"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"
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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.
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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!"
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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.
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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.
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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, Sigrún 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" Sigrún 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.
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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.
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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.