Care, child. Steel yourself. Valtrya jerked visibly at the intrusion into her mind if it was an intrusion at all. “Val?” Her Benjamin was just stepping into one of the royal carriages behind her and Viola. Val just stared between her mate and her sister, “I… I’m ok…. bad feeling.” She whispered, focusing on fiddling with the straps of her armor while trying to ignore the penetrating gaze of a concerned Viola. Their weapons were conspicuously absent as part of their ‘status’ as prisoners, but their Armor was more easily smuggled in under a heavy coat and the excuse of being a “softer race” unaccustomed to the cooler temperatures.
“I don’t blame you.” Benjamin groaned, leaning his head back on the side of the carriage. “Fuuuck..” Her Benjamin was still struggling to regain his strength. He had worked as hard as he was able, but the cramped ship provided little space for any true endurance or strength training. Val gave her Benjamin a worried look, but he only shrugged, “I’m ok, I just… Don’t remember the armor being this heavy…” She watched him shift in his seat, but his eyes were elsewhere, “The guards, watch them. Something is off.” Val turned to the gathering horde of Aquilar citizens, barely held back by serious-looking Palace guards.
He's right, child. I choose not my champion on strength alone. Val managed to suppress another flinch, looking out of the open carriage. The Guards were doing their job, but the odd glance, and passing subtle aversion to her gaze sank a cold stone into her gut Ah, you see… I have chosen well, for a second time. Val pulled her cloak more tightly around her, ‘Goddess I… how.’ Val’s thoughts were interrupted by a flash of… something… from her sister. Viola was not watching the guards, she was watching her sister. Val opened her mouth to speak, but no words left them. She found herself unable to tell her sister what she wished to. “Ready yourselves,” Benjamin spoke quietly, breaking the silence. “I doubt this arrival will be as cordial as the last one.”
The carriage rattled down the main road between the Warf and the Castle, reminding all that weather this far north never truly warmed. Olioorin followed in a second carriage, along with Hirak, as the Massive frozen structure loomed ahead of them. Val looked back at the second carriage, noticing the captain’s pensive gaze, and Hirak’s downright scowling demeanor. Ah, they see it too.
Val turned back to watch them enter the castle’s courtyard. Instantly, the voice in her mind was forgotten. No less than 30 Aquilar Palace guard were lined up along their path, armed and armored. They stood at respectful attention, but She could feel the eyes upon them. Her senses felt ablaze with an almost paranoid energy that screamed at her being. One of their number, the same Aquilar from their initial arrival, stepped up, “Lord Hirak arrives!!” he bawled, gaining a triumphant growling chant from the formation. The head guard stepped up to the carriage holding Hirak and Olioorin, “My Lord, The Lord Regent awaits you. Our orders are to take the prisoners to the hole.”
Instantly, a group of 6 guards rushed Val’s carriage, quickly pulling the three of them over the sides of the open top carriage, slamming a set of heavy chains about their wrists and feet, over top of their heavy coats. Quickly separated, Benjamin, Viola and Val began being dragged toward separate doors. Val felt herself panic, struggling against the binds about her wrists until one of the guards hissed in surprise, pulling his hands away from the iron clasps. The Guard raised his arm to strike Val just before. “HOLD!!” Hirak stormed to the group. The Captain’s head spun in surprise, “My lord, The Lord Regent ordered…”
“The Lord Regent, is the Regent.” Hirak growled, “Captain, what, EXACTLY am I.” The head guard froze stock still Hirak took a single step, his voice low, “What… exactly… am I”
“Lord Hirak, my Lord.” The captain stated quietly, then turned to “Escort the Prisoners with Lord Hirak to the Throne room. Leave them chained.” Hirak nodded, “Thank you, Captain.” then turned sharply and marched for the main entrance. The 6 guards held them tightly, but Val noticed that the guard next to her had her firmly by the arm, and was no longer holding her chains. She could feel her sister’s panic. Their being bound had not been part of the plan. Thankfully, the guards tempered their handling of them in front of their Lord, but the promise of violence was ever present as they walked the pykrete halls towards a familiar set of doors.
“Lord Regent! Hirak returns!” the Herald called, opening the doors to see Lord Regent Quiiruu awaited them, standing next to the throne room chair, “Lord Hirak! It is good to see you alive.” His eyes flitted to the guards, and their bound captives, “I must hear of it. But first, we must dispense with these..” he waved at Vi, Val, and Benjamin. “infiltrators…” a group of no less than a dozen guards, The same guards from that escorted them from the harbor, appeared through a secondary entrance behind the throne itself, Val tensed when the set expressions and expectant grim smirks registered. “Hold them still, make this quick.”
Suddenly, three of the new group of guards snapped off from their formation, grabbing both Hirak and Olioorin tightly, “What is the meaning of this!” Olioorin growled. Struggling violently right up until a crossbow leveled at his chest. “Oh, I’m afraid that an infiltrator was allowed past the guards, killing Lord Hirak in the process before we could subdue them.” Quiiruu sneered. His demeanor changed instantly. “Luckily. The H’mure infiltrator was already wounded, and weak when he arrived.” Quiiruu whipped an item out from his cloak, a crude clunky double-barrelled pistol with an oversized set of percussion locks… and fired.
Val cried out as both rounds struck Benjamin’s chest, the acrid taste of burned gunpowder and smoke searing her throat as Benjamin slumped over with but a grunt. “Kill them all,” Quiiruu turned to step toward the throne itself but was interrupted by a deep chuckle from Benjamin, “I was wondering if you had stolen from me.” He grunted, standing fully before his chains shattered to the floor. The guards who had come from outside had taken several steps back, confused as to what to do, and Benjamin acted. He reached out with his right arm, grinning as he recognized the royal guard's recent upgrade from boiled leather breastplates, to iron. In a moment, three of the traitor guardsmen fell, their breastplates crushed in upon them. It was an old tactic, but Benjamin’s mind was already alight with the effort of…. A crossbow arrow was loosed at Olioorin, and Benjamin saw his second opportunity. Do you see, child the voice in Val’s soul pulled her from her panic as new strings of light and ribbons of power revealed themselves to her sight for the first time. you see.
Benjamin ripped the energy from the flying crossbow bolt, its path faltering until it clattered to the ground. With his other hand, he pulled at the fragments of his binds still lying upon the floor. He transferred the energy into those chards and released them toward the traitors. All but two bounced off the guardmen’s new armor, but those two found the throats of their victims. Benjamin’s mind could do no more. A sharp spike slammed into the side of his head from within, and he fell to one knee with a cry. “He falters! Finish the job!” Quiiruu bellowed, drawing a small pouch from his robes in an attempt to reload his crude pistol. “Rally, those loyal to Lord Hirak!” Olioorin had shaken himself loose, and drawn his sword, “suffer not traitors to…”
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Valtrya’s mind was ablaze, she saw everything you see, child, you see the voice chanted, ‘I see.. but, what must I do..’ you must yet live the phrase ignited something in Val’s soul, the memory of her conversation with the goddess flooding her consciousness “what.. what am I..” Val breathed, no word returned to her, but she had the answer. We, my child. What are We.
Benjamin groaned as he tried to stand. His mind swirled in agony, overexerted, and only partially recovered from its own injuries. He stood, trying to focus, trying to get back into the fight, but a new stab of fresh searing electrical energy almost drove him back to his knees. Dread and anger flooded his consciousness as the realization of his impending death, and the death of those he cared for, drew closer too…. A violet wave of unfathomable heat slammed into him from the other side, and he looked just in time to see Valtrya, or someone who looked like Valtrya, engulfed in an enraged inferno of Violet holocaust. Her chains melted instantly, and her heavy coat incinerated next. Valtrya left the ground, hovering two feet above the now rapidly melting pykrete floor, “ENOUGH!” Her voice, now a combination of two voices, cut through the melee. The traitor guardsmen turned on her, but a flick of her wrist set them ablaze, dying an agonizing death by pyre. “Enough” she stated again, and the pistol in Quiiruu’s right hand melted, burning him badly, and setting off the crude powder flask in his left, removing three fingers.
Then, the violet floating pyre shifted, its flames contouring themselves to her still-armored body. The violet lightened, changing as it formed, and Benjamin breathed in a horrified realization as a familiar golden glow and flaming gown formed about the body of his beloved Val, “I will not suffer evil to thrive.” For the first time in almost a millennium, Suelin showed herself in the mortal realm. Her form was long remembered in tales of myth and legend, and every being inside the throne room fell to their knees before her… save Benjamin.
“Hear me, Aquilar of the Ascendency. A time of great strife is upon us. I will say this simply. This being is not of this existence, but he is MINE!” The last word shook the entire room. “MY champion to stem the tide of Evil incarnate! He does indeed bleed iron. But let it be known that it shall take a new fire, a righteous fire, to fight the inferno that comes for all innocent beings.”
“My lady… I had no id..” Quiiruu was silenced as his fur ignited from the pure hatred inside the gaze of the sun itself. “You knew all, and conspired with the same evil in hopes to be spared from it.” Quiiruu howled in pain, rolling on the ice floor in a vain attempt to quench himself of the inferno. “You knew of and aided the Necromancer in the Pass, The Pirate leader’s letter still abides in your desk.” The heat on Quiiruu’s skin intensified, the subdermal fatty tissue his species used as a bulwark against the ice cold oceans bubbling behind charred strands of fur and blistering skin. “You would gift those monsters the breach to return to their atrocities!”
At that moment, the Captain of the guard from the courtyard, and 30 guards burst into the doors, falling to their knees at the sight, “Take your Lord Regent,” Suelin ordered, her voice a tightly controlled fury, “For he has attempted to take the life of my champion. He has attempted to take the life of your Lord, and he has attempted to take the life of my Oracle.
The Captain of the guard stood, “At once, Goddess.” 15 of his guards followed him, while the other half moved to encircle the surviving traitor guardsmen. Suelin held her incinerating gaze upon Quiiruu until the captain of the guard reached him, reducing him to a quivering mess of blistering charred flesh completely devoid of fur. The blazing being turned back toward Benjamin, finding a mix of fear, anger, and loss carved into desperate eyes. ‘he thinks me gone’ Val thought, watching all of this through Suelins gaze as she approached Benjamin, “My Champion,” She whispered in Suelin’s voice, but a spectator in her own body. “Be at peace, your beloved possesses a soul equal to your own.”
Benjamin tried to glare at Suelin, but the shock and horror of watching Val disappear marred his valiant attempt, “What have you done, to her.” Val’s soul burned at the loss in his voice Show him, my child. See, with OUR eyes. Show him, you yet live. Val found her body under her control again, and Benjamin gasped. The Blazing golden glow of Suelin morphed in front of him, returning to the brilliant violet. This time Val felt her control over the power swirling about her. She settled herself to the floor in front of her Benjamin, bending the flames to her form, taking the time to duplicate her likeness. She reached out with one hand, withdrawing the flames from her fingertips, “My Benjamin..” she whispered in her own voice, “I live, I am here. She is here with me now.” He fingertips reached his cheek, brushing away a single escaping tear, “I am still me. I am just… more, somehow.”
Val took a deep breath, willing the surges of power flowing about her to withdraw inside her own body. Slowly, the violet flames faded, flickering and dying to reveal her and her armor in perfect condition, and she watched her Benjamin search her eyes for signs of the woman he loved. Slowly a profound relief washed over his face, pulling her into an embrace before turning to Hirak and Olioorin. “Get this filth to a healer, and the rest to the hole,” Hirak spat. “Find me the ambassador and her consort, and get my honored guests our best rooms for their species.” He turned to Benjamin, “Your women appear capable of greater surprises than your own. Take them, and rest. I must discover the depths of my uncle's treachery before we meet again.” He bowed slightly before departing.
More members of the guard from outside began filing in, giving the three of them a wide berth upon being told what had happened. Val was treated like a deity, bowed to, and reverently escorted to a spacious set of quarters where their belongings quickly followed. Benjamin entered the lavish room first, still paranoid of any threat. Soon Vi and Val followed. Viola quietly closed the door, “Goddess, can someone tell me what is, VAL!!” Her exasperation turned into a cry of panic as Val fell to her knees, succumbing to the exhaustion and fatigue now that they were in private. Benjamin scooped her up, grunting in effort as atrophied muscles screamed under the strain. He managed to still get her into the bed, and Viola helped him get Val out of her armor, and more comfortably ensconced into the thick bedding, “I’m.. I’m ok. Just tired,” Val mumbled, “I’ve never felt anything like that before. It’s draining, controlling all of that.” She smiled up at Benjamin, “Now I understand what you felt when you made the cannons and after the Galleon... what?”
“Your speech, Val,” Viola spoke softly, “It’s perfect, no pauses, no stuttering.” Val’s eyes widened a moment, “I guess, it is. Words are easier now. I don’t feel like I have a fog hiding what I wish to say.” Benjamin’s concern still creased his face but eased at her explanation. “Ok…ok… Rest now, They’ve returned our weapons. I’m going to go check them.” Benjamin checked their pistols first, finding them untouched and loaded before handing one of the gun belts to Vi. Viola strapped the belt to her waist, deciding to keep her armor on until their safety was more firmly affirmed. He was just checking his rifle when their doors opened again. Both he and Vi swung their weapons at the door just to lower them at the sight of Vilora and Jukha, “Oh thank the goddess!” Vilora rushed to meet them, flying headlong into Viola for a tight hug before looking around them. “We feared the worse. They’ve been keeping us confined to our rooms… They still won’t tell us what happened. Guards are fighting guards outside. We were told to come to you and stay put.”
“Quiiruu tried to Kill Hirak and the rest of us in the throne room.” Benjamin explained, passing Val’s pistol to Jukha, “6 rounds, just pull the trigger,” he offered before turning back to the Farie, “Lord Hirak and Olioorin don’t know who to trust.” Vilora sighted, “I hope we didn’t just set off another civil war.” The room quieted for a moment, the occasion muted shout or clash of weapons punctuating their predicament until a quick set of oddly professional thumps echoed on the door. “Who goes!” Jukha barked, “Olioorin, Lord Hirak sent me.”
Benjamin nodded to Jukha who opened the door slowly to reveal the Aquilar sea captain, a fresh if superficial cut oozing semi-dried blood from his jaw. “My lady,” he bowed deeply to Vilora, “Hirak had carried the castle. It appears that his uncle did not have the power base he believed. It is why he risked blaming my Lords death upon the Champion” his eyes flitted to Valtrya, still resting in the bed, but now sitting upright. “The last of the traitors are being rounded up as we speak, and my lord thanks yourselves, and the Oracle for his life. I have brought my trusted men from the ship. They shall be your guards tonight, but you must stay in this room. We do not yet know who we can trust.” He turned to face Valtrya, “Oracle,” He bowed, “Champion.” he turned to Benjamin with a second bow and then departed.
“Oracle?” Viola slowly turned to Val, who was settling back down into the bedding. She fluttered up to Val, landing next to her and placing a hand on her forehead, and another on her chest. The Vin’s wings glowed bright green for a long moment before pulling back in sudden profound shock. “Oh, my dear. What have you done…”
