Another limitation of Clairvoyance showed itself as K’Lan led her through the Giant’s holding. While the Perception Skill worked, she couldn’t improve her eyesight, and True Sight likewise didn’t extend through it. Her knowledge had allowed her to determine what effects the runes were anchoring, but their effectiveness wasn’t clear. Now inside, it became apparent how many details—tiny and important alike—her combined skills had missed. The wards anchored by the runes had been in place, continually maintained by the Clan, for centuries. When K’Lan paused for a moment in an inner corridor, a door that Amdirlain hadn’t seen during her mental explorations opened seamlessly at a touch.
The corridor’s acid-polished wood appeared unmarred by the construction, and Amdirlain hesitated on the threshold. A short passageway ended at a circular chamber, with a containment circle drawn within its circumference. A young Giantess covered in sweat occupied a bed in its centre, tossing about in the grip of a nightmare. Though she was taller than Amdirlain, the bed she lay on made her seem tiny in comparison. Someone had recently changed her clothes, but their fibres showed a creeping tide of sweat stains. She shared the colouration of the other Giants, but the greenish-brown hues of her skin gleamed with the light reflecting off the sweat. Her veins and muscles stood out in stark relief as if she were a bodybuilder, having shredded before a competition.
Flaws within the containment wards were apparent in True Sight, and Amdirlain could see how she’d be able to force her way out. The wards started at the edge of the inner chamber, so Amdirlain moved forward only to their outer limit. K’Lan moved to stand next to her, tension showing in her frame.
“You’re worried even with the egg?” asked Amdirlain.
“The draught might not be ready in time. I’ll need to slay what remains. At that point, it will have already consumed her Soul. She will not exist to add to the Clan, even in her afterlife,” K’Lan stated, grief soaking her voice.
Amdirlain looked at K’Lan’s daughter with Soul Sight, and the battle wounds she’d already taken from the parasite showed clearly. Here and there, among the injuries, veins of black infection showed, but her Soul’s glow still concealed whatever was inside her.
“What is the draught intended to do?” enquired Amdirlain as she looked up at K’Lan.
“It will flood my daughter’s body with Mana, but the Demon won’t wish to share. It will consume it all, and the Ancestors will see it glowing inside her. That is when they’ll attack,” explained K’Lan, fighting to keep her composure.
“Does she ever wake up?”
“No, I gave her medicine to hold her asleep, though it does little to ease her dreams,” K’Lan said, her words strained. “I wash and tend her; no other should take the risk. “
“The options I see outside your draught are: I can try to extract the Demon from her Soul myself; saturate the room with energy it can’t stand, which should destroy it; or we temporarily move her to a higher Plane which will destroy it.”
“Higher Plane?”
The mild question from K’Lan didn’t match the extent of confusion in her expression.
“You know what Planes are?” asked Amdirlain, baffled at the situation.
“Of course, this is the Plane of Suffering where the Ancestors led us for our failure to save the world that gave birth to us,” recited K’Lan, frowning when Amdirlain interrupted.
“Not according to what I understand. Other people on your homeworld opened a Portal that let Demons onto it. Your Ancestors led you here to escape an invasion force they had no hope of standing against,” Amdirlain said softly. “I don’t know why they remained here, but perhaps they didn’t know how to get anywhere else safely.”
“How do you know such a thing?” K’Lan asked warily, her gaze narrowing as suspicion brushed grief aside. “I thought you were a stranger to our people.”
“It’s a talent, the same as seeing Souls,” Amdirlain countered. “Another talent allowed me to learn your tongue without a teacher.”
“Everyone speaks this language,” asserted K’Lan. “Why would they not?”
“No, it’s why my name was so difficult for your people to say; it’s not from your language,” explained Amdirlain.
“Such is easy to say and hard to prove,” resisted K’Lan, her tone edged in steel.
“I mean no offence. With what you’ve said, I’m worried a misunderstanding has kept you all on this Plane. I would see all, both Ancestor and living, to safety,” Amdirlain said softly. “Are the oldest Ancestors still about? Could you ask them?”
“There are none among us; the original eight Clans care for them,” declared K’Lan.
“Have you ever talked to one of them?”
K’Lan’s laugh was all the answer she needed, but Amdirlain waited till she calmed.
“My grandfather’s father was Head Shaman before me, and. . .” K’Lan got out as her expression turned grim.
“Died in an ill-omened way,” Amdirlain said, hoping that was safe to say. “My condolences for your Clan’s loss.”
K’Lan’s eyes widened in surprise, and Amdirlain continued softly.
“I can see things, and I mean no insult. I understand it is painful for an outsider to raise such subjects, but we need to clear this matter between us.”
“Yes, an ill-omened way; their guards would never allow one from our Clan to approach their homes. Let alone allow access to the Eldest Ancestors,” declared K’Lan fiercely.
“From what I know, your Ancestors fled from an invasion as it was their only chance of survival,” Amdirlain stated. “Your world gave birth to you; that’s true. But wouldn’t you prefer your children outlive you?”
“Who would not?” K’Lan said, her confused gaze not having left Amdirlain.
“How good a chance does the draught represent for her? I can use your circle and re-enforce it with a spell to conceal the energies, then open a Gate to allow you to feel them,” Amdirlain explained. “Your circle will keep a Demon in, but it’ll give off energies that Demons close by might sense and certainly not like. Neither you nor your daughter would need to go through it. You’d be able to feel its energies, and those energies might affect the Demon in your daughter without even crossing the threshold. Hopefully, enough to destroy it or cause it to flee. Do you wish me to show you?”
K’Lan looked torn but quickly decided and stepped into the passageway. When she called N’lan’s name, the call was repeated by others, and she simply waited until he arrived.
“Would you risk yourself for K’cai again?”
“What do I need to do?” N’lan asked without hesitation.
“A has a proposal to help, but I can’t betray the Clan by taking the risk myself,” K’Lan said. “Would you stand in the circle with your sister so you might feel the energies she allows into our home?” The matter-of-fact nod N’lan gave in response clarified the explanation was for Amdirlain’s benefit, not his.
Amdirlain looked over the circle around the chamber’s edge and stepped over it carefully. The ward’s energies brushed over her like stepping through a shop’s air curtain and caused no harm. The circle’s response felt somehow more alive once she was entirely inside, making her wonder if K’Lan had felt anything. When N’lan followed her inside with no objection from K’Lan, Amdirlain quickly settled a concealment spell in place. When the Gate formed,, Arvandor’s energies washed across K’cai. Though they made Amdirlain’s skin itch, the reaction from K’cai was extreme. The young Giantess convulsed and thrashed around, writhing away from the open Gate the moment its energy touched her. N’lan dropped to his knees and struggled to restrain her convulsive movements as she screamed. The moment he came near, the spectral grub peeked from her chest; its mandibles twitched as its essence boiled.
Before it had the chance to withdraw into K’cai or jump to N’lan, Amdirlain lashed out. Ki Infusion sheathed the tentacle that speared through the grub’s head. Ki interacted with the entity as if it was solid. Amdirlain twisted the tentacle into a hook and pulled it forth. Ki energy shimmered around both limb and Demon for a moment before it disintegrated when she ran Destruction Mana into her Ki. The flash of light illuminated the chamber clearly and let K’Lan see K’cai’s pain being erased by Arvandor’s energies now the Demon was removed.
“That is a Higher Plane?” K’Lan asked, gesturing at the beautiful trees visible through the Gate.
“One of them; it’s called Arvandor,” explained Amdirlain.
“Are you able to open that easily?” K’Lan asked. When Amdirlain nodded, she continued. “Would you close it so I might check K’cai, please?”
Amdirlain let the Gate close; the instant it had, K’Lan was across the circle. Her spell casting followed the same technique as Amdirlain had once used, and she could see its pattern formed in the air between them.
The hopeful light in K’Lan’s gaze made Amdirlain’s smile broaden, causing N’lan to frown. Realizing her mistake, she closed her mouth and covered it with a hand.
“Sorry, different culture. Smiling with teeth showing isn’t threatening where I come from,” Amdirlain mumbled.
K’Lan laughed as she cradled K’cai’s head and drew back an eyelid—the sound of her laughter distracted N’lan from Amdirlain’s faux pas.
“Her eyes are no longer bloodshot,” proclaimed K’Lan, relief trembling in her voice.
“The energy from the Plane would have helped her partly recover,” suggested Amdirlain, and N’lan nodded.
“It felt peaceful, like the glow from your hands today,” stated N’lan.
“Would you like me to heal her further?” asked Amdirlain.
“You’ve already spent much effort on my daughter, A,” said K’Lan, contemplating her.
“I enjoy helping others,” Amdirlain reassured her and when K’Lan hesitated, added. “It’s a talent I have for healing. I recover its use easily, unlike any potion or medicines you might use. It’s best to make sure there aren’t any lingering effects from the Demon.”
When K’Lan nodded, Amdirlain knelt beside K’cai and let the Ki energy wash across her, wondering how old the Giantess was, considering she was only slightly taller than herself. It didn’t take long with the Ki energy before she was fully healed—physically, at least. As she focused Soul Sight on her again, Amdirlain winced at the chewed appearance of her Soul, though the wounds no longer looked sickened.
“Take her back to her bedroom, N’lan. I need to discuss some things with A,” directed K’Lan.
When N’lan crossed the circle cradling K’cai, it got a pleased nod from K’Lan. As soon as they’d left, she broke the circle’s line, then moved and closed the door.
“Now, you will no longer have trouble crossing it. Though I wish to speak in private and noises in here do not leave,” explained K’Lan, gesturing to a stool just outside the circle’s edge.
“So you felt my effect on the circle’s barrier when I passed through it,” acknowledged Amdirlain before she sat floating in mid-air.
“Indeed, it was a trap for Demonic entities,” confirmed K’Lan. “Though its allies would not have been able to enter it. Why did you risk it?”
“Honestly, it wouldn’t have held me; I’m not a Demon. I could have switched Planes—or broken out if I wanted to stay. The circle would have been effective against many lesser Demons, but it wouldn’t have held entities from anywhere else,” offered Amdirlain honestly.
Even when I was, it wouldn’t have held me.
“Why tell me?” murmured K’Lan, blinking in surprise.
“You deserve to know that any mistakes in trapping such entities are dangerous,” Amdirlain said. “It’s easier to keep them out of somewhere than trap them unless it’s made with them specifically in mind. Why did you let your son cross the circle?”
“If you wanted him dead, why would you have killed the rock worm?” replied K’Lan.
“Will you listen to what I have to say?”
At Amdirlain’s question, K’Lan sat on the stool she’d indicated earlier, her hands clenched tight as she responded.
“First, you should know that my Clan will probably die out. I need to keep it alive, not only for my sake but for the Ancestors. While K’cai has the talent, the Demon got inside her because she disobeyed instructions, and her will proved too frail to force it out afterwards,” explained K’Lan. “Now that she has hosted one for so long, she will be vulnerable to others.”
“They can’t just move onto other Clans?” enquired Amdirlain, not mentioning the exodus from her Analysis.
“If another’s Ancestors adopt them, then they will no longer belong to this Clan. When I die, unless another Shaman is a member of this Clan, all our Clan’s Ancestors will be lost to this place,” said K’Lan grimly.
“That’s a lot of Souls depending on your choices,” said Amdirlain.
“Many more than you have seen,” K’Lan stated. “Alone, I cannot support bonds with all the Ancestors at once, so they rest within the safety of the Clan’s Hall.”
“If they are willing, I can carry Souls with me to a safe place,” offered Amdirlain hesitantly, uncertain of what would happen to them at Judgement.
“Where would you take them?”
“One option is a Plane called Judgement,” Amdirlain stated, and K’Lan tilted her head at the Celestial name.
“I do not understand what you said, but it sounds peaceful to me.”
“That’s a name in the language of the higher planes. It’s where Souls wait for the Power they worshipped to collect them,” offered Amdirlain. “That is only the first step. I don’t know what their fate would be afterwards. They’d likely end up wherever the concept of Nature exists among the Planes.”
“Are there other choices? And what about the living?”
“Normally on worlds after someone dies, their Soul will find its way to Judgement or the Power they worshipped. Some places—like the Abyss—don’t let Souls go onto Judgement, but there are risks involved for Souls getting to Judgement from another Plane,” explained Amdirlain. “Finding a world you could call home or a more hospitable Plane would still keep your Ancestors from being consumed.”
“Do you call a place home among these higher planes?”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“No, I’m still working my way up to that. At present, my home is in the Outlands; It’s a crossroads between the Planes,” said Amdirlain, with a shrug. “Even though crossroads can be dangerous, there are Mortal settlements. Judgement is within the clouds above it, so once a Soul has reached the Outlands, it just has to reach the portals near the Spire.”
“Would you tell me more about these Outlands?” requested K’Lan. “How do you carry Souls?”
“Can I ask a question first, since you don’t need the eggs for K’cai?” asked Amdirlain. “What will you do with them?”
“We have other uses for their materials,” admitted K’Lan. “They are rich with Mana for the young’s growth.”
“I don’t want the Abyss consuming the young’s Souls. Might I remove them from the eggs, so I can take them onto Judgement?”
* * *
Incense filled the air with a scent of honey and wildflowers, far different to the nose-itching ones Amdirlain remembered from church services. The chamber wasn’t big enough to assemble all the Clan, rather, it was a resting place for their Ancestors. Miniature portraits, stylised plants, and animals were carved from bone inlaid within the pillars set around the hall’s edges. Each glowed with Soul energy bound to tokens representing their former lives. Even the chance of the Abyss consuming the Ancestors’ Souls turned a knife around inside her.
Pulses of energy jumped between K’Lan and an Ancestor she’d called forth from a pillar that looked the newest. It was only the age yellowing of bone that gave any indication of age, given all was kept free from dust and debris. After some time, the link she’d had seen between K’Lan and other Ancestors stabilised, and K’Lan turned to regard Amdirlain.
“My father’s father-brother will go with you and N’Oye. He would prefer to see where you call home before risking Judgement; N’Oye will pass along any messages.”
“I thought you were seeking his advice,” protested Amdirlain.
“I did. He makes his own choices. He hopes your offer is honest, yet if there’s a chance of harming others, he believes one should scout the way. Therefore, he insists on taking the risk, given that it is his advice I sought,” said K’Lan, frustration edging her tone. “Are the Souls calm again inside you?”
“Yes, all settled down inside the Ki,” replied Amdirlain
“Then he is ready to go with you now. I will advise N’Oye,” K’Lan insisted before motioning to the Soul beside her. “This is Ancestor O’Nai.”
Even as K’Lan finished speaking, O’Nai moved near Amdirlain, stooping and gesturing as if to muss her hair. As he reached down, Amdirlain grumbled and intercepted his hand, drawing his Soul quickly inside her as she did. The moment the Ki mist settled around him, a series of bone medallions shattered off the pillar.
“I didn’t expect that,” confessed Amdirlain, looking at K’Lan with concern.
“Once you jump from the branch, you need to land to leap again,” K’Lan said, retrieving the pieces. “I will be back shortly with N’Oye. Don’t worry about the eggs’ remains; they won’t go to waste.”
* * *
N’Oye stepped through the gateway ahead of her, and when Amdirlain followed, she let the Gate close. He moved across the sunlit clearing they stood in and brushed fingertips across leaves.
“The trees are not as tiny as you,” N’Oye said with a wry smirk.
“There are lots of places you’d be able to hide among them,” replied Amdirlain with a flat look. “Honestly, though I’ve seen very little of this Plane, I know there are lots of forests, woodlands, and valleys. Nothing with a tree the size of an Elder tree, however.”
“Will you show us your place or go onto Judgement first?” asked N’Oye, gesturing up to the clouds.
“O’Nai wants to see my home first,” Amdirlain replied, and they stood on a hillside on the edge of her Domain.
Carefully shifting the Ki mists, she released O’Nai from their hold and allowed him to move out of her form. In an instant, the Ancestor became as lifelike as other Petitioners she’d seen here and in Judgement. Analysis revealed details that differed from the Ancestral Spirit information he and the others had shown.
[Name: O’Nai
Entity Type: Petitioner (Jungle Giant - Blood Tear Clan)
Original Home World: Cemna (Exile)]
“Would you like to enter?” Amdirlain asked, unsure of what they’d make of the offer.
“Your invitation honours me; even from here, it feels welcoming,” O’Nai said.
“Your invitation honours me,” echoed N’Oye. “It is strange they have no tree holding their living places.”
More of Tyr’s Vargr Drangijaz were present, along with Valkyries wearing Thor’s symbol—making her wonder if her Domain had gained a mead hall.
The nearby Celestials nodded to her respectfully when they crossed the boundary but looked at the Giants with open scepticism. A female Vargr Drangijaz came forward from speaking to a group of Petitioners to greet her with a polite nod of respect.
Analysis
[Name: Oili
Species: Vargr Drangijaz
Class: Fighter / Skirmisher
Level: 22 / 22
Health: 792
Defence: 128
Magic: 42
Melee Attack Power:
Combat Skills: -Various Innate Powers
Details: Tyr recently promoted Oili from Petitioner as a reward for her deeds during the Slaadi incursions. ]
“How many patrols am I hosting at present, Oili?” Amdirlain asked before Oili could speak and enjoyed the surprised look it earned.
“Our apologies if we’ve taken advantage of your offer of hospitality, Lady Amdirlain,” replied Oili. “Patrols have been operating from here so they can respond faster to the Outlands’ problems. Lord Tyr and others have sent materials to ensure we’re not stressing your Domain and that your Petitioners arrive safely.”
“I had a run-in with the Greek lightning tosser’s boys,” cautioned Amdirlain,
“We heard,” admitted Oili. “That is part of the reason for their concern, if I understand rightly. A patrol I was with discouraged one of Apollo’s patrols from following some of your Petitioners—that was just a few days ago.”
“Just be careful one of them doesn’t try and stab someone else,” Amdirlain warned, even the memory stirred her annoyance.
“One tried to stab you?!” exclaimed Oili, teeth showing threateningly for a moment. “We’d heard from the Egyptian and Slavic pantheon about an incident with strange Souls singing in Judgement.”
“That was my second run-in,” Amdirlain clarified. “Third time, a different fellow went to stab me. I showed him how to use a sword properly, and one of Titan’s Servants dragged him away.”
“I hope you put it somewhere particularly painful!” growled Oili, anger shining in her gaze.
“You do not speak as we do, yet I still understand your words,” O’Nai observed.
“All within a Domain can understand what another says. But you have a Petitioner not your own in your Domain, Lady Amdirlain,” Oili observed, studying the Giants again. “What are you up to?”
“Just trying to help some lost Souls.” Amdirlain offered, waving off Oili’s curiosity.
“Of course, I should have remembered what we were told,” muttered Oili, blunting Amdirlain’s suspicious glare with a smile.
“Do I want to know?” asked Amdirlain.
“Only that the surest thing you’d react to was someone else in need,” replied Oili. “You treat your needs as having a second place, so it’s only just we provide a balance to the scales.”
N’Oye’s laughter acted as a signal for nearby groups to wander in their direction.
“I’m not that bad,” protested Amdirlain and winced when Oili started laughing as well. “Am I?”
“What are these terms Petitioner and Domain? Is that a word for a home?” O’Nai asked. “They feel more important.”
“You didn’t tell them who you are, Lady Amdirlain?” asked Oili, rubbing her forehead as her eyes went wide in disbelief. “I know you have things that need your attention; we’ll show them around and answer their questions.”
“What things?” Amdirlain asked.
“The Dwarven architect—for one—has questions she won’t let anyone else decide on. She was making a fuss about not knowing what approach you’d prefer a few days ago,” said Oili.
“Will you two be alright if I leave you in Oili’s care for now?” Amdirlain asked, not wanting just to abandon them.
“It seems you are keeping secrets. We will hear what the walking Panthera has to tell us,” O’Nai said, motioning her to go on.
* * *
“So many tiny ones here. Are you sure it will be alright, my kin living around here?” O’Nai asked.
“I don’t object to them living near my home,” Amdirlain said. “If I can convince other clans to leave their Elder trees, there won’t be enough space within for them all. Whether it’s the best place for them in the long run, I don’t know.”
“So Judgement is above us?” O’Nai said, the name that tangled K’Lan’s tongue coming easily to the Petitioner.
“How do Souls get up there themselves?” enquired N’Oye, a hand raised to shield his eyes as he peered in the Spire’s direction. “That pale tree is very tall and has no branches.”
“It’s stone, not a tree. Near its base, you can find portals—permanent gates,” Amdirlain explained. “A Petitioner arriving in the Outlands head to them instinctively if they’re unaccompanied; they look like pools.”
“Might I see them?” asked N’Oye, as visibly excited as he’d been while looking about her Domain.
“I’ve only seen one, but alright,” Amdirlain said and teleported the three of them.
The Portal hadn’t changed since the last time she’d seen it, vines framing the edge; it appeared as if formed of emerald-green water. The tranquil pool sat within a woodland glade, but True Sight made what it was clear. As Amdirlain stepped through the watery Portal ahead of the Giants, the Portal’s energy had her more aware of O’Nai’s Soul. The moment she touched the energy, the Portal inverted her stepping into it—to stepping out—yet she found herself in a place far different to what she’d expected.
Instead of a clear blue sky, it was a black sea awash with tides of shifting colour. Clouds that she’d only ever seen as the purest of white were jet black beneath her feet. Overhead, nebula formed a pair of draconic eyes that contained multiple slitted pupils that regarded her with contempt.
As the sky’s patterns changed, they solidified into multi-hued feathers. Tiamat looked nothing like Amdirlain had seen depicted before, but an awareness of the projection’s nature and the entity it represented pressed into her. Horns showed cresting from a moon-sized head. A radiant black pearl gleamed in the centre of the Tiamat’s forehead, and her eyes narrowed in anger.
“RELEASE MY PROGENY’S SOULS, ANAR!”
Already trembling as the gaze’s weight smashed against her, the thought’s shock waves staggered her backwards against the Portal’s barrier, which had frozen behind her. As reality inhaled around her, Amdirlain tore the Ki mist from the Dragon Souls and pushed them out into this warped form of Judgement.
The Souls of Shêrgîonth and her children raced clear of Amdirlain before they fully formed. While the children’s Souls glanced about curiously, Shêrgîonth looked towards the sky before she slammed a tail down. The motion crushed across her offspring’s Souls, and energy from their destruction streamed upwards. The Primordial’s manifestation inhaled the essence as Shêrgîonth’s Soul vanished, her visage twisted by a shocked look. As the last of the Souls’ power raced away, Amdirlain felt herself plunge backwards into melted ice, the Outlands reappeared, and her back smacked into N’Oye’s leg.
“Is that meant to happen?” N’Oye asked.
Amdirlain shivered from the aftershocks, staggered from Tiamat’s projected mind and will. N’Oye went to speak again but fell silent when O’Nai made a simple gesture.
[Mental Hardening [S] (6->9)]
“What did it look like?” asked Amdirlain, seeking a distraction.
“The water turned hard like green-amber, yet so cold it burnt to touch,” N’Oye stated. “What occurred?”
“I had the Dragons’ Souls with me when I went through,” Amdirlain replied. “I ended up somewhere I’d never seen before. There was a projection of Tiamat present. She’s a Primordial Power.”
“Should you carry me through in case there is more strangeness?”
A glimpse of O’Nai’s concerned expression had Amdirlain offering out a hand. When O’Nai touched her skin with a finger, she used Energy Drain and settled his Soul within the Ki again.
“You’ve got a wise Ancestor, N’Oye,” Amdirlain said, and amusement twinged from O’Nai’s Soul.
I thought he’d be held entirely still in there.
A mental shrug was all the pause Amdirlain allowed herself as she stepped forward into the Portal again. Judgement looked similar to what she remembered, but the sense of it was different. White clouds were underfoot, but the sky appeared as if it was dusk. Of the Souls nearby, none were Human or even close to humanoid.
The closest groups comprised individuals who appeared genderless to her understanding. Six legs set evenly around them, supporting a headless torso, with an arm and eye offset between each. As one turned around observing them, she didn’t know why it shifted position until a gill-like orifice pointed in their direction and it sniffed.
She only had a moment to consider them before the Titan’s Servant arrived and immediately addressed her.
“Amdirlain, there are choices to make,” the Servant stated without preamble. “You cannot leave here with a Petitioner not sworn to you. However, Cemna no longer contributes to the Song. Any Soul you leave here will fade peacefully as these are doing.”
“What happened?”
“Their Wizards’ choices allowed Demons onto it unchecked by any controls,” the Servant declared, gesturing to the entity that still watched them. “The world’s Powers perished in the war that followed.”
At O’Nai’s prompting, Amdirlain allowed him free of her Soul, and he looked over the Servant before he spoke.
“What choice do I have then?” asked O’Nai
“Swear to a Power, remain here to wait and fade, or contribute your Soul’s energy to a Concept that matches to your Soul,” the Servant quickly answered.
“Here, I could advise my kin?” O’Nai asked,
“It would be nowhere close to your past, O’Nai,” warned the Servant. “Memories are the first things that fade.”
“You are Power, even if you only have tiny trees,” O’Nai stated, his words earning a snort from N’Oye. “Would you allow me to speak to my kin and advise them?”
“Of course. I think they’d have to use magic unless they came to the Outlands, but we can sort out something.”
“Your wordm you only seek to help my people from the Plane of Suffering,” O’Nai said,
“I’ll do my best to help those of them I can, O’Nai,” cautioned Amdirlain. “I have lots to do, and some might not agree.”
“Then I swear to you, Amdirlain.”
[A Petitioner not having served you in life has sworn to your service:
Do you wish to:
* Accept
* Decline
* Punish for being false to their previous allegiance
* Accept and Promote (Remaining promotion capacity: 5) ]
“Do you want a job, O’Nai?”
“Females have always been giving me work to do. Nothing changes,” O’Nai replied, his clicks rumbling with suppressed amusement.
Accept and Promote
[Promotion options:
* Consume Memories
* Condense Memories
* Full Memories
]
Full, of course!
Energy shimmered between them, and Amdirlain felt a wisp of energy similar to what she’d pressed into forming her Domain pass over into O’Nai. The Giant’s formed shifted and compressed in a shimmering light that made more Souls look their way. When the light faded away, it was clear the transformation had turned him into an Erelim. Though he kept his facial appearance, he was now only two and a half metres tall with luminous green wings extended from his back. The leathers that clad his Soul now showed Amdirlain’s symbol.
[Faith: -1]
“Why would you do this for me?” O’Nai asked, knowledge of his nature evident in his gaze.
“Because you risked your Soul for your people,” Amdirlain replied. “How could I not reward your commitment to helping others? Plus, it’s a new start for you; I’m supposed to help with those. You can’t venture into the Abyss. You’ll be able to guard them in the Outlands and access a world to help, if we find one for your kin.”
“Still spending yourself for others, Amdirlain,” the Servant stated.
“What did Lady Amdirlain do?” asked O’Nai, as he glanced between them.
“Keeping all your memories isn’t normal, O’Nai,” stated the Servant. “Instead of gaining from accepting and promoting you to Celestial, it cost her energy instead.”
“Do I have to accept them all to my service to keep them from fading?” Amdirlain asked, waving off O’Nai’s protest.
“If they do not come to Judgement, their choices are their own. However, outside Domains, they are at risk of predators,” the Servant replied and held up a warning hand. “Inside a Domain, their host is at risk of what choices they might make. Those not sworn may act against their host or Petitioners once allowed within a boundary.”
Amdirlain winced, not wanting to consider risking those who had entrusted their Souls to her care.
“Can I do anything for them?”
“Someone would have to: destroy the Demonic hordes, close the Portals, re-seed the world, found civilisations, and establish Powers so they’d have places to go,” the Servant said. Its tone had grown sarcastic as the list went on. It paused before it continued with a restored calm tone. “Father believes you already have a few things on your to-do list.”
“I can enter a world that doesn’t have developed Mortal cultures,” Amdirlain said as she considered options.
“That’s not a question,” observed the Servant, its silent gears emitting a hissing sound.
“The world the ten kingdoms are on, does its solar system match to the Earth I knew?” enquired Amdirlain, smiling at the Servant.
“Father says it is close, but there are minor positional and planetary differences,” replied the Servant.
“So if any planets or moons aren’t inhabited above the civilisation threshold, I can access the material plane on them?” Amdirlain asked. “What are the limits?”
“Yes. You cannot enter a world’s atmosphere—as you know it—or take action against a settled world. If you did, one of Father’s servants would remove or deal with you before setting things right,” explained the Servant. “If summoned to a world by the correct process, then your restrictions depend on the Mortal’s choices.”
“Thanks,” Amdirlain said, nodding politely. “Don’t suppose you’d tell me the name for the planet Mercury in this reality?”
Amdirlain noted the planet’s name in Celestial, enjoying the lilting tones before the Servant vanished.