"Philosophers around the known world, in the heavens and hells and even the most reclusive lunar elves often debate on the implications of the many afterlives a soul can achieve, more than once fights broke out over the perceived best form of it. From the absolute order the Demons and Devils imposed on their realm to the wandering madness of the more chaotic deities and extraplanar or extradimensional entities, often priests of the Unbroken are employed as debate mediators, to varying degrees of success"
Life Beyond Death, 1st Volume.
"Abuella, do you believe in god?" Lucrezia asked her grandmother as they attended Sunday mass in the early hours of the morning, the priest spoke in Latin as people did the many rites and gestures the ritual demanded.
Her Abuella was a hard woman, a fair woman but a hard woman nonetheless "I hope he is real, otherwise things would get bad fast" She then shushed Lucrezia and pointed to the priest so that she would pay attention.
Castra-Cam's voice shook her from the flashback "Careful around the bend, the souls are not aware of us yet but once we cross that threshold it's open season for them, as an Inteloper of this space those who feel strongly about you will seek you out, the dead are keen on airing their grievances to the living after all" she rubbed her chin "Your parent's souls and that of the prince should've been sent to the quarantine zone for those who deal with the outer cosmos"
Castra-Cam had a grim on her face "But I can't know for sure, nor Udra in case you wanna grill him for questions, and besides talking your ear off, they can't do you no harm, well unless you consider emotional harm that is"
Udra nodded "This is a place of self-reflection, all of you is laid bare for yourself, the Unbroken considers this to be the best for its charges but some of the old timers are always...vocal about their disagreement, same for those of higher powers who wish to claim souls for themselves" the pace was kept as they brushed past the souls of the dead, most of them looking ahead.
Rebirth in the mortal coil, serving a god in their plane, damnation to becoming pure energy back at the mana core for crimes deemed worthy of such extreme punishment by the All-Father, all that and more was having a profound effect on Lucrezia's emotional stability, a fact she knew damn well where it was coming from, as the flashback she had was nothing but subtle about it.
"It is real huh?" She spoke at no one and everyone, she just had to accept it, her better half struggled enough as it is even when the Terran divines sent expressive, factual aid in both manpower and arms. It wasn't just a lifetime in Terra, it was the very culture, the pathos of human existence in that godforsaken dirt ball that permeated all that had come before, shaped reality as her better half once knew.
as she once knew.
"Real as the air, as the Gods and everything else, a fate none, even the deities and entities beyond the All-Father can escape" Udra spoke in reverence, the Ogre was glowing at Lucrezia's words as if they made his convictions stronger.
Lucrezia beheld the bend as they had put it, it was an enormous checkpoint manned by ghostly figures at its many doorways and gates, the first step in the soul procession the God of Undeath had put in place to make sure his realm ran smooth, a bigger shade, looking like the one in charge of the place hovered towards the party and bowed "passage is granted, for the living we...recommend ear protection if one does not wish to be at the mercy of the Queue"
Lucrezia bowed towards the Shade, thanking it for its advice but not taking it, she followed Castra as the woman raised her hand towards the pitch-black roof of the Long Queue, something was happening as she felt Arcane shaping being employed by the undead.
"Trouble" Castra-Cam spoke and Lucrezia froze up.
"And here I thought the souls of the people I killed would come after me" Lucrezia was already seeing some heads turn in her direction, gasps and finger-pointing as the more aware souls noticed a living being among them.
And then the trio was standing facing a severe-looking human male, his desk had a comically huge stack of paper and the man wrote something in a blank piece of it, and tossed it to the pile, Lucrezia didn't even feel the teleport, such as the absolute power a God commanded inside their Sphere, and Dominion.
"One would use their power to boom their voice across, protocol with interfacing and communicating with the ones we are in charge " Martius the Unbroken spoke in what Lucrezia could only describe as an Efficient tone, as if every word that came out had been planned to be as optimal as possible.
"Lord" Both Castra-Cam and Udra bowed. Lucrezia did so as well if only to be polite.
"Please, efficiency is being affected as it is with your little girl prancing about the realm, we keep the formalities for upstairs" Martius spoke and pointed "Sit, I won't have Malpay’ruh call me a rude host, even if he knows this is highly off protocol"
Malpay’ruh also known as the God of Death, was an obscure deity only spoken by Liches and Necromancers, thought to be another facet of Martius whose sphere had the capabilities of personality becoming its entity, Forum speculation on its lore was that it was either some extradimensional God that came down to help the All-Father or a total fabrication by Martius himself for some unknown reason.
"That's one question squared off" Lucrezia spoke out of turn and felt the weight of one of the most potent Gods' gaze pierce her "Apologizes, I am a hoarder of esoteric knowledge you see, and that was one of the pieces that were missing..." she left it there, not wanting to get sidetracked.
"Bah, not my fault your mortals are reductive" Martius spoke and smiled, an inside joke that Lucrezia wasn't aware of "Onto business then, you need a soul for the High Queen, one that is currently in quarantine for dealings with the beyond," he wrote on more papers as he spoke "Taking her out of there, putting the soul into a special container and ship the damn thing to the Hells will impact the flow of things here a great deal as I am sure you understand"
"Yet the protocol is in place and has been used twice before" Lucrezia spoke "I wish not to offend, and I am more than amendable for a deal to ease the sting from the drop in efficiency, Lord Martius" She nodded her head
"When you undertook your trial for the right of using my art I was privy to a great deal of information about you Lady Lucrezia, and knowing what I know it makes me wonder why you even bothered with this show and dance, you could've forced my hand, called in Mother dearest even, but even when knowing I am not one for this show you still did come down here to petition for my aid, many a Divine would kill for the respect you show me, and let witness present know I do...Appreciate it, despite my grievances with the mess you made of course"
"As I am sure you know, we have the protocol for doing that, and I can also establish communications with the High Queen from here, but this will come at a cost for you" Martius spoke as he worked "One You should have no problem fulfilling I might add"
"I am happy to help" Lucrezia spoke, not knowing if the Deity was being ironic or something of the sort, she couldn't get a read on him besides the fact he was somewhat annoyed on having to talk with her about this, would've him sent the soul to the Demoness without her coming here? maybe, maybe not, the fact was that only happened twice when the demons came knocking on his doorstep and even then he was unwilling to part with the souls.
"Much of my teachings on the Art of Necromancy and Mind Magic are being lost to the world, even with my people being more active each passing mortal year, this is not mind you knowledge that could wreck terror and devastation to the outside world, but good knowledge, and so I ask you to find as much as you can and build me a library, a place of learning in your lands so Necromancers may come to learn in a more pleasing environ to them"
"It would not be a church, but an outside entity, I need to do too much work to bless the grounds for a proper church and that would spell ill tidings to my work here" Martius looked upwards "It is done, say the word and I can let you talk with the High Queen.
"Then let us be off" Lucrezia got up but her two companions remained, Castra bowed and spoke "Not us my friend, we have dealings of our own with the Unbroken, I'll contact you once we are back in the waking world"
Lucrezia smiled and bowed, as a shade came to fetch her and guide her to the place where Martius did his dealings with the hellish fiends. It didn't take that long, the physical properties of this place were being altered to make for a faster commute towards the High Queen most likely.
The shade guiding her ushered the young Duchess into a room, in it was an image of the High Queen as she sipped on tea. She couldn't know for sure, the details of Hell Agriculture escaping her mind as the demoness bowed her head with a smile.
"My, let no one say you take your time getting the job done Little one, I am impressed! I'll have you know the foul mortal who dared to use that nasty plague is already being punished for it, all according to rule of course" A giggle came out of her, creeping Lucrezia a little.
"So fast in fact, I reckon you deserve some sort of reward" Lucrezia thought about not accepting, but that would be undoubtedly rude towards the demoness so she let her greedy side speak for once.
"I'd be more than happy to accept it, your Highness, what do you have in mind?" Lucrezia spoke with honesty.
"Ah, It makes me glad you are not one of those who deny rewards! now how about this..."
----------------------------------------
A day had gone by, and Lucrezia was waiting for the return of her friends as she ruminated through the happenings that had shaken her a little bit, she had figured out why the Unbroken was so keen on getting her help now, especially after what Castra told her.
The long and short of it was that due to no small part of her efforts, Kallista's brood and her draconic powers and meddling of the land by the Spirits of Winter made her lands worth their weight in gold and blood for many a god.
Powerful nexuses of mana and divine energies seeped through the land, making it strong and best for churches, places of learning, or even strongholds of Paladin Orders, something that was quite hard to achieve, of course, she extended her newfound wealth to her patrons who blessed her, but everyone had already gone through this once, and they were in no mood of uprooting their places of power to move over.
So after much consulting with what she had come to call her Inner Council of Divines, those were the ones she had to interact with the most (Saal'Xhir, Ra'Tyrius, and now his Wife, and Velkarius) on a scheme to loan out the land, with Martius the Unbroken being a test run of the scheme, the God of Undeath more than happy to participate as he was keen on helping a few of his own Gods and Goddesses with the new land as well.
Above all else, Lucrezia was worried about the upcoming events that would shake the little lull of action she found herself in, with the Demoness reward in hand she had a last-ditch effort ready should worse come to pass but she prayed to every God she didn't need to use it...
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"Lu, can you please put some clothes on" Saa'ryu spoke from the back of the room, the Maid was cooking some food for both of them "I will not share a meal with someone naked, that's just plain disrespectful"
Saa'ryu shook her head seeing Lucrezia dress for breakfast "News from the Imperium, they are incredibly interested in buying the airships we have, the official reason was for tourists to the more hard-to-reach corners of their continent but..." the maid grimaced as she ate a slab of fried bacon with the grace of a sailor.
"It's for war, I know" Lucrezia wolfed down the eggs and toast "The Dynasty flunked a major deal in ore a while ago and they want revenge, but the seas are patrolled by too many a nation and the dwarves would know the second a military response was launched at them, we lucked out the First Legion ship managed to get to use now that I think on it"
Lucrezia drank heavily, orange juice mixed with coffee and water which caused Saa'ryu to arch her eyebrow but the maid elected to stay quiet, Lucrezia didn't know why she was so hungry, maybe the visit to the underworld had sapped some of her vitality?
"Wish I could bend Ki argh" Lucrezia spoke out loud "I'll have to check up with the Medical Wing later"
"Smart, it's no mean feat going to the Long Queue alive, something was bound to get shaky" Saa'ryu spoke "Shall we? class will start in an hour, ah one more thing, your little gang will remain a while longer with the orcs, Hope wished to sightsee"
Lucrezia nodded and got fully dressed, tying her hair in a neatly done ponytail as both women left the room "Are you not jealous? I have on good authority that both Hope and the Prince are...interested in Richard" Saa'ryu spoke "I would if I was you, dangerous those two"
She couldn't help but sigh, this entire thing was incredibly complicated and to be totally honest she just didn't know how to feel about "Don't wanna talk about it Saa" the maid backed off with a bow.
"Another gift from our mysterious inventor arrived at the castle while you were down in the Queue, wings for ZENOS and the KNIGHTMARE models" Saa'ryu snapped her fingers "Nearly forgot about it, Idun was happy with it but also wary, he wished to meet this person and wasn't too happy when I told him my people and I couldn't find them, we recently started learning how to track via some less than legal means with the blood but even that venue didn't give any results"
Lucrezia hummed in thought "Maybe it's a soul entity? undead? shapeshifters can be tracked through their blood unless they go to great lengths to restructure their genetic material but that's a skill few have..."
Saa'ryu shrugged "Yeah, not many can do that, but we are still working on it" They arrived at the Medical Wing of the academy, silence greeting them as pristine corridors and people in much stereotypical clothing for healers walked around in pairs or groups, Healing in all of its forms was a art that the Kingdom of Vermilion fostered, be it science or divine based, or even alchemical or shamanistc.
Curses and hexes also had their own niche in these halls, but most of the time they were dealt with by the necromancers the Academy had on standby, still the study of those arts was a disputed class and many a noble scion wanted to learn more about it after all their families trees could be a victim of it.
Finding the right place for student treatment, Lucrezia was left alone by her maid as the woman had chores to do and errands to run, silence enveloped Lucrezia as she meditated while cycling her elemental mana in tandem, another exercise thought by Kaine.
Her mind and soul were whole again, and the last vestiges of what was once two distinct souls in the same vessel snapped into place when she left the Long Queue, diving deeper she beheld the Monolith inside her inner soul domain.
Something told her someone was coming, she shook herself off from the meditation as a Nurse, looking no older than 20 years old watched her with intensity in her eyes that betrayed her true age.
The pointed ears made sure Lucrezia knew she was dealing with another elf.
"My my, it is not every day I get to behold someone whose control over her soul and mana is so richly tied together, how can this lowly elf help you Duchess Wulfgren?" the nurse bowed.
"There is no need for formalities, Just Lucrezia is fine" she waved the woman off "My vital energies are a mess, I was hoping some of your staff could help me with it" The nurse nodded and motioned for her to follow.
What ensued was quite a few rituals and no less than 3 potions vials being shoved down Lucrezia's gullet, apparently her entire body was falling apart due to negative and divine energies wrecking her insides.
It was a long day, Saa'ryu came to check on her but was shushed out of the room, according to the elven nurse it wasn't something unusual, especially for newly minted undead who needed to learn how to control their new powers, or Ki users who used too much of the stuff, but nevertheless it was a long and complicated process and after asking for Lucrezia's permission, many a student came to watch the final ritual that would stabilize the entire thing.
"Impressive control over the flow of Divine energy there Duchess, now everyone I'd like you to cast..." the nurse spoke as Lucrezia tuned her out, her brain flying off to a distant memory.
"...Missing the sun are we?" a blurred face spoke to her, the skies above its head were wrong, as if the very clouds were made by something not natural "Ah impressive, isn't it? Technology that can bend the very elements! weather manipulation on a scale never seen before!" a smile could be seen beneath the blurriness.
"A shame Europe is burning under the fires of war" Lucrezia spoke with a sigh "Most of the plastic has been removed from the Pacific, we have..." another sigh as she stared towards the clouds.
The blurred face smiled again "You worry too much, just like your grandmother" There was a long silence as both stared up to the skies before the unknown person spoke once again.
"Your sister called, she wanted to say she's sorry" A hint of sadness crept behind their words.
Bile rose up Lucrezia's throat "If she was, she would've done the right thing, this is just..." her hands balled into fists, and she felt the nails biting the skin in her palms as blood tricked down.
The voice of her Abuella rung inside her mind, her words clear as day "Evil prevails when good men fail to do what is necessary..."
Lucrezia's mind went back to the waking world as the Nurse finished the ritual, with a bow she was excused and went to find Saa'ryu reading a book near the door, the maid looked bored out of her mind.
"Done? we are late for class" Saa'ryu spoke and both women were off to the classroom, at a brisk pace (she couldn't fly inside the halls sadly) arriving at the place Lucrezia took a seat as Saa'ryu went elsewhere, to deal with the many obligations she had both as a Maid and Spymaster of Lucrezia many efforts in the capital.
Class was abuzz due to the events that had happened earlier, today's professor was a thin man, weary and hunched over as he wrote on the blackboard as the students spoke among themselves, Current Affairs was a class Lucrezia didn't really need to attend but she did it anyway, if only to mingle with the others.
"Silence" the man spoke and people hushed themselves, Professor Leg commanded respect from many in these halls, known for being a tough but fair man who prided himself on teaching.
"Today's topic" Leg spoke "The possible invasion of the Dynasty by our western cousins" he pointed towards the map as the Emperium was marked around important islands that could launch an attack on the dwarven kingdom that was the Dynasty.
"Usually, the Dynasty leaders would not worry, armed with the knowledge their shipping lanes are protected by the Mermen and their Krakens, plus whatever else those people can drag up from the ocean's floor" the man continued unfazed "It's no mean feat to survive there and many a clan are armed with magic and miracles we have never seen nor heard, same for the beasts, magical or natural"
The class went on, Lucrezia noting down things she felt were worth being put to paper, the professor would ask questions and the classmates would answer, the man rarely giving anything but a hum that could either mean they were right or wrong.
Eventually, the bell was rung and people filed out of the room, Lucrezia was still noting down things, her mind wondering about the current climate of the Imperium given they were asking for her weapons.
Back on Terra, on the many nights she spent theory-crafting about the Game's lore there was a particular topic she was a fan of, theories for the sequel based on ties the game didn't tie at its ending, one of them being a series of side quests that had the player uncover a conspiracy from the Dynasty about arming the Sea Elves for a possible invasion, in the Game there was no ending for it, and the perpetrators ended up escaping at the end of the quest chain.
But here...she had meddled enough as it is, a report from Saa'ryu people told her the warehouse that had the weapons from that quest was burned long before they even got to the capital, something spooked the Dynasty people off that venue and that was that...
"Much on the mind Duchess?" Leg's voice snapped her out "I'd admit when the rumors reached me of the Empirium being interested in your brand of weaponry I couldn't believe it, stepped in tradition as they are"
He tapped on the blackboard "Yet here we are, and I can tell you have more information about this, given how intently you were writing down" he smiled.
"It would be a bloodbath..." Lucrezia spoke, "The Emperium will not use their gloves on this retaliation strike, especially if I supply them, and the dwarves of the dynasty are stubborn..."
The professor waved his hand "Nay, if you were to wage war against Stenhein maybe, that would be a grueling affair and every step taken would be a dire one, but a show of force against the dynasty? that would avoid many potential complications in the future"
Lucrezia smirked "I suppose so professor, and yet..."
"Don't let me cloud your judgment, my Lady, I am sure you will arrive at a satisfactory conclusion for this particular conundrum, after all, you stand above many would-be diplomats when it comes to these matters, now if you would excuse me, the class must be emptied"
And so Lucrezia left, wanting to enjoy the winter's chill she climbed towards one of the many rooftops the Academy left open for the ones who liked heights, and many Avian-Kin who were used to being up high.
She found a little secluded Rotunda up on one of the rooftops, decorated in homage to Uumaries, she couldn't help but smirk as she sat down on a bench and looked up, the grim visage of the Goddess staring at her with life-like quality.
The cold wind cooled her nerves as she pulled her notebook and started writing her thoughts down, how to deal with this potential scenario? Could it even happen? it wasn't a scrapped DLC turned real like the latest drama, nor an actual part of the game's plot...but still, there was a quest about it something did happen and the Dynasty people went away long before she came to the capital.
"It makes for poor comedy, being under her gaze doesn't it?" Lucrezia felt arms embrace her from behind as a warm face rested near her cheek "She looks so righteous, full of justice, if only the artists knew the truth"
Vivienne sighed, the warmth coloring Lucrezia's cheek a bit as she untangled herself and sat down near her "Forgive me, I had much on my mind of late, your face and the mysterious boy still haunt my dreams" she smiled a bit, reaching her eyes "Had I not talked with Arthur I'd believe you were there you know? or at least some sort of astral or soul projection"
Lucrezia smiled at her friend "It's a long-term thing I am afraid, Kallista told me it takes a few years to wean off when the dragons do it, but maybe with your Greater Blessing and Arthur's help we can take that down to a few months eh?"
"It's alright, I'm starting to enjoy these dreams even" She rested her head on Lucrezia's shoulder as the two sat side by side "No reaction at all? Poor Richard and Hope will be devastated if you do end up being a prude" the giggle made Lucrezia grunt "Worry not, I hashed out an agreement with our dear merchant friend, sharing is caring and he agrees, even if he wasn't keen on having Arthur..."
Lucrezia's coughed "Let's stash that topic for another day eh?" She could feel Saal'Xhir's smiling at her current predicament, curse that fiend!
A sharp pain in her private parts confirmed the theory.
"Guh" Lucrezia said and Vivienne giggled again "So what's got you this worried? can you share?"
Lucrezia sighed and explained her current predicament, sparing a few details of course, but the Arch-Duke's daughter was a sharp lass in these matters, even with a Greater Blessing focused on Healing she had a mind for the political intrigue and such.
"And you think they are supplying the Sea Elves, out of all the enemies of the Kingdom?" Vivienne asked "Well I guess it does make sense, your relations with Grannarius have improved border relations there, the other countries hate the Sea Elves as much as we do if not more and the Hive Mind won't attack us, or anyone for that matter" she tapped on the notebook.
"But supplying the Emperium could be seen as an act of treason, especially now that the Queen is out for your blood, still you could spin this around as a joint venue with the Orcs, have them vouch for you in private"
Lucrezia nodded "I don't think Queen Malphas will try to act against me now, at least for a while, too many eyes on her and the combined might of Hope and Arthur are enough of a shield for me, nevermind Kaine and Richard, but..."
Vivienne sighed "You think the elven threat is real" Lucrezia looked surprised "I can see it the way you speak, you believe they are poised to attack us, and it makes sense the more I think about it, Why did Richard get blessed instead of Arthur or Hope? he's together with you and thus has access to your army, he knows how to command the troops while you act as the point of the spear together with the rest of the crew"
"And, I think the Orc Goddess has taken a liking to you," Vivienne said "I don't know the why of it, but I have a strong hunch about it" She smiled as she held Lucrezia's hand "Do what your heart thinks is right Lu, I am sure it will be the right course of action"
Lucrezia stared down at the eyes of her friend, feeling her heart skip a bit and her cheeks grow red "Wow look at that, not a prude after all, my my I must tell Richard of this development" Vivienne leaned for a kiss in her cheek and left with a skip on her step.
Lucrezia dragged her natural hand across her face "Stupid Terran boy, look what you have done to me" She could feel her heart racing and it took her a long while even with meditation and mana cycling to calm down.
Saa'ryu found her a while after it, Lucrezia spoke a bit of what happened before telling her maid to set up an encounter with the Imperium's Legion liaison who was at their embassy.
"Contact Idun, tell him we have a new ship to build plus a few ZENOS units" If she were to crush the sea elves, she would go all the way in "And tell him to start working on Project Falling Stars, I have already gotten permission from the powers that be"
Saa'ryu's face blossomed into a wicked grin "Yes, my Lady!"