, including Hope herself, didn''t mind it, and so with a gesture of her hand she calmed Hope down and said "Lady Ifry I personally apologize for involving your daughter in such affairs, if you are willing we can bury this hatched with goods, coin or even a proper fight, know that I am sincere and honest in all my dealings" "A fight then, next week in this same spot, just you and me, whoever is left standing wins," Ifry said and Hope facepalmed as her father and Arthur laughed "Ah there she is, the woman with the fire of a company of knights ready to fight even the most dire of battles!" Lucrezia extended her hand for a shake, and the woman did the same, it was a strong one, with conviction even, but Lucrezia could already see the woman''s opinion of her improving somewhat, it was good she didn''t go straight to coin, that would''ve probably made her madder... After they calmed down from the quick bout, Hope''s father came closer for a talk "Don''t mind her, she''s just a bit overprotective of our girl that''s all" He smiled "I must say Lady Lucrezia, for a noble, you put up quite the fight, It''s no wonder you managed to hold up as long as you did against our fair Queen, no titles for you sadly but still, talk around the merc world is that you are one tough nut to crack" "We saw how Hope performed as well, even with her training we give that was something else, which is due in no small part to you but also her talents, to think we would have such a talent for a daughter, it''s almost scary as a parent to see your own flesh and blood become this popular overnight" Lucrezia nodded at the man "Indeed, hers is the realm of heroes, the men, and women who shape the mortal realm, easy to get caught up in it and be swallowed whole, but I am sure your teachings will not let her stray from the right path" Domhnall''s face was a mask "And a perfect opportunity for your personal redemption, as the usher, the herald of the one blessed by the All-Father and master of the Rage. Kinslaying is a grievous crime Lady Lucrezia, even for the noblest of intentions, the paranoid within me says you somehow arranged all of this but..." Domhnall was at a loss for words. "It''s too perfect, isn''t it? the chaos that is life wouldn''t let this happen as smoothly" Lucrezia spoke and the man smiled "Incredible, she spoke about this but I thought nothing of it, but being next to you is something else, Hope was right, it''s like you know the future in a way only Gwennarius could" Domhnall tapped his foot "And yet I can sense a deep sadness within your words, just as Hope also told us" "It''s not my place to ask these personal questions Lady Lucrezia, but I know you are a good friend to my daughter, and Hopefully my dearest wife will come around, so if you need an ear to listen feel free to call, it''s the best we can do for those who were denied the soldier''s peace" the man smiled and left, Hope and the rest had already left as well as Lucrezia stood there alone. Soldier''s peace, the wish of Knights to die on the battlefield, a grim tradition of the country but one honored nevertheless, if it was that plain for him, then it would be plain for others. Alas, I can''t die yet my friend, things to do, people to talk to, and wrongs I must set right...
Talking with Hope''s parents was a curious experience, in the game, they were locked behind a series of sidequests involving helping mercenaries around the city, and after that a series of tough battles to buy their skills and training, which were essentially necessary against the hidden bosses of the game, the Queen being one of them. Now? she and the rest of the Academy were handed these top-tier soldiers on a silver platter, and the line was getting bigger by the minute, many noble families had hired the Red Yagers once or twice and they had a pristine reputation with the scions of the noble houses, but one thing caught Lucrezia off-guard. Their interest in Magi-Tech, but not in the weapons or armor, no they wanted to know more about transportation over land, sea, and air. So Lucrezia sat down and with Saa''ryu''s help (the maid was watching from the shadows as her lady duked it out with the mercenaries) they managed to set up deals in vehicles of all types. "Word on the wire is that a massive build-up by those Dynasty creeps is happening soon, another civil war for the seat of power as always, if we can have means of fast deployment into the theater it will be a fat payday," Ifry said with a grim, aye Lucrezia was reminded of the late stages NPCs talks around the city, civil war to the north... "But that''s neither here nor there, for now, we will focus on sharpening your skills, battle and otherwise given how messy the later stages of the Battle you and yours led was, which to be fair was against well, the godsdamned Royal Knights, Arch-Mages and a bloody Dragon" the woman finished with a sigh "Nevermind the fact you had too many foreigners and each of them have their own command structure, how to order troops all that good stuff I hope you will master, and the others too" Lucrezia smiled "Ah yes, it will not be just me commanding scores of soldiers to battles, your own daughter will be at the helm of many a combat and she too needs the right knowledge, even if her Blessing will shore up the weak spots" the couple nodded "The Prince as a boyfriend, can you believe it? he''s a very interesting young man as well, incredibly sharp for his age, and a good listener as well" Ifry spoke and her husband nodded. Lucrezia then proceeded to do a presentation of sorts, especially on the prototypes for aerial troop deployment, taking inspiration from VTOLs and Chinook types, the latter in particular caught the attention of the duo. There''s just something about helicopters that make them inherently interesting, even the planes didn''t get that much attention from the couple, the bigger transport and assault airships were deemed too much by them. "Maybe when the sea elves come back? unleash hells on the bastards" Hope''s dad said with a smile.
Saa''ryu sighed as she followed her mistress around the many halls inside of Saal''Xhir''s cathedral, after the takeover a few days ago the woman was working overtime to set the roots of what was going to be the new biggest religion in the country. Work was the single word she could use to describe what happened ever since the battle ended and the dust settled, she and her people, and her little family of assassins were being used like workhorses for all sorts of jobs, mostly legal stuff and the maid was tired of it! she longed for a fight and a good one at that. Saa''ryu licked her lips, gods above she hated being here, all of her desires and wishes which she kept a close watch were running wild, a shift in Sphere of Power like the one happening right now was never a good time, the Owl said it was like getting a fever, you can deal with it but the nagging in your head, that itch that can''t be scratched will remain for a while until the soul and body settle into it. "Lady Lucrezia, please come this way" a man called and they followed, towards the inner sanctum. Standing inside of it was the Goddess herself, manifested in her own divine flesh and blood, eyes that had an unnatural hunger to them as she opened her lips "My savior, Herald of change! O how I admire you little one, please come closer and sit, we have much to talk about" Her voice did not exude power, it didn''t fill the room, a rare display of humility "I heard you finally found yourself a boyfriend. All-Father finally answered my prayers, imagine having my most devout mortal being a prude! hah" "It''s not like that Lady Saal''Xhir" Lucrezia spoke and the Goddess nodded "Yes yes, love, passion, all very complicated matters, forgive me for being so hasty dear, I''ve been hm let''s just say I''ve been very hyper of late" The Goddess rubbed her palms "Now for what you asked..."
Chapter 71: A mortals Favor "Boring" The last words of the Goddess that once ruled over Yrithuan, When asked to elaborate on said words by the All-Father and his hosts, the native Spirits did not, for it was too painful. "That''s quite the thing to ask," Lucrezia said as the Goddess beamed her a smile, her face shifting to match Lucrezia''s taste in beauty and pleasure, it was quite the power even if her Greater Blessing did its job of mitigating the brunt of the assault. "I know dear, I know, it''s no small thing I am asking, and the fact you even came here to give me the time of your day is already good enough for me to be honest with you" Saal''Xhir smiled "Still you did come, so I am guessing I will be hearing good news today yes?" Lucrezia sighed, for someone such as her to beat around the bush like this... then again she was asking for something dangerous. "This military build-up of yours is bad for the narrative you know? Gods will start talking about revolution or worse, a second attempt at the All-Father''s throne, are you sure you want this Saal''Xhir?" Lucrezia asked seriously and the Goddess nodded. "Yes child, I am fully aware of the consequences and I have made preparations in case anything bad happens, you can believe me on this, after all, I was the first to defect from our friend''s side when he got exiled" she waved her hand "The old folk won''t mind it, as a matter of fact, I expect the All-Mother to agree with this, given I am poised to take her daughter in law''s place in this country." The goddess finished and Lucrezia got up. "Right then" Lucrezia clapped her hands and images flashed "As you can see here and here, my duchy''s army is capable of striking in all theaters of war, be it via air, sea, or land" pointing to the many Magi-Tech machines of war she and her people had built. "In particular as you saw are my suits, a personal project of mine that can turn the tide of any combat encounter" Saal''Xhir nodded "I saw those yes, against both the Arch-Mage and the Dragon" Lucrezia nodded and said, "The ones that fought the Dragon are experimental Units, meant for high-speed combat, still in trial phase I am afraid..." "We are also due to a major technological shift, I can''t go into details yet but it will revolutionize Magi-Tech as a whole" Lucrezia smiled at the thought of being able to bend space and time with her Magi-Tech. "My terms are these, I can train, field, and maintain a medium size military force for you with the best of my facilities and personnel, but it has to be in my Duchy" "Of course, if need be we can also house your paladin order, but if memory serves me right they have their own lands..." Lucrezia finished as the Goddess nodded, the woman was quiet, mulling over the details. "The Order won''t take well from being uprooted like that, but some of mine there did show an interest for the Suits of Armor of yours" Saal''Xhir smiled "Then again who didn''t? to be able to stand toe to toe against such magicks, and an adult dragon like that...but I digress, yes these are more than perfect conditions, build me that army Little Lu, and I shall give you pleasure even Gods crave!" The Goddess got up, walked to Lucrezia, and placed her hand on her shoulder "A good luck charm, I sense your feelings are still churning like an angry ocean, may this calm them and let you see what is plain to everyone else around you, and remember, if you need my help on such affairs, I am listening, always" And she was gone, such earnest words, kind and warm as the divine power radiated from Lucrezia''s blessing to further cement the emotion of the Goddess, who loved every one of her followers. Her better half left this sense of wonder, of being amazed when the divine did their part of the deal, which made her chuckle even as the feeling washed over her. "In a world without Gods, one must seek within himself the meaning of it all" words from the past echoed as Lucrezia made her way to her maid, today was to be an interesting day after all, she had group training with Hope''s parents.
The enormous shade slammed its arms into the platform up in the skies as Hope leaped to the side and ran with all her might towards Kaine, who was doing his best to cast spells while also running. Hope knew the training well and had seen it many times in her childhood, a favorite method of her mother to establish strong communication and teamwork skills. What did surprise her was the fact Lucrezia could effortlessly control the flow of combat, gifted as she was in the martial arts it still was a hard fight! mercenaries twice her age and experience had issues with it. "Dodge, dodge, jump" Lucrezia''s calm voice rang inside Hope''s ears as she looked up, Richard and Arthur holding down the spectral tail of the shade with magic and steel, the two of them were being aided by Kaine''s...girlfriend. "It''s still weird," Arthur told her when he found out the news "He never cared for companionship before, I wanna say it''s Lucrezia''s fault but who knows? maybe he didn''t have the right mindset? I don''t know, weird" Hope smiled, while her beloved was a bit taken back by the sudden news, she could see he was happy, happy for his childhood friend finding someone he could trust... "Swords, dodge to the side then duck, defensive spells around the arena in 5...4..." Hope snapped back to reality as she readied her small wand, when she heard the call she cast the spell and her shield overlapped the others. Richard was running now, the arena getting smaller as he slammed staves into the ground in a controlled hurry, the formation flared up one of Hope''s blessings as Lucrezia came out of her trance and stood in the middle. Time Magic, once again showing how powerful it was, Kaine cast a glance towards Hope and she nodded, her Greater Blessing kicking into full power with gusto, wind flared and sparks flew from the magical staves as she felt the river of time slow down to a crawl. A slam from up high and one from below broke the spell, and Hope saw Lucrezia kick the ground in impotent rage "Fucking fuck, asshole ass mechanic I hate you" Hope made a face, what was that about mechanics? "Don''t mind her, we have been at this for what, an hour?" Richard said as he called for a timeout and the shade went away, her mother showing up with a grin on her face. "My my. it seems the Duchess does have issues with combat" Hope''s mom was rubbing in, trying to get under Lucrezia''s skin to test her leadership skills further, Lucrezia closed her eyes, centered herself, and said nothing. Perfect, even in defeat, truly something else as Arthur used to say "Again" Lucrezia said as she opened her eyes and the group positioned themselves, it was going to be a long afternoon. Hope smiled as she felt the surge of divine energy pass through her limbs, washing away fatigue and sharpening her mind, with a snap of her fingers that incredible sensation flew to the rest of the party and they were back on their feet. Hope switched to a combination of Blessings that would make her faster, and the game was on, dodging and weaving through the attacks from her Mother''s monster was easier this time and she could see the others were also getting the hang of the encounter. From the ground she heard cheers, taking a glance she spotted familiar faces down in the Castle''s courtyard, Richard''s trio of aides, the orc prince...Lucrezia''s terrifyingly good ZENOS pilot Andromeda... This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Acquaintances, Friends, Hope wondered how her parents saw her progress in this social game, something to ask once they get a free day. A ping from her blessing notified her Arthur was about to fall from the skies, too much Ki flew into him and he went out cold! before she could even scream Richard was already there, leaping through the air and slamming into solid platforms of mana Kaine had cast in a flash. Grabbing her beloved in the air, Richard dodged another slash but failed to see the second arm winding up "Richard!" Hope screamed with divine energy empowering her vocal cords, he gritted his teeth and grabbed another staff from his back, slamming it into the ground as a shield of blue mana formed around him and Arthur. Hope felt another ping as Lucrezia''s eyes widened in terror than fury, ah Hope smiled when she saw that face, the face when the Duchess decided to cut loose for once and a familiar wave of fell energy blasted through her. The Rage sang in Hope''s ears, even if Lucrezia was a Shallow-Walker, her control and usage of her powers were according to Arthur, nearly on the same level as his Mother. Lucrezia leaped in the air and with a blast of...Crimson Lighting she flew towards Richard. Hope felt goosebumps in her arms, the memories of that day still fresh in the young woman''s mind as Lucrezia''s form slammed against the second arm, a scream of pure power echoed as her image appeared, clad in ice, raising her arms and balling her fists to cast a spell. Chains of deep blue ice appeared from thin air to halt the arm! Lucrezia pointed her right hand to the shade and screamed, the air around the arena smelled as if a great storm was about to descend into the vicinity as thunderbolts fell into the shade. Hope dashed forward and reached Richard''s barrier, placing her palm into the construct she channeled healing miracles into her beloved, hearing Lucrezia''s grunts of power in the skies as Kaine and Kaede struggled to keep the ritual going, with wild gestures from their hands the spell flared and silence blanketed the arena. Yet it wasn''t enough, the shade grew in size and swatted both mages out of the skies, landing near Richard as Hope pulled them with magic, Kaine was shaken and so was Kaede but they didn''t black out, nodding to Hope as they went back tot he skies and resumed the assault on the shade. A thunderbolt the size of a small building slammed against the shade as both mages together with Lucrezia converged their mana and spell-shaping skills, it roared but it still stood, Hope pumped more Miracles into the shield as her eyes remained glued on Lucrezia. A third ping came, and Hope screamed "Lucrezia, tail coming from behind targeting Kaine!" her friend didn''t even blink as she leaped into the air and positioned behind the mage, with a scream of sheer power she summoned a wall of blue ice as the tail slammed into it, Kaede followed suit with multiple thunderbolts to peel the shade''s tail out of their position. A crack, then a snap echoed across the arena, the second arm of the shade flew across the skies and slammed right into Lucrezia, worse still she went inside the shade! Hope held a scream of panic in her lips before the sound of flesh being chopped off came from inside the shade''s arm. The arm fell into the arena, its sound echoing across the fields as Lucrezia''s body emerged with a blade in her right hand, her face and body covered in bright red blood, Hope was taken by the sight, she felt her heart beat faster and smiled. If I wasn''t in love already hehe the girl said to herself with mirth, no wonder Richard fell for her, seeing someone fight like this had a certain charm no one could resist after all, it stoked the fires of bitter fighting, to resist until the very end. Her mother clapped her hands and the entire thing vanished "Wow, almost had it there kids! Sadly you ran outta time! Come back next week for a retry you hear me" The group all fell into the soft grass, Arthur finally coming back to his senses. "Ugh, I hate when Ki knocks me out, even after years of training too much of the stuff still can slam me out cold" Hope hugged him and said "Worry not, we can fix that I am sure of it" "Gods" Arthur sighed with wonder "She looks incredibly cool right now, doesn''t she? a pity Richard won''t share..." Hope smacked him in the head and said "Don''t you start, the two of them must first get their shit together before any of that is on the table you hear me? now get moving, Mother will want to debrief us" Hope and Arthur made their way to the debriefing room, as soon as the platform was lowered into the Castle grounds a wave of cheers washed over them, it felt good she could not lie, Lucrezia, on the other hand, was having none of it, clearly unhappy with how the fight panned out. "Sit down everyone. Sit down" Hope''s mother spoke with kindness in her voice "Now I can see that teamwork-wise, you people have it in spades, and that''s excluding your friends who had to sit this little bout out" she pointed to a few who were mingling around the castle. "Yet teamwork alone isn''t enough as you surely saw today and when you fought against the Queen...but that particular fight will be reviewed and lectured another day! now first let''s start with Kaine!..." The afternoon went on as Hope''s friends each spoke about the fight and what they did wrong, her mother was in full teacher mode now and Hope couldn''t help but smile, it had been a long while last she had a chance to train troops. Her father wasn''t around, likely doing physical training with the others, day after day more students of the academy joined them and the atmosphere was lively! and yet...a certain someone kept a scowl on her face... The lecture was done, and everyone went their separate ways as Arthur held her hand and both walked towards the Castle''s dining hall "The inter-class competitions are getting closer Hope..." he said with a heavy look on his face, both sitting down after getting a plate to eat. Hope sighed "And the ones who kidnapped me have your Mother''s shadowy protection to act against us, yes we had this talk yesterday Arthur, why are you bringing it up again?" The young man sighed "My own people told me it gets worse, some ancient law that nobody remembers will be used by them to overturn our engagement, tie me to the ones who raised their hand against you, what''s worse is that Mother dearest made the right preparations to stonewall my people and we can''t take this to the law bringers that deal with legal matters of Royals and High nobles" Hope grinded her teeth, it was just as Lucrezia said after all, they would move there with enough legal bullshit to take Arthur away, and damn Hope to prison as well, with the Queen now acting in the shadows... Worse was the fact the King could do nothing, Lucrezia had already told the couple she asked the man for help but his hands were tied, not by bureaucracy but by love, he would turn a blind eye to his wife now just as he did before. "Danger at every turn indeed," Hope said as she dug into the food "So what''s the plan?" Arthur''s face lit up "As we talked with Lucrezia earlier, you must learn more spells, more Blessings, and become a powerhouse that can surpass Mother, the Arch-Mages, and the Gods themselves, thankfully we have her bottomless well of knowledge and enough gold to quicken the process, even my own unique brand of Necromancy you managed to learn in days" "Still, I fear something...bad will happen again, the fact they got you once means they must have something else up their sleeve..." Hope held Arthur''s hand, the nerves were getting to him again "Peace my love, worry not for what is to come, we do not fight alone, nor are we weak to weather the storm, we have the Rage, allies who are masters of the craft, the power of the Gods themselves" The prince''s worried look melted away as he spoke "Gods, when did I become such a worrywart? Thank you Hope, truly" he smiled "Then I suggest we start digging into the Fallen and their Blessings, if what Lucrezia said was true, then the All-Father''s pull should work on them" "And the Demons and Devils" Hope finished her beloved "Which while spurned are still his children, his creation, they will heed the call as will the Fallen this I am sure of it" She smiled at the thought, itching to pick a fight with the Infernal hordes for some unknown reason. Arthur shook his head "No fighting, please we don''t wanna sour the deal before it even happens" he sighed again "Fell powers are always a double-edged sword, if we do need to call upon them, we must have the proper countermeasures in place" "Magi-Tech" Hope said and Arthur nodded. "Yes, once again Lucrezia''s wonder weapons will shore us up, and gives us the edge needed" Arthur tapped his finger on the table "Have you seen the new armor? casters and battlemages around the new world are begging her for a single piece of it, never mind the wands, staves, and other magi-focus devices she has tucked away...but I digress, with her Magi-Tech we can have an edge when dealing with the Infernals..." They ate in silence for a while until Hope raised a question "The inter-class event is months away, why are you losing sleep over it, Arthur?" "I had a feeling, a hunch even, something fell and an omen comes and it''s been nagging me for days now, I talked with Kaine already and both he nor his girlfriend haven''t found anything in the River of Time, but something will happen soon Hope, and that will dictate what happens in the Inter Class event..." Hope poked his nose "Dummy, even after Kaine told you nothing will happen you still worry? you have been around Lucrezia a bit too much these past days, getting all paranoid about what-ifs and such, I''ll have to ask Richard for a good pub so we can unwind later" Arthur smiled, agreeing to Hope''s suggestion, the girl looked around and felt calm, with her power and allies, anything that came knocking would surely get a good ass whooping!
fA shadowy figure muttered half-crazy ramblings inside a dilapidated building, cloaked in Uumaries''s symbols the small person screamed as dark red flames sprouted from a cauldron. "Yes! It is ready! soon they will burn! invisible fire will burn them from within!" the person laughed as they filled vials of the foul liquid and bottled them, storing the vials inside a small bag. "My revenge! our revenge! If I can not have you, my love..." "Then none shall!" Chapter 72: On the benefits of waiting "House Fairtide, ancient even by Empirial standards was the frontline when it came to healing, curing, and keeping the wellbeing of the First King''s troops and civilians, for every curse, plague, and phage the Sea Elves unleashed, the Knights and Nobles of Fairtide had a countermeasure ready to strike back, to the point one of the plague bringers of the elves, General Scuria-Upon-Deep summoned a High Demon into the mortal plane to destroy the healers. Said High Demon was a known contact of the Fairtide scions and after being called by the then Knight Commander, joined forces to get back at the elves who had tricked him into service. On Vermilion''s many noble houses Volume 8. "Lu, I got you the report on that noble lass you asked" Saa''ryu gave the folder to Lucrezia, who smiled. Ah yes, finally she would confirm if the Anti-Divine Faction was still making their moves now that their primary source of secrecy was destroyed. They relied heavily on Uumarie''s creations after all. "Raffa Ironheart, Defacto leader of her Family and the Anti-Divine Faction, at the tender of 20 no less" Lucrezia smiled as the memories from the game flooded her mind "Right then, with Uumaries lost of power they must be in complete disarray, which will be a perfect opportunity for us to get in, size them by the balls and get access to their knowledge" Lucrezia hummed, happy with herself. "The Ironhearts have powerful relics from their Imperium days you know? but what I really want is their people" Lucrezia started explaining her plan to Saa''ryu "I can get the word in with the All-Father, let them establish an enclave on the Northern Wastes, Raffa has no love for this city and country anymore, nor do her people, but they aren''t terrorists, even if public opinion is always low" Lucrezia smiled. "Yeah, being against the Gods is never a good look" Saa''ryu spoke "But why the Wastes? we never managed to...Oh, I see now" Lucrezia snapped her fingers when her maid realized her plan and said. "Aye Saa, with the Wastes under the guard of a neutral faction which we will be supplying, we can effectively extend our control to those lands without getting the other clans or the royals pissed, It will become a heaven for those who do not belong, and ere long the outlaws and less than desirable elements that make their nests there will be crushed under their heel, with our help of course." Lucrezia pulled a small orb from her pocket "Here, one of my latest inventions " She channeled mana into the orb and a three-dimensional image of the entire Wastes popped up "Together with the Drones Idun came up, we managed to map the entire landmass, tag important places where the outlaws have their bases and a perfect spot for Raffa''s little enclave" Saa''ryu watched the fancy map and pointed to the delta of a particular river "Ah smart thinking, The Ceaseless River''s delta would make for a great outpost or even small town, coupled with Magi-Tech terraforming and regular magic...but would they even use your technology? given it''s powered by the Gods after all" Lucrezia nodded "Aye, it has enough human factor for them to tolerate, small compromises are the motto of that faction hehe" Lucrezia pointed to the sea "With trade via sea and river they shall have their Godless Enclave ere long, and we will finally be able to tap into the resources of that accursed land, so did you get the right robes?" The maid nodded "Aye I did now put some clothes on so we can talk with the woman of the hour and her flock of godless sheep.
"How long until the Pillars stop working?" A masked man spoke, his robes black as night and his mask died red "Weeks?" murmurs around him came and went, people were anxious and nervous in the small room. Raffa Ironheart walked to the center of the room, her robes white and her mask black, for them, she was known as the Usher, leader of the Anti-Divine faction and first among equals in this heretical group. "Peace brother, calm thy heart for we are still under this detestable pillar''s blessing" she sighed, there were...rumors that Uumaries was not the fairest of gods, but now that they knew how low she had gone for power, Raffa was of the mind to just destroy the thing altogether, damn be the Eyes of the All-Father! let those elves jail them forever for being heretics! "Forgive me Usher..., as you know I had kin who were killed when the first prince tried to mess with the Duchess of the North, my emotions are akin to a raging storm at sea, unable to be appeased even with the strongest of potions" "There is no need to apologize, my friend, we all have suffered under their yoke of iron, and we are still forced to use their blessings to live like cattle..." Ironheart sat down and sighed, it was a heavy sigh, defeated and crestfallen. These people, she knew them, she knew the horrors their kin, friends, workers, and had gone through due to the Divine and their whins, from the humblest bread maker to High Nobles who could do nothing but hide and cry to their fellows. How could they fight? some entertained the notion, she did as well truth be told, then the Battle happened. Ironheart pulse quickened as memories flashed in her mind, that level of sheer power and destruction selected few individuals brought to the mortal coil left her shaken, and the revelations of Uumaries left her and her fellows broken. It was too much to bear, faintly but clearly she heard sobbing in the background as despair crept in, slowly and warmly like a comfy blanket in winter, let it go it said to her in a whisper it''s over, give up, who will aid you now? House Ironheart had lost most of her people in the war against the Elves, sent to the frontlines together with the Royal Knights themselves, Raffa saw her entire family, down to her grandfather and mother be slaughtered to a man, kicking and screaming to defend Vermilion, all in the name of their Goddess Morugarius. The battle of Cair Larval was a turning point in the Vermilion offensive in the war after her Kin and Kith died. Their reward? nothing, Raffa remained alone with the sick and the lame back in the capital, with her own two hands she buried enough men and women to make the undertaker of the capital blush. In her youth, she felt rage, then wrath, but as her great-grandfather said That is a bonfire that will burn bright, brighter than the sun, but it also burns fast my dear, and in the end, there will be naught but ash, ash and embers of a person consumed by it, be it silent or roaring, naught remains. And the man was right, Raffa Ironheart was a hollow woman, walked in undeath of the mind and soul as she rebuilt her family and Knight Order, pretended to mingle with the High Nobles of the capital with gusto and jest only to come home and feel the mask slip away. Stolen novel; please report. Together with other survivors, she funded this conspiracy, if the Gods were blind and deaf to their pleas then she would turn to the mortals among her, and her call as silent as the tomb her kin were on was heard. Once word got out, those loyal to the Gods came to hunt her down, she even got into a bit of controversy thanks to it, but with her connections and friends, she cleared her name, started again, and got that damn pillar. A perfect solution, only to come crashing down as the Divine proved less than reliable once again. Raffa raised her hand and allowed the people to talk amongst themselves, the sound of chatter filled their room as despair crept away, for a time at least. Her mind went back to her dealing with the Goddess who had power over this nation, an explosive encounter that took place a day after Raffa buried her family, and such news had become the talk of the town, people asking for the war to be stopped by seeing the grim sight of a young girl shovel in hand digging graves. "The elven king and queen demand half the south of Vermilion, control over all walks of life and beyond, I understand your pain young one but I cannot stop this war, for if he wins, the consequences will be twice worse in the future" Morugarius spoke with the kindness of a battle weary commander who had seen this come to pass many a time, there was nothing Raffa could do, only bit her lips and walk away in shame. The fact the Goddess herself had come down to talk with her also became news, but as the war went on people stopped caring, and more bodies to bury, and more people to mourn, what was once a unique story became everyday news. As Raffa ruminated on those old thoughts, a black-robed individual spoke loudly, its mask was of a strange shape, with wings and black and red inlays. A new brother or sister? Raffa couldn''t really tell. So many came and went. "My fellows, harken to me for I have a proposition for our current predicament" Raffa felt her blood run cold, that voice was eerily familiar in ways she wasn''t sure. The mask likely had some sort of magic to distort it just enough so no one could figure out who it was.
A paranoid measure, but who among their people wasn''t a paranoid freak? At the end of the proverbial rope, Raffa nodded and spoke " Tell us then, what do you propose new friend" She heard murmurs around the room, most were barely paying attention as it was. The hooded figure pulled a silvery orb from beneath the robes and channeled mana into it, the room flashed blue and white as an image of the planet was shown, fed with more mana it zoomed into the kingdom and went north. "The Northern Wastes, a land of snow and ash, savages and wild beasts" the hooded figure spoke as more people started paying attention "Abandoned by the Duchy of Wulfgrem after failed campaigns to pacify its natives, there stands ancient sea elven forts, with plenty of underground space for dwellings that are protected from the blizzards and storms that flail the land year-round" One of the older members spoke "It would be impossible to move our entire operation to the north, nevermind the fact the roads are under the watch of a number of factions, we would still need to cut right in the middle of Wulfgrem territory to make the journey, even if the Duchess is a heretic, dealing with us is the last thing the woman will want to do right now" Another voice spoke "Yet with the new airships and land vehicles the woman made we could make the journey! even at sea! My sources tell me of great ships, and even those capable of going underwater! nevermind the fact if we do set up an outpost there, making the right rituals for teleportation is a matter of skill, which we have plenty" Raffa raised her hand and the room went silent "Do you have the means to ensure safe passage then?" murmurs flew as the question made its way to the hooded figure "Safe having someone high up inside the Duchy I can''t see this working, too dangerous" "There''s still time in this abominable pillar for a decision to be made, talk amongst yourselves, see what your fellows think" The hodded figure spoke and murmurs began to fly as it sat down near the Pillar, the orb going silent as the candlelight took over the room once again. It was going to be a long evening and an even longer week.
"By Ra''Tyrius today we will get this thing to work!" Idun bellowed out as his dwarves hammered, cast magic, and tinkered with the huge driller Lucrezia had used in her little battle at the capital. It wasn''t the same driller, as the upgrades they had to do for the next assignment the Duchess gave were so extensive it pretty much became a brand new Magi-Tech device, still the original builders took pride in their work and so as to not upset any of those old farts the decision was made to not call it new. Geomancers, Druids, and an entire platoon of Knights followed suit, paving the enormous tunnel with magick for the train tracks and stops/guard houses, their destination? Idun smiled at the thought of seeing those snow-assaulted lands once again. "North of the capital lies a stronghold, once upon a time my ancestors used it in one of the many failed incursions to tame the Wastes, I need that place secured and an underground tunnel built until the end of the year, after that, a proper underground city, port and everything else you can come up with it Master Idun" Lucrezia''s voice ringing in his ears, the Young Lady had grown much and a part of him couldn''t help but to be proud. A sentiment many of the inner circle shared, Knight Commander Erwin, in particular, was chief among them, the man outright beamed with pride every time a new report was sent to them. "Up you go!" Idun heard the Geomancers say as smaller drills went up, establishing links with the flying machines Lucrezia had created earlier "Drones" she called them, akin to ants and other insects that had a Hive Queen commanding them, the drones paved the way upwards, checking to see any bandit camp or nest of predators was in the way, as Lucrezia had plans to make her own highway in the surface once the land was properly secured. And so they went, the sound of machinery a calming tide, akin to that curious dungeon core they had deep underground the Duchy''s castle, a curious being that one Idun thought, Imperium madness turned into something useful and humane? only Lady Lucrezia could''ve pulled something like that heh. Idun was working on something similar, based on Lucrezia''s writing and his own communion with Ra''Tyrius himself, the Lady called "Machine Genesis" the word meaning Life according to Lucrezia, one of the many quirks Idun was fond of, creating words out of thin air came to her like an ale to a dwarf! "Master Idun! we are getting closer!" one of the mages screamed "But a storm is on our tail! we won''t be able to start construction today!" Idun nodded and then channeled Mana to speak to everyone "Attention! Storm approaching overground, a small team will go up and recon the fort, make sure no nasties are hidden there, once the storm clears we move!" Cheers came from everywhere, Idun began preparing the Magi-Tech rituals to safeguard the recon team, as the driller slowed down and eventually stopped the mages got to work, making a way to the surface. The "Hive Queen" as the others had taken to call the drone operator issued orders and the machines started to follow the recon unit over the ground, each making sure nothing would sneak up on the team, Idun sat near the panel that was broadcasting the drone image feed, spotty images which would need fixing in the next iteration of those machines. Breaching the stronghold, they found no outward signs of usage or life for that matter, the place looked positively abandoned, much like the underground fort Lucrezia had given to Idun and his people long ago. "...Found something! Gods be good Ice Wolves!" the Recon soldier raised his rifle but paused "Wait! These are pups...and one male and female pair, look at that ribcage the poor animals probably are starving to death" and the growl of resignation that came from the parents was enough to tell Idun that was the truth, he had seen animals die like that before, it was a horrible sight. "Get a druid up there, see if we can take care of them" Idun spoke and one of the druids got up and ran, with that taken care of the rest of the Recon team combed the buildings, finding nothing more than broken furniture and snow. "Right, now we wait, get them back underground, gods willing the wolves survive" Idun spoke and the people around him nodded, who would''ve thunk eh? saving a rare subspecies of wolf mid take over of the Wastes? "Never a dull moment indeed," Idun said to himself with a smile on his lips, the words of his elven friend who was with Lucrezia in the capital had a way to catch up with him. Chapter 73: Winters, Accursed things "On God-Killing, a primer for would-be rulers, masters of armies, and fools dumb enough to charge a divine being that works from beyond the mortal realm, in this book, we will discuss homegrown, do-it-yourself methods of effective slaughter for the God menace, with no need to summon Entities from beyond, Devils or Demons, which would defeat the whole purpose of the endeavor!" Nameless Book banned by the Imperium, was reportedly used by the First King of Vermilion to fight against minor Gods working against him and his people to halt their exodus to the Kingdom of Vermilion. Winter had come to the Capital, Lucrezia smiled as she enjoyed the cold winds up on the roof of the housing building, it was a shame that she could not enjoy it naked but the depravity of a certain Greater Blessing wasn''t that strong. Yet. "Don''t even think about it, Gods above and Devils below do not get naked" Saa''ryu said as she toyed with her new weapons, Magi-Tech made and forged here in the school by Lucrezia and Richard, whose first date idea was wholly turned over his head when mid-way through their walk to a recent library turned pub was stopped by the Forgemaster of the Academy, Kastrus Ironbeard and that Vampire woman who always had an eye on him. Lucrezia knew what was happening here, ever since the battle in the Fields the demand to learn Magi-Tech increased tenfold, and so did interest in the Forges of the Academy, which in turn led to deals being cut, facilities being expanded, and lot of good rapport being built with the young Ironbeard, this, in turn, earned her great jealousy from the lady vampire who, now that Lucrezia was more attuned to her Greater Blessing of love, was madly in love with the young lad. "Commander Silverbrand, Lucrezia!" Richard got a bit red when his nickname came out of the dwarf''s mouth, It was a silly but endearing one he told her, the people of the Academy had often come to him asking for advice after his new fame, the Orcs more often than not as Richard was preparing himself for the Pilgramge of A thousand Woes, an ancient Orcish rite to legitimize him as the bearer of their Goddess Blessing. And making him a "Royal" something he was not a fan of. "It''s good I have my trio, Rose deals with nobility like they are babies, good people those three even if they are sick of me saying that" he spoke with warmth about them, good friends were rare to come by and she was glad Richard had his own inner circle, she knew how much he prized being something more than a mere pawn. "So good to catch you both here, we have an emergency in the First Magi-Tech forge, certain individuals insisted on meddling where they lacked the skill for it, and well..., if you could help me out I''d be eternally grateful. Richard spoke first "Aye, lead the way Ironbeard" And so he did, the Vampire saying no words as they made their way to the section of the Academy that housed the forges, on the way people stopped to greet and exchange pleasantries with everyone, Lucrezia felt like a celebrity of Terra, an extraordinary feeling given she was popular already. Her better half no doubt, is acting up again... "So what''s the issue, why do you need us to solve it?" Richard asked the dwarf "Last I heard you can bellow a giant out of the room Ironbeard" The young dwarf sighed and spoke, his voice full of resignation. "These aren''t Vermilion noble scions Richard, these are spoiled brats sent from the Old Home" Kastrus had spite in his voice "Worse still they are Family" Ahh Lucrezia made a sound of understanding and so did Richard, the dwarf sighed heavily as his Vampire woman spoke. "Family is always trouble, especially the long-lived ones" "You can say that again, we have elves in the extended family and they are always furious when we make them visit for the gatherings, I don''t know why given they really aren''t that busy but yeah, Trouble," Richard said. Lucrezia''s mouth spoke before her brain caught up "Deep in the Rainforest of the Imperium there should be a patch of land with special berries, beans, and fruits, if you can safely grab them, store and transport them to your elven relatives they will be more Amicable to family gatherings" Silence, a few blinks by Richard and Kastrus "Right, let me note that down" and so he did as Richard''s hands conjured a small notepad and pen "There, something for mom to get busy to impress Uncle Riva" "...Wealth of Knowledge indeed" Kastrus whispered and the Vampire nodded. Lucrezia felt her ears grow red with shame, damn this innate need to do every bloody side quest and errand! They walked in silence for a few more minutes, Arriving at the Forge''s checkpoint which was guarded by Kastrus''s own personal security nowadays, the dwarf getting a bit paranoid after the battle due to the popularity of his haunt. Guards armed in Magi-Tech gear, Vanguard made, Richard nodded and the guard nodded back "The Vanguard must''ve made quite the impression, but then again those dwarves weren''t just for show in the battle" "Aye they did Commander" Kastrus replied "So much so even the more Progressive factions back in the Old Home are starting to import the stuff, which in turn leads to this fuck up we are heading to" Two dwarven women and a Half-Elf man stood among forgers, their garbs with the Symbol of house Ironbeard floated in the wind, all of them looking angry and at the end of their wits. "Kastrus" the taller dwarf woman spoke and Richard immediately went to his right side, the atmosphere shifted as the young man flexed his Blessing, he knew a bully when he saw one and wasn''t about to let Kastrus be talked down in his presence. The Half-Elf placed his hand on her shoulder, his eyes locked on Lucrezia as the words left his mouth "Kinslayer" the other dwarf woman, of smaller stature and kinder face looked at Richard and spoke "Orc''s chosen" Lucrezia saw the tall dwarf back down faster than she could get a quip out, like a puppet having its strings being cut she deflated, spatting on the ground in impotent rage. Kastrus smiled "Right, that''s the attitude issue dealt with" he clapped "Fia, Nortrua you two are under Lucrezia and Richard for today, Calleb you can stick with them or make yourself useful around the forges. He turned to Lucrezia "Calleb''s a good guy, when he''s not chasing skirts and boozing up, I''ll keep an eye on him...this went faster than what I had imagined so yeah, make sure to put those two spoiled scions to work Lucrezia, I have shit to do" and he was off. Calleb smiled as he walked up to Lucrezia and Richard "A pleasure to meet you Kinslayer, I am Calleb Ironbeard, these are my sisters Fia and Nortrua, if you don''t mind I will be joining you to "make myself useful" as our dear cousin so aptly said" "She has a name" Richard said and the half-elf raised his hands in surrender "Apologies, I meant no offense, Tradition demands me to call you that Duchess Lucrezia, you see the killing of a family member in the Old Home is a very hm how can I put it..." Fia spoke "Extremely Heretical, against all that is sacred for men and divine, and yet the history of the country is marked with enough kin slaying that you could float a barge full of iron and copper with it" Contradiction born out of good intentions, Lucrezia smiled to herself as Fia went on "Forgive my brother for any offense Ser Richard, as a Half-Elf he has to crank the tradition dial to 11, lest the dwarves call him a knife-eared freak" This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. "None taken" Lucrezia laughed as she started walking to the Magi-Tech forges set up by Kastrus after the battle, one item in particular being the dwarf''s focus point of late, that interesting contraption given to Lucrezia by her mysterious benefactor. "Impressive feat of engineering, may we take a closer look?" Fia said and rushed into the stand "Meant to pull...Nort take a look at this, using the Masty Coe...." The two women got lost in technical talk Lucrezia could barely keep up, "I''ll get off your hair, I saw axes being forged just in the other section and I must check that out," Calleb said clearly not wanting to share a room after getting Richard riled up, the couple let the man go, and silence fell around them. "Let''s get to work then shall we?" Richard said and started bringing materials to the big table Kastrus had placed in this particular forge "A pity your Ra''Tyrius didn''t deem me fit for a Blessing, all I can do is regular stuff thanks to the Greater Blessing" He said as raw goods, crystals of multiple elements and bits and bobs fell into the table "Still a fascinating thing to behold, I was talking with Kastrus the other day and he told me that with an ungodly amount of elbow grease, even those not blessed can work Magi-Tech" "Indeed, it takes time and effort, and no small amount of skill but you can learn if you are willing of course...there''s no better teacher in the realm than me" Lucrezia felt her ear tips grow red, Jesus what the fuck was that? a teenager could''ve come up with a better line than her! and she had a Greater Blessing of Love! Feeling her face start to go red she did the old reliable trick, cycling ice mana through her entire system from toe tips to the hair strands at speeds never seen before, thanks in part to her training under Kaine to better maximize mana output, with a mind clear and face nearly blue she snatched an out of this embarrassing situation "...If you are willing of course, I am aware you have one too many duties now" Richard beamed her a smile "Oh thank the gods, I was hoping you would offer! when I asked one of your priests they told me to piss off and talk to you! Can you believe it? those old farts even laughed at me...At any rate, yes! I''d love to" And so did Lucrezia, smitten by the smile start to teach the basics of Magi-Tech to Richard, starting with a favorite of his, the staff imbued with healing and offensive magicks, not wanting to be left behind he too applied himself in the matters of the Arcane, how to weave and shape raw mana into one of the 3 schools of Magic that governed their world... "Miracles I don''t know, we tried with Velkarius before but the Crystal, even after being supercharged with her divine energy didn''t take to the miracle, resulting in catastrophic failure" Lucrezia explained to him after a question was spoken. "It''s due to your God''s sphere of power" one of the dwarven girls spoke from the other table, deep in notes after looking into the apparatus "One of the reasons we were sent in this punishment duty was due to the fact we spoke about it, Ra''Tyrius will grow in power faster than any Smith or Ore God ever and the Traditionalists are worried" "Worried about what?" Richard asked before realizing his cluelessness. "Holy War" Lucrezia spoke and the room grew cold "It happened before in Steinheim, and He has plenty of motives to demand an army to march down the old road and put every single dwarf that banished him and Idun to the sword" "The Kin" A slap from Fia made the other dwarf change her tune "Lady Lucrezia is right, as mighty as we are I doubt the Old Home could withstand an assault that would no doubt dwarf the little fight you had with your queen, we have seen your weapons of war Woman of the North, and believe you me, they made the old guard feel their blood run cold"
The sisters went off towards another bench as silence fell in the room, Lucrezia sat down and began tinkering with her weapons, the Magi-Tech pistols showing signs of wear and tear, she heard Richard pull up a chair and do work on his own gear by her side. It was comfortable, in a way, no words said no reading between the lines and facial expressions or body language. Relaxing even. "Weird isn''t it? and I don''t even have the blessing to truly comprehend the nuts and bolts of this fine weapon" Richard spoke as he took apart a particular staff he preferred, capable of casting an array of spells he learned with Kaine. "Shame we couldn''t get to the pub, the cook had something special planned today" Richard laughed "It''s been quite the riot in my usual haunts you know? from a gloomy patron that liked to chat up regulars to the pride of the pub, number 1 friend of Knights and Mercenaries alike" A warm smile, reaching all the way to his eyes bloomed on his face "Could do without the teasing if I must be honest" "I am not helping as well," Lucrezia said with a giggle "But..." "There''s no need to rush your feelings, It was hm foolish of me making such a scene but the circumstances demanded it" he paused "Hope also spoke with me about us, and told me you are still under heavy emotional turmoil and I won''t be the one to make you blast through it" Richard held it there, waiting for Lucrezia to speak. "Thank you, I know it can''t be easy" She smiled as he looked into her eyes and nodded "We make do dear, well minus Hope and Arthur well..." he closed his eyes and ran his palm through his forehead. "Ah, you found out about their hidden side didn''t you?" Lucrezia laughed "Yes I knew, and Kaine too I wager" "Look, It''s understandable when nobles are less than wholesome within their ivory chambers, but Hope? That shattered my image of the woman, who would''ve thunk such a prim and proper lady was that much of a well, you know" he fidgeted "Ugh I am still shy about these things, Mother was right once again" Lucrezia knew Richard was teased by his mom for having a "prude" view on relationships, the boy only having dated one girl before as he believed it was only right to dedicate one''s life to your one true love. Sadly, his ex didn''t agree with the sentiment and they broke off, amicable if memory served Lucrezia right but she knew the whole ordeal stung him still, a difference in world view from what was standard protocol for Vermilion culture when it came to youth and young adult dating. Young Richard thought the first one would''ve been the one for the rest of his life. "You know, moments like this when you get the look on your face are easy to spot once you know" Richard laughed as Lucrezia shot him a puzzled look "The others know as well in case you are wondering, I guess even you gotta put the nogging to work every once in a while, given how much you know about well, everything" Lucrezia laughed "I only know what I know dear, nothing more nothing less" She worked on the repairs for her weapons more, ideas flying for improvement as silence made itself known again. "More of those Uumaries pillars have been found, Mother told me you are buying them, what for?" Richard asked. "A project in the Wastes, has to be done without the prying eyes of the divine and those pillars still work to keep the gods from randomly finding the site we are working for, you must''ve also seen the other supplies I am buying I am guessing?" Lucrezia spoke, knowing she could trust him. "Aye I did, Mother was very angry at the fact and even, thought I would rat her out, the woman forgot I am also a merchant and we care a great deal for our client''s privacy" He smiled "An ingenious way of making use of everything you can squeeze out of Uumaries huh? I''ve seen the new unit you employed in her Cathedral''s demolition, fearsome machine" Richard sounded awed. "SR-X One codename "Lockdown" Heh" Lucrezia had a nasty grin on her face "Vivienne helped us with the design, her own Magi-Tech tool of destruction, as a gift to her and the Arch-Duke given they granted me a weapon when I first came to the capital" The Katana was in her room sadly, otherwise Lucrezia would''ve summoned for dramatic effect. "Fearsome, thunder of the Duke''s Daughter" Richard nodded "Vivienne talked with me at length about many a thing you know? told me I am a great listener for a merchant, which to be honest is a skill many a merchant in this city lacks but I digress, she mentioned something I wanted to ask you about as it involves that rotten business with the First Prince and the cure for her ailments" Richard''s voice trembled a little, afraid of asking no doubt. Lucrezia made sure to transmit positive body language and nodded him to go ahead, the queue was rightly caught on by the young man who relaxed a bit as he spoke the words. "Vivienne tells me of strange dreams she often has, it''s her fighting against shadowy figures, sometimes she wins, other times she loses when that happens and she is on the verge of dying inside the dream, an odd figure appears, a teenager boy, barely 17 summers old, tall and with silvery hair" he paused for a second "in her mind that boy is you Lucrezia, he is the one who vanishes the evil that yet remains even after the treatment with the Draconic Relic" Lucrezia felt her pulse quicken but she didn''t let that show "A curious side effect of the relic, I often communed with Kallista to see if usage on humans, or the other races would have any ill side effects, but according to her and the other dragons that used it, nothing but dreams will happen after the Relic does its work, mayhaps she sees in a male figure strength? and some of my characteristics bled into that notion?" Richard''s face had a puzzled look, he was consolidating information hoping to arrive at a good conclusion "Hvtial told me something similar, being Dragonborn himself he was aware of dragon physiology and neurology better than most and lacked access to the actual scaly bastards he was the best source for info" Lucrezia laughed "We can always beat the dungeon you know? He would welcome the chance to fight us again I''m sure of it" She laughed as Richard shook his head, his face going through many emotions. "Don''t, the last thing I need is the Red getting angry at me because we defeated his little maze only to ask him questions, I''d rather wait for the summer vacation and visit your Lady Kallista, she was very pleasant to be around as well" "Tell you what Richard, I''ll ask her for a tour of her realm, you gonna like it, her horde is lovely now that we have proper trade routes with them again" Lucrezia spoke and the young man''s face lit up "It''s a deal then, what''s a date at a pub when you can visit one of the realm''s most reclusive individuals!" Both laughed as the wind howled outside, flakes of snow falling from the skies as the temperature dropped, the Summer Spirits ready to take a break. Chapter 74: Godly duties, Human execution "The ban on the weaponization of healing magic was lifted only once when the then-nascent Imperium was forced to fight against the biggest demon-devil invasion from their hellish realms, how they breached the blockades it''s still unknown to this day but the first 3 months were a desperate and brutal struggle to the Imperium. The first emperor in a bid to save important port cities along the coast begged the Gods and they gave the go-ahead, to this day the hellish survivors of that conflict dare not speak a word of the terror unleashed by the mortals, their minds scarred for eternity" On the demonic-devil realms, a primer for first-time tourists: 2nd edition. Hope felt the winter chill prickle at her naked backside, she grimaced blaming someone for leaving the godsdamned window open. Ahh Arthur and his need to jump out of windows, a quirk she thought was a jest, Kaine being cheeky for once in his life. Turns out, the mage was being anything but deadly seriously about it. Casting her gaze towards the ceiling, Hope wondered what to do, the Academy was closed for the week as the many workers and professors worked towards the winter season, according to Lucrezia there were tons of rituals, manual labor, and no small amount of talking with Spirits and Gods in their schedule. Hope curled her toes, thinking about Lucrezia''s eyes made her feel in a way only Arthur did, this obsession with the Duchess was causing no small amount of mental anguish to Hope, even after Arthur confided that he also was attracted to her, wanting to invite both Lucrezia and Richard to a "Royal Vacation" "And I can choose my blessings, I can''t imagine how she feels given her prude ways" Hope spoke to herself as she shook her head, clearing the lust away, a curious aspect that she even asked Saal''Xhir about it, why would the Goddess of Lust bless someone that much of a prude? If one didn''t count Battle Lust, as some of the more Hardliners of Saal''Xhir told Hope once. Cleaning her mind and soul out of the lust with magic Hope went back to the talk she had with the Goddess, as a Pillar of influence that Lucrezia herself had ties now she figured the Goddess would give some nugget of wisdom, a revelation to Lucrezia''s often hidden thoughts. "I am afraid dear, that you will need to ask her yourself! The lass is private with her inner thoughts, and I won''t be the one to breach that trust I am sure you understand, but to not leave you hanging I will give you a tip, seek her hmm how should I put this..., seek Richard out and learn from him, I have a feeling you will understand Lucrezia better via him" Her good friend, well everyone''s good friend, was the key to Lucrezia''s heart, but would he share it? questions and more questions flew by Hope''s mind, a common occurrence whenever her thoughts went down that particular road. "What to do..." the girl said to herself, wondering which of the many activities and duties she had to do were worth doing at this early in the morning, training was always an option she guessed, but honestly she was getting a bit tired with it. what truly boggled her mind on the other hand was how intimate Lucrezia was getting with her parents, managing to conquer her mom''s goodwill in a short week like it was nothing, often when she had lunch with her parents they talked about the woman and it was praise after praise. "Didn''t know I would be getting a sister this late in the year" Hope joked about with her parents, too much blushing by the two, it was funny seeing two grown adults get so flustered she could not lie. "A walk around the city then" and Hope was off. The grand capital of Vermilion was cold and unwelcoming to most as the young woman walked, without no clear aim as to where to go. Yet, despite the windy and cold day people walked, talked, and lived as if summer had never ended, dressed in heavy cloaks and winter clothing, she didn''t know how much she missed these walks, especially around the area she grew up. Turning a corner she started smelling something incredibly good in the distance, looking up at the skies told her it was nearly high noon, huh did she walk around that much? granted she had to stop a few times to window shop here and there but still... Her belly rumbled loudly, the protest demanded nutrients and the smell went from good to outright divine, she looked towards the direction of the scent when a couple of city guards appeared as if from thin air "Oi, lady, the bakery is just up the street then turn right, you will see the sign, one of them fancy new Magi-Tech ones, tell Clarina sent you for a discount haha!" And they were off, both guards laughing at each other jokes. A Magi-Tech store sign huh, was Lucrezia''s church going that far with their push to integrate with the capital? smart thinking on her part, or maybe Richard, the man who had a mind for good marketing after all. Following the path given by the guard Hope arrived at the bakery "Constanza''s Fresh and Sweet" what she wasn''t expecting was a line! and it was big, with at least 15 or so people waiting in it. Standing at the tail end of the line, Hope tuned her ears towards the patrons "Can you believe George managed to score a deal with those priests? I knew the dwarf had connections but holy moly" a positively ancient elf spoke to the Beast-kin to his side, a large bird-like woman who nodded in deep respect "Indeed, a good baker he is but these new...machines he got, they elevate his goods to a realm only the very gifted can reach" As they waited, others joined this bizarre debate the duo had started, an Orc woman spoke in a hushed tone "Aye, word on the wire is that the south enclave is not happy with this new technology, they have specific bakers blessed by Gods solely for the making of good bread, if this becomes the new standard we could be watching the start of another wave of Food magic bans" One man, young and with slick black hair butted in "Impossible, Magi-Tech sidesteps nearly every requirement for such a ban" The rest of the group started debating on the theme, Hope felt a bit awkward, after all, she knew how to summon food from mana. It tasted horribly bland sadly, Lucrezia told her she would need to essentially summon demons who had the last remaining knowledge of good-tasting mana food and that was a pipedream at best. "We can always declare war on them and march on a crusade, the right paperwork only needs to be filled for it even" the mad woman said without a hint of irony, Warring for food... Hope tuned back into the group debate, they had moved from food to weapons of war and the nature of mana, of course, Magi-Tech was a constant in their talks but Hope didn''t feel like intruding to correct them, today she just wanted to be a girl waiting in line after all. "...Mana Cores are harvested from dying realities? I thought they had to be fully dead" the young man said out loud, the Orc woman shook her head "Not necessarily, the All-Father does that due to ethical concerns but deities on his level rarely act like that, most of his divine host that isn''t of his blood are refugees and survivors of those realities, a rather grim existence if you read up on their theology" Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. The ancient elf nodded "Indeed, The Iron Spear, God of War of the Dynasty is said to be from such a grim place, and you can see it if you ever find yourself against his Warrior-Monks" the Bird-Like woman laughed "Not like we will ever see it, those people haven''t been in combat for decades-old man, but who knows, last night I heard on the radio that there''s been military activity in their border" "Ah yes, those things" the elf nodded "My eldest great-grandchild gifted me one the other day, for such a warmongering fiend, the woman of the north is positively a cultured one, tales, and stories for the young ones, dramas, and liturgy for the old, music for the rest...It is a small wonder no Culturally inclined divinity blessed her" A curious image Lucrezia had with the many diverse folks of the city, Hope eventually got into the bakery proper and purchased some bread, a pizza slice with pineapple on it which was fast becoming her favorite topping, and coffee sweets, another new food invention of her friend. Sitting down to eat alone was...nostalgic for her, once she was all alone but nowadays she couldn''t take 5 steps without someone tagging along with her, the warmth of the bakery made her smile as old memories played out... "Lady Hope, may I join?" A strange being sat upon Hope''s table, its form shifting like living flesh. "Gods above, a partition of the Hivemind" Hope spoke, in sheer surprise, even after all she had gone through, this was... "Miraculous" the partition smiled, its face shifting into a smile, it sent chills down her spine, this was the real deal Hope thought, a being on part with the All-Father in power, living in his core planet after eons of consuming entire... Hope shut that line of thinking fast "A pleasure to meet you, It is an honor" She extended her hand, and the thing slowly did the same with the creepy smile growing wilder "Look at you, powerful but humble, a rare combination for those blessed by my old friend, one must wonder if it is a farce, a convenient mask" There was no ill intent in its voice, it was a question and Hope gave it an answer "We are all capable of good, evil, and morally gray acts, but I always strive to do right by my people" The partition smiled "A good answer! Once again I-we-are reminded why taking this vacation was such a good idea" It giggled and Hope thought she was having a stroke, there was something fundamentally wrong with this entity. "Lady Hope, as now the bearer of Faal''s blessing I wish to charge you with a duty" the partition spoke, its tone shifting to a far more serious one "First it is imperative you know I will not force you in any shape or form, I believe in free will as much as our friend up in his golden city so if you want to leave, I will not insist, be it now or after you heard my proposition" Hope tapped into a particular blessing Lucrezia had taught her, it flooded her body and she confirmed the entity was being honest, the reaction she was getting was something more primal rather than a God or Goddess being spooked. Not that the Divine wasn''t afraid but she wasn''t gonna be the one to say that out loud. "I''d like to hear it, I may be not able to help but I do have friends and acquaintances that could" Hope spoke and the Partition nodded. "This duty is a simple one but will require time and strength of will" it made a gesture with its hand "Deep in the mountain ranges of the north, realm of your friend. lies a part of me-us- who decided to go against itself, a great battle ensured and now it remains there, waiting to die" Not fighting the Partition''s leftover was a good sign Hope thought to herself seeing where this was going "You wish me to bring it back to the fold, stop it from killing itself via words and reason?" The alien nodded "Yes, sharp as a knife you are, it will not fight, not after the battle we had" It smiled again, this time not as creepy "Thank you, Hope others tried but they all failed, may your name grant me strength to see one of us back into the fold again" And then it was gone, and no one in the bakery even noticed, powerful stealth magicks at work no doubt. She could use those for something Hope thought to herself and cranked the valve to the max in her All-Father Blessing, caughting the spell the entity used nearly made her black out but it was there! Hope smiled to herself as the wave of pleasure rode her body. As good as a passionate night with her beloved.
"You need to drill through the range? for a wayward Partition of the Hivemind?" Lucrezia asked from her study, neck deep in paperwork, her maid appeared from the back of the room carrying food and tea, cold slices of meat and cheese. "Ohh I''ll be having that" the Duchess spoke as soon as she saw the food and began feasting, Hope laughed as she sipped on the tea, the food from the bakery still keeping her hungerless for the moment. "Right, the Hivemind asked for me in particular and tracked me down to a bakery in the city proper a few hours ago" Hope explained and her friend nodded "Surprised it took it that long to talk with you, but then again..." Lucrezia''s gaze went over a few papers, that had her personal seal on them. "The drill and staff can be deployed in 2 days, the staff needs to hall it back to the south edge of the range" Lucrezia tapped her fingers and a rendition of the mountains appeared from thin air, a red dot flashing at the base "This is the drill and you, now we haven''t found any abnormal readings in the entire region so it''s likely that the Partition is in some sort of hibernation state" Hope nodded "You coming with me?" "I can''t dear, I am positively swamped with work that binds me to this hellish table and chair" Lucrezia smiled, it felt warm in the oddly cold room "Here, catch" she threw a disc in a smooth arc towards Hope, catching it mid-air wasn''t hard as she flipped the disc and saw House Wulfgren''s sigil on it "A friend of the duchy, this oughta smooth anything with locals, my people are hardy but take their time to trust outsiders" there was fondness in her voice and longing. Saa''Ryu piped in "I''ll send a message to Idun and the Council, they will want to welcome Lady Hope personally and deal with preparations for the operation" Lucrezia nodded as the maid left the room. "I''d advice packing heavy winter gear, the cold up there is brutal" Lucrezia smiled "Unlike this breeze down here in the south" The wind picked up as if the Spirits themselves had heard her, and knowing what Hope knew, maybe they did. Hope sat down in one of the chairs around the study "Wish you could go you know" She was testing the waters, seeing how Lucrezia would react to a not-so-subtle display of affection. "Christ First Richard, now you? Is everyone trying to get into my pants?" Hope barely caught that first word, it sounded incredibly alien "Look I got to deal with some personal stuff first Hope, then well, then we''ll talk ok?" Hope''s face flushed red "H-how did you know?" before realizing the obvious. "Yes dear, Lady Saal''Xhir also blessed me in case you forgot" Lucrezia laughed "Anything else? Or if you wanna just hang out in comfortable silence you can stay" to which Saa''ryu said from the back "Silence? you talk to yourself too much for that you lunatic, at least someone else will reply to you today" Hope laughed as Lucrezia did a pinching hand gesture, likely meaning she was not pleased with her maid. "It''s true" she whispered to Hope "Bad habit sadly, it won''t go away"
A small forward operating base bustled with vigor and shouts, as the winds howled fiercely around them, upwards a great mountain range that led all the way to the neighboring countries unfolded itself to Hope. She saw great eagles up in the clouds, wolves made out of pure ice in the ground and every once in a while the whispers of Winter Spirits delighting themselves in what was to her one of the worst blizzards she had ever seen in her entire life. "...You get used to it..." Hope spoke as the cold made her bones shiver, even after being under layers of cloth and wool "Bloody lie that was" as she walked towards the big group of workers who were hammering nails, casting spells, and all around doing Magi-Tech stuff. Getting this small army was so easy Hope was wondering if there was a plan to drill through this range before she asked, and they were eager too, smiles, jests, and cheers could be seen and heard all around, once she started helping them with the effort (to starve off the cold) they grew bolder, often singing or just humming as every hand on the proverbial deck was put to work. Forgemaster Idun approached her, the dwarf had taken a liking to Hope in the short time they had spent together, teaching her many intricate Magi-Tech spells and miracles, a veritable trove of knowledge. "Chief, How can I help?" Hope asked and he smiled "I am glad you asked miss, we have a few outside Winter Spirits mucking around the tracks, can you talk with em, and see if they can scamper off somewhere else? Also, are we expecting a fight to break out with the Partition?" Hope sighed "Nope, much as I want to fight something that strong I won''t risk it, and from what I was told, this is a self-imposed exile by the Entity" She nodded her head "I reckon Lu wouldn''t want me to level a chunk of her mountain range haha" a part of her knew Lucrezia would probably make open pit mines if that happened, the woman had a knack to getting profits outta thin air! Idun rubbed his beard "Would upset the druids, they have projects for wildlife up in these parts" he pointed to a particular peak "The Fair Lady scored Thunderbird pairs for those peaks you see" Hope turned around and saw a distinct azure cloud in one of the peaks "Emperium gave em, as a gesture of goodwill for the fighting you lot did" Hope smiled, she had seen a carcass of an elder thunderbird once, the size of a small villa, her father had spent 3 weeks tracking the thing and the fight lasted nearly 3 hours! "Amazing" Hope whistled "Well I''m off to deal with those spirits, if anything happens call me via the radio!" Chapter 75: A pit of Dead Snakes "The Imperium, under the rule of its 5th Empress spearheaded a revolution when it came to the care of their rank and file, from the lowest conscript to the mightiest of generals, Early in her rule she discovered an important weak link in the armed forces: That of Mental and Soul wellbeing, In this time we will learn her story, how she convinced the men and women under her rule and how the Silent Soldier aided her efforts..." Story of the Imperium, 2nd volume, third edition. Hope slept a dreamless sleep as the dull sounds of the drill droned over her, the workers worked, Idun barking orders every once in a while as her mind delved deep into itself, at the crossroads of this mental palace she had built together with Arthur she saw a splendid sun in the skies, a physical manifestation of the All-Father''s power bestowed upon her, squinting her eyes she saw minor suns, vying for its attention. Or its power. Her feet sank into deep red sand, as a sea of purple and red water crashed against the beach, she had been deep into those waters once, it felt like a lifetime ago but she remembered as clearly as if it was yesterday. Hope feared this encounter with the Partition would be one of wit instead of might, under the sun of the All-Father and the sea breeze of the Rage she meditated, Hoping this deep state she was in would clear her mind for the task ahead. Her mind instead wandered around the Palace, feeling the Ties that bound her to the people she came to care, to love, another important piece of magic that Arthur taught to her mid-throes of love, the memory made her blush as his Tie flashed red, she could picture him smiling from the palace, no doubt busy with Royal nonsense. She tried centering herself again, deep breaths to focus as the wanderlust died, she figured something must''ve worked because within seconds her mind was blank, and thus Hope stood in deep meditation for hours inside of her mind. The riddle, she thought as soon as she woke up and saw the workers doing their tasks as the drill did its job, was not manageable but not insurmountable either, something must''ve done terrible damage to the sole point where the Hivemind''s partition was weak. It''s a singular mind. Mind magic, nasty and evil by most people had its uses on both sides of the moral coin, but surely something as ancient and powerful as the Hivemind, whose power was equal to the All-Father himself would make sure to set up contingencies for, fall back plans and such. "Or maybe not" Hope spoke out loud and Idun threw her a questioning glance. "Ah forgive me, Master Idun, I was trying to solve the "riddle" that is this entire endeavor, why did the Hivemind choose me I can safely say its because of my ties to the All-Father, but do I have the right skills for it? If this is indeed a self-imposed exile, would a mere mortal, powerful or otherwise get something out of it?" Idun rubbed his beard "Ancient Dwarves tell tales of master forgers who after delivering their life works, or masterpieces would fall into a deeply reflective mood, at the best of times, or fall for the sickness of the mind and soul, forsake food and drink, care for their bodies and beard" he nodded "Soldiers who go through horrifying affairs, survivors of great catastrophes and the like also can suffer from it" "Your friend, the Arch-Duke''s daughter has that shadow over her, the dragon artifact worked its magic but the shadow remains" Idun continued "If this is not a contest of Might, then you can do something, maybe inspire, or embolden the Partition" he laughed "At the worst of cases, make it mad enough to come out of its imposed exile" Hope sighed, her face letting it show the myriad of emotions and thoughts running through her head. "Why would the Hivemind not equip its partition with the necessary defenses against it you wonder? maybe it wants to know that kind of existential nightmare only a mortal can suffer, maybe it didn''t know about it, or maybe this is a horrible coincidence that somehow sidestepped all of its preparations" Idun finished and left Hope to ponder on the issue, the Partition had said others failed but had not died so she could hopefully rule out combat. But what did she know about taking care of someone who''s with such a malady of the mind and soul? could she muster the wit and words to shake the thing off its somber reverie? She might have bitten more than she could chew on this one... Ack! If only Lucrezia was here! She would know, the woman knew everything under this godsdamned sun...Hope felt the emotions rise again, it had been a long while since she last felt this frustrated, but she focused again and recalled what her parents had said once. "One step after the other, walk, listen, pay attention, then act" And so she did, praying to whatever god could listen to her under an entire mountain range she wasn''t about to unearth an apocalypse.
They reached a threshold, where dull rock made way for an impressive display of architecture, alien in more than one way. Idun started to cast a spell as others joined him, the entire ground beneath their feet shone blue, then purple, and then black. "Blessed the land is, Under Raa''Tyrius, Saal''Xhir, and Velkarius" Idun spoke in prayer and others replied "Blessed be the land" Hope joined in, she knew after all those 3 were the most vital pillars that helped Lucrezia retake her Duchy... "Anyone wants to come with me?" She spoke and laughs erupted from the crew as one of the dwarven guards spoke "I am afraid Missy, that this is a Solo Endeavor" He spoke weirdly in an accent that Hope couldn''t place anywhere. "This was done with magic" Idun spoke to Hope as she prepared her gear, Sword and Shield strapped, and enough delving Magi-Tech devices to make sure she could tunnel her way back. From the other side of the mountain range if need be. "Yeah, I can sense it in the air, this must''ve been one of the readings you people picked up" Hope kneeled and sweep two fingers in the ground, not a speck of dust in them when she raised her hand "Clean too, the Partition is still deploying its mana for upkeep" Idun nodded and called for another dwarf, who was carrying a series of triangle-shaped silvery objects "These are comm buoys, deploy them as you make your way towards the Partition and we should be able to hear anything you send, and deploy a rescue team if need be, assuming the damn thing doesn''t cave us in" Hope took the discs and placed them in her backpack, which itself was a dimensional storage device, shaped like a hiker''s backpack because well because she liked th aesthetics of it. Something most of her friends was baffled at but not Lucrezia, the woman nodded with pride when Hope asked for it. And then she was off, bidding farewells to Idun and the team, and setting up a deadline of 3 days, in case anything happened. Idun was happy to know Hope had been schooled in such matters by her parents, breaching the inner sanctum of the Partition Hope felt a pulse of energy coming from deep below and followed it, Hoping nothing bad would happen in the way. The buoys worked wonders as she deployed them every hour, there was no need for light as bright purple flames illuminated the halls and tombs she went through, a theme the Hivemind seemed to enjoy from what she knew about it. A few hours had gone by, Hope found a strange simulacrum of a forest, beasts, and birds flew past her like illusions, she sat down in a clearing, overlooking a great expanse of verdant woods, snow gently falling from the skies, a fantastic view and perfect place to take a rest. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! "...Contact...Established" the weird voice spoke from the Magi-Tech device "...Hope! it''s been a few hours, we haven''t detected anything on our end here, everything alright?" Idun''s voice blared from the device. "All clear so far, it''s been mostly hallways and tombs, but I am now in some sort of Illusionary Forest, a colder climate as well" She looked up "No sun, I''ll be taking a small break for food so I decided to give you an update" Hope unpacked her rations, and brewed a pot of coffee as the unnatural forest went on, as she began eating she felt eyes on her, something or someone was watching her eat and drink. The Partition? She couldn''t be sure, so in a move that would be called dumb at the best of times she decided to call it out "Whoever or whatever is watching me, come out if you so wish, I mean no harm" Nothing happened, Hope nearly dropped her guard when a voice spoke near her ear. "Be gone, I do not wish to be disturbed" And it was gone, there was no ill intent there, just a deep sense of tiredness and...nothing else, empty even. Hope got up and looked around, the food in her hand got cold as she warmed herself near the fire she had made beforehand. "This will not be easy, I could feel its power by its voice alone..." she spoke to herself before smiling at the scene "Guess I am also losing it eh Lu?" eating the food was fast, no more ghostly voices in the wind to distract her after all. Walking was not easy this time, the thing was making an effort to stall her as much as it could, yet no violence came from its efforts, tricks, and traps. plenty. puzzles and mazes? we got them too! It was a very weird and well unique experience, Hope seldom met problems that couldn''t be fixed with a strong swing of her sword, or depleting half her mana pool into it, violence as her parents said, made for a fast and effective hammer to life many nails. "Easy to see everything as a nail," Hope said as she finished a 5-way puzzle where she had to slot tiles so that matches some sort of musical pattern, it felt good putting her brain to work like this, it felt like magic lessons from Kaine, except he wasn''t here to tie it all together in a way it felt Hope was getting better at magic. Out of everyone, Kaine was the one who taught her the most when the topic was the arcane, a natural extension of his and Arthur''s in-depth research and studies of the magical forces that were around them, Lucrezia''s teachings were more around how to maximize the usage of her blessing, but it was Kaine that gave depth to some of the insanely powerful magic Lucrezia threw at Hope like it was nothing. Often Kaine would speak about those, calling Lucrezia reckless but always in a praising tone, his girlfriend had a glim in her eyes as all of them learned these spells, those memories made her smile as she walked through the maze she was currently in. A gust of wind to her left side told her the Partition was nearby again, or whatever it used to watch her. "Stop," the wind said and Hope did so, not wanting to piss the thing off more "Will you not cease? not go away?" Hope shrugged "No, I have a mission and I will complete it, but I do not wish to use violence" The wind surged and danced around her "Yes, yes violence would do you naught here, powerful as you are I could just run away, others came and dispatching them was way easier, you on the other hand, not so easy" The wind became fierce "A talk then if you complete this last puzzle"
Hope was facing the spirits she had to talk down at the start of her journey in these cold lands, the sole natives of this world she was born were solitary and sad, at least the wintery ones. What she did find out was that every single seasonal spirit felt that way, Winter was the one who were proud to show the world how sad they were, of course with the Returnal of the last Ancientt their mood had improved but the Spirits were hardly a cohesive unit of people, many in the Capital feared and resented Hope''s professor. 3 Spirits of Winter sat down upon the road her drill needed to get past, their faces mimicking that of elves and Dragonkin, they stared at each other in silence until Hope neared them, feeling no ill intent from the group she sat down as well, and stared at the one facing her. "Greetings daughter of Faal, inheritor of the world" It spoke, cold winds picking up as it did making Hope shiver "For what reason do you disturb us so? these forests and hills are silent, which pleases us much until your machine came" It pointed to the drill. Another spirit spoke, a very feminine voice sung in Hope''s ears "Seek not the one hiding in these hills, It does not want to be disturbed, it only seeks solitude and peace of mind" The others nodded in agreement. Hope''s mind was ablaze, then it snapped into place "This is a playback of my memories" She touched one of the spirits and her hand passed through its body "A puzzle out of my own mind? Arthur would''ve liked you, he is fond of these sorts of magics and plays" Unsaid was the fact they were less than wholesome, or appropriate to a being who was clearly in emotional distress. Hope doubted their fantasies would do anything to aid in her quest now. Focusing on the Drill she found the spell, or whatever the Partition had cast stopped working, so she focused on the Spirits, who in the real world only had asked what was going on and then gave her passage, not really caring about her quest. "The Hivemind asked for me to reach out, and see what was happening with its missing part, I felt it was only right to help it" She spoke and the spirits laughed "Foolish child of Faal, what the Whole wants is anything but" Ah yes, Lucrezia had told her of this, the Partition referred to its greater part as the Whole, nested in its bizarre country granted by the All-Father, Hope wanted to visit that place one day, and see its wonders. Hope''s vision went dark, and then an unfamiliar place appeared around her, a hall not unlike that of the Capital''s palace, but adorned with pelts of animals from the north, in the middle of it a throne made out of ice and crystal. "Lucrezia''s throne room?" she was sure it didn''t look this grand, and it was missing the Magi-Tech artifacts she knew the woman would put around. Yet someone sat upon that ghastly throne. It was Lucrezia, but not the wise and charismatic woman Hope knew and loved, nor the dork who spent too much time cooking for Richard and was too much of a prude to act her feelings, this Lucrezia was evil, she had the stare Arthur often spoke about, that of a Noble who hated having to play pretend with peasants. Cold, harsh, evil. "It displeases you, this visage of the one you care for" the facsimile of Lucrezia spoke, her voice low and foreboding, but know this, this is mine -her- true nature! the evil humans hide deep inside their hearts" "Once day you will face it, and be forced to commit the ultimate sacrifice!" Darkness came once again, Hope was shaken by the Partition''s words because something, something very deep inside of her knew it was true, one day she would face Lucrezia in a battle, or have a confrontation that would test their friendship, and she feared it. She did not want to lose a dear friend, or a loved one, but something told her that Lucrezia also knew this, the way she spoke and acted, the intonation of her words, and the movement of her body. And so Hope found herself staring at her old room, sat upon her bed was the Partition''s version of her, eyes full of sadness and regret and slouched posture reminded her of her time before the Academy, of zero friendships and distancing herself from the world? or something like that. Hope sat down beside her clone, her mind racing to snap the puzzle in place, then it clicked; change, this part of the Hivemind feared change, so much it went into exile instead of returning to the fold, a most primal of fear for regular people, for change brought much grief and worst of all, the possibility of being changed to its very core, learning, improving, failing. "A pit of snakes Hope, dead snakes who came to this world to die, and yet they cling to life, as the Whole, as the Few" Her own voice sounded strange to her ears but the age behind those words made Hope get goosebumps. "Damn Faal and his will to live! Damn him!" the Partition ran its fingers up its face and into the hairline. Hope then got the full picture of this bizarre and yet very human quest. In walking the world and learning, thus growing and changing as its own person, this particular partition came to loath this will to live, the drive to strive as her mother once explained, that Faal as the God of Free Will instilled in its creations, as it was bestowed to him by his own Divine Parents, but unlike a blessing which demands an exchange, Faal was far more democratic with this Will. "Free for everyone, to the lowest of slaves to the highest of Gods" Hope repeated the words her mother said and the Partition, still taking her image whimpered in defeat "A curse, we, I wanted to die!" Hope felt at a loss for words, what could she say to something that was older than the stars of her planet? Then another click, she didn''t need to actually say anything! but she could listen, she could empathize with it!" Sometimes people just want to vent, to be heard, and to feel they matter Arthur''s voice soothered her fears as Hope got closer to the Partition and held its hand, it felt like a normal human hand, warm to the touch. It spoke at length, of its fears and hopes, of the travels across the cosmos and realities, and when it was done it smiled. Hope didn''t know if she had succeeded in her mission, but the Partition did bestow her with a parting gift, a small cross-like totem "It will help in the trials to come, keep it on you at all times" The workers and Idun cheered when she came back, and bar a debriefing at Lucrezia''s castle (Where she went to check on the real throne room) the rest of the trip was uneventful, she was back to the capital before sundown and met with the Partition that gave her the quest. "The Promised One returns, we would like to thank you for saving our lost sibling from itself, it has established contact again and...well that''s that I''m afraid" Its smile no longer crept Hope "For you" the Partition materialized a spear made out of stranger rock like minerals "Made to kill Gods, may it help you in the future" Chapter 76: Beast of Winter "...As favored children of the All-Mother, Dragons enjoy a far more robust connection to the laws that bind the world and its magic, while we know of many who acted as brave warriors for the All-Father''s armies across the cosmos, we also know of those who live among His children, imparting knowledge and power in equal measure, some even falling in love with mortals, leading to the creation of Dragonkin...In this tome, we will begin the journey that many mages from ages past started on how to tame and use this Draconic Essence to empower oneself, be it with powerful summoned entities like the almighty Pheonix of the Red Deserts, or the Two-Legged Abyss Jackal of the Principality" Dragons and their Power, a Primer for Mages and Ki Cultivators Volume 4. Lucrezia was in the middle of an unnatural blizzard that raged in the capital, partly thanks to her and Hope who had broken a truce with the Summer Spirits in charge of the land and let the Winter ones roam free. The Spirits sang around her, and her mana replied back as she leaped and floated in the air, dodging the projectiles Kaine was lobbing at her with deadly precision, if one of those landed she would be in for a rough afternoon! "Lucrezia for goodness sake do not waste mana like that!" he muttered a spell and she nearly fell onto the ground "See! you aren''t a Mana Fountain woman, optimization should be important not Flair!" Lucrezia sighed, landed, and sat down on the soft snow The better part had a flair for the dramatic and I can''t help it! "Alright Kaine, what do you have in mind then? I may be gifted but I am no Hope with a Greater Magic Blessing..." Kaine floated towards her, a nasty smile on his face as he said "No excuses, You called me here in the middle of my weekly attunement rituals, very important rituals mind you to appease our friend up in the skies" "Is Gwennarius still giving you grief?" Lucrezia asked as she got up and the young man nodded "Plenty, she doesn''t like Hope can just assert control over parts of the River of Time, nor the fact you of all people have knowledge only she is privy to about the mechanics in place, but that''s neither here nor there, stand firm and tall Lucrezia" She did so as Kaine''s voice grew in power "Turn your mind''s eye inwards, feel the elements who blessed you run across your mana channels, each node of power has its tune, its song, listen to them and breathe" Letting his power wash over her, Lucrezia turned her mind inwards and focused down as her mana flowed through her entire body, from the top of her head all the way to the toes, cycling in a perpetual motion, Her focus grew sharper and she could see the strands of her hair shine with mana, yet dark spots appeared across her chest and hands, they flared with an unnatural glow. "The Rage makes sense given you can only reach the Shallow-Walker stage" Kaine nodded "Focus again, this will take a few tries but we will need to tune both the Rage and Your Internal Mana Supplies" "A song" Lucrezia spoke and Kaine nodded "Indeed, Music is the best way to do it, alas I am no musician nor do we have Hope here to hijack a blessing, so you will need to come up with something, a good thing you are quite good at it" he nodded with a bit of pride in his voice. "Is that pride I hear Kaine?" Lucrezia teased him a bit, the mage laughed "What can I say? A friend of mine makes the best songs the realm has seen in ages, it does make me feel a bit prideful" Lucrezia focused again, her mind flaring as two distinct memories came and a tune was born of them, the first from her childhood as she for the first time in her life heard the winds outside the palace howl together with a mighty winter blizzard. The second came from Terra, as her Better Half sat on a porch alone, the metal chimes up in the beams playing a lonely tune for him, she focused on both and with a bit of brainstorming came up with a song. "Your elements sing their tune, one complements the other" Kaine nodded "Now comes the hard part, as a Shallow-Walker the Rage will not want to cooperate with the Mana born out of the All-Father, the other two stages can brute force it to do so but you will have to fine-tune the Rage''s own song to match yours, tricking it essentially to optimize mana usage" Lucrezia closed her eyes and found herself in the Shallows of the sea, there were many an instrument from this world and from Terra, many a style and unique ways to express one''s rage, one''s anger. Every style she tried failed, she could feel the Rage-that-Dwells reject it in contempt, the waves crashed against her ankles as if to mock her and so she turned her mind to the stolen memories of William. "Wrathful...Primal...Unrelenting..." With which word a song came to her mind, the droning of synthetic waves that build into ancient drumming from the ancient people of Tera, and screams a billion, trillion voices of every being that lived lives, and will be born in that cursed rock floating in space, Rage distilled to the very essence of its people, Anathema to all that was good and kind across the cosmos. A song was born, and as Lucrezia''s mind played its macabre tune the waves churned and crashed against the shore, on the Horizon''s edge she saw a twisted face her face smiling with canine teeth flashing pure ivory. "Lucrezia!" Kaine held her in his arms "Godsdamned woman, you nearly died!" she opened her eyes in confusion and said, "What are you on about, it only took..." She watched as the sun was starting to set "Oh..." "Hours and your Vitals dropped like a rock in the past 5 minutes, I had to cast a number of Healing Spells on you" Kaine sat her down "Wait" he cast more spells that washed over her "All Fine now, minus a deficit on your total Mana, and I can feel the circuits inside you more clearly now, the Rage is no longer denying the Mana" "I am sorry Kaine, I did not mean to make you worry" he waved her off "Don''t think about it, I had to deal with stuff similar to this in the past, but at least the first part of the training worked so congratulations my friend, now get up, we have formulas to learn" Lucrezia did so as Kaine cast a spell that refreshed her "Convenient" she said and he smiled. "Now, Blessings" He tapped his finger into his staff "Lacking any magical one to increase your pool we will have to make do with All-Mothers, a dangerous proposition as I am sure you know, I do not wish to anger the Goddess after all" "Velkarius?" Lucrezia asked, the Goddess did dabble on many a magic after all. "Ah, a good choice but the Lady of Vengeance is locked squarely into elements that would not work with this generalist approach we are taking with you" he nodded "But once we get through this I can see if I make a more focused course with her special brand of magic" Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. "With the All-Mother blessing, if my calculations are right we should be able to give your soul a false boost of mana capacity" Kaine clicked his tongue as an illusion of Lucrezia''s body appeared "This is your soul now, the latest scan shows that all the pathways are cleared of Rage influence" he pointed to them as he kept talking "Now we just need to enable the boost from the blessing" "As you also know, that is exclusive to dragons and dragons only, a way to even the odds for their younger shock troops I reckon, but given your special relationship with Kallista, and the blessing itself this should be possible" Lucrezia hummed "It''s not like you to bet on a should Kaine" He nodded "Yes, the math is right but with Gods, and ones as powerful as the literal ruler of the universe we are in math and rules become more of a poorly kept guideline" Lucrezia got a good gulp of air in her lungs "Let''s do it" Lucrezia closed her eyes, and focused her entire being on the Great Blessing that flared upon her back, asking for its power was a simple thing she felt, almost like the Blessing itself wanted to test her with it. "It''s working, a bit too fast, All-Mother must''ve put that in then, she wants to test you" Kaine echoed her thoughts "Full Blast it, see how it flows" Lucrezia felt her toes curl as pleasure hit her straight in the brain. Red of face and holding a mighty moan the woman felt Saal''Xhir''s blessing interfacing with All-Mother''s, she bit her lips as the heat went up to her ears, Kaine had a particular expression on his face, as if he was calculating what the hell was going on. "Please" Lucrezia whispered to her Greater Blessing, the sheer stimulus was too much for her as every mental exercise she knew was deployed to keep her shit together at this critical juncture. There was no response from Saal''Xhir as Lucrezia stood there stiff as a spear, a battle of will versus base needs ensured and she did her best to endure the trial, on top of pushing her other blessing to its utmost potential. Lucrezia felt like she was drowning, a force invisible to the eye barring her from whatever was beyond it, At first, she tried smashing it, throwing her power like a hammer but it proved ineffective, she grunted in rage and frustration. Then she tried a more focused approach, The force had its weak spots, she felt them with pokes and probes carefully at first, then when she found the weakest link she punched it with all her remaining might. A crack formed, and she was back in the real world, Kaine looked deep in thought at first before smiling "It worked, but I know not why Saal''Xhir decided to interfere with the process, You sure are beloved by the Divines Lucrezia" Lucrezia laughed "Blessed, yeah sure we can go with that" she tried to take a few steps but nearly fell down "I can feel the new reserved of raw arcane being filtered, and it feels off somehow, False indeed" Kaine nodded "Aye, It will take some exercising, mathematically and physically exercises should be enough to remove that feeling from your mind in time" he walked closer and held Lucrezia''s arm "Hold on tight" In a flash they were standing inside one of the many rooms the castle in the Fields had "Sit down, the dizziness should wear off shortly" Lucrezia did as so and Kaine went on pulling many books, parchments of fine paper and skin, and empty wands "Now I am a firm believer of applied education, learning the theory is good and all but we learn better if we can see progress in real-time and know where our shortcomings are" "Off we go then" Lucrezia said with a grimace and off they went, learning math only Kaine and his parents were privy to, she felt a weird sense of resentment against the numbers before realizing this was bleeding off from her better part. Ill likes math she thought to herself as the calculations and theories were quickly put to practical test, both on the papers in the form of magical scrolls and in the wands. Lucrezia quickly learned where her skill ended when that part started. "I wanna say this is a first, but it''s far more common than you imagine" Kaine sighed "Too much output, dense concentrations of mana that make tunning spells a nightmare" he sighed. "Your father is a specialist on this, isn''t he?" Lucrezia said and Kaine nearly jumped "Ah! How did you...of course you know" he paced around the room "Yes, the old man quite literally wrote the books we are using today, not for dearest sister or me, but for a select number of noble scions who while having regular mana quantities for their noble lines, had an issue of just overcharging the shit of every spell they cast" "Getting flashbacks from those days?" Lucrezia asked and Kaine nodded "One too many haughty noble kids needing to be yelled at, Forgive me let us resume this training shall we?"
And so they did, Lucrezia wrote what Kaine told her to write, shaped and weaved the arcane the way he said she should do it, and did so much math she felt her brain was about to combust into arcane fire, Saa''Ryu dropped by when night fell, food and coffee on her to boost her Lady''s attention, a small break was had with Kaede also dropping by to check on her boyfriend. Afterward, they kept at it well into the night as Lucrezia''s blessing of the All-Mother flexed its divine muscles and fully let her take control of the mana reserves added to her, combined with her newly minted skill of manipulation and fine-tuning of the arcane, progress was visible by the minute, something that left Kaine visibly shaken as he took a small break to pour himself more coffee. "Impossible, Impressive, only..." he muttered under the cup as his hand raced across the notebook, calculations flowing from his mind into paper in such a smooth motion Lucrezia wanted to call it an art form rather than Mathematics, then she recalled a curious trivia from the Elven Principality, they did have art that used numbers like this! but she didn''t recall Kaine being adept at it! or any form of Artistic endeavor really. He looked up with a puzzled face before noticing Lucrezia''s gaze "Ah, this? A hobby dearest Kaede taught me this past month, from the Principality I believe" he smiled at the mention of the Kitsune "It helps soothe the mind and soul, balancing the mana flow of the person that is sufficiently skilled at it and also being incredibly pleasant to the eyes, while I was never much of an artist I always found a..." his voice trailed off. "Beauty in the numbers?" Lucrezia finished his thought as the young man nodded "Ah so this is how those 3 feel whenever you do your thing on them, and here I thought I was used to it given our shared history, but yes math is the language of reality, so she had me learn it and now I do it to focus on particularly difficulty tasks...but I have a feeling you know something else about it" Sharp as ever. Lucrezia pulled a plain crystal from her person "A standard mana crystal, but with no charge and still intact" Kaine nodded "Hard to do that, need a special forge and skilled people on it" "Charge with Temporal Energies," Lucrezia said and Kaine did so, the crystal hummed as he blessed it with Gwenariu''s powers "Now do the calculations necessary for a Haste Miracle but using the Elven method" Lucrezia explained and the young man started immediately, the crystal glowed with a strong intensity, and then hummed a tune akin to a bird''s call. It was the Call of River Dove, an ancient bird said to nest at the end of the river of time, a symbol of Gwenariu''s most loyal followers who would literally follow their Goddess to the end of times, together with her in the grim work that would follow the end, said work was a reset of cosmic scale, approved by the All-Father of course but the one doing it would be her and her alone. Kaine sat down, his face betraying many emotions as he took an entire minute to compose himself "For once that bloody Goddess is pleased, really out of everything we tried to please or even humor her, fancy scribbling? Divines I swear..." Kaine composed himself again and continued "Thank you, my friend, I''ll make sure the would-be priests of Gwenarius are trained on this, What is a religion without a ritual or morning prayer, Let''s get back to work" And so they did, until the sun rose again and Kaine called it off, Training would continue along the week he said and Lucrezia was glad he could keep helping her like this, Wanting to test her newfound optimized powers, she saw the early birds of the Academy made their way through light snowfall towards the Fields as she found a nice empty flat piece of deserted land. Red Lighting, Iron Spires was a combo William was fond of, it sucked up a ton of mana but her better half loved the show and spectacle of it, so with concentration that would earn her an arrow to the head, or a sword blade to the belly she focused on the minerals on the ground, where William''s spirals tended to be grotesque and showy she got perfectly or at least good enough iron rods from the ground, thin and tall, unlike the earlier renditions. "Come, Levin of Crimson" A red bolt of lighting hammered itself to the ground, it was like a missile, Lucrezia felt her mana drain considerably but not as badly as before, She smiled and dismissed the Iron Rods, turning her hand clockwise. In a few more weeks she would be able to fully optimize her power! the enemies in the shadows would come in time, she knew that. And she would be ready. Chapter 77: Fury of the Unnamed "A distant light shone in the skies that day, rising ever upwards towards the pale blue above our heads, people cheered across the duchy as the monumental effort and collaboration of the entire realm born fruit that day" Anonymous Journal. Another snowstorm blessed the Academy''s students and staff as Lucrezia made her way to the cafeteria with a smile on her face, The cold made her fingers tingle with delight and her cheeks were red with excitement, Saa''ryu was cursing by her side as the maid had to wear her winter gear "Bloody Winter Spirits, this is the south and they still manage to knock the temperature down this hard" "Worry not dear, a few more days and the weather will clear up" Lucrezia had a grim on her face, the negotiations with the Summer and Autumn spirits who came to petition that their season would be more enforced were a good time, it felt like a big family reunion for the Spirits, with many of them visiting the Ancient in the Academy to pay respects to the woman. "I can feel the extra mana you have now you know? it is almost like a mage shield" Saa''ryu said after a while "A very unique thing to counter in my line of work, We had to dispatch a few individuals with powers similar to it, not on the same level of course thank the bloody gods but still, there''s more than a mana boost and better control of the arcane to it, you would be wise to learn it" The maid nodded with a solemn look on her face to make sure Lucrezia understood, With a smile the young duchess made sure she got the message across to her dependable maid as they breached the threshold of the cafeteria. Noise, laughter, and cheers all around the two women as life went on for the many students of the Academy, Lucrezia got into the food line and made her plate full to the brim with plenty of bread, cheese, and a bowl of hot soup, Coffee and Orange juice, and an actual pint of mead which earned her a curious look from Saa''ryu. "It''s been a while" Lucrezia explained as she found her usual table deserted. "Hope, Richard, and Arthur went to the Orc''s capital can you believe it?" Lucrezia said as the two started eating "I got the news from him last night, he sounded excited about it, I do wonder though, how Arthur and Hope will deal with the many cultural quicks the Orcs have, I hope they heeded our Prince''s lessons..." Saa''ryu nodded as she ate shellfish that looked to be made out of pure magma. "...Now I wouldn''t worry, given our man has their Goddess''s blessing but Hope is also there, I don''t wanna see a mad orc priest getting upset if she does get the blessing via her powers" The maid took a big swig of cold water "Ack these are too mild, should''ve taken more spice bottles from the kitchen...anyway there''s no need to worry Lu, let them enjoy this short vacation" As Lucrezia ate her food she was greeted by friends and students alike, one of her classmates decided to plop her plate on the table, a small greeting escaping her lips as Lucrezia smiled with mirth in her lips, Ah Raffa Ironheart was back! no doubt feeling incredibly tired from having to deal with her little band of heretics, Lucrezia pushed her coffee toward the young woman "Looks like you need it" Ironheart scowled "Your vile drink is the most vexing thing I have consumed in a while, no matter how much sugar and milk I pour it tastes as bitter as the fish from the Dynasty and yet one can''t deny its perks, once I had half a pint of the stuff and while I wanted to leap into the long queue due to the taste, I was awake enough for the test that this Hellish Academy imposed at the time" She drank the cup and her face went from red, to green all the way to yellow and back "Devils and Demons curse you, do you drink this raw? what is wrong with you woman, Gods I hope Richard puts some sense in you when you two marry" Saa''ryu stared the woman down "What? you know the two of them will do it, bah whatever, if your Lady isn''t ready to be honest with her feelings I will not be the one to prod her" Raffa coughed "Lucrezia, I heard our star woman drilled a hole through a mountain range the size of a small country with some of your dwarves and technology, a more robust version of the one that was used in the Fields" The young woman looked like she was just talking idly gossip but Lucrezia could see she was trying her best to hide the fact she was very uncomfortable with this line of conversation. "Aye, she did my friend" Lucrezia spoke "On a quest by the Hivemind if you can believe it, she even won a powerful weapon out of the whole ordeal, I gotta spend a month on research and development to get something that can graze gods and she wins a spear that kills the bastards outright, I''d call it unfair but then again she is no God hating heretic or lunatic" Raffa nodded "When I was younger I often wanted to talk with one of its partitions, to learn more about the cosmos and the stars...Then I read the book one of them wrote about it and I was glad I never acted on those feelings" Lucrezia nodded, ah yes "Travel on the Seas of Dead Suns and Husk of Stars" penned by one of the Partitions was a favorite among mothers for horror stories. "One day I will take on such a voyage" Lucrezia spoke, her voice barely a whisper "To avenge the Spirits" Raffa got serious as she felt the conviction behind the words "Then I wish you good luck my friend, and that the All-Father bless your blade for the bloodletting that will follow" "Alas, Deicide" the word felt strong on Raffa''s lips "Is not the topic I wish to talk with you about on this fine day, I wanted to know more about the Magi-Tech apparatus you and Hope Used, the driller. I believe that was the name of it" she finished her cup of water to wash the butter taste of coffee down "I have interest in mining operations along the Grannariu''s border you see, winnings from the war and I wish to modernize the venture, my workers deserve the very best after all" Lucrezia nodded "Ironheart look after their own, kin or not" she spoke and Raffa''s face blossomed into a smile "Aye I can do that and more dear, as you know we also have an impressive mining operation going on at my home, Literally" Saa''ryu laughed "so a great number of our Magi-Tech research and Development goes to it, to the point some of the old-guard have started complaining the job got too easy" Raffa nodded "Aye we do, We have generations working there, people who the founding members of the clan saw and worked with as well" She made a gesture towards the ears as she ate more" "Elven and Dwarves both those old living bastards, I hope they don''t moan too much about the new gear, we really need to modernize the whole operation there to make it safer..." The women ate in silence for a while before Raffa spoke again "Still can''t believe you actually happed the Academy''s staff in the kitchen, Not many nobles would do that you know? Even if you got some divine piece of meat out of it" she laughed "Bloody hell it is cold today, you must be loving this weather I reckon, tell me do you miss your home Lucrezia? rumor around the Academy is that you are often fond of staring longly towards the north" Lucrezia cocked her head "Really? Gods I never noticed..." to which her maid smiled and said "Aye the little Lady misses her home something fierce, I told her people would notice the fact she was on the rooftops mid hail taking in the sights but she didn''t listen, now we have this" Lucrezia made a gesture "Oh shush you Saa, let the people say what they want it is no mystery I miss the cold of the north or my subjects and comrades in arms that are ruling the land in my stead, we went through fire and steel together, that as I am sure you know dear Raffa makes for strong bonds, friendships that will have your back at the direst of hours and moments" "And the cold, focus on the cold," Saa''ryu said and both she and Raffa laughed "Yes you bloody maid, I do miss the godsdamned cold, this muggy heat can get itself into a black hole for all I care, even if the Summer Spirits would give me grief for a month for saying this" Lucrezia huffed and puffed like a spoiled brat which made the two laugh more, one Student from another table spoke to them out loud "I agree with the Duchess, I don''t know how you southerners deal with this hellish heat and I have Demons in my family tree!" A debate ensued as Lucrezia basked in the weird glow of a debate about seasons and temperatures, A flashback from her better half took the wind out of her sails as she remembered the sister who often would stick up for her whenever the parents would...what did they do again? she sighed to shake off the dread that crept slowly through her back, to see her in those memories was still weird, wrong. Somedays she wondered what would''ve happened had William decided to take over, would he then see her memories like this? would he become more like her in the same way she was becoming more like him in some sort of soul balance? "I should get better in necromancy," Lucrezia thought to herself trying to shake her head out of this maze she often found herself in most of these days due to her feelings and urges she kept repressed and contained... Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. "Richard was right, you do look like you are in another world when you retreat to yourself like that" Raffa spoke as Lucrezia was shaken from her reverie "A most fascinating thing to witness let me tell you, how you frown and dart your eyes around while being totally ignorant of your surroundings, now returning to our-" a blur went by as Raffa nearly dunked her head into the bowl of soup in the table, a small girl with dark hairs nearly running towards the center of the Cafeteria "Hey! you! Watch where the fuck you are going or gods help me I will challenge you to single combat! Hey!" Raffa''s cries went unheard as the small girl was already lost in the middle of the sea of people. "What the bloody hells was that?" Raffa asked, Then Lucrezia heard a very particular sound, one she had hoped she would never ever hear ever since she had melded with William''s soul and memories. "Shit" Lucrezia said as she bolted toward the noise, there was a crowd forming as people started laughing or making surprised noises, the cleaning staff was moving together with Lucrezia as she shot an alarmed look towards them, the message was understood immediately as one of the cleaning ladies raised her hand to her ear and spoke "We have a potential situation on the Cafeteria" she waited for Lucrezia to explain as someone shouted from the crowd "Gods above she''s glowing!" Lucrezia felt her very soul quiver as she blasted every single blessing she had at full throttle, heads snapped towards her as she bellowed out "GET AS FAR AWAY AS POSSIBLE FROM IT, THAT IS A WEAPONIZED HEALING SPELL OF THE HIGHEST ORDER, YOU CALL THE DEAN TELL HIM WE HAVE DEMON''S SMILE ON OUR HANDS" Gasps of terror were heard as the cleaning staff halted their march, the woman who had her hand on her ear immediately relaying the information to the dean and the rest of the staff, Lucrezia turned to the one in charge of the team "Was the biological warfare protocol updated last summer yes or no?" the woman nodded gravely "Yes, but the..." Lucrezia shook her head, it was best that the previous incident was not spoken out loud. The small girl was floating in the middle of the pandemonium, her eyes glowing purple and red as she pointed her finger straight at Lucrezia "You whore! today will be the day I enact my vengeance upon you and this place, for stealing my beloved Arthur, for giving him away to that peasant girl! oh, how she will rue the day when she learns all that she loves dear will die an agonizing death! for this-" Amber shields flared across the entire section of the Academy that housed the cafeteria and beyond, A thunderous choir was heard as the Dean''s voice explained the situation to the panicked masses, anyone alive in the mortal coil knew how bad things got whenever weaponized healing magic or miracles were deployed, Lucrezia on the other hand was panicking for another reason. "This is a scrapped DLC scenario! god fucking damn it Jesus Joseph and fucking Mary! how did they even fix it ahh!" the sound of wailing and cursing filled the room as Lucrezias mind went into overdrive "Think you goddamn cunt, think! someone or something had the key for it I remember reading the fucking announcement and forum posts think!" The perpetrator was the daughter of a minor noble, Lady Amra Thesalor of House Thesalor, elven in the majority and with a knack for Healing magic and Finances, In the scrapped scenario she started as a serial killer before doing the big attack in the cafeteria, with the gimmick being getting a cure from someone who was fast dying in the place while keeping her at bay, as the woman had made sure she had nothing on her that could help the cure effort, the longer the player took, the more people fell to the sickness that would kill them the day afterward, with a game over being the total spread across the country Lucrezia didn''t wait, with an incantation that burned half the mana reserves she managed to piece the woman with a lance of crimson lighting, leaping towards her limp body that still floated, below the alchemical components that enabled her to spread the Demon''s Smile, one of the plagues employed against the their invasion a long time ago, now who had the cure... Another flex of her entire Blessing arsenal as she outright screamed to everyone in the room "Reclaimers! To me!" She heard shouts of agreement as half the place looked towards her "Clear the entire left wing of the Cafeteria, Drag whoever''s showing signs of the sickness towards it, and employ whatever pain-dampening spells and miracles you have, we will NOT die today" she shot a look towards Saa''ryu who immediately grabbed the dimensional storage she had and dumped two dozen spell rods on a table "Spell Rods for middle level healing magic and miracles, grab them!" "Ooh!" panic was replaced by militaristic order and zeal as Lucrezia''s and Richard''s army brought a volatile sense of security to the place, the staff personnel that was on site started following the orders as well, with the Dean''s voice blooming in their ears "If the woman can fix this mess then by all means" Lucrezia sucked in air as she saw Raffa and Saa''ryu cough blood, her own lungs also itching as she spilled a speck of blood into her hand. She felt a warm wind blow behind her back as Raffa aimed one of the rods at her "Lucrezia please tell me you can fix this mess" she spoke as more eyes were on her now that the woman who cursed them was dead, Lucrezia felt time slow down as she did her best to recall the memories, names and inane arguments on the game''s forum flying past her as she felt the sweat on her back grow cold. Sea, waves crashing upon the ancient shores of the Imperium, a pact forged in blood and soul with the rulers of the hellish realms down below in the spiritual world, the frontlines healers of the Kingdom of Vermilion and the Imperium when it came to sickness being used against their countries, a house as ancient as the stones of the capital palace of the Imperium. She felt the memory click, a huge blog post about the scrapped DLC''s storyline and mechanics, Her eyes shone with raw divine power as she rose up and said "Lord Mihaly of House Fairtide, to me!" A shout of surprise came from the entrance of the left wing, a young man barely 19 years old of age panicked as he felt the power coming from that shout, he nearly kneeled out of reflex as the power of the gods washed over him. Mihaly was not feeling good today, nevermind the fact a plague had just started mid-breakfast for him, The past week had him being hounded by feverish nightmares and odd warnings from his grandfather, of course, the family knew the old man was nearly delirious but this time, this time the man spoke with clarity and focus unheard by him in years, his voice a whisper on his mind as Lady Lucrezia floated towards him. "Evil comes boy, and it shall test you, and the entire house" Mihaly was not the strongest healer of his line, nor the best demon summoner but at least for him and his friends he was a well-meaning and hard-working man of House Fairtide. Lady Lucrezia landed and stared him down with an odd mixture of kindness and...curiosity in her eyes, it was like she was trying to puzzle him together in some esoteric way "Yes! Gods above that''s me" he spoke feeling the shakes in his arms. "IF Hope was here we could''ve fixed this the easy way" she spoke to him "With her blessing it would take a few minutes to learn the proper magical and holy rites to purge this without having to summon the High Demon bond to your House" his eyes went wide, the rumor was that Lady Lucrezia had an impeccable spy network, but this was something else, she waved him off "What I will ask of you today is no small thing, Mihaly I am prepared to pay in gold, technology, land, and even body if need be" he nodded, having a feeling where this was going. Evil came grandfather, and now we will be tested once again Mihaly thought to himself, he wasn''t the best, and the very best of the Academy was far far away to aid them now, and yet. Duty in Sacrifice, Honor in aiding those who in their direst hour will turn to us were the words his mom told him when he asked about the war against the elves, would he die today? he didn''t know. He did know he had to do something. "We can''t cure this" the woman looked almost panicked herself "But High Queen Calca''UR can" he froze up when he heard the name, shivers up and down his entire body as his mind went back to the day he made the pact with the High Demoness in what had to be the scariest moment in his life. "Yet we need proper tithe for the High Queen, the blood of the rarest kind, Royal, Elder, Dragon" She paced around her voice rising up and down in a fever-like state as Mihaly saw her trying to work out the biggest issue at hand and also divulge House Secrets to anyone who was near, which as he looked around and saw no one within earshot calmed him if only a little. Then he coughed more blood. "Fuck, I am taking too long" Lucrezia hit herself in the thighs "Focus woman Focus, there''s only one kind that cunt will take..." Mihaly did not know what else the High Queen would take in tithe, after all, what was rarer than a dragon? a god? no, she didn''t like their life force, it was too bright for her and her minions, The sound of coughing and moaning washed over him as he saw Lucrezia take a deep breath to steady herself. "Mine it is then" Mihaly nearly screamed "You will die!" he looked around "I will not ask you how you know of this but she will demand every last drop of blood you have! Gods know I nearly died and we have a godsdamned pact with her!" There was a shadow on top of Lucrezia, endless as the abyss and bright as the night stars, Mihaly saw only a glimpse of it as the woman spoke, voice as cold as the snows of the north and as strong as the iron of a sword "Not today Mihaly, no one dies today" It was like seeing his parents talk about the war, or his grandfather when he was lucid "Duty in Sacrifice" he said to himself and heard her repeat the words "Yes, and Honor in aiding those in their direst hour" She smiled "Can you remember the chants and proper arcane formations ?" "Aye, Aye I can" She gave him a nod and summoned an iron rod, its tip pure ice, grabbing it she slashed her hand "Tithe, bound in blood and Iron, Ice and snow from my forefathers" Sounds and noise filtered away as the young scion of House Fairtide started doing his bloody work, Whenever blood would thin out she granted more slashes, the formation done he saw Lady Lucrezia looking pale as wrath. And so he chanted, the mad last-ditch effort to save them all from the Demon''s Smile, the moaning and coughing growing in noise as a crimson portal birthed itself upon the material plane, Screaming and shouting started before Lucrezia calmed the people down, one magical surprise was already enough for the fragile peace she had bought them with hard military discipline. Upon the very recess of his mind, he heard a familiar laugh, fear and adrenaline shooting up once again as the voice that nearly crushed him not too long ago spoke "My what a wonderful surprise for me, I can feel it in my lips already the blood from beyond the cosmos" A giant woman, horns on top of her head as a halo of magenta fire blossomed upon her entrance, the wailing and cries of her subjects drowning the entire cafeteria as this red demoness of power reviling the very gods walked towards Lucrezia. She kneeled and sniffed the Duchess "Ah what succor, what feast, a shame I cannot partake further" She looked at Mihaly and bowed "Oathkeeper, To honor the pact that binds us I came, and this Sickness" Rage in her eyes, the fire halo burning into wings of pure rancor "Will be purged" Chapter 78: Oath to bind, Oath to Fulfill. "It''s said that the sea elves have a special cadre of earthen mages for the upkeep of their underwater cities and villages, how we haven''t been able to crack yet, but reports from the Imperium shared intelligence effort against them tells us they have been hard at work the past 100 years on building defenses for their outlying settlements..." Hearings on the enemies of the state. Calcar''UR flexed her powers as the mortal coil shook around her very being, She saw the progeny of Vermilion at the throes of death by the vilest of magics the All-Father let be made manifest and felt pure wrath boiling under her Demonic Skin, If she had the pleasure to catch whoever unleashed the Smile upon these children she would flay their souls for a millennia! The oath that bound her to the Fairtides tinged with crimson inside her soul, her eyes widening as she cast a glance towards Mihaly, The poor kid nearly wet himself when he fulfilled his part of the deal not too long ago, she saw the plague beneath his skin, wreaking havoc to his body and soul as he coughed up blood "No" her words carried power as she took two steps and grabbed him with both arms. "The sickness" he spoke in a pained whisper "Is contained here, but it won''t last long...I am sorry we had to summon you like this Lady UR" she hushed him as her pact cleaned the foul magick out of his being "Worry not, child of the tides, and rest now" she gently placed Mihaly on a chair as his eyes closed. He fell into a deep slumber, Calcar felt her body tremble from the Smile, the hard part had begun. Someone cleared her throat "Lady UR, we have placed the ones with outward displays of the Smile in this section of the building if you could follow me" Ah it was the Duchess of the cold realms, her blood was also within Calcar now, a rare thing but expected by the ancient Fairtides "I can feel it all over the building child of men, smell it in you as well and yet you stand tall" Lucrezia gave her a grim "Working through pain is a learned skill, Are you alright with this many people? the last time I was told it nearly unmade you for a century before intervention from other Demons" Calcar walked towards the sick "Yes...that time was up in the tens of thousands, This will be no less painful but I shall not be unmade" A smile befitting a High Queen of the Hells blossomed upon her fair face. She stopped near some students and felt the plague surge upwards, flying towards her with killing intent. "Impressive, even when deployed to target mortals the spell''s roots seek out demonkind like a moth to a distant moon," Lucrezia said as she summoned a rod of magic "This will ease the pain and put you a lot to sleep" she spoke to the shocked children as Calcar nodded "You learn fast child, come then for I need to be close to the one who binds me to the mortal coil" She healed Lucrezia every time the pair did the rounds, as the situation inside the building went from panic and doom to quiet impatience as they did the rounds, the thing with the Smile, and Calcar was sure the woman next to her knew, was that she had to suck it out of the people infected with multiple times, depending on how long the plague had been inside their bodies and soul. And the soul told her many a thing. "The taint of those beyond the cosmos is strong within you Lady Wulfgren," Calcar said after they had cleared a third of the people inside, Lucrezia''s maid had emptied more healing rods before going down to the long sleep "It chums and broils around your very being, and yet many a God blessed you, what a unique mortal you are" "We all have things we wish we could cast away, daughter of the deep" Lucrezia said and Calcar bared her teeth in glee "Ack, knowledge that few have, especially up here in the mortal coil" "Ah, I feel the presence of your leaders, the dreadful Rage burning bright and red, seems the Queen herself came for a visit, it''s been a long time since last I saw the woman" The demoness waved her arm as more and more people recovered from the plague " A few more rounds and this should be over, of course the maladies of the mind are beyond my skills but I am sure your people can handle it" Hours went by as the Palace''s delegation came through to check on the Students, armed with enough Miracles to protect themselves from the plague at first but once the danger was confirmed to be over, the Queen gave a short few words to the few who remained awake, the quarantine would stay for a while until both Calcar and the Gods confirmed the plague had been entirely destroyed. Calcar smiled, she was delighted to be afforded a few more moments with the mortals, they fascinated her with their many bizarre ways of living, imperfect creatures made as a foil to the perfection of yore... "How is it, being made out of pure ambition?" she looked around, seeing Lucrezia slumped against a chair "Must be nice, not to be bothered by uncertainty" Calcar approached her as more of the hardier mortals remained awake and neared them. Soft snoring echoed throughout the hall as most of the people slept their pain away "Ah, it is nothing like you I imagine, we were made to be perfect, to be exalted and worshiped, It''s a shame it gets boring after a while" one of All-Father''s greatest mistakes, but the man had a way of turning even the direst of situations into something that could benefit him. "The Queen was none too pleased you survived, one could even imagine she was the one who commanded such an act" Lucrezia waved her musings off with a cough that turned into a bitter laugh. "Nay, nay this was the product of something far less nefarious, Love" She pointed towards where the body would''ve been, had it not been consumed by the plague after Lucrezia killed the perpetrator. "She was in love with Prince Arthur, I am afraid this is just the start of this...stage..." such a strange way of saying the Demoness thought to herself as she snapped her fingers and summoned a throne made out of the arcane fire "My, it almost sounds like a game when you said it like that, Your mortals truly are fascinating, and yet...I have a proposition for you Lady of the North, if you would hear it of course" Another cough "Aye, happy to help" "Marvelous! Now the usage of this plague is highly frowned upon and each and everyone who does so is tainted down to their core, with the girl''s death I can no longer properly punish her in my courts and that''s a huge issue as I am sure you are aware, usually I would let matters lie, as it is incredibly, nigh impossible to get the Undying to part away with his hoard" Calcar''s eyes bore into Lucrezia as she made the request. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. "Venture to the Long Queue, seek the one foolish enough to use the Smile and bring her soul back, Should you succeed in this endeavor you will have my and my realm''s full support for all matters demon-related" "Should you fail, that would be just that, a failure, Speak with Mihaly when he comes back from the realm of dreams so you can contact me with the conclusion of this little event we had, ah It appears my time is up, it was a pleasure Lady Lucrezia, and take care"
A few hours had passed, and the weight of anxiety had been lifted from the Academy grounds as Lucrezia sat down with Mihaly and his parents to hash out payment for what was a Clan secret, an open secret, but secret nonetheless. "...And so It happened, my sanity waned and ebbed but the visions were true" The old man who shook Lucrezia''s hand was his grandfather, age was not kind to him she could see but the man looked pleased, as if some great prophecy his delusions showed him had happened. Mihaly''s mother heard Lucrezia''s and her son''s retelling of the events and nodded "To think this would happen before a war, worry not Lady Lucrezia, it was the right thing to do" Her husband nodded and said "Be proud son, for today you made your forefathers happy, we are the shield against such evils and rarely we get to fully shine, alas..." "Coin, we need coin" The woman spoke first as the entire family cringed at the mention of the item of want "You probably know that we have fallen into hard times of late, and we had to use much of our reserves to fix certain...issues, so If you could help with coin, then we will consider this debt paid in full" "How much do you need?" Lucrezia asked. "Five hundred thousand gold coins" The woman smiled a bitter smile and Lucrezia nodded "Done" She felt a whisper of the wind behind her back, Saa''ryu dashing towards the Silverbrand''s HQ to procure the coin no doubt. "I can''t believe it, this early and I will have to brave the place where souls go to get judged," Lucrezia thought to herself with a wry smile "Now, how to acquire passage to the realm of the dead?" Lucrezia closed her eyes as she felt the wind blow past her, slowly levitating above ground as she started flying towards the likely place her friend could get an audience with the big man downstairs, Castra-Cam usually wasn''t around the grounds when the sun was out, even as a High Undead she still felt the power of daylight like a nasty migraine if Lucrezia''s memory was right. "I could also petition to the Gods...maybe not, they aren''t happy whenever there''s dealing with their older siblings after all" Lucrezia floated across the Academy''s many rooftops, looking for the place where the Undead congregated, a shaded section of the Academy with trees especially made by an ancient lich of the country, the air cold and crisp as she stepped into the solid ground again. A male human, vampire by the looks of his garbs stood watch in the checkpoint that denominated the start of the undead grounds, a thankless task as she was aware, since people could come and go as they wish, as seen by the undead as punishment for many minor infractions of their particular codes and rules...the vampire was napping as Lucrezia woke him up with her steps. "...Oh Blimey a human, yes how can I help?" he spoke with tiredness stepping through his voice. "Is Castra-Cam in the grounds today?" Lucrezia asked and the vampire looked scared for a split second "Aye, she is training with the others" Lucrezia nodded and went through the checkpoint, the man went back to sleep as she made her way through what would be a very spooky forested area had she not gone through the many things she went, she could feel shades and specters in the shadows, scanning her and informing their masters of her presence here. "I swear, it''s like some of you enjoy the scare factor" she spoke out loud for no reason and was sure some of the shades laughed at her in hushed whispers, it didn''t take a while to hear sounds of combat as she walked along the path. "Castra, you have a visitor" a colossal ogre spoke in a deep rumbling voice as he pointed towards Lucrezia, his skin as pale as snow "Lady Lucrezia" a stiff bow was performed as Lucrezia bowed as well. Castra turned towards Lucrezia, who closed the gap and offered her friend a hug, cold, with not a hint of sweat on her body as the woman smiled "Good to see you friend" She parted the hug and addressed the ogre "Ser Udra, this is the friend I spoke about, a most unique mortal as you can surely see now that she''s right in front of you" "Indeed" Udra spoke as his voice echoed "Powerful, tainted by the powers from beyond, but powerful nonetheless" Lucrezia saw Castra''s face twist into a smile when Udar mentioned the beyond. She couldn''t help but smile as well. "Aye, a sinner" Lucrezia replied with a nod "But I was forgiven by the big man upstairs" "I am willing to guess this meeting is about the Incident at the Cafeteria?" Castra asked as she sat down on the ground "Summoning Demonic Royalty was not a skill I thought you had you know?" Udra shook his head "Not her, the boy from the Healer Clan" to which Castra nodded with approval on her face "Ah makes sense, it is heavily regulated but still, it has to be related right?" Lucrezia nodded "Indeed it is, as the pathogen unleashed was the Smile" She saw both undead cringes" When the High Queen was done healing the others she tasked me with a complicated task, to repay the favor" "Plus a sizeable amount of gold to the Fairtides, but that''s not really an issue" Lucrezia finished as she also took a sit in the dusty arena, Udra shook his head "Bad dealings with the Demons, they are too unruly, do not respect proper authority and customs" he had a negative force behind his words, as if the very concept of not following rules was a personal affront to him. "Well I can put two and two together, the Queen asked for the soul of whoever was dumb enough to unleash the demon killer plague in the mortal coil" Castra sighed, Lucrezia could see the woman rubbing her forehead, one of the tells she had for when she was annoyed. "If my blood still flowed, I am sure this would be quite the headache I''d be having at this moment, alas I make do with phantom pains" Castra dusted herself off "We are off to the Cathedral then" she pointed to Udra "Wanna come?" The ogre smiled "It would be my pleasure, it has been too long last I stepped into the Long Queue"
The realm of souls being ready to be judged usually did not take kindly to the Living prancing about it, but exceptions to the rule were a thing whenever the Higher powers of the realm, The Undeath God did not take kindly to this but even a Hard Rules person like him knew sometimes it was better to acquiesce than to be bogged down into the God equivalent of a shouting match. He had souls to process, realms to send them, and enough paperwork to make the All-Father blush after all, so when one of his top agents in the Mortal Coil sent him an impressive missive about Heretical plagues being unleashed and stopped in a matter of hours he figured he could help Castra and her very unique friend, one who had sent quite a few to the Queue not too long ago, Kin including. When another letter arrived, from a cousin he tried his best to not interact with, he couldn''t help but laugh.
Lucrezia stepped into the inner sanctum of the cathedral, Together with Udra and Castra as the Ogre chanted a spell to open the way to the Queue, Lucrezia helped him by channeling mana towards him together with Castra. It took a while, but she was granted passage as a cool wind blew from the portal, its arcane shape much akin to a doorway than the usual circle she was used to, a bit of flair from Udra no doubt. "Off we go into the wild pale yonder" Lucrezia spoke as both undead looked at her with puzzled faces before shrugging, Udra walked first and Castra second, with Lucrezia following at last. Cold spread through her limbs, then searing hot flames, she felt like her entire being was being pulled apart and then remade like a playdough doll, Lucrezia screamed in pain as the entire soul that was housed within her frame quaked in pain and fear. "Never too pleasant for the living folk" Udra spoke with sympathy in his voice "The realm isn''t made for them so it must bend the rules for their trespass, and that is always a painful process" Lucrezia felt the cold in her hands "I suppose a bit of fake Undeath does fit someone who meddled with necromancy" to which Castra and Udra laughed. "It is no fake Lady Lucrezia, temporary is the right word" Castra laughed as she spoke with the tone of a teacher "Welcome to the Unbroken ranks, enjoy it while it lasts because your ghosts won''t" Lucrezia made a puzzled sound "I thought that was just propaganda to stop wizards and such from blasting down the doors looking for their loved ones, will I actually be haunted by the ones I sent to an early grave?" then she heard the wailing. "Yes, yes you will" both Udra and Castra spoke as they started walking, in the horizon a bloat started to form as the trio arrived at the tail end of the Long Queue, the reality of the task fully settling as Lucrezia took a deep breath and made a small gesture "God be with me" Chapter 79: Long shadows once cast, twice shone upon. "Philosophers around the known world, in the heavens and hells and even the most reclusive lunar elves often debate on the implications of the many afterlives a soul can achieve, more than once fights broke out over the perceived best form of it. From the absolute order the Demons and Devils imposed on their realm to the wandering madness of the more chaotic deities and extraplanar or extradimensional entities, often priests of the Unbroken are employed as debate mediators, to varying degrees of success" Life Beyond Death, 1st Volume. "Abuella, do you believe in god?" Lucrezia asked her grandmother as they attended Sunday mass in the early hours of the morning, the priest spoke in Latin as people did the many rites and gestures the ritual demanded. Her Abuella was a hard woman, a fair woman but a hard woman nonetheless "I hope he is real, otherwise things would get bad fast" She then shushed Lucrezia and pointed to the priest so that she would pay attention. Castra-Cam''s voice shook her from the flashback "Careful around the bend, the souls are not aware of us yet but once we cross that threshold it''s open season for them, as an Inteloper of this space those who feel strongly about you will seek you out, the dead are keen on airing their grievances to the living after all" she rubbed her chin "Your parent''s souls and that of the prince should''ve been sent to the quarantine zone for those who deal with the outer cosmos" Castra-Cam had a grim on her face "But I can''t know for sure, nor Udra in case you wanna grill him for questions, and besides talking your ear off, they can''t do you no harm, well unless you consider emotional harm that is" Udra nodded "This is a place of self-reflection, all of you is laid bare for yourself, the Unbroken considers this to be the best for its charges but some of the old timers are always...vocal about their disagreement, same for those of higher powers who wish to claim souls for themselves" the pace was kept as they brushed past the souls of the dead, most of them looking ahead. Rebirth in the mortal coil, serving a god in their plane, damnation to becoming pure energy back at the mana core for crimes deemed worthy of such extreme punishment by the All-Father, all that and more was having a profound effect on Lucrezia''s emotional stability, a fact she knew damn well where it was coming from, as the flashback she had was nothing but subtle about it. "It is real huh?" She spoke at no one and everyone, she just had to accept it, her better half struggled enough as it is even when the Terran divines sent expressive, factual aid in both manpower and arms. It wasn''t just a lifetime in Terra, it was the very culture, the pathos of human existence in that godforsaken dirt ball that permeated all that had come before, shaped reality as her better half once knew. as she once knew. "Real as the air, as the Gods and everything else, a fate none, even the deities and entities beyond the All-Father can escape" Udra spoke in reverence, the Ogre was glowing at Lucrezia''s words as if they made his convictions stronger. Lucrezia beheld the bend as they had put it, it was an enormous checkpoint manned by ghostly figures at its many doorways and gates, the first step in the soul procession the God of Undeath had put in place to make sure his realm ran smooth, a bigger shade, looking like the one in charge of the place hovered towards the party and bowed "passage is granted, for the living we...recommend ear protection if one does not wish to be at the mercy of the Queue" Lucrezia bowed towards the Shade, thanking it for its advice but not taking it, she followed Castra as the woman raised her hand towards the pitch-black roof of the Long Queue, something was happening as she felt Arcane shaping being employed by the undead. "Trouble" Castra-Cam spoke and Lucrezia froze up. "And here I thought the souls of the people I killed would come after me" Lucrezia was already seeing some heads turn in her direction, gasps and finger-pointing as the more aware souls noticed a living being among them. And then the trio was standing facing a severe-looking human male, his desk had a comically huge stack of paper and the man wrote something in a blank piece of it, and tossed it to the pile, Lucrezia didn''t even feel the teleport, such as the absolute power a God commanded inside their Sphere, and Dominion. "One would use their power to boom their voice across, protocol with interfacing and communicating with the ones we are in charge " Martius the Unbroken spoke in what Lucrezia could only describe as an Efficient tone, as if every word that came out had been planned to be as optimal as possible. "Lord" Both Castra-Cam and Udra bowed. Lucrezia did so as well if only to be polite. "Please, efficiency is being affected as it is with your little girl prancing about the realm, we keep the formalities for upstairs" Martius spoke and pointed "Sit, I won''t have Malpay¡¯ruh call me a rude host, even if he knows this is highly off protocol" Malpay¡¯ruh also known as the God of Death, was an obscure deity only spoken by Liches and Necromancers, thought to be another facet of Martius whose sphere had the capabilities of personality becoming its entity, Forum speculation on its lore was that it was either some extradimensional God that came down to help the All-Father or a total fabrication by Martius himself for some unknown reason. "That''s one question squared off" Lucrezia spoke out of turn and felt the weight of one of the most potent Gods'' gaze pierce her "Apologizes, I am a hoarder of esoteric knowledge you see, and that was one of the pieces that were missing..." she left it there, not wanting to get sidetracked. "Bah, not my fault your mortals are reductive" Martius spoke and smiled, an inside joke that Lucrezia wasn''t aware of "Onto business then, you need a soul for the High Queen, one that is currently in quarantine for dealings with the beyond," he wrote on more papers as he spoke "Taking her out of there, putting the soul into a special container and ship the damn thing to the Hells will impact the flow of things here a great deal as I am sure you understand" "Yet the protocol is in place and has been used twice before" Lucrezia spoke "I wish not to offend, and I am more than amendable for a deal to ease the sting from the drop in efficiency, Lord Martius" She nodded her head "When you undertook your trial for the right of using my art I was privy to a great deal of information about you Lady Lucrezia, and knowing what I know it makes me wonder why you even bothered with this show and dance, you could''ve forced my hand, called in Mother dearest even, but even when knowing I am not one for this show you still did come down here to petition for my aid, many a Divine would kill for the respect you show me, and let witness present know I do...Appreciate it, despite my grievances with the mess you made of course" "As I am sure you know, we have the protocol for doing that, and I can also establish communications with the High Queen from here, but this will come at a cost for you" Martius spoke as he worked "One You should have no problem fulfilling I might add" "I am happy to help" Lucrezia spoke, not knowing if the Deity was being ironic or something of the sort, she couldn''t get a read on him besides the fact he was somewhat annoyed on having to talk with her about this, would''ve him sent the soul to the Demoness without her coming here? maybe, maybe not, the fact was that only happened twice when the demons came knocking on his doorstep and even then he was unwilling to part with the souls. "Much of my teachings on the Art of Necromancy and Mind Magic are being lost to the world, even with my people being more active each passing mortal year, this is not mind you knowledge that could wreck terror and devastation to the outside world, but good knowledge, and so I ask you to find as much as you can and build me a library, a place of learning in your lands so Necromancers may come to learn in a more pleasing environ to them" "It would not be a church, but an outside entity, I need to do too much work to bless the grounds for a proper church and that would spell ill tidings to my work here" Martius looked upwards "It is done, say the word and I can let you talk with the High Queen. "Then let us be off" Lucrezia got up but her two companions remained, Castra bowed and spoke "Not us my friend, we have dealings of our own with the Unbroken, I''ll contact you once we are back in the waking world" Lucrezia smiled and bowed, as a shade came to fetch her and guide her to the place where Martius did his dealings with the hellish fiends. It didn''t take that long, the physical properties of this place were being altered to make for a faster commute towards the High Queen most likely. The shade guiding her ushered the young Duchess into a room, in it was an image of the High Queen as she sipped on tea. She couldn''t know for sure, the details of Hell Agriculture escaping her mind as the demoness bowed her head with a smile. "My, let no one say you take your time getting the job done Little one, I am impressed! I''ll have you know the foul mortal who dared to use that nasty plague is already being punished for it, all according to rule of course" A giggle came out of her, creeping Lucrezia a little. "So fast in fact, I reckon you deserve some sort of reward" Lucrezia thought about not accepting, but that would be undoubtedly rude towards the demoness so she let her greedy side speak for once. "I''d be more than happy to accept it, your Highness, what do you have in mind?" Lucrezia spoke with honesty. "Ah, It makes me glad you are not one of those who deny rewards! now how about this..."
A day had gone by, and Lucrezia was waiting for the return of her friends as she ruminated through the happenings that had shaken her a little bit, she had figured out why the Unbroken was so keen on getting her help now, especially after what Castra told her. The long and short of it was that due to no small part of her efforts, Kallista''s brood and her draconic powers and meddling of the land by the Spirits of Winter made her lands worth their weight in gold and blood for many a god. Powerful nexuses of mana and divine energies seeped through the land, making it strong and best for churches, places of learning, or even strongholds of Paladin Orders, something that was quite hard to achieve, of course, she extended her newfound wealth to her patrons who blessed her, but everyone had already gone through this once, and they were in no mood of uprooting their places of power to move over. So after much consulting with what she had come to call her Inner Council of Divines, those were the ones she had to interact with the most (Saal''Xhir, Ra''Tyrius, and now his Wife, and Velkarius) on a scheme to loan out the land, with Martius the Unbroken being a test run of the scheme, the God of Undeath more than happy to participate as he was keen on helping a few of his own Gods and Goddesses with the new land as well. Above all else, Lucrezia was worried about the upcoming events that would shake the little lull of action she found herself in, with the Demoness reward in hand she had a last-ditch effort ready should worse come to pass but she prayed to every God she didn''t need to use it... The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Lu, can you please put some clothes on" Saa''ryu spoke from the back of the room, the Maid was cooking some food for both of them "I will not share a meal with someone naked, that''s just plain disrespectful" Saa''ryu shook her head seeing Lucrezia dress for breakfast "News from the Imperium, they are incredibly interested in buying the airships we have, the official reason was for tourists to the more hard-to-reach corners of their continent but..." the maid grimaced as she ate a slab of fried bacon with the grace of a sailor. "It''s for war, I know" Lucrezia wolfed down the eggs and toast "The Dynasty flunked a major deal in ore a while ago and they want revenge, but the seas are patrolled by too many a nation and the dwarves would know the second a military response was launched at them, we lucked out the First Legion ship managed to get to use now that I think on it" Lucrezia drank heavily, orange juice mixed with coffee and water which caused Saa''ryu to arch her eyebrow but the maid elected to stay quiet, Lucrezia didn''t know why she was so hungry, maybe the visit to the underworld had sapped some of her vitality? "Wish I could bend Ki argh" Lucrezia spoke out loud "I''ll have to check up with the Medical Wing later" "Smart, it''s no mean feat going to the Long Queue alive, something was bound to get shaky" Saa''ryu spoke "Shall we? class will start in an hour, ah one more thing, your little gang will remain a while longer with the orcs, Hope wished to sightsee" Lucrezia nodded and got fully dressed, tying her hair in a neatly done ponytail as both women left the room "Are you not jealous? I have on good authority that both Hope and the Prince are...interested in Richard" Saa''ryu spoke "I would if I was you, dangerous those two" She couldn''t help but sigh, this entire thing was incredibly complicated and to be totally honest she just didn''t know how to feel about "Don''t wanna talk about it Saa" the maid backed off with a bow. "Another gift from our mysterious inventor arrived at the castle while you were down in the Queue, wings for ZENOS and the KNIGHTMARE models" Saa''ryu snapped her fingers "Nearly forgot about it, Idun was happy with it but also wary, he wished to meet this person and wasn''t too happy when I told him my people and I couldn''t find them, we recently started learning how to track via some less than legal means with the blood but even that venue didn''t give any results" Lucrezia hummed in thought "Maybe it''s a soul entity? undead? shapeshifters can be tracked through their blood unless they go to great lengths to restructure their genetic material but that''s a skill few have..." Saa''ryu shrugged "Yeah, not many can do that, but we are still working on it" They arrived at the Medical Wing of the academy, silence greeting them as pristine corridors and people in much stereotypical clothing for healers walked around in pairs or groups, Healing in all of its forms was a art that the Kingdom of Vermilion fostered, be it science or divine based, or even alchemical or shamanistc. Curses and hexes also had their own niche in these halls, but most of the time they were dealt with by the necromancers the Academy had on standby, still the study of those arts was a disputed class and many a noble scion wanted to learn more about it after all their families trees could be a victim of it. Finding the right place for student treatment, Lucrezia was left alone by her maid as the woman had chores to do and errands to run, silence enveloped Lucrezia as she meditated while cycling her elemental mana in tandem, another exercise thought by Kaine. Her mind and soul were whole again, and the last vestiges of what was once two distinct souls in the same vessel snapped into place when she left the Long Queue, diving deeper she beheld the Monolith inside her inner soul domain. Something told her someone was coming, she shook herself off from the meditation as a Nurse, looking no older than 20 years old watched her with intensity in her eyes that betrayed her true age. The pointed ears made sure Lucrezia knew she was dealing with another elf. "My my, it is not every day I get to behold someone whose control over her soul and mana is so richly tied together, how can this lowly elf help you Duchess Wulfgren?" the nurse bowed. "There is no need for formalities, Just Lucrezia is fine" she waved the woman off "My vital energies are a mess, I was hoping some of your staff could help me with it" The nurse nodded and motioned for her to follow. What ensued was quite a few rituals and no less than 3 potions vials being shoved down Lucrezia''s gullet, apparently her entire body was falling apart due to negative and divine energies wrecking her insides. It was a long day, Saa''ryu came to check on her but was shushed out of the room, according to the elven nurse it wasn''t something unusual, especially for newly minted undead who needed to learn how to control their new powers, or Ki users who used too much of the stuff, but nevertheless it was a long and complicated process and after asking for Lucrezia''s permission, many a student came to watch the final ritual that would stabilize the entire thing. "Impressive control over the flow of Divine energy there Duchess, now everyone I''d like you to cast..." the nurse spoke as Lucrezia tuned her out, her brain flying off to a distant memory. "...Missing the sun are we?" a blurred face spoke to her, the skies above its head were wrong, as if the very clouds were made by something not natural "Ah impressive, isn''t it? Technology that can bend the very elements! weather manipulation on a scale never seen before!" a smile could be seen beneath the blurriness. "A shame Europe is burning under the fires of war" Lucrezia spoke with a sigh "Most of the plastic has been removed from the Pacific, we have..." another sigh as she stared towards the clouds. The blurred face smiled again "You worry too much, just like your grandmother" There was a long silence as both stared up to the skies before the unknown person spoke once again. "Your sister called, she wanted to say she''s sorry" A hint of sadness crept behind their words. Bile rose up Lucrezia''s throat "If she was, she would''ve done the right thing, this is just..." her hands balled into fists, and she felt the nails biting the skin in her palms as blood tricked down. The voice of her Abuella rung inside her mind, her words clear as day "Evil prevails when good men fail to do what is necessary..." Lucrezia''s mind went back to the waking world as the Nurse finished the ritual, with a bow she was excused and went to find Saa''ryu reading a book near the door, the maid looked bored out of her mind. "Done? we are late for class" Saa''ryu spoke and both women were off to the classroom, at a brisk pace (she couldn''t fly inside the halls sadly) arriving at the place Lucrezia took a seat as Saa''ryu went elsewhere, to deal with the many obligations she had both as a Maid and Spymaster of Lucrezia many efforts in the capital. Class was abuzz due to the events that had happened earlier, today''s professor was a thin man, weary and hunched over as he wrote on the blackboard as the students spoke among themselves, Current Affairs was a class Lucrezia didn''t really need to attend but she did it anyway, if only to mingle with the others. "Silence" the man spoke and people hushed themselves, Professor Leg commanded respect from many in these halls, known for being a tough but fair man who prided himself on teaching. "Today''s topic" Leg spoke "The possible invasion of the Dynasty by our western cousins" he pointed towards the map as the Emperium was marked around important islands that could launch an attack on the dwarven kingdom that was the Dynasty. "Usually, the Dynasty leaders would not worry, armed with the knowledge their shipping lanes are protected by the Mermen and their Krakens, plus whatever else those people can drag up from the ocean''s floor" the man continued unfazed "It''s no mean feat to survive there and many a clan are armed with magic and miracles we have never seen nor heard, same for the beasts, magical or natural" The class went on, Lucrezia noting down things she felt were worth being put to paper, the professor would ask questions and the classmates would answer, the man rarely giving anything but a hum that could either mean they were right or wrong. Eventually, the bell was rung and people filed out of the room, Lucrezia was still noting down things, her mind wondering about the current climate of the Imperium given they were asking for her weapons. Back on Terra, on the many nights she spent theory-crafting about the Game''s lore there was a particular topic she was a fan of, theories for the sequel based on ties the game didn''t tie at its ending, one of them being a series of side quests that had the player uncover a conspiracy from the Dynasty about arming the Sea Elves for a possible invasion, in the Game there was no ending for it, and the perpetrators ended up escaping at the end of the quest chain. But here...she had meddled enough as it is, a report from Saa''ryu people told her the warehouse that had the weapons from that quest was burned long before they even got to the capital, something spooked the Dynasty people off that venue and that was that... "Much on the mind Duchess?" Leg''s voice snapped her out "I''d admit when the rumors reached me of the Empirium being interested in your brand of weaponry I couldn''t believe it, stepped in tradition as they are" He tapped on the blackboard "Yet here we are, and I can tell you have more information about this, given how intently you were writing down" he smiled. "It would be a bloodbath..." Lucrezia spoke, "The Emperium will not use their gloves on this retaliation strike, especially if I supply them, and the dwarves of the dynasty are stubborn..." The professor waved his hand "Nay, if you were to wage war against Stenhein maybe, that would be a grueling affair and every step taken would be a dire one, but a show of force against the dynasty? that would avoid many potential complications in the future" Lucrezia smirked "I suppose so professor, and yet..." "Don''t let me cloud your judgment, my Lady, I am sure you will arrive at a satisfactory conclusion for this particular conundrum, after all, you stand above many would-be diplomats when it comes to these matters, now if you would excuse me, the class must be emptied" And so Lucrezia left, wanting to enjoy the winter''s chill she climbed towards one of the many rooftops the Academy left open for the ones who liked heights, and many Avian-Kin who were used to being up high. She found a little secluded Rotunda up on one of the rooftops, decorated in homage to Uumaries, she couldn''t help but smirk as she sat down on a bench and looked up, the grim visage of the Goddess staring at her with life-like quality. The cold wind cooled her nerves as she pulled her notebook and started writing her thoughts down, how to deal with this potential scenario? Could it even happen? it wasn''t a scrapped DLC turned real like the latest drama, nor an actual part of the game''s plot...but still, there was a quest about it something did happen and the Dynasty people went away long before she came to the capital. "It makes for poor comedy, being under her gaze doesn''t it?" Lucrezia felt arms embrace her from behind as a warm face rested near her cheek "She looks so righteous, full of justice, if only the artists knew the truth" Vivienne sighed, the warmth coloring Lucrezia''s cheek a bit as she untangled herself and sat down near her "Forgive me, I had much on my mind of late, your face and the mysterious boy still haunt my dreams" she smiled a bit, reaching her eyes "Had I not talked with Arthur I''d believe you were there you know? or at least some sort of astral or soul projection" Lucrezia smiled at her friend "It''s a long-term thing I am afraid, Kallista told me it takes a few years to wean off when the dragons do it, but maybe with your Greater Blessing and Arthur''s help we can take that down to a few months eh?" "It''s alright, I''m starting to enjoy these dreams even" She rested her head on Lucrezia''s shoulder as the two sat side by side "No reaction at all? Poor Richard and Hope will be devastated if you do end up being a prude" the giggle made Lucrezia grunt "Worry not, I hashed out an agreement with our dear merchant friend, sharing is caring and he agrees, even if he wasn''t keen on having Arthur..." Lucrezia''s coughed "Let''s stash that topic for another day eh?" She could feel Saal''Xhir''s smiling at her current predicament, curse that fiend! A sharp pain in her private parts confirmed the theory. "Guh" Lucrezia said and Vivienne giggled again "So what''s got you this worried? can you share?" Lucrezia sighed and explained her current predicament, sparing a few details of course, but the Arch-Duke''s daughter was a sharp lass in these matters, even with a Greater Blessing focused on Healing she had a mind for the political intrigue and such. "And you think they are supplying the Sea Elves, out of all the enemies of the Kingdom?" Vivienne asked "Well I guess it does make sense, your relations with Grannarius have improved border relations there, the other countries hate the Sea Elves as much as we do if not more and the Hive Mind won''t attack us, or anyone for that matter" she tapped on the notebook. "But supplying the Emperium could be seen as an act of treason, especially now that the Queen is out for your blood, still you could spin this around as a joint venue with the Orcs, have them vouch for you in private" Lucrezia nodded "I don''t think Queen Malphas will try to act against me now, at least for a while, too many eyes on her and the combined might of Hope and Arthur are enough of a shield for me, nevermind Kaine and Richard, but..." Vivienne sighed "You think the elven threat is real" Lucrezia looked surprised "I can see it the way you speak, you believe they are poised to attack us, and it makes sense the more I think about it, Why did Richard get blessed instead of Arthur or Hope? he''s together with you and thus has access to your army, he knows how to command the troops while you act as the point of the spear together with the rest of the crew" "And, I think the Orc Goddess has taken a liking to you," Vivienne said "I don''t know the why of it, but I have a strong hunch about it" She smiled as she held Lucrezia''s hand "Do what your heart thinks is right Lu, I am sure it will be the right course of action" Lucrezia stared down at the eyes of her friend, feeling her heart skip a bit and her cheeks grow red "Wow look at that, not a prude after all, my my I must tell Richard of this development" Vivienne leaned for a kiss in her cheek and left with a skip on her step. Lucrezia dragged her natural hand across her face "Stupid Terran boy, look what you have done to me" She could feel her heart racing and it took her a long while even with meditation and mana cycling to calm down. Saa''ryu found her a while after it, Lucrezia spoke a bit of what happened before telling her maid to set up an encounter with the Imperium''s Legion liaison who was at their embassy. "Contact Idun, tell him we have a new ship to build plus a few ZENOS units" If she were to crush the sea elves, she would go all the way in "And tell him to start working on Project Falling Stars, I have already gotten permission from the powers that be" Saa''ryu''s face blossomed into a wicked grin "Yes, my Lady!" Interlude: Upon waves, memory stirs and writhes Richard Silverbrand watched over the seas, perched at the top of the most ancient watch tower orc culture had in their lands, to him it was something powerful, that would be the word to describe how he was feeling it. There was meaning, he saw that something that was coming from himself rather than Vermilion Culture, or the influence of his new Patron Goddess, maybe he wanted to leave his name in the annals of history? be the one who stood against the Ancient Enemy at the reckoning? These times, he missed the company of Kaine, Vivienne, and Lucrezia, compared to his other friends those 3 had a way of fitting everything into perspective, finding the words and feelings he was blind to, or wished not to see due to his own biases and passions. Not that Hope or Richard, or his trio of underlings (something themselves came up even after his protest) were a lousy company, but they were too hot-blooded for these types of more pondering and navel-gazing moments, Impulse like his father if he had to compare them, while his mother was the more organized of the two, something he after quite a bit of self-reflection saw being mirrored in his actions. Richard sat down, the wind picking up a bit as he watched the waves roll unevenly, trying to calm himself via the meditation Lucrezia had taught him a while ago was a curious exercise but it worked somewhat until he felt someone open the door behind him. Hvtial grunted a greeting, the dragonkin was not his usual self Richard noticed, that something was bothering him "Hav" Richard greeted him as he plopped next to him "Richard, I envy you"Hvtial spoke, his eyes turning red for a moment. "Do I wanna ask?" Richard spoke as his friend grunted, "Alright then, what''s eating you Hav?" "Tomoe and Rose have proposed"the Dragonkin sighed "I am just a stick in the mud man, how in the blue hell did two women fall for me? ugh I can hear my parents laughing from here already" Ah, so that was the reason, true Richard had noticed both women were heads over hells for Hvtial but had some sort of understanding, or at the very least a non-aggression pact to not pursue him, given the two were thick as thieves. But now that Uumaries wasn''t ruling what a proper union had to be, maybe both had come up with a mutually beneficial agreement, as his mother would likely say in this particular instance. "You say that but I have 3 other individuals trying to get into my pants and one of them is a man" Richard laughed "And they also want the girl I like, Hav I am afraid you got the easy way out of this particular conundrum we found ourselves in hah!" Richard spoke with mirth as Hvtial deflated. "Impressive, it is not every day one gets to boast about such a thing" the dragonkin''s mood improved "Ahh you should just talk it out with Hope and Arthur, I am sure both will respect your preferences in this...honorable endeavor" Hvtial made a gesture as if he was coming up with a grand discovery. "Yeah yeah, I am aware" Richard sighed "Just wanted to complain a bit that is all, Silverbrands aren''t royalty and all that" Hvtial creaked his neck "Huh, That bothers you? most of them aren''t ones for ceremony you know? Hope is a commoner even" Richard nodded and spoke "It''s just...you know how it is, we get raised being taught to mind our manners and pay proper respect to tradition, maybe I just don''t want to rock the boat too much, after all, we already capsized and then got it back to working order" If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Hvtial nodded "We are way past that brother, way past it but I''ll repeat what I said, talk with the two, see where you all fit in this mess, and then pick the best path, knowing you, I am sure you will end up in a good place" he smiled and Richard felt honored, knowing someone actually believed in him like that. "You should talk with Rose and Tomoe, both love you as I am sure you are aware, maybe later down the line we can have our children play together eh?" Richard laughed at the idea, as did Hvtial "I''ll hold you to that Chief, now then, onto the battlefield once again" and he was off. Richard remained until sundown, gathering his thoughts before going down to face Hope and Arthur, and set this thing right once and for all.
"Someone''s coming, dress up you lazy bastard," Hope said as she kicked her darling boyfriend in the shins, Arthur complained but got up, and the girl smiled as she enjoyed this little bit of vacation time with her beloved. It truly was something else, the ancient home of the Orcs, a part of her could feel that pride the Knights often spoke about, for standing together with them was proof of the ancient oath, for when Grannarius invaded Vermilion, the Orc''s response was something to behold. And she did, standing with the veterans of the war as she toured the country together with Richard in his pilgrimage she used the blessings of Gwenarius to peer through the river of time, putting up the request for the ones who fought in the thickest of battle and those in their command tents giving out the orders. Their hosts were more than happy to oblige, especially when Arthur with his mind and illusion magicks conjured the scenes for people to see, it was quite the show for a while as they spoke with the veterans, people would often stop and watch as their accounts were shown. "The last time I got to do this was when Kaine wanted to learn some sort of fancy teleportation spell from his father...Oh" Arthur had said to her white doing the magic, it was the one spell he favored for when Lucrezia summoned him like a vengeful spirit. Even that ice cube of a man had a flair for the dramatic after all. "Did you really need to kick me? who is it anyway" Arthur asked as he finished getting dressed, Hope felt the ocean breeze upon her naked skin once more time before snapping her fingers and feeling her clothes materialize out of the aether. "Ugh, never got the hang of that one, Kaine and his sister made it but I just can''t get the right weave done...not that it matters for you anyway, miss" Arthur smiled as he leaned for a kiss, Hope replied in kind before breaking free from his embrace and opening the door. Richard stood by the threshold, his face always the mix of austere severity and inquisitive wonder (or as he called it "How can I make this a lucrative deal for me?") Hope blossomed a smile seeing her friend "Richard! How can we help? I have a feeling something''s on your mind" she didn''t need to guess, after all both her and Arthur had already spoken with him about their situation. The young man nodded "Afternoon Hope, Is this a good time?" "Of course, I just woke up our sleepy head over there, come in!" she ushered him in, Arthur already had cleaned up their mess and was setting up coffee on the small table their room had. "Looking less conflicted there friend, I''m guessing you have made up your mind about what we talked about earlier then?" Straight to the point, Hope knew that he preferred when people dealt with him more directly, and so did Arthur as he gave Richard a cup after everyone was at the table. Richard drank the cup in a single gulp "Yes, gods know I am tired of having to figure this out alone, we all love Lucrezia, that I have no doubt, but will she reciprocate the feeling? I think...gods my mother would tease me to the ends of time if she heard this given she thinks I am such a stick in the mud, together godsdamned, we do this together" he sighed as Both Arthur and Hope cheered. "We will respect your feelings and preferences friend, and hey don''t be so hard on yourself, think of this as a brand new experience in bond-strengthening exercises hah" Arthur smiled as Hope gave Richard a bear hug. "We also gotta straight things out with Vivienne, She''s in the same boat as us after all" Richard spoke and the duo nodded "Of course, the first thing we do when we get back Home" Hope clasped her hands, and finally, she thought to herself, barely holding down her wish to teleport straight to the academy, a brand new era was starting for her and her friends, and gods be damned she was going to enjoy it to its fullest! Chapter 80: Phantoms "What then of parallel realities? or even alternative ones? This an excellent question, we don''t fully understand how the All-Father keeps his dominion over these parallel worlds and realities, but he does! recent studies which sadly were convicted by the powers above show us that All-Father and All-Mother have a special breed of Godlings meant solely for the upkeep of such cosmic forces..." A primer on Realities lost volume. "This is art," Idun said in a hushed whisper, as his entire manufacturing plant stopped to behold his latest creation, He was called to the capital once again to bless the grounds of their newest cathedral for Ra''Tyrius, right beside the temple of the Goddess of Time, a detail that did not escape the old dwarf''s eye, the young Arch-Mage''s son had dropped by a while ago, sharp mind that lad has, shame he couldn''t recruit him to Ra''Tyrius. After the quick blessing, he and the acolytes of the capital got to work, Lucrezia had come up with a new design for form-fitting protective gear, a concept many spellswords were more than familiar with, the many skin and form-fitting shield spells being staples of their preferred method of fighting. "Art yes, but it bodes ill dear friend" Princess Emilya spoke, her voice filled with worry "You have felt it as well I am sure, the Duchess fears for her life" The woman paced around, Idun could see that his old friend was under turmoil. "If it were anyone else Idun, anyone else in this bloody dirt ball I would''ve dismissed it as rampant paranoia" Emilya''s hand was trembling "Those war machines she sold to the Imperium, the shift from Ra''Tyrius''s sphere..." Idun placed the suit on his workshop''s table and walked towards her, placing his hands on her arm "I understand my friend, but we must believe in her, she delivered us when none would, time and time again she forged a path through Impossible odds" he squeezed his hand "So take heart, we are not alone anymore, together with the Wulfgrem, with our allies we need not suffer in solitude" Emilya smiled "I know, I''ve spoken with the others, with Mother and Father as well, should anything happen to her we will move, gods strike me down for it even if I have to commit the gravest of sins..." Idun knew the flame of passion beneath Emilya ran deep, she kept a tight leash on it but... Not to mention Lucrezia''s other powerful allies, what would they do should calamity befall her? What would the gods do? questions he dared not to air at this moment as Emilya calmed down little by little. "War is coming, bloody and lethal, no fancy spellwork to save the children of Vermillion this time" Emilya''s voice was a hushed whisper, but her eyes burned with fatalistic determination. "More inventions from our secret friend have arrived, the new ZENOS units will be...significantly upgraded come the next circle" Idun spoke his voice low and deep "We are on the cusp of automatic weaponry as well" Emilya snickered "I saw the blueprints for the flagship she wants to build, those cannons would tear any coastal city to shreds in a matter of minutes" she sighed "When the infantry gets their automatic rifles it will be a bloodbath, for a short while at the very least" Idun grunted "We already have seen the intelligence Saa''ryu gathered, the Gods have not been sleeping on their post and magical advances to equalize the field are happening as we speak, but yes, for a short while we will have total dominance over the field of battle, which we will be fighting on the other hand, that''s still a mystery" he sat down near Emilya as both shared a quiet moment. "Sometimes I like standing on the rooftop of the castle, it reminds me of the cold we endured for so long" Emilya got up and dusted herself "And where we got, all thanks to that crazy woman" She left short afterward, and Idun pondered the meaning of her words for a long while.
The tenth Legion''s Legate stood upon the salty town of Inkfall, the Orc Woman was tall, deep green, and fond of way better climates than this briny shithole. Her troops were massed behind the massive gates that led to their new "ship" A very fancy-looking elven woman cleared her throat "Legate Durian, it''s time" Durian turned around and signaled to the men, a loud warcry coming from them as she picked up an old-looking horn and gave it to the elf. "Your Vermilians should know what this means" The woman nodded with a wicked smile "But of course Legate, I was there after all" and she placed the horn upon her lips, a mighty sound came out of it drowning the warcries from below as the waters near them shook in unnatural ways. "Legionnaires! Today we will honor the forefathers of the 10th legion! today we sail against the old enemy who dares to return from their watery exile! under trickery and greed from those bastards from the dynasty!" Durian bellowed out, letting her rage sweep into her voice. The gates opened and the troops cried in awe at the warship they were given, glittering under the sunlight as crystal and steel were masterfully crafted, huge cannons looking extremely dangerous to anyone they decided to aim at. And it could fly as well. The moving to the inside of the new warship was fast and orderly, the legionnaires were a machine and Durian kept that machine well-oiled and ready to strike, 35 minutes took them to commandeer the ship and set sail, the elven woman from Vermilion shaking beside the Legate in joy "If only Lady Lucrezia was here to see this" she muttered under her breath. "The first told us many a tale about your lady" Durian spoke as she finished barking orders and stood around the command room of the warship, crystal pannels showing the seas all around them and even beyond thanks to weird bugs like Magi-Tech devices that flew around at dizzying speeds to gather information. "Ah yes, they fought together with her on both occasions where the enemy dared to bear steel against us" The elf smiled her teeth looking like a wolf''s mouth "She''s the one who designed this warship you know? based on the one used in the Battle of the Fields of Seresval" she pointed to the many crystal panels "a beautiful construct meant for total devastation of the ancient enemy" Durian made a grunt of agreement "I still find it hard to believe, after all this time they would come back, and the Dynasty would aid them, they were also raided back in the heyday of the Sea Elven Empire! do those dwarves forget how to hold a grudge?" it was a rhetorical question of course, she and the woman next to her knew greed made for a wonderful remedy, especially when said greed earned you mountains of gold. "The waters will betray us" Durian spoke after a while "This deep into open waters everything is under their command, or the ones that rule here will send the royals of the deep warnings" Durian was well aware of the ancient records, most of her family line fought with the tenth against the sea elves after all, even if only recently her line had got the post of Legate, but for once she wasn''t worried. Her blessing told her everything would be all right after all. And that was the overall mood of the warship, many with war-related blessings, and even those without could sense how powerful this weapon truly was, to her it felt like a hum at the back of her head, the way the engine whirled, how the crystal and steel creaked as she heard the cannons twist and change positions. her grandfather used to call ships the musicians of the navy, for every part made its tune and it didn''t take much to hear it. A low buzzing sound came from the main crystal pannel "Sparrow 01 found the Dynasty ships Legate!" her helmsman spoke as she tapped into the table in the middle of the room, a flash of arcane sigils and mana showed the blockade around a small island, 5 Dynasty ships around it swarming with mercenaries and dwarven troops. "Something is beneath the waves" the woman spoke "Deploy the underwater drones" One of the Legionnaires controlling the Magi-Tech devices nodded and serpent-like crystalline beings flashed in the table''s projection. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. "Made in the image of ancient sea drakes, these are perfect hunter-killers for underwater warfare" the elven woman spoke to Durian who nodded in approval "How many do we have?" "4 Legate!" the Legionnaire replied and she nodded. A high-pitched ping came from the underwater drone, as it began casting the image of an enormous monster just below the Dynasty ships, tentacles all around its fleshy core as rows and rows of teeth and whatever else made Durian curse. "Elder Kraken" she spat on the ground "Sea Elven Royalty is here, deploy the last two and have them attack it" She turned to the elven woman "It''s time we go to the air" The elf nodded with a grin, and up they went. As the warship took to the air it began flying over to the blockade, from the drones images she could see the poor sods panicking as mage formations began massing in their decks, in the middle of the most impressive one was a lone pale figure whose piercing gaze was right at the furthest Magi-Tech drone. "They sent the first princess, this must be a significant deal for them" the Elven woman spoke "Legate, have your best stormtroopers ready at the dropships and ready the main cannon, that Kraken will not let us land while his charge is up above the waves" Commands and orders flew as they neared the ships, then spell fire and even regular arrows came flying from below, no doubt being empowered by the mages as they desperately tried to dent the warship in any shape or form. The main cannon was ready, Durian prayed for her Goddess''s favor as she gave the order and a pale white beam of pure mana went flying off the barrel, its noise akin to a shrill bird call, panicked Dynasty men and women running and even jumping ship as the light came crashing down upon them. With a grunt of power, the Princess held a shield over the flagship, it managed to deflect most of the power but the other 4 ships were in flames, blue flames that refused to go out even as the crew started pouring water on it. Durian barked for another shot, and the main cannon this time was joined by the auxiliary batteries, shells of deadly precision hammered into the already sinking ships as the tentacles of the Elder Kraken flayed above water, the glint of crystal below giving the Dynasty people a hint of the battle below. "Capture the leaders for interrogation, no mercy for the rest" Durian gave her orders as two dropships flew from the belly of the warship, straight into the island her best me made landfall to slaughter the survivors who were either swimming towards the small island, or were already there. Beam after beam and Durian could see the Sea Elf Princess was struggling to keep her shield up, the last attack making her fall to her knees as a heavy armor dwarf came running, he spoke to her ear as she made a snarl, running towards the bow of the ship and jumping into the waves, from the Underwater drone''s view the command center saw the Kraken''s tentacle grab the woman and then they were gone, the sigil of teleportation burning itself beneath the waters. The royals of the Deep were on the move, war was coming. When she saw her troops landing she gave the order, no mercy except for whoever was in command, her men did short work of the Dynasty troops and mercenaries who were either too tired from having to swim or spooked out of their minds due to the intense barrage of light and fire from the warship. The waters ran red with their blood as the teams converged into a small building made out of sandstone and metal, likely shaped via magic as a desperate dwarf, dressed in fancy silk and gauche jewelry tried his hardest to activate a teleportation spell. One of the Legionnaire''s archers switched to a blunt arrow and with a faint cast of magic, raised a bow made out of crystal, red in color, with another chant the arrow flew true and knocked the man out cold. A severe-looking Centurion looked around as desperate dwarves fled from the house "No mercy" his voice was low and coarse as his men went on to do their grisly work, soon silence blanketed the entire island, the Dynasty ships sinking at various speeds as the men boarded their transport with the leader of the operation. It was a short ride back to the flying warship, the men went on their way as the Centurion dragged the now awake dwarf towards his Legate, sitting him down in an interrogation room. "Let''s get this over with, shall we?" Durian said as she walked into the room, the elven woman from Vermillion following her in silence, the dwarf looked up and his face went pale as the realization hit him. "Mercy! Gods please Mercy! I was forced to be part of this I swear on the stones of my ancestors!" he screamed as Durian closed her eyes and sighed, a dramatic one just her luck, she raised her hand and the dwarf man stopped screaming, for a while at is. "We both know that''s a Lie friend" Durian sat down across from him, tapping her finger on the table "Now usually I would just ship you to the mainland, the standard death sentence for breaking the embargo on the Sea Menace, but today''s a special day" she turned to the Elven Woman "Time to work your magic" She gave both a wolfish grin and sunk her nails into his shoulder, her eyes rolling back into her head as Durian felt cold sweat upon her back, Gods this was creepy and spooky, Mind Mages who also were good necromancers? evil evil stuff she thought to herself but the Gods knew they got results, usual Defenses against Mind Magic could be easily sidestepped with Necromancy, and unless our dwarf here was a Lich, or unsanctioned Necromancer, he was already done for. "Yield them to me, your secrets, your fears, everything" she spoke and the Imperium Legate felt she needed to pick up sticks and move the hell out, it was only thanks to her Iron discipline and no small amounts of divine energy from her Blessing that she remained in the room. Five minutes went by, and the dwarf went from pale to yellow to ashen grey, as his husk disintegrated into ash, the Elven woman smiled "Ah, a tasty meal that one, sins a plenty" Durian smiled at the very evil woman in front of her "Well then, time for a debriefing with the powers that be, let''s go" and off they went as Durian tried her best not to think about what sort of demented horror that elf truly was, once again her military training came in to help. "Comms room is down that way" The Soulsucker led Durian to a room that looked as fancy as the command room, with a few taps into a silvery orb a panel of light flared up, then two. On one of them, The Empress, on the other, Lady Lucrezia Wulfgrem.
Lucrezia was sitting in a very fancy tea shop that only high nobility was allowed to frequent, she felt an ick in her skin as her better half would no doubt scoff at all this glamour and fanciness, and then she noticed a very tiny sliver of her inner warrior begging to escalate anything here into a conflict. She needed to keep better track of her meditation efforts, this was getting ridiculous! "Lady Lucrezia?" Asked the severe-looking Tiger-kin man who sat across her, a cup of honeyed tea in his hands as he cast a concerned gaze to her "I''ve seen those looks before, I would advise you to not start a fight here, those security guards you no doubt sensed are not to be trifled with, even for someone as powerful as you" the man knocked on the wooden table as to emphasize his point. "Apologizes Mister K, it was not my intention" She smiled as the King''s spy smiled back "These last few days have been...a little stressful as I am sure you are aware" Lucrezia downed another cup of coffee as the Spy smile left his face. "Indeed, Raids by mercenaries all over the Imperium''s shores, our people inside have been already approached for a more...visible alliance with our cousins, your new warship doing much to rebuild old bridges long burned" he made a gesture with his hands "An entire battalion of Orc Warrior monks left their country as of yesterday, ready to take the fight to their ancient enemy" Lucrezia sighed "But the king has other plans I am guessing?" "Indeed" the spy replied back, summoning a fancy-looking crystal tablet "As you can see here he does not wish to empower the cousins, risking another Imperial invasion would be a foolish thing to do, and most of my colleagues agree for once, but with your fancy weaponry we can have a controlled and measured response to this, and both parties know you can easily shut down this fancy new technology, which makes the good King sleep easy at night" And she did, together with Ra''Tyrius''s Wife Lucrezia was able to command the inner workings of every Magi-Tech item if she so desired, of course, if she tried to do every single item at once her brain would be fried to a crisp, so contingencies were put into place and the Goddess would also aid in this potential apocalyptic scenario after all her Priests were already toiling to develop AIs. Ra''Tyrius was spooked when he got the information from her, and elated because that would mean a huge Sphere Expansion for him, and thus the start of a Cold War against Stenheim''s dwarf gods, if only to give them some grief over how Idun was treated. "It''s good to know our King trusts me that much, if only his dear wife would stop plotting my downfall" Lucrezia spoke and K laughed "Ha! if only you knew Lady Lucrezia, it is quite the debate within our ranks, since the fair Queen decided to build her own spy network, and that sparked such drama within our ranks! the old timers are all buzzing since they haven''t worked this hard for a good while, the Grannarius Royals were no fun in the whole spycraft aspect of the war you see" Lucrezia nodded, sometimes the Mad King would literally announce where his troops would strike just because he could! "I am fully aware of how those two fight" Lucrezia laughed "So to finish this, War against the Elves is happening within 30 years or less, and our Royals will do their part of the ancient agreement, same for the houses and the Arch-Duke" the spy nodded. "May we finally expunge their taint from the material realm this time, thank you for the little chat Lady Lucrezia, and good luck!" The spy teleported out of the fancy place, some of the nobles began casting judging glances at her but she only shrugged, not wanting to antagonize the guards of the joint, getting up and leaving in a more conventional way she was greeted by the calming winds of winter, a smile on her face as this loose thread was tied neatly, for a while at the very least "Onwards towards the Interclass Competitions, Towards the end" she whispered to herself, that old ghost that haunted her better half with its fatalistic mindset casting its long cloak over her. But it would be a good end, she would make sure of that, not just for her friends, but for her people, lands, and most important, Herself. Chapter 81: Waters of Life, Springs of Crystal "Within the many traditions that the Academy upholds, one is particularly beloved by its alumnus, where the many classes compete among themselves in games of magic, might, craft and leadership, sports and even cooking! in today''s primer, we will explain how each big category works, and how you! dear parent can better prepare your son for this endeavor! Even the most humble commoners can take the entire thing by the horns!" The Academy''s Manual third edition. It was a slow day for Lucrezia as she made her way to the Cafeteria, the howl of winter slowly but surely losing its teeth as the season neared its end, she would miss it of course, but the summer spirits were being kind this year according to the news she had gotten. Small mercy she thought, walking into the wall of noise that was the eatery of the Academy, she was alone today as her constable maid was off doing gods knew what, likely running more than a few spy rings and gathering information for her assassins. Walking to her usual table after getting quite the meal from the cooks, courtesy of Silvebrand doing some lucrative dealings with the administration of the place and getting new produce from the corners of the Kingdom and other places, she sat down. She let the noise wash over her as the many worries she had neatly arranged themselves inside her head, something she had picked up from William before the merge. A fascinating thing she found, was how he categorized each issue and went on dealing with them with the efficiency few had, she lacked that raw volition to keep at it like he did, but as time went by she knew she would get it, after all, it was hers now. "The sword, the bloody sword" Lucrezia snapped as she remembered the Sacred Relic that in-game was the key to survive the bed ending in the next big event of the game, yet she couldn''t remember if Hope had it! fucking shit she thought to herself, she needed to- She felt arms envelop her from behind and a bolt of lightning flayed her spine as lips connected to the back of her neck "Oh how I have missed this" a sing-song voice whispered to her left side as Hope''s face bloomed into a wild grin. "Gods above woman, do you intend to give me a heart attack!" Lucrezia turned around and saw Richard behind Hope, his face a tad too red in the cheeks as Hope laughed "Oh don''t give me that, as if a small kiss would hurt you" "Where''s Arthur?" Lucrezia asked as Hope made her way to sit beside her Richard came close and kissed her on the cheek. "Gods, what is going on?" she spoke in a rushed whisper "What happened in this trip for gods sake?" Something was going on, and for once she wished she had future knowledge of it, because while she knew Richard and Hope''s intentions, same for quite a few others as a matter of fact, she wasn''t expecting them to get so, well bold. "Oh, Arthur is rather busy dear," Hope said as she watched Richard sit down, a smile dancing upon her lips "You see Mother-in-law demanded a total report of our visit to the Orcs'' homeland, at first he wanted to ditch it but..." Hope looked up and sighed. "It was the right thing to do, our complicated relationship with the queen aside, the ties that bind Vermilion royalty to the ancient Orc''s customs demanded his report and presents at the palace and so with my blessing he went there" Richard spoke, purpose in his voice as the red in his cheeks went down a little, Lucrezia made a point of that, in case things got a little too heated. "I am also due a visit" Richard continued "My status as a new legitimate heir to the throne of Vermilion has caused too many ripples in the little games the high nobles like to pay among themselves, mother was able to smooth things over but I have to make an official declaration facing our Royals" Lucrezia tapped her fingers on the table "Have Kaine fit you with those instant teleportation sigils he''s so fond of using, it should give more than enough time for an escape if the Queen tries anything" Hope waved her concerns away "Apparently the Queen doesn''t mind Richard Lu, it''s just you who have earned the woman''s ire and me" she laughed "Something of which we should speak in a more private setting, I am sure she keeps spies among the students after all" "And she''s genuinely afraid of Kaine now" Hope continued "Your efforts of growing his church have given our little faction a good chunk of room to enjoy life without her meddling, of course, evil never sleeps and I am sure we will be due more trials but Malphas should not fuck with us for a good while" There was power in Hope''s voice as she finished talking, the command over her blessing showing itself. "Hope, did I give you the Sacred Sword, after the battle in the fields?" Lucrezia asked as the young woman made a thinking gesture and replied "Ah yes, that deplorable man tried getting it back from me but Arthur had him sent away, his family hasn''t bothered me as well but I reckon they will one of these days, The Sword Spirit refuses to commune with me sadly, still an impressive bit of hardware so I kept it displayed in my room" "I am more in favor of the blade my parents gifted me of course" Hope added at the end with a small smile, Lucrezia had noticed how often she did that whenever her parents came up in conversation... "What''s with the sword?" Richard asked, "You planning on something?" Lucrezia waved his worries away like Hope had done earlier "For the future, contingencies you need not know yet" a smile blossomed on his face "I assume then you two haven''t heard of the recent developments with the Imperium?" Richard coughed "We have actually, are you sure it was wise giving away one of your battleships to them? I know, and the rest of the nobles know you have relations of good faith with them now but the Imperium Senate is always asking for "a good show of force to the cousins" even if the old war hounds have been quieter of late..." "It was the right thing to do Richard, even the Imperium, Even Grannarius knows how bad things would get if the Dynasty were to help the Sea Elves to rise again, especially now that we are in a less-than-desirable state of affairs, with the Queen wanting my head and all that, this show of force, this...power must be wielded against them so we can get things ready for the real fight" Hope sighed "Even Arthur believes we will be fighting them soon, Can''t you break peace with them Lucrezia? you know so much and can move so many people at the snap of your fingers, is there no peaceful solution for this?" Richard''s gaze focused on her "No, It is unfortunate and a pity for those who slave away under the despotic rule of the elves, or the machinations of the Dynasty''s goons but a line has been drawn in the sand and It is my duty to see it that they do not cross it, and should they commit to it, make sure they regret it, the First King did not end the fight, and when it happens I will end it" Lucrezia finished up, a bit more strongly than what she had in mind. "It is the project in the skies, isn''t it? All-Father spoke to me about it, he approves of it..." Hope whispered "It''s almost like he wants to see how far you will go you know? it''s strange how much of an interest he has in you, even with All-Mother''s blessing" Richard''s eyes narrowed but Lucrezia held her hand "I''ll tell you more later, but yes Hope, it is that" Gods did she know everything? All-Father sure wasn''t sleeping on the wheel on this one. Hope got up and bid the two goodbyes, suddenly remembering some errand she had to run, Richard nodded as he started eating his food "I miss this, Orc cuisine is spice and my stomach just doesn''t agree to it, too much contrition and merry of our hosts" he spoke as he ate his plate, Lucrezia found the cafeteria food plenty spicy which meant the orcs were loading up on the stuff, either that or they did it as a test for the man. After all, he would be leading them in the coming battle. "Likely a hazing ritual of sorts" Lucrezia gave him a bit of solace "Make sure you are ready to lead them and all that" She smiled picturing him making faces at the spicy food, no doubt the orcs at the occasion had much to laugh about it. "I became aware when the third plate rolled in, thankfully Hope was there to give me a blessing that helped with heat" he laughed "Don''t you smile at my woes like that, it''s not good for my confidence you know?" Richard pointed his fork toward her "Anyway, I am sure you noticed Hope''s mood when she greeted you, now I will not pretend you aren''t smart and haven''t pieced two and two together BUT I will ask for a bit more time, I have to talk with a certain someone..." his voice went low at the end there as Lucrezia waved his worried off again. "Take your time Richard, I am patient in these matters to much woe of a particular goddess who blessed me as you are aware" she smiled "But I get the feeling there are other things you wanna talk about?" "Indeed, while I was far away I still kept in touch with Mother and the sheer number of material you are running through our lanes is...astronomical in size Lucrezia, I don''t know if Mother spoke with you about it but there are many eyes on your little project, so I gotta ask, what is it?" Richard drank some water as he finished talking, then resumed eating, waiting for Lucrezia to start. "I was made aware of that particular fact yes, not the first time someone attempted something of the sort as well, the Principality had a similar Magical Program with their towers but that went haywire after a Fallen God infiltrated their ranks...But I digress, Falling Stars has two primary objectives Richard, one of which should be more than obvious by its name" She paused as he raised his hand. "Attacking from up high, yes the name is a bit of a dead giveaway isn''t it?" he paused "Ah, oh Gods above and below, Hells too wow" he spoke to himself out loud as his mind worked out the details, Lucrezia nodding at him confirming his thoughts "It is for the war effort against the Sea Elves! Gods Lucrezia do you even know how much would the Orcs thank you for this? Hells you might be made Royalty there on the spot" He said after drinking more water. "Indeed, and while I appreciate their continuous business with my Duchy, I wish no title nor land from our friends, only to uphold my duty as both Vermilion born and Wulfgrem, even if my methods are a little unorthodox by our current standards" She finished with a wry smile, Richard nodded in approval. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. "You sound just like the old knights I know from some of the pubs around the city you know? but it''s good to know you take this seriously, many nobles see it only as history since it has been so long since last we saw the bastards but the Orcs, the Orcs remember it, every day" he took a dramatic pause "When I stood upon those Towers in silent vigil it hit me you know? the gravity of all of this" Richard finished talking as he leaned back into his chair. "Indeed, something for us to worry about in the future, as for the present we have much to talk about and worry about as well" Lucrezia laughed "Now the second objective, would you like to guess it?" He took a bite of the salad on his plate while hanging back into the chair far enough to lift it "I haven''t the foggiest idea Lu, might as well say it heh" Richard rocked back the chair into its normal position before nearly failing backwards. "Revenge" Lucrezia spoke with conviction few had seen in her eyes and words "Revenge for the Spirits" Richard''s eyes went wide, but that was not all that happened at their little table as an elven man, no taller than Richard sat down at Lucrezia''s side as soon as she finished speaking, his hands were made of pure iron as both Richard and Lucrezia turned to face him, finding his face covered by an ivory mask. "It''s an honor" Lucrezia babbled as she bowed. "Demons take my hide" Richard swore in a language Lucrezia took a full second to decode, it was High Elvish? a variation of it at the very least "Pardon my language, sir, it is also an honor" he was quick to fix his mistake. "There is no need for honorifics, this isn''t an official meet after all" the masked figure spoke, his voice carrying power and a weird chilly effect. "Unofficial it is then, Pleasure to meet you Ladovan" Lucrezia cleaned her hands with a napkin and extended her regular arm to him, he took it and gave her a firm handshake "A pleasure as well Lucrezia, friend to the Ones Left Behind" Ladovan spoke in return. Champion of the Spirits, master supreme who had a legion of the begins at his back and call, one of the oldest living beings on the planet, Ladovan was among the first envoys of the All-Father when his host arrived in the then nameless planet, the Elven man felt deeply the sorrow and rage of the Spirits and powerful as he was, began to plot revenge for them, with all the blessings of the All-Father. Sadly, he was met with dead end after dead end, and even with the return of the last Ancient, he was no closer to finding the location of the Divine that abandoned the planet and gut her like a fish. "An Impressive weapon you and yours have built" he smiled "Is it true then, you will join us in the Endless Hunt?" that was how he and his people called it, over the ages many individuals, mortal and god alike pledged their allegiance to him and the Spirits, many of them owned some sort of debt to the Spirits, or were followers akin to the druids of Lucrezia''s lands. "Aye, I hope that my troops lead the charge when we find Her hiding place" Lucrezia pulled a pebble made out of crystal and channeled mana through it, a flash showing some sort of ship, more streamlined than the warships Richard and the others knew "Vessels to travel the sea of stars, the cold beyond and the In-Between, places where regular teleportation can''t reach" Ladovan smiled "They weren''t kidding, and you believe this will be the key to finding our Prey? I''ll admit many Star Systems and Galaxies of this universe were left untouched by my search but..." Lucrezia nodded "It will, she lacks the power to travel to other Universes, at best she can hide in the In-Between, as a Goddess of Magic that should be the max of her powers until she claims a Core like the All-Father" She tapped on the pebble as an entire armada of ships appeared, together with more versions of her space station "We are this close on breaking through the limits Ra''Tyrius has, two decades at most and then we will strike and find her" "May the All-Father bless you if that is true" Ladovan smiled and gave her a small bone-like coin, the symbol of an arrow on it "When you are ready, break the coin and we will come, I wish you the best Lucrezia" And he was gone, not even a flash of light or anything, gone as if he was never there in the first place, "You do realize you just pledged alliance to the Gods''s equivalent of a madman who''s chasing phantoms in quite the haystack yes?" Richard spoke "All Father protect me and the rest" Lucrezia stared down the empty seat for a minute, a small part of her clicking with joy as what was assumed to be the hook of either a DLC or a sequel was completed and she would get to do it herself. The Spirits were her allies after all, and she wasn''t above Sacrilege and God-Slaying for those. "It is the right thing to do" she spoke with gravitas "Evil will not prevail again" Richard noticing the heavy atmosphere around the woman he was about to ask for a date did what many in the merchant circles called a proactive retreat "I can tell this means a lot to you Lu, so I''ll let you digest it alone, I must talk with Vivienne after all, then you" "Thank you, Richard, I''ll be waiting for you when I am ready" Lucrezia spoke, not looking at the young man as he left, thoughts flying across her mind as she replayed the words of the game developers in her mind. "...She''s hiding somewhere far far away, but not out of reach, while we can''t talk much about it given we want to use this for a potential sequel the writing team told me this, she''s still in the same universe as the one the game takes place, and finding her will take involvement with the Sea Elves, who as you all know will be the focus of the sequel" The Elven Lords of the Deep knew something, and now that they were getting ready for war so would she, and she would throw everything she could, and a few things she couldn''t to win it, and then knock down the doors of a certain Goddess. "Soon" the word escaped her lips as she watched Richard leave the Cafeteria.
In the dean''s office sat the high command of the Academy, Professors, and chiefs of staff, the newly appointed head of the Academy''s Security forces armed with fancy Magi-Tech provided by a certain someone who made the place her home for the better part of 2 years now. "No" The dean spoke "We cannot allow the interclass game to go through, I know something will happen, and I don''t need to consult the Gods or Prophets for this" he cast a long look across the table, many disagreeing with his decision. "The Lass has spared no expanse to shore up the entire Security Staff boss, I can assure you nothing will-" the man was cut off by a wave of the Dean''s hand as he rose from his seat. "after someone unleashed an actual godsdamned plague in the middle of the Cafeteria and after someone summoned an Infernal who''s powerful enough to cure it!" he wiped the sweat off his face "No more events, Gods above no more bleeding events!" "The Principality has sent their scholars to ward off the entire Academy sir, we can expect to be done before the" Another person spoke and the Dean pointed his finger at him "No, damn those snobs from the Principality, even if they ward every single inch of the Academy grounds I will not allow it" he was fuming now and the crowd got silent, no one wanted to get the old elf even more angry. The stalemate lasted for a solid minute before someone knocked on the door. "Enter" the dean spoke as the door was opened, where once the room was silent minus a few hushed whispers here and there, now they were deathly quiet as a tall Dragonkin woman with garbs that marked her as a Royal Herald walked to the center of the room. She gave the Dean a deep bow and spoke, clear of voice and intent "By the Order of Queen Malphas, the Activities known as "The Interclass" Will happen, under Royal Decree, supported by the High Houses, the Middle Nobles, and Merchant Houses" The Dean placed both palms on his face, despair was his only friend now.
Richard Silverbrand ended up finding Vivienne down in the little arena the Knights that had bodyguard duty in the Academy had set up at the gym, for the more martial-focused individuals of the place it had become a spot for every type of exercise and competition. He spied the young woman healing a few Knights who had just finished a grueling match of hand-to-hand combat among themselves, a few of them regulars to Richard''s training he did in the place. He couldn''t lie to himself, It was a bit trippy knowing the Daughter of the Arch-Duke, second to the Royals themselves had a...complicated relationship with him, but then again he was on first name basis with the Prince, someone blessed the entity that created his entire species and a madwoman, out of the gang he figured Vivienne was the most normal, at least until she proposed to him the maddest of plans before he left for his Pilgrimage. "Vivienne, I''ve come to a decision" he spoke out loud as she found herself alone, turning to face Richard with a most beautiful smile. "Finally! Come, let''s talk about it then!" Vivienne said as she bolted to hug him, he felt the warmth of her blessings and magics spread over him "Neat trick, isn''t it? deals with exhaustion on the mind, soul, and body" She smiled as she planted a small kiss on his cheek. "It seems that the trip proved fruitful in more ways than one," Vivienne said as both sat down at a bench near the arena proper, she twisted her palm as a small bubble enveloped both her and Richard, and a few cast their glances to them, noticing the privacy bubble and nodding as they moved along, now no one would interrupt the conversation, nor hear it of course. "I am glad it was you" Vivienne smiled "You are a good man, Richard, A bit too much on the careful side but one can''t blame you for being cautious, being from a family of well-established merchants will do that to you I imagine" he nodded in agreement, risk management was drilled into every single Silverbrand alive at a very tender age. "I''d say I''ve gotten bolder, given what happened in the last few months" Richard fired back feeling a bit cheeky "But we aren''t here to talk about the few victories in my name, are you sure you want this Vivienne? wouldn''t your parents disapprove of it?" She shrugged with her hands "Would you believe it they actually approve of it? Mother even told me Father was elated at the thought of this multi-faceted union of ours assuming Lucrezia agrees to it, She helped us so much, it was only a matter of time feelings would be born of this Mother told me, even if they are a bit unhealthy as co-dependency isn''t something I wish to foster with her, nor you or Arthur and Hope" Vivienne spoke with a pensive look on her face, tapping the seat every once in a while, a tell Richard had figured out for when she was trying to organize her thoughts. His time with the Arch-Duke''s daughter was full of this, it felt to him like a dance, where he had to carefully navigate her words and body language to understand the in his opinion rather mysterious young woman, even after all the trauma she had gone through. "She still visits you in your nightmares?" He asked and she nodded. "It''s not just her you know, the boy is always there sword in hand and ready to fight twice as hard as her..."Vivienne had mentioned that boy only once to Richard, and he still couldn''t make heads or tails of the symbolism there, but then again, he was no dream weaver or soulmage. "Yes, It is important that we grow a healthy...relationship even if part of me still thinks we might be in for drama down the line" Richard spoke "As you assumed both Hope and Arthur were more than happy to get in, Hope in particular was very keen on the fact" he smirked remembering the girl''s face "But I am afraid Arthur wasn''t as happy when I told him I don''t feel the same way towards men" another smirk. "He''ll live I am sure of it, Royalty has no lack of warm bodies of every gender" Vivienne''s face had a shadow over it "Nor can we fault you, I am sure this is all rather new for yourself given you were quite prude by merchant standards" She laughed when the red went up his ears. "I will never live that down will I?" he asked no one "Yes yes but aren''t you worried? You know what I mean" he got serious and tried to cut down on the song and dance she was doing, as always he thought back to the words of his mother, when dealing with hard topics, straight to the point is always better. Vivienne held his hand "It makes me happy you care so much, but while I don''t feel totally ready, I want to move forward Richard, start again, and fully regain control of my life, together with you and Lucrezia, as my pillars for safety" he felt her hand squeeze his "Of course we will stumble, we will fall but I know you, I know Lucrezia and Hope, Arthur, together we can be truly happy" It was a heavy thing Richard felt, having the trust of someone like this, Father always told him that when a Client trusts you with their lives any worthwhile merchant would feel its weight, the man dealt with medication, mercenaries, and security and he knew what he was talking about, but when things went off without a hitch he also told Richard how good it felt, to be there to help another in their time of need and have full knowledge their machine was well oiled and doing good for the community. And now was his time to take on this challenge, to be a good boyfriend. partner for life? for these two women who clearly invested much trust in him, for reasons he couldn''t even begin to divine, but he would try in time. "One step after the other young Richard, one step after the other" Spoke the voice of the Goddess inside his very soul, of course, she was watching, after all, she had invested in both him and Lucrezia for the fight to come. "...Thank you, Vivienne, I will do my best to not squander this and make sure that we, that we all have a happy ending at the end of this tale" Richard spoke, half in prayer to whatever Love God or Goddess was watching him right now. Little did he know, many divines were watching with bated breath. Update: Bad news (I got ran over) As the title says, I was victim of a hit and run 3 days ago, thankfully to no long lasting damage both in the head, or the leg where i got the hit the worst. Now the bad part is, I could barely sit right these past few days and was high off my rocker with painkillers so I got no real writing done, which means having to delay the next chapter which is a shame cause things were really picking up, Other issues are mostly financial which I won''t bother you lot with, goodness knows we all are dealing with financial woes in these trying times, but at the very least my phone was repaired, my bike on the other hand well we can talk about that mess after tomorrow when i take it to my mechanic. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. So the plan, assuming I don''t fuck myself between today and tomorrow is this, get the current patreon chapter done, start the next one and then post the full chappie here as soon as I am able, I don''t like being behind my schedules even if I got royally fucked up. That''s about it really, I figured it was best to type it out here and explain in full to you good folk, if you lot have any questions just shoot a comment and i''ll reply o the best of my abilities. Chapter 82: Love鈥檚 a Hydra and There is no Flame in the Premises "...All-Father''s turning of a blind eye to the plight of the Orcs was an unforgivable sin by the Highest Divine, there must be reparations, penance, and repentance! Slavery is Free Will''s greatest sin! Yet He does not act! He does not move! my brothers and sisters, their children, and the elderly all in chains at the bottom of the abyss! Augoriuous the Mad perhaps was not so bad after all! Heed me people of Ynir''Duvat! Sons and Daughters of noble Kaal''Duvat Goddess of all Orckind! We MUST bring true Justice to the one in charge of this madness..." Primarch Krium of the Western Orc Horde, branded Pariah for open worship of the Mad God and revolt against All-Father''s rule. Said to have perished when defending the Port City of the First Vigil, an ancient ground of war against the Elven Invaders from the sea. To this day a prominent and controversial figure in Orc Culture and History. Lucrezia stood with Ra''Tyrius and his Wife, Goddess of Planes Wynnur, the couple had asked for a five-minute break from their meeting, something had come up and they had to discuss it privately. "I can''t believe they would ask for a meeting minutes after Richard explained his...situation to me" Lucrezia had both palms on her face, trying to untangle the very complicated set of emotions, thoughts, and impulses that were flaring up within her. To say nothing about someone happy about this entire conundrum like a little kid on Christmas day, she saw an actual honest-to-god flash of lighting over Saal''Xhir''s main cathedral and the blasted bronze bells that woman loved so much started ringing! Like a bleeding marriage ceremony had just started or finished depending on what kind of ritual the priests followed... "Not good, I am rambling to myself now" Lucrezia spoke out loud in this plane between planes Wynnur had made for them. Deep breaths she thought to herself as she tried to Meditate, cycle mana across her channels, count to 100, and every other trick in the goddamn book she knew. Minutes went by, at least that''s how it felt to her as panic, happiness, the urge to scream like she was charging at Malphas with her bare hands as weapons, and a host of other feelings sieged her mental defenses. After what felt like an eternity, she saw both figures walking back to the small wooden desk with smiles on their faces. "Good news, bad news, and regular news, Take your pick earthling" Wynnur sat down as she snapped her fingers, a flickering image of a blue planet flashing before Lucrezia''s eyes, around it an infinite number of barriers, both magic and divine, and near it Lucrezia spotted dark figures on top of the moon, floating. "Peace talks, actual bloody peace talks with those mad beings from beyond the cosmos, if getting you here meant that I should''ve done it sooner, Terra''s progress should be shared across all realities, consequences be damned" the Goddess spoke, her face flushing red as Lucrezia got a rare glimpse of honest desire from the woman, attuned as she was to her Greater Blessing of Saal''Xhir. "Let us not be too hasty dear, Grandfather is still unaware of our hand in this and we both know what will happen when he figures it out, especially if we get brazen, he can only be so soft to his family after all" Ra''Tyrius cooled his wife''s jets as the woman scowled at him. He shot a look that screamed "I am working on it" to Lucrezia as Wynnur started talking "Look, the man has let far worse slide under his watch, and we agreed to not bring this up with her you oaf, ahem" she cleared her throat "Good news first, Knowledge for traveling above FTL speeds for your space armada should be disseminated across your workshops and churches soon, naturally it will be a slow endeavor so we don''t get attention from the aforementioned parties" "The Elven enclaves on the Moon of Thyrie have also agreed to host your first base there, dearest here is working with their Gods to get more bases and personnel there but they work slowly those knife-eared moon fucks" the woman closed her first in a fit of rage that Lucrezia was getting used to it, according to a private convo she had with Ra''Tyrius, those particular elves had been an enormous torn on his wife''s side for ages. "Which means dear Lucrezia" Ra''Tyrius spoke fast so his wife didn''t have time to rant "Constructions of your Space Station have been approved by everyone in charge of that particular zone, they were not happy about your weapons but I managed to smooth it over, in part due to sheer scale such construction will demand, which in turn means cooperating with other Gods, and they earn a sizeable boost to their Spheres, everyone wins!" he clapped with a cheer "Unfortunately your Space Elevator has been vetoed, they don''t want it and if you build it well..." Lucrezia shrugged, it was a pipe dream after all "As long we can ferry the materials and personnel to the Moon FOBs I won''t let this get me down" Both Gods nodded "I''ve talked with people I trust, the teleportation Arrays are already in place we just need to feed them plenty of mana, which is no issue" Ra''Tyrius said with a nod. "Do you have more bad news?" Lucrezia asked turning to Wynnur and the Goddess nodded "Yes, plenty but they don''t concern you yet, the ones that do I will tell you" She tapped her fingers across the wooden table "First and foremost, Whoever''s in charge of peace talks with Terra demanded a piece of your soul, yes they are aware you have melded with the actual Terran and that the Dominant portion is not a native to there but they want it anyway and the Terran delegation was more than happy to acquiesce to their demands, their Pantheons are not overly fond of mortals as you are well aware" "A Lovecraftian Horror, with the power reviling that of Major Gods here in the All-Fahter''s domain wants to gaze upon a piece of my soul?" Lucrezia asked, honestly dumbfounded by the revelation, while her better half wasn''t a fan of cosmic horror he understood the basics of the genre, for these begins a regular human was a gnat, a summer ant! "Don''t call them that! That madman nearly got your entire planet Killed godsdamned!" Wynnur screamed then made an O face "Sorry, sorry I didn''t mean to scream nor imply you are William, forgive me" Lucrezia waved the Goddess''s worries away "An honest mistake, we are one now after all" she smiled "So how do I get a piece of my soul to this...powerful being?" Wynnur summoned a bottle made of pitch-black glass "A drop of blood here please, I will deliver it, and All-Father willing, Terra won''t be besieged for longer" and that was when Lucrezia felt a tiny sliver of her soul get sucked by the bottle but nothing that would impact her combat or mental capabilities. "I''ve seen your starship designs by the way, Ra''Tyrius showed to me as a dumb parent proud of his children''s works" Wynnur spoke as she stowed the bottle away "Outright inspired Lucrezia, with those we will be able to reach places even my powers can''t! and of course enact your revenge for the Spirits" there was a wicked grin on the woman''s face when she mentioned that. "You don''t know how many Divines are on board with this child" Ra''Tyrius spoke, reverence in his voice "Even the infernals, even some of All-Father''s peers who rule over their realities were appalled at what happened here, creating life, nurturing and then watching it thrive is no small feat, even at the higher levels of existence and to do what this unnamed Goddess did is tantamount of sacrilege, should you live long enough Lucrezia, know that you will have a heavy burden placed upon you, but you were already aware of that right?" the God left the question hanging. "A Crusade, Honor bestowed only to Morugarius and her older Brother, And I will have to lead it" Lucrezia smiled and both Gods nodded. "War truly made your people into monsters, Gods above I love it" Wynnur spoke with gusto "See dear, this is what we need down there, that drive to..." Ra''Tyrius raised his hand and once again his wife scowled at him. "Any regular news then?" Lucrezia asked before the two adjourned the meeting again. "All-Father''s best seers are saying something big will happen in the future, Grandfather believes the war against the sea elves will be a cataclysmic event for the New World" Ra''Tyrius spoke "You, your lovers and quite a few of your friends will be at the thick of it" "It''s the Space Station, the weapons we built will cause lasting effect over the entire world I bet" Lucrezia nodded "Not exactly news but thank you" She bowed to the God as he smiled. "We have kept you long enough Daughter" Ra''Tyrius spoke, Lucrezia noticed he had taken a liking to call her his daughter, much to Wynnur''s grief as the woman wasn''t ready for this new dimension of their relationship "You have your trials to face today, go with our blessing and don''t forget to consult with the others if you need more guidance" And then they were gone, Lucrezia found herself naked on her bed as her maid was mid-cooking her breakfast, lunch, and dinner too by the smells coming out of the kitchen. "Today''s the day we set this right" She rose in her birthday suit and heard Saa''ryu laugh. "Not funny you blasted wench, out of all solutions a 5 man relationship wasn''t the one I thought the cunt would come with it!" She spoke with rage "There is an entire power dimension here that just doesn''t make sense Saa, whose harem is it in the first place? do we belong to Hope in some sort of fucked up way? or is it my harem and God forbid people get that idea going through their heads..." "You are stalling Lu, just be honest with your feelings for once, besides it is a noble''s duty to have at least one orgy in their lives you know? half of the five houses are known for hosting them even!" the maid spoke with cheer in her voice "Now get your pale ass out of the bed and into some decent clothing, the blessing of Saal''Xhir is distracting as all hells to me..." "It does pulse purple an awful lot doesn''t it?" Lucrezia asked in a hushed tone as she cast her gaze down and watched the intricate sigil of the Goddess of Love whose flashing lights were positively hyper today, no doubt due to this entire personal affair of hers and her...partners. Lucrezia couldn''t say for sure yet, maybe taking Richard out for a nice lunch at some tavern to set things straight would be the right thing to do... "Long Queue take me Lucrezia, are you going to summon a High Succubus into the room with that light show?" Saa''ryu asked as she brought the plates full of breakfast food "Get that under control before I have to summon a bucket of ice-cold water or something" the maid rolled her eyes "Maybe you should''ve gotten your back blown out earlier, save us from this song and dance" Lucrezia made an O face "Saa''ryu!" she spoke in fake outrage "Manners my good woman manners!" Both started wolfing down the food and drinks as the minutes went by, Saa''ryu laughing to herself as she finished her coffee pot "Manners she says, My Lady, you quite literally killed the Goddess in charge of keeping up manners, with Saal''Xhir rise to power so will the culture around this beautiful country change as well, to the obscene and lewd mind you but change it will." Saa''ryu got up and picked up a neatly done package made out of solid steel and crystal "Arrived just the other day from home, a brand new dress made by the Form Sect" she snickered as the newest branch of the cult of Magi-Tech name came out of her lips, gone were the hard utilitarian mindset and dogma, they wanted to make art pieces that worked just as well! Of course, it was way easier said than done, but those art-inclined dwarves were a hardy bunch. An intricately done dress stood in front of Lucrezia, Red and Black but with hints of crystal here and there, something lavish and gaudy but with her Keen eye she could see the concessions made for battle, a piece that made her Blessing of Ra''Tyrius tingle with delight and fondness for his followers. "Plenty of skin being shown in this one, legs, chest, and back huh" Saa''Ryu spoke as she looked at herself "It''s gonna be hard to fight to wear that of course, but it seems even those fancy dwarves had enough sense to make sure you aren''t going in Naked as a Wilf Elf from the Imperium" she nodded in approval "Of course depending on what sort of fight you get into it, that might help you" "What, the dress?" Lucrezia asked before realizing her mistake. "No, you dummy, fighting tits out HA!" the maid laughed to the Kitchen with the empty plates as Lucrezia stemmed by herself for being caught lacking that bad, Gods above she thought to herself, it was like she was seeing a whole new side to her maid! "Impressive how the Radios caught on, we have news coming from all corners of the kingdom now and we have gotten orders from pretty much every country in the new world" the maid spoke with a smirk on her face. "I was told even our royals wanted towers and the best units we had on stock" Lucrezia spoke as she flexed her blessing and felt the fancy dress snap shut on her like her usual armor, a very cool feeling spread throughout her body as all the intricate Magi-Tech spurred itself to life. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. "Amazing" Lucrezia whispered to herself as Saa''ryu nodded "I suppose it''s time to get this date going then, did you get the reservations at that place I told you about, with the live orchestra performance?" The maid nodded "Of course, as if they would deny you after you not only saved the entire place from bankruptcy and gave them those fancy new instruments, not to mention the new music which speaking of which" the maid reached into her pockets and grabbed a fancy cube, it was spinning on itself and embedded on it were the musical notes, ah Lucrezia smiled, a message from the DMC. "The Divine Musical Cooperative, a loose association of the many many musical divines" Saa''ryu spoke with a hint of puzzlement "I guess these creative types wouldn''t do like the merchant Gods and form a proper company or enterprise" Lucrezia nodded. "Well then, let''s hear what they have to say shall we?" Lucrezia grabbed the cube and channeled a bit of her mana into it, a soft hum filled the room as the most beautiful voice she had heard yet spoke through the notes. "Kindest of friend, Lover of all musical arts across this world blessed by the All-Father! We salute you Sister Lucrezia for your monumental efforts to improve the Arts across all walks of life in the world, from the path of the warrior to the workers and artisans, It is with great sadness that we can not bestow you ALL of our Greater Blessings for the sheer scale of your work but as your Magi-Tech has shown, it does not mean we can not work together, and so we come before you to deliver our heartfelt thanks and know this, As the Prime Goddess of Song, Eulogia of the Singing Void and leader of the Divine Musical Cooperative that your firstborn will be hailed as our Herald with a personal Blessing that combines every facet of our powers!" "They can do that?" Saa''ryu asked "Ah! now that you have given them such a major power boost they might be capable of it, Combined Blessings are rare, not "Blessed by the All-Father" rare but you know..." Lucrezia was silent, that last line hanging over her like a guillotine blade. Saa''ryu snapped her fingers "Lu? Are you ok? Oh" The maid realized what was happening and she gave Lucrezia a pat on the head "Don''t worry your pretty head about it, Wulfgrem tradition for birthing infants is a worldwide institution, thanks to our wet nurses and midwives training we will assure you can deliver that baby as hale as the rising sun"
"Love Shall Set You Free, composed and written by Lady Lucrezia Wulfgrem will be played this evening at the..." Richard strode past the crier who was announcing one of Lucrezia''s new shows, it was a single song but the entire thing lasted for nearly 3 hours! Dodging and weaving among the crowded streets of the capital, Richard made his way to a trusted couple, friends ever since he was a little kid, Norleis and Alpha were the best in the entire capital when it came to fine clothing, in his opinion of course. He felt a grimace form as he recalled a particularly nasty argument he had with his Father and Mother over the topic, the first time he saw both of his parents visibly upset! who knew clothing was so important, of course as he got older he eventually found out why. Pushing the doors to enter their shop, he was greeted by one of Lucrezia''s radio who was currently playing a very sad tune, Imperium composition that one his ears told him, with the choir almost sounding like a wail. The Elven couple were natives of the Imperium, having seen their fair share of war for over a millennia they decided to retire in the new world, Richard always felt the shadow of death over them, and now with his new blessing, it was almost like a pressure, powerful but kept at bay by their millennial training. "Your lover-to-be has granted us a boon like no other" spoke Alpha who came to greet Richard with a hug "It''s been a while young Richard, my you''ve even grown!" she smiled and her eyes brightened up "Norl is sleeping at the moment but we have your suit ready" "It has been a while Alpha, thank you for putting it together on such short notice, even after I stopped seeing you two for a while..." he felt awkward but as his mother always said, it was best to make things clear from the get-go. "Your honesty is appreciated my dear, but time is no issue for me and him" She cast her gaze to the radio "We have been hearing news from home for a while now, make sure to thank Lucrezia for this" Alpha patted the radio as they moved into the booth to dress Richard up. As the ancient Elven woman got to work, Richard watched her eyes flash with tinges of Divine power, her blessing no doubt "Life has gotten busy for me these past few months" He spoke, he knew that Alpha never liked to start a conversation "A pearl of wisdom from you would be most welcome my friend" he laughed as she smiled knowing the archaic way he pronounced Friend was a butchering of the elven tongue of yore. "Always move forward my dear, the past is home only for people like me and Norl" she clapped and the entire suit snapped into him "Done, I have to say I may have outdone myself with this one, Norl will be pleased" "Be in it war or love dear Richard, put one foot after the other and move forward" she hugged him "You carry with you a heavy burden, but with your loved ones it won''t be that heavy" Alpha smiled as she let him go "I''ll tell husband dearest you came by, and remember, the door is always open for visits" Richard thanked her and bowed, leaving the store and walking into the streets "It can''t be easy, being immortal" he spoke to himself as he walked towards a carriage that could take him to the meeting place Lucrezia had sent a while back. "Forward it is then"
Her better half was not one to enjoy classical music back on earth, at least not from established composers, the many soundtracks he consumed oddly did not count in his heart of hearts, a silly notion Lucrezia found but she couldn''t judge, those were her feelings now after all. And yet...there was one piece, one symphony William was very much a fan of, Gustav''s Mahler 2nd Symphony, a powerful and quite long tune that exuded power, faith, redemption, and many other grandiose feelings. "An ill-suited background music for a date" she spoke to herself, of course, had been renamed to Love Shall Set You Free, fearing some sort of beyond-the-cosmos lawyer strike, silly she thought to herself, but this was a very silly situation she found herself in. There was of course, base lust always running beneath her skin, the wants of the flesh as her better half used to say, there was the earnest wish of being with someone else, to share the burdens she inherited and brought to herself, there was the fear of being alone, sad and bitter with age. But was love there? that connection that went beyond the chemicals in the brain and neurological pathways of her body? a true bond forged with something greater than the sum of its parts? Her better half was always worried, he tried his best to hide it of course but beneath the facade was the desire to feel love again, to give himself to someone in a healthy way, so that two could endure the wicked world he lived in. But this was not a wicked world, where War and Misery reigned, and so Lucrezia fell into deep meditation to seek some sort of answer to this storm of feelings and thoughts that ravaged her. Time passed as she wrestled with them, each a facet of herself and William, each worth listening to, pondering on them she asked herself once again "What is Love? I am Worth of it?" the second question burning across her mental plane. "Do I love Richard? Or Hope? Do I like them? Maybe Vivienne?" She asked herself again, feeling the pangs of fear grasp her heart of hearts, to be willing to let herself go was to be vulnerable, hurt would come not from steel and aether, but from words, gestures, eyes, and feelings. Lucrezia felt silly after a while, here she was trying to grasp at the insubstantial, trying her hardest to come to some sort of conclusion, when she could''ve called for aid all this time! A small prayer, a plea for help in a genuine tone, and Lucrezia sent it away, feeding it to the Blessing of the One Goddess who could guide her in this very unique predicament. Saal''Xhir stood right by her, a plain white tune covering her body as her golden brown face lit up in a motherly smile "Love, a most powerful fuel for mortal and divine both, the raging fire, the Zealot God who would betray his own father for his people, a little girl who would die multiple times for her friends, and an unremarkable boy who by his own will charged down a sea of blades, Goddess on his back and all" she spoke almost singing "Faal always told me "Love is Free Will with passion!" but many do not ponder the why of it you know?" "Even the scholars?" Lucrezia asked with a smile sitting down next to the Goddess, who had no outward powers being manifested in this mental place where both were communing, she felt almost human in a way. "My Scholars being a rare exception" Saal''Xhir replied "Once I asked Faal the same question, are we worth anything? Do we deserve anything?" in my weakest moment before begging for forgiveness for siding with his foolish son. There was silence, and Lucrezia spoke "No, but we have the right to try" Saal''Xhir nodded as she contemplated the words in silence, time passed before she spoke "Yes, we can try, that''s all we can do" she spoke as if a memory was being played in front of her "Wise in many ways that man, and I am impressed you know of it, then again Faal has taken a special liking to you" She stood up and Lucrezia did as well "So try it, my child, for once in your short life let the shield and armor down and try it, after all, you can always try again" and she hugged her tight, warmth spreading all over Lucrezia''s body "For I will be always watching, and doing my best you end up happy" And it was over, Lucrezia woke up from her meditative state light of heart and mind, ready for the future.
Lucrezia stood facing the orchestra as the many musicians tuned their instruments, Richard was by her side eating some sort of huge magical carp found in the mega continent to the north of the new world, thanks to the magic within their private booth, both smell and sound wouldn''t disturb the rest of the place, she cast her gaze towards the rest of the private booths, many other patrons eating and making marry without a sound. "Impressive isn''t it?" Richard spoke mid-bite " Magic for things like this always fascinated me when I was little, to the woes of our mages in the company, some of them ended up calling me Surprise Quiz Richie due to my incessant nagging" he smiled warmly at the memory, Lucrezia knew it was near and dear to him. "Listen to those instruments, Golden City be praised how did you not get a greater blessing from one of the musical gods Lucrezia?" Richard spoke in wonder "Look at it, even the musicians are impressed with their new equipment and they have the pieces for months now!" She laughed and said "Miss Eulogia sent a message, even if I lack a blessing from her little band they are more than happy with my love for the musical arts" Richard smiled at her words, his eyes slightly closing. "It is a powerful thing, music that is, it can move people at their direst, embolden even the weakest of links, but also comfort, sadden, and everything in between, I wouldn''t bat an eye if you end up becoming a minor Saint for Eulogia, or even a Minor Goddess of Music!" Richard finished his plate "Bloody hells this is some good godsdamned fish" he lowered his face and chanted arcane words of power, a sigil of gold, silver, and green jade flashed as a wave of mana washed over him. "Interesting, seems the blessing of the Goddess of the Orcs has finally slotted itself together with the Merchant''s one" Lucrezia pointed out and the young man nodded feeling happy about it. "I actually had to talk with their Representative can you believe it? only the Matriarch of the Silverbrands had it before but my case was a unique one, what did surprise me the most was that the Merchant Gods were all very happy about this whole thing, some of them had been trying to break deals with the Orcs for ages now and this is a prime opportunity for them heh, of course, we are all only talking about it for now" "Gods I feel refreshed, Kaine''s variation of the cleaning spell truly is a marvel of magical knowledge" Richard spoke as he devoured cough drops in his chair "To think I would be able to study with him on magic, out of everything that happened so far to me, that still makes me go "wow" you know?" He smiled and let the question hang in the air as Lucrezia consumed some cough drops herself. "He likes it you know? told me you have what many would-be mages lack nowadays, willingness to see your mistakes" Lucrezia spoke and Richard nodded "It''s very important, especially with the...fighting that is to come" She cursed inwards, damn it no war talk on the date! "Don''t worry about it Lu, I won''t get mad if war talk comes up" he laughed "But yes, it''s important to know how your teachers and mentors work to extract the most of them, as mother always used to say, it helps that we are friends as well, but I am not the only one who got praise from our future Arch-Mage hehe" he pointed to her "He often tells me how crazy things go for you, imagine if you had a greater blessing for magic he often says" Richard leaned in "He''s a stand-up guy, most of our little crew are" he laughed. "Indeed" Lucrezia spoke and the show started, it went on and on as the hairs on her arms raised themselves at the apex of the show, the roaring of the brass, string, and wind instruments, the sheer power of the choir and solo singers, the energy of the conductor, it all sweep her in, and Richard too as she saw the man''s eyes widen in sheer amazement and a myriad of emotions flash through his face and body. She didn''t even notice when she held hands with him, fingers interlinked as the entire place held their breath for the final part of the show, a tiny sliver of her soul hidden in the depths of her being quivered as the words were spoken by the choir, she felt a bolt of lightning slam her right into her central nervous system, as two very distinct entities turned their eyes towards her. One she knew very well who it was, creator of everything around her and the world as she knew it, the other was alien, yet not, ancient and powerful, yet caring and loving, wrathful and possessing of overwhelming power, yet merciful and kind. Gods of Old, Gods of Terra her mind spoke in English, her very soul was being used as a window for the Divines on Terra to watch this immaculate show based on her old-world music, and the same could be said for the Divines of this reality, as she noticed how some in the crowd and even a few musicians started darting their eyes around. The realization that this place would usher a cultural shift on the same scale as her Warmachines did not so long ago making itself manifest for the people and Divines watching. "Did you come up with the language for the song?" Richard asked barely a whisper "It''s beautiful" "Yes, I did" a white lie as the choir blasted off "Thank you" As the climax of the song blasted across the hall, Lucrezia was hyper-focused on the orchestra members, each and every one of them giving their all as the sheer power of the music piece shook the walls, the choir''s voice winding them up as the conductor sweated off half his body weight and then it came, the end as the sound of bells rung across the city and inside the establishment. And then, it was over, a standing ovation swept across the place as people whistled, clapped, and screamed, the band was visibly shaking from the entire thing, with some of the members nearly fainting on the spot, but spurred on by the magnitude of their achievement on this day. "Out of everything you created, this might be your greatest achievement Lu, not the weapons, the magicks, or the food" Richard spoke, his voice shaky as he held himself not from crying in front of his date "Forgive me, that was...highly emotional, I''d go as far as say it felt godly as if my very faith was being assured if that makes any sense" Lucrezia nodded still holding his hand, giving him a few minutes so he could fully digest it. It was a powerful piece after all, and she made sure to add extra flair, an extra calling to the faith that kept the people of this world going to kick it into 11, and by the reaction of many people, it worked as she saw many others crying in joy and hope. "Gods above and bellow how do I even as you in courtship after this? Faith and Romance are not an easy mix if you aren''t one of Saal''Xhir''s chosen you know? Oh, I feel extremely silly now" Richard spoke, half laughing half dismayed at his current predicament, with a sharp intake of air he got his game face on and turned to Lucrezia "Lady Lucrezia, fairest of all maidens in this beautiful world, I love you" She felt a slight pause as both inhaled air "and with the Goddess of Love as my witness, would you like to be my girlfriend?" Interlude: Mitigation, Avoidance, Stalling To rule over the Sphere of Time was something Gwennarius fought long and hard for, under the command of her sibling All-Father Faal she was in charge of making sure everything in the timeline was flowing as smoothly as necessary. Deviations in said stream of time, time travel, breaking through parallel and alternative realities with their own quirks, flash-forwards, and temporal stasis, all under her watchful eye, even if due to Faal''s rather absurd power over his Sphere, half of those were frozen in prisons that were quite literally beyond her own understanding of the very fabric of reality she inhabited. "Always a bigger stick" The Goddess said with a sigh, she had long gotten used to this, other gods hadn''t and they were always an annoyance to deal with, thankfully she was spared most of the time. And yet... She needed power, and power flowed from mortals, lesser gods, natives from the planet she was currently on, aliens from afar, big as she was, other divines or would-be divines were coming for her power and she couldn''t afford to stand on ceremony. And just like that, she had a church, she had one of the best mages alive in centuries, followers, more churches, cathedrals, rites, and hymns, All from a certain someone, all tailor-made to sweeten the pot, to make Gwennarius lower her guard, and she did, for a time she did just that as her mortal herald delivered the good word, preached and acted as a steadfast believer of the great Goddess of time. It felt good it felt amazing as power flowed through her Sphere, and She, and then she felt it, a fork in the stream, a dam and a crash, her mind at the time overtaken by the sheer bliss of this newfound power paid no heed to it, she felt for the greatest sin there was for someone of her station, letting work pile up. But Faal had always spoken of being thorough, of double checking and making sure everything was in order, that was how he rose to power and broke free from his parents, and now enjoyed one of the most well-established cosmic rules there was, and so Gwennarius found herself sitting at her throne, deep within her realm of Time as the River of Time flew past her eyes. All of its glory, all of its terror, myriad possibilities, and all there was and would be, a single point in time became clear as crystal, a lonely woman bleeding as a gnarly arrow stuck from her abdomen, To her side, Gwennarius saw herself in a pool of golden and black ichor, divine blood. A sadistic smile flashed upon the face of the dying woman as the vision of a would-be future snapped forward, Gwennarius watched as she somehow fended off another woman armed with the vilest weapon the Goddess had seen in the last century, and yet for all her might the second woman kept getting hits in and the goddess fell once again, this time for good as the gasp of air the image released sent shivers down Gwennarius spine. A lesser Divine would start panicking here, seeing themselves being brought low by a mortal, Gwennarius was not a lesser goddess, she was a veteran of wars, an impeccable and loyal linchpin to All-Father''s rule, and above all else, smart.
All-Father Faal together with All-Mother Thyr walked around an empty plane, the duo was taking in the sights, or lack thereof as they received a most peculiar message. "To think the Terran Gods would accept the demands, anything to survive for another day huh?" All-Mother spoke with a tinge of respect in her voice "Tenacious to the bitter ends those people" "I am far more worried about the recent discoveries their technology gods brought to us my dear, but then again I suppose it all makes sense now, doesn''t it? If only that little lass had the potential for it, imagine the mortal coil with two of my blessed?" Faal rubbed his chin with a smile on his face, of a proud father and trickster both as he imagined the shenanigans a certain someone would get herself in had she had more power. "The girl is powerful as it is you daft old man" Thyr waved him off "Wipe that nasty grim off your face it''s always an ill omen when that comes up" The woman looked upwards as an image of a mighty dragon, golden and blue scales both manifested itself to her, the beast roared and flew off into the distance, beams of pure energy slamming into the ground as the beast gathered more and more momentum, before rising into the white void above and dropping a enormous energy beam into the ground. "Beautiful, and every society in that little dustball of lunatics has dragons in it, a planet after my own heart" Thyr spoke out loud as Faal laughed, his beloved passion for all things draconic had been a major boon in the ongoing peace talks with the Terrans and their enemies, the many dragon gods and goddesses more than happy to entertain her as the meetings went on. "Wynnur once again proved her smarts with this, a place to exchange ideas and knowledge, neutral for all and even capable of hosting those above us in power, it is a shame she refuses to start proper worship with the mortals, imagine how powerful she could become..." Faal spoke before his wife shushed him. "Dear, your annoying cousin is asking for help in a very desperate fashion, while it makes me happy seeing that smug face distressed I think we should hear her" Thyr spoke and Faal nodded with a smirk on his lips "Let''s go then, and she''s more than a cousin my dear"
"Of course, there''s a Queue" Gwennarius watched as Minor and Higher Divinites awaited the council of their leaders within the Golden Halls where both would hear their subjects, it was a relatively quiet line today, minus the ruckus some of the Goddess of Music and War were making right in front of Gwennarius. "You don''t understand Morugarius, this will revolutionize the fields of war, weaponization of music is the future! look at how the morale doesn''t fall here" One of the women spoke with fervor to the Goddess of War who was being tailed by her wife, Uumaries who once walked around these halls with a haughty attitude today was meek as a lamb, silent and wearing a dusk veil over her face. "I am far more worried about the response from the Combat and Magical gods to the absurd advances our little lady in the north is doing with her Equalizers" Morugarius spoke with a tired tone, all it was her duty to mediate these sorts of things as to keep a fair balance between all methods of warfare, a duty Gwennarius was aware she wasn''t keen on it, missing the subtle touch her brother had over these affairs. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. She loves him Gwennarius thought to herself, a sister longing for her older brother to return to this day, a tale as old as time. Time went by as she waited her turn, and then she heard the bell and went in, her brother and annoying sister-in-law sitting down across a plain wooden desk. "Gwen, welcome back, how can we help you today?" Faal spoke and she sighed inwards, time to set things right. "Brother, Sister" Gwennarius spoke as she grabbed a shard of golden crystal from her person "About 3 hours ago I noticed a cataclysmic event that would split the river of time should it come to pass, please take a look" She handed the crystal to them and slumped back on her chair. And so they watched as the Might Goddess of Time waited, feeling with every fiber of her divine constitution the clock ticking by, Faal''s raised eyebrows telling her much as his wife sighed plenty of times mid-viewing the crystal''s content. "It is no small thing to Kill one of Us you know? the Old Man went through quite the effort to make sure none of our creations could hurt us the way you got hurt there" Faal spoke, tiredness seeping into his voice. "Who did you piss off this time Gwennarius, Goodness was it Him? again?" Thyr asked "Look I know we don''t see eye to eye BUT you are an important pillar to this whole operation, so I ask for you to be honest with us" The woman finished speaking, staring at her with a complicated expression. It always comes back to that disgrace, doesn''t it? Gwennarius thought to herself "It wasn''t Him no, as a matter of fact, it''s a certain someone brother has been spoiling of late, and her associates as you can see in the Crystal, muddled as it is by the recording of the event, and I don''t need to tell you who''s the one with enough power to manufacture such a Weapon of Power among us is. "...Fascinating creatures, capable of so much, full of passion and vigor to stand against someone this powerful and win" Faal spoke "Well Sister, seems to me we will need to Flex our Spheres for once heh, unless you wish to depart to the higher realms? I shan''t stop you of course" Gwennarius shook her head, she had her duties to fulfill here, oaths to keep, and people to avenge "Nay Brother of mine, I am Staying" she sighed as her power flashed in that last word "I can count on you as well to mend the coming issues of this intervention Thyr?" "You have my word, and my Power" the woman spoke with conviction in her voice, steely and powerful both. "Let''s get this over with" Faal spoke and the two nodded, with a clap of hands they found themselves within the place where Gwennarius would be killed "Right, standard procedure, Wards and Rituals first, On the double sister let''s go" the Divines went to work as the laws of the world, mana and magic bent to their might, Gwennarius cringed as she felt the cracks on her Sphere that would need immediate attention. "That bad? Huh, you pissed them off huh? I wonder..." Thyr spoke as she waved her hand "Ahh, So that''s why" she pointed to a null space in between their Wards "Look at it dear, a mistake only Gwen would commit, even after all the party did for her" the Goddess didn''t put any caustic bite to her words, it was all very stoical and neutral Gwennarius felt, she was watching the scene unfold with a Scholar''s eye. "Done" Faal spoke as he walked to his beloved "Ah, of course it all makes sense now" he tapped the side of his head, a tell for wisdom coming out of his mouth "Pride goeth before a fall" as that one individual told me" "This compromise will severely affect the River of Time brother..." Gwennarius felt a headache coming but the wish of not dying and losing her powers and breaking her Oath was stronger "Fine, Damn it all Fine!" she tapped the ground and felt another crack "We are finished, I''d appreciate that help now if you two are willing and able" "Of course sister, anything for you" Faal spoke with a smile and they were off, towards a future that would no doubt shake things again for the world and beyond.
Above the mortal plane of a dusty and blood-soaked world sat an infinite amount of divines, they watched with keen eyes as their collaborators did whatever they had to do, and one of the Leading Divines rose "It is done, are the others ready?" A thin man rose "Ready, 1 in a thousand chance they make it past the new barriers but at least 1 will get through within the timetable set" Cheers came from the great crowd. "Brothers, Sisters! It has been too long since we had the chance of Relax! of ENTERTAINMENT! and Today marks the day we will Finally get something good out of the invaders!" "One of our creations has braved the great expanse, through trickery and deceit, fire and steel He has brought great change to the realm that now hosts his remains!" "And yet a part of his very soul remains, tangled together with a Native from that realm! such is the tenacity, the grit, and the will to persevere! To survive!" the announcer felt the power in his own words as the crowd of Divines cheered him on, it was all a very common but powerful theme they all shared, very few in the grand cosmos would chew their legs and arms to survive another day. With Divine Power, came Divine Hubris. The many War Gods raised their weapons as the images of this wayward soul''s experience played in front of the crowd, such was the respect they felt towards this Half-Brother of theirs. "Lighting, the noblest of powers, I like this one!" spoke one God as the others nodded, the first large-scale engagement starting to be shown as the roar of artillery and sheer cacophony of noise coming from the locomotive that was supplying his troops in the frozen battlefield. As the battle raged so did the Divines watching it, and when the wayward soul fell, cries and curses were heard all over the room. But He got up, armed with a metal apparatus, never giving up or giving in, more battles were played but those were on a smaller scale, not rousing the crowd as the big one did, but instilling the knowledge that this individual was thriving, adapting, and always pushing onwards. Then the final stand came, nary a noise could be heard as every Divine in the crowd watched with grim determination as the armies marched, weapons of war and great warriors were deployed, for every win their Half-Brother got, a losing engagement drove him back and when the strongest enemy walked into the battlefield intending to take his life the Divines were caught unaware by how fierce the natives fought for him. Honor, Grit, Love. The Divines of Terra felt those powerful energies and could only bow their heads in respect, for when the cards came crashing down, no one on their Half-Brother''s side gave up, on the contrary, they pushed themselves to their very limit! But death came, even after the direct involvement of their own as the Angels barreled down through the great expanse to serve as living artillery and raw power, the strongest of them outright halting the enemy in her tracks. "You should''ve sent them all! the entire heavenly host!" A Goddess of War spoke in favor before apologizing for her passion "To do so would risk war against All-Father Faal sister, but I share your sentiment on the matter" spoke another God, whose bronze armor shone red "We should''ve sent everyone" Silence fell once again as their Half-Brother was killed in the field of battle, A honorable death for some, but many simply regretted not being able to help the poor human, all alone from the day he was born to his death in that strange place. As the images went on, explaining how both souls merged and a new gestalt being was born out of their shared sacrifice a vote went up, to aid or simply watch this new person who housed part of Terra within her, it was a landslide victory for the Aid faction as they worked out a way to empower the offspring of this new person, a surprise came afterward as their ancient enemy, the beings that declared war on Terra also wanted to help, had been shown the exploits of this wayward soul and finding them heroic. As the leaders went to talk with the All-Father, The Warrior Goddess who had spoken earlier rose up, her mind set on a fallback plan in the case of the worst happening to this offspring, Her brother giving her a knowing look as both went away, ready to set their plans in motion. Chapter 83: Caustic Overflow
"To punish a Heretic is a tiresome affair, what used to be simple in the Olden Days from before the Revolt of Warmaster Augurious now is a complicated, time-consuming affair for parties both Divine and Mortal in nature, a total revision from top to bottom by All-Father and his confidants, even asking for help from his fellows that lie beyond our very reality, As Priests of His Faith this primer and the subsequent Books will show you Initiate how to navigate this complex pathway of Punishment, for the life of the cloth is also one with its less than glamourous side..." Heretics and the Divine Law, a Primer for Beginners and Initiates 4th Volume. Raffa Ironheart stalked the newly built residence for her little anti-divine faction, even deep underground, and with plenty of magick sigils to ward off the elements she felt a cold chill creep up her spine. "The Wastes are not for the weak of constitution indeed" She smiled as her people got their bearings, it had taken too long but she had done it, in this isolated corner of the world she and her people would be free, and hopefully their masked savior would send more wayward souls to them. "Someone High up with Lucrezia and her Duchy no doubt" she spoke to herself as the others nodded, together with the Pillars pilfered from Uumaries'' now abandoned cathedrals, and an Impressive Teleportation Station they could move between the capital and their sanctuary with calm minds and hearts. "My Lady, Ill tidings from the south..." Raffa stopped her daydreaming and crouched down, ready for work as always.
"You think they did it?" Tomoe asked Hvtial as she kissed the dragonkin shortly after getting ready for class "I just saw Richard walking down the corridor and he looked like the happiest man alive" He walked a bit forward, but saw a deserted corridor, noises all around as people went on their morning rituals or got ready for their classes "We aren''t teenagers anymore Tomoe, we can just ask him you know?" Hvtial poked her in the cheeks as she puffed up. "Darling, I love you and would fight against an army of a thousand men for you, but sometimes you just are thick as dragon''s hide and dumber than a rock" Rose spoke up, her fancy dress flowing as she walked, kissed Tomoe and Hvtial "You can''t just ask a man a question like that, it''s a sacred thing!" Rose spoke as both women started dragging Hvtial to Class. "Of course, you can just ask Rose, we are comrades in arms! he won''t mind, it''s the code you know?" Hvtial shot back, faking outrage over being called dumb and thick "Surely you the great Heir of House Castellon is aware of it?" the smirk ill fitted his usually stoic and serious face but for once the Dragonkin let himself go. Silence descended upon the trio as Rose narrowed her eyes, a standoff without words ensured as the lovers watched each other with silence that would make the dead green with envy. "Damn you Hav" Rose spoke putting her hands up.
Finding their seats, the trio saw that Richard was unusually sleepy for the morning class, Rose smiled at the scene as the Professor went on about the magical properties of Healing, from mending broken bones to more specialized treatment such as the flame sac dragonkin had beneath their throats. "Nasty things can get infected all the time if you don''t take proper care" Hvtial spoke to his beloved "Mother would often subject me to the most horrible herb mixes there was" to which the Professor honed on them and had the young man explain parts of his physiology. Not missing a beat, He hopped to the many students around the class, as each told (or showed since some had skills in the Healing Arts) the many unique ailments and treatments they learned, be it via more unorthodox means, or the more mainstream ones. "Impressive stuff as always" Tomoe spoke as the class went on "I hope our daughter is skilled in the arts of healing myself, someone to aid us with our weary bones once we get older" The girl had a smile on her face as she imagined the scene, Rose sighed "I want a Warrior-Queen! no daisy-picking peace-loving healer" to which Hvtial responded "Vermilion War Doctrine enforces a strict and rigorous training regimen to their Healing Corps, Especially the Knights and War Clerics, Ask the Grannarians about it, they held lines even the Royal Knights thought to be lost in the war. "Besides, I want a Boy" The Dragonkin smiled as his cheeks flushed red "He shall be free to choose his path in life of course" The lovebirds went on about their would-be heirs as the class moved on around them, with the Professor and Students doing mostly magical presentations of the Healing Magicks. As the class died down and closed on a good note, people started filling out the room, ready for their food at the cafeteria, of course, some were now having lunch in other places of the Academy, due to a certain incident that happened but most still went there for their food. Catching up with Richard, the trio formed up around him as the young man greeted them with a tired but happy expression on his face "Friends, good to see you lot hale of health and spirit" he laughed "Forgive my mood today, for I am mighty tired" The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Rose smirked "Aye Chief, we can tell that much" Tomoe laughed and Hvtial patted him on the back "Seems the Duchess wore you out like a meat puppet, surprised you aren''t bowlegged, that''s a common thing whenever Saal''Xhir people have their way" Rose spoke as they walked towards a table. "Hey, keep this on the down low, no need to kick up the rumor mill yet," Hvtial said and Rose waved him off, getting a table was easy as the 3 of them left Tomoe to guard it and went to grab food, that done Tomoe herself grabbed a plate and the crew was finally gathered. "Right, spill you, bastard, how was it?" Rose whispered with a conspiratory tone, Tomoe laughed as her cheeks flushed red as all 4 hunched and began to whisper amongst themselves. "Gods above woman, are you a Saal''Xhirian priestess now?" Richard laughed "Yes it was godsdamned great, if a little scary" The girls looked at each other with puzzlement "What do you mean scary?" Tomoe asked. Richard gestures towards himself "Well it''s plain to see I was put through the metaphorical grinder here at least on the physical level, but there was something more I felt, now my Necromancy and Soul-based magic skills are low but..." Richard was grasping for words as he snapped his fingers. "Ah, The blessing" Rose pointed her fingers "Of course why did I not realize that bloody hell I am dumb" The other two looked at her, questions plain to see upon their faces, Hvtial grunted as he spoke "You mean to say Saa''Xhir''s blessing did something to him?" "Very uncommon event yes, Saal''Xhir High Priestesses will abstain themselves from the pleasures of the flesh for months, some cases even decades to develop a sort of, what was the word for it again, ah! a cascade event!" Rose made a hand gesture "It empowers them, and their offspring, granting a huge amount of both divine energy to their goddess and mana to the mortal who is born out of this event" The group went silent after the explanation, staring at her with blank stares "What? I am a godsdamned noble, I ought to know stuff like this, having children and ensuring a proper bloodline is something my family prides itself I will have you know!" Rose felt the need to defend her name in this as smiles broke out from her friends. "Note that down, "Rose gets flustered when the topic of family comes up" and that her kids will be healthy as a Dire Horse from the north" Richard spoke with a faux commandeering tone. "Those are big godsdamned horses Richard" Tomoe spoke with admiration in her voice "Ahem we got sidetracked from your nightly escapades, we can assume then our Lady Duchess likes to play rough" The young woman smiled as the others exchanged banter among themselves, it was a cozy if cramped feeling given the group was hunched and whispering to each other, but still cozy. "Yeah she had me choking her once, crazy" Richard whispered as he recalled the sexual gauntlet he was put through, Hvtial smirking as the regular kinks of high society were spoken, then showing a face full of puzzlement as Richard kept talking. "What do you mean she had you pinned down, that''s not how this whole thing works Richard" Tomoe spoke " There''s a power dynamic between who''s taking and who''s giving..." to which Rose could only laugh. "I don''t even wanna think about when you add Vivienne into the mix, or Gods forbid the Prince and Hope" Rose spoke as Richard finished his retelling, the group having their fill out of the very juicy gossip only they were privy to. "Not much to do on that front, love does make you do crazy things after all" He smiled at the idea of it all "Of course it will be very complicated explaining this to the Kids in the future but still..." Richard explained as he cast his gaze into the far-off distance. "You can''t bring out Kids after all this lewd talk Richard, Gods" Tomoe shook her head "But then again..." she trailed off as Rose pinched her arm "Don''t worry your pretty head about it, we already have the ritual booked for next year, courtesy of a certain someone" she winked to Richard "It''s going to be alright" Hvtial hugged Tomoe as the girl melted in his arms, it was a very wholesome scene for those who saw it, alas the whole cafeteria was a mess of noise and activity and so only a very few witnessed it.
"No? The sea elves are moving again and you dare to say no? need I remind you who''s my boyfriend? who''s got a blessing from your father of the greater variety AND has the rage on her at the max capacity?" Lucrezia paced around her throne room, or better a facsimile of it as she was still in Vermilions Capital. "You dare use them to force this? you have two war blessings, surely you are well aware of the long-term consequences if I even approve of this development!" An Austure Elven man spoke to her, yet his voice was not his own as the Goddess of War Morugarius projected her woes to Lucrezia, the Goddess was at the end of her wits here after all. "Yes, surely this is about the arms race, not me putting your woman into the lower ends of the Divines and blowing up her cathedrals, Let''s go with that narrative then" Lucrezia whipped back, getting tired of this Facade. Morugarius was meant to be reasonable, she blessed the bleeding nation after all! their ancient evil enemy was quite literally knocking on their doorstep and still, every time Lucrezia went through with her WMD she had to deal with the Goddess stonewalling her at a Divine Bureaucracy level. Both women stared each other down for a solid minute, silence so thick one could taste it in the air "The War will Happen" Morugarius spoke in such a queer way that Lucrezia was taken back, until her knowledge from the game kicked into gear. "You spoke with Gwennarius" she pointed "The war is a fulcrum in the River of Time, even if I do use my Weapons" She paced around again, of course, her plans for the future would be thwarted by that annoying Goddess! "Do you know how many will die? the devastation will..." Lucrezia caught herself before finishing the sentence "Of course you do, The Long Queue will take its due one way or another" Bitterness eradicated from her words as she finished and sat down on her fake throne. "Fine then" Lucrezia spat out "No Nukes but the Space Station will have Kinetic weaponry and capabilities to fast deploy troops" she snarled as the Goddess left the Elf''s body, the priest snapping back to reality with a weary sigh. "Forgive me Fendur, it seems your Goddess is not happy with me again, if you require anything be sure to talk with my maid" Lucrezia spoke to the man and he waved her off, ever the stoic that one. "Worry not Daughter of the North, but I thank you for your hospitality and generosity, even if at odds with My Lady, as always should you require me do not hesitate to call" and with that he went off, the illusion of Lucrezia''s throne room dismantling as her room was made manifest into reality again. "Saa, get Richard here I wanna decompress for the next 5 hours" she bellowed out and her maid snickered "You will literally kill him if this keeps up Lucrezia!" Lucrezia waved her maid off "She won''t let him die" Chapter 84: Projections onto the seas "May it all burn" Friede''s words of terror. Her name was Lyndell Morgoth, Scion of the Bow, Heiress to a sacred weapon that many times throughout Vermillion''s war-laden history helped drive out both the enemies of king and country. A true noble lineage dating back from the great migration from the old world, proud and towering above the would-be peasantry turned merchants or the lower classes that dared to compare themselves to the true rulers of the kingdom. A beautiful woman in her own right, with statuesque looks, long flowing autumn red hair and the slight tan of skin that made her look so alluring, she had been asked to join the cult of Saal''Xhir more than once, and yet one of her more striking figures beside her height was her golden eyes, legend goes that the Mad God himself blessed the Morgoth antecessors. A chance encounter with one Mava O''Xav had the young woman pledge herself to an Entity from beyond the cosmos, powered by Heresy together with her new friend both women thrived within Vermilion''s High Nobility, until both of them fell in love with the third prince, fearing an unmendable crack in their friendship both women communed with the Entity, who in her kindness managed to mend the ties that bound both together, agreeing in a system where both would share the prince. The price for such a Divine Intervention was an easy one to pay, chaos to the realm, for it could not strike at the All-Father in his home but it could make the life of his beloved and spoiled creations pure hell. Their plans were working until the peasants sent in their champion to steal their beloved, Hope, the very mention of the name made Lyndell curse inwards as she communed with the Spirit inside the Sacred Bow, an ancient elven Archer whose thirst for killing was so big, so unquenchable she committed foul magic to live on as the weapon. Mava finished eating the imported pearls from the Shogunate and turned to Lyndell "I wonder who our Benefactor is, a weak God defeated by the All-Father perhaps? in one of his many conquests?" her elven heritage showing itself as her ears perked up, blushing at their tips, Lyndell always found it mesmerizing how her skin would shift in blue hues whenever she looked at the woman, a blessing from her elven side of the family she was told. With short hair, green eyes, and a figure many a woman in the Academy would kill for, Mava was a beauty that made Lyndell herself take a second glance every once in a while. Still, both women were madly in love with Arthur, the third prince being an obsession that bordered on delusion and mania, and they had gone to great lengths to ensure their love wouldn''t be denied. Until the Duchess of the North personally came knocking, for the very first in their lives they felt fear seeing the sheer assault the last Wulfgrem heir conjured, together with the Arch-Mage''s son and that peasant boy now turned noble by the pact that tied Vermilion with the Orcs. "Have you talked with the Queen? do we have the go-ahead?" Mava spoke again "Our Benefactor has already given the poison, Hope won''t survive the arrowhead, and not even the Undying will be able to touch her soul, total oblivion as promised" She grinned after that word, Oblivion was on both their minds of late, especially after news of Lucrezia starting to date the peasant. "Without Lucrezia to back her little peasant whore, we can strike when the competition starts" Lyndell spoke "The queen gave us the go-ahead, she was quite pleased when I spoke of killing Hope, she asked for Lucrezia''s head as well but I doubt we will be able to strike at both, still the pieces are in motion Mava, soon we will have our beloved prince to ourselves, and our Benefactor will be more than pleased with the chaos we will unleash" "A shame the Sacred Sword and its users are...unavailable at the moment as well, and the Shield remains away" Mava spoke with a wolfish smile on her face "I''ve paid off the Officials who will watch over the fight, the man doing the schedule and your Knight-Commander right-hand man, now we just got to wait for the day of the slaughter my friend, just a few more days..." If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Lyndell ended her talks with the weapon and rose up "And he will be ours"
"And the Sword Spirit won''t respond to your commands then?" Lucrezia asked as she saw Hope ready herself for the group''s training at the gym''s arena, the young woman and dear friend shook her head "Nay Lu, she refuses to aid me, I''ve stowed the blade away as you said but it does vex me much, especially given how horrible the previous owner was" she sighed, the third member of their little group, Vivenne adjusted her gear and said "Worry not, we don''t need that stupid weapon anyway" But we did, Lucrezia bit the inside of her mouth in exasperation as the clock ticked for her, events from the game were somehow happening again, small things like side quest chains that she thought she had already done by completing their end stages early, dialogue, events with people from the outside, in a bold move even by her standards she had consulted with Kaine about it, in a way to avoid getting any eyes being cast on her of course but still... "...Nothing, If anything the Big Woman is pleased of late" the mage spoke with a puzzled look on his face "Yesterday she broke a contract with an important Goddess that commands Fate and Luck as well, a big expansion on her Sphere of Power came with that deal and she assured me it would be great for the Church, it did feel off the way she said it, something to investigate, I will need to summon Hope for this..." She sighed inwardly and got up dusting herself off in the process, Kaine''s voice an echo in her mind "Right then, onto the arena shall we? They should be there already" Hope and Vivenne nodded and the girls walked, greeting friends along the way as the halls and corridors grew wilder, finding the entrance to the gym was not hard given almost all of them were regulars to the place, even Vivienne who usually shirked physical activities decided to work out after a while. Good for the body, Good for the soul Lucrezia smiled at the words, Fiding Richard and his motley crew talking, and the prince doing push-ups near them. It was a heated discussion Lucrezia could tell by the way Rose and Richard were emoting and Hvtial rubbed his chin, often she would find them in these engagements as the fiery woman was keen on speaking her mind, and Richard more than once disagreed with her. "...Gods preserve my hide, the calvary arrived!" Hvtial spoke out loud "Lucrezia please knock some sense into these two before me and Tomoe lose our minds" The big dragonkin rushed to greet her and the others, Hope laughing "You big goof, control thy woman!" Richard shook his head as he backed away from Rose who was still red in the face and ready for round two. Hugs and Kisses went around as the group shared a silent moment of love and friendship between themselves, Arthur being the last as he cleaned himself with magic, afterwards they sat down on a table near one of the fighting pits of the arena, ready to discuss their training for the Interclass tournament. "What were you two fighting?" Lucrezia asked as she snuggled up to Richard, kissing him softly, he chuckled "Fighting Styles and Martial Arts, her family is famed for grappling and throwing skills and I wished to learn some of them, yet our dear Rose was quite adamant she wouldn''t share" he faked a whisper, making the one in question snap back at him "Enough before I make sure your little girlfriend won''t be having any children you ruffian" she pointed to Lucrezia "your man is out of control, beat some sense into him for me will you dear? because my oaf of a dragon refuses to do so" The group laughed at the antics and made short commentary on it, before moving on to the reason for their reunion "It is indeed group combat, and single combat tests, none of us made it into the other categories, not even Lucrezia with her Blessing tailed for crafting or her skills with cooking" Arthur spoke out loud, commanding attention of his peers "I''ve seen the official documents myself before they posted here in the Academy, but they have yet to draw the lots with our names..." Arthur got up "I fear something is off with this whole affair, these competitions were disavowed for years, and someone forced the hand of the Dean to make this happen" Lucrezia didn''t a name to be said, after all very few people could move that old elf. Together with the news she got from Kaine, she could be sure of it, that nasty encounter from the game''s story would make itself manifest, Hope would be struck down by fell magick and poison, and the perpetuators, the ones that Kidnapped her before would be the ones who committed the deed. And yet... "The Queen" Richard spoke and Arthur nodded "Not much we can do then, other than get ourselves ready for the blasted thing and make sure we win, I don''t think she will attempt at Lucrezia again, not after that whole mess in the Fields" the group nodded and more words were exchanged before they got into the fighting pit, ready to train in the most ancient way of battle. Chapter 85: Violent Tendencies "Armed with the knowledge and the means, volition, and grit I send thee unto the mortal coil, for it is thy domain" All-Father ushers the first mortal creations onto his newly found planet. Lucrezia stood facing the veritable gang of friends as she started giving out her orders "We start simple today, and increase the pace as I deem fit" Everyone nodded as a small crowd gathered around the pit they were in, Lucrezia''s caught bets being placed by a few enterprising Knights who were on escort duty, the men and women who had to serve their lords scions always looking for something to do in these instances. "I don''t like fighting you without Kaine" Richard shook his head "Rose, Vivienne, stay close and hammer her with any spells you can cast that delay cast times and muscle movements, Hvtial my friend I am afraid you going to have to be at the front, our Orc Prince is taking an extended vacation from the Academy" Hvtial grunted with a smirk in his face, the Dragonkin conjured a staff made out of black bones "New gear" He tapped the staff on the ground, his body shifted as a gnarly-looking armor made out of dragon bone and scale conjured itself onto him "Ready" "Arthur, Hope, support" Richard barked more orders and the two nodded, from the corner of her eye Lucrezia saw the Royal Knight in charge of the prince lean in, clearly wanting to see if Richard was a good commander, or was being carried by his Blessing, he would be in for a surprise Lucrezia thought with pride in her chest, her man was everything in the tin and more. She must''ve let some of her excitement show as Richard''s eyes narrowed "Vivviene" his hands formed the sign they had come up with a few weeks ago, a way to ask for buffs, debuffs, and healing without saying the words, as to avoid counterspells. "Ready?" Lucrezia asked they all nodded and she cracked her neck and shoulders, feeling the cacophony of blessings activate themselves, including Wynnur''s which gave her some very nasty powers, a favorite of hers was gap-closing spells that couldn''t be tracked with regular divination spells, only Kaine blessed by his Goddess had the means at the moment and he was hard at work to devise counters to be shared with the group. Hope and Arthur both let the rage flow through their bodies as Richard bellowed out a mighty war cry, Lucrezia lept through the air ready to strike the mage''s support, her hands brimming with rust-colored mana as she pointed her arms forward, causing mighty spikes of rusted metal to burst out of the ground, with a leap backward she slammed her hands on the main pillar, and the entire thing fell apart, a ball of red lighting made itself manifest as the feint worked, with both Hope and Hvtial being caught unaware. "Not today!" Rose''s voice boomed as a huge shield made out of divine energy gleamed in front of the duo, the lighting causing a huge flash and Lucrezia feeling her body getting slammed with spells meant to disabilities her, her magicks working overtime to keep Rose and Tomoe''s spellwork at bay, it only took a second for her to get distracted when the Prince leaped towards her, slamming her back with a might blow of his shield. In a flash, Richard made himself leap through the smoke and tapped both Hope and Hvtial in the back as he rushed towards Lucrezia, she barely had time to defend her belly as a mighty kick sent her up, and she landed on her foot but their onslaught had just begun as Arthur came forward with an uppercut, she dodged only to get shoulder checked by Richard and then headbutted by Arthur right in her solar plexus. Time slowed down to a crawl as her War Blessings kicked in full gear, she bellowed out a scream that shook Arthur out of the hook he was about to throw, and with inhuman speed, she parried the kick Richard threw, and then dodged as the boy snapped into position with incredible speed as the soft glow of his blessing had him take 3 steps back and with a high pitch scream, try to kick her with an honest to goodness dragon kick. and then as she dodged a godsdamned flying kick! Warm winds told her Vivienne had just cast a healing spell on Arthur, and so Lucrezia had to kick the tempo up, with a dash she screamed and grabbed both legs as Richard flew past her and with a mighty heave threw him outside of the pit, she saw his eyes widen in sheer surprise at the act, but her clock was ticking fast, Arthur screamed and Hvtial leaped into the air, spreading his wings for the first time. Cheers erupted from the crowd as the Dragonkin''s form flew to grab his commander, Arthur fed his Rage and Superman punched Lucrezia right into her right arm, she felt the bones nearly crack and a short but strong pain sting her, only for the War Blessings to numb the pain and mend the hurt, feeding the Rage herself she backhanded the prince away and lept into the backline again. But it was not meant to be, she felt hands grab her by the legs and throw her to the pit''s edge as both mages squeaked in terror and backed out, only for said mage''s images to melt away and reveal the illusion, Vivienne stood tall to the side as Tomoe picked her staff from the ground and said "Fuck me I did it" only for Hvtial to bark from the other side of the arena "Focus! she''s still in fighting shape" Hope came from the back, armed with the Warhammer from the Mad God, With a single swing Lucrezia was flying again, from below Arthur conjured a spear, which Magi-Tech made as he pointed to Lucrezia''s form in the air and she smelled ozone. The sound came first as a bolt of Lighting struck her, breaking her magical defenses down to a single barrier of the Aegis spell she had running throughout the match, oh he was properly mad now Lucrezia felt as she pointed her finger towards Hope, and a jagged spike of black ice formed, feeding mana to the weave she let loose a downpour of the suckers and then flew back down, ready to kick Arthur in the nuts. "Shit!" Lucrezia spoke as she landed, Richard came crashing down like a comet from the skies and his entire body slammed into her form, the fight ended right there and then as she sighed in defeat. "Stellar work everyone, Tomoe and Rose that trick was good but you guys need to work on the speed, Hvtial what did I say about talking mid-combat?" Richard began talking and the big Dragonkin threw his hands up "Look I got flustered!" Richard shook his head with a smile "Man, you don''t know how scary it is to face down her like that! ugh I''ll just shut up now" "It''s always weird, fighting you feels like I am pushing myself to my utmost limits" Hope spoke as she grabbed Lucrezia''s arm and pulled her up "I''ve been running the Dragon''s dungeon for a while now with many a people but you and your fights...they take me to a whole new level" she bowed with red flaring up her cheeks, Lucrezia saw Richard mouth a "Sorry" from the distance as Arthur came around, armed with the spear that had screwed her something fierce. "Your weapons, as always are sublime my friend" he smiled at that "Again?" Arthur asked and most nodded. "Give me 5 minutes, I need to take a breather" Tomoe spoke out loud and the group relaxed. Lucrezia felt a cold breeze blow past them as Hope finished casting a series of spells meant to restore stamina, clean the body, and heal the pain of the ones targeted by it, she felt a small hit of nostalgia hit her as memories from the game cascaded within her mind. It is a good spell, loved by the community as a must for any build that even remotely uses magic...Lucrezia stood silently, feeling the arcane energies that powered the magic wash over her before someone tapped her shoulder. "My Lady" Saa''ryu bowed, decked out in her full combat gear and with a mask to boot "I wish to join on the training" She sent a not-so-subtle sign to Richard as Lucrezia shook her head in amusement, and with a shrug she called the party over and everyone was keen on the Maid joining. As everyone got ready and took their positions Lucrezia let herself loose a little more than usual, with Saa''ryu here it would be a nasty spar if she didn''t step her game up. "3, 2, 1!" Richard counted down and the race was on again, Immediately Lucrezia began forming small ice rings around her, and floating so her feet couldn''t be snared by whatever stealth attack her maid could employ. It was a grueling fight alright, she had to fully tap into her rage and War Blessings to even keep up with the Onslaught that was Hope, Richard, and Saa''ryu, but somehow she did via grit she didn''t know she had in her, time slowed down to a crawl as she felt her body and soul enter the battle lust state and flow, an alarmed look flashed in Arthur and Hvtial''s faces as they bellowed out warnings. Tomoe, Rose, and Vivienne came out of some group camouflage spell, and below them was a mighty red sigil of arcane power brimming with enough mana to level a small building, she saw a flash of light go off and then a shockwave knock her straight into the fighting pit''s southmost wall, seconds went by before she felt one of the rings break and Saa''ryus form pop in her field of view, dagger in hand. A melee ensured as Lucrezia parried her first two strikes and planted her knee right onto the maid''s forehead, only to feel solid iron hammer her sides and nearly crack her ribcage as Hope''s weapon connected with her body, breaking past every single layer of her aegis, not letting up magic and steel were rained on her before she bellowed out a raw primal scream, knocking the melee combatants out and stunning the mages. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Vivienne snapped out of the stun first, quickly doing the same to the others as Lucrezia slammed her feet on the ground and conjured stakes of iron aiming to strike the melees, only Arthur got hit with them as he was the last to wake up. Hope grabbed her beloved and screamed as Lucrezia called forth a bolt of crimson lighting and slammed the levinstrike on her back. A fireball came from the right side as Hvtial''s face contorted into itself, a mighty dragon maw appearing and roaring the ball of flame and plasma in Lucrezia''d direction, without waiting for her to move the Dragonkin man leaped forward, coming with a superman punch that nearly rocked her jaw off, she felt the fireball heat close and summoned walls of ice around her person, dark blue slabs of magical ice barring the inferno that he had conjured. She felt the edge of a blade on the nape of her neck and raised her hands "Stellar work Saa, truly one of the best trained by the Owl" The maid bowed as everyone around the two slowly disengaged from combat mode, Lucrezia closed her eyes and felt her cascading list of powers shut itself off one by one, akin to slamming power switches that control the electricity of one''s home. "Had Kaine been here as your support, half our strategy wouldn''t worked" Richard ruminated as Arthur gave him a tap on the shoulder "Don''t worry I am not angry or anything, but it''s good to have more magical users against us next time so we can improve faster and better" Lucrezia saw Hvtial fall to one knee and huff air like he was about to drown "All-Mother above I hate doing that, I can''t feel my nose, teeth, and tongue ugh" he then sat down and collected himself before asking Vivienne for healing "Oh gods be good, I feel normal again" "Ok everyone, we will take a longer break now" Lucrezia spoke and fell on her ass with a mighty thud, she felt Vivienne hug her from behind "Be healed my dear, let this holy power take thy burden away" and so she did as the divine energy washed over her like the warmth of a summer day.
Lucrezia sat on an unremarkable bench, watching the people of the city come and go as a small dwarf woman, barely noticeable in the multitudes who went on about their day, sat down next to Lucrezia and with a practiced move began reading a book, its cover had no name or emblem. "Greetings Duchess Wulfgrem" a tired voice that belonged to someone far older than the woman who was next to Lucrezia was heard "I have a message from concerned third parties" The dwarf flipped a page as Lucrezia felt invisible sigils flare up, barely making a sound as well and she only caught them due to Kaine''s insistence on training her and Richard on how to detect high-level applications of invisibility in the middle of arcane sigils and weaving of the mana itself, Richard liked but Lucrezia found it dreadfully boring given the sheer mathematical power it took to understand the underlying principles of it. "More than one? our high friend is making good on his word?" Lucrezia asked with honest puzzlement, she knew about the secret agreements to talk but to think they would hear him? impressive to say the least. A proud smile blossomed on the dwarf''s face "If you would permit me to speak for myself, lady Lucrezia the things you have done and the progress you have ushered forward have made many a powerful individual finally show their true colors, ask our master if you are able and you will see the unholy fire you have lit inside of him, institutions we thought long disbanded moving again, rogue agents, gods of spycraft and stealth too if you can believe it" Lucrezia cast a glance at the woman, she saw that same unholy bonfire in her as these intelligence outfits got to work on what would be in the future the greatest intel-gathering operation of the new world. "Alas, this is not the reason I am here, as per my master''s orders we have intercepted communications with bad actors who intend to finish what the Queen started, but their aim is solely on Hope, you are a secondary target from what we have gathered so far, in this matter his hands are tied but they will not get Royal Knight support on this which should make any actual fighting less of a shitshow" The dwarf coughed and then continued "We are trying to run more interference without being stonewalled by the Queen, should more come of it we will let you know" She pointed to her "Communications via other magical means are risky now so I will be running info for you and my master" Lucrezia watched as the dwarf gave goodbyes and left, the magic following her as she blended with the crowd, she was expecting such an outcome, the king would not be able to help her in the trials to come, and without the sword, or the sacred shield she would need to improvise...
Stevan Silverbrand was by all measures an unremarkable man, save for an appetite for doing business, such as it was that he eventually got involved with the Lioness of the Silverbrands, and eventually fell in love with the lass. Dealing with High Nobility was a skill he kept sharp, from the ones who thought of themselves as walking gods, to the ones who delighted in pretending to be kin to their common brethren, and the few who were genuine about it. "A linchpin of volition" his son often said whenever his wife asked what he thought of his Father, and so when it came time for little Richard to walk that same weary road that is romantic life for young adults, Stevan gave his sole son his blessings and advice, so that the road while difficult, was not insurmountable, of course when news came out who the bastard of a son decided to declare his undying love to, the man felt conniptions for weeks. It didn''t help to see his son leading a military charge against the very best of his own country as well, Alas thanks to political machinations which he was more than happy to not be a part of, everyone came out of the whole ordeal happy and hale. "...Now where''s that spice blend I had him fetch from the warehouse..." A tall young woman spoke a few meters from him, she moved across his humble kitchen like a machine, focused and with deadly precision, it didn''t take a minute before she found said spice blend and a wicked smile blossomed from her face "Oh the old woman will love this" her icy blue eyes and grayish hair cast a visage of an ice elemental who took the form of a girl. "Lady Lucrezia, forgive me for saying this but isn''t unbecoming of a noble to cook..." Stevan had to make sure this wasn''t some sort of twisted noble lark, he had seen it happening before! "Surely Miss Saa''ryu could cook for you" "Please Sir Stevan, it''s just Lucrezia, I am no Lady in this house, even if dearest mother-in-law has land in the north" She laughed at the deal of a lifetime Catarina had gotten, one of the many deals of a lifetime she enjoyed with Lucrezia over here. Both Richard and Catarina were away for the moment, having to fetch the Matriarch of the Family so they could enjoy an often missed Silverbrand family tradition "To cook for the Family" they called it, Stevan had to do it himself but later found out that was just the Matriarch being a hard-ass on her favorite daughter''s boyfriend. And so, feeling the young Duchess was not in a foul mood Stevan sat down in his chair, it was time he did his part of the deal, the same as his Father-In-Law did to him, it was hard he had to be honest with himself as Lucrezia had what he and the people in the business called a "Wrathful aura" mostly due to several War blessings, plus her Rage powers. But Stevan was made out of stronger, sterner stuff and he wasn''t about to let his son get swayed by some would-be monster in disguise, even if her record was spot clear, if one ignored the whole Kinslaying and Heresy business of her early career... "Don''t forget sedition against the crown" Lucrezia laughed as she began dicing vegetables like a chef "Yes I am aware of what''s to happen, Richard couldn''t help but spill the secrets the second Catarina sent the invitation" she said while grabbing an obscene number of potatoes. "Gods be good he wasn''t kidding about those," she said with a chuckle "Then again, who doesn''t like them eh?" Lucrezia gave Stevan a cheeky wink. "What can I say? you really can''t go wrong with those potatoes" Stevan laughed "You know those two didn''t tell me you were his cheerful I was honestly expecting someone more sour, and less candid" Stevan said as her smile said as much, there was weight there but she was dealing with it the best she could. "Maybe before, maybe," Lucrezia said as she began preparing the main dish, a slab of meat from some exotic insect "Now I just want to enjoy it all, the good and the bad, a balancing act if you" Stevan nodded "Tis true, I''ve always said so myself in a relationship one must be there for his better half in the good times and the bad times, It''s good knowing you see that way as well, Richard takes after his mother that aspect, too passionate at times" "You worry this is just tryst then, spurn by the new Goddess''s favor to meddle with his mind and heart?" Lucrezia asked and Stevan felt a tiny sliver of pride, damn the girl was sharp! "Can you assure it? I come from common stock Lucrezia, we are often used as fodder by the powers that be, divine or otherwise, and often I would talk with my wife about this for I feared her ambitions would take over, force my son into a relationship where he''s but a piece of meat, or worse a name in a trade agreement" Stevan said earnestly, he saw Lucrezia nod in contemplating as she ruminated over his words. "I''ve spoken with Her, and my Patrons on the matter, personally and they all assured me there was no meddling" Lucrezia spoke with conviction "If you wish to I can arrange a meeting, provided your own God agrees to it" Lucrezia began cooking the meat as Stevan fired another question "And do you believe Richard loves you, truly?" there was no right answer as his Father-in-Law had told him once, but it was a good way to see how their relationship was going. "Gods I hope he does Stevan, There''s much I know about him but he knows little of me in turn, but I believe that yes, it is genuine" The sound of oil sizzling against the aromatics filled the kitchen "Sometimes it feels like a...a mirage of sorts as if this is all an illusion but every day I wake up in this" he saw her flex the slender metal fingers of her arm, but the sound of the cooking cut off much of what she said, "I think to myself "no, this is real" and then try my best to be someone worth loving" Lucrezia coughed "Forgive me, cooking often makes me spire into semantics and self-reflection, you can ask Saa''ryu for more stories if you want hehe," Lucrezia said as Stevan detected a strange melancholy to her words, as if she missed something... Sometimes she would stand on the rooftops, watching the snowfall Stevan heard the voice of his son ring in his mind, he felt it click as the puzzle pieces came together. "You miss your old home," Stevan said with sympathy, he had seen it, mostly in the many delegates of faraway nations who were on the job for a long while, it''s subtle and takes a while but once you hone into it, you can see it. "I love it here, I do but Gods I miss the cold" Lucrezia laughed "I hope he likes it, the throne room gets quite drafty" "His mother never liked the cold, he even got her a fancy coat when you started doing business with her" Stevan laughed at the sight "Worry not, for I know the best tailor in this city, and by all weaver gods alive my son will have the best coat there is" Chapter 86: No businesses talk when Eating "He always thought that war was not Order, that conquest brought nothing but chaos followed by a mockery of what he saw as true Order, it was not one bad campaign, one bad battle, but the whole of it that began His descent into treason" A Fallen God testimony of the events that brought upon the revolt against the All-Father by the Mad God. Catarina Silverbrand was a bundle of anxiety as she waited for the Matriarch to ready herself for the reunion, her son was calmly waiting in his seat, reading some heavy tome of a book with a very intricate design on its cover. "...Gods how does she keep pumping out fiction like this? without a blessing?" he whispered before noticing his mother staring at him "Yes Mother?" "It''s strange, seeing you having some muscle, never mind the fact you can fight on par with the best of the Kingdom" she spoke fast "War blessings are something else, I have my self-defense training as does your father who''s quite good with the bow mind you but..." Catarina felt her throat burn as she ran out of steam. Richard smiled "You wanna talk about it, mom?" Damn that girl Catarina thought to herself as she closed her eyes, she sure did make her son sharp as a blade! "You are good son, not your father''s level of good, but you nearly had me there" Richard laughed "It is unfair to compare me to the old man, he could talk a demon into a trade route and outpost" he then stopped "Wait a minute he did that already didn''t he?" Catarina nodded and added "Sure but he had support there, personally the agreement with those frost giants of the Imperium is my personal favorite of his deals, but I am biased due to the goods in question there" "I still think saving the old trader''s outpost in the south was his best work, commerce should always..." Richard began but an old woman, older than most at least stepped out from her door, looking ready to feast on good food. "Help the community," the Matriarch said with small pride "You worry too much Catarina, surely the girl wouldn''t mess up my dinner, now let''s go for I am hungry and I heard she''s a decent cook, something rare among High Nobles" "Aye Chief, you can trust me on this, Lucrezia knows how to cook good food, same for desserts even if she''s not that fond of dealing with eggs, according to her the smell sticks to the metal hand like glue," Richard said with no small amount of pride "I know we have meat but if you so wish I can ask for her pizza, it is simply divine" he finished the sales pitch and got a smile out of the old woman. "I can attest to that Mother" Catarina said fearing her husband would grill the young woman a bit too much, given how protective he was of his son''s free will "The pizza is something else" The trio walked towards Catarina''s house inside the greater Silverbrand complex, the enterprising woman had already renovated their humble abode to store exotic goods and Magi-Tech Lucrezia liked to pawn off to her, sometimes by the literal truckload. As they neared the door the Matriarch''s face lit up "Ah, I can already smell it, Gods be good young Richard, you found a noblewoman that can cook for once, incredibly rare my boy" A crackle worth of a witch came out of her mouth as the ancient woman made her way into the house''s dinner table, she was greeted by a very homely sight of Stevan teaching Lucrezia how to operate some contraption of magical nature that could make any beverage cold in seconds. A snap of the dutchess''s fingers later and she was clean and proper, bowing towards the Matriarch and Catarina, the latter feeling her cheeks flush red at the sight, only to scowl as she watched her husband hold a laugh. "Dear oh dear, seems the little girl has won over both in-laws, a born smooth talker this one" The matriarch sat down as Lucrezia gave the old woman a wink and said "It''s only proper to make sure one is in good standing with her family honorable Matriarch" Lucrezia finished as Catarina laughed and spoke out loud "Enough niceties, it''s time to eat everyone!" And so they did, Lucrezia and Richard sharing a quick kiss before going around serving their elders food and drink, the Matriarch asked for a moment of silence as they ate, as it was tradition for the Silverbrands not to discuss important matters when a feast was in its starting stages, once said moment passed they began talking among themselves, Catarina was worried if her husband had been rude to Lucrezia but after grilling both for answers, found his part of the whole deal had been done without issue. Catarina''s ear perked up as she saw the Matriarch speaking with her "Please dear, grandma will do just fine, especially after going all the way to cook this rather hard cut of meat" Catarina felt a weird mix of emotions seeing the exchange "A sight not many have the privilege of seeing I wager, not only you did good work, it seems you even enjoy it" Catarina spoke and Lucrezia nodded once she finished half her plate. "Aye, Saa''ryu often says I would make for a pretty good maid, but I do tend to space out every once in a while mid-chores, which knocks down my performance in her eyes" She smiled at the thought, the maid was a dear friend to her Catarina knew. "Tis good, knowing how to do basic chores and cook a few dishes helps oneself in a myriad of ways" the Matriarch spoke " Often we had to deal with first and second-born nobles who lacked even the most basic of skills and for a long while much of the Silverbrand''s finances were kept safe due to that side activity of our little enterprise here" the ancient woman forked more food as they talked about many things and nothing at the same time. Catarina felt warmth to the entire thing she wasn''t expecting, Lucrezia was positively irradiating energy in a way she couldn''t believe the woman was capable of, while she knew the young duchess had good character, she always thought of her as someone more reserved in these types of situation, and yet here she was, cracking jokes, running food and being a sweetheart to her son. "Impressive isn''t it dear?" Stevan asked his wife "It''s like a switch went off her head, I reckon this is her at her most open" The man always had a good eye for these sorts of things Catarina often said... "She does miss family affection it seems," Catarina said "I wonder if the maid is aware of this, likely so but to do nothing?" she couldn''t help but ponder on the possibilities, the why of it before Stevan snapped her out of her idle musings. They were hushed by the Matriarch, not to spoil the mood when Lucrezia came with the desserts, cakes, and pastries aplenty as the people around Catarina ate with vigor and enthusiasm, by the Matriarch''s behest they did not engage in any talk not related to Lucrezia''s and Richard''s relationship, with her son proving to be very much the picture of a bold and honest boyfriend, taking after his dad. It was curious to Catarina how much attention the girl paid whenever Richard talked about this, she knew Lucrezia had a keen insight into people but Catarina felt how much she wanted to understand him, his world views, and such. Later she would learn from her son that Lucrezia while possessing said insight, felt awfully discomfort at the fact she didn''t truly know him. They ended the get-together shortly after, with everyone going their separate ways minus Stevan who decided to call it a day early and sleep, the man was exhausted from the little interrogation he had done.
Hope felt the chilly air ruffle against her heavy weather gear, black snowfall from the skies as she walked through an enormous city made out of solid rock, the skeletons of an untold number of goblins littering the open graveyard as she chanted a silent prayer to the Fallen. "...Ten minutes until the spell takes me back to Vermilion" she whispered to no one, this was one of her many solo endeavors to make sure she kept her strength up, especially against the barrage of spars Lucrezia had her doing of late. "A mighty empire, reduced to nothing in a matter of hours" she spoke out loud as the history of this solemn place made something deep stir within her, much like the Orcs who the Sea Elves once enslaved, these long-dead goblins had fought a bitter fight against beastkins of the skies and seas, their war engulfing the entire third continent of the world ages past until the beastmen deployed a magical plague of untold proportions. This event was debated to this day within the halls and temples of many a God, some more sinful members of the faith going as far as saying it was one of the many reasons the Mad God turned on the All-Father. "Suppose I could ask Him, one of these days" Hope spoke as she found the place her current quest had her going, the objective was simple, locate the bones of Shaman King Okir, the last Emperor of the Goblins, apparently the man was already king before becoming emperor... If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. She didn''t find him in the throne room, nay the remains of the ancient goblin man were hunched over, holding a walking stick looking at gods knew how many dead skeletons in a courtyard, it was as the historians said, he died trying to help his people to the bitter end. "Unbroken forgive me" Hope walked forth and pulled a grim-looking horn out of her backpack, it seethed and coiled around her arm as she chanted a vile necromantic spell that took her way too long to learn, even with Castra and her family helping, the horn became a sludge and with a final chant of the name of the Emperor of Goblins, Hope finished the spell. The bones melted into the sludge, and from it, a mighty staff made out of ivory wood was born, Hope grabbed it and felt a whisper echo in her mind "Human, Daughter of the Grand Enemy, heed my words well, in your hands is the failed hope of my people, may it help you save the one who cares for you from certain death" And there it was, Hope felt a shortness of breath and sat down at a bench she found. "One down, another one to go" she spoke out loud for the remains of the ancient goblin empire. She heard a chime in her mind, time was up for the spell that brought her here, with fast steps she rushed to her starting point and felt the arcane weave wash over her, within seconds she was back to Vermilion standing in front of a group of mages, with a stern nod the mage in charge started chanting again and Hope felt her insides going haywire, for some reason, she couldn''t help but feel like she was going to throw up, even after finding a spell that blocked such a thing. With the sound of a finger snap, Hope closed her eyes and then opened them, she heard the sea waves crash against jagged rocks and sand "An island? But where?" with her Divination spells she began firing magic, together with miracles tailor-made by a consortium of divines that Kaine rounded up for near-perfect accuracy readings, Hope''s mind blossomed into shades of color and for a moment she was one with the material plane. "That never feels good, no matter how many times I use this combination of spells" she complained to no one as the location''s name escaped her lips "Peace''s End" She felt the bitterness in her tongue and imagined Richard''s face morphing into his usual frown whenever he was irritated, something he shared with Arthur she had found after they all got together... "Focus woman, no daydreaming today" Hope got to walking, finding remains of a fierce battle all around the beach, ancient banners of the great families from Vermillion, Orcish Warmasters, and Generals as well, this was the sight very few alive had the privilege of seeing. It was after all one of the last sites of battle from the great war that freed the Orcs from Sea Elf slavery. "Where''s the shield" Hope moved with purpose on her steps, the healing staff was one thing but if she could get that blasted relic... "Damn it all where is it!" she began firing more divination as despair crept along her back, its icy nails dragging themselves on her skin together with the heat and sweat, arriving at a fortification within a cave she saw many Knights''s corpses blocking a hallway, pushing their bones aside she beheld the Relic. The Sacred Shield was one of the relics the first king of Vermilion brought from the Imperium, capable of stopping everything in the mortal realm, it was the perfect counter against all evils that could harm the king, and yet... "It''s broken" The words left her lips as she grabbed the shards of the Relic, a spell? no this was something else "Powers from beyond the cosmos" Hope felt on her hand that unique dagger she had gotten from Lucrezia in their shared battle against the Queen... "To think, damn it all I can''t even flush out possible future readings!" She felt her emotions rise to her head, the Rage trembling inside of her soul as she begged for something to happen, for to someone come down and fix this. A fool''s wish Hope thought to herself, there would be no stopping what was to come, she knew that and this was but the final dot on that line, what she had to do now was make sure she would survive, and All-Father Willing, save Lucrezia as well.
Vivienne stood in a deep meditative state on top of a raised platform, below her nearly 30 adventurers and dungeon explorers freshly bruised, burned, and broken from the trials of the capital''s famous labyrinth, in her mind''s eye she saw a faint outline of the complex Divine weave for the miracle she was about to perform, her faith interlacing with her mana as the air inside the room froze for a split second. Gasps of relief and awe were heard, but the young woman paid no mind to them as her soul felt the ghostly presence of the Boy, the little man who fought alongside Lucrezia''s shade to save Vivienne from her hell, His was a wrathful yet kind presence, it installed on her a greater sense of grit in a way that made her want to push herself to the very limits of her powers. A warm wave exploded out of her own body as memories of her first kiss with Lucrezia blossomed, unshackled as they were her emotions had the opportunity of running wild for once, and her Divine Miracles reflected that sense of inner peace and fulfillment, to move on was truly hard and Vivienne herself often had spells of sadness, of rage and anger, alas with Richard and Lucrezia she would live a fulfilling life... "...Lady Vivienne" a tall elven woman broke her reverie, Vivienne was once again struck at the beauty of this woman, Guild Leader Labrieli was not an easy woman to behold, or even be near without feeling like she was having a bad case of the shaky legs. Vivienne had asked Lucrezia about her and her beloved confirmed the elven leader was not using anything nefarious... "My Lady, all adventurers, and delivers are fully healed, we once again thank you for this gesture" The woman bowed with genuine intent behind it "It is sporadic seeing someone so gifted in the art of benediction solely via Miracles, it takes healing mages years of training with doctors, surgeons and those learned in the ways our bodies work to even get at this level you are at" she extended her hand as Vivienne rose from the platform, both women walking towards a table and sitting down, ready to eat and drink. "And yet I am once again forced to ask, why? what is driving you to push yourself this hard?" the question hung in the air for minutes as Vivienne ate and drank to fill, her body welcoming the nourishment with joy. "A vision, of a friend, a lover dying" Vivienne spoke as she recalled the horrible dream, Lucrezia''s body lay on the ground as blood pooled around her, she had a sad smile on her face as Hope''s body shook in rage and Richard''s was on his knees besides her, stunned. Kaine and Vivienne working tirelessly to undo the harm, Arthur commanding his Royal Knights... "If thou wishes to save her, then seek strife, seek power, seek mastery over yourself and your abilities, only then will she live!" a voice spoke as the image faded from her mind, Vivienne didn''t need to guess, that was an entity from beyond the cosmos, she knew the cold, the alien feeling her mind and soul experienced before, and yet this one wanted to save Lucrezia? why? "...And so you sought to better your skills, push them to the utmost limit? Honorable" the Guild Master nodded in approval "If you are willing I have a proposition for you, it shall test you to the very limits of your healing powers, but on the same token, it could break you in ways not easily mended by magic and miracle both" she grabbed a small marble and channeled her mana into it "This is a Plague-Seeker, or at least a close approximation of the foul Sea Elven beast created by our dragon friend downstairs, of late it has grown too powerful and only a equality powerful healer can smite the fiend" "Alone?" Vivienne asked and the Elf nodded. "No need to respond now, take your time, rest, and prepare for you have time still it seems" she smiled "We have arranged a room for you should you need it as well. a token of gratitude for the good work you have done" Vivienne nodded and asked for the room, Labrieli guiding her there in silence as the young healer found herself within a comfortable room, complete with climate control via enchantment work done to its foundation. Being so close to the wonders of Magi-Tech, it was easy to forget about the enchanting art, even if by technicality Magi-Tech was closer to it than to pure engineering, of course, she and the others had often talked about the semantics of this issue with Lucrezia, and within their classes that dealt with the faith and its powers, it was a important part that many leaders of their faiths had to get it down right. Vivienne centered herself on meditation, feeling her powers at work as the image of the foul beast flashed through her mind, and yet no good strategy made itself manifest, she had the means and the knowledge, plus the tools provided by Lucrezia... What do I lack then? the young woman thought to herself, interfacing with her mana and divine sigil just behind her shoulder blade, seconds stretching into hours as her mind marched down in a steady rhythm, seeking a way to defeat the beast. Deep in this state, Vivienne beheld a great battlefield upon craggy plains, her body suddenly floating upon a host clad in what could only be described as vengeful holy light, against it stood another host, smoke and fire cloaking them. A fierce battle ensured as the young woman watched in sheer horror atrocities being committed by the fighters and their leaders, it was not noble or glorious like Vermilian doctrine, no this was a fight to the death and total annihilation. With another blink of her eyes, she was knee-deep in a river of blood, she saw the stygian affluent run its course, rising to the skies above her before falling to the earth below, a scream was heard and the young woman covered her ears, then she felt a great wave of force push her insides, as if the very place she was tried to kill her! INTELOPER! All around her, the voice of whatever entity was trying to contact her screamed bloody murder, she felt a profound sense of wrongness to the whole affair, as if to say her soul being here was not something they had in mind. Silence, stretching to infinity as she waited for judgment but it did not come, instead a great pyre beckoned her to the center of the river''s flow, its flames were purple and blue as Vivienne felt a power so overwhelming it was nearly enough to make her fall to her knees. "___----___AID----___" Alien words that did not make sense to her ears bar a single sentence, Vivienne felt her mind snap back to her body, floating above her head was a shinning long sword, clad in white flame and steel, a pommel that depicted a dragon, and in its guard a single sentence. "Ascalon" the name felt wrong, from it came a thick aura of death and destruction "But can I use it? My training with regular weapons is mostly the basics" She grabbed the weapon from the air and screamed. Vivienne found herself in the middle of a fierce battle in some snowbound place, behind her back the whistle of some great locomotive roared as artillery both conventional and magic rained death from above, around her men and women, demons and kin of many a kind waged war so thick with desperation she could see it. And then she saw it, the demon on top of his horse, First Prince Galius''s smirk that was ingrained upon her very being thanks to his foul magicks. "KILL HIM" A voice came from the blade, Vivienne''s eyes shot wide "RIP HIM TO SHREDS," It said again. And so she did, armed with the profane weapon from the terrors of the cosmos she tore into the man like a beast possessed, within her chest she felt a rush of blood so potent, so primal it was almost too easy to lose herself on it, for every slash and pierce he rose again until the blade spoke again. "GOOD, RIP AND TEAR, FEAR INCARNATE, NO DEFEAT, NO SURRENDER, NO PRISONERS" Vivienne returned to the waking world, blade in hand and a glint in her eye. "No Mercy" Chapter 87: Killing Fields "It was then that Duchess Hfragar the Iceborn saw her folly, in trying to tame the wastes she had nearly broken the Wulfgrem Duchy and its people, with shame in her face and tears in her eyes the mighty battlemage sounded the retreat, ending one of the many doomed campaigns in that accursed place" The Duchy of Wulfgrem and its story, primer for non-Vermilians. Vivienne strapped herself with her armor and staff, sword in hand as she walked toward the entrance of the dungeon and sent a pulse of mana towards the small panel to the side of the main doorway, the intent was clear, she would face the beast of plague and pox to prove herself. And yet a thought kept racing around her head, why were these creatures of immense power testing her? What were they planning? Does it matter? said the inner voice as she made her way into the depths of the dungeon I need every edge I can get! the enemies are at the door and I will not be caught unaware again! It was a side of her she often kept restrained, it was so easy to be angry at the world, at the injustice of it all but with that sword in hand she felt those chains and locks slowly being broken, the wrath of a scorned woman was no joke as her father oft said. Her mind and heart calmed for a bit as she began casting Miracles to ward off every manner of toxin and curse, half the battle was prep work after all. She could see the phantom of Kaine to her side pointing out flaws in her weave, Vivienne often felt jealousy of the young mage for he was the first among the friends of Lucrezia, even now after they had entered a relationship it was clear to see she valued his opinion greatly...she laughed at the silly notion and felt that she still had some issues to work it out with her beloved... "Focus" Vivienne said to herself as she began to cast magic taught by Kaine, this would be her first and final line of attack together with the sword, her Magi-Tech staff glowed with power and a low hum could be heard from the weapon, floating behind her now she balled her left hand into a fist and felt a snap in the arcane weave, with another thought she shaped it into a knot and it was done. "Spell Order: Purge All Toxins, Halo of Power, Halo of Healing, Revival from Near Death," A click in her mind told her the spell was working and she was ready, a silent nod to the gatekeeper and she was off to fight the Plague-Seeker. Ten steps into the darkness and she was within a large circular arena, nowhere to run or ride as a mighty beast stood in the middle of it, its body was made of a mass of rotten flesh, vestigial wings dotted its back and weird frog-like legs gave it a mighty leaping ability, its head was half skeleton half boils and scabs, it was like a horse and snake had mated and this unholy beast was the result of it. Vivienne felt holy power flow from the blade, her mind was stricken as if a lightning bolt had slammed into her ''NO FEAR'' it said and she snarled as the beast unleashed a stream of curses upon her position. The hunt was on, with short incantations she raised her staff, and new magic flowed from it, a mighty aegis of green and silver forming and shielding her from the initial barrage, she threw the staff in the air and the weapon hovered above her, grabbing the blade with both hands she went on the offensive, a mighty overhead slash into one of the legs found purchase and the beast shrieked in horror. Foul miasma escaped from the wound and Vivienne felt her Revival from Near Death go off, with a mighty leap backward she took a guarding stance and circled the beast, her staff glowing to recast the spell, she could only do it 2 times a day, so cutting off the other leg was out of the table. Eyes full of hate and fear stared right back at her, the beast mimicked her movements placing one of its vestigial wings forward almost like a shield, it snarled once, then twice, and tried to pounce with speed unnatural, and yet the beast did not find purchase for its attack as a mighty boom came from the staff, golden light pierced the darkness and for a brief minute, the entire arena was alight! Fevor, fury so righteous it nearly singed her fingers poured from the blade, it begged in some eldrich way to kill the beast, volition she had never felt in her life in a way that was near maniacal and unhinged. It was a test, she could feel it as the intentions of the ones who gifted her this powerful weapon also came from below, should she succumb to this rage it would end the potential of growth, she would have a powerful weapon and that was that. Refinite, polished to a mirror sheen, her father''s words came to her mind as the memory of being taught how to wield the blades of the Shogunate and its unique arts played within her head. So Vivienne rose above it and found a wave of approval from the powers from beyond the cosmos. "Worthy" she spoke out loud as the blade''s fury was replaced with grim determination, with a grunt of power she leaped and slashed the wing''s muscles, the Plague-Seeker did not take the wound lightly as it spitted foul venom from its mouth and with the good leg, leaped to the walls of the arena and bellowed a horrifying scream, no doubt trying to intimate Vivienne. Fumes and oily liquid filled the arena below it, Vivienne felt the Halo of Power going off, forming an invisible shield around her that kept the tide at bay, and for as long she remained inside of it, her powers would also be boosted. She pointed the sword to the beast and with a short chant let loose two projectiles filled with Divine energy, one from the blade and another from her staff, she wanted to shape them into arrows but in her battle high the one imagined that came to her mind were mighty spears, feeling her mana drop to half her capacity due to the increased shaping of the arcane, Vivienne roared a scream in challenge to the animal. "Get down here!" she bellowed out as the spears pierced its twisted flesh, a wailing so high it hurt her ears, the foul liquid vanished in a plume of toxic smoke and she bolted forward, sword in hand and burning mana to summon a pillar of holy fire. The world slowed down around Vivienne as the fruits of her training showed themselves, she was a warrior now, a holy warrior even, and in this crucible of combat, she would be forged into a fearsome force on the battlefield. Piercing and Slashing at the monster, she dodged its blows, and countered its vile magic with her powers both magical and divine, raising Ascalon high she pulled forth the powers from beyond and pillars of white salt slammed into the beast, comets of brimstone destroying its wings and blocks of hail so massive she heard the crunch of bone and sinew. With a scream of raw power and desperation, she pinned the beast and pierced its belly, dragging the blade to its tail with the power she didn''t know she had in her own body, the beast became wisps of mana as she slammed the blade into the ground, holding her entire body weight into it. her body tensed up as a powerful presence filled the room, and then she relaxed, it was the Red Dragon. A voice boomed from the walls "Impressive work my lady, I''ve spoken with the Guild Leader already, and she has extra rewards for you, out of my private collection" She nodded in thanks, having little strength for actual words, her minding racing thinking about the rewards, it was no wonder Lucrezia often went to the dungeon on her own, the allure of loot was a powerful thing.
"Kaine please, this is dramatic even for you!" Kaede raced around the room as the love of her life dressed in what had to be the most cutting-edge suit of mage armor that existed in the land, she felt the tinges of panic race all across her back and tail, she wasn''t made for this she thought to herself as Kaine remained quiet, nery a sound coming out of the young man. "Has to be done dear, unfortunately as it is for me to say it, it has to be done" his voice was eerily heavy and sad, lacking the manic energy and cheer she knew so well, out of everything it came to her mind to try and stop this mad quest of his, nothing seemed to work because she was all too aware it wouldn''t work, he had to win this upcoming fight, totally win in a way so brutal it would shape future events... "Will she do it? are you sure of it?" Kaede asked Kaine one more time and he closed his eyes, power hummed all across him like pure energy "...Gwennarius refuses to save her, in grief and rage Hope forcefully summons down the Goddess onto the mortal coil and slays her with the spear that was gifted by the Hive-Mind partition, things escalate further from there into pandemonium..." Kaine sighed "...Hope becomes Duchess-in-Waiting of Wulfgrem, Arthur renounces the claim for the throne as he joins his beloved, blessed by the Winter Spirits they raise a grand army, Grannarius, the Imperium, Sea-Folk, Shogunate, and even the Elves from the Principality, Vivienne together with Richard both who went mad and cruel with grief are named Warmasters of the North, more allies from beyond, Dragon Hordes and Demon Armies..." Such was the command of the river of time from Kaine, Kaede could see whispers of this dire future, she saw her friends warped in malice, rage, and grief as they built an army that would swallow Vermilion whole, and then the world. She saw Hope sat upon an icy throne, spear in hand and armor wrought of unknown metal, her visage one of pure barely controlled rage as the men and women of Wulfgrem, a few Kaede herself had the pleasure of meeting spoke with this alternative Hope, the thirst of blood clear to see in their eyes as they pointed to maps and scrolls, magickal forms of armies, ships and airships all around them. She saw Richard and Vivienne, now twice as big and armed with powerful suits of armor not unlike the ZENOS units, Raven motifs around the pauldrons for Vivienne, Dire Wolf for Richard as they stormed the Palace and slaughtered the men and women there down to the last, only for the vision to speed itself up and show a half dead Richard holding the head of Queen Malphas, raising his sword and head to the skies and screamed to the skies. "And yet this is not the full account of these events, are they?" Kaede asked, iron in her mouth as she knew what her beloved was hiding, after all, who was first among Lucrezia''s friends and advisors? who had she gone out of her way to save from a battle against the first prince, trained and was trained by, granted weapons and magick no one had ever seen and made anointed by the Goddess of Time herself? Hope often spoke with Keade, about how she felt jealous of how Lucrezia always consulted with Kaine first, how she would call him for backup when she was just as good with magic, and how much she trusted the man, it was petty Hope said, but a good kind of petty and endearing because she knew Lucrezia didn''t discriminate or favored, she knew how to best work a problem with the ones around her, and often Kaine was the best for it. "Do you want to see it?" Kaine asked after a long pause, she read his face and saw a rare hint of sadness in it, holding Kaine''s hand she steeled herself for the vision, for the fate that would wait for them all if Kaine did not win the coming battle. Kaede nodded still holding his hand. The vision shifted into a horrifying battlefield, melted bodies and broken stonework dotting the scene as a pair of mages floated above, raw arcane power crackling through them as they rained down terror unto the survivors. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. And no just that, huge flesh abominations wrought of necromancy were summoned by them, as the tiny crystal shards coming from their wands betrayed their identities, hidden in macabre ritual garbs that shone like an oil spill, heads hooded with some monster hide, gasp of surprise left Keade''s mouth as she saw herself, pale as white snow and with eyes of madness staring at the ground. Kaine looked just as evil, and yet she could also see the pain in his face, the rage, and self-hatred of being unable to save his friend making him fall to his wrath and anguish, a perfect gallery of villains, of evil bent on inflicting pain and misery to lash out against the world who was cruel enough to steal their beloved friend, Kaede didn''t fail to see Castra-Cam''s form in the battlefield either, the undead warrior looking especially grim with a scythe made out of blood red crystal. Kaine ended the trance-like state and spoke "My mother has a spell, one she has worked for nearly a decade to perfect, it can put anything or anyone into a perfect stasis by removing the local that the spell was cast from the river of time without upsetting Gwennarius, if we can grab hat spell we can save Lucrezia, and this future will not come to pass, but to get said spell we will have to fight her" He spoke slowly and methodically, clearly not a fan of the idea but knowing it had to be done. "And your father, plus your sister" Kaede sighed "Who are holed up in the Arch-Mage''s tower surrounded by Magi-Knights, their troops, and gods know how many mages of high level who will fight to defend their stronghold, Kaine I know you are strong, I know I am strong, but this is too much! how can we fight them? without becoming enemies of the state in the process?" Kaede laughed, the insanity of it all making her lose it a little. Kaine smirked, and said, "Oh, I have a few ideas about that, my dear, now listen..."
"I am sorry Kaine, we have barely gotten the weapons platform working and the elven leaders that rule over our little moon spaceport are being unreasonable about their demands again, I am afraid I can''t let you test fire the main gun yet, even if I would find it funny hearing your mother swear at you again, no Kaede of course, Gods know the woman doesn''t deserve it" Lucrezia spoke as she toiled at some Magi-Tech gizmo, Kaine felt a weird flashback seeing the scene, as if something else was happening in the background that was the woman in front of them. "A ship, a dozen ZENOS units, and your Knight-Commander?" Kaine asked, barely holding the laughter back as he mouthed the insane request. Lucrezia cleared her throat and turned to face him and Kaede "Ahem, I will not be trialed for treason of the state, sedition, or a coup my arcane-inclined friend, Kaede you ought to knock some sense into him, this is enough men and material to overthrow a small country he''s asking!" She laughed but Kaine saw that Kaede was not smiling, her tail betraying the severity of the request and conversation they were having. Lucrezia stared Kaine down, then started Kaede down "Why?" "You" Kaine spoke and Lucrezia sat down on her chair, hands on her face as she contemplated the meaning of that reply, all the things left unsaid by Kaine and he knew she would understand it. "You" Kaede spoke afterward, and the woman in front of her slouched on her chair, looking like a blacksmith who had just heard his shipment of ore was delayed for a whole month, indignation, rage, a sigh to keep it all locked away before resignation blossomed upon her face, a look very few were privileged to as Kaine knew from his time spent with her up in the north. "Talk with Vivienne, that''s all I can do without getting everyone here thrown into the dungeon" Lucrezia relented and both mages were off, ready for the next stage of their plans.
Duskweaver Cakrahan sighed as she patrolled the outer walls of the Arch-Mage''s compound, today was an awful summer day, in a row of awful summer days and she prayed for winter to relieve her of this misery, using spells to cool her down was already starting to taper off and she had an inkling the Summer Spirits were doing this on purpose, Gods knew they were whimsical like that... "I miss the North" she spoke to no one and sighed, After nearly 2 decades living in the South after the war against the elven menace she still couldn''t get used to the weather, nevermind the fact her home had gone through an actual honest-to-gods coup. the alabaster woman stopped at a checkpoint to relieve herself, her tall frame towering over even the men who worked with her, cold magenta eyes and equally colored hair gave her quite the striking appearance within these arcane halls, and no end of confessions by younger mages. "And I thought becoming a weaver would''ve stopped them" she spoke to no one while resting on the porcelain throne within the checkpoint, aye it was rare for anyone nowadays to get through the tests, forge, and wield the special sword-staff AND defeat whatever abomination the Arch-Mages summoned via their spells but by the Gods above and Demons below she had done it, and now was in charge of her very own squad of would-be candidates, plus security of the place together with the Mage-Knights and the other security measures they had in place. In this most sacred of places Cakrahan heard furious knocking outside, and sounds of hurried footsteps in the distance "I am in the fucking shitter unless this is an emergency fuck off!" she screamed, likely it was some newbie guard spooked because some would-be mage summoned some demon or such, Gods be good the level of discipline these days...of course, she wasn''t expecting an explosion the size of a small house to hit her checkpoint. Instincts honed by war kicked in and within seconds she was outside, hand in a warhorn that was blown so loud, half the city would''ve heard it, in the distance more horns were blown, and magickal alarms rung with gusto, she couldn''t believe it, someone was stupid enough to attack the Arch-Mage''s hold head bloody on! flares rainbow in color went up in the skies as she looked up and beheld the fools who dared to commit such an act. A squadron of Mage-Knights teleported to her location as she whistled, her squad members rushed to her side and got ready, with a smooth motion Cakrahan summoned her weapon of choice and called out the intelopers, magic powering her words "Halt! Who dares attack the demesne of Arch-Mage Valtas and Sophia!?!" A boom came from the figures up in the skies as mages raised their shields and wands, some summoned familiars ready for the fight. "ME!" Cakrahan eyes widened as she beheld the face of one Kaine Antewood, son of the very same people she had just proclaimed. To her credit she did not hesitate and immediately went on the offensive, arcane weave flowed through her like a river and the young mage above her was quick to fire back a beam of pure golden light at her, it was nearly like miracle incantations! Her forces didn''t falter either, the trio was pierced by a barrage of spells, magical bombardments, and plain old steel as soldiers from the ramparts fired arrows at the interlopers, Cakrahan pointed her sword towards Kaine and fired a gnarly-looking spiral projectile, it drank the light around its path and for a moment the entire battlefield went silent as the woman had fired something that could kill the scion of their bosses. "Vivienne, deal with the rabble" Kaine spoke as Cakrahan''s men exploded into motes of light and sparkle, she saw they were being entombed in prisons of light that looked alien and offputting, she didn''t need to guess that was no native spell of this world and cursed out loud before speaking "Eldricht Element!" the mages near her shouted in response and instant multiple pillars of green looking runes were raised, Order was restored to the Material Plane as one of the most advanced weapons against the enemies from beyond was called upon in this dire field of battle she found herself in. The third Inteloper raised a crystal staff towards the projectile Cakrahan had launched and sucked the spell in, once again she cursed out loud and called more mana towards her soul, if the kid wanted to pick a fight gods above she would grant him his wish! with a leap she fell behind the pillars and barked orders, the people fighting with her following them to the letter as they warded off the light pillars Kaine and the now revealed Kaede, rumored girlfriend and Kitsune where throwing. "Lockdown, eliminate that shell!" Kaine commanded again and Cakrahan''s eyes went wide once again, she was aware of the name as she had seen firsthand the Terrifying War Golem from Lucrezia''s forges demolish Uumaries cathedral! She then saw a small woman charge them, staff floating behind her back and a golden sword pointed straight at Cakrahan''s neck, a bolt of lighting halted her advance as the mages around gasped at the identity of the woman, the bloody Arch-Duke''s daughter! and that sword, gods be merciful an actual artifact of the powers from beyond! it brimmed with alien power too! "...Raise your staves and wands men! grimories and words of power, for we are not a bunch of neophytes fresh out of academia! warriors of the arcane, masters of the weave and flow from the heart of this reality, HOLD. YOUR. GRO-" A rousing speech came from an older-looking mage who was a bit far away from Cakrahan before a shadow fell on top of him. The Evil colossus was wrought from crystal and silver, plated in steel and malice, and with weapons tailor-made to kill mages, Cakrahan didn''t think twice as she lept into the fray and with power hitherto known to her cast a spear of pure darkness and heaved at the war golem, this was it she thought to herself as the vile mechanical beast placed both arms forward, palms outstretched as an actual black hole manifested itself and sucked the spell into the aether. Death comes. And yet the mage line held true and fast, the interlopers focused down the group with spells she could barely react to in time, Cakrahan felt her very thoughts slowing down as Kaine pointed his staff to them and chanted in wordless form, Vivienne stabbed the foul blade onto the ground and a blasted tree, shining in silver light was summoned, with its roots it grabbed the first row of mages and Cakrahan. "Gods forgive me for being lax with my morning watch" were the last words that escaped the northern woman whose thoughts went home, she heard a boom and thunder and braced herself for the killing blow. Death did not come. "I will fuck you up Kaine, and your father won''t be here to stop me this time you ungrateful, whore chasing disgrace of a son, think you can just ruin my place?! sling spells at my people?! Use that disgrace of a golem in my gardens!?!" A very familiar voice screamed all around Cakrahan as she opened her eyes and found herself up in the skies, beneath her was the compound, to her side Sophia Antewood and Margaret Antewood stood, the Arch-Mage was the very image of wrath, but her daughter looked subdued, as if this fight to the death was all a waste of time. "On your feet Duskweaver, you have someone to fight! on your fucking feet Cakrahan!" Sophia''s voice came with magic that lifted Cakrahan from whatever platform was holding them up in the clear skies granting her sharper focus and renewing her energy reserves, she was ready for round two but the question was, would she want to fight that fight? "What, you think only because you are a Chronomance you are the only one privy to future events you cock sucker? I AM ARCH MAGE, I HAVE DIVINATION SPELLS THAT WOULD MAKE YOUR WHORE OF A GODDESS BLUSH!" Sophia bellowed towards her son who had yet to utter a word to his mother, Cakrahan knew the Arch-Mage had a temper and a bone to pick with her son for a while no but this was, well there were no two ways to put it, downright rude. She beheld Vivienne''s steely gaze and drew her weapon again, the Arch-Duke''s daughter closed her eyes in silent prayer and Cakrahan nearly fell at her knees when she saw the sight, a blur enveloped Vivienne and a torrent of Divine Energy flooded the arena in the skies, the girl had an Divine Avatar on her. Another rush nearly knocked her again as Kaine also summoned it, but the form behind him was not a slight shadow, no his was something else. A woman, a beautiful woman hugged his neck, her eyes were starting at Cakrahan and she saw the stars on them, her hair flowed like a dark icy river, and upon her entire body was rune carvings, a humm to the air as the noise of clocks rung around their ears, tick tick tick Cakrahan felt as her very soul beheld one of the most powerful divines in existence. Gwennarius had come. "You little whore of a friend dies! YOU" Sophia pointed to the image of the Goddess of Time hugging her son''s neck like a lover "Die as well, it all goes to shit so bad an invasion by the Imperium looks less grim! Oh, I know you little cunt of a son, I know and she knows as well, no you will not have my spell, why? because you ruined it all!" Vivienne stepped forth and spoke, her voice barely a whisper "...Something is controlling your mother, it is nested deep inside her mind, it reeks of Malpha''s mana" Kaine looked at Kaede and nodded, he then looked at Cakrahan and spoke. "Leave, this is family business Lady Cakrahan, I would ask that you do not speak of what you heard here, and tell the good men and women down below we are just having a...family dispute over weave methodology" Kaine smiled a half smile, oh yes Cakrahan was keenly aware of that topic, it was often mages would come to blows due to it, so bad it was a joke around the place. Would the rest believe it? she didn''t know but more importantly, did not care, she had fought enough fights, seen enough death to nod at the young man''s word and be sent back to earthen grounds, with quick explanations she managed to calm the people down and spread the word to the rest, as things started to calm down she saw a smoking wrecked pile of crystal to the side of the checkpoint she was, Arch-Mage Sophia had actually destroyed that terrifying war golem just like that. "Chief Valtas, I hope you have better luck than me" Cakrahan spoke out loud and went back to her barracks, a bottle of strong sleep potion waiting for her beside her bed. Chapter 88: Cast thy eyes and behold, Perk thy ears and Listen, Open thy mouth and scream. Once, a powerful Magus of the then newly minted Imperium devised a plan to ascend to godhood, he would tap into the Sphere of Mana that lies at the center of this universe we live in and open his path to apotheosis via sheer brute force. For his Hubris he was killed and his soul transformed into pure mana, for his miracles he was awarded immortality as his spells were reverse-engineered and allowed All-Father Faal to forge new paths to conquer faraway realities. On the wonders and horrors of Magic, the abridged Volume 3. Arch-Mage Sophia couldn''t believe her eyes as the woman she had trained for months deserted her to fend off her son, his whore of a lover, and...shite, that was Vivienne wasn''t it? Sophia was hoping never to meet the girl again, after all, she had fucked all up, and let Galius get away with it while turning a blind eye and lying to her son about it...this was not good, not at all. "She won''t give the spell Willingint Kaine, No Mercy" Vivienne spoke in a hushed whisper, the girl''s entire body was covered in some moving plate armor, it was almost mesmerizing watching crystal and steel warp like that...Sophia barely dodged the energy blast from the sword when she came to, Vivienne having done a short teleport and planting a double-legged kick right in her ribcage. Kaine did not wait for his friend to finish and nailed Sophia with chains made out of solid white jade, Kaede leaped upwards, and with a scream that betrayed quite a pair of lungs, her hands up high as a sphere of blue light was made manifest and Sophia felt cold sweat on her back, by all the hells and devils both was she trying to level the entire city!?!? Sophia flexed her hands and stretched. A terrible, inhuman noise was heard all around them as the Annihilation of Met was dispelled by a wave of mana so strong, that it swept over Kaede and made the young kitsune fall back to their floating platform, she had a wolfish grin on her face "Gotcha" she said as her body went up in smoke and Sophia heard a grinding noise come from her belly, Kaede slamming another Annihilation of Met straight into Sophia. Cracks in the fabric of space and time formed as Sophia''s body was unmade and then made again, Kaine laughed as the Goddess who was nested on his back opened her eyes and pointed her finger towards Sophia "Not yours to use" with a snap of her fingers Sophia felt all her knowledge of Chronomancy being locked away deep within her mind and soul, never to be used again. "Kill me your whore and disgrace of a son, and Malphas will mount your heads on a pike and throw them at Lucrezia''s feet!" Sophia spoke in rage as she began lobbing spells with velocity no living mage could pull it off, the trio immediately split off to the sides, with Vivienne grabbing the hit of her sword with both hands and summoning a pitch black bolt of energy, Sophia snarled and with lighting quick gestures nearly dispelled the attack from the vile weapon, it wasn''t enough given her attention was being pushed to the max in other fronts, Kaede slamming her barriers with battering rams made out of solid rock and Kaine throwing some sort of demented chronomanict spell that slowed the space around her. "Give me the spell scroll, and I won''t hurt you" Kaine spoke and his mother scoffed "Hurt ME?!?" Sophia spat in his direction with force likely propelled by magic or sheer hate "Welp you couldn''t hurt me if you had a dozen gods backing you!" with a force of raw magic hitherto seen she leaped into the air and with gestures akin to a fighter slashing the air in front of them, summoned great arms out of ectoplasm. As if a giant had descended from the heavens itself, the arms began raining down blows upon all of them, Kaede having the worst of the attack as more arms were summoned and started hammering her defenses before she could even get a counterspell off, planting her staff on the platform she focused entirely on defense as a mighty tower made out of arcane energy and divine power was erected around the young kitsune, a bulwark against the unending attacks. "Vivienne, are you sure this is mind magic at work? I can not detect anything" Kaine sent a short message to his friend and the woman replied in the back of his mind "Yes, it is deep within her soul in a way that can thwart even specialized scans, we will need to restrain her to remove it" Vivienne spoke with conviction that made him wary, how did she find out? A question for another time, Kaine felt his soul nearly rupture from the amount of divine power he was summoning, as the girls bought him time he saw his mother hurl magic and insults both with speed and precision that truly made him stand in awe of her might, his father was right after all, in a straight fight there would be no way he could defeat his mother. I can only hope her behavior improves somewhat if I can clear this mysterious spell the queen placed on her, calling Kaede a slut is getting on my nerves already he thought to himself as she saw Vivienne cut off all the arms and his mother float back down to the platform, conjuring a ball of white flame as Kaine''s eyes widened in horror, a comet swarm! Gods be good the woman was mad! "Kaede, more protection, every ounce of mana on it!" He barked the order and his beloved nodded, grabbing her staff with both hands and kneeling in front of it as the tower became a mighty castle, as soon as the spell snapped into place he screamed for Vivienne to retreat and behold the true power of his mother. Comets the size of walls slammed into their fortress, each boom knocking them around as Kaede held on for dear life, but Sophia did not stop, with chanting, actual honest-to-goodness ritualistic chanting she bombarded the spell construct with tornadoes, lighting storms, huge ice spikes akin to tree roots and even torrents of pure light, a magician version of a pillar of holy fire. Now Kaine heard the soft voice of his Goddess and raised his staff, around the city numerous mages and faithful of Gwennarius channeled their faith towards him as sigils of power, Magi-Tech radio towers and even Spirits Lucrezia managed to convince to help aid Kaine in casting this mad spell, with a grunt of power he focused on the image of his mother who was ready to slam another round of city busters on them and pointed his staff. A torrent of power, unseen in the mortal coil but felt by anyone with good enough senses slammed into Sophia as her body, mind, and soul were ravaged by powerful chronomancy, an array of effects that ranged from slowing her perception of time, to forwarding it, wrecking her body mass, muscles and nerves then healing it, and even messing with the soul which left both Kaine and Gwennarius in a precarious position due to how much-unsanctioned necromancy they could employ before the Undying got angry, luckily for both Kaine had already hashed out a deal with Castra-Cam, but still... The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. He felt iron in his mouth, of course he wasn''t too keen on hurting his godsdamned mother but if what Vivienne had spoken was true, then this was the only way...at least that was what Kaine spoke to himself to stop the little voice inside his head comparing him to Lucrezia again, this time in the Kin killing front, who would be next the little voice posed a query, dad? sister? "Snap out of it Kaine!" Kaede screamed from his side and he was back in the real world, gods above and below he loved that woman, with a nod towards her the 3 of them rushed to a stunned Sophia. whose massive spells had safely stopped and left the woman kneeling on the platform''s grounds. Kaine raised his staff once again and prepared to cast a Mind spell that he often used with his dear friend Arthur. This convoluted Mind-Soul bridge would form an illusory realm inside the mind of the one being cast, and hopefully find the source of compulsion that the queen had implanted on his mother. Joining hands, Kaine snapped the spellwork into going live and felt his entire being getting sucked into the weave, a nasty side effect that he was already used to but he felt the two girls would cringe at the experience, given it was their first time doing it. The world went dark, and then there was light, pale blue as waves of mana radiated from Sophia''s soul, Kaine landed on his feet as both Kaede and Vivienne staggered and fell, he helped the girls up and looked around "I can sense the spell we are after, its behind something...powerful, rotten luck whatever spell the queen latched on mother''s soul and mind is flexible enough to guard it?" Kaine shook his head, he knew his parents and Arthur''s parents had accomplished adventures before rising to the leadership positions they were in, it would stand to reason Queen Malphas had picked up a few tricks when it came to Mind Magic and Necromancy... Kaine felt a surge of power, of a unique variety flash from Vivienne, his nose twitched at the distinct smell of the Divine energy that surged from her and the word Draconic came to his mind like a light spell in the darkness. Two shades parted from her body, one he was very familiar with as her metallic arm held a mighty dragonbone ax, hair tied into a ponytail, and azure eyes scanning the empty halls of the landing pad for the spell. "Lucrezia? No... it''s a construct of some sort, a defense mechanism of the soul born out of the, ah I see..." Kaede spoke in a whisper as Kaine saw Vivienne nod without looking at them, yet the second shade was the one that spooked him something strong, part of his mind screamed at him saying that it was something alien, from beyond the cosmos even which was strange. Then it spoke. "...Powerful foe, the specter of evil..." Kaine knew it was some alien language, but given he was indirectly tapping into Vivienne''s soul he could understand the shade, he looked barely 16 years of age, with dark hair, and median stature, in his hands a plain steel sword and no armor, he didn''t need to guess the role of this shade given what he had heard and seen from Lucrezia''s in the real world, this was how she had helped Vivienne in her greatest time of need. Vivienne smiled at the boy "We have backup this time" and he nodded, his head snapping to Kaede and Kaine, he locked eyes with Kaine and twisted his head to the side, within those dark eyes of his Kaine saw a semblance of someone...someone he knew but couldn''t name it, it was if he already knew the shade. "Kill the apparition, steal the spell, rush to the academy" Kaede spoke, the party nodded in agreement "Think we can win this time?" she asked Kaine who smiled "Aye we can love, this is but a fraction of Malphas''s power, and we? we are mighty" Do or die, Kaine felt his Divine Sigil blossom as a rare feeling of pride came from his patron Goddess, a smile on his lips betraying the myriad emotions he was feeling at the moment, a passing thing as the young mage prepared for the grueling fight to come, Kaede did the same as she fired a chain of enhancement spells towards the party and herself, every edge would help them close the gap, apparition or not, that was still Malphas, strongest mortal of the new world, Death Incarnate. Lucrezia''s shade together with the mysterious boy was flanking Vivienne as she powered that uncanny sword of hers, the boy bellowed out a mighty warcry and bolted as Lucrezia''s shade leaped to the air and rained down Iron spears into Malpha''s apparition, and the vile construct uttered nary a sound, even when steel and iron pierced its form, or spells singed its ghastly skin. Kaede shepherded the apparition into kill zones that Kaine set up but it just took the magic spells like a mighty giant, spears of force, thunderbolts and fireballs, missiles invisible to the eye, and even the rare chronomantic spells the two of them had made for especially tough enemies, a killing combination of time dilation, haste effects and perception of how time flows, those Kaine felt had an actual effect in the apparition. Then Vivienne got a hit with her sword and the apparition screamed. A howl that hurt Kaine''s ears as he tried his best to cast the specific combination of shield and mental protection spells he knew to counter this hellish noise, seconds became minutes as he saw everyone falling to their knees until he got the somatic components right and felt sweet relief as the noise was fully blocked. "What the fuck was that?" Vivienne asked and Kaede replied, "Some sort of wide-range necromantic spell, I can feel my soul hurting at the tip of my fingers and toes, tail and ears, Gods be good imagine if this came from the real Malphas!" "Focus!" The mystery shade barked as Kaede''s eyes locked on his form, the shade leaped through the air and spread his arms, a nasty-looking bolt of purple energy slamming into his form as Malphas''s apparition stalked towards them, kicking Vivienne in the shins and knocking her down, Lucrezia''s shade moved forward and slashed the apparition with fury and speed but it was for naught, for every blow was either parried, sidestepped or outright blocked. Kaine saw Vivienne rise and give him a nod, understanding her idea the young mage floated slightly in the air and flexed, feeling a monstrous quantity of divine energy and mana muster inside his soul as he chanted, the spell form flickering into existence then solidifying around the apparition, Kaede not wasting time joined him with the chanting, bringing her well of power to the ritual. Manipulating gravity is never fun Kaine thought to himself as he felt the strain of the spellwork crash upon him, it was indeed a branch of magic only the more robust of mages could use when you increased the scale up, but he persevered nonetheless, and with a mental click he and Kaede felt the ritual finish, great spikes of spectral force slammed themselves into the ground around the apparition, chains of pitch black iron flew out of them and bonded Malphas''s apparition, one second, two seconds, and she was already breaking free. With a grunt of rage and power, Vivienne stabbed the apparition in the chest and dragged the blade upwards, ripping into the solar plexus like an Orc Warboss, another twist of her blade and she looped around the neck, removing the entire thing off the body like it was made out of soft pastry. "For fuck''s sake, how did Lucrezia even defeat the real deal?" Kaede asked and no one replied, Kaine took a full minute to compose himself as he felt the mental plane he had created inside his mother slowly break, with a series of scanning spells and divination he confirmed whatever compulsions on his mother were gone, would the woman be kinder to the love of his life now? would she not side with Malphas again? he did not know, maybe she had agreed to this... "The scroll" Kaine''s attention focused on the boy''s shade, in his hand a plain white scroll, entrusting it to Kaine the boy smiled a kind smile, as if they knew each other "Do I know you shade?" Kaine asked, letting his curiosity get the better of him, the shade''s face morphed into an apologetic look "Once...Little Mage, questions plague your mind about me, those questions will be answered soon" Another smile and he was gone, Lucrezia''s shade bowed towards Vivienne and also went away. Kaine unfolded the scroll and felt its knowledge blast into his brain, with this he felt another sensation as Gwennarius''s sigil pulsed, he had done it, he had avoided the horrible fate he saw, and now... "The future is in flux once again Kaine, In saving me and now your dearest friend you have mended the river of time but now" he felt Gwennarius laugh a cruel laughter "Now we sail upon dark waters, under dark skies and you best prepare thyself for this journey" Chapter 89: Fatigue "Lo and behold, faith and magic intertwined to power this marvelous Item! the work of monks learned men of the cloth, scholars, and mages from all races worldwide can now be distilled into a single focal point! and if you stick around after the end of the Lecture you will be able to see this marvelous artefact in action!" Elven Archon and Imperium Legatus Gougar the Learned showing to the world the first set of Runic-Divine Capacitators, at the time considered a fancy piece of engineering, and nothing more until the Dwarves of Stenheim furthered his research to power their mines deep underground. On the Imperium and its people, a primer for tourists. "Big ears, even for elves," Lucrezia thought to herself as she sat across two elven women, envoys from the moon who were in a special room at the cathedral of Saal''Xhir to finalize the moonbase deal and the final touches on her space station. Lucrezia thanked her lucky stars, and her many patron gods that her luck hadn''t gone south for this project, everything was happening at a good pace and soon she would get ready for stage two of her rather daring plan to avenge the Spirits of this world. Still, getting the proper paperwork done to raise that kind of army was a headache in the making...The All-Father''s Warmaster would not be pleased with her, something that was becoming quite the common occurrence, Lucrezia thought to herself as the events of last week played on her mind once again, to think Kaine would go against his mother like that, right in the middle of the capital as well. Scarier still was the sort of compulsion Malphas had used on Sophia, a masterfully done piece of necromantic and mind magic, on someone who Lucrezia knew was a lifelong friend..., she had Kaine place the very best of shields on everyone they knew, hopefully, that would deter the mad queen... "I don''t understand, Lady Wulfgrem, I honestly don''t" the older elven woman, one called J''Kar spoke, Lucrezia had some knowledge on the woman from her better half, an old war horse from the days before the All-Father had claimed this universe, together with the elven watchers in the moon she was something akin to peacekeeping and diplomat force the All-Father had created, meant to spearhead nonviolent incursions. "I fully understand the plight of the Natives, Creator as my witness I even managed to talk with the Ancient woman you found" J''Kar continued "But all of this is rather excessive isn''t it? I''ve seen the plans and the materials Daughter of the North, you mean to raise an army on par with one of the Creator''s Legions! to hunt a single divine at that! Never mind the fact you are in cahoots with Augurios, a single Strike Team would be more than enough to claim the head of that bastard" She tapped her fingers along the table, slender and bright green as the color of her skin shifted. The other Elf, a nameless envoy who rarely spoke chimed in, her entire figure was clad in robes and only a slit in the robes at the eyes showed any emotion "...Usual methods of...transportation not possible...she hides in-between planes and supermassive black holes, this you know...not an army, an expeditionary force sister..." J''Kar sighed "...We thank you for this precious information...my family, and ancestors worked together with the spirits...for many, a year and their plight must be avenged... Had I the means I would offer my sword..." Silence fell at the table and Lucrezia nodded with grace, it was clear this woman felt as strongly as she about this issue. "I was privy to the information as well In case you are wondering" J''Kar spoke "Still I believe it''s a far better method than this ruckus you are causing...let''s sign this so I can go back home already, the gravity here is making me quite sick" they signed the paper and bid each other farewell, J''Kar had a conflicted face but still Lucrezia felt she wouldn''t cause any future issues... now to deal with more pressing matters. "Saa''ryu, can you clean the table and set the projector?" She called out loud and a grunt came from the door as an answer, the Magi-Tech apparatus was still in a very early prototype stage, memory pebbles and the more magical items having a far better image and sound quality "We need more churches" she spoke to herself as the maid dragged the box in and placed on the table. Lucrezia watched the fight against Sophia and felt a quiver of fear seeing a very European-looking sword being wielded by her beloved, they were being loose with gifts, and still, the All-Father hadn''t come knocking so she prayed he wouldn''t mind. "Pray you never piss Kaine and his girlfriend off my Lady, because I don''t think we could reliably take him out unless we had some strong support from Richard and Hope, and even then it was a toss of the coin" Saa''ryu spoke and Lucrezia nodded "And that''s with Gwennarius still not getting enough faith, once the new churches are built and the priests and priestess are out there preaching the good word of She who rules over the River of Time..." "He will be powerful indeed" Lucrezia smiled in satisfaction seeing her friend being this powerhouse she knew from her game memories, it felt good knowing the best mage alive was on her side. "I have news from Idun, there''s been a surge of Magi-Tech components being supplied to third parties associated with us, by themselves it''s nothing major, but once he put the first parts together it was...quite something he told me" Saa''ryu spoke "progress in areas we had stalled a bit, especially regarding long-range communications and broadcasting are now at full steam ahead, same for weapons and armor systems for our troop carriers" Saa''ryu tapped on the table "It''s the same individual who helped us at the battle, Idun confirmed it" She raised her gaze to Lucrezia "Why do they refuse to show themselves? surely we could work together and properly compensate for their work, hells can you believe the Duchy has garnered quite the reputation for being a luxury destination for craftsmen? we even had to deal with a few jealous Elves and Dwarves thanks to it" The maid laughed and waited for Lucrezia to respond. "Let them be Saa, it is clear they sided with us and if they wish to remain incognito then so be it, it is by respecting their wishes, and the wishes of our workforce and citizens that we won that reputation you mentioned" Saa''ryu nodded in agreement "Still to think we will be able to broadcast my radio stations across the entire kingdom this fast, marvelous isn''t it? music to the entire nation, news, and more at an affordable price and without having to deal with mages who might outright refuse to deliver them, I can''t wait to see how the Magical Gods will reply, to this race to achieve a status quo with our new technology is something else" Lucrezia felt fire in her belly and had to take a second to calm herself down, Saa''ryu snickered at he sight, so common nowadays especially when Richard was involved.
"You are pushing me hard these last few days Lu, what''s digging into your hide?" Hope asked after knocking Lucrezia on her ass twice with some Speed, Parry, and Dodge combination with her Blessing, the "build" so to say was terrifying to Lucrezia. Still, her best friend refused to switch from her preferred set of War, Magic, and Time, which to be honest, was also a terrifying and powerful combination to be employed by one blessed by the All-Father. It helped the Gods Hope picked were also on friendly terms with her, Faith flowed through her onto them and in turn their power into her, It was a marvelous thing to behold Kaine had told them once, being able to pierce the veil for a few minutes and watching Faal''s masterwork of Divine Magic. The feedback sadly proved too much for him, and this was AFTER he had runes etched into the robes he was using and wards cast by Castra-Cam and her mother to pierce the veil of body and soul fully. "It''s the duels, you know of this already" Lucrezia spoke as she dusted herself off "I need you to be faster, stronger, more in tune with your incarnations and divine miracles" She paced around the arena they were using inside the Academy, few people around them as they saw the markings of a privacy ward cast above the arena, and most deciding to give both women their space. Of course, the few who got close were greeted by a weak shocking spell meant to spook small animals, and if they wanted to listen, Lucrezia would be dealing with those personally. "You understand how strong you are, Lu? The level of hurt you can level on a one-on-one encounter is something not even I could take lightly if you meant to deal damage, I understand wanting to push me to my apex, trust me Arthur, and Kaine are also doing the same. The opportunity to become as strong as Malphas is something I will not waste, but this? this is nothing Lu, you are paranoid even if what Kaine told us could happen..." Hope sighed as she beheld Lucrezia''s stony gaze "Even if the River of Time is in flux again! surely we don''t need to do all this at this pace right? Lu I''m having actual Gods call me in my dreams most of the days now, some of the lower pantheon of War are worried I am getting too strong too fast, and that''s not even account for the rage!" Hope sighed, Lucrezia didn''t reply. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. "Look at me" Hope dropped her weapon and walked towards Lucrezia, grabbing her face with her hands and leaning right into her, Lucrezia could feel the warmth of her breath, see the eyes shining with power in a rainbow of colors "Look at me you stubborn woman, don''t make me kiss you again" Hope spoke and Lucrezia locked eyes with her "Nothing will happen you hear me? nothing, we are powerful! It would take god knows how many tricks and foul play for anything to happen Lucrezia, you have me, you have Richard and Vivienne, even Arthur, so please relax a little" It felt good, being held like this Lucrezia thought, knowing that the woman in front of her, whom she had raised to be a deadly, the deadliest fighter in the world would go this far to assure her nothing would happen, for a moment she wanted to lose herself in those warm feelings, but her better half taught her better than this, her paranoia ran deep and even if she had to give Hope a break from training, she wouldn''t stop until the conflict was over, and her enemies were dead. All-Father willing, that dark future Kaine beheld would not come to pass. They wrapped the the training and went on their ways, Hope was beyond the need of Lucrezia''s constant helping hand after all, nowadays the young woman was a force to be reckoned with all by her lonesome, streams of news both from what Lucrezia knew about the game, and things that she had no information off came from various sources, often from Hope herself as well. A fancy teleport from Hope and Lucrezia was alone near the gym, having already done her morning routine she figured it was high time for food, later classes would be a very boring affair as the Academy began its many tests, be it written, or via magical and physical might, theory and everything else, coupled that with the tournament and the entire place was a hive of activity, something she was more than glad to let wash over her right now. Not exactly fair, I know all the answers for the written tests anyway, even for the classes I am not in... the young Duchess thought to herself as she walked the long corridors down to her old haunt, the Caffeteria which as always was a hive of noise and pleasant smells, she noticed the cooks were working with more enthusiasm today, it made sense after all the students, especially those who would do the more physical tests had to be properly fed. With the plate in hand and food ready to be eaten, Lucrezia sat alone at her usual table, on her way to it she was hailed, saluted, and even had someone take a knee, these few days she often forgot her exploits, and acts that made the good people of the Academy, be it Noble or Peasant respect her in a way very few had before, a small part of her feared abusing that trust and respect... "Frowns ill suit your face dear" Lucrezia heard Richard''s voice and raised her head, the young man already sitting down and forking eggs down with enthusiasm "I see Hope didn''t agree to a faster tempo to the training. A shame but one I knew would happen" Lucrezia raised her eyebrow in puzzlement "Ah but I speak too soon on matters that are bothering you, my dear, forgive me" Richard cleared his mouth with a napkin and extended his hand for a shake. Lucrezia smiled at the antic, shaking his hand and kissing it "Worry not, It''s true Hope blew me off and I have been pushing her harder these last few days" Lucrezia rubbed her temples, sighing softly "Those visions Kaine had Richard...they weren''t good" she tapped her fingers on the table in a rhythm, hoping the act would take some of the stress off her mind. "It''s not often you fall into these fatalistic moods Lucrezia, but once you do it is plain to see in your face, the way you speak" Richard spoke "It reminds me of the time we first met you know? Mother always told me a man shouldn''t get involved in the emotional woes of his beloved but if you need me, you know where I am" Richard held her hand with force, it felt good. "I can''t, I can''t talk about it yet" Lucrezia whispered, her voice cracking "Maybe one day..." she saw how Richard narrowed his eyes, trying to pierce the meaning of her words with his intellect "If you can''t talk about it, then we won''t talk about it" a smile and nod came and she smiled in turn "But I''ll say this, don''t be too hard on yourself Lu, the odds we are against are dire yes, but we pulled through worse, you should try to relax a little, a high strung bow can do more harm to its user than the enemy..." Richard looked confused "That makes more sense in Ancien Orcish, I swear" The couple ate in comfortable silence, or as much as it was possible within such a place as the Cafeteria, sometimes friends or known associates would hail, or make small talk but people respected their small silent time together surprisingly well Lucrezia thought herself as she finished the plate, she and Richard had trained these people well she thought with a laugh. "I was thinking, by next week we should have a free weekend yes? So Mother dearest managed to sneak me a couple of invitations to this rather elaborate debate with quite a few Fatih figures for a ton of Divines out there, and even a few Outsiders who are on good terms with the All-Father if you can believe, Sadly the Hivemind refused the invite, what you think? wanna go?" Richard spoke in a low tone, still forking down food "Honestly I think she meant to give it to you first but I was the fastest way of getting those tickets out of her hand, she loathes these types of gatherings" Richard finished with a flair of his fork. "Do you wanna go Richard?" Lucrezia asked, making sure his mother wasn''t forcing him. "I don''t mind, if I must be honest I''ve always found these debates soothing and they put me fast asleep in a way very few "rooms full of people talking" can do" Richard smiled "But I do know you are interested in them so as long you don''t me snoring mid-way through in the upper rooms it''s fine by me really" the young man rubbed his chin, Lucrezia noticed he wasn''t keen on letting a beard grow, apparently he was told by his father that it just wouldn''t look good on him. "Guess we have a date then!" Lucrezia cheered with some glee in her voice "Now finish your food, we got shit to do" "Aye aye, My Lady!" Richard spoke with fake gusto and both couldn''t help but laugh at the scene.
"And your mother had an actual Spectre inside her Soul? you do understand that would be catastrophic if we would confront Malphas yes?" Kaine heard the tired voice of his father as he tapped on a complicated array of sigils, runes, and words of power, both men were working on a country-wide divination spell and had burned through enough capital to sink a small state to do it. "Yes dearest Father, I am keenly aware of the fact, which is why Mother dearest is eavesdropping on us from across the room right now" Kaine pointed his finger to Kaede and the woman began chanting silently, the runes flared for a brief second but went inert "We need to thin the reagents in some of the runes Kaine, otherwise this won''t work" she spoke and he nodded, pointing to a section and saying "Dad if you would" Kaine saw his Father shake his head "For all that''s worth Kaede, I apologize for my Wife''s rude behavior towards you, And I want you to know that I am deeply happy my son found a loving partner who shares his thirst for the magical and arcane" Valtas bowed towards the Kitsune and she blushed. Kaine sighed and Kaede spoke up "Don''t sigh like that, It''s not his fault and we all know Arch-Mage Sophia had a sailor''s mouth!" "Your efforts to forgive and forget are not necessary, if anything she wants some contrition from you, from all of us really" Kaine waved his hand and Kaede huffed "Mother if you would make your case, please? I can''t have my beloved mad at me due to your bad behavior" Kaine saw the once proud and haughty mage wake, her had low and face flushed red "Bastard of a son, you are lucky we aren''t at home otherwise I would''ve had you spanked" she spoke but there was no steam to her words, it was like seeing an actor go through the motions. "Why do you need Ley-Lines anyway Kaine, you have plenty of mana already, same for Divine Energies now that your churches are being built by automatons," Valtas asked his son with genuine puzzlement, Ley-Lines were not often tapped anymore, especially since they were too deep underground or guarded by contraptions put in place by Fallen Gods who needed outside sources of power to not lose their Spheres. "Mother''s spell is plan A, this is Plan B to Y" Kaine spoke low and fierce "Z is the alternate timeline I showed you earlier, Father" the Arch-Mage gulped, the images he had seen were still fresh in his mind, and the fear he felt too, Unlike his son Valtas had seen wars on that level, the carnage of fighting and the fallout that took years to fix, and he readily agreed in helping his son in this rather time-consuming endeavor. "All Vermilian Ley-Lines are safe from outside protections, they are just too deep underground for mage use thankfully" Kaine spoke "Now about the issue with the queen..." "Fuck can we do son? Do I look like I can just waltz into the palace and beat that cunt down for a few minutes? she won more than once and I don''t wanna be further humiliated by her anymore, for fuck''s sake I trusted her with my life for years on the road! how could she have done this time, whore..." Sophia said with some fire but once again lost steam at the end, she sat down outside of the array and waited. "It was the First Prince''s death, she likely messed with you as soon as the word was out Lady Sophia, a contingency in case..." Kaede sighed "In case you were to fall for Lucrezia''s charms, she has quite the effect on powerful people" The Kitsune laughed at her joke, knowing the woman herself had that effect even on the Divines. "Mother, while I respect your wish to make amends, I really can''t help you right now, if you are willing we can talk, as a family later, Kaede included, and set the record straight, is that ok with you?" Kaine spoke, sometimes he envied Lucrezia''s people skills, the woman would''ve dealt with this ages ago... "Ok, ok you bastard," Sophia said with some relief in her voice, Kaine smirked at the sight, maybe the rude woman had some shame after all "Now let me help you with this, your father is a klutz with Runes and I don''t know why you had him help with it, here''s what we gotta do, get closer Kaede you must know this as well!" From the other corner, Valtas watched as his family mended a bridge he long thought was burnt to the ground, he smiled even at the small slight his wife threw at him, they had done plenty of bad alright but maybe, maybe they could finally do some good. Gods knew he wanted to. Interlude: Unpredictable turn of events In the upper part of the Noble''s Quarter stood a beautiful state, home to an established family that dated back from the first retainers of the first King of Vermillion, their Knights were well-renowned for putting great, sometimes even overzealously so valor into honor, for the ideal of a proper Knight who was both Shield and Spear of the kingdom. They broke no quarter for those within their ranks who would fall for the evil ways of life and power. Knight-Commander Muriel Morgoth sighed as she watched her younger sister conspire with that accused friend of hers, something was not right with that girl and she had been denied twice by their mother for a deeper investigation on Mava O''Xav, Muriel paced around the Yard, her most trusted Knights watching the usually cool and collected Commander tries her best to not to lose her patience with this whole affair "Tis clear as day, blessed by Sun that the Matriarch favors thy younger sister O Commander" Spoke the Spider-Kin, a man barely 19 of age but fierce and strong as any of the others around Muriel, His name was Centre Fi and if one could forgive the quirks in his speech due to how the Spider-Kin had to translate common speech via no less than 5 spells, one would find much wisdom and a surprisingly amount of comedy from them. "News from my men at the school have pretty much confirmed it, the Queen orchestrated these new "tournament" combat scenarios and something tells me Lady Lyndell will benefit from it, we have also intercepted disguised royal envoys in the estate bringing documents for her eyes only" Sicar Almendes spoke, second in command for the Knights and Muriel right-hand man "Which also means the Ashfall Scenario is likely happening Chief" Sicar''s face betrayed the hints of his Imperium ancestry as he tapped his fingers on his crossed arms, the man was huge and built like Brickhouse, and yet was the master of stealth and information gathering for the family, he sighed "We will have to fight those monstrosities from the north Muriel, no two ways about it" He cast his eyes across the other men and women who nodded, grimaces all around as the thought of having to fight Wulfgrem Knights, and whatever new Magi-Tech Device their mistress came up in the week. It had even become a joke among the many Knights in the capital, especially since many of them were in the Fields when that big mess happened. "Engagements in a scale they are, our forces won''t suffer and blessed by the finest forges our weapons are, believe in thyself my Lady, for we will win" Centre Fi smiled to ease the nerves of his fellows "Powerful the Lady of the North and her man are indeed, but we are also might in the ways of sword and spear, axe and wand, miracle and hex, against us not even the honor guard of Grannarius managed to hold" Small cheers of agreement came from the others as Sicar smiled, Muriel steeled herself and spoke, putting power in her words "Listen to me Knights of Morgoth, when we are called to the ring of honor we will fight with honor, we will uphold the Oath and we will not tarnish the name of our family" Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Ursa Morgoth sighed, lately her entire life could only be described as one big sigh, issues, and more issues were popping up and she had burned through enough social capital to fell a small duchy, never mind the gold or human resources she had to throw at the many fires that threatened to burn down her family line, the estate and much more if the enemies had their way. A small tingle in her right hand made her stop herself from sighing again, the woman closed her eyes and massaged her temples as stress came like a marching band and played infernal songs to annoy her, this was a signal meant to be fired only when a very select few diviners she trusted and paid too much for their time to say that everything was about to go south for her and her family. "Gods smite me down, the girl did it" Ursa spoke and removed a broken arrow from a concealed compartment inside her table "Gods forgive me," the woman said as the room grew cold, the ultimate sin would potentially save her name, but would she be able to commit it?
Mava O''Xav was a common woman of the Vermillion Kingdom once, born in a low noble family, to loving parents and loving cousins, taught the blade and spear, magick, and miracle both at a young age, by all metrics she would''ve been a poster child for the good the Kingdom''s society could do for a single individual, Alas the system and its many defenses had its breaches, either by design or by malpractice and thus what should''ve been a boon became bane. Mava found, deep within the forests in the south, a quaint shrine to a forgotten God of Wishes, A simple and honest depiction of his features and how his blessing worked, little did she know at the time that this was but a ruse and within a few days Mava was already in cahoots with a powerful entity from beyond the cosmos, not via trickery or dominion, but by base greed and lust for power and pleasure. It was a masterstroke of luck when she found a powerful ally in the Morgoth heir, the woman was like her, with a thirst for power so strong nothing but the powers from beyond could quench it, but then what would both of them do with said power? Mava had the idea and shared it with her Eldritch patron and Lyndell, they would take over the royals, become leaders of the country, and then armed with the finest warriors of the land forge an empire that would conquer the entire new world, and later the entire world! Then both fell in love with Prince Arthur and said grand plans were stashed away for later..., lust consumed the women like wildfire in the dry bush, and soon a raging inferno was fuelling the duo, committing to horrible gambits that earned them the Ire of the Archenemy, and her lapdog from the North, but the world was good and so was their patron, with the help of the Queen who had a personal score to settle with Lucrezia, and aid straight from the outer reaches of the stars, they had reforged Lyndell''s Sacred Bow, and without the Sword to guard Hope against its arrows, they would get their prize, Arthur would be theirs and then the entire world. The board was set, all the pieces in place and she knew she would win. Chapter 90: Free and Independent "Among the many debates waged in the temples of All-Father one stands out for Vermilians and Orcs, "why were the Sea Elves, under their Gods and Goddesses allowed to mass enslave an entire population?" many an Orc Warpriest, monks, and common faithful asked both the Father and their Goddess, some even going as far as kidnapping Sea Elf priests and shamans to get their side of this enigma, in the end the Divine remained silent and to this day people bring it up..." Priest Pakton Diary, first volume. It was a rowdy day in the gym-turned-arena inside the Academy as scores of Students, their retainers, Knights, and private mercenaries taught the best and brightest of the fair kingdom of Vermilion the intricacies of combat. "Step right UP you maggots! this week is the easy week, next week you will fight to the death in the fields hahaha!" screamed a Knight who was in charge of the ones who didn''t have the means, be it via connections or money to get proper training, together with him were numerous students who had fought under Lucrezia and her forces, helping their classmates the best they could. In an increasingly rare moment of solitude, Lucrezia toyed with new Magi-Tech gadgets as a special supply force of her own Knights distributed armor, weapons, and supplies to the masses, had this been any other setting, she was likely to be tried for treason and sedition of state, but for once the Queen''s meddling worked in Lucrezia''s favor, it was her blessing that allowed this to happen, and so Lucrezia would do her best hearts and minds operation for as long as she was able. Lucrezia sighed as she saw a sign from the Supply Officer, they had run out of ammunition, demand for the Anti-Magic ammo was high but the new defensive spells were keeping up with her tech, she even saw a few of them today as people tested on dummies and later themselves "It''s a good thing we will get another manufactorum open in the fields soon, the workers in the school proper are getting overwhelmed as it is..." Lucrezia spoke out loud to herself. Richard was off working with the engineers in the Fields, reading the grounds for stage two of this mass training regime, Hope had gathered most of the crew including Vivienne for a quest given by the Ancient and a few Summer Spirits, even her maid was off collaborating with the Owl and his cadre of Assassins for something important according to her, in this rare moment of being alone among a crowd she felt...peace, a sense of deep fulfillment and tinges of fatalism that ever crept along the back of her mind. I will die, I must die so they can live "...Excuse me, Lady Lucrezia?" snapping to the waking world by a voice that screamed of shyness and demureness, Lucrezia looked to her right side and beheld what could only be described as a peak specimen of a woman, standing tall at nearly 190cm, hair perfectly done in a ponytail and built like model, Lucrezia was caught in a rare moment of lust over another, her Blessing kicking into high gear thanks to it. A pair of green eyes stared her down, with a face that betrayed ancestry from the Dynasty but not of dwarven descent, Lucrezia coughed and spoke "Please, no need for titles, we are all equals in this institution" She laughed as the mystery woman smiled. "How can I help you..." Lucrezia let the silence drag out so she could get a name. "Gertrhude Deviltide, a pleasure to meet you Lucrezia..." A name she wasn''t aware of, not even from a side quest, hmm this would be hard Lucrezia thought, extending her hand for a firm handshake, after the gesture Lucrezia pointed to a chair and the woman sat down. "Well, how can I help? I assume you mean to ask about the Magi-Tech devices yes?" Lucrezia couldn''t miss the look of hunger Miss Deviltide was giving to her gadgets and weapons, it was rather intense even. "Indeed, you see Lucrezia I am a representative of those forsaken by the Divines, be it via cursed bloodlines, or sheer bad luck many non-blessed individuals have trusted me with being their public face in this institution, and while Vermilion''s laws are in our favor, you understand the commons and nobles alike are not keen to deal with us yes?" The woman spoke with vigor and conviction, Lucrezia''s mind was spinning fast at the information, non-blessed were like, mentions in lore books in the game, this... A consequence of the many events I altered? Few places hated those who couldn''t be blessed, most got by normally with magic, ki, or plain old martial arts, same for their noncombatant brethren "Tis rare for a collective to be formed and place such trust to someone so young, but as long you can assure me this isn''t for ill I am more than happy to help" Lucrezia spoke and the woman nodded, Gertrhude pointed to her face "we are both young Lucrezia, and entrusted with much responsibility" she sighed "Sometimes I wish I had refused this task but... let not me talk your ears off of my woes" Gertrhude tapped the table, a rhythm that felt like a song "It also gives me further confidence that you are indeed the right one for us to ask this, indeed some of the people I represent are not the best, be in character or how they live their lives, but they are also keenly aware of what would happen to us, especially in a good country such as Vermilion if they fucked this up" Gertrhude went on about her plan, and that of her people to find a way to use ancient magical knowledge they had unearthed, researched, reversed-engineered, and outright made themselves to empower an individual with what they called "Neutral Faith" It was the stuff of genius, Kaine would kill for this Lucrezia reckoned, and while she was no slouch in magical theory, this was clearly above her paygrade. "And yet we need to finance, man, and supply further expeditions, many of our more fighting-inclined brothers and sisters long to be of proper use, my complaints about such an idea falling into deaf ears as they refuse to listen to reason" Gertrhude sighed and Lucrezia spoke "for some they need to put their bodies to the fire to feel good, while I commend you for caring about their well being, as a leader, or even as a figurehead it is also wise to learn how to make them fill fulfilled" Gertrhude stared at Lucrezia as she finished talking "I may not fully understand, but I wish to" Lucrezia nodded "Of course, we can throw in whatever I know of leadership in this deal of ours, but first I wanna know how you would and yours feel if we brought someone else into this..."
A clash of swords had quite several Knights enthralled as Lucrezia, now free of shady dealings decided to warm herself up a bit with an old-fashioned way, no magic or Ki, just pure muscle, reaction time, and skill, even blessings were off the table in these sort of "rustic" duels as the Knights called them. Lucrezia sucked in air and bull-rushed the woman in front of her, yet the Knight proved to be far too agile for such a power move. One wrong stab at her thigh and Lucrezia felt what an explosion of muscle and speed was, the Knight kicked her in the chins and then kicked Lucrezia''s sparring sword mid-flight, roaring with rage and cold fury Lucrezia tapped into the rusty skills of hand-to-hand combat, all that her better half knew of martial arts and even moves that wouldn''t work in real life, now boosted by her improved constitution and raw power were made possible. The Knight smiling roared her war cry and threw her sword to the side, fists clashed, bones creaked and grunts were heard as a slugging match happened to the delight of all spectators, Lucrezia listened to the men and women she trained shouting her match and that lit a fire under her belly, faster, stronger, she pushed her body to her absolute limit under the constraints of no magic or blessings. A quick left hook from the Knight put her off balance, but she snapped into place as a right uppercut came at an impressive speed, Lucrezia screamed and leaped into the woman, her body clasping into her like a mad spider, and within seconds they were both on the ground and once again her better half knowledge shone like a blazing sun, she twisted and turned and had a lock on the Knight''s arm. "aAAA!" came the scream of raw power and she nearly tore the poor woman''s arm off her socket, a smile flashed from the Knight and she tapped Lucrezia''s body, as soon as both disentangled themselves (to some sneer and wooing by a few people) both women bowed in respect and went on their ways, Lucrezia didn''t miss her opponent''s fellow knights talking about the "Saal''Xhir takedown" and she couldn''t help but laugh and let her blessing lose for a minute, sending that piece of news to her patron. She swore she heard the Divine laugh.
Classes were done for the day and Lucrezia heard the stomping of armored boots in the distance, she sighed in exasperation as the "break" was over for her and her friends, the Royal Knights had come with the message, that the tournament would begin shortly and the lists for one on one and five on five combat scenarios (a very fancy way of saying spars within the Fields) A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. She followed the noise as a cadre of high-ranking Knights spoke with the nearby students and Academy staff, their Commander was not with them but Lucrezia did notice the slight change in attitude as soon as she made herself visible, slight twitches of muscle, hands, and legs as armored warriors took her measure and stood at attention, she smiled a disarming smile towards them, she was too tired even to poke these individuals with jests. She sent messaging spells to her people, and more and more students flocked to the Knights as news spread like wildfire throughout the Academy, Lucrezia got pings back and everyone was busy still, so it fell to her to relay the news of who would be fighting who "Seems they will start with singular combat first, huh one would think the 5v5 would be best to thin out the herd..." Lucrezia didn''t notice but a tall Orc was next to her, under his arm the helmet of the Royal Knights "A decision by the Queen herself Lady Wulfgrem, these fights are meant to embolden those who lack the retainers to fight with them in the group contests, she hopes that these solo actors can band together and further the martial might and prowess of the Kingdom" He nodded and placed his helmet, walking away. Impressive, Lucrezia thought to herself, the Queen played her part perfectly in setting this death trap for her and Hope, with a sigh Lucrezia strode forth weaving through the masses to see who she would be fighting, it was nearly like a dance as she mingled with the people, hearing them talk, watching how they shuffled left and right while looking for the next step over, a part of her enjoying this little event a bit too much. "Roberta! Stop panicking already there are people behind you woman!" Lucrezia heard a bark up front as a small unit of young women huddled together "C''mon C''mon step to it you lazy git, it''s just a fight stop worrying...Oh Gods be good" the tallest of them said and likely leader, point but not too point ears giving away her status as Half-Elf "Woman you have the worst luck there is, first the thing with that boy from the south now this?" "...O All-Father in his Golden City, Lord of All and Everything, forgive this lowly mortal for any transgressions, O Unbroken, Lord of the Long Queue please have mercy, have mercy upon this lowly mortal..." Roberta held her hands in prayer with fervor so strong the people near her bowed their heads in acceptance, the ones further away cast puzzled gazes until they too saw who she would be fighting. Lucrezia stared at this scene of faith and fear with respectful awe and curiosity, Roberta looked like a proper Vermilion noble scion, with short brown hair, black eyes, and a rather severe-looking face, Lucrezia walked past the group and saw the list, in a rather fancy paper she noticed. "...This is not fair, I was there godsdamn! I saw when the..." Roberta spoke to her friend but froze on the spot as she locked eyes with Lucrezia and fear blossomed like a flower in summer out of her features. Lucrezia was puzzled and as she looked to find her name, lo and behold, she found it next to one Roberta Beartalon. "Well this wasn''t in the schedule at all" Lucrezia spoke in jest and seeing how Roberta deflated from her tension continued "May our fight be one with honor and valor Lady Beartalon" She extended her hand, Roberta grabbed her by the elbow and shook with vigor "Indeed Lady Lucrezia, forgive my outburst earlier, one tends to get a bit nervous when facing down someone of your stature" Roberta unlocked herself from Lucrezia''s elbow and wiped her forehead. Lucrezia nodded "Worry not, a fight fair and square, plus we are all equals here" With a smile she moved closer and saw the list, pinging her friends and gasping at who Hope would be fighting. "Oh, this will be rich" she spoke with glee as her mind noted who would be fighting who.
"This ain''t fun" Kaine spoke as the entire gang finally had a chance to regroup, even Castra managed to finally link up with them as everyone ate around a huge table, Richard had found a new place that was using a ton of Magi-Tech to customize the experience towards their customers, it was a shock to Lucrezia who felt like she stepped into what could only be described as Fantasy and Cyberpunk mixed, minus neon lights sadly, those were replaced by more soft glows of regular magical illumination. "Something else, this place Richard, do you have a hidden ability to find the best bars and inns or something?" Castra asked "Then again Lucrezia is a surprisingly good cook so maybe it''s not a hidden ability and more of a "let''s see what recipe the lass can copy this time" type of affair huh?" the table laughed at her attempt humor and she replied "It was funny, a few centuries ago" Hope sighed "Really, out of every, Richard? not you, or Vivienne, I gotta fight Richard?" Hope poked Arthur who spoke as he finished eating some sort of cubic meal that smelled amazing "Hey don''t blame me, it was proved that the selection was truly random, they even got a few priests of the Goddess of Luck and Chance to check it if you don''t believe me" the man laughed at the face Hope made "But you gotta admit, it''s a bit poetic isn''t it? you versus him, the most powerful blessing there is against the second most powerful, depending on who you ask of course" Arthur laughed. "Kaine, you are up against Vivienne right?" Castra asked "That will be an interesting fight to watch, especially given your new weapon" She pointed towards Arch-Duke''s daughter who was sipping her drink with proper manners, "You think you can win Viv?" Castra asked and the woman shrugged in response. "Kaine''s the strongest mage I know, I don''t know Castra, especially if his Goddess decides to come down to aid him" Vivienne spoke and Kaine made a defeated face, making her and Kaede laugh a bit "Don''t worry Kaine, you know that dusty woman likes it, even if she puts quite a show to deny it" she smiled to the mage couple as Kaine sighed "This whole thing is just the prelude for the real deal, the group combat that has the fixed matches" he explained and the mood deflated into grim. "A second" Lucrezia said as a specific message spell blossomed on her ears she got up, moving to a secluded place within the tavern. With a wave of her hand she cast a triple-layered spell meant to protect her privacy, a wonder of magic she had Kaine working on for a while and the genius magician had just managed to fine-tune it for her usage, a voice spoke to her and she smiled. "Look at that Richard, something has the ice queen smiling today" Hope teased the young man who was currently devouring a huge portion of deep-fried seafood, and a huge pile of fried potatoes "Yeah something good happened alright, those moon elves finally stopped stonewalling us and if I am reading her face right, the final part of the space station''s weapon systems are likely done, same for the mass teleportation platforms on the moon base, here and inside the space station itself" he spoke as he ate. "You help her with those Kaine?" Castra asked and Kaine spoke "Nay, that was all her and her people, sometimes I wonder if she isn''t the genius here and I''m just for the ride, some of the calculations..." he felt Kaede''s hand on his shoulder as her voice took on a fervor unlike her demure attitude when around the group "Don''t doubt yourself love, to hear Lady Lucrezia speak of your intellect and ability with the arcane is to see how much the woman trusts in you, never would she or anyone in this table, hells in this country doubt your abilities" she locked eyes with him for a long minute before Richard spoke, his voice also heavy with respect. "She speaks true Kaine, neither she nor anyone here thinks of you like that, you are much like her in this aspect I reckon" Richard scratched his beard in deep thinking "A rock, no a Pillar, yes a Pillar in which we can depend on, and in turn, you can depend on us, even if half of the crew here isn''t as good with magic as you" he laughed as the young mage''s features took a soft tone, a small almost silent thank you came from Kaine''s lips as the table smiled and laughed at the whole scene. "...Now I only need the ships, and special all environment gear for the war...oh it appears I missed a moment, a shame" Lucrezia spoke as she returned to the table "Apologizes for leaving, those elves are a bit annoying with their secrecy, at any rate it is done! with this, I will be able to build more and faster too" Lucrezia smiled a wicked grin "Never mind the huge boost in Faith for Magi-Tech, it''s going to be a fun few months friends!" she closed her fist in cheer. "The smaller Armored Suits and those terrifying new weapons you showed the other day were testbeds for this huh?" Richard asked as Lucrezia sat beside him "Makes sense now, Goodness gracious Lu, you are going above and beyond for the Spirits you know?" Richard asked and Hope grunted "Yeah! I know it''s important to help them but why are you going this far for the Spirits Lu?" she posed the question again, this time leaving no way for Lucrezia to escape from a legitimate answer. "A hunch," Lucrezia said with a weary sigh "Gut feeling, paranoia, what have you" She pointed to the ceiling "Why would you escape such a fertile and bountiful planet and universe? why leave behind those who grant you faith? I believe the former ruler of this little dustball we are in has something horrible planned for all of us" Lucrezia tapped her fingers on the table in a rhythm "Plus I made a promise to the Spirits, the man who speaks for them and more, and I intend to keep it, nevermind the fact our expeditionary force will be able to strike at places even the All-Father can''t reach, a boost and boon to the big man will surely be of aid for us" The crew accepted her reason in good faith, of course, Lucrezia couldn''t tell her hunch came from leaks about potential sequels of the game, it would take a few days to explain it all, assuming All-Father doesn''t smite her first. People began to leave as Lucrezia mulled over thoughts of her better half''s old home, she barely noticed Richard speaking about training more due to having a "hard fight" to fight in a few days, eventually, both went back to the academy, sharing a pleasant evening and night.
A great arena was built in the middle of the Fields as the Academy''s band, now armed with the best audio equipment Lucrezia could put together for them blasted songs to rile the crowd up, these duels would be done quickly but there was no reason not to make them a spectacle Lucrezia thought after she rashed out numerous deals with the leadership within the Academy. Panels of Crystal, Powerful radio tower relays, and even reversed-engineered mana batteries to power continuous image transmission via magic (something she was still trying to rig into a proper Magi-Tech device for television) and sound more as the entire Kingdom and more than a few neighbors were more than keen to watch the happening, a great many requests came from innumerous channels for more coverage but Lucrezia would need a substantial increase of particular Sphere Shifts to get that done. "Made for war first, entertainment second huh," Lucrezia said to herself as she flexed her arms, feeling the power of the Three Spirits of Winter that resided within the depths of her Palace radiate from the armor she was using, another iteration of the Regalia made by Idun who was struck once again by a bout of inspiration and mania, It wasn''t fair to her opponent but there was nothing she could do, better to respect the woman by bringing her best, than to humiliate her by going dressed in school attire and using some borrowed sword. Who knew, maybe her opponent would put up a good fight, she would perhaps even lose, come what may, she would give her all, as the true enemy was sure to be watching her performance today. Chapter 91: Never Surrender "Fire in their belly, cold seawater in their skin, the ancient Sea Elven warfare tactics were not to be underestimated, and thanks to extreme (some historians even saying paranoic) diligence by the first king, the then newly established Knight Orders did not suffer so many looses as it was predicted by the future gazers of the time, in particular the powerful command of geomancy by the royal family, who according to Sea Elven legend were the ones to build every single city deep in their abyssal trenches and sea floors" Understanding the enemy: A primer for new commanders volume 1 "Father" Roberta bowed towards the brick wall of a man standing before her, his pointy ears betraying the elder heritage of his side of the family (imagine having cousins who were older than the stones in your street and house) he bid her to rise and spoke, a deep voice calming her fears. "Luck has not been kind to you, daughter of mine, but take heart for we are not toothless even against the direst of foes" From behind Roberta noticed her mother carrying a chest, it looked small in her arms but it the sigil of a mage forge, she squinted her eyes and gasped "Gods be good" she gasped. "Worry not about the coin" her mother smiled as the woman placed the chest by her daughter "Armor and Wands, tailor-made for speed and precision" Her mother unlocked the chest and with a soft hiss opened it "While we have been retired for a while, understanding how Lady Wulfgrem fights was not that hard, the woman has a thing for shock and awe tactics, big slow spells and showy melee combat that most nobles favor" "I''ve also contacted some of the Knights in the gym and those training pits she favors, it would be wise for you to avoid punching out, or any unarmed confrontation with her, it is not the way nobles fight and the men I have spoken to were genuinely afraid of what they saw," her father said with a grimace "one more gift" he pulled a shiny silver dagger, runes etched in both the blade and its handle "Old gift from our Grannarius''s neighbors, said to be blessed by an unknown Goddess of Speed the elves from that gods-forsaken country worshiped long ago, see those two runes?" he pointed to them and Roberta nodded "Invisibility and a Cloud bomb spell into one, 3 charges" he pointed to the other "Speed" Roberta waited for an explanation, the man staring her down with half a smirk. "Speed? As in I go faster?" she asked and her mother laughed "Yes dear, so fast sound breaks and foes will be obliterated by the shockwaves" her mother smiled "I wish we could do more Roberta, I do, but..." she paused and gulped "This will be a hard fight for you dear" Her mother locked eyes with her father and both nodded, leaving the woman alone as the crowd cheered and hollered outside, the time was nigh for the fight and she would be the one losing it, thoughts of shame and impotence running wild through her head as she dressed with the new gear "I must not fear" she spoke to herself as the crowd roared, an announcement being made that she could not hear, but she knew it was time. "Don''t get hit, yeah as if that will be easy" Roberta spoke to herself as she walked towards the doorway that led to the arena, out in the open she heard loud horns blaring as an announced hailed Lucrezia, Fury of the North he called her, and a dozen other titles won through less than polite means, roaring of cheers and actual war cries, Roberta took a deep breath and closed her eyes, noise and light no longer bothering her as she stoked the fire inside and gripped her dagger with her left hand, the wands strapped to her back and chest like throwing daggers, healing, and restoration, shield and flame spears on them. Crossing the threshold she heard even louder horns and a wave of cheers and war cries for her! To both sides Knights, actual honest-to-goodness Knights of untold houses raised the spears and chanted her name with vigor, she nearly blushed before stepping into the arena proper and holding her opponent, Lady Lucrezia stood tall and proud, on her armor powered by the Spirits of the north, in her hand the exquisite blade given to her by the Arch-Duke, plus those deadly weapons of Magi-Tech made in her legs. "...make some noise for ROBERTA BEARTALON!" the announced shouted and Roberta let that fire spread across her entire soul, raising her dagger to the air she screamed and the crowd roared, cheering her onwards. "On the count of 3!, 1, 2, 3, FIGHT!" Roberta saw Lucrezia kick the ground and leap towards the air, within seconds a massive, downright huge spike of black iron rose from where she was, on its tip Roberta saw and then smelled the lighting that was about to slam into her position, red as blood and looking mean as all hells, well one thing was for sure, the Duchess was taking her serious, of course Roberta didn''t expect to hear gasps from the woman herself when her eyes rolled into her head and a nasty wolfish grin bloosomed from her face. The Rage! With no hesitation, she tapped into her blessing, a simple one given by the many goddesses that protect the womenfolk of Vermilion, and slammed her hand into the Sigil of Speed in her dagger, if she got hit by that Lighting she would be as good as dead. the world slowed down as she felt the rush of magic overpower her soul and body, only barely holding onto the dagger as she took a few steps forward, Roberta saw ripples in the sandy ground of the arena moving slowly, outwards like had thrown a stone in a lake, Lucrezia pointed her finger towards her old position and the bolt of crimson lighting slowly fell into the ground. Shards of Black Iron rose from the impact crater, gnarly and filled with teeth, Roberta felt the speed rune going out and called the power off, but not before taking out a ward with the fire spear spell on it and lobbing a massive one at the flying death bringer of a woman. The aftereffects of such a burst of speed hit Roberta hard, but she gritted her teeth and pressed down on the cloud bomb runes, thick plumes spread across the arena as the world returned to its normal speed and Lucrezia smiled "Oh my, I haven''t used this one in a while!" with a gestured akin to pulling weights off their rack, Lucrezia flexed her arms and the shards of black iron flew towards the smoke, humming with music Roberta had never seem nor heard. She felt her dagger vibrate in return and barely had time to dodge the massive Ice Spear that came flying from above, rolling and dashing like she had a pack of starved drakes behind her, a bad roll to the left had shards of ice break her armor around the knee and she went down with a yelp of pure pain "Healing wands FUCK" Roberta barked at herself and grabbed the single wand equipped with a healing miracle, which meant she would be fighting with something that lasted... "1 minute, plenty of time" She looked down, only one more cast before the wand broke. oh Gods, where did they even get this? She scowled her features but didn''t bad mouth her parents, aiming another fire spear at Lucrezia who dodged perfectly, at least these were made not to break and only used her regular mana... Roberta cursed her rotten luck when she saw Lucrezia diving towards her position with that accursed red lighting licking at her heels, she knew the move very well as it was a favorite of the woman, bolting to the other side of the arena she rolled twice and then dived towards the sandpit as a mighty explosion went off behind her, waves of lighting spreading across the landing zone as Lucrezia unsheathed her blade. Another vibration pulsed through the Arena as the black iron shards became spikes that pointed to the skies in an omniums manner, Roberta knew this move as well and cursed as she slammed the sigil of invisibility and speed, throwing another fire spear and feeling her mana levels drop dangerously low, Roberta decided to risk a melee confrontation, as she rushed forward a lighting bolt, bigger than anything she had seen before struck the ground with such force, it turned the sand around into glass. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. One step, two steps, three and she saw Lucrezia''s eyes widen in pleasure, she licked her lips as the shock waves hit her aegis and made the whole thing shimmer, Roberta took the fourth step and slid her way towards Lucrezia, leaping like a spider at the very last moment and baring her dagger like a mighty fang, Lucrezia locked blades with her at the very last second, as Roberta let the speed rune drop and the world returned to its regular speed. Both women locked eyes and blades, Lucrezia''s exquisite sword grinding at Roberta''s dagger as the azure eyes of its owner dilated their pupils, once again Roberta cursed her luck as the telltale signs of Battle Lust took over Lucrezia, with a scream the women traded blows and more than once Roberta had to evade and deflect the absurd slashes with her gauntlets and elbows. She went invisible again, and leaped backward, only realizing the mistake as she heard ice crack below her boots, hearing a loud cry of a crow Roberta''s eyes went wide and she rushed forward with a leap into a roll as Lucrezia''s entire form manifested itself in a puff of smoke and bird feathers, ah yes she had forgotten the woman had more blessings than a godsdamned Holy Warrior. "Found you!" she said and placed her hand on the blade''s grip, Roberta''s senses screamed at her to dodge but she knew something was wrong until she saw a flash of steel and rolled for nearly five seconds, just barely dodging whatever the hells had clipped her on the shoulder and head, her helmet and left pauldron falling into the ground, the steel looking like a thousand cuts flayed it. That''s when she noticed the sheets of ice in the ground, Lucrezia was using both the vibrations and it to pinpoint Roberta''s location, and toying with her! She shook her head, it wouldn''t be good to get herself enraged mid-combat, with another click she felt the world slow down, and the entire arena was covered with smoke, invisible as she was she would hit Lucrezia under the cover of smoke, and stealth. What came next was pure chaos, Roberta felt her entire body groan and scream in pain as she pushed herself to the very limit hitting and running away as Lucrezia tried to pinpoint her location, the shock waves knocking her out of spell formations more than once and after nearly a minute of intense combat she slashed the woman right in the face, from cheek to cheek in a flash. blood sprayed outwards before Lucrezia''s armor glowed blue, the wound mended and a nasty scar formed, Lucrezia''s face still had that wolfish grin on it but Roberta could tell the woman was not playing with her, hells she wasn''t playing with her the second that horn went off and combat started! but if she could keep these attacks up maybe...mabey she would... The thought ended there as Roberta felt what could only be described as a torrent of wind made Roberta buckle and kneel, Lucrezia''s back shone bright with the light of the divine, and the entire arena was flooded with her mana, Roberta could taste the damn thing so thick it was, snow and metal, lighting and a hint of something more mixed in there as the pressure got worse and she went on all fours. The dagger in her hand vibrated again and she couldn''t even look up as the chilly feel of a blade prickled at her neck, "Yield" Lucrezia spoke as her voice hummed with power, Divine and Rage both as Roberta threw her dagger to the ground, the pressure vanished and she heard the woman guard her blade, a hand was extended and Roberta spoke "It is a shame I didn''t get to disarm you, my Lady, I wanted to fight you hand to hand as well" Roberta didn''t know why she was saying that she didn''t want to fight this monster hidden beneath human flesh with her life-affirming fists! It dawned on her, that this must''ve been a side effect of the Battle Lust Lucrezia radiated from her person, she had heard one of the Knights speak of such, a fairly common thing to happen on the battlefield but it could prove dangerous on singular combat and training exercises, did she only push herself harder because of it? something else to think about as both women bowed and the fight was over, the crowd cheering for them as Roberta walked away.
Richard sighed for the third time as Lucrezia helped him with his armor, a gift from the Orcs as the helmet instead of the usual Magi-Tech earpiece and face plate upon his head like a crown, he couldn''t help but be amazed at the artistry of this helmet, made out of steel and leather but looking like it had every dwarven forge master personally add to its creation, it was a bit too much he felt, but his Goddess told him it was important for him to wear it, otherwise Hope would overpower him. "To think that ice cube would do this then again it was very poor luck dear, Hope out of all people?" Lucrezia smiled as she spoke, "Think you can win?" Richard shrugged "Eh, I''d say 50-50, if she only used the rage, the rage plus every godsdamned blessing you taught her and the ones she learned by herself? and I am not even counting the other wacky bullshit the woman can pull on command Lu, the Spear, or those weird mix-ups with Spiritborne powers, did that elven man the Spirit Whisperer or something teach her? don''t answer that, knowing Hope something even more bizarre happened" Richard went on a rant until he lost steam. "But I gotta say, the fight with the Beartalon heir? amazing, downright sublime combat prowess by the woman, actually pushed you into a corner even! and here I thought only old Kaine could do that, maybe me and Hope if we team up with Arthur in a sneak attack or a proper ambush..."Richard started thinking about how to take Lucrezia down in a combat scenario until a light tap in his head knocked him out of said thoughts. "Don''t fantasize about taking me down with a bloody ambush you dolt, that''s improper and I would demand a proper head-on battle!" Lucrezia laughed "There, all finished, and yeah, Roberta was a fun fight, to think rogue types would be my weakness, or anything with enough speed to break the sound barrier... needs to plan for that in the future...anyway enough talk, I can almost feel Hope vibrating from her place" Lucrezia pointed towards the absolute killing machine Richard would be fighting, one he AND the love of his life helped train no less. "At least it is not Kaine," Richard said with a thoughtful nod, Lucrezia repeated the act with stoicism "At least it''s not Kaine" She had no glee in her voice, any serious fighting with the Chronomancer would involve insane amounts of force and even then it''s a gamble, especially now that the faith for Gwennarius was growing at a lightning-fast pace, soon he would be able to toy with the River of Time, Lucrezia knew it and so did Richard. "You think?" Richard asked and Lucrezia made a no gesture "No, I asked" she smiled "Strenght, Magic, and the Mad One" Lucrezia gave away the sole tip she could to her beloved, no fancy weapons would be needed after all. "She wouldn''t! It''s heresy, Gods be Good I have the worst luck" Richard facepalmed and with a final sigh got up "Time to face the music and the chants" Lucrezia felt the entire room shift in pressure as the Greater Blessing of the Goddess of the Orcs kicked in high gear, power to face down the strongest living being in the new world hummed and the world around it hummed back. Divine Energy flew out of the helmet, and upon Richard''s back sat the shimmer of the Divine, hugging his neck, eyes closed and form nearly twice his size, it only lasted a moment but the world around them exploded in noise as every Orc in the Academy chanted his name, the couple heard feet stomping, weapons and wands being unsheathed as power flowed from their room, on the arena the announcers and school band brought the hype to a fever pitch, Lucrezia smiled as one of her favorite bits of lore popped in her head, this was a taunt, common in both Vermillion and Orc culture where strong Warlords and Knight Commanders would essentially challenge the strongest enemy with a show of power, be it in Ki or Mana, or raw strength and even fancy weaponry. "Will she respond?" Lucrezia asked out loud and saw Richard smile as he answered "I believe she will my love" As the hype died down, Lucrezia felt the temperature go down and the light of the sun flicker as a beam of golden light pierced the skies and went above the protective barrier the Fields had, upon this singular pillar of what she could now feel was pure Divine Energy were myriad faces, bodies, and weapons as Hope quite literally summoned every Divine she knew upon the Material Plane, A singular cracked Warhammer raised upon the Pillar as the Sigils of the All-Father, All-Mother and their Mad Son commanded such authority most people bowed or even kneeled. Power unmatched had she had this control over the blessing when they fought Malphas...Richard kissed Lucrezia on the lips and strode forward, ready to meet his dear friend in honorable combat. Still, her show wasn''t over as the very skies and sun were tinged with crimson blood, the alien visage of the Entity that once was the Rage-that-Dwells roared in defiance of his host, and against Richard''s show of power. An insurmountable foe, he did not doubt that this Hope would no doubt win against Malphas in deadly combat, armed with the Spear from the Hivemind and in armor made by Lucrezia''s forges, she stood tall and mighty, a smile on her lips as she bowed "No holding back, all I want is a good fight Richard!" she spoke out loud as the crowd cheered both of them, Richard saw a few faces he knew, his trusted trio, the Grannariu''s Elven commander, soldiers and men who fought with him in that desperate push...feeling the handle of his sword he bowed back and spoke, voice commanding power and authority both "Then A good fight you will have!" Chapter 92: In friendship, great power lies "Within these streets once walked He as the God of Order, now he burns its houses, maims its guards, and befouls the very essence of divinity with his heretic power, born out of righteous rage and bestowed by his Grandparents, eager to take their Son down a peg or two..." The Mad''s God Quest third edition revised (now with commentary from the Gods themselves!) Hope stared down at Richard, thanking the luck-inclined deities she wasn''t fighting Kaine, he was taller than before, no doubt a gift of the very well hidden, but still clear to her eyes by the Goddess Kaal''Duvat, she couldn''t help but be at awe of the sheer strength of power the Goddess had, it made her have goosebumps all over and drool over the coming battle, such as the display of might. His eyes shone green and blue, amber and red as Hope felt the energy infuse his very bones, this was a first she thought, it was rare for Divines to directly push their Essence into a mortal vessel to the point the body changed as a result, Lucrezia would love the new sight she reckoned, with preparations complete Richard raised his blade and the horns went off, the battle was on! "Fall!" his voice came from above with power, Hope barely dodged out of the way before he began hammering through her Shields, the man was possessed and with another scream summoned spears of green light towards her, she had to use her own Ki to block them as they tore into her regular Aegis Spells like a hot knife through butter, it took barely a second but she felt one of her blessings scream and raised the spear given by the Hivemind to block a mighty slash. Earth cracked under her feet, the blow was so strong she felt like her arms would break as an honest-to-gods sinkhole formed below her, Richard himself couldn''t believe she managed to block his overhead attack and for such failure, he had rewarded a swift kick in his ribs. She blasted the young man towards the very edge of the arena as the crowd cheered Hope''s counterattack. "My turn" Hope spoke and summoned her strongest blessing, Magic flowing through her very soul as she decided to do Lucrezia proud, summoning a great hailstorm of bluish ice, it hummed with power as she infused her own Mana into it, and mist followed as the temperature dropped around them and with both arms raised, she chanted the true name of every Winter Spirit she knew. Feeling bold, she weaved speed and haste into the spell, Kaine''s form appearing beside her like a ghost as she recalled his lessons, soon the hailstorm was upon Richard, and with a mighty cry she released the construct of arcane power, the hail now infused by Hope''s obscene powerful mana, the essence of Spirits and velocity born out of arcane weaving slammed into the young man''s defenses and around him, such was the power it would tear chunks of ground off, or outright explode. A great phantasmal hand appeared above his position, Hope gasped as she realized what divine was powering it, around her every orc in the arena cheered with such enthusiasm she couldn''t help but sigh, yet she did not let go and fuel her spell more, a clash of titans ensured as Kaal''Duvat''s hands threw themselves at the hailstorm, punching it away to the point Hope could feel the air vibrate around and above her. Changing tactics but still favoring big showy attacks, Hope let the spell be destroyed and summoned huge spikes of golden-looking steel, something Lucrezia could not do as Richard''s face flashed amazement, he felt the Essence of the Mad God in those spikes, to his credit he didn''t stop and stared, immediately launching himself to the nearest one and chopping it down with his sword. Alas, he was not fast enough, Hope made a simple hand gesture, her hand falling and pointing towards him with a closed fist, a singular bolt of gold lighting, powerful and beautiful slammed into Richards''s form, he raised his sword and screamed himself hoarse as the energy of the Mad God tried to smite him into a smear in the arena''s sandy floor, Hope''s eyes widened as she saw Richard''s armor peel off him and raise tiny spikes around him, forming a shell that at first tried to suck the bolt inwards, but failing that it redirected towards the ground, sending a mighty plume of sand and smoke upwards. Magi-Tech saved him, Hope smiled and searched for Lucrezia in the crowd, finding her friend smiling in return. "No distractions!" Richard bellowed out and rushed her, Hope barely had time to raise her spear as he slammed into her body like a slab of stone, she could scarcely perceive it even with her Speed blessing running at max potency and what ensured was a beatdown so severe she was sure he would''ve killed someone lesser, each punch Richard threw sent shockwaves throughout her body and together with the cheering, a cacophony of noises blossomed within the arena. Her blessing of war finally matched the output of Speed and within seconds she was matching him blow for blow, slowly she gained ground as she weaved devastating Ki pulses into her attacks together with Mana but Richard did not relent, when he saw she wasn''t taking any more damage he did the unthinkable, with a mighty kick he pushedHope''s spear to the edge of the arena and grappled her! "To think it took weeks to get you to fuck me, I should''ve asked for a battle before!" Hope whispered in his ear as the two of them merged in an unflattering tangle of limbs, Hope doing her best to get him off her but Gods above and below the man were not letting up, she cursed not having asked Lucrezia for training against grapplers as the woman herself was one of the very best, and no doubt taught him about it. She felt pressure on her legs and nearly screamed in panic when she saw him wriggle his hands into her right leg, with a scream of pure terror he pulled and Hope''s world went white with pain, she snapped out of it and burned through most of her Ki pool, blasting Richard away with Red Aura as the man went flying towards the edges of the arena. The bastard had almost broken her leg! Hope limped and got up, pain flaring through her body as she took a deep breath and healed herself to full health, bone and muscle popping in horrible noises as the crowd went silent, it had dawned on many of them how powerful the woman was, as every single attack Richard let out would''ve not been easily blocked, or recovered even with high skills in healing magic and blessings. But Hope was more, she was a legend made flesh and Rage made manifest, Richard got up and sighed "And she hasn''t even tapped into the Rage yet" his words echoed across the silent Arena, until his friends started cheering for him, Hope snapped her head and saw the trio that often followed Richard around, Lucrezia with them as they screamed his name from the seats, more joining cheering him and Hope both. She also saw Arthur raise a huge spectral flag with her name on it, the sight grounded her a bit, this was all for show she had to remind herself a good fight does not need to end in bitter feelings, even if she was a bit chuffed about the almost leg break... "No breaking bones, I got the message" Richard spoke with a laugh and Hope laughed with him "Yeah, that was nasty" she replied and moved to get her spear, ready for the next about of attacks. But this time she wasn''t just using her All-Father-given powers, Hope''s eyes rolled to the back of her head as the world shook around her, the ground quaked and the sunlight dimmed. Unholy power, Enemy of all that was living in the world and universe, Hope roared a challenge towards Richard and the man smiled, at the third and deepest level of the Rage-that-Dwells, Hope was now a peerless existence, and together with the power of All-Father''s blessing, she felt ready to snatch that title of strongest from him, bestowed by a detestable woman sure, but in the realm of warriors, her word carried weight few knew. But many respected. Hope pounced and the world roared as a result, her speartip was but a glint of unknown metal due to the sheer velocity of her moves, triple stabs, sweeps, and thrusts all flowed in mind-shattering speed as Richard did his best to dodge, parry or when she sped things up, take as little damage as possible, alas the weapon she wielded was forged for God Killing, a scrap nearly broke his arm! Richard felt the hairs in his neck raise as he dodged a sweep only to get a left hook right into his face, he had to ground himself with mana not to fly off and get skewed, an opening showed as Hope fumbled her thrust and tried to leap backward, Richard did not let that slide and pressed his attack with renewed vigor, his Goddess''s form shimmering upon his back to aid him. A blow that sounded like thunder pierced Hope right in her collarbone, Richard saw the powerful Ki shield she had erected crack under his blade''s pressure, Hope cursed under her breath and tried to headbutt him away, another awe-inspiring bow came, this time aimed right at her neck and the woman had actually to block it, time slowed down as she raised her spear in a wrong form, shaft meeting crystal and steel in a mighty clang! Locked as they were Richard could only hear his and Hope''s breathing, his vision narrowing down to the singular moment they were sharing as all noise from the arena became muted, saw her smile the most beautiful smile Hope had ever shown, he knew that the bond they had was now stronger than ever before, forged anew in this battle as Richard smiled back at her. Grabbing her spear with all of his power, Richard slammed his right shoulder right into Hope''s chest, knocking her down to the ground, he felt the woman''s hand grab his belly and the hot pain of a stab, but she was just the bit slower than him, fractions of seconds even as he slashed her neck, Hope''s body disappearing into the waiting room of the Fields, Richard soon to follow as the arena''s noise roared back into his reality, a smile on his lips as she locked eyes with Lucrezia standing proud staring right at him, hand on her chest. Richard closed his eyes and felt the flow of Divine Energy leave his body as he was taken, opening them he found himself staring down at Hope as she massaged her neck "Out of all ways to go, getting your throat slashed isn''t pretty, guess mom was right..." she extended her hand towards Richard who took it "Good fight dear, good godsdamned fight!" she closed into a hug and Richard let the woman have the moment "Oh Lucrezia will be pissed today, I can''t wait to see her getting mad at you for not going all out against her!" You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
"Sanctioned outsider influence?!?! Are you crazy?" The academy''s dean spoke to an envoy of the gods as he watched the next fight start, Lady Vivienne was, much like her friends dressed in armor forged by the Duchess of the North, that woman spared no expense on getting her inner circle the best she could forge for them, of course, the ancient elf could feel the wrongness of Vivienne''s weapon, that was no Magi-Tech blade. "Worry not, it is not the first time, nor will be the last, the All-Father wills it and so it shall be done" The envoy spoke his piece and left, the Dean sighed and wiped sweat out of his forehead "I should look into retiring soon, I don''t wanna deal with this sort of stress Gods..." he spoke his piece as the arena shook with power from the cheers, another fight with powerful individuals had begun.
A few hours before the matches had begun, Kaine was called by his beloved for a fascinating talk with one of the Chief Divines of the realm, Goddess Fae¡¯Zhurar, youngest of All-Father''s progeny and commander of all Magic-related Spheres of Power, once Kaine had cursed himself for not being blessed by her, but nowadays he had no ill feelings towards the Divine. Her message was not at all demanding as well, much to Gwennarius''s subtle jealousy as Kaine saw a then unknown facet of the Elder Goddess, she was possessive of him, and nearly fired rude remarks of her own when he was talking with Fae¡¯Zhurar! afraid of losing her power or did the Divine finally start caring about the members of her cult? Kaine didn''t know. Fae¡¯Zhurar wanted him, together with Kaede of course who had the actual Greater Blessing of magic to pull it off, to start working on ways to bridge space, a new venue of trade and faith spearheaded by All-Father, apparently inspired by Lucrezia''s voyage to the stars via her Magi-Tech, he would be working with obscure and archaic entities who were technically outsiders but all in good relations with All-Father and his realms. Kaine agreed to it, as Kaede did the same and when they had a private moment together she shared her thoughts on the matter "Something is up with this, and I feel Kaine that Vivienne''s new weapon is a lead, when you fight her today..." Kaede''s tail twitched as Kaine smiled, that was her tell when the woman was coming up with a particularly devious plan, her face locked in thinking as he waited patiently. "Steal it!" the young Kitsune said with cheer and Kaine nodded. As Kaine sat by himself (Kaede had to talk with Lucrezia about the new endeavor) he thought to himself about his life so far, with this new request and other signs he had been noticing for a while he knew how some of the pieces fit the puzzle, all these events, all the absurd happenings and his role within them, powerful people and even more powerful entities moving their pieces at a pace unseen. Who was the fulcrum of it all? the fire starter that created this roaring flame, Kaine couldn''t help but smile as Lucrezia''s face popped into his mind, he could picture the woman with crystal clearness now, the ridges and lines in her face, the azure eyes that betrayed deep understanding of it all, and a smile that comforted her friends, she did something, well she did many somethings and the consequences of her actions were being played out right in front of him. But that sword...Kaine had seen it in action and he felt something ominous from it, something that he had to make sure to prepare against it as Vivienne had already told him she would not hold back, she told him how everyone in the group saw him as the most powerful, even Lucrezia was not keen on fighting him, and while he was deeply touched by the faith of his companions, Kaine himself knew he wouldn''t last a minute against Hope or Lucrezia... And so with knowledge, a bit of help from Gwennarius who was very ready to please for no real reason, and a dash of luck, Kaine prepared for the fight ahead, hoping he wouldn''t be beset by any surprises. But surprise found him first, he saw Vivienne''s small frame decked out in what had to be genuine artifact armor from the Arch-Duke''s vault, pauldrons full of divine enchanted charms, but no helmet, instead her hair was tied into a ponytail and on her forehead shone a beautiful faceplate, the very image of a warrior princess of yore Kaine thought to himself as the crowd roared cheers in her name. If there was one thing he didn''t think he would enjoy, it was the sheer power and hype generated by the chanting, drums, and music, it was no small wonder Lucrezia and other warriors fell into the Battle Lust, even he was itching for a good fight, and that thought made him a bit scared. Fear not the battle, for it is the very reason your kind was made Gwennarius''s voice spoke in his ears, he could feel the Divine trying to egg him on, a curious strategy by someone who often wanted nothing to do with combat, but this was different he realized, this was a show to display his and by extension Her powers, against someone powerful. The rest didn''t know, of course, She and Kaine knew, as Vivienne raised that golden sword clad in eldritch flame and humming with power from beyond, unsanctioned outsider influence, well in this case an actual display of force that...had no response from the Divines in charge of safekeeping the many borders to All-Father''s realm. "Gwennarius?" Kaine asked out loud. Allowed by All-Father himself, steel yourself, young human, this won''t be a walk in the park. Kaine snapped his fingers, his usual attire transforming into battle armor he and Lucrezia had crafted together, complete with a helmet that folded into itself via inspired usage of dimensional magic, upon his hands he called a mighty staff of Magi-Tech, glowing with silvery threads at the top of it as the metals reacted with his Greater Blessing, Kaine kneeled and with a small prayer for good luck, walked into the arena. "...FROM THE DEPTHS OF THE RIVER OF TIME ITSELF, THE STRONGEST MAGE OF THE CENTURY, MAKE SOME NOISE FOR KAINE!" the announcer bellowed out from the top of his lungs, his ears picking up Kaede, Arthur, and Lucrezia as they cheered together with the crowd. Still, his eyes were locked on Vivienne who performed a perfect bow "May we find honor in this battle" she spoke with her lips but no sound as the roaring of the crowd grew. And the battle had started, Kaine felt his blessing flex and time slow to a crawl as he began to chant several spells, his hands a blur of speed and shapes, and around him, the very fabric of mana cracked with power, an extremely rare display of near total control over magic only his parents could have pulled off, Vivienne roared a challenge and raised her sword, Kaine''s divination screamed for him to dodge as she brought the sword down, a beam of pure white energy slamming into his shields, blasting through the contingencies he had just set up to make it go off target, he began counting down and when the light was near him he teleported. Vivienne''s eyes widened in surprise as Kaine made himself manifest right by her side, his left hand raising his staff and with 3 downward motions that looked oddly stiff, he summoned a bolt of lighting above them, his right hand twisted as if he was grabbing a door knob and Vivienne screamed, trying to run but feeling her legs lock up as Kaine closed his right hand and teleported away. The arena shook as the bolt of lightning slammed into Vivienne''s form, yet her armor flared gold, and panes of force formed, blocking most of the attack as the crowd stood silent in awe, Kaine did not let up and with a grunt of force threw his staff upwards, chanting at high speeds again with the help of his blessings he placed both hands in front of him, glowing with power as he balled them into firsts and punched the ground in front of him. Fists of solid rock came from the air, Vivienne had to blast both of them with another ray of whatever energy that sword was summoning from beyond, she leaped into the air and manifested wings, white as snow and radiating sickly golden glow, her eyes shone and Kaine had another scream come from his divination, with a series of teleports he dodged the instant blast of energy that left a sizeable crater where he was. "They won''t curse you for using this weapon and its powers?" Kaine asked, worried for his friend. "No, you needn''t worry about that my dear friend" Vivienne''s voice had weird echoes in it, tinged with the power from the sword "All-Father himself said he wouldn''t mind, I wonder why" she cooked her head towards him but Kaine shrugged, he didn''t know. Vivienne nodded and got ready, round two was about to begin with her on the offensive! Kaine sucked in air as an explosion of outsider energy blew out of Vivienne''s back, the woman closed the gap within seconds and was in melee range, with a stomp of his foot he sent pillars of earth and gusts of wind towards her, trying to create distance but Vivienne wouldn''t let that happen, with a mighty chop of her blade she sliced through his magic and went for a killing blow. "Fuck it" Kaine spoke and held his staff with both hands, she wanted a clash within melee range? fine, she would get one! With a scream that echoed throughout the arena Kaine''s entire body, robes, and staff both flared as runes of power pulsated with power, powerful hasting magic made his brain and body work as fast as he could take it, dodging Vivienne''s blow, then parrying the next flurry of attacks with his staff like the monks of yore. Still, it wasn''t enough, the woman''s martial skill was above him, he was squarely on the defensive and losing ground every time she struck, Kaine muttered a silent prayer towards the Undying and flared his final set of enhancement runes. Vivienne barely had time to dodge as his staff came crashing down from above, Kaine felt his impressive mana reserves burn like wildfire as the hasting effect bolted into his soul, courtesy of no small amount of gold donated to the Undying''s church, training with Lucrezia and Castra-Cam and his skill in Necromancy, the crowd roared his name as he traded blow for blow against Vivienne''s eldritch empowered state. With a final push of willpower, Kaine cast powerful, outright maddening divination spells together with generous usage of his Greater Blessing, he had to thank Vivienne later, not even his mother pushed him to this state as the mage truly became one with the River of Time, he saw a grin of pure pride on Gwennariu''s face as he for a few short seconds ascended to a realm above the mortal coil. Yet Vivienne would not give up nor falter, even as the spell barrage grew to a ridiculous degree, even as Kaine fought her one-to-one with speeds unseen, he saw then in this faux-apotheosis state of his as her blade fed her power, not from one entity from beyond the cosmos, but an entire planet worth of them! Kaine sighed in sheer amazement that such a transgression was being allowed, and smiled at the fact he could face someone this powerful, a small part of his mind reminding him that this was likely how Lucrezia and the others likely felt whenever they fought hard enemies. Minutes of pure chaos tickled by as Kaine felt his core about to run dry, and so decided to mimic a particular spell or more like a torrent of sheer energy that had defeated a particularly hard foe of his group in these very fields not so long ago, teleporting to the skies above Vivienne he forced the runes to their maximum output, pain flooded his senses and his soul quivered under the pressure, but he did not falter. "It''s Over" he spoke and pointing his staff at Vivienne he unleashed a copy of the All-Father''s tear attack, paling in comparison to the sheer output of energy, but strong enough to knock Vivienne down, at least according to his calculations. She screamed as a shield of holy and eldritch energy flared to protect her, but to no avail, as the beam of power slammed into it with a horrible noise, gasps and screams from the public were heard as the shield broke and Vivienne''s form was enveloped in the blue light, Kaine''s mana had finally run out and he felt himself failing from the skies, his mind dizzy and body hurting all over, oh that would hurt in the morning he thought to himself as he saw the ground. He felt warmth envelop him before blacking out, his nose picking up faint smells of perfume as voices spoke from all sides, smiling he let himself go, it was time to rest Kaine thought to himself as he floated into blissful sleep. Chapter 93: Understanding the opposition "Faith is ever a fickle thing to mortals, immortals, and everyone in between, minor gods starved as they are, need to be especially careful in rewarding their faithful, yet the same is seen among the greater gods who loath to expend important Divine Power but must to make sure their flock is always aware their patron will not forsake them, this delicate balance is explained by the clergy of the All-Father as a necessary mechanic to foster growth and free will among his Children" On the Divines Volume 1. The soul residing within the Sacred Bow screamed as the unholy rites were performed, twisting the once noble being into an amalgamation of pox and decay birthed by the blessing of the two women presiding over the ceremonies, they crackled in delight and cheer as another rite clicked into place, transforming the now cursed bow into a beautiful form, hiding its hostility from the world and its people. Wards were put in place, rituals forced into shape to stop detection from all forms of magic, divine and human both, within minutes the women made arrows out of eldritch energies, and those two were hidden with the same rites, these arrows would deliver the blow meant to kill an exceptional someone, someone who without firepower compared to the current Queen, or aid from a legion of Gods, would not die easily. All for the sake of taking back the man they loved, to have him as their and live their fantasies until death claimed their souls, a dangerous notion but one the women couldn''t even begin to worry about, willing to give everything to these dark powers in exchange for the means of killing Hope, little did they know however, that other forces were conspiring against them, and soon they would clash. One such conspirator sighed as She beheld the foul ritual "Out of all the scenarios, but then again those terrans do have a flair for the bloody dramatic, to think I thought no one here would be so...vicious" Winnur whispered up in her hidden realm where none save her husband and the All-Father could contact her she labored as the scout and diplomat of this multi-reality empire of her creator. "Very curious, they earned the favor of a very old enemy too, when I plotted this possibility it was something locally sourced, but then again the Queen had the bright idea of Killing the poor boy with that foul blade gifted by the dragon, Gwennarius must be fuming with my meddling now, this a good reminder that one can''t be too careful and had I not covered my tracks with those rituals, a very pissed off aunt would be barreling into my domain now..." Power for her beloved, a fresh planet full to the brim with Divines tailor-made for war, Winnur had much riding in this project of hers, half of it already accomplished by the gestalt being born of the Terran boy and old Lucrezia, even if she preferred the boy a little more. Still, the alliance with Terra was proving a tough nut to crack, with time she would win but...well she couldn''t do much about it, they had pissed off a major spacefaring empire in their universe after all, nevermind the fact the Divines there refused to show themselves. Complicated stuff. Winnur was surprised she didn''t have to move a finger to save Lucrezia from this ploy, that mage friend of hers had done all the work in record time, it was no small wonder Lucrezia called him the strongest, yet much was hidden away now that Gwennarius was more active, and while Winnur knew Lucrezia wouldn''t die, bad things would happen to the woman, and it was her duty to shield her from the worst of it. After all, she was one of her chosen, and the woman was a pious believer of the Divines that blessed her, helping their faith grow in many ways, it had the fortunate side effect of basically forming a coalition, not unlike that of the Divines in charge of music, but all geared towards Lucrezia, of particular note were the War Gods from the Imperium who had more than once promised their entire ranks to the woman. Winnur smiled as her view shifted towards the Palace of Vermilion, Lucrezia''s biggest torn sat upon her throne as the Goddess watched her conspire to aid in the effort of Killing Hope, with the hopes that the women doing the nefarious deed would also kill Lucrezia in the process, so much power Winnur thought to herself, but such a lack of vision, a grieving mother who would never let go, perfect fuel for growth the Goddess thought coldly. "I wonder I wonder, what will you do, Lady Malphas?" Winnur spoke out loud, but no one answered.
Queen Malphas paced around her private quarters as she digested the information gathered by her loyal spies, it was hard nowadays given her loving husband''s insistence on meddling with her affairs, it had come up after a rather hard night that the man was assisting Lucrezia but she forgave him, it was Jason''s nature to seek stability and having the Queen of his country fight against what was now the most prosperous duchy was not a good look in the international stage. Still, she was pleased with the progress on her more subtle ploys, again her adventuring days paid off as she managed to track down the right entity from beyond the cosmos to aid those two women, of course, she would have them killed later, no cultist would lay a finger on her son even if said son had outright disowned her of late in a nasty twist of family drama, her daughter had outright vacated the palace as well, in a "diplomatic" mission to the Principality. Another causality of the Whore''s meddling, but soon she would be dead, and so would that annoying peasant woman who dared snare her son, sent to the Queue never to return even if Lucrezia had deep ties to the necromancers, her man on the other hand, could pose a problem later as he was strong enough to act foolish, the same could be said for Kaine who did act foolish and ended up defeating his mom in combat. Valtas was not pleased when he learned what Malphas had done to his wife, nor was the woman herself, cutting off contact and completely ending their long friendship, It was a shame she couldn''t use their powers anymore, that meant she would need to take things personally should her current plans fail, Malphas sighed as she flopped down on a chair tired of walking around the room, so many things to do. so little time to do them.
"Another week until we know what the event''s group section will entail? that''s worrying" Hope spoke as she and Lucrezia shared a private moment, the woman was getting clingy of late Lucrezia thought to herself, the fight with Richard shook her a bit that was clear to anyone but the fact she had lost stung deep, and ever since then she''s been pushing herself to greater heights. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Arthur was worried, he had spoken with Richard earlier even, Lucrezia couldn''t help but smile as he told his good friend that this would soon pass and that defeats are just as important as victories, of course she was constantly sparring against him now, sometimes even against Kaine and Arthur, or Richard''s trio who while not on the absurd level of Lucrezia and her gang, could hold up in a fight under his command. It was fascinating watching those later spars Lucrezia thought as Hope leaned in for a kiss, a peck on her cheek and she was in a better mood already! Lucrezia smiled and let her mind float to the day when the trio decided out of their own volition to join the fray. Lucrezia''s blessing of the All-Mother hummed in response to the draconic power Hvtial employed in that spar and she wondered if she could bless him like she did the Son of the Knight-Commander of the Royal Knights. Alas Hvtial himself said his blood was too thin with the essence of the great dragon that lived in the capital, at best he could make his flames hotter which still was enough to make the young man happy. "I know you are thinking about that fight, it wasn''t fair that Tomoe woman somehow snuck past all my detection spells!" Hope pouted "Are you sure your Owl friend didn''t train her? That was something else..." "Well, if you really wanna know" Lucrezia smirked as Hope leaned closer, ready to hear the secrets she had. With lightning-fast reflexes she hit Hope''s forehead with her finger, the woman yelped with indignation "Ouch, what was that for? you can''t blame me for being curious! I''ve been training with Kaine for days on these spells, do you know how boring Divination without the aid of actual Divines can be? I am not a fan of math thank you very much..." Hope backed off and sat down. "In short, she''s not dodging the spells in a real sense, Tomoe has very unique spells that work in tandem with her Blessing allowing near-instant cancellation of all magical weave and shaping, but it doesn''t work that well with Divine miracles or even demonic enhanced incantations, something you could learn if you get close to her I imagine, or ask Kaine about it?" Lucrezia said with an uncertain tone "He''s busy of late sadly so you might as well ask her" "Feels weird still going to classes after all of this you know?" Hope asked as she started to meditate, then swapping through numerous silent prayers, Lucrezia smiling as all energy sources that permeated Hope swept throughout her body, the life-affirming potency of Ki, seldom used by Hope of late as she focused on her magical might, Mana that felt like Lucrezia was eating a Terran multifruit candy, and the power of the Divine, All-Father''s essence that felt like... an urge? "It''s the Sphere, Free Will is so broad yet powerful that it does funny things to people, me included" Hope mentioned offhand as she continued "I don''t like how the next one feels and I am sure you can agree with me on this" Hope finished. Ah yes, Lucrezia nodded as the wrathful power of the Rage shook her reserves, boiling oceans of blood pierced her mind''s eye as Lucrezia gasped at the image she was seeing, that was the place where she met the Terran Entities! So they had indeed made contact with Hope, no wonder she had that Knife, the same as Vivienne''s weapon...what did it all mean she wondered. What were their plans? "Shallowwalkers like you can only taste a sliver of this malice," Hope said with disgust on her face "Now Abyssal Champions like me, Gods be merciful sometimes I wonder how I haven''t lost myself to it you know?" Hope asked Lucrezia. "Good friends, Good boyfriend soon to be spouse, worry not Hope you will not turn out Like your mother-in-law, I won''t let you" Lucrezia squeezed her arm, the girl smiled with genuine affection and fired back "Oh look at you, trying to seduce me with your sly words!" she laughed as the meditation ritual ended and got up, stretching herself "Stiff as a board, I need to step up my physical training, especially if I plan on sitting those long-winded debates in the Church of the All-Father. Hope moved towards the door, stopping for seconds as Lucrezia raised her head and nodded, telling her to speak what was bugging her "You think, you think I will be a good mother? a good Queen?" Hope asked, not facing Lucrezia still. Lucrezia pondered the question for a solid minute "Yes" she spoke with conviction "You will be a good mother and a great Queen" Lucrezia felt something odd shift in the space the two women were in, as if she had set something off that would eventually rear its head, ugly or otherwise in and make a rackus, she shook herself to let go of this alien feeling, as warmth of the sun heated her skin. ''Well, it''s high time we get back to work, let''s get going Hope" Lucrezia said slapping her knee and getting up, Hope nodded and followed her as the two women made their way to the corridor and into an open space, with a flurry of chants the women teleported to the crafting zone of the Academy, which had morphed into a small city at this point as Lucrezia had poured no small amount of funding into the place. "Wait until Kaine cracks large-scale deployment of dimensional runes and magic" Lucrezia spoke as Hope gazed in awe "Entire villages inside a single building, plenty of relaxation zones for the students, housing for dignitaries and clergy of other crafting-focused Gods, this place will be a hub of industry in a few years hehehe" Lucrezia crackled a evil laugh, Hope smiled at the scene as people walked past then greeting the duo. "I thought Kaine was focusing on replicating the Field''s enchantments, at least that was what Kaede told me the other day" Hope spoke "Then again that''s not an easy task even for him, the Arch-Mage that put together was a once-in-millennium genius after all, still it would do good to crack it, see how it works so no one tries sneaking in items like the Queen did when we fought, speaking of you think..."Hope didn''t want to finish. "Poison? could work depending on what kind, but it was not an issue anymore, especially now that Vivienne could deploy the full might of her Greater Blessing, and that spell Kaine stole out of his mother''s mind. Crazy he fought her you know? and won, Sophia is no weakling even for Kaine..." Lucrezia trailed off as the women walked into an open space filled with workers, blacksmiths, and other craftsmen, finding their workbenches they got to work on armor for the upcoming group engagements, Lucrezia felt Hope switching one of her blessings to Magi-Tech, as her blessing sung with gusto, it had been a long while since this had happened huh. "What a curious thing, these resonances isn''t it? Kaine insists there''s a way to make them happen at will but he told me it will take years for him to crack it, he''s been stonewalled by the Gods on it from what I was told" Hope spoke as she began hammering at a sheet of crystal "It''s a good thing I didn''t swap to your other blessing eh?" Hope smirked at Lucrezia who rolled her eyes at her "Pass me the silvery sheet please, I wanna try something with this" Hope extended her hand and Lucrezia handed her a sheet of Silvery Mytrhil, watching the girl work was fascinating as she blasted through the raw materials with an absurd amount of mana. Hammering, sometimes with enthusiasm, sometimes with pinpoint precision and Hope spent nearly 2 hours forging something out of those two sheets, Lucrezia, on the other hand, was busy with a far less creative and demanding job, she was making joints, bolts, and other useful but simple parts for a new suit of armor she wanted to make for Richard, inspired by the visions Kaine had. It took her quite a while, Hope had already moved on and a pile of raw materials was stacked near her as she zoomed past Lucrezia humming a tune, she was rather inspired today it seemed, Lucrezia couldn''t wait to see what would come off from this rare moment between the two of them, hopefully something beautiful she thought with a smile, as Hope was wont to do with her crafted items. The sun went down as the duo kept working, inching ever closer to the next fight, day by day, hour by hour. Chapter 94: Waves of Giants "Very few are chosen by the Spirits to wield their powers in martial conflict, but our history and that of our new world cousins is obvious in the individuals who enjoyed such a boom of both magical and martial prowess, the four seasons can bestow many a wondrous power, the most famous example being the Vermilion Duchy of Wufgrem, early in their pathfinder days they established a covenant with the then Rulers of the lands that are now called Wulfgrem, the Winter Spirits, together with the shamanistic orders that communed with them, but the Imperium also had dealings with the Natives of our world, in this volume we will explore our shared history with them" Seasons and Spirits, a guide for upper nobility: 4th volume. In the underground city that powered Lucrezia''s industry, Hraxx watched as terrifying machines of war walked in formation below her balcony, in the bays the flagship that would sail into the stars to kill a Goddess, and all around her the populace of Wulfgrem, it''s allies and mercenaries hired by the Duchess to bolster her War Effort gathered for the first stage of their plans. An old Dwarf approached her by the sides, his hands glowing with runes as Hraxx smiled "It''s been a while Idun, I see the woman has you working around the clock eh? the Krakens are speaking of a coalition due to her weapons in the skies, your handiwork too I am guessing?" Hraxx gave Idun a firm handshake as the Dwarf smiled at her and spoke, his voice humming with power "Not mine alone, most of the work was done by her if you can believe it, same for most of these new vehicles and those terrifying suits of armor you just saw" Idun pointed to the squadrons loading up into one of the new flying vehicles, taller and bulkier than the ZENOS units, but twice as fast nearly at the Knightmare level of speed, meant as shock troopers she had told him. "They were worried after we got the news the Sea Elves were on the move again, too many Krakens died to those bastards in the last war, and even the most warlike or hermit of them decided to band together now, thankfully we kicked their little princess back to the accursed depths, hopefully, to never return..."Hraxx paced about, this talk of Sea Elves scared her, she was told stories and met up with the very few who had fought the undersea wars people didn''t speak about, it made her nervous. "Worry not my friend, I have a feeling we won''t be dealing with them for a long while, on the other hand," Idun pointed towards the army gathered below them "This I do not know, Lady Lucrezia has important dealings in the capital still and the Queen is hounding her for any slip-up, even if she has the support of the Prince I worry..., for her and our home" Idun rubbed his beard "I assume you also had the visions?" he asked. Hraxx nearly choked on her spit "Yes, Gods below are they widespread?" Idun shook his head "Oh good, Yes I had them, Wulfgrem and its Capital burning in a particular type of flame, it''s people armed with that" she pointed to the new armor "going down the highways to obliterate the entire country and beyond, led by a small girl who looks like..." Hraxx couldn''t finish the sentence as she recalled the image. "Richard, the Mind Magics we have consulted speculated that''s Lucrezia''s daughter" Idun smiled at the thought "And the flames as you pointed it out, Spiritborne flames only Summer Spirits can conjure, we have yet to relay the information to Lucrezia and Richard but most of our inner circle has seen it already, Knight-Commander Erwin was especially spooked by it, as he saw himself leading a charge against the Palace" Idun paused as Hraxx sighed "Something similar in your version I am assuming?" he asked. "Indeed, I led some honor guard to this young woman, we stormed the Academy...and Royal Knights cut me down" Hraxx felt her gills tremble at the memory "I do not like this Idun, not one bit, and my own Diviners and Soothsayers are adamant it''s going to happen" Hraxx started pacing around again, hands trembling with fear "we must talk with Lucrezia, delay the voyage until she can raise this would be daughter right!" she nearly shouted at the old dwarf, who walked up and held her hand, Hraxx sighed at her outburst and muttered a silent apology, Idun bowed his head letting her know he didn''t mind it. "Then we talk with her, I will summon the Knight-Commander and the others" Idun spoke with conviction as the duo walked away into the tunnel that led to the castle, ready to make a significant announcement.
"Please set down your pens, quills, and such" spoke the Ancient professor who smiled at Lucrezia, the class vacated the premises with respectful silence and as soon as they broke into the corridor began whispering, a quiz was not what Lucrezia was expecting at first but the memories of the game came in handy for this, she was pretty sure she aced the entire thing. "Interesting, you barely studied and still was writing like crazy there Lu, your friends won''t be as lucky I imagine, except Kaine of course" Saa''ryu spoke to her side, the maid looked tired Lucrezia noticed as if she hadn''t slept in days, catching the worried gaze she spoke "Worry not, I won''t be pulling all-nighters like this for a while now, I had to set up a few...working conditions for a job, as you well know" the maid bowed with a smile and Lucrezia nodded, not wanting to discuss her dealings with the Owl, if Saa''ryu felt the need to speak about it, she would do so sooner or later. Lucrezia could barely get a new step in before Saa''ryu grabbed her by the arm "Urgent message from home" the maid''s face morphed into stony conviction as both women nodded and bolted towards Lucrezia''s room, not wanting to teleport inside the school grounds as the room was barely a minute away from them, arriving there Lucrezia cleansed herself with magic and fired up her Magi-Tech device, the quality of the image now crystal clear due to improvements of the apparatus and rising faith, she was greeted by Idun, Hraxx and her Knight-Commander, all with grave faces. "Well, something either went wrong or I am seeing the start of a coup, which is it?" Lucrezia asked and was met with grimaces by everyone on the other side of the screen "Neither? Good, so what happened?" She motioned for them to start, Idun took the lead looking better now that Lucrezia had broken the ice, the Dwaf sighed and began talking, his voice tinged with worry. "For weeks now many of our close allies are having dreams, prophetic dreams that concern our fair capital and the duchy as a whole" he looked towards Hraxx "Hraxx was the latest to have them, but the gist of it goes like this: A young woman, barely 19 winters young burns down the Capital and the outlying communities, Aided by Summer Spirits of considerable power, and later all Seasonal Spirits, Erwin''s dream also showed her moving towards the Kingdom''s Capital, our banners following her as she laid siege to the Palace and the Academy" Idun paused as Lucrezia''s face exploded into a surprised expression "Get Richard and Hope here, Arthur if you can find him as well" she gave an order and Saa''ryu didn''t even nod, disappearing into smoke as the people watching them got spooked "Kaine had visions a while ago, I died and Richard did the same but he had Hope and the others behind him, and they won" Lucrezia explained. "Could be related, where we involved in those visions?" Erwin asked and Lucrezia nodded "Our entire war machine fell under their banner, Hope took over the Duchy and the north was more than happy to oblige, with the support of our Winter Spirits allies no less, Kaine had to square off against his mom to avoid that mess as you well heard, damn I was hoping to speak about this while visiting home..." Lucrezia got up and paced about "Who''s the woman? me?" she asked. Hraxx spoke up "Lady Lucrezia, you might wanna sit down for this" Lucrezia raised her eyebrow and gestured she was fine, the Merwoman sighed and continued, the dark rings under her eyes showing a clear lack of good sleep "How do I best put it...It''s your daughter Lady Lucrezia, the woman burning down the entire kingdom is your daughter, she has your hair and eyes, but the features of Lord Richard, we reached the Capital in my version of the dream and I lead a personal retinue with the new armor you and Idun are putting together for the War against the Goddess that created the Spirits, but Royal Knights, ending the dream cut me down" she looked tired Lucrezia noticed, the revelation churning inside her head. Silence, then a flash of thunder as Hope and Richard, followed by Kaine and Arthur manifested themselves into the room, Kaine was the first to get out of the usual dizziness that accompanied fast teleportation like that, followed by Saa''ryu who appeared again in a puff of smoke behind them "Found the 3 plus Master Kaine, figured it would be best he listened to it" she explained and Lucrezia nodded, once again saved by Saa''ryu quick thinking. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Well, this makes things easier and awkward, right then from the top Idun" Hraxx spoke and the dwarf nodded, retelling the previous points as Erwin and Hraxx spoke their piece again, adding to it now that everyone important was here for it, Erwin in particular said his elite troops breached the Palace but did not fight Hope or Arthur, nor King Jason and Queen Malphas. "Me, a father?" Richard said as he nearly collapsed at the news, Lucrezia was quick to grab him "Oh gods above and below, nevermind the fact this implies we will be fighting some gods-forsaken war in another planet or even realm like some clandestine forward army of the All-Father, a daughter? my daughter? doing all of this? Oh gods spare me" he paced about but Lucrezia hugged him tight, calming his nerves. "Summer Spirits burning down one of the biggest Winter Spirit strongholds is not something that can happen, first they don''t war against each other, so either the dream itself is warping the visions, or they are planted, we can rule out the second option, Lucrezia I need ten minutes" Kaine spoke as the entire room focused on him, people nodded and grunted, if there was anyone who could figure out what was happening it would be him. "I will speak with the Ancient, see if she can summon the Elven in charge of Spirit communications, be right back" Saa''ryu spoke and went away, Arthur hugged Richard and spoke "Be strong friend, ill omen or not we will figure this out and ensure your daughter to do not end up in bad waters, nor you while we are it, we all saw Kaine''s vision after all"the people in the room sighed in relief, if there was one thing Arthur was good at it was rallying up spirits and morale. "It wouldn''t take much you know, for us to turn into that" Hope spoke staring into a window, the sun hanging low, skies orange and purple as she continued "I speak for myself on this but...I am also sure you all would do the same, or even worse" there was heavy silence after she was done, Lucrezia stared at the young woman as the room''s atmosphere turned dark again. "Indeed, All-Father knows we would burn it all to the ground to avenge her" Kaine spoke and everyone turned towards him "Good news, bad news, but it best we wait for Lady Saa''ryu..." he turned to the door as the woman came, following behind her an elven man whose eyes were wide with terror "Lady Lucrezia!, your maid...oh I see" his gaze went towards everyone in the room "I see" "Suppose we ought to take seats, this will take a while" He spoke and the people nodded, the people on the other side of the video also did the same. "Right then, let''s start with the bad news," the man said as everyone focused on him "Spiritborne dreams are usually set in stone, which means something will happen" he started explaining "But as you know Spirits do not war on each other which means this fire is either a fancy twist on the dream by the people who are having it or a regular fire started by mortals, you can summon the Spirits right now and they will stand by this fact" he moved his hands as he spoke, a very lively fellow Lucrezia thought to herself. "Now, as Ser Kaine will surely explain, the River of Time is anything but set in stone, but if the Spirits are behind these dreams, and I believe they are, then something is up, while they have no formal connection with Goddess Gwennarius, they are deeply attuned to their lands and its people, especially you lady Lucrezia, given the task you will undertake for them in the future, which means..." he paused "I understand this may sound out of line Lady Lucrezia but you must raise your daughter right" he raised his hands and explained "I can explain, just give me a minute" "This is the good news part of this, in essence, these dreams are less of augurs of woe and more of a stern warning from the Spirits, which brings us to the fact you will likely have to delay the hunt for their Creator for quite a few years, assuming the progress I was told keeps its pace" the man sat down and Lucrezia nodded, Kaine coughed and said "He''s right on that part at the very least, even Gwennarius is surprised that your pace hasn''t slowed down, but will the Spirits tolerate this delay?" he left the question hanging. "Well they are the ones who are sending the bloody dreams in the first place" Knight-Commander Erwin spoke "Summon a mage, we must talk with the druids" Lucrezia heard a grunt of acknowledgment from his end and said, "Well I suppose we can slow down on production for weapons and transportation at the very least, funnel that manpower towards our space habitats and Magi-Tech terraforming, Idun I''ll leave that to you and Hraxx, as for my daughter..." there was a pause there as the words felt alien to her ears, such a curious thing "I''ll endeavor to raise the girl right, with Richard and my friends as pillars for this coming trial, lest I raise a destroyer of Kingdoms" she smiled as the people around the room laughed. This is certainly a change of plans, the sooner we strike at that evil Goddess the better chances we have to come out unscathed, did she plan for this I wonder? or it''s just fate and destiny? poor Richard is still stunned by the news, heh he does look cute I must admit... Lucrezia snapped out of her thoughts as Kaine coughed again to gather attention "I have some good news, the big lady told me there are no huge disturbances that far out in the River of Time, the bad news is something does happen around the same timeframe, but she''s unsure of what is as the readings are getting horrible, usually this is due to interference by outside parties which also means hunting of Outsiders for me and you lot" he nodded to himself as the group agreed to another would be a hard confrontation with beings beyond mortal ken "But she agrees with Lucrezia on this, we must help her, and also help each other as we will all have children in the future" Kaine finished with a clap of thunder and he was gone "Dramatic for him" Arthur spoke with a smile "Guess even Kaine with his focus on Magic was taken aback by the news of fatherhood" he smiled at the thought again, a big smile full of kindness for his childhood friend "That''s good, I''ve always been of opinion Kaine needed a kid, it will do him good"
Maids, butlers, military personnel, and other advisors moved through Lucrezia''s castle like a river, guided by various means magical or otherwise they flowed smoothly and precisely as Lucrezia''s long exile was over, for a short time at least. The Lady Duchess had returned home, and the people of her Duchy rejoiced with merry and prayer, the capital and much of the outlying towns and villages had gone through a drastic change in their visuals and way of living as the heart of the Magi-Tech industry and church paved (literally in some of the more far away settlements) the new age of city planning, living and other state matters Lucrezia had fought hard to implement. A Magical land with technology meshed into its very core. Steel and Fire, Mana and Miracle woven into one, beautiful! Lucrezia thought to herself as she stared down her domain from the highest point in her castle, now looking like someone had haphazardly transmuted into a cyberpunk stronghold, for all the planning she and her people had done in the streets of the city and duchy, the castle had been put on a far more utilitarian oversight. "They made a throne for me, it even has an Orc Warlord sigil on it" Richard spoke from behind, hugging her and nesting his head on her shoulder "It''s a shame we have to go back to the academy so soon isn''t it? then again your Knight-Commander and his Wife are too keen on putting me through some sort of hazing ritual, the White Dragoness herself also wants to test my mettle, at least Hraxx and Idun are alright, the poor woman told me she had barely slept ever since the dreams began you know?" there was a content sigh escaping his lips when Lucrezia replied. "Emyra also wanted to fight you, as did the Magenta Squad but they are off doing Diplomatic Work for their kingdom now that the Sea Elves are showing signs of activity, hey at least you have a few days to enjoy the cold" she smiled seeing the misty breath coming to her side "Gods I missed the cold," she said to herself "C''mon, we got work to do" with that both went inside, ready for a lot of talking and paper signing. It took the couple plus their aides hours, but they got half of the work done within the day and were able to sit down in a more private setting with Lucrezia''s military commanders, Erwin and Idun had been busy and the Palace Guard now boasted training and equipment worth their weight in gold, with plans to outfit the entire civilian guard to its max, given Wulfgrem''s port and their dealings with the Sea Elves. "They will attack us, without a doubt," Erwin told Lucrezia and Richard "Hraxx has already told me there''s too much Leviathan and Kraken activity near her borders" Their talks went on for a while before the main topic came up. "I''ve spoken with the Spirits, we will be delaying the timetable for the Expedition to find their creator until my daughter is no longer an issue," Lucrezia said not believing her words "It''s paramount to all of us to raise the kid right, and so I''ve come up with drafts for a grand plan, now if you all would open the folders..." In simple and complex terms Lucrezia went over her rather complicated plan to make sure that her would-be daughter didn''t become some sort of apocalyptic threat, of course ensuring she was an actual decent parent to the child was the number one priority, and the same for Richard who vowed to learn how to be the best father there ever was! numerous plans within plans and contingencies were put into place and after all was said and done, Lucrezia felt a tad safer. Another plan, this one made with the Owl and Saa''ryu was far more sinister but paranoia spoke to Lucrezia and she listened, the shadowy cabal put together a wet-work unit that directly answered to Lucrezia and Richard, Codename Vanguard, it would act as a shadowy special unit armed with the bleeding edge of Magi-Tech and the coming Artificial Intelligence project Lucrezia would start after the silly competition in the Academy was over. Her daughter would not have to rely on a conventional army if push came to shove and the world was after her, Lucrezia''s Vanguard would be the last line of defense for her child, Richard approved of it in a heartbeat and even asked for more training from both the Owl and Saa''ryu, who agreed to it. Afterward, she focused on refining the many wheels and gears of her domain as fast as she was able, to ensure all her plans would prevail. "It will work out, I am sure of it," she said out loud to no one in particular, hoping the growing unease in her heart went away. It didn''t. Chapter 95: United Front, Ambition鈥檚 End Much was said in regards to the ethics of All-Father''s continuously expanding empire, with many disagreeing on his goals even after the revolt of the Mad God, All-Father''s clergy more than welcoming these dissidents, and even the most staunch iconoclasts do have the opportunity and more importantly, right to speak about it. A measure was implemented to avoid a second run of the Mad God''s foolish plans. The Years after Historian Marc''s encyclopedia on the Divines volume 1 A gathering of Spirits was a rare sight to behold, the season''s colors and smells. Animals and weather, mood and sentiments are all represented through their bodies and unique brand of magical might, Summer and Autumn, Winter and Spring mingled among themselves with gusto and rage both as discussions escalated into fights, then deescalated into merry and cheer. A family ruckus if you will. "It was your fire that blazed across my domain Pheonix! and that Sly Jackal!" The Spirit of the Armor, guardian of Wulfgram spoke as they settled down "Why? Lucrezia has been more than kind to us! She has given us hope! she brought back the last remaining creator! it spoke with a tone of voice that fluctuated between betrayal and amusement, cheer and sadness. The Spirit, shaped as the great fire-borne bird of ancestral legend spoke, its voice tinged with feminity uncommon to their kin "We too received visions, and they had to be sent to the people of Wulfgram, Lucrezia''s daughter is coming and with it great change should the human not be raised right, the forces beyond the cosmos conspire against us once again and we must defend our home, and she is the key to it" It flew to the middle of the gathering, behind her a great Jackal of blue flame stood upright, muscles rippling with fire and power. "Listen to me Kin of the Cold, of the blessed rest for the land and animal both. We all must work together in this time of crisis even if it is far far into the future! Lucrezia aims to avenge us in the stars but we must safeguard her progeny on the ground! the mortals she trusts will also have offspring and they will clash as I have seen in my visions! Her mother is a strong one, but the child won''t have that power while her peers will!" The Jackal swung his arms upwards, a great sphere of fire rose and fell with his breath as he calmed down. "Prophecies, our kind did not heed the last one and we paid the ultimate price for it! this will not, must not repeat itself one more time! together we will ensure the girl is strong! capable and of sound mind! for when Lucrezia brings back the head of the Arch-Traitor we will feast on her divine entrails and finally avenge our masters!" he bellowed out as the Spirits cheered and roared around him. And so it was, the final piece of the puzzle fell in its board, the consequences of it would pave the way for change, or great strife, but who could tell?
Royal Princess Vaaltur watched as another swarm of glittering crystal drones, shaped like the cicadas of the overworld devoured another of her outposts, sighing at the fact this was the final line of forward bases she was allowed to build. "I told them, Vurth, I told them to not kill those bloody Krakens! And now look at all of this! how are we supposed to conduct peace talks when my outposts are being devoured out of the sea floor by those accursed machines!? The ancient Sea Elf turned to his sister, so young he thought to himself, her naivete was endearing to him in a way he couldn''t properly explain. She wasn''t aware of the duties her people had, nor their sins, she knew they had thrown their lot with a pantheon of Evil Gods and wrought misery to the world above, their rightful claim in the mortal coil but beyond that she was woefully ignorant, a measure put in place by their parents. More like Queens and Kings, but it is their duty as avatars of our Gods, to conquest and kill until all are under our banner Vurth thought to himself, it had been a thousand years since the accursed First King of Vermilion and his gang of invaders came from the old world. And now Vaaltur wanted peace, peace that would never be real under any treatise or concession. Only the peace of the Grave, of the Long Queue. The shadows around them quivered as another woman appeared, smoke hanging around her form as the azure-tinged skin trembled at the cold of the room "My Lady! An important message from God-Queen Vuulpa" she handed a small scroll towards Vaaltur and kneeled. "No need for the theatrics Custia, how was dearest mother?" Vaaltur asked. "The queen is displeased with your foolish idea of peace with the land dwellers and openly mocked your failure with the Dynasty to the whole court, that message is your punishment Vaal, and not a good one at that" the Sea Elf woman sighed, Custia while not a sibling by blood was raised together with brother and sister and together they waged war but external and internal for their parents. A good friend Vaaltur thought to herself, she opened the message and the words were short, with no hint of mockery she knew her mother was more than capable of which meant her Father was saving her from the worst, again. "You are to dominate the Shogunate and from there the mainland. two legions will be granted for you to lead and not a man more, redeem yourself or perish in battle" she read out loud and saw the faintest hint of a grimace spread through her brother''s face. "I don''t like dealing with those Samurai and their Ki-enhanced Monks, Mother wants you dead sister" he spoke and shook his head "But that won''t happen, not while I am still alive, right Custia?" Custia nodded "We didn''t leave through a personal assault by the First King for nothing, these new Samurai are soft, unlike their Ancestors of yore, this will be an easier campaign without the Madwoman of the North and her infernal Machines harassing us!" And so the army under Princess Vaaltur pulled back, their shadowy krakens and deep sea whales carrying horrors beyond mortal kind and Sea Elven troops alike towards the abyssal reefs and shoals near the coast of the Shogunate, it would take a while Vaaltur thought. A long while to build her strongholds, supply lines, and such but once she was done the landwalkers would remember the horrors of the deep. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Even if, deep within her heart she only desired peace.
Hvtial panted and sucked in air through his nostrils, his arm muscles burning with unholy fire as the cold mist seeped through him. He cursed his recklessness as he beheld his sparring partner strike a pose and enter into a combat-ready stance. Richard didn''t push him this hard! and the man was one of his best friends! but woe was him that after a round of distilled spirits and horrible luck had him "ask" his girlfriend and combat lunatic for training before his group fight. Quite the crowd had made their way to one of the combat arenas in the Academy''s gym and not to toot his horns but Hvtial had landed some serious blows to the menace-made flesh in front of him, one of his flame-spilling attacks had her use some sort of never seen before Divine Miracle as she turned into a shower of raven feathers, and proceeded to fly upwards into a heel kick right into the left shoulder. "We good?" she asked in a casual way that still caught the dragonkin by surprise, his decorum towards those of higher station protesting towards how casual an actual honest-to-goodness Duchess behaved but as his late grandmother used to say "Powerful people are often quirky" with a smile. She would probably smile seeing how one of the most important people of the Kingdom behaved towards her grandson. "Good" Hvtial replied as he took another stance "Don''t suppose you could use your blessing to make me strong like you did to that other feller eh?" Hvtial smiled but he already knew the answer, his blood was thin and the best he could do was phantasmagorical specters of it. Something Lady Kaede of all people was helping him as the Kitsune had a particular knack for it and together they would eventually turn him into a full dragon, in an illusionary fashion rather than flesh and blood. Hopefully. "If only friend, but the Good Mother is more than pleased with you, in case you are wondering" Lucrezia replied with a predatory grin that spooked him, Hvtial knew deep inside him that a beast lurked within that frame of sinew and bone, muscle and skin and it was more than ready to tear its way through the world. Tomoe and Rose disagreed with him on this but he honestly was glad Richard ended up with her, he was a good influence on the woman. Lucrezia nodded and launched into a series of palm strikes that made her look like a warrior monk from the Dynasty. Explosive force and speed were the name of the game with her and Hvtial learned early that parrying with his scales was the best strategy for it, for a solid 5 seconds he parried, dodged, and counterattacked with his fists and legs. Lucrezia leaped backward and changed stances again. Knees and Elbows, Kicks that exploded into his thighs and ribcage as the woman''s sadistic glee poured like a misty haze out of her body. Hvtial turned to the grappling techniques Richard was fond of and with a series of dodges managed to grab her right leg with both hands, immediately spinning around and throwing her upwards as he readied a jump and hugged her torso mid-air. Pure godsdamned muscle, Lucrezia was a killing machine of flesh as he grabbed her and slammed the woman into the ground, with a grunt of power he threw her to the edge of the arena as people cheered and howled. Lucrezia''s arm slammed into the ground as the grinding of crystal and Mythril silenced their noise, she rose like a vengeful war Goddess and flexed. With one arm behind her back and Crystal''s arm in front of her, she extended her palm like a dagger only to motion with her slender fingers for him to come and get her. Hvtial heard the crowd gasp in awe, for the beatdown he had just unleashed on her would be enough to put anyone in the vicinity into a hospital for a few days. even their Knights looked in cold respect, they oft called Lucrezia the Gym''s Duchess and Hvtial knew after that show of force, he had earned their respect. "Richard''s a good teacher," Lucrezia said as he stalled for time, Hvtial sucked in more air as his body burned from the inside, he was getting tired. "Aye, he is" He replied with a grin.
"Again!" the huge man bellowed out, his voice powered by weird illusionary magic that hurt whenever Richard got clipped by it, It was very much a different style of fighting but in no short part due to his new blessing, he was slowly managing to iron it out and overcome the Master Assassins''s gauntlet of absolutely brutal training regiments! still, the overreliance on parrying and dodging made him...leery of the more explosive foes he could face. Focusing his mind, he took a stance with the blade given to him by the Owl, single-edged and made specifically to parry other sharp instruments of pain, without having its steel chip or lose its edge with honest-to-goodness magical runes, so used he was to Lucrezia''s brand of weaponry he had nearly forgotten the actual magical weapons and armors around him, although Vivienne still wielded that scary looking sword which he had confirmed with his girlfriend was an artifact of powers from the beyond, one detail that made him especially intrigued by it was the fact Hope out of all people had a small dagger that looked similar to it. That little factoid he hadn''t brought up, and as soon as the Owl saw he was ready the huge man leaped into action weaving incredibly hard to parry slashes and stabs, speed that no old man his age and size should be able to keep up and items, non-magical and magical to stun, confuse or harm him mid-fight. Including but not limited to stuns and smoke bombs, throwing knives that locked into him, and a phantasmagoria halberd that had given Richard a nasty scar already, when he got dragged by his shoulder into a slash that could''ve killed if this was a real fight. Seconds dragged into minutes until he got a lucky jab in and the Owl faltered, with precision and controlled fury he went for the killing blow, only for another throwing knife to slam into the flat of his blade and throw him off, the Owl quick to regain his footing dropped a smoke bomb to his feet and Richard''s mind went into overdrive as the hidden foe leaped into the arena, focusing his hearing and expanding his senses he began a mad dash outside of the smoke as the Owl and the new foe began trying to strike him down, but their attacks found no purchase as Richard deflected all of them. Cheers and claps greeted him as soon as he left the smoke, the entire cabal of assassins watching his desperate fighting as a figure joined the Owl he was very familiar with, decked out in deep black garbs and armed to the teeth was the one Saa''ryu, loyal maid of his girlfriend and chief of her spy network, both were nodding with pride as the huge man spoke "Impressive display of martial skill young lord, most impressive indeed. See that you lousy lot! this is how you fight against insurmountable odds! no hesitation!" the crew snapped into attention as Saa''ryu guided Richard to a nearby bench. The Owl started explaining the fight for his disciples as Richard felt the weight of his bones triple "That was fun, except for the part where you nearly gutted me at the end there" he spoke and Saa''ryu smiled "Aye, it speaks to your skills that you didn''t get hit, I don''t think even your little friend Hope and my Lady herself would''ve dodged that one, let alone parry it as clean as you did" she tapped her fingers as a small folder appeared "These are the men and women I''ve pooled together, unfit for the more slow pace spycraft work I require but if trained properly, can be used as a perfect subtle but effective hammer to whatever issues you would be daughter will face in the future, but Richard" Saa''ryu looked into his eyes "I do not like these weapons Lady Lucrezia wishes to supply them with, nevermind the fact our regular troops are getting absurd as it is, these new technologies she came up are downright..." Richard sighed, it was rare for Saa''ryu to disapprove of her Lady, but he knew the signs and tells, the biggest one when she got formal about it "I''ll talk with her, see if we can de-escalate it" he leafed through the files "Even I got spooked by some of the stuff she came up with it, those Magi-tech intelligence nodes are too close to that awful dungeon project the Imperium had, even if her stuff is based off Silicia and Crystal" Richard stopped at a file of an unremarkable looking man, looked barely 17 "Why is this young man marked as a team leader?" he asked. The maid smiled "Oh let me tell you a story my future liege..." Chapter 96: Vanguard Initiative "Mortals were given Volition, Free will, and Determination. Fate and Destiny are theirs to carve it out, or let themselves be taken by it!" All-Father''s speech at the creation of the first mortals. His name was Ackar, once a humble hunter living at the edge of civilization in the north, dealing with the bizarre and unnatural. Druids and Wildmen were his sole "regular" contacts in these fringes he came to love as his home. Then the evil came, out of the big city and spiraled out of control until the wee lass put an end to that, Ackar saw her machines and troops marshaling to fight against the southern invaders, once ages ago his old man marched to fight against the elves. His mother soon joined leaving him alone and all he could think to himself was how sad it was, life was simple in his forest and hunting grounds. One of the druids later told him all about it, he didn''t believe the lass would right the wrongs her folk had done to the countryside, but lo and behold she did with such speed and ferocity it was quite scary to him, and he had seen some scary individuals and beasts before! it didn''t take long for a squad of grim-faced Knights to march toward his particular neck of the woods, the woman leading them was polite and once he got the crew inside his cabin they got to talking. "Apologies for the humble abode My Lady, I am not one for the fancy life as you are well aware" Ackar spoke as he gave hot tea to the men and women inside his home, out of the cold winds and snow they had far more lively and welcoming faces, and so the piece of land and woods he called home became a sort of checkpoint for the troops and Knights who had to patrol the fringes. Often he was called to aid as scout or guide for selected individuals who were training to be actual army scouts for the Duchess, the wee lass not above using the humbler folk skills and techniques to give any edge to her forces. Often they hunted dreadful beasts from the wastes, and more than once he had to track criminals and ill-intentioned folk with squads of particularly grim knights, those less wholesome assignments were good for coin and keeping his meager magical might sharp but not something he was keen on doing all the time, the killing of folk was a hazardous task that weighed heavy on his soul. It was curious, hearing these people talk about the lass, There were barely 20 winters to her name, and still, she commanded respect even from the highest of druids and military personnel, was kind to the common folk, and was so keen on the progress that she threw her lot with a minor god for it and now was the very tip of the technological spear that was taking the Kingdom by storm, Ackar was "gifted" an entire set of scout gear by his handler the other week. His Patron Goddess of the Frigid Hunt, a small deity of the region he lived outright spoke to him via dreams saying the lass handcrafted it. "What does the Duchess want with me?" He asked no one. It turned out, she wanted quite a few things.
Saa''ryu watched as a grim-looking orc woman deployed the new magi-tech device Lucrezia had come up with, the beast in the form of essentially a box with four legs was the latest prototype of the Direwulf line of weaponized semi-autonomous magi-tech, the name was a bit silly the maid thought to herself but her Lady was often like that with those, not much could be done to stop the woman now. "At least she named the flying ones Wasps instead of whatever fancy name she had planned, thank the Gods for Richard and his keen sense of good merchandising" She smiled as the mobile platform unleashed hell around the Orc, be it with long-range focused spellfire, semi-automatic magi-tech weaponry or even pouncing and stomping the fake enemies to death, the Direwulf was the bruiser to complement its operator. "...The Ice Lady could speed things up and deploy the Fully Automatics already, if she''s capable of this" Saa''ryu heard the woman below grunt "The mages will catch up faster if she doesn''t..." On the other end of the arena, she watched Dragonling, one of the many scions of Kallista who lived in the city as his scales grew a shade of silver and he disappeared with a puff of feathers, this one spooked Saa''ryu as Lucrezia had started a rather blasphemous project with the woman who was now Lady of the Wastes, a combination of Magic and Faith but turned towards the individual instead of the divine, with support of the Crow Goddess no less! It irked her, but then again that woman and her less sane friend Friede were known to do reckless stuff like this, still, this was a form of power no one could counter yet, not until she deployed to a live battlefield, this Dragonling was using the Wasps as well. Buzzing with static and the sound of live magi-tech ammo slamming into the fake targets as he teleported around without nary a trace of the usual leftovers (she had cast all her anti-teleport and divination spells meant to hone where the teleporter would land and nothing happened!) The young hunter calmed her nerves for this absurd wet work team her lady and would-be lord were putting together that shone the best in these recent trials, not a born leader or charismatic individual but with a keen mind and even sharper senses. Watching him guide the others was an impressive sight and she knew he earned the respect of the would-be Vanguard Initiative via tried and true hard work. He was also the one who raised the most questions, as an isolated hunter of the woods he wasn''t aware of the nitty-gritty details and after being vetted Saa''ryu disclosed the details with all of them, but Ackar was the one worried and curious the most. "She''s smart our Lady Duchess" he stroked his chin "As any child of Wulfgren knows the spirits are a fickle lot and even on their best days can be quite unpredictable, Gods know what could happen to us should she fail her mission" he pointed out as Saa''ryu frowned. "You believe she could fail? even with all you have seen?" she asked the young man, wondering why he would think that. "Tis important to foster a healthy degree of weariness of the unknown when living in isolation like me Lady Saa''ryu, think about it. A Divine who somehow dodged or remained hidden from All-Father''s gaze? even after he sicced his Son after Her? something isn''t right there and by the looks of the weaponry our Lady is building. She agrees with me on this in spirit if not mind" he said as he nodded towards his bow. "That Gravelus there, you see how his Magic mimicks Miracles yeah? I think Lady Saa''ryu that the mere fact we haven''t all been smitten to high heavens by those scary demigods the All-Father keeps according to ancient legend is reason enough to believe Lady Lucrezia is worried about this endeavor and will stack her deck as best as she can, and now with her would-be daughter on the line, I can''t say I blame her" Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Saa''ryu left the young man with his two other agents, a little perturbed by his keen insights even when having little exposition as he had, deciding to clear her head she took the scenic route and ended up watching the workers toiling away at the spacefaring ships, her eyes picking up details that made her shiver. These were not simply exploratory vessels for little combat between planets and stars in cold darkness. This fleet was a testament to pure hatred warped into crystal and steel, Saa''ryu''s eyes focused on the light aftereffects that lingered around the workers and engineers. Spirits from all Seasons came in droves now to bless the personnel and their weapons. Of particular note was a squad of warriors decked in the new suits of terrifying armor Lucrezia and Idun had birthed, Led by an elven woman from the deep south of the kingdom managed to establish ties with the Autumn Spirits and all of their Magi-Tech warped into decay and rot. Worse was the face of absolute delight her Lady had made when she saw them. She had changed ever since that fated day in the Fields with Queen Malphas, but every once in a while the Lucrezia who delighted herself in the guts and blood of the enemy would rise, ready to rend the mortal coil into two. This was not helped by the fact Spring Spirits based in the Imperium brought her a forged armored gauntlet made out of a strange bronze alloy, when wielded and channeled mana it extended into wicked-looking daggers, or nails as the Spirits said it. "Forged for you Lady Lucrezia, let the Betrayer taste its bite" the envoy spoke with fevour. Lucrezia named it the Talons of Retribution. That was not a mere weapon Saa''ryu thought to herself when she saw the thing in action, it tore into reinforced steel like a hot knife into a butter stick! and Lucrezia was barely putting in effort in the attack. She may have avoided one particular dire end with the attack on the Arch-Mage, but this... "Just how many will we kill, how much will we destroy for this crusade?" The maid spoke out loud, but no one replied.
The woman in question, leader of said crusade was currently elbow-deep in flour as she prepared dough for pizza, Richard had the bright idea of throwing a party for the upcoming fighters who he had trained in the group section of this event and she couldn''t say no, it wasn''t like she was too busy and if she was being honest with herself, she did miss working with food... "This is a curious sight, here we have a Duchess, second only to the King and Queen and the Arch-Duke making bread like a peasant baker" spoke Castra-Cam who was skilfully cooking huge fish Richard had gotten from some fisher he knew (the man knew too many skilled people) the undead Catkin looked pleased as she worked with precision and speed no mortal could achieve "Tell your beloved this is a perfect specimen, the man knows his fishers" she spoke with respect, Lucrezia was aware of this side of Castra from her memories with the game but to see it live was another thing. "He has quite the network already, I''d wager had he not you know..." Lucrezia smirked "They would''ve already married him off to a minor noble to further the power of his merchant house" Lucrezia heard Castra snort in amusement and say "Look at you, turning the merchant boy into a warrior king, like those novels of old I used to read ha!" said novels being hundreds of years old Lucrezia thought to herself. Noise could be heard from the courtyard as fireworks lit up the skies above the Fields, people came and went into the massive castle kitchen as food was prepped at high speed for the festivities, or so Lucrezia assumed as a single party often spilled into others, minor or big. People would stare at her in disbelief every once in a while, the sigh of a noble of her stature working not something they could wrap their heads around. Of course, there were rumors, as she was plenty active in doing labor before but with such a huge institution and so many people, many didn''t believe it! but she couldn''t stop now, she had work to do. Once the kitchen was empty bar Castra, Lucrezia heard her friend sigh tiredly as she spoke "I have news from the big man downstairs Lucrezia" Lucrezia snapped her head towards Castra, eyes laser-focused on the woman as she walked towards her. "It makes me glad you are properly worried about it, Heaven knows how many people fail to heed His words" Castra smiled as she sat down next to Lucrezia''s workstation "It''s not about your daughter, but it is related to your increased militarization and hunt for the Rogue Goddess, He is...worried about the new weapons you are creating and the after-effects that will come thanks to the arms race that will come out of them" Castra tapped the table "I assume you know what this means?" she asked. Lucrezia nodded, if she needed confirmation this was it "The sea elves will come for us again, armed with magic and miracles on par with my creations, especially the ones I''ve made for the Expedition" Lucrezia sighed "It''s going to be a bloodbath" Castra nodded " He''s extending full support of our martial forces towards you, while we can''t brave the stars and cosmos due to an increase in rogue necromancers we can put these Elven dogs to the grave, with no chance of coming back" a nasty smile flashed in her dead face as she mentioned that "He also tasked be with teaching your daughter on our ways, should she incline of course" Castraa threw that in and Lucrezia was taken back. "She? A Scythe? Goodness Gracious of course Castra!" she hugged the Catkin who smiled at the reaction and said "Ok no need for the hugging Lucrezia" Lucrezia snapped out of the embrace with a cheeky smile and replied "But I wonder, what if she doesn''t follow the martial path? we were blessed by Eulogia after all..." Castra nodded "The future is the realm of Kaine and His Goddess, we must not intrude upon it. If she becomes a philosopher or musician it doesn''t matter, we must be there for her" She cupped Lucrezia''s hands, warm and rough and with strength that bespoke the young woman''s strong convictions, they shared a nod and went to work, the party was about to start in earnest.
In a realm of shadow and thunder, divorced from the mortal coil and the Sphere of Power that kept such beings in check were hunched figures clad in torn robes, the shimmer around them betrayed their Divinity but it was a muted thing, as if they were being siphoned. Growing weaker every second. "The All-Father can still reach us! what a sorry display of power is this?!" one of the figures screamed and the sound of waves crashing upon rocks was heard across the plane, the figure shook with rage before another figure placed a hand on its shoulder "Peace, none can escape the Light of the All-Father but he will not meddle in our affairs this time" it spoke with a snake-like hiss, other figures spat or snarked in response "He has a blasted Blessed walking around above! with enough power to level entire cities! nevermind the fact that blasted Alien granted her a weapon capable of harming us! Are you insane, or do you lack the wits to keep up with the news of our spies?!?" another figure spoke with anger as the sound of monsters from the forbidden cenotes roared with it, the room grew cold and silent afterward. Another voice, this one accompanied by the wail of thousands of schools of fish whispered raggedly "She is but one mortal, it is the other. The Enemy of Crystal and Steel we must take utmost caution, my farsighted children have caught glimpses of the future she will wreak with fire and rage upon those we protect and serve, behold their sight brothers and sisters, for the true enemy will be the end of us all" A small bubble made itself manifest in the middle of the room as the ragged figures leaned closer, inside it they saw great machines tearing into their children, beams of pure light falling from the skies and burning the seas, and metal ships floating above the waters, on the shores they saw mortals clad in armor that moved with speed hitherto seen before, goring and tearing into their Children of the Waters. The Final image was of a great rod of metal being launched from the capital ship that floated in the air, the figures felt a shiver of horror strike them as the explosion burned the ocean floor and waters to such a degree, that no amount of water could kill its cursed flames. "I will be removing my children and followers from this accursed war you lot seek to wage, I will not, must not die to such horrible weapons!" Silence fell again as the figure disappeared, the others shook their heads in shame and dismissal, half-baked visions of the future would not stop their war. With the strongest mages and warriors, no weapon from the landed world would be enough against their tide! Chapter 97: Unworthy, Unwanted "The destined day had come, words I can''t even begin to express in this journal fill my mind. Wrath and Madness that He had warned, the urge to commit the biggest of Heresies and Treason against all that was and would be! and yet...It did not come to pass..." Anonymous Diary. "No Lucrezia, I cannot give you the spell formula. Yes, I am keenly aware that you need it badly but you must understand you are asking for the moon here! Gwennarius is spooked! do you understand? this is no minor Divine you get to bully around by waving Hope like a hammer, we must find another way and that''s final" Kaine spoke into his spell as the muffled voice of a very stubborn woman mumbled and grumbled like an unruly child in his ear. It was barely past 5 AM, the sun was still rising as Kaine fell into his chair and sighed deeply, from the darkened end of the room he heard noises as Kaede woke up and came to check up on him, sleep in her eyes and a tired smile greeted him as she spoke, her voice soft and warm "The Good Lady has you this worked up and it''s not even morning yet? does she ever sleep?" Kaede laughed, defusing Kaine''s frustration. The young Mage smiled and thought to himself God bless this woman, I am truly blessed with her presence in my life "Hardly, Lucrezia can stay up for a week without sleep last I asked. Yet she insists on this accursed Spell Gwennarius has, I don''t even wanna know how she knows the Goddess has it but if we do let out in the mortal coil it could end up in such disaster that the Gods would undoubtedly directly intervene, and that would lead to horrible, downright evil bloodshed" Kaine explained, trying to avoid falling into a rant. "We forget, that Lucrezia is often at the bleeding edge of progress, and a darker more vicious beast lurks within the frame of the woman we know and love as a good friend. All the temperance brought by past events and her relationship with Richard is still there, subdued and sedated but when the taste of blood is too strong..." Kaede spoke as the sun shone across their room, giving the Kitsune an otherworldly glow. "Indeed, she is keenly aware the Divines in charge of warfare on both ends of the spectrum would improve their forces with the knowledge as soon as she tooled it into her ships and weapons" Kaine spoke as he tapped his finger on the table "Bending Time and Space for transport is one thing, for warfare? can you imagine if her weapons had no projectiles or flying paths? if the whole world had spells and miracles like that?" he asked out loud. Kaede nodded "Still we can sidestep that and make sure the ships can enjoy something similar, as long as it doesn''t get used as a weapon..." Kaede rested her head on his left shoulder and spoke "Then I suggest we get to work, the Good Lady will be grumpy for a while now that you have blue-balled her" She giggled at the mental image of an angry Lucrezia. "Don''t forget we will still fight in that silly tournament the Queen came up with, I swear Malphas is losing her mind by the day" Kaine spoke as the couple went to get themselves ready for the new day, one that would be quite something for all parties involved...
Lucrezia was in a foul mood, Hope managed to beat the living lights out of her at the gym earlier and her classes were all running mock tests for no real good reason. With people focused on the upcoming team engagements this was, at least to her mind a sadistic move by the faculty members and one that had come out of the blue, her memories from the game not giving her a single clue about it even! Then Gwennarius stonewalled her again, even after the inhuman push she did for Kaine and his Church, sure it was a far shot but damn it all she had done in weeks what took more established Faiths and Divines months, years even! At least Kaine would look into something to remedy the issue, even if that would increase travel time within the dark of the cosmos to find her prey. And what a prey it was! her lips licked at the thought of spearing the Goddess, of beheading and sticking its divine carcass up in her walls, it was a hunger for battle that would undoubtedly push her to the very limits! Richard had told her earlier about it, he felt she was getting bored of endlessly sparring and mock fights under the protective spell that would deny her the soul-burning sensation of fighting with her life on the line. It was a sobering moment when he too confessed to be feeling the same thing, it was the nature of the beast they had inherited. War forged Lucrezia and in turn, forged her closest allies and loved ones, and while Richard hadn''t been in a true duel to the death, the fight against Malphas was close enough for the young man to get a taste of the bliss she felt at those moments. It is scary, knowing you have to battle that daily you know? makes me want to do something but I know that is your fight and yours alone Richard''s words on her condition rung with the warmth that bespoke their shared understanding. She thought to herself how well their relationship was going when she kept hearing about breakups and other scandals within the halls of the Academy. At the very least, one of her Patron Deities was having one hell of a time with it, same for the others as Lucrezia made doubly sure to repay their gifts in kind. Even her Imperium-based ones weren''t free of her boundless generosity as their influence expanded due to her actions. Sighing she decided to go to the gym, having done the last of the infernal mock tests made her want to burn some of that anxious energy, even now after all she went through, sitting down to answer a quiz still gave her the shakes. "Somethings never change do they?" she whispered to herself. The gym was a riot of activity by the time she arrived, a weird thing at this time of the day so she elected to check it out, it didn''t take long to find the source of the commotion as a party of six individuals, 3 being Knights she had seen around working out and the last 3 being younger, likely noble scions... Lucrezia rubbed her chin in thought, these nobles were not around the gym at all! "Watching the opposition eh? smart thinking Lady Lucrezia" one of the regulars that often spotted her spoke out, a freakish huge elven woman who was oathbound to a family whose scions dated back from the Imperium "By the puzzled look you just gave me I imagine you haven''t seen the board? those six down there will be fighting your motley crew for the first round in the tournament" she winked. "Only six? did the Knights count for more? I thought the limit was up to 10..." she asked and the elf nodded "They also just added in the fact you can get hired help for it, which means mercs for our more ambitious merchant sons and daughters of the academy hah!" with a nod the woman left and Lucrezia watched the six battled out some sort of earthen block with erratic limbs, a horrible sight if it wasn''t for the fact someone went through the effort to cast illusions on it to look oddly sleek and modern. That tripped Lucrezia out of the actual combat, It was too Terran-like as if someone merged Art Deco with brutalism and molded it like clay! her mind worked fast to check how the aesthetic aspect of her inventions fitted those molds. Most of it fell into some amalgamation between high fantasy and clockwork-like, maybe even the second industrial revolution sans the pollution and squalid living, her weapons? no those were more sci-fi if anything... Impossible, another Terran soul? surely that wouldn''t be a thing, right? especially since I haven''t been subtle with my influences and references! A chill ran down Lucrezia''s spine as the very likely possibility of another Terran being around clawed its way to her mind, lost in her mind as she drafted plots and plans for contingencies and dead man switches she didn''t notice a meek figure heading her way. A young, not even 18 years old hailed her with a slurred voice, snapping Lucrezia out of her reverie "L-Lady Lucrezia It is...It is an honor to make your acquaintance!" half shouting half talking in a normal tone, the poor thing was shaking like he was zapped by lighting! Lucrezia focused and from the corner of her eyes saw a group of young women smirking at him, did they put the man up to this? Snapping into what Richard and Hope had started calling "Leader of men at the gates of ruin and hell mode" (something too dramatic for her liking) she marched over towards him and sent a glare towards the other group, shutting their smirks and giggling down immediately and addressed the young man "Pleasure to meet you Lord...?" the question hanged in the air for a solid second before he got his barring. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. "I am Calgar, no need for the title Lady Lucrezia, the Cavons are hardly above Knights..." he coughed noticing he was badmouthing his own House "Forgive me, I am not the most social..." Twitchy and shy, Lucrezia suppressed a smile and met him with an affirming nod, if her read of him was right this would set the boy at ease a little, some of these younger Noble Scions responded better to "harsh but fair" attitudes after all. "Call me Lucrezia then Calgar, How can I help you on this fine day?" The two of them moved to one of the many tables near the arena, Calgar had a spring in his step as he spoke "I wish to first thank you and your innovations! I take it you have seen my Golem yes? A marvel of Transmutation and Illusion! it was mostly thanks to your Magi-Tech devices and the methodology Master Kaine has released over the months. I must confess it is quite a... unique sight but I was inspired the day it came over me" As they sat down Calgar clapped his hands "As for the second part, I wish to extend you a formal invitation of sorts, as you may know, we will be fighting soon and your squad will be no random team of haughty nobles or bootlickers, Lady Hope and Prince Arthur themselves are scary enough, but Master Richard and the Sycthe herself? we got lucky Master Kaine was sent to another bracket!" Calgar laughed "I ask of you Lucrezia that you do not go easy on us, grant us a proper battle for me and my sisters and our Knights are eager to fight you and yours" He had an enthusiasm to him that made Lucrezia smiled, a good fight surely would come out of this. But would it be good for him? "Calgar, I always fight my opponents at my best. On that you and your sisters may not worry, alas if you seek glory and renown I fear..." She was about to speak but Calgar sliced her phrase into two with an exclamation "I am keenly aware, I was among your rank and file when we clashed against the Royal Knights. Alas, Lucrezia my House and Knights are unworthy, unwanted in the bigger brawl that is Vermilion politics, but this fight...this chance we have to show the world we can be more than a ragtag of upjumped commoners is not something I nor my keen can afford to miss!" Lucrezia took a long hard look at the young man, not failing to notice his sisters edging closer to the table together with their Knights, all in well-worn but cared-for armor, blades, and staves with clear signs of use, she stared them down, and saw the same fire in their silent form that burned within Calgar. Part of her wanted to donate some of her weaponry but then she was sure her detractors would crash the young house, at the behest of her old enemy Queen Malphas. "Then I bid you good luck Calgar, keep training and we shall meet in the arena with honor and glory, I will not be found wanting and the same fury you saw that day shall be shown. I can''t speak for the others but I believe they will all agree to this, Richard in particular will likely speak with you after I give him the news. Important fights like these are a matter of great honor for his Patron Goddess after all" Lucrezia tapped her fingers on the table "It''s a promise" She extended her hand, and he took it with a firm handshake. After a word of goodbye, his team returned to the training arena and soon combat noises were heard. Lucrezia stayed behind contemplating her actions at the table, she flexed her crystalline hand, letting the sun rays pass through it "How can this be fair?" she asked no one but a voice, quiet as the grave but with the power of unspeakable strength and resilience spoke through her Blessing. Tis the purpose of the footman to die for their lord, this is the purpose of the general to lead his men to victory. This young man will face his greatest challenge yet and will rise to meet it, for that is the power all mortals have within themselves, especially those close to my kin Ah, Silent Soldier? Lucrezia smiled as she put the pieces together, a family with ties to the Imperium trying to become nobles eh? what a twist.
"It would be disrespectful to not fight with my full powers, but I understand where he''s coming from with this request" Hope spoke to Lucrezia as the two joined up with the rest of the usual gang. Kaine was arguing loudly with Arthur about something and even Castra had joined in when the women made their to the table, it was a heated debate about a powerful necromantic spell Kaine wanted to use. It was an interesting thing, in the game the fact Arthur was a necromancer of good skill was extremely complicated, taking ages for the player to work out the best way to break the news for the wider Academy. Now? now the first prince was being pulled out of class to teach Necromancy! and the undead community was positively, or negatively Lucrezia thought with a smile chomping at the bit to get a hold of him. "It''s good you know? Vermilion treats her Undead right but with the support of the First Prince? not even the most staunch anti-undead groups can stonewall them now, laws and legislation working as fast as possible Arthur told me the other day" Hope smiled at the sight as they greeted the others and sat down. Lucrezia thought to herself as the events of the game played out in her mind, the Undead faction still faced some backlash even after the best ending for the quest but now? Maybe she had gotten the skeletons and ghouls a Perfect ending! "...Arthur, you are lucky the Unbroken tolerates you and your girlfriend, the spell you and Kaine are asking for is something even my people can''t get a hold of in the worst of cases! and I''ve hunted rogue necromancers that would have you for breakfast, lunch, and supper!" Castra exclaimed, getting a few laughs out of the others "What, this is no laughing matter you lot, the manipulation of Soul and Mind is a secret even the Undying is leery of using, He told me Himself" she huffed as Arthur raised his hands "I am sorry Lady Castra, I shan''t bother you with this again" he had a cheeky smile as Hope leaned for a kiss. "Kaine, I hear you will not fight with us?" Lucrezia sat down and her friend sighed "Aye, I was placed in another group, Kaede told me we will be fighting a cadre of Warrior Monks from a coalition of Gods, not excited for that lemme tell you" his hand snapped into forms as a ghostly images appeared on the table "Trained by masters to fight against Mages, and armed with that accursed anti-magical metal you love Lucrezia" his finger pointed to cudgels and spears made out of the stuff. "A worthy fight Kaine!" Hope said and he waved him off "I am no bloodthirsty warrior, more of a scholar if anything really" The table laughed at Kaine''s inability to accept he was also in with the battle-crazed people. Lucrezia rubbed her temples "You and Kaede alone should be more than enough, but this will not be an easy fight at all" She sighed at Kaine''s poor luck, this wasn''t no mere Cadre of Monks he was fighting, she knew these men and their order, most of the anti-magical equipment in the game was made by them after all, still, she believed in Kaine and Kaede, together they would emerge the victors. "Anyone up for some dungeon exploring?" Hope spoke up as the conversion fell into a lull "I was told the Dragon changed the structure and now we can find rooms full of loot, gold, and weapons hand-crafted by the big lizard!" she had a smile on her face as the lure of loot made its works on her mind "I know we should be training but I must be honest with you lot, I am eager for a real combat situation, beyond the safety we have here" "The fight with what''s his name is happening soon Hope, are you sure you want to dungeon dive now? we could be stuck down there for days" Richard tapped the table "If you want some actual dangerous combat you could square off in the wilds you know? Lu is pushing hard on the northern wastes front and we could use every abled body up there, plus it wouldn''t be hard to get you back once we are called for the fight" he pointed out. "You seem to care an awful lot about this Richard, what gives?" Arthur asked his face with genuine wonder. "Well not only Lu gave her word to Calgar was it? so now we are Oathbound to it, and there''s the fact this whole thing only happened because Queen Malphas forced the hand of the Faculty, in the middle of Test Month no less, and with the seniors doing presentations! She''s up to something and I don''t like it. So the fastest we get through this the fastest we can turn our attention toward a more permanent solution with Her" Richard answered with a sigh "Can''t you know, work your charm on her? youngest sons and daughters are usually the most spoiled" he smirked. Arthur shook his head "Sadly I am pretty sure She will not listen to me, nor my sister OR my father even, I am afraid unless we debase ourselves into Kinslaying or enemies of the crown, we will have to look into other means of dealing with Mother Dearest" Arthur had a contemplative look in his face "What we found with Kaine''s mother situation has cast a damning light on the whole family, I fear for my Father these days..." Hope moved to hug him It was a horrible thing Lucrezia thought, her mind flashing to the fateful day she put her parents to the sword, the right thing was to push Arthur here and put him on the same path, but she felt Hope''s gaze on her Please, not now she asked and Lucrezia relented, against better judgment yes, such was the power of her bond with the woman in front of her who breathed a sigh of relief. Kaine and the others fell silent as well, everyone in contemplation of the words spoken and not spoken at the table, eventually, he coughed to get their attention "Can you arrange fast transportation for us then? Teleporting into the Wastes is not something I wish to do on my best day, something about that place messes with such spells...another thing to look into, Lucrezia if you could?" he asked and she nodded "On it" she replied. Richard left to arrange transportation as the rest of the group moved towards the Fields, Lucrezia stared off the distance as thoughts both urgent and silly kept her mind busy, the change in the Dungeon was something that hadn''t happened in-game, the loot was usually by monster drops after all even the Dragon fight itself. Another change brought by her? and why was Hope willing to escape the safety of the Academy for a fight? Battle Lust? She would find out, one way or the other. Chapter 98: White hot anger, Tempered by Ice and Tears "Many an Acolyte, newly minted Priests, and Paladins of my Order will often ask for guidance and fail to heed it, a most curious phenomenon even observed with long-lived individuals! In facing their deepest fears, the darkness that dwells inside of all living begins, be they mortal or God, Devil, and Interlopers from the cosmos! Within us is the power to be evil, the Truth is often ugly but heed my words, It sets one free!" Klaj''va, Prophet of Truth. Lucrezia heaved as the winds howled around her and her group, Her Knight-Commander and an honor guard which she honestly thought was overkill at first held the line with the newly built armored suits and her latest invention in the realm of warfare. Bang, Bang, Bang the telltale of fully automatic weaponry roared within the clearing that had become a mini warzone, Hope and Arthur floated above with Kaine and Kaede as they rained down spells and in Hope''s case. Ki and Miracles as well. "Forward Catapracht, crush them under your heel, and show these foul demons the power of Wulfgren!" Richard''s voice bellowed out as the automatic weapons tore into the warped flesh and sinew of the demonic horde they were fighting, these lumbering giants of Crystal and Steel marched forward with Erwin as the tip of the spear, in his hand a greatsword wreathed in blue ice, with calculated swipes and stabs he broke through the horde and his men followed. Richard guided the host as the sheen of Orcish power hummed across his entire body, the Orcs under Erwin chanted in zealotic fury, to their side purple Eldricht fire burned the horde together with the vacuum of undeath as Castra-Cam and Vivienne who a short few minutes ago was happily skipping towards them when Kaine sent her a message asking if she was willing to duke it out in the Wastes against wildlife. Of course, fighting a Demon Cult that had ballooned up to a horde was not in anyone''s plans, nevermind Lucrezia as she slashed demons left and right with her Katana and spiked ranged enemies with her Iron, their brackish blood wetting the snow around her and its sickly sweet smell of honey driving her further into a battle frenzy she hadn''t had in months. The low-hanging sun was tinged with magenta red as she closed her left fist and felt the raw power of her crimson lighting slam into a group of caster demons. She screamed and the world screamed around her, like a mad dog unleashed from its chain she leaped and dashed around, the pleasure of bloodletting so strong, so pure it was like she was on powerful narcotics, a maniac thought ran through her mind as she indulged in the carnage, this was her true self. The amalgamation of two souls, one born from the most violent corner of the known reality, and another born out of Ice and Iron. Despoiler, Demoness, Furiae. Empty titles for now it was only her and the enemy, and she wanted blood.
Thirty minutes before encountering the forward elements of the demon cult, Hope was enjoying the air ride within Lucrezia''s fancy transportation machine, teleporting around had its uses of course and she loved doing it but God be good the power she felt from being inside these war machines was nothing short of orgasmic, so much so she even had to ask the Man himself if that was intended. Ra''Tyrius smiled in Hope''s head as he explained it was but a reflection of its creator, for Magi-Tech arcane properties, took a bit of the one who made the item after all. He then asked Hope to forge an item of her own volition one day and let Lucrezia or another use it, then she would understand it fully. "...What? isn''t that a bit much? the entire Honor Guard? Erwin, are you sure?" Lucrezia spoke into another Magi-Tech device "...Yes Richard is here" She looked at him and wiggled her eyebrows, and he nodded with a smile "Yes he''s up for it, sneaky of you Erwin! you know you could''ve just asked! We will meet at the rally point then, Dire Toads and Pineskin Wolverines. They don''t range this far into the wastes..." Hope tuned her out and sat down near Vivienne. "It seems we are tied to the same beings" Vivienne whispered to Hope once she got closer "I can feel the weapon within your person Hope, most curious" She smiled and waved towards the window of the flying machine "Look, we can see the fort she built for those Heretics, a daring move that would''ve put her on the grave had she not been this powerful...How do you feel about it?" Vivienne asked. It was a revelation to be sure, Lucrezia had explained the situation to them under oath, the worst part of the entire thing was knowing All-Father was ok with it! Honestly Hope thought these two often did things at random and somehow the world at large made it so it would end up as a boon rather than woe. Well in the Deity that was the literal Creator and ruler of the plane of existence she was in, that was likely truth. Lucrezia? Hope couldn''t say. "I feel like hm" She made a thinking gesture rubbing her chin and closing her eyes "Honestly I believe this will somehow end up as a boon later. Call it gut feeling or me being dumb, but somehow this will not blow up in her face" Hope answered honestly, which Vivienne appreciated with a hearty nod. Both women looked up as Castra-Cam moved toward them dressed for combat. "My Ladies" she bowed with a smile, Vivienne smirked "May I indulge in a spot of gossip?" the Catkin walked with the grace of a feline and the eyes of a predator but with eyes full of joy "Whispers from below told me a certain someone will be Godmother to Lucrezia''s child?" Castra-Cam nudged Vivienne who blushed at the gesture, Hope couldn''t help to make a surprise noise "Oh Gods! I am calling it for her next! Vivi how could you" she said in mock outrage as the other two laughed. Vivienne herself spoke with a firmer tone "Indeed, together with the rebuilt version of my personal Warmachine the ties that bind my family to Lucrezia will be set in stone when her child is delivered to this world" She tapped her sword "Maybe even the weapon itself, I have a feeling my later years will be peaceful you know, but Castra you also will play a role in this you know?" she smirked as the undead woman shook her index finger. "Can you believe it? Lucrezia went above and beyond to ensure her kid doesn''t end up being some sort of dictator drunk on power honestly, it is rather terrifying how quickly others fell in line with her plans, Gods even I was told. Teachers, Mentors, and Combat trainers are all ready and armed with knowledge straight out of Lucrezia''s head, and more! she could end up like those peace-loving elves from the South!..." Castra-Cam shook her head as another aircraft, this one twice as big as the one they were in came up in the window to her right, she saw the thing open up and glittering crystal shine inside its belly like the teeth of a predator, she was about to remark when their surroundings started flashing red and a voice came out from the ceiling "Incoming Magic fire! detecting demonic signatures!" It was an explosion of movement as Kaine and Hope together with Kaede immediately teleported outside and began firing up counterspells, Castra closed her eyes and felt the foul energy of the demonic horde brimming with power, she hated cleaning up cults like these... With a click of her mana, she disappeared into the half-word between life and death, falling into the thick snow the second she reappeared in the mortal coil. Castra saw the Cult Leader dapped in the royal regalia of the northern raiders "Cult Leader!" she screamed and lobbed a powerful piece of tracking magic right at his soul, her necromantic powers ready to take the brunt of the horde before backup arrived. Then she heard thunder, and the earth shook around her like angry Gods of Tempest and Lighting were fighting, Five Armored Warmachines flanked her. Their heraldry made them Knights of Wulfgrem and at the head of the formation was the Commander, who locked eyes with Castra for a second before screaming a mighty war cry and charging into the fray. The fury was unleashed as Lucrezia landed in front of Castra "A cult? How?" she asked and Castra spoke up "These can spring anywhere! You just got lucky they haven''t gotten close to your lands!" she had to scream as the roar of the weapons nearly deafened her words, Gods be good Castra thought to herself as she saw powerful Slabatha demons being shredded at ridiculous speeds, and those things were made out of stone! A wail was heard up high as a sickly-looking spear tore through Hope''s impeccable Aegis spell, this was the first time Castra saw the woman bleed in an actual dangerous setting and a small part of her wished she didn''t it, for the reply came as a torrent of fire lances that made her arm hairs rise. Lucrezia had a nasty grin as she began impaling demons with Iron Spikes building up energy for her Crimson Lighting. Soon Richard and the others joined the battle as the airships landed and their crews set up defensive positions around it, Castra marveled at the building blocks they had, Lucrezia called those her "Get out of dodge" marbles as cover, walls and other formations went up protecting the hardware that had ferried them here. Demons were trying to breach through it but Vivienne was there to stop them with her forbidden powers. Castra was not keen on asking how the woman had come into possession of powerful artifacts blessed by the forces beyond the cosmos, or how many favors Hope and Lucrezia had to pull to save her but she was an old soul and had seen much in her long life. Plus the mortal was a dear friend. That short pause was enough for Vivienne to unleash purple fire upon her foes, they screamed in their unholy tongue as the flames of whatever power from beyond turned demon flesh into stone and then ash...Castra focused her vision and noticed that it was not ash but salt! what a bizarre power was that? Castra''s mind barely registered the huge brute that had teleported to her left flank. She screamed and the beast raised both arms, it was a deformed version of Golden Alpha Simian, the demonic powers likely shapeshifted into this awesome beast for its brute prowess. Castra thrust her arm forward and unleashed a barrage of necromantic rays, the demon did not relent and brought both arms down like a sledgehammer, that was gonna break a few bones of her! A shield of prismatic light flared on top of her as Kaine and Kaede unleashed spears of pure arcane force, it shimmered with holy power as the demon staggered back, huge gaps in his arms, chest, and thighs, Castra summoned her Scythe and got to work as her Blessing pumped power into her frame. With a sprint and leap, she slashed one of its arms clean off and the beast roared in pain, stunning the mages for a second. Another leap and she slammed her right fist into its throat, breaking the stun and getting thrown off like garbage to the side, the landing was not smooth as the packed snow felt more like hard stone. Kaine cursed aloud and from the ground chains made out of shadow busted into action, holding the demon for seconds as Kaede pulled enough mana into ghostly formations behind her that the very air around the trio hummed, Kaine closed both palms and the chains tightened themselves around the demon, as soon as the effect took hold he rushed towards Castra and grabbed her arm, teleporting both towards Kaede. "Incoming in five!" the Kitsune screamed, maniacal glee on her face as Kaine cursed again and layered Shield spells together with Aegis. As soon as he was done a pillar of holy fire struck the demon and the whole zone turned white. Cheers from Lucrezia''s men and the others took Castra out of her reverie as Hope and Arthur flew straight into the Cult leader trying to summon a bigger demon! If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Waves of telepathic powers combined with subtler necromantic effects slammed into the horde as Arthur made landfall, Hope smiled at her beloved for it was somewhat rare for the young man to be able to cut loose with his full set of powers. Its outer aura burned with the powers of the Rage, feeding off Hope''s new Ki technique that deployed both sources of strength to augment her base strength further. A stomp with her feet and the earth cracked, and a slash and the sheen of the Ki attack she had learned long ago sliced the other side of the horde, Hope felt arrows and spells tear at her flesh and she smiled with glee as skills and spells she had spent months learning and honing to a fine edge could finally shine. It was pure carnage as she unleashed everything at the horde and to her absolute delight they did not break. The cult leader, on the other hand, was sweating bullets as they made progress, she saw him trying to teleport once and get zapped by a thunderbolt sent by Lucrezia, who more than once summoned great iron spikes from the ground and called forth cascading crimson lighting at the horde, its bite smiting many of the lesser demons who shrieked and snarled, Hope smiled at the sight as Richard, now shoulder to shoulder with Lucrezia''s Knight-Commander charged through the opening with the chants of the other men behind them. They were calling him Duke. Will the Royal Knights call me Queen one day I wonder?
The battle had escalated further into the day into a full-blown engagement, and the demonic cult leader managed to teleport commander-level demonic entities into the battlefield even after Kaine did his best to disrupt his magics, the young mage cursed loudly from the skies as he and Kaede struggled to find how had the enemy dodged his efforts. Lucrezia on the other hand was trying to remember if this, or anything like a demonic invasion in the game. Lucrezia''s parents had dealt with the infernals. Still, they would be inside the city, around the outer county, and near the highway entrances of the Duchy, not this far into the Wastes, which means the worst-case scenario, she would be riding this storm blind, but that wasn''t that bad. Calvary was here after all. It was a sight to see, her Warmachine tearing through enemies with fury, the same for her friends and loved ones as they linked up with the other elements of the army and aided them the best they could, she saw Arthur together with Vivienne and Castra leading a charge right at one of the commander demons and couldn''t help but sigh in pleasure, this chaos pleased her deeply, and she would reward Hope for it later. Said Hope was currently squaring off against the Cult Leader, the ground shook as the woman unleashed her wrath and that of the divine and profane both upon demons and cult leader alike. Culminating on Hope calling forth the powers of the Firstborn of the All-Father. Even the demonic horde took a step back as the shinning rays of gold busted forth from Hope, armed with His Warhammer she batted enemies left and right with gusto, soon the horde found their collective spine and charged her, claw and tooth, bone and wrought iron tore at Hope''s armor and bare flesh, scarlet blood shone in the snow around her as the rays of gold bathed the battlefield like the sun up in the sky. As the artillery from the ground and bombardments from the airships swept the rest of the horde, Hope leaped into the air and flew straight at the Cult Leader, a blow of the powerful weapon on her hand shook the demented being but it did not unroot him, blows upon blows came crashing down, Hope''s enemy snarled and tried to deflect and dodge with powerful magicks but it was not enough. With Kaine and Kaede working in tandem, they broke whatever spell or ward was stopping their attempts to stop the summoning and the horde thinned out in minutes! It was a thing of sheer beauty seeing Kaine teleport with Kaede, both flanking Hope as they unleashed beam spells of such magnitude, that it tore into the tree line for miles! Hope did not miss the chance and with both hands holding her weapon, she leaped into the air and came back down with a swing, exploding the Leader''s head with a clean hit smack dab on the top of his head. And then it was over, all the fury and rage gone as silence took over the battlefield for a solid second before the cheers came, war cries and bellows of cheer, weapons raised in the skies as a wave of noise hit Lucrezia in the chest and she smiled "Time to go back to the Academy I guess"
Of course, saying she would go back was something, but getting through the bureaucratic mess she found herself in was another matter entirely. First was a response of the Divines in charge of keeping rogue Demonic summonings at zero were screaming at Hope for information, until the woman outright put Lucrezia on the proverbial line by absurd ad hoc spell casting, Castra and Kaede together with Kaine and Arthur doing some mindboggling work to avoid the game of telephone. Norms and Customs to adhere to, rituals and prayers, and that was not even accounting for the rather large quantity of coin she had to spend to get their mortal servants up in the Wastes, but if there was one thing she prized about her transport: speed. All-father as her witness they got the important people up there in record time if the shell-shocked faces staring at her told her anything. After making sure this investigation team was all set up, the group was unceremoniously kicked out of the premises and told they would get a report within a week or two, Lucrezia waved and smiled as everyone got inside her aircraft and they were off to the Academy, arriving at the early noon, the air crisp and clean of the iron smell of blood and rotted demon flesh. "Rest up, prepare for the combat that comes tomorrow my friends" Lucrezia spoke and her future teammates nodded. She elected to skip lunch and go straight to bed for she knew the next day would be an early rise one. Lucrezia often didn''t remember her dreams but today was a special day it seemed, her mind conjuring phantoms from her better half in what felt very bizarre but comfortable as she spoke with its echoes and the evil that lurked beneath the facade of them. Her mind boggled at the absurdity of it all for at least in her case her parents had been corrupted by outside forces, their evilness, not the main piece of their beings unlike these two she beheld in her dream. But that was nature. Terrans were ruthless for good reason, their world was cruel and so they would be in kind, and yet... I''m afraid that''s not right. A feeling, a yearning for better, Lucrezia''s mind was taken aback by its power as her mind went on, this time she was back to familiar grounds within her castle, she overlooked a grand formation of men and machinery, up in the skies a thousand airships glittering as the sun bathed them with its glow. and yet it was not her who took center stage in this dream, a faceless armored figure, wielding a blade wreathed in flames in its left hand, and the weapon gifted by the spirits, the Talon in its left. The armor she did recognize, was Richard''s personal Magi-Tech suit made larger, the figure towered Lucrezia, and a cape made out of Direwolf fur floated behind. It had finally come then, the vision of a mad Warlord, her would-be daughter. It was a powerful sight to behold but one she would do her best to avoid even if a small part of her was happy. Happy that her progeny would be this powerful.
Calgar stood tall among his retainers, his sisters were in deep prayer as the sigil of the Silent Soldier glowed within their room. Fear broiled within the young man as he took deep breaths. He was the one who had asked for a fair fight after all. He rolled his shoulders, feeling the magical artifact click and grind, this suit of armor was a relic from the motherland, hand-crafted by the elven ancestors of his clan and it shone with their colors, magenta and black. He knew his parent would be in the crowd watching him as well and the weight of such knowledge made his fear shoot up again, his hands shook with terror until a palm grabbed his left shoulder. "Peace my Lord, you will bring no shame to the house on this hallowed day" spoke the elven woman who had guided him and his sisters ever since they were infants, Lady Mulier was the youngest of daughters from their extended family in the Imperium, sent to their family as punishment for her warmongering ways "Look at your sisters, and the men who together with me have trained for weeks for this, we face an insurmountable challenge today but we will not fall to despair" Mulier shone, her scarred face and toothy smile-inspiring Calgar. "You two, be sure nothing touches the young lord, the rest will be shield and spear, we must give them no downtime, death will not stop you today so reckless abandon is to be employed" She barked orders and the people around him nodded. The crowd outside roared as the announcer screamed their names and the names of their opponents, Calgar could hear the faint sound of roaring thunder as well. "Artillery, for a show" Mulier spoke with a grin that betrayed her blood lust, Calgar could understand why the Lady Elf was so eager, the chief deity of the Imperium blessed Lucrezia, she had commanded Legions and might as well be close friends to the Emperor and Empress, for someone like her that was shunned by their parents and relatives back in the old home for her "battle madness" fighting such a person was nothing short of sublime. And so he strode forth, his group followed and they cheered when the crowd screamed their names as the sun bathed the arena with its warmth, his parents waved and shouted his name and the name of his sisters in encouragement as he beheld the enemy, Lucrezia stood tall with her Katana, the crystal arm shinning due to the sunlight, by her sides were Richard Silverbrand and Hope Chosen of the All-Father, these 3 alone were enough to break his group. Third Prince Arthur was decked out in Royal Armor, the Sigil of the Shatter-Spear House proudly shown in his chest piece, by his side the daughter of the Arch-Duke also clad in her House''s colors and sigil, and wielding a blade of fearsome reputation. It was well known by now that the young woman had a weapon blessed, or cursed by powers from beyond the cosmos, and was allowed to keep and use such an eldtrich tool. "Small mercy, that the Arch-Mage''s son is not there to round the absolute powerhouse of a group that is staring us right now" Mulier whispered as the announcer bellowed the names of their opponents and the crowd roared again "Keep your brother safe, if we want to bleed these killing machines he is our only chance" she spoke and his sisters nodded with vigor, they were in for the kill now. And it was on, with the sound of the announcer''s spell the battle started and Calgar immediately summoned the strongest shield spell he could, his sisters layering aegis meant to block miracles and Ki attacks, as well as their Knights and Mulier, leaped forward. A beam of pure light struck true, Hope had floated backward and had both hands up in the air as she channeled divinity, his sisters went down to their knees as the sheer backlash cracked their spells, before getting up and screaming in pain as the Third Prince chanted loudly, mind magic striking the women near him with impunity as he grabbed his sword and raised towards both of them. A blast of dispelling magic, combined with anti-necromantic miracles his family was granted by the Silent Soldier washed over both women as the Third Prince smirked, Calgar focused on his spell and felt the sweat tickle down his brown as his sisters struggled to keep the shield up again, now being peppered by the combined attacks of Hope and Vivienne, whose purple flame had a nasty effect, disrupting their spellcasting by eating away the mana powering the structure. Seconds ticked by as he felt the spell take shape, with a grunt of power he hurled the arcane construct towards the ranged element of Lucrezia''s gang, and a crack was heard across the arena, his Golem had been summoned at last and now the tide either turned in his favor, or he would face a crushing defeat. Lucrezia smiled and pointed to the golem as Richard leaped towards it, bellowing a massive war cry that shook the arena. Calgar couldn''t help himself as he stared in awe at the warrior, but his mind was quick to snap back into the fight as he peppered Richard with spells meant to distract him, his Golem would not be destroyed in one fell swing! then he heard screams and his head snapped towards Lucrezia who was holding off Muleer and the other Knights alone! the elven woman screamed and revved her machetes at Lucrezia, while the Knights tried to stall her movement with pikes and great shields coated in mighty Ki that extended their range ever further but it was not enough. A smile and red lighting slammed into Mulier, she was locked into place and Calgar saw the grim iron spike form just above Lucrezia, ready to slam into the elven heart, only for one of the Knights to leap forward and take the hit, disappearing into light with a scream, followed by a pained cry from Mulier who tried to chop off Lucrezia''s flesh arm with a series of wild chops. Another bolt of red lighting froze the woman again and this time Lucrezia didn''t bother with a ranged attack, stepping in with her blade up high and only being blocked by the great shield of the remaining knight, who also sacrificed himself to save Mulier, and yet it wasn''t enough as Lucrezia''s blade sliced clean though his head and with a lightning fast strike, slashed across Mulier''s belly. Things fell apart in seconds, the combined magical might of Hope, Arthur, and Vivienne knocked back his sister''s valiant efforts to keep the protective spells up, Richard cleaved the golem in two with a mighty swing of his ax and Calgar had barely time to react as the spell backlash stunned him. Another roar from the man and he felt steel bite into his neck, Richard threw his ax at him and nearly decapitated his head! Calgar felt tears of frustration flow across his cheek as his body was hijacked by the protective spell in the Fields, so much training, so much endured only to be bested this fast and this thoroughly! he saw the Duchess bow as his people all became light and swore upon himself that he would train twice as hard, put in effort twice as much and one day win, gods as his witness he would win! Chapter 99: Realities of the mundane "In ancient Orcish lore, it was often told the Dwarven Kings and Queens were the first to lend aid when the first raids by the sea elven menace started, and while the cultures usually had clashed, the bond formed by the brutal reality of war and slavery was strong as dwarven-steel and in both capitals of their respective countries one can find numerous statues, parks, and museums in honor of the many who lay down their lives in the first conflicts of this dark period of our history" The History and Tribulations of the Orcs, omnibus edition. The day had started early for Lucrezia, way too early if she had anything to say about it. Still, her Maid had played a devastating prank on her and Richard for once, enrolled into what was essentially a class for child-rearing! quality time away from blood and gore, or matters of state that required her presence...Richard was up for it at the very least so even if it was time lost she would likely enjoy it. Hopefully, that is. "Very thoughtful of Miss Saa''ryu I must say, my plan was just to ask Mother and Father about it, maybe Grandmother if she was willing which whenever it''s about you, the venerated old woman is more than happy to oblige!" he smiled at the thought "It''s quite the topic with the other families if you can believe it Lu, there''s no small amount of jealously by the more senior cousins and aunts directed at you" Richard poked her in the ribs with a laugh. It was a sobering thought, her better half had a horrible family, and her own family had become despot and despoilers of all the good in her Duchy. The fact she had managed to somehow claw out of that pit and secure a brighter, better future for herself and those she cared for had done much to forge her into the woman she was now, watching Richard''s family be a normal, or at least as normal as possible given their particular realities put things into perspective. He picked up on her thoughtful mood and spoke, his voice kinder as it whispered solely to her ears "Worry not, we will always be here for you, you have my word, I swear on the name of the All-Father himself" while gently squeezing her hand, a small gesture that managed to quell her fears as they entered the room, which was quite full and Lucrezia found herself nearly stopping at the doorway. Of course, these people would want to have kids. After all many houses and even the merchant clans need more heirs plus they get to enjoy having the means to raise the infants with strong security, be it from their family, or the crown which takes children deathly seriously. Finding a place to sit was not hard, even with the class as full as it was. Shamefully she had to pick a place further in the back which was not ideal but the room''s acoustics would make sure she heard what the Professor would be saying, and if that failed she had magic to fall back on it. As did Richard as far as she was aware, waiting for the aforementioned Professor took a while and she started picking up stray conversations around her. "...Indeed, my parents work in the department of Finance and Banking and the funds allocated for Hospitals and even solo doctors who deliver children at home is nothing short of impressive, nevermind the benefits if you are a Priest or even a Mage that has a specialty on it, or have a particular good blessing..." spoke a duo of young women with stern faces as they checked their notes. "...Ancient Elven tradition my ass you sleazy cur! I did not sign up for a non-monogamous relationship! You will speak with these poor women at once and set this right for I am the sole woman you are allowed to court and by the All-Father you will abide by that unless you are willing to suffer the consequences of Oath-Breaking!" Lucrezia''s head tilted towards the rant as she beheld a true specimen of a Dragonkin woman who towered above a demure-looking elf young man, red up to his ears as she glowered towards anyone daring to stare. "Not everyone has it easy like us huh?" Richard spoke without looking, but she knew he meant the bickering couple "Indeed, we have it pretty easy" Lucrezia replied and smiled, as she did the Professor finally entered the room and silence fell over everyone, it was time for class and even the hot-headed Dragonkin near them had enough reason in her to go silent, glowering in rage but also in silence. Class started with writing and a series of rapid-fire questions by the stern-looking Birdkin woman, who was grilling and prodding everyone in class about what Lucrezia thought were personal details about themselves and their family, for much of this early "interrogation" She was puzzled as for why the Professor was doing such a thing with total disregard of the usual etiquette the facility had in regards to such topics. Raising that question with Richard earned her a good enough answer "Think about it, you don''t raise a baby alone, do you? all the people here will have family, both close and extended members close to them, and thus to properly teach us how to raise the wee ones, she must then learn as much as she can about our family, I''d assume given your repute she will spare you the interrogation, not me of course" Richard smiled as the Professor finished grilling the couple that was fighting before the class started. "I think she''s glaring at you, get ready" Lucrezia elbowed Richard as he straightened up under the watchful gaze of the woman in front of him "Mister Silverbrand? and...Duchess Wulfgrem, it''s an honor having such esteemed individuals in my class" she did a slight bow as her feathers shone a bit "Now Mister Silverbrand, how would you describe your relation with your parents?" she asked. What followed was a long conversation rather than one-sided telling by Richard, often the Professor would interject, or even ask questions of her own. Sometimes even other classmates would pose questions over some of the answers Richard gave out, or a particularly interesting interjection and before Lucrezia knew it she was also engaging with this show, positioning herself plenty of times whenever particular issues came up. "...Surely you can''t equate a relationship to warfare! there is no love in war" spoke a young man after Lucrezia went on a long-winded rant "M''Lady with all due respect that is frankly absurd!" some agreed with him, others didn''t and the class went on and on, with the Professor often guiding the class with a deft hand. Lucrezia took notes whenever she had the time; before she knew it, it was over. "Well, that was fun! woe is you Lu because Saa will be smug for ages after she learns about this!" Richard said as they left the classroom, pecking her on the cheek as Lucrezia felt the heat flare up, Godsdamned he was right, the maid would be incredibly smug now! "Not much I can do, sometimes it''s best to admit defeat eh?" Lucrezia spoke with mock despair, the couple moved on towards the gardens where Lucrezia had set up a meeting shortly after getting the news she was enrolled in these classes, Kaine would be fighting today and she couldn''t come to his fight so getting the aftermatch report was the best she could do. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Kaine Antewood was panting and heaving as the sheer adrenaline of the engagement washed over him, to his side he saw Kaede resting upon her Magi-Tech staff, a cool breeze blowing out of the weapon as both let the sounds of cheers and music? washing over them, of course, there was music and the Acdemy''s band involved, Lucrezia was pouring no small amount of coin and goods towards then for a good while now. What was with her and music anyway? Another odd thing he would ask is if time would grant him the opportunity. "That was harrowing, I''ve never been so effectively countered before, not counting mother-in-law of course" Kaede spoke as they departed towards their chambers in the arena, the duo had opted to fight just like that, a duo, and their opponents took the time to ask if they could deploy a sixth member. Kaine saw no issue and after a quick talk with the Judges, it was allowed. What followed was a combat scenario that saw the couple having to deploy spells and techniques they rarely used! the opposition had prepared to the utmost degree to eke out a win and it was nothing short of inspirational, for every spell and ward Kaine threw they had a counter, for every big zone of effect spell Kaede would lob they either dodged or spell parried it! Seeing a goodness spell parry made Kaine whistle, and that was when the sixth member showed his true colors, a Mage-Hunter and likely the one who trained the others in how to fight Kaine and Kaede, the tempo went up after the rather dramatic reveal, Kaede now with rage in her eyes after getting a nasty Ki bolt right in her chest flowed upwards and with a mighty crack of her hands throw a spell that was likely to kill anyone not versed in the arcane arts of getting out of dodge. Pillars of red-hot fire erupted and the Mage-Hunter was caught by one as he tried to get the rest of his team out of the blast zone, his cape and hood burning revealing a bald man with a shiny tattoo across his face, marking him as a member the elite task force. Not on his mother''s orders he guessed, this had the stink of Malphas all over, Kaine was already done with the crazed Queen, and had Arthur not been so against it, the talk of Kin Slaying would''ve already been in the works, he just knew she would be a long term issue and it was high time he would put measures in place in case she tried anything, especially now that the talk of the group was children. The battle grew fierce from then on, Kaine''s tempo went up and so did Kaede, and with ample use of high-level Chronomancy spells they methodically slayed each foe, it was grueling work as the Mage-Hunter was keeping up with them even with the Time spells, this man was too good for some random noble to hire! that was it he was in league with the Queen for sure! Kaede sacrificed her left arm to pin him and the remaining opponent down, Kaine went out with a showy beam spell that turned into spirals right at the end, piercing the Aegis the Mage-Hunter had, Kaede didn''t even flinch as Kaine grabbed her fallen arm and mended together with healing spells "Make sure to check with a doctor later love, just to be sure" he spoke and she nodded "Will do" It was a wonderful thing, watching a master at work when it came to medical magicks, Miracles, and Priests often took the lion''s share of the work but in the name of proper balancing, or at least as much as the Divinities in charge of caring for the well being of the mortals would tell you, there was understanding that the Sorcery Inclined Divines would also have a fair chance at it. And so Kaine watched with a keen eye as a pair of doctors worked around him with hand gestures, sometimes a few chants, and tons of reagents to restore his arm to working order, they looked austere and focused, and very few pleasantries were exchanged between staff and patient. Kaine didn''t mind if he had to be honest with himself, after all, they had a job to do and he wouldn''t be the one flapping his gums distracting everyone. "...An impressive display of Quick ritualistic blood magic Mister Antewood, anyone else would''ve liked blown through their ribcage and fair few critical organs..." one of the doctors spoke "Would you be so kind as to allow me and my colleague here use your case for a few classes? tis rare to find such unique damage outside of battlefields and some less civilized corners of the world" "We would keep your identity secret but I doubt anyone with a working brain wouldn''t put it together" the other doctor spoke with a grin, Kaine nodded and said "There''s no need for it, you can share my name if it comes up" the pair nodded happily and with a few more chants the sea of mana snapped into place, and Kaine felt the phantom pain disappear as his Limb was recreated. I wonder why Lucrezia refuses to regrow her arm, I guess she does enjoy lugging that piece of crystal about Kaine thought to himself as he made his way to the outside of the arena, quickly checking where Kaede was and sending her a message asking what was in the schedule today, the reply he got told him the Duchess as mentioned earlier wanted to talk with them now and so he went. "Hopefully she doesn''t demand anything crazy" Kaine smiled knowing he had just cursed himself by saying that out loud.
Lucrezia''s room was a ruckus as the gang and other outliers congregated there, together with Saa''ryu and Kaede prepping food in the kitchen while the others got her quarters ready for the feast, Kaede spied the dwarven man and his vampire companion among a few other faces who she was familiar with, the last living ancient now professor of the academy, that one heir to the Demoness Queen... "Quite a few high-profile individuals here tonight, I wasn''t expecting a party Lu" Kaede spoke as she watched the woman heave a massive disc of dough in the air, sometimes she would catch herself watching Lucrezia work the kitchen like a master chef, it was quite the sight for someone so noble, for the lack of the better word. Deciding to enquire about it given the preparations were still happening "If you don''t mind me asking Lu, why the interest in cooking and food? from what I understand you have put a considerable amount of research, coin, and manpower into the foodstuff industry, both in your lands and across the kingdom right? It seems odd given the focus you have on warfare" Kaede spoke without pause, feeling her shyness would halt her words if she gave it an inch. "Ah, It is, isn''t it? true even members of my inner circle back at home have told me to slow down a little and focus on our manufactories and the base up on the moon. But dear Kaede I love good food! it is life''s simplest pleasure and the best way to tie together people, imagine then when we are off to crusade in All-Father''s name, the worlds we will visit will likely have life in them isn''t it? Faith does not flow from dead souls unless you are specifically tied to it, even this can be turned to the future war effort!" she giggled a little as Saa''ryu sighed. "The Fair Lady spins a yarn dear Kaede, but really she''s a glutton, and her consumption of the stuff is legendary. You should ask Richard later for some of the stories because Gods be good she has drunk half the pubs under! and the recipes Gods the recipes! I''ve had to deal with a legion of cooks, chefs, and innkeepers who after visits of this would be Food Demigod, demanded her dishes...I swear I could go on for a good while about this..." The maid sighed but Kaede saw a smile bloom out of it. "Kaine often speaks of your future Crusade you know, he sees dreams of it and has to consult Gwennarius about it..." Kaede spoke as she brewed coffee and tea "The Goddess is afraid, and that''s not even accounting for that spell you asked him about" Kaede smiled at the memory, seeing him getting that angry was always something else. A side that rarely got shown. Lucrezia hummed, a faraway look in her eyes as she finished the pizza toppings "We are sailing towards something outside of her domain, outside of All-Father''s hold in all that is magical in this reality we live after all, and Gwennarius is an old Deity. Fear and trepidation are par and parcel for Her as it has likely saved her once and will so again, still I wished I didn''t have to bully her so, weaving Hope like a stick at her" There was a wolfish grin on her face as she spoke that. "Alas, sometimes we do need a big stick, and Hope is more than happy to play the part, a bit too happy I would say. After getting that Godslayer Spear she''s itching to put it to use I imagine, such a powerful weapon would stir even the meekest of warriors after all" Lucrezia moved with precision across the Kitchen, getting the ale cups ready as Saa''ryu worked on more dough "Is he still having dreams about my child Kaede?" Lucrezia asked, her voice trembling a bit. "No, but I am" Kaede replied, freezing the Duchess on the spot. Chapter 100: Kaede "On the aspect of magic regarding divination, any mage worth a damn would explain that it is tough to predict the future, or even get a readable image via the tough ritualistic spells they have to employ. You would face interference from the Nameless Divines that watch over Fate and Destiny, the Goddess of Time Gwennarius, and even the All-Father himself! but not all is lost to you dear reader, for under the auspice of my extensive research we will make a proper Diviner out of you" Tome of Seeing, by Arch-Mage Lunicius the Pale. First Volume. It had begun a few days after the news that Lucrezia would birth a potential calamity, a terrifying piece of news that had the Duchess moving every piece of hers towards a peaceful and bloodless solution, one that she thankfully managed to eke out via no small amount of political maneuvering and Divine intervention not to mention postponing her crusade in the great expense of the cosmos. Her beloved had shown her the scale of the war Lucrezia was about to launch, her mind was taken back by the sheer size of the spaceborne fleets, the machinery and weaponry needed to field the army, and the personnel themselves as Lucrezia was ready to move heaven and earth for her promise to the Spirits. The woman did not do anything by halves that''s for sure. And then Kaede had the first dream. In it, she was walking along the streets of Lucrezia''s capital as Spiritflame choked the air around her. Yet the people of the city cheered and hollered with never-seen-before weapons pointed at the skies, wordless chanting something to a looming figure that was being broadcasted via pannels of crystal and magical light everywhere. A woman, who couldn''t be more than 19 winters old pointed an obsidian greatsword that pulsed with magma veins towards the capital of the Kingdom, how Kaede knew this fact she couldn''t say. It was a nagging feeling at the pit of her stomach, then she saw the face and fell to her knees as green eyes, piercing and fierce locked into her. Kaede gasped for air as the shock of the pressure washed over her, before walking up. The second dream was inside the castle proper this time, its corridors known to her after a few visits to the place in her off time with her beloved. Kaede followed a thong of tall warriors, decked in a version of Lucrezia''s battle suits that betrayed the future she was beholding, weapons she knew had weirder more sleek forms and even the heraldry of Lucrezia''s Knight Order was changed. Sound made itself manifest in the second dream, the words were clear from the warriors "The Warmaster of the North" They spoke in reverence "Vengence for the great humiliation, blood will flow to cleanse the sins of the great evil" as they breached the throne room Kaede gasped in sheer wonder of the sight¡ªbanners from all corners of the world, All races that had any ties with Lucrezia''s lands. Yet the throne was empty, and Kaede beheld the young woman once again standing to its side, behind her shone the crystal image of a young man, also of the same age and decked out in what had to be Magi-Tech gear from the future, weapons included in what was a scout get-up. At the sight of this young man''s image, something stirred at the Kitsune. The spitting face of a certain Dragonkin, dearest friend of Richard. The young woman''s armor was one she knew as well, for that was Richard''s armor, tailor-made by Idun in the forges beneath the city. It was adapted for a smaller frame and had the head of a Dire Eagle instead of the Wolf that she knew. In its chest was an incredibly detailed portrait of a mighty phoenix. Kaede gasped when she realized that was no portrait but a Summer Spirit! Not just any summer spirit, but a mighty Spirit at that!
"Let''s take a break. People are waiting for us, and I must process these visions," Lucrezia said as the spell broke apart. Kaede felt the aftershock, nodded, and the women made their way to the commotion caused by their friends. It was a fun time, Kaede saw how Lucrezia was taken back by the visions but the woman moved around the room with purpose, food and drinks, music and cheers as she commanded the place as if it was a battlefield, the others joined in or fell back as needed and before long even the weary Kitsune found herself enjoying a good time. Kane, bless his soul came to talk with her, see if she was doing alright. "It was an intense experience, the spell structure to recall, share, and broadcast the dreams was spotty in some areas," she said and he nodded "We ought to fix that soon, see if we can borrow your father''s notes on the subject, maybe even speak with Castra and get some manuals out of her people, the necromancers there often have to delve into the memories of the dead via their souls after all" Keade spoke, feeling the mind work out the issues she had. "Wise move, but it would be imperative to communicate with Lucrezia first, her soul has odd constructs and they could affect you, she is no slouch when it comes to that aspect of Necromancy or Mind Magic so there shouldn''t be any issues on that front at the very least...did you show her the image of the man?" Kaine rubbed his chin, that little factoid was digging into his mind of late given he often interacted with Hvtial and Richard. "One person alone is already hell to track, given how uncertain anything related to prophecy is, even with Gwennarius doing the lion''s share of the work while I tried to pierce things together, now two? accursed omen I say...but we can''t be all doom and gloom, if she''s informed then she will act with good information and that''s all we can do for her in what will be her hardest battle" Kaine nodded as to reassure himself. As the party died down, Lucrezia called for Kaede again and both women went outside, seeking the cooling winds of the night as Kaede explained that the next set of dreams would involve no small amount of necromancy and mind magic, Lucrezia asked for a few minutes and Kaede watched with keen eyes as she began casting very complicated sets of spells and incantations, then switched to Miracles. Even meditative intonations were being displayed in what had to be a truly wonderous mash of technique, raw ability, and discipline the young Kitsune didn''t know Lucrezia had. It was humbling even as she dispelled the doubts she didn''t think she had. After a while, Lucrezia took a deep breath and signaled for Kaede. It was time for another dive into the last set of dreams she saw about Lucrezia''s daughter and the mysterious man. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The spear din of war took hold as both women dove into the dream. As ethereal ghosts clashed on familiar grounds, banners were high in the skies. These were the Fields, and another monumental battle was taking place in them. Kaede recognized the weapons and armor derived from Magi-Tech, but these had a mean, lean look to them. Automatic spells and gunfire came out of the combatants as the battle raged. Kaede watched as Lucrezia''s face betrayed surprise, something was happening! Suddenly the dream became sharper, someone was interfering with the self-illusionary part of the spell and it wasn''t mortal intrusion at that, Kaede was very paranoid about her wards and she had deployed a triple custom setup to avoid any intervention from Gods or Demons, but whoever this was managed to bypass it like it wasn''t there! Kaede did not wait for another tell, casting spell after spell she detected the source of the intrusion. It was Lucrezia! Kaine was right huh she thought to herself as the dream took a realistic turn, and Kaede beheld for the first time who the forces that had Wulfgrem banners were fighting. Deep blue aquamarine eyes, pale complexion, and a sneer that would make any kid run to their parents, sword and shield fashioned out of deep sea creatures and minerals, scaled armor, and ears that pointed upwards. The ancient enemy, Sea Elves. "They can''t hurt us!" Kaede spoke as she saw Lucrezia''s hand twitch "Somethin within you is altering the structure of the illusion, making it sharper! more real!" the Kitsune''s ears rang as the roar of artillery shells slammed into the ground next to them, Sea Elf infantry going up like ragdolls thanks to it. Both women ran towards a small hill that would overlook this particular place where the battle was happening, phasing through solid ghosts armed and decked with future gear that had Lucrezia gasp more than once, Kaede even pointed out the fearsome Catraphract Heavy Armors acting as honor guard for Lucrezia''s daughter, who herself had one custom made for her bearing the likeness of Richard''s original Warmaster armor. "...Why is it that she''s only wearing gear made for him? This bothers me more than I am willing to admit..." Kaede heard Lucrezia say, the woman sighed "Look at me worrying about something so superficially stupid when we are likely seeing a future civil war unfold" Lucrezia pointed to a particular set of banners "See those? mercenary Sigils, at least I think they are, as they follow the same underlying designs of our time, but some of these combatants are fighting like Royal Knights." The Duchess sighed "Even in dreams, visions, or what have you, that woman haunts me like a bad fart" Kaede laughed at the turn, not expecting Lucrezia to speak like that in the middle of such a revelation "Then it would be wise for us to prepare in advance Lu, I am sure Kaine and Arthur will be more than happy to aid you in this" Kaede waved her hand "The battle will grow more fierce, watch closely now" They reached the crest of the hill and Kaede saw the sight that to this day still made her lose her breath, A majestic dragon appeared in the skies above, its scales black and gold with purple lines crossing its body, the roar of the mighty beast was enough to freeze the Elves and their allies as the dragon bellowed out pure energy beams at the ground below, diving in and out of battle to target important fighters, until a giant made out of stone rose from the ranks of the elves and grappled with the dragon. And yet, another change happened to the vision, Kaede always saw the dragon being killed. even if inside the protective barrier of the Fields, this time the giant did not pierce its neck and bled it dry. This time Lucrezia''s daughter did not fly into a mad rage to avenge the beast as before! She spoke of this as the scene happened and Lucrezia could only stare at the sight in silence. A golden light shone from the far left of the field, washing over them as if the summer sun was right there. Both women turned towards it but couldn''t see much, the dream dismantling into itself as Kaede''s protective measures kicked into place and they were booted into the real world once again. Silence followed for a while as Lucrezia got her bearings. "Impressive, It is no small wonder you managed to craft this environment Kaede, you should be proud of yourself" A pat on the back left the Kitsune blushing a little. "Thank you, Lu still it seems I had an incomplete or beheld another future, Kaine himself had entered the same dream before but it remained the same with the Dragon dying and your daughter going berserk, which means..." Kaede failed to come up with a theory, why had Lucrezia''s presence changed the outcome of the dream? the words Kaine told her echoed in her mind at the question. something inside her changed it. "I must be there, a part of me at least has to be in those Fields, watching over until it is time to save the Dragon..." Lucrezia sighed "That Stone giant wasn''t a random spell, the form it took is exclusive to Royal members of the Sea Elven Kingdom, which means either a scion of the Royal House is in the academy shortly, or the Royals themselves which I find hard to believe..." Lucrezia smiled "What a mess, but Godsdamned it I am getting excited about it! It''s a shame I will likely be in space by the time this happens but I won''t be caught with my pants down, time to put plans into action!" she pumped her fist up and turned to Kaede "I can''t answer all your questions dearest Kaede, but as long I live and breathe I will aid you, Kaine and the rest, that I swear"
Kaede left the final dream unspoken and hidden, stowed away via selected spells and rituals that not even Kaine could pierce without her knowing about, it was a...foolish decision she felt, but it would no doubt rattle poor Lucrezia to her core, stonehearted and resolute as she was that was quite the horrible scene she had hidden from the woman, and she would take it to her grave. Unless it happened in the waking world, that is. "She will fight him, and both will fight Queen and Duchess in the end..." she murmured to no one as she finished casting a series of divination spells based on some ancient book Kaine had found the other day, able to tap into a higher form of power that ran together with the River of Time apparently, this was not a powerful spell by any means but the results were the same as her last dream. "I wonder if Gwennarius will notice? then again She is terrified of Lucrezia and Hope and the vision of Hope killing her with that Spear gifted by the Hivemind...she didn''t blame the Goddess for being honest about that fear. Hope would put anyone down for Lucrezia after all. Sometimes she was a bit scared of the intensity of the woman, Lucrezia was a cool winter breeze, and Hope was a raging ball of molten magma and fire. Done with her rituals, the Kitsune dusted herself off and got to work on preparing for the future, both near and far as she was aware something was coming for all of them soon, this little competition the Queen had set up was a clear attempt at getting revenge and she had to be ready for when the hidden daggers sprung, poised to kill Lucrezia and the others, she was made aware weeks ago that Kaine himself had been "targeted" by the mad woman and her thralls, truly tragic stuff especially coming off the revelation that she had used foul magic upon Kaine''s mother. "A calm before the storm, preparations must be done in haste..." With her staff in hand, she teleported over to the Academy''s Fields, and so the great work started as she darted around the grass and trees with enough reagents to fund a small estate in the rich part of the capital that wasn''t the noble quarters! a smile danced on her face as she made the mental math, yes with all of this plus a few more coins she would be able to get a proper mansion. "To think I used to worry about this before, time does change a person huh?" Kaede spoke to herself as she finished the first set of sigils and moved to the next, only someone with a keen eye and no small amount of magical knowledge would know their true meaning, as she sprinkled deceptive marks and runes all over her ritual sites, another teleport and she was ready to do it again. The sun rose and went down before she was done, sweat dripping from her brown but at last, it was done! "Gods may this work" Kaede whispered to herself as she cast a spell to clear herself and remove some of the fatigue, she looked upwards into the stars and sighed "Come what may, we will be ready" Chapter 101: Richard Silverbrand "Often it is discussed how much of a logistical nightmare the construction of the Vermilion Highways was, in the Imperium''s wars against our cousins to the east it was a prime target for all manners of spells, miracles, and other forms of long-range warfare. In this manual we will go through some of its history, the people that built these highways, and our many victories and failures against it" Field Manual for Imperium Officers 3rd Edition Revised. "...We have information from Lucrezia''s new Goddess Ally, the star sector has been locked down to a particularly treacherous part of the galaxy..." Men and women ran past Richard and the Matriarch of Clan Silverbrand speaking of the upcoming war "...No dragon support, no Divine Support besides her forces, the All-Father is leery of messing with someone that managed to evade his sight for so long..." "I''ve always fancied visiting these moon elven cities you know? But they were barred from regular people for no good reason, and now we have our port right into the heart of their capital, Little Lucrezia truly is the gift that keeps on giving" the Matriarch smiled a sadistic grin "and a grandchild as well! I am suspicious of prophecies and Future Reading but this once, I shall not complain about it" Arriving at a room planned for the meetings to come, Richard beheld the "Sea of Stars" as Lucrezia called it. "Now grandson, speak what ails you so. For it is clear in your face" The wizened woman spoke with a tenderness only a grandmother could and so Richard laid his heart bare to her, she nodded and replied when a particular topic came up but mostly just listened. He felt a great weight lift from his shoulders and heart as he finished "Tell the young Lucrezia to seek me out afterward, we may not be tied by blood but it is only right that I also give support to her in these trying times" The Matriarch tapped her fingers on the table. "Losing her family...that isn''t easy on anyone. Sometimes I see her staring off towards the north and whispering..." Richard recalled that particular early morning memory. "She asks for absolution, but not for the crime of Kinslaying. It is for something else, related to our daughter...when I asked about it, she couldn''t speak of it. In her own words, it was something All-Father himself had asked of her." Richard continued. "She also fears being a bad mother, a negative example to be followed, and turning her child into that vision...I keep telling her we have everything to make sure the child will be raised right but I know a part of her doubts even the most watertight of plans we have in place" Richard spoke and the Matriarch smirked. "Grandson, no plan, no matter how good, will survive contact with the enemy, and this is no different. But I understand your point here as you are much like your mother in these matters. Listen closely, for I will impart you the wisdom of someone who had to raise too many children." She leaned in closer as Richard did the same, silently thanking the gods for this moment.
There was a mystique about the Divine that Richard held sacred, in his heart of hearts the casual way his peers interacted with those who were on a different level of existence was a little heretical, still he was a flexible person and saw to remedying this perceived failure of his with knowledge Such thing was not easy to get if you weren''t powerful or under the direct command of the ones in charge, luckily for him he had plenty of the former as friends. It did scare him, knowing there were entities above the All-Father, or aliens like the Hivemind around but as he deepened his research on the Gods, their allies and enemies, and the greater pantheon of the universe he was in he managed to keep it at bay. For now, at least he still felt that the Hivemind was a bit too loose and that the Gods needed to censure it further but he had no say in that particular business. Speaking with its Partition as a favor by Hope was a terrifying experience! The being did not find Richard particularly interesting, unlike his beloved Lucrezia or Hope, but it wasn''t rude or anything, thankfully. Their talks had been mostly about traveling through the space between stars, and the dark of the cosmos, be it to other galaxies, star systems, or planets. Astral Lanes, shaped by the entity itself in its absolute power, allowed it to bridge the gap where mass teleportation by mana couldn''t, especially in places where no Mana Cores were installed, or whatever equivalent of such power as the Hivemind explained in detail how unique this aspect of reality was to All-Father''s domain. In other places where it had waged war, things didn''t work by the same rules. "...No need to worry about anything beyond that little human, your prey is yet to truly ascend into a realm where you would have to deal with parallel realities or go to other universes!" the words haunted him, Killing this rogue Goddess was not going to be easy that''s one thing he was sure of it! And so Richard made the pilgrimage to an exceptional place, to petition for more firepower. It was as if the war machines of Wulfgrem weren''t scary enough. "All Father be good, it is golden!" He couldn''t help but stare in awe and reverence at the splendor of the realm of the Gods before his mortal eyes. He was sure this would take many days and favors to pull off, but funnily enough, all he had to do was ask his Patron Goddess. He didn''t even need to call Hope! Getting to talk with the Hivemind was harder somehow, and that made him smile, at the very least. It was time to grab Dragon Support! He found himself alone while exploring the Capital, Divines all around him spoke in hushed tones and walked fast as the city never slept or so legend said. Richard was almost tempted to go off and forsake his meeting with the current leader of All-Father''s armies. With volition, he didn''t know he had Richard marched to the grand temple that housed Morugarius. After a while, his own Patron deserted him, saying it was his duty to win over the Goddess. Richard accepted such a challenge with open arms and soon found himself staring at a huge set of black iron doors. It was a weird choice for one of the most powerful Divines out there, but he wasn''t one to argue about it, at least not now that he needed her support for his expedition. Ushered by an unseen force, Richard walked into the temple and was guided without words toward a grand audience room, a small voice in the back of his head was telling him this was an ambush. The Foe that his beloved had stricken down was the one true love of Goddess Morugarius after all and she had all the tools at the ready to attempt his life. Not a good time to get paranoid he thought to himself as whatever was guiding him stopped, Richard faced another door this one less ornate and very...practical, seems this room was used for these sorts of deals. Morugarius herself stood before him and sat in a plain wooden chair. No fancy armor and face covered by an impressive helm that was rumored to scare off those that had weak minds and hearts, a plain white tunic covered her tall frame as red gold eyes stared at him. It was her face that amazed him the most as the entire thing shifted and morphed in unnatural ways, a small part of him finding the whole thing alien and vile.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "Of course, it is her face that you end up choosing in the end" spoke the Goddess, without the usual gravitas the Divines were so keen to use when talking with mortals. Richard stood in stunned silence as Lucrezia''s face popped off from the horrible twisting of flesh and muscle, yet the red gold eyes remained as a tell of the deception. Or an attempt of seduction by the Goddess. The latter being very unlikely, Richard thought to himself as a way to snap out of the daze. "If this is in jest Lady Morugarius, then I will appreciate it in goodwill for I do not seek to upset your Ladyship" Richard spoke as he bowed. A very specific and old form meant for ancient Heroes blessed by the Gods. It never did hurt to butter up the client a little as his mother oft'' said! "I am afraid the eyes are not that intense, but then again my beloved does have a neat trick when she has all of her blessings active at once..." The Goddess waved her hand as to dismiss such topics "You came to petition for military aid, and yet I can feel the very bones of Lucrezia''s military might as we speak. Her forces are so great I have experienced Sphere Growth unheard outside of Wartime, her innovations and that of those who aid her so realm-shattering that we had enough Divines band together just to keep pace in the eternal arms race, did you know? Those golems you call armor are so destructive I had to personally aid in the rebirth of forgotten magical techniques just so the Mage Gods didn''t petition for censorship." The Goddess sighed. It was a very tired and resigned sigh Richard felt, one that told him much, and so he prepared his best pitch. Alas, the Goddess was not done yet. More words were coming, and he would have to bide his time for a perfect window of opportunity. "This charade you are up to isn''t about me; it is about my wife, isn''t it? Your beloved," the word had venom dripping off it. "She wishes to humiliate me as payback, and I know it. She could''ve asked Mother personally! But no, she sends the man to get things done. How very old-fashioned!" Morugarius snarled at him in a very humane way. Richard was taken aback by the gesture and the whole thing if he had to be honest. Less of an ambush, more of a ranting and shouting session? Well, it is a good thing dealing with irate people is a learned skill of mine!" As if flipping on a light switch, lighting a candle Richard launched into a proacted verbal assault at the fuming Goddess, if the All-Mother had designed to send Her of all people to test him then he would win this with flying colors, Morugarius ill-intentions be damned. For every offer he made she had a counteroffer, concession, and tax flowed out of her divine brain like a great river whose source had been blessed with deluges of rain! An oft-overlooked aspect of warfare, one his Beloved paid her due diligence and he was more than happy to help her in it was the monumental yet boring work of keeping the army well supplied, fed, and with good morale. Richard understood then that Morugarius who no doubt had dozens upon dozens of minor divinities and demi-gods to delegate such tasks, and yet being the War Deity she was still was a part of her domain and thus he found himself slowly but surely building up good rapport with the Divine. Seldom had she the chance to debate such topics it seems, after all, who in their right mind would dare to question their Divine leader? Ordained by the Creator of all that is and will ever be in this universe at that? And so Richard found the perfect in to petition for the campaign. Dragon support as All-Father intended: Shock troops of unparalleled power augmented with Lucrezia''s Magi-Tech. Morugarius was already aware of the project. It was part of her domain after all! But still, the Goddess stalled and stonewalled him out of misguided notions of revenge for her Umaries, Goddess who once had Vermilion venerating her...Richard held sigh after sigh as he struggled to not burn the paper-thin bridges he had built with Morugarius for it would not be possible to do that again. He was of one mind about this entire issue. Hope was the cudgel he wished to employ, but he was overruled by pretty much everyone in the group, Lucrezia included, as she did not wish to antagonize Morugarius further. He couldn''t contact All-Mother directly, for she was indeed the mother of all dragons and the one they respected above all else. Military matters of this caliber were resolved with Morugarius. A savage part of his mind debated putting both Goddesses to the ground, but such a chaotic approach was not well received either... So Richard once again went on the offensive, parlaying with the Goddess as he sought to undermine her attempts of stonewalling and outright refusal with his keen experience as an accomplished merchant. It wasn''t easy and All-Father as his witness the Divine was a solid wall but after what felt like hours, plenty of water, and not even a single break for food he managed to crack her shell and get his Dragons! The room had gotten silent after it, Morugarius tapped the table with her slender fingers in quiet resignation and a hint of pride. At him how odd Richard thought to himself as he studied her face and body. Maybe the Goddess was lying to him via these signals? He couldn''t know and more importantly, it wasn''t good for him to doubt his instincts in these important moments. "One more thing, Mortal." Morugarius''s voice had taken on a sterner edge. Take good care of your three friends, for their actions will shape your daughter''s future." With a hand wave, the Goddess was gone, and Richard was left alone in the room, flabbergasted at the revelation and scrambling to think who the hell she meant by that. Then it hit him. "Lucrezia will not be happy hearing this," Richard thought to himself as he left the room. Panic and fear rose within his frame as he tried his best to control it. One foot after the other, he whispered and focused on the action. Come what may, he would not falter!
The teleportation to their base above the moon was always a tricky bit of magical maneuvering that left Richard sick for a good while. Kaine told him that was quite common but not to the extent that Richard experienced, sometimes going on for a whole hour! frankly, it was embarrassing as he prided himself on being a punctual individual who didn''t make his clients wait around the shop. "Often I forget how impatience grips you humans, such power in a glaring weakness that one must wonder if the All-Father had this in mind when He created you lot..." By his side was an imposing figure clad in ornate armor and with blackened gold scales. Tilting his head to the side the Dragon in his humanoid form gave Richard a toothy smile "...But I must confess, you are unique in being this waylaid by a teleportation spell, Commander" High Marshall Pra''Iver showed his teeth in amusement. Three companies worth of the very best shock troops in reality, Richard would''ve asked for five but he was told to not get greedy. 300 Dragon bodies ready for the meatgrinder of war as long as Lucrezia had them geared (Morugarius refused to spare any supplies sadly) which was actually good news as Kallista was positively giggly with the fact she was lording over some of her "cousins" to get them up to speed with Magi-Tech. Pra''Iver ran a tight ship, his Marshalls spoke good of the High Marshall when Richard had them interviewed, this wasn''t their first time doing these types of engagements "Wet work often gets pawned off to my little warband, there''s little glory in upkeeping an empire as huge as the All-Father and my kin are a prideful lot. The sheer glory of conquering a star system oft overshadows putting down rebellions or fighting in shadowy wars" Pra''Iver explained. Richard found the Dragon a unique fellow, often he would get sidetracked in philosophy and rhetoric. Talking out loud and to himself at the oddest of times which was certainly unique compared to the other Dragonkin Richard knew, in this, he found a weird rivalry with Lucrezia out of all people! Richard was more than aware that his beloved loved a good debate and the two had come to exchange heated words more than once in the interim following his talk with the Goddess of War. Getting up from his chair as the sickness washed over him for good Richard moved towards the elevator that would lead both to the hanging bay, where their fleet was being tuned for even more firepower. "I must say, for someone as sharp as your Lucrezia, her belligerent nature is twice as scary." Pra''Iver spoke after a while " In her Domain Cousin Kallista showed us your "doomsday"? weaponry, to think Lady Morugarius didn''t enact a crusade on you and yours right there and then still makes me wonder if the Goddess doesn''t have a bit of admiration for Lucrezia, even after everything she did" Pra''Iver and Richard stared at the ships and for a moment silence fell around the duo before being broken by the High Marshall "This conflict will be an Anvil for your lot. And I can''t wait to see its consequences" Pra''Iver''s face morphed into his true form, the huge maw smiling with teeth ready for the slaughter to come. Chapter 102: Cankerous Arrows "A small yet important part of the extragalactic policy created by All-Father is the Edict of Numeridia. After a cataclysmic victory over a coup organized by his enemies from the outer reaches of the cosmos, He managed to stop most if not all forms of meddling by powers outside of his sphere of influence, an enormous victory for the overall stability of his empire and forces beyond it. In this series of books, we will learn of its background, the main players, and the great work carried by All-Father and his Family..." All-Father''s Glory Volume 1 third revision. Lucrezia woke up screaming and trashing about her bed. Her muscles coiled and released like a loaded spring as she grabbed whatever her mechanical arm could hold, and in a flash, she was ready for the fight. Naked and holding a destroyed leg out of one of her wooden chairs, she was prepared for the fight. Yet nothing came. Seconds dragged at a snail''s pace as she scanned the room dimly lit by the rising sun, her eyes narrowing and mouth muttering incantations. With a step that felt more like a kick, she sent a shockwave of Divination miracles across the entire room and beyond, using Miracles like this was hard on her mana reserves as her skills weren''t as sharp as regular magic, and Arcane-based divination would take a long... "That''s the second time you wake up this spooked, Lady Lucrezia," Her maid tapped the side of her head "Bad dreams or visions?" Saa''ryu asked as Lucrezia relaxed, with a sigh she sat down at the edge of her bed, putting the chair leg to the ground and closing her eyes in deep thought. For a minute all she could do was process the horrible vision she had saw in silence as Saa''ryu waited. "I saw a horrible wave of beasts made out of sinew and pus, consuming everything in its path. It wasn''t this...this world, Saa. The skies looked different, with a purple sun and visible moons under it. We were fighting down to the last man, and they just kept coming until I woke up." Sweat on her forehead showed both women that Lucrezia was still shaken by the vision. It was a hard thing to watch. "Not related to my would-be destroyer of the realm daughter at least" Lucrezia tried to make a joke but it fell flat "I believe this is about my expedition to the stars, given the fact I was on an alien planet...but it wasn''t me in the vision, now that I had time to process it I felt alien and wrong in key parts of my body and mind that still linger even after waking up and I can...I must..." Lucrezia stopped as a migraine made her lose her focus. Saa''ryu rushed to her side, holding an ice-cold cloth to her head and giving her water with some powder in it, Lucrezia greedily took it and felt the taste of chemicals burn her throat as the Migraine''s pain lessened in seconds "Strong, throat burns" she spoke as the liquid did its work, a potion made for migraines? or something of the sort Lucrezia wasn''t about to pester the maid for its ingredients. Lucrezia got up and made her way to her bath, warm water welcoming her body and soul as she digested the vision and its meaning, Saa''ryu was close by in case of another episode of weakness but this time she didn''t faint. A small mercy for the horrible news she had to deliver to a special someone in the early hours of the morning...Sometimes she had the worst luck! "Saa, Wake up Hope and get her here as fast as you can" The maid nodded and she was off, ready to grab the Woman of the Hour.
The day was getting more hectic as Lucrezia''s soul was outright ejected from her mortal frame the second Hope heard her about the vision. A rude move by the one who ruled over all in these parts and she would be making sure the Divine was not getting off without hearing at least some complaint from her, Hope on the other hand was nonplussed about the whole affair. In her mind, it was within the All-Father''s right to summon both given the severity of what Lucrezia beheld. "I am telling Arthur of this once we are back, Hope! You should be on my side for Goodness'' sake!" Hope waved her off with a grin that could''ve meant several things. The individual who caused this event was staring at Lucrezia with a smile that ill-fitted the face of a supreme God in charge of who knows how many worlds in the wider universe. "It is indeed one of the planets I need you to check, and the Divine you took the form of is, or was if your Vision is anything to go by a dear grandchild of mine, one of the few that embraced a particular brand of Divinity that helps me seed barren or otherwise lifeless rocks with life..." All-Father Faal spoke with the cadence of an old grandparent who was proud of his grandkids. "She will not go down gently, I''ve granted your Richard my troops, and now with this revelation, you will have the blessings of even the most staunch naysayers here in my humble city my Child, it is a pity we can''t fast track this deployment but I am sure you will reach this...most vexing issue and make just in your promises to the Spirits" Faal had a complicated expression on his face, Lucrezia was struggling to get a read on Him and eventually gave up on it.Stolen story; please report. She could always ask Hope later after all. "Hope, I ask you to stay for a while. We have things to discuss in private." All-Father Faal spoke, and she nodded.
"Oh, I remember these two, the light show you did that day still gets talked about on the streets you know?" Hope said as Lucrezia read the name of the group she would be fighting. The woman who had kidnapped her friend long ago and made her go a little overboard in the rescue attempt, plus the intimidation she enacted upon them with her Red Lighting powers. "I don''t like this, Hope. We should''ve killed them." Lucrezia spoke her mind. Something was wrong with all of this, and she couldn''t put her finger on it. In-game, the two were just that¡ªa pair of early-game villains and nothing more. Was she missing something? "You worry too much! but maybe having that sort of paranoia is not so horrible given what we have to do for your daughter. Chin up Lu I doubt these two wenches can even harm any of us, me and you, Richard and Arthur together? Hell if we had Kaine this would be over in minutes even if they had a full Knight Company worth of support!" Hope punched Lucrezia''s shoulder lightly. Both women went on their ways, and Lucrezia rubbed her eyes as a wave of tiredness spread within her frame. Sometimes, she wished to run away from all of this, to live her life somewhere far away and alone until old age claimed her. "Silly woman, thinking of such things" she muttered to herself as she reached her room, the place was empty as Saa''ryu was out doing her good work for the Owl and herself, she would need to contact her to gather more information on her upcoming opponents, its always good to have as much information as possible even if planning for combat often was a fool''s errand. "Curious," Lucrezia said as she sat down and read who would assist her enemies in the fight "All Knights from her family and not a single mercenary? then the Queen got wise after the daring play she pulled with Kaine...and that this is nothing but another low-effort ploy by her if the two fail then that''s that and she can move another piece against me, if they win..." Lucrezia''s mind returned to the relic that House Morgoth was in charge of, The Sacred Bow which also housed a... "Christ Alive!" She cursed under her breath, how in all that was holy had she forgotten about the damn thing! it was half the reason she had antagonized that disgrace of a man who held the Sacred Sword in the first place and even after being stonewalled by the blasted spirit inside she kept the thing with Hope and the Sacred Shield Hope had gone on quite the journey to recuperate was broken and the Spear... Relying on these relics wouldn''t work, she had to set up more contingencies, today would be a long long day it seems. It a chain of teleports she began the great work to make sure she wouldn''t be dying to any underhand trick the Queen was likely to pull with these two muppets, first and foremost she reached the Cathedral of the Unbroken and after some haggling purchased several highly complicated necromantic rituals. "This will not feel good, ugh" she spoke to herself as she prepped a ritual room with the necessary raw materials which thankfully were not as hard to get a hold of thanks to connections with Castra, the Red Dragon, and her status as a legal Necromancer. What did get hard was the spellcraft portion of the endeavor as she weaved the rituals into place and felt the pressure, both real and mental of the fact trying to put her down. "Gods I hope this works" Lucrezia grunted as the weight of mana pressed her entire body down, she found a somewhat comfortable sitting position and took a deep breath. Multiple sigils flared layered on top of each other as a complex pattern began to weave itself, half in her mind and half outside in the real world as part of this put-together ritual involved a visual medium aided by illusionary magic. Lucrezia closed her eyes, feeling the sounds and smells vanish and something move inside her body as she opened her eyelids again and twisted her eyeballs to their sides like some sort of meat abomination. The outward weave of her ritual flaring and dimming like the rhythm of her heart, a torrent of necromantic power washed over outside and was funneled towards her body, becoming invisible as it gently went through her chest. Closing her eyes once again she felt another shift and found herself in the Realm of dream and soul that once housed her lesser part, this would be the hardest part of the ritual, and with a thought she called forth a timer, three minutes was all she had before catastrophic failure and the feedback that followed that outcome would not be pretty. She thought she wouldn''t die but... The timer ticked down and she got to work, sitting down cross-legged and with speed aided by her magics she began a series of chants, hand gestures and even singing to properly form the shell for the lack of a better word that would encompass this stage of the madness she was trying to pull, the result of nearly two years of intense training with the magical arts, mathematics and even theology would be put to the test now and she could not, would not fail. Each Second dragged on and had this not been a realm divorced from the physical she was sure she would be sweating bullets by now! Especially when the ritual demanded her to get up and make precise gestures upright that seemed more like a dance than a proper ritual ceremony. Yet she pressed on and as the timer counted down her pace increased, a deadly dance of desperation and sheer volition that would be beheld by no one. Lucrezia felt her mind go blank and everything go dark as the timer ran out, she cursed before the blackout as the tail end of the dance did not finish properly and she was pretty sure she had a critical stumble at the end. Yet she woke up in the waking world and everything seemed to be in order, with a flex of her powers she checked to see if her plan worked. Special clicks inside her soul went off one by one in a cacophony of chimes and whistles. Gods above and below it had worked! she was ready, or ready as she could be at any rate for this trial the Queen had stacked against her, she had another plan as a last ditch effort and quite suicidal even by her standards that would no doubt raise quite the ruckus if she spoke with her friends and allies but in her growing paranoia of this "event" she would do it. "Forgive me" she whispered to no one, maybe herself as she got up and went back to the academy, ready to face her fate. Chapter 103: Enemies of the Crown, Friends of the Damned "Often it is spoken of the duty of mortals towards their Divine Patrons, but what of the inverse? What does the God or Goddess out there have to offer to us mere mortals for our worship that empowers them and their sphere? "Faith Given is Faith Rewarded" is often spouted about! But we still have war and strife! Unfair rulers and pain! Must we live in this mire of adversity to find meaning when the Divine themselves can languish in plenty? In the fruits of our prayers and hopes?" High Priestess Amanda ¨¹upallas''s sermons, non-redacted version. Deep within the Forges of the Academy reserved for Lucrezia''s Magi-Tech was a sight to behold, smiths and arcane forgers together with Engineers and no less than a full cadre of Magi-Tech priesthood anointed a young woman. Her entire body was clad in silvery armor with hints of golden crystals and blood-red streaks of unholy metal touched by the Rage-that-Dwells, shipped from where the Gods of the world felled the beast that became it. Incense, chanting, and the brass sound of pipe organs meshed together with the hammering and grunting, the sizzling and grinding of both mortal and mineral. Living and Unliving forged into a singular purpose. The woman moved towards the center of the grand altar, a thing of brutish iron and rock as she poured enough energy to fuel an entire city. First, it was Ki, mana and life force intertwined and the most primal of essences a mortal had, that which granted the means of primeval men to fight with teeth and claw, then it was Mana the raw magic energy that permeated everything and everyone which emboldened mortals to reach Godhood, as it was His plan. At last, it was the Divine, the ichor of the Gods that powered their Holy work. Mana and Divine Essence were born out of the progeny of His and Her Flesh. This one was of the purest and strongest kind, their Firstborn, shamed and nameless and yet lurking in the shadows of the Universe. With crude iron tools, symbolic and teething with meaning the Woman forged a Warhammer, based off the spectral form she had used long ago against her greatest enemy. "It needs more" She spoke out loud and the chanting grew in power, Heresy would be the final ingredient for this woeful weapon wrought in desperation and fear and above all else secrecy. In her hand was an eldritch dagger forged by cosmic powers beyond her ken but very much aligned with her in the protection of the one she held most dear in her heart. Purple energy flowed binding the energy and the metal as one as the Woman used her tools to shape the weapon with its last details. Hope had many weapons, she had a God Killing Spear, the Sacred Sword of Vermilion, the Shifting Blade granted by Lucrezia, and even a spectral form of Auguriou''s Warhammer, but this would be the one she would be using in the upcoming fight for she knew something was going to happen. Arthur and Richard were doing their preparations as well and Vivienne... "May she succeed in her plan" Hope muttered a small prayer as she finished her new weapon, Rising to the air as the audience finished their part of this ritual with awe and cheers, followed by prayers and incantations to their God. Armor forged out of Divine and Rage energies, a Weapon of Blasphemy and Desperation and the Power to wield it in defiance of what was to come. The moment washed over Hope like spring rain, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was Hope Morgan Fritz, Daughter of the Crimson Yeagers, Future Queen of Vermilion, and Chosen of the All-Father Faal. And she would not be found wanting when the most dire of moments came crashing against her and her people.
"Rise, Son of Vermilion, Keeper of the Oath" an ancient voice croaked above him, the stillness and power of it betrayed a possession from a higher, stronger being which no doubt was happening right now. "Rise, Son of Vermilion, Scion of Blood and Steel" it spoke to the young man beside him who had a smile on his face, Richard looked at Arthur and once again couldn''t shake the fact he really did have a strong bond of Friendship with the Prince of Vermilion and now both of them would be fighting together once again to safeguard their future and the lives of the people they loved. Both rose and beheld the Ancient Orc now possessed by his Goddess "Soon you will face an important battle that will shape what kind of person you will become in the far future, both of you will make hard choices and feel grieve and anger but you must not lose that of which you hold most dear. Fight for it even if you must commit High Treason against Order, and when the end comes I will be there for you two, united now in the Blood of the First King of Vermilion, and with the Essence of my Champion you two will not falter" She spoke and Richard felt the power flowing through her words. Arthur bowed but the Goddess raised her hand "You will face greater adversity still my child, it is a pity that such an honest and loving soul such as yourself must be put to the fires of what is to come but know this. I will be there for you via my Champion and so will your closest allies so do not despair Arthur even when the blackest of night snuffs out all but the ambers of your will, do not despair" Then she was gone, and Richard moved to hold the Sage, as the ancient Orc was heaving for air. "...Too much power, She is a cruel mistress making me work my old bones like this..." He gave both men a weak smile "...No go my children, face your destiny. One of the many you will face for you are what you are and the Enemy will never cease to work against you, in whatever form it can take shape, go with our blessing our power, and our will to endure and fight even when all is lost" he fell into a deep slumber as Richard and Arthur dragged the Orc towards a secluded part of the chapel they were in. Acolytes rushed in to tend to the Sage, smiles and prayers flowing from them as well "Forward young masters, Forward until only victory remains!" one of them clasped Richard''s hands while uttering the prayer, leaving the chapel Arthur turned to Richard and asked "Ready?" it was many questions all bolted into a single word, the Third Prince of Vermilion looked resolute and calm for once. "Ready" Richard replied and both disappeared in a flash of light.
Vivienne stood in deep meditation within the Castle that Lucrezia had fought dearly to take over, her mind and soul floating into the recesses of the ghost that haunted her every day. Every night was a fight and every night she vowed to always fight, forevermore. Profane Avenger, Wielder of the Sword of Heresy, Amaranthine Berserker. Names granted by those who saw her in action in the field of battle, once she never thought capable of feats of warfare, of the grim work needed to shed blood of men and beast. But now she was more she was powerful and with the Aid of her most trusted friend, she had broken free of the yoke of iron that held her back.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Another force aided her so, in her dreams that small boy remained and she had vowed to figure out who was He, even the forces from beyond the cosmos remained tight-lipped about it when she got them to talk at least. She knew that Lucrezia was involved with it after all Hope also had a weapon forged by the same forces that granted her the sword she was using. Did it matter? In her heart of hearts, she knew it didn''t not anymore. Whoever or whatever had worked through or via Lucrezia to save her was her ally and had they wanted to do Ill, then the situation would''ve gone bad far sooner than anyone could expect. Alas Vivienne knew something was up with this bout of combat the Queen had enrolled them into and so she once again sought these profane powers. "An ocean of blood A basin for ..." She focused and summoned the Sword, Ascalon shone with purple fire and a great roar boomed above Vivienne. She felt small and weak for but a moment before the pressure washed over her and vanished. She felt a question, a hint of amusement, and a sneer in equal measure before an overwhelming sense of zeal and righteousness locked into her person "..." "Today I seek anointment! I seek power beyond mortal ken and Divines that reside within my plane of existence! Lucrezia lies at the threshold and WE MUST stand with her! In life or death!" "-...--..." Vivienne crashed into her knees, her entire soul quaked and trembled as if the very frame powered by the Divine might of the All-Father would burst into raw mana and matter. She screamed in pain, rage, and above all else the dogged will to live, with a snap that clicked she felt stronger, ready for the battle that was coming. She rose from the ground and roared. "NO MERCY" the skies spoke and she roared in agreement. She was ready.
Not contented with the show that this thing would become, Lady Lucrezia had deployed her entire fleet of flying ships, Knight-Commander Muriel Morgoth and her Elites stood atop a hill, all staring at the hoovering armada that made no sound at all, the flagship that once made quite the entrance on the battle that shook these lands stood proudly at the center. Centre-Fi''s upper mandibles showed his intense displeasure at such a sight: "Commandeer... Thy sister has made a most fearsome opponent. If thou believe in true deliverance, I would advise beseeching succor from thy Patron Deity, for today we will be tested." The Spider-Kin man was getting anxious, and she knew it. He was hardly this forward whenever he spoke after all. Muriel sighed, "Sicar, care to share any pearls of wisdom with us?" She was stalling for time. Her dunderhead of a sister and that accursed woman she kept as friends were delaying the start of the engagement for no good reason! Sicar Almendes grinned "Nevermind the ships, she has an entire base worth of personnel at the castle. I paid good money for intel on it and the things I got were not looking good Commander" The man summoned a tablet made out of silver and channeled some mana into it "These armors are not the ones we saw at the previous battle, they are bigger and slower but pack way more weapons and can effectively halt an entire platoon worth of Knights" he pointed to the weird and in Muriel''s personal opinion dishonorable weapons Lucrezia had created "Remember how they only had a single team with a weapon capable of automatic fire? bad news now every single grunt has one of those, less potent and smaller but..." Sicar didn''t finish, the weight of his revelation pressing down on everyone near them. "This will change many things" Centre-Fi spoke. "The good news is, the ones we will face won''t be using any of that, melee combat and spell fire, Ki attacks as well" Sicar continued after a pause "Maybe we did get lucky after all since the Arch-Mage''s son isn''t joining in this" they all knew this already but it was good to speak it again, raise morale "Commander, our charges are coming" Sicar pointed towards the blinding flash of light signifying a powerful teleportation spell being fired, out of it two women came walking in ritual battle plate, one wielding a pitch black staff and the other an ornate bow. Muriel muttered a silent prayer to Morugarius, Goddess willing she and her family would not lose their honor today. A spell form blossomed upon her ear "Sister, ready your men We ride for battle within five minutes" Muriel narrowed her eyes, something wasn''t right with the way her sister was speaking. Morugarius be good her fears were right! There was meddling by profane powers in this. That''s when she saw the Sacred Bow, once ornate with golden inlays now coated in sickly green and purple, it pulsated like a heart, and soft miasma was released every time it pulsed, red streaks of foul mana pooled around the quiver as well, the sight of such defilement towards the relic made the Knight-Commander tremble with righteous fury and even her men could not hide their displeasure upon having the duo reach their position. "Despicable cur of a woman, you dare defile the sacred relic?! I swear upon the name of our house that you will face consequences!" Muriel barked with power borrowed from her blessing, her form shinning, and her face morphing into a scowl. The staff-wielding woman, Mava O''Xav turned towards the gumming Knight-Commander and spoke, her voice full of arrogance "Watch your tongue, Knight you speak to the future Queen of Vermilion, ready your men and dare not speak again unless spoken to, for we fight under the blessing of Queen Malphas herself and will put to rights the wrongs committed by the Vile Northern pretender" Lyndell''s face morphed into a smile as she grabbed Mava''s hand "Yes...Yes, today we will be anointed as Future Queens Mava, that which is rightfully ours will no longer be denied and the pretenders will be put to the sword, the true sword and arrow, House Morgott will be Royal in blood and fire! with the Blessings of our Gods!" Lyndell looked half crazy as she finished the rallying cry. Muriel and her men stared, silence stretching into minutes as the dire reality of what they had gotten themselves into.
Lucrezia stared at the enemy formation up on the hill, a smile forming upon her lips as she beheld the cursed variant of the Sacred Bow, a memory from her better half popping into her mind as the game events played and made it so that the emotions he felt were none too pleasing. Bullshit, an entire chapter as some NPC? and I don''t get to control the build? For fuck''s sake I should''ve spoiled myself ugh! I hope this plan works Lucrezia smiled as she finished reminiscing about the game memories, there Hope would be the one falling for what that duo of insane women had cooked up, now... "Are you sure the judges are also collaborating with Mother?" Arthur asked as he fiddled with his armor, a polished plate bearing ancient Sigils of the Royal House, and a staff and shield made by Hope as a gift in his hands. Father has increased surveillance around her; we haven''t seen a suspect move yet. " He then heard the opposition''s mad-looking woman belt out Malphas''s proclamation of anointment and blessings. Arthur''s face was pure stone, Richard and Vivienne staring at him and Hope, who herself had closed her eyes in exasperation. "Sometimes Lucrezia, sometimes I wish you would give me the order, or you Vivienne, or even Kaine" Venom dripped out of Arthur''s mouth as he laid his feelings bare to his closest allies "Just...say something godsdamnit, anything" Lucrezia knew deep in her heart of hearts he would do it, either to clear the shame brought by her actions, or his own shame for not noticing Vivienne''s agony, but she also did not want to damn him to Kinslaying as she had done... It was Vivienne who broke their standstill "Queen Malphas must be sanctioned, I... We will not demand you to commit Kinslaying Arthur, but it is time to cut her political power. Anything more and..." There was hesitation in her voice. "Then we Kill Her, and nail her head to the walls of the Palace" Hope spoke and that was that. A promise born out of shame and regret from Arthur, made real by her words that commanded power beyond her years. What Lucrezia didn''t catch was Arthur''s slight pause after the words were uttered, later she would realize he was contacting Kaine, and his own Father King Jason for what would be quite a fight inside the inner chambers of the Royal Palace, but now? now she could only behold the corrupted form of the Sacred Bow, and wonder if the Spirit inside was already dead, or worse. A horn blew from afar, and Lucrezia saw the shimmering form of the Judges who would "minister" this group engagement for some unknown reason, she had her theories of course but the time was nigh for her craft of war and rage to be finely applied to these miscreants. Today she would give all a show to be remembered and All-Father willing she would live to tell the tale of it to her daughter. Chapter 104: In the eye of the storm "To speak of war is understanding why All-Father Faal is considered a "Kind" Divine in the larger cosmos! Kind and Hard Handed! He will ignite your homeworld''s skies with holy fire Poison the water, and kill the crops if you question his commands. Heed this children of the All-Father one day He will turn on you! When that comes remember my face as I speak these words!" Heretical writings of a nameless High Priest. Lucrezia stared at the masked group of "judges" who were there to mediate the combat, a clear attempt at her life by the Queen. She sighed as they explained the rules not once but twice, to win this round was a simple affair it seemed, destroy the enemy opposition to the last man standing, and whoever''s left wins. Lyndell''s group looked troubled by this, were they hoping for some sort of objective-focused bout? She wouldn''t know, and there was no real way to press the judges for real answers. Lucrezia tapped the scabbard of her weapon feeling the intricate sigils laid there by the Arch-Duke''s weaponsmiths, such a weapon should not be wasted in this...base affair she felt. But her combat style was now built around it and switching to something else would not be wise. That cursed bow made her hair stand, such defilement should''ve landed Lyndell into an early grave. Lucrezia cursed the Sacred Sword''s spirit once again as she activated both of her contingencies, earning an inquisitive look from Arthur as he felt the necromantic energies flowing into Lucrezia together with her powers. It was done after a few heartbeats, she was ready to face her destiny. "...Will the party of Duchess Wulfgrem, not field additional troops?" Asked one of the judges, their faces hidden behind a black mask, and their voices changed via some sort of spell. "No" Lucrezia replied with no emotion in her voice, she would not waste precious lives in this...debacle of a fight. "Then may the best warriors win, for today will be a glorious day for our Kingdom, at the sound of the horn the combat will start. Get ready" The judge disappeared with a flash of light and both groups saluted, before moving back to their field bases, the particular zone they would be fighting was an unremarkable patch of woods and small clearings, meant to be a test ground for combat within forested areas. "They aren''t using their warhorses, Lucrezia?" Hope asked as she watched the Knights pace around Lyndell and Mava "It''s the bow, Lyndell can''t or won''t do mounted archery so they will shield her. Don''t get hit by the arrows, entities from beyond the cosmos have corrupted that thing and I can feel the very foul essence of it seeping out of the weapon from here" Hope nodded "Richard, Destroy the Knights as fast as you can" he grunted as he took the front of their formation, a sheen of divine light manifesting upon his back as the form of the Goddess of the Orcs descended from the higher planes, her hands enveloping the young man and her face resting upon his left shoulder, eyes closed but with a wolfish grin upon her lips. Arthur himself had already put his helmet on, the face plate a visage of the first king as the mastery of his necromantic and mind-magic powers flashed above him, a sigil of mana even Kaine would be proud of, he then trembled as the fell energies of the Rage-that-Dwells surged forth, he was ready for combat now and only the blood of the enemy would satiate the growing hunger within his soul. A terrifying sight, Lucrezia thought to herself as she watched Hope squeeze his shoulder in support. The woman cycled through blessings at blinding speeds and smiled at Lucrezia once she settled her powers as if no words were needed, the sheer radiance emanating from the woman in front of her told Lucrezia what was powering her friend. The Warhammer she was holding also didn''t leave much to the imagination. Vivienne said nothing as she unsheathed her sword, Ascalon she called and the name convention was not lost on Lucrezia''s ears. Whoever from Terra had approved of this was still keeping tabs on her it seemed, the demure girl prayed to the sword as the purple flame rose up from its steel blade. Eldritch fire from beyond the cosmos empowered her in this most dire of situations. Lucrezia steeled herself for combat as every single sigil of Divine Power pulsated beneath her skin, a thin layer of frost emanating out of her hands and red static flashing together with the ice. Even her own Rage-that-Dwells was being used in this as she would make sure to put everything into overdrive to survive this encounter, seconds went into minutes as they waited for the signal. "Take out their magic support first, Do not let the woman fire a single arrow, and put down those knights as fast as possible once the mage has been incapacitated" Lucrezia barked orders and her friends nodded. in a flash of thunder and lightning, the signal went off and they were on! the battle had begun and now this farce would finally end. Arthur was the first to move, as an ungodly strong spell slammed into their position "Artillery spell fire! Hope!" he dashed to his beloved and the couple held hands as a sigil of pure gold appeared around them. Five more projectiles fell like a star shower but they managed to weather the storm, Richard glanced toward Lucrezia and she nodded. The young man screamed, the trees around them shook and bent as he exploded forward towards the enemy like a bullet and soon Lucrezia heard the screams of panic and pain as he tore into them, Hope flew upwards together with Arthur only to fall like meteors upon the enemy Knights who were already being gored upon by Richard. Lucrezia closed her eyes and felt a sharp drop from her mana reserves as she pulled a particular variant of teleportation that had elemental shockwaves weaved on it, she appeared in the middle of their Knight-Commander''s formation, gasps all around her as Mava and Lyndell scrambled to move out of some ritual pentagram burned into the ground. A spider-kin man hissed at her and leaped from behind the commander, Lucrezia felt the world slow down as she stared into his eyes, fear and contempt with hints of resignation hidden beneath a mask of controlled rage. These people knew they were being played and used by the duo behind them and they were not keen on it. Lucrezia moved, grabbing the man by the throat as his extra arms tried to pry her off, he hissed then his head was no longer there as Hope moved with a blinding dash and slammed her Warhammer into him. Gore and blood flew as Lucrezia''s blood lust sang a tune so pure, so strong she nearly lost herself to it. Another man came running towards them as the duo were preparing to do something. Hope then teleported towards Mava and as she reappeared golden thunderbolts flashed beneath her feet. Arthur''s hand pointed towards Mava rooting her on the spot with some sort of necromantic spell and then Hope leaped into the air. To call it beautiful would do no justice to the scene as the young woman became an avatar of divine light! Her weapon shone like the sun before she slammed down on Mava, who barely could enact a shield above her. Lucrezia felt a rush of air to her left as another man tried to restrain her, only for Richard to appear and, with a clean slice, chop him top from bottom.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. A scream of agony broke her out of the grisly sight as she beheld Vivienne''s blade carving through Mava''s shield with its purple fire, as it break she pressed the blade further and dug into the collarbone of the foul mage, Hope''s Warhammer hitting her leg and knocking her down with gusto. The Knight-Commander barked an order to retreat and fall back. Lyndell was struggling to fire an arrow, something the woman needed to get it right clearly wasn''t working! Lucrezia would not let the enemy rest and with an enormous effort that nearly made her empty out her mana and divine reserves summoned a cage of iron pillars. Throwing her hands upwards with a scream of sheer anger she called forth a mighty thunderbolt of red lighting. The world slowed down as Lyndell''s bow burst into necrotic fire and purple smoke, a single arrow that made a horrible noise punched through the weapon into the lighting strike and dispelled the entire thing! A smirk was planted in the woman''s face, she would begin her assault now! Feeling the surge of their leader, the enemy Knights began throwing Ki attacks at a long-range themselves, all easily dispelled by Arthur and Vivienne''s mighty aegis spells that functioned like a solid wall against their Ki onslaught. A crack in the air made Lucrezia''s head snap towards the skies as she barely saw Richard''s body going up. Only for him to come crashing down like a comet upon the enemy formation, a whirlwind of steel and fury followed closely by Vivienne and Hope as they tried to crack the shell and take down Lyndell before she could fire another arrow. Lucrezia momentary distracted at the sight felt a surge of mana to her left as the Knight-Commander herself followed by a tall man and Mava teleported to her position! Damn, I should''ve done something to bar teleportations! Lucrezia thought as she dodged an overhead slash coming from a halberd wreathed in sinister-looking blood fire, a slash of light came from her right side and she used her sword to parry the blow, only for a bolt of magic to slam into her shield right below her solar plexus. Time slowed down as the telltale noise of that accused bow ringed through the battlefield, Lucrezia''s focus nearly slipping as another misbegotten arrow flew, aimed solely at her! only for a blur of air like a summer''s hot day to shine above her position. The spectral form of a particular being who had aided her on this very ground eating the projectile like it was nothing! Vivienne''s sword glowed and hummed as the two women locked eyes for a second, God be good Lucrezia thought to herself, God with a capital G be good! the Terran deities had contact with her above sending in the sword?!? How did the All-Father even allow this to happen? Questions she didn''t have the time to ask as the enemy trio resumed their onslaught. The tall man was unrelenting in his assault, every lunge and slash gave an opening for the other two to exploit and the Commander in particular was fiendishly exploiting them, Mava on the other hand had little synergy with the duo and so couldn''t push Lucrezia as much as them. This lack of cohesion was enough for Lucrezia herself to exploit and force an opening. Ice spikes coated their boots and the very ground. Lucrezia summoned iron rods and, with sheer magical power, threw them as projectiles, which were easily destroyed by the enemy''s shields and spells. In their folly, the enemy pushed forward and crushed the ice beneath their boots, the spikes breaking but not falling off as a cloud of iron formed behind them. With a flair of dramatic posing, Lucrezia baited the Halberd wielder into another lunge and froze his legs in place with the diffused cloud of iron! bringing him to a kneeling position and giving her clear shot to Mava who was reading another spell, the mage''s eyes widening in fear and shock as she realized she was being targeted! With a twist of her staff and hand, she broke the ice that held the man in place, just in time for an Iron drill to fire itself through his chest and a crude blade to decapitate his head clean off with a swipe, the Knight-Commander screamed in fury and spoke "Betrayer! foul Whore!" Lucrezia did not let that golden opportunity slide and with a grunt of power unleashed a flurry of slashes with her blade, Mava could barely hold it together before a sigil flared beneath the ice that was encroaching on their feet. And then they were gone. Lucrezia''s head snapped towards Lyndell, who now had a maniacal look on her face. It seemed the jig was up with how the arrows were tracking her instead of Hope. A gush of hot air distracted her as Richard''s form shifted to her left. His eyes were wide and in panic, as the dreadful arrow came crashing down with a horrific wail that made Lucrezia''s arm hairs rise, time slowed down as Lucrezia saw the love of her life throw himself at the projectile and the sleeping goddess upon his back rise her head. A horrible noise followed as the arrow tore into Richard''s Aegis spell. Lucrezia heard the Goddess speak something in a language she couldn''t understand but the shock of what followed took her attention out of it, Richard''s left arm was vaporized down to the bloody bone! only a stump left as a nasty mark of warped metal and blood remained in his arm socket. A blood-curling scream erupted from Lucrezia''s throat as she burned through Divine Energy from All-Mother''s Sigil to call forth a massive spike of bronze-tinged iron from the ground, a bolt of red lighting birthing itself with the snarl of an angry god and the smell of ozone making her nostrils flare. It struck true and the space where Lyndell was became white. Yet it was not enough, Mava had dispelled the worst of the damage somehow and things grew dire from there as she casually batted Vivienne away with Arthur and barked orders for the Knight Commander to charge, she cursed the mage but still went forward. Hope tried to teleport towards them as she was in the skies but another arrow followed her this time! Richard''s body was limp as Lucrezia got to him, only for the Goddess to move her mouth and make him stand eyes closed "I will need a new arm Lucrezia" he spoke in a stiff way "That thing is not normal, we must take her out and fast" he snapped out of it and grimaced "The pain will not hinder me for now, worry not for me" Sigils of Gold and Silver flared around both of them as Arthur together with Vivienne and Hope appeared from thin air, another arrow came with its dreadful wailing noise but this time it didn''t pierce through the barrier that Lucrezia noticed was being maintained by all three of them, Vivienne''s sword burned with purple fire as the woman raised it to the air and slashed down in front of them. Rings of Eldritch flame lit up the woods around the group as they endured an onslaught of magical and Ki spells from the opposition "Something is not right Lucrezia, even my strongest attacks feel weak and feeble for no apparent reason" she raised her sword once again and the skies rumbled with the sound of thunder, a bolt of purple energy struck the remaining rank and file Knights the duo had ordered to charge. "Something''s foul, the Queen''s doing no doubt...All-Father be good Mother why would you do this..." Arthur cursed under his breath, Lucrezia could see his patience with the woman had finally run out, especially given how he kept staring at Richard''s arm socket. "She will pay, I swear on my blood and name" He locked eyes with Richard and the men shared a silent agreement, Hope smiled at the sight and raised her weapon "Let us face the enemy! We have rested plenty enough as is" with a swing, she flew upwards and readied to rain down unholy fire upon the enemy as she conjured the sigil of the Mad God. Time slowed down once again as Lucrezia''s senses told her something was not right, there was no noise as she turned her eyes to the left of her group into the treeline as she watched the form of one of the juries stare at her with a smirk in his lips, no mask hiding his face now before vanishing in a flash of silver only for Lyndell to appear in his place. There was no noise as she aimed, right at Hope''s head. Lucrezia felt panic hit her in the gut like a knife, that was enough for her last ditch effort to kick in and flare a multitude of sigils all around her. The rest of the party snapped into combat positions before noticing what was happening but by then it was too late, the arrow sang its terrifying song once more but instead of finding its way to Hope''s head, it curved mid-air, piercing what remained of the Silver and Gold barrier and Lucrezia''s own Aegis spell. Sound refused to return as she watched panic erupt amidst her friends, feeling the cold bite of what had to be the same metal the Queen had made to kill her in their battle so long ago tear into her chest. Air followed as she kneeled in the soft grass and felt her life slowly drain away before being washed with healing magicks coming from Hope and Arthur, even Vivienne herself trying to close the wounds with her flame. Darkness, a flash of cerulean lights, and more darkness. Lucrezia was falling into a pitch and the last thing in her mind was a small prayer to whoever was there to listen, praying for the last stage of her plan to work lest she actually end up dead. Chapter 105: Unbridled Fury "In this, I will brook no quarter, grant no mercy, and spare no effort to destroy you and your misbegotten rule!" Mad God Augurious The Royal Quarter of the Capital burned in an unholy fire. Royal Knights and Mages sworn to the crown fought a desperate battle against Spirits who never had bared their fangs this openly against the creation of the All-Father. A figure clad in crystalline armor led the greatest host of Spirits down the main road toward the castle and death followed in their wake. Kaine felt a wave of dark and wrathful emotions inside him. His teeth flared in pain as he tried to hold back the vitriol as another company of disgraced Knights charged him. He saw the mark of the Queen upon their souls and shook his head. These people had willingly given themselves to such a monster, unlike the subtle dominion present upon his own mother''s soul. "Sanctioned...Kill them all and clear a path to the left wing of the castle..." King Jason''s voice faded in and out of existence inside his mind as the message lost strength. Spirits of Summer and Autumn tore into the enemy forces like beasts, and Kaine beheld a sight reserved for the very few as these beings warped flesh and singed bones. His own hands were now stained with blood of vermilion''s finest. He had killed entire scores of Mages loyal to the Queen, no Malphas, as they tried to ambush him with Necromancy and Mind magic. They switched to regular warfare and even eldritch attacks and spells when that failed. And when that failed, these cretins felt the true magnitude of his power. No chants, gestures, or reagents were needed now as his Greater Blessing roared with Divine power so strong that Kaine saw Gwennarius''s sleeper form open an eye occasionally. He was using so much Chronomancy at a high level that the Goddess herself had to check things in the material coil. Another group of knights and Mages teleported near his position as he mused over it, and the battle was on again. Winter Spirits from Lucrezia''s domain roared as they transformed into beasts from the Wastes, terrifying feline-looking wild things that tore flesh from bone, Spring Spirits snapped fingers and pointed staves, some even fired darts from their fingers as the enemy forces were subjected to what had to be weaponized healing magicks. "Kaine! Wrap things up! Lucrezia is down and she needs us!" Kaede''s voice boomed inside his mind as he made a crushing motion with his right hand and another score of enemy combatants became dust. The Winter spirits near him trembled and roared, noticing what was happening in the academy. The other spirits all around the battlefield screamed as well and Kaine witnessed true horror again. Carnage and Gore just like when Lucrezia killed the first prince, and now he led the suicidal charge against the enemy. His deluge of detection spells flared with such intensity that he was stunned for a second as the Spirit horde bombarded the left wing of the castle with enough spells to level a city. A testament to the builders of yore was being painted right in front of him as the walls and towers held, the people who were trying to halt him on the other hand. Those were gone. A towering jackal of blue flame appeared next to him and spoke, his very tongue singing Kaine''s ornamental cloth from his armor "The Scion''s mother suffers, Son of Faal it is time we end this" his voice had no power but the hatred beneath its words was felt all the same. Kaine felt his heart grow cold as Lucrezia''s condition was being broadcasted to the Spirits somehow. The last squadron of loyal wretches charged them, teleporting right on top of their position as Kaine felt rage flood his system. He grunted with effort as astronomical amounts of Divine-charged mana were dumped into his spell form. A bubble of time slammed into the enemy Knights, he noticed quite a few of those being Royal Knights at that and within seconds they became bones. The Summer Spirit howled at the skies "Vengeance!" Walls crumbled and they charged forth, breaking into a magically enhanced sprint Kaine was flanked by Spirits of all Seasons before feeling a familiar form join him at the end of the corridor that led to the wing. Kaede had tears in her eyes "Hope is losing herself to the madness of the Rage, my Love we must-" and then she was gone, everyone was gone as Kaine felt his body and soul be displaced across time and space via a powerful spell, powerful enough to forestall Gwennariu''s divine wards as the Goddess''s form raised her hands and head. Her voice came as a whisper "...The human, Malphas managed to trap us in a realm outside of the river of time. This is not work of mine hands Kaine, she must''ve had an artifact or a spell" Panick, one of the Strongest Divinities around was feeling panic, and that surprised Kaine in a way he would find it funny, had things not been this dire. "It matters not how she did it, We end things here and now." He spoke as the form of the Queen appeared, the place they were lit up as purple flames rose from pillars all around them, an arena of circular form and clearly of eldritch make. "The mage? Out of all that Whore''s lot they send the mage and upjumped ghosts? Shameful" Her voice dripped with venom and disdain. Queen Malphas smiled at Kaine with a smirk "Dearest Kaine, you honestly think you can-" Kaine did not wait for the words of the crazed abomination to end, with a slam of his staff he shot forward. Gwennariu''s form grew as she extended a spectral arm, and a shard of pure light grazed Malphas''s face, blood-forming as Kaine hopped backward in a defensive stance. His mind worked overtime to layer defensive spells on his person. "By the Will of Gwennarius Goddess of the river of time, you will die." Cold, focused rage flowed through Kaine as he stood against the strongest being alive, yet he knew no fear. "Haha, such hubris! Do you believe you are the first Chronomancer I''ve faced you whelp? I AM the strongest being alive! I AM DIVINE!" Malphas raised herself upwards and opened her mouth once more, ready to taunt Kaine again. Yet a flash of silvery light made short work of the monologing madwoman as Kaine gripped his staff with both hands and conjured forth a massive sword made out of mana. Stomping the ground with his right foot Kaine unleashed a field of frost spears right below where she would land. Not letting up he conjured spears of light and flame around the area and as soon as she made landfall he sent them towards her. Kaine saw in awe as the Queen soaked all of his magic into herself with barely any visual damage. Then he felt tremors. Malphas''s body shook and twisted before she roared into the air above. "Dog! Your tricks will not work-" a chain of teleports and he was staring Malphas right in the eyes, hatred burning behind them as she was taken back by his rather drastic move, time slowed down to a crawl as the Queen summoned a sword from thin air and moved to chop his head off. Feeling all of his colossal mana and divine energy reserves wink out of his mortal shell, Kaine fired his magnum opus spell when it came to sheer destructive power, a mere copy of the artifact Richard used against Malphas before at the fields, but strong enough at point blank range that he was mostly sure would put this vile fiend down for good. Fear, Kaine saw fear in her eyes as the Rage made a last-ditch effort to shield her from the pure beam of energy. "We go together!" Kaine screamed as his words were slowed and pitched wrong as the field of chronomancy around him slowed both of them and then he was back in reality. The plane he was sequestred into vanished into nothing and noise filled his ears. "I will find you little mage, and when I do you will pay" Malphas''s voice came from the air around him but she was no more, Kaine took a knee as he used his staff for support. When was the last time he had used all of his mana in a single spell? He couldn''t remember... Spirits, hordes of Spirits floated around him and he could barely focus on their faces as the feedback from his spell and lack of mana made his entire body and soul feel horrible. Worry, Delight, Rage, and Anxiety plagued their faces as he took deep breaths for a whole minute. A Summer Spirit in the form of a great bird of fire landed beside him and for a few minutes, he felt only tender heat. Another Spirit, this one of Winter spoke "She lives still, wounded and scared but the Enemy lives still looked at its brethren and spoke "Faal''s children will have to be content with her later, we must save the scion" It turned to Kaine and said "Son of Faal, touched by the River of Time, accept mine essence and make haste to the Scion, this will be painful for both of us but we must hurry!" Kaine nodded, feeling the bite of winter slam into his frame and a few of his necromantic wards ping. With a thought, a slow one at that, he let the Spirit do its grim business. Pain and a cold fire burned into his frame, and he kneeled with both legs this time as Gwennarius''s form began to shimmer out of his back. One minute, two minutes went by, and he was back into mostly top form as contingencies against pain flared upon his skin. "Didn''t think I would end up using these" he spoke to the crowd of Spirits who didn''t reply, he felt his reserves and it was mostly full but the tinge of it was clearly of Spirit make and that felt odd, like wearing a pair of socks that used to belong to him... Kaine focused and messaged Kaede. His beloved said the fighting was mostly over, and the insurgents had fallen to the last. Queen Malphas was already being called a Traitor to the Kingdom. Politics didn''t matter for him now, he coordinated with Kaede, and then both performed a long-range teleportation spell chain that led the duo to the gates of the academy, a sight of pure wonder welcoming them as the Sigil of the Mad God flared in the skies above, thunder and lighting raining down the fields as the distinct sound of hammering could be heard from their position.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Kaede didn''t utter a word. She stared at Kaine with pure conviction in her eyes, and then they cast a final teleport spell. The last thing in Kaine''s mind was a silent prayer to his Goddess, hoping that his countermeasures would work.
Her mind burned, the world burned as she screamed in a rage so powerful, wrath so ancient the very stones and soil beneath her feet, and the air above her head felt it. In this singular moment in time, Hope was no longer just a powerful mortal blessed by the DIvines, empowered via their energies and cursed with the fell energy of the Rage. She was an avatar of destruction, and only one entity would answer for her desperate pleas of fury and vengeance now. Fuelled by the powers of the Rage-that-Dwells Hope conjured forth a Divine Sigil upon the air. Augurious the Mad, the First and God of Order felt the plea and came Himself, breaking the stalemate with his Father and Aiding Hope. The closest enemy near her was the Knight-Commander, and so the ground would be anointed with her gore, Hope vanished upon the cracks of reality and manifested herself to the left side of the woman whose faceplate no doubt hid the sheer shock on her face. One blow in her ribs and she was down. No pleas for mercy or begging for assistance, she knew none would answer. The world sang around Hope as her mighty weapon, now fully imbued with the Mad God''s essence shone a golden light. Three more blows came as the young woman bellowed a roar of rage and fury. Nothing remained upon ending her execution and she soon turned to face the Mage. A leap and Hope floated above the raven-haired woman, her hand brimming with a bolt of golden lighting. A powerful noise spread itself throughout the Fields as Hope''s lightning spear flew true toward her target. Her enemy''s magic was not powerful enough to dispel the effect now as Hope once again manifested herself to the side of the enemy. Grabbing Mava by her face with her left hand and raising her from the ground in a death grip. "I will kill you, your parents, your family will be hanged by the neck and their bodies nailed to the walls of your home. Your souls will burn in the deepest pits of the underworld and you will know no true peace" As Hope raised her hammer to slam it upon Mava''s belly she felt something wrong crawling upon her spine. Both women were engulfed in Dark Flames as Hope acted fast, but not fast enough with her weapon and she only felt the air hissing as the strike passed through nothing, the enemy had teleported away. A kaleidoscope of emotions threatened to make her despair until she heard the voice of the Mad God "Save Lucrezia, Save Richard." It was a command, an order, and a reminder that her loved ones were about to die if she did nothing. Another step and she manifested herself near the group. It wasn''t just Richard and Lucrezia now, Vivienne and her beloved Arthur were barely hanging on as their position was littered with arrows from Lyndell''s fel bow. Hope sucked in air to not scream and got to work trying to stabilize all of them and managing to save Vivienne and Arthur from it. Richard had lost his arm, he crawled to Ltucrezia and was holding her body as life drained out of his body, whatever was in those arrows and on the bow itself was killing him and Lucrezia, getting past the protective spells that would''ve otherwise saved them. Hope rushed towards the couple as she heard Richard trying to wake Lucrezia. "...Please..." Barely a whisper of a voice came from his lips as she tried to stabilize both with her healing spells, and it wasn''t working. Hope felt the anxiety build throughout her body and soul like a rising tide, dread made her teary-eyed but she was stronger and would not falter now of all times! With effort and a bit of cursing she began to rapidly cycle through her most strong blessings. If these Divines were worth something, now was the time to make sure of it. Pillars of energy erupted above Hope as she bled the bastards dry, her plan was simple in execution but it would only buy time for Kaine to arrive, if there was someone who could unfuck this mess it was him, she was sure of it. And so Hope began her grueling work as a tsunami worth of healing, purging, rejuvenation, and curse-breaking spells and miracles flowed out of her repertoire. Hope felt a shift in the air pressure to her left side as Arthur appeared, hagged and looking like an ogre had just sucked-punched him. He didn''t speak a word to Hope, instead joining in the effort to keep Lucrezia and Richard alive until Kaine arrived, a breakthrough happened once he started casting some sort of Chronomantic spell meant to slow down curses. "To think Kaine''s paranoia ended up being real" Arthur shook his head as Vivienne appeared as well, eyes bloodshot and weapon in hand ready to cleave the enemy in two "They ran away, the entire academy is under some sort of barrier spell but Saa and our army are trying to take it down. No communications with Kaine yet..." she stopped as Richard''s eyes opened and rushed towards him. "...Kaine...Get him and Kaede here...before she..." he could only whisper as Vivienne hugged his head, Hope screamed in impotent rage, her mental faculties slipping by the second as she increased the output of her deluge, the world around them disappearing from her sight and mind at first, sound following closely as she prayed, then begged for help. Noise, roars of the dead, and static filled her head before a bolt of cerulean blue slammed right in the middle of their formation, Hope''s eyes now filled with tears beheld Kaine''s disheveled hair, his angular face full of scabs and eyes filled with strong emotion hitherto seen in him. Kaede''s form shimmered into existence before fully manifesting it, she was full of wounds as well. Gwennarius''s body radiated divine energies, the Goddess''s eyes were wide with fear as she commanded Kaine''s mouth "We need to do this together Hope! quick use my blessings at full power! use the bloody Rage if you must!" Kaine fell to his knees "We were ambushed at the academy''s gates, shortly before the barrier went up, the Queen, no Malphas has rebelled against the King and gathered her forces to the south of the city..." he struggled to speak, Kaede got him on his feet and pointed towards Richard and Hope. "..." Kaine couldn''t speak, Hope saw him clench his fist in rage "Hope, pray to the All-Father you can master this spell in the next minute" She leaped to his side as Kaine began teaching her what had to be the most advanced magical ritual of chronomancy she had ever seen, short of actual time travel enabled by the Goddess upon his back that is. "He was not meant to die, Richard has a role to play and if he dies here we will be in for horrible times" Gwennarius spoke after they were done "Hope, Arthur, and Vivienne gather around" They did as Kaede and Kaine finished the sigil around Lucrezia and Richard "Blasted calculations! Stars undivided I curse those curs! Right you three, you will perform what I say to the bloody letter because I will not die today, nor will both of them!" Gwennarius''s form got up in what had to be a monumental expenditure of divine energy. Hope''s Greater Blessing of the Goddess roared like a dragon, All-Father be good she was coming to the mortal coil! Hope''s eyes burned, the world shook and the very air around the group stilled as a giant figure burned itself into the mortal realm. Her skin was bronze and her eyes pure silver, a beautiful mane of pitch black hair flowed from her head. Her face was perfection made real. Taller as a giant yet with grace unnatural to the world. Hope''s eyes rolled back into her head, in this singular moment of sheer power being blasted in all directions her reserves of power went haywire. A vision blossomed upon her eyes as she beheld herself holding the God Slaying Spear gifted by the hivemind, at her feet was the divine carcass of Gwennarius, and behind her were Arthur and the others. "Mortal! This is the fulcrum! Either we save Lucrezia and Richard or I DIE! To me Kaede, Kaine because now I...we will shatter this future we will save them!" The group fell into ranks as the Goddess took charge, with a slap of both of her hands a dome of pure divine power engulfed Lucrezia and Richard, tiny clocks of all sizes and shapes ticking down, and Hope did not need to guess what that meant. A grunt of power came out of Gwennarius, and everyone fell to their knees as she siphoned their energies "Funnel your life force, your very essence to Richard right now! He cannot will not die!" Arthur, Vivienne, and Hope did as instructed and Hope even felt the very essence of the Rage being taken into whatever piece of Divine spellwork Gwennarius was working on. Richard''s eyes opened and he took a deep breath, Panic set in as the Goddess pulled him with a gesture and placed him outside of the dome. Vivienne and Arthur stared at Hope who gave them a nod, both rushed towards Richard to aid him. "Now, for the main event," There was a smirk in the way She spoke "To think it would come down to this, Kaine and Kaede get ready, Hope you have already learned the spell correct? stand to my side and place both hands upon my back, once we start casting it you will funnel every single drop of energy you have towards me, you will not die but I can''t promise it will be pleasant" the Goddess stared at the eyes of the mortal who in another timeline had killed her. No Hesitation, no fear. "I will give you everything" and she did so. With a nod, the group began casting the spell and Hope saw a miracle happen. Lucrezia''s body floated upwards and was encased upon some sort of glass coffin, focusing on the spell work Hope began the chants and hand gestures together with everyone, and once they reached the end the Goddess turned her head towards her one more time. Hope saw those SIlvery eyes stare at her with a mixture of emotion, she nodded back and placed both palms upon Gwennarius''s back. Calling forth every single iota of power at her disposal she saw echoes of every divine she had interacted with, the avatar of Rage that Malphas had summoned,d and even the very current of mana that flowed from the center of her universe. "Faal, it''s about time you show up" Gwennarius''s voice was the last thing she heard before the world went white, Hope''s mind nearly shattering as she channeled enough energy to birth a star into the Goddess back. Seconds stretched into Infinity as she screamed in pain and fury. And then it was over, Hope found herself floating within a void that stretched endlessly. "Daughter, It is not time for you to die yet" the calm voice of the All-Father washed over her "Apologizes for not saving our dear Lucrezia there, it seems higher forces were at play here and my hands were tied...but a happy ending will not be denied to you, now return to the mortal coil. Much for you and yours to do yet" His voice vanished and Hope felt her body again. "...Hope, Gods above and below woman answer me!" She opened her eyes, Kaine''s face was a mess as tears fell from his eyes, he fell onto the ground next to her "Oh Gods, Oh Gods!" She coughed and extended her arm, Kaine was quick to focus and even with tears still falling helped her get on her feet, the others were staring at a... In the middle of the spell formation, where the dome of power that the Goddess had deployed was a beautifully done glass coffin, Lucrezia''s body lay within it. Hope could faintly see the spell and divine formulas halting time itself to keep her alive, she choked at the sight and tried to rush towards her friend, but her legs were weak. Kaine helped her move, and she saw Arthur and Kaede holding Richard up. He was a mess, and his face showed telltale signs of crying. Hope felt powerless as she watched the somber sight. "Gwennarius vanished after a while, Lucrezia is outside of the river of time for now until we find a way to purge whatever curse the bow placed on her, Richard will be fine within a few days as his body and soul acclimates to your combined essences" Kaine explained, yet Hope could hear the rage lurking beneath his words. "War, I will have a war over this, and Gods will strike me down if anyone dares to stop me!" Arthur spoke. We must gather our friends. I will petition Father for support, and we will hunt down that vile woman. The sin of Kinslaying will not stop me!" He felt Kaine''s hand hold his shoulder. "Old friend, your father already knows, and as we speak, he rallies the loyal troops. Make no mistake, this will end with Malphas, and those two despicable women''s heads on pikes, and their bodies nailed to the walls of the castle" Kaine spoke and everyone nodded. Hope''s core burned, the worst had been avoided at great cost. Within her heart of hearts, she made a promise, that when the time came she would be the one who dealt the killing blow, vengeance would be hers, forevermore. Chapter 106: The Burning of the Capital "Anointed on the blood of father and son, mother and daughter. Friend and neighbor, Coworker and Random passerby We are reminded of the one truth of this mortal realm, this coil of unending suffering and despair! That we are made for violence, for cruelty and slaughter, let none say otherwise, let none halt your righteous fury! We will be as pure as the All-Father intended for this holy day!" Unnamed Divine who had domain over the Sphere of Violence, except recorded before her death at the hands of Queen Malphas. The streets of Fair Aaar Yrthaar, the jewel of the New World and the Capital of the Fair Kingdom of Vermilion, burned and were consumed by flame. Fire, both manmade and magical, sometimes even from Divine or Hellish sources, scoured the streets as bitter fighting engulfed the people and their Gods across the entire country. Lady Ursa Morgoth, Matriarch of the Morgoth family, felt the cold handle of her old rapier on her left hand. Five times, she had been ambushed by the Forces loyal to King Jason and Lucrezia. The last two of those ambushed had what remained of her "guard" exterminated with such an economy of force and such ferocious means that she did not know how she had lived through them. The noise, she couldn''t forget the noise as the skies boomed with the enemies dropping out of metal boxes right on top of them, Armored Warriors unlike the ones she knew Lucrezia had in her armed forces, these behemoths stood taller than an ogre, and faster than a Dire Horse as they slammed into her convoy, Her men were just that, regular Knights, Trained to the best of her means and abilities but... The enemy didn''t even gloat, So clinical and sterile the attacks were that she thought she was under the attack of a mind mage! But she knew better. These were Lucrezia''s men, and they wanted one thing; Blood. Her own and that of her blasted daughter may the hells take her and put her to work on some blasted torture device or something of the sort. Reaching an empty building, what looked like an abandoned baker Ursa took a minute to breathe, With enough applications of Earth-based stealth-focused spells she managed to dodge her pursuers at the grave cost of an entire platoon worth of Kights. The sun began falling upon the city as she stared out of the window and beheld the floating ships raining down hellfire upon the land. "This is my city, I''ve lived among its people for 5 decades. I will not can not let this continue!" She spoke to no one, the Horrifying idea of what it would take to appease the King and Lucrezia''s forces. Twilight came as Ursa stared at the skies "In All-Father''s holy name I will stop this" she prayed, a small quiet prayer to no one other than herself. And then another Sun blossomed upon the Twilight Skies, and Urse understood at last the dire situation she and everyone else was in when a beam of pure light lit up the skies as if the sun was rising, only to zig-zag across the realm and hit the ground with such force, such noise that she felt her eardrums rupture, her skin boil and the last healing enchantment upon her clothes kick in to keep her from dying. Floating just by the side of the new moon was a terrifying amalgamation of Steel and Crystal, Lucrezia''s Ace in the hole for her upcoming now-halted crusade effort unleashed upon the land.
Princess Emilya Paced around her Quarters in the palace, Her Magenta Squad watching her with nonplussed faces as the Elven woman psyched herself up to go talk with their Ruler. "Lady Emilya, are you sure?" Veronica asked "Once you do this there will be no going back you understand? Not from your Parents, nor the men and women of fair Grannarius, All that you have scorned and forsaken" The Elven Commander looked at her with a look that was hard to decipher, Pride, hints of worry, and maybe even a bit of sadness? Emilya Knew, deep in her heart that Veronica also wanted to live as a proper elf once, tree and everything. Alas, the call of war was stronger and in that,t she found herself time and time again. Closing her eyes, Emilya recalled the face of Lady Lucrezia, the woman who had saved her and her faith. Sent by her God Himself, a driven woman, a faithful prophet, and above all else a kind friend. "When she confronted me to meet my parents, she went red up to her ears because of my reaction you know?" Emilya spoke to no one in particular "To see her in that Coffin Veronica, maybe now I understand. I understand why Mother and Father do the things they do, wage war upon their enemies like they do, WIth fury and fire, and no mercy" Emilya stared out the window, the streets of her Capital flourished with Magi-Tech as her parents and state propaganda hailed her the Envoy of Manufacture. "Aaar Yrthaar burns, and Ra''Tyrius as my witness I will not let who did that to Lucrezia walk" Emilya grabbed Veronica''s hand "I know you feel the same" She could feel the trembling hand of Veronica, for she had seen how bad Richard, the human she was pinning for had gone through and Emilya knew Veronica would spare no effort to avenge him. Both women had a silent moment together before a Palace Guard came to fetch them, the man bowed as he made a particular gesture meaning Emilya''s Parents were ready for the meeting she had requested. As the trio moved Emilya felt her Greater Blessing quiver every few seconds, as if something was about to happen... The Throne room looked different, she beheld the huge crystal panel above the ceiling showing images from all over the Kingdom of Grannarius. It''s people going about their daily lives as if their neighbor wasn''t in the throes of war, an odd sight to behold in such clarity but one she had grown used to. After all, it was her and Idun who perfected this particular piece of Magi-Tech, still, she felt it needed more improvements, especially on the absurd costs of both crystals and raw mana to power it. The scene shifted as the women made their way to the two thrones, a sea of fire and hailstorm together with flashes of arcane light and the screams of warriors dying. Rage was clear in their voices as Emilya''s parents displayed honest-to-goodness smiles at the sight. Above the warfare on the streets were mighty airships of a particular design, their cannons and drop bays emptying themselves in real-time as the glint of crystal shone against the backdrop of twilight. "The crazy woman did it after all, she went after the prize cow even after every God and man alive told her to stay her blade" Her father spoke with savage glee in his voice "Look at that, it took months of open aggression for them to muster an army against us, but the second Lucrezia falls they are already throwing the big guns! Oh to be driven by revenge and fury, Mortals truly are the greatest gift and a blessing upon this world" Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Her mother was also in a merry mood "I was told the little mage pet your Lady keeps gave that Malphas a good run for her money, the Monster has gotten sloppy with age it seems, she used to eat Chronomancers for dinner when we waged war on her and her people. But then again this is no mere two-bit mage, what a sight. To think that little girl would bring such joy to us!" she pointed towards another image "See those? Strongholds that will follow Malphas to the bitter end, all entrenched across the south of Vermilion, the Old Nag had time to fortify her revolt it seems" "Unbelievable, we never reached the capital and now it burns like old wood in summer..., dear daughter of mine, what can we do for you in this most joyful of days? I assume this is more than a social call to check up on your parents?" Her father asked as she felt a spike of energy from her Grater Blessing again, her eyes widening in awe as she turned towards the crystal image. Lucrezia''s Space Habitat, her weapons platform shone with the fury only her creations could shine as multiple beams of pure mana, refined via the most advanced of Magi-Tech means meant for total slaughter slammed into the ground. Zig-zagging on the air as if being controlled and killing countless as the sheer pressure of the impact leveled buildings and burned people to their very shadows. Emilya could not believe what she saw as the image focused and the people around were also vaporized, and their shadows burned into the remaining pavement. There was no mirth in the throne room anymore. Even her parents knew this was a game-changer. The gamechanger Emilya thought to herself as she turned towards the couple. "By right of birth, I hereby claim the title of General-Commander of the Armed Forces of Fair Grannarius, to avenge my Prophet Lady Lucrezia Sommer Wulfgrem, Chosen of Ra''Tyrius and Spiritual Liege of His Church" Emilya steadied herself as she cast a spell, her clothes shifting into a full plate of armor, her left hand holding a Warhammer "It is with arm aloft, and rage on my very soul that I claim the country, it''s people and it''s bounty for a Holy Crusade in the Name of Lucrezia, and Ra''Tyrius" She then felt it, a particular sensation she only felt twice in her life, when her parents dropped their masks for a second and the beasts behind it made themselves visible to their daughter. Hunger. Boredom. Glee. Wrath. Pride. Emilya wanted to cry, so much work was done to avoid this. To dodge her fate as the Daughter of these two Monsters clad in flesh and bone, and yet...She knew it now, sometimes the Sword had to speak, the Hammer had to break and the Spear had to impale for the good of the world to come out, bathed in the blood of enemy and innocent alike. Her Father conjured a mighty Warhorn, she had seen it and the knowledge of its meaning was burned upon her mind, the moment she placed her lips upon that Horn and let loose the sound that was nested inside. Grannarius would move as one for her and her alone. War would make its glorious return to these lands and the Children of Vermilion would once again remember why they feared the woods. Emilya, together with Veronica moved towards the Beast that held the horn, with a bow she grabbed it and made her way to the great balcony that overlooked the city. With a deep breath, she placed the horn on her lips and blew it, once, then twice as the noise overtook the entire palace and expanded forwards. The people of Grannarius stopped what they were doing and faced it. A tide of war cries washed over Emilya''s body and soul, she felt the very beast inside of her sharpening its teeth and licking its lips, for once in her life it would be let loose. And carnage would follow it.
Upon the southern shores of the Kingdom of Vermilion, a bitter fight had sprawled into complete warfare as the forces loyal to Malphas tried to hold out against what had to be the single biggest armada in the world. The full might of the Imperium was being thrown at these forsaken souls and what the men and women saw was nothing short of pure terror. Even the Raiders of the Old World had joined in the chaos, their loyalty pledged to Lucrezia and her lot. Spirits cloaked in awe-inspiring armor laid waste to the very earth beneath them as the chokehold on the women who had mortally wounded Lucrezia and their ringleader closed bit by bit. The footmen and lower command structure of Malphas''s forces cursed their lot, but they were in for the long hall or the long queue. News from the northern front also spooked them as information trickled down about the bulk of Wulfgrem''s forces, including the nightmare that was being called Hope''s Hammer they were calling it, a weapon platform made to be used in the Duchess''s crusade across the stars. Test fired to deadly aftereffects to anyone not caught within the weapon''s radius. The poor souls who had been hit had a one-way express ticket to the Long Queue. Their noose was closing in fast, Malphas herself was trying to retake the capital but the last communication with High Command there was grim, Dwarven and Orcish forces were hamming into their supply lines, and rumor was that even the Principality elves would be sending in their airships to stamp out the revolt. Grannarius was making moves as well and the beleaguered men and women pledged to Malphas felt the weight of the world crushing them down. A week had gone by and the fighting had gotten even more grim. Malphas had surfaced near the outskirts of the Capital only to be ambushed by Lucrezia''s friends, the damage had been so extensive to the region that rebuilding efforts would need to be done at nearly all levels of society to undo the damage, the southern devils of Grannarius had came for blood as well. An army so massive that Malphas herself had to summon demons and other abominations made out of unsanctioned necromancy to halt their march. Amongst the interlopers of this horrid war was the old matriarch of Clan Morgoth. Ursa had escaped the capital and now was being kept in a fancy hideaway meant for nobles. Her Daughter and that accursed Mava paced around in delirious fever waiting for Malphas to deliver them their "beloved" Prince Arthur, never mind the fact the man himself had tried to kill his mother more than once... Her dreams were plagued by the beam of pure energy that nearly killed her, by the sight of her eldest daughter impaled into the walls of the Capital as she made her escape after surviving the weapon. All of her Magical Items meant to keep her safe, enough potions and healing salves to resuscitate a corpse and godsdamned luck carried her to this place. Or perhaps not luck. Ursa felt her arm shake once again as the wave of emotion and feeling made her lose her footing, She had snooped around and knew that the Queen would soon make a last-ditch effort to kill Lucrezia, and once she failed and Ursa knew the woman would fail she and her progeny would be next in the chopping block. And so she hatched a plan, a simple and quiet plan that ill befitted the warfare around her. In the dead of the Night as her Daughter and Mava slept she sneaked into the room where the legacy of her family was kept. The Sacred Bow was in its tainted form and its Spirit Within begging for death. Ursa wept for the saged being who had helped her and her clan for so many years and with the ease of a priest, performed a particular rite given to her by her grandmother. "Be free, Join the Long Queue, and do not suffer any more" she spoke as the light ended and the weapon only held the taint of the outer cosmos within, with a wave of her hand she grabbed it via magical means and sealed it into simple dimensional storage. With a tug of her mana reserves, she exploded the chest inwards, casting the Sacred Relic into the realm of whoever was in charge of dimensions. Ursa made her way to the room with the two women, who still slept soundly and smiled a wicked grin. The drug had worked and not even the side effects of losing the bound to the Bow would wake her daughter up. "For Vermilion, Her People and King Jason" Ursa spoke as she closed her eyes and took a long deep breath. Two slashes flew as she made a simple ornate iron blade appear in her hand, there would be no words uttered in this grim task as Ursa snapped her fingers and cauterized their necks to avoid more blood spillage, with a few gestures she had both bodies floating behind her, and their heads frozen in blissful sleep kept fresh with a ice spell. She walked for what felt like hours until the walls of the Capital appeared over the horizon, it didn''t take long before she was spotted as Spirits and flying machines patrolled the skies, and the noise they made when they spotted her would be yet another nightmare to keep her by. Should she survive this mess anyway. Aaar Yrthaar was destroyed, and only Her fair Walls remained, Ursa marched on and the people followed. Only Malphas remained now.