"Can Fallen Gods return to the fold? yes, we know of many who did after the last rebellion against the All-Father, but as with anything in his domain, quite a bit of bureaucracy and forms are involved! In today's seminar, we will explain how you! a fallen deity of any degree of power can redeem yourself and return to a proper relationship with mortals and other races! No more cults, backroom deals, and shady characters! With us, you will be clean as a blue sky!"
A flyer for Cu'Laus, God of Restoration became quite popular with the other divines for his mastery of smooth and more importantly speed of navigation of the various systems the All-Father was so fond of.
Lucrezia stared at the darkened skies of the capital as she sat naked near the window, sighing ever so softly at nothing in particular. It was the early hours of the morning, the sun was yet to bathe the city in its golden embrace.
"You know Lu, before being a maid" Saa'ryu spoke from the other side of the room, as she read the final book of the Lord of the Rings "I did many a hit on nobles, and not once I found one of your folk gazing lustfully to the skies, I know of a noble boy who proposed to a Goddess but that's it really, not whatever you are doing there, butt naked in that perfect body of yours" the woman giggled.
"Minus the crystal arm of course," Lucrezia fired back to which her friend and confidant replied "Oh I doubt it, Hells I would bet my pay there's someone into it in these hallowed halls we stalk every day"
Lucrezia felt her toes curl at the thought of someone watching her from the windows and then felt a shock in her spine as her brain processed that, she closed her eyes and tried to meditate the urge away, as her better half did so many times before...
It was hard, incredibly so and she couldn't even blame it on a certain Greater Blessing Sigil that was pulsating like the thing was alive and wanted to leap out of her skin, no that was all on her, and the beast she tried her best to keep locked away.
"We have a meeting with Hope's parents today, they will ask for a sparring match I am sure of it," Saa'ryu said "From my sources, both are incredibly good fighters but we don't know if they are blessed by the Rage like their daughter..."
"We also learned her mother wasn't too pleased with her daughter being at the front of that little event, so she will almost certainly be extra harsh with you, I'd prepare according if I was you Lu, and please, go take a cold shower and dress, before you mentally orgasm and I get stuck with a very unwholesome cleaning duty" the maid nearly booted Lucrezia to the shower and she did as told, the cold water cleaning her head.
A long day was ahead for her and her friends today, Classes were mostly a boring affair, given her knowledge of what was to come, but the rest...everything else was always exciting, from training to building new Magi-Tech or improving the stuff she already had, to dealing with people and sometimes the divine, always something to do, always people to talk to.
Dressed in her Academy Uniform, Lucrezia went to the morning classes, a fascinating topic for the day was the fate of the Goddess that once ruled the planet before All-Father came, Lucrezia herself had asked the Spirits she was in oath with, and others she knew, but they refused to give details, such as their grief even with the return of the Last Ancient.
Said Last Ancient was enjoying a boom of popularity, especially with the scholars and thinkers of this age, Lucrezia was happy that at least on that front they had a good ending to this sad saga.
And yet...
"Yes, Retribution, a quest in the game that was essentially talking with spirits all over the city but their intent was clear, find the Goddess, and Kill her" the voice of her better half echoed in her mind, in the game, there was no ending to the quest, a sequel hook basically, but now in reality?
Her new blessing together with Ra'Tyrius's would be enough, she would find the divine and demand answers, and if she found them wanting, steel and crystal would be unleashed upon her.
Violence, how quick she was to resort to it... with such thoughts Lucrezia watched the classes come and go, Richard wasn't by her side today, busy dealing with the Orcs for cultural rituals due to his Blessing, Hope and Arthur were doing their couple bit and so were Kaine and Kaede, which surprised Lucrezia a fair bit.
It was a good thing in her opinion, Kaine deserved someone to lean on for support, especially after the nasty treatment his parents gave him in the battle, with the morning classes done Lucrezia got up and went to the Fields, off to meet the new pair of professors in the honorable art of mercenary combat.
Hope did not join her in the walk towards it, busy with other dealings as Lucrezia was told, no today it would be her against two of the very best Vermilion could offer, a fight she was pretty sure she could win, assuming they didn't have any tricks up their sleeve that the game lacked. It still felt weird for her to use those memories, given the subtle disconnect between them.
It would take time to settle them she guessed, at the very least the skills she had with the Arch-Duke's Katana were not lost in the merge, she smiled at the thought given how much work they had put into making the technique work in the first place.
The castle courtyard was eerily silent, usually, there were many students and knights here, training and exercising, Lucrezia felt the hairs on her neck raise up and she knew what was happening.
In a flash she deployed her battle gear, lacking her trusty ax the fight would be one with the Katana today, the creak of stone gave away the first strike of her foes, and the fight was on!
Fire-aspected magic missiles came crashing down from upwards and her sides, in the front a barrage of stabs from a rapier as a man dressed up in combat gear broke his invisibility spell and started hammering Lucrezia with blows, with no time to unsheath her blade she slammed her palms together and created a shockwave of pure ice mana, the attacker in the front lost his footing for a second and she leaped towards him.
A kick, square in her ribcage came from nowhere as the figure of a female warrior with a rare staff-sword materialized Lucrezia's body flew to the left, she coughed up bile but no blood, checking her ribs she felt no pain so nothing was cracked or broken.
No words, only the battle lust that rose from her core as she unsheathed the blade and got to work, magic leaps as the magnetism of the entire place clicked, and her command over it was made manifest.
The duo shredded parts of their armor, the rapier tossed aside for a wooden club. one two three steps and Lucrezia was facing the man, slicing him like a butcher and dodging the magic being rained down by the woman, with a step of her foot a spike of pure ice almost impaled the mage, who in a desperate attempt to dodge it had to leap backward and slice the top of the spike off.
A second it was that took, the male lost his cool and Lucrezia found an opening, she dashed into him and the cut went like a hot knife through butter, his chest bleeding almost instantly as the Mage's eyes widened in panic, Lucrezia kicked the ground again and more spikes came, clipping the arm of the Mage and knocking down her unique staff.
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"Enough!" Hope's voice came from the skies "Gods! Are you two satisfied? I told you she is not one to be messed with and you ugh!" flying from the heavens like an angel the young woman landed near the man and healed him "Mother, Father if you could do a more proper introduction?"
Arthur showed up and stopped near Lucrezia "She didn't want them to fight you, but we couldn't talk them out of this little show, I hope it's ok?" Lucrezia nodded "Of course, It's always good to spar every once in a while, keeps the body and mind sharp!"
Lucrezia dusted herself off and did a sharp bow, the preferred for mercenaries in the country "Ifry and Domhnall Yeager, it is a pleasure to finally meet you two" Hope's parents smiled as Lucrezia spoke "The legendary Red Yeager commanders fighting me in singular combat! can you imagine that"
"Small feats compared to your record Lady Duchess" Domhnall spoke with a smile "We heard they were hiring to train these soft belly nobles and the pay was good for such an easy assignment so we figure we would drop by"
Hope's mom had a more stoic face "I was told you aren't one for beating around the bush Lady Lucrezia, so I will be direct with you" Hope's face was a mixture of emotions as the atmosphere grew tense "I was not pleased at all knowing you threw my only daughter in a combat that can only be described as cataclysmic, we are no strangers to fighting against dire odds but my daughter..."
Hope pleaded "Mother, please! We-" but Lucrezia raised her hand and said "Let your mother finish Hope, it's important for her to air her emotions" A range of emotions flashed through Ifry's face and eyes as she continued "Hope here while we did provide the right training was not ready for it, even if you did train her and the rest of your put together army"
It was clear to Lucrezia that the woman felt slighted, even if everyone else, including Hope herself, didn't mind it, and so with a gesture of her hand she calmed Hope down and said "Lady Ifry I personally apologize for involving your daughter in such affairs, if you are willing we can bury this hatched with goods, coin or even a proper fight, know that I am sincere and honest in all my dealings"
"A fight then, next week in this same spot, just you and me, whoever is left standing wins," Ifry said and Hope facepalmed as her father and Arthur laughed "Ah there she is, the woman with the fire of a company of knights ready to fight even the most dire of battles!"
Lucrezia extended her hand for a shake, and the woman did the same, it was a strong one, with conviction even, but Lucrezia could already see the woman's opinion of her improving somewhat, it was good she didn't go straight to coin, that would've probably made her madder...
After they calmed down from the quick bout, Hope's father came closer for a talk "Don't mind her, she's just a bit overprotective of our girl that's all" He smiled "I must say Lady Lucrezia, for a noble, you put up quite the fight, It's no wonder you managed to hold up as long as you did against our fair Queen, no titles for you sadly but still, talk around the merc world is that you are one tough nut to crack"
"We saw how Hope performed as well, even with her training we give that was something else, which is due in no small part to you but also her talents, to think we would have such a talent for a daughter, it's almost scary as a parent to see your own flesh and blood become this popular overnight"
Lucrezia nodded at the man "Indeed, hers is the realm of heroes, the men, and women who shape the mortal realm, easy to get caught up in it and be swallowed whole, but I am sure your teachings will not let her stray from the right path"
Domhnall's face was a mask "And a perfect opportunity for your personal redemption, as the usher, the herald of the one blessed by the All-Father and master of the Rage. Kinslaying is a grievous crime Lady Lucrezia, even for the noblest of intentions, the paranoid within me says you somehow arranged all of this but..." Domhnall was at a loss for words.
"It's too perfect, isn't it? the chaos that is life wouldn't let this happen as smoothly" Lucrezia spoke and the man smiled "Incredible, she spoke about this but I thought nothing of it, but being next to you is something else, Hope was right, it's like you know the future in a way only Gwennarius could" Domhnall tapped his foot "And yet I can sense a deep sadness within your words, just as Hope also told us"
"It's not my place to ask these personal questions Lady Lucrezia, but I know you are a good friend to my daughter, and Hopefully my dearest wife will come around, so if you need an ear to listen feel free to call, it's the best we can do for those who were denied the soldier's peace" the man smiled and left, Hope and the rest had already left as well as Lucrezia stood there alone.
Soldier's peace, the wish of Knights to die on the battlefield, a grim tradition of the country but one honored nevertheless, if it was that plain for him, then it would be plain for others.
Alas, I can't die yet my friend, things to do, people to talk to, and wrongs I must set right...
Talking with Hope's parents was a curious experience, in the game, they were locked behind a series of sidequests involving helping mercenaries around the city, and after that a series of tough battles to buy their skills and training, which were essentially necessary against the hidden bosses of the game, the Queen being one of them.
Now? she and the rest of the Academy were handed these top-tier soldiers on a silver platter, and the line was getting bigger by the minute, many noble families had hired the Red Yagers once or twice and they had a pristine reputation with the scions of the noble houses, but one thing caught Lucrezia off-guard.
Their interest in Magi-Tech, but not in the weapons or armor, no they wanted to know more about transportation over land, sea, and air. So Lucrezia sat down and with Saa'ryu's help (the maid was watching from the shadows as her lady duked it out with the mercenaries) they managed to set up deals in vehicles of all types.
"Word on the wire is that a massive build-up by those Dynasty creeps is happening soon, another civil war for the seat of power as always, if we can have means of fast deployment into the theater it will be a fat payday," Ifry said with a grim, aye Lucrezia was reminded of the late stages NPCs talks around the city, civil war to the north...
"But that's neither here nor there, for now, we will focus on sharpening your skills, battle and otherwise given how messy the later stages of the Battle you and yours led was, which to be fair was against well, the godsdamned Royal Knights, Arch-Mages and a bloody Dragon" the woman finished with a sigh "Nevermind the fact you had too many foreigners and each of them have their own command structure, how to order troops all that good stuff I hope you will master, and the others too"
Lucrezia smiled "Ah yes, it will not be just me commanding scores of soldiers to battles, your own daughter will be at the helm of many a combat and she too needs the right knowledge, even if her Blessing will shore up the weak spots" the couple nodded "The Prince as a boyfriend, can you believe it? he's a very interesting young man as well, incredibly sharp for his age, and a good listener as well" Ifry spoke and her husband nodded.
Lucrezia then proceeded to do a presentation of sorts, especially on the prototypes for aerial troop deployment, taking inspiration from VTOLs and Chinook types, the latter in particular caught the attention of the duo.
There's just something about helicopters that make them inherently interesting, even the planes didn't get that much attention from the couple, the bigger transport and assault airships were deemed too much by them.
"Maybe when the sea elves come back? unleash hells on the bastards" Hope's dad said with a smile.
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Saa'ryu sighed as she followed her mistress around the many halls inside of Saal'Xhir's cathedral, after the takeover a few days ago the woman was working overtime to set the roots of what was going to be the new biggest religion in the country.
Work was the single word she could use to describe what happened ever since the battle ended and the dust settled, she and her people, and her little family of assassins were being used like workhorses for all sorts of jobs, mostly legal stuff and the maid was tired of it! she longed for a fight and a good one at that.
Saa'ryu licked her lips, gods above she hated being here, all of her desires and wishes which she kept a close watch were running wild, a shift in Sphere of Power like the one happening right now was never a good time, the Owl said it was like getting a fever, you can deal with it but the nagging in your head, that itch that can't be scratched will remain for a while until the soul and body settle into it.
"Lady Lucrezia, please come this way" a man called and they followed, towards the inner sanctum.
Standing inside of it was the Goddess herself, manifested in her own divine flesh and blood, eyes that had an unnatural hunger to them as she opened her lips "My savior, Herald of change! O how I admire you little one, please come closer and sit, we have much to talk about"
Her voice did not exude power, it didn't fill the room, a rare display of humility "I heard you finally found yourself a boyfriend. All-Father finally answered my prayers, imagine having my most devout mortal being a prude! hah"
"It's not like that Lady Saal'Xhir" Lucrezia spoke and the Goddess nodded "Yes yes, love, passion, all very complicated matters, forgive me for being so hasty dear, I've been hm let's just say I've been very hyper of late"
The Goddess rubbed her palms "Now for what you asked..."