"...Peace, yes, peace would be good, but I am afraid you will not find my terms as good"

The All-Father.

Lucrezia dreamed of her sister, the girl crying over her dead body in a familiar house and yet unfamiliar, she missed her sister something fierce and these feelings got worse each night.

It was strange, all those memories were now hers it was her feelings, her emotions, her actions in them, and bittersweet as she remembered her parents, Terran, and her own Planet.

"Lu, are you alright?" Saa'ryu shook Lucrezia's nude body in the bed "You know sleeping nude isn't as popular with nobles nowadays right? And that cooler device you made makes this room an ice cube, can you at least put some undies on?"

"Oh gods why did I say that, I can see your blessing flaring up via the sigil" The maid went away, sitting down to eat breakfast, Lucrezia kept quiet, trying not to think too hard about the implications of the encounter.

'How did we even keep all of this contained, Christ William? Lucrezia thought to herself, the name feeling alien to say it even in her mind, which was also being assaulted by unbridled lust, in no small part due to her Greater Blessing that was pulsating with vigor.

Centering herself with meditation was enough to clear the haze, as she began to truly wake up, eating breakfast and clothing herself for class. Saa'ryu was close to her side as the maid smiled at the people welcoming her.

It turns out Lucrezia found that her maid and her people had held some critical junction in the battle, earning so much renown knights were asking her out and such, the maid was somewhat out of her element, not that used to be on such an intense spotlight.

Lucrezia, on the other hand, was feeling a different kind of spotlight, the rest of the month was a series of meetings with dignitaries of multiple countries and religions, she had shaken the stage both in the world and in the divine realm quite heavily so much the Infernals and Devils were sending their people to talk with her, extremely rare but as she was under order of the Big man himself.

All-Father Faal spoke through Hope, so Lucrezia was off to meet quite a few people in the coming days.

It was pretty packed in the gym, another piece of news that surprised her was the number of people trying to get fit, one more wave in the many her plan to take the fields Saa said, from Knight trying not to laugh as their soft charged first tried a true battery of exercises, to hidden talents who could now show off and teach.

And I am speaking of teaching.

"Weave, Bob, and Weave lass c'mon" Richard was teaching a trio of young girls how to fight and the women were sweating their souls off, what looked like a scene out of a bad romance novel had turned into a fight to exhaustion as Richard had provoked the women into fighting with their all, later telling Lucrezia it was how the orcs trained their best warriors.

The orcs of the Academy were also there, some training others in their hand-to-hand combat, others being trained by Knights and Nobles, Lucrezia felt in her heart a nostalgic sense of pride, of honor even.

With that boost of morale, she got on with her daily routine, physical exercise was after all extremely important for her development as a warrior, it was a grueling affair but one done with enthusiasm.

Saa'ryu got behind her after they used magic to clean themselves up, the maid looking around before speaking "My people haven't been able to find whoever gave you that modification to the armor by the way, it's...frustrating but whoever it was they can hide incredibly well, either that or they are masters in divination"

Lucrezia waved her worries away "Don't lose sleep over it, I have a feeling it was with good intentions and our hidden friend will return" adjusting her clothing as she walked along the corridors of the Academy.

"The new Custodians of the Fields have arrived," Saa'ryu said as they walked "Eager to meet you and the others I was told, but we have to make a short detour before going there"

Lucrezia looked to the maid "Grannarius?" Saa'ryu shook her head "Ah, All-Father priests" Lucrezia smiled as she took a left towards the place they would most likely be, the bigger auditorium where the dean of the Academy did his speeches.

A tall elven woman stood by Hope as Lucrezia got near the place, Veronica looked positively brimming with energy as she turned around and hugged Lucrezia "Ah the woman of the hour, or the week even, here to aid our little blasphemer against the evil men and women of the cloth?" the elven warrior spoke with that hint of smugness familiar to Lucrezia.

"They aren't evil, even the more hardliners were surprisingly kind to me..." Hope looked puzzled as she likely expected more opposition from them " Then again I do have a blessing from the deity they worship"

Veronica laughed "Nevermind about that, Lucrezia your dirty dirty woman I can't believe you stole Richard from me! I had a moment with the lad and now he's heading over heels for you, O my dream of wee little half-elven kids running around the summer estate..." Lucrezia punched the woman in the shoulder to get her to shut up.

"Oh someone is serious then, put that Greater Blessing of yours to work finally eh?" Veronica grinned "But enough about your romance life, we gotta deal with the priests before they summon something"

Opening the doors they were met with a dozen men and women of multiple races talking in hushed but very stern whispers, representatives of all factions of the theological kind that made up the church of the All-Father.

A human woman stood up when Lucrezia and the others entered the room, she bowed "Thank you Miss Hope and Lady Lucrezia for the meeting, many were...displeased we had to make such an appointment but they have been made aware of the positions you two have"

Lucrezia waved her worries away "Think nothing of it, we should get this done with sooner rather than later anyway" Hope nodded as she spoke as well "Yes, we set the record straight today and move on with our very busy lives"

The woman smiled, Lucrezia saw something in her face but couldn't quite place it, a feeling of...home? strange she thought to herself as the 3 of them took seats and the other priests began to arrange themselves.

"Ahem, today we will settle certain matters regarding the summoning of multiple entities" One of the priests began, his voice betraying how bored he was with the whole ordeal "Now usually the Extremes have the first word but since today's a special occasion the Neutrals will start" he pointed to the strange smiling woman who revealed herself to be a merfolk.

The Extremes as the faction was called looked displeased but none spoke out of order, suckers for rules the whole lot of them Lucrezia thought.

"Thank you, Brother Janus, now to the heart of the matter as I won't be the one who kept a Duchess and the Future Queen of the Kingdom locked in a theological debate" gasps from the other priests and priestess "Oh please, it is public knowledge for days already" she sighed and continued "now to keep this short, the Extremes want an explanation and for once the Progressives agreed with them"

"Hey!" and other cries came from the Progressive corner, the woman raised her hand and they quieted down after a while "It is the truth and both must know" She pointed to Lucrezia and Hope "We will start with the Duchess, Miss Lucrezia if you would be so kind to step forward"

Lucrezia walked to the center of the room "I am glad to help the men and women of the cloth" she smiled as the woman grinned "And we are glad you have the time for this little show of good faith miss, now we have on good authority the All-Father spoke personally with you correct?"

Hope furrowed her browns but Lucrezia raised her hand "Yes, we had much to talk about" Lucrezia sighed "I was...told my behavior was not good, and that he would be sending word of the right punishment"

"Which he won't do for a long while, as we know" one of the Extremes spoke "That's how he works! handwaving away the blasphemies!" some of his peers calmed and hushed him down but Lucrezia could see the man was seething.

"Calm yourself brother" Janus spoke, "Yes that does match with our reports with the All-Father, the horror from beyond the cosmos you summoned caused quite the stir in the divine realm but most of it was just for show, at any rate, if punishment is happening then I imagine the Extremes will be pleased?" most of them nodded, some were still mad but on that front, it seemed that it would be quick and easy to deal with it.

Janus and the strange woman smiled "Now if Miss Hope could come forward"

"This will be a good one, you got the recording marble ready?" one of the priestesses of the Neutral faction spoke and another nodded "Absolutely" She grabbed a glass marble from her pocket and placed it in the air, it began to float as it scanned the room.

A member of the Progressives got up, his face was so ancient Lucrezia was sure the man came out of a stone from when the All-Father got to this planet, but reality proved disappointing when she learned later it was just a very old elven priest.

"Little lady, have you any idea of the sheer amount of work we have been building for centuries? and how you smashed through that work like a drunken dwarf with a diamond hammer? ages we tried to clear the name of the first son of the All-Father and now..."

One of the Extremes got up "Now the great work is over and we can finally banish the monster to where he belongs! Have you any idea of the damage the did in his rampage across the holy city? across the mortal coil?!?"

"Peace brother, let the first finish" Janus spoke and the man sat down.

"Thank you Janus, and Brother Anir I'll keep this brief so you can talk as well" The man who got shushed stared at the old elf hard and said "Apologizes, My temper has been flaring of late as you know, it shan't happened again"

"Well this is a first, both sides not wanting to start a holy war for once" Janus laughed and the tension was dispelled.

"Now Lady Hope, we know you had to face let's be honest here everyone, a foe half our pantheon would balk at the idea of going to battle against, and desperate situations do make one call forth desperate answers, something our brothers and sisters can agree as while the robes hide much, we had many who fought against the elves and the Imperium among our ranks" Lucrezia saw many nodding.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Ah yes, the church of the All-Father did have its fair share of bodies thrown to those meat grinders, grim times for them as they had to train new people for the cloth and that takes time.

It was strange to see how the room got quiet, the war against the Imperium was a hard one for the priests in particular, as they were one of the first to be deployed to the frontline, the old living ones among them telling much via their body language.

"Then we have to factor in our fair Queen whose sole purpose was to Kill your friend there who's staring at us with eyes that betray knowledge few have" the elf spoke with a smile "Summoning the Firstborn was then your last ditch effort to turn this horrible tide yes?"

Hope nodded "Yes, yes it was" The elf nodded and continued "This battle, to my younger brethren is not something you see every century, the confluence of Gods and other elements here was an event that happens once millennia maybe, but we would need to check with the Historians of the Dawn for a better date"

Groans from the crowd made Lucrezia smile, ah the Historians, were not a proper faction within the ranks of the Church of the All-Father, but equally annoying, as they were prone to hour-long debates on semantic issues and trivialities.

"The renewing of the covenant with the Orcs and their Goddess, the great war machines birthed by a once spurned now on its way to Greater Dominion God, the smaller miracles that every social class that made up Lucrezia's army brought, all of this compounds into change, and change is Sacred"

Lucrezia saw every priest and priestess bow their heads and close their palms "Freedom and Change, Forward towards the Infinite" she whispered, and Brother Janus's head snapped towards her "I did not take you for an Old Timer Lady Lucrezia, I hope you won't talk about the changes in the church canon?"

Lucrezia laughed "Nothing of the sort Brother Janus, I just like the phrase, it shines a window into the mind of the All-Father when he left his divine abode despite his parent's harsh complaints"

Hope turned her head and shot Lucrezia a puzzling look "Ah forgive me, you would need to join the Esoteric Discussions the Church of the All-Father hosts every month in the main cathedral here in the city, while He is somewhat cagey about his past, over the many centuries information was slowly compiled and studied by the people of our fair country, but I wager this month's Discussion will not be held"

One of the Priestess spoke "It wasn't our idea to renovate the entire cathedral this late in the month but well let's just say democracy isn't the be all end all method of decision making" only for another to silence her as Brother Janus raised his hand "Forgive us, this topic is well very sore for many among us, now if we could return to the main topic at hand?"

The old Elf smiled "Such knowledge, for a human usually their downfall, and yet its tinged with wisdom beyond your years Lady Lucrezia" He nodded "Forgive me, rare is the day when I get to talk with such important nobles you see, Janus being the better diplomat among us, if you don't mind me asking from where did you distill such wisdom, maybe a blessing from the Gods? or beyond?"

"From the friends and allies, I've cultivated in this mortal coil, from the divine as well who saw fit to bless me with their powers and trials" Lucrezia spoke and the elf smiled as he said "Fascinating, a shame you are a Duchess, imagine the progress our church would have with you as the leader of our faction"

Turning to Hope he continued "Lady Hope, while I'll let my friend say his piece, we do have a punishment for you, not to worry it won't be nothing harsh"

The old elf sat down and Anir got up "Punishment is the wrong word, we won't hurt nor humiliate the future Queen of the Kingdom, sigh where do I even begin now..." he took a deep breath to compose himself and spoke again, his voice firm and strong.

"It's important that you understand this, many of late have turned to their side since the Goddess of War has been open in her efforts to get her brother back, and indeed before your grand display we were talking about a ceasefire, but now? the old timers got a fire in their belly, they remember and that memory has halted the talks"

"So what do you propose then? what do I need to do so you people can be at peace again" Hope spoke.

"The plan was blood at first," Anir said "Either yours or from someone you care about, a fitting punishment from the old days that would please the old ones among us" he sighed "Alas that is off the table now with the news of your, well boyfriend being public"

The old elf raised his hand and Anir nodded "I've spoken with the old-timers, none are keen on upsetting the Royals so now it is up to us to come up with something"

Anir sighed, the man was tired and that was plain to see "Right, now assuming no one here has a plan in mind..." he cast his gaze to the other priests and priestesses who all nodded in agreement "I've been made aware that your friend here has helped another young fellow start a church and priesthood yes? so I'd say we do the same for Lady Hope, make her a proper priestess of the All-Father"

"Of course that takes time and she will be a very busy woman soon so we can skip the years of training right into the rituals, ministrations, and miracles stage of the training, with that and a bit of charisma I reckon the old timers will be satisfied" Anir spoke and grunts were heard, mostly positive and a few in doubt.

Lucrezia smiled "I'll call Kaine, and see if he can help you on this as well, with your blessing plus his smarts this should prove to be an enlightening experience especially if you can get a hold of their combat-focused miracles"

A spark of greed shone in Hope's eyes, ah yes Lucrezia thought to herself, mentioning new spells and the protagonist would go for it in a snap. it was comforting knowing that reality proved to match that particular trait of hers.

Hope went to talk with the Priests as Lucrezia hung back and sat down on a bench, her mind going back to her home in the north, she missed the cold something fierce these last few days.

Her better half must've suppressed these desires given the country he was from, being used to the heat sure was a blessing...

Lucrezia felt a change in the air as Kaine and Kaede appeared from a portal, the young man looked serious as he rushed Lucrezia "Bad news, representatives of Uumaries are on their way to talk with you now, they have paladins with them"

"Mercenaries?" Lucrezia asked and Kaine nodded "A few"

Lucrezia got up and snapped her fingers, a full suit of Magi-Tech armor covering her from head to toe, taking out the helmet she conjured her usual attire when dealing with Dignitaries.

Hope turned her head but Lucrezia raised her hand "Stay with them, the sooner you deal with this the sooner you can get those miracles, I and Kaine will be enough to deal with the Uumaries dogs, plus we have beautiful Kaede here as well"

The Kitsune blushed hard and Kaine shook his head "Please don't embarrass or hit on her" Saa'ryu appeared from the shadows already geared and said "Lu please, no delaying for jokes"

They gave their farewells and started moving, Kaine leading them already with his staff in hand and the gleam of the armor beneath his robes "Let's avoid killing in Academy grounds if we can" he spoke and Lucrezia nodded "I've called Vivienne, and Richard already, they should be meeting us at the cafeteria"

Lucrezia turned to Saa'ryu "Did you deliver Vivienne's new gear?" the maid nodded and replied "She loved it" The party kept walking as they breached the Cafeteria, noise all around as Lucrezia scanned the place.

Richard walked together with Vivienne, the crowd making sure to give him ample space, Lucrezia didn't fail to notice how Richard wordlessly spoke with the people who stood by him in the fields, most were ready to get up and fight for him no questions asked.

"he wields his power well" Saa'ryu whispered "Fitting"

Kaine walked forward and made a hand gesture, summoning a dozen staff "As you asked friend" Richard smiled and nodded "The good stuff, thank you, Kaine, I'll make sure the delivery reaches you tomorrow"

Vivienne walked up to Lucrezia "Thank you for letting me come, It's high time I deal with these people myself" Her voice was trembling but conviction held her together, Lucrezia nodded and hugged her.

Marching into the location Lucrezia couldn't help but notice how Vivienne's hands shook ever so slightly and how close she was to Richard who shot a confirming look to Lucrezia, he was after all training together with her in hand-to-hand combat.

"Father told me that if you have more training Lu, you should be able to fight against the Queen, at least on somewhat equal footing" Vivienne spoke with a smile "Of course Hope and Richard are already on her level, but with the right training we can surpass her, and all of us will become legends!"

"Well I am afraid most of us already are at least near legend level" Kaine spoke "At least Richard here is, but that's a talk for another day, it will take time, a long time before Lucrezia can stand on the same tier as the Queen, remember both Hope and Richard had aids that Lucrezia didn't have, assuming she didn't summon those terrors that is" Kaine laughed "But the Arch-Duke knows things I do not, so who can say? a rematch with the Queen will happen for sure, but how we will get to that rematch is anyone's guess, even a certain Goddess"

"That big of a change in the river of time eh?" Lucrezia smiled when she saw Kaine's wicked grin "Tell her we can work something out, Gods knows I am already neck deep in repaying debts to the Divines"

"Hope when wielding the powers she barely bestowed to me that easily was a cold bath to her, the river of time while her domain still falls under All-Father's total dominion, a fact she tricked herself into forgetting or at least tried her very best, paranoid as she is the thought always was there, digging at her heels" Kaine continued "How very mortal of her now that I think of it, alas an evaluation on her emotions is beyond my duties as leader of her church" Kaine finished the line of thought there and silence fell over their party.

"I wonder what the Goddess of this world felt when she abandoned the ancients" Lucrezia spoke as the very slim knowledge she had popped into her mind. Higher Realms of Power.

Would the spirits seek revenge? would the last ancient?

They reached the place where the Uumaries Delegation was held up, Lucrezia was surprised when she saw Veronica and...A particular ZENOS unit and its pilot. Andromeda saluted both and spoke "If they try anything funny, they shall face the same beast the Arch-Mage faced" Andromeda smiled.

"Mother is still angry at you due to that you know?" Kaine said as he chuckled "What a fight that was" Veronica piped in "Indeed younglings, now Lucrezia I know you are busy but we have something to discuss and I'd rather that was done today so I'll also be joining your little group to deal with those bores, well minus the High Paladin they got in tow that is" Veronica gave Lucrezia a kiss on the cheek as she fell in line.

Too near Richard to her liking.

High Priestess Marathazua was surrounded by the lesser members of the cloth, behind her a human woman whose face was more akin to a statue than a living being, she stood there and measured each and every one who entered her field of view.

Finding all of them not wanting.

"Thank you for agreeing to this Lady Lucrezia" High Priestess Marathazua looked...changed, the woman was missing all of her limbs and eyes, all replaced by Magi-Tech implants of all things!

Those were brand new to the consumers who needed an alternative to miracle-grown limbs or enchantments made by mages, not something a representative of the Goddess that was against Lucrezia would use...

"Payment, for a ceasefire with your Friend that I shall not name" Marathazua smiled "She wanted more blood but I was able to compromise, a skill of mine I hope to put to good use today so we can close this particular chapter of our lives yes?"

Vivienne stepped forward as the High Paladin tracked her with her eyes, tension came and went in a flash as Marathazua said "No amount of torture or punishment will be enough to wash away the sins Lady Vivienne, make no mistake I shall pay my due in the Long Queue when this is over, but if you still wish conflict then I will do nothing, we are in no position to bargain that today"

Lucrezia thought to herself To think they would talk with Friede, that means Uumaries has lost most of the noble support she had, that was way too fast! To think we won't have to deal with her brand of troubles after this...today's a good day!

The High Paladin's face turned sour after this exchange, the woman wasn't a fan of this it seemed, Lucrezia took note of that just in case, splinter factions were very popular in the kingdom after all.

"The people who aided the first prince, have they been dealt with?" Lucrezia asked and the High Priestess nodded "Well then I guess we can call this meeting over? unless your protector there wants to say something, she's staring an awful lot"

The High Paladin scoffed but didn't speak "Good! I'll talk with Hope later, and see if we get to watch Uumarie's punishment in the Divine Realm, good day High Priestess" Lucrezia got up to leave and her friends followed her.

No shouts or raised voices came from the room as they walked away, Vivienne got closer to her and spoke "Thank you...for letting me come with you, even if I ended up not saying anything..."

Lucrezia smiled "That is ok my dear, remember that we won, the ones who did those vile things to you are dead and buried, and their allies are paying the price as we speak, Justice was done and will be done, as long as I am alive and can move for it"

"And you believe the All-Father will actually punish Uumaries?" Vivienne asked with a bit of fear in her voice.

"Aye he will, and the All-Mother as well, I'll make sure of that my friend, so don't make such a gloomy face, with this and well a few more meetings you fine people won't need to pay me to escort this entire thing will finally be over"

"We will enter and dare I say usher in a new age, for the Academy, for the country, and beyond!" Lucrezia finished and felt her cheeks flush red "Forgive me I did not mean to give a speech I swear"

They all laughed as they walked toward the cafeteria, it felt good Lucrezia thought to herself, she gave her better half thanks as the group walked away in good spirits.