"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..."
Lëordan 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.
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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"
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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 Sigrún 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.
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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.
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"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.
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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"